[Rumor] Next Xbox requires always online internet connection, no used games, uses 50GB Blurays

[Psionic Roshambo]

I do see this as being possible, in a couple of ways.

Xbox Live Gold membership subsidized console purchase, if you buy an NXbox maybe they will have some cheaper price that comes with a 2 year contract for Gold?

Part 2 of course is that if you want to play Halo part 5 or COD 23 or Madden 28 online than you need to be online already so yeah....

Blocking used game sales would almost require some sort of online verification, this would have a double impact as it would be seen as a nearly bullet proof way to prevent piracy with game companies wanting every penny they can get (who doesn't?) this would be pretty attractive.

Some companies (EA) see used game sales as worse than piracy.

Edit: Also on that subsidized contract could be ad revenue like they do now, so always being online would be great since they could advertise all those feminine products during your Madden game... lol

 

[Sicklyboy]

[...]
Windows 8 - Sorry, I don't have $500 to buy multiple touchscreen monitors as Windows 8 pretty much requires a touchscreen and only supports one app per screen (no multitasking/tiled windows anymore). Not to mention typing with a touchscreen for very long is painful (and don't say "well you can use a keyboard" because keyboards are depreciated and obsolete, touch/gestures only is the future!).[...]

Well then you'd better stop using your computer if that's the future, or stick with <=Windows 7 until your computer keels over and dies. I can attest to Windows 8 being completely usable with a mouse and keyboard, you can have multiple Metro apps open on the game screen, and Windows 8 hardly feels different from 7 if you're using dual monitors.

[...]and business suicide if you consider the size of the used game sales and[...]

Except used game sales do not benefit the developers whatsoever, so that's a moot argument.

 

[Rizsparky]

Goodbye used-game merchants.

 

[Sterling]

Except used game sales do not benefit the developers whatsoever, so that's a moot argument.

You know, Gamestop and other used game outlets can very easily stop carrying their new games...

 

[FAST6191]

Except used game sales do not benefit the developers whatsoever, so that's a moot argument.

No benefit might be a bit strong- no immediate financial benefit maybe but I fail to see how they would have deserved anything in the first place. It seems a logical fallacy to argue second hand game sales damage income as a place and time where such things do not exist would be something akin to magic fairy land and dismissed as easily.

Going further I reckon there are two main benefits
1) It makes forking out for a game a considerably less bitter pill to swallow if you know you can get something back. Developers are well into their sales incentives and that would be a big one for a lot of people.

2)Developers encourage online play and continued knowledge of their franchises, injections of fresh blood* and continued availability do help things here.

*the case has been made before that you might only be expected to be online for a given period and then switch off thus reducing server loads, bandwidths and such like aka continued costs. There might be a case here but I am not sure how much I am willing to accept.

 

[pasc]

Well I don't know if God is that retarded... but Microsoft probably is.

When did imply God was retarded ? He's A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.