Xbox One games will still be playable after servers shut down

[Guild McCommunist]

Of the many concerns of the Xbox One, one of the most pressing issues would be how the system would function after its heavily focused online infrastructure would shut down. Requiring an internet connection every 24 hours to be playable, many gamers assumed the system would be dead in the water after servers shut down. However, Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb assured gamers this is not the case.

Answering questions on reddit's r/games section, Larry assured gamers that games will be playable after Xbox One servers shut down. "That's certainly something we would not do. That's not the way the system is designed. It's designed for flexibility. But let's get the system out there first."


Hryb also helped answer some confusion about Xbox One account bans. It was previously thought that an Xbox One account that was banned would lose access to all their games, as they require internet connection. However, Hryb said this is false, saying "Absolutely not" to if gamers would lose the single player portion of their games with an Xbox One ban.

Source

 

[Arras]

They also mentioned games would make use of cloud computing though, didn't they? That would be absolutely impossible to keep up when the servers go down.

 

[emigre]

How about Microsoft just not implement DRM shit?

 

[naved.islam14]

I'm really confused by the XBONE and that guy's name.

 

[pwsincd]

The HDMI input is quite interesting, if I every did ever go xbone, I could insert my ps4 out into the xbone in, and have some WTF hybrid next gen thing going on.

 

[AbyssalMonkey]

I don't trust his saying in an interview what will and will not happening as a project plan for the future. Give me it as part of a legally contractual agreement and then we will talk. As of now, I'm extremely skeptical of anything Microsoft says will happen in the future of XB1. Except maybe that they won't change anything because their family sharing system is awesome. How is XB1 "futureproof"? Stone is future proof, electronics and policies are not.

 

[Shoat]

They also mentioned games would make use of cloud computing though, didn't they? That would be absolutely impossible to keep up when the servers go down.

Of course any game that makes use of things like that will not work anymore (or at least have part of their content not working). Even if the last patch before server shutdown removes the need to be online from the console, stuff like that can never be fixed after the fact.

They mentioned many contradictory, stupid or outright hostile-to-customer things, and that will result in the Xbox one being born dead. The decisions they have made seem to already be pretty much set in stone as it's too close to release; and while they are amusing, their current attempts to talk their way out of it will not fix anything (couldn't help but laugh at "It's designed for flexibility.").

 

[jonesman99]

Wait, I have a question, does this mean during its lifetime, like incase of a server meltdown, or do they mean after its generation ends and a new console is out from them?

 

[FAST6191]

They also mentioned games would make use of cloud computing though, didn't they? That would be absolutely impossible to keep up when the servers go down.

Though I considered the "after the servers are shut off" thing to be largely a non issue (MS have the relevant keys after all) if it is enough years in the future then it could probably be kicked to a little desktop widget.

 

[Flame]

I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is fucking a Xbox one. DAMN

 

[PityOnU]

They also mentioned games would make use of cloud computing though, didn't they? That would be absolutely impossible to keep up when the servers go down.

It's not OnLive or GaiKai. When they say cloud computing, they mean that you can do more interesting stuff with their server than just host multiplayer. Like a "drive-atar".

I don't think losing drive-atars would make Forza unplayable.

 

[bowser]

I don't think losing drive-atars would make Forza unplayable.

That word is enough to make Forza unplayable.

 

[Rydian]

Wait, I have a question, does this mean during its lifetime, like incase of a server meltdown, or do they mean after its generation ends and a new console is out from them?

In the future.

 

[J-Machine]

How will they handle authenticating new installed or used games then after they shut things down? I get the system not having 24 hour checks but what of the other drm?

 

[jacksprat1990]

Still not interested. Thanks for trying Microsoft.

 

[IBNobody]

I'm not too concerned about this. How many hit games are XBox 360 exclusives and also never made it to the PC? Not many. Microsoft had some pretty nifty cross-compilers which made bringing games to the PC less of a chore. With the x86 architecture switch, the number of unported XBox One exclusive hits will be even smaller.

 

[Rydian]

how will they handle authenticating new installed or used games then after they shut things down? I get the system not having 24 hour checks but what of the other drm?

Assumedly they'll push out one last update that disables the DRM... years after it matters.

 

[J-Machine]

Assumedly they'll push out one last update that disables the DRM... years after it matters.

in that case I see myself buying one at the end of its life and not a minute sooner. make sure everything is used too lol.

 

[Sterling]

He didn't answer anything, he just skirt the issues. That little tidbit about the title, that was also a deflection. I mean it's a yes or no answer with some explanation not, "We wouldn't do that [insert random bullshit about console] Buy our system and then we'll tell you." No, Microsoft. The consumers need the answers to these questions now, not later.

 

[Celice]

They also mentioned games would make use of cloud computing though, didn't they? That would be absolutely impossible to keep up when the servers go down.

In one interview, a representative said that the cloud handles computations that have already begun on the home console, computations that aren't really "dynamically" needed (they gave examples for things like lighting effects). This makes it sound like the load is pretty negligible and that this "cloud" is just an excuse for an online back-and-forth.

They also stated that were the system to be offline, then the home console wouldn't offload some of these basic computations, but would process them natively. But that too makes it sound like the cloud isn't really freeing up any performance, if the system is natively able to do the work anyways.