OK so E3 2013 is behind us now and now is a good time to reflect on it as the excitement and hype has died down. I have to say that I’m worried about the future state of gaming, not because there will be bad games coming out because we all know there will always be good and bad games. I worry because of the restrictions placed on gaming such as DRM, online checkups, etc.
Now I know this is initially sounding like an anti-Xbox rant but I assure you my fear goes beyond that.
But let’s talk Xbox One. A lot of it does start from here. They have a very strict policy coming into this next console generation. They have a strong anti-used game standpoint. They have mandatory installations, online checkups, always on (for the most part) Kinect functionality, required internet service and the like. All of these are obvious anti-consumer practices that favor the corporate entities over the consumers, which is Microsoft’s right to do. So let’s look at a few things on this first and I do warn you that much of what I say may sound like I’m wearing a tin foil hat.
1) No support for trading.
Sure this might just be at launch and may be changed. I can’t predict the future. However there is an argument among people stating that you can still share it with up to 10 people in your home. I have a problem with this. The problem is that previously you could share your game with as many people as you liked. What happens here is a simple strategy that makes people willing to give up their rights. First you announced a major change that will restrict people. This gets them fired up. Then you announced a change of that policy that still restricts people but just not like you initially announced and they welcome it. We see this done often with gasoline prices. They skyrocket a dollar or more for a while upsetting people but then come down a few cents and people think that it’s not so bad now even though the price still jumped up dramatically.
2) Always on Kinect.
I’m sure people will argue saying that you can pause it or turn the system off. Fine, the Kinect may not be intrusive, we don’t know. However, with recent revelations with Microsoft, the NSA and spying, the fact that the Kinect is watching you no doubt has some people worried.
3) Anti-Used Games and Online Checkups.
The Right of First Sale is a strong law that weakens when digital content comes around. It’s being able to skirt around this law that allows DRM to persist in all sorts of mediums among other reasons. This law should exist for games as well as a protection for consumer. That doesn’t mean at all that it can’t still be illegal to copy and pirate. But as criminals are criminals by not obeying the law there’s no stopping them and you don’t really make it that much harder by doing so. Most hackers take it as a challenge. The always online checkups just seem to be a measure of authenticating that you have your legit copy.
Now I know a lot of this is preaching to the choir and you’d be right. What I’ve said about Microsoft and Xbox One has been said before and it’s like beating a dead horse.
So let’s move on to Sony. The beloved savior of video games.
I’m going to go on record here and say this flat out.
The applause Sony got for their consumer views should never have happened.
Now don’t get me wrong. It’s great that Sony is going in a pro-consumer view and it’s great that they will be less restrictive. That’s the problem though. There should never have been a situation like this to begin with that would require something as little as ownership being a major thing.
The DRM started on PC, the Microsoft blew it up and because of it people are cheering the fact that the Playstation 4 will not. This is an issue that it only takes a few people to accept it for it to become worse. Sony is getting tons of praise right now for doing what consoles have been doing for decades. It shouldn’t have come to this. Cheers should not be giving for someone doing what is expected of them. You can give a thank you just not a praise. That’s not to say Sony didn’t warrant it. The argument is because people should never have been pushed to that point to where what they expect is the savior. The real bad part about this is that during the applause and praise given for their standard pro-consumer stance they managed to say that you will need Playstation Plus to play online. A feature, that isn’t a big deal, but is still sneaking in an aside in the hopes no one notices which can be somewhat shady.
My fear now comes in that gaming will become more and more like consoles as they slowly take our consumer rights away. It may not happen and that would be great but I fear that if there is another generation it will be a company with even more restrictions and then a company using what Microsoft is doing now being praised for being less restrictive. And if it keeps going that route we’ll look back and wonder what happened to our consumer rights.,
Will this happen? Maybe, maybe not. But it’s still a dreadful thought.
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