The Microsoft Xbone: It’s for Dogs.
The Microsoft Xbone is revealed and Lusipurr.com examines every aspect of the console’s announcement; Dr. SiliconNooB and Gyme house-train Chris ‘Scooby’ Privitere, who has returned from his recent supporting role in EA’s Call of Duty Xbone tech. demo.
WolfeI intend to listen to this show and continuing to enjoy the articles for as long as you guys produce them. As I said, it’s great to have a site that doesn’t pander to the highest bidder. And just to reassure you Chris, I don’t consider the RPGcast to be one of those I included in my umbrella statement about other shows. In fact, it was one podcast in particular I was thinking of at the time. One that refused to turn a critical eye to the Xbone, while a massive, flash animation CoD ad blared at me on their frontpage (*coughgiantbombcough*).
That said, c’mon Chris. Don’t support the Xbox One. Even if it’s for the purpose of having access to a triple A game, it’s still akin to giving Microsoft the thumbs up that they can pretty much do what they want with no consequences. There’s times you just have to draw a line, even if it hurts you, and this is clearly one of those instances. Don’t let corporate greed score a victory this major. Otherwise gaming in another decade may be something we don’t even have a stake in. A bit of an extreme statement, but looking at how alien the developerscape is today compared to last decade, I don’t think anything is out of the question.
Also, I support ‘Xbone’ as the official derisive tag for MS’s new monstrosity. I’m absolutely terrified that this thing will somehow be accepted and set the groundwork for a gaming world that’s essentially one big subscription model, complete with intrusive, privacy-violating hardware. At this point I can only hope the notorious gamer rage collective works in our favor for once. But hey, it doesn’t seem to have done so in the past, so why get my hopes up?
Anyways, great show this week. I was really looking forward to hearing you lot tear into MS, and I was not disappointed.
Julian 'SiliconNooB' TaylorChris Privitre has never met a piece of new bad technology that he didn’t immediately purchase – trying to convince him to spend his money wisely is a fool’s errand.
He will buy and defend the Xbone up until the point where Microsoft does something to it that he doesn’t like (because it effects him personally), and then he will turn on it – with the sincere belief that everything was fine up to that point, but now everything is ruined!
Matt DanceXbone is a better name than Xbox One. I was hoping for Xbox Cubed, but oh well. What confuses me the most is how Microsoft will get GameStop into giving them a cut of the used game sales. Maybe the publishers deserve it, but why Microsoft? Am I understanding this incorrectly? I get the greed and underhandedness part.
Julian 'SiliconNooB' TaylorNo, neither of them “deserve” it – the publishers still have their money from the original sale. It is nobody’s fault but their own if they refuse to develop the sort of games that are within their means.
WolfeI do rather like Chris, despite his apparent enabling of corporate greed. He’s a soft spoken nice-toned fellow and his show was my gateway into podcasts. I don’t hear him get upset a lot, and he’s typically upbeat and humorous, even at his own expense.
I still wish that he’d view this Xbone situation with more gravity than he’s currently assigning it though. We’re facing not a question of good games and fanboyism, but a potential window into unprecedented privacy invasion. As well as a relegation of game ownership to more of a long term subscription model. This is not a time to be blinded or wowed by technological possibilities, it’s a time to look ahead and see how this can quickly devolve into a very negative chain of events.
You really only need to look at Google to see how the camera/mic combo can go wrong. The FBI and CIA have demanded information on individuals gathered by their Google searches and online activity through them. Do you think they won’t do the same of Microsoft if it becomes a household norm?
Julian 'SiliconNooB' Taylor“I don’t hear him get upset a lot”
That is why he’s content to sit back and give both EA and Microsoft the benefit of the doubt time and again. He’s a nice guy, but that’s what makes him a bit of a sucker.
WolfeRe: ‘It’s literally inviting the Eye of Sauron into your living room!’
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2007/05/02
@Julian: I guess bitter, jaded individuals like myself exist to offset him then. And hopefully, berate them into taking a more critical view. To be fair, Lusipurr himself is giving EA the benefit of the doubt, while even Chris is not (I side with Chris on that one, EA is clearly playing the white knight card knowing MS and Sony are doing their dirty work for them).
Not a criticism of you Lusipurr, I understand your position of wait and see. However EA is Microsoft tier in terms of tyranny in my personal standing, so I’m unwilling to take a neutral stance towards them.
Jahan 'The Legendary Zoltan' HonmaWait and see is fine for any game company. But benefit of the doubt is not and especially not for EA. you are right. They are just playing the white knight chronicles card. But if we REALLY want to be vigilant and not promote what is happening with used games, then the only new console we can buy is a Wii U. Because, Sony is sort of playing a similar card by giving the ability to lock games to the publishers. I think it would take a very large and powerful boycott movement to prevent all these things from becoming the next common practice.
WolfIt would. But as we’ve seen before, the gaming community (or what passes for one) rarely stands together on important issues when you dangle a few goodies in front of them. Which is precisely what companies like EA and MS expect, and precisely why they will continue to drag us towards a potential industry fragmentation.
P.S. I also find myself subconsciously thinking ‘White Knight Chronicles’ whenever I use that old white knight metaphor. :)
