h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm all excited, I am! I think Microsoft are onto a winner here, apart from the console looking like a bloody Coleco Vision and not being backwards compatible Forza 5 look amazing and although I despise Call of Duty I'm very impressed with the look and mechanics of Ghosts.

I'm very annoyed about it not being backwards-compatible, that always strikes me as a cheat, and the always-on microphone gives me pause.

It is interesting how the three systems this generation have gone in totally different directions: only the PS4 is a traditional games machine. The Wii U has gone even further down the family games route and it looks like the Xbox 1 is aiming for true multimedia machine status. I'm curious to see which one wins

I won't be rushing out to buy one, no backwards compatibility? I have loads of both on disc and Arcade games and my multimedia experience is already taken care of by my 360 being connected to my PC. I'm not sure I like the look of the controller, either.

Obviously I'll have to get one eventually, but I'll still keep the old console, heck I've still got a SNES, PS1, Game Cube...

"On April 3, 2000, a judgment was handed down in the case of United States v. Microsoft, calling the company an "abusive monopoly"
Wiki. ... MS is not called the evil empire for no reason.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/05/22/xbox-one-charges-fee-for-second-hand-games-must-be-online-once-a-day-probably-3804045/

When MS produces software it tries to monopolise the hardware it is loaded onto (personal computers). When MS produces hardware it tries to monopolise the software that goes onto it (Xbox one and second hand games). It is truly an evil one.

I think the restrictions on second-hand games are fair enough: why should a company like Game, who have nothing to do with creating the game, be allowed to make money from resellings, whilst the creators get nothing?

If the creators got a cut from the second-hand market, a restriction would be unfair but as it stands I think it's reasonable.

Don't understand that argument tbh. Surely the makers are fully recompensed by the original sale?

What about cars? Should all second hand car dealers pay a commission to the manufacturers?

It's like kids having to pay a commission to MS every time they swap baseball cards or football cards (found in gum etc). Kids like to swap games etc, now they will have to pay MS every time they do this. MS = abusive monopoly as per the Apr 3 2000 USA vs MS ruling.

No it's not like that at all.

>>What about cars? Should all second hand car dealers pay a commission to the manufacturers?<<

Good point. Though with cars there isn't the issue of two people using the same car at the same time.

Stone Aart, unlike Sony, Microsoft produce relatively few games themselves. Most Xbox games are produced by 3rd parties and, as I understand it, it's these who will get the benefit of the '1 disc, 1 game' rule. I also think this is an experiment that will be abandoned if it proves wildly unpopular.

The 'one disc one game' thing has been done with PC games for years, it's nothing new, Microsoft didn't invent it.

I also don't quite understand why you think Microsoft monopolises hardware of PCs. As opposed to Apple/Macintosh everyone can freely choose the components of their PC and from which manufacturer they want to buy it and how much money they want to spend.


I'm not interested in the Xbox One, I'm happy with my WiiU, although I'm waiting for more games. So far I'm not convinced that the Xbox One can do anything the other consoles can't do.

I thought the latest on this was that there won't be a fee for second hand games, but that the original owner has to deactivate her license before the new owner can activate it? Seems a bit annoying but not as bad as it could have been.

It's going to seriously dent profits for the likes of Game and I really don't want them to go out of business, but game piracy is rampant and this is a pretty decent attempt at controlling it. The backwards compatibility (down to hardware issues apparently) doesn't really bother me as I'll be keeping my 360. Sony pulled that trick and survived, so although it's inconvenient I don't mind so much.