Discrimination or Segmentation in gaming? (UPDATED!)

Some might have heard of the issues that gamers are about to get. It has been blogged and it made all kinds of media. The console war have begun, but there are more then a few indications that the was has been decided even before the consoles launched.

The war between Xbox One (XB1) and PlayStation 4 (PS4) kicked off during the E2 in the beginning of June, now it is on in earnest.

The story as it came to me was that a new game, to be launched on both systems called the Witcher 3, will not be playable in Poland, the country that is developing it, piqued my curiosity.

My initial thought was that it would be some kind of censor rating. Yet, that was not the case. It turns out that the XB1 will launch in 21 countries. You must log into the XB1 once a day, so if you are not one of those 21 countries, then you cannot play games. Is this an overly dumbfounded form of control utterly stupid?

So Poland did not make that list, neither did Japan (not that Japan was ever warm for the Xbox anyway), Greece, Portugal, Monaco (where the truly wealthy are), Czech republic, Hungary, Several South American nations, India, Pakistan and a few others, all missing! Now there could be the issue that those markets are not big, yet to cut them off in all ways means that questions should be asked. I found that CNet reported the fact that Asia will get the machine late 2014 (source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57588702-75/xbox-one-asia-launch-set-for-late-2014-no-word-on-japan/), so almost a year after Europe. Reason enough for them to not consider a Microsoft product in the first place, especially as many games will come to both.

The Playstation 4 does not have these restrictions.

For gamers the clear impression is that Microsoft has lost the plot. However, Microsoft is not painting this as a gaming console, but as a ‘home entertainment system’. It is about TV, Movies and Games. The question then becomes how stupid, or how clever they are (depending on their intent, either or even both might apply). You see, the gamer states that Microsoft acts are stupid, the rest does not know. Yet, if the reports in regards to project PRISM are true, then what to make of the XB1? All that information moving through 200,000 servers Microsoft mentioned that they were setting up for the XB1. Did they not comply with the NSA requests? If so, how much registration are you adding by watching via their box? Even if the NSA does not care, all that data, all that information, so how secure is your privacy? Will these machines be an ‘opt in’ device, where you must give permission before anything starts, or an ‘opt out’ where they collect until you say no.

Questions that have been an issue before and Microsoft have stated that you can set the privacy you are comfortable with. Yet, we do and should wonder about security breaches that could impede your privacy. If windows requires almost daily updates, then what about the XB1? A system this large in architecture will have flaws; this is unlikely a big deal as any system this complex has them. Sony will likely have them too. If we must register every new game, then certain data will be there, so how secure is that? This is however not about privacy (at present). It is more about the cyber criminals. How long until a security breach gets game lists wiped or scrambled. Then what? Wait days or even weeks for things to get fixed? Remember the issue Sony had with credit card details? What happens when your game list is the target?

Microsoft stated in the wall street journal on the 11th June: “that the device would only be available in select Asian markets in 2014. They are pegged as high-growth markets for the region’s booming gaming industry“. Really? But it is not a gaming console, but a home entertainment system according to Microsoft. So, these emerging markets are better off with a PlayStation 4.

This has every notion that at Microsoft the left hand has no clue what the right hand is doing. That is the conclusion I get when I see these ‘conflicting’ messages from Microsoft. No matter what it is labelled as, it leaves us with a load of questions. The important one is ‘What on earth does Microsoft think it is doing?’

1. There are questions on the hardware

a. Ridiculous small internal drive considering the market it is supposed to be supporting.
b. Mandatory daily login. Consider that even in Australia hundreds of thousands (even in the capital cities) do not have quality broadband. (Source: Sydney Morning Herald, March 7th 2013).
c. possible additional charges for pre-owned games.

With the last one I hope that the governments keep in mind that Tax laws must be altered on a global scale as this fee should be corporate taxable at the location of the consumer, not in the non-taxable location where their servers reside. (personally the excuse that this is an issue for the publisher of the game just does not hold water with me).

2. Possible issues with software

a. Censoring. Interesting here is that an example became visible just last week on the Xbox 360. An arcade game called ‘State of Decay’ for the Xbox 360. Apparently it missed some review board, even after so long of hassles to get an 18+ rating in Australia. The result was that this game which is a sort of ‘walking dead’ kind of survival game cannot be purchased in Australia at present. This might be a minor title and many might not care. Will we get this with major releases on the XBox one because one of the following was missed: Review, Server registration, release lists, database part number check, release codes per nation and time zones?

Those issues could lead to the point that the $120 you spend on a new game, will have to wait until after the weekend, as someone ‘forgot’ to do one of the aforementioned things. That is a daily risk in the Gaming industry, even more in gaming products then other software forms. So, why should we have to accept these risks?

We can speculate for all we care, but if this is all about saving costs, then how long until buying an XB1 game is nothing more than buying a credit card with a license number at EB Games (or some other game store)? Then we end up having to download 5 – 50 Gb depending on the game, which means broadband costs could go up between $30 – $50 a month. That is an additional $350+ a year. Will that happen? Many do not know at present, but the level of registration Microsoft is forcing on us has a definite reason, and I do not believe it is about piracy. My speculation was countered by Microsoft at E3 where they did mention that they will continue with discs. For how long is the question from my side. You see, the simplicity is that all these efforts would not be an issue they started with, unless there was a long term plan. Several futurists are all about the cloud. The cloud provides, the cloud refines, the cloud defines. No product to sell, no tax-ability for many and games are no longer a product you buy, but a license you rent until the conditions change. It is a business future; it should never be an entertainment future.

Is this just my view? Well, not sure how most felt about the XB1 before. I, like many other gamers enjoy my 360 a lot. I was already in the know about some facts, so I remained cautious during the E3. Yet, soon after, as we saw confirmation, many gamers moved loudly swearing on the internet away from the XB1. I feel the same way. For now, if only one system will be my choice, then the PS4 will definitely be on my Christmas list and I am not alone with that sentiment. Currently

What is important is to know is that this field could still change. I am still hoping that Microsoft might get a clue about the market they are about to lose for one.

However, should nothing change then it will be my prediction that 2014 might be an amazing good year for Sony.

On June 19th, Microsoft made public the following anouncement. In light of what I wrote, it would be utterly incorrect not to inform you!

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting on-line again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360. (source: http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/update)

There is the one question whether that one time set-up requires you to be on-line, but that seems to be minor compared to the huge step that Microsoft made towards its current extremely upset customer base.

An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games – After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.