Albert responds to DRM/COD "offline" issues

Alebet Panello writes:

"FYI it's 11pm on a Sunday, so people aren't exactly quick to respond to work email. I wanted to check in before I shut-down for the evening. This is what I believe is going on:

We still have two more weeks before launch - the console is in a pre-release state. We are doing regular updates - I personally took one a few minutes before he posted. His build is now old. This is why we were saying we didn't want people on early - it's not done yet.

This behavior is only because we are in pre-release. When we launch, console will work exactly as you expect today on 360.

For sure this has nothing to do with requiring a connection. There is no "DRM removal" in the Day One update because none of the consoles were ever built with that stuff in it.

This also has nothing to do with COD. The Day One update just brings the SW up to date with the latest versions vs. what's on the box. But there is no 24 check in, that's for sure."

[M-M]

"There is no "DRM removal" in the Day One update because none of the consoles were ever built with that stuff in it. "

Really? It doesn't make sense, you need a day one update to use the console, but you can't play games without it? So then why is a day one update required for the console to function if it's not for DRM removal(which Microsoft clearly stated at the time of the 180)? If anything, it should be like the PS4 where you can use the console even if you don't have the day one patch.

[allformats]

His response doesn't add up.

We understand the logistics on why the system itself ships with an incomplete OS, we get it. The question we are asking is why the does a console that has the latest up to date patch (1-2 days ago) all of a sudden ban SP content, oh and even entering settings. I would understand if he had some really old version but he was using the most up to date version that everyone else who had an xbox one in their home was using up until a day ago.

[Nitrowolf2]

Honestly from how i take this it sounds like they didn't have DRM for every game on the xbox One to begin with is what he's saying? That totally contradicst MS statement from before about it and is even sated in the reveersal letter.
"An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games "
http://kotaku.com/microsoft...
Edited: I get what he's saying actually. Games aren't built with DRM due to MS, the system is built with DRM, or the always needed to be online. The update removes that from the Xbox One. Basically he;s saying that this issue with COD isn;t their fault, which my bottom portion states.

And I'm just trying to offer the best explanation, but anyoen notice how on the PS4 box it says "Offline play", but the xbox One doesn't? Remember guys, DRM is still up to publishers, which this still doesn't make sense if that were the case, then why didn't activision include it in the PS4 version? From my understanding the guy with the early xbox One can launch other games fine???

All I'm saying here is, if someone gonna point fingers about DRM do we really point it at MS or ACtivsiion? Remember it's publishers choise, and has always been even through this gen

[Game-ur]

Honestly the X1 situation is a mess, the best option is to wait a few months for the dust to settle before buying.

[BitbyDeath]

Amir0x has summed it all up and it makes sense.. imo

http://www.neogaf.com/forum...

[Muerte2494]

So if the OS is constantly updating, will this always happen when you miss an update? Technically none of this explains why he can't play COD offline when he was able to 24 hour earlier and his system was already banned. Microsoft is already shipping people their Xbox Ones early. Why would you ship something when the "OS" isn't completely functional yet? I don't agree with my Game OS having an expiration date. Thank God I'm going with Sony and the PS4. Looks like I'm saving myself alot of grief.

[ZodTheRipper]

Some will believe his BS ...I won't.

[4Sh0w]

So what, guy says it will work on launch day like its suppose to, you have nothing creditable to say otherwise just pure speculation so this mean the ps hive mind is just spewing nonsense AGAIN. Nothing new.

[cleft5]

So many excuses and contradictory statements. People really need to take a close look at this stuff, because it's clear that Microsoft is scrambling to get it together with the Xbox One. Hopefully this thing just works at launch for the people who are buying the console and ignoring all of these grievous flaws.

[neocores]

Wait first they said the system was built with DRM in it now it dont have it lol wtf 0.0

[Kingthrash360]

is this real? i mean really? i had the same thought when i read his comment and it totally contradicts
everything they said so far about drm removal. it's like they had a meeting about how to confuse your customers with lies and contradictions.

[sprinterboy]

"The art of distraction", also used by all politicians.

[sAVAge_bEaST]

The only way The 1%. knows how to deal with the 99- is Lie$ & De¢eption.

[isa_scout]

Yeah, what I'm struggling to understand is if his console was banned until the launch day then doesn't that mean he couldn't go online? And if he couldn't go online then how the hell did the system know he missed an update like Mr. Penello is claiming?
That'd be like me playing COD offline singlplayer on my PS3 then all of a sudden it's like, "Yo son, you need the update to pay offline."
Smells like PR bull@#$* to me. When is MS just gonna say screw it and fire their entire PR team. There's no way the XOne is as bad as the reports are saying.The problem is that when there is a problem MS fails to address it in a cohesive honest way.

[corvusmd]

Good question...why do PS4 and Wii U also have day one updates?

[MasterCornholio]

Why is it that whenever Albert opens his mouth things just get worse?

Nexus 7 2013

[Insomnia_84]

"We are doing regular updates - I personally took one a few minutes before he posted. His build is now old. "

His build is now old. What an effing coincidence, huh?!

GTFO!!

His whole response is so full of it!!!

[B-radical]

Can't do alot of things on ps4 without.its day one patch also tho

[MikeGdaGod]

you can do one very big thing though....you can play games!

[AusRogo]

Wasn't the x1 built with this DRM shit and this day one update disables it? Im confused so it was built with DRM was it not?

[Agent1]

Here is SONY DRM

http://www.neowin.net/news/...

[Langkasuka]

Old build, of course. Must be the craziest crunch time to be an X1 developer right now. :3

You know, not to be mean or sound fanboyistic, but if Moonlightswami kept his twitter under NDA about COD (even though it's only verbal agreement), gaming community wouldn't have had to go through all that fluster.

[MightyNoX]

So was Larry Hryb lying when he said DRM is built into the system?

[deadfrag]

And some people still believe what Microsoft tell.Its just ridiculous how they spin things around for the dumb people to actually believe.Damage was done six months ago and frankly any people with some brains will see that nothing can actually brings them out of the Pit they got themselves.

[karl]

They got plenty of chances. They just keep digging though...

As if they thought light was on the other side of the tunnel.

[5eriously]

What a PR mess. I will now not even contemplate getting an eXB0Ne or touching it with a bargepole for at least another year, maybe only if it's hacked to be free of M$ infestation.

Cancelled preorder, No choice with all these "rumours" becoming true.

[kickerz]

Are you lot drunk lol

[imt558]

In that case, that means only one thing : Xbone isn't entirely finished and Microsoft rushed Xbone just to meet launch in time against PS4.

But still, why console was bricked 24 hours after he playing COD : Ghosts. That's interesting.

[Pascalini]

Whatever Albert said - the Sony fanboys wer always going to tear it apart with lies

Hopefully some of you lot will get a job soon

[MightyNoX]

"No way we're giving up 30% power advantage to Sony. You're all going to apologize to me" - Penello to NeoGaf

"So what are chances you're going to apologize to us now that the truth came out?" - NeoGAF recently to Penello

"Pretty good." - Penello

:)

[d0nT wOrrY]

Wow.. the truth hurts man lol

[WeAreLegion]

I have a feeling most of these people already have jobs. I have two.

[iceman06]

It's hard to argue with clear, concise truth. However, with all of the PR blunders and lack of information, you expect gamers to just trust that THIS TIME he is being completely honest. The original statement on DRM was that it WAS built into the system and couldn't just be "turned off". Now...it's not?
There are some people there that just want to antagonize Albert. However, there are plenty that just want understanding about what is going on...once again in a clear, concise, and TRUTHFUL manner.

[grassyknoll]

Don't believe his lies.

[Lannister]

At this point if you buy a bone you shouldn't even blame MS. It'll be all on you. At least MS has been consistent in their inconsistency.

[Shad0wRunner]

Microsoft lies as much as Obama lies about affordable health care and "keeping your Dr." LOL

MS: "If you like your current XBox policies, you can keep your current XBox policies. Period."

MS: Thats NOT what we said. What we said was, if you like your current XBox policies...you can keep your current XBox policies, as long as you download and install a special Day One Patch, that will remove DRM restrictions from your console. Let me be clear. Without this patch, your XBox One will not play games or function properly. Which is why we had to allow for this patch, to grandfather in the needs and wants of our consumers, who are enjoying our current XBox policies.

MS Just Now: Of course there is no DRM restrictions in our XBox One console. Which is why we took consumer feedback into consideration, early on in it's development. Let me be clear. The XBox One, is still being worked on...and it is incomplete. Our software is being upgraded and I just downloaded a new build, before making this speech. I can assure you, the software update this Moonlightswammi fellow updated, was an old build...and this is why the young man is having difficulties operating his game title. Furthermore, this is why we at Microsoft are asking our early adopters to refrain from connecting to our network, until the final build is complete and in place. I can assure you, your XBox One consoles will function properly, on day one of launch of Nov 22nd.

MS: In addition, we would like to clear up some confusion surrounding our new kinect surveillance program. What we meant to say earlier in the year was...our new state of the art Kinect surveillance camera's will come preinstalled with every XBox One console and our goal is to have them in every residential household, in the world. However, due to an overwhelming response by our consumers and their growing concerns, we are happy to announce that you can turn off the kinect camera, via the system settings found in the console. Let me be clear. We are not spying on you or recording your conversations. What we said was, we are listening for key words, that we can use to develop a better understanding of our consumers so that we can market, advertise and promote various services and products to each unique individual. This will be done thru a series of pop up ads that you will see on your dashboard, when you power on your console. I can assure you, all of this was designed to be tailored to each and every individuals needs, so that we can better personalize your XBox One console...just for you. However...and let me be clear, we are working with government agencies, and from time to time, we may deem it necessary to submit your user data, personal information, conversations and text chats to these agencies, at their request. In doing so, we will comply with any such agencies...to the fullest extent of the law.

.....but I can assure you, we are not spying on you.

LMAO! Classic Microsoft. I feel sorry for all of you who have supported and continue to support this corporation, and their XBox console. Perhaps in time...you will understand why.

[sAVAge_bEaST]

The Daily Fail.. this is just sad/& to common.

[Orpheo]

I was also under the impression that M$' Day 1 patch was to remove the DRM, but if it isn't than why can't a single player game be run on the XBO and why can't MoonlightSwami access his settings?

1) Penello is lying or ignorant to the full content of the Day 1 patch and it does remove DRM.

OR

2) An M$ ban can completely brick a system but M$ didn't think MoonlightSwami would tweet about that after they had their talk with him and are trying to mask the extent of their banning powers behind the false facade of a system error.

OR

3) Roughly 2 weeks from launch the OS is still so buggy that a system error bricked MoonlightSwami's system.

OR

4) The game has to be online because IW is making use of a necessary feature like the cloud to offload computing.

OR

5) Activision implemented some form of game-based DRM that inadvertently bricked an entire system.

Of the 5 possibilities above, none are good.

1) Seems plausible, though I wouldn't expect Penello to be lying, just ignorant. After all, someone within his own company refused to inform Penello about the correct resolution of CoD on the X-Box One when he asked.

2) Seems scary. Granted, I would hope M$ would only ban someone who really deserved it, but the thought that a half-a-g investment can become completely useless with the simple push of a button is a disturbing thought; that's a measure of power I don't think any console manufacturer should ever have.

3) Would just be a huge oversight on M$' part. If in the morning when more are awake and can be questioned, regardless of how they answer, it's going to be bad. Either it's a bug they knew about or it's a bug they didn't. If they knew and were working on a fix they just hadn't implemented yet than this shows M$ is playing things dangerously close to the system's launch and perhaps it would be best to postpone its release. If M$ had no idea about this bug than they should be on their hands & knees thanking MoonlightSwami for reporting this issue so they can have a chance to locate and hopefully repair the error before launch, thus averting a post-launch catastrophe. And if they didn't know about this bricking-bug, what else doesn't M$ know about their own OS so close to launch? What other system-killing bugs might it have?

4) I can somewhat respect. IW was under the impression that the XBO would be always-online and so building an always-online feature into their game could be expected, especially since the bulk of CoD gamers play this series for the online multiplayer. However, is M$ telling us that even while utilizing the power of their cloud technology that the same game still runs at a higher resolution on their direct competitor who utilizes no always-online cloud technology? So does M$ need the power of the cloud for CoD to reach 720p? Granted, developers will become more experienced with the XBO architecture, thus utilizing it to a greater extent, but what happens when PlayStation launches their cloud technology?

5) Would just wow me. How did this kind of system-squashing bug make it through both Acti's and M$' Q&A? As a gamer I don't want DRM in my games, but I must admit that if there's a game I really want than I will still buy it. However, if an individual game's DRM has the chance to brick my system, even unintentionally, than count me out of that experience because I won't be giving it a chance. These consoles require too big of an investment to risk having them bricked by an overly cautious publisher and sloppy Q&A on both the publisher's & console manufacturer's parts.

[NMEMEDIC]

The system is not officially released yet people! Calm down and take a chill pill.

[TristanPR77]

MS employee here doing some damage control people

[NMEMEDIC]

Really? hahaha haven't seen that before. why don't you go get ready for that "awesome" 1080P launch game Knack. oh wait the game sucks!

[Double_O_Revan]

"This is why we were saying we didn't want people on early - IT'S NOT DONE YET"

My favorite part of that whole thing! What do you mean it's not done yet?! Consoles are complete, in boxes, ready to ship out to people. And you're telling me it's not ready!

That's like Ford shipping out a new 2014 F150 and telling people: "Dont drive the truck before Jan 1st because the Brake system isnt done yet"

WTF is going on at Microsoft with this console?!

[SheenuTheLegend]

everything you say is right but not a very good example in the end lol...

but ms is totally f****ed

[MikeGdaGod]

even if it's just MS remotely bricking the unit until the release date....it's still horrible and I really don't like them having that power over me.

I was watching xbone vids yesterday trying to educate myself on the system features, some of which seem kinda cool, but with all this nonsense I think I'll stick with PS4 for the short term and see how MS deals with these issues.

off topic: I'm still not clear on how the cloud works for xbone. if in a game like Forza the AI is handled by the cloud, does that mean the game won't function properly if not connected to the internet? can someone smarter than me please explain? if the cloud makes the system more powerful, then logic tells me it's not as powerful when not connected. no???

[quenomamen]

So if they are doing daily updates then you will need to connect daily ? Yea, they removed having to connect every 24 hrs but if you miss an update and your Xbone doesn't work like it supposed to then its now YOUR fault. Genius !