200°

DF Weekly: Some original Xbox One units failing to update, disabling most console functions

Mandatory online features again raise concerns about the future of game and console preservation.

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eurogamer.net
XiNatsuDragnel269d ago

Always online the future ppl say, most ppl have stable internet ppl say, oh the gaming industry is going all digital always online so accept it ppl say, man more and more I hear about absolutely devastating cons the more I know that physical offline gaming with online will be the future. Physical > Digital.

Jin_Sakai269d ago (Edited 269d ago )

I’m fine with digital it’s just things need to improve. Having a way to trade in digital games should also become a standard practice.

Hofstaderman269d ago

Physical will always be > digital. Looking at my copy of MGS4 not currently playable anywhere else.

JEECE269d ago

For whatever reason, gamers seem completely unable to distinguish between downloading digital games and always online DRM. Anytime a story crops up that demonstrates the pitfalls of always online games or systems, you inevitably see a comment like this one that follows the "and this is the reason I'm sticking with physical games."

The problem with that is that physical games can, and often do, rely on always online DRM as well. You can have a disc for an online game if you want, but it isn't going to help you if that game (or the overall service it runs on) is down.

Conversely, you can play digital games you have downloaded even if you are offline (Steam has an offline mode specifically for this, and on PS5 you just need to be sure to set your console as your primary device).

Vits269d ago

Because most people are not exactly interested in understanding how things work, they just want validation that their choice is the better one, even if it often isn’t or if the situation is much more complex.

Take first-day patches, for example. They rarely come up in conversation, but they affect physical media much more than they do digital versions. Additionally, consider the endurance of physical media itself. For instance, Switch cartridges are manufactured by Macronix, which guarantees that they will last 20 years based on their own degradation testing. Beyond that, it's all down to luck.

JEECE269d ago

@Vits

The thing is, I don't begrudge people for preferring physical games. There are valid reasons to prefer physical over digital.

The issue I have is when people who have decided that they dislike digital games and always online DRM treat the arguments against one as equally applicable to the other, simply because they have personally decided to bundle them together. It would be like if a person disliked snakes and income taxes and decided that any argument against one is equally applicable to the other. A news story about a person getting sick after getting bitten by a poisonous snake? Better comment about how income tax is too high.

Vits269d ago

I do, because often they are people who refuse to acknowledge the drawbacks of each type of media and simply repeat whatever validates their opinion while ignoring the obvious negative aspects.

You gave a perfect example with the difference between digital media and DRM. People equate the two because it makes them feel validated. It doesn’t matter that it’s not true, as long as it can be distorted to fit their own little narrative. That’s good enough for them.

anast269d ago (Edited 269d ago )

You have a point that people can't or won't make that distinction, but I'd like to add that Steam isn't quite a good example here. They don't give you the files to the games. GoG would be a better example. Their games are digital, customers get all of the files, and no app is necessary. So, as long as the game's on anyone's PC it can be played, all their games are completely DRM free and not tied to an account.

Nevertheless, for some unlikely occurrence, I lose my GoG files and the internet collapses, the games are gone. On the other hand, if the game is physical, DRM free, and not a live service, which means the entire game is on the disk no questions asked, I'd be able to play my game while 'pedaling a bike generator' if I wanted.

JEECE269d ago (Edited 269d ago )

@anast

Good point, GOG is the better example.

As far as your second scenario, that's true, but you can also backup digital games on external drives (at least on PC and PlayStation, no clue about Xbox). So in your "bike generator" scenario, if you had your GOG files backed up, you could restore them. Meanwhile you could just as easily lose or damage your discs, or your disc drive could mess up. Heck, a quick internet search would show you example after example of people posting online about the disc drive breaking on their console, making it so they can't play any disc-based games, only digital ones.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 269d ago
just_looken268d ago

physical is better but not the future

There is 0 evidence that shows sales are better disc vs digital and the platform holder makes way more cash on a digital sale.

Just like the playsation 3 clock debacle the 360 rrod or xbox one first years in aligner hardware failure happen even software ones. This also will not change no matter what but atleast for the most part thing's get fixed.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 268d ago
isarai269d ago

It's the 4gb 360 slim all over again. I don't know what was with those things but while i was working at a game store, at some point those just stopped being able to save anything and would corrupt any HDD you put in it so we had to stop taking them.

just_looken268d ago (Edited 268d ago )

Remember those memory cards that were tossed to that model like it was a ps2 oh man those were the times.

https://www.partitionwizard...

Relientk77269d ago

Somewhere Don Mattrick is seeing this, smiling, and saying to himself, "All according to plan."

Profchaos269d ago

Welcome to the world of tomorrow.

Xbox one, series, ps5 slim all share one thing in common if you get them out of a box they need to activate and talk to a server before playing a single game.

And John is right a lot of people won't care they will just move on to whatever's current but there's a large portion of retro gamers that do care the retro scene has grown and is the biggest it's ever been with so much debate on what's retro from gen 1 to 7 some people don't want gen 6/7 being part of that conversation which is not something I agree with I consider them retro as you can't buy the console or games anymore.

Even within that community there's a subset of players that want the warts and all experience they don't want the game smoothed out they want the full experience frame rate drops and low res textures on a crt i get it I like playing my original NES and seeing it struggle with sprite flicker and slowdown there's something about it that you can't replicate on a emulator totally psychological like vynal record vs cd audio

Point is I hope there's a resolution to this and these consoles can be updated to no longer require a connection to reset to factory.

Chocoburger269d ago

The all digital future some people want is going to end up biting them in the ass. Don't support it, you'll only end up screwing yourself.

darthv72269d ago

They wont care, especially Gen Z and younger as they have been conditioned that digital is everywhere on their phones and streaming music in their cars instead of tapes and CD. Gaming is no different if they can just turn on the system and press start and be instantly playing... they really wont care that its all digital because its what they grew up on

Chocoburger267d ago (Edited 267d ago )

Its our job as old people to inform the younger generation whats happening. Hopefully they will learn from us, and if not they'll learn from first-hand experience, and then try to teach their next generation, who will also probably ignore the warnings.

And the cycle will repeat forever.

-Foxtrot269d ago

They'll champion it

Call those who want to protect physical media worse than shit

Act smug and arrogant about it

It will bite them on the ass

They'll then bitch about it like the rest of us and go "How did this happen?"

just_looken268d ago

You should look at this magic thing called a gaming computer were digital has been going on for over 10 years.

Console is going digital just go to a corner then cry it out.

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40°
9.0

Review - Blue Prince (PS5) | WayTooManyGames

WTMG's Kyle Nicol: "Even if you aren’t a fan of roguelikes, Blue Prince feels much more like an elaborate puzzle box. There’s a satisfying feeling in making it further than you did before, finding clues to a puzzle, then stumbling onto another piece of that puzzle a few runs later. Blue Prince is certainly one of the most interesting games of this year. It takes a fairly novel concept in a roguelike puzzle game, adding elements of deckbuilding and base crafting. It all comes together for a gameplay experience unlike anything else out there today."

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waytoomany.games
140°

Days Gone Original vs Remastered – Is The Visual Upgrade Worth Revisiting?

Days Gone Remastered is now available, and if you’re looking to find out how it compares with the original PS4 version, read ahead.

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twistedvoxel.com
Cacabunga1h ago

Huge difference i must admit, but not sure i would notice without 2 screens next to each other.

Not getting this game still, i want a new game and im tired of remasters

Muigi58m ago(Edited 55m ago)

It’s $10 and there are plenty of games out there for you.

Flewid63814m ago

Then its not a huge difference?

Fishy Fingers1h ago

Settings > Graphics > Change preset from medium to high.

Remastered.....

Flewid63813m ago

You're forgetting 30fps to 60fps

Tedakin1h ago

Sony is now remastering games with 71s on metacritic.

Bathyj1h ago

Like that's a judge of anything
This game got scored before it was released.

andy8549m ago

Days gone is 85+. It got heavily marked down at launch for bugs where as others get a free pass for that. It's a fantastic game.

andy8547m ago

I spoiled myself by modding this game on my PC. Genuinely one of the best looking games I've ever seen. Whilst this remaster looks nice it just doesn't compare to that sadly. It shows the effort that these remasters could put in if they wanted

REDGUM44m ago

I so hope this game or DLC for those of us who own the original sells well.
Ive said it before, its an underrated game for sure & was unfairly judged upon release.
Please try this game if you haven't already.

For those who say 'i won't purchase digital only' you can pickup a hard copy for 5 bucks here in Australia, then add the DLC and you have a superb game for $20 or so.

Give it a shot, tell me I'm wrong After completing the game.

Game on gamers.

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50°
4.0

Review - Steel Seed (PC) | WayTooManyGames

WTMG's Kyle Nicol: "Steel Seed has everything that I love: explosive set pieces, stealth-focused gameplay and souls-like combat. Unfortunately, none of these elements work together here. Each part felt undercooked for an experience that I cannot recommend to anyone. Despite this, there’s a lot of potential there for something greater, and I hope we get to see a more focused game next."

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waytoomany.games