Be prepared for long stretches of boredom next Christmas morning, as leaked documentation suggests the next Xbox will feature mandatory game installation.
Leaked development screenshots for the upcoming console -- codenamed 'Durango' and known colloquially as the Xbox 720 -- were posted by vgleaks, along with some Windows documentation that supposedly details the new system's features.
"Every Durango console will have a hard drive, although its exact capacity has not been chosen," the documentation reads. "It will be large enough, however, to hold a large number of games. All games will be installed on the hard drive. Play from the optical disc will not be supported."
In other words, if this information proves genuine then it sounds like gamers will be using discs to install games, but after that the shiny plastic circles will only be good for hanging from trees to scare birds. Seems a little wasteful, non?
The documentation does say, "An installation system is being designed that will allow gamers to begin playing while the game is being installed," so there's hope that you won't have to wait too long for the game to finish saving itself to the console before you can play.
The hardware overview also points to a "high-fidelity Kinect Sensor, which will be required for the system to operate." That also sounds a little ominous, but until we know more it's hard to know what to make of this. "Improved ergonomics" on the controller meanwhile hint at a redesign for the iconic Xbox gamepad.
We'll likely see the next Xbox given an official airing in the next few months, possibly at the E3 gaming trade show that kicks off in June.
What do you think about mandatory game installs? Are they a good idea, or a potentially disastrous move? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook wall.
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Comments 39
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anonymous 21 March, 2013 10:24
The install thing is fine for me. You saying it's wasteful is besides the point. I, and a lot of the general public, are not yet ready for download only consoles. If installing the games will make it run smoothly then I have no problem. The fact that they could be developing a streaming type deal while installing a game is also promising. The Kinect stuff worries me. My gaming room is nowhere near large enough to use any sort of motion controls. Hell, it's too small to use the Playstaion move! This increased necessity of Kinect really worries me and if it is 'required' it might send me to the dark side, (read: Playstation).
tl;dr I have no qualms with installing games however this Kinect business worries me!
anonymous 21 March, 2013 10:33
Firstly, how is the install to hard drive a bad thing? It means that you won't have to change discs when you want to play a different game. It sounds like a great idea. Also, the Kinect business will surely not deter the hardcore standard gamers, so again, can't be a bad thing.
George Jones Sr. 21 March, 2013 10:48
It would seem impossible to implement given the amount of games that would accumulate during the life of the console. I also know they would probably need to equip each system with a 3TB drive, and we know that's not going to happen.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 10:52
Bad idea, think about all the gaming companies that work with older games. GameStop, Game Crazy to name a few. These companies will eventually die out, they can't strictly sell just the new releases, they wouldn't make enough. Buying/selling older games still has a huge revenue base and I feel this will cause a lot of people to lose their jobs. All so Microsoft can try to avoid illegal game copies? Not worth it, if I buy a game and beat it, I should be able to pass it on to my brother or nephew without issues.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 10:57
As long as te drive is large enough, dosent matter if you have to install a game. been doing it that way on my pc for years. The bigger question is how will this affect the used game market?
anonymous 21 March, 2013 11:12
It sounds like a great idea but there are problems. Installing the game on the hard drive means limiting the disc to one device/account. Cannot resell, cannot exchange, cannot share. They should make it optional as it affects all areas of the gaming community.
Dominick_7 21 March, 2013 11:22
Stupid and wasteful idea. I have and like the Xbox 360. Windows 7 is also a good product. That said, this company seems absolutely bent on their eugenics strategy and don't seem to care much about their products anymore, as if their only purpose is to intrusively extract data from us while distracting people with glitzy tech. Zune, garbage. Surface Pro, garbage. Windows Phone 7/8 and Windows 8, garbage (and apparently WP7+8 are not going to be supported in 2014). Office, with Open Office and many other Android+ other apps available, who cares. If they try to force us to get Kinect (so it can scan our face, bodies and house yippee) and or force us to get locked into having to get the games on the hard drives, I will not be buying it. Period. Same applies to the PS4. Kinect is way too intrusive.
Besides this, the games will get bigger and bigger and with a static hard drive that has a limit, that limit will be reached sooner rather than later. That will either lead to you having to delete games you invested lots of time on, having to get a new hard drive losing access to the previous games, or get pushed into some sort of streaming service we'll have to pay for monthly or yearly. The purpose of the disc is wasteful. Hate all these big corporations, but Microsoft is one of the worst and most stupid.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 12:06
I think downloading from disc is going to work fine. No need to worry about scratched discs. As far as game resellers go, who cares? Theye are crooks. Charging 59 bucks for new games and 54 for the same game but used. But when you sell to them they give you only 15 bucks. Dmn them to hell.
Plus you can start playing immediately while it downloads in the background. As far as memory is concerned, I wouldn't be surprised to see hard drive of a few TB. I mean, you can buy a standalone 1TB cpu drive for less than 100 bucks. GB now seem too small. Gotta think BIG.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 12:14
I have no issue with mandatory installs themselves, the issue though is why are they making them mandatory?
I suspect that this mandatory install is going to tie that game disk to one particular machine or account thus preventing used game sales. That doesn't bother me as I've never bought a used game and have never sold a game but I know it's a big issue for many people.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 12:14
My kids have scratched the ever loving crap out of every one of our Xbox games so hurray for the install as all my favourites are already installed to the hard drive because gameplay is a bit smother BUT only if your not required to place that game disk in the tray as you are now to play them. That is one of my pet peeves about my installed games now and it has to have a huge hard drive. I have downloaded tons of game demos that I really don't care to get rid of to make space for new content. Support of external hard drives would be one of the greatest bonuses should you run out of space and need more room but only if it supports and external that I can pic up off the shelf at Walmart as Microsoft tends to be a bit(lot) higher on their storage that's Xbox specific. If you not only have a huge collection of games but also download HD movies and music, your gonna have that hard drive full out of the box. I hope they don't stray to far from their current controllers. If it ain't broke, don't fix it! When I jumped ship from PS2 to 360 I was worried about the controllers for the 360 as I was used to the PS2 controllers and thought they were perfect until I got my hands on Xbox controllers. I love the smartglass feature on my Xbox but would like more control buttons on the iPad/phone and a little smoother operation. As far as the kinect goes I hardly use it because of its lag during gameplay. I also issues about the actual security of the kinect a and it's video cam that's built in. If you give them permission to collect data they might collect video and say its nessasary to further Xbox features. Big brother ya know? But if its smoother and faster and more accurate then we might try using it more.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 12:41
This is just crap. People have been selling used books for hundreds of years but suddenly things are digital and the used market is killing industry? Imagine if GM, Ford, Dodge said "you buy the car, it only starts for you, forever." that's what Microsoft is suggesting. You buy a game and even if you never, ever, play it again you can't sell it, trade it or give it away. Only Wal-Mart and Target will sell video games in stores, EB, Game-Stop, etc will go the way of Blockbuster and K-mart. sad, stupid, crap. Plus, how many TB are they including? at 20 - 50 gig per game!!! Granted, games will run/load faster and better, but how fast with save-info and DLC are you going to fill that drive up!!!
anonymous 21 March, 2013 12:59
It's a great idea they have got round the bandwidth limitations of the download only model and replaced it with disc for delivery. Hurrah for no long downloads over my chappy bandwidth, esp considering the size of blu-ray sized games.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 13:20
i think it is complete bull crap. all the video game stores will be gone, you dont here hasbro , parker brothers or milton bradly all makers of board games saying "you and only you can play these games" i also heard that kinect wont let you watch a rented movie from zune or what have you if you have more than 4 people in the room. thats one of the reasons that the kinect must be on at all times. it could be b.s. but i read it on another website. they are going too far with all this crap. I know if i dont like it i dont need to buy it, but how far is too far ? next thing you know we will have mandatory web cams in every room of our homes so that big brother can watch every move we make
anonymous 21 March, 2013 13:32
OK people, calm down-why get worked up over rumors? I am sure there will be an "uninstall" option so you can sell or lend the game to somebody else. This would also solve the space issue. There will also be a way to transfer from one drive to another in case of a hard drive crash. Games will be much faster and you can switch games without looking for your discs. Plus, no need to worry about scratched disks. Now, the Kinect stuff sounds hinky-seriously....
JSK73 21 March, 2013 13:49
Erm... don't you already have to do this with games like Battlefield 3?
anonymous 21 March, 2013 13:50
This is still a terrible concept. Many gamers depend on the used game market to play as much as they do; many of us cannot afford brand new games every time a game we want comes out; and prices on new games take forever to go down. As it stands now; we all still get those all so promising games that for all intents and purposes suck completely; we can currently at least sell them back; can't happen if they've nerfed the used game market. If Microsoft does make this mandatory; I will spend my money elsewhere.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 14:18
I guess it is a done deal that the word "installs" is forever to be used as a noun from here on. The word is "installation" folks. Arrgghh.
leoevs44 21 March, 2013 15:00
@JSK73 - you dont have to do this to play battlefield 3 but you do have to put a code in to play online and you can only use it once, personally i think if gaming goes this way it will be the end for consols, if i buy a game and complete it or dont like it i want to be able to sell it on or swap with a mate, they will only be able to be used once, you wont be able to uninstal to reuse the disc or transfere from one hard drive to anothe, once its installed on youre device then thats it, i think its a really bad move and hope the PS4 doesnt go this way but it probably will have some sort of insalling or online streaming, gutted..
anonymous 21 March, 2013 16:05
I'm all for installing on the drive, especially if you wont have to insert the disk afterwards to play.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 17:23
I'm guessing the High Fidelity Kinect Sensor has to do with this article http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/139706-microsofts-new-kinect-patent-goes-big-brother-will-spy-on-you-for-the-mpaa
Stray 21 March, 2013 18:47
Well, the game install business sounds correct. M$ and Sony both announced months ago that the games couldn't be sold and played used. That once a serial number was registered to you that was it, no one else could own or play the game. And neither machine was backward-compatible to play older games. I think both companies are going to shoot themselves in the foot. They'll sell lots of machines, but nowhere near what the numbers could be? We don't plan on buying either.
Stray 21 March, 2013 18:47
Well, the game install business sounds correct. M$ and Sony both announced months ago that the games couldn't be sold and played used. That once a serial number was registered to you that was it, no one else could own or play the game. And neither machine was backward-compatible to play older games. I think both companies are going to shoot themselves in the foot. They'll sell lots of machines, but nowhere near what the numbers could be? We don't plan on buying either.
Stray 21 March, 2013 18:47
Well, the game install business sounds correct. M$ and Sony both announced months ago that the games couldn't be sold and played used. That once a serial number was registered to you that was it, no one else could own or play the game. And neither machine was backward-compatible to play older games. I think both companies are going to shoot themselves in the foot. They'll sell lots of machines, but nowhere near what the numbers could be? We don't plan on buying either.
anonymous 21 March, 2013 22:25
What happens though if your Xbox 720 restarts and you loose everything.
Chase Anderson 22 March, 2013 01:50
doesn't bother me, BUT, only if it will be backward compatible for all previous xbox games
anonymous 22 March, 2013 03:36
Sony has told the media that the ps4 will be able to play used-games. I doubt Microsoft will bring in some sort of used-game blocking as its suicide for the console.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2013/02/21/dont-worry-ps4-will-play-used-games/
anonymous 22 March, 2013 10:26
Once you do something like that, Video gamers who probably game on average 4-8 hours a day will get lazier, in the current situation all your doing is nurturing that urge to be lazy and just click through your games instead of taking the time to get off your butt and put another disc in... If anything that keeps hardcore gamers active, haha. So if they get rid of this all that's gonna happen is some sort of decline in games due to some class action lawsuit resulting in loss of jobs, reduction of console purchases due to a factory manufacturing decline.... Listen just don't make people download... the option is good but mandatory is a giant nono.
anonymous 22 March, 2013 19:04
My opinion so far due to the sources and gossip provided:
I admit that l am a fan of the 360. However l do believe that l might as well resolve back to PC gaming due to some of the information from many of the sources l have read. The main problem l find with this 'mandatory installment process' is that now people will be unable to purchase pre-owned games, therefore making it more expensive for the average day gamer to afford games. In Australia its bad enough that the game stores blantently lie and tell us the reason for games being more expensive than America ,even though our economy is better than America's.
This will therefore cause the main profiteering of game shops such as 'EB - games' to become an impasse. This will not help Microsoft in any way as it will cause a decrease in the sales of the console.
the console seems structurley sound however ever since the red ring problem. l dont really feel safe purchasing the console. In saying this my suggestion to buyers is to get a 4 year warrenty to ensure ur not ripped off.
sam
anonymous 22 March, 2013 20:55
I use gamefly and if I do buy a game its through gamefly cause I can get a brand new game for $45
and not $60. Blocking used games will kill gamefly and companies alike. I will be getting a PS4 cause even if MS does not block used games, they still wont have not as near exclusives as sony.
anonymous 23 March, 2013 18:05
Lol looks like its time to go back to playstation this gen.
anonymous 25 March, 2013 14:04
My thoughts on the Xbox are both excited and hopeful. I have heard a lot and I am looking forward to the rumors being confirmed or shot down. I will always love the Xbox, and I can see both sides of the massive debate going on. Many people are fine with the mandatory installment process, and many are skeptical. I have to say I don't entirely agree with the proposed installment plan. There is definitely a convenience that comes to many with it, and there is potentially more money to be made (I.e. the elimination of game borrowing/trading), however many would be effected by this in a negative way. An argument can be made that resellers such as GameStop would take a huge blow not only from the Xbox, but from the ps4's proposed real-time streaming. However, Microsoft (and Sony) are not in the business of keeping smaller businesses alive. I can't say I'm too fond of the installment idea, but it is clear that the argument is pretty one-sided. There are just not enough good reasons to oppose microsoft's plan.
jayce35 25 March, 2013 17:56
why not use blu-rays you have this problem you can just have 1 disc .at the moment you get 3 or 4 discs for some imagine what its going to be like on the next xbox be about 6 discs even if there install .i used the kinect for 2 weeks and the playstation move and i gave them to my family never get them again
anonymous 26 March, 2013 12:54
I must be the only person to believe this to be a misinterpretation of a rumour. I do think the next gen Xbox will most likely require game installations but only as far as it functions now, to aid in loading/playing discs. Not to completely remove the need for a disc, especially when you think of the amount of data next gen games will carry.
anonymous 30 March, 2013 21:13
Are you human
anonymous 30 March, 2013 21:13
Are you human
anonymous 30 March, 2013 21:14
Are you human
anonymous 30 March, 2013 21:16
Are you human
anonymous 13 April, 2013 10:31
TERRIBLE FOR GAMERS. Gone are the days of borrowing friends games/renting from Gamefly. The only way this will be profitable is if games decrease to around $20-$30. This is the worst news for gamers in a long time.
anonymous 18 April, 2013 19:04
I think this is kinda stupid. Like, what if we buy a game, and thought it will be amazing, but then it turns out to be one of the worst games that we have ever played and we don't want it anymore. We won't be able to sell it at all, so mostly its $60 gone, and we can't even get some money back. I think its really stupid, I think a lot of people are going to go to the PS4 then Xbox, I might ven do that, Really pisses me off, I can't imagine people who are into Xbox a lot more thebn me.