The X-box One is for Publishers, not You.

[Ulkjen]

Why bother with the xbone when you can have a hate/love relationship with golden eggs on the pc such as Mount and Blade Warband, Hotline Miami, Modded Minecraft, Modded Skyrim, and that whole lot of games that you can, you know, mod? (I love my pc...)

 

[Atmos Duality]

I sometimes have to take my PC to venues where we dont have internet access. I always set my Steam to Offline mode before we go, and i've played it that way for days without having to re-check.

Every year I go up into northern Minnesota for a week in the sticks.
The location lacks internet, and I prepared similarly as you did; set Steam to Offline mode, and sleep-moded my laptop before leaving.
It worked fine for a few days, and then sent me some message about having to log onto steam to validate offline mode again.

Both of my brother in laws are Marines and are deployed. Both have Steam set to Offline mode and have played all their games for *months* with no access to internet.

I've heard similar stories from my own friends in the military over in Iraq. Only they had more consistent internet; consistent enough to do some P2P stuff.

So, yeah, not sure why your Steam client behaves differently than everyone elses, but it isn't true.

It's perfectly true on my end, and I wasn't the only one.
Back in 2011, my friends and I would pile into a car to go nab some free wifi to validate Steam's Offline Mode just so we could LAN Terraria. (at which point I just started putting my computer into Suspend or Sleep instead of shutting it down entirely)

And, if you need to, you can call Valve and get them to validate offline mode over the phone, which is something you can do when you dont have internet, more often than not.

This is news to me.
But I'm not sure how validating offline mode over the phone will impact a separate, offline device.
How can the computer receive the validation when it can't connect to the internet?

 

[JetFury]

I wish I could be optimistic and say consumers won't buy this garbage. But the consumer has proven to buy anything and put up with anything. On disc dlc, day 1 dlc, online passes. I think gamer integrity is bought for cheap.

 

[ashertaz]

Trinab, that is not a theory, that is a hypothesis. A damn good one, probably spot on, but still a hypothesis.

 

[Vault Citizen]

If only there were some way to convince our local game shops to refuse to stock this thing, such a thought is a a pipe dream I know but it would be a good statement. Now excuse me, my flying pig and I must away.

 

[The Lugz]

They are not marketing the Xbox One to consumers, they are marketing it to publishers.

Any thoughts on this theory?

it's not a theory, it's a fact.

microsoft have to appeal to consumers and publishers to secure market share to make producing games for the platform attractive,
this is just one part of the larger picture surrounding the symbiotic relationship that manufactures consumers and developers have, it's complicated and I don't know all the ins and outs myself but what you're saying is completely correct.

microsoft have to market it to everyone involved.

 

[The White Hunter]

Xbox1 is now the posterboy of wanting to enslave it's consumer base due to fear.

So basically, it's Lord Frieza, and we're the Saiyans.

That means the NEXT gen Xbox is going to kill us all, with the exception of my infant son who will grow up and found a rival company destined to destroy Microsoft once and for all.

Better get procreating.

Better send a baby named after a common root vegetable to another planet with the hopes of him someday become strong enough to destroy the Xbox 1.

 

[omega 616]

Good point but bad point for microsoft.

It's like a company that builds car parts for car manufacturers, "yeah, they're really expensive and break after 5,000 miles, so you will get a lot of repeat business". You're just screwing the customer who you're meant to be providing a service for.

 

[Trishbot]

I just know that, should Sony go the opposite direction of Microsoft, I will PROUDLY pay for their system and laugh as Xbox One goes the way of the Virtual Boy, PSPGo, and N-Gage.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

I haven't clocked how long it takes Steam to punt you out of a session and demand a reconnect, but I do know that at least on Windows, Steam-Offline Mode is on a per-session basis. That is, if you turn your computer off, you cannot use Offline Mode until you log onto Steam again.

Which in practice, is much shorter than 24 hours.

I've gone several weeks without internet and still been able to use Steam. However, your problem isn't exactly uncommon. I swear, there doesn't seem to be a single aspect of the Steam experience that's consistent for all users.

OT: I think I'm gonna go for a Wii U this gen, and maybe a PS4 when it gets cheap. I'm, frankly, getting really fucking sick of Steam and there's just no way to avoid it on PC, anymore. The only reason I have a gaming PC is because I needed something powerful anyway, and a graphics card was cheaper than a console.

Even if I do decide to stick with PC, my graphics card is a bit less powerful than the PS4, so I'd definitely need to upgrade. But will a future proof card be affordable for me? I mean, someone was talking about the GTX 780 offering Titan-level performance for 60% of the price earlier, but that's still as expensive as my entire PC. I'm sure it'll last most of this generation, like the 8800GTX has, but if I buy a PS4 then it'll last the whole way.

 

[The_Great_Galendo]

I think I understand Microsoft's business thinking in regards to their new business plan. I am going to provide an example and acknowledge most numbers are pulled out of my ass, but still explains the reasoning. So I hope I don't bore most of you with my math.

Let's take a sample of 100,000 gamers playing on current generation consoles. Now lets say 50k only buy new games, 30k sometimes buy new and sometimes buy used, and 20k buy only used games. Now we say on average a gamer spends $300 per year on video games, then break it down to new and used game sales:
50k always new - $300 new / $0 used
30k 50/50 new/used - $150 new / $150 used
20k always used - $0 new / $300 new

So doing the math, there is a total sales of $19.5 million new games and $10.5 million. In the current market, Microsoft and publishers get absolutely nothing from used game sales.

Now here is where the incentive comes in. I am sure Microsoft acknowledges that they will lose customers with these more restrictive measures. Lets say only 10% (or 5000) gamers drop out from the "buy only new" category since it doesn't affect them much, 20% (or 6000) gamers from the 50/50 category, and 50% (or 10,000) from the "only used" category. Lets say gamers still spend $300 per year and Microsoft gets a 50% cut from used game sales. Let's look at the numbers:
45k always new - $300 new / $0 used ($0 MS cut)
24k 50/50 new/used - $150 new / $150 used ($75 MS cut)
10k always used - $0 new / $300 used ($150 MS cut)

Lets run the number for revenue that Microsoft receives. Keep in mind that they received $19.5 million from the previous sample. Math: 45k x (300) + 24k x (150 + 75) + 10k (150) = $20.4 million. Multiply that 100,000 gamer sample size and expand it to the global gaming population, and you make considerably more money. Granted there are so many other variables not taken into account such as development and distribution costs, but the logic remains the same.

I am sure Microsoft has run numbers similar to this and have accepted the risk. It just remains to be seen if their estimate for the percentage of customers that drop out is underestimated or not.

I appreciate what you've done here -- you made a good point (and I have an extra-soft spot for people who use math to make their points clear). I don't doubt that Microsoft has gone over all their numbers with a fine-toothed comb and decided that this move will be a profitable one for them. Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not their numbers and assumptions will hold up to reality; I think it's safe to say that they didn't expect quite the backlash that their decision would cause. If they had, they could have at least spun their damage control a bit better.

Their numbers seem especially questionable when once one takes into consideration the following point:

If they think they'll sell 400,000,000 Xbones, they're fucking insane.

The 360, as of February 2013, has sold about 75 million units. [http://www.computerandvideogames.com/389080/xbox-360-life-to-date-sales-hit-759-million/]

Again, if they think they'll get 400,000,000, they're fucking insane.

Also this. I don't see how they could possibly expect to sell over four times as many XB1s as 360s. It doesn't seem at all reasonable, and makes me seriously question whatever numbers and assumptions they were using to make their predictions.

My best guess? Microsoft thought that the all-in-one features of the XB1 would be much, much more positively received than it was. That also explains why they spent so much of their last conference hyping up its all-in-one features. They thought they had a system that even the non-gaming population would want to buy. Instead, they seem to have ended up with one that no one particularly wants.

 

[Atmos Duality]

I've gone several weeks without internet and still been able to use Steam. However, your problem isn't exactly uncommon. I swear, there doesn't seem to be a single aspect of the Steam experience that's consistent for all users.

It's been endlessly frustrating.
For a time, I thought it was my security program mucking with Steam, but after some fiddling, it doesn't seem like that's the case.
I'm also a user in good standing with Steam and never had any injunctions or reports of the sort, so it isn't anything like that. (or shouldn't be)

Well, have you ever looked into it? I find it hard to believe that over the course of 3 years and XYZ amount of updates you have that exact issue.

I have looked into it several times. Nothing seems to click.

In terms of settings all you need is for your credentials to save on your machine. (Bottom of the Account tab.) If that's done, does it give you an error message or what?

Yeah, it won't let me into Offline Mode straight-away even with the credentials box unchecked.
It's just something I've come to live with, and why I started looking for alternatives to Steam in the first place.

Exclusives are meaningless.

Ironically, exclusives are the only things keeping Nintendo in business.
Compared to the 360 and PS3, the Wii's library was laughably outclassed in the AAA arena.

 

[rob_simple]

Exclusives are meaningless.

I will always buy a multiplatform titles for the PS3 --if it's cheaper on 360 I'll wait til I can get it for the same price on PS3-- because I prefer the controller and the console in general. I only own a 360 for the exclusives, true, but I never buy a single other game for it.

If exclusives won the console wars then this generation would have been little more than a drunken scuffle in a pub car park.

 

[otakon17]

So, who else is gonna post flyers saying what you CAN'T do with your brand spanking new state-of-the-art Xbox One at any retailers selling the damn things on release day? Because I sure as hell am. I do need some help saying what it doesn't allow though, anyone got a recap on the limitations of the One?

 

[Something Amyss]

So what happens when Microsoft stops support for the Xbox One? Are all of the games you purchased over the years instantly worthless?

Unless they go the Steam route and make it so the console doesn't need the once a day check-up, then yes, they'll be worthless within 24 hours. Unless the next Xbox is backwards compatible, but then, that'd be backwards.

It's worth noting the additional issue of using Cloud support to increase processing power. Even if they kill the check like Steam *snicker* "totally promises" to do, there's a good chance even single player games will be rendered unplayable.

But then, this seems like the perfect planned obsolescence scheme for MS.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Again, if they think they'll get 400,000,000, they're fucking insane.

That wasn't what they said. What they said was that the total size of the market (all the next gen consoles together) would be around 400,000,000.

 

[zinho73]

Publishers aren't going to make a company money. The people buying the product do. This line of reasoning is suicidal.

Their reasoning is this:
1. Get publishers on their pocket.
2. Get some exclusives so gamers will buy it no matter what. Gamers are slaves of the games.
3. Sell the thing as a voice remote control to moms.
4. Throw money at this logic until it works.

The scary thing is that it might be successful. Everytime I see someone saying "it is not that bad" I die a little.

 

[Something Amyss]

So, yeah, not sure why your Steam client behaves differently than everyone elses, but it isn't true.

To be fair, I used to have the same trouble. It does happen.

It isn't standard, however.

I wish I could be optimistic and say consumers won't buy this garbage. But the consumer has proven to buy anything and put up with anything. On disc dlc, day 1 dlc, online passes. I think gamer integrity is bought for cheap.

Thank you.

If exclusives won the console wars then this generation would have been little more than a drunken scuffle in a pub car park.

This console war really seemed more like a slap fight than anything.

 

[Fursnake]

The Xbox One is definitely not for me because I won't be buying one. Won't be buying a PS4 anytime soon after it is released either...if at all.

The online check in doesn't bother me. The forced inclusion and use of the Kinect is a definite turn off. The lack of backwards compatibility is a turn off. The treatment of used games is a huge turn off; I rent most of my games for the console so they have killed my interest in the next-gen right there altogether.

Best case scenario for me, the consumer: the consoles sell poorly, thus the games sell poorly and developers have to port more exclusives to the PC.