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[tfur]

http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license



The way it sounds here is that only one of those ten can access your library at all at one time. So if you have 20 games shared, and somebody is on there playing Peggle 2, then everybody else (the rest of the "family" group, not yourself) is presumably locked out from the other 19 games.

Yep.

Have they given a price for the family plan?

 

[Jarmel]

This is how I'm understanding it as well:

1) The person who paid for the game plays it any time.

2) Any one of the 9 people on that person's share list can play it but never at the same time as the other people on that share list.

This is my understanding as well and probably the best case scenario.

 

[Arkham]

You can share your Xbox One games with any 10 people.

Sure... NOW. Betcha that was changed quickly.

That's actually a pretty sweet deal. But, how am I supposed to find 10 people that want to own an XBox One?

#117 is the new First Post. ;-)

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

So I can't buy used games or trade games because developers don't get revenue....but I can simply play my friend's game if he marks me as family member and I don't have to pay the developer for that experience? And that makes sense? What the hell Microsoft?

Seriously, this makes no sense whatsoever.

 

[Baby Milo]

ill wait to see how this actually works

 

[Karuyag]

this is a cool concept... however... given the nature of ONLINE MULTIPLAYER games... this "feature" is more of a "cover the bases" deal...

Sure u can share the games with your "family" but the thing is... if it's a game that you both wanna play online together (like CoD)... you're still gonna need to buy a copy for each person that want to play the game together since you can only have one instance of the game running per license in a family..

So maybe... the whole focus on online multiplayer for most, if not all games will be the thing to make it hard to just have one copy of a game per "family"...

If it were all just single player games... sure you can probably rotate that within the "family"...

Are we seeing the start of the death of single player-only games.. solely because they will have reduced revenue because of "sharing"?

 

[Uncle Ulty]

Does everyone have to subscribe to LIVE Gold? Are publishers allowed to dictate which games are sharable and which are not?

I wish they would just clarify what these programs entail instead of confusing everyone.

 

[wenis]

The more I think about this the more I realize that there's no way this is their official policy. There's a catch. No question about it.

yea, people want a reason to believe in the brand again, that's why everyone is so quick to believe the news at face value.

 

[koryuken]

I'm not sure I get it... can you still play the game that you just shared with someone else? Or does it lock you from playing it until you unshare it?
I think this is the likely scenario. There is no way you buy one game and ten people can play it for free at the same time.

 

[ultron87]

There is no way in hell that your games are going to show up in a "family members" account download list, sorry.

Sure they will. That's pretty much the whole point of their strategy here: making game discs mostly meaningless.

 

[Majmun]

LOL at people trying to downplay an incredible feature.

People are just being skeptical.

This feature doesn't sound logical at all considering how DRM-ridden Xbox One is.

 

[BigDug13]

Microsoft is the king of restrictive software licensing. Would not doubt that each copy of the game purchased and added to your "family" will provide a single "license" for that game. For other members of your family to be able to concurrently play, you can buy more licenses, but individually anyone in your family can play it without a second license.

That's the only way they could do this without screwing publishers/developers.

 

[Justin]

Does this 'sharing' apply to digital purchases as well as physical? Because if it does, it's actually a better proposition than either Nintendo or Sony's digital approach.

Don't see why it wouldn't. As I understand it all games on X1 are considered digital with the disks only being for installs.

 

[Miles Quaritch]

http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license



The way it sounds here is that only one of those ten can access your library at all at one time. So if you have 20 games shared, and somebody is on there playing Peggle 2, then everybody else (the rest of the "family" group, not yourself) is presumably locked out from the other 19 games.

Just like today, a family member can play your copy of Forza Motorsport at a friend’s house. Only now, they will see not just Forza, but all of your shared games. You can always play your games, and any one of your family members can be playing from your shared library at a given time.

So it sounds like the game that's been played won't appear in your games library, but the rest of your games will and will be accessible to at least one other person...

I should add I'm pretty tired, so maybe I'm misinterpreting what is being said.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

Gee, thanks Microsoft....

You guys are unreal. The future is digital games, sorry to be the one to apparently tell you. And this sharing of digital games doesn't exist anywhere else.

I still disagree with a lot of Microsoft's choices but give credit where credit is due. If you could lend games to 10 people on Steam everyone would be going buck.

 

[badb0y]

So they went through all the bad PR and DRM bullshit to give us $6 AAA games?

 

[Phawx]

You can't play the same game at the same time with this system either.

The wording they're using says you can. We'll have to wait and see.

Edit: Guys remember. EA is cool now. So is MS.

 

[jaaz]

Come on guys, some of you need to stop being so gullible. Do you REALLY believe MS is going to let you and 9 of your friends all play at the same time with only one copy of Halo 5? Think of what you are saying. This is never going to happen.

 

[Zoe]

http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license



The way it sounds here is that only one of those ten can access your library at all at one time. So if you have 20 games shared, and somebody is on there playing Peggle 2, then everybody else (the rest of the "family" group, not yourself) is presumably locked out from the other 19 games.

Yeah, that's probably the big catch. I'm assuming the "family" member has to stay connected the entire time too.

Edit: I wonder if there will be any kind of cool down period or time limit.

 

[mightynine]

So I can buy a game and all 10 of us can share it for only $60? We're only paying $6 for a game at that point....

If that's true....I'm back on board lol

And all you have to do is find 10 people to agree on a game. And then work out a schedule to play it, since it looks like only one person at a time can play a certain game in a shared library.

I can't wait to pull up a spreadsheet to see if Tuesdays at 8pm is my designated playing hour.

 

[kitch9]

Each one of you will need a gold subscription? That's $600 in MS's pocket, some of which will undoubtedly be going to developers if this really is their policy going forward.

People buy live anyway?

 

[GamerSciz]

So any console? and 2 playing at the same time. Sounds way too good to be true. There has to be some limit to this.

That's like the old days of PC gaming and CD keys where the entire school grade would be playing from one CD key.

There's no limit except we are still unsure of how it will work. Clearly one can assume you need to have highspeed internet since it is being done through the cloud. This alone will limit them as a whole.

I just wonder how easy it is to remove and add people to the family sharing list.

 

[StopMakingSense]

One thing I am confused by is...

So you have one account, are the family accounts delegate accounts of a main account, or are they just what other Live accounts you decide to put in there?

 

[Heretic]

Well, that's great and all. But do you want to know how I let me son borrow my 360 games so he could play them on his own console?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWSIFh8ICaA

Just like that.

This is WAY better than that

How about I just buy a PS4 and share my games with how many fucking people I want to.

Depending how sharing works, this works the exact same way only easier.

What I bolded above is not referring to this, correct?

Correct

Too little too late

really? the console isn't even out yet...

So I can buy a game and all 10 of us can share it for only $60? We're only paying $6 for a game at that point....

If that's true....I'm back on board lol

If that's true and I hope it is. It sound too good to be true though.

Sounds pretty impressive tbh. But they shouldn't restrict physical games and excuse it with this.

The thing is, the games are installed so there has to be a way to stop everyone from downloading it then passing it on.

So its exactly like a friend borrowing a copy of a disc right now, just more convenient.

Yup! Assuming it's true. *crossing fingers*

Wouldn't you have to still mail the disc to the person?

Nope. It's all digital

from Bgamer90 in another thread:

Awesome!

everything about this 1 very specific policy is very awesome. Unfortunately it is on a console that is otherwise an abomination, being sold to consumers by executives who are proving themselves to be monsters wearing human flesh.

I don't even...

Hyperbole much?

All the "family members" need to be gold subscribers though, I am sure.

I would think so too. Still an excellent feature if it works like we're thinking it does

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Can you sell it?

The other family members? No. The person who bought the game could sell it back to Gamestop though (at which point, its not in your library and your family can no longer play it)

 

[sqwarlock]

Great feature, if it works as promised and as speculated. Still doesn't make me want an Xbox One anymore than I did yesterday though. Good bonus for potential buyers though.

 

[LeBoef]

This blows my mind , why go through all the DRM shit and try to control the 2nd hand game market , then turn round and let 10 people play 1 game.

Surely that's more damaging than any hypothetical loss of sales from people trading in games.

no, i think they want to become a service provider sooner or later. like netflix.
just in an adapted way.

 

[Minions]

No you can't play at the same time. One person can play each game at any one time.

I like this idea and to be honest, if Microsoft didn't implement the 'have to connect every day' policy, I'd be pretty much ok with it. If you remove the need to be online each day, it basically becomes a physical vs digital choice.

Does this 'sharing' apply to digital purchases as well as physical? Because if it does, it's actually a better proposition than either Nintendo or Sony's digital approach.

It says you can always play and one of your friends.... so no I think it will be 2 people at a time.

 

[stuminus3]

This is how I'm understanding it as well:

1) The person who paid for the game plays it any time.

2) Any one of the 9 people on that person's share list can play it but never at the same time as the other people on that share list.

This is exactly how it is.

As I said, Microsoft are intentionally vague with how they word things because... well, just look at half of this thread.

 

[AranhaHunter]

from Bgamer90 in another thread:

So can I buy COD:Ghosts at Best Buy, share it with 10 friends and we can all play SP and MP at the same time?

 

[Monty Mole]

No you can't play at the same time. One person can play each game at any one time.

I like this idea and to be honest, if Microsoft didn't implement the 'have to connect every day' policy, I'd be pretty much ok with it. If you remove the need to be online each day, it basically becomes a physical vs digital choice.

Does this 'sharing' apply to digital purchases as well as physical? Because if it does, it's actually a better proposition than either Nintendo or Sony's digital approach.

No, it says only one shared person (out of your 10 family members) can access your library at a time, in addition to the library owner.

So can I buy COD:Ghosts at Best Buy, share it with 10 friends and we can all play SP and MP at the same time?

No. One of your 10 family members can access your entire game library, including COD, at any one time in addition to yourself. Multiplayer hasn't been clarified.

 

[Devilgunman]

Can someone adopt me? I'm an orphan.

But you just flipped me off

 

[dreamghost]

I think the rub is the publisher gets to decide if there game can be shared. Just like they have the right according to xbone policy to allow a game to be resold. I don't see many publishers being OK with this so i expect at best you will be able to share some first party games and very few third party games.

Another theory is there is a time limit to sharing a title like ps+ sixty minute demos. Maybe it's more then sixty minutes but there could be a time limit of some sort.

 

[LTWheels]

Have to wonder why they didn't mention at the conference, they must have known about all the uproar about used games and DRM, they could't even give 10 minutes to address this.

Just makes it seem like there's a catch now.

May be it because they revealed it in the drm statement earlier, they felt that they didn't have the need to talk about it again, or talking about it again would bring up the bad drm memories.

But you just flipped me off

Look living on the streets is rough. It changes it you. I'm good at heart.

 

[zainetor]

this could be true, because:
You cant play same game at the same time
99% will have multiplayer content nextgen
publishers will get a cut of used sales and probably live gold.
You have to be gold to do this.
youll have to pay to change your family members.

So right now they are going to know, how many people play a game, when before, a single copy of a game could be played by an unknown number of people.

 

[Sobriquet]

No you can't play at the same time. One person can play each game at any one time.

I like this idea and to be honest, if Microsoft didn't implement the 'have to connect every day' policy, I'd be pretty much ok with it. If you remove the need to be online each day, it basically becomes a physical vs digital choice.

Does this 'sharing' apply to digital purchases as well as physical? Because if it does, it's actually a better proposition than either Nintendo or Sony's digital approach.

The article says that two people can play a game concurrently. I'm assuming that means the owner plus one.

 

[Rootbeer]

As a person who only buys 3 or 4 $60 games per year per console, but has multiple friends who buy FAR MORE *and* live halfway across the country, I can see this being a huge value to me. Not sold on an Xbone yet but I'm definitely keeping this factor in mind.

 

[Jarmel]

So can I buy COD:Ghosts at Best Buy, share it with 10 friends and we can all play SP and MP at the same time?

Chances are no. Rather the original owner and one other bloke can play it at the same time.

 

[Justin]

One thing I am confused by is...

So you have one account, are the family accounts delegate accounts of a main account, or are they just what other Live accounts you decide to put in there?

They said last week that the "family members" can have their own separate accounts.

 

[joe2187]

So can I buy COD:Ghosts at Best Buy, share it with 10 friends and we can all play SP and MP at the same time?

That would be waaaay too good to be true.

 

[bidguy]

So can I buy COD:Ghosts at Best Buy, share it with 10 friends and we can all play SP and MP at the same time?

2 people can play at the same time
the owner + one of the family members

 

[Miles Quaritch]

People are just being sceptical.

And this feature doesn't sound logical at all considering how DRM-ridden Xbox One is.

Maybe this is why the One has the DRM it does. You buy a disc from a store, it installs on your console and transfer the licence to your account, now the ten people you've chosen to be part of your family group has access to that game.

The 24hr check could in place to ensure that all ten people aren't playing the game at the same time. As in it locks access to whatever game you're playing for 24hr until the next licence refresh.

 

[Heretic]

So can I buy COD:Ghosts at Best Buy, share it with 10 friends and we can all play SP and MP at the same time?

No. Only you and someone else can play at the same time according to that Twitter post.

 

[StopMakingSense]

They said last week that the "family members" can have their own separate accounts.

Got it, thanks.

 

[Almighty]

http://news.xbox.com/2013/06/license



The way it sounds here is that only one of those ten can access your library at all at one time. So if you have 20 games shared, and somebody is on there playing Peggle 2, then everybody else (the rest of the "family" group, not yourself) is presumably locked out from the other 19 games.

Yeah that sounds like the catch to me. Still a pretty awesome feature and something I hope others(Steam) add. Not enough to get me to buy an Xbox One though. Microsoft has shown that they have no problems taking away my options when it suits them. I will be damned if I willingly lock myself into a system they have complete control over.

 

[paperboywriter]

Question is, why didn't they talk about this feature on their reveal event or at e3?

 

[Iced_Eagle]

One thing I am confused by is...

So you have one account, are the family accounts delegate accounts of a main account, or are they just what other Live accounts you decide to put in there?

Just normal Live accounts.

Also, I swear I thought they confirmed that you only need one Gold subscription per family group. Can anyone find that? (on mobile)

 

[koryuken]

So can I buy COD:Ghosts at Best Buy, share it with 10 friends and we can all play SP and MP at the same time?

That would be very nice, but I am extremely skeptical. Publishers would go apeshit if Microsoft was cutting their margins by 83%.

 

[metareferential]

No way they'll let you play the same game concurrently with anyone, especially an online-enabled game.

Let alone play with more the 2 people at the same time.

If they do, this is going to be exploited from hell and back.

 

[BigDug13]

You'll only be able to be a member of one family though. If you choose to be a family member with some friends, then you get into a fight, is your Gold account locked into this "family" that you decided to join?