Xbox 720 Rumors - Six Times as Powerful, "Will Restrict Play of Used Games"

[The Straight Story]

Xbox 720 Rumors - Six Times as Powerful, Will Restrict Play of Used Games

Gaming sites IGN and Kotaku claim to have the inside scoops when it comes to specs on the new system, and some of the rumors are more believable than others.

IGN was first, claiming that the new Xbox will have six times the processing power as the old one. Here are the details:

“Our sources have confirmed that mass production of the system’s GPU will indeed begin by the end of 2012 but will not, however, be based on AMD’s 7000 series Southern Islands GPU. Instead, the processor will be derived from the 6000 series, which was introduced last year. More specifically, it will be akin to the Radeon HD 6670, which offers support for DirectX11, multidisplay output, 3D and 1080p HD output.”


...

The other claim is quite odd however, that the 720 will have some sort of measures in place restricting gamers from playing used games on the console. There’s no further information on what exactly that might mean, but Kotaku speculates that games could be tied into a specific Xbox Live account, or something of that nature.

Publishers have long been sick of places like Gamestop reaping the reward for selling, buying back, and then reselling games again for wholesale profit, while the company who made the title gets nothing from each subsequent resale. But such a measure would likely anger consumers who do not have $60 to spend on every new title, as it takes a notoriously long time for the price of new games to drop.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2012/01/26/xbox-720-rumors-six-times-as-powerful-will-restrict-play-of-used-games/

I don't see that happening. But, who knows - maybe next Amazon/Ebay/Etc won't be allowed to sell used items LOL

[MadHound]

1. Yippee! The latest, greatest way to melt your mind, all while generating profits for Corporations!

No wonder our kids are getting fatter and dumber. Or our adults for that matter.

[The Straight Story]

3. It's actually good exercise

My daughter has one with the kinnect and some of those games work you out really well.

[MadHound]

5. That's nice and I do welcome that innovation

But far too many people, kids especially, don't choose that option. Nor does that alleviate the fact that I see a lot of kids who know everything about WoW, or Modern War, or whatever game, but know nothing about math, history, literature. Not only that, but various studies have shown that video games do indeed effect attention span, etc.

How long before we just plug the wire straight into our brain and become drooling idiots in this world, while the fantasy world plays out in our head? That's where we're going.

[Arkana]

9. You mean Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, right?

Let me tell you something: I was a straight A student in high school and college, I have a degree in Computer Science and Computer Forensics, I'm a giant US History buff, and I couldn't be more into politics if I tried.

Oh, and I also play a zillion video games.

Try not to do the Jack Thompson thing and broadbrush everyone who does something you don't like. It doesn't make you look good.

[MadHound]

11. That's nice and all,

But being a straight A student means that you should recognize the logical fallacy of relying upon anecdotal evidence to make your case.

A number of studies have shown that video games are rewiring the brains of people, shortening their attention span, messing with their memory, etc. They have also shown that video games in the house means less study gets done, less reading, etc.

Thanks, but I'll take scientific studies over anecdotal evidence any day of the week.

[Dreamer Tatum]

12. You have 30,000 posts on DU. Other people have 30,000 kills on MW3.

Who are you to say what's better?

[MadHound]

14. Yeah, and my 30,000 posts came over a period of what, ten years

While their 30,000 kills come over the space of ten days That's a lot more face to monitor time with Modern Warfare.

Look, I know everybody likes to play video games and what have you, back in the day I did as well(hell, I even owned an arcade back when Reagan was president). But the fact of the matter is that having constant access to video games is changing how our minds work, shortening our attention span and focus, among other things. This shows up in my classroom, and classrooms all across the country.

[Dreamer Tatum]

15. I guess video games have one important benefit for you...

...they keep those dang kids off your lawn.

Come on. Every generation has had something that old codgers swore were its ruin. Radio, TV, Internet, video games.

[The Straight Story]

16. Don't forget cell phones. Kids can now talk to other kids more

Back in my day we had one phone, no call waiting, and it had a cord and rotary dial (I still remember our first push button one and our first tv with a remote).

[MadHound]

19. Acutally they had a couple of benefits

I made a nice stack of cash as an arcade owner in the early eighties. And yes, they do keep some of the kids off my lawn

But the fact of the matter, little known as it seems to be, is that yes, TV does have negative impact on people, as do video games. There have long been studies out there showing that viewing TV puts people into a light hypnotic trance, one reason why TV advertising is so effective. Furthermore, TV has been shown to decrease attention span as well.

The lack of attention span is showing up even more in video games, along with emotional and other consequences. This may sound like old fogey shit to you, but it is real, it has been measured. I see it everyday in the classroom as well.

But hey, let's just ignore those problems and quietly, and happily turn our brains into mush.

[kysrsoze]

23. That's utter crap.

You obviously know nothing about modern videogames, as you can't even name them. I'd much rather see kids playing games, as they promote hand-eye coordination, actually improve your vision and as far as attention span, videogame-related studies find peoples' thought process to be sharper after playing.

I'm another one of those obvious messed up gamers with a great wife and 2 great kids, master's degree, good career, etc. Maybe I would have been a real success if I had stayed away from videogames and racked up 10 times my number of DU posts in the last decade.

Thanks for the input, Gramps.

[JNelson6563]

59. Wow! You sure fucked up your life with games! How sad!

[Arkana]

45. Perhaps you should focus less on the TV shows and video games

and more time advocating that parents regulate the amount of each that their children take in.

I guess it's just easier to blame electronic media though. Takes care of the "critical thinking" part.

[Warren DeMontague]

49. It's important to get exercise

even if exercise consists of waggitty-wagging the finger and cluckitty-clucking our pinched up face muscles.

[FrodosPet]

34. Them damn kids!

And their dad gum "fire" thing! They're going to burn down the whole world. Including my lawn!

[Tunkamerica]

13. And a quote:

"I see a lot of kids who know everything about WoW, or Modern War, or whatever game, but know nothing about math, history, literature."

And please link to the studies if you're going to use them as evidence and then call someone out for using him/herself as anectdotal evidence.

[MadHound]

17. Do you have access to J-STOR?

If so, there are a number of peer reviewed studies done that support my contention, just do some searching. As far as a quick round up though, here.
http://www.dana.org/news/cerebrum/detail.aspx?id=22800
http://news.health.com/2010/07/05/video-games-attention-span/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/11/30/violent-video-games-rewire-parts-of-the-brain-that-control-aggression-study-claims-115875-23598372/

Like I said, if you have access to J-STOR or other such database, you can find the journal articles for yourself.

[sudopod]

37. OH SNAP nt

[Tunkamerica]

61. Also... you can't post abstracts? because these articles don't make your point and one/two actually

make the opposite point.

[Hosnon]

20. +1. Gotta at least live up to the standard you set for others. nt.

[Tunkamerica]

60. You see the kids in these studies? Or were you using anecdotal evidence as proof and then searched

for studies that supported your viewpoint? It seems that there are studies on both sides of the argument and that reduced attention span, messing with their memory, and rewiring their brains [paraphrasing] might not be as negative as you seem to think.

Your links:


Video Games Affect the Brain—for Better and Worse: this was not a negative article at all (and by far the most in depth) and merely suggested ways that games could be designed to teach pro-social skills better. I could almost quote every paragraph in this article to make my point.

'Study: Too Many Video Games May Sap Attention Span': "However, the study doesn’t prove that video games directly cause attention problems. It could be that kids who have short attention spans to begin with might be more likely to pick up a joystick than a book, for instance." This article was much shorter and obviously a mainstream article "about" the study rather than "on the study.

Violent video games "rewire" parts of the brain that control aggression, study claims: This was almost a blurb. Twelve full sentences, but even they added a disclaimer at the end. "In October, three academics disputed the link between video games and violence, saying gamers were “too busy playing” to cause much trouble in the real world."

[LanternWaste]

18. I'd appreciate seeing an objective, valid, peer-reviewed study...

I'd appreciate seeing an objective, valid, peer-reviewed study without ties to the industry that unequivocally claims video games are directly responsible for shorter attention spans and obesity.

[MadHound]

22. Do you have access to J-STOR?

If not, then you're going to have to go to your local university or college library and do a bit of research. Above I provided links to some quick and dirty summations, but if you want the real deal, you're going to have to go to an academic library.

[LanternWaste]

24. I have no doubt they exist

I have no doubt they exist, just as I have no doubt you interpret them in such a way as to support your contention.

[jeff47]

27. Every generation has something "the kids" are ruining themselves over

I see a lot of kids who know everything about WoW, or Modern War, or whatever game

And "back in the day" you could see a lot of kids who know everything about the Beatles, Stones and the Monkeys and why two of them suck compared to their favorite. And that damn devil music was ruining them.

Some studies have shown decreased attention span "from games". Others have shown large improvements in multi-tasking and prioritization of tasks. People who practice by leading groups of people in games do much better managing people in real life.

Like everything in life, there's good and bad. I'm much more concerned about the lack of exercise from not playing outside, but at the same time "the kids" are far less likely to get in a life-threatening accident than their parents did playing outside.

[former9thward]

36. I think all of those generations have been correct.

That someone would write your last sentence just blows my mind.

[jeff47]

43. What, exactly, is so mind boggling?

For example, a kid is much more likely to be hit by a car when they're outside. It's quite rare to get hit by a car while inside the house.

My point is there's good and bad with every single parenting decision. None of them are simple. "Play video games" has good and bad. "Ride your bike outside" has good and bad.

[former9thward]

51. You have no idea how to do risk assessment.

And you are damaging your kid(s) as a result. The odds of getting hit by a car while outside are next to nothing. Tens of millions of kids are outside and don't hit on a daily basis. The odds of terrible physical and mental problems arising by not being outside on a regular basis is over 50%. Nearly 100% I would say.

What are you going to do-- keep your kid in a bubble so he can never learn trial and error judgement? Your posts really are mind boggling. When JFK was president he said that the present generation of children (early 1960s) were the laziest in American history. He was right then and even more right now thanks to 'parents' like you.

[jeff47]

54. You're the one leaping to conclusions

Just because there's a risk doesn't mean the kid shouldn't do it. A kid, sitting on the couch, wrapped in bubble-wrap has non-zero risk of dying.

"Hit by a car" is one example of the possible negative outcomes from playing outside. There's plenty of other deadly possibilities, and plenty of non-deadly possibilities (OMG! SUNBURN!!! CHAIN THE CHILD IN THE BASEMENT!!!!). And there's plenty of deadly and non-deadly possibilities staying inside.

Just because I acknowledge that the risk exists doesn't mean the activity can't happen. You are assuming that is the case based on....well as far as I can tell it's a knee-jerk overreaction assuming I'm a terrible parent out to cripple my child. I'm sure you'll convince many people to agree with your position by instantly assuming the worst of them.

[former9thward]

55. You may be the best parent in the world.

I don't know you so I will admit I am jumping to conclusions about you specifically. But I am not jumping to conclusions when I see kids getting fatter and fatter by the year. I am not jumping when I see pervasive laziness through out our society with no end of justifications for it. I am not jumping when I see healthier populations in developing countries I travel to than the U.S.

[SomethingFishy]

52. Well I cant blame kids for wanting

to live in a "fantasy world". The world we have given them is a mess. Games are just another form of escapism. I don't see them being any worse than.. well lets see, in the 40's it was "dime store novels" in the 50's it was Comic Books, in the 60's it was Rock And Roll, in the 70's it was horror movies, in the 80's it was Heavy Metal and Rap music, now we have moved on to video games. And mind you I know there are studies, but there have been studies done on everything I mentioned all telling us how they are destroying the minds of our kids...

I would rather see my kids playing games than watching TV. Plus I spend much time with my kids playing games. Rockband is tons of fun. My kids learned the beauty of the Beatles from Rockband. Wii sports games are a blast plus good exercise, and if you are into actual learning the Assassin's Creed games are full of actual history as are many war games and many sim games.

Also my kids have "friends" all over the world. They play games with kids from other countries online all the time.

There are as many pluses about gaming as there are negatives.

[Warren DeMontague]

47. I have an Xbox, I'm middle aged, and I'm in the greatest shape of my life.

I'm sure, however, that you never sit and veg out in front of some stupid fucking television show, which of course is far superior to playing a video game.

[joshcryer]

56. I'm PC only, I don't pay for games.

[Capitalocracy]

58. Actually, studies show they're good for your mind

Yes, if you sit around playing them all day, you will probably get fat, but melt your mind, they do not.

[EOTE]

2. A 6670 GPU would be a major disappointment for me.

When the 360 debuted, it had a GPU which wasn't even available to the public at the time, basically a modified ATI x1800/1850 which had superior technical specs to the as of yet released x1900 (which was a flagship GPU when it was released). The 6670 has been out for over a year and even when it was brand spanking new it was a fairly low end card. I know it will still be superior to the Xenos, but I expect an increase in performance of at least a magnitude of order nowadays when a new generation of consoles comes out. I love my 360, but if these specs turn out to be true, I think I'll be getting a Wii U this generation of consoles.

[Javaman]

4. It will be interesting to see how the manage to stop the use of used games...

as for myself, I've given my soul over to Steam.

I'm still not a big fan of it, but I also understand that most games in the future will be sold over the net.

Initially, my issue was resale. Once you log onto to steam and register the game, it becomes basically null and void to resale.

Well if I can't play a game unless I register it with steam, then I will buy if online.

I'm now very picky as a result of the games that I buy. If I can't resell a game, then that game better be huge, have open end support and additional downloadable content. If it doesn't meet those things, then I just pass it by.

And Steam does run sales and cuts their prices over time. I no longer run out to by something as soon as it comes out. I wait a few months until the price comes down and the reviews come in.

This has saved me a ton of money. However, Ironically, it's also cost the manufactures of the game money as well. People who buy online now, wait for the price to come down.

Keeping a game a full price after 6 months, is marketing suicide in the online game industry.

There are several games on Steam have have been rated as aweful by several sources, yet they keep their prices high after a year in hopes of getting a return, but instead just get bad sales. I can think of two game titles right off the bat that are doing this.

the concept of online game marketing is changing dramatically. I don't think the game manufacturers are understanding the new playing field.

And for xbox not to allow used games on their new console will be interesting as to how stores like game stop are effected. I think their day in the sun is soon to end.

[jeff47]

6. It's probably not true...at least not in the "stick" form

They're far more likely to use a carrot.

Much like steam, they will probably offer games for download. Which means it's impossible to sell the game 'used'. However, the added convenience can help draw people in to the service.

That would be received far better than the current approach being used by game developers, which is to require a new purchase for some of the game's content (Arkham City - can't play the 'Catwoman' levels unless you buy new). That's not going over very well.

[Javaman]

8. Wow, I didn't know that about Arkham City.

I agree, I don't think that will go over well at all.

[jeff47]

26. Some manufacturers are selling "DLC" to re-enable things like that.

Others are just making it not available. The "never available" ones are getting hammered. The "pay us $5 to enable it" ones are getting grumbling, but not too much complaining.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

31. I somewhat approve of the 'bonuses' you can get from pre-ordering and such

Since it gives people an extra reason to actually well, pre-ordering the game(or buying it new since some games have the code in all boxes)

What i think should become standard tho for the companies who want to use DLC is to hold back the sale of the pre-order or new game bonus for lets say 2 or 3 months then release it, that way those who pre-ordered and such can 'reap the reward' for doing so for a while before it becomes available to all. I don't approve of those bonuses that never gets released tho to the community(this goes double for bonuses thats given by ordering from one specific gameing store )

[Javaman]

39. That's an interesting concept.

Much as the various "game of the year" game collects have all the DLC included, you can promote special DLC to pre-registers.

Things are changing, that's for sure.

[JohnnyRingo]

7. It's typical that the entertainment industry wants to lend the games instead of selling them

In an ideal corporate world, entertainment media would still be the property of the company, and consumers would only be granted the use while it's in their possession. I understand the music industry is already trying this with subscription services that take your library back when you stop paying.

I discovered the lengths companies will go to when I bought a refilled ink cartridge for my Lexmark printer at Office Max. As I tried to run my first job after that, I got a pop-up telling me I can't use a refilled cartridge. Bastards.

I don't doubt that SOPA will have some fine print about the resale of "intellectual property".

[dembotoz]

10. my kids love gamestop--they also share games with buddies and bring games and systems for

get togethers.

a system that would prevent this would be very unpopular and could be a hack waiting to happen.

[joe1991]

21. Sounds like a trial ballon or false rumor

A few weeks back the rumor was it would have a weak processor with gameplay powered by cloud computing. Not being able to trade games among friends or buy/sell used games would kill the xbox. MS knows all this and much more about what we want.

The next system will be powerful, have a big hard drive with online storage of game saves, be further intergrated with "smart TV" type apps and services; they will deal with Sony to include a blu-ray drive, be backwards compatable with 360 games, and have kinect built in. They'll be expensive as hell (500+) ...but they'll sell like hotcakes.

As far as dumbing kids down, that's just silly. A game system is no different than a TV or computer; parents need to monitor time and content.

[LanternWaste]

25. My timing is always off...

I've been considering getting a console system for the first time, but if these owning games on them are anything like the Steam account I had to get post-hoc for a PC game, forget about it.

[Uncle Joe]

28. If XBOX restricts the use of used games, they will defintely be shooting themselves in the foot.

Thanks for the thread, The Straight Story.

[pstokely]

40. Consoles are loss leaders, the $ comes from the games

they don't get anything from Gamestop for used games

[Uncle Joe]

41. How will they sell their games if nobody buys their consoles?

[EOTE]

42. Consoles are only loss leaders at first.

Once the production has ramped up and gotten a good deal cheaper, companies make money off their consoles. And over the course of a console's life, they tend to make a good deal of money. Corporations can afford to offer their consoles at a loss at first because they know they'll be selling for many years.

[NYC Liberal]

29. Why should companies get anything for resales? First Sale Doctrine.

Nobody would expect to not be able to resell their old books. Or a painting. Etc.

[Odin2005]

30. ""Will Restrict Play of Used Games" LOL, that isn't going to end well.

[DonRedwood]

32. I want one....but then I think of those poor workers....

We were actively looking for a good Xbox deal when we saw the news about the workers who make them.

I will not buy one now.

[ikri]

33. PC gaming is already heading this way

I can't think of a big release for the PC from the last couple of years that wasn't variously tied to Steam, tied to an online account or simply required online activation to run. You can resell the games but half the content is tied to an account rather than the game itself so there's less incentive to buy a used game since you still have to acquire the account to play.

[Baclava]

35. New rumor - Microsoft: Xbox 720 is not launching this year

Microsoft representative has quashed rumors that the Xbox 720 will be all the rage in 2012.

The company's head marketing guy in France Cedrick Delmas spoke with French news website Lepoint. His comments were summarized in article that translates to "Nothing new in 2012."

http://www.tgdaily.com/games-and-entertainment-brief/61112-microsoft-xbox-720-is-not-launching-this-year

[white_wolf]

38. Here is something I"ve been wondering about it.

If they make it to where games can only be installed and played on one console, what happens if your Xbox dies? Do you lose all your games? Let's be honest, these are the people who gave us the red ring of death, their systems will break and then you have to rebuy all your games? That would piss me off. At least Nintendo doesn't do this crap, and their stuff doesn't break easily. I swear, it seems like the design to survive nuclear war.

[Ohio Joe]

44. A partial answer...

I have a PS3 and they have games that can be bought on-line through their store. The purchases I have made are tied to my account and I can re-download them a number of times... I believe it is 5 times (could be wrong on the number). So when/if, I get a new PS3, when I set it up and enter my account info, I will be able to re-download them.

[sendero]

46. If they are stupid enough.

....to try to restrict the play of older or used games, this box will go the way of the dodo.

Game manufacturers need to GET A CLUE. I BOUGHT YOUR GAME and I can SELL IT IF I WANT TO.

The greed of some people is just unfathomable.

[Warren DeMontague]

48. I don't care. I'm still all over it.

Can't wait.

[SomethingFishy]

50. LMAO.. are they serious? Obviously Microsoft

has not learned yet. If they do this Sony will bury them. They already have more units out than Microsoft and it's mostly because Xbox requires PAYMENT to play online. Now they are going to try to take away another way for gamers to play on the cheap?

Stupid.

[woolldog]

53. Maybe publishing houses will try to close libraries next.

Who knows?

[joshcryer]

57. My PC is practically that powerful. And I built it 2 years ago. Used games restrictions won't wash.

People will be very pissed off about that if they try it and it will open up the console to piracy, imo. More pressure.