Back with game authentication on Xbox One and the second-hand market

Xbox One was presented this week and one of the topics that is giving the most talk revolves around the control that Microsoft could take about the games and their owners, directly affecting the market for used games. The subject is a sensitive section for many gamers, accustomed to exchanging and buying and selling their games, and may end up playing a trick on Microsoft.

While Redmond remains silent, or contradicting each other, the Internet is filling up with information that allows people to decipher a new authentication systemAimed at exercising some kind of control over the buying and selling of used games.It will not mean the end of the second-hand market nor will it force us to be permanently connected, but there will be many upset if the system that has been glimpsed in recent days ends up being confirmed.

Controlling the second-hand market

One of the latest news comes from stores and distributors. According to information compiled by Eurogamer and MCV, users will not have to pay a fee to play second-hand games, but those who will pay the price will be the physical stores. Apparently, Microsoft will force stores to sign up for a new system so they can continue selling used games.

Xbox One will register each game we purchase as our property and link it to our account and console. If we decide to sell it, we will have to go to one of the stores that meets the conditions of the new Microsoft cloud system.The store must register the used game in the system, so that from that moment the title disappears from our account. From then on you can sell it at the price you want, but you will have to share the proceeds from the sale with the distributor. The establishment will keep only 10% of the sale price, a margin similar to that used for new games.

The direct consequence of this new system affects the prices of the second-hand market. Until now, stores had absolute freedom to set them, keeping all the profit from the sale of used games for themselves. It is known that distributors and developers were not satisfied with the situation, and they may be right, but what is likely is that the new system will mean an increase in pricesSeeing their profit margin reduced, stores will be forced to raise the price, since there will be no way to sell used games outside of Microsoft's system.

Regular checks for games

There is a second consequence directly related to this new system: the periodic checking of games Due to the requirement to identify each game as our property and update its status if we get rid of it, the console will require an internet connection at some point. Perhaps this is what Phil Harrison, vice president of Microsoft's entertainment division, was referring to when he told Kotaku that once every 24 hours

The latest information published by Polygon, citing sources familiar with the system, would confirm that Xbox One will require periodic internet connection to verify the authenticity of the games being played. According to that same information, the periodicity of said verification is still being debated within the company.

Xbox One will automatically authenticate each game when installed on your console using an encrypted code embedded on the disc itself. The title will thus be linked to the console's hard drive, a link that must be checked periodically through the Internet. When it is sold or installed on another console, the game will no longer be linked to the original console. To recover this link, you will have to insert the disc into the console again to authenticate the game again.

Aware of situations in which the internet connection is not available, in Redmond they would also be preparing a special system of codes for people who find themselves in exceptional situations. In Polygon they give the example of soldiers in war zones.

Microsoft is still not clear

The whole issue of game authentication, the need for internet connection and the second-hand market is on its way to becoming one of the worst information campaigns ever managed.And it is that Microsoft continues without clarifying things in this section. The latest is a brief statement on the Major Nelson website:

Once again, the Redmond statements do not resolve any doubts on the subject and allow confusion to remain. It seems clear that a new control system is on the table, but the details may still be up for debate within Microsoft. This would explain the lack of clarity and the contradictory messages that the company has been issuing these days.

Meanwhile it's time to continue waiting. There are 16 days left until E3 in Los Angeles, where Microsoft hopes to focus on the Xbox One games section. We'll see if by then we have a clear explanation of the new system .

Via | extralife | Polygon