Next Generation Gaming Systems

ElVee

DRM
DRM when implemented in a very heavy-handed or ridiculous way doesn't work. It pisses people off, it gets in the way, it causes issues, or introduces new requirements for the user. I still refuse to use any "DRM" that has to have a special installer to run (I'm looking at the home video/digital copy industry on that one) whenever I can.

There are ways to end up with DRM, for instance things like Steam. It wasn't until Skyrim being Steam-required that finally made me cave in on Steam and sign up. But being on that platform more or less puts me in the same position as if I had DRM in all my games. Slow boil...

Moving toward digital gaming that is stored on some server on the Internet basically ends up being DRM without the baggage. I just don't think the DRM argument ends up being very strong because of this. I think "always online" arguments have more weight.

I'm just anti-DRM. I've not sold any games since I got $2 for my old NES games back in 1992 and walked away as a child feeling like I got stolen from. I don't trade them around or lend out games either; pretty much all of my friends can afford their own. And I've not rented a game since, well, probably high school. For me (as a computer security/privacy interested party) it's the principle. It's why I'm one of those strange people who doesn't use iTunes and still has a collection of mp3s on local disks...

Always-on eavesdropping/automation
This bugs me as well, but it's hard to really fight heavily against automation. The always on mic/camera, though, it a quality-of-life concern to me. If I wanted even the thought of a Truman Show-esque lifestyle, I'd just do it. The downside is if I *ever* want to walk into a room and say "Xbox netflix," then it *needs* to be listening all the time. At the very least, I trust Microsoft than other services that leverage these capabilities for free and use *me* as the product for them to make money.

Here's a quote I pulled from some news article that I think fits my feelings on gaming: "I remember when video games were about getting Mario to save the princess and, when you were done, the console would leave you the hell alone."

It's coming...soon we'll have 4 entire walls called Xbox Four and we'll be in Fahrenheit 451's world.