11 Xbox One myths debunked - Kinect, online checks, game prices and more

**Bald Bouncer** · 18th June 2013

Some have called the internet the single greatest contribution to human knowledge, effectively doing away with the need for organic memory banks in puny, carbon-based lifeforms such as you and (for the record) I. Others, however, style it the world's grandest, most protracted game of Chinese Whispers. The potential for ambiguity is vast, as Microsoft discovered last month when a handful of ambiguous statements on Xbox One's game licensing policies triggered a landslide of speculation pieces and partial headlines. In what follows, we address some of the more excitable, lingering claims about the console's capabilities, Microsoft's licensing policies and Kinect.

1. Microsoft charges for/blocks the resale of Xbox One games

No, it doesn't, but you can only sell back your games to "participating retailers". Hopefully, these won't be limited to the bigger chains and supermarkets. Publishers have the ability to impose additional charges for and restrictions on the resale of Xbox One games via Xbox Live, however, so you might want to send your friendly neighbourhood corporate juggernaut a sternly worded letter on the benefits of free and unregulated transfer of property.

EA, Activision and co have yet to make clear their plans for this aspect of Xbox One, though there's possibly something to deduce from EA's decision to retire the unpopular Online Pass scheme.

2. The Xbox One blocks game loans

You can only loan the disc itself to one Xbox Live friend, currently, and he or she'll need to have been your friend for 30 days. You'll also need the publisher's consent, which sounds ominous. You can, however, share your entire digital games library (which includes games you've bought on disc) with up to 10 other Xbox Live friends (they need to be "family members", technically, but Microsoft doesn't mind you bending the rules). The aforesaid friends can access the content from their own consoles, though it's not clear whether Microsoft will allow two people to play the same digital copy of a game simultaneously.

Additionally, Microsoft's Phil Spencer has suggested that Xbox One's lending schemes aren't set in stone. "We understand lending and the benefits of lending, so, funny videos aside, we get it," he told Kotaku in a recent interview. "We want to make sure we land on the right solution that fits a digital ecosystem moving forward." Later in the chat, Spencer put it a little more boldly: "we don't have a lending solution today." More to come, hopefully.

3. Xbox One's always-on Kinect is spying on me

No, it isn't. For starters, you can set Kinect to be entirely unaware and unresponsive if you choose, though it'll still need to be plugged in for Xbox One to run. Some apps and games may require Kinect functionality to operate, of course, so you'll need to turn the sensor back on for these. You can also set it to remain active even when the console is switched off, but it won't gather data about you while in this state - the machine listens out for a single activation phrase, "Xbox On". Finally, Kinect features can be "paused" during gameplay or movie playback.

"By design, you will determine how responsive and personalized your Xbox One is to you and your family during setup," reads a post on Xbox.com. "The system will navigate you through key privacy options, like automatic or manual sign in, privacy settings, and clear notifications about how data is used. When Xbox One is on and you're simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded."

It states elsewhere that "you are in control of your personal data: you can play games or enjoy applications that use data, such as videos, photos, facial expressions, heart rate and more, but this data will not leave your Xbox One without your explicit permission." Examples of ways in which Kinect might gather data about you include a fitness game that measures your heart rate, or a card game where you can bluff a virtual opponent by pulling weird faces.

4. Microsoft doesn't like games anymore, it's all about TV

The Xbox One reveal made much of the machine's live TV integration, it's true, and game announcements were comparatively scarce. Some pundits accordingly reasoned that games are no longer the point of Microsoft's console business, that it's all about "broad entertainment" and competing with Apple TV from this point on. Thankfully, the manufacturer's E3 conference kicked that particular notion to the curb.

Microsoft has sunk one billion dollars into Xbox One's first party games portfolio, and has gathered 17 year-one exclusives under the console's banner - an unprecedented level of investment, we're told. It's not just the usual sequels, either - besides Halo, Dead Rising 3 and Forza 5, you've got Below, Quantum Break, Black Tusk Studios' untitled project, Killer Instinct, Titanfall and Ryse: Son of Rome. Check out our mammoth Xbox One games list for more.

5. Xbox One's exclusives aren't really exclusive - they'll come to other consoles eventually

There's always the chance that third party titles will eventually show up on other platforms, yes, but this obviously applies to every console's line-up. First party published titles will remain exclusive to the console - that's Ryse: Son of Rome, Halo Xbox One, Black Tusk Studios' project, Lococycle, Lionhead's game, Killer Instinct, Project Spark, Below, Max and the Curse of Brotherhood, Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break, Kinect Sports Rivals, D4 and Zoo Tycoon.

6. Cloud processing is a load of rubbish - it won't materially affect the game

That's not what the people creating Titanfall and Forza Motorsport 5 tell us. True, Microsoft's suggestion that Xbox One benefits from the equivalent of several Xbox Ones in the cloud doesn't tell the whole story - in practice, offloading phat chunks of data (such as high resolution textures) would incur huge bandwidth loads, and even the slightest bit of latency would cripple any time-sensitive game mechanics that happen in the cloud. But we're told that AI and physics calculations can occur remotely, freeing up the console's own resources for other tasks.

7. Xbox One games are more expensive

The official RRP for first-party Xbox One titles is $59.99 in the US, with details of pricepoints in other territories to follow (Amazon UK has opted for a presumably provisional price of �54.99). This is in line with pricing of Xbox 360 games, and is naturally subject to retailer reduction.

8. It won't launch/be usable in all countries

Here's the current list of Xbox One-supported countries - release details for other regions are to follow. It seems likely the console will have a staggered launch, arriving first in the US. Speaking to Ausgamers, Microsoft's Jeff Henshaw has promised that the Xbox Live cloud (access to which is mandatory for Xbox One to run) will ultimately be available in all countries.

"We have deployed our data centres geographically so that they can service the load for categories of countries all around the world," he said. "So we have some of the best reach of any other company on the planet to be able to make sure that the Cloud Services that we offer are what we consider [to be] ubiquitous and will be available [to] all markets."

9. Xbox One needs to be online all the time

You'll need to sign in once every 24 hours, or once every hour if you're signed into your account on somebody else's console.

10. Xbox One's 24-hour sign-in will use up my bandwidth

No, it won't. The authentication process consumes just a few kilobytes of data.

11. Xbox One is three times more powerful than Xbox 360

Actually it's eight times as powerful. Or 10 times as powerful. Or a million and eleventy three point five times as powerful. Take your pick of the various grandiose exec pronouncements. Alternatively, read our Xbox One guide for a breakdown of the specs and thoughts on where all that "power" goes. There's doubtless a lot more to say, but this should serve as a useful foundation.

Source: Rheena.com