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Microsoft Confirms Xbox One's Phone Home Requirement, Game Resale Rules
Following the confusion surrounding Microsoft's announcement of the Xbox One, the company has now clarified many of the hot-button issues in a set of posts on their official site. First, they confirmed that the console will need to phone home in order to continue playing games. On your primary console, you'd need to connect to the internet and check in once every 24 hours. They also announced that you'll be able to access and play any of your games by logging in on somebody else's console, but the internet connection will be required every hour to keep playing that way. Other media don't require the connection. Microsoft also explained how game licensing will work. On the upside, anyone using your console will be able to play your games, and you can share your games with up to 10 members of your family for free. The downside is the news about used games; Microsoft says they've "designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers." The key word there is can, which implies that you can't without the publisher's express permission. Finally, the company made a set of statements about how Kinect's audio and video sensors will collect and share your data. "When Xbox One is on and you're simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded." They also say data gathered during normal use won't leave the console without your explicit permission.
Well that just saved me the equivalent of whatever the new console would cost. Thanks microsoft for making purchasing decisions easier.
So, apparently Microsoft think that they're not selling you games. Given that a similar case was difinitively lost in Germany recently, it'll be interesting to see how this one pans out.
SJW n. One who posts facts.
So, in other words, all of the hyperbole and hand waving from users on forums that was washed aside saying it couldn't possibly be that bad... instead it turns out it's worse.
This article on Penny Arcade Report provides some detail that the OP lacks: http://penny-arcade.com/report/article/microsoft-outlines-their-system-for-used-games-licenses-and-family-sharing
All it takes is a single cracker/hacker and it's gone.
HELP MY ACCOUNT HAS BEEN HACKED BY AN ILLIBERAL ART STUDENT SET TO DESTROY THE INTERWEBZ!
They will buy them as fast as Microsoft can make them. No matter what Microsoft does, people will buy it. Look at Win8 for proof -- it's not selling well, but it's still selling. And both the XBox One and Win8 will be the only game in Microsoft Town soon enough.
blah
Well I guess I am getting a PS4. That was an easy decision.
What? They cleared it all up. The always on requirements and the used game resale options are in the hands of the game developers giveing MS all the plausible deniability that they need.
The fact you can only "give away" a game once sucks, and I'm sure this is going to be used as a model for the "we allow used game sales"* claims from the developers.
* it can be sold once ... with limited functionality.
I love that part. You mean I can still watch TV without "checking in", just as I could if I hadn't bought the stupid fucking box in the first place?
Someone you trust is one of us.
Seriously, the need to phone home once/day is a deal breaker. Not being able to take a game over to a friends place without signing into my account is a deal breaker. Telling me how I can sell or giveaway my used games is a deal breaker.
There's nothing about this that I'm interested in. I don't play games online, my XBox isn't connected to a network because they started putting ads into the games, and I refuse to give them a channel for it.
So, my single purchase (or non-purchase) is insignificant, and Microsoft won't care. But of the people I know who own an XBox, pretty much all of them have said they don't want this either.
There's nothing about this new platform that sounds good for the consumer, and it certainly doesn't leave them much choice.
So whatever the first next-generation console is which can be ran entirely offline without any network connection over its lifetime stands a pretty good chance of getting bought. But Microsoft can eat shit if they think I'll pay them for the privilege of owning one of these (which I'm sure the EULA says we don't own anyway).
Either I and people like myself will pretty much be irrelevant, which is fine, or there's going to be a huge consumer backlash against this, and Microsoft is going to find themselves holding the bag on a gaming platform nobody wants.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
In no way possibly now?
So I am hallucinating my and my brother mailing games back and forth? The game sharing my IT dept does is also some figment of my imagination?
I owned a XBOX 1 and Xbox 360. I liked them better then Sony/Nintendo offerings. But this whole used game thing along with phone home. I haven't had my 360 plugged into the internet for 8 months now. I play most console games offline. If I want to play online with friends, that's what my PC is for.
So I had bought 3 xbox 360's, I won't be buying 1 One.
...just like I'm sure the Obama Administration would never obtain the phone and email records for every American!
What?
Lawrence Person (lawrencepersonh@gmailh.com (remove all "h"s to mail)
http://www.lawrenceperson.com/
the act of pedaling Redmond into the earth takes careful planning. Some very important people have to get up very early in the morning and make some very poor decisions. if the selling points are 'only every hour' connections and 'wont record your private conversations' then id hate to see the downsides of the product.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Think about what happens after this generation is over, in 10-15 years. Eventually, the XBO servers will be taken down, and none of the games will work.
It won't be like you pulling out your Dreamcast or SNES to relive fond gaming memories--this literally won't be an option. Now starts the time when gaming history eventually fades into nothing.
Don't get me wrong, any disc based game eventually will be in the same boat--as these discs will eventually decay. Whereas cartridge based game systems may work, no problem, in 100 years or more if kept in a dry place.
So you basically forgot all the crap Sony has pulled out over the years... (e.g. rootkits). At least Microsoft is being honest about it.
As someone else said, the solution is to forgo both PS and Xbox consoles.
> the used game resale options are in the hands of the game developers
Which is funny because were I live it's in the hand of the law. The law that says "I can resell my own games."
I don't see why people are so willing to spend that kind of money to get screwed over.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
This really sucks for those who go to places with lack of communication infrastructure. e.g. military, rural areas with electricity but no internet backbone. Obviously they are not the "intended" audience.
Beware of those who profit off the docile and persecute the unbelievers.
I just realized another thing. The only time I play on a console is when the internet is down in my area for my PC MMO games. Guess I'm not the intended audience either.
Beware of those who profit off the docile and persecute the unbelievers.
It's been fun, Xbox, but this is where we part ways. None of these things are technically even huge issues for me- I have a stable internet connection and wouldn't want to bring the console to a cabin or anything. I never sell my games, since I like collecting them- and hell, I'm sure that in 15 years when they take the servers down they'll probably just gut the DRM or lock the games to a specific console and remove the online requirement or do SOMETHING to make sure our games don't become fancy, expensive coasters.
But it's a matter of principle. I don't want a console that treats me like I'm a thief, needing to check up on me once a day to make sure I'm not smoking pot or something. If I fall on hard times and need to sell somethings to get by, I want to know that for the 60 dollar game I bought that there's an option to do so and potentially feed myself for a week. I don't want to worry what will happen to my favorite titles in fifteen years, if I'll be able to play them- that's nothing someone SHOULD have to worry about (And honestly I still prefer Halo 2 to any of the later games anyway...)
I hope the generation that follows this learns from the mistakes being made here. Until then, I'll see you on the PC/Wii U.
Cause you take One look at it then turn around 360 degrees and walk away.
This is my sig. Its pathetic.
Believing that the issue no longer exists because one person cracks the first implementation is foolhardy at best, and idiotic at worst.
All it takes is for MS to bump the minimum software version required for new games, or add a critical new feature that everyone wants and suddenly you need to updated, and get into the never ending war of jailbreaking and patching. By buying a console with the expectation of it being regularly jailbroken, all you guarantee is that you end up unable to keep up with the latest software update, and hence the latest games.
They also have a "We may also cease to offer certain services or products for similar reasons." clause. So even if you like a feature (like sharing a game with up to 10 family members), you might find that feature suddenly removed or altered in such a way as to make it useless.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
I think the bigger issue missed here is that rentals are simply no longer possible with Xbox One.
Microsoft has killed the game rental market in one fell swoop.
Personally, I think this is a dumb move... I've bought many games after trying them out as rentals; I doubt I am alone with that practice. That is a lot of potential marketing tossed down the toilet.
Even if the used game market survives (though I doubt it will ever be a factor again), the rental market is gone, gone,gone.
What if I get banned from Xbox Live? Does this 24-hour check-in fail? Am I no longer allowed to play my single player games?
About 3 months...depending. One guy at our office had it wanting to re-auth after three days of being disconnected.
"When Xbox One is on and you're simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded."
Considering the stories about the NSA datamining in both the telecom and computing services industries, I have two words to say:
"Likely story."
It will be turned on to record, to find "terrorists."
This gets a big "nope."
http://www.humorgas.com/image/1359731250348625995.JPG
--
BMO
Just like publishers of e-books CAN allow you to lend out a kindle-book to someone.
They don't though.
Granted, I haven't bought many kindle books, but as far as I can see none of my books are lendable.
Harald
for the longest time xbox live was hands above the playstation network and wiichannel. that has changed over they years but for under 50 bucks a year (coupon codes are or were easy to get) i didnt find it to be unreasonable. The new stuff with this new console is a total deal breaker however.
have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
What exactly does the always-on (okay, "on at least once every 24 hours") requirement serve?
I doubt it's for checking game licensing issues. That is better done when the game is actually launched (and probably will be anyway). It's stupid otherwise; you slot in a CD for a game your buddy owns and a day later it informs you that there is a licensing issue (or alternately, if the default is "always deny", you buy a game and you aren't allowed to play until the next 24 hour check-in)? So it's not about the games.
Anti-hack checks to ensure you haven't rooted your own hardware. It could compare the OS signature to some secure key on its servers. But that hardly seems workable; after all, if (when) the XBoxOne is hacked, that will be surely the first thing that is disabled.
Advertising perhaps; after all, the recent Dashboard upgrades have focused on putting more and more advertisements on your screen. Microsoft is surely going to continue in this direction with its newest console. But does that really require an always-on connection?
Maybe it's for uploading game or network metrics (or NSA monitoring, for the paranoid). But surely this is not such a necessary thing as to upset their customers to such a degree.
So, honestly, what makes this "always on" requirement so important that Microsoft is willing to risk sales over its inclusion? Why (aside from the boneheaded stubbornness that prevents them from backing down on any of their dumb decisions like the Ribbon or Metro) does Microsoft feel this is something they /have/ to foist on the public? Better to make the console work like the 360; it will use a network connection if it finds one but otherwise it is not a requirement for operation (at least, not for the console; games may still require an internet connection to license, but we already see that with current games).
I guess it depends on whether you owned the game in the first place. for instance, Adobe's licensing makes it clear that you don't own the software that you bought, you just own a license to use it. If game developers use similar license agreements then the law you mention probably does not apply.
Part of the reason people will buy a brand new release-day game is because they can hammer the shit out of it in a short time over a holiday break and sell it used to recoup some of the cost (over 50% for new titles, easily). If this isn't the case, the era of $60+ release-day console games is over.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
We used to play video games while deployed on ship underway. No internet to connect to, and the XBOX360/PS3 were the consoles of choice in our rec-room. This completely screws the active duty military in a lot of places. Looks like more military will be using their PC's instead of the consoles, however this also happened when 'SPORE' came out on PC.... it required an internet connection to play and the people who bought it for deployment were many unhappy people.
Most all software has an EULA that says something to that effect. I'm fairly certain that a number of countries have stated that it doesnot apply in their borders.
I see the glass as full with a FoS of 2.
Adobes licensing matters not if it conflicts with the law of the land.
Some nations have actual consumer protection.
On the upside, anyone using your console will be able to play your games
How nice of them not to implement biometric identification. Yet.
systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
They would rent it in that case. It would cost less than $30 for sure to rent a game for a break. That would be 15 days on RedBox.
Me too! I don't play console games online, I stick to PC games. I believe the intended audience is 12 year old fanboys with oversized, stiff brim caps, that have swagg.
In some nations what you describe would be illegal. Some places have this thing called consumer protection and depriving the consumer of something he paid for would be basically the same as fraud.
I can currently give or sell a game to anyone with no requirements that the recipient is on a friends list. They use wording to give the appearance that they are enabling things, but it is really a matter of stating what they are allowing you to do and what you cannot do.
Buying and selling used games is a huge market and creates liquidity for people to buy new games. This is no different than how buying and selling stocks on the stock market creates liquidity for IPOs. But now they are killing that liquidity for game customers.
On your last point, I would argue that sharing a game among users is an irrelevant feature. In my experience, if a game is worth playing, it is worth owning. I do not want to depend upon the generosity of my friends (and vice verse) to be able to play a game. Everyone loses control in that scenario.
Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
What about rentals?
If MS is going to bend over backwards for the game publishers. What about rentals where you rent the game and then return it. You know to see if you actually like it or not. There are a lot of junk games out there, why should you spend $60.00 on something you will hate, and then not be able to sell back.
I prefer to rent it. If I like it then I will buy it.
With these bending over backwards for the publishers, The software better be Dirt Cheap.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Having looked at the Xbox One page on Amazon UK, all I can say is this:
NINETY QUID for a ****ing GAME?
At that price, they can keep it.
Never mind Spamassassin. When's Spammerassassin coming out?
So, the game developers will just make their game require the Xbone's "cloud services." Sure, you can sell the *game*, but if it won't work without access to the *service* (which is independent of the game, at least conceptually), and since the service is precisely that (a service and not a product), it cannot be resold.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
> the used game resale options are in the hands of the game developers
Which is funny because were I live it's in the hand of the law. The law that says "I can resell my own games."
Actually, the law doesn't say that.
The law says you have a right to resell the physical media. Which you still have.
The law does *not* say you have the right to resell the experience of using the media, which is why its perfectly legal to DRM e-books, games, software, and why you can't legally resell your MP3s.
Which is funny because were I live it's in the hand of the law. The law that says "I can resell my own games."
And you still can!
You just can't play any second-hand games. But feel free to exercise your legal right to buy and sell all the box art and shiny-but-useless DVDs you want.
/ Yet another next-gen console I won't buy. Looking more and more like I'll go pure-PC for gaming in the near future.
If I had moderator points, you would get them all sir. Almost everyone I have engaged in this argument with fails to understand or acknowledge this fact. They may not like it, which is expected. When your choices are "spend years writing my own software that does what [software title] does, find a lesser quality product for free, or use this software and agree to their EULA.", you shouldn't act surprised or upset when you choose the last option. It was obviously your best choice or you would of went with the other two...
Having said that, those limited choices have also driven the demand for spectacular free products like gimp.
Meow
> "When Xbox One is on and you're simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded."
Says the company that jumped on board the PRISM train so happily and willingly....
I guess it might depend where you live, some countries have rulings that say you must be allowed to resell downloaded games too and I think EU is working on a directive to make this into a law.
- Raynet --> .
Actually, we understand and acknowledge that these companies want to claim "it's not a sale, it's a license" just fine. We just disagree with the legality of it.
Especially when these companies want to treat it as a license when it benefits them, but then as a sale when that is more beneficial.
Doubly so when all the advertisements say "own/buy it today!".
The problem isn't with used sales, the problem is that they're changing from a product model to a license model that requires authentication. Just because the publisher are given control over how the license works doesn't solve the problem of when the authentication servers eventually shut down giving you a nice collection of coasters.
As someone who still owns and occasionally plays many of the games bought new in the late 80s early 90s this bothers me... I have no interest in buying games with an expiration date.
Collector's Edition
They don't even have to do that. MSFT has now said that it's up to the developer if they will allow games to be resold or not. They don't need any sort of a fig leaf, they just say the game is only licensed for 1 xbox live account.
To me, the thing that sucks even more is that the console has to phone home once a day, or you can't play anything.
Look at all we've read in the press lately about the government deciding they own all phone records, and they've been compiling this data without our knowledge for some time.
Why should we believe the console which is phoning home won't be collecting information about us and reporting it to anyone who has access to use/abuse the system?
Sure, they say the Kinect isn't going to record you. But we pretty much know the government collects first and asks permission later (if ever). They don't even need suspicion to get your phone records anymore.
Maybe the Xbox One should be called the Telescreen instead?
> the used game resale options are in the hands of the game developers
Which is funny because were I live it's in the hand of the law. The law that says "I can resell my own games."
Actually, the law doesn't say that.
The law says you have a right to resell the physical media. Which you still have.
The law does *not* say you have the right to resell the experience of using the media, which is why its perfectly legal to DRM e-books, games, software, and why you can't legally resell your MP3s.
Well, that all depends on what country you're in now doesn't it? Since the entire world doesn't live under one set of laws your assertions are invalid.
Calling home every 24 hours, restricting games to accounts (even sharable), etc, these all required a lot of extra work to implement. As this is a commercial product, somewhere a manager has signed off on the cost of this effort, believing that this will increase profits, customer goodwill, or some other marketable resource.
Since these actually cripple existing functionality from a game-player perspective, make the product less attractive to game players, someone, somewhere must believe that some other 'customer' is going to pay more to make up the difference in lost sales, loyalty, and increased customer dissatisfaction.
It's not the retail stores, which are being cut out almost entirely - gamestop, best buy, walmart, or large rental agencies like gamefly, who's entire business model is inapplicable for xbox one games. If you can play your games at a friend's house without bringing the disc that means digital distribution for everything.
The only one that makes sense is the large game distributors, EA and their ilk.
I'd like to see the math that says EA & etc will make more money off this than will be lost. Seems like a risky gamble to alienate end customers in order to lock down a distribution channel.
Always on camera, every 24 hours license checks, you have to ask permission to resell your games. If you agree to this you're a chump full stop.
You paid to rent the software, same as renting a hotel room. Why should you be able to resell the hotel room?
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
Specifically, the European Court of Justice ruled last year on a case involving Oracle and UsedSoft, with the latter wanting to resell used Oracle software. The court found that licences could be resold, notwithstanding a claim to the contrary in Oracle's licence agreement. Interestingly, they also ruled that if Oracle was offering free maintenance updates to the original purchaser then they must continue to offer the same to the purchaser of the used software licence.
Obviously with any legal case you have to look at the specifics and not assume too much of a precedent, but still, this seems a clear shot across the bows of Big Software that they don't get to close down the used software market through either blunt legalese in the licence agreement or trying to tie related services to the original purchaser only.
For anyone wondering, yes, this ruling is sharply at odds with the US Ninth Circuit's view in the Autodesk case.
(I'm not a lawyer, just an interested observer, so don't read any legal technicalities into the above.)
If you disagree, post your argument. (-1, Overrated) isn't your personal censorship tool for views you don't like.
MS failed in copying Apples hardware sucess so they're trying to out do Sony as the most anti consumer/propriatory system company.
by TheSpoom (715771) Uncaring Linux user here. I have nothing to add to this but please continue. *munches popcorn*
No, Adobe ISN'T "moving applications into the Cloud". It's moving the licensing into a subscription service that uses "The Cloud" as a conduit.
Yes, Adobe is trying to cloud things up by pushing the "cloud" aspect of it. But those are little fluffy bits tacked on to the core of industrial strength software. You download the app installers, run locally. Every month it phones home and gets permission to run for another month. Adobe tacked on some crappy 'collaboration' applets and a Dropbox wannabee service, but it's the same old app or exe file.
Whether that is legal in all countries is something for lawyers and similar spawn of mutant camels to figure out. But it is apparently legal enough in Adobe's core markets for them to spend a lot of time (and goodwill) on it.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
Microsoft denies working with the NSA full stop. It denies it puts backdoors into Windows for the NSA and other agencies to use, but it does. It denies providing the NSA with full data on users using its online services, but it does. It denies that the always on functions of the Kinect 2 system provided with the Xbox One allows the NSA to gather data on all users of the console, but it does.
Obama, and previous administrations, specifically allow partners of the NSA to lie to the American public without fear of consequence. Indeed, when you provide information to the NSA, it is a legal requirement that you lie about the fact. None of this is secret if you do even a few minutes research.
Microsoft dedicates 2 CPU cores, 3GB of RAM, a completely separate OS, a large chunk of the HDD, and multiple dedicated hardware blocks to the 'always on' feature of Kinect 2. While the console is powered, the Kinect sensors are spying on console users within the room (and the microphone array attempts to listen to sounds/speech in adjoining rooms). By default, the console identifies each person who enters the room, and records a photograph of their face, and the times of their presence, storing the information as encrypted data on the HDD, and uploading the same data at least once a day.
NSA and others with the console 'key' can place the console in signature or snapshot mode. Snapshot mode retrieves continuous image and sound data as 'samples', limiting the daily bandwidth of captured data to a level the user still won't notice, providing the console is left connected much of the time. Signature mode allows the console to accept up to multiple thousands of 'trigger' conditions (like a given sound, or a certain person in the room) which, when met, trigger steaming capture of data from the Kinect, either immediately uploading the stream if possible, or storing it on the HDD for later upload when the console is reconnected to the Internet.
The console will NOT function unless the Kinect system is fully powered and functional. Any attempt to externally block or defeat the sensors (by taping over the cameras or pointing kinect at a wall) causes the console to immediately pester the user to 'recalibrate' Kinect (ie., reposition it facing the full room). All games are required to begin with a Kinect calibration stage, even when the game makes no significant use of Kinect input.
A AAA game maxing out CPU and GPU console power has ZERO effect of the functioning of the Kinect system. XBox One is specifically designed to NEVER starve the Kinect processing system of resources, so that the spying can continue under all use circumstances.
It should disturb all of you that the Kinect is also specifically designed to identify when sexual activity is occurring in front of it. The body 'skeleton' tracking features of Kinect are vastly improved in version 2, and allow the console to easily guess the forms of physical activity of the people in the room.
In many ways, the XBone tests the sanity of ordinary people. It is half as powerful as Sony's PS4 for high end gaming, yet is currently set to be more expensive to buy (if Microsoft can even solve current hardware problems). Microsoft's approaching 'exclusive' games are pitiful compared to Sony's line-up. A miracle has truly happened with Sony giving up all of its bad old ways, and offering customers the clean, powerful, unencumbered console people always expected to buy from Microsoft.
Microsoft's intentions with the Xbox One are truly evil. However, no-one has to buy the NSA spy box. Then again, no German had to support Hitler, but tens of millions chose to do so of their own free will, years after the guy wrote 'Mein Kampf', and clearly laid out his beliefs and intentions. No-one can deny that the Xbox One extends the power of the NSA into your own living room. The shills that cry "tin foil hat, tin foil hat" should have no impact when everyone can read Microsoft's own statements on the workings of the XBone. You ALL know what it means to have an internet connected camera system pointing at you all the time. If you still don't care, you truly deserve your fate.
I don't think you understand. In the EU, software you buy is yours. You are not able to "rent" anything. Even if the EULA says so, it is still void and null. You outright OWN it if it is sold anywhere in the EU. It is why when you buy a machine with an OS on it, that OS can no longer be "tied" to the system or motherboard. You are able to resell it to anyone else, as you own it outright. You have expensive CAD software with hardware dongles that tie the software your machine only? No longer, you can resell it and the publisher MUST allow for that dongle to now be tied to the new owner. They have NO say after the software is sold. It is treated as resellable property for eternity.
The same will be for the XBox One and any other console vendor. If they intend on selling any sort of software in the EU, they must allow it to be resold by the original purchaser, on their own terms, at their own prices, with zero restrictions from anyone. It is the law. Period.
what we really need is a law or court case to settle it once and for all. Either validate or destroy EULAs and TOSs once and for all. imo, these totally one sided forced agreements are bullshit, but until we get it actually set in stone or set a precedent, the current wishy/washy itshowitsalwaysbeendone will continue.
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
Their description of Kinect privacy sounds an awful lot like the privacy policy on browser scraping in-game ads in PC games (disabled by blocking the application in the Windows firewall). In the case of the browser scraping, none of the data leaves your system, but if it looks like you're into skateboarding the game will fetch an ad for skateboard gear and show it in the game. That request for a skateboard gear ad DID leave the system. Maybe the same thing with Kinect? Hears you saying you'd like some pizza, fetches an ad for Pizza Hut, and hey none of your conversation was recorded or left the system right?
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
Thats great, except it doesnt work like that in Civilized world:
http://www.zdnet.com/oracle-cannot-block-the-resale-of-its-software-in-europe-7000000189/
Who logs in to gdm? Not I, said the duck.
"How is it worse?" is not the question. "Is it wrong?" is the question.
Whereas cartridge based game systems may work, no problem, in 100 years or more if kept in a dry place.
Cartridge-based games generally save state in battery-powered internal memory. Those batteries run down over time, probably long before any other component fails.
well that doesn't matter as long as the battery doesn't leak on the board.
except with some arcade boards etc which have suicide batteries(you run out of battery on the board and it wipes, meant to curb illegal clones), but roms for most of those have been hacked/preserved already so you can make new.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Inkscape is free and already as good as Illustrator.
I like to advocate FOSS solutions too, but I like to tell the truth while I do so. Illustrator is better than Inkscape, but Inkscape is good enough.