Xbox One Set To Launch On November 22

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Xbox One Set To Launch On November 22

Posted by Unknown on Wednesday September 4, 2013 @02:05AM from the people-like-games dept.

Dave Knott writes "Microsoft announced today that its upcoming Xbox One console will launch later this year on November 22 in 13 territories, including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States. This is exactly one week after the announced street date for Sony's PlayStation 4, ending speculation about whether Microsoft would try to launch ahead of their closest rival's next-generation console. It is also the same day that the Xbox 360 launched in 2005." The supply of pre-order consoles is mostly exhausted already.

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Sorry.. by GrBear · 2013-09-04 02:11 · Score: 2, Informative

But I already pre-ordered a PS4 after Microsoft showed their true colors towards customers and developers.
1. Re:Sorry.. by Hadlock · 2013-09-04 02:36 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  PS4 has less DRM and Sony is decidedly less hostile towards their customers. Microsoft had to be cowed in to eating their own words and finally reversing fully on a lot of anti-consumer policies. Vote with your dollars, get the same (basic) product, everybody wins!
  
  --
  moox. for a new generation.
2. Re:Sorry.. by gstoddart · 2013-09-04 02:42 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  I don't care if they have DRM ... as long as it doesn't require an internet connection to do it.
  I have no interest in having my video game console serve me ads and the like, so a required internet connection for me is a deal breaker. Even that one time register is too much -- it's none of Microsoft's business who I am or that I have a video game.
  I don't expect DRM to just go away, but when Microsoft started putting ads in the home screen of my XBox 360 -- well, sorry, but no.
  I bought the console, I bought the game; if you think you should be entitled to my usage data and the ability to advertise to me, too damned bad. I don't play games online, so that internet connection doesn't do anything to improve my experience with it. It's purely a mechanism for Microsoft and the game publishers to annoy me.
  
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  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
3. Re:Sorry.. by sosume · 2013-09-04 02:52 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I haven't seen MS distributing rootkits with its hardware products. So definitely less hostile. I swore to never buy anything from Sont again since the rootkit fiasco, and have kept to that.
4. Re:Sorry.. by ackthpt · 2013-09-04 02:54 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  So what is the alternative?
  Even Steambox has DRM.
  Windows 7 and 8 basically are DRM, they even downgrade Blu-ray if you play it over a non-HDCP protected path.
  Go outside and play.
  That's the better alternative.
  
  --
  
  A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
5. Re:Sorry.. by h4rr4r · 2013-09-04 03:09 · Score: 2
  
  The Xbox will continue to be an advertising machine. For me that disqualifies it right there.
6. Re:Sorry.. by gstoddart · 2013-09-04 03:22 · Score: 2
  
  Yup. Which is why my current XBox got disconnected from the network the day after they pushed the update which added ads to the home screen and the games.
  If Microsoft thinks they're getting free reign of an internet connection on a video game ever again from me, they're quite mistaken.
  That they acted like such arrogant, dismissive assholes when they announced this initially says they don't actually give a crap about customers. So, conversely, I don't much give a crap about them.
  An internet connection in a video game is mostly a vehicle for ads, and for the game publisher to try to convince me to spend real money to 'enhance' my gaming experience -- neither of which interest me.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
7. Re:Sorry.. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-04 03:26 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  So a CD is classified as hardware now? And please note, while you say Sony it was actually just the music part, the US bit at that. And they did it all without approval from the top, you know, head office in Japan.
  So, while you still berate Sony do you still buy Microsoft products? You do know all the anti-competitive things they have done, don't you? Or are you just a hypocrite?
8. Re:Sorry.. by AdamStarks · 2013-09-04 03:38 · Score: 2
  
  Sony is decidedly less hostile towards their customers
  You are aware that Sony is one of the biggest members of both the MPAA and the RIAA, right? Two of the most decidedly anti-consumer organizations out there?
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MPAA
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RIAA
9. Re:Sorry.. by N0Man74 · 2013-09-04 03:57 · Score: 4, Interesting
  Read a mother fucking book.
  Or...
  Exercise.
  Make a healthy meal, and clean up.
  Spend time with friends and family.
  Try board games.
  Do all the things you want to do, but you keep putting off because you don't have time (chores, fixing that broken shower head, writing that novel/program, learn to play an instrument).
  Get the recommended amount of sleep.
  I enjoy video games too, but they are time vampires. I greatly appreciate the anti-consumer ass-hattery of Sony and Microsoft and the tech ineptitude of Nintendo, and the decline of Blizzard over the last several years. They are making it increasingly easy to break the habit.
  In the last few years I've increased my fitness level, had improvements in my (previously non-existent) dating life, made more friends, improved my programming, learned to ride a motorcycle, and have even gotten involved in some performing arts. I still waste a lot of time on dumb shit, and I find myself wondering how much more I could accomplish if I wasn't so horrible with schedules and discipline.
  Thank you video game industry for having your heads up alienating your customers!
10. Re:Sorry.. by h4rr4r · 2013-09-04 04:01 · Score: 2
  
  I do that too, but most of my friends do not.
  I use my basement to do archery at night and in inclimate weather. Basement runs whole length of the house so not much of a range, but ok for Archery and Air guns.
  Arrows are expensive too, last time I bought a dozen gold tips it was around $100. I had them cut to length and fletched though. Normally I do the latter, but I prefer not to cut carbon arrows myself because of the dust.
11. Re:Sorry.. by Ravaldy · 2013-09-04 04:25 · Score: 2
  
  Well, the PS3 was inferior to the XBox 360. Will PS4 actually beat Xbox this time?
  1. Graphics in most games were rated to be better on XBox 360 as per GameSpot
  2. Many of the big titles were ports from XBox 360 to PS3 which left many customers unhappy. Read the forums you will see.
  3. There is a larger population for Xbox 360 owners (more units sold), if tendency remains users will stick to the platform they know.
  Question is here, other than the .5% of techies here that just don't like MS, who's going to care about any bad press MS had if they adjusted to their customer feedback? Based on my surroundings, the PS3 users I know are going for the XBox one. The only reason they originally purchased a PS3 was because of the free online gaming access which my understanding is gone on the PS4.
12. Re:Sorry.. by cbhacking · 2013-09-04 04:31 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Because retroactively removing advertised features from purchased products is very consumer-friendly, right? I can't believe how short memories here on Slashdot are. Yes, 15 years ago MS was "evil" for bundling a web browser with an OS at no extra charge (the horrors!) but three years ago Sony crippled their own products *after you had already bought them* and you call them *less* hostile? You're either insane or very, very biased. Sony are playing you for a fool, and you're lapping it up.
  Mind you, I have no intention of purchasing either console, but seriously, you sound like an idiot, and Sony has a *lot* to answer for. Seeing somebody call them *less* hostile than... pretty much *any* other consumer-oriented company is absurd.
  
  --
  There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
13. Re:Sorry.. by h4rr4r · 2013-09-04 04:47 · Score: 2
  
  Nope, get an account with good karma and you will not either.
  Not that it would matter, since I pay $0 for slashdot vs a console for hundreds of dollars.
  Dumbass apples to oranges comparing moron.
14. Re:Sorry.. by SilenceBE · 2013-09-04 05:19 · Score: 2
  
  I haven't seen MS distributing rootkits with its hardware products. So definitely less hostile.
  
  But remember kids when Sony opens their bootloaders for Android it is the Ericsson part. But when Sony BMG does something stupid it is the whole company that is at fault.
  
  But yeah trying to strip consumer rights to the bare minimum, wanting to have a system that is 24/24 connected and knowing that you are part of PRISM (but I forgot its OK because it only invades the privacy of us non-Americans/Untermenschen) isn't really the signs of a company that is hostile. The whole f*cking box was original planted as one big ROOTkit.
  
  I swore to never buy anything from Sont again since the rootkit fiasco, and have kept to that.
  
  So you don't have any products with for example a camera sensor ?
15. Re:Sorry.. by N0Man74 · 2013-09-04 05:56 · Score: 2
  
  There is a difference between an activity that takes time and a "time vampire". The things I mentioned certainly take time, but they are things that are about enhancing or maintaining your quality of life, building stronger social ties, and growing personally, professionally, or creatively. They are things that can have positive benefits.
  If you see enhancing or maintaining your health, social ties, skills, creativity, and knowledge as being nothing but "time vampires" that are equivalent to spending it on video games, I think you might need to reflect a little on your priorities.
  I like video games, and I still play occasionally.. but instead of gaming being something I do several days a week (if not daily), it is something I might go weeks or a months without doing before I notice its absence. I'm not even going to say that gaming doesn't have any benefit, but I do suggest that the benefit is still very likely to be less than what you would derive from other activities; despite any benefits, there is still a significant opportunity cost, just like there is with too much TV, Facebook, pr0n, or posting on Slashdot.
16. Re:Sorry.. by TWiTfan · 2013-09-04 06:57 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  You obviously don't have to work with anything on the web, because the pain inflicted by Microsoft on the countless web developers over the years is still fresh and ongoing for many.
  Uh, I've been doing web development since before IE (and even Netscape) existed, and I don't know wtf you're talking about. When IE came out, I added it as a test platform just like Netscape. As it got more popular, I targeted it more (same as I've done with iOS Safari in recent years). The only people I've ever seen tearing any hair out over a new browser were fucking drama queens who refused to adapt, or thought that standards should be a license for laziness.
  
  --
  The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
Not the least bit interested in buying one. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-04 02:11 · Score: 2, Informative

Until they stop closing down their consoles (which will never happen) and stop implementing any form of DRM (again, probably never), I'll never buy any of this garbage.
1. Re:Not the least bit interested in buying one. by Anonymous Coward · 2013-09-04 02:40 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Other things would be off topic in this post, wouldn't they?
What is the real demand? by UnknowingFool · 2013-09-04 02:15 · Score: 3, Interesting

So who's still getting one? I'm not getting either but it seems MS seems to the less favorite of the two.

--
Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
1. Re:What is the real demand? by CastrTroy · 2013-09-04 02:21 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I agree. Almost nobody I've talked to is interested in buying the new XBox. Even the guy I know who took the day off work to pick up and play the Wii U, and owns all 3 consoles from the previous generation is not planning on buying the XBOne. I suppose that they'll be a lot of clueless parents/grandparents who will buy it, but nobody who is really interested in gaming seems to care about the new XBox.
  
  --
  
  Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
2. Re:What is the real demand? by Princeofcups · 2013-09-04 04:05 · Score: 2
  
  So who's still getting one? I'm not getting either but it seems MS seems to the less favorite of the two.
  One hit exclusive and everyone will eat crow and run out and buy one.
  
  --
  The only thing worse than a Democrat is a Republican.
All the Backpedaled DRM.... by Lumpy · 2013-09-04 02:24 · Score: 4, Insightful

Set to be silently put back in Januray 22 2014 with the first large software update....

--
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
1. Re:All the Backpedaled DRM.... by gstoddart · 2013-09-04 02:36 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Yup, they've tipped their hand as to where they're going, and eventually it will be the always on crap and everything else that pissed people off.
  I think I'm more likely to buy a spare current-gen XBox than even consider the next one.
  I just don't trust that Microsoft won't hold off a bit and then push out an update which does everything they've backed off from.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
2. Re:All the Backpedaled DRM.... by Zimluura · 2013-09-04 02:49 · Score: 2
  
  I hear that!
  The game from the last 2 gens I've played the most is Forza, and on the xbone Forza will have to download stuff before you can complete the game. So, in addition to having the console require activation, they've already gone back to activation on a game.
  I guess I'll be checking out Gran Turismo this gen.
3. Re:All the Backpedaled DRM.... by Lumpy · 2013-09-04 03:12 · Score: 2
  
  Forza kind of jummed the shark anyways. I was excited about Forza horizon, then I discovered that I paid $60.00 for 1/2 a game. I have to pony up an additional $40.00 to get the rest of it. Bite me.
  I'm done with their entire franchise. If they want to do t he DLC dance then the starting price is $30.00 not $60.
  
  --
  Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
This just in... by wbr1 · 2013-09-04 02:43 · Score: 4, Insightful

Home audio/video monitoring device that the government can use, willingly PAID FOR by millions.

--
Silence is a state of mime.
Artificial artificial scarcity by EmperorOfCanada · 2013-09-04 02:45 · Score: 4, Insightful

Artificial artificial scarcity is going to be the name of this campaign. They don't want real scarcity as that could hurt their probably crap sales. But they want to be able to show the people lining up for days to get one. So I suspect they are going to spin this in some sleazy ways. A few sleazy ideas would be things like having a best buy in a really poor area offer the XBox at 80% off for the first 500 customers. This would then get at least 500 customers lined up for a week or more. You could also have other offers such as contests where you have a 1 in 5 chance of winning either the XBox or a trip or something. Or if worse comes to worse they could just hire actors.

Once they have the scarcity going they will do a huge PR campaign first to promote these 3 week long line-ups and then trying to get the world convinced that there are very few XBoxes in their local retailer. They could then work with the retailers to somehow do something like say 1 store in town has 500 while the other stores only have 50. Which store is it? Then people line up and all find that they were lucky enough to be at the store with 500 as they all had 500.

Lastly we are all going to be reading reviews from Console Times or other made up reviewers saying that this is a "Game Changer" and that while the PS4 is a slight upgrade that the new XBox is revolutionary, a paradigm shift, customer oriented, the only console that will survive.

But the worst is going to be in "Votable" forums like the Slashdots and Reddits; where they nodoubt have an army of voters seeking out to kill the bad reviews and promote the shill reviews. A simple example of this would be in any MS related Slashdot posting the anti MS positions are voted down initially but after a while they resurface and then become the norm. My guess is that the PR firms have a limited number of Karma points at any time and try to steer the mood at the beginning but then run out of ammunition.
Re:It's all fun n' games... by EmperorOfCanada · 2013-09-04 02:48 · Score: 2

This is a concern with a US manufacturer of a device that is often on, has a camera, has a microphone, and comes from a company that has cooperated with the stazi. If you said this a year ago you would get a tinfoil hat award. Now you just get a "Could be right". So a simple question is: After Sony suffered the hacking scandal would they allow a US agency to spy on their customers opening the door to another Scandal?
Anniversary by devnullkac · 2013-09-04 03:16 · Score: 3, Funny

It is also the same day that the Xbox 360 launched in 2005.
It's also the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK... coincidence? Actually, yes, I'm pretty sure it's just a coincidence.

--
What do you mean they cut the power? How can they cut the power, man? They're animals!
1. Re:Anniversary by space_jake · 2013-09-04 05:44 · Score: 2
  
  Can't wait to get my XBox One Shooter bundle.
What you sound like by cbhacking · 2013-09-04 05:06 · Score: 2

Right, because of the two "hardcore" gaming console manufacturers, it's always been MS who retroactively shafted their customer base with forced updates, right? ... wait, what do you mean that it was Sony who did that last time? That can't be right! Sony gave us Linux on our consoles! ... until they removed it? Crazy talk, right? I mean, that was an advertised feature on the box! They would never retroactively remove an advertised feature! ... really? They did it anyway, huh. Wow, damn. Oh well, I'm sure a bunch of hackers got together and put it back on anyhow, so no harm done. ... now you're telling me Sony filed a lawsuit against the people who put an advertised feature back into the hardware they purchased? What a bunch of dicks!
Well, fine, so maybe Sony fucked over its customers via forced updates (and lawsuits) last time, but you know it'll be MS this time. I mean, they've got a history of that kind of shit, right? I mean, I'm *sure* that there's a time before the whole PS3 OtherOS thing when MS crippled their own product with a forced update too! ... not really, huh. I guess that was kind of Sony's big "innovation" of the last few years, then.

--
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...