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RIP Xbox Fitness: Users Will Soon Lose Access To Workout Videos They Bought (arstechnica.com)
insitus quotes a report from Ars Technica: Xbox users who purchased training videos through the Xbox Fitness app probably thought they were buying a workout program they'd be able to use regularly for the life of the Xbox One, at the very least. Instead, those videos will soon be completely unavailable to those who paid for them up front, according to a "sunset" plan announced by Microsoft yesterday evening. Xbox Fitness first launched in late 2013 with the console, offering a Kinect-powered health app that uses the 3D camera to evaluate users' form as they perform the exercises demoed by on-screen video trainers. The app, which provided 30 basic routines for free with an Xbox Live Gold account, will be coming to an end on December 15. The paid content associated with the app will also no longer be available for purchase, and those who purchased it previously will be able to use it for over one more year before the app becomes completely unavailable to download or use on July 1, 2017. What some have found especially upsetting with the news is that Microsoft has yet to announce any plans to compensate users who have paid for content or to provide downloadable versions of paid workouts that can be used after the phase-out date. Thus, many upset users have taken to the sunset announcement post and various other outlets to speak their mind on the situation. "I bought 140$+ worth of content just this year... I don't want a refund, I want to be able to continue to use what I PAID for !!!!!!!!!!!" Xbox Live user QuickSilver wrote.
Fuck you. Die of cancer in a fire.
That is all.
We told you so.
This is just Microsoft once again making certain your bought and paid for content Plays For Sure! (tm)
Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
could have left it at that
...die by the cloud.
They bought a license to let them use it. This is why I don't buy anything in the cloud, if I don't have the physical media then the thing I "bought" can go away at any time.
When I buy a game and "they" take down the multi-player servers, I get it. I can still play the single player game, but can no longer shoot n00bs. In this case, I can no longer sit on the couch eating ice cream while watching Jillian Michaels's ass. They took away my single player game which, had the game been designed correctly, would put exactly 0.0% load on anybody's servers. Of course, the game was poorly designed such that they wanted telemetry on who watched her ass when, hence the game you bought has to go away.
And yeah, I know single player games are going to this model. Wanna guess how many games I've bought that use this model? If you guessed 0.0% then you get a prize.
Stay away from Microsoft digital media purchases! This should absolutely send people running from the Microsoft Windows Store. Whoever thought that this was a good or even plausible idea must be brain-dead. It's the best advertisement for Google Play that I've seen yet!
665: The mark on the forehead of Satan's slightly less evil brother, Stan.
This is far from the first time that Microsoft have totally cut off users from DRM'd content that they have already bought. Its already very well-known that Microsoft clearly feel free to fuck their own customers over anytime they please.
When will people finally get it? If you don't want the risk of your media/games/apps library just disappearing one day, STOP BUYING FROM MICROSOFT. That includes buying any platform (e.g. XBox, Microsoft phones, tablets) that lock you into only buying from the Microsoft Store.
I feel like MS has missed the fact that there are a lot of Xbox users out there that bought the machine specifically for the Kinect and associated content. If I wanted an ultimate gaming platform I would have bought a PC. I bought the Xbox because the Kinect is fun and gets you off the couch. Just because non-gamers don't rant and rave on the internet about Xbox vs PS4 specs doesn't mean they shouldn't have some say about how the platform develops.
For decades we've been seeing that if you buy DRMed shit, you can and will lose access to it at any time, either temporarily (such as DRMed games with activation servers taken offline) or permanently (Walmart DRMed music). These events have been the primary headline on CNN, BBC, and other major news outlets.
By now, if you are still buying DRMed things - either software or hardware - tough shit when you lose access to them. You gave someone else control, so suck it up, bubs. You want a world where that doesn't happen? Buy non-DRMed stuff. There isn't "enough" of it, you say? (1) bullshit, there's more high quality stuff than you'll ever consume in a single human lifetime, and (2) there will be more once it becomes clear to companies that DRM = death in the marketplace. But the message you are sending now is DRM = wild success, so you can't then turn around and bitch that there isn't enough.
You want me to feel sorry you lost access to some DRMed thing you "bought"? Here's the world's smallest violin, playing just for you.
Microsoft has a long history of doing this, but hey it's the first time they've done it to all the kids who are reinventing technology all over again, so NEWS! What till Sanders doesn't get the nomination and watch how they freak out.
Captcha: unaware
Software companies show us exactly WHY users want physical versions of software, why they want DRM removed.
The fact the console companies have the audacity to charge more for the download versions only makes things worse.
I find it interesting that the Microsoft announcement says "This includes content youâ(TM)ve purchased." Not "subscribed to", "purchased". I wonder where else they used the word "purchased". I'm sure they have some BS in the tiny print, but if the bold print says "purchase" in multiple places ...
Digital Restrictions Management once again helps large companies book profits, while depriving people of what they thought they "purchased".
It's even more interesting when you contrast it with the way the media conflate copyright infringement with stealing. When someone makes a bootleg copy of a movie, the original is still accessible. When someone steals something from you, you lose access to what has been stolen.
So, when will we read the news "Microsoft will steal workout videos from consumers"?
`echo $[0x853204FA81]|tr 0-9 ionbsdeaml`@gmail.com
Maybe someday they will understand what we "techies" have been complaining about for years. Hackers and gamers don't elicit much sympathy; housewives following workout videos might get a different reaction.
Time to make an old-fashioned exercise tape that even Richard Simmons would be proud of!
I love my Xbox One, But fuck me this is a fucking moronic DICK ACT from Microsoft. They have spent all this effort pushing towards digital content saying digital is the future and they show in one foul act why you should never buy digital from them. make up your god damn mind, either digital is dead or it is the future, you can't have half arsed approaches like this.
Have everything, own nothing...
Meanwhile all my NES games from the late 80's still work just fine.
Actually the original vision for Xbox One wasn't just gaming. ITS MONEY. Microsoft was pretty clear about this point.
Wow - I can add this to my 6 dead xboxes, and MS forcefeedback USB wheel that is in great shape but no longer works with newer versions of Windows.
Hell - it's only money right?
Windows 95 had Rolling Stones "Start Me Up" as their anthem when they launched.
Windows 10 Anthem - by the Police:
Every breath you take
Every move you make
Every bond you break
Every step you take
I'll be watching you.
Every single day
Every word you say
Every game you play
Every night you stay
I'll be watching you.
Oh can't you see .....
You belong to me?
(Every Breath You Take)
I have not much more to say, have trouble believing that Microsoft couldn't secure the rights for 30-something videos or perhaps it's planned both on the short term and steady income.
Also, by using torrent-like downloads on such 'EOL' content, being mild on users with low upload there would be a trade off users could accept (or don't suffer much if they don't know what upload is and have the hard disk space). But maybe they insist all the way on an "app" that streams so that there's no hard disk space consumed, instant access and work on so called "universal" devices.
The Microsoft solutions comes as playing nice to lawyers and accoutants first, the "technical purity" of their platform second perhaps and dead last your customers.
It's very silly, please at least pretend you care. You've even turned off customers with a big, well lit and aerated living room and $90 or something to blow on what you call "universal" content. You might as well still candy and ice cream from children in an early summer afternoon in the park. Invite the local journals and radio stations to come over.
It isn't just video, the software for xbox fitness uses the kinect sensor to keep track of your movements to make sure you were keeping up with the video and also used it to measure your heart rate, estimate calories burned, and to provide score that which would all get logged in-game so you could keep up with how well you did and compare it to your other attempts.
It was actually the whole reason I decided to buy the more expensive xbox bundle that came with the kinect sensor because they were advertising heavily about xbox fitness as a selling point.
I hope Microsoft and the industry generally keeps pulling crap like this so they get what they have coming to them sooner rather than later. If Microsoft or anyone else thinks people are going to put up with this crap that is their bet to make. I'm betting they will lose handily. It only takes getting fucked over once to convince (former) customers to spread the word about you and change their buying habits forever.
Don't you have those videos on your device so you can watch them any time you want to?
You paid money for them, right? Why aren't these videos on your device then?
Why do you people accept such a business model (i.e. renting stuff) in the first place?
Btw - the title is wrong, You did not buy anything. You don't own anything. You rented it. Your lease can and will be terminated anytime.
Why do people spend money on things they really actually don't like / want? Examples:
- cars with gear shifters that have a weird design and don't work right.
- iphones that can be controlled by 3rd parties with ir.
- media (dvd, etc.) where I am being told not to pirate even though I paid for it.
- etc.
Companies (Apple, Paramount, Universal, Microsoft, Amazon, etc.) - Your products suck! And I will not buy them until you listen to me. And do as I say!
You remember - Customer is King! Customer is always right! You seem to have forgotten that rule from a distant past.
The Act is enforced by the Commerce Commission (a Government body). The Commission can take traders to court if it thinks they have breached the Act. (And it does)
And no, MS can't say that the governing law is Washington state, USA. Well, they can, but it has no effect (see above), and doing so is itself an offence under the act.
That is, if a consumer might reasonably expect that this constituted a sale (and legal precedent in NZ under the CGA has established that means an average, not very well informed consumer), then it's a sale. And Microsoft has a presence in New Zealand and can certainly be fined. The fines are substantial and per incident, so as to discourage writing them off as a cost of doing business.
Disclaimer: I have no idea if this service was even sold in New Zealand. And if it was, it is important to know who sold it. If it was the local games retailer, then they are liable. If it was through Microsoft's on-line store, then they bear responsibility.
Don't forget the Zune marketplace, which replaced Plays For Sure. MS closed it as well.
It is even worse here in Germany: an unlicensed copy is called a "robbery copy".
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
... that folks pirate stuff? I have no personal interest in x-box or any apps that run on them (don't own one and have no desire to), but when you treat your customers like shit, then you can't really complain when they treat your product as a freely available commodity. Suck it up MS, you will reap what you sow for previously loyal x-box users.
Hey kids, this is why you don't buy things digital-only.
This happened earlier with the removal of the Scott Pilgrim game from the Xbox Live and the Playstation Network. Once the licensee says "nope, no more" then you're lucky you can even still play it if you already bought it.
This is the kind of thing that encourages piracy, and I wouldn't put it past people doing exactly that because of this.
... it isn't really yours.
> I bought 140$+ worth of content just this year...
HAHAHAHAHA! Bought... Sorry dude, but did you read the EULA? You bought nothing and own nothing. You merely rented something, and now the OWNER, who is not YOU, wants it back.
In the UK, I'd suggest contacting Trading Standards as a starting point. This might be covered by the Sale of Goods Act, which says that goods must last "a reasonable length of time". For goods like this I think "reasonable" would be "lifetime of the console" at least.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
A company that treats its customers this way is obviously in for a deep trouble. Maybe it's time to say goodbye to Microsoft and thanks for all the fish.
I think to "steal" would mean Microsoft ends up with the item in the end. In this case Microsoft is actually destroying the property of their customers.
And they get rid of it. The wife and I were planning to use it as a workout device, since it tracks you, heart rate, calories etc and we're tired of the old workout videos. There was a big selection on the Xbox One. I heard it worked great.
If MS was smart they'd package the Kinect 2 with hardware that only does the videos (like last generation's Xbox with no disc drive), throw up a simple app store, and workout tracking and sell it as the new Wii.
Twinstiq, game news
I know a few people who only bought the Xbox One for the non-gaming purposes. But like any other MS product, if it doesn't pan out in the short term they're willing to completely give up on the long term growth, recognition, and loyalty that they would gain and instead piss off a group of people. As they keep repeating this I'm not even sure how they plan on even attracting people to new products without the looming fear that support could be yanked at any point.
Twinstiq, game news
I thought they called them "jewish copies". Germany, you know.
If you're depending on a video game to help you exercise, you're doing it wrong!
https://xbox.uservoice.com/forums/363186--new-ideas/suggestions/15001341-do-not-shut-down-xbox-fitness
You would buy your goods, and on the back of the receipt, in small, light type, it would say something like "All sales subject to our normal terms and conditions". Then, at the company's head office, would be the published T&Cs, which would say "All sales final. Sale of Goods Act does not apply". Want to fight that contract? Well, lawyer up, bearing in mind that the fees and inconvenience will never justify your refund.
Has the UK SOG been updated similarly?
Stealing is something that people do to corporations, not the other way around. The fundamental right underlying all laws is the right of corporations to make money. If you do something that prevents them from making money, that's stealing. If they do something that hurts you, including taking away something you've paid for, that's just exercising their right to make money. It's not stealing, because no corporation is harmed by it.
"I'm too busy to research this and form an educated opinion, but I do have time to tell everyone my uninformed opinion."
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