Microsoft Revise Their DRM and Used Game Policies For Xbox One Console

A little over a week ago at E3 2013 both Microsoft (Xbox One) and Sony (PS4) unveiled their new consoles and while hardware wise there might not be that much of a difference (apparently the PS4 is slightly better), the way each company approached how consumers could use their platforms was like night and day. Microsoft revealed their game plan first (no pun intended XD ) and it couldn't have gone down any worse with it's fan base; a hefty price tag for additional features that most gamers don't care for, a mandatory link up with Xbox servers at least once every 24hrs for all games to continue working (on or offline) and complex restrictions on how gamers could handle their game disks. Well, late last night, Microsoft posted an update on their Xbox website regarding the Xbox One, which was nothing short of an embarrassing U-turn on policies that they were stringently defending, not more than a few days ago. You can head over there to read the entire article in full (link at end of article) but if you just want a quick summary, basically out of the three points I mentioned above, the last two have now been scrapped/altered significantly. I've quoted the changes below for your convenience:

PlayStation 4 Launch Price and More, Detailed At Sony Press Conference E3 2013

 
Earlier this week the biggest event in the gaming calendar took place, in the form of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2013. Every year the show is a pretty big affair, with game developers from around the world converging on LA, to pitch and discuss their upcoming releases/projects but this year was just that bit bigger. Even if you don't play videos games that often, it's highly likely that you'll be aware that this year marks the start of the next console war, as both Sony and Microsoft are due to launch new products later this year. We learnt very little about the new PS4 at Sony's February press conference but one could argue it was still better than Microsoft's first press release on the Xbox One in May. Anyway, on the opening day of E3 2013 both companies revealed further details on their new game consoles and one of the main new pieces of information was the launch price of their units. I've provided a brief summary of what Sony talked about at E3 regarding the PS4 including their proposed launch price and I've also embedded the video, just in case you fancy watching the whole thing yourself.

Call of Duty: Ghosts - E3 All Access Event [Gameplay Footage and Analysis Inside]

Yesterday Activision held a special presentation for their upcoming new game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, which felt like a direct follow up to the reveal trailer released a couple weeks back. While most developers are happy enough to be showcasing at the E3 event, Activision decided it wanted to (unofficially) kick off the expo and hosted an 'All Access' event a day before the convention doors opens because they wanted to "bring E3 to our fans" (the ones who couldn't make it).. The whole show lasts for about 30 minutes and you can watch it below, YouTube does require you to log in to view it but if you can't be bothered with that, there are a few other versions floating around, though none as good in terms of visual quality. There's a bit of chatter between the presenters (Jeff Keighley and Justine Ezarik) with the various people from Activision and Infinity Ward but it's mostly introducing or discussing the three video clips. The first two videos show footage taken from separate missions and the third one is sort of a preview of the entire game, I highly suggest you read my summary of the third video (below) before you decide if you want to watch it because some people might consider the clips as campaign spoilers. As per usual I provide a round up summary/analysis after the video, though in all honesty the footage shown is pretty clear cut but if you're still interested in my thoughts, be sure to scroll past the video, enjoy.