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VGKing on 05 April 2013
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kungfuian said:
VGKing said:
Surprised no one has said this yet but WHAT IF THE NEXT XBOX REALLY IS JUST LIKE A CABLE BOX AND IS SOLD WITH A CONTRACT/SUBSCRIPTION? That's the only way that "always-on" makes sense.

This is probably even worse though as it means the only way to buy the next Xbox is to get into a contract with Microsoft.


I'm sure this is their plan. The only way I see it working though is if they've partnered with one of the big cable/net/phone providers (without net included it's a fing disaster).

For all it's potential problems (the main one i see is ownership rights to software/games) I actually see this as the direction the market is heading, just like phones, where hardware is directly subsidised by a fully service based model of consumption.

It just solves so many problems for the platform holder;  a service based/subsidised model means they don't have to loose their asses on hardware costs (typically sold at a loss early in a console cycle), and the low price of entry for the box has the potential for a sigificantly increased install base/market penetration. It's arguably a better business model than the 10 year hope we make our money back model that's currently in place.

The problems of this model; loosing customers if network stability is an issue, poorly implemented drm, overly intrusive online practices, and loss of potential customers who live in areas/countries without access good internet are solvable, but only if the always on/service based model is offered along side a traditional offline box/brick and mortar type model.

Until they reveal the system we can't know for sure, but the benfits verses problems of always online is not so simple. I'm sure microsoft has better info about all of these factors and is going to gamble it's dollars based on a lot more than the average customer or fan has access to...

But how many people will actually buy into a console contract when there are alternatives that don't?

We're already seeing carriers like T-Mobile moving away from contracts. PEOPLE DON'T LIKE BEING TIED DOWN TO 1 PHONE FOR 2 YEARS. Same goes for the Xbox, if someone only uses it on the weekends, is it worth that monthly bill? NO, IT"S NOT. 

CONSOLES ARE FOR PLAY, THEY ARE NOT A NECESSITY LIKE A MOBILE PHONE.