The real reason MS overhauled this whole process is more likely than not due to piracy.  Yes, a few bad apples DO spoil the bunch.  But will this make the X1 basically pirate proof?  And will third party publishers take note and respond accordingly?

If pirates can exploit the console to allow data to be stored on the system without the need for the cloud, then no , and it might have the potential to have a worse case of piracy than 360 if the used game thing is true.

I'm pretty sure (read: 99% sure) the reason MS instituted its new policies was to combat used game sales, not piracy.

Also, if it does become piracy-proof, it'd pretty much be the first system to do so, no?

There are already many hacks and exploits that take some kind of online authentication and redirect it, mimicking the server they can then authenticate their games while never really doing it at all, this is what will happen with this console.

the always online is the first thing hackers will fix with the xbone if they hack it.

Nothing will ever end up with piracy. People underestimate pirates every single time; just see how that pays off.

Roach = Pirate? close enough

Developers will buy into this and support the console. Even if their is piracy, developers won't mind so much. They are still making out in the end with the legit pre-owned sales. Currently, to them, a pirated game and a pre-owned sale mean the same. Smaller devs will remain in business. God rest your soul, Working Designs.

I'm all for it. Plus, zero game disc swapping and I can go anywhere and play my game on any Xbox One without worrying about my discs getting messed up. I hate letting friends borrow game discs. So, this will give me a reason to not let people borrow games.

Given its architecture (reported as x64 processor + a not much customized GPU) I would not be surprised if it gets hacked relatively fast.

For the same reason, a XBOX or a PS4 one emulator may be trivial task for a modern x64 PC once the ISO format of its games gets decrypted.

Nope. If anything it will break the record for earliest homebrew and even earliest emulator released. Hell, who knows we could even see an X1 emulator for the PS4 - perhaps the code will be absolutely the same haha.