Xbox One Game Discs Only to be Used for Initial Installation

By Catherine Cai
published

Xbox One game discs will be useless after the first install.

In the past few months, the next-generation Xbox rumor mill had been churning at an impressive rate. Allegedly, Durango at one point in its development was going to be always-online, partially to block the installation of used games. The Xbox One reveal today dispelled the always-online myth, but what about the used games?

According to Wired, the Xbox One's blu-ray disc reader is going to be sparsely used. A game disc will only be required for an initial installation. After that, a disc will no longer be required for a One user to play the game. How will this work in the scheme of Xbox One games across different accounts and consoles? Well, an installation fee will be charged should a game be installed on another account (though Microsoft hasn't confirmed what the fee will be). However, it's not clear whether or not players on a second account will be able to run games off the disc to play.

If it does prove to be the case that players on other accounts won't be able to run the game off of discs without the installation fee, it'll definitely prove a handicap to the second-hand games market… or to friends just wanting the ability to swap and borrow games.  

Catherine Cai
Topics
E3
Gaming
Xbox
82 Comments Comment from the forums
  • well at least they showed an actual console even though it looks like a dated VCR. Isn't tech supposed to progress and these things get thinner lighter smaller?
    Reply
  • That is just stupid. What if a child and a dad have their own Xbox and they want to play the same game? Buying the same game twice per household is stupid.
    I would protest in everyway, I sell my used games on ebay to fair prices unlike gamestop to buy new games / etc. This is just another moneymaking scheme that I wish the government would crack down on, if it wasn't such of a don't like it, don't buy it thing.
    Reply
  • xero141
    I remember when I bought game A, my buddy bought game B. We swapped games when we wanted or went to each other's houses. Back then, we popped the game in and were having fun in 3 minutes flat. Today we buy a game, wait 12 years to install it, wait another 6 to update, load the game, and wait another few years for a level to load, in the end, we beat the game in 6 hours and lose interest. I miss when gaming was fun and fun actually was fun.
    Reply
  • eklipz330
    i'm here to answer all your questions friends.
    1)the game will play immediately when you put it in. it will install while you play
    2)you can have multiple x1's in the house, and they will all work with your games fine as long as you account is there
    3)used games will still work, although microsoft hasn't clarified the method. my prediction is that each game will come with a code that you must manually enter so as to avoid people from installing their games and then reselling it back to the market.
    4)save games will be on the cloud, you can load your profile on any x1 and play your games from where you left off
    5)microsoft said they accounted for multiple accounts having the same game. so you should be ok there too
    Reply
  • ubercake
    I like this idea. No need for disks.
    Reply
  • vmem
    they should make this an option, not a requirement. some people don't mind popping in a disc and want to save HDD space or what not. of course, this does solve the "I scratched my $60 game disc!!!" issue
    Reply
  • realibrad
    10844278 said:
    i'm here to answer all your questions friends.
    1)the game will play immediately when you put it in. it will install while you play
    2)you can have multiple x1's in the house, and they will all work with your games fine as long as you account is there
    3)used games will still work, although microsoft hasn't clarified the method. my prediction is that each game will come with a code that you must manually enter so as to avoid people from installing their games and then reselling it back to the market.
    4)save games will be on the cloud, you can load your profile on any x1 and play your games from where you left off
    5)microsoft said they accounted for multiple accounts having the same game. so you should be ok there too

    If saves are on the cloud, does this mean that if you dont have connection to the internet, you lose your progress until you get it back?
    Reply
  • bllue
    Like PC games basically.
    Reply
  • bllue
    Like PC games basically.
    Reply
  • Grandmastersexsay
    10844371 said:
    Like PC games basically.

    Unlike a PC game, you will have to pay multiple license fees for multiple users on one Xbox.
    Reply