Key Xbox One features limited to Xbox Live Gold subscribers

[Shawn Knight]

It seems as though the hits just keep coming for Microsoft’s next generation game console as it was recently revealed that a number of Xbox One features will be limited to Xbox Live Gold members only. Specifically, features like SmartMatch, Skype, Xbox One’s TV Guide and perhaps most importantly, the Game DVR, won’t be accessible unless you’re a paying Live subscriber.

The restrictions were first reported by One Hit Pixel after they noticed them on an Xbox Live features page. A follow-up message with Microsoft confirmed the fact that Game DVR won’t be available to non-Gold members.

The Game DVR feature looked promising from the outset as it would record gameplay in the background as you played. This video could then be uploaded to the web to share with others, similar to Sony’s Share feature on the PlayStation 4. There are, however, a number of notable differences between the two platforms.

It was recently revealed that Microsoft’s DVR implementation would be limited to just five minutes of record time. Furthermore, clips recorded on the Xbox One are limited to 720p quality at 30 frames per second. For comparison, Sony’s solution allows a user to record up to 15 minutes of footage and isn’t limited to paying customers.

Despite all of the limitations, missteps and changes of course, Microsoft isn’t having much trouble with pre-orders as the console (as well as the PS4) continue to sell out at various online retailers. If you want a next-gen console this holiday season, you’d better reserve one sooner rather than later as they’ll likely be sold out very soon until early next year.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/53541-key-xbox-one-features-limited-to-xbox-live-gold-subscribers.html

 

[Guest]

Has it been confirmed that Sony users won't need PS+ to utilize the "Share" feature? As much as I don't believe they'll take the route, I can't find anything confirming it.

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Key features limited to paying subscribers? Isn't that the whole point? Why pay if you don't get extra stuff?

The game DVR sounds like it would be cool, but it also sounds like one of those features you'd try out once and forget about.

 

[Chuck Cortes]

Key features limited to paying subscribers? Isn't that the whole point? Why pay if you don't get extra stuff?

The game DVR sounds like it would be cool, but it also sounds like one of those features you'd try out once and forget about.

Depends on the feature. If the feature is software related then it makes sense to put it as part of Xbox Live Gold but if its a feature being exclusive to the hardware then it seems unfair to sell it as part of the hardware but if you want it to gotta pay extra for it.

That's like me buying a computer that comes with bluetooth and wifi but if I want to use the bluetooth and wifi I have to pay extra for it even though I already paid for the hardware.

 

[wastedkill]

Key features limited to paying subscribers? Isn't that the whole point? Why pay if you don't get extra stuff?

The game DVR sounds like it would be cool, but it also sounds like one of those features you'd try out once and forget about.

If its a feature your worth paying for go with a ps4 thats cheaper, better, also comes with better stuff and lets not forgot doesn't screw over their customers then lie to them

 

[OliTheG]

Key features limited to paying subscribers? Isn't that the whole point? Why pay if you don't get extra stuff?

The game DVR sounds like it would be cool, but it also sounds like one of those features you'd try out once and forget about.

If its a feature your worth paying for go with a ps4 thats cheaper, better, also comes with better stuff and lets not forgot doesn't screw over their customers then lie to them

What lies? As far as I am aware, Sony pretty much lied about the amount of available RAM for games, then refused to clarify. They also have not released any info on the PSEye, or how awful the one headphone you get is. As far as I am aware, a communications device can get a tax dodge if it comes with headphones.


And frankly, if you pay more, you should get more. Fair play to MS.

 

[Burty117]

Key features limited to paying subscribers? Isn't that the whole point? Why pay if you don't get extra stuff?

The game DVR sounds like it would be cool, but it also sounds like one of those features you'd try out once and forget about.

If its a feature your worth paying for go with a ps4 thats cheaper, better, also comes with better stuff and lets not forgot doesn't screw over their customers then lie to them

What lies? As far as I am aware, Sony pretty much lied about the amount of available RAM for games, then refused to clarify. They also have not released any info on the PSEye, or how awful the one headphone you get is. As far as I am aware, a communications device can get a tax dodge if it comes with headphones.


And frankly, if you pay more, you should get more. Fair play to MS.

Lies:
Cloud Processing - was just a massive Lie since it is now an offline device.
Daily Check-Ins - Stupid DRM systems on a CONSOLE.
All-in-one replacement box - It doesn't replace your tuner and only works in the US.
Used Games - You should already know the rap on this one.
Price is justified - Again, the PS4 is higher spec and considerably cheaper, that's a Lie.
E3 - Games were running on PC's running Windows 7 and Nvidia Cards, All proven with Pictures. Not all games, but still.

Now true, Sony wasn't upfront with how much RAM would be available but they've brought it inline with Microsoft's but is much faster? granted Microsoft have got a way round that with the EDRAM but it has to be managed thus making it harder to program for.

People who want to play games don't give a sh*t about the PSEye, that can come out in a years time it doesn't matter, people who have been in the industry for a long time also agree the Kinect is a horrible way to interact with games, If the Kinect didn't come with the Xbox One, I know for a fact here in the UK it would be selling more.

I would rather have a single headphone than rely on some microphone array above my TV, I mean seriously, you think the Kinect is going to be able to drown out 5.1 surround sounds?

Onto the Price, the Xbox One is more expensive, and, Unless you think the Kinect will actually improve the way you interact with games, It is lower spec and comes with less than the PlayStation.

Sony have they're faults as well, but this round so far, Microsoft have had to make a massive U-turn because of how bad of press they've had, Its still looking pretty bad for them because of the price, lower spec console, comes with hardware that not all people want to use (remember the Kinect has to be used mandatory) and doesn't come with many services without paying an extra fee every month.

 

[OliTheG]

Lies:
Cloud Processing - was just a massive Lie since it is now an offline device.
Daily Check-Ins - Stupid DRM systems on a CONSOLE.
All-in-one replacement box - It doesn't replace your tuner and only works in the US.
Used Games - You should already know the rap on this one.
Price is justified - Again, the PS4 is higher spec and considerably cheaper, that's a Lie.
E3 - Games were running on PC's running Windows 7 and Nvidia Cards, All proven with Pictures. Not all games, but still.

Now true, Sony wasn't upfront with how much RAM would be available but they've brought it inline with Microsoft's but is much faster? granted Microsoft have got a way round that with the EDRAM but it has to be managed thus making it harder to program for.

People who want to play games don't give a sh*t about the PSEye, that can come out in a years time it doesn't matter, people who have been in the industry for a long time also agree the Kinect is a horrible way to interact with games, If the Kinect didn't come with the Xbox One, I know for a fact here in the UK it would be selling more.

I would rather have a single headphone than rely on some microphone array above my TV, I mean seriously, you think the Kinect is going to be able to drown out 5.1 surround sounds?

Onto the Price, the Xbox One is more expensive, and, Unless you think the Kinect will actually improve the way you interact with games, It is lower spec and comes with less than the PlayStation.

Sony have they're faults as well, but this round so far, Microsoft have had to make a massive U-turn because of how bad of press they've had, Its still looking pretty bad for them because of the price, lower spec console, comes with hardware that not all people want to use (remember the Kinect has to be used mandatory) and doesn't come with many services without paying an extra fee every month.

Not really

1) Was originally there, still happening (for example, Forza 5) Don't know where you heard that
2) Taken out after people complained about a non-issue
3) Never said otherwise. Who do you think would provide cable TV for free? UK support will happen
4) It can play used games. How is that lying?
5) Opinion. And we are talking by itself. It's cheaper than the 360 at launch
6) Xbox wasn't finished. If you would read the article in which they talked about the minor clock boost, they said that they only recently brought all the hardware together. E3 wa almost half a year before release. Apologies if microsoft hasn't finished their console yet and had 50 million consoles made at that point. It's called development time for a reason. The fact you consider that an argument show how uninformed you are, and when you tie in the fact that everything you just wrote there was false, it says a lot about you.
7) Kinect isn't mandatory to use the console. It's there if you want it, but otherwise it doesn't matter.


X360 can game and do other things. PS4 can game. I thought people liked more features? If you don't want to use then, go nuts. It's basically this;

Sony has an in car phone system. Microsoft puts in that, Sat NAV with voice commands and the phone has voice commands. By your logic, MS is evil because they are giving people more options. You don't HAVE to use the SAT-NAV, you can just use the phone if you want (I.e. with Sony).

And who are you to talk about graphical fidelity (which means jack all IN THE REALM OF FUN GAMES. FUN. FUUUUUUUUUUNNNN. Remember that?) and game quality when the consoles haven't even been released, or had games that actually push the processing power (wait 6 years please)

And looking bad? If you can sell tens of millions of a £420 item, you arn't failing. You arn't doing badly, let me tell you something.

 

[ET3D]

Xbox Live Gold has always been tied to net access. Multiplayer, cloud saves, video services... So it's totally not surprising that Xbox One continues this tradition.

The stupidest thing is mentioning SmartMatch as only being available to Gold subscribers ("Specifically, features like SmartMatch..."). Like it would be of any use to regular users who can't play multiplayer.

 

[Burty117]

Not really


1) Was originally there, still happening (for example, Forza 5) Don't know where you heard that

They were specifically saying the reason online was required was so that all games to use the processing power of the cloud, are you telling me that all games are going to crap without an internet connection? and Forza isn't argument, all it will do is make the AI "600%" which come on, they explained how it worked by monitoring the way the player drives and tailoring the AI to that to become more competitive, you could easily implement that without the cloud since the console does have 8 cores.

2) Taken out after people complained about a non-issue

So the PlayStation hasn't had a backlash to change anything but the Xbox has?

3) Never said otherwise. Who do you think would provide cable TV for free? UK support will happen

HAHA! Ok wow, read the very first few words:
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/xboxone/what-it-does
Yep, they're definitely still claiming it as an all-in-one.

4) It can play used games. How is that lying?

The reason I said "you know the rap" is because you couldn't trade games until they back peddled.

5) Opinion. And we are talking by itself. It's cheaper than the 360 at launch

The Xbox 360 launched with a Core Edition for £210, the Xbox One is £430. It's Math not opinion.

6) Xbox wasn't finished. If you would read the article in which they talked about the minor clock boost, they said that they only recently brought all the hardware together. E3 wa almost half a year before release. Apologies if microsoft hasn't finished their console yet and had 50 million consoles made at that point. It's called development time for a reason. The fact you consider that an argument show how uninformed you are, and when you tie in the fact that everything you just wrote there was false, it says a lot about you.

Your not worried that Microsoft are still tinkering with its spec with only half a year to go for launch? Strange I'm pretty sure they've had several years to think about this kind of stuff, just to add Sony have gone on record that they haven't tweaked the specs of their machine this late on in development, that's why when their console demo's at E3 crashed they actually went back to a messed up UI not a desktop operating System.

7) Kinect isn't mandatory to use the console. It's there if you want it, but otherwise it doesn't matter.

Debatable, You cannot buy a version of the console without it and you have to disable it in the settings but I can't find anything to confirm whether you can actually unplug it from the console, I have read reports that it has to be connected in order for the console to function.

X360 can game and do other things. PS4 can game. I thought people liked more features? If you don't want to use then, go nuts. It's basically this;



Sony has an in car phone system. Microsoft puts in that, Sat NAV with voice commands and the phone has voice commands. By your logic, MS is evil because they are giving people more options. You don't HAVE to use the SAT-NAV, you can just use the phone if you want (I.e. with Sony).

If the features detract from the purpose (and price) of what the unit is supposed to do and at the expense of its core feature (in this particular situation, a games console) then no, having a camera wait for me to talk and TV features that work in a single region of the world are not useful and I would hardly say your analogy is correct it is more like:
Xbox One is an American Sat Nav with voice control and a HDMI multiconnector.
PS4 is a faster Sat Nav with extra maps and a higher res screen.

And who are you to talk about graphical fidelity (which means jack all IN THE REALM OF FUN GAMES. FUN. FUUUUUUUUUUNNNN. Remember that?) and game quality when the consoles haven't even been released, or had games that actually push the processing power (wait 6 years please)

Yeah, I know what a fun game is, example would be the fact I regularly go play Unreal Tournament 2004, (fantastic game btw) And I agree, gameplay and other elements (down right fun) are equal on both consoles, I'm talking about graphical fidelity though, look at the PS3, GT6 and The Last of Us look stunning and really add to the immersion, Xbox 360 has kinda run out of juice and doesn't seem to have any truly good looking games come out on it in recent years. But agreed, the next couple of years will show which one truly has the better architecture (I know which one my monies on though).

And looking bad? If you can sell tens of millions of a £420 item, you arn't failing. You arn't doing badly, let me tell you something.

Microsoft was Selling £500 tablets and lost a lot of money
https://www.techspot.com/news/53286...lion-charge-on-unsold-surface-rt-tablets.html
Also to note I wouldn't say ten of millions just yet, hell I'll be surprised if they can even cover pre-orders in november if they're still tweaking the hardware...

 

[Guest]

Screw over your customers and then lie to them.

Is that like a new catchphrase? I've heard it waaayyy too much lately.

 

[OliTheG]

They were specifically saying the reason online was required was so that all games to use the processing power of the cloud, are you telling me that all games are going to crap without an internet connection? and Forza isn't argument, all it will do is make the AI "600%" which come on, they explained how it worked by monitoring the way the player drives and tailoring the AI to that to become more competitive, you could easily implement that without the cloud since the console does have 8 cores.


So the PlayStation hasn't had a backlash to change anything but the Xbox has?


HAHA! Ok wow, read the very first few words:
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/xboxone/what-it-does
Yep, they're definitely still claiming it as an all-in-one.


The reason I said "you know the rap" is because you couldn't trade games until they back peddled.


The Xbox 360 launched with a Core Edition for £210, the Xbox One is £430. It's Math not opinion.


Your not worried that Microsoft are still tinkering with its spec with only half a year to go for launch? Strange I'm pretty sure they've had several years to think about this kind of stuff, just to add Sony have gone on record that they haven't tweaked the specs of their machine this late on in development, that's why when their console demo's at E3 crashed they actually went back to a messed up UI not a desktop operating System.


Debatable, You cannot buy a version of the console without it and you have to disable it in the settings but I can't find anything to confirm whether you can actually unplug it from the console, I have read reports that it has to be connected in order for the console to function.


If the features detract from the purpose (and price) of what the unit is supposed to do and at the expense of its core feature (in this particular situation, a games console) then no, having a camera wait for me to talk and TV features that work in a single region of the world are not useful and I would hardly say your analogy is correct it is more like:
Xbox One is an American Sat Nav with voice control and a HDMI multiconnector.
PS4 is a faster Sat Nav with extra maps and a higher res screen.


Yeah, I know what a fun game is, example would be the fact I regularly go play Unreal Tournament 2004, (fantastic game btw) And I agree, gameplay and other elements (down right fun) are equal on both consoles, I'm talking about graphical fidelity though, look at the PS3, GT6 and The Last of Us look stunning and really add to the immersion, Xbox 360 has kinda run out of juice and doesn't seem to have any truly good looking games come out on it in recent years. But agreed, the next couple of years will show which one truly has the better architecture (I know which one my monies on though).


Microsoft was Selling £500 tablets and lost a lot of money
https://www.techspot.com/news/53286...lion-charge-on-unsold-surface-rt-tablets.html
Also to note I wouldn't say ten of millions just yet, hell I'll be surprised if they can even cover pre-orders in november if they're still tweaking the hardware...

I'll just go for two points on this.

The Surface is a great product, and if the world wasn't populated by sheep, then the surface should have MASSACRED the iPad. I mean MASSACRED. Cheaper, more functional, better built, better UI.

But it's an entirely different market. The xbox isn't the great pretender in the world of consoles. You cannot deny that MS is a major player, same as Sony. MS is to phones what Ouya is to gaming. Except MS in phones is lovely.



Anyway, I'm not concerned about minor clock speed changes based on testing. That's what testing is for. You test, and then you change.

6 months is a loooooong time in the technology world. HUGE. Think; the iPhone 5 was supposed to have a mega sharp retina display when it came out, and now everything and their grandma is surpassing it in terms of pixel density, quality, clarity, build quality and resolution.

If they are pulling the hardware together with 4 months to go, I'm not concerned. It doesn't affect me at all. I get the same end product. And you have to remember, there is the numbers, and then there is the manufacturing.


And I apologise for the launch of the 360 comment, I could swear I read it somewhere :O


And frankly, if I can play games on the X360, it's about the caliber of games, somewhere where MS is investing heavily. I doubt they will see a return on the money they are investing into new startup studios, yet they could have taken the monetary hit to make the consoles cheaper.

But in the long run, the games will prevail.


Frankly, I'm not bothered about the consoles. I'll get an X1 in a couple years possibly, and probably buy a controller because it seems amazing, but apart from that it's Steam all the way for now.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Just another money grab from MS.

 

[Burty117]

I'll just go for two points on this.

The Surface is a great product, and if the world wasn't populated by sheep, then the surface should have MASSACRED the iPad. I mean MASSACRED. Cheaper, more functional, better built, better UI.

But it's an entirely different market. The xbox isn't the great pretender in the world of consoles. You cannot deny that MS is a major player, same as Sony. MS is to phones what Ouya is to gaming. Except MS in phones is lovely.

Anyway, I'm not concerned about minor clock speed changes based on testing. That's what testing is for. You test, and then you change.

6 months is a loooooong time in the technology world. HUGE. Think; the iPhone 5 was supposed to have a mega sharp retina display when it came out, and now everything and their grandma is surpassing it in terms of pixel density, quality, clarity, build quality and resolution.

If they are pulling the hardware together with 4 months to go, I'm not concerned. It doesn't affect me at all. I get the same end product. And you have to remember, there is the numbers, and then there is the manufacturing.

And I apologise for the launch of the 360 comment, I could swear I read it somewhere :O

And frankly, if I can play games on the X360, it's about the caliber of games, somewhere where MS is investing heavily. I doubt they will see a return on the money they are investing into new startup studios, yet they could have taken the monetary hit to make the consoles cheaper.

But in the long run, the games will prevail.

Frankly, I'm not bothered about the consoles. I'll get an X1 in a couple years possibly, and probably buy a controller because it seems amazing, but apart from that it's Steam all the way for now.

Meh, I wouldn't say the Surface is any easier to use or better built than the competition (iPad) but the pro was definitely more functional.
You don't get the same product, their U-Turn and all the changes being made means your getting quite a different product from what was originally announced.

But there are a few points I indisputably agree with, Games will prevail and Steam all the way!

 

[BMfan]

OliTheG said: Sony pretty much lied about the amount of available RAM for games, then refused to clarify.

Can someone please explain to me why Sony"s decision to use up to 5GB's for games is such a bad thing when the PS3 only has 256MB?(and The Last of Us looks pretty good considering what it has to work with)
Which could also mean that 5GB's are for the GPU and the rest for CPU workloads.

Sony just said they gave the PS4 8GB's of GDDR5 ram not once did I hear them say it will all be used for games during their press release,So how did they lie about that?

 

[Guest]

*Disclaimer, I'm not buying an XB1 until M$ stop shoving the useless kinect down my throat*

Q - Can someone please explain to me why Sony"s decision to use up to 5GB's for games is such a bad thing when the PS3 only has 256MB?(and The Last of Us looks pretty good considering what it has to work with)
A - We are talking about "Next Gen" not a minor hardware upgrade (like the Wii U) the fact that PS3 has only 256MB and still looks good, the fact is, is there is not a "Major improvement in visual fidelity" then, what's the point on getting a new console alltogether?

Also, Sony has been using the banner that the console if for "Gamers" and "Games are the main focus" (downplaying M$ for the Tv integration) but then they use 5GB out of 8GB for something "Non-game" related functions! Sony has been making fun of M$ for not putting "games" as the priority, yet, they give more resources to "Social Media and other junk" instead of specificaly for "Games"

I hope, that helps. Cheers

 

[Puiu]

It is simple people. The XBOX One will sell ok in the US because it will have all the features it advertises and because it's made by an American company (even though it's not actually made there). On the other hand more than half of the world will not get it at launch and it will only work as a half backed gaming console. Just like PS3 sold a lot better than the XBOX 360 almost everywhere besides the US so will the PS4, with one major difference: PS4 will outsell the XBONE by a lot even in the US.

It doesn't matter which console has the better specs or how many games it will have at launch. The PS4 has won just by being cheaper and by being able to launch worldwide.

When you can't launch it even in the European Union then you have a problem. I suspect they are having manufacturing problems that they will most likely solve withing the first year. They might have changed the specs late in the development process (besides the modest overclock that was most likely done by a BIOS update or something).

 

[BMfan]

To Guest

No, that doesn't answer the Q.
I'm not comparing the 256MB to 5GB of ram,I'm asking why having up to 5GB's is such a problem that people complain about it,yet a high end GPU has between 3 and 6gb and it's never utilized fully.
The most I've ever seen my card use was about 2,1GB's

It's 4,5gb for games,3,5gb for OS and [FONT=Helvetica Neue]1 GB of RAM is placed under "flexible memory"[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue]People moan that the PS4 needs 3,5gb for OS yet a modern phone needs 2gb's of ram.[/FONT]


What I'm saying by mentioning The Last of Us is that if a game developer can do that with the out-dated spec's of the PS3,then imagine what they should be able to do with the PS4\XBOX1.

 

[GunsAblazin]

Has it been confirmed that Sony users won't need PS+ to utilize the "Share" feature? As much as I don't believe they'll take the route, I can't find anything confirming it.

https://www.techspot.com/news/53550...on-4-game-recording-is-free-for-everyone.html

There you go.