Xbox One Drops Online Requirement and Used Games Limitations

We’ve spoken and they’ve listened.

Don Mattick, President of Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft announced this morning that the Xbox One will no longer have an online check-in every 24 hours nor any of the limitations imposed on used games, culling the two most unpopular features since the console’s reveal.

• An internet connection will not be required to play offline Xbox One games –
  After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc based game without ever connecting online again. There is no 24 hour connection requirement and you can take your Xbox One anywhere you want and play your games, just like on Xbox 360.

• Trade-in, lend, resell, gift, and rent disc based games just like you do today –
  There will be no limitations to using and sharing games, it will work just as it does today on Xbox 360.

“In addition to buying a disc from a retailer, you can also download games from Xbox Live on day of release. If you choose to download your games, you will be able to play them offline just like you do today. Xbox One games will be playable on any Xbox One console — there will be no regional restrictions.

These changes will impact some of the scenarios we previously announced for Xbox One. The sharing of games will work as it does today, you will simply share the disc. Downloaded titles cannot be shared or resold. Also, similar to today, playing disc based games will require that the disc be in the tray.”

This pretty much evens out the playing field once again, with the exception of a compulsory Kinect requirement which comes bundled for an extra US$100.

Unfortunately this also means we’ll no longer have the online game sharing feature which Microsoft announced much earlier, one that granted another user designated as “family” to access the titles in your library (leaving Valve as the only potential candidate for shared online games, as discovered by NeoGAF). Chances are the rumour of Microsoft wanting to drive down game prices will no longer be in effect too.

Will this change your opinion of the Xbox One? Most players will probably own both consoles in the future anyway (like the PS3 and Xbox 360 today) but this move will help to draw some customers back to Microsoft for launch – provided they live within the 21 listed territories.