Navy Lt. Scott Metcalf was eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new Xbox One. Now he’s not even sure if he’ll buy one. Metcalf called that a “showstopper” for any service members who rely on their Xbox for off-duty diversions downrage, in the field, or at sea. Which is to say, just about everyone. And it gets worse for on-the-go troops. The Xbox One:
- Can play only in Xbox One-friendly countries. Even if you’re lucky enough to have a regular, reliable Internet connection while overseas, you’ll have to be in one of 21 countries included in Microsoft’s server network. So, if you’re stationed in, say, Germany, Italy or Great Briatin, you’re good to go. But if you’re based in Japan, Kuwait or Afghanistan, you’re out of luck.
- Will have region-locked games. Games bought in the U.S. can be activated only in the U.S. That means no more ripping open the latest title that just arrived in a care package from home while you’re deployed. And forget about buying games locally when overseas — if your Xbox Live account isn’t tied to the region when you activate a game, it won’t play.
- Serious security concerns. Even when the Xbox One is in sleep mode, its built-in microphone can always listen in. It’s a feature developers say will provide quick voice-command access to games and apps — but that could spook commanders who might worry the always-connected device could also capture more than just idle chit-chat among troops.
OFFduty asked Microsoft officials if that empathy might translate into practical workarounds for the military.
“I don’t have additional details to share and can’t speculate on workarounds at this time,” wrote Xbox rep Danica Stickel in an emailed response to questions, repeating the suggestion that troops could just use the 360 instead. “Although we’re very excited about Xbox One, we remain dedicated to Xbox 360 now and for years to come. In fact, we are expecting some of the greatest blockbusters of 2013 and 2014 to come out on Xbox 360.”
She did offer some encouragement for Xbox One hopefuls, however, saying the regional lock restrictions aren’t much different from other content protections.
“Similar to the movie and music industry, games and other content must meet country-specific regulatory guidelines before they are cleared for sale — which means that games will work in the broad geographic regions for which they have been cleared, much as today with Xbox 360,” Stickel wrote.
“While the console itself is not geographically restricted, a user’s Xbox Live account, content, apps and experiences are all tied to the country of billing and residence,” she wrote.
“Military personnel will be able to take their Xbox One and play their games with them without an issue as long as the game has been ‘activated’ once in the U.S. Your games go with you and play, no issues,” she says.
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“This is shameful, says Joel Hruska, a writer for Extreme Tech website. “Telling troops that you ‘empathize’ with them is both embarrassing and hands Sony perfect ammunition.”
“Do I think Microsoft is going to change?” writes Hruska in a recent post. “Honestly, no. The remarks that’ve come out to date paint a picture of a company that’s so drunk on its own Kool-Aid, they aren’t listening to outside criticism or commentary any longer.” |
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