GAF, please consider this proposition (this only concerns physical games. Digital games with selling solutions and stuff would be cool, but Im focusing on the big issue right now):
Every game disc has two states. State 1: tied to the disc, and State 2: tied to an account.
Example: Bob buys COD: Ghosts. When he sticks it in his disc drive, the Xbox One tells him that he can either keep the game tied to the disc or tied to his account and that he may reverse either decision by going into his account settings (or storage, or whatever you guys choose. The best place would probably be the current one where currently I can choose to install a game). Bob thinks that playing without the disc is pretty cool, so he ties it to his account. The Xbox installs the game, ejects the disc, and Bob puts it away. He then proceeds to play through the campaign.
Bobs friend Jim comes over later while Bob is still playing and asks if he might try it. However, Bob does not want Jim earning achievements for him (who would?), so Bob gives Jim the disc. Jim then runs to his house and sticks the disc in his Xbox One. However, the disc does not install (or maybe it does, but the game is locked), and the system pops up a message that says that the game is tied to an account, and cannot be used. Jim then runs back to Bobs house and asks him Hey, Bob, it wont let me play. Yeah, says Bob, thats because its tied my account. They dont want two people playing at once. I see, says Jim, and he waits till Bob is done playing. Bob then takes the disc, inserts it into the Xbox One, and changes the settings so that it is tied to the disc. Now, when Jim takes it to his house, Bob cannot play it because it is not tied to his account anymore (such a thing is made impossible. The system will only attach it to either the disc or an account at one time).
Before Jim takes it to his house, however, since Bob wants his disc back really soon (he still hasnt finished the campaign, and hes itching to get into some multiplayer), he tells Jim to not tie it to his account. Jim therefore, takes it to his house and sticks it in, and the system asks him the question of what he wants to tie it to. He chooses to have the game remain tied to the disc, plays, and then pulls the disc out. Now, if he wants to play the game, the system tells him (just as with the current generation), he must put the disc in. Note: the player must be connected to the internet to register the disc with his account.
Of course, this system could make selling games a little complicated, so I will explain problem and the solution below:
Later, Bob decides to buy Halo 5, but he doesnt have the money quite yet. He kisses the game goodbye, and lists it on Amazon, where Sophie sees it. Sophie has already bought Halo 5, but would also like to by Ghosts, so she purchases the game from Bobs Amazon account. He ships the game, she opens the package, and sticks it into the drive. However, Bob is either dishonest or just very forgetful, so he has not yet activated the game on the disc since the last time he activated it to his account. Therefore, Sophie cannot play it. That is the problem.
The solution to this (although of course there are other possible scenarios) would be that once a week, the player must both connect to the internet and insert the disc to re-verify. If Sophie is trying to play the game then, it will block her, but the next time Bob connects to the internet, the system will lock it from his account and unlock it on hers the next time she connects to the internet. The longest he can keep anyone else from playing it is only a week, and if he does, he has to forgo all internet features for that week because, as stated, as soon as he connects to the internet (even if it hasnt been a week), it will lock it from him and unlock it for Sophie. Sophie my then proceed to either keep it locked on the disc or locked to her account.
Of course, none of this would have anything to do with the fact that the game must be installed. I am actually for that as I know it can help developers a good deal (besides, I always install my games anyway). Thoughts
