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Following PS4 patch, Phil Spencer says it’s also looking to ensure games work after the CMOS dies

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

The issue is that when a CMOS battery is removed or dies, the console will likely require to either connect to Xbox servers for authentication, or will need a factory reset.

Essentially, then, if the CMOS dies, the console dies, because there’ll no way to connect to the server to get it up and running again.

Speaking to Stephen Totilo at Axios, Spencer explained that Xbox was aware of the potential future issue and was investigating it.

“The hardware team is hearing the message about our consoles […] should allow for the ongoing relationship between the player and the content that they own,” Spencer said. “So we hear the message and the teams are looking at things.”
 

kingfey

Banned
Cant they fix that internet connection crap, which stops you from playing your owned games, unless its xbox home console mode?

I am tired of making Xbox my home console, just so I can play my downloaded games. Not gamepass games, but the games that I specifically spent money on.
 

nush

Gold Member
Cant they fix that internet connection crap, which stops you from playing your owned games, unless its xbox home console mode?

I am tired of making Xbox my home console, just so I can play my downloaded games. Not gamepass games, but the games that I specifically spent money on.
What's the problem with setting it to home console?
 

Three

Member
Cant they fix that internet connection crap, which stops you from playing your owned games, unless its xbox home console mode?

I am tired of making Xbox my home console, just so I can play my downloaded games. Not gamepass games, but the games that I specifically spent money on.
If they did this then many people can use the same downloaded game on multiple consoles. There is one home console which can play offline and the rest need to be online and signed in. MS have other DRM issues though related to online discussed in this thread:

 

Three

Member
Isn't 360 the last Xbox with a CMOS battery?

So I don't see the issue here.

Xbox may have got rid of "CMOS batteries" to cut costs but it actually makes it worse for the player in terms of DRM. With the battery the system can keep a verified time and games, even with a subscription, can be played offline because when unplugging the system it still has a date and time to check licenses against. That's why PS+ games are still playable even when you go completely off the grid. MS decided that instead of the system keeping a verified time they would do online checks for licences.
 
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Drew1440

Member
I didn't think xbox consoles used CMOS batteries?
The OG Xbox used a clock capacitor to keep the time whilst the console was off, which was prone to leaking in the earlier models. The 360 didn't use any sort of CMOS since mine always lost the time when you unplugged it, probably since Microsoft assumed everyone would be using an Internet connection which would sync the time.
Not sure on the One/series but I assumed it was the same as the 360.
 

kingfey

Banned
If they did this then many people can use the same downloaded game on multiple consoles. There is one home console which can play offline and the rest need to be online and signed in. MS have other DRM issues though related to online discussed in this thread:

How does that help, when you want to play offline games. You can have internet outage, and your console is worthless. That is the problem with home console policy.
 

sn0man

Member
He should look into an online connection being required to set up the Xbox

The console still need an initial forced internet conection to setup, so IDK why Phil should care, I mean they don't care at all.
Yeah imagine the cmos issue is the thing that gets Microsoft to actually remove the real issue with their platform for preservationists. I’d be shocked personally but a tiny bit of me is hopeful.

we shall see I suppose.
 

Three

Member
How does that help, when you want to play offline games. You can have internet outage, and your console is worthless. That is the problem with home console policy.
It doesn't but it helps protect from 1 game owner/sale being used on an infinite amount of consoles offline.
 
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kingfey

Banned
It doesn't but it helps protect from 1 game owner/sale being used on an infinite amount of consoles offline.
When there is gamepass, they dont give a shit about game sales. If they did it, they wouldnt have done gamepass.

Its an excuse to do more strict DRM.

Their PC is shit full of DRM.
 
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STARSBarry

Gold Member
Yo Phil could you make sure that games work after there online component is switched off after only a year?

Gravity Rush 2 sucks because its missing key features and you can't earn the reward currency.

Because Sony sure as hell don't seem to care.
 
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sn0man

Member
Is this a problem on Switch?
If I recall switch does a weird thing about saves profiles and patches. Like say you buy Mario odyssey and throw the cart in. You can play and save your game and have a local profile all good.

then if you go online and the cart version you have is fairly early (e.g., 1.0 or something) a new version may be offered to you. That’s fine. Most games I’m aware of you can just say skip or don’t download or whatever.

though if you do say ok sure fit my cappy and download the patch there is something in the switch OS that ties that version to your profile.

you can try to delete the game (e.g., to save space on the internal storage for other games), but IIRC when you put the game cart back in and you don’t have the patch downloaded the switch will say “hey you can’t play this without the patch” in some form.

this happens on PS4 but you can just blow away your save games and the install and your profile can play the game.

on the switch you have to remove all the profiles and/or erase the entire system (like a system format / reset) to play the 1.0 version or cart version of a patched game.

as far as a lost battery tied to online I’m not aware of anyone exposing such an issue today
 

rnlval

Member
When there is gamepass, they dont give a shit about game sales. If they did it, they wouldnt have done gamepass.

Its an excuse to do more strict DRM.

Their PC is shit full of DRM.
Sony also has sh*t full of DRM, hence the jail break. PC has a work-in-progress PS4 emulator.
 
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BigBooper

Member
I still don’t see how that becomes an issue in the first place. Are you switching out your Xbox with a new one every day or something?
It's not a non-issue, though it's not a major one. I have two xboxes in different rooms. If I want to play on the non home console because someone is using the other tv and the internet goes down, I can't.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Yo Phil could you make sure that games work after there online component is switched off after only a year?

Gravity Rush 2 sucks because its missing key features and you can't earn the reward currency.

Because Sony sure as hell don't seem to care.
To my knowledge this never had happened on Xbox (at least with no 3rd party servers), because vm on Azure can scale/shrink as they needed.
 

kingfey

Banned
On your primary PS4 yes. On any other you need to be online. Isn't that exactly the same thing?
Can these fuckers not create any fucking unnecessary steps for us gamers?

There is no escape of their shit Drm. All that is left is for steam to somewhat fuck it up.
 

STARSBarry

Gold Member
To my knowledge this never had happened on Xbox (at least with no 3rd party servers), because vm on Azure can scale/shrink as they needed.

Cool, I use azure quite frequently and never really thought about how Microsoft having a business presence in this market could effect there gaming division, but yeah makes sense.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Can these fuckers not create any fucking unnecessary steps for us gamers?

There is no escape of their shit Drm. All that is left is for steam to somewhat fuck it up.

Can you just share the same Steam account among everyone you know and they can all install and play the games at the same time?
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Cool, I use azure quite frequently and never really thought about how Microsoft having a business presence in this market could effect there gaming division, but yeah makes sense.
To be clear this sort of technology is pretty much must in today's climate. being a gaming service or some bigger site. So AWS, Google and MS have it. It's just the matter of how easy is to set up for devs and MS is requiring to use this, if you are not EA, Take 2 or something.
 
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FranXico

Member
On your primary PS4 yes. On any other you need to be online. Isn't that exactly the same thing?
Not with disc based games.

The PS4 and PS5 don't have an "offline mode" because they can run games installed from disc without having ever been connected to the internet.
You can set up a PS5 without a PSN account and play games from discs.
 
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RoadHazard

Gold Member
Not with disc based games.

The PS4 and PS5 don't have an "offline mode" because they can run games installed from disc without having ever been connected to the internet.
You can set up a PS5 without a PSN account and play games from discs.

Wait, with an Xbox you need to verify against an online server to play DISC based games? What possible reason is there for that? I thought this was something they were planning for XB1 but then backtracked on because everyone hated it.
 
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Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Cant they fix that internet connection crap, which stops you from playing your owned games, unless its xbox home console mode?

I am tired of making Xbox my home console, just so I can play my downloaded games. Not gamepass games, but the games that I specifically spent money on.
Are you often playing your Xbox without internet?
 

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Wait, with an Xbox you need to verify against an online server to play DISC based games? What possible reason is there for that? I thought this was something they were planning for XB1 but then backtracked on because everyone hated it.
No. The only games that require a one time connection to download a patch are the Smart Delivery titles. It makes perfect sense as it has to download the extra data for the enhanced version. I suppose they could allow you to play it in un-enhanced mode though.
 

kingfey

Banned
Can you just share the same Steam account among everyone you know and they can all install and play the games at the same time?
Yes. I will need to do family share with them.

Family Sharing allows family members to share games while keeping their accounts separate. Family and guests can play one another's games while earning their own Steam achievements and saving their own game progress to the Steam Cloud. It works by granting family members access to games on a shared computer.
 
Cant they fix that internet connection crap, which stops you from playing your owned games, unless its xbox home console mode?

I am tired of making Xbox my home console, just so I can play my downloaded games. Not gamepass games, but the games that I specifically spent money on.
Yes they can.
 

Reizo Ryuu

Member
Yes. I will need to do family share with them.

Family Sharing allows family members to share games while keeping their accounts separate.
The answer is no, cause he said "and play at the same time"; not possible with family share, the main steam library will boot out the shared one when in use.
So it is difficult to change which is your primal console?
It's not difficult, but it has a limit of 5 switches per year.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
No. The only games that require a one time connection to download a patch are the Smart Delivery titles. It makes perfect sense as it has to download the extra data for the enhanced version. I suppose they could allow you to play it in un-enhanced mode though.

To download the update, sure. But after that it doesn't?

Yes. I will need to do family share with them.

Family Sharing allows family members to share games while keeping their accounts separate. Family and guests can play one another's games while earning their own Steam achievements and saving their own game progress to the Steam Cloud. It works by granting family members access to games on a shared computer.

"I want to play my own games, but they're being played by another account. What do I do?

As the owner, you may always access and play your games at any time. If you decide to start playing when another user is already playing one of your games, he/she will see a message giving them five minutes to either purchase or quit out of the game."

So it's exactly the same as PS/Xbox. Only the owner can freely play whatever he wants whenever he wants.
 
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TGO

Hype Train conductor. Works harder than it steams.
Interesting that this was reported only a problem with Playstation, yet it seem that is not entirely true.
 
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