Tuesday was a big day for Microsoft, as the Redmond giant officially revealed its next-generation gaming system, the Xbox One.
While we learned a lot about the system's capabilities (read about it here), there were also a number things that Microsoft didn't mention, like whether or not the Xbox One is always online. Or whether it'll block used games.
Fortunately, details on these topics and more made their way onto the Internet even as the Xbox One event was ongoing. Let's take a look at what Microsoft confirmed outside of its event.
Backwards Compatibility
This probably won't come as a surprise to most, but it's still disappointing: The Xbox One will not be backwards compatible with Xbox 360 games.
"No, there's not," Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten said to The Verge. "The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn't really work from that perspective."
The Xbox One uses new x86 processors based on AMD technology, so making games built for entirely different technology was always going to be difficult. A previous rumor suggested Microsoft would add a built-in Xenon chip for 360 compatibility, but clearly that won't be the case anymore.
Used Games
There's been some confusion about Microsoft's policy concerning used games, and though the company has yet to clear things up, some details have been made available. Apparently, the Xbox One will be able to play used games, but it will require players to pay a fee in order to do so. Individual games will be tied to specific player accounts, meaning you can take your game to a friend's house, sign into their system with your account and play the game with no fee involved. However, if you let a friend borrow your game, they'd have to pay a fee in order to play it using their own account.
The fee could range anywhere from a few dollars to the full price of the game. At this point, Microsoft has said there will be a way to trade used games online, but it hasn't detailed how the system will work.
"While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail," Microsoft's Larry Hyrb wrote in a blog post.
"Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios."
Microsoft said more information will be forthcoming in the future, but that's where we stand right now. Used games will be playable, but there will be some kind of fee involved.
Always Online?
The Xbox One will require an Internet connection to work... just not all the time. If you're playing a game and your connection is dropped, you'll be able to continue playing. However, the Xbox One needs to connect to the Internet at least once every 24 hours in order to still function offline. If your Internet goes down for longer than that, it looks like you'll be out of luck.
Installed Games
Although Xbox One will use Blu-ray discs for games, chances are you won't actually be handling them very much. All games can and will be installed on the system's hard drive, meaning that once installation is complete you won't even need the game anymore to play. Since Xbox One comes packing a 500GB hard drive, too, it looks like there's going to be plenty of space for your collection.
