Home Gaming No, Xbox One DRM isn’t killing Killer Instinct

No, Xbox One DRM isn’t killing Killer Instinct

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33

KIDRM

I’ve seen a number of worrying reports that Xbox One’s DRM is actually still there, and has been causing issues with Killer Instinct tournaments. It is however, a problem that’s being misreported. Xbox One DRM isn’t killing Killer Instinct.

Here’s what happened.

A recent Killer Instinct tournament was brought to a grinding halt when the Xbox One the game was being played on came up with a message:

“Do you own this game or app?”

“If you have a game disc, insert it now. If there is no disc, make sure you are signed into Xbox Live. If you don’t have rights for playing it, you’ll need to buy it at the Xbox Store.”

The game needed to check in. That sounds awfully like the DRM Microsoft said wouldn’t be in the Xbox One after its 180 degree turnabout. On the surface, it seems a bit worrying – but in truth, this whole debacle is a bit of a non-story.

Yes, it’s DRM, but it’s the same sort of DRM that you’ll find on the Xbox 360 right now. Or the PS3, or PS4 for that matter. The Xbox One in question here, was not the one originally used to download the game, you see. If it were, the game would have been tied to that console’s ID (and the originating profile), and would never need to check for licences, functioning just fine without an internet connection. It’s actually more lax DRM than on the 360, which requires that the original purchaser be actively signed in for the game to be playable.

What it seems to be, is a case of the tournament organisers downloading the game to multiple consoles from a few originating profiles – and then not making sure that the consoles had authenticated the game for use in time. If each console playing the game had bought the game’s Season Pass (to get all the characters) then it wouldn’t have happened.

Last Updated: December 18, 2013

33 Comments

  1. Hammersteyn

    December 18, 2013 at 13:07

    They can always put the DRM later. The same goes for Sony.

    Reply

    • Unavengedavo(aka. MadeYouLook)

      December 18, 2013 at 13:14

      And Steam… Oh wait, don’t they have DRM already? 😛

      Reply

      • Sir Rants A Lot Llew. Jelly!!!

        December 18, 2013 at 13:27

        Everything has some form of DRM.
        No matter the platform. No matter the genre. DRM knows no bounds and will hit everyone as hard and badly as it can and at some point we will be renting games by streaming them from the developer’s servers where we need to pay a premium every month. No game sales. Just rentals for X amount of hours. Like a video store….

        *shudders*

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          December 18, 2013 at 13:28

          Not the games from GOG.com though. Zero.

          Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          December 18, 2013 at 13:28

          That’ll be the day I stop getting new games. I’ve got a lot. I can play for years before even having to think about replaying one.

          Reply

        • Unavengedavo(aka. MadeYouLook)

          December 18, 2013 at 13:29

          NOOOOOO!!! The internet listens, don’t give them ideas :O

          Reply

  2. FoxOneZA

    December 18, 2013 at 13:12

    What’s this one XBox One that you speak off?

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      December 18, 2013 at 13:22

      It’s a device that listens to Americans yell and scream because most people find them to loud and obnoxious to begin with.

      Reply

      • FoxOneZA

        December 18, 2013 at 13:30

        Oh yeah…that explains the lack of “intelligence” on Fake Interpreter 😉

        Reply

      • Josh

        December 18, 2013 at 18:40

        It’s sad that you feel the need to talk shit about an entire country over the internet. You must have a real problem with where you live if you have to try to talk others down to make you feel better.

        Reply

        • Hammersteyn

          December 19, 2013 at 07:56

          It’s sad that you can’t spot sarcasm or blatant trolling. Welcome to the internet 😉

          Reply

    • CAE9872

      December 18, 2013 at 15:46

      And choose which players will do best when going after an oval ball.

      Reply

  3. Umar Bravely Default

    December 18, 2013 at 13:34

    I guess I’m either a criminal or cash cow right?…….The new age of media

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      December 18, 2013 at 13:43

      or both?

      Reply

      • Umar Bravely Default

        December 18, 2013 at 13:48

        Lol true 🙁

        Reply

      • Sageville

        December 18, 2013 at 14:59

        Thats udderly disturbing

        Reply

  4. oVg

    December 18, 2013 at 14:05

    DRM is the old term. 180 is the new one.

    Reply

  5. Paul

    December 18, 2013 at 18:59

    Title states “No, Xbox One DRM isn’t killing Killer Instinct”
    Article states how DRM interrupted Killer Instinct on the Xbox One

    Reply

    • dirkradke

      December 18, 2013 at 19:30

      So? What is your point? If you read the article you understand the reference. The downloaded game, using various profiles, disconnected from the Internet and there was no disc in the drive. The XB1 tried to phone home to verify this copy wasn’t pirated. In this case the organizers messed up not Microsoft.

      Reply

  6. Robert Berwick

    December 18, 2013 at 19:07

    What a bunch of morons! For this supposedly being a “professional” tournament, you would expect them to have their ducks in a row. BTW…the story being reported on VG24/7 said they were in the “flow of battle” when the game went back to the dashboard, yet I distinctly remember seeing a “Supreme Victory” splash across the screen before the lights went out. Take this shitty reporting with a grain of salt. If you’re doing things legitimately, I see no reasons to worry!

    Reply

  7. Dennis Crosby

    December 18, 2013 at 19:34

    So from what I’ve seen who every was running the tournament tried to go the cheap route and download the game on multiple console he could of easily bought the game at the store for what ever number of consoles they were running or easily contacted Double Helix or Microsoft an ask for a couple free copies for the tournament I’m sure they would of gave it to them there trying to get as many people on there side anyway

    Reply

  8. Josh

    December 18, 2013 at 19:48

    So by the way this is all being reported it seems to me like 1 copy of the game was shared across multiple consoles and the consoles were disconnected from the internet. So that would mean that the game should only work on the “main” console that the gamertags were on. Correct me if I am wrong but was this not the same with the PS4 as well? If I downloaded a digital game to my buddies PS4 and then went offline would it not work anymore? Seems like there is no point to this article other then to just try to point of something negative about MS and the Xbox One when it is the same with Sony and the PS4.

    Reply

    • Josh

      December 18, 2013 at 19:59

      Like I was saying, it’s the same with PS4.

      Reply

      • Augure

        December 18, 2013 at 22:37

        What application is that?

        Reply

        • Josh

          December 18, 2013 at 22:55

          Killzone

          Reply

  9. Dexter Rivens

    December 18, 2013 at 20:19

    Ever notice the ppl that complain about DRM seem to focus on “if” I buy a game vs “after” I brought a game.

    If you own it, what does it matter. The Xbox One original format is better than what we have today.

    Go digital cause we know you have the internet. GameStop is hurting our pockets, your friends and the developers. Digital or EBay it.

    Reply

  10. Knightwing19

    December 18, 2013 at 21:16

    Thanks for clearing that up and printing it. It seems you are the only one that did.

    Reply

  11. SoWhat

    December 18, 2013 at 21:54

    The same from PS4:
    http://i.imgur.com/b36F4OE.jpg
    Cannot start the application.
    The PS4 is not connected to the internet, and cannot verify the license for the application
    http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/691087-playstation-4/67918994

    Reply

    • Augure

      December 18, 2013 at 22:36

      What game or application is that?

      Reply

  12. BrianL

    December 18, 2013 at 23:12

    Trying to call this a DRM check-in issue is misinformation. This guy is playing a ‘purchased’ digitally downloaded version of the game. He then pulls himself offline, effectively signing out of his Xbox Live profile.
    Notice how Kinect is also disconnected, creating no way for the Xbox to re-sign in to his user account via auto sign-in.
    The ‘signed in’ indicator, found directly under the Gamer Tag, is also not present; verifying the user who owns the purchased game is not present as the Xbox sees it.
    The Xbox is then essentially seeing you as guest account, so of course it is then going to respond exactly as seen here. This has nothing to do with 24Hr check-in’s, this is simply someone messing with susceptible minds.

    Reply

  13. eilegz

    December 19, 2013 at 01:42

    you know this happen at the begining of the game its just fine…

    but what just happened its that it kick you out in the middle of the game that wont happen before…

    Reply

  14. Jumpyburd

    December 19, 2013 at 13:14

    Remember when u could just pop in a game and play. All this signing in crap is bullshit

    Reply

    • ragnarokxg

      December 19, 2013 at 22:51

      But that is the problem, they didn’t just pop in the game. They were playing a game that had been downloaded to multiple consoles. They tried to bypass the DRM that’s been in place for years.

      Reply

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