Xbox One family plan demo sharing service is a low blow

It appears some details have come to light about the true nature of the Xbox One family sharing plan which has no doubt been temporarily removed from view but will still be  a feature of the console. According to what looks like a genuine post from a Microsoft employee, he states that Microsoft failed to convey how it worked properly, and the many interpreted what had been said the wrong way.

The Xbox One family sharing plan would have only allowed the ten family members (or friends) up to 60 minutes of play time before being prompted to purchase the full game via the Marketplace. The player’s progress would be saved so that if purchased they could continue playing where they left off.

EDIT: Apparently the 60 minute time limit has been debunked, alongside the original pastebin postalthough no definitive statement from Microsoft has been forthcoming which still shrouds mystery over the whole idea.

Whilst family sharing sounds neat, the fact that Microsoft hasn’t provided any clear details and let its audience believe something else without proper  clarification is remarkable. Gamers automatically assumed that sharing would mean the full game where only one player could play at a time – Microsoft could have imposed  time restrictions to prevent mass sharing which obviously wouldn’t have sat well with publishers.

The Xbox One family plan on paper sounds like a neat way to showcase games that maybe don’t have a Marketplace demo, but then again, with Sony offering demos for all its games, it doesn’t make sense for Microsoft to ditch one of its compounded features from the Xbox 360. The family plan sounded like an expansion of  the idea of demoing games but the idea was, and still is filled with flaws, so until there’s clear wording from Microsoft the whole idea is cloudy at best in light of the pastebin post whether that was true or otherwise.

The family sharing scenario is now a bit of a mess, but it’s possible we’ve not heard the last on the matter. It’s been suggested, that over time Microsoft may very well attempt to reintroduce its forward thinking ideas, but from the safety of making sure they are perfectly clear on how things work. To offer new realms alongside existing methods is surely the right way to present new policies and changes to established norms rather than the mess of introducing changes that weren’t in line with consumer expectations.

So for now, the idea of somehow being able to share digital games with friends is a neat one and in some cases could work very well – especially with more free to play models. Yet, these systems are open for abuse and thus make it a tough choice to get right so that publishers and gamers are kept happy.  It is perhaps wrong of Microsoft to not be totally clear on what their intent was with the sharing, but hopefully –  if they are listening – then something in the future could be administered which is actually beneficial for everyone.

The fact that there are rumors in circulation that suggest alternative methods which could be employed by Microsoft, further exemplifies how the family sharing scenario is perhaps left on the back burner for now until something more concise is offered to Xbox One gamers in the future. For some, the removal of the feature has been a low blow no matter what its form, but so has the misinformation perpetuated by feasible sounding rumors.

 

Written by: Rob Cram

Rob Cram has hundreds of video game reviews, thousands of articles under his belt with years of experience in gaming and tech. He aims to remain fair and free from publisher/developer influence. With his extensive knowledge, feels his gaming opinions are valid and worth sharing. Agreement with his views are entirely optional. He might have a bias towards cyberpunk.