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Opposable Thumbs / Gaming & Entertainment

Report: DRM decisions on next Xbox will be left to publishers

Rumors point to easy video sharing, new Achievements system.

In the run-up to Microsoft's official "new Xbox" unveiling next month, the one major rumor that refuses to go away is that the system will sport some sort of requirement to be logged in through an Internet connection in order to be used. A new insider report today confirms those rumors somewhat but also suggests that the Internet-connected DRM might not be as stringent as some had feared.

Polygon cites unnamed sources in reporting that the next Xbox will indeed support an Internet requirement, but publishers will be able to decide how it is used with regard to DRM on a per-game basis. According to the report, current Microsoft guidelines will allow publishers to choose between requiring a constant Internet connection, performing a one-time check when the game starts up, or simply not implementing any Internet-based DRM at all.

If this came to pass, the new Xbox wouldn't be all that different from the PC in terms of software DRM, with some games featuring overbearing online checks and others released without. It's unclear whether or not Microsoft itself would require an Internet check for its own games or for any traditionally offline functions of the system itself.

The new report also suggests that Microsoft is working on a system-wide ability to capture video footage of gameplay and share it easily through sites like Facebook and Ustream. This sounds like it would closely mimic the similar sharing features already announced for Sony's PlayStation 4 by automatically recording play and allowing players to pick sharable moments after the fact. The new Xbox may also be able to automatically highlight "magic moments" like headshots and Achievements, according to the report.

Speaking of Achievements, the report suggests that developers will be able to add new Achievements to games after launch without requiring the player to explicitly purchase or download new DLC. These post-launch Achievements could be used to encourage different player behavior if the developer notices new play patterns emerging, for instance, or they could be tied to one-time-only temporal events. There could also be Achievements tied to completing events in two separate games or across platforms.

Finally, the report suggests that Xbox Live on the new system will do away with the current friends limit and allow for "one way" friendships that act more like the "follow" feature on social networks like Twitter.

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