Xbox: the failure continues, the DRM of the console is in question

For three days, Xbox players have been enraged and faced with a service outage that continues to claim victims.

Since Friday, Xbox services have been under fire from a widespread outage simply preventing you from playing, whether in single player or multiplayer. And despite attempts to fix it, the problem still persists today. During the weekend, however, Xbox support said twice that the problems were corrected, before finally announcing that the crash had started again. As these lines are written, it reaffirms that the problems are rectified, but many users still have worries.

Blame it on Xbox’s DRM policy?

If the exact cause of the failure is unclear, the general bug still prevents many games from being launched, whether single or multiplayer.

As several users point out, a lot of Xbox games have DRM and do online verification when launched. It is in particular because of this process that it is currently impossible to play, even if the apps are totally solo. This story of mandatory connection and DRM already raises hairs in normal times but as a bonus, contrary to what one might think, it would not come from the developers but from a desire from Xbox.

Similar titles have indeed been proven to have absolutely no DRM on other platforms.especially at PlayStation, as pointed out Does it play?a Twitter account specializing in the field.

The DRM system is therefore once again called into question and as much to tell you that on the web the players are enraged while the testimonies are multiplying. It must be said that losing most of your toy library on the pretext that online services are inaccessible is enough to make your teeth cringe.

DRM: the shield of the studios, poison of the players

As a reminder, this process, applied to a large number of games on all platforms, requires anyone wishing to play to stay connected to the internet. A mandatory connection which certainly has its place in online gamesbut which, for the players, has nothing to do with essentially single-player games. And we would have a hard time proving them wrong.

But if this system is used by studios and publishers, it is above all to secure games and prevent piracyeven if honest players tend to pay a high price for it.

This is all the more true with the oh so famous DRM Denuvotime and time again sold as tamper evident, which also happens to be a real source of problems, especially for PC gamers. Various bugs, significant loss of performance, mandatory login… the problems are legion and often force developers to review their copy, as was the case with Resident Evil Village for example.

On the other side of the barrier, some players, on the contrary, do not hesitate to abolish all forms of DRM, such as CD Projekt’s GOG platform.

In all cases, this technology is not ready to be abandonedbut it might be time for developers, publishers and manufacturers to finally find a happy medium to prevent honest consumers from getting stuck or with games that only half work.