Mynock wrote:Try Steam. It does have some cloud based features and you have to connect to download/install a game, but the files are stored on your hard drive (you own them) and you can set Steam to off-line mode and actually play without being connected to the internet. I've been buying games from them exclusively since 2007 and I've never had a bad experience.
It seems really bizarre to me that Microsoft would want to emulate the few things about PC gaming that people find irritating, and then include none of the advantages of PC gaming. So while most PC games nowadays require you to register/activate a game on Steam to play, Steam has an offline mode that lets you play without an internet connection, and you also have the option of disabling automatic updates. You can also go to a friend's house, log into your own steam account on their computer, and play your games at your friend's house. Even if you have lost your game discs (or you never had any because you bought it online), simply logging in on a friend's computer allows you to download and install the game there. You can even "lend" the game to your friend, if you don't mind not being able to play it yourself on your own computer.
With Xbox One, they are doing a Steam style online activation thing, but where you are forced to stay online all the time and you are forced to accept updates, and you can't take it to a friend's house. They've removed all the convenience of console gaming, and not including the advantages that PC services such as Steam have. Urgh.
In the meantime, there have been a number of unofficial "Steam-boxes" and Valve are probably working on an official one of their own; a games console that is essentially a PC built for nothing but gaming, designed to be small and fit in the living room by your TV, and with good system specs that mean that it'll run most PC games and people that are not tech-savvy won't need to worry about whether a game will work on it or not.
I'd sell my MS stock if I had any.