Xbox Series X and S DRM is a problem

Recently, PlayStation 5 was all over gaming news for their issues with the CMOS battery dying in the console and games no longer being able to pass DRM checks and be played. This DRM raised a lot of concern because a CMOS battery will eventually die, making it so the clock resets whenever the console is unplugged. This also happens with computers, it can take a long time, but it can happen and your computer or console will stop remembering the time when it loses power from the outlet.

You may also remember when Microsoft tried to pass draconian DRM with the original Xbox One, and due to gamer anger the whole plan was dropped. It seems a lot of the online verification gamers were upset about with Xbox One has come back in Xbox Series X|S and it's been quietly sliding under the radar.

Modern Vintage Gamer has finally gotten their hands on an Xbox Series X and has been able to run some tests to check on how the DRM works. Basically, you'll need to get online and check in to play your games, even if they're online.

Original Xbox and Xbox 360 games will run on an Xbox Series X|S, but they need to be online. All the disc does is act to verify you actually own the game, then emulators and patches are downloaded to the console so it can be played. This is quite the surprise, because Xbox really prides itself on backwards compatibility, and that seems to imply that it can play old games on the console. But instead, it's merely checking to make sure you own the game before it downloads a special version that will run on the Xbox Series X|S. So, it's not really backwards compatibility, it's the ability to run an emulated version of the game if you can prove that you own it. Obviously this has a lot of repercussions for being able to play these games after Microsoft decides they don't want to host the emulators and the download service, as the discs themselves don't actually really do anything according to Modern Vintage Gamer.

Xbox One games have to connect to the internet to download patches too. So in reality the backwards compatibility of Xbox Series X|S is not really that good. It is hindered by massive DRM. I would have thought this would be like PlayStation 3 backwards compatibility where they had the hardware inside the console to run PlayStation 2 games. Granted the Xbox Series X|S is really just an x86 Windows machine, you would think that running OG Xbox games and Xbox One games would be trivial to do, but it appears it's not.

Trying to install an Xbox One game, in Modern Vintage Gamer's case, from the disc, it requires internet to pull down patches to run on the Xbox Series X|S. It seems that PlayStation 5 does not have this issue.

There are "Smart Delivery" discs which are supposed to have both Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S games on the same disc, but according to Modern Vintage Gamer, this is not the case.

Both physical version require a connection to the internet before they can even be played. So, if you purchase a physical copy of the game, there's a very good chance you won't be playing it without connecting to Xbox Live.

Modern Vintage Gamer found a situation where you can install and play a physical copy of the game without an internet connection with Devil May Cry 5. It required no connection, no downloads, and began playing without issue. He requires more testing but it seems like Smart Delivery and Xbox One games require an internet connection. Modern Vintage Game is optimistic that this problem will go away as soon as Xbox One games are no longer being ported between the two systems and games become solely Xbox Series X|S titles.

Digital downloads do not work when offline, even if you've appeared to purchase and played it already. But it won't launch and let you play unless you are connected. So any digital games you download and pay for require an internet connection, even if you've played the game. Setting your Xbox Series X|S as your "home console" seems to help, but it doesn't always work for all games, though it will help with some titles

You will have to be online to verify your GamePass subscription, and that's really understandable, though not ideal. Nintendo Switch Online consoles like NES and SNES can be played offline as long as you've checked in online recently.

PlayStation 5 is a lot more generous with letting you play games without checking in online. Basically, PlayStation 5 is more likely to let you play your games without having to check in online. Nintendo Switch was not compared to in the video but it seems to be fine, mainly because the Nintendo Switch is a portable system and you're not always guaranteed to have internet.

You will also have to be online to activate your Xbox Series X|S to even get it working once you take it out of the box, and there appears to be no way around this at all.

So How Is This Bad?

Microsoft has essentially turned Xbox Series X|S into a dead man walking, once they decide to pull the servers you won't be able to play games you've purchased, both physical and digital. Backwards compatibility is basically a complete sham and without being able to download the emulators and patches, your Xbox Series X|S doesn't actually have any backward compatibility. I personally thought Xbox Series X|S would have been very cool to be able to play all these old games in one console as I've never had an Xbox before. But you won't be buying an Xbox Series X|S if you plan on having something to play games on 20 years from now.

In short, it's disposable with no staying power. It won't be a life long console, it will eventually be nearly useless once Microsoft decides to shut down servers, should nothing change.

You may be thinking this is paranoia, but Microsoft shut down the original Xbox servers in 2010. The original Xbox was released in 2001 in North America, and as late as 2002 in the rest of the world. That leaves the original Xbox servers with a lifespan of less than 10 years. Meaning we could easily see Xbox Series X|S made almost completely useless by 2030. Considering console life spans have been around 7 years between generations, this could really impact a lot of people in a very bad way.

You also have to consider video game preservation, how will gamers of the future be able to experience these games? Would Microsoft continue with their backward compatibility system of making you own a disc only as a license to prove you've purchased it, and then download everything off their servers until they shut them down?

The harsh reality is that an Xbox disc is just a placebo you may have to use in some situations to be able to download the games from Microsoft. Xbox One got a lot of backlash for trying to be an online only console. Microsoft reverted their stance, but it seems they are still pushing for it while trying to make it look like it's not happening by having discs that don't really do that much.

We have seen several stores shut down and people lose access to their digital games. Sony has done it with PlayStation 3 before backlash and postponing it, Nintendo has done it with their older online consoles too (like Wii). The point is that it can and does happen.