I like the sound of reactivation charges for each console, but what happens if the online service is shut down?

..."I think thats the way to go - lower the costs for the same access by bringing them to market digitally. Then a no-used solution is fair."

Publishers say to Microsoft thanks for protecting our interests, have exclusivity on our product because we know we are getting paid for every single copy ever sold, suddenly the next GTA or Call Of Duty is only on Nextbox.......that drives sales.

Publishers say to Microsoft thanks for protecting our interests, have exclusivity on our product because we know we are getting paid for every single copy ever sold, suddenly the next GTA or Call Of Duty is only on Nextbox.......that drives sales.

If that was true then the opposite would have happened this gen. The 360 was hacked n' cracked early on it's life and the DVD drive made it easy enough for people to download games and get them working on their console, but the PS3 was not been hacked until recently and so for many years games were pirated on the 360 but not on the PS3. Even now blu-ray makes it more difficult to pirate games on the PS3 than the 360.

Publishers go where the consumers go. Consumers aren't going to go where they can't trade in their games. Sure, publishers could try the exclusivity thing, but they'd very quickly change their minds when they realise there's no-one to sell their games to in the first place.

You think the 15 million people who buy Call Of Duty every year would abandon it if they couldn't trade the game? They play it all year online so it wouldn't be an issue to them, they will go to the console that plays it and if it was exclusive to Nextbox they would go there.

I wonder what Rik would think if this rumoured news was in relation to the PS4 and not the Nextbox..........

The next Xbox will be a matt-black media hub with a mission to bring games to life in your living room with augmented reality, directional sound, and a four-player finger-tracking Kinect. We told you all that last month. This month, our sources tell us it will have a touchscreen, too.

Microsoft are experimenting with a tablet-like controller with a shape closer to Sony's sleek Vita handheld / Apple's iPad than Wii U's bulky unit - it's an HD screen surrounded by the traditional 360 buttons and sticks.

On 360 that touchscreen will be second only to Kinect in how you operate your console. It could be a remote control when you're watching TV, a browser when you're on the internet, extra buttons and information when playing a game or a portable display when you want to take your game with you.

Expect to see the next Xbox at E3 this June.

I'm trying to think how they're going to pull that off without looking like a blatant Wii U rip-off.

I'm trying to think how they're going to pull that off without looking like a blatant Wii U rip-off.

They'd just play something else instead. Consumers are a fickle bunch, and should not be underestimated. To think they'll follow blindly is the first step to failure. Look at what happened to the PS3 at launch, for example. Sony thought Playstation fans would buy it regardless of price and launch date. Said fans bought 360s instead. Complacency kills.

I don't support the move at all personally, I'm just showing how publishers might view it.

Doesn't Windows Phone do that already? Albeit in a basic way.

I've not tried connecting mine with the Xbox though so have no idea what it is like.

It's a bit different this time. Everyone is tied into Live. All of your friends are on it. All of your DLC is on it.

Not being able to trade in games won't be that much of a big deal to people.