Pre-Microsoft Conference Rumors

 

A notorious leaker of games industry info popped up out of nowhere early this morning and offered the following tidbits online regarding Microsoft, Xbone and their conference which is now 4 hours away as I type this:

-Microsoft is spending alot of money to keep 3rd parties from mentioning PS4 versions of multiplatform games. Unless a 3rd party game is specifically and unequivocally mentioned as an Xbone exclusive, assume there is also a PS4 version they are hiding from the show.

-Microsoft's reveal of the official DRM policy last week was stage 1 of their plan to spin info for the public. Stage 2 will happen at Gamescon. They have no actual plan for rentals and none are being pursued, so they are going out of their way to avoid questions on the subject.

-The cloud MS advertises was designed from the start primarily for their DRM and product control programs. Unlike previous speculation elsewhere it was Microsoft, not 3rd parties, who generated the idea of the DRM and took it to publishers. EA and Ubisoft have become the biggest supporters of the DRM since MS presented it.

-According to the post by the leaker, the DRM on Xbone is actually worse than what has been revealed but he can't get solid info on specifics because his sources are afraid for their jobs.

-At the MS conference will be Mirror's Edge 2, Dead Rising 3, exclusive DLC for another Capcom game, a Phil Spencer title and a new Prince of Persia game.

-"Live paywall": Now whether this means XBL Gold is required for all services or if it means that online multiplayer is still in need of subscription is unclear to me. If it's the former then yes, the DRM on Xbone is actually getting worse and worse as time goes on.

Finally, the source of these leaks has posted a couple things about Sony as well:

-No online paywall for Sony

-Sony's E3 showing is secured so tightly that info is hard to come by.

All we can do now is wait and see if this source, who has accurately leaked info in the past such as the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas voice actor cast and Xbox 360 technical specs, has done it again. Some of the info is so awful though I think it would be better if he was wrong.