As we understand it right now (and, trust us, it's hard to understand), the Xbox One will carry with it a system that requires customers buying or borrowing pre-owned games to pay a fee in order to use them. That's not just a rumor that's been formed on the whispers of the wind, it's pretty much the boiled down result of what Microsoft Corporate Vice President Phil Harrison said after this week's console unveiling to multiple outlets.
The fee to use the games? Full retail price.
After that news was dropped, Microsoft has since come out and said that nothing is confirmed. Okay, fine, nothing is confirmed. Since the only official word we have about anything is Phil Harrison's and Larry "Major Nelson" Hyrb's (who also vaguely confirmed a fee), that's the one we go with.
Today, a rumor has popped up from MCV UK's retail sources. Supposedly, they've got a few big retail execs telling them how trade-ins might work for the Xbox One.
As they have it, gamers will be allowed to trade their old Xbox One games into retail locations that have signed a contract with Microsoft. Those shops will then take the games, sign into Microsoft's magical cloud, wipe the game from the user's Xbox One account and put it back on shelves. Microsoft then takes a cut from the eventual sale of that used game.
This new rumor says that trade-ins are entirely plausible for the customer who wants to earn money from selling back old games. What the rumor doesn't touch, however, is what the customer buying said pre-owned games will face. Will that come with an extra fee on top of the cut Microsoft will take from the retail shop? Only time will tell.
I for one hope Microsoft drops a clear and concise press statement on us soon. The longer this stuff stays murky, the more negative the impact on the Xbox One.
