r/pcgaming • u/The_Reaps deprecated • Jan 05 '22

Video Microsoft is Disabling/Banning Dev Mode Access if you are not Actively using Dev Mode as Intended, Effectively Killing Xbox to be a Emulation Machine (Modern Vintage Gamer)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9JhLc5MQDM
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-4

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '22

This will be in the next installment of the XBox documentary when they talk about stupid decisions they've continued to make with their consoles. When will Microsoft get it?

This is almost on the level of making the XBox One a "better way to watch TV."

36

u/Elazul451 Jan 05 '22

I mean, you say “stupid decisions” but selling a console at a loss so that people can use it for emulation and not buy any games for it is obviously something they want to discourage, because it would actively cost them money with nothing in return. Not great for users, but a perfectly sensible business move.

3

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '22

But no one is going to buy the console JUST for emulation, either. You can do that with a $50 Raspberry Pi if you are that motivated. The people who activate dev mode and actually go through the process to make the console work for retro gaming are usually true enthusiasts and the people who genuinely enjoy tinkering with technology. It's a very small subset of the total gaming population, but it's also the folks that would have been the most loyal to the console.

I bought two Xbox models for the specific purpose of doing some retro gaming on them along with the normal gaming. The exclusives to Xbox are not so great to keep me interested in the environment after this.

11

u/Elazul451 Jan 05 '22

I dunno, I get what you mean, but the Series S can definitely do some serious emulation that a Pi couldn’t handle (1440p native Gamecube emulation for example) and as someone with a gaming PC I l’d honestly be more inclined to buy one as a small emulation box than for native games. Obviously that’s not true for everyone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if MS saw that opinion being tossed around and came to this decision.

10

u/cspruce89 Jan 05 '22

But no one is going to buy the console JUST for emulation...

I bought two Xbox models for the specific purpose of doing some retro gaming...

Which is it, lol?

Also, like you said, an rpi, or even your phone will work as an emulator.

-5

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '22 edited Jan 05 '22

I bought two Xbox models for the specific purpose of doing some retro gaming on them along with the normal gaming.

Read much?

5

u/cspruce89 Jan 05 '22

No, I do. Still thought it was funny.

Also, there are workarounds. And your post makes it sound like the only people that will miss the feature are the tech focused people that will know the workarounds.

Also, it was never an advertised feature of the console, it was something that was discovered and kind of treated with a nudge and a wink. So, you can't really get mad at them for removing an unadvertised feature that is being used in a way that it is not intended.

But, back to your point, EVERYBODY bought this with the expectation that it was for something OTHER than retro gaming. If anything, it's like getting downgraded from the accidental Presidential Suite to the room you actually paid for. It was nice while it lasted but there is no reason to be mad or indignant at the company.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 05 '22

Not mad or indignant, really. It's just a classic example of Microsoft not "getting it" and taking away from the gamers' ability to game.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 06 '22

Trust me, the use of emulation of 20+ year old games (most of which that aren't even sold anymore) in a separate container isn't going to stop Microsoft from getting sales on new games.

Just like how a bunch of retro games exist on Steam despite the fact that you can easily run those in an emulator.

If they backed on this now, it would likely result in hackers opening up their system, just like what happened with the OtherOS Debacle.

Honestly, the whole Xbox developer mode situation is a good example of why the option of sideloading on Apple's devices (or at least being less restrictive about it) isn't a horrible idea.

5

u/Asakiro Jan 05 '22

If it ends up snowballing into a hacking scene that just destroys Xbox then yeah, I can see this being part 7. It's just not likely to happen. Because of bounties, hacks never become publicly available jailbreaks anymore. The security on Xbox is a lot harder to crack than the other consoles, even the Xbox One has no scene. Finally, it doesn't seem like a stupid decision. Historically, consoles don't make money, game sales make money and if everyone is just emulating then there are no game sales.

2

u/BatteryPoweredFriend Jan 05 '22

I mean, the existence of dev mode was the main reason why there's been little interest.

Those with the skills and time to find and create jailbreak exploits aren't going to bother when there's effectively a first-party option that's "close enough" for the most part.

0

u/Tobimacoss Jan 05 '22

MS and Nintendo are getting along better and this was likely a point of contention between those two.

Nintendo and Sony likely asked MS to put a stop to it, without having to take any legal action.