Xbox One Will Soon Allow Pirated Movies, What Arrgh They Thinking?
Microsoft is expecting to release some major updates over the next few months that will enhance the overall experience of the Xbox One. One such update may unintentionally support pirated movies and television shows.
Many of the upcoming features for the Xbox One are meant to enhance the experience of the gamers and allow a more versatile means of utilizing the system. The new ‘friends’ section is a fantastic way to maintain insight into what your friends are using their system for, sort of like the Facebook Ticker.
The Snap Center will feature a means to view messages, achievements, and friend activity without leaving the current game. The TV Tuner will, well it is self-explanatory. Stream to Smart Glass will allow television and across their home network to mobile devices, utilizing the app. Boot to TV will allow the users to immediately boot the Xbox One to their TV screen when standby mode is disengaged. Finally, the Media Player is setting the Xbox One to be a pirate’s favorite new feature.
“Media Player – a new app will be available soon that enables users to play media files from either an attached USB device or from a network connected home media server that supports DLNA protocols. The preview version of the Media Player app will initially only support USB devices, with DLNA support coming soon. Xbox One will support more formats than Xbox 360, including support for dozens of new file formats like mpeg 2 TS, animated gifs and mkv which will be added by the end of the year. See below for additional file formats.”
The Media Player app seems like a harmless tool to allow users to view digital releases of their favorite movies and television shows. Sounds great, especially the part about allowing the user to play directly from a USB stick. However, what Microsoft may have failed to remember is that the.MKV file is a favorite among movie and television pirates. Essentially, the update will openly allow the users to illegally download their favorite movies and view them on their Xbox One in the comfort of their homes.
It is no secret that the Xbox One has struggled a little since its release, falling behind the PS4 in sales and losing some more sales to the Wii U. Could allowing.MKV files on their console be a sneaky way of welcoming movie pirates to come aboard the S.S. Xbox? Kotaku’s Luke Plunkett may have summed it up in a recent article.
“Let’s get real: while they have many technical benefits, mkv files are popular because they’re the format of choice for anyone who is, ahem, downloading a movie or TV show from a place where they may or may not be paying for it.”
What are your thoughts? Would the ability to play.MKVs coerce you to choose the Xbox One over the other guys?
[Photo Courtesy: g3ar]
