We may not be able to get definitive answers on how the Xbox One will treat used games or always online, but Microsoft has confirmed one thing, and that’s that the Xbox One will be region locked.
Speaking to Digital Trends, a Microsoft Rep confirmed region locking by saying the following:
“Similar to the movie and music industry, games must meet country-specific regulatory guidelines before they are cleared for sale. We will continue to work with our partners to follow these guidelines with Xbox One.”
Polygon later contacted Microsoft about region locking, and was given this statement by another Microsoft Rep:
“Regarding region blocking, Microsoft don’t have anything further to announce at this stage. We’ll have more to share later,”
Microsoft always seems to have something to say ‘later,’ instead of confronting the issue when it’s initially presented to them. By backing off and waiting until later, they allow people to speculate and, potentially, make things worse.
For comparison to the current gen consoles, the Xbox 360 was also region locked, but publishers were given the option to release region-free games; the PlayStation 3, however, was completely region-free. The Xbox One may go the way of its predecessor, but we won’t know either way until Microsoft is good and ready to tell us.