Xbox One won't play games on day one without mandatory update
What can be done with the system out of the box? "Nothing. You need the day one update."
Microsoft's Xbox One will not be able to play even disc-based games on day one without a mandatory update to the system.
The $499 machine, which goes on sale November 22 worldwide, will require a patch not just for online services and apps, but also retail boxed games and other functions due to shipping with an outdated operating system.
"Functionally, you will be able to do very little without taking the day one update," Microsoft's senior director of product management Albert Penello told Engadget.
When asked what consumers could with the console straight out the box, he replied: "Nothing. You need the day one update."
"A lot of the apps come with the day one update because they wouldn't have even been done," detailed Penello. "You're gonna need to take this update. It's not gonna be really an optional thing."
Microsoft's online services for the Xbox One have been the subject of scrutiny and criticism since they were first revealed at E3.
That disasterous showing forced the company to backtrack on a number of requirements, but the fact remains that the Xbox One is essentially a console that requires near-constant internet connection to function as it was originally designed.