Kotaku: Next Xbox will require online connection to start games
- Thread starter Wario64
- Start date
shinobi602
Member
He and the Bioware employee were trolling each other apparently, but he pretty much confirmed the always-online detail.
BlastProcessing
Member
The problem with that is that I don't get good reception in doors in general. I imagine it would be even worse in an AV cabinet.
Dreamgazer
Member
The problem is his first 3-4 tweets weren't directed at the Bioware employee.
So that makes the "I'm just trolling friend" response questionable to people.
Freezie KO
Banned
The latest SimCity is the most successful launch of the franchise. XBox Live Gold is a huge success, despite free online play on competing consoles. I agree the move is anti-consumer and benefits only Microsoft and its partners, but I don't think it'll deter anyone from buying the console. I'm someone who does think it's anti-consumer, and it wouldn't even deter me if I was going to buy a Durango anyway (I'm not).
Beer Monkey
Member
I suspect that before that he was just expressing his opinion and not defending an online-only Durango, as I still doubt that such a machine is going to ship.
Dreamgazer
Member
That's fine. MS can easily flip a decision like this at anytime.
However, that is still some pretty anti-consumer opinions to have.
Given the "sensitivity" of the topic, he really should have the common sense to not make it a public tweet (I mean, who was he trying to target anyway?)
shinobi602
Member
That is also true.
I have no reliable internet at the oil rig where I live and work 3/4ths of the month. Too bad for Microsoft because, again, working at an oil rig I have shitloads of disposable income and nothing to spend it on but their competitors' video games.
Not to mention they were clearly arguing. There's no way to read those Tweets as a back and forth joke.
I see people mention this a lot, but just because something sold quickly initially doesn't mean it continued to do well. See Skyward Sword for example, fastest selling Zelda of all time, but does that mean it will actually outsell all previous Zelda's? Unlikely.
We have no information on its sales post-fiasco, and most were unaware of what was going on with the game until they purchased it. On top of that many promises were made about its online systems that were untrue. In the face of that Microsoft has a bigger hill to climb to convince people on this issue. This is a much more expensive purchase than a $60 game after all. With regards to LIVE, Microsoft marketed and offered a service that people felt was worth paying for, I don't think that is a good comparison to what is being presented here.
I'm sure there is evidence to support both sides of this argument, but I'm always hesitant to just assume people are dumb and will buy things without any research at all. It would be hard to ignore if the Amazon page has a low score and tons of bad reviews that's for sure.
Oh, for some reason I was thinking 1080 would be the system after the 720, then went to assume that they would both not be backwards compatible, so you wouldn't even get that luxury.
shinobi602
Member
Yea, Manveer even said "I fell for it", so he as taking it seriously.
GoofsterStud
Member
Comparing Sim City to Console wars is like comparing Apples to Oranges
Xbox vs PS is Apples to Apples
Sim City really had no competition when it was released, was long overdue, and the original Sim gamers were hungry for a sequel.
Same for Diablo 3.
Their was no alternative. Sure Diablo 3 had Torchlight, but people were done with Torchlight and Torchlight 2 was delayed way after Diablo 3. If you like that type of game their was no alternative at that time.
Meanwhile, PS4 will always be an alternative to the 720.
Xbox vs PS is Apples to Apples
Sim City really had no competition when it was released, was long overdue, and the original Sim gamers were hungry for a sequel.
Same for Diablo 3.
Their was no alternative. Sure Diablo 3 had Torchlight, but people were done with Torchlight and Torchlight 2 was delayed way after Diablo 3. If you like that type of game their was no alternative at that time.
Meanwhile, PS4 will always be an alternative to the 720.
Freezie KO
Banned
I don't understand where what you said is different from what's happening here? Not attacking, I honestly don't see the difference. This experiment is essentially just a bigger version of XBL. Microsoft is marketing and offering a service (the ability to play games), and people will decide if it's worth paying for.
It's changing the established model of how games are sold, sure. But if people are willing to pay for Durango or XBL, despite more pro-consumer options, then they just prioritize the things offered by Durango (Halo 6) or XBL (stable online multiplayer with big communities) over the other options. Time will tell.
Over the course of this generation the idea of what it means to buy a game has shifted. Rather than being one of ownership it's now more like buying a licence or subscription. I've supported it mainly because there have been some really good deals, steam mainly and some quality software, but this always on feature feels like they are overstepping the line. As far as I know the law supports the idea that you don't own the software, but there are a lot of douche bag things the law says and just because it says so doesn't mean you need to follow it. As a consumer it feels very distrustful and even disrespectful. The major motivation for doing always online is because of piracy, they'll say otherwise. And convincing consumers otherwise will be tough because word of mouth will reflect that distrust.
MaulerX
Member
New PC sales does not necessarily equal Windows 8 sales. Microsoft sold 60 million W8 licenses in two months which clearly indicates more people simply chose to take advantage of the $40 price and upgrade their current PC instead of buying a new one.
If they don't bother to do any research about a product beforehand, sure.
If I was a 3rd party developer, I'd be extremely worried about selling enough units to make any money on next gen machines. I mean, they barely reach break even on PC/360/PS3 as it is. Slow uptake will kill big game budgets, and shift a lot of projects down to WiiU/360/PS3.
strangecloud
Member
I wonder where these rumors are originating because it seems like much has been assumed due to a lack of communication by M$'s part. I guess M$ feels very certain and unconcerned with overall stance of their new system, likely they are soaking up as much of this free PR because at the end of the day people are feverishly talking about M$ which is building intrigue for the product reveal. Something I foresee being delayed gratification on a large scale because all they have to do is denounce the rumors at their conference and have the IPs to support the hypetrain (be it negative or positive) that is the new system unveiling.
Ninja Scooter
Member
Please stop doing the dollar sign thing. Please.
equippedwithtowel
Member
Here's the problem though. A common defense of these practices is that they are only noticed by forum nerds and that the general population doesn't care. There's no way Microsoft cares enough about the minute of forum buzz or is smart enough to be orchestrating this.
Historically they've leaked like a sieve anyway.
Sim City is a bad example. Game is front loaded like a blockbuster sequel which has horrible world of mouth. Great opening weekend but no legs.
nhlducks35
Member
fabricated backlash
Member
Nintendo felt pretty compelled that their WiiU would sell without any real support as well. Corporations not being publicly fazed about something that is happening or obvious to happen isn't something noteworthy, it's standard.
Just look at Sony and the PS3 launch.
Wait, so...if I disconnect my PS3 from the net after buying my PS4, and my Plus lapses, doesn't that mean I could still play my free games?
That doesn't sound right.
Do people really believe that the announced sold figures is exactly the userbase out there?
Seriously?
I own 5 360s and 3 PS3s. The userbase of the PS3 and 360 is far smaller than the announced figures.
I'd argue the Wii would be one of the only consoles since the SNES and Megadrive where the sold numbers get close to being the actual userbase numbers.
if he is a MS employee he is soooooooo fired
#deal_with_it_obama
I love your drivebys but yeah, if you call possibly losing more than a third of your customers no impact then I don't know what to tell you.
any free PSN+ game will stop working as soon as your PSN+ subscription runs out
make that two thirds of your customers, I highly doubt that all that currently own 360 and is paying for live will buy a console that requires online to work
I'm not 100% opposed to it. Possibly require internet connection to validate a disc so it can be installed and run from the HDD, but thats it - I should never need an internet connection after that, or the disc in the drive.
worst case they could just ping the server one a day or once a week to check my keys/licenses. But 3 minutes? thats insane. They'll backpedal on that surely.
but always online is promising 3rd parties hugely more engaged consumers and significantly increased ARPU. At least I'm assuming that's the kind of bullshit MS will be telling them.
If this is true, my guess would be MS have stats showing non-connected users have a lower tie ratio and so are less valuable. And presumably they expect that online proportion to grow - partly through increased internet penetration, partly through 'encouraging' people to be connected. The rest of the cheapskates can go jump in a lake. Or buy a PS4
Tom Warren is from The Verge
€:
https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/319968029792407552
I missed one tweet in my montage
http://www.engadget.com/2007/12/22/xbox-live-suffering-from-major-outage-on-christmas-weekend-ouc/
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110506211919AALbL37
http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/xbox-live-down-service-alert-issued/
http://kotaku.com/5839687/xboxcom-down-and-out
funny comment on last link....
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110506211919AALbL37
http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/xbox-live-down-service-alert-issued/
http://kotaku.com/5839687/xboxcom-down-and-out
funny comment on last link....
Gamers love Steam because of the sales. That's the reason people always ask for Steam versions on every thread: because if it's on Steam it's sure to be sold by under $10 under an year after release, even if just by one day.
$10 is a fine price for a rental, $60 is not.
Looking past the DRM and used game sales stuff, which are both definitely considerations, I think an always-online/always-on functionality could be a nice trojan horse to shoe in interesting features, the same way the 360 required games to have achievements.
IF the Nextbox can establish dominance next-gen, and IF they can convince developers to make good use of always-online features and Kinect, Sony could be at a disadvantage when it comes to multi-platform games.
IF the Nextbox can establish dominance next-gen, and IF they can convince developers to make good use of always-online features and Kinect, Sony could be at a disadvantage when it comes to multi-platform games.
what kind of interesting features? Those interesting features can be there if you have an internet connection, just don't have them if you don't.
digoutyoursoul
Member
Does anyone know who the guy is that has the Kaz twitter account? Can't stop laughing at some of the posts
travisbickle
Member
Tom Warren is from The Verge
:
https://twitter.com/tomwarren/status/319968029792407552
I missed one tweet in my montage
I don't understand this?
I would think the people who are being told about this are tech savvy enough to understand which product is being talked about. It even mentions that always online was being talked about as a part of the new Xbox a couple of weeks ago, wouldn't that be GDC? Games developers will know the difference between the products.
It's just the dev kits, not the console
"Some sources told us that they believed that the Durango development kit required an online connection so that Microsoft could keep tabs on them and update them with new, ever-evolving firmware. Others weren't sure."
http://kotaku.com/the-next-xbox-will-require-an-internet-connection-to-st-470062456
"Some sources told us that they believed that the Durango development kit required an online connection so that Microsoft could keep tabs on them and update them with new, ever-evolving firmware. Others weren't sure."
http://kotaku.com/the-next-xbox-will-require-an-internet-connection-to-st-470062456
No doubt about it. It's free press. People can pretend inside a forum this is going to hurt the brand, hurt potential console sales, hurt *insert latest can hyperbole*, but it's meaningless in the overall scheme of things.
Every mainstream PS4 announcement meantions the Nextbox. This latest situation just highlights how all of us on this forum scrutinize every tweet. Even job listings have been scraped for nuggets of info.
This all adds up to the nuclear explosion that will be for the MS reveal. Lol. That was also hyperbole. We on The Internet forums will be in DEFCON 4, the rest of the world will simply hear about this ala Apple announcements.
Psycho_Mantis
Banned
Oh my, this is clearly going to have a negative impact on the next xbox even if you spin it as being insignificant. The fact that 30-40% of Xbox users are not online only emphasises the importance of this topic.
Your second paragraph is laughable. The PS4 and the 720 are two next gen consoles the gaming industry eagerly awaits. They are also two direct competitors. Of course comparisons are going to be brought up. If the cases were switched and the 720 was already announced people would be doing the same for the PS4. People want both companies to reveal their info so they can make a decision.
I hope you weren't seriously comparing the 720 announcement to an Apple announcement.