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[Neko Mimi Mode]

That seems to be the opposite of what is happening in this thread. All this is just noise till we find out from the horses mouth.

You mean Microsoft? Check the OP.

 

[Mashing]

Why don't they just come out and say it does not? They do not have to announce the console just to put this rumor to rest.

 

[Beer Monkey]

Paul Thurott is an idiot at this point as far as I'm concerned; at a minimum his credibility is weakened. His original articles made claims that he admitted he didn't know what they meant.

 

[Baleoce]

Does it matter when we're so close to having definitive answers when the system is revealed in two weeks?

Regardless, that will be when we find out whose sources were wrong. And yes, knowing which outlet has reputable contacts with access to accurate information does matter.

 

[Auto_aim1]

Ars is legit. This pretty much confirms it I guess. Tbh the rumour always seemed a bit absurd but since Edge posted it, there was a slight doubt that maybe Microsoft may go ahead with it. Glad to know they thought otherwise.

 

[Unregistered007]

As long as your vacuum cleaner is online...

 

[Hindle]

I get the impression some wanted this to be true just so they could continue to further thier agenda.

 

[gaming_noob]

Good. Now I need to justify to my wife why I need this in addition to the PS4.


Hmm... Got any tips?

It's better that you spend that money on Xbox than on hookers.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

For some people, the answer won't be definitive until the console is released. Maybe not even then.

I know, it's stupid. With F2P/Freemium, always online is a huge part of the future of consoles, though, just not for every game.

 

[Neuromancer]

Now let's see how many games include a forced simcity-like "always multiplayer, no single player" just to justify an online requirement.

This applies to PS4 also.

If individual games do it just to be dicks, it's still bad; but nowhere near as bad as an entire console just doing it to be a dick.

 

[jond76]

God.

Next Xbox designed by God: confirmed.

 

[KidBeta]

You mean Microsoft? Check the OP.

Oh cool, can you show me the press release

Or even any evidence

Personally Im skeptical of any site but articles do warrant discussion.

 

[stktt]

Good. Now I need to justify to my wife why I need this in addition to the PS4.


Hmm... Got any tips?

It's only $299*!

 

[Crimson_Gold]

Now let's see how many games include a forced simcity-like "always multiplayer, no single player" just to justify an online requirement.

This applies to PS4 also.

Sadly, a great many. They'll find a way to shove this bitter pill down our throats somehow. I'll just try to avoid all games with any semblence of this sort of thing.

 

[Alx]

So who's giving these employees tasks to work on?

It surprised me too, but it seems there's something like cross-team management ; members of a given team can get allocated to tasks handled by external supervisors, so they have to tell their regular supervisor that they'll have to spend X hours on a project they cannot speak about.

 

[Fivefold]

Paul Thurott is an idiot at this point as far as I'm concerned; at a minimum his credibility is weakened. His original articles made claims that he admitted he didn't know what they meant.

You realize he's one of the most respected tech journos around right?

 

[Mastperf]

Does it matter when we're so close to having definitive answers when the system is revealed in two weeks?

I'm still thinking we might not get as many definitive answers as we hope.

 

[Pillville]

If individual games do it just to be dicks, it's still bad; but nowhere near as bad as an entire console just doing it to be a dick.

True. But if a game does it, it most likely means cross-platform-dickness.

 

[Proelite]

Internet required will be on the system console box IMO. It'll be needed for at least a one time system setup.

 

[DC R1D3R]

I know, it's stupid. With F2P/Freemium, always online is a huge part of the future of consoles, though, just not for every game.

You'd have "thought" most of GAF would be down with that. lol

 

[JAYSIMPLE]

Good news about the next xbox, what world am I in?, this deffo isn't gaf!

 

[BRocknRolla]

You know, I thought there was some genuinely interesting information here, but I guess a lot of you are satisfied with shouting "RUMOR!" and "NOT RUMOR!"Really seems like a waste of time given that no one in a position to do so can confirm or deny any of this.

If I might, how about that BD support? Sounds pretty interesting... Might warrant discussion.

 

[Quicksilver4648]

Based on how it would be a crazy idea to implement an always-connected system and I trust Arstechnica in their journalism I am severely inclined to believe this story above all others. Are the dev-kits always-online? Quite possibly. But I certainly feel that the final home consumer product will work nearly identical to the Xbox 360 in terms of its offline capabilities. Of course, we wont know anything with 100% certainty until just over two weeks from now on May 21st.

 

[Salaadin]

Didn't he clarify afterwards saying he didn't know either way?

Well, his original stuff contradicted itself. I think it was along the lines of

"Internet connection required"
"Isnt as draconian as some think"
..and then when he was asked if online was required to play games, he said "no idea"

I felt like he was all over the place with it. Online requirement is draconian, imo, so "not as draconian" never made a lot of sense to me. Its either draconian or its not.

And when he clarified by saying he had no idea if it was needed for games, it didnt make a lot of sense because if it was required for the console, it would be required for games...at least in the way I interpret it.

So yeah, he was all over the place with that one.

Paul Thurott contradicted himself within the same article when he posted that original news. "It'll be always online...just like Windows 8! Even though Windows 8 allows you to do plenty of things offline! But it's always online!" So I don't think he ever really understood what the complaints were about.

This always happens because "always online" is a vague phrase. Some people think of background downloads, sleep mode, automatic patching, and other cloud services. Some people think of SimCity and Ubisoft DRM.

Im referring to this article:
http://windowsitpro.com/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/here-comes-next-xbox

Where his direct quote is

Internet-connected. The next Xbox must be Internet-connected to use. This is the source of the “always on”/“always online” rumors and isn’t as Draconian as many seem to believe.

Still, youre correct in that he was contradicting himself. I didnt exactly know how to take what he was saying because it didnt make sense when compared to the other things he was saying.


And for what its worth, he was asked on twitter if he can confirm or deny the article in the OP. He said that he couldnt but then went on to say

I wouldn't have linked to it if I thought it was wrong. Peter is trustworthy

Im willing to bet now that a lot of this confusion came from the overuse of "always on" instead of "internet required". In fact, Id bet that MS and Sony have similar policies here and will leave the internet required stuff up to the publisher. Itll then be up to the gamers to protest and get those policies shut down...kinda like what happened with Ubisoft on PC a few years back.

 

[Raven77]

Interesting but this isn't official yet.

Also, I doubt we'll get an official answer on this on the 21'st announcement. Maybe at E3.

 

[Bsigg12]

Why don't they just come out and say it does not? They do not have to announce the console just to put this rumor to rest.

Because it still doesn't technically exist to the public. Coming out an saying that it will work without internet now just confirms the existence of the console which Microsoft does not want to do until the 21st on their own terms.

 

[la flama blanca]

Some have already moved on to the next talking point:

It's not a scam? Also, find a quote from me talking about the always online as if it were true.

 

[MightyHedgehog]

Regardless, that will be when we find out whose sources were wrong. And yes, knowing which outlet has reputable contacts with access to accurate information does matter.

I'm not sure about that. No one seemed to permanently discredit major sites for being wrong before with rumors. It's like free hits with no real accountability in the long run. In the end, people believe what they want to.

 

[Pillville]

Good. Now I need to justify to my wife why I need this in addition to the PS4.


Hmm... Got any tips?

If you have any kids, just say you really want PS4, but the kids really want Xbox.

Or a second job

Or a different wife

Or sell one of those kids

 

[RoboPlato]

Good news about the next xbox, what world am I in?, this deffo isn't gaf!

GAF isn't the source for the negative rumors about the next Xbox. This also isn't exactly a positive rumor. It just means they're not doing something terrible.

 

[Prezhulio]

Good news, would have been surprising if they were actually that limiting on functionality.

Th language does leave room for some sort of up-front registration of games ala a serial key, but could be reading too much into it.

 

[Phoenician_Viking]

21st can´t come soon enough.

 

[Glorified G]

This is great news. Actvating or installing a game possibly requiring an internet connection sounds more anti used which is bad. But for me its not as worse as constant drm. Low expectafions ftw!

I don't understand how some are skeptical of this email. Its clear as day, and more reliable than any rumor out there.

 

[DragonSworne]

If you have any kids, just say you really want PS4, but the kids really want Xbox.

Or a second job

Or a different wife

Or sell one of those kids

Wtf is wrong with you?

 

[monlo]

i bet MS thinks that this 'news' is doing consumers a favor

 

[mgcastro]

Pack it up Sony, MS is back in the game.

Spoiler

lol

 

[G17]

Not sure why Paul Thurrott is getting so much flak here as some kind of untrustworthy source. Over the past few years, he has been spot on almost everytime when it came to Windows/Microsoft products. He is also dedicated to covering all things Microsoft as a journalist.

Sure he might not have wanted to commit to what always online meant, but he said himself he was basing that off documentation.

 

[Nibiru]

What about a single player game with a multiplayer component? There are very few strictly single player games. This sounds like a small distinction but these companies are very specific with pr statements.

 

[Bsigg12]

Internet required will be on the system console box IMO. It'll be needed for at least a one time system setup.

I could see this. If you don't have internet you could call and enter the on screen code, and then they give you a code to enter that activates the system. That's how Windows works anyways.

 

[BRocknRolla]

If individual games do it just to be dicks, it's still bad; but nowhere near as bad as an entire console just doing it to be a dick.

I expect Ubisoft to have all their games always-online with U-Play, at least to start. Maybe all EA games as well with an Origin login.

The only real hope we can have on either console for this is that it's a total cluster-fuck up front. If servers are down, overloaded, hacked, whatever, and people can't play those games, it might be enough to tank their sales, thus making them back away from these policies.

Then again, after Sim-City and the relentless defense of always-online despite the clear negatives, maybe nothing can stem the tide.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

We want bad news.

lol

Some people will still insist that it needs to be online, don't worry.

 

[Tomcat]

Paul Thurott is an idiot at this point as far as I'm concerned; at a minimum his credibility is weakened. His original articles made claims that he admitted he didn't know what they meant.

thurrott is your average xbox gamer. He isn't 24/7 reading/posting on neogaf and trying to find and understand how always on works. Xbox is a hobby for him and not work. Maybe his source meant always on as that of xbox360.

 

[TheLegendary]

Microsoft probably just wants to get this out of the way in advance of the event. It'll be discussed and by May 21, this won't be a hot button issue for them anymore.

They won't even mention anything like this at the event. It's smart to have this mysterious email leak (aka forwarded) before the event so there's no need to even concern themselves with it in a presentation

 

[enzo_gt]

Thread title should specify internal MS e-mail, but this is still a good sign. Never thought they'd go through with it, but this is another step towards next gen not sucking. I've no doubt some publishers will test the waters early with always online games though.

 

[RPGamer92]

Good, now I can be interested in Durango

 

[stktt]

Wtf is wrong with you?

That was a joke.

 

[RoboPlato]

I expect Ubisoft to have all their games always-online with U-Play, at least to start. Maybe all EA games as well with an Origin login.

The only real hope we can have on either console for this is that it's a total cluster-fuck up front. If servers are down, overloaded, hacked, whatever, and people can't play those games, it might be enough to tank their sales, thus making them back away from these policies.

Then again, after Sim-City and the relentless defense of always-online despite the clear negatives, maybe nothing can stem the tide.

Ubi has already dropped always online and I can't see EA trying it again. I'm sure that there will be network features through Uplay and Origin but I doubt they'll do DRM.

 

[ASIS]

I do not accept this, bad news only please.

Seriously though, very good news if true. Still not getting the next xbox but at the very least it's not a no-no now.

 

[Windu]

Well, his original stuff contradicted itself. I think it was along the lines of

"Internet connection required"
"Isnt as draconian as some think"
..and then when he was asked if online was required to play games, he said "no idea"

I felt like he was all over the place with it. Online requirement is draconian, imo, so "not as draconian" never made a lot of sense to me. Its either draconian or its not.

And when he clarified by saying he had no idea if it was needed for games, it didnt make a lot of sense because if it was required for the console, it would be required for games...at least in the way I interpret it.

So yeah, he was all over the place with that one.



Im referring to this article:
http://windowsitpro.com/paul-thurrotts-wininfo/here-comes-next-xbox

Where his direct quote is


Still, youre correct in that he was contradicting himself. I didnt exactly know how to take what he was saying because it didnt make sense when compared to the other things he was saying.


And for what its worth, he was asked on twitter if he can confirm or deny the article in the OP. He said that he couldnt but then went on to say

Im willing to bet now that a lot of this confusion came from the overuse of "always on" instead of "internet required". In fact, Id bet that MS and Sony have similar policies here and will leave the internet required stuff up to the publisher. Itll then be up to the gamers to protest and get those policies shut down...kinda like what happened with Ubisoft on PC a few years back.

i read his stuff all the time and listened to his podcasts as well, when he was saying draconian he was talking about how stuff like the roku is always online and people don't complain. He only plays call of duty multiplayer anyway, so in his view always online does not bother him. That is what he meant by draconian, he thinks always online is not a big deal at all because if he wants to play a game, its online multiplayer and if he wants to watch a movie, its streaming so always online does not make a difference for him. So when he sees people whining about always online, he gets confused since he never plays single player games.

 

[RyanReedyMusic]

Still the hate will continue. We just need that conference here ASAP.