Give me one advantage "always online" brings

One advantage is you won't constantly be notified when your friends sign on or off of Xbox live, since they'll always be connected!

That's huge
 
So this is the thread where Microsoft apologists try to pass off the benefits of being online sometimes as benefits of having zero offline functionality.
 
More and more personalized content.

Your home screen would be fully themed with the game you're about to play, fullscreen background candy images, hubs of user/friend created posts/videos/screenshots, official game announcements/news/faq/boards, list of friends playing it now and what mode are they on, friends related recommendations and so much other not gaming things.

I can relate several Operational System level of improvements that being online can improve your experience, but none that would make it required, you would lose almost everything about interactiveness but gaming wouldn't be much of a problem if it hadn't any kind of persistent world or massive multiplayer nature.
 
I can only see one. With a always online system, maybe developers can start moving some game logic from the client to the server and single player games can be influenced from what other players do in the world, actually making SP campaings a kind of SP/MP campaing. I don't know, just throwing some ideas...
 
Limanima said:
I can only see one. With a always online system, maybe developers can start moving some game logic from the client to the server and single player games can be influenced from what other players do in the world, actually making SP campaings a kind of SP/MP campaing. I don't know, just throwing some ideas...
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Doesn't Demon Souls do that already?
 
oVerde said:
More and more sensitive content.

Your home screen can be fully themed with the game your about to play, fullscreen background candy images,list of user/friend created posts/videos/screenshots, official game announcements/news, list of friends playing it now and what mode, friends recommendations and so on.

I can relate several Operational System level of improvements that being online can improve your experience, but none that would make it required, you would lose almost everything about interactiveness but gaming.
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Well shit, I've never cared about that gaming part on a gaming console, so that's great!
 
linkboy said:
Doesn't Demon Souls do that already?
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Yep, and he's talking about something an always (or optionally, DS) online game could do just as easily if the system wasn't.

But pretty cool if he had that idea himself and never played DS.

Crewnh said:
You can already turn off notifications on the 360.
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Yeah, turning notifications off is a pretty standard feature in any context. Is there a system that doesn't let you do this?
 
Penguins&PolarBears said:
There's a lot of people out there playing campaign centric games (Skyrim, GTA, Assassins) and local multiplayer games (Madden, FIFA, Dance Central) that see no point to bother putting their Xbox online. Microsoft at some point needs to explain to these type of gamers why connecting online is to their benefit and eventually take a hard stance on inducing them to change their behavior.
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Holy shit. This is fucked up.
 
The advantages are numerous...for the companies, this is a wet dream for any console maker and publisher, you curb stomp piracy as well gain the ability to fully control second hand game sales and rule it with a iron fist. You can also advertise even more to each individual user, as well sell more micro transactions and DLC

But no advantages to the consumer, infact disadvantages are numerous as has been stated many times. You are no longer selling games to people, you are lending them your servers and you decide when to turn off Halo 5, so you can sell more of Halo 7, its brilliant for them.

The key for them is to throw around a bunch of buzz words around to make it sound like it is great, "innovative new experience", "living breathing online community", "revolutionary way to play games with your friends" etc etc.

None of this of course means anything, its just marketing buzz words, but that is how they will attack it
 
Into said:
The key for them is to throw around a bunch of buzz words around to make it sound like it is great, "innovative new experience", "living breathing online community", "revolutionary way to play games with your friends" etc etc.

None of this of course means anything, its just marketing buzz words, but that is how they will attack it
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It makes me wonder whether the people that spout crap like "new experience only possible with always online", actually believe that crap. It just astounds me as how gullible some people are. If you spend 2 seconds to think about the pros and cons like this thread has proven you can very quickly realise nothing new can be brought to the table by locking out offline players.
 
Only thing I could come up with is making synchronization and streaming between devices easier, like say sharing files between pc/phone with your console and synchronizing your profile/backups anywhere you go, controlling your download from your pc and sharing media on your console with a friend, without actually be on your console, in other word a media center/server in the living room.

If that is actually a feature.

Edit: similar to that nvidia streaming thingy they showed with their handheld a while back.
 
bycha said:
It's great to have no piracy on your console. Developer's will get much more money.
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I dunno, seems to me selling 10 copies and seeing 0 copies pirated on a platform that nobody really wants to buy due to its inherently anti-consumer stance is worse than selling 1000 copies on a platform where piracy is rife and 9000 copies were pirated.

EDIT:
Which is pretty much how Ubisofts PC sales went when they implemented always on DRM.
 
Dibbz said:
What can be done that cannot currently be done with the online/offline solution?

There are none.
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Well you can....ummmm y-you
tumblr_mdn7wzBL2d1ri9yduo1_250.gif
 
bycha said:
It's great to have no piracy on your console. Developer's will get much more money.
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Yeah that would be great if it happened. It may happen if they keep this console's life short enough that moders or hackers or whatever you call them can't find a solution to make it work offline before they shelve Xbox 720 and release Xbox 1080.
 
Dibbz said:
What can be done that cannot currently be done with the online/offline solution?

There are none.
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  1. Single Player games won't feel so alone anymore
  2. Disconnecting from the server which stops the game is good for gamers because everybody needs a break now and then
  3. Always online verification = publishers can sleep better at night knowing that the game isn't pirated
  4. Your progress and preferences can be persistently tracked so MS can cater ads and product specifically to you
  5. Kinect 2 and Always Online can now verify how many people are watching a video and charge you accordingly

Huehuehue
 
MrNyarlathotep said:
I dunno, seems to me selling 10 copies and seeing 0 copies pirated on a platform that nobody really wants to buy due to its inherently anti-consumer stance is worse than selling 1000 copies on a platform where piracy is rife and 9000 copies were pirated.
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My guess is that this is more about used games than piracy, although they probably won't come out and say that. Most pirates aren't going to suddenly start buying games if they can't pirate them -- they'll just ignore Durango and move to a different platform where they can play games for free.

Used games buyers, on the other hand, are already spending money, and in measurable amounts. It's just that it's going to Gamestop and other eeeeevil middlemen. Cut out that avenue (and appease Gamestop by letting them sell online pass type stuff) and you could probably get a lot of used game buyers to switch to buying new.

But Microsoft saying that they want to take away your right to resale isn't going to be received well, so instead they'll blame this on the dirty pirates, because they're an easy boogeyman.
 
Opiate said:
Look at the PC as a great example of what I mean by the above. The PC is a great example of what a flexible system can offer; it can be online, but doesn't have to be. It has always online games, and always offline games, and games which can be online but don't have to be. There are lots of games on PC that are always-online and require an internet connection to work: World of Warcraft, League of Legends, and Farmville are all huge, gigantic hits on the PC, and all are completely non-functional without an internet connection. But then there are also games like the Sims and Skyrim, which do not require an internet connection because they are primarily single player games. Both of these games are also big hits. Finally there are games which can be online but don't have to be, like Starcraft II.

A system that is by default always online does not have this flexibility. Instead of the full range of games, it will only have always online games, by definition.
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The mention of offline single-player games sort of disappears if they're also activated on Steam. Offline mode does have a limit - 15 days last I tried it. It also can't be initiated if you happen to lose your connection suddenly. If you don't have an internet connection for a long stretch of time and most of your games are on Steam, you're not going to have access to them.

Steam is part DRM plain and simple. But it's mostly in the background and offers so many other features that nobody cares. It's integrated. I'm sure this business model will be copied to the tee.
 
rohlfinator said:
Used games buyers, on the other hand, are already spending money, and in measurable amounts. It's just that it's going to Gamestop and other eeeeevil middlemen. Cut out that avenue (and appease Gamestop by letting them sell online pass type stuff) and you could probably get a lot of used game buyers to switch to buying new.
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The problem with this train of thought though, is that people who buy and trade in used games aren't magically going to have more money available to buy games new once second hand sales are prohibited. Most people who trade in games use that money to buy new games, so what might happen is that new game sales will fall over all.

That's not even bringing up that people might see new games as having less value since they can't be resold. Games might end up having to be sold at a cheaper price point.
 
Yasae said:
The mention of offline single-player games sort of disappears if they're also activated on Steam. Offline mode does have a limit - 15 days last I tried it. It also can't be initiated if you happen to lose your connection suddenly. If you don't have an internet connection for a long stretch of time and most of your games are on Steam, you're not going to have access to them.

Steam is part DRM plain and simple. But it's mostly in the background and offers so many other features that nobody cares. It's integrated. I'm sure this business model will be copied to the tee.
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Steam games can be cracked to work offline. BOOM.
 
Ahasverus said:
Steam games can be cracked to work offline. BOOM.
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Also, Steam offline mode works indefinitely.

No idea why he thought it was a time limit. Only other reason I can think of is that all steam games need to be launched at least once while online.

Edit: There was a bug a while back that caused Steam to need to reconnect, but that was fixed about a year ago.
 
always being able to be harassed by your stupid friends to play call of duty instead of something you actually want to play
 
Wickerbasket said:
Also, Steam offline mode works indefinitely.

No idea why he thought it was a time limit. Only other reason I can think of is that all steam games need to be launched at least once while online.

Edit: There was a bug a while back that caused Steam to need to reconnect, but that was fixed about a year ago.
Click to expand...

Yeah Steam really has improved. I only learned recently that they finally fixed the whole "having to set-up offline mode before you lose internet" some time ago.
 
Yasae said:
The mention of offline single-player games sort of disappears if they're also activated on Steam. Offline mode does have a limit - 15 days last I tried it. It also can't be initiated if you happen to lose your connection suddenly. If you don't have an internet connection for a long stretch of time and most of your games are on Steam, you're not going to have access to them.

Steam is part DRM plain and simple. But it's mostly in the background and offers so many other features that nobody cares. It's integrated. I'm sure this business model will be copied to the tee.
Click to expand...

I would very strongly caution people from equating "PC" with "Steam" Most PC gaming by a wide margin still happens off Steam.
 
DragonSworne said:
One advantage is you won't constantly be notified when your friends sign on or off of Xbox live, since they'll always be connected!

That's huge
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I'm sure the kinetic will notify that it detects John in the room.

Eeek. Hiding from your friends just got harder.

"I know your home, the Xbox Kinetic saw you."
 
Wickerbasket said:
The problem with this train of thought though, is that people who buy and trade in used games aren't magically going to have more money available to buy games new once second hand sales are prohibited. Most people who trade in games use that money to buy new games, so what might happen is that new game sales will fall over all.
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I think they'd be counting on a situation like:

Joe buys one new game (at $60) and two used games (at $30 apiece) per month. With used game sales prohibited, he instead just buys 2 new games a month with his $120. There are fewer games being bought/sold, but Microsoft and the publisher get more of Joe's gaming money.

I don't think it'll work out quite that nicely for them, but it'll probably be an improvement as long as people don't mass boycott the console or something.

That's not even bringing up that people might see new games as having less value since they can't be resold. Games might end up having to be sold at a cheaper price point.
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Maybe. I could see them going to a more Steam-like model with sales over time to attract the people who don't want to spend $60 for a game. Probably not to the same extent as Steam, since they're still beholden to retailers, and will have no competition in the Durango digital space.

I doubt that day-one game prices will be dropping much -- they still want to get as much out of the early adopters as they can.
 
Ushae said:
Pirates are the primary reason we're all in this damn mess to begin with. Piracy chokes sales and is potentially a cause for major studios shutting down. At the same time some of the deserve it with their anti consumer tactics.
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One of the advantages of a closed platform is that you can quietly secure it damn tightly while being completely transparent to the average consumer. So if piracy is why then fuck them and fuck their console business, because it's the worst kind of anti-piracy overkill that doesn't involve physically destroying the game.
 
It gives you a chance to take a break from gaming and go find something else to do when your internet connection craps out. Think about it.


I got nothing
 
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