Rebel Leader
THE POWER OF BUTTERSCOTCH BOTTOMS
and Murphy's law will take effect
and it has happened and all we got was FUCKING undertow
Kotaku: Next Xbox will require online connection to start games
- Thread starter Wario64
- Start date
and Murphy's law will take effect
and it has happened and all we got was FUCKING undertow
shinra-bansho
Member
I don't think the people who buy annual COD or Madden, and do so in their millions on the 360, are playing by themselves locally. So essentially they're already making people buy Gold to play their games. It's not a huge step really.
By that logic, neither do the same developers that have the same dev kits and documents he got access to. Unless MS was having conversations where they notified these developers of always online... and only two of them and not some others for some reason.
NullPointer
Member
Pulled entirely out of my ass/gut/second-brain and from other posts here, but yeah - I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest.
The theory here is that paying for a multi-year Gold membership includes the console at a very reduced upfront cost, as the base offering. Same as a service contract for your smart phone. So it wouldn't just be about locking out multiplayer. Connecting your Xbox online would be the very same thing as connecting to the paid Xbox live gold service.
Tastes like chicken.
GoofsterStud
Member
Blizzard claimed that before D3
EA claimed that before Sim City (Even used D3 as a reference)
Even with a 'free' console?
Wickerbasket
Member
Making all the games online only just opens up a can of worms though. There could be unplanned outages or regular maintenance meaning you can't even play your single player games. There's no reason for having to be online while playing single player.
Adding extra hurdles between the consumer and your product is never a good idea. If they do go with always online, then they're making the choice of avoiding their next gen offerings very easy.
It would be insane of Microsoft to do this.
It'd probably be MUCh tamer if this was reported before those, and before PSN. As is, I have no faith in this being reliable enough even in the best of times, nevermind when freak incidents occur. Save it for the games that are actually designed around multiplayer and online functionality, not as some shit you're slapping on everything just because you can.
I don't like the fact that Retro gaming seems to be a thing of the past with these new consoles, unless we are talking about a future cloud system where you can pay for those retro games again!. I think if Microsoft allows 360 games to play on the 720 then that could make a difference for them even if its only a small one.
Whats the future going to be like though in regards to retro games?, are we just going to lose these games forever once they shut down the servers.
GoofsterStud
Member
Their are people like me who prepay everything, including my house.
Some of us hate contracts and do everything to avoid them. Prepaid Phone Service, Xbox Live cards, etc.
Especially with kids. They get a located amount a month that they can spend on whatever on their console that isn't M-rated. I'm not having a contract where they can just charge it up whatever they'd like.
A free console would mean people would line up and willing lube up and bend over.
Penguins&PolarBears
Member
GAF can be experienced without an Internet connection. Before NeoGAF and the Internet how do you think most of us got our video game news and talked to other people about video games? Always being connected to the Internet changed our behaviors and expectations, having instant 24/7 feedback and community became far more addictive than the old methods of exchanging info about games.
If this rumor is true then many AAA games for the Xbox won't be possible to play without an Internet connection. That alone compels the transition. And the experiences will be far more addictive than the current single player games that we play today.
And as far as Xbox Live using broadband, people could have just played online games on PS2 or PC if all they had was dial-up. Alternatives existed to Xbox Live and it's broadband requirement. But it didn't take long to realize that some of the multiplayer experiences on Xbox were better and more compelling because they were built around the expectation of broadband. They didn't just put in ethernet, they chose to exclude dial-up users. Something that was a very bold decision in 2000. They chose to say to people without broadband that you can't be a part of this premium experience. And it worked out pretty nicely for them for choosing a quality experience over choosing an experience that was available to the most people.
How is it not Netflix or YouTube? You can rent DVDs on discs or watch television instead of YouTube. Consumers are just choosing the new technology over the old. YouTube attracts people away from TV because it's online nature enables you to comment on what you're seeing, rate it, and share video responses to what you see. Netflix enables you instant access to entertainment and an unlimited catalog on demand. There are alternatives to these services. Pandora, Spotify and Xbox Music have to compete with iTunes downloads and yet more and more people are subscribing to these music services.
So in otherwords you don't see that video games are changing, becoming more social. Minecraft is now more popular than Halo on Xbox Live. This is a different era of gaming developing and maybe Microsoft wants to get ahead of the curve rather than be behind it like Sony and Nintendo often are.
The most popular games that would be designed for a system with always-on connection would not be possible on a console without it. Force everyone with the system online and suddenly you can start running real marketing campaigns for these games and investing serious money into their promotion. It becomes much less of a risk to design and promote because you know the exact number of people you can reach. Imagine how much more popular Minecraft and Farmville type games would be if they had Halo's advertising budget on top of their stickiness.
BadAss2961
Member
I kinda want to see this happen, just to see the fallout.
The riot here would last at least a couple weeks.
Thinking Zynga is somehow the model of how a publicly traded company should operate seems really ridiculous.
But people aren't going to look at it like that unless the console was like $100 or something ridiculous like that, they will just look at it like they have to pay $300 for a new console and then also pay a monthly fee to play it.
People are 'stupid' to an extent but they won't take shit for too long and if they feel hard done by then they will 'leave' so to speak.
Souless_PJ
Banned
If MS gave their console away for free and just required you to be subbed to Live then I could see people not giving a shit about "always online"
Jake Tower
Banned
Ethernet port also allowed LAN parties, no broadband internet service required.
NullPointer
Member
You got me. Whenever I'm playing Bioshock and Skyrim and Spec Ops I'm always asking myself how much better they would be if they were more like Farmville.
I don't think so. People look at the cost of an iPhone as the cost of the hardware, even though they know service is part of the deal - they look at upfront cost and a monthly fee, not a long term total.
Hell, I already shake my head when I see people refer to "free" content available to PSN+ subscribers. Its not free, its exactly what you're paying for.
Its a sleight of hand that works. Case in point: Xbox Live Gold up to this point. Its only a fraction of a penny a day!
shinra-bansho
Member
How exactly is any of that a logical corollary? For one thing developers are actually in communication with Microsoft. They didn't just have a devkit dumped in their lap and they didn't have to steal it and documentation. For another, even if two in particular leaked information, that doesn't mean no more than two are privy to such information. And lastly, the sources for these games news sites don't necessarily need to be developers.
SuperDAE is no more privy to Microsoft's strategy than anyone else. He managed to get documentation. He never actually physically interacted with the Durango devkit from what I recall. He leaked what information he did have, making us all about as informed as he about the hardware and no more knowledgeable about any higher level plans.
Oppo
Member
i knew i wasn't alone
BassForever
Member
Fixed that for you
Seriously though I dunno how this expects to do well with the masses with always online.
Silly.Mikey
Banned
Exactly.
I'm in your camp.
But I was just pointing out that selling consoles using the cellular phone model might work pretty well. How many people here actually bought their handset outright? Probably very few.
Vire
Member
Why would someone want Wii U in the first place?
That's a Bingo!
I was one of those excluded. At least my fucking console could still play games.
lol i don't really get this 'social' gaming, maybe i'm too old school but i'd rather play a proper game like a good RPG for a good story and for my 'social' game, a shooter or sports game.
Whatever man, MS basically made you come into the future a few years later when you finally got broadband.
I actually think it will be the most profitable in the long run, once the people are investing a lot in the ecosystem. It might hurt them a little in the beginning (slightly less consoles sold, though I don't think it would be that bad).
How do you mean 'Sony using their upper hand'? It's quite obvious that enough people are prepared to pay for online if they can play with friends (Call of Duty). I'm also quite sure that Microsoft will make it possible to cross-chat with Xbox 360 friends, so they will stay with Microsoft to chat with their old buddies who haven't bought the new Xbox yet.
Good question. I think Microsoft would try to market the device as an 'awesome online device' where the always online component gives the console 'plenty of awesome benefits which couldn't be offered without the always online connection' such as updates when away, drop-in drop-out and tons of other reasons.
Of course Microsoft also has his own agenda which won't be made public. Think of stuff like 1) anti-piracy, 2) no second-hand games and 3) Kinect always scanning your home for the ads $$$. I bet reasons like these would even be the most important ones, but of course they won't be made (officially) public because it would be quite bad reputation.
DragonSworne
Banned
Imagine when the next CoD or Halo game comes out, and at launch you can't connect to the servers to play ANY game, single player or not, due to high demand. Welcome to next gen gaming with the new Xbox.
I do not remember one time that maintenance was an issue for down time for Live... in 10 years except maybe when they completely overhauled Live that one time?
and they are stupid if they don't ALSO have an offline solution for downtime
This, and its not like its just one game. It's every single game/app. I wouldn't be surprised if people can't play their xboxs for a week after launch.
I think thats what makes this even more likely that its true.
MS hates bad PR, so if something gets said about them which is untrue, they are quick with a denial.
The fact durango hasn't been announced is not an issue. They would have either leaked the info, or the website reporting on a rumour would have received a blanket statement, like what happened regarding the rumour surrounding a disk-free next gen console.
A lot of COD players do play the campaign over the first day or 2 because of the server problems, if they can't ply the single player as well then it will cause nothing but bad press, look what happened with that NukeTown shite.
I had no idea broadband connections were far superior in Asian countries. I do recall a few UK posters mentioning how sporadic their connection can be at times.
Yeah, I live relatively close to DC and there are times my connection goes out due to router trouble or Fios mystery issues, so I can relate. What I mean by consistency is the availability of broadband/internet in all 50 states, and if access is a non issue in other countries.
But I suppose as mentioned earlier that only 3rd world countries lack wide spread broadband availability... in which case MS sales wouldn't really be affected by those areas.
zerokoolpsx
Member
Imagine this with every game and app.
Awful idea. No way am I'm getting 720 if this is true.
GoofsterStud
Member
To be fair their were few good phones reasonably priced before the Nexus 4. Even in the cell phone industry that seems to be changing. Cricket Iphones, HTC Ones, Samsung S3, and what not. A few years back this was unheard of.
PrimaNocta
Member
I own all major consoles but 95% of my gaming is on the Xbox 360. I have over 60K achievements & have spent god knows how much money over Xbox Live. But if this rumor is true, I'm staying on 360 & switching to Playstation for my next gen gaming. This is BS.
StudioTan
Hold on, friend! I'd love to share with you some swell news about the Windows 8 Metro UI! Wait, where are you going?
They were? AFAIK they have never even acknowledged the existence of a new console. When did they refute rumours about it?
Hello PS4! Bye bye MS.
35k achievements here, and Xbox 360 was pretty much my only and primary console last gen. I've got a Wii U now, but I'll be going PS4 next gen for sure. I do NOT like the direction that MS is trying to take gaming in, and if that means I throw my $$$ behind Sony I will to make sure MS doesn't corner this market.
35k achievements here, and Xbox 360 was pretty much my only and primary console last gen. I've got a Wii U now, but I'll be going PS4 next gen for sure. I do NOT like the direction that MS is trying to take gaming in, and if that means I throw my $$$ behind Sony I will to make sure MS doesn't corner this market.
Who gives a fuck about whether I have broadband?
I have no need for a gaming device that is a brick without a internet connection. My isp can be squirrely at times, but their the fastest in my area. America's internet infrastructure sucks. As I said earlier, I already have one internet reliant machine, my gaming pc. I don't desire any more.
MrNyarlathotep
Banned
Well that's a fantastic spiel straight from the "how to market a product you fundamentally don't understand" playbook, so I'll just ask you the most obvious question begged here;
What does any of that have to do with a compulsory online presence rather than simply an optional one?
What benefit does a consumer actually get from not being able to consume if at any time their internet goes down?
Are you suggesting that there will be no single player games at all? That there should be no single player games at all?
It was a joke. The way that poster is trying to make it sound is that MS single handily forced people into realizing that broadband is the only way to go.