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[Maximilian Kolbe]

Microsoft aren't going to fire the creative director of their game studios over a tweet.

It's not just a tweet anymore

 

[TheSeks]

Only invade countries with high speed internet. The troops is South Korea will be able to play the new consoles and the ones stationed in North Korea will be stuck with retro consoles like the 360.

WW3 won't be fought over Oil, it'll be fought over broadband speeds. MS truly is Skynet!

 

[Yagharek]

Depends on the tweet.

The dumb decision he made was tweeting about it in a condescending manner.

The REALLY dumb decision was making the console online only. Those people should be fired rather than the one who slipped up.

 

[KidGalactus]

This whole "always online" (and by extension no used games) thing is interesting to me because you a situation where two dissimilar (and not necessarily opposed) ideas are bouncing off of each other. Namely:

-What I buy is mine and I own it. i get to decide how I use it.
-A company can sell whatever they want. Buy it or don't buy it.

I find it interesting because neither of these things is a direct contradiction to the other, but these discussions still get pretty heated.
I could, of course be reading this all wrong, but this is how it seems to me.

 

[artist]

That has to be the longest double post delay in a while. Also yeah, Shinobi has been on his shit lately. How's it going friend?

My hotel's WiFi is crappy tonight .. I'm ok. How are you handling today's developments?

 

[JordanN]

And the PS4 is going to have those same third party games without the added caveat of always online - a 'feature' that would literally make the Durango unplayable for me.

I never expected competitive hardware or third party support, and it's the first party that continues to incentivize any investment I make on Nintendo hardware. And even if I weren't interested in Nintendo's first party support, I'd certainly be more confident with a console I would be able to play versus one that would just turn on and ask me to troubleshoot my connection.

Not to turn this into a Thing or whatever, but I would certainly see the WiiU, with all its' failings, as a better option purely on the principle that it'd be guaranteed to work short of failure of the actual hardware in the event I tried to play a game.

I should mention I'm speaking for more of the mass market.

There's a difference in a console that can at least provide games on a monthly basis versus one that's likely to have gaps all year round because no one wants to support it (outside of the first party).

Edit: Nintendo puts themselves at niche status if they expect their games to sell to everyone.

 

[JaggedSac]

When you shit on your user base on social media you can usually expect to get heavily reprimanded if not fired these days.

If he doesn't like it then he should learn to not be a dumbass on twitter or learn to, as he would say, deal with it.

Shit on his userbase? Are we referring to his joke? Seriously? That is considered shitting on someone? Lol. Fucking hell.

 

[DirtyManos]

Obviously don't buy the trolling excuse.

Regardless, he still just tacitly tweeted that there is a xbox 720. Sure, we all knew, but MS honchos won't be happy that he did that.

The bioware guy is just covering for his friend. There was no reason to go private; basically he just got the best advice (orders) possible: it was a just a joke.

Not that it'll help.

 

[TheBaronOfNA]

Really?

"Don't read too much in our back and forth" seems to address all of the tweets.

Is called backpedaling.

 

[Penguins&PolarBears]

... It still sort of is in the majority of cases?

Also I don't remember space considerations directly being called anti-consumer, just a poorly thought-through aspect of the Kinect.

Well I guess there is still a crazy contingent here who chirps about DLC. It's certainly nothing like it was during the Horse Armor era though. In reality today most consumers would just trade in their games at Gamestop if they didn't receive a steady stream of downloadable content. Consumers are demanding DLC of developers, not the other way around.

I certainly read plenty of crazy shit here too in the lead-up to launch about how Kinect was discriminating against urban dwellers and people in Europe and Japan, black people, and even all the disabled people it excludes. Finally we just landed on Kinect excludes hardcore gamers and lazy people which is where we're currently wallowing right now.

Worrying about excluding people who don't have Internet seems to me like idiotic hysteria. Can't remember the last successful consumer gadget I've come across that didn't heavily lean on or completely rely on a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. How many Roku's, AppleTVs, SmartTVs, etc. are being sold despite their reliance on always-on Internet? This is not a heavily limiting factor anymore and it's smarter to build for the always-on future than not to. If Microsoft is right again and this isn't the impediment some people are expecting then where does that leave their competition? Sony and Nintendo can't retrofit the requirement for online into their consoles. It's a bold bet and I'm for it. Having to design every game for people without Internet connections is an impediment to game designers. Anything we can do to keep the console gaming industry competitive with the mobile gaming industry is good. Build for the future not for the past. Design the console for where the industry is going, not for where it was.

 

[ZombiePlatypus]

He's trolling, and most of you fell for it.

Because pretending to arrogantly defend an absolutely terrible, and rightfully detested "feature" is supposed to somehow be clever and make Durango seem more appealing?

 

[Uno Venova]

We said that about horse armor and now look at us.

Well....
Yeah.
But right now it's contained to PC. I'm obviously worried though. things like that are why I can't get really excited for next gen, if these practices weren't looming, I would already be camping outside of best buy.

 

[shinobi602]

He's trolling, and most of you fell for it.

The big focus here is the always online functionality of the next Xbox, which is pretty much confirmed.

 

[metareferential]

Is called backpedaling.

I'm still under the assumption he can't be that stupid, given how tight-lipped Microsoft has been lately.

But yes, seems like it.

 

[Guess Who]

Guys, I don't understand why we are still talking about Orthy trolling and not talking about his sweet bass guitar work on long-lost Pinkerton-era Weezer track Tragic Girl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83TABgLvbmM

 

[Ouren]

I dont want to live in a world where I can't put old games into a system and the servers for the DRM are down.

 

[kingocfs]

The ubisoft DRM games sold like shit.

The other two games had a huge gap between the last game and the newest game. SimCity sold because of past sim city games the same way diablo 3 sold because of diablo 2.

Will we be saying a DRM Halo 5 sold only because of the past Halo releases? Or Battlefield? Or Call of Duty? It won't stop them from applying it if the option is there, and ton of people are going to keep buying it.

 

[Sorral]

Nothing strawman about it. His post was about Microsoft's possible "current" situation and Sony's possible strategy if Durango turns out to be DRM only.

Sony saying you "can" play used games on your PS4 means absolutely nothing right now, it's about as concrete a statement as anything we've heard about Durango requiring an online connection. Where have they ever said they would never ask anything of you in order to play those used games?

I keep reading this weird excuse.
Are people really hopping that Sony matches this shitty move from MS?

Spoiler

I'd say people are really hopping for that. lol :/

 

[Mxrz]

As someone who lives in one of those small towns with spotty internet, I'd just like to say Fuck you @adam_orth, and fuck you too, Microsoft.

Wtf is with idiots in this industry disparaging their customers over any sort of criticism.

 

[The Awesomest]

GAF, I understand this from reading through this thread:

- The ability to play games only if the servers are feeling up to it is awful.
- Single player games absolutely should not require an online connection to play, like it always has been.
- Can't take a console to a place with no connection and play it

But other than that, what other drawbacks does Always-Online entail? Is there some DRM issue or something like that? What would that be? I don't fully understand the situation with Always-Online. What bad things could happen other than what I mentioned above? Help me understand. I mean what I listed above is bad enough, but is there anything else?

My iPhone locks all my apps when I go underground to use the subway.





wait

I'm quoting this because I like it and think it's funny

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

A little late but what's wrong with Blacksburg, VA? Jerks.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

Several articles seem to be popping up about this and mentions of GAF/Shinobi and screen captures from here too:

http://gematsu.com/2013/04/microsoft-creative-director-defends-always-online
http://www.gamechup.com/xbox-720-always-online-requirement-defended-by-microsoft-creative-director/

The replies by people in gematsu mirror how most feel here too.

It is quite entertaining to see things go viral like this and tomorrow might be more fun too. So...yeah:

Dude is going to have a shitty day at work tomorrow.

 

[GorillaJu]

What capacity could this guy even be "trolling" in? Generally one has some kind of purpose or underlying message when they make facetious remarks. I don't see what he could be getting at.

 

[Raitosaito]

Nothing strawman about it. His post was about Microsoft's possible "current" situation and Sony's possible strategy if Durango turns out to be DRM only.

Sony saying you "can" play used games on your PS4 means absolutely nothing right now, it's about as concrete a statement as anything we've heard about Durango requiring an online connection. Where have they ever said they would never ask anything of you in order to play those used games?

As replicant have posted and replied to you.

They actually confirmed both of those on two separate and unrelated occasions. Diablo 3 getting offline mode for its PS4 port is also quite telling:

http://www.examiner.com/article/diablo-3-ps3-and-ps4-exclusive-offline-mode-further-explained

And Sony would not keep telling media outlets this over and over to get themselves shot in the foot later, unless we assume Sony is just as idiotic as Microsoft with PR.

Common sense dictates if you are going to tout something all over the media about your hot new product you want to keep that promise.

 

[Rhazer Fusion]

All of this and the Kotaku article? Yeah, something going on.

 

[Azriell]

I really get the feeling that this guy is just trolling. He comes out too strong, and spits in the face of too many people, for this to be legit. Regardless, this does not excuse his behavior.

As for XB3, I've said it before in other threads but if this "always online" rumor or "no used games" rumor turn out to be true, I won't be buying it. It's not the end of the world (not buying it), but it does suck as someone who has used the 360 as his primary console. But since I really don't care about the vast majority of 360 or PS3's exclusives, this really isn't that big of a deal to me. Not ultimately.

And if this does turn out to be true, maybe history will be made if enough people opt out of the console due to these rumors. Who knows, MS may even choose to reverse the decisions in the future. Assuming they're even true to begin with, of course.

 

[Tom Penny]

Non factor in the scheme of things. Amazing overreactions though.

 

[Mr. Enigma]

Kaz Hirai said during the infamous E3 2006 presentation: "We have to take risks to reap the rewards."

I don't think that mantra worked out for them then, and I don't think it will work out for Microsoft now.

 

[AstroNut325]

I really hope always online/always connected is true. I just want to see NeoGAF implode with rage.

 

[Diggeh]

Dude is going to have a shitty day at work tomorrow.

"Our accounting software cannot connect to the internet today. I will not pay you this year."

 

[Oemenia]

Woah and I thought that his words would be even slightly cryptic.

 

[Nafai1123]

Yes, the guy deserves to be fired for making a stupid joke and some bad analogies. What a load of horse shit this thread is.

He's speaking in a public forum about issues related to his companies future platform. Regardless of whether he's trolling or chatting it up with his friend, he's speaking where EVERYONE can hear him, and he he's essentially talking shit about part of their consumer base. It's unprofessional at BEST.

 

[metareferential]

I really hope always online/always connected is true. I just want to see NeoGAF implode with rage.

We need it to be on both consoles though.

Otherwise it's too easy xD

 

[Yagharek]

As someone who lives in one of those small towns with spotty internet, I'd just like to say Fuck you @adam_orth, and fuck you too, Microsoft.

Wtf is with idiots in this industry disparaging their customers over any sort of criticism.

Its the culturally accepted norm in the gaming industry. They treat consumers like mouthbreathing idiots.

 

[shinobi602]

That has to be the longest double post delay in a while. Also yeah, Shinobi has been on his shit lately. How's it going friend?

Going well, just busting some dev's balls

 

[kingocfs]

I keep reading this weird excuse.
Are people really hopping that Sony matches this shitty move from MS?

Spoiler

I'd say yes at this point.

I'm definitely not hoping for anything like that, that's not fair to say just because I'm being skeptical about it in light of this Durango stuff.

I'm not the only one, that's for sure.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

What capacity could this guy even be "trolling" in? Generally one has some kind of purpose or underlying message when they make facetious remarks. I don't see what he could be getting at.

He was just giving his buddy shit about not living in a real city. He's not saying he was just joking in general about defending always on devices, because he wasn't.

 

[Foffy]

I really hope always online/always connected is true. I just want to see NeoGAF implode with rage.

I don't. Video games will continue to be getting worse if this is true. It'll be like Hollywood; all fucking fluff and very little substance. ):

 

[AstroNut325]

We need it to be on both consoles though.

Otherwise it's too easy xD

Good point.

Sony... Get on this bandwagon! ASAP.

 

[Duxxy3]

Will we be saying a DRM Halo 5 sold only because of the past Halo releases? Or Battlefield? Or Call of Duty? It won't stop them from applying it if the option is there, and ton of people are going to keep buying it.

I have bought every halo up to this point but if the single player required a persistent connection I would not buy it. I have refused to support any game that requires a persistent connection.

I'm just one person i know, but my friends and family ask me for advice on new games.

 

[RiccochetJ]

Still never can quite understand how this humble forum can get designers like David Jaffe asking us to calm down when a lot of times it's just us yelling at each other.

Sure there's a lot more to this place than that, but I have to imagine that's the impression someone gets when they click on a topic for the first time.

 

[Ravidrath]

You have not even begun to see corporate hubris until Microsoft does it. It's going to make Nintendo and Sony at their worst look positively meek.

 

[Davey Cakes]

Does always online/connected imply a restriction on used games?

 

[Jacksonlee]

if the next xbox is always online and you people buy it, and it's successful,

i hate you guys.

i really do.

 

[JCreasy]

What sticks out for me is that he took the criticism of an always–online console pretty personally – as if it was his idea or something.

 

[Satchel]

Always online confirmed?

Looks like it.

Yelp.

Hope they have something special planned to make people ignore this.

Unless its still not REQUIRING it to work. He doesn't say either way. Could still be always on in the way the Wii is always on, or PS4 will be always on.

 

[DaBoss]

Going well, just busting some dev's balls

Agreed with the others. Glad you didn't get into trouble with the whole Zelda rumor thing.

 

[Yagharek]

Does always online/connected imply a restriction on used games?

Why would you mandate online only if you weren't going to police your customers? I'd assume its a lock.

 

[SteelYoshi]

If this happens and it fails, what do you think will become of the xbox 1440?
I just wanna see them pull out so it will only be Nintendo and Sony left.

 

[MrDaravon]

I don't. Video games will continue to be getting worse if this is true. It'll be like Hollywood; all fucking fluff and very little substance. ):

I didn't think it would happen this next gen, but I fully expect online required the gen after this next one.

Another thing I don't think I've seen mentioned in this thread is that online-required for systems basically kills the fighting game scene as far as tournaments go. Internet at tournament venues is already spotty at best (most streamers wind up having to use 4G cards), but even if it was fine can you imagine having to have literally dozens (hundreds in EVO's case) of consoles in a ballroom or center all online at the same time? Literally no fucking way.