*spin-off* Always on/connected... stuff

Does MS really has nothing to learn from DRM infestation fiasco the music industry had to go through? Are they willing to risk so much just to have a bit more of control over their customers? I really dont know but i also do hope the answer is a big resounding HELL NO!

You know ms has already said and done "we are closing the servers say goodbye to all your purchases - have a nice day"
 
Sure, we all revisit game occasionally, but is that a major intention when buying games and reason not to buy a game in future?

Absolutely yes, in fact i do a lot of research when buying a game that relies on an online service (steam, origin, uplay ect) and I dont buy a game if a work around to bypass the service requirement does not exist
(although I must admit theres an exception. The orange box i bought it for £1 at a car boot sale got it home and got cdkey is already in use so I bought it retail for £7 and i have no idea if its possible to play without steam)

There is one thing I know and trust me on this - those servers will not run indefinitely
 
Completely wrong thought process. The money is not wasted as long as you play the game. You get the enjoyment from the game you paid for. If you buy a game and then wait 8 years and there's no way to play it, then you've wasted your money. If you buy a game and enjoy it and then 8 years later can't play it, you have less value from your purchase than a game that lasts forever, but it's far from being a waste of money. Can I put a 10 yo game in my PS3 and play it? Nope. Were all those PS2 games therefore a waste of money? Nope! ;)


Yes exactly

IMO you are paying for the entertainment, play it, enjoy, move on to new games later
 
Its also how long will the server keep running and what happens when ms shut it down

Its not any different in my mind than past consoles. They all have a date in which the expire. An allways connected system might have an expiration date earlier than the past ones however unlike sony , MS seems to actually have a way forward with DD.

So if MS's next next box plays all the next box games it really doesn't matter to me and with DD there is no real reason for single play games to be out of print or not offered anymore.
 
From the same article ...
Or you're using it as an entertainment device when you're connected to a service like Netflix or Xbox video, so that is an internet-connected device. In this phrase, it says 'must be internet-connected to use', you know, that suggests that you can't even boot into the UI and play—I don't know, I don't know, I don't have one.

Paul might not know the details, but Edge, Kotaku etc have specified that it means you are unable to play games offline (as has bgassassin). Which is also implied by the phrase from his source "must be internet-connected to use''

And I've heard that independently myself too.

There wouldn't be a huge uproar if it's "an internet connected device since to use Netflix it has to be connected to the internet" as that's true for every other console.
 
I probably have a good ideal why Durango is always on. Its due to Kinect and the probability that its voice and gesture recognition is handle not by the console itself but by off chip on servers with more robust hardware.

If I am remembering correctly Siri is or was handle in the same way.

Well its probably one of the reasons anyway.

I don't know about that.

While I'm sure Durango will pass Kinect voice and skeletal data back to MS to improve the quality of the service etc, it seems that there will be quite extensive voice and skeletal recognition databases on the console itself for Kinect to rely on (part of the 3GB system reservation).

Sending voice data over the internet for processing like Siri would be too laggy for use in gameplay situations.
 
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So where is the evidence the MS XB720 works any differently?

Just every leak about the Durango for the last year. Multiple sources for Kotaku, Edge, Eurogamer and others. Jeff Gerstmann from Giant Bob's most recent Jar Time video made some oblique references to one next gen system doing something crazy and bad with their setup that is likely Durango being online only. Anonymous devs on Reddit and NeoGAF have intimated as much, plus Adam Orth leaping to the defense of online only in response to the negative reaction to Kotaku's recent report.
 
The trouble is all those sources are echoing their own vomit. Not a single one of them knows the full details. The rest is purely conjecture.
 
Whether or not you personally have stable internet, I can't imagine taking the risk on a online required console. It's not just how many time Microsoft's servers might go down over the next 8 years, it's how many times your ISP might flake out, your modem might flake out, your router might flake out, your wifi neighborhood might be congested.

This, it's just an unnecessary hassle, I won't be able to take my 720 on holiday to places without internet (or free internet).

And my internet/router tends to be down (or unusably slow,eg. like 128k speeds) at least once a week for whatever reason and I'll need to log on and reboot the router (or wait for the ISP issue to get resolved). During such times, if i'm playing Xbox - i'll say 'Damn, can't play BF3/Halo online" so will play Skyrim or something else instead.

Also, and offtopic, but for some strange reason in our house, running on the treadmill in our garage causes the internet (ADSL2+) to stop working. The router is in a different room, adjoining walls with the garage but I really don't see why that should affect it - it's not like the router goes off due to the treadmill causing power fluctuations or anything (the router itself remains on) and the treadmill obviously isn't connected to the phone lines. Anyone have any ideas on what could possibly be causing this?
 
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Just curious, has Microsoft confirmed their required online plans or are people just running with the worse case scenario and making threads all over the internet about it? I ask because I'm not really following the consoles in much detail so I don't know if what's being posted here is all fact. I initially presumed it was because of the way people are posting things as if they are reality, but suddenly it occurred to me that maybe none of this has been confirmed and it's all more just one big rant fest that is slowly becoming typical Internet Fact (tm).

No, it's not mere speculation like dual APU or overclock rumours.
It's probably just below things like "Durango is 1.2TF" wrt to certainity

Numerous reliable sources have mentioned it, Edge, Kotaku, bgassassin, Paul Thurrot etc.
It also strongly seems to be implied in some things bkilian has said (about some of management's decisions reminding him of the KIN project and them responding to certain concerns of his about Durango with 'these are not the droids you are looking for' type answers).

And why would Adam Orth get into such a stoush if it was false?

Besides, I personally have independent confirmation of the rumours. The only things that work offline are the network troubleshooter and Bluray playback (since that is mandated in the Bluray spec)
 
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The trouble is all those sources are echoing their own vomit. Not a single one of them knows the full details. The rest is purely conjecture.

Not true, for example the Kotaku article mentioned the three minute timeout, such a detail would only be known to someone from the Xbox team. Stuff like that wasn't mentioned to devs (and wasn't mentioned by any of the other sources).
 
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This is going to be a nightmare to market to the uneducated/non-tech buyer. Grandparents buying this for under the tree? I can see the backlash now, your whole box has to warn of this in flashing lights.. Even at that history shows us how badly these purchases go, kids without Internet will get these as gifts.

I just see too many ways this can fail, outside the US in some markets more so. Begs to question, will other regions get different unlocked skus? Or will they concentrate on markets with strong internet percentages... If I can't play offline, I am not buying at launch, especially if the others allow this on a multiplat game.

If I can take an offline console on a trip knowing it will work if my hotel wants $50 for ethernet, that will end up being my primary machine. Attach rates would surely be horrible especially for the multiplat titles.

"Better with Internet" makes sense while "Required to play" just has too many issues (in my head anyway).
 
Because he was trolling his friend. You would do well to read more than the beginning of the story.

And he got fired for trolling his friend? He was clearly attempting to retaliate at all the always online diatribe around the internet.
Like with constantly including the #dealwithit tag in his tweers - also none of the media outlets took his tweets as just personal trolling.

"Sometimes the electricity goes out. I will not purchase a vacuum cleaner. The mobile reception in the area I live in is spotty and unreliable. I will not buy a mobile phone," Orth concluded, parodying the always-online naysayers. "These people should definitely get with the times and get the internet. It's awesome."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...-the-drama-around-having-an-always-on-console
.....
Had to laugh at some of these:
Adam-Orth-Always-Online-Memes.jpg


Though, to be fair - always online isn't a big issue for me, just a minor one. No used/borrowed games would likely be more important for me as is the power deficit compared to PS4.

If another console was 50% more powerful than a competitor but only worked when connected, then I'd get that - though somewhat grudgingly.
The 720's problem is that it is both the weaker console and also the one with unneccessary hassle.
 
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He got fired (if he really did) for acting in a disrespectful manner to the public while posting as an employee of MS. It wasn't about what he said so much as the way he said it.

But why would you think getting fired matters at all? Unless you believe it was part of his goal.

He was having a twitter war with a friend and it got out of hand. Believe that or not it doesn't reinforce the rumor of online required in any way.
 
Of course not, it makes a lousy story.

But aren't they justified in doing so?

It seems quite reasonable to say that he wasn't merely intending his tweets for Heir - it reads like a tirade (which'd be unsuprising given other reports about his personality), for instance, why the #dealwithit tag?
 
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