Poll: So "new Xbox" requires always on DRM as roumors have it so far

[chozo_hybrid]

Not buying the rumours....yet.

Microsoft cannot be THAT stupid...can they?

Here in Australia, our net is what you could call...absolutely terrible. There's no way I'd buy the new Xbox with this kind of scheme planned.

Which is a shame, because I HAVE been a mostly Xbox-guy these past years.

They could be that stupid, but only time will tell.

In NZ our net isn't any better, if it does have this it will deter me from getting it, that's for sure. I have been getting more into PC games as of late, but the Xbox 360 was my console of choice, I eventually got the others, for their exclusives, but the 360 was the first I got. Would be a shame not to get the next one, but oh well.

 

[Doom972]

It doesn't matter to me since I wasn't planning on getting one anyway. I'm curious to see what will become of it. My guess is that it will be popular anyway. People will want their Halos and Gears of Wars and will jump through whatever hoops Microsoft will have them jumping through. I'm not talking about informed people, like the ones in this forum, but the general consumer base of X-box products.

Next up, in order to recoup their losses, they decide to increase the sub cost for xboxlive.
That would be the smart thing to do, right?
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I don't think that they would have losses over it. Many people will just buy it without actually understanding what they're getting. They won't go to forums and read about it - they'll just see whatever information Microsoft puts in its ads for it.

 

[Nazulu]

Remember, although there may be strong evidence pointing towards always online bullshit, there is absolutely nothing confirmed at the moment. Until somebody from Microsoft comes out and says, in no uncertain terms, that this console will require an internet connection to play games, we will not know for sure. Hell, there's a very good chance that Microsoft hasn't even decided for sure if they're going to have an online requirement or not. So let's lower our torches and pitchforks for a moment (although we should probably keep them close by).

I'm concerned they're watching out for any reaction to see if it's safe. They really shouldn't leave it this long to deny the rumours, it's not a good look so they deserve all the flames I believe. Just the very thought of that this is a possibility is ridiculous. It shouldn't even be a fucking discussion.

Also, just like you, I refuse to believe they are this greedy, but time and time again I am proven wrong with the most idiotic laws put in place and businesses changing their policy's for the worst. Like I keep saying, this future gives us wonderful advanced technology and it's abused and forced over and over, we shouldn't tolerate this shit at all.

 

[Tropicaz]

In all honesty, me and about 10 of my friends all decided as a group to get 360 over ps3 years ago to all play together. We were speaking about it a couple of weeks ago and if PS4 isnt always on and Xbox is, then we're all swapping. I despise the idea of not being able to play something like Bioshock infinite, a game which has absolutely 0 need to be online, because my internet is having one of those days.

 

[CCountZero]

I have a hard time believing that any American company is gonna make something that'll infuriate the fighting men of the nation.

Right now, there's a bunch of 360s sitting down in Afghanistan, entertaining the troops. If the 720 can't function in that environment, it's gonna get media attention, the people will rebel, and Microsoft execs will get thrown out of 40th story windows.

Lets make it happen!

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

I don't have a stable internet connection, so even if I had wanted to get the new Xbox, if this is true I basically can't.

 

[Dryk]

Then again piracy is pretty big in third world countries, so I could be wrong, but those countries dont have the internet to support an always online console... Fuck, the US doesnt have the internet to support an always online console.

From an accountants point of view used sales would be slightly worse than piracy. There's a higher chance of a pirate buying the game from them afterwards.

 

[WoW Killer]

So Steam is offline for me right now. It means I can't access my save files (without losing progress) on Borderlands 2 because I last played it round a friends house and I haven't logged into Steam since then to sync my Cloud saves. Not bitching about it or anything, just putting it forward that even with good connections all around you get downtime like that. I've got a few hours free, I'm itching to load up a game, and I can't. It's just one more barrier; one more thing that can go wrong.

 

[laggyteabag]

If the next xbox is online only, it has pretty much already lost the console war before it has even started. Sales will be low/ non-existent across the board, and the PS4 will be the dominant console. If this is the case, then Microsoft can say bye-bye to their part in the console market.

However nothing has been officially announced as of yet, so we can only wait and see what happens.

 

[WoW Killer]

If the next xbox is online only, it has pretty much already lost the console war before it has even started. Sales will be low/ non-existent across the board, and the PS4 will be the dominant console. If this is the case, then Microsoft can say bye-bye to their part in the console market.

What if they're both always online? Or has Sony announced specifically that they're not going down that path?

 

[VladG]

Until It's confirmed, I very much doubt they will have always online requirement simply to work. It's relatively simple for MS to get an idea how many (or rather few) ever used any online feature of their console and how many never connected relative to the number of units sold.


This simple metric would show them that they'd be essentially committing console suicide by making it 100% online.



The PS4 had the same rumours circulating because Sony patented some always online DRM technology. It has nothing to do with the PS4 though. It will work 100% offline.

 

[VladG]

So Steam is offline for me right now. It means I can't access my save files (without losing progress) on Borderlands 2 because I last played it round a friends house and I haven't logged into Steam since then to sync my Cloud saves. Not bitching about it or anything, just putting it forward that even with good connections all around you get downtime like that. I've got a few hours free, I'm itching to load up a game, and I can't. It's just one more barrier; one more thing that can go wrong.

That's actually not a negative point to cloud saving. You can't play your latest save because you never actually had that save on YOUR PC in the first place. Before cloud saves you couldn't even expect to be able to go to a friend and play YOUR save from home, then come back home and continue the same game (or you could carry save games on a portable drive, but you can still do that, so it's kinda irrelevant).

Also the PS4 won't have any sort of always online requirement. It's official.

 

[Galen Marek]

Next up, in order to recoup their losses, they decide to increase the sub cost for xboxlive.
That would be the smart thing to do, right?
><

Stop giving them ideas!

 

[Snotnarok]

I'm pretty much set on if you buy the new xbox and it has always online DRM you've ignorant on why it's a bad idea and how it's MS attempting to screw game ownership fully. I don't understand why anyone would buy something like that, forfeiting your rights to do what you want with your purchases.

 

[The White Hunter]

I can potentially see the Xbox needing an internet connection because Microsoft decides to finally do away with games on disks, but I can't see them requiring an always-on DRM system. Then again, these guys did produce Windows 8...

They went and made a really nice upgrade to windows and then slapped the interface formerly known as metro on it and left it to rot. Thank the nerd gods for hacks.

OT: Umm it's pretty bad and it does mean that next I won't be buying their product, I'll be sticking to my PC and Wii U, maybe a PS4 later in it's life as I've always enjoyed Sony's first party content.

I wonder if it requires always online and you have to pay for Xbox Live Gold to do stuff online still?

 

[WoW Killer]

That's actually not a negative point to cloud saving. You can't play your latest save because you never actually had that save on YOUR PC in the first place. Before cloud saves you couldn't even expect to be able to go to a friend and play YOUR save from home, then come back home and continue the same game (or you could carry save games on a portable drive, but you can still do that, so it's kinda irrelevant).

Of course, I wasn't suggesting otherwise. The Cloud saves are an added benefit, so when the connection is down I'm only losing that added benefit, and not the full game. I'm just saying that even with a good quality service that's been around long enough to iron out most problems, you still get downtime. And there's bound to be a heck of a lot more console users than Steam users. There's no way that an always online console won't have big problems with blackouts.

Also the PS4 won't have any sort of always online requirement. It's official.

Good to hear, and in that case I agree; that's a big lead for the PS4 already. But... maybe I'm being cynical here, but I wouldn't put it past Sony to conveniently change their mind if Microsoft announce this officially.

 

[JokerboyJordan]

It won't be online only, Microsoft would not be so stupid as to alienate a large amount of their user base.

Biased poll is biased.

 

[VladG]

snip

Good to hear, and in that case I agree; that's a big lead for the PS4 already. But... maybe I'm being cynical here, but I wouldn't put it past Sony to conveniently change their mind if Microsoft announce this officially.

Hmm... don't think so. There's more competition coming in the form of android consoles (the Ouya, maybe Project Shield) and smartphones. Sure, it's not direct competition on the level of Microsoft or Nintendo's consoles for AAA gaming, but it's there, and it might just take a misstep like forcing always-on DRM to completely alter the console market in favour of stuff like the Ouya.


I mean, right now, Android or iOS gaming is mostly held back by the limitations of having only a touchscreen controller, which makes most traditional games very hard or impossible to implement, not so much actual hardware power.

With the Ouya having a standard controller and being very cheap compared to the big 3, we might start getting high quality, AAA-ish Android games if there are enough people willing to adopt it.

 

[Tom_green_day]

I don't really believe 'rumours' and I highly, highly doubt the new XBOX will have always-on. Look at things like Simcity and Diablo, it's never worked out well for the consumers or for the publishers.
A Sony fanboy has probably started these rumours just to make the PS4 seem like a better option.
I've been a Sony user since PS2 and PSP but the PS4 really put me off, I didn't like the look of it at all. I hope the XBOX gives it a run for its money, at the very least.