120°

Why Microsoft’s Creative Director Adam Orth Was Wrong For Defending Always-On Consoles

An eGamer journalist comments on the Microsoft Creative Director (Adam Orth)situation, talks about the implications of always-on for a console and explains why Orth was in the wrong.

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egamer.co.za
caseh4067d ago

I think he just related his experience with PCs and mobile phones to consoles in general. I can see where he was coming from, my PS3 has been hooked up to my router for the past 5 years since the day I bought it and effictively its always-on.

With the exception of PSN outages. :D

RNTody4067d ago (Edited 4067d ago )

I can understand that viewpoint, I mean my PS3 is also permanently connected at my home, but the thing is it's different for everyone and there are many scenarios where you won't have access to an internet connection at all or even just a reliable one depending on your situation. For instance:

- You could be using wireless
- You may want to take your console on the road
- You may be moving and finding yourself without internet for a while
- Your service provider may have a problem
- Microsoft could have technical faults
- The area you live in could be unreliable for good and stable internet
- You may just not have regular access
- You have may limited usage

Those are just some scenarios. Now while these above reasons can exclude you from playing multiplayer, it's completely unfair and insane to have these prevent you from playing a single-player game. Diablo III, SimCity, Assassin's Creed II, they all suffered greatly trying to enforce always-on.

sikbeta4067d ago

There is nothing to defend, this gen games were made to be played online + added features to be used online, social became important and that's online aswell, nextgen what would you expect is to go further than that, so logical step would be always on...

GiggMan4067d ago

Also things happen in life where other bills can take precedence to having your high speed internet always on. I know I pay right at $65 a month and if something was to happen that would be the first expense I'd have to cut.

Trust me I've been there... That would mean no Xbox for me :-(

Crazy Larry4067d ago (Edited 4067d ago )

I get that it's "different for everyone," but truth be told, I personally don't care about everyone (pardon me for being selfish). Both my PS3 and 360 have been "always on" for 6 years. I'll get a PS4, and I plan on keeping it always on, and assuming MS won't do anything too crazy during their announcement, I plan on getting a 720 too, since each will have great titles the other won't have. If somebody out their is still rockin' PS3 and 360 firmware ver 1.0 because they have no internet, I feel bad for them, but for nearly everybody on this site, we'll all be fine with always on. I'M NOT DEFENDING IT, but if I HAVE to have a 720 connected, it will be no different for what 90% of current PS3 and Xbox owners have been doing the last 6-7 years.

EDIT: Oh, and paying for internet is an awful excuse to bash always on. I KNOW the economy is tough but if you can't afford a $40 internet bill, you have NO business buying a $400-$500 console and $60 games. Priorities are food and shelter, so if things are really that tough, you need to be cutting out games entirely until this economy gets better for you.

Baka-akaB4067d ago (Edited 4067d ago )

Used to having it online or not , there is no defense worthwhile here .

People forget something that should be asked first . Does switching to a perpetually online system even benefits you ? If it doesnt and is just a used game deterrent screw them .

I dont even fathom state of mind making anyone rush to a corporation's defense , when they havent told you yet if there is even something to gain from it .

The only always online feature we know so far are auto logging stuff , wich can be done in alternative fashion .

And no .. social crap features , facebook or otherwise , and rankings arent worth that

GiggMan4067d ago

@Crazy Larry. The keyword is IF. If something was to happen or if I was to lose my job and things get tight the internet expense would have to be the first to go. Might as well get rid of the console also (for about a quarter of the price you paid for it) because without the internet it's useless.

This is all hypothetical debate anyway. Let's just wait and see what happens.

rainslacker4066d ago (Edited 4066d ago )

@sik

Plenty of games were made this gen that didn't require any online. Even if they included a multiplayer component, there was almost always a single player component.

Multiplayer took off this gen, no doubt. But that doesn't mean everyone, or even the majority want to play online. There are many people who don't care one bit to play online. I'm one such person, and I see no reason for there to be a required always on connection outside of trying to control the consumer.

Logical step is to keep it the way it is now. Make it optional for the people that want it, but don't restrict those that don't care to be always on, or just don't always have the means.

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admiralvic4067d ago

While I can certainly understand people not seeing the problem with this (I am always online myself), I think too many people can't see past their own situation. Personally the biggest issue I have with "always on" is how easy it's to have a problem with it.

I don't know about anyone else, but every now and then someone will pull the internet power cord to plug something in or accidentally removed it (it's pretty bulky after all). Obviously this is a harmless action and terrible if I am playing online, but I don't need to instantly stop everything to resolve it. Thats the main problem with always online as a concept... it has too many situations where things are useless. At the VERY LEAST they should offer something to make up for this short coming, though I can see that not happening.

Boody-Bandit4067d ago (Edited 4067d ago )

Always on is a horrible idea. All the rhetorical spin can't justify it. If MS does indeed go this route it will hurt them. I honestly don't understand what the R&D team is thinking. MS needs to fire them and 86 this idea.

This is as bad as Sony not going all out for a full online infrastructure right out of the gate. Does everyone remember Phil Harrison complaining that Sony (Japan) wasn't focusing on online features and options for the PS3 before it was released? These companies need to learn from each others mistakes and not create new ones.

Ashlen4067d ago (Edited 4067d ago )

It's not about always on, people are missing the point entirely. Always on is a DRM.

The always on function is to authenticate games to keep you from playing used games.

That's the only reason always online is needed.

Boody-Bandit4067d ago

"The always on function is to authenticate games to keep you from playing used games."

I don't see many missing this point. Not being able to play used games or rentals would be the kiss of death for me with MS. 80% of the games I play are either from GF or purchased used.

If MS does in fact go this route it will save me space on my entertainment cabinet. I didn't get a Wii U and I will pass on the "Next Box" if these rumors turn into facts. I might purchase one just for the Forza series but my gaming library will be anorexic. I want resale value.

The only way this (Always On - No used games or rentals) would be viable for me is if MS sold their games 25 to 35% cheaper than their opposition.

I can't see Ms going this route. Think about it. Sony offers near identical services as you with equal or possibly more power. The same games, more developers, not always on, used and rentals will work (AKA resale value on your titles) and possibly still have the option to game online for free. <- If this is the case Sony will run away with the next generation.

RNTody4067d ago

The other major issue with your argument, Ashlen, is that always-on doesn't really benefit us. The example you used helps us in no way whatsoever as gamers and consumers. In fact, it's a restriction on us, and because of the problems with always-on, poses many possible inconveniences.

Always-online isn't needed. It's something enforced for control reasons.

cleft54067d ago (Edited 4067d ago )

You mentioned the PSN outages, well Microsoft also went down during Christmas for like 2 weeks and it happened again following that consecutive year.

Now imagine the console is always online. Are you okay with not being able to play games that you paid $60 for, assuming you didn't buy a collector's edition for $100? The problem here isn't just the network experience on the side of the consumer, but that major gaming companies like Microsoft, Sony, EA, and Activision Blizzard don't have a stable enough network architecture to maintain an always online service smoothly.

If Microsoft wants to use always online drm, than they need to be able to guarantee customers that their network infrastructure is solid enough for them to be able to deal with the server demands of having a mass amount of people constantly connecting, no matter what time of year it is.

The reality is that there is no way for them to do this and this is why always online drm is a terrible idea and why I will not buy a nextbox if it does have always online drm. Once the network infrastructure exist for them to be able to do this type of drm reliably, than and only than, should they consider it.

CalvinKlein4067d ago (Edited 4067d ago )

they really didnt go out at all back then. Xmas 2007 it had connection problems because so many people were overloading the servers at once. I was playing COD 4 every day for a few weeks before xmas and xmas day I couldnt connect. I thought it was my Internet but it worked fine later that night when less people were on.

I hear people mention this live outage all the time, but it was working. I know because I actually experienced this so called "outage" and the PSN one too, big difference.

I will probably not buy the next xbox for a while and maybe not ever if it is always on. I enjoyed diablo 3 even though it wasnt as good as diablo 2. Lots of people hate on it but I think it was pretty good besides the stupid RMAH and the worst, always online. Lag, even in SP and servers that go down at least 1 time a week and they were down alot when the game launched.

3-4-54066d ago

Yea but when your internet connection goes out or is crappy that day, your not locked out of gaming.

You can still use your PC without the internet. Full functional.

X720 EX: Playing a game and internet acts up in middle of game...it just stops working or shuts down or exits out...

What if that was a cutscene or a Boss battle or important dialog and now it's just ripped you right out of that experience.

^ That situation is going to happen to people. Not all but enough that it will piss people off.

EX: I just bought this $60 game can't wait to play it.....wait the local internet is in the area fixing something and the internet will be iffy for today and maybe tomorrow ? Now I can't play my game ????

^ How doesn't Microsoft Comprehend this ?

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Z5014067d ago

"You may want to take your console on the road" BINGO!

Robotronfiend4066d ago

Or you are military and get orders to move.

Godmars2904067d ago

I think by now, with a blocked Twitter and removed Link-in account, he has some idea.

Question is does MS realize how bad an idea it is. Enough so that they'll continue it.

jmac534067d ago

I have Comcast and they are so big that they don't care that they are an unreliable ISP. Troubleshooting your Internet for a couple of hours after work when you only want to relax and play a couple of games is enough to make me avoid an always connected console like the plague.

rainslacker4066d ago

Time Warner was much the same for me. When it was working, which was a lot, they were very solid. However, not a week would go by where they wouldn't go down for an hour or two, and sometimes for a whole night.

I'm currently using AT&T U-Verse, and it's connection is up about 99% of the time, but a few days ago it went down for the whole night. Usually when it does go down it's for about an hour or so.

It's also worth pointing out that even the smaller companies which may care about service still use the larger providers networks to deliver their feeds, so your still at the mercy of the bigger infrastructure.

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150°

10 Biggest Xbox Mistakes of All Time (So Far)

The Xbox brand has done a lot of good over the years, but their various blunders are pretty wild to look back on in their magnitude.

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culturedvultures.com
piroh3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Ironically number 9 can save them at this point (releasing games on multiple platforms)

ChasterMies2d ago

By “save them” you mean make more profit for Microsoft. Xbox will still be a dying hardware platform.

OtterX3d ago

You could add the naming scheme for the consoles, it just confuses customers. I know they wanted to avoid traditional numbering bc it would always be lower than their competitor, but this whole 360 then One then Series thing is confusing af. Imagine a Soccer Mom trying to figure this stuff out. I still mistakenly call the Series X the One from time to time on accident.

RNTody3d ago

Don't forget about the Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox Series X! Good luck to Soccer moms around the world.

S2Killinit2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

They did that on purpose to confuse and direct attention away from the generational numbering.

MS doesn’t like reminding people that they joined the industry after others had already been involved in gaming.

For instance, they called the xbox “360” to combat PlayStation “3” because they wanted to seem like “more” than “3”, so instead of xbox 2, they opted for xbox 360. Also this had the additional benefit of selling consoles to uninformed parents who might purchase a “360” instead of a “3” by mistake, or because they thought 360 was more than 3. Kind of a disingenuous move.

They have been continuing with their confusing naming patterns for pretty much the same reasons. Frankly, it fits with who and what they are as a brand.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago

I can understand their reasoning, but whoever came up with that naming scheme should be fired, bad naming schemes have killed consoles (I'm pretty sure it was the major reason for the downfall of the WiiU). They should have had unqiue names like Nintendo and Sega have had for their consoles, far less confusing for the consumer.

Cacabunga3d ago (Edited 3d ago )

Phil Spencer is the worst that has happened to Xbox.
They built a respectable brand up to Xbox one. Then this guy took over and things became a joke

Reaper22_2d ago

He still has his job. Something you can't say about Jim Ryan.

Cacabunga2d ago

Both bad execs. One is on job and one thankfully retired.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago (Edited 2d ago )

I didn't like either person, both people damaged their respective brands and produced worse outcomes, but Phil did save the Xbox brand from being retired by Microsoft. Although in hindsight, he should have just let it die, rather than languish in limbo like it is now.

Rainbowcookie1d 8h ago

Yeah but the one that was "bad" didn't even affect sales.

bunt-custardly2d ago

Phil Spencer was also on the team back when 360 was around, alongside Shane Kim, Peter Moore etc. I think the damage that did the most harm was the Don Mattrick "Always Online" console (ahead of its time basically). They handed Sony and Nintendo a free-pass when that was revealed. It went downhill from there. Then the corporate machine went into full swing to try and recover. They have to a degree as a games company for the masses, and less so for the core gamer. Outside USA, the Xbox brand does not sell as well as Japanese based consoles (citation needed).

Cacabunga2d ago

Want a decision maker. The always online and TV plans was a disaster yes, but they caught up by announcing 1st party games that gamers actually kept the hype going.. until this moron took over and introduced the PC day one release.. e all know where that ended..

S2Killinit2d ago

I dont think they were ever a respectable brand, not since the beginning, when their goal was never to be involved and share in the gaming space. I think the OG xbox was an exception because MS as a brand was still getting its foot in and so the people behind that were people of the gaming industry.

FinalFantasyFanatic2d ago

The 360 was the brand in its prime though, everything went downhill towards the end of that generation. Its staple games like Halo, Forza and Gears are what kept the console relevant and afloat for so long.

MaximusPrime_3d ago

Really good video.

I remember the days with RRoD was big news on here, N4G.

Microsoft had it turbulence number of years.

Looking at the success of Sea of Thieves despite being 6 years old, time to release Halo, Forza horizon 4 & 5 on PS5. It'll help their revenue

shinoff21832d ago (Edited 2d ago )

2 of the 4 games they did already sold really well. So it's definitely going down. Idk about halo or forza but I feel those studios they've bought in the last 5 years, their coming

ChasterMies2d ago

I found this video painful to watch. Can someone list them out?

Top 10 for me from are:
1. 2013 reveal presentation
2. Bundling Kinect 2 with Xbox One
3. RRoD or why rushing to market with hardware is always a bad idea.
4. Buying studios only to close them.
5. Ads on the Home Screen
6. Letting Halo die.
7. Letting Geard of War die.
8. Every console name
9. Charging for Xbox Live on Xbox 360 when Sony let PS3 players play online for free.
10. Cancelling release of OG Xbox games after the Xbox 360 launched.

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150°

Microsoft to Add Copilot AI to Video Games

Microsoft recently revealed its plans to incorporate Copilot directly into video games, with Minecraft being the first showcased example.

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xpgained.co.uk
Fishy Fingers7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

F*** AI

"Hey Copilot, what's a good meme to prove I dislike AI".... https://giphy.com/clips/sou...

Einhander19727d ago

Two trillion dollar company that just can't wait to put as many people possible out of work as fast as possible.

It feels like every single thing they do is making gaming worse and destroying the industry.

7d ago
7d ago
7d ago
darthv726d ago

....you know it takes people to program the AI.... right? It isnt like it is sentient. We haven't reach skynet level of situation or anywhere close to the matrix just yet.

That's next Thursday.

Einhander19726d ago (Edited 6d ago )

It takes a people to program the AI then that AI is used for who knows how many games eliminating countless jobs which only grows as AI is used for more and more game creation functions.

What you're saying is so ridiculously short sighted and truly larking any kind of understanding and foresight.

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CaptainFaisal7d ago

Why all the hate? Im actually excited about this! Always wanted this kind of immersion, and an AI companion with me all the time helping me out knowing the status of my skills/inventory/progress and giving me tips on the best approach or how to craft something specific is game changing for the industry.

Hate all you want about AI, but this is just the start and I can see the potential already. You wont be complaining in the next 5-10 years about this, but rather complain if a game hasn’t implemented it.

MrDead7d ago

Yes we can't wait for the work of others to be used without the need to pay them so that MS can profit even more from the people they fire.

I_am_Batman7d ago (Edited 7d ago )

There is no chance I'd ever use something like this, especially if it's not part of the core game design, but a layer on top of it. It's way too much handholding. Many games already feel like busy work, because they don't let the player figure things out on their own. Having a real-time interactive guide defeats the purpose of playing the game in the first place in my opinion.

If this were to become the standard like you predict, we'll see more and more video games get away with bad design, because people will just be used to ask for help from the AI companion anyway.

Number1TailzFan7d ago

Well Nintendo don't need this with some of their games these days, with invincible characters, items, easy bosses etc.. they do the hand holding built in

helicoptergirl7d ago

Takes "hand holding" in games to a whole new level.

BlackDoomAx5d ago

Because human nature xD Almost every new technology had these kind of comments.

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70°

Activision team is opening a new game studio in Poland 'Elsewhere Entertainment' to build new AAA IP

Microsoft's Activision subsidiary announced today that it is opening a new game development studio to take advantage of the huge talent pool growing in Poland. It'll be the second Activision studio based in the region, joining Infinity Ward Krakow, although this studio is, in fact, not working on Call of Duty.

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windowscentral.com
Psychonaut8510d ago

They’re not working on Call of Duty? Give it time.