Always Online and Why We're Not Ready For It

Galactic Gaming News "With rumors swirling in the recent months about the next Xbox possibly requiring an always online connection, it got me to thinking. Are we ready for home consoles to require a constant internet connection? I mean it seems that we are always connected to the internet anyway. So having a system with a constant internet connection wouldn't be a big deal, right? Wrong."

[Kingthrash360]

I dont think we will ever be ready for it. too many potential problems.

[ShugaCane]

It's like assuming that everybody can afford a constant and stable internet connection, which is absolutely not true. And I know what I'm talking about....

[EVILDEAD360]

Thanks God it was a silly rumors based on the dev kits in the first place.

Dev kits = traceable Always online to ensure no theft.

Console = Online is standard as this gen. But not mandatory.

Evil

[joab777]

There is absolutely no reason now or in the near future to always be online. But, they may think that ending piracy is more lucrative than the consumers they will lose.

[RuleofOne343]

Respect your point ,but how will we resolve these problem if we refuse to go forward. I would prefer to solve these issues than continue to let them linger.

@Belking if that is the case then why is their such a fear or negative reaction to a console wanting to join that group of devices that already do it.(have no more bubbles PM so I can respond to your comment.)

[Belking]

Always online is already here. Smart tvs and other devices have been doing this already and it actually works pretty well.

[meatnormous]

Smart tvs do have online functions, but do not require it to function as a tv. If the tv loses connection, it keeps on showing what ever you were watching.

[kayoss]

Same thing with a computers. If the internet goes out, you can still use your laptop or desktop as a computer. If the PS4 or nextbox is always online, and you lose internet connection. You lose the gaming console until you get the internet back up. I have not seen any home sytem that is dependant on the internet to fully function except for cable boxes. Cable box is an exception because its a cable box. Game console is primarily video game system and not an online video game system. If Sony or microsoft advertize that the Game console is primarily an online gaming system then i will be content that this should be a 'always Online" system. but its not.

[ScubbaSteve]

They'd have to make internet connections/cables like Christmas lights where if one disconnects there's 2 or more connections to maintain it. Nobody would want always-online unless the likelihood of a disconnect is near zero.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

http://127.0.0.1:1886/start...

We won't have to worry about MS having to be "Always Online" to play games Single player games the rumor has been squashed!

[jatakk]

FYI

http://arstechnica.com/gami...

[Donnieboi]

Just what we need. The 1 millionth article on why DRM sucks. I think everybody get's it by now--at least anyone who has an n4g account.

[Godmars290]

And you're going to hear about it twice as much if and when it happens. Whether its a console or a full game on one.

[Donnieboi]

I can respect these articles if MS confirms it is using DRM--after all, the next Xbox reveal is in 2 weeks.

Can't these guys wait just 2 weeks, instead of making more of these lame articles? They only do this for hits. You would think I am overreacting, but n4g is over-flooded with this crap.

It was fine when the rumors kept pouring in, but now it's useless since the reveal is only 2 weeks away. What good is useless speculation when we're just 2 weeks away from the reveal.

It feels like 1/3 of all opinion pieces lately all concentrated on this one topic, but NOT ONE of them can actually contribute any ADDITIONAL reasons as to why DRM is bad--no more reasons than any other article hasn't already thought of.

DRM sucks. We get it. We really don't need more articles on it. None of these articles have thought of any new ways for DRM to suck. The first few articles on the topic pretty much already covered every possible reason why DRM is a massive fail already.

[DOMination-]

Seems like IGN are reporting today that the next xbox definitely will NOT have always online

http://uk.ign.com/articles/...

Too bad N4G suddenly has a policy on sources which means this very important news fails submission.

[tristanwerbe]

everyone pretty much plays online but the customer is always right, right EA, Bioware? :D

[Asuka]

actually most gamers play offline ;)

[Hicken]

It's not really about playing online. It's about problems with that connection, which none of us can control or foresee.

Example: my internet's decent, but storms- not even thunderstorms, just lots of heavy rain- screwed over my internet over the weekend, and it's still not back to normal. Makes playing DC Universe extremely hard, as my internet signal just crap out for a few seconds every few minutes.

And this is from someone who ALWAYS has internet, and is ALWAYS using online for something.

It's just not a viable method. Not yet.

[tristanwerbe]

i honestly never have issues but i accutaly care less what they do

[steve30x]

When I pay for a game I expect to be able to play it wether I am online or not. I will never be ready for online only DRM and as soon as it happens to all games I will stop gaming

[Mustang300C2012]

it already has been happening so bye.

[steve30x]

No it hasnt. Most games still dont have online only DRM.

[Ilovetheps5]

I posted this in another article before it was failed, but it applies to this article as well:

I'll wait until the 21st until I consider anything official. But, I've saying for a while that I'd be shocked if Microsoft required an internet connection to play single player games. It doesn't make sense and I just think that they are smarter than that. I have awful internet that cuts out at random. I am using the best internet available in my area, but it still cuts out for a decent amount of time. And when the internet cuts out, it is usually real late at night, but that is when I play video games. I'm one of those people that will play a game at midnight. I just don't think the next xbox will be always-online.

I'm just ready for the 21st so that we can separate rumors from fact. But, it'll also be interesting to see which topics they discuss and which ones they avoid. Just a couple more weeks left.

[Buff1044]

Pretty sure this has been overblown by the media and gamers at large. Always On is more than likely a marketing term to mean that yes, if you're connected the console will update behind the scenes and grant access to a variety of features you won't have access to if you're offline.

[Asuka]

what most americans dont seem to understand is, that 80% of our nation (landmass wise) does not have reliable internet speeds. The infrastructure just isn't there. Sure, the coastal states have fios and T1 connections, however, the vast central parts of the country do not offer such services as of yet. America's infrastructure is far behind the eastern world

[aquamala]

as if you need any more proof how pro-sony n4g is, have a look at the failed stories on n4g

http://n4g.com/news/failed/...

how many gazillion xbox-always-on-line stories have been proved on n4g? the one story that debunks them can't even get approved here

[kevinsheeks]

Oh of course its pro sony here and if you say try to speak out even with facts and proof they will eat away your bubbles lol

thats why i just observe and keep hush hush

funny i notice that one of the reports on the xbox always online false was reported as duplicate yet we have over 25 articles dissing drm and xbox-.-

[aquamala]

crazy, even when the community approve a story, one mod can fail it like this one

http://n4g.com/news/1247003...

[DOMination-]

I submitted one of those today and the reason the N4G mods are giving is that it has a source that isn't named...........

[SDF Repellent]

No doubt any good MS news are being covered up by Pro-Sony activists here on N4G, which is like 90% of the users. Freaking fan-made blogs and twitter were approved on xbox-always-on-line stories for heaven sake!

[cl1983]

Posting rumors is fine as long as you make it clear in your post that it is a rumor. The rumor should also come from a somewhat credible source. A lot of people make up rumors on internet forums so be careful to check the source before posting. Submitting a rumor allows the community to vote on if they think it is true or not. A non named source isn't credible.

[DOMination-]

A non named source was seemingly fine though when it was an article about xbox first party being six months behind schedule.

I don't mind rules but only if they are enforced fairly.

[cl1983]

Actually myself and a few others worked to get that and other non named stories pulled, you can look at the failed stories and see what stories that have been stopped

[maniacmayhem]

So what about the past "always online" rumors? Those were from unnamed sources leaked to the web. And we had a gazillion of stories about that and even now those have been debunked by another unnamed, anonymous source leaked to the internet.

I find it odd that other sites are running with this rumor but a news aggregator site like N4G isn't.

[Soldierone]

The issue is on both sides of the fence.

-Not everyone has stable connections, and never will. What happens if you can't pay the internet bill for a month?

-Not every connection is stable. Every game will have splurges of users, and this requires EVERY game to keep servers online AT ALL TIMES. The second those have issues, no one that paid full price for a game can play anymore. Look at SimCity.....

Just imagine every game you buy, you can't play for a week or two simply because "more users than expected go on the server."

[Saryk]

I am a huge capitalist. But I think the internet should be regulated for fair trade and removing bandwidth caps for users to download from legitimate companies.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Well thankfully the only always online system out there anyone needs to worry about is Onlive. Both the next xbox and PS4 are both certainly built with always online and connected in mind...but not required always online.

[Hallow]

All very good points! My console is always online right now and I've had numerous outages do to the server and cable company.

[Apex13]

The issue for me is not that I am not ready but I don't want it forced upon me. Simple

[vandal GAB]

The next Xbox won't be Always online.

If you haven't read it already then here are the links.

http://www.computerandvideo...

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

"There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should 'just work' regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game."

[csreynolds]

Screw being ready for it; I don't want it.