Next XBOX is "always on" - "Live with it!" says Adam Orth - PR own goal, or what?

[ArithonUK]

Microsoft Studios creative director Adam Orth has caused something of a PR own goal for the NextGen Microsoft X Console with this series of Twitter posts...

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There's certainly an argument for an always-on Xbox 360 from a publisher perspective. Requiring a permanent internet connection would (in theory) help in the fight against piracy and would cause the eradication of pre-owned titles.

Great for publishers, yes, but all of which is terrible for gamers. And should Microsoft confirm the rumours at its showcase at the end of the month it must surely be prepared for a colossal backlash on-line and in the press.

The most telling backlash, of course, will be if gamers drop the Xbox 720 in favour of the PS4 when the pair likely arrive at the end of the year. That said, despite promises they won't use it, SONY have patented a single use DRM for their platform too, so the next generation of consoles will be a Hobson's Choice and the likely end of all resale and rental of games.

[smilodon]

And another mad moment on Twitter costs an exec his job. You'd think people in positions of responsibility would think before posting, but clearly not. Sacked......

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/04/adam-always-online-orth-no-longer-employed-at-microsoft/

[T-Bag]

With Steam I'm almost entirely reliant on the internet. If the internet drops out one day and I boot up my machine and can't log in it could be a problem (I auto sign-in so generally I'll always be able to play, but there is a chance I could be blocked from accessing my games)

If the connection drops out mid game I don't care, once logged into steam it's all good as far as being able to load games goes. If the XBox is like this, I don't think many people will care. "Always on" verification on the other hand would be a pain in the arse, and would cause a large stir. I think it's far more likely they'll try and kill the re-sale market more subtle ways, like plain linking games to accounts and requiring you to be signed into xbox live to save.

[vladic]

I have several friends who live in Rural area's or have bad connections that can drop occasionally or be triggered by external situations, an "Always On" verification system would in all likely hood put them off purchasing the next Gen consoles, why pay for a piece of equipment that you can only use say 75 to 50% of the time if an issue occurs.

If this statement is true though it could bring more people to the PC gaming market, as whilst some require online login to play such as Steam or Starcraft 2, in the event of Net connection loss the game can continue to be played offline or the service still used to launch games (steam).

[RizZy]

I don't think anyone would be happy with the idea of an always on system & with all the fallout around the web about it microsoft would be stupid to do it, & on top of that not coming out & saying either way isn't helping themselves either.

[ArithonUK]

Microsoft has been sounding the idea out of "Always on" DRM, CD Serial keys and other forms of making the next XBOX titles "single use" in order to appeal to publishers and developers who complain SDK's and development costs are too high and that sales don't get them enough revenue and re-sales get them nothing.
Of course people who think the PS4 is their way out may be walking into a trap, as SONY have patented a single-use process for discs (first install writes a "used" flag onto disc - probably the PS4 serial or maybe your account ID) they've said that although they've registered this patent, they are not going to use it. That's double-speak for "we've sold it to all the publishers".
Couple this with the fact that the "next gen" console hardware is still likely to be lower spec than a current mid-range PC, with the consoles costing £300 and games looking to cost £45 upwards with no re-sale or trade-in market, there's never been a better or cheaper time to be a PC gamer, since most 3-5 year old PC's will run new games on medium to high settings.

[RizZy]

I have a 360 & hardly play on it, & I don't think I really have any intention of buying either of the new consoles any time soon so I don't see it making much of a difference to me (or many people on here) but one thing I do hope is the new console hardware frees up pc games to be better than they are now due to games being developed for consoles & not making use of the pc hardware that is out there.

[RizZy]

Looks like we'll find out in a few weeks time just what Microsoft has planned - http://kotaku.com/the-next-xbox-will-be-revealed-on-may-21-479691780?utm_campaign=Socialflow_Kotaku_Facebook&utm_source=Kotaku_Facebook&utm_medium=Socialflow