Microsoft Creative Director Comments on Always-Online

[Ethevion]

In the exact same spot.

Shiz I didn't know they were doing that as well. In that case, I'm sticking to PC gaming (And I don't mean Sim City)

 

[Chary]

Sooo...In short, you can't live anywhere but major cities? Great thinking.

 

[Lastly]

YES! YES! Now I found a reason to always connect my console to the Starbuck downstair! "TURN-ON" for 24/7!

*Eyes glimmer with hope*

 

[Rizsparky]

YES! YES! Now I found a reason to always connect my console to the Starbuck downstair! "TURN-ON" for 24/7!

*Eyes glimmer with hope*

You live on top of a starbucks?

 

[Lastly]

You live on top of a starbucks?

Why yes! Coffee is the intellectual drink of any man! And intellectual men drink at Starbucks! The law of syllogism at its finest!



[/s]

 

[nukeboy95]

YES! YES! Now I found a reason to always connect my console to the Starbuck downstair! "TURN-ON" for 24/7!

*Eyes glimmer with hope*

starbucks is too slow for online gaming

 

[Lastly]

starbucks is too slow for online gaming

No! Don't deprive me of my last hope! Please don't! Even though I live in a "big city," the intellectual hut of mankind is my last resort! I know Nextbox will somehow come through for me.

 

[nukeboy95]

No! Don't deprive me of my last hope! Please don't! Even though I live in a "big city," the intellectual hut of mankind is my last resort! I know Nextbox will somehow come through for me.

sorry starbuck is going under when the netbox comes

 

[Foxi4]

Welcome to the 21st century, dear dinosaurs.

By not having an Internet connection or having an unstable one, you're already missing out on tons of content. A lot of people out there actually own consoles for the sole purpose of competitive multiplayer and with Stand-by Mode and whatnot you're practically already Online non-stop - this only makes it "official". Sure, if you live in a rural village, sucks but we're already adapting to 4G technology world-wide, we're laying fiber optics all around the place and broadband prices are only getting lower as more providers enter the scene - pretty sure you'll find at least one even if you live in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and did I mention Streaming and other such services? Consoles these days are Media Centers, you really want them connected at all times.

 

[emigre]

Welcome to the 21st century, dear dinosaurs.

By not having an Internet connection or having an unstable one, you're already missing out on tons of content. A lot of people out there actually own consoles for the sole purpose of competitive multiplayer and with Stand-by Mode and whatnot you're practically already Online non-stop - this only makes it "official". Sure, if you live in a rural village, sucks but we're already adapting to 4G technology world-wide, we're laying fiber optics all around the place and broadband prices are only getting lower as more providers enter the scene - pretty sure you'll find at least one even if you live in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and did I mention Streaming and other such services? Consoles these days are Media Centers, you really want them connected at all times.

HI FOXI4ORTHY!

 

[duffmmann]

Welcome to the 21st century, dear dinosaurs.

By not having an Internet connection or having an unstable one, you're already missing out on tons of content. A lot of people out there actually own consoles for the sole purpose of competitive multiplayer and with Stand-by Mode and whatnot you're practically already Online non-stop - this only makes it "official". Sure, if you live in a rural village, sucks but we're already adapting to 4G technology world-wide, we're laying fiber optics all around the place and broadband prices are only getting lower as more providers enter the scene - pretty sure you'll find at least one even if you live in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and did I mention Streaming and other such services? Consoles these days are Media Centers, you really want them connected at all times.

If I want to play a singe player video game offline I should have that right. Fuck Microsoft if they do indeed go down this route. Looks like Next Gen will be PS4 and Wii U for me. And I have an internet connection, it goes out once every to every other day. Simple solution is unplug and plug back in the router, but I don't want that shit to make my video games unplayable, seriously its the epitome of terrible decisions for a video game console.

 

[Rizsparky]

How are they supposed to game in the event of their internet connection cutting? It's ridiculous..

 

[Foxi4]

HI FOXI4ORTHY!

It's not my fault that he's right, not to mention that he was highly sarcastic in his tweet. He said it himself - this is his personal opinion. He wants all of his devices to be connected and interfacing with each other in a network and I can understad this approach because it's convenient. It should be optional, yes, but hey! That's Microsoft's call and you as a customer don't have to get on-board - there are other consoles to choose from.

His examples of not buying a vaccum because sometimes they cut electricity and not buying a cellphone because you don't always have perfect reception are valid in the context, he's right and I find the amount of tears surrounding the issue palatable.

//...and yes, I know you were kidding, I'm merely expanding on my previous thought.

How are they supposed to game in the event of their internet connection cutting? It's ridiculous..

...and what do you do in the event of electricity getting cut? It's the exact same situation - external circumstances entirely.

If I want to play a singe player video game offline I should have that right.

As I said, it should be optional and you as a customer have a choice, you can buy any console you want so if you're not on-board with the idea, you have a right to buy another console.

 

[KingVamp]

Are you really defending online "all" the time, really? Not everything needs online.

Want to play local play and solo only games and didn't have internet/your internet is acting up?
Too bad!

Doesn't happen too often with me, but my internet acting up is way more likely then
my electricity going out. To think something won't work because of it when it doesn't even
need it is frustrating.

 

[Hyro-Sama]

So...

Cloud Gaming is the future?

 

[duffmmann]

It's not my fault that he's right, not to mention that he was highly sarcastic in his tweet. He said it himself - this is his personal opinion. He wants all of his devices to be connected and interfacing with each other in a network and I can understad this approach because it's convenient. It should be optional, yes, but hey! That's Microsoft's call and you as a customer don't have to get on-board - there are other consoles to choose from.

His examples of not buying a vaccum because sometimes they cut electricity and not buying a cellphone because you don't always have perfect reception are valid in the context, he's right and I find the amount of tears surrounding the issue palatable.

//...and yes, I know you were kidding, I'm merely expanding on my previous thought.


...and what do you do in the event of electricity getting cut? It's the exact same situation - external circumstances entirely.

No they aren't, and you know why? Most phone calls are a few minutes long, vacuuming only takes a few minutes. If either of these services go out for you, you'll get to them later (or by other means if the phone call is important), and neither of these are for fun or leisure. Vaccuum can't work, who is going to complain? Phone gets no reception? I'll call ya later, or find a landline. If internet goes out while playing a video game you've been heavily invested in, you're going to be pissed. Furthermore, there is absolutely no reason I should be required to be online if I'm playing a single player game. Extra content or whatever, it should be my choice if I connect to the internet for that shit. And what about local multiplayer, again if we're playing a game on the same system competitively or cooperatively, i shouldn't be required to be online for it. You would think Microsoft would look to Sim City and see what a terrible idea this truly is. Ah well, the xBox's funeral if they do indeed go through with this.

 

[Foxi4]

Are you really defending online "all" the time, really? Not everything needs online.

Want to play local play and solo only games and didn't have internet/your internet is acting up?
Too bad!

The Internet is slowly becoming a daily life commodity, much like electricity, gas and other media have ages ago. There will be a time, and this time will come soon, when it is embraced globally just like radio and television have been, people just need to embrace that idea first.

No they aren't, and you know why? Most phone calls are a few minutes long, vacuuming only takes a few minutes. If either of these services go out for you, you'll get to them later (or by other means if the phone call is important), and neither of these are for fun or leisure. Vaccuum can't work, who is going to complain? Phone gets no reception? I'll call ya later, or find a landline. If internet goes out while playing a video game you've been heavily invested in, you're going to be pissed.

If your wife is in labour and you need an ambulance, you'll crap more than you weigh if you have no phone. If your vaccuuming takes only a couple of minutes, I pity your life conditions. If you didn't have any electricity, you wouldn't play anyways, unless it'd be on a portable so argument is null and void.

By the way guys, I know reading is hard but I'm on your side - I think it should be optional but I can see where he's comming from with this, he's just more open-minded about the idea that Internet is an everyday life commodity that we should take for granted at this point and he's not afraid to say it.

 

[Qtis]

If the online services are a must, I hope they are free or at least low cost. One reason why my PS3 is pretty much always online and on the latest OFW (Netflix..), while my 360 is rarely connected. Can't be bothered to pay for Live when I play online only on a few rare occasions. Service side is still better on the 360..

Future thoughts: Less people telling me they had a great night with my mother? I'm game for online only!

 

[duffmmann]

The Internet is slowly becoming a daily life commodity, much like electricity, gas and other media have ages ago. There will be a time, and this time will come soon, when it is embraced globally just like radio and television have been, people just need to embrace that idea first.

Its already embraced pretty much globally, and has been for a loooong time. But that is neither here nor there. Internet should always be an option, why on earth would you make it required. You go from making it a great optional (large) feature of a gaming console to a required feature. That's not an improvement, and i don't know how you can look at it and say that it is. I mean how would having the option of playing games offline be bad for the console? Just answer me that question and if you have a valid enough response, maybe I'll even agree with you. But I can't imagine what such a valid response would be.

 

[Foxi4]

Its already embraced pretty much globally, and has been for a loooong time. But that is neither here nor there. Internet should always be an option, why on earth would you make it required. You go from making it a great optional (large) feature of a gaming console to a required feature. That's not an improvement, and i don't know how you can look at it and say that it is. I mean how would having the option of playing games offline be bad for the console? Just answer me that question and if you have a valid enough response, maybe I'll even agree with you. But I can't imagine what such a valid response would be.

1. I suppose you're right, electricity isn't required for gaming either. After all, there are board games, right?
2. Live patching? Updating in the background? Score boards? Server-controlled events making each playthrough different and exciting? Sky is the limit. And stop pulling out the Sim City argument, Sim City didn't work well because it was a broken and unfinished game server-side that was rushed into shelves.
3. I never said it'd be a bad thing - what I said is that I can see where he's comming from. It's a lot like saying that electricity shouldn't be required for gaming - you can do that, sure, except you just don't want to.

If the online services are a must, I hope they are free or at least low cost. One reason why my PS3 is pretty much always online and on the latest OFW (Netflix..), while my 360 is rarely connected. Can't be bothered to pay for Live when I play online only on a few rare occasions. Service side is still better on the 360..

Future thoughts: Less people telling me they had a great night with my mother? I'm game for online only!

Yes, in that case XBox Live Gold should become free entirely. A console should not be an equivalent of a subscription in my opinion - it's a material good and it should stay that way.