xbox.next Microsoft: Next Xbox will work even when your Internet doesn

[+Frank B. Subscriber²]

Microsoft: Next Xbox will work even when your Internet doesn?t

Scenarios that users expect to work offline will, in fact, work offline.

Should single-player games, Blu-ray playback, and live TV viewing be possible on a gaming console with no Internet connection? Most gamers would say "yes," but they have been worried that Microsoft feels differently; the next generation Xbox has been consistently rumored to require a permanent network connection.

It won't.

According to an internal Microsoft e-mail sent to all full-time employees working on the next Xbox, "Durango [the codename for the next Xbox] is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today's Internet." It continues, "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."

The quotation also implicitly confirms another rumor: the next Xbox will sport an HDMI input, to allow cable boxes to be hooked up for live TV viewing. Our sources tell us that the console will be able to provide TV listings and similar information.

How far this offline support will extend still isn't clear. It could take the form of a fully offline mode akin to that on the Xbox 360 (insert optical disc, install game, play, all without an Internet connection) or it could be more like Steam (install and activate online but enable subsequent offline play once this has been done).

While one could argue that "installing a game" is one of the "scenarios" that gamers "expect to work" when offline, a more Steam-like approach would be consistent with rumors that the next Xbox will use its Internet connection to block installation of secondhand games.

Still, though the next Xbox won't make everybody happy, it looks like fears that the console will be useless when your broadband goes down have been overblown.

Source: Ars Technica

[jerzdawg]

While I believed this to be a horrible rumor anyway, I just wish MS would have released something to the public so the internet didnt run wild with the thought. Just think of all the people that wanted this to be true...

[George P Global Moderator]

15 days to go, then everyone should know 100%. I've always suspected that the always-on option/mode is too keep the system and the games updated in the background so that when I do go to play a game I haven't played in a while I don't have to sit through a lengthy update process.

[n_K]

"The quotation also implicitly confirms another rumor: the next Xbox will sport an HDMI input, to allow cable boxes to be hooked up for live TV viewing."

No it doesn't.

[tanjiajun_34]

Why would they send such an email to all the employees anyway? To remind them what they are releasing?

[siah1214]

I can't wait for the 21st to roll around and shut up all of these stupid rumors. It makes total sense to require the developer units to be "always on", it helps monitor the developers using them and prevent NDA breaches. It also makes total sense not to require this on the final console.

[jerzdawg]

Why would they send such an email to all the employees anyway? To remind them what they are releasing?

2 things come to mind here:

1 - to eliminate all the rumors that have been posted regarding this subject

2 - this process was possibly going to be in place and the voice of the "people" has forced MS's hand (?)

We may never know

[TheLegendOfMart]

The comment on Ars sums it up:

Of course, the existence of such a mass e-mail implies that this is a recent change in policy. My work never sends an e-mail to everyone to say, "Just FYI, the policy we've had this whole time is still the policy. Keep doing what you've been doing."

Good news though, means Sony won't follow suit. Everyone wins.

[BajiRav]

2 things come to mind here:

1 - to eliminate all the rumors that have been posted regarding this subject

2 - this process was possibly going to be in place and the voice of the "people" has forced MS's hand (?)

We may never know

3 - They knew the email would leak and wanted to get out the word while still not "commenting on rumors and speculation".

The comment on Ars sums it up:

[/size][/font][/color]

Good news though, means Sony won't follow suit. Everyone wins.

No it doesn't - this won't surprise you if work at a big enough corporation. I get such emails at my work every now and then for various things (ethics policy for example) that everyone already knows about.

[spenser.d]

You don't say...

[Argi]

The comment on Ars sums it up:

[/size][/font][/color]

Good news though, means Sony won't follow suit. Everyone wins.

No, not really. Fun fact - a lot of people work in these divisions. Just because you work at Samsung does't mean that you know everything about what's being done.

It's more likely it was an internal memo to ease the concerns of everyone who DIDN'T know.

[Boxster17]

I'm still surprised how rampant these rumors became and honestly would've been shocked if they had gone through with it being always online. Of course these next gen consoles will have tons of online features but you can't make it required for everything at this day and age (the infrastructure isn't there yet).