Kotaku: Next Xbox will require online connection to start games

[Chicane-UK Veteran]

is that the twitter exchange that has NOTHING to do with this durango dev kit based rumor about needing to be online to start games on the durango prototype dev kit. :facepalm:

The thread title is "Kotaku: Next Xbox will require online connection to start games" - this was a Twitter discussion on the same freaking subject. I didn't realise you were on some substrand of discussion that made my post invalid. Jesus H.

[MindTrickz]

Actually, if you combine all the rumors about this supposed online required, and every games needs to be installed and no disc required. What you get is that every game is essentially a Digital Download. and the disc is merely a pre-packaged download, possibly with an embedded license key.

Well in my opinion, his reaction to the "always-on" is either that;

A) It is true and this is preliminary damage control, or

B) The constant rumors have gotten to him and he is now lashing.

I believe his reaction says that this is happening and that people inside MS are confused and flustered by how people have reacted to the rumors. Time will tell; but and if it is true then people will not like it. That is certain. And the only reason I personally do not like it, looking past all the things that could go wrong, is that I can not understand why my single player X-box games need to be always-on.

[dead.cell]

As for being a dick maybe he's just tired of the constant rumors. What he says petty and pathetic, I agree

And maybe we are too, which is why having clarification would be much better than being a tool and angering people. Even so, if he wants to be petty, that's absolutely fine. The gaming community along with tech enthusiasts however can be just as petty. Even if this whole thing becomes some blown out of proportion misunderstanding, you better believe this will still leave a bad taste in people's mouths. I know there are quite a few people teetering on the fence about what nex-gen console they'll be getting, myself included.

Things like this, along with an apparently incompetent PR team at Microsoft in handling the situation as a whole will certainly help establish a confident choice in which console people will be buying.

(of course I don't speak for everyone, and no, I'm still on the fence, but I can't help but laugh at this whole debacle to begin with)

[Skiver Veteran]

How about Microsoft Creative Director defending "always-on" on twitter and being a dick to everyone? He in-adherently confirms its. Why else would he choose to defend it to such an extent.

As someone said earlier, could this not actually be MS throwing it out there to get a reaction and see how people see it? If it was something that annoyed people they wouldn't really argue back but if people truly hate a feature then yes they will do exactly this. My opinion is he was pushing for a reaction and got exactly what he wanted.

To all the morons here that see it as "no biggie", especially the retards with the Xbox Live avatards and signaturds, pop your heads out of your ass for a second and think a little bigger than your simpleton "I have a stable connection and I'm rich so no worries" approach and think what happens in 20 years when you want to replay your favorite game but MS has shut down the servers because there are already 3 generations of console ahead. Are you seriously that thick in the head? :rolleyes:

Oh wait, why would you want to do that anyway? I see the error of my logic. Who would want to replay the "classics" such Gears of War clone 128731289379 or Halo or Call a Doody 1239871203896712089376120938671293867? :rolleyes:

**** you. **** you and **** your entire "gaming" generation. You are a shame for humanity.

In all honesty, why? This is a forum where you are to give YOUR OPINION on something. If in MY OPINION it doesn't affect me, then I have ever right to say you know what, my xbox is constantly connected to the internet anyway, my internet connection is pretty stable so thankfully if this RUMOUR is true then it won't affect me. Nothing in that statement says I agree with what they are doing nor support it. But when I prefer the xbox due to things like stability and what seems to be a near perfect connection when I am gaming online so be it!

Not to change the topic here but If I could actually play an online game on my PS3 for longer then 20 minutes without dropping I may be more inclined to look at the PS4. But if MS are adopting an always online stance, and given recent issues with EA etc With Xbox current stability rate you can damn well guarantee that they will do their best to ensure there is NEVER a failure and I have to say, I trust that it will continue to work as well as it does. Sony couldnt push a feature like this as the damn PSN is so bloody flaky.

Well in my opinion, his reaction to the "always-on" is either that;

A) It is true and this is preliminary damage control, or

B) The constant rumors have gotten to him and he is now lashing.

I believe his reaction says that this is happening and that people inside MS are confused and flustered by how people have reacted to the rumors. Time will tell; but and if it is true then people will not like it. That is certain. And the only reason I personally do not like it, looking past all the things that could go wrong, is that I can not understand why my single player X-box games need to be always-on.

Like I said above, I think this was intentional goading to spark opinion. I don't think he was being arrogant with his responses, to me he just seemed like he may actually have a sense of humour and was more making fun of what is a stupid argument over a rumour that as people have pointed out, may or may not be true!

Do I like the theory of having to have an always on connection so I can play a game - no, its just asking for issues

Will it stop me buying what I believe will be the better console - defiantly not, if it was in place now it would have little to no affect on me - however as others have pointed out, that is not the same for all.

[HawkMan]

So how did superDaE have one then, he was posting screenshots of the software on the machine, everything I've read and heard about nextbox points to this kind of functionality. A developer doesn't need to have an always on connection and they certainly don't need something as consumer friendly as a network troubleshooter.

If all the rumours are true the nextbox is just a trainwreck waiting to happen, its an anti-consumer machine purely made to pander to content creators.

Err. why wouldn't the dev kit need a network troubleshooter. just because they're devs doesn't mean they can do whatever they want in the hardware and/or are network gurus. and when they're testing the games they're developing, they don't want to have to go out into network land. besides the xbox already have the torubleshooter, why would they remove it for the dev kit... your arguments here make no sense.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Seriously?

Why have a 3 minute disconnect timer on a DEVELOPMENT KIT, can you imagine trying to find bugs or testing something and boom you are booted from the game, it doesn't make sense to gimp a dev kit like that.

I can't wait till they reveal all this stuff so your smug, condescending attitude gets wiped off your face.

[Blackhearted]

Err. why wouldn't the dev kit need a network troubleshooter. just because they're devs doesn't mean they can do whatever they want in the hardware and/or are network gurus. and when they're testing the games they're developing, they don't want to have to go out into network land. besides the xbox already have the torubleshooter, why would they remove it for the dev kit... your arguments here make no sense.

A network troubleshooter is meant for you typical ignorant consumer. A dev isn't(or atleast shouldn't be) one of those kind of people so such a thing wouldn't serve much purpose.

Also, the level you have your microsoft fan mode set on in this thread is kinda tiring.

[HawkMan]

why ? haven't we already covered this or are you just arguing to argue. for fricken security.

Why would it be wiped off my face. I don't care if it's just a dev kit security feature or if it's how the final kit will work, I've already covered this several times. If this always on is actually true and all thegames work as downloadable games, man that would be awesome, I could play my games on both xboxes in the house, without bringing the discs back and forth. I could play my games at a friends house just by logging in.

A network troubleshooter is meant for you typical ignorant consumer. A dev isn't(or atleast shouldn't be) one of those kind of people so such a thing wouldn't serve much purpose.

Also, the level you have your microsoft fan mode set on in this thread is kinda tiring.

So I'm a fanboy because I don't hate MS and Xbox now ? yes I like Xbox, and yes I don't see the big issue here. in fact I see a lot of potential OR a lot of nothing. those are pretty much the options.

So again, you're saying. MS should disable easy functionality in the xbox dev kits just because they're dev kits... yeah that makes sense.... do you guys even think about this before arguing ? And no, being a developer doesn't mean you know jack **** about networks. and game testers in special, they don't need to know jack **** about anything.

[TheLegendOfMart]

A network troubleshooter is meant for you typical ignorant consumer. A dev isn't(or atleast shouldn't be) one of those kind of people so such a thing wouldn't serve much purpose.

That's what I was trying to say.

[Skiver Veteran]

A network troubleshooter is meant for you typical ignorant consumer. A dev isn't(or atleast shouldn't be) one of those kind of people so such a thing wouldn't serve much purpose.

Also, the level you have your microsoft fan mode set on in this thread is kinda tiring.

So developers are some sort of tech geniuses? Because they understand a wonderful world of coding then surely they understand everything else related to the world of IT.

In all honesty this is how most "ignorant" people view the world of IT... Oh you work with computers - then you defiantly must know how to fix my printer problem.

I can't speak for every developer in the world but I work for a software company and I can tell you now, our developers are a clever bunch of people and they are good at what they do. But that does not mean they know everything, some of them still need help with what may seem like a simple task to another person.

Same goes for me, I know pieces of our software inside out and could easily discuss how and what is possible with it. Could I setup a network printer without help from google? probably not. That doesn't make me or the developers "ignorant"... we know what we need to know to get us through our job.

[Mr. Gibs]

A network troubleshooter is meant for you typical ignorant consumer. A dev isn't(or atleast shouldn't be) one of those kind of people so such a thing wouldn't serve much purpose.

Also, the level you have your microsoft fan mode set on in this thread is kinda tiring.

Why would MS remove stuff during testing because the people doing the testing aren't the typical consumer?

The whole point of testing something is you make sure EVERYTHING works, yes that includes the stupid network troubleshooter. It's far easier to leave it in there than to keep it out and then forget about it and have 2 million angry consumers being all confused.

Pre-release versions of windows shipped with help files and a control panel and the troubleshooters too didn't they? MS didn't go oh well since tech pros are using it we'll just give them a command prompt and the registry and let them figure it out.

[TheLegendOfMart]

So developers are some sort of tech geniuses? Because they understand a wonderful world of coding then surely they understand everything else related to the world of IT.

No, they have an IT department that handles all that.

The whole point of testing something is you make sure EVERYTHING works, yes that includes the stupid network troubleshooter. It's far easier to leave it in there than to keep it out and then forget about it and have 2 million angry consumers being all confused.

QA testing yes, not the people coding the games, can you imagine trying to code a game and trying to test what you've just implemented and the office network goes down?

[Blackhearted]

So I'm a fanboy because I don't hate MS and Xbox now ? yes I like Xbox, and yes I don't see the big issue here. in fact I see a lot of potential OR a lot of nothing. those are pretty much the options.

So again, you're saying. MS should disable easy functionality in the xbox dev kits just because they're dev kits... yeah that makes sense.... do you guys even think about this before arguing ? And no, being a developer doesn't mean you know jack **** about networks. and game testers in special, they don't need to know jack **** about anything.

Nah. It's more so how you're so desperately trying to make this rumor seem like it'll be the best thing to ever happen to gaming if it comes true and how microsoft is doing something great by potentially implementing things that noone actually wants.

[TheLegendOfMart]

I don't think its that, he enjoys talking down to people acting like his word is gospel.

[Mr. Gibs]

QA testing yes, not the people coding the games, can you imagine trying to code a game and trying to test what you've just implemented and the office network goes down?

And what if your game doesn't handle disconnects very well? Wouldn't you want to find out about it during testing and not after people have bought the game?

Developers still need access to all the basic **** that consumers get access to because they build their games around it.

[TheLegendOfMart]

And what if your game doesn't handle disconnects very well? Wouldn't you want to find out about it during testing and not after people have bought the game?

Developers still need access to all the basic **** that consumers get access to because they build their games around it.

During QA testing yes, not when you are trying to code the guts of the game.

[Mr. Gibs]

During QA testing yes, not when you are trying to code the guts of the game.

But you see that's part of this rumor bull****.

You have one unnamed source going yes this will happen. And then you have other developers, aka "unnamed sources", saying they have no idea what the other people are talking about.

How do you know who to believe?

[TheLegendOfMart]

I believe someone employed by Microsoft who is being a douche in support/defence of the feature than some developer who is probably under an NDA.

It's not like its an unprecedented rumour, always on and anti used games has been going around since last year.

[Skiver Veteran]

No, they have an IT department that handles all that....

Out of curiosity - do you work in an IT environment but not with in an IT support dept ?

Again, I am only talking for myself here so this isn't a global view of how everyone is. But if I have an issue with my laptop be it wireless connectivity, permissions etc etc... Very rarely is my first step our own IT dept. If there is a chance I can fix this myself, I will - would you?

Would you honestly run straight to your IT dept if you had a problem or would you like to try and fix it yourself. Especially if you get a pop up wizard that could, and I emphasis the word could as lets be honest a lot of these actual wizards don't really get you that far, get you to that fix quicker?

I am taking this way off topic though - I have to agree with Razorfold, why not have things "tested" all be it sneakily by outside dev's however frustrating it might be? Speaking from personal experience, your own QA team will NEVER find every glitch and getting an external test is very beneficial.

[saltysaltybk]

During QA testing yes, not when you are trying to code the guts of the game.

Nonsense. If the Developers are not considering and able to test network disconnections in core code (and its the intention to have this as some kind of security mechanism) then they need to rethink their strategy.

[Mr. Gibs]

I believe someone employed by Microsoft who is being a douche about it than some developer who is probably under an NDA.

But he never really stated anything. He just mentioned what his own beliefs were. Doesn't mean that the product is going to be completely built around what he wants.

[TheLegendOfMart]

Yeah and it doesn't mean that it isn't going to be built around it either. As I posted earlier it's not exactly an unprecedented rumour, it's been rumoured since last year that always on, anti used games is going to be built into the console.

He set his twitter private now as well with some half arsed excuse about trying to "troll a friend", his comments must have at least a shred of truth to it.

Nonsense. If the Developers are not considering and able to test network disconnections in core code (and its the intention to have this as some kind of security mechanism) then they need to rethink their strategy.

You don't need to test that if you are doing animation, level building, texturing, etc..

[HawkMan]

Nah. It's more so how you're so desperately trying to make this rumor seem like it'll be the best thing to ever happen to gaming if it comes true and how microsoft is doing something great by potentially implementing things that noone actually wants.

No, I just don't see how it's a problem, and I can see a lot of possibilities.

As for something no one really wants, people have wanted to be able to play without the disk and to be able to download and play their games since the 360 launched. It's some of the most requested features.

[Mr. Gibs]

You don't need to test that if you are doing animation, level building, texturing, etc..

But Microsoft is testing it. They can't send out xbox consoles to every person so their only form of testing is in-house and the feedback they get from devs.

Now they could make a separate version for QA people, developers, level designers etc but that would just be a ****ing nightmare to maintain. Might as well just do one version and ship them out and get feedback.

[HawkMan]

Yeah and it doesn't mean that it isn't going to be built around it either. As I posted earlier it's not exactly an unprecedented rumour, it's been rumoured since last year that always on, anti used games is going to be built into the console.

He set his twitter private now as well with some half arsed excuse about trying to "troll a friend", his comments must have at least a shred of truth to it.

You don't need to test that if you are doing animation, level building, texturing, etc..

Fact is the only way MS will block used games is, and I've mentioned this many times before, if one of two things are true.

1: Sony is also blocking used games. and remember, tey NEVER said they won't block used games, they specifically said "you can play used games". which just means, "sure, there's like one or two games that doesn't use our used game blocker you can play, but we have it built in and everyone will use it"

2: MS has an exclusivity deal with EA(they're the only ones big enough), and maybe more publishers, that as long as they are the only ones blocking used games, they will either get exclusive released or timed exclusives with a long delay. (do note, there has also been rumors that on the MS even, EA and MS will announce an exclusivity deal for a lot of their games which may be as long as 6 months. and as long as we're believing every negative rumor about the next box and everything is candy and soda about the PS4....)