Kotaku: Next Xbox will require online connection to start games


Recommended Posts

hmmm seems like despite not living on every gaming website to find news to post(which is what you commented in another thread) , you seem to have awfully good time to search every obscure gaming site out there when it comes to negative rumors...

probably just coincidence that all the positive rumors just happen to miss your radar, I'm sure.

either way it's still just rumors, true or not we won't know for about a month.

hmmm seems like despite not living on every gaming website to find news to post(which is what you commented in another thread) , you seem to have awfully good time to search every obscure gaming site out there when it comes to negative rumors...

probably just coincidence that all the positive rumors just happen to miss your radar, I'm sure.

either way it's still just rumors, true or not we won't know for about a month.

I visit NeoGAF for all my gaming news, no need to visit lots of individual sites.

Sessler's take

a great example of not being able to be online

a game day at a school or library or elsewhere (like a nukecon aftershock event). you can't connect consoles to school networks and such (99% of the time)

lmao, I totally read that as "like a nuke aftershock". I'm sure many of us won't be worried about trying to play a console when nukes are going off. :laugh:

Consoles are serious business.. lol I love these console wars.

Of course! I think the true bit of humor stems from how serious people can get about the need to end real wars, how fighting over land is useless... only to go online and fight over... plastic video game consoles. I don't even--

Funny how everyone is ignoring the confirmed fact that PS4 requires always-online for any backwards compatibility and all gaikai features, but cling to the unconfirmed rumors that the next XBOX will require a connection. Nobody even seems ****ed that none of their PSN purchases will transfer to PS4.

Funny how everyone is ignoring the confirmed fact that PS4 requires always-online for any backwards compatibility and all gaikai features, but cling to the unconfirmed rumors that the next XBOX will require a connection. Nobody even seems ****ed that none of their PSN purchases will transfer to PS4.

because Sony actually gave a legitimate reason for the online requirement, the older games for all intents and purposes are being streamed to the console

The streaming method is pretty horrible though, it'd be better to just keep your PS3 around.

i'm sure it can't be any worse than microsoft's poor attempt at backwards compatibility on the 360 (from what little i've experienced with 360 backwards compat it was glitchy and had lag spikes. this was with Halo 2 btw)

i'm sure it can't be any worse than microsoft's poor attempt at backwards compatibility on the 360 (from what little i've experienced with 360 backwards compat it was glitchy and had lag spikes. this was with Halo 2 btw)

At least it had backwards compatibility. Microsoft never touted 'All your previous games will work on this console' like Sony did with the PS3 then remove the chip needed for backwards compatibility.

At least it had backwards compatibility. Microsoft never touted 'All your previous games will work on this console' like Sony did with the PS3 then remove the chip needed for backwards compatibility.

this is true, one of many mistakes with the PS3 (still not completely sure if that mistake was removing the chip or including it in the first place :/)

i'm sure it can't be any worse than microsoft's poor attempt at backwards compatibility on the 360 (from what little i've experienced with 360 backwards compat it was glitchy and had lag spikes. this was with Halo 2 btw)

Clearly, the best way to prevent lag is to run the game on a server located miles away, and steam a video of it back to users :/

Clearly, the best way to prevent lag is to run the game on a server located miles away, and steam a video of it back to users :/

I'll hold my judgment on it till I see it in action or can try it myself

i'm sure it can't be any worse than microsoft's poor attempt at backwards compatibility on the 360 (from what little i've experienced with 360 backwards compat it was glitchy and had lag spikes. this was with Halo 2 btw)

The backwards compatibility on the 360 still runs the game on the console, streaming services suck due to latency and bandwidth issues. While bandwidth may be easy to solve (And is what everybody focuses on for some reason), latency is very hard to solve and has a huge impact on the quality of a video stream (The "best" way currently would be to host the streaming servers inside the ISP network in every city, can you imagine the costs?).

Having the game run 1/10th of a second (or so) behind the player input is going to be very noticeable, never mind the reduced quality due to video encoding.

Funny how everyone is ignoring the confirmed fact that PS4 requires always-online for any backwards compatibility and all gaikai features, but cling to the unconfirmed rumors that the next XBOX will require a connection. Nobody even seems ****ed that none of their PSN purchases will transfer to PS4.

No one is ignoring it. After hearing about what kind of processors were being used for both the Durango and PS4, many stopped concerning themselves with backwards compatibility as the last thing we want is a higher cost associated with having some hardware built in just for emulation of older games; or worse, having less features or power within the device in attempt to bring a whole package at a $299 or $399 price tag.

That said, we can't accurately speculate at this time because there are rumors from Paul Thurrott saying there's a device (sold separately) to attach to allow for this backwards compatibility, and the newer leaks which suggest a chip built in. Only time will tell I think in determining what is and isn't true.

---

Personally, I'd rather the consoles be more powerful, if only to give the devices better longevity so that PC gamers don't have to feel like the consoles are holding them back due to strict limitations. I think this generation will bring both sides even closer together, thankfully. Looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. :)

The fact that offline gameplay, always online and one-time checks are supported, means that in the future, publishers will have much greater control over copyright protection for their games.

http://www.polygon.com/2013/4/26/4268782/next-xbox-drm-achievements-live

Now even reputable sites are reporting on rumours, there's no smoke without fire.

While its not as bad as always online mandatory you can bet that developers will require either one time check or always online to try and combat piracy.

I just don't get all the panic about this, think about it for a second, the computer your sitting at right now, does that not have/use "always on" in respect if your connected to a router right now.... the "always on" connection is there anyways!

I personally think its a storm in a teacup, all it could be is to show live updates from xbox live from the second you log in??? It has lots of benefits, keeping the console up to date, constantly keeping your installed titles up to date, realtime news, content via live pushed whenever your switched on....the list is endless.

Granted you would have limited functionality on the console perhaps if the net was down, but that could be said for playing multiplayer games on any platform, the computer your sitting at right now also!

Not everyone has internet or at least stable internet.

I have a VERY flakey connection which can disconnect 10 times in as many minutes for no reason whatsoever, wasn't so long ago my connection was down for a couple of days and engineers couldn't find any faults whatsoever.

Each time that happens I don't want my console kicking back to the OS and refusing to let me start a freaking single player game just because of some arbitrary online required check.

[/font][/color]

http://www.polygon.c...hievements-live

Now even reputable sites are reporting on rumours, there's no smoke without fire.

While its not as bad as always online mandatory you can bet that developers will require either one time check or always online to try and combat piracy.

supported doesn't mean required. suported pretty much means the same as the PS4. All the statements by Sony indicates the PS4 will "support" online checks

The next Xbox will allow publishers to decide if their games should require an internet connection to be played.

remember Sony never said the PS4 will NOT have online checks, they always where roundabout about it, saying you will be able to play games without online checks.

Yes I know they haven't said anything about services yet but this is an Xbox thread, atm I am PS4, if PS4 goes online required then I will get an Xbox, if they both are I probably won't get either.

Then at the moment due to the wishes of publishers it seems you're getting neither.

if you want to put together the facts

- Publishers want it, they have the power to force it.

- Sony specifically went around the issue practically stating it will support it

- MS is drowned in rumors saying it will have it, as well as rumors saying it won't.

Basically add it all up, what we get is that both next gen consoles will have non mandatory online systems that either requires online or allows offline play depending on the game. And most likely this is forced by the publishers. And since MS don't allow publishers to mix their own online systems with XBL to create a frankemonster online, They have both decided that it's better for them and the customer if they themselves create the online systems so they can create it to the best of the consumer.

Speaking of which I expect now that Sony has a fully working PSN system from the get go, they won't allow the mixing of other online systems with their own anymore and steam and epic will be out in the cold.

Both systems will probably aim to provide support for all the systems the developers and publishers need and want natively in their own system.

well i read something think it was on this site that its upto the publishers whether they want always connected or not. MS's xbox supports it but it isnt enforced by MS. Publishers have they power so can imagine EA games will have it unless the new simcity's problems has put them off but i doubt it.

[/font][/color]

http://www.polygon.c...hievements-live

Now even reputable sites are reporting on rumours, there's no smoke without fire.

While its not as bad as always online mandatory you can bet that developers will require either one time check or always online to try and combat piracy.

I think this is true for pretty much any gaming console or PC. If a publisher requires it, you will need internet connection even on PS3 or Xbox 360. I am guessing nextbox probably just provides a system level support for it (not smart enough to know what that can be).

That's not a good thing, especially when companies like EA will enable it for Single Player.

If you played Sim City on a Dell PC then you can't really blame Dell for EA's missteps with Sim City, can you? Same here. This provided this latest rumor is true. I think this rumor sounds more plausible than others but again, it is just a rumor.

PS4 has already confirmed "online required" for one of the major features, I guess let's wait and see what Microsoft has to say next month.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Oh no...the wallet is already screaming. So many games and so little time. Being old and responsible is awful!
    • LibreWolf 152.0.2-1 by Razvan Serea LibreWolf is an independent “fork” of Firefox, with the primary goals of privacy security and user freedom. It is the community run successor to LibreFox. LibreWolf is designed to increase protection against tracking and fingerprinting techniques, while also including a few security improvements. This is achieved through our privacy and security oriented settings and patches. LibreWolf also aims to remove all the telemetry, data collection and annoyances, as well as disabling anti-freedom features like DRM. LibreWolf features: Latest Firefox — LibreWolf is compiled directly from the latest build of Firefox Stable. You will have the the latest features, and security updates. Independent Build — LibreWolf uses a build independent of Firefox and has its own settings, profile folder and installation path. As a result, it can be installed alongside Firefox or any other browser. No phoning home — Embedded server links and other calling home functions are removed. In other words, minimal background connections by default. User settings updates Extensions firewall: limit internet access for extensions. Multi-platform (Windows/Linux/Mac/and soon Android) Community-Driven Dark theme (classic and advanced) LibreWolf privacy features: Delete cookies and website data on close. Include only privacy respecting search engines like DuckDuckGo and Searx. Include uBlockOrigin with custom default filter lists, and Tracking Protection in strict mode, to block trackers and ads. Strip tracking elements from URLs, both natively and through uBO. Enable dFPI, also known as Total Cookie Protection. Enable RFP which is part of the Tor Uplift project. RFP is considered the best in class anti-fingerprinting solution, and its goal is to make users look the same and cover as many metrics as possible, in an effort to block fingerprinting techniques. Always display user language as en-US to websites, in order to protect the language used in the browser and in the OS. Disable WebGL, as it is a strong fingerprinting vector. Prevent access to the location services of the OS, and use Mozilla's location API instead of Google's API. Limit ICE candidates generation to a single interface when sharing video or audio during a videoconference. Force DNS and WebRTC inside the proxy, when one is being used. Trim cross-origin referrers, so that they don't include the full URI. Disable link prefetching and speculative connections. Disable disk cache and clear temporary files on close. Disable form autofill. Disable search and form history...and more. Download: LibreWolf 64-bit | Portable 64-bit | ~100.0 MB (Open Source) Download: ARM64 | Portable ARM64 Links: LibreWolf Home Page | Addons | Screenshot | Reddit Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Hands on with iFlyTek AINote 2 E-Ink tablet: insanely thin and smart by Taras Buria During Amazon Prime Day 2026, iFlyTek is offering its E-Ink tablets with big discounts. The AINOTE 2 is now available at 20% off, allowing you to save quite a lot on one of the thinnest E-Ink tablets out there. I was offered a chance to look at the device, so here are my impressions. The AINOTE 2 is a large 10.65-inch E-Ink tablet that strikes you the moment you take it out of the box. It is extremely thin. At just 4.2 mm, this tablet is at the edge of what is possible for a device with a USB Type-C port. It is also very light, which makes it comfortable and enjoyable during long reading sessions. The tablet has a gold metal chassis with the front and back made of plastic. The back also features four rubber feet that prevent it from sliding around your desk when writing. Besides a USB Type-C port and an LED indicator, there are two buttons mounted on the top edge: a power button with a built-in fingerprint scanner and a dedicated AI button. I would say the fingerprint scanner is quite mid. Given that iFlyTek positions the device as a digital notebook, it makes sense to have a biometric scanner to protect sensitive information. However, it is not the fastest fingerprint reader, and sometimes it fails to recognize my finger. I assume that is due to the tablet's insane thinness. A dedicated AI button is an interesting choice, especially in the middle of the top edge. I can see this button being useful for those who heavily rely on AI and use it frequently, but I cannot help but think its placement is impractical. Having it on one of the longer sides would make so much more sense. The AINOTE 2 is a very pretty device. Gold finish with thin chassis and nearly symmetrical front bezels create a fantastic combination, and iFlyTek cleverly hides the front chin with a section that looks like an extension of the screen, housing two touch-capacitive buttons: one for AI and one for quick notes. This section can also scroll pages when you swipe from the middle to the left or right. It is a cool idea, and very handy when you need to scroll tens of pages at once. AINOTE 2's elegant look extends from its exterior to its software. The user interface is very clean and not cluttered with an abundance of buttons. The tablet prioritizes the note-taking experience, and when you unlock it, it defaults to the list of all notes and folders. Additionally, there is a separate "Schedule" section with your calendar, tasks, memos, and other productivity features. You can connect your Outlook or Google account or use a local calendar. The tablet has quite a lot of AI features powered by OpenAI's GPT-5 and Google's Gemini 3. Besides a standard app with all your chats, you can invoke AI by pressing its dedicated button and dictating your request. It is not limited to just chats. It works with the built-in calendar, and you can tell it to create events, tasks, notes, and more. Additionally, AI features are integrated into the built-in notepad, allowing you to summarize notes, ask questions about your notes, and more. The tablet can OCR handwritten text in different languages (about 120 languages, which is very impressive), and it surprised me with very good accuracy. Voice note transcription is also available, including a "multiplayer" mode where the tablet detects each speaker. Unfortunately, the AINOTE 2 has no built-in speakers (even though it somehow makes a tapping noise when you flip pages using the Quick Bar), so the only way to listen to something is to connect a Bluetooth speaker or headphones. However, there are four front-facing mics for dictation, voice notes, AI chats, and more. Unfortunately, certain features require a Pro subscription that costs $5.99/mo or $59.99/year. Those include offline voice transcription, access to better AI models, the ability to edit notes on a PC or mobile app, and extended service coverage similar to Apple Care. It is a bummer to see yet another app, especially in a device that costs $649, but at least they give a free 90-day trial so that you can see if the benefits justify the price. As for the reader, it supports PDF, EPUB, TXT, MOBI, AZW3, DOC(X), XLS(X), PPT(X), JPEG, JPG, and PNG. The app is quite customizable, with features like text contrast/boldness/size adjustments, margins and spacing customization, and the ability to load custom fonts. Plus, you can annotate books with the stylus, add text notes, and use AI to work with them. Just keep in mind that most AI features require an active internet connection. Like with other E-Ink tablets with Android inside, you can load any other reader you want from the Google Play Store or a third-party source. Despite its hefty price tag of $629 or $519 by the time of publishing this article during Prime Day 2026, the AINOTE 2 has quite modest hardware inside. There is only 4 GB of RAM and about 42GB of storage. It is powered by the RockChip RK3576 processor with 8 cores at 2.2 GHz. Given that the tablet runs Android 14 and has Google Play, you can install Android apps, but do not expect much from this thing performance-wise. As for the battery, there is a 4,000 Li-Ion battery, which, on full charge, lasted me for about one week of active daily use of reading and note-taking. The screen has a resolution of 1920x2560 pixels, which equals 300 PPI, a perfect spot for a sharp, nice-to-read display. It supports EMR styluses that do not require charging, and I have to say that the note-taking experience on this tablet is fantastic. Stylus lag is nearly imperceivable, creating a very natural, paper-like feel. The stylus comes in the box (including two extra nibs), and it features an extra button for various actions and an eraser on top. It magnetically attaches to the tablet and stays safely secured. The stylus has a very nice coarse texture, and thanks to using Wacom tech, you can swap it for any other EMR pen if you wish. The AINOTE 2 has no front light, and because of that, the display sits very close to the screen surface, reducing the distance between the stylus tip/your finger and the display to a minimum. No front light is certainly an inconvenience in certain scenarios, but the screen makes up for that with a seriously impressive paper-like feel and writing experience. In dark conditions, you will have to find a lamp, but the good thing is that the screen has a solid anti-glare surface that diffuses light. The display has two modes: Crisp and Fast. Crisp ensures the image stays, well, crisp and sharp, while Fast speeds up refresh rate and response by toning down display resolution and making everything a bit more jagged. In my testing, I only used Fast mode when browsing the web for a much faster render time. The iFlyTek AINOTE is an impressive device, but it's not flawless. A few things disappointed me during a week of using it. Software localization has a bunch of not necessarily broken, but certainly awkward, machine-translated English. System navigation is not good, as there is no universal "Home" gesture. To go to the main page, you have to swipe up and then press the Home button from the multi-tasking window. There are many gestures for various actions, such as display cleanup, screenshot, undo/redo, but no back/forward or Home gestures. I really hate that the tablet won't let me update its software without creating an iFlyTek account first. Finally, privacy could be a concern for some, as most tablets' features require an active internet connection, an iFlyTek account, and sharing data when using AI. If you can overlook its quirks, some of which could be addressed with software updates (I received two with massive changelogs over a single week), and accept a $519 price tag (with a discount), you will be happy with the AINOTE 2. However, if you do not need that many AI features in an E-Ink reader or you want something a bit more affordable, you'd better look at cheaper competitors from BOOX or Amazon, such as the BOOX Go 10.3 Gen 2 or the Kindle Scribe, which is currently 24% off during Prime Day sales. Buy iFlyTek AINOTE 2 on Amazon - $519 | 20% off with Prime What I liked What I disliked Very impressive hardware Beautiful design Fantastic display with an EMR stylus Supports offline voice transcription Easy-to-use software Clever, useful, and well-made AI features A fingerprint scanner Very expensive Some features require a subscription Poor system navigation Mandates a user account No speakers Privacy could be a concern Note: iFlyTek provided the review unit without any editorial input or review guidance. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Look up "greed". If you are willing to buy that it's only inflation, I've got a bridge to sell you.
    • Very umm, blue?  
  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      kinowa earned a badge
      First Post
    • Rookie
      krychek57 went up a rank
      Rookie
    • Grand Master
      Jaybonaut went up a rank
      Grand Master
    • One Year In
      Philsl earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Dedicated
      Scoobystu earned a badge
      Dedicated
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      416
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      168
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      132
    4. 4
      Xenon
      73
    5. 5
      Michael Scrip
      73
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!