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Sony Said It Never Considered 'Always On' for PlayStation 4

By - Source: GameSpot | B 21 comments

Sony takes a shot at rumors surrounding an "always on" requirement for Xbox Infinity.

While Microsoft faces the heat from gamers over rumors of a possible "always on" requirement for the Xbox Infinity, Sony president of Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida stepped out and told Game Informer magazine that the option was never a consideration for the PlayStation 4 due to the differences in web services across the globe.

"Did we consider it? No, we didn’t consider it," said Yoshida. "The main reason being that many countries don’t have robust Internet connections. It makes sense for people to have Internet connections to play online games, but for offline games there are many countries that we saw [that] do not really have robust Internet."

He makes a good point, and one that we've undoubtedly made in the past. Having an "always on" Internet connection could kill business in markets where customers don't have unlimited access to the Internet. Sure, it's a great way to combat piracy, but it's also a great way to shun customers in rural areas, and those who are not allowed to access the Internet, period.

Up until recently, it was rumored that Microsoft's next console would require an Internet connection at all times. If a consumer was playing a single-player game or watching a movie when the Internet connection went out, the console supposedly went into troubleshooting mode. Without an Internet connection, software could not load.

But an internal Microsoft email cleared some of the air, revealing that many services will work without it, including single-player games.

"Durango is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today's Internet," the email states. "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."

Was this always the case, or did Microsoft feel the heat from agitated gamers and make adjustments? If the console is going to serve as a set-top box, then it will remain online anyway whether it's in use or not. But at least it sounds as if gamers will be able to play their games if the connection goes down due to weather, maintenance reasons, or utility worker blunders.

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Top Comments
  • 20 Hide
    Priox , May 12, 2013 1:14 PM
    "many countries don’t have robust Internet connections"
    Many areas in the US don't have robust internet connections.
    I live in a rural area where the only internet service available is cellular (3G or Verizon 4G).
    I'm constantly frustrated when companies design software or hardware to be "always on."
    On good days it eats through data limits, on bad days it doesn't work at all.
    Good for Sony.
  • 15 Hide
    everlast66 , May 12, 2013 12:24 PM
    Good for Sony, Xbox is dead if there is an always online requirement!
  • 13 Hide
    jk_ventolero , May 12, 2013 12:28 PM
    Never really got too much into console gaming but this "always on" thingy is just pure evil.
    And.. I'm still confused. What are they gonna call the next-gen XBox? So many codenames..
Other Comments
    Display all 21 comments.
  • 15 Hide
    everlast66 , May 12, 2013 12:24 PM
    Good for Sony, Xbox is dead if there is an always online requirement!
  • 13 Hide
    jk_ventolero , May 12, 2013 12:28 PM
    Never really got too much into console gaming but this "always on" thingy is just pure evil.
    And.. I'm still confused. What are they gonna call the next-gen XBox? So many codenames..
  • 6 Hide
    necudo , May 12, 2013 12:47 PM
    its a 1 week old article..nice tom's
  • 0 Hide
    getochkn , May 12, 2013 12:50 PM
    Quote:
    Good for Sony, Xbox is dead if there is an always online requirement!


    Quote:
    Never really got too much into console gaming but this "always on" thingy is just pure evil.
    And.. I'm still confused. What are they gonna call the next-gen XBox? So many codenames..


    There is no always on, so what are you guys rambling about? It was never confirmed that it was anyways, just a bunch of rumors and internet babble giving news sites that need ad revenue something new to post. Code names are rumor too.
  • 20 Hide
    Priox , May 12, 2013 1:14 PM
    "many countries don’t have robust Internet connections"
    Many areas in the US don't have robust internet connections.
    I live in a rural area where the only internet service available is cellular (3G or Verizon 4G).
    I'm constantly frustrated when companies design software or hardware to be "always on."
    On good days it eats through data limits, on bad days it doesn't work at all.
    Good for Sony.
  • -3 Hide
    jdwii , May 12, 2013 1:28 PM
    Some people can't seem to read right. This pretty much means half the single player games wont work online and probably every single COD game on single player not only does this ruin gaming as a whole more since we will have more multiplayer games with maps vs actual story lines, i already said it before the xbox has close to any 1st party or 2nd party games Sony is going to wipe the floor with them.
  • 7 Hide
    HallusH , May 12, 2013 3:17 PM
    Well that's a smart PR move by Sony.
  • 2 Hide
    nevilence , May 12, 2013 3:24 PM
    As said above, the need for always on is the devils work, anyone who claims otherwise is likely to be the devil. Plus piracy will get its way around an always on connection just as it gets around all other problems thrown at it. Where there is a smart person who is too frugal to pay for a game, hacks will be found.
  • 5 Hide
    hoofhearted , May 12, 2013 5:00 PM
    It is completely a control thing. I want to know that when I want to play my game, I am in control. No thunderstorm causing sporadic network access, no cable went out so I can't play. I'm on the road and out of a cell coverage area. Or the company whose server I connect to may have their own outage or maybe even going out of business or involved in some sort of legal dispute and service has to be shut down for some reason. I don't even want the console continuously spamming as to why I need be connected. I expect to stick the game in and just be able to play without logging on, authenticating or any such nonsense. Anyway, they have my money now and I have absolutely no control over it anymore, so why should I not expect the same from my game?
    This decision and press by Sony definitely wins my favor. Even though MS is backpedaling, it goes to show what direction they will eventually go in.
  • 1 Hide
    stevejnb , May 12, 2013 5:15 PM
    First of all, I'm calling total BS. *Everyone* is considering always online now. In this case, it's far more likely they just considered it and decided against it for the reasons they listed and I'm sure many they didn't.
    Second, you people who are *so* against this had better get used to it. I doubt we'll have to wait ten years before almost everything is always online.
  • 4 Hide
    Truckinupga , May 12, 2013 6:02 PM
    That's like Ford saying you can't buy a vehicle unless you have a garage, Xbox would have to be completely insane to even consider an always on internet requirement, It would reduce sells by at least two thirds. Anyway from the sound of it , It could only have been a ridiculous rumor.
  • 0 Hide
    HikariWS , May 12, 2013 7:39 PM
    Brasil and Telemerda thanks Sony.
  • -4 Hide
    JOSHSKORN , May 12, 2013 8:10 PM
    Don't care if XBOX is always on. Just put a piece of tape on the webcam. That's what laptop (and some Desktop) owners should do, anyway.
  • 4 Hide
    NuclearShadow , May 12, 2013 8:23 PM
    I don't know if their claim of never considering it is true or not but what's important is that they made the right choice regardless. If Microsoft doesn't follow this example than I see the next Xbox being a critical failure.
  • 6 Hide
    thillntn , May 12, 2013 8:42 PM
    During training for my new job, I found myself with no internet. I have some games via steam that I could not play due to this...so yea the online requirement thing sucks.
  • 2 Hide
    ojas , May 12, 2013 10:26 PM
    Because Sony is an Asian company, they dont automatically assume that the world is like their country.
  • 0 Hide
    kinggraves , May 13, 2013 5:19 AM
    Contradiction. If they have reasons against it then they did "consider" it long enough to know why not to do it. Let me point something out though. There are several factors here that both companies are trying to lump into one, likely as a smokescreen to the truth. The SYSTEM being online only and the GAMES being online only, as well as whether or not a connection is required at any point. Just because the hardware does not lock up does not mean that it will not support publishers making the choice to lock their games up like SimCity. They can still say "XBox does not require a connection" and SimCity 6 for XBox could still require one. Marketing will not come out and state these things when they don't have to. They know it's a negative for sales, so they will pick every word on this matter carefully. I'll admit though, I really like how Sony is trolling MS this generation even if I hate their company ethics.
  • 0 Hide
    The_Trutherizer , May 13, 2013 5:25 AM
    Yeah well... Always on is a pain in the ass under certain circumstances let me tell you that. Right now I've just recently moved and had to organise new internet. Unfortunately for me the process has been quite slow. So my Steam client cannot verify that I'm at a valid computer any more. It was happy for a while in offline mode, but then something expired. So now I don't have access to any of my several thousand dollars worth of Steam games. It's not their fault. They cater for offline mode for a while at least, but its a major pain in the ass as I mentioned.
  • 0 Hide
    capt_taco , May 13, 2013 11:23 AM
    I'm glad they finally "get it." No one would buy something with such an overbearing requirement.
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