Xbox One Won't Be Always Online, But Internet Preferred
Uh oh... if you don't have a stable Internet connection, the Xbox One may not be for you.
Contrary to the slew of Durango rumors that have been floating around on the web for the past few months, the Xbox One won't be always-online.
Unfortunately, it might be a little bit too early to rejoice. According to Xbox Wire, Microsoft's newly launched news service for the Xbox, the One will still require an Internet connection: "No, it does not have to be always connected," stated the Xbox One FAQ, "but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet. We’re designing Xbox One to be your all-in-one entertainment system that is connected to the cloud and always ready. We are also designing it so you can play games and watch Blu-ray movies and live TV if you lose your connection."
Essentially, there are a host of Xbox One services that are reliant on the Internet and the Cloud. These include: "The cloud makes every experience better and more accessible. Because Xbox One is powered by the cloud:
- Your games have more power available to create new gameplay, persistent worlds, and deeper experiences.
- Your system and games can update automatically, so you shouldn’t have to wait for downloads or updates.
- Your games and entertainment are stored and saved in the cloud, so you can access them anytime, from any Xbox One.*
- Start a game, movie, or TV show on one console and finish exactly where you left off on another.
- You can play multiplayer games with your friends, stream movies or TV shows right away, and enjoy the community and social features of Xbox Live.
- Xbox One can recognize you, log you in and tailor your home screen just for you."
So while the Xbox won't be always-online, gamers will still need a reliable Internet connection to have a lot of the nifty features that are integral to the new console. That proves to be a bit of a problem for gamers that aren't near metropolitan areas with great Internet. Essentially, with the Xbox One, Microsoft may be distancing itself from its customers who don't necessarily have access to reliable Internet, which is quite troubling. Whatever happened to the days of gaming without having to bother with the Internet at all?

No, any piece of recent technology almost demands a internet presence. Personally, I would move if my place did not have good internet and I have been here 25 years! I can understand if you were a farmer or lived and worked in a small town but a relative just built a huge expensive house just far enough down a dirt road to make it cost prohibitive for cable or internet service. WTF?
Updates are one thing, but just to play the game is another. I live just on the outskirts of Silicon Valley and I don't have internet. I have to tether to my phone. And just up an moving for internet so I can play my games is just plain stupid. All I want is for me to be able to buy a game, and then play it. Done. By requiring the internet you just gave me one more step in the process of playing my game, and a difficult one for me and probably a good amount of people.
It seems like the days of being able to buy a game and play it without getting further permission are over.
Aaah.. I miss the good ol' days.
If Kinect is required I will not be buying this.
"yeah ummm, CoD needs to be always online to cloud compute the advanced hyper-space AI of your companion dog. Its some next level stuff."
M$ will have to figure something out considering the games are to be fully installed to your HD. You could rent a game, somehow apply a no-cd crack (Shouts outs to Raz0r) and then the system is cracked open.
I wish the big 3 all the best as this means better pc ports
Not taking sides but Sony's stock price jumped $1.50 following the xbox one's (should have been xbox won, much cooler on so many levels) unveiling. Props to M$ for at least showing the console. I'm waiting for some wizard of oz stuff at E3 where a neck beard accidentally trips over a curtain and behind Sony's flat screen tvs is a slew of PCs.
If Kinect is required I will not be buying this.
Then you will not be buying it. Kinect is a required component.
It is kind of funny to see the relationship between the desktop pc and the console go full circle. Where the desktop pc used to be very versatile and the console was very specialized towards gaming. Now the desktop pc seems very specialized and the console is trying to be versatile.
If i want to start watching tv on one console and resume on another I have to be online...
All of the conditions above are blatantly obvious to require an online connection..
How is this any different than the 360 or PS3 right now? I don't get the hatred being thrown around.
It seems like the days of being able to buy a game and play it without getting further permission are over.
No, any piece of recent technology almost demands a internet presence. Personally, I would move if my place did not have good internet and I have been here 25 years! I can understand if you were a farmer or lived and worked in a small town but a relative just built a huge expensive house just far enough down a dirt road to make it cost prohibitive for cable or internet service. WTF?
No, any piece of recent technology almost demands a internet presence. Personally, I would move if my place did not have good internet and I have been here 25 years! I can understand if you were a farmer or lived and worked in a small town but a relative just built a huge expensive house just far enough down a dirt road to make it cost prohibitive for cable or internet service. WTF?
Updates are one thing, but just to play the game is another. I live just on the outskirts of Silicon Valley and I don't have internet. I have to tether to my phone. And just up an moving for internet so I can play my games is just plain stupid. All I want is for me to be able to buy a game, and then play it. Done. By requiring the internet you just gave me one more step in the process of playing my game, and a difficult one for me and probably a good amount of people.
It is kind of funny to see the relationship between the desktop pc and the console go full circle. Where the desktop pc used to be very versatile and the console was very specialized towards gaming. Now the desktop pc seems very specialized and the console is trying to be versatile.
If Kinect is required I will not be buying this.