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?