Xbox One Won't Be Always Online, But Internet Preferred

By Catherine Cai
published

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?

Catherine Cai
Topics
E3
Gaming
Xbox
39 Comments Comment from the forums
  • bobusboy
    "Xbox One can recognize you
    If Kinect is required I will not be buying this.
    Reply
  • nevilence
    so it still works without a connection...well kinda works
    Reply
  • vmem
    hmm, smart choice. good to see Microsoft listen to us consumers
    Reply
  • nolarrow
    I think M$ will find a way around it. They had a panel discussion after the main event and one guy talked about how the console is designed to offload certain functions to the cloud (I.E. physics and other computations) at the developers request. Hmmmmm where have we heard that before? Sounds like EA is ready to drop a sim city port :P
    "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.
    Reply
  • anxiousinfusion
    10841870 said:
    "Xbox One can recognize you
    If Kinect is required I will not be buying this.

    Then you will not be buying it. Kinect is a required component.
    Reply
  • atavax
    I don't know anyone who is excited about the kinect recognizing you or the mandatory Kinect. Sure its great that you always don't have to be online.
    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.
    Reply
  • invlem
    So far the 'online features' are self explanatory... If I want the game to update itself, or play a multiplayer game I have to be online....
    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.
    Reply
  • melvar
    I'm guessing that even if it won't lock you out of your games when the connection isn't there, you will need to be online to activate a new game before it will let you play it.
    It seems like the days of being able to buy a game and play it without getting further permission are over.
    Reply
  • mman74
    I don't get the name. Infinity sounds much better and surely this is the 3rd XBox? That's just plain confusing. Have they given any thought on what they are going to call the next Xbox - Xbox Two, or something completely different?
    Reply
  • John Pombrio
    Imagine trying to play a PC game these days without a internet connection? You would have to go back to CD-ROMs being mailed to you for updates! Or better yet, floppies! Remember the bad old days of waiting for an update to arrive in the mail?
    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?
    Reply