After Microsoft revealed that their next-gen console the Xbox One would require an Internet connection to phone home every 24 hours, many responded with a large volume of backlash and questions regarding this interesting move to the online-only world. Luckily though Microsoft has an ace up their sleeve for those without a solid Internet connection - the Xbox 360.
Speaking to
GameTrailers (via
GameSpot) before their E3 press conference, Xbox boss Don Mattrick has responded to the questions regarding the DRM situation that Microsoft has decided to dive head first into, stating that "we have a product for people who aren’t able to get some form of connectivity; it’s called Xbox 360."
Mattrick went on to reveal that the Xbox One was created "by gamers for gamers," but also called out commentators saying that they need to see how the always-on requirements work before judging. It seems Microsoft also knew that this kind of backlash would occur due in part to the vocal nature of gamers.
"I find it kind of ironic when people take a step back and think, 'This is a company that hasn't thought about, at its core, what it means to have great games experiences.' So, we're going to deliver that. And I think in the long run, we'll build a global leading product that people are going to love and embrace."
The Xbox One had its price officially revealed during Microsoft's E3 2013 press conference, with a $599 price tag for Australians. In contrast, Sony
revealed yesterday that the PlayStation 4 would run at $548 for local gamers, and has "no DRM, no online checks and allows used games".
Posted 03:18pm 12/6/13
Posted 03:28pm 12/6/13
Posted 03:37pm 12/6/13
S***** choices. Reminds of an an Australian election.
Posted 03:47pm 12/6/13
Posted 03:47pm 12/6/13
Posted 03:47pm 12/6/13
Pretty amazing that they would say this. It's suicide for their console.
Posted 03:58pm 12/6/13
Posted 03:59pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:04pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:04pm 12/6/13
Clearly Microsoft Word was created by Word Processor users for Word Processor users, too.
Posted 04:16pm 12/6/13
Perhaps the Playstation will find its long lost home if I must choose a console, the PC is looking strong though.
Posted 04:18pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:23pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:23pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:26pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:32pm 12/6/13
But i think i might grab a newer back slimline because i have a s*** load of games i like to replay and i won't be able to do that on the One.
currently playing Condemned btw, man that game creeps me out sometimes. Going to revisit Condemned 2 next :-)
Posted 04:36pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:47pm 12/6/13
Plus I can't help but be reminded of SimCity. Is the same thing going to happen on Xbone launch day when eleventy billion people are all trying to login at once? Will the problems persist for days or weeks after that? Who knows, but it has put the nail in the don't buy coffin that was already polished and ready for burial when I heard about how s***** the specs were.
Long live the PC gaming master race!
Posted 04:51pm 12/6/13
Posted 04:55pm 12/6/13
Well that may depend on how well/bad the PS4 sells tempered by how bad/well the XBoned sells... Lol Poor Wii U doesn't even rate as a variable in this it would seem.
Posted 05:13pm 12/6/13
http://imgur.com/a/qXP0G?gallery#0
Posted 05:49pm 12/6/13
Posted 05:54pm 12/6/13
Super Mario 3D World, DKC, Smash Bros, Mario Kart all look great. Wii U will be my console of choice this time around.
Posted 08:04pm 12/6/13
Posted 08:16pm 12/6/13
simple, lack of internet makes people go cray cray, sometimes the way to help combat that lack of internet is gaming (lack of power is worse, after all the only death in Yasi was a gamer, and the amount of gennies running the fridge and a PC was higher than you would think)
Posted 08:23pm 12/6/13
Posted 09:24pm 12/6/13
Posted 09:31pm 12/6/13
The core 'gamer' market is going to have internet and fast internet at that....
mums and dads all have internet
3rd world countries, maybe not - but they can't afford an xbox anyway
Posted 09:41pm 12/6/13
Posted 09:43pm 12/6/13
To put things into perspective.. He got an xbox a few years ago, His mother (my mother in law) was too afraid to let him near the net while he was a teen cause she thought that all he would do is watch porn (probably accurate)... so they never had an internet connection in the house, short of a usb dongle that she kept around her next like the one right to rule them all.
He would come over to my place and play 360 online with my 10yr old son.
Even if they did have an internet connection i don't think they would of had the skill to connect it up to wifi or what not for internet access....
I always felt sorry for him, but he tells me a lot of his friends are in the same boat, even as a 18+ year old living at home his mother is still the same about the internet, shes relaxed a tad over the years, but good luck to him if he ever wants to connect that 360 he has online.
I had a co-worker in a desktop support role.. he has a great working knoweldge of the internet, he's on 50k a year, his wife is a stay at home mum and he has two kids of the age 8 and 3... he got an xbox off a mate cheap...
Any time he wants to connect it online he has to run a long ass cable from his modem to his xbox and take out his general computer internet in the process.... He doesn't have the income to invest in router and his wife wont let him run cables around the rental house they are in (understandable).
So yeah good work internet forum heroes who have a working knowledge of the internet.. you completely lack any clue on what the reality is like for others out there.
77million xboxes sold (saw this on a graph on some news site the other day).
48million signed in live accounts active... (this was said during the e3 press conference)
That's a huge part of the market they are missing out on. I hope to god that retailers tell customers before they market a purchase that the internet connection is required.
Posted 09:50pm 12/6/13
I'm sure I'm not the only one who is like this, therefore x1 drum style setup doesn't effect me greatly.
my brother on the other hand is an non-xbl achievement whore gamer so he is buying a ps4.
there's some games he wants to play on x1 and ditto for ,myself on the ps4.
Posted 10:20pm 12/6/13
That's massive apologist talk.
Anyway, as was hinted earlier: a big concern is whether Microsoft themselves will have a reliable enough server / authentication network. This applies to both launch week/month, as well as general uptime over the life of the system. If people find themselves locked out of their single player games due to server downtime (no matter how long or short), they will not be happy ... and rightly so, as the authentication restrictions are completely arbitrary and unnecessary.
Posted 10:20pm 12/6/13
Posted 10:22pm 12/6/13
Daf*** can't he just go out and spent $20 on a 4 port hub? I have one sitting next to me that I bought years ago with 8 ports, internet goes in the first and I run my PC, lappy and PS3 off of it.
If she lets him run a "long-ass cable" from his modem to his xbox, why won't she let him keep that there, but running out of a small hub attached to the modem?
The first example I can understand (though he could just move the hell out), but the last one is so easily fixed with $40 and some tape.
Posted 10:24pm 12/6/13
a router is hardly expensive, not my problem if your BIL is so whipped by his missus he can't even run a cable or buy a cheap router then why should microsoft cater to him.
my xbox 360 is already permanently plugged into my router, always on requirement mean nothing
Posted 11:11pm 12/6/13
I look forward to the time when MS's servers get massively hacked or just go down and people can't even use their shiny new console for a couple of weeks, regardless of how awesome their personal internet connection is.
Not to mention what happens in the future when MS decides/is forced to shut down their servers and renders your much loved old Xbox One and all its games completely useless.
Posted 11:12pm 12/6/13
Posted 11:20pm 12/6/13
Xbox 2 will come out and the cycle repeats
Posted 11:23pm 12/6/13
18? He is Man who must make his own decisions, not some boy still at his mothers teet!
Posted 12:06am 13/6/13
Posted 01:48am 13/6/13
Posted 07:09am 13/6/13
Microsoft should cater to him to get his money.
a $20 router isn't the real problem, running cables in his house so something at his tv is permanently connected to the internet...
And his misses has a point, he has little kids, having cables just running around isn't really safe.
As for using wifi, he has brick walls and the signal doesn't travel to well.
It's a big ask.
He's a victim of the cotton wool generation.
Posted 08:03am 13/6/13
The whole philosophy of this kind of DRM is stupid, and I don't see how anyone can defend it. It removes any freedom for the consumer. You can't share games, you can't take the console places without solid internet, you can't effectively sell or buy second hand games.
Posted 09:13am 13/6/13
Only if it makes sense to do so.
Wait, XBone doesn't have wifi?
Posted 09:24am 13/6/13
It does "There'll be three 802.11n radios, so that the console can connect to your gamepads (WiFi Direct), mobile devices, and home network without added latency."
But if he's that busted he can't afford a $20 router he's probably not got any wifi devices either.
Posted 09:36am 13/6/13
but but but
Posted 09:52am 13/6/13
I for one have a wired connection at my tv, with a 8 port switch that manages a number of devices, i stream HD content to my tv via a dedicated media center pc. people get s***** at me cause i give them files in a format that there s***** usb divx player wont play cause i prefer high quality content and they look at me like im some backwards man from the future using secret government tech... I explain how easy it is to set something like this up but they explain how they lack the desire to understand this information fully and much prefer the method that already took them months to master.
It's easy to sit there and say "i'm always online" but the truth is you are a lucky educated individual that priorities your life around the technology that makes things convenient for you, there are an exceptional number of individuals and families that don't have this luxury, for lack of money, knowledge or understanding...
Hell i considered starting a business that specialised in setting this s*** up for home users but never pursued it cause i didn't believe that home users would see the real benefit to any of this... and i still don't.
I think Microsoft are to quick to push always online to the mass market.
Posted 10:05am 19/6/13
That's probably true, unfortunately the core gamer market ISN'T what Microsoft is targeting. They are going for the casual CoD gamers.
Posted 11:04am 19/6/13