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New Console Always-Online Requirements and You

Posted by Soulskill on from the only-you-can-prevent-forest-fires-and-terrible-DRM dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The new Xbox is almost here and the details appear to strongly suggest 'always on' is the way forward. We all know that this is an artificial requirement and certainly there are plenty of people on all sides of the table. To paraphrase the user 'tuffy' who commented on this issue at Ars Technica recently; if you're trying to sell 'always online' as a feature of the future, there needs to be some benefit for me the customer. There is not one. Or, rather, there is no sign yet of any actual clearly compelling reason why any end user would support this limitation to their purchase. So, what's the best way to express this? Spend your money on an Ouya? Contact the Xbox team? These are all valid options but they also lack visibility. What we need is a way that could help actually quantify the levels of discontent in the gamer community. Maybe E3 attendees could turn their backs in protest like some did during Thatcher's funeral procession. Or gamers could sign some useless petition. What do Slashdotters think? Is the upcoming Steam box a reasonable plan? As a gamer, I'm of two minds about the whole thing. I really don't like it but I may roll over eventually and join the herd because I could get used to it. Then again part of me is rankled by this slow erosion of access to me and my data."

9 of 435 comments (clear)

  1. The only winning move.... by AmiMoJo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only winning move is not to play.

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    1. Re:The only winning move.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      The only winning move is not to pay.

    2. Re:The only winning move.... by TrollstonButtersbean · · Score: 5, Insightful
      The only problem is that, sadly, people aren't going to care. From DRM in games to privacy-exploitation in Facebook/Google/... people *will* buy and play these games.

      Most people have an internet connection available and might complain, but they'll go along with it. And game makers will get their live-DRM.

      It is going to happen and it won't be stopped. --- But this doesn't mean the end of the world, you personally don't have to go along with this and there will always be games on PCs, etc.

      But consoles?

      Yes .. their device, their rules ... and they have big marketing budgets.

    3. Re:The only winning move.... by Opportunist · · Score: 5, Insightful

      There is no pressing need for MS to require "always on". What they will want for sure, though, is that you have to go online the first time you play the game to lock your game to your console, to kill the second hand market and circumvent first sales doctrine (i.e. you can sell it, but nobody's gonna buy it 'cause he can't use it).

      Only when I hear that there is NO need to EVER go online with this console, we can start talking.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  2. Solution is easy by Skiron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just don't buy one.

  3. Re:Steambox by damaki · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Err, no. This is not needed anymore. Test it: disable your connection, you can then switch to offline mode.

    --
    Stupidity is the root of all evil.
  4. All hail hackers by loufoque · · Score: 5, Funny

    A hacker will provide a fix to remove that always online requirement. Problem solved.

  5. Always online is here to stay by zugurudumba · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Microsoft knows and abuses their user base. For example, all Xbox Live game servers are hosted by players. These players pay a yearly fee to MS, so that MS will grant them the privilege of hosting these servers and playing against other players. MS is basically getting free money.

    Rednecks who don't know better; Call of Duty dudebros; 13 year olds with gullible soccer moms - these are all people don't give a shit about always online and represent the core audience of the Xbox brand. They'll buy the next console without asking questions and they'll create the critical mass MS and publishers need in order to push always online.

    People who hope the PS4 will save us from always online are naive. Always online has always been the publishers' wet dream. They've been pushing for this for years. At the very least, MS and Sony will implement mechanisms so that any publisher will be able to impose the always online requirement for their games. And remember, MS and Sony are also publishers, and they're quite big publishers. Where do you expect people to go once all games released by Activision, EA, Sony, MS, Ubisoft and others will all require always online? How will you fight a cartel in its own walled garden?

    Blizzard games, Steam games, even the dreaded SimCity sell tens of millions of copies each year, despite the various types of (partially) always online requirements. Always online is here to stay and there's nothing you can do, because of the massive amount of people who will gobble this up without thinking twice.

    --
    Sig
  6. The worst part about this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What I hate so much about "always online" is that EVENTUALLY these companies are going to shut down their servers and people who want to play these games in the future will be screwed. I really do hope hacking solutions come out of this, otherwise you're going to have an entire generation of games that literally cannot be played in the future. Imagine if movies did that and you could no longer watch The Shawshank Redemption because its profitability expired a long time ago and it cost money to keep the movie servers running.

    If you think this won't happen, see how Microsoft has pulled the plug on multiplayer Halo 1 / 2 or Mercenaries 2. At least the single player component wasn't affected, but for future games, it will be. Over enough time, without proper cracks, these games will be IMPOSSIBLE to play.

    I hate this mentality of forcing everyone online with no recourse for when the plug eventually gets pulled. It's intentionally destroying culture in the name of profit, which I find immoral.