So I know a lot of us have been wondering where the media is, in terms of talking about the 2 hot issues, and the seeming way the industry has been "playing ball" by letting the Xbox controversy just sit there until E3. Well it seems Kotaku decided to talk about what we know and dont know, and then ask for a little survey. Very good read, honestly, about what all has happened, I highly advise reading the whole thing.
From the Article: http://kotaku.com/the-xbox-one-uncertainty-principle-509582525
Actual Xbox One Confusion
The official Microsoft party line on the day the company revealed the Xbox One: "It does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet."
I read that sentence on my phone while walking down a hallway toward an interview with Phil Harrison, one of the top executives on the Microsoft team. I asked him what the distinction meant. We published his response. Here it is again:
Here's what they e-mailed me:
The biggest points of confusion have involved whether the console really does require a persistent online connection and whether it blocks used games. Force me to tell you what the truth of all that is and I'd retreat to telling you what I think Microsoft's priorities are.
I believe:
There was just that one giant thing we struggled to nail down. That was the always-online requirement. We ran a story that had two top sources saying it was real. One was sure the system could only tolerate a player being offline for three minutes and said an online connection was needed to start a game. Others said they'd not heard one way or the other.
This confusion among our sources about this was maddening, and we took some shots for it. It either was or it wasn't always-online. We weren't talking about photons here. There either was a particle or a wave.
It was either always-online or not.
Well... not quite.
It turns out that the detail we were murkiest about was the one Microsoft themselves are the murkiest about.
That is a small snippet of the article, I would advise reading the whole thing, followed by a survey, essentially asking us what is our "price" for having to deal with almost always online and no used/lending games.
The Survey Says!
For me personally(posted this on Kotaku as well), with Survey question one I think it should meet the same length of time I was able to stay offline with steam, 27 days.
With Survey 2, the only way they can justify with me a purchase, with them gutting the 2nd hand market would be to offer up Steam equivalent or better discounts at the same or more regular intervals.
I'm sure they would prefer you to post on their website, but I figured for those who refuse to do so, at least reading the story(clicking the link) and posting your issues here is a fair negotiation.
From the Article: http://kotaku.com/the-xbox-one-uncertainty-principle-509582525
Actual Xbox One Confusion
The official Microsoft party line on the day the company revealed the Xbox One: "It does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet."
I read that sentence on my phone while walking down a hallway toward an interview with Phil Harrison, one of the top executives on the Microsoft team. I asked him what the distinction meant. We published his response. Here it is again:
Harrison: "There are many devices in your life that require the Internet to function... Xbox One is no different in that it requires, at some point in the beginning and at various times through its on state, to connect to our cloud and to our Internet. That is to deliver Xbox Live functionality, that is to deliver download content to you, that is to deliver some of the innovations around TV and entertainment that we showed today. But it doesn’t require it to be online all the time.
For single-player games that don’t require connectivity to Xbox Live, you should be able to play those without interruption should your Internet connection go down. Blu-ray movies and other downloaded entertainment should be accessible when your Internet connection may be interrupted. But the device is fundamentally designed to be expanded and extended by the Internet as many devices are today."
Kotaku: If I’m playing a single player game, do I have to be online at least once per hour or something like that? Or can I go weeks and weeks?
Harrison: I believe it’s 24 hours.
Kotaku: I’d have to connect online once every day.
Harrison: Correct.
I wasn't back to the Spitfire Lounge before a Microsoft PR person told me there was an issue with the interview I'd just done. Something about the connection requirement being different on a case-by-case basis. They'd e-mail me a clarification.
For single-player games that don’t require connectivity to Xbox Live, you should be able to play those without interruption should your Internet connection go down. Blu-ray movies and other downloaded entertainment should be accessible when your Internet connection may be interrupted. But the device is fundamentally designed to be expanded and extended by the Internet as many devices are today."
Kotaku: If I’m playing a single player game, do I have to be online at least once per hour or something like that? Or can I go weeks and weeks?
Harrison: I believe it’s 24 hours.
Kotaku: I’d have to connect online once every day.
Harrison: Correct.
I wasn't back to the Spitfire Lounge before a Microsoft PR person told me there was an issue with the interview I'd just done. Something about the connection requirement being different on a case-by-case basis. They'd e-mail me a clarification.
Here's what they e-mailed me:
“It does not have to be always connected, 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.”
Round and round we went.The biggest points of confusion have involved whether the console really does require a persistent online connection and whether it blocks used games. Force me to tell you what the truth of all that is and I'd retreat to telling you what I think Microsoft's priorities are.
I believe:
- they want to increase the odds of their customers being online to as close to the point of requiring an online connection as they can, without infuriating their customers and
- they want to know who is using their games, how and when.
There was just that one giant thing we struggled to nail down. That was the always-online requirement. We ran a story that had two top sources saying it was real. One was sure the system could only tolerate a player being offline for three minutes and said an online connection was needed to start a game. Others said they'd not heard one way or the other.
This confusion among our sources about this was maddening, and we took some shots for it. It either was or it wasn't always-online. We weren't talking about photons here. There either was a particle or a wave.
It was either always-online or not.
Well... not quite.
It turns out that the detail we were murkiest about was the one Microsoft themselves are the murkiest about.
That is a small snippet of the article, I would advise reading the whole thing, followed by a survey, essentially asking us what is our "price" for having to deal with almost always online and no used/lending games.
The Survey Says!
- Survey Question One: If the Xbox One must use the Internet but can run online, then I will accept an offline gaming mode that lasts as little as ________ hours/days/weeks/months.
- Survey Question Two: If used Xbox One games must be bought at full price, then I expect Xbox One games to cost no more than ____ dollars.
For me personally(posted this on Kotaku as well), with Survey question one I think it should meet the same length of time I was able to stay offline with steam, 27 days.
With Survey 2, the only way they can justify with me a purchase, with them gutting the 2nd hand market would be to offer up Steam equivalent or better discounts at the same or more regular intervals.
I'm sure they would prefer you to post on their website, but I figured for those who refuse to do so, at least reading the story(clicking the link) and posting your issues here is a fair negotiation.
