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Microsoft: Next Xbox will work even when your Internet doesn’t

E

ekim

Member
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/05/microsoft-next-xbox-will-work-even-when-your-internet-doesnt/

Should single-player games, Blu-ray playback, and live TV viewing be possible on a gaming console with no Internet connection? Most gamers would say "yes," but they have been worried that Microsoft feels differently; the next generation Xbox has been consistently rumored to require a permanent network connection.

It won't.

According to an internal Microsoft e-mail sent to all full-time employees working on the next Xbox, "Durango [the codename for the next Xbox] is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today's Internet." It continues, "There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should 'just work' regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game."

How far this offline support will extend still isn't clear. It could take the form of a fully offline mode akin to that on the Xbox 360 (insert optical disc, install game, play, all without an Internet connection) or it could be more like Steam (install and activate online but enable subsequent offline play once this has been done).

While one could argue that "installing a game" is one of the "scenarios" that gamers "expect to work" when offline, a more Steam-like approach would be consistent with rumors that the next Xbox will use its Internet connection to block installation of secondhand games.

Still, though the next Xbox won't make everybody happy, it looks like fears that the console will be useless when your broadband goes down have been overblown.
Click to expand...
 
P

Pociask

Member
Why wouldn't live tv work when your internet connection was down? Was next Xbox as a cable tv box already confirmed?
 
A

Aquamarine

Member
amar212 said:
We want bad news.
Click to expand...

Honestly I wonder whether people actually want this sometimes....

A lack of always-online is absolutely wonderful for medium archival and preservation.

Now we just need confirmation that all games won't have one-time activation codes to be able to play / no anti-used-game confirmation.
 
T

Takiyah

Member
I wonder if this was the plan all along, or if policy had changed between uproar and now. Did they go back to the engineers and ask if something could be done about it? Look forward to the behind the scene story about it a year after Durango launch.
 
V

Vinterbird

Member
Mindman said:
Watching live TV? This thing really is going to be a DVR isn't it?
Click to expand...

That or just a overlay with a HDMI-In and Out ports using your current TV set top.

Takiyah said:
I wonder if this was the plan all along, or if policy had changed between uproar and now. Did they go back to the engineers and ask if something could be done about it? Look forward to the behind the scene story about it a year after Durango launch.
Click to expand...

I think it's a result of information being passed through several filters before reaching a journalist. The wording "Durango is Always On, Always Conntected" could easily be misunderstood so that the reader thinks that it means online is mandatory to use it, and then takes that information to a journalist or the likes.

That plus documentation supposedly says it is up to the individual publisher what form of online implementation they will use.
 
K

kadotsu

Banned
Great! Next step for MS should be to write internal mails in a way that doesn't sound like an ad.


But seriously, great news
 
I

infinityBCRT

Member
jbug617 said:
Ars vs Edge. Both are good reliable places.

Kotaku sort of backtracked always on.
Click to expand...

Ars is going off a clearly worded email, which obviously was intended to get out the message that its not always online. Whereas (pure speculation here) I think there are a lot of other outlets are sourcing confused MS employees or third party employees who don't really know whether it will be always online or not-- only that the development kits so far require it, and the SDK has the wording "Always On, Always Connected" in it.
 
R

RiverBed

Banned
Finally! It took them long enough to respond.

I'm curious, why would MS clarify something like that to its workers? The Xbox 3 is a closed off project, so everyone inside would already know everything. Just seems odd.
 
P

Phat Michael

Banned
Lol at all the meltdowns before. people on this forum going crazy over twitter rumours proclaiming they will never buy another MS product again before waiting for an official announcement.
 
T

Takuya

Banned
So wait... Microsoft sends an internal e-mail to...People working on the new Xbox...

To tell them that it works without a connection...

Shouldn't they know this if they've been working on the damn thing?

What the heck is this?
 
Z

Zoramon089

Banned
I can't be the only person that thinks that's an extremely awkwardly written internal email...

"Hey guys, just in case you were wondering all this stuff should work offline. Okay thanks. Carry on"
 
M

MightyHedgehog

Member
Sounds entirely reasonable despite people convincing themselves and others of the worst case possible...and, yet, I sure there's still more crazy-stupid negativity to fight through until reveal. Can't wait for the rumor-mongering to end with MS' show and E3. Gonna be a long two weeks, but maybe longer if MS doesn't answer every question or angle of attack on the 21st.
 
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