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Microsoft Studios' creative director has some choice words about always-online

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Deleted member 47027

Unconfirmed Member
Outta touch nitwit…

Always online is anti-futurist, anti-historic, anti-archival, and anti-consumer.
The servers will be down for this in 15 years. And then your entire console is totally useless. I can play games on any of my old systems without "an internet".

Welcome to last place in the upcoming console war, after Apple Computer.

V1E2Yf7.gif


I love it :D
 

xelloss12

Member
I don't understand why working at Microsoft makes it so easy for you to become your own worst PR nightmare. If this was the first time for an employee there I'd understand, but c'mon. Do they really need a leaflet for avoiding these situations?

Disagreeing with this guy on what he said and in the way he said it I don't feel a lot of sympathy, but my real disappointment is with the project he's defending.

The thing is that everyone working for Microsoft is really fucking smart. That makes it so they think they are the only smart people, and not likely to listen to dissenting opinions.

One example was the transition from Office 2003 to 2007. Lots of people had a lot of trouble with the new boxes interface, but since Microsoft people were able to get it, they thought everyone else would have no trouble using the new interface. They were defending it from devs from other companies by saying it was the best and if you didn't get it you were wrong.
 

jbug617

Banned
Sony's approach allows the user to opt-in while still enabling them to make use of the system they bought even if they don't, while the approach MS is rumored to be taking forces the user to opt-out disabling access to pretty much everything in the process, for no good reason.

well nobody knows the reason because they didn't announce the console yet. We don't know the features yet
 
Yet none of those make me stop playing my games when the net is down. Veto.

Eh, I'll wait for the official announcement. It just sounds too stupid to be true. If the current rumor is to be believed, I'll have 3 minutes from the from time I first boot up my 720 to register to live before it turns itself off again. Just sounds goofy to me.
 

sneaky77

Member
Not to defend Microsoft if they end up going with this, which hasn't yet been confirmed by the way.
But didn't Sony say that even though the PS4 did not require online all the time to function, that it would be up to each publisher to decide if their game required an always on connection?
 
Nah I said it is better for the industry and game design to build for social always on gaming. Getting more people to connect their game systems to the Internet by making it a requirement is good for the game industry and for people who like playing online. You can accomplish a lot more with the functionality of a device if you require an online connection. If you allow people to use the thing offline then you have to always design around those people. As I said if they have some good ideas of how to use this always on connection then it's worth it, if it is for nothing other than DRM then it is terrible obviously.
Why should it be required to play a single player game? If I want to play Bioshock Infinite, why do I need a constant online connection? I could go with specific games requiring it but not the entire console. You have to remember there's going to be a lot of multiplats so why would the single player PS4 game that's also on the 720 require that game to be constantly online? This is no benefit and only alienates people who either don't have Internet access or for some reason, cannot connect the console itself online. And we don't even need to go into the numerous other reasons most posters here have already brought up.
 

Mr.Green

Member
Please believe me when I say I could NOT possibly care less about this always-online crap and I honestly believe people outraged about this were looking for a reason to be outraged to begin with.

That being said, what a fucking PR brain fart.
 
Not to defend Microsoft if they end up going with this, which hasn't yet been confirmed by the way.
But didn't Sony say that even though the PS4 did not require online all the time to function, that it would be up to each publisher to decide if their game required an always on connection?

Sony already does that with Bionic Commando on the PS3.

But what' your point?
 
Not to defend Microsoft if they end up going with this, which hasn't yet been confirmed by the way.
But didn't Sony say that even though the PS4 did not require online all the time to function, that it would be up to each publisher to decide if their game required an always on connection?
That was referring to activation codes for second hand games I believe.
 
This. While everyone is up in arms about "always-online". Almost every feature Sony announced at the PS Meeting that was new and awesome, requires you to be online.

Gaikai, Ustream, share to Facebook, play while you download and etc.

Correct doing online things requires being online. Playing games offline does not require being online however. I mean...lol.
 

xelloss12

Member
Outta touch nitwit…

Always online is anti-futurist, anti-historic, anti-archival, and anti-consumer.
The servers will be down for this in 15 years. And then your entire console is totally useless. I can play games on any of my old systems without "an internet".

Welcome to last place in the upcoming console war, after Apple Computer.

I didn't know that my iMac stopped working when I lost my internet connection, or that I can't play videos or music stored locally on my ipad when I don't have an internet connection.

Thanks for informing me!
 
Not to defend Microsoft if they end up going with this, which hasn't yet been confirmed by the way.
But didn't Sony say that even though the PS4 did not require online all the time to function, that it would be up to each publisher to decide if their game required an always on connection?

Then that's the publisher problem.
 

GQman2121

Banned
It has nothing to do with loyalty. This is how I have been using the technology for the past generation. The absolute only thing I ever do on my Xbox when not signed into Xbox Live is watch DVDs. The device is a fucking brick without Xbox Live as far as I'm concerned. That isn't Microsoft who says that. That's how I feel about it.

An Xbox 360 without Xbox Live Gold is a steaming pile of shit. Why would I ever use my Xbox when the Internet is down. Everything I do on an Xbox including saving and syncing my consoles together requires being online. That's Xbox 360 I'm talking about, not Durango.

That's fine if you disagree, but that's how I've been living for 7 years now. I would never play my Xbox 360 offline so this decision would have nothing but positive benefits for me. It means no longer building games like it is 2004 anymore, it means building single player games that involve sharing and communicating and competing with other people.

Hall of Fame stupidity on display in here.

Cheers, @NeoGAFShitPosts.

Absolutely remarkable.
 

Shinta

Banned
Anonymous Developer said:
Given that legally I cannot confirm or deny if this information is true, nor can I comment on rumor or speculation, all I can say is be sure to pay your ISP bills :).
"Given that legally I cannot confirm or deny if this information is true, nor can I comment on rumor or speculation, all I can say is be sure to get a PS4 instead. :)"

Fixed.*
 

kirblar

Member
The thing is that everyone working for Microsoft is really fucking smart. That makes it so they think they are the only smart people, and not likely to listen to dissenting opinions.

One example was the transition from Office 2003 to 2007. Lots of people had a lot of trouble with the new boxes interface, but since Microsoft people were able to get it, they thought everyone else would have no trouble using the new interface. They were defending it from devs from other companies by saying it was the best and if you didn't get it you were wrong.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_invented_here - It's a systemic issue in organizational behavior.
 

Toppot

Member
It has nothing to do with loyalty. This is how I have been using the technology for the past generation. The absolute only thing I ever do on my Xbox when not signed into Xbox Live is watch DVDs. The device is a fucking brick without Xbox Live as far as I'm concerned. That isn't Microsoft who says that. That's how I feel about it.

An Xbox 360 without Xbox Live Gold is a steaming pile of shit. Why would I ever use my Xbox when the Internet is down. Everything I do on an Xbox including saving and syncing my consoles together requires being online. That's Xbox 360 I'm talking about, not Durango.

That's fine if you disagree, but that's how I've been living for 7 years now. I would never play my Xbox 360 offline so this decision would have nothing but positive benefits for me. It means no longer building games like it is 2004 anymore, it means building single player games that involve sharing and communicating and competing with other people.

Hi, Adam.

Reading his post history, it's gotta be him.

I would agree, looking at his post history. I think this thread just got more interesting.

I think the post shows a complete close mindedness, looking at how they and the people around him play, oblivious to how other people in other parts of the world play. When I was at halls the internet had a firewall that blocked my console, I had to go back to my parents every few months to download and install updates. Always on means I would of only been able to play my games for a few days every few months. That is not acceptable, I have a console and I have games, assuming I have a TV and electricity, I should be able to play it wherever I damn well please.
 

Big-E

Member
Don't give two shits whether this is just a joke and he is not really like that in real life. Do people not understand that if you post shit on your own personal twitter that it is the equivalent of you going out on the public stage and saying those things to a crowd of people? If you want to shoot the shit with friends and stuff you keep everything private. Game developers and people in the enthusiast press seem to not understand this basic concept. People get fired for facebook posts and don't even get hired because of them. Why is twitter seen as different. If you want to troll create a troll account.
 

JABEE

Member
Adam was giving his friend- they are good friends in real life- shit about where he lives. People are taking it wrong. I GET why people are taking it the way they are based on what they have to go on, but in the interest of making the truth known: Orth was NOT knocking folks who don't live in cities and such. It simply is not that but I fear- cause Adam is a good friend of mine and a great game designer- that most folks will take it as a slap to less populated areas of the country and that is SO. NOT. ADAM.

David

I think people were criticizing the fact that Microsoft's new console will most likely utilize always-online systems that prevent offline play. I think his other tweets are the reason for the uproar. Without the sarcasm, there is still room for a conversation based on his mocking reaction to the Kotaku article alone.
 

SamuraiX-

Member
What a fucking clown.

I hope the Internet never let's this guy live this down. How pathetically unprofessional for someone in a position such as his.
 

Zinthar

Member
Always on devices are great -- most people, including myself, demand that out any consumer electronics purchase we make these days. What people really don't like is the idea that a choice that you probably would have made anyway has been forced down your throat in a manner that doesn't logically benefit the end user, and provides many possible drawbacks that interfere with your use of the expensive electronics device you bought.

Microsoft needs to very clearly draw a line that connects mandatory always-on to a benefit to the end user that couldn't exist without the restriction. I'll reserve judgment -- but I'm doubtful that they can pull this off. We already know game experiences can be better when we have auto-updating patches, leaderboards, social integration, etc etc. vs. an offline experience.

The argument I can see them trying is something like "developer can design better games when they have a complete data set of what consumers do in their games." That argument will quickly fall flat for 2 reasons: 1) It's speculative and indirect. 2) It's complete bullshit, because developers should already have more than ample data on usage from the 70% of people who are voluntarily connected to extrapolate the whole. Any self-selection bias is likely to be so small as to be irrelevant.
 

JABEE

Member
Knowing Adam, he was probably fucking around with M. But I've not spoken with him- he MAY believe that, he may have just been kidding. I honestly have zero idea about that part. But I honestly hope he doesn't get fired for it. I know so many of you guys who are opposed to 'online only' don't care (and that is certainly your right) but this is a real human we are talking about with a family and trust me when I say that he's one of the good ones. You may disagree with him about this issue (assuming he really meant what he wrote- and yes, that was his responsibility to be aware of how stuff reads on Twitter and how hungry folks are for news about next-gen, especially from someone with his job title) but I assure you guys: if you knew the guy, you'd be feeling really bad for him right now and really all works out great for him.

Not asking you to change your mind or anything- just giving my perspective on it.

Thanks for reading-

David

I don't want him to get fired for this. I don't even believe he deserves the insults he has received, but yo can't blame gamers for picking up on this tweet. I would still feel bad if he lost his job. It's not really in our control though.
 
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