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

X

xxracerxx

Don't worry, I'll vouch for them.
This guy in the other thread said it best:

Quadraphonic said:
And what about years from now when you want to go back to play your old games? What's to say Microsoft keeps these servers up?

The original Xbox is fully offline now.

Every single game you buy on the next Xbox you are only renting until Microsoft sees fit to kill the the server.
Click to expand...
 
B

BIZ*TAKE

Banned
Who has modded a gaming system to play pirated games or downloaded a PC game that you didn't pay for has no dog in this fight...
 
P

Pennywise

Member
Averon said:
So, is this thread a preview of the shitstorm that will happen when MS announce always online officially?
Click to expand...

You can bet on that.
The uproar on games was already heavy, but a console with that "feature" will surely provide another dimension of madness.
 
S

Spinluck

Member
Penguins&PolarBears said:
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.
Click to expand...

Oh my fucking goodness, LOL.

I almost choked on my PB&J sandwich reading this, omg lol.
 
G

Goodacre0081

Member
douche_zpscd433f16.png
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auto-fridge-twitter-306659.jpeg
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.
 
B

Blearth

Banned
Tratorn said:
This was good for MS, now they know the kind of backslash they'd get and won't implement this (hopefully).
But well, Neogaf & some other forums aren't the whole world, so maybe they just won't care...
Click to expand...

No one will care. Everyone keeps their devices always connected anyway.
 
K

KarmaCow

Member
Tratorn said:
This was good for MS, now they know the kind of backslash they'd get and won't implement this (hopefully).
But well, Neogaf & some other forums aren't the whole world, so maybe they just won't care...
Click to expand...

Unless they were completely blind, they had to know this would get backlash from forums. They had the examples of Diablo 3 and SimCity not to mention stuff like Bionic Commando Rearmed 2 not being playable during the Sony hack.

At best this incident will reshape the PR and messaging, it wont affect the long term strategy of the system.
 
R

Reiko

Banned
Tratorn said:
This was good for MS, now they know the kind of backslash they'd get and won't implement this (hopefully).
But well, Neogaf & some other forums aren't the whole world, so maybe they just won't care...
Click to expand...

Google it...

It's spreading through lots of gaming forums.

If it's on Twitter it'll eventually spread to Facebook as well.

Look at how many people were fooled by the fake Xbox 720 Beta signups that even Major Nelson had to comment on.
 
K

Kill Your Masters

Member
Heres still hoping that they have an different understanding of always on than we do, but it would definitely suck if the next xbox is some drm-filled kinect machine.
 
O

Ouren

Member
Penguins&PolarBears said:
Pretty simple you can make a lot more money off of consumers who are connected to the Internet. Most mobile games developers depend on there being an Internet connection.

People are not going to stop buying games if they require online. Bungie's Destiny is not doomed because of online nor are any of Blizzards games.

Sure it's a barrier to entry to some people, but it's also an incentive to a lot of people to finally connect their console for the first time. The question is whether you build the console and it's games around the lowest common denominator or not. I was heavily against Microsoft's decision to make the HDD optional in Xbox 360. I don't think you empower game developers to make the most of the system by making features of the console optional. This is why I'm also a big fan of the mandatory Kinect thing too. If you make it optional then they can't design their games around it.
Click to expand...

No, really, let's have a meeting at E3. You need to hear perspectives outside of the company campus duder.
 
D

Darryl

Banned
Tratorn said:
This was good for MS, now they know the kind of backslash they'd get and won't implement this (hopefully).
But well, Neogaf & some other forums aren't the whole world, so maybe they just won't care...
Click to expand...

they probably won't, but it seriously makes me wonder why they'd do it when a forum made up of tech-savvy individuals (who still frequently own desktop computers) refuse to accept a change like this, what on earth makes them think this change is ready for the mass market? what data could they possibly be looking at?
 
B

BlastProcessing

Member
Penguins&PolarBears said:
Pretty simple you can make a lot more money off of consumers who are connected to the Internet. Most mobile games developers depend on there being an Internet connection.

People are not going to stop buying games if they require online. Bungie's Destiny is not doomed because of online nor are any of Blizzards games.

Sure it's a barrier to entry to some people, but it's also an incentive to a lot of people to finally connect their console for the first time. The question is whether you build the console and it's games around the lowest common denominator or not. I was heavily against Microsoft's decision to make the HDD optional in Xbox 360. I don't think you empower game developers to make the most of the system by making features of the console optional. This is why I'm also a big fan of the mandatory Kinect thing too. If you make it optional then they can't design their games around it.
Click to expand...

7NXM
 
P

Palette Swap

Member
I'm really looking forward to how they manage to market that from an end user benefits POV. I half expect some old bullshit a la SimCity's offloaded simulation.

These are the guys who managed to sell Kinect so we might be in for a marketing lesson. Or we might just be in for a spectacular disaster.

At least, they can count on uber-connected markets like Japan and Korea lol.

Edit: I'm expecting to see these GIFs during the reveal, don't disappoint me, GAF!
 
K

KarmaCow

Member
Antiwhippy said:
What?

I don't follow your logic at all.
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I'm guessing the logic is if you pirated a game, you are the reason Microsoft is implementing always online and so you have no right to complain.

Which doesn't really make sense mostly because I doubt Microsoft is doing this to combat piracy. Knowing what every user is doing at any given time they are using the console is far more valuable than stopping the minority of users that pirate 360 games.
 
jts

jts

...hate me...
That's just so dumb. The analogy is so flawed that actually he could have made the same point with, you know, HOME CONSOLES, which is what the Xbox is... why even mention vacuum cleaners then? Consoles are already always on in the same sense. Nobody has an UPS for their PS3 and TV.

The thing is... a vacuum cleaner, much like an home console (so far) is a DRM-free always on device.

It doesn't care WHERE it takes the power from, from whom, it doesn't care if a very remote server is down.

It doesn't care if you have an account setup, if you're banned from somewhere, what's your IP, or if its manufacturer went under or not.

A vacuum cleaner needs to be plugged in, yes, but it will for sure work in 10, 20 years time with no hassle anywhere in the world, you can resell it, lend it. It just doesn't care.

Can't say the same for an always online console.
 
strikeselect

strikeselect

You like me, you really really like me!
I'm thinking the ban on used games is pretty much a sure thing if this "always online" stuff is true.

No reason for MS NOT to go through with it.
 
-COOLIO-

-COOLIO-

The Everyman
BIZ*TAKE said:
Who has modded a gaming system to play pirated games or downloaded a PC game that you didn't pay for has no dog in this fight...
Click to expand...
If you spend any money on games then you have a dog in this fight. Microsoft will only change its policies if the money talks.
 
B

BigDug13

Member
I used to bring my Xbox on deployments with me. Definitely wouldn't be able to do that now.

What a horrible move. Even STEAM lets me play my games offline.
 
Bitmap Frogs

Bitmap Frogs

Mr. Community
They also thought SurfaceRT was a good idea.

Who knows dude, Microsoft been sort of pumping disappointing crap the last few years.
 
W

watership

Member
One thing that bugs me about how some outlet are reporting this story is that he's the Creative director for the new Xbox. No no no. That's just not understanding how Microsoft works. They have loads of Creative Directors. They have job listings for like more than a dozen all over the place right now. Dude is probably creative director on some unannounced game project. Given his previous work on Kinect and Popcap games, it's a casual title.
 
G

GillianSeed79

Member
Tratorn said:
This was good for MS, now they know the kind of backslash they'd get and won't implement this (hopefully).
But well, Neogaf & some other forums aren't the whole world, so maybe they just won't care...
Click to expand...

I'd put money on always online being true. Don't forget that this is Microsoft. They have billions of dollars. I'm sure they have some expertly crafted sales pitch to convince people that always online will be amazing. Shit, they half convinced me to buy a Kinect after their initial E3 unveiling with Milo and that bullshit Star Wars Kinect demo.

Asssuming always online is real, you better believe that they are going to do a good job of convincing the general masses that it's a good thing.

When it comes to console launches, I'm old enough to take everything with a grain of salt until the actual product comes out. They've already conditioned many gamers, like myself, to pay for P2P gaming. Always online is the next step. My god, the advertising revenues must be so tantalizing to them.
 
G

GrotesqueBeauty

Banned
There's no better PR than being flippant about the real world concerns of potential consumers. This guy is more than a little out of touch. Personally, I don't plan on ever getting a system that mandates an online connection to play. I'm actually inclined to believe that if the rumor is true and means what it appears to mean the resulting backlash will put pressure on Microsoft to soften their restrictions. This could happen before or after the console releases. If they're immovable I see a class action lawsuit when their servers encounter some sort of serious issue and paying customers are left for an extended period without access to the content they paid for.
 
R

REMEMBER CITADEL

Banned
Blearth said:
No one will care. Everyone keeps their devices always connected anyway.
Click to expand...

I keep my devices always connected because they're much more useful and feature-rich when they're online. But here's the thing - when they go offline, they don't turn into completely useless bricks. Enforcing this is a tremendous mistake.
 
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