And just what super percentage of the "average" gamer pirates games? The average gamer doesn't pirate. And so you are saying Microsoft is willing to alienate people who would otherwise do no wrong, all for a chance to stop a smaller percentage of people? This is a business strategy you support, namely, that you have to break a few eggs to make an omelette?
So wouldn't MS gauge public opinion on something like this? It seems like they would, or should, anyway.
As long as they don't go so far as to put Xbox out of business, it that probably won't affect me one iota. I just don't see why the overwhelming majority of gamers are going to care about this, other than just looking for some reason to be pissed off. I would have to think a massive, massive majority of them are connected to XBL anyway. As long as you only have to connect to the actual XBL service (which is incredibly reliable) and not the games specific servers (EA for example, can be VERY unreliable) I can't think of a time in the last year that I would have been adversely affected by the proposed future configuration of the Xbox.
It's pretty common for me to play games offline so someone else can be watching ESPN3 or Netflix on the other Xbox.
90% of the console gaming I do is offline, so why should I be forced to be online all the time? **** Microsoft, **** their awful business model, and **** the way they treat indie developers. Sony or bust.
Is there a specific reason you prefer to be offline while playing? Even when playing campaign in games, I keep my Xbox connected to Live to see when friends get on and what they are playing. For my purposes, Xbox is a FAR superior console to the PS, so I'll be sticking with Xbox into the next generation. If Sony can ever develop a controller that feels like something other than a cheap child's toy, that would go a long way towards winning me to their side. As someone who plays primarily shooters, Sony's controller just isn't on the level with MS's. I just feel that going forward, online gaming is the way of the future (if not already the present), and that needing to use XBL to play isn't going to have a catastrophic effect that some on here are making it out to be. Judging from my friends, almost anyone who has an Xbox is using Live as well. Clearly there are some exceptions, but MS is probably looking at a business model that moves console gaming further into the internet age, rather than clinging to pre-internet gaming.
Means kids can't play xbox in the car like I did with my SNES back in the day when going on multiple hour trips. We really think its okay to treat the new generation of kids that unfairly? That's F'd up to little kids everywhere.
So you have to pay for an expensive console, buy expensive games, then are forced to pay a subscription to use any of it? Seems pretty horrible to me. I have an Xbox and have never had a subscription to Live. Never really wanted one.
Last I checked, most decent hotels offer free WiFi. You won't even have to have a great connection, just enough to access and sign in to your XBL account. If parents are truly desperate enough for their kids to be able to play video games in the car, they can always use their phone to set up a mobile hotspot and let them connect that way.
First - depends on the hotel - I've had it both ways. Second- way too much trouble... and not available on certain phones. Shouldn't have to worry about connecting the internet if a kid wants to play while on the way to the beach or something. There's really no justifying this move until there's some free wireless internet covering every inch of the world - so that it isn't an inconvenience.
"Last time I checked" owning a console and purchasing a hard copy 60$+ game should never come along with forcibly being restricted to online play or to be connected via an IP. It works for you, an that's fine. But don't act like the people who hate this are being irrational. Just wait til it's announced that you will also have to have a kinect with the system and it must always be on as well (rumored). Their business model with this next gen will prove to be terrible. Like I said, I have no issues nor does it affect me that you are completely ok with it.
I can understand that it may inconvenience some people. However, I just kind of feel like a lot of this hand wringing is just people looking for something to be upset about. I imagine that most (but not all) people who have chosen to buy a console with a paid online subscription also pay for said subscription as well. If you pay for XBL, there's not really a good reason not to connect to it when you play. So with that all in mind, I just think requiring the console be connected to Live is just going to be business as usual for a good portion of people. I know that I've had XBL since 2004, and it automatically connects every time I turn the console on. As for the Kinect argument you made, as long as it's not required that I actually USE the connect to operate the console, then it won't bother me. If I actually have to use the thing, then I may just go ahead and cash out on console gaming. I despise motion sensor controllers, and if that's the direction the console world takes, I may just start playing PC games. PS is cool because it has The Show, but the tiny, cheap controller that Sony has been using for almost 20 years makes the system almost unplayable to me. MS started off horribly with massive original Xbox controller, took a big step in the direction with the S-Type, and then nailed down the ideal setup when they moved the Black and White buttons to the top on the 360 version.
I've had the XBL thing as long as I've had the 360, it's hard for me to separate the 2. I don't really think the always-on will bother me. I can certainly understand where some folks are coming from though.
If I am playing one of my consoles, I probably want to be left alone unless I happen to be playing CoD or something, so if I do happen to sign on I am invisible anyway. I generally play games on my PC when I want to play with friends. How is giving people the option to play offline clinging to pre-internet gaming? It's an option, and it's one that the new PS will have. This is stupid shit from Microsoft trying to weed out the fraction of a percent that pirate console games. I'm not part of that group, so **** 'em.
Outside of EA titles and live service, the PS3 is equal or even at an advantage ... BF3 and baseball come to mind.
