"It's the future, just accept it."

[Jadak]

I accept the argument for gaming, yes. If any company decies that they gameplay experience can be enhanced with online connectivity, I wish them well even should said connectivity be mandatory.

Where problems arise is what was getting Microsoft so much bad press (well, some of it, may have been multiple sources ), requiring people to be online just for the sake of being online. Not good.

 

[Saltyk]

You know, I don't get why they couldn't just make it an option. Even in the future, I would think people would like to be able to choose to be online or not. Maybe I don't want people to interrupt my game? Did they ever think of that? Sometimes, I want to play alone. Other times, I want friends. I don't need to play EVERY game with someone else.

And what about those countries that don't have the same internet connection capabilities that they apparently think all Americans have? Guess they are just too dumb to accept the future.

I won't lie. Games like Destiny look amazing and I like what I am hearing about it. However, I also like offline games. Kingdom Hearts 3 will certainly be gracing my game collection.

So, yeah, online games maybe the future, but I think there will always be room for offline single player experiences. So, online connection should be an option. Though, my own system will likely be online 99% of the time, anyway, but still. I want options. Isn't that Business 101? Customers like options. Even small options like color choice.

 

[silver wolf009]

I was interested in what they had to say, but, and I kid you not, my internet died mid video and it stopped loading.

I don't even have to form a rebuttal, I just have to point to that experience and say, "There ya go."

 

[Flames66]

Good points, but don't insult me by calling me, or anyone else, a consumer.

OT: It's not my future, I will decide how I play my games.

 

[SeventhSigil]

I've been hearing the whole 'Always Online Worlds Will Become Living, Breathing Things, Full Of Immersion And Stuff!' line quite a bit nowadays, and all I can say about that is I used to be a World of Warcraft player, a number of years ago... and while I found enjoyment and immersion whenever I was off on some quest on my own, traversing a dark forest or hellish landscape, the time my sense of immersion dropped to its lowest was when outside people were tossed in. This wasn't quite so bad on the RP servers (which I generally stuck to specifically BECAUSE it was slightly less immersion-breaking) but any time I'd enter a more densely populated area, there would just be no helping the fact that an online community of strangers shatters immersion with a hammer. Even turning the chat off to silence the calls of 'LF Level 35 Mage For Group!' or 'lololol hi!' and other rubbish, I'd still see Night Elves hopping obsessively to create the much-sought somersault leap, people trying to reach normally inaccessible nooks by climbing atop scenery with MORE hopping, folks running around in their boxers just for the hell of it. Goldshire, oh GOD, Goldshire was a nightmare, because it was one of the easiest spots for Level 1 characters to reach, so people who were bored waiting for their own server to finish maintenance, or just bored period, would make a new character JUST to troll there.

Now, some settings, immersion isn't so important because it takes a back seat to competition. I will no doubt play Warframe, Planetside 2, etc, etc, but the point of them isn't exploring and discovering a new setting... it's fragging and laying waste to the opposition. The Division, on the other hand, looks like it involves some exploration and discovery elements, which is why the online requirement worries me. Immersion can be maintained if the game environment is one that has people you know, and trust. I play Minecraft with a few friends, and though we don't do anything extreme as 'roleplay,' when playing we just talk about swapping resources, a certain pet project, etc, etc. But if Minecraft suddenly started throwing random groups of strangers into my game... well, I'd probably stop playing pretty quick, cause some folks just want to watch the pixelated world burn.

 

[Asuka Soryu]

Don't you love it when people predict the future? It's not like they ever could be wrong. Haha. ... Ugh...

 

[Redd the Sock]

Uh huh. Thing is, this isn't the future, it's the present. And in the present, a lot of us aren't convinced about a reliable internet connection with no restrictions. I've thought for a while that more people might be open to always online if internet was like electricity: it comes in at your whim, you only get cut off for not paying your bill, and problems are rare and almost always on the suppliers' end. I've had to deal with connection issues both at home and work several times this year. The modem, the router, the cables, the drivers, the software, there's just so much that can break down and cut you off. Factor in bandwidth caps, and shared usage leading to slowdown and it's hard for me not to see why some hear "always online" and respond "great, when I'M always online."

 

[FinalHeart95]

I personally don't think an internet connection should be required if you're playing a game while there is no possible multiplayer component. I can see the argument if you're playing, say, the new Dark Souls, and they expanded the multiplayer mechanic so that you actually NEED the notes sometimes (although I can't see why you would). Then, sure, the online connection is pretty important.
The argument that "well, everyone has internet anyway" isn't good enough for me. If the persistent online mechanic causes me to unnecessarily get booted from a game once then that is one time too many, and I guarantee it will happen at least once with the current state of my internet.

 

[FieryTrainwreck]

The persistent world stuff is classic Microsoft at this point. They love to repackage things that already exist with more restrictions/control, then pass it off as their amazing new invention.

Xbone will allow you to buy all your games online! No discs! Just like people have been doing on 360, PS3, and PC for damn near a decade?

Xbone will enable massive, persistent worlds! You mean like the ones people have enjoyed since the first goddamn Everquest?

Xbone will allow you to share your games, on a limited/trial basis, with all of your friends! You mean like a fucking demo? Those things we've had for, what, 20+ years?

Xbone will be able to tailor ads to your specific tastes, bringing you the best possible advertising expereince! You mean like that thing no one asked for fucking ever?

 

[Olas]

It's sad because the things they describe all seem like they could benefit gaming in some small way, but it should be optional. Making this stuff mandatory causes more harm than good.