Microsoft internal memo. New Xbox to work offline.

[Something Amyss]

Why am I still skeptical?

Because baseless rumours trump inter-office memos that confirm otherwise?

As it should, I mean. Crap some blogger pulled from his arse should hold equal or greater merit to actual doctrine from the company in question.

Either the amount of hypocrisy/paranoia in this thread is astounding, or this thread is being treated to an entirely different set of readers than the last twenty.

I'm betting a combination of both, since I see some of the same names in here, but largely not.

 

[Shocksplicer]

Called it from the very beginning.

Let's High-Five through the Space-Time Continuum Past Me!

*physically impossible hi-fievs!*

 

[Casual Shinji]

It's good to see Microsoft isn't completely off its rocker, but you can't be surprised people saw this as a possible development with the current gaming industry we live in.

 

[Epicspoon]

"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."

Wait, how are we supposed to use an Xbox to watch live TV without an internet connection? Are wizards helping make the new console?

 

[LongAndShort]

Well thank Christ for that. Now Microsoft, just confirm backwards compatibility and remember that you really shouldn't give a fuck whether people play used games on your consoles or not, and there's a very strong chance that I'll buy one.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

Brilliant. Hopefully this will teach people not to jump the gun whenever a rumour surfaces. I've seen people already boycott the next Xbox based on the always-on rumour alone. Unless anything comes directly from Microsoft, I don't believe anything I hear regarding the new console.

 

[Boris Goodenough]

Now they just have to deal with the (rumour of) Blu-ray licensing issues with the possibility of 6 month delays.

 

[Zantos]

"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."

Wait, how are we supposed to use an Xbox to watch live TV without an internet connection? Are wizards helping make the new console?

Possibly the same way people have been watching live TV without an internet connection for the past 70 years. Or 80 years? It is a thing you can do you know.

OT: It's good, I like my 360 and was hoping MS wouldn't take a complete nosedive. However until there is something more than rumours and leaks I will be maintaining my usual 'cautious optimism' stance. I mean really, one of my pet hates is the attitude of "If enough people believe this rumour it's true", no if the rumour is true then it's true, regardless of how many go for it.

 

[Nazulu]

Brilliant. Hopefully this will teach people not to jump the gun whenever a rumour surfaces. I've seen people already boycott the next Xbox based on the always-on rumour alone. Unless anything comes directly from Microsoft, I don't believe anything I hear regarding the new console.

Doesn't work that way for everyone. It shouldn't have taken this long to deny the rumours. Why until now?

 

[Lovely Mixture]

Good going Microsoft!

Instead of offering a product that we wouldn't want, you're now "offering a product customers could potentially want but may still overcharge them." This gives you a slight edge over Sony's "we're offering a product that will be good 19 years from when it is released."

 

[Genocidicles]

Good.

I wasn't getting one anyway, what with all the ads on the XBL dashboard but still, this is good for gaming nonetheless.

 

[DazBurger]

I am now one step closer to buying the new xbox.
That leaves me at... Step one.

Now we only need interesting games for it, a decent pricetag and another reason to exist then to grab moar money.

 

[CyanideSandwich]

Brilliant. Hopefully this will teach people not to jump the gun whenever a rumour surfaces. I've seen people already boycott the next Xbox based on the always-on rumour alone. Unless anything comes directly from Microsoft, I don't believe anything I hear regarding the new console.

Doesn't work that way for everyone. It shouldn't have taken this long to deny the rumours. Why until now?

That's a good question and I've wondered it myself. All the Orth business got me worried, what with a Microsoft employee defending the idea of always-on, and Microsoft itself being ominously quiet just made it worse. I doubt they've just removed an always-on functionality during the time they were silent, seeing as it would probably take a lot longer than that.

 

[Trek1701a]

Of course with the way things are going on the software side, there isn't going to be purely single player games anymore. So maybe it's a matter of semantics at this point.

 

[hazabaza1]

Good.
Let's just wait and see if any of the other rumors come true before we start celebrating though.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

...so does this mean the next Xbox will have a Blu Ray disc drive? Also, watching TV doesn't require my console to be on. As for single player games, I've known I can do that offline for as long as I've had conscious thoughts. I really can't wait to see the full-on reveal of this console to see just how much of an internet connection is required to make this thing work and what other restrictions are going to be present. I really hope the Kinect functionality isn't mandatory for one thing. Anyway, I don't plan on getting this console but ya know what would endear me and possibly even make me curious about buying one?

Crimson Skies revival
Otogi revival
Panzer Dragoon revival
Mechassault revival
Banjo-Kazooie revival
Conker revival
Banjo-Racing (ie: Diddy Kong Racing revival)
Killer Instinct revival
Battletoads revival (Rare still owns Battletoads, right?)

Making all of those exclusive would be ideal because otherwise what's the damn point?

 

[BloodSquirrel]

The thing is, that doesn't seem the like the kind of stuff a company would discuss during a swanky press conference. "Here's the machine!" "Here's the amazing new games you must play!" "Here's some tech demos and CGI that our system can't run!" "This is how paying $10/mo for live will be totally worth it!" "btw...you don't need internets and it plays used games". Seems kind of out of place. You're right though, we'll see.

If I was MS, I'd certainly save it for the conference. Revealing that greatly feared rumors regarding the system aren't true is an easy way to give people a positive impression at just the right time.

That's a good question and I've wondered it myself. All the Orth business got me worried, what with a Microsoft employee defending the idea of always-on, and Microsoft itself being ominously quiet just made it worse. I doubt they've just removed an always-on functionality during the time they were silent, seeing as it would probably take a lot longer than that.

No it wouldn't. Unless they were drooling idiots and the OS is an epic mess of spaghetti string code, removing an online check before letting a game run should be pretty simple. Adding online functionality might take some time, since they have to build a server-side infrastructure, but removing one should be a very minor change to the OS.

 

[Xenite]

Honestly, nothing can be taken out of that memo. Playing a game offline is one thing, needing a connection to install it is another.

 

[Scott Rothman]

Why am I still skeptical?

Well at least some-one appeared to be listening to the people with common sense.

Guess we'll know more on the 21st.

Yeah, I don't buy it. "Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game" how many games are going to be force fed "multiplayer features" like with Sim City or Rockstar's social club?

 

[CardinalPiggles]

"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."

Wait, how are we supposed to use an Xbox to watch live TV without an internet connection? Are wizards helping make the new console?

From the source:

The quotation also implicitly confirms another rumor: the next Xbox will sport an HDMI input, to allow cable boxes to be hooked up for live TV viewing. Our sources tell us that the console will be able to provide TV listings and similar information.