DarthSka said:
Looks like I'll be going with the Wii U/PS4 combo this generation. This just seems too stupid to be true, but these rumors are just one right after the other and all saying the same thing. Plus you know, that twitter fiasco.
Yeah, after the ps3's mistakes I would never have guessed that Sony would get things right this generation and microsoft (who has done amazingly with their two generations except for the HD-DVD/Bluray decision) would do something that is currently winning EA the worst company of the year award.
TKretts3 said:
However, in all seriousness, I simply cannot fathom how anyone at Microsoft would think that this could be a good idea. If they use the internet there, they would know how long a loss of connection would typically last. If they had people who could listen, they would hear customer backlash and argument. If they paid attention, they could see what happened to SimCity.
Something scary to consider, there is a reason.
Always on = DRM. An almost complete reduction of the chance of piracy. This is also why EA did it. Additionally, research does show that social involvement in games does encourage long term use of games though the studies fail to grasp correlation and causality. This is also why EA forced the always on for the single player experience. In case the user ever gets tempted to use the social features they'd always be there.
So, from a business perspective it makes sense on the surface level. But it fails to understand its target audience and so they end up pulling an EA move of hubris and greed. I guess every console just has to shoot themselves in the foot. At this point in the game, why would people by the 720 over the ps4? Even if one console is slightly weaker than the other games will still be made to fit on both systems (because developers like making a profit and porting makes sense). I think Microsoft thinks they're big enough of a console name to do this and not get hurt. I'm afraid of the idea that they could be right...
But hey, this is all too early so we'll see what actually happens. But the fact that high-level client-facing representatives have confessed not understanding what our complaint about always on riles us so much is extremely concerning that this is a valid rumor. The fact that it upsets us so much should be all that matters since we are the consumers. I mean, there are situations that the customer can be wrong, but it's bullheaded to make a choice if you don't understand why we don't like it.
There are a number of reasons:
1. Consoles require a significant degree of technical knowledge to hack to the point that you can pirate games. Console specific titles also take more work and more specialized knowledge to rip than pc games do. So there's already a specific drop in the possibility of piracy so Always on as DRM is even less acceptable.
2. Reliance on the internet assumes that we have constant internet connection. Am I seriously the only person who has taken my console to a party so that we can play on it? Requiring internet connection for all of the machines we have hooked up would be stupid. Likewise, reliance on ISP's for a single player experience can be a nightmare. I also have friends in more rural areas who have weeks without internet on a weekly basis. Other countries can have it worse as well.
3. Reliance on Microsoft's network is an additional concern. Any update or network failure means we can't use the machine or games that we've purchased.
4. We only barely tolerate gaming as a service. It's getting close to reaching a head but we don't think of movies or other IPs as services. There are many of us who don't buy games that require always on and having a system the requires it means EVERY game and movie and anything else suddenly requires something we don't want.
5. At the end of the day, we want to own what we purchase. We don't want to rent it. Always on means we never actually own the license because the day the game stops being supported online is the day we lose our IP.
6. There is NO benefit to this requirement for the user. None. This only hurts us. We will hate you for it.
