Absolutely. I want it that way. I never turn my 360 off, it's always connected and playing Netflix or whatever else.

Most people never turn their computers off, why turn your console off? The next Xbox is going to be an always on, multipurpose entertainment and media machine, not solely a game console, so always on is needed to make it as functional as can be.

I'm hoping for live tiles like Windows 8, so I'll always see my e-mail, Twitter feed, Facebook, etc. scrolling across my TV, news tickers, weather, etc.

I'm leaning toward the PS4 anyway and an always online console is not a dealbreaker in my book, but to answer your question it depends on the price of the console and what they think they can start charging for games.

If its $399 and the same price as the PS4 with games that are $60-$70, there is no chance I buy one. They better make this thing cheap, like $199 / $249 cheap if all this is true.

No. Not because it affects me directly, but because it affects a significant number of consumers and garners tons of ill-will toward Microsoft. It'll naturally hurt their console sales, game sales on that system, and deter publishers and developers away from supporting the console. If Microsoft goes this route, there will be no support for this console, and it will die. I refuse to risk a $300-600 financial investment on the gamble that it doesn't.

what if your internet goes down ?

If it's actually true? No amount of exclusives will make me buy it. Even if it isn't true Microsoft made some dick moves this generation so I don't really want to support them anyway.

I've had enough problems with my Internet connection over the years and if they start again it could easily make that machine unusable. I know some people have a perfect connection, so it won't bother them, but I don't and even so I don't trust Microsoft to get it right. I don't want my console to be dependent on another service and I don't want something that becomes a paper weight after they shut down the servers.

Would probably be the dumbest mistake for Micro or Sony to do a move like that. Occasionally I don't have internet to connect to and in that case, I better be able to play my fucking games

@jdh5153:

For me, the idea of the TV/Xbox as an all in one entertainment center has kind of gone the way of the dodo. I use my phone for most of my social networking stuff, and I use a Roku for streaming stuff because it's small, makes virtually no noise, and keeps my power bill cheaper.

@djou:@project343: Yeah, I don't think it's such a specific deal breaker for me because of the act but more in what it represents. Also if this rumor is true, it makes me worried that some of the otherones (locking out used games; using the Kinect to authorize purchases based off of how many people are "present" and stuff like that) might slip in too.

If they do make it always online I will wait for the SKUs they release everywhere else in the world where "constant internet" is a joke. Unless of course the Softies have decided that America and the UK are good enough. I don't have very stable internet so No, not going to buy it.

Still sounds like bullshit.

I have no doubt that MS will find a way to shoot themselves in the foot but this doesn't seem like "it." Too obvious, too easy. Microsoft tends to seed its failures in more insidious ways.

Sure, my PC is always online to play Steam why not a console?

PC and maybe PS4 for next gen.

@zudthespud:

Well, Steam at least has an offline mode (even if I've had issues with it in the patch.

@rebgav:

Yeah, it seems like so obviously "dumb" that I'm honestly surprised devs are still saying its in the works. Maybe it's so that they can do something else and have the line of thinking as "Well, hey, at least it's not always online!"

I never need to use offline mode, I'm always online. A console that had the same requirement wouldn't bother me.

I mostly have an internet connection when I'm playing my 360 but I don't trust MS not to screw something up. All the rumours about the next Xbox are pushing me closer to getting a PS4 next generation.

Fair enough! I'm pretty much always online too, so in practice, it'd have no effect on me. I guess it just still rubs me the wrong way because there's no mention of a real benefit to it yet. If they can deliver a dope reason for it, then I'd be willing to reconsider.

Never happens.

Do you not buy computers, because OMG what if the internet goes down, I couldn't use the internet, OH NO!

Playing games offline is for hermits. If I couldn't play online I wouldn't want to play period. Besides I use my Xbox for about 80% Netflix, 5% Hulu, 10% MLB.tv and 5% Call of Duty.

Exactly. Consoles aren't for offline gaming anymore, they're entertainment machines. Do people throw a fit because you can't stream Netflix offline? Like what the fuck do you expect, the internet is supposed to be an always on thing.

How about YouTube? Can't use that offline, it must suck too. Oh no, Giant Bomb doesn't have offline mode, fuck Giant Bomb.

Yeah my internet never goes down either. Is this a wide problem?

Guess people are still using dial up???

It was a simple question no need to be a dick about it.

It depends on what the 'always online' meant. I mean all my systems are always online right now. But if that meant that I had to buy into a Microsoft architecture to buy games then I would say 'no'. I would probably also say 'no' if it meant that used games couldn't be played on it. I barely even play used games. It's the principle of the matter.

PC is way more than steam

Best not buy any PC games if it's the principle of the matter that bugs you.

And if you want to bring up the "Steam is cheaper" argument, over the last two months Xbox has been having pretty significant sales with a ton of games dirt cheap. Just a few weeks ago there was a good selection of games for as cheap as $5. I think there's another sale coming up soon. They're definitely learning from the Steam store model with their digital games.

i bet you think that everyone can afford to up keep a decent bandwidth and not get charged for exceeding it ?

Always online wouldn't bother me but I can't say I have any plans on buying one though.

@jimmyfenix: I'm sorry, I forgot about bandwidth limits in the US. In most other countries internet is much cheaper, and there aren't bandwidth limits.

Chill.

I personally have more faith in Valve then Microsoft. I think they are a better company so I'm more willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. That said the PC isn't my preferred gaming-source and I don't spend a lot of money on Steam as it is. So that comparison barely plays for me at all.

read a book?

It really depends on what it is because always online sounds bad in itself but we don't really know what it will actually do. If it does block offline access to playing your games or blocks used games then yes it would be a hard sell unless this thing is the second coming of video games.

im in the uk and still have bandwidth issues

Hell no. Still believe this has to be a farce. If its true they may as well fall on their own sword right now and end it all.

Sounds like a non-issue to me. They'll probably put in a switch for offline mode like Steam has. I mean the IE browser
has an offline mode & MS Office doesn't require "always on" in order to use it. The only reason I like to have
myself connected when playing a game is that I like to see the date-time stamp on achievements when I
get them. Otherwise they show up blank, but that's about it. I'm always on with my Internet access these
days & when I don't have it, I feel like something is missing in my life...I'd be more worried if they thwart the
used games market since their online game sales rarely ever have a deal & the deal usually isn't very cheap.
Not compared to Steam discounts at any rate. Eg, buy Deus Ex: Human Revolution with expansion on
Steam for $10 or less, go check the Xbox Live market place & see the expansion is still selling for $10,
years later as if it was brand new.

If my computer is not online, it's useless. I have never played a Xbox 360 Offline. I'll still buy one and i will buy 1.

it's a non-factor for me. i'm primarily a steam gamer (and playing a lot of blizzard's games) these days, so it's just a fact of life for me now. it'd be nice if it didn't require an active connection, but having one isn't a dealbreaker.

this.

I voted yes, because I would say 99.9% of the time, I play my Xbox 360 with an internet connection. That .1% is when Live disconnects for a couple of seconds and I have to manually reconnect. I never play off of an internet connection and I believe even if the console will have this, it will have some sort of offline mode due to the fact you need to have the console on to connect to the internet.

I can understand always online not bothering you personally but it can be a problem for most. Having a service go down because it needs online is one thing but having a system that is made to do one thing go down because of no online is a different beast. A PC can still be used for other things if you internet is out and i believe steam allows offline mode to play most games offline.

I don't want to jump the gun and condemn MS because if they were to make this true they would have to be very smart about it which I'm sure they would. But being force to be online to play games when you clearly don't need to be for most games seems very unfriendly to normal consumers. I also think to gamers who are not able to have internet all the time would just be out of luck.

This

I hope jailbreakers can fix it with a simple modchip. If it's true, though.

Sounds like a Kotaku article......

I sold my 360 a year ago, so no matter what, I think I might be done with Microsoft consoles for the time being. But soon we'll all be 'always-online' anyway, so I don't know that I can see the harm in that. I mean, I've had my gaming PC for over a year now, and I don't think I've ever played a Steam game offline. Or any game, for that matter.

I don't care about having to be online all the time. It really only depends on the games or really the exclusives it will have. If it does not have any I need I will stick to PC and use my 360 to play all the games I have for it that I haven't touched.

Nope.

I won't buy it regardless. While Microsoft sticks to the same strategy they employed this generation I won't buy a next gen Xbox. Outside of Gears of War, Halo, Alan Wake and Fable, the only games we got this generation were the third party stuff that appears in the PS3. There isn't much reason to stick to it, unless you like those franchises, and even so it is pushing it compared to the amount of exclusives in the PS3.

My internet right now, at this VERY MOMENT is being incredibly unreliable despite paying 20mb/s. Like it won't even let me watch any sort of video and pictures a loading up in a dial-up esq fashion.

So no. Fuck that.

Well, what the sources are saying is that, if you're not connected to the internet (or lose connection for three minutes) you lose access. No games. No apps. Nada.

@lind_l_taylor Well, if the above is true, it sounds like you wouldn't have an offline mode option. Just that it wouldn't run (which is what would make it an issue for me).

Yes. I'll have them all, like I do every generation.

Yes, insofar as I won't not buy it if it has always online. I'll have to wait and see what the console exclusives look like, however, because I'm almost positive PS4 is going to be my go-to for anything multiplatform.

Yes, I will. Because My internet connection never goes down.