Whilst Microsoft’s official press site states that the Xbox “does not have to be always connected” it has emerged this evening that a daily connection is required.
“We’re designing Xbox One to be your all-in-one entertainment system that is connected to the cloud and always ready,” claims Microsoft.
“We are also designing it so you can play games and watch Blu-ray movies and live TV if you lose your connection,” continues the press release.
Kotaku grabbed Microsoft’s Phil Harrison to explain.
“For single-player games that don’t require connectivity to Xbox Live, you should be able to play those without interruption should your Internet connection go down,” said Harrison.
“If I’m playing a single player game,” asks the site’s Stephen Totilo, “do I have to be online at least once per hour or something like that? Or can I go weeks and weeks?”
“I believe it’s 24 hours,” came the reply.
That – to us – means that unless your Xbox One can make at least one connection to the internet each day, it won’t be able to play games at all.
Whilst that might not be that stringent a check, imagine you’re not able to connect up your console at all. University halls, holidays, when you’re moving house and don’t have the internet, etc.
djhsecondnature
Not to mention the armed forces, those just without the internet, parents that won’t connect a child’s console, third-world markets, and I’m sure many more. Microsoft only had to look at the numbers: 80 million Xbox 360s sold, 46 million Xbox Live accounts.
UKZ-N3M1515
46million xbox live accounts, and in just my household there was more than 5 all going through the same Xbox.
irish-sid
As much as I hate this and think it’s ridiculous that you have to connect to the internet to do anything on this Xbox, a though occurred to me. Almost everyone has a smart phone or tablet (at least most that will be getting a next gen console), you could just make it a wifi hotspot for a minute to connect it to the internet for its daily check.
Still, it’s a disgrace, and I hope Sony don’t do the same thing, because I’m getting a Ps4.
teflon
Having a smartphone and a contract which lets you tether devices are far from being a given, though. Especially in more extreme circumstances, as Davs pointed out above.
blackredyellow
Not just that, but why would you want to have to do that EVERY DAY!
Bonkers.
Broonba
Not to mention the fact that you won’t know the exact moment when the Xbox is performing it’s daily check.
KeRaSh
My thoughts exactly. It’s a last resort but far from ideal.
This information should spread FAST. I can imagine Microsoft will not talk about such things to the common customer and they will be the ones who don’t know what happened to their Xbox when it suddenly stops working.
bunimomike
Here’s that final nail you’ve been looking for, Microsoft.
teflon
That’s practically always on. It’s the absolute minimum to get around the potential for network issues that will let you still keep playing games.
It’s like they read the way Steam does things and then copied it.
Badly.
Taylor Made
Technically an average gamer is always online anyway
Kreisash
I think there’s a difference between would like to be, and is.
As others have mentioned, there are times when having access is outside of your control.
And then, as I previously mentioned when these rumours started, what happens if we have a PSN hack fiasco and MS servers go down? Because the necessity is client side, it’ll be trying to hook into servers that can’t answer and you’re effed when even trying to play a single player offline game.
The Avenger
Between the ages of 10 (when I started gaming) to 17, and from 18 to 20 years old I have never had an Internet connection yet still enjoyed games from Sega Saturn to the PS3/Vita.
I know what your saying, and most gamers I know of have internet, and its very useful, but my folks at home can’t afford it and I don’t expect them too. All I want is to game. I could do it with the sega saturn, I hope that if I want to I can do it with the PS4 if I wish.
Xbox One is no longer a games console, it’s a Microsoft media device for the TV. What’s left is Wii U and PS4; fine by me.
Kreisash
Reading your reply I was just thinking… You have MS on one hand which seems to be forcing everything on you, and 2 hours ago I was happily playing off screen on the Wii U (Super Metroid) – not only do I not need to be connected to the net, I don’t even need a TV!
If people missed it, Kinect 2 must also always be connected.
I can see you~….
The Avenger
Yeah. I must admit I was tempted by the Wii U when it was £149 a few weeks ago. I was a bit put off by it being significantly cut down out of the box and therefore requiring large patches.
I will probably get it eventually though as I’d like Monster Hunter and a few other games. Love the GamePad, just hope Nintendo will come up with some more exclusives/multi-platform titles in the future.
Kreisash
It is a console that is still very much in its infancy and has a lot to come. I bought one on release as I didn’t think they’d mess up again like the 3DS, but I was wrong.
I can’t recommend one yet, but in time the games will come. They need to announce solid release dates. The question is, will the price go back up as none of these are ‘official’ price drops.
Skipping MH3U myself as I have Tri but looking forward to MH4 (hope they do a Wii U version as well), 101 and Bayonetta 2 (aside from the usual Nintendo stuff). Also very excited to see what Monolith Soft are cooking up.
blast71
What about a below-average gamer ;p
cam_manutd
Not everywhere where the Xbox sells has an internet connection never mind an adequate one. Just watched the conference and it was dull, disappointing and of any inspiration. Its saving grace was Quantum Break. The console can’t claim about premièring COD and FIFA because well PS will outsell the Xbox in multiple territories so the no show of first party devs was also a nail in its coffin.
Can MS get some back before E3? Tough ask. They need to issue a statement of everything clear cut and then we can digest.
Kennykazey
One gamer, one Xbox, no internet. Twentyfour hours until the next check.
A horror adventure unlike anything you’ve ever seen. By award winning movie-man Stephen Spielberg.
Xbox One.
xdarkmagician
LOL, leave it to the company who fixed the RRoD problem by removing the red lights from the equation to design a solution for “always on” with a mandatory “sometimes on” connection.
The 1 in 24hr connection doesn’t make any sense surely when you install the game it would save the authentication so once you have a game installed you wouldn’t have to verily it every 24hrs. I can see going online once a day so it can retrieve authentication for a cable box or program information, but theres no reason to keep checking to see if the game that was legal 24 hrs ago is still legal, since nobody is going to replace a legitimate copy with a pirated version.
It makes you wonder if they’re doing this for games are they also going to lock out Blu-ray movies as well?
I wasn’t impressed with the PS4 “reveal”, but at least I wasn’t confused by multiple people saying different things about what it can and cant do. Leave it to MS to fuck up yet another Xbox event.
psychobudgie
It’s all about the money. This and the used game tariff smell of Balmer. People who are not connected the XBox Live are not even a consideration for MS as they need Gold subscribers above everything else as they provide a constant revenue stream.
Tuffcub
I’m taking my PS3 home to the folks this weekend, they live in the sticks so no internet connection. If I had a an Xbox One it would turn in to.. a box.
No sale.