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"Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

Editorial | April 5, 2013 3:04 pm

Ok, so I planned to get a Kat's Korner done way earlier in the week but there's been this plague going through the house and I've been busy cleaning up vomit for a week (pretty much how I'd imagine Snapple's mom spends her Mondays). It's over now (just in time for Spring break to be over as well, whoopie...) and as luck would have it, I came up with the perfect topic for my opinionated rant at 1:30 am Friday morning. Unfortunately, my internet went out about halfway through and I hadn't saved in a while so I lost everything. So here you are, a special (extra long, extra mouthy) Friday edition of Kat's Korner!

Even though Sony has already showed off some of what their ps4 can do, Microsoft has been uncharacteristically quiet about the next Xbox incarnation. That hasn't kept the rumor mill from working for the last few years, but as the time for unveiling draws closer, certain facts seem to be clarifying exactly what we can expect from Microsoft's new console.

From Microsoft's 1984-esque patent to allow the Kinect to watch you as you watch movies to ensure you're not running some sort of black market movie theater to reports both of mandatory "always on" internet connections and kinect, the reports have been somewhat disturbing, if not completely off putting to some. But by and large, microsoft has remained silent, neither confirming nor denying the rumors. Until now.

Late Thursday night, a series of tweets that can at best be described as obnoxious and at worst described as pretentious, entitled, douchebaggery came from the account of Adam Orth, the creative director of Microsoft Studios, defending Microsoft's alleged decision to make internet a requirement to play a game, suspending the game if the internet is disconnected for longer than 3 minutes.

Maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't buy a cell phone if I didn't have reception.

It's worth pointing out that that's Bioware's Manveer Heir he's arguing with at the end, and the conversation went off topic at that point and Orth began to insult areas that aren't as well populated and connected as the West Coast as not worth living in (which has since been played off as a joke- but highlights the extreme disconnect between this guy and gamers).

Soooo... with that backstory, I give you- Kat's weigh in. And... go!

At the core of this issue are two things- first off, exactly how good or bad is "always on" internet? And secondly, does Adam Orth have a right to exercise his first amendment rights over twitter and not have to end up locking down his account (which, in the end, he did).

As far as Microsoft's plan (or rumored plan) to have their internet "always on," no. It's stupid. To me it's a bad business practice to shut the door on an entire group of possible consumers under the guise of keeping up with the times. I get that a lot of the hacking that is done to gamertags and scores is done offline and forced internet connections can help to prevent that. But beyond that, it just doesn't serve a purpose. Yes, a lot of people who live in America have excellent internet connections, and can handle being online whenever their consoles are on. Most of us don't even really think about it, until the internet is out and we get stuck with a handful of achievements without timestamps. And while yes, we all seem to prefer playing online, if a network blackout happens (which happens infrequently, but does exist), if another hacking incident like the PSN debacle occurs, or if storms knock out the internet in an area for a lengthy period of time, the 360 isn't as useless as a brick in your entertainment center.

I might be biased. On a personal level, I live in an area where my only option for internet is DSL, and even though I pay for the fastest speed AT&T offers, it doesn't actually translate to a fast connection (as everyone who tried to join my groups during the summer tourney can attest to!!!). I do feel lucky to have the internet at all, a few years ago it was not an option at all in this area, but it's not worth how much I pay every month. If someone in the house watches a youtube video- everything else is dropped. Same thing with downloads. On top of that, living in the middle of nowhere means that the internet drops out randomly for 10-15 minutes at a time every hour or so. I don't know why and neither does AT&T, but I know if I was playing a game that just stopped working after being offline for 3 minutes, I'd be pretty upset. Especially with the next gen Xbox rumored to cost upwards of $500 and the price of games going up with each new console cycle.

So that's one consideration. Another is the group of people who buy consoles with no intention of playing online. People who don't have broadband available in their area, soldiers who bring them oversees and play local matches in their downtime, old people who still have dial up but get them for their grandkids to play when they visit, people who oppose the internet on principle (yes, they exist), and parents who can't afford $100+ a month for internet, but still want to give their children a normal childhood. To say (as I've seen) that if you don't pay every month for internet you don't have a right to spend money on a console or games is probably the most erroneously oppressive statement I've seen.

As far as Adam Orth feeling persecuted by people after he stated "what he expects from his devices," (paraphrasing) come on! You're a spokesman for Microsoft (although they have since stated he is not, and disavowed knowledge of who he even is in one case), speaking about a very controversial topic! You're using your "official" twitter, and you had no problem using your job title to get followers, then you come in and make extremely sweeping generalizations that trivialize the concerns of a large part of your target market! Ever heard the phrase "it's not what you said, it's how you said it?" That's exactly the case here. If you want to express your opinions, do it from an account that doesn't say "Microsoft" all over it. And learn how to relate to other people- because dude, you suck at not coming off as an asshole.

So what do you guys think? Is "always on" internet just a gimmick by Microsoft to generate hype for the new Xbox? Is it even a good business decision? Does Adam Orth make anyone else want to yell at Sony "Shut up and take my money" or is it just me? Comment and let's discuss!

Now for the news you can't live without!!

Are we shocked? Video games are back under fire in the senate. Joining a large number of republican senators and the NRA in pushing for video game regulation [including the always eloquent Sen. Lamarr Alexander (R- Tenn)], Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D- Calif) has hopped onto the finger pointing bandwagon blaming video games for violence. She says that she hopes the industry will take note in the wake of Sandy Hook, but if not then the senate is prepared to step in. Of course, this all neglects the fact that 34 years of studies have failed to create a link between video games and violence.

Video games is [sic] a bigger problem than guns, because video games affect people. -Sen Lamarr Alexander

If you're tired of crappy games, the past few days have brought some good news. Disney closed down Lucas Arts and halted the production of all games it was currently working on. In the future all games made from Lucasfilm properties will be outsourced from game studios that were not responsible for Kinect Star Wars. Maybe it's not great news to the 150 or so people who lost their jobs in the lay offs, but it certainly isn't the death bell tolling that it initially appeared to be.

Tecmo Koei Europe has announced a new installation in the Dynasty Warriors franchise- Dynasty Warriors 8, will be available for Xbox 360 and PS3 on July 12, 2013. This installation will have a story mode with over 70 playable characters and 40 brand new stages, as well as a "what if" mode that explores what would have happened had the events of history been different. Pretty cool!!!

From April 1 to April 30, 2k sports is holding the MLB 2k13 Perfect Game Challenge. The contest offers 30 prize pools of $25,000 each, for a total of $750,000 being given away. If one person wins with different pitchers, they would win the entire pot. Like last year, the winner will be decided by 2k sports' algorithm that measures perfect games based on difficulty and degree of perfection. After the contest closes, the top ranked players will complete in a single elimination tournament in New York during MLB all-star week for the $250,000 grand prize. Access to the challenge is through copies of MLB 2k13 as well as combo packs of MLB 2k13/ NBA 2K13!

Recently, Campcom has announced Lost Planet 3 will release on June 25, 2013. Introducing a new character, LP3 will be a return to the harsh environments of E.D.N.III, and promises to reveal new truths about the planet, and the colonization. Aside from TK, I'm not sure who will be interested in this news, but I'll leave you with the quote that had me questioning the legitimacy of the information.

Play as blue collar worker Jim, risking assignments in treacherous conditions to earn his hazard pay and return home to his family -Capcom PR release

ANYWAY! That's enough for this week- make sure you check out the next KK, which will be coming next week, haha. As I said earlier, I welcome any discussion about the Orwellian NExbox, as long as discussion stays civil!

Also, feel free to pm the crap out of Evol and find out why that Poker tourney never happened! Kat doesn't like to report false news! Thanks for reading!!!! <3

~Kat

Fine print:
As always, the views expressed in Kat's Korner are mine alone and not meant to be representative of the staff or members of xboxamerica.com. Feel free to agree or disagree and discuss with each other, but there will be absolutely no flaming or personal attacks. Yes, even if they really are stupid, fornicate with their mothers and have several children with their siblings. Suggestions or subject tips are always welcome, and can be left here, in my shout box or pmed to me.

Keywords: xbox 720, durango, Adam Orth is a dbag, Ocean Marketing, Manveer Heir is awesome, Kinect still sucks, Dianne Feinstein, stupid things politicians say, violence in video games, disney, lucasarts, dynasty warriors 8, mlb 2k13, lost planet 3, Evol sucks

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Archived: Article Discussion: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/05/13 4:27 pm | #2

Kat, I feel you 100% on the Internet issue. Some of you here may or may not know, but we have been plagued by constant outages and unresolved issues with AT&T dsl for years now. After many calls with helpful and less than helpful reps, no one can seem to finger the problem.

Currently, I do not have Internet access at my home due to this. Financially, it just doesn't make sense to pay nearly $100 a month for a service that I can't rely on. We're moving (only 3 miles away) within the year, so fingers crossed.

I absolutely will not be purchasing a next gen console if the "always on" feature is implemented.

I also read that guy's twitter where he said something to the effect of "Why would I live there?" In reference to people who live in areas without reliable Internet service. While I realize he wouldn't live there, if he enjoys electricity, food, cars, paper products, and in-stock stores- he should realize that someone has to live there to provide that.

I think this executive fails to realize that his luxury car was on a rack and transported right through the rural country where Internet is spotty. And the toilet paper he likes, well, that was made here too. Someone has to choose to live rurally to make sure our train tracks don't collapse and that stores will have fresh produce. And here's a surprise for that executive, there's plenty of folks with money to spend here.

But I guess people like us don't need entertainment. We'll just go back to rolling a tire with a stick.

End rant for now. Good job Kat. You should do more of these!

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/05/13 4:51 pm | #3

Thanks Mindy- they're supposed to be weekly, but I appear to be suffering from terminal procrastination.

I also feel for you with AT&T, I don't know why they don't know why their service doesn't work. We've considered dropping service as well, but can't make that step. It's scary to disconnect from the hive! Who will tell me what to think?

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/05/13 5:02 pm | #4

I seriously doubt I will be buying a next gen consol regardless of this or that. I don't game nearly enough on the 360 I have now to throw down $500+ on a new one to collect dust. On the gun control/video game issue, I find Wayne LaPiere and the NRA trying to blame video games fucking laughable. The only point one needs to make in opposition is the fact that Canadian kids seem to have no problem playing violent games without going on murderous rampages.

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Re: Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/05/13 6:00 pm | #5

Quote by IRiSH:

I seriously doubt I will be buying a next gen consol regardless of this or that. I don't game nearly enough on the 360 I have now to throw down $500+ on a new one to collect dust. On the gun control/video game issue, I find Wayne LaPiere and the NRA trying to blame video games fucking laughable. The only point one needs to make in opposition is the fact that Canadian kids seem to have no problem playing violent games without going on murderous rampages.

/thread.

No but srsly another great KK! Looking forward to more!

And all hail Skynet!

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/05/13 6:11 pm | #6

If the Xbox 720 is going to have an always on internet in order to play games, then I'm going to be spending my money elsewhere. Like Kat, I live in a rural area and sometimes my net does drop for several minutes at a time which would interrupt my games. There's also times where I can't even afford to have the internet for the month which would leave my console a useless brick for the month. Why would I want to spend $500 on a console I won't be able to use whenever I wanted? It's a stupid idea.

And if the thing about the Kinect comes to pass, there's no way I would want one in my house. Who is to stop someone finding a way to use that to view through your Kinect at any time they wanted? There's always a chance it could happen.

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12/31/69 7:00 pm | #7

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/05/13 11:21 pm | #8

I saw people ripping on those tweets on Reddit all night last night and into today, that guy makes me want to punch him in the face and I don't even know him :rofl:

I honestly think that the way consoles are moving forward right now is in an extremely NEGATIVE direction, but that's just cynical me. It takes 18 minutes for the 360 to boot up to the dashboard and load all the ads and bullshit right now and it's only going to get worse and more convoluted, I went to play a game the other day and my 360 froze before I was even able to hit start at the menu screen, boy that sure does make me want to keep gaming when I'm already short on time most days as is :mad:

. Also, don't forget about games with 25 GB of DLC and mandatory patches that literally won't let you play until they're all downloaded, I went to play MoH Warfighter after a long break and had to sit through an hour of downloads before I could even get into a single game online :rolleyes:

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/06/13 10:04 am | #9

Adam Orth can suck eggs - after everyone kicks him in the shins.

1984 or V for Vendetta. The whole big brother issue always bugs me. I wasn't planning on buying the next console for at least a year if not two. Now, it looks like never. If I am going to buy a new console, it's gonna be a PS3. Not a PS4, a PS3. Just 'cuz I wanna play a bunch of their games.

The senate can suck eggs with Adam Orth. I think that they are looking for ANY lightening rod issue with which to raise a banner against just to grab attention for themselves - especially if they think they can win. I don't believe that any senator cares about video games one way or another - they just want to appear concerned, so next election they can say that they have been on which ever side will get them re-elected.

The NRA - this may be a deflective tactic in order to draw any attention away from themselves and to the fact that there has been a slew of shootings over the last few years. I like the NRA and I also believe in the Second Amendment. I just think that this tactic with joining up with the senate (for any reason) makes them or the NRA leadership look weak.

Just my take on it.

Oh, Kat, great KK - as always!!

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/06/13 11:30 am | #10

Mo. the NRA isn't joining up with the senate, so much as they're telling the senate what to do because when it comes to the government, follow the money. The NRA contributes money to campaigns and the video game industry does not. If they can get everyone focused on "omg, gaemz kill peepullll!" It might distract from the bigger issue- like there are no precautions in place to prevent someone with an emotionally compromised person in the house from getting a weapon. And there are too many emotionally compromised people in the country who aren't being raised to accept personal responsibility for their actions.

The issue I have with the NRA is that they're saying not to blame guns for crimes, but then they turn around and blame video games. Either people commit crimes or inanimate objects are responsible for them... You can't have it both ways.

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Re: Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/06/13 4:08 pm | #11

Quote by Kat:

Mo. the NRA isn't joining up with the senate, so much as they're telling the senate what to do because when it comes to the government, follow the money. The NRA contributes money to campaigns and the video game industry does not. If they can get everyone focused on "omg, gaemz kill peepullll!" It might distract from the bigger issue- like there are no precautions in place to prevent someone with an emotionally compromised person in the house from getting a weapon. And there are too many emotionally compromised people in the country who aren't being raised to accept personal responsibility for their actions.

The issue I have with the NRA is that they're saying not to blame guns for crimes, but then they turn around and blame video games. Either people commit crimes or inanimate objects are responsible for them... You can't have it both ways.

Couldn't agree more. While the NRA may offer classes in safety and responsible gun ownership it's clear that they're primary objective in DC is not representing the average gun owning American but representing the arms industry as evident in that every single member of their board has current or past business ties to one weapon manufacturer or another.

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/06/13 7:19 pm | #12

I get what Micro$oft is trying to do. I don't agree with it at all.

Let's not forget about the cyber attack on the Playstation Network online service. The servers were shut off for weeks. The only way to play games on the PS3 was offline. What happens if that happens to Xbox Live?

Let's not forget that there are still games that are being sold that are made strictly as a single player experience. No Co-op or multiplayer. Why would or should I feel the need to connect to Live to play some single player?

What about those that have limits on their internet plan? Isn't the always on feature going to slowly tear away at their data plan limits? The customers internet bill could go through the roof.

The Xbox 360 rushed to launch its console without thinking about any consequences which resulted in me going through 7 consoles due to the ring of death. I'm sure there would be even worse consequences if they followed through with this idea.

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/06/13 9:37 pm | #13

As usual Kat, nice read.

Chiming in.... I still don't believe MS will be so STUPID as to make this gen an always on console. PS4 didn't, Wii U didn't, why would they? I'm not entirely unconvinced this isn't just another marketing ploy. Make us so damn afraid of this happening, that when they throw us a lesser curveball we'll all line up and accept it since it isn't as bad as we thought :laugh:

Also I really wish you were making it up about the video games being blamed for killing people. I personally do not and never plan on owning a gun, however do support that mentally stable responsible adults should always be allowed to own a gun. Even the ones that can be modified to be "more dangerous." However this tactic of throwing something else under the bus is absolute and utter bullcrap.

Anyone who is mentally unstable shouldn't play violent video games, nor own a gun. However until someone breaks a Call of Duty disc in half and stabs someone in the jugular with it, video games can't kill people, but guns can. Ultimately I agree with the PERSON being responsible for killing, but rational people thinking that video games are somehow MORE deadly than guns is absurd.

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/08/13 4:37 pm | #14

Lucas arts closing is awful, Star Wars 1313 and front assault have been cancelled because of it. and just read another article someone confirmin always online, such a stupid idea!!!!

it's like they want it to be a computer!! apparently gonna be 2 price models, $300 dollar one with a subscription and $500 dollar one, system is gonna be announced may 21st.

time to pre order ps4.

also I see this is what my Star Wars article got meshed into. (I'm assuming?)

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Re: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

04/08/13 7:20 pm | #15

There was a good piece about this topic on Gamer Tag Radio.

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"Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)

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Archived: Article Discussion: "Always On" Internet- Deal With It? (Kat's Korner Ep. 6)