14 DAY TRIAL // Without a doubt one of the biggest news that appeared this week in the gaming industry was a new report about the Xbox 720's mandatory internet connection, which apparently is still a key "feature" of Microsoft's next-generation console.
While such a requirement was already rumored for some time, only now did we get to see a few interesting reactions to the report.
First up was Adam Orth, a creative director at Microsoft's Game Studios, who publicly defended the always-on internet connection requirement, saying that gamers without such a thing should just deal with it instead of causing "drama."
As you can imagine, this generated a huge negative backlash, which wasn't helped by Orth's poorly chosen analogies that compared internet access to electricity.
Soon after that, a game developer urged people to "pay their ISP bills" in preparation for the Xbox 720's announcement, effectively confirming that the next-gen console requires a permanent connection.
If Microsoft does go ahead with its current plan, which doesn't even allow games or apps to be played without an active internet connection, it could have a serious effect on the actual Xbox 720.
As we saw with games that required constant internet access, like SimCity or Diablo 3, or even with the premiere of the Game of Thrones TV show on the HBO Go online service, servers will undoubtedly crash or at least experience problems handling the number of people trying to connect.
As a result, without a doubt many fresh Xbox 720 customers who get their console on the first day won't even be able to use it or play games because of Microsoft's online service.
Even if the system devised by the company will handle the load, without a doubt there will be maintenance periods or issues that will force Microsoft to take the system offline. At that point, Xbox 720 owners who paid for the console, for games, for other services, and for the internet connection will be left with a device that can only gather dust when it's offline.
Reports say that Microsoft is betting big not on games but on entertainment with its next Xbox 720. If gamers won't be happy with the next-gen console, though, then they won't recommend it to their less tech-savvy friends, causing negative word of mouth promotion, which is definitely going to impact sales.