Opinion: Is Always Online The Future of Gaming?

Lets tackle this hot topic in this article by looking at "Always Online" as a requirement for systems (henceforth known as AO) and the reasoning behind it as well as the pros and cons of it.

There was speculation at one time that the new generation of consoles would require an always on internet connection to function.  The XBOX ONE is looking like it will need to access the internet at least once every 24 hours or it could interrupt the consoles functionality.  Sony on the other hand said that they "didn't consider" an always online requirement.  Here is a link to the article on NBC NEWS.

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/sony-didnt-consider-always-online-requirement-playstation-4-1C9849762

So we know going into this generation that there is going to be an AO requirement on one of the systems but not the other.  Lets take a look at AO and investigate why it could be a good or bad thing.

The Pros

The pros of having a console with an AO requirement (and keep in mind that Microsoft though requiring an internet connection does not mean that if your internet goes out that you console will cease to work) means that your game software and console operating system (OS) will always be up to date.  AO also means that the console could do this while you are not using it provided that when you turn it off it remains in a low power consumption (or standby) state. 

Another pro, and not necessarily for gamers, is that it can provide online DRM (Digital Rights Management) to help counter software piracy.  Countering piracy helps the game devs make the money they need to keep their business going and rewards them for their innovation and success.  This can actually be counted as a con too, but we'll get to that.

Its ready to go when you are.  Turning your console and not having to wait for it to connect to the internet will get you to the online gaming faster.

Background downloads are another convience of AO.  Imagine being able to queue up a couple demos, videos, and apps before you go to bed and have them waiting for you in the morning when you wake up or the next time you turn on your console.

The Cons

There are several cons to an AO requirement.  First and foremost is low income gamers.  When money gets tight, internet is usually one of the first services to get cut.  If your console won't work without an internet connection, you could be left with a several hundred dollar paperweight.

Second, if you don't have internet due to moving, an outage, or any other reason your service could stop functioning it could leave you without an option for entertainment.

To touch on what I was talking about earlier, DRM could be considered a con if it is used to lock games down completely.  What does that mean?  If you buy a game and you let your friend borrow it, when he puts it in his/her system, he/she could be prompted to buy a license to be able to play the game.  How does the console know that that disc is owned by someone else?  Online DRM from an AO required system.

Now that we've got some pros and cons out there, lets try to talk about how AO can help or hurt the industry. 

Immediately what comes to mind about AO is that it alienates people that don't have internet or can't afford internet right off the bat.  I had mentioned in the article about who Microsoft is trying to market their console to that at least 60% of their consoles have never been connected to the internet.  Just by looking at that number you should be able to see why AO could have a negative response.  Sure, some people will just suck it up and get internet, but others will look for an alternative to the AO product.

AO will help discourage and possibly even end piracy.  There are many people out there that don't like this because they feel that games should be free.  When games get downloaded and played for free, developers end up losing out on money that they can use to make future games.  The "free to play" model is developed as an alternative but that is for another article.

There are some people out there that do have internet and are still opposed to the idea of AO.  I'm not quite sure why that is but maybe they just don't like the idea that the console might not work if the connection to the internet is interrupted for any reason.  I certainly have my concerns about it.  Will I still be able to have LAN parties where no one is hooked up to the internet, but instead hooked up to a switch? 

That leaves me to wonder if there is a contingency in the case of Microsoft, that if AO turns out to be something that hurts the console, could they "undo" it?  AO is not going to turn me away from any console as of right now.  If it turns out that it cripples the system or causes undesirable situations, I'll rethink my options then.

Let us know what you think in the comments section below.  Stay tuned to Big Ups Gaming for all your gaming news.  Thanks for reading!