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PlayStation Orbis: Online Forever?
firefly2003
Member UncommonPosts: 2,527
With the rumors of the new PlayStation 4 (or Orbis as all the cool kids are calling it) swirling around, one piece of information in particular struck me: Initial reports are that you'll have to be connected online to play any game on it. This got me to thinking, is Sony hurting its market share by forcing people to constantly stay online? Or are they actually helping push the spread of Internet accessibility by linking it to a popular gaming platform?
As someone fortunate enough to live in the developed parts of the United States, as well as having a well paying job, Internet access is not a problem for me personally. But the world is not just me (sadly). What about all those people who live in parts of the U.S. (or other countries) that simply don't have access to quality Internet providers? What about those that can't afford the monthly charge their ISP might gouge them with if there are no other options in the area? Should they be disallowed from playing games on a system if their only crime is not being online? What happens if your service cuts out? Now you have an expensive hunk of electronics that might as well be a brick for all the good it's doing you.
Another thing I think Sony may have missed is that sometimes I don't want to be online. Sometimes I don't want to see how many millions of Gamerscore points Andrew Reiner just achieved; it makes me feel inadequate and sad, and slightly hungry. Sometimes I don't want to have a friend message or request pop up right in the middle of a moving cutscene. Sometimes I just want to play games by myself with no outside interaction, like I did as a child. Sometimes I want to be antisocial and sit in my corner with no cares about anyone else, and that's tough to do with required online access.
There's always the other side of the coin, however. If true, one of the main reasons Sony is pushing the "always connected" mode is no doubt to combat the used game market, but perhaps Sony is also trying to push progress. Internet is not available everywhere yet, but it's definitely a worthy goal to work towards; easily accessible information generally makes societies more open, intelligent, and productive in the long run, and perhaps the desire to actually play games on a system will lead people to push for cheaper, more available Internet. It wouldn't be a terrible stance for Sony to take.
So what do you think? Are you okay with always having to be online? Or do you just want the freedom to be left alone at times?
http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/03/28/sony-39-s-orbis-online-forever.aspx
Comments
I think "always online" is code for "DRM". Not that I mind that, because like you I do have 24/7 internet connectivity, and I pay for my games.
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
People just can play single player online like they do now. I don't see it being an issue unless you have some malicious intent going on in your head. I like the ideas because always online brings communities together. This is a good thing.
Grim Dawn, the next great action rpg!
http://www.grimdawn.com/
I hate the idea of having to be online to play in LAN or single player, I don't support games that forces me to do this. The pirates get around it anyway so the only ones it affect is actually the paying customers.
I wont support any console, or console game that requires an internet connection to play.
I'm pretty much in agreement there , if its true of the next gen consoles, I'm pretty much done buying consoles and their games, well then I have enuf games to last me the rest of my lifetime to play .
I'm not gonna lie. I only play consoles if I have internet connection. Don't usually play single player stuff. So internet is required to play with my friends.
Much of the point of a console is that it makes piracy harder. If it didn't, then consoles wouldn't be nearly so popular with game developers. MMORPGs don't get any anti-piracy benefit from consoles, because when players have to be online to play, you can use that to pretty much eradicate piracy entirely, leaving only credit card fraud to worry about. That leads to most MMORPGs being PC-only, with few ever making it to consoles.
Single-player games, on the other hand, tend to see massive piracy on PCs. That's why a lot of them are console only, and never ported to PCs. Getting half a million people to buy your game if it's console-only sure beats getting a million to play if it's console and PC, of which 800k pirate the PC version and pay nothing.
So imagine that you're a game developer, and there are two consoles out there that you can develop for. (Yeah, yeah, there are three. The comparison is simpler with two.) One of the two has robust anti-piracy measures, and you're confident that nearly everyone who plays your game on that console will have to pay you to get access to it. The other has much weaker anti-piracy measures, and it's not hard to imagine a lot of people pirating your game, buying it used, or whatever. Which console(s) do you develop games for? You're surely going to bring everything to the first console unless there's some compelling reason not to, but might shy away from offering some or all of your titles on the second console.
Sony wants the PS4 to be the first console, not the second one. The console business model (at least for Sony and Microsoft) is that you lose money on selling the console hardware, but you get a cut of all software sold for the console. That doesn't work if you can't get other companies to write software for it.
Then I can only hope that Orbis' UI and online features/market place do not suck as badly as the PS3's. I still can't fathom how the whole PS Network and Store can be so incredibly bad, especially compared to Xbox Live. And don't give me the "you have to pay for Xbox live" shit. This has got nothing to do with it. You don't need a gold membership to purchase games and download demos.
If there is a demo for PS3 game in the Playstation Store by (tiny) chance you can download it with 100KB/s or something like that, which is utterly ridiculous, too.
God, I guess my point is that I hate the Playstation Store.
Also I will never get a console which requires me to be online 24/7, even though I'm online all the time anyway. I want to be able to play my games even if the company behind them goes bancrupt some day. No malicious thoughts there.
Fixed it for you. You won't really have a choice. PC gaming that doesn't require internet for anti piracy is dying.
However, the orbis thing is just fake.
"Wow, Sony must really want us to stay connected! Cool online woot!" - Sony fanboi
"Eat that piracy, the easy/lazy way we can market as being for the players benefit!" -Sony
Don't know if it was posted already, but the rumor is, that every game you buy will be registered only for your playstation account so that means no used game support.
http://www.hypable.com/2012/03/28/rumor-next-playstation-codenamed-orbis-no-ps3-or-used-game-support/
and yes, you are indispensable.
This is gonna hurt them so badly.... it's not even funny!
Hence, why I will never buy the PS4. Totally retarded!
Combating piracy is one thing. Forbidding people to buy used games is going too far!
The game stores ain't gonna like this either, as a big part of their sales is in used games.
Deep down... Microsoft is laughing in a dark corner, as it will mean more people going for the new XBOX!
yes, gamestop wants to take PS4 games out of stock because they rely on used game selling.
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/GameStop-Could-Refuse-Carry-PS4-Orbis-Says-Pachter-40913.html
the article mentions that the new xbox will most likely have the same restrictions.
console are shit anyway, buy yourself a pc.