[citation][nom]bison88[/nom]I honestly can't see either Sony or Microsoft doing this, as much as they would LOVE to I'm sure along with the support of nearly every game developer/publisher. It just seems like consumer suicide. Look how much problems we've had with the DRM on the PC. Whatever wasn't killed by crappy games built for the PC that shifted gamers to a more entertainment oriented console, was utterly destroyed when DRM took hold after their BS claims sales declined because of piracy alone.Doing the same with consoles could be the rebirth of the PC, as we've heard some say it's long overdue.[/citation]
Steam is really the one thing that has kept PC gaming going post DRM. Steam itself uses DRM measures and supports always online games. They just happen to do it in a more agreeable fashion. People without broadband internet connections aren't going to run to Steam, a service that is download based.
[citation][nom]bison88[/nom] In a down economy it's much harder to justify a $399 or $499 console price with mediocre guts when the previous two generations were somewhat revolutionary at their time and cost equally as much. Adding more fuel to the fire isn't going to make things better.citation]
Again, wishful thinking. If they can't justify spending $400 for a console to play games, they aren't going to spend $600 for a PC to play games. Even though a PC could handle other functions, the proliferation of internet enabled devices from smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, etc., make a PC unnecessary for casual use like Netflix and web browsing. Modern consoles, especially an MS branded one, are built to handle streaming services and internet browsing.
[citation][nom]bison88[/nom] Not to mention what happens when you tie a game to a console? Backwards compatibility for future consoles? Gone. Bringing your game to a friends house and not lugging around the whole console? Gone. RRoD forcing you to replace the console 3 times? Enjoy tech support. That's without even touching the Used Game portion. Ever want to play a game years later, but you lost the disc, scratched to hell, worn out, or sold it after you finished? Most of the time the only way to get old games is via the Used Game process.Again. Don't think they'll do it, but they sure would love to.[/citation]
What happens when your games are tied to Steam and you get banned? Gone. One of the Sony rumors actually had the possibility of a password based game system where you could log to the game at a friend's house. A PC can break just as easily as an XBox. The very concept of always online and DRM measures are tactics that the PC sector employed LONG beforehand and still employ, so I don't see anyone running to the PC to escape from it. If anything they'll run to the Wii U, which isn't barring used games or -forcing- always online connections. Nintendo caters primarily to their Japanese market, and the Japanese market isn't as supportive of these capitalist money grabs. They also dont like online purchasing, so forcing a license based situation would never happen on a Nintendo system.
[citation][nom]pippip[/nom]Because always on internet connection worked so well for D3............[/citation]
D3 sold over 10 million copies, worked pretty well the last I checked. EA and Activision consider gamers to be complete tools that will give them money so long as they use established franchises like WoW, Diablo, CoD, Warcraft, etc. So far gamers are proving them right. Get it through your heads and realize that you cannot buy games from companies like this. You can't even pirate them because they consider pirated copies to be "lost sales". I'd like to play the new SimCity, but I'm not going to give EA a single dime. I can play something else from a company with morals I support, like PoE.
Considering how often I hear them, I think there's some truth to the always on and banning used games rumors out of both Sony and MS. HOWEVER I think they're simply going to put the enable switch in for publishers to flip on and wash their hands of the whole thing. "Not our fault guys, EA/Activision is the one that forced always on in your games, not us!" Seems like a win-win situation for them, doesn't it? They can satisfy greedy publishers and avert the blame at the same time. Again, they feel you don't have a choice. If Title X is exclusive to MS/Sony, you're going to run at them with wallets drawn no matter what they do to you, because you have no choice. They own Title X. They own the people who made it. They have your drug so you'd better be ready to work for that next fix.