Rumour: The Next Xbox Will Require Internet Connection to Play Games & Apps

After Sony unveiled the Playstation 4 the ominous sound of defeat seemed to overshadow Microsoft. An April event was scheduled by Microsoft to showcase their new console but was pushed back to May. We already know that Microsoft has dev-kits out and about with custom zebra printed cases and controllers; so that if leaked images surface Microsoft can track the leak. There are also reports that the next Xbox will have dual APUs.

Rumours have spread since the beginning of 2013 that the next Xbox would require constant online connection but now Kotaku has two more sources that can be added to the fold. The sources claim that Project Durango; the codename for the next console, will have to have internet connection to start games and apps but will be able to tolerate dropped connections.


The source told Kotaku, "Unless something has changed recently, Durango consumer units must have an active internet connection to be used."


"If there isn't a connection, no games or apps can be started," the source continued. "If the connection is interrupted then after a period of time--currently three minutes, if I remember correctly--the game/app is suspended and the network troubleshooter started."

The PS4 will not require an online connection to start or run games, Sony has confirmed.
No gaming console ever has.

This rumour centers around a feature that is definitely a deal-breaker for most gamers so Microsoft needs to take careful consideration with this. If indeed this is a huge sodium overload then all could be well as the next Xbox is speculated to up-to-par to Sony's PS4.

What do you think? Would you buy the next Xbox console if you are forced into chains with your internet provider?



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Layoffs At Lionhead Studios

Parent company Microsoft confirmed it has issued redundancies to "less than ten per cent of staff".

In a statement sent to industry publicationDevelop, the platform holder added:

"Following the completion of Fable: The Journey, Lionhead Studios has begun work on its next projects. As is common in the games industry, a smaller headcount is needed as projects kick-off and ramp up as full-production gets underway. At this time a small number of positions have been identified as at risk of redundancy and the affected employees were notified today.

Fable The Journey looks set to be the weakest-selling packaged Fable game in the series' history, having failed to match the commercial launch and critical success of its predecessors by some margin.

Fable 2 (2008) and Fable 3 (2010) both debuted at No.1 on the UK chart (the latter was one of the biggest Xbox 360 launch titles ever in the UK), while Fable: The Journey limped in at No.37

The reduction in Lionhead's workforce comes at the end of two difficult years for the studio, which faced a community backlash following the unveiling of Fable The Journey.

Gary Carr, the group's creative director, recently told CVG how the group was "devastated by the waves of criticism directed at Fable The Journey's use of on-rails gameplay.

Though The Journey ultimately received mixed reviews, Microsoft's marketing team appeared to have made a decision to not back the project with targeted advertising.

And within the games community there is still a lingering resistance to Kinect-based games, with criticism directed at Microsoft for its insistence on making motion controls a compulsory feature on some of the projects it delegates.

CVG games critic Ben Griffin wrote in his Fable The Journey review that the game was beautiful but frustrating, and also questioned the purpose of implementing Kinect.

The Fable series is highly respected among many thousands of games enthusiasts, and its Guildford based creators have built a strong reputation for fostering the franchise over the years.

The studio is now thought to be working on an exciting new project for next-generation systems.

Microsoft said it will attempt to assist staff affected by the layoffs in securing new positions within the company

-Daniel, Jedi Editor
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