The internet has been abuzz for months with rumors about Microsoft’s next Xbox requiring an always-on connection. Everyone started hand-wringing about the negative implications, and it even led to a Microsoft employee losing his job after mouthing off on Twitter. Well, it seems as if all the worrying was for naught because a recently leaked internal memo makes it clear that a connection won’t be required for all activities.
Today, Ars Technica is reporting that the next Xbox will play games, run Blu-rays, and show live television without an active connection to the internet. Supposedly, this information comes directly from an email sent to all full-time members of the Xbox team. While this is far from official confirmation, this does line up quite well with information that’s been going around since the Adam Orth story exploded. The prevailing theory is that Microsoft had planned to make the console require an always-on connection, but the near-universal blowback has forced its hand. Instead of unveiling the Xbox 720 last month, Microsoft was compelled to delay the announcement until May 21.
Perhaps even more interesting than the offline game play is the Blu-ray and television support. Famously, Microsoft bet on HD-DVD with the Xbox 360, and that ended poorly when Blu-ray took off in the market. It’s surprising to see Microsoft using Sony’s disc format instead of developing a different high-capacity disc standard à la Nintendo. At this point, it’s worth it to pay the fee instead of giving the PS4 a leg up in checklist comparisons. Less surprising is the idea of the Xbox 720 serving as a cable box. Microsoft’s partnerships with cable companies has been widely discussed in the last few months, and we can expect subsidized Xbox 720 packages from the Comcasts and Verizons of the world. Hopefully, this will be a better solution than the half-assed IPTV streaming solution Microsoft has in place with the 360.
We’re only fifteen days away from the Xbox 720 unveiling event, so we’ll know soon enough if any of this is legitimate. If Microsoft actually took cues from the massive consumer outcry, this might be one of the few times the rumor mill actually accomplished something positive. Even if Microsoft sticks to its guns in the end, the PS4 will definitely support offline play, so disconnected gamers will have an outlet no matter what. Everyone can relax now.
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