Xbox One ‘Always Online’ Statement Confusing To Say The Least

Xbox One won’t need to be “always online,” but it will require an internet connection to work. Now everybody’s confused again.

Now being dubbed the “Xbone” over the poor decisions Microsoft has made regarding their next generation console, the Xbox One is once again in the middle of a huge amount of controversy and outrage. At least the PlayStation 4 didn’t make gamers want to jump ship and buy something else over reveal announcements.

Not such a long time ago in this very galaxy, there was an online rumor that the Xbox One (then known only as Xbox 720) would require an internet connection to function, thus calling forth the “always online” rumor. This rumor was practically made fact when (now) ex-Microsoft creative director Adam Orth took to Twitter with the statement, “Sorry, I don’t get the drama around having an ‘always on’ console. Every device now is ‘always on’. That’s the world we live in. #dealwithit.”

Adam Orth continued to push the topic about the Xbox One needing to be “always online” by poking fun at consumers who had a problem with it. On Twitter, he added, “Sometimes the electricity goes out. I will not purchase a vacuum cleaner.” and “The mobile reception in the area I live in is spotty and unreliable. I will not buy a mobile phone.” He also suggested everyone move to big cities where the internet is less questionable, and considering he was working in Seattle, it really got on everybody’s nerves.

Microsoft had officially apologized for his tirade, though their statement doesn’t even come close to addressing anything about the “always-online” rumors that instigated it.

Later, an internal memo at Microsoft revealed that the Xbox One would not need an internet connection to function as a Blu-Ray player, a TV streaming device, or to play single-player games.

Yesterday at the big reveal, Microsoft’s Phil Harrison said you would need to connect your Xbox One to the internet at least once a day for it to function. This spawned a hailstorm of confusion as we had just been told we wouldn’t have an online requirement if we’re not planning to play online. He clarified the connection timing as “I believe it’s 24 hours. There have been reports of a specific time period — those were discussions of potential scenarios, but we have not confirmed any details today, nor will we be.”

So we’re right back to “you’re going to require your Xbox One to have an always online connection, deal with it” all over again.

Again we refer to the new fan-given moniker, the Xbone.

Do you think having the Xbox One online to function is a major issue? Will an always online requirement keep you from buying Microsoft’s latest console?