4 ms·

I find it hard to believe that anybody actually thought that Microsoft was going to build a console with a built-in PR disaster. There never was a statement fro

I find it hard to believe that anybody actually thought that Microsoft was going to build a console with a built-in PR disaster. There never was a statement from Microsoft about this, only 'consistent rumors'. I have a feeling that this is just news because news sites need controversy to drive page views.

mtgx 13y ago
You make it sound as if everyone thinking always-on DRM being a PR disaster and a net negative for the company is a given. Blizzard didn't think so, neither did EA, and I could really see Microsoft thinking the same way (hello Windows Genuine Advantage!). If anything, any company wouldn't be as crazy to do that after all the outrage/negative feedback they receive about it before launch. Releasing it after all of that - now that would be insane.
- nwh 13y ago
  Always online DRM has pretty much destroyed the SimCity name for EA.
- roc 13y ago
  The idea that a platform would pitch "We have the same Call of Duty everyone else has, but you can't play ours when the internet is out." is pretty unlikely. Activision might pitch that design for the game on all platforms, but MS/Sony/et al are certainly not going to pitch their own platform as handicapped vs its competitors.
- jiggy2011 13y ago
  I thought that DRM on consoles was generally pretty effective without being always-online. The console flat out won't run a game without doing a copy-protection check and the whole thing is locked down right to the hardware level. Jailbreaking a console to run pirate or homebrew content is often a major warranty voiding surgery operation, unlike a PC where one can simply replace the .exe file.
  - TheCoelacanth 13y ago
    The point isn't to stop piracy. The point is to kill the used game market, which is rather large for consoles.
illuminate 13y ago
"I find it hard to believe that anybody actually thought that Microsoft was going to build a console with a built-in PR disaster" Gaming sites have been in a feedback loop of rumor and fanboi/gurlism ever since the new consoles were announced. Granted, after the EA DRM debacles I can have some sympathy for the fears, but people have been taking rumor VERY seriously and it's made for poor entertainment and shoddy journalism.

mtgx 13y ago

You make it sound as if everyone thinking always-on DRM being a PR disaster and a net negative for the company is a given. Blizzard didn't think so, neither did EA, and I could really see Microsoft thinking the same way (hello Windows Genuine Advantage!). If anything, any company wouldn't be as crazy to do that after all the outrage/negative feedback they receive about it before launch. Releasing it after all of that - now that would be insane.

nwh 13y ago
Always online DRM has pretty much destroyed the SimCity name for EA.
roc 13y ago
The idea that a platform would pitch "We have the same Call of Duty everyone else has, but you can't play ours when the internet is out." is pretty unlikely. Activision might pitch that design for the game on all platforms, but MS/Sony/et al are certainly not going to pitch their own platform as handicapped vs its competitors.
jiggy2011 13y ago
I thought that DRM on consoles was generally pretty effective without being always-online. The console flat out won't run a game without doing a copy-protection check and the whole thing is locked down right to the hardware level. Jailbreaking a console to run pirate or homebrew content is often a major warranty voiding surgery operation, unlike a PC where one can simply replace the .exe file.
- TheCoelacanth 13y ago
  The point isn't to stop piracy. The point is to kill the used game market, which is rather large for consoles.

illuminate 13y ago

"I find it hard to believe that anybody actually thought that Microsoft was going to build a console with a built-in PR disaster" Gaming sites have been in a feedback loop of rumor and fanboi/gurlism ever since the new consoles were announced. Granted, after the EA DRM debacles I can have some sympathy for the fears, but people have been taking rumor VERY seriously and it's made for poor entertainment and shoddy journalism.