An old rumour has resurfaced in a new report, claiming that Microsoft’s next iteration of the Xbox console will require a permanent internet connection, seemingly to squash the second-hand game market.
The report, from Edge Online, cites sources “with first-hand experience of Microsoft’s next generation console” as saying that the so-called Xbox 720 will require an internet connection in order to function. Physical games will still be available at retail outlets but without access to the internet they will reportedly be useless as they are believed to contain activation codes.
Other details that surfaced from these sources include a changeover to Blu-ray discs for gaming content and the specs for the device, rumours of which have been floating about for some time, have apparently also been confirmed.
The new Xbox will feature an 8-core AMD x64 1.6GHz processor, D3D11 800MHz graphics and 8GB of DDR RAM, according to the unnamed sources.
Should the rumours prove correct and Microsoft introduces a required internet connection for a living-room console, they would do well to keep in mind the results when a similar scheme was attempted by Ubisoft for the PC platform. The backlash from users eventually led to Ubisoft stripping the always-online titles of the restrictive DRM (digital rights management) and cancelling its use in later games.
Source: Ars Technica