While we still don’t anything official about Microsoft’s next console, codenamed “Durango,” there have been a lot of rumors circulating lately that the next Xbox will use some form of DRM that requires players to always be online. As anyone who bought Diablo III or SimCity at launch will tell you, this is a pretty bad idea, but Microsoft’s creative director, Adam Orth, dismissed complaints about “always-on” devices on Twitter yesterday as a joke, and understandably, gamers are upset.
Orth has since made his Twitter account private, but NeoGAF posters managed to screencap Orth’s rant against DRM whiners:
Orth’s rant started with the tweet “Sorry if I don’t get the drama surrounding an “always on” console. Every device now is “always on.” That’s the world we live in. #dealwithit.” Orth’s stupid comments have already generated a backlash on par with Sony’s infamous “get a second job if you can’t afford a PS3” statement from back in 2006, and his tweets have already become the subject of a number of memes and image macros that are being plastered all over gaming forums today, such as this particularly funny one:
Orth has since tried to justify his statements by saying he was simply joking and attempting to troll everyone, but the damage has been done — Microsoft hasn’t issued any official statements regarding the “always on” DRM rumors about the next Xbox, and Orth’s statements seem to be some sort of tacit admission that the console will feature some sort of online requirement.
I love my 360: I use it far more than my PS3 or Wii, and I have the gamerscore to prove it. But despite that, everything I’ve heard about the next Xbox — the rumors about the “always on” DRM, mandatory game installations, no used games — makes me not want to buy it, and if Orth’s hubris is indicative of Microsoft’s attitude as a whole, I wouldn’t be surprised if the next Xbox ends up being an N64/PS3-style fall from grace. Sony and Nintendo fanboys are already predictably celebrating Microsoft’s latest PR nightmare, and while I think it’s a bit hyperbolic to start proclaiming the death of the Xbox brand, Microsoft really needs to start addressing gamers’ concerns soon if they don’t want this to turn into an even bigger disaster than it already is.
Source: NeoGAF user Shinobi602
