The other big downside of that proposed system was the always-online requirement. Your console had to ping the Xbox servers once every 30 days to check what licenses are attached to your account or something. That was another reason why this system was ahead of its time; by assuming that every user had a stable internet connection. For most people, that wasn’t a problem because they prioritize having a decent Internet connection, but plenty of people don’t use the Internet.
Even to this day, an always-online requirement like that wouldn’t be welcomed by many. Sure, most users in 2026 would be unaffected because they are always connected, but there are enough users without an Internet connection that would find that to be a problem. And saying “People without a good Internet connection are just not ready for this next generation, so we’re still supporting the previous generation for a while” was not the best answer for those people.
Yes. And we know Microsoft was drooling over the day when they shut down that server, and everyone’s library stops working 30 days later, allowing Microsoft to re-sell them all the games they previously bought.
The other big downside of that proposed system was the always-online requirement. Your console had to ping the Xbox servers once every 30 days to check what licenses are attached to your account or something. That was another reason why this system was ahead of its time; by assuming that every user had a stable internet connection. For most people, that wasn’t a problem because they prioritize having a decent Internet connection, but plenty of people don’t use the Internet.
Even to this day, an always-online requirement like that wouldn’t be welcomed by many. Sure, most users in 2026 would be unaffected because they are always connected, but there are enough users without an Internet connection that would find that to be a problem. And saying “People without a good Internet connection are just not ready for this next generation, so we’re still supporting the previous generation for a while” was not the best answer for those people.
Yes. And we know Microsoft was drooling over the day when they shut down that server, and everyone’s library stops working 30 days later, allowing Microsoft to re-sell them all the games they previously bought.