Xbox One: 10 Reasons It's Already Lost The Console War

7. Online Verification

Rumours ran rampant in the months leading up to the Xbox One reveal that it was going to require a permanent Internet connection, and that if the connection suddenly dropped, you would be unable to play the game. The move was widely criticised, and Microsoft soon enough issued a statement suggesting that this was not the case, though the company has still imposed a rather unsavoury "security measure" on players, given that they will still have to verify their console every 24 hours or they will be unable to boot games up. Granted, the vast majority of us aren't living in the harsh wilderness of outer Siberia, but still, this is a move that just limits gamer freedom; what if your road is getting dug up and the Internet is inaccessible for a day? Or what if you're round a friend's house for some split-screen carnage and don't want to have to dig out all that wireless Internet information? It's just an awkward, arbitrary, stupid requirement that benefits gamers in no way and is simply another method by which a company can try to keep tabs on players.
 
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Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.