The New Gaming Console?

[PoohBearPenguin]

Microsoft has not officially announced anything about the new Xbox. The 'always on' feature was a rumor, and a badly managed one by their former (yes, they fired him) creative director.

The latest data indicates that only a maximum of 75% of Xbox owners ever take their console online. The other 25% don't bother, or don't have a broadband internet connection.

So I somehow doubt Microsoft is literally willing to throw away 25% of their customers for this feature. A few PC games have tried going the "always on" route and it's been nothing but grief for them. The latest example is EA's release of Sim City on the PC.

At any rate, if Microsoft is thick headed about this issue and goes ahead with it anyways, I'm still unconvinced that it will be a big help to Sony and the PS4. Especially if the PS4 is significantly more expensive, and/or fails to court developers. So far, Sony thinks the PS4's most important feature is the "Share" button on the controller allowing you to immediately post status and videos of your gameplay to Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc. This does not fill me with hope that Sony has truly learned their lessons from the PS3...