With things that have been heard about the Xbox 720 thus far, the console is looking like one that will always need to be online, but from the standpoint of Sony and the PS4, gamers will not always need an Internet connection.
According to a report from Eurogamer on Thursday, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida did confirm that the PS4 doesn't need to always be online, but it is recommended for it to be.
"You can play offline, but you may want to keep it connected.
"The system has the low-power mode - I don't know the official term - that the main system is shut down but the subsystem is awake.
"Downloading or updating or you can wake it up using either the tablet, smartphone or PS Vita.
"Oh yes, yes, you can go offline totally.
"Social is big for us, but we understand there are some people who are anti-social! So if you don't want to connect to anyone else, you can do that," Yoshida said.
This is huge for the PS4 and if the Xbox 720 does require a connection, that will mean an immediate step-up for Sony.
Previous reports have alleged the Xbox 720 will have to have an Internet connection for it to work, which doesn't bode well for used-gaming. Most games seem like they will be purchased through the system.
The new version of the Xbox Live program will be a crucial part to the next Xbox, and the Xbox 720 will also be shipped with an upgraded version of Kinect.
Sources who have first-hand knowledge of this project are the ones to confirm the information above.
They went on to say the Xbox 720 will be dedicated to online gaming, even though its content will still be sold in a physical form. It just sounds like retail sales will be of a lesser emphasis.
Those physical games will be made on 50GB Blu-Ray discs.
For those who do end up buying physical copies of games, they will come with activation codes, and without those codes they will have no further value outside of the first user.
So it's essentially one code per game and that's it for the unit. It doesn't seem like gamers will be able to buy second-hand copies and then pay a lower price for another code.
This not only will hurt the retail aspect of the companies who sell those physical copies, but GameStop may be all but finished as well.
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