Is the world ready for an always online console?

For months the internet has been buzzing about the possibility that the next gen Xbox will possibly requiring an internet connection to use ( There have been recent rumors saying that it may not be always online also). Therefore making the only way to use it, would be to keep it always online. Even though these are just rumors and no word from Microsoft has confirmed or denied these accusations people are actively expressing there opinion towards always online, but is it really that bad? Is the world ready for an always online console? 

Of course not! The world isn't ready for a console to be always online. Unfortunately the internet is not everywhere yet. Yes, as surprising as it may sound there are still places that don't have internet ( My grandmoms house!!). Even places that do have internet may have a very spotty connection. Hotels are a great example sense a lot still don't have internet and most that do, have a very weak and spotty connection. If you wanted to take an always online console on the go then you may not be able to use it because of the poor or lack of internet they provide. Even people with a good internet connection have problems with there internet form time to time. Think to yourself how often a month your internet connection goes down. My internet goes down randomly maybe 2 to 3 times a month. Now imagine playing a single player game and getting cut off because your internet goes out. This may not be a huge problem but is an unnecessary problem you would have to deal with if there was an always online console.

Perhaps the best example to show how we are not prepared for an always online console is the SimCity launch incident. For those who don't know SimCity was released as an always online game for the PC and when it launched the servers for the game crashed. This forced people that purchased the game to not even be able to play the game at all for about a week as they tried to fix the servers. The same thing would happen to a console that is always online, if the servers ever crashed then millions of people that purchased the console would be locked out from using it. 

The alert sign you saw when the servers were down

The world isn't fully connected to the internet just yet and a lot of peoples internet just isn't good enough to support an always online console. Maybe in a few years when internet is universally everywhere and always has a strong connection then maybe an always online console would be acceptable but in this day and age an always online console wouldn't be a good idea. We'll all find out May 21st at the Xbox reveal if the rumors are actually true. Lets just hope these rumors about an always online console stay as rumor.