The internet went into an uproar on Friday when a Microsoft creative director typed less than 140 characters and pressed enter. He couldn't have thought much too much of it, but a short time later he likely couldn't escape those simple words: "Deal With It."
Deal with an always-online Xbox. It's coming.
Rumors are constantly swirling, but it's Dorothy's tornado, rubbish and debris and houses and mistruths flinging about with the direction and intention of a misguided tweet. One fact is slowly landing in Oz: Microsoft's next Xbox, in all likelihood, will require a constant internet connection. People don't seem to like that idea, yet the insipid response to "Deal With It" has nothing to do with a product nobody is forced to buy. It has everything to do with bark. Not bite.
Don't bark at me, fancy creative director Adam Greenberg with your stupid sunglasses, don't tell me what to feel. Now let me bark back.
"I'll vote with my wallet. You'll see. I'll show you and Microsoft you can't control my hobby. You'll rue the day you told me how to feel."
And yet, the vocal internet barks quite a bit with nary a bite. EA's always-online "SimCity," launch fiasco and all, sold over 1 million copies at launch - a record for the series. Blizzard's "Diablo III" and Error 37 and all, sold over 12 million copies by the end of 2012. Millions continue to play both titles.
EA recently called the barkers a "vocal minority" in response to free-to-play backlash. EA, like Microsoft, is right. Your opinion doesn't matter. Your money does, and when "Call of Duty," "Halo," Bungie's "Destiny" and "FIFA" come to that always-online console, those games the most players want to play the absolute most, wallets will vote. They'll vote yes.
And a small contingency of hold-outs will vote no. And they'll scream as loud as they can on Twitter. And no one will hear.
Because you aren't the gamer anymore. You're the hobbyist, the dinosaur, the holdout and the purist. You don't have to be more than 25 years old, but you're old news, begging for old ways. A tiny group of cavemen yelling at an erupting volcano, praying to no one.
Microsoft's next console going always-online isn't a bad thing. There may be an entire month of launch-server woes. Hands will be thrown to the sky, "I told you so" will replace "Deal With It" on Twitter, and then the servers will stabilize, like "SimCity" and "Diablo III," and all will be calm, just like what happened when Steam launched. Then you'll realize just how much that internet connection matters and supplies your gaming habits. The future holds a digital-only marketplace, the shared worlds of "Destiny" and the never-ending slew of updates, patches, DLC and microtransactions slowly built into the consoles we play today.
Your consoles are already always-online. If not, if you're one of the few who hold firmly onto the idea that a good game is as simple as a good book. You aren't in Microsoft's business plan. And Microsoft will survive without you, because you're in the minority now. Go ahead, buy a PS4. Microsoft doesn't want you, they want the millions upon millions who already require a constant internet connection to get what they want.
Netflix, Xbox Live, Friend Lists, eSports, DLC, microtransactions (proven profitable), social connectivity, streaming, uploading, sharing, communicating. Reddit. Forums. Twitter. Uproars.
All require an internet connection. Always.
So roll over. "Deal with it." Or sit mad in the corner on principle and be that guy at the party.
Don't forget to call me a fanboy and a troll, while you're at it. Remember, that requires an internet connection too.
