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id Software thinks that always-on internet for games is a good thing

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Do you hate having to keep your PC constantly connected to the net in order to enjoy a few rounds of fragging or dungeon-questing, thinking that the practice is a draconian method of stopping video game pirates? That may be true, but the FPS studio that built Quake and Doom, id, thinks that a constant tether to the internet is a good idea for gamers in general.

Speaking at QuakeCon last week, id Creative Director Tim Willits described as being “Better for everybody”. Referecning the fact that Blizzard announced an always-on internet requirement for their upcoming title, Diablo 3, Willits explained why gamers might benefit in the long run from these measures.

"Diablo 3 will make everyone else accept the fact you have to be connected. If you have a juggernaut, you can make change. I’m all for that. If we could force people to always be connected when you play the game, and then have that be acceptable, awesome."

Willits then explained how games could be constantly improved upon, without disturbing gamers while they were busy playing."In the end, it’s better for everybody. Imagine picking up a game and it’s automatically updated. Or there’s something new you didn’t know about, and you didn’t have to click away. It’s all automatically there. But it does take juggernauts like Diablo 3 to make change.”

"I’m a big proponent of always connected. I’m always connected. Our fans are always connected. There will be a few people who will resent the fact you have to be online to play a single-player game. But it’ll change."

Like it or not, this is the direction that the industry will go into eventually, seeing as how online connectivity is spreading throughout the world. A couple of years from now, and we wont even remember playing games without a connection to the internet. The measures may seem unfair and harsh to paying, loyal customers, but at least the developers have started to realise that they have an obligation to allow people to benefit at the same time.

Source: Eurogamer

Header Image: Penny-Arcade

Last Updated: August 11, 2011

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