The next Xbox (720/Durango/Next) is rumored to require a persistent internet connection to prevent the usage of used games. So far, the user reaction to this rumor has been completely negative. Out of the thousands of comments I read on the linked article, Reddit and other forums, I haven’t seen one that was positive. For me, I love to play single player games when the internet is down. If that’s not happening, I’ll play a single player game: New Super Mario Bros. U. I’ll skip the new console in favor of one that does support the single player game. Regardless of it is to stop used games, a required internet connection does a lot more than just that. It stops me from playing games, which is why I buy a console. If I can’t play, there is no reason to buy. Simple.
This is the same reason I won’t be buying the new SimCity – persistent internet connection required. I don’t pirate my games. But, if my network connection goes flaky and I can’t play the game (single player with no network needed), then that makes the purchase worthless.
If this rumor turns out to be true – sales will suffer. GameStop and other used game outlets will fall. I would also expect to see a LOT more piracy going on. If they can’t play a game because of some DRM – that DRM will be defeated very fast. And users will flock to it. Not to pirate the game (although they will, of course), but to actually PLAY the game they paid $60 for.
Edge is citing "sources with first-hand experience of Microsoft’s next generation console" saying that games for the system will be available via download or as Blu-ray discs with a capacity of up to 50GB. The disc-based games will reportedly all ship with an activation code tying the game to a single user account, making the disc essentially worthless on the second-hand market.