All this backlash is about something that's not a problem to the majority of gamers?

Maybe in your world!

The difference between Sony and MS is Sony denied the rumors after they reveal their console.
The thing is, MS cannot say this is true or not true since the Xbox 720 doesn't exist until they reveal it.  MS never comment on rumors whether big or small so MS silence really does not mean anything.

Actually has it ever been even remotely confirmed that the next box must be online in order for you to use any of it's features.  From reading all the rumors and things, the only thing I can definitely get from those rumors is that the console will always be online but never have any thing was stated that the console will stop doing it's job if not online.  Everyone has assumed that this will be the case.  

I have no doubt that the Next Box and PS4 will always be on and always be online but I do not know is what features are tied to online connectivity and what will happen if either console is not connected.

The more I think about it, the twitter comment never states anything about what happens if the console is not online, the case was made for a console to be online all the time.

So the question would be, if everyone stop the assumption about DRM or the console not working if not online.  What is the problem if your console is always online.

Piracy was/is rampant on the 360, and I can understand the reasoning behind this, but this seems like a knee-jerk reaction to something that could be resolved in other ways.

Let them continue to talk about the always online rule. Microsoft needs to gag that guy before he turns off the worldwide audience. MS needs to show off the 720 to kill the backlash online.

Microsoft is good at snuffing out bad publicity. As long as it doesnt reach the mainsteam audience it doesnt matter. Gamers will get what they get but don't fuck with the mainstreams opinion. Thats how Microsofts thinking works.

I retract previous comments where I said "Always Online" doesn't matter if it means I have to connect to the Internet just to even play a single player only game (such as Skyrim) then I'm dropping the Xbox brand completely, looking like more and more that this rumor is true and MS is going to screw themselves over doing this. Of course I'm not giving up on Xbox right now since this hasn't been confirmed but the amount of developers etc... hinting at it worries me.

I've always wondered if Microsoft was going to try and make their next console the new cable box (they seem to be focused on making it an entertainment console, rather than a video game console). If Microsoft is working secretly with ISPs, as well as major publishers like EA, they could potentially enforce a dramatic change in the console market...

...or it could backfire. Regardless, these next few months will certainly be interesting to watch.

Ask the guy from Gamestop.

I think some people just don't seem to realize the great possibilities that an always-online camera, sitting right in the center of your living room and constantly sending unknown information to Microsoft, offers.

It could for example be used for a completely new generation of ad-sponsored games. Imagine that instead of paying several dozen bucks for Halo 7, you get it for free. But whenever you die, you'll have to watch a few ads. But unlike ads in TV and other media, there's the possibility for instant feedback etc., so the user can now be forced to really spend attention on the advertised products. For example, you could be forced to sing the new Barbie theme song with a maximum of 5 wrong notes before you will be able to respawn in Halo. If you're a teenage girl playing Kinectimals, a little stripping with the video being streamed to paying perverts around the globe will unlock that cute new teddy bear. Kinect Fitness 720 might not continue until you buy a super-sized meal at co-sponsor McDonalds and prove it by showing a sufficiently recent bill into the camera. You might get an additional 10$ of virtual money for wearing a magenta T-Shirt when playing GTA 6 (because T-Online decided to be a co-sponsor of the game.) When you curse too often, the system will create a little additional revenue for Microsoft by selling your postal address to Jehova's witnesses. When the audio surveillance of your living-room suggests that you and your wife are often having quarrels, that information could be sold to nearby divorce lawyers and everyone who marked your wife in the Facebook-App "Bang with friends". When playing Mafia, you'll finally feel like actually being part of the game when the game suddenly threatens to send the captured video of you jerking off in front of the TV to everyone on your facebook friends list.

I'm soooo looking formward to this!