What is this "it" your talking about?

Try to get the message into your head that Microsoft HAVE NOT ANNOUNCED A NEW CONSOLE YET!!!

They have no need to say anything about something that officially doesn't exist until they say so.  If they come out and say our next console will not be always online its a pathetic half assed announcement of the console, they will deny it's very existence and name right up until they're ready.  That is simply how PR and good business runs, it's really not rocket science.

I really don't get how so many of these people do not grasp the concept that going online and speaking as a representative of a company like a complete ass hat would naturally get you fired.  There must be some seriously unprofessional workers on this site.

Glad to see the guy was fired. Enjoy unemployment.

Exactly. The guy  getting fired doesn't confirm anything. The guy was fired because he talked to customers in a way that would turn people away from their brand.

You want to know how easy it is for them to address the issue, if the new Xbox isn't going to be always-online?

"The comments made by Adam Orth on Twitter are not representative of the opinion of Microsoft. We here at Microsoft do not consider the practice of always-online restrictions at the hardware level to be appropriate to the videogame industry. We view all consumers, irrespective of location or internet connectivity, to be equally important."

No need whatsoever to address the issue of the new console, just a clear-cut statement that makes it clear that the approach is not one that Microsoft are considering implementing on any hardware in the immediate future, without ever actually mentioning any future hardware even implicitly.

The fact that Microsoft's response was "Adam Orth's comments on Twitter were inappropriate, and we have no comment on the actual content of the twitter comments" can have one of only two possible explanations (other than MS's PR being extremely incompetent in their response to a major PR issue):

1. They're implementing always-online DRM into the new console.

2. They're seriously trying to lower expectations.

You tell me which you think is a better case - either they're engaging in anti-consumer practices, or they don't have enough confidence in their product to think that it'll meet what isn't exceptionally high expectations at this point in time (they basically just need to be within a reasonable range of the PS4 and show one or two interesting games, and they'd be fine).

And to be blunt, I think MS could have done a much better job if they were trying to lower expectations, especially given that there's simply no way that they stand up and say "We announce today that our new console will not require constant online connectivity" - it would be blatantly obvious that they manufactured the whole situation. They could just as easily have lowered expectations by dropping hints that development has been difficult (thereby setting up for a big "wow" when they unveil).

EDIT: And to those going "he was fired for making MS look bad, it means nothing", I must point something out - there's no way that MS completely fires the guy for simply making those comments (and thus making MS look bad) at this point in time. What do I mean? I mean that they have a console launch coming up, and firing a creative director 6-8 months before launch of the console sends a bad message in and of itself. They would have internally reprimanded him, instructed him to cut off all use of twitter except for official statements (basically, set it to private), and made a public statement that he did not speak for Microsoft when he said that. They would hold off on firing him until after launch, as his actions would have had no impact on his ability to do his job.

so you are saying they dont have a nextBox?..  LOL ! .. 

they could say 'NO we are not making an always ON LINE console" .. now is that so hard to say?... thats not a half assed announcement or a confirmation either.. see?.. stop kidding yourself

damage is done!.. PS4 will win over nextBox always online.. 

Yes they would fire the guy. Also their response is not the same as what you wrote.

"We apologize for the inappropriate comments made by an employee on Twitter yesterday. This person is not a spokesperson for Microsoft, and his personal views do not reflect the customer centric approach we take to our products or how we would communicate directly with our loyal consumers.  We are very sorry if this offended anyone, however we have not made any announcements about our product roadmap, and have no further comment on this matter."

I agree 100%.  This guy would have had major input into the develop of the NeXbox and its games.  Firing him a month before they are set to reveal the NeXbox doesn't speak very highly of his ability to make those decisions, even if that wasn't the reason for his firing.  To me, it seems this is the model they are going for.  Of course, they wanted to ease the public into the idea and make it seem like a good thing.  Orth's comments (as well as the comment from Nikolai Mohilchock about making sure you pay your ISP bills), however, have pushed this in the open too quickly and have added to the negative push back from these rumors.

I also agree MS could have put this rumor to rest without speaking about a new console, which everyone knows is in development, anyway.  The fact that they didn't adds to its validity, IMO.

Damage control.

Analyze the experiences the various sources have had with the what happens with the current Xbox
360. 

What happens today if I take a HDD from one Xbox 360 console to another Xbox 360 console? 

If I have a game installed to the HDD does the game operate from the HDD?  No.

Will the Xbox LIVE Arcade or Games on Demand games work?  No.

Will any DLC work?  No.

The only way those gaming experiences will work is if you're connected to Xbox LIVE with an account
that has a valid DRM license.  This is because DRM is split into two licenses, one for the device and one for the person.  So long as the device
license is valid, any user can use the content on that device off-line.  This is no different on Xbox 8.

The functional difference is that Xbox 8 attempts to connect to the Internet so that it can validate the user license.  Where as if you
attempted to use content that wasn't properly licensed on the Xbox 360, it did nothing.  The content just wasn't available to you until you connected
to the Internet.  In the case of the Media Update, you couldn't even play content that was physically on the device.

The ability to restrict second-hand games exists today, if Microsoft required a HDD on every Xbox 360.  Xbox 360 games already include a unique
identifier in order to associate a game to a user and a device.  In fact, it's used every time a person installs the disc to the HDD today.  As I
mentioned before, if those games aren't removed (deleted) then reinstalled, the game won't run off the HDD.  It uses the disc instead.  With Xbox 8 you
can't run it off the disc, so in an order to run the game you have to connect to Xbox LIVE in order to validate the user license.

If a developer moves the HDD from say an older DevKit to a new DevKit, the device license will no longer match.  At which point with Xbox 8, until
Microsoft creates a process to transfer devices licenses, you're locked into an always online operation.  With the Xbox 360, you can go
online and transfer device licenses, no such process exists for Xbox 8.

Also, Kotaku is in error when they say the Developer Documentation says "Always Online/Always Connected"  It says "Always On/Always Connected".  Always On is a reference to the low power operation of the console.  Always connected speaks to the overal operation of the console, not DRM. 

The intention of Xbox 8 is to provide more connected experiences, between devices (PCs, tablets, phones), between people, as well as with live applications that get data online.  The console is being designed primarily for people who have Internet connectivity, but the basic functionality is still there.  The current implementation of DRM works, it just needed a hole closed.  By eliminating the ability to run software from the disc, Microsoft closed that hole.