Imagine a world where console gamers are required to remain always connected to the Internet. Well, this may be the case with the new Xbox 720.

Recently, there has been some controversy over the upcoming Xbox 720. After a sarcastic online spat with Adam Orth, the former creative director of Microsoft Studios, gamers fear the next Xbox will require you to be connected to the Internet every second it’s turned on. You won’t be able to play any game, and basically the console will be rendered useless. This finally made me ask myself the question, “How bad could it get if it really was an online console?” After looking through some pros and cons, the bad outweighs the good by a landslide.

Ryan McCaffrey from IGN.com created a list of the pros and cons of an always-online Xbox 720. The only pro McCaffrey listed that I somewhat agreed with was, “System and software updates are done invisibly…” Sure, it’s automatic and you don’t have to actively do it yourself, but that’s just another form of laziness in my opinion. Some of the cons McCaffrey pointed out included: People fear change, server maintenance would cause downtime, and the Xbox 720 wouldn’t work if there was an Internet outage of if you don’t have high-speed Internet. If Microsoft needed a list of cons for an “always-on” Xbox, I would gladly send them to IGN.com.

Another reason why Microsoft shouldn’t go this route is because they haven’t learned from the troubles with “Diablo III” and “SimCity 5.” The two PC games made to play online-only had many complaints and long delays because of server overloads and maintenance, and Microsoft obviously hasn’t taken all of those issues into consideration if it chooses to make the Xbox 720 into an always-online system. Kevin Parrish from TomsHardWare.com commented on EA’s problems with “SimCity 5:” “There’s speculation that EA simply didn’t anticipate a huge crowd flooding the servers after the game officially went to retail at midnight.” Even when playing the single-player mode, Internet connection is required. It’s safe to say this “always connected” concept is pretty ridiculous.

What I advise gamers to do is to wait six months to a year until you buy the next Xbox or even the PS4. Their new and advanced features will most likely have bugs and kinks that will take time to work out. Another thing to consider is that prices may lower after a year of release. So, spend carefully. Microsoft needs to be rational with its next-generation console. If the online requirement goes wrong, the next decade could cost it tens of millions of dollars and even put it out of business in the future.