The rumor mill got it wrong with this one: the recently announced PlayStation 4 will not require an always online setup.
Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida opened up to Eurogamer in a post-meeting interview last night, commenting on, among other topics, the swirling gossip that the next-gen console would be useless unless connected to the internet:
Oh yes, yes, you can go offline totally. Social is big for us, but we understand there are some people who are anti-social! So if you don’t want to connect to anyone else, you can do that.
He did reiterate, however, that the console is best experienced if it is always online for the sake of updates and patches:
You can play offline, but you may want to keep it connected. The system has the low-power mode – I don’t know the official term – that the main system is shut down but the subsystem is awake. Downloading or updating or you can wake it up using either the tablet, smartphone or PS Vita.
In any case, good news for those without a reliable internet connection.
