The video game community blew up when it was announced that the Xbox One would have a mandatory Internet check-in every 24 hours and vicious used game policies, so much so that Microsoft later reversed the decision and got rid of the policies. However, one popular launch title for the Xbox One will still require users to connect to the Internet at least once in order to function.
Forza Motorsport 5 will require those who buy the game to connect to the Internet and log into the game, so that several features can be downloaded as free day-one content, according to Dan Greenawalt, head of Turn 10 Studios. As he said to IGN about the mandatory Internet check-in:
"So when you first boot up the game, we're going to ask you to log in, And when you log in you're going to get the Drivatars and you're also going to get a whole bunch of content: tracks and cars. Our production schedule is such that we are putting them in as late as possible and that means making them free as downloadable content on Day One...[But] that is required content to play the game. We basically have designed the game to work with all that content no matter how late is coming in, in order to make the biggest game possible."
It will be interesting to see how this check-in for the day one downloadable content affects sales, and if this small-scale version of the controversial Xbox policy earns the ire of video game players the same way. Greenawalt thinks that the feature is a necessary evil, and has an apt analogy for how this Internet check-in, right at the beginning of the game, helps improve the game tremendously.
"You have to fill it up with food the first time...And from then on, you connect whenever you want when you want to update your food. The Drivatars are as fresh as they are. It's not like they're going to degrade, but when you're looking for new stuff - fresh stuff...it's going to keep evolving. That's the nature of this Drivatar system."
Forza Motorsport 5 figures to be one of the hottest titles in the Xbox One launch window, with the game getting some heavy hype for it's amazing realism and intense races. Look out for more Forza 5 news, including when it will be released, as we get closer to the Xbox One's launch.