I've got no issue with PS+ being required for online multiplayer as I was a longtime xbox live subscriber with the 360, my only gripe with the game is that it has local offline split screen multiplayer and PS+ is required to access that mode as well.

Unfortunately, didn't look closely at the package when we bought it, on the box it states that a connection is required. Getting home we found out that PvZ doesn't just require a connection, it requires PS+, I'd have passed on it for that reason alone except my significant other really, REALLY wanted it and isn't as "principled" as I'd sometimes wish ;)

We ended up getting a PS+ account in order to play it, maybe it would have worked after initial sign in with networking disabled, I suppose I could always test it.

I more or less posted this on the last thread, I can't speak for Xbox One as I do not have one, but the PS4, it's games, disc or download work just fine without a network connection as long as THE GAME doesn't require an internet connection.

During the outage I only had 2 games I was unable to play, Destiny (where online is kinda the point) and Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare because for whatever reason EA requires a network connection on that game even though it has a local play mode. The rest worked, regardless of whether or not they were on disc or downloaded.

Maybe they figure that by the time you get through the second step you'll have reconsidered buying a blender that plays "margaritaville" while it blends.

I spent a few years living in Japan. I miss not needing to own a car.

Can't answer that question as we unboxed and hooked up before the network went down and I can't remember if we were able to get into the main system before setting up the network.

We could also make the argument that the sound from the trumpet is itself digital, with an exceptionally fine grained sampling.

My experience has been that unless you are already in Offline mode (or put the computer in sleep vice shutdown), Steam and most of the games (some older games and indies will still run directly from executable) will not work unless you have a network connection and can connect to Steam. I travel a lot for work and am often without network connection, so this has been a huge deal for me, especially when offline mode decides it needs to authenticate and prevents me from accessing my games for the remainder of my trip (work around, sleep mode). The button "Start steam in off-line mode" that pops up when there is no network connection/steam unreachable has NEVER worked for me.

Unless they've changed how the system works with a recent (past couple months) client update, I'm sure these issues persist. Maybe it works for you, great if it does, but I wouldn't doubt _xeno_'s post either as their experience has been similar to mine.

I can't speak for MS and the Xbox, but I managed to score a free PS4 at a work holiday party and there are only two games I have on disc that have been unplayable during this outage, Plants Vs. Zombies Garden Warfare (the game has an 'offline' mode that should be accessible when the network is down, but apparently not) and Destiny (on-line is kind of the whole point of the game, so at least understandable that it doesn't work). Everything else I own, even the stuff that was acquired digitally and downloaded straight to HDD works just fine.

So yeah, Sony did not create a hard dependency where there never needed to be one. During the outage the system has been playable, the majority of the games have been playable, disc or not. Instead of playing Destiny, I played Samurai Warriors 4. Aside from not being able to play on-line games, the only real difficulty I could see someone having is with a new console needing an update in order to play some newer games as I'm not sure if there is a work around for that. In the past I've seen companies ship games with console updates on disc, not sure if that practice still happens.

The hardest part with that these days is just putting up with the game.

My niece is 7 and regularly plays Minecraft on-line with me. Can she build complex stuff that requires a lot of planning? No, but that doesn't stop her from attempting to build stuff, or attempting take my designs and rework them. She doesn't care about trying to play the game in terms of going to the nether and finding the dragon or whatever is at the end, but she can certainly play the game.

I really wish I had spent more time with that game. I got it at age 5 and while I could figure out some basic circuits for movement, the level of autonomy the robots needed for some problems was a bit beyond me at the time. I've been debating trying to make a similar game with a bit of a modern touch, though haven't really had the free time.

It is known that local application of buttered toast/feline combinations generate levitons in the surrounding environment, though gravitons are generated and remain internal to the cat/toast system (levity is conserved), therefore it is possible that what we perceive as the cosmos is actually a cat with a piece of buttered toast strapped to it's back.

Gravity.

While this is progressing drastically off-topic, The beer thing, if ever true, is no longer true. If we're talking Molson v. Budweiser, sure.

Unibroue is great and I love them, but there are not many other great Canadian breweries. Sure, there are parts of the states where the only beer you're likely to find is Budweiser and Coors, but there are also a growing number of places where those beers are tucked in the back corner gathering dust.