Microsoft email claims next-gen Xbox will have offline capabilities

It’s Monday, so that means we must have new rumors regarding the next-gen Xbox! This time, Ars Technica claims to have a Microsoft internal email that outlines basic functions that the console will be able to support without a continuous connection to the internet.

“Durango [the codename for the next Xbox] is designed to deliver the future of entertainment while engineered to be tolerant of today’s Internet.” It continues, “There are a number of scenarios that our users expect to work without an Internet connection, and those should ‘just work’ regardless of their current connection status. Those include, but are not limited to: playing a Blu-ray disc, watching live TV, and yes playing a single player game.”

Unfortunately, the email date wasn’t revealed, so there may have been significant changes to this directive since it was sent to employees working on the project.

The inclusion of “watching live TV” does seem to confirm that the console will be tied directly into the cable TV signal in some way. Previous rumors had said that the console would act more like a cable box in that it would hook directly to the incoming signal and play normal cable television signals, but with the Xbox interface being used instead of the cable menu. This would allow seamless switching between games and watching Duck Dynasty.