I know I've said this before, but now I have an example in live action right here.
I am currently browsing the internet on my PC without any issues on my 40/40 fiber internet. 10 minutes ago, I started my PS3 to play some Tekken before going to bed. During this time, my PS3 has been unable to connect to PSN at all. I don't have a lot of time to play games on weekdays nowadays, and I probably only play on my PS3 a couple of times a week if I exclude weekends. If this had been a console that required an internet connection constantly in order to let me play games, I wouldn't have been able to play Tekken (or any other game) at all today, even if I have an internet connection that is probably in the 98th percentile on a global basis.
Before anyone tells me "but maybe it's your router", or "but maybe it's your switch" or "maybe it's my network cable" (yes, I use a wired connection for my PS3 because it is a lot more stable), yeah, maybe it is. At the same time, so what if it is? I'm probably able to troubleshoot this problem and fix it if I really want to, but I have 30 minutes before I have to go to bed, and I'd prefer to spend these 30 minutes playing, not troubleshoot my home network. Also, I'm technically minded and actually have the skills required to sort these things out, but a lot of people are not, and could potentially have to jump through a lot more hoops to make their things work than I have to, such as calling a techy family member and have them come over to fix it for you.
In reality though, it is probably a temporary routing issue between my ISP and Sony's servers, an issue that is mostly out of Sony's hands, unless they feel like adding authentication servers directly in the backbone network of every ISP in the world. The issue could be gone by the time I am done typing this, but it also might not be. Who knows? I'm glad it doesn't matter, though. I can just go right back and play regardless of my network status.
Tell me again why I should feel completely all right with always-on as a requirement for any game mode in any game.
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