In a world where game makers are releasing titles that demand players always be connected to the Internet or just not play, it’s not surprising that fans of Microsoft’s XBox were worried that the next iteration would also require a constantly-on connection. According to a leaked internal Microsoft email, that won’t be the case. Cue rejoicing.

Despite the rumors to the contrary, the internal email obtained by the fine folks over at Ars Technica would appear to allay those fears:

“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.”

This also seems to suggest that the Xbox, due to be unveiled at the end of this month, will feature an HDMI input so users can watch TV live. Ars Technica sources say the Xbox will also provide TV listings and the kind of information that say, cable DVRs provide.

Of course, if you’re playing a game like SimCity that does require a constant Internet connection, you’ll still be out of luck if your service goes down.

Microsoft: Next Xbox will work even when your Internet doesn’t [Ars Technica]

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