@Slayer From my understanding, The initial internet requirement is because X1 will come with a Day 1 patch that does away with the old setup and allows for all the changes
Split screen is cool but not all of my child hood friends live in Philly anymore. As much as I dislike some of the games (NBA 2K, Battlefield, COD, etc) my friends play, I'd totally have gamed more with them on the strength of playing for free.
well there's always more games you could play with them besides though. infact, you could always try to branch them out a little more. i game 50% on console, 50% on PC, and there's alot of free to play type PC games that you could play with your friends online - not all of them are even on steam either. Keep in mind most free to play games will be RPG's or MMO's, and alot of these games will run properly even on low end laptops. If you dont mind budget gaming, im almost certain you could pick up some old games like Diablo1 and 2(my favorites) that you would be able to play together too. OR better yet if you are infact restricted to console(which i can understand, whatever the reason be) you can try to get them to play more multiplayer games than just shooters or sports games. try a few FG's, try a few multiplayer hack and slashes, or RPG's, ya know what i mean?
But I mean for example, Me and a couple of other members of this site live hundreds of miles away from eachother, BUT we still find ways to spend time together, whether it be a free to play PC game, an old ass budget game, a game that we all play on xbox/ps3, whatever. It just takes a bit of communication and an open mind is all ^-^
Here's another suggestion, and thats all it is, make of it what you will, but you could always use the system me and my friends use - if they want me to buy a game, and i cant afford it, they get it for me. later on if i want them to buy a game, and they cant afford it, i repay them the favor once i have some money. for those of them who live out of town, while it is restricting, and i dont necessarily support it, digital download is always an option via xbox live cards, just buy one, and give them the code over the phone or something. Or you could always snail mail eachother pre-paid visa's back and forth?
If none of that can work though, then I guess you're friends are just gonna have to be on their own. its unfortunate but thats one of the disadvantages of moving away from home. I guess i'm lucky that everybody I know is staying locally for the indefinite future.