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  1. The Future of Halo will no longer considered a "trilogy" but rather a "Saga". According to an article released last week, future titles will no longer be numbered like previous titles. According to Forbes contributor Paul_Tassi .... Last week, before Microsoft pulled a 180 on their DRM and internet policies, I remarked that because the Xbox One was in a rather rough spot, it was going to have to rely on Halo as a system seller now more than ever. The playing field has been leveled a bit since then with the death of license-based disc games and internet check-in, but it’s a statement that still holds true. Microsoft seems to agree. That’s why it’s been announced that 343′s Reclaimer Trilogy, which was meant to be Halos 4, 5 and 6, has now transformed into something Microsoft is now calling a Halo “saga.” This idea sprung to life when they were pressed about what exactly the Halo title was that was shown at E3, as it didn’t have a number or even a subtitle. Would it be an add-on type game like ODST, or another full Halo game like the numbered installments? The answer is the latter, though whether it will be called Halo 5 isn’t clear and might be beside the point now anyway. With that news, Phil Spencer spoke to Gamespot about the new plan for upcoming Halo games: “While we originally said trilogy, we’ve actually expanded this to more of a saga, so we don’t want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy.” What this potentially might mean is that Microsoft wants to bump up the frequency of Halo titles. I don’t think it would be physically possible to turn it into a yearly Call of Duty style release with only 343 working on it, nor do I think that would be good for the series. But we might see a higher occurrence of the games all the same. When all the DRM/always-on drama was going down, I posed a question to Xbox loyalists/Halo enthusiasts about whether or not the games exclusivity on the one would make them buy a system. The response was an overwhelming no. Partly because Microsoft’s policies were too intrusive to stomach, but a fair amount said that Halo just didn’t have the same draw that it used to have after six shooter titles. Many were more excited about Destiny or Titanfall, new IPs from trusted studios, including Halo’s former masters, Bungie. That said, Halo is still a powerful franchise for Microsoft to wield, and by “unrestricting” themselves from a trilogy, it’s clear they have big plans for the series. So there you have it! Future Halos will no longer be numbered with new titles planning to be released more frequently. Also note the response to the "exclusivity on the One would make them buy a system"... "response was an overwhelming NO." What does this mean for the franchise that alot of gamers deemed the "best first person shooter"?? Guess we will have to wait and see what Microsoft and 343Industries have planned. Image and content courtesy of Forbes.com.
  2. " Xbox 360's dashboard update is rolling out today (October 16). The latest version of the console's firmware is downloadable today for some users, and will be gradually made available for everyone over the next few weeks. "Our initial deployment will reach approximately three million consoles worldwide, with additional users being updated over the course of a couple of weeks," said director of programming Larry Hryb. "Don't panic if you don't see an immediate update, just keep checking back in." The update refreshes the 'Metro' branded interface with a tweaked layout of tiles, combines the TV and Movies channels, and in the US, introduces a sports channel. Internet Explorer will be added for Xbox Live Gold subscribers, allowing users to browse the web with a controller or Kinect. Searching is now expanded to genre, while voice search now includes YouTube, and is available to new countries including Ireland, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Spain and Austria. Favourite content can be pinned to the dashboard, allowing fast access to games, TV shows, music, videos and websites. Similarly, Quick Play will be rebranded as Recent, providing a list of games, movies and apps last used on the console. Zune Video Marketplace is to be rebranded as Xbox Video, offering hundreds of thousands of TV shows and movies available for purchase or renting. The recently announced Xbox Music will also be made available today. The update introduces Xbox SmartGlass, which will be made available when Windows 8 launches on October 26. " Source: Digital Spy
  3. The Future of Halo will no longer considered a "trilogy" but rather a "Saga". According to an article released last week, future titles will no longer be numbered like previous titles. According to Forbes contributor Paul_Tassi .... Last week, before Microsoft pulled a 180 on their DRM and internet policies, I remarked that because the Xbox One was in a rather rough spot, it was going to have to rely on Halo as a system seller now more than ever. The playing field has been leveled a bit since then with the death of license-based disc games and internet check-in, but it’s a statement that still holds true. Microsoft seems to agree. That’s why it’s been announced that 343′s Reclaimer Trilogy, which was meant to be Halos 4, 5 and 6, has now transformed into something Microsoft is now calling a Halo “saga.” This idea sprung to life when they were pressed about what exactly the Halo title was that was shown at E3, as it didn’t have a number or even a subtitle. Would it be an add-on type game like ODST, or another full Halo game like the numbered installments? The answer is the latter, though whether it will be called Halo 5 isn’t clear and might be beside the point now anyway. With that news, Phil Spencer spoke to Gamespot about the new plan for upcoming Halo games: “While we originally said trilogy, we’ve actually expanded this to more of a saga, so we don’t want to limit the Reclaimer story within a trilogy.” What this potentially might mean is that Microsoft wants to bump up the frequency of Halo titles. I don’t think it would be physically possible to turn it into a yearly Call of Duty style release with only 343 working on it, nor do I think that would be good for the series. But we might see a higher occurrence of the games all the same. When all the DRM/always-on drama was going down, I posed a question to Xbox loyalists/Halo enthusiasts about whether or not the games exclusivity on the one would make them buy a system. The response was an overwhelming no. Partly because Microsoft’s policies were too intrusive to stomach, but a fair amount said that Halo just didn’t have the same draw that it used to have after six shooter titles. Many were more excited about Destiny or Titanfall, new IPs from trusted studios, including Halo’s former masters, Bungie. That said, Halo is still a powerful franchise for Microsoft to wield, and by “unrestricting” themselves from a trilogy, it’s clear they have big plans for the series. So there you have it! Future Halos will no longer be numbered with new titles planning to be released more frequently. Also note the response to the "exclusivity on the One would make them buy a system"... "response was an overwhelming NO." What does this mean for the franchise that alot of gamers deemed the "best first person shooter"?? Guess we will have to wait and see what Microsoft and 343Industries have planned. Image and content courtesy of Forbes.com. View full article
  4. Recently it was reported that the family sharing feature on Xbox one was just a timed demo system which only allowed users to play a game that a friend has shared with them through Xbox live for only 15-45 mins and up to an hour in some cases. But now it has been reported that it was not a timed demo system you could indeed have access to the entire game, the exact opposite of what the other alleged Microsoft employee said the other day, I know the news reports about the Xbox One has been hard to follow. From multiple sources such as Kotaku and IGN state that Microsofts Mark Whitten and Aaron Greenberg debunked the previous report on their twitter pages. But it still makes me think why Microsoft was not showing this off at every opportunity. They were pretty low key towards this feature and with a feature like this and supposedly with no catches why were they not in everyone's face about it? But that also makes me think despite the recent report stating that there was no time limit could there still be some kind of catch?
  5. UPDATE http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/29631-the-family-sharing-was-not-a-demo-system-after-all/?do=findComment&comment=269643 With the big news announced by microsoft on them taking a u-turn on their policies some of their features that were meant to be implemented had to be removed due to this decision. One of those features was Family Sharing, a feature many thought was to be very useful and were keen to use. Sharing games with friends on Xbox all over the world with just a push of a few buttons. But there were fans who didn't care about the implementation of the used games policy and were very happy and keen to for the family sharing feature and with the backtrack of the policies those fans were not happy about the loss of this feature. Getting to play games that friends can share with you digitally from a different part of the world seemed pretty cool. But we didn't realize the family sharing feature only shared a portion of the game to his/her's selected friend. It was just a demo. After the big news a microsoft employee gives his thoughts and explain the proper nature of this feature. "When your family member accesses any of your games, they’re placed into a special demo mode. This demo mode in most cases would be the full game with a 15-45 minute timer and in some cases an hour." "This allowed the person to play the game, get familiar with it then make a purchase if they wanted to. When the time limit was up they would automatically be prompted to the Marketplace so that they may order it if liked the game." Full blog can be read at heyuguysgaming Is seems clear now why Microsoft never flaunted this feature about too much and did it come as a big loss as some fans may have felt? View full article
  6. Upon further reflection on the information brought to light at E3 I have to say both the Xbox One and the PS4 are about the same. Specs for both systems are essentially the same. The PS4 is slightly better but not substantially and developers aren't going to bother taking advantage of the slightly increased 'power' of the PS4 anyway, not cross-platform games at least. Both systems aren't particularly impressive to look at: Remember when the original Xbox came out? That thing was a behemoth but it was great, so stop complaining about how they both look internet. The PS4 controller has a touch screen but how much would that cost? And why would you need it really? For better or worse the Xbox One also comes with the Kinect whilst the PS4 you have to pay extra for the PS Eye. Either way you have to pay extra, but pricing is later. Software limitations wise the PS4 wins hands-down I have to admit. They have given straight yes/no answers: " ‘yes’ - the PS4 would be free of limitations on used games, that ‘no’ - there would be no need for online connections, and, a bonus, that ‘yes’ - the console would even be region-free (the Xbox One is not)." -independent.co.uk Whilst Xbox One has given sort of answers. ‘Kind of’ - the One would have limitations on used games, confusing ones that are difficult to understand. That ‘some times’ - there would be a need for online connections, also confusing, right now the consensus is every 24 hours for some reason. That ‘no' - the console wouldn't even be region-free (only straight answer) But actual software features wise I think the One wins. Sure you can watch tv on your tv but why complain if the One offers you the ability to watch tv through it with added features? You can instantly switch between tasks and I hear you ask "Why would I need such a thing?" Well it appears both the PS4 and the One are on a vendetta against loading screens: Now the Ones ability seems better, I hate waiting for a match to start and it is a novel way of distraction away from loading screens, a hell of a lot better then watching a little circle spinning around or watching the words 'Looking for players' for 5 minutes. Games wise (as in exclusives) same ol' same ol'. Nothing really impressive. Halo 5 but eh. Titanfall (One) looks pretty ok. The Order (PS4) looks pretty ok as well though. Pricing. Once again the PS4 wins over the One. $399 in the US and £349 in the UK and $549 in AU are the prices for the PS4. $499 in the US and £429 and $599 in AU are the prices for the Xbox One. As stated above you get the Kinect (even if you don't want it) with the One but have to pay extra for the PS Eye thingy so take that in to account and still PS4 wins. I can see both consoles selling rather slowly this year. They are probably going to have some sort of price drop (like the PS3 when it got released. Didn't sell, to high a price). This is just an extra thing but what de hell is with the price inflation in AU. An extra >$100. Shipping to AU and the Us would cost about the same. Sure the AU tax would be slightly higher but take that into account and it should only be a price rise of say $30. And the Au is equal to the US at the moment. I is bitter. The only real difference between the PS4 and the One has been marketing. 'Relevant applications and uses to our gamers' - PS4 conference (round about what the guy said) The PS4 has come out of the gated screaming to the heavens and all that will listen that the PS4 is designed for the gamers by the game developers (unlike the PS3 which screwed over indie devs, smell damage control). They claim to have gone to devs and asked what they would like and apparently designed the PS4 with that in mind (yet it end up essentially the same as the One). Those links up there show PS4 marketing it specs, using words like '1.84 Teraflops' and 'eight x86-64 core' to confuse most people into believing that the PS4 has alien tech and witchcraft inside it. But how much praise has actually been given to the PS4? It has mostly been the One sucks therefore PS4 better. 'Introducing the all-in-one entertainment system.' -Xbox One conference (similar to) The Xbox One has been market as 'the Xbox experience'. They don't just want you gaming on the One, they want you using the One for all entertainment needs. Movies, tv, internet activity, you name it the One is trying to deliver. They have also targeted mass public appeal over the PS4 'for gamers' approach. And really who can blame the One for its motives? It is initiative and the 360 got a lot more public appeal when they updated the home screen and added apps. The One is just taking it a step further before Sony or Nintendo has the chance to. The One has been criticized for being ambiguous but if successful the One will have set a new precedent for home gaming and entertainment. Also about all the blow-back the One has received it has just become the new thing to ***** about the One. The internet goes through crazes and this is just the current one. The first conference was a disaster gamers wise but before the event Microsoft sent out press releases stating the event was going to be concentrated on family appeal and the multimedia capabilities. They were saving the gaming for E3, which was a smart move that people took out of context. But you notice how now one has praised the PS4 for being epic, they have just insulted the One for being not good. Now after all that I hope I swayed the opinions of the seven of you that actually took the time to read through that. I think the conclusion is that everyone should hold of on buying the new consoles and voice complaints. The limitations imposed by Microsoft on the One (which are the main problem in regards to the One) can be easily reverted with patches if enough people voice their concerns. The prices of both will be reduced if enough people voice complaints on the price. I think I will end this with a quote, “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” ― Dr.Seuss
  7. All credit goes to this guy; give him a like on Facebook!: https://www.facebook.com/LetsFinishTheFight?hc_location=stream War sphinx ( Big looking bird in Halo 5 Teaser Trailer) War sphinxes were midsize Forerunner fighting suits used by the Prometheans. They were powerful war machines that were generally dropped from high orbit, and were capable of sweeping continents and decimating entire cities. The Ur-Didact's twelve war sphinxes, used by his warriors during the Human-Forerunner War, were left on Erde-Tyrene to guard his Cryptum. By the time Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting visited the planet in approximately 100,000 BCE, these suits were considered antiquated and outdated.More advanced versions of the war sphinx continued to be in use during the Forerunner-Flood war,[3] alongside the more streamlined and less ornate Seekers used by Builder Security. Description: The war sphinxes were described as being ten meters high and twenty meters long, with an elongated tail that provided lift and power. From the "tail" rose a large rounded torso with a command cabin perched on top. As was common with Promethean combat constructs, the command cabin was designed to resemble a Forerunner face, with features arranged in an angry or stern expression and two viewports serving as "eyes". They also had limbs, with joints of hard light. Much like Onyx Sentinels, two sphinxes could also merge to create a larger unit, which still retained a similar "face" at the forward surface. War sphinxes were programmed to contain samples of their wearer's mental patterns and personalities before they were killed in battle. These preserved personalities were less complete than Durances, but could still be studied by a commander to gain useful information. The Didact kept the final impressions of his children, who were killed in battle, within their war sphinxes. Crew: Driver (1) Durance: A Durance was a type of Forerunner memory storage device. Upon the the death of a Forerunner, the individual's last memories and mental patterns were stored inside a Durance. The Durance and a bit of plasma from the immolation of the body were then presented to the closest family members of the deceased.
  8. Considering the Xbox One has had such a negative reception so far, especially when you compare it to the PS4? Do you think it's possible if the Xbox One sales are terrible even after the release of Halo 5 that MS might realise their mistake and release some of their exclusives onto the PC so they at least get some money from them?
  9. A new halo project "Halo Bootcamp" was listed on the Korean Game Rating Board and it will be a new Halo game. Nothing much is known about the game other than it will be a third person shooter and it is a PC exclusive, it will not be coming to the 360 or One. This article from gamefront goes into more detail about this new Halo game A listing for “Bootcamp” surfaced on the Korean Game Rating Board today, which is apparently some sort of Halo game. Odd things in that description: Halo 3 is mentioned. Huh? Is this potentially the rumored Halo 3 PC port? Also, this is listed as a PC/online game, not an Xbox One title. Wah? We reached out to Microsoft for some clarity, and a spokesperson provided Game Front with the following statement: “What’s Bootcamp? It is not related to our Xbox One efforts, or the Reclaimer Saga, but rather a project we’re very enthusiastic about and will have more to say about in the near future.” So, it’s not an Xbox One game. Nor is it a part of the “Reclaimer Saga” (which is a fancy title referring to the new Halo trilogy, starting with Halo 4). So what the hell is this thing? It’s clearly a spinoff of some kind. Note that “Bootcamp” could in some way refer to the similarly titled Reed Ruiz novel Halo: Fall of Reach: Boot Camp. And what’s that book about? Here’s the Amazon description: The legend of Master Chief begins! The United Nations Space Command is engaged in a brutal battle against a growing tide of insurrection. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and under the threat of a prolonged war the UNSC initiates the SPARTAN-II Project, a military program seeking to create a squad of super-soldiers. And so a great adventure begins: Once, he was a 6-year-old boy named John. But his superior speed, intelligence and adaptability to the SPARTAN-II training allow him to rise above the rest, starting his journey to become the most legendary warrior the galaxy has ever known! Halo: Fall of Reach – Bootcamp begins the adaptation of Eric Nylund’s novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, based on the international videogame sensation Halo! Your guess is as good as ours at this point, but we’ve at least confirmed A). That Korean Game Rating Board page wasn’t ‘shopped, this is actually a thing, and . it’s not for Xbox One, and C). it’s not a part of the new Halo trilogy. UPDATE: PC gamers hoping Halo Bootcamp is the rumored PC port of Halo 3 may be in for a bit of disappointment. In the NeoGAF thread where this news originally surfaced, Google Translate was used to translate the Korean to English, which appeared to include a clear reference to Halo 3. However, running the mysterious game’s description text through other translation services reveals a different picture. Here’s what Bing Translator has to say: “‘Halo’ as a third-person point of view based on the worldview of the mission is going to be executing an action game of water Minor violence representation (expressed as mere weaponry, attacks and a third-person point-of-blood description) Thus, article 21 of the law on the promotion of the game industry and the provisions of article 9, paragraph 3, classified according to the classification as a ‘ 15 ‘ decision.” There’s obviously a lot of murky English in there, but one thing is pretty clear. The description isn’t referring to Halo 3. Rather, it’s referring to a a third-person Halo game.
  10. Thanks to AD for finding this article This article is from Deadline Deadline has learned the meetings were an intimate preview of the new Xbox One capabilities before next week’s E3 confab where secretive Microsoft will unveil details of the device’s technology. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was escorted by his entertainment studios president Nancy Tellem for the visit late last week to lobby her closest Hollywood pals: her former boss CBS chief Les Moonves, Sony TV boss Steve Mosko, and WME co-CEOS Ari Emanuel and Patrick Whitesell. It’s all part of Ballmer’s effort to drum up exclusive content after Microsoft intends to launch 40+ new voice-controlled customized TV and entertainment apps on Xbox One. But it was also more, one insider tells Deadline, “to reiterate Microsoft’s commitment to transitioning its business to devices and services and to explaining that Hollywood entertainment is a big part of that. Microsoft in the past has just dipped a toe but now has a real commitment.” Tellem wanted to give Ballmer 3 different perspective: the broadcaster, the independent producer, and the agent. Deadline has learned that Ballmer touted “what we could do with” the Xbox One in sports, music, reality and scripted programming, promising execs that they’d see more sophisticated technology and that his company “doesn’t want to be a cable channel”. He also met Tellem’s Santa Monica team for the first time and outlined his vision for a new Xbox One world. Ballmer’s trip to Hollywood will only anger more hard-core gamers who already were miffed by Microsoft’s focus on entertainment when it unveiled the product on May 21. (Xbox One will be on store shelves later this year). The hard-core gamers fear Microsoft sees its new Xbox One more as a souped-up Internet-connected, voice- and motion-controlled cable box than a next-gen gaming console. T ellem has said Microsoft has studios in Los Angeles, London, Seattle and Vancouver producing content that merges “the story-telling magic of TV with the interactive power of the Xbox One.” More recently, Microsoft said Steven Spielberg will create a new live-action TV show based on the Halogame franchise. Microsoft also announced a new partnership with the NFL that promises side-by-side integration of a viewer’s fantasy football stats with live game broadcasts. And the company also set a partnership with ESPN for broadcasts of other sports. This isn’t the first time Microsoft has tried to entice Hollywood with the Xbox. Peter Chernin for one discussed producing Conan O’Brien’s talk show on the platform when the host was booted from NBC’s The Tonight Show. Hollywood’s big problem with Microsoft: it moves slowly. The Xbox One was designed to establish its primacy in the industry-wide effort to develop a single box that can handle all of a home’s entertainment needs. But company watchers have had mixed reactions to the Xbox One. Turnoffs include the expected high price (rumored at as much as $499), the possibility that it won’t play certain used games without an additional payment, and a suspicion that it take liberties with users’ privacy for example by reporting whether a TV viewer watched certain commercials. View full article
  11. Microsoft received a lot of unsettling feedback from gamers after their Xbox One presentation due to the lack of games being shown despite the fact that the presentation was to show off the console itself where as E3 would be the main spotlight for the games. But this may bring some hope back as Microsoft told OXM in an interview they will be investing 1 billion dollars into Xbox one exclusives. Microsoft announced that 15 Xbox One exclusives will be released in the first year of the new consoles launch and 8 of those 15 will be brand new IP's, being one of them. "Thankfully, a glance at the bigger picture reveals that this is more a question of presentation than strategy. Microsoft will invest no less than $1 billion into games next gen - an unprecedented sum for the firm - and Xbox One will swipe 15 exclusive titles in its first year at retail, including eight new IPs. All that's on top of a two-year period of bulking up, which has seen Microsoft Studios open new games studios in London, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia while snapping up talent for its existing operations." Microsoft stated that one of their game studios Black Tusk is working on a new title that is set to compete with Halo and Gears of War. "Black Tusk Studios is working on a mysterious action title that's designed to compete with Halo and Gears of War. Microsoft has opened Lift London to create and incubate smaller scale cloud-based games. New projects are underway at Microsoft Studios Osaka, reflecting IEB president Don Mattrick's assertion that the company remains "committed" to Japan. Perhaps most hearteningly, Microsoft has acquired Press Play and Twisted Pixel to work on "weird, unique" titles for Xbox Live. In short, there's a lot more bubbling away under the surface than the Xbox One event suggests." So will this restore any faith to the core gamers who felt abandoned by the Xbox One reveal? View full article
  12. A new halo project "Halo Bootcamp" was listed on the Korean Game Rating Board and it will be a new Halo game. Nothing much is known about the game other than it will be a third person shooter and it is a PC exclusive, it will not be coming to the 360 or One. This article from gamefront goes into more detail about this new Halo game A listing for “Bootcamp” surfaced on the Korean Game Rating Board today, which is apparently some sort of Halo game. Odd things in that description: Halo 3 is mentioned. Huh? Is this potentially the rumored Halo 3 PC port? Also, this is listed as a PC/online game, not an Xbox One title. Wah? We reached out to Microsoft for some clarity, and a spokesperson provided Game Front with the following statement: “What’s Bootcamp? It is not related to our Xbox One efforts, or the Reclaimer Saga, but rather a project we’re very enthusiastic about and will have more to say about in the near future.” So, it’s not an Xbox One game. Nor is it a part of the “Reclaimer Saga” (which is a fancy title referring to the new Halo trilogy, starting with Halo 4). So what the hell is this thing? It’s clearly a spinoff of some kind. Note that “Bootcamp” could in some way refer to the similarly titled Reed Ruiz novel Halo: Fall of Reach: Boot Camp. And what’s that book about? Here’s the Amazon description: The legend of Master Chief begins! The United Nations Space Command is engaged in a brutal battle against a growing tide of insurrection. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and under the threat of a prolonged war the UNSC initiates the SPARTAN-II Project, a military program seeking to create a squad of super-soldiers. And so a great adventure begins: Once, he was a 6-year-old boy named John. But his superior speed, intelligence and adaptability to the SPARTAN-II training allow him to rise above the rest, starting his journey to become the most legendary warrior the galaxy has ever known! Halo: Fall of Reach – Bootcamp begins the adaptation of Eric Nylund’s novel Halo: The Fall of Reach, based on the international videogame sensation Halo! Your guess is as good as ours at this point, but we’ve at least confirmed A). That Korean Game Rating Board page wasn’t ‘shopped, this is actually a thing, and . it’s not for Xbox One, and C). it’s not a part of the new Halo trilogy. UPDATE: PC gamers hoping Halo Bootcamp is the rumored PC port of Halo 3 may be in for a bit of disappointment. In the NeoGAF thread where this news originally surfaced, Google Translate was used to translate the Korean to English, which appeared to include a clear reference to Halo 3. However, running the mysterious game’s description text through other translation services reveals a different picture. Here’s what Bing Translator has to say: “‘Halo’ as a third-person point of view based on the worldview of the mission is going to be executing an action game of water Minor violence representation (expressed as mere weaponry, attacks and a third-person point-of-blood description) Thus, article 21 of the law on the promotion of the game industry and the provisions of article 9, paragraph 3, classified according to the classification as a ‘ 15 ‘ decision.” There’s obviously a lot of murky English in there, but one thing is pretty clear. The description isn’t referring to Halo 3. Rather, it’s referring to a a third-person Halo game. View full article
  13. We have had quite a few names for the new xbox, durango, infinity, 720 (well that was fan made) and just xbox. A recent report tells that Infinity has been the chosen name for the next gen xbox. Microsoft themselves has not confirmed this name as of yet but it is believed that Infinity will be the name that will success the 360. This article is from GameSpot Thanks to Smokin Shadowz for bringing this article over. The next Microsoft console will be named Xbox Infinity, according to a report by the UK arm of the International Business Times. Unnamed sources, who are believed to be involved in the development of the new console, confirmed to the publication that the new hardware will simply be called Xbox Infinity. These claims mirror those of a reportedly leaked image, which recently appeared on the Reddit website. IBTimes UK sources also revealed that development units have already been made available to software developer partners. Previous rumours suggested that some of Microsoft's next-generation titles may have been cancelled, while others may be as much as six months behind schedule. Microsoft is expected to officially unveil its next home console to the public at its event on May 21. Rumours have circulated for months regarding the branding that the Redmond, Washington, software giant will elect to use for the Xbox 360's successor, with Xbox 720, the Next Xbox, and the device's development codename, Durango all being used in lieu of any official moniker. GameSpot contacted Microsoft seeking clarification, but a spokesperson declined, saying, "We do not comment on rumours or speculation. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform, but we don't have anything further to share at this time."
  14. The Minecraft Xbox 360 1.8.2 update is going to happen tomorrow confirmed by 4J studios its Twitter feed. This update will bring creative mode to the Xbox 360. Read below for more details Source: Xbox360achievements.org The update brings with it a whole host of new additions, as well as fixes tweaks and other stuff. Here's a reminder of the complete list of stuff for Minecraft 1.8.2 update: Additions: Added Creative Mode. Disabled Achievements and Leaderboard updates if the player is in Creative Mode, or if the world has been previously saved in Creative Mode. Added a simple tutorial for Creative Mode. Added sprinting to Survival Mode. Added flying and sprint-flying to Creative Mode. Added new items to the game - Melon, Melon Slice, Melon Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Raw/Cooked Beef, Raw/Cooked Chicken, Rotten Flesh, Pumpkin Seeds, Iron Bars, Fence Gate, Stone Bricks, Stone Brick Slabs, Stone Brick Stairs, Brick Slabs, Brick Stairs, Ender Pearl, Web,Vines, 10 more Music Discs, and Chain Armor. Added new items to the crafting menu - Melon, Melon Seeds, Glass Pane, Fence Gate, Iron Bars, Stone Bricks, Stone Brick Slabs, Stone Brick Stairs, Brick Slabs, Brick Stairs. Added terrain generation features - Strongholds, Villages, Abandoned Mineshafts and Ravines. Biome code additions, including rivers and oceans. Changed the bow to have drawing and firing action. Added a quick move to the dispenser. Added a quick equip for armor to the inventory interface. Added a quick move for ingredients and fuel in the furnace interface. Brought forward the mining speed changes from 1.2.3 Brought forward apples dropping from leaf blocks from 1.1 Brought forward change from 1.2.3 to make pumpkins and melons grow from stems much faster, and not require farmland around the stem to grow on. Fix to vines brought forward from 1.2.3 to stop them spreading too much. Added the Food Bar to the HUD. Added stacking for food items. Added the eating animation. Enabled crafting mushroom stew without a crafting table. Added the blocking move with swords. Changed all the text descriptions for food to show how much they refill the food bar. Passive mobs will now flee when hit. The snout on pigs now protrude from their head. Skeletons now hold full size bows. Animals no longer despawn which makes it possible to capture them. Zombies now drop Rotten Flesh instead of Feathers. Updated some mob sounds. Shears can now collect Tall Grass and the new Vine. Improved sunrise and sunset. Improved the rain edges (when looking up in rain). User-placed leaf blocks no longer decay. Cloud height raised to the top of the map, so clouds can no longer phase through blocks. Cloud movement syncs with the game's time. Both Wooden and Stone pressure plates can now be placed on fences. Improved chest model with a 3D lock, and opening and closing animation. Added a countdown timer to the autosave to stop it being such a surprise. Added the ability to rename an existing saved world. Added map icons to the in-game player list to match their color in the map. Added a confirmation dialog on the player choosing to exit without saving. Added a character display when sprinting or flying. Updated the How To Play HUD with the Food Bar information. Added descriptions for Creative Mode and Sprinting to the How To Play menus. Updated the Download Content menu with pictures of the DLC available. Removed Herobrine. Options Changes and Additions: Changed the Gamertags Display option to mean display/hide gamertags in-game and on maps. Added an option to select Creative Mode or Survival Mode on creating or loading a world. Added an option to disable clouds. Added additional options to the world creation - Superflat land (creates a flat world near bedrock in both the Overworld and the Nether), enable/disable Structures and Bonus Chest. Added Host options - toggles for Player Versus Player, Trust Players to stop players being able to mine without permission from the Host, Fire Spread, TNT Explodes, and Host Privileges. Added in-game player options for the host - Can Build and Mine, Moderator, Kick Player, Can Fly, Disable Exhaustion, Invisible. Store the Online, Invite Only, and Friends of Friends options in the player's profile. Tutorial World Changes: Changed the Tutorial world to enable the new terrain features in it. Added mini tutorial for sprinting in the Tutorial world. Added mini tutorial for eating in the Tutorial world. Added Music Disc Quests in the Tutorial world - players can search the world for the 12 chests, each containing one of the Music Discs that can be played in a Jukebox. Fixes: Fix for duplication glitch. Fix for aspect ratio of things in hand when in splitscreen mode. Fix for issue with player data not saving (player starting world with no items they had when they saved). Fix for redstone tiles burning out when they shouldn't. Fixed issue with Minecart with Furnace not being able to move another Minecart. Fixed particle code for flipped 3rd person view. You'll be able to download the Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition update 1.8.2 tomorrow (October 16th). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EakNifXH42w
  15. Here is an update on the latest about the fee on wanting to play a preowned games on the Xbox One, and it's looking grim. Microsoft's Phil Harrison mentions that within one household only one XBOX can play any given game or you have to purchase it again. So in a house that has 4 XBOX One's for example, they would have to purchase the original game plus three more digital copies of it. $240.00 paid for one game in one house This article is from Eurogamer on their interview with Phil Harrison trying to explain this situation. Thanks to AD for finding this article. Whether or not you agree with Microsoft's ideas and goals for Xbox One, at least they are generally pretty easy to understand. The one exception today has been how game ownership works and especially the Xbox One's attitude to sharing between friends and reselling games, which has resulted in conflicting and confusing reports. The confusion is such that as I sat transcribing and making notes four hours after I interviewed Phil Harrison earlier today, a Microsoft PR tapped me on the shoulder and invited me back to the boardroom so that Harrison could take another swing at explaining this surprisingly complex issue. "So, think about how you use a disc that you own of an Xbox 360 game," he began. "If I buy the disc from a store, I use that disc in my machine, I can give that disc to my son and he can play it on his 360 in his room. We both can't play at the same time, but the disc is the key to playing. I can go round to your house and give you that disc and you can play on that game as well." "What we're doing with the digital permissions that we have for Xbox One is no different to that. If I am playing on that disc, which is installed to the hard drive on my Xbox One, everybody in my household who has permission to use my Xbox One can use that piece of content. [so] I can give that piece of content to my son and he can play it on the same system." Harrison then explained what happens when you want to take that game beyond the borders of your own home and into a friend's place. "I can come to your house and I can put the disc into your machine and I can sign in as me and we can play the game," he explained. "The bits are on your hard drive. At the end of the play session, when I take my disc home - or even if I leave it with you - if you want to continue to play that game [on your profile] then you have to pay for it. The bits are already on your hard drive, so it's just a question of going to our [online] store and buying the game, and then it's instantly available to play." "The bits that are on the disc, I can give to anybody else, but if we both want to play it at the same time, we both have to own it. That's no different to how discs operate today." That makes the issue of game ownership a lot clearer than it has been at any point so far. Once you install a game, it is tied to your Xbox login, and in this way Microsoft can avoid scenarios where you buy a game, install it, then just give the disc to all your friends so they can install and play it without paying for it. The next issue is what happens when you finish with a game and want either to trade it in at a store or sell it on in another way. "We will have a system where you can take that digital content and trade a previously played game at a retail store," Harrison said. "We're not announcing the details of that today, but we will have announced in due course." Harrison would not be drawn on how this worked, even as I suggested various scenarios. For example, I asked whether you would need to pay for the second-hand disc at a store and then pay a fee to Microsoft when you got home, a bit like an Online Pass. Harrison wouldn't be drawn. "Our goal is to make it really customer-centric, really simple and really understandable and we will announce those details in due course." I got the impression from speaking to him - entirely my inference - that this Online Pass-style scenario of paying twice for second-hand, once at retail and once at home, was not the plan. But Harrison's reluctance to pre-empt this mystery announcement means that it is still a possibility. To me, the fact that Harrison was talking about a forthcoming announcement rather than just clarifying the detail suggests that whatever strategy Microsoft does have for this second-hand resale process may involve a specific partner. Perhaps Microsoft has done some sort of deal with GameStop or a similar retail entity. Anyway, I took the opportunity of a second audience with Harrison to ask some follow-ups about Xbox One's always-online aspects as well. "Some bits of the system will work offline," he said. "I think the key point to make is that Xbox One requires an internet connection, but it does not need to be connected all the time. We think that most of the biggest games on Xbox One and most of the games and experiences and services you want to use will be internet-connected." Everybody got that? Xbox One requires an internet connection, but not all the time. "I don't want to trivialise the issue because I know people are passionate about it, but I think most people will realise that the vast majority of content and experiences that they will want to enjoy on Xbox One will be the ones that have an online connectivity," he continued. "I think where people have anxiety understandably is what happens when the internet connection goes down for a few minutes or a few hours. On our side, with the infrastructure investments that we as Microsoft have made in Azure and Xbox Live dedicated servers that we will have for Xbox One, we are very confident that we have the infrastructure to support all of the players and all of the connections. And although it's not directly an Xbox issue, it's something Microsoft is proven to be really good at with Office 365." After the tape was off, we chatted some more about the anxieties that have come to light today and over the last few months of speculation. I suggested that one of the reasons that our concerns about second-hand blocking, always-online and other related issues are so acute is that we don't have any real-world Xbox One examples yet to judge it. Our touchstones are things like Diablo 3 and SimCity, which were appallingly botched launches. Time will tell whether Microsoft can get the balance right with this stuff. Personally, I just want purely single-player games to work offline and the internet to enhance our games in transparent ways. We will have to wait and see whether Xbox One's use of cloud computation and online services muddies this situation or if the platform holder can succeed where Blizzard and EA failed. View full article
  16. Microsoft confirmed that there will be a fee to play preowned games. When you put in a brand new disc in to the Xbox one you will be prompted with a mandatory installation to install the game onto the hard drive, if you wanted to loan or give that game to a friend or relative for example their xbox will detect that it was used on another console and that person will have to play a fee to install and play the game. This article is from CVG Microsoft has confirmed that all Xbox One games will require mandatory installation onto the system's hard drive and, to install the same disc onto another user's drive, a fee must be paid. Individual games will be tied to Xbox Live accounts, Microsoft said, meaning that the software giant can detect whether a game has been sold to a retailer and repurchased, or handed from one friend to another. In such instances, the second user must pay a fee. "On the new Xbox, all game discs are installed to the HDD to play," a Microsoft representative told Wired. The company added that, once discs are installed on the hard drive, games can be played without a disc being in the tray. The Wired article then elaborates: "What follows naturally from this is that each disc would have to be tied to a unique Xbox Live account, else you could take a single disc and pass it between everyone you know and copy the game over and over. Since this is clearly not going to happen, each disc must then only install for a single owner." It added: "Microsoft did say that if a disc was used with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc, which would then mean that the new account would also own the game and could play it without the disc." Microsoft did not disclose what the second-user fee would amount too, and did not clarify further on the matter. The article claims that there is no sweeping 'always-online' requirement for future Xbox One games. Update: Jon Hicks, the editor of Official Xbox magazine, has claimed that pre-owned games will be un-installed from the previous owner's system and installed onto another's. It is not clear if this process would negate a pre-owned fee.
  17. Microsoft confirmed that there will be a fee to play preowned games. When you put in a brand new disc in to the Xbox one you will be prompted with a mandatory installation to install the game onto the hard drive, if you wanted to loan or give that game to a friend or relative for example their xbox will detect that it was used on another console and that person will have to play a fee to install and play the game. This article is from CVG Microsoft has confirmed that all Xbox One games will require mandatory installation onto the system's hard drive and, to install the same disc onto another user's drive, a fee must be paid. Individual games will be tied to Xbox Live accounts, Microsoft said, meaning that the software giant can detect whether a game has been sold to a retailer and repurchased, or handed from one friend to another. In such instances, the second user must pay a fee. "On the new Xbox, all game discs are installed to the HDD to play," a Microsoft representative told Wired. The company added that, once discs are installed on the hard drive, games can be played without a disc being in the tray. The Wired article then elaborates: "What follows naturally from this is that each disc would have to be tied to a unique Xbox Live account, else you could take a single disc and pass it between everyone you know and copy the game over and over. Since this is clearly not going to happen, each disc must then only install for a single owner." It added: "Microsoft did say that if a disc was used with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc, which would then mean that the new account would also own the game and could play it without the disc." Microsoft did not disclose what the second-user fee would amount too, and did not clarify further on the matter. The article claims that there is no sweeping 'always-online' requirement for future Xbox One games. Update: Jon Hicks, the editor of Official Xbox magazine, has claimed that pre-owned games will be un-installed from the previous owner's system and installed onto another's. It is not clear if this process would negate a pre-owned fee. View full article
  18. Today was the day microsoft finally revealed their new xbox, quite a few interesting things were revealed today with more on the way at E3 in just a matter of weeks. So lets go through some of the main things that was shown at todays presentation. The name. Microsoft has revealed the name of the new xbox, Xbox One. Not a name that many of us were expecting hear for the new console, the reason for the name is for the "all in one experience" the new console will have, games, entertainment and TV. The look. From the picture above we see the actual console itself, the new controller and the kinect camera/sensor. The new console design is not bad but they could have stayed away from the chunky straight edge look and more of a curvy smooth design, but it's still ok. The new controller hasn't changed too much from the 360 controller except for a few minor details, the over all shape and layout is the same but has an extension with a glossy finish that sits at the top of the main body where the bumper buttons and the xbox home button (now touch sensitive) are located, the thumbs sticks hasn't change much except for the grip around the edges. The kinect sensor has a bit of a different look this time. It has a flat front service with one camera lens, the movement sensor along the botton and it will be included with each Xbox one. The Power. The Xbox One specs revealed 8 Core CPU 8 GB System Memory 500 GB HDD Blu Ray Drive 802.11n Wireless with Wi-Fi Direct HDMI In/Out USB 3.0 The Xbox one will feature Skype, be able watch TV and a snap feature which allows the user to do more than one thing at a time e.g you can watch a movie and browse the web at the same time without closing down one application to access another. Xbox One unveil video Exclusives Microsoft confirmed that 15 titles will be exclusive only to xbox when the console is launched, we don't know what the titles are or who is developing them but no doubt E3 will shed light on that. Well they did show us a trailer of one of the Xbox One's exclusives, Quantum Break developed by Remedy. Halo 343 was briefly in the spotlight at the presentation but not to show of any video game related content, but to confirm a live action TV series and Steven Spielberg will be involved with it, but what role he will be playing is currently unknown. That's pretty much the main parts of the presentation, I will try and add a video of the full presentation for those have have not seen it yet. View full article
  19. We have had quite a few names for the new xbox, durango, infinity, 720 (well that was fan made) and just xbox. A recent report tells that Infinity has been the chosen name for the next gen xbox. Microsoft themselves has not confirmed this name as of yet but it is believed that Infinity will be the name that will success the 360. This article is from GameSpot Thanks to Smokin Shadowz for bringing this article over. The next Microsoft console will be named Xbox Infinity, according to a report by the UK arm of the International Business Times. Unnamed sources, who are believed to be involved in the development of the new console, confirmed to the publication that the new hardware will simply be called Xbox Infinity. These claims mirror those of a reportedly leaked image, which recently appeared on the Reddit website. IBTimes UK sources also revealed that development units have already been made available to software developer partners. Previous rumours suggested that some of Microsoft's next-generation titles may have been cancelled, while others may be as much as six months behind schedule. Microsoft is expected to officially unveil its next home console to the public at its event on May 21. Rumours have circulated for months regarding the branding that the Redmond, Washington, software giant will elect to use for the Xbox 360's successor, with Xbox 720, the Next Xbox, and the device's development codename, Durango all being used in lieu of any official moniker. GameSpot contacted Microsoft seeking clarification, but a spokesperson declined, saying, "We do not comment on rumours or speculation. We are always thinking about what is next for our platform, but we don't have anything further to share at this time." View full article
  20. At a time when Microsoft (MS) is planning to unveil it's next generation XBOX it may be just the time to reflect on the past. Some companies will, seemingly, will unabashedly promote their newest products well beyond any realistic measure in order to get the biggest sales return possible. A story I recently read by Andrew Groen of Wired took a look back at all the hype offered by Microsoft surrounding the XBOX 360 and he provided an interesting retrospective of sales versus reality. These insights may better help the gamer to weed through the onslaught of hype, as experienced most recently with Halo 4, and the reality, as seen by the current population that still plays the game. The reality there is an unfinished game was sold to the consumer to hit a sales period for the holidays instead of taking the time to finish the product, which without a doubt, would have given the playing population a fully functional game that met the standards spoken to by it's producer and maintained a much stronger presence in the gaming world. The jubilation they thrived in briefly about sales was soon darkened by the reality of the disenfranchised fan base. This decision also affected a supporting company, Certain Affinty, whose reputation, and most likely income, depended on DLC content and their work on forge for Halo 4. Hopefully these companies will see this reality for themselves in a manner that will allow them to continue to produce quality products and experiences for their consumers without loosing sight of the consumers need to be able to trust in the very products and services they provide. The story as offered at wired.com 7 Years Later, Has Microsoft Kept Its Xbox 360 Promises? BY ANDREW GROEN - 04.25.13 - 6:30 AM Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wasn’t shy about predicting that Xbox 360 would change the world of entertainment as we know it, but has the company delivered on its huge promises? Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com Microsoft was more than a little bombastic when it began hyping up the Xbox 360 before its 2005 launch. “In the next generation, Xbox 360 will transform the way people play games and have fun,” said Robbie Bach, former president of Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices division, at the company’s 2005 press briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. Certainly it did, but not necessarily in the ways that Microsoft promised. Xbox 360 was a great gaming device, one that Microsoft continually improved upon in a way that was unheard of in the game business until this generation. It constantly added significant new features, upgraded the user experience and moved from an also-ran to a major player, forcing the competition to follow suit. The PlayStation 2 you bought in 2001 was the same exact machine in 2005, but the Xbox 360 you bought that year would be unrecognizable now. Xbox 360 did change everything. But many of the things Microsoft talked about at the beginning of the generation turned out to be so much vaporware. And often instead of pursuing them, Microsoft allowed the competition to. It’s pretty clear Microsoft was shining us on about… well, a lot. On Wednesday, Microsoft officially announced what all of us have known was coming for years now: It will unveil the next generation of Xbox hardware at an event in Redmond, Washington on May 21. This follows the sort-of unveiling of PlayStation 4 by Sony in February, at which it made grandiose pledges such as saying that PlayStation 4 will “make you feel emotions that you have never felt in real life.” Sure it will. As we pointed out at the time, Sony made many similar promises about PlayStation 3, many of which failed to materialize. What about Microsoft’s hype about Xbox 360, back in 2005? Here’s what executives said, and what really happened. “A product with games at its core, surrounded by limitless connected digital entertainment.”— J Allard, then Xbox chief experience officer, at the 2005 E3 press briefing. “Limitless” was obvious hyperbole, and yet it ended up being truer than even former Microsoft evangelist Allard probably believed at the time. At the time, “connected digital entertainment” meant people would use their vast knowledge of 2005 technology to plug in an iPod to hear songs through the TV. Today, 360 users can access the internet, Twitter, Facebook, ESPN apps, live presidential election coverage and thousands of movies, TV shows and songs. Verdict: True ^ “For us to say we’re going to go through a whole generation without an HD capacity drive — I think that would be naive to assume that we’ll be sitting here at the end of the Xbox 360 generation and no such device will have shipped… We’re not going to be sitting here in five years saying, ‘Oh jeez, we don’t have HD DVD-type storage.’” – Steve Ballmer, Engadget interview, published May 2005. We suppose that Ballmer was technically correct: After launching Xbox 360 with a standard-capacity DVD drive instead of a high-density disc, Microsoft did release an HD-DVD drive that plugged into an Xbox 360 via USB. This was only for watching HD-DVD movies, not playing games, and Microsoft hastily discontinued it when HD-DVD lost the format battle to Blu-ray — a battle that may have been won solely because Sony put Blu-ray into every PlayStation 3. Had every Xbox 360 played HD-DVD discs, Blu-ray might have gone the way of Betamax. Seven years later, Microsoft is sitting here saying, “Oh jeez, we don’t have HD-DVD type storage.” Just call him Naive Steve. Verdict: False ^ “On the [Xbox Live] Marketplace… she might never pick up a controller, never take a run in the halfpipe but she’ll be able to design and sell stickers, shirts, boards, soundtracks and even design her own skate park for those hardcore gamers.” — J Allard, 2005 Microsoft E3 Press Briefing. The “she” in this particular statement was the infamous “Velocity Girl,” the online screen name of a hypothetical young female non-gamer who would use her Xbox 360 as a place to create and sell her own designs and products. Microsoft promised an online modding community where users could sell their digital wares for cash on the Xbox 360 marketplace, but the company never really even tried. Throughout the system’s lifespan Microsoft never implemented any large-scale programs that would have brought about the non-gaming hipster-design revolution that it prophesized. We’ve seen a couple small attempts over the years, though. The Forza Motorsport storefront, for instance, allows players to create car designs and other goods to sell for in-game credits — but not real cash. Players creating items and selling them at a profit has actually has become a reality — but it’s Valve doing it on the Steam service, not Microsoft. Verdict: False ^ “It’s a future where my games are always personalized to match my desires.” — “Kim,” the ultra-hip introduction presenter at Microsoft’s E3 2005 press briefing. In the early days of its marketing campaign, Microsoft used cringe-inducing statements like this to brag about how much Generation Me was going to be able to “express themselves” through their Xbox 360. While Microsoft has done some great work in making the console itself more flexible to the user’s interests (you can even still buy those staggeringly pointless faceplates that Microsoft abandoned years ago), the games themselves have rarely fit that description. Downloadable content has provided an avenue for players to somewhat personalize some games, but giving a company more money for new digital character outfits hardly counts as “personalization.” Verdict: False ^ Microsoft executive Robbie Bach had to walk a careful verbal tightrope when he talked about Xbox’s backward compatibility. Photo courtesy Microsoft “We will make money, and a lot of money in this next generation!” — Steve Ballmer, interview with Engadget published May 18, 2005. Microsoft spent four tough years with the original Xbox in which it operated the division at a big loss — reportedly $4 billion over four years — in order to try to gain a foothold in the videogame market. So investors wouldn’t have been pleased if Microsoft said they’d have to wait another generation for the profit to begin flowing. Though Xbox 360 also operated at a loss for its first few years, Microsoft’s fortunes finally turned in late 2008 when it posted the first net profits for the Entertainment and Devices division (which includes Xbox, Windows Phone, PC gaming and Zune) since its entry into consoles. It got off to a rough start, though. Xbox 360 faced a $1 billion setback when Microsoft extended the system’s warranty to three years due to the dreaded Red Ring of Death error, resulting in a disastrous $1.9 billion operating loss for the division in 2007. It will take more time for Microsoft to erase the massive multi-billion dollar loss accrued in the early years, but the division is now profitable and Microsoft is now a major market player. Verdict: Somewhat true ^ “Tonight we are pleased to announce that Xbox 360 will be backward compatible with the top-selling Xbox games.” — Robbie Bach, E3 2005 Microsoft Press Briefing. This is Microsoft’s most infamous statement prior to the launch of the Xbox 360. When Bach made this announcement, the crowd went wild before he finished his sentence, allowing him to mumble the “top selling” bit. It seemed, at first, that he had just said the Xbox 360 was backward compatible with original Xbox games, and anybody who purchased a 360 would be able to catch up on the first Xbox’s library of games. We soon found out that you really have to parse every single word of Microsoft’s statements. It indeed only intended to make the top-selling Xbox games backward compatible with Xbox 360, not the entire library. And it didn’t even do that, not at first: Less than a third of the Xbox’s library worked on Xbox 360 at launch, and the emulation software that ran the games was often glitchy, sometimes to the point where the game played much worse than it did on the less powerful machine. Many of the “top-selling” games were actually missing, since they were harder to emulate than the cheapo games: Splinter Cell didn’t work, but Barbie Horse Adventure was good to go. Over the next two years, Microsoft did work to add more games, eventually getting about half of the library emulated and adding most (but not all) of the biggest games on the platform. Verdict: A sneaky half-truth ^ “Microsoft will inevitably succeed in Japan.” – Takashi Sensui, general manager of Microsoft’s Interactive Entertainment Business division in Japan. The worldwide videogame business was a much different industry in 2005. Though Japan’s influence has recently begun to slip, in 2005 it was seen as a major key to success, and the original Xbox tanked miserably there. With Xbox 360, Microsoft devoted considerable resources to changing that, but not even two exclusive RPGs from one of the most famous designers in Japan (Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi) could overcome the widespread apathy toward Xbox 360. In June of 2011, Microsoft announced it had sold 1.5 million Xbox 360s in nearly six years. To contrast, the Nintendo DS has sold over 33 million consoles there to date. Hardly a good showing. Verdict: False ^ “We’ll get there by making games more approachable for people who didn’t grow up with a game controller.” — Robbie Bach, 2005 E3 press briefing, on expanding the market. Microsoft didn’t manage to do this when it launched Xbox 360, but Nintendo did the next year with the Wii’s motion controller. It was later revealed that Microsoft had turned down the rights to the underlying core technology of Wii. After Nintendo’s success, it was much more receptive to the idea for Kinect, a different type of motion controller. Kinect has brought about some of the most wretched games in the history of the console. But it did have a couple of highly successful, demographic-expanding, controller-free games like Dance Central. On the other other hand, Kinect has mostly been successful at selling to small kids who can’t yet handle a controller, not grownups who never learned to use one. Verdict: Half true ^ “Wouldn’t it be cool to have the game that has the person on the PC being the general who is driving the strategy, and the person on the console on Xbox Live executing the strategy? That is a completely new genre… and it leverages everything that Steve [ballmer] talked about that we’re putting in place.” — Robbie Bach, interview with Engadget, published May 18, 2005. Seven years later, no game even remotely approaching this type of PC-console cross-play has been released. There have been some instances of console and PC players being able to play the same game together, but unfortunately for Microsoft they were mostly on PlayStation 3. The only game that seems somewhat similar to this dream is Dust 514, a multiplayer shooter which is bound to the outer space MMO EVE Online. In Dust 514, players can coordinate with groups in EVE for funding and even artillery bombardments which can help them win battles. But this, too, is a Sony exclusive. So yes, it would absolutely be cool, but Microsoft hasn’t bothered to do it. Verdict: False ^ View full article
  21. The IllumiRoom is a image protective system that allows the New Xbox to project a 'real image' in the surrounding environment of where the Television connected to the console is. [/YouTube] The IllumiRoom amplifies the traditional gaming experience with expanding the view of one's gaming. The system can make even the most generic of rooms to a fantastic world of art as a cartoonish land. The illusions can distort reality, creating an entirely new environment in which to play in, as well as expand the view of the game into the surrounding objects. The system is a secondary device to the XBox and would remain on a space on a family's coffee table allowing a wide view of the room. With the prototype currently in use, the Kinect is used alongside it to analyse the room for the system to run. The main focus with the IllumiRoom is to expand the field of view. From the games reality into our physical reality that we live in. With many ways of doing soon such as highlighting object's edges and allowing only certain elements such as rays of in-game light to be projected. Other elements can be projected for an easier way to play for the average gamer. Allowing for a simple style to play a game, without having the complicated issues usually met with. Such other amazing features such as 'stars' appearing on your walls or snowflakes falling down onto the ground are some of the virtual images able to be given by the projector, even with some features 'acting' with the physical objects in the room. Shadowing is another addition to the system, allowing it to project even the smallest shades on the room, giving a depth to the TV's surroundings. The system does not stop at gaming however, the IllumiRoom including all forms of video media to its books, from HD Movies to a standard TV show. The system allows for many combinations of features to be used at once, so it doesn't limit the user to only one or two options at a time. However there are minor limitations to the system. Because its a light a based system. Artificial light and more importantly, naturally light can affect the ability to view the projections clearly. But for the general use of one system, it works fine. Finishing, the IllumiRoom is an amazing piece of technology, allowing one to expand from their Television screen to covering their walls in an amazing array of colour and art. The target audience is unlimited, and is a huge attention to all interested in literally, expanding their views. More information is expected at the MicroSoft showcase for the new Xbox console, and possibly, some more this week. Credit to IGN for this extended insight.
  22. According to Microsoft's official Facebook page, an announcement for the next Generation Xbox console will be made. Here is the quote: View attachment: XboxAnnounce.png
  23. The IllumiRoom is a image protective system that allows the New Xbox to project a 'real image' in the surrounding environment of where the Television connected to the console is. [/YouTube] The IllumiRoom amplifies the traditional gaming experience with expanding the view of one's gaming. The system can make even the most generic of rooms to a fantastic world of art as a cartoonish land. The illusions can distort reality, creating an entirely new environment in which to play in, as well as expand the view of the game into the surrounding objects. The system is a secondary device to the XBox and would remain on a space on a family's coffee table allowing a wide view of the room. With the prototype currently in use, the Kinect is used alongside it to analyse the room for the system to run. The main focus with the IllumiRoom is to expand the field of view. From the games reality into our physical reality that we live in. With many ways of doing soon such as highlighting object's edges and allowing only certain elements such as rays of in-game light to be projected. Other elements can be projected for an easier way to play for the average gamer. Allowing for a simple style to play a game, without having the complicated issues usually met with. Such other amazing features such as 'stars' appearing on your walls or snowflakes falling down onto the ground are some of the virtual images able to be given by the projector, even with some features 'acting' with the physical objects in the room. Shadowing is another addition to the system, allowing it to project even the smallest shades on the room, giving a depth to the TV's surroundings. The system does not stop at gaming however, the IllumiRoom including all forms of video media to its books, from HD Movies to a standard TV show. The system allows for many combinations of features to be used at once, so it doesn't limit the user to only one or two options at a time. However there are minor limitations to the system. Because its a light a based system. Artificial light and more importantly, naturally light can affect the ability to view the projections clearly. But for the general use of one system, it works fine. Finishing, the IllumiRoom is an amazing piece of technology, allowing one to expand from their Television screen to covering their walls in an amazing array of colour and art. The target audience is unlimited, and is a huge attention to all interested in literally, expanding their views. More information is expected at the MicroSoft showcase for the new Xbox console, and possibly, some more this week. Credit to IGN for this extended insight. View full article
  24. According to Microsoft's official Facebook page, an announcement for the next Generation Xbox console will be made. Here is the quote: View attachment: XboxAnnounce.png View full article
  25. Halo 4, Foward unto Dawn episode 3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbBYG77VeCE&feature=g-all-u "Just as Hastati Squad is confronted by a video of secret ONI super-soldiers, their war and their whole universe are changed forever by a much more deadly surprise."
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