We've seen the reveal trailer, and now the team behind Call of Duty: Ghosts is pulling back the curtain and providing a look at the game's robust next-generation engine. In the below clip (also screened during yesterday's Xbox One keynote), you'll see direct comparisons between characters pulled...
Looking good
Microsoft didn't reveal all of the planned launch titles for its Xbox One this week. Crytek says that Ryse, a title set in the Roman Empire period, will debut exclusively on the Xbox One. Ryse looks set to be unveiled at E3, with a mini-site...
Some Xbox 360 owners are dismayed that their collection of current-generation games won't work on the upcoming Xbox One. But Xbox head Don Mattrick is betting that they're in the vast minority. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mattrick explained the decision not to focus on backwards-compatibility. According to him, only 5 percent of customers actually played older games on a new...
With both its current and next-generation PlayStation platforms, Sony is making a concerted effort to capture the hearts and minds of the independent game development community, but the question is whether Microsoft is doing the same with its upcoming console. Yesterday's Xbox One announcement wasn't heavily focused on games, instead detailing the hardware and services of the device, but the few titles that were shown all came from major publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision. With the Xbox One's push to be the focal point of your living room, will there still be a place for indie games?
The sense among the game development community is murky, in stark contrast to feelings about Sony. While the PlayStation brand has been open about its intentions and is actively seeking out interesting new games from smaller teams, Microsoft...
"Compared to Sony the efforts are non-existent." Rami Ismail, Vlambeer
Microsoft's Xbox One announcement focused on hardware, entertainment, and gaming, but a controversial aspect of the new console — a rumored always-online requirement — has been left floating amid a sea of confusion. Microsoft sparked the hubbub with a vague answer on its Q&A section for the Xbox One. "No, it does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to...
Xbox on, Xbox off
Along with the Xbox One, Microsoft also announced a new Kinect today — and it appears the updated motion-tracking system will be coming to Windows PCs just like its predecessor. Shacknews reports that Scott Evans, Microsoft's Kinect program manager, confirmed that the device will be coming to PCs. While no date was provided, Evans did state that "We will have more information soon." The new...
Earlier this year, Microsoft discontinued its Xbox Live Gold Family Pack, an option for families to purchase multiple Gold memberships at a reduced rate. It now appears that it's making its way back to the Xbox One in one way or another. Polygon reports that multiple accounts will be able to share an Xbox Live Gold membership from a console.
"Anybody who has usage privilege on that machine can use it," says Microsoft's Phil Harrison, indicating that the system could be familiar to the Family Pack method of assigning Xbox Live Gold to additional accounts. Discussing the family aspect,...
So is EA making Wii U games, or isn’t it? Last week, company spokesman Jeff Brown said that the company has "no games in development for the Wii U currently," but according to CFO Blake Jorgensen, there actually are plans to make games for the new console, reports Polygon. Responding to a question at the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media, and Communications Conference, Jorgensen stated that "we are building titles for the Nintendo console, but not anywhere near as many as we are for PS or Xbox." He also contrasted the power of the next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft with Nintendo’s Wii U, which he described as "more an...
Microsoft finally unveiled its next-generation Xbox One console today. Amongst the fanfare of entertainment features, an improved controller, and the centerpiece of Kinect, the company revealed details on the architecture that powers its next console. More importantly, Microsoft says it's running Windows. The company told press that it's marrying its Windows Phone and Windows 8 user interface to the Xbox more closely than ever before, and that...
Xbox, meet Windows
The Xbox One console is nice, but what really matters is the controller: after all, it's the thing you hold in your hands the whole time you're using the console, and if Microsoft has its way that's going to happen a lot. We had a chance to spend a few minutes using the new controller, and while...
"It's what's on the inside that counts" is something of an unofficial mantra of Microsoft's new Xbox One. The Kinect is perhaps the best example: externally, it's more or less unchanged from its predecessor, but it's actually a very different...
We think of video game consoles as being principally about, well, the games. But when the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 went head-to-head in 2006, it wasn't games that truly determined the victor. What eventually drove the Xbox 360 to first place was the underlying vision — a...
As the Xbox 360 aged, rumors swirled around Microsoft’s next-generation console. Would we see an Xbox 720? An Xbox Infinity? A Nextbox? All those rumors turned out to be wrong: in Redmond today, Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One, set for release by the end of 2013. While the name was kept...
In its hour-long Xbox One presentation, Microsoft blazed through announcements for its new next-generation console, including one ostensibly important feature that may raise some eyebrows: the new Xbox will always be listening to you, even when it's turned off.
One of the big rumors leading up to the new Xbox One announcement was the possibility of Microsoft forcing gamers to keep the console connected to the internet. Microsoft says that while the Xbox One requires an internet connection, "it does not...
The next generation is nearly upon us. Both Microsoft and Sony have revealed their latest gaming / entertainment consoles to the world, setting up yet another high stakes battle for your hard-earned dollars later this year. The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 each represent a major leap over anything...
If you were hoping to play your vast collection of Xbox 360 games on Microsoft's latest creation, we've got a spot of bad news. Microsoft Xbox Live...
Microsoft's Xbox One will use Blu-ray discs for games, but you won't be using them as frequently as you might have with your PlayStation 3. In a...
Microsoft has just announced a broad partnership with the National Football League intended to make the Xbox One the definitive living room device for football fans. Dubbed NFL on Xbox, the initiative will take the simple act of watching football, and transform it into what the company is touting as a true interactive experience — leveraging...
Microsoft has just launched its new Xbox One, and one of the first confirmed games for the next-generation console is Quantum Break. Created by Remedy Entertainment, the team behind Max Payne and A...
Microsoft has just announced a new expansion of the Halo universe — a live-action TV series will be coming to Xbox Live, and Steven Spielberg will be involved in an as-yet undefined role. "Halo has always been more than a game," said Bonnie Ross from 343 Industries when she announced the show. "The Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and myth-making meet to produce something truly groundbreaking," Spielberg said on a pre-recorded video. There's no word yet on when this show will debut, or where we'll be able to watch it beyond Xbox Live.
Update: Microsoft has clarified that Steven...
Microsoft just unveiled its next-generation Xbox, and in addition to the console itself, the company also revealed some of the games that will be coming to the platform. Electronic Arts announced a quartet of sports games, including Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14, EA Sports UFC, and the previously revealed FIFA 14. The titles will be powered by the brand new EA Sports Ignite game engine. "All four will launch in the next 12 months," said EA's Andrew Wilson. "All four will be revolutionary." EA...
Xbox Live has long been a central component to Microsoft's game consoles: it (and Halo 2) almost singlehandedly made the original Xbox a force to be reckoned with, and it's been key to the successes of the Xbox 360. For the Xbox One announced...
Microsoft's Xbox One will come complete with a Blu-ray drive. Games for the new console will be stored on Blu-ray discs, matching the PlayStation 4 as well as the Wii U's high-capacity proprietary media. It's not currently known what speed the...
At E3 last year, Microsoft introduced Xbox SmartGlass — a second-screen companion app to the Xbox 360 for smartphones, tablets, and Windows 8 PCs that displays companion content for supported entertainment options like movies and games. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft has just announced that it's bringing that technology to the new Xbox One console. Microsoft's Marc Whitten called it a "native" part of the Xbox One. He also said that there have...
Every new Xbox One will come with a new Kinect, Microsoft has just announced. The peripheral has received an incredible overhaul: the Xbox One uses it to turn on your entire entertainment system and switch between games, movies, web browsing and live television at a moment's notice. Just say "Xbox On" to turn on the console, even when it's off, and the Kinect will recognize you, automatically sign you in, and give you hands-free control over...
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