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Microsoft reverses Xbox One online check and used games policies

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Back to reality: Microsoft's new Xbox One policies retreat from the future

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Last week at E3, in a private room inside Microsoft's massive, green booth, Marc Whitten spent most of our interview talking about the future. "As we think of the next five to ten years of innovation," he said, "we're going to be able to drive really great new experiences. I'm personally most proud of the Xbox 360, and how different the 360 is from what it was in 2005. And that's all about...

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The best of E3 2013: this is the future of gaming

E3 stream stock

From trash-talking companies and the return of the Blue Bomber to legendary filmmakers talking about the challenges of storytelling in gaming and the future of sports games, it’s been one wild week here in Los Angeles at the annual E3 conference. After years of teases and glimpses, we’re finally getting a serious look at the next generation of consoles and games. Here are all the games, news, and developers that will matter most in the year to come.

For all things E3 Top Shelf 013: Heart, Mind, and Console

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Breaking

Microsoft reverses Xbox One online check and used games policies following backlash

Xbox One

Microsoft is making a major U-turn today by reversing some of its controversial Xbox One policies. In a statement on the company's Xbox blog, Microsoft says it's making policy changes "as a result of feedback from the Xbox community." Microsoft is reversing a 24-hour online check, noting that it will not be required to play offline Xbox One games. "After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox...

Xbox 180

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Watch this: the bloody saga of 'Hotline Miami' continues in 'Wrong Number'

Hotline Miami 2

If the brutal violence of the original Hotline Miami didn't satiate your thirst for pixelated blood, there's good news, as details have finally emerged about the game's sequel. Subtitled Wrong Number, the next Hotline Miami will also be the last, and it will feature multiple playable characters, each of whom has been inspired by the events of the original. Their stories will intersect as the...

Steam might let you borrow friends' games more easily than next-gen consoles

Steam Box Report Header 1020

A snippet of code in the Steam digital distribution platform has revealed that Valve may be planning to let users easily share their games with friends in the future. The Verge has verified the code's authenticity, which was originally spotted by a member of the NeoGAF gaming forum; the code references a "shared game library" and a notification that would alert a user when their games are currently in use by a borrower. Steam users can, of course, already share their games by lending friends their usernames and passwords, but that's not the most efficient or secure method of sharing.

A...

Watch the window-switching user interfaces of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4

PlayStation 4 User Interface

A recent video from Sony has given us our first glimpse at the console's user interface, which will provide similar window-switching functionality as the Xbox One, allowing users to swap between tasks and apps to perform different functions. Sony's PlayStation 4 video focuses on social features, showing how players can record and share gameplay video, switch in and out of live games to chat with friends, and download new games. By double-pressing a PlayStation logo in the center of the PS4's controller, users can quickly switch between games and other areas of the system.

PS4 appearance on Jimmy Fallon highlights Microsoft's struggle to explain Xbox One policies

fallon ps4

As part of Late Night's "Video Game Week," Jimmy Fallon has had the opportunity to play with both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. But while Monday night's Xbox One demo ran through the console's multimedia features and showed off Killer Instinct and Forza, Sony Tuesday night also took the opportunity to highlight its competitor's complex online and used game policies.

Sony is winning the PR war
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Microsoft says games for the Xbox One will still cost $59.99

forza hero

Microsoft has confirmed that the games it releases for the Xbox One will sell for $59.99, just like those for the Xbox 360, and Sony has previously suggested that it will also be sticking to the old price point. A spokesperson told Polygon that Microsoft Studios games will have a standard price of $59.99, meaning that we won't be seeing a premium for the extra work of making next-gen titles, despite what...

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Ride into the trailer zone: inside E3's bloody, bass-heavy battle to get noticed

trent trailer e3

Nothing says “welcome to the most important trade show in the world” like a horde of zombies screaming and attacking you from behind a chain-link fence only to get bored and go back to gnawing on a blown-apart torso. If you survive this living diorama from Dead Rising 3 at the foyer of the South Hall, you’re left to explore the fantastic shitshow that is E3: It’s got all the giddy neon chaos of Blade Runner wrapped in the human density of a Martian Coachella, and navigating the floor requires a fundamental shift in experiential awareness.

All senses redline as you’re assaulted by interactive sculptures from some of the most...

Hands-on

Mad Catz hopes simplicity will sell its Android game console (hands-on)

Gallery Photo: Mad Catz Project Mojo hands-on pictures

Unlike the Ouya, the Gamepop, the GameStick, the Wikipad, the Nvidia Shield, and practically every other Android gaming device that's coming out of the woodwork these days, Mad Catz has an incredibly simple pitch.The company's Project Mojo is a tiny lightweight box that plays the very same Android games and apps on your TV screen that you could get on a smartphone or tablet. There's no fancy controller necessary, no subscription required, and no proprietary store. Google Play and the Amazon...


'Project Spark': build a game, or don't, with Microsoft's incredible new sandbox

project spark

I'm an unabashed Sparkaholic. I'm sorry if you clicked on this link looking for a critical, nuanced preview of Microsoft's new game that makes games, because I'm the wrong guy for that. I'm in love. Project Spark comes out during the "launch window" of the Xbox One, will also ship on Xbox 360 and Windows 8, is free-to-play (with copious amounts of paid DLC likely incoming), and it's everything I ever wanted.

What I love is the editor

Project...

Hands-onReport

Ball physics: next-gen sports games are more real, and more fun, than ever

FIFA 14

I pressed A to pass the ball from Messi to Neymar, but I didn’t expect what happened next. Messi tapped the ball lightly with the outside of his foot, shifting it past the defender just-so. And Neymar didn’t wait for the ball to come to his feet — he instinctively took off running, let the ball skip under his feet, and in one fluid motion trapped the ball and turned toward the goal. He stutter-stepped to get into position, and ripped a...

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