The line between mobile and console gaming gets blurrier as time goes by, and today's release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown for iOS is one of the more compelling pieces of evidence to date. It's nothing less than a full port of the well-received turn-based strategy title that 2K Games brought to to PC,...
Another milestone in mobile gaming's march towards hardcore legitimacy
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...
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
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
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...
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...
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.
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
Nintendo will launch its first game with a free-to-play business model later this year. Speaking to IGN, veteran designer Shigeru Miyamoto said that the title could be shown off "relatively soon," and would be based on the 3DS game Steel Diver.
"I have a boss now, I guess," says Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe. "The board." On Monday, the virtual reality headset company announced that it had finished raising $16 million in Series A venture capital led by Spark Capital and Matrix Partners,...
Sony's $399 price point for the PlayStation 4 was one of several advantages it touted over Microsoft at E3. But Microsoft's Don Mattrick argues the Xbox One's $499 cost is, if anything, on the low side. "It's a lower number than some of the analysts had forecast," Mattrick...
Kotaku has obtained an image of what it claims is the first "Made For iPhone" controller. Purportedly made by Logitech, the controller looks similar to the guidance images Apple released when it detailed the new iOS 7 controller API. It features what appears to be a circular D-pad, four action...
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...
Earlier this week I stood in line outside a food bank in downtown Los Angeles. People chattered in my ears, but those in front of me didn’t move. I walked several steps down the line, leaning into the face of a stoic woman.
Behind me I heard...
There are plenty of big shooters coming to the PlayStation 4, from Destiny to Killzone: Shadow Fall. These games emphasize massive, open worlds, social connectivity, and incredibly detailed high-definition graphics. Mercenary Kings, an upcoming PS4 and Steam title from Tribute Games, goes a...
I played a hundred new huge-budget video games this week, but the only one that really made sense to me was a cellphone and Vita game called R...
Even as the Oculus Rift has gotten tremendous attention from the gaming world (among other things, Epic announced a partnership with it for Unreal...
While Microsoft's controversial Xbox One policies regarding used games and online authentication are a known quantity at this point, the implications of these restrictions are not yet fully clear....
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...
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...
For a short time after Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out, I was a weird Deus Ex completionist. I finished the game in eight-hour stints without showering, then went back and started it again. Did you know there was a Human Revolution comic? I...
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...
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...
