Items tagged with xbox one
At last week's E3, Microsoft COO Peter Moore claimed that Xbox One games being shown-off at the show were running on real development kits - however, thanks to a Windows PC crash, that was later found to be untrue. Yes, "Windows PC". When handed an Xbox One gamepad to play some game, the last thing you're likely to wonder is if you're playing on the real console - why would you think otherwise? Well, below, you can see undeniable proof that there were no consoles at all. The games that people were playing were running on HP Windows PC equipped with one of NVIDIA's latest GeForce 700 series graphics cards. There are a couple take-away points here. While it's not totally uncommon...
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Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One console represents the company's most ambitious effort to date to propel gaming into the cloud. Physical media will still exist, but by and large, Microsoft envisions console gamers purchasing and organizing titles in a Steam-like fashion, a method that has worked well for PC gamers. Steam's distribution platform also paved the way for deep discounts and frequent sales on top titles. Might we expect the same or similar price savings on the Xbox One? Perhaps eventually, but not at launch. A representative for Microsoft told Polygon that Xbox One games will carry the same price tag as today's titles, meaning you can expect to pay $60 for a triple-A game. "I can confirm...
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A couple of months ago, while a lot of people were up in arms over the Xbox One's potential "always on" requirement, Gears of War creator and former Epic Games developer Cliff Bleszinski said, quite simply, "#dealwithit". Unlike so many others, he simply didn't see the reason why an "always on" console was a bad thing, insinuating that it's the "world we live in". Given this, it should come as no surprise that Cliffy B is also in favor of Xbox One's used game DRM - that is, where a disc-based game can be traded only once. On Twitter, and via Computer and Videogames, he defends the scheme by saying, "You cannot have game and marketing budgets this high while also having used and rental games existing....
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What a difference a generation makes. Back when the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 came out, Microsoft had the pricing advantage over Sony primarily because the PS3 featured an integrated Blu-ray drive, and at the time, Blu-ray was still expensive. Since then, both companies have had their share of negative media attention: Microsoft because of the Red Ring of Death (RRoD) that plagued earlier models, and Sony because, well, it's Sony. The company suffered a serious security breach that led to significant downtime for its PlayStation Network and it sued one of its customers for hacking the PS3's firmware, to name two examples. This time around? It's Sony that's making all the right moves as of late....
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It's been a good few weeks for AMD. The semiconductor design firm's products are everywhere at E3, even if they aren't always front-and-center on display. AMD's Jaguar CPU core is baked into both the PS4 and Xbox One and its FirePro graphics cards are powering the Apple Mac Pro. Apple isn't giving specs on the cards yet but refers to them as offering up to seven teraflops of procCesing power and 6GB of VRAM. That puts the cards somewhere between W8000 and W9000 GPUs -- the listed configuration is a bit more powerful than the W8000, but the W9000 in pairs would offer 8TFLOP of processing power, not seven. Apple's Mac Pro Cylindrical Power Plant, with AMD FirePro Graphics Powering the Xbox One...
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The (brief) wait is over: for those wondering just how pricey Microsoft's Xbox One console would be, the company revealed the nitty-gritty details today at E3. Every Xbox One system sold will include the new Xbox One console — which features a 500GB hard drive,1 Blu-ray player and built-in Wi-Fi — the new Kinect, one Xbox One Wireless Controller and a free 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold for new members. The Xbox One launch bundle will be available for $499.99 in the U.S., £429 (GBP) in the U.K. and €499 (EUR) in European markets. Xbox is also introducing a limited-edition commemorative bundle to fans that reserve the system at major retailers. Reserving the commemorative...
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When it comes to used games on the Xbox One, Microsoft put all the power in the hands of publishers. They're the ones who will decide if you can lend games out to friends, if services like GameFly will be allowed to rent titles, if outlets like GameStop can purchase and re-sell used games, and whether or not to take a cut of those sales via fees. As we learned from Marvel, with great power comes great responsibility, but can we trust publishers to be responsible? Early signs aren't all that encouraging. In announcing its used game policy, Microsoft made it clear that "loaning or renting games won't be available at launch," meaning that publishers gearing up to offer launch day games aren't yet...
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Major questions have been asked about how the Xbone handles user privacy, game authentication, used games, and online check-ins -- questions that you'd think Microsoft would answer directly. Instead, the company has opted to release a new website online, rather than put any particular individual front and center to take fire on the topics. Regardless, these are the answers to the questions we've been asking for nearly a year -- let's dig in. There's one high note. Family Gaming: Discs and downloads are equal partners on Xbox One -- buy either one on launch day, and you're treated identically. Your library will be available on *any* Xbox One -- if you sign into your own gamer profile on your friend's...
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A lot of work went into designing the new controller for Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One console. Though it looks similar the Xbox 360's controller, there are subtle differences that are the result of 20 research studies around the world with more than 500 participants of varying age, gender, and gaming proficiency, Microsoft says. After going through no less than 200 prototypes, Microsoft settled on a design that was "still distinctly Xbox, but refined and improved." In a blog post today, Microsoft detailed all the changes to the new controller, beginning with the impulse triggers. The controller sports four vibration motors, including small ones behind each trigger for precise haptic feedback...
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A couple of weeks ago, EA did something truly atypical to its usual business plan: it got rid of something that made it money. I'm of course talking Online Passes, an idea the company once conjured up as a way to make money from the used games market. In effect, you could give or sell a certain game to someone, and then the recipient would have to pay a fee (normally around $10) to gain the rights to play the game online. Obviously, this scheme didn't go down too well with consumers and thus EA, for once, caved in and dropped the program. At the time, it was speculated upon whether or not the company would retroactively drop the Online Pass mechanic from its earlier titles, and fortunately, it...
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After months of waiting, Microsoft finally unveiled its next generation game console, the Xbox One, though not without a bit of controversy. Always-on DRM was a hot topic leading up to its launch, and after Microsoft squashed the rumors that you wouldn't be able to use the console if your Internet was out, the attention quickly turned to the used games market. Despite the uncertainty there, retailers are getting behind the Xbox One in anticipation of a busy holiday shopping season. To quickly recap, Microsoft has come up with a way to allow the used games business to remain while at the same time giving publishers a cut of the sales. As it stands, games are installed to the Xbox One's hard drive...
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Microsoft might have one of the most talked-about products at the moment with the Xbox One, but would you believe it doesn't own the rights to the most obvious domain name to accompany it? Domain squatting is a real issue for companies about to launch a new product. If they register a domain before the official launch, people can find that and subsequently ruin the company's surprise. There's a fine-line here, to be sure. This particular case is different, however; the domain name wasn't registered just the other day. Instead, a UK resident registered the name XboxOne.com in December of 2011, long before Microsoft itself even likely had a definitive name for its upcoming console. So, what can...
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Microsoft's Xbox One is set to ship at some point this year, and we all know what that means: accessories and peripherals galore. Turtle Beach, a known name in the audio sector, has confirmed that it'll be amongst the first third-party companies to reveal accessories to suit the next-gen console. The Ear Force X12 is already the best-selling third-party headset, so there's no surprise in the announcement -- clearly, Microsoft needs Turtle Beach producing Xbox One-compatible peripherals. "In Turtle Beach we have a partner that can help Microsoft deliver world class gaming audio experiences to our customers," said Branden Powell Director of Strategic Alliances Xbox Hardware Group. "Turtle Beach...
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The always-on controversy surrounding what we now know as the Xbox One has quickly taken a backseat to a semi-related topic: Used games. Specifically, how is Microsoft planning to approach the used games market since titles will be installed directly to the hard drive, and just as important, will a used game market even exist? The answer to that latter question is "yes," though GameStop and other used games retailers may not like the details. First, a refresher. In an emailed statement to Wired earlier this week, Microsoft said that all game discs are installed to the Xbox One's hard drive to play. Each disc would be tied to a unique Xbox Live account, and while gamers would be free to bring...
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In a world in which its corporate communication team wasn't apparently being run by two monkeys and a sack of hammers, Microsoft executives would've taken the stage yesterday and delivered a concise, official explanation as to whether or not used games will run on the console. In point of fact, everyone thought they did. Wired's exclusive report yesterday purported to have the full scoop on how this situation would be handled. Specifically: Wired asked Microsoft if installation would be mandatory. “On the new Xbox, all game discs are installed to the HDD to play,” the company responded in an emailed statement... What follows naturally from this is that each disc would have to be tied...
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Microsoft's Xbox One is shaping up to be one of the highlights of the holiday season, assuming they do indeed get the system ready to ship by then. But, of course, consoles are made only in part by the hardware. The other part is the software, and Microsoft has seemingly lined up a pretty outstanding array of partners to ensure a star-studded launch day later this year. One of those partners is Infinity Ward and Activision, responsible for producing the next in the famed Call of Duty series. Call of Duty: Ghosts was teased in official fashion today during the Xbox One keynote, showcasing the leap in graphical technology compared to what the team had to work with in Modern Warfare 3. The visuals...
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