|
|
Xbox News is a site that brings you the very latest Original Xbox, Xbox 360 and Xbox One news, the latest games and releases, Part of the
DCEmu Homebrew & Gaming Network.
THE LATEST NEWS BELOW
|
July 1st, 2013, 00:07 Posted By: wraggster
As the title says the new XBOX 360E has been tested working with CR3 Pro v3/v4 Edition, Corona QSB v3 & POSTFIX ADAPTER v2
First RATER score out of the box (without any tuning) was a whopping 8.30 !
All this is out of the box hardware – no fixes or changes required (R2C4, R2C6, R2C7 & R2C10 still need bridging if there is no resistor there)
For future reference we will call these two new XBOX 360E Motherboards Corona v5 & Corona v6
Corona v5 = XBOX 360E 250GB
Corona v6 = XBOX 360E 4GB (XECUTER 4GB R/W ADAPTER REQUIRED)
Video Thanks to XDK – Notice he has a SONUS 360 Installed (R2D2 startup sounds) 
http://team-xecuter.com/xbox-360e-wo...ix-adapter-v2/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
 Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
 |
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 22:53 Posted By: wraggster
The North American cover for FIFA 14 will feature both Lionel Messi and Manchester United's Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, EA Sports announced. Fans in the US will have the option of the dual-athlete cover or the global cover, which only features Messi. Hernandez will also have his own solo cover art for the game in Mexico.
The FIFA cover was announced as part of a multi-year endorsement deal signed by Hernandez with EA Sports. The publisher noted that Hernandez will specifically appear on Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. EA Sports also recently announced that New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur won the cover vote for NHL 14.
The FIFA series has a distinct trend in terms of its cover athletes. Messi seems much more distraught this year compared to the FIFA 13 cover. It's likely that he's fully taken over the "angry shouting guy" duties previously held by Wayne Rooney as recently as FIFA 12. If the trend holds up, we await a ticked-off Chicharito on the box for FIFA 15.
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/06/29/fi...merican-cover/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 22:28 Posted By: wraggster
Well-placed development sources have told Digital Foundry that the ESRAM embedded memory within the Xbox One processor is considerably more capable than Microsoft envisaged during pre-production of the console, with data throughput levels up to 88 per cent higher in the final hardware.Bandwidth is at a premium in the Xbox One owing to the slower DDR3 memory employed in the console, which does not compare favourably to the 8GB unified pool of GDDR5 in the PlayStation 4. The 32MB of "embedded static RAM" within the Xbox One processor aims to make up the difference, and was previously thought to sustain a peak theoretical throughput of 102GB/s - useful, but still some way behind the 176GB/s found in PlayStation 4's RAM set-up. Now that close-to-final silicon is available, Microsoft has revised its own figures upwards significantly, telling developers that 192GB/s is now theoretically possible.So how could Microsoft's own internal tech teams have underestimated the capabilities of its own hardware by such a wide margin? Well, according to sources who have been briefed by Microsoft, the original bandwidth claim derives from a pretty basic calculation - 128 bytes per block multiplied by the GPU speed of 800MHz offers up the previous max throughput of 102.4GB/s. It's believed that this calculation remains true for separate read/write operations from and to the ESRAM. However, with near-final production silicon, Microsoft techs have found that the hardware is capable of reading and writingsimultaneously. Apparently, there are spare processing cycle "holes" that can be utilised for additional operations. Theoretical peak performance is one thing, but in real-life scenarios it's believed that 133GB/s throughput has been achieved with alpha transparency blending operations (FP16 x4).The news doesn't quite square with previous rumours suggesting that fabrication issues with the ESRAM component of the Xbox One processor had actually resulted in a downclock for the GPU, reducing its overall capabilities and widening the gulf between graphical components of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. While none of our sources are privy to any production woes Microsoft may or may not be experiencing with its processor, they are making actual Xbox One titles and have not been informed of any hit to performance brought on by production challenges. To the best of their knowledge, 800MHz remains the clock speed of the graphics component of the processor, and the main CPU is operating at the target 1.6GHz. In both respects, this represents parity with the PlayStation 4.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/di...ction-hardware
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 22:11 Posted By: wraggster
Croatia based games studio Croteam has partnered with Mastertronic and Devolver Digital to publish a new Serious Sam compendium for Xbox 360.
The Serious Sam Collection is packaged with HD remasters of Serious Sam HD: The First Encounter and its follow-up The Second Encounter.
Also bundled in is Serious Sam 3: BFE along with the Jewel of the Nile DLC. Completing the package is the side scroller Serious Sam Double D XXL.
The collection will be released Xbox 360 from 12 July across the UK and US.
In 2011, Croteam released a unique form of anti-piracy technology within Serious Sam 3 - an immortal death scorpion would relentlessly pursue anyone who illegitimately downloaded the game.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...x-360-release/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 22:06 Posted By: wraggster
The GameStop Expo in August looks set to become the first public-access event that will allow attendees to go hands-on with next-generation consoles.
 GameStop has confirmed that Xbox One will be playable at the Las Vegas event, followingprevious confirmation of the PS4's playable presence.
The GameStop Expo is a one-day event taking place on August 28 from 11am (Pacific) at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.
VIP tickets for the show, which grants holders entry to show floor an hour early, a goodie bag with items including a Expo 2013 T-shirt and Madden 25 for Xbox 360 access to "exclusive Q&A sessions" with panelists from Microsoft and Sony", go for $90 each. General admission is $35.
More information is through here.
Microsoft has confirmed an Xbox One release date of November 2013. It will go head-to-head with the PS4 release which is currently officially 'holiday 2013'.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...gamestop-expo/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 00:24 Posted By: wraggster
Xbox Live Gold members might have yet another reason not to go outdoors this summer, as Microsoft has will have its own version of the TWC TV app -- recently released on Samsung TVs and Roku boxes -- launching in the next few months. Joining the console's existing HBO Go stream, Time Warner Cable subscribers will be able to watch AMC, BBC World News, Bravo, CNN, Comedy Central, Food Network and more through their Xbox 360, with Kinect controls to switch channels and more with a wave of your arms. The announcement also kindly reminds us that its incomingXbox One will let users switch between live TV and gaming in an instant, while Time Warner says it is "exploring" the platform, so stay tuned.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/28/xbox-360-twc-tv-app/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 00:08 Posted By: wraggster
Xbox product planning boss downplays PS4/Xbox One comparisons
[h=3]Microsoft[/h]microsoft.com
Head-to-head comparisons of the next generation consoles by Digital Foundry previously had the Xbox One at a slight deficiency compared to its rival, the PlayStation 4. In an interview with OXM, Xbox senior director of product planning Albert Penello said that hardware comparisons between the two consoles was "meaningless" and games are the real differentiator.
"The problem is that Sony decided to go out and publish a bunch of numbers, which are in some ways meaningless," Penello told OXM. "Because this isn't like 1990, when it was 16-bit versus 32-bit. For me, I'd rather not even have the conversation, because it's not going to matter."
"The box is going to be awesome. The games are going to be awesome. I heard this exact same argument last generation and it's a pointless argument, because people are debating things which they don't know about. They're not [head silicon engineer] Nick Baker or [corporate vice president of IEB hardware Todd Holmdahl], and I'm not [lead PS4 architect] Mark Cerny, so why are we having this discussion?"
Penello said that Microsoft has taken great care to customize the PC-style parts used in the Xbox One, while Sony is proud of the PlayStation 4's cheaper manufacturing cost due to more off-the-shelf parts.
"We touched every single component in the box and everything there is tweaked for optimum performance," he said.
Penello explained that the Xbox One will have all the games players have come to expect alongside the console's new multimedia features.
"Here's what you care about," he said. "You bought a system to play great games and have great experiences. I feel like our games and experiences are going to be every bit as good, if not better, technically - on top of all the magic we're going to add with the instant switching, and the power of the cloud."
Digital Foundry released a new report today that says that the Xbox One may have been underestimated, with production units having a higher memory bandwidth than first advertised.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...re-meaningless
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 00:04 Posted By: wraggster
Is your grandmother cool enough to use XBMC? Maybe it’s a testament to the functionality of the wildly popular home entertainment suite rather than the hipness of your elders. But indeed, [Brian's] grandmother is an XBMC user who needed a controller with larger buttons to accommodate her. This is what he built. He sent us a set of photos and a description of the build, both of which you can see below. He was inspired to get in touch after reading about the custom controller which [Caleb] has been working on for [Thomas].
[Brian] didn’t get bogged down with electronics. He went with the simple, cheap, andpopular solution of gutting a wireless keyboard. After tracing out the keys he needed he got rid of everything except the PCB. A wiring harness was crafted by soldering jumper wires to the PCB traces and terminating them with crimping slide connectors. The arcade buttons he used have terminals for the connectors which will make it simple to mate the electronics with the mechanics.
The enclosure is a little wooden hobby box. It originally had a lid with a mirror. [Brian] broke open the lid’s frame to replace it with a thin piece of plywood which hosts the buttons. Inside you’ll find a battery power source. These keyboards last a long time on one set of batteries so he just needs to remember to preemptively replace them from time to time. The finishing touch was to add decals so that granny can figure out what each button does.
http://hackaday.com/2013/06/28/an-xb...t-for-grandma/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 30th, 2013, 00:01 Posted By: wraggster
For the third week in a row, State of Decay is the best selling Xbox Live Arcade game in the UK.
The game has managed to sustain its success and keep Minecraft from its No.1 position for longer than any other game has managed for over a year.
Outside of the Top Two it is a Sega fest, with five Sonic games in the charts. The reason? Sega cut the price of all of its games last week. As Steam has proven over the last five years, a big sale really can make all the difference.
The full UK Top Ten for the Xbox Live Arcade. (Week ending June 23rd):
1. State of Decay - Microsoft
2. Minecraft - Microsoft
3. Sonic The Hedgehog - Sega
4. Sonic Adventure 2 - Sega
5. Sonic Adventure - Sega
6. Sonic The Hedgehog 2 - Sega
7. The Cave - Sega
8. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 - Sega
9. Guardian Heroes - Sega
10. Sega Bass Fishing - Sega
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/state...a-no-1/0117909
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 29th, 2013, 23:59 Posted By: wraggster
Xbox hates retail, right?
Before last week’s U-turn, Xbox One was going to destroy the pre-owned market, cripple retail’s one profit-making area, and accelerate the move into digital. It was going to kill GAME and GameStop.
MCV has never bought into this argument.
For starters, Microsoft has a £429 console to sell, that no matter how hard you try, you just can’t download.
Also, over the course of the last ten years, Microsoft has turned to the High Street to push every aspect of its business. From new dashboards to Xbox Live. In fact, Xbox has been more active than any of its rivals in pushing digital game sales via physical stores.
And last week Xbox proved its commitment to the physical world of shopping by  teaming up with GAME to launch its own store.
“Retail continues to be of vital importance for the Xbox platform,” said Microsoft’s retail, sales and marketing director Jon Grimes (left).
“It’s so important for consumers to be able to touch, feel and experience our new products – the console, the games and the entertainment content – prior to purchase.
“Our Xbox shop can provide consumers with great product information and advice, with well-trained and knowledgeable, informative staff – it’ll be a key part of our Xbox One launch programme.”
"Retail continues to be of vital importance for the Xbox Platform"
- Jon Grimes, Microsoft Based in the trendy new Boxpark shopping area in Shoreditch, the Xbox store is more like a corridor than your typical expansive store. But it’s sleek, features multiple play points and even talks about wider services such as Xbox Live, Xbox Music and Xbox Video. There’s even an area for SmartGlass content shown using Surface tablets. And this is what makes the Xbox store such an interesting concept, because the outlet is less about selling points cards and controllers, and more about playing with the products. It’s the Apple-store concept that the games industry has been threatening to develop for years.
“The store is here to showcase the Xbox experience and capabilities,” explained GAME’s stores director David Howard (left).
“We will be promoting the services Xbox delivers and selling both physical and digital content and we want to give gamers the chance to get hands on with everything Xbox-related.
“This is a much more experiential store, focused on one brand and what that means to gamers.
“The rest of our store estate is dedicated to providing an impartial view of all content, delivering for the gamers of the UK.”
"The Xbox store is here to showcase the Xbox experience and capabilities." - Dave Howard, GAME
The idea fits in nicely with GAME’s new strategy of creating a gaming community. Although selling new and used games remais at the heart of its business, GAME CEO Martyn Gibbs and his new team have developed a blossoming business based on discovert, not simply selling. Its lock-ins and midnight launches are now more about creating theatre and developing a fanbase than actually selling products.
And this Xbox store fits right into that, says Howard.
“Since forming GAME Retail Ltd we’ve looked at and implemented a lot of new ideas to benefit the gamers of the UK. In every case we’ve trialed our ideas and the successful ones have been adopted.
“Our strategy is to build the UK’s most valuable community of gamers and bringing them specialised and unique offerings like this is a big part of that.
“It allows for even closer working with our partners, a more tailored in-store experience and a real focus on just one platform. This is about delivering something for gamers of the UK that no-one else can bring to them – an exclusive Xbox experience.”
So are stores like the Boxpark Xbox shop the future of games retail?
Probably not this Christmas. The sheer number of games, not to mention two new consoles, coming to market over the next six months will mean the focus remains on shifting as many boxes as possible.
Although for platform holders preparing to launch new consoles, a place for gamers to go hands-on with the new technology will remain critical. The best way to get consumers to understand any interactive entertainment product is to, well, interact with it. And Microsoft plans to utilise this news shop to push Xbox One.
“Retail sales professionals are vital for the launch of any new console,” said Grimes.
“Boxpark – alongside all GAME retail outlets – will be a key part of our retail strategy to bring the new console to market later this year.”
Will we see more? A Nintendo or PlayStation shop perhaps? Quite possible. GAME is working on other store concepts right now, although they're not tied to individual brands. And as for more Xbox shops, Grimes stressed that this is “very much a trial, an experiment, we’ll see how it works.”
In the short term, the next few years ought to be good for retailers. New consoles generally cause an upturn in sales, and this Christmas promises to be a one of the biggest in quite some time.
But once this period has subsided, once we enter the tail end of the cycle again, it will be outlets like this Xbox store that will be key to retail’s relevancy and survival in a hostile and digital market place.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/the-x...o-come/0117911
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 29th, 2013, 23:54 Posted By: wraggster
Continuing the recent streak of Minecraft sales figure news, 4J Studios has announced that Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition has moved past 7m sales.
The unbelivably successful indie game's Xbox 360 developer took to Twitter to announce the latest milestone.
“Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has now sold over 7 MILLION copies !!! #MinecraftXBLA,” reads the Tweet.
The hashtag presumably indicates that the number makes up only the digital sales for the Xbox 360 version. The game had moved 6m digital copies via XBLA as of March, andNotch just recently stated that the retail version was off to a very hot start – though no numbers were provided at the time.
In related news, Mojang announced earlier this week that the PC/Mac/Linux versions of Minecraft had just surpassed 11m copies sold.
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/minec...n-xbla/0117914
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 29th, 2013, 23:48 Posted By: wraggster
 Wargaming will be opening its World of Tanks servers to beta players starting at 15:00 PDT (23:00 GMT) tonight. They will be open for six hours. The servers will open again during the same time period on Saturday and Sunday.The first beta weekend will be open to those who received download codes from Wargaming after signing up. “If you didn’t receive an invitation code this time around, don’t despair. We’ll be opening up the beta to more and more players every week so keep your eyes peeled for the official invitation,” says the developer.
http://www.edge-online.com/news/firs...-this-weekend/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 29th, 2013, 23:37 Posted By: wraggster
Average Xbox 360 game sells 250,000 copies when released alongside demo
Releasing a demo can cut a game’s sales by half, claims a new report from industry research company EEDAR.
As reported by CVG, findings from the study were revealed by developer Jesse Schell at the Gamelab conference, and suggested that games only promoted through a release trailer were likely to sell twice as much than those with a demo.
The report noted that the average Xbox 360 game sold around 525,000 when promoted with a release trailer after the first six months. When developers also launched a demo alongside their game however, sales dropped to 250,000.
Titles that were released without either a trailer or a demo sold on average around 100,000 copies.
It should be noted however that the report did not state whether demos directly brought down game sales. Blockbuster games such as Call of Duty have in the past released without game demos, but arguably because they are not needed and consumers know what to expect from the series. It is not clear whether such titles would have sold less had some form of free trial been available at launch.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...f-study-claims
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 28th, 2013, 00:56 Posted By: wraggster
Killer is Dead, Suda 51's next over-the-top action opus, has been pegged for an August 30 launch in Europe by publisher Deep Silver. We've contacted North American publisher XSEED for a launch date in the US.
The European date was included in a press release announcing a Fan Edition of Killer is Dead for £54.99, which comes in special packaging with an artbook, Akira Yamaoka's soundtrack and the Smooth Operator DLC pack including an additional mission and a special pair of x-ray glasses for Killer is Dead's "gigolo missions." The Smooth Operator DLC pack will also be included in all standard launch day copies in Europe.
The story of Killer is Dead revolves around Mondo Zappa, an executioner for an assassination firm charged with killing bad people the world over. Zappa swings a sword with his right arm while his left, a full cybernetic replacement, can form various other weapons such as a drill or gun.
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/06/27/ki...ope-august-30/
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 28th, 2013, 00:29 Posted By: wraggster
Game engine adding Kinect and SmartGlass support, extends commitment to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8
[h=3]Microsoft[/h]microsoft.com
[h=3]Unity Technologies[/h]
Much has been made about the indie-friendliness of Microsoft's upcoming Xbox One. And while the hardware maker's stance on self-publishing and other such policies may change, independent developers will at least be able to rely on the fact that it work with the Unity game engine. Unity Technologies today announced an agreement with Microsoft to provide development tools for the Xbox One, as well as Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.
The Xbox One version of the game engine will feature added support for a number of the system's selling points, including the Kinect camera, SmartGlass second-screen gaming, and cloud computing. On top of that, developers whose games are being published by Microsoft Studios will get to use Unity free of charge.
On the Windows front, Unity said it will release the commercial version of its Windows Store Add-on this summer, with support for both Windows Store apps and Windows Phone 8 apps. As part of its deal with Microsoft, the company is also waiving the $1,500 license fee for licensed Unity Pro 4 developers.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...one-gets-unity
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 28th, 2013, 00:17 Posted By: wraggster
Microsoft is perfectly entitled to charge $499 for Xbox One – but it will need to convince the public that the RRP is justified.
That’s the verdict of Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg, who believes that $499 is a viable RRP providing consumers are convinced that they’re getting value money.
“It's up to [Microsoft] to win the value argument,” Hirshberg told Games Industry. “If you do a focus group of a gazillion people and you show them two prices for two competitive products, 100 per cent always prefer the lower price. I think from a first impression standpoint the win goes to Sony, at least as it relates to pricing.
“Microsoft is going to have to win the hearts and minds and convince people that the higher price point is worth it, and that it provides really meaningful capabilities that will be meaningful to consumers. And it's a long game, so I am sure that's what they intend on trying to do.”
Asked whether the inclusion of the Kinect camera with the console – something Sony has decided against with PS4 – is enough to win the emotive battle, Hirshberg answered: “I think it's the same answer; I feel they have to show why that's a good thing and why it's worth the premium and deserves inclusion and why it's something that gamers are going to come to really value and appreciate.
“It's going to be a fun battle to watch.”
Hirshberg also downplayed concerns that the next-generation console market will be unable to replicate the successes of the current and more recent generations that have gone before it.
“The console market has proven itself to be one of the more stable ones in all of entertainment,” he argued. “It has shown far more staying power than any other gaming platform ever. Yes, we can hypothesize about meteors hitting the earth that would render anybody's business strategy ineffective.
“And I would also point to our history, at a time long before I was at the company, where people used to prognosticate that Activision was slow to respond to PC gaming and to MMORPGs as well. I think we've shown a pretty good ability to make the right moves at the right time, to a) bring people games that they want to play, and b) do it in ways that we can realize a good return on our investment. I don't see that changing.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/activ...-minds/0117799
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 28th, 2013, 00:00 Posted By: wraggster
Creators will no longer be charged in excess of $10,000 to patch their games
Microsoft has stopped charging developers to update games on the Xbox 360, according to a report.
Multiple development sources have toldEurogamer that the changes were made earlier this year. Previously, developers were said to have had to pay thousands of dollars to implement patches.
Initial certification charges remain, say the sources, but fees for re-certification when submitting a new game update have now been completely dropped.
The move applies to XBLA and retail titles for Xbox 360.
Despite this however, Microsoft is still able to issue a charge if developers make an “excessive” number of submissions after repeatedly failing the certification process.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...s-for-Xbox-360
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 27th, 2013, 10:20 Posted By: wraggster
Eric Hirshberg talks to us about next-gen, how consoles will continue to be a stable market, and why ATVI is very careful with investments in mobile
 [h=3]Activision Blizzard[/h]Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide pure-play online...
activisionblizzard.c...
Activision Blizzard is sitting pretty. While some have struggled in this extra long console cycle, Activision is the only publisher that's consistently seen its revenues and net income increase each year. It's a testament to the strength of core brands like Call of Duty, Skylanders and World of Warcraft, but it also speaks to a very careful and deliberate strategy from management.
It's this same strategy that often yields the company much criticism from some industry pundits. While rival publishers like EA are making substantial investments in digital and mobile, Activision has been dipping its toes, rather than fully diving in. In a recent phone interview with GamesIndustry International, Activision Publishing boss Eric Hirshberg noted that many "misinterpret" his company's very careful approach to mean that it's not interested in other growing markets like mobile. At the same time, he stressed the continued importance of the console sector, and gave his frank opinion that Microsoft will have much work to do in convincing consumers that $499 with a Kinect bundled in will be worth the investment.
The full interview below also goes into detail on the massive investment in Call of Duty: Ghosts, Bungie's Destiny, and how games have become "the entertainment medium of choice for a generation."
Q: As a publisher, does the $499 price point on Xbox One concern you?
It's up to them to win the value argument. If you do a focus group of a gazillion people and you show them two prices for two competitive products, 100 percent always prefer the lower price. I think from a first impression standpoint the win goes to Sony, at least as it relates to pricing. Microsoft is going to have to win the hearts and minds and convince people that the higher price point is worth it, and that it provides really meaningful capabilities that will be meaningful to consumers. And it's a long game, so I am sure that's what they intend on trying to do.
Q: One of the reasons for that higher price point is that they're packing in the new Kinect whereas in PS4 the PS Eye is sold separately. You guys have some good studios working on some high quality products. Does the inclusion of Kinect appeal to you? Will it make a difference in the long run to that platform?
I think it's the same answer; I feel they have to show why that's a good thing and why it's worth the premium and deserves inclusion and why it's something that gamers are going to come to really value and appreciate. … It's going to be a fun battle to watch, but I think they definitely have to win hearts and minds in terms of the value of it.
Q: When you look at the Wii U, does its sales level change the way you think about that platform is a publisher? You guys have always been a bit slower to jump on new platforms compared to a publisher like Ubisoft.
"We're in the business of blowing minds and providing huge experiences. It's a critical year and it's a critical transition, and we're going to spare no expense to make sure that we have the best game"
I don't think we're slower to move; we're a very choiceful company. We're very choiceful in the number of titles we make. We scrutinize opportunities very carefully, and when we go into them we go big. And I think that's been part of the formula for our success. We were there with a lot support for the Wii U at launch with a Call of Duty game, with a Skylanders game and with several other titles. We want to see Nintendo be successful and we want to do anything we can to help them be successful. Obviously the Wii U is struggling - that's not a secret, I don't think there's any other way to read the narrative right now - but they're a really good company and they've got some incredible IP that has yet to come, that they honed for that platform. We have a vested interest in making them successful.
Q: With the Call of Duty it seems like every year the stakes get higher. Is it fair to say that this year will be the biggest investment ever in Call of Duty?
I think that's a fair deduction. We don't talk about our budgets but we're developing for [many] different platforms with next-gen and current-gen and it's a very complex development process. And then you have all the stakes that come with a new generation of hardware, the expectations, needing to set the gold standard for next-gen, win people over and make sure that our audience comes with us to the next generation. Look, it's not for the faint of heart. When you're on top you've got the rest of the industry gunning for you - excuse the pun - and you also have the toughest competition of all which is ourselves and our past success and exceeding our gamers' expectations.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ce-is-worth-it
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
|
June 27th, 2013, 10:15 Posted By: wraggster
DRM remains a useful tool for publishers but cannot be used at the expense of consumers, SimCity creator Will Wright has said.
But regardless of the morality behind Microsoft’s now-ditched DRM plans for Xbox One, Wright has told CNN that he was impressed with how the platform holder reacted to the vocal complaints of gamers.
“The sensibility of being able to play a game I want to on a PC or any device is great,” he stated. “I love that freedom and the free-to-play games have made good use of that. From the consumers' point of view, I can really understand a lot of the backlash to DRM. The fact that if something's required on the internet that means they can't play it on the airplane or if their Internet connection goes down.
“I thought it was very impressive how responsive Microsoft was. DRM is going to be an ongoing negotiation because there are features to the DRM, or at least internet connectivity, that is a very attractive solution to the piracy issue. Gaming has had a long history of piracy, but you can't use DRM at the expense of the customers. I'm not really sure I have a clear answer to this except that it's going to be something that we slowly acclimate the player base towards.
“To see a company like Microsoft actually sit back, listen, and understand the fans and respond to them is impressive. For a company that size to be that responsive is great. These companies are the ones that obviously keep us in business and allow us to make games.”
Regardless of his admiration for the efforts of gamers to overturn to policies, Wright also pointed out that developers and platform holders have to make a call regarding when it is and is not advisable to listen to the angry internet.
“On the other side there's the internet thing where five per cent of the people are making all the noise,” he added. “Sometimes they represent the other 95 per cent, sometimes they don't. A lot of times the five per cent are asking for ridiculously elaborate features, and as a game designer you know that's going to make the game inaccessible to everybody else.
“There are these people that want you to push a franchise in a super hardcore direction, and therefore we're going to close it off to 95 per cent of the players, so you have to understand what kind of feedback that they're giving you. But when it's something that's five per cent representing the other 95 that will probably feel the same way, then I think it's really valuable.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/will-...cklash/0117746
To read more of the post and Download, click here!
Join In and Discuss Here
Submit News and Releases Here and Contact Us for Reviews and Advertising Here |
|
|
|
|
« prev
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
next » |
|
|
