Remedy Entertainment posted the official box art for their upcoming Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break. The game will be an innovative new IP that blends gaming and television with the television show in the works supposedly being tailored to the way gamers play the game.
Microsoft has been receiving a lot of bad press lately surrounding their Xbox One reveal. They weren’t exactly open with certain platform policies (such as an always-on connection, locking out used games, and blocking borrowing) which has drawn a lot of criticisms and gamers have sworn their allegiance to the PlayStation 4. While a lot of the speculation surrounding the Xbox One has been unfounded rumors (the system won’t be “always-on” but will require a periodic connection to authenticate games; used games are a part of the business and will not be blocked, though Microsoft and publishers will now see a cut of the profits; and borrowing and lending games is still much alive), it still looks, for many consuemrs, as though Sony is the better choice. It’s worth noting that Sony was equally elusive after the announcement of the PS4.
Little details beyond the fact that the PS4 is coming and it will, indeed, play games were confirmed. Sony, after the conference confirmed that the system will play used games, but didn’t specify anything beyond that. While Microsoft was a bit foolish in, well, talking and breeding speculation, Sony took what might be the smarter route by being quiet in not stating any potential scenarios. While many believed this to be a confirmation that Sony won’t be trying to get their slice of the used game pie, it may have easily been omission to make themselves more appealing.
GameTrailers’ Geoff Keighley has stated that it’s unlikely that developers would allow one platform (Microsoft’s Xbox One) to enable them to retain some of the profits of used game sales without the other embracing such a feature. There’s been a lot of hubbub surrounding this speculated used game DRM and fans have been crying out to Sony to not allow such a feature in the PS4. It’s worth noting that whether or not the developers and publishers see a cut of the used game sales, the consumers will likely be completely unaffected by this implementation. Business will carry on for us as usual–we will be able to buy, sell, lend, and borrow games as we normally would, just the workings behind the scenes would make the selling and buying of used games more ideal for the people who actually made the games.
Personally, I haven’t made any sound decisions on either console. I know I’m likely going to end up with both of them, but there are too many uncertainties to be, well, certain. I love gaming and I prefer doing it on a console, so I’m going to continue doing that until it is made incredibly undesirable to enjoy my games from my couch. E3 is right around the corner, so I’m sure a lot of these rumors for both systems will be cleared up soon.
Source: GameSpot
A leak on the Korean Ratings Board has suggested that Halo Bootcamp is in the works. Microsoft followed up this leak confirming the project’s existence. They’ve stated that Bootcamp is not related to the the Xbox One or the Reclaimer Trilogy (which began with Halo 4). The description states that Bootcamp is a third-person shooter set within the Haloverse with a specific mention of Halo 3 and PC/online gaming. It’s likely that we will hear more on Bootcamp at E3 in just two weeks.
According to Polygon, apparently Xbox One owners will still be able to borrow and lend friends’ games without paying a fee. By the sounds of things, installing a game on your Xbox One registers you on Microsoft’s servers as the owner of that game, thereby deactivating the game on whichever account it was activated last. That is to say, if I have a game installed on my Xbox One and lend it to a friend, as soon as said friend installs the game on his Xbox One, the game is deactivated on my account and registered under my friend’s account until the game is returned to me. When I receive my game disc back and put it in my Xbox, it is reactivated on my account and deactivated on my friend’s account. From there, if my friend would like to continue playing that game, that’s when the fee would be required.
As convoluted as this sounds, it’s really not going to be complicated for the user. You as gamers will be able to borrow and lend your games as you normally would on current hardware with this activation/deactivation process being automated on Microsoft’s servers. It’s also a completely understandable measure. Since Xbox One game discs will not be required to play games after they are installed, if the game wasn’t deactivated on your user account, you would be able to play the game while it’s lent out. Having this authentication process ensures that your game behaves as it would under normal circumstances; i.e. if you lend out a game you own on Xbox 360, you’re not going to be able to play it until it’s returned to you, likewise an Xbox One game shouldn’t work for you while you’re lending it out.
This is certainly good news for gamers as it seems to alleviate the rumors that Microsoft would block us from being able to lend out our games. I’m certainly breathing a sigh of relief and this makes me a whole lot less skeptical regarding the Xbox One.
Source: The Verge
Microsoft has been pushing original content for its Xbox television service, having announced Halo: The Television Series for Xbox One, and it is continuing this trend with the reveal of the Quantum Break television series to accompany the release of the game. I don’t know how I missed this original announcement, but Remedy and Microsoft intend to “blur the line between gaming and TV by integrating drama and gameplay into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience.” The game and show are said to influence each other which suggests a persistent world for Quantum Break.
Currently, SyFy’s Defiance is attempting to do what Quantum Break is promising with a television show set in the same world of the recently released MMO. E3 will hopefully shed more light on Microsoft and Remedy’s plans for the future and give us a better look of what to expect when Quantum Break, both the game and the show, release on Xbox One.
Update: From Quantum Break‘s official Facebook page: “The actions you take, and the choices you make, shape your experience as the narrative unfolds. As you play, a personalized ‘director’s cut’ of the show is created just for you, based on the decisions you make during the game.” This suggests that players will be presented with episodes of the television show altered to show how their choices have affected the world. So, my Quantum Break television experience might differ greatly from yours depending on how you play the game. This is pretty incredible and ambitious and I’m looking forward to seeing more from this property.
Sources: GamesRadar, VG247
With games being stored on blu ray discs, Microsoft’s Xbox One will require games to be installed on a hard drive; it hasn’t been specified if this is a requirement for all games. With this inconvenience, it’s nice to know that you will be able to play games as they install–a feature that had been previously announced for the PS4’s mandatory installs. For current-gen systems, if you choose to install a game, you have to wait for the process to complete before you can resume any other tasks. While game installs on the Xbox 360 are done at the gamer’s discretion (perhaps to alleviate stress on the disc drive or reduce load times), game installs on the PS3 are often mandatory and an inconvenience for gamers to have to wait to play their games. It’s nice to see both console manufacturers embracing a more immediate approach to allowing you to play your games as they install.
Source: Joystiq
Unsurprisingly, your Xbox Live Gold account will transfer to your Xbox One should you choose to purchase on when the system is released later this year. However, the exciting news surrounding this revelation is that one Gold account on a system activates Gold for all users on said system. This is a great and welcome addition to Microsoft’s pay-to-play online service and should reduce household costs for Gold accounts (unless they decide to raise the price of Gold yet again). Gold access will be granted to multiple users’ accounts and will enable the same features and benefits to all users while allowing them to maintain their own saves and friends lists.
Source: Destructoid
It’s been noted that Microsoft’s Xbox One doesn’t quite have the processing power or high-speed RAM of the PS4. For graphics enthusiasts beckoning the new generation of gaming, this is surely a drawback of the system. What the Xbox One does promise, however, is that it’s “Cloud Powered.”
Microsoft has increased the number of their Xbox Live servers from 15,000 to 300,000 and promises that these servers will help with some of the graphics processing of your game system. They specifically indicated that the servers will be used for background effects such as lighting or fog to prevent latency from ruining your gaming experience as these effects don’t need to be persistently updated.
This cloud power may explain why Microsoft would require an online connection for the Xbox One, but it doesn’t explain why you’d need to check in every 24 hours. If you’re not connected, you’re not going to be experiencing the benefits of this additional processing power, so why make the connection necessary at all? I can see the availability of this additional power a nice perk that would encourage gamers to stay connected, but requiring a connection to their servers sounds like it will hurt the system’s longevity. For instance, if I want to play my NES right now, I can play my NES; twenty years from now, if I want to play my Xbox One, I won’t be able to because their servers will, undoubtedly, be offline.
Source: The Verge
It’s been a while since we gamers have seen anything worthwhile from Rare. While fans of the developer can protest that they haven’t released anything good since Microsoft acquired the studio, I would have to respectfully disagree. Their Viva Pinata games were charming yet deep sims that were easily accessible and family friendly but required a great deal of patience and dedication to master. Nuts & Bolts may not have been a traditional Banjo-Kazooie game, but it was still a welcome addition to the Xbox library. However, the developer has been busy working on games for Kinect and the Avatar marketplace over the past several years and gamers have pretty much written off the studio.
However, Microsoft is promising great things from Rare at this years E3 with a return of a classic IP. Many are speculating that we will see a return of Killer Instinct for Xbox One since Microsoft renewed the trademark and fighters are returning to prominence in the gaming industry. Whether or not it is KI3 is still speculation, but Rare has several properties I’m sure many of us would like to see make a comeback.
Source: GameSpot
When I saw Remedy Entertainment take the stage at Microsoft’s Xbox reveal, I was hoping to hear that they were going to announce the highly anticipated sequel to 2010’s Alan Wake. While it was initially disappointing to see that what they have in the works is not Alan Wake 2, it’s exciting to see that they’re pushing a new IP for this new console.
Given that many, myself included, were expecting an Alan Wake reveal, Sam Lake, creative director at Remedy and creator of Alan Wake, prepared a message to us, the fans, to accompany the Alan Wake Humble Bundle. The video explains what exactly is going on and why we won’t be seeing Alan Wake again just yet. It’s an insightful video and a nice gesture from the studio.
The success of Alan Wake wasn’t immediate and, as such, it was difficult for things to fall into place for the much desired sequel. Fans and Remedy both want to continue Alan’s journey, but “the time wasn’t right.” Given that Remedy and Microsoft were willing to partner in this new venture and Remedy’s dedication to the Alan Wake IP, I think it’s safe to assume that Alan will be back sometime in the future after a Quantum Break.
As a fan of Remedy Entertainment, I’m glad to see that they’re willing to take a risk with something new even if it means waiting to see how Alan Wake’s story pans out.
For those of you who have yet to experience Alan’s journey into darkness, Remedy has discounted the Alan Wake games on Xbox Live and has provided a Humble Weekly Bundle. I encourage you to invest in these experiences and support Remedy and the talented folks who have worked hard on these games.
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