Announced at last year’s E3 as an XBLA title, Twisted Pixel has now revealed that their upcoming LocoCycle is coming to Xbox One as a launch title on the system’s new game marketplace. They’ve stated that the game is still (for now) in development for Xbox 360, though the release date has been pushed to a “further date.” I’m almost certain we’ll hear more about this at this year’s E3.
Source: Destructoid
From the studio behind Dead Island comes Mirror’s Edge (With Zombies). It’s a CG trailer, but the promise behind this game is interesting, so I’m keeping my eyes on it.
Just days before E3, the first title from Respawn Entertainment has been outed by the leaked GameInformer cover. Titled Titanfall, the game is supposedly coming only to Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. There were rumors floating around that the game would be an Xbox console exclusive, and those appear to be true. The game will be multiplayer-focused with the Xbox One version heavily utilizing the power of the cloud (one of the things Microsoft was touting for its next-gen console); the Xbox 360 version is being outsourced to a different studio. I’m sure we’ll learn more about this game in just a few days when E3 is upon us.
Source: IGN
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
A little slow on the posting of some of these Xbox One reveal trailers, but I’m a busy guy. Anyway, this is definitely worth watching in HD–the particle effects and lighting in this game are incredible. Microsoft has confirmed that this (and the Quantum Break trailer) are running on Xbox One dev kits; so, this is in-game footage. It’s gorgeous. Forza Motorsport 5 is an Xbox One launch title, so it will be available later this year.
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
PowerUp Online 