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Microsoft fires the first shot in the "NEXT" generation....

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#1 ·
 http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/mi...-next-gen-xbox



With the "leaking" of this information, it's basically the first shot fired in the next console war. Sure, all this info is revealing is that they are hiring a few people to work on the next console, which kinda insinuates that it's really far away from release (can you say November 2013?). Still, this is the first, legit, tidbit of information about a next-gen system from any of the big 3. Microsoft had to know that by putting this information out there, the word will get out that a new console isn't too far away. They have to know that the early adopter types that bought a 360 in 2005 and a PS3 in 2006 are starting to get antsy.
 
#5,841 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by vedderpj13  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5790#post_23340575


My 2 cents...


I for one actually like this. Not a fan of 3rd parties making money when it should be going to the studios that built the game. I never buy used games, haven't in 5 years.
Well aren't you a saint!


I'm sick and tired of this stupid argument. Wasn't it just recently announced that the gaming industry made more money then Hollywood. These studios aren't hurting for money and if they are, it's from poor management, not used game sales. Also, it is not apples to oranges when comparing the used game market to other used markets like cars or better yet, cds and DVDs/BDs. The game industry needs to get over itself and realize that people want cheaper options in the form of used games or rentals. They also want to be able to sell back the hundreds of crappy games that these studios release to recover a little of the original investment cost, instead of throwing it in the trash.


It really sucks that neither console will be backwards compatible, I really think this will hurt the sale for games like GTA V, that are coming out this fall only on the current systems. It also means I will not purchase the upcoming Skyrim DLC.


That wasn't 2 HDMI outputs on the back, it was a HDMI input and one output. So, will Xbox One even do 3D blu-ray and if so, those of us with older receivers are out of luck without a second HDMI output. This is basically a GoogleTV + gaming console. That doesn't hold much interest for me, I don't want this thing plugged in between my DirecTV box and my TV. This all in one concept just doesn't appeal to me or my family. We already have DirecTV which has a perfectly good guide, an Apple TV for Netflix and our music in the cloud with iTunes Match, and we already have a BD player. Everyone in my family has no issues switching between everything with our Harmony One remote, I have zero interest in talking to my TV. I don't need an all-in-one box, just want a good game machine.


Kinect is still meh to me, I'm a lazy sob and have no interest in waving my arms around while watching TV or playing games.


90% of my gaming is through GameFly so the Kotaku article is the final nail in the coffin for me... goodbye Xbox.


I'm shocked, I was expecting some entertainment talk but not mostly entertainment. The whole presentation missed the mark for me, none of that stuff is appealing to me at all, I don't want or need any of it. I was blown away by the PS4 presentation but, this one fell flat. Right now, it is a simple decision. 12 years of having an Xbox in my living room will come to an end this fall.
 
#5,842 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by vedderpj13  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5820#post_23340693


My point is that people who buy used games will most likely buy a few brand new (and pay full price). Before you might have said "I'll wait until it goes on sale", now that you can no longer do this you might pull the trigger on a few games that interest you.


Take COD Ghosts as an example...


If they sell 15 million copies, and another 5 million are bought from 3rd parties (used). Let's say 20% (1 million) of that used game audience decides to buy new and pay full price, that studio is now profiting off of 1 million new sales (when they otherwise haven't in the past). Dev's/Studio's profit with each new game sold, so new sales is what they want to see.

Games will no longer go on sale now? I'm fairly certain thats not what you mean. Or is it?
 
#5,843 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by voodoozen  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5800_100#post_23340773


Butt you have to connect the first time you load a disc in order to install a game, and you have to install to play, and you can't share discs without ponying up some cash to MS or the publisher.



Seems like everyone's fears have come true, just compartmentalized into 3-4 individual 'requirements' that all add up to the same bad thing.

Seriously? Your linking to a forum post?
 
#5,844 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by coyote_5  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5730#post_23340393


Why?

To look at, duh!
 
#5,846 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by voodoozen  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5820#post_23340773


Butt you have to connect the first time you load a disc in order to install a game, and you have to install to play, and you can't share discs without ponying up some cash to MS or the publisher.



Seems like everyone's fears have come true, just compartmentalized into 3-4 individual 'requirements' that all add up to the same bad thing.

And for that you do not have to have the disc in the tray to play games. It makes the switching games options possible so for that big feature I will use constantly I do not care about how this will effect used games or lending games to some one.
 
#5,847 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltide1017  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5820#post_23340796


Well aren't you a saint!


I'm sick and tired of this stupid argument. Wasn't it just recently announced that the gaming industry made more money then Hollywood. These studios aren't hurting for money and if they are, it's from poor management, not used game sales. Also, it is not apples to oranges when comparing the used game market to other used markets like cars or better yet, cds and DVDs/BDs. The game industry needs to get over itself and realize that people want cheaper options in the form of used games or rentals. They also want to be able to sell back the hundreds of crappy games that these studios release to recover a little of the original investment cost, instead of throwing it in the trash.


It really sucks that neither console will be backwards compatible, I really think this will hurt the sale for games like GTA V, that are coming out this fall only on the current systems. It also means I will not purchase the upcoming Skyrim DLC.


That wasn't 2 HDMI outputs on the back, it was a HDMI input and one output. So, will Xbox One even do 3D blu-ray and if so, those of us with older receivers are out of luck without a second HDMI output. This is basically a GoogleTV + gaming console. That doesn't hold much interest for me, I don't want this thing plugged in between my DirecTV box and my TV. This all in one concept just doesn't appeal to me or my family. We already have DirecTV which has a perfectly good guide, an Apple TV for Netflix and our music in the cloud with iTunes Match, and we already have a BD player. Everyone in my family has no issues switching between everything with our Harmony One remote, I have zero interest in talking to my TV. I don't need an all-in-one box, just want a good game machine.


Kinect is still meh to me, I'm a lazy sob and have no interest in waving my arms around while watching TV or playing games.


90% of my gaming is through GameFly so the Kotaku article is the final nail in the coffin for me... goodbye Xbox.


I'm shocked, I was expecting some entertainment talk but not mostly entertainment. The whole presentation missed the mark for me, none of that stuff is appealing to me at all, I don't want or need any of it. I was blown away by the PS4 presentation but, this one fell flat. Right now, it is a simple decision. 12 years of having an Xbox in my living room will come to an end this fall.

Why I don't think houses and cars are the right comparison...you're talking about things that cost tens or hundreds of thousands, and comparing it to something you can pull out of your wallet and pay the $50-60 bucks for. I get both sides of the argument, I'm just not fond of those that complain about pricing/greed when in reality they probably shouldn't be spending their income on this kind of stuff in the first place.
 
#5,848 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by gpthree  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5820#post_23340801


Games will no longer go on sale now? I'm fairly certain thats not what you mean. Or is it?

Of course they will.
 
#5,849 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by spid  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5820#post_23340825


And for that you do not have to have the disc in the tray to play games. It makes the switching games options possible so for that big feature I will use constantly I do not care about how this will effect used games or lending games to some one.


Which is fine, I personally like to borrow and rent console games and don't always buy new. This seems to preclude precisely that, but I'll hold out to see official statements. Steam works great because it's Steam, but no one resells or rents digital releases. The model seems very polarizing on a 'game' console (despite the obvious fact that Xbox is 100% a Multi-Media Console now).
 
#5,851 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by confidenceman  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5760#post_23340460


That's a tautological argument since it's all a question of how you define the "marketplace." If the "marketplace" is everyone in the world, then you're right. If the "marketplace" is all people who play games, then you're wrong.


But based on this event, it's clear that MS is trying to expand how it defines the market for Xbox. But that's not how the other manufacturers are defining it. Like I said, it's a tautology.

Thank you for trying to argue semantics.
I think it was pretty clear that I meant that MS is measuring the marketplace beyond core gamers. You also should probably understand the definition of the words you use in your argument before using them, twice, no less.
 
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#5,852 ·
My take on the XBOX One: meh. I already have a HTPC and it works like a charm. Xbox I just use for hassle-free gaming.


I'll keep my 360 for a few more years and a few dozen more bargain bin titles. I've got several hundred (thousand?) hours of game-play left in this gen and the 360 still looks great on my 1080p.
 
#5,853 ·
Well, they just revealed the new Xbox, and rather than talking about all the awesome stuff they showed, the Internet is aflame with questions about used games, rentals, second accounts, and always online.


So, that went well, huh?


I can't believe they even opened those cans of worms.


I'm really surprised it doesn't have BC though. That could have been the one bright spot in an otherwise tone deaf presentation.
 
#5,854 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by coyote_5  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5850#post_23340874


Thank you for trying to argue semantics.
I think it was pretty clear that I meant that MS is measuring the marketplace beyond core gamers. You also should probably understand the definition of the words you use in your argument before using them, twice, no less.

Sounds like someone just heard the word tautology for the first time and couldn't wait for the chance to use it in a sentence


Gaming hasn't been microsoft's main focus for quite a while with the 360. If you didn't see this coming you are blind.
 
#5,855 ·
 http://www.engadget.com/2013/05/21/building-xbox-one-an-inside-look/#continued


excerpts:


The engineers in Microsoft's windowless next-gen Xbox silicon lab are rattled. And understandably so. We're in their office, after all, and we have a mess of cameras in the one place you're not allowed to have cameras (or even cellphones). We're obviously outsiders on Microsoft's multi-building, security-heavy Mountain View campus, especially given our quartet of esteemed escorts: Todd Holmdahl, Ilan Spillinger, Nick Baker and Greg Williams. These four gentlemen are leading the charge on both Microsoft's next big thing and, perhaps more importantly, a major effort to internalize silicon architecture at the traditionally software-focused megacorp.


It's really just a single chip that's causing concern: a custom-built Microsoft SoC that sits at the heart of the Xbox One. It's this SoC that has us in Mountain View, Calif. -- in Silicon Valley, literally down the road from Google -- a mere five days before Microsoft will unveil its next game console to the world. Over six hours last Friday, we learned not just about that SoC, but also how the company plans to utilize it in the new console. We spoke with its four lead hardware architects. We toured the labs where they are testing the silicon, and where the next-generation Kinect was born. What follows is more than a look behind the silicon that drives the next Xbox -- it's a deep dive into the changing approach Microsoft's taking to creating devices.


In the first Xbox, Intel and NVIDIA crafted the silicon. In the case of Xbox 360, it was more of a joint effort between Microsoft and ATI / IBM. Though Microsoft's still working with AMD to build out some of its chips this time around, it's also invested millions of dollars in building out verification facilities (among others) on-site in Mountain View and doubling the amount of in-house engineering dedicated to silicon. Holmdahl explains:


"In the consumer space, to control your destiny, you can't just rely on commodity components. You have to be able to make your own silicon. It helps with performance; it helps with the cost; it helps make your product smaller; it helps you create your own IP (always a good thing). I'll argue you're a lot more flexible -- you're not relying on somebody else's schedule; you make your own. So we're obviously heading that way. The stuff we've done over the last 13, 14 years is one example of that within Microsoft. And you're gonna see more and more of that, is my guess, as you go forward."


For now, silicon's a teensy component of Microsoft. Of the company's approximately 95,000 employees, the silicon team is around 200 people, or roughly 0.2 percent of the total workforce. Double that if you count the system engineers working on next-gen gaming hardware -- the console, Kinect and accessories -- and that's still nothing compared to most dedicated chipmakers. Intel employs over 100,000 people, for instance, while NVIDIA employs around 7,000.


However small, Mountain View's 200-person team has been working heads-down for the past several years to verify its silicon architecture and get it "first time right." That's not to say that the chip returns perfect from manufacturing, but that it doesn't run into any major issues -- of course, there's a small team within the larger group that's dedicated to debugging. As Xbox Hardware Group Lead Holmdahl points out, "One transistor can mess up your day really badly," setting the team back months to try and isolate the issue. Unlike software development, you can't quickly (or cheaply) iterate on silicon implementation. Worse, the equivalent of "debugging" is a guesswork process. "The fewer times you have to redo it, the faster you can put your product on the market," Holmdahl adds, with a nod to the business logic that also drives that need for "first time right."


"We booted the OS within days of getting the SoC back," Williams says; a good indicator their initial architecture design wasn't tremendously off. "I'm proud to say that, in our schedule, we didn't have any major showstoppers.


Powering the living room of the (near) future: 'Xbox On'


In-house silicon is at the core of what makes the Xbox One tick. It provides the structure that enables the console to run two operating systems at once for instant multitasking, and for the new Kinect to dish out much more information than before (to the tune of 2 Gbps). Most importantly, the five pieces of custom silicon spread across the console and its new camera peripheral helped the Mountain View team support their vision of an "always-on" console. Rather than use your hands to turn it on like a baby's toy, simply saying "Xbox On" will immediately wake the new Xbox.


"The box will pop on and come to your home page or wherever you were last. In order to do that in an efficient way, you have to architect all of that into the box up front. A lot of it is in the SoC," Holmdahl says. That SoC contains both the CPU and GPU, as well as embedded ESRAM; the first two components are based on an AMD design, and custom-built into an SoC with embedded ESRAM. That CPU is based on the Jaguar design from AMD, with eight cores and a 4MB L2 cache, while the GPU is of the D3D11.1 (with extensions) variety, Baker told us.


The console runs in multiple power states, which means it runs in a low-wattage setting when not in use. (Microsoft wouldn't give us specifics other than to say, "The system is designed for an SoC up to about 100W, but will vary on the scenario.")


"If you look at the instant app-switching, if you look at multiple OSes, if you look at power consumption -- that placed a lot of the main constraints on what we did on the silicon," Baker tells us. Some of the silicon design was derived from data center concepts, as that was the only parallel in computing available. "You're trying to make that technology seamless for the living room. It doesn't mean we need 64-bit CPU architecture. We're talking about many, many cores so you can run these tasks in parallel. We wanted to be able to support 8GB [of RAM] out of the chute, to probably support virtualization, which is what you need for running multiple operating systems. That's just a lot of making sure you have the right security systems in place so things don't stomp on each other."


In-house silicon also powers the other crucial component driving Microsoft's vision for the Xbox One: the new Kinect. Improved cameras and acoustics, not to mention a sleeker form factor, are all nice changes; it's discussing the new CMOS sensor's processor, however, that gets Spillinger, a passionate, intense gentleman (whose lovable accent sadly doesn't translate to text), visibly giddy.


"The highlight of the story is the CMOS sensor, which we developed internally," Spillinger says. "This design was done completely, 100 percent on this site. This is brand-new technology. There is discontinuity between this technology and the first Kinect; from the technology perspective that we are using for depth, for 3D measurement. So this was done here. On this one, this was a complete Microsoft custom design, where our engagement is directly with the manufacturer. It's not with any third party. We did the work. We do the qualification of the parts. We do the validation of the parts. We have done everything on this one."


If it isn't clear enough from that, he is a beaming father when it comes to the next generation of Kinect. And yes, you read that right -- your old Kinect won't work with the Xbox One.


Spillinger joined Microsoft just as the company was beginning work on the first Kinect (then "Project Natal"). He hailed from IBM, where he led the team that created the Xbox 360's CPU. At the time (early '08), he thought he was joining the Xbox hardware team to get started on a next-generation gaming console.


"First I was the design architect in Intel, then a design manager at IBM, and when I joined Microsoft, the view was 'Okay, it's about time -- early '08 -- to start to think about the next gen,'" he says. "It didn't take us five and a half years to get there, because what happened is that the moment sort of turned around and we started development of Kinect. The entire focus was about shipping Kinect, which now, if you in retrospect see, is such a great success."


The first Kinect did indeed sell very, very well for Microsoft -- 24 million as of this past February. Microsoft's decision to refocus on a new Kinect with much-improved audio recognition makes sense -- many users employ the first model solely as a HAL 9000-like order-taker. Beyond "improved acoustic models," Holmdahl says the new Kinect can track whoever is speaking using a "beam array" on the video side, which works with the audio side. It can identify, "exactly who is talking, and then be able to subtract out other people in the room so you get a really clear audio signal into your box." As time goes on, he promises that Microsoft will push out improvements to voice recognition and commands, and, "At some point, we'll be able to have conversational understanding."


If that isn't HAL, what is?


Inside the Silicon lab


In one corner, a massive 4K television is seamlessly playing two HD video streams from a single box. Though the Xbox One is capable of pushing and receiving 4K signals, this test station is an illustration of how Microsoft's architecture went into the console's SoC (not a demonstration of its raw power). Spillinger said that the new console's ability to decode multiple HD streams at once is a measure of his team demanding specific silicon design from third-party partners.


"When we talk about the SoC and the general-purpose SoCs out there, this is per our requirement," Spillinger tells us while we huddle around the station. "This is our aggressiveness to have two HD streams being compressed, decompressed. It's actually a parallel circuit, it's not part of the CPU / GPU -- it's an add-on."


Making a fake video game console


Principal Design Verification Engineer Padma Parthasarathy has a bowl full of M&Ms on her desk, right next to the door, which she invites guests to indulge in. Next to that, her computer is running a software virtualization of a game console. And that's her job -- as "principal design verification engineer" -- to verify whether or not all the bits and pieces of the chips driving Microsoft's next Xbox are working as they should be. It's part of the ongoing process the company's set up to create its own silicon, and it's an important step. Without people like Parthasarathy, chip development could go from a few years to a decade or more. She is yet another fail-safe in the endless quest for "first time right."


In her little office, on a standard desktop computer, the logic behind the Xbox One is running -- from a server farm on campus -- through a variety of test scenarios. She can log issues on hardware that doesn't exist yet, essentially troubleshooting a game console being faked by software on a server farm (its components, anyway). Given the complex nature of the virtualization, tests can only be processed at a fraction of actual run speed, but it's still one of the best ways to troubleshoot hardware ahead of mass-producing millions of units.


Parthasarathy's time with Williams and others on the team goes all the way back to the 3DO. "She has been the architect of the verification team for all of these years," he tells us as we leave for another part of campus. She's been with Microsoft since 1998, when Microsoft absorbed her team (and Williams') in an acquisition. It's people like Parthasarathy that are helping bridge the gap between the company's old approach to gaming hardware and its future.


The next step in faking a game console requires a giant machine that needs its own HVAC system, of course. The spaceship-like device originates with Cadence Design Systems, and serves to run a variety of processor emulations. A peek into its innards reveals all sorts of hoses and wires, akin to opening a panel on a Willy Wonka candy machine; an even larger machine sits outside the building, powering its test conditions. Our friend the dolphin shows up once more on a monitor displaying what the emulator is up to, but his movement is imperceptible due to the speed of the emulation. Next up is a significantly smaller lab with what looks like a standalone meat locker. The meat locker has a manned workstation in front of it, where one very unlucky engineer spends his time logging issues registered by the consoles being tested within.


The virtual console becomes reality


When Holmdahl lifts the dark cloth off a black, rectangular box, a gamepad and the new Kinect, it's the first time some of his own colleagues have seen the final designs. Not a beta kit with zebra tape, or a mockup, but a presentation-ready prototype. As we stand around the hardware placed on a little circular table, the concept of the box "slipping into the home entertainment center" is mentioned. The Xbox One is no "inhale" -- it looks like a little computer with a slot for discs. It's got a two-tone finish of alternating black matte and gloss, with a slot-loading Blu-ray disc drive and its power button greeting users out front. It's ... well, it's not such a looker. At least not thus far -- anything could change by the time it ships, though it seems doubtful the form factor will change dramatically.


Kinect also got a visual makeover, and looks the nicest for the revisions. For starters, only one eye glares at you from the front, and the new chassis is a clean update to a clunky, aging peripheral. Unlike the Johnny Five-esque look of the original Kinect, the second version deserves the prime placement in living rooms that it demands.


The five


"In different levels, we were working on five custom-designed components. Silicon components. Three of them going to the console and two of them to the sensor," Spillinger explains. That's the SoC that drives the console, the CMOS processor in the new Kinect, I/O integrators in both Kinect and the console, and a digital signal processor on the Blu-ray drive. For the four gentlemen who show us around the Mountain View campus and scads of others we don't meet, getting to the point where so much of that silicon was designed and verified in-house is the fruition of years of work.


It's a major shift away from the company's past reliance on external partners, with only AMD serving as collaborator this time around. And like any game console launch, it's another huge investment for the next... five, eight, 10 years? That's an unknown, of course, but it seems likely based on history that we'll have the Xbox One for the foreseeable future. Whatever the future dictates, it looks like we'll see internally developed chips in many of Microsoft's products going forward.
 
#5,856 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltide1017  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5820#post_23340796


Well aren't you a saint!


I'm sick and tired of this stupid argument. Wasn't it just recently announced that the gaming industry made more money then Hollywood. These studios aren't hurting for money and if they are, it's from poor management, not used game sales. Also, it is not apples to oranges when comparing the used game market to other used markets like cars or better yet, cds and DVDs/BDs. The game industry needs to get over itself and realize that people want cheaper options in the form of used games or rentals. They also want to be able to sell back the hundreds of crappy games that these studios release to recover a little of the original investment cost, instead of throwing it in the trash.

While I wouldn't mind if they made the games less expensive, I have no problems paying what I do for the handful of games I buy each year. Also, don't you think not having used games will basically make sure those "hundreds of crappy games" won't be made going forward? As I said before, this will help the big titles/studios - which hopefully equates to better games going forward (at least that is what I hope for). Hell, the smaller studios that make really good games will benefit the most from more people buying full priced versions, or "on sale" versions.


Trim the fat
 
#5,857 ·
Day one purchase. Let people complain, none of the issues others are having bother me at all. Excited for its abilities to make using my electronics easier for everyone in the house. The games will be displayed in a few weeks and I can wait for that. I really think this is going to be a great system. Love the look of it, thankfully it doesn't look like a kids toy and well blend into my system. Improved controller sounds interesting as well.
 
#5,858 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by mboojigga  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5820#post_23340766


Who gives a ****? We're we expecting journalist who are typing and recording for there respective websites to drop everything and clap? They had MS employees their so nothing surprising. He only pointed this out because someone asked the question to him.
They did at the Sony event... back in 2004 many Journalists were brought to tears at the Nintendo E3 show. So yes, I expect game journalists to react.
 
#5,859 ·
I'm not saying that SoC isn’t important to MS or their future competiveness in the tablet, mobile, and PC marketplace; especially with the places it’s currently trending. But that SoC is the core hardware running the XBOne is ludicrous. AMD’s beefy APU is the engine in the machine, and any SoC solutions only serve to offload processes from the APU so it can focus on what it needs to do. Play games, render services, ect.


This sort of reeks of Sony in 05/06 taking their eye off the ball, where other areas of the company start pushing their way into the one that is working to ineffectively synergize by taking control, rather than figuring out ways to develop in tandem.


SoC ain't going to sell many Xboxes and it's wierd that this is the PR / article they're putting out. lets get a look at that APU!
 
#5,860 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by PENDRAG0ON  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5850#post_23340909


They did at the Sony event... back in 2004 many Journalists were brought to tears at the Nintendo E3 show. So yes, I expect game journalists to react.

Good point. Never forget:


Must have been all the console-as-HTPC journalists attending, right?
 
#5,861 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by TyrantII  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5790#post_23340656


Typically I never buy big publisher named games unless I really feel a need to support the Developer, as they make plenty of money as is. I always buy smaller dev games and those from the best (IMO) devs.

I made 6 video poker apps for iphone/ipad. Sales are not so hot, search for leffsoft in the appstore.


Thanks!
 
#5,862 ·
I am flip flopping on how I feel about this reveal. I don't care for kinect, so it sucks that it is required to run. I don't buy used games but will trade in some, but the idea of launching any game I want at any time sounds great. I don't see the point in all the tv stuff. I doubt I would actually run it through my xbox. With that said, Sony stayed pretty quiet on the used game fee front, and also stayed quiet on if there will be a fee live XBL.
 
#5,864 ·
 http://gizmodo.com/the-new-xbox-everything-you-need-to-know-about-microso-509033619


excerpts:

New Controls


The console turns on just from you saying "Xbox on". It will launch into what you were doing last. This passive listening is a huge deal for natural interface. It seems incredibly responsive in the demo, but for now it's unclear if this is an actual demo or if it's being simulated.


It also integrates right into your TV. "Xbox, watch TV" drops you right into a live television feed. The amazing part of this is that you can switch quickly from movies, TV, games, a browser or anything else, just by saying "Xbox, go to", or even just "Go to movies".



Two at Once


You can also use Windows 8's snap mode (with one app "snapped" to the side of the screen" to run another app on the side of the screen while your movie, or TV or game is playing. This is kind of an amazing addition, not just for browsing movies while watching one, like an onscreen IMDB, which is what the demo is showing, but you can also, say, snap a walkthrough for a game you're playing.


Oh, and Skype! You can use Skype while watching a movie or playing a game, too.

Watching TV


Or! You can go to ESPN to watch sports ("Xbox, go to ESPN"), and get update cards in the top of your screen whenever one of your fantasy team scores or accumulates other stats (or just snap in the full panel).


Microsoft also added its own TV guide, with full voice Kinect voice controls (which seem FAR more accurate than current Kinect voice controls in this demo). You can go to any channel or program by telling the Xbox to go to it, or you can just go to a Trending page with the most popular content.

Hardware


There are three ways the Xbox One is upgraded. Hardware and new architecture, the new accessories like Kinect and SmartGlass, and a new Xbox Live.


Kinect is "complete redesigned" to respond to you and your voice, and is made to be more conversational. It picks up motion at 13 billionths of a second, the time it takes light photons to bounce off of you and make it back for the sensors.

New Kinect


The new Kinect has a 1080p sensor, and captures videos at 60fps and far finer detection. It detects the twist of a wrist, or how balanced you are. it can read your heartbeat while watching you exercise. This is next level stuff. The sensor field is expanded by 60 percent, and uses a modulated IR beam, and uses "time-of-flight" tech to measure the time it takes photos to travel back to the Kinect. Microsoft claims it works in complete darkness.


The controller has a ton of new features, too, like the ability for designers to send feedback right into the triggers.


SmartGlass also gets a ton of upgrades, because it's going to be treated as a native part of the platform, and not just an add-on, as it previously was.


Xbox Live is getting a massive overhaul as well. It currently runs on 15,000 servers, but it's going to go to 300,000 this year. Insane. You'll be able to access your movies, music, games, and saves from anywhere. The Xbox One is NOT always online. But developers will be able to use Microsoft's Azure computing (perform rendering tasks remotely), which would require even single player games to be online if those are used. Those aren't mandatory, but Microsoft hopes developers use them.


It also seems the new online gaming feature will restrict your ability to use used games, since they will be tied to your specific used Xbox Live account once activated online. [The official Xbox One FAQ starts off with the "always-on" DRM issue and also addresses used games, indicating that the box is designed "so you can play games and watch Blu-ray movies and live TV if you lose your connection," and that it does not have to always be connected. Other questions answer things like whether the new console will require more power (no) and will our Xbox Live Gold subscriptions still work with the new and old hardware (yes). When it comes to used games, the FAQ's response is also promising, stating "We are designing Xbox One to enable customers to trade in and resell games."]


It will have a native editing and sharing DVR tool to snap highlights of your gameplay, and share them. Matchmaking is also more advanced, to hopefully make sure you're not repeatedly sent up against the same jerk who wipes out your whole party before they even get out of the APC. And it's going even further globally, so hopefully bring in more people to the games (though it's unclear how latency plays into this).

EA Partnership


EA's making an effort to use the new innovations from Microsoft and Xbox Live especially with a roster of new titles. FIFA 14, Madden 25, NBA Live 14, and UFC will all launch in the next 12 months, and EA promises that they will all change the way you play. They'll be powered by a new game engine called EA Sports Ignite, unveiled today.


EA Sports Ignite is supposed to make decision making and contextual contact more realistic. It will supposedly have 10 times more animation detail, called "True Player Motion", and the crowds are 3D, with dynamic sidelines. Basically, everything's going to look even more realistic.


Oh, and FIFA 14's Ultimate Team mode, the most popular mode, is exclusive to the new Xbox.

Exclusive Games


Obviously, there will be some exclusive games through Microsoft Studios. It will release 15 games in the first year of the Xbox One, eight of which will be brand new franchises. Microsoft is trying to focus on new ways to play games. We got to see Forza Motorsport 5 running on the Xbox One, and the reflections, textures of the materials, and lighting looked awesome, but driving game eye porn always looks great in the cinematic cuts.


We also got a look at a new game from Remedy, responsible for the Max Payne series, called Quantum Break. It will let the choices you make affect the entire world around you. The preview was deeply confusing, with some adults talking to a little girl, a cut to a boat tearing through a bridge, the tagline "Time is the fire", and a character landing in the wreckage.


All Call of Duty downloadable content (DLC) will launch first on Xbox One.


(EA also showed new Call of Duty Ghosts features, which you can check out in full over at Kotaku, but let us just say YOU GET YOUR OWN WAR DOG WHO FOLLOWS YOU AROUND. A WAR DOG. FOR YOU. YOUR WAR DOG.)

Original Xbox Content


Xbox One wants to be immersive, personal (with smart recommendations), and social. The Studios are going to use the immersive capabilities to do new stuff with comedy, drama, sports, and all the rest of the stuff you watch on TV. It's starting with Halo.


343 Studios announced a new live-action HALO TV show created by Steven Speilberg. So, like, holy holy holy crap. Microsoft and 343 promise this will be a premium show, on par with Game of Thrones, which is mighty big talk, but we'll see.


There's also a new NFL partnership with exclusive content for the Xbox, but it seems like some in-depth fantasy stats and the ability to use natively formatted apps next to live broadcasts. Nice, but not as groundbreaking as Microsoft is making it out to be.

The New Future


This is what we were hoping Microsoft would show us. We saw a new and massively updated Kinect. New game engines, with improved graphics (but still such cold, dead eyes). There are new entertainment, and even some original content. Some issues, like backwards compatibility and streaming games, we hope will be cleared up throughout the day of events.


The Xbox One will be available "later this year," which almost certainly means in time for the holiday shopping season. For some frame of reference, the Xbox 360 was announced in May of 2005 and went on sale six months later.
 
#5,865 ·

Quote:
Originally Posted by bd2003  /t/1320468/microsoft-fires-the-first-shot-in-the-next-generation/5850#post_23340883


Well, they just revealed the new Xbox, and rather than talking about all the awesome stuff they showed, the Internet is aflame with questions about used games, rentals, second accounts, and always online.


So, that went well, huh?


I can't believe they even opened those cans of worms.


I'm really surprised it doesn't have BC though. That could have been the one bright spot in an otherwise tone deaf presentation.

What awesome stuff? You saw a non-game centric marketing talk with little details on anything. Was any of the media, cloud, TV or Kinect stuff a surprise? I could have wrote that script based on the last 2-3 years of 360 history. As an adult gamer that does not have cable and doesn't want to talk to my console, I saw very little. I guess E3 will have more, but this presentation is getting blasted all over the net because it sucks, no conspiracy.
 
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