Blog Archives
Rise of the Tomb Raider to be Published by Microsoft
Just when you thought that the controversy over bought and paid for third-party console exclusives had regained new life with the announcement that Capcom’s Street Fighter V would have console exclusivity on the PS4, the story got bigger. Not only is the sequel to 2013’s hit Tomb Raider going to have timed exclusivity on the Xbox One but publishing duties will be handled by Microsoft Studios rather IP holders Square Enix.
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Is Microsoft Working on an Xbox One Slim?
Not only does Microsoft have the for-now-temporary $50 discount on Kinect-less Xbox One consoles and bundles that started yesterday, late last week, news broke that Microsoft is working on the next “generation” of Xbox One consoles that could lead to a permanent price drop. Word on the street is that AMD has developed a smaller processor for use in the Xbox One which could be the precursor to big changes to the Xbox One.
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Microsoft Fires First Holiday Salvo with $349 Xbox One
Since the start of the current generation of video game consoles, Microsoft has been on the back foot. Whether it’s the DRM controversy at the console’s unveiling or the inclusion of Kinect or the $100 higher price tag at launch, Microsoft has been struggling in its battle with Sony for the living room.
For the upcoming holiday season, Microsoft is going to fight back with discounted bundles that will see a $50 discount applied from November 2nd to January 3rd.
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Assassin’s Creed Unity Runs at 900p and 30 FPS on Both Consoles
There have been a lot of complaints about the graphical fidelity and the smoothness of video of games on next-gen consoles. However, Ubisoft’s treatment of Assassin’s Creed Unity isn’t just upsetting one console’s user base but the whole of gaming.
In an interview with VideoGamer, AC Unity senior producer Vincent Pontbriand said that the resolution of ACU would be set at 900p and framerate locked to 30 FPS on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The reasoning behind that is so baffling that everyone has turned against Ubisoft.
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Critics Corner: NHL 15
In America, the big EA Sports title is Madden 15. Every football fan that’s also a gamer buys Madden every year. We have a similar thing here in Canada. Since most of our sports fans are hockey fans, it’s EA’s NHL series that gets the buys. If you’re buying this year’s NHL 15 on the PS3 or 360, you played it last year. It’s just NHL 14 with a roster update as EA Sports is wont to do with its legacy-gen titles that aren’t big in America (see also: FIFA). Their focus is on developing the current/next-gen title. Well, that’s what they want you to think.
While NHL 15 is a huge step up in presentation with far better graphics and TV style presentation that looks ripped from NBC, a bunch of the features that gamers enjoyed on the PS3 and 360 aren’t here this year. Like the Madden games at the start of the last generation, fan-favourite features were left out of the next-gen launch title and will be reintroduced later so they can be heavily touted by the marketing people. The actual on-ice gameplay is supposed to still be great. Whether you’re going to want NHL 15 depends on whether you really care about all the off-ice features that are missing or trimmed this year.
Well, there’s always next year. Right, Leafs fans?
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Microsoft Introducing Digital Purchases at Retail Stores
Microsoft is looking to put an emphasis on digital distribution and downloadable games by bringing them to the brick-and-mortar game shop near you. The green brand is launching a pilot program in the US and UK to allow gamers to buy codes for select Xbox 360 and One games.
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Smite is Bringing MOBAs to Xbox One
Considering that the MOBA genre is among the biggest genres in gaming right now, it was only a matter of time before they left the PC and made their way to console. However, it’s not industry leaders League of Legends or Dota 2 that will make the jump. Hi-Rez Studios announced at Gamescom that Smite would be making the jump to consoles on the Xbox One.
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Tomb Raider Sequel to be Xbox One Exclusive
It wasn’t but a few months after release that Square Enix said that they were disappointed with the sales of Tomb Raider. That didn’t stop them from trying to cash in with a next-gen re-release and the announcement of a sequel at E3.
The latter wasn’t a case of Square Enix realizing the error of their analysis or their finance team being able to make budgets and projected revenues work out. It seems to be a case of Microsoft stepping in to make the money work as Rise of The Tomb Raider was announced to be an Xbox One exclusive.
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Xbox Loses $400 Million in 2014 Fiscal Year
The launch of a new video game console is an exciting time to be a gamer but investors are often a little less excited about that. Traditionally, consoles are loss leaders with the manufacturers making up the difference through license fees on game sales, patch certification fees, their own stores and subscriber programs.
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EA Announces Xbox One Game Subscription Service
Back when the Xbox One was first launched, EA came on to the stage and mentioned that they had a special relationship with Microsoft and the Xbox brand. Back in 2013, that meant cancelling their online pass program because they knew that Microsoft was going to load the Xbox One with DRM.
In 2014, that special relationship means that EA is bringing a new product offering exclusively to Xbox One. However, it’s not a new exclusive game. It’s a subscription service that’s exclusive to the Xbox One called EA Access.
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