Last week, we told you about some alleged leaks from inside Microsoft talking about their plans for the Halo franchise on the Xbox One and plans for the console itself. While The Verge confirmed some of the details, Microsoft was understandably upset and denied the veracity of the leaks. It turns out that some of their publishing partners aren’t on the same page and have done some quiet confirming of their own.
After a rocky initial announcement and slower sales than the PlayStation 4 at launch, Microsoft is going full-tilt to right the ship and assert the dominance of the Xbox One in the console market.
A number of leaks by NeoGAF user nktrnl, which were subsequently verified by various gaming news outlets, indicate a number of big games and console plans for the Xbox One over the next twelve months to get it on top of the current generation of consoles.
Sometimes the best way to remove the risk of third-party actions affecting you is to just buy them out. Microsoft didn’t outright buy Epic Games but they did buy their hottest intellectual property. Microsoft bought the Gears of War franchise from Epic and have handed it off to first-party developer Black Tusk Studios.
Anybody who is overly positive about almost anything in the gaming world is almost instantly hit with accusations of being bought by a publisher. Most of the time, statements like these are completely outlandish and unfounded. On rare occasions, though, these accusations find the mark.
Recently, it came to light that Microsoft was paying Machinima content creators for positive coverage of the Xbox One. Now, various outlets on the internet have revealed that EA has also been paying YouTubers for positive coverage of its games.
While Sony and Microsoft’s new consoles have been out for a couple of months and are in a quiet period before the next big wave of next-gen games come in March, the upcoming Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition could reignite the battle between fans of the two biggest players in the home console market.
Recent reports indicate that TR:DE will run close to 60 frames per second for the majority of the game on PlayStation 4, the Xbox One version of the game will be floating between 30 and 45 FPS.
Just in time for the start of a new console generation, the Chinese government has rescinded a 14-year-old ban on the sale of video game consoles in the country. The temporary ban will allow Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo to sell their consoles in China for the first time since 2000.
Back when I did the Hype Train post about the Xbox One, I said that we had to wait for some games that used the Kinect as a motion controller before we could actually say whether the upgraded camera was worth the hype and extra $100 asking price. Well, little did I know that there was a fighting game that used the Kinect as a controller.
Well, Fighter Within was a third-party exclusive fighter for the Xbox One that was buried in the Xbox One launch line-up. It’s easy to see why it wasn’t promoted. This game just doesn’t work. Whether it’s a matter of the software not being programmed well enough to use the Kinect or whether the Kinect 2.0 isn’t any better as a controller won’t be determined until we get the next Kinect 2.0 game. For now, the consensus is that Fighter Within is awful and so is the Kinect 2.0.
Well, it should surprise anyone that a new piece of electronic hardware is suffering some issues at launch. Like some PlayStation 4 consoles, the Xbox One is suffering from a few hardware maladies.
While some PS4s aren’t taking the discs into the console, the some Xbox One Blu-Ray drives are not reading discs while others are actually eating the discs.
Another week, another console launch and another trip aboard the hype train to look at the final of the three next-gen home consoles. This time, it’s Microsoft’s effort at a new console with the Xbox One.
Unlike Sony whose PlayStation 4 is trying to be a thoroughbred gaming machine, the Xbox One is aiming to be an all-in-one box for the living room thanks to TV integration, apps, Smart Glass, Kinect, a Blu-Ray player and the occasional ability to play a game.
We’re officially four weeks from the launch of the next-gen consoles (five weeks if you’re outside North America). While you’re unlikely to get your hands on a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One any time soon if you haven’t already pre-ordered one. Still, that doesn’t mean that the console wars are going to cool down anytime soon.
Today, to mark the final month before the next generation of the home console gets well and truly underway, here’s an infographic comparing the two consoles.
et geekera 