Gaming

Team Deathmatch in a new generation

Info on Xbox's 'Meet Xbox One' page reveals the newly unveiled console allows you to play 'immediately as games install.' Microsoft's new system allows games to be installed to the console's 500GB hard drive, and according to one report requires games to be installed. Either way, going by this players will be able to start games the moment they begin installing them. In terms of instantly switching between games and the system's other functions like live TV and movies, as detailed during Microsoft's presser, the page confirms the Xbox One lets you suspend games "right where you left off, so you can resume instantly." Think how the Vita works when you exit and suspend a game, and use the system's other available functions. Except not in a Vita, but in a shiny new Xbox.Xbox One lets you play 'immediately' during installs, suspend and resume games originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

Xbox One, Microsoft's next-gen console, does not require users to be constantly connected to the internet, but it does require an internet connection, a Q&A post on Xbox Wire said. The post itself has since been removed. The answer said the Xbox One "does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet." Developers are able to use Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service with Xbox One - this could potentially shift certain computations to the cloud and require players to be online, even for single-player runs, Wired reports. For pre-owned games, the Xbox One is designed "to enable customers to trade in and resell games," Microsoft said in the same Q&A post, promising more details later. Xbox One allows disc games to be installed on its 500GB hard drive, removing the need for a disc entirely after the initial load-up, Microsoft tells Wired. If a second account wants to play that game the player will be asked to pay a fee and install the game on his own console. It's unclear if installing every game on Xbox One is mandatory.Microsoft: Xbox One isn't always online, but requires internet connection originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 15:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

EA Sports' next-generation Ignite Engine was on display at the Xbox One reveal event at Microsoft's Redmond campus today. We have four trailers that demonstrate the engine's capabilities, three of which can be found after the break. EA Sports Executive Vice President Andrew Wilson told attendees of the Xbox One event that the Ignite Engine will perform "four times more calculations per second" than the publisher's current offerings. Wilson said the engine will allow for 3D crowds and dynamic sidelines. EA will launch four sports games for the console within 12 months, namely FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, EA Sports UFC and NBA Live 14. Each game will be powered by the Ignite Engine.Continue reading EA Sports' next-gen Ignite Engine shown off in trailer formEA Sports' next-gen Ignite Engine shown off in trailer form originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments

A quick look at the issues many gamers will be wondering about with Microsoft's new consoleSo Xbox One has been unveiled and Microsoft is set to introduce us to a new interconnected entertainment universe. We've got a million questions about the console, but here are three issues important to lots of gamers, as well as the answers as they stand at the moment...Always online connection?Nope. Apparently, you will need to be able to hook your console up to the net, but it won't have to be always online. A Microsoft spokesperson to Polygon: "It does not have to be always connected [...] We are also designing it so you can play games and watch Blu-ray movies and live TV if you lose your connection."Backwards compatibility?No again. Xbox Live Vice President Marc Whitten: "The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn't really work from that perspective." However, music and video content downloaded via Xbox Live will be compatible with the new machine. Microsoft has not yet mentioned whether it will make Xbox 360 titles available via a streaming service a la PlayStation 4.Second-hand sales of games blocked?A third no - but with a caveat. From Develop:"On the new Xbox, all game discs are installed to the HDD to play," said a spokesperson.Microsoft then confirmed that users of a pre-owned game will have to pay a fee to gain access to the title if it had already been installed on another console so they could use it on their own account.So it's going to work like EA's Online Pass, which might not be universally popular?More details later...GamesXboxEventsKeith Stuartguardian.co.uk © 2013 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

2D will never die, and if you're looking for a way to replicate a classic feel in the popular 3D engine, look no further than this post by Josh Sutphin (Warhawk). ... More...

Our pals Alexander and Ludwig are in Redmond right now for the Xbox reveal event. They've totally stood next to the Xbox One and, having taken the less selfish path of lording it over the rest of the staff, decided to snap a few pictures for all you lovely folks. Check out Microsoft's next-generation console, the Xbox One, in our gallery below!Gallery: Xbox One Console First shots of Xbox One originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 14:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments More...

The Xbox One may shut the door on the used gaming market, according to a report on Wired. Microsoft's new system will allow - and possibly require - games to be installed to the console's 500GB hard drive, which locks a piece of software to an account, the report states. Once installed, players do not require a disc to boot the software. If a game is used with a second account, that owner will be given the option to pay a fee and install the experience on their own console, Microsoft told Wired. Whether "account" means an entirely new console or another Xbox Live account on the same console, is unclear. Though Microsoft wouldn't get into specifics as to how this decision affects the used game market, the decision calls into doubt the viability of rental services such as GameFly and RedBox, and used game markets from major retailers such as GameStop, Amazon and BestBuy, with the Xbox One. Wired's feature says that Xbox One's always-on internet connection rumors were not unfounded, but not as draconian as gamers feared. Developers will have the option to create games that use Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service, which Wired postulates could be done to offload certain computing tasks in the cloud rather than processing them on the console. In this instance, the Xbox One would require a connection to the internet - even during single-player experiences. Microsoft says this is not a requirement for developers that wish to create offline experiences; however, Microsoft's Marc Whitten told Wired they "hope" developers utilize the tools. The Xbox One's sometimes needs to be on connection could evolve, throughout the generation, as an always-on machine. Update: In a post answering "top questions" about the Xbox One, the official Microsoft page notes the system "does not have to be always connected, but Xbox One does require a connection to the Internet." Additionally Microsoft notes that in the case of pre-owned software, the Xbox one is designed "to enable customers to trade in and resell games. We'll have more details to share later." The Q&A makes no mention of the fees confirmed by Microsoft to Wired. Update 2: The Q&A post from Microsoft's official page appears to have been removed, we are investigating.Xbox One may require game installs, close out used game market [Update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments More...

No surprises, but Ubisoft announced it's bringing Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag and Watch Dogs to the Xbox One, hot on the heels of the console's reveal. Ubisoft says the duo are two of "at least six next-gen games" it's bringing to the Xbox One in the system's first year. "The next generation of consoles will reinvigorate our industry and make it possible for us to deliver incredible new entertainment to gamers," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "Our teams are using the innovations in connectivity, immersion and social gaming included in Xbox One to create original and memorable next-gen gaming experiences."Continue reading Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed 4 confirmed for Xbox One Watch Dogs, Assassin's Creed 4 confirmed for Xbox One originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments More...

Microsoft's minty-fresh Xbox One will be unable to play Xbox 360 discs, nor will your multitude of Xbox Live Arcade purchases transfer to the new machine, our friends at Engadget have learned. The incompatibility is due to the fact that the Xbox One runs on x86 processor architecture, whereas the Xbox 360 ran on PowerPC. This fundamental difference in hardware architecture prevents the Xbox One from natively running Xbox 360 games, regardless of how powerful the thing may be. "We care very much about the investment people have made in Xbox 360 and will continue to support it with a pipeline of new games and new apps well into the future," a Microsoft representative told Engadget. Part of that investment will transfer, however: Your Xbox Live Gamerscore. Earlier this year, Sony also announced that its PlayStation 4 will make the jump to a processor built on the x86 platform.Xbox One not backwards compatible with 360 discs/XBLA purchases; Gamerscore does transfer originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 21 May 2013 14:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Email this | Comments More...