Jonathan Blow is something of a hot property in gaming circles these days. The man behind the wildly popular and critically acclaimed Braid is also one of the more outspoken developers in the industry, and in a recent interview with gaming publication EDGE, the man that thought up one of Xbox Arcade's sleeper hits was typically frank.
Way before console games and game consoles existed, expensive cable channels and TV networks have become accustomed to the idea of “exclusives”, often essential to promoting their brand and commercial awareness. Now, Microsoft has secured a deal to offer a British indie comedy as the first exclusive movie for the Xbox 360.
The highly-anticipated launch of the PlayStation 4 is almost upon us, but it serves as just a mere chapter in what promises to be an explosive battle between the major next-gen consoles this year. Also purported for announcement at some point in 2013 is the successor to the Xbox 360, and although much of the rumor and speculation thus far has encircled the console itself, the changes made to the current Kinect peripheral will also be important in determining the overall success of the console, dubbed the 'Xbox 720'. VGleaks, a site which always seems to have the scoop on forthcoming console info, has delivered once more with a detailed list of what it purports to be the specs of the so-called Kinect 2.0.
Blake Jorgensen, CFO of Electronic Arts, has given his take on the next-generation consoles of Microsoft and Sony, noting that he believes neither the Xbox 720 or PlayStation 4 will offer backwards-compatibility. Although this has long since been presumed to be the case among gaming circles, this is the first time a genuine insider has stepped out with all-but confirmation that neither of the hotly-anticipated next-gen consoles will offer any kind of support for pre-existing titles.
According to a report over at TheVerge, Microsoft may be planning to implement some kind of voice-recognition technology into its upcoming home entertainment system, dubbed unofficially the 'Xbox 720'. The current direction of the Xbox 360 implies the next-gen console will serve as more than a mere gaming portal, and with the 720 also said to be expanding on the current array of set-top box-like features, it looks as though the power of the voice will also be significantly entrenched into the next-generation offering.
This year has been huge for the game console market, with Microsoft gearing up for a long-awaited release of a next-generation Xbox, known in the gaming community as the Xbox 720, which is meant to replace the Xbox 360. While details on the new console have been scarce, a new report suggests that Microsoft will be cracking down on the resale of used games, requiring game copies to be validated online every time that they are launched, in addition for an always-on connection for the console to function at all.
Earlier this month, Activision announced that a 'Revolution' DLC pack would be arriving for those on Xbox 360, and, as promised, the pack is now available for 1200 Microsoft Points. Announced via the blog of Larry Hryb - better known as Microsoft's very own Major Nelson - Revolution offers four new multiplayer maps, a new weapon in the Peacekeeper hybrid SMG-Assault Rifle, and the eagerly-awaited Zombies Co-op Map - Die Rise - which puts the player in the role of Zombie rather than the traditional position as Zombie slayer.
Speculation regarding Microsoft's next-gen gaming console is starting to gather serious pace, but it seems that not everything will pan out exactly as the majority of us have guessed. As part of their intentions to converge the brand and a wave of potential new products, Microsoft is planning on going back to the original roots of the console and calling it the plain and simple 'Xbox'.
Despite being a paid service in a sea of free alternatives, Microsoft's Xbox LIVE remains the most popular online hub of all the high-end consoles. At $60 for a year's service, it offers fairly good value for money, and for a very limited time, you can get a twelve-month subscription for just $35.
It has been several years since the Xbox 360 released in a hail of glory, and with its life cycle now coming to an end, we've to contend with an almost weekly barrage of rumors and speculation with regards to its successor. According to the latest specs leak, the next-gen Xbox will be a real powerhouse, featuring an 8-core x64 CPU running at 1.6Ghz, 8GB of DDR3, USB 3.0 - get this - a 50GB 6x Blu-ray Disc drive. More (potentially outlandish) rumored specs after the jump!
