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Microsoft investing $1 billion into games on Xbox One
Microsoft is investing $1 billion into games on the Xbox One, financing not only new studios but also securing exclusives for Microsoft's next-generation console. This is an unprecedented investment for Microsoft, much more than its most expensive game yet, Halo 4. Xbox One is planned to have 15 exclusives from Microsoft in its first year at retail, including eight new intellectual properties - the product of two years that has seen the formation of new studios in London, Washington and Victoria, British Columbia. Phil Harrison, former Sony exec, was brought on to oversee internal projects; Lionhead's new boss is John Needham, a guy with a heavy MMO background. Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer told OXM Rare is returning to one of its older franchises (Killer Instinct, anyone?) and Black Tusk Studios is hard at work on Microsoft's next big franchise. Lift London is working on smaller cloud-based games, while Microsoft Studios Osaka has a project under way - something Don Mattrick says will illustrate how Microsoft is "committed" to Japan. Finally, Press Play and Twisted Pixel are in Microsoft's bullpen, working on "weird, unique" games for Xbox Live. And that's not counting the continuing Call of Duty exclusivity deal and games Microsoft did talk about during its Xbox reveal event: Turn 10's Forza Motorsport 5; Remedy Entertainment's Quantum Break; and four games from EA Sports in UFC, Madden 25, FIFA 14 and NBA Live 14. Later, Crytek confirmed its Kinect-powered brawler Ryse is coming to Xbox One. Xbox One is due later this year, with more to be shown at E3 between June 9 and June 11 in Los Angeles, California.
Report: No fee to play used Xbox One games, Skype powers voice chat
Citing "sources familiar with the system," Polygon reports that the Xbox One will not require a fee to play used games. Instead, the console will perform regular online checks to verify disc authenticity and ownership. Polygon's sources note that used game sales will continue, as Xbox One game ownership is determined by an on-disc encryption code. Once a game has been sold, traded, or otherwise activated by another console, access to the previous owner's installed content is revoked and transferred to its new owner. Microsoft's Major Nelson addressed recent speculation regarding the upcoming console's ability to play used games in a statement released earlier today. "Xbox One is designed to support the trade in and resale of games," Major Nelson said. "Reports about our policies for trade in and resale are inaccurate and incomplete. We will disclose more information in the near future." Polygon additionally reports that Xbox One voice chat and party chat will be powered by Skype, according to an unnamed Microsoft representative. Recent rumors suggest that Skype will also enable remote play sessions. "Skype technologies are used in Xbox One which improves voice quality during multiplayer game sessions," Microsoft's representative wrote in a statement to Polygon. "Skype can also be used to call any of your Skype contacts for voice or video chat exclusively or while playing a game. Additionally, we have improved the Kinect hardware, from microphone configuration to dedicated audio processing, which contributes to providing a high-quality voice experience whether you are chatting in a game or through Skype."
Microsoft: Xbox One cloud processing can enhance lighting, physics
Speaking with Redmond Game Studios and Platforms GM Matt Booty, Ars Technica reports that cloud computing will boost performance in games designed for Microsoft's Xbox One. While latency-sensitive actions will be handled by a user's Xbox One console, Microsoft claims its cloud architecture can pre-calculate elements like lighting and physics modeling, leading to increased in-game performance. This additional processing is made possible by the 300,000 servers that will power Xbox Live after the Xbox One's launch, up from the 15,000 servers currently supporting the service. Booty notes that "[for] every Xbox One available in your living room we'll have three of those devices in the cloud available." Xbox One games that support the feature will remain operational in the event of an Internet connection outage, though developers will need to address the possibility of reduced performance. "In the event of a drop out [...] the game is going to have to intelligently handle that," Booty tells Ars Technica.
Report: Microsoft's NFL deal valued at $400 million over five years
The NFL will receive $400 million from Microsoft over the next five years, according to an Associated Press source. The partnership was announced during Microsoft's Xbox One unveiling yesterday and will see NFL content coming to Microsoft's next-generation console. As for the NFL side, fans will see Microsoft branding on-field during live games starting this upcoming season. Coaches and other team officials will be provided Microsoft Surface tablets, with the possibility of further technological innovations coming from Microsoft throughout the longevity of the deal. The Xbox One will have interactive features integrated during broadcasts, including SmartGlass, group Skype calling and fantasy stats available during live NFL games. Recently, Amazon announced a limited edition version of Madden NFL 25 bundled with a free DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket subscription.
Xbox One requires Kinect connection
Owners of the original Kinect on Xbox 360 had the ability to unplug the device, but that won't be the case with the ever-vigilant and always-listening Xbox One version, Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios Phil Spencer told Joystiq. "Kinect has to be connected to Xbox One," Spencer said. "That, from a creator standpoint, I love, because I like to have a common platform that I can target." Spencer did take the opportunity to note that just because Kinect is always connected now, it doesn't mean Xbox One games are going to integrate physical activity at every opportunity. "What I'm seeing in the creation process is more subtle uses of Kinect. I think when Kinect first came out on 360 everybody felt if you weren't doing jumping jacks in the middle of the room it wasn't a Kinect game," he said, going on to describe various everyday uses, such as watching television, for the product. If you have concerns about Microsoft installing an always-on microphone and camera in your living room, better invest in a veil for the camera and some way of muffling Kinect's "ears." Owners of the next-gen console will need to accept Kinect is watching thee and there's little privacy.
Xbox One will definitely be in used games market, details still blurry
Microsoft isn't prepared to share how used games on Xbox One will be handled – which had adverse effects on retailer GameStop's stock price yesterday – but the company is definitely going to be in the market. "We understand the secondary market is incredibly important today in the current generation. It will be incredibly important in the next generation," Phil Spencer, Microsoft Corporate VP of Microsoft Studios, said in an interview with us. "I love the fact that my identity, my saves and my content can go with me to any console I move to. The ability to have me and my content save in the cloud who I am, and I can move around, that obviously requires some capability to know what content you own, associated with you and how you move." He also danced around the always-online issue, something that already caused one public firing at Microsoft. "We also understand that sometime people's internet goes down and I shouldn't stop watching a movie or stop playing a single-player game when that happens. We'll support a tolerance where we can," he noted, but we were seeking specifics on how long the console could be offline. "You asked about the boundaries, how long will that work? I'll just tell you we don't know yet. We'll tell you when we have the answer and we can tell everybody. But we understand that secondary market is important to the ecosystem, no doubt." Asked about the game trading that Microsoft previously mentioned, Spencer said, "Yeah, these are some of the specifics... honestly, I'm not really dodging, I just don't want to tell you something we haven't fully baked yet. "We basically set this reveal up so we could show the hardware, announce the name, talk about worldwide launch this year, show EA and Activision on our stage during our announce – which I think was a pretty compelling point to have both – with their biggest franchises in FIFA and Call of Duty," he concluded the topic. "Then we're gonna use E3 to game, game, game."
Don Mattrick: 'If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards'
The Xbox One won't play Xbox 360 discs or XBLA games, and that doesn't really bother Microsoft Head of Interactive Entertainment Business Don Mattrick. "If you're backwards compatible, you're really backwards," he told the Wall Street Journal. Mattrick said only 5 percent of customers play games from previous generations on new consoles, so spending time to make that possible isn't worth it. Sony's PlayStation 4 isn't backward compatible from a hardware standpoint, but with cloud service Gaikai, it should offer a way to play games from the PS3 and older consoles. It's been eight years since the previous generation transition, meaning players have had longer than ever to build up their libraries. That's a lot to lose – and even more so with the onset of downloadable games in the middle of this generation.
1 vs 100-style game shows possible on Xbox One
While no such thing is planned for the Xbox One launch window later this year, Microsoft Studios VP Phil Spencer isn't ruling out the possibility of video game shows like 1 vs 100 for the Xbox One. Microsoft learned "a ton" from 1 vs 100 about bringing "hundreds of thousands of people together in a virtual game environment and have them play with each other and give away real prizes," Spencer told OXM. "I think that's a category that lends itself to our kind of community and interactivity," but he added no such thing would likely make launch. "We'll see how our timelines go." 1 vs 100 was a big hit with the Joystiq staff when it launched in 2010. 1 vs 100 was a weekly free game show played through Xbox Live at a specific time, where contestants could win real prizes. Microsoft pulled the plug in July of that year, though ex-host Chris Cashman was kind enough to produce a goodbye video of sorts.
Xbox Live video, music purchases will transfer to Xbox One
Video and music purchased through the Xbox Live Marketplace will transfer to the Xbox One for storage and playback, Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Harrison confirmed to Polygon. Harrison noted the cross-platform media compatibility when asked about the Xbox One's reported inability to play Xbox 360 discs and downloaded games. "Actually, to be clear music, movies, television will [transfer]," Harrison said. "All that comes across. Anything that you've acquired from Xbox Video or Xbox Music will move across." Currently, Xbox Live Marketplace movie, television, and music purchases are playable across an individual user's Xbox 360, PC, and tablet and smartphone devices.
Ignite won't power FIFA 14 on PC; Xbox One trailer was pre-rendered
FIFA 14 on PC won't use Ignite, the new engine EA Sports announced at yesterday's Xbox One conference. Ignite will power FIFA 14 on Xbox One and PS4, EA Sports Global Communications Manager Steve Frost told Joystiq. "Ignite will be the engine that drives our sports games on PS4 and Xbox One," Frost said. "It will not be used for FIFA 14 on PC." Ignite also runs Madden NFL 25, EA Sports UFC and NBA Live 14, as EA Sports said on the Xbox One stage – right before it showed off pre-rendered footage of all of these games. "The video uses assets pulled directly from the in-game engines, and was rendered to create this first look multi-product trailer," Frost said. "It's representative of where we expect our games will be when they launch." EA Communications Specialist Brad Hilderbrand promised us a closer look at Ignite at E3. "Yes, given the timing and planning required for the Xbox One reveal event the EA Sports Ignite video was developed in a pre-rendered video format," Hilderbrand said. "We'll be showing off the game using in-game assets at E3."
Xbox One marketplace won't have separate XBLA, XBLIG channels
Xbox One will not have separate sections for indie or download-only games, such as Xbox Live Indie Games and Xbox Live Arcade on the 360 – instead, Microsoft's new console will feature games, and "just games," Microsoft Corporate Vice President Phil Harrison told Eurogamer. "In the past we had retail games which came on disc, we had Xbox Live Arcade and we had Indie Games, and they had their own discrete channels or discrete silos," Harrison said. "With Xbox One and the new marketplace, they're games. We don't make a distinction between whether a game is a 50-hour RPG epic or whether it is a puzzle game or whether it is something that fits halfway between the two." In this new approach, indie games, AAA games and everything in-between will co-exist in the same "Games" marketplace. Harrison said this will solve discoverability problems that indie games face today, and Microsoft will still be able to highlight titles that it thinks players should pay attention to. "We don't give up the ability to put a spotlight on the products that we think are going to be exciting to our user base, but in addition to that, what your friends are playing, what other people think is hot in your area, your country, your continent, will propagate up the most interesting and exciting games," Harrison said. The Xbox One "Games" tab will feature game recommendations and trends, and will have catalog and search functions. The entire system is a blend of curated and popular games, Harrison said. Microsoft will maintain its current strategy with indie developers, meaning indies won't be able to self-publish their games on Xbox One, as they can on PS3, Vita, Wii U, Steam, and eventually, the PS4.
Microsoft: No cross-platform play between Xbox One and Xbox 360
Don't expect any cross-platform play between Xbox 360 and Xbox One. That's what Microsoft Xbox UK marketing manager Harvey Eagle confirmed to Videogamer. "Because of the different architecture of the systems it's not possible. Your Xbox Live account on 360 will carry over to Xbox One. That same account will work on both platforms. The multiplayer won't," Eagle told Videogamer. The Xbox 360 is built on PowerPC architecture, while the Xbox One utilizes an x86 chipset – so no purchased games will transfer to the new system. The Xbox One was announced by Microsoft yesterday during its Redmond campus Xbox reveal event. The Xbox One is due to launch later this year. Xbox Live profiles and corresponding Achievements on Xbox 360 will carry over to Xbox One, which also bumps up the friends limit to 1,000.
Crytek's Ryse confirmed for Xbox One
Crytek's 'Kinect-enhanced' brawler Ryse is exclusive to the Xbox One. The game, previously confirmed as exclusive to Xbox platforms, is revealed for the Xbox One by a countdown on Crytek's site, which is set to end on June 10 - that happens to match up with E3 time. The countdown also features the year 2013 in Roman numerals, perhaps pointing to the game being released this year for the new console. A blurb on the countdown reads, "Fight as a soldier. Lead as a general. Rise as a Legend," and the game is described as "controller-based gameplay enhanced by Kinect." We'll have more details on Ryse for Xbox One as we learn them.
Next-gen Kinect coming to PC
Microsoft says it's bringing the newly unveiled next-gen Kinect to PC as well as the Xbox One. The company disclosed its plans to Polygon and Shacknews. Microsoft Corporate VP of Interactive Entertainment Business Ben Kilgore told Polygon the device will come to PC "at some point down the line," while Kinect Program Manager Scott Evans told Shacknews Microsoft will have "more information soon." The new Kinect features a 1080P HD RGB camera, 30 FPS color, Time of Flight technology, and microphone arrays. It has a greater sense of depth and field of view compared to the original Kinect, and thanks to infrared tech it can see in the dark. Microsoft showed us how the sensor can track two player profiles, each tied to a controller, and also demonstrated how it can estimate players' heart rates. Each Xbox One ships with the device. The console launches later this year.
Xbox One, PS4 game box art appears on Battlefield 4 site
Are these the designs for Xbox One and PS4 game covers? The images come via the official Battlefield 4 site, where they're pictured prominently on a couple of pages. They may just be EA mock-ups - no other companies, including Microsoft and Sony, have released any images - but maybe they are the real deal. We reckon they look elegantly crisp.
CryEngine 3 already runs on Xbox One
Crysis has thrown its card into the hat of today's Xbox One announcements, to say that CryEngine 3 does indeed run on Microsoft's new console. The company is already licensed to provide middleware and tools for Xbox One, which means that any developers looking to use CryEngine 3 to make their games will have no problem running the code on the new box. There are a number of titles already announced for the Xbox One, but nothing using CryEngine 3 just yet. Don't weep, though; We're sure to hear about something soon.
Microsoft: 'Only Xbox One controllers, accessories will work with the new console.'
Microsoft confirmed to Joystiq only Xbox One controllers and accessories are supported by the new console. The new system won't support the Xbox 360 controller or Xbox 360 Kinect. When approached, a Microsoft spokesperson provided us with the following statement: "Xbox One was designed from the ground up with entirely new technology to deliver a new generation of experiences for both games and entertainment For example, the Wireless Controller will connect to the console using high speed data transfer to enable higher fidelity headset audio and future controller add-on experiences that are not possible with Xbox 360 wireless technology. Additionally, the all-new Kinect sensor's ability to locate the wireless controller is dependent on new technology. In order for Xbox One to deliver robust, meaningful gaming scenarios for all users across all experiences, only Xbox One controllers and accessories will work with the new console." Microsoft previously confirmed to Polygon and Engadget the Xbox One won't support the Xbox 360 controller or Xbox 360 Kinect respectively. Neither is surprising, given Microsoft's new system has a redesigned controller and a next-gen edition of the Kinect sensor. However, while it isn't explicitly said, Microsoft's statement seems to indicate the Xbox One won't support any Xbox 360 accessories. When asked on Twitter if the new system supports Xbox 360 headsets, Xbox Support reiterated the statement we received, saying, "Only Xbox One accessories will work with Xbox One, which helps us deliver better headset audio and other benefits."
Xbox One's live TV features coming to North America first, everyone else later
Microsoft has announced that the live TV features coming to its newly revealed Xbox One will first be available in North America, and then will then transition into other regions after that. In a press release from the company, Microsoft noted that "live TV with Kinect Navigation, live TV with OneGuide, Trending, and NFL on Xbox" will all roll out in the US "at launch," but was "anticipating global scale over time." Microsoft also said that the Xbox One will require a separate cable box, specifying "at launch," so it's possible that the console maker has other plans to deliver television content. The Xbox One is set for release later on this year, and Microsoft has not yet revealed a price.
Xbox One interface shots show Netflix, Hulu, other streaming apps
While no one explicitly named any streaming media applications during Microsoft's Xbox One reveal ceremony, screenshots have emerged on the new console's official site that give us a hint at what we'll be watching on day one. So far, apps listed include such staples as Netflix, Hulu Plus and HBOgo, in addition to slightly more esoteric offerings such as Crackle and The CW. Microsoft has yet to specifically name any of these apps during today's flurry of announcements, however, so we're keeping an ear to the ground for further confirmation and (hopefully) information on other streaming media apps launching with the system.
Xbox One's Kinect discerns heartbeat and who has the controller
The Xbox One's next-generation Kinect has a greater interest in your facial features, and is capable of discerning your identity, even if you hand off the controller. In a brief demonstration in one of its Kinect testing rooms, Microsoft showed press how the Kinect kept track of two player profiles, each tied to a controller in use. When Player 1 and Player 2 swap controllers, the Xbox One is able to recognize which profile is the new Player 1. The Kinect also monitors the position of players, meaning it can match portions of split-screen games to the side of the screen at which that player is looking. This may also translate to fighting games, which is good news if you're the sort to get confused when your spot in the couch isn't aligned with your character. [Update: The Xbox One controller itself shouldn't go without credit, as it houses an infrared LED that helps with pairing and identification.] Microsoft also demonstrated a few more tricks made possible by the new Kinect's enhanced sense of depth, its greater field of view - which does make closer gaming in smaller apartments a more feasible – its ability to see in the dark via infrared, and its flattering scrutiny of facial features. By examining your face's skin color and transparency, the Kinect and Xbox One are able to estimate your current heart rate. Whether or not someone puts that information to good use in Kinect games or fitness programs is another matter, as we've learned from Nintendo's flatlined "vitality sensor." Valve has experimented with biometric data in games too, adjusting game difficulty, objectives and timers in response to the player's physical state. With a Kinect shipping alongside every Xbox One, and assuming the camera is relatively accurate, biometric influence over gameplay may become less esoteric in the near future.%Gallery-189064%
