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Leaked Microsoft documents detail 'cloud hybrid' next-gen Xbox for 2028
A document that's part of a massive Microsoft leak revealed tentative plans for the next-generation Xbox — what it calls a "hybrid game platform."
Spin's revamped e-scooters are coming to eight US cities
Spin, the e-scooter startup acquired by Ford, is rolling out its redesigned electric scooters and bringing them to more cities across the US. The new scooters have a larger frame with a wider and longer platform. They come with bigger, tubeless tires for better shock absorption, more intuitive bike-handle braking, a boosted rear drive for improved acceleration and security screws meant to cut down on tampering and vandalism. And with an extended battery life, they should travel up to 37.5 miles on a full charge.
Nikon working on next-gen D850 DSLR for its 100th anniversary
Nikon has become a bit set in its ways, failing to compete with Sony, Fujifilm and others in the profitable mirrorless and high-end compact realm. For its 100th anniversary, the camera maker has no intention of ceding the high-end professional market, however: It just announced the development of the full-frame (FX) D850, the successor to the 36.3-megapixel, full-frame D810 (above).
Eidos' Deus Ex: Universe is an 'expanding and connected' world that spans platforms and titles
Eidos Montreal has seen the future for its Deus Ex franchise and it's ready to shed some light on its connected vision. On the company's community blog, studio head David Anfossi revealed that the next phase for the franchise builds upon lessons learned from Deus Ex: Human Revolution; something Eidos Montreal is calling Deus Ex: Universe. No, it's not a standalone title for the next-gen, but rather a new, unifying approach to "create an ongoing, expanding and connected game world" that spans all upcoming titles. And that's cross-platform, too, as this persistent world and the additional experiences it'll deliver will encompass traditional platforms like the PC and console, as well as the portable space, mobile and even graphic novels. Work's apparently already underway on the project, with the first title in this new Universe slated to hit the PC and next-gen console space.
Rumor: Next Xbox 'Durango' specs leak
As E3 and the expected announcements of new consoles from Sony and Microsoft draw ever closer, website VGleaks has posted what it claims are specs for the next Xbox. Codenamed Durango, Microsoft's new console will contain an AMD-provided CPU with 8 cores running at 1.6GHz apiece alongside 8GB of DDR3 RAM. The machine will also use a GPU running at 800MHz, and feature a built-in hard drive. The structure reportedly draws from AMD's cost- and power-efficient "Jaguar" designs aimed at the laptop and tablet market.Durango will also include a "high-fidelity" natural user interface (NUI) sensor. This would suggest that the console has some kind of built-in Kinect functionality, though the inclusion of a dedicated Kinect port seems to indicate that Kinect peripherals will still be available. Also of interest is the capacity for HDMI input, which Digital Foundry speculates could be used for recording or importing video from external sources like cable boxes and personal cameras.DF offers up some more context for the leak as well, noting that there could be a significant performance gap between the new Xbox and Sony's next PlayStation, specifically with regards to its graphics processor. That's based on the blueprints and specs, mind you - we won't be convinced until we see competing real-time demos of that ballroom dancing scene from Final Fantasy VIII.
Raven job listings suggest next-gen game in the works
The last shooter Raven Software shipped was 2010's Singularity and since then the outfit has mostly helped out on Call of Duty DLC. But some job listings over on the developer's site suggest a new game is in the works, potentially for next-generation consoles.Raven is looking for a senior lighting artist and senior environment artist to help out on "an exciting next generation title," the developer's job listing section shows. Another open job mentions an established team working on a first-person shooter right now, though there's no indication that these two projects are related in any way.
Gibeau: EA planning '3 to 5 new IPs' for next generation of consoles
President of EA labels Frank Gibeau is confident about the next generation of consoles. He thinks EA is a master of transition, even though he admits the publisher made a few missteps at the start of this generation. This year will see "a big investment" from EA in technologies aimed at the next series of consoles, and the publisher already has a handful of new IPs in the works."We've already started three-to-five new intellectual properties that we're going to launch in that first 24 months on the new-gen," Gibeau tells Bloomberg in the video interview above. Gibeau admits that while technology is a big part of it, the process begins with the game and building out from there. "What I think what you have to first do is start with the technology and the hardware that is coming out – what it does really, really well – and understand what's gonna drive innovation there. You start from the game out and you build enough games and enough diversity in your brands to come out with a really strong portfolio that you can sustain for multiple years."As for EA's strength during transition, Gibeau argues "EA has nailed about four of its five transitions" so far. "We had a bit of a rocky start on 360 and PS3, but we're number one publisher on those consoles. It took us a few years to come back on it, but we learned a lot from that transition and what went wrong, and we're applying that learning to make it right this time." Gibeau concludes that the jump from standard definition to high-definition, and consoles going from being unconnected boxes to online portals for gamers made this last transition tricky, but he's confident EA won't make the same mistakes again.
id Software hiring for next-generation console game
id Software is preparing to create something on next generation consoles – something with a user interface, which narrows it down to any software of any kind. Luckily, the UI Programmer job listing that reveals this information also states id is specifically working on "an unannounced game on future-generation consoles."As superannuation (who spotted the listing) points out, the listing calls for "Familiarity with id Software games, characters, brands and universes," which suggests the new game may be part of one of id's existing franchises: Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, Rage, or ... Commander Keen. Probably not that one.
Nintendo's Iwata says being first in next-gen race is 'not important at all,' pricing is
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently talked about how the Wii U's second screen was nearly scrapped due to cost concerns, so it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to once again hear him talk about the importance of pricing. While unfortunately not divulging a specific number, Iwata tells Gamasutra that the "pricing of Wii U is going to be one of the most important elements when it is going to be launched," adding that "the environment is different. Wii U is going to be launching in a different environment than when the Wii was launched." He also talked about the timing of the console's release (coming well before Microsoft's and Sony's next-gen consoles), saying that "being first in the next generation race is not important at all." So why now? Iwata says somewhat immodestly that "one of the reasons we believe this is the time for Nintendo to launch the Wii U is it's going to be important for the world," adding that its "focus is on how we can make our new console different" than its competitors.
Alleged Xbox 720 document leak resurfaces, stirs rumors of Kinect 2, native 3D, AR glasses
A document passing itself off as an internal Microsoft presentation about the future of Xbox has surfaced, and is stirring internet chatter with its possible hints at the future of the console. Despite turning up online over a month ago and potentially dating back to 2010, a few things mentioned that have since come to fruition -- like SmartGlass -- are earning it more attention. The proposed developments include cloud-based entertainment, native 3D, augmented reality "Fortaleza Glasses," scalable hardware -- all by 2015. If that's too long to wait, however, the time line also indicates we'd be seeing the next generation hardware in 2013 for $299 (more precise and four-player ready Kinect 2 included). The Xbox 720 package described includes such pie-in-the-sky bullet points as Blu-ray and whole-home DVR features, all from a low-power always-on box built on a "Yukon" ARM hardware platform. Of course, even if this is legit and not just some business student's exercise, all the talk of value propositions, OEM licensing and developer profitability are proposals that could have changed. Need more reasons to be skeptical? Digital Foundry points out the extremely optimistic wattages listed and previous appearances of the illustrations included. Ponder over the full 56-page document for yourself -- taking into account the bored minds on the internet that are capable of cranking out this kind of stuff, like that infamous Nintendo Revolution video -- after the break. Update: The document has been pulled from Scribd, apparently at the request of a Covington & Burling, LLP. [Thanks, Leonard]
Diablo 3 updated with Retina display support for 'next generation' MacBook Pro
Apple revealed the "next generation" of its MacBook Pro laptops this afternoon, along with a refresh of its current line of Pro products. One particular standout of the Nvidia Kepler-powered Pro: Apple's decision to use its gorgeous Retina display, as revealed during the company's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote.Like the last iPad refresh, however, applications and games will have to be updated to utilize the new Retina screen. During his keynote, Apple's Phil Schiller revealed Diablo 3, Blizzard's latest addiction, will be updated for the upcoming laptop model.The new MacBook Pro line begins shipping today, but if you wanna get your hands on that fancy new Retina display, you'll be shelling out a minimum of $2,200. Blizzard has yet to reveal when the game will be updated for use with the new display, but we'll be sure to ask. For information on models and pricing, and everything else during Apple's WWDC, check out Engadget's ongoing live blog.
Epic senior technical artist Alan Willard talks Unreal Engine 4 for next-gen consoles
There's no PS4 or Xbox 720 behind the curtain, Alan Willard assures a dark room full of eager video game journalists. Nope, it's just a current high-end piece of PC hardware. In spite of the company's position as a creator of one of the industry's leading game engines, Epic doesn't get a peek at Sony and Microsoft's next generation consoles before the companies are ready for their grand unveiling. "We won't know final hardware specs until everyone else does," the company's senior technical artist tells me after the presentation, adding with a laugh, "If they do, I don't know anything about it." The company spent this year's E3 cycling media in and out of its small meeting room on the second floor of the convention center, dimming the lights and showing off just what Unreal Engine 4 has to offer -- or at least a pretty good idea of what it will offer when it's finally ready for prime time. It's clear from the excitement on the Epic employees' faces that all involved are relieved to finally show the demo off for gatherings of eager writers. No surprise there, of course. After all, the engine has been in development in some form or other for eight or nine years -- several lifetimes in the roman candle-like world of video game development.
Wii U lead isn't important, contends Sony's Rohde
Sony isn't talking next-gen at this year's E3. Nor is Microsoft. Nintendo's Wii U, however, got its big debut this week, and the console is planned for a holiday 2012 launch. As we learned in the last hardware generation and the generation before that, being the first out of the gate in terms of launching hardware can mean the difference between first and third place. SCEA Senior VP of Product Development and worldwide studios Scott Rohde, however, isn't worried about the potential for Wii U to lead the next hardware generation due to its launch lead."Not at all. That's the simple answer," he told Joystiq in an interview this week. "In very similar fashion to the way I'm talking about game development," he said, referencing Sony's hands-off approach to internal game development. "We have a very strong vision in what we believe we're gonna do for the next generation. And we're not talking about it at all yet," he added with a smile."The reality is let's build a great machine. And we'll talk about it then." With Unreal Engine 4 getting a big debut recently, and it being held up as the harbinger of the next hardware generation, we expect we'll be hearing from both Sony about that potentially "great machine" not too long from now.
Human Element is Robotoki's first game, slated for 2015
Robert Bowling's new outfit Robotoki has revealed its first project and ... it's a zombie game. Human Element revolves around survivors in the zombie apocalypse. Players must choose from three different classes (Action, Intelligence and Stealth) and three different identity profiles: Survive Alone, Survive with a Partner and Survive with a Young Child."Their greatest strength is the fear that [zombies] instill in us, the survivors, that unreasonable fear. Unreasonable fear that leads us to do unreasonable things to survive," Bowling told Game Informer. "How you choose to start in the world will determine how you can engage and impacts the scenarios you will be presented with on a physical and morality level."Don't expect to play Human Element anytime soon, though. Human Element is slated to launch in 2015 for next-generation consoles, mobile, tablets and PC. Game Informer's July issue has a four-page spread on Bowling and Human Element.
Ubisoft expects next-gen consoles to integrate 'item based model'
Ubisoft likely knows more about the next generation of consoles than we all do, thanks to working on games for them and stuff, and it sees them going in a social gaming-oriented direction. The company's earnings release features an outlook for the next year, in which Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot expects to see an increase of 25-61% in operating income.Beyond that, Guillemot expects growth due to two trends: first, "the forthcoming arrival of the next generation of consoles which will be increasingly connected and will strongly boost the market thanks to a new qualitative leap and the integration of social games benefits and the item based model," and free-to-play games.The "item based model" sounds like a trend bleeding over from free-to-play games, in which games are sold for free (or cheap) and microtransactions bring in revenue through the sale of in-game items. We have seen this outside of the free-to-play world in this generation, in the form of costume sales and the occasional weapon unlock; however, if Guillemot expects it to be a significant source of income on consoles, it's likely to be even more emphasized in the next generation.
EA spending $80 million on next-gen development over next year
According to EA's results for fiscal 2012, the period from April 1, 2011 through March 31, 2012, it's been a good year. The publisher saw growth across many sectors, but perhaps most surprising was talk of investing $80 million in development of games for "Gen4 console systems" over the next 12 months, EA's fiscal 2013.It speaks to not only when we could potentially get our hands on some new hardware, but is potentially indicative of how much cash a major publisher will need in order to produce games for the next generation of AAA blockbusters. $80 million for one "Samaritan" seems like par for the course, right? That's how much we imagine it'll cost to produce one game in Superfuture 2013.
Creative Assembly's untitled Alien project aimed at next-gen too
The Creative Assembly has revealed that its Aliens game, which has been known to be in production since last year, is expected to pounce on next-generation PlayBoxes, in addition to current systems. We'd like to imagine it's kinda like the scary little mouth hiding inside of the bigger, scarier mouth."The successful applicant will be working on a AAA multi-platform title on current and future generation consoles set in the Alien universe," the job listing for a programmer read. Now, we know what you're thinking: Wii U, right? Sure, let's not rule it out, but the wording specifically calls out experience in Xbox 360, PS3 and PC development.You may best recognize The Creative Assembly from its work on Sega's Total War series of real-time strategy games.
Rumor: Harmonix prepping 'unique motion-gaming IP' ... with storylines
We thought Harmonix had its hands full with Rock Band Blitz, but the Cambridge-based developer may also be preparing a new IP – and for the next generation of consoles. According to several different job listings, the developer is looking for narrative, content and level designers, and one software engineer to help out with "a unique motion-gaming IP.""Harmonix seeks an accomplished Narrative Designer to incorporate creative story lines into gameplay on a unique motion-gaming IP," reads just one of the positions discovered by Supererogatory. This particular gig is a 12-month contract position, while the others make mention of a "music-based motion-gaming IP" and seem to be for more established positions.A narrative-driven, rhythm-based motion game? Sounds a lot like one of our favorite games ever. [Wait, surely you meant this? - Ed.]
Ready at Dawn on going from handheld to next-gen, and getting away from GoW
Ready at Dawn is known for having crafted two excellent God of War games for PSP, as well as assisting in their porting to the PlayStation 3. Unfortunately for Ready at Dawn, the company isn't known for much else – an issue that co-founder and CEO Ru Weerasuriya aims to fix by setting a new direction for his studio."When it came to really decide what we wanted to do next, I think most of the guys internally just wanted to do something that, in some ways, we had built this company for. It's taken us time to get there and we've wanted to do new IP, we've been working on it for a while, and we felt the time was right and it was just the perfect alignment of everything that was happening," Weerasuriya told GamesIndustry International.Which isn't to say the team never considered resting on its laurels and crafting yet another portable God of War, this time for the Vita. "It's an idea that was floated as far as what could happen on the Vita. And especially with a platform like that, we were enticed I think by the prospect of doing something on that platform, but it just didn't align with what we wanted," Weerasuriya said. He'd still love for Sony to do such a project ("There's so much potential for it!"), but for the first time in four-plus years, his studio isn't working on Kratos' next portable game.
Microsoft says there will be 'no talk of new Xbox hardware at E3 or anytime soon'
Sony has already confirmed that we won't be seeing a next-generation PlayStation at this year's E3 trade show, and now Microsoft has also come out and dampened any expectations about a new Xbox possibly making its debut. In a statement published by Kotaku (following a report on Twitter from Bloomberg's Dina Bass), a Microsoft spokesperson says flatly that "while we appreciate all the interest in our long-range plans for the future, we can confirm that there will be no talk of new Xbox hardware at E3 or anytime soon." The statement goes on to say that "2012 is all about Xbox 360," before rattling off a list of milestones and some of the big titles planned for release this year. That leaves Nintendo with the stage to itself hardware-wise, which will presumably be showing off more of its next-generation console, the Wii U.
