Scott-Henson
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Microsoft UK names new studio 'Lift London,' shuffles executives
Originally announced sans moniker back in September, Microsoft UK's new London-based studio now has something to put on its letterhead: "Lift London."Helmed by former Rare production designer Lee Schuneman, Lift London is a "21st century studio – not a studio that would make retail games – but a studio that would make games for the cloud," says Microsoft EMEA corporate vice president Phil Harrison, according to Develop. As announced previously, Lift London will primarily focus on developing games for connected mobile Microsoft devices in European territories, with an emphasis on tablet gaming.Harrison also announced that Rare studio boss Scott Henson will begin calling various shots as Lionhead Studios' new head of operations, permanently replacing the long gone Peter Molyneux. Until now, Lionhead has been the purview of COO Mark Webley. Additionally, former EA Partners/Origin senior director of business development Roger Walkden has been appointed as Lionhead's head of staff, presumably after several hundred puns were made out of his last name.
Rare's new boss sees Kinect as 'centerpiece' in studio strategy
Following this week's announcement that Xbox manager Scott Henson is taking over as the head of Rare, the newly appointed exec is defending his studio's mission to the media. Speaking with Eurogamer, Henson re-established Kinect as "a key part of the studio's future," adding that it won't exclusively be working on 360 motion games, "but it will be the centerpiece of our strategy for sure." He also teased further support for Rare's back catalog. When asked about revisiting the titles -- and even the possibility of adding Kinect functionality -- Henson explains, "You can look at what we're doing with Xbox Live Arcade and you can see how we've taken those classics and refreshed them and brought them to the service. We'll continue to look at those kinds of opportunities. Don't just think about packaged goods in terms of opportunities and Rare and how we bring those things to life." Unfortunately, Henson was less talkative on the subject of Killer Instinct, only offering "I know Killer Instinct is very high in the fan list and one we need to continue to keep our eye on."
Xbox manager Scott Henson to head up Rare
Microsoft has announced the immediate appointment of a new studio manager for its wholly owned, UK-based developer, Rare. Scott Henson, who has been involved with the Xbox brand since before the original black behemoth launched in 2001, will relocate from the US to Birmingham within the coming weeks. Henson has been part of Microsoft's Xbox endeavor in numerous roles, including product unit manager for the game technology group (where he contributed to the XNA development initiative), director of platform strategy for the Xbox 360 (back when the Xbox dashboard looked like this) and Xbox group manager. "The timing is actually perfect," Henson told MCV. "I've worked on Xbox since before the original Xbox. I helped bring Xbox Live to life, which has reached millions of people. Rare over the last 25 years is the same story." Rare's reach will become a major talking point on November 4, when Microsoft's Kinect launches in North America (Nov. 10 in Europe) and the company's casual-oriented games hope to find a new audience.
Xbox.com no message mystery: Part deux
Indeed, we pride ourselves on being stealth investigative reporters, similar to Sam Fisher, but with a hint of Sherlock Holmes. So, when we cracked the Xbox.com no message mystery we were rightfully proud of ourselves, giving up the high-fives around Fanboy Towers. But we didn't uncover all of the truth, because the "Bear" gamertag eluded us and as a result ended up with a mediocre report. That is until now, where we recently discovered (via Major Nelson's podcast blogcast) that Bear is really Scott Henson! Ha Scotty, and you thought you could just keep on running didn't you? And so you know, Mr. Henson is the director of Microsoft's Game Technology Group and is actually one cool dude. Chalk another successful investigation for team Xbox 360 Fanboy ... because we're like mini Sherlock Fishers, remember?[Thanks, Iced_Eagle]
Xbox exec on PS3: "1080p... will be basically impossible"
Speaking with Kikizo Games, Xbox's Director of the Game Technology Group, Scott Henson, had his doubts about Sony's claim that PS3 games will feature 'full HD' (1080p resolution): "I think 1080p, just to address that directly, will be basically impossible. I think if you talk to any developer they will tell you that they will not have a performing game at 1080p."Switching gears, Henson addressed the backlog of requests focused on improving the Xbox 360's Dashboard functionality — specifically, improving the music player and implementing background downloading. While Henson declined to give us the clear-cut answer we've all been waiting for, he did confirm that "the capability [to upgrade these features] is there." Henson also added that the Xbox team has considered adding video streaming capabilities for non-Media Center users.
