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Microsoft’s decision to separate their newest console from the Kinect has so far proven to be a good idea. Sales of the Kinect-less and thus cheaper Xbox One have been high and interest in the console that includes the Kinect has also gone up. So far though the separate Kinect for the console hasn’t gone on sale for those who wished to pick it up separate from the console.
However Microsoft have now announced that the Kinect will go on sale in both Europe and North America in October, on the 7th. Except it isn’t on its own, it comes bundled with a code for the game Dance Central: Spotlight. These will be priced at $149.99 in North America and £129.99 in the UK. This does mean that the US will be getting the sensor and code a bit cheaper than Britain will be.
Think you’ll be looking into getting one when it launches?
Football season is almost upon us. As the resident american who understands the game (as opposed to futbol), it falls to me to explain all things Madden related. Like this new ad from EA which features Kevin Hart, James Franco, a pool full of dolphins and a DJ wearing a teddy bear head playing violin in a swimming pool while a house burns down. As you may have guessed, I don’t have any clue whats going on here either.
Microsoft caused a (predictable) eruption of fan rage yesterday when it announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider would be an Xbox exclusive. Never fear though, it turns out that this is just another example of the corporate suits twisting the english language to suit their own needs. Rise of the Tomb Raider is simply a timed exclusive. So, the game will release first on Xbox One and 360, then will come to other platforms at a later date. While this might be irritating, its certainly nothing new in the gaming world.
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, spoke to Eurogamer about the deal:
“There are certain things I’m just not going to talk about because it’s a business deal between us and then. Obviously the deal does have a duration. I didn’t buy the IP in perpetuity.”
The confusion came from the statements from Crystal Dynamics, developer of the game:
“As you may have seen, we’ve just announced that Rise of the Tomb Raider, coming Holiday 2015, is exclusively on Xbox. “
and Microsoft’s own press release:
“Led by the announcement that “Rise of the TombRaider” from Crystal Dynamics will launch in holiday 2015, exclusively on Xbox…”
While it might be annoying to have the people responsible for announcing these games be so unclear, at this point its just par for the (unacceptable) course.
Well this is the age of remakes and Capcom aren’t going to disappoint, it is time for a remastered edition of a classic- Resident evil. The producers have released an announcement video for Xbox 360 and PS3 and have also released a few details about what to expect:
The original “tank controls” remain, however there is also a modern option where the character moves in the direction of the analog sick. But if you read this and the 16×9 scrolling options and think “no way, I want the original experience,” then good news – all this stuff can be adjusted in-game, any time.
The comparison image below shows off the upgrades to the character models:
Yesterday’s biggest news was the two changes to Twitch’s system of VODs, both in storage and the playing of third-party musics. For those of you who missed it, VOD storage time is now limited, highlights are only allowed to be 2 hours long and a system similar to Youtube’s Content ID system is now being employed to scan VODs (although not live broadcasts) for third-party music and muting 30-minutes blocks if it finds it.
In an AMA on Reddit a few hours ago, Twitch CEO Emmett Shear took on all questions. Except those about Google’s purchase of the streaming site, those were off-limits it seems. He did answer questions about Audible Magic, the company they’re running the new music identifying system with though. He also admitted that maybe they should have put out word of the new system before they implemented it; as it left streamers with very little time to take down problematic content for themselves of their own free will beforehand.
“Simply put: we screwed up and should have announced it ahead of time,” says Shear. “Sorry.”
He also says that the part of the blog post that talked about in-game and ambient music also being subject to content checks was poorly worded. Simply, he says that original in-game music will NOT be subject to checks and any that gets flagged will be quickly dealt with if the counter-notifications get filed. However background ambient music is subject to checks, so if you’re going to stream make sure to switch off all phones and hope no one turns on a television or radio within hearing range of the computer.
Shear said that the reason the system has been set up and is being rolled out now is due partly down to plans to bring VOD to other systems, such as the Twitch app on the Xbox consoles. As mentioned above, questions about Google were forbidden so how much of it is due to their influence is uncertain.
