In an interview with Eurogamer today, Microsoft Studio’s vice-president Phil Spencer responded to recent criticisms from Sony (in the video below), noting that Microsoft’s willingness to listen to its customers was a strength, not a shortcoming.

When Microsoft decided to change a number of its policies for the Xbox One—like ditching an always-online console and mandatory Kinect—some took it as a sign of positive change for next gen. Still, during yesterday’s Sony presentation at Gamescom (a game trade fair held in Germany), Andrew House, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, criticized Microsoft’s change.

“While others have shifted their message and changed their story, we were consistent in maintaining a message that is fair and in tune with consumer desires,” House confidently stated, right before revealing the date that the PlayStation 4 will launch.

Phil Spencer doesn’t think the criticism is warranted, judging by his remarks in the Eurogamer interview.

“Other people will do and say what they’re going to say. Fine. We’re running our program. That’s a strength of who we are,” Spencer said.

“We built a platform for gamers. Gamers invest their time and their money in the things they want to play, and they’re going to invest their time in telling us what they love about the platform, and they’re giving us feedback on areas where they have more critical feedback.

“The two-way conversation we have with our customers is a strength. Certain people have tried to turn that into something that’s a bad thing about what we’re trying to do, and I just disagree.”

You can read the rest of the interview here, although it should be noted that Microsoft may bring back some of the features that were cut after the backlash, provided that people want them—some of the features, like always-online, although not convenient for all players, were the result of a vision of a digital future. Stripping away the marketing speak, what I mean is that the policies that Microsoft initially had in place could have allowed for arguably progressive scenarios such as family-sharing plans, not being restrained by discs, and lowering game prices, amongst other things. Still, creating a “digital ecosystem” remains a “core philosophy” according to Spencer.

After an explosive multiplayer reveal last week, Call of Duty: Ghost’s has been a hot topic. As always, Microsoft have once again established the Xbox brand as the ideal place for any Call of Duty fan.

Through the power of Xbox One’s Cloud, Ghost’s players on the console will gain access to dedicated servers – a first in the franchise. Furthermore, Ghost’s will be bundled with Xbox One’s upon release. Pricing is yet to be announced.

To further sweeten the deal, Infinity Ward also provided us with new footage of the game. In it, we get to witness the enthralling Crank gamemode, as well as Search and Rescue – both new game types that have went down well with the community.

This was one of the interesting games shown off in yesterdays Sony conference at Gamescon

A Sims style Music festival game, that actually uses unsigned artists (how they got those I don’t know, but I WILL be looking into for our showcase bands, hence the interest)

Now what really got me on this, as I am a huge Sim style game player, I love god games, but one that actually uses real artists and their music is intriguing

What do you think?

It was originally a tech demo made by five guys in their spare time, but now EVE-VR – the Oculus Rift space dogfighting game that made its debut at EVE Fanfest this year – is going to be a full game called EVE Valkyrie, coming in 2014.

The teaser trailer is enough to give anyone with fond memories of games like Wing Commander chills. The game itself was hugely impressive even in tech demo format at Fanfest, putting you into the cockpit of a nimble fighter craft with full freedom of movement and vision thanks to Oculus Rift, but now that it’s been greenlit for full production it will have the resources behind it to look truly stunning. Development is being handled at CCP’s Newcastle studio in the UK, and the people at CCP’s head office in Reykjavik who prototyped the game in their spare time are all moving there to lead the project.

Developer CCP is arguably already the video game world’s official King of Space, as the creator of long-running, fascinatingly complex and fanatically beloved spaceship MMO EVE Online, which ties into free-to-play PS3 shooter Dust 514. EVE Valkyrie is set in the same universe, but it won’t have the complex gameplay of either. It’s a high-speed, high-adrenaline flight combat game.

CCP’s boss Hilmar Petursson had this to say: “From the moment this year’s Fanfest attendees first got their hands on EVE-VR, the question has been, ‘When can I have this?’ What started as a passion project by a small, incredibly talented group of CCP developers became one of the most highly anticipated games of the year — before we even announced it. We have big plans for EVE: Valkyrie and I can’t wait to share more details later this year.”

We’re looking forwarded to hearing more about Valkyrie from Gamescon and we’ll add more info when we hear about it, until then, enjoy the reveal trailer and let us know what you think in the comments

Good news, Origin customers – as a gesture of goodwill, EA has launched a new initiative offering timed refunds for EA published games bought on its digital distribution system.

‘The Origin Great Game Guarantee’ will offer a full refund to PC and Mac customers dissatisfied with any EA game within 24 hours of launching it, within seven days from purchase, or within the first seven days after the game’s release date if you pre-ordered it, whichever comes first.

According to the Great Game Guarantee F.A.Q, the refund process is very simple. “Just visit your order history and click the “request a refund” link next to your recent purchase, answer a few quick questions, and we’ll take it from there.”

Right now, the service understandably excludes third-party titles, but EA stresses this could change in the future. “We’re continuing to explore how we can expand the program over time in with games from other publishers and developers,” the F.A.Q reads.

The Great Game Guarantee is effective starting today in 20 countries. To see if your country is eligible and to check out the fine print, here’s the info posted on Origin’s website. And hey, while you’re at it, why not check out EA’s awesome humble bundle deal and donate some money to charity?