markg wrote:
It's £400, it's not like they pre-ordered a new £200,000 Ferrari that just got announced like people do without getting called fucking simpletons and fanboys etc.
They are dribbling imbeciles if they want to part with £400 for something there is hardly any concrete info on. Not even any independent reviews. In days of yore, the mags would have their hands on the hardware before it launched and could at least give you an idea of what to expect. All we saw the other day was a load of controlled PR bullshit which the fanboys lapped up.
Certainly not interested in any first gen beta testing for MS or any one else console wise. Will the Xbone have extra fans to stop overheating? Poor hardware on those first 360s. Be interested to know how noisy these will be too.
Grim... wrote:
RuySan wrote:
What annoys me most about Microsoft is its arrogance in thinking they can dictate how the consumers play games instead of accepting it's the other way around. No one asked for this online authentications and blocks on pre-owned games. If the console fails it will be a blessing to the gamers and a warning to other companies.
I'm not sure we can blame MS for that.
Why not? Obviously these decisions will be in part due to publisher pressure to add in the always-online DRM and devise a way to get them a cut of the second hand market but MS can always tell them to fuck off. The only thing the publishers can really do is threaten not to make games for MS' new console but (a) that's bullshit as they're not actually going to be stupid enough to leave a load of cash on the table and (b) with the PS4 not including any of this stuff it's not like there's a rival in the field offering the publishers what they want that can be used as leverage. If MS are doing stuff that Sony aren't then it's perfectly fair to blame MS.
chinnyhill10 wrote:
markg wrote:
It's £400, it's not like they pre-ordered a new £200,000 Ferrari that just got announced like people do without getting called fucking simpletons and fanboys etc.
They are dribbling imbeciles if they want to part with £400 for something there is hardly any concrete info on. Not even any independent reviews. In days of yore, the mags would have their hands on the hardware before it launched and could at least give you an idea of what to expect. All we saw the other day was a load of controlled PR bullshit which the fanboys lapped up.
No reviews get published anymore until release date. it's a sad state of affairs, and games journalists should be ashamed.
Bamba wrote:
Grim... wrote:
RuySan wrote:
What annoys me most about Microsoft is its arrogance in thinking they can dictate how the consumers play games instead of accepting it's the other way around. No one asked for this online authentications and blocks on pre-owned games. If the console fails it will be a blessing to the gamers and a warning to other companies.
I'm not sure we can blame MS for that.
Why not?
Because it's not exactly new.
chinnyhill10 wrote:
markg wrote:
It's £400, it's not like they pre-ordered a new £200,000 Ferrari that just got announced like people do without getting called fucking simpletons and fanboys etc.
They are dribbling imbeciles if they want to part with £400 for something there is hardly any concrete info on. Not even any independent reviews. In days of yore, the mags would have their hands on the hardware before it launched and could at least give you an idea of what to expect. All we saw the other day was a load of controlled PR bullshit which the fanboys lapped up.
On one hand I agree with you, and on the other I remember working in Gamestation during the Xbox 360 launch and the only people who could pick one up for a few months after launch were those who'd preordered far in advance. I guess there are some that don't want to risk that happening again. Plus, of course, if there did happen to be supply problems again, you could probably make a profit if you decided to sell on the console because you didn't like it yourself.
On the 'pre order' stuff the evening of the reveal I had emails from Game / Shopto / Zavvi and others with their links to pre-order the new system (with only Zavvi giving a quote of £400)
zaphod79 wrote:
On the 'pre order' stuff the evening of the reveal I had emails from Game
"Hello is that Game? Yes I'd like to order a console that doesn't exist yet from a retailer who will probably have gone bust by the time it's released".
I don't have a problem with people preordering this early. If they find out more between now and release that makes them decide they don't want it, they can cancel the preorder. If they decide they really do want it, it's already preordered and they're guaranteed to get it at launch 
I agree, I think that it's going to end up being a decent machine, most games will be cross platform between this and the PS4 anyway. Microsoft's misjudgement with their reveal (apart from just the cringing, corporate awfulness of it all) seemed to be mostly one of thinking that the fact that it's fucking obviously first and foremost a games machine went without saying.
sdg wrote:
I don't have a problem with people preordering this early.
I think its more Chinnys comment for me - for example Blockbuster are allowing you to pre-order and charging you £25 for the process.
I really doubt that Blockbuster in any form will still be around when the xBone is released.
(Probably too old for anyone else - but I remember 'Special Reserve' as a company that I used to buy computery stuff from and they went bust just before a system launch and everyone who had pre-ordered were stuffed - also around the Vita launch I remember stories of people who had the money on their game reward cards to buy the system from trading in other stuff only to find that Game went into administration and refused to honor the cards)
** Edit for Special Reserve they went bust at the end November 2005 2 weeks before the 360's launch in the UK
I remember ordering Amiga games from Special Reserve using order slips from Amiga Power, mailing from Denmark, filled in with my Visa card number and my signature. Those were the days.
sdg wrote:
I don't have a problem with people preordering this early. If they find out more between now and release that makes them decide they don't want it, they can cancel the preorder. If they decide they really do want it, it's already preordered and they're guaranteed to get it at launch
At this early stage surely people are only laying down 30 notes or whatever. Over the next few months there will quite obviously be more info on the games, etc, so if it all looks shit you just cancel your order and no harm done.
I do agree that it's daft to order from someone like Blockbuster though, but that's another issue.
lasermink wrote:
I remember ordering Amiga games from Special Reserve using order slips from Amiga Power, mailing from Denmark, filled in with my Visa card number and my signature. Those were the days.
this,.. on my parent's old phone with a dial-ring in the hall way... discover that the english the people on the other side of the line spoke was different then i was taught in school;)
On the 'pre order without knowing anything about it' side of things in Tesco this morning they have a massive stand at the door for the Playstation 4 (obviously with just game images since they dont know what the hardware is like) with little DVD boxes on it for you to pre-order it now for £20
So at this stage you have no idea what the hardware looks like , you have no idea what it will cost , and you have no idea when its coming out (Microsoft said worldwide this year Sony have not yet committed to that) but you can still give your money to Tesco for them to do whatever they want with it (I do admit the chances of them going bust between now and this time next year when we'll probably get our hands on the PS4 are slim but the whole practice just seems odd to me)
So at this stage you have no idea what the hardware looks like , you have no idea what it will cost , and you have no idea when its coming out (Microsoft said worldwide this year Sony have not yet committed to that) but you can still give your money to Tesco for them to do whatever they want with it (I do admit the chances of them going bust between now and this time next year when we'll probably get our hands on the PS4 are slim but the whole practice just seems odd to me)
zaphod79 wrote:
On the 'pre order without knowing anything about it' side of things in Tesco this morning they have a massive stand at the door for the Playstation 4 (obviously with just game images since they dont know what the hardware is like) with little DVD boxes on it for you to pre-order it now for £20
So at this stage you have no idea what the hardware looks like , you have no idea what it will cost , and you have no idea when its coming out (Microsoft said worldwide this year Sony have not yet committed to that) but you can still give your money to Tesco for them to do whatever they want with it (I do admit the chances of them going bust between now and this time next year when we'll probably get our hands on the PS4 are slim but the whole practice just seems odd to me)
So at this stage you have no idea what the hardware looks like , you have no idea what it will cost , and you have no idea when its coming out (Microsoft said worldwide this year Sony have not yet committed to that) but you can still give your money to Tesco for them to do whatever they want with it (I do admit the chances of them going bust between now and this time next year when we'll probably get our hands on the PS4 are slim but the whole practice just seems odd to me)
Not so odd for a supermarket chain surely, they'll just be offering this in the hopes people come to their shops for the pre-order then stay to buy other shopping. They probably don't really give a shit about the PS4 or the pre-ordering of it either way.
RPS on the 'used games' / 'sharing games' stuff
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05 ... an-nature/
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/05 ... an-nature/
Quote:
The Xbox One, with all its creepy Kinect-spying, TV interaction weirdness for the seventeen people who still ever watch TV as it’s broadcast, and dog-based shooters serves a useful purpose. It takes the industry’s fervent ambition to prevent the natural, beautiful human desire to share to a clearer, more immediately offensive place. It highlights the freedom we’ve already given up. And perhaps it will shake us enough to start resisting at last.
http://www.gamesbrief.com/2013/05/xbox- ... -executed/
Quote:
Xbox One: A flawed plan, well executed
Quote:
It’s like Microsoft is fighting to be the person who controls the fixed line phone in an age of mobile telephony.
Still all unconfirmed at the moment but as believable as anything else
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/publishe ... il/0116137
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/publishe ... il/0116137
Quote:
Publishers to receive cut of Xbox One pre-owned sales at retail
Retailers will be free to charge whatever they wish for pre-owned Xbox One games, but both Microsoft and publishers will take a percentage cut of every sale.
Retail sources have told MCV that Microsoft has this week briefed key retail partners on how it intends to take ownership of the pre-owned market.
This is how we’ve been told it will all work:
A gamer walks into a retailer and hands over the game they wish to sell. This will only be possible at retailers who have agreed to Microsoft’s T&Cs and more importantly integrated Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure pre-owned system into its own.
The game is then registered as having been traded-in on Microsoft’s system. The consumer who handed it over will subsequently see the game wiped from their account – hence the until now ambiguous claim from Phil Harrison that the Xbox One would have to ‘check in’ to Microsoft’s servers every 24 hours.
The retailer can then sell the pre-owned game at whatever price they like, although as part of the system the publisher of the title in question will automatically receive a percentage cut of the sale. As will Microsoft. The retailer will pocket the rest.
Unconfirmed reports on ConsoleDeals.co.uk suggest that retail’s slice will be as little as ten per cent. That’s a significant cut from what it has become accustomed to from pre-owned sales and more in line with what they would receive from the sale of a new game – hence, the value of the pre-owned market to the retailer is effectively destroyed.
These same unconfirmed reports also suggest that the activation cost for consumers buying or borrowing pre-owned software will be £35.
When contacted by MCV Microsoft responded with the following statement: “We know there is some confusion around used games on Xbox One and wanted to provide a bit of clarification on exactly what we’ve confirmed.
"While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail. Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios. Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friend’s house – should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile.”
UPDATE: Many readers are asking whether the £35 will be additional cost on top of the price of buying the game. No, we believe that the £35 figure – which is not our number, incidentally – would cover the entire transaction. If correct this would leave retail with a cut per sale of around £3.50.
Retailers will be free to charge whatever they wish for pre-owned Xbox One games, but both Microsoft and publishers will take a percentage cut of every sale.
Retail sources have told MCV that Microsoft has this week briefed key retail partners on how it intends to take ownership of the pre-owned market.
This is how we’ve been told it will all work:
A gamer walks into a retailer and hands over the game they wish to sell. This will only be possible at retailers who have agreed to Microsoft’s T&Cs and more importantly integrated Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure pre-owned system into its own.
The game is then registered as having been traded-in on Microsoft’s system. The consumer who handed it over will subsequently see the game wiped from their account – hence the until now ambiguous claim from Phil Harrison that the Xbox One would have to ‘check in’ to Microsoft’s servers every 24 hours.
The retailer can then sell the pre-owned game at whatever price they like, although as part of the system the publisher of the title in question will automatically receive a percentage cut of the sale. As will Microsoft. The retailer will pocket the rest.
Unconfirmed reports on ConsoleDeals.co.uk suggest that retail’s slice will be as little as ten per cent. That’s a significant cut from what it has become accustomed to from pre-owned sales and more in line with what they would receive from the sale of a new game – hence, the value of the pre-owned market to the retailer is effectively destroyed.
These same unconfirmed reports also suggest that the activation cost for consumers buying or borrowing pre-owned software will be £35.
When contacted by MCV Microsoft responded with the following statement: “We know there is some confusion around used games on Xbox One and wanted to provide a bit of clarification on exactly what we’ve confirmed.
"While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail. Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios. Another piece of clarification around playing games at a friend’s house – should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile.”
UPDATE: Many readers are asking whether the £35 will be additional cost on top of the price of buying the game. No, we believe that the £35 figure – which is not our number, incidentally – would cover the entire transaction. If correct this would leave retail with a cut per sale of around £3.50.
If the idea of 35 pounds for each second hand game is true all consoles would have to do this as it's a sure console killer any other way.
If the idea that a retailer only gets 10% from each re-sales only a couple of on-line stores would be able to afford it. Any or most brick and mortar stores doing only this would die, probably.
If the idea that a retailer only gets 10% from each re-sales only a couple of on-line stores would be able to afford it. Any or most brick and mortar stores doing only this would die, probably.
@zaphod, that gamesbrief article is exactly what i thought when seeing the presentation..
Some interesting chat here about MS' plans for cloud-computing bits of your game on the fly. The gist of it is that your local console would offload the calculations for some game aspects to MS' servers meaning that being online would see some thing actually looking better/running faster. I'm sceptical how useful it would be and how well it could actually work given real world latency et al, but it's an interesting idea and the only thing we've heard so far that might actually leverage the 'often online' requirements of the thing for the consumer's benefit rather than just in service of DRM. Also, as a developer, managing the combinations of local/cloud stuff while being able to instantly fall back if the cloud stuff wasn't coming back quickly enough is the kind of headache people are surely just going to avoid completely? Especially because any work done in that area won't be at all useful in the ports of a game done for the PS3 and PC which makes is difficult to justify from a cost, time and complexity point of view I'd imagine.
Bamba wrote:
Some interesting chat here about MS' plans for cloud-computing bits of your game on the fly. The gist of it is that your local console would offload the calculations for some game aspects to MS' servers meaning that being online would see some thing actually looking better/running faster. I'm sceptical how useful it would be and how well it could actually work given real world latency et al, but it's an interesting idea and the only thing we've heard so far that might actually leverage the 'often online' requirements of the thing for the consumer's benefit rather than just in service of DRM. Also, as a developer, managing the combinations of local/cloud stuff while being able to instantly fall back if the cloud stuff wasn't coming back quickly enough is the kind of headache people are surely just going to avoid completely? Especially because any work done in that area won't be at all useful in the ports of a game done for the PS3 and PC which makes is difficult to justify from a cost, time and complexity point of view I'd imagine.
Did EA/Maxis suggest this proof of concept? Because, that didn't happen.
zaphod79 wrote:
Microsoft said worldwide this year Sony have not yet committed to that
Advert in today's Metro saying it's out this year, apparently. BikNorton wrote:
zaphod79 wrote:
Microsoft said worldwide this year Sony have not yet committed to that
Advert in today's Metro saying it's out this year, apparently.Yeah I saw that earlier :
Bamba wrote:
Some interesting chat here about MS' plans for cloud-computing bits of your game on the fly. The gist of it is that your local console would offload the calculations for some game aspects to MS' servers meaning that being online would see some thing actually looking better/running faster. I'm sceptical how useful it would be and how well it could actually work given real world latency et al, but it's an interesting idea and the only thing we've heard so far that might actually leverage the 'often online' requirements of the thing for the consumer's benefit rather than just in service of DRM. Also, as a developer, managing the combinations of local/cloud stuff while being able to instantly fall back if the cloud stuff wasn't coming back quickly enough is the kind of headache people are surely just going to avoid completely? Especially because any work done in that area won't be at all useful in the ports of a game done for the PS3 and PC which makes is difficult to justify from a cost, time and complexity point of view I'd imagine.
I can't see this working to improve gaming graphics but anything you don't need too quickly it could prove handy. You could build a cube for example and have people remove layers and layers. While is would make an awesome single player game imagine how cool it could be in the cloud with hundreds of people doing the same thing and you seeing the results.... oh wait.
But it could be good for MMO and the likes. Peoples actions in one game being calculated and piped to yours. Perhaps allowing for massive games online. Games where you're only passed the locations of plays within the your consoles draw distance. Infinite Minecraft with n^10 players or other games. Not sure it'd work in COD but if it can do it fast enough it's possible, but it's certainly not fast enough for graphics (well within reason I'd guess).
Patents aren't products, but still, ick: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... hievements
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
Patents aren't products, but still, ick: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... hievements
That's nice, but I prefer this one:
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/the-exte ... ge/0116138
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
Patents aren't products, but still, ick: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2 ... hievements
Wonder what part they can patent.. viewing & achievements is done since long by getglue etc..
the otherone is downright scary
Kinect: Do not want. Ever. In any way shape or form. And I'm the guy with the DJ hero deck, the nintendo bongo things, three plastic guitars, two arcade sticks...
Its a gimmick too far!
Its a gimmick too far!
George Orwell wrote:
Behind Winston's back the voice from the XboxOne was still babbling away about subscribing to Live TV and the exclusive DLC for Call of Duty 27. The XboxOne received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, even his heartbeat, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, Microsoft plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate, with the always on requirement they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live -- did live, from habit that became instinct -- in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized.
Will Xboxone make me a cyborg? It sounds like it will and I for one welcome our robotic overlords.
It can see in darkness. It has night vision.
Quite apart from the xbox applications, the new Kinect is an extraordinary piece of technology.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
DavPaz wrote:
Quite apart from the xbox applications, the new Kinect is an extraordinary piece of technology.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
I saw that on the news the other day and you're right, it does look extraordinary but I did wonder what practical applications it could have.
That does look mighty cool. Does it ship with the projector then?
TheVision wrote:
DavPaz wrote:
Quite apart from the xbox applications, the new Kinect is an extraordinary piece of technology.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
I saw that on the news the other day and you're right, it does look extraordinary but I did wonder what practical applications it could have.
I liked the process that basically 'skins' your room in a game appropriate look. The whole thing is about immersion. As always though, it's designed for big square rooms with the TV on a long wall. I find that even these days, most people have the TV in the corner at an angle.
DavPaz wrote:
Quite apart from the xbox applications, the new Kinect is an extraordinary piece of technology.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
This Illumiroom stuff looks utterly brilliant, if entirely impractical.
It's not even the new version of Kinect, the videos floating around are all done using the current Kinect hardware.
I can't help thinking that 3D headset devices will finally have their day pretty soon.
markg wrote:
I can't help thinking that 3D headset devices will finally have their day pretty soon.
No they won't...
I vividly remember the day I got to try one of those Virtuality machines. I'm pretty sure the experience broke something in my soul.
Illumiroom is just tech demo vapourware. Don't confuse it for a shipping product.
lasermink wrote:
I vividly remember the day I got to try one of those Virtuality machines. I'm pretty sure the experience broke something in my soul.
I played on this one just last week and while it was worth doing, I can see why they didn't catch on. It wasn't 3D as such, it was more like just watching a TV screen really close to your face.
Also.. It cost £32,000 when it first came out. Crazy money!
Doctor Glyndwr wrote:
Illumiroom is just tech demo vapourware. Don't confuse it for a shipping product.
I'd like to see it in some form. Perhaps a cut down wireless unit for wall mounting?
Isn't there a new, high-tech version of VR that everyone is getting excited about?
markg wrote:
I can't help thinking that 3D headset devices will finally have their day pretty soon.
The guys behind Oculus Rift certainly hope so. It might end up just being a total gimmick but I've heard good things about it and would love to play something like Dear Esther on it. With people like John Carmack and the Valve guys throwing it some support it's got as good a chance as could be expected of actually taking off. If the consumer version of the hardware ends up not being too pricey I'll be very, very tempted to give it a shot.
I had a go of an Oculus Rift the other day. Very impressive, but a lot of thought is going to have to go in to the controls. It also gave me a headache from 10 minutes of use, but apparently that goes away after you've used it a few times.
I did literally try to reach out and touch stuff that wasn't there at one point. It's a pretty fantastic illusion.
I think it will work best for games where you are actually supposed to be playing someone sat in a stationary position, like racing/driving games, or that new not-Wing Commander. That sidesteps a lot of the control problems.
I did literally try to reach out and touch stuff that wasn't there at one point. It's a pretty fantastic illusion.
I think it will work best for games where you are actually supposed to be playing someone sat in a stationary position, like racing/driving games, or that new not-Wing Commander. That sidesteps a lot of the control problems.
lasermink wrote:
I vividly remember the day I got to try one of those Virtuality machines. I'm pretty sure the experience broke something in my soul.
I had a go on one at the Trocadero. It was a racing game, very similar to Hard Drivin'. 4 players all racing each other.
For the first half of the race I had terrible trouble even focusing on something that close to my eyes. When I did get the hang of it I did quite well but I felt incredibly nauseous and disorientated afterwards.
Xbone to be region locked :
http://www.edge-online.com/news/xbox-on ... microsoft/
http://www.edge-online.com/news/xbox-on ... microsoft/
Quote:
Xbox One will be region locked, says Microsoft
The Xbox One will be region locked, Microsoft has confirmed with Digital Trends. The console will not be able to play games produced for regions other than the one it was produced in.
“Similar to the movie and music industry, games must meet country-specific regulatory guidelines before they are cleared for sale,” said the Microsoft representative. “We will continue to work with our partners to follow these guidelines with Xbox One.”
The Xbox One will be region locked, Microsoft has confirmed with Digital Trends. The console will not be able to play games produced for regions other than the one it was produced in.
“Similar to the movie and music industry, games must meet country-specific regulatory guidelines before they are cleared for sale,” said the Microsoft representative. “We will continue to work with our partners to follow these guidelines with Xbox One.”
Page 5 of 52 [ 2593 posts ]