XBOX: A New Generation Revealed, May 21st

[dyeager]

http://www.destructoid.com/an-industry-that-needs-xbox-one-drm-is-a-failed-industry-256643.phtml#QIzbe6mKiHG84hKe.16


Best article I've read on used games.

This was pretty good, thanks for sharing it.

The biggest point in there for me is this: "My God, do these companies love the f--- out of capitalism, but it seems that when capitalism comes to collect, when the flip-side of the system's benefits come to bite them on the ass, they try their best to run away from it."

Agree 100% with this notion. Evolve or die.

[Eusis]

There was an interview with the Titanfall guys (sorry, it was a couple days ago and I don't have the link...) in which they basically admitted that their much-touted 'cloud' stuff was nothing more than matchmaking servers...whee.

Well, it sounds more like it spins out a dedicated server close to you and you use that to play online, which is actually probably a huge boon in and of itself... but if the PC version lets people form dedicated servers or rent them like many other PC games I'd imagine it's a moot point. And I kind of expect the 360 version will hook into Azure servers too. Honestly it sounds like a pretty nice feature, but not THAT essential to Titanfall.

[dyeager]

In the end Microsoft had two problems IMO coming out of E3, two basic economics and marketing problems that have been around for a long time.

1) If you have to constantly defend your price to your potential customers, your price is probably wrong.
2) If your business model requires you to have an adversarial position with your potential customers, your model is probably wrong.

There are of course exceptions, as always. But these are generally pretty solid rules for this type of consumer product.

Microsoft has taken good steps toward addressing one of these.

[Eusis]

Yeah, usually if you're justified on both rather than the consumer it's probably because you have an amazing, compelling product people will understand once they get their hands on, like the iPad and iPhone may've been (I can't remember how much protest there may've been to whatever aspects there.) Here, I think they were almost set to send Xbox to the same hell Kin went, it may yet land there anyway.

[MeshGearFox]

No idea if this was answered in the various press conferences or not, but..............!!

If the XBox One isn't backwards compatible with the 360, can I assume that XBLA/XBLIG games you purchased for the 360 will likewise not work on the XBox One?

Are there separate XBLA ecosystems for the 360 and One? And what happens to your games when, inevitably, they can no longer maintain both ecosystems and have to shut the 360 one down?

The biggest point in there for me is this: "My God, do these companies love the f--- out of capitalism, but it seems that when capitalism comes to collect, when the flip-side of the system's benefits come to bite them on the ass, they try their best to run away from it."

This sentence sums up a lot of what is wrong with western society, in general.

At the end of the day,

goddammit, I'm killin' this shit!

[Kevadu]

If the XBox One isn't backwards compatible with the 360, can I assume that XBLA/XBLIG games you purchased for the 360 will likewise not work on the XBox One?

Yes, you can assume that.  Same for the PS4.  Honestly, I don't understand why this question keeps coming up.  Backwards compatibility has nothing at all to do with whether it's on a disc or not.  It's about the processor architecture.  Even if you get devs to recompile their games for the new system (and you would have to get the devs to do it, because I don't think MS or Sony keeps copies of their source code...) they still have to be retested and recertified and porting is rarely a completely painless process.  There are always things that can go wrong.

The big exception is stuff that was being emulated already.  For instance, PS1 Classics you buy on the PSN are running under an emulator.  That emulator has been ported to the PS3, PSP, and Vita so if you buy a PS1 Classic once you can play it on any of those systems.  I certainly hope Sony is planning on adding the PS4 to that list, though it doesn't sound like it will be there at launch (note that it wasn't there at launch for the Vita either but they did get it working and it seems fine now).  But native code for the PS3 isn't going to work on the PS4 without porting the whole game (well, either that or developing a PS3 emulator but it doesn't sound like that's going to happen...).

Are there separate XBLA ecosystems for the 360 and One? And what happens to your games when, inevitably, they can no longer maintain both ecosystems and have to shut the 360 one down?

No idea...but I don't think 360 games have any kind of online check-in requirement.  Assuming that they've been downloaded already they should continue to work.

[Yggdrasil]

Make a Titanfall thread next time, I don't really want a thread to start with a post like that, and while it's a major XB1 title it's neither a full exclusive (on X360 and PC at launch, likely PS4 and maybe PS3 later on) or news directly relevant to the XB1 itself like the bit about how the Cloud is SUPPOSED to make that the definitive version.

Didn't saw the need for a new thread. But yeah sure, I get the message. ~_~

[MeshGearFox]

re Kevadu:

No, I mean, I know that XBLA won't be backwards compatible. I mean, if you bought the game and your 360 breaks, if it's not backwards compatible and they shut the 360 XBLA service down, you're not getting your games again.

Also re: good graphics/small teams/production values:

First, I don't think graphics have improved THAT much since the PS2-gen. They're subtle improvements -- more detail, better lighting, things that look great in still imagines but get tuned out if you either have a small TV or are only focusing on what's actually happening in the game. Those little details require a lot of effort but they're not really making THAT much a difference as far as I'm concerned. It's a waste of money.

Second, Euro Truck Sim 2 is one of the prettiest goddamn games I have ever played and SCS employs like 20 people total and I don't even know if they have a budget.

[Sagacious-T]

Are there separate XBLA ecosystems for the 360 and One? And what happens to your games when, inevitably, they can no longer maintain both ecosystems and have to shut the 360 one down?

You're fucked. That's what happens.

[Aeolus]

http://www.siliconera.com/2013/06/22/games-with-gold-gives-xbox-live-gold-members-2-games-to-keep-for-the-rest-of-the-year/

Somebody tell me that this is just a bad case of semantics on Siliconera's part.

I mean, I guess its not a big deal given that most of these games sound like the kind with the yearly iterations anyways so its not all that different then buying a game from Gamestop then trading it in once you're finished with it for a discount on the next iteration of what's hot for the year.

[MeshGearFox]

Just bad semantics. They're releasing free games over the course of the year. You can keep them forever.

Or until the next XBox comes out and the lack of backwards compatibility ruins you, whatevo.

[Klutz64]

So apparently they're now even going back and adding a rechargeable battery to the XB1 controller.

I have a feeling by the time this thing comes out, they'll just be saying "Fuck it, you guys want a PS4? We'll just put some PS4's in our Xbox One packaging."

[Taelus]

So apparently they're now even going back and adding a rechargeable battery to the XB1 controller.

I have a feeling by the time this thing comes out, they'll just be saying "Fuck it, you guys want a PS4? We'll just put some PS4's in our Xbox One packaging."

I don't see why there's anything wrong with adding a rechargeable battery though. That's a good idea. There are some things I don't mind them copying.

[Eusis]

So apparently they're now even going back and adding a rechargeable battery to the XB1 controller.

I have a feeling by the time this thing comes out, they'll just be saying "Fuck it, you guys want a PS4? We'll just put some PS4's in our Xbox One packaging."

I don't see why there's anything wrong with adding a rechargeable battery though. That's a good idea. There are some things I don't mind them copying.

There IS the argument to be made that it'd be better to stick with something like Eneloops that are high quality rechargable batteries and so you can swap at a moment's notice.

Then again they WERE using Eneloops in the 360 play-and-charge kits. Make the controller into a NiMH charger, include Eneloop batteries by default, EVERYONE WINS.

[Desert Walker]

http://www.cracked.com/blog/a-breakup-letter-to-xbox/?wa_user1=2&wa_user2=Video+Games&wa_user3=blog&wa_user4=feature_module