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Footage-cast – Rage Part 2
Tag: Xbox 360
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Footage-cast – Rage Part 1
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Footage-cast – Gears of War 3 Part 4
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Footage-cast – Gears of War 3 Part 2
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Phil Spencer and Xbox One: Put Up or Shut Up
Xbox head Phil Spencer has spent a lot of time trying to silence Xbox’s detractors but with Xbox One’s third month on top of Sony in NPD console sales it looks like Spencer’s approach is panning out for Redmond.
Xbox One outsold the PS4 again in September. @XboxP3 is doing a fantastic job with the shape of the XB1 platform.
— Zach (@officialzachj) October 14, 2016
@officialzachj Thanks, team effort, XB1S, 1P games on XB1 and Win10, XBL features getting good use, really thankful for all your support..
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 14, 2016
When Spencer entered the doors at Xbox’s headquarters in Redmond, WA he was putting out a lot of fires and he needed to change consumer perceptions about Microsoft’s Xbox One platform which didn’t debut well compared to the Playstation 4. He has done a lot for consumers since he started at Microsoft, but what he has done to internal Xbox team perceptions might prove to be his biggest coup. From the outside, at least, it looks like Spencer’s reign at Xbox has done wonders since the turbulent launch of the system.
It really is admirable how Hidetaka Miyazaki, the director of Bloodborne and the first two games in the Souls series, has reincarnated controller splitting, TV breaking, middle finger flippin’ games. Actually, Miyazaki’s games were at the genesis of this renaissance of impossibly difficult yet supremely rewarding games that have become the darlings of the industry. Most of these games are also for non-traditional developers.
Games have been trying to be more like movies for a long time. (Maybe it’s better to say the publishers wish games were more like movies.) But it was the PS3/X-Box 360 era where games became more streamlined – shorter length, longer cut scenes, more difficulty settings, etc. The industry knew that with potentially larger audiences purchasing the games; games needed to be more accessible. The machismo associated with hard difficulties and impossible bosses became more muted. The Wii definitely helped broaden the audience, but move to make games more accessible had been happening for years and it wasn’t necessarily bad for the industry.
We got games like The Elder Scrolls IV:Oblivion, Heavy Rain, and Gears of War. All of 
these games were extremely cinematic and each game was accessible to a broadening group of gamers who have just as divergent familiarity with games. It wasn’t until later in the generation when we started seeing games like Demon Souls, Rouge Legacy, and Spelunky. While Rouge-likes have been gaining in popularity over the last generation, Demon Souls really blew the door open and showed the gaming industry that people like challenging difficulty.
A lot of the challenging difficulty associated with games had a lot to do with arcade culture and the need to have people insert more and more cash into the machine. I touched upon the machismo of difficulty as well. The difficulty of yesteryear was traditionally just bad game design. This caused a lot of violent outbursts at arcades which led to fights and broken machines and, in the home, it led to a lot of broken controllers and stern parental reprimanding after especially violent outbursts.
This new crop of challenging games that have sprouted through the beds of mediocre, AAA games have taught us how to appreciate good game design again. I’m not saying these games are perfect. I’m not even saying they don’t have cheap parts to them. I’m saying game design has advanced a lot in the recent years and these games are a testament to good game design. They have caused a resurgence in games that make us take a step back and think about our next move. The difference is this time when we fail again and again and scream “God Dammit,” we smile and get back to it cause in the end it’s fun.
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I Never Played Oblivion…Part 4
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I Never Played Oblivion…Part 3
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Microsoft and the Black Screen of Death
Microsoft issued a “service alert” today for many features on both the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The affected services are integral Xbox Live “features” like “accessing all game features,” “capturing game videos,” and joining Xbox Live members online in game. As of the writing of this article, it looks like Xbox One’s apps and features are all working correctly except for the PBS app, which is most likely due to some kind of Right Wing haxxorz. It looks as though Xbox 360 users are still experiencing issues with accessing their game features.
If problems with accessing game features wasn’t bad enough, it seems that there is a problem with the Xbox 360 specifically where the console has been “getting stuck on a black screen.” Commenters, who are usually antagonistic towards big companies like Micro$oft but now acting almost saintly, tried to tell Microsoft that this wasn’t because of any kind of firmware issues but because they just hadn’t turned on their consoles in months.
Microsoft is waiting to hear back from their support teams to figure out if what the commenters said could be the root cause of “the black screen of death.” But, Microsoft did tell it’s customers to, “Hang in there!” I’m sure they have their best gurus on the issue.
Microsoft came out with a bevvy of news today. Not only will they be releasing a $399 version of the Xbox One without the Kinect peripheral, but they have been restructuring their Xbox Live Gold membership program in some interesting ways.
First, Microsoft has announced that it’s “popular” Games with Gold program on the Xbox 360 will be coming to Xbox One. Microsoft, a company who loves touting it’s numbers, announced that their Games with Gold program has had “over 12 million people” download their Games for Gold games, “resulting in nearly 200 million hours of free fun playing Games with Gold titles.” I think the PR guys splooged in their pants with that sentence.
The blog post which probably wasn’t written or published by Microsoft’s Phil Spencer detailed that access to the “free” games would be “subscription-based,” putting Games with Gold in line with the Playstation Plus program. Basically, if you aren’t paid up on your subscription, you won’t be able to access these game anymore.
Next, Gold members will get exclusive discounts on games through their terribly named “Deals with Gold” program. This program will give Gold members savings up to 50 – 75 percent off games. This is another program that Playstation Plus currently offers, sans the stupid name.
Finally, literally, FINALLY! Microsoft users will be able to access Netflix, HBO Go, and many other apps without having to go through the Xbox Gold pay-wall. This is great news for those Microsoft users who don’t have Gold but want access to these services gratis. This change to their Xbox service is the most insignificant (in terms of implementation), yet it is the most brain-dead in terms of customer service. Microsoft should have ended this long ago.
It has been awhile since Microsoft has had anything interesting to say, in my book. It has been said over-and-over but they have been struggling this generation – much like Sony struggled at the beginning of the last generation. Hopefully, these changes to their business plan will help them in the coming months.
Last week Gearbox announced that there will be an addition to the Borderlands franchise that will release before the year’s end. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel will be released for PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
The biggest reveal though was that the player will be able to control Claptrap, the bouncy helper-bot from the first two games, as well as controlling other new playable characters. (The last game’s decision to add all new playable characters was a point of contention for many fans.)
I was not aware of much Claptrap hate before I read the Joystiq article. Matt Armstrong, Borderlands franchise director at Gearbox, said this to Joystiq concerning players love/hate relationship with the franchise mascot:
Some people will love Claptrap. Some people will hate Claptrap, as it’s always been. We would not be surprised to see – not to get too deep into what Claptrap is or how he works – but we fully expect to see servers that are called ‘No Claptraps Allowed,’ where if you join as a Claptrap, you get kicked. We’re okay with that.
I am one of the fans who does like Claptrap. I could see how the character could become annoying after hours of play, but shouldn’t the team take that as a challenge? Shouldn’t players who hate Claptrap expect dialog and action that will change their feelings towards the mascot?
The newest addition to the series will not be developed by the Plano, Texas based Gearbox studio, but instead 2K Australia will take the reins on this project. Gearbox is working on the next generation sequel to it’s popular Brothers in Arms franchise and most likely in development on the next Borderlands game.
But, why isn’t Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel coming to Xbox One and Playstation 4?
Armstong threw some PR spin on his response to Joystiq’s question concerning why the game is not running on “current” generation platforms (i.e. Xbox One and PS4). Armstrong and Gearbox believe the Borderlands audience is still using their Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. “The install base [on Xbox One and PS4] isn’t quite there yet,” he says. “They’re doing fantastically well, and it’s going to be great in the next couple years, but I think we’re going to go where our fans are.”
What does this say about Borderlands audience?
What does this say about the Xbox One and Playstation 4 audience?
This kind of thing happens every generation, so there is no need to worry about your favorite franchise or your Xbox One or Playstation 4. Smaller developers tend to make a play for keeping “last” generation consoles relevant.
Even though Armstrong doesn’t want us to believe that the development of the next game in the series wasn’t driven by marketing, we all know that was – and that’s fine. They want to keep Borderlands on people’s minds until Borderlands 3 and the best way to do that is to use the current engine and hardware to put out an offshoot.
That’s okay. Actually, that’s great. But…it’s still driven by marketing.