Tag: Xbox One

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PlayStation 5 is Making Some Tweaks to It’s Menu

It’s been announced recently that Sony has made some changes to their PlayStation Store as well as a big overhaul of their UX. Today, Senior Vice President of Platform Planning & Management, Hideaki Nishino announced some of those changes in a video posed to YouTube.

Things are looking good with the new PS5.

For those of us who have never been fans of the cross-media bar, it seems we will have to continue to live with it for the time being. I do like that they have split the games and media into two different realms. I always thought the apps area on the PS4 wasn’t very well planned out and slow.

Cards are the new hottness

The biggest feature that they talked about were the cards. The cards look really helpful. I love the idea of including time to completion on different activities in game. These companies are compiling infinite amounts of data on how we as players play, I am happy that they are now turning that data into something that is useful to us.

The potential of including guides from developers is huge. I’m not sure if this is something developers will need to put together themselves or if they could just use the information from the community. I’m sure that would take the pressure off of the developers and allow the community to make their own guides. People could up-vote the most helpful guides and those would be the featured guides. I’m sure there is potential for penises which may be the reason for making this a walled garden. I worry that if it’s just left up to the developers to implement these guides that the feature will be a wasteland before too long.

The sharing functionality hasn’t changed that much at first glance. I’m sure that I will use it about as much as I use it now.

I am glad that they are including voice support in the UX with a microphone in the controller. I use voice support on my phone and it has become invaluable so I can see how it could increase my use of the message system in the PlayStation community.

PlayStation will include the ability to pin media to corners of the players screen so they can watch their friends streams. The Xbox One included the One Guide which allowed players to view Netflix or other apps in a small window on one end of the screen.

White is not the new black

Sony has revealed the last piece of the puzzle and I think convinced a lot of people to make a PlayStation purchase. The new UX has plenty of other secrets for us but we’ll probably have to wait for November 12th when the PlayStation 5 debuts.

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Footage-cast – Resident Evil 4 Part 1

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Footage-cast – Tomb Raider (2013) Part 1

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The Most American Console is Bringing Back the Most American Controller (read: fat)

It has been announced that “The Duke,” one of the worst controllers ever made is making a comeback later this year. The news coincides with Microsoft’s announcement that they will be bringing original Xbox games to the Xbox One. (Fuck! Microsoft’s naming conventions are stupid.)

Hyperkin, an accessory maker, has announced a partnership with Microsoft to bring an updated version of “The Duke” to the Xbox One. The new controller will feature the required additional buttons needed for the Xbox One, a recharge cable (which means it will be wireless), and a logo display screen…I have no idea what this is. Is it just going to be like the PS4’s touch-pad but even more useless?

I never actually owned “The Duke.” I purchased my original Xbox after Microsoft started putting the smaller Controller S into their American retail boxes. I definitely used one of the bulky controllers and never really liked it even then, which makes me wonder why they are doing this. Are that many people going to buy a crappy controller based on nostalgia?

Microsoft have a lot going for them I am interested in their new console and they seem to be the only console maker that is making a concerted effort to collect their back-catalog in one place, which I very much support. I don’t really think putting out a controller that everyone hated 20 years ago is the best move, which might be why they are partnering with another company to do so instead of wasting their own money putting out the thing themselves.

The Power Glove was much more of a beloved controller that was ten times more useless than “The Duke” but even it has never had a reissue. We might be witnessing the downfall of western civilization before our eyes. John Wayne is probably rolling in his grave right now.

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Phil Spencer and Xbox One: Put Up or Shut Up

Xbox head Phil SpencerXbox 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.

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.

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Gran Turismo Sport has Balloons!

willow springs with balloons

The Gran Turismo franchise has always been on the cutting edge of technology and Gran Turismo Sport, the newest addition to the franchise is no different. In the past Gran Turismo was usually the centerpiece in the Playstation lineup, a product that showed the rest of the Playstation development community the possibility of eking out jaw-dropping visuals on each respective console generation.

willow springs with balloons The PR video above Polyphony Digital released for Gran Turismo Sport at this year’s E3 was more of a promotional piece for Gran Turismo as a cultural touchtone than it was a tech demo for the Playstation 4 as a piece of hardware. This could be because of the similarities in hardware between Sony and Microsoft or it could be because Polyphony Digital wants to position itself differently this generation compared to other generations.

gt sport live steam Gran Turismo Sport looks great from the videos that are out there and I don’t think there should be any question in fans minds that it will once again be a classic example of driving beauty. Since the architecture of the Playstation 4 is so similar to that of the Xbox One, I wonder if this game will be that far ahead of Forza in the looks department. I can’t do any side-by-side comparisons to gauge which game has better this or better that, all I can do is play each game and critically figure out which one aligns with my own tastes.

prospective coverLast generation, GT5 and GT6 were like two sides of a coin. GT5 was a good game but because of development issues it lagged behind in more areas than it excelled at. GT6 seemed like Polyphony’s desire to show the world that they could make a great game in under a century that was packed with a lot of the stuff that was missing from the first Playstation 3 developed GT game. GT6, in my mind, was the ultimate racing experience of last generation; it was such a tighter product than GT5 or any of the Forza games.

GT Sport looks like it will be the follow up to GT6 that Sony fans want from Polyphony. It looks like they are getting into live streaming and the development team is focusing on online features that will bring the all corners of world together to play this one game. In this way, GT Sport looks like it has a chance to be a worldwide phenomenon; the kind of phenomenon that Gran Turismo games have always strived towards. I’m looking forward to being able to play the game with my own Playstation 4 controller when it comes out November 18th 2016.

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Hope and Prudence in the New Call of Cthulhu Game

I am a fan of the Cthulhu Mythos that was created by writer H.P. Lovecraft. I am especially interested in it’s history in the realm of video games. I have been playing through Alone in the Dark recently and like the eldritch themes that are present in that game. I have always wanted to play the Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, a game that came out for the “original” Xbox and PC. I have never gotten around to it but I have heard good things about the game. There are countless other games that have taken themes from Lovecraft’s works, most recently the Amnesia games have been extremely popular with the worshippers of Cthulhu.

During E3 this year, Cyanide Studio announced that it would be making a new Cthulhu game called Call of Cthulhu: The Official Video Game. There was only a small teaser but contained in those few moments were some lush visuals that look like they could drum up some pretty horrific feelings of terror in the player.

I found that the main title screen for the trailer is reminiscent of the Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare cover art. Both characters walking through a gate to the unknown. The Alone in the Dark 1 cover art has the character much more centered but it is difficult to see the gate in that picture.

screen grab from teaser

Alone In The Dark - The New Nightmare (PAL) - Front

The trailer looks fantastic. The setting is a creepy island called Darkwater Island. (I’m not sure that a more ominous name for a place has ever existed in the history of mankind.) The trailer has a couple glimpses at the evil creatures that reside on the island, the creatures look pretty horrific.

The camera pans around different areas inside a house or mansion, there seems to be a definite Amnesia or Soma vibe to the game – the former being another title in the Cthulhu video game mythos.

I didn’t know anything about Cyanide Studio so I checked out some of their past titles. The studio was founded by seven former Ubisoft employees. The studio has been in business since 2000, so it seems like there is some pedigree there but most of the games that the studio has developed don’t really appeal to me until now. As I scrolled through their game catalog it seems like they have mainly worked on sports simulation games – a healthy number being cycling games. They do have Styx: Master of Shadows in their catalog, which was a Games with Gold game on the Xbox One platform, and I did hear some pretty good things about that game but, once again, I haven’t played it so I can’t really comment on it.

The trailer for Call of Cthulhu looks really good but I am concerned with the studio’s catalog as a whole not being a good representation of what is needed for a good Cthulhu game. Of course, being just a teaser, we can’t take too much out of the short video as a representation of the final product. Fans of Cthulhu games will just have to hope that this game turns out as good as it looks.

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Titanfall 2 is Gonna Stomp Your Face

background picture

I am incredibly excited for Titanfall 2. I was not one of the masses who bought the first game, bought an Xbox One, and expected that game and that console to change their entire lives. I did get the game quite a bit after the fact and all the DLC for a steal. I played the game with the legions of people who still hold it down on a nightly basis in that game. I leveled my stuff up a lot and I had a great time getting to know the game at my own pace.

I am glad that I play games in this fashion. I don’t really want to be part of the “conversation” because then the conversation gets infested with yes-men who only know what to say critically, concerning games because they listened to the latest episode of the coolest podcast on iTunes or Youtube show. I am glad that I generally wait for the price of games to go down. I am glad that I wait for server issues to get worked out. I am especially glad that I play the game with people who like the game and have learned to figure out the game’s systems and will teach those systems to you as a new player because it can only strengthen the community.

background pictureBecause I wasn’t one of those people that had serious issues with this game, because I didn’t hang all my hopes on this one game to hold my attention for the first few months of my console’s life, I was able to find a great game that was fun to play. I wasn’t invested in the back-story because it was apparent that the developer wasn’t very concerned about the story. I am sure that there is some lore master at Respawn that believes they told a great story in the first game but I would point that person to the internet and to this reviewer – the story was nonexistent, or at very least forgettable.

It is because I played this game as a multiplayer game only that I can say I didn’t need a story mode in Titanfall 2. I am glad it is there. It looks like it could be a big dumb action movie of a story mode, which I can definitely get behind. I just hope that Respawn didn’t add this new story mode into the game to appease all of those people who didn’t play the game the first time around – those people who never came back to the game, even after all the content that was added to the game. I hope that the story mode brings in the people who didn’t enjoy the first game or didn’t try it at all and I hope it appeases fans too.

I would love a story mode in Titanfall 2 that is reminiscent of the story mode in Mortal Kombat 9. I hope that it is just big dumb action with an equally dumb story. I hope that it makes everybody laugh and have a great time with somebody sitting on the couch next to them. But, most of all, I hope the single player campaign is short so people will get online and take advantage of the game that Respawn always wanted to make – a great multiplayer game with fun mechanics.

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I don't even have the coins for Xursday!

I don’t even have the coins for Xursday! (Part 1)

owr logo and destiny

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I Finally Finished Destiny

the traveler in the background
Gorgeous!

It has taken me a few days to collect my opinions of Destiny. Destiny, being such a divisive game, is hard to critique because each player was hoping for something that this game didn’t end up delivering. Once we all can agree that Destiny didn’t deliver the “goods” we had anticipated, this is where the player base divides.

One group are those who got “butt hurt” when the game didn’t pan out the way they had expected it to. Some of these people were hoping for the next Halo. Some of them were hoping for a Call of Duty replacement. There are a million different reasons why they turned against the game. Some of these people put too much hope in these games, they yearn for these games to become the next “it” game and they want to be there when “it is happening. It pains them when these games that they invested too much into turn out to be just another game.

The other group of people are, like me, people who expected something more but have decided that we are going to keep plugging away at Destiny and continue to try to mine more fun from the game. The issue with this is that it very much is like farming. It is laborious, but, when you do find that vein of gold in the rock, you know you are going to enjoy yourself for a little while longer.

browser version of grimoire
Why wouldn’t you use the app?

I think that what Destiny presents to it’s audience is very much a refinement of where we are in game design. Destiny is member of the nouveau shooter class, a class of shooter that focuses on daily online content in lieu of spending development costs on single player content. Destiny is like a race tuned Skyline GT-R; they have taken out a lot of the bloat and streamlined the product to be good at one single thing. For the car, they take out things like air conditioning, radio, seats, etc. For Destiny, which in my opinion is a detriment, they took out the story. What we were left with was a thin story that was peppered with bits of interesting plot points that, sadly, only accentuate the dearth of overall story in the game.

cool wolf legendary
A dire wolf?

I think Bungie made a great shooter. They made a great game that is fun to log on and shoot stuff. Each of the different guns controls very differently. The pistol is amazing. I haven’t really chosen my favorite among the assault/SMG type guns that fill out your main guns. Your secondary gun can either be a shotgun, a sniper rifle, or a charge/fusion rifle. I’m not the biggest fan of the fusion rifle, and it doesn’t sound like the rest of the community is either. The developers have made some changed recently to these guns. I never really like sniper very much – in any game. But, in Destiny, I love the sniper rifle. The shotgun is really nice as well. Finally, you also have a heavy weapon. You can choose either a chaingun or a rocket launcher. (I don’t think there is a third. At least I haven’t seen one yet.) Also, you have grenades and some class based abilities that are on a cooldown, etc. Blah, blah, blah.

Of course, Bungie made improvements on the tried and true first person shooter, with games like Titanfall, another member of the nouveau shooter class, and COD: Advanced Warfare breathing down on them they had to. I think that Bungie, with Destiny, is falling in line with EA and their approach with Titanfall; they recognized that people who play first person shooters play online much more than they play offline and most people don’t finish single player games. The data is there. These companies who see dwindling profits year-after-year and they are in a fight with Activision, who have a huge war chest of funds – from COD, and they are moving with the times and moving these games into a much more online focused market where, these companies believe, they don’t need to focus on story as much.

I think I am going to keep with Destiny for a little while longer. I am now level 23. I have been playing Crucible matches finally and it is fun playing against other Guardians. I am still combing through the Grimoire trying to find more information about this story – and where it went.

wide shot of enemies and guardians

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Nintendo’s Design Fu is Strong

mercedes car pack

Wii U hardwareI have been using my Wii U a lot recently. It has pushed me into finally finishing a few games that I have been meaning to beat for a while; Golden Sun, Earthbound, and Super Mario Galaxy. The Wii U also has me playing new games. I never play “new” games! I usually wait until the games are at least 20% off and even then I don’t actually play the games until 5 or 6 years later. But, one game got me back into dat new shit.

Mario Kart 8 got me to buy a full priced, sixty dollar game – my eternal resting place is experiencing a cold front, I believe. I have been having a lot of fun with MK8. Today, after getting home from work, I downloaded the Mercedes DLC pack and have been having fun with those new additions to the game – some new tires and 3 Mercedes cars. Even though I haven’t been that excited for this free content, it’s a good decision to have this kind of alliance for NIntendo. I would like to see more collaborations like this for Nintendo.

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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.

xbox service issuesIf 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.

hang in there cat
Truly, a company with a heart!

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Microsoft Finally Has a Reason to be on the Front Page Again

crossed out kinectMicrosoft 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. 

phil spencer laughingThe 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.

an xbox logo in MinecraftIt 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.

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Claptrap! Bang, Zoom, I’m Gonna Knock You Straight to the Moon!

 

Claptrap gonna get some DV
One of these days Claptrap!

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:

The four playable characters in Borderlands the Pre-sequel
3 characters PLUS Claptrap…huh?!

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.

words on a black backgroundBut, 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?

cat meme about marketingThis 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.

 

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Xbox One Tests the Water With a $450 Price Tag

test market meme

Xbox One Titanfall Bundle
I could see this in my house for $449

Microsoft has been struggling to find it’s position on the NPD monthly sales charts. Today Polygon reported that Best Buy and Walmart are offering the Xbox One for $449, which could help Microsoft make a play at the top spot this month. Both retailers are also offering the new Titanfall bundle for the same price; so, essentially, you are getting a copy of Titanfall and a Xbox One for $449. I have seriously thought about going to Walmart four or five times tonight.

polygon logoWalmart told Polygon that this $50 less price tag is “a limited time” offer, while Best Buy declined to comment on any specific end date for the price change. When Polygon reporter Samit Sarkar called Microsoft for comment he wrote this;

The $50 discount on the Xbox One isn’t indicative of a price cut from Microsoft, a company spokesperson told Polygon, saying, “This offer is available at Walmart and Best Buy retail stores in the U.S. for a limited time. Microsoft sets a suggested retail price, but specific pricing and offers vary by retailer.”

 

Microsoft has to give this kind of response to this news; whether they have anything to do with this or not. They want to distance themselves from this for whatever reason. The quote from Microsoft was written in such a way that it doesn’t mention “price drop” at all.

test market memeIf they would have wanted credit for this they would have made this a huge announcement at CES, but a $50 price drop isn’t big enough news for that kind of announcement. I wouldn’t doubt though that Microsoft, an American company, went to Walmart and Best Buy, two of the biggest American retail companies, and asked them to be “test markets” for a cheaper price point.

xbone price cut fanboy pic
The Fan Boy Brigade has taken to Microsoft Paint – Beware!

I really do believe that Microsoft needs to lower the price for it’s console. I am sure that they will do it, but “When?” is the the biggest question. I am sure that this “limited time” offer will give Microsoft some good data that will help them decide what to do before E3 starts.

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OWR Games Podcast: Episode 03

Green OWR Games logo with black boarder around the edge

Green OWR Games logo with black boarder around the edgeThis week Paul and Rodrigo are joined by Sam Contreras to talk about some games. Rodrigo talks about his new Xbox One and having fun with the new Killer Instinct. We also reminisce about our trip to Akihabara and getting our asses kicked by effeminate Japanese Street Fighter players. Rodrigo and I talk about Spec Ops: The Line and how hard it is to not hear Nathan Drake. Once Rodrigo finishes up we hear from our longtime friend Sam.

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Microsoft, Sony, and the Scientific Method

ps4 vs xbox one memeGamespot reported that the Playstation 4 enjoyed extremely lucrative sales in January, quoting the VP of PlayStation marketing John Koller who said, “PS4 was #1 in sales for next-gen consoles in January, nearly doubling the nearest next-gen competitor.” NPD does not post sales numbers for consoles publicly; only the publishers are privy to that information. But, it shouldn’t be too difficult to suss out the name of that mysterious company. Sony has been taking these little jabs at that company every chance they get. (It’s Microsoft.)

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Microsoft finally realized that Blu-ray is owned by Sony

Possible white Xbox One

White XBONE
Trying to look innocent in that white dress.

Microsoft came out this generation with it’s head held high from it’s successes last generation. They held it high enough that the public could smell the fetid air of superiority wafting off of every news report leading up to the launch of the Xbox One. The stench caused the community to explode over DRM issues, Kinect connections, and the ‘Gamestop dilemma’ of used games. All of these issues led to Giantbomb naming Xbox One the Hottest Mess of 2013.

They garnered that title for continually planting their feet and soon after go back on their unpopular decisions concerning the new direction for console gaming. Sony was able to sit back and watch. Microsoft seems like a ditsy high schooler and Sony takes the persona of the unaffected kid sitting in the corner of the lunch room brooding knowingly that high school life is bullshit and it is all gonna end one day.

According to rumors from gamespot.com and VG247, Microsoft might release a newer version of the XBONE at a $399 price tag sans Blu-ray drive and add a Bluetooth adapter.

This seems like another adolescent move for Redmond. If they lose the Blu-ray drive, what are the discs going to come on? DVD? Are they going to try to resurrect HD-DVD? Are they going to try to go all digital?

The anonymous “secret source” in the story could not confirm some of the specifics that came out earlier this week, but s/he did confirm that they were working on a new console for less than the current price tag.

I, for one, hope that they do try to get a more competitively priced console on the market, but I don’t see how dropping the Blu-ray drive could even be on the table without making more of a mess of what they have done.