Microsoft

First, there wasn’t going to be a headset included with the Xbox One. But now, Microsoft says that feedback from gamers is the reason that every one of their next-gen consoles will include the communications peripheral

Sharing And Streaming Will Be Free On PS4 (But Not Xbox One)

You’ll need to pay for premium membership to play (non-free-to-play) games online with a PS4, but not to share them: Sony prez Shuhei Yoshida clarified on Twitter today that you can stream and record PS4 gameplay footage without paying any PlayStation Plus fees. In contrast, yesterday Microsoft clarified that you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold…

Here’s Everything That Comes With The $500 ‘Day One’ Xbox One

Some of you already have pre-orders in for the Xbox One and it’s simply a matter of waiting until you can find out when it’s actually going to be in stores. You might think you already know enough about Microsoft’s next-gen console but, this morning, the folks in Redmond are showing off what comes with…

Taiwan Animators Come Up With Better Gamertags Than Xbox Live Trolls

Next Media Animation has made a good living offering allegorical reenactments of controversies—many of them in video gaming—and setting them to the sonorous tones of a Mandarin voice-over. I wasn’t expecting them to do something on Xbox Live’s new Enforcement United Project so soon, however. Well, hey, it’s Monday in Taiwan, too, I suppose. In…

Does Your Gamertag Have Herpes? Beware Xbox Live Enforcement United

I do not envy Xbox Live’s enforcement moderators. They have an endless and thankless task policing the service’s notoriously juvenile user base. And mind-numbing, too, if a the experience offered by “Enforcement United”—Xbox Live’s new crowdsourced tattling system—is any indication. Announced last week, Enforcement United is going to be part of a self-policing strategy designed…

The Xbox One’s Insides Have Changed A Little Bit Since E3

The Xbox One we saw at E3 isn’t quite the Xbox One the team at Microsoft has in their hands right now. They’ve been making a few tweaks to the system, Xbox exec Marc Whitten shared on Major Nelson’s podcast today Whitten covered a few other updates on the internal status of the Xbox One.…

The Xbox One Is Apparently Designed To Stay On For TEN YEARS

People used to laugh when Sony said the PS3 was going to be around for a decade (even though it was a totally fair thing to say!), so I can only imagine those same folks’ reaction to word that the next Xbox isn’t just designed to be around for a decade, but stay powered on…

John Carmack Talks Xbox One Backlash And Kinect Privacy Concerns

Super-whiz programmer John Carmack thinks some of the “witch hunt” against the Xbox One was unjustified, but he didn’t love all of the Microsoft’s original policies, either. In this clip from his marathon Quakecon keynote, Carmack forecasts the inevitably of cameras like Kinect and seems less excitable than most about machines that are constantly checking…

John Carmack on PS4 vs. Xbox One Specs: They’re ‘Very Close’

At the start of his QuakeCon keynote, legendary tech-whiz John Carmack offered some observations about the biggest two contenders in the coming console wars. You can watch the clip from Carmack’s keynote above. While he says he hasn’t done enough benchmarking to be able to do a straight-up comparison between the PS4 and Xbox One,…

You Can Use Video Capture Devices On Xbox One. But What About PS4?

Xbox One users will be able to use third-party capture cards and devices to record gameplay video just as they did on the Xbox 360, Microsoft has told us. This is in addition to the built-in capture feature the company has announced for their next-gen console. But what about the PS4? While the PS4 has…

Xbox One Offers A Possibly-Better Way To Wait For Multiplayer Matches

The Xbox One will come with a matchmaking system called Smart Match, and in a new blog post today on Xbox Wire, Microsoft shares some details about the new Xbox Live feature. It’s a revolutionary way to sit around and wait for multiplayer games to start. Well, maybe not. But in a list of the…

The Xbox One Controller Costs $60; the Headset is $25.

Microsoft finally got down to officially telling everyone the official price of an extra Xbox One controller, and it’s $59.99. The Xbox One’s headset—which isn’t included in the box—is $24.99. This is important because existing Xbox 360 controllers and compatible headsets won’t work with the Xbox One (Microsoft reasons that Kinect, included with every Xbox…

Microsoft: Every Xbox One Can Be Used To Make Games [UPDATE]

Every single Xbox One can be used to make games, Microsoft says—in other words, you can use the next-gen console as your very own development kit. UPDATE: But not at launch. Microsoft’s Marc Whitten just told us that devkit functionality will be added at a later date. The Xbox 360 was a closed system, but…

Report: Indies Will Be Able To Self-Publish On Xbox One [UPDATE]

Microsoft will allow indie developers to self-publish on the Xbox One, according to a new report at Game Informer Update: Microsoft has sent along the following statement, largely confirming the information in the Game Informer report: Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development.…

Microsoft Shoots Down Rumors Of Kinect-Free Xbox One Bundle

Microsoft has denied rumors that they intend to release an Xbox One bundle without Kinect, telling Kotaku they have “no plans” to do so. Yesterday, the website Inside Gaming Daily reported that Microsoft plans to release a Kinect-free Xbox One bundle next summer, citing “an anonymous source familiar with the matter.” Inside Gaming Daily writes:…

A Tribute To One Of The Greatest Cars Ever Made

The Ford GT40. So fast. So gorgeous. Even decades later, it still turns heads, and it still stops hearts. So if a guy who draws cars in video games for a living wants to pay tribute to a vehicle, there aren’t many better options. The work you’re seeing here is that of Luis Nieves, who’s…

Japanese Poll: Few People Want to Buy the Xbox One (or the PS4)

In Japan, Microsoft just can’t catch a break with its game consoles, can it? The original Xbox was a failure in Japan. The Xbox 360 is a failure in Japan. And according to a recent poll, things don’t look so bright for Xbox One. But not so fast! The poll says things are only slightly…

The Xbox One And PlayStation 4 Face Off On The Comic-Con Show Floor

In this corner, we have Microsoft’s Xbox One, with games like Ryse: Son of Rome and Killer Instinct. In the same corner, we’ve got the PlayStation 4 with Driveclub, Knack and Octodad: Dadliest Catch. The first public hands-on for both upcoming consoles is underway. Though Microsoft has an Xbox Lounge set up up at the…

Forza 5 Isn’t All On The Disc [UPDATE]

While Microsoft has done away with its “daily check-in” requirement for the Xbox One, that’s not the end of strange new digital firsts for the system. Witness Forza 5, which even when you buy it on disc, needs to download more of the game online the first time you fire it up. UPDATE: A Microsoft…

Microsoft Might Bring Back Cut Xbox One Features That People Liked

When Microsoft pulled their Xbox One DRM-reversal, lots of people were happy. Others, not so much, and with fair cause: Microsoft didn’t just remove the console’s onerous internet and used game requirements, they removed some cool-sounding features people that were looking forward to. In a new interview at IGN, Microsoft’s Marc Whitten says that the…