Official Xbox One Thread

[Twigg4075]

Both companies are unable to keep up with preorders. They're sold out everywhere. Goes to show how bad the WiiU launch really was that people thought console gaming was going to take a hit this generation.

I'm actually calling bullshit now on M$ selling out preorders. The Microsoft Store sent me an email just yesterday imploring me to preorder the Xbox NOW so that I can still get that hideous Day One 2013 edition. Desperate much? It doesn't sound like they are sold out at all.

[Handleit_44]

Xbox One records the last five minutes of your gameplay

Xbox One is able to automatically record the last five minutes of your gameplay, a third of the time that Sony will store on PlayStation 4.

Microsoft Studios creative director Ken Lobb detailed the exact amount at San Diego Comic-Con while discussing the new Xbox One version of Killer Instinct (thanks, Gamespot).

Sony previously showed off the ability for a player to edit their last 15 minutes of gameplay on PlayStation 4.

"The idea is you're always recording," Lobb said of the Xbox One's game DVR feature, nicknamed 'Project Upload'. "The last five minutes of any game you're playing are always being stored on your hard drive.

Like PS4, you'll be able to edit that footage on the fly, Lobb explained, and add titles, a voice-over or extra footage recorded using Kinect.

For times when you can't stop playing (such as in the middle of an online session), Microsoft will allow you to capture and immediately save the last 30 seconds of gameplay for editing later.

"Say you're playing online and you just did the best thing ever - you can't pause as you're playing online," Lobb continued. "You can say 'Xbox, record that' and it'll grab the last 30 seconds of gameplay for you to play around with later."

Both Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will also let you stream your gameplay online, which should allow for unlimited lengths of gameplay to be captured. Those looking for a method of editing longer amounts of footage could presumably rip the online version of this and then edit it via PC.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-07-22-xbox-one-records-the-last-five-minutes-of-your-gameplay

[Handleit_44]

[Swarley]

Microsoft Confirms Indie Self Publishing

Update:

Microsoft has verified our report. Confirmation has also been provided regarding Xbox One retail consoles serving as developer kits. This is an enormous change to the landscape, and supports the move to allow independent developers to self-publish.

"Our vision is that every person can be a creator. That every Xbox One can be used for development. That every game and experience can take advantage of all of the features of Xbox One and Xbox LIVE," said Xbox chief product officer Marc Whitten. "This means self-publishing. This means Kinect, the cloud, achievements. This means great discoverability on Xbox LIVE. We'll have more details on the program and the timeline at gamescom in August."

In a conversation with Whitten, he told us that the commitment to independent developers is full. There won't be restrictions on the type of titles that can be created, nor will there be limits in scope. In response to a question on whether retail-scale games could be published independently, Whitten told us, "Our goal is to give them access to the power of Xbox One, the power of Xbox Live, the cloud, Kinect, Smartglass. That's what we think will actually generate a bunch of creativity on the system." With regard to revenue splitting with developers, we were told that more information will be coming at Gamescom, but that we could think about it "generally like we think about Marketplace today." According to developers we've spoken with, that split can be approximately 50-50.

As for sales and dynamism in the Marketplace, Whitten told us more information would be forthcoming, but that "This has been pretty key for how we've developed the Xbox One platform," Whitten told us in response to a question about how long this plan has been in the works. Along those lines, Microsoft has been pushing for faster certification as we reported earlier. "My goal has always been to reduce the amount of time it takes to make a certification pass," Whitten told us. "It's good for all reasons, and it's a function of how to you build the automation. My goals will always be to take the amount of time in certification down."

With regard to the devkit functionality, Whitten told us that it won't be ready at launch. We also spoke about security, as it would seem that enabling retail units to function as devkits and play non-final code would be problematic. "This is the type of thing that you can only do at the start of a generation," Whitten explained. "You make a set of assumptions, and those assumptions get baked in at the beginning. When you ask questions like that [about security], you're looking through the lens of how Xbox 360 works, and based on how we developed a lot of these things in 2004 and 2005."

We're looking forward to learning more about these new features in the coming weeks and next month at Gamescom.

Original story:

Another unpopular Microsoft policy appears to be heading for the history books. Sources tell Game Informer that the company is reversing course on its publishing requirements. This will allow independent studios to access digital distribution without a publishing partner.

Independent publishing was a key platform in Sony's E3 2013 press conference, bringing a number of developers on stage. Supergiant Games' Transistor, Abe's Oddysee: New 'n' Tasty from Oddworld Inhabitants and Just Add Water, and Don't Starve from Mark of the Ninja studio Klei Entertainment were just some of the titles on display.

In contrast, criticism of Microsoft's curated approach to its marketplace has amplified in recent months, with several former partners saying they will never work with them again. Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning boldly said of Microsoft's indie policy, "There's one party that's making it very clear they're not interested."

The cacophony of naysayers drove Microsoft to rethink its position. Under the new directive, developers can set their own release dates and pricing, which should make the erratic nature of Xbox Live releases less problematic for creators who want to handle their own marketing.

Additionally, we have learned that Microsoft is drastically overhauling its certification process. The company will use a model similar to iTunes and is targeting a 14-day turnaround for an approvals. Instead of extensive code checking, the company will be looking for terms of service violations and significant bugs.

We've also been told, but cannot confirm, that every Xbox One unit can be converted to a debug console. Instead of specific hardware units, Microsoft can authorize a console ID to play pre-release code. This is in line with information we've received about a new process for beta tests. They will be run via hardware provisioning on Xbox One, with the process reportedly to be enabled for up to 25,000 users per test at launch. Given the ability to provision for beta testing, the ability to enable retail hardware for pre-release code seems feasible.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/07/24/microsoft-to-announce-indie-self-publishing-new-certification-process.aspx

[Swarley]

Microsoft Confirms Xbox One Gamescom Event
Showcase will be hosted by Phil Spencer and Phil Harrison.

Microsoft has confirmed that it will hold an Xbox One Gamescom Showcase event on August 20th. The showcase will be hosted by corporate vice presidents Phil Spencer and Phil Harrison and will provide media “the opportunity to get hands-on with a range of Xbox One titles, speak with developers and be the first to hear our Gamescom news.”

This will mark Microsoft’s return to Gamescom after it skipped the show in 2012. Earlier this week, Microsoft’s Marc Whitten announced that independent devs can self-publish on Xbox One and confirmed that “more details on the program and the timeline” will be revealed at Gamescom.

Microsoft said back in May that Xbox One will have 15 exclusive games in its first year, not all of which have been announced. While nothing has been confirmed, Gamescom could be when we find out more.

Gamescom will run from August 21-25 in Cologne, Germany and both Nintendo and Sony will also attend. Be sure to check back to IGN in August for all the news from the show as it’s announced.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/07/26/microsoft-confirms-xbox-one-gamescom-event

[Twigg4075]

Microsoft Confirms Indie Self Publishing



http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/a...n-process.aspx

It's pretty hilarous how they are making complete 180 degree turns from their shitty anti-consumer policies. The Xbox One pre-orders must be far shittier than they are reporting and now they are doing everything they can to get back in the good graces and the wallets of gamers.

It's good for us consumers but man is it funny.

[jms493]

Microsoft Offering Unlimited Cloud Storage for Xbox One Console

Microsoft kind of stumbled out of the gate when it announced its upcoming Xbox One console. Early excitement over a next generation console was marred by a higher price tag (compared to the PlayStation 4, though the Xbox One ships with a second generation Kinect motion control sensor), uncertainty over its used games policy, and the need to dial home every 24 hours. It took a few policy changes to get its console back on track with John Q. Public, and the latest announcement that it will come with unlimited cloud storage is sure to be a boon, as well.

It gets even better. Not only is Microsoft offering an infinity-capacity hard drive in the sky (compared to the 512MB cap for Xbox 360 users), but you don't need an Xbox Live Gold account to use it.

"Xbox Live offers Xbox One unlimited storage space in the cloud for all Xbox Live members to store numerous types of Xbox Live content, including your profile, games, Achievements and entertainment. This content is stored and saved in the cloud so you can automatically access it anywhere, anytime, no matter where you are," a Microsoft rep said, according to the Examiner.

[Primetime]

I thought this has been known for months, no?

[Twigg4075]

Microsoft Offering Unlimited Cloud Storage for Xbox One Console

I don't see any mention of game saves, which is the only thing I would give a shit about.

[jtarr88]

So you pay $ for content and they allow you to access the content? Standard.

[KNUBB]

So you pay $ for content and they allow you to access the content? Standard.

LOL you're gonna fit in here.

[Twigg4075]

LOL you're gonna fit in here.

I'm really liking this dude too.

[Atlas]

take your $ony ism elsewhere

[jms493]

So you pay $ for content and they allow you to access the content? Standard.

you are right...pretty crappy news. I wish they would just come with 30 GB hard drives. The cloud is ghey.

[Twigg4075]

you are right...pretty crappy news. I wish they would just come with 30 GB hard drives. The cloud is ghey.

Uh oh, chief Xbot JMS is getting defensive about his non-news.