Official Xbox One Thread

[Twigg4075]

I had some weird issues with this thing tonight. During halftime of the NFC Champ game I eject my Madden disc and go to insert Forza but it won't accept the disc. It's like I have to force it and the disc drive isn't pulling it in. I go back to the dash and even hit the eject button a few times. Nothing. I do that hard reset and when it boots back up it finally works.

Also, while playing Forza while watching the third quarter, I had an instance where the console wasn't recognizing my inputs. I kept trying to hit "A" to start the game but it wouldn't respond. I could use the guide button and navigate the dash but the Forza "app" wasn't responding. I had to quit the game and start over and then things worked.

WTF is the deal?

[Handleit_44]

Stealth marketing: Microsoft paying YouTubers for Xbox One mentions

The line between traditional, paid advertising and organic editorial content on the Internet can sometimes be hazy. A recent stealth promotional campaign between Microsoft and Machinima highlights just how hazy that line has become, and how behind-the-scenes payments can drive ostensibly independent opinion-mongering on by users on services like YouTube.

This weekend, word started leaking of a new promotion offering Machinima video partners an additional $3 CPM (i.e., $3 per thousand video views) for posting videos featuring Xbox One content. The promotion was advertised by Machinima's UK community manager in a since-deleted tweet, and it also appears on Machinima's activity feed on Poptent, a clearinghouse for these kind of video marketing campaigns. The Poptent page also mentions an earlier campaign surrounding the Xbox One's launch in November, which offered an additional $1 CPM for videos "promoting the Xbox One and its release games."

To qualify for the campaign (and the extra payments), Machinima partners had to post a video including at least 30 seconds of Xbox One game footage that mentioned the Xbox One by name and included the tag "XB1M13." A YouTube search for that relatively unique term turns up "about 6,590 results," but a quick scan of those results shows only a few hundred that actually seem to be tagged for the Machinima promotion.

These kinds of payments aren't inherently suspect in and of themselves. If the video makers disclosed that Microsoft was paying extra for these videos, and if they were allowed to say whatever they wanted in those videos, then the whole thing could be seen as merely an unorthodox way to increase exposure for the Xbox One on YouTube.

That's not the case, however. According to a leaked copy of the full legal agreement behind the promotion, video creators "may not say anything negative or disparaging about Machinima, Xbox One, or any of its Games" and must keep the details of the promotional agreement confidential in order to qualify for payment. In other words, to get the money, video makers have to speak positively (or at least neutrally) about the Xbox One, and they can't say they're being paid to do so.

The arrangement as described might go against the FTC's guidelines for the use of endorsements in advertising, which demand full disclosure when there is "a connection between the endorser and the seller of the advertised product that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement." The document offers a specific example of a video game blogger who gets a free game system that he later talks about on his blog. That blogger would need to disclose that gift, the FTC says, because his opinion is "disseminated via a form of consumer-generated media in which his relationship to the advertiser is not inherently obvious." That same reasoning would seem to apply to the opinions expressed by the video makers participating in this promotion. Neither Microsoft nor Machinima responded immediately to a request for comment on the matter, but we'll let you know if and when we hear from them.

This kind of guerrilla online video advertising doesn't seem to be a major part of Microsoft's Xbox One marketing plan. According to the Machinima e-mail, Microsoft agreed to pay only for the first 1.25 million views in the promotion, putting the budget paid to video creators at a mere $3,750 (it's unclear if Machinima itself received any additional funds for facilitating the promotion). Poptent lists the campaign, which started on January 14, as "expired on January 16," suggesting that Microsoft has already reached that desired video view goal. That money may be pulling more than its weight, though, as those videos continue to attract additional views that Microsoft doesn't have to pay for directly.

Whatever you think about the practice, there's reason to believe this kind of stealth promotion of "consumer-generated media" is likely to get more popular going forward. As readers and viewers get better at ignoring explicit, traditional ads—or start blocking them entirely with browser-side scripts—marketers are going to continue to try finding new ways to get their message out there through supposedly unbiased content creators. Something to keep in mind the next time you watch a video or read something from someone who says they're just an average, everyday consumer.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/01/stealth-marketing-microsoft-paying-youtubers-for-xbox-one-mentions/

[Primetime]

I pay several businesses to promote my real estate services. Certainly wouldn't pay them for saying negative stuff about my company or me.

[Primetime]

Xbox One console had over 75 initial designs, 200 controller concepts: designer recalls process

Xbox One designer Carl Ledbetter came up with over 75 designs for Microsoft’s next-gen console, over 200 controller concepts and 100 initial visions of the new Kinect sensor.

In a Microsoft-penned article, Ledbetter’s two-year design process has been outlined. The then-senior industrial design manager was tasked with designing the next iteration of Kinect and Xbox in 2010. It was a daunting task, he recalled, “There was this conundrum in that we had to meet and satisfy desires of core gamers and Xbox fans, and at same time we wanted Xbox to reach out and mean something to new people. From a design perspective, how do we make that happen? That was a big challenge.”

Across the next two years Ledbetter and his team sketched and 3D-printed concept after concept. He added, “We were extremely thorough. We were trying to push boundaries, to do something new and inventive, but there was so much at stake that we had to be really careful as well. The reason why there was so much at stake is that people really, really care about Xbox.”

“We wanted to take every component of what people love about Xbox and amplify it,” he added, “but also make it disappear into the living room – to stay in the background, robust and reliable.”

He explained that his team pained over every contour and edge, as well as the Xbox One start-up sound. The controller proved particularly tricky however, Ledbetter stated, “There was never a direct ask for us to make it better. People were a little apprehensive, like, ‘We have a great controller. If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.’” Regardless, the new pad features over 40 improvements.

“We had more than 1,000 pairs of hands testing controllers throughout the course of design evaluations,” he recalled, “to make sure the triggers felt right, the overall form felt right and that people could use the new controller in a way that was as good as or better than the old. We crafted every last detail.”

[Handleit_44]

And they stuck with the VCR design.

Good choice.

[Twigg4075]

And they stuck with the VCR design.

Good choice.

That still requires a power brick that is half the size of the fucking console. Engineering geniuses over there I tell ya.

[JBregz]

[dave]

That still requires a power brick that is half the size of the fucking console. Engineering geniuses over there I tell ya.

Honestly, both these are a big reason why I don't get an Xbox One. Frankly, I'd have to re-arrange my TV shelf just to fit that monster. my PS3, PS4, 360, my DAC and a few game/Blu-ray cases already fill it. I'd have to drop one of my consoles to fit the Xbox One ... all just to play Forza 5 for $600. I know I'll eventually get an Xbox One, but right now IMO, you don't need two next-gen consoles. Pick your console and go with it for a year or 18 months. And I'm not saying go ps4 over Xbox One, I'm just saying you simply don't need both.

[Twigg4075]

13 GB patch for Dead Rising 3. THIRTEEN GIGABYTES.

http://kotaku.com/13-gb-dead-rising-3-patch-raises-questions-about-gaming-1505219529

[Primetime]

13 GB patch for Dead Rising 3. THIRTEEN GIGABYTES.
http://kotaku.com/13-gb-dead-rising-...ing-1505219529

And the DLC is single-player ONLY.

[Hitman]

Honestly, both these are a big reason why I don't get an Xbox One. Frankly, I'd have to re-arrange my TV shelf just to fit that monster. my PS3, PS4, 360, my DAC and a few game/Blu-ray cases already fill it. I'd have to drop one of my consoles to fit the Xbox One ... all just to play Forza 5 for $600. I know I'll eventually get an Xbox One, but right now IMO, you don't need two next-gen consoles. Pick your console and go with it for a year or 18 months. And I'm not saying go ps4 over Xbox One, I'm just saying you simply don't need both.

If only you could build a bigger shelf to hold all of these things...

[Twigg4075]

And the DLC is single-player ONLY.

So then their whole "online compatabilty" reasoning is bullshit?

[dave]

If only you could build a bigger shelf to hold all of these things...

Indeed.

[Primetime]

So then their whole "online compatabilty" reasoning is bullshit?

I haven't looked through the update at all...can't really comment on it. I know I read somewhere that the DLC is only single player though.

[Primetime]

Xbox One to get 60 frames per second live sports channels

24/7 channels will deliver sports video content with integrated real-time stats and highlights.

Microsoft’s Xbox One will soon deliver live sports content streamed at 60 frames per second through 24-hour dedicated channels.

Through a partnership with NeuLion, the service will offer live sports feeds, on-demand content and real-time stats and analysis.

“NeuLion has enabled us to merge high-definition video with real-time data to create an interactive experience that is only available on Xbox One,” said Wil Mozell, GM of the Sports Entertainment Group at Microsoft.

No solid launch for the service has been mentioned.