Official Xbox One Thread

[Primetime]

if I put it on ebay........it will sell.

[padman59]

They said the first Kinect wasn't compatible with PC, but there were plenty of people hooking it up to their PCs and messing around with its capabilities. No doubt they'll find a way to do the same thing with the new Kinect if the consumer version is priced too high.

[Nucking Futs]

List of Unbiased Xbox One Facts


1. Available November, 2013 at Participating Retailers

• Microsoft Store
• GameStop
• Walmart
• Amazon
• Target
• Best Buy
• Toys R Us

2. Launching In the Following 21 Countries

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brazil
• Canada
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Ireland
• Italy
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Russia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States

Xbox Live Features

1. Seamless Gold Account for 360 and One

• Cloud Storage

• Profile stored in the cloud
• Game saves stored in the cloud
• All media content stored in the cloud
• Unlimited cloud storage

2. Free Games with Xbox Live Gold

• Runs from 6/10/13 until 12/31/13

• Games are released the 1st and 16th
• Each game has a 15-day window to download it.

• Once you've downloaded the game, it's yours for life.

• 13 Xbox 360 games total
• Games are chosen by Xbox team

3. Xbox Live Servers

• Over 300,000 servers will be running this year for Xbox One.

• Their specific use is for "latency-insensitive computation" in Xbox One games.

• Lag is avoided because it will not compute things which are latency sensitive, such as:

• Animations in shooter
• Shots in a game
• Reaction to collisions

• It will compute things that are latency-insensitive, such as:

• Lighting
• Volumetric fog
• Physics modeling
• Fluid dynamics
• Cloth motion

• Computations are handled upfront by cloud servers while adding no lag to gameplay.
• Essentially for seamless experience, Xbox will handle intro computations, Cloud catches up, and then takes over
• "This is never going to work because everyones internet can go out eventually!"

• While you are connected, the cloud will do it's job. If your internet goes out, and it always does, "the game is going to handle that intelligently"
• Description of intelligent handling to come soon

• "A rule of thumb we like to use is that for ever Xbox One available in your living room, we'll have three of those devices in the cloud"

4. Start Playing Immediately After Installation Begins

• Games install in the background while you play them.

5. Auto-resume for Games

• Pause game at any time on your console; you can then:

• Pick up where you left off on another console.
• Watch movies or television, and come back to where you left off later.

6. Living Games (Persistent Worlds)

• Worlds will continue to change/update while you're offline.
• Game worlds stay in sync with the real world (sports, racing, fighting, etc.).

7. Xbox One SmartMatch

• Gives you the ability to find matches for games in the background.
• Xbox lets you do anything until your match is ready.
• Xbox games will show you "typical wait times" for other Xbox games.
• You can choose in-depth SmartMatch options such as "search by DLC".
• Game titles can allow SmartMatch to sort by specific attributes such as (but not limited to) specific skills, age, or language.

8. Reputation

• "Survey" style feedback system was removed and replaced with more advanced feedback system.
• Feedback is direct to the player, even muting or blocking is taken into account.
• All feedback is calculated by the Reputation service to evaluate a player's social reputation.
• Just like insurance, the longer you go without causing trouble the better your Reputation will be.
• Green is good, you don't want to get the "Avoid Me" Reputation.
• Your social Reputation can easily be seen on your Gamercard.
• SmartMatch can work to match bad players with other bad players if their Reputation is low enough.
• Microsoft will issue you alerts as you move down in Reputation rank (Good, Needs Improvement, Avoid Me).

9. Achievements

• Along with Gamerscore, players can now unlock digital artwork, characters, and stats through achievements.
• Applications and media can now take advantage of awarding console users achievments (will not affect Gamerscore).
• Achievements and Challenges:

• There are now challenges, in addition to achievements.
• Achievements are not changing, will remain the same.
• Challenges are opportunities that can come and go; They can be a goal or reward.
• Challenges can be used to unlock things during a specific time.
• Similarities:

• You can unlock them and win their rewards.
• Once unlocked, they are saved to your achievement history.
• They each have an icon to visualize the cool thing you did.
• They often are associated with a Game DVR capture to show your friends that you are better than they are.
• Developers can release more of them after the game’s initial release (more on that in a bit).

• Differences:

• Challenges are time based. As just noted, challenges are only available for a certain period of time. Only your activity during that timeframe will count toward unlocking the challenge. Achievements do not expire, so you can unlock them at your leisure.
• Challenges do not give out Gamerscore. We want everyone to have the same shot at increasing their Gamerscore to its highest potential. Since challenges are intentionally temporary (an opportunity) and achievements never expire (a promise), only achievements may offer Gamerscore as a reward.
• Challenges may cross titles, but achievements cannot. Achievements cannot be shared across titles whereas challenges are allowed to span multiple titles.
• Challenges can be unlocked by the community. Community challenges are typically goals that exceed what a lone player can accomplish in the given period of time. Imagine, for example, a game releases a headshot weekend challenge that requires players to cumulatively headshot 1 million baddies in a 3 day period. And every person who participates and meets the challenge’s goals gets the unlock on his or her achievement history and reaps its reward.

• Achievements run on the cloud, allowing these features:

• Allows Developers to run challenges across all players of a game simultaneously.
• Developers can continue to add achievements after initial game release.
• Get new achievements without being forced to purchase new content.
• Lets developers monitor statistics of achievements and can respond with content to the interest of those players.
• Most importantly, this allows developers to involve the community in the development.

Hardware

1. Xbox One Console

• Comes with:

• Xbox One console
• Kinect sensor
• Wireless controller
• HDMI Cable

• "Xbox One's RAM is accessible as a unified chunk".

• RAM can be controlled and divided up between GPU and CPU dynamically.

• This allows different games and applications to allocate what's needed, rather than trying to predetermine ahead of time how much RAM should be given to each component (GPU, CPU, Audio).
• Microsoft doesn't want to make assumptions, assumptions lead to limiting developers from the beginning.

2. Xbox One Kinect

• Kinect is required to physically be connected to Xbox One.
• Matt Booty on why Kinect is required:
  

• "From a design point of view, we don't see [the Kinect] as something that would be separate from Xbox One itself." Booty implied that the Kinect could have even been built into the Xbox One casing, if not for concerns about players wanting the Kinect and the Xbox One in slightly different places in their living rooms. "It just happens to be in a different plastic housing, and I think that's just because of location."
• Think of computers, you would never see one without a mouse or keyboard (we're not talking tablets here). The same thing is being done with Kinect, it's an integral part of the Xbox system

• By knowing all Xbox One's have Kinect, developers "are going to find all kinds of new things to do with it because they don’t have to worry about it being a unique accessory or something that only a small portion of the user base has"
• They're making the Kinect just as much of a standard as a camera in a phone, or a touchpad on a laptop.

3. Xbox One Controller

• Impulse Triggers – Xbox One’s Wireless Controller sports four vibration motors – a small one behind each trigger that adds precise haptic feedback to the finger tips, and a larger in each grip for large scale rumbles. This gives users a sense of in-game directionality and depth, creating rich, immersive experiences where gunshots, car crashes and explosions can come to life.
• Higher Quality Headset Audio – The data transfer rate between the controller and console has been improved, allowing for higher fidelity audio in communication headsets. In-game chat over Xbox Live, according to the team, will be in many cases clearer than talking on a phone.
• Revamped Thumbsticks – The thumbsticks are built for precision and comfort. They’re smaller and outlined with a knurled texture for better grip. Competitive gamers will be pleased to hear the sticks require 25 percent less force to move, allowing you to adjust your aim in a first-person shooter or execute a half-circle sweep in a fighting game faster and more accurately. The controller also uses advanced electronics that reduce thumbstick deadzone in the center.
• Brand New D-Pad – The old Xbox 360 D-pad is replaced by a new design that pays homage to classic controllers and is architectured to deliver more precision and tactile feedback for gaming. The D-pad’s cross shape is honed to provide accurate cardinal direction input, sweeping movements and combinations – important factors for sports and fighting games, and other experiences.
• Buttons, Buttons, Buttons – The A, B, X and Y buttons are lower to the controller with tighter spacing, making the transition between each one smoother. A new, three-step manufacturing process gives these buttons a more premium look, as if the letters on them are suspended in 3-D space. The size and placement of the Xbox button has also changed so the view and menu buttons are more accessible.
• Seamless Connectivity – Each controller uses a combination of invisible reflective technology and LEDs to send a patterned infrared signal to your console and Kinect sensor. Not only does this make pairing the devices seamless, but it enables Kinect to associate the controller with whoever is holding it. This introduces innovative experiences, such as player switching, where a split screen display can swap positions on the TV if users change seats on the couch.
• Low Power State – If you’re watching a movie or need to step away from the TV, the controller enters a low power state that conserves your battery. The moment you pick it up again, it will be ready for use without having to resynch with the console.
• Refined for Comfort – The controller’s design is deliberately honed to the closest tenth of a millimeter to offer the most comfortable fit in users’ hands, and was tested extensively by a broader age group than ever before to ensure it is optimized for as many people as possible. According to the team’s research, this improves gameplay performance and allows comfortable gaming for longer periods of time.
• Angled Triggers and Bumpers – The triggers and bumpers are carefully designed for performance and comfort. The specific angling allows for a natural fit for your fingers, and the triggers require a lighter pull, so squeezing it repeatedly is an easier and more precise action.
• Internal Battery Cavity –The compartment that houses AA batteries is built into the interior of the controller, providing more room at the bottom for your fingers to grip. Another convenient improvement is that the controller is both wireless and a wired– simply plug it into your console with a mini USB cable and the connection automatically switches to preserve battery life.

[CCBrink]

Good to see they moved away from the proprietary port for charging the controller.

[killgod]

http://kotaku.com/the-man-in-charge-of-xbox-is-leaving-microsoft-635426652

Called it

lol at Zygna, they better keep this guy away from the cameras.

[Handleit_44]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1372699290.323192.jpg

[dope]

[ATTACH]1624[/ATTACH]

[Primetime]

It could have been a funny joke if he'd chosen a Zynga game that wasn't already always online, let alone only every 24 hours. Plan was decent, execution was awful.

[kyhadley]

It could have been a funny joke if he'd chosen a Zynga game that wasn't already always online, let alone only every 24 hours. Plan was decent, execution was awful.

Thanks for the analysis, @jokecritic!

[Twigg4075]

It could have been a funny joke if he'd chosen a Zynga game that wasn't already always online, let alone only every 24 hours. Plan was decent, execution was awful.

How much of a fanboy are you when you're seriously nitpicking an Internet joke about one of your "boys"?

Mattrick is a giant tool bag.

[Handleit_44]

It's official. Don Mattrick is now the CEO of Zynga

To our Zynga employees, players and shareholders,

Today is a big day. I’m excited to announce that Don Mattrick will be joining us as Zynga’s new CEO and member of our Board. I wanted to let you all know why I made the decision to recruit Don and what I think it means for all of us.

Over the last few months I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about all that we have achieved together as a company. We have pioneered social gaming and helped make Play a core part of millions of people’s lives. But Zynga has so much more potential ahead, the opportunity to be an Internet Treasure and deliver on our mission of connecting the world through games.

As I reflect on the past six years, I realize that I’ve had the greatest impact working as an entrepreneur with product teams, developing games that could entertain and connect millions.

I’ve always said to Bing and our Board that if I could find someone who could do a better job as our CEO I’d do all I could to recruit and bring that person in. I’m confident that Don is that leader.

If you’re not familiar with Don, he’s an entertainment and game industry innovator who’s been making products and scaling teams and businesses for the last 30 years. Don’s had major leadership roles at Microsoft, Electronic Arts and Distinctive Software, which he founded when he was 17 years old.

Don is unique in the game business. He can execute in multiple domains – hardware, software and network, and he’s been the person responsible for game franchises like “Need for Speed,” “FIFA” and “The Sims.” He’s one of the top executives in the overall entertainment business and he’s a great coach who has inspired people to do their best work and build strong, productive teams.

He deeply understands the value of a network and the importance of creating lifelong consumer relationships. He turned Xbox into the world’s largest console gaming network, growing its installed base from 10 to 80 million and transformed that business from deep losses to substantial profits. And he has grown the Xbox Live player network from 6 to 50 million active members.

Going forward I’ll continue in my role as Chairman and Chief Product Officer. I’m excited to partner with Don and the rest of our team to return Zynga to its leadership role in inventing and growing Play as a core human experience.

Don officially starts next week; however he’ll be joining me tomorrow to host an All-Hands meeting so you can all have an opportunity to meet him and ask any questions. Please feel free as always to post your questions and vote up questions on our Zyntranet here.

Thanks and see you tomorrow.

Mark

[Primetime]

How much of a fanboy are you when you're seriously nitpicking an Internet joke about one of your "boys"?

Mattrick is a giant tool bag.

I had no idea who Mattrick was until a couple weeks ago. He's certainly not "my boy", and my comment had nothing to do with MS, Sony or Zynga. Take more offense though please.

[Handleit_44]

[Twigg4075]

Apparently there is rampant speculation that Mattrick "stepped down" because of this whole Xbox One PR debacle and not just because he wanted to move on to other things. It was either "step down" or get the ax.

[Primetime]