Tag: console wars

Posted on

GTA V News

Grand Theft Auto is a title that seems to only build more hype with every iteration. GTA V is no different. With every new entry in the series anticipation only seems to grow and the media response is always very loud when a new GTA is released. When mainstream media mentions a new GTA game its rarely, if ever, in a positive light and often media attention for GTA is negative. Grand Theft Auto is not the first series to have adult themes and violence. The attention the media gives to GTA has more to do with the popularity of GTA. Grand Theft Auto III and IV are two of the most critically acclaimed video games of all time and yet the news always has something bad to say about the series. Rockstar North the main developer for GTA couldn’t ask for more free publicity for their games. Every time mainstream media says something bad about GTA or creates a controversy over content in the game its like creating a giant neon parental advisory sticker in everybody’s head that screams BUY ME! BUY ME!! BUY ME NOW!!! If mainstream media had such a problem with GTA they would be better off saying nothing at all.

 

Are you hyped up yet? GTA V has premiered the first video detailing its online features. The online mode looks incredibly fleshed out compared to GTA IV although many of the online modes from IV appear to still be available like death matches and that sort of thing. GTA V online promises a much more immersive experience. Although Rockstar never mentions exactly how many players can exist together online the trailer makes it seem like quite a few people can exist together in GTA V’s online experience. The trailer explains the online mode as a “persistant and continually expanding living online world with multiple players, just what you choose to do in that world is up to you.” One of the first things touted in the trailer is how the combat has been completely overhauled to make a more pleasurable experience and I can say that it definitely looks much more fluid and satisfying than combat has been in previous titles.

 

What is really exciting it that it appears that you basically can have a full GTA experience online. Their are actual missions to do and characters to meet just like in single player story mode. If you want to go skydiving with your friend go ahead, rob a bank knock your self out, feel like racing some buddy’s on jet skis down by the pier have at it. Another really exciting feature is the ability to customize your online character. As you progress in online mode you can make cash that will allow you to upgrade and customize clothes, weapons, cars, garages and even apartments to furnish and invite fellow players to come check out. You can make friends on your journey online as well as enemies and you will also have the ability to make your own crews for whatever mischief you feel like getting into.

 

Grand Theft Auto V looked pretty interesting on its own with the 3 playable characters dynamic that can be switched at anytime whether you are in mission or not. Combined with this freshly unveiled online mode Rockstar North looks like they are aiming to have Grand Theft Auto V be the swan song everyone remembers as they graduate from their current consoles to the next generation. Check out the trailer here and decide for yourself.

 

 -Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

Posted on

XBOX One News

Hey remember yesterday when it was reported that Microsoft had finally come to their senses and were no longer making the Kinect a mandatory piece of hardware for the XBOX One? That was a relief huh? Finally you could use the XBOX One to play videogames like a normal person again, not shouting expletives across your living room at people causing you injustices in online multiplayer games, or worried a troll will yell out “XBOX turn off!” in the middle of an epic boss battle? That was pretty great wasn’t it? The best part of no longer needing a Kinect to play videogames means that we no longer need to pay for a Kinect to play videogames. Well, not exactly. Everyone who would buy an XBOX One now that the system is obviously cheaper since Kinect is no longer a requirement take one step forward. Not so fast! Turns out that even though the XBOX One no longer needs the Kinect to function you still have to buy the peripheral with the system.

 

Yes, I wish I was kidding but Microsoft is insisting that the Kinect still be included with every XBOX One. This action is one of “What the hell?” I mean it is widely documented the unpopularity of Kinect and making it optional is a good move but you are still going to force people who don’t want it to buy it? At this time Microsoft has made no comments on the possibility of an XBOX One package without the Kinect, so for the foreseeable future anyone who gets an XBOX One is getting a Kinect. This decision is hard to accept considering that part of what makes the PS4 more appealing is that it costs $100 less than the XBOX One. This was Microsoft’s chance to price the XBOX One more competitively but no apparently Microsoft thinks that everyone needs Short Circuit’s disembodied head whether they want it or not.

 

It gets better though. Microsoft today has announced that 8 of the 21 countries that were supposed to be getting the new XBOX upon launch day this fall will now have to wait until “as soon as possible 2014.” ( Don’t worry though one if those countries is not the U.S. ) Apparently Microsoft is saying they jumped the gun and were too ambitious with their goals. Issues with region specific languages and dashboard content are being touted as some of the larger concerns right now. This is yet another thorn in the side of Microsoft as they try to compete with Sony for the title of top next-gen console. The 8 countries removed from the initial launch window this fall are Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Russia, Switzerland, and Sweden. Previously Microsoft had already announced that Japan would not be getting the XBOX One until 2014. The 13 countries still getting the XBOX One on its original launch day are Austria, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, and New Zealand.

 

While the countries omitted from the XBOX One’s initial launch window aren’t exactly in the biggest gaming markets it still doesn’t reflect well on Microsoft who have struggled greatly with the concept of what they wanted their new console to be versus what the people want their new console to be. Since the XBOX One was revealed last May a fierce war between company and consumer has been waged. Every time it felt like the consumer has won a battle against an unpopular feature on the XBOX One Microsoft has found a way to ruin that victory for everyone. The restrictive DRM was taken away, score one for the consumer, Microsoft takes away their poorly explained family sharing feature, everyone loses. The always online requirement is taken away, now people including soldiers overseas without a solid internet connection can still enjoy videogames in their downtime, then Microsoft announces that a day one online download is still mandatory for the XBOX One to function offline. Most recently with the news that the Kinect is no longer necessary for the XBOX One to function Microsoft insists that Kinect still comes in the box. Are you seeing a pattern here?

 

Microsoft has stated recently that at this years Gamescom event in Germany that they have some big exclusives yet to unveil. One exclusive is said to have something to do with Europe’s biggest franchise of which I am almost certain deals with the FIFA franchise. Hopefully whatever Microsoft does at this years Gamescom its something positive.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

Posted on

The Wonderful 101

Sorry for the delay on the follow up for the last Nintendo Direct but I had trouble tracking this one down. The latest Nintendo Direct highlights a new Wii U exclusive game called The Wonderful 101. A game about 100 unique superheros. I assume that the final “1” is either a hidden character or a way of saying the actual player is the final hero in the game. The art style is cartoonish in the vein of Viewtiful Joe if you have ever seen that series.

 

You start out with a handful of superheros and go throughout the game unlocking more superheros as you progress. Each hero brings an individual ability/personality to your group as well as makes your group stronger. During gameplay all of your unlocked superheros are present on screen and they move in a mob. New powers and abilities are unlocked and can be upgraded throughout the game like the ability to summon giant swords or hammers. The actual characters you control become the weapons you create to fight giant monsters. Your abilities are also used for solving puzzles for instance making giant ladders or bridges. The different abilities are activated when the player draws a simple specific design into the center of their gamepad.

 

The overall tone of the game is very over the top. The trailer for the game was kind of like a Dexter’s Laboratory crossover with the Powerpuff Girls with lots of references to current superhero movies. Dexter’s Laboratory kept popping up in my head because I am pretty sure Wonderful “Green” is voiced by the same actor as Dexter was. The pacing of the trailer was very similar to that of the Powerpuff Girls and the villains seemed very similar with one villain almost like a robotic female version of Mojo Jojo. In fact the whole game feels like it could have been a show on Cartoon Network during the same time as Dexter and the Girls.

 

While the game has an obvious cartoon presentation it is a little hard to figure out who this game is supposed to be marketed to. The Wonder Pink character comes off as a Russian dominatrix. She wears pink leather, carries a whip and during her superhero transformation she actually says “bad boy, time for a little punishment.” Wonder Pink also contributes a giant pink whip to the team that you can use to fight enemies and navigate levels. The overall gameplay of Wonderful 101 looks like a platformer with some puzzle solving and instead of controlling one character you control a mob of characters.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

Posted on

One – Kinect = Win

XBOX fans rejoice! Kinect is no longer mandatory! According to IGN during a recent Ask Microsoft Anything event XBOX Corporate Vice President Marc Whitten has stated that the Kinect is no longer required for the XBOX One to function. You can now use your videogame console for playing videogames just like nature intended. No awkward camera controls, no restrictive DRM policies. The removal of the mandatory Kinect functionality should come as a huge relief to fans as not having the peripheral means that now you should be able to acquire the new machine at a lower price and owners of the XBOX One will no longer have to worry about what happens to their console if the Kinect becomes damaged or broken.

 

The mandatory inclusion of the Kinect 2.0 peripheral for the XBOX One to function was a puzzling choice for Microsoft to make considering that the original Kinect had a fairly high dissatisfaction level among the people who bought it. It is understandable that Kinect 2.0 is supposedly a much more refined device but with the original Kinect’s poor reception among users, a mandated successor to the Kinect for the brand new XBOX One to function seemed counterintuitive.

 

Making the Kinect an option and allowing the XBOX One to function freely without it is the latest in Microsoft’s policy reversal’s. After the removal of the XBOX One’s highly restrictive DRM policies and always online requirements this latest concession from Microsoft is promising for the future of their newest console. The mandatory Kinect was one of the unpopular XBOX One features to survive the post E3 fallout where Microsoft reversed many of its other unpopular features. Microsoft’s direction with the XBOX one has changed drastically since this year’s E3 in June. This is largely in part because of abysmal reactions from the entire gaming community. Its inspiring to see fan feedback affect a billion dollar company like Microsoft so dramatically.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

Posted on

Wii U News

You can now add Bethesda Softworks to the growing list of 3rd party developer/publishers who aren’t making games for the Wii U. Some of the games Bethesda has brought us over the years include The Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3. Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media acquired legendary developer id software in 2009 thus all games created by id are now published by Bethesda this includes the highly anticipated Doom 4.

 

Bethesda’s reasoning for not developing new titles for the Wii U is different than other 3rd party developers who claim that there just isn’t a high enough home install base for the console. Pete Hines, Bethesda’s Vice President of marketing told Joystiq in a recent interview at Quake-con that “it’s largely a hardware thing.” Stating that Bethesda makes the games that they want to make on whatever hardware that will support those games.

 

Yesterday  8/7/13 Nintendo held another Nintendo Direct broadcast online. It started off with Sonic Lost World which has really bizarre level designs sort of like navigating cylinders through strange backgrounds  you can move 360 degrees to progress. I can’t help but think this game was originally intended to be a tech demo for Sonic. The game does support 3DS and Wii U cross play. It wasn’t clear if your progress from either platform would carry over to the other but you can share items between gaming devices. Only a handful of Wii U games were mentioned and for the most part were even glossed over like a recent Luigi U title. These games included Art Academy Sketch Pad, Pikimin 3, Pokemon Rumble, and Windwaker HD a Wii U an HD update of a twelve year old Zelda game and of course the previously mentioned Sonic Lost World.

 

The Nintendo 3DS got a lot more attention at the Direct event. Many retro classics are coming to 3DS including the likes of the original NES version of Donkey Kong, Tecmo Bowl and Super Mario Bros. 3. Professor Layton will be seeing two new titles coming to America in 2014 and one of those games will be an Ace Attorney Pheonix Wright crossover game. The Professor Layton games were the most impressive of any titles shown at the Nintendo Direct event and they look amazing. Zelda has another 3DS title coming out called A Link Between Worlds. Part of the concept of the game is that their is a dark mirror version of the Tri-force. It sounded like an interesting idea but it was further described like the game would have two worlds that were almost exactly the same “but slightly different” and Link can now become a living cave painting that can walk on walls.

 

There will be a new feature coming to Animal Crossing known as the Plaza. It is sort of a hub for users to socialize and learn about upcoming events in the Animal Crossing world and that feature is free to download. That is about all that was covered at yesterday’s Nintendo Direct Event and another Nintendo Direct event was announced for tomorrow 8/9/13 called the “Wonderful 101 Direct Event.” An update will be posted after the event so come back tomorrow to learn all about this upcoming Wii U superhero game.

 

Before I go I would like to have a quick Jerry Springer-esque moment like Jerry Does at the end of all his shows. To be brutally honest a lot of these games look painfully cutesy. With the exception of the new Professor Layton games for the 3DS, which look very promising, most of the games shown look like they are appealing to children under the age of 6. I know Nintendo prides itself on its whimsy and the children at heart but you can still make great looking games within those parameters. Here is the link to the Pokemon Rumble U trailer and here is the link to the Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy trailer. Pokemon is releasing on the Wii U home console and Professor Layton is coming out on the handheld 3DS. I get that they are entirely different style games with different demographics but if Professor Layton is possible on a handheld gaming console would it really be so much to ask to make the Pokemon game at least somewhat resemble the cartoon show it was based on? Its puzzling to see Nintendo allow a game involving a franchise with a huge fanbase like Pokemon to look this poor considering the potential of the games basic idea, especially when you are trying to sell consoles.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Nintendo Woes

I am not sure if you know this, but Nintendo has a new console. In fact they have had a new console on the market for about nine months now. The console is called the Wii U. Which is actually similar to the sound a child makes when they are impersonating an ambulance siren. This is kind of a fitting analogy because the Wii U for all intents and purposes is getting very close to being put on life support. ( Brace yourself because here comes a few sales figures. I know its like math but I simplified it you’ll be fine. ) Since its release last November the Wii U has posted sales of about 3.6 million units worldwide. To put things into perspective Nintendo’s previous console the Wii sold 9.3 million units in the same amount of time. If you compare unit sales between December 31st and June 30th of their respective launch years the Wii sold just over 6 million units while the Wii U has sold about 550 thousand units. These numbers are fairly troublesome for a company that wishes to stay relevant in a market where Microsoft and Sony are poised to release two of the most anticipated video game consoles ever this fall. Pre-orders are selling out world wide for both the PS4 and the XBOX One, ( Although it has been documented that Microsoft is intentionally giving retailers smaller inventory of the XBOX One to boost demand. ) there is a lot of hype for these consoles.

 

E3 ( Electronic Entertainment Expo ) was a major publicity event this year for both Sony and Microsoft. Whether it was the surreal moment at the end of Sony’s conference where they openly took shots at Microsoft’s unpopular and poorly explained DRM ( Digital Rights Management ) policies or some very bone headed comments by the then President of Interactive Entertainment at Microsoft Don Mattrick, the XBOX One and the PS4 were all anyone could talk about. E3 is a platform that all video game developers use to publicize new software and hardware for consumers and investors alike to be aware of and excited for.

 

Nintendo has held a conference every year at E3 since the very first E3 in 1995. This year however Nintendo decided instead of a conference at E3 they would air a special pre-taped event about upcoming software and hardware on their Nintendo Direct internet channel. While Nintendo did have a presence at E3 this year, not having a conference feels like a major misstep for the videogames legend. The special Nintendo Direct event underwhelmed most viewers with one of the highlights being Nintendo executives coming out in cutesy cat suits to make light of a new feature coming to a new Super Mario game. I have read that the games actually shown on the floor at E3 were solid games, but without the impact of the E3 conference its hard to think that the games are all that good. If the games are so great why couldn’t they have been shown off at a conference, just like Sony and Microsoft do every year and like Nintendo has done every year before this one?

 

E3 for those of you who are unaware is the Super Bowl of video gaming to many people. There are many other platforms during the year where companies show off videogames and related hardware worldwide but E3 is usually where the big names in gaming bring out the big guns and show off their latest and greatest projects. Few, if any, videogame related events receive anything near the media attention that E3 receives every year and this year was pretty big with the PS4 and XBOX One coming out this fall. Not doing a conference is an acknowledgement, be it conscious or otherwise, that Nintendo doesn’t believe its console can compete with Sony and Microsoft.

 

For Nintendo to remain relevant they have to appear in full force at E3. They can’t opt out of their annual conference to do a “Nintendo Direct” broadcast. Whether its true or not this seems like an action of surrender. The mindset seems to be that they are OK with Microsoft and Sony grabbing the majority of the video game market as long as the the hardcore Nintendo fans keep supporting them. Titles like Mario and Zelda have large drawing power and respectfully are videogame legends, few titles have lasted half as long and still managed to be relevant.

 

The problem is Nintendo only has a handful of these types of exclusive titles. These games are great in their own respects but Nintendo’s apparent refusal to evolve these titles or to develop new IP’s ( Intellectual Properties ) are definitely points of concern. We all love Mario but people are burning out on him. Mario games seem relatively the same since the Super Nintendo days, only now the games have updated graphics and ( sigh ) magic cat suits. Their have been tweaks to the level designs and presentation and the differences may be substantial to the people who actually play them but to people on the outside looking in these games appear more and more like the same old thing. At least Link has received several different character designs over the years to help distinguish one game from the next.

 

The issue isn’t with Mario so much as it is with Nintendo relying so heavily on tired franchises. By the end of this year there will have been 5 Zelda games and 4 Super Mario games released in the last 2 years! Meanwhile 3rd party developers are getting very hesitant to create anything new for the Wii U. Earlier this year an executive for EA ( Electronic Arts ) actually went as far as to say publicly that the console was “crap” and as of right now EA has nothing in development for the Wii U. Most of the 3rd party titles coming to the Wii U right now are bad ports of games from other consoles. Many features like online multiplayer aren’t even being developed for games on the Wii U. Most recently Warner Bros has stated that their upcoming Batman: Arkham Origins for the Wii U will not have online multiplayer capabilities because they want to concentrate development for the largest online multiplayer audiences possible. To add insult to injury large retailers around the world are pulling the Wii U from their shelves in favor of “consoles that actually sell.” ASDA a Wal-Mart subsidiary and one of the U.K.’s largest retail chains will no longer offer the Wii U in their stores. Some Wii U games may still be available in store but if you want the console it will now have to be ordered online from the ASDA website.

 

Another reason why a proper E3 conference was and is so important to the Nintendo brand is that many people think that the Wii U is just a new controller for the old Wii. The fact that Nintendo has failed to properly explain the Wii U to the mass market as a brand new console is unforgivable. This year’s E3 was Nintendo’s chance to clarify to the world what the Wii U is all about and what kind of future consumers can expect with the new console. Instead they chose to stream a special on their own Nintendo Direct of which most casual gamers outside of Nintendo have never heard of or for that matter know how to access. If Nintendo’s faith is in the casual gaming market because of the success of the original Wii then why were the casual gamers excluded? Casual gamers are not looking up a special feed to watch Nintendo’s pre-recorded Direct event.

 

The Wii U itself doesn’t exactly have the highest specs for a console and will be considerably under-powered compared to the XBOX One and PS4. However the Wii U does support full 1080p high definition graphics and comes with an interesting tablet style controller that has a large screen built into the center. The Wii U only has 32 gigabytes of memory but the controller has multiple motion gaming capabilities and other features such as a built in camera. Since basically the dawn of home videogame consoles the console with the highest specs  has rarely won the so called “console wars.” The console with the “killer app” is almost always the one that wins the majority of the market share. In earlier years it was exclusive games like the original Super Mario, or Sonic the Hedgehog that helped a console sell. Nintendo themselves proved one of the most recent examples with the original Wii. The Wii didn’t even have high definition graphics and yet for a while it was outselling its competition at a factor of 6:1.

 

If the Wii U fails is it possible that Nintendo could leave the console market all-together and concentrate solely on software development? Its not likely as of right now. It is possible that the Wii U is mid swan song and if nothing substantial happens with the console soon it could very well be on its way out. Nintendo does have one card up its sleeve though. The Nintendo 3DS is one of the best selling handheld gaming devices of all time. Amazon reported that pre-orders for the handheld doubled that of the Wii in some regions. Currently the 3DS has an install base of about 33 million units. The question now is if the Wii U tanks will Nintendo forget about competing in the home console market and concentrate only on handheld gaming? Maybe Nintendo could use the profits from the 3DS to develop an all new console. Chances are that Nintendo spent a significant amount of money developing the Wii U and that could understandably make them weary of immediately developing a new console even if they can afford it.

 

Most recently Nintendo has released Pikmin 3, a long anticipated sequel to the 2004 Nintendo Gamecube game Pikmin 2. Pikmin 3 does seem popular with Nintendo fans right now and is helping to move some consoles. Something to consider is that even if Pikmin 3 does become a hit, with the high cost of videogame development and the relatively small install base of the Wii U will the success be enough to lure other developers to the console? The Wii U is navigating troubled waters right now. Their is a lot of hype for the PS4 and XBOX One coming out this fall. Nintendo has to bring out the heavy artillery if they want to remain relevant in the home console market and I fear Mario just isn’t enough anymore. For Nintendo this holiday season could be particularly cold.

 

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

Follow Sonic Mercury on Twitter @SonicMercury and like our Facebook page Sonic Mercury

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

XBOX One vs. PS4

War On!

 

                                                     The battle of the console giants has begun! Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has recently made a statement addressing Sony’s line up for the Playstation 4 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, better known as E3, a few weeks ago.Jim Ryan the head of SCEE addressed the seemingly thin games roster for the new PS4 shown at E3. He said that the president of Sony Worldwide Studios alone has 30 titles in development 12 of which are new IP’s  or intellectual properties and that 20 of those titles will be shipping within the first year of the PS4. Jim went on to say there is a lot going on at Sony but they had to keep some stuff back. Gamescom a large European gaming conference is in late August and Jim said that they are going to need something to show there as well.

                                                There will be a lot of games available for both the XBOX One and the PS4 consoles at launch,including games that were shown at E3 like Call of Duty with Dogs, Battlefield 4, Tom Clancy’s the Division and the next gen. game everyone seems to be talking about Watch Dogs. Sony did display some promising triple A exclusives for the PS4 including the family friendly Knack, the revamped fps Killzone Shadowfall, and the visually stunning driving game Drive Club, all of which are available day one of the PS4 launch. Even the PS Vita got some love with first party titles like Killzone Mercenary possibly the fps people have been dying for on the handheld, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate set after the events of Batman: Arkahm Origins and numerous 3rd party titles like Rayman Legends. Even a special Walking Dead bundle was announced for the Vita called 400 Days.

                                                Still comparatively to Microsoft’s showing at E3 there seemed to be more exclusives for the XBOX One. A new Halo was announced although no in-game footage was shown with a vague 2014 release window. Dead Rising 3 was shown as another XBOX One exclusive that will be available at the console launch and it looked considerably better than Dead Rising 2. The presentation was a lot less cartoony but more rugged and gritty however the developers promise there will still be lots of the customization and zany things to do that we are accustomed to in the Dead Rising series. The final exclusive shown at the very end of Microsoft’s E3 conference was the multiplayer game Titanfall a very good looking fps with giant mechs that fall from the sky that you can use to wreak havoc on your enemies. In the demo I even saw a giant mech pick up a player running through the map and threw him across the screen which was pretty awesome. Titanfall is getting some criticism as an XBOX One “exclusive” however due to the fact that the game will also be releasing on PC.

                                          What Jim Ryan the head of SCEE said about Gamescom is interesting. If Sony still has some games up its sleeve, does Microsoft have any? Due to the severe backlash and general ill will that Microsoft cultivated after the pitiful TV concentrated unveiling of the XBOX One back in May, there was a lot of pressure on Microsoft to show games for the new XBOX One at E3. They delivered in spades. If I remember correctly even the transitions between games had trailers for other games. Microsoft showed so many games, is it possible that they panicked and put all their cards on the table? It will be interesting to wait and see what happens next and to see if Microsoft will have any new games to show off before the console launches in November. Gamescom is in Germany this year and starts on August 21. The console wars are far from over. With the impending launch of two new consoles we have seen Microsoft make some disastrous decisions going forward into the next gen and we have seen Sony infamous for making blunders like trying to sell a new console for $600 dollars seemingly making all the right decisions, learning from their previous mistakes and actually listening to the people who make and play video games alike.

                                     Microsoft dominated the last console generation for a long time, cheaper console at launch, supposedly stronger online experience, Call of Duty although available on both consoles was very popular on Xbox 360. Currently the PS3 has surpassed the XBOX 360 as the most sold console around the world this generation. Its really hard to forget that Microsoft tried to enforce martial law with the XBOX One, dictating to us when, where and how, we play video games in our own homes. Microsoft took it back but its the fact they tried it at all that just makes Microsoft appear pretty shady right now. Moving into the next generation of console gaming it looks like the tides could be changing. The prospect of new consoles have always been exciting for gamers and the way this console war has begun to unfold this war promises to be extra special. Both the PS4 and the XBOX One launch this fall, probably November-ish.

                                   The first shots were fired at E3 when Sony confirmed that they weren’t implementing any of the insanely restrictive policies Microsoft was with their new console. Lines have been drawn, and the gauntlet has been thrown. When competitors as gigantic as Sony and Microsoft battle the real winners are the consumers. I hope somebody gets their teeth knocked out!

-Z3R0TH3RT33N

 

Posted on

Micro$oft

                               Anyone who saw the XBOX ONE reveal definitely has to wonder what Microsoft is thinking. They took a department of their team wholly created for the purpose of home gaming and turned there next big console into a glorified DVR with voice controls and MANDATORY kinect units. Watching the XBOX ONE reveal was like watching Microsoft slowly commit gaming suicide for an hour. Oh I know E3 will change everything. To be fair it is totally within the realm of possibility that Sony can still mess up at E3, but now with the confirmation that  XBOX ONE has to be connected to the internet once every 24 hours for your games to work and you can only lend a game to ONE of your friends, allowing of course that they have been your XBOX live friend for over thirty days makes the next generation of gaming look pretty grim.

-Z3R0TH3RT33N