Xbox rumors confirmed?

With my digging around the internet I have found several sources that have confirmed that the next Xbox is going to be "Always on, Always connected." However the details of this haven't been fully disclosed. What most have decided about this is that the new system will not be allowed to do anything without a constant internet connection. This is the most widely accepted theory about the new system and was confirmed by a source "inside" Microsoft. This connection is based on the current trend of DRM (Digital Rights Management,) software to come with some newer PC games. These prevent you from playing a game without a constant internet connection. However, with the new Xbox you will not even be able to turn on the system.

However, if you do have a constant internet connection then the new Xbox will be coming with some interesting things. Mostly an enhanced Kinect system that allegedly can map, something ridiculous like, over 100 parts of the human body. This is suppose to help combat against the Wii, and honestly I think Microsoft is a bit behind with this because Nintendo seems to have given up on the motion sensitivity idea and replaced it with a tablet.

Now if you've noticed I've been calling this new system the "New Xbox" and not the "Durango" or the "Xbox 720". This is because the new Xbox's "confirmed" name is the Xbox 8. Obviously, this is because its the 8th Xbox, this is because this system is going to run off of Windows 8, which, according to several developers, is a real pain in the ass to work with. Many developers have stated that working with the Xbox 8's version of Windows 8 is much harder to work with and may strictly stay with Sony. On with this statement it might be possible for some games to have a port over to the Playstation 4 that haven't been seen there before, like Gears of War.

The pricing of the Xbox 8 has been released as well. There will be two versions of the console and both will include the new kinect. The "standard" edition will come with the Xbox 8 and the Kinect and will be $500. The "Gold Edition"" will include the Xbox 8, Kinect and 2 years of Xbox Gold, the combined price of this is $540. $300 for the console and $240 for the 2 years if Xbox Gold. Now keep in mind that you will not be able to do anything with your Xbox other than turn on your console without Xbox Live. If they are keeping Xbox Silver than you will be able to play your games without internet for free. However, if they don't, then you will need to be trowing down some extra money each month just to play your games.

Some side news about this Xbox 8 include information about what disc's it uses, its release date and if its backwards compatible. Microsoft has finally jumped about the Blu Ray train. After loosing the format war ... what 4 years ago(?) ... Microsoft has finally decided to include Blu Ray in their new system. The release date for the Xbox 8 is suppose to be November of this year. In terms of being backwards compatible, Microsoft hasn't said anything more than they are making an updated version of the 360 called the "Stingray." This is suppose to be a 360 with an updated graphics card and all that, which sounds all nice and all, however the games themselves are coded to have certain graphics so it almost seems pointless, just a money grab. Unless the "Stingray" is actually a future version of the Xbox 8 that is backwards compatible.

With all these put together all I can see is the death of the Xbox. They are late to the Blu Ray party and are going a bit backwards with "Always on, Always connected" strategy. Microsoft reported that they sold around 78 million 360's and that maybe 15 million people won't buy the system because of the DRM, leaving them with around 60 million units to sell of the Xbox 8.It may not be the death of the Xbox, but they have started their own shallow grave.

I don't Daud everyone will be whaling about Knife of Dunwall.

Pun pun pun pun. Apologies for ignoring this part of my blog. When I find decent news I tend to talk about it with the people around me or spam my Facebook with it and forget to writing something here about it. (I missed the whole Adam Orth ordeal T.T, who is now fired.)

So to get to this topic. Dishonored is getting its DLC finally! As you can see from the title car to the right, you are playing as Daud. The Assassin that killed the Empress and helped blame it on you. In the teaser trailer, which I will link or place on the bottom, shows some game play and distinct scenes in the games.

If you pay attention you will see that Daud has been influenced by the Outsider. Which makes you think more about the story line of the original video game. Overall not much has been disclosed about the game in this trailer other than when it takes place and you see Dauds perception of killing the empress.

One thing that has been either rumored or theorised is that this DLC will be about half the length of the original game. So Dishonored was about 7 hours long, then this DLC will be about 3 hours at 10 bucks. Available April 16th.

Xbox 720: Explorer? ... Escort? ... Durango! That was it.

Hope you like the new layout of the site and some of the other changes I have made. Anyway, NEWS AWAY!

"Every Durango console will have a hard drive, although its exact capacity has not been chosen," reads help documentation in the Durango XDK. "It will be large enough, however, to hold a large number of games. All games will be installed on the hard drive. Play from the optical disc will not be supported."

If you don't' really think about it, it doesn't seem like too much of a bad idea. However if you really look at that statement, it means that all of your games owned will be stored on one console. Presumably this means you will need to authenticate the games and sync the code to some sort of cloud for your account. If this isn't true, then if your system goes down in flames, so did your entire game collection. This could also mean that they are more focusing on their online market. Which doesn't bode so well for stores and websites that sell used games.

It seems like Microsoft is getting a bit greedy. If they take away the physical market then they are killing jobs for the ones who make CD's and write the data on them. Where this is done, I don't know. Probably China, but still, they are cutting out a market. I know that the sales for all of the companies has been a bit low, especially Nintendo, but Microsoft is the leading company in computer software, to cut out the amount that the game retailers get, which is already small, just seems greedy.

This system also better be able to have a replaceable hard drive, unless this thing has a terabyte hard drive you're going to need different ones because this sucker is going to fill up fast on game data. I've also read somewhere that they plan on moving to blu-ray in order to fit all the data on one disk. I think they missed the boat with this idea.

Another thing that Microsoft has disclosed is that the system will be "always on and always connected." What this means exactly is unknown. However the speculation is mixed. This could mean that even when the system is hibernating it will stay up-to-date and you don't need to worry about updating your games and your system. The down side to this is that unless you have unlimited data with your internet you'll be eating up your data like candy. The other side to the "always online" thing is that this unless you are online your Durango will not play anything or possibly not even turn on. 

Obviously this is all speculation, the quote at the top and the picture were "confirmed" by an IGN employee who got this information from an employee at Microsoft. Now I never trust what IGN says about video games, however in the same breath this could also be said to Microsoft. If this is true they should have never trusted IGN. One way or another, if this is true, only the hard core Xbox fans are going to get this new system. If this isn't true than chest-high wall shooters are here to stay. 

Gearbox dun fucked up ... Someone better call the Game Police.

I've fallen a bit behind on this blog, but with spring break coming up my classes are dropping some tests and homework. I've been wanting to talk about this game, but I was hoping for some things to blow over to get some real information. However not much more besides the initial "Who Dun It" articles that people have been talking about.

So in case you haven't heard, Aliens: Colonial Marines is possible to worst game to have the Gearbox name on it. (I can't say as much for SEGA, play some newer Sonic games and then you'll understand.) Basically SEGA funded quite a bit of Borderlands and Borderlands 2 with the understanding that Gearbox would work on this game. Then SEGA also gave them money for this game.

Next thing SEGA knows is that Gearbox funneled ALL of the money into the Borderlands series and Duke Nukem Forever, while none of it went into Aliens. Gearbox apparently handed the game design off to a small studio and never really touched it again besides for some pre-rendered scenes and areas that were to show off for E3. Gearbox says they can't be at fault because they handed it off to another studio and because the contract ended when they released the game, because that is apparently all the contract really said they had to do.

While this may or may not be fair to SEGA or anywhere close to ethically okay, Gearbox may not face legal repercussions. That fact that they completed the contract means SEGA can't sue them for the game itself. Maybe sales or something similar. The most prevalent idea at Sega is that they will be getting a portion of the sales from Borderlands and Borderlands 2 to make up for the lack of sales in Colonial Marines. 

I'm not sure how they can quantify the implied sales. Either way Gearbox has just gotten a bad reputation and other major companies are going to be more resistant to working with them. This could very well be the end of Gearbox, which could either kill the Borderlands series or some other group will pick it up. On the off chance they get back on their feet, I hope they like working alone.

Pokemon X and Y Speculation

So not much going on with Pokemon. Except several rumors that   are from several different sources. Most of these sources are from 4Chan, others are just from other ezines or websites. Anyway, here are  the list of rumors about Pokemon X and Y:

(Highlight to see spoilers)

• Main characters are Jean and Jane; names are non-customizable
• Trainer now appears in the bottom screen during battle, with a speech bubble interface holding the trainer commands inside
• Trainers now have their own leveling system that affects how in-game NPCs react to you and grants various bonuses such as increasing capture rate and the rarity of Pokémon encountered
• A new key item called the Whistle can be used once per battle with differing effects, such as waking up a Pokémon or snapping it out of confusion.
• A bond level replaces the happiness meter from past games; higher bond levels grant bonuses such as experience or stat gain for Pokémon
• Bond level bonuses and the whistle feature can be turned off in PvP matches for the benefit of competitive play
• A new item called the Bond-EYE that resembles a pair of sunglasses allows players to view the nature of wild Pokémon and their capture rate
• The Bond-EYE also allows players to see visual avatars of other players and send them messages or trade and battle requests; this feature, akin to the Miiverse function in Nintendo Land, will be the first of its kind on the 3DS
• Wireless co-op is now possible, with one player being the leader and the other aiding in battle
• Players not able to play cooperatively will be allowed to request aid from NPC trainers in their adventures via a juice bar located in every town
• The PokéDex resembles a tablet with a 3D display that allows players to view Pokémon models, read full paragraph descriptions of them, hear their cries, view their locations, compare their sizes and weights with others, and read comments made by other trainers around the world about them
• Excess money can be stored in banks that grant interest and special gifts upon depositing certain amounts
• Using a special wristwatch device, players can travel 30 years into the past which features different characters, younger versions of current characters, different layouts, and different wild Pokémon
• The rival faction is Team Gear whose members wear purple bodysuits with black clock hands on them; they mess with events in the past that affect the present
• In one part of the game, you must catch a Munchlax in the past to clear the road of a Snorlax in the future, suggesting that past generations of Pokémon will be available from the start
• The professor is Professor Bristle and the rival is Ricki, a magazine writer who documents the strange events occurring in the past
• The new generation consists of 99 new Pokémon, many of them baby Pokémon and new evolutions of current Pokémon
• Sylveon is a Normal Pokémon that evolves based on the new bond level; it is the only new Eeveelution
• There will be a total of six legendary Pokémon that include Xerneas (Psychic/Rock) and Yveltal (Ghost/Flying) along with four black and white Pokémon based on card suits: a cobra with a heart-shaped hood and tail, a tiger with diamond patterns, a t-rex with spade-shaped eyes, and a peacock with a club-shaped tail
• Most of the brand new Pokémon will be new type combinations such as Fire/Ice and Dark/Electric

Most of this is probably either just made up (I.E. non customizable names) or speculation (I.E. all the baby pokemon or the watch). Remember to take this all with a grain, or several thousand grains, of salt. 

P-L-A-Y S-T-A-T-I-O-N

So yesterday was the Sony press conference. And unfortunately, due to my poor internet connection I was unable to actually watch it. I could just read all the second hand accounts of what people had said.

So since you can just find the specifics of what was said just about anywhere. I'll be more focusing on what was said after the show.

First off the Playstation will not be backwards compatible which sucks. But it does save on the cost of producing the PS4. Some reports have thought that since consumers understand prices and are more cost conscience, the PS4 may be closer to the $200-300 range as apposed to the $400-600 range. This seems like an odd thing to say as the PS3 is still selling for about $350. However Sony is trying to cut costs where they can without diminishing the products usability.

Sony does have a plan for backwards compatibility however. They will be including an emulator on the PSN for the PS4. This will allow the PS4 to play digital copies of PS3 games. It may be possible that if you get the emulator that the system will be able to still be able to play the games. Unless they decide to change the way system reads or handled the Blu-ray or finds some new game breaking disk format. Another option that have come up with is Cloud Services or streaming your games. I'm not 100% sure on how that works. If you turn on your PS3 and it connects to the PS4 or if there will be some sort of software exchange from your PS3 to your PS4. I really have no idea. But to idea of still being able to play my PS3 games on my PS4 is nice to hear. Unless its some convoluted way, I'm interested.

Sony Announcement Predictions and Links.

If you haven't heard, Sony is holding a press conference today. It is expected that Sony will be releasing the specs or at least the vague concept of the system.

Personally, I think they are going to try to milk out all of their other nonsense that no one really cares about. Now don't think that I hate Sony. I have been a loyal Sony whore since I got my hands on my first Play station when I was eight.

What I mean by nonsense is Play Station Home, an enhanced Move system, something concerning trophies and players messaging each other on PSN. I hope to Kratos that they do not announce that they are planning to announce or even think its a good idea to implement a "no used games" idea.

Now things I, and probably everyone else,  might be interested is the new very brown and grey shooter (Killzone 4), Uncharted 4 (Is that what we are on?), Vita support, Cloud saving and maybe some of the hardware enhancements. What would be awesome, and I know they wont do it, is the ability to hook up your steam account to your PSN account so your cloud saves can be linked.

From what I understand the PS4 is going to be drastically cheaper than the initial price of the PS3 (which according to Sony was due to the back words compatibility). Also, from what I've seen Sony intends to have PS3 games have the ability to stream on the PS4. I'm not 100% on what that means. It could be "If you have the game data and trophies linked to your PS3 account prior to linking your PSN to your PS4 its considered own" or it could be that you need to buy the licensing to the game before you can play it. I have no idea how they plan on implementing this, but I am very very interested.

If you want to watch the stream Sony will have, here are a few links:
Game Informer
Official UStream