The New Xbox Revealed

It’s been an exciting couple weeks for Xbox fans. The new console was announced dubbed the “Xbox One” and the next-generation Kinect was debuted and detailed. We’ll give a brief synopsis of the new system as well as more in depth analysis of the new Kinect sensor in a later piece.

The new console itself is comprised of an:

·         8 core AMD Jaguar CPU

·         8 GBs of RAM

·         12 CU AMD GPU (with Data Move engines)

·         500 GB HDD

·         Blu-ray Drive (finally!)

·         802.11n Wireless with Wi-Fi Direct (this will come in handy for SmartGlass)

·         HDMI In/Out

·         USB 3.0

Graphics are definitely a focus for the new Xbox with the One offering up to 8x the power of an Xbox 360! Not too shabby! The new Xbox is being position as an All-in-One entertainment box (hence the new name). Games, TV, Internet and Kinect will all be a major part of the system. Some the One’s key features are:

 

·         Instant Switch Multi-tasking

·         Snap Mode (2 apps at once)

·         Skype Voice/Video calls

·         Live TV

·         TV Guide

·         Virtually silent

·         Slot loading drive

·         Same size as current console

·         No external power brick

·         3 OSs including a Windows variant

·         Gaming DVR with editing tools

Xbox Live enhancements

Just like Microsoft paved the way with broadband on the original Xbox they are paving the way again with always online on the One. The new xbox will require you to sign on at least once every 24hours. This gives players the benefits of Harddrive based game installs due to online authentication. No longer will you have to get up and change discs to change a game!  You’ll be able to hot-swap between games and apps at will!

Microsoft is also deploying 300,000 servers, with more power than every computer combined in 1999, to assist with cloud based computing. This is said to increase the graphics and Artificial Intelligence of games on the new system.

You can look forward to your GamerTag and achievements all transitioning over but keep in mind the system does not support backwards compatibility of your existing Xbox 360 games.

 

Microsoft’s commitment to games, games, games!

Microsoft is committing $1 Billion dollars to the development of exclusive titles on the One. This includes 15 titles to be released in its first year on the market. 8 of them being wholly original properties! Forza 5 which is one of these games will be available at launch as well as Quantum Break from the creators of Alan Wake and Max Payne!

The exclusive content doesn't stop there! Microsoft is partnering with EA for exclusive content in their next generation sports games. Fifa, Live, Madden and UFC will all see release on the new console. EA plans to debut their new next gen game engine “Ignite” on the One which allows for 10 times the animation detail. You can check the engine in action below:

Activision has also pledged their support by offering the next-gen version of Call of Duty: Ghosts to the platform with time-exclusive DLC content.

There was also a Game specific DVR mentioned that allows game clip sharing and editing but not many details are available at this time.

TV

Microsoft wants to eliminate as many barriers as possible between you and the entertainment you love. The HDMI pass-through will allow you to connect your cable/satellite box and watch live TV through the One. No longer will you have to change inputs and with Kinect integration no longer will you have to search for a remote! Just use your voice to change the channel. How cool is that?

Microsoft plans to augment your TV watching experience with the OneGuide which, with the help of the cloud, pick out shows and movies that might interest you. Making your TV experience more personal. The OneGuide will only be available in the U.S. at launch but will expand to other countries shortly.

Wrap Up

It’s clear Microsoft’s aiming for the widest spectrum possible with this new console. Taking on Google and Apple in the process. Not only will the One be the best Games machine with the most exclusive games and content. Microsoft is positioning it to be the one stop shop for all your entertainment needs.

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Hole In the Wall Hitting Xbox Live Arcade Next Week, Leedmees Next Month!

Microsoft recently stated that they're aiming to provide approximately one Xbox Live Arcade Kinect title per month. Starting strong earlier this month with Fruit Ninja Kinect, next up we have Hole in the Wall which will be available this time next week on August 24th.

Based on the hit TV show the concept is one that seems popular with Kinect fans and developers, with variations on the concept in Carnival Games, Wipeout In The Zone and the upcoming Raving Rabbids game. Players simple move their body to try and fit it through peculiarly shaped holes in a wall. If your body doesn't squeeze through the hole, the wall hits you into the water.



Next month sees the release of the Leedmees from Konami. Leedmees makes use of one or two players' full body movements to create a path and lead the Leedmees, mysterious small creatures, from their spawn point to the goal. Think Lemmings meets Twister.

Leedmees will be available September 7th, so mark that in your diaries and check back for more info soon!

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Avatar Kinect Launching July 27th?

Avatar Kinect is due to launch any day now, with an officially scheduled 'July' launch date. Now Microsoft insiders have told Winrumors that July 27th is the day Avatar Kinect will finally be arriving.

Avatar Kinect will be hitting Kinect Fun Labs as a permanently free gadget, Xbox Live Gold subscription permitting, allowing friends to uniquely interact in 15 environments, talking and controlling their avatar as well as having the ability to record and upload their content to Kinect Share and Facebook. It'll also be the first piece of Kinect software which will track the players face allowing them to control the expressions of the on-screen Avatars.

Will it finally release, or elude another rumoured launch date? Only time will tell. Or Microsoft, if they weren't so hush-hush.

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Burnout Crashing Its Way Onto Kinect

Criterion Games have today announced that they're bringing their acclaimed Burnout franchise to Xbox Live Arcade with Kinect support in the next installment, Burnout CRASH! CRASH! takes the fan-favourite crash mode and brings it to the forefront with a new top-down art-style.

The game rewards players for causing the greatest mayhem and damage via a car crash. Using Autolo, players can compete, connect and compare scores as well as feature in new competative Autolog challenges.

“Burnout CRASH! is a crazy mix of pinball and game shows,” said Richard Franke, Creative Director of Burnout CRASH!

“We’ve evolved the core gameplay which everyone loved about Crash Mode, and expanded the whole experience using music, style and Autolog to create what we feel is the most mindless fun you can have on any gaming platform.”

The game will also feature a game mode designed exclusively for Kinect in which two teams use gestural controls to play on one television in a party battle.

Burnout CRASH! launches this fall for Xbox Live Arcade. We'll be sure to keep you up to date with the latest!

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Lemmings Meets Twister -- New Leedmees Info Arises

The debut trailer for Konami's upcoming Xbox Live Arcade title, Leedmees, got a bit buried under a ton of bigger announcements at E3 last month. It's unfortunate, because the charming little game looks like it could be one to keep an eye on, making unique and clever use of Kinect's full body control.

As we gathered from the trailer, the core concept isn't too unlike the classic game Lemmings. Little characters spawn at point A, and the player has to clear or build the path to point B. With Kinect the path, essentially, is you. The little men will walk up your leg, and bounce from arm to arm. You'll have to push up doors, and scoop up balls to ease their journey to the swirly red exit.

The Telegraph have put up a new preview of the game, detailing single and co-op gameplay. With two players, the levels become more complex and more than a bit reminiscent of Twister. One player might have to hold his leg, which the characters are now spawning on, up in the air to avoid squashing the little people whilst the other forms a bridge with their arms. With Kinect constantly tracking your body, clearly co-ordination and teamwork is key. Unfortunately cooperative gameplay looks to be local only right now, with a leaderboard being the only online option.

Leedmees will be launching later this summer with 50 single player and 12 co-op levels; quite a nice package for a downloadable title. We can't wait to check it out, and if you missed the debut trailer, here it is below!

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Fruit Ninja Kinect Xbox Live Arcade August 10th

The much anticipated Kinect iteration of the popular mobile game Fruit Ninja is coming to Xbox Live Arcade on August 10th. The game, which was greatly received at E3 earlier this month, translates the fruit slicing gameplay from finger flick to arm chop, featuring all of the classic modes from the mobile game plus a few new modes exclusive to Kinect.

The game will launch for 800 points as part of Xbox Live's Summer of Arcade, which will feature a much-anticipated exclusive Live Arcade title every week starting July 20th. Check out the full list of titles and prices below. If you purchase them all, you get Crimson Alliance, an upcoming RPG worth 1200 points, for free!

• July 20 - Bastion - 1200 points
• July 27 - From Dust - 1200 points
• August 3 - Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet - 1200 points
• August 10 - Fruit Ninja Kinect - 800 points
• August 17 - Toy Soldiers: Cold War - 1200 points

Still need convincing? Check out our exclusive gameplay footage from E3 below!

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Playing Child of Eden on 125 inch Screen

Due to popular demand here's a video of Child of Eden being played on a projector. The experience was amazing to say the least!



Stay tuned for a more in-depth write up coming soon!

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Halo: CE Anniversary to Feature Kinect Support

Microsoft's Phil Spencer has confirmed to Gamespot today that the upcoming remake of the original Halo will feature Kinect support.

“As a first-party, we believe Kinect will be important to all genres of games, be it racing games with Forza, combat games like Ryse, even games like Halo Anniversary has Kinect integration.” says Spencer.

It isn't too surprising given that he also mentioned recently that he expects that all first party titles will feature Kinect support going forward, though it isn't mandatory.

Halo: CE Anniversary remains a core game played primarily with a controller, and any Kinect support will remain optional. It could be as simple as a voice command or a hand gesture for a menu.

Whatever the case, it is always good to see Kinect support, especially now in genres perhaps more relevant to core gamers. Optional extras certainly do well to please both the anti-motion core, casual gamers and anyone in between and if Microsoft continue this balancing act carefully, the 360 should have a strong future ahead of it.

Update: Microsoft have clarified what we suspected -- "The Kinect features we’re exploring with 'Halo: Anniversary' are additive and will not affect the core gameplay experience."

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Creator of Gears of War Would "Love to Make a Cool Kinect Game"

A Gears of War Kinect title has been long rumored, almost since the launch of Kinect. Although that game never materialized, and Epic confirmed to Eurogamer recently that it isn't something they're working on right now, the creator of the franchise, Cliff Bleszinski has told IndustryGamers that it is definitely something he's interested in.

"[Gamers] want the hybrid experience, which I think is pretty compelling. One of the sexiest things at the press conference was the Ghost Recon thing where the guy went bam and the gun exploded. That was hot. Good for them. And I said last year at this very party... I think hybrids would be great. And now we’re seeing hybrids. So maybe eventually we’ll see more hardcore games that are Kinect only, but you have 6 million Gears, however many million Halos, and however many Call of Dutys. 26 years of traditional controls aren’t going to go away anytime soon, right?" Bleszinski commented.

Bleszkinski reiterated that the upcoming Gears of War 3 won't be getting any Kinect support as they don't want it to be "tacked on", but he would not rule out support in a future Gears or Epic title.

"If, in the event there were to be another Gears game, that’s something we might explore. But we want to do it right. If I had unlimited amounts of time and a team, I could sit down and make a cool Kinect game, and I would love to, but it’s a matter of time and opportunity costs right now,"

Given Microsoft's strong Kinect push, and Gears of Wars position as one of the most important Xbox 360 franchises, it seems inevitable that Epic will be approached about Kinect support, if they haven't been already. Given their strong partnership, Microsoft would likely make sure Bleszinski has the resources he needs.

It's still early days, of course. A Gears of War Kinect game is certainly not out of the question, but if one is to exist it looks like we'll be waiting a while.

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Forza 4 Kinect Video Demonstrations

Turn 10 have been busy show off Forza 4 at E3. The lengthy demonstrations show off all facets of the racing game, including Kinect features such as head-tracking, the car showroom, controller-free driving and voice control.

The car-showroom, an idea specifically created for Kinect, lets players walk around a virtual car; opening doors, looking at the engine and even getting inside. It is full of narrated facts and information and unedited commentary on each individual car written and recorded by Top Gears' Jeremy Clarkson specifically for the game.




Head tracking works during races, not only for subtler head turns, but for tilting and leaning of the head and body, resulting in a much more immersive experience, and genuinely helpful hands-off camera control.




Kinect steering might not necessarily improve on a wheel or a controller, but it makes the game instantly more accessible. As an option, it opens the game up to a much wider audience -- those that own Kinect who might be otherwise intimidated by such a deep racing sim. Breaking is automatic, but you can override it if you feel the need to break by putting your foot forward.



If you want to see more, Gamespot have put up a fantastic 24 minute long video must-see video demonstration with Turn 10 game director Dan Greenawalt, detailing and demonstrating traditional and Kinect control. It also shows off a bit of the voice control for menu navigation, which is particularly useful as it allows players to jump to deeper hyperlinks rather than just the options available on the screen, letting them dig deeper or back up a few steps with one voice command instead of multiple button presses.

It really seems like Turn 10 have thought long and hard about Kinect and implemented it where they genuinely feel it can expand the game. It can complement or replace the most complex and simple controls, and offer completely unique ways of viewing some of the best cars in the world. It's brilliant to see such brilliant developers approach Kinect with such enthusiasm.

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E3 2011: Zoom Kinect

Are Kinect's space requirements solved? Nyko is releasing a Kinect peripheral that appears to do just that. I tried it out at E3 and I must say it works surprisingly well. I was also impressed that you can play a game that requires 2 people in less space than a standard Kinect requires for 1 person. Zoom reduces space requirements by an impressive 40%.

Zoom will be available in August. We'll update you with a full review once available. Check out a video of it in action below.

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"First Person Experience" Blackwater Announced

505 Games have announced their new Kinect game, Blackwater. Although there are no screens, nor a trailer, the press release describes it as an "immersive First Person eXperience (FPX)". This looks to be the same game as the "Zero Person Shooter" we reported on not too long ago, and is being developed by Zombie Studios.

The game will attempt to "reinvent the modern combat shooter genre by giving players the ability to completely control the gameplay experience using a traditional controller or Kinect for Xbox 360’s controller-free abilities which introduces an unprecedented level of immersion to the FPS genre."

"Blackwater is an intense, cinematic shooter experience unlike anything you’ve ever played before. Lead a team of Blackwater Operators protecting a fictional North African town, battling dangerous warlords and fighting back two opposing militia forces. Using the motion-sensing Kinect controller players can do everything from moving their character to aiming and firing a weapon as you work your way through pressure-filled missions."

The game is also playable with a standard controller and will release later this year.

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Crytek's Ryse Debut Trailer - Kinect First Person Melee Game

As we revealed a short time ago, Crytek's upcoming exclusive Xbox 360 game Codename: Kingdoms will be controlled via Kinect.

At todays Microsoft conference the debut trailer for the game, renamed 'Ryse', offered a glimpse into the first person gameplay.

Set in ancient Rome, the game allows players to "become the warrior". Armed with a sword and shield the player fights their way through countless enemies using a first person melee system.

Check out the trailer below!

Tags: GameTrailers.com, Ryse - E3 2011: Debut Trailer HD, PC Games, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

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New Xbox Experience Features Bing Search, YouTube, Live TV and New Dashboard Interface

Xbox Live's Marc Whitten announced at E3 today that the Xbox 360 will once again be getting a new Xbox experience. Using a similar Metro design to Windows Phone 7 and their upcoming Windows 8 operating system, the interface will take advantage of Kinects voice abilities, allowing users to instantly search for a game, movie, song or any other keyword using Bing. "Bing X-Men", for example, gave a list of every X-Men game and movie.

They also announced that they're going to increase their partnerships by a factor of 10, increasing the available catalogue of content from hundreds of thousands to millions. YouTube was one example of a new partner, allowing users to search through video content using voice.

They finally announced that Microsoft will be bringing live TV with the new interface. Xbox is partnering with TV providers around the world, including UFC, with interactivity between friends and other viewers.

The new Xbox experience will launch this Autumn.

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EA Sports Bringing Kinect Support to 4 Franchises

EA Sports have announced that they are bringing Kinect Support to Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Fifa, Madden and another unrevealed franchise.

Although the extent of the support, and how the games will be played has not been revealed, we can expect to find out more information at EA's E3 conference later today.

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