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Halo 5 may miss release in 2014 - 16/2/14
Halo 5 will not release in 2014 if Steve Downes, voice actor behind
Master Chief, is to be believed but he does expected Halo 2 Anniversary
to make it out during 2014.
"I think you may be ahead of yourself on Halo 5. I wouldn't expect anything until 2015. What you can look forward to this year is an anniversary edition of Halo 2."Steve Downes
In January there were reports that Halo 5 was still on track for a 2014 release window and at the time a Senior PR manager at Microsoft said the following, ""rest assured your next Halo journey WILL begin in 2014." It now seems he was hinting at Halo 2 Anniversary Edition. While Halo 2 Anniversary hasn't been formally announced it has been hinted at time and time again by various sources that it is in the pipeline for release sometime in the near future.
Xbox One February update starts rolling out today - 15/2/14
The Xbox One update, which was delayed from February 11 to later this week, is starting to roll out now. The update will contain the ability to see and manage your storage space as well as control your install lineup and manage your download queue. My Games and My Apps are now in separate lists, and you can pick the order in which you want your content to load. A boot progress indicator has also been added to “better track updates while they load,” says Major Nelson. Also, the battery power indicator is back on the home screen, and the update also contains USB keyboard support.
Titanfall Xbox One beta runs at 792p - 14/2/14
The Xbox One beta version of Titanfall will render at 792p, according to Respawn.
The slightly unconventional resolution was originally discovered by
Eurogamer's Digital Foundry, who was able to grab some footage from the
beta and estimated it was running at a native resolution of 1408x792.
This was later confirmed on fansite Titanfall Blog. The site spoke to
Respawn community manager Abbie Heppe, who verified the 792p figure.
Heppe did also stress that while 792 is not considered a standard
resolution, most other games run natively at different resolutions and
are then upscaled to 1080p.
She also states that Respawn was working towards increasing the native
resolution by the time the final game was released, with the target
being 900p native and 60 frames per second.
EA and Respawn Entertainment have confirmed the Titanfall beta will
commence on Friday, February 14 and are now accepting registrations via a
new website page.
Microsoft Denies $399 Disc-Less Xbox One - 3/2/14
But now Greenberg, Chief of Staff for Devices and Studios Group at Microsoft, has firmly squashed that rumor. While it may still be true that Microsoft was working on such a console, it looks like we won't be seeing it, at least for a while. Stating in a response to a question about the console's existence,
"No, you cannot believe everything you read on the internet..."
Industry analyst Michael Pachter said that a cheaper Xbox One with no disc-drive would be "Dumb, dumb, dumb," when commenting on the rumor, and so it seems Microsoft has come to the same conclusion.Unless you have amazingly fast internet, downloads could take a long time with file sizes always on the increase. It does seem like it would only appeal to a very specific market.
Toy Soldiers: Cold War, Dead Island free for Xbox Live Gold members - 31/1/14
Signal Studios' Xbox Live Arcade strategy game Toy Soldiers: Cold War includes a series of tower defense-styled battles featuring miniature foot soldiers and combat vehicles. Dead Island, a 2011 retail release from Techland, is a first-person action game that challenges players to survive a zombie invasion at an island resort, with help from friends via online cooperative play.
As with previous Games With Gold program releases, both Dead Island and Toy Soldiers: Cold War are free for users to keep once they are downloaded, even after associated Xbox Live Gold memberships expire. New games are added to the service on the 1st and 16th of each month.
Forza 5 'Smoking Tire' car pack set for Feb 4 release - 31/1/14
Ten new vehicles available for purchase or unlocking
Microsoft is set to release the ten-car Forza Motorsport 5 'Smoking Tire Pack' on February 4, it's announced.
The $10 DLC includes high-profile sports cars ranging from the 1994 Nissan Fairlady Z Version S Twin Turbo to the 2011 Ferrari FF.
Additional cars included in the pack will be available for 'a la carte' purchase in the marketplace and accessible using in-game credits or tokens once unlocked.
PlayStation Vita slim model unveiled - 30/1/14
The model is available to preorder from today in the UK. Sony released the PS Vita 2000 in Japan last year.
It is 20 percent thinner than the original model and 15 percent lighter. More significantly, the OLED screen has been replaced with a new LCD screen and 1GB of built-in memory.
Forza Horizon 2 could hit Xbox One in September at 1080p - 30/1/14
It follows our report that Halo 2: Anniversary will launch November 11 and Crackdown 3 is slated for release in 2016.
Now, the same source has said Forza Horizon 2 will “probably” launch this September on Xbox One, and will run at 1080p.
It follows recent acknowledgement of Forza Horizon 2‘s existence on Facebook. Hit the link to see what went down.
The source added that Forza Horizon 2 will feature a, “super sexy weather system,” and “shit tons of co-op/social stuff… so you can road trip with your bros.”
Wii U price cut 'not an option', says Iwata - 30/1/14
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata says that, despite the significant challenges it faces with slow Wii U sales, he remains optimistic of the console's outlook.
Iwata addressed an audience of investors and analysts at conference in Japan on Wednesday, as he outlined Nintendo's plan to turn around its fortunes after poor hardware sales impacted the firm's bottom line in 2013.
Iwata apologized for the firm's drastic cut to its Wii U hardware sales projections, but insisted the firm's focus remains on console gaming and that he's 'not pessimistic' over the future outlook of the console.
"Under the current situation where the company has to report an operating loss, simply executing a price reduction as a way to defuse the situation is not an option," he stated. "In the short-term, Nintendo will focus on thoroughly enriching the value of the most significant feature of Wii U, the Wii U GamePad," he said.
Iwata outlined plans to significantly 'revamp' Wii U marketing - since too many still misinterpret the Wii U Gamepad as an accessory for the old Wii - and to increase the firm's focus on developing games that make full use of the Wii U Gamepad, including its NFC functionality.
Mario Kart 8 starts its engines on Wii U this May - 30/1/14
Mario Kart 8, announced during E3 last year, is the latest in Nintendo's long-running arcade racing series. This new installment includes a gravity-defying mechanic that lets racers ride along walls.
Last week, Nintendo had to slash financial forecasts in light of weak Wii U sales. Originally the company had projected Wii U sales to reach a total of 9 million from March 2013 to March 2014. Nintendo now anticipates Wii U shipments will reach 2.8 million in that timeframe.
Grand Theft Auto 5 PC pre-orders start Friday, according to retailer - 29/1/14
Owned by UK-based Dixons Retail, a store manager at one of the consumer electronics chain’s locations confirmed the pre-order plan to Gamereactor.
Rockstar has yet to announce a PC version of the title, but that didn’t stop Amazon Germany or Amazon France from listing the product, nor a supposed 170 page bug report surfacing
If the Elgiganten store manager is correct, expect Rockstar to make an announcement in due course. Until then, keep this filed away has yet another rumor.
Retailer advertises Titanfall beta for February - 28/1/14
A week-long beta for Titanfall may be taking place in mid February, according to alleged photos from inside a French website.
Xboxygen claims to have received a photo taken in a Micromania store in France, stating that a beta for the game will begin on February 14.
The site also claims a source has revealed that the beta will run until February 19, and will be exclusively available at Micromania stores in France and GameStop stores elsewhere.
Elder Scrolls Online requires Xbox Gold, but not PS Plus - 28/1/14
The PS4 version of The Elder Scrolls Online will not require a PlayStation Plus subscription, Bethesda has confirmed.
Usually, Plus membership is required to access online play on Sony's console, thus there was the possibility that PS4 owners would be required to pay two separate monthly payments in order to play the MMO.
However, it's now been confirmed that PS4 owners will only be required to pay the same monthly subscription associated with The Elder Scrolls Online that PC and Mac users will pay.
Conversely, Microsoft has confirmed to Joystiq that the Xbox One version will require an Xbox Live Gold subscription to play.
Nintendo planning free smartphone 'mini-games' - 27/1/14
A report from Japanese news organization Nikkei suggests that Nintendo will soon use smart phones as an interactive promotional tool for its games. The report claims that Nintendo will release game trailers and "free mini-games" to entice players on phones to seek out software on Nintendo hardware. Kotaku notes the specific wording of the Japanese article, clarifying that Nikkei does not use the Japanese word for demo, further suggesting an advergaming tilt to the move.
Nikkei's report says Nintendo will use its smart phone strategy to provide potential players with information about the story and characters of its games, along with information about release dates and prices. Nintendo is expected to announce the strategy this week.