-
February 06, 2014
Microsoft is pretty well known for slandering it's competition, and recently they've really tried hard to make their competitors look like insignificant wastes of time, despite being a fair way behind their competitors in the industries they are working in.
In the gaming industry, I have a feeling we can expect a lot of PlayStation slandering campaigns to go ahead over the next few years, but that's okay, because Sony usually has a witty thing or two to say back.
The most recent of these campaigns offers those who want an Xbox One a path easier on their wallets. To be precise, Microsoft has offered to take your PlayStation 3 off of your hands, in return for a $100 discount card on a brand spanking new Xbox One.
Microsoft may have admitted that the Xbox One is priced higher than the PS4, and this looks like their first measure to try and make their price a little closer to the
-
December 01, 2013
Despite Microsoft making claims that they have completely sold out of Xbox One consoles, just by visiting a few stores like Best Buy or Toys R Us will reveal that there are in fact many consoles still available for purchase right from the shelves.
We're not sure why Microsoft decided to say that all Xbox One consoles were sold out when it's clear that there are many still around for purchase, and although some retailers may have run out of stock, the Xbox One inventory is still pretty high.
Did Microsoft lie, or was it a silly mistake? At this point it’s hard to say but it's easy to assume that the former is the answer, however, let's not put too much focus on that and concentrate on the real problem.
Even though 1 million PlayStation 4 consoles were sold within 24 hours, it looks like Sony, unlike Microsoft, really have run out of stock, and according to GameStop, a lot of
-
September 05, 2013
Xbox One Release date has been officially announced by Microsoft as November 22nd.
All of us at Evil Controllers are excited. We plan to offer all of the incredible products we offer for the Xbox 360, but for the Xbox One. The transition will take Evil Controllers some time as we ensure the quality of our Xbox One products will match what you have come to expect.
We plan to offer modded Xbox One controllers in addition to custom xbox one controllers.
Be sure to follow us on facebook to learn about our Xbox One and PS4 product announcements as they become available.
If you missed it, here's the incredible line up in store for fans of the Xbox One:
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land -
August 21, 2013
Well, well well, it looks as if Microsoft has completely made a turning point on their new Xbox One. Now, not only can you use the Xbox without a constant internet connection, but we can now play the next gen Xbox console without the kinect entirely.
This change has come about after privacy concerns were made public due to the worry that Microsoft or a malicious third party could sneak in and watch your living room at any time.
Coupled with the always on internet, an always 'kinected' camera could only spell trouble in the eyes of those that take care of their own privacy, but luckily all of the DRM features have been removed, and now the Kinect always-connected rule has been removed.
Currently there still isn't an Xbox One with a Kinect not included and Microsoft still believe strongly in the success of the party peripheral, but perhaps we'll see a cheaper SKU without the Kinect 2.0 bundled in the future.
For those already interested in getting a PS4, if you
-
August 15, 2013
After we saw the official Microsoft unboxing for the Xbox One, a lot of gamers got angry at the extra paywalls and prices that will have to be forked out to access most of the features available on the gaming/media box.
If you're frustrated at this, here's a bit of news that may help you to calm down just a little.
Microsoft will be introducing a new family plan on the Xbox One. On the Xbox 360 gamers could save money by buying a Gold 'family pack.' However, users of this service would still have to pay for multiple Xbox Live Gold accounts but just at a discounted price.
On the new Xbox One, a family will be able to make use of the new 'Home Gold' feature that will allow a whole family with multiple gamertags to share the Xbox Live Gold status from one member on that Xbox.
For example, if one user were to buy an Xbox Live Gold subscription, all other gamertags on this Xbox would also gain access to all of the features that require Xbox
-
August 08, 2013
Whilst Microsoft may not be done with the Kinect, it is quite clear that for most the piece of tech is nothing more than a gimmick. It can be fun to wave yourself in front of the TV with a few mates or with the family, and talking to your Xbox can be quite entertaining at first, but it quickly looses any meaning except for a companion for it's Xbox friend.
Microsoft may be looking into something a lot better than the Kinect if their recent patent file is anything to go by. The patent shows information on what seems to be a pair of virtual reality glasses. Players will be able to wear the glasses and 'immerse' themselves in a game.
Recently we've seen things like the impressive Oculus Rift hit the world, and it's certainly left an impact, so perhaps Microsoft want to get there first.
If the Oculus Rift is anything to go by, using a high-tech virtual reality kit will allow players to really feel like they are in the game- the camera will move accurately to your head movements,
-
August 05, 2013
Although Kinect Sports Rivals was previously announced by Microsoft and RARE to be an Xbox One launch title, it has since been pushed back due to development issues and will now no longer be available at launch for the Xbox One.
The release date has now been pushed back to Spring 2014 for most of the world and Autumn 2014 for Australia.
Although it's a shame the game has been delayed, it will allow RARE to further polish and clean up the title, so we can expect an even more finished version early next year. According to RARE at E3, Kinect Sports Rivals "puts you in the game like never before, tracks your movements and expressions with incredible accuracy, and offers never-ending competition with your friends and competitors," according to Microsoft.
This is a bit of an odd decision by Microsoft though as Kinect Sports Rivals was previously designed to be the flagship launch title for the Xbox One and the Kinect meaning we will now have no Xbox
-
August 04, 2013
Although the Launch Edition of the Xbox One comes bundled with the Kinect 2.0, there wasn't an official confirmation whether the Xbox One would be released without the Kinect 2.0 or not within the future.
Microsoft has recently replied to concerns about the topic to state that "We have no plans to introduce an Xbox One without Kinect. We believe in Kinect and the value it brings to both games and entertainment, and believe $499 is a great value for what consumers receive with their Xbox One."
Rumors started to spread that Microsoft were going to release a console without the Kinect 2.0 as a Microsoft representative stated that the Xbox One does not need the Kinect 2.0 to run. Since then it seems that Microsoft has called this out as a typo and Microsoft has since backtracked to the previous announcement that the Kinect 2.0 is needed to allow the Xbox One to work.
Because of the added costs of the Kinect 2.0, the Xbox One costs
-
July 30, 2013
One thing that Microsoft won't seem to drop when it comes to the Xbox One is the phrase "the power of the cloud." I've personally seen time and time again an Xbox One representative praise this power but apart from Forza Motorsport 5, we haven't really seen any reason to believe that there really is any power within the cloud, at least as far as the Xbox One is concerned.
I do hope that this changes in the future, and Microsoft will hopefully reveal more uses for their cloud capabilities as the Xbox One grows.
One such use has been revealed, and it will allow Xbox One owners to store an unlimited amount of data on their Xbox One straight to the cloud.
This is a similar feature already seen on the Xbox 360, however, Xbox Live gold members will be given unlimited storage as a benefit of being a paying Xbox subscriber instead of just 512mb. Microsoft has stated that -
"Xbox Live offers Xbox One unlimited storage space in the cloud
-
July 08, 2013
If you don't want to spend extra money on a headset after buying the Xbox One, you'll be happy to know that the Kinect will also back up as an alternative to the microphone/headset.
There's no official word on the quality of the Kinect microphone, and you'll have to listen to players through your TV unless you have a pair of compatible headphones when using the Kinect for voice chat.
The Kinect does include a 'wide array' of microphones though, so it'd be surprising if the call quality received from the Kinect was poor.
The official Xbox One is always up for grabs for those that don't like the openness of the Kinect microphone and TV speaker combo, and there are also many alternatives for better audio quality including headset models from Turtle Beach specifically designed for the Xbox One.