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July 22, 2013
To make development easier, Rockstar has split itself into a few different development teams. For example, Rockstar North is currently developing Grand Theft Auto 5, but another team, Rockstar Toronto are one of the development teams behind the Max Payne series, and it looks like they will be the team behind an upcoming next gen game too.
It was previously revealed that Rockstar San Diego, the devs behind Red Dead Redemption, are also making an open world game for next generation consoles, but Rockstar Toronto has posted up a job listing hiring those that are capable of developing for a "Large Scale" title.
More digging around the job postings has revealed that the game is for both Xbox and Sony consoles, although a definite next-gen release hasn't been confirmed anywhere in the text. It's also apparent that the game is currently untitled, meaning that it's very unlikely that Rockstar Toronto are working on an open world Max Payne game.
Seeing as Max Payne is usually
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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.
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July 07, 2013
You may be wondering just what kind of accessories you may get when purchasing the new PlayStation 4. We already know that the Xbox One won't have an included headset, but whilst we were pretty sure the PlayStation 4 will, there's still no hard evidence on what we'll actually receive in the box.
Luckily, a rumor has spread showing just exactly what will be within the PlayStation launch bundle, and whilst it hasn't been officially confirmed, it certainly looks like the real deal.
The photo (shown above) manages to include the PS4 console, a dualshock 4 controller, a power cable, an HDMI lead, a USB charging cable, and of course the headset and instruction leaflet.
The headset is just a small in-ear headset that looks and feels a lot like the kind you'd get with a mobile phone- so whilst Sony did include a headset, I wouldn't blame you if you decided to buy a more comfortable headset instead.
The headset does seem to be
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July 06, 2013
Unlike the Xbox 360, the Xbox One won't come with a headset, and you'll also have to separately buy other accessories if you want to get the most out of your Xbox One experience.
At launch, they'll be a few accessories available to you. Firstly, and probably the most needed accessory for those who want to be able to taunt the other team from the comfort of their sofa, is of course a headset.
The official Xbox One headset looks a lot like the current Xbox 360 headset- It has one thin headband that goes around the circumference of your head and then a simple microphone branching out from one side. The volume and mute buttons have been moved down to the port where the microphone will plug into the controller.
Alternatively, you could bag yourself a Turtle Beach headset- at launch Turtle Beach will have The EarForce XO Seven and the EarForce XO Four. Both headsets are of a much better quality than the Xbox One headset and they both include a decent
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June 29, 2013
One thing that Microsoft couldn't boast enough at this year's E3 was 'the power of the cloud.' Matchmaking, stats and other player and game information could now be computed in the cloud, on Microsoft's own servers.
According to Microsoft this meant the Xbox One could be even more powerful as it didn't need to compute these things itself. It also opened up windows for new technologies such as the Forza 5 Drivatar AI.
However, Sony has said that the new PlayStation 4 can also harness the power of the cloud as well. Shuhei Yoshida made a statement saying "Linking, matchmaking, there are already many computations being done on the cloud side, if your title needs an online connection to provide some online features: Go for it."
So is Microsoft's hyped 'power of the cloud' nothing that special? Microsoft has managed to make good use of it with Forza's Drivatar, and hopefully we'll see more good uses in the future.
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June 26, 2013
Destiny will have different graphics for different platforms according to Harold Ryan, Bungie's president.
He didn't state what that meant between each platform, but it's obviously clear that the older generation consoles, the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, will have worse graphics than newer generation Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
He didn't state whether there would be any difference between the PS4 and Xbox One, and instead said "We're not committing right now to any specific platform features. The great thing for us with timing is that we were making a new engine, and then two new consoles were coming out, which led us to invest more into making the new engine for it.
"There are a whole bunch of great opportunities for us to go after, like full player experiences, etc. We're investigating all of those and building the core experience of Destiny, which will be similar across all the platforms. The graphics are different,
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June 24, 2013
One of the major reasons a lot of people have decided to side with Sony's PlayStation 4 instead of the Xbox One is down to the restrictions that Microsoft originally planned out for the Xbox One. These restrictions include clamping down on used games, no unhindered access to the console without a constant internet connection, and region locks forcing players to only be able to play their Xbox One in their home country.
Since Microsoft's announcement of these features, there has been an outcry in the gaming community, and surprisingly, after noticing, Microsoft has decided to make an apology and make a change to the DRM features on the new Xbox One.
The Xbox One will now be capable of playing used games, so gamers can still swap, trade and lend games between one another, and there are now no region restrictions on the console. On top of this, the console will no longer need to be online to be used after a first time set-up.
It's
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June 23, 2013
There's always a lot of tension between companies when they are competing to make the better product, and this certainly is the case when considering Microsoft and Sony. They were the first most noticeable company to have a 'war' between each other, drawing fans on either side of the battle as each side would try and explain why their favorite beat the other in every way possible.
The tension was present leading up to this year's E3 as well, but it seems like Sony is currently jumping in joy because of Microsoft and their decisions made for their new console.
Head of Sony Worldwide Studios Software Product Development, Scott Rohde, commented on the situation, saying that their team were 'running up and down the aisles' when they heard about the price difference between the cheaper PlayStation 4 and the more expensive Xbox One.
Rohde went onto saying "Absolutely great. It was an amazing feeling. Absolutely. We went nuts. We
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June 22, 2013
As technology evolves, there are some steps that are needed to move the masses forward. For example, we went from video and cassette tapes to CDs and DVDs, and before that we had vinyl. We're currently seeing a shift from DVD to Blu-ray as well, and now, on top of that, a lot of the world has started to move to 'HD only.'
This is certainly the case when regarding the PlayStation 4- the next gen console will only have HDMI adaptively, so if you want to make the most of it, you'll need an HD capable TV.
Luckily though, if you've bought a TV in the last 6 or 7 years it's more than likely your TV already has HDMI input, and if it doesn't perhaps it's time for you to update your living room a little.
Although it's not confirmed, it wouldn't surprise me if the Xbox One had the same connection options. We also don't know yet whether you'll be able to use an adapter, and if you can, what quality will be reached by using such equipment.
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June 21, 2013
Although most of the largest consumer countries will get access to an Xbox One, there are still a large amount of countries that Microsoft won't support, at least at launch, and there's a possibility the new console won't be available in other countries at all, or at least for a while either.
If you're located in the following countries, getting an Xbox One should be easy enough for you, as long as you can find stock:
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United StatesOn top of this, the Xbox One will be 'geographically locked' to the country it first resided in. This will mean that your country will not be able to be usable in any country other than the one it was used in, so if your country isn't