So, New Xbox Reveal In About 14 Hours.

[Ford Prefect]

His exact words were "fortunately we have a product for people that aren't able to get some form of connectivity – it’s called an Xbox 360"

Like I dunno I don't work in PR but it strikes me as the exactly wrong thing to say when your new product is already being blitzed.

[Kuja]

oh my god

is everybody in that office drunk or something

[bilateralrope]

[url=http://www.gamezone.com/news/2013/06/11 ... rePreorder the Xbox One and you'll get an achievement[/url]

If you want to be one of the limited amount of people with a special achievement on the Xbox One you might just want to pre-order the Xbox One Day One Edition. That's basically an invitation to an exclusive party, will you RSVP?

So, the Day One Edition Xbox has a special acheievment...but what else is there? Well, the Day One Edition also includes the console (gasp), a Kinect sensor, a special controller, and a HDMI cable.

If you pre-order this, you might as well go the distance and look into buying the Day One Xbox Live Gold so that you can play Killer Instinct with an exclusive character (Shadow Jago) and be online on Day One.

A handful of games will be available as a Day One Edition but must be purchased separately. The games that will be available are Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome, Kinect Sports Rivals, and Dead Rising 3.

Know this though, the Xbox One Day One Edition and Day One games are all limited in amount!

Well, unless MS runs out of Day One edition console. Which only differs from the release console in that you get the achievement. So, since MS plans to run out of digital goods, you'll need to be quick. Stop to think about the launch issues that any online gaming service has had in the past and you might miss out on being branded a fanboy.

[Kuja]

wait what

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/11/ ... aunch-game

E3 2013: Killer Instinct Is a Fun Free to Play Xbox One Launch Game

Killer Instinct was always sort of dumb -- the goofy Mortal Kombat knock-off with a skeleton, a dinosaur, and dudes named TJ Combo (ugh) and Fulgore (what?). In hindsight, Killer Instinct was kind of embarrassing. But we still connected to it. Who doesn’t want to see a ninja fist-fight a werewolf?

Killer Instinct on Xbox One is still really, really stupid. It’s also pretty awesome.

More Street Fighter IV than traditional Killer Instinct in speed and style, this reboot isn’t just looking at how it can bring Rare’s classic back to life, but how it can reinvigorate it. The 2D fighter has changed significantly since 1994, and developer Double Helix recognizes it.

Killer Instinct is fast on Xbox One, unrecognizably so. Aside from the presence of Sabrewulf (ugh) and Jago (what?), you might mistake this for an entirely new game. The bright colors, and thick, black outlines give the characters, who take up a healthy amount of on-screen real estate, a comic book-style shade. Their combos are quick and flow naturally -- I found myself slipping into an awesome combo accidentally, Marvel vs. Capcom style, often.

The move sets are simple, the stylish and devastating Ultra Combos are easy to execute, and the Combo Breaker makes you feel like a badass. It’s basically just a parry with a fancy name, but Killer Instinct regards it so highly that it’s hard not to feel the surge of satisfaction every time you escape an onslaught of frightening kicks. Every big counter feels like an event, and it can totally change the flow of a fight when your opponent's left exposed after your escape.

Familiar, yes, but this is definitely Killer Instinct done differently (and arguably better).

Killer Instinct is a day-one digital-only release on Xbox One, and features -- get this -- one character. Jago is free to play on launch day. Everyone else -- unspecified returning characters as well as original fighters -- will cost money. Price is to-be-determined (of course).

Is this the start of a new trend? With Xbox Live Arcade vanishing into the greater Games Marketplace, perhaps free-to-play is the new trial version, and you'll nickel and dime your way to a more complete version. Hopefully trials of some sort will still mandated so players can try out everything as it hits Xbox Live.

IGN will have more on Killer Instinct leading up to its November release.

u wot m8?

[bilateralrope]

Let me get this right. We are being told it's free to play. But, unless you buy the Xbox One before launch issues are fixed, you can't play because you don't have any characters.

Pay to win would be an improvement over that.

[Anacronian]

Let me get this right. We are being told it's free to play. But, unless you buy the Xbox One before launch issues are fixed, you can't play because you don't have any characters.

Pay to win would be an improvement over that.

Hah things would have gone full circle and you would be back to "Pay to even play" in that situation.

[Vendetta]

Let me get this right. We are being told it's free to play. But, unless you buy the Xbox One before launch issues are fixed, you can't play because you don't have any characters.

Pay to win would be an improvement over that.

It sounds like if you get the day one edition you get a different skin for your one free character than everyone else.

Anyway, a fighting game that gives you one (count it) character for free and asks you to pay for others is basically guaranteed to be pay to win, because there's no way the characters will be balanced. (plus it's being made by Double Helix, the highlights of whose recent career are games like Battleship.)

[Ford Prefect]

The whole Killer Instinct thing is just surreal. Like not only is it being pushed as the big launch title (???) it doesn't even have a roster of characters available unless you pay for them individually. I don't ... get it.

[Vendetta]

Lots of amazingly fat people have been moaning about how there's been no new Killer Instinct game for a billion years. It was probably the biggest news announcement they made.

Despite the fact that Killer Instinct was, y'know, shit.

[Kuja]

The gameplay was shit, as I recall (it's been a long-ass time since I played that arcade booth) but KI nostalgia is mostly based on the bells and whistles: the theme music, characters like the skeleton pirate, the dude made of ice, the killer cyborg, the werewolf, the chick in the green FMBs... and of course the CCCCCCOMBO BREAKER meme.

I don't ... get it.

If I had to guess, KI is going to be Xbone's trial run for just how far they can push paid DLC. Release the most bare-bones game possible and then nickel-and-dime to the extreme for the rest of the content. But they didn't want it to explode in their faces, so they picked a title that really had nothing going for it but nostaglia. There hasn't been a KI installment since...what, the 90s? They hope the fanboys who remember all the names to the characters I listed above (confession: I do) will shell out for all their favorites and even if the game is horrifically unsalvagable, they'll already have made a truckload of cash and there will still be vicious fans defending their precious updated KI against criticism.

If it works, they'll start making f2p (or cheap to play) stuff like shooters where all you get are the pistol and shotgun, and have to purchase "explosives package" for the rocket launcher and grenades, and "rapidfire upgrade" for the smg and chaingun. On top of maps, skins, powerups, etc, etc.

[TheFeniX]

If you want to be one of the limited amount of people with a special achievement on the Xbox One you might just want to pre-order the Xbox One Day One Edition. That's basically an invitation to an exclusive party, will you RSVP?

Ahahahaha! This guy will be very pleased. Holy shit, just googling "cheevos" makes me laugh even harder. This is some Nike Shoes level of idiocy.

Killer Instinct is a day-one digital-only release on Xbox One, and features -- get this -- one character. Jago is free to play on launch day. Everyone else -- unspecified returning characters as well as original fighters -- will cost money. Price is to-be-determined (of course).

I could laugh at the utter stupidity (or brilliance) of the P2W scheme. But I'd rather laugh at the ridiculous amounts of Saberwulf vs Saberwulf matches this is going to spawn because he's always been hella-broken. It wouldn't surprise me if the game would end up costing hundreds of dollars to unlock everything (which of course would be required for all those juicy achievements).

Not that Microsoft really had any other ideas for them.

[Losonti Tokash]

Getting all the achievements in Rock Band 3 or Blitz already requires spending literally hundreds of dollars. :V

[TheFeniX]

I don't know about Blitz because I already have AudioSurf, but IIRC you could get every achievement in RB3 at release without spending cash outside the retail copy. Money after the fact wasn't just allowed, it was required, because free content isn't fair.

It was just funny (though wholly unsurprising) an MS published game is given a pass on breaking their achievement policy, yet I remember one of the responses from Microsoft concerning Crash Course was that any new content that had achievements must cost monies due to their achievement policy.

[Losonti Tokash]

Nah, getting everything in RB3 requires you to buy the pro guitar controller, plus cymbals for the drum set (or an actual electronic kit), and the midi adapter. There were also dlc achievements at launch but those weren't part of the original 1000 points. I did misremember the one for Blitz, the achievement that requires playing 300 unique songs is counted as dlc also. At the same time, there was an achievement for playing all the dlc songs that were free.

Edit: they're also changing achievements a bit, so that developers can add achievements in patches or free dlc.

[TheFeniX]

Nah, getting everything in RB3 requires you to buy the pro guitar controller, plus cymbals for the drum set (or an actual electronic kit), and the midi adapter.

Fuck yea, I spaced on that. You would also need the keyboard (which I could not find anywhere for the 360, nor the Pro Guitar for that matter), bwahahaha, and going off the achievement whoring site, 3 USB mics if you couldn't bother to game online with anyone.

Edit: they're also changing achievements a bit, so that developers can add achievements in patches or free dlc.

Makes sense what with the "Watch Guy's choice and order a Pizza for 150 gamerpoints! Bonus 50 points if you hold up a bag of Doritos!" shtick they have going on.

[Losonti Tokash]

I hadn't seen anything about that, but I remember Sony has a patent for skipping commercials by yelling corporate slogans at the PlayStation. The drawings that went with it are hilarious but I can't remember the name.

Edit: ahaha here it is:

[TheFeniX]

It's nice to see Sony chasing after the demographic that is so excited at being shown McDonald's, they are forced to stand and pray to their heathen gods. I have to say, I'm intrigued. A great stress reliever could be yelling obscenities at the TV every time some dumbshit Dodge ad comes up. I wonder if they'll track it. Like if I say "Dodge is over-priced shit-heaps" will it just cut off recording after "Dodge" or will they pull the same shit companies do when you're on-hold and they keep recording? As part of this, provided it's not being done for business, I make it a point to always say something incredible insulting when on-hold, usually sung in tune with whatever terrible music they play.

Anyways, I'm ranting: The patent application pictures are always hilarious. I don't know if this is the actual picture, but this oddly-bald man must really enjoy watching biking shows while his wife role-plays in a executioner's mask.

[bilateralrope]

The Xbone will only work in a few countries because of region locking.



I notice that it only works in some EU countries. But won't work in others. Does this violate any EU laws ?
What happens when MS detects someone on the wrong side of a border ?

[Admiral Valdemar]

Is there any other way MS could fuck this up, or are we going to find out something else, like it only works off approved electricity and for the first born of the family on a full moon?

[bilateralrope]

Is there any other way MS could fuck this up, or are we going to find out something else, like it only works off approved electricity and for the first born of the family on a full moon?

I'm just waiting to see how various developers react to finding out that the Xbone will not work in their country. For example, Witcher 3 was one of the games shown in the Xbox conference. It's developed in Poland, a country that the Xbone will not work in.

I'd really like to know how CD Projekt RED plan to test Witcher 3 on the Xbone when it doesn't work in Poland.

[Melchior]

Is there any other way MS could fuck this up, or are we going to find out something else, like it only works off approved electricity and for the first born of the family on a full moon?

I'm just waiting to see how various developers react to finding out that the Xbone will not work in their country. For example, Witcher 3 was one of the games shown in the Xbox conference. It's developed in Poland, a country that the Xbone will not work in.

I'd really like to know how CD Projekt RED plan to test Witcher 3 on the Xbone when it doesn't work in Poland.

They probably already know that and will be using a VPN (or "unlocked" dev consoles) - still embarassing.

[Dominus Atheos]

Trololol-ing aside, can't thry just buy a console and game from a different, working region and just play it in Poland?

[bilateralrope]

Trololol-ing aside, can't thry just buy a console and game from a different, working region and just play it in Poland?

Nope. If you're not in an approved country, Xbox Live will detect that.

[Losonti Tokash]

That's not hard and fast, there's plenty of games banned or unreleased in Australia that can still be played there if imported or downloaded from live.

[bilateralrope]

That's not hard and fast, there's plenty of games banned or unreleased in Australia that can still be played there if imported or downloaded from live.

That just means that MS isn't enforcing the restrictions that were ordered by the AU government.

The region locking on the Xbone is something that MS decided to implement. I expect them to follow through with it, just like GFWL games only work in some countries.