Halo 4 for Xbox 360 and Tomb Raider for Windows PC are currently being heavily discounted on Amazon and Greenman Gaming, with both games having price reductions of at least 55 percent.
Tomb Raider for PC is currently available from Greenman gaming for $16.99, which is a saving of 66 percent off. Amazon has Halo 4 for $17.99, which is a saving of 55 percent off.
Polygon's reviews of Tomb Raider and Halo 4 are linked respectively.
Among the features not yet shown off for the console is the ability for gamers to have a friend take over gameplay remotely to help them through a difficult spot in a game and Kinect's ability to talk back to gamers.
The Xbox One's heavy reliance on the Kinect for voice commands will eventually include two-way conversations, according to two sources who tested out the still-in-development feature.
In one possible scenario, Kinect used its facial recognition to scan a room full of people and note if there was someone in the room it didn't recognize. It then told the console owner that there is someone in the room it didn't recognize and asked the new person to identify themselves. Once the person said their name, Kinect welcomed them and saved their information to the console.
Xbox...
Microsoft's Xbox One will offer remote play, and its second-generation Kinect will respond to users like iPhone's Siri, according to Polygon's sources. Electronic Arts will likely release most of its future games on two game engines. We now know what the box art for Xbox One games will look like. Watch Dogs fans can become in-game pedestrians through a Ubisoft contest. We reviewed the console and PC port of Resident Evil: Revelations. And our second Human Angle feature this week focuses on the queer games scene.
The Xbox One can talk to you, will feature remote play
EA moves toward a two game engine future
Xbox One box art style unveiled with Forza Motorsport 5
Watch Dogs gives players the chance to become in-game pedestrians
Resident Evil: Revelations review: secret weapon
Just...
Shares of GameStop closed down 8.8 percent today (from $35.20 to $32.11) and 17.2 percent since the beginning of the week (where it began at $38.76) in the wake of the Xbox One reveal.
For comparison, GameStop shares closed at $25.50 on Tuesday, Feb. 19 (markets were closed on Feb. 19 for President's Day, the day before Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4). On the Friday following Sony's PlayStation 4 announcement, Feb. 22, shares closed at $24.82, a decrease of 2.7 percent. Nintendo revealed the Wii U on June 5, 2012, during E3. On that Monday, June 4, GameStop stock closed at $19.20. On Friday, June 8, it closed at $19.03, a decrease of 0.9 percent.
A possible reason for this week's disproportionate decrease in GameStop's share price could be the still-uncertain future of used games on...
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We're not sure if you heard, maybe you didn't, but there's a new Xbox coming soon. Well, not soon, but this year, for sure. On The Besties this week, we dive deep and come back with the pearls.
07:30 - Best cell phone feature we're excited to use
17:25 - Best use of FMV that may not be
19:00 - Half time: Ghost dog
29:30 - Best news for publishers in the next generation
38:50 - Best feature that only Russ Frushtick cares about
47:30 - The winner is...
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Electronic Arts has put its long-running Fight Night series of boxing titles on hold while it works on the upcoming EA Sports UFC, said Andrew Wilson, head of the EA Sports label, in an interview with IGN.
"Right now, a great portion of the core of the Fight Night team are actually the team that are building UFC," said Wilson. He added that EA is focusing on UFC because of its ever-growing prominence as an international sport; boxing, on the other hand, is much less popular than it used to be.
"Do I see a future for Fight Night? You know, sure. But right now, UFC is where our fighting focus is," said Wilson.
EA announced at E3 2012 that it had acquired the UFC license from THQ and signed a multi-year exclusive agreement with UFC to produce UFC games. Prior to that, EA released EA...
Xbox One voice chat quality will be much improved compared to Microsoft's current-generation console thanks to the One's Skype integration, a Microsoft representative confirmed to Polygon.
"In-Game Chat, Party Chat and Skype are all available on Xbox One," the representative wrote. "Skype technologies are used in Xbox One which improves voice quality during multiplayer game sessions. Skype can also be used to call any of your Skype contacts for voice or video chat exclusively or while playing a game. Additionally, we have improved the Kinect hardware, from microphone configuration to dedicated audio processing, which contributes to providing a high-quality voice experience whether you are chatting in a game or through Skype."
Xbox One will use Skype to improve voice chat in...
Title speaks for itself, of course you have the big image Quantum Break, and Forza 5. I wouldn't look too far into Halo, it's just a logo and we'll inevitably get one.... But the other images
1. Bottom left green Crackdown agility orb, I don't know why they would use that unless we're getting a sequel (a real one this time).
2. Bottom right has the Rare logo, if its an HD realization of a old franchise I wouldn't know what it is.
3. Middle right is almost certainly Ryse (roman buildings)
4. Top right, most intriguing to me, kind of gives me Fable vibe (Seer eyes)
I wouldn't look too far into the image between Forza and Halo, kind of looks like the Demo stuff 18 seconds in there. (I guess it could still be from a game?)
*-Update:* As Tom Warren points out the one betwean...
Destiny, Halo developer Bungie's upcoming cross-platform sci-fi shooter, could make its way to PC, senior writer Eric Osborne told IGN.
Destiny was announced earlier this year, and is headed to the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One consoles. Bungie co-founder Jason Jones described the game as a "console shooter" at the game's reveal earlier this year, but the developer hasn't ruled out a PC version.
"We haven't said yes, and we haven't said no," Osborne said. "The more platforms we take on, the more work it ultimately becomes, and what we don't want is to compromise the core experience on any platforms. We have a lot of people who play on PCs. We have a lot of appetite to build that experience. We haven't announced it yet, but we're looking forward to talking more...
EA Sports used Tim Tebow's name in a playcall in its NCAA Football 10 game, which was released in July 2009, prior to Tebow's senior season at Florida. The use of Tebow's name, discovered by an SB Nation reader and verified by SB Nation, comes in a handful of plays out of a formation called Shotgun Twin QB Tebow:
Using a player's name while he was still playing college football contradicts statements made by both the NCAA and EA Sports regarding the licensing of player names and likenesses. On May 9, 2009, just over two months before the game was released, an NCAA spokesman said, "Our agreement with EA Sports clearly prohibits the use of names and pictures of current student-athletes in their electronic games. We are confident that no such use has occurred." Eight days after the...
The top 1 percent of monetizers account for 32.68 percent of money spent in "non-arcade" mobile games, according to a report from Playnomics (PDF link).
The company's analysis defines "non-arcade" games as those "designed and intended for longer term play experiences often featuring levels, campaigns and collectables." Playnomics studied more than 1.7 million players, observing spending patters over a three-month period. According to the report, the spending habits represent a "power law distribution," similar to the "whales" who spend disproportionate amounts of money over time in casinos. Playnomics expects 20 percent of monetizers to account for 80 percent of revenue.
Playnomics seeks to find out how and why people play games, and you can learn more about the company by reading o...
A listing for a Halo-related work called "Bootcamp" recently appeared on Korea's Game Ratings Board today, and Halo publisher Microsoft Studios confirmed to Polygon that it's an upcoming project the company is "very excited about."
In a statement first obtained by GameFront and later sent to Polygon, a Microsoft spokesperson said, "What's Bootcamp? It is not related to our Xbox One efforts, or the Reclaimer Saga, but rather a project we're very enthusiastic about and will have more to say about in the near future."
The Reclaimer Saga refers to the second trilogy of Halo video games, for which 343 Industries took over from original developer Bungie; that trilogy kicked off last fall with the launch of Halo 4. GameFront points out that "Boot Camp" is the subtitle of one of the Halo:...
The Netflix app on Xbox 360 is usually restricted to paying Xbox Live Gold subscribers, but Microsoft is making it available to Silver members this weekend, the company announced today.
Netflix will be unlocked today for Silver members in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Brazil, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Chile, Colombia and Argentina. Not so coincidentally, the long-awaited fourth season of cult-hit sitcom Arrested Development premieres exclusively on Netflix this Sunday, May 26. The existing run of the show comprises 53 22-minute episodes, so you'll only have to find approximately 19 and a half hours between now and Sunday to get all caught up. Four clips from Season 4 are available here, and the full Season 4 trailer is embedded below.
You'll still need a Netflix...
The Yawhg, an indie role-playing game from artist Emily Carroll and developer Damian Sommer, is scheduled for release on May 30.
The game supports up to four players and randomizes the story every time you play. The narrative concerns a town bracing for the return of the dredded Yawhg, and players' decisions and actions will decide the fate of the community. The randomly generated story includes 50 endings, with ambiance courtesy of sound designer Ryan Roth, who also worked on Starseed Pilgrim. Artist Emily Carroll's previous work includes the mysterious comic His Face All Red.
The Yawhg will be available on Windows PC for $10 at release, but you can pre-order the game from the official website for $5. For more on the game and those behind it, check out our interview from last year.
One of the stars of Call of Duty: Ghosts is the player character's canine companion, and Zach Volker of developer Infinity Ward told Eurogamer that one of the studio's biggest challenges was figuring out how to motion-capture dogs for the game.
The Call of Duty Dog, Colin, stole the show during Ghosts' unveiling at the Xbox One reveal event this week, and was quickly immortalized on the web with a (non-official) Twitter account, a GIF featuring some of Infinity Ward's detailed work on him and some fan-made ideas for doggie DLC.
"We'd never mo-capped a dog before! Working with two-legged characters is hard enough. The session was crazy," said Volker, lead animator on Ghosts.
Infinity Ward initially tried the typical mo-cap outfit, a spandex suit with markers glued onto it, but the...
A tweet from the official PlayStation Europe Twitter account today revealed that the PlayStation 4 will be released in the region this year.
Attached to the tweet is an advertisement (pictured below) touting a console "coming in 2013" that will allow players to "push the boundaries of play" and transform them into "legends."
A slide shown during the PlayStation Meeting event held in February in North America, where Sony revealed the next-gen console, indicated that the PS4 was scheduled for release during the 2013 holiday season. The advertisement posted today indicates that the console's launch this year will span more than one region.
For more on the PlayStation 4's reveal, be sure to check out Polygon's coverage. Earlier this week, Microsoft revealed its next-gen console, the X...
The Xbox 360 doesn't infringe on any Motorola patents, the International Trade Commission confirmed yesterday, ending a years-long legal battle with a final decision in Microsoft's favor, reports Reuters.
Motorola first filed a complaint in December 2010, charging that the Xbox 360 violated federal tariff laws because it infringed on five of the company's patents related to H.264 video encoding and wireless communication standards. An ITC administrative law judge issued a preliminary ruling in April 2012 agreeing with Motorola on four of the patents.
Microsoft and Motorola subsequently filed motions to terminate various patent claims in the investigation, and the ITC determined other claims to be invalid, leaving only one — U.S. patent No. 6,069,896, which covers peer-to-peer...
The Grid 2 Mono Edition will bundle the upcoming racer, a PlayStation 3, a real-life BAC Mono supercar and a host of other perks in a single, unprecedentedly expensive package, Codemasters revealed on PlayStation Blog today.
The Mono Edition — appropriately named, as only one unit will be produced and sold — will retail for £125,000; a price assumedly reached due to the package's inclusion of a 170 mph BAC Mono supercar featuring a Grid 2-themed paint job. The bundle will also secure its buyer a tour of the BAC factory, where they'll be able to customize their new ride, a Grid 2-decorated helmet, race suit, boots and gloves and a PlayStation 3.
The ostentatious special edition is currently available to pre-order at Game UK. For more on Grid 2's globetrotting campaign, check out o...
Fightback, the first mobile game from Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry developer Ninja Theory, will be released on iOS and Android this summer, publisher EA Chillingo announced today.
"Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space," said Dominic Matthews, product manager at the Cambridge, U.K.-based independent studio.
The free-to-play title is an action game with touch-based combat and an '80s vibe. From the single screenshot released alongside the game's announcement, it appears to focus heavily on time-limited levels in which players attempt to rack up high scores to attain different levels of completion.
Ninja Theory will demo Fightback at E3 next month.
Earlier this week Electronic Arts announced that their new sports game engine, Ignite, would be used to power nearly all of their future games. Speaking with Polygon later that day, EA Sports' Andrew Wilson said that the company is also looking to the Frostbite Engine to power most of their non-sports games.
The future for EA, Wilson said, would likely be a company that creates most of their games using these two engines.
Wilson also spoke with us about their decision to not show gameplay footage from Ignite during their on-stage presentation and how they hope to benefit from Microsoft's new relationship with the NFL.
Still Time, an upcoming Flash game from indie developer Alan Zucconi, is a platformer that messes with time, and Zucconi told PC Gamer that he designed it with a minimalist aesthetic so players could focus on the game's puzzles.
"In the last years there have been incredible improvements in the level of realism that games can achieve, but so few breakthrough in their actual gameplay," said Zucconi. "I wanted to create something experimental to realize exactly the opposite." When time is paused, the screen takes on a CRT-esque filter, and players must utilize copies of themselves at different points in time to get through Still Time's puzzles.
You can watch a trailer for Still Time above. A rough alpha version of the title is playable on Zucconi's website.
Forza Motorsport 5 was the first Xbox One-exclusive title showcased during the console's reveal event this week, and publisher Microsoft Studios released the game's box art today to show off what Xbox One cases will look like.
Although the console itself is a black box with a glossy, half matte shell, and the controller's guide button eschews its green glow for a white light, Microsoft has said that green would still be a theme for the console. That's born out in the box art, which features a gray spine and a simple green border. We don't yet know what the cases for Kinect games will look like, but Microsoft told Polygon that purple as a branding color for the motion-controlled platform is going away on the Xbox One.
Forza Motorsport 5, which is in development at Turn 10 Studios, is...
The latest gameplay video for upcoming tweed-punk shooter Sir, You Are Being Hunted shows off the latest environment in the game, the mountain biome.
While previous videos introduced its English countryside-styled setting, the mountain biome region which includes environmental features such as ruined villages and wooded areas, and allowing for more hunting and wilderness scavenging.
The game can now be pre-ordered from the Humble Store right here.
Joe Danger and sequel Joe Danger 2: The Movie are coming to Steam for Windows PC, Hello Games announced today.
Both titles will feature new content, including additional levels, different graphics settings and controller, mouse and keyboard support. Both titles will support full Steam Big Picture mode, in addition to ghost recording allowing players to compete with other users right in the game. Finally, the PC version is complete with a fully-featured level editor and is integrated with Steamworks which will let you browse levels through Steam Workshop.
"It's weird, PC is actually Joe Danger's birthplace," said managing director Sean Murray in a statement to Polygon. "We couldn't get hold of devkits when we started out, so I coded my first ever PC engine for the original Joe Danger,...
Watch Dogs will use real-world gamers as inspiration for its in-game pedestrian, Ubisoft confirmed as part of a new competition.
The publisher is giving players the chance to get their name into the upcoming open-world title. Users need both a Facebook and Uplay account to enter their details into the competition, which requires their name, birth date, occupation and three additional facts about themselves.
Come launch, the game will include 30 randomly chosen participants who will be entered into the world as AI pedestrians. Users can enter their details here.
Watch Dogs is scheduled to launch Nov. 19 for PC, Wii U, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Versions for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are also on the cards.
BioWare took to its official forums today to apologize for accidentally banning between 100 and 150 players of its MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Yesterday a number of players were emailed a notification for a week-long ban from the game due to an apparent violation of terms of service.
Community Manager Eric Musco has since written an official apology on the game's forums, stating:
"What occurred, and what you folks reported, is that there was a small subset of players who were incorrectly caught in this tracking and subsequently actioned. Just to give you a bit of perspective, there were less than 150 people in total who were incorrectly actioned as a part of what happened yesterday. If you were one of those players who had not been exploiting and were wrongly flagged, you should...
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