Microsoft will attempt to sell another 25 million Xbox 360 units in the next five years, which would break the 100 million mark, the senior vice president of interactive entertainment business told OXM.
Speaking with the publication, Yusuf Medhi said in order to achieve this goal, the company will be "hitting new price points" and "getting new classes of entertainment" for the Xbox 360. The system will continue to be sold alongside the newly unveiled Xbox One, Medhi said.
"We believe over the next five years we can break a 100 million unit installed base," Medhi said. "That's something we're shooting for, it's not a financial plan as such, it's just rough numbers if you will. To sell another 25 million, half of those will probably come from replacements, but half will come from new...
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...
Nintendo will release Mega Man X for Wii U's Virtual Console on May 30, the company revealed via a new trailer.
Mega Man X originally launched for Super Nintendo through Capcom. The game is a spin-off of the original series and features new enemies and levels. You can watch the game as played on the Wii U's GamePad in the video above.
Mega Man continues its revival through Nintendo eShop releases; most recently Mega Man 5 launched for Nintendo 3DS. Capcom has also released several of the series' soundtracks through the Capcom Store.
At first glance, interactive puzzle game Gorogoa looks simple. Four tiles, four seemingly unrelated pieces of art. Each square, however, holds a unique challenge for players to solve.
Gorogoa is an illustration-heavy, interactive puzzle game from the mind of indie developer Jason Roberts. Players are presented with four tiles, each of which feature different parts of a world, with little instruction. The idea is to stack, combine and explore images and to make the connections that have been there all along.
"People see the solution before they get to it," Roberts said. "That's the idea."
Roberts demoed a short section of the game for us at Indie Press Day in San Francisco. In one puzzle, the player must zoom in and match up different parts of the location, which then drops an apple...
Welcome to the brand-new Polygon article page! We've completely redesigned the look and feel of our articles, making your reading experience our top priority.
There is a lot to unpack here, so let's get started!
Faster reading experience: Page load has always been a big concern, so we took drastic steps to make articles faster and more functional. We've minimized page load, allowing content to load inline and putting Polygon on your screen as quickly as possible.
Brand new sidebar: On your right, you'll see a sidebar that sticks to your browser window, following you as you read the article and comments. Clicking an article in the sidebar loads up the content inline using PJAX, quickly serving up the next story.
There are several icons to choose from, including Latest, Video and...
Star Wars: The Old Republic will resume its double XP weekends beginning June 22, BioWare Austin senior producer Bruce Maclean announced via the game's website.
According to Maclean's post, double XP weekends will run through July 7, with the final weekend beginning early in celebration of the Fourth of July.
Maclean also outlined the game's coming updates for the summer, beginning with update 2.2. Update 2.2, currently scheduled for June 11, will include new guild bonuses and Nightmare Mode Terror From Beyond, which introduces harder mechanics.
Update 2.3 is due Aug. 6 and will include new flashpoints, a new daily area and a new recurring event. Maclean added that the list isn't "exhaustive" and that the team is also working on long-term items. More details on those projects will be...
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, a cyberpunk role-playing game from Atlus, will launch Sept. 13 in Europe via NIS America.
In Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, players take control of a protagonist that works with "Spookies," an elite, underground hacker clan set in the world of Amani City. Players must learn to harness the power of demons and use them to save the world.
The game was announced for a fall release last month. Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is a remake of the Sega Saturn release, which was introduced in 1997 as a Japan-exclusive. The game launched for Nintendo 3DS in North America in April, following a Japan release last August.
You can read our review of Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers here.
Full Control's Kickstarter campaign for turn-based tactical game Jagged Alliance: Flashback successfully ended funding with its $375,000 stretch goal achieved.
The campaign raised $380,000, with $368,614 contributed via Kickstarter and the rest achieved through PayPal, the developer said. With the "Mountains, Mines and Pits" stretch goal unlocked, the game will now include an additional themed zone with 10 sectors and at least two mines.
Following the Kickstarter's end, Full Control also announced that the skin pack previously on the $75 tier is now available at the $65 tier.
Jagged Alliance: Flashback launched via Kickstarter last month, following the game's announcement. Full Control was able to recruit Jagged Alliance 2 veteran Chris Camfield as part of the game's advisory board....
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...
Game Dev Tycoon developer Daniel Klug will begin work full-time at Greenheart Games thanks to the game's success, brother and fellow developer Patrick Klug announced via the company website.
"The support from paying players (who are still outnumbered by pirates) is what makes all this possible," Patrick Klug wrote. "We will still have to remain a small and lean start-up, focusing on small-ish games — the funds we have would evaporate extremely quickly if we suddenly started hiring a team of game developers — but we are very grateful that we can continue our path."
Shortly after the launch of Game Dev Tycoon, the developer made headlines with its clever response to piracy. Greenheart Games uploaded an alternate version to a torrent site, which would inform players after a few hours...
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...
Xbox One includes two new buttons labeled "Menu" and "View" that replace the Xbox 360's Start and Back buttons and add new functionality, IGN reports.
Speaking with the publication, a Microsoft representative said that the Menu button, located on the right, pulls up context-specific menus. These menus are used by game and app developers to "enhance the user experience."
"The Menu button could be used in scenarios such as bringing up in-game menus, showing video playback options and accessing commands on the console's user interface," Microsoft told IGN.
The View button's functionality can change depending on how developers utilize it. The button is meant to provide more information on apps or gameplay.
"Possible uses of the View button include viewing a map during a role-playing...
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.
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...
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...
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Get the show:
Download MP3
Subscribe to the podcast (RSS)
Subscribe on iTunes
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...
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...
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...
Active Discussions
All the Info on Final Fantasy Versus XIII That I Have Dug Up, And There Will Be a Lot More Than You Think
in Final Fantasy Versus 13 by Revolurt
Anime You Might Not Have Tried/Heard of #5: PUT YA GUNS ON!
in Off-topic by Revolurt
Polygon Daily: Off Topic, All Weekend (25/26-05)
in Off-topic by Shaun McIlroy
Does the PS4 Already Have the Upper Hand?
in PlayStation 4 by Amazing Spiderham
Thanks to Xbox One...
in PlayStation 4 by ROrtiz