Xbox 720 Revealed Live Blog

Xbox Revealed! Xbox 720 will finally be announced and here is the big news as it happens! Full articles will come following the liveblog!

Remember to follow me on Twitter: @watchusplaygame

* Don Mattrick is live on stage discussing the past of the Xbox!
Gametrailers going behind the scenes of the #xbox720 event. Live right now! http://bit.ly/YWRx0V BEYOND EXCITED! #xboxreveal
* Lots of talk of entertainment, cloud, voice, etc…. Also a video trailer that showed the likes of Bill Gates & Steven Spielberg… hmmm.
* Ultimate all in one home entertainment system… Makes TV more intelligent. One system for a new generation.
* xboxone…. new name.
* Instantly responds to you… Sleek… Controller looks the same. Cloud powered. All your entertainment all in one.
* Built to amaze on day one and will improve continuously in the decade ahead.
* Can turn on your TV and connect to all devices. Voice control, “xbox on”.
* Personal homescreen. no manual log-in or waiting on manual updates. It will remember what you last did. It will remember what music or movie you were using. Trending will connect you with your friends and the entire Xbox Live community. Games, TV, Music.
* What do you do when you turn on the TV… watch TV…. Xbox One will change the inputs it takes to go to TV. Take live TV… and make it integral to Xbox. “Instant Switching”. Switch between live TV, games, music, switch between all inputs instantly!
* New gestures that allow you to instantly switch to apps, games, music, etc. Multiple things at once a reality.
* Snap Mode for the Xbox.
* Run multiple programs side-by-side by snapping them together like tabs. Mixes voice control, gestures, etc. Kinect camera and voice is built in. Use your cellphone to control it using… Smartglass?
* Skype is built-in and you can do group video calls on your TV. Shows off Skype in Snap Mode where he can have multiple video files of people at the same time. “Xbox answer call”.
* Interactive TV where you get alerts from TV on your XboxOne.
* Introduces XboxOne guide. Now you can find, discover and watch TV in three powerful ways. Voice control, favorites and trending. You can see all local TV listings through Xbox and use voice to see what’s on. The XboxOne will be your ultimate TV channel tuner. No more memorizing channels or hunting for remote control.
* Xbox Favorites will keep up with all your TV shows that you like to watch via your TV… Trending shows you what everyone in the Xbox Live community is watching.
* Trending is for liveTV and video on demand.
* Smartglass, Controller, System, Xbox Live all updated. 8GB Ram, USB 3.0, Bluray Drive….
* 3 Operating Systems in one. Best Xbox OS made even better. Creators have no limits… Kernel of Windows… 3rd connects them all together. Kinect is in every box.
* Next-generation Kinect sensor… 1080p wider view capture of your view.
* Controller updates….
* XboxOne controller includes over 41 design updates. All kinds of input innovations… including smartglass!
* Tablet can instantly become a remote control. Your device will behave like it was born to work with XboxOne.
* New Xbox Live…
* Based on the same membership. More powerful, personal, intelligent. Powered by 500 severs (Xbox1) 1500 for modern. This year 300,000 servers for XboxOne. More than the entire world’s computing power in 1999.
* Native video editing and sharing tools. Takes on PS4 directly!
* FIFA, Madden, UFC, NBA games all coming to Xbox One. EA promises a new engine that will revolutionize the way you play sports games.
* Sports are as much about your head as feet or hands. 4x more calculations per second. Greater field of vision. Human-like intelligence thanks to new processing power. 10x more animation depth and detail. Games are now living worlds with 3D crowds, dynamic crowd sounds and daily stream of new content that changes the game everyday…
* “Ultimate Team Mode” in FIFA 14 will be exclusive to Xbox One.
* Forza Motorsport 5 shown running on Xbox One. That did not look like gameplay…
* Remedy… Max Payne or Alan Wake or something new?
* Quantum Break is new game from Remedy. “Time is the fire in which we burn” is the tagline… Real actors… Will there actually be real actors in the game?
* More titles in development now than ever in history. More than 15 exclusive games in the first year. 8 of which are brand new franchises!
* For the first time ever TV will be truly personalized on Xbox One. And TV will become social via Xbox Live.
* Live Action Halo TV show announced by 343 industries and Steven Spielberg! HOLY CRAP! Megaton!
* Game Changing sports announcement… NFL is coming to Xbox One…
* Xbox One will have exclusive NFL content using Smartglass, Kinect, bringing fantasy football to life. And bringing all new experiences to the console. Imagine your NFL team integrated into the actual live broadcast… You can see your fantasy league stats snapped to your Xbox One as the game is actually playing. You can experience football in a way that fans have never experienced before.
* Xbox One will be launched THIS YEAR worldwide.
* We’ll have to wait for E3 to find all of the games including many exclusives.
* Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC will launch first, exclusively on Xbox One.
* A dog will play a major role in the all-new characters, story, etc. in Call of Duty: Ghosts. I’ll post the trailer later, not gonna type all of this out. lol. Lots of new stuff for COD fans to look forward too though.
* Cuts, bruises, cuts will appear on your hands live as you play.
* Worldwide reveal gameplay running on Xbox One.
* Show is over. Somewhat underwhelming, but a lot of really exciting stuff was shown on the system itself. All we need are more games, which are promised at E3 2013 in 19 days!
* Always-on is not required. But for stuff that steams from the Internet you will need to be connected (obviously). Nothing to be surprised about there. Steam basically.
* Kingdom Hearts Timeline, May 24 2013… An all-new game? For what system? … Ad shown on GameTrailers.
* HD rumble built into the controller. It’s much quicker, 15% more precise than before.

 

Xbox 720 Alan Wake 2 With illumiroom? Make It Happen Microsoft At the XboxReveal Event!

Alan Wake 2 Xbox 720 Illumiroom technology? YES PLEASE!

Hopefully Microsoft will use the amazing illumiroom technology with Alan Wake 2 to cover the Survival Horror genre. Can you imagine how amazing it would be if the fog and creepy aura came out of the TV and covered your entire room as if you were in Silent Hill? It would be INCREDIBLE and a system seller!

Are you listening Microsoft?! DO IT!

 

Xbox 720 Reveal WatchUsPlayGames Pre-Show Podcast

Join the conversation! Listen to our Xbox 720 pre-show podcast!

Welcome all to the WatchUsPlayGames Xbox Reveal Pre-Show Podcast!

In this introductory episode of the WatchUsPlayGames Podcast I am joined by my brother, RedWinged.Angel, as we discuss the Xbox 720 and Microsoft’s reveal event which happens in a couple hours from now! Will Killer Instinct 3, Perfect Dark Rebirth, Banjo Returns and Fable Online Xbox 720 be announced?

What will Microsoft be showing? How will they win fans back? Will they be able to deliver the knockout punch to Sony that makes gamers forget about the PlayStation 4? What games will be announced? What games SHOULD be announced? What will the system be called? What new feature should the Xbox 720 reveal to differentiate it from the PS4? Illumiroom? Something new like a camera on the controller? Will they corner the MMO market on console with the 720?

Join the discussion and tune in to hear our thoughts on the Xbox 720 and the Reveal Event happening TODAY!

 

Will Be LiveTweeting Xbox 720 Reveal Event. Follow Twitter Handle watchusplaygame

I will be live-twitting as the Xbox 720 is announced, revealed and shown. With my thoughts and the big news as it happens with the hashtag “xboxreveal”. Please follow my Twitter handle “watchusplaygame” (No “s” at the end).

The Official WatchUsPlayGames Twitter (WatchUsPlayGame) will keep you up-to-date on all the happenings!

 

Xbox 720 Killer Instinct 3, Perfect Dark Rebirth, Banjo-Kazooie Returns, Fable Online Would Be Gamers Dream Wishlist. These Games Should Lead the Charge

Killer Instinct 3 on Xbox 720? YES PLEASE!

The Xbox 720 should lead with Killer Instinct 3, Perfect Dark Rebirth, Banjo Returns and Fable Online as discussed in my Xbox 720 Reveal Event Pre-Show Podcast. In a couple short hours we will find out what the launch games of the Xbox 720 will be… and Microsoft desperately needs to lead with their Rare properties.

Don’t forget that Microsoft OWNS Rare. People are tired of Halo, and Halo 4 just came out. Gears of War is DONE. Buried. Finished. They just did Gears of War Judgement, and the magic is gone. Fable itself is not a system seller per se, unless it were online…

If Microsoft knows what’s good for them, they will open the Xbox 720 Reveal conference with an absolutely badass rebirth called “Killer Instinct 3” as their bonafide killer-app. That would capture the fighting market. An all-new Perfect Dark Rebirth that revives the property and pretends PDZero didn’t happen would cover the FPS market. Add Banjo Returns to the list, with a look and customizability that builds on Nuts & Bolts but inspired by LittleBigPlanet. And you have a KILLER line-up.

If Microsoft could do that, while also adding an online Fable to the mix (something that’s been talked about for a long time), and then corner the MMO market but announcing that Elder Scrolls Online will be exclusive to the Xbox 720, and announcing that World of Warcraft 2 (or whatever Blizzard’s follow-up will be) is “Only on Xbox 720″… THAT would be a knockout punch! Let’s hope Microsoft is listening! We’ll find out in a short hour from now! :D

HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS!

 

Oh My Pretty Hair. Hair In Videogames And Why It’s Important. Past to Present to Next Gen PC And Consoles (From Cloud in FFVII to Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2013). How Will PS4, Xbox 720 Hair Fare?

Cloud in Final Fantasy VII. Realistic hair? No. Iconic hair? HECK YES.

Oh my pretty hair. Remember Cloud? You know that blond spiky headed anime guy from Final Fantasy VII? Of course you know exactly who he is even if you never played FF7. If there is something that gives a video game character well… “character”, it is their hair.

The hair technology in videogames has changed dramatically but has not kept up with advancements in other important game mechanics such us A.I., Physics, Face-Enhancement features ala “LA Noire”, etc. Just to name a few. Why is this? Because it’s SO freakin’ hard to render hair in real time! That’s why!

Current-gen Lara Croft Tomb Raider 2013 hair on the left vs next-gen on the right.

As should be obvious, the PC has the edge in this videogame hair technology as of right now over consoles (and probably always will). But could this be something that next gen consoles can acquire and do so successfully in comparison to the power of PC technology to render hair? Will the Xbox 720 or the PS4 be able to compete in the videogame hair-rendering department? Well, we’ll just need to wait and find out (and won’t have to wait long, the Xbox 720 will get revealed in TWO DAYS).

TressFX developed by AMD is a technology that allows the hair on a character to render in real time and gives you an immersive experience that’s very lifelike… However this technology is only available on the PC version of games.

If you have a PC copy of the new Tomb Raider 2013 for example, and have plenty of PC horse power (such as an AMD Radeon HD 4870 or better or NVIDIA GeForce 480 GTX or better) you can select this realistic TressFX hair-rendering feature in the Options Menu to really see the difference that realistic hair makes to Lara Croft in Tomb Raider 2013 and to characters in videogames. Females in particular really shine with realistic hair.

This what hair in videogames of the future (next-gen) will look like!

And what better example than to see this realistic hair on than Lara Croft herself? See realistic videogame hair in action in the video below, which compares Lara Croft’s Tomb Raider 2013 normal hair with the TressFX hair via in-game gameplay footage of both side-by-side.

Also here is the “Fermi Hair Demo” by Nvidia. Brought to you by the DX11 tessellation and the GeForce GTX 400 series video cards that allow you to realistically simulate and render interactive hair in real-time. Check it out!

— Thanks to “FreedomJay” for contributing this article!

 

Phinehas Fleshkiller New 2013 Christian Metal Song Single From Upcoming Album (Metal Song of the Day)

Phinehas has released the first single off their upcoming album. The song is entitled “Fleshkiller”. This album will be the follow-up to the Christian metal bands last record, “TheGodMachine”.

I absolutely love it. Great song!

Phinehas is currently signed to Red Cord Records and is working on the follow-up to “TheGodMachine”.

Here is the Phinehas Crowns music video.

 

Pikmin 3 Playable Characters Alph, Brittany and Captain Charlie Revealed. Fruit Searching, Juice Drinking, Seed Extracting, GamePad (KopPad) and Controller Schemes Detailed

Here are all the main human characters in Pikmin 3!

Pikmin 3 was the definite highlight of the Nintendo Direct May 17th 2013 video conference, and Nintendo CEO and President Satoru Iwata showcased a bunch of new details about the game. He also revealed that the Pikmin 3 release date in Europe will be on July 26 2013. It hits America a week or so later on August 4 2013.

First of all, the three playable human characters that replace Captain Olimar and Louie from Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 were revealed and named. They are: Brittany (pink-colored) (the first and only female), Alph (blue-colored) and Captain Charlie (the green-colored leader). In the game you can control all three characters at once and can switch between them at will. This greatly expands your ability to multi-task and accomplish many different things at once and expands on the strategic gameplay of Pikmin exponentially.

Nintendo revealed that the new humans crash land on the planet (seemingly in separate places initially as well). This is where they meet the Pikmin, and discover that the land contains nutritious fruit scattered about. Their mission is now to collect food, specifically Fruit, so that they can survive as they explore the rest of the planet. However their ultimate goal is to send back the fruit seeds extracted from the Fruit they’ve collected to the starving people on their homeplanet of Koppai. That way they can make their home planet bloom with new food resources thanks to the many Seeds they’ve found. One of the fruits shown was a giant strawberry.

The puzzles in Pikmin 3 will also be more elaborate and complex than before, with new puzzles around every bend. For example to drop the strawberry from it’s branch, you’ll need to throw enough Pikmin at it in order to pull the Strawberry down to the ground. While on the planet, they employ the use of the planet’s native Pikmin creatures to help them carry their newfound Fruit back to base and help them defeat the enemies that they encounter along the way.

The game even features an all-new mechanic (and collection feature?) where the Fruit found can be turned into juice after the seeds are extracted from it. The astronauts need the juice in order to keep them alive… Or something like that. It sounds like you cannot continue if you run out of juice. And there are many different juices to collect (and possibly combine?) as shown in the video.

Like in previous Pikmin games, you have a limited-amount of time to explore the planet during the daylight hours, and you must successfully get all your Pikmin into your spaceship at home base before nightfall, or your Pikmin will be eaten.

Pikmin 3 however is much more accessible to newcomers than previous games and you can choose to replay any day again or revert to the beginning of the day if you feel like you could do better.

There is no limitation in terms of the days and the time you have to explore them, time only runs out for that day. Making it less frustrating than previous games and more steamlined, but just as deep. The more you play, the better you’ll get at mastering the game and becoming more efficient in Pikmin management, learning the lay of the land, and beating it in a quicker time with less lost Pikmin.

As in past games, players will also be challenged to beat the game with a quicker time and with less lossed Pikmin and the like (hopefully with in-game Achievements to unlock too). So challenging your own score and the score of others will definitely be a fun competitive aspect of Pikmin 3. It’s unknown at this time whether or not Pikmin 3 will include online play or online leaderboards, but it will support MiiVerse, so you will be able to share your high scores with friends and strangers in that way at least, and likely tap into tips and comments from other players at specific points if you want.

View the video above yourself to see all the new details as explained by Iwata.

In addition to the new Rock Pikmin (gray) and Winged Pikmin (Pink), players will also have a number of new strategic ways to play and control the game.

You can use the GamePad, which is called the “KopPad” in the game, to see a map of the entire land that you’ve explored so far. The KopPad helps you to easily locate all three of your characters as well as see a detailed lay of the land and what exactly your Pikmin are up to. This allows you to more easily manage your Pikmin and accomplish several goals at once. Be it breaking down a wall, defeating an enemy, sprouting new Pikmin to grow your ranks or carrying important items back to base. You can even use the touchscreen on the GamePad to draw paths for your characters and Pikmin to go.

If you desire, Pikmin 3 supports Off-TV Play, allowing you to play Pikmin 3 entirely on the GamePad. Controller-wise, you also have many different control schemes to choose from, each of which offers different unique ways to play and ease-of-use for different aspects.

The main and preferred method from Nintendo’s standpoint is to play using the Wii Remote & Nunchuck, which allows you to easily point your Pikmin using the Wiimote pointer, and throw them using motion control. However you can also play using just the GamePad, or just the WiiU Pro Controller, or a combination of those controllers plus the GamePad.

You can even use the WiiU Gamepad as a sort of monitor, by propping it up on the GamePad Stand and keeping it next to your TV instead of holding it. Which is a cool and welcome feature.

We’ll still learn more about Pikmin 3 as it’s release date approaches, including details on the Challenge Mode and multiplayer modes in the next Nintendo Direct closer to E3 2013.

I can’t wait for this game! It looks absolutely amazing and you can tell that Nintendo has really, really expanded on the gameplay and the fun that Pikmin offers, with a much deeper gameplay system using the three characters, more Pikmin to collect and use, a much larger world and many more things to collect and unlock. Hopefully Pikmin 3’s rep will grow exponentially with this release and turn it into a bonafide system seller, AAA Nintendo franchise. Previously it was kinda/sorta niche, but I think it’s came into it’s own now with this third installment. Much like GTA3 did compared to the very niche and less-played previous GTA games.

 

Pikmin 3 Release Dates Announced (WiiU). August 4 2013 (USA), July 26 2013 (Europe). Official Box Art

Pretty!

Pikmin 3 release dates have been announced. This major AAA Nintendo-developed, Shigeru Miyamoto-produced system seller will be released in Europe first on July 26 2013. Americans will have to wait a week, but they’ll get it soon enough on August 4 2013! No Australian date yet…

I never did get around to playing Pikmin 2… FOR SHAME! But I’ve been itching to replay the original Pikmin 1 and Pikmin 2 in the run-up to Pikmin 3!

Sadly though, I don’t have a WiiU, so I gotta solve that problem first….

 

Game Gear Collection For 3DS Virtual Console Grows With Many Upcoming AAA Releases (eShop)

A collection of new hit Game Gear titles are headed to 3DS eShop.

The Game Gear Collection available to download via Nintendo 3DS eShop will grow exponentially by 13 new games in the coming months announced Nintendo via their May 17th Nintendo Direct video presentation.

A whole slew of hit Game Gear titles are coming soon. You can view the whole list below. To date, only three Game Gear games have been released for the 3DS Virtual Console (all of them hit the store on March 15 2012), they include: The action game “Shinobi”, the hit platformer “Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble” and the Rogue-like RPG “Dragon Crystal”.

Upcoming 3DS Game Gear Virtual Console Game Releases Via eShop Include:

1. Crystal Warriors
2. Columns
3. Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya
4. Defenders of Oasis
5. Sonic Blast (Already available in Europe)
6. Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
7. Sonic Drift 2
8. G-Loc Air Battle
9. Tails Adventure
10. Sonic the Hedgehog
11. Sonic the Hedgehog 2
12. Sonic Laybrinth (Already available in Europe)
13. Vampire: Master of Darkness

Such a classic system!

Dragon Crystal cost $3 and was originally released on 1992 (the Game Gear version being a port of the Master System game from 1990). Shinobi costs $4 and was originally released in 1991. Last up is Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, it costs $5 and was originally released in 1994 (called “Sonic & Tails 2” in Japan).

So as you can see, the price of Virtual Console Game Gear games differs depending on the perceived popularity of the title itself. Dragon Crystal is not well known and is a niche Rogue-like-style RPG, so it only cost $3. Shinobi is a well-known brand to gamers and Sega fans, so it cost $4. Whereas Sonic is a popular character so Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble will likely sell the best of the trio on brand-name alone, so it cost $5. So far the pricing of Game Gear games lands between $3-5, so don’t expect to have to pay much for the upcoming games listed below.

It’s great to see more classic Game Gear releases for 3DS eShop. Especially since some of these have been marked as “coming soon” for the past year! Either way, this is definitely some welcome, good news for retro game fans like myself!