Posts Tagged ‘next gen’
Microsoft responds to Steve Ballmer’s Project Natal statement
Earlier today Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer let everyone know that there will be a new Xbox 360 console released in 2010 sporting a built-in camera.
Well, according to Microsoft Ballmer may need to get his facts straight; Director of Productive Management for the Xbox 360 and Xbox Live over at Microsoft, Aaron Greenberg, told Kotaku:
There will be no new console… We’re not going to be launching a new console any time soon. I really believe he was speaking about Project Natal. We want to make sure people know that we’re excited about Project Natal but we’re barely halfway through this generation. We’re happy with the Xbox 360, so there are no changes from that standpoint. For the time being, we’re really just showing a new category of gaming.
Who will you believe? Steve Ballmer, or Aaron Greenberg. While it’s possible that Ballmer slipped up and announced a product before it was supposed to be announced it’s also possible that he got a new console mixed up with Project Natal. Either way, we shall see how this story unfolds as this isn’t the first time Microsoft has denied a new console rumor.
Next gen games will cost $60 million dollars to make?
Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, has recently predicted that games for the next generation of video consoles will cost upwards of $60 million to make.
Now, there is no word on when Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo will release their next generation consoles but Guillemot says since playing next gen games will be like playing one of today’s CGI movies its no wonder that the cost will be so high.
To put this into perspective, games for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 cost between $20 million and $30 million to make with the Wii costing much less. With games currently priced at $50 and $60 is it safe to assume games of next generation will cost $100 and $120? Let’s hope not but it would make sense if Guillemot’s predictions prove true.
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Bully Scholarship Edition Game Review–Makes The Honor Roll With A Bullet
I’ve been looking forward to trying this one for a long time. It’s true—this is the first time I’ve managed to get my hands on a copy of Bully: Scholarship Edition.
The biggest irony about this one is that it’s a next-gen update of a previous-gen release. The first time I got my induction into the world of Bullworth Academy, it was back on the PS2. But then, the tail end of 2008 comes along and, boom…Bully gets an update. The Scholarship Edition comes packed with lots more new content, and frankly, is a whole new class by itself.
But just for a refresher course, in case you’ve already sampled this one back in the PS2 days, you play as Jimmy Hopkins, a young man with a lousy family life as his mother’s neck-deep in what seems to be a lifelong round of Wheel Of New Husbands. Jimmy’s mom and newest hubby are about to head for a cruise ship for their year-long honeymoon, but something’s got to be done with Jimmy. Jimmy’s new stepdad has just the concept—Bullworth Academy, a boarding school with plenty of problems. Jimmy’s first meeting with one of the students is both opportune and problematic—he meets Gary, a kid with even more problems than Bullworth itself (he’s admitted to having ADD and being on medication that he’s recently stopped taking, and getting to know this scary bastard reveals that he’s got at least sociopathic tendencies.). Gary’s given Jimmy an interesting idea, though—taking over the school. But with four separate cliques in operation, and a whole town outside Bullworth Academy, such a feat won’t be easy for Jimmy. And if Gary takes exception to Jimmy’s methods…well…Gary has the potential to make Jimmy’s life a living hell.
Who will win? Who will lose? And will Bullworth Academy be left standing?
This is about half of why I love Bully—the sheer epic of this storyline is fantastic by itself. But when you add the OTHER half, couple in the spectacular variety of things to do in and around Bullworth, you get a game with all sorts of replay value. I love how you gather new skills not by defeating enemies or collecting things, but by going to class. Almost ironically, Jimmy is very much AGAINST bullying, and it’s his repeatedly stated goal throughout the course of the game to end it at Bullworth. There’s a lot of unexpected fun in this game, and it’s especially worth mentioning as a result.
Sure, maybe the graphics look a little last-gen for a product developed so late in the season, and sometimes the game mechanics get a downright aggressively skewed in favor of screwing the player over—hypersensitive enemies, floods of enemies, you know what I mean—but none of this really gets in the way of a good time. And that’s what Bully: Scholarship Edition will offer–a good time action game with an epic storyline and lots to do in between.
In no uncertain terms, this is a fun game. I had literally hours of fun with it, and I gladly came back for more. You may want to try the original first to appreciate the fullest extent of the additions and changes made, but it’s not strictly necessary. The key take away? You’ll have fun. That’s what counts.
Tags: Action, action game, Adventure, bully, Bully Scholarship Edition, Driving, epic, next gen, previous-gen, Sports, Wii, xbox 360
Features Of The Next Gen
While we are just over half way through this current console generation, curiosity, rumors, and speculation on the next generation of consoles has been far from dormant. The Wii HD has all but been announced, the PlayStation 4 has been mentioned several times by various Sony employees, even if only speculatively, and the Xbox 720 is probably going to be announced the next year or two.
While these future consoles are still in development, there several features and functions that we should be able to expect from all of them.
Microsoft Recruiting for Next-Gen Halo
It seems that Microsoft has posted a recent job opening that talks about the future of Halo on their next-gen console.
Below is an excerpt from the posting:
Microsoft’s new Halo Studio team is looking for a technical and highly talented program manager to work with an engineering team to help define the next generation of gaming software technology. As part of a next generation team, you’ll be instrumental in helping to lead the development of the engine that will power future experiences for the next generation of gaming platforms.
Not only will the Halo franchise continue on, it has gotten so big that Microsoft has dedicated a whole studio to the development of it. Master Chief would be proud!
Via: EuroGamer
What Is “Next Gen”?
Ask any game developer what sort of feature that the title in question includes, chances are the first thing they mention is the “next gen” graphics, or physics, etc; Of course, it has not taken long for people to start to ask whether features can be next gen or not. After all, all three platforms have been out for over a year. Speaking of which, what about the Wii? Is it truly a “new gen” console? What is “next gen”? What is “new gen”? These questions and more will be answered after the jump.