One of the nagging issues with the Xbox 360 is the fact that the friend list was limited to only 100 friends, even after the Xbox Live support for the original Xbox was dropped. Now it seems Xbox One, (not to be confused with the real Xbox 1) is expanding the list tenfold.
@MrJamesGeary We don't have any information on that specifically, but we are excited that we will be expanding the friends list to 1,000!^EM
The Xbox Support Twitter revealed today (see above) that the Xbox One will now support up to 1,000 friends meaning that you can become friends with pretty much everyone you know and everyone they know and still have trouble filling it up unless you simply add everyone you ever have interacted with like it is Facebook.
Coinciding with today’s Xbox One announcement, Ubisoft will be bringing at least six titles for the Xbox One in the first year of the console’s life cycle. Ubisoft has declined to name all six titles, choosing to only acknowledge that Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag and Watch Dogs will be the only confirmed releases. The remaining four titles have been described as “new episodes of existing franchises, new IPs, and digital titles.”
“The next generation of consoles will reinvigorate our industry and make it possible for us to deliver incredible new entertainment to gamers, our teams are using the innovations in connectivity, immersion and social gaming included in Xbox One to create original and memorable next-gen gaming experiences,” said Yves Guillemot, co-founder and CEO at Ubisoft.
Now before I get into this, it is worth noting that every purchase of an Xbox One comes with a Kinect bundled in with the system, so this means everyone who buys a Xbox One will have a Kinect. However disturbing news has come from IGN’s interview with marketing director Harvey Eagle.
When asked if the Xbox One will not work without the Kinect, Eagle stated the following: “Kinect does require to be connected to Xbox One in all cases, yes.” This means that without the Kinect attached, the Xbox One will not function. This means that if for whatever reason your Kinect stops functioning due to hardware issues, acts of god or you simply want to let it collect dust like modern Kinects, your Xbox One will not function.
We’ve heard everything great about the Xbox One so far since Microsoft announced the console, but it seems that there are a few details they neglected to mention during the conference. One of those being the fact that the Xbox One will not be able to play any Xbox 360 games nor any current XBLA games.
This news comes from a Verge interview with corporate vice president of Xbox Live Marc Whitten where he stated that because “the system is based on a different core architecture, back-compat doesn’t really work from that perspective.”
It is worth noting that Sony’s PlayStation 4 is also not backwards compatible with PlayStation 3 titles, so keep this in mind before trading in any consoles in order to purchase the next generation.
Today Microsoft announced their next generation console, Xbox One. While the company was on stage Wired was able to get some time alone with the console and more importantly, with a Microsoft representative that made a few enlightening but detrimental statements about the Xbox One.
From their report, Wired says that Xbox One will require games to be installed to the console and this is a mandatory process. Then the report says the following:
Microsoft did say that if a disc was used with a second account, that owner would be given the option to pay a fee and install the game from the disc, which would then mean that the new account would also own the game and could play it without the disc.
This means that if a second account were to try to use the game, gamers will need to pay an undisclosed amount of money to install the title. When asked if this will make games unplayable if they are used, rented or shared amongst friends or siblings in a house-hold, Microsoft would not comment. Therefore gamers must wait for more details in the future regarding this concerning issue.
The Wii U version of the game is set to showcase functionality unique to the console by taking advantage of the GamePad controller. Players will be able to navigate through Gotham City using an enhanced interactive map, as well as choosing their favorite DC Comics superheroes with the touchscreen. Folks who like to take the game away from the living room can play the game on the GamePad or have a second player jump in on it as well, without having having to share via split screen.
To check out the trailer showcasing this GamePad functionality, be sure to check out the video below. You can also check out their official website here.
Infinity Ward closed out the Xbox One Reveal event with Call of Duty: Ghosts. They spoke of what’s new with this entrant in the series before displaying its reveal trailer, which can be seen embedded at the bottom of this article.
Ghosts makes use of a brand new next-gen engine, with the story being written by Steven Gaghan, the award-winning scriptwriter of the film Traffic. It takes place 10 years after a cataclysmic event that devastates the United States military forces. The Ghosts team is comprised of what’s left, the remnants of these fallen forces. Going into the features and technical details of the engine, some inclusions were pushed as innovative when we’ve seen it all before, such as the ability to slide and lean in-game (really Infinity Ward?!). They even pulled a Peter Molyneux card and revealed to the world that a dog would be joining the squad as an active member and that you “will care about this dog”.
That aside, the engine does look impressive with Sub-D rendering that ensures the quality of curvature in models the closer the players get to them, fluid dynamics and interactive smoke. Multiplayer will feature dynamic maps whereby natural disasters such as Earthquakes and floods rock the battlefield. Character customisation will also be much deeper for MP, now allowing you to change the heads and physical aspects of your avatar. Infinity Ward also promised new co-op functionality, seamless second screen integration and Kinect commands to be shown off in the future.
You can already lay down your pre-orders from the official website. Also check out the gallery of first screenshots below. For future updates on Call of Duty: Ghosts, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
Halo did have a presence at the Xbox One Reveal event, but not in the way that you might have expected. Instead, the next best thing to getting a Halo film was announced; Halo The Television Series.
343 Industries have partnered with Steven Spielberg and his production company to produce this premium, live-action TV series. It would seem that the show will be exclusively available through Xbox One as part of Xbox Entertainment Studios’ plan to offer original and exclusive TV-programming based on their properties. Steven Spielberg spoke on the project;
For me, the Halo universe is an amazing opportunity to be at that intersection where technology and myth-making meet to create something really groundbreaking.
As news unfolds about the series, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
UPDATE:We now have an official description on the game that gives a lot more insight into what the title is all about. Intriguing to say the least.
Developed exclusively for Xbox One, Quantum Break blurs the line between television and gameplay, integrating the two into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience. From Remedy Entertainment, the critically-acclaimed creators of Alan Wake and Max Payne comes a revolutionary entertainment experience that weaves the cinematic action of intense gameplay with the tension and drama of scripted television, creating a world where each has a direct impact on the other.
In Quantum Break, our desperate hero fights a highly personal battle to save the future before time literally runs out. As time breaks down, impossible, split second moments of destruction turn into epic stages of time powered action. The actions you take, and the choices you make, shape your experience as the narrative unfolds. As you play, a personalized ‘director’s cut’ of the show is created just for you, based on the decisions you make during the game.
Microsoft are investing in more worldwide studios than ever before for the Xbox One catalog of games. There are currently more titles in development simultaneously now than at any other point in the history of Xbox.
15 exclusives will be released in the first year from launch of the console, 8 of which are brand-new franchises. And this is one of them. Quantum Break comes to us from Remedy Entertainment; the creators of Max Payne and Alan Wake. The first trailer for the title can be seen embedded at the bottom of this article, and blends live-action scenes with CG footage.
The initial description as found on the Xbox YouTube channel reads;
Master time to survive the present… and save the future. From the creators of Alan Wake and Max Payne comes Quantum Break, a revolutionary entertainment experience that blurs the line between gameplay and television.
Check out stills from the trailer below and stay tuned to Capsule Computers for more on this fresh IP.
Phil Spencer took the stage at the Xbox One Reveal event to talk about bringing more exclusive content/games to Xbox One than ever before with previous consoles. He then introduced the inevitable…Forza Motorsport 5.
The announcement trailer, which can be viewed embedded at the bottom of this article, showed the F1 and P1 McLaren supercars racing against each other and looking stunning while doing so, of course. Forza Motorsport 5 has been confirmed as a launch title for the Xbox One, which is releasing “later this year”.
Also check out the plethora of first screens in the gallery below. For future coverage on this newest instalment of Forza Motorsport, stay tuned to Capsule Computers.
