| Microsoft spent "hundreds of millions" designing Xbox One controller Aug 12th 2013, 19:31 Xbox Accessories general manager Zulfi Alam says pressure to deliver a worthwhile controller was "tremendous." 
Microsoft spent "hundreds of millions" designing the Xbox One controller, Xbox Accessories general manager Zulfi Alam told CVG in a new interview. "The investments in redesigning a controller go into the hundreds of millions of dollars in tooling and R&D costs," Alam said. "Bearing in mind we started with something that people considered best-in-class, the pressure to do it right again was tremendous." "Honestly, some of us felt like we were putting our career on the line," he added. "We were afraid we were going to burn through $100 million and come back with an under-developed controller." The Xbox One controller, which will sell for $60 outside of console bundles, features a number of updates over its predecessor. These include new thumbstick shape and grip texture, a redesigned D-Pad, and triggers with haptic feedback. In addition, the Xbox One controller automatically knows who is playing when the controller is passed to a friend, thanks to the pad pairing with Kinect. Lastly, the battery pack is inside the controller's body, allowing players more room to hold the pad. For more on the Xbox One controller, check out the video below and GameSpot's hands-on reactions. The Xbox One launches in November for $500. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
|  | Microsoft's Phil Spencer to deliver keynote speech at Gamescom 2013 Aug 12th 2013, 17:04 Spencer to deliver a talk at German trade show; "There has never been a better time to be a part of this industry," he says. 
Microsoft Studios boss Phil Spencer will deliver an opening keynote at European trade show Gamescom 2013, the show's organisers have announced. "This industry is at a turning point. Gamescom is the ideal platform to study the influence of new hardware" said Spencer in a statement (translated by GameSpot from German). "There has never been a better time to be a part of this industry. It is exciting to see how developers will use new opportunities to create completely new ways of gaming," he added. Microsoft chose to skip the German trade show in 2012, but is returning to the event for 2013. Last week Spencer said he was going to "bite his tongue" regarding news of a Crackdown 3. No further details were released for Spencer's keynote. Gamescom this year runs from August 21 through August 25. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | StarCraft Universe MMO hits Kickstarter Aug 12th 2013, 16:42 Blizzard-sanctioned third-person StarCraft II mod asking for $80,000; first chapter aiming for release in late 2013 or early 2014. 
StarCraft II mod StarCraft Universe, a Blizzard-sanctioned project that morphs the real-time strategy game into a massively multiplayer online title, has turned to Kickstarter campaign for funding. Developer Upheaval Arts has launched a Kickstarter campaign for StarCraft Universe, originally known as World of StarCraft, asking for $80,000 by September 10 to complete the game. At press time, funding stands at $3,855 from 87 backers. StarCraft Universe tells a story set in an alternate reality where the end of Wings of Liberty "has a grim conclusion" for Kerrigan. "Without the Queen of Blades to stop the hybrid's assault, the protoss are overwhelmed and defeated. In this reality, what would the survivors of these shattered worlds do? StarCraft Universe tells this story," reads the game's description. StarCraft Universe, a third-person MMO, will feature an "epic story" as well as multiplayer raiding experiences. Upheaval Arts is aiming to release the project as a series of custom games published through Battle.net. Terran classes include Marine, Ghost, Medic, and Firebat; Protoss classes are Zealot, Dark Templar, Preserver, and High Templar. StarCraft Universe also promises customizable characters and weapons, as well as mounts, voice-acted cutscenes, and four difficulty levels. Upheaval Arts does not foresee any legal problems with Blizzard Entertainment, which owns the StarCraft franchise. "While Blizzard is not directly affiliated with this project's production, we do communicate with them to submit bug reports and make technical requests," the developer said. "They have given their blessing/permission for us to launch this Kickstarter, and they are supporting our efforts by featuring SCU as an Arcade Highlight." To play StarCraft Universe, players must have an Internet connection, a Battle.net account, and a copy of StarCraft II, which can be the free Starter Edition. Upheaval Arts is hoping to ship the first content for the game--an open beta test--in late 2013 or early 2014. [ Watch Video ] Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Xbox One backlash was unfair, says Molyneux Aug 12th 2013, 15:33 Former Microsoft executive says company was blasted too harshly for its since-reversed next-generation online and DRM policies. 
The backlash Microsoft faced surrounding the Xbox One's since-reversed online and DRM policies was unfair, according to Peter Molyneux, former Microsoft executive-turned-independent developer. "It's quite an unfair thought that Microsoft are trying to control our gaming, they're trying to force us to be online all the time," Molyneux told TechRadar in a new interview. "[People] didn't really think that through." Molyneux said the Xbox One's former online requirement was actually a bold vision for the future and not something gamers should have been wary of. "I know Microsoft, I know they were only doing things because they thought they were long-reaching and long-thinking," Molyneux said. "But the world we live in now is that we have to realise, especially if you're a big corporation, if you make one step wrong, the world will leap on you, and unfairly, very unfairly, they will judge you." Though the Xbox One no longer requires an Internet connection, Molyneux said there is no escaping a future when a constant connection is king. "Whether as consumers we like it or not, just like every form of technology interaction, there's an inevitability of online," Molyneux said. "We know that online is so much a part of our existence now that we're going to be in a world very soon where we have to be online all the time." "A mobile device is more and more non-functional without a connection to the Internet, and why should that be any different for consoles?" Informing gamers of the "real benefit" of being online is the challenge Microsoft faces, Molyneux said. "If you have an online experience where millions of people interact together, something unique happens," he said. "And we don't use that enough in gaming." id Software cofounder John Carmack, who recently took a full-time job at Oculus VR, also defended Microsoft recently. During his QuakeCon keynote address, the industry veteran said the Xbox One "witch hunt" was "a little bit unjustified." Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
| | Fallout composer behind Fantasia: Music Evolved Aug 12th 2013, 14:55 Inon Zur creating original music for Harmonix's upcoming Xbox music game; Vivaldi's "Four Seasons: Winter: 1st Movement" joins list of confirmed tracks. 
Disney Interactive and Harmonix today announced that longtime industry composer Inon Zur is creating original music for the upcoming Xbox game Fantasia: Music Evolved. Zur has composed music for numerous high-profile games, including Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, and Lord of the Rings: War in the North, among others. He composed, conducted, and produced many of the orchestral themes for Fantasia: Music Evolved and collaborated with Disney and Harmonix on new versions of classic symphonies from Mussorgsky and Vivaldi. Zur also arranged and produced the orchestral version of Queen's famous "Bohemian Rhapsody" for Fantasia: Music Evolved. The music was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields at Abbey Road. Fantasia: Music Evolved, based on 1940 film Fantasia, was announced in June for Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Players use the Kinect motion control technology to manipulate the flow of music. Gamers can change the mix of songs in real time, mashing up the original recording and remixed versions, or even adding layers of music via "magical manipulators." In all, Fantasia: Music Evolved features more than 30 tracks, which includes two remixes in addition to the original recordings. The current announced artist and song list is below. Antonio Vivaldi - "Four Seasons: Winter: 1st Movement"
AVICII - "Levels"
Bruno Mars - "Locked Out of Heaven"
Fun. - "Some Nights"
Kimbra - "Settle Down"
Queen - "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Fantasia: Music Evolved launches for Xbox 360 and Xbox One in 2014. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot
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