More Next-Gen Rumors Surface
gameinformer.com

More and more rumors begin to sur­face as we move clos­er to E3 this com­ing June.

Ear­li­er this year, reports from Kotaku said the next Xbox will use a Blu-ray drive and lock out used games to some extent. Other reports said the hard­ware will…

Wii U November 18th!! Well hopefully, if rumor holds true. Ah, and the wave of next gen console rumors. What’s interesting is the rumor Sony will try to launch first before Microsoft. It’s a really tricky tight rope game of chicken for these guys. On one hand, both PS3 and Xbox sales are up, and on the other, Wii U is launching and iPads are going crazy… As usual. Should they come out with new consoles in 2013, they kill their predecessors sales pretty quickly, something Sony doesn’t really want to do. But Sony let the 360 launch a whole year before, so to avoid that, they would to launch before Microsoft. It’s extremely tricky for Sony mostly. The pricing of any of these consoles can’t be more than $400 at the max, with suspected prices being between $250 - $350.

1 month ago  /  0 notes

thisistheverge:

Next Xbox bringing Blu-ray drive, Kinect 2, and ‘anti-used-game’ system? | The Verge

Kotaku’s anonymous sources are reporting what could be a video game industry coup: according to the rumor, the next Xbox will finally adopt a Blu-ray disc drive, years after the company’s HD-DVD plans fizzled out. Apparently, though, there’s more to the new drive than simple playback of 50GB optical discs, because one of the sources also claims that the supposed “Xbox 720” will also “incorporate some sort of anti-used game system.” 

Oh HD-DVD, the thought of the makes me chuckle.  The move to Blu-ray isn’t surprising, its just ironic given past circumstances.  Blu-ray is the new physical format, and probably last since we are ever so closer to digital, then game streaming a la OnLive.  I don’t believe there would be any system that would disable used gaming all together, but rather give developers tools to utilize such things as $10 multi-player access fees for those who purchase used games.  And to those who believe that is such a crime understand this: When you buy a used game, that game developer doesn’t get the money they deserve, and while the gaming industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, that doesn’t mean everyone in the industry makes billions.  When you buy a new copy of a retail game for $60, $10 goes to the store you purchased the title from, $10 goes to the publisher, $10 to the actual hard working developers, $10 goes to producing the disc and case, and the rest goes to advertising the game.  When you buy a used copy for $45.99, the $45.99 goes straight to Gamestop or other retailers, and none of that goes to the hard-working creative people that invested long hours at least for two years of their life who brought the game to life!  And ask yourself this, Why should game developers keep dedicated servers up for you for free, when you didn’t even have the audacity to even give them a cent?  The least you could do is pay a one-time ten dollar fee, that probably gets split into the same divisions; digital store, developer, publisher, and advertising.  Hell, what’s the point of buying a $54.99 used game over a $59.99 new copy?  To save five dollars, really?  What a deal right?  And before you say Microsoft, Activision, or any other big publisher or hardware manufacturer is being greedy, you should really point the finger to Gamestop and other large retail companies who have adopted the sale of used games.

I’m gonna take a break, until next time… 

4 months ago  /  32 notes  /  Source: theverge.com