Hasta La Gadget!

For the moment, Sony and Microsoft seem content to stick with the current generation of consoles instead of rushing the next generation to market. Some players love the idea of a longer console generation and some don’t, but lately we’ve been seeing publishers and developers join the call for a new line of consoles. Square Enix is the latest publisher to do so, saying today that Sony and Microsoft are making a “big mistake” by trying to extend the life of current generation machines.

Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Square Enix worldwide technology director Julien Merceron said that since this console generation has been so long, developers who have experienced difficulty in developing for Xbox 360 and PS3 have now moved on to mobile and browsers, whereas in generations past, they would simply wait for next generation consoles to arrive:

They found web browsers, they found iOS, they found other things and a lot of them won’t come back to the hardware platforms. So you could look at it that thanks to Microsoft and Sony and the length of this generation, it helped the emergence of other platforms and helped them get strong before the next hardware comes out.

Last month at E3, Square Enix revealed a tech demo for the next generation (seen above). It’s certainly impressive, but with Microsoft and Sony refusing to talk about their upcoming consoles, it seems that it will be quite some time before we’re playing games that look like this. Naturally, there have been plenty of rumors and speculation, but unfortunately it all comes down to the decisions made by Sony and Microsoft executives, so the next generation doesn’t appear to be any closer despite player and publisher demand.

[via GamesIndustry International]

Square Enix: Sony and Microsoft making a ‘big mistake’ by sticking with current gen is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Many may have thought that the Wii Fit was a silly idea, but that didn’t stop it making ridiculous amounts of money for Nintendo. Why not apply the same principle to the Kinect? Kinect PlayFit has been officially revealed today, and will be made available as a free download for any Xbox Live members in the US. PlayFit will be making its way outside the US too, although international gamers will have to wait until next week.

Kinect PlayFit essentially acts as a fitness dashboard. The app will keep track of any calories you burn while playing games like Kinect Star Wars and Dance Central 2. Over time you’ll be able to check out your stats, as well as leaderboards and ranks from across the world using Xbox Live. Microsoft is saying it’s the first fitness app of its kind due to its ability to track stats over multiple games.

So, what are you waiting for? KInect PlayFit launches today in the US, and next week in international territories. Get downloading, and make sure to burn those calories to the theme of I’m Han Solo.

[via Major Nelson]

Xbox Kinect PlayFit launches today in the US is written by Ben Kersey & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A handful of details briefly slipped out about the project earlier, but now it’s here: the Ouya, an attempt not just to delve into the cutthroat world of TV game consoles but to try and shift the goal posts. At its heart, the design sounds more like a smartphone than a gaming rig with a quad-core Tegra 3 and 8GB of storage running Android 4.0. The upscale, RF wireless gamepad’s standout is a built-in trackpad for playing mobile games alongside the familiar sticks and buttons — clever, though not entirely new. But with completely open hardware and software, an emphasis on free-to-play gaming and an all-important $99 price, the system is a gamble by a handful of game industry luminaries that at least a subset of players are frustrated with the status quo enough to want a real break. Read on for the full details, including a Kickstarter project as well as added details from our chat with Ouya (and Jambox) designer Yves Behar.

Continue reading Ouya’s Android-based, hackable game console now official: we chat with designer Yves Behar

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment

Ouya’s Android-based, hackable game console now official: we chat with designer Yves Behar originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There’s a new Aliens video game in the works, and it will feature an all-male cast. Brian Burleson, a producer on the upcoming game Aliens: Colonial Marines, said in a recent live chat with fans that there will be no playable female characters in the game. This is of course at odds with the storied “Aliens” legacy.

Gearbox’s Randy Pitchford wrote on the official Sega blog when the game was announced that Aliens “inspired a generation. We can see all around us the clear and profound impact the films have had on our popular culture and our collective image of science fiction.” He admitted that the release of the movie Prometheus – by the same man who created Aliens – made the alien mythos alive and interesting again, making the new Aliens game even more relevant.

“Our vision is for the game to be fully featured with an exciting, suspenseful, thrilling and action packed narrative campaign that can be played alone or cooperatively combined with a robust competitive game where human players can take on the roles of Colonial Marines or Xenomorphs and do battle online,” Pitchford continued. Apparently, though, the team was not very concerned about keeping true to the film franchise, in which there are plenty of integral female characters. There is now an online petition to get Sega to reverse course and add a strong, playable woman character to the game. It was set up with a goal of 1,000 signatures and already has received more than 2,000.

[via Examiner]

Sega’s Aliens: Colonial Marines to scrap female characters is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Not that this should come as much of a surprise, but Microsoft will launch a special edition Xbox 360 unit to correspond with the launch of Halo 4 on November 6, 2012. But it is a surprise that the console has been leaked, giving wide-eyed gamers a look at whether or not they’re fanatical enough to spend money for a brand new console.

In Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn, Master Chief will work with a cadet who is ends up becoming a leader on a UNSC spaceship. Each episode will be 15 minutes and new episodes will be added on a weekly basis. The Halo franchise is one of Microsoft’s biggest cash cows. Since its initial launch in 2001, more than 40 million Halo games have been sold.

In terms of dollar values, the Halo series has been responsible for generating more than $2 billion in sales. There was a failed attempt at a big screen adaptation which was reported to hit theaters at its apex in 2005, but it has bounced back from that struggle and become a truly tried and tested blockbuster. The Halo 4 console will no doubt move millions of new hardware units.

[via Business2Community]

Microsoft limited edition Halo 4 Xbox 360 leaked is written by Mark Raby & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.