Hasta La Gadget!

Hey sexy console! Yes, I’m talking about the Psy, wait a minute, what you see above says PS4, Oppa Sony style. Well, we know that Sony did intend to see the PS3 through a 10-year lifecycle, and they do seem pretty committed in making sure that happens. What does that mean for regular gamers? The Sony PS4 as well as Xbox 720 from Microsoft (bear in mind that these are just placeholder names, and not the actual product names themselves) are still years away from a general release, as there is still plenty of firepower left in the current generation Sony PS3 and Xbox 360.

According to 343 Industries who claim that the Xbox 360 is still awesome, “But I would actually strongly contest the fact that the Xbox 360 is at the end of its life cycle, this has already been one of the longest generations and there’s a really good reason for it, which is that current consoles are incredibly flexible and still really powerful. The reason that Halo 4 looks good is that that machine has an awful lot of untapped power still and it’s going to continue to. I think that looking forward into the future I can see years from now, even after next-gen platforms are out, that you’ll have lower priced versions of the existing consoles happily living side by side and serving really valuable functions.”

What do you think? Would you quit the console gaming scene at the end of this lifecycle and stick purely to just PC gaming?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Developers of Battlefield 3 want PS4 and Xbox 720 now, Square Enix Already Preparing Game Studio for Next-Gen Xbox, PlayStation and Wii ,

Bethesda VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines has been in the news a lot lately. With the current unrest over the lack Dawnguard on PS3, Hines has been tasked with fending off angry gamers on Twitter, and most of what we know about Bethesda’s current struggle has come from him. Today he’s in the news again, but this time its completely unrelated to Dawnguard‘s development woes. Instead, Hines tells MCV that he’s in no rush for the next generation to arrive, as there’s still plenty left to do with current generation machines.

When asked if the industry needs a new round of consoles, Hines started by outlining what’s good with the current generation hardware we’ve been using for years. “I don’t think the current generation of consoles are holding us back,” he said. “There is still plenty that we are able to do visually, technically and from a story-telling standpoint. And there’s this huge built-in audience now.” Hines then went on to outline a couple of problems developers face when manufacturers introduce new consoles.

According to him, the problems are “two-fold.” The first is that it can be hard for developers to make games for new consoles when the dev kits they receive typically aren’t a snapshot of the final product. The internal hardware almost always changes from the time developers receive their first dev kits to the time the consoles actually launch, which results in the developers trying to “hit a moving technical target.” This, obviously, can cause some problems for developers who are trying to have a game out the door at the same time new consoles launch.

The second problem Hines has with new console generations is that “your install base always starts at zero.” It’s true that a lot of people buy new consoles immediately after launch, but many consumers also stick to their old consoles for a while, leaving developers to decide between making games for the new consoles exclusively or for both new and old hardware. That seems like it would complicate things a bit, at least until more people start upgrading to next generation consoles.

To be fair, however, these are problems that every developer faces at the beginning of every generation. To hold off on the next generation because developing for constantly-changing hardware can be a headache or because the split in audience forces a developer to choose who to cater to doesn’t make much sense, as those problems are inevitable regardless of when the next generation arrives. In any case, if the rumors are true, the folks at Bethesda could be facing these issues as soon as next year, so the next generation may be launching sooner than Hines would like. Stay tuned.

Bethesda’s Pete Hines doesn’t think we need new consoles yet is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Well here’s something we definitely weren’t expecting to see today: Harmonix, the genius studio behind Rock Band and Guitar Hero, is apparently developing a real-time combat game for next generation consoles. A job ad on Gamasutra reveals as much, with Harmonix looking for a “Combat Designer to create real-time, single-player combat experiences for a brand new IP on next generation hardware.” In other words, it would appear that Harmonix is ready to branch out from the rhythm genre.

Even more interesting is what Harmonix had to say to Kotaku when questioned about the job ad. Though Harmonix’s John Drake didn’t get into specifics about this new game, he did confirm that Harmonix is currently working on it, and that this is just one of “multiple new IPs” the studio is working on. Drake ended his statement to Kotaku by saying that “Harmonix is making new kickass IPs, some portion of which may have some combat.”

So, Harmonix is definitely working on a new single-player IP that involves combat in some capacity, and it seems that the studio is pretty excited about it. Unfortunately, don’t expect to hear much more about this new IP anytime soon; given the fact that it’s intended for next generation consoles, we definitely won’t be getting a reveal before the next Xbox and PlayStation have been announced. That is, of course, unless this is a Wii U exclusive, in which case a reveal may not be that far off.

Speculation about reveal dates and platforms is all well and good, but to be honest, we’re just excited to see what Harmonix can do outside of the rhythm genre. The vast majority of Harmonix’s games have been related to the genre in one way or another, and while most of those games have been great, the rhythm genre can be pretty restricting. It’s clear the team at Harmonix is very talented, and as far as we’re concerned, it’s long past time that those talents be put toward something fresh and exciting.

Harmonix hiring for next-gen, real-time combat game is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Details of Microsoft’s next-gen Kinect 2 motion-tracking sensor for the “Xbox 720” console have emerged, with a leaked screenshot purportedly showing a camera-eye view of gamers. The screenshot, shared by Twitter user Superdae, is said to be from a Durango Xbox development kit with a considerably expanded degree of detail of the two users in-frame.

Although such a photo would be relatively straightforward to fake, sources familiar with the Durango setup apparently claim it is genuine. Based on the color coding of the picture, Kinect 2 will be able to recognize a greater degree of depth in the frame as well as potentially track individual movements more accurately.

The original Kinect sensor was something of a surprise hit, with the motion control system quickly expanded from simple game interactions to navigating Xbox LIVE services. More recently, Microsoft released a version of Kinect intended to be used with PCs, though more comprehensive functionality on the desktop is expected to roll out with Windows 8 later in the year.

The “Xbox 720″, as Microsoft’s next Xbox console has been unofficially dubbed, is still shrouded in mystery. Leaks earlier in the year – subsequently sniped down by Microsoft’s legal team – indicated that it would make use of augmented reality technologies and potentially have the second-gen Kinect built in. According to a Microsoft job listing, the new console is due for introduction within the next 18 months.

[via The Verge]

Kinect 2 leak tips boosted motion-control detail is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

According to a job listing popping up this week, “in the next 18 months” there’s going to be a whole new batch of Microsoft products including not least of all a whole new Xbox. This job listing says quite specifically what the new hire will be working on, it including no less than a year and a half of efforts into essentially a whole new collection of interfaces for Microsoft hardware. But here’s the thing: this doesn’t necessarily mean there’s an Xbox 720 coming in under 2 years, it may only mean that there’s going to be a software update.

UPDATE: The listing has now been taken down – perhaps a bit too revealing for the public to see with prying eyes.

What we’re to understand here is that Microsoft is looking for someone willing to be part of an initiative in Microsoft that’ll revitalize their whole empire. Of course we know that Windows 8 is coming and that Windows Phone 8 is popping up too. We also know that the next version of Office is well on its way into our hearts this season as well. What we don’t know is what precisely Microsoft will bring to the Xbox universe.

“Over the next eighteen months Microsoft will release new versions of all of our most significant products including Windows (Client, Server, Phone and Azure), Office and Xbox.” – Microsoft job listing

Earlier this season we saw Microsoft speaking about a “new Xbox” only to quickly turn around and assure the public that it was only a software update that’ll be bumped. We imagine they’ll say the same thing about this situation. Perhaps a new thinner console could be in the works as well. Have a peek in the timeline below to check on all of the most recent rumors, tips, and leaks of information on the next generation gaming beast.

[via Laptop Memo]

New Xbox tipped in Microsoft job listing is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.