Hasta La Gadget!

Microsoft’s Xbox One will now include a headset as part of the standard bundle, it’s reported, with the company apparently having another change of heart and opting to include the accessory after gamers voiced their dissatisfaction. The Xbox One Chat Headset had initially been billed as a separate purchase, but according to information from the official Microsoft distributor for the console, ElectronicTheatre reports, will now be thrown in the box too.

News of the changed standard package came from distributor Gem, which apparently notified retailers today. The company’s online listing for the Xbox One has not yet been updated to include the adjustment.

This 180-degree U-turn on Microsoft’s part is the latest change of heart the company has had around the Xbox One. Last month, Microsoft threw out its 24-hour-check-in requirement, after gamers were vocal in their disapproval of the system.

Originally, Microsoft had intended to force Xbox One owners to connect their consoles to the internet at least once every 24hrs, so that games could be checked against an online DRM system. That would allow for Microsoft to track license sales to authorized retailers but, also, enable features like family play, which would have allowed up to ten people to try a single copy of a purchased game.

Microsoft itself is yet to comment on the reported change in bundle, and it’s unclear if the adjustment to the Xbox One package will also apply to the US and other countries where the console is sold, or just to the UK.

The Xbox One Chat Headset is a wired mono headset which connects to the Xbox One’s wireless controller. It has mute and volume controls, as well as supporting digital wideband for better quality audio.

VIA Eurogamer

Xbox One Headset now reportedly bundled as Microsoft U-turns again is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

It’s no secret that Xbox Live is filled with all sorts of mean people. While many of these young, naive gamers are laughable at times, cyber-bullying has been proven to be a pretty serious matter. In order to get gamers to behave on Xbox Live, Microsoft is looking into a reputation system to add into Xbox Live with the Xbox One.

Speaking with OXM, Microsoft’s senior product manager Mike Lavin said that the company has researched different reputation systems and have learned about what to do and what not to do when it comes to implementing their own system. Lavin says that the company is “trying to take it to the next level” with a reputation system of their own, and it seems pretty straightforward.

Lavin says that “there’ll be very good things that happen to people that just play their games and are good participants. And you’ll start to see some effects if you continue to play bad or, or harass other people en masse. You’ll probably end up starting to play more with other people that are more similar to you,” similar to match-making that we see in a lot of games, but this will be based on skill, as well as on reputation.

Lavin also says that it’s a system that works “over a period of time.” For instance, he says that if gamers “don’t like playing with you, that you’re consistently blocked, that you’re the subject of enforcement actions,” then you will most likely see your reputation score go down. Plus, it’ll be play an “important role” in Xbox Live, with Lavin saying that your reputation score “will be as fully visible as Gamerscore in your profile.”

Some gamers might wonder, then, how they can get their reputation score back up if they’ve had a change of heart. Lavin says that you can participant in various Microsoft community programs, such as Xbox Live Rewards, and if you just haven’t been reported in a long time, your reputation score will begin to slowly go back up.

SOURCE: OXM

Xbox One to get reputation system in Xbox Live to encourage good behavior is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

A report is claiming Windows head Julie Larson-Green may become the new Xbox boss.

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Back in June it was reported that the Xbox One would only be seeing a release in Asia come 2014. At that time the Asian countries listed included Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and India, with no mention to […]

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Japan is a “tier 2 country” for Microsoft’s Xbox One launch, the company has admitted, though Japanese gamers may not have to wait quite as long as their Asia neighbors to get the next-gen console, with an early 2014 release hinted. Questions around when the Japanese Xbox One launch would take place began last month, when Microsoft revealed that several Asian countries would not get the console until the end of next year, but declined to comment on Japan specifically.

Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and India are all in line to get the new console, Microsoft said, but its launch won’t be until the end of 2014. Ironically, Microsoft conceded at the time, the Xbox 360 is currently the best-selling console in Asia, with sales actually increasing – by around 20-percent per year – despite its age.

Now, though, Microsoft Japan President Yasuyuki Higuchi has thrown some more light on the Japan situation. Speaking to 4Gamer (and translated by DualShockers) the exec confirmed that Japan was being treated as a tier two launch location, but that the release will only be “delayed a little bit” in comparison to the first countries to get the Xbox One.

“For the launch of Xbox One Japan is a Tier 2 country and not a Tier 1 country, so it’ll come with the second wave, that will be delayed a little bit [compared to North America]” the Microsoft Japan President said. When pressed, he would only clarify that “it won’t be delayed too much from the North American release.”

Although unconfirmed, it seems Japan’s launch will come somewhere in-between the initial wave of sales and the full roll-out in Asia.

Ironically, some of Microsoft’s design decisions around the Xbox One were made with Asian players specifically in mind. The new Kinect sensor bar, for instance, handles smaller gaming environments more accurately, after complaints that the original hardware struggled when players were in more compact rooms than their North American counterparts.

Perhaps recognizing that the staggered release wouldn’t go down well, Microsoft’s Vice President and Executive Officer of the Consumer & Partner Group in Japan, Haruaki Kayama, even asked for leniency on how the news was reported. “Please don’t report too negatively” Kayama said in the interview, laughing.

VIA Ars Technica

Xbox One Japan launch tipped for early 2014: Begs leniency in the meantime is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.