Jun 23
Jun 21
In each issue of Distro, editor-in-chief Tim Stevens publishes a wrap-up of the week in news.
It’s not too often that we call a tech news story stunning, but that seems like an apt description for our reaction when Microsoft decided to pull an abrupt about-face and nix its controversial rights management for the Xbox One. We learned at the Seattle launch event that the system would have to call home once every 24 hours or every game installed from a disc would be disabled — even if you had the disc in the drive — and quickly the rumblings from the gamers started. They grew louder at E3 when Microsoft detailed the system’s DRM, a stream of complaints that quickly reached deafening levels on online forums and the like.
Yet, through all that, Microsoft stayed true to the party line, that the advantages of this system (being able to digitally share games, being able to change games without having to swap discs, etc.) outweighed the overwhelmingly negative reaction brewing among online gamers. That corporate message seemed to get bitter at times, weary at others, but never showed a sign of changing. Until, suddenly, a complete about-face this week.
Jun 21
Each week, our friends at gdgt go through the latest gadgets and score them to help you decide which ones to buy. Here are some of their most recent picks. Want more? Visit gdgt anytime to catch up on the latest, and subscribe to gdgt’s newsletter to get a weekly roundup in your inbox.
Jun 21
If you were thinking that a decade of waiting time between the last Killer Instinct video game and now was a long time to wait for fans of the fighting title, you’ll be happy to see what’s been brewing. What the team at Double Helix have created is a next-generation title using the solid must-haves
Jun 21
Amazon Video Games Store Xbox One And PlayStation 4 Pre-Orders Top 2,500 Per Minute Following E3
Posted in: Today's Chili
Amazon has seen a significant amount of interest in upcoming next-generation consoles, with pre-orders for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 skyrocketing in the wake of E3 and their initial availability on the site. The pre-order volume broke records for the Amazon Video Games store, resulting in a 4,000 percent year-over-year increase vs. console pre-orders during E3 last year.
In just the first day of pre-orders alone, the Xbox One and PS4 managed to rack up nearly twice the value of total sales made via the video game store on Amazon throughout all of Black Friday in 2012, which is traditionally the top shopping day of the year in the U.S. Demand for the two new consoles was so strong that at peak volume, orders were coming through at a rate in excess of 2,500 units per minute, Amazon tells us.
In typical Amazon fashion, the company isn’t revealing specifics about how many total pre-orders have been processed so far, but the company is saying in no uncertain terms that there’s ample demand. The Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 occupy two of the top three spots in the Amazon Best Sellers list for Video Games, for instance (critical smash hit The Last of Us occupies spot two). Additionally, retail store pre-orders of the consoles appear to be strong, too, with some locations selling out of the Xbox One quickly following Microsoft’s decision to reverse its position on used games and DRM.
Relative increases and high order per minute are all well and good, but the real story will be how many of these things actually ship. Nintendo had strong initial sales of the Wii U, but sales quickly tapered off after the holiday season and are basically on life support. But at least based on these figures, there’s still plenty of juice left in the old console market for now.
Jun 21
Jun 21
Microsoft’s decision to remove the Xbox One’s online requirements after a groundswell of gamer revolt has prompted a doleful eulogy for what the system could have evolved into, supposedly penned by a member of the Always Online development team. The document, shared anonymously, primarily blames Microsoft itself for poorly reacting to the bad publicity around
Jun 21
Jun 21
GameStop Might Have A Hand In Microsoft’s Decision To Backtrack On Xbox One Policies
Posted in: Today's ChiliA couple of days ago, Microsoft made the decision to revert on their policies regarding the always-on connection and DRM policies of its next-gen console, the Xbox One. Many gamers were thrilled by this piece of news, with many taking […]
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Jun 21
Were you thinking about pre-ordering either Sony’s PS4 or Microsoft’s Xbox One at GameStop this week? Well according to a post by an anonymous GameStop employee on Reddit, apparently the retailer will be putting an end to pre-orders of either […]
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