EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau is a big fan of Microsoft's SmartGlass technology

Electronic Arts

www.ea.com

Microsoft

www.microsoft.com

The general consensus from most of the people we've talked with in the industry is that Xbox SmartGlass is a very smart move for Microsoft. Publishers seem genuinely excited by it (almost more so than by Wii U - though, that's purely anecdotal) and this was perhaps best exemplified by EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau who could hardly contain his enthusiasm for SmartGlass during E3.
"We love SmartGlass. I think it's a killer initiative. I really like it a lot," he toldGamesIndustry International. "It ties into what we're trying to do as a company. What we're trying to do as a developer of games is - we're looking at multi-screen environments as being really key in what's happening in gaming. You play games on your mobile. You play games on your PC. You play games on your console. So giving people more access points through multiple screens is a great thing."
EA Sports' Madden franchise was one of the few actual gaming examples used to illustrate SmartGlass during the Microsoft E3 briefing.
"It does definitely put positioning pressure on Nintendo because you don't have to buy a new system"
Frank Gibeau

"Having SmartGlass capabilities, where it can talk between machines in a consistent way is fantastic, so we think there's a lot of innovation and the Madden example that they showed is just scratching the surface of play calling, play construction," Gibeau said. "You can imagine being able to do things in a shooter, where you're calling in command modes or squad based commands. So I think it's a great idea, the fact that they're going to standardize an API that we can write to, so we can make it a seamless experience for the customer, whether it's a Windows Phone, an Android, or an iOS is great."
EA Sports head Andrew Wilson also sounded off on the importance of SmartGlass to us.
"I think it's very important for a couple of reasons. SmartGlass will bring in a whole new audience to gaming, but with respect to SmartGlass integration with a console experience it is changing the way people interact with consoles. If you look at Madden or FIFA this year, they have a series of multi-screen applications that allow you to manage your connected career or manage your FIFA Ultimate team while you're in front of the screen or while you're away from the screen. What that's enabling is people to engage in a world that's very, very important to them that they're very passionate about even while they're away from their 60-inch television. So when we look at the future and what Microsoft is planning to do at an API and SDK level that only makes our job easier to deliver a gameplay schema that's absolutely prevalent in the way gamers play today," he said.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...re-on-nintendo

...

Is it genuine? Is it fake? Or so old as to be completely irrelevant? After first getting an early airing at the beginning of May on a little-known website with no media follow-up, the "Xbox 720" document has finally been distributed publicly in all its 56-page glory, offering what is apparently an intriguing glimpse of the future of the entire Xbox brand.
We see connectivity with other devices, we see the evolution of the platform into an all-encompassing media brand, we see sci-fi style augmented reality glasses cropping up in 2014, and finally a transition to full cloud streaming gameplay - and what could be interpreted as the end of consoles as we know it.
"Next-gen tech, transmedia gaming, augmented reality concepts and the end of the console as we know it - the Xbox 720 'leak' strains credibility somewhat but offers some interesting ideas"

At the time we first saw snippets of the original doc, we dismissed it as a hoax. As visionary as certain aspects were, many elements of the basic specs being discussed simply didn't stack up from a technical perspective - and to be brutally thank, they still don't. Beyond the vision, the spec sheet itself makes very little sense whatsoever.
With the actual 56-page Powerpoint file now leaked publicly and the additional notes this give us, it now seems more likely that the presentation is authentic, but also very, very old - dating from summer 2010. The focus is far more on ideas and the value of the overall offering presented in marketing terms rather than providing much in the way of hard data on what is planned for the technical make-up of the new machine. It is perhaps telling that of the 56 pages in the presentation, only one of them details the core technology underpinning the whole exercise, with nebulous specs and metrics that mostly seem to be plucked out of thin air. The documents discuss a $2,000 PC in a $300 box for the living room, but this is somewhat at odds with the actual hardware being proposed.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...act-or-fantasy ...

The power of the IGN community strikes again! This time, news comes from NKilburne, who has informed us that both Walmart and Amazon have posted new information about the upcoming PlayStation Vita exclusive Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified.
First off, its price. Both Amazon and Walmart have Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified listed as costing $49.96, officially making it the most expensive game on the platform (along with Uncharted: Golden Abyss' original price). Unfortunately, its release date is marked as December 31, 2012, no doubt a placeholder.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/06/1...-details-price ...

Infinity Ward has revealed that the next downloadable content for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be available tomorrow. Xbox 360 players who are Premium subscribers to Call of Duty Elite will be able to download a new Spec Ops mission called Arctic Recon as well as three new Face Off maps: Vortex, U-Turn and Intersection.According to a tweet from Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin, these will be “the last of the Face Off maps more than likely.” The rest of the Modern Warfare 3 DLC will be “all regular multiplayer from here on out.”
As with all Modern Warfare 3 DLC, this content is exclusive to Xbox 360 Premium Elite subscribers for now. We’ll keep you posted once a release date for non-subscribers and PS3 players is revealed.

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2012/06/1...3-dlc-revealed ...

New from Amazon UK:



The complete Xbox 360 experience, including the controller-free fun of Kinect, now with 2 games, a 3 Month Xbox LIVE Gold membership and available in glossy white for a limited time. Additionally, this Celebration bundle comes with commemorative Union Jack console, sensor and controller skins.

Product Details

Enjoy the complete Xbox 360 experience – including the controller-free fun of Kinect. Jump, dance, and get your whole body in the game with the unique experience of Kinect. Or use your controller to play the blockbuster games your friends can't stop talking about. Plus, with built-in Wi-Fi, it’s easy to access great entertainment on Xbox LIVE from HD movies and TV shows to sports.* With Kinect, play, pause and rewind the action with a wave of your hand. When you are the controller, there’s nothing between you and the fun. Now for a limited time, includes the best-selling Kinect game**, Kinect Sports, as well as Kinect Adventures, a 3 month Xbox LIVE Gold membership, and glossy white finish.

Product Features

• Special Edition White Xbox 360 S Console: The Xbox 360 console is sleek and quiet, with a stylish design that will be the centerpiece of your home entertainment system, now with a special white finish for a limited time.
• White Kinect Sensor: You are the controller with Kinect, now with a special white finish for a limited time. Immerse yourself in full-body gameplay or watch HD movies and sports on Xbox LIVE* in a whole new way. Play, pause, or rewind the action with a wave of your hand.*
• Kinect Sports game: The best-selling game on Kinect** packs six fun events that transform your living room from ordinary entertainment into an extraordinary stadium! Bowling, Beach Volleyball, Table Tennis, Soccer, Track and Field and Boxing – you are the controller!
• Kinect Adventures game: Get off the couch and into the game in a whole new way. You and your friends and family will jump, dodge, and kick your way through 20 pulse-pounding adventures set in exotic locations.
• Built-in Wi-Fi: The Xbox 360 is the only console with 802.11n Wi-Fi built in for a faster and easier connection to Xbox LIVE. Download or stream HD movies, TV episodes, and games from Xbox LIVE Marketplace in 1080p and 5.1 surround sound from anywhere in the house.*
• White Xbox 360 Wireless Controller: This award-winning, high-performance white wireless controller matches the console and Kinect Sensor. It has a range of up to 30 feet and a battery life of up to 30 hours on two AA batteries.
• 3 Month Xbox LIVE Gold Membership: With an Xbox LIVE Gold membership, take your Xbox 360 online to play Kinect and controller games with friends wherever they are. Instantly watch HD movies, TV shows and sports, and with Kinect, your voice is the remote control. Plus, friends and family are never far away when you can video chat face-to-face on the biggest screen in the house. And now for a limited time you will get 3 Months of Xbox LIVE included.**
• Commemorative Union Jack Skins: Transform and protect your Xbox 360 console, Kinect sensor and controller. Premium vinyl skins with patented adhesive that prevents air bubbles from forming, allowing for easy application and clean removal.
• Xbox 360 Composite A/V cable: Use your Xbox 360 on standard-definition televisions using this connection over traditional composite connectors. Play high-quality audio with the included stereo connector.
• Warranty: One year limited warranty on console (90 days on accessories)
*Xbox LIVE Gold membership and/or other subscriptions and requirements apply for some Xbox LIVE features. See xbox.com/live. Not all functionality on Xbox LIVE is Kinect enabled. Only media content from Xbox LIVE supports voice and gesture controls. Broadband, games, add-ons and media content sold separately. Bonus items (game and Xbox LIVE Gold) inside marked packages, while supplies last. Game is downloaded from Xbox LIVE. 1080p HD available with select videos; requires HDMI cable, HDCP compliant 1080p display, minimum 4mbps broadband speed.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=300703

...

A lengthy business document purportedly sourced back to Microsoft showed up on Scribd yesterday. In it, alleged details about an "Xbox 720." For starters, the 56-page document claims the next-generation Xbox will launch in 2013 for $299, alongside the "Kinect V2." The doc also claims it'll come packed with Blu-ray functionality and be able to play game that are "4x - 6x" better looking than Xbox 360. If only it could promise the game themselves would be 4x - 6x better!

Beyond the stuff you'd expect, the document also claims Microsoft has Augmented Reality glasses in the works named "Fortaleza" (presumably built at Brazil-based Innovation Center Fortaleza) – the document says we won't see through MS' AR until some time in 2014, post-console launch. Additionally, it claims the "Xbox 720" will have some form of "always on" functionality, as well as the ability to run apps at the same time (read: multitasking).

Now before you go getting all excited, you should probably know that this document surfaced in some form back in early May on Nukezilla. Moreover, even if it's totally legit, the document itself appears to be rather old – dating back to August 2010 at least. That said, some of the info detailed in the document has since been announced by Microsoft (most notably Smart Glass). We've seen some pretty thorough fakes in our time, but this would be the most thorough if it were.

We've reached out to Microsoft for comment, but, well, you know.

Update: The document was removed from Scribd due to copyright infringement, at the request of a law firm named Covington and Burling. The firm worked with Microsoft as recently as this past April, when it advised Microsoft in its patent settlement case with Facebook. Microsoft still hasn't responded to request for comment.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/16/ru...-720-doc-leak/ ...

Details continue to spew forth from the supposed leaked 52-page "Xbox 720" presentation that came to light a few hours ago. Buried deep within the bowels of the slideshow's fifth seventh slide, an examination of the next Xbox's potential competition potentially reveals some interesting tidbits about Microsoft's thinking back in 2010 (the slideshow dates back to August 2010).

Most notably, the document not only lists OnLive's MicroConsole as competition (along with the AppleTV and GoogleTV platforms, among others), but it also notes OnLive itself as a "potential acquisition target" – which makes sense considering frequent mentions of cloud gaming in the rest of the document.

The presentation also makes several assumptions about the Wii U (dubbed "Wii2" in the piece, showing its age) and Sony's eventual next console, specifically claiming that the Wii U will cost around $249, and that the "PS4" will be some kind of GoogleTV device, on top of being a Sony console.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/06/16/ru...ox-720-onlive/ ...

Microsoft has applied to patent a free-space gesture controller for a MIDI interface that could see you kicking out jams on invisible instruments. Using a Kinect-style depth camera, individual movements would be mapped to notes and played out by the games console observing the action. The company actually teased a similar function in its Kinect Effect advert, where it showed cellists, violinists and pianists all miming in front of the sensor, although we doubt the technology is at a sufficiently capable stage just yet. If granted, it means we could see plenty of intentional arm-waving in future music games, or an even more outrageous stage show from the world's most beloved Gallic synth maven.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/06/15/m...t-application/ ...

Phil Harrison, new corporate vice-president of Microsoft's IEB division, admits he was "surprised" by the levels of violence in games at this year's E3.
E3 2012 was Harrison's first visit to the conference in three years, and "the first E3 I can ever remember where I haven't been doing something public like standing on a stage introducing something new or presenting something. So I think I'm able to look at it through quite a relaxed and potentially dispassionate view."
That meant that he, like many of us, was struck by the level of violence on show. Between the Microsoft, Sony, EA and Ubisoft shows there were claret-filled demos of Tomb Raider, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Medal Of Honor: Warfighter, Far Cry 3 and, most memorably, The Last Of Us (pictured), when the audience cheered loudly at either a shotgun blast to the face or the flung brick that preceded it.
"I was surprised, I must admit, at some of the games," Harrison said. "I think it's an inevitable progression of visual reality and visceral immersion that games can get quite ultra-realistic.

"Thankfully, everybody adheres to a very good ratings system, and makes sure that consumers are well-informed before they buy their games. I think it's more coincidental than anything - I don't think it's a strategy that everybody has adopted simultaneously. So long as it's part of a balanced portfolio, it's okay."
For Harrison, violence wasn't the central theme of 2012. Instead, he saw the first evidence of an industry in transition; not simply one gearing up for new hardware, but one adjusting to a rapidly changing market.

"It's the seventh year of the Xbox 360 cycle," he said. "You've got some games which I think are showing developers really understand what it means to make great-looking games on the platform, and you've got a series of signs that the connected world is really starting to make sense in developers' heads.
"It's not just games; it's games, plus connected experiences, plus social plus new business models, and that, I think, is really evident in E3, probably for the first time. Maybe it was a bit last year, but I wasn't here, so I can't really comment."

http://www.edge-online.com/news/harr...ed-e3-violence ...