Tag: Microsoft - Page 6
Reaction Will Xbox's Scorpio Take the Sting Out of PS4K?
Neo way
So there we have it, Xbox's rumoured Project Scorpio is real – or it exists as a concept at least. Ever since the rumours regarding an upgraded Xbox One leaked, we've been discussing among ourselves how Microsoft would present it, and we wanted to wait and see before putting pen to paper. Our assumption, however, was that Microsoft would...
Talking Point Can Sony Beat Microsoft's E3 2016 Briefing?
Format face-off
That's the Microsoft E3 2016 briefing done and dusted, then, where the showing centred on games such as Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, and ReCore. It was a strong if unsurprising show for Microsoft, though obviously the sheer number of leaks didn't help. The manufacturer closed on Project Scorpio, an interative hardware upgrade due...
E3 2016 Final Fantasy XV Will Apparently Appear at Microsoft's Press Conference
Noct like this
For obvious reasons, we won't be covering Microsoft's imminent E3 2016 press conference, but it's worth pointing out that Final Fantasy XV will apparently be there. If you've been keeping up over the past couple of days, you'll know that the American company's presser has been leaking like crazy, so this rumour at least seems...
News PS4, Xbox One Sales Outpacing Predecessors in the UK
Consoles still relevant, it seems
Bad news for all those people who predicted consoles were dying out: the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are doing extremely well in the UK. New data released by GAME reveals that the combined total of new-gen consoles sold tallies 5.1 million units – while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 could only muster 3.5 million...
News Will Xbox One and PS4 Gamers Play Together? Sony's Looking into It
Needs to consider technical, policy, and business issues
Microsoft's decision to suddenly start supporting cross-platform play after years of blocking it – odd anomalies excluded – was announced expertly. Despite the likes of Nintendo and Sony allowing gamers to play with PC players for years – and, in the case of upcoming game Dreii, even...
News Sony to Xbox: We've Been Doing Cross-Platform Play Since 2002
Sony happy to have conversations
Following the big hubbub brewed up by Microsoft regarding its vague statements on cross-platform play between Xbox and other platforms, people went a bit nuts - and many jumped the gun entirely. However, GameSpot's actually managed to get a response of sorts from Sony, and without inflating our egos, the company's...
Reaction Will Sony Enable Cross-Network Play on PS4? Well, It Already Does
Building bridges
Microsoft's always been good at making headlines – and it usually opts to do so when this author's out of the office. It announced today that it will be enabling cross-network play on the Xbox One, a bold new direction from the Redmond manufacturer that… Well, puts yet another of its policies in line with the PlayStation 4...
News Xbox Boss Hints That Cross-Play May Be Possible with PS4 in the Near Future
Sony yet to respond
In a letter on Microsoft's website, Chris Charla - director of ID@Xbox, the indie-focused division of Xbox - has announced cross-network play for the Xbox One and Windows 10, allowing players across both platforms to play online together. This may not seem applicable to PlayStation at first glance, but Charla's wording hints at...
Reaction Why Sony Won't Deploy PS4 Exclusives on PC
Well, not many of 'em
Microsoft melted the web with its Quantum Break announcements yesterday. Unfortunately for Remedy, the forthcoming time-shifting affair got nudged to the side, as platform politics ruled the day. For those of you that missed it, the Redmond firm confirmed that the release would be coming to the PC day-and-date with the Xbox...
Weirdness Never Was a Story of More Fascination Than This of Xbox and PlayStation
Fortune's fool
The console wars may be awash with warriors angrily biting their thumbs, but the word star-cross'd springs to mind when observing the latest social media fad. This tragic tale of two adoring PlayStation and Xbox representatives actually did the Twitter rounds a couple of years ago, but it's made a comeback overnight – even prompting...
News Finally, We Can Compare PS4 and Xbox One Sales
Sony's way out in the lead
Microsoft stopped reporting Xbox One hardware sales recently, suggesting that its Monthly Active Users metric is more important than its flagship format's install base. Fortunately, an EA investor report and a bit of math has enabled us to, for the first time in a long while, see how the Redmond firm's box is performing in...
News PS4 Can Leverage the Power of the Cloud, Says Microsoft
Yay?
News at eleven: Microsoft has a product and it doesn't care who it sells it to. While the so-called "power of the cloud" was a big buzz word when the Xbox One was announced, the Redmond firm has been a little less forthcoming about the bullet point of late. And now a Twitter exchange with gaffer Phil Spencer has revealed that the company's open...
News Pachter: There's Nothing Xbox One Can Do to Catch PS4
Pach attack
Divisive industry analyst Michael Pachter has pulled out his crystal ball in a brand new YouTube video, deeming that Sony already has the latest generation on lock. The Japanese giant announced relatively recently that the PlayStation 4 has surpassed 30 million sales worldwide, while Microsoft has opted not to report
News Microsoft Parodies PS4's Infamous Game Sharing Video
5/10
In backward compatibility, Microsoft's finally got an Xbox One feature that it can shout about it – and it's sure trying its hardest to make a bit of noise. In a new video on the organisation's UK YouTube account, the company has parodied Sony's famous PlayStation 4 game sharing video – although the punch line isn't quite as well executed...
News Comparing PS4's Sales to the Competition May Be Tough Moving Forwards
Keeping the numbers quiet
Sony was sheepish when it came to console sales last generation, lumping the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 together as part of the illusive "PlayStation Family". It's been a lot more forthcoming with the PlayStation 4, revealing both sell in and sell through figures with alarming regularity. But it seems that Microsoft...
News Xbox Chief Thinks the PS4 May Have Microsoft Beat
"Sony has a huge lead"
It's not often that you see global corporations concede to the competition, but Xbox head Phil Spencer has suggested that the console war is over already. Speaking at the 2015 GeekWire Summit, the suit admitted that the PlayStation 4 already has a "huge lead" over the Xbox One – and he isn't sure that it can ever be...
News Microsoft Just Bought the Tech Powering a Ton of PS4 Games
But there's nothing to worry about
We're going to assume that the majority of you reading this article have heard of Havok. Even if you don't know what the mysterious technology does, its logo has appeared during the boot sequence of so many titles that we'd be shocked if you haven't seen it before. In the simplest of terms, the engine essentially...
News Microsoft: Sony's Buying Lots of Third-Party Exclusives for PS4
Xbox focusing on first-party, apparently
If there's one thing that Xbox chief Phil Spencer likes to do it's chat about the competition – although, to be fair, he was asked on this occasion. In a fairly wide-ranging interview with GameSpot, the ex-Microsoft Game Studios head insinuated that Sony's buying up plenty of third-party exclusives for the...
Reaction Did Xbox Make Its Gamescom 2015 Presser Pay?
Was the Redmond firm able to capitalise on Sony's no-show?
Sony's got the biggest presence on the Gamescom 2015 showfloor, but unlike in previous years it's not holding a press conference. We already knew this, of course, as the company announced that it would be skipping the show all the way back in May. This is because, according to the...
News PlayStation and Xbox Bosses Go Head-to-Head
In a friendly game of Disney Infinity 3.0
Can you hear that? It's the sound of Hell freezing over. At the San Diego Comic-Con this weekend, PlayStation wish fulfiller Adam Boyes and Xbox spokesperson Larry Hryb hooked up for a head-to-head in Disney Infinity 3.0's all-new Sumo Digital developed kart racing mode. Neither of them looked especially...
Reaction Xbox's E3 2015 Attempts to Block PS4 Upgrade Path
Microsoft focuses on the faithful
There were a couple of key themes during Microsoft's big E3 2015 media briefing today: a refocused emphasis on games under the leadership of Phil Spencer; an obsession with this holiday season's exclusives; and, perhaps most importantly, a desire to offer something fresh but familiar for the Xbox faithful. The...
News Even Xbox's Boss Is Impressed by Bloodborne's PS4 Sales
Hunter's dream
In a move that's been no way orchestrated by Microsoft's marketing team, Phil 'One of Us' Spencer has congratulated Sony on the success of Bloodborne, which has already surpassed one million sales globally. To be fair to the Xbox chief, he did at least acknowledge that people would raise eyebrows at the message – so there's that...
News Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo Are Working Together to Stop DDoS Attacks
Console camaraderie
We may all have different gaming preferences, but we can probably all agree that DDoS attacks suck. Whether it's the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live that goes down, seeing services get targeted by code junkies for their own selfish entertainment is never nice; at the end of the day, we all just want to enjoy our games –...
Poll Is It Now Time for Sony to Consider a $349.99 PS4 Price Promotion?
Talking in circles
Stop us if you've heard this one before. Yes, we're back with another familiar article involving PlayStation 4 price points, console sales, and the exact kind of story that's seemingly become our lifeblood over the past few months. Before you dive into the comments to tell us to fix our broken record, though, hear us out: we're at...
News Analysts: Xbox One Will Catch Up to PS4 in 2015
The battle goes on
Michael Pachter put his neck on the line recently, and stated that the PlayStation 4 will maintain control of the console space through 2015 – but this was before Microsoft's big NPD win in November. To his credit, the likeable forecaster is sticking with his reading of the situation, but a predictions post from
News See, the Console Wars Don't Have to Be Mean
Just slimy instead
War never changes – unless, of course, they’re console wars. Ever since Sony dropped its anti-DRM bomb at E3 last year, both the Japanese giant and Microsoft have learned that the best way to ingratiate themselves to potential consumers is to act like their best friend. Every press conference now concludes with a message of...
News Minecraft Will Continue to Exist on PlayStation Platforms Despite Big Microsoft Buyout
Redmond firm confirms $2.5 billion acquisition
The console war is about to get really weird, as Xbox chief Phil Spencer has pledged that Minecraft will continue to exist on PlayStation platforms – despite Microsoft purchasing maker Mojang for $2.5 billion today. “Gaming is the top activity across devices,” he
News Sony: We Know Microsoft's Going to Give Us a Run for Our Money
Console maker ain't getting complacent
Everything’s looking rosy in the PlayStation Nation right now. Sony’s next-gen system is running away with the console crown, already surpassing 10 million units, with many more to come this Christmas, we suspect. Moreover, the lineup looks good, with a strong mix of first-party and third-party titles on...
News PS4 May Not Be At the Foot of the Japanese Hardware Charts for Much Longer
There's a new flop in town
Japan may still be considered something of a gaming mecca among some, but its importance in the console space is slowly declining. With many of the region’s biggest developers struggling to adapt to the PlayStation 3 era, and handhelds currently ruling the roost, it’s not exactly a surprise to see the recently released...
Rumour Minecraft Maker May Be Purchased by Microsoft for $2 Billion
Good job they finished the PS4 version
Minecraft has already proven that it’s a pixelated license to print money, and Microsoft apparently wants the lucrative brand under its umbrella. A report on the Wall Street Journal states that the Redmond-based firm is in talks to purchase Mojang, the organisation behind the bricklaying game. According to...
News Xbox Chief's Uncharted Adoration Motivated Tomb Raider Deal
"We don't have an action adventure game of that quality"
Back when Microsoft ambiguously announced that it had secured Xbox exclusive rights to Rise of the Tomb Raider, we speculated that it may have been looking for a direct competitor to Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The specifics of the deal are still shaky almost seven days later, but it sounds
Gamescom 2014 Microsoft All But Confirms That Rise of the Tomb Raider Will Release on PS4
Pretty much, anyway
Told you so. In an interview with Eurogamer.net, Xbox chief Phil Spencer has admitted that Rise of the Tomb Raider isn’t actually an Xbox One exclusive at all, and that its deal with Square Enix has a set “duration”. That means that,
News Sony: PS4's Christmas Lineup Compares 'Very, Very Well' to Xbox One
Greatness awaits
As with the PlayStation 3 before it, there’s an accelerating sentiment around the web that the PlayStation 4 lacks games. Despite new releases deploying on a weekly basis, many armchair analysts have opted to criticise the console’s first year – primarily its lack of first-party content. Many argue that Microsoft – with...
News Nintendo Thumps PlayStation in E3 2014 Twitter Head-to-Head
Hashtag haymaker
Sony may be winning the hardware sales war with the PlayStation 4, but it couldn’t overcome Nintendo in the great Twitter battle of E3 2014. According to social media intelligence analytics provider Crimson Hexagon, a whopping 47 per cent of related tweets posted during last week’s convention referenced the Wii U maker, with its...
Talking Point How Did the Three Major Manufacturers Fare at E3 2014?
Compare and contrast
E3 2014 is over, and we’re breaking the fabric of time and space in order to celebrate. In this inaugural cross-platform, cross-network, cross-website extravaganza, the editors of Nintendo Life, Pure Xbox, and, er, Push Square have put aside their boxing gloves, and joined forces to bring you this industry wide look at all...
Talking Point Will Sony Have Enough PS4 Material to Topple Microsoft's Game Heavy Show?
Games, games, games
Microsoft’s heavily hyped E3 media briefing this year was always going to be about redemption for the put upon platform holder. With new gaffer Phil Spencer attempting to turn around the organisation’s image, the press conference was filled with phrases aimed directly at fans. “Thank you” was a statement that seemed...
E3 2014 PlayStation and Xbox Executives Slay the Web with a Simple Embrace
This isn't how it's supposed to be
We thought that this industry was all about a war of words and exclusive games – not hugs and kisses prior to the biggest gaming convention of the year. Alas, it seems that new Xbox boss Phil Spencer and former PlayStation president Jack Tretton are eager to prove that the console war only exists on the Internet,...
News Microsoft: PS4 Is Outperforming Xbox One Because PS3 Didn't Satisfy Consumers
Oh, right
Sony is certainly no stranger to silly statements, with its hubris heading into the previous generation providing plenty of memes which still do the rounds today. However, it would appear that Microsoft learned nothing from the Japanese giant’s biggest blunders, as the firm is still making some wince inducing statements regarding the...
Reaction Xbox One's PS4 Impersonation Improves with Kinect Reversal
Xbox, WTF?
Microsoft successfully completed its transformation of the Xbox One into the PlayStation 4 today, announcing that the system will soon be sold without a Kinect camera included. This likely represents the last reversal in a throng of backtracks, and the decision has presumably been made in response to
Talking Point Why Sony's Right to Retain the Franchises It Funds
Crash course
Insomniac Games announced its soda-based sandbox excursion Sunset Overdrive to an explosion of goodwill this week. The colourful Xbox One exclusive harks back to the Dreamcast era, boasting oversaturated skylines and some decidedly SEGA gameplay mechanics. Sporting a system that sees your firepower increase as you combo tricks, it looks...
News PS4's Power Advantage Over Xbox One Is Irrelevant, Says Pachter
Doesn't influence purchasing decisions
It didn’t take long for the PlayStation 4 to be crowned the king of next-gen consoles. Speculation regarding the power advantages of Sony’s system was rife prior to release, but the story really exploded when it was confirmed that blockbusters such as Assassin’s Creed IV: Black F
News Pachter: Sony Would Probably Like to Get Call of Duty DLC Exclusivity
Switching sides
There are rumblings that changes may be afoot in the Call of Duty content clash. While the series has been historically aligned with the Xbox brand, rumours earlier in the year indicated that Sony may be willing to stump up the cash in order to ensure that the property is associated with the PlayStation 4. And speaking on the latest...
Weirdness We're a Bit Jealous of This Xbox One Indie Game
The only way is 7-Up
Sony may have taken a huge lead in the indie arena, but Microsoft is fighting back with its atrociously named ID@Xbox initiative. As such, it seems that the PlayStation 4 will actually be missing out on one upcoming indie gem: Soda Drinker Pro. The swigging
News Microsoft Ponders PlayStation's Commitment to, Er, Television
TV, TV, TV
Microsoft may be doing its best to refocus the Xbox One’s strategy on games, but it’s still quietly got television on the brain. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, entertainment executive Nancy ‘Next Water Cooler Moment’ Tellem questioned Sony’s commitment to original content, boasting that the Redmond-based firm has been...
News UK PS4 Stock Shortages Allow Xbox One to Pull Ahead Over Previous Four Weeks
System wars
While you can find a PlayStation 4 if you look here in the UK, the console is far from being readily available. The system has been sold out at most major online retailers since the start of March, and that’s been reflected in the software sales, which have taken a tumble over the past few weeks. In fact, it seems like the lack of...
News Sony's PS4 Indie Launch Parity Clause Is More Parody
See what you did there
Microsoft’s holding a gun to the heads of indie developers, forcing them to deploy their wares on the Xbox One at the same time as other systems or forget releasing them on the format at all. This means that smaller studios without the bandwidth to produce multiple versions of their titles at once may be forced to launch on...
News Pachter: Titanfall Exclusivity Due to Industry Thinking Xbox One Would Eat PS4's Lunch
Tides are turning
With an Xbox 360 and PC iteration in the pipeline, Titanfall is not quite the bonafide Xbox One exclusive that Microsoft’s hyping it up to be. However, the Redmond-based manufacturer has ensured that the inaugural iteration in Respawn Entertainment’s first-person franchise will not arrive on the PlayStation 4. What does that...
News Xbox One's Heinous Launch Parity Clause Still Causing Problems for PlayStation Devs
Playing dirty
Microsoft may have been quick to react to the negative feedback pointed at most aspects of the Xbox One, but it’s refusing to budge on the launch parity clause that underlines its hastily implemented indie initiative. For those out of the loop, the manufacturer will not allow titles to appear on its system if they’ve already...
Talking Point Should Sony Respond to Microsoft's UK Xbox One Price Cut?
Incredible crisis
You’ve got to hand it to Microsoft, it knows how to react quickly. The Redmond-based manufacturer has been flip-flopping between Xbox One strategies faster than Usain Bolt in sandals, starting all the way back at E3 where the company controversially defended its abhorrent digital rights management policies – only to yank them...
News PS4 Exclusive RIME Almost Ended Up on the Xbox One
Microsoft rejected the release
It may be one of the most anticipated PlayStation 4 titles in production, but things could have been very different for Tequila Works’ stunning ICO-esque excursion RIME. A document uncovered by underground publication VG Leaks indicates that the Spanish developer actually pitched the title to Microsoft first, as an...
