X-Box One Controller... Update?

Though I don't use it as often anymore ever since Valve allowed every compatible controller full customization access on Steam, I remember the Steam Controller receiving plenty of firmware updates. I don't remember any other controllers that receive such a treatment except for the Vive Controllers. I remember thinking, wow, this controller is really, really awkward to use - the XYAB input placement was horrific - but it's so special that it can receive firmware updates! So I was playing Borderlands 3 on Epic Games earlier using my comfort device, the X-Box One Controller, and I noticed that my character couldn't just stand still where he would keep drifting to the right continuously until I snap the left stick a bit. I have had bad experiences with X-Box 360 controllers before where this problem occurred and went through 3 controllers on that system. At first I was like, oh crap, time to switch to the PlayStation 4 controller but then I went online for a solution. I was surprised to learn that the X-Box One Controllers do get firmware updates. I suppose since I don't have an X-Box One, which would have updated the controller when you connect to the console, it would be easy for me to miss this. Apparently, one can download the X-Box Accessories app from the Windows 10 Store to get this accomplished. I learned something new today. Did it fix my problem? No, Microsoft controllers are just built bad apparently. I'm glad I didn't buy the overpriced elite version.

My controller did need a firmware update. The thing is, Microsoft just wants me to buy another one.

$1 Digital Rental Is A-OK

I have been mulling over this one for a while and I have finally made the jump. I have tried subscribing to GameFly a couple of times in the past with unfavorable results. I am a mood-dependent gamer. The games I play at any given point are as varied as my mood swings. It's almost impossible for me to focus on one game to play and see through it until the end unless the game happens to be incredibly good. This is why renting a game just doesn't work for me. But for $1? Just $1 to access the recently released The Outer Worlds? That's too good of a bargain to pass. Microsoft is gambling big here with their X-Box Game Pass for PC, which is currently in beta, by offering new subscribers a $1 first month introductory price and $4.99 promotional price after if one opted to continue with the service. Not only that, for them to include The Outer Worlds into the lineup plus the promise of all internal studio games will launch on the rental service? I was crazy to wait this long to take this for a test run.

The service includes plenty of games I already have, like Dishonored 2.

Would I be keeping the service after the first month? Probably not due to the dilemma I presented earlier. I rather just purchase games and then play them at my leisure without the fear of losing access to them because I don't want to pay a monthly fee. But there are several games on the current list that I am interested in, Gears 5 for example. It will be interesting to see how I am going to manage all this, especially after noticing that The Outer Worlds may not be Obsidian Entertainment's best offering, so far anyway, which means that it will be a struggle to stick with the game. Even if I decided to extend this subscription to a second month, the low price point makes that a non-issue. Microsoft and its competitors have been trying to make the digital rental as a major part of their business. Microsoft may not be able to keep someone like me hooked but I am sure a lot of people may find their offerings irresistible.

Collector's Edition 2020: We Have Arrived!

Remember the $99.99 Collector's Edition of Tales of Xillia? That was cute right? Dangerous... but cute. Then, there was the $119.99 Collector's Edition of Dark Souls II. We knew then things were getting creepy. Then, came the $129.99 Collector's Edition of Tales of Xillia 2. Yeah, it was all over after that. I was too exhausted to cover other awful, overpriced packages that came after, including the most recent offering in the form of the horrific Fallout 76 Power Armor Edition. Can you believe that people actually paid $200 for that?

Well, brace yourself for the new level of horror in the darkest depth of ridiculousness. You would think that such an overpriced item would accompany a major AAA gaming release but no. This new low is brought to you by the upcoming - take a deep breath - SpongeBob video game! And it's not even a new game, it's another remake in the form of SpongeBob Squarepants: The Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated! The F.U.N. Edition a.k.a. the Collector's Edition will retail at $299.99. Yes, $299.99. It includes the game, 3 figurines, key chains, stickers, lithographs and uh... a pair of socks. I get it, SpongeBoB has a huge following and I can understand why. I have watched some of the shows and it's one of those brilliant creations that's able to be intriguing to both children and adults with its wacky, crudely nonsensical humor. But $299.99? Oh yes, they went there. They know that there are plenty of people who would purchase this, judging from the fact that many gamers still happily pay money to get online multiplayer access and still go goo goo gaga over new consoles.

The fun of spending $300.

X-Box: Beyond Generations?

The tagline used during the Microsoft E3 briefing today, "Beyond Generations", sounds suspiciously like what we are already experiencing right now with gaming on the Personal Computer. When they announced "Project Scorpio" at the end of the briefing, the hardware was still referred to as a "console". Well, if this thing ended up being anything like the Steam Machines fueled by Valve's living room obsession which happen to be console-like PC desktops, then Microsoft may have a real winner here. I truly hope that this signifies that Microsoft has finally seen the light and that PC gaming in the end is the ultimate destination for game development because it is not bound by generations nor is it limited by technology. It's a continuum, an ever-expanding platform. If this Project Scorpio thing ended up being just a small PC powered by Windows 10 and it would use the Windows Store as the game delivery method, then it's a wonderful thing for gaming. The fact that future X-Box One games come bundled with the Windows Store version on the PC is quite telling though Microsoft can further make things more exciting by releasing previously X-Box One exclusive titles to the PC as soon as possible. I really want to play that Sunset Overdrive on my PC. Microsoft's commitment to PC gaming development would definitely put them in a tie with Valve's Steam as the ultimate gaming destinations and it would easily leave Sony in the dust because the only way Sony would be able to compete then would be to replicate both Microsoft's and Valve's business model by delivering games via PC clients - if that were to ever happen, everyone wins. Well, that's a lie. The stubborn, out of touch Nintendo will still be the sore loser... Unless of course they start selling games on the PC as well! Nintendo, please just abandon the NX idea while you still can. It's not too late! It's not going to be a success and you know it.

Just add Nvidia's new GTX 1080 into the Scorpio mini-PC and call it a day.

Worst Game Trailer: Dark Souls III

We all should know at this point that From Software can release an endless number of Dark Souls games in rapid succession even and they all will sell like hot cakes because a majority of gamers already bought the "difficulty" hype. But apparently, somewhere along the distribution line, there are still people involved in the process who feel that the target audience still needs to be reminded that the upcoming Dark Souls III will be an awesome experience by releasing a trailer that pretty much shows a large number of the game's boss fights and it may even include a footage of possibly the final boss. The first time I saw the trailer was while browsing channels on twitch.tv - an ad would load before you can watch the broadcast - and I was thinking to myself, wow, do they really think they couldn't sell this game with just a subtle, simple trailer like how they marketed the previous two games? I am not going to dignify that trailer by linking it here but what were they thinking? It's bad enough that Bandai Namco had distributed early access to a limited portion of the game to twitch.tv celebs, which I find to be overreaching and stupid: If you are a true Dark Souls fan, why would you even watch the broadcast and get the early part of the game spoiled for you? The marketing department clearly doesn't understand what Dark Souls is all about based on that reveal all bosses trailer and reveal too much gameplay broadcast campaign. Very strange indeed because this whole series is built upon mystique and player discovery. If I was From Software, perhaps it's time to end the relationship with Bandai Namco and go solo so that they can keep their dignity and protect their artwork from further desecration.

The marketing department is staffed with twitch trolls apparently

who want to say, "Ha ha ha we are taking away your initial surprise

from encountering these bosses in the game! Sucks to be you!"

Okay Microsoft, This I Like

Microsoft announced today during their E3 conference that the X-Box One will be receiving X-Box 360 backwards compatibility, with the amount of compatible games reaching around 100 by the time the feature is officially launched this fall. The coolest thing about this is that Microsoft is claiming that these games will run natively on the X-Box One instead running on mere software emulation and that even retail disc games will work. I really like this idea. I mean, I really like it a lot. With Sony trying to milk their loyal customers dry with the rental game service of past generation PlayStation games, Microsoft is paving a more intriguing path. They also claim that the list will continue to grow as long as the publishers of the affected games approve those games to be playable on the X-Box One. This could be tricky though so it is possible that this may turn out the same way as how the original X-Box compatibility was on the X-Box 360 - which if you remember, was severely lacking - if these game publishers get too selfish. But you know what? I have to give credit where it's due and Microsoft is doing the right thing here and technically, they are allowing full backwards compatibility but they cannot force the publishers' hands. This is an excellent feature that should continue across console generations and I am a supporter of backwards compatibility - that is why I primarily game on the Personal Computers (Steam rules all) because you know, almost all of those PC games are compatible with newer operating systems. You have won Microsoft because you even made me start thinking of getting an X-Box One - gasp! I love the idea of having another hardware that I can use for my X-Box 360 games. It would have been nicer if you just allow Windows 10 to be able to play both the X-Box 360 games and X-Box One games but you know that will never happen.

Can we speed up the release of this feature and bump up the number of games please?

DA: Inquisition - Welcome to the Stone Age

I am quite excited about the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition, so much so that I finally completed the always stunted play-through of Dragon Age II. In the past, I had to restart playing that game twice from the very beginning because I left the game for quite a while on both occasions. It's always hard for me to get into a game again after leaving it behind for too long but thankfully I decided to just brave through the disorientation and confusion this time around only to discover that I was actually very close to the end of the game. It felt good to see the end of the sequel's tale, even though the epilogue was rather disappointing. More disappointing however was the discovery that Inquisition will not have an import save feature and instead, one has to manually plug in decisions made in past games via the Dragon Age Keep website. Such an odd choice. Surely there has got to be a way to make importing save files possible here because completing the "World State" from the website is a frustrating process since I really couldn't remember - and I doubt that I'm the only one - the specific choices I made while playing the first game. Thank the galaxy that I was fresh off the second game so I was able to complete entries for that game with ease.

Video games don't remember choices anymore. That task belongs to the humans now.

Gaming technology is supposed to advance forward and BioWare's approach to interconnect the first two games with Inquisition is a rather embarrassing one. Now I worked hard on completing all the choices on the website so I better see clever implementation of all that data in Inquisition. And please, no more of this manual crap in the future. I have a feeling that they are doing this primarily to help the PlayStation 4 and X-Box One players because it would be hard to get the save files from the previous versions of those consoles over. Just randomize events or create a default state for those are new to the series and mandate only the PS4/XOne players to complete the plot tapestry on the website instead of making everyone suffer just to play the game properly.

LIVE Gold Downgrade: A New X-Box Innovation

For the first time since the introduction of the X-Box LIVE Gold membership in 2005, Microsoft has finally done something smart. Starting sometime in June, the Gold membership is no longer required for users to access a number of NON-GAMING apps like Twitch.tv and Netflix. I have been harping about this ever since I left the service many asteroids ago and it's finally happening! Will Microsoft continue to do the right thing and fatally stab Sony in their now exposed neck with a long-sword by removing LIVE Gold requirement for online multiplayer, a mode that is supposed to be free on these consoles anyway like it is on the Wii U as well as the Personal Computer, specifically, Steam, and thus leaving Sony in an awkward position? We all know Microsoft is getting desperate because they are even launching a Kinect-less X-Box One: Let's face it, the Kinect camera is so non-essential that most just use it as a cam when streaming to Twitch. So Microsoft should really consider shaking things up with something more drastic: Like the free online multiplayer! If they were to launch X-Box Forever like I suggested, they would have been dominating the industry by now...

"X-Box, record that!" He said is his favorite Kinect feature.

Well, on the PlayStation 4, all I have to do is press a button? Click here to watch the full vid.

Motion Gaming: The Underestimation

I may not have an X-Box One and neither do I plan to ever getting the game but I must say that the recently released Kinect Sports Rivals does look like it is a lot fun and the graphics look pretty darn nice as well for what is a basic motion game. Watching that game being played on twitch.tv prompted me to get into Sports Champions 2 for the PlayStation 3 over the weekend and I had a blast playing that game. Tennis and bowling are both really fun with the PlayStation Move controller because of the combination of motion performance and button inputs. I haven't rebooted my daily exercising regiment yet ever since that shoulder injury with Wii Fit but I know that I need to do that very soon because since yesterday, my body has been aching like mad, especially my arms from all that bowling ball throwing and tennis racket swinging action.

Hitting those balls hard is so satisfying... until later.

It's easy to criticize motion games, sports-themed or otherwise, as something that is too light weight to have an impact on one's physical well being but the fact of the matter is, if one is not a gym rat or if one doesn't own that sexy hard bod, these little things can actually be quite beneficial and they need to be implemented more into one's gaming routine. All these current nasty aches tell me that I need to get into the program and start working out again because surely, I shouldn't be that impacted from two separate hour sessions with the game. Motion gaming may be a gimmick, but it has its place in our gaming lives.

Big Screen: The Misinformation Continues...

With the X-Box One Twitch broadcasting ability being available starting tomorrow, the misinformation in regards to big screen and console gaming continues... Here is what I found on Twitch under their X-Box One streaming promotion page:

Why not use this little blurb to promote Twitch in general?

Now those who have hooked up their Personal Computer to their big screen display know that watching Twitch on the big screen is not a console exclusive experience and I myself have been watching Twitch on the Internet via my big screen from the very beginning. It's bad enough that even Valve took advantage of this whole misinformation in regards to PC and big screen gaming but it's always annoying to see this blatant abuse continuing to exist.

Where to Place That X-Box One?

So I ran out of space to place another console on and around my entertainment center in my Game Room without perhaps disconnecting one of my older consoles from the entire setup. Yet my X-Box One certainly deserves a place within my congregation of gaming devices. Even if I remove one of the older consoles, I wouldn't feel safe leaving the X-Box One inside an enclosed space - can't trust the built longevity of these modern consoles - so it looks like I don't have a choice but place it on top of the front left speaker. It should be okay, right?

Can't wait to watch cable TV with it!

Achievements from Watching Twitch and More!

I couldn't help but laugh when I read this Official Twitch Blog entry about X-Box One's twitch.tv achievements. With the system not being able to natively stream to twitch until early next year, unlike the PlayStation 4 which already has that function at launch despite looking a bit poor quality wise, Microsoft wants to make sure that X-Box One gamers are doing what they should be doing best with the console - more watching instead of playing video games! Watching twitch.tv via the X-Box One can grant a plethora of achievements:

X-Box One: Truly the best place to be when it comes to passively watching something.

While you are at it, Microsoft, may I suggest that you implement the following achievements for the X-Box One? I am sure they will be very popular with the console's users. You are welcome:

• All-Seeing Eye: Clock more hours watching twitch.tv, television programs, and movies over playing video games on the console. You can get this achievement once a week as long as you meet the criteria.
• Body of Work: Have the Kinect camera watch you for 100 hours.
• Sculptured Art: Allow the Kinect to scan your full body without having any clothes on.
• Master-Slave Relationship: Use the Kinect's "X-Box" commands 1000 times.
• Entertainment King: Use the X-Box One only for non-gaming entertainment for a total of 50 hours before playing video games on it again. You get double the points with this achievement if you do this when you first use the console.
• Talk to the Hand: Interrupt your gaming session using the "X-Box watch TV" or "X-Box watch movie" commands 1000 times. You must then watch the television show or movie for 5 minutes or more before going back to your game for it to count towards the total.

Aren't those suggested achievements great? You know you want to unlock them if they get implemented.

No, That's Not an Instruction Booklet

Ah, those who are still obsessed with getting "retail copies" of games and insist that gaming should not be distributed exclusively via digital means and the developers who do not have the guts to pave the way into the real future of gaming... These guys are silly, are they not? I mean, why would they cling to physical distribution when the game manuals have been reduced to something that is not even a game manual. For instance, this copy of Tank! Tank! Tank! for the Wii U that I received today. Within the thin interiors of its "Instruction Booklet" - 6 pages in all in which, the last two pages are reserved for "Notes" - contains nothing about the actual game but instead, we get seizure warnings and warranty information in both English as well as French! Oh no, they forgot to put the information in Spanish in there! If both Microsoft and Sony were real gaming innovators, they would have carried their customers into the digital age but since they are still not very smart about how to do this right, you developers should consider just focusing on selling your games on Steam - Hint: You wouldn't have to lie and print abominations such as this fake manual anymore:

No, that's not an "Instructional Booklet". That, my friend, is an insult.

More PS4 Units? Ewww...

I got a nasty email from GameStop today telling me that they will have more PlayStation 4 units available for pre-order. As you may already know, I do not have any interest in the PS4 whatsoever. Neither do I have any interest in the X-Box One. I find one thing very curious though about the upcoming launch of both of these consoles: It is very obvious that both Microsoft and Sony are making a lot of units available for pre-order versus how things were handled in the past. My personal take on this is that they are pushing a lot more launch consoles out to gauge people's interest from the pre-order numbers and they want to convince more people to commit to buy the systems knowing that those new systems are pretty much a joke compared to what we already have now. There is no reason why the PlayStation 3 and the X-Box 360 should be replaced, it's all unnecessary. There is no reason for Sony to start charging for online multiplayer. The console gaming industry to me is just not very attractive anymore and it's going downhill. My prediction is that it would be easy to get these consoles during launch so for those who missed out on the pre-order, don't worry. Papa Microsoft and Mama Sony will make sure that they have enough consoles for everyone so that they could make some money from their foul endeavors.

It's time to stop those automatic GameStop emails to come to my mailbox.

Oh look, a multi-platform title but wait! Surely you want the PS4 version because...

IT HAS TOUCHSCREEN GAMEPLAY! I laughed so hard I almost farted out my dinner.

Project X Zone: Target's Last Copy

If there was one gaming regret that still haunts me from my past, it would be not picking up a copy of Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier for the Nintendo DS when I saw it sitting on the retail shelf at Fry's Electronics when the game was first released before taking with me another game to the cash register. Ever since then, I was unable to find the game again at retail and it would not make sense if I were to purchase it at the ridiculous price that people are selling the game for ever since it went rare. So when Project X Zone was announced for the Nintendo 3DS, I was ecstatic. I kept reminding myself to pre-order a copy at Amazon just to ensure that I get the game - and you know pre-ordering is a pretty rare thing for me so it should tell you just how special this game is. The fact that Namco x Capcom for the PlayStation 2 never reaches the North American shores made the game even more desirable for many people. For me, the appearances of familiar game characters from across Capcom, Namco Bandai Games, and Sega was the most exciting thing about Project X Zone but it is the frenetic 2D sprite battles made the game even more adorable. Well, a week ago I finally remembered to place my pre-order and of course by then, the game was no longer available on Amazon. Immediately there were already crazy sellers offering the game at high prices to take advantage of the situation. I felt silly of course that I didn't pre-order earlier but at least I feel a whole lot better about things now:

Building up my Game Library for my modern Nintendo platforms.

As you can see, I did manage to score a copy today from the most unexpected of places... Target?! Fry's didn't have the game yet, which is to be expected these days with their weird inventory situation, but I was able to get the last copy from a local Target store. In a way, things worked out better because I didn't have to wait for the game to arrive from Amazon and there's even another bonus! Target also had Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate for the Wii U on sale so I decided to bring that home as well. I am trying to do my best to support my Wii U since I have decided to bypass the PlayStation 4 and the X-Box One due to their inappropriate FEE-to-play onlilne multiplayer practice. I remember someone telling me that I should still get one of those consoles just for the single player games and play all the online-multiplayer games on my Personal Computer. Well, that's like buying a pair of underwear to put on at the beach only that there's a large hole in the front and my private part is left out in the open. That would probably work great when shooting pornography but not for a public beach. No thank you. I don't know why people would buy the PS4 and/or the XOne if they don't plan on paying the online multiplayer fees because that's a lot more dumb than getting the PS4 and/or the XOne and actually paying the online multiplayer fees.

X-Box One Turnaround - A Thought

So the X-Box One has recently decided to match the PlayStation 4's used game as well as no Internet check policies. Well, that's all good and well. But you know what? Imagine what would happen if people actually use their brains and start boycotting both Sony and Microsoft for their insistence on implementing/keeping FEE-to-play online multiplayer? Yeah, that thing would be history. The funny thing here is that I don't even understand why the 24-hour check was such a big deal since almost all XOne users would be on LIVE Gold anyway to access online multiplayer so they would be online almost all the time they are using the console. Remember that there was a time when Microsoft tried to charge a fee to access LIVE-enabled online modes for the Personal Computer and they quickly changed it so that PC gamers can access online multiplayer via the LIVE service for free because PC gamers just couldn't be fooled. The chances of that happening for PS4 and XOne? Nil. Unfortunately, there are a lot of not so smart people out there. Why did you think Sony actually dared to slap a price on PS4 online multiplayer? The amount of PlayStation Plus "rental program" subscribers tell them all they needed to know about how gullible their victims are...

No free online multiplayer = No sale for me.

The Last of Us: To See the Stars

There used to be a time when I told people to get all the consoles to be able to experience all that gaming has to offer, that one should pursue the games and not their association to a particular console. But things were different back then and I don't believe in that anymore. One thing still holds true however: there is no such thing as a "console war", especially when people have the freedom to own all the consoles and that war is just a figment of a one console loyalist's imagination, something that I suspect sparked from jealousy when one could only afford one over the others. I have now gained a new understanding to the non-existence of console war, in which when one can be free from their allure in the first place. I have been gaming all my life and my recent decision to abandon Sony and Microsoft in their supposed "next generation" crusade made me feel quite free. I now know that I will not be seeing the PlayStation 4 and the X-Box One consoles in my Game Room and that knowledge brought me unparalleled satisfaction. Both consoles insist on FEE-to-play online multiplayer and I don't support that whatsoever. I originally planned to at least get the PS4 down the line but now, the PS4 is nothing different than the XOne. While Microsoft wants to push non-essential non-gaming features down gamers' throats and bundling access to those things with the ability to play online multiplayer for a fee, Sony's now mandatory PlayStation Plus subscription for online functions means that Sony really wants to push their game rental agenda. They will offer a lot of free games through the PS+ service, just like what they are doing now and more people will be subscribing to the service because they want to access a crucial feature of any gaming platform: the online multiplayer. Once that program ends, all those free games that people thought they own will go away. If you think Sony doesn't care about digital rights management, you are clearly mistaken. It's a simple trick: convince people to stop buying games at retail by offering those games eventually on PS+ and people will then just wait for the eventual PS+ "free" releases that they never truly own. I don't see that PS+ is going to go away for a long time, sure, but I will never pay Sony for that rental program.

The PlayStation 3 and the X-Box 360: The last of their kind

Though there are some truths to Sony "winning" the E3 show, I do find it funny how PS4 loyalists are thinking that this spells doom for the XOne. Don't they know that just like them, the XOne loyalists cannot be deterred from buying a Microsoft console? I mean, these are the same people who have been paying for online multiplayer without questioning the audacity of such a fee so an extra $100 is nothing to them. They have survived the "red ring of death", the obnoxious fee, and Microsoft's non-gaming focus on the X-Box 360 so they will keep supporting the XOne even if that means having the console validated over the Internet every 24 hours. Also, the non-gaming portion of the XOne will ensure that non-gamers will eat the console up if they want a cool cable set top box! Yeah, I see the major success of the XOne for sure and hand-in-hand with the PS4, many will be buying these console, except for me. It's funny. I started with just one console during the Genesis vs. Super Nintendo Entertainment System era and now, history repeats itself. It'll be me and the Wii U and the powerful companion of the Personal Computer. The PS4 and the XOne are both unnecessary to me, especially the fact that their predecessors are still capable of giving so much more yet rudely abandoned by both companies. I am certain that many will say that I will be missing out but I do know deep within me that this new found feeling of total freedom is something that I could never let go. To think that I used to stress out about getting the many games under the many platforms, just look at how long my Purchase List is now, but with this epiphany, I now feel that I have things under control, not to mention I will have plenty of spare cash. I don't doubt that there are going to be games that I may be interested in that will be out for those new consoles but I have been interested in many games in the past and they normally ended up just sitting quietly in my Game Library untouched all these years because the proper moods to play them have not arrived yet. It's important to bear in mind that things should always be kept into perspective. Please, don't tell me that I should get the new consoles without paying for PS+ and LIVE Gold because that's telling me that I should get a meal at a restaurant that is already half-eaten. What an odd but fascinating twist in my gaming life that the gaming universe has thrown at me.

X-Box One: E3 2013

You know that I am not a fan of console developers pushing their "next generation" agenda when the current consoles out there in the marketplace today still hold some crazy untapped demonic powers within them. Out of the three, I do favor the Wii U the most for it did end up being in my Game Room unexpectedly, the PlayStation 4 second but I don't plan on getting it in the next 2 years, and the X-Box One dead last as I am certain that I have no interest in it. The fact that the X-Box One will require a LIVE Gold subscription fee to access all of its features, just like how things are handled on the X-Box 360, helped in sealing the deal for me. Even though I have no interest in the X-Box One, I was curious to see Microsoft's E3 briefing for this year but apparently, deep in my subconscious, I really didn't want to watch it because I had totally forgotten about it until the presentation almost ended. So I didn't watch it live for the first time in all these years and when watching the recording, I pretty much skipped through the whole thing because it wasn't interesting whatsoever. The only really fascinating thing about the whole thing was the twitch.tv integration - Valve, it's time to implement that into Steam, even Origin has that for a while now. The price point of $499.99 does feel expensive, especially if you consider how obsolete the technology behind the console actually is compared to what you can truly achieve currently on a decent gaming Personal Computer. Hun, don't be sneaky with me with the X-Box One - I do not want it so don't buy it for me!

After gaming for a long time, I just want a gaming revolution, not a new gaming console...

Wait, what's this doing below the official stream page?

You really want to know Microsoft?

I am sure my story won't get front-page posting from Microsoft:

Well, you did ask for my story.

The X-Box One Announcement is a TV Show

While the PlayStation 4 announcement was a comedy show with the console designer trying his best to convince us that only a new console can bring new gaming experiences, the reveal of the new X-Box One today prioritized the non-gaming entertainment portion of the console. It was all about television and movies and how the console is capable of interacting with your live television. Yes, this console, just like the X-Box 360, doesn't prioritize gaming. It's all about everything else with gaming on the side. The fact that they tackled the non-gaming feature first and during the majority of the reveal is very telling. Oh, and I love how they tried to claim that the X-Box One is the only way you can use Skype on the big screen in the living room. I find it really funny how everyone has forgotten that the Personal Computer can be connected to the big screen. I am so done with these so-called "new generation" consoles. When they finally rolled out the new games coming out for the console, there was really nothing new nor exciting. That Quantum Break trailer was lame. "Visual so real" one of the presenters blurted out. Oh please, I have seen better. As a matter of fact, I just saw something more remarkable last night. This was an opportunity for Microsoft to take a big risk and gain greater rewards with getting into PC gaming via Windows 8 and they failed. There was no mention whether or not the LIVE service would be free on X-Box One but since they are going to have more servers to support the service, I am quite sure that it would be there, perhaps a little more expensive than before. I also have a feeling that they will bundle TV services with it too. Between the PS4 and the X-Box One, I prefer the former. Still, I wouldn't touch the PS4 for a long time to come.

X-Box One: The real way to... watch TV!

Update Note: 12:00pm - Confirmed. LIVE Gold will require a fee on X-Box One.

Why not just give us free 3 months of Gold nsa to celebrate the 360's untimely death?