"We know a lot of you are probably wondering: Why now?".
This is a bit of a shocker. Ubisoft has pushed back release of all versions of Watch Dogs to spring 2014, in order not to "compromise on quality". The game was originally down to release in November, alongside the Xbox One.
"We highly recommend performing these additional installations.".
Remember Battlefield 3's hefty installation options? Battlefield 4 for Xbox 360 continues the theme - for the "best experience possible", EA says you'll want to install some 12 GB worth of game content to your hard drive.
"Formally digital players are becoming analogue - it's because of the impulse trigger".
Turn 10 Studios' creative director Dan Greenawalt reckons that the Xbox One controller - specifically its impulse triggers and their ability to create haptic feedback - will make us all better drivers. In Forza 5, at least.
Also a load of Ben 10 games. Sold?.
Another Deal of the Week has dawned, and it's even more of a motley affair than the last one. Battlestations? Ben 10? Storm? Have you left the Xbox Live Deal-O-Matic on shuffle, Microsoft?
Regina George was right...
If you've been exploring the Games Add-on tab on Xbox Live recently, you might have noticed that 99.999% of the content you find on there now consists of costumes for Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate. Classy individuals can outfit their characters from genres like "school girl," "gym class," "cheerleader,"and of course, "Ultimate sexy."
Digital evolution is "unstoppable" but user choice is paramount.
Microsoft's corporate vice president Phil Harrison has been speaking to a journalist about the Xbox One again. He's incorrigible, that man. In a wide-ranging chat with MCV, Harrison discussed the rise of digital versus the importance of customer choice, and promised that the Xbox One cloud would be used to enhance Xbox One's capabilities after launch.
Microsoft goes on the self-promotional warpath.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Nope, it's a Microsoft PR infographic about the Xbox One, the ONLY console on offer with real next gen multiplayer. Independent sources differ as to whether such touted Xbox One features as Smart Match and Cloud Power are worth selling a kidney for, or worth selling a kid for - you might want to sell both, just to be on the safe side.
Community manager confirms that world builder won't cost you a bean.
You already knew that Project Spark is a free-to-play game - but is that "free" as in "free with Xbox Gold"? The answer, happily, is no.
Microsoft "proud and humbled to be the top online gaming service".
Microsoft PR kingpin Major "Not Really A Major" Nelson (also known as Larry Hryb) has used his latest blog post to take a little pop at a certain rival console, who shall remain nameless. Let's call that console the "S3". No, wait - that risks confusion with Samsung's Galaxy smartphones. OK, how about "PS"?
Major Nelson talks us through the next Xbox console's social features.
Xbox One profile pages, friends lists and other social features have been detailed in a new Microsoft video, graced by the sultry vocals of Major "Larry Hryb" Nelson. Want to know about the difference between Friending someone and Following them? Now's your chance to get wise.
"We sincerely hope that this cash stimulus will help you get back on your feet.".
If your GTA 5 multiplayer character has bitten dust care of a GTA Online bug, light a candle in his or her memory, because there's no way you'll get that character back. Rockstar has confessed that while it aims to fix the bug in question, it won't be able to reinstate any progress you may have lost.
Along with more Wolf Among Us stuff.
Fear not, Clementine lovers - The Walking Dead XBLA isn't, um, dead. Telltale has promised that it'll reveal more about the subfranchise's second season later this month, alongside further revelations of the Big, Bad and Wolfy variety. Have you played the first episode of The Wolf Among Us yet? Aoife says it's rather good.
Videogame sex is "incredibly expensive in terms of animation fidelity", confesses cinematic director.
Well here's something I wasn't expecting to read first thing on a Monday morning - a full and frank discussion of Dragon Age: Inquisition's sex scenes on the part of cinematic director Jonathan Perry. Romance options are now, it seems, thoroughly a part of BioWare's RPG DNA, despite a certain amount of on-going controversy at either end of the political spectrum; Perry says Inquisition's contributions will be "mature and tasteful". Don't expect chocolate bar commercial lingerie, in short.
Plus some other titles you probably won't be interested in.
I'd avoided writing about this week's Deal of the Week, because the offerings are a little stinky, but given the shortage of news this morning, perhaps we can risk a little stinkiness? The games on show aren't all bad, in fairness - there's Rebellion's FPS Alien vs Predator for #163;7.49, and Monolith's MOBA Guardians of Middle-Earth for a fiver.
K-K-K-kind of pointless.
If the lack of a boxed retail edition of Killer Instinct is getting you down, the guys at Penny Arcade have taken it upon themselves to swoop to your rescue with an official Xbox One KI box. There'll still be no disc inside, mind - just some pins. I'm not even sure what you'd do with these pins. Display them, by the looks of things?
A potentially shocking revelation.
It's been a decidedly comic-book themed weekend for news, no doubt due largely to the goings on at the annual New York Comic Con currently taking place across the pond. We've already had a couple of Marvel stories, but it's time to give the DC side a look in with the announcement of the latest villain joining the hunt for ol' Brucie in Batman: Arkham Origins.
Thor: The Dark World tie-in DLC also announced.
Good news, true believers - those of you eagerly awaiting the release of Lego Marvel Super Heroes next month will be pleased to hear that a free demo will be available to download via your Xbox this Tuesday.
Our collection of weekly link goodness.
It's getting colder and the nights are drawing in - Autumn is well and truly here, but so are we - how about a nice game of conkers? Although in our version we're stealing the Cargobob in GTA Online and hooking unwitting passing cars to use as our "conkers".
12 inches of Spartan will set you back $295.
Are you worried about the Covenant invading your desk? Collectors making an assault on your shelf? What you need is an imposing collectable statue of ol' Master Chief himself, and luckily this December you'll be able to get just that.
Weaving its own tangled web of continuity on Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
As sure as night follows day, spider catches fly and I give a wide berth to any space with a spider residing in it, it was somewhat inevitable that next year's follow up to the reboot of the Spider-Man movie franchise would also get another mandatory videogame tie in.
