Choice of x86 architecture gives PC developers more power.
Microsoft apparently planned to unveil the next generation Xbox this very month, but decided it could afford to hold off in light of what it considered to be an underwhelming showing by rival manufacturer Sony, sources have told Bloomberg. Also: the new machine's said to run a fancy-dan AMD chip which makes life easier for PC and mobile developers, possibly at the expense of backwards compatibility.
4J already beavering away on another update.
Minecraft Xbox 360's latest update continues to be a thorny prospect for some, as reports come in of further technical troubles. I've been following 4J's responses on Twitter, and am proud to present the Official OXM Incomplete List Of Known And Addressed Bugs - this being more or less as exciting as it gets round these parts of a rainy Tuesday morning.
Likely to be pulled soon, so watch now.
Quick, before Uncle Guillemot gets back from the shops! 30 minutes of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon gameplay footage have appeared online, showing the tutorial sequence and a subsequent battle. Have a watch.
Also, you'll no longer have to worry about erroneous werewolves.
Fear not, Dragonborn! No longer will men dressed in nought but a hat run up to you clutching letters in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. Bethesda has released update 1.9 on Xbox Live, implementing no end of fixes and adding a couple of new features in the shape of the Legendary difficulty setting and Legendary skills.
800 MP, 480 MB for three new maps.
Spartans! Make a beeline for the nearest Wraith, Scorpion or Warthog. Halo 4's Castle Map pack is yours for the taking, providing you sacrifice 800 MP and 480.31 MB of HD space on the altar of Xbox Live.
Thurrott slams "knee-jerk reaction" to always-online rumours.
There's another wrinkle to this morning's rumour about the nature and capabilities of the next generation Xbox - according to Paul Thurrott, the respected tech blogger behind the "leak", much of the fracas surrounding the notion of an always-online console is unwarranted, and declarations that Sony's PS4 will carry the day are hilariously premature.
Will EA's footie series jump aboard the always-online bandwagon?.
Just a quick one before lunch - reportedly, people in Spain have been invited to the first ever showing of FIFA 14, this year's inevitable sequel. EA producer Sebastian Enrique and FIFA 13 producer Nick Channon are said to be in attendance.
Actually looks quite plausible and everything.
You could be touring Grand Theft Auto 5's sun-drenched Los Santos right this very moment, given a bit of imagination and the tolerance of nearby human beings. Simply print out the below maps - created by GTAforums user GTAKiwi after exhaustive perusal of trailers and screenshots - lay them on the floor, play appropriate music and have people scream hilarious threats while you push a toy car around.
But others are "100 per cent legitimate", admits Peter Moore.
EA's on the verge of topping a Consumerist poll for the Worst Company in America for the second year running, don't you know. Chief operating officer Peter Moore isn't terribly happy with that.
Trion Worlds toying with new playable species.
Defiance, then. We haven't written nearly enough about it, given that we've managed to brand it "Halo meets Borderlands". That changes... here! Right after the word "word". Trion Worlds has announced that five Defiance DLC packs are on the way, covering a mixture of paid and free content.
"If it's something we think our community is going to enjoy, it's something we'll seriously talk about.".
343's Dan Ayoub reckons charging teensy-tiny amounts for items in Halo isn't entirely beyond the bounds of possibility, in light of the success of Gears of War's weapon skins. Given previous responses to reports of micro-transactions in games, the rest of this news post will be written beneath my desk. Don't shoot the messenger, Spartans.
Entertainment-only Xbox "Yumo" reportedly cancelled.
Sick of Xbox 720 rumours yet? Ah, but this one's different: it's written in complete sentences rather than mystery-mongering three-word phrases, and the source actually has a name. According to tech blogger and serial leaker Paul Thurrott, the next generation Xbox will go public on 21st May. Two days before my birthday, then. Way to upstage, Microsoft.
European hopes dashed as the final approaches.
Aoife's still out at the Call of Duty Championship final in Los Angeles, bringing us all the latest from a room full of men who care very deeply about their K/D ratios. That isn't the OXM office.
First update from the million-dollar Black Ops 2 final.
This weekend is the final of the first Call of Duty Championship in Los Angeles, where the world's best Call of Duty players have gathered on Treyarch's doorstep to prove their dominance and win a chunk of a million-dollar grand prize pool. We've sent new writer Aoife Wilson out to see it, just to confirm that this is a job entirely glamour-free, and she'll be posting videos from each day.
And better graphics don't make better games.
I rather like Warren Spector. For a man whose portfolio includes such deliciously dark-hearted efforts as Deus Ex, Thief and System Shock, he sure can twinkle, and for a man whose studio was recently shuttered by the House of Disney, he's startlingly short on acrimony. Games Industry International has just published Spector's first ever interview in the wake of Junction Point's closure - a full and frank read, from which I pluck the following wisdom.
See Aaron Eckhart's latest on 15th April, two days before release.
Does the mere thought of Aaron Eckhart's fearsome cleft jaw give you shivers? Are you in any way keen on finding out what happens when terrorists take over the White House? And are you up for an evening out on Monday 15th April? If the answer's yes to all three questions, you might want to scroll down. OXM has partnered up with Lionsgate and SeeFilmFirst to distribute a number of free tickets to preview showings at VUE cinemas around the UK.
Silver subscriber saveload problem reportedly addressed.
If you're among those hit by a laggy End realm or (shock) an inability to load your world following Minecraft Xbox 360's latest update, be of good cheer. 4J's already working on a raft of fixes.
It's out this month.
Activision's latest Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 DLC pack Uprising includes a map which depicts the aftermath of a London music festival. Fun fact: an acquaintance of mine went to one of those, and wound up trapped in a capsized Portaloo. The bar has been raised, Treyarch. I trust you're equal to the challenge.
Suda51 touts unique online feature, release next year.
Suda51 is making a new action game, don't you know - one that offers a "very new style of online feature", and could see release on next generation console platforms. Edge has the skinny.
It's getting a little '80s in here.
Ding ding ding! Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon has officially achieved the status of a Game That I Want. It has done this by way of lurid neon pinks and charmingly chubby missiles. Scroll down the page right this instance for a taste of the very first screens.