Upcoming story DLC "will focus on one of the most key relationships in Batman canon.".
It's always a good day when you wake up to Batman news. Today we've learned that not only will Batman's first challenge map DLC, Initiative, hit next month, but that a second, more meaty story-led DLC will follow in the new year.
Free up your January now.
Aveline De Grandpr#233;, Assassin's Creed's first playable female protagonist, will make her debut on Xbox 360 when Assassin's Creed: Liberation HD launches on 15th January 2014, a Ubisoft spokesperson has confirmed to OXM.
Sorry for the false alarm, all.
Hold onto your hats and brace for either the ecstasy of fulfilment or, more probably, the crushing throes of disappointment - throes to which you should be well-accustomed after approximately one gazillion false rumours as to the existence of Shenmue 3. This one's a lot more credible than the norm, admittedly. Sega (or at least, an applicant claiming to be Sega) has filed a trademark for the game in Europe, a filing dated 25th November this year. Is there an actual - dare I say - announcement in the offing?
Emergence Day re-emerges.
Microsoft has unveiled the free Xbox 360 games you'll receive as part of your Xbox Gold subscription in December. Coming up on the 1st December, the original Gears of War. Coming up on the 16th, Xbox Live Arcade blaster Shoot Many Robots.
"What can we do next? Now that we have that foundation.".
As we've already reported, Capcom Vancouver is not-so-quietly confident that there will be another Dead Rising game on Xbox One. Speaking to OXM at an event shortly before launch day, producer Mike Jones offered a rousing account of how the developer has revamped its tech for Dead Rising 3, adding that as far as sequels are concerned, anything goes.
Microsoft sheds $1 billion in 2013 on R&D, sales and marketing, according to analyst.
The combined component and manufacturing cost of an Xbox One is $471, according to an IHS report made available to All Things D. That's just under $30 less than the console's US RRP, and doesn't factor in the cost of distributing and marketing the machine.
"We're not really staffed to just launch on five or six platforms at once.".
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare is one of next year's less sung timed Xbox exclusives, a multiplayer-only third-person shooter that borrows characters, abilities and an aesthetic from the original Plants vs Zombies on PC - not quite a Titanfall-beater, long story short. For all that, the game is genuinely a lot more arresting than it sounds on paper. Having gunned down a few cactus plants, I spoke to PopCap Games producer Brian Lindley about how the exclusivity arrangement with Microsoft came to fruition.
"Developers should do what they are best at," says Abbie Heppe.
Titanfall may be an always-online shooter, but Respawn doesn't feel always-online is right for every game. According to the developer's community manager Abbie Heppe, there's still "plenty of room" out there for offline gaming, and developers shouldn't feel obliged to add features that don't play to their strengths.
Access boss hopes that Xbox One will bring about an "evolution in style".
Waiting for Xbox One bizarre 'em up D4 to migrate to another platform? You may have to wait a while. Access Games director Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro has reiterated the game's exclusivity in a new interview, and shared a few thoughts on the console's future.
Place your bets - new content for GTA Online incoming?.
I don't wish to sounds smug or anything, but I totally called this. Sort of. New GTA 5 audio files uncovered by the fine folks over at NeoGAF point to exciting new features and jobs for GTA 5 and/or GTA Online, including - wait for it - casinos.
"We continue to monitor the economy via customer feedback," says Dan Greenawalt.
Forza Motorsport 5 may have impressed critics on the whole, but many are irked by what they see as the "breaking" of Career mode to prop up a microtransaction system. As our own reviewer Sam White noted, it takes a good deal longer to earn enough credits to unlock the best cars, the pick of which cost as much as #163;60 in real money. Are Microsoft and Turn 10 just trying to force people to pay extra for the privilege of owning or driving the swankiest motors?
"There's nothing signed. But we're talking".
Does anyone remember Phantom Dust? Anyone? Bueller? It was released back in 2004/2005 for the original Xbox, and remains a bit of a cult hit to this day. That's a fact not lost on Microsoft Studio boss Phil Spencer, who casually dropped it into a conversation about what Xbox has up its sleeve next in the battle to win hearts and minds in Japan with the Xbox One.
Users outside the US report trouble signing in under-13s.
Just to add to this week's litany of hardware launch woes, it appears that existing Xbox Gold users outside the US may have difficulty transferring Xbox Live child accounts to the Xbox One. Microsoft has yet to formally comment on the problem, which appears to result from an automated feature that creates a US-based email account when you use a third-party email address.
This week's Black Friday Xbox Live sale appears to be under way, as NeoGAF users alert us to a number of early reductions - find them below. I'd urgently recommend picking up Dust and Mark of the Ninja, if you haven't already. Who said 2D gaming was dead, now?
New Minecraft mash-ups may also be on the way after Skyrim.
The Xbox One launch line-up is pretty wide-ranging. You've got Zoo Tycoon for the tykes, COD: Ghosts for the FPS squad, Ryse to sate any appetite for action and adventure, and Dead Rising 3 to cover just about everyone else. And yet - it feels like there's something missing. One crucial game that pretty much changed our relationship with our Xbox 360. Where's our Minecraft: Xbox One Edition, eh 4J?
"Thanks for your patience while we work!".
Xbox One users may currently have trouble accessing multiplayer, redeeming Xbox Live codes or using Squad Assault in Call of Duty: Ghosts, Microsoft has warned by way of the Xbox Live Status page.
Get a solution to some of the shuddering here.
From the start, one of the Xbox One's most touted features has been the ability to switch between live TV, games and apps at the drop of a hat, because of the ability to plug a Sky, Virgin, Freeview or BT top box into the console's HDMI-in port. However, problems are beginning to arise with regards to the console's native 60Hz framerate, which is at odds with the UK's standard broadcasting framerate of 50Hz.
"'Should we do Halo at launch and not do Halo 4 last year?'".
Missing Master Chief on Xbox One? Blame his previous outing. According to Studios boss Phil Spencer, Microsoft and 343 at one point considered developing a Halo title for the console's launch, but ultimately decided to focus their resources on Halo 4 for Xbox 360.
Take your pick from Forza 5, Dead Rising 3, Ryse or Zoo Tycoon.
Having trouble with your Xbox One? You could be in line for a free downloadable first-party title, if an email forwarded to Polygon is any indication. And a replacement console, obviously.
"We don't make Battlefield games just to make money.".
Over the course of the past two decades, Battlefield developer Digital Illusions CE has grown from an attic developer to the heart and soul of a publisher's entire output - responsible not just for Call of Duty's fiercest rival, but also the engine that breathes life into titles as dissimilar as Need for Speed: Rivals and Dragon Age: Inquisition. How has this burden of responsibility affected DICE's native culture, and what does it think of its parent company? I had a bit of a chinwag with Battlefield 4's executive producer Patrick Bach on the subject.
