Tag Archives: Microsoft

Train2Game News: Fable Legends announced

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Fable LegendsAt Gamescom this week, Lionhead Studios have announced Fable Legends as an exclusive for the Xbox One.

Fable Legends unites the classic gameplay that players have come to love from the series with all of the next-generation capabilities of Xbox One. For the first time, grab your friends and go on adventures – up to four Heroes can cooperatively discover the quests and stories of Albion. Or, play the villain where you can mastermind the game in real time. “Fable Legends” takes advantage of the graphical processing power of Xbox One, and when coupled with Unreal Engine 4, delivers a rich and beautiful world.

You can play the game single player, with a party of three heroic AI companions that follow your lead through stories and adventures. Or you can play cooperatively with up to three friends and discover the game’s quests and content together.

Play whatever style you want, when you want. After all, you’re the Hero. And just what kind of Hero you choose to play is up to you. “Fable Legends” takes you back to a time when Albion is teeming with Heroes, so there’s bound to be one for you. Fearless warriors. Cunning tricksters. Masters of Will. Paragons of virtue. Heartless mercenaries. Intoxicated brawlers. Chicken chasers. They’re all here, and many more besides. You’ll be able to customize your abilities, alter your appearance, and advance your Hero by earning experience and finding new armour, weapons, and treasures.

Fable has always presented opportunities for mischief and villainy, and in “Fable Legends” Lionhead are going to offer a way to play the bad guy as never before.

The Villain player takes control of the many creatures, minions, traps, and environmental hazards that Heroes must overcome. Villain play combines elements of strategic decision making and tactical control. When those pitiful Heroes enter an area, you’ll choose which minions are sent into battle and where to place these creatures to maximize their effectiveness. Once the fight begins, you issue the orders for your creatures to execute: telling them where to go, which Hero to attack, and what abilities to use to ensure your evil plans come to fruition.

The game sounds like a fun different take on the Fable universe and it is the first confirmed game to be using Unreal 4.

Train2Game News: Xbox One Self Publishing

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Xbox OneMicrosoft have finally clarified their self publishing plans for the Xbox One, allowing developers to create, sell and market games through the new home console.

All developers accepted for the scheme will receive two Xbox One development kits free of charge, as well as access to the full range of services on offer to games development teams – cloud services, Kinect and the Xbox One toolset, which includes Smartglass, multiplayer, Achievements and Gamerscores.

Applications for the self-publishing service, named ID@Xbox, are being accepted from today, with Microsoft stating that priority will be given to developers with a proven track record in shipping games on console, mobile, PC or tablets and there are no application fees for certification or for title updates.

In order to help with the discoverability issues that trouble all self-publishing stores, Microsoft is promising that all games will feature in the regular Xbox One store and be supported by voice search.

On top of that the store will also feature trending games reflecting what the community and friends are playing, recommendations based on a consumer’s playing habits, spotlighted games and the ability for developers to set community challenges, as well as support the Xbox One’s Game DVR and Upload services.

Phil Harrison, corporate vice president at Microsoft Europe’s interactive entertainment business, revealed that Microsoft will set the price of self-published games after developers have established their wholesale price and that developers are likely to receive an industry standard 70/30 split in their favour.

“The developer can set their own wholesale price and we act as the retailer. So Xbox Live acts as a reseller, and Xbox Live Store will be setting the ultimate retail price to the consumer. That’s the way in which our store has always been structured,” he said.

Independent developers who have already given their support to Microsoft’s new initiative include Chris Hecker, The Behemoth’s John Baez, Paul Wedgewood from Splash Damage, Other Ocean’s Mike Mika, Team 17’s Debbie Bestwick, The Odd Gentlemen’s Matt Korab, Ripstone’s Phil Gaskel and Dlala Studios.

Microsoft has said that eventually it hopes that every Xbox One will become a development kit for self-publishing purposes.

If you are interested in signing up for this you can do so by visiting http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/developers/id

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 19.08.13

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PayDay2It’s the start of another week so it is time again to reveal the top twenty games. This week sees a new number one, Payday 2, knock Minecraft: Xbox360 edition down to number two. Besides the new number one the only change is the reintroduction of BioShock Infinite thanks to the upcoming DLC and Red Dead Redemption: Game Of The Year Edition which come in at numbers nineteen and twenty respectively.

All formats

Week ending 17 August 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST 
 WEEK 
1    PAYDAY 2 505 GAMES –
2    MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 1
3    CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 7
4    FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
5  –  ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 5
6  –  THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 6
7    THE SMURFS 2 UBISOFT 3
8  –  LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 8
9  –  TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 9
10    GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 13
11    ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 10
12    THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 16
13    NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 12
14  –  LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 14
15    FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 11
16    MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 15
17    GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY ROCKSTAR 18
18    BATTLEFIELD 3 EA GAMES 19
19    BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES –
20    RED DEAD REDEMPTION: GOTY ROCKSTAR –
< previous week  
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Games Industry news – 15.08.13

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Jason HoltmanIt’s the end of the week which means it is time for the industry news round up!

Jason Holtman, who spearheaded Valve’s Steam business for eight years before leaving the company in February, has a new job at Microsoft with a focus on PC gaming and entertainment strategy. At Valve, Holtman was the primary point of contact for developers that distributed games on Steam – and, to many in the gaming world, was the service’s driving force. While he certainly wasn’t the sole reason for its success, he was its biggest cheerleader and an even bigger proponent of digital distribution. What this means for Microsoft is yet to be seen.

The Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer trailer was revealed yesterday and the franchise has finally introduced female characters to play as! You can enjoy the trailer on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2lJcbeBerQ

Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches, the final add-on pack for Arkane Studios’ critically-acclaimed first-person action game, is now available worldwide via Xbox LIVE (800 Microsoft Points), Steam (£7.99 / €9.99 / AU$14.45) and on PlayStation Store. Additionally, a new gameplay trailer for the add-on was released which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLEfvTkYHeE

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced it has released Zatanna, the latest downloadable content (DLC) character to be added to the DC Comics fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Based on NetherRealm Studios’ interpretation of the famed DC Comics character, Zatanna is available now on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points and will be available on the PlayStation Network at a price of £3.99 soon. A second generation magician and a master of trickery known for her clever escapes and summons executed by speaking backwards, Zatanna is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the futuristic world of Injustice: Gods Among Us. If my geek memory serves me well I believe her and her father helped teach a young Bruce Wayne that art of escape in one of the Batman story lines.

Finally Little Orbit, a worldwide video game publisher, today announced a partnership with TNT to bring the epic alien-invasion television series Falling Skies to multiple video game consoles. Depicting a world gone mad after an alien invasion, the Falling Skies video games will grab a foothold in the gaming world with a mobile game due out this holiday and multiple consoles launching in 2014. Falling Skies is based on the popular TNT show of the same name and will tie directly into the television series, with a scenario that will weave itself into the existing universe and feature voice work by the show’s actors. This has worked incredibly well for The Walking Dead but time will tell how this one will do!

Train2Game News: More Xbox One Changes

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Xbox OneAs has been common lately, Microsoft has changed some more of the policies on the Xbox One.

The Xbox One now will not need Kinect to function. The system still comes with the Kinect but it means that if anything happens to your Kinect sensor then it will not cripple your console. However some of the features such as face recognition and voice commands won’t work without it. There is also the ability to turn the Kinect sensor off in the settings of the console if you so desire.

It has also come to light that you will require an Xbox Live gold membership for some of the features on the Xbox One such asthe DVR and the Skype calling. Only Gold members will get access to the new OneGuide system, which curates TV and other entertainment based on viewing patterns. Existing functionality, such as Netflix support, web browsing, and other features familiar from the Xbox 360 will still demand Xbox Gold membership as well.

Finally the more recent update to come to light is Xbox One launch has been delayed until 2014 in eight countries. These include: Russia, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark. Xbox One will launch first in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Austria in November 2013. Microsoft has said they will give a free game to those who are affected by the delay who have already pre ordered the console.

With just over three months to go before the console is released in most places, what other aspects could Microsoft change?

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 12.08.13

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MinecraftIt’s the start of the week which means the games industry charts are out. Still sitting at the top is Minecraft: Xbox360 Edition. Tales of Xillia entered the charts at number four and Saints Row: The Third – Full Package has come into the charts at number with people purchasing the game in anticipation of the fourth installment being released.

All formats

Week ending 10 August 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 – MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 1
2 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 4
3 THE SMURFS 2 UBISOFT 5
4 TALES OF XILLIA NAMCO BANDAI GAMES –
5 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 3
6 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 2
7 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 8
8 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 7
9 – TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 9
10 – ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 10
11 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 6
12 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 16
13 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 14
14 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
15 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 13
16 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 19
17 MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS. NINTENDO 11
18 – GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY ROCKSTAR 18
19 BATTLEFIELD 3 EA GAMES 17
20 SAINTS ROW: THE THIRD – THE FULL PACKAGE XBOX 360 CLASSICS –
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: DFS Competition Winner

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DFS WinnerThe Train2Game student who won the DFS home set up competition is Luke Marchese from Stoke on Trent.

Luke was chosen as the winner of the competition as he is clearly an avid gamer. In his entry picture we can see: Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Game Cube, SNES, Dreamcast, Wii U, N64, PS3, Megadrive, a NES, A gamegear, three monitors and countless games. He also has Sonic figurines and loads of games memorabilia.

When Luke was told that he won the competition he said “It feels great to win a prize for showing off my collection. I have been collecting Video Games and consoles almost all my life and if I remember correctly I have a total of 19 consoles plus well over 250 games.  Gaming has always been a passionate subject for me and there is nothing I love more than designing games.”

Train2Game would like to wish Luke a big congratulations and we hope you enjoy your £50 Amazon voucher.

Thank you as well to all the other entrants, you all have great gaming set ups! You can view a gallery of the other entrants below.

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Train2Game News: Microsoft’s Accelerator Programme

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Microsoft VenturesTrain2Game are looking for a team or studio that might be suitable to take part in Microsoft’s pilot for their Accelerator programme, www.microsoftventures.com.

This is aimed at promising early-stage start ups. For 8 weeks the new studio would receive strong mentoring, technical guidance and connections to other start ups.

This is a highly sought after programme so your team (studio) would need to be already established and have collectively produced at least one game. The game may not have been published, but we will need to see at least one game that you’ve made.

The team should have between 2 and 5 members with at least one member of the team able to attend the Microsoft Accelerator offices in tech city, central London, Monday to Friday from 1st September for 8 weeks. Other members can work remotely but one member of the team must work from tech city.

Microsoft will work with the team to develop them into a fully fledged studio. The team, for example, may be one which has previously taken part in one of our game jams and has stayed together since, although this is just an example. All members of the team must be Train2Game students.

It is essential that all teams who wish to be considered apply to us through the correct route; please see Student World for more details of how to enter. Your entry must be in by 3pm on 14th August; entries received after this date cannot be considered.

We cannot guarantee that any team will be accepted into the Microsoft Accelerator programme but suitable teams will be put forward by us. Teams which we feel may be suitable will be contacted by us by 16th August 2013.

Good luck to all those who enter!

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 05.08.13

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MinecraftIt’s the start of another week so it is time for the Train2Game Top 20. A quiet week in the charts this week has seen Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition hold on to the number one spot for a second week running with the only other new entrant being The Smurfs 2 game that ties in with the movie. The game entered the charts at number five.

All formats

Week ending 3 August 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 – MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 1
2 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 3
3 ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 4
4 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 6
5 THE SMURFS 2 UBISOFT –
6 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 7
7 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 10
8 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 16
9 – TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 9
10 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 11
11 MARIO AND LUIGI: DREAM TEAM BROS. NINTENDO 5
12 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 15
13 MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 14
14 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 12
15 PIKMIN 3 NINTENDO 2
16 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 20
17 BATTLEFIELD 3 EA GAMES 19
18 GRAND THEFT AUTO EPISODES – LIBERTY CITY ROCKSTAR 17
19 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 8
20 THE SIMS 3: ISLAND PARADISE EA GAMES –
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 02.08.13

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Batman It’s the end of the week so is is time for the Train2Game news round up.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today confirmed that Batman: Arkham Origins will ship with a mode that allows players to take the franchise’s award-winning gameplay online to play with friends and foes.  The online component blends the traditional Arkham gameplay with third-person shooter mechanics and is in development by Splash Damage. The multiplayer will be available on all platforms except the Wii U. You can enjoy the trailer for it here: http://youtu.be/CFx82wX3NE8

Continuing the hero game theme, Deadpool has had it’s first DLC announced. The “Merc with a map pack” will introduce two new challenge maps; GRT Plaza and Inside the Tower. You will also get two new costumes for Infinite Mode: a D-Pooly and Uncanny X-Force suit. The DLC is available now for 240 Microsoft points. You can also now purchase the game from the On Demand market.

In celebration of the highly anticipated launch of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, the first of three legendary character distribution events begins August 30 at participating Game stores across the UK. Players can get their hands on Shiny versions of the Legendary Pokémon —Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina—starting with, Dialga, which was featured on the cover of the Pokémon Diamond video game. What makes this event extraordinary is that each of the distributed Legendary Pokémon, which are already difficult to get during gameplay, will be Shiny, meaning they have unusual colouring that is extremely rare. Each Shiny Pokémon will be available, one at a time, for only two weeks each, so Trainers will need to plan accordingly and head to a participating Game store if they want to add these extremely rare Legendary Pokémon to their Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 game.

A new character has been announced for the hit mobile game, Temple Run 2. You can now pay for and download Gold medal olympian, Usain Bolt to run from the dangerous in the game. As the first branded character in Temple Run history, Usain Bolt’s worldwide recognition demonstrates the global and cultural reach of the original endless runner game. “I am a big fan of Temple Run. I travel all over the world and travel time gives me lots of opportunity to play Temple Run at airports or on car journeys,” said Usain Bolt. “It’s exciting to see myself represented within a game I already play.”  The Usain Bolt character is available now as an in-app purchase in Temple Run 2 for $0.99, for a limited time only.

Finally in the lead up to the realease of The Elder Scrolls Online, Bethesda have announced The Elder Scrolls Anthology for PC.  The game arrives on retail shelves in Europe on September 13, 2013 for £49.99/€59.99, The Elder Scrolls Anthology features all five critically-acclaimed games, plus official add-ons – packaged together in an exclusive premium collector’s set.