VG Republic Writes: Yesterday came news that a group of hackers known for their work on the Nintendo Wii and the ability to enjoy backed-up versions of retail games, was at it again saying that they have unlocked the Wii U and are working on finalizing the hack of the Next-Gen console. While there were not any true details given other than saying via their website “Yes, its real – we have now completely reversed the WiiU drive authentification, disk encryption, file system, and everything else needed for this next generation K3y. Stay tuned for updates!” said the group via WiiKey.com, there are thoughts that the group is on the verge of breaking through the barriers needed to play pirated or “backed-up” copies of your currently owned Wii U titles.
There are some that will be chomping at the bit to get their hands on the device that would allow you to play games at a rate of free, but the bigger issue lies for those that choose not to go the route of piracy and purchase games for retail costs. Is nothing sacred anymore; have we become so cheap that we can’t just leave a machine for what it is instead of defacing a unit? These are the very reasons that consoles like the upcoming PlayStation 4 and Next Xbox are discussing ways to implement features that discourage use of pirated copies of games, but are even going to lengths of stopping the use of second hand copies of games as well.
While on stage with Dina Bass at The Bloomberg Technology Summit the President of Xbox, Sarah Bond, was asked about the Xbox studio closures of Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios
Of course she did. She's part of the problem and will just tow the company line.
I always wondered why xbox had multiple leaders with similar titles like Phil Spencer, Matt Booty, and Sarah Bond, like, how many heads do you actually need?
Seems to me it would be more cost efficient to cut 2 of them instead of all those studios.
While many gaming layoffs are cruel, Tango Gameworks being culled after Hi-Fi Rush doesn't even make sense.
Good read. I think the point is important. Cuz the message it sends is, make a bad game? Well shut you down. Make a good game? We still might shut you down. How the fuck are you supposed to feel any sense of job security under those conditions. The level of core incompetence at play in the upper levels of this industry is staggering. This is common sense shit. You can’t chase trends on a 2 year cycle when games take fucking 6-8 years to make. Just let artists fucking art for gods sake. They don’t understand the basic principle that they’re all haggling for the same slice of fucking pie and the market will not bear it. Find a different fucking pie.
"The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn’t finished.
This week, Xbox began offering voluntary severance agreements to producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax, which it purchased in 2020 for $7.5 billion, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Others across the Xbox organization have been told that more cuts are on the way.
Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said.
Game Pass has not seen the massive growth that Xbox boss Phil Spencer may have been hoping for."
"Speaking about the closures more broadly, Booty said that the company’s studios had been spread too thin — like “peanut butter on bread” — and that leaders across the division had felt understaffed. They decided to close these studios to free up resources elsewhere, he said"
So what you're saying is...you bought all these studios and you guys can't run them.
Jesus.
Reports are suggesting that Game Pass will be getting a price hike soon and that Call of Duty may not be added to the day one offering. I honestly have a hard time believing this but it does beg the question why exactly did GP fail? I think the answer is that it just didn't get the growth that it anticipated. Jim was right but I wish he wasn't because at the end of the day, its gamers, devs and other front-line workers who have to absorb the blow for Spencer and team's miscalculations.
For all the armchair executives who were calling for Sony to release its big-budget AAA games on PS+, the same exact thing would have happened at PlayStation. Game Pass has killed Xbox. Congrats.
The bad luck doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon.
Nintendo is finding itself in some rough waters at the moment.
It's really unfortunate, but it's ok for them to release already existing games on the Wii U for $60! That's something.
I don't see the point for the general gamer population. 25GB games will take a whole lot of storage and let's be honest...there are maybe 3 games worth pirating on Wii U if you're the kind of scumbag who cannot see the harm this type of modding can do to the industry...
Piracy affects all legitimate gamers and I am against.
I'm not interested in the Wii U but what i think will be interesting is...The POSSIBILITY of boosting WiiU sales for Nintendo...we all know piracy sells consoles.
Wrong thread, i know, but.......price drop this baby and im alllll over it.
wii u has a few decent titles to its name, but the bulk of those i could just as easily fire up on my ps3 or 360.
price drop, with or without hacks, might actually motivate me to get on top of this.