It takes a lot of oomph to move a mountain like Microsoft. Where the Xbox 180 is concerned, that push came from the mainstream media - specifically, the mainstream media picking up on the military angle of elements like always on, region-locking and even Kinect security concerns.
At the start of this week I asked a Marine Corps Captain what "always on" meant for guys under his command. Military personnel most likely to be affected are junior officers. Internet is not provided in the barracks, and funds are limited. To pay out of pocket would be difficult for many - though he was quick to say that gaming is a priority for junior officers. Overseas, region locking is the least of their worries: only on super bases (like that of the AF and Navy) would there be the sort of connectivity the One originally required.
Maybe somewhere a guy with a functioning calculator realized what it would mean to Microsoft's bottom line if the US military defected from their cause. All those junior officers, for whom "gaming is a priority", spending their money not on 360 games, but PS4. More likely, I think, is the emotional response prompted as the mainstream media cottoned on to glib corporate commentary coming from MS executives. We don't need to know what it's like to serve on a sub, we're pretty sure it's a tough gig.
It's this very human element that changed things. Ticking off core gamers doesn't get the corporate giant to flinch, we're just cranky and entitled with Twitter accounts. When the gamers are young people willing to die for you, far from home, well maybe that matters.
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VGChartz's Evan Norris: "As the sequel to Ion Fury, a retro-inspired FPS designed in the Build Engine and influenced by 90s action games like Duke Nukem 3D, Shadow Warrior, and Blood, Phantom Fury carries with it a certain amount of blood-splattered credibility among shooter aficionados. Yet that's only half the story. Part sequel, part soft reboot, the game aims to move out of the 90s and into the early 2000s, thus tapping into the mechanics of the subsequent generation and potentially ensnaring a new group of fans with no allegiance to the first title."
For the first time since 2007, the Mana series is back with an all-new entry.
Looks like another good update for the game which keeps getting lots of new content.
Watch your back! The new "Thrill of the Kill" update has arrived in World War Z: Aftermath, the ultimate co-op zombie shooter from Saber Interactive.
Day one, after the very first conference, Microsoft revealed that for extreme circumstances - such as for those in the army - they could release codes that would allow for offline play.
I can't find the original story (it was a throwaway line in an interview on Kotaku), but it was mentioned more recently in The Army Times.
"Military personnel will be able to take their Xbox One and play their games with them without an issue as long as the game has been ‘activated’ once in the U.S. Your games go with you and play, no issues."
now watch Cat win the blog contest this month