Mass Effect 3 Collector's Edition by Electronic Arts

The Xbox One is not only aimed at core gamers, though this group remains "incredibly important" for the next-generation platform, Microsoft has said.

Speaking with VentureBeat, Microsoft executive Phil Harrison said because the Xbox One is not only a game console, but also an "all-in-one" entertainment device, a new set of consumers are opened up to the system.

"By making it simple and instant and complete, it means we can get men, women, old, young to enjoy playing and interacting with the device. It's not just about core gamers; although, they are incredibly important to our future," Harrison said. "It's also about finding entry points for all members of the household."

Harrison explained that the barriers for entry are being knocked down with the Xbox One, due in part to the updated Kinect 2.0 sensor. He said that not enough attention is being paid to the Kinect automatic identity system, which can detect who is playing--without any manual input--and assemble games and content specific to them.

"One of the things that I don't think we truly understand the significance of yet is automatic identity through Kinect. If your wife or your daughter or your son or yourself starts interacting with the machine, it instantly switches to their choice of content, their profile, their personalization, their recommendation," he said. "That alone, that simplicity, is going to dramatically increase the number of people who want to interact with Xbox One. "

In fact, Harrison said he believes the most impactful element of the Xbox One is that Kinect is included with every system, as opposed to being an optional peripheral, which is the case for the Xbox 360.

"That made it difficult for developers to invest against 20 percent of the installed base or whatever it was. Having it as 100 percent--that’s a game-changer," Harrison said.

The Xbox One launches later this year, though pricing information and specific launch timing has not been divulged. According to comments from GameStop management, the Xbox One will launch at a lower price point than the Xbox 360 did in 2005.

Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Ghosts will feature Kinect-enabled voice commands, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg has confirmed with VentureBeat.

The executive explained that the updates Microsoft has made to the Kinect 2.0 sensor will lead to a level of "responsiveness and detail" that was not possible before.

Hirshberg said more information about Kinect integration for Call of Duty: Ghosts will be revealed at a later date, and made clear that Infinity Ward believes the technology will better the game.

"We've always made sure that we don't just use new technology for novelty's sake," Hirshberg said. "We always make sure that it makes the gameplay better. In this case, we think it will."

Also in the interview, Hirshberg commented on the cross-generational nature of Call of Duty: Ghosts. He said gamers who pick up the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions will enjoy a "superb experience" that will include many of the gameplay ideas, including dynamic maps and character customization, promised for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions.

To achieve this vision, Hirshberg said it was decided early on that Call of Duty: Ghosts for current-generation platforms would be developed alongside the next-generation versions at Infinity Ward instead of being ported by an outside studio.

Microsoft has confirmed the official Xbox One box art design.

The company provided an image of the box art for Xbox One launch title Forza Motorsport 5 over Twitter and through the Turn 10 Studios Facebook page.

The box art matches up with the designs that appeared on the Battlefield 4 website earlier this week. Microsoft is sticking with the green hue found on current Xbox 360 games.

The Xbox One launches later this year, though pricing information and specific launch timing has not been divulged. According to comments from GameStop management, the Xbox One will launch at a lower price point than the Xbox 360 did in 2005.

Enslaved: Oddysey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry developer Ninja Theory has partnered with Chillingo for a free-to-play iOS and Android game called Fightback, the companies announced today.

It is the United Kingdom studio's first mobile game and is described as an action game with a "striking 80s action movie vibe and a revolutionary touch-based combat system."

Yesterday, Ninja Theory said it would have "something new to show" today.

Ninja Theory product manager Dominic Matthews explained that the mobile and tablet game market has become too prevalent to ignore.

"Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn't ignore as a studio and we're very proud to be working with one of the industry's heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market," Matthews said in a statement.

Fightback will launch this summer. The game will be playable next month during the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

Bungie's all-new shooter Destiny may be released for PC, though the developer is not ready to confirm anything just yet. Speaking with IGN, Bungie senior writer and community head Eric Osborne said developing for more platforms means more work and Bungie is unwilling to develop for one platform at the expense of another.

"We haven't said yes, and we haven't said no," Osborne said. "The more platforms we take on, the more work it ultimately becomes, and what we don't want is to compromise the core experience on any platforms. We have a lot of people who play on PCs. We have a lot of appetite to build that experience. We haven't announced it yet, but we're looking forward to talking more about that kind of stuff in the future."

A PC version of Destiny previously appeared on Bungie's website.

Destiny will be a multiplatform game, launching on next-generation platforms like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, as well as current-generation systems including the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Asked if save files will be transferable across platforms, Osborne said currently there are "complexities" that must be resolved to make it possible.

"For us, [platforms] are purely agnostic," Osborne said. "Any data on our back-end servers and services, like Bungie.net, are ours. We control it, we can do a bunch of fun stuff on that side. So for us, we want to absolutely do the right things for players. But there are some complexities we have to solve that are outside our control. But we're absolutely pushing to solve some of those things. We don’t have anything to announce, but hopefully in the future we will."

Destiny's worldwide gameplay reveal will take place during Sony's 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo briefing on June 10. The game's first first live-action/CGI trailer, directed by Iron Man director Jon Favreau, launched yesterday. It features Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito.

A full-page advertisement has appeared in the United Kingdom's Metro newspaper this morning, which states that the PlayStation 4 will see a UK launch later in 2013.

"Now is the time," states the advertisement. "The world's greatest players are going to entertain, create, and amaze on the ultimate stage. This year a new generation will push boundaries of play and share in moments of wonder. This year players will become legends."

Sony had yet to formally date the PlayStation 4 for a 2013 launch outside of North America, though US retailer GameStop had previously said the machine's 2013 launch would be global.

The PlayStation 4 was officially unveiled by Sony back in February, though in recent weeks the publisher has been gearing up for a reveal of the hardware itself at E3 2013 in June.

Microsoft earlier this week announced its next-gen competitor, the Xbox One. The machine will also launch in 2013.

According to retail sources speaking with MCV, retailers will be able to charge whatever they want for secondhand Xbox One games, but Microsoft and publishers will receive a cut of every transaction.

The information leak comes after Microsoft reportedly briefed "key" partners on its plans for the secondhand market as it relates to Xbox One, something Microsoft has been coy about.

The system will reportedly work as such: consumers can trade in physical Xbox One game discs only at retailers that have agreed to Microsoft's terms and conditions and have integrated the company's cloud-enabled Azure preowned technology into their own.

The traded in title is then registered on Microsoft's systems as having been re-sold and the data files will be cleared from their Xbox One account. Such a system would explain Microsoft's position that the Xbox One must "check in" with its servers once every 24 hours.

Retailers are then able to re-sell the used game at whatever price point they see fit. As part of this initiative, the publisher of the game will automatically receive a cut of the sale, along with Microsoft. The rest is revenue for the retailer.

It is unclear what this percentage will be, though Consoledeals.co.uk claims the portion paid to retailers will be ten percent, well below the margins retailers have come to expect from secondhand games. This could negatively impact retailers like GameStop, which rely on the secondhand market for a healthy portion of their overall business.

During an earnings call yesterday, GameStop management brushed aside questions regarding the Xbox One and used games, instead saying it will allow Microsoft to announce plans in due time.

The site also suggests, based on information from a senior employee at "one of the UK's largest video game retailers," that the rumored Xbox One preowned activation fee will be £35 ($52). It is unclear if this fee will be an additional cost on top of the sticker price for secondhand games.

Microsoft's official stance on the Xbox One used game scenario is that the platform has been designed "to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail."

"We know there is some confusion around used games on Xbox One and wanted to provide a bit of clarification on exactly what we've confirmed today," Microsoft said earlier this week. "While there have been many potential scenarios discussed, today we have only confirmed that we designed Xbox One to enable our customers to trade in and resell games at retail."

"Beyond that, we have not confirmed any specific scenarios."

Sony has also dodged questions regarding used games on the PlayStation 4. The company has confirmed that preowned titles will play on the next-generation system, but said decisions about activation fees will be left up to individual publishers.

"It's a publisher decision," Sony said in February. "We are not talking about it. Sorry."

Joe Danger and its sequel Joe Danger 2: The Movie will be released on PC in 2013, UK-based indie studio Hello Games has confirmed.

Both games will be coming to Steam individually, with support for Steam's Big Picture mode and support with Steam Workshop for user-created levels. Additional levels for the PC versions of the game are also promised.

The original Joe Danger launched in 2010 as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, only to find its way to Xbox Live Arcade. 2012 follow-up Joe Danger: The Movie is currently available on PS3 and 360.

’Actually, PC is Joe Danger’s spiritual home,’ said Hello Games boss Sean Murray. ’I coded my first ever PC engine when we started making the original Joe Danger back in 2009, because we couldn’t get hold of console devkits. So it’s incredibly exciting to be finally able to release it.’

’We have a rule that whenever we put our games onto a new platform we have to add something. We can’t just do a quick and dirty port," added Murray.

"We have some more surprises to announce for the PC editions of Joe Danger as we lock them down."

GameSpot awarded the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Joe Danger 2: The Movie an 8.0 back in 2012, calling the game a "stimulating ride that throws everything at you at once--in a good way."

Codemasters has announced a single £125,000 special edition of Grid 2 that comes with its own supercar.

The Grid 2: Mono Edition racing suit and custom BAC Mono supercar.

The Grid 2: Mono Edition will be available for only one customer in the UK and is being sold at Game.

Alongside the included British-made BAC Mono, which comes customised with a Grid 2 livery, the customer gets their own racing suit, boots, gloves, and Bell racing helmet. A day at the BAC factory is also thrown in, along with a PlayStation 3 console. A copy of Grid 2 on the PlayStation 3 is also included.

The road legal supercar is made from carbon fibre with a 2.3 litre, 280bhp four-cylinder engine that can go from 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds.

Codemasters says it has submitted the Grid 2: Mono Edition for inclusion in the Guinness World Records as the world's most expensive special edition.

Grid 2 will be released for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC on May 31 in the UK.

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Microsoft confirmed with GameSpot that Xbox Live has not been hacked.

"Xbox Live has not been hacked," a company representative said. "Microsoft can confirm that there has been no breach to the security of our Xbox Live service."

The original story follows below

A hacker going by the name Reckz0r today claimed to have cracked Xbox Live, exposing confidential information for around 47 million users.

In a note posted on Pastebin, the hacker claimed to have "brutally owned" Xbox Live a few days ago, but decided to publish the data today.

Writing on Twitter, Reckz0r said Microsoft stores its passwords in a plaintext format. This person described the disbanded hacking group Lulzsec as "friends."

A Microsoft representative has told GameSpot to expect comment from the company shortly.

The hacking claims come just two days after Microsoft announced its next-generation platform, the Xbox One.

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, an Electronic Arts representative issued a statement to GameSpot on the matter.

"We appreciate fan enthusiasm for Mirror’s Edge, especially fans throughout the retail channel. This is not official EA material. We have nothing to announce at this time," the representative said.

The original story follows below

Amazon's German arm has posted a product listing (via NeoGAF) for Mirror's Edge 2, suggesting a sequel to DICE's 2008's first-person free-running game may soon be announced.

The listing indicates Mirror's Edge 2 will be available for the Xbox 360, though no other details are available.

An EA representative was not immediately available to comment.

A year after the launch of the original Mirror's Edge in 2008, EA said that the project was being honed by a small team at DICE. Two years later, production on the game was "stalled" after the company admitted sales of the original were lower than expected.

Most recently, a Mirror's Edge easter egg was found in Battlefield 3 DLC, showing series protagonist Faith's running shoes and audio of her panting.

The Alan Wake series will return "when the time is right," developer Remedy Entertainment has said. In a new video, creative director Sam Lake explained that despite attempts to make a full-on sequel, things never worked out.

"After the first game, we worked hard to make the sequel happen. But you know these games are huge undertakings and many things need to fall in place," Lake said. "The right partners and the funding. From the creative perspective, it would be awesome if we could just create cool stuff and not worry about minor details like money. But we all know that that's not the case."

Lake explained that Alan Wake was not an instant success, but has since become a cult classic with franchise sales (Alan Wake and Alan Wake's American Nightmare) crossing 3 million units. He said the studio would like to return to the franchise some day, but only under the right terms.

"Even though we worked hard on it, the sequel wasn't happening. The time wasn't right for that," Lake said. "Sure, we could have gone ahead and created something less ambitious, but we felt that that wouldn't have done justice to [fans], to us--we want to be really proud of everything we create--and certainly wouldn't have done justice to Alan Wake."

"Alan Wake is really dear to me and to everyone at Remedy. We definitely want to keep on working on Alan Wake," he added. "I definitely want to create something new for Alan Wake when the time is right."

Lake also took a moment to discuss Remedy's just-announced Xbox One-exclusive, Quantum Break, which was revealed during the platform's announcement on Tuesday. He described the game as the "ultimate Remedy experience."

"Happily, we got a full backing for something new. A new concept. A new IP," Lake said. "Something big; something bigger than what we have created ever before. Something where we can take everything that we have learned from Alan Wake; everything that we have learned from Max Payne. And we were able to put that all together and to create what could be called the ultimate Remedy experience. "

[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, Warner Bros. confirmed that Dying Light is not in development for the Wii U.

The original story follows below

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced Dying Light, an open-world first-person survival horror game from Dead Island and Call of Juarez developer Techland.

The game will launch in 2014 for next-generation platforms like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, current-generation systems including the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, as well as the PC.

No mention was made of a Wii U release, and a Warner Bros. representative could not be reached for comment.

Dying Light features a full day-night cycle. In the day, players will explore an urban environment beset by "a vicious outbreak." Gamers must scavenge the world for supplies and weapons to defend themselves from the infected.

When day turns to night, "the hunter becomes the hunted," Warner Bros. said. The infected will become aggressive during the evening, and certain predators will appear only after sundown.

"The next-gen technology allows us to create a truly dynamic open world that features a game-changing day-night cycle," said Techland CEO Paweł Marchewka in a statement. "Inventive free-running mechanics also allow for nearly unrestricted exploration and weapon crafting to further enhance the action survival experience."

Techland shipped Dead Island: Riptide last month and released the downloadable game Call of Juarez: Gunslinger a few weeks ago. The Polish developer is also working on a current-generation cooperative hack-and-slash game called Hellraid.

Enslaved: Oddysey to the West and DmC: Devil May Cry developer Ninja Theory has teased a game announcement for tomorrow, May 24.

"Tomorrow. Something new to show," the United Kingdom developer tweeted today.

Ninja Theory's last game was DmC: Devil May Cry, which launched earlier this year for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. The game has sold over 1.15 million units to date.

The developer's website states that it has moved on from DmC: Devil May Cry and is now working on "exciting new projects." The studio has no available jobs posted to its careers page.

The studio was also behind Heavenly Sword and Kung Fu Chaos, when Ninja Theory was known as Just Add Monsters.

When Microsoft officially announced the Xbox One on Tuesday, a stream of multiplatfom games were confirmed for the next-generation platform. These included Ubisoft games Watch Dogs and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, as well as Bungie's Destiny, the Thief reboot, and Battlefield 4.

Notably absent from the list was CD Projekt Red's 2014 role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Asked about this absence, the Polish studio declined to confirm the game for Xbox One, but said more information about the title will be shared next month at the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

"We will shed more light on [The Witcher 3] during E3," CD Projekt Red managing director Adam Badowski told GameSpot. "I'm sorry but I can't give you any details right now."

Confirmed platforms thus far for The Witcher 3 are PC and PlayStation 4. The game is not in development for current-generation platforms.

CD Projekt Red CEO Marcin Iwinski said last month that cross-generation development means developers must make compromises that can negatively impact gamers.

"We'd have to put a couple of years of development into [360 and PS3 versions], and then the experience would be so-so," Iwinski said at the time. "We'd never do that."

Sony has spoken out to explain why upcoming racing simulator Gran Turismo 6 will debut on the PlayStation 3 and not the company's next-generation PlayStation 4.

Speaking with the PlayStation Blog, SCEE CEO Jim Ryan said Sony is confident that the PS3 "has a lot of potential" that developer Polyphony Digital can make use of.

"You had GT1 and GT2 on PS One; GT3 and GT4 on PS2; then there's GT5 on PS3 and a space next to it. The difference between Gran Turismo and GT2 is unbelievable, but they're both on the same platform," Ryan said. "The difference between GT3 and GT4 is huge. We're absolutely confident when GT6 comes, you'll see a big step change up from GT5 too. There's still a lot of potential on PS3 that a developer like Polyphony can really exploit."

Sony added that if it were to release Gran Turismo 6 on the PS4, it would be doing so with a day-one install base of zero, compared to the more than 70 million PS3 units already sold.

"And the other factor is that on PS3 we have an install base of 70 million units. On PS4 on launch day we'll have an install base of zero units," Ryan said. "There'll be plenty of games to help drive PS4--not least DriveClub in the racing genre from Evolution Studios, a studio with a fantastic pedigree."

Though Gran Turismo 6 has been announced only for the PS3, Polyphony Digital president Kazunori Yamauchi said last week, "We have a PS4 version in mind for the future."

Bungie will provide the "worldwide gameplay reveal" for its new shooter Destiny during Sony's 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo media briefing on June 10, the developer said today.

The news came at the end of an all-new CGI/live-action trailer for the game (below) released today. The video features Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito reading a passage from Rudyard Kipling's "The Second Jungle Book" intercut with CG footage from Destiny.

"Now this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky. And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die," reads the passage. "As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back; for the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."

According to Variety, the short was directed by Iron and Elf director Jon Favreau and produced by advertising company 72andSunny. Visual effects were handled by Digital Domain, the prolific Hollywood production company founded by Titanic director James Cameron.

The Destiny trailer will air during Game 3 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 25. Destiny launches next year for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Bankrupt publisher Atari Inc., the US branch of French owner Atari S.A., has failed to find a buyer for its portfolio of franchises and will not attempt to sell them off piecemeal.

The Wall Street Journal reports that bidding on a pool of game franchises and the Atari name itself will start at $15 million.

The minimum bid for the RollerCoaster Tycoon franchise is $3.5 million, while potential buyers must pay at least $1.5 million for the Test Drive series.

Minimum bids totaled around $22.2 million, according to a court filing Wednesday.

Atari Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection in January. According to the Wall Street Journal, its investment banker reached out to 180 would-be buyers, with about half agreeing to pursue purchases. However, only 15 actually submitted bids, none of which were approved by Atari.

Thus, Atari Inc. now plans to sell its brands on a franchise-by-franchise basis during auctions beginning next month. The Humongous, Fatty Bear's Birthday Surprise, and Math Gran Prix franchises are going for $500,000, while the Total Annihilation series will be available with a $250,000 floor price.

Before the auctions can take place, a judge must approve of the sale process, something Atari hopes can happen during a June 11 hearing. Bids must then be submitted by July 10 ahead of auctions to take place July 16, 17, 18, and 19. If all goes to plan, Atari will seek final approval of all sales during a hearing on July 24.

Atari is also seeking permission to sell games "of minor value" separate from the official auctions. None of these titles were specified.

FIFA 14 will be released in Europe on September 27, EA has confirmed.

Additionally, EA is offering numerous preorder incentives in the UK that dish out FIFA Ultimate Team freebies. Customers who opt to buy the Ultimate Edition from Amazon will get 24 gold packs for Ultimate Team, given out at a rate of one a week for 24 weeks.

Each gold pack is a random assortment of 12 items, EA says, offering up players, stadiums, staff, balls, and kits. The players included in the gold packs are mostly rated above 75 in the game, and each pack includes a rare item. The Ultimate Edition also provides an All-Star Team featuring, among others, Lionel Messi.

Preordering at Game gets players the Limited Edition of FIFA 12, which features 24 premium gold packs. These are like the packs included in the Ultimate Edition, only they serve up two rare items every week. This version of FIFA 14 also comes in a steelbook case.

On top of that is the FIFA 14 Special Edition, exclusive to Game, which provides everything in the Limited Edition alongside an Adidas EA Sports glider football.

Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of FIFA 14 are also in development, but are not yet dated for release by EA.

The publisher announced its next-generation Ignite engine alongside Microsoft's official unveiling of the Xbox One earlier in the week.

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be less expensive at launch than their predecessors, according to comments from GameStop chief financial officer Rob Lloyd.

Speaking today in a post-earnings financial call, Lloyd said GameStop does not have official pricing information from Microsoft or Sony, but expects a "lower opening price point than they did last cycle."

The Xbox 360 launched in 2005 for $300/$400, while the PlayStation 3 debuted in 2006 for $500/600.

In addition, GameStop said it expects to be a leading retailer for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. The company explained that because of the trade credits it can offer consumers through its buy-sell-trade model, gamers will be able to pick up next-gen systems at GameStop for less than anywhere else.

GameStop management also dodged a question regarding the reports that the Xbox One will require gamers to pay a fee to play secondhand titles, a move that could impact the company's business.

The retailer declined to comment on its talks with Microsoft, instead saying it will allow the Xbox maker to lead the discussion about this topic.