- Exclusive: Ahead of Xbox’s acquisition, Activision’s Bobby Kotick discussed Microsoft, Elon Musk’s Neuralink, and hinted at a Guitar Hero revival in this leaked interview Windows Central
- Bobby Kotick Reportedly Interviewed By James Corden During Employee Meeting About Guitar Hero And More Game Informer
- Activision Hires James Corden For All-Hands Meeting Where Bobby Kotick Discusses AI, Elon Musk, And Guitar Hero – Report GameSpot
- Activision CEO hints again that Guitar Hero may return | VGC Video Games Chronicle
- Activision Blizzard Boss Hints at Guitar Hero Return, Says Microsoft’s AI Research Unlocks Unlimited Potential Wccftech
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Tag Archives: Xboxs
Starfield, Redfall Exclusivity ‘Powerful Evidence’ Against Xbox’s Activision Buyout, Claims FTC – Push Square
- Starfield, Redfall Exclusivity ‘Powerful Evidence’ Against Xbox’s Activision Buyout, Claims FTC Push Square
- Lawyers: Internal email proves Microsoft’s Activision bid is designed to eliminate PlayStation Axios
- FTC: Xbox Making Starfield and Redfall Exclusive ‘Powerful Evidence’ Against Activision-Blizzard Merger IGN
- Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and many Xbox executives are set to defend its FTC case The Verge
- Keeping Bethesda games Microsoft exclusives “powerful evidence” against Activision Blizzard takeover, says FTC Eurogamer.net
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Xbox’s Activision-Blizzard Deal Greenlit in EU…but it’s Not Over Yet – Unlocked 595 – IGN
- Xbox’s Activision-Blizzard Deal Greenlit in EU…but it’s Not Over Yet – Unlocked 595 IGN
- Microsoft president clarifies EU cloud agreement, popular games will be ‘automatically’ licensed to competitors and ‘this will apply globally’ PC Gamer
- Microsoft CEO Raises Eyebrows With Comment About UK & Activision Blizzard Pure Xbox
- Microsoft’s Record-Breaking Success: Exploring The Factors Fueling Its Journey Beyond 300 – Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Benzinga
- UK MPs question why the CMA blocked Microsoft’s $68.7B Activision Blizzard deal, CMA says it won’t be ‘turning a blind eye to anti-competitive mergers’ PC Gamer
- View Full Coverage on Google News
Nvidia, Google, Reportedly Voice Concerns Over Xbox’s Activision Acquisition
Google and Nvidia have both reportedly joined Sony in raising concerns to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding Microsoft’s planned $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, according to a Bloomberg report.
The two companies reportedly contend that by acquiring Activision Blizzard, Microsoft would gain an unfair advantage in the cloud, subscription, and mobile gaming markets. That said, one source told Bloomberg that Nvidia at least is not expressly opposed to the acquisition, though it did stress the importance of equal access to game titles.
The report does not elaborate on either company’s other specific concerns. Microsoft currently is a strong contender in cloud gaming alongside Nvidia with GeForce Now, with Google’s Stadia program having folded last year. In mobile gaming, though, Microsoft has markedly little presence.
In fact, Xbox head Phil Spencer previously pointed to Activision Blizzard’s mobile King division as the keystone of the intended acquisition, and filings connected to the deal have revealed that Microsoft wants to use King to create a new “xbox Mobile Platform.”
Nvidia and Google join Sony as major companies bringing issues forward to governing bodies about the acquisition, though based on the tone, these latter two are coming in notably softer on the issue. Lat elast year, the FTC announced it would sue to block Microsoft’s attempted acquistion due to concerns that the deal would harm competition from rival console-makers through exclusivity. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has also raised similar concerns.
Over the last several months, Microsoft has been repeatedly attempting to counter such concerns, including by offering a deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for as long as ten years, and a similar promise to bring the series to Nintendo consoles.
While it’s unclear exactly how involved Nvidia or Google will continue to be, both companies could potentially be called to testify before the FTC when the lawsuit goes to trial, which Bloomberg notes is planned for August of this year.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
Gabe Newell: Steam Isn’t Interested in Agreements Like Xbox’s Nintendo Call of Duty Deal
Valve appreciates Microsoft’s continued support of the Steam storefront and says that a formal agreement isn’t really necessary for their partnership together.
We’re happy that Microsoft wants to continue using Steam to reach customers with Call of Duty when their Activision acquisition closes,” said Valve CEO Gabe Newell in a statement to Kotaku. “Microsoft has been on Steam for a long time and we take it as a signal that they are happy with gamers reception to that and the work we are doing. Our job is to keep building valuable features for not only Microsoft but all Steam customers and partners.”
Newell explains that Microsoft even sent a draft for a long-term community to keep Call of Duty on the Steam platform but clarifies that there was no need to do so. He says that Valve doesn’t believe in requiring any partner to have a formal agreement that essentially locks them into shipping games on Steam.
Newell also notes that Phil Spencer and the Xbox team have always followed through on their commitments and trust their intentions. Additionally, Newell believes that Microsoft has the motivation to put Call of Duty on platforms and devices that players want to be on.
Just yesterday, Microsoft committed to bringing Call of Duty onto Nintendo platforms for the next 10 years if the Activision-Blizzard merger goes through. Spencer has also said that Microsoft has not made any progress with PlayStation in accepting similar terms.
Microsoft’s merger with Activision Blizzard merger is currently being reviewed by the FTC and other regulators in Europe and the UK. The deadline to close the deal is July 2023, otherwise, the two parties will have to renegotiate.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
Not everything in Xbox’s camper collection is suited to the outdoors
Xbox has released a clothing and accessory collection dedicated to camping. No, not the video game kind that esports organization 100 Thieves lambasted with its own clothing line — Microsoft’s is about actually getting outside and touching grass. The camper collection includes a variety of shorts, shirts, and headgear, along with things like a hammock and camping chair.
Given that most people don’t usually associate gaming with going outdoors, some of the items in the lineup actually seem decent. Xbox’s camp chair looks like a clone of the design popularized by the Helinox Chair Zero (to be fair, so does pretty much every other camp chair), but electric green and twice as heavy. Given that it’s significantly cheaper than the Helinox, though, it’s hard to complain about weight.
The hammock also seems fine — again, people who count every ounce probably wouldn’t want it, but it seems perfectly suitable for slinging up between two trees at a campsite. And while I love that Microsoft is trying to get people to drink more water with this Nalgene water bottle, I just wish it wasn’t charging double normal retail price for it now that its admittedly very cool topographical branding has been slapped on.
As an outdoorsy person myself, though, I’m not sure Microsoft’s “camper” marketing lines up with how some of these products are actually made. It says that its T-shirts, hats, and sweaters are for “exploring the great outdoors,” but they’re made of 80 to 90 percent cotton, according to their spec sheets. If you’ve ever even been within spitting distance of an REI or other outdoor shop, you might recognize that’s a bit of a problem — the phrase “cotton kills” is probably one of the most-cited pieces of advice in the hiking and camping community.
It is, to be clear, an overdramatic slogan. Cotton clothing has been implicated in a few deaths from exposure over the years, but it’s not like you’ll immediately die if you step foot on a trail wearing this ABXY heather tee. However, if you get caught out in bad weather, you could have a real problem on your hands — cotton doesn’t keep you warm when it gets wet. Making matters worse, it dries out very slowly, so even if the rain stops, your sopping cotton shirt may keep sapping warmth from your body. And while that probably won’t kill you unless you’re in a pretty remote area, in the words of Sans Undertale, “you’re gonna have a bad time.” Also: moisture won’t necessarily come from precipitation. I’ve had plenty of hikes where a cotton tee soaked up all my sweat and then proceeded to chill me to the bone once I got to a shady section of trail.
I don’t want to overstate the danger here. You don’t need a shirt made of wool or fancy athletic fabrics to go hiking; you’ll just have a more enjoyable experience if you do. (And for the prices Microsoft is charging for these shirts, you could definitely get a nice hiking shirt if you’re going to be spending a lot of time outdoors.) What’s weird, though, is that other pieces of clothing in Microsoft’s collection, like this nylon windbreaker or these nylon shorts are made out of a material that is actually suited to hiking.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t buy any of this gear — I’ll even admit that the Xbox-y outdoors-y patterns look pretty cool. But if you do pick them up to add them to your Microsoft clothing collection, perhaps leave the shirts at home on your next camping trip, unless your definition of “camping” is sitting near a spawn point in Call of Duty. You monster.
Insiders describe ‘fast and furious’ exits from Xbox’s Perfect Dark studio
Xbox [4,729 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/xbox/”>Xbox’s The Initiative [42 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/the-initiative/”>The Initiative studio has seen a “fast and furious” wave of senior departures in the past 12 months, VGC has learned.
As much as half of the core development team known to be working on the upcoming Perfect Dark [39 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/perfect-dark/”>Perfect Dark reboot quit the company during the last year, or around 34 people, analysis of employee LinkedIn profiles has revealed.
That includes most of The Initiative’s senior design team, including game director Dan Neuburger, design director Drew Murray, lead level designer Chris O’Neill, principal world builder Jolyon Myers, two senior system designers, a group of three former God of War designers and more.
And the turnover of top talent doesn’t end in design: Perfect Dark’s two most senior writers also recently quit, analysis shows, along with the project’s technical director, tech art director, lead gameplay engineer, lead animator, QA lead and more.
According to LinkedIn, The Initiative is now less than 50 people (when duplicates, former employees and erroneous listings are removed) and currently has just three roles advertised on its website. Analysis suggests it hired around 12 people in the past 12 months.
Perfect Dark reboot trailer
The timing of the departures coincides with the September 2021 announcement that Crystal Dynamics had been signed to co-develop Perfect Dark.
This, combined with the few job roles currently advertised at The Initiative, suggests that the Tomb Raider developer is likely taking a much stronger lead than first thought on the project.
Interviews with multiple former senior developers cited a lack of creative autonomy and slow development progress as the reason for their departures, and described the wave of exits as “fast and furious” with project momentum said to be “heavily affected”.
The Initiative’s management told VGC it’s confident in the team it has in place, and new talent joining, and pointed to industry-wide staffing challenges during the pandemic.
“It’s no small task to build a studio and reinvent a beloved franchise,” studio head Darrell Gallagher told VGC. “In creating The Initiative, we set out to leverage co-development partnerships to achieve our ambitions, and we’re really excited about all the progress we’re seeing with our relationship with Crystal Dynamics [107 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/square-enix/square-enix-europe/crystal-dynamics/”>Crystal Dynamics.
“In this journey, it’s not uncommon for there to be staffing changes, especially during a time of global upheaval over the last two years, and there’s plenty more work in front of us to deliver a fantastic Perfect Dark experience to our players.
“We wish all our former colleagues the very best, and I’m confident in the team we have in place, the new talent joining, and we can’t wait to share more with the fans.”
In the games industry, competition for experienced talent is at an all-time high following the pandemic gaming boom, and any unhappy staff would have had plenty of offers from the myriad of neighbouring AAA studios in California.
Across the industry, many studios are currently facing a talent crisis, with the sheer level of expansion and investment making it challenging for even the biggest studios to retain and attract senior staff for the number of roles they have.
The former Initiative developers VGC spoke to attributed the wave of departures to frustration among senior talent over the direction of the project set down by Gallagher and game director Daniel Neuburger (who himself left the company last month).
Although The Initiative’s website claims that the company promotes a “collaborative” creative environment, former employees described the studio’s development hierarchy as very ‘top-down’, with Gallagher and Neuburger keeping a strong grasp on creative decisions.
According to the former employees, many senior team members were frustrated by this perceived lack of autonomy and didn’t feel heard on key issues such as development priorities, project planning and team staffing.
Gallagher and Neuburger, who were previously studio head and game director at Crystal Dynamics, wanted to make games the way they always had with top-down direction, the sources said, while many Initiative employees were expecting a more bottom-up approach.
As a result, it’s claimed that development has progressed “painfully” slow and a solid company culture never formed. All former employees VGC spoke to said they were surprised at how lenient Xbox Game Studios (Microsoft) [1,872 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/”>Microsoft had been over the lack of progress.
One person said: “Making games is hard enough, let alone when you feel like you can’t get through to people making the decisions that affect everyone”.
The culture issue was partly behind the decision to bring onboard Crystal Dynamics, it’s claimed, with Gallagher and Neuburger allegedly hoping that production would move more smoothly with the introduction of a second team familiar with their methods.
Crystal Dynamics’ introduction is also now likely to plug the gaps left by The Initiative’s staff turnover, VGC was told.
VGC’s sources agreed that they would be surprised if Crystal Dynamics’ introduction, combined with the significant departures of core staff, hadn’t triggered an effective soft reboot of Perfect Dark and that it was likely still years away from release.
It’s understood that Xbox’s leadership team are prepared to be patient with their new first-party teams (which includes those currently working on Playground Games [105 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/playground-games/”>Playground‘s Fable and Rare [160 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/rare/”>Rare‘s Everwild [19 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/everwild/”>Everwild), as they prioritise assembling groups capable of regularly producing the kind of critically-acclaimed prestige projects that come from Sony Interactive Entertainment [2,059 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/sony/”>Sony’s Naughty Dog [203 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/sony/naughty-dog/”>Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games [154 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/sony/insomniac-games/”>Insomniac.
Perfect Dark dev team
(departures marked by strikeout) / Former team/projects in brackets
Studio
- Darrell Gallagher, studio head ( Activision [834 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/activision-blizzard/activision/”>Activision, Square Enix [439 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/square-enix/”>Square Enix)
- Lindsey McQueeney, HR manager ( Google [242 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/google/”>Google, Crystal Dynamics)
- Dickson Lee, director of finance and operations
Design
- Daniel Neuburger, game director (Tomb Raider series) (left Feb 2022)
- Drew Murray, design director (Sunset Overdrive) (left Feb 2021)
- Christian Cantamessa, cinematics director (Red Dead Redemption)
- Chris O’Neill, lead level designer, associate design director ( God of War [187 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/god-of-war-series/god-of-war/”>God of War + Metal Gear Online) (left Dec 2021)
- Richard Burns, UI/UX lead ( Forza Horizon 4 [109 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/forza-series/forza-horizon-4/”>Forza Horizon series)
- Robert Ryan, senior systems designer ( Motive Studios [54 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/electronic-arts/motive-studios/”>Motive + Naughty Dog)
- Justin Perez, senior systems designer ( Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order [129 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/star-wars-games/star-wars-jedi-fallen-order/”>Jedi: Fallen Order) (left Nov 2021)
- Kurt Loudy, senior systems designer ( id Software [122 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/zenimax-media/id-software/”>Id Software) (left Oct 2021)
- Ian Miller, senior designer (God of War) (left Mar 2022)
- Kai Zheng, principal level designer (God of War) (left Oct 2021)
- Ray Yeomans, senior designer (God of War & Tomb Raider series) (left Apr 2021)
- Jolyon Myers, principal world builder ( Infinity Ward [456 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/activision-blizzard/activision/infinity-ward/”>Infinity Ward) (left Jan 2022)
- Nigel Loster, gameplay designer ( The Coalition [44 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/the-coalition/”>The Coalition) (left Feb 2022)
- Sean Slayback, lead systems designer ( Respawn Entertainment [189 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/electronic-arts/respawn-entertainment/”>Respawn, Infinity ward) (left Aug 2021)
- Daniel Steam [910 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/pc/steam/”>Steamer, lead technical designer (Crystal Dynamics)
- Cristian Guzman, associate technical designer
- Remi Lacoste, experiential director (Crystal Dynamics)
- Joey Tan, associate technical designer (Insomniac) (left Dec 2021)
- Branford Williams, principal production designer (Daybreak)
Writers
- Blake Fischer, director of narrative (Xbox) (left Jun 2021)
- Christine Thompson, narrative lead ( Destiny (series) [158 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/destiny-series/”>Destiny 2) (left Jul 2021)
- Robert Shannon, narrative designer (The Coalition)
- Nicole Phillips, principal writer
Programming
- William Archbell, technical director ( Riot Games [60 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/riot-games/”>Riot Games, 343) (left Aug 2021)
- Francisco Aisa Garcia, technical lead (Naughty Dog)
- Ben Diamond, lead systems engineer (Respawn, God of War III)
- Cesar Castro, senior software engineer ( EA Sports [138 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/electronic-arts/ea-sports/”>EA Sports UFC, FIFA) (left May 2021)
- Hawar Doghramachi, senior graphics engineer (Naughty Dog) (left Apr 2021)
- Robert Marr, lead gameplay engineer (Cryptic Studios) (left April 2021)
- Jon Lew, senior gameplay engineer (Sledgehammer)
- Anthony Silva, senior engineer
- Yuka Murata, software engineer (left Jul 2021)
- Stephen Clayburn, principal lead online services engineer (left Jun 2021)
- Chris Panosian, cyber security engineer
Production
- Brian Westergaard, director of production (God of War, Tomb Raider series)
- Maxwell Morrison, QA lead (left Feb 2022)
- Victoria Miller, senior producer ( PlayStation [5,058 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/platforms/playstation/”>PlayStation)
- Johal Gow, senior producer ( Treyarch [228 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/activision-blizzard/activision/treyarch/”>Treyarch) (left Oct 2021)
- Jonathan Chavez, associate producer (Treyarch)
- Nicole Plum, outsource manager (The Coalition)
Art
- Ryan Duffin, gameplay animation director ( BioWare [96 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/electronic-arts/bioware/”>BioWare, EA DICE [180 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/electronic-arts/ea-dice/”>DICE)
- Lee Davis, lead gameplay animator (Naughty Dog) (left Mar 2022)
- Jason Priest, lead artist (Insomniac)
- Erik Jakobsen, environment art director (God of War)
- Marcia Hunsicker, senior gameplay animator (343)
- Eric Persson, associate art director (left Aug 2021)
- Ryan Trowbridge, tech art director ( SIE Bend Studio [34 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/sony/sie-bend-studio/”>Bend Studio) (left Jun 2021)
- Matt Corcoran, principal character artist (Jurassic World movie) (left Feb 2022)
- Sze Jones, principal character artist (Tomb Raider, Uncharted (series) [184 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/uncharted-series/”>Uncharted 4) (left Dec 2020)
- Tyler Thornock, principal technical animator (Naughty Dog)
- Giovanni Martinez, senior environment artist (Insomniac) Sep 2021
- Justin Walters, senior environment artist (Avalanche)
- Pasquale Scionti, senior environment/lighting artist (left Jun 2021)
- Sarah Swenson, environment artist (Naughty Dog) (left Mar 2021)
- Jaime Molina, environment artist (Infinity Ward)
- Patrick Ward, 3D environment artist ( Nexon [5 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/nexon/”>Nexon) (left May 2021)
- Fabian Elmers, senior tech artist
- Oliver Guiney, concept artist ( Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 [78 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/games/call-of-duty/call-of-duty-black-ops-4/”>Black Ops 4)
- Isaac Yeram Kim, concept artist (Naughty Dog) (left Jun 2021)
- Victor Chavez, senior animator ( Amazon Games [251 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/amazon-games/”>Amazon Game Studios)
- Carlos G, senior tech artist
- Arlington Cruz, animator (left Jan 2021)
- Sylvia Chambers, animator (Naughty Dog) (left Oct 2021)
Recent new hires
- Adam McDonald, senior level designer (The Coalition) Mar 2021
- Steven Ty, lead VFX artist (Infinity Ward) May 2021
- Larra Paolilli, franchise director Jun 2021
- James Zhang, junior VFX artist Jul 2021
- Will Poloski, support engineer Sep 2021
- Michel Bastien, studio general manager ( Turn 10 Studios [23 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/microsoft/turn-10-studios/”>Turn 10) Oct 2021
- Landon McDowneel, senior director of engineering (Riot) Oct 2021
- Alex Leonard, senior gameplay engineer (Treyarch) Nov 2021
- Michaela Cristina-Faith, game engineer Dec 2021
- Peter Santoki, senior graphics engineer ( 2K Games [278 articles]” href=”https://www.videogameschronicle.com/companies/take-two-interactive/2k-games/”>2K) Jan 2022
- Heather Jackett, senior level designer (The Coalition) Feb 2022
- LJ Duey, writing assistant Feb 2022
Retailer Posts Warning to PS5 Customers About Xbox’s Activision Purchase
When Xbox announced its intention to purchase Activision Blizzard earlier this month, it led to a lot of speculation what it could mean for PlayStation 5 owners. While Xbox boss Phil Spencer has already confirmed the company’s intention to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, there are still lingering questions about what form that will take. French retail chain Cora is well aware that future Call of Duty games might become exclusive to Xbox, and has apparently posted a warning to potential PS5 buyers in its stores. An image of the warning was shared and translated on Twitter by user @HazzadorGamin.
The Tweet can be found embedded below.
Apparently some retail store across globe have started putting up Notice for customers of Call of Duty.
*Translation – Notice to gamers, Microsoft has bought Activision! Choose your machine carefully #XboxActivisionBlizzard pic.twitter.com/P0RPU37uWL
— 🐉🎮HazzadorGamin, Dragon Of Dojima Gamin🎮🐉 (@HazzadorGamin) January 28, 2022
It will be very interesting to see how Microsoft’s purchase impacts the Call of Duty franchise! The sale isn’t set to go through until 2023, which means that fans have some time before any major changes come about. Still, Microsoft has been very careful about how it discusses the series. There has been some speculation that Call of Duty: Warzone will remain multi-platform, while future Call of Duty games will become Xbox exclusives. It’s unclear if that will be the case, but it’s safe to assume those games will be added to Xbox Game Pass at the very least, allowing subscribers to play them without any extra purchase. That alone could be a system selling point for some Call of Duty fans!
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are still very new, and the global chip shortage has resulted in fewer gamers being able to upgrade from their current consoles. Given that, it makes a little sense that Cora would warn shoppers about Xbox’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, and its potential impact. Not every gamer can afford multiple consoles, and if their favorite series does become an exclusive, it might mean that difficult decisions have to be made. For now, Call of Duty fans will just have to wait and see how this all plays out!
Do you think future Call of Duty games will be exclusive to Xbox? Has the Activision Blizzard purchase changed your next-gen gaming plans? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
[H/T: Game Rant]
Random: Xbox’s 20th Anniversary ‘Metaverse’ Acknowledges The Time It Tried To Acquire Nintendo
Xbox, as you’ve probably heard by now, is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. It’s come a long way over the past few decades, and as part of this milestone, it’s gone and created a virtual museum, which some users and media outlets are referring to as a ‘metaverse’, where you run around as an avatar in a 3D world and look at the company’s history.
It’s doesn’t just gloss over the history of Xbox, either. The good, the bad, and the ugly are there – ranging from cancellations of certain studios to the infamous red ring of death that became a problem for the company during the Xbox 360 generation.
One eye-catching acknowledgment that we also couldn’t miss was the mention of Microsoft and Xbox attempting to acquire Nintendo in Spring 2000. Yep, it actually went there – here’s a look at what you’ll see in Xbox’s virtual museum and you can find it early on in the original Xbox section.
It’s definitely interesting to see this particular history. For Nintendo fans, the real blow, in the end, was when Microsoft purchased Rare in 2002 – who started out with Xbox exclusives such as Grabbed by the Ghoulies and nowadays are best-known for the sandbox pirate game, Sea of Thieves.
When headlines surfaced last year about Nintendo representatives laughing at Xbox’s proposal of an acquisition, later on, Robbie Bach – the former Chief Xbox Officer – added some context to the original story, explaining how the tech giant was simply “looking for partners” while exploring “every angle” and Nintendo was obviously located across the street from Microsoft’s own offices in the US.
If you’d like to visit Xbox’s 20th anniversary museum yourself and see this part of its history, all you need to do is open the following link: museum.xbox.com, and you don’t even need to be an Xbox subscriber. Of course, if these talks perhaps went a little bit differently, who knows what could have happened. Nowadays Xbox and Nintendo maintain good relations and just yesterday, Nintendo of America’s former president Reggie hosted an official Xbox panel, which is well worth watching.
What do you think about Xbox acknowledging this part of its history? How do you think an acquisition like this might have gone if it had been given the greenlight? Leave your own thoughts down below.
Xbox’s Phil Spencer Weighs In On NFTs in Gaming
Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have surged in prominence online. There’s a whole community of NFT enthusiasts out on the internet, but some are cautious about the new technology. Xbox’s Phil Spencer feels that they are currently more exploitative than creative.
In an interview with Axios, Spencer says that he is cautious about how NFTs are currently being considered in gaming. “What I’d say today on NFT, all up, is I think there’s a lot of speculation and experimentation that’s happening, and that some of the creative that I see today feels more exploitive than about entertainment,” explained Spencer.
Spencer went on to clarify that he doesn’t think every single NFT game is exploitative, but that the space is still new and people are on a journey trying to figure it out. He also understands the early controversy surrounding NFTs in gaming isn’t necessarily an aspect you want to have in the Xbox Store.
“I think anything that we looked at in our storefront that we said is exploitive would be something that we would, you know, take action on,” Spencer added. “We don’t want that kind of content.”
NFTs have taken the world by storm, and have already crept their way into the gaming ecosystem. Last month, Steam put forth a policy that banned any games utilizing blockchain technology that allows for NFTs and cryptocurrencies, while Epic Games embraced them, given that they follow relevant laws.
Big publishers such as EA and Ubisoft have decided to welcome NFTs as well. EA believes that NFT technology will play an important part in the future of gaming, while Ubisoft plans to create blockchain games.
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey