Updated info on the Xbox One and PS4 - both are coming soon!

Some good news about the Xbox One.  Microsoft has listened!
According to techradar.com, there was  such a reaction to some of the proposed features that they have been scrapped: "The forthcoming Xbox One got a bit of a kicking when it was first announced, landing itself in hot water with unpopular features including a mandated 24-hour online check-in and restrictions on the used games market.

However, in light of the reaction from disgruntled gamers, these features have been scrapped, pulling the Xbox One out of its initial positivity drought.

And so the re-specc'd Xbox One console will go on sale in November this year and has a price of $499 in the US, £429 in the UK and $599 in Australia."

Businessweek.com reports:  "Microsoft Corp.  said it will expand its TV programming beyond the show based on its best-selling “Halo” game as it tries to position the new Xbox One console as a portal for games, videos and music.  Xbox One is an attempt to merge TV watching with video game playing as Microsoft teams with partners including the National Football League to offer features such as viewing highlights and game scores. To underscore that broader approach, Microsoft is producing a live-action “Halo” show, in which director Steven Spielberg will be involved, and has a production team in Los Angeles developing concepts."

PS4 report from Tokyo: Impressive!

Techradar says:  "The PlayStation 4 will go on sale in November this year and it'll be cheaper than the Xbox One - $399 in the U.S., £349 in the U.K. and €399 - compared to $499 and £429.

It'll hit stores in the US on November 15 while European gamers will have to wait just a little longer until November 29.

Gaining favourable previews and plenty of pre-orders, the PS4 looks like the next-gen console to beat, and Sony says it was designed with an overarching theme of a "frictionless and seamless" gaming experience.

We've known that the PS4 will track both the controller in a gamer's hand, as well as their face, since the console's launch in February. But during his GDC talk Norden revealed some interesting ways that this technology will be implemented in games.

For example, the old multiplayer split screen, divvying up television real estate when two or more players go at it, will be aided by this tracking tech. If a gamer gets up and moves right or left, his section of the screen will automatically be swapped."

An AFP article courtesy of news.yahoo.com asked an attendee for his impression of the new Sony console:  "Etienne Fouillade, 21, who flew to Tokyo from Paris specially for the game show, gave the PlayStation 4 (PS4) a qualified thumbs up.

"I'm impressed at the graphics, the new titles are great and I'm looking forward to sharing gaming with friends and strangers on the net," he told AFP.

"The new game console is a little bit disappointing, though, because you need to get used to a slight difference in controls from older ones."

The same article notes that the home-grown PS4 hits shelves in North America in November, in time for the holiday shopping season, but will not be available to Japanese buyers until February.

Sony announced the roll-out earlier this month, seven years after PlayStation 3 debuted. It will be the first time the company's home market will not take the lead.

Company bosses said Japanese developers had been slower to exploit the potential of the new console and Sony wanted to wait until the software was ready before unleashing their latest offering.

For the original PlayStation, 18.6 percent of global sales were in Japan. Its successor, the PlayStation 2, tallied 14.7 percent of sales at home, while the PS3 racked up 11.9 percent, according to data from VGChartz Network.

North America, by comparison, accounted for about one-third of all PlayStation sales.

So we have to wait until November to actually get our hands on the new systems, but keep checking this blog for updates as the sneak peeks and screen shots leak out to the web (as they always do)  And of course, as soon as we can, we will develop great looking new skins for both new systems, (and the controllers, too, they need protection from skin oils and grime).   Keep checking videogame-skins.com for the latest info, and the newest skin designs.

Latest News on Xbox One and PS4

Latest Updates:  
There are still no firm facts on price or release dates for either system.  Wild rumors are everywhere, and you are able to put down "deposits" or "pre-orders" for both on some websites.  

Persistent "leaks" and "rumors" are putting the Xbox One price anywhere between $299-$450, so we still have to wait and see as more info dribbles out.  E3 in July may provide more details about both platforms, but again, who knows?  Both Microsoft and Sony have yet to provide firm release dates, but gaming industry insiders think neither wants to miss the all-important USA Christmas Shopping season.  

PS4 rumors are putting the price around $450, but again there are no facts to back this up.  Release date:  "2013".   Could they be less definite?

KNOWN FACTS:

Hardware facts are easier to come by.  Here's what we know about the Xbox One: (thanks to Techradar)  Xbox One comes packing an x64 8-core AMD CPU, USB 3.0 ports, 500GB hard drive and 8GB DDR3 RAM. Connectivity-wise you've got 802.11n Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct functionality for exchanging data between devices - specifically the new Xbox controller. 

There's also the addition of a Blu-ray drive, which marks Microsoft's first move to embrace the disc format created by Sony et al, which vanquished HD DVD back when TechRadar was but a glint in someone's eye.So as expected, then, the new Xbox One is more like a mini-PC than any Microsoft console that's come before. These specs put the console on a par with the PS4 and bode well for developers who want to make cross-platform games. 

The console has not only an HDMI-out port but also HDMI-in too. This is for interfacing with set-top boxes in order to integrate the Xbox One with your TV-watching experience. As far as you're concerned, you'll only have one device instead of two.

We also know quite a bit about the PS4 (again, thanks to Techradar) : 

PlayStation 4 Specifications

• CPU: low power x86-64 AMD "Jaguar", 8 cores
• GPU: 1.84 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon™ Graphics Core Next engine
• Memory: GDDR5 8GB
• Hard Disk Drive: Built –in
• Optical Drive (Read only): BD 6xCAV, DVD 8xCAV
• I/O: Super-Speed USB (USB 3.0), AUX
• Communication: Ethernet, IEEE 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth® 2.1 (EDR)
• AV output: HDMI, Analog-AV out, Digital Output (optical)

DualShock 4 specifications:

• External Dimensions: Approx. 162mm x 52mm x 98mm
• Weight: Approx. 210g (tentative)
• Buttons: PS button, SHARE button, OPTIONS button, Directional buttons (Up/Down/Left/Right), Action buttons (Triangle, Circle, Cross, Square), R1/L1/R2/L2/R3/L3, Right stick, Left stick, Touch Pad Button, Touch Pad 2 Point Touch Pad, Click Mechanism, Capacitive Type
• Other Features: Light Bar, Vibration, Built-in Mono Speaker
• Ports: USB (Micro B), Extention Port, Stereo Headset Jack
• Wireless communication: Bluetooth® Ver2.1+EDR

Known Title Releases:

XBOX ONE:

Microsoft has announced that its own games studios will release 15 games in the first year of the Xbox One's life cycle. Other than that, we also know that FIFA 14 will launch on the console with exclusive content, and the new COD game, Call of Duty: Ghosts, will also have exclusive content on the Xbox.

PS4:

A number of games have been revealed for the PS4. They Are: Deep Down(Capcom), Destiny (Bungie), Diablo III (Blizzard), Driveclub (Evolution Studios), Final Fantasy (Square Enix), Infamous: Second Son (Sucker Punch), Killzone: Shadow Fall (Guerilla Games), Knack (Sony), The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt RED), Watch Dogs (Ubisoft).

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS:

XBOX ONE:

No backwards compatibility to Xbox360 games.  

PS4:

Ditto for not backwards compatible to PS3 games.

There are persistent rumors that both consoles will be able to stream older games to the new box.   This is still unconfirmed.

So we all have to wait as information is leaked, released, rumored, confirmed.  Some facts are known, some guessed, some ???????

Stay tuned........

Techradar for technology news updates.

For news and of course, great looking skins, visit videogame-skins.com

New Xbox? "Durango" rumors about price and features.

The video game world is abuzz with rumors, various web sources are speculating about everything from features, release date, possible pricing, you name it.

Some rumors seem to crop up repeatedly, leading to speculation of an inside source or leak: Multiple sources are talking about the possibility that the new Xbox may require an "always on" internet connection, which is problematic for some users. Stack.com says the latest reports suggest that fans may not have anything to worry about. A source recently told Ubergizmo, "You are not required to be connected to the Internet in order to play Durango games." Take this and all unverified reports with a grain of salt, but what a gamer will be able to do offline is still a question.

According to engadget.com multiple unnamed sources suggest the plan is to include an HDMI passthrough and guide overlay, similar to the method used by Google TV. There's no word on any possible IR blaster (or IR GamePad, Wii U-style) integration, but thanks to Microsoft's partnerships with cable TV providers, it's trying to provide integration that goes a "step further" than what we've seen so far. That includes Kinect control, with next generation hardware that can recognize when viewers have turned their heads away and pause video automatically.

Many sites are talking about the hardware, and when decoded, it seems the Durango will not have as much graphic processing power as the PS4: Reports say that Xbox 720 will be released with a graphics chip comparable to the AMD Radeon 7790, vs. PS4's custom 1.84 TFlops, AMD Radeon Graphics Core Next Engine. Durango is also rumored to come with 8GB GDDR5 RAM and 32 MB of ESRAM, compared to the PlayStation's unified 8GB GDDR5 RAM. The Kinect 2.0 will also reportedly get a major boost to help cut down on lag. But the controller is expected to remain essentially the same.

As always, the excitement will build when we find out more about new or revamped games, and actually get a look at the thing! May 21st is the day Microsoft is supposed to officially unveil the 720 or Durango, or whatever it gets called. Check back for updates on the specs and features as we find them out.

Still in love with the Xbox 360? The rumor mill says there will be a $99 version released this Christmas. If you just want to hand down your 360 to a friend or relative, don't forget to add a great looking Xbox 360 skin, it will add both a cool design but also make it look just like new! And, we even make controller skins to match the console skins.

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