The “Microsoft, You Majestic SOBs” OUTER WORLDS 2 trailer.

This is… this is perfect. It is a beautifully self-aware deconstruction of the typical AAA videogame teaser release, despite the fact that it came out under the imprimatur of Xbox; and it utterly fits the heavily satirical worldview of the first OUTER WORLDS, despite the fact (again) that Obsidian got acquired by Microsoft. This trailer has managed to somehow make me excited for the sequel despite the fact (one last time) it told me it was aiming to do just that, with a cynicism so pure, so clean, that I am refreshed.

Whoever came up with this trailer deserves a raise. And free wings on Friday night.

Xbox One X *Project Scorpio*. No, I don’t know why ‘Scorpio,’ either.

Hey, you got five hundred bucks to throw at a new console?  Then Microsoft wants to hear from you. Meet  the Xbox One X Project Scorpio:

I’m sure that it’s stellar. I’m even more sure that it’s five hundred bucks. But if you feel the need to buy one then you might as well buy it via my site:

Fallout 4 mods live on Xbox One.

I’m going to be nice and not write that out as ‘live,’ despite the reports of connectivity issues. Of course there’s going to be connectivity issues. They’re giving people mods on consoles for the first time; it’s a special miracle that the whole thing didn’t implode into a singularity on the spot.

Mind you, I can’t directly report on this. First off, I don’t have an Xbox One. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be switching over to the console version of Fallout 4 any time soon: there are some serious limitations to mods on the consoles, and I don’t mean the nudity ban (2 gig limit on mods, for one thing). Still, it’s pretty awesome that Bethesda is expanding access like this. Brave new world, and all that…

So I’m starting to talk myself into either a PS4…

…or a gaming laptop.  The Patreon money is beginning to accumulate a little, you see; but once it hits a certain level per month it stops being “Moe’s money” and starts becoming “household money that must be spent on responsible, adult things.” So I had better come up with something that’s fun AND …elaborate? Spectacular? Flashy? Sparkly?  You know what I mean.

Anyhoo: Ps4 is easier to save up for, gaming laptop I can take with me places.  People have opinions/recommendations?

Moe Lane

PS: I already have an Xbox 360 which needs to be brought downstairs and hooked up to the TV once, and for all.  Kids got LEGO Dimensions for Christmas, so I kind of have to. They’re eventually gonna remember that they got it…

The day of last-gen gaming console obsolescence approaches.

Generally speaking, “The default answer to any title question is ‘No’” rule should be in effect, here: Is Dragon Age: Inquisition Withholding DLC For Last Gen Consoles An Ethical Move?  Look, both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One both came out in 2013. It is now 2015. Both Sony and Microsoft are getting to the point where the PS3 and Xbox 360 are going to be no longer supported. At some point, gaming companies are going to have to take that into accou… what’s that? Oh, I do all my gaming on the PC. So, yeah, this doesn’t affect me at all; I’m expected to update my own blessed gaming console anyway.

So. There’s that.

Chicago’s Exciting Xbox / Cloud Computing tax!

Well, it’s going to be exciting to everybody who lives outside of Chicago.

As of July 1, 2015, citizens of Chicago who enjoy their Netflix, Spotify, Pandora, Amazon Prime, Xbox Live, and/or PlayStation Network subscriptions are now subject to the city’s 9 percent “Amusement Tax” for the privilege. Further, should you decide to digitally rent a movie or videogame via these services, the 9 percent tax would be applied for every rental. In other words, Chicago now taxes its citizens 9 percent on their $99 annual Amazon Prime subscription because of its instant video/music service, plus 9 percent for each $3.99 digital rental through the same service. The same applies for rentals and music services offered directly from Microsoft and Sony. Fans of Sony’s PlayStation Network ecosystem are hit hardest: a 9 percent tax each on their PlayStation Plus subscription, PlayStation Music, PlayStation Now (videogame streaming), and Sony’s recently introduced PlayStation Vue live-TV service. Throw in other rental/subscription services such as Hulu, Gamefly, Google Play, HBO Go, iTunes, and Vudu, and you get a sense of the sheer breadth of this tax on Chicago consumers’ digital lives.

So, basically, avoid living in Chicago if you enjoy living in the 21st Century. Or working in it, because they’re also going to tax the cloud. That’s why everybody outside of Chicago is excited about this. It’s not every day that a major city decides to deliberately drive non-geographically fixed companies out to the suburbs.

So @Xbox kind of hates all those people living in flyover country, huh?

Short version: Adam Orth of Microsoft was getting into it with Manveer Heir of BioWare over why some companies were (bizarrely, or nastily, depending on your point of view) requiring always-on internet connections in order to play some games.  We turn now to Cheezburger:

Manveer Heir, a developer at BioWare, pointed out to Orth that “always-on” DRM was particularly unfair to customers in rural areas who aren’t always afforded the best internet connections to begin with. Orth’s response? “Why on earth would I live there?”

Sweet, dude. Not only does Orth not care about customer’s grievances surrounding their poor DRM model, he thinks that all those backwoods country folk have just made bad life decisions by living in sparsely populated areas.

I understand that Orth has since made his Tweets private.  Can’t imagine why…

Moe Lane

 

 

The second-to-last ever “Why Lie? I just want an Xbox” pledge drive post (with added promise/threat).

As you can see, we are at a good place: one where I am remarkably close to getting the Xbox 360 with 250 GB.






Continue reading The second-to-last ever “Why Lie? I just want an Xbox” pledge drive post (with added promise/threat).