Original Xbox creator reveals rejected console names

A recently republished 2003 Edge interview with Seamus Blackley, one of the founding members of the Xbox team at Microsoft, has revealed some of the unsuccessful names for the company's original console.

"First, there were our code names, which were WEP--'Windows Entertainment Project'--designed to make Microsoft executives comfortable, Midway--'Midway between a PC and a console or 'Battle of Midway'--you decide--and DirectX Box, which was shortened to xbox in email very early on," he said.

Blackley describes fellow Xbox executive Kevin Brachus telling the then small team that 'xbox' was legally unsound, and needed to be changed. What followed was a list of "crap," car-inspired names so bad the team didn't even record them for posterity, before moving on to acronym-based names.

"Phase four was a battle between us and the naming guys, when we decided we just wanted to risk it and go with Xbox--since that's what everyone called it anyway--and they wanted, for some unknowable reason, to call it '11-X' or 'Eleven-X'. Finally, we told them no, but still had to decide: X-Box, xBox, XboX, Xbox, X-box…"

Some of the other rejected suggestions for the device included the 'MIND (Microsoft Interactive Network Device)', 'FACE (Full Action Center)', 'MOX (Microsoft Optimal Experience)', 'VERV (Virtual Entertainment & Reality Venture)', 'M-PAC (Microsoft Play and Action Center)', 'R&R (Reality and Revolution)', and 'MARZ (Microsoft Active Reality Zone)'.

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Tales of Xillia 2 confirmed for Western release in 2014

Sequel to feature new protagonist and takes place a year after the first game.

Namco Bandai has announced that the sequel to Tales of Xillia will be out in North America and Europe in 2014 (via the game's Facebook page). No exact month or date has been divulged at this point in time.

Tales of Xillia 2 features a new protagonist named Ludger Will Kresnik who has the ability to switch between three different weapons during combat. The game's story takes place a year after the first game. Players can shape the course of the narrative with dialogue trees and choices.

The game's prequel, Tales of Xillia, will arrive on North American and European shelves this August 6 and August 9 respectively.

By Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor

Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.

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Persona 5 website name registered by Atlus parent company

"Persona.jp" domain name is now under Index Corporation.

Atlus may be revealing more information on its upcoming RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 5 soon.

According to a post on NeoGaf, Atlus parent company Index Corporation recently registered a website trademark for "persona5.jp" via the WHOIS registry site. Atlus confirmed back in 2010 that a new Persona title is in the works. It has yet to announce a platform at this point in time. Katsura Hashino (Persona 3, Persona 4) will be the game's producer, while Shigenori Soejima and Shoji Meguro will be handling character design and sound composing duties, respectively.

Index Corporation are experiencing financial difficulties. Despite this, Atlus said that the company will still resume business as usual, with Dragon's Crown coming out on its intended July 25 date in Japan and its Persona Music FES 2013 concert launching later this year at the Nippon Budokan.

By Jonathan Toyad, Associate Editor

Born and raised from a jungle-laden village in Sarawak, Malaysia, Jonathan Toyad has been playing games since the early 90s. He favors fighting games, RPGs, and rhythm titles above every other genre, and occasionally spaces out like Pavlov's dog to video game music on his iPod.

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UK Chart: The Last of Us stays top of UK chart for fourth week

Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic PlayStation 3 exclusive The Last of Us is the first game of 2012 to hold the UK chart for four consecutive weeks.

BioShock Infinite and Dead Island: Riptide both managed to secure three weeks at the top of the chart earlier this year, while Square Enix's Tomb Raider reboot managed two.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition holds onto second place, with FIFA 13 enjoying a resurgence in third.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf drops to fourth, followed by Assassin's Creed III in fifth, Tomb Raider in sixth, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II in seventh.

The Sims 3: Island Paradise is eighth, Deadpool ninth, and Far Cry 3 rounds out the top 10.

Namco Bandai's 3DS RPG Project X Zone is the only new entry in the charts, securing 18th position in its debut week.

The Top 20 UK chart for the week ending July 6:

1. The Last of Us
2. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
3. FIFA 13
4. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
5. Assassin's Creed III
6. Tomb Raider
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II
8. The Sims 3: Island Paradise
9. Deadpool
10. Far Cry 3
11. Injustice: Gods Among Us
12. Need for Speed: Most Wanted
13. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
14. BioShock Infinite
15. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Legendary Edition
16. God of War: Ascension
17. GRID 2
18. Project X Zone
19. Luigi's Mansion 2
20. LEGO The Lord of the Rings

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Video Review - NCAA Football 14

I guess its a game based off of a sport, a sport that changes very little except the occasional rule review or salary cap increase. When you get to the level of complexity that simulations such as Madden/NCAA hold there is very little left to innovate, so each sequel is only ever going to be derivative or iterative.

Is it fun? Yes, it is still fun. Is it good value? Hell no, not if you own the last game in the series. But, unfortunately this can be said for many franchises, some of which have much more scope for innovation - such as the Military Shooter genre, yet we are often less harsh on these yearly editions than we are on many sports franchises/wrestling games.

Why is that?

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NCAA Football 14 Review

Fans of amateur athletics huddle in front of their television sets every Saturday, cheering mightily for something unexpected to happen. Notre Dame, Oregon, Boise State, and countless other paper tigers have flirted with destiny, only to fail before reaching hallowed ground. No matter how hard you root, no matter how promising a freshman class may seem, the results are always the same: the best team in the nation is from the Southeastern Conference. Sadly, the NCAA Football franchise has fallen into the same rhythm as its real-life counterpart. There are no more surprises in store, nothing to make you take notice. Instead, NCAA Football '14 is the same old game you've been playing for years.

The on-field action should be very familiar for those who have played recent entries in the franchise. Receivers still have a better chance of getting open if they run across the field rather than take off on a deep route, linemen still mush together at the point of attack, and cornerbacks are cursed with brick hands. Still, slight tweaks to the physics system mean that hits carry the weight you would expect from 300-pound athletes, and the option offense has finer control than before. Reading the defensive end's movement as your quarterback runs laterally works well, and it's satisfying to pitch the ball to your fullback just before you get laid out. When you're immersed in a high-stakes game, it's easy to forget that you've seen this all before and enjoy the violent chess match that's unfolding.

Off the field, NCAA Football '14 has followed the trend that is seemingly creeping into every game genre. The game has role-playing elements. Your coach now earns experience points for your accomplishments. Registering a sack or forcing a turnover fills up a progress bar, and once you reach a new level, you unlock special powers on a skill tree. So no longer do you have to be content with merely adding points to the scoreboard when you get into the end zone; you earn progress in the expansive metagame as well. Although this new addition does reward you for playing well, it feels like a desperate attempt to add something novel to a tired franchise. The skills system is added busywork that urges you to spend more time navigating menus than delivering wicked hits on the field.

Recruiting has also seen a revamp, although instead of adding something new, it takes away what was previously there. The minutiae that defined the recruiting process have been completely stripped away. No longer do you decide how much time you want to spend with each recruit, delegating assistant coaches to seek out lower-priority candidates while you, as the head coach, meet with only five-star prospects. Instead, there's just a pool of points that you dole out. Gone too is the interviewing minigame. Before, you would learn the priorities of each high school star and try to appeal to his particular ambitions. This system had a number of flaws, but it was still fun to learn who each player was on a personal level. Now, players are just raw stats, and it's not as engaging to build a dynasty without that human element.

NCAA Football '14 does make a strong attempt at introducing the complexities of the college game to those who are not intimately familiar with it. Nike Skills Trainer walks you through the major scenarios you face during a game, and the time spent on the practice field pays off once you take to the field on game day. Learning how to use your blockers or when to throw a fade versus a bullet is important knowledge, as is coming to grips with the sometimes overbearing audible system. Considering how complicated the core action has become, Nike Skills Trainer is a solid addition that provides a much smoother learning curve than previous games in the series.

And you need those skills if you're going to compete against other players online or locally. NCAA Football '14 is at its best when you're matched up against another person of similar talent. Pulling out crucial first downs or making momentum-swinging goal line stands is an incredible feeling, especially when you exchange some well-meaning pleasantries with your vanquished opponent. True nail-biters even get credited as ESPN Classics, so it's worth trying your hardest even when you get down a few scores. You never know when the ball will finally bounce your way and you can get the last laugh on the road to victory.

It's a shame that NCAA Football '14 has the same problems the franchise has been burdened with for years. The on-field action is tight and rewarding, but everything else is sloppy at best. There's no reason to clutter up the coaching system with needless experience points or strip out all of the personality from recruiting. NCAA Football has never been able to match the enticing action of the sport with equally engaging off-field activities, so it creates a jarring disconnect when you have to plow through tedious menus to accomplish anything away from the field. There's little worthwhile in NCAA Football '14 you couldn't have experienced in previous games, but at least it's still fun to smash your rivals when you head onto the field.

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GS News Top 5 - Mattrick Leaves, LoL Player in Prison, Region-Locking

@the_big_doggg Fine, I agree that you may say something and report a comment like this so that the police will investigate him.

But putting him in prison right away? What if my friend hacked my account and wrote something stupid like "I'mma shoot up a school" as if it were me? Am I going to be put in jail and then get abused like this kid?

Maybe someone should hack your account and do exactly that, because then you might get a glimpse of how screwed up this whole story is. A freaking Facebook comment that even ended with the words "lol, j/k" was taken as serious as a legit terrorist threat.

What the hell is going on in today's world? Not only are there people who think first-person shooters, or any type of game,really, can turn you into a killer, but there are police men who will lock you up for a stupid Facebook comment. 

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Xbox One created 'with advertising in mind'

The Xbox One and its dashboard user interface were built with advertising in mind, key members of Microsoft's UK Xbox Live Advertising team have told website StickTwiddlers on a recent visit to the company's headquarters.

A two-hour discussion with the senior digital art director/user experience designer and technical account manager for Xbox Live advertising revealed that all advertising created for the platform must work with both a standard Xbox controller and the console's mandatory Kinect camera system.

"With the new Xbox One, the technology and Kinect has improved a lot," said the technical account manager for Xbox Live Advertising, "so that actually, the voice recognition, the way you speak to your Xbox, and the transition between gaming and watching TV is a lot smoother, and hopefully we can transpire that into advertising that we do.

"Xbox is moving more outside of the bedroom. We're seeing much, much more people use it in living rooms where there is family, friends, there is lots going on, so there is a context of perceiving the content," the senior digital art director/use experience designer said. "It's not like when you're at work, when you sit in front of a screen and your experience is very personal. But with Xbox, it's lots of people in front of one big screen. They are playing or watching together, and advertising is being consumed in a totally different way."

Microsoft hopes that the inclusion of Kinect with every Xbox One system will allow the company to better serve contextually relevant ads, and that integrating advertising material within content will make it less jarring.

"On Xbox, the ad is part of the actual experience, it's not something that is outside. The only difference is that the advertisement we have is quite small and not disruptive, so people are not aware of clicking on the banners because they know this is a part of the whole experience on the dash," the senior digital art director revealed. "So the users know that this is something that when they click on it, they won't be hit by something crazy or something dangerous like on the web. Everything that lands there, we create."

Microsoft's advertising team believes the upcoming Xbox One will allow advertising to evolve in line with the platform's gaming content.

"It's going to be an exciting transition, though, because the 360 console wasn't built with advertising in mind, it was more of an afterthought, so we've had to adapt to the technology and how we work to fit them in to the console," said the Xbox Live advertising technical account manager.

Users concerned that the Xbox One and its Kinect camera may be collecting personal, identifying, or biometric information from the system should not be concerned, the team said.

"This sort of works at two levels. There's the game producers, who have a different API, so a different set of code and system that they use, and they've got a lot more control of the whole thing," the developer commented, "whereas from the advertising point of view, we have a slightly more limited set, which is designed to protect the user. The company is very keen on protecting the user from any sort of abuse, so we can't do certain things."

Originally likened to a "monitoring device" by Germany's federal data protection commissioner, Microsoft has attempted to allay consumer fears that its new home console will spy on its users. The company recently released official information on how the Kinect camera can be paused, which personal data the system will collect, and how it will be shared with third parties.

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Blizzard exploring micro-transactions for World of Warcraft

Blizzard has confirmed that it is actively exploring in-game micro-transactions for its popular MMO, World of Warcraft.

The news comes after players discovered the Enduring Elixir of Wisdom on the game's Public Test Realm (PTR). The item, which has not been added to live servers, grants players a 100 percent increase to all experience earned when killing monsters and completing quests.

A post on the game's forums by Blizzard community manager Zarhym said the item is part of a larger experiment related to giving players in certain, unspecified regions the opportunity to purchase digital goods from within the game world.

"We are currently exploring the possibility of adding a way for players in certain regions to make purchases directly within the game. As part of this process, elements related to this will be appearing on the PTR. We'll provide additional updates on our plans as development progresses."

The company has previously made available a mixture of items through its Blizzard Store, including pets, mounts and an in-game Cinder Kitten, which saw all proceeds donated to help Hurricane Sandy victims.

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EA considering offline mode for SimCity

EA may be looking at the possibility of adding offline play and other features to SimCity as part of its future updates for its world-building series, according to a customer survey that has surfaced on Reddit.

The survey, which can be seen here in screenshots, seeks player feedback on potential upcoming features. These include: farms, faster rebuilding after disasters, over and underpass roads, cities twice the size of current land plots, terraforming, cooperative city building with friends, and Classic mode. The latter is described as allowing players to, "In offline or online mode, play a single, fully functioning city using cheats and unlocks that allow you to create your perfect city."

Among other possible changes are four new additions to an upcoming expansion pack. Simulate to the Sky is described as adding the ability to build up instead of out to create SuperScrapers. Players will also be able to zone the new building type residential, commercial and industrial concurrently, as well as create multi-layered transportation, and improve overall city density to raise populations.

Greed cities add a resource-consuming mega corporation that boosts profits; a robotics augmentation business, and increases the total amount of trash and pollution produced. Conversely, green cities add an academy to research advanced technology, generate wealthy, highly-skilled workers, and your city will better collaborate with others on research.

The last component of the new expansion pack is called Transform Tomorrow. It will allow players to watch their cities change as future technologies are added, or see your region become affected by the actions of your future cities.

Launching to low review scores and server troubles, Maxis co-founder Will Wright described the game's initial release as being "inexcusable," for consumers, saying that both EA and Maxis failed to adequately communicate with players.

GameSpot contacted EA seeking clarification regarding the customer survey. A spokesperson from the publisher was unavailable at time of publication.

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