Morning DLC: Video Games News And Rumors 1/19/14
By Nick Tylwalk
"Microsoft is now offering Machinima video producers $3 per 1,000 views in exchange for promoting the Xbox One.Just in case you didn’t know, YouTube videos showcasing video games has exploded the last couple of years and has become a viable platform for companies to advertise in — a fact not lost on Microsoft. Machinima, possibly the biggest YouTube network that focuses on games as its content, is now the latest beneficiary of Microsoft’s latest marketing blitz, as it’s now offering Machinima producers $3 per 1,000 views — or “Cost Per Thousand (CPM)” — just to promote the Xbox One."
"New alpha footage from the closed alpha of Titanfall taking place right now on the Xbox One has emerged. I’ll go ahead and get it out of the way early, but the game really does look a heck of a lot like Call of Duty with mechs.The play-style, super-fast reloading, weapon handling, and soft aim-assist are almost notch for notch carry-overs from the Call of Duty franchise. Nevertheless, that’s to be expected given that Respawn Entertainment was the former Infinity Ward and the brilliant minds that really helped put Call of Duty on the map during the seventh gen with Modern Warfare and Modern Warfare 2."
"The most exciting aspect of contemporary virtual reality is its implications. Even using Oculus VR’s early duct taped-prototype, most users immediately “get it.” You’re transported to, say, Tuscany, or an underwater exploration vehicle, or a space fighter, and that experience is enough to trigger a flood of ideas for other potential interactions — interactions that are dramatically heightened by employing a VR headset. How about deep-sea exploration in 4K? Or maybe Mars? And we’re not talking just video games, but experiences. Valve VR lead Michael Abrash detailed that notion in a recent talk:“Not only could VR rapidly evolve into a major platform, but it could actually tip the balance of the entire industry from traditional media toward computer entertainment.”Abrash believes that VR headsets so vastly outperform other interaction methods (TV, theaters, etc.) that how folks absorb media in general may be impacted by the coming wave of head-mounted displays."