Morning DLC: Video Games News And Rumors 2/28/14
By Nick Tylwalk
"Microsoft is set to introduce a manual 50hz option with Xbox One’s March system update, in a move to help combat TV integration problems in Europe and other PAL territories.According to various users currently testing the update, the change will allow Xbox One owners to manually switch between 50hz and 60hz modes from the console’s system menu, for smoother television viewing.The fault, which results in a ‘juddering’ picture when viewing PAL television broadcasts, is caused by Xbox One’s native 60hz refresh rate."
"The introduction of gay protagonists in AAA video games won’t be “for a while,” Far Cry 3 writer Lucian Soulban said in an interview posted on the official Ubisoft blog.Games franchises like Mass Effect and Fable offer users the option to seek out relationships with the same sex; However, as Soulband notes, the current sales and marketing system is the primary barrier to entry for the creation of gay protagonists in large-scale games.“…when are we going to see that gay protagonist in a AAA game?” asked Soulban. “Not for a while, I suspect, because of fears that it’ll impact sales."
"Tax credits are the kinds of things that most video game lovers wouldn’t think about when considering where their favorite releases come from. But the publishers and developers that distribute and create games depend on them when figuring out the financials of their particular businesses. Now, a Republican tax proposal would deny that relief from companies who make “violent video games.” That, to me, seems pretty ill-advised.The Tax Reform Act of 2014—a would-be overhaul of the U.S. Tax Code presented by GOP representative and House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dave Camp—explicitly states that the new tax code would prevent “makers of violent video games from qualifying for the R&D tax credit.”"