【Xbox】Xbox 新闻部 -

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XBOX危急 猎头公司总裁称微软CEO必是埃洛普

　　微软下一任CEO到底是谁，媒体的猜测从未停过，而斯蒂芬埃洛普（Stephen Elop ）一直是在候选名单之中，并且领跑于其他人。早前报道，埃洛普上任后将取消Xbox和Bing服务，这也引起了很大的争议。

　　外媒BusinessInside CEO猎头公司副总裁Adam Charlson解释了为什么埃洛普是微软下一代CEO的必然选择。

　　Adam Charlson认为微软下一任CEO必须具备以下能力：

　　1、了解微软的文化;

　　2、了解科技行业。对于微软来说，尤其是企业软件;

　　3、必须有管理过上市公司的经验;

　　4、了解移动设备行业。比如微软未来的个人电脑和收购诺基亚之后的战略。

　　Adam Charlson认为只有一个人具备这些特质，那就是斯蒂夫埃洛普。

　　Adam Charlson称：微软未来的计划是成为一家设备与服务公司，如果他们不好好利用70亿美元收购的诺基亚设备与服务部门，当然这是不可能的。如果他们打算发力移动设备行业，斯蒂夫埃洛普就是最好的选择!

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Microsoft closes Victoria game studios

Microsoft shuttering Victoria operations

Less than two years after opening a game design studio in downtown Victoria, Microsoft has closed its doors, leaving at least 30 people out of work.

In a brief statement released to the Times Colonist, the company said it was part of a plan to consolidate its resources.

“This was not an easy decision, but one guided by our desire to centralize development in our Vancouver studios,” the company said. “We are working closely with all employees affected by this change to identify open positions in other studios, and we remain committed to doing business in British Columbia.”

http://www.timescolonist.com/mic ... operations-1.723993

The studio was said to be working on “the most immersive, arresting, and interactive games the world has ever seen.”

微软关闭成立仅两年的加拿大维多利亚工作室

　　微软近日真是关闭了它在加拿大的维多利亚工作室，微软宣布这是因为要充分整合资源，让其他工作室的员工更加紧密的合作。

　　但是Dan Gunn前维多路亚高级员工说到这件事时驳斥了微软的声明，表示微软关闭该工作室是因为唐马特里克离开微软去了zynga。原本唐马特里克想要扩大工作室，但是我们都知道这事非常困难的，而当他离开时该工作室就很难生存了。

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风行在线CEO透露明年九月引入XBOX系列产品

　　风行在线CEO罗江春昨日在面向广告主的2014年战略说明会上透露，风行在线控股股东百事通与微软成立的合资公司将于2014年9月引入Xbox系列产品，风行也会参与到Xbox项目中。这是相关方面首度透露Xbox的最新进展，同时也是国内第一次有官方渠道明确透露出Xbox的具体上市日期。

　　来自其它渠道的信息显示，百事通与微软引入产品为微软最新发布的Xbox one。该产品与微软上一代Xbox360的最大不同是弱化了游戏功能，并大幅强化多媒体、视频与社交属性，目前已经发售的美版已经集成了有线电视、视频录制播放与分享至社交网络的功能。

　　Xbox one内置了声控有线电视的功能，并向用户提供一款名为OneGuide的节目表，可供用户安装Hulu等第三方视频插件，并由用户创建属于自己的电视频道，这些功能与目前在国内火爆的互联网电视如出一辙。

　　有未经证实的消息称，引入国内的Xbox产品将借鉴苹果推广iPhone的经验，将内嵌东方卫视的电视服务与风行在线的网络视频服务。如果该消息属实，具备强大游戏与社交功能的Xbox将可能冲击目前的盒子与互联网电视产品。

　　值得注意的是，罗江春在向广告主的说明会上特别强调了风行深度参与了国内版Xbox的计划，他强调同行所说的多屏战略主要是三屏，而风行加上Xbox这款重磅产品后将是四屏合一，未来风行也会更多拓展游戏类广告客户。

kirassss

Lionhead工作室公布《神鬼寓言》重制版发售日

　　《神鬼寓言》开发商Lionhead工作室今日宣布了《神鬼寓言周年版》的发售日期，将会在2014年2月4日登陆XBOX360，2月6日登陆亚洲，2月7日登陆欧洲。同时还将发售一款限定版。

　　这款新重制的《神鬼寓言》将面向Xbox360平台，具有更新的音频效果、升级的图像内容、成就以及SmartGlass特性，以及扩展的“失落之章”。预订该游戏可以获得特别的盒子及首发日武器和套装包的兑换码。另外首发版本还包括狮子头的头盔头像道具。

　　《神鬼寓言周年版》将会在2014年2月4日在北美地区上市，欧洲地区为2月7日。

Fable Anniversary Releasing in February

Lionhead Studios Q&A: Fable Anniversary

Today, Lionhead Studios announced “Fable Anniversary” will launch on Xbox 360 on Feb. 4, 2014 in the US, Feb. 6 in Asia and Feb. 7 in Europe. To accompany this announcement, we have an Xbox Wire exclusive interview below with Craig Oman, Lionhead Producer of “Fable Anniversary” and stay tuned for more news and insights from other renown developers of the hottest and most anticipated games coming to Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

1. We're definitely excited to go back to Albion, but why did the team decide to remake a game that's almost a decade old?

The original Fable is a very special game to many of our fans and we decided to remake it for them. They constantly sent us messages on Facebook and Twitter asking for remake and with the 10 year anniversary coming up we thought the timing was right.

2. What's the first thing fans who played the original "Fable" will notice about the new version of the game?

Apart from how good everything looks, I think the first thing the fans will notice is that it still feels like the same game and that was very important to us. We wanted to add fidelity to the world and to the characters without changing the core experience.

3. Did the development team have to overcome any particular challenges in bringing the game from the original Xbox to the Xbox 360?

One of the most challenging aspects was just dealing with the sheer complexity of the original game. There are many systems running throughout the game dealing with everything from player morphing to the NPC AI, all of which were combined with the main Gold and Silver quests and the even more challenging random Bronze quests. We spent a lot of time making sure that all of this was still working just like it did in the original.

4. We've heard there's a new save system that's been designed specifically for "Fable Anniversary". Could you tell us a bit about what's changed?

We brought the save system up to more modern day standards. The original game had a ‘World Save’ when you were not on a quest and very confusing ‘Hero Save’ for when you were on a quest. The major problem being that you couldn’t save your progress during most of the quests, so if you died or had to switch off the console you would lose all of your progress. We changed all of this so you now have checkpoint saves when you are on a quest to automatically save your progress and you can create a manual save at any point in the game.

5. It sounds like there are a lot of new weapons and items in "Fable Anniversary". What's your favorite? Are there any weapons that longtime fans will recognize from other games?

The new Will Staff is a firm favorite for us. If you are like some of the guys in the office and you try to play the game only using magic, there was never really a weapon that made sense for you to carry around. But now you can carry around a bad-ass staff (or a lute?!).

6. Did you know from the start of the development process that you wanted to include content from "The Lost Chapters"?

“The Lost Chapters” is very much the definitive version in our mind, so there was never any doubt for us. How could we possibly recreate this game without including the awesome boss fight at the end of “The Lost Chapters”?! #SPOILERS

7. There are some really cool SmartGlass features in the game. Which do you think the community will appreciate and use the most?​

SmartGlass is a very exciting technology for us and it has been the main way for us to add extra detail and information to the game without modifying the original design. Fans of the original game will really enjoying reading the character bios as they play through and learning even more about everyone’s backstory. In every region you can also check out screenshots from the original game to see exactly how far we have pushed the visual quality since the original.

Xbox Wire：http://news.xbox.com/2013/12/xbo ... developer-interview

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微软表示独立游戏的发展对游戏业未来非常重要

　　微软最近表示，独立游戏的发展对于游戏业的未来非常重要。Xbox One独立发行部门的负责人Chris Chara在最近一次采访中表示尽管创新不分大小，但是独立游戏业创新的幅度是最大的。

　　Charla说：“我觉得独立游戏的发展将会对游戏业的未来非常重要。我随处都可以看到创新，从3A大作到独立游戏。但是在独立游戏中的创新速度非常快，这让我非常高兴。作为一个主机厂商，我们的职责就是让玩家可以看到这些创新。”

　　Charla不想具体提名这些最具创新意识的游戏，但是他表示开发商已经开始制作使用Kinect的全新和有趣的方法。

　　他说：“我们有一个射击游戏的技术Demo，当玩家触摸头侧，X光视线就会打开。这样做的时候非常棒。我觉得我们会看到更多加入全新使用Kinect的方法的游戏，而不是使用全身的移动来控制。”

　　在采访中，Charla回避了关于Xbox One要求独立开发工作室在Xbox One上发行游戏的时间同PS4的发行时间一致的作法的问题。

　　他说：“我不能评论我们的发行政策。但是我可以说我们会研究开发商的反馈，我们一向都很重视反馈，我们想尽可能的让XboxOne成为一个好的平台。”

　　微软最近公布有超过50个独立游戏开发商在为Xbox One制作游戏，包括Double Fine,Crytek和Vehaviour Interactive等。

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微软和狮头工作室或将推出AAA级MMORPG全新大作

　　几天前，微软游戏工作室公布了一则狮头工作室旗下项目的招募启事，今天又公布了一则新招工广告，招募技术总监。其中为我们透露了许多新作的信息暗示。

_______________________________________________________________________________

　　“狮头工作室是世界知名工作室之一，狮头正在寻找具有丰富经验的技术总监和经理，领导工程师队伍进行前沿项目制作。”

　　“你将直接向工作室工程总监汇报，你将负责管理技术团队，同时与游戏总监合作进行技术设计。与两个团队同时合作，完成下一款第一方AAA级大作。”

　　技能要求：

- 曾以技术总监/项目总监或技术经理的角色带领过技术团队，从概念到成品负责过多款AAA级游戏项目的开发
- 可展示出与其他游戏设计团队紧密合作的工作经验，进行平衡设计，艺术设计与技术层面的计划安排
- 对于多个编程内容的详细理解，包括但不局限于：工具与产品线，服务器架构，3D制图，游戏逻辑，AI，网络;应对其中至少一项具有深度掌握。
- 曾招募并管理过30个工程师以上的团队
- 曾负责过Xbox 360，PS4或者PC上的MMORPG，多人游戏，或动作冒险游戏
- 曾负责过中间件的评估，执行，加强
- 对上级经理和同僚队伍有出色的沟通能力，具备与股东沟通项目风险的经验
- 对游戏开发与前沿游戏充满热情

_________________________________________________________________________________

　　似乎他们正在筹备一款AAA大作，工程师队伍需要至少30人，而且设计到多方协调和网络经验。从工作描述中看到本项目对动作游戏相关经验的要求，让我们想到了微软的《神鬼寓言》。很可能该系列即将推出MMORPG，或将登陆新世代主机。当然，目前一切都只是我们的猜测，并非官方公布的信息。具体情况还请大家拭目以待。

kirassss

微软Nelson表示两大主机上市均取得佳绩是件好事

　　当Xbox One和PS4的支持者还在喋喋不休的进行争论之战时，相应平台持有者公司的管理者们则看的更远，明白目前这种激烈的竞争情况对行业和消费者还是有力的。微软Xbox Live规划总监Major Nelson就是其中之一。

　　昨天他在Reddit上发帖，回复了一篇关于介绍Xbox One已经在11月售出909132台主机的帖子，并表示两大主机的开局战都打的十分出色。



　　他还在NeoGaf上解释道他更倾向于这个行业能够有两大健康的平台供消费者选择，当时有用户发了一篇相当带有主观感情色彩的帖子。

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微软工作室贴招聘广告显示至少有一个PC项目

　　微软工作室近日贴出招聘广告，广告暗示微软工作室正在进行一项windows8的新游戏。 广告招聘高级软件开发工程师，招聘上显示该小组正在开发一种强大的高度可扩展的云服务关乎游戏的核心体验。

　　之前微软的菲尔·斯宾塞曾承诺微软将会坚定的支持PC上的第一方游戏。

　　微软的第一方核心游戏的PC版在XBOX360初期微软尝试过推广，之后却很少能看到第一方大作推出PC版，《光环》《战争机器》系列后期都再也没有登陆过PC。微软的大量的第一方游戏在很长一段时间内几乎只登陆XBOX平台，一直忽略微软自家的另外一个平台Windows，在XBOX ONE发布的时候微软就说要振兴PC平台，让自己的第一方作品登陆PC，《泰坦陨落》已确认登陆PC，但是次世代版的《极限竞速5》《RYSE：罗马之子》却仍然是XBOX ONE独占。

kirassss

微软董事会成员发博客称明年初确认CEO接替人选

　　微软董事会成员约翰·W·汤普森（John W. Thompson）近日写了一篇关于微软CEO选择的博客，在博客文章中表示，原本微软大概确立了100多位CEO候选人，现在经过激烈的删选之后现在他们已经确定了最后入围的20人。而董事会希望在2014年初就确认最后的选择。

　　汤普森同时表示微软的创始人比尔盖茨（Bill" Gates）也积极的参与到过程当中，微软虽然已有38年的历史但是到现在为止也只有两位CEO。之前有传言表示微软内部已经缩小到四个人的选择范围了，而思科，福特和ebay的ceo都在其中。

Microsoft to pick CEO by early 2014

Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally and Qualcomm's recently named CEO, Steve Mollenkopf, were at one point -- and no longer -- among the high-profile contenders reported in the running to replace CEO Steve Ballmer.

Yet in the four months since the search began following Microsoft's announcement in August that Ballmer would retire, two divergent company directions have emerged for the software giant's choice in leadership. The decisions, say analysts, amount to whether the company wants to bet on mobile and cloud services in a long-term vision versus cut costs to please Wall Street short term.

"Microsoft has two paths it can take: it can hire a product visionary or a professional manager," says Rocky Agrawal, analyst at reDesign mobile and a former Microsoft employee. "It seems from all the talk to date, Microsoft is headed in the direction of hiring a professional manager."

Others cautioned Microsoft may have become too much of a behemoth to change its stripes into that of a nimble player. "Microsoft is corporate in mind and body –- in danger of kidding itself like a late middle-aged man who buys a red Porsche to show he's a stud at heart but will still look fat behind the wheel," says Nigel Nicholson, a professor at the London School of Business.

A series of missteps over the past decade have revealed Microsoft lacking a trendsetting chief capable of big bets on the next computing revolution, a void some expected to be filled by its new CEO.

Ballmer may have blown it one too many times. The launch of Windows 8 was troubled. Ditto for its mobile versions. But Ballmer's latest foray into tablets, its Surface line, resulted in a $900 million write down and may have been the last straw for the embattled CEO.

"Ballmer's biggest failure is his lack of vision. He showed a lot of fear and derision of any new, emerging product categories," says Mark Rolston, chief creative officer at Frog Design. "That fear rubs on an organization."

Things also took a turn for the worse for Ballmer when activist investor Jeff Ubben took a stake in Microsoft in April and began exerting pressure on the company to change. Microsoft in August announced Ballmer would retire within a year.

He told The Wall Street Journal he couldn't change Microsoft quickly enough. ""Maybe I'm an emblem of an old era, and I have to move on," the 57-year-old Ballmer told the paper as his eyes reportedly welled up.

Or maybe the task of software soothsayer was too much for Ballmer. With the announcement of a search for his replacement, investors have bid up Microsoft's stock on the prospects for change. "The opportunity for a new CEO to implement strategic changes at Microsoft represents a decent portion of the >40% YTD return in the shares," says Morgan Stanley analyst Keith Weiss.

With Ballmer better known as a take-no-prisoners, hard-charging salesman, the company was widely expected to search for a leader to shore up his deficiency in predicting technology hits of the future.

To date, Microsoft has been reported considering at least two boomerang employees in the likes of Paul Maritz and Stephen Elop as well as current company insiders Tony Bates and Satya Nadella, among others.

But analyst and former Microsoft employee Agrawal says the software juggernaut needs someone more along the lines of Yammer's CEO and founder to right its direction. "(David) Sacks is still my top pick," Agrawal says. "I've spent some time with him. Having worked at Microsoft, I know they need someone like him."

USAToday：http://www.usatoday.com/story/te ... early-2014/4058931/

kirassss

微软将拍摄游戏领域最怪异游戏事件的纪录片

　　现在，为了抢占客厅市场，微软开始将更多的目光投向了以Xbox One或Xbox 360为播放平台的影片制作。继《光环》曝光之后，这家公司于日前披露，他们将推出Atari 2600游戏系列纪录片。据悉，Atari 2006系列纪录片由Lightbox制片公司制作，乔纳森和西蒙钦奥斯卡奖获得者和艾美奖获得者共同完成这部纪录片。该影片将成为全球首部回顾发生在视频游戏领域中的最怪异事件。

　　1982年，游戏厂商Atari因《E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial》收到了大量的负面评价，于是决定在新墨西哥州阿拉莫戈多的垃圾场将其掩埋。纪录片制片方将在明年挖开这个垃圾掩埋场，并拍摄下来作为纪录片的一部分。该系列纪录片将于2014年在Xbox One和Xbox 360上独家放送。

Atari E.T. excavation film kicks off Xbox documentary series in 2014

Xbox Entertainment Studios to Debut Documentary Series Exclusively on Xbox in 2014

Xbox Entertainment Studios today announced an original documentary series to debut exclusively on Xbox in 2014. Xbox will produce the series with two-time Academy Award winning producer Simon Chinn (Searching for Sugar Man and Man on Wire) and Emmy winning producer Jonathan Chinn (FX’s 30 Days and PBS’s American High) through their new multi-platform media company, Lightbox.

“Our collaboration with Xbox offers an unparalleled opportunity to make a unique series of films around the extraordinary events and characters that have given rise to the digital age,” said Simon Chinn. “Our goal is to produce a series of compelling and entertaining docs which will deploy all the narrative techniques of Simon's and my previous work. It's particularly exciting to be partnering with filmmakers like Zak Penn who come to this process from other filmmaking disciplines and who will bring their own distinctive creative vision to this,” added Jonathan Chinn.

“Jonathan and Simon Chinn are the perfect team to spearhead this series for Xbox. They are consummate story tellers and they plan to match their creative sensibility with the best talent in the industry” commented Nancy Tellem, president, Xbox Entertainment Studios. “These stories will expose how the digital revolution created a global democracy of information, entertainment and commerce, and how it impacts our lives every day.”

The first film in the groundbreaking series investigates the events surrounding the great video game burial of 1983. The Atari Corporation, faced with overwhelmingly negative response to “ET the Video Game,” buried millions of unsold game cartridges in the middle of the night, in the small town of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Fuel Entertainment, an innovator in cross-platform content development, secured the exclusive rights to excavate the Atari landfill and approached Xbox. Lightbox will document the dig planned for early next year.

Filmmaker and avid gamer Zak Penn (X-Men 2, Avengers, Incident at Loch Ness) will direct. This episode will not only document the excavation, but place the urban legend of the burial in the context of the precipitous rise and fall of Atari itself.

“When Simon and Jonathan Chinn approached me about this story, I knew it would be something important and fascinating,” said Penn. “I wasn’t expecting to be handed the opportunity to uncover one of the most controversial mysteries of gaming lore.”

Shooting begins in January. The series will air exclusively on Xbox One and Xbox 360 in 2014 and will be available globally in all markets where Xbox Live is supported.