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150-723: As of October 2016, there had been 719 Xbox Live Arcade titles released for the Xbox 360, with 27 being released for the original Xbox. The release of the Xbox One did not carry the Arcade branding over, and following the closure of the Xbox Live services for the original Xbox in 2010 and the Xbox Games Store in 2024, the Xbox Live Arcade branding is effectively defunct. The Xbox Live Arcade service

300-446: A 2D presentation. Blow noted that some of the puzzles in Braid would have been more difficult or impossible to solve in any other perspective. One of Blow's design goals was to achieve gameplay innovation naturally through the artistic expression of the game. He used Rod Humble 's The Marriage as an example, in which Humble set out to make a game that related his feelings of being in

450-461: A Twitter message in April 2013 that said, "Sorry, I don't get the drama around having an 'always on' console...Every device now is 'always on.' That's the world we live in. #dealwithit". Orth's message drew further ire towards Microsoft, with concerns about digital rights management and practices against the sale of used games with an "always on" unit. Orth opted to leave Microsoft a few days later due to

600-462: A micro USB port; when attached via a micro-USB cable, the controller can operate without battery power and can charge remotely, and is supported on computers running Windows 7 or later with drivers . The Xbox One Wireless Adapter accessory allows wireless use of Xbox One controllers on Windows computers also running Windows 7 or later. The Elite Wireless Controller was released in October 2015. It

750-412: A publisher allowed a game to be traded or resold, users could do this at "participating retailers", and could also transfer a game directly to any Xbox Live friend who had been on their list for at least 30 days, but only once per game. To synchronize licenses, the console would be required to connect to the internet once every 24 hours ; if the console could not connect, all games would be disabled until

900-468: A 2019 interview, Phil Spencer , head of Xbox at Microsoft, recalled that this approach not only confused consumers about the intent of the Xbox One, but also Microsoft employees who had been working on the console. Spencer stated that several employees complained to him about the presentation "blow[ing] up all the good work that [they]'ve done by talking about the product in a way that's not really matching what

1050-480: A 3D puzzle game released in 2016. A remastered version of the game titled Braid, Anniversary Edition , featuring new levels, commentary, overhauled visuals and remixed sound was released in May 2024 for Android , iOS , Nintendo Switch , PlayStation 4 , PlayStation 5 , Windows, Xbox One , and Xbox Series X/S . Braid is played by solving physical puzzles in a standard platform game environment. The player controls

1200-415: A Friend" messages. The original size limit imposed by Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade games was 50 MB, in order to ensure any downloaded game could fit on a 64 MB Xbox memory unit . The limit has since been changed to 150 MB, then 350 MB, and now 2 GB, the latter of which is a technical limitation of the system (rather than an arbitrary limit imposed by Microsoft). On September 12, 2012

1350-493: A PC or console version first. Blow signed up with Microsoft to release the game on Xbox Live in mid-2007, with that version officially announced at the 2007 Tokyo Game Show . Blow was critical of the Xbox Live certification process, as he believed the effort to meet all the requirements could have been better spent on polishing the game. At the same time, the certification team allowed him to retain certain aspects of his vision for

1500-457: A September 2010 listing, and the 25th best PlayStation 3 game in a September 2013 listing. Developers have cited Braid as an influence on their game design. Japanese video game developer Goichi "Suda51" Suda , developer of killer7 and No More Heroes , stated that playing Braid made him want to try making a 2D title. Tim can be unlocked as a playable character in Super Meat Boy ,

1650-465: A USB/power adapter to use the accessory. A free USB adapter was provided by Microsoft to Kinect owners who registered their ownership of Kinect and Xbox One S online up until March 2017. The adapter was sold separately thereafter but has since been discontinued. Kinect for Xbox One was officially discontinued on October 25, 2017. The Xbox One runs two operating systems within a hypervisor ; games run within one separate operating system, while apps and

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1800-400: A case that is 40% smaller in size and supports vertical orientation with a stand. The main Xbox One S SKU is colored in an entirely matte "Robot White" finish, with half of the console adorned with machined holes, and a visible circular vent on top of the console's right half. It utilizes push-button controls rather than capacitive keys, the side USB port and controller sync button were moved to

1950-495: A commentary about traditional platform game design: the fact the player is not forced to restart the level when they die gives greater emphasis to the game's "core challenges". The game was primarily criticized for its short length. IGN 's Hilary Goldstein stated that the game offers "no reason to come back" once all the puzzles have been completed. However, others compared Braid ' s short experience to similar criticisms with Portal in that its length "can be disregarded in

2100-524: A curved shape for ergonomics . "Menu" and "View" buttons have replaced the Start and Back buttons. Each trigger features independent rumble motors called "Impulse Triggers", which allows developers to program directional vibration. One trigger can be made to vibrate when firing a gun, or both can work together to create feedback that indicates the direction of an incoming hit. The controller also contains light emitters that allow it to be tracked and paired using

2250-499: A fraction of the levels, modes, and content of the full game. A full version of the game must be purchased to allow the user to upload scores to the leaderboards, unlock achievements, play online multiplayer (with a few exceptions), and download bonus content. Several new features and enhancements have been added through software updates including a friends leaderboard, additional sorting options, faster enumeration of games, an auto-download feature for newly released trial games, and "Tell

2400-492: A future update to add Dolby Vision HDR support for streaming video). 4K video can be played from supported streaming services and Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc, however, since Xbox One S is a first-generation Ultra HD Blu-ray player, it cannot output the dynamic HDR10+ or Dolby Vision metadata from a disc encoded with either or both formats (such discs play only in standard HDR10 .) Games are upscaled from 1080p resolution, and are not rendered at 4K. The GPU on Xbox One S has

2550-693: A game created by three Microsoft interns, TotemBall , a game that can only be played with the Xbox Live Vision camera, Yaris (a Toyota -backed advergame ), and Dash of Destruction , which was released on December 17, 2008, as a Doritos advergame . On November 30, 2007, Microsoft introduced "Xbox Live Arcade Hits", where games are permanently reduced in price (a similar concept to their "Platinum Hits" for regular retail Xbox 360 games). As of July 22, 2008, current Arcade Hits include Lumines Live! , Assault Heroes , Zuma , Doom , Bankshot Billiards 2 , Small Arms , Puzzle Quest: Challenge of

2700-440: A game designed by independent game developer Edmund McMillen who had previously created Gish and the original character designs for Braid . Braid has also garnered academic interest and acclaim for its complexity, with narratologists saying "Anyone who thinks... the unique constraints of game play cannot possibly be used to best structure a story has probably not encountered Braid , which marries pure mechanics and story into

2850-473: A game that deconstructed current video games trends, "bringing together the abstract parts of a complex puzzle, revealing deep moral and philosophical questions". Blow came up with the concept of Braid in December 2004 while on a trip to Thailand , and started development work on it in April the following year. By December 2005, a version of the game was completed that had the same number of worlds and puzzles as

3000-428: A higher clock speed and ESRAM bandwidth than the original model, which can provide some performance improvements on games with dynamic resolution scaling (DRS) or uncapped frame rates. The console can monitor its internal temperature and adjust accordingly to prevent overheating ; alongside increasing fan speed, additional measures can be taken, including throttling the hardware to a low-power state—a feature that

3150-793: A leader in development on the Xbox One, announced his departure from Microsoft to become CEO of Zynga . Analysts speculated that his departure was predicated on the poor response and subsequent reversal of the plans for Xbox One. Microsoft also backtracked on a similarly controversial requirement for the Kinect sensor to be plugged into the Xbox One at all times for it to function. Privacy advocates argued that Kinect sensor data could be used for targeted advertising and to perform unauthorized surveillance on users. In response to these claims, Microsoft reiterated that Kinect voice recognition and motion tracking can be disabled by users, that Kinect data cannot be used for advertising under its privacy policy , and that

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3300-408: A light color option for the console's user interface. In 2024, it was reported that original Xbox One models operating on firmware versions prior to 2019 were experiencing update failures, which led to the disablement of the majority of the console's functions due to mandatory online requirements. Microsoft fixed the issue shortly after. The issue raised concerns regarding the preservation status of

3450-534: A local area network on supported Windows 10 devices. The console can play Blu-ray Disc , and overlay live television programming from an existing set-top box or a digital tuner for digital terrestrial television with an enhanced program guide . The console optionally included a redesigned Kinect sensor, marketed as the "Kinect 2.0", providing improved motion tracking and voice recognition . The Xbox One received positive reviews for its controller design, multimedia features and quieter internals, but criticism

3600-422: A marriage, instead of developing game concepts first and adding the story later. As such, Blow noted that while there were no new gameplay mechanics, the gameplay felt different from any other game. Another concept that he used for Braid ' s development related to the game's presentation to the player. Blow recognized that many games present a complex interface to the player that get in the way of understanding

3750-532: A memory bandwidth of 68.3 GB/s. The APU is built on TSMC 's 28nm process. The memory subsystem also features an additional 32 MB of "embedded static" RAM, or ESRAM , with a memory bandwidth of 109 GB/s. For simultaneous read and write operations, the ESRAM is capable of a theoretical memory bandwidth of 192 GB/s and a memory bandwidth of 133 GB/s has been achieved with operations that involved alpha transparency blending. The system includes

3900-552: A monthly basis. The Xbox SmartGlass app provides extended functionality on Xbox One, allowing devices running Windows Phone , Windows 8 , iOS and Android to be used as a companion device for Xbox One features, such as powering on the console, a remote control , accessing messages and the Activity Feed, purchasing content, and providing integration with certain games and content. The SmartGlass app can also be used to stream live television to Android and Windows devices if

4050-496: A non-replaceable hard drive and a Blu-ray Disc optical drive. 138 GB of hard drive space is used by the operating system, with the remainder available for the storage of games. Since the June 2014 software update, up to two USB drives can be connected to Xbox One to expand its capacity. External drives must support USB 3.0 and have a capacity of at least 256 GB. It was reported that 3 GB of RAM would be reserved for

4200-469: A philosophical platform." Braid ' s use of narrative elements and puzzle-making has been compared to similar techniques of "imperative storytelling" in novels such as Life: A User's Manual and Through the Looking-Glass . Braid is considered the definitive title that launched wide interest in independently developed video games starting around 2008 and onward. The Guardian considered

4350-415: A player attempted to solve a difficult puzzle, and that provided a "different and interesting" sound when played in reverse to match the reverse time mechanic of the gameplay. Blow also selected tracks that were "organic and complex" as to help set the game's mood and aimed "to present something that isn't necessarily clear-cut". The selection of the music influenced the creation of the background artwork for

4500-437: A princess from a castle as borrowed from Super Mario Bros. , and rebuild them in the game to force the player to rethink current game design. Blow has stated that there is more than one interpretation of the story; he "would not be capable" of explaining the whole story of the game in words, and said that the central idea is "something big and subtle and resists being looked at directly." Blow considered Braid to be "about

4650-631: A prize draw with a grand prize of 100,000 Microsoft Points , 12 Month Xbox Live Gold subscription, and an Xbox 360 Elite console. Another Summer of Arcade began the next year on July 22, 2009. Anyone who purchases all the titles released ( 'Splosion Man , Marvel vs. Capcom 2 , TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled , Trials HD and Shadow Complex ) will receive an 800-point reward. The next Summer of Arcade began on July 21, 2010, and features Limbo , Hydro Thunder Hurricane , Castlevania: Harmony of Despair , Monday Night Combat and Lara Croft and

Xbox Live Arcade - Misplaced Pages Continue

4800-447: A prototype game called "Oracle Billiards", the game predicting each billiards shot before it was made. He had found the billiards setting too chaotic for this idea and this led him to try out similar ideas in a simpler "Mario-style" setting. After selecting the game mechanics he wanted, he began adding puzzles that made philosophical points on his views on game design in general. After brainstorming more puzzles and concepts, Blow dropped

4950-404: A remastered edition of Braid , was announced during Sony's State of Play event. The game's art was repainted with significantly more detail, with smoother animations and enhanced sound. The new edition includes detailed and thorough developer commentary from Blow. Players are able to toggle between the original and upgraded version while playing. Blow said that the remaster would be faithful to

5100-596: A series of connectors corresponding to standard Xbox controller buttons—which are used to attach specific types of buttons and other assertive peripherals. The controller can also be used in conjunction with Copilot—a feature introduced in 2017 that allows multiple controllers to be used in tandem on behalf of a single player. As of the November 2018 update, developers may now optionally allow their titles to support computer mice and keyboards as input. Microsoft also unveiled an exclusive partnership with Razer Inc. to produce

5250-547: A sidebar with access to common functions such as the friends list, apps, the user's party, and settings. Users can go back to the dashboard while using games or apps using either the Xbox button on their controller or a voice command; up to four apps can run (either actively or in the background) at once, but only one game can run at a time. Use of Kinect enables the ability to control the console via voice commands . Xbox One's voice control capabilities are similar to, albeit richer than those of Xbox 360. The voice assistant Cortana

5400-400: A specific line of Xbox-optimized keyboard and mice peripherals, with Xbox system keys and support for Razer's Chroma LED lighting platform. The Kinect 2.0, an updated natural user interface sensor, was redesigned and recreated to provide motion-tracking and voice commands for the Xbox One. Kinect 2.0 features a wide-angle time-of-flight camera and a 1080p camera, in comparison to

5550-466: A system to help users locate players to join their party for multiplayer play. Players can use the Upload Studio app to edit and share clips from the last five minutes of gameplay footage that is automatically recorded by the console. Games can also be developed so that recording can automatically be triggered in response to notable events, such as achievements. Xbox One supports streaming directly to

5700-464: A tall height while moving in forward time, as they would not be able to jump that height in reverse time. While this idea was not used, Blow discovered the rewind feature could be developed further for other aspects. Another game mechanic that Blow considered was to show the player the expected result of an action they would take; while this concept was informative, he did not find it to be an entertaining game mechanic. Blow had previously explored this in

5850-493: A user's Xbox Live Gold subscription benefits apply to all other users of their designated "home" console as well, rather than requiring a separate subscription for each user. Since June 2014, applications no longer require an Xbox Live Gold membership to use. Additional subscriptions for outside services such as Netflix may still be required. Microsoft also extended its Games with Gold program to Xbox One, providing free Xbox 360 and Xbox One games to Xbox Live Gold subscribers on

6000-654: Is a home video game console developed by Microsoft . Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox series . It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Australia, and South America in November 2013 and in Japan, China, and other European countries in September 2014. It is the first Xbox game console to be released in China, specifically in

6150-505: Is an indie puzzle-platform video game developed by Number None . The game was originally released in August 2008 for the Xbox 360 's Xbox Live Arcade service. Ports were developed and released for Microsoft Windows in April 2009, Mac OS X in May 2009, PlayStation 3 in November 2009, and Linux in December 2010. Jonathan Blow designed the game as a personal critique of contemporary trends in video game development . He self-funded

Xbox Live Arcade - Misplaced Pages Continue

6300-505: Is available to save music, films, games and saved content, and developers are able to use Live servers (along with the Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform) to offer dynamic in-game content and other functionality. Users can have up to 1,000 friends. The December 2016 software update added the new social networking feature Clubs, which allows users to join groups focused on specific interests or games, and Looking for group (LFG),

6450-417: Is suddenly locked out of the house, and, as time progresses forward, reversing Tim's actions, the events show the princess running from Tim, setting traps that he is able to evade, until she is rescued by the knight. Tim is revealed to be the "monster" from whom the princess is running. Following completion of the game, the player finds additional texts that expand the story. Jonathan Blow created Braid as

6600-400: Is the successor to Xbox 360, Microsoft's previous video game console, which was introduced in November 2005 as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles . Over the years, the 360 had received a number of small hardware revisions to reduce the unit's size and improve its reliability. In 2010, Microsoft's Chris Lewis stated that the 360 was about "halfway" through its lifecycle; this

6750-634: The Official Xbox Magazine and as part of the Forza Motorsport Xbox console bundle The service launched with six titles and expanded its library to twelve titles by the end of the year. Once connected to Xbox Live , customers could purchase additional titles by using a credit card , or download a limited trial version of a game. Prices for the games range from $ 4.99 to $ 14.99. 11 titles were japanese exclusive as download, but released also as physical versions. On November 22, 2005, XBLA

6900-483: The 2 GB limit was raised to an unknown number with two titles, Red Johnson's Chronicles and Double Dragon Neon weighing at 2.68 GB and 2.24 GB, respectively. On July 12, 2006, Microsoft launched the "Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays" program, which promised a new Arcade game to be launched every Wednesday for the rest of that Summer. When that summer ended, Microsoft announced that new titles for XBLA would also be released on Wednesdays. In order to promote

7050-531: The Shanghai Free-Trade Zone . Microsoft marketed the device as an "all-in-one entertainment system", hence the name "Xbox One". An eighth-generation console , it mainly competed against Sony 's PlayStation 4 and Nintendo 's Wii U and later the Nintendo Switch . Moving away from its predecessor's PowerPC -based architecture , the Xbox One marks a shift back to the x86 architecture used in

7200-454: The VGA resolution of the Xbox 360 version, and processes 2 GB of data per second to map its environment. Kinect 2.0 has an improved accuracy over its predecessor; it can track up to 6 people simultaneously, referred to as "skeletons", perform heart rate tracking, track controller gestures, and read QR codes to redeem Xbox Live gift cards. By default, voice recognition is active at all times, so

7350-586: The original Xbox ; it features an Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) from AMD built around the x86-64 instruction set . Xbox One's controller was redesigned over the Xbox 360's, with a redesigned body, D-pad , and triggers capable of delivering directional haptic feedback . The console places an increased emphasis on cloud computing , as well as social networking features and the ability to record and share video clips or screenshots from gameplay or livestream directly to streaming services such as Mixer and Twitch . Games can also be played off-console via

7500-523: The GPU processing power. These resources were previously reserved for Kinect skeletal tracking, regardless of whether the Kinect sensor was attached or in use. A Windows compatible Kinect 2.0 was released on July 15, 2014. Kinect 2.0 was released as a standalone and optional item in October 2014; it is bundled with a digital copy of Dance Central Spotlight . Xbox One S lacks the Kinect connection port, requiring

7650-452: The Guardian of Light . A "Shopping Spree" promotion ended November 1, 2010, in which anyone who spent over 2400 points during October 2010 received an 800-point reward. By March 10, 2006, three million downloads had been made on the service. By January 30, 2007, that number had grown to 20 million. The service reached 25 million downloads on March 6, 2007 with 45 million downloads projected by

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7800-527: The Independent Games Festival award in 2006 during its design, Braid was selected by GameSpot for their 2008 awards in "Best Original Downloadable Console Game", "Best Platformer", and "Best Licensed Music", and by Official Xbox Magazine for their 2008 awards of "Xbox Live Arcade Game of the Year", "Best Soundtrack", and "Best Ending" and one of their "Indisputably Incredible Runners-ups to Game of

7950-522: The Japanese market, and Middle Eastern markets. Microsoft initially announced a different game licensing scheme for Xbox One than what was used upon its release: all games, including those purchased at retail, would be bound to the user's Xbox Live account. Users could access their purchased games from any other Xbox One console, play games without their disc once installed, and allow users to "share" their games with up to ten designated "family" members. If

8100-405: The Kinect sensor, and to detect when it's not being held to automatically enter a low-power state. An updated revision of the controller was released in June 2015, which includes a 3.5-millimeter headphone jack and other minor changes. A third revision was introduced alongside and first bundled with Xbox One S, with textured grips and Bluetooth support. The Xbox Wireless Controller includes

8250-520: The Kinect sensor. Microsoft stated the decision to offer Xbox One bundles without Kinect was to "[offer] a choice to people that would allow people to buy an Xbox One and then ramp up to Kinect when they can afford to", while also allowing games to use processing power that was previously reserved for Kinect. An updated Xbox Development Kit issued in June 2014 allows developers to explicitly disable motion tracking functionality in games, allowing access to additional system resources that represent about 10% of

8400-701: The Night , and Contra . With Xbox One , Microsoft has decided to forgo placing different types of games in different channels. As such, Microsoft has discontinued use of the Arcade moniker, instead grouping all types of games (would-be Arcade titles, retail, and indies) together. Xbox Live Arcade titles range in price from $ 2.50 to $ 20 with the vast majority selling for $ 10 and under. The games are generally aimed towards more casual gamers, striving for "pick up and play" appeal. Several games were temporarily free, including Texas Hold 'em , Carcassonne , and Undertow . Others are permanently free including Aegis Wing ,

8550-418: The November 12, 2015, system update. Alongside its new layout, support for Kinect motion controls on the dashboard were removed. The UI was refreshed again in April 2017, adding the new Guide sidebar and other new features. At this time, the ability to "snap" apps as a sidebar for multi-tasking was removed. The UI was further revamped in October 2017, adopting Windows 10's "Fluent" design language. and adds

8700-472: The Warlords , and Marble Blast Ultra . On June 24, 2011 video game website 1UP.com reported that Microsoft was preparing to bring free-to-play games to Xbox Live and said games will include a microtransaction service. The first free-to-play game, Happy Wars , was released on October 12, 2012. In May 2007, Microsoft announced that games older than six months would become eligible for delisting from

8850-575: The Windows platform. Xbox One's user interface uses Microsoft's Fluent Design System ; previous iterations of the console's software used the Metro design language . The dashboard is divided into "Home", "Mixer", "Community", "Entertainment", and "Store" sections, with the "Home" page further divided into "blocks" that can display pinned games/apps, as well as other content. Pressing the Xbox Guide button opens

9000-491: The Xbox 360, users would be able to share and resell physical games without restrictions, and beyond a mandatory software update upon the console's initial setup process to enable playback of Blu-ray and DVD video, the console would not require a permanent internet connection to operate. These changes required the family sharing features, along with the ability to play games without their disc after installation, to be dropped. Xbox One chief product officer Marc Whitten stated that

9150-420: The Xbox Live service under the same business model. Blow later released a Braid theme for Xbox Live; though he wanted to release this theme for free, Microsoft required the theme to be priced at a nominal level. The Windows version was originally slated for a late 2008 release; but as Blow decided to prevent Braid being overwhelmed by a number of large titles that were scheduled for release in late 2008 it

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9300-423: The Xbox One S at $ 249 and was made available on May 7, 2019. Microsoft ended production of the Xbox One family throughout 2020 in preparation for production of future hardware. The original Xbox One's exterior casing consists of a two-tone "liquid black" finish; with half finished in a matte grey, and the other in a glossier black. The matte side of the top of the console consists of a large air vent. The design

9450-462: The Xbox One nicknames such as the "Xbox 180", in reference to the Xbox 360 and Microsoft's decision to reverse its controversial decisions, and "Xbone", suggesting that the company was " throwing a bone " to consumers by making these changes. In 2015, four members of an international hacking group pleaded guilty to gaining unauthorized access to Microsoft's computer network and obtaining sensitive information relating to Xbox One and Xbox Live. At

9600-469: The Year". Braid was awarded with " Casual Game of the Year " (along with a nomination for "Outstanding Innovation in Gaming") at the 12th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards . Braid was nominated for five Xbox Live Arcade 2008 awards, winning one award in the category of "Best Innovation". MacWorld included Braid in its 2009 Game Hall of Fame. IGN named Braid the 8th best Xbox Live Arcade game in

9750-486: The backlash. Despite Microsoft's statements following the situation, denying the rumors, the mood it created lingered over the next several months. In a press conference on May 21, 2013, the new console was publicly unveiled under the name Xbox One and was presented as an all-in-one home entertainment device. The event focused heavily on the device's multimedia capabilities, demonstrating integration with television for over 30 minutes before any video games were shown. In

9900-564: The console and its game library. The Xbox One can view and play content from DLNA servers and USB storage devices using the "Media Player" app. An application allows playback of video from Blu-ray Disc , DVD and CD media. The console provides the ability to feed live television by serving as an HDMI pass-through for an existing television provider's set-top box or an optional Digital TV Tuner accessory that allows use of digital terrestrial television . The console provides its own electronic program guide known as OneGuide, augmenting

10050-426: The console can receive voice commands from the user, even when the console is in sleep mode . It is possible to wake the console with a command, although settings are available to change which individual Kinect functions are active. Prior to and after the mandate, all Xbox One consoles initially shipped with the Kinect sensor included. On June 9, 2014, cheaper Xbox One bundles were introduced, which did not include

10200-564: The console is using a USB digital television tuner. On Windows 10 , SmartGlass is succeeded by the Xbox App, which supports the local streaming of games from Xbox One to personal computers and tablets running Windows 10. An Xbox One controller must be used, but Windows-compatible headsets and microphones can be used for voice chat. Games requiring Kinect are not supported, while Game DVR and online streaming are not available while using this functionality. Braid (video game) Braid

10350-431: The console was connected again. Reaction to this digital rights management scheme was extremely negative in light of the previous concerns about the "always on" console from earlier in the year. Critics felt that the changes would infringe on consumers' first-sale rights for games purchased on physical media, as games would only be licensed to users rather than sold, and the disc itself would only be used to install

10500-522: The console would "work in tandem" with existing television services, but that Microsoft would need to work with them directly to provide extended functionality, such as DVR integration. The digital TV tuner accessory allows limited DVR functionality for pausing and rewinding live TV for up to 30 minutes. In June 2016, Microsoft announced that their plans for full DVR functionality for the Xbox One were on hold. The Xbox Live service has been scaled up to use 300,000 servers for Xbox One users. Cloud storage

10650-422: The console would not redistribute user-generated content without permission. Alongside the above changes, the Xbox One did not require the Kinect to be plugged in to operate by launch, though the initial bundles still included the Kinect device. In response to these pre-launch changes and a belief that Microsoft's initial decisions for the console were in poor judgement, journalists and consumers jokingly gave

10800-413: The controversial Super Columbine Massacre RPG! was dropped from the competition despite being one of six finalists. Several other developers followed suit and later withdrew their games, including thatgamecompany 's flOw and The Behemoth 's Castle Crashers . Braid was originally developed as a Windows title with possible console versions, though Blow was not committed to releasing either

10950-401: The development of his 2016 game, The Witness . Braid has been considered a masterpiece, and was highly praised for the unique puzzles it presented. Dan Whitehead of Eurogamer noted the creative variation on time manipulation and the need to understand the non-linearity of his actions made him feel as if "years of gaming blinders have been ripped away." Jason Hill of The Age stated

11100-417: The device on these newer Xbox One models, and requiring a special adapter to break the connector out into USB and AC power connections. Microsoft unveiled the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition on April 16, 2019, which included three digital games, Forza Horizon 3 , Sea of Thieves , and Minecraft . The console does not have a physical disc drive, and all games must be downloaded. It is $ 50 cheaper than

11250-416: The end of 2007. On March 27, 2007, Microsoft declared Uno to be the first Xbox Live Arcade game to exceed one million downloads. Nearly 70 percent of Xbox 360 owners connected to Xbox Live have downloaded an Arcade title with the attach rate being 6–7 titles per user. Original games typically receive 350,000 downloads in the first month. Titles have an average 156% financial return over twelve months with

11400-551: The end of each world in Super Mario Bros. The game's story was influenced by such works as Italo Calvino 's Invisible Cities , Alan Lightman 's Einstein's Dreams , Robert A. Heinlein 's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls , and David Lynch 's Mulholland Drive . Specifically, while Blow took the unique narrative model of Invisible Cities , he did not like the homage to it in Einstein's Dreams , and thus avoided taking

11550-540: The enemy character before continuing on, using a combination of the time mechanics. Blow hoped that players would be able to find solutions to puzzles they had skipped by completing puzzles later in the game. Blow felt that "unearned rewards are false and meaningless", and thus included collectibles earned only after solving a puzzle. He strongly discouraged players from using a walkthrough to work their way through Braid , instead encouraging players to solve them on their own so that they "will feel very good about" completing

11700-481: The event, Microsoft announced that the console would be released in 21 different markets on November 22, 2013, but this was later amended down to 13. The change, which pushed the release date for the other eight markets to 2014, was attributed to unforeseen complexity in localizing the device's voice recognition capabilities. In September 2014, the Xbox One was released in 26 markets, including remaining markets in Europe,

11850-414: The existing streaming functionality to provide show recommendations based on viewing history, integrated access to "App Channels" corresponding to online video services, and voice control via Kinect. The set-top box and television are controlled by OneGuide using an IR blaster . The Xbox One does not provide full DVR functionality for recording television programs: executive Yusuf Mehdi indicated that

12000-428: The face of its unique approach to storytelling and expansive ideas". The game's price was also seen as a negative for the game, though McShea wrote that "Braid is worth every penny". Blow later said that he expected the price to be US$ 10 , but Microsoft, in promoting the game as part of its Summer of Arcade, made the price $ 15. Edge also noted that while Blow had tried to integrate the story and gameplay throughout

12150-439: The family sharing feature may return in the future, but could not be implemented on launch due to time restraints. Don Mattrick , then president of Microsoft's Interactive Entertainment Business, stated that the licensing changes were in response to the negative public reaction. Other analysts believed the change was in direct response to Sony's aggressive position during its E3 conference. On July 1, 2013, Mattrick, who had been

12300-480: The final artwork was created by David Hellman, artist of the critically acclaimed webcomic A Lesson Is Learned but the Damage Is Irreversible . Blow gave Hellman rough images of the level's layout and told him to draw over it. Hellman and Blow iterated through several styles before settling on final versions. Through these changes, the two worked to identify and remove elements of the art that could confuse

12450-584: The final version, but lacked the final artwork; this version won the Independent Games Festival game design award at the 2006 Game Developer's Conference . While working on the art direction, Blow tightened the presentation and mechanics of the puzzles to improve their playability. During the game's three years of development, Blow put about US$ 200,000 of his own money into its development, most going towards hiring David Hellman for artwork and for living expenses. Originally, Blow had envisioned

12600-508: The first two months of sales accounting for just 35% of total volume. Average conversion rate (from trial download to purchase) across all titles is 18% (a low of 4% and high of 51%). On September 19, 2007, Microsoft announced the top ten Arcade downloads worldwide as Aegis Wing , Uno , Texas Hold 'em , Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved , Bankshot Billiards 2 , Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1989 Classic Arcade , Worms , Castlevania: Symphony of

12750-404: The front of the console, and its power supply is integrated into the console's casing rather than sitting externally (plugging directly into an outlet rather than using an external "brick"). The Xbox One is powered by an AMD " Jaguar " Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) with two quad-core modules totaling eight x86-64 cores clocked at 1.75  GHz , and 8  GB of DDR3 RAM with

12900-627: The game and not confer ownership of its license or permission to resell. Microsoft also stated that game publishers would decide whether the physical copies of their games would be eligible for resale, and could impose restrictions or activation fees on second-hand copies of games. In addition, loaning or renting games would not be possible at the console's launch, and Microsoft was "exploring the possibilities" with its partners. GameSpot editor Tom McShea went on to say that Microsoft had become anti-consumerist , trying to "punish their loyal customers" with strict restrictions, and that "by saying no to

13050-410: The game as the " Sex, Lies, and Videotape of indie gaming, a potent symbol for the saleable potential of non-mainstream productions". Joshuah Bearman for The New York Times called Braid the " Easy Rider moment", showcasing how a small developer can be as successful as a large one. Indie game studios Playdead , Supergiant Games , and Amanita Design stated that Braid was not unique as it

13200-409: The game that were otherwise contrary to the process, including giving the player immediate control of the game instead of requiring a start-up title screen. Microsoft also requested that Blow include some additional hints to the player based on results of playtesting, but Blow held his ground, refusing to release the game if he was forced to add these. He said he would likely not release a game again on

13350-448: The game to be broken into several different worlds as in the final game, each exploring facets of space, time, and causality, but with each world having very different high-level mechanics. One mechanic that he could not develop further was a world with no " arrow of time " that would have required the player to traverse the level in a manner that could be repeated in reverse. For example, the player would have been forbidden to jump down from

13500-412: The game was considered to be "faithful" to the Xbox 360 version of the game, retaining the same content without adding any new features. Reviewers commented that Braid benefited from keyboard controls. However, as a port of the Xbox 360 version, the lack of initial support for optimizing the graphics display for one's computer, either through larger screen resolutions or turning off certain game effects,

13650-506: The game's backgrounds were done until they arrived at the concept of blurring the background elements to make them appear out of focus, while keeping the foreground elements sharply in focus and clear to the player. Particle effects were applied to both background and foreground elements to add apparent motion to them, such as the waving of grass blades or the movement of clouds. The character visuals were originally created by Edmund McMillen , but were later redrawn by Hellman "to better match

13800-451: The game's price relative to its length of play, eventually becoming the highest rated title on Xbox Live , and considered as one of the greatest video games ever made . It is seen as a keystone title in the growth of indie game development , and Blow and its production were documented in the 2012 film, Indie Game: The Movie . The game had total revenue nearing $ 6 million, as of 2015 , which Blow used to fund his next game, The Witness ,

13950-415: The game's visuals were "eye-catching but never distracting". Wired ' s Jean Snow wrote that Braid ' s "beautiful symphonic melodies contribute to what is already an impressive and unique vision", and that "the soothing tunes are probably the reason you never really lose it when facing particularly tough puzzles". Arthouse Games' Jason Rohrer interpreted the ability to rewind time indefinitely as

14100-446: The game, but at times are needed to explain the game's rules to draw in players. Blow referenced Jeff Minter 's Space Giraffe , pointing out that the game never communicated the purpose of playing the game upfront to the player, citing that as one of the reasons for the game's poor reception. Braid was developed to promote this non-verbal communication to the player, explaining the fundamental rule of each world at its start and allow

14250-473: The game, this only worked well in the final world, and otherwise the story was "a little trite in its self-conscious obscurity". However, others — including new media academics — have disagreed, praising the philosophical complexity of the game, with John Finlay Kerr writing "Jonathan Blow's Braid is the sort of ontological labyrinth that Jorge Luis Borges might have made. Embedded in the simple gameplay design are genuinely huge concepts." The PC version of

14400-462: The game. Both Kammen and Sieber received favorable feedback from listeners as a result of their works' inclusion in Braid . Magnatune released a soundtrack of the game's music on April 9, 2009, which includes two additional track remixes that incorporate some of the time-shifting elements from the game. The pieces included in Braid are: Prior to release, Blow withdrew Braid from the 2007 Slamdance Guerrilla Games Competition in protest after

14550-433: The gameplay. "Time and Forgiveness", the first world the player encounters, was drawn to create a feel of exploration and forgiveness, while artwork for "Time and Decision" used a mix of "luxurious domestic objects (nice furniture and fabrics) with rugged outdoor objects (swampy water, rotting piers and nautical rope)" to create an intentionally "incongruous" look to convey aspects of alternate realities. Several variations on

14700-403: The hackers also committed a physical theft by entering "a secure building on Microsoft's Redmond Washington campus" and carrying away three "Durango" development kits. On June 13, 2016, during its E3 2016 press conference, Microsoft unveiled Xbox One S , a revision of the original Xbox One hardware with a streamlined form factor and support for HDR10 and 4K video. The Xbox One S replaced

14850-636: The highest-end graphics. We targeted more as a broad entertainment play and did it in an intelligent way." —Greg Williams, GM of Xbox silicon development The original Xbox One supports 1080p and 720p video output; unlike the Xbox 360, the Xbox One does not support 1080i and other interlaced resolutions. Xbox One supports HDMI 1.4 for both input and output, and does not support composite or component video . Xbox One supports 7.1 surround sound , Dolby Atmos , and DTS:X . Xbox One S additionally supports 2160p ( 4K resolution ) video output, and high dynamic range (HDR) color using HDR10 (with

15000-411: The journey, not the destination". He deliberately designed the plot not to be fully revealed to the player unless they completed the game, seeing it as a way to provide "a longer-term challenge". The game's artwork took more than a year to complete. Background artwork for the game went through initial rough color concepts created by Mike Corriero (creative illustrator and concept artist) and ultimately

15150-474: The lack of a native Kinect port were noted. A high-end model, named Xbox One X , was unveiled in June 2017 and released in November; it features upgraded hardware specifications and support for rendering games at 4K resolution. The system was succeeded by the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, which launched on November 10, 2020. Production of all Xbox One consoles ceased at the end of that year. The Xbox One

15300-497: The least interesting puzzles and worlds from the game. Blow wanted to include significant consequences of rewinding time, not found in games such as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time , Blinx: the Time Sweeper , and TimeShift in which rewinding time creates few or no changes to the game's world. While these games immerse the player with these time-shifting effects using a first- or third-person perspective, he decided to use

15450-510: The name of the game as both reference to the hair braid of the princess Tim seeks as well as the intertwining of time, demonstrated by the various time mechanics explored in the game. Journalists have considered Braid ' s plot to be interwoven with the game itself, much as the book Dictionary of the Khazars and the films Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind interweave

15600-462: The narrative into the work's construction. In this sense, some have considered the game to carry a simple credo, such as "You must look back to go forwards" as suggested by Eurogamer 's Dan Whitehead. Others have likened Braid to punk rock , designed (as explicitly stated by Blow) specifically as a statement against the status quo of the industry; it is considered to deconstruct traditional gameplay concepts, such as jumping on enemies or rescuing

15750-442: The new console would include an improved Kinect sensor, cloud access to games and media, integration with phone and tablet devices, and technology to provide players heads-up displays on glasses worn by the player, codenamed "Fortaleza"; Microsoft did not comment on these reported features. Leaked design documents also suggested that Microsoft was seeking to eliminate the ability to play used games, though Microsoft later clarified it

15900-632: The next". Sam Roberts, game director for the Slamdance Film Festival Guerrilla Gamemaking Competition, was impressed that Braid did not "feel immature" as it "expects [as] much" of the player as any other form of media and "doesn't short you in any respect". Braid ' s artwork and presentation were given high regards. Nick Suttner of 1UP.com commented that Braid ' s artwork "juxtapose old-school design sensibilities with impressionist backdrops and lovingly hand-painted environments", while McShea stated that

16050-485: The now-predominant style of the backgrounds". Braid features licensed music from Magnatune artists Cheryl Ann Fulton , Shira Kammen and Jami Sieber . Part of Blow's decision to use licensed music was to reduce development costs. He also felt that those who regularly compose video game music did not have the necessary skills needed to create the mood he wanted for the game. He ultimately selected eight tracks that were sufficiently long to avoid notable looping while

16200-474: The operating system and utility software , leaving 5 GB for games. With DirectX 11.2 as the console's API , the graphics processing unit (GPU) is based on an AMD GCN architecture with 12 compute units, which have a total of 768 cores, running at 853  MHz providing an estimated peak theoretical power of 1.31 T FLOPS . For networking, Xbox One supports Gigabit Ethernet , 802.11n wireless, and Wi-Fi Direct . "We purposefully did not target

16350-575: The original and not get a "Greedo shoots first" treatment (a reference to a change made to Star Wars ). The remaster would include 40 new levels. The game launched May 14, 2024, for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, Android, and iOS. The mobile versions were released by Netflix and require an active subscription. Upon its release to Xbox Live Arcade, Braid received critical acclaim, with an aggregate review score of 93/100 at Metacritic , making it

16500-432: The original launch hardware which had been discontinued around the same time. Microsoft also teased a high-end version of Xbox One with upgraded hardware codenamed "Project Scorpio", which was unveiled and released the following year as Xbox One X . After failing to attract interest from game developers and users, Microsoft had also begun to phase out Kinect from the consumer market—removing the proprietary connector used by

16650-436: The player can return to any world previously visited to attempt to solve puzzles they missed. Each world has its own time-based game mechanic: Each stage contains puzzle pieces that must be collected to create jigsaw puzzles that tell the story, and to unlock the last stage. On completing the main game, a speedrun mode becomes available for select levels and the entire game. There are also eight stars hidden throughout

16800-453: The player progresses through the game by finding and assembling jigsaw puzzle pieces. A preliminary version of Braid (without the final artwork) won the "Innovation in Game Design" award at the 2006 Independent Games Festival , while the final version received additional accolades. The game received critical acclaim, praising the mechanics, puzzles, graphics and soundtrack, but criticized

16950-408: The player to interact with that rule throughout the world. Commenting during the development of his following game, The Witness , Blow noted that he would run into difficulty in demonstrating Braid through video footage alone, as it would not show "what happens in the player's mind during the puzzle-solving process", a problem that he had also encountered with The Witness . Blow recognized that

17100-417: The player, while retaining aesthetic elements that would be generalized by the player as non-functional parts of the level. Once the game's overall artwork was created, Blow and Hellman broke out functional pieces that could be used in Braid ' s level editor. As each world was built up using these pieces, Blow suggested more changes that reflected the tone of each world and avoided art that distracted from

17250-442: The protagonist Tim as he runs, jumps, and climbs across the game's levels. Tim jumps and stomps on enemies to defeat them, and can collect keys to unlock doors or operate levers to trigger platforms. A defining game element is the player's unlimited ability to reverse time and "rewind" actions, even after dying. The game is divided into six worlds, which are experienced sequentially and can be entered from different rooms of Tim's house;

17400-497: The purchase by Warner Bros. of some assets of Midway Games, including certain rights related to the nine games. Id Software 's Doom was pulled from the catalogue due to Id being purchased by publisher ZeniMax Media , and as such the publishing rights were removed from then publisher Activision . From January 19, 2012, Doom was restored to Xbox Live Arcade under new publisher Bethesda . In 2011, Ubisoft announced that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled

17550-399: The puzzles in Braid had a range of difficulties, with some puzzles being more difficult for certain players than others, and did not have any set difficulty curve . He designed most of the game's levels to let the player bypass the puzzles, allowing them to experience the rest of the game even if they could not solve a difficult puzzle. Only certain boss fights require the player to defeat

17700-464: The puzzles were "elaborate and formidable", but "impeccably designed and hugely satisfying to solve", a point reiterated by Sunday Herald Sun ' s Paddy Reiley. The connection between the puzzles and the overall presentation of the game was favorably received; Tom McShea of GameSpot stated that Braid was "the rare game that will make you rack your brain trying to solve puzzles one minute while challenging you to come to terms with its mature tale

17850-413: The puzzles without help; Blow created his own official "walkthrough" that initially appears to guide the player, but then instead restates his insistence that the player work through the puzzles on their own. Some puzzles pay homage to other video games; one level features a Donkey Kong -inspired puzzle, and the ending of most worlds tells the player that "the princess is in another castle", similar to

18000-481: The second Humble Indie Bundle alongside the Windows and Mac version. It was further added as a bonus to the Humble Indie Bundle V. Blow said that a WiiWare version would not be possible under Nintendo's current size restrictions. Shortly after the game's release, Blow expressed that he had no plans to release more levels or make a sequel; however, he added that "if another developer out there really likes

18150-611: The service Twitch . Users can use voice commands to immediately begin streaming footage of their current game directly to the service, and use Kinect's camera and microphone to record video and audio narration. Users can feature recorded clips on their Xbox Live profile page in a "Showcase" section. The console had also supported Mixer prior to its shutdown in July 2020. As with Xbox 360, premium online features such as multiplayer, voice communication, broadcasting and Upload Studio require an Xbox Live Gold subscription to use. Unlike Xbox 360,

18300-570: The service if they had a Metacritic score below 65 and a conversion rate below 6%. The objective was to "focus the catalogue more on larger, more immersive games and make it much easier to find the games you are looking for." However, Microsoft has never removed a game using this method. In February 2010, it was announced that nine games from Midway Games would no longer be available for purchase, "due to publisher evolving rights and permissions" (even though Sony's PlayStation Store never did as such with its own downloadable Midway games), referring to

18450-424: The service in retail, Microsoft released Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged Volume 1 as a compilation disc of six games. On October 18, 2007, Microsoft announced the Xbox 360 Arcade console SKU which includes full versions of Boom Boom Rocket , Feeding Frenzy , Luxor 2 , Pac-Man Championship Edition , and Uno . On May 22, 2008, Microsoft's general manager of Xbox Live , Marc Whitten, detailed changes for

18600-566: The service that included increasing the size limit of the games to 350MB and "improving" the way digital rights management is handled. Furthermore, Microsoft created an internal games studio to create "high quality digital content" for XBLA. On July 30, 2008, Microsoft announced the XBLA Summer of Arcade. Anyone who downloaded one of the titles released over August, ( Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 , Braid , Bionic Commando Rearmed , Galaga Legions and Castle Crashers ) would be entered into

18750-446: The six worlds in Braid , storyline text at the beginning of each world provides further insight into Tim's quest for the princess, and alludes to the overarching gameplay mechanic of each level. The themes evoked include forgiveness, desire, and frustration. The final level, in which everything but Tim moves in reverse, depicts the princess escaping from a knight, and working together with Tim to surpass obstacles and meet at her home. Tim

18900-402: The soul of an Xbox console is about and what [their] customers are looking for from [Microsoft]". As a result of the negative feedback from the May presentation, the press event for E3 2013 focused on the video game functionality of the Xbox One first and foremost; Don Mattrick, then Microsoft's president of Interactive Entertainment Business, described the event as "all about the games". At

19050-399: The story in that direction. Blow's goal was that Braid would "be mind-expanding" and that "people [would] get experiences from it that they [had] not gotten from anything else". Blow opted to present his story through on-screen text instead of in-game cutscenes, asserting, against criticism of the lack of such cut-scenes, that Braid was "conceived as a videogame with its story presented in

19200-504: The three-year project, working with webcomic artist David Hellman to develop the artwork. The basic story elements in Braid unfold as the protagonist, Tim, attempts to rescue a princess from a monster. Text passages laid throughout the game reveal a multifaceted narrative, giving clues about Tim's contemplations and motivations. The game features traditionally defining aspects of the platform genre while also integrating various novel powers of time -manipulation. Using these abilities,

19350-465: The time mechanics and wants to make a game that uses them, and perhaps some new ones, with their own new level designs, then hey, awesome." Shortly after the PC release, Blow released resources for a level editor for Braid that allow users to import new graphics into the game. Since then, several mods containing new puzzles and story content have been released. In August 2020, Braid, Anniversary Edition ,

19500-467: The time of the security breach, Microsoft was in the development stage for its next-generation gaming system. Between 2011 and 2013, the hackers spent hundreds of hours searching through Microsoft's network copying log-in credentials, source code, technical specifications, and other data. Group members say they were driven by an immense curiosity about Microsoft's then-unreleased Xbox One console and associated software. "Using stolen access credentials", two of

19650-571: The top-rated Xbox Live Arcade game and the 10th highest-rated Xbox 360 game. Braid was purchased by more than 55,000 people during the first week of release. According to Blow, Braid was the second-largest selling Xbox Live Arcade title in 2008 and sales were "very profitable", making him more money than if he had been working at a high-paying job for the time it took to develop the game. The game had sold 450,000 copies by April 2012. By 2014, Blow had stated that sales of Braid brought in more than $ 4 million in revenue, much of which he used towards

19800-457: The tradition of a few books that I respect". The ending of the game is purposely ambiguous, and has been subject to multiple interpretations. One theory, based on the inclusion of a hidden event and the famous quotation stated by Kenneth Bainbridge after the detonation of the first atomic bomb —"Now we are all sons of bitches"—is that the princess represents the atomic bomb and Tim is a scientist involved in its development. Some also refer to

19950-477: The used game restrictions and always-online that Microsoft is so happily implementing on the Xbox One, Sony has elevated the PlayStation 4 as the console to grab this holiday season." Xbox Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Yusuf Mehdi explained that the system was built with digital distribution in mind, but that Microsoft wanted to maintain the availability of games on physical media. He also noted that Microsoft

20100-560: The user interface run within a stripped-down version of Microsoft Windows ; the original system software was based on Windows 8 , but it has since been changed to Windows 10 . This architecture allows resources to be allocated specifically to different aspects of the console's functions, including multitasking and Kinect processing, ensuring an "absolute guarantee of performance" for games. Xbox One supports Universal Windows Platform apps, which can be designed to run across Xbox One, Windows 10, and Windows 10 Mobile in synchronization with

20250-444: The world of Braid that correspond to the stars in the constellation of Andromeda just outside the main character's house. Tim is a man searching for a princess who "has been snatched by a horrible and evil monster." His relationship with this princess is vague at best, and the only clear part of this relationship is that Tim has made some sort of mistake which he hopes to reconcile or, if possible, erase. As one progresses through

20400-489: Was added in 2016 to provide expanded voice command functionality with natural language recognition . The dashboard originally used a layout similar to Windows 8's " Start screen ", with a horizontal-scrolling, tile-based interface. This design was replaced for Xbox Preview Program members in September 2015 with the current interface, known as "the New Xbox One Experience", which was publicly released as part of

20550-429: Was aided by the introduction of the Kinect motion sensor that year, which Lewis stated would extend the lifecycle by five years. Initial hardware for the 360's successor, commonly referred to by the industry as the "Xbox 720", was reportedly under development as early as May 2011. The official developer kit was codenamed Durango, and appeared to be available to developers by mid-2012. Leaked documents suggested that

20700-513: Was described and marketed as "an elite controller for the elite gamer", containing interchangeable parts, "hair trigger locks" for the triggers that allow users to reduce the amount of distance they must be pressed to register a press, and software for remapping buttons. In May 2018, Microsoft announced the Xbox Adaptive Controller —a special controller designed for users with disabilities . It features two large dome-like buttons, and

20850-492: Was due to be removed from the Xbox Live service on June 30, 2011, due to an expired license. Chessmaster Live has also been removed. On December 15, 2013, Capcom announced on their blog that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 would be removed from the XBLA store. Although no specific date was listed, the last date for DLC for these titles was listed as December 26, 2013. Xbox One The Xbox One

21000-430: Was initially given to its user interface. A revised version replaced the original in 2016, called the Xbox One S , which has a smaller form factor and support for HDR10 high-dynamic-range video , as well as support for 4K video playback and upscaling of games from 1080p to 4K. It was praised for its smaller size, its on-screen visual improvements, and its lack of an external power supply, but its regressions such as

21150-484: Was intended to evoke a more entertainment-oriented and simplified look than previous iterations of the console; among other changes, the LED rings used by Xbox 360 are replaced by a glowing white Xbox logo used to communicate the system's status to the user. Due to the overall ventilation design of the console, the original Xbox One is designed to only sit horizontally. Xbox One S utilizes a refreshed version of this design, with

21300-482: Was not "giving in" to publishers' objections to used games, but rather trying to balance the needs of consumers and the industry, and that the trading and sharing abilities of the platform added a level of flexibility not seen on other online distribution platforms at the time. On June 19, 2013, shortly after E3 2013, Microsoft announced (in response to the negative reaction) that it would change its Xbox One DRM policy and game licensing model and reverse course. As with

21450-465: Was not present on Xbox 360. Restricting power consumption lowers maximum performance, but the setting would be intended as a last resort to prevent permanent hardware damage. The Xbox Wireless Controller maintains the overall layout found in the Xbox 360's controller , but with various refinements to its form. Among its changes include a smoother form, textured analog sticks, a four-way directional pad , and redesigned triggers and shoulder buttons with

21600-465: Was officially announced on May 12, 2004, at Microsoft's E3 press conference and launched on November 6, 2004, for the original Xbox game console. The XBLA software was obtained by ordering it on Microsoft's website. It was sent by mail on a disc that also contained a free version of the Ms. Pac-Man video game. To generate greater publicity for the service, the disc was also distributed with special issues of

21750-447: Was priced $ 5 more than the Xbox Live version, leading many to criticize his pricing choice. Due to this response, Blow reduced the price to meet the Xbox Live cost, stating that he would "rather have people talking about the game itself" than complaining about its cost. Hothead Games ported Braid to both the PlayStation 3 and Macintosh platforms. A Linux port was done by Ryan C. Gordon and released in December 2010 as part of

21900-442: Was pushed to early 2009. The PC version benefited from the work by Blow to create Braid on a standardized platform like the Xbox 360 in order to finish the core game before dealing with various compatibility issues inherent in PC development. Prior to the game's release for Microsoft Windows, Blow had priced the game at US$ 20 , using pricing models for other games such as World of Goo and Crayon Physics Deluxe . However, this

22050-469: Was relaunched on the Xbox 360 . The service was integrated into the main Dashboard user interface, and the Xbox 360 hard drives were bundled with a free copy of Hexic HD . Every Arcade title on the Xbox 360 supports leaderboards, has 200 Achievement points, and high-definition 720p graphics. They also have a trial version available for free download. These demos are playable and most of them offer only

22200-484: Was released on newly created digital distribution services alongside other successful indie titles like Castle Crashers , World of Goo , and Super Meat Boy . However, they continued, Braid ' s financial success without aid of a publisher showed that small teams could achieve mainstream success, paving the way for many future indie games developed out in a similar manner. Others saw Braid ' s legacy in its art form; Sam Machkovech for Ars Technica compared

22350-575: Was seen as a drawback. Both the PlayStation 3 and Macintosh ports of the game by Hothead Games were found to be easily accessible on the system and retained all the innovation and challenge of the original Xbox Live game. Anniversary Edition did not receive much media attention or advertising. Jonathan Blow said in a livestream that Anniversary Edition "sold like dogshit" and that Thekla couldn't afford to pay any of its employees after its sales missed expectations by so much. In addition to winning

22500-522: Was still reviewing the design and were "thinking about what is next and how we can push the boundaries of technology like we did with Kinect", but did not comment on the validity of the information. Prior to the official unveiling, a rumor had circulated that the next Xbox console would be an "always on" system requiring a persistent Internet connection, though Microsoft had not confirmed this. This had drawn some concerns from consumers, which were heightened when Microsoft Studios employee Adam Orth stated in

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