Xbox One Australia head on partnerships over internal development: 'We're not about building empires'

Article by Matt S.

The most interesting difference between Sony (and Nintendo) and Microsoft's approach to the games industry over the years has been the fact that while Sony and Nintendo have been focused on producing or publishing content in-house, Microsoft instead has an active partnering business; and not just around games, but the non-gaming stuff as well. The Xbox One is launching with all kinds of third-party television and entertainment apps in Australia, for instance, while the PlayStation 3 is making a big deal of its internally-developed Music Unlimited and Video Unlimited services.

If you consider Microsoft's history in business technology, then the energy it places in partnerships are hardly a surprise. From the simple (until the Surface Pro, Microsoft didn't produce the hardware that its Windows operating system sat on), to the less obvious (Microsoft is actively partnering with developers around the world to build corporate Cloud solutions and jointly taking those to market), Microsoft's history has always been about working with third parties to build a broad offering to market.

(Be sure to check out our review of the Xbox One hardware here)

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Xbox One is live in Australia, and we have the photos to prove it

Microsoft held a party for the dedicated fans of the Xbox (and the media) as it counted down to the midnight launch of the Xbox One in Australia.

This event took place at the iconic Luna Park in Australia, and featured plenty of music, games, and alcohol for all who attended.

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A familiar darkness? Hands on with Dark Souls 2

Preview by Matt S.

I've always been a bit concerned about Dark Souls 2, after I heard it was announced. My concern was always tied in to the budget of the game - Dark Souls 2 clearly has a bigger budget, and that means it needs to sell more copies to justify the investment on the management side of the business. The only way to achieve that is to make the game reach out to a broader audience, and this tends to bring up that scary "a" word... accessibility.

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Vroom Vroom; hands on with Forza 5 (Xbox One)

Preview by Owen S.

The Forza series has provided us with some of the greatest racing experiences that can be had. The perfect, flawless cars felt wondrous to virtually drive as they traversed the tracks that always looked better than anything else the competition was putting up. Lauded by both fans and critics alike for the way they controlled as well as how great they looked, these games pushed the limits of graphical capabilities in the last generation of gaming consoles.

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Hands on with Ryse: Son of Rome

Preview by Owen S. 

One game that really stood out for me at the EB Expo 2013 was a launch title for the Xbox One; Ryse: Son of Rome

A cinematic action adventure title that Microsoft seems to be heavily relying on to sell consoles, the expectations of this remarkable tale surrounding an unwitting centurion from Ancient Rome is high. Whilst the many specifics of the story are still, understandably, being held close to the chest what I did see promises to offer juicy plotlines of revenge and patriotism.

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Hands on with the Xbox One; iteration, not revolution

After having a really good time with the PlayStation 4 and the spirit in which Sony has been courting original game ideas and independent developers, I was a little taken back by Microsoft's booth at the EB Games Expo 2013.

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The new look Xbox One is a marketer's nightmare

As a quick summary for the people that haven't been following the Xbox One that closely; it's a console that was originally announced as always-online, would not play second hand games and required Kinect to work.

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