Sam Lake—you bastard child of Vincent Price and Stephen King—don't you ever change. Even when explaining the massive disappointment that was the distinct lack of Alan Wake 2 at yesterday’s Xbox One reveal, the guy who put words in Max Payne’s mouth still manages to come across as hypnotically charming.

Lake says that reveals that the psychological horror franchise has sold 3 million copies over its lifetime and promises that Quantum Break will fold in everything they learned from making Alan Wake and Max Payne games. But, man, that last scene… not exactly a wellspring of hope for AW fans, huh, Sam?

The quote in the headline comes from Don Mattrick, talking to the Wall Street Journal about the Xbox One when the topic of backwards compatibility came up. But that’s not the only head-scratching statement to come from the man in charge of all things Xbox.

The newspaper article covers the different strategies behind Microsoft’s next-gen offering and the console coming from Sony, including what they’re choosing to prioritize and how they use the cloud:

Imagine a typical game: there are characters in the foreground that interact with the player, and a background landscape with trees, hills or an ocean. Mattrick said Microsoft’s new servers, which the company increased to 300,000 from 15,000 currently used by the Xbox 360, will be able to do some of the work creating images for that background landscape and then stream them back to the console and TV, while the Xbox One focuses on making the characters look as impressive as possible.

The basic concept in the quote above makes sense, as it’s essentially a distributed computing set-up. But what’s disturbing about the scenario is how it hints at a possible divide in the end experience. It seems to indicate that your game will look and/or play the way it’s supposed to if your Xbox One is online, because it’ll be able to take advantage of that cloud-computing back-end. It's a nice advantage to provide to developers, sure. But, if your console won't be online, then you probably won't want to buy games that use that back-end.

Furthermore, what about consoles that are online but won't have always the best bandwidth? Will the Xbox One have to work differently or harder if the connection falters? Will there be missing detail or inconsistent visuals? There’s probably going to be some sort of sliding scale protocol for the cloud processing but, if there’s any kind of noticeable difference in performance, Microsoft will have a big problem on their hands.

Microsoft and Sony Diverge on Gaming ‘Cloud’ [The Wall Street Journal]

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The solo and small-team game-makers who’ve made games like Fez, Braid and Limbo won’t be able to control their own destinies on Microsoft’s next game console, according to a Shack News report.

The article quotes Matt Booty, who is Microsoft’s general manager of Redmond Game Studios and Platforms, as confirming that indie devs will still need publishers to get their games onto the newly revealed console. Booty does say that Microsoft will explore new business models, though.

This news comes in stark contrast to Sony’s promises that indies will be able to self-publish content on the PS4. The publisher model, of course, means that some other entity has to decide whether to take a risk on helping get a game on a console and that someone else gets a cut of profits.

Looking back on it now, the Xbox Live Indie Games space wound up becoming a neglected ghetto for creators trying to find an audience. The energy that that scene once held migrated to mobile and has blossomed PC, where platforms like Steam let creators chart their own way. One thing that’s enabled indie creations to find success has been the ability to set and change release windows and prices as they see fit. No need to charge more money to ensure multiple partners get a cut and no need to rush out a game that still needs polish because someone else says you have to. If you're an indie developer, chances are that Xbox One just became a lot less attractive to you.

You don't need to feel sorry for the Flash. Despite what it looks like, he's doing okay.

The Flash series has been one of the quieter success stories of DC Comics' New 52 reboot. The Fastest Man Alive hasn't had the kind of high-profile crossovers that Batman, Superman or Green Lantern's books have had. Hell, even Aquaman got a big-deal storyline tied into the Justice League book. But The Flash has managed to be a reliable read without the hype of those kinds of editorial stunts.

Creators Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato have re-configured the powers, mythos and cast surrounding DC's pre-eminent speedster just enough for plot twists to feel surprising, while keeping much of the charm that made previous iterations popular. Barry Allen is weighed down by a ton of dysfunction or angst, making him feel more like a regular guy you can root for.

Just look at these preview pages from today's issue #20. He's moving in with a girlfriend, making peace with a messed-up childhood and putting some recent drama behind him. But the newest incarnation of the most vicious Flash villain ever is waiting in the wings. If you don't know about Reverse Flash, he's a villain who killed the Flash's wife in a prior continuity. And Flash snapped his neck in the ensuing fight. There's bad history here.

And what we've seen of the character so far hints at a more psychologically twisted take on Flash's opposite number, with bloody victims left in his wake. That girlfriend, that new apartment, that troubled past hidden from view… chances are that the Flash's darker mirror image will be screwing around will all of those in the storyline to come.

Go ahead and take a look: the new pieces of hardware that form the hub of Microsoft’s upcoming gaming experiences aren't exactly cute and cuddly. They’re kinda foreboding, the way they float and squint at you, all one-eyed and unknowable.

But these shots are the best visuals yet we have of the new Xbox One components. You’ll see some of the design language from the Xbox 360 Slim hardware refresh in there, with slanted vent s slashing across the console and Kinect camera. And the texturing on the controller’s analog sticks might mean improved grip. What jumps out at you from these shots?

Kotaku bossman Stephen Totilo is on the ground at the Xbox reveal event and sent along two videos that let you see the Xbox One controller and the console itself. It's almost like you're there!

Update: Here's another video that shows the back of the console, including the ports.

Update 2: Here's another video where Totilo compares the console's size to a few items that he has handy.

Remedy Entertainment showed off a mind-warping glimpse into their next-game during today's Xbox event and it looks utterly stunning.

Quantum Break appears to move the TV-centric style that Remedy used for Alan Wake out of psychological horror and into the realm of sci-fi. I'm willing to bet money that it's going to be released episodically, too. Not a lot of money. But some.

Update: Here's the official description of the game from a press release. The release also contained this line: "Format: Exclusive to Blu-ray for the Xbox One video game and entertainment system." That sure sounds it won't be downloadable episodes like I previously speculated. Guess I owe somebody some money.

Developed exclusively for Xbox One, Quantum Break blurs the line between television and gameplay, integrating the two into one seamless, uniquely immersive experience. From Remedy Entertainment, the critically-acclaimed creators of Alan Wake and Max Payne comes a revolutionary entertainment experience that weaves the cinematic action of intense gameplay with the tension and drama of scripted television, creating a world where each has a direct impact on the other.

In Quantum Break, our desperate hero fights a highly personal battle to save the future before time literally runs out. As time breaks down, impossible, split second moments of destruction turn into epic stages of time powered action. The actions you take, and the choices you make, shape your experience as the narrative unfolds. As you play, a personalized ‘director’s cut’ of the show is created just for you, based on the decisions you make during the game.

Quantum Break will lead the new generation of interactive entertainment, as the show and game deliver a holistic entertainment experience made possible only on Xbox One.

The evolution of the Xbox online service got shown on stage today at Microsoft’s reveal event. Users will keep their current accounts but have access to a slew of upgraded functions like a game-recording DVR and dynamic game achievements.

A 300,000-server network—compared to today's 15,000—will serve as the spine of Xbox Live. You’ll be able to look for match-ups in one game while playing another game, watching a movie or browsing the internet. They call it Smart Match. Exec Marc Whitten also promised bigger online matches and persistent worlds via server-side computations. No word on any next-gen troll-filtering measures, though.

At today’s Xbox reveal event, Microsoft showed how their new console will change how you’ll interact with your TV. Snap Mode lets users run multiple functions simultaneously and switch between them with voice commands without having to shut them down individually.

A demo showed live TV being shown on the TV and when a Microsoft exec on stage said “Xbox, snap Internet Explorer,” the TV image shrank to make room for a new search window pane. From there, he went to a Favorites menu and navigated to buy movie tickets via a companion smartphone app.

Snap Mode and its Instant Switching multitasking could be the thing that delivers most on Microsoft’s promises that the Xbox One will be the only thing that you’ll need in your entertainment area. It's certainly a quantum leap for them and rivals anything else available in the living room.

It’s pretty damn cool.

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Batman and Joker are two sides of the same crazy coin, according to some comics in the Dark Knight’s 74-year history. The thinking goes that you have to be insane to do what each character does and that their unique relationship binds them in a symbiotic way. So it makes a weird bit of sense that the same guy is going to be playing both characters, albeit in a different medium.

Troy Baker—the voice actor who’s probably best known for being Vincent in Catherine and Booker DeWitt in BioShock Infinite—isn’t just doing the voice of the Joker in the Batman: Arkham Origins video game. He’ll also be doing the voice of Batman in LEGO Batman: The Movie – DC Super Heroes Unite, the upcoming movie that parallels last year’s Bruce Wayne + everybody else video game. There’s no footage yet of Baker’s portrayal of the Joker but you can listen to how he voices Batman in these LEGO Batman clips

Baker’s no stranger to playing other Bat-universe characters, either. Not only did he play Two-Face in Batman: Arkham City, but he also played Robin in that game’s Harley Quinn's Revenge DLC, too. Hell, Baker played Batman, Two-Face, Sinestro, Brainiac and Hawkman in Lego Batman 2! Pretty soon, there’ll be a Batman game where Baker plays all the characters by his damn self. Those are going to be some crazy recording sessions. Crazy, I tell you.

The world's first reveal of the PlayStation 4 hit earlier today. Yes, it was blurry. And frantic. But those 39 seconds held some images of actual details from the upcoming console. We just don’t know what they are yet. So let’s take some guesses. Please tell us what you think each part does, won't you?

The mosaic above contains stills from the PS4 teaser video, with various vents, ports holes and rounded bits captured for your perusal. These things are probably important, right? They must be, or else they wouldn’t be hightighted in a teaser. Or maybe Sony’s marketing department just put a unit on a lazy susan, spun the thing around and picked out a few random shots to troll us all. Either way, see what sense you can make of this hardware design by annotating the image above.

This is an official video for Sony's next home console, not like the flashier fake that made the rounds last week. Not a lot to go on here, but it'll probably be black, right? And square?

Of course, this new drip of marketing represents Sony trying to play spoiler to the imminent reveal of Microsoft's next Xbox, which happens tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see just how much—or how little—each company divulges about their next-gen machines before the annual E3 dog-and-pony show starts.

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The Swapper—the cool-looking sci-fi platformer that’s been in the works for a while—will be coming out for PC via Steam on May 30^th. That art style look incredibly creepy/cool.

You can play as an orc or dark elf in loads of massively multiplayer online games. But you can’t marry someone of the same gender in most of them. That’s not the case in Nexon’s Mabinogi.

The marriage guide for the cartoony role-playing game explicitly states that “a wedding can take place between two players of the opposite or the same genders.” That option came to the Korean-developed game in October 2012 and it’s proven to be a meaningful addition for the game’s players. Look at these stats from Nexon:

- 30% of same sex weddings have taken place between two male avatars

- 70% of same sex weddings have taken place between two female avatars

- 9% of all in-game marriages in total have been between two male avatars

- 22% of all in-game marriages in total have been between two female avatars

Same-sex marriage has become a trending political issue both in the United States and worldwide, with a recently passed law in France being upheld as constitutional. No such law exists in either North or South Korea and portrayals of homosexuality—while on the rise in televised dramas—are still relatively rare. So it’s fairly significant that Nexon ran counter to their home country’s relatively conservative cultural mores and added same-sex marriage to Mabinogi.

There’s one exception to the game's marry-who-you-want freedom, though: “However, because Elves and Giants oppose each other, an Elf character and a Giant character cannot get married.”

Elves and giants, the Capulets and Montagues of our time.

Update: Per Nexon, here are the in-game perks are for getting married in Mabinogi.

Wedding ring

- Cannot be destroyed without a divorce

- Can be engraved with a message prior to the wedding

- Provides 1 Defense and 1 Protection

- Cannot lose durability and thus never needs repair

While near your spouse with a wedding ring equipped you receive the following for 400 seconds

- HP +10

- Stamina +10

- MP +10

The first time a player gets married they receive the achievement “The Old Ball and Chain”

The Married title, which specifies who you’re married to when worn

Getting married allows the couple to start a family with up to six children

- Requires adoption certificates for each child added

- Allows the couple to create a Family Name and gives a family title

- Allows the family to summon each other

(Video via RathiaVixen.)

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