Zombies were out in force Thursday in Vancouver, but it wasn't just because it was Halloween – they were part of a PR army for the new Xbox One console and a new Dead Rising title for it that was developed in Vancouver.
Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT) set up a huge Xbox One mobile demonstration centre at Nelson and Seymour streets in Vancouver Thursday, and to draw attention had actors dressed as zombies pour out.
Today, the large mobile centre was opened to the public to let players try out the new game console and some of the new titles developed for it, including Dead Rising 3 – which is all about the zombie apocalypse – developed by Capcom's Vancouver studio.
Roughly 180 Vancouver developers worked on the new title over a period of three years, said Jason Leigh, senior producer for Dead Rising 3. It will be on sale November 22, in conjunction with the launch of Xbox One.
Dead Rising 1 was developed in Japan, but the last two titles were developed in Vancouver.
"It was a real coup for us to be a Day One launch title," Leigh told Business in Vancouver.
Microsoft is competing with Sony, which will also soon launch its new console, PlayStation 4.
As predicted, the pending arriving of two new gaming consoles is spurring new game development by studios, including Vancouver studios like Capcom Vancouver and Electronic Arts Inc. (Nasdaq:EA).
The new Xbox One console gives game developers new territory to work in and more horsepower. For example, Leigh said gamers will like the "fully open streaming world" which essentially removes the virtual walls that exists in other games.
Players will be able to move around within their zombie world without having to reload when transitioning from one area of a map to another.
"You can go from one world to the other and that's entirely due to the power of the machine," Leigh said.
Leigh added "we can also put way more zombies on the screen than we ever have.
All new consoles come with Kinect, allowing for gesture control, and voice recognition that will actually allow players to talk to characters in the game. They can taunt zombies, for example, to draw them into traps, or give other characters in the game directions and orders.
"Sitting on your couch you can use your voice commands to tell them what to do," Leigh said.
The Xbox One mobile demonstration centre is open until 10 p.m. tonight (Friday, November 1.)
