The past year was a fantastic one for the video game industry – and Xbox One ended 2014 with an unprecedented holiday season, becoming the best-selling console in the U.S. In November and December. In fact, weekly average sales during these months outpaced Xbox 360 by 50 percent at the same point in its lifecycle.We are extremely grateful to our legion of loyal Xbox fans for their support.
And to kick off 2015, we’ve got a new offer for those looking forward to picking up an Xbox One for themselves.“Building off a record-setting holiday, we are excited to announce a new promotion in which fans in the U.S. Can buy an Xbox One at a special price of $349, starting tomorrow, January 16, from their preferred retailer,” said Mike Nichols, Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Xbox. “We are thankful for all the excitement for Xbox One this holiday and proud to offer more fans the amazing games lineup, Xbox Live gaming community, and continual innovation that Xbox One fans have come to enjoy.”Thanks to a strong, diverse portfolio of titles, Xbox One sold more games throughout November and December in the U.S. Than any other current-generation platform., with Xbox-exclusive titles receiving eight Game of the Year Awards and 67 nominations from the media.
Also this holiday, Xbox 360 became the best-selling seventh generation console of all time in the U.S. On the strength of Xbox One, Xbox 360, and a strong games lineup, fans spent more time playing Xbox this holiday than ever before.Looking ahead, we’ve only just begun to share our 2015 lineup. The fan reaction to the Multiplayer Beta has been amazing, with 18 million games having been played to date, while our recent announcement of Forza Motorsport 6 is further proof that Xbox One remains home to stellar exclusive games. Exciting exclusives and blockbuster titles like, Ori and the Blind Forest, Battlefield Hardline, and many more surprises ensure we’ll have something for everyone in 2015.As always, we’ll also continue to bring top-notch app experiences like the recently announced Sling TV and new apps launched on Xbox One in 2014 such as, and to build on the growing list of popular entertainment experiences that are open to anyone, with or without an Xbox Live Gold membership. In 2014, users logged nearly 8 billion hours globally in apps across Xbox 360 and Xbox One, a 50 percent increase from time spent in 2013.We’ll also continue to improve the Xbox One experience through regular system updates and we’re continuing to listen to fan feedback to implement the changes fans want to see most.“Since it launched last year, Xbox Feedback has been instrumental in helping us best determine what our fans want and expect from us, and it’s clear that the Xbox One wouldn’t be what it is today without their valued input,” said Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox. “We’re incredibly proud of the Xbox One and are fully committed to ensuring it’s the best place to play console games in 2015 and beyond.”And the Xbox experience isn’t limited just to the console.
The Xbox team is continually working hard to expand and improve the experience across myriad devices – including home gaming PCs, soon to be powered by Windows 10. Our goal is to help PC gaming flourish, and we’re excited to be helping shape the future of Windows. Phil Spencer will be sharing more on the Windows consumer experience at a Windows event on January 21, including the role that gaming will play.2015 is going to be an amazing year for gamers. Stay tuned for more news!. According to NPD Group Recommended for you.
“You had a number of things occurring that by themselves were just astounding,” said Nate Mantua, an atmospheric scientist at NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center. “When you put it all together you could hardly believe it.”The Blob has led to scores of scientific papers describing its conditions and impacts. Scientists and managers are also now asking hard questions about what the region has learned. How quickly would they recognize another oncoming blob, or other changes never seen before? Determining the New Normal“We saw many of these things as discrete events,” said Cisco Werner, Chief Scientist at NOAA Fisheries.
One Unprecedented 2015 2017
He headed the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California, when the Blob took hold. When he spoke to public audiences at the time, there were questions about starving sea lions. “We didn’t put together right away that it was something bigger, in part because it was so unprecedented.”“In the future we have to be more ready to be surprised,” he said.While much of the northeast Pacific cooled in 2016, conditions never entirely returned to normal. Even now residual heat from the Blob still dwells beneath the surface. Even so, the Blob years brought such unprecedented change to the ocean that “normal” may now be an anachronism.“Will we go back to more familiar conditions, or will it be something else we’ve never seen before?” asked Brodeur, who has researched the ecological changes of The Blob years.
He and his colleagues found a shift in the food web. It was once supported by tiny shelled crustaceans rich in nutrition, to one dominated by gelatinous sea life such as jellyfish and odd pyrosomes.
These tropical creatures—which resemble translucent pickles—were never before reported off the Pacific Northwest. Pyrosomes can be seen littering the deck of this research vessel.The gelatinous organisms compete with native species.
One Unprecedented 2015 Movie
They vacuum up food other fish might eat, and they themselves hold less nutritional value for native species such as anchovy and sardines. The effect hits the marine food web like a one-two punch, reducing the quality of available food and increasing competition for what’s left.Brodeur and his colleagues called it “an extraordinary and unprecedented perturbance.” They questioned in a whether the system had reached a tipping point from which it might never return.“Is the ecosystem resilient enough to bounce back if environmental conditions return to something close to normal?” asked Brodeur, who has studied waters off the Northwest Coast for more than 20 years.
“That’s what we don’t know.”.