During the year we have seen the XBox team take an unprecedented interest in cross-platform gaming, with many games already compatible between the console and Windows 10 devices. This new multiplatform focus absolutely permeated their presentation this morning at the Galen Center in LA: if nothing else Microsoft is dedicated to getting games on every Windows device out there. Their "Play Anywhere" concept allows gamers to buy a game on the XB1, and then download again to a different Windows device, without buying the game on separate consoles. Buy it once and play it everywhere.
Xbox One S
The first announcement of the morning was a hardware combo: the Xbox One S and a fancy-schmancy new wireless controller. The new console itself is 40% smaller with (up to) a 2 TB internal HDD. The controller has also lost some of its bulk, has bluetooth functionality, and a better range than the current controllers. Price point for the new console is $299 and will be available in August.
Gears of War 4
The first game out of the gate, complete with the Play Anywhere feature, was Gears of War 4. A nice little peek at the campaign showed a team doing all the things Gears: cover system, chainsaws, and 3rd person combat. A new Buzzkill weapon was used to ricochet circular sawblades at enemies who couldn't be hit directly and was pretty handy at shredding enemy cover. The gameplay clip showed the team working together to take out some automated defenses and infiltrate a building. The weather was pretty bad: maybe they're stuck on Yamatai with Lara Croft. Xbox is releasing a Gears 4 controller to commerate the release, which will be ready to play on October 11.
Killer Instinct
Killer Instinct gave the Gears team a nice little nod by adding General Raam as a new KI fighter. They gave the players a nod in the form of being able to play the General this week for free.
Forza Horizon 3
Playground dropped by to let us know that the new Horizon game will be set in Australia, will feature more showcase events, and will have a larger roster of cars than its predecessors. This is the most social Forza game ever, and the centerpiece will be cross-platform 4-player campaign co-op...how freaking unreal is that? The Lamborghini Centenario will be featured both on the cover and in the game. Playground also indicated that wide-body kits will be available for some of the cars. Horizon 3 drops on September 27.
Xbox Live
XBL will be receiving some tweaks and updates in the very near future. Gamers will soon be able to play their own background music. Cortana is coming to all Windows 10 devices, which should include the XB1. Xbox Live will be available on all Windows 10 platforms. XBL will now feature clubs so gamers can "create your own community." Looking for Group is a new feature for XBL: similar to what we already have at 2old2play, so nice try, Microsoft, welcome to second place. XBL also has a new Arena feature on the horizon that will allow gamers to organize tournaments.
Minecraft
The lull in the action was provided by the Minecraft team, who showed off some cross-platform play, new textures, and John Carmack joined in on the Oculus. Hey John, I noticed that Bethesda didn't mention the Oculus, but did mention the Vive. Is id still pissed at you or what? Another thing, where is that cooler than shit VR pull the map out of the table thing that y'all showed us last year? Fuck all that laptop and Surface crap and give us the table thing already. They did announce that they are opening up some dedicated servers so players could host their own worlds. More Minecraft info will be coming out of Minecon in September.
Have Some Quickies, Old Timer
- Recore
- Final Fantasy XV
- The Division-Underground
- Battlefield 1-Oct 21
- Inside-June 29
- Cuphead (Really, where's the release date? Dicks...)
- We Happy Few-July 26
- Gwent (yes, the shitty card game from Witcher 3)
- Tekken 7-early 2017
- Dead Rising 4-holiday 2016
- Scalebound-2017
- Sea of Thieves
- State of Decay 2
- Halo Wars 2-Feb 21, 2017 (beta June 13-June 20...play it now!)
Project Scorpio
A new MS console will be here for the 2017 holiday, and it is called Project Scorpio. XBox is gearing this one to power Hi-Fi VR, accomodate 4K gaming, and boast 4 teraflops of floppage. Phil Spencer indicated that it will not be replacing the XB1, it's just a high tech, XB1 compatible console that's way better than the current console. Start saving now.
