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August 28, 2013
Microsoft revealed at this year's Gamescom 2013 the release day launch titles that will be available to purchase on the day of the Xbox One Launch.
There seems to be a mix of various different games including Xbox One exclusive games, next gen exclusives, older gen games that will make their way to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 first, and even a Kinect game, despite rumors that there weren't going to be any Kinect games at launch.
There is a wide range of games to enjoy as well, including a mix or racers, sports games, action and FPS games, as well as other more arcadey and family friendly games.
Here is a compiled list of all of the games available at launch from Microsoft's statement on their website:
Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag (Ubisoft, Ubisoft)
Battlefield 4 (DICE, Electronic Arts)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (Infinity Ward, Activision)
Crimson Dragon (Grounding/Land Ho!, Microsoft Studios)
Dead Rising 3 (Capcom -
August 21, 2013
Well, well well, it looks as if Microsoft has completely made a turning point on their new Xbox One. Now, not only can you use the Xbox without a constant internet connection, but we can now play the next gen Xbox console without the kinect entirely.
This change has come about after privacy concerns were made public due to the worry that Microsoft or a malicious third party could sneak in and watch your living room at any time.
Coupled with the always on internet, an always 'kinected' camera could only spell trouble in the eyes of those that take care of their own privacy, but luckily all of the DRM features have been removed, and now the Kinect always-connected rule has been removed.
Currently there still isn't an Xbox One with a Kinect not included and Microsoft still believe strongly in the success of the party peripheral, but perhaps we'll see a cheaper SKU without the Kinect 2.0 bundled in the future.
For those already interested in getting a PS4, if you
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August 08, 2013
Whilst Microsoft may not be done with the Kinect, it is quite clear that for most the piece of tech is nothing more than a gimmick. It can be fun to wave yourself in front of the TV with a few mates or with the family, and talking to your Xbox can be quite entertaining at first, but it quickly looses any meaning except for a companion for it's Xbox friend.
Microsoft may be looking into something a lot better than the Kinect if their recent patent file is anything to go by. The patent shows information on what seems to be a pair of virtual reality glasses. Players will be able to wear the glasses and 'immerse' themselves in a game.
Recently we've seen things like the impressive Oculus Rift hit the world, and it's certainly left an impact, so perhaps Microsoft want to get there first.
If the Oculus Rift is anything to go by, using a high-tech virtual reality kit will allow players to really feel like they are in the game- the camera will move accurately to your head movements,
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August 05, 2013
Although Kinect Sports Rivals was previously announced by Microsoft and RARE to be an Xbox One launch title, it has since been pushed back due to development issues and will now no longer be available at launch for the Xbox One.
The release date has now been pushed back to Spring 2014 for most of the world and Autumn 2014 for Australia.
Although it's a shame the game has been delayed, it will allow RARE to further polish and clean up the title, so we can expect an even more finished version early next year. According to RARE at E3, Kinect Sports Rivals "puts you in the game like never before, tracks your movements and expressions with incredible accuracy, and offers never-ending competition with your friends and competitors," according to Microsoft.
This is a bit of an odd decision by Microsoft though as Kinect Sports Rivals was previously designed to be the flagship launch title for the Xbox One and the Kinect meaning we will now have no Xbox
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August 04, 2013
Although the Launch Edition of the Xbox One comes bundled with the Kinect 2.0, there wasn't an official confirmation whether the Xbox One would be released without the Kinect 2.0 or not within the future.
Microsoft has recently replied to concerns about the topic to state that "We have no plans to introduce an Xbox One without Kinect. We believe in Kinect and the value it brings to both games and entertainment, and believe $499 is a great value for what consumers receive with their Xbox One."
Rumors started to spread that Microsoft were going to release a console without the Kinect 2.0 as a Microsoft representative stated that the Xbox One does not need the Kinect 2.0 to run. Since then it seems that Microsoft has called this out as a typo and Microsoft has since backtracked to the previous announcement that the Kinect 2.0 is needed to allow the Xbox One to work.
Because of the added costs of the Kinect 2.0, the Xbox One costs
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July 24, 2013
As expected, Microsoft has now made Assassin's Creed 2 available to download for free for a limited period of time. This game is part of the "Games with Gold" program that is strictly for Xbox Live users with a Gold membership.
The Games with Gold program seems to be Microsoft's way of challenging PlayStation's PS Plus subscription service that has offered free games since launch. Many also believe that Microsoft are doing the Games with Gold campaign to try and claw back any customers they may have lost at their terrible pre-E3 event.
Although Assassin's Creed 2 is pretty old now, it still stands as a good, enjoyable game, and when not for free, can cost $20 to download digitally from the Xbox marketplace. However second copies from retailers such as Gamestop are probably selling the game for less than $10, and perhaps even less than $5 depending on the demand for the old game.
Players have so far managed to grab Fable III, Defense Grid: The Awakening and Assassin's Creed
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July 21, 2013
As expected, Microsoft has sent out a Beta dashboard update to their Xbox 360 consoles that will change gamers experiences worldwide. The new change will remove the Microsoft Points system from the system entirely and replace it with real-money purchases.
For example, instead of having to purchase Microsoft Points for money and then spending money on games or downloadable content, players will now be able to go straight to buying the content they want with their own money.
At first, this update sounded like a nice change to the Xbox market. One reason being that Xbox 360 owners would no longer need to "overspend" to buy the content they want. For example, most DLC packages were priced at 800 Microsoft Points, but instead of being able to simply buy 800 Microsoft Points, Xbox 360 owners would have to buy the package closest to 800 Points which at the time was a 1000 point bundle.
The problem with the update though is that a lot of games seem to be even more expensive
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June 29, 2013
One thing that Microsoft couldn't boast enough at this year's E3 was 'the power of the cloud.' Matchmaking, stats and other player and game information could now be computed in the cloud, on Microsoft's own servers.
According to Microsoft this meant the Xbox One could be even more powerful as it didn't need to compute these things itself. It also opened up windows for new technologies such as the Forza 5 Drivatar AI.
However, Sony has said that the new PlayStation 4 can also harness the power of the cloud as well. Shuhei Yoshida made a statement saying "Linking, matchmaking, there are already many computations being done on the cloud side, if your title needs an online connection to provide some online features: Go for it."
So is Microsoft's hyped 'power of the cloud' nothing that special? Microsoft has managed to make good use of it with Forza's Drivatar, and hopefully we'll see more good uses in the future.
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June 24, 2013
One of the major reasons a lot of people have decided to side with Sony's PlayStation 4 instead of the Xbox One is down to the restrictions that Microsoft originally planned out for the Xbox One. These restrictions include clamping down on used games, no unhindered access to the console without a constant internet connection, and region locks forcing players to only be able to play their Xbox One in their home country.
Since Microsoft's announcement of these features, there has been an outcry in the gaming community, and surprisingly, after noticing, Microsoft has decided to make an apology and make a change to the DRM features on the new Xbox One.
The Xbox One will now be capable of playing used games, so gamers can still swap, trade and lend games between one another, and there are now no region restrictions on the console. On top of this, the console will no longer need to be online to be used after a first time set-up.
It's
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June 23, 2013
There's always a lot of tension between companies when they are competing to make the better product, and this certainly is the case when considering Microsoft and Sony. They were the first most noticeable company to have a 'war' between each other, drawing fans on either side of the battle as each side would try and explain why their favorite beat the other in every way possible.
The tension was present leading up to this year's E3 as well, but it seems like Sony is currently jumping in joy because of Microsoft and their decisions made for their new console.
Head of Sony Worldwide Studios Software Product Development, Scott Rohde, commented on the situation, saying that their team were 'running up and down the aisles' when they heard about the price difference between the cheaper PlayStation 4 and the more expensive Xbox One.
Rohde went onto saying "Absolutely great. It was an amazing feeling. Absolutely. We went nuts. We