The Button Presser

6/16/15 12:00PM |



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6/9/15 9:30AM |


Microsoft has announced this morning that there will be a permanent price drop for the standard Xbox One console, reducing the overall price to $349, effective immediately. 

This news is followed by the announcement of a brand new 1TB version of the console coming June 16th, which will feature a new controller that includes a 3.5mm stereo jack, allowing for most gaming headsets to plug right into the controller without the need for an additional adapter. 

The controller can also be purchased for separately for $79.95. The last bit of console news for Microsoft today is the announcement of the Xbox Wireless Adapter, which will retail for $24.99. This adapter will allow PC players to utilize a wireless Xbox One controller for machines running Windows 10.

Check out a video of the new console bundle below, and pick one up during E3 week!



[Source: Major Nelson's Blog]

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11/21/14 12:00PM |







Insomniac Games' recent Xbox One exclusive has fared pretty well in terms of sales and reviews, and Microsoft will be hoping to increase holiday interest in the title when they give Gold members the opportunity to check out the full game for free this Saturday. 

Beginning at midnight tonight, the game will be available for 24 hours and allows players to earn, keep any unlocked achievements during the free period, as well as the ability to save their progress that could be used to continue the story if players purchase the game after the free access period. 

The game's multiplayer portion will also be playable for free to Gold members, so be sure to let your friends know!


[Source: Polygon]

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10/27/14 10:00AM |


[Source: Major Nelson's Blog]
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9/15/14 9:30AM |

6/9/14 11:00PM |

If you're like me, you one day hope to attend E3, but I'm glad that I'll be able to check out all of the latest from the show, right from home thanks to all of the various gaming outlets that attend and provide livestreams for everyone to watch. Here's my overview of the big press conferences today, so read and enjoy! 


Games. Games. Games. 

That's what Microsoft focused on this year at E3 during their press conference, just as they did last year. Games that we already knew about or titles rumored to be coming were for Xbox One got were showcased including Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Sunset Overdrive, The Witcher 3, and Fable Legends.

There were also some nice surprises as well. New DLC was announced for Dead Rising 3 which features 4-player co-op modes with past protagonists from the series including like Chuck Greene and Frank West. 

The Halo Master Chief collection which sounded like a crazy rumor is actually true, and will feature Halo 1-4 with a seamless menu to navigate and will allow players to create a custom playlist of missions across those four games to play back to back.  

Pre-ordering that collection comes with a beta token for Halo 5, which will offer players a chance to check out the game's multiplayer later this year.

Ubisoft was also at the Microsoft conference and showed off Assassin's Creed Unity, an all new AC game with 4-player co-op. It looked incredible and appears to take advantage of Microsoft's new hardware. Their other big game, the Division, was also demoed and continues to impress. 


Microsoft did a great job of showing games that are set to arrive this year, next year, as well as independently developed titles. It was awesome to see Inside, the next game from Playdead, creators of the hit arcade title LIMBO. I'd give Microsoft's conference a solid grade as they displayed many games although I wish there were more new titles shown that would compel more gamers to pick up the console. 




EA started strong with their conference showing a behind the scenes look at development on Star Wars: Battlefront and sneak peeks at Bioware's new projects which includes a Mass Effect title and a new IP. It was a nice tease and I can't wait to learn more. They then went on to give new details on their 2014 sports line-up which includes the new Madden, PGA, and UFC title, all of which look very impressive.

Mirror's Edge was briefly discussed, and is set to contain a story that shows Faith's beginnings as a runner. You can check out a bit more in the video embedded below:


Dragon Age: Inquisition looks great which had some more time on the screen. Sales for that title are sure to be strong when it arrives in a few months. EA finished things out with a demo of Battlefield: Hardline, and announced that a beta for the game would be available today. Be sure to sign-up to check it out on PC and PS4. Both EA and Ubisoft have a ton of content coming for gamers, and 2015 will be the time when the major ones come out and seek to impress us all.



Ubisoft is riding high off the success of Watch Dogs, but they showed at their conference that they still have plenty of games coming to be excited about. Far Cry 4 opened the show and it looks to continue the great pattern of having an interesting villain to battle against as Far Cry 3 did. The game was also showed again at Sony's conference, and is set to arrive later this holiday season for most major platforms.

The Division was also shown a bit more, and looks like it will be a big hit when it arrives some time next year. 


Ubisoft has a lineup of titles that will reach different audiences, including their new fitness games and Just Dance, as well as The Crew and Rainbow Six: Siege, the nice surprise at the end which focused on a possible multiplayer mode scenario.

Overall, it was another great conference with a nice range of titles, some of which will be making its way to various consoles later this year.



Sony had a lot of content packed into their conference. While it was mostly games, the middle segments included hardware and media announcements that slowed down their pace just a bit, but it was fairly informational. PSVita TV is coming to the US for $99 and there's a White PS4 bundle coming for Destiny. 

Sony's plan is to get consumers to pick up a PS4 seems to include great exclusives as well as providing great PlayStation-only content for third-party titles, something that Microsoft does for certain titles as well.


Once again Sony showed great investment with Indie titles and had quite a few to display. This was led by the announcement of a remastered Grimm Fandango and the game that wowed viewers at last year's VGX: No Man's Sky. PlayStation Now was also detailed a bit more, and will have an open beta next month, so every PS4 user can check out titles that are stream-able from the console.

While it was just announced for Xbox One and PC, Grand Theft Auto 5 will be making its way to PS4 this Fall, which Sony was happy to announce first. The game will feature visual enhancements, as well as the ability to transfer GTA Online saves to PS4. Pretty awesome stuff!

The Last of Us: Remastered will be coming next month for PS4, but Naughty Dog closed the show with a brief in-game teaser for Uncharted 4. While very short, it was awesome to see and I can't wait for the full game which will hopefully come out next year.



Great games and announcements were made today at the press conferences, and more will come throughout the week. There's also the Nintendo conference tomorrow, who may have some stuff to show that will blow everyone away. Happy E3 week!


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6/5/14 3:00PM |



The wait to use an Xbox One controller on PC is now over as Microsoft have released official drivers for the controller in both an (x86) and (x64) download.

While there is currently no way to play games wirelessly, I'm sure that the ability to play without the charging cable is something that may be down the line depending on the request of users that demand it. 

I've always felt comfortable playing PC games with my 360 controller, but now I may have to try them out with an Xbox One gamepad next!

[Source: Major Nelson's Blog]

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5/16/14 9:30PM |



Early this morning 343 Industries and Microsoft announced Halo 5: Guardians, the next installment in the new trilogy which began with Halo 4. As detailed in their Xbox Wire post, 343 are looking to improve upon the Halo franchise with power of Next-Generation technology:

"Halo 5: Guardians is a bigger effort than Halo 4. That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine. Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen."

With E3 next month and the constant rumor of Halo 2: Anniversary popping up, it's certainly an interesting time to be a Halo fan!

[Source: Xbox Wire]
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5/13/14 1:30PM |



Starting next month, Microsoft will have an Xbox One available for purchase with the retail price of $399. Price drops are always expected sometime after a new system has been released, but this is interesting as the Xbox One that can be bought in June will be available without the Kinect, a tool Microsoft has stated before to be very integral to the console's DNA. 

This change will make the Xbox One available for the same price as the PlayStation 4, which has had a successful launch since November. Price drops are always great, but you have to wonder how Kinect developers may feel about this news since it was first believed that every Xbox One user would have a Kinect allowing for more potential sales of the games that require Kinect to play.

Another change Microsoft has made and one without any real controversy is the ability to use previously Gold Member locked apps on both Xbox 360 and XB1 without the need to purchase Xbox Live. Starting in June, you'll no longer have to be a Gold member to enjoy Netflix, HBO Go, Hulu, and other premium apps that already require a subscription to use.

Lastly is the announcement of Games With Gold for Xbox One. The popular program which began last year for Xbox 360 will start up on XB1 this June, with Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault. It was also announced that Dark Souls, Charlie Murder, and Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition will be the next games with gold for Xbox 360 next month, so you'll be able to grab another free game next month.

All in all, this is great news for gamers, and it'll be interesting to see how these changes will effect Microsoft next month as they show the future of Xbox at E3 2014.


[Source: Major Nelson's Blog]
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11/1/13 2:30PM |

Bethesda, 4J Studios, and Microsoft have announced a new exciting download pack for Minecraft on Xbox 360.

Minecraft: Skyrim Edition is a $4 add-on that will feature a new menu interfact similiar to Skyrim, 40 character skins to use, a Skyrim-themed texture pack, and around 20 songs from Skyrim's soundtrack to round out the content.

There hasn't been an official date set for the content, but it will be worth the few dollars to grab!

Here are a few images of the content below:







[Source: Bethesda Blog]

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9/4/13 11:00AM |

Microsoft has announced today that their upcoming Next-Gen console will be available on November 22nd in 13 countries at launch. Those countries include Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and USA. The rest of the world will be available to purchase an Xbox One at a later date in the beginning of 2014.

The launch of the Xbox One comes exactly 8 years after the Xbox 360, which will still be supported by the company for quite some time. It also comes a week before Black Friday, so games may be available for a nice discount if you plan on getting the console at launch. 

With the PlayStation 4 arriving on November 5th, and the Xbox One a few weeks later, the arrival of Next-Gen will officially be here alongside the Wii-U.


[Source: Xbox Wire]

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8/9/13 1:00PM |

While some of the sharing plans for Xbox One have changed with the removal of the connectivity requirements, there will still be great ways to share content, as announced on Major Nelson's blog today.

In the posting, it details the sharing features which was written in letter form by Marc Whitten, detailing how Xbox One Gold members can share their features with family members in one household, or with friends as long as they are logged in at their house.

Digital Sharing:

This basically works the same way as it does with Xbox 360 games, except it also takes into account the number of users on the console. Anyone who has an account on your Xbox One, can play the titles that you buy, and vice-versa. If you were to go to a friend's place, logging in to your account would let them play your games, but not after you logged out of their console.

As with the PS3 and PS4, digital games on Xbox One can also be played after a portion of the game has been downloaded, reducing the waiting you'll have to do when getting a new title. Pretty neat stuff!

Home Gold:

As with the sharing of games, Home Gold allows others on your console to utilize the features of Xbox Live Gold without the need to buy a Gold membership themselves. This would include party chatting, online gameplay, and the usage of Apps like Skype, Internet Explorer, and YouTube.

This would also work at a friend's place, as long as you were logged in to their console.

Xbox One had me iffy before the changes, as I wrote about in My Two Caps, but these new features and changes they are making to the console may make me consider picking one up down the line.

Look out for more information soon, as Microsoft plans to show more at Gamescom and Pax very soon.

[Source: Major Nelson's Blog]

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6/19/2013 5:00PM |

Gamers made their voices heard, and Microsoft has listened based on today's news that the company will be changing policies regarding the Xbox One.



First reported from Giant Bomb's Patrick Klepek and then on Xbox.com, The main changes will be that a 24-hour check-in will no longer be required, and that Xbox One games can be freely traded, rented, and given as gifts whether it is a first party game or not.

There will also be no regional restrictions either, and games can still be downloaded day and date of release. For these functions to work, all that will be required is an update once the console has been released in November.

[Source: Xbox News]

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6/10/13 11:30PM |

If you're like me, you one day hope to attend E3, but I'm glad that I'll be able to check out all of the latest from the show, right from home thanks to all of the various gaming outlets that attend, especially GameTrailers and Spike TV. After watching all of the big press conferences today, here are some quick overviews on each for you to check out:


While there are still issues regarding the online functions of the Xbox One, Microsoft made good on their promise of showing off games for the new console, which was announced to be coming this November for $499. Killer Instinct will return, Halo is coming, and they showed off some pretty impressive gameplay demos of Dead Rising 3, Metal Gear Solid 5, Ryse, and Titanfall. The Xbox 360 will also be getting some new games as well, and there was even a new version of the console, which was announced and made available for purchase today.



They also announced that come November, Microsoft Points will be a thing of the past for Xbox One, which is something most other platforms have been accustomed to. Microsoft also seem to be taking a not from Sony, as they announced that starting next month, Gold Members will receive two downloadable games to keep a month, which will start with Assassin's Creed II and Halo 3. Older games sure, but you can't beat the price. Deadly Premonition fans like myself should be happy that Swery, creator of the cult-hit title, will be at it again with a new game called D4 for Xbox One. Sign-me up for that one!

Another nice nugget of information from the conference is that your subscription to Xbox Live will also carry over, and the price to play online will remain at $60 a year. That's a pretty nice positive.

If Microsoft can allow every game to be played offline, allow for trades and rentals, and make newer games available for free each month, they'll be able to help sway the hardcore gamers that may be considering a PlayStation 4.


EA had a pretty good press conference. NBA Live will look to make it's comeback later this is with Live 14, UFC will be coming next spring, Battlefield 4 showed 64 players on consoles, Star Wars: Battlefront will be a long-awaited return, and there will be a new Mirror's Edge title.



There was also a quick showing of the next Dragon Age title as well, which will apparently take some of the great elements that everyone enjoyed in Skyrim.

No matter which console you choose to purchase, you'll be able to enjoy most of the titles that EA showed off today.


While the big dogs from Ubisoft were shown in a trailer with Watch_Dogs, Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Assassin's Creed IV, and Rayman Legends, the company also had a nice variety of new games to show including the racing title Crew, a new MMO title called the Division.



South Park was also shown, but it's appearance at the conference was pretty brief, but it's nice to know that the game should be available for everyone to check out later this year. Red Lynx is also gearing up to bring not one, but two new Trials titles which will allow for interactivity between the games, which is something a lot of games will apparently do for Next-gen.

One good pattern that the conferences seem to be showing is that new IP is very important, and expanding and bring back titles will make fans happy, which Ubisoft has a nice mix of.


Sony is all about games. If this wasn't apparent before, it definitely is now. Whether it's on the Vita, PS3, or the upcoming PlayStation 4, you'll be able to enjoy a wide array of games in the next few years from them.

So Kingdom Hearts 3 was announced, Versus XIII is now Final Fantasy XV, Destiny was actually shown, and the PS4 will support used games and won't require any sort of online verification. Major points to Sony for this.



Gaikai will allow for games to be streamed, when it launches in 2014, which will allow for Vita, PS3 and PS4 to enjoy games granted they have a nice connection.

Indie developers will also get love too, as they will be able to self-publish on the console, allowing creators a chance to have control on their games and earnings, which I assume Sony will get a nice piece of.

All of this, plus the system will launch at $399, so that gamers of all types will have a great reason to consider the PlayStation 4 over the $499 Xbox One.


The Next-gen console war seems to have officially started today, and throughout the week, more awesome games will be shown, detailed, and made available in video form to watch online as the discussions across the internet begins.
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Microsoft just finished their unveiling of the new Xbox, now called Xbox One officially. Here are some of the highlights I got out of the presentation below:

-Instant Switching between Games, Movies, TV, and Apps

-500 GB of storage, Blu-Ray Drive, 8GB of RAM

-Sleek new controller with specific vibration features in each trigger

-Record, Edit, and Share Gameplay

-FIFA, LIVE, MADDEN, AND UFC coming in the next 12 months

-EA Sports Ignite engine for Next-Gen titles

-Forza Motorsport 5 coming at launch for Xbox One

-New Remedy title announced called Quantum Break

-Eight new franchises to be announced for Xbox One

-Live Action Halo television series announced, will be worked on by Steven Speilberg

-Exclusive Deal with the NFL to launch Sports TV content

-Call of Duty: Ghosts debuted with a demonstration of the new visuals, and small tidbits about the gameplay

-Players can lean, customize their character in multiplayer, and once again Xbox will have the new DLC before any other platform

-Xbox One to launch later this year



Details outside the presentation are also coming in, including the fact that you WILL be able to play games offline, and Xbox 360 games will not be playable on Xbox One, so keep those consoles!

Overall, the TV features and console features of the Xbox One seem neat, but for games, we will need to see what they have in store at E3 in a few weeks.


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With May's NPD results coming in, Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 sold more units in May than any other platform, based solely on U.S sales.

According to the NPD:

· Xbox 360 sold 160,000 units, representing a 45 percent share of current-generation console sales in the U.S

· Total retail spend on the Xbox 360 platform reached $209 million, the most for any console in the U.S

· Xbox 360 held six of the top 10 U.S. console game titles including Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, Max Payne 3, Prototype 2, Sniper Elite V2, NBA 2K12 and Modern Warfare 3

Congrats to Microsoft and third-party developers on their success on the 360 for May!

[Source: Official Microsoft Blog]

Microsoft kicked E3 2012 off with their press conference, and it seemed to be playing things safe. While new games were announced, most were revealed days before their conference and only showed as trailers. The games that they did show looked great -- Halo 4 looks to be in great hands with 343 Industries at the wheel and the new Splinter Cell game looks awesome. Spies vs. Mercs will return!





Xbox Live is getting some new features as well. A dashboard update will be coming later this year which will feature Internet Explorer, enhanced Bing functionality which includes adding new languages, and a new way to interact with content titled SmartGlass. This new feature brings together your smartphone, tablet, and Xbox 360 to immerse you further in games and entertainment media. An example shown involved watching Games of Thrones (Awesome show!) while checking out a map of the show on a tablet which highlighted where specific characters were. It's pretty neat stuff and Microsoft also showed concepts for how it could work with games -- showing Halo 4 being played while stats and invites are displayed on a tablet. Another feature they showed was the ability to use a smartphone to navigate the dashboard.



Other notable highlights include another look at Tomb Raider, Resident Evil 6, Black Ops 2, and a visit from the creators of South Park discussing the upcoming game South Park: The Stick of Truth.

Did they do better than last year’s conference?

-Video Source-

Gametrailers

Since Kinect's launch last year, there have been many cool videos created by developers that show Kinect being used in many different ways besides games for Xbox 360. Today is our chance to create some cool stuff with the SDK Microsoft has just released:

"The Kinect for Windows SDK beta is a programming toolkit for application developers. It enables the academic and enthusiast communities easy access to the capabilities offered by the Microsoft Kinect device connected to computers running the Windows 7 operating system.

The Kinect for Windows SDK beta includes drivers, rich APIs for raw sensor streams and human motion tracking, installation documents, and resource materials. It provides Kinect capabilities to developers who build applications with C++, C#, or Visual Basic by using Microsoft Visual Studio 2010."

The Kinect SDK is currently for non-commercial purposes only, but Microsoft is expected to release a commercial version in the near future.

-Source-

Microsoft Research

Major Nelson's Blog

Today Microsoft has announced starting Nov. 1st this year, Xbox Live will be getting a price increase, stopping all rumors about a price drop for the near future. Check out the U.S prices below, and the full list on Major Nelson's blog.

US-Current

1M Gold: $7.99

3M Gold: $19.99

12M Gold: $49.99

Starting Nov 1, 2010

1M Gold: $9.99

3M Gold: $24.99

12M Gold: $59.99

Microsoft presented first once again and primarily focused on Kinect, but featured gameplay demos of Halo Reach, Gears of War 3, and Call of Duty Black Ops. New trailers were shown for Metal Gear Rising, and a lot of on stage demonstrations for Kinect. Saving the best for last though, Microsoft confirmed the new Xbox 360 which is slimed down, black, and features built in wifi and a 250 GB Hard Drive. It will be available this week for purchase. Here a few notes I put down as I watched the conference on Spike:

Call of Duty: Black Ops demoed- For the next three years, All Call of Duty DLC will appear on 360 first for a set period of time

Metal Gear Rising gameplay was shown- Awesome slashing action!

Gears of War 3 was demoed with the 4-player co-op support. It will also contain a new mode coming called Beast

Halo Reach single player was demoed- Might include space combat

ESPN partners with Xbox to deliver tons of sports action. Free for Gold Members

Kinectamals and Kinect Sports shown. Pretty similiar to Wii Sports

Kinect will launch November 4th 2010

New Slim Xbox 360 will be $299. Available this week!