We are well and truly under way with E3 now. Microsoft have just finished with their conference so let’s take a look at what we saw.
Opening with a monologue from characters of the upcoming games.
Then Bonny Ross from 343i takes to the stage to talk about none other than Halo 5: Guardians.
Josh Holmes the Exec Producer at 343i then comes out to talk about a brandnew gameplay mode called Warzone, featuring 24 players, AI, massive maps and it’s playable at E3… Oh how I wish I was there . C
We then get our first World Premiere Xbox One Exclusive Recore coming spring 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6qhcxQbgwg
Phil Spencer comes back on stage. He talks about Xbox line up and wanting to create the best console experience and talks about monthly updates and focus on making the gamers happy.
Then he drops the bomb by announcing backward compatibility. All 360 games will be playable on Xbox One eventually.
Mike Ybarra then joins in to talk about a little bit more about backwards compatibility – retail discs will work and there will also be online catalogue. You can play multiplayer WITH 360 players, all game DVR and screenshots work on every 360 game.
An initial set of games will be made available for preview members and there is no charge for games you already own.
Now we get a new piece of hardware announced – The Xbox Elite wireless controller coming this fall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xbVqZhY_yg
Todd Howard from Bethesda is back to talk about Fallout 4. He mentions the 2nd screen experience they will be creating on smartphones. So it looks like Xbox One has marketing on the game.
We then get to see a little more new gameplay that wasn’t shown in Bethesda show. It Shows some new characters and small amount of a quest.
I’m also pretty sure I read that Fallout 3 will be included in Fallout 4 – I’m guessing as part of the backwards compatibility stuff, but I could’ve been dreaming….
Oh also all PC Mods are transferable to Xbox One, personally I think this is a pretty huhe announcement. Modding has always been a PC thing, and has never really been seen on consoles, so this is a massive step. Ok, you can’t create the mods on the console, but baby steps and all that.
Next up is Peter Moore from EA. He mentions that EA Access members will get to play Madden NHL 16 and Need for Speed early and that Titanfall is now available in the EA Access Vault, with Dragon Age being added later this year.
On top of that, this week, the EA Access vault open to all Xbox Live members, so you can play as much as you want for free on all titles currently in the vault.
Finally Peter Moore announces Plants Vs Zombies Garden warfare 2 coming Spring 2016
Then we move on to Turn 10 Studios for Forza Motorsport 6.
Henry Ford III from Ford Motor Company & Dan Greenwalt from Turn 10 come on stage to talk about how Forza 6 biggest game they’ve ever built, typically they then blow our minds with a trailer showcasing some amazing visuals.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R22y2w4k0vQ
The game is boasting1080p, 60fps, 24 cars mulltiplayer and will be releasing 15th September 2015.
Another World Premiere this time it’s Dark Souls 3 which is coming early 2016. At first I thought they might announce it as exclusive, but I think the internet would’ve had a melt down had that happened.
Up next is Tom Clancy’s: The Division. Laurent Detoc President of Ubisoft takes the stage to talk about The Division and shows off a new trailer. There was also the announcement that Xbox One players will get to try beta first in December this year.
He finishes off by giving us the release date for Rainbow Six Siege – 13th October 2015 and that it will include Rainbow Six Vegas & Vegas 2 available for free.
The Windows 10 & XB1 exclusive Gigantic is next. It will be free to play across both platforms and the Beta is coming in August.
Next is an ID@Xbox game trailer montage, shjowing off some amazing looking indie games coming over the next year or so. Chris Charla Director ID@Xbox comes to the stage to talk about the programme and to introduce us to a few specific indie developers.
Steve Gaynor from Fullbright – creators of Gone Home showing Tacoma which will come first on Xbox One and PC
Derek Bradley from Aurora44 showing off Ashen an Xbox One Exclusive.
Then Sherida Halatoe showing Beyond Eyes which again is first one XB1 and PC.
Finally Chad and Jared Moldenhauer to talk about Cuphead. It was Inspired by 1930’s cartoons and is Xbox consoles exclusive coming 2016
Chris Charla returns to talk about the Xbox Game Preview. Which allows you to buy and play a selection of games whilst still in development… so basically early access games. However, you get the option of a free trial to see if you want to jump in early and buy the game.
Games like TheLong Dark, Sheltered, Elite Dangerous, DayZ all to be included at some point with The Long Dark & Elite: Dangerous ready to try now.
We then get a surprise visit from Dean Hall, at first I thought DayZ, but then I remember he no longer works on that. What he actually shows off is Ion. A Simulation MMO which explores expansion in to space. It will be coming to Xbox one game preview and PC.
Getting towards the end of the show now we have Ryan Horton from Crystal Dynamics to demo Rise of the: Tomb Raider.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vjxKJyBLJo
It’s coming Holiday 2015. I was hoping for a more solid date, but oh well. It looks fantastic.
RARE are up next. Showing all the classics they’ve maybe an announcing RARE Replay which will be 30 games for $30 all in one box available 4th August 2015.
Craig Duncan Studio Head at RARE then comes to the stage to talk about a brand new Xbox One exclusive – Sea of Thieves – a shared world adventure game which is apparently their most ambitious game ever. It looks really interesting too.
Next is the Xbox One & Windows 10 Exclusive – Fable Legends. Coming this holiday.
Kudo Tsnoda is on stage to talk about Fable Legends. Anything you earn or buy on one platform is available on another.
He also mentions how they will be working closely with Valve to work on VR gaming and talks a little more about Oculus and Xbox One and being able to steam games, but we already knew that didn’t we!
Then we get a look at HoloLens with Lydia Winters showing new version of Minecraft specifically for HoloLens. This is like watching Ironman playing games. You might not like Minecraft, but the technology is amazing. They will be showing more at Minecon this year.
Finally we see Rod Fergusson from The Coalition. Obviously here to show of Gears of War, but which one?
Well first he announces GoW Ultimate Edition. coming 21st August 2015. It will be the first Gears of War games remastered in 1080p and 60fps with added content. The one week public multiplayer beta is available now, sign up here.
Then we get a world premiere of the new Gears of War game titled Gears4 exclusive to Xbox One coming Holiday 2016 – so still a long way off sadly…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnfvgmcuJQA
Phil Spencer then comes back to close the show.
So there we have it. Another show down, and another excellent show I might add. If E3 2015 continues at this rate, it could be one of the best E3’s in a long time.
– Will
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