Technology - Google News |
- Everything Microsoft announced at X018
- Microsoft acquires Obsidian Entertainment, a premier role-playing game studio
- Nintendo Bringing Demos For 'Super Smash Bros. Ultimate' and 'Pokemon: Let's Go' Across The US
| Everything Microsoft announced at X018 Posted: 11 Nov 2018 07:27 AM PST
This weekend, Microsoft's X018 event took place in Mexico City. According to the company, "X018 is a global celebration of all things Xbox." The afternoon was filled with news, first looks, and plenty of surprises. What's even more impactful is that over 10,000 gamers joined in the festivities by experiencing upcoming titles and meeting members of the team. However, the most remarkable news had to be the acquisitions of inXile Entertainment and Obsidian Entertainment. You can read about everything the company announced at the celebration below.
Microsoft announced that it has acquired inExile Entertainment and Obsidian Entertainment. inExile is the studio responsible for games like Wasteland. Brian Fargo is a legendary game designer and Microsoft's first-party lineup will only benefit from his expertise. Additionally, Obsidian needs no introduction. This is the team behind titles like Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, and South Park: The Stick of Truth. It's one of the best in the business.
Support for mouse and keyboard input will arrive next week, with select titles enabled at launch for Xbox Insiders and even more coming. Epic Games detailed how Fortnite will be one of the first titles to offer mouse and keyboard input alongside previously announced Warframe. However, Bomber Crew, Deep Rock Galactic, Strange Brigade, Warhammer: Vermintide 2, War Thunder, and X-Morph Defense will also add support in November. Developers working on Children of Morta, DayZ, Minion Master, Moonlighter, Vigor, Warface, and Wargroove promised mouse and keyboard support in the future. Keep in mind that "Designed for Xbox" mice and keyboards will offer the best experience because they feature a dedicated Xbox key and Xbox Dynamic Lighting.
A number of Final Fantasy XII games are joining Xbox backward compatibility. Apart from that, Civilization Revolution is getting Xbox One X Enhanced.
Today, Microsoft announced a number of new improvements to Xbox Game Pass. Aside from the general availability of the Xbox Game Pass app, the company unveiled some upcoming additions to the catalog. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) is joining the service on November 12, 2018, and later this month, Agents of Mayhem, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, and Ori and the Blind Forest will be available for free to subscribers. Lastly, Funcom committed to dropping games like Mutant Year Zero at launch. Forza Horizon 4 is getting an expansion which takes you to the tip of the British Isles. It's called "Fortune Island" and features extreme conditions like fierce lightning storms, dangerous cliffs, and slippery dirt roads. State of Decay 2 now numbers four million active players. A new free content pack is also coming this month called "Zedhunter." Sea of Thieves is getting a player vs. player mode called "The Arena" soon. Teams compete against each other to collect the most treasure, but there's plenty of sabotage along the way. This update should launch after "Shrouded Spoils" which adds more customization options and fog. Crackdown 3 looks much more polished than when we saw it last. Additionally, we received the first footage of the "Wrecking Zone" multiplayer offering. Crackdown 3 should launch on February 15, 2019. The game will be available globally on Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One and Windows 10. In our preview, we said, "The towering environments Crackdown 3's collaborators have built for the game are gorgeous, made all the more exciting when you tear them down, explosion by explosion. We just hope that they're not relegated to gimmick status by the multiplayer systems layered on top of it, which at least for now, are indeed infectiously fun, but potentially lacking in staying power." MinecraftMinecraft now numbers 91 million monthly players and the Minecraft Marketplace is thriving. Apart from that, the game is getting an absolutely adorable "Cats and Pandas" update soon. The trailer is quite possibly one of the funniest videos Microsoft has ever made.
There will be plenty of deals on Xbox One and Xbox One X consoles on Black Friday. The Xbox One X's price will go down to $399.99, the same as the PlayStation 4 Pro. Xbox One XMicrosoft reiterated the fact that games play best on Xbox One X by showcasing a new trailer heavily featuring Red Dead Redemption 2. Battlefield VA trailer was debuted highlighting the Xbox One X enhancements for the highly-anticipated title. Void BastardsAccording to Microsoft, Void Bastards is a revolutionary new strategy-shooter that will test your wits as well as exercise your aim. It's coming to the platform as a console launch exclusive. Devil May Cry 5Devil May Cry 5 features a "Void Mode" which trains players in the complex combat the game offers. Shadow of the Tomb RaiderShadow of the Tomb Raider is getting "The Forge" next week. The Forge will be available as a free download to all season pass holders, and sold separately. The Forge contains the first of seven new adventures for Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It also brings with it a challenge tomb which is playable in co-op. Just Cause 4Just Cause 4 got a new trailer which showcases the insane destruction. There is a lot more versatility this time around. More Xbox One X gameplay was shown as well. Kingdom Hearts IIIKingdom Hearts III features Winnie the Pooh and other beloved characters. A new trailer was showcased during the event which shows off some emotional cutscenes. There are also a lot of mini-games in the Hundred Acre Woods which are part of Winnie the Pooh's world. Jump ForceBandai Namco gave us a first look at some special moves of two of the most anticipated characters slated to appear in Jump Force. As you can see from the trailer, they're popular Dragon Ball characters. ID@Xbox
A few new standout ID@Xbox games were announced at X018 like Tunic. The "Winter of Arcade" promotion is coming in December as well. Give with Xbox
"#GiveWithXbox" is a holiday-timed campaign that aims to bring the joy of gaming to everyone. Beginning today and ending December 9, Microsoft will donate $5 of Xbox products, up to $1 million, for every photo shared on social media about what gaming together means using the hashtag. Xbox Adaptive Controller
The Xbox Adaptive Controller is launching in 17 new markets in 2019, including Mexico. These were all of the game announcements from X018. A lot of great experiences are coming to Xbox One in the coming months from various developers, and hopefully, you're as excited as we are for games like Crackdown 3 and Devil May Cry 5. Metro ExodusMetro Exodus is getting an amazing collector's edition soon. Keep an eye on WindowsCentral.com/Gaming for all the latest in Xbox and Windows 10 gaming, accessories, news, and reviews! This post may contain affiliate links. See our disclosure policy for more details. |
| Microsoft acquires Obsidian Entertainment, a premier role-playing game studio Posted: 10 Nov 2018 02:49 PM PST After adding five studios this year, Microsoft’s shopping cart isn’t full yet, as the publisher announced the acquisition of Obsidian Entertainment, one of the top role-playing game development houses in the industry. Microsoft made the announcement from its X018 fan event today in Mexico City, where it also said it has acquired InXile Entertainment, another excellent RPG studio (oddly enough, but Obsidian and InXile trace their origins to the death of Black Isle, a leading RPG house in the late 1990s and early 2000s). Microsoft now has 13 game-development teams under its banner after acquiring four studios earlier this year — Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Compulsion Games, and Undead Labs — and starting The Initiative in Santa Monica. These moves are all about ensuring that Microsoft has enough exclusive games to entice people into its ecosystem. And it’s not just about consoles, as the publisher needs to feed games into it Xbox Game Pass subscription program, especially on PC (and Obsidian, like InXile, is a PC-first studio). Kotaku reported that this acquisition was in the works last month, though Microsoft nor Obsidian confirmed it at the time. “Obsidian has a long history of creating deep RPG gameplay experiences and vast, engaging worlds,” Microsoft said. “We couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity to add their expertise to Microsoft Studios while enabling the studio to build on their talent and vision to fully realize their creative ambitions. “Obsidian’s ability to work with such a wide range of developers shows that they are creative, flexible and dependable. We are most impressed with their strong execution on projects like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, Fallout: New Vegas, South Park: The Stick of Truth, and Pillars of Eternity.” 2018 has been a good year for Obsidian. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire debuted in May to strong reviews, and I not only thought it was better than its predecessor, but it’s also my favorite game of the year so far. Microsoft declined over email to disclose how much it paid for Obsidian. It also said that “There are no changes planned for the Obsidian team. We are committed to empowering the studio to maintain its independent, creative culture.” I got the same “There are no changes planned for the Obsidian team” when I asked if the studio’s leadership is coming along or stepping aside.” A new pillarObsidian opened doors in 2003 shortly after Black Isle closed. Its first game was Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II — The Sith Lords, which critics lauded for its story. It did have some issues, feeling incomplete due to cut content (which community modders later added in). But its reputation has only increased in later years, as has the rep for its second release, 2006’s Neverwinter Nights 2. 2010 would bring the game that helped define Obsidian — Fallout: New Vegas. It’s considered the best of the post-Fallout 3 games, and some view it as the studio’s best release. But Obsidian missed its Metacritic score bonus by a measly point, and this caused a financial crisis at the company.  Above: Pillars of Eternity was Obsidian’s first foray into crowdfunding. Image Credit: Paradox The next project would save it. Obsidian became one of the first prominent game studios to use Kickstarter when it announced Project Eternity (the eventual Pillars of Eternity) in 2012. This would get nearly 74,000 backers and almost $4 million in pledges, and it remains fourth-largest game project on the crowdfunding site. The studio would make a few games under publishing agreements — Pathfinder Adventures, Tyranny, and South Park: The Stick of Truth — before going back to crowdfunding in 2017 for Pillars of Eternity II, raising more than $4.2 million on Fig (an equity platform where funders can get a return on their pledges). Figgy situation?The question about leadership could be important. Obsidian founder and CEO Feargus Urquhart is on the advisory board for the crowdfunding platform Fig, and he helped launch it 2015 along with founder Justin Bailey, a former chief operating officer at Double Fine; InXile CEO Brian Fargo; and Double Fine CEO Tim Schafer. Obsidian raised money for its latest game, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadire, on Fig, too. I asked Microsoft and Obsidian if this put an end to crowdfunding for the RPG developer’s projects and will update when I receive an answer. |
| Posted: 10 Nov 2018 11:25 AM PST  Nintendo has announced the "Nintendo Switch Holiday experience," which will bring demos of some of its biggest upcoming games to retail stories across the United States. Starting on November 10 -- today -- and running until December 16, Nintendo will be showcasing some of its marquee titles, such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Pokemon: Let's Go, Nintendo Labo, Super Mario Party, and more across the country via demo form in different retail stores. According to Nintendo, the Nintendo Switch Holiday Experience is an opportunity for fans and everyone else to check out all things Nintendo and get recommendations about what Nintendo products to buy this upcoming holiday season. In other words, there will be demos for kids to play and information for parents on what to buy this holiday season for their youngin'. Obviously, the highlights of the offering will be the demo version of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokemon: Lets' Go, as well as the chance to experience the Nintendo Labo: Vehicle Kit and a "Fortnite-themed photo experience," because, you know, Fortnite is all the rave with kids right now. Additional games Nintendo makes note of are the constantly selling Mario Kart 8, as well as Just Dance 2019 and Overcooked 2. Both version of Pokemon: Let's Go --- Pikachu and Eevee -- will be playable with the Poke Ball Plus accessory. The Nintendo Switch Holiday Experience will be open to the public, for free, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. 0commentsThe event will be present at the following retail centers:
At the moment, it is unclear if Nintendo plans on adding any other venues to the list, but presumably it won't, meaning large chunks of the country will have to drive pretty far if they want to check things out. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Technology - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
This post have 0 komentar
EmoticonEmoticon