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Halo 5: Guardians has been announced!

halo 5
Could Halo 5 help MS to sell more Xbox One units?

Today is a very big day for Microsoft, 343 Industries, Xbox One and the Halo series. Why? Because Halo 5: Guardians has just been announced. So that means that there will be a lot of focus on Halo 5 during E3 this summer.

It also means that MS might have chance to get back into the game with Sony and their PS4. Because Halo have helped out MS and the Xbox serval times in the past. But will Halo 5 be able to save Xbox One from a total failure?

Well, what do you guys think?

"As you’re probably aware, my boss and studio head for 343, Bonnie Ross, officially announced the next installment in the Halo saga: Halo 5: Guardians, coming in fall 2015 for Xbox One. I will be up front and admit that I don’t have much more detail to add, but here at Waypoint, our conversations tend to be a little more insider, a little more familiar. And this is no exception.

Last year at E3, Bonnie famously said, “Your journey begins in 2014…” Wait – hang on – you thought: “What journey is she talking about and why is Chief wearing a poncho?” Okay, some might call it a cloak, but the fact remains – you knew something more nuanced was afoot. So it’s quite likely that Bonnie’s 2015 release announcement today surprised no one in the Halo community. In fact, I suspect most of you who read the Halo Bulletin regularly anticipate there’s even more to come.

Well you might be right, but we’ll have significantly more to say about that at E3 and beyond. Suffice it to say, another shoe has yet to drop.

But getting the Halo 5: Guardians announce out of the way is a big weight off our shoulders. This audience has correctly stated and assumed that you can’t necessarily squish a full Halo game into anything less than a three year development schedule – and at least up to and including Halo 5: Guardians, that’s more or less true.


But we’re not just making a new game in that three year span, we’re also making a new engine. During the development of Halo 4, we pushed the Xbox 360 and the engine to its limits, and we were happy with the way we were able to make the Halo universe look. The Xbox 360 still has a few tricks up its sleeve, even now. We are moving to a whole new platform with the Xbox One – a new architecture, new graphics hardware and bluntly some new ways to think about gaming, period.

Bonnie also called out 60fps and dedicated servers last year – attractive, desirable, and possibly expected upgrades to the Halo experience. After all, we won’t be the first 60fps shooter out there. That said, these must-haves are not necessarily easy to achieve.

Previous Halo titles, Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2 for example, strove to push the entire ecosystem forward – dual stick FPS with big open spaces in the case of Combat Evolved, and broadband matchmaking in Halo 2 – are just a couple of examples of the series innovating or amplifying ideas. So in building Halo 5: Guardians, we want to push the ecosystem as well as the universe. And we’ll have some surprises in store for new and loyal players of the series.

So that’s it for now, but E3 is just around the corner. So if you bide your time and hold your breath, you won’t have to wait too long to hear about the next steps on this Great Journey.

Frank O’Connor
Franchise Development Director
343 Industries"

“Halo” isn’t simply a perennial game franchise, it’s a part of the Xbox platform itself. In terms of innovation and ideation, it’s sometimes important to people who might not even play “Halo.” And of course it’s a passion and an essential experience for two generations of gamers. So we asked ourselves, how do we begin and where do we go with “Halo” on Xbox One?

“Halo 5: Guardians” is a bigger effort than “Halo 4.”

Source:
Xbox.com
Halowaypoint.com

robin
/Robin E
The Gaming Ground

Microsoft no longer charging twice for media streaming

updates to xbox updates
It had to happen really.

Microsoft announced this morning it will no longer keep Netflix, Hulu and other streaming apps behind the company's Xbox Live Gold paywall.

 

"Coming in June, anyone with an Xbox will be able to access popular entertainment experiences – whether or not you have an Xbox Live Gold membership," the company stated on Xbox.com. "This includes great gaming apps like Machinima, Twitch and Upload, popular video services like Netflix, Univision Deportes, GoPro, Red Bull TV and HBO GO, sports experiences like the NFL app for Xbox One, MLB.TV, NBA Game Time, NHL Game Center and more."

 

This announcement was bundled with word of an Xbox One console available in June without a Kinect. A year later and the Xbox One-80 reversal is still going strong from the console's vision a year ago, as the company shifts executives and puts the focus of Xbox One back on games.

 

Sony's PlayStation consoles and Nintendo's Wii U have never charged a premium for access to streaming services.

 

/Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground

Gamestop offering pre-orders on Xbox One non-Kinect

gamestop xboxone
Kinect no more.

Xbox One Non-Kinect. Let that sink in for a moment. The Xbox One, Non-Kinect console. It will convince you, that now is the time to jump on Microsoft's raft; as it floats into the sunset. If you agree, GameStop is ready to accept you into their kingdom with wide arms, which in turn will offer you a pre-order of the Kinect-free Xbox One in exchange for your hard earned money and games.

Starting now, online at Gamestop.com, you can reserve your Xbox One without Kinect for $399.99. If you need a little boost financially, you can trade in an original or 4GB Xbox 360 or a 12GB PS3 and receive $75 in store credit. It sounds a little low, but if you pair the games, and accessories andyou’re your Platinum rewards card that boosts them by 10% on top.

Trade in a Xbox 360 with 250GB or more of storage or a PS3 with 20GB or higher on the hard drive and you'll receive $125. PowerUp Pro members receive an additional $10, plus the 10% with accessories and games traded in!

 

So get over to your local Gamestop and pre-order yours today, while supplies last. GameStops across the country are informing customers that are interested, that the minimum deposit for the console-only Xbox One package is $100.

If you know you want to play your games and not be forced to use the Kinect, get to a Gamestop as soon as possible to get your system.

Are you excited for the Xbox One Non Kinect? Let us know in the comments below.

/Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground

The new Sunset Overdrive gameplay trailer!

sunset overdrive
Sunset Overdrive are a Xbox One exclusive title (at least for the time being).

It´s been a very, very long time since we heard anything from Insomniac Games supercrazy shooter game "Sunset Overdrive" (which are set for a release this year some time). In fact, i just remember the E3 trailer from last year. But that´s pretty much all there is to it. And i don´t recall any like interviews, big articles or such about Sunset Overdrive either.

At least not in Sweden. Anyhow, there´s finally some "new" fotage for Sunset Overdrive. And it´s all thanks to IGN´s Colin Moriarty and Ryan McCaffrey. So please enjoy the new gameplay trailer =) And don´t forget to checkout the Sunset TV - Preview Episode video while you´re at it!

About Sunset Overdrive:
"Developed exclusively for Xbox One, "Sunset Overdrive" is an always-changing, open-world shooter set in the not-so-distant future. A catastrophic event has left your city overrun by mutants. While the majority perish or transform, you flourish. It turns out your calling isn't picking up trash or serving food, it's mutant destruction. With an arsenal of kick-ass, overpowered weapons and a knack for traversing the city with hyperagility, it's not the end of days for you. Your story is just beginning.

"Sunset Overdrive" breaks the mold of traditional shooter games by delivering an open world that can change every day, influenced and inspired by the game's community of players. New weapons, clothing, challenges, adversaries and even world events can be created and published quickly - a feat made possible with Xbox One and Xbox Live."



robin
/Robin E
The Gaming Ground

Microsoft are to bring the Halo tv series to Showtime

halo tv series
Steven Spilberg + Xbox One + Halo = True!

Some of you (the Halo fans especially) might still remember when Microsoft announced that they havepartnered up with the all so famous director Steven Spielberg, last summer (E3 2013). The plan was then that Spielberg would work as a executive producer on a Halo tv-series (together with 343 Industries and Amblin Television).

Well, that was one year ago. So what´s new on that front? Well, as it turns out. Microsoft are trying to bring the Halo TV series to Showtime (Showtime Networks is a division of CBS). And If that works out as planned. Then the Halo series might air on cable before it airs on Xbox One.

I guess that we just have to wait and see how it all turns out. Me, i´m just wondering if the Halo tv-series will even air in Sweden.

Source:
Gamespot


robin
/Robin E
The Gaming Ground

Xbox One will launch in China this September

xbox one comes to china
Will Xbox One become a big hit in China?

Microsoft will launch the Xbox One in China this September, following the Chinese government's decision in January 2014 to lift its ban on the sale of foreign video game consoles. With this dismissal, China has created new rules, and regulations concerning the distribution of consoles and games to the public.

 

Among these rules will be the requirement for foreign companies to work with local organizations to produce consoles within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, which Microsoft will fulfill due to its partnership with Chinese media company BesTV. The Xbox One manufacturer teamed up with BesTV in September 2013 to create E-Home Entertainment. Microsoft holds a 49% stake in E-Home Entertainment, and BesTV holds 51%. Both combine, to invest over $237 million dollars.

 

E-Home Entertainment plans to establish an "innovation program" that will foster Chinese development on the Xbox One. This most likely means that the restrictions and regulations will be in full effect. If you pair this with original Ip’s, coding for the systems, and games; it could mean that games from Taiwan, or Singapore will not work.

 

Microsoft has launched the Xbox One in 13 regions as of November, and has announced plans last month to bring the system to 26 more markets in September; with China being number 27. When this does happen, the Chinese Government stand to make Mega Millions, and Microsoft will finally be able to do something they’ve been trying to do since 2005: expand into one of the largest foreign markets in the world.

 

If Microsoft can be successful in this new venture, they will crack the market wide open, just as Nintendo once did in early to mid-1996 with the Super Nintendo. The only obstacle I can see, is what specific games will be released there, since the developers will have to work much harder to localize the games due to the legal, and cultural restrictions due to the new media guidelines. We will be covering more on this as it develops, stay tuned for more.

/Kenay Peterson
The Gaming Ground

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