Jim Ryan – Author Carlo Carrasco

Xbox-Activision-Blizzard-King is now a reality

October 19, 2023October 18, 2023carlocarrasco

Ever since it was first announced, the stakeholders behind the Xbox-Activision-Blizzard-King deal worth almost $70 billion went through lots of hurdles that include opposition by Sony’s PlayStation division, a trial with America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a rejection by the United Kingdom’s regulator Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The obstacles are over as the Xbox-Activision-Blizzard-King deal recently closed and already the Activision side of the business has officially started integrating into Microsoft. This deal is many times larger than the Xbox-Bethesda acquisition of a few years ago. Watch the related video by Team Xbox below…

Xbox chief Phil Spencer issued a statement related to the newly closed deal. To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from his statement published through Xbox.com. Some parts in boldface…

We love gaming. We play games, create games, and know first-hand how much gaming means to all of us as individuals and collectively, as a community. And today, we officially welcome Activision Blizzard and their teams to Xbox. They are the publishers of some of the most played and most beloved franchises in gaming history across console, PC and mobile. From Pitfall to Call of Duty, World of Warcraft to Overwatch, Candy Crush Saga to Farm Heroes Saga, their studios have pushed the boundaries of gaming for players around the world.

I’ve long admired the work of Activision, Blizzard, and King, and the impact they’ve had on gaming, entertainment, and pop culture. Whether it was late nights spent playing the Diablo IV campaign with friends from start to finish, gathering the entire family in the rec room for our weekly Guitar Hero night, or going on an epic streak in Candy Crush, some of my most memorable gaming moments came from experiences their studios have created. It is incredible to welcome such legendary teams to Xbox.

As one team, we’ll learn, innovate, and continue to deliver on our promise to bring the joy and community of gaming to more people. We’ll do this in a culture that strives to empower everyone to do their best work, where all people are welcome, and is centered on our ongoing commitment of Gaming for Everyone. We are intentional about inclusion in everything we do at Xbox – from our team to the products we make and the stories we tell, to the way our players interact and engage as a wider gaming community.

Together, we’ll create new worlds and stories, bring your favorite games to more places so more players can join in, and we’ll engage with and delight players in new, innovative ways in the places they love to play including mobile, cloud streaming and more.

Players have always been at the center of everything we do. And as we grow, we’ll continue to keep players at the heart of it all. We’ll continue to listen to your feedback, build a community where you can be yourself, where developers can do their best work, and continue to make really fun games. As promised, we will also continue to make more games available in more places – and that begins now by enabling cloud streaming providers and players to stream Activision Blizzard games in the European Economic Area, a commitment made to the European Commission. Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We’ll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you’re excited – and we are too.

For the millions of fans who love Activision, Blizzard, and King games, we want you to know that today is a good day to play. You are the heart and soul of these franchises, and we are honored to have you as part of our community. Whether you play on Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo, PC or mobile, you are welcome here – and will remain welcome, even if Xbox isn’t where you play your favorite franchise. Because when everyone plays, we all win.

For their part, Activision Blizzard issued its own statement related to the biggest deal in video gaming with Microsoft. They are looking forward to the future of gaming with Team Xbox. Posted below is an excerpt from their statement with some parts in boldface…

It’s a big day for us at Activision Blizzard. For more than four decades, our players have inspired us to push the boundaries of imagination with iconic universes including Call of Duty, Candy Crush Saga, Crash Bandicoot, Diablo, Overwatch, and Warcraft.

Today we begin a new chapter as we officially become a part of the Microsoft family, uniting with the amazing Xbox team and co-creating the future of gaming together.

In our earliest days we were a modest collective of designers who raided rivers, commanded choppers, and avoided pitfalls. Now as part of Xbox, we will continue our mission to deliver the world’s most epic interactive entertainment experiences to more people, more platforms, and across more worlds than ever before.

All of our history and success leading to this moment is because of you, our incredible gaming community.

Unsurprisingly, the approved Xbox-Activision-Blizzard-King deal made tremendous waves through social media and through YouTube. Watch and learn from the videos below starting with an interview with Activision Blizzard’s Bobby Kotick (note: pay close attention to his words)…

The Xbox-Activision-Blizzard-King deal is not just another multi-billion Dollar business breakthrough…it is a tremendous boost for the credibility of Xbox as a video gaming, PC gaming, cloud gaming and mobile gaming entity.

Not only will Team Xbox have access and control of Activision Blizzard’s multiple game franchises and properties, they will also inherit the many talents and game makers of ABK (Activision-Blizzard-King), inherit the proprietary technologies for making the games, and most notably inherit and do business with the hundreds of millions of Activision Blizzard King customers worldwide!

While it is made clear that Microsoft-controlled ABK will still release games on multiple platforms, the new owners can make the new and upcoming games Xbox-exclusive (meaning released only on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Windows PC plus cloud and mobile devices which collectively are more numerous than Nintendo and PlayStation consoles). For insights about potential Xbox-exclusive Activision Blizzard games, watch Colteastwood’s video below…

More on exclusivity that include games, DLC releases and other matters, it is clear that the pre-existing contracts between PlayStation and Activision will never be renewed (read: PlayStation is no longer the home of Call of Duty). PlayStation, whose leader Jim Ryan has been so arrogant and dishonest when opposing the Xbox-Activision-Blizzard-King deal, will have a lot to worry about on the gaming subscription side of business once Activision Blizzard games get added into the Xbox Game Pass (XGP) service some time in 2024. As much as Team Xbox and Microsoft are benefiting from this mega deal, gamers across different platforms will eventually benefit as well in various ways. Expect new customer-oriented choices to be made through the games under Xbox’s banner.

As of this writing, Xbox fans are rejoicing over the closed Xbox-Activision-Blizzard-King deal while PlayStation fanboys cannot help but agonize with anger and jealousy. All you have to do to see the PS fanboys’ anguish is search for them on social media over their collective negative reactions. The “Xbox has no games” zealots are looking and feeling bad nowadays. Indeed, things are working in Team Xbox’s favor and I personally cannot wait to see the benefits of the ABK deal get realized in my gaming experience. Also there is nothing like seeing ABK’s established franchises like Call of Duty, StarCraft, Warcraft and many others listed with Xbox’s own franchises such as Halo, Forza Motorsport, The Elder Scrolls, Starfield, Fallout and others.

Personally, I look forward to playing Call of Duty, Crash Bandicoot (a game property that started on PlayStation) other Activision titles on my Xbox Series X console through my Xbox Game Pass subscription in the near future.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Carbon black Xbox Series S – 1TB set to launch on September 1, 2023 for $349.99

July 21, 2023July 18, 2023carlocarrasco

It has been over a month since the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 and Starfield Direct happened and in recent times Team Xbox boasted very high viewership as the games that got showcased really drew in a lot of people online.

Among the many games shown, Team Xbox formally announced an improved version of the Xbox Series S console – a carbon black Xbox Series S loaded with 1 Terabyte SSD all set for commercial release on September 1, 2023 with a price tag of $349.99. This machine is also referred to as Xbox Series S – 1TB.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the official Xbox.com announcement. Some parts in boldface…

Meet the new Carbon Black Series S with 1TB of storage. Whether you’re looking to upgrade from your current console or are new to Xbox, the Xbox Series S – 1TB offers you another option within the Xbox family of devices. The bold Carbon Black color is the same sleek, modern matte finish as Xbox Series X and the Xbox Wireless Controller. This console features the same next-gen speed and performance of our 512GB Series S, now with double the storage so you can download even more of your favorite games to your console where they’ll be ready to play when you are. Plus, you’ll make the most of every gaming minute with features like Quick Resume, lightning-fast load times, and gameplay of up to 120 FPS – all powered by Xbox Velocity Architecture. 

Better Together – Xbox Series S pairs seamlessly with all our fan-favorite Xbox accessories. You can also add an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription (membership sold separately) so you can play new games built natively for Xbox Series S and X like Starfield and Forza Motorsport on day one. Plus with games added all the time, there’s always something new to play.

Available Worldwide September 1 – Launching September 1 (just in time for Starfield), pre-orders for Xbox Series S – 1TB start today at xbox.com or microsoftstore.com for $349.99 ERP. We’ll be adding more retailers and regions in the weeks to come.

Now watch the official Team Xbox YouTube video below…

If you ask me, I don’t intend to buy the Xbox Series S – 1TB as I already own an Xbox Series X console which is the more expensive machine as it is a premium product. Still, there is no denying that the Xbox Series S – 1TB and its older (soon to be phased out) predecessor strongly appeal to gamers who have limited amounts of money to buy new game consoles, as well as gamers who don’t care much about 4K resolution gaming and movie viewing at home.

Xbox Series S – 1TB release on September 1 is very strategic as the epic Bethesda-developed Xbox-exclusive sci-fi RPG Starfield will be released just days after. A little over a month later, the Xbox-exclusive Forza Motorsport (2023) will be released. Sometime in 2024, the Obsidian-developed Xbox-exclusive fantasy RPG Avowed will be released. I would not be surprised to see the Xbox Series S – 1TB sell a lot (note: first-time gamers as well as owners of the old Xbox One consoles and even those with Xbox Series S consoles will be more likely customers) before those Xbox exclusives get released and eventually more new subscribers to Xbox Game Pass (XGP) (note: I encourage you to subscribe) will be realized. There will also be a lot of other new games, game compilations and remastered games that will be released in the 4th quarter this year.

Watch out for Xbox Series S – 1TB on September 1, 2023.

In conclusion, posted below are Xbox-related videos for your enjoyment. I also included videos about the big breakthroughs of the Xbox-Activision-Blizzard deal. In case you missed the news, the opposition led by PlayStation against the deal has failed and Sony itself signed a Call of Duty-related contract with Team Xbox!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. If you want to support my website, please consider making a donation. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/.

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition now available on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and Windows PC with Xbox Game Pass (XGP)

March 27, 2023March 26, 2023carlocarrasco

Xbox fans who love Japanese role-playing games (JRPGs) have a new addition to enjoy from Bandai Namco – Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition! The sequel to Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch is now available for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One and Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass (XGP) subscribers can start downloading the game to their delight!

To begin with, watch the official Xbox video below…

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the official announcement by Bandai Namco. Some parts in boldface…

Join the young king Evan on a grand adventure that blurs the line of animated feature film and video game in Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition, launching on Xbox, Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass today.

As a king, Evan bears the responsibility of great power. He’ll personally set forth and do battle to unite and save his people in this action RPG. However, the king’s duty does not end there. As part of the main game, Evan must also develop his empire in a city simulator-like Kingdom Management mode, and lead his army in a real-time-strategy like Skirmish mode.

These two modes will become important parts of Evan’s journey as he works to demonstrate his leadership on and off the battlefield, so read on for a dive into how they work and a couple of tips to get you started.

Kingdom Management Mode – After a certain point in the story, Evan will be able to sit upon his throne to initiate Kingdom Management mode. Starting from a small humble town, you will help Evan lead his people by choosing which buildings to construct and assigning citizens to work on their respective sections.

Each building will provide significant conveniences or bonuses to your kingdom. Some buildings constructed in Kingdom Management mode are the sole source of some rare items.

Citizens will drive upgrades and research in Evan’s kingdom. Each citizen has their own specialty and bonus that will make them more suited for one job or the other. It’ll be Evan’s job as king to make this assessment and decision.

Skirmish Mode – To build and expand his kingdom, Evan must demonstrate his tactical prowess by leading his army against other enemy armies in a real-time-strategy-like mode called Skirmish mode. In this mode, Evan will command up to 4 units of soldiers. Each soldier type is easily distinguished by the color of their uniform.

*A scene from the Skirmish Mode of the game.*

For the newcomers reading this, Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom was originally released in 2018 only on PlayStation 4 and Windows PC. Like its predecessor, the game was positively received by both video game critics and gamers. Loaded with additional content in the form of DLCs, Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition’s release on Xbox consoles significant as it adds more weight on the Xbox ecosystem becoming the haven for fantasy RPGs and other types of role-playing games. Japanese RPGs on Xbox this year are looking exciting as Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes and the remastered Suikoden and Suikoden II will be released in due time. I should state that recently Persona RPGs were released already on Xbox and XGP.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition on Xbox adds variety to the gamers who like JRPGs as it has notable game features that make it stand out from its predecessor. Also, the battles moved faster and looked flashier.

Go for Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition on Xbox platforms and Xbox Game Pass now!

In concluding this article, posted below for your enjoyment are Xbox-related videos.

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Starfield set for release on September 6, 2023 on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Windows PC

March 21, 2023March 21, 2023carlocarrasco

The delay has been painful for Xbox fans, Bethesda fans and gamers who love playing role-playing games (RPGs). The pain, however, is easing as the much anticipated Xbox-exclusive sci-fi RPG Starfield is set for a global release on September 6, 2023. You will need an Xbox Series X console, an Xbox Series S console or a capable Windows PC to play the new game from Bethesda. The game will also launch on Xbox Game Pass (XGP).

To begin with, watch the official Starfield release announcement trailer below…

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from a related announcement by Bethesda. There is more coming before the release of Starfield…

Starfield is launching on September 6, 2023.

Starfield’s official launch date has been revealed in a brand-new enigmatic trailer, followed by a special message from Game Director Todd Howard. Players can look forward to the deepest dive yet into Bethesda Game Studios’ latest epic at the Starfield Direct, coming June 11, 2023.

Starfield arrives exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC on September 6, 2023. Play it day one with Xbox Game Pass.

Like anyone else, I was disappointed when Starfield’s initial release date of November 2022 could not be fulfilled. We are now beyond that and if you looked closely at the above Starfield release date video with updates from Todd Howard, you will see lots of gameplay moments as other Bethesda people played it. I also noticed from those moments that it looks like Bethesda somehow improved the frame rate of the game above 30 frames-per-second (30FPS).

That being said, we can expect a lot more updates about the sci-fi RPG in this June’s Starfield Direct online event. I hope that the developers will announce officially that the game will be played in two visual modes, with one of them prioritizing a 60FPS frame rate over resolution or visual details. I also hope that they will show that controls during the space battles sequences will be very responsive and user-friendly. It would also be nice for Bethesda to show some more characters (note: interactive supporting characters that players can choose to recruit) and more details of the plot without spoiling too much.

*Considering the massive open-world environments, here is hoping that 60FPS will be achieved for gamers who prefer a higher frame rate.*

*There should be more details and gameplay about the space battles in this June’s pre-release event.*

Starfield will undoubtedly be the most significant Xbox-exclusive release this year and by succeeding commercially and critically, it will make Xbox an even more significant ecosystem for playing RPGs.

*Be ready for the pre-release digital event this June and the game’s release this September.*

Watch out for Starfield Direct event on June 11, 2023, and the official launch of Starfield on September 6, 2023.

In concluding this article, posted below for your enjoyment are Xbox-related videos. The leader of Sony PlayStation looks more illogical and desperate as he leads a fading opposition against the Microsoft Activision-Blizzard deal. Microsoft recently made 10-year deals with Nintendo, Nvidia and Boosteroid in connection with Activision-Blizzard. Sony is looking more isolated and shameful which is disturbing PlayStation fanboys who hate Xbox on social media. It seems the PlayStation extremists can’t help but be jealous and angry over Starfield being Xbox-exclusive.

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Have you subscribed to Xbox Game Pass (XGP) yet? I encourage you to do it!

October 12, 2022October 10, 2022carlocarrasco

There is no doubt that Xbox Game Pass (XGP), a subscription service that allows customers access to lots of games for their enjoyment in return for paying a flat monthly fee, is here to stay. I myself have been subscribing to XGP since I started playing my Xbox Series X console and I can confirm to you readers that I’ve been playing a whole lot of games while saving myself a lot of money.

Along the way, I am constantly having a whole lot of fun as an XGP subscriber and I am look forward to playing highly anticipated new games like Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, Starfield (Xbox-exclusive) and Forza Motorsport (2023) (Xbox-exclusive) through the service in 2023! And then there are many, many other games from other game publishers – including the small and independent game makers – who signed up with Team Xbox to add their games for XGP subscribers to enjoy!

This week alone, several games will debut on Xbox Game Pass which should interest gamers who love adventure, first-person shooters, narrative gaming, mysteries, puzzles, tactical gaming, golf, ice hockey and more! Check out the new XGP additions in the Xbox.com article and also be reminded that enjoyable games such as As Dusk Falls, Deathloop and Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered are now available in the service.

*Watch out for Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes on XGP in 2023.*

*Starfield alone should attract a lot more people to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass.*

*Have you played this acclaimed JRPG yet? It’s now available on XGP!*

*As Dusk Falls is a great narrative-driven game to play on Xbox Game Pass.*

As I mentioned earlier, Xbox Game Pass is here to stay and its credibility as a stable and growing form of business cannot be dismissed. To understand the business aspect of XGP, there is this in-depth article published by Windows Central. Posted below is an excerpt from the article with some parts in boldface…

Flying in the face of traditional gaming revenue models, with Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft is offering thousands upon thousands of dollars’ worth of content for $10 dollars a month. It’s potentially even cheaper if you factor in the upcoming Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family accounts as well.

In any case, Xbox Game Pass isn’t going anywhere. I’ve seen analysts and pundits rally around the idea that the service must be burning through cash hand over fist in order to offer the value it does, and that may still be true. But as noticed by Tweaktown, we now have a glimpse at roughly how much revenue Xbox Game Pass is actually generating.

Microsoft is currently trying to get its massive Xbox Activision Blizzard merger through regulatory bodies around the globe. In order to make its legal arguments, certain data points Microsoft typically doesn’t share with its shareholders publicly is making its way into the public domain, as a result of these discussions. It turns out that Xbox Game Pass is making a fair bit of dosh.

According to Brazil’s regulatory body CADE, Xbox Game Pass’ revenue from subscriptions stands at $2.9 billion dollars in the fiscal period ending January 2021. Tweaktown noted that it accounts for 18% of Microsoft’s revenue from gaming for that fiscal year, which would have put Xbox Game Pass subscribers at around the 18-19 million mark. The last official figure we got on Xbox Game Pass subscribers came last January, where Redmond revealed it had hit 25 million users.

It should be noted, however, that this figure only includes users on the console versions of Xbox Game Pass, with PC Game Pass figures omitted. It’s also hard to know the exact breakdown of this revenue figure. Does it include purchases of games in the post-Game Pass discount period? Does it include microtransactional sales and in-game content sales for titles that are in Xbox Game Pass? Or is it representative purely of the subscriber figures across Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which are $10 and $15 apiece?

No matter how loud and emotional the Xbox-hating gamers out there get, it cannot be denied that Xbox Game Pass is a tremendous value-for-money subscription service for those who own Xbox consoles, Windows PC and – by extension – mobile devices. Already, several games from Xbox-controlled Bethesda have been added into XGP (and sibling PC Game Pass) which is the positive result of the publisher’s integration into Microsoft’s gaming division. For these factors alone, it is sensible and right to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass now.

XGP will become even greater once Microsoft’s seismic acquisition of Activision Blizzard finally closes! Recently the regulators of Brazil approved the deal without restrictions and that alone should make the arrogant PlayStation executives at Sony desperate and worried. The Brazilian regulators declared that Sony can compete without Call of Duty (COD) games from Activision.

Even though they have great 1^st party game studios that produced several exclusive blockbusters, Team PlayStation under Jim Ryan is very worried about the acquisition because their business benefited so much by depending on Activision’s Call of Duty games (note: remember the last time you played a new Killzone game from Sony?). Ryan and the PlayStation executives know their current contracts with Activision will eventually expire and certainly there will be no more extensions under Microsoft-controlled Activision Blizzard. It is also clear to me that Team PlayStation is very afraid of the idea that Call of Duty games and other Activision Blizzard games will come to Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass. Simply put, Team PlayStation is way, way behind competing with XGP on the subscription service model of business.

In concluding this article, posted below for your enjoyment are Xbox-related videos.

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Xbox strategies taking shape with Microsoft’s full support and strong dedication!

June 12, 2021June 11, 2021carlocarrasco

We are just days away from the highly anticipated Xbox-Bethesda games showcase! Very recently, Team Xbox emphasized further its overall strategy of delivering interactive entertainment that goes way beyond the traditional model of selling consoles and games, and behind it all they have the full support of Microsoft itself!

Let’s start with the special presentation involving both Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Xbox chief Phil Spencer. Watch the video and listen very closely.

“Gaming is fundamentally aligned and woven in our mission as a company,” Satya Nadella said. “When you talk about Xbox’s mission to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet, which I absolutely love, this is precisely what I think of when we think about Microsoft’s mission, which is to empower every person, every organization on the planet to achieve more. As a company, Microsoft’s all-in on gaming.”

Microsoft’s CEO confirmed that the corporation has indeed gone all in for Team Xbox and this is clearly a radical change compared to what happened in the previous console generation when the team was not a true priority for the corporation.

When it was a non-priority within the corporation’s hierarchy, Team Xbox was severely limited in producing first-party exclusives, severely limited in making big-time partnerships with other game developers/publishers, and designed a very flawed console with Xbox One. The result was a doomed 8^th console generation (or the 3^rd Xbox console generation) and the Xbox One sold much less than Xbox 360 worldwide and could not match the high number of exclusive games on Sony’s PlayStation 4 (PS4). Phil Spencer did what he could since taking over as Team Xbox chief.

That is all in the past now! With the full support of Microsoft and with Phil Spencer and his team now a clear priority for the corporation, Team Xbox has a lot of momentum moving forward in this 9^th console generation. Mega publisher Bethesda has been integrated into Team Xbox and there will be Bethesda-produced exclusive games that gamers with Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Windows PC can look forward to. With 23 game developers under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella, several 1^st party exclusives are already being produced like Avowed (plus the expected The Outer Worlds franchise) from Obsidian Entertainment, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II from Ninja Theory, the next-generation Forza Motorsport game from Turn 10 Studios and Perfect Dark from The Initiative to name a few. When it comes to paid subscription services, it was reported that Xbox Game Pass (XGP) subscribers reached 18,000,000+ and right now Sony and Nintendo have no serious services of their own to compete with it. I should also mention Team Xbox is continuing with plans of acquisitions of game developers.

With the forward momentum clear, we can now take a look at the strategies as published in Xbox.com written by Xbox Wire Editor-in-Chief Will Tuttle. Some parts in boldface…

Xbox Game Pass is Changing the Way We Discover, Connect, and Play

Xbox Game Pass members play 30% more genres and play 40% more games. And more than 90% of members said they played a game that they would not have tried without Game Pass.
On average across the Game Pass library, partners see engagement go up by more than 8x when they enter Game Pass.
Whether it’s purchasing games inside or outside of what’s available in the library, or purchasing additional content for the games they like, members spend 50% more than non-members.
Xbox Game Pass has become a true discovery engine, a platform for connection and community, and is driving game sales. New insights we’re sharing today include:
- Since we started our partnership with EA Play in Game Pass Ultimate, our players have been engaging with EA’s subscription service in a significant way. Compared to before the integration, EA Play has seen record usage on Microsoft platforms, driving hours played on these platforms up by more than 200%. As a result, EA’s incredible portfolio of games has reached and gained millions of new fans on the Xbox platform.
- The new Square Enix game Outriders is in Game Pass and was also the #1 selling digital game on Xbox during its launch week and a top 10 selling digital game on Xbox in the month of April. Game Pass helped introduce millions of players to the game.
- During launch week, MLB: The Show 21 was the biggest sports game of the past year on Xbox and the second biggest sports game of all time on Xbox. Game Pass added millions of new fans and grew Major League Baseball’s player base significantly. MLB: The Show 21 was also the #1 selling paid game on Xbox for the month of April.

Xbox and Xbox Game Pass are Coming to More Screens

Xbox is working with global TV manufacturers to embed the Xbox experience directly into internet-connected televisions with no extra hardware required except a controller.
Xbox is exploring new subscription offerings for Xbox Game Pass so more players around the world can experience the most immersive and fun games across devices, geographies, and financial realities.
Xbox is working with telecommunications providers on new purchasing models like Xbox All Access, which allows consumers to buy both a console and Game Pass for a low monthly price, rather than spending money up front.
Xbox is building its own streaming devices for cloud gaming to reach gamers on any TV or monitor without the need for a console at all.
Cloud gaming through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will launch in Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Japan later this year.
In the next few weeks, cloud gaming on the browser will open to all Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members. With Edge, Chrome, and Safari support, players will be a click away from gaming on almost any device.
We’re in the final stages of updating our Microsoft datacenters around the world with our latest generation of hardware, the Xbox Series X. This means gamers will see faster load times, improved frame rates, and experience Xbox Series X|S optimized games.
Later this year, we’ll add cloud gaming directly into the Xbox app on PC and integrate it into our console experience to light up scenarios like try before you download.

An Incredible Pipeline of Games

With more than 23 studios worldwide creating games for Xbox, our goal is to release at least one new, first party game into Game Pass every quarter. Role playing games, shooters, strategy titles, adventure games, and more are all being built by our first party teams to ensure that there is a steady stream of compelling exclusive content to explore.
Our independent developer program ID@Xbox has earned developers over $2B dollars since the program’s inception, with over 2000 titles launched and many more on the way. This model is now being used for ID@Azure, allowing independent devs to build cloud-based experiences. These programs bring new voices from diverse backgrounds into the world of game development.

Xbox Game Pass is leading the way when it comes to paid subscription services on video games and it will be made more available to gamers around the world, including those who cannot afford an Xbox console.

Whew! That was an overload of details above! As the Xbox-Bethesda event on June 13 is focused on games (and possible studio acquisition announcements), it makes sense for Team Xbox to make clear what their strategies are and what developments are happening.

To examine the above information, Microsoft is taking Xbox and Xbox Game Pass to newer heights that the traditional model of selling consoles (hardware) and games cannot reach. The Xbox-Windows connectivity has been re-emphasized and it has indeed been working for XGP users who are paying $15 a month. Moving forward, Xbox will be integrated into smart TVs/HDTVs (connected to the Internet) and the only hardware needed is the Xbox controller. Once Microsoft’s deals with telecommunication firms have been finalized, consumers can buy a console (most likely Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X for gamers who want high-end experiences) and XGP through Xbox All Access and pay it all on a monthly basis (this will spare consumers from the trouble of paying so much for a new Xbox console at retail). This also shows the benefits of subscribing over doing over-the-counter retail transactions. Furthermore, the Xbox ecosystem will eventually become more accessible to many millions more gamers (who cannot afford consoles) through their Internet-connected HDTVs/smart TVs using streaming devices with cloud functionality.

Think about all those highly ambitious strategies and how they can eventually positive impact interactive entertainment and even expand video gaming as we know it. Nintendo and the PlayStation team at Sony (hey Jim Ryan, are you still learning yet?) did not anticipate this latest barrage by Team Xbox, nor have they formulated new ways to enhance the gaming experience and attracting many more consumers who cannot afford game consoles.

Whether you like it or not, Team Xbox is clearly pushing hard with its plan to reach many millions more consumers around the world without being limited by the traditional console business model. Consumers will be offered a lot of choices as to how they want to play games via Xbox and how they want to enter the Xbox ecosystem based on their respective financial standings and purchasing power. Consumers also love being offered multiple options which Nintendo and Sony seem to ignore. It seems the Japanese traditions of doing video game business set Nintendo and Sony back.

*The consumer can become the center of gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate!*

Let me ask you readers: Are the new strategies by Team Xbox look exciting or complicated to you? Are you a gamer who wants to enjoy high-definition gaming at home without the hassle of buying a new console? Do you prefer to acquire an Xbox Series X through a subscription with your telecommunication provider? If you are running a retailing joint selling video game hardware and software, what do you think about the newest Xbox strategies announced?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

To watch the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 13, posted below are the links for your reference.

In closing this article, posted below are Xbox-related videos for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

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Bethesda finally integrated into Team Xbox!

March 11, 2021March 10, 2021carlocarrasco

Welcome back fellow gamers, geeks and Xbox fans!

Finally, it has been accomplished and it is something truly worth celebrating and become more optimistic about the future of video games! Very recently, Microsoft announced that it has officially completed the $7.5 acquisition of ZeniMax media which effectively integrated Bethesda Softworks and its eight game studios (Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios) and their respective communities into Team Xbox! The completion was realized after getting approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the regulators of the European Union (EU). Bethesda themselves posted a fine video about their legacy in gaming and the confirmation of becoming part of Team Xbox. Watch it below…

https://youtube.com/watch?v=xy2930hAXnc

*Bethesda and Xbox is a formidable combination!*

To put things in perspective, below is an excerpt (note: key parts in bold) from the completion announcement written by Xbox chief Phil Spencer over at Xbox.com. Pay close attention…

Now that everything is official, we can begin working together to deliver more great games to everyone. At every step building toward this moment, I’ve been inspired and motivated by the creativity, insight, and community-first approach of the talented people at Bethesda. Our goal is to give these teams the best foundation for doing their greatest work and to learn from them as we continue to build Xbox into an inclusive platform for all players.

This is the next step in building an industry-leading first party studios team, a commitment we have to our Xbox community. With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.

As seen above, Phil Spencer led the welcoming of Bethesda into Team Xbox. This is clearly not a simple acquisition because Bethesda is a very big company complete with eight game developers (lots of very talented employees) and very well-established franchises of games such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Dishonored, Doom and more.

Speaking of Bethesda’s new games, Spencer made clear that the Xbox ecosystem is not just the definitive destination for the said games, it is indeed the best. Xbox consoles clearly includes the many millions of Xbox One consoles still in use as well as the growing number of Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles. PC refers to Windows 10 while Game Pass refers to Xbox Game Pass (XGP) which is a highly successful paid subscription service which has reached 18 million subscribers worldwide. No surprise, PlayStation and Nintendo consoles were excluded. Microsoft, after all, has a stake in Bethesda while Sony and Nintendo do not.

As for Spencer’s line – some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players – I believe he was referring to upcoming games divided between those that can be made only for the Xbox ecosystem (Xbox console owners and PC users), those that can be released on other platforms (note: Spencer mentioned before the case-by-case aspect) and those that are legally bound to be released on a different platform (note: Bethesda has two timed-exclusive games for PlayStation 5).

The way I see it, future games like Starfield and sequels such as The Elder Scrolls VI, Fallout 5, future Doom, future Dishonored and the like will be made Xbox-exclusive (geared more towards the Xbox Series consoles and PC) which makes business sense because Xbox consoles and Windows 10 PCs are what Xbox Game Pass subscribers use. The addition of Bethesda games into XGP will help the service attract even more subscribers from around the world! I also believe that games made with strong single-player gaming experiences in mind will be designated for Xbox and PC gamers.

Future Bethesda games that will cater more on multiplayer and on being a service (technically) can be made for multiple platforms, including the PlayStation and Nintendo consoles.

As such, Phil Spencer’s use of the words “some new titles” makes sense. In due time, I believe, Microsoft and Bethesda will make clear that the Xbox ecosystem is top priority for them and this means eventually locking out Sony and Nintendo consoles when it comes to most new Bethesda games. It should happen in the years to come.

The integration of Bethesda into Team Xbox does not necessarily mean that Microsoft will change the culture of the company to conform to its own. The tech giant will provide Bethesda funds and lots of technical support while respecting their culture. Pay close attention to Phil Spencer’s words in the excerpt below…

As we shared previously, it’s vitally important that Bethesda continues making games the way it always has. We look forward to empowering Bethesda’s creative teams to reach even more players around the world, helping make future Bethesda titles the biggest and most popular games in their history. Xbox and Bethesda have long shared a common vision for the future of gaming. Both as fans and as creators, Bethesda understands the potential of Xbox Game Pass.

The head of Xbox also took the opportunity to lead the honoring of the late Robert A. Altman, who founded Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media. Read on below…

We would also like to honor the life and memory of my close friend Robert A. Altman, founder of ZeniMax Media. Robert believed deeply in the power of gaming and we are privileged to be able to continue his work by joining forces with the teams he built and led for many years. I will miss the opportunity to work directly with him on the future of our combined teams but I know that his spirit will live on in the shared work we do and motivate us to make this partnership all he envisioned.

With the completion of the $7.5 billion deal, Team Xbox and Bethesda have officially started a brand-new chapter in the history of gaming. To say the least, Team Xbox’s years-old problem of lacking high-profile exclusive games has clearly been solved and Bethesda’s integration adds a ton of value as well as very rich intellectual properties into the Xbox Game Studios group whose other game developers include 343 Industries (Halo), Obsidian Entertainment (The Outer Worlds), The Coalition (Gears of War), Compulsion Games (We Happy Few), Double Fine Productions (Psychonauts), The Initiative (Perfect Dark), inXile Entertainment (Wasteland 3), Mojang Studios (Minecraft), Ninja Theory (Hellblade) and others. Each and every one of those game developers have new games in development and will be released exclusively on the Xbox ecosystem in the years to come. In effect, this makes Xbox Series consoles even more attractive for gamers and consumers in general. This also makes Team Xbox more competitive and even intimidating towards PlayStation and Nintendo when it comes to producing console-exclusive games.

Just what will PlayStation and Nintendo do to counter the Xbox Game Studios juggernaut now that Bethesda is part of it? Buy out Sega? Sony paying Square Enix a lot more money to secure their future games as PS5-exclusive? Sony reviving their White Knight Chronicles RPG franchise to combat Xbox RPGs from Bethesda, inXile and Obsidian? Will the troubled Sony fanboys demand PlayStation’s Jim Ryan to raise money so that the company will buy as many game studios as possible to beef up PS5 1st party games? Time will tell.

In ending this, posted below for your viewing pleasure are varied gaming-related videos including some video reviews of past Bethesda games for some fun nostalgia.

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Looking good on the way to Xbox Series consoles launch, Part 7

November 1, 2020November 2, 2020carlocarrasco

How fast time flies. The much-anticipated launching of the premium Xbox Series X and the budget-friendly Xbox Series S next-generation consoles from Microsoft will launch 9 days from now. Have you already ordered a unit? If you really want to make the jump to the next-generation with Xbox, keep looking at the legitimate online retailers who are open to accepting pre-orders.

Before the end of October, an article was posted at Xbox.com which confirms what has been speculated for some time now – the next-generation Xbox consoles indeed have AMD’s RDNA 2 technology complete with unique technological features.

For the newcomers reading this, RDNA 2 is defined as follows: The custom designed processor in the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S leverages RDNA 2, the latest next generation graphics architecture from our partners at AMD. RDNA 2 provides a significant advancement in performance and efficiency as well as next generation graphics features such as hardware accelerated raytracing and variable rate shading.

More on the article by Technical Fellow Andrew Goossen and Director of Program Management Jason Ronald, Team Xbox congratulated and celebrated their amazing partners at AMD with regards to the announcement of Radeon RX 6000 Series of GPUs (graphics processing units) which use the RDNA 2 architecture. Microsoft and AMD’s business relationship has lasted fifteen long years and it started with the Xbox 360 console which was a very memorable, fun-led console I had.

For the next-generation of console gaming, Microsoft and AMD’s strategic partnership is already making things look exciting. Here’s a big confirmation from the Xbox.com article: Xbox Series X|S are the only next-generation consoles with full hardware support for all the RDNA 2 capabilities AMD showcased today.

Here’s a detailed excerpt: AMD’s latest RDNA 2 architecture delivers a significant increase in performance and efficiency over previous architectures, as well as adding new hardware acceleration capabilities including hardware accelerated DirectX Raytracing, Mesh Shaders, Sampler Feedback and Variable Rate Shading. Hardware accelerated DirectX Raytracing, showcased at launch by titles such as Ubisoft’s Watch Dogs: Legion, enables developers to deliver a new level of visual fidelity and immersion through techniques such as realistic lighting, shadows, reflections and acoustics. Mesh Shaders can manipulate geometry in real time to provide a high level of fidelity and flexibility that developers have never had before. Sampler Feedback greatly improves memory efficiency by allowing games to load into memory, with fine granularity, only the portions of textures that the GPU needs for a scene, as it needs it, providing an effective 2.5x memory and bandwidth multiplier beyond the raw hardware capabilities. Sampler Feedback also enables efficient creation and shading of textures on-demand.

Finally, Variable Rate Shading (VRS) delivers much finer grain control on how developers can leverage the full power of the Xbox Series X|S by enabling developers to focus their GPU resources on the areas of a frame that most benefit without reducing the overall image quality. By leveraging techniques like VRS, games such as Gears 5 can see performance increases up to 15% and beyond resulting in higher, more consistent frame rates and resolution at the exact same image quality. All of these next-generation capabilities are available via hardware in both the Xbox Series X and Series S and we are excited for them to also come to PC, providing a common set of features that developers can rely on when developing their games across console and PC.

At the very beginning of development of the Xbox Series X | S, we knew we were setting the foundation for the next decade of gaming innovation and performance across console, PC and cloud. To deliver on this vision we wanted to leverage the full capabilities of RDNA 2 in hardware from day one. Through close collaboration and partnership between Xbox and AMD, not only have we delivered on this promise, we have gone even further introducing additional next-generation innovation such as hardware accelerated Machine Learning capabilities for better NPC intelligence, more lifelike animation, and improved visual quality via techniques such as ML powered super resolution.

In our quest to put gamers and developers first we chose to wait for the most advanced technology from our partners at AMD before finalizing our architecture. Now, with the upcoming release of Xbox Series X|S and the new AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series GPUs, developers have a common set of next-generation tools and performance capabilities that will empower them to deliver transformative gaming experiences across both console and PC.

Boom! The two Xbox Series consoles have the complete features of RDNA 2 technology. The wait that Team Xbox had to go through was worth it. In the years to come, the terms DirectX Raytracing, Mesh Shaders, Sampler Feedback and Variable Rate Shading will be more discussed as game designers create more of their projects for Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X and Windows 10 PCs equipped with RDNA 2-based GPUs.

To make things clear to everyone, here are the definitions:

Hardware Accelerated DirectX Raytracing (DXR) – From improved lighting, shadows and reflections as well as more realistic acoustics and spatial audio, raytracing enables developers to create more physically accurate worlds. For the very first time in a game console, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S include support for high performance, hardware accelerated raytracing. Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S use a custom-designed GPU leveraging the latest innovation from our partners at AMD and built in collaboration with the same team who developed DirectX Raytracing. Developers will be able to deliver incredibly immersive visual and audio experiences using the same techniques on PC and beyond.

Mesh Shading – Mesh shading will enable developers to dramatically improve the performance and image quality when rendering a substantial number of complex objects in a scene. As an example, mesh shaders could enable the player to experience asteroid belts and fields of flowers in more pristine detail without seeing a loss in performance.

Sampler Feedback Streaming (SFS) – A component of the Xbox Velocity Architecture, SFS is a feature of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S hardware that allows games to load into memory, with fine granularity, only the portions of textures that the GPU needs for a scene, as it needs it. This enables far better memory utilization for textures, which is important given that every 4K texture consumes 8MB of memory. Because it avoids the wastage of loading into memory the portions of textures that are never needed, it is an effective 2.5x multiplier on average on both amount of physical memory and SSD performance.

Variable Rate Shading (VRS) – Variable Rate Shading increases GPU efficiency by concentrating shader work where it’s most needed and reducing shader work in areas where it won’t be noticeable. With minimal developer effort, VRS significantly improves GPU performance resulting in more stable and higher resolutions and frame rates with no perceptible loss in visual quality.

Remember when I mentioned many times before that Xbox is an ecosystem composed of Xbox game consoles, Windows 10 PC and smartphones (supported by Project xCloud) backed with the fast-growing Xbox Game Pass (XGP) subscription service? With all the technical information and explanations above, the strategic partnership between Microsoft and AMD is much greater than just hardware and features…it also serves as a foundation for supporting Xbox ecosystem users regardless of what hardware they use.

While it is a fact that AMD also partnered with Sony for the PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles, so far the Japan-based corporation has not boldly stated anything about having full-featured RDNA 2 on their next-generation consoles. While we don’t know what exactly Jim Ryan and Mark Cerny know behind the scenes at PlayStation headquarters right now, it is clear that their team strongly focused on the PS5’s SSD (solid state drive) and tried to manipulate people into believing it is the next big thing. It seems like the PlayStation guys, whose idolaters are still restless and agonizing over the Xbox-Bethesda deal until now, just could not admit that the AMD technology PS5 has is actually inferior to what the Xbox Series consoles have.

Going back to RDNA 2 and Xbox, Ubisoft recently presented Watch Dogs: Legion running on Xbox Series X with raytracing implemented. Watch the video below…

In ending this, here are more gaming-related videos for your viewing pleasure. Right now, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the only next-generation consoles with full hardware support for all the RDNA 2 capabilities and that ensures great value in return for the respective $499 and $299 prices of the consoles.

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Looking good on the way to Xbox Series consoles launch, Part 3

October 12, 2020October 11, 2020carlocarrasco

I should say it out loud. I am a long-time Xbox gamer (and I was once a PlayStation fanboy until I started playing Halo: Combat Evolved, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Forza Motorsport on the original Xbox console) and it is great that the next-generation Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles will have backward compatibility right from the start.

Specifically, I started my Xbox journey (with an official Xbox LIVE account) in 2006 with the Xbox 360 console. I played lots of great games on that console such as Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Halo 3, Forza Motorsport 4, Lost Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed III, Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and the Mass Effect trilogy just to name a few.

Even though the current 8^th console generation was not too rosy for Xbox due to the weak 1^st party game support on the part of Microsoft, I still enjoyed gaming on my Xbox One. The Outer Worlds was one of the best sci-fi RPGs I have ever played. Fallout 4 was just as engaging and as immersive Skyrim in my experience. Also I had great fun playing Red Dead Redemption 2.

That being said, I certainly do not want my past Xbox generation game collection – both physical media and digital copies – to just go to waste. This is why I really appreciate Team Xbox for implementing backward compatibility on the two Xbox Series consoles which will launch less than a month from now. I myself enjoyed replaying my favorite Xbox 360 games on my Xbox One (a few among them were Red Dead Redemption, Lost Odyssey and the entire Mass Effect trilogy) and having the same feature for the next-generation is a very good thing!

On Xbox.com, Director of Program Management for Xbox Series X Jason Ronald explained the efforts their team made since the big breakthrough of 2015 plus other details about the tremendous addition of value backward compatibility brings to the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. Excerpt below:

Our compatibility journey began with the announcement of Xbox 360 Backwards Compatibility coming to Xbox One at E3 2015. I clearly remember that first magical experience of jumping into one of my favorite Xbox 360 games, Final Fantasy XIII, and instantly resuming where I had left off years before as if no time had passed at all. I was instantly transported back to that special time and all the great memories and personal connections I have made through gaming. The energy and passion from the community continues to motivate us to this day.

Through a tremendous amount of hard work, technical innovation, and partnership with the industry’s leading creators we were not only able to bring more than 500 Xbox 360 games to Xbox One, we were able to go back even further into the archives and resurrect some of your favorite franchises from the original Xbox. The very same team who created new innovative ways to preserve and enhance your existing catalog of games on Xbox One is the same team pushing the envelope again with Xbox Series X.

Maintaining compatibility presents a massive technical challenge as fundamental system and chip architectures advance across generations. Developers highly optimize their games to the unique capabilities and performance of a console to provide the best experience for their players. To make the Xbox Series X our most compatible console ever required both significant innovation in the design of the custom processor as well as the unique design of the Xbox operating system and hypervisor at the heart of our next generation platform.

With more than 100,000 hours of play testing already completed, thousands of games are already playable on Xbox Series X today, from the biggest blockbusters to cult classics and fan favorites. Many of us in Team Xbox play on the Xbox Series X daily as our primary console and switching between generations is seamless. By the time we launch this holiday, the team will have spent well over 200,000 hours ensuring your game library is ready for you to jump in immediately.

As seen in the paragraph right above, the 100,000 hours figure is very significant and it shows that no shortcuts were taken with regards to play testing and quality assurance. That figure is only rising and that is great dedication for not only Xbox fans with huge game collections but also consumers in general.

It should be noted that the more affordable Xbox Series S console will run backward compatibility a bit differently since it cannot render visuals in native 4K (it can however upscale in 4K). A September 14, 2020 update to Ronald’s article states:

the Xbox Series S runs the Xbox One S version of backward compatible games while applying improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent frame rates, faster load times and Auto HDR. As for next generation titles, Xbox Series S was designed to be the most affordable next generation console and play them at 1440P at 60fps.

The premium Xbox Series X console, unsurprisingly, has huge advantages for anyone who loves playing past games via backward compatibility. Enhanced visuals? Check! Improved frame rates? Check! Heavily reduced load times? Check! Much better performance? Check! Check out the excerpt below:

Not only should gamers be able to play all of these games from the past, but they should play better than ever before. Backwards compatible games run natively on the Xbox Series X hardware, running with the full power of the CPU, GPU and the SSD. No boost mode, no downclocking, the full power of the Xbox Series X for each and every backward compatible game. This means that all titles run at the peak performance that they were originally designed for, many times even higher performance than the games saw on their original launch platform, resulting in higher and more steady framerates and rendering at their maximum resolution and visual quality. Backwards compatible titles also see significant reductions in in-game load times from the massive leap in performance from our custom NVME SSD which powers the Xbox Velocity Architecture. As I play through my personal backlog as part of our internal testing, all of the incredible games from Xbox One and earlier play best on Xbox Series X.

The team was not content to just rely on the increased hardware performance to improve your playing experience. The team developed new platform level capabilities to ensure all of your games continue to get even better. In partnership with the Xbox Advanced Technology Group, Xbox Series X delivers a new, innovative HDR reconstruction technique which enables the platform to automatically add HDR support to games. As this technique is handled by the platform itself, it allows us to enable HDR with zero impact to the game’s performance and we can also apply it to Xbox 360 and original Xbox titles developed almost 20 years ago, well before the existence of HDR.

In addition, the new Quick Resume feature was designed to not only work with new games, but it can also be enabled for backward-compatible titles. Quick Resume enables players to resume exactly where they left off, across multiple titles, ensuring gamers can get right back to the fun in an instant.

Website Gaming Bolt recently published their own video explaining the so-called secrets of backward compatibility on Xbox Series X.

Going back to Jason Ronald’s article, it should be noted how dedicated their team is towards fans. The excerpt below:

Beginning with Xbox One X, the compatibility team developed brand new innovations that could be applied to a hand curated list of titles to enhance them even further than what was possible when they were first created. Techniques such as the Heutchy method, which enables titles to render with increased resolutions up to 4K, or applying anisotropic filtering to improve the final image quality bring these classic games up to modern standards, better than ever before.

With all of the additional power and advancements of the Xbox Series X, the compatibility team now has a veritable playground of new capabilities to innovate and push the limits of game preservation and enhancement. The compatibility team has invented brand new techniques that enable even more titles to run at higher resolutions and image quality while still respecting the artistic intent and vision of the original creators. We are also creating whole new classes of innovations including the ability to double the frame rate of a select set of titles from 30 fps to 60 fps or 60 fps to 120 fps.

The team also continues to listen to feedback from the community on additional titles you would like to see added to the compatibility program.

With the enhancements confirmed, check out Window Central Gaming’s comparative YouTube video of Monster Hunter World running on Xbox One X (currently the most powerful gaming console available) and Xbox Series X.

As of this writing, the backward compatibility feature on the Xbox Series consoles covers lots of titles of Xbox One, Xbox 360 and the original Xbox. What is expected not to be included are Kinect motion sensor games released on Xbox 360. On the side of PlayStation, PS5 is backward compatible with PS4 games only. Until now, Jim Ryan and Mark Cerny still have not figured out ways to make PS5 a compatible with the many, many games of PS1-PS2-PS3. Perhaps they never tried to do it at all, letting down their fans and consumers in general. It is weird because Sony used to be the shining example of video game backward compatibility starting with PlayStation 2 (PS2). Backward compatibility continued in the next generation with PS3 but only for the initial units. Subsequent PS3 consoles were made without the compatibility.

In ending this article, here are some more videos about Xbox Series X backward compatibility for your learning and enjoyment.

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For more Xbox-related stuff, check out the Xbox Series Philippines Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/XboxOnePH

My Observations: Bethesda now part of Team Xbox

September 23, 2020September 22, 2020carlocarrasco

As I start to write this, I still am in a state of shock over the most ambitious video game business announcement that I never anticipated would happen particularly with Xbox. People are already talking about it a lot right now. I’m referring to Microsoft’s megaton acquisition of ZeniMax Media which is the parent company of game publishing giant Bethesda Softworks. The deal is worth $7.5 billion (in cash) and it includes acquiring Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios. The said studios have a combined work force of more than 2,300 employees. This megaton development alone makes me want to acquire an Xbox Series X unit even more!

To put things in perspective, below is an excerpt (with key parts in bold) from the Xbox.com blog post by Xbox head Phil Spencer:

Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world. Our teams have a close and storied history working together, from the amazing first DOOM, and its id Tech engine, innovating games on PCs to Bethesda bringing their first console game to the original Xbox, the groundbreaking The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Over the years I’ve had many deep conversations with the creative leaders at Bethesda on the future of gaming and we’ve long shared similar visions for the opportunities for creators and their games to reach more players in more ways.

Just as they took the bold first steps to bring The Elder Scrolls franchise to the original Xbox, Bethesda were early supporters of Xbox Game Pass, bringing their games to new audiences across devices and have been actively investing in new gaming technology like cloud streaming of games. We will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC. One of the things that has me most excited is seeing the roadmap with Bethesda’s future games, some announced and many unannounced, to Xbox console and PC including Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios.

Like us, Bethesda are passionate believers in building a diverse array of creative experiences, in exploring new game franchises, and in telling stories in bold ways. All of their great work will of course continue and grow and we look forward to empowering them with the resources and support of Microsoft to scale their creative visions to more players in new ways for you.

All of our work, and the foundation of our relationship with you, starts with a commitment to deliver a breadth of amazing games to discover and play on Xbox. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been excited to share more detail on important elements of a plan we’ve been building towards for years. A plan that is the fulfilment of a promise, to you the Xbox player, to deliver the most performant, immersive and compatible next-generation gaming experiences, and the freedom to play blockbuster games with your friends, anytime, anywhere. Today is a landmark step in our journey together and I’m incredibly energized by what this step means for Xbox.

As confirmed by Spencer, the acquisition of Bethesda is more than just adding to Xbox Games Studios existing lineup of game makers and more than just adding games for Xbox and PC gamers to play. The acquisition also means adding even more games to the fast-growing and successful Xbox Game Pass subscription program which recently saw its subscribers reach 15,000,000+ (a jump of 50% in less than six months’ time!). The addition of Bethesda’s iconic franchises – Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein and Dishonored to name some – will surely add tremendous value to Xbox Game Pass and even more exciting is the confirmation that Bethesda’s upcoming sci-fi Starfield will also be added! These developments are already exciting gamers to order Xbox Series S or Xbox Series X as I write this.

Think about it. If you are already a paying Xbox Game Pass subscriber by the time Starfield gets released, you can simply visit Xbox LIVE and download the said game for free (because you already paid for the subscription). Those who are not XGP subscribers will have to pull out a lot of money to buy Starfield at the retail store or elsewhere online.

Already Team Xbox and its many Xbox Games Studios are already creating new and exclusive games for Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X plus PC. Microsoft no longer has a shortage of console exclusives and all the criticism thrown at them (“Xbox has no exclusives!”, “Xbox has no great games!”) are meaningless now. The addition of Bethesda studios into the many Xbox Game Studios further ensures more exclusive games in the years to come and this alone gives Microsoft a huge advantage over Sony and Nintendo!

This brings me to another sensitive topic: the Bethesda projects that are exclusive to others or are multi-platform in arrangement. Bethesda currently has two games that are exclusive to Sony’s PlayStation 5 (PS5) and Phil Spencer made clear that Microsoft will honor the exclusivity commitments of those games. In short, the Bethesda-Sony deal for those two games won’t be scrapped. Other Bethesda games coming to platforms that are not Xbox-related will happen on a case-by-case basis with Microsoft having the final decision. All of these are part of the complications that come with acquiring a huge game publisher with existing deals made with other platform makers.

But if you look into the far future, the Xbox-Bethesda megaton deal will eventually lead to sequels of Fallout, Elder Scrolls and other franchises that will be released exclusively on Xbox platforms and PC, and the Bethesda brand will remain. Bethesda’s famous role-playing game (RPG) franchises alone makes Xbox an even more attractive ecosystem for gamers who love RPGs. Think about it! Imagine playing Fallout and Elder Scrolls sequels (or remastered versions of Skyrim or Fallout 4) on Xbox Series X years from now enjoying all the massive content presented with 4K resolution, 60 FPS frame rate, great visuals and much shorter load times. With Microsoft having the more technologically superior console (Xbox Series X compared to PS5 with disc drive) and a much bigger and stronger 1^st party game lineup, gamers will realize the benefits of the Xbox-Bethesda deal.

If Microsoft wants to make even more money and sell more, they can always decide to make Fallout and Elder Scrolls sequels available on PS5 and other platforms (even on Nintendo’s next-generation console). Microsoft acquired Mojang years ago and kept Minecraft available on multiple platforms (including those of Sony, Nintendo, iOS and more). When it comes to the next console generation with Bethesda’s many games being played, I expect their multi-platform games to look and play better on Xbox Series X than on PS5.

*With Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment together with Team Xbox, producing a sequel to Fallout New Vegas is no longer an impossible dream!*

I should also state that Microsoft having Bethesda under its extensive corporate umbrella and ownership of the many intellectual properties (IP) of the company means that the dream of producing sequel to Fallout New Vegas is no longer impossible! Microsoft also owns Obsidian Entertainment, the very same team that worked with Bethesda for Fallout New Vegas, and they can decide to assign them to produce a sequel complete with a lot of human, technological and financial resources to back them! While I love the idea of Obsidian making Fallout New Vegas 2, I personally prefer they keep focusing on making their major fantasy RPG Avowed (ironically an ambitious game described as something to rival Bethesda’s Skyrim) and making a next-generation sequel to The Outer Worlds (which I love playing). A new Fallout New Vegas can be released on Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X AFTER the respective releases of Avowed, Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI many years from now.

Apart from the very promising benefits gamers will soon have from the Xbox-Bethesda deal, Microsoft also deserves praise for their transparency with gamers about their next-generation consoles, their expanding 1^st party game studios lineup, Xbox All Access, Xbox Game Pass and the like. Transparency aside, Team Xbox also proved to stay honest and well organized with gamers unlike Sony’s PlayStation division. Watch the videos below regarding Sony…

The Xbox-Bethesda deal alone motivates me even more to acquire an Xbox Series X console and also sign up at last on Xbox Game Pass. I am certain that I am not the only geek experiencing the excitement about the very bright future of fun, engaging and high-value gaming with Xbox. With Bethesda’s RPG franchises alone, Xbox is already the best and definitive ecosystem for people who love playing role-playing games (note: Microsoft has Avowed coming and hopefully a The Outer Worlds sequel from Obsidian, plus established support from Square Enix with a Dragon Quest game coming out this December). This is something that Sony (even with Final Fantasy XVI a timed exclusive on their PS5) and Nintendo cannot match! Going back to Bethesda, they really had gone a long way and their decades-old history of doing business with Microsoft is undeniable. The very first time I played a Bethesda game on Microsoft hardware was none other than Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion on Xbox 360 and that was way back in 2006. In the past decade, I played Skyrim on Xbox 360 and Fallout 4 on Xbox One. Personally, I am happy that Microsoft acquired Bethesda with not only the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X in mind but for the long term…the far future!

In ending this, watch these videos from Dealer Gaming, Colteastwood, Rand al Thor 19 and Zalker 87 for additional insight about the Xbox-Bethesda deal!

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