The Xbox One July Update just started rolling out today, and along with it come several very welcomed additions. FastStart and grouping are both included in this new update, with the former being my favorite addition.
We all have a horror story of day 1 updates to games or picking up our favorite title from a massive sale and being hit with a massive download size, only to realize it’ll be hours before you can start playing. FastStart can help remedy this on select titles, with that list growing as the exclusive-to-Xbox service gets more popular.
At this point in the console cycle it is unlikely we will be getting any major announcements on the hardware side of things until the next generation machines get debuted. In the mean time, it will all be about special editions and new bundles looking to carry consoles as deep into the lifecycle as possible.
Sony recently unveiled the new Days of Play PS4 which headlined its big summer promotions this year surrounding E3 where it teased the new Kingdom Hearts 3 Special Edition console. And now, Microsoft is ready to turn out a pair of new bundles featuring Minecraft and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.
Bringing full mouse and keyboard support to Microsoft’s home console has been a contentious topic for a while now among gamers and industry analysts. While there are already some games that allow for it (basically just Minecraft), new information in conjunction with leaked documents point at a major partnership between Xbox and Razor that is already in the works. Redmond has been teasing complete seamless mouse and keyboard support on Xbox One for what feels like years at this point, and it looks like it might finally be on the way.
With E3 less than a week away, excitement for the next year or more in gaming is building dramatically. With the Last of Us 2, Ghost of Tsushima and more all scheduled for big time appearances, we are set for a massive E3 2018. With the year’s biggest gaming event comes some of the year’s most notable discounts in gaming, and today we are getting the full details on Microsoft’s massive summer sale.
Microsoft’s Surface line is synonymous with high-end products. The Surface Hub was initially announced back in 2015, and today we’re seeing an updated version dubbed the Surface Hub 2.
This Hub is designed for businesses who need to work on the big screen and brought along with it both unique features and challenges. The Hub 2 is the next step, giving businesses and coworkers a unique way to come together and create new things.
One of the biggest trends in video games over the past few years has been the introduction of toys-to-life versions of popular franchises. Big players like Nintendo, LEGO and Disney have all tried their hands at bringing digitally interactive toys to the market, with mixed results. Microsoft’s latest endeavor, deemed Project Zanzibar, looks to further blur the line between the physical and digital worlds with a fully interactive NFC-based smart mat.
Sea of Thieves is washing onto store shelves in just under one month’s time now. Microsoft is pushing Rare’s upcoming open-world pirate game as the next big exclusive for Xbox One. After running what appeared to be a successful closed beta last month, Microsoft is celebrating the launch of 2018’s first big pirate game with a brand new special edition Xbox One S bundle.
Xbox and Air Jordan are teaming up for the first ever official collaboration between the two iconic brands. Over the next few weeks some of the most popular Jordans in history are getting a special re-release in 3 limited colorways. And to make the occasion even more special, Microsoft is creating 3 special edition Xbox One X consoles directly inspired by the design cues from the new shoes.
Amazon now looks to have finalized its list for the best-sellers in gaming for 2017. Nintendo has a number of products in the top 20 alongside hardware from both Sony and Microsoft. On top of that it looks like extra controllers and and PS Plus membership extensions were popular gifts this season…
If there’s one iconic mouse that’s always been around it’s the Microsoft IntelliMouse. I’ve had numerous versions of this mouse, and they’re actually still in use today. I loved the IntelliMouse because it never failed and had amazing tracking for what it was. The original IntelliMouse was wired, much like the relaunched unit from Microsoft. It features laser tracking, a DPI range of up to 3200, and those iconic back and forward buttons.
Today we’re taking a look at Microsoft’s new Xbox One S. The “S” stands for slim and holy crap does this console live up to its name. There are quite a few reasons to love this version over the OG Xbox One, but we’ll let you be the judge of that…
Microsoft was the first major hardware company to announce at E3 2016 this year. After the stage was set by EA and Bethesda, it was time to get our first look at what we can expect from Xbox One in the coming months. Right of the bat, Microsoft announced a newly updated console that includes a significantly slimmer design, 4K video and a ton of other features. Best of all, it starts at $299. Head below for more including pre-order information, game updates from Gears of War 4, Forza and others…
By adding two of these gift card packs to your cart ($100 worth of gift cards), your total drops to just $81 shipped. That’s nearly 20% off your next Xbox marketplace purchases and one of the lowest prices we see gift cards from any retailer drop to.
Microsoft’s new special edition Halo 5 Xbox One is absolutely phenomenal. It’s designed with a UNSC (United Nations Space Command) theme in mind, based on Halo 5 and is a must-have for any Xbox fan. Today we’re taking a closer look at it to see what makes this special edition so special…
Microsoft offers the Nightmare Christmas: Original Soundtrack (Special Edition) as a free download. This 29-track album would cost you $7.99 if you were to go through Amazon or iTunes. More freebies: METRO 2033 free eBook download (Kindle Edition) | Amazon The novel that gave birth to the video games ‘Metro 2033’ and ‘Metro: Last Light’ Redbox free…
Microsoft unveiled a fresh lineup of Windows 10 devices yesterday during an event in New York City. Aside from demoing a new HoloLens game, Microsoft announced Surface Pro 4, Surface Book, Band 2, and some Lumia phones. At this point HoloLens still isn’t available to the public, but the rest of these devices (except for the phones) are…
Update (10/2 10:00am): All of the consoles have now been released and are ready for pre-orders. See the full list and details below.
Microsoft is going all in on Xbox One during the last three months of the year. Aside from launching a top-notch line-up of games, it was announced on Friday that five new console bundles would be revealed this week. Each day a new collection will be detailed and we’ll round them all up.
Today, we have our first look at the newest bundle that will be joining the Xbox One family. Head below to see for yourself.
Following Microsoft, EA and Konami’s Gamecom 2015 announcements, Blizzard has now detailed the latest expansion to the World of Warcraft saga. On stage today in Germany, the company showed off a pair of new videos for the upcoming Warcraft: Legion expansion along with some details on what players can expect from the MMORPG’s latest add-on:
With just 27 days to go, the countdown for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is on. As you saw from the Microsoft and EA press events, Gamescom 2015 is in full swing and Konami has some new TPP content to go along with it. This morning we got a new trailer and now, as promised, brand new gameplay footage with developer commentary:
Gamescom is well underway over in Europe and today Microsoft took the stage to detail new features and games for the Xbox One. After a huge showing at E3 a few months back, we were anxious to see what Microsoft would bring to the table. There were a few game announcements and new software/hardware features detailed, as well as a beautiful new limited edition console. We have the full details below on all of today’s news.
Microsoft’s new Universal Foldable Keyboard, first unveiled earlier this year, is now available to purchase online and through Microsoft stores. The super portable Bluetooth keyboard folds in half when not in use and allows users to connect to two mobile devices at once including Android, iPhones, iPads, and Windows devices.
Most likely you’ve heard about HoloLens by know, Microsoft’s holographic headset that brings digital animations, video and games to life. Although it has recently been hyped for its upcoming role in Minecraft, it has also found a home in academic settings as well. Head below to see the full video on how Case Western Reserve is utilizing HoloLens to bring human anatomy to life.
Updated (6/23 5:30pm): The Limited Edition Forza 6 console is now available to pre-order via Amazon and GameStop. Microsoft continues to make news with Xbox One, today announcing a new Limited Edition Forza 6 console. This new addition to its line-up is inspired by the new Ford GT which will be making an appearance on the cover…
Microsoft is going full force following a big week at E3 2015 in Los Angeles. Beginning on Sunday, gamers will receive any Xbox One title valued at $59.99 or less with the purchase of a new console. This is big news for gamers looking to buy a Xbox One after a convincing showing at E3, head below for full details.
Today was Microsoft’s big day at E3 2015, taking the stage to detail its latest advancements and upcoming titles for its flagship Xbox One console. There were many announcements worth noting, including new hardware/software upgrades and the ability to play Xbox 360 games on current generation consoles. Oh yeah, you can play a 3D hologram version of Minecraft, too. Head below for full details.
E3 2015, the biggest event in the gaming world, is just around the corner now. The event is generally rife with new game debuts, hardware upgrades and even price drops. While major publishers and gaming companies try their best to keep the wraps on the biggest announcements (The Last Guardian???), some early hardware details from Microsoft and Sony have started to leak out:
Update (3/3 2:37pm): Sony has just announced its free PlayStation Plus titles for March, which we’ve added below. The PlayStation Plus games will be available on the service later today.
Each month, Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold and Sony’s PlayStation Plus services give away a handful of free games to subscribers, adding value to each company’s multi-console online gaming service. Here are the titles from both services:
To celebrate the upcoming theatrical release of Furious 7 this April, the latest in the long-running Fast & Furious film franchise, Microsoft is teaming up with Universal to “ bring a unique, interactive, and exclusive experience to millions of Xbox fans worldwide.” That experience is coming in the way of a new standalone expansion pack for Forza Horizon 2, that puts players into the world of the upcoming film.
Better yet, you won’t need to own the main Forza 2 game to get it, and you won’t need to shell out a dime to play it. Head below for a brief teaser video and details on how to get the new expansion for free…
Each month, Sony’s PlayStation Plus and Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold services give away a handful of free games to subscribers, adding value to each company’s multi-console online gaming service. February’s games have been announced, including the following free titles:
For PlayStation Plus, Sony is offering the futuristic PS4 action/strategy RPG Transistor and PS4 ancient Greece-themed action-platformer Apotheon. PS3 owners get the Japanese sandbox action/RPG Yakuza 4 and first-person action/stealth game Thief. PS Vita users get Rogue Legacy and Kick & Fennick; Rogue Legacy is also available for the PS3 and PS4. All of the titles become free to PS Plus users on February 3. Transistor regularly sells for $20, Thief for $40, and Yakuza 4 for $50, making a one-year PlayStation Plus membership ($50) or $18 three-month membership a no-brainer alternative.
New games are typically offered at the beginning of each month, with old games disappearing from the “free” lists above. Full descriptions of this month’s titles are below.
Our prior Gaming For Couples articles have focused on “slam dunk” titles – games that are highly likely to appeal to both people in a couple for various reasons. But for this week’s column, I decided to try something different: picking a niche, relatively unknown game that seemed on the surface to be a really good fit for my murder mystery-loving spouse, but didn’t wind up working out. I’m sharing the story because it was a valuable learning experience, and how we handled it might help you get out of a similar jam.
We wound up buying a classic board game she liked, instead. And in retrospect, just doing that in the first place would have been a lot easier. Read on for the story.
What do four years of development, a former Nike designer and 150 million get you? One of the coolest scooters we’ve ever seen and in theory a culture bending answer to transportation in some of the world’s largest cities. You get Gogoro Scooters.
Just in time for the Black Friday deal season, Microsoft announced a $50 price drop coming to all major retailers for Xbox One consoles and bundles last week. While most stores ended up offering the deal early on some bundles, we are now seeing the discounts live across a number of retailers including Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Microsoft Store, Walmart, Target and more.
Starting at $349 for the entry level Xbox One without Kinect, Microsoft’s latest console is now $50 under the regular price of Sony’s PlayStation 4. But keep in mind you can easily find PS4’s on eBay for $360 shipped, and we have seen them drop to $350 previously so don’t be surprised to see them go even lower as the deal season continues.
However, there is a way to get Xbox One for even less…
After previewing Microsoft’s free Xbox One game promo in our Friday games post, it has officially gone live this morning. We’ve got all the details of where and how to cash in on it.
Get a free game (up to $59.99 value) when you purchase an Xbox One console. This promo is scheduled to run until September 13th, but we wouldn’t be surprised if popular titles sell out sooner.
Now, retailers are including different console configurations and bundles, which could make it a bit confusing. That’s why we’ve outlined the purchase details from our favorite retailers, including Amazon, Gamestop, Best Buy, and more…
Microsoft is handing out $75 in credit to select Xbox gamers as incentive to upgrade to Xbox One. Originating from a NeoGaf post, reports began surfacing yesterday of certain individuals receiving a message via Xbox Live on their 360’s informing them of the promotional upgrade offer.
Unfortunately, there is still no clear indication as to who is actually receiving these offers and what it takes to be eligible, but it looks as though they are going out to Xbox’s “very best customers,” according to the text on the promo message. More details below:
E3 2014 has now wrapped up and we got a good look at what we will be playing for the rest of the year and beyond. Nintendo showed up with some exciting announcements like a new open world Legend of Zelda and our next look at Xenoblade Chronicles X, unfortunately most of it isn’t due until 2015. Sony and Microsoft, on the other hand, showed off some more immediate titles and products like Halo: The Master Chief Edition due out in November and Bungie’s highly anticipated next title Destiny, scheduled for a September 9th PlayStation 4 release date.
We thought we would put together all the best pre-order bonuses in one place for you starting off with Sony’s PlayStation 4 Destiny Bundle for $449.99. The bundle is set to ship on Sept. 9th when the game releases and it will also come with free Beta Access just like preordering the game does. “Pre-order from Amazon.com and receive access to the upcoming beta. Amazon will email you a code to sign up to receive beta access within 2 business days after you pre-order”
Dont forget about Sony’s new set-top box. PlayStation TV is now available for preorder at $99.99. It will allow access to movies, tv shows and music as well as hundreds of older PlayStation titles and remote play of Ps4 games.
Update: If it’s a PS4 you are interested in, GameStop is now also offering $150 in credit towards the purchase of a new PS4. “Trade any PS3 (20GB or Higher) or Xbox 360 (250GB or Higher) and get $150 toward the purchase of a new PS4.” Microsoft made a few exciting announcements at this morning’s E3…
The Scroogled Store via Microsoft is selling Scroogled hats and t-shirts at all time low. Get yours now while supplies last. The full Scroogled catalog showing today’s discounts can be found below.
There’s little doubt that this move is meant to stimulate slumping Xbox One sales, which have fallen nearly 1 million units behind its rival PlayStation 4. These disappointing sales numbers have prompted Microsoft to giveaway its hottest game and have motivated retailers to offer aggressive discounts. Let’s take a look at how this Kinect-less Xbox One deal stacks up against other promotions we’ve seen thus far..
The Microsoft online store and Best Buy are offering some of the lowest prices on Surface Pro tablets…
Refurbished 64GB for $399 with free shipping from Microsoft (Reg. $499 new). These units have “been carefully examined and meticulously refurbished,” and include a one-year limited warranty. Limited supplies available.
Best Buy takes $100 off select Surface Pro tablets for students. Submit your .EDU email address at this special promotion page to receive your free coupon code to cash on this deal. It yields a 128GB Surface Pro (new) for $499.99 (Reeg. $599.99) and 256GB for $649.99 (Reg. $749.99)
Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet runs Windows 8 Pro so you can use the same desktop programs you’ve been working with for years. Add a subscription to Office 365 (discounted up to 33% here) and a Touch/Type cover to create the ultimate portable productivity tool.
In case you missed it, Microsoft finally released its suite of Office apps for iPad today with the introduction of standalone Word, PowerPoint, & Excel apps in the App Store. The Office app for iPhone remains the same apart from dropping the requirement of a 365 subscription (it’s now free for all!), but the new iPad versions of the Office apps WILL require an Office 365 subscription to create or edit documents. So, if you plan on using the Office apps on your iPad in the future, you’ll want to take advantage of a big discount on 365 subscriptions currently on Amazon.
Normally $99/year or $10/month, you can grab a 1 year Office 365 Home Premium subscription for $67.15 with free shipping. That’s a savings of $32.84 (33%) and gets you an access code for 5 Macs or PCs with access to all Office 365 app and services. That includes 20GB OneDrive storage for each for up to 4 household member, 60 minutes of Skype calls per month and all the apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Publisher, and Access.
The highly rated VNC Viewer for iOS drops from $10 down to FREE, Gravitarium2: $1 (Reg. $2), DoubleDragon: $1 (Reg. $2)
FREE 1-year premium membership to Weather Underground (Reg. $10). Register for a new account here checking off the “Upgrade my membership for only $10 per year.” option, then at checkout use code QWV35 to redeem the discount.
In today’s best game/app deals, BioShock drops from $20 to $10 on the Mac App Store and BioShock 2 drops even deeper from $20 to $5. The Mac Game Store is offering BioShock Infinite at 50% off from $30 down to $15. We also have some notable iOS deals today including InstaWeather Pro for $1(Reg. $2), PDF Reader Pro Edition on iPad for $5(Reg. $10), and the popular Order & Chaos Online drops significantly from $7 to $2, along with discounts on Sketchbook Pro for Mac and iPad.
Sony has now unleashed the PlayStation 4 out into the wild, and now it’s Microsoft’s turn. The Xbox One releases tonight with various special live launch events starting at 11pm tonight on Spike TV, Xbox.com and Xbox Live.
As per usual, several retailers will be open tonight across the country at midnight for the launch including Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart and Microsoft Stores. Along with some of the most insightful Xbox One reviews from around the web, we’ve put together some handy information below for those looking to grab one tonight…
Following the recent decision to cut the price on its struggling Surface RT, Microsoft has just dropped the price on its flagship Surface Pro model by $100 through August 29, according to The Verge. The 64GB model now costs $799, while the 128GB is now $899. Microsoft told the website that the slashed prices are for the U.S.…
The rumors were true. Yesterday Staples was the first retailer to slash $150 off each Microsoft Surface RT tablet and now the official Microsoft online store has followed suit. A price drop seemed eventual once Microsoft began giving away free keyboards and then heavily discounting it for educational institutions. The Surface has been met with mixed reactions since it was first delivered, with most reviewers finding that it fits a very specific niche tablet user. But if you think the Surface will fit your needs, now is a good time to buy one. The 32GB model starts at just $349.
