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Xbox One update makes your game streams easier to find
We know you're probably still salivating over the latest Project Scorpio details and the promise of next-gen games, but for now you've still got a perfectly good console tucked under your living room TV. Microsoft recently pushed a major Xbox One update -- a redesigned UI and support for Beam broadcasting among the highlights -- and it's just started rolling out even more new features. Nothing huge, but likely welcome all the same since Microsoft says they were all inspired by user feedback. There's a new "Join broadcast" button on profile pages that lets people quickly view live game streams, for one, as well the ability to hide, pin and filter posts on the Activity Feed tab.
Original Xbox One sale drops the UK price to £180
When the first Xbox One S bundles hit the UK in late September, they were so aggressively priced that the original One looked ready for immediate retirement. But the console has one last hurrah in store. Microsoft announced this morning the "biggest ever sale" of original Xbox One gear, with bundles starting at £180 for a 500GB box and one game. That's on Microsoft's store, anyway, but similar discounts can be found at other retailers like Amazon and Tesco (no reaction from GAME currently).
The first Xbox One S bundles in the UK are really cheap
Microsoft's Xbox One S is just the right kind of mid-generation hardware update. The neater console, with a better bundled gamepad and 4K Blu-ray drive, is tempting enough without feeling like a big ol' middle finger to OG Xbox One owners. When it launched in the UK towards the beginning of last month, though, its £350 price tag wasn't exactly accessible. But today, the first One S console bundles (with FIFA 17 included) have launched, lowering the cost of entry to dangerous, impulse-buy territory.
'Halo 5' gets cooperative Firefight game mode this summer
Apart from the odd silly weekend playlist, Halo 5 doesn't really cater for your more casual gaming moods. You've got Arena matches for classic competition, and Warzone games when you're up for grand-scale carnage. A more chilled (or not) cooperative mode is coming, though, in the form of Warzone Firefight. It'll pit you and chums against increasingly overwhelming waves of alien enemies, similar to cooperative multiplayer modes you may have played in previous Halo titles. Over the weekend, Microsoft revealed a few more details about the new game type, as well as a trailer to get you nice and hype.
New in our buyer's guide: The Xbox One wireless adapter and more!
Before we set about reviewing all the phones announced at Mobile World Congress last month, we decided to give our gaming and audio buyer's guides a refresh. In addition to culling some older products, we're inducting a few new ones. The most recognizable of the bunch is perhaps the Xbox One wireless adapter, though you might also be familiar with the wireless Bragi Dash earbuds that we reviewed recently. Rounding out the list, we've added Master & Dynamic's $549 MW60 wireless over-ears -- for those who can afford it. Check out our full guide here, and stay tuned for further updates in the coming months.
Microsoft launches the Xbox One Digital TV Tuner in Europe
Microsoft pitches the Xbox One not as a run-of-the-mill games console, but as a fully fledged home entertainment hub. For most Americans, making use of the One's TV integration features is as simple as plugging the HDMI output from their set-top box straight into the console. Europeans don't have it quite as easy. With old-school coaxial cables still in common use, Microsoft cooked up the Xbox One Digital TV Tuner: a small USB peripheral that turns coaxial outputs into something the console can understand. Today, the TV Tuner has finally gone on sale in the UK for £25, and in France, Germany, Italy and Spain for €30. Once set up, you can start watching TV through your Xbox One, using the console's OneGuide EPG to browse channel listings with a controller, or with voice commands if you have a Kinect camera. The Xbox also becomes a make-shift DVR, allowing you to pause and rewind live TV. And when you absolutely have to spend time in another room, you can continue to watch live TV on mobile devices by streaming it through the Xbox One SmartGlass app.
You can now watch Vine videos on Xbox One, because why not
Vine's come a long way since its early days, and now it has yet another platform it can shine on: Xbox One. With this new application for Microsoft's gaming console, released today, users can start watching these six-second (or less) videos on a bigger screen right away. The Vine app on Xbox One comes with an interface that will be familiar to regular fans of the service, featuring Trending Tags, Playlists, Featured Users and other, more-specific categories like Comedy, DIY, Science & Tech and Sports. As Microsoft points out, this marks the fist time Vine has designed a viewing experience with TV in mind -- although some people may be disappointed they can't use Kinect to record Vines and share them directly from Xbox One. Still, let's not forget it is only the app's version 1.0. In the meantime, at the very least you have the option host a Vine-looping party, if that's your sort of thing.
Sony rejected EA Access for the PS4 because it's not worth the money
EA revealed its new Access subscription service for the Xbox One yesterday, which lets you play a bunch of EA titles, take advantage of discounts and get upcoming games early in exchange for a small monthly (or yearly) fee. While it might've looked like a platform-exclusive partnership with Microsoft, Game Informer has learned that Sony actively rejected EA Access for the PlayStation 4. "We evaluated the EA Access subscription offering and decided that it does not bring the kind of value PlayStation customers have come to expect," Sony said, adding that the success of PS Plus "shows that gamers are looking for memberships that offer a multitude of services, across various devices, for one low price." And, just in case we hadn't got the message, Sony's statement concluded: "We don't think asking our fans to pay an additional $5 a month for this EA-specific program represents good value to the PlayStation gamer."
Latest Xbox One update preview revives friend log-in notifications
The Xbox One's March update is so last month, those enrolled in the update preview program are already being invited to test the latest batch of upcoming tweaks. Version 1404, the April update, or whatever else you'd like to call it, will be rolling out over the next couple of days, with features and fixes being implemented piecemeal. Nevertheless, we know the full intentions of the next update, which will bring back friend sign-in notifications, make it clear who on your buddy list is engaged in multiplayer action, and allow you to check their favorite apps. A 'saving game' progress bar will be added, as well as flags that show what games/apps are being updated or have been recently. Beyond that, there's another fix for the European 50Hz media playback problem, this time for Blu-rays, and improvements to voice and motion controls, game recording quality and compatibility with A/V gear under the One's control, like TVs and set-top boxes. Most of us will have to wait until the update is properly tested, remember, but take comfort in the knowledge it's on the way. Update: Major Nelson has also posted the list of changes to expect, check them out after the break.
Gaming deals of the week: 3.12.14
Sometimes you just have to wait until a retailer tosses together a bunch of tech that you're eying before you make the leap. In terms of new gaming consoles, today could very well be the day. There are tempting bundles for both Xbox One and PS4 on the other side of the jump, alongside two other entertainment-minded gadgets to help boost those high scores. If there are other gaming devices you're after that we haven't included here -- join us and add them to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut in the future, you'll get an email alert!
SmartGlass for Xbox One reaches Windows Phone a few days early (update: Windows 8.1 too)
As the ancient proverb goes: a next-gen console ain't no next-gen console without next-gen mobile apps. We can't remember who said that exactly, but it's impossible to forget what's built into the new Xbox One SmartGlass app. After all, Microsoft's been hyping everything you'll be able to do with that second screen for months now. In preparation for the One's launch later this week, the companion app has (unsurprisingly) landed first in the Windows Phone store. As you'd imagine, it's basically useless, but you can still download it, sign in and poke around the limited UI should you wish. We expect the new version to show up in the App and Play stores in due course, but perhaps this debut appearance will remind Sony that Windows Phone users like apps, too. Update: It appears that Microsoft not only released the SmartGlass app for Windows Phone today, but the folks in Redmond unveiled the Windows 8.1 version as well. So now that Microsoft fans can get SmartGlass on any of their devices, the only thing remaining is to get their hands on that lust-worthy console.
Microsoft: stand the Xbox One any way you like, as long as it's flat
We're still a couple of months away from the launch of the Xbox One, but if you've already cleared out a welcoming cubbyhole in anticipation, then we hope you've pictured the next-gen console lying down. Speaking with GameSpot at the Tokyo Game Show, top Xbox bod Albert Panello said the One doesn't "support vertical orientation," or: you shouldn't stand it up. Panello explains the console's slot-loading drive simply wasn't designed for operating in that position, and if you're a rebellious type that laughs at the threat of busted hardware, you'll be ignoring official advice "at your own risk."
Microsoft rolls out first Xbox One ad, highlights NFL features and Skype integration
Now that we know the release date for Microsoft's Xbox One, it's only natural for the company to start an ad campaign showcasing some features that are part of its next-generation console. Unlike what most would expect, however, the first video advertising the Xbox One isn't touting one of its main purposes: gaming. Instead, this particular 31-second spot focuses heavily on the new Xbox's integration with Skype and NFL-tailored features -- some of which include watching games live, built-in Fantasy Football and having access to personalized highlights. Of course, this is only the beginning, so expect to catch an ad with casual gamers actors playing Titanfall or FIFA 14 in the not-so-distant future. Check out the video for yourself right past the jump.
