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Forza Motorsport 6 announced, Ford features prominently
In a joint statement, auto manufacturer Ford and console manufacturer Microsoft have officially confirmed the next entry in the Xbox's hit racing franchise, Forza Motorsport 6, is currently in development for the Xbox One. This announcement comes from the ongoing North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where Ford has just unveiled its new Ford GT supercar - the same supercar seen above, which will grace the cover of Forza Motorsport 6. Additionally, the two companies also announced the game will feature the newly revealed F-150 Raptor and Shelby GT350 Mustang models before they are available to the public.
Xbox Gold subscribers race for free in Forza 5 this weekend
Hoping that a brief taste is enough to get players hooked, Microsoft is opening its flagship racer Forza Motorsport 5 to all Xbox Live Gold subscribers for the entirety of the upcoming weekend. Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, anyone with an Xbox Live Gold subscription and an Xbox One will be able to download Forza Motorsport 5 and play the game at no charge until Sunday night. The reams of DLC released for Forza Motorsport 5 won't be available during the free trial, but players will have access to all of the game's core content, including career mode races, multiplayer modes and the game's full suite of vehicle customization options. Additionally, any US residents who spend their weekend racing through Forza Motorsport 5 will be entered to win a three-day trip to the Forza Motorsport Grand Prix Road Racing Class at the famed Bondurant School of High Performance Driving. No purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes, but you will need a valid driver's license to attend the course. [Image: Microsoft]
Catch up on the latest trailers from Microsoft's Gamescom press conference
Microsoft made a ton of announcements during its Gamescom 2014 press conference -- so many that we could hardly keep up! Here's a collection of newly-launched trailers that you might have missed during the commotion. Hit the break below for new looks at Quantum Break, Dying Light, Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris, and other upcoming games for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Deals With Gold: Dead Rising 3, Ryse permanently discounted
This week's Xbox Live Deals With Gold sale bring permanent discounts to the Xbox One's "top titles," while Capcom takes a hatchet to the prices of its various downloadable offerings on the Xbox 360. From August 6 onward, Dead Rising 3, Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5 and Kinect Sports Rivals will be priced at $50 - a $10 discount off of each game's launch price. According to Microsoft, this new price is universal, so you'll be able to pick up any of these games either at retail or through the Xbox One's digital store at the new $50 price point. Capcom's discounts are much more impressive, as every game and DLC listed has been reduced in price by at least 50 percent. Highlights include Dead Rising 2: Off the Record for less than $7, Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara at $5.09 and the phenomenal Street Fighter 3: Third Strike Online Edition for only $3.74. [Image: Capcom]
Hot Wheels Forza 5 DLC brings cars, lacks bendy orange roads
Sometimes it's hard to find an excuse to play with the toys and properties you enjoyed as a kid. However, Forza 5 is about to reunite you with your long-lost Hot Wheels collection. Well, sort of. A new car pack, brought to you by Hot Wheels, is now available to download for $9.99. While this Forza 5 DLC doesn't feature 1:64 scale die-cast vehicles or sweet volcano jumps, it does feature Lamborghini's 50th anniversary car - the 2013 Lamborghini Veneno - along with nine other sweet rides. Seven of the 10 roadsters are new to the Forza franchise, and you can check out the full list after the break:
Nurburgring circuit coming to Forza 5 as free content today
The Nurburgring is coming as free downloadable content to Forza Motorsport 5, and it's available starting today. The introduction of the famous German motorsport circuit was announced at Microsoft's E3 presser, where the publisher also showcased the next Forza entry on Xbox One, Forza Horizon 2, which hits the system on September 30. [Image: Microsoft]
Forza 5: Racing Game of the Year edition debuting next month
An enhanced, DLC-bundled retail version of Xbox One racer Forza Motorsport 5 will launch next month, developer Turn 10 Studios told IGN today. Forza Motorsport 5: Racing Game of the Year features 18 tracks and 10 additional vehicles previously featured in April's Top Gear Car Pack. News of Forza 5's re-release follows up on the recent unveiling of Forza Horizon 2, an open-world driving game premiering this fall for the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Forza Motorsport 5: Racing Game of the Year will hit store shelves worldwide on July 22. [Image: Microsoft]
Turn 10 pops the hood on Forza 5, bolts on Bondurant DLC
The latest passel of fancy cars to join Forza Motorosport 5 have arrived, in the form of the "Bondurant" car pack DLC. Available from Xbox Live at a price of $10 (or, at no additional charge for those who've purchased the Forza 5 Season Pass), the pack includes ten different vehicles. Highlights include a 2013 Bentley Continental GT Speed, a 1970 Dodge Coronet Super Bee, and the 2013 Mazda MX-5 Cup, a car that is far more entertaining than its modest price would suggest. The crown jewel of this DLC pack is the above-pictured 2014 Corvette Stingray wrapped in exclusive Bondurant racing livery. Like most American muscle cars, the Stingray may not cling to corners, but it does go very, very fast, and you'll look supremely cool when sliding off the side of the track. Named for the famous Bondurant racing school in Arizona, this DLC's debut also offers Turn 10 a great excuse to plug that 60-acre facility. According to Turn 10, the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving will soon introduce a course titled the "Forza Motorsport Grand Prix Road Racing Class" for those gamers who want to transfer their virtual skills to real-world asphalt. [Image: Microsoft]
Forza Horizon 2 arrives this fall for Xbox One, Xbox 360 [Update]
Microsoft has announced Forza Horizon 2 for Xbox One and Xbox 360, IGN reported. The racing game follows the 2012 spin-off Forza Horizon, and is primarily being developed by the same studio, Playground Games. Forza Horizon 2 is expected to launch this fall. The next-gen racer will seemingly be set in southern Europe and bases its events around a music festival. It's the second game in the series to launch on Xbox One, the first being Turn 10's Forza 5, which launched with the console in November. Update: To clarify, the Xbox One version of Forza Horizon 2 is being developed by Playground Games, whereas the Xbox 360 version is in development by Sumo Digital, creator of Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed. Playground is collaborating with Turn 10 for the next-gen game, sharing some tech and staff to develop the game. [Image: Microsoft]
Forza 5 expands its Car Pass with two more monthly packs
Forza Motorsport series developer Turn 10 Studios plans to expand its Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass DLC offerings with two more monthly car packs in addition to the 70 cars currently available for pass buyers. Both the June and July packs will be released for free to Car Pass owners, bumping the $49.99 package's roster up to 90 playable cars. Turn 10 previously planned to wrap up its Car Pass content with this month's release of the Meguiar's Car Pack. The next Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pack will launch on Friday, May 30. [Image: Microsoft]
Forza 5 Meguiar's car pack lets you be the fast prince of Bel Air
Now this is a story all about how Xbox got flip-turned upside down ... Okay, it's not. It's actually about how Forza 5 developer Turn 10 has released 10 new cars for players to download and burn rubber with, including two Aston Martin models and the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air (see where we got the joke from now?). The Meguiar's Car Pack is available now for $9.99, or at no additional cost for season pass owners. The full list of cars included are as follows: 2013 BMW M Performance M3 Racing Car 1986 Alfa Romeo GTV-6 1958 Aston Martin DBR1 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air 2011 Aston Martin V12 Zagato (Villa d'Este) 1967 Chevrolet Chevelle SS-396 1940 Ford De Luxe Coupe 1966 Ford Lotus Cortina 1973 Mazda RX-3 1968 Dodge Dart HEMI Super Stock Carlton dance DLC not included. [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Newegg bundling $450 Xbox One with Titanfall, Forza 5 [update: now $500]
Update: At the time of writing Newegg had the bundle at $450, but it seems that time has gone and it's now $500. However, it still comes with both Titanfall and Forza bundled in. If you're searching for Easter Xbox One deals, you might want to try a Newegg hunt. A new $450 $500 deal chucks in two games rather than one: For a limited time you can get the console with both a boxed copy of Titanfall and a download code for Forza Motorsport 5. The system's regular price remains $500, although the Microsoft Store is still offering the Titanfall bundle for $450 - that "limited time" offer has been going for nearly a month.
Forza 5, GRID 2 devs have fun over BAFTA award mix-up
Question: When is an April Fool's prank not an April Fool's prank? Answer: When the prank happens three days late and isn't intentional. In other words, when the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), which is responsible for the BAFTA Awards, accidentally sends a nomination slip intended for Turn 10, developers of Forza Motorsport 5, to Codemasters, developers of the GRID and F1 series. Whoops. Codemasters took the mix-up in stride, tweeting at Turn 10 to let them know where their paper was, followed by playfully ransoming it off. Turn 10 noted that April 7 is National Beer Day in the US, and asked if a pint would cover the cost. Codemasters pointed out that they've already got quite the nice pub, and that's when things started to get a little ... silly. Read on for images and more tweets from the playful exchange.
Forza 5 lets you race The Stig's Digital Cousin in new Top Gear DLC
Some say he invented the Internet, and that his laugh produces glass-shattering soundwaves. All we know is he's not The Stig - but he is The Stig's Digital Cousin, and a challenge against him is coming to Forza Motorsport 5. A new Top Gear-themed DLC pack is racing toward the Xbox One-exclusive game, and it includes not only a challenge in which players get to face off against The Stig's Digital Cousin for prizes, but 10 new cars, including an Xbox One-themed 2013 Holden Commodore VF. You can see the full list of vehicles included in the Top Gear Car Pack after the break. Though each of the 10 cars included can be purchased a la carte, you'll need the pack if you want to take on Top Gear's famous masked man in the official challenge. It's available now for $9.99. Those who complete the challenge will receive an in-game credit reward, while those in the top 10 for the challenge will receive additional prizes. The number one driver against The Stig's Digital Cousin will win a special Stig Prize Pack from Top Gear. And don't worry, it won't take you long to get into the driver's seat and onto the asphalt. Dan Greenawalt, creative director at Forza series developer Turn 10 Studios, recently announced that cars bought as DLC - such as those included in the Top Gear Car Pack - no longer need to be purchased with in-game credits after their pack's installation. Instead, cars can be added to a player's garage immediately. Greenawalt wrote that this applies to both current and future DLC purchases. [Image: Microsoft Studios]
Buy an Xbox One, drive away with a free digital copy of Forza 5
Come next week, Microsoft is kicking off a promotion designed to make an Xbox One purchase that much more attractive by including a gratis copy of the console's flagship racer, Forza Motorsport 5. Omnipresent Xbox spokesman Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb unveiled the offer on his blog earlier today. "Starting at select retailers next week in the U.S., a digital copy of Forza Motorsport 5 will be included with purchases of Xbox One for the retail price of $499.99 for a limited time," Hryb wrote, before launching into a hyperbolic, if not inaccurate description of the racer. Our own review of the game awarded it four of five stars, with Ludwig praising the game's functionality and attention to detail, but lamenting its anemic selection of vehicles and tracks - an issue that has since been partially amended by DLC additions. Unfortunately, according to Microsoft, this promotion does not apply to Xbox One consoles purchased as part of the upcoming Titanfall bundle. [Image: Microsoft]
Microsoft: More than a third of Xbox One owners bought Forza 5
A new Microsoft press release suggests Forza 5 is an Xbox One million-seller (rather than a million-shipper). According to the big M, more than a third of Xbox One owners purchased Turn 10's racer, and we already know the Xbox One notched 3 million sales by the close of 2013. When we input all that in to the Joystiq Supercomputer 6000, it beeps and whirs that Forza 5 sold at least a million units. So why didn't Microsoft just say that? We stress "at least," because Microsoft stipulates its info is based on February 2014 sales data, and that hasn't been released yet. So the number of Xbox One sales should be a fair bit greater now, and in turn the third of owners who bought Forza 5. We'll have to wait for less cryptic press releases to confirm any of that, though. The news revs in alongside new DLC for the game, including the free Road America pack that adds themed events to the Career and Rivals modes. Owners of the game's Car Pass are also getting a new five-car Road America selection, supplementary to the previously announced six monthly packs.
Forza Motorsport 5 gets three free Hondas in Legends pack
Though Forza Motorsport 5 is an undeniably brazen example of modern microtransactions, developer Turn 10 does occasionally offer new content to players free of charge. For example, the new Honda Legends Car Pack. Created to celebrate the real-world unveiling of Honda's 2014 Civic Si, the Honda Legends Car Pack includes three cars: the aforementioned Civic, the 1984 Honda Civic CRX Mugen and the 1994 Honda Prelude Si. "All three of these cars represent the excitement and pure driving spirit that embodies Honda cars," says the Pack's description on the official Forza 5 website. Acquiring the Honda Legends Car Pack is as easy as finding and downloading the DLC on the Xbox One marketplace. As is standard for Forza 5 DLC, this will introduce the three cars into the game's dealership, where they can be purchased using your race winnings or by exchanging real-world cash for the requisite number of tokens. Still, it's free to get the pack inside the dealership. [Image: Turn 10 Studios]
Forza 5 December update slashes car prices, adds new modes
A substantial update coming to Forza 5 this month – perhaps as early as next week – will make it easier to stock your virtual garage with expensive vehicles. Prices for on-disc cars will be slashed almost in half (down 45%, to be exact), IGN reports, while racers will also accumulate money much faster after the update. On top of that, developer Turn 10 is adding a pair of new game modes: Drag Racing and Tag. In Drag Racing, up to 16 players can hop into a lobby and challenge other drivers in one-on-one straightaway races or simultaneous drag races for up to eight players at a time. The setup sounds quite similar to the Forza 4 version of drag racing. Tag is a bit more complex with three different variants on the classic children's game: One player is designated as "it" and must run from the other players to win; one player is "it" and, upon tagging other drivers, will cause them to be "it" as well, with the last standing untouched driver winning the match; and in the last variant, one player begins the match as "it" and must tag other players to pass the "it" status, with the player having been tagged the least amount of times winning the match. "We based our economy largely on Forza Motorsport 4 data," Turn 10 creative director Dan Greenawalt told IGN. "The earn rate [in Forza 5] should have been the same," Greenawalt added, assuring that Turn 10 is "making updates pretty quickly and painlessly" and will continue to do so based on input from the Forza 5 community.
Microsoft: Over 50 million hours logged on Xbox Ones since launch
In the realm of esoteric statistics, Microsoft announced that over 50 million hours in "games and entertainment" have been logged on Xbox One systems since it launched on November 22. The console manufacturer added that over 415 million Gamerscore points were unlocked via achievements on the system. Microsoft also noted a few other in-game milestones achieved in individual Xbox One games, such as the number of miles driven in Forza 5 globally (90 million), zombies killed in Dead Rising 3 (three billion), combos achieved in Killer Instinct (150 million) and enemies defeated in Ryse: Son of Rome (186 million). By comparison, EA announced that over 140 million gameplay minutes were logged in its games on PS4 in the console's opening five days. To add to today's numbers, Sony announced that global PS4 sales exceed 2.1 million, though we're not certain how that translates to hours spent or zombies destroyed or how close that is to the moon when you stack them all, etc.
Director defends Forza 5's slender structure
While the past few Forza Motorsport entries have offered players new packs of additional cars long after each game's debut, Forza 5 takes things to a whole new level. Our largely positive review described the game as enjoyable but anemic, but Forza creative director Dan Greenawalt stands by the team's design choices. In a Shacknews interview, Greenawalt was asked why so much content appears to be missing from Forza 5 while developer Turn 10 Studios continues to promote upcoming DLC additions that should flesh out the racing simulation. "Forza Motorsport 5 is actually the largest racing game ever delivered at the launch of a console, by a long shot," Greenawalt states. "In fact, it would be huge even by second holiday standards. As mentioned above, it is bigger than Forza 2, which was delivered a year and half after the launch of the Xbox 360. It also has more car diversity than any previous Forza Motorsport; by including open wheel race cars and track toys like the KTM X-Bow and the Ariel Atom on top of the diversity that took us years to build up across multiple iterations on the Xbox 360. "Moreover, we've defined an uncompromised quality bar for new generation racing games in both car and track detail and immersion - all while, delivering unprecedented size," Greenawalt says. "Regarding DLC, we have found that 10 cars a month is the fastest we could create "just in time" content. Just like in Forza Motorsport 4, we are planning to add as many as 10 cars a month to Forza Motorsport 5. It takes more than six months to build every car. Delivering cars in monthly packs allows us to keep the game new and fresh for those that are interested." When asked why Forza 5 is missing the iconic Nürburgring track, Greenawalt explains that the new graphics engine in Forza 5 necessitates that all tracks be rebuilt from scratch. While other famed racetracks like Spa were able to make an appearance in Forza 5, there just wasn't time to reproduce the lengthy, complex Nürburgring for the new engine, so instead of porting low-resolution content from Forza 4, the team opted to leave the track absent. "Expect more news on tracks in Forza Motorsport 5 in the near future," Greenawalt added.
