Microsoft News, Microsoft Features

You win some, you lose some

Outrageously attractive Xbox One fire sales pushed the PlayStation 4 from the top of the US hardware charts for the first time in eight months last month – although speculation suggests that Sony's system was just 10,000 units off the pace. Microsoft's console was widely available for considerably less than the...

Another dev chimes in

This saga regarding cross-play on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One is really frustrating, isn't it? As gamers, we obviously want it to happen – but as "industry pundits" (if we can call ourselves that), the way it's being discussed is infuriating. Obviously, Sony has supported cross-platform play with the PC since the early...

Neo way

Microsoft jumped feet first into the iterative hardware space at E3 2016, announcing Project Scorpio for… Well, the end of 2017! Sony, on the other hand, opted to keep the PlayStation 4K closer to its chest, confirming that it is working on an upgraded console, but refusing to share specifics until the platform is officially announced...

Suggests that PS4K may release very soon after reveal

Sony boss Andrew House has admitted that he was surprised Microsoft announced the Xbox Scorpio this week considering that it's almost 18 months away. "The dynamics of the tech industry are such that there's a much heavier emphasis on immediate gratification than there was," he told The...

Neo way

So there we have it, Xbox's rumoured Project Scorpio is real – or it exists as a concept at least. Ever since the rumours regarding an upgraded Xbox One leaked, we've been discussing among ourselves how Microsoft would present it, and we wanted to wait and see before putting pen to paper. Our assumption, however, was that Microsoft would...

Format face-off

That's the Microsoft E3 2016 briefing done and dusted, then, where the showing centred on games such as Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, and ReCore. It was a strong if unsurprising show for Microsoft, though obviously the sheer number of leaks didn't help. The manufacturer closed on Project Scorpio, an interative hardware upgrade due...

Noct like this

For obvious reasons, we won't be covering Microsoft's imminent E3 2016 press conference, but it's worth pointing out that Final Fantasy XV will apparently be there. If you've been keeping up over the past couple of days, you'll know that the American company's presser has been leaking like crazy, so this rumour at least seems...

Consoles still relevant, it seems

Bad news for all those people who predicted consoles were dying out: the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are doing extremely well in the UK. New data released by GAME reveals that the combined total of new-gen consoles sold tallies 5.1 million units – while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 could only muster 3.5 million...

Needs to consider technical, policy, and business issues

Microsoft's decision to suddenly start supporting cross-platform play after years of blocking it – odd anomalies excluded – was announced expertly. Despite the likes of Nintendo and Sony allowing gamers to play with PC players for years – and, in the case of upcoming game Dreii, even...

Sony happy to have conversations

Following the big hubbub brewed up by Microsoft regarding its vague statements on cross-platform play between Xbox and other platforms, people went a bit nuts - and many jumped the gun entirely. However, GameSpot's actually managed to get a response of sorts from Sony, and without inflating our egos, the company's...

Building bridges

Microsoft's always been good at making headlines – and it usually opts to do so when this author's out of the office. It announced today that it will be enabling cross-network play on the Xbox One, a bold new direction from the Redmond manufacturer that… Well, puts yet another of its policies in line with the PlayStation 4...

Sony yet to respond

In a letter on Microsoft's website, Chris Charla - director of ID@Xbox, the indie-focused division of Xbox - has announced cross-network play for the Xbox One and Windows 10, allowing players across both platforms to play online together. This may not seem applicable to PlayStation at first glance, but Charla's wording hints...

Well, not many of 'em

Microsoft melted the web with its Quantum Break announcements yesterday. Unfortunately for Remedy, the forthcoming time-shifting affair got nudged to the side, as platform politics ruled the day. For those of you that missed it, the Redmond firm confirmed that the release would be coming to the PC day-and-date with the Xbox...

Fortune's fool

The console wars may be awash with warriors angrily biting their thumbs, but the word star-cross'd springs to mind when observing the latest social media fad. This tragic tale of two adoring PlayStation and Xbox representatives actually did the Twitter rounds a couple of years ago, but it's made a comeback overnight – even prompting...

Sony's way out in the lead

Microsoft stopped reporting Xbox One hardware sales recently, suggesting that its Monthly Active Users metric is more important than its flagship format's install base. Fortunately, an EA investor report and a bit of math has enabled us to, for the first time in a long while, see how the Redmond firm's box is performing in...

Yay?

News at eleven: Microsoft has a product and it doesn't care who it sells it to. While the so-called "power of the cloud" was a big buzz word when the Xbox One was announced, the Redmond firm has been a little less forthcoming about the bullet point of late. And now a Twitter exchange with gaffer Phil Spencer has revealed that the company's open...

Pach attack

Divisive industry analyst Michael Pachter has pulled out his crystal ball in a brand new YouTube video, deeming that Sony already has the latest generation on lock. The Japanese giant announced relatively recently that the PlayStation 4 has surpassed 30 million sales worldwide, while Microsoft has opted not to report

5/10

In backward compatibility, Microsoft's finally got an Xbox One feature that it can shout about it – and it's sure trying its hardest to make a bit of noise. In a new video on the organisation's UK YouTube account, the company has parodied Sony's famous PlayStation 4 game sharing video – although the punch line isn't quite as well executed...

Keeping the numbers quiet

Sony was sheepish when it came to console sales last generation, lumping the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 together as part of the illusive "PlayStation Family". It's been a lot more forthcoming with the PlayStation 4, revealing both sell in and sell through figures with alarming regularity. But it seems that Microsoft...