Microsoft working to get “every Xbox One video game” dealing with...
LOS ANGELES—When Microsoft announced the first details of its next game console Sunday, it said that "thousands of games across four console generations will look and play best on Project Scarlett." In a video follow-up focused on backward compatibility posted Monday, the company clarified that its goal is that "every single game you play on…
Dealmaster: Sony and Microsoft introduce a lot of PS4 and Xbox...
Enlarge / The limited-edition PS4 Sony has launched for its E3 sale this year. Sony This weekend marks the unofficial start of E3, the most prominent video game trade event in the United States. Ars will be at the show again, and this year's edition is expected to be somewhat muted compared to years past,…
Xbox’s brand-new Standard procedure: yes to “get damaged,” “potato goal,” no...
Enlarge / An artist's approximation of an Xbox Live player crossing the lines as set by Microsoft in a new Xbox Community Standards page this week. Getty Images / Sam Machkovech An apparently new page at the official Xbox website, dubbed "Community Standards for Xbox," was recently unearthed by members of the ResetEra gaming forums.…
Microsoft, Paradox permit open video game modding on Xbox One for...
Enlarge / Surviving Mars will be the first Xbox One game to allow the upload of user-created mods without pre-approval. In a console industry first, Paradox Interactive and Microsoft are allowing Xbox One players to get direct access to game modifications created on the PC without any pre-approval from the console maker or publisher. This…
Crackdown 3 evaluation: Half-baked action with delicious triple-jumping
Enlarge / The views are pretty nice. Originally announced way back in 2014 for a 2016 launch, Crackdown 3 has certainly taken its time in finally reaching Xbox One and Windows PC players this week. Despite all that time in the proverbial oven, though, Crackdown 3 comes out feeling dated and half-baked—though it's still a fun…
Minecraft lays its last brick on Xbox 360, other last-gen consoles
Enlarge / 4J Studios' collection of "legacy" console dev kits are being sent off to pasture, and that means those consoles will no longer receive official Minecraft updates. 4J Studios Following an announcement earlier this year, Microsoft and Mojang have followed through on bad news for owners of Minecraft on older game systems. Yesterday marked…
Sundown Overdrive evaluation: Flight the rails to kaboom-town (lastly on PCs,...
Throw traps, shoot guns, grind rails: that's the Sunset Overdrive way. Update: There's no shortage of new games this 2018 holiday season, but we wanted to bring a surprise gem to your attention: 2014's Sunset Overdrive, a high-octane, parkour-driven visual stunner. With seemingly zero fanfare, a $20 PC version arrived yesterday for Windows PCs (Steam,…
Report: Less expensive, disc-free Xbox One alternative following year
Psht, who needs 'em? Any future for used games? View more stories Microsoft is planning to release a disc-free version of the Xbox One as early as next spring, according to an unsourced report from author Brad Sams of Thurrott.com (who has been reliable with early Xbox-related information in the past). The report suggests the…
Xbox One’s mouse-and-keyboard age will start in “coming weeks,” Microsoft states
Enlarge / A future Xbox One controller. Here at Ars, we're old enough to remember when Microsoft first claimed that full support for keyboard/mouse controls on Xbox One was "months away." (That was over 27 months ago, for those still keeping track.) In any case, Microsoft has announced via a Tuesday blog post that the long-promised…
Valve exposes simply the number of PC players plug in gamepads–...
Enlarge / How third-party controllers appear in the Steam Input interface. Fans of PC video games inevitably point to the options they have for how they play their favorite games, whether with a keyboard and mouse, a large array of flight-sim pedals, or everything in between. But the data coming from leading PC platform Steam…
