Official Playstation 5 Shells May Be in the Works According to Sony Patent

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Looks like Sony may have a plan to make the Playstation 5 look less like ass and more elegant by the way of official shells.

Discovered by OPAttack, the official patent is titled “Cover for Electronic Device” and is described as an “ornamental design for a cover for an electronic device.” The patent then has a diagram of the PS5 faceplates for illustrative purposes.

This could explain why Sony threatened companies like CMP Shells if they had their own plan in the works. Or perhaps they realized it was a missed opportunity? I don’t know!

What I do know is that the black shells that I ordered from CMP improve the look of my PS5 1000% and my Xbox Series X is no longer embarrassed to share a media shelf with it.

[Source: OPAttack]

Halo Infinite Co-op and Forge Mode Release Delayed Minimum 3 Months

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Halo Infinite‘s Campaign co-op will be delayed to May 2022 and Forge may be delayed even further according to 343 Head of Creative.

In an interview with Eurogamer, 343 Head of Creative, Joseph Staten, has confirmed that with the extension of Halo Infinite Season 1 by 3 months, Forge and Campaign co-op, which was always intended to be launched with Season 2 anyway, will be pushed out as well.

Season 1 was originally planned to span 3 months, but it will now run for 6 months, so it makes sense for everything to push out accordingly. Hard and fast dates however have not been confirmed.

“We can’t commit to any hard dates right now, because as we’re seeing with this multiplayer beta, other things might move up in the priority stack for us. If it turns out that our progression system just isn’t working the way that we intended, if we need to move some of these bigger rocks sooner, then we as a team will make those decisions and will clearly communicate to our fans why we’re why we’re doing certain things.”

Joseph Staten via Eurogamer

At this point, I can’t really fault 343 for taking their time to ensure that everything is top-notch. I have been thoroughly enjoying the multiplayer which is highly polished. If the campaign launches with the same level of quality then we’re in store for a good time. 343 seems to be outputting quality with the additional time so I say let them have it.

[Source: Eurogamer]

The Halo Infinite Xbox Series X Console Has A Hidden Easter Egg

Posted on by Spieler Dad

I was able to get my hands on an Xbox Series X at launch last year, but don’t think for a second that I didn’t try to get my hands on the limited edition Halo Infinite Xbox Series X. I was not able to land one, but I suppose I shouldn’t be selfish. I did consider myself fortunate to even have landed a standard Xbox Series X, to begin with, that is until I saw the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X in the wild.

For those that did manage to snag a Halo Infinite Xbox Series X, there is a hidden surprise, provided they own a black light.

Halo 20th Anniversary Xbox has a hidden Zeta Halo symbol from xboxone

The hidden symbol was discovered by Reddit user Demon_King_Lamb. When viewed under UV or black light, a Zeta Halo symbol is revealed.

Microsoft has clearly put a lot of effort into the Xbox Series X, and the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X makes a sexy-looking console, look even sexier. I now want one more than ever.

[Source: Reddit]

Xbox Cloud Gaming Is Now Live on All Xbox Consoles

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Starting today, some lucky Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers can stream games to their console instead of downloading them. This includes streaming Xbox Series X games to your old and crusty Xbox One. Of course, you can also stream games to your Xbox Series X or S, if you want to take them for a spin before downloading them, saving precious storage space.

Microsoft is slow-rolling this out to users globally with more folks getting access in the coming weeks. To help users differentiate, titles that can be streamed will have a “cloud” icon on the Xbox Store.

Of course, quality will vary depending on your internet connection. Also, if you have a data cap, you may want to be wary.

[Source: Microsoft]

Elder Scrolls VI Will Be an Xbox/PC Exclusive, Which Should Surprise No One

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Come on Playstation fans, did you really think Microsoft would let this come out on the PS5?

In an in-depth article on GQ UK covering Phil Spencer’s tenure at Xbox, Spencer essentially puts any and all speculation to rest.

“It’s not about punishing any other platform, like I fundamentally believe all of the platforms can continue to grow… But in order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think about Elder Scrolls VI. That would be true when I think about any of our franchises.”

GQ

Seems pretty definitive to me. I mean, he does not outright say exclusive, so I guess the door is ever so slightly open.

Playstation fans

I wouldn’t put any money on this though.

[Source: GQ UK]

Activision Blizzard Employees Walk Out Following Bombshell Wall Street Journal Report On Bobby Kotick

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Activision Blizzard employees have staged a walkout today following a Wall Street Journal report stating CEO Bobby Kotick has known about instances of sexual misconduct at the publisher and its studios dating back to 2018.

The report which follows months of reporting, interviews, and documents obtained by the WSJ claims that Kotick knew of numerous sexual assault and harassment claims at the publisher and its stable of studios for years. The report also states that Kotick did not notify the board of directors of an out-of-court settlement to an employee who accused a supervisor of rape. That is a major no-no. Boards for billion-dollar companies like to know of these things.

Just last month, Kotick agreed to take a massive pay cut down to $62,500 per year until Activision Blizzard’s board feels that diversity, equity, and inclusion goals are met. 

In hindsight, the board may need to reconsider that decision entirely and perhaps seek tougher action against Kotick.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

Xbox Game Pass Is ‘Very, Very Sustainable’ According to Phil Spencer

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Xbox Executive Vice President Phil Spencer has shared during a press briefing celebrating the Xbox’s 20th anniversary that Game Pass is “very, very sustainable” and is “continuing to grow.” This runs counter to many skeptics who believe that the service must be a loss leader with the goal to build up as many subscriptions as possible.

“I know there’s a lot of people that like to write [that] we’re burning cash right now for some future pot of gold at the end… No. Game Pass is very, very sustainable right now as it sits. And it continues to grow.”

Phil Spencer via Axios

Earlier in the year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that Xbox Game Pass has 18 million subscribers, which is nothing to sneeze at. With the highly successful launch of Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite coming up next month, and a growing stable of first-party exclusives, as well as 3rd party games, things are looking mighty bright for the service.

[Source: Axios]

Microsoft Announces Xbox Documentary Series – Releases December 13, 2021

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Microsoft has announced during its 20th Anniversary Celebration that it will be releasing a six-part documentary detailing the history of Xbox.

The series is titled Power On and will cover the birth of the Xbox brand when it was conceived by a small team of DirectX engineers at the software giant.

From the trailer, there is a good mix of current and former Xbox team members who delve into the difficulties encountered to bring the console to life within the behemoth software maker.

The six-part series debuts on December 13, 2021.

[Source: Microsoft]

Surprise – Halo Infinite Multiplayer Is Available Now

Posted on by Spieler Dad

The cat was let out of the bag early on this, but today Microsoft made it official during its Xbox 20th Anniversary event. Halo Infinite’s free multiplayer mode is available now.

Gamers can access the free standalone mode now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It will become available on Xbox Cloud Gaming later today at some point.

The full campaign is scheduled to launch on December 8 at which point all your multiplayer progress will carry over.

[Source: Microsoft]

Xbox Adds Over 70 Titles To Its Backwards Compatibility List in One Big Final Push

Posted on by Spieler Dad

Today, as part of the 20th anniversary of Xbox broadcast, Microsoft has announced that over 70 original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles have been added to the backward compatibility program. This is the single biggest deployment of new additions in the history of the program and BOOM, it’s officially over. No more titles will be added.

Below is the full list of titles added today:

  • 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand
  • Aces of the Galaxy
  • Advent Rising
  • Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom
  • Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Make the Grade
  • Avatar: The Last Airbender – The Burning Earth
  • Bankshot Billiards 2
  • Beautiful Katamari
  • Binary Domain
  • Black College Football Xperience: Doug Williams Ed
  • Cloning Clyde
  • Conan
  • Darwinia+
  • Dead or Alive Ultimate
  • Dead or Alive 3
  • Dead or Alive 4
  • Death by Cube
  • Disney Universe
  • Disney’s Chicken Little
  • Elements of Destruction
  • F.E.A.R.
  • F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin
  • F.E.A.R. 3
  • F.E.A.R. Files
  • The First Templar
  • Gladius
  • Gunvalkyrie
  • Islands of Wakfu
  • Lego The Lord of the Rings
  • Manhunt
  • Max Payne
  • Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
  • Max Payne 3
  • Mini Ninjas
  • Mortal Kombat
  • Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
  • MX vs. ATV Alive
  • MX vs. ATV Untamed
  • NIER
  • Novadrome
  • Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
  • Onechanbara: Bikini Samurai Squad
  • Otogi: Myth of Demons
  • Otogi 2: Immortal Warriors
  • The Outfit
  • Outpost Kaloki X
  • Quake Arena Arcade
  • R.A.W. – Realms of Ancient War
  • Red Dead Revolver
  • Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City
  • Ridge Racer 6
  • Rio
  • Risen
  • Risen 2: Dark Waters
  • Rock of Ages
  • Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
  • Scramble
  • Screwjumper!
  • Secret Weapons Over Normandy
  • Skate 2
  • SpongeBob SquarePants Underpants Slam!
  • SpongeBob’s Truth or Square
  • Star Wars Starfighter: Special Edition
  • Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars
  • Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
  • Switchball
  • Thrillville
  • Thrillville: Off the Rails
  • Time Pilot
  • TimeSplitters 2
  • TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
  • Toy Story Mania!
  • Vandal Hearts: Flames of Judgment
  • Viva Piñata: Party Animals
  • Warlords

The titles added today will include some notable enhancements. Microsoft has confirmed that every title added includes Auto HDR (for supported displays), 4x resolution increase on Xbox Series X and Xbox One X; 3x resolution increase on Series S, and 2x resolution increase on Xbox One S and Xbox One.

Now that is how you close out a program and ride off into the sunset.

[Source: Microsoft]