Deals With Gold

Microsoft has announced this week's Xbox Live deals for the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Tomb Raider games seem to be the main feature this month. Major Nelson's website states that this week's deals are valid through December 8, 2014. You can check out the full list below:

Xbox 360 Games

Content Title	Content Type	Discount %
Tomb Raider	Games on Demand	50%
Tomb Raider Adventure Pack Unlock	Add-on	50%
Tomb Raider Online Survival Pack Unlock	Add-on	50%
Tomb Raider Underworld	Games on Demand	75%
Tomb Raider: Underworld – Lara’s Shadow	Add-on	67%
Tomb Raider Underworld Beneath the Ashes	Add-on	67%
Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light	Arcade	67%
Tomb Raider Anniversary	Games on Demand	75%
Tomb Raider: Anniversary – Episodes 1 & 2	Add-on	67%
Tomb Raider: Anniversary – Episodes 3 & 4	Add-on	67%
Tomb Raider Legend	Games on Demand	75%
Armored Core Verdict Day	Games on Demand	50%
Enslaved	Games on Demand	67%

Xbox One

Content Title	Content Type	Discount %
Tomb Raider Definitive Edition	Xbox One Game	33-50%

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Microsoft Aquires Mojang For $2.5 Million

Swedish based developer Mojang famous for title Minecraft has been bought by Microsoft for $2.5 billion. In a recent, Mojang have said that the deal would not result in the deletion of Minecraft games and apps available on non-Microsoft devices. You can check out the full blog post below:

'Yes, the deal is real. Mojang is being bought by Microsoft.

It was reassuring to see how many of your opinions mirrored those of the Mojangstas when we heard the news. Change is scary, and this is a big change for all of us. It’s going to be good though. Everything is going to be OK. <3

Please remember that the future of Minecraft and you – the community – are extremely important to everyone involved. If you take one thing away from this post, let it be that.

We can only share so much information right now, but we’ve decided that being as honest as possible is the best approach. We’re still working a lot of this stuff out. Mega-deals are serious business.

Why did you sell Minecraft?
Minecraft has grown from a simple game to a project of monumental significance. Though we’re massively proud of what Minecraft has become, it was never Notch’s intention for it to get this big.

As you might already know, Notch is the creator of Minecraft and the majority shareholder at Mojang. He’s decided that he doesn’t want the responsibility of owning a company of such global significance. Over the past few years he’s made attempts to work on smaller projects, but the pressure of owning Minecraft became too much for him to handle. The only option was to sell Mojang. He’ll continue to do cool stuff though. Don’t worry about that.

There are only a handful of potential buyers with the resources to grow Minecraft on a scale that it deserves. We’ve worked closely with Microsoft since 2012, and have been impressed by their continued dedication to our game and its development. We’re confident that Minecraft will continue to grow in an awesome way.

Minecraft means many different things to millions of people across the world, and to each and every Mojangsta. We feel that this is the best way for everyone – you guys included – to benefit.

What about the other editions of Minecraft? Will they stop being developed?
There’s no reason for the development, sales, and support of the PC/Mac, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PS4, Vita, iOS, and Android versions of Minecraft to stop. Of course, Microsoft can’t make decisions for other companies or predict the choices that they might make in the future.

We’re extremely proud of all editions and the awesome things you have achieved through playing together.

Is the game going to change? Will we still be able to make videos, mods, awesome builds, and all the cool stuff we’ve created over the past few years?
Minecraft will continue to evolve, just like it has since the start of development. We don’t know specific plans for Minecraft’s future yet, but we do know that everyone involved wants the community to grow and become even more amazing than it’s ever been. Stopping players making cool stuff is not in anyone’s interests.

What about the Mojang staff? What’s happening to you guys?
Though it’s too early to confirm which of us will continue working on Minecraft or other projects, we predict that the vast majority (if not all) Mojangstas will continue to work at Mojang for the time being.

The founders: Notch, Carl, and Jakob are leaving. We don’t know what they’re planning. It won’t be Minecraft-related but it will probably be cool.

What’s happening to the other Mojang projects, like Scrolls?
We don’t know yet. We’ll share any news as soon as we do.

Will you still be able to tweet about features and interact with the community on a personal level, just like you’ve done over the years?
Yes! That’s not going to change.

How much money was the company bought for?
Microsoft acquired Mojang for a smooth 2.5 BILLION dollars.'

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Minimum Specs Revealed for Ryse On PC

Crytek has released the specs for Ryse Son of Rome which is due out on PC. Ryse can be pre-purchased now for £34.99 / €39.99 / $39.99 on Steam and you will be able to play on October 10th. Ryse will have be able to work in 4k resolutions and will include all the DLC released so far. Pre-purchases will also receive a digital download of the game's soundtrack.

The full list of minimum and required specifications is as follows:

Minimum specs

• OS - Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (64bit) 
• Processor - Intel Dual-Core 2.8 GHz/ AMD Dual-Core 3.2 GHz or better 
• Memory - 4GB RAM 
• Graphics - DirectX 11 graphics card with 1GB video RAM 
• DirectX - Version 11 
• Hard Drive - 26GB available space 
• Sound Card - DirectX compatible Sound Card with latest drivers

Recommended specs

• OS - Windows Vista SP1, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (64bit) 
• Processor - Intel Quad-Core or AMD Octo-Core 
• Memory - 8GB RAM 
• Graphics - DirectX 11 graphics card with 4GB video RAM 
• DirectX - Version 11 
• Hard Drive - 26GB available space 
• Sound Card - DirectX compatible Sound Card with latest drivers

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Halo 5: Guardians Announced

343 Industries has revealed that Halo 5: Guardians will launch on Xbox One at the end of 2015. The announcement which was made via a blog post states the future of the Halo franchise as a whole. 'In the past, “Halo” games have pushed the Xbox forward, showcasing the console and its ecosystem in entertaining and innovative ways. Making a “Halo” game that runs at 60 frames per second, on dedicated servers, with the scope, features and scale we’ve been dreaming of for more than a decade, is non-trivial. It’s a task that we, at 343 Industries, are taking very seriously to ensure we deliver the “Halo” game that fans deserve, and a game that is built from the ground up for Xbox One. “Halo 5: Guardians” is a bigger effort than “Halo 4.” That applies to the content and scope of the game, as well as the technology in what’s now a brand new and more powerful engine. Certainly there are some core elements carried over from prior games, but we’ve invested a huge effort in retooling our tech to take full advantage of the Xbox One’s hardware and ecosystem to create worlds and experiences worthy of next-gen.'

It may be interesting to note that Halo 5 was hinted at being shown this year at E3 'Many fans noted that I was very deliberate with my phrasing on stage at E3 last year. I spoke about a “journey,” rather than a destination – and that journey definitely begins in 2014 with agiant leap, rather than one small step. We’ll give you much more information about our plans for this year at the Xbox E3 2014 Media Briefing on June 9, and we’re confident that “Halo” fans will be pretty excited about the special plans we have in store.' All we can say is stay tuned as we will be coming you informed on the coming events!

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Games With Gold Launches On Xbox One

In what is a big news day for Microsoft, they have now confirmed that 'Games with Gold' will launch on Xbox One in June. "Members will have subscription-based access to free games ranging from top hits to breaking indie stars," the company recently said.

'Games with Gold' will launch on Xbox One with two titles available; Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault. The Games with Gold titles for Xbox 360 in June will be Dark Souls, Charlie Murder and a Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition.


Discounts for Xbox One titles will also be available in June "The first titles offered in June will include Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome, and a few other surprises. In the coming months, we will offer significant savings of up to 50 - 75 percent off certain titles."

We can't help but think this is a great move by Microsoft considering Sony's and Nintendo's efforts recently, however it all seems a bit of a knee jerk reaction.

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Microsoft Releasing Xbox One Without Kinect

Microsoft has confirmed that it will releasing an Xbox One bundle without the Kinect sensor which will see the price fall down to £349. The new bundle will be available from June 9th.

Microsoft had often been quick to squash rumors regarding a Kinect-less Xbox One citing that the Kinect is "an absolutely integral part of the experience".

On Xbox.com department head Phil Spencer said that despite reversal, the motion sensor remains an important part of Microsoft's vision for Xbox One. He went on to say "To be clear, as we introduce this new Xbox One console option, Kinect remains an important part of our vision. Many of you are using Kinect for Xbox One every day. In fact, more than 80 percent of you are actively using Kinect, with an average of 120 voice commands per month on each console. We will continue to offer a premium Xbox One with Kinect bundle to deliver voice and gesture controls, biometric sign-in, instant personalization, instant scanning of QR codes, and enhanced features only available with Kinect in games such as Kinect Sports Rivals, Just Dance 2014, Project Spark and more."

Spencer confirmed that Microsoft will offer standalone Kinect packages at retail. This isn't the first time Microsoft have done a U-turn now not forgetting the big hoo-ha with 'used games' but we know how that story ended!

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PlayStation's E3 Conference Gets Time And Date

Sony's E3 2014 press conference will take place on June the 9th at 5pm UK time. The event has not been officially announced as of yet but invitations have been sent out to certain members of the press. Shortly after at 5.30pm is Microsoft's press conference which is followed by EA at 8pm. What is a disappointment however is the fact Nintendo aren't holding a traditional conference instead choosing to hold a digital one instead.

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Ryse: Son of Rome Gets DLC Pack

Microsoft has confirmed that the third DLC for Ryse: Son of Rome will be available for £4.79 or free if you own the season pass. The DLC will be titled Duel of Fates and it is available now. Duel of Fate, adds two new arena mode round-to-round maps called "Invictus" and "Barbarous", along with a survival map called "Island". Two new gladiator skins are also included. Be sure to check out Mike's Horeplay vid below!

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Microsoft buys Gears of War IP

Microsoft has acquired the rights to the Gears of War IP ensuring it will never appear on a Sony console, 'all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise'. A new gameis yet to be announced but Black Tusk Studios will be taking over development of the series, overseen by ex-Epic Games director Rod Fergusson. Black Tusk are a Canadian studio set up specifically to work on Xbox One games and who were previously rumoured to be working a title to go head to head with the Halo franchise.

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Xbox One Release Set for 22nd November

Microsoft has officially announced that the Xbox One will be released on November 22, 2013 in 13 markets including North America, UK and Australia.

The other market in which the console will launch are: Austria, Brazil, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and Spain. The Xbox One will come one week after PlayStation in North America and one week earlier in Europe.

Microsoft's VP of Xbox marketing, strategy and business, Yusuf Mehd issued a statement to the press saying "We are humbled and gratified by the tremendous interest in Xbox One from game fans everywhere. We sold out of our pre-order supply faster than at any other time in our history and we are on path to have the biggest launch of an Xbox ever. We look forward to celebrating with millions and millions of gamers this holiday.

"As a result of this incredible consumer demand and the development progress on Xbox One, I am thrilled to share that today we are making available a limited number of additional Xbox One Day One consoles for pre-order. We have coordinated with our retail partners to make it easy for you to reserve your Xbox One today."

The exec added: "November 22 is a special day in Xbox history - on this day, we first launched Xbox 360 in 2005. Our next chapter begins in 79 days, when Xbox One becomes available."

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State of Decay update available

Undead Labs have released update number 3 for one of the most successful Xbox Live Arcade games ever: State of Decay. The update will fix many bug's although the most notable is one which made players unable to load their game saves, however some players will be still be affected and may have to start again. As well as this auto-save is more frequent and many AI improvement have been made. Here is a list of the included bug changes:


NPCs

- You can now ask a community NPC to follow you and watch your back. Followers can also accompany you on most non-storyline missions. - NPCs who have been told to leave your community no longer remain in your Journal and take up bed space. - Jacob can no longer be selected for a "Mercy Shot" mission before he gives you the “Home Away from Home” mission. - You can now train members of another Enclave in your Dojo immediately upon construction of the Dojo.


HOMES

- Fixed Snyder Warehouse not repairing vehicles. - Fixed community NPCs sometimes blocking the door to Snyder Warehouse. - You can no longer move to a Home site that supports fewer Outposts than you currently control. - Vehicles are no longer teleported to Home parking spaces at 6:00 AM.


OUTPOSTS

- Outposts are now numbered on the map. - Added Journal log entry for establishing an Outpost. - Outpost bonuses to Stockpiles are now retained when the game is restarted.


MISSIONS

- Added Journal log entries for "Memento" mission. - Changed AI to ensure zombies are present when you get a training mission or a morale mission. - You are now reminded every 15 minutes, starting at 30 minutes, that your progress is not being saved while in a mission. - Fixed bug that allowed save spinner to sometimes display during missions. - Additional polish to "The Law" mission.


MISC

- Fixed an issue where Influence attrition wasn't scaling properly, which led to some Influence exploits. - Removed references to generators in Fuel description. - Fixed a terrain issue that caused parked vehicles to catch on fire when restarting the game. - Fixed getting “Stockpile maximum exceeded” Journal log entry immediately after leaving Mount Tanner. - Fixed issues that allowed community to exceed the population cap. - Minor improvements to shadows. - Fixed some missing subtitles. - Fixed some floating bushes and grass. - Fixed some typos. - Fixed issues in non-English translations.

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