Gaming News - Page 1656

Yesterday, we reported that Quantum Break wouldn't be reaching Steam, and would instead be an exclusive to the Windows Store - but we can't really complain because we get to play it on PC and it's no longer an Xbox One exclusive.

Well, Xbox Marketing boss Aaron Greenberg said during the latest Major Nelson podcast: "We weren't sure how and when we could get the Windows 10 version done. They lined up [with the Xbox One version]; a lot of people's reaction on Twitter was like, I get it, you want to bring this to a lot more gamers to play, but why didn't you tell us about this before? We didn't know we could do this before".

He added: "We're trying to bring gamers together, we're trying to break down the walls if you will. To be able to bring a title like Quantum Break to the Windows 10 ecosystem is a great benefit. We know that there are a lot of PC gamers out there who would like to play the game, so that opens up a new audience".

After breaking its own promises about Quantum Break's exclusivity to Xbox One, many console gamers felt cheated. Everyone was asking themselves "why buy an Xbox One when I can get most of the games on PC, too?" By "innovating and growing its console ecosystem", Redmond delivered a significant blow to the Xbox community's morale, further weakening its own image.

According to Microsoft marketing exec Aaron Greenberg, Team Lime Green isn't giving up on Xbox. On the contrary; Xbox is a "big priority and a huge commitment" for Redmond. Greenberg promises that the company will continue to invest and co-ordinate new Xbox One console exclusives down the line, attempting to dispel the jaded malaise that's spread across the community.

"Xbox is a big priority and a huge commitment, and we're committed to innovate," Greenberg said during Major Nelson's latest podcast. "Please do not let the fact that we're also launching a game on the same day on Windows 10 change your perspective on the importance of the console business, our commitment to innovating on consoles, and continue to invest and bring more console exclusives, in addition to kinda growing the gaming ecosystem."

Microsoft's decision to bring Quantum Break to PC was met with disdain from the Xbox community--after all, the game was supposed to be exclusive to Xbox One. So why did Microsoft risk alienating its core audience with the move? Bringing Quantum Break to PC wasn't about sales or numbers--it's about bringing gamers together.

According to Xbox marketing exec Aaron Greenberg, Microsoft's cross-platform PC-and-console strategy is specifically built around unifying platforms and making games widely accessible. "We're really trying to bring gamers together, and trying to break down the walls. We are at Microsoft, and we're all about gaming. This is about putting gamers at the center of everything we're doing," he said in a recent podcast.

This statement goes against the very ethos of console gaming, however. The main reason consumers buy a console is because of the games, which include exclusive IPs--or exclusive content. As Microsoft can't compete against Sony's PS4 in the traditional game, it wants to disrupt the traditional ethos with a newly evolved structure that bridges two platforms.

Although Microsoft wants everyone gaming on Windows 10 and using the Windows Store, it'd be foolish to go up against Steam. A new subdomain hints that Redmond may be taking the old adage "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" quite seriously, and we may see some sort of Steam/Xbox crossover.

What if Microsoft and Valve allied together to push a new PC-to-Xbox game streaming initiative? NeoGAF users spotted a curious subdomain called Xbox.steampowered.com that's kicked off a wave of speculation through the community, and many of their ideas are pretty interesting.

Starting with the controversial move to make Quantum Break Windows 10 exclusive instead of Xbox exclusive, Microsoft is breaking down the barriers between PC and console gaming. The company's new strategy is all about Windows exclusivity, and it wants to push Windows 10 as far as it can. But Valve's massive Steam platform is a huge roadblock, and past attempts (Games for Windows Live) to conquer Steam have failed. But what about a joint venture?

If you were one of those that pre-ordered Street Fighter V on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 4 or from Steam for the PC, then you can now start preloading the game in anticipation of finally going live on February 16th.

Street Fighter V weighs a middling 7.32GB on the PS4 and a slightly lighter 7.15GB for the PC with the unpackaged and installed game taking up 12.34GB and 13.45GB on the PS4 and PC respectively. Unfortunately we learned that it won't be coming to the Xbox One at all due to a console exclusivity deal with Sony.

And if you wanted to explore the inner personalities of the various flashy characters from the series, Street Fighter V will have a tremendous amount of story content both in the main game and in future DLC packages. So now those origin stories and the relationships will be revealed with some rather fantastic looking animations and in-game fights.

Ubisoft is taking a less traditional approach to Far Cry: Primal's storytelling. Instead of linear-based progression, players can travel down different paths--all of which branch out from the central Wenja village.

In a new interview, Ubisoft Associate Producer Paola Joyaux reveals that Far Cry: Primal's story arc will be tightly woven with the protagonist's ancestral Wenja homeland. The Wenja village will grow and flourish depending on what paths players take, offering a dynamic and emergent experience that's resplendent with prehistoric culture.

"The village is really the backbone of your progression and your story. By going into the wild and exploring the world, you'll find specialists. Each of them will be your mentor in a specialty that you'll need to master to push back the danger of the world," Joyeaux explained. "So when you bring them back to the village, they'll build huts there. And by working with them - sometimes they'll need new components you can only find farther away, or you'll help them develop new technology - you'll not only improve your village, but also gain new knowledge that will help you improve yourself."

After nearly a decade, Sony is apparently bringing back PlayStation icon Crash Bandicoot for a new game on the PlayStation 4.

According to National Entertainment Collectibles Association exec Randy Falk, Sony is resurrecting the cult platformer Crash Bandicoot for a new game.

"On the modern gaming front, we're going strong. We've got a lot of cool stuff going on with Sony. So we have Ultimate Kratos from God of War III that's about to hit retail. We have Uncharted 4 Nathan Drake, which comes out in May. And then LittleBigPlanet is doing really well. And looking at some of their other titles, I see they're bringing Crash Bandicoot back, which is really cool. There's some great stuff there."

Now that we know Quantum Break won't be an Xbox One exclusive with the announcement of a release on the PC - with it being an exclusive to Windows 10 as it requires DX12 - we're finding out that it will not be on Steam, either.

Quantum Break will be a Windows Store exclusive according to Aaron Greenberg during the MajorNelson podcast. Greenberg said: "So, Quantum Break on Windows 10 is a Windows store exclusive". So while this is good, there were issues surrounding the Windows Store version of Rise of the Tomb Raider, so let's hope it doesn't happen with Quantum Break.

The Windows Store version of Rise of the Tomb Raider doesn't feature exclusive full screen support for SLI and Crossfire-based setups, and PC gamers aren't able to use third-party overlay programs like FRAPS or MSI Afterburner.

During E3 2015, PC Gamer hosted the awesome PC Gaming Show, which was an event for all things PC gaming. This year, it's coming back, and once again it'll happen during E3 in June.

PC Gamer says: "With the help of all the feedback and support everyone gave the event in 2015, we're looking forward to bringing you an even better show than last year. In 2015 it was really important to us to get a big variety of participants on stage to help convey the spectrum of exciting stuff happening on PC, but an inevitable effect of that was that we ran quite long".

They continued: "This year's show will be more focused, but packed with tons of new announcements and exclusive reveals". As for participants, we don't know who will be at this year's PC Gaming Show, but we can expect some big names - last year, we saw AMD, Microsoft, and many game developers join in on the PC gaming fun.

ARK: Survival Evolved has finally been updated on the Xbox One to v732.0, which enables some sweet old-school split screen gaming competition.

The update weighs in at 4.5GB and also adds three new prehistoric creatures for you to attempt to tame, the Dung Beetle, Dimetrodon and the Gallimimus. The Gallimimus can handle up to three people on it and run incredibly quickly. The Dimetrodon can shelter you from harsh environments with its gigantic sail, a useful feature.

Some other new items have made it into the game such as an electric prod type weapon and SWAT-style armor to help protect you from the new creatures. You're also able to build a greenhouse and brew your own beer. Because pre-historic micro-breweries were a thing. They've even added a hangover effect that happens after the fun stops. Performance hasn't explicitly been optimized in this patch though some people are reporting a slight increase in framerate.