Xbox Series X Planning
The past, present and future of Xbox
Xbox boss Phil Spencer was interviewed for the thousandth episode of the Gamertag Radio podcast, and talked about the past and the future of the Xbox.
Microsoft’s new vision is “putting the player at the center, and not putting the device at the center.” Gaming has grown massively in the last few years, with ever more platforms and ways to play. According to Spencer, the number of gamers will double from 2 to 4 billion over the next decade.
Xbox Series X unveiled at The Game Awards
This explosive growth has changed Microsoft’s idea of how to address the audience, leading to new content delivery models like the Game Pass subscription, which aims to lower the barrier to entry and expose more games to consumers.
The Xbox platform will also become more open in the future in order to ensure that third-party studios can address as wide an audience as possible. That means Microsoft will be less concerned with imposing constraints on developers in the future, and more concerned with bringing their games to market. Check out the full episode for the entire interview.
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
Which furry character almost became the mascot for the original Xbox?
- Raving Rabbid
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Blinx
- Conker
The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today’s issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.
Daily Fact
Monster Monpiece was ‘too sexual’ for western release to go uncensored
The 2014 card battle game Monster Monpiece for Vita proved a bit too naughty for the west.
The game featured scantily clad girls presented as mythical creatures like unicorns and minotaurs, and 40 of 350 cards needed art replacement before ratings boards would give their blessings.
According to publisher Idea Factory, “western society is not as lenient as that of Japan when sexual images are involved”. While it’s true that certain western cultures can be a bit puritanical, most of the censored cards featured sexualized imagery of “humanoids that appear to be younger than a socially acceptable age.” Monster Monpiece was re-released for PC in March 2017.
Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today’s fact.
The Week Ahead in Gaming
This Week in Games
What’s happening in the games industry this week? There are some big multiplatform releases coming up, as well as some eagerly anticipated exclusives – and news will be coming out of the DICE Summit in Las Vegas.
Tuesday – February 11
- The 2020 D.I.C.E. Summit begins
- Yakuza 5 launches on PlayStation 4 worldwide
Thursday – February 13
- The 2020 D.I.C.E. Summit concludes
- English localization of Azur Lane launches on PC and PlayStation 4
- Daemon X Machina launches on PC
Friday – February 14
- Dreams releases on PlayStation 4
- Darksiders Genesis launches on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch
- Snack World: The Dungeon Crawl – Gold launches on Switch worldwide
- Street Fighter V: Champion Edition launches on PC and PlayStation 4
- Warriors Orochi 4 Ultimate launches on PlayStation 4 and Switch worldwide