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Microsoft Reveals its Xbox Scarlett Project at the Briefing Prior to E3 2019

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One day to go for the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2019, and Microsoft has already given some hints on the products, it is going to showcase at the event, especially, its latest Xbox console. This time one of its biggest rivals, Sony, is not even appearing at the event, which has made the company even more excited. But Sony is not the only rival for the company this time, and Google‘s Stadia is also here to give Microsoft a great competition.

Microsoft Xbox
Image Source: techradar.com

This year’s E3 event is quite special for the company as it will be introducing a next-generation Xbox video game console by the codename, Project Scarlett, at the event. The game is forty times better at performance than its previous versions and has been developed by the same team which developed Xbox One.

This new Xbox machine possesses newly developed custom Zen 2-based processor CPU and will have real-time ray tracing for more genuine graphics. The machine will render the variable refresh rates as high as 120 frames per second. It is also incorporated with GDDR6 memory as well as GPU (Navi graphics processing unit) from Advanced Micro Devices. There will also be an SSD in the machine that will reduce the screen loading time.

Since the company has brought the cloud to the gaming, Scarlett will provide the support for multiplayer gaming through streaming and will also support the other gaming platforms. Also, it will continue to support thousands of Xbox games from previous generations through the cloud.

During the briefing prior to E3 event, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s Xbox, said, “Project Scarlett is the foundation of our future in consoles and the formation of our future in the cloud. Consoles should be designed, built and optimised for one thing and one thing only: gaming.”

According to Microsoft, the company will be launching the new Scarlett Xbox during the holidays of 2020.

Along with Scarlett, Microsoft’s streaming service has also been much awaited. The company has revealed that it will release the streaming service in coming October. The streaming service will allow the players to connect their consoles to the Xbox Cloud and explore thousands of games through it. The console can be connected to the Xbox Cloud from any place and through any internet connection.

At its two hours conference, Microsoft also announced 60 new games, among which 14 are from its own Xbox Studio team.

Microsoft and Sony Joins Hands on Cloud-based Streaming for Games and Other Content

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Microsoft and Sony have been the biggest rivals with their major consumer interactive entertainment franchises – Xbox and PlayStation. But for the surprise of all, the game lovers and the other rivals and even the partner companies of the two, Microsoft and Sony have partnered with each other for sharing a few of each other’s services to get benefits from them.

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Image Source: techcrunch

The two tech giants announced on Thursday, that they are seeking to join hands such that Sony will be able to use the Microsoft’s Azure cloud to stream games over it and will participate in the research works along with the latter on Azure, in order to explore its scope for the game and other content streaming. Similarly, the two will be working together in order to develop new image sensors.

“Our mission is to seamlessly evolve this platform as one that continues to deliver the best and most immersive entertainment experiences, together with a cloud environment that ensures the best possible experience, anytime, anywhere. I believe that our joint development of future cloud solutions will contribute greatly to the advancement of interactive content.” Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO of Sony, said in a statement.

The partnership between the two can be considered as the prevention for the tough competition, that they may face in the coming future, as Google and Apple both have announced their new game streaming platforms, Stadia and Arcade. Both the game streaming services are expected to be threats for both their contemporaries, Sony and Microsoft. In fact, Apple’s Arcade game streaming service is the world’s first game subscription service for both desktop and mobile, which has already attracted the attention of many and are eagerly waiting for the same.

On the other hand, the other biggest gaming company, Nintendo, has also refurbished its Switch consoles giving a tough competition to the other gaming companies and leaving them behind with their outdated gaming services.

The deal between Sony and Microsoft is still at its early stage, and the two companies, along with developing the image sensors is also planning to work together in the field of semiconductors and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Though the plans look pretty promising, seeing the two rival companies work together will be interesting.

The Disc-less Xbox One S All-Digital Edition to be Available for Preorders from Mid-April

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The rumours of Xbox launching the disc-less console were already making rounds, starting from November last year. Apparently, the company has also confirmed the news that it is planning to launch a new Xbox One S without a disc drive in the coming month.

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Image Source: onmsft.com

It is expected that the console may be cheaper than its predecessors, as the company is removing the expensive Blu-ray drive from the console. The console will rely on the digital downloads and Microsoft’s services like Game Pass.

Microsoft had launched the game pass service in 2017, and if go with the company claims, it has registered millions of users for the same in the past two years. The monthly plan for the game pass costs a $9.99, under which the users get access to 100 different games, including Rocket League, the Halo series and Gears of War 4, etc.

Allegedly, Microsoft will also provide options to the users to have pre-installed games on the console. Even the buyers can choose on which games they want to have on their consoles.

In recent times, the company has been publishing all the new games digitally. Even the popular game Fornite has never been released physically. So the disc-less console maybe another lead to the digitization of the gaming industry.

As there are already speculations, that the new console will be cheaper, the cost of the console is estimated between $200 and $250. It is also expected that the Xbox One S may have a greater emphasis on Microsoft’s xCloud streaming service.

According to a report from Windows, Central reports, Microsoft’s All-Digital Edition Xbox One S will be available for preorders, starting from mid-April and will be launched widely to be available for purchases in the stores from the month of May, before Microsoft’s upcoming E3 show takes place in June.

The new console may prove to be a milestone for Microsoft, as Microsoft will be the first company to launch a non-physical media home console.

Microsoft Expanding Xbox Live To Switch, iOS & Android

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According to a GDC listing, Microsoft is planning to expand the Xbox live support to cross platforms. The home video game console Xbox plays ones of the most popular games in the world, and Microsoft has decided to develop a Software Development Kit (SDK) that can be integrated to different platforms, like iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch beside Xbox and PC.

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Image Source: dailystar.co

The company is planning to announce the news and the details about the new SDK in the upcoming 2019 Game Developers Conference (GDC). The Game Developers Conference is the yearly convention for the game developers where they showcase their ideas and new gaming products. This year the event will be held in San Francisco in March.

“Xbox Live is expanding from 400 million gaming devices and a reach to over 68 million active players to over 2 billion devices with the release of our new cross-platform XDK,” says the GDC listing. At the event, Microsoft will be hosting a panel titled, “Xbox Live: Growing & Engaging Your Gaming Community Across Platforms.”

Microsoft has already made a few of its Xbox Live Achievements available on a few of the iOS and Android devices. But the new SDK will integrate Xbox Live achievements, friends, clubs and game history into non-Xbox and Windows PC platforms for the first time. The company will also be employing its PlayFab suite containing its backend tools as a part of this package.

“Xbox Live players are highly engaged and active on Xbox and PC, but now they can take their gaming achievement history, their friends list, their clubs, and more with them to almost every screen,” said Microsoft on its GDC conference schedule page.

This is an effort from Microsoft to break down longstanding barriers in the gaming industry, by building a cross-platform gaming service, that will enable the developers to get their users onto different platforms, such that they can be active on the Xbox games, without actually using the Xbox console.