Microsoft announces a new super-powered Xbox console: Project Scorpio
Microsoft and Oculus announced a close partnership at last year’s E3, but we haven’t seen much out of it just yet. That’s changing today, as Microsoft just announced a new version of the Xbox console — one that’s optimized to work with 4K visuals and high-quality VR out of the box. Project Scorpio will launch at the holiday season in 2017, but most notable is the fact that all games and all accessories will work across the Xbox One, the Xbox One S and Project Scorpio.
Microsoft showed off a video in which a number of developers touted the console’s massive power — it’ll feature “true” 4K resolution, 6 teraflops of GPU power and will run at 60Hz. It’ll of course be VR ready, and Bethesda noted it’ll run Fallout 4 in VR, as announced last night. While Microsoft didn’t mention Oculus by name, the two companies have a partnership that was announced at last year’s E3. So it seems highly likely that the Rift will be the headset of choice for Project Scorpio.
Phil Spencer alluded to such a development earlier this year, saying that he envisioned a future in which your game library stayed with you and in which consoles were upgraded faster in a more PC-like fashion.
Naturally, there’s no word on price yet, and we’re guessing Project Scorpio won’t be the console’s launch name. But Microsoft’s biggest fans clearly have a lot to look forward to in the coming year or so — the big question for those who don’t own an Xbox will be whether to buy a Xbox One S or wait until next year for Project Scorpio. But at least if you buy the One S, all your games will work if you upgrade to Scorpio.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
Watch Ubisoft’s E3 press conference right here
Assassin’s Creed might have taken the year off (well, there’s a movie if you want to get technical) but Ubisoft still has plenty to show at E3 this year. Hacker adventure Watch Dogs 2 will no doubt be the centerpiece, expanding on its reveal from last week. We’re also expecting some details about South Park: The Fractured But Whole, a follow-up to the well-received Stick of Truth from 2014. Other probables include the historic brawler For Honor, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands and some DLC for The Division. If any of those pique your curiosity, you can watch Ubisoft’s livestream right here — fingers crossed there won’t be any laser tag.
AMD targets esports and HD gaming with new Radeon RX GPUs
After surprising us with the $200 VR-ready Radeon RX 480 at Computex, AMD has rounded out its new GPU lineup at E3. The Radeon RX 470 will offer “power-efficient HD gaming,” which means it’s targeted at people who just need things to run smoothly at 1080p. And at the low-end, there’s the Radeon RX 460, which is meant for less demanding esports titles. AMD is basically just teasing the cards at E3, so there aren’t any pricing or availability details yet. But given the RX 480 is starting at $200, I’d imagine they’d come in significantly less.
All of the Radeon RX cards are powered by AMD’s new Polaris architecture, which is built on a 14nm FinFET (a type of 3D transistor) process. That allows them to draw far less power than the company’s previous cards, while also packing in more graphical performance. AMD says the RX 480 will be able to run games at 1440p with high settings, and it’ll meet minimum requirements for VR headsets, both of which are things you’ve previously needed to spend upwards of $300 to achieve.
AMD’s new lineup isn’t just about desktops, either. Its new chips can be scaled down to ultraportable desktops to offer 1080p gaming experiences at 60Hz. Previously, gamers who wanted powerful laptop experiences only had NVIDIA GPUs to chose from.
By targeting lower price points, AMD is aiming to differentiate itself from NVIDIA, whose new GTX 1080 and GTX 1070 GPUs are now the go-to choices for high-end and mid-range gaming.
The Xbox One S vs. the original Xbox One: What’s changed?
It’s been three years since the Xbox One’s launch, which means we’re due for a console redesign. But rather than give us the same system in a slimmer case, the Xbox One S also features a few tweaks under its stylish hood. The inclusion of 4K video is a welcome addition, but what else has changed? We’ve gathered all the relevant specs right here so you can start planning that next console purchase.
Xbox One S
Xbox One (2013)
Price
starts at $299
starts at $299 (originally $499)
Dimensions
40% smaller (exact dimensions unavailable)
333 x 274 x 79mm (13.1 x 10.8 x 3.1 inches)
Weight
Not available
3.2kg (7.05 pounds)
Output resolution
720p, 1080p, 4K (HDR)
720p, 1080p
CPU
Not available
AMD Jaguar APU, 1.75 GHz 8-core (2 quad-core modules)
GPU
Not available
AMD Radeon GCN, 853 MHz
RAM
Not available
8GB
Internal storage
500GB / 1TB / 2TB
500GB / 1TB
Physical media
4K Blu-ray, DVD
Blu-ray, DVD
WiFi
Dual band, 802.11 a/b/g/n
Dual band, 802.11 a/b/g/n
Wired network
10/100/1000 Ethernet
10/100/1000 Ethernet
Ports
HDMI, USB 3.0, IR blaster
HDMI 1.4, S/PDIF, USB 3.0, Kinect port
Power supply
Internal
External
Controller
Redesigned wireless controller with Bluetooth support
Xbox One wireless controller
Specs in italics are unconfirmed, but no significant performance changes have been announced. We will update this post as more details become available.
While the specifications mentioned today for Project Scorpio are promising, we don’t have enough data to do a proper comparison yet. We’ll be sure to take a closer look as more information becomes available over the next year.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
‘Superhot VR’ brings time-bending shootouts to Oculus Rift
Superhot, the first-person shooter that slows down time whenever you’re not moving, is coming to the Oculus Rift. The studio behind the game teased as much last month, but now we’ve got a trailer showing off how it plays. The biggest addition is the ability to dual-wield — two fists, two firearms or one of each, depending on your situation. You’ll be able to aim, fire and throw punches with the Oculus Touch controllers (which still aren’t out) while dodging bullets Matrix-style with the Rift headset.
Superhot’s creators say the new game “isn’t some port” but a “reimagined and redesigned” game built for VR. It’ll launch sometime later this year — there’s no word on pricing or whether it’ll come to other VR platforms in the future, such as the HTC Vive or PlayStation VR. If you’re curious, you can play the original Superhot on PC, Mac, Linux or Xbox One right now.
Xbox One S UK pricing: what you need to know
As is the case with many Microsoft announcements, the new Xbox One S console leaked before the company had the chance to confirm it at its E3 keynote. Now that it’s official, we know that it will come with 4K and HDR support, a 2TB hard drive and front-facing USB port for that rarely-used Kinect accessory (if you buy an adaptor). Oh, and it’s 40 percent smaller than its predecessor and has an integrated power supply, ditching that clumsy power brick. But how much will it cost?
When the Xbox One S goes on sale in August, the 2TB model — which Microsoft is calling the “launch edition” — will set you back £349, with the 500GB and 1TB coming in at £249 and £299 respectively. The console will come complete with a new controller that has twice the range of the current gamepad, thanks to Bluetooth support, textured grips and a new thumbstick. When it launches alongside the Xbox One S in the coming months, expect to pay £50 for the Windows-compatible gamepad.
Everything we saw at Microsoft’s E3 event
Microsoft’s E3 press conference is over, and we got a lot of news. There are two new Xboxes: a slimmer Xbox One S with 4K video support due out this August, and Project Scorpio, an Xbox with 4K gaming and VR support due out next year. Confusing much? Elsewhere, we got hefty chunks of gameplay from Recore, Sea of Thieves and Scalebound, pretty trailers for Forza Horizon 3 and Halo Wars 2, and zombie fun in the form of Dead Rising 4 and State of Decay 2. While we (literally) recharge our batteries before Ubisoft and Sony’s shows, you can watch trailers for all the big announcements in the gallery below.
‘Ghost Recon: Wildlands’ goes after the cartel on March 7th
Ghost Recon: Wildlands made its first appearance at Ubisoft’s showcase last year, but now we get to see it in action in a new sumptuous gameplay trailer. The terrain is particularly beautiful, and as we heard last year, vehicles are a major part of traversing it all. In the (seemingly edited together) demo, GRW seems to involve an almost constant stream of bro-talk from your fellow soldiers, but it at least offers an audio-based way of keeping you up to date with your teams progress. The attack on the Bolivian-based cartel starts on March 7th next year, on PS4, PC and Xbox One.
The next ‘South Park’ game will launch on December 6th
South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone just jumped up on stage to share more details about the next game based on their long-standing cartoon. South Park: The Fractured But Whole was announced last year, but today we’re seeing a lot of footage from the game, and we also got a release date: it’ll be out on December 6th.
In the game, you join a host of the South Park characters, and you’re all playing as super heroes. As such, there’s a whole bunch of ridiculous combat to be had, including time-ripping farts. You can customize your character from a dozen different classes and mix and match between them. So even though the main South Park characters are treating you like crap since you’re the “new kid,” you’ll be able to make that new kid your very own.
For those who order the game, Ubisoft will throw in a copy of the previous South Park game (The Stick of Truth) on your platform of choice. A full trailer of the game was shown at the event and we’ll add it to this post as soon as it’s live on YouTube.
‘Star Trek Bridge Crew’ puts you inside a VR starship this fall
While the news leaked before Ubisoft’s big E3 showcase, the games company brought together several Star Trek alumni (from all over the series), to play test its debut VR title Star Trek Bridge Crew, which will be coming to Oculus, Vive and PS VR systems this fall. (Alas, no concrete date just yet.) The game involves collaborating with other players to ensure your starship runs smoothly and fight off enemies or simply escape from them. According to the teaser, captain, tactical and engineering players will all work together, communicating what each person has to do, which looks like it could descend into cries of “maximum warp!” and “shields up!” — but if Levar Burton is in the room, then, heck, why not? Take a closer look after the break.
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