Rounding up the hits at Microsoft’s E3 press briefing

MANILA, Philippines – At its press briefing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on Monday, June 15, Microsoft revealed what was in store for the Xbox One, promising new features and games for its future while touting some impressive Windows 10 experiences as well.

Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox and Microsoft Studios, assured fans that they “will see how we are continuing to invest and innovate across our platform, our service, our devices and, of course, our games.”

Spencer revealed that it was launching a much-requested feature for the Xbox One: backwards compatibility. Specific Xbox 360 games will be playable on the Xbox One once it goes live this holiday season.

Spencer added, “Our goal is to deliver the largest catalogue ever on Xbox and Xbox One Backward Compatiblity allows us to do just that.”

Xbox One exclusives

Included in the press briefing were a number of Xbox One exclusive games, along with some major AAA titles.

First among the pack is Halo 5 :Guardians. Bonnie Ross, studio head of 343 Industries introduced the first gameplay trailer of Halo 5: Guardians, which is set to release on October 27, 2015. Joss Holmes, executive producer of 343 Industries, also announced the multiplayer side of Halo 5: Guardians, called Warzone.

Among the many world premiere reveals of the press briefing is another exclusive called ReCore, a collaborative creation by Keiji Inafune and Microsoft Studios, which seemed to feature a companion system. 

Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard revealed some great new footage of the newly announced Fallout 4. He also announced that players would be able to use Mods or game modifications created online by users for the PC version onto their Xbox One. Fallout 4 will be released on November 11.

One of the primary gimmicks of the show was the introduction of the new Ford GT. The introduction of the vehicle segued to the introduction of Forza Motorsport 6, announced by no other Henry Ford III and Dan Greenawalt, Creative Director of Turn 10 studios. Forza Motorsport 6 will be available on September 15.

Crystal Dynamics’ Brian Horton, announced and played the world premiere gameplay trailer of Rise of the Tomb Raider. The game will be available on November 10, 2015.

Craig Duncan, Rare Games studio head, revealed a nostalgic collection of 30 classic games from Rare Games exclusively for Microsoft’s console. He also announced a new project called Sea of Thieves, which looks like a multiplayer role-playing game with a pirate setting.

Another game synonymous to Xbox is Gears of War. Rod Ferguson revealed two items of interest to Gears of War fans. The first is a release called Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, a collection of the all the previous Gears of War games enhanced for today’s gaming tastes. He also showed off the gameplay trailer for the latest game in the series Gears 4, which is set to release during the 2016 Holiday season.

Virtual reality, holograms, and Minecraft

One of the most amazing tech demos I’ve seen in years is the showcase of Microsoft Windows 10’s HoloLens a few months ago. During Microsoft’s E3 2015 press briefing Mojang’s Creative Director Lydia Winters and Microsoft’s Saxs Persson demostrate how the HoloLens intergartes perfectly to Minecraft.

Microsoft Studios’ Corporate VP, Kudo Tsunoda announced partnerships with both Valve and Oculus to provide gamers with the best virtual reality experience for the Windows 10.

Tsunoda also said that every Oculus Rift will include an Xbox One controller. This also means that any Xbox One player playing Oculus Rift games will be able to play with their friends that are on the PC.

Tsunoda adds that “Anything you earn or buy on one version of the game, becomes part of the experience on the other.” 

It seems that with Microsoft’s Windows 10 and the new platform of Xbox One, the line seperating Xbox One console gamers and PC gamers will soon dissappear.

“There truly has never been a better time to be an Xbox gamer. If you’ve been waiting to move from your Xbox 360, now is the time,” Spencer quipped. – Rappler.com