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Xbox Newsbeat: June 19, 2015

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This week’s Xbox Newsbeat is E3 themed. We have a ton of news to cover, so let’s get right into it.


Microsoft Unleashes Xbox One Backward Compatibility

Probably one of the biggest news for Xbox One owners from E3 is the confirmation of Xbox One backward compatibility. Gamers will be able to download their Xbox 360 games to play on their Xbox One. It doesn’t matter if you own the game digitally or physically.

You will be able to use all of Xbox One’s features with your Xbox 360 games, including streaming it to your Windows 10 PC. A small number of games will be launched in the Xbox One Preview Program, with a full launch this fall. More titles will be added in the coming months, with an eventual hope that all Xbox 360 titles will be available at some point in the future.


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Halo 5: Guardians Locks and Loads for October 27 Launch

Halo 5: Guardians finally received a release date. Launching right at the beginning of the busy holiday season, Halo fans will be able to begin playing the next chapter on October 27. Halo 5: Guardians stars the Spartan Locke and Fireteam Osiris as they attempt to track down Master Chief and Blue Team. The game is probably one of the biggest changes to the venerable franchise, introducing new movement and gunplay systems. The game supports drop-in, drop-out co-op, so bring friends.


Forza Motorsport 6 Races onto Xbox One on September 15

To the combined disappointment of PC gamers everywhere, Forza Motorsport 6 will be launching on September 15 as an Xbox One exclusive. Now that the depressing news is out of the way, Forza Motorsport 6 is set to bring 60FPS at 1080p racing to Xbox One owners everywhere. There will be more than 450 vehicles to drive, each of them lovingly replicated in the digital sphere. Players will have access to 26 famous race tracks from around the world. Single player fans can look forward to over 70 hours of gameplay in career mode and cloud-based Drivatar opponents.


Discover the Legend Within in Rise of the Tomb Raider

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Xbox One and Xbox 360 will be getting Rise of the Tomb Raider as a timed exclusive over the holidays. Set to launch on November 10th, 2015, the game picks up after the events of Tomb Raider. Lara Croft is quickly growing from hardened survivor to the famed adventurer after her experiences on Yamatai. She is pit against a mysterious organization known as Trinity, as they all attempt to find the secret of immortality.


Rare Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary with a Massive 30 Game Collection

Rare Replay will be launching exclusively on Xbox One on August 4th, 2015. The game contains 30 of the best titles Rare has released. The following titles will be available for only $29.99 USD:

  • Jetpac (1983, 1-2 players)
  • Atic Atac (1983, 1 player)
  • Lunar Jetman (1983, 1-2 players)
  • Sabre Wulf (1984, 1-2 players)
  • Underwurlde (1984, 1 player)
  • Knight Lore (1984, 1 player)
  • Gunfright (1986, 1-2 players)
  • Slalom (1987, 1-2 players)
  • R.C. Pro-Am (1988, 1 player)
  • Cobra Triangle (1989, 1 player)
  • Snake Rattle N Roll (1990, 1-2 players)
  • Digger T. Rock (1990, 1-2 players)
  • Solar Jetman (1990, 1 player)
  • Battletoads (1991, 1-2 players)
  • R.C. Pro-Am II (1992, 1-4 players)
  • Battletoads Arcade (1994)
  • Killer Instinct Gold (1996, 1-2 players)
  • Blast Corps (1997, 1 player)
  • Banjo-Kazooie (1998, 1 player)
  • Jet Force Gemini (1998, 1-4 players)
  • Perfect Dark (2000, 1-4 players)
  • Banjo-Tooie (2000, 1-4 players)
  • Conker’s Bad Fur Day (2001, 1-4 players)
  • Grabbed by the Ghoulies (2003, 1 player)
  • Perfect Dark Zero (2005, 1-4 players locally, up to 32 players online)
  • Kameo: Elements of Power (2005, 1-2 players locally or online)
  • Viva Piñata (2006, 1-2 players locally)
  • Jetpac Refuelled (2007, 1-2 players locally or online)
  • Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (2008, 1-2 players locally, up to 4 players online)
  • Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (2008, 1-2 players locally or online)

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Keiji Inafune and the Makers of Metroid Prime Showcase All-New Exclusive ‘ReCore’

The creator of Mega Man has been one busy guy. Although his upcoming game Mighty No. 9 is about to be released, he’s been working with Armature Studio on a brand new action-adventure game. Entitled ReCore, the game is set on a planet dominated by robots. The player is among the last remaining humans and must lead the survivors and some friendly robots in a revolution against the robotic overlords.


Gears of War 4 is Coming in 2016, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Launching August 25

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Halo fans aren’t the only one getting some good news. Gears of War 4 will launch on Xbox One exclusively during the 2016 holiday season. In the mean time, Gears of War fans will be able to play a remastered version of the game that started it all. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition will launch on Xbox One on August 25. PC gamers can look forward to their copy later this year. Those who purchase the game on Xbox One will be able to take part in the Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta. The Gears of War: Ultimate Edition beta sign ups are going on right now for all Xbox Live Gold members.


New Customizable Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Announced

Microsoft is taking on the likes of SCUF Gaming and Razer with the announcement of the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller. The controller features replaceable thumb sticks and D pad and paddles on the back of the controller. Every button, paddle , and thumbstick can be reprogrammed and tuned using the Xbox One and PC apps. The two triggers can be set to behave like hair triggers, significantly reducing the length of pull needed to activate the button.

The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller will be compatible with Xbox One and Windows 10. It will be priced at a searingly high $149.99 USD


Xbox One Transforms Later This Year with a New User Experience

The Xbox One UI will be getting a major makeover this fall. The UI is getting redesigned based on user feedback asking for more efficient access to the most popular functions of the Xbox One. The change is also designed to merge the Xbox One and Windows 10 gaming experience into one fluid design. Additionally, everyone’s favourite AI-turned real life voice assistant will be coming to Xbox One. Cortana will be serving as gamer’s personal assistant in the new Xbox One user experience.


Well, E3 is finally over. The week has been a burst of activity and now the entire gaming industry can breathe a sigh of relief as we’ve survived yet another E3 marathon. We’ve had a great E3 this year with some fantastic announcements.

Yoru no Nai Kuni Combat and Servans Trailer Released

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Gust and Koei Tecmo have released a new trailer for Yoru no Nai Kuni that is simply being called “Movie File #01” but the focus of this video is on the combat of the title as well as the demonic subordinates, called Servans, that will be fighting alongside Arnas against the various enemies she will encounter. Currently Yoru no Nai Kuni is set to be released in Japan for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita on August 27th.

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Yoru no Nai Kuni tells the story of a holy knight named Arnas who became half-human and half-monster after being touched by the blood of the Ruler of the Night and Lyuritis, the chosen saint of the current era who is tasked with sacrificing her life to seal away the Ruler of the Night. Since growing close in school and being separated shortly after Arnas and Lyuritis are reunited but now will the two be able to ultimately sacrifice Lyuritis’ life to complete their task?

Second Season Pass Confirmed for Evolve

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In a bit of a surprising move, 2K Games and Turtle Rock Studios announced a second Season Pass for the 4 vs 1 shooter Evolve. Entitled “Hunting Season 2,” the pass will add a new monster, one new hunter for each of the four classes, and skins exclusive to Season Pass holders. The first “Hunting Season 2” DLC to drop will launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows on June 24, 2015.

“The new Monster and Hunters coming to Evolve in Hunting Season 2 are some of the most unique characters our team has created,” said Chris Ashton, co-founder and design director at Turtle Rock Studios. “Each of these characters introduces combat mechanics that are brand new to the Evolve gameplay experience.”

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The first of the five new playable characters has been revealed to be Lennox. She’s an assaulter equipped with a mechanized suit that can go toe to toe with the monster using her Plasma Lance. From a distance, Lennox can rain fire down with the Autocannon and Thunder Strike attacks.

Udon Entertainment to Publish ‘Persona 4’ Manga in North America

Udon Entertainment recently announced that they will begin publishing the Persona 4 manga series in English in North America this year. The original Persona 4 video game was released in 2008.

Udon describes the series:

When the small rural town of Inaba suddenly becomes the scene of a series of grisly murders, an eclectic group of high school students forms an investigation team to uncover the truth behind them and prevent more deaths. But when they discover that the murders might be connected to an urban legend about a paranormal television phenomenon called the “Midnight Channel,” a simple investigation turns into a dangerous, action-packed journey of self-discovery across two different worlds. Along the way, dark truths will shake our heroes to their very core – and help them discover an inner strength they never knew they had!

This adaptation will appeal to both the long-time player of the game and the person who is unfamiliar with the series. Fans of Persona 4, or of murder mysteries and the paranormal, can look forward to the first volume’s launch in September. Volumes will then be released bi-monthly continuing into 2016. They will be available in comic book stores and from online retailers with a suggested retail price of $13.99 USD.

Assassination Classroom Second Anime Season Confirmed for 2016

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If you’ve been following the Assassination Classroom anime adaptation then you likely know that the first season came to an end this week with episode twenty two. If you haven’t managed to watch the episode yet then don’t worry, there are no spoilers here but there is a bit of good news thanks to the anime’s official Twitter account.

Earlier today the account posted out the above tweet announcing that the second anime season would begin sometime in 2016 in Terminator 2 fashion. Currently it is unknown exactly when in 2016 the second anime season will begin airing but for now the original manga is published in North America by Viz Media while FUNimation is currently broadcast dubbing the first season.

No Game No Life Dub Casts Scott Gibbs as Sora; Limited Edition Revealed

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Recently Sentai Filmworks announced the first member of the English dub cast for No Game No Life by releasing a video showing Scott Gibbs recording some dialogue for Sora. The minute long video can be found below and in it you’ll also hear mostly side-character dialogue as well as a brief sample of what Shiro will sound like, though given we’ve only heard one word of dialogue from her it is currently extremely difficult to guess who her voice actress may be.

Sentai Filmworks also released an image showing off what the limited edition of No Game No Life will look like when the series is released on July 28th, with the Blu-ray/DVD limited edition priced at $129.98 compared to the $59.98 DVD and $69.98 Blu-ray prices.

RTX Australia 2016 Dates, Location and Ticket Information Revealed

Rooster Teeth’s Chris Demarais and Josh Flanagan, along with Cameron Rooney from Hanabee, have just revealed the details for RTX Australia 2016 at Supanova Sydney. The event will be held on the 23rd and 24th of January, 2016 at the Australia Technology Park in Sydney. Tickets will go on sale on July 2, 2015.

Gus and Barbara have already confirmed that they will be coming down for RTX Australia. More information about guests, the Rooster Teeth staff members attending and guardians will be revealed by December 2015.

RTX Australia is a celebration of internet culture and gaming, and there will be panels, activities, special guests and more. More details and ticket information can be found at RTXAU.com.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided’s 25 Minute E3 2015 Gameplay Demo Footage Released

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While E3 is a great place to announce brand new games and release dates for already revealed games to hundreds of thousands of people around the world, only the few thousand people actually attending the event tend to see the full gameplay demos for some of these titles.

Well that is slowly no longer becoming the case as many companies are releasing their entire E3 gameplay presentation demos online for their fans. Square Enix is the latest company to do so in the form of a twenty five minute long “world premiere gameplay demo” for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided that you can check out below. It is worth noting though that the company is warning that at the 18 minute mark the footage does enter spoiler territory.

Udon Entertainment to Release ‘Dark Souls II: Design Works’ Book

Udon Entertainment has just announced their upcoming release of Dark Souls II: Design Works, an art book that will collect the artwork from Bandai Namco’s critically-acclaimed action-RPG Dark Souls II. Udon Entertainment previously released Dark Souls: Design Works, an art book collecting the artwork from the first Dark Souls game.

Dark Souls II: Design Works will feature armour and weapon designs, character concepts, enemies, locations, rough sketches, an exclusive interview with the game’s creators and more, all collected in a “prestigious hardcover tome”. Concept material from the three chapters of the DLC trilogy, “The Lost Crowns”, will also be included.

The book will be available in October 2015, just a few months before the recently-announced Dark Souls III is released. The suggested retail price is $49.99 USD. Pre-orders can be made now at selected retailers. The cover art and samples of the artwork included in the book are featured in the gallery below.

Forty Minutes of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain Footage Released

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Earlier this week Konami released a relatively long Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain video clocking in at around six minutes. Well if that wasn’t enough footage for you then how about their entire E3 2015 gameplay presentation that lasted for forty minutes in total? If that is the case then you’ll be happy to hear that Konami has released that footage and you can check it out below.

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It is interesting to note that before the presentation begins, the team does address the micro-transaction issue that many fans were recently angered by. After that the video shows off some of the mechanics in the game including the buddy system and free-roaming missions.