Final Fantasy XV Demo Version 2.0 Trailer June 4, 2015

Earlier today, the team at Square Enix did a live stream to showcase the current status of their development on Final Fantasy XV.

Part of their ongoing development involved an upcoming patch for the Final Fantasy XV demo, which was included with all Day One and Collector’s Editions of Final Fantasy Type-0 HD. The new patch improves framerate and adds a few new features. Take a look for yourself.

The patch is coming free to all users who have the Final Fantasy XV demo next week.

Final Fantasy XV is coming to the Xbox One and Playstation 4.

Windows 10 Release Date Announced, Schedule Your Upgrade Now June 1, 2015

Windows 7 (and possibly even Windows 8) users are probably noticing a brand new icon on their taskbars this morning.  This icon, baring the Windows 10 logo, allows the Windows owner to schedule an Operating System upgrade when Windows 10 is released at the end of July.  Don’t worry, this isn’t some scam and your computer doesn’t have a virus, Microsoft is allowing current owners of PCs running Windows 7 and Windows 8 to upgrade to Windows 10 free of charge!

Now you’re probably asking why is this information being included on a gaming news website?  Well, Windows 10 is expected to be a major platform for computer gaming, with tons of features specifically designed to improve the PC gaming experience, a whole new directX, and an app which enhances the functionality of the Xbox One!

Windows 10 is coming July 29th, 2015.  It is free of charge for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users.

Nintendo Direct Micro 6/1/15 June 1, 2015

Nintendo released a new Nintendo Direct video earlier this morning. Don’t let the word Micro in the title fool you, Nintendo makes some huge announcements in this video, including new DLC for Splatoon, new Chibi Robo and Dr. Mario games for the 3DS.  There’s also one big surprise announcement at the end of the video I was not expecting to hear for some time.

Without further ado, here’s Bill from Nintendo.

Can you believe they’re bringing Bravely Second to the west next year?  Awesome news!  What did you think of the announcements?  Post a comment below!

Complete Halo 3: ODST Single-Player Campaign Released on Halo: The Master Chief Collection May 30, 2015

If you were an early adopter of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, I would check your Xbox messages IMMEDIATLY.  You might find a special gift from Microsoft inside.  After the horrible ongoing issues with Halo: The Master Chief Collection have been plaguing users worldwide for months, 343 Industries decided to reward their customers with a special gift, the complete single player campaign for the fan favorite game Halo 3: ODST in native 1080p at 60 frames.

How’s it look?  Lets watch.

If you were not an early adopter of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, you can purchase the campaign soon from the Xbox Store for a price of $4.99 US.  You must have the most recent Content Update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection installed to play Halo 3: ODST.

Now, when do they plan to bring over Halo: Reach?

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively on Xbox One.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Content Update 9 Patch Notes May 30, 2015

343 Industries keeps plugging away with more and more updates to Halo: The Master Chief Collection, and this morning, they released the game’s NINTH Content Update.

The new update functions more as a gift to the game’s owners than an actual content patch.  While it does include several bug fixes and other updates, this content update adds a brand new remastered Halo 2 multiplayer map, and support for the upcoming Halo 3: ODST campaign, which will be coming free to the game’s early adopters.

Here’s the full patch notes for the update:

New Features and Content

• Remnant [Remake of the Halo 2 Classic multiplayer map Relic] is now available for all users
• 100 New Achievements added for ODST and Remnant. To see the list, head here.
• Players can now search for Gamertags and access file share, by selecting their own Gamertag in the Active Roster. To learn how, head here.
• Enables DLC addition of Halo 3: ODST campaign (available separately via the Xbox Store). For more information on Halo 3: ODST campaign, go here.

Ranking

• Improved skill matchmaking for parties in ranked playlists
• Made an updated to ensure that parties are no longer separated onto different teams in ranked playlists
• Improved rank stability to prevent ranks from incorrectly resetting

Quit and loss Penalties

• Quit and loss penalties are now applied immediately in matchmaking

Halo: CE

• Resolved Assault Rifle and Shotgun registration issues
• Fixed an issue with vehicle audio in split-screen
• Reduced occurrences of players falling out of map
• Improved stability while title is in “suspend” mode
• Improved music playback for Campaign

Halo 2 Classic

• Fixed an issue where playlist scores posted to Leaderboards incorrectly
• Improved host migration handling in for peer-to-peer custom game matches

Halo 3

• Added UI support for Halo 3 voice chat in matchmaking
• Improved Campaign stability
• Fixed an issue where the scoring HUD would not display in Campaign
• Fixed an issue where some players could experience a delayed spawn into a matchmade game

Halo 4

• Fixed an issue where the scoring HUD would not display in Campaign

Parties & Roster

• Added support for displaying parties as a group in the roster
• Improved handling of dedicated servers
• Team colors are preserved after every match in custom games
• Fixed a host migration issue for Custom Games
• Improved handling of player joinability and leader promotions through Active Roster
• Improved stability of 16 player parties

Forge

• Improved Forge Stability with large number of players on high budget maps
• Added support for Infection within Halo 3 Forge maps
• Fixed an issue where “Place at Start” did not function correctly in Halo 3
• Fixed an issue where controller settings were not respected in Halo 2: Anniversary

Achievements

• Improvements to achievement unlocking throughout title
• Fixed an issue that prevented the Blast Can achievements from unlocking in matchmaking

UI, Stability, & Misc

• Made improvements to stat tracking for all titles
• Improved functionality of unlock notifications
• Improved voice chat functionality throughout all titles
• Improved PGCR stats/details and stat uploading reliability
• Fixed issues where local & shared files may not appear under “My Files”
• Improved Stability of Co-op play in Campaign Playlists
• UI now sorts achievements, nameplates, and avatars based on what you have unlocked
• Improved Scoring functionality during Co-Op Campaign sessions
• Improved Spartan Ops performance
• Improvements made to mission progression in Campaign Playlists
• Improved Rival functionality in Campaign Playlists
• Improved stability for Halo 2: Anniversary map loading in matchmaking
• Final scoreboard is now displayed during outro loading screen after a match

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively on the Xbox One.

Until Dawn Release Date May 26, 2015

I’ve been waiting for this day to come for quite some time. Until Dawn first caught my eye when it was announced at GamesCom several years ago as a PS3-exclusive title that would require the Playstation Move controller.  Many years in development brought this game a total platform shift to the PS4, and Dual Shock 4 controller support, but the game’s artistic aesthetics and storyline seem to have remained untouched.

Today, Sony has finally announced the release date of this interesting horror adventure title with this trailer.

Until Dawn is coming August 25th, 2015 exclusively to the Playstation 4.

Sony Playstation E3 Press Conference Coming to Theaters May 22, 2015

Before the main floor of E3 opens the major publishers will typically host a private event to show the press what they can expect to appear on the show floor.  This year, Sony plans to broadcast their E3 Press Event to theaters across the U.S. and Canada!

The show will be broadcasted live on June 15th, 2015 at 9PM EST.  Tickets will be free, but you will need to order them in advance from this website starting May 27th, 2015.

Final Fantasy XV Community Outreach Video May 21, 2015

The developers at Square Enix brought some long time fans of the Final Fantasy series to their studios to give their thoughts about the Final Fantasy XV demo just before they plan to release a major patch for it. Keep your eyes open, a high-ranking developer may pop in to say hello to the fans.

The Final Fantasy XV demo can only be obtained by purchasing the Final Fantasy Type-0 HD Day One Edition on the Xbox One or PS4.  A patch for the demo is still in development and will be automatically downloadable upon release.