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Yakuza Series Is Coming To Xbox Game Pass
Many announcements have been made during X019, the big Microsoft event to celebrate and show the future of Xbox. And one of the most pleasant surprises was that the Xbox platform will be getting Yakuza games, marking the first time the traditionally Sony-exclusive franchise appears on a Microsoft platform. Next year, through Game Pass, subscribers can play Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2. These are the first three entries in the series’ in-game chronology.
Sega and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio started Yakuza back on the PS2 and have made seven mainline games and a number of spinoffs thus far. Last year, the franchise came to PC for the first time, and now its expanding further with Xbox One versions. For those unfamiliar, the Yakuza series blends open-world and 3D beat-em-up style gameplay, and strikes a balance between gripping melodrama and comedic absurdity that all comes together wonderfully.
You follow the story of Kazuma Kiryu, a man with a heart of gold trying to navigate the Japanese underworld while doing right by those around him. Other great characters come into the mix, like Goro Majima, and add an extra dynamic to the fascinating drama of being in a Japanese gang. Mini-games and side-stories play a huge role in fleshing out Yakuza’s depiction of certain cities in Japan.
These three Yakuza games come to Xbox One in early 2020 through Game Pass, though you can play them on PS4 and PC now. The series is still going with brand-new entry launching in Japan early next year and sometime afterward in the West, and you can read our breakdown of Yakuza: Like A Dragon to catch up. For more on all the announcements coming out of Xbox’s X019 event, be sure to check out all our coverage below:
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/yakuza-series-is-coming-to-xbox-game-pass/1100-6471445/
Project xCloud Getting DualShock 4 Support, And A Bunch Of New Games
During its Xbox fan event in London, X019, Microsoft shared more details on its game-streaming service, Project xCloud. One of the biggest new reveals is that Microsoft is adding numerous more games to the service along with support for new controllers, including Sony PlayStation’s DualShock 4.
xCloud already supports Xbox One controllers, but the company said it plans to expand to the DualShock 4 from Sony’s PS4 and other game pads from peripheral company Razer. It’s not exactly clear how DualShock 4 support would work given the button names are completely different.
Microsoft also announced that, in 2020, it plans to add support for xCloud on Windows 10 PCs, as well as devices made by a “broad set of partners.” Currently, xCloud only works on Android phones. Another big piece of news is that Microsoft is expanding the network of public testers to, so if you didn’t receive an invite to the initial beta, check your email again now. The current xCloud public trial continues to be exclusive to the US, UK, and Korea, however.
Another big piece of xCloud news is that game streaming is also coming to Xbox Game Pass, so subscribers can play games in that catalogue via the cloud on compatible devices.
In 2020, the xCloud preview program will expand to Canada, Japan, India, and Western Europe, though there is no word on support for Australia or other major areas around the globe. Microsoft has said it wants xCloud to eventually reach 2 billion gamers across the world, and it appears it will take a while for that dream to become a reality.
Microsoft also announced it’s adding more than 50 additional games to the xCloud preview. These include Madden NFL 20, Tekken 7, Hitman, Just Cause 4, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, and Darksiders 3, among many others.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/project-xcloud-getting-dualshock-4-support-and-a-b/1100-6471446/
Life Is Strange Dev Reveals New Game, Tell Me Why
Life Is Strange studio Dontnod has announced its next game as part of Xbox’s X019 event. Tell Me Why is another narrative-focused title from the French studio that claims to be the first-ever video game from a major studio featuring a playable character who is transgender.
Tell Me Why takes place in small-town Alaska and follows the “true-to-life” story of twins Tyler and Alyson Ronan as they learn more about their difficult childhood.
“Over the course of the story, players will explore the identical twins’ different memories of key events and choose which memory to believe,” game director Florent Guillaume said. “Ultimately, the choices players make determine the strength of the twins’ bond–and the future course of their lives.”
Tyler and Alyson are both playable and are “equal heroes” in the campaign.
“We are especially grateful to Microsoft for its full support, openness, and help regarding Tyler’s identity and character, as a transgender man,” Guillaume said.
Dontnod said it worked alongside LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD to make Tyler an “authentic representation of the trans experience.” Microsoft says Tyler is the “first playable videogame hero from a major studio and publisher who is also transgender.”
GLAAD’s Nick Adams said in a statement that Microsoft and Dontnod worked hard to construct Tyler as a character “with a real commitment to authenticity.”
“Tyler is a fully-realized, endearing character, whose story is not reduced to simplistic trans tropes,” Adams said. “Creating a playable lead trans character–and taking such care to get it right–raises the bar for future LGBTQ inclusion in gaming.”
Tell Me Why’s story unfolds across three chapters that will be released on a “clear and predictable schedule,” according to Microsoft. What this means in practice is that all three chapters will be released in one period of time–Summer 2020.
The game will be on Xbox Game Pass, while people can also purchase it outright on Xbox One and PC (including Steam). There is no word on if the game is also coming to PlayStation.
from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/life-is-strange-dev-reveals-new-game-tell-me-why/1100-6471450/
