Author: Trafficblast

Xbox Series X Will Support Backwards Compatibility On Day One

If you’ve spent the past few years collecting and playing a vast library of titles on Xbox One, then don’t worry–that collection is all coming with you if you choose to upgrade to Xbox Series X (the official name of Project Scarlett). Xbox Series X will support backwards compatibility for all Xbox One games the day the next-gen console launches.

“We wanted to make sure we had that, day one, we could deliver on the compatibility promise, and so I’ve been playing quite a few [Xbox 360] games on my [Xbox Series X] and Xbox One games on the [Xbox Series X] and that’s just to ensure that we can be there day one,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer told GameSpot.

“We have thousands of games that run on Xbox One today,” Xbox partner director of program management Jason Ronald told GameSpot. “We want those games to be able to come forward with you but we also want your services to come with you. We want your gaming legacy to come with you, whether that’s your Gamerscore, whether that’s your friends list, all your Achievements, your game saves, all of that should come forward so there are no barriers for you as you think about moving forward.”

The process of ensuring three previous console generations of games all play on Xbox Series X has been a lot of work. “There is work in ensuring [backwards] compatibility across those generations,” Spencer said. “So, as you might remember, we slowed down and paused our backwards compatibility program for [Xbox 360] on Xbox One.”

“[It takes a lot of work] even for Xbox One games, because one of the biggest challenges is console games are usually hyper-optimized to the unique hardware capabilities of the device, and this is a new generation of hardware,” Ronald added. “It is a new chip architecture. At the same time, we did design the silicon with [backwards] compatibility in mind, so we did make certain decisions to try to lessen that work, but I don’t want to trivialize how much work the team’s actually doing because there is a tremendous amount of work.”

With the Xbox Series X officially revealed, our comparison between it and Sony’s PlayStation 5 has become a little more concrete. If you need a little refresher on the console, we’ve compiled everything we know about Xbox Series X–from its announcement as Project Scarlett to its The Game Awards reveal.

Now Playing: Xbox Series X – Exclusive Details On Microsoft’s Next-Gen Console

Best Last-Minute Christmas Gifts And Deals At Amazon

Many of us go into Black Friday intending to cross all the names off our Christmas shopping list early–but end up splurging on stuff for ourselves (at least, I did). We’re now about a week away from Christmas, which means time is running out to buy gifts for your loved ones this year. Luckily, online shopping means you can place orders right up until December 23 or even Christmas Eve, depending on where you shop.

With Amazon Prime, you’ll nearly always get free two-day, one-day, or even same-day shipping depending on where you live and what time of day you place the order. That makes Amazon an ideal place to snag last-minute gifts for Christmas, and luckily for budget-savvy shoppers, there’s a huge sale going on right now with last-minute deals on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.

In terms of game deals, it’s clear that Amazon’s stock is starting to dwindle after the rush of Black Friday, but there are still some great deals this week. Notably, Death Stranding is only $40, the cheapest it’s been since its release on PS4 in November. Borderlands 3 is available for just $35 on PS4 and Xbox One. You can also snag Marvel’s Spider-Man: Game of the Year Edition for just $20 on PS4; it includes all DLC. There’s also a nice discount on Red Dead Redemption 2 for Xbox One: $30 for a digital code.

If you missed out on some of the best VR deals from Black Friday, a great headset option is back in stock at Amazon ahead of Christmas. You can snag a standalone Oculus Go VR headset at a nice discount right now: $149 for the 32GB and $199 for the 64GB model. Please note this particular headset isn’t compatible with the upcoming game Half-Life: Alyx; it’s better suited for watching TV and movies.

Amazon also restocked some of Black Friday’s best console offers, including the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition for $149. The PS4 Slim holiday bundle with God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn: Complete Edition, and The Last of Us Remastered is also back in stock at a discount, although it’s priced at $250 rather than its ridiculously low Black Friday price, $200. Still, this is the bundle to buy if you’re looking to pick up a PS4 this Christmas.

Read on for more of the best gaming deals at Amazon right now that’ll arrive before Christmas; plus, check out our guide to the best last-minute gift ideas across gaming and tech for more inspiration. You also find our recommendations for the best stocking stuffers, best Switch games, best PS4 accessories, and more in our Christmas 2019 holiday gift guide.

Best last-minute Christmas deals at Amazon

Last-minute Christmas gifts and deals

Best game deals

Death Stranding (PS4) for $40Death Stranding (PS4) for $40

More great deals at Amazon

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Nintendo Switch Pro Controller | $55 ($70)

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Oculus Go VR Headset | $149 ($200) or $199 ($249)

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PS4 Slim Only on PlayStation bundle | $250 ($300)

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PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller for Nintendo Switch (Spyro) | $35 ($50)

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Sega Genesis Mini | $60 ($80)

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Razer BlackWidow Elite Mechanical Gaming Keyboard | $120 ($170)

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Xbox One S All-Digital Edition — $149 ($250)

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate 3-month membership (plus 3 months free) | $45

Now Playing: GameSpot’s 2019 PS4 Holiday Gift Guide

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Who Is Lube Man? Watchmen Gives Us The Answer–Outside The Show

[Spoiler warning] HBO’s Watchmen has wrapped up with the airing of Episode 9, “See How They Fly,” and the season finale’s ending resolved many of the questions that viewers have had. What was Lady Trieu up to? Would Doctor Manhattan allow the 7th Kavalry’s plan to succeed? Why was Veidt so lax on Europa? But it didn’t find the screentime to answer one particular and truly important question: Who the hell was Lube Man? The question has persisted since his brief appearance in Episode 4, when he creepily slipped into a sewer grate and out of our lives.

While we sadly may never get to see any characters’ reactions to it, we do have some positive news: We know who Lube Man is. HBO has been filling in details on the periphery with Peteypedia, a section of the Watchmen website consisting of FBI documents and files collected by Laurie’s chosen assistant, Dale Petey. And it’s in the most recent Peteypedia file (PDF link), a memo written by FBI deputy director Farragut, that we learn who Lube Man was: Petey himself.

A previous entry had suggested that Petey might be the one under the mask and oil, but the memo makes it far more certain. It states that Petey has been fired from the FBI, and in the process of his office being cleaned out, “a jug of what appears to be some kind of canola oil” was found. Quite subtly, the reference to canola oil links out to the image you see below–a wanted poster for our slippery friend.

Lube Man's wanted posterLube Man’s wanted poster

The memo goes on to state that Petey is now missing and presumed to be continuing his own investigation, despite the FBI closing the case. “It’s clear now from his memos that Petey (Hero Enthusiast-Obsessive/ Solipsist on the Werthem Spectrum) is at risk for vigilante behavior, and most likely, always was,” Farragut writes. “Perhaps sooner or later, this task force will be investigating him.”

Now Playing: Watchmen Episode 8 “A God Walks Into Abar” Breakdown

Star Wars Battlefront 2: The Rise Of Skywalker Update Brings New Map, Units

With Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker coming this week, the new trilogy and the entire Skywalker Saga comes to a close. Star Wars Battlefront 2 is marking the occasion with a new update that adds content from the latest film in the saga, along with a new “Celebration Edition” that gathers a ton of previous goodies in one place.

The free Rise of Skywalker update will be available starting December 17, and adds a new jungle planet for Co-Op and Heroes vs Villains mode. Plus a number of new reinforcement units are coming: a Sith Infiltrator, First Order Jet Trooper, Resistance Gunner, and Resistance Spy. Plus there are new looks available for Finn, Rey, and Kylo Ren based on their Rise of Skywalker appearances.

If you’ve missed out on any of last couple of years of Battlefront, you can purchase or upgrade to the Celebration Edition, which includes all of the free content updates and paid customization content, including the new customization from the Rise of Skywalker update. You can purchase it for $40, or upgrade your existing Battlefront 2 version to the Celebration Edition for $25.

EA also mentioned that while the saga is ending, the game will still be going. January will bring two new capital ships–the Resistance MC85 and Resurgent-class Star Destroyer–along with BB-8 and BB-9E as Resistance and First Order heroes, respectively. More updates are coming in February and March as well.

Now Playing: Star Wars Battlefront 2 – The Rise Of Skywalker Official Cinematic Reveal Trailer

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Daisy Ridley Regrets Playing It Cool With Carrie Fisher On Star Wars

Very few actors get the chance to star alongside a genuine legend. For Daisy Ridley in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, she was able to work with not only one legend but several – including Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. Ridley opened up to IGN Japan at a recent junket in Tokyo for The Rise of Skywalker about what she was able to learn from these giants of cinema – and what she regrets not asking them.

She said that any tips were gleaned indirectly, as she was hesitant to ask too many questions.

“I think all of us learned more by seeing how people (such as Fisher) were, rather than what they specifically said to us,” she said. “And especially, I never wanted to be the person who was like, ‘Hey, can I ask you like a hundred questions?’ So I went the other way and was like, ‘Yeah, I’m totally cool; I’m not fussed at all.’ So now I look back with Carrie – and with Harrison and Mark – on questions that I wish I had asked, but I didn’t want to be that annoying person.”

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UK Daily Deals: Xbox One X Star Wars Bundle Cheaper Than Black Friday

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Xbox One X Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order Bundle (Save £170)

xbox one x Black friday2

The Game Awards saw a surprise addition from Microsoft as it revealed the design for its brand-new next-generation system, Xbox Series X. With around a year until the new console launches, there’s never been a better time for current Xbox One systems to get a discount.

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Red Dead Redemption 2’s PC Exclusive Content Comes to Consoles

Red Dead Redemption 2 content that was initially exclusive to the PC version is coming to consoles.

Rockstar has released the previously PC-exclusive Story Mode updates on PlayStation 4 alongside the Moonshiners update for Red Dead Online. The Xbox One version of the game will get these updates on January 21, 2020.

The updates include new bounty hunter missions and gang hideouts, so you can track down Herman Zizendorf, Camille de Millemont, and Bart Cavanaugh, or take on the Del lobos gang.

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Wattam Review

Somewhere between a lucid dream, a children’s show, and an acid trip, you’ll find Wattam. The latest game from Katamari Damacy creator Keita Takahashi is an absurd and colorful adventure full of anthropomorphised objects, laugh-out-loud goals, and a dreamlike sense of floaty imprecision. It’s not the meatiest of games (despite literally letting you play as meat), but it’s a ridiculous joy all the same while it lasts.

Wattam doesn’t really fit into any specific genre box, but you could most closely liken it to a third-person puzzle game. Bear with me here: you control a mustachioed green cube called the Mayor who wears a bowler hat with a confetti bomb inexplicably tucked underneath it. He starts out alone in the dark, but simple quest prompts guide you (and potentially a friend in local co-op) along to complete tasks that slowly repopulate the world around you.

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