For gamers, E3 is one of the biggest times of the year, and for Xbox gamers, Microsoft’s E3 briefing is the place you want to be. This year was no different with some huge announcements that made the crowd roar, made me shout and made the dog jump. But what were we getting so excited about?
Here are my top 5 highlights from Microsoft’s E3 2017 briefing.
Xbox One X
There’s a way to get people interested quickly… show your biggest and most talked about product first.
That’s exactly what happened in the Xbox briefing and the result was the crowd going crazy at the reveal of the Xbox One X. The latest and greatest entry to the Xbox family.
After months of being known only as Project Scorpio we weren’t entirely sure what to expect, but after a rather stylish opening video we had our answer.
The Xbox One X is the world’s most powerful console; packing a Scorpio engine with 6 Teraflops of power and 326gb/s of memory bandwith, the custom Scorpio engine will power the Xbox One X to be the fastest gaming console yet. Inside will also be a Centrifugal Fan which rapidly pulls in air and compresses it whilst emitting very little noise and a liquid cooled Vapor Chamber to help keep the Scorpio engine cool.
If that wasn’t exciting enough we found out it would run everything much better. Even those keen to buy without yet investing in a 4K TV will find the Xbox One X running every game with improved performance and looking better than ever. There will also be free 4K updates to many titles to ensure things look their best.
And then we got the biggest news we could hope for. The Xbox One X would be releasing worldwide on November 7th 2017 for $499/£449, and it would be even smaller once more.
Now that’s how you start an E3 press briefing.
Xbox Originals will arrive on BC
Whether you love the idea of playing some of your old favourites on your Xbox One, or you loathe the fact you now have a ton of extra games to wade through, there’s no denying that the backwards compatibility program has gone down well with many gamers.
With the staggering fact that at least half of Xbox One owners have played backwards compatible titles, it shows that there is still love for the great games of our past yet. But as with every E3, Phil Spencer hopped on stage, and he wasn’t content to gloat in the glory of the ingenious idea that is backwards compatibility. Instead he brought us some fresh news.
Later this year Original Xbox games will begin to join the backwards compatibility program, and will be playable on Xbox One, with cult classic Crimson Skies a particular mention. With many classics found on the OG Xbox, the gaming library for Xbox One will only grow stronger. Fingers crossed for some Oddworld Munch’s Oddyssey.
22 Xbox Exclusives
If you had asked us what Xbox exclusives we were looking forward to a week ago, we would have probably looked a little sheepish and maybe mentioned an inevitable Forza title before going rather quiet and pointing you towards the countless multiplatform titles we couldn’t wait to get our hands on.
As someone who isn’t bothered by exclusive games myself, that’s not a problem, but for many, console exclusives are what entices people in.
It seems the top dogs at Xbox are well aware of this too, as Microsoft’s E3 briefing brought no less than an incredible 22 Xbox console exclusives to the stage, from launch exclusives to full Xbox only titles, turning the Xbox One launch calendar into one of the most exciting things you’ll see this year, and with a vast array of titles, there is certainly something for everyone.
Cuphead
We’ve known about this one for some time now – years in fact – but with the constant delays and numerous missed release windows, we began wondering if the beauty of the hand drawn, cartoon inspired, revolutionary indie title would ever make an appearance on our consoles.
But with each year comes new announcements and the magic of E3 has brought us a new one.
Cuphead and Mugman will make their way to the Xbox One this September 29th 2017, and is available for pre-order right now in the Xbox Store. With only a few months left till we finally get the chance to dive into the quirky and brutal platformer, this was certainly one of the announcements that caused a roar from the Xbox faithful.
Anthem
We may have got a heads up on this one a little earlier via the EA Play briefing, but with gameplay being showcased at Microsoft’s briefing, intrigue was high. And boy did it deliver.
Anthem is a new IP that will be heading our way in 2018 and it looks fantastic.
With a sci-fi open-world, co-operative MMO action gameplay and some rather Just Cause looking epic jetpacks to help you around the world, there is plenty to be excited about. But If that’s not enough, then maybe the fact that Anthem is the next big title from the guys over at Bioware will be enough to pique your interest.
Anthem is the latest game to utilise the beloved Frostbite engine found in games such as Star Wars: Battlefront and of course the Battlefield series, and looks to be EA’s answer to Destiny. With a world full of an alien enemy known as ‘Scars’ to contend with, Anthem looks to be one of the most exciting games heading our way with something for everyone who has a love for third-person shooters.
So, there we have it, 5 of the most exciting announcements to come out of Microsoft’s E3 2017 briefing. Do you agree with our choices? Did we miss a standout moment you enjoyed? Let us know in the comments below or via our usual channels, and don’t forget to check out our thoughts on Bethesda and EA briefings too.
