Microsoft Announces Battlefield 1 Xbox One S Special Edition Consoles

The Xbox One S has been out for barely a month but that hasn't stopped Microsoft to announce a Gears of War 4 special edition console. But the sci-fi shooter isn't the only game getting a new Xbox One S variant. Today the company announced that Battlefield 1 will receive not one, but two limited edition consoles.

First up is the Storm Grey Special Edition console. It comes in the aforementioned colour along with a matching controller. It includes Battlefield 1 Standard Edition, a month of EA Access, and a 500GB hard drive. It's limited to the US only and exclusively at Microsoft Stores and Wal-Mart for $299 (around Rs. 20,000)from November 1.

If you need a higher capacity Special Edition Xbox One S and reside in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe there's the Xbox One S Battlefield 1 Special Edition Bundle (1TB), which features a military green console with matching stand and controller, a full-game download of Battlefield 1 Early Enlister Deluxe Edition, the Hellfighter Pack, Red Baron Pack, Lawrence of Arabia Pack, a new visual appearance of the Behemoths, five Battlepacks and one month of EA Access all for $349 (approximately Rs. 23,300). It will be available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand starting October 18 and in Europe starting October 13.

And this is not all. There's also a third bundle. It includes a month of EA Access, Battlefield 1 Standard Edition, and the usual white Xbox One S 500GB console for $299 (roughly Rs. 20,000). It will be available in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand from October 21 and in Europe from October 13. Microsoft states that all these consoles come with a digital copy of the game, except those bought at GameStop.

Although the Xbox One S has no release date for India, enterprising independent retailers have managed to procure the 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB standard editions of the console. Starting from Rs. 30,000 it's a far cry from Microsoft's official pricing on the original Xbox One that starts at Rs. 34,990.

More so when you consider that unlike the Xbox 360, the Xbox One's hardware is a lot more robust. India has received every Xbox One bundle available internationally such as FIFA 16, Assassin's Creed, Quantum Break, and even the Forza 6 Limited Edition Xbox One console. While Microsoft India has no plans of launching the Xbox One S in India, we won't be surprised if it changes its tune in time for these bundles.

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Microsoft acquires gaming startup Beam, which specialises in interactive game streaming

Microsoft on Thursday said it is strengthening its Xbox arsenal with the purchase of a startup specializing in letting people join in the fun while watching live-streamed game play.

Microsoft did not disclose financial terms of the deal to buy Seattle-based Beam, which puts an interactive spin on the hot trend of video games being spectator sports.

"With Beam, you don't just watch your favorite streamer play, you play along with them," Xbox Live partner group program manager Chad Gibson said in a blog post. For example, Beam can be used to let viewers assign missions, summon adversaries, or select virtual gear in games being streamed online by broadcasters.

Beam, which launched in January of this year, will become part of the team at Microsoft devoted to the technology titan's Xbox consoles. "As part of Xbox, we'll be able to scale faster than we've ever been able to before," Beam co-founder and chief executive Matt Salsamendi said in an online post. "We're continuing our focus on providing streamers with the tools they need to create the most interactive broadcasts around."

Among the big trends on display at the premier Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in June was the rise of the celebrity player. Appetite on sites like Twitch and YouTube Gaming for play video, commentary, trailers, and more seems insatiable, industry insiders say.

"There are hundreds of millions of users watching gaming content every month," YouTube global head of gaming content Ryan Wyatt told AFP at E3. YouTube Gaming, a version of the Alphabet-owned video-sharing service tailored as a one-stop shop for game lovers, launched with a website and mobile application in August 2015. Now, billions of hours of gaming content are watched monthly at the service — and that number is rising, Wyatt said.

Amazon-owned Twitch.tv lets anyone broadcast game related content and allows them to connect with publishers or advertisers. US online retail giant Amazon snatched up Twitch and its huge audience in 2014. The purchase was one of the largest in Amazon’s history — $970 million in cash for the three-year-old Internet company.

There is a direct correlation between people watching video games and buying them, according to Twitch and YouTube.

Microsoft Offers Students a Free Xbox One With the Surface Pro 4

Microsoft is climbing onto the summer sale and back-to-school bandwagon, and has rolled out a pretty sweet deal for its US buyers. Until August 14, students who purchase the Surface Pro 4 will get an Xbox One free alongside.

The company has announced that this deal will only be running in retail stores in the US. To be specific, the offer sees Microsoft cut the price of the Surface Pro 4 by $300 if they buy the Xbox One alongside, essentially giving them the Xbox One for free. This promotional offer is only till August 14, after which the Surface Pro 4 will be sold at its original price. Head of Windows and devices at Microsoft, Terry Myerson told The Verge that the price cut of $300 is only applicable if the buyer picks up the Xbox One alongside the Surface Pro 4. Users buying only the laptop will not be able to avail this offer.

The Microsoft Surface Pro 4 was launched in October last year for a price starting at $899. It came to India in January this year, and was priced starting at Rs. 89,990. The laptop is being sold exclusively on Amazon India.


For a refresh, the Windows 10-based Surface Pro 4 sports a 12.3-inch PixelTouch display with a 3:2 aspect ratio and 2736x1824 pixels screen resolutions. It is powered by Intel's 6th-generation Core processor -- varying from core M3, to Core i5, to Core i7. As for graphics, the Surface Pro 4 has Intel HD Graphics 515, Intel HD Graphics 520, and Intel Iris Graphics correspondingly.

Microsoft offers 128GB, and 256GB storage options with this device. The Surface Pro 4 comes with a full-size USB 3.0 port, a microSD card reader, a 3.5-mm headset jack, a Mini DisplayPort, a Type Cover port, and SurfaceConnect port.

The Redmond-based company will release its Windows 10 Anniversary update on August 2. The update will be free for Windows 10 users, but will cost $119 (around Rs. 8,000) to those who will upgrade from previous versions of Windows. The update is said to bring several improvements including upgrades to Hello and Cortana.

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