NEWS: Xbox Uservoice has moved and Changed

Have you ever wanted to help improve your Xbox 360, Xbox One or Live experience?   Do you sit around complaining "Microsoft should have done this", "Why is <BLANK> Missing", or "I could have designed this better"?  If so then You Should Know about: Xbox Feedback (http://xbox.uservoice.com/)

The url has changed to: https://xboxideas.uservoice.com/ and they now have a review process so the new site won't get cluttered and bogged down with duplicate and asinine requests.

To help build the best gaming experiences across Xbox and Windows, we’ve created this site in partnership with UserVoice, a third-party service designed to let your voice be heard. Xbox Ideas, formerly Xbox Feedback, has been re-imagined from the ground up to maximize your impact on our development process. Would you like to know more?

Introducing Idea Drives

Idea Drives are the way for you to provide input on new gaming features.

• Idea Drive Collection: we’ll gather your ideas about a specific feature or a topic for a set period 
• Idea Drive Voting: after the Collection phase, you'll have an opportunity to vote and comment 
• Idea Drive Completion: Feature Teams will review the results of your voting, as well as your comments 

Although we can’t guarantee any specific ideas will be implemented, we’ll ensure that your ideas and comments are a key influence on future innovations.

Using Xbox Ideas

You can add suggestions, votes, and comments to active Idea Drives or suggest an Idea Drive!

• Select an active Idea Drive from the “Idea Drives” section 
• Search for your idea or submit a new suggestion 
• Ideas are then reviewed for clarity, language, and impact 

Feature Teams regularly review your suggestions and comments during an Idea Drive. Is there a feature or topic that you think is ready for an Idea Drive? Visit the Idea Drive Suggestion Box to suggest potential new Idea Drives for Xbox One, Gaming on Windows 10, Game Pass, and other gaming experiences.

SYSTEM UPDATE: May Xbox Update Becomes Available Today

Today the May Xbox One update arrives for gamers around the world.  As part of our ongoing effort to continually improve the Xbox experience, we’ve got a feature-packed update that enables you to get even more out of your console with some exciting new features. Here’s what’s new:

Connect with Gamers Across Xbox Live and Discord
In response to your feedback, you now have the option to link your Discord account to your Xbox account, making it easier than ever to see what your friends are playing. Starting from the Discord app on PC or on a mobile device, you will see an option to link your Xbox account with your Discord account through the Connections tab under User Settings. Click on the Xbox Live option and sign in to your account. After enabling permission, your accounts will be linked. Starting from your Xbox One, open the Account Settings menu and select “Linked social accounts.” Here, you will see a new option for linking your Discord account. Once you receive your unique code from Xbox, open the Discord app and insert the code within the Connections tab. After following these few simple steps, your accounts will be linked and your Xbox Live presence will be shared across Discord, enabling friends and users in your same Discord servers to see what you are playing on Xbox Live.

How To Set It Up: http://xboxoneguide.blogspot.com/2018/05/how-to-link-your-discord-account-to.html

120Hz Video Refresh Rate Support

Console owners already enjoy variable refresh rates, the option of 1440p resolution, and auto low latency mode (read more about that here).  In this update, we’re adding support for additional panel refresh rates. Gamers using monitors and televisions that support a 120Hz refresh rate can now turn on 120Hz support for 1080p and 1440p output resolutions on Xbox One S and Xbox One X. This high refresh rate option means you can now take full advantage of displays with 120Hz capabilities. High refresh rate support can provide a smoother gaming experience and lower latency on some displays, and games may benefit from reduced tearing and stuttering via 120Hz output.

Trim Clips Directly in the Guide

With the April Xbox Update, we added a new sharing feature that helps gamers upload their captured screenshots and videos directly to Twitter. Now, sharing is getting even quicker! With the May update, you can trim your recent game captures directly from the Guide, so you won’t need to switch to Upload Studio to make a quick cut to your saved clips.

Improved Family Settings

Xbox One continues to help parents keep their families safe with updates to family settings. We’re adding a “Details” page where parents can easily find and manage all family settings on Xbox One. Parents will easily be able to tell which family and content settings are set up and configured. Important settings that are turned off or require attention will be flagged for parents, as well. Some settings, such as activity reports and Screen Time Limits, can only be accessed through the web: We’ll identify those settings and provide links where parents can easily set them up.

New Intuitive Button Commands

Some of the button commands throughout the dashboard are being refreshed for easier navigation. For example, you can now use the “View” button on Home to edit the order of blocks or reorder items within Groups.  Pressing the “View” button on the main tab of the Guide will also now display additional capture options. Note: If you group your collections in My Games & Apps by letter, you will now need to select a letter to view all groups.

Improvements to the Xbox Accessories App

The Xbox Accessories app has been modernized to make it easier to navigate, and to look and feel more consistent with the rest of the Xbox One dashboard.

NEW ACCESSORY: New Controller For Gamers With Disabilities

Microsoft has a new control system on the way designed specifically for those with limited mobility, which through a base unit and add-ons will make playing Xbox One games a lot easier for those who might struggle with the current controller.

The Xbox Adaptive Controller features a large white base unit, which has a few buttons and large pads on it, but the real meat comes from the back of the controller, which has room for a ton of extra joystick and button inputs that can be fully customized via both their plugs and an app.

At $99.99 USD and available exclusively through Microsoft Store, the Xbox Adaptive Controller will offer significant value over the customized alternatives that exist today. We’re looking forward to sharing more about the Xbox Adaptive Controller in a few weeks at E3. The Xbox Adaptive Controller will be launching later this year, and we’ll share more information soon about pre-order availability.

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY: FIGHT NIGHT CHAMPION Backwards Compatible Today

Today it looks like we may be only getting one Backwards Compatible Game.

FIGHT NIGHT CHAMPION is coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today.  This Classic Xbox 360 game will now be playable on the Xbox One.

More than just a change to the franchise name, Fight Night Champion takes the boxing experience one giant step forward by delivering an experience never before seen in an EA SPORTS video game. History will be made with this revolutionary iteration that builds upon the best-in-class gameplay and physics engine of Fight Night Round 4, while immersing you in a world of brutality, uncertainty, betrayal, and redemption. Survive the brutal road to redemption with Fight Night Champion. KEY FEATURES Authentic Content—Fight Night Champion showcases a true graphical representation of the sport, lifestyle, and culture of boxing with authentic and dynamic blood, realistic body damage and deformation, in the first mature content EA SPORTS title ever. Captivating Champion Mode—EA SPORTS brings you their first story-based game mode inspired by classic boxing movies provides hours of captivating and emotional gameplay. Step in the shoes of up-and-coming middleweight contender Andre Bishop and experience the trials and tribulations of working your way to the top of the boxing world battling inside and outside the ring Full Spectrum Punch Control—Control your boxer’s punches with precision and accuracy with a new synergy of gameplay controls. From overhand punches to strategic counter jabs and one-punch knockouts, overwhelm your opponents with your refined skill set. Compare the control you have with FSPC with 6 total controller configurations which include buttons. Physics-Based Gameplay—Move around the ring and time your attacks with precision. You now have an even wider range of abilities when it comes to counterattacks, setting up combos, and attacking your opponent. Legacy Mode—Create your alter ego and put him in the ring against past champions. Work your way up the ranks through training and scheduled bouts, and establish your name as the fighter to beat. Take your boxer online and see how you size up against the best in the world competing for local or worldwide belts in the all-new Fight Night Nation

NEWS: Xbox Game Pass Loses 21 Titles on May 31st

Microsoft decided to remove just three titles from their Xbox Game Pass service at the end of April. This was seemingly because they were building up for a big one. On May 31st, 21 titles will be leaving the service according to the Games Leaving Soon section of the hub. The vast majority of these are Xbox 360 titles, making up 19 of the 21 games involved, with the remaining two being Xbox One titles.

If you're currently playing any of these titles through Game Pass, make sure you finish them within the next three weeks before you lose access to them. Here's the list:

Xbox One

• Blood Bowl 2
• Defense Grid 2

Xbox 360

• Age of Booty
• Bionic Commando: Rearmed 2
• BioShock (Xbox 360)
• BioShock 2 (Xbox 360)
• BioShock Infinite (Xbox 360)
• Borderlands
• Bound by Flame
• de Blob 2 (Xbox 360)
• Dead Rising 2: Case Zero
• Dig Dug
• Final Fight: Double Impact
• NeoGeo Battle Coliseum
• Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
• Pac-Man Championship Edition DX
• Sacred 3
• SEGA Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co.
• SEGA Vintage Collection: Golden Axe
• SoulCalibur
• XCOM: Enemy Within

We're yet to hear about the titles that will be added to Xbox Game Pass for June.

SOURCE

NEWS: PC Digital Game Gifting Is Here

Last Fall, the Microsoft Store enabled gifting of select Xbox One digital games, Xbox One downloadable game content (durables only), and Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass subscriptions. This feature has been a huge hit with our fans and has made buying presents for friends and family even easier, especially around the holidays.

Today, Microsoft is excited to announce that thy have expanded digital gifting to include PC games and PC downloadable game content (e.g. map packs, skins). Further, all Xbox One games are now eligible for digital gifting.

Here’s how to start sending digital gifts in the Microsoft Store:

*Head over to the Microsoft Store on Windows 10, on the Xbox One family of devices, or online, navigate to the product that you would like to purchase, select Buy as Gift, and enter the email address of the gift recipient. On Xbox One, you can choose a Gamertag from your list of Xbox Live friends.

*The gift recipient will receive a code for their product along with instructions on how to redeem the code. On Xbox One, gift recipients will receive a system message with a clickable redemption button.

A few things in keep in mind as you’re gifting:
*Gift purchasers can only buy two discounted products – and a total of 10 discounted products – every 14 days. There are no limits for gift purchases made at full price.

*Gifting of Xbox 360 and Xbox original games, pre-orders, free products, and consumable downloadable game content such as virtual currency is not allowed.

*Gift recipients can only redeem gift tokens in the country or region where they were purchased.
Many PC games are available for gifting today, May 10, and all games should be available for gifting by Friday, May 11. We are hard at work on improving digital gifting, adding new capabilities as well as support for new content types. We look forward to bringing you updates on the gifting of paid PC and Xbox apps soon.

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY: Burnout Revenge

Today we will be getting one classic Xbox 360 game playable on the Xbox One via Backwards Compatibility.

Burnout Revenge is coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today

This time it’s not about winning. It’s about total domination and an utter disregard for the rules of the road. Burnout™ Revenge launches you into the fastest, most dangerous racer on the road. Exact revenge on rush hour traffic, vindictive rival racers, and everything else that gets between you and the finish line. This time it’s personal. This time it’s about revenge. KEY FEATURES • Prepare for Carnage—Battling is the only way to advance in Burnout Revenge. Use the new Revenge Meter to track your progress as you reap rewards for playing dirty • Choose Your Car, Choose Your Weapon—Every vehicle is a potential weapon, whether you’re ramming an unsuspecting commuter into your rival or orchestrating an explosive multi-car pileup • Tracks Tricked Out for Takedowns—Navigate multi-level race tracks loaded with alternate routes, extreme jumps, hard stops, and nasty chokepoints. Burnout Revenge is built for battle. • Car-to-Car Combat—Smash through traffic and wreak havoc to beat the clock in the fast and furious Traffic Attack mode. • Crash Mode Revolutionized—This popular game mode is back, overhauled from the ground up to include more destruction and devastation than ever before.Burnout Revenge servers are no longer available for multiplayer gameplay, however single-player gameplay is still available.

HOW TO: Link Your Discord Account to Your Xbox Account on Xbox One

Connecting with friends is such a big part of why people game. Gamers all over the world use Discord to easily chat and connect with friends while they play. In the coming weeks, this collaboration will make it easier to connect and see what friends are playing across console and PC.

Here is Link Your Discord Account to Your Xbox Account on Xbox One

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY: Dragon Age 2

Today we will be getting one classic Xbox 360 game playable on the Xbox One via Backwards Compatibility.

Dragon Age 2 is coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today.

Experience the epic sequel to the 2009 Game of the Year from the critically acclaimed makers of Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2. You are one of the few who escaped the destruction of your home. Now, forced to fight for survival in an ever-changing world, you must gather the deadliest of allies, amass fame and fortune, and seal your place in history. This is the story of how the world changed forever. The legend of your Rise to Power begins now.

BACKWARDS COMPATIBILITY: Saints Row 2 is coming to Xbox One Backward Compatibility today

Help the 3rd Streets take back their city in this explosive sequal to the 2006 hit. Saints Row 2 features unparalleled character creation and customization; a massive open world to explore by land, air or sea; and online co-op play that enables you and a friend play through the entire story of Saints Row 2.