With the speed at which news comes out in the gaming industry we sometimes miss important or news worthy things. Some of these things we want to talk about in a way that is both easy for you guys and allows us to get all the facts together as some of these stories develop quickly. Sometimes we also just cover topics that we find interesting and want to discuss.
Multiplatform Fornite ?
The Verge reports that cross platform play could be coming to Fortnite between the Xbox one and PC. The idea that you could play against or with other people from around the world and not being held down by your console of choice is an idea that has floated around the gaming industry and gamerd dreams for years. We would all like to be able to play with our friends that did not buy the same console as us or with our PC compatriots. While this has been attempted in the past with previous titles it’s never quite panned out in the way many of us have envisioned. According to a Microsoft spokesperson “We have been working closely with the team at Epic Games for some time to bring this functionality to all current and future versions of Fortnite and expect it to be available on Xbox along with other platforms,” says a Microsoft spokesperson. Now it interesting to note that even Sony is possibly on board this time, potentially making this the first possible game to allow the consoles to really fight it out in an actual game.
Source: Unrealengine
Wiggin’s thoughts on the subject : This is an idea I’ve been excited about since I first got into gaming as I feel the main reason it doesn’t work is because the major console manufactures want to keep their walled gardens to themselves even at the sacrifice of innovation and inclusion. This is something I’m interested in seeing how it will play out because previous attempts at this have started out with good intentions and then gone down hill shortly after practical implementation. We all are aware that a mouse is a much more effective tool for aiming then a joystick so it will be how many console players really opt in to the system that puts them at a disadvantage against their competitors. It’s also mentioned that you could play Fortnite against those on mobile devices if you chose to opt in so I would hope to see a selection of options for opting in. I’d be interested in playing against other console players but playing against someone using a phone just seems like a bad experience for both involved. I want to believe that we have moved past this us vs them mentality and we can finally understand that playing together on any platform is the best course for the gaming medium as a whole.
New installer format for Windows
According to PCGamer, Microsoft announced a new type of installer for the Windows store that could alleviate a problem (one of many) that has to do with the new Store. Since the current format cannot handle older games, only new games built with it in mind, older games aren’t coming to the Store. Now with this new one, MSIX, will be able to handle not only older games but also be open source which will allow people to use it how they want and not restricted to the Windows Store. It’s not an immediate upgrade so don’t expect a massive change very soon.
Source: Tech63.com
Ozzy’s Thoughts: As of Windows 10, I have no love, respect, or even a bit of tolerance for that platform. But when Microsoft keeps trying to force us to use the store and it’s just overall an awful experience. For simple programs like music player or other related “tablet” like programs I think the store is fine. When it comes to games and such, it tend to be…bad. So hopefully this format will be bring some love to something more or less everyone hates and is the first step to actually making a platform decent for people. Myself, I’m not holding my breath and doing my damnedest to stay away from Windows 10 as it is such a pain in my ass but I know someday I’ll have no choice but to use it but maybe by then it’ll decent.
