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Gamescom 2013 is upon us and Microsoft is taking every last opportunity to showcase its sterling launch lineup. With Sony set to take the stage later on, for an hour-long buzz building extravaganza, Microsoft was out to please early at Europe’s number one gaming expo.
Appealing to the local crowd, the hardware honchos let slip a turf-shattering slice of news, when they confirmed that European Xbox One‘s will indeed ship with a bundled copy of FIFA 14 (while supplies last). Considering the sporting title’s truly mammoth sales figures (FIFA usually sells in the region of 15 million units per season) the deal presents a major coup for Microsoft, who appear more than willing to shell out early in order to secure European market success.
The company went on to divulge the Xbox One’s debut day lineup, featuring a bevy of big-time, triple-A titles. They are -
Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag
Battlefield 4 (w/ timed exclusive content)
Call of Duty: Ghosts (w/ timed exclusive content)
Crimson Dragon
Dead Rising 3
FIFA 14 (w/ timed exclusive content)
The Fighter Within
Forza Motorsport 5
Just Dance 2014
Killer Instinct
LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
LocoCycle
Madden NFL 25
NBA 2K14
NBA LIVE 14
Need for Speed: Rivals
Peggle 2
Powerstar Golf
Ryse: Son of Rome
Skylanders: Swap Force
Watch Dogs
Zoo Tycoon
Zumba Fitness: World Party
It certainly appears to be an impressive collection, but how does it fare when compared to Microsoft’s previous outings? The original Xbox shipped with 14 US launch titles, divided between 7 rough genre headings. Its 7th generation descendant, the Xbox 360, upped that ante to 18 debut games, but reduced diversity down to a mere 4 fields – while the Xbox One features no less than 23 opening day distractions, spread out across 9 varied genres.
The console’s upcoming release slate looks equally promising, with many major titles that have yet to confirm a concrete arrival date:
Below
D4
Destiny
Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dying Light
EA SPORTS UFC
Final Fantasy XV
Halo Xbox One
Kinect Sports Rivals
Kingdom Hearts III
Mad Max
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
Minecraft: Xbox One Edition
Mirror’s Edge 2
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare
Project Spark
Quantum Break
Star Wars Battlefront
Sunset Overdrive
The Crew
The Elder Scrolls Online
The Evil Within
The LEGO Movie Videogame
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Thief
Titanfall
Tom Clancy’s The Division
Wolfenstein: The New Order
According to Microsoft, 38% of their entire library (both launch and later releases) is made up of exclusive titles, with 37% also being original IPs. For all of the Xbox One’s poor PR so far, Microsoft appears to have made a real effort to secure an attractive launch day lineup here. Deals like those being struck with EA’s FIFA brand, should help absorb some of the platform’s extra cost at retail, though it remains to be seen whether the tech giant’s generosity will extend to North American gamers also.
Xbox One is set to debut at some point in November.