Inside Xbox April 2019 Recap

Microsoft regulary updates fans with news, game releases, game pass updates, and other Xbox news with its streaming series "Inside Xbox" This months Inside Xbox marks a special moment because it is the last time we will hear from Microsoft before the mega-event that is E3 2019. Here we see a glimpse of Microsoft's plans for Xbox at E3 and we got some major pieces of news. Catch the entire stream below.

(Inside Xbox April 2019 Full Event)

Xbox One S All-Digital Edition

One of the biggest pieces of news was the announcement of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition. Rumors about this device have been circling for quite some time but now we finally see this device. It is coming in May priced at 249$. While it wasn't a surprise, it definitely reenforces the mentality of Xbox at Microsoft. Microsoft has long been a proponent of digital with their heavy push of Game Pass. They have also been openly talking about Xcloud more than any pre-release service. They want their fans to believe digital and streaming are the future of gaming. While I appreciate those that want to go digital, as a game collector I want to hold desperatley onto physical media even though the market is shifting digital. What I found interesting was when they announced the release partners GameStop was excluded. While this may simply have been an omitted detail, it does not surprise me if GameStop chose to skip selling a device that is designed to hasten their death. Between GameStop failing to find a buyer, Sony ceasing digtal sales, and now Microsoft taking one small step away from physical this device only cuases question on GameStop's future futher. Prior to the announcement, some speculated that the device would be smaller or cheaper, however at the same size and only 50$ less than the original (which can be easily found for 249$ at many retailers) I am skeptical at the early adoption of thise. Why pay the same for arguably an inferior product? If they managed to make it 20% smaller or 20% more powerful, maybe. But it is literally a One S with no drive. However, unless you have been living under a rock, you should know a new xbox generation is around the corner with a probabl 2020 release, now is the worst time to buy an xbox one.

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate

Fans of GamePass can be excited to hear they now can bundle together their subscriptions to Xbox Live and Game Pass with the announcement of the new GamePass Ultimate. However I would temper your excitment if you have been holding out for an incentive to try GamePass. Xbox Live currently is 60$ a year (which equals 5$ a month) or 10$ a month, and GamePass is 10$ a month. GamePass Ultimate is 15$ a year. Yes, This gives you the yearly pricing on a monthly basis but honestly who really pays the montly for Live. Why pay twice as much? So let's be real most players have yearly Live, so the fact that this "bundle" costs the same and offers no "Ultimate" benefits makes this news slightly underwhelming. Microsoft needs to sweeten the pot or lower the montly to like 12$ to make it even worth it. I'm all for a unified better subscription, but now its just a difference with little distinction.

Rage 2 Trailer

This Episode of Inside Xbox also gave an exclusive new Rage 2 trailer which you can check out above.

Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order

While this was technically revealed at Star Wars Celebration days prior, if you missed that news, Respawn also used Inside Xbox as a platform to show us again our first peak at Fallen Order. Honestly though we can never have enough star wars. Watch it for the first time or the 10th time I won't judge.

We also got excited for Xbox Fan Fest at E3. Check out this hype trailer above! As always stay tuned for the lastest gaming news here on Game Infinite. For more on Xbox stay tuned for the upcoming E3 news!