Welcome to the Game Replay, the thrice-weekly look back at the wider world of gaming by the staff of MacNN. In today's edition, Microsoft gives up on producing the Xbox 360 after ten years of service, Bethesda shows off its Elder Scrolls card game, Sony confirms two-factor authentication for PlayStation Network accounts is on the way, and CCP advises EVE: Valkyrie will work with multiple VR headsets.
Microsoft discontinues manufacture of Xbox 360
Microsoft has finally discontinued production of the Xbox 360, after over ten years after its original launch. The console, the second Microsoft manufactured as part of the Xbox line, will still be available to purchase in stores, but only until current stocks of the gaming device run out, both with retailers and with Microsoft's distributors.
"The Xbox 360 helped redefine an entire generation of gaming at Microsoft,"
writes Xbox head Phil Spencer. "I am incredibly proud of all the work and dedication that went into development of the Xbox 360 hardware, services, and games portfolio over the last decade. And I'm grateful to the fans for their continued passion and support."
Spencer advises existing Xbox 360 owners will continue to receive Xbox Live services, including online play and parties, Games with Gold, and Deals with Gold. Over 4,000 Xbox 360 games and accessories will also still be available to purchase, with
support also offered for an undisclosed amount of time. Lastly, players upgrading to the Xbox One can continue playing their Xbox 360 games on the new console via its Backward Compatibility feature.
During the life of the Xbox 360, approximately 78 billion hours were spent by users playing games, with close to 486 billion Gamerscore earned over 27 billion achievements, while over 25 billion hours were spent using apps.
CCP confirms EVE: Valkyrie will work on different VR headset platforms
At least one major game will be playable across multiple virtual reality platforms later this year, despite attempts by hardware producers to make the titles work with just their VR headset. CCP Games, the creators of the
EVE Online space-based MMORPG, has advised its dogfighting game will be playable on all major VR platforms.
EVE: Valkyrie is out now for the Oculus Rift right now,
reports Engadget, though it will be playable on the HTC Vive and the PlayStation VR later this year. The inclusion of the PlayStation VR headset in the list also means that players of the game on PC and PlayStation will be able to fly against each other in matches.
CCP has also revealed there will be a free content expansion for the game, providing a new mode to play. Carrier Assault will have players attempting to attack an enemy team's carrier by shooting at weak points, while simultaneously trying to defend their own from being destroyed.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends card game footage released, closed beta begins
Bethesda Softworks is holding a beta for its digital trading card game it first announced at E3 last year. The gameplay mechanics of the
Elder Scrolls: Legends, said to be in development since 2013, has also been released, showing how the card game is to be played, and how it differs from main rival
Hearthstone.
The video spotted by
Pocket Gamer reveals many fundamental aspects it shares with Blizzard's title, as well as other trading card games. Players must pay a steadily-increasing resource to play a card onto the playing area, with cards able to attack other summoned minions, or the opposing player directly. Players have a certain amount of health at the start of the match, with the aim to deplete the opponent's life down to zero.
Unusually, players have to place cards into "lanes," which dictate what opposing minions they face, or even to attack directly without dealing with enemy forces protecting the path. Receiving too much damage will shatter a player's rune, which automatically draws another card for that player. Cards can also be trained to increase their power, a feature that could encourage repeated play to improve the performance of decks.
While the full game will be coming out on PC and iOS when it is released, Bethesda is only holding the closed beta for Windows users at the moment. It is unclear when the game will finally be available to purchase and play.
Sony adding two-step authentication to PlayStation Network accounts
Sony is making a change to the way it authenticates its users, by introducing two-step authentication. In an attempt to improve the security of the PlayStation Network, Sony will soon allow players to enable the extra verification step, one which has been used on other platforms to safeguard user accounts for some time already, including
Steam and Microsoft accounts.
A representative confirmed
to Polygon "we are preparing to offer a two-step verification feature," though advised more details will be "shared at a later date." It appears it will be applicable on multiple devices, with some users of the PlayStation 3 noticing text describing such a feature on the incorrect login information screen.
Two-step authentication typically works by users entering a secondary code when they log in, one that changes over time. This extra code could be supplied by an email to a specific account, sent as a text message, or even generated via a mobile app, with the extra step basically proving the user attempting to log in either has matching contact information or the correct details added to their mobile app. Ultimately this makes it harder for an attacker to gain access to the account.
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