XBox One Now Offers Game Pre-Loading; Full-Game Demos on the Way

Microsoft Can’t Stop Releasing New Features for the XBox One. Hot Off the Heels of a Brand New System Update, News has Surfaced regarding 2 New Services Available for the XBox One: the Ability to Pre-Load Games before the Official Release and the Possibility of Time-Limited Demos of Full Games for Gold Members. Over on the XBox Store, a New Madden NFL 15 Pre-Order Page is Now on Display. If you Order the Game through this Page, you Can Download the Game to your Hard Drive before the Official Release Date. Of Course, you Won’t be Able to Play until After Midnight PT on August 26th. Both VALVe and Sony Have Similar Pre-Loading Mechanisms Available on their Platforms so, it’s Nice to See Microsoft Working Hard to Attain Feature Parity with the Competition. Microsoft Definitely Handled the Launch of the XBox One Poorly but, the Leadership Team has Bent over Backwards Post-Launch to Make Amends. Microsoft’s Latest Console still has a Lot of Issues but, the Entire Experience Continues to Improve at a Steady Clip. Even More Interesting is a Leaked Photo from a Reddit User by the Name of 'JBurton90'. This Rough Shot of a TV Screen Shows Max: The Curse of Brotherhood with a “Free Play Day with Gold” Label Plastered on it.


Presumably, this Means that, Gold Members will be Able to Play Select Titles for 24 Hours at No Additional Cost. Sony has a Very Similar Program Called, “Timed Trials” for the PS3 but that, Only Allows a Single Hour of Gameplay. The PS4 Doesn’t Even Have a Direct Analog of this Feature so, if this Turns Out to be True, Microsoft’s XBox LIVE Gold Program will Get a Nice Leg-Up on PLAYSTATION Plus. Well, at Least for a Short While. So, What Features does the XBox One Need to Better Compete with the PS4 ? For me, Cross-Buy, Cross-Play and Remote Play are Major Factors When I Decide which Platform to Buy a Game on. Since Microsoft Doesn’t Offer those Features in any Meaningful Way, I Lean towards Sony Platforms. For Example, I Recently Pre-Ordered Dragon Age: Inquisition on the PS4 specifically because I Knew I’ll be Able to Play it on my Vita When I’m Away from my Desk. If Microsoft Wants to Sell me on the XBox One, those are Some Must-Have Additions. What about you, though ? Which Features would Sell you on an XBox One ?