Xbox One headset compatibility confirmed; will have adapter to use Xbox 360 headset

Reposted from Gaming Target:

News: Microsoft has confirmed that they will have an adapter to allow you to use your Xbox 360 headset on Xbox One.

Microsoft is currently working on an adapter for current wired headsets to connect to Xbox One. This tidbit of information was revealed when @XboxSupport replied to a question that was posted on Twitter. Previously there were rumors floating around the internet that you wouldn’t be able to use any of our current gen headsets. If you owned a nice pair of headphones (I own Astro A40s myself) then this was obviously unwelcome news. Fortunately though it appears that rumor was just that, a rumor. In the past five weeks or so there has been a lot of misinformation going around the internet regarding Xbox One and it is nice that we at least have an answer for one of the potential issues.

It should be noted that no release date or pricing was given for this adapter. For those who haven’t kept up with this particular rumor, the new XBox One controller will be coming with a new, proprietary data port that was different than what we have with the Xbox 360. According to Microsoft this will result in the audio quality being better than it was with the Xbox 360 headsets since it supports stereo audio which can only be a good thing. Still, there were legitimate concerns that our expensive Turtle Beach or Astro headsets wouldn’t work. Fortunately that rumor has been laid to rest by @XboxSupport.

What do you think of this development? Do you plan on purchasing a new headset to go along with your Xbox One or will you simply purchase the adapter so you can use the headset you have today? Tell us what you think below.

Destiny Gameplay

Bungie's next game, Destiny, has been shown off at E3.  We've learned a lot this week.

In some respects, Destiny has clear Bungie/Halo lineage, with familiar elements like Halo-ish guns, radar, targeting reticles, reticle bloom (Halo Reach), ammo counters, general FPS mechanics, regenerating health, critical hit headshots.

In other ways, Destiny is bringing in a ton of MMO elements.  New items:

• Multi-platform: On at least X1 and PS4.  I haven't seen anything that says you can play cross-platform (X1 and PS4 players playing together in the same game), but it's no longer Xbox only.
• emotes: The demo shows a player waving using the "emote" function.
• Character leveling: Instead of just unlocking armor, both users and enemies will have some kind of XP leveling.  Bosses appear to just have a "boss" level that transcends numbers.
• Ghost: Some kind of remote control drone or scanner.
• Special abilities: Like a hand thrown fire bomb of sorts.
• Player revivals: Bring fellow players back to life.
• Loot: Pick up stuff after battles, like better guns.
• Multiple guns: At least one class of character has slots for 3 guns.
• Multiple upgrades: Upgrade slots for head, hands, chest, belt, feet, presumably for armor.
• Equipment leveling: Upgrade at least guns, probably armor too.
• Player classes: Titan (heavily armored, shotgun), Hunter (lightly armored, sniper), Warlock (medium armored, machine gun)
• Shared world: Seamless multiplayer with things like Public Events that bring other fire teams in for a co-op engagement on the fly.

For those who have played MMOs like WoW or Guild Wars, these new game elements will be familiar.

X1 Pre-Orders Open Now

Pre-order notifications started going out just after noon PT today:

• Amazon.com: I have pre-ordered from here.
• Console price: $499.99
• Shipping: $0.00-$3.99 Eligible for Prime ($3.99 one-day shipping, free two-day shipping)
• Tax: $44.10
• Bonuses: Day One Console includes a limited edition controller, token code to unlock Day One achievement, premium packaging, and decal.
• Microsoft.com: Their webserver is getting hammered, response time is pretty slow.
• Console price: $499.99
• Shipping: $0.00 (unclear how fast - all it says is "Pre-order now to get Xbox One on the day it's released")
• Tax: $43.78
• Bonuses: I assume you get all the same free stuff as at Amazon, but it's not shown on the website.
• Gamestop.com: They were showing the console by itself two hours ago, but they're only listing bundles now.  Which kind of seem like a rip-off.
• Console price: $559.98 (bundled with Kinect Sports Rivals, Dead Rising 3, or Ryse)
• Shipping: $18.49-$24.99 ($24.99 for one-day, $21.99 for two-day)
• Tax: $51.19
• Bonuses: I assume you get all the same free stuff as at Amazon, but it's not shown on the website.

X1 E3 Announcements: Halo in 2014

E3 has kicked off in Los Angeles, and the Xbox One announcements are coming out fast and furious from the Microsoft meeting.  The next Halo won't be coming out until 2014, it was teased with just a brief trailer:

Other items announced:

•  XBL Gold members will start receiving two free game downloads a month on X360 from now until X1 launch.  The first two are Assassin's Creed 2 and Halo 3
• Forza 5 will have a new "drivatar" feature.  The game will learn how you drive, and then build an avatar for you in the cloud.  The avatar will then drive (as you) against other players, while you're off-line doing other things.
• Game replays will be managed via twitch.tv, the interface into the X1 DVR replay system
• Friend lists will no longer be limited to 100
• Purchases will be done using real dollars, instead of Microsoft Points
• Xbox Live can now be shared amongst family members
• X1 will be launching in November for $499