Hello and welcome to the
Microsoft Mega Byte for May 26th 2022
OK look I know there are a lot of gamers out there
who listen to the show and I also know that there's
a big gaming topic that we have yet to spend some quality time on.
So for many gamers,
this topic can actually be one of the most important to their lives.
So OK, even though of course Xbox consoles
are massively important to the entire Xbox gaming story,
let's hone in today on the rig itself, PC Gaming.
Let's welcome back to our show, our very own gaming expert, Tony Hannides.
Tony, let's talk PC gaming.
What do you think?
Let's talk about your radio voice.
You just turned that on.
That was talking normal just a second ago and now you're like, hello, everybody.
I don't I'm not I'm not comfortable
revealing to everyone what my normal voice sounds like.
As you know, it's three octaves higher than this.
I think it's a hat you're wearing.
But let's move on. I think.
Well, Xbox, obviously, you know, that's my bread and butter.
Yeah, I'm all about Xbox, but where did it start?
Where did gaming start for Microsoft?
It obviously obviously started on the PC.
We can talk about the history of. That's a good point.
Yeah, that's
that's a whole other podcast
if you guys would like us to talk about that, we could.
But let's let's talk about some of the top tier games
that are available right now with PC Jane Passe.
OK, exactly.
So we are here on a Microsoft
a Microsoft podcast talking about PC gaming.
And for people who aren't gamers, they might be wondering, well, what
what do you mean that's what Xbox is all about?
That's what Xbox consoles are.
But you just said
PC Game Pass and also the Game Pass Ultimate, which includes PC Game Pass.
So real quickly recap, what is that PC Game Pass
component of the Xbox Game Pass story?
PC Game Pass is the one stop
shop subscription that you can get specifically for your PC
where you have access to over hundreds of titles, including day one titles.
Right and EAA play for one low monthly fee you get.
You can play games like Is a Horizon Halo, Infinite Sea of Thieves.
I mean, the list just goes on and on.
But those are, of course, our top tier games.
I mean, when you think of Microsoft gaming, you of course think of Halo
Infinite or and Forza Horizon 5
but there's just so much more, Brian
That's why-
That's why you're here because as you know,
the latest PC game I played was probably Warcraft three.
So I think I've been playing a.
Lot of console. I'm playing. Right.
And you know, I'm kidding.
Of course,
I have played a lot of these Xbox games on PC, but it's been a long time.
I mean, I used to definitely
categorize myself as a PC gamer and, you know, good bye full
fledged titles that would cost 60, $90 sometimes for a fantasy game.
So what are what are the Tony Hannitys type titles?
Best radio voice for you? What are the Tony Head?
It is tough titles for PC gamers that you can get on Xbox Game Pass for PC.
I like to commission a stinger
that says that, but one top title is offer
is is another obvious one, but I really, really want to showcase it.
And that is Age of Empires for you.
Vampires is one of the original Real-Time Strategy Games.
It's a top down.
You play with other people,
and there's so many other games that were inspired by Age of Empires.
And this is essentially the fourth edition,
and not only to the amazing gaming mechanics that you get
within the game, whether you're doing the campaign or online multiplayer,
there's there's a real like historical connection to this game.
You can learn about Genghis Khan or Genghis Khan, depending
on your pronunciation.
You can learn more about Joan of Arc in her crusade.
And and I think that is just phenomenal for people
that want to do gaming but also might want to learn a little bit on the side.
OK, so as we go through this list, I'm going to ask you questions like why?
Why does this show up?
So age of
of course, an awesome game, you know, full stop, an awesome game franchise.
But why would this come to mind when you're thinking about games
that would be awesome to play on a PC specifically.
Well, with the latest additions of Age of Empires four and the PC
and specifically with Windows 11, the graphics are going to be phenomenal.
Now, albeit you do have to have some of the physical hardware
like a really good graphics card to to be able to push these graphics out.
But with auto with auto HDR 60 frames per second,
you feel and look like you are commanding an actual battle
as if you are in a drone looking down at these people
around you.
Couldn't an argument be made, Tony, that some people,
some players might prefer to play a game like Age of Empires with a keyboard
and mouse instead of a controller? Oh, totally.
I mean, there are real time strategy games on console with a controller.
But I do feel when it comes to having to manage
multiple pockets of your empire, your troops, and making sure
that the maneuvers I love that word and the maneuvers are doing the thing
that they're supposed to be meaning moving is not a word.
You really tried there to me.
Well, keyboard and mouse just makes it that much easier.
Plus you have macros like you can just hit F one or F three
and then your troops do the thing that they're supposed to do.
Right? And you can't really do that on control.
It's a little bit limited with control. OK, cool.
Great.
What's next on your list?
This is a fan favorite, but it is on PC Game Pass
and that is Tell me why chapters one through three.
OK, tell me.
More if you're really into an extremely story
driven game and like a narrative adventure game,
tell me why is probably at the top of your list.
And this has been available on PC through other means, of course,
but being able to get it at no additional cost on Game Pass
and being able to play it and, you know, keep up with new chapters
as they release is just really phenomenal.
Yeah, awesome.
So that's a big departure from a game like Age of Empires.
Totally different style of gameplay.
Now completely.
Starts to show the diversity of the game.
Pass Library right out the gate.
So OK, awesome.
So we've gone from one extreme really to another.
Now what would be next on your list?
So this is another fan favorite that has been available through other means,
but thanks to our acquisition of Bethesda a few years ago, you can now
play The Elder Scrolls Skyrim on PC
with PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate.
And for those of you who are familiar
with all the means and everything, now you can join in on the fun
and if you're not familiar, which is totally fine.
There's a whole new generation of people
that are getting gaming computers and they just want to jump into a game.
This is one of those that I feel like it kind of marries people
from the old gaming world like you and I, to the new gaming world
where it's very first person shooter, kind of like focused.
So yeah.
And speaking about bringing different generations of gamers together,
I mean, these titles we're talking about are yes, available on PC and Game Pass.
But if they're also
if they're in game past,
that means you can also play them on console
and you can also play them on cloud gaming.
Right on like mobile devices.
Oh, yeah. Let's not forget.
Yeah.
Xbox Cloud Gaming exclusively available
with Game Pass Ultimate will allow you to play a multitude of these games.
Now, it's not 100% of the same catalog, but it's about 99%.
I mean, now you can do cloud gaming
with Microsoft Flight Simulator and if that doesn't wow you enough.
Yeah, I don't know what.
Well, I mean, Microsoft Flight Simulator is a very
it's a very heavy, intense
you know, game that is going to require
a lot of load on the hardware side.
And if you can stream it like you can stream you know, your favorite
TV show through your favorite streaming service, that's a major thing.
Exactly.
And all you have to do is connect a Bluetooth controller.
We also have things like you can stream Jurassic World evolution, too.
That's similar to the other real time strategy game of Age of Empires.
You build your own Jurassic World right?
Who's who, who's ever seen the movie?
And I could probably build a better one that doesn't make the dinosaurs escape.
Well, now you can really drive your chance you got your chance.
So. OK, awesome.
So then as we focus, you've already listed off a couple other
great titles that I know.
Like, my son is my son is dying to play the Jurassic World
are there.
Let's list us off a couple others just for those out there
who maybe just bought a new PC that's capable of running some real serious games
like what are a couple of others on your list?
One that comes to mind,
that is a game that I personally am extremely, extremely scared about.
Was called Dead by daylight.
I don't like horror games.
You really have to convince me or maybe even trick me to play a horror game.
I don't know how you would trick me.
Maybe blindfolds, but that would make my anxiety worse.
But dead by daylight you.
It is definitely a party game where one of you is the killer
and the rest of you are trying to escape and it's it's it's just a lot of fun.
That game you can play on PC also you can do it through a via cloud streaming.
Another one that is a huge fan favorite is super hot.
Yeah, you played super hot.
I know you played super hot, that one.
I mean, come on. That is a great game where you can.
You can genuinely say that's innovative.
Gameplay. That's a lot about that.
That's a game that plays
just as well on VR as it does on PC, as it does on console.
I mean, it's just so eloquently designed and immersive.
They designed that the fact that you could just start
playing that on your on your laptop while waiting for your airplane at a terminal
sounds like the exact kind of thing you want to do to entertain yourself
as you're on the go.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
And lastly, one game I do want to highlight is a new game.
This was available day one on Game Pass
four for the PC and for console,
including the cloud, and that is called Citizen Sleeper.
But it's the little like subtitle is Role
Playing in the Ruins of Interplanetary Capitalism. What
all right, all right.
Give me give me a little bit give me a little bit about this.
So so essentially you're a digitized human consciousness in an artificial body.
Aren't we all?
Tony, our real.
Body is owned by a corporation.
And guess what?
That corporation wants it back.
Oh, yeah.
Sounding very severance.
Ask a little bit. Yeah.
So you actually use die, you use clocks and you basically
you can use drives to create a player led experience.
And it just has a very rich and responsive world to it.
So it's another one where it might not be like the top of the list for everybody,
but that's the beauty of PC game paths and just game paths in general.
You can try these, you can try them out, and
especially if you're streaming it to your PC
via the browser or the Xbox app on Windows Ten, on Windows 11,
you can literally play them before you download them.
And if you like it, go ahead and download and play J Heart's content.
All right.
These are awesome games, but I do have a quick clarification point.
Like, I know cloud gaming works for mobile devices for, you know, iOS, Android.
So what?
Why should anyone care about cloud gaming
if they're on a PC if they have, you know, Game Pass ultimate, right?
Well, Game Pass, Ultimate and cloud
gaming specifically kind of levels the playing field.
And it doesn't matter if you're on a PC
that is designed for gaming or a PC that is entry level
and really just designed for productivity if you just point your browser to Xbox
dot com slash play or like as mentioned, if you use the Xbox app,
you go to the cloud gaming section within that app,
you can just stream any of those games and you can enjoy them as if
they were downloaded to your computer.
And remember I said you can play them before you really download them.
A lot of these games, especially games like For The Halo,
all of those top tier games, they are gigabytes.
Oh yeah. Dozens and.
Dozens memorized. Yeah.
So you might want to compartmentalize and figure out, OK, what game can I play
in stream and what games do I want to download to always be there, right?
Like for example, I have been playing among us
through cloud gaming because it's a great game, right?
But I don't need to download a gig.
Like I'll just, I'll just stream it.
No harm, no foul.
And honestly, nobody knows.
Nobody's been in performance is exactly what you need.
And even for multiplayer, it's fantastic.
And you actually are.
You're really making a powerful point for why PC gaming with Xbox Game
Pass is so relevant because you're on your PC.
I know you're sitting there probably with a couple of different monitors.
You have Excel spreadsheet, open your PowerPoint, you have your emails,
and you can now alt tab over and multitask to and among this game
that's playing on your PC while while you're having a break
and you can get some have some game time, have some relaxation
before you jump back in to work on another one of your virtual desktops or
or snapped windows.
I think that's sort of the power of the PC gaming story with Xbox.
Oh, completely.
When you get a load of the catalog that's available for PC gaming,
you will start to see the breadth
of what we have to offer from
the point of view of the types of genres, new genres
that you may not even be aware of or even games that you used to play
when you were younger and you stopped playing.
But now you can play them again.
Command and Conquer. Myst SIM City.
I mean, the list really does go on, and that's a lot in
thanks to our partners over at E.a play.
But with new games coming available
Day one and the upcoming announcements
that we have in June of 2022, I'm very excited
to see what else is coming to PC Game Pass and just Game Pass ultimate in general.
Perfect. Well said.
OK then let's, let's close this out with a couple of your must have
PC gaming accessories
some Xbox console accessories work great for PC.
You've already mentioned one, but
just give someone maybe if they're planning on giving a gift
or something for, for a birthday or perhaps a gift for a college grad
or something like that.
Like what are some Xbox accessories that are compatible with PC gaming?
Oh, completely.
If you are looking to do simulation style
games like Microsoft Flight Simulator or Forza Horizon five,
you can drive and control the cockpit
via keyboard and mouse, but it's unnecessary
ghetto Xbox controller, and they're very inexpensive.
We have a slew of different colors to choose from.
Or you can get a top tier one by using the design labs and colorizing it yourself.
In addition to that, gamers will be the first to admit
one of the most important things is audio.
And so you want to get some really good headphones with low latency.
And if you're like me, you don't really like wires.
The Xbox Wireless headset is probably the best way to go.
This does connect via Bluetooth,
but you can also connect it to multiple machines
and it has an on board microphone, so you don't have to worry
about the microphone being too far away from your mouth.
You have a mute button and you can control the volume
just by turning the knobs on your right or left ear.
It's just a beautiful design as well too.
Very lightweight, and the battery life is pretty phenomenal on its own.
Tony Hannides gaming maestro.
All right.
You coming in with those hot, hot PC gaming tips.
Thank you very much
for those recommendations and for those accessories recommendations.
Now, where do where do we go from here?
You know, we only have so much time on a podcast episode.
If you're out there and you want to learn more,
you want to keep getting more tips about gaming.
What should our listeners do?
Well, the first place you want to go check out and bookmark is our Twitch page.
We are on Twitch and we stream almost four times a week
and that's Twitch dot TVs, slash easy on core.
And that's connected to experts on our, you know, parent site.
But Easy Encore on Twitch is where we do our live streams.
We also do live streams on YouTube, and that's YouTube.com slash expert zone.
And on that same channel
you'll see a bunch of great videos related to just gaming in general,
but also the other products and services that Microsoft has offer.
And you'll see videos from the likes of Brian here as well too.
Some definitely follow those out.
Oh, we'll follow those out.
All right, Tony, what is that?
You can't just get away with saying that phrase and think it means something.
Vaughan, we're just going to move on and we'll what?
What? We'll do it in post.
All right.
We'll fix everything in post as usual. Tony, thank you so much.
Now let's get back to work, which I assume for you is playing games. Yes.
This has been the Microsoft Mega Byte podcast,
a training tool for Microsoft field team members and sales professionals.
Across the country produced by Microsoft employees.