Weekly Wrap Up! (8/17/13)

- Activision announced the Call of Duty: Ghosts Prestige Edition. The Prestige Edition will include a special steelbook case, paracord strap, access to season pass, digital content: player card, patch, background, and soundtrack. On top of that, the Prestige Edition includes a full HD 1080p, water resistant, wide angled, wearable camera designed after the camera in the game. The camera will also include three attachments, batteries, 4GB memory card, and editing software. The Prestige Edition will be available for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS4, and PS3 for $199.99.

- EA and DICE announced that any unlocks, stats, and ranks earned in the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Battlefield 4 will transfer over to the Xbox One and PS4 versions.  
 
- Microsoft announced that the Xbox One will still function without Kinect, and restated that you can turn Kinect completely off in the settings. Of course if the Kinect is not connected or turned on, all of the Kinect specific features will not work.

- Microsoft announced that Xbox One owners will not be able to voice chat with Xbox 360 owners, but will be able to send text messages to one another. Also, players on both Xbox consoles will still be able to see what their friends are doing on their console like they can now.

- Microsoft announced their Season Pass Guarantee program. This allows gamers who purchase certain season passes for Xbox 360 games to transfer over if they buy a Xbox One console and the Xbox One version of that game. Activision, Ubisoft, and EA have already signed on with the program.

- Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 are the first two games confirmed to use the Season Pass Guarantee, and it also applies to the PS3 and PS4 versions. Sony has not officially announced a similar season pass for other games as of now, but it's likely they will.

- Sony is planning on launching an online, paid television service for the PS4, PS3, and HD televisions. Sony signed a deal with Viacom and plans on launching the service by the end of the year.

- Square Enix announced that Thief will be released on February 25, 2014 in North America, and February 28th in Europe and other countries. Thief will be available for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

- Rockstar Games stated that post launch dlc for Grand Theft Auto V will be region locked.

- Rockstar Games revealed a new mode called Grand Theft Auto Online. GTA Online will be a persistent online world for 16 players. Although GTA Online will be tied to GTA 5, Rockstar says it is its own thing and will evolve and expand over time. It will be available on October 1st, and will be accessible in the GTA 5 game.

- Warner Bros. announced the collector's edition of Batman: Arkham Origins for North America, Australia, and New Zealand. This collector's edition (which differs from the UK version) features a Joker statue with LED effects, art book, Batman wanted poster, two pieces of evidence, schematics for the Batwing, anarchy logo stencil, glow in the dark map of Gotham, Wayne family photo, and intel dossiers. Also, a code for the First Appearance Batman skin will be included, as well as a full featured documentary on DC's villains. The collector's edition will be available for the Xbox 360 and PS3 for $119.99.