Games with Gold for Xbox One, Free Apps for All

In their continued efforts to remind people they still have a hot new console on the market, Microsoft has announced all kinds of Xbox One news. June is a big month for the console and will see the launch of a new hardware SKU on June 9th at $399 that comes with 100% less Kinect. But Kinect is seriously still a big deal to Microsoft and they reiterated their commitment to the sensor with the creepiest quote.

“More than 80 percent of you are actively using Kinect, with an average of 120 voice commands per month on each console,” reads the news post by Xbox Head, Phil Spencer. “Some of the most popular voice commands include “Xbox On,” “Xbox Broadcast” and ‘Xbox Record That.’”

If they were being really honest they would’ve admitted that the number one most popular voice command is “Stop Listening”.

Also in June, Xbox Live Gold members will get their first “free” Games with Gold on Xbox One. Unlike the current Games with Gold program for Xbox 360, Xbox One games will require an active Gold membership to play. The first offerings for Xbox One will be Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault.

While Xbox Live Gold gains some free games on Xbox One it’s losing a whole lot more, namely exclusive access to all the apps. Starting in June, all Xbox owners will have free access to the array of 170 global apps between Xbox 360 and Xbox One. That includes “Machinima, Twitch and Upload, popular video services like Netflix, Univision Deportes, GoPro, Redbull and HBO Go, Internet Explorer, Skype, OneDrive and OneGuide.”

Now that we’ve got all that services stuff out of the way it leaves Microsoft open to wow us with exclusive game after exclusive game at E3, right?