Xbox One Ends 2014 With More Deals, Bundles And Azure In Australia, Welcomes 2015 With Virtual Reality Headset

Xie Enwei, General Manager Of Management And Operations Of Microsoft In China, Speaks During The Presentation Of The Xbox One — IN PHOTO: Xie Enwei, general manager of management and operations of Microsoft in China, speaks during the presentation of the Xbox One by Microsoft as part of ChinaJoy 2014 China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference in Shanghai July 30, 2014. Reuters/Carlos Barria

Microsoft is giving fans a last-minute onslaught of deals gathered from a number of retailers offering some bundles, specifically those that are carrying the "Assassin's Creed Unity" bundle for the Xbox One. Major Nelson has featured different retailers, most of which are offering a $50 off the Xbox One "Assassin's Creed Unity" bundle. Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Meijer, Newegg and Toys 'R Us are offering this deal, though Target is giving a bigger discount at $70 off. The aforementioned retailers are also offering the Xbox One "Assassin's Creed Unity" bundle with the Kinect, which comes with a $50 gift card.

Meijre's Xbox One "Assassin's Creed Unity" bundle comes with a free game for your Xbox One. Newegg, on the other hand, is offering a 12-month Xbox Live free subscription, as well as a $20 Newegg gift card to sweeten the deal.

Apart from this, the Games with Gold for January have just been announced, and according to the Xbox Wire, it features three cool, free games to start off the year right. On the Xbox One, acclaimed indie title "D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die" will be available for the entire month.

On the other hand, Xbox 360 players will also enjoy two titles. The first will let you shred and race through motorcross or supercross tracks in "MX vs. ATV Alive," available from Jan. 1 to 15. For the remainder of the month, you can grab "The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings," perfect for those who played the first title or those who are awaiting for the upcoming and still delayed "Witcher 3: Wild Hunt."

Azure in Australia Already Supported

Playing online multiplayer games for those in Australia will no longer feel like a chore as the promised Azure datacenters for Xbox Live have finally been launched. OXM reports that Australians can now expect reduced dropouts, lower pings and faster connection to games for the Xbox One.

"Today's announcement of Australian-based Xbox Live servers addresses the most requested feature from local gamers. We are excited to give our fans the best online gaming experience available, just in time for the holidays," said Jeremy Hinton of Microsoft Australia to OXM.

Three games have already been listed as supported titles for the local Xbox Live serviers. These include "Halo: The Master Chief Collection," "Sunset Overdrive," "Forza Horizon 2" and "Forza Horizon Motorsport." Microsoft promised more games coming that will be supported by the Australian Azure Xbox Live server.

VR Headset Also In The Works For Xbox One

As 2015 draws closer, it appears that Microsoft is already preparing some surprises up its sleeves, particularly with the E3 2015 in mind. The potential surprise is a virtual reality headset display tailored for the Xbox One.

VRFocus has already confirmed with a number of developers that the Xbox One VR head-mounted display is already being circulated by way of a developer kit to a number of developers. According to the report, there are teams that are already doing work on the software based on the kit, though no details have been released on the device and its beta testing with developers.

Sony has already been hard at work with its own head-mounted display, dubbed as the Project Morpheus. Earlier reports have pitted the Project Morpheus with the Oculus Rift, where the latter has exceeded expectations, especially for a then-newly announced device.

Technically, Microsoft's work in the VR department is not news, as Xbox head Phil Spencer has already mentioned work being done in line with a VR hardware. However, the progress with which Microsoft may be developing the VR technology for the Xbox One may be the impressive aspect here, though fans may need to wait for E3 2015 next year to learn more.