Thanks to Chart-Track we can see that The Last of Us has done five times as well as Naughty Dog’s innovative title Uncharted and has had a far stronger first week than Uncharted 2.

The Last of Us’ raving reviews and high sales may prove to be a decisive boost to Sony’s already growing popularity and have a big effect on the upcoming next-gen battle.

Family Sharing allows you to share your entire library of Xbox One games with up to 10 friends (or family) at any given time.

“I think the policy makes sense,” Spencer told Penny Arcade Report in an interview. “It’s not ten different people all playing the game concurrently, but when you think about a real usage scenario, and we thought about it around a family, and I know certain people will create a family group of people that aren’t all part of the same family, and I do think that’s an advantage, and people will use that.”

It looks like the service doesn’t allow more than one person to play the shared game at any one time so don’t get your hopes up about playing multiplayer with friends without buying two copies of a game.

In essence what this service is, is a cloud based loaning service that saves you the hassle of having to go round your friend’s house to hand them the disc.

That said, the idea is a sound one that could help Microsoft overcome some of the negativity surrounding its DRM plans already in place.

This week is the week that gamers throughout the world will be screaming with excitement, holding their head in their hands through disappointment and more importantly, many people’s underwear will need a wash.

Over the next two days will bring a hosts of press conferences from some of the biggest names in gaming such as EA, Sony and Microsoft and odds are, you want to come along for the ride.

Below are the times of each of the press conferences across the next two days in UK time:

Monday

• Microsoft – 5:30pm
• EA – 9m
• Ubisoft – 11pm
• Sony – 2am

Tuesday

• Nintendo – 3pm

What can we expect?

Microsoft

After a mixed reaction from their unveiling press conference last month, Microsoft need to come out and throw everything they can at gamers to convince them that their ‘mostly-on’ Xbox One isn’t all that evil.

We already know that Microsoft have 15 exclusives coming to the Xbox One within the first year, with 8 of those being completely new IPs. 3 of those new exclusive IPs have already been already been officially confirmed: Ryse, Quantum Break and Disney’s Fantasia whilst we expect to see Respawn’s new game Titanfall – that was leaked last week – as well as a new game from Black Tusk. Some of these new IPs may be new Kinect games such as “Kinect Music” for example or possible Arcade games.

Which leaves us with 7 existing IPs coming exclusively to the Xbox One. Expect your more traditional Xbox titles to fall into this category with Halo 5, Fable 4, Gears of Wars 4, Dance Central 4 and the confirmed Forza 5. Fable Anniversary was also announced recently and we wouldn’t be surprised if it also found its way to the Xbox One as well.

EA

The worst company in America will also be holding an awesome press conference and expect it to go next-gen mad!

Most of your favourite EA games are going to be at this press conference, and no doubt will be getting the next-gen make over: Battlefield 4, Dragon Age 3, FIFA 14, Madden 25, Need for Speed Rivals and many other of their big guns.

EA will most likely pull some surprises out the bag, with DICE hinting at a surprise for the event *cough* Mirror’s Edge 2 *cough*. Although more recently EA’s deal with Disney which allows them to create Star Wars games may also get a mention but don’t expect them to show off anything special.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft are best known for supporting new consoles, such as the Vita, 3DS and Wii U so expect a lot of next-gen support from them as well.

No doubt we will be getting some huge gameplay demos of some huge games such as Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, Rayman Legends, South Park: The Stick of Truth, Splinter Cell: Blacklist and the much loved Watch_Dogs.

Don’t rule out some new IPs for the next generation (and current) after the overwhelming reception of the Watch_Dogs demo at last year’s E3.

Also don’t expect, the best host in the history of E3, Mr Caffeine to make an appearance… *sigh*

Sony

We’re going to see the PlayStation 4! Don’t lie when you say you don’t care what the box looks like because we know damn well that you want to see that sexy piece of black rectangle.

Expect Sony to go all out with games, with them showing off vast amounts of gameplay demos of brand new and returning IPs. Expect more Knack. Lots more Knack.

We’re going to be seeing the new UI of the PS4 as well as the impressive new Gaiki service. Also, we’re going to be seeing a ton of Vita integration with the PS4.

The press conference won’t just be about the PlayStation 4, don’t be shocked to see new PS3 games as well and either a price cut of the Vita or a new bundle which will make it more appealing to those thinking about buying a PS4.

IGN have been lucky enough to have bagged an early copy which they have reviewed over on their website and overall they seem pretty happy with it; citing the touched up visuals and re-engineered touch controls which neatly underpin that same superb game which came back in 2003.

No other details have been given at this point, such as price but we should know all when the game is released in the next few days.

This iPad port would be a great time for anyone who missed out on the PC release, back in 2003, to jump in and give this highly praised Star Wars game a go.

People are already suggesting that this game will be Xbox One exclusive, which is probably due to the fact that Xbox One listings have been appearing on a few foreign websites. There is no other proof that the game won’t appear on other platforms, or even exists at all.

Mirror’s Edge 2 has been rumoured to have been in production for some years now however with original developer DICE working on Battlefield 4 and a new Star Wars project, is it possible Mirror’s Edge 2 has been shifted to a new development team?

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Meanwhile, players who pre-order any edition of GTA 5, including the standard retail edition, will be offered access to the Atomic Blimp – an in-game flyable blimp.

Grand Theft Auto 5 Special Edition

Full copy of Grand Theft Auto V plus:

• Collectible SteelBook with Exclusive Artwork - This special SteelBook features double-sided, never-before-seen artwork of Michael, Trevor and Franklin. Custom color and metallic treatments bring out the detail of the artwork created exclusively for this SteelBook.
• Blueprint Map - This exclusive, additional 21.5” x 26.75” map displays a blueprint view of Los Santos and Blaine County. Cryptic markings indicate locations for fast cash and other points of interest for the up-and-coming entrepreneur.
• Special Ability Boost - Michael, Franklin and Trevor each have a unique special ability. With this boost, the special ability bar will generate 25% faster.
• Stunt Plane Trials - Single player Stunt Plane Trials let you take on additional aerial challenges spread throughout Los Santos and Blaine County.
• Bonus Outfits, Tattoos and More - Michael, Franklin and Trevor get bonus outfits in their wardrobes, character specific tattoos at tattoo parlors, and special deals from shopkeepers across Los Santos and Blaine County.
• Additional Weapons - When visiting Ammunation stores in single player, merchants will have special weapons in their inventory available for free: the Pistol .50, Bullpup Shotgun and melee Hammer.

Grand Theft Auto V Collector’s Edition

All of the items included in the Special Edition plus:

• Grand Theft Auto V Security Deposit Bag with Logo Key - Inspired by the heists in Grand Theft Auto V, this custom 10.75” x 8.5” money bag features a pop-up style lock and laser cut logo key to secure important items. The reverse side features a pressed Rockstar Games logo on the security mount with a framed ID window.
• Grand Theft Auto V New Era 9FIFTY™ Snapback Cap - This exclusive New Era 9FIFTY cap features an embroidered Los Santos logo on the front, a stitched, black Rockstar Games logo on the wearer’s left side, a Grand Theft Auto ‘V’ logo applique on the opposite side, and snapback closure for an adjustable fit.
• Custom Characters for Grand Theft Auto Online - Get classic Grand Theft Auto characters to use within the Grand Theft Auto Online Character Creation System.
• Unique Vehicles and Garage Property - Players will instantly receive a garage to store custom vehicles. In single player, the garage will be stocked with the 1930′s style Hotknife hotrod and the CarbonRS sports bike. In Grand Theft Auto Online, players will get the high-end Khamelion electric car.

Neither edition has yet been priced for the UK, but in the US, the Special Edition will retail for $79.99 and the Collector’s Edition for $149.99.

Does it require an internet connection?

Yes. The Xbox One will need to be connected to the internet in order to play games, watch movies and basically do anything else. According to Microsoft’s Phill Harrison it will need to do so approximately every 24 hours at least, more frequently for games and services that rely more heavily on the cloud. So if you’re not in an area with an internet connection, you’re not going to get a lot of love from the Xbox One.

The reason for this, from what we learnt regarding game-sharing, is that the Xbox One will need to connect to the internet to authenticate you, as well as connecting to the cloud.

Is it always-online?

Nope. You will be able to watch TV, Blu-rays and play single player games without having the console connected to the internet all of the time, however the Xbox One will require you to connect to the internet at least once a day for authentication.

Microsoft’s Harrison phrased it thus, speaking to Eurogamer: “Some bits of the system will work offline. I think the key point to make is that Xbox One requires an internet connection, but it does not need to be connected all the time. We think that most of the biggest games on Xbox One and most of the games and experiences and services you want to use will be internet-connected.”

Can I let my friend borrow one of my new Xbox One games?

Nope. Not unless they’re signed into your Xbox Live account, otherwise they will have to pay full price to play the game themselves. The clearest stance on this comes from Eurogamer’s interview with Harrison: “I can come to your house and I can put the disc into your machine and I can sign in as me and we can play the game. The bits are on your hard drive. At the end of the play session, when I take my disc home – or even if I leave it with you – if you want to continue to play that game [on your profile] then you have to pay for it. The bits are already on your hard drive, so it’s just a question of going to our [online] store and buying the game, and then it’s instantly available to play. The bits that are on the disc, I can give to anybody else, but if we both want to play it at the same time, we both have to own it. That’s no different to how discs operate today.”

Microsoft’s Major Nelson (Larry Hyrb) put it this way: “Should you choose to play your game at your friend’s house, there is no fee to play that game while you are signed in to your profile.” But then if you go home and leave the disc with your friend, they will have to pay for that game if they want to play it on their own profile.

Can I play preowned games?

Yes. The exact details on how you will be able to play them haven’t been given yet.

Can I play my Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One?

Nope. You won’t be able to play any Xbox 360 games on the Xbox One. ”The system is based on a different core architecture, so back-compat doesn’t really work from that perspective,” according to Xbox Live vice president Marc Whitten.

Can I transfer my Gamertag to the Xbox One and keep my gamerscore?

Yes. Your current Xbox Live Gamertag will stay with you on Xbox One if you choose to keep it, and your Gamerscore and Achievements will also carry over to the Xbox One.

Will I be able to transfer my digital games?

Nope. Sadly your on-demand 360 games and all of your Arcade games will have to stay on your 360 and won’t be making it over to the Xbox One.

Am I going to have to pay for a Gold subscription?

Yes. The head of Xbox in Europe told The Metro: “Yes, we still see that as a chargeable service… I think that people understand that for a premium service that gives access to so many different rich parts of entertainment. Our consumers are happy and I think we represent great value there actually. If you look at the plethora of things available now through Xbox Live, particularly the Gold service and what we put behind Gold, we’ve got no plans to change that.”

Will the cool TV stuff work outside the USA at launch?

Nope. At launch it’s only planned for the USA however it does have a gradual global rollout planned.

Does every game have to be installed?

Yes. You cannot play games off of the disc, all Xbox One games have to be installed to the hard drive in order to play them.

Does it work without Kinect?

Nope. Kinect is required to be attached to the console in all cases. ”The all new Kinect is now an essential and integrated part of the platform.  By having it as a consistent part of every Xbox One, game and entertainment creators can build experiences that assume the availability of voice, gesture and natural sensing, leading to unrivaled ease of use, premium experiences and interactivity for you,” says Microsoft’s Xbox One FAQ.

However, developers will not be mandated to use Kinect in every game, Phil Harisson clarified to Eurogamer. Also you can’t turn off Kinect’s microphone, says hardware program manager John Link (via Polygon). Kinect will always be listening to your conversations, even when the Xbox One isn’t on. Scary.

Why did Microsoft announce a VCR?

Microsoft didn’t actually announce a VCR yesterday, contrary to popular belief. What was shown was in fact the next generation Xbox, the Xbox One.

If you have any more questions that you want answering, feel free to comment below and we’ll do our best to answer them for you!

You can watch the teaser below:

The company has also confirmed what many of us expected; the PlayStation 4 hardware will be shown off at PlayStation’s E3 Press Conference on June 10, which starts at 2am on the 11th in the UK!

Activision has said, Ghosts “delivers a riveting all-new gameplay experience built on an entirely new story, setting and cast of characters, all powered by a new, next generation Call of Duty engine that redefines the series for the next generation.”

“Everyone was expecting us to make Modern Warfare 4, which would have been the safe thing to do,” said Infinity Ward executive producer Mark Rubin, “but we’re not resting on our laurels. We saw the console transition as the perfect opportunity to start a new chapter for Call of Duty. So we’re building a new sub-brand, a new engine, and a lot of new ideas and experiences for our players. We can’t wait to share them with our community.”

“Infinity Ward set the gold standard for first-person action for a generation, and they’re going to do it again with Call of Duty: Ghosts,” said Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg. “Ghosts delivers an all-new story, all-new characters, an all-new Call of Duty world, all powered by a next generation Call of Duty engine, which is a leap forward for the franchise. Infinity Ward is going all-in to create the next generation of Call of Duty worthy of the world’s greatest fans.”

That’s all we know about Ghosts so far, the game’s world premier is going to be at the next xbox reveal event on 21st of May.

Call of Duty: Ghosts has been given with a 13th November 2013 release date. With this next installment, Activision will once again join forces with Infinity Ward for it’s development.

Direct from the Tesco website:

“The franchise that has defined a generation of gaming is set to raise the bar once again with the all-new Call of Duty: Ghosts. Published by Activision and developed by Infinity Ward, the studio that created the original Call of Duty and the seminal Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series. Call of Duty: Ghosts ushers in the next generation of the franchise, delivering a riveting all-new gameplay experience built on an entirely new story, setting and cast, all powered by a new next-generation Call of Duty engine.”

I assume it’s a continuation following the Modern Warfare storyline, due to the same studio, but you never know! Tell us what you think in the comments below.