We’ve played the beta, we’ve had system updates, and we’ve had controller tweaks. Now, Titanfall is almost here. Respawn Entertainment’s online mech shooter drops on Xbox One tomorrow, and there’s more at stake than just the broader FPS landscape in 2014. This is the first major release of the current console generation — one that Microsoft has been touting for months as among the most important features of the Xbox One launch. Microsoft is all in on this one. It has to be big.

Luckily, the beta/demo has already made its way throughout the gaming media and general public, serving not only to stress-test the servers but also give us all a taste of what does seem to be a genuinely excellent game. But for both the Xbox One and EA’s sake, the technical end of the Titanfall launch needs to be flawless. EA has botched the launch of several high-profile online games recently, and one more could send shareholders and gamers alike into revolt. Microsoft has stressed the cloud and online capabilities of its Xbox ecosystem since day one, and this is the first game truly built to showcase that infrastructure. If it hiccups, it will be a major blemish on the company’s reputation. Microsoft doesn’t need another one of those.

I’m bullish on this one. We’ve already played the game, so we know it is fun. The open beta should have ironed out server problems, and we can bet Microsoft is on hand to throw a whole lot of hardware at any problem that might arise. Without major problems, however, we then need to think about whether or not the best shooter of a young 2014 can galvanize Xbox One sales.

Xbox One is, from a historical perspective, selling very well. We should not only be concerned about the historical perspective, however. PS4 appears to be maintaining an impressive global lead, and we’ve yet to see how it will sell once supply starts to normalize. Momentum is hugely important in console sales. Developers and new players alike are naturally drawn to a more robust ecosystem, making these early days absolutely crucial. Yes, it will be a long generation. But PS4′s early lead is going to be very tough beat.

There are still a lot of consumers considering whether to buy a next-gen console, and there still isn’t any compelling software to push anyone in either direction. Titanfall is likely the first game to start affecting such decisions, probably more so than PS4′s upcoming Infamous: Second Son. Still, Microsoft is in for a fight, and I’m not sure how much of the gap Titanfall will be able to close. The game will sell well on day one, most definitely, but the real test will come in the NPD report for March, when we get to see if it moved the needle on console sales.

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Tomorrow and the rest of the week as well! We finally get to see if TitanFall really is enough to carry the system till e3

Im looking forward to it. I will be leaving work early Friday to get some extra time in.

And Friday for the rest of the world :)

I'm really curious of what is titanfall gonna do for the One, I would like to see the game being pushed on japan too. Cod has become very popular, and mechs already are. With that and some killer rpg exclusives ms might do ok there.

If it looked next gen it could have been a huge system seller... Like Gears of War was for Xbox360.. Unfortunately as fun as it may be, many people are looking for that real next gen game to make people say wow, before they will drop $500 on the system..

Kill, respawn, run around for 23 seconds, kill, kill two more times, die, respawn again, etc.

It's not going to do anything other then a short spike.............no one game can sustain a 500 system, sales will show this shortly.

If only it had a single player campaign, ditched the mechs, got rid of the guns and was called Mirror's edge 2, and I would have an Xbox One. It's not for me obviously.

It does remind me of the fun I had with unreal tournament onslaught mode and running and jumping around in Half-life deathmatch with the gauss gun. I wonder if this will be remembered as fondly in 15 years. For me this came 6 years too late.

The game of the generation.. The game that will change gaming forever.. Titanfall is the most over hyped Xbox game since halo 3, and I have a feeling it is being hyped up so highly because of someone's $$$$$, infamous an established franchise that is getting a reboot isn't even half as hyped.. Makes u wonder why..