DUBAI: Games and accessories are hitting the shops thick and fast in the run-up to Christmas.

Multi-platform blockbusters already on the shelves include Fallout 4, Star Wars Battlefront, Call of Duty Black Ops 3, with Rainbow Six Siege due to be released early in December.

Exclusive PlayStation 4 blockbusters are rather thin on the ground this year, with major events such as Until Dawn having launched several months ago and others pushed back to 2016 releases. It does have the Game of the Year edition of Bloodborne slotted for a December release.

In fact, back in October, Sony Computer Entertainment chief Shuhei Yoshida told Eurogamer, “From a delivering games standpoint, we have work to do. People constantly ask us for the big exclusive triple-A games.”

Xbox is confident enough of its line-up that regional Xbox boss Kerim Ozbakirci invited journalists to a presentation.

As well as Halo 5 Guardians and Rise of the Tomb Raider (both of which gained 9+/10 reviews from Gulf News), Ozbakirci announced an Arabic language update for Microsoft’s driving simulator Forza 6.

The Xbox One itself also going through changes, with a new interface built on Windows 10, a new elite version of the console featuring a 1Tb solid-state drive and a new elite controller. The elite console and controller bundle, due for release on December 17, will cost Dh2,099. The controller on its own will be Dh699. Ozbakirci warned there were limited stocks in the UAE before Christmas and advised pre-booking. “There’s going to be massive demand,” he said.

The new interface will allow games to be streamed to Windows 10 computers, and a dongle will allow computers to use Xbox One controllers — that may be particularly interesting to gamers who share their TV.

Ozbakirci also announced a limited-time Xbox Tomb Raider bundle: A 500Gb machine, 2013’s Tomb Raider and the current Rise of the Tomb Raider for Dh1349.

In addition to its new releases, Ozbakirci highlighted Xbox’s free backwards compatibility. So far 104 Xbox 360 games will run on the One’s new 360 emulator, with hundreds more due to become available in coming months.

“Eventually almost all Xbox 360 games will be available,” he said.