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Microsoft's bizarre Xbox Live commercial wants you to play Solitaire like it's 1990

Microsoft's bizarre Xbox Live commercial wants you to play Solitaire like it's 1990

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Microsoft is just days away from unveiling its Project Scorpio Xbox console to the world, but that doesn’t mean the company isn’t ready to remember when PC gaming was ever so simple. In an oddly timed YouTube ad, Microsoft has started advertising its modern Solitaire app that works with Xbox Live. The one-minute commercial is mostly designed to push Xbox Live, but with Solitaire as the focus.

Microsoft first introduced Solitaire in 1990 with Windows 3.0, and it was used widely as a great way to avoid doing real work on a computer or to cure office boredom. In the modern era, Microsoft has been forced to bring Solitaire to iOS and Android, alongside Windows 10. It’s not entirely clear why Microsoft feels the need to suddenly advertise Solitaire for Xbox Live, or why there’s a polar bear involved, but maybe it will all become clear on Sunday when the company outlines its plans for the future of its gaming platform.