Red Dead Redemption 2 sells 23 million copies

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 6, 2019 10:24 AM CST

Red Dead Redemption 2 continues its juggernaut sales spree, and should make strong revenues over time with its online mode.

Red Dead Redemption 2 sells 23 million copies

Rockstar's latest Red Dead Redemption 2 Western opus has sold-in (shipped) more than 23 million copies across the globe, Take-Two Interactive confirmed In its latest Fiscal Q3'19 earnings report. This feat is doubly impressive given RDR2 is only available on consoles and has yet to launch on PC (the publisher still won't confirm a port). The game, which is hailed as one of the most realistic and impressive releases of this generation, is the biggest weekend retail seller and made over $700 million in three days time.

"According to The NPD Group, based on combined physical and digital sales in the U.S., Red Dead Redemption 2 was the best-selling video game of 2018. To date, Red Dead Redemption 2 has sold-in more than 23 million units worldwide," Take-Two wrote in the earnings release.

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EA: We have to make hard choices about investments

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 6, 2019 8:16 AM CST

EA just had a hard quarter. Thanks to strategic moves like game delays, the company missed its Fiscal Q3'19 earnings forecasts by tens of millions of dollars. Battlefield V sold 7.3 million copies, 1 million less than EA had hoped, and failed to spark Origin Access subscriptions. EA says this was because Battlefield V's unfortunate November release timing. Mobile revenues also dropped by 22%. These numbers, which sparked a 12% stock plummet, have shaken EA a bit and the publisher says it must re-evaluate its game plan. In short we could see more cancellations, delays, and a stronger focus on live services as EA focuses more on sure-fire bets.

EA: We have to make hard choices about investments

During EA's Fiscal Year Q3'19 earnings, company CEO Andew Wilson revealed some interesting new things about how the publisher operates. Wilson says EA now has a "Creative Council" that helps determine which projects are worth investing in, and affirms more organizational changes will come. This comes at a time when EA has cancelled multiple Star Wars games, including Visceral's Project Ragtag, a carry-over from 2012's Star Wars 1313, and the open-world Project Orca game from EA Vancouver, which was a carry-over from Ragtag. EA also shut down Visceral Games after cancelling the ambitious action-adventure game that would've basically been Star Wars Uncharted. Future EA games and even its future game streaming subscription plan could face similar shifts, cancellations, and changes.

"We are a learning organization. Over the last six months, we've made organizational changes to shape our teams against our priorities for the future," Wilson said in the earnings call.

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Nintendo announce two new titles for the NES library

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 6, 2019 5:00 AM CST

Just like clockwork, Nintendo have announced two new titles for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers, the Big N will be adding Super Mario Bros. 2 and Kirby's Adventure.

Nintendo announce two new titles for the NES library

Last month, Nintendo added Blaster Master and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link to the NES library. This month we have Super Mario Bros. 2 and Kirby's Adventure being added to the NES library of games, the games will be available from February 13th.

For users that don't yet have Nintendo Switch Online, the membership only costs $4 USD a month, or $8 USD for three months or a $20 USD yearly payment. Families that have multiple Nintendo Switch's in the household will be able to utilize Family Membership, the cost comes in at $35 USD and grants access to online for up to eight Nintendo Account members. If you are interested in games such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Mario Kart 8 Ultimate, Nintendo Switch Online will be required for online play, visit the official Nintendo website for more information here.

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Mortal Kombat 11: D'Vorah confirmed/Kabal character trailer

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 6, 2019 4:00 AM CST

NetherRealm Studios has confirmed two characters for the coming Mortal Kombat 11, players will be able to speed into the battle with Kabal, and also be able to enjoy the returning character D'Vorah.

Mortal Kombat 11: D'Vorah confirmed/Kabal character trailer

During the first Kombat Kast, a livestream that is based around Mortal Kombat, co-creator and director at NetherRealm Studios, Ed Boon teased fans with the announcement of these two characters. Boon showcased the above gameplay video of Kabal to fans viewing the live stream, then video was then uploaded to official Mortal Kombat YouTube Channel for the publics pleasure. We can see Kabal doing what he does best, speeding through his enemies and using his hookswords to disembody each and every part of whoever is standing in his way.

We also get a great display of Kabal's grab combo's, range spacing saw blades, upper cuts, vital spot breaks and an incredibly gory fatality. We see Kabal grab his victim and run at extreme speeds while dragging his opponent along the ground, Kabal then throws the opponent forward only to appear on the receiving end ready to slice them in half with his hook sword. Ed Boon also confirms that D'Vorah who debuted in Mortal Kombat X would also be returning for Mortal Kombat 11, there was no gameplay shown of her though. Mortal Kombat 11 will be released onto the Nintendo Switch, PC, Xbox One and PS4 on April 23rd, 2019.

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Messenger on Android/iOS update can now delete sent texts

Jak Connor | Software & Apps | Feb 6, 2019 3:00 AM CST

There is no doubt that within this day and age that everyone who is using mobile messaging apps regrets some things that they have said to other people. Users never had the ability to delete this messages, but now they can.

Messenger on Android/iOS update can now delete sent texts

Until today, users on Facebook Messenger never had the ability to delete or edit sent messages via their app. Facebook actually previously rejected the idea of allowing users to remove or edit their personal sent messages, but now it seems their tune has changed on the topic. Perhaps the reconsideration for the option being available to the public came after Facebook's CEO, Mark Zuckerberg was caught removing messages from his personal messenger account.

Users on both iOS and Android will now have the ability to delete messages within 10 minutes after its being sent. If you desire to delete messages that have been sent longer than 10 minutes ago, there could be a way around it. Users could attempt changing the date and time within their phone after clearing the app data, this could make the Messenger app think that those messages were sent only 10 minutes ago which in turn could allow for the 'delete' option to be available.

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Sea of Thieves players can invite 3 friends to play for free

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 6, 2019 2:00 AM CST

Rare are attempting to get as many potential pirates and captains as they can onto Sea of Thieves, as the developer and publisher has announced that the title will be going free-to-play for a limited amount of time.

Sea of Thieves players can invite 3 friends to play for free

Existing players of Sea of Thieves will be able to invite friends who don't own a copy, those friends will be able to enjoy the high seas with their fellow pirates for a whole week starting February 6th and ending on February 13th. Players that own a physical copy, digital copy or are using Xbox Games Pass to enjoy Sea of Thieves will eligible to utilize this recommending a friend option, so no one is going to be missing out.

If you would like to grab some codes for some of your friends that were a little undecided on whether they want to pick up a copy of Sea of Thieves, head over to the Sea of Thieves website and find the 'friends-play-free' open at the top of the page, a direct link can be found here. Once you are on that page the website will prompt you with your Microsoft account details. Once you are logged in you will be gifted with your three friends codes which can you can send along to your friends to begin your voyage. Sea of Thieves is available on the Xbox One and PC now.

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Kingdom Hearts III is the fastest-selling 'Kingdom Hearts'

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 6, 2019 1:00 AM CST

If you are a Disney fan and like a bit of action along with some of your favourite childhood characters then Kingdom Hearts III may just be your best cup of tea.

Kingdom Hearts III is the fastest-selling 'Kingdom Hearts'

Square Enix has taken to the official Twitter account of Disney's Kingdom Hearts to announce that their recently released Kingdom Hearts III has made it to over 5 million gamers. If you are unsure what Kingdom Hearts is exactly, the Square Enix developed title is based around crossovers from the Disney and Final Fantasy. Each of the characters play a decently large part in the story and many of them are viewed as beloved childhood characters. So if you enjoy a bit of action with an awesome story alongside some characters that you may of watched in movies as children, then Kingdom III may be worth your attention.

The celebrations from Square Enix come in the form of "thank you" to each player who picked up their own copy of Kingdom Hearts III. On a side note - I would also expect due to the nostalgia surrounding the Kingdom Hearts franchise, and not to mention the solid story that it has, that these sales numbers will increase much further beyond 5 million. The game has only been out 8 days and it has managed to reach the 5 million mark making it the fastest-selling game in the Kingdom Hearts franchise. I will be very interested to see what the sales statistics are like at the month mark. Kingdom Hearts III is currently available for the Xbox One and PS4.

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Lenovo 'Always Connected PCs' are still MIA

Rob Squires | Laptops | Feb 6, 2019 12:40 AM CST

As you can see in the picture which we took today, at US based retailer Best Buy, "Always Connected PCs" have been missing from store shelves. This appears to have been an issue which started in late December last year with the Lenovo Yoga c630.

Lenovo 'Always Connected PCs' are still MIA

For the last month or so, we have been under the assumption that the lack of availability from at least one major OEM was due to high sales. Today we learned from sources that it is not just popularity that is currently keeping it out of consumers hands, but a problem with a recent software update due to an issue with drivers from Lenovo and Microsoft.

Since we were first shown initial prototypes back at Computex 2017 of Qualcomm Snapdragon silicon, we knew these types of systems would be highly popular and successful in the marketplace. We have been told this has been resolved and the devices should be making their way back to the shelves of a retail store near you soon.

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Metro Exodus new trailer drops, runs native 4K on Xbox One X

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 6, 2019 12:20 AM CST

Deep Silver might be in Deep Sh*t over the recent explosion of crap regarding Metro Exodus and its move to the Epic Game Store, but now the team is teasing the game and its optimizations on Microsoft's beefed-up Xbox One X console. You can check out the new 'Artyom's Nightmare' trailer below:

Metro Exodus new trailer drops, runs native 4K on Xbox One X

In the latest episode of Inside Xbox, Huw Beynon from Deep Silver explained that Metro Exodus will be running at native 4K on the Xbox One X, as well as full HDR and Dolby Atmos support. The developer confirmed this last year, with the Xbox One X version of Metro Exodus running at native 4K and locked at 30FPS. The new trailer takes an interesting stylized look at the game, and almost feels like it is pieced together in a way never-before-seen in this way with Metro.

Metro Exodus drops on February 15 on the PC, Xbox One and PS4 with the PC version exclusive to the Epic Games Store until 2020 while pre-orders on Steam will still continue to work on Steam.

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EA teases new Need for Speed is in development

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 5, 2019 11:28 PM CST

EA is on a roll right now with the just-released and still exploding Apex Legends from Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment, with the new free-to-play battle royale shooter to be joined in its ranks at EA with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order later this year, and some surprises.

EA teases new Need for Speed is in development

During EA's recent financial results call for its third fiscal quarter 2018, that a new Need for Speed game in development. We can expect that Ghost Games will once again get knuckles deep in coding the new game, which we should expect to roll out with the EA DICE graphics engine, Frostbite. Frostbite might have started out powering Battlefield games, but now that EA owns DICE we are seeing Frostbite powering countless games.

EA COO and CFO Blake Jorgensen explained: "FIFA stands out as a robust franchise through a tumultuous year in the video game industry. Elsewhere in the business, we're making adjustments to improve execution and we're refocusing R&D. Looking forward, we're delighted to launch Anthem, our new IP, to grow Apex Legends and related Titanfall experiences, to deliver new Plants vs. Zombies and Need for Speed titles, and to add Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order to our sports titles in the fall".

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