Latest News - Page 2193

Much to the envy of triple-A publishers everywhere, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds continues its hurtling sales momentum, smashing through milestone after milestone.

Today PlayerUnknown himself Brendan Greene announced that his enormously popular battle royale shooter has surpassed 10 million copies sold, effectively making it one of--if not the--biggest single platform release of the year. We've previously reported that PUBG surpassed Valve's own DOTA 2 and CS:GO titans on Steam in concurrent players, and now the game has more hours played than CS:GO--that's right, an early access game released in 2017 has been played for more hours than a Counter-Strike game released in 2012. In fact, PUBG just recently dethroned mega-titan League of Legends off Twitch's top-watched spot.

As PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds continues accelerating past its peers on all available metrics, the game is catching the attention of publishers everywhere. Take-Two Interactive recently released a GTA Online mode that closely resembles PUBG's battle royale style, and Ubisoft says it may infuse key elements of PUBG into its games, the most likely of which would be Ghost Recon Wildlands.

At $499, Microsoft's new 4K-ready Xbox One X lacks mass-market appeal, says industry analyst Michael Pachter.

While Microsoft has touted the Xbox One X is the fastest-selling pre-order in Xbox history and assets launch systems may be sold out due to excessive demand, key industry figures are more skeptical on the system's widespread appeal. It's true that Xbox division head Phil Spencer said the new 4K model isn't for everyone, and that he full expects the $250 Xbox One S to outsell the new enthusiast system, and now Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has delivered some sales predictions to reflect this point.

According to the renowned analyst, the Xbox One X will sell up to 1 million units across the holiday season after the system is launched in November. "My estimate is 1 million global units at holiday. Don't "want" it to fail, think that is the right number. 1 million is not a huge success," Mr. Pachter wrote on Twitter.

French games-maker Ubisoft today announced that it will open its fourth studio in Quebec in 2018 in a bid to double-down on investment in the region and ramp up its online services.

The new Ubisoft studio will be centered in the city of Saguenay, and will be wholly dedicated to bolstering the publisher's live services which will power all of its major games in some form. Ubisoft makes strong recurring revenues from online-based monetization in games such as Rainbow Six: Siege and For Honor. The studio is implicated to have a strong effect on online services: in the same year that Ubisoft Sanguenay launches, the publisher forecasts 25% of its total fiscal year 2019 earnings will be from Player Recurring Investment, or $584.1 million. In contrast, last year Ubisoft pulled in $273.7 million in PRI, or 17% of its total sales earnings of $1.7 billion.

Online services power Ubisoft's digital empire and the new studio will help streamline and monetize the lucrative strategy. Considering all of Ubisoft's future games will have live services in some form the publisher needs as much help as it can get--especially with titanic online-based games like Beyond Good and Evil 2.

The August Steam survey shows some interesting statistics, with the Facebook owned Oculus Rift increasing its market share by 8.1% compared to July's data. This brings the Rift's market share to 43.8% compared to HTC Vive's 52.3%, considering recent rumours of HTC potentially selling off the Vive and the upcoming release of Microsoft's Direct Reality products, should Vive owners be worried?

Probably not, due to a recent price drop of the Oculus Rift and its touch controllers you would expect to see some inflation in the market. With the price drop offer about to end, we should expect the market to stabilize and see a true percentage over the coming months.

Ever get sick of people camping out or hiding in bushes in PUBG? Well H1Z1's developer- Daybreak have announced some interesting changes for H1Z1 that may interest you.

With a clear goal of distancing themselves from the juggernaut that PlayerUnknown's Battleground has become, Daybreak plan to up the tempo and reduce game length by decreasing the time it takes for players to find loot, more vehicle spawns, and plenty of airdropped crates containing fancy items. Daybreak showcase their clear direction they intend to take with H1Z1 below.

"Our vision is for H1Z1 to be the dominant fast-paced, action packed game in the genre. This is what sets H1Z1 apart from its competition. PUBG is very clearly a slow paced, tactical experience. And they have certainly delivered on that vision. But ours has always been and will continue to be based on fast paced & action packed moment to moment gameplay. In the coming months, all of the updates and features we bring to the game will be driving towards fully delivering on this vision."

Finally the wait is nearly over, after Ubisoft previously announced the delay of Operation Blood Orchid Update, the much anticipated update is out tomorrow. Operation Blood Orchid major changes includes the addition of a new map, Theme Park. Along with three new playable characters, Ying and Lesion from Special Duties Unit and Polish Special Forces GROM operator, Ela Bosak. Ubisoft today released another trailer for Operation Blood Orchid below.

Ubisoft recently released patch notes for Operation Blood Orchid that include the previously reported changes to the third season of play, final improvements for Operation Health update, optimization of data, new severs, rework of textures, polished dynamic and static lighting, richer sky domes, new skins and much more.

It's not all good new however, with such a vast update and improvements come big downloads. PC with Ultra-HD textures is set to be a 42GB download, or 26GB without the textures. Console gamers are set to rejoice with their much more manageable 15GB update.

DJI, innovators regarding aerial and handheld cinematic, have released two new drones to complement their extensive drone range, the Mavic Pro Platinum and the Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian. Two iconic drones that are enhanced for new ways to explore the world.

The Mavic Pro Platinum includes the same 4K video recording 12 Megapixel camera and up to 7km control range as the standard Mavic Pro. However, we're treated to an elegant platinum finish, extended flight duration of 30 mins and operates at 60% noise reduction. These features make the Mavic Pro Platinum DJI's best portable drone yet.

DJI's Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian retains all features the Phantom 4 Advanced offers, which include a 1-inch 20 megapixel camera capable of 4K 60FPS video recording and a top speed of 70 km/h. Included in the Pro Obsidian is the sleek, matte grey finish that allows for aerial imaging in true renegade style.

Logitech have announced their new PC and Bluetooth speaker system, the MX Sound speaker system. This two-channel speaker system incorporates multiple inputs on-the-fly thanks to Logitech's Easy-Switch feature. The MX sound features Bluetooth 4.1, two 3.5mm inputs and one headphone jack that allows connection flexibility of multiple devices, wired or wireless.

You may have noticed I mentioned this speaker system is two-channel only, and doesn't feature a sub-woofer. This allows versatility with your setup, especially if you're using a laptop, you can easily maneuver the 3.8 lbs (1.72 kg) speakers. Logitech have addressed the lack of a sub-woofer, ensuring bass shouldn't be an issue with rear-facing port tubes to improve bass response, and 12-Watts of RMS power (24 peak) to provide excellent sound quality.

The premium fabric finish really enhances the MX Sound speaker system's appearance, giving it a premium look that matches the MX series. Supported by motion-activated back-lit controls, the MX Sound speaker system is a great addition to your desktop, or laptop set up. Priced at $99.99, availability is set for a October 2017 release.

Samsung's new high-end flagship QLED 4K HDR UHDTV displays are now the official partner for Microsoft's new premium $499 Xbox One X console, offering enthusiast console gamers the optimum visual experience.

Xbox division head Phil Spencer has said that its new Xbox One X console, which is capable of rendering in native 4K resolution with HDR support, isn't for everyone: the box is aimed at the high-end segment of gamers who "want the very best console experience available," and the company's recent partnership with Samsung underlines this focus. Samsung's new QLED lineup of 4K televisions leverage Quantum Dot technology for dazzling and vibrant visuals as well as 3-step image processing for low ~20ms input lag, and the sets even allow gamers to quickly switch to Game Mode with a simple voice command.

Don't forget that the Xbox One X also supports FreeSync and FreeSync 2 over the new incoming HDMI 2.1 standard, which will effectively offer variable refresh rates that potentially mimic the frame rate technology used in PC desktops. Armed with FreeSync and FreeSync 2, Xbox One X games may not only look amazing with new HDR optimizations, but also afford a much smoother gameplay experience that leverages the machine's tweaked GPU and CPU for improved frame rates and reduced screen tearing.

KFC is really making some big moves in China, first by launching their own smartphone, and then launching a VR training app, but now KFC China has introduced a new facial recognition payment system.

KFC China's new 'Smile to Pay' system lets customers pay for their orders by simply smiling into a kiosk, and second later the computer will identify you as it analyzes over 600 facial features in order to match them to the photo ID stored on the Alipay system. KFC China includes a "live-ness detection algorithm" which stops people from scamming the system if they were wearing wigs or heavy make up.

Jidong Chen, Ant's Director of Biometric Identification Technology explains: "Combined with a 3D camera and liveness detection algorithm, Smile to Pay can effectively block spoofing attempts using other people's photos or video recordings and ensure account safety".

Dell rules the 8K display game right now with their out-of-this-world UP3218K, but now Philips will be joining the ultra high-res 7680 x 4320 game with their upcoming Philips 328P8K monitor.

Philips upcoming 328P8K will rock a 31.5-inch IPS-based panel with its native 7680 x 4320 resolution, 100% Adobe RGB/sRGB color space support, and even HDR 400 support. Philips calls it HDR 400 on the 328P8K as its brightness is set at 400 nits, which is enough to meet AMD's requirements for FreeSync 2 HDR, but is not even h alf of the HDR10 standard which is 1000 nit peak brightness - and it doesn't begin to compare against Dolby Vision's 4000 peak brightness target.

We should expect a 60Hz refresh rate that will be driven by 2 x DisplayPort 1.3 connectors (the same display connectivity requirement as Dell's UP3218K display), while we can expect a USB hub with USB Type-A and Type-C ports.

Apple is hosting its big iPhone event next week where we should be introduced to the new iPhone, with today bringing some new rumors on SKUs of the new iPhone, as well as some rumored pricing.

According to Twitter user @VenyaGeskin1 the new iPhone 8 will arrive in three sizes: 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB. The prices of the new iPhone will fall into $999, $1099, and $1199 for the 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB handsets, respectively. Apple's current fleet of iPads come in these specific storage sizes, with 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB iPads available right now.

I'm still holding out for Apple to surprise us all with an iPhone X that is $1499 and blows everything else away with something out of the complete left field. I don't see it happening, but I'm still holding out for the 10th anniversary of the iPhone to be celebrated in a big way: iPhone X and Apple's hotly anticipated, and highly rumored AR glasses. Come on, Apple - actually surprise us for once.

Elon Musk has warned about the threats of artificial intelligence before, but now the Space X and Tesla founder has come out swinging at AI on Twitter again, prompted by recent remarks from Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Putin recently said: "Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia, but for all humankind. It comes with colossal opportunities, but also threats that are difficult to predict. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world". Some stern words from Putin, that's for sure - and I kind of agree with him.

Musk then took to Twitter, where he said: "China, Russia, soon all countries w strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo". @JakeBlueatSM tweeted Musk saying "an automated WWIII at that. That's a worry..." to which Musk replied: "May be initiated not by the country leaders, but one of the AI's, if it decides that a prepemptive strike is most probable path to victory".

Samsung's new Galaxy Note 8 smartphone supports Netflix HDR streaming, so if you want to get your mobile HDR experience on, there's another flagship smartphone to choose from.

Netflix recently updated their FAQ page, with HDR-capable smartphones like the LG V30 and Sony Xperia XZ already on the list along with LG's G6 handset. The updated FAQ adds Samsung's new Galaxy Note 8 and Sony Xperia XZ1 smartphones, both launching in the last two weeks.

The beautiful 6.3-inch Super AMOLED display on the Galaxy Note 8 rocks a native resolution of 2960 x 1440, so Netflix HDR content should well and truly shine on the HDR-capable display. You'll need to have the 4-screen premium/4K account with Netflix to get that HDR goodness, but I'd dare say it's worth the extra couple of bucks every month.

Overwatch is one of the biggest eSports games on the market, but a new generation of kids are going to get inspired with the news that US Overwatch pro Overwatch gamer Jay "sinatraa" Won has just landed a huge $150,000 per-year contract. The thing is, sinatraa is only 17 years old and needs his mom to sign off on the contract.

The huge $150K per year wage is $100K higher than the league minimum, with ESPN reporting that there are revenue-sharing options also available to Won. NRG eSports and Cloud9 entered a bidding war to win the hands and brain of Won, with NRG winning the bidding war and with sinatraa's mother signing on his behalf, the deal become a reality.

Won secured himself not just the $150,000 per-year for playing a game he obviously loves, but he will have health insurance and a retirement savings plan, as well as at least 50% of all bonuses from tournaments and events. If we include the bonus pool of $3.5 million in the first season, and at least $1 million for the year's champions, Won could be in for a huge ride for a teenager.

Borderlands 3 has Gearbox's full attention, as it should: the publisher has made lots of risky gambles lately.

After the dismal performance of Battleborn, Gearbox Software needs a hit, and with billions in earnings from GTA V, its label's parent company Take-Two Interactive isn't one to take failure too well. Enter Borderlands 3, which Gearbox has confirmed is currently in development, and uses Unreal Engine 4 and "exciting new technology".

Now Gearbox President Randy Pitchford says the game--which isn't outright named, of course--has most of the company's attention. "90% of Gearbox is working on the thing you want us to be working on," Mr. Pitchford said during a panel at PAX West 2017. Since the game hasn't been formally announced and revealed the president isn't able to name it outright, but as Destructoid so quaintly put it--it's totally Borderlands 3.

Destiny 2 will have microtransactions, and the premium silver currency is coming back--color us surprised.

In my Destiny 2's monetization plan remains unclear article, I posited how Destiny 2 would almost assuredly be monetized with the same premium in-game currency (silver) as the previous game, which allows users to spend real money to buy said currency and unlock in-game items. Now a leaked GameStop advertisement has officially confirmed Destiny 2 will use the silver currency, but we still don't know what content will be officially monetized. I'm guessing that Destiny 2's monetization plan will be quite robust, especially since the game will have a massive array of free post-launch content and updates that serve as the justification for microtransactions in the first place. Even still I expect the microtransactions to be cosmetic in focus.

It's worth noting that neither Activision nor Bungie have officially confirmed or announced Destiny 2 will have microtransactions or silver currency. This information comes by way of a leak. The companies are likely trying to avoid a PR fiasco and keep it as a surprise, but seasoned veterans know better. It's also quite revealing that no major outlets asked about microtransactions or monetization options at E3 or Gamescom, or the other myriad of events Destiny 2 was showcased.

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is one of the hottest games at the moment, with PUBG close to hitting 1 million concurrent users, some players are taking advantage of the system by joining games only to AFK. This allows the player to be idle in game, but still obtain in-game currency to buy cosmetic items.

This doesn't sound like much of an issue, as the items are purely cosmetic and provide no advantage when playing. However, this does inflate the Steam Marketplace prices for players who legitimately put the time in to farm their items.

At PAX West 2017, PC Gamer spoke with Battlegrounds producer Chang-Han Kim mentioned "It's something we will definitely be addressing." While not many people are AFKing right now, PUBG developers do want to implement countermeasures of some description to prevent players going AFK or how players earn points.

Microsoft is getting serious about pricing its Xbox One S console in a direct death threat to Sony and the PS4 and PS4 Pro, as well as paving the way to its upcoming Xbox One X console. The Xbox One S is now available through Microsoft's own Xbox store for just $249, and that includes a freaking game as well.

The new Xbox One S deal includes the 500GB console with different bundles available:

But there's also a huge price reduction on the 1TB console, with Xbox One S 1TB console bundles that include Battlefield 1 or Gears of War 4, with these consoles and specific games giving you the 1TB console for just $249. That's damn good considering the 2TB console is $349 on sale, and normally $399.

Kenesis are known for their premium and innovated peripherals aimed at the professionals and tend to stray from the gaming market- why not have both? Kinesis have now announced the Freestyle Edge, an elegant split keyboard that is based on their Freestyle series. This keyboard allows the user to have a premium option regardless if you're a gamer, typing professional or both.

Introducing a first for the Freestyle range, genuine Cherry MX mechanical switches will be available in Cherry MX Red, Brown or Blue switches, this allows a premium gaming experience with performance with compared to the previous membrane switches. While there's no RGB backlighting, instead soft blue backlighting is introduced for the office environment with 8-key macro bank to make use of a fully programmable keyboard.

The Freestyle Edge halves can be separated by as much as 20", allowing users to accommodate the keyboard to fit their specific shoulder width or to allow for gamers to have their peripherals in-between for flight and racing sims.