Gaming - Page 1007

BioWare and other key EA talent gets lumped together in a new label, complete with new management.

EA has announced its new Worldwide Studios, which groups BioWare, DICE, Maxis, and EA Mobile together. EA CEO Andrew Wilson says that this decision was made in order to "strengthen our studios and technology platform," but I'm a bit concerned about the new chain of command.

Patrick Soderlund will lead EA's Worldwide Studios as the main boss. BioWare now has a very distinct chain of command, and will be led directly by Samantha Ryan, who will oversee the studio above Aaron Flynn, BioWare's current GM. It's true that big publishers always have a very real chain of command, but this move could be problematic for future BioWare games, especially if the bosses clash with one another.

Crytek seems to be happy about the new PlayStation 4 Pro (check out my rant on that here) and Xbox Scorpio consoles from Sony and Microsoft, respectively, with some new comments on the refreshed consoles where the studio says the additional horsepower helps remove some of the limitations of current-gen consoles.

In a post on Crytek's official blog, Crytek Game Designer Niklas Walenski said that developers are limited to some extent. This limitation is normally due to various hardware limitations in consoles, but the additional horsepower inside of the new PS4 Pro and upcoming Xbox Scorpio will remove some of these limitations.

Walenski said: "We are always limited to some extent in videogame development, and we have to work within certain constraints that are usually related to the power of a system versus what we would like to do. But new hardware inevitably removes some of the limitations. We can create bigger worlds, render much more, and have more complex systems running our ideas".

A few days ago I sat in front of the camera and talked about Sony's new PlayStation 4 Pro in a FB Live video, and for the first 20 minutes or so, I went on a huge rant about it. I had a few people tell me to make it into a separate video, and here it is.

In the video I point out that Sony Interactive Entertainment's President and CEO Andrew House said: "I saw some data that really influenced me. It suggested that there's a dip mid-console lifecycle where the players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that's obviously where it's to be had. We wanted to keep those people within our eco-system by giving them the very best and very highest [performance quality]. So the net result of those thoughts was PlayStation 4 Pro - and, by and large, a graphical approach to game improvement".

Yeah, well I wasn't about to take that lying down. I had a personal rant in the original story, and continued in the FB Live stream from a few days ago. It's truly ridiculous that Sony think a Radeon RX 470 level graphics card inside of a constrained console can pump out 4K games - and that gamers will buy the new PS4 Pro over the PC if they want "the very best graphical experience".

Valve is applying some major changes to Steam's review system in an effort to thwart fraudulent and misleading reviews, and everyday gamers will be affected.

Steam's review system is being overhauled once again, this time to counter the rampant problem of fake reviews. Valve found that developers have been manipulating aggregate review scores of specific games by providing free copies of the games as incentive for favorable feedback--and some devs go so far as to make dummy accounts and redeem their own game codes to write fake positive reviews.

To counter this, Valve has taken a simple approach: if you buy a game outside of Steam or use a free product key provided by a dev, your review will no longer count towards that game's aggregate review score on Steam.

Sony's new 4K-ready PS4 Pro may be a pretty impressive deal at only $399, but that's only half of the equation: to get the most out of the console, Sony wants you to annihilate your bank account with an expensive 60-inch+ 4K HDR UHDTV.

I've been quite vocal on the new PlayStation 4 Pro over the past week or so. I think it represents a tremendous value for what it does, leveraging a Polaris GPU at 4.20 TeraFLOPs to hit up to 1080p 60FPS native gaming and 4K 30FPS with HDR and tons of other graphics/environment settings to boot, all for just $399. But you won't hit the console's full potential unless you grab a 4K TV that's equipped with High Dynamic Range (HDR), and as you'd expect, these TVs are pretty expensive. In fact, Sony wants you to get a 4K HDR TV that's at least 60-inches, so a $399 purchase just turned into a $1,500+ purchase.

"Unofficially, the staff of PlayStation.Blog has observed good results in average living rooms with 4K TVs sized 60'' and up. If you're in the market for a new 4K TV for PS4 Pro, we strongly recommend selecting a model with HDR10 compatibility, which will enable increased image vividness and contrast in HDR10-enabled games and movies," Sony wrote on its official PS4 Pro FAQ.

The collector's edition for Sonic Mania has been revealed, and it's an amazing throwback to Sega's golden days of 16-bit glory.

Nowadays, video game collector's editions are quite dull: we get stickers, patches, artbooks, "lithographs", socks--you name it, and companies have likely thrown it in the box. But Sega's new Sonic Mania collector's edition is something new: it's a retro explosion of radical awesomeness that makes you feel like a kid again.

Following a leak just hours prior, Sega has announced the new Sonic Mania Collector's Edition on PS4, Xbox One and PC, which comes with a 12-inch Sonic replica standing on a Mega Drive that makes the infamous console siren song Sega fans know and love, a download code for the game, and a cartridge affixed with a golden ring that resembles those golden games of yore. And the best part? It only costs $69.99. The worst part? It's only available for North American fans, and won't be coming to Europe.

Pokémon GO fans can now suit up and take their buddy along for the ride with the latest Pokémon system update, allowing users to assign a Pokemon as their buddy as they walk alongside your avatar.

The new feature is available now for Apple and Android users with Niantic's latest update that lets the likes of Pikachu, stand on the ground beside the trainer avatar in the details screen. The cuteness overload factor comes into play after accumulating 10km, the little yellow mon hops onto your shoulder, replicating the bond and friendship that character Ash experienced in the original TV series.

Other Pokémon such as Jigglypuff, Charmander and Evee are amongst the available mon for the update. The advantage of having an active Buddy Pokémon while walking earns candy for that particular species, which can then be used to increase status.

Team Ninja's hard-as-nails action survival game NiOh will launch in February of next year on PS4...but the studio has no plans to bring the game to PC.

At Sony's pre-Tokyo Game Show 2016 extravaganza, Team Ninja finally revealed a concrete release date for their celebrated sadistic samurai slasher NiOh. Sadly the game won't be launching in 2016, and Koei Tecmo has announced that NiOh will instead launch on February 9, 2017 exclusively to the PS4.

The game itself incorporates elements from Ninja Gaiden and Dark Souls while mingling feudal Japan into the mix for some Japanese mythology and mysticism, providing an interesting--if not extremely difficult--mix of gameplay mechanics. After trying out NiOh's early alpha and demo test, I can say without a doubt the game has staggering potential to become one of strongest PS4 exclusives available today: the swordplay is extremely satisfying, and you have a huge array of RPG upgrades and weapons to choose from--all of which have different stances and functions in battle.

For the upcoming release of Battlefield 1, Microsoft has created a new bundle pack for customers purchasing the latest Xbox One S console. The new look is for the Xbox One S (1TB) bundled with Battlefield 1 Special Edition , which is available for pre-order from various game stores, and Microsoft itself.

Gamers wanting to purchase this exclusive model, won't have to wait too long as it will be available 13th October. The Battlefield 1 themed Xbox One S console will be setting gamers back around $449 from the Microsoft store, depending on the region.

One of the biggest changes made is the appearance. The obvious colour difference is in keeping with the army/battle theme from the game. The dark, military green console comes with a matching controller and stand. The bundle pack also includes Battlefield 1 Early Enlister Deluxe Edition, which comes pre-installed on the console. The Deluxe Edition also provides the Hellfighter Pack, Red Baron Pack, Lawrence of Arabia Pack, and a new visual appearance of the Behemoths

If you're like me, you're a fan of old school first-person arena shooters like Quake 3, Unreal, and more - well, if you hadn't heard of Reakktor Studios' TOXIKK, you're in for a treat.

The studio has released a free edition of TOXIKK, which includes a bunch of the full core game experience, minus all of the maps, vehicles, campaign mode, and more. The core experience is still there, allowing you to play on the official TOXIKK servers with bots, or real-life foes, as well as all of the weapons and mutators.

You can grab TOXIKK's free edition right here.

Farming Simulator 2017 will support mods on Xbox One and PS4 when it launches in October.

When Bethesda announced that Sony wouldn't let them bring Fallout 4 and Skyrim: Special Edition mods to PS4, Sony earned a lot of ire from console owners. Everyone thought that PS4 just wouldn't have mod support in any game, and Microsoft wasted no time to mock Sony's decision.

But Farming Simulator 2017 proves that mods are possible on PS4: the devs issued a Tweet confirming the game will support mods on both console platforms when it releases on October 25.

Even as the PS4 shipped in 2013 with outdated hardware that couldn't even hit native 1080p 60FPS in games, Sony was already planning out the next hardware jump for the PlayStation brand.

Sony's Mark Cerny admits that the Japanese console-maker was already planning out the new higher-end 4K-ready $399 PS4 Pro when the original console shipped three years ago. "We actually started thinking about the new console pretty much as soon as PlayStation 4 shipped. It was clear that during this generation 4K TV penetration would become pretty significant at that point, and we wanted to see if we could get something out there in the market to support it," PS4 architect Mark Cerny said in an official PlayStation interview.

By this line of thought, Sony pretty much realizes that the PS4 was obsolete at launch, and was already planning out what would become the PS4 Pro. Now it's worth mentioning that Sony likely couldn't have made the PS4 Pro back then as AMD's Polaris GPU technology wasn't finalized, so they released the low-tier version of their ideas as the PS4. Now that Polaris exists, they finally get to make the PS4 console that should've released back when--aka the PS4 Pro.

40 million plus PS4 owners will soon be able to play games in High Dynamic Resolution.

Starting with tomorrow's new Shingen PS4 4.00 firmware update all PS4's will have HDR support enabled. This HDR patch will be applied to both the older 2013 launch models and the newer PS4 Slim models, which launch on September 15 and have since replaced the original models as the default retail console.

Enabling HDR on existing PS4s isn't just goodwill for consumers: this move is a tactical business decision that has some very real benefits for Sony. Now 40 million gamers will potentially be able to see the difference that HDR offers for 1080p PS4 games, pretty much fulfilling that old "seeing is believing" proverb. Once those gamers see what HDR has to offer, Sony is betting that they'll be more likely to buy the new $399 PS4 Pro console that not only enables HDR but also higher 4K resolution upscaling to match.

No one's really surprised at this point: The Last Guardian has been delayed (again).

The Last Guardian has been delayed until December 6, 2016 on PS4. Sony's Shuhei Yoshida announced the delay on the PlayStation Blog, saying the usual delay spiel: The Last Guardian needs a lot more polish and more time to squash the bugs. Of course the studio should take all the time it needs to make the game as great as it should be--but I have a feeling that all the staggering hype will completely crush the experience. Even still, Team Ico is doing everything it can to ensure that we don't get another No Man's Sky-level disappointment.

Everyone already expected the delay since the game needed to go gold last month or so to hit its original late October release date, and when that didn't happen, we came the logical conclusion of a delay. Check below for the full quotes from Sony's Shuhei Yoshida:

Crime game Mafia III is about a month away from launch, and so its system requirements have gone public in order to help you determine whether you can run it or not. By the looks of it, the game scales pretty well from mid-range to high-end setups, so unless you've put off upgrading for many years, you should be alright.

MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

RECOMMENDED SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

With a vast majority of gamers still using older consoles, EA has said that FIFA 17 will include all of the gameplay perks on the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game, with EA catering to all customers.

The Xbox One and PS4 versions of FIFA 17 will some feature new features that aren't capable on the PS3 or Xbox 360, but not all, so gamers can take satisfaction in knowing at least they will not be missing out. EA Sports have included features such as: FIFA Ultimate Team, the mode that has fans excited about squad building challenges. It allows gamers to build their Ultimate Team whilst getting the chance to participate in 3 different challenges: Basic, Advanced or League.

Another additional perk for players who obtain the older console version of FIFA 17 , is the new attacking techniques within gameplay . The adaptation of downward headers and new finishes near the net have been added to the game this year. This is in conjunction with attack changes and new set plays, which include new animated visuals for corner kicks, free kicks, and throw-ins.

The use of smartphone and tablet devices is growing rapidly every day. Regardless of brand name, type or style, handheld platforms are popular amongst all ages and regions around the world, in particular, North America. The recent growth throughout Canada is making headlines, where people would rather use their phones or tablets when gaming as opposed to other platforms such as laptops, consoles, and computers.

The Entertainment Software Association of Canada (ESAC) says that phones and tablets are top of the list for use in applications and games. It has been reported, that 41% of Canadian's are playing video games on mobile devices, a somewhat significant jump from the 6% reported on platforms back in 2012. No doubt that game apps such as Pokémon Go and Angry Birds have influenced people to use smartphones and tablets more frequently. The launch of game applications on mobile devices has allowed for easy access, to play anytime, anywhere.

The ESAC has also gathered information of a new audience. It was recorded that 9% of females are now using mobile titles on a daily basis. Whilst Canada doesn't obtain the same population as the United States, it's still a large number considering the rapid growth of female gamers. As a result, Canada has found that gaming is most popular on handheld platforms.

Blizzard has updated the PC version of Overwatch, with the new 'high bandwidth' update rolling out to PC gamers, offering higher quality online play for gamers that don't have great internet connections.

In the video above, Overwatch's Lead Engineer Tom Ford along with Senior Engineer Philip Orwig explain the changes, and what Overwatch players will experience. PC gamers can expect smoother Overwatch games online, with fewer netcode-related issues. The PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game don't have the new high bandwidth update, with Orwig explaining: "We're still investigating how to roll this out to on console".

Ford explained that the Overwatch high bandwidth update reduces something called the interpolation delay, which Polygon explains as "the server predicting where one player is going and how fast and then rendering that on other players' clients, ensuring a smooth experience for everyone". If you've got a good internet connection, the new netcode shortens that delay by over half.

The Last of Us was one of the best-received games on Sony's console, with the news of The Last of Us Remastered running at 4K 30FPS on the new PlayStation 4 Pro to keep fans happy. Remember that Sony made the PS4 Pro so that gamers wouldn't be incentivized to jump over to the PC. Ugh.

The news broke during the recent PlayStation Meeting where Sony unveiled the new PS4 Pro, with Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter saying that The Last of Us Remastered "clearly wasn't running at native 4K on the demo they were showing. They could do the HDR toggles on/off, they could turn off and turn on 1080p and yeah, you could see the difference there. But it was actually talking to the developer that things really became interesting".

He continued: "The PS4 version has that 30Hz mode which has higher-resolution shadow maps but otherwise it's just a locked 30fps. Now that mode on the PS4 Pro, well you keep the enhanced shadow map detail but you also get native 4K. So we have actually got a confirmed case of full native 4K game that will be available for PS4 Pro at launch, which will be The Last of Us Remastered".

Imagine being in the boardroom when Sony decided to start planning the mid-cycle refresh console that started out as the PS4 Neo, and turned into the PS4 Pro. At the time, Sony reportedly decided in favor of making the PS4 Pro as they were scared that gamers who wanted the "very best graphical experience will start to migrate, because that's obviously where it's to be had".

During an interview with The Guardian directly after the recent PlayStation Meeting where Sony unveiled the PlayStation 4 Pro, Sony Interactive Entertainment's President and CEO Andrew House said: "I saw some data that really influenced me. It suggested that there's a dip mid-console lifecycle where the players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that's obviously where it's to be had".

House continued: "We wanted to keep those people within our eco-system by giving them the very best and very highest [performance quality]. So the net result of those thoughts was PlayStation 4 Pro - and, by and large, a graphical approach to game improvement".