Gaming - Page 170

Marvel Studios recently released the trailer for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," and to go along with the trailer were other marketing materials, such as posters, which weren't as well received as the trailer.

The trailer for the upcoming movie has gained more than 23 million views at the time of reporting, and while reception has been generally good (based on the Like to Dislike ratio on the YouTube video), Marvel fans were quick to accuse Marvel of using artificial intelligence tools for the movie's marketing posters. The four posters that were released showcased telltale signs of being AI-generated, with hands only having four fingers, two women with the same face, floating objects, and other unnatural inconsistencies.

However, according to The Wrap, a Marvel spokesperson has told the publication that none of the posters were created using AI, which only leaves the possibility of these inconsistencies being human errors made by the artists. For those wondering, this isn't the first time Marvel has been embroiled in accusations of using AI to generate media, as AI was used to generate images shown in the opening credits of the TV miniseries "Secret Wars."

Microsoft is continuing its plan to remove the walls of exclusivity surrounding Xbox games and bring some of its best first-party titles over to competing platforms such as the PS5 and the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2.

For quite some time, it has been rumored Microsoft is working on several ports for first-party Xbox titles that are destined for the PS5, and now a new article by The Verge's Tom Warren details PS5 ports for Halo, Gears of War and Microsoft's Flight Simulator. It was only last week Microsoft confirmed Forza Horizon 5 is coming to the PS5, and it was only yesterday that Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition and Age of Mythology: Retold were also confirmed to be coming to the PS5.

Notably, all three of these titles were announced via blog posts and not during a dedicated PlayStation or Xbox event, which seemingly highlights the normalcy of ports from Xbox's perspective. Warren writes he heard in June 2024 that Age of Empires and Age of Mythology were both coming to the PS5 and at the same time that Microsoft was currently "working on some form of a Halo: Combat Evolved remaster that [was] also being considered for rival consoles." The rumor of the Age games coming to PS5 ended up being true, which leaves us with Halo.

Capcom's highly anticipated Monster Hunter Wilds is out later this month, and ahead of the launch, the developer and publisher has released a free Monster Hunter Wilds Benchmark Tool on Steam so you can see if your system is ready to go wild. The benchmark includes a couple of action-packed cinematic sequences, some simulated open-world and town exploration, and ends with the game's main characters sitting down for a meal.

As it's currently in our test rig, we decided to fire it up and see how the game performs on the brand-new MSI GeForce RTX 5080 VANGUARD SOC. After the game's beta was criticized for its performance and optimization, the Benchmark Tool running on the GeForce RTX 5080 was smooth and stutter-free. Running in 4K using the 'Ultra' graphics preset with DLSS 'Quality,' we got a respectable average frame rate of 86.74 FPS.

Interestingly, as the game's ray-tracing option only covers reflections, enabling RT on the highest preset saw the overall performance drop to 79.58 FPS - an 8% reduction. However, with Frame Generation enabled, this increased to an average frame rate of 116.97 FPS. Of course, the GeForce RTX 5080 is one of the planet's most powerful 4K gaming GPUs, so getting decent 4K performance is expected.

A new patent for the Nintendo Switch 2 has revealed new functionality with the joy-con controllers, and while Nintendo hasn't officially confirmed the functionality, the company did subtly showcase it in its most recent trailer for the Switch 2.

The new patent shows Nintendo has been exploring using its Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse, which was briefly showcased in the above trailer with the Joy-Con's sliding around on their connector side. However, it wasn't touched on for the rest of the trailer and was left to ambiguity and speculation. But, the newly released patent provides more details on the proposed functionality, as the images included in the patent show the Joy-Con being held horizontally with both the SR and SL buttons facing downward, with a user's thumb placed on the joystick.

More specifically, an image shows the right index finger and middle finger placed over the R and ZR buttons, similar to the left and right buttons on a traditional mouse. This design has led to the assumption that an optical sensor within the joy-con is downward facing. The patent also includes the translation "mouse operation sensor" 28 times, according to The Verge.

EA recently announced that its fantasy RPG Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet its sales targets, so the publisher adjusted its financial forecasts. This is another commercial miss from the veteran studio, whose most recent titles, Anthem and Mass Effect Andromeda, also failed to make a critical and commercial impact.

In the following days, reports of developer BioWare losing team members emerged, alongside reports of some moving to other EA studios. The developer confirmed that the downsizing wouldn't affect progress on the new Mass Effect game as it was still in the pre-production phase - confirming that the highly anticipated game isn't ready for 'all hands on deck' development.

However, the fate of Mass Effect 5 - which is being presented as a sequel and spiritual successor to the original trilogy - is currently up in the air thanks to comments from EA CEO Andrew Wilson. During a recent financial call with investors, Wilson blamed the lack of live service features and multiplayer for Dragon Age's failure to meet the company's expectations.

Layoffs continue at Sony Interactive Entertainment, and this time nearly an entire UI/UX division has been let go.

Sony is trying to cut costs to improve profit margins and has laid off hundreds of workers in the process. Now the cutting continues as Sony's gaming segment orders more job terminations--this time affecting a group that's responsible for making big changes to what users see on the PS5's dashboard.

The new layoff report comes from Oscar Diaz, who operates under the handle Ryosuke said this on Twitter: "Most of my team was just laid off from PlayStation. It was a dream to get to work with Sony on the platform I'd grown up playing since the PS1 and contribute to the PS5, Portal, PSVR2, PS App, and future consoles. If you know anyone who needs an engineer, feel free to reach out."

Take-Two Interactive is apparently so confident in Rockstar's perfectionism that it hasn't laid out exact sales predictions to determine GTA 6's success.

GTA 5 is one of the most successful games ever made. This trend is expected to continue with GTA 6, which could be big enough to lift up the entire video games industry through sales and long-term network effects. As for internal targets, Take-Two hasn't obsessed over recreating GTA 5's sales with in-depth predictions and strategies.

In a recent Q3FY25 earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick made it seem that the company has total faith in Rockstar Games.

Grand Theft Auto 6 is indeed a console release with Rockstar publisher Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick making a statement during its earnings call today, where he said: "GTA 6 is a console release".

Zelnick was asked during the call about different generations of gamers wanting to play GTA 6, as dads would now be playing it with their kids who are old enough to play it. He said: "Rockstar Games seeks perfection in everything they do. If we do that right and focus on delivering for our consumers, that's our best opportunity to succeed".

He added: "GTA 6 is a console release and we know what the current console base looks like", meaning that there is no PC version that will see the light of day this year, but we could see a PC release of GTA 6 in 2026... if not, I bet we'll see it alongside NVIDIA's next-gen GeForce RTX 60 series that should drop in 2027.

Rockstar's sales spree continues as Grand Theft Auto V breaks 210 million units shipped worldwide.

GTA V might be 12 years old but the game shows no signs of slowing down. Released across 3 console generations, GTA V has accumulated some of the best-selling figures in the entire industry. Take-Two Interactive today confirmed that GTA V has reached 210 million unit sales, up 5m units from last quarter. This continues the game's streak of selling 5 million copies per quarter that had been going for many periods in a row.

The game is now so big that GTA V is close to capturing half of all Grand Theft Auto franchise sales by volume (it has already far outstripped any previous Grand Theft Auto title in total earnings). Take-Two says that GTA is now at 440 million, meaning GTA V comprises over 47% of the series' total combined worldwide sales.

Grand Theft Auto 6's release timing has been reiterated by Take-Two Interactive management.

Will GTA 6 be delayed? No one knows for sure, but Take-Two isn't make the announcement today. The publisher just posted up its Q3'FY25 earnings results and highlighted the upcoming slate of games set to launch this calendar year. The lineup includes the megaton GTA 6, which is still due out sometime in Fall 2025 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

"Looking ahead, this calendar year is shaping up to be one of the strongest ever for Take-Two, as we plan to launch Sid Meier's Civilization VII on February 11th, Mafia: The Old Country in the Summer, Grand Theft Auto VI in the Fall, and Borderlands 4. We continue to invest prudently in our development pipeline and remain confident in Zynga's potential to create new mobile forever franchises as demonstrated by their ongoing success with Match Factory. As we continue to deliver hits, we remain highly confident that we will achieve sequential increases in, and record levels of, Net Bookings in Fiscal 2026 and 2027," Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said.

A newly-published patent shows that the Switch 2 controllers will indeed have optical sensors that allow the JoyCons to be used as mice.

The Switch 2's new and improved JoyCons will have some interesting surprises this time. Gamers will be able to use the devices as makeshift mice, presumably a unique new form of gimmicky interaction for games like Mario Party and perhaps even a new generation Mario Paint.

The functionality was first outed in the highly accurate Switch 2 leaks, and then hinted at by Nintendo in the Switch 2's original reveal video. Now we have even more proof that the JoyCons can be used as mice--this time lifted directly from a patent for the actual accessory hardware.

Take-Two has confirmed that Grand Theft Auto 6 is confirmed for a Fall 2025 release, with the company confirming the news during its earnings call just minutes ago.

During its Q3 2024 earnings call, Take-Two confirmed GTA 6 is still coming for its previously announced release window of Fall 2025, and that the game hasn't been delayed. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke with IGN ahead of the release of its financial report, saying that while "there's always a risk of slippage" the company feels "really good about it (fall 2025)".

IGN asked Zelnick how confident he felt in Rockstar being able to release GTA 6 by fall 2025, to which he said: "Look, there's always a risk of slippage and I think as soon as you say words like absolutely, you jink things. So we feel really good about it".

E3 might be gone, but its trade show roots are returning.

E3 originally kicked off as a private trade show where tech and game-makers would gather to show off their products. The goal was to attract investors, make deals with cohorts, and network with others. Now the ESA has announced a new show that is once again exclusive to industry employees--namely big-time executives and "thought leaders."

The ESA's new professional event is called the Interactive Innovation Conference (or iicon for short). E3 is firmly shut down, though, and iicon won't take place at the LA Convention Center. It's taking place on April 27 - 30 at the Fontainebleau Resort in Las Vegas, and the ESA says iicon will deliver "visionary keynotes, engaging discussions and workshops, and elite networking opportunities."

The Nintendo Switch platform has generated more than $85 billion in cumulative revenues, our data analysis has revealed.

Nintendo's latest Q3FY25 financials gave us more numbers to add to the Switch's cumulative performance. According to the data provided by Nintendo and cataloged by us, the Switch handheld-and-console family has made $85.431 billion in total lifetime revenues from launch to Holiday 2024. This value includes total game sales, hardware, and all earnings from the Switch platform both digitally and physically.

The Switch's megaton success has been profitable for Nintendo every step of the way. The 3-console family has now sold-in more than 150 million units worldwide, making it the third best-selling video games hardware of all time.

Nintendo's president tells investors that the Switch 2 console will be priced with consumer affordability and company profitability in mind.

The original Switch was sold at a profit on day one and has maintained some level of per-unit sales profits since. Nintendo wants to replicate that success with the Switch 2. Analysts are predicting that Nintendo could produce up to 20 million consoles in year 1, but will anyone be able to afford the system?

Our data analysis shows that consumers are willing to pay more for premium hardware--in just 40 months, Nintendo shipped nearly 30 million Switch OLEDs, boosting the OLED's total hardware share to 19%. Comparatively, it took the base Switch over 90 months to achieve 92 million sales. This led us to believe the Switch 2 will release in 2025 for at least $399.

Nintendo has announced when it will finally satisfy hungry fans with delicious details on the Nintendo Switch 2 -- and it's right around the corner.

Nintendo has taken to its website and social channels to confirm it will be hosting a Nintendo Direct on April 2nd dedicated to showcasing the Nintendo Switch 2. The event will give viewers a "closer look" at the upcoming console, which will presumably be the unveiling of its all its features, how it differentiates itself from the original Nintendo Switch, and (hopefully) a price. It was only recently that Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa spoke to investors about the price of the Switch 2, along with the expected unit shortages.

Furukawa said Nintendo has learned from the problems the company faced with the original Nintendo Switch and plans on combating scalpers and the reseller market by simply meeting the demand for the new console with an abundance of units. The upcoming Nintendo Direct is part of Nintendo's production plan as it intends to gauge the demand for the new console after the Direct is concluded. But Furukawa admits, "it will not be easy to rapidly increase production capacity."

The rumors were true that Xbox was planning on bringing more first-party titles to the PlayStation 5, with two more iconic titles now confirmed to be transitioning.

Xbox has kept to its plan of not ruling out any Xbox title as a potential candidate to be brought over to competing platforms, and as part of the company's plan, Xbox has now confirmed Age of Mythology: Retold Edition and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition will be releasing on the PlayStation 5. For those who don't know, Age of Mythology: Retold is the recent remaster of the 2002 original, and according to the announcement, Retold will launch on the PS5 on March 4.

In celebration of the transition, a new DLC for Retold was announced that will introduce a Chinese pantheon of gods. The DLC will also launch alongside the PS5 version of the game, and those who purchase the Premium Edition will get five days of early access on PS5, meaning they can start enjoying the remaster of the classic title on February 27. As for Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition, there hasn't been an official release date announced for the PS5 version of the game, but it's slated to drop sometime in Spring 2025.

FromSoftware is slated to reveal more details about the highly anticipated Elden Ring Nightreign next week, according to a source familiar with the developer's plans for the title.

Insider Gaming, a reputable source for gaming-related leaks and news, has learned through an unnamed source that FromSoftware is planning on revealing the release date for Elden Ring Nightreign on February 12. According to the publication, the February 12 date will also include more details about the title, such as media previews. Moreover, Elden Ring Nightreign is undergoing a network test on February 14 - 17, which will undoubtedly lead to some of the contents of the game being leaked online.

So, it would make sense for FromSoftware to get ahead of any leaks by officially revealing more details about the game in the days before the online playtest is conducted. Furthermore, and this could simply be coincidental, rumors have suggested PlayStation could be hosting a State of Play event next week. Perhaps these are the same event?

Over the years, it has become a growing trend to get the original DOOM game to run on as many unconventional devices as possible, with programmers in the past being able to get the iconic game to run on a pregnancy test, calculator, thermostat, an ATM, and now an Apple Lightning adapter.

YouTube channel Nylan Satan uploaded a video titled "DOOM running on Apple Lightning to HDMI dongle," which, for those that don't know, is a $50 adapter that's designed to convert Apple's Lighting male connector into a HDMI, enabling Apple devices such as an iPhone, iPad or other Lightning devices to be connected to HDMI-equipped displays. To make the signal conversion, the Lightning to HDMI dongle contains a tiny System-On-Chip (SoC), which runs a very cut-down version of iOS.

Since the SoC is designed to take a video file and convert it so it's compatible with an HDMI signal, the SoC seemingly has enough power to run DOOM. The struggle here would be gaining access to the SoC itself, as Apple, unsurprisingly, has security protections on the device. Once jailbroken, it's then possible to install DOOM on the SoC and, using the processing power of the device, output DOOM onto a display.

As part of EA's latest earnings report, the publisher has revealed the release window for the next Battlefield game, which comes after a slew of Battlefield-related announcements.

According to the earnings report, EA is planning on releasing the next Battlefield, presumably called Battlefield 6, during its 2026 fiscal year, which means the game could be released anywhere between April 1, 2025, and March 31, 2026. For those who missed the slew of recent Battlefield announcements, EA is planning on the next Battlefield being designed around community feedback under a new program called Battlefield Labs.

The new program is the largest beta testing program EA has ever entered into, with those managing to get into the program having to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDA) preventing them from sharing details on the game. The first aspects of the new Battlefield that the community will test are combat and physics, with the plan being to eventually get almost every aspect of the game tested by the community. The first playtests will begin in the coming weeks.