Gaming News - Page 1720

Reports indicate that Konami has finally thrown in the towel for AAA games development, and is no longer willing to gamble on franchises and game releases outside of the safety umbrella of the Pro Evolution Soccer sports line.

The reports come straight from two French game outlets, which was then verified by Eurogamer that Konami is indeed shutting down all plans for future AAA releases--except for PES games. The news was reinforced by the departure of Julien Merceron, Konami's worldwide technology director, and it looks like Konami will completely focus on mobile games from hereon out.

That effectively means that Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, which is simultaneously lauded as a masterpiece and seen as an unfinished game by the community, will be the last Meta Gear Solid game. Konami prepared for this move when it fired Hideo Kojima and dissolved his development team, a move that ushered significant backlash from its own audience. Gamers also watched in horror as reports of Konami "imprisoning and exploitating" its employees with unfair working conditions surfaced on the web.

On the heels of the revamped Apple TV, Amazon throws its hat into the Android micro-console ring with the $140 Fire TV Gaming Edition that merges 4K video streaming with set-top box gaming.

The Fire TV Gaming Edition only supports 4K video streaming and doesn't do 4K gaming--which isn't a surprise since it runs mobile games. Under the hood it packs 2GB of RAM, a MediaTek quad-core processor at 2GHz speeds for "75% more processing power than previous models" and a Power VR GX6250 GPU for grpahics. 8GB of onboard memory storage is included along with an equipped 32GB Micro SD card in the expandable memory slot. The hybrid gamebox can hit 4K video streaming at 30fps and 60fps in 1080p, but we're not sure if the latter resolution is for gaming or not.

Amazon boasts that the Fire TV Gaming Edition "has more games than Apple TV, Roku, or NVIDIA Shield" and every unit comes with a free copy of the amazing 8-bit platformer Shovel Knight and Capcom's DuckTales remake. The Fire TV microconsole can be connected to the internet via ethernet or MIMO Wi-Fi over 802.11a/b/g/n/ac networks. The set-top box also supports Bluetooth 4.1 and has the standard fare of ports consisting of HDMI out, DC power, ethernet, Micro SD and USB port in a compact 4.5in x 4.5in x 0.7in form factor.

Fallout 4 has been built from the ground-up as a layered experience with deep customization and RPG elements, but Bethesda has also made some significant strides in the action department with the help of FPS masters at id Software.

"If you were to pick it up and play it, it does feel like a modern shooter," Bethsoft exec Todd Howard said in an onstage interview. "The guns feel great and you can aim down the sights...you can play it in first-person, or third-person and then we also have VATS. Since id Software was part of our company the first thing we did was call them and said 'we're going to do this from scratch, so give us some tips.'"

Usually in multi-faceted RPGs there's more emphasis on level-ups and skill trees rather than the gunplay, but Bethesda wanted the whole package for Fallout 4: deep character customization, a huge webwork of skills and perks, a massive crafting system and smooth, fluid firefights. "We didn't want to [compromise] the game's action because it's a role-playing game. We felt we could do this and layer the game's stat system ontop of that--let's have our cake and eat it too."

Even though the Xbox One is in Microsoft's limelight, the console-maker is keen on keeping last-gen gamers happy with new updates and improvements. The latest of which sees Microsoft quadrupling the Xbox 360's cloud storage up to 2GB of extra memory space.

While 2GB might not sound like a lot, it will definitely come in handy when backward compatibility comes to the Xbox One in November. Users can upload their Xbox 360 saved data to the cloud and retrieve it on the Xbox One, allowing you to pick up right where you left off.

Plus the extra storage is great for things like migrating profiles and save data between consoles. Plus it's always great to have extra space to store data if you ever fill up your HDD and have to move files and games around. 2GB won't hold a full Xbox 360 game or a digital download with Games With Gold, but it will hold up most Xbox LIVE Arcade games, save files and some of your epic Halo: Reach clips.

A newly released mod unlocks every single researchable item for Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, including extra hidden characters like Raiden and gear earned from console-exclusive DLC.

The mod goes by the nondescript "DLC and All Item Unlocker" and unlocks the game's full suite of secret items that are normally unlocked through progression. That being said the mod just gives you shortcut access to the templates and doesn't instantly grant you the items themselves--you still have to have the right materials, GMP and leveled R&D prerequisites in order to make and equip the gear.

If you don't have Ground Zeroes this mod will give you access to the content unlocked when transferring a save file, including Snake's golden bionic arm and the retro Snake outfit earned from the PlayStation-exclusive Deja Vu mission. Other goodies include the Raiden suit, Quiet's Naked Gold and Silver outfits, the Cyborg suit and a plethora of visual staples that nod to the franchise's storied history.

Avid Persona fans have been glued to Tokyo Game Show 2015 news in hopes of seeing more Persona 5, and Atlus has delivered with a brand new gameplay trailer. The bad news? The trailer reveals that Persona 5 has been delayed to Summer 2016. Ouch.

Since it was revealed all the way back in 2013, Persona 5 has been one of the most talked-about games in Atlus' label. It's been a while since anyone's heard about the game, and gamers have had to wait since February for a new trailer. Now everyone finally gets a fresh blast of stylish goodness and the excitement is sullied with the crushing disappointment of a delay.

Due to the lapse and disruption of Persona 5 news, fans and community members started to pass along word of an impending delay. The RPG was set to release in 2015 but everyone had their doubts, and Atlus spills the beans in an offhand way--the equivalent of a Dear John letter to millions of fans across the globe.

In a new update post DICE has shed light on some new info on next month's Star Wars: Battlefront beta, revealing that it will be available for everyone across all three platforms.

As far as game modes, the Battlefront open beta will ship with both online and offline split-screen co-op play with bots. So far we know that the online offerings will include 40-player Walker Assault mode on Hoth with skirmishes on the ice floor with AT-AT's and Snowspeeders, as well as dogfights in the skies. The newly unveiled Drop Zone gametype on Sullust will be available online as well.

For offline play, the beta features the Missions gametype centered around teaming up with a friend via couch co-op to tackle bots. The update lists a survival-based deathmatch Mission on the craggy dunes of Tattooine as one of the primary modes in the Missions archtype. DICE mentions the Fighter Squadron gametype but doesn't confirm it will be in the beta.

Square Enix's sprawling MMORPG gem Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn might very well find its way alongside the PlayStation VR's launch selection--or at the very least some sort of inclusion on the virtual reality platform.

Attendees at this year's Tokyo Game Show will get the chance to play FF14 within a VR space, breaking barriers that could pave the way for full-on VR MMORPG experiences. The VR demo sees a team of players working together to fight Titan, a primal boss who reigns in the magma-filled pit called The Navel.

This might very well be the first functioning multiplayer MMORPG VR demo ever showcased, and it's a pretty big deal. Thankfuly Square Enix and Sony do it in style and pick one of the best games in the genre today. While the spectacle itself is quite noteworthy, things get really interesting when we think about what the demo could lead to.

At this year's annual Tokyo Game Show event, Sony unveiled a name and a release date for Bloodborne's anticipated expansion: it's called The Old Hunters and it releases November 24.

"The Old Hunters is set in a nightmare world where hunters from the past are trapped forever, explore brand new stages full of dangers, rewards, and deadly beasts to overcome," a new post on the PlayStation Blog affirms. "You'll find multiple new outfits and weapons to add to your arsenal as well as additional magic to wield and add more variety to your combat strategy."

Sony also revealed that Miyazaki's macabre PS4 exclusive has sold more than 2 million copies worldwide, which isn't surprising due to the hardcore fanbase that worships the dark altar of Miyazaki's cruel splendor. Interestingly enough the master himself said that Bloodborne's limited nature was one of the reasons he was excited about returning to Dark Souls 3.

Without a firm release date from Eidos Montreal, we don't yet know when Deus Ex: Mankind Divided will be released exactly, except for sometime in 2016. But something we do know, is that it will ship with support for DX12 on day one.

I had a lengthy chat with AMD's Chief Gaming Scientist, Richard Huddy, earlier today about all things DX12 and Asynchronous Shaders, where AMD talked about having their technology and support in Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. Since they used Mankind Divided in their own internal materials, I thought I'd ask if we'd see DX12 support at launch. Huddy replied, saying that Deus Ex: Mankind Divided would indeed launch with DX12 support.

Not only that, but Mankind Divided will also include AMD's own TressFX Hair 3.0 technology alongside DX12. The news to take away from this is that we've just had a confirmation of DX12 support in Mankind Divided out of the box. I had a suspicion that it would launch with DX11 support and would later be patched with DX12 support, but it looks like we can expect DX12 support straight off the bat. Additionally, I pushed Huddy to see if we will see a built-in benchmark for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, as it would be the best example of testing the differences between DX11 and DX12. Huddy confirmed that Mankind Divided will include a built-in benchmark, too.