Gaming - Page 217

It's one of the studio's most beloved franchises. It birthed esports as we know it today and has been missing for many years - at least in terms of new games. According to Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, Blizzard is working on a new first-person shooter in the StarCraft franchise.

With development led by ex-Ubisoft and Far Cry veteran Dan Hay, it's said to be in the early stages of development - with no word on whether or not it's a single-player, co-op, or competitive game.

Interestingly, this new project marks Blizzard's third attempt to create a StarCraft spin-off with an action or shooter focus. In the early 2000s, the studio canceled the stealth-action game StarCraft: Ghost, which was far along in development.

Blizzard revealed some of its upcoming plans during the recent Xbox Tokyo Games Show 2024 event, which include an Overwatch 2 collaboration with anime hit "My Hero Academia" as well as StarCraft: Remastered, and StarCraft II both coming to PC Game Pass.

The upcoming Overwatch 2 x My Hero Academia collaboration will kick off on October 17 and run through October 30, providing gamers with the change to get skins of characters like Deku, Uravity, All Might, Kirko, and Tomura Shigaraki. All premium skins, all costing money of course -- at around $19 a pop -- with bundles at around $67.

Blizzard's other big announcement was that StarCraft: Remastered and StarCraft II: Campaign Collection arer coming to PC Game Pass or Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions on November 5. The original StarCraft is free on Battle.net, or $15.99 for the Remastered version which is headed to PC Game Pass anyway.

Opinion: Sony says it removed the PS5 Pro's disc drive to give consumers more choice, but the firm isn't offering a dual-SKU Pro lineup (one with a disc, and one without). The lack of a disc drive by default is indicative of Sony's push for higher hardware and software sales profits.

Sony, like Microsoft, wants to maximize profits...but unlike Microsoft, Sony is more industrious with its strategies to boost hardware profits (this is partly because no Xbox has ever turned a profit). Microsoft also has far fewer consoles sales than Sony, with Xbox generating just 13% of annual revenue from console sales (Xbox made $2.8 billion from HW from June 2023 - July 2024, compared to Sony's $7.9 billion).

The PS5 Pro's overall design and MSRP is reflective of some very forward-thinking motives for Sony. The Pro isn't just about hardware profit maximization, but also leans into future economics with software, and it's all because of the system's absent disc drive.

Xbox is growing in Asia, and could continue to get bigger as Microsoft lays key partnerships with Japanese and Asian game studios.

Microsoft's gaming presence is apparently doing quite well in Asia, especially in Japan, where Xbox has made a bigger splash in the region than ever before. Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer gave a quick update at Tokyo Game Show 2024, where he said:

"We're continuing to see growth in the region. This year, more people are playing with Xbox, across all devices in Asia, than ever before. We've seen the largest number of Xbox console players in the region to date."

Two of the most popular video games in South Korea are coming to Xbox Game Pass PC.

Microsoft has announced more Activision-Blizzard games are coming to its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, and the new entries are titanic in reach and popularity. Blizzard's StarCraft titles will soon be included in Game Pass PC and Game Pass Ultimate, the company announced at TGS 2024.

"On November 5, Starcraft Remastered and Starcraft II will be available with PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate," Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer said during Tokyo Game Show 2024 stream.

With hands-on impressions of games running natively on PlayStation 5 Pro hardware, it's safe to say that for console gamers looking for the best visual fidelity, Sony's mid-generation refresh won't disappoint. From in-race 60FPS ray tracing in Gran Turismo 7 to the impressive Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 running at a full 60 FPS with Fidelity Mode visuals.

Throw in PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution or PSSR upscaling, which uses AI like NVIDIA's DLSS to deliver a crisper and cleaner image compared to the baseline PS5 console, and there's definite hype surrounding the Pro after the lukewarm initial reaction.

However, the PlayStation 5 Pro, even at $699, will not be able to compete with a high-end or mid-range GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU in terms of its overall performance and ray-tracing capabilities - case in point: Remedy's Alan Wake 2.

A sea of portable PC gaming handhelds have hit the market in the last few years. Most offer similar performance thanks to the Ryzen Z1 chip, which can deliver impressive 1080p gaming. The AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme features integrated RDNA 3 graphics with 12 Compute Units, while the lower-end variant offers 4 Compute Units.

Even with multiple options available, the Lenovo Legion Go stood out due to its premium design, which included a large display and removable controllers similar to the Nintendo Switch's Joy-Cons.

Although it hasn't been officially confirmed, new images from YouTuve creator NITTRX have emerged showcasing the design of what's being referred to as the Legion Go Lite. This follows reports we heard earlier that Lenovo was preparing to release a more affordable variant of its PC gaming handheld.

It isn't surprising that Sony is making changes to the pricing of its products ahead of the upcoming launch of the PlayStation 5 Pro, but the latest price change was somewhat egregious.

WCCFTech has pointed out that Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition was originally priced at $19.99 on the PlayStation Store, but Sony quietly increased that price tag on September 25 to $39.99. Moreover, the price increase of the original version of Horizon Zero Dawn has increased the remaster to $49.99 from $29.99. Besides the problem of paying more for the same game, players who own the original game can purchase the remastered version for $9.99.

However, if you owned the original PS4 game on disc and now have a digital PS5 or the coming PS5 Pro without the optical disc drive, you won't be able to play the original game or take advantage of the $9.99 upgrade price as you won't be able to verify the purchase of the original game by placing in the disc.

The gaming market is saturated with options, and simply being exposed to a platform such as Steam, a gamer can feel like there are almost too many options to choose from.

While choice is ultimately a good thing it can lead to a feeling of many games feeling very similar, which is why titles that have a unique take or spin tend to stand taller than others. Empire of the Ants, developed by Tower Five and published by Microids, is shaping up to be one of those unique games, as this soon-to-be-released real-time strategy (RTS) game combines the stunning visuals of Epic Games' Unreal Engine 5.4 and the unusual third-person perspective of a lowly ant setting out to save its colony.

Empire of the Ants is based on the famous French novel of the same name (Les Fourmis) by Bernard Weber, and the title will put players in the thorax of an ant called 103,683e. This ant is determined to protect its colony, and according to Microids, players will be forced to make difficult decisions that will need to be heavily considered, as the repercussions of these decisions will impact the survival of the colony. Players will need to overcome many obstacles to ensure the survival of the colony, such as making alliances, competing for resources, and surviving the chaotic environment of the forest.

In a recent interview with Famitsu, legendary Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto gave some insight into Nintendo's internal perspective of the company and how he hopes that will be understood by visitors to the soon-to-be-opened Nintendo Museum.

The interview with Miyamoto was about the upcoming opening of the Nintendo Museum, scheduled for October 2 in Kyoto, Japan. The museum is dedicated to preserving the unique history of Nintendo, and during the interview, Miyamoto said the goal is to help people understand what Nintendo truly is. More specifically, the Nintendo game director said, "I hope that through this, people will understand and refrain from dragging Nintendo into competitions like the so-called 'console wars,' which focus on high specs and hardware performance (laughs)."

Miyamoto added that he hoped that people visiting the museum would come away thinking that Nintendo was much more than a company that made games. Moreover, Miyamoto said he hopes people see that Nintendo is separate from the competition and the cutting-edge technology discussion surrounding those consoles. These comments by Miyamoto aren't that surprising as Nintendo has been separating itself from the so-called "console wars" for many years now.

Sony had already started plotting out the early ideas for a mid-gen PlayStation 5 Pro even before the PS5 launched in 2020.

The PS5 Pro was in pre-production discussion phases of development since before the PS5 released, a new IGN interview has revealed. This is typically customary for Sony--as a consumer electronics firm, Sony must always be planning the next wave of technology on a near-perpetual basis. The console market is cyclical, and both Sony and Microsoft have invested significantly into mid-gen upgrades to power new gaming experiences and to boost hardware sales profits.

"We started discussing [the PS5 Pro] before the PS5 actually came out...because the PS5 specs were already locked in. We were ready to launch and everything. We knew, of course, as you mentioned, technologies evolve every year," PlayStation product manager Toshi Aoki told IGN.

Sony's new PlayStation 5 Pro "30th Anniversary Limited Edition" console bundles were sold out in mere seconds, with scalpers already listing the bundles for thousands of dollars... some are asking for $5000, some are asking for $10,000.

Just minutes after the pre-orders for the PlayStation 5 Pro 30th Anniversary Limited Edition bundle went live in the UK, shoppers were slammed with "sold out" messages, which had some gamers upset obviously. Not long after, multiple listings for the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary Limited Edition bundles hit eBay, with scalpers seeking up to £10,000.

These scalpers don't even have hands-on with the PS5 Pro bundles, they're just selling their successful pre-orders, so this is just capitalism at play... it's not nice, but it is nigh impossible to stop. There are even counter listings on eBay that are warning shoppers from buying pre-ordered PlayStation 5 Pro 30th Anniversary Limited Edition bundles from scalpers.

Sony's new PS5 Pro will have two basic functionalities for improved game performance: Optimized game patches that developers are responsible for releasing, and a native performance boost feature that can automatically make games look and run better.

The $700 PlayStation 5 Pro is expected to supercharge all PS4 and PS5 games by default in key specific ways, Sony has confirmed. The new higher-end GPU (+67% compute units, and +45% faster rendering) will increase in-game performance in existing titles across the Gen8 and Gen9 lineup. The PS5 Pro's boost mode feature is very similar to how the PS4 Pro would automatically raise perf in base PS4 games, and how the PS5 also does the same for PS4 games.

In a recent interview with IGN, PlayStation Senior Principal Product Manager Toshi Aoki briefly clarified how the PS5 Pro's new boost mode will work. The boost mode will not require developers to release updated patches for their games; PS4 and PS5 titles will just play better on the PS5 Pro right out of the box.

The seemingly bumpy road at Ubisoft continues to get even more tumultuous as its been revealed through a report from Insider Gaming that Ubisoft's board of directors are conducting an internal review of the company.

The launching of an investigation and review of the company comes at a time when Ubisoft is suffering from the ill-received launch of Star Wars Outlaws and the controversial lead-up to the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows. I have gone into both these woes in this article here, but the problems, in a nutshell, are as follows: Assassin's Creed Shadows is suffering from accusations that Ubisoft is mischaracterizing the Japanese culture while simultaneously telling players its games are for entertainment purposes loosely based on historical events and characters.

As for Star Wars Outlaws, the game was released to a poor reception that cited clunky gameplay mechanics, poor AI, and a myriad of other issues. Ultimately, Ubisoft themselves recently admitted that the launch of Star Wars Outlaws didn't meet expectations, and that its hoping a rollout of additional updates to the aforementioned problem areas, coupled with a Black Friday sale, will help attract more players.

Ubisoft is experiencing one of its worst times in recent memory, with the company now delaying the launch of Assassin's Creed Shadows following a slew of controversy surrounding artistic designs, merchandise, and the abrupt withdrawal of the Tokyo Games Show.

Ubisoft has been facing an uphill battle with its upcoming release of Assassin's Creed Shadows, and the mountainous journey to launch began when the company unveiled the setting and the main protagonists. Fans accused Ubisoft of mischaracterizing Japanese culture with their design choices while simultaneously pointing to Ubisoft officials saying Shadows was loosely based on history. Additionally, Ubisoft released a trailer that showcased choppy animations, adding only more fuel to the fire.

In that trailer video, the comment section was taken over by bot accounts that published positive comments that gained a suspicious number of likes. Those comments have since been removed, and Ubisoft has been accused of purchasing bot accounts to attempt to sway the public's perception of Shadows. Moreover, the company has been accused of misrepresenting Japanese culture with its Shadows merchandise by including what some are claiming to be a depiction of the One-Legged Torri Gate in one of its figurines. For those who don't know, the One-Legged Torri Gate is a shrine dedicated to the tragic event of the Nagasaki nuclear bomb.

Playing a competitive multiplayer game and hearing an enemy fire off in the distance, walking up to an NPC in a small town to engage in a conversation in an open-world RPG, and having the music change to a more dramatic and energetic tone signaling action is about to commence - these are all examples of audio playing a vital role in the games we all play.

According to Private Internet Access (PIA), sound design in video games is often underappreciated or overlooked. Sound can be crucial to immersion and the overall experience, and for people who are hard of hearing, no sound can mean the difference between being able to play or not at all.

According to the World Health Organization, 5% of the world's population experiences hearing loss, including tens of millions of children. Games with accessibility options for the hearing impaired help level the playing field.

Sony's showcase of the PlayStation 5 Pro garnered many negative reactions from fans, who were particularly upset about the price hike compared to the base model.

The announcement of the PS5 Pro elicited a mixed reaction from fans, as many were quick to criticize Sony for charging more for a console that seemingly offered few graphical improvements compared to the base PS5 model.

While Sony did showcase some impressive hardware improvements, such as a significant boost to GPU performance and the inclusion of its own upscaling technology, the resulting gaming improvement was poorly showcased to players due to the older games selected by Sony and the unfortunate reality of video compression via YouTube -- which makes the subtle graphical improvements even more challenging to spot.

Sony's announcement of the PlayStation 5 Pro received a mixed-bag reaction, with many players complaining about the showcase of the improvements with the PS5 Pro compared to the stock PS5 being almost unnoticeable.

PlayStation's Senior Principal Product Manager Toshi Aoki sat down for a lengthy interview with IGN to explain all of the hardware improvements in the PS5 Pro and how that translates to a better gaming experiencing for players. In a nutshell, the PS5 Pro is targeting 4K at 60FPS performance, which it will achieve through upgrades to its GPU and Sony's upscaling technology called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).

Since Sony confirmed that most players choose the performance mode over the fidelity mode, the PS5 Pro will be the solution players want - 60FPS gaming with no drop in visual fidelity or 4K at 60FPS. Given the hardware within the PS5 Pro and the performance target, why did Sony's announcement leave players unsatisfied? IGN asked Aoki this question by mentioning that not everyone is able to spot the difference between a PS5 and a PS5 Pro-enhanced game.

Who should buy a PS5 Pro console? The performance-conscious gamer will benefit the most with Sony's new console, Digital Foundry asserts.

The new PS5 Pro is a somewhat confusing device. It packs a serious performance punch in the right hands, with first-party Sony developers even doubling FPS in some games. But it also packs a hefty punch in the wallet too thanks to the eye-watering $700 MSRP. The Pro offers lots of upside, including 60FPS with greater fidelity and better-looking raytraced visuals, but Sony's recent videos and posts don't always do the best job in exposing the system's capabilities.

There's where Digital Foundry comes in. The team recently put together an hour-long video showcasing the PS5 Pro's upgrades across 11 games, with side-by-side footage to match. After a lengthy hands-on series of demos at a Sony event in San Francisco, DF's Oliver Mackenzie offered his thoughts on who would benefit the most from the PS5 Pro.

The new Silent Hill 2 remake almost didn't come to PC, but we have Bloober Team for swooping in and saving the day.

Konami is a Japanese games company through-and-through. While the publisher does release games on Xbox and PC, the primary focus is on PlayStation and, where applicable, Nintendo platforms (these two dominate Japan). Xbox and PC typically take the back burner. It's also this way when Konami signs temporary exclusivity deals with PlayStation, which typically means "not on Xbox" for a set time, as is the case with the Silent Hill 2 remake.

It's not entirely a surprise, then, when Konami wasn't initially interested in launching the Silent Hill 2 remake on PC. Bloober Team, the Polish developer behind the project, ultimately convinced the Japanese publisher to change their mind. Bloober has seen success on PC with the release of their Layers of Fear horror games and could attest to the power of Steam sales.