Gaming - Page 335

Sony won't come out and admit that it's working on its next-gen PlayStation 6 console, let alone the probably decades-away PlayStation 7 console, but that hasn't stopped Xbox boss Phil Spencer from pumping out some free marketing for the PS7.

In some new comments during an interview on the Decoder podcast, Spencer talked about the Call of Duty franchise -- now that Microsoft is acquiring Activision-Blizzard in a whopping $69 billion deal -- with Spencer saying that Microsoft will be treating Call of Duty like it does Minecraft: offering Sony to extend their 3-year agreement.

But... PlayStation boss Jim Ryan isn't happy, calling the deal "inadequate on many levels".

A recent interview with Phil Spencer indicates that Candy Crush makes more money than Activision, but more contextual data reveals that this isn't necessarily the case.

Decoder recently published a lengthy interview with Xbox gaming exec Phil Spencer that touches upon many subjects including Call of Duty exclusivity and Microsoft's mobile aspirations. King is a big reason why Microsoft wants to buy Activision for $68.7 billion, and looking at the revenues, we can see why. However it's important to note that King does not make more money than Activision on an annual basis--in fact, it never has since Activision-Blizzard purchased the mobile giant in 2016.

Data published by Activision Blizzard indicates that King makes more revenues on a quarterly basis during the Q1-Q3 period, but Activision conquers segment earnings with significant revenue spikes in the Q4 holiday period.

Elden Ring has sold 17.5 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling individual Japanese games on the market.

In a recent Q&A with investors, Bandai Namco management has confirmed that Elden Ring has sold 17.5 million copies as of September 30, 2022.

This figure carries some pretty heavy weight; not only is Elden Ring one of the best-selling games of 2022, but it managed to achieve these kinds of sales in less than a year, beating out other Japanese RPG hits such as Final Fantasy XV (10 million copies in 6 years) and the more recent Final Fantasy VII Remake (5 million copies since 2020). Elden Ring has also sold more copies than the entire Deus Ex franchise (12 million).

After less than a year, Fortnite Chapter 3 is coming to an end next month.

Today Epic Games announced a new event that will break Chapter 3 and make way for Chapter 4. The in-game event is called Fracture and is believed to be connected to the crack in the sky seen above Loot Lake that had appeared months ago. It's assumed the Fracture event will see the glass rift cracking more and more until Chapter 4 is revealed.

Fracture will go live on December 3 and should bring a new map with it. Gamers are surprised that Chapter 3 may only contain 4 seasons, as compared to the 8 seasons offered in Chapter 2.

UPDATE: Readers have correctly pointed out that Ricardo Cardoso had previously spent 17 years with the European Commission's Competition department, which is the department that handles mergers and acquisitions. Cardoso had previously served as Deputy Head of the COMP.B.1 Antitrust: Energy and Environment division

Original article continues:

The European Commission has responded to reports of perceived bias in favor of Sony regarding the Microsoft-Activision merger.

The controversial Grand Theft Auto trilogy remaster is currently selling better than GTA V, data from publisher Take-Two Interactive indicates.

According to the latest figures from Take-Two's Q2 report, Rockstar Games may have seen a sales surge in its new GTA remaster collection. A particular slide from the investor's presentation shows some interesting numbers. Total GTA franchise sales reached 385 million units, whereas GTA V sales have stalled and failed to break 170 million copies sold. Based on sales trends, this could indicate that the GTA remaster trilogy picked up the slack.

Our findings indicate that the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition games may have sold as many as 4 million copies from June - September. If accurate, this would bring the trilogy remaster sales above 14 million.

Rockstar's beloved Red Dead renegade cowboy franchise has sold over 70 million copies worldwide, Take-Two Interactive reveals in its Q2'23 earnings brief.

The Red Dead Redemption series is Rockstar's second most-popular video game franchise with over 70 million units sold across two games and two console generations. The latest numbers from publisher Take-Two Interactive confirm Red Dead's sales split as 24 million for Red Dead Redemption, and a whopping 46 million for Red Dead Redemption 2.

The franchise managed to sell 2 million copies from June 30 to September 30, 2022, and surprisingly enough, the numbers indicate that both Red Dead Redemption on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One managed to sell 1 million copies each. That's quite surprising given the age of the original game--RDR1 was launched in 2010, more than 12 years ago.

Kevin Conroy, the voice actor known for portraying Batman in dozens of shows, films, and games, has passed away at the age of 66.

Kevin Conroy has passed away, leaving behind one of the most immortal legacies of any voice actor on the planet. Over the span of multiple decades, Conroy delighted fans as the definitive voice of the Caped Crusader. Some would argue that he was Batman and no one else could come close.

Across his career, Conroy lent his voice to an absolutely incredible volume of works. Although he's best known for Batman, the truth is that Conroy was very prolific in theater in the 70s and 80s and starred in multiple TV shows, including the 1980s soap series Another World, as well as the war-themed Tour of Duty. Conroy was also a talented singer.

Nintendo has made nearly $63 billion from its Nintendo Switch platform since March 2017, company filings reveal.

Every quarter, Nintendo delivers updates on its total net sales revenues on a platform level. Out of curiosity, I wanted to know how much the Nintendo Switch has made in its lifetime so far. The answer is...a lot.

According to our findings, which were converted from quarterly yen values into USD using foreign exchange rates published in Nintendo's earnings briefs, the Nintendo Switch platform has generated $62.26 billion since launch to present. This includes hardware, digital and physical software, subscriptions, and add-on content sold through the eShop platform.

Nintendo delivers solid Q2 performance with strong software sales offsetting drops in hardware sales and revenues.

Nintendo recently reported its Q2 Fiscal Year 2023 results and the numbers are quite impressive, especially as the yen depreciates against the dollar. Using data published by Nintendo, we have converted earnings into USD based on the exchange rates included in the company's quarterly earnings reports.

Read Also Nintendo Switch hits 114.3 million shipments, will beat PS4 by end of 2022

Final Fantasy XVI launches Summer 2023 on PlayStation 5, and depending on its actual launch date the game could also release on other platforms next year as well.

We know that Square Enix's new mainline Final Fantasy game is exclusive to PlayStation 5, but for how long? Sony revealed the news in a new PlayStation promo reel which confirms Final Fantasy 16 is only exclusive to PS5 consoles for six months after launch.

"Final Fantasy XVI anticipated Summer 2023. PS5 exclusive for six months," the video says.

Ex-BioWare developer and games industry veteran Mark Darrah shares his thoughts on the $68.7 billion Microsoft-Activision buyout deal.

The Microsoft-Activision merger is shaking up the industry and has major implications for the future of the video games market. We've heard Sony, Microsoft, and a number of publishers argue their points on the matter through regulatory filings. We've seen lots of information, including how much Xbox Game Pass and Nintendo Switch Online made in 2021. But we haven't really heard the opinions from developers on the front lines of the industry--especially those that have spent decades at video game studios.

Mark Darrah, who had spent over 20 years at BioWare, recently gave his thoughts on the merger and consolidation in general. Darrah's opinion is noteworthy because he has not only shipped multiple high-profile games, but also gone through consolidations first-hand--Darrah was at the studio when EA purchased BioWare in 2007. Darrah is familiar with the shifts required not only in the games business itself but also the kinds of things that happen post-acquisition.

The Switch may soon be the best-selling console on the market as total lifetime Switch shipments break114 million worldwide.

The Nintendo Switch handheld-console hybrid has now reached 114.33 million shipments worldwide since its launch in March 2017. If Nintendo meets its shipment target, and it's very likely that it will, then the Switch will achieve over 126 million shipments by March 2023 and become the top console in terms of sell-in, beating the PlayStation 4's current 117.2 million figure.

Nintendo actually shipped less Switch units in Q2. Overall Switch shipments were down by some 580,000 units during the quarter, with 3.25 million Switch systems shipped in Q2'23 as compared to 3.83 million in Q2'22. Total Fiscal Year 2023 Switch shipments are at 6.68 and Nintendo needs to ship at least 12.23 million more Switch consoles in order to meet its yearly sales forecast.

Apple Arcade has reportedly conquered the video games subscription charts, beating out other game services like PlayStation Plus, Xbox Game Pass, and Switch Online.

According to figures provided by Football Manager developer Sports Interactive Games, the subscriber numbers behind Apple Arcade dwarf other competing services. SIG's Miles Jaconbson tells website iMore that Apple Arcade could have at least 100 million subscribers: "I'm told nine-figure subscribers, I have no idea if those numbers are right or not."

If accurate, then Apple Arcade is far and away the leader in the video game subscription space. Some critical context is needed here though: Apple Arcade is available on a wide variety of iOS products, all of which have a much larger installed base than the PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

Razer has just opened orders for its new Wolverine V2 Pro PlayStation 5 controller that has premium features and a premium price tag to match.

Razer's new Wolverine V2 Pro controller is the latest in the line of enthusiast-grade console peripherals, and packs big upgrades over the stock $69.99 PS5 DualSense controller--and rightly so, given the Wolverine's price tag. Razer's new high-end PS5 controller will set you back a whopping $249.99, which is roughly half the price of the most expensive PlayStation 5 console, the disc-based SKU which retails for $499 in the United States.

So what do you get for that kind of price? The Wolverine V2 Pro is enhanced in practically every way, featuring an Xbox controller-style layout, an upgraded D-Pad that's also like an Xbox controller, remappable buttons, paddles on the bottom of the controller with four separate triggers, more tactile face buttons that allow you to press the buttons faster, and what Razer calls HyperSpeed Wireless that significantly reduces wireless controller latency. There's also magnetic analog sticks that can be swapped out and Chroma RGB lighting, alongside four modes; wireless, wired, PC, or PS5.

EA today announced that Battlefield 2042 is coming to Game Pass, hinting the game is one step closer to some sort of critical free-to-play component.

On top of the myriad of technical issues and missing features, Battlefield 2042's steep price tag is a big barrier to entry. EA is reducing this friction by adding the ailing online-only shooter to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with the release of the game's new season 3 timeline, which starts in a few weeks. It's also coming to EA Access.

EA is also offering another free play weekend for console and Steam gamers, and these events are known for considerably spiking player numbers.

Death Stranding is a big success for PlayStation and Kojima Productions, becoming a best-selling first-party game for Sony's banner.

It's been 3 years since Death Stranding released (yes, really), and Hideo Kojima and his team are currently celebrating by sharing a big sales milestone (there's also cake...and it looks delicious).

The game has sold 10 million copies on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC since releasing in November 2019, putting it up against some of the best-selling first-party PlayStation games including The Last of Us II (this was only available on PS4, though).

Nintendo Switch Online subscribers are growing steadily and have now broken 36 million paid subscribers.

In a recent Q2 earnings Q&A with investors, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa gave updated numbers for the Switch Online service. According to Furukawa, total Switch Online has surpassed 36 million subscribers, up 4 million subscribers in the last three quarters.

"As of the end of September 2022, Nintendo Switch Online has more than 36 million paying members," Furukawa said in the brief.

Back in 2019, I said that backwards compatibility is the most important feature for new consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The same is true for Nintendo's rumored Switch 4K model.

In a recent Q&A with investors, Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto delivered an ambiguous answer on whether or not the next Nintendo hardware will be backwards compatible with Switch games. Multiple Japanese-speaking users are having trouble deciphering Miyamoto's comments, but Nintendo's official English translated Q&A will clear things up.

For the time being, we have to stress the importance of backwards compatibility for any kind of new Switch hardware. Rumors of a new 4K-ready next-gen Switch have been circulating for years now. The Switch 4K is expected to utilize a new NVIDIA SoC, likely the new 8-core Tegra239 chip that's been codenamed "Drake," and the new upgraded Switch is also to utilize DLSS to achieve 4K gaming. Nintendo gave credence to these rumors by including a big dock upgrade with the Switch OLED that is capable of outputting to 4K 60FPS.

Sony is taking its new live service games very seriously and is working some of the best talent in the business to bring its billion-dollar plans to reality.

Sony is going all-in on live service games. First Sony Interactive Entertainment acquired Bungie for $3.7 billion, sweeping up Destiny while also securing critical expertise in a big power buy. While Bungie will still retain creative independence under Sony, the Halo- and Destiny-maker will advise, consult, and help guide Sony's new fledgling live game ambitions.

More recently there are reports that Sony and Guerrilla Games are working closely with the online game experts at NC Soft on a new MMORPG set in the Horizon universe. Having developed games like the classic Lineage from the late 90s, NC Soft's know-how stretches across decades and the South Korean company's expertise has brought in nearly $14 billion in lifetime revenues across its five biggest games.