Gaming - Page 559

We first heard that Project CARS 3 was in "very early pre-production" back in January 2019, with developer Slightly Mad Studios acquiring new talent to fuel the latest game in the Project CARS franchise. Well, now we have the Project CARS 3 announcement trailer, check it out:

Before I comment about the trailer, in July 2019 I reported that Slightly Mad Studios CEO Ian Bell said that Project CARS 3 would be a "revolution" and a "game changer" for the franchise. Well, it's definitely a game changer as the developer has moved away from what made Project CARS... well... Project CARS.

But then, the comments... the comments on the YouTube video are really torn. Check them out:

Epic Games has future-proofed its high-end Unreal Engine 5 technology specifically for next-gen storage tech like the PlayStation 5's blazing-fast SSD.

The PlayStation 5's SSD is true next-gen tech. The PS5's SSD is built on PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 storage that sports a 12-channel memory controller, which enables up to 5.5GB/sec raw data transfers, and 9GB/sec compressed streaming. This kind of speed is 100x faster than the PS4, and will allow instantaneous open-world gaming with no loading screens.

But the games-making software and tools to push the hardware to its limits are still in its infancy, and Epic is laying the seeds to ensure Unreal Engine 5 enables the full might of the console's storage.

Ready for a Diablo 2 weekend marathon? Blizzard is resetting the realm ladder servers on Friday, June 5, 2020 at 5PM PST (8PM EST) for some old-school action.

Diablo 2 ladder resets are special occasions that happen every six months. Every reset completely wipes out the economy and basically starts everything anew. This was the original seasonal structure before battle passes, season passes, etc. Diablo 2's realm ladders are a mad dash to the top of the charts to see who can level up the fastest and dominate the rankings, and usually culminate in days-long game jams with a few buddies.

Back in the day, ladder resets were an exciting time. Now realm resets have lost their flair thanks to tons of bots...but it's still a reason to fire up Diablo 2 and give it a whirl. So get ready to break out your 8-man dream team and get those Tristram runs rolling! If you don't have Diablo II, you can grab it here.

The reports are false, and Tencent didn't buy Arma developer Bohemia Interactive. The studio is still completely independent and in control over its own destiny.

Billion-dollar Chinese titan Tencent has more hands in the games industry than any other company, but its grasp hasn't extended to Bohemia Interactive. Today Bohemia marketing exec Petr Polacek squashed rumors of a Tencent buyout:

"It's not true. Tencent didn't buy us. Bohemia Interactive remains an independent studio. We don't know where this information came from," Polacek told Czech newspaper Hospodarske Noviny.

The new Elite Dangerous Odyssey expansion basically morphs the game into a first-person RPG with exploration, combat, and story-driven missions.

Today Frontier Developments announced Odyssey, the most ambitious Elite Dangerous expansion ever made. Odyssey fundamentally revolutionizes gameplay by finally letting gamers explore planets in first-person. Users will be able to touch down on "countless new planets" and roam around on foot to uncover secrets--and enemies--throughout the cosmos.

Odyssey also brings near-infinite missions to cycle through, complete with NPCs and unique locales. The sim aims at creating the ultimate live game with constantly-evolving playable content through emergent systems.

Konami pulls another strange move by publishing a smaller-scale platformer called Skelattack on consoles and PC.

Konami is pretty much done making new AAA games. Instead of developing and releasing big hits like Metal Gear Solid, Konami is leaning hard on mobile, pachinko, and annualized PES Soccer games. This plan is actually working quite well and Konami is far from the red; the company earned $2.4 billion in revenue last year, and $188 million in profit.

Now Konami is leaning into the diverse indie games market in an effort to "pursue and build a catalog of Western and domestic market titles." In a surprise announcement, Konami confirmed it's publishing Skelattack, a new cartoonish indie platformer from Ukuza.

SEGA is making a new Game Gear handheld...but it's tiny. Really tiny. Small enough to be a novelty you buy at a thrift store, but for Japan, it's a premium product.

SEGA's new Game Gear Micro is a weird proposition for the West. You can fit the entire thing in one palm, and it's something Adam Ant would play for fun. It's really a tiny contraption you'd give to, say, a kid to keep them entertained, not adults.

The micro handheld has a tiny 1.15-inch display, but you can magnify it with a new SEGA Big Window re-release (yes, really). The catch? You have to buy all 4 consoles in a special $250 pack to get it.

SEGA's huge game-changing announcement isn't a new console, but a forward-thinking business plan that will transform its arcade machines into remote streaming servers for game streaming.

Remember that massively-hyped SEGA scoop from Famitsu? It turns out the announcement will transform the Japanese games industry, but it's not what you'd expect.

SEGA has an innovative plan to use fog computing to turn its arcade cabinets into access points (or edge devices) for wireless game streaming. SEGA will use an arcade machine's CPU and GPU power to access a network infrastructure, essentially streaming the cabinet's games across a low-latency network.

I'm pretty freaking hyped about Crysis Remastered, but between now and its release -- we have this awesome Crysis Enhanced Edition mod to check out. Scope the video below:

The Crysis Enhanced Edition mod has some pretty gorgeous graphics, with improvements made to in-game textures and its lighting system. The mod includes 8K rocks and grounds, 4K structures, screen space reflections, max particles and particle lights, indirect sky lighting, reworked indoor lights, improved fog volumes, and so much more.

You can check out the Crysis Enhanced Edition mod right here on its Remaster Studio Patrons page.

SEGA isn't making the Dreamcast 2, nor is it teaming up with Microsoft to release the SEGA Series X. No, the earth-shattering news is a Game Gear micro mini-handheld console.

Today SEGA confirmed the Game Gear Micro, a miniature retro handheld that assumably comes pre-loaded with old-school games. While SEGA did announce the hardware, it didn't give any actual information on what's included, and instead dropped a general banner confirmation.

The news comes shortly after gamers discovered a new SEGA touchscreen patent which is likely to be included in the Game Gear Micro. Expect the device to similar touchscreen functionality as a cell phone, which could drive up the price of the handheld. No games, pricing, or availability has been revealed, but SEGA will announce new details in three hours.

Diablo 4 might not have a release date, but that doesn't mean that the hype for it is not real -- with a new 20-minute gameplay clip of Diablo 4 shown by 'GAMEPLAY PS' on YouTube. Check it out:

The new Diablo 4 gameplay footage shows the huge Barbarian character, completing the quest 'A Light in the Dark'. In this video it is just raw gameplay with no one talking over it, so we get a great look at the gameplay and those gigantic and deep hits that the Barbarian places on countless enemies.

It would've been nice to have had a higher-res upload, as the video itself is in 4K but it doesn't appear that the video itself is rendering in 4K. Still, for what it is -- most likely some Diablo 4 beta goodness -- it looks good.

Capcom confirms Resident Evil 3 Remake won't get any story DLC, and the included RE: Resistance multiplayer mode is the only future content that'll release.

RE3 Remake is complete. There's no updates or singleplayer DLC coming down the line. When asked if the game would get any DLC in the future, game producer Peter Fabiano delivered a curt response: "Resident Evil 3 is a finished product."

This was to be expected. RE3 Remake was in development for 3 years, and was made simultaneously alongside RE2 Remake. Capcom tacked on a live service game into RE3 in an effort to monetize with lootbox-style cosmetics. It's this mode that'll shift over time, not the base campaign. Capcom received lots of criticism for this move from gamers, but it fits right in with the company's major push into online gaming.

Square Enix's HD Games segment just got a sizable ¥5.7 billion write-down, and outright mentions a $31 million disposal cost for a new Luminous Productions game.

Like many games publishers, Square Enix has been disrupted by COVID-19. Due to the virus, the company shipped and produced less copies of Final Fantasy 7 Remake than expected, leading to 3.5 million sales at launch, less than the original projections. Square Enix president Yousuke Matsuda says he's happy with the game's performance, but notes the disk sales missed revised internal estimates. This reduction came after a 36% drop in game sales volume in FY19, which in turn led to a whopping 55% drop in total HD Games revenue throughout the year.

These disruptions--and more--have prompted Square Enix's recent $52 million write-down in its content production account. This specific area of business includes games currently in development.

As the United States wrestles racial reform and civil upheaval, games-makers are delaying their biggest events so they don't steal the spotlight.

A bit ago Sony postponed one of gaming's most anticipated reveals--the PS5 event--to an unknown date. "We want to stand back and let more important voices be heard," Sony said in a statement. Now CD Projekt RED is doing the same with its planned Cyberpunk 2077 stream.

CDPR has delayed its Night City Wire event to June 25, two weeks after the original date.

Video of THQ's cancelled Avengers co-op game has surfaced, showing an interesting glimpse at what could've been.

Crystal Dynamics aims to make the definitive Avengers game in 2020, complete with online play, chaotic battles, and tons of customization. But back in 2011, THQ was making their own superhero project for Xbox 360. THQ's game was a first-person multiplayer experience starring Captain America, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Thor.

But a quick glance shows why the game was cancelled. The FPS mechanics look pretty wonky, especially melee-based characters like Hulk and Cap. All we really see are giant fists bashing enemies the whole time and Cap's shield just flailing around. It looks pretty fun to play as Iron Man or Thor, though, but it still seems off. There's a lot of Skyrim-style wild spam attacks hacking-and-slashing.

Epic Game Store freebies are having an unintended effect: Massive awareness is boosting game sales on competing platforms.

According to Epic boss Tim Sweeney, giving away free games is a net benefit for developers and Epic as a whole. Epic gets more sign-ups and users who are more likely to stay in the ecosystem, and devs get exposure on the store's huge 85 million strong userbase. This exposure is actually leading to full game sales on other storefronts, Sweeney says, which is quite similar to the Game Pass Effect.

"People have discovered a lot of great games [from Epic Store free games]. It's been a benefit for game developers. Most developers who launch their games for free on the store found that their sales on Steam and on console platforms actually increased after they went free on Epic because of increased awareness," Sweeney said in a recent interview with Gamespot.

Activision has just announced that it has delayed the Season 4 release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone, as well as Season 7 of Call of Duty: Mobile because of the on-going unrest in the United States.

Sony and EA have both stopped big events from taking place this week, and I'm sure these companies won't be the first -- nor will they be the last. Activision tweeted: "Right now it's time for those speaking up for equality, justice, and change to be seen and heard. We stand alongside you".

The ofciail Activision Blizzard Twitter account tweeted: "Today, and always, we support all those who stand against racism and inequality. There is no place for it in our society - or any society. Black lives matter".

Here we are again, folks, at another article detailing why Microsoft isn't buying another billion-dollar company. In this coverage we'll be detailing why Microsoft isn't buying SEGA, and why the Xbox Series X isn't going to be rebranded with SEGA's name in Japan.

Rumor has it Microsoft is buying SEGA. Another rumor says Microsoft will release the Xbox Series X as the "SEGA Series X" in Japan. Neither of these things are true. To really understand why the rumors aren't true we have to take a look at how both Microsoft and SEGA operate their businesses, and then briefly go over why the Xbox brand is so much more than just hardware.

First, let's start off with the obvious one: Microsoft isn't going to buy SEGA simply because it'd cost too much. There's no reason for Microsoft to buy, and more importantly, there's absolutely no reason for SEGA to sell. This is the same argument we made with the preposterous "Microsoft is buying CD Projekt RED" rumors, and the more recent "Sony is buying Metal Gear Solid" rumors.

The PS5 reveal event set for June 4 will be postponed to a later date due to civil unrest, Sony today confirmed.

Like most of the games industry, Sony has spoken out in support for the Black Lives Matter movement amid civil unrest in the United States. Now the company is delaying one of the most important events of the year so it doesn't take the spotlight away from America's societal issues.

"We have decided to postpone the PlayStation 5 event scheduled for June 4," Sony said in a statement.

Half-Life: Alyx was one of the hands down best gaming experiences of my life, and while I played it in VR (and I think you should, too) it doesn't mean you can't check it out without a VR headset -- and this handy mod. Check it out:

This new mod is called the "Pancake FPS Starter Kit" which can be downloaded right here, and is showcased in the video above. YouTuber 'Goutrial' posted the video, explaining: "This is a mod for Half-Life: Alyx called "Pancake FPS Starter Kit" that makes it so you can play without VR".

He continues: "It also adds the ability to add custom weapon scripts. In this video, I am using the base mod so there are only the weapons from Half-Life 2. The weapons you see in this video are from Half-Life 2: MMod".