Gaming - Page 757

Red Dead Redemption 2's landmark success boosts Take-Two's latest quarterly earnings by upwards of 150%.

Take-Two is an interesting company. Armed with big properties like NBA2K and Grand Theft Auto, the publisher weathers the down periods between game releases with its successful monetization strategies. Rockstar's new outlaw game proved to be worth the wait, earning over $700 million in three days with sales hitting over 23 million copies worldwide to date. The game's success helped the publisher earn over $1 billion in its holiday quarter.

In the three-month quarter from October through December 2018, Take-Two Interactive made $1.249 billion in net revenues, up a tremendous 158% from last year This jump is due to Red Dead Redemption 2's launch as well as strong earnings from NBA 2K19 sales and microtransactions, as well as Social Point mobile games. Recurring consumer spending, or earnings from in-game purchases like microtransactions and DLC, made up $300 million of net revenues, up a mighty 95% year-over-year. NBA 2K19 was the main force in Take-Two's monetization spike.

After a strong quarter of recurring consumer spending earnings, Take-Two plans to continue embedding live services into its biggest games.

Take-Two is among the top publishers earning hundreds of millions every year from live games. This strategy, which sees games like GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2 get online modes with microtransactions and free updates, is working quite well. Successfully monetizing engagement is a billion-dollar market in the games industry, and Take-Two is adept at the practice. In its Fiscal Year Q3'19 results, the publisher earned about $300 million from recurring consumer spending, which includes microtransactions, subscriptions, DLC, and RDR2 special editions. This monetization represents 24% of Take-Two's total $1.249 billion in net revenues during the period.

According to Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick, live services aren't going anywhere. The company will continue focusing on ways to maximize engagement monetization over time, most notably in its annual sports games like NBA 2K as well as GTA Online and Red Dead Online.

The West's biggest gaming giant prepares to shave off a portion of its workforce to become a leaner game-focused company.

Activision-Blizzard plans to mass-fire up to hundreds of employees, sources say, but it'll take care not to interrupt games development. The layoffs should only affect non-gaming departments like marketing, PR, QA testing, and customer service as Activision-Blizzard ramps up new game projects.

Blizzard currently has a lot of new games in development, including several new IPs. Games like Diablo IV and perhaps even Overwatch 2 are currently in development. This decision is a big milestone for Blizzard since it shifted towards a near-exclusive live service model, which sees previously-released games getting updated in lieu of new releases.

The release of Anthem is almost here and BioWare and Electronic Arts are celebrating early with a new trailer that showcases four javelins in action. Prepare your exo-suits as you will be bringing the fight to your enemies.

The hype for the release of Anthem is being pushed heavily by EA, and what better way then to keep the hype train moving forward then for a new action packed trailer. The above launch trailer has been released onto the official Anthem YouTube Channel and showcases four javelins working in unison to take down a variety of enemies. We also see individual gameplay for each of the javelins that showcases their respective strengths and abilities.

Anthem will launch with many features that the demo did not have, the demo started players off in the "middle" of the game and is very different balancing wise across the whole game. In the fully released game players should expect much less bugs, tutorials and more efficiency when it comes to balancing. Anthem is planned for release on the February 22nd and will launch on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC. In other news about Anthem, check out the gameplay series that delves into the titles story, progression and customizing, more on that here. There has also been some other gameplay videos released that dive into the pros and cons of specific javelins, there is videos for the Storm Javelin and Interceptor Javelin.

The release for FromSoftware's Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is just around the corner, and now the developers have released the official PC requirements showcasing what will be needed to run the upcoming title.

The requirements have been made available on the official Steam listing for the title and judging from both the minimum and recommended specifications most PC gamers won't have an issues running Sekiro. Just like every game released onto Steam, Valve has provided 'minimum' and 'recommended' specs for gamers and it seems that players will only have to have a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 or AMD Radeon HD 7950 to run the game. CPU wise players will be required to have at least a Intel Core i3-2100 or an AMD FX-6300, all of which are quite old components when comparing to todays standards.

Moving onto the recommended specifications, to run Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice optimally players will be required to have a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or an AMD Radeon RX 570. The recommended CPU is an Intel Core i5-2500K or a AMD Ryzen 5 1400. It seems that both the recommended or minimum specs for FromSoftware's upcoming title aren't that much at all when compared to some other AAA titles, to check out the full specifications visit the official Steam listing here. I have also provided a copy of the minimum and recommended within the entirety of this article. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be launching on the Xbox One, PS4 and PC on March 22nd.

If you are a Nintendo Switch user that is a member of the Nintendo Switch Online service you will be glad to know that Nintendo recognize that improvements can be made and will be working overtime to make fixes.

IN a recent Q&A held by Nintendo, the Nintendo president, Shuntaro Furukawa has shined some light on Nintendo's Switch Online service. The president recognizes that the online service can be improved and that there are many fixes that can be made. Furukawa also mentions that keeping these now 1 million+ online members is integral to Nintendo, "it is critical that these members continue using the service for a long time rather than letting it expire."

Unfortunately, Nintendo did not detail how they are exactly going to be improving the service nor the changes that they are going to be making. The company gave a vague statement saying, "currently planning ways to boost the appeal of the service on a yearly basis. Announce more details as soon as [they] are ready. Hopefully we can see improvements to the Online Switch service in better connectivity between players, instant messaging, better stability and many more features as the service does feel quite bare bones at the moment. For more information regarding the Nintendo Switch Online service, visit the official Nintendo website here.

Despite crashing sales, Nintendo isn't ready to shut down its 3DS handheld.

Nintendo's Fiscal Q3'18 earnings outlined some worrying trends for the 3DS. After an 8-year lifecycle the handheld is slowing down and may be ready to retire soon. Both 3DS hardware and software sales are down over 60% year-over-year in Q3, whereas the Nintendo Switch made up 85% of the company's nine-month net sales revenue. The 3DS is getting pushed out of its own turf by its tougher older brother, the Switch.

But Nintendo isn't ready to give up on the 3DS just yet. The handheld still has a massive 74 million install base that can be squeezed a little more, and Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa says the 3DS will continue living alongside the Switch. But the question remains...for how long? "Our basic policy is to proceed with both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS in our dedicated video game platform business," Mr. Furukawa said in a recent Nintendo FYQ3'18 Q&A.

Fallout creators Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky share new details about Obsidian's new RPG, The Outer Worlds.

In a sea of online-driven live games, Obsidian's singleplayer-only RPG The Outer Worlds is a breath of fresh air. The game, which combines FPS action with sci-fi humor and deeper RPG sentiments, will channel key elements from original Fallout cRPGs without actually being an isometric point-and-click adventure. Back in 2017, sources told TweakTown that The Outer Worlds (then a mysterious IP) would be Obsidian's own unique answer to the Fallout series.

Details have been light since the game's TGA2018 reveal but now Tim Cain and Leonard Boyarsky reveal new tidbits in a GameInformer interview. Take-Two Interactive says its Private Division label, who's publishing The Outer Worlds, will showcase new content and reveal new updates later in 2019.

Square Enix might be working on the Final Fantasy VII remake but that doesn't mean the developer is only working on that game, as we know that Final Fantasy XVI is coming in the near future but what will it arrive as?

According to Naoki Yoshida, the director of Final Fantasy XIV, we could see something different. Yoshida said at the recent Final Fantasy XIV Paris Fan Festival: "First, if you're asking whether the Final Fantasy series will get another MMO soon, I think the chances are unlikely so long as Final Fantasy XIV is doing well. On that note, personally speaking, I'd like to see a Final Fantasy that is straightforward fantasy, one that doesn't have much machinery, and with no mecha in it. After all, we're having trouble with the Garlean Empire being too powerful. Ah, okay, that was a bad joke".

What do you think we'll see Final Fantasy XVI arrive as?

Following the cancellation of two major Star Wars games--Visceral's ambitious Project Ragtag and, more recently, EA Vancouver's open-world Project Orca--, gamers demanded Disney yank the exclusive ten-year Star Wars license from EA. But Disney says their relationship with the publisher is healthy, and licensing opportunities like these will continue.

In its Q1'19 earnings report, Disney CEO Bob Iger says the company has no plans to resurrect studios like LucasArts to make its own games. The only way to play games based on IPs like Star Wars will be through licensing deals with publishers like EA.

"We're obviously mindful of the size of that business. But over the years, as you know, we've tried our hand in self-publishing. We've bought companies. We've sold companies. We've bought developers. We've closed developers," Iger said in Disney's Q1 earnings call. "And we found over the years that we haven't been particularly good at the self-publishing side, but we've been great at the licensing side, which obviously doesn't require that much allocation of capital. And since we're allocating capital in other directions, even though we certainly have the ability to allocate more capital, we've just decided that the best place for us to be in that space is licensing and not publishing."

Apex Legends is a roaring success that shows no signs of slowing down and EA is very, very happy.

It's not often that free-to-play shooter gains millions of players out of the gate. Respawn's new 60-player battle royale shooter has done just that, and EA confirms Apex Legends just passed 10 million players in just three days time. Just two days ago Apex Legends broke 1 million players, so powerful word-of-mouth and advertising campaigns helped spike playercount.

The BR juggernaut is also retaining players and passed 1 million concurrent users across all platforms. EA has to be very happy about this success, especially since the more people playing service games raises the chance for recurring monetization (Apex Legends is monetized with optional cosmetics and a Battle Pass system).

BioWare reveals the first three seasons of post-release content for its big new online-only game Anthem.

Any service game lives or dies by how well it engages players, and the best way to keep everyone playing is with new content. BioWare and EA have a strong post-release roadmap for their big new mech shooter Anthem devised for this particular purpose. The content is separated into three different Acts, which seem to be mini-expansions with lots of extras, that should stretch throughout 2019. All of these content drops are part of a campaign called Elder Content and will be free for all users. These post-launch additions funded by optional in-game cosmetic microtransactions.

Act 1: Echoes of Reality will kick off in March, and includes a whopping array of content like a level cap raise, a new stronghold (kind of like strikes from Destiny), addition of guilds and persistent online leaderboards to track your progress, fresh loot and gear drops, new missions that expand the story, and Anthem's most exciting addition of all: sky-breaking cataclysmic storms that alter the game world and summon huge bosses.

Ubisoft will be bringing the nostalgia back to players in the upcoming Assassin's Creed III remastered which is planned for release on March 29th.

A recent press release from Ubisoft has revealed the official release date for Assassin's Creed III remastered and the new upgraded features that will come with it. According to the press release, Assassin's Creed III remastered will come with 4K and HDR support on the PS4, Xbox One X and PC. There will also be upgrades to the games textures, an overhaul of the graphics engine, lighting, gameplay mechanics and numerous other graphical improvements.

Assassin's Creed III remastered will feature the full game alongside the single-player missions Benedict Arnold and Hidden Secrets. In the entirety of this post I have provided some dot points for what the game will feature. In other news about Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft have been rumored to bring Assassin's Creed III to the Nintendo Switch. Listings found on several European websites have shown the cover-art for the game, but no official announcement has come from Ubisoft as of yet, more on that story here.

The success of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate seems to just be getting more and more attention, now news has come out that the title managed to sell 300,000 units in just 1 month in Japan.

Nintendo's cross-over fighter bonanza is unparalleled to the previous instalments in the Smash Bros. franchise. The release of Smash Ultimate back in December of last year saw the franchise raised to new sales heights and even hitting the milestone of the best-selling/fastest-selling Super Smash Bros. game to date.

Recent news has come from this weeks latest installment of Famitsu, revealing the sales numbers between November 26th and December 30th for Japan. Within this time frame it has been reported that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold, 309,229 digital units, beating the likes of PUBG on PS4 (144,113 units), Super Mario Party PS4 (45,387) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (29,219). Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is exclusively on the Nintendo Switch an is available right now.

NetherRealm Studios, the developers behind Mortal Kombat 11 have come out and shot down fans' petition to bring Scooby-Doo's 'Shaggy' to Mortal Kombat 11.

On the latest Kombat Kast video, Community Manager, Tyler Lansdown addressed the rumor that was floating around the Mortal Kombat community. Fans took to a petition to show their support for the one and only Norville Rogers, or more famously known as 'Shaggy'. Shaggy is from the classic cartoon show and movies 'Scooby-Doo' and it seems fans were more than excited for the possibility of the character being added to Mortal Kombat 11.

The petition which is still live at the time of writing this accumulated over 350,000 votes for the character to be added to the upcoming game. Despite fans support for the addition, Lansdown shot down the idea immediately saying; "Shaggy will not be in the game at all, ever. Sorry. Dead meme. No Shaggy in Mortal Kombat. That is your official first de-confirmation." It is a real shame to see that Shaggy isn't going to be coming to Mortal Kombat 11, but I can certainly see why.

With the release of Crackdown 3 around the corner, Microsoft has launched two new videos: a launch trailer, and the opening cinematic.

But that's not all - the company has made the original Crackdown FREE on the Xbox One, which is a huge deal for anyone wanting to get into Crackdown 3 and get a feel for the first, and loads-of-fun original Crackdown.

Crackdown originally launched on the Xbox 360 back in 2010, and while it might not feel like a great game by today's standards, you can't complain for something that doesn't cost you money. This is also not the first time Microsoft has offered Crackdown for free, with its XO18 fan festival in November 2018 where it also announced backwards compatibility support for the game on current-gen Xbox consoles.

Microsoft has just released the launch trailer for Crackdown 3, which sets the hype bar pretty high but then there's also the multiplayer technical test that the company kicks off tomorrow on the Xbox for the Xbox Insider Program.

If you want to participate in the technical test, all you;'ll need to do is download the Xbox Insider Hub, sign up for it, and then download the 'Wrecking Zone: Technical Test' from the Insider Content section. The technical test will begin downloading on February 7 at 9AM PST, with the first matches starting at 12PM PST. Microsoft hasn't said when it'll end, but I'm sure it won't be that long since the game launches the week after.

Another surprise video is the opening cinematic for Crackdown 3, which sets the tone for what to expect from its star, and fellow gamer Terry Crews.

EA has been providing a bunch of new details about its various games in development, riding off of the uber-success of its just-released Apex Legends. The company has also provided some sales estimates of BioWare's upcoming game; Anthem.

EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said that EA is aiming for 5-6 million units to be sold by the end of March, and given that Anthem launches on February 15 this gives the company just 6 weeks to hit that lofty goal. Jorgensen said that the recent success of the Anthem demo gives them confidence that the game will be a success (to the tune of 5-6 million units) during its important few weeks post-launch.

Anthem will also make even more money for EA from microtransactions, something the company refers to as "live services". We will see how Anthem sales go when it launches in just over a week from now, and through to the end of March.

Anthem will use the power of global-spanning storms to shape and change the in-game world.

BioWare's main goal with Anthem was always to make a world that's constantly changing. But this isn't just figurative PR-speak to describe post-launch content and live service expansion; there's a literal mechanism of change built into Anthem's online world. Like the tides continually shift the sands and ancient rivers molded canyons of our real-world, so too will Anthem's spontaneous storms alter its digital landscape.

These dangerous storms are called Cataclysms, and they're global world events that are simultaneous to all players (this was another milestone BioWare aimed for with Anthem). I was instantly intrigued by these storms when Anthem was revealed, and saw tons of opportunity for EA and BioWare to engage players. Cataclysms not only spawn ferociously-powerful titans seemingly from another dimension, almost like the world tore itself open to let monsters bleed through, but can actually affect the environment itself and reveal new mysteries to uncover. In this way, Anthem's storms are akin to Fallout 76's nukes.

EA plans to expand its premium game subscription service to another major platform, the publisher said in its recent Fiscal Q3'19 earnings call.

EA's third quarter was a bit rough. It missed Battlefield V sales targets by 1 million copies and its new Origin Access Premiere subscription didn't quite catch on. The company missed its earnings guidance by as much as $116 million, and stocks dropped by over 13% as a result. EA says it's doubling down on more engagement-driven plans like subscriptions and has "hard choices to make" about its future investments.

In an effort to reach a broader audience, engage more players, and make more money, the publisher will bring its EA Access subscription to another platform. The publisher didn't say which platform the service could come to, but I'm betting on PlayStation 4 over Switch given the console's huge 90 million install base. The Switch's half-portability doesn't make it an opportune system for subscriptions, at least for third-party ones, and EA wants to attract the widest pool of gamers as possible.