Gaming - Page 792

Microsoft has kicked off its Black Friday sales by dropping $100 from the price of its Xbox One X console, dropping it from $499 to just $399. The sales run between November 18-26.

The company is also offering $100 discount from the Xbox One S Minecraft bundle, and a large $70 discount from other bundles in their Xbox family of consoles including Forza Horizon 4 console bundles. Xbox One also receives some discount loving with 50% off Forza Motorsport 7 and Sea of Thieves, as well as 35% discount on a bunch of first-party games. This particular deals run between November 22-30.

Even the Xbox Game Pass subscription has been reduced for the first month of new subscriptions, from its original $9.99 price per month top just $1 - with this deal running between November 10 and January 3, 2019.

Battlefield V has arrived through Origin Access Premier subscriptions ahead of its November 15 debut, with NVIDIA quick to action with a new GeForce Game Ready 416.81 WHQL driver with support built-in for Battlefield V.

NVIDIA fixed a bunch of issues with the new GeForce 416.81 WHQL drivers with multi-monitor idle power draws reduced on Turing-based GeForce RTX setups. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, ARK Survival, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider all received stability improvements in the new drivers, too. There were also fixes to a few issues in Witcher 3, Monster Hunter World, and Far Cry 5.

You can read up on the full release notes from NVIDIA on the GeForce 416.81 WHQL drivers here.

Bethesda has a problem on its hands with its newly-released Fallout 76 beta seeing a hard lock at 63FPS on the PC because of the aging Creation Engine that the developer built the game on, but news has hit that Bethesda is also using the same engine for its next-gen games Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6.

The news broke on Reddit from an interview between Todd Howard from Bethesda and Gamestar all the way back in June, but it is more relevant than ever before with the technical limitations we're seeing more and more of in Fallout 76. During the interview, Howard told Gamestar: "For Fallout 76 we have changed a lot. The game uses a new renderer, a new lighting system and a new system for the landscape generation".

He continued: "For Starfield even more of it changes. And for The Elder Scrolls 6, out there on the horizon even more. We like our editor. It allows us to create worlds really fast and the modders know it really well. There are some elementary ways we create our games and that will continue because that lets us be efficient and we think it works best".

Epic Games couldn't reach higher levels of success with its viral game Fortnite, with the Battle Royale hit reaching a huge milestone of 8.3 million concurrent players.

It was only in February that the game reached 3.4 million concurrent players and caused disruptions across Epic's servers, with the recent news of Fortnite reaching 8.3 million concurrent players coming from Epic Games Korea spokesperson Sung Chul Park.

Fortnite launched in South Korea this week which is why the news is coming from Korean media, with 8.3 million concurrent players a mind boggling amount of gamers playing the same game at once. Considering the game is on the PC, Xbox One, PS4, Nintendo Switch and mobile operating systems with iOS and Android, it has huge legs to stretch in terms of reaching as many gamers as possible.

Sony's new PlayStation Classic mini-console uses an open-source emulator, which could lead to easy modification.

With its NES and SNES Classic Editions, Nintendo made a special emulator to run on the Raspberry Pi-like hardware and enable special features like upgraded visuals. But modders were easily able to crack the mini-consoles and add on tons of ROMs despite this extra layer. Sony's PlayStation Classic retro system will take a different tact: using the open-source PCSX ReARMed emulator, as reported by Kotaku.

Depending on the security measures Sony has baked into the box (likely not very many) we could see hackers and modders breaking the system quite early. While specs haven't been confirmed, the PlayStation Classic probably uses similar lower-end hardware found in its competitors. Also remember the PS Classic has no online capabilities so Sony won't be able to thwart hackers with firmware updates.

Premium subscriptions actually spark full game sales and microtransaction earnings, analyst firm SuperData reports.

Publishers are all too happy to talk about digital earnings, engagement, and live services, but games-makers typically don't reveal specifics on their respective subscriptions. Major players like EA, Microsoft, and Sony are pushing deeper into subscriptions with initiatives like EA Access Premiere, Xbox Game Pass, and PlayStation Now, and these premium services are having a surprising effect: catalyzing game and digital content purchases.

Before we get into why this is happening, let's take a quick look at the figures from SuperData's latest report. In Q3 2018 (July thru Sept.), premium game subscriptions raked in $273 million across consoles and PC. PlayStation Now actually pulled in the lion's share of earnings at $143 million, or a whopping 52% of the pie. This makes sense given the PS4's massive 85 million strong install base, and the service's recent addition of game downloads.

Microsoft has showcased exactly what PC gamers are going to need to play Crackdown 3, the minimum and recommended requirements for the title have been revealed on the Windows Store page listing.

The first reveal of Crackdown 3 occurred way back in 2014, since then the title has experienced several delays and development issues. Despite the delays, Microsoft has shown off the games official PC requirements, which allow for us to get a better idea of what kind of rig will be needed to play Crackdown 3.

According to requirements, players will need a minimum of 8GB of RAM, at least a GeForce 750 Ti or a Radeon R7 260X Graphics Card with 2GB of VRAM, a Intel i5 3470 or AMD FX-6300 CPU or better. In the entirety of this post you will find the whole list of requirements listed in 'recommended' and 'minimum.' Crackdown 3 is planned for release sometime throughout 2019, I will be sure to update you as any new details are released. For more information, visit the official Crackdown website here.

It has been announced that the Red Dead Redemption 2 Online beta is not very far away at all, in fact, it should be arriving sometime towards the end of this month.

In a recent earnings call with Rockstar Games' parent company Take-Two Interactive, CEO Strauss Zelnick revealed to gamers that the Red Dead Redemption 2 Online beta will be arriving on their consoles "towards the end" of November. Zelnick didn't give many details on the upcoming beta, he instead said that "Rockstar will have a lot more to say about it" as we move closer to the release date, whenever that may be.

Zelnick wasn't the only person to comment on the Red Dead 2 Online beta, Take-Two President, Karl Statoff gave a short description on what gamers should expect, here is what he had to say; "[Red Dead Redemption 2 Online is] an evolution of the classic multiplayer experience in the original Red Dead Redemption, blending narrative with competitive and cooperative gameplay in fun new ways." We should expect Rockstar to make an announcement of some kind in the coming weeks, so I will be sure to update you with a follow up article. For now though, if you desire further information regarding Red Dead Redemption 2, visit the official Red Dead Redemption 2 website here.

Sony has taken to their blog to reveal some high resolution screenshots of their soon to be released PlayStation Classic mini console. Do you want to jump back into your childhood because here is your chance.

Sid Shuman, the PlayStation Social Media Director has taken to Sony's blog to post some details about his experience with the PlayStation Classic mini, as well as showcase some great images of the rebooted console. According to the blog post, Shuman describes the PlayStation Classic mini as the size of "paperback novel", he even says that it can fit in the users back pocket if they so choose to place it there.

Shuman continues to breakdown his experience by saying that the controllers feel like a "carbon copy of the original controller." Game wise, Shuman describes that the mini console will come packed with 20 pre-loaded games, some of titles that are included are: Final Fantasy VII, Metal Gear Solid and Tekken 3. If you are wondering about how saving games is going to work, the PlayStation Classic mini comes with a "reset" button which jumps the player out of the current game, "Pressing the Reset button creates a Resume Point, which means you can play another game and return later to pick up your progress."

This past week we caught wind of a rumor that Google was planning on bringing YouTube over to the Nintendo Switch. It appears those rumors were true, YouTube binges on your Nintendo Switch are now a go!

The rumors begun when users searched for YouTube on the Nintendo website, some users reported that the website gave them suggestions for a YouTube Switch app which was said to be released on November 8. This search suggestion was shortly removed after it was discovered, so we never really knew it was true or not. Now here we are on November 8th and the YouTube app is available to download.

Overall, I think this an absolutely fantastic decision made by both Google and Nintendo. It shocks me that YouTube wasn't already available on the handheld console, especially considering the user bases cry for it since the release back in March of 2017. The YouTube app is currently available to download on the Nintendo eShop store, for more information visit the official listing for the app here.

Blizzard is indeed working on a number of new games (and possibly new IPs) that make its upcoming roadmap the "best ever". But mobile games will be included.

A year ago ex-Blizzard CEO Mike Morhaime confirmed multiple new projects were in development. Some of this content is being incubated as new IPs, Morhaime said at the time, aligning with our reports of secret Blizzard games. "In addition to supporting all of our live games we're committed to incubating new initiatives. We're also thinking about different platforms, especially globally. In terms of new IP, our pipeline is in a better position than ever before in our history," Morhaime said during Activision's CY Q2'17 earnings call.

Now current Blizzard CEO J. Allen Brack echoes Morhaime's words...but things are a little different this time. Blizzard's multiyear pipeline is indeed strong, Brack says, but there's no direct mention of new IP.

Destiny 2 isn't meeting Activision's expectations, but instead of righting many of the wrongs, the company could push microtransactions even harder and further alienate the playerbase.

Destiny's business model has always been absurd. It's not the paid expansions that are frustrating, but a total culmination of Activision's and Bungie's monetization patterns. The original Destiny had multiple paid expansions followed by a big re-release with The Taken King. These new content drops successively locked non-payers out of key rotating content in a bid to push them towards the expansions. I hated this then and still hate it now. Then came cosmetic microtransactions. Destiny 2 did nothing to reverse this model but actually made it even worse by creating a $140 upgrade path for base game owners with its big Forsaken update. Forsaken wasn't originally bundled with the three required expansions (thankfully it now is), and anyone who downloaded the free PS Plus base game of Destiny 2 really needed to buy into the DLC path to get the most out of the game. But that's not it...Destiny 2 now has another expansion pass that's literally layered inside of an expansion. That's right: a DLC has its own DLC attached to it.

This may not be the end for Destiny 2's monetization. In its Calendar Q3'18 earnings call, Activision confirmed Destiny 2 is underperforming, likely due in no small part to its bewildering business model. Activision's tactics aren't working as well as they'd hoped. As a result Destiny 2 players may get more spending opportunities, which could mean more of the same strategy or even actual game-affecting microtransactions, more big expansions, and possibly even new modes.

With the PlayStation 5 and next-gen Xbox Scarlett family on the horizon, many gamers are worried about backward compatibility. But how do publishers like Take-Two Interactive feel about it? It's not all that important, says the Rockstar Games parent company.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was built explicitly from the ground up for current-gen PS4 Pro and Xbox One X consoles. The game was essentially tailor-made to eke the most out of each respective system and help propel the new-ish wave of 4K gaming experiences. But like GTA V, Rockstar's latest Western could (and likely will) be future-proofed to carry over to the next PS5 and Xbox Scarlett console gen. But will it? Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick adds some insight.

"I don't think backwards compatibility is actually all that important," Mr. Zelnick said in Take-Two's Fiscal Year Q2'19 earnings call. Interestingly enough, the CEO lends credence to the possibility of a next-gen RDR2 port (if, of course, backward compatibility is off the table). Essentially RDR2 should mirror the same blockbuster, high-tech motivation that was behind Grand Theft Auto V's rollover from Xbox 360/PS3 to Xbox One/PS4.

Although Red Dead Redemption 2 was built from the ground up for the current console generation, it's likely coming to PC at some point. But when? Take-Two Interactive won't say.

Red Dead Redemption 2 just launched to immense fanfare and incredible sales. The Western has shipped more than 17 million units globally, beating the original RDR's sell-in in just 8 days. Like GTA V, Rockstar will likely stagger the PC release of Red Dead Redemption 2 in an effort to resell the game on a new platform and establish a lucrative, bustling digital service with Red Dead Online. Nothing's been confirmed, though, and Take-Two is still mum on a PC release.

In Take-Two's recent Fiscal Year Q2'19 earnings, company CEO Strauss Zelnick danced around RDR2's possible PC flavor. When directly asked if the renegade outlaw adventure will arrive on PC, Mr. Zelnick said: "So, on Rockstar, we'd normally update everyone on upcoming releases and that would sort of answer all of your questions. ...in terms of ongoing releases, Rockstar will talk about what their intentions are going forward with regard to all upcoming products and that the same would hold true for platform. So, in this particular instance, I can't really give you too much clarity, apologies."

Hajime Tabata, the persistent game director who brought Final Fantasy XV back from the dead, is leaving Square Enix and the game's seemingly never-ending stream of DLC has been cut dramatically.

Final Fantasy XV was a nightmare for developers. The game went through many iterations and was in development for years upon years, but under Hajime Tabata's leadership, the team managed to not only ship the game but also create the foundation for high-end projects in the future. Tabata's team meticulously worked on FFXV's dynamic combat and scaled mechanics to fit on current-gen consoles--a feat that was incredibly difficult at the start--and built the powerful Luminous Engine that pushed the bar across all platforms. Not only did FFXV get a console release, but it also launched on PC where it shone quite brightly...and was accompanied by a veritable galaxy of DLC content to expand the experience. After years of toil, hardship, and strong leadership, Tabata is leaving Square Enix and will no longer lead the new Luminous Productions team.

"It's almost going to be 2 whole years since the release of FFXV. I honestly believe the reason we were able to get this far is because of all of you loyal fans. I thank you from the bottom of my heart," Tabata said in his farewell speech.

Take-Two Interactive cements itself further as a leader in the digital frontier.

As more and more publishers push towards live service games digitally-delivered earnings are eating up larger pieces of the earnings pie. Like Activision-Blizzard, EA, and Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive pulls in a large portion of its quarterly revenues from microtransactions, full game sales, DLC, and other digital content. In its recent Fiscal Year Q2'19 earnings the company made 73% of its total $583 million in net bookings from digital, or $426 million. Digital net bookings (digital/physical game sales) grew 20% year-over-year and main growth drivers included GTA Online and GTA V, NBA 2K18 and NBA 2K19, and mobile titles.

Thanks to big live games like NBA 2K19 and GTA Online, microtransactions took the lion's share of net bookings revenue. Recurrent consumer spending (subscriptions, DLC, mTX, etc) made up 53% of total net bookings, or $308.99 million.

Blizzard announced at this years BlizzCon that they would be doing a overhaul of the classic RTS Warcraft III. The developers showcased a gameplay trailer but how much better is the 'reforged' edition compared to the original?

Firstly, the side-by-side graphical comparisons originate from the YouTube Channel Candyland, the above video is the opening cinematic trailer that was revealed to fans. We can see from the trailer that Blizzard have made increases in graphical quality across the board, but what really does shine in this comparison is how good the 2002 trailer looked for its time. It may seem a little rough around the edges now, but for 2002 we can see that it certainly holds merit for its time.

In the entirety of this post you will find the gameplay side-by-side comparison. From the gameplay video we can see massive graphical increases for Janna, Arthas, Uther, buildings, animations, overall unit quality, UI, terrain & more. Blizzard have said that they are concentrating on the release of Warcraft III: Reforged over the possible development of Warcraft IV, more on that here. If you are interested in the minimum PC requirements to run Warcraft III: Reforged, check out my breakdown on that here.

Riot Games' biggest event in the entire year has just passed us by, the League of Legends Worlds series winner has been decided and the viewership numbers are in, lets take a look.

Despite the massive apparent popularity of battle royale titles such as PUBG or Epic Games' Fortnite, the League of Legends worlds series Twitch viewership is still is quite an achievement for Riot Games. With the decreasing in popularity for League of Legends due to the battle royale titles, World 2018 still managed to set a new all-time peak viewership score.

To give some comparison, the League of Legends Worlds 2017 series set the previous record which was just over 1 million concurrent viewers on Twitch. Worlds 2018 beat that number, coming in with 1.14 million concurrent viewers on Twitch, a solid 5% increase in viewership when compared to the previous year. The finalists for this years Worlds were Fnatic and Invictus, the ending result was a blow out with Invictus taking home the victory 3 - 0. For more information, or if you are interested in playing League of Legends, visit the official website here.

Super Smash Bros., fans are no doubt collecting together all the things they need for Ultimate's launch and I think I have found an accessory that will be added to everyones 'to get' list.

8BitDo have announced that they will be bringing out a wireless adapter for the Nintendo Switch. The adapter will feature support for wired controllers such as the GameCube, NES, SNES, SFC Classic Edition and the Wii Classic. Players that are picking up the new Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will no doubt find this accessory to be an essential item, as most gamers that play Smash choose to use the old school GameCube controller as their preferred controller.

What most Smash fans quickly realized is that they would not be able to use the GameCube controller when their Nintendo Switch is in portable mode, as there is no USB ports on the Switch to plug the GameCube controller adapter into. 8BitDo solve this problem by providing a Bluetooth wireless adapter that has a single port located at the end. The adapter runs off AA batteries, has a range of 6 - 10m and can also be used with Windows. For more information visit the Gbros website here. If you are interested in pre-ordering this adapter it will be released on December 7 alongside Smash Ultimate, it has already reached no.1 on the 'Best video game accesories on Amazon' and a link can be found here.

We are just over a month away from the release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and now that the final roster has been revealed the only thing on Smash Bros. fans minds is the coming DLC characters announced by Nintendo.

If you weren't aware, throughout the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct it was revealed that Ultimate would be receiving 5 DLC characters over the course of a year. None of the 5 characters were revealed to the audience, but each of them will be arriving with their own stage and music. Now, Smash Bros. Director Masahiro Sakurai has taken to Twitter to confirm that the DLC line-up for Ultimate "is complete."

The Twitter post reveals that this time round Nintendo has selected the characters that will be appearing in DLC line-up. Don't freak out to much though as Sakurai further clarifies that the final decision is up to him as "I decide if we can create a fighter based on their selection, then come up with the plan." Nintendo will be offering players each of the DLC fighters individually, or as a bundle. The Fighters Pass Bundle will cost $25 and give the buyer all of the characters, their stages and the music once they are periodically released. If you desire to purchase each fighter individually, the price comes in at $6 a piece.