Gaming - Page 901

It has been nearly a week since Microsoft released its Xbox One X console and while the 4K/HDR upgrades to some games have already been pushed out into the world, Destiny 2's upgrade is still in the works and planned for release on December 5.

Destiny 2's update will be available for both the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro, and will launch side-by-side with the Curse of the Osiris expansion. Microsoft's new Xbox One X will run Destiny 2 at native 4K while Sony's upgraded PS4 Pro will run it at an "adaptive" 4K resolution. Both consoles will support HDR in Destiny 2, which is something PC gamers have enjoyed since release.

Bungie explained in a post on their website:

I think checking the Steam concurrent gamer numbers is becoming part of my daily ritual, with PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds now pushing a huge 2.43 million concurrent users on Steam.

At the time of writing there were 791,589 current players and a new peak of 2,437,035 players. Comparing this against the mammoth Dota 2, PUBG blows it away, as Dota 2 only has 325,206 current players and 677,750 peak players. Another FPS powerhouse is CS:GO, which only has 159,526 current players and 486,491 peak players.

The first, second, and third positions have hundreds of thousands playing at once and for PUBG's case, millions playing at once. The games below that like TF2, Warframe, PAYDAY 2 and GTA V all have considerably less. PUBG truly is going crazy, where I think we'll see 2.5 million concurrent players over the weekend and then its into the 3 million stretch from there.

It feels like the Xbox One X is absolutely dominating the airwaves and headlines, with Elite: Dangerous teased as running at native 4K resolution on Microsoft's updated console.

Michael Gapper, PR and Communications Manager for Frontier Developments, the developer behind Elite: Dangerous, explained to WCCFTech: "So, we've have added two new options for Xbox One X: Performance/Quality and 1080p/4K. We're letting players tailor their own experience. We'll have full details in the changelog when the update goes live. We're aiming to have this update live for the official launch of Xbox One X".

Gapper continued: "Elite Dangerous runs in native 4K @ 3840×2160 on Xbox One X if set to 4K mode. All I can say specifically regarding framerate is that Xbox One X owners will see greatly increased performance over a standard Xbox One whether they play at 1080p or 4K. We try to always give players the best possible framerate and adapt it to the content in the scene".

Mafia 3 will soon have an Xbox One X enhanced patch pushed out, with developer Hangar 13 recently talking about what resolution the game renders at on the Xbox One X, and whether there will be HDR patches for other platforms.

In an interview with WCCFTech and Andy Wilson, Executive Producer at Hangar 13, Wilson said: "The game renders at 3072×1728 and is then upscaled to 3840×2160, via a full 4K output buffer. We're not using any form of checkerboarding as we were able to get the performance we needed out of the console for the desired resolution, as well as the various additional graphical enhancements we've applied".

As for the HDR feature of Mafia 3 being updated and applied to the PS4 and PC versions of the game, Wilson said: "As of right now we only plan to release the HDR update for the Xbox One X-enhanced version of Mafia III".

Most PC gamers including myself thought that the Xbox One X wouldn't be that great when compared to a fully decked out gaming PC, but depending on the specs on the PC, games like Star Wars Battlefront II can really stand out on the Xbox One.

If you watch the entire comparison, the PC version is powered by AMD's latest Radeon RX Vega 64 graphics card, which rocks 8GB of HBM2 - the latest in graphics memory technology. Inside, the gaming PC was powered by AMD's Ryzen 7 1700 processor, 16GB of DDR4-3000 RAM, and Windows 10 Home. The cost of the PC is at least $1400, with the comparison made against the new Xbox One X from Microsoft which costs $499.

I watched the entire thing and I have to say... I'm beyond impressed with what the Xbox One X is capable of when running a game like Star Wars Battlefront II. Battlefront II is powered by DICE's awesome Frostbite engine and it looks great, and seems ultra optimized for the Xbox One X's additional horsepower. It runs smoother than the PC version which is maxed out, but the maxed out graphics don't seem like they're worth it on the PC, as the Xbox One X seems to keep a much smoother, consistent framerate.

Respawn Entertainment will soon be part of EA's wholly-owned ring of development studios.

EA today announced that it has agreed to buy Titanfall developer Respawn Entertainment for a total of $315 million, with considerations for up to $164 million more provided their games do well enough. The publisher will pay $151 million in cash to acquire the studio, and up to $164 million in stock options along with an "additional variable cash consideration of up to $140 million that is contingent upon achievement of certain performance milestones, relationg to the development of future titles, through the end of calendar 2022."

Respawn is currently developing a number of projects, including a brand new war-based VR game as well as a third-person action Star Wars game.

Take-Two's biggest games for next year include Red Dead Redemption 2 and what's almost assuredly Borderlands 3. Like all of the publisher's big games, these titles should be monetized--and that means microtransactions, DLC, season passes--the lot.

Earlier today we reported that Take-Two pretty much wants to monetize all of its games with recurrent consumer spending options to not only earn more cash, but also keep engagement up and ensure the games last quite a long time. With the Games-as-a-Service model publishers can make their games last for 2-3 years at a time (ex: GTA Online has lasted four and is still making record revenues). We've already predicted Red Redemption 2's new online multiplayer mode will be monetized similar to GTA Online, but what about Borderlands 3? Could it have lootboxes, or just traditional DLC/season passe? Or both?

In the fiscal Q2'18 earnings call, Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick gave a few clues about the company's future slate of games, especially Red Dead Redemption 2. Let's pay close attention to the language used here--it could help frame what to expect with next year's biggest game. "I think the key lesson from GTA Online, remember we launched that title four years ago, so we certainly have learned a lot from what we knew four years ago," Mr. Zelnick said in the earnings call Q&A session. That's the first tidbit that relates GTA Online's success to future online models.

With most of the gaming headlines busy with Battlegrounds breaking all sorts of records, it should come as no surprise that Grand Theft Auto V has been named the best-selling video game of all time in the US.

Take-Two Interactive released their FY2018 second quarter results yesterday, with better-than-expected results, lifting their outlook on the remainder of 2017. The report states: "Grand Theft Auto V has now sold in more than 85 million units. According to The NPD Group, Grand Theft Auto V is now the all-time best-selling video game, both in revenues and units, based on combined U.S. digital and physical sales across PC, console and portable".

Normally sales of games go down after a few months post-release, but GTA V has continued to fly - even with its full price of $60. The peak concurrent gamers in GTA V are sitting at around 55,000 - and while it doesn't hold a flame next to the 2.3 million that PUBG has, GTA Online is still making GTA V something that gamers are still playing.

We all know that the PC is the superior platform for graphics, but a new video that compares DOOM on the Xbox One, PS4 and even the Nintendo Switch, is perfect to get a good comparison between all of the major gaming platforms.

YouTuber ElAnalistaDeBits has the great video, comparing all of the versions of DOOM against each other, with the PC reigning supreme - no surprise there. In all of the comparisons, the consoles look like there's a blurring filter over the game, while the PC version of DOOM is the best by a long shot. id Software did talk up the fact that they built PC-specific features into the idTech 6 engine, DOOM, and Wolfenstein II - and they really show when you see a good comparison like this.

DOOM is a great looking game even when it has the console blur enabled, but it is truly unleashed on the PC. It shows all of the hard work that id Software has put into the PC version, but just makes me wish more game developers did that... made the PC version first and then just blurred and rendered at a lower resolution on consoles to scale it down.

Microsoft has had its new Xbox One X console on the market for a few days now, and there's already an exclusive limited edition bundle that you, me, and virtually no one we know can buy either.

The new Xbox One X bundle sees Microsoft teaming with NBA superstar Stephen Currey, with a new Xbox One X and Curry 4 "More Power" VIP Kit that is being handed out to "today's top athletes, entertainers, and influencers". The new kit includes:

This bundle seems locked for the elite, but Microsoft has said you could win one through following "partner social channels" like Under Armour, and V-MODA.

When Activision showed the latest Call of Duty: WWII game off to actual World War II veterans, they gave approval on the project's authenticity (which says quite a bit).

Sledgehammer Games has been working for quite some time on making the recently released Call of Duty: WWII as accurate and visceral as possible. The studio enlisted the help of popular World War II historian and author Martin K.A. Morgan to ensure the game aligned with actual events during the war, and also did tons upon tons of research. This not only paid off on the consumer front--Call of Duty: WWII made over $500 million in sales in its first 3 days and broke new digital records--but also with actual veterans who served during the tumultuous time.

"We think it's daunting to show our games to our fans, and here we were showing it to people who actually stormed the beaches of Normandy, who actually fought through the Hürtgen Forest and we're showing them those levels from the game," Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg told Newsweek in a recent interview. "It was an incredibly gratifying experience. After the lights came up, these gentlemen looked at us and said 'yup, you got it right!' It was one of those human moments where something you're making for entertainment purposes intersects with real life in a pretty impactful way."

Following the news of breaking away from Square Enix and becoming independent once again, IO Interactive is currently developing the next game in the Hitman series.

In a recent update about the new Hitman Game of the Year collection, IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak gave a brief teaser on the future of the franchise. Yes, IO is working on the next game, and more info will come next year. The next game will have new features and "franchise firsts"...but it'll be a while before we hear anything.

"One last thing about our next Hitman game; I want to let you know that we're making great progress and we have exciting new features and some franchise firsts, which we can't wait to tell you all about. You'll have to wait a little longer as we don't plan to start talking about that until some point in 2018," Abrak said in the post.

Sledgehammer Games' new World War II-based Call of Duty is selling gangbusters and Activision is quite happy.

Today Activision confirmed that Call of Duty: WWII has generated over $500 million in sales earnings through its first three days of availability, "toppling popular theatrical box office openings for Thor: Ragnarok and Wonder Woman combined," the company touts. The game also made a new record for day-one sales on PlayStation 4, which is the world's biggest console install base with over 67 million units shipped.

The shooter also sold twice as many copies as last year's Infinite Warfare at release and has set the all-time record for digital full game download sales on day one. Apart from digital sales, the announcement shows another big success for the publisher: engagement. Call of Duty: WWII's new Headquarters social hub, which allows gamers to interact and even watch others open lootboxes, and the new Nazi Zombies multiplayer mode are paying off quite well: these modes pulled in more connected users on consoles and PC than any other Call of Duty game.

Capcom was aiming for 4 million sales of Resident Evil 7 earlier this year, and has now officially reached that point.

The company wanted to reach the target much earlier, with 4 million units shipped, but Capcom has announced close to 4.1 million sales of Resident Evil 7 so far. If we compare the sales of Resident Evil 7 against the sale of Resident Evil 6, Capcom was "disappointed" with the 4.8 million units it sold.

Capcom expected to sell 4 million copies of RE7 at launch, but it took 12 months to make it there instead. It doesn't mean RE7 was a flop at all, but it rode a successful marketing campaign and enjoyed its own spikes in popularity. I played it for a few hours, but didn't finish it, and enjoyed the time I spent in it. Capcom really changed the world of Resident Evil games, so I'm excited for RE8 if it's in development.

Based on the release of ARMs, a new multiplayer IP, and Splatoon 2, Nintendo has indeed been interested framing the Switch around eSports. That trend will continue as the console's momentum rolls across the industry, Nintendo says. But it's missing one critical component: proper online engagement.

In the company's recent financial Q&A session Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima gave an optimistic view on eSports. The seeds of eSports competitions were planted all the way back in the Switch's reveal trailer, and we've seen those seeds slowly blossom with first-party games like ARMs and Splatoon 2, as well as third-party titles like Rocket League.

Mr. Kimishima affirms that eSports have directly influenced how Nintendo makes its games. With the paid Switch Online subscription service on the way, the company faces a near-Herculean trial of fortitude by having to not only make a competent online framework that's consistently stable, but also tie in key social elements and engage players with features such as game streaming, spectating, and a natural rewards program to keep players in the ecosystem.

Based on key data, a few months ago I predicted that Nintendo would have an ample supply of Switch consoles for the holiday season. Now company president Tatsumi Kimishima confirms that supply production has been dramatically amped in an effort to meet the massive holiday demand.

The holiday season is a crucial period for the video games industry, and is typically when most big publishers like EA and Activision make the lion's share of their annual earnings. Nintendo is no different. Following months of scarcity, Nintendo now plans to ship 10 million Switch consoles from October through March 2018 at a rate of about 1.6 million units per month. All of this is an effort to meet that critical point between supply and demand--especially for the holiday season.

"The Nintendo Switch system itself is made from a huge number of components, and weʼve made urgent requests to many of our contract manufacturer to ramp up production, with some of them even installing additional production lines. We released yesterdayʼs upwardly revised full-year hardware shipment target of 14 million units because we now project that we are capable of shipping that many units," Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said in a recent Q&A session with investors.

For the first time ever Ubisoft has earned more from Player Recurring Investment (PRI) than from digital game sales, cementing the company's trajectory towards live service games.

Ubisoft is one of the most fascinating games publishers in the market space; not only has the company dramatically shifted towards a digital-first monetization path that's become repeatedly lucrative, but it's also making waves in player engagement and helping set industry trends. As a result of its multi-tiered slate of live service and singleplayer games like For Honor, Rainbow Six: Siege, Ghost Recon: Wildlands, and more recent Assassin's Creed: Origins, Ubisoft made more money from Player Recurring Investment (microtransactions, in-game purchases, DLC, add-ons, subscriptions, advertising, etc) than it did from digital game sales in the first half of FY2018.

The French games-maker pulled in €174.5 million from PRI in the six-month period from April through September, up 83% year-over-year. PRI beat digital game sales by some €7 million. Digital game sales accounted for €168 million, up 57% year-over-year from 1H'17. The company notes that Assassin's Creed: Origins in-game player spend in optional items is "trending nicely," and that the game has sold 100% more than Assassin's Creed: Syndicate.

Nintendo just reported its all-time best 1H period for download sales thanks to the Switch handheld-console hybrid.

In 1H'17 Nintendo earned 22.8 billion yen ($205.29 million) from digital download sales, up 55% year-over-year, the company announced in its latest fiscal documents. The Japanese games-maker notes that this titanic growth, which is its best-ever download sales for a six month period, was driven by strong Nintendo Switch digital software purchases through the second quarter (July - September). Other platforms like the 3DS contributed to earnings as well, however a high number of Switch titles are digital-only.

"I would also like to touch on the progress we have made for our download sales. This figure shows the download sales of digital content for dedicated video game platforms compared to past years. Sales through the second quarter were the highest in our history for a six month period. Download sales for Nintendo Switch highly contribute to increase of total download sales," Nintendo President Tatsumi Kimishima said in the company's recent financial results.

Monolith Soft's sprawling open-world JRPG Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will have a $30 expansion pass that includes a bevy of post-release DLC.

Today's Direct showcase unearthed a ton of details about Xenoblade Chronicles 2, and showcased a vibrant world full of exploration, magic, and enchanting mech-fantasy--and of course unique team-based combat. Outside of the grandeur of Monolith's latest Switch-exclusive adventure, the game is another key opportunity for Nintendo to flex the season pass model it's used on past Switch titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will include a $30 season pass that unlocks content from launch up until Fall 2018, including a new Battle Mode, a new side-story adventure, and a smattering of other packs.

"Fans who want to expand their epic adventure can pre-purchase an Expansion Pass for the game in Nintendo eShop beginning today or pre-order it from select retailers shortly at a suggested retail price of $29.99. With this pass, players can enjoy DLC as it releases between the launch of the game and fall 2018, starting with quests and support items, and eventually including a challenge Battle Mode where they can face powerful enemies. This DLC will even include an additional adventure with a new side story set in the world of Elysium. Details about individual elements of the Expansion Pass will be released in the future," Nintendo wrote in a recent press release.

As an online game with co-op multiplayer and "genre melding" elements, BioWare's new game Anthem is perfectly aligned with Electronic Arts' shift towards live services. And this means microtransactions. But how will Anthem be monetized? BioWare is having lots of discussions on the topic, which strongly hints the game will indeed be monetized (not surprising: it's an online multiplayer game made by EA after all).

Months before BioWare officially announced Anthem I predicted the game would be monetized in some form via microtransactions. EA's fiscal year results showed a pattern of action-based games and live services--a pattern that's very evident now--and Anthem, which should be EA's Destiny-killer, is a prime opportunity for monetizing mass engagement. I warned gamers to expect microtransactions and probably loot boxes before Anthem was shown off at E3 2017, and after the reveal that premonition was all the more stronger thanks to the RNG loot mechanics displayed in the trailer (the Jarra's Wrath box opening was a big hint).

Given the current "toxicity" of lootboxes in the gaming sphere, if EA doesn't handle monetization just right it could spell doom for Anthem. Or at the very least a huge swath of bad press. For perspective, Anthem is the biggest thing BioWare has ever done as a company, and should be even bigger than the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. It's scale is titanic, dynamic, and based on the potent live service platform. EA has put lots of faith, effort, and money into the project over a number of years. These kinds of massive investments into online service games typically embrace microtransactions as a means of mitigating risk. But how exactly should EA and BioWare monetize Anthem? How can they ensure the game continues generating revenue every month to fuel steady content updates and keep the servers online?