Gaming - Page 940

Peripheral-maker HORI has revealed how online voice chatting will work on the Nintendo Switch, and it's not pretty.

Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid requires a convoluted audio pass-through connector to enable optimum multiplayer voice chat with online games like Splatoon 2. HORI, a Japanese company that makes peripherals for the Switch, revealed an official Splatoon 2 gaming headset--and shows just how the Switch's online chatting works in the process.

Switch audio chat is only available via a smartphone app, and since the Switch's 3.5mm headphone jack only broadcasts game audio, users will have to connect the headset to both their smartphone and the Switch at the same time in order to hear game audio and chat audio while playing in Handheld Mode. Thus an audio pass-through splitter connector is required. HORI's official Splatoon 2 headset comes with one such peripheral.

PlatinumGames is interested in making Bayonetta 3, and is discussing plans on what it'll be like and laying out early ideas. But don't expect it any time soon.

"I would like to make Bayonetta 3," PlatinumGames executive producer and co-founder Atsushi Inaba outright declared to SourceGaming at Japan's recent BitSummit event. "We're talking within the company even now about what to do. But because we're constantly talking about it, that actually makes it really hard to say. If we weren't talking about it, we could just say something random or offhand, you know, but because we're actually talking about it."

However it'll likely be a long time before Bayonetta 3 happens: the developer is currently working on a new formless, shapeless IP that's completely unrelated to its existing franchises. In fact, PlatinumGames will elevate a new game director to help facilitate and guide this new IP, and it may tap NieR: Automata's senior game designer Takahisa Taura to direct the new game.

Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive makes the lion's share of its revenue from consoles, highlighting a key point PC gamers have been wondering out for quite some time.

While scanning Take-Two Interactive's fiscal year earnings I found something interesting: the company makes 81% of its net revenues from consoles, and only 19% of its net revenue from "PC and other" platforms. This isn't exactly surprising news; big-name publishers like Activision, EA, Ubisoft and Square Enix focus mostly on bringing their games to consoles over PC simply because of the platform's massive and accessible install base.

These financials give us key insight into the age old question of "why do Rockstar games take so long to come to PC?" Sure it has to do with optimizing the games for PC, but it's also a strategic and tactical decision.

Nintendo has once again increased its production order for more Switch console-handheld systems to meet strong demand, sources indicate.

Japanese console-maker Nintendo is preparing for a storm of sales of its new Switch handheld-console hybrid this fiscal year, primarily during the holiday season which should be driven by its next big-name Mario game. As a result of strong Nintendo Switch sales and massive demand, the company has again substantially raised the production of its Switch console by 12.5%.

Sources tell Financial Times that Nintendo is set to produce 18 million Switch consoles during its fiscal year ending March 2018. This marks the third time Nintendo has upped Switch production: the company first produced an extra 1 million units to meet demand during the Switch's launch, enabling the strong 2.74 million global sales; the second time was shortly after Nintendo announced its fiscal year estimates and doubled the console production contract from 8 million units to 16 million units. This latest increase sees Nintendo producing a whopping 2 million more units over its revised 16 million plan.

Nintendo continues to gain momentum as investors predict Monster Hunter XX being a major Switch system-seller in Japan.

Nintendo's shares have soared to their highest point in eight years on Friday following the announcement that Monster Hunter XX, the latest entry in Capcom's ultra-popular video game series, will arrive on Nintendo's new Switch handheld-console hybrid in Japan. Thanks to the announcement Nintendo shares raised by over 5% in one day, representing a sizable $2.2 billion increase in the company's market capitalization.

Since the Switch released on March 3 of this year Nintendo shares have been steadily rising as the system gained momentum and broke sales milestones. As of Friday the company's stock sits at $300 a share (33,510 yen), surpassing last year's massive Pokemon GO share spike by 5.48%.

Thanks to heavy hitters like GTA V and GTA Online, Rockstar Games parent company Take-Two Interactive hit an all-time high in add-on earnings.

In the fiscal year ending March 2017, Take-Two Interactive hit a record milestone in monetization earnings, with Grand Theft Auto Online's lucrative in-app purchases leading the pack.

"During fiscal 2017, we delivered Bookings and cash provided by operating activities that significantly exceeded our original expectations, along with revenue growth and margin expansion," Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said in a recent report.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is being developed specifically to harness the power of a "new generation of consoles," hinting the game will run in 4K with HDR support and expansive features on consoles, while leveraging the full brunt of Microsoft's high-end Project Scorpio console and Sony's new PS4 Pro system.

Rockstar Games recently delayed Red Dead Redemption 2 to Spring 2018, and now its parent company Take-Two Interactive recently commented on why the game was pushed back, affirming the sequel is being built from scratch for the first time ever.

"The purpose of the delay of Red Dead Redemption 2 is to make sure we deliver the most extraordinary experience we're capable of providing," Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said during the company's recent earnings call. "We haven't run into particular [technical] issues [with development], and we are building Red Dead Redemption 2 as a new game from the ground up for the first time for the new generation of consoles."

Square Enix is eager to embrace the games industry's gravitation towards the digital games as a service business model, and will bake in key features in its future games to ensure long-term monetization.

Today's games market is ruled by digital operations: big-name publishers like Activsion and EA are finding new and inventive ways to make money from digital online games via microtransactions and key engagement models. Square Enix wants its cut too, and the publisher has re-affirmed its commitment to the games as a service model, and will plan its upcoming slate of titles with revenue opportunities in the form of in-game purchases and other lucrative staples.

Square Enix recently held a fiscal year results briefing to break down its successes in last year's earnings, and outline future plans. According to Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda, the Japanese games-maker will incorporate this business model into its games across all platforms--especially its smartphone and PC browser-based gaming segment. There's also plans to bring its arcade games to the entire global gaming audience via digital online game streaming.

Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive (Rockstar Games' parent company) affirms that Red Dead Redemption 2's recent delay won't have an impact on future Rockstar projects and activities, and won't interrupt Grand Theft Auto Online's roadmap.

Rockstar recently announced that Red Dead Redemption 2 has been delayed past its original Fall 2017 timeline, and will release in Spring 2018 instead. However thanks to Take-Two's financials, we know that Red Dead Redemption 2 will actually release in its Fiscal Year 2019 roadmap, meaning the game won't launch until after April 2018.

Since RDR2 is such an absolutely massive title that Rockstar is spending tons of time on, gamers and analysts are worried the extra development caused by the delay could disrupt other projects in the studio's pipeline--namely the next big Grand Theft Auto game. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick affirms that's not the case: "The decision to move Red Dead Redemption 2 to FY2019 will have no impact on any of Rockstar Games' other activities," Zelnick said in a recent earnings call.

Ubisoft today announced players can team up with their friends and take on Far Cry 5's gun-toting cultists via a new Friend For Hire feature.

In Far Cry 5, players can recruit deadly hillbilly gunmen and even team up with animals like cougars and bears to dispatch their foes. But the best ally is your best friend: Far Cry 5's campaign has full online co-op integration. "Ally with a Friend For Hire to take down the cult in a two-player co-op experience that extends across the full campaign," reads the game's official fact sheet. The developer continues by saying: "Players will have total freedom to navigate this serene-looking yet deeply twisted world solo or entirely in two-player co-op as they fight for survival and freedom."

Ubisoft Montreal promises that Far Cry 5's Montana will be a veritable playground of choice and explosive action for players, featuring a variety of vehicles like airplanes outfitted with machine guns, ATVs to zoom around the forests, and even muscle cars to recreate old-school Dukes of Hazzard chaos. But the open world isn't just about GTAV-style anarchy; the studio says Hope County, Montana will actually evolve and react to the decisions you make throughout the game.

Ubisoft sates our curiosity about Far Cry 5 with a huge fact sheet full of details.

Far Cry 5 is shaping up to be quite an interesting-looking game; not only does the game follow the franchise's radical and ultra-violent themes by capturing a religious-based cult gone wrong, but it comes to the United States for the very first time. Ubisoft Montreal will develop the game, and the devs have packed in tons of features and content to ensure Far Cry 5 feels like the best Far Cry yet.

As we reported a bit ago, Far Cry 5 will have a dynamic open world that reacts to your in-game decisions, and evolves with time. Whatever you choose, bad or good, the world will change along with your character. The game will also feature a fully-fledged co-op mode that lets players team up with friends for the entire campaign. Ubisoft boasts that Far Cry 5 features the biggest assortment of customizable weapons and vehicles of any game in the series, and features a plethora of memorable characters as well as a riveting, ever-changing storyline that evolves with your decisions.

Having felt he's fulfilled his role, SEGA Europe Chief Operating Officer Jurgen Post is leaving the company on a high note, and shares insights on SEGA's business model and what the company has done to become profitable again, and what it needs to do to stay that way.

SEGA is back. The Japanese games-maker recently reported a massive 421% boost in year-over-year profits, raking in a respectable $242.9 million.

SEGA's games segment is not only lucrative again, but represents over half of the company's total sales for its last fiscal year: the Entertainment Contents sector pulled in $1.81 billion (205.7 billion yen) in sales, or a whopping 56% of SEGA's total $3.23 billion (366.9 billion yen) in sales. Like its classic blue blur mascot, SEGA is accumulating lots of golden rings and running fast towards the goal.

Ubisoft today announced Far Cry 5 in a new reveal trailer, showcasing key features including an impressive dynamic open-ended environment that evolves based on your decisions.

Far Cry 5's Hope County, Montana might be ruled by crazy gun-toting religious hillbilly psychopaths, but the rural landscape feels like the real star of the show. The in-game world is filled to the brim with environs straight out of Montana; golden wheat-filled prairies, forests with rivers and streams snaking through, and snowtopped mountains that saw the sky. But outside of its beauty, Ubisoft Montreal promises Far Cry 5's setting actually has a life of its own--a life that will react and change as you make key decisions.

Ubisoft says Far Cry 5 is a "world that evolves", describing Hope County as a "dynamic open world that adapts and reacts to the choices you make." Players will rise up and build a resistance to overthrow the menacing Joseph Seed and his fanatical, maniacal doomsday cult, and every resistance fighter you recruit will push the story forward in meaningful ways. The developers also affirm that bad decisions will spawn new unique experiences: "your choices affect the world as new gameplay opportunities rise for the chaos."

Fans will be waiting quite a while for Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII: Remake.

In our recent report, we outlined Square Enix's fiscal year projections and what that means for its content slate, iterating that anticipated games like Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII: Remake may not release until 2019 at the earliest. Now Gematsu noticed an interesting tidbit in Square Enix's financials that says FF7R and KH3 actually may not release until 2020.

"This slide shows our release lineup for FY2017 as well as for FY2018 and beyond. We plan to launch each of these upcoming titles in the next three years or so," Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda said in the company's financial report in regards to the above slide.

Ubisoft today dropped Far Cry 5's announcement trailer, and revealed a release date to boot, giving us a good look at the upcoming shooter.

Contrary to our predictions, Far Cry 5 will launch late in Ubisoft's fiscal year pipeline on February 27, 2018. The fifth chapter in the franchise sees Far Cry coming to America for the first time ever, and takes place in Hope County, Montana, a fictional rural community ruled by chaotic religious fanatics led by the game's principal antagonist, Joseph Seed.

Far Cry 5's reveal trailer certainly feels a lot like Grand Theft Auto V mixed with a splash of Just Cause. The trailer itself was made with real in-engine footage, hinting the game will have a new level of dynamism not seen before in previous Far Cry games. What's quite interesting is that players actually get to make their own hero from scratch--you can customize your avatar as you see fit, and aren't locked to one preset type.

Capcom isn't giving up on the Nintendo Switch after all.

Capcom today announced that Monster Hunter XX is coming to the Nintendo Switch console.

The publisher didn't provide any official details about the game, but it should be a solid port of the upcoming 3DS title, and there's no confirmation of a North American release. However, Monster Hunter XX is already out on the 3DS in Japan, so we may see a localized port. Nintendo will assuredly showcase the game during its E3 2017 livestream event.

PC gamers weren't happy when Bungie's Luke Smith confirmed Destiny 2 on PC won't have dedicated servers, but that's actually half of the story. The studio chimes in to explain how Destiny 2's online networking works on PC.

According to Bungie's Matt Segur, Engineering Lead on Destiny 2, the PC version of the upcoming shooter actually has a "unique networking model" that's a hybrid of P2P and client-based servers. "We've seen a lot of people asking about how the networking model works for Destiny 2. Many are concerned by our announcement last week that Destiny 2 doesn't have dedicated servers. While that's useful shorthand, the full answer is more complex because Destiny has a unique networking model."

Remember that while Destiny 2 will use Blizzard's Battle.net client to handle the game's registration and social features, the game's PC servers will be hosted and run by Bungie themselves. In fact, Segur says that Bungie and Activision are investing in new server infrastructures such as cloud servers to build "unique technology" to host Destiny 2.

When SEGA said it plans to remaster, re-release and revive classic IPs, what are some of the first games you think of? Skies of Arcadia maybe? Virtua Fighter? Well how about Seaman? SEGA seems to think we all need a little more Seaman in our lives.

Seaman, one of the weirdest AI simulation/pet games ever released, is apparently getting a new sequel. Seaman's original creator Yutaka "Yoot" Saito just teased a new game in the bizarre franchise. In fact, Saito teased a website called www.seaman.ai, which is "under construction," further hinting at a sequel.

When it was released on the Dreamcast in 1999, Seaman was a big hit in Japan, spawning a direct sequel on PS2. The "game" was actually more of a simulated pet maintenance type of experience that used voice commands via the Dreamcast's microphone. Players would care for the weird specimens and even talk to them as they grew and evolved. The Seaman creatures had a marginal AI and could act on their own, leading to some weird interactions to say the least.

Sony earns the bulk of its revenue from Games and Network Services, including PS4 sales and subscriptions to popular services like PlayStation Plus, but most PS4 owners actually don't buy into the digital service.

At it's recent Investor's Day briefing, Sony released some new metrics to underline the future of its games business. These slides actually reveal something quite interesting: out of the 70 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs), only 26.4 million gamers keep their PlayStation Plus subscriptions active for the full year. That means roughly 37% of active PS4 users buy into yearly PS Plus subscriptions. Despite this seemingly low number, subscriptions like PS Plus are quite lucrative for the Japanese electronics giant, and contributed to the total $14.7 billion in sales and operating revenue the Games and Network Services segment earned last fiscal year.

Sony has consistently doubled-down on subscription-based services and transformed its PlayStation 4 console as the nexus for its myriad digital services, offering subscriptions like PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now for games, PlayStation Vue network TV broadcasts, its PlayStation Video and PlayStation Music storefronts and streaming services, and its ULTRA 4K streaming service.

Capcom wants to strategically tap its wealth of IPs for re-releases, remasters, and sequels, but it may not have to manpower to do so.

In a recent interview with Japanese publication Toyokaizei, Capcom President and Chief Operating Officer Haruhiro Tsujimoto confirms the company will pursue revitalizing dormant franchises, and we may see classic and even retro games make a resurgence. "I want to proceed with the restoration of dormant titles, but there are many problems that I have to deal with," Mr. Tsujimoto said.

Capcom's president goes on to iterate that the company is busy doing lots of things at once, including working on IPs, sequels, mobile games, and analyzing data--all on top of trying to find ways to resurrect old IPs.