Category: Gamespot

One major talking point for virtual reality games is length. Can players expect to immerse themselves in a virtual world for hours on end as they can in a traditional gaming experience? Or is virtual reality something players do for shorter periods of time? According to PlayStation president Andrew House, who is overseeing the launch of Sony’s PlayStation VR, virtual reality is better suited for shortform experiences–at least for this generation of hardware.

“I tend to believe that this generation of VR lends itself more to shortform content than it perhaps does to very longform experiences,” he said at Sony’s Investor Day briefing this week.

This isn’t a bad thing, House said, citing theme park rides as another example of a short experience that can also be thrilling and enjoyable.

“I don’t necessarily see that as a deficit or a negative,” House said about virtual reality lending itself more to shortform experiences. “I tend to liken the VR experience more to something like a theme park ride. It’s short, but it’s very intense and it’s very enjoyable. I think the key is to have the right kinds of content experiences, both in terms of length, in terms of intensity.”

In somewhat related news, amusement park chain Six Flags is letting people ride rollercoasters while wearing virtual reality headsets. It’s also worth noting that rollercoasters and virtual reality share a commonality in that they sometimes make people lose their lunch.

Also during the event, House said virtual reality games, because they are so new, may not have the same high production values and complex game mechanics that you might find in a big-budget traditional console or PC game.

The beauty of virtual reality is its simplicity, at least for this generation, House said. Whether it’s exploring an alien planet inhabited by dinosaurs or watching a 360-degree retelling of Jesus Christ’s life, virtual reality users are immersed in worlds they’ve never experienced before.

“And that’s where I think its true potential lies,” he said.

PlayStation VR goes on sale on October 13, priced at $400 for the headset alone or $500 for the Launch Bundle that includes everything you need to get started and a multi-game disc. Preorder stock is sold out just about everywhere, but retailer GameStop will accept more preorders later today, June 30.

If you miss out on this upcoming preorder wave, your next shot to buy PS VR will be when the device goes on sale in October, as this will be the last time Sony replenishes preorder units before launch. When PlayStation VR comes out officially, you may also have a hard time finding a unit, as Sony has said there will likely be shortages.

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After outing the compilation on its own website, 2K has confirmed BioShock: The Collection–a remastered anthology of BioShock, BioShock 2, and BioShock Infinite. It releases this September on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

BioShock: The Collection includes all three games and all of the DLC released for them. Additionally, it will include a director’s commentary feature called Imagining BioShock, with director Ken Levine and lead artist Shawn Roberston.

The remastered version of BioShock 2 will not include the multiplayer. It’s worth noting that the PC version of BioShock: Infinite included in the collection “is not being remastered because it already meets current-gen console standards and runs smoothly on high visual settings.”

The compilation is being developed by Blind Squirrel Games, which collaborated with Irrational Games on the development on the original release of BioShock Infinite.

We’ll have to wait to see how the remastered versions of the BioShock games fare, but the original versions all received glowing reviews from GameSpot. BioShock received a 9 in our review, BioShock 2 scored an 8.5, and BioShock Infinite earned itself a 9.

BioShock: The Collection costs $60 and releases on September 13 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

You can see everything the collection comes with after the images.

BioShock

• Museum of Orphaned Concepts DLC
• Challenge Rooms DLC
• Director’s Commentary: Imagining BioShock

BioShock 2

• Does not include its multiplayer mode
• Minerva’s Den DLC
• Protector Trials DLC

BioShock Infinite

• Clash in the Clouds DLC
• Burial at Sea – Episode 1 DLC
• Burial at Sea – Episode 2 DLC
• Columbia’s Finest Pack DLC

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A new video game based on James Cameron’s Avatar universe is on the way, but it might not be the game you were hoping for. Kabam, the mobile/social developer behind Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit games, has reached a deal with Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment and 20th Century Fox to make a “AAA massively multiplayer mobile strategy game” based on Avatar.

The untitled game will combine the characters and environments from the Avatar films (only one movie has been released so far, but four sequels are coming), along with “innovative game design” and the “highest production values.”

Like Ubisoft did with Cameron for its 2009 console game, Kabam says it will “work closely” with Lightstorm to make the game. Kabam has high hopes for it, describing the game as “groundbreaking” and one that will offer an “unprecedented mobile experience.”

Kabam pledged to continually update and evolve the game after its release. Cameron is planning four Avatar sequels and Kabam says “the game will take players into new, uncharted territory” as these movies are released.

“We develop games that people return to and play for years, and the Avatar game will deliver new and unexpected thrills to gamers for the foreseeable future,” Kabam COO Kent Wakeford said in a statement. “James Cameron and the Avatar franchise are synonymous with groundbreaking technology and pushing the envelope. We plan to live up to those standards by creating the best AAA massively multiplayer mobile game possible for the franchise.”

As for Lightstorm, COO and Avatar producer Jon Landau said the movie’s universe is so big that there is no way it could be completely covered in the films alone.

“We think fans will be excited by the level of additional depth and detail that they will be able to experience in this game,” he said.

Kabam president and chief creative officer Mike Verdu added that the Avatar game will represent the company’s biggest-ever release. It will also have one of the largest development budgets in mobile gaming history.

No images or gameplay footage has been published, and there is no word yet on a release date. Avatar 2 is slated for 2018, with the three further sequels coming in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

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Halo 5‘s Warzone Firefight expansion arrives today. It’s the largest and most substantial update to the Xbox One shooter to date, introducing new modes, maps, weapons, and more. The other big piece of Halo 5 news is that, as of today, the game is completely free for all Xbox Live Gold members as part of a Free Play Days promotion. You can download and play the game as much as you want until July 5, at which time it will return to the normal price.

The expansion is slated to be released sometime in the morning PST, so it might still be a few hours before it arrives. We’ll update this post when the add-on officially lands, at which time we should know about the file size and some other particulars.

Warzone Firefight is named after the new mode of the same name that is one of the key additions to Halo 5 with the update. Developer 343 previously tested this mode back in April as part of an open beta. We also recently learned that there will be a new grunt-mech boss named Grunt Goblin.

There are also three new multiplayer maps included with Warzone Firefight, including two for Warzone (Attack on Sanctum and Prospect) and one for Arena (Molten). As for the new Reqs, these include the Cinder and Cyclops armor sets, as well as new Covenant vehicle and weapon variants, among others.

It’s not just Halo 5’s multiplayer that’s getting new content with the Warzone Firefight expansion. 343 is bringing a Score Attack mode to campaign, while a new Forge canvas, Tidal, will be available for the map-making tools.

Check out the image below to see everything included with Warzone Firefight.

Halo 5’s other expansions included The Battle of Shadow and Light (November), Cartographer’s Gift (December), Infinity’s Armor (January), Hammer Storm (February), Ghosts of Meridian (April), Memories of Reach (May), and Hog Wild (May).

Microsoft has said Halo 5’s free expansions will end in June 2016, meaning Warzone Firefight is likely the last one.

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As part of Sony’s Investor Relations Day today, June 29, the Japanese company confirmed there were 20.8 million PlayStation Plus subscribers for its latest financial year.

That figure pertains to subscribers across all PlayStation devices, including consoles such as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PlayStation Vita. Here is the slide from Sony’s presentation, in which the company also mentions “Games as a service” as being a revenue opportunity.

It was also mentioned that there are around 60 million total monthly active PlayStation users (across all platforms), meaning around one third pay for PlayStation Plus.

PlayStation Plus is required for online multiplayer on PS4. Additionally, some of the benefits include discounts on games and movies, as well as free games every month. Memberships are available for one month ($10), three months ($18) or 12 months ($50).

In comparison, by Microsoft’s latest count, there are 48 million “active” Xbox Live members, though this counts free and paid accounts. Microsoft has not announced how many Xbox Live Gold members it has.

Another slide (below) mentions that Sony’s aim is to “retain and expand” the number of “engaged” PlayStation users, and also increase average revenue per paying user.

Also during Sony’s Investor Day Briefing, PlayStation executive Andrew House said you should not expect the company to imitate Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative with a similar service of its own.

“I always hesitate to be drawn into discussions on someone else’s strategy,” he said. “I’m more than happy to talk about our own strategy… Yes, there was a big emphasis from the folks at Microsoft on Xbox and PC cross-play. It remains to be seen whether there is latent large consumer demand for that.”

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While Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the most successful film ever released in North America, it was held off the top slot worldwide by Avatar and Titanic. Now James Cameron, who directed both of those box office titans, has spoken about what he thought of the latest Star Wars movie, and it’s not hugely positive.

Indiewire have uncovered a Youtube interview in which the director is asked about his opinions of The Force Awakens. “George Lucas is a friend of mine and he and I were having a good conversation the other day about it,” Cameron said. “I don’t want to say too much about the film because I also have a lot of respect for [director] JJ Abrams, and I want to see where they’re taking it next, to see what they’re doing with it.

“I have to say that I felt that George’s group of six films had more innovative visual imagination, and this film was more of a retrenchment to things you had seen before and characters you had seen before. It took a few baby steps forward with new characters. So for me the jury’s out, I wanna see where they go with it.”

Cameron himself is currently working on the sequel to Avatar. Although it was originally set for a 2017 release, the film is yet to begin production and currently has no official release date.

In April, it was reported that Cameron plans to shoot no fewer than four new Avatar movies simultaneously. He told Variety: “We have decided to embark on a truly massive cinematic project, making four epic films, each of which stands alone but together forms a complete saga.”

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