Category: Gamespot

  • Sony Forecasts PS4 Sales Will Reach 60 Million By April 2017

    Sony Forecasts PS4 Sales Will Reach 60 Million By April 2017

    Sony Corporation has posted a forecast for its financial year ending March 31, 2017, and projected it will sell 20 million PlayStation 4 consoles in this period.

    This, according to Sony, represents an 8.3 percent rise in overall sales compared to the previous year. It believes “PS4 software sales including sales through the network” and “PS4 hardware unit sales” will both contribute to the overall increase.

    Pictured: Forecast for The Game & Network Services divison

    Currently, total PS4 sales are believed to be around 40 million units. With the projected sales included, this would bring the PS4’s global sales to 60 million.

    By comparison, the PlayStation 3 has sold more than 80 million units worldwide as of November 2013, which was seven years after its initial launch.

    The PS4 has been available for three years.

    In February 2016, analysts said the PS4 will go on to sell more than 100 million units worldwide before its lifecycle is over. This is a milestone that only five other consoles have reached.

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Battleborn's Newest Update Makes Balance Changes, Tweaks Heroes

    Gearbox Software has released a new update for its multiplayer shooter, Battleborn. In addition to introducing new content in the form of a character, skins, taunts, and Hero Keys, the update also makes some changes to the gameplay.

    Among these are tweaks to Incursion events that give both teams a better chance of recovering from the initial loss of the a sentry. There are also numerous changes to various characters in the game, take a look below for the full patch notes.

    New Content

    • New Character
    • New Skins and Taunts
    • Hero Keys have been added

    Mode & Map Changes:

    We made a few changes to Incursion to prevent teams from snowballing to victory after defeating the first sentry. Now both teams get equal opportunities of lane pushing power at select times during the match. In addition, we added some extra power to the Thralls so that they help expedite team pushes.

    Incursion

    • Empowered Minion Waves no longer spawn for a team after killing the enemy’s first Sentry. They now spawn for both teams every fourth minion wave.

    Incursion Thralls

    • All Thralls, when captured, no longer target enemy players
    • All Thralls no longer flinch when hit in the legs by players or minions
    • All Thralls no longer get knocked off the map
    • Thrall Crushers
      • Now only attacks minions directly
      • No longer charges
      • New Skill: Has an area attack that destroys minions instantly and knocks up players (Usable once every 7 seconds)
    • Thrall Guards
      • Now only attacks minions directly
      • New Skill: Targets a sentry with a mortar that deals heavy damage to the Sentry (Usable once every 10 seconds)

    Overgrowth:

    • Modified the sniper nests to prevent players from engaging the first sentry from across the map.
    • Shepherds spawn every fourth wave instead of after the first Sentry is destroyed.
    • Various level geometry changes to reduce collision issues.
    • Fixed a rare issue with the central Thrall mercenaries not pushing.

    Echelon:

    • Shepherds spawn every fourth wave instead of after the first Sentry is destroyed.
    • Various level geometry changes to reduce collision issues.

    Characters

    Ambra:

    Ambra’s Extinction Event provided unnecessary crowd control due to the large area of effect. We removed the slowing effect to allow for better counter-play options around her ultimate.

    • Ambra’s Extinction Event skill no longer slows enemies.
    • Fixed an issue that allowed Ambra’s Scorching Strikes to deal extra damage.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented stealthed targets from being revealed when Ambra’s level 6 Left Helix Augment, Agile Anomaly and level 2 Right Helix Augment, Solar Burst were active.

    Boldur

    • Fixed an issue with the description of Boldur’s Legendary gear.

    El Dragon:

    • Fixed an issue that allowed players to move bosses using El Dragon’s level 8 Mutation, Unbelievable.

    Deande:

    • Added a short cooldown to Deande’s Drop Kick to fix unintended vertical maneuverability.

    Galilea:

    Galilea’s desecrate was never intended to constantly apply crowd control or debuffs on enemies throughout the duration. We changed the augmentations to only apply the effects at the cast of the skill. This change now requires Galilea players to use Desecrate more effectively and allow some counter-play if players find themselves falling into the Desecrate. In addition, we made some fixes to her melee attack so Galilea is now moving like all other melee when attacking.

    • Galilea’s level 1 Right Helix Augment, Calamitynow only wounds players when Desecrate is initially activated.
    • Galilea’s level 4 Mutation, Bleak Quiet now only silences players when Desecrateis initially activated.
    • Galilea’s level 8 Right Helix Augment, The Black Wind Howls now only increases her movement speed when Desecrateis initially activated.
    • Galilea can no longer attack while sprinting.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented Corruptionfrom damaging enemies affected by Galilea’s Desecrate after selecting her level 1 Right Helix Augment, Calamity.

    Kleese:

    • Fixed an issue that allowed Kleese’s Energy Rifts to replenish Sentry shields in Incursion.
    • Changed Kleese’s HUD to use a jump meter instead of an ammo counter.
    • Fixed an issue that allowed Kleese’s Shock Taser to target stealthed enemies.
    • Fixed an issue with Kleese’s Energy Rift damage when both level 4 Left Helix Augment, Rift Network and level 6 Left Helix Augment, Bulk Savings are active.
    • Fixed an issue that increased the cast range of Kleese’s Energy Riftsand Black Hole.

    Marquis:

    • Fixed an issue with Marquis’s level 2 Mutation, Eyes Everywhere.
    • Fixed an issue where Marquis’s ultimate Bindleblast damage was not tracked properly after taking level 10 Right Helix Augment, exe.

    Miko:

    • Fixed an issue that prevented Miko’s Fungus Among Us from displaying the mushroom’s trajectory when primed.

    Shayne and Aurox:

    • Fixed a rare issue that allowed Shayne and Aurox to gain permanent health regeneration with their level 7 Left Helix Augment, Alone Time
    • Fixed an issue that allowed Shayne and Aurox to use Tag Teamthrough friendly base barriers.
    • Fixed an issue that allowed some projectiles to pass through Aurox.

    Non-Player Characters:

    • Fixed an issue where minions could become very difficult to kill after being affected by certain healing sources.

    Gear:

    • Character Legendary gear no longer uses randomized values.
    • Fixed an issue that prevented players from acquiring the “Medical Nano-Colony” Legendary gear.
    • Fixed an issue with the “Sentinel Reset Switch” Legendary gear.

    Quality of Life

    • Added “Faction”, “Character Rank”, “Lore Challenge Completion” and “Unlock” sorting for Battleborn in the Command menu.
    • Fixed a “Player Initialization Failed” error when users first attempt to sign in.
    • Fixed a rare issue that prevented players from controlling their characters if they were modifying their key bindings when starting a boss encounter. (PC)
    • Fixed a rare issue that resulted in black flickering on the main menu. (XB1)
    • Fixed an issue where an incorrect skin would appear for the second split screen user in the post-match screen.

    Match Making

    • Fixed an issue with matchmaking hosts that should reduce the number of connection failures. (XB1)
    • Various improvements have been made to reduce the number of matchmaking failures. (PS4)

    Audio

    • Added unique sounds for attacking Immune and Overshielded
    • Fixed an issue that allowed critical hit sounds to play against shielded players.
    • Fixed an issue that occasionally prevented music from playing in Incursion.
    • Various audio mix changes.

    Localization

    • Various localization bug fixes.

    Battleborn is off to an “encouraging” start, according to 2K Games parent company Take-Two Interactive. However, it is too soon to say if the game will enjoy a similar sales curve as Borderlands, CEO Strauss Zelnick said on an earnings call recently.

    Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford said in February that Battleborn represents the developer’s “biggest investment” ever. At the time, Pitchford added that when other similar-looking games like Overwatch and LawBreakers started showing up, Gearbox knew it was onto something.

    “First, there’s some competition, which is a fun challenge,” he said. “But also, wow, those guys are really smart, too and they think there’s something here. Maybe we’re not crazy after all; maybe there’s a customer for this game.”

    The first Borderlands sold 2 million copies in its first two months back in 2009, and went on to sell 7 or 8 million copies in its lifetime, according to creative director Randy Varnell. Multiple sequels were released, and Borderlands is now one of 2K’s biggest properties.

    A third mainline game is now in development. Battleborn’s upcoming DLC will include Easter eggs that reference the game.

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • The Division 1.2 Update: Here Are the New Gear Sets

    The Division 1.2 Update: Here Are the New Gear Sets

    The Division‘s 1.2/Conflict update comes out tomorrow, May 24, but you don’t have to wait that long to see the new Gear Sets.

    Posted on Twitter, Ubisoft shared an image of the four sets: Hunter’s Faith (Long-Range), Lone Star (DPS), Final Measure (Defensive), and Predator’s Mark (Support). You can see a breakdown in the picture below, while all the details follow further down.

    The Division 1.2 Gear Sets:

    As compiled by XboxAchievements

    Hunter’s Faith – Long range

    • Set Bonus (2): 20% Marksmen Rifle critical hit damage
    • Set Bonus (3): 20% Damage to elites
    • Set Bonus (4): Hitting an enemy with a bullet grants you temporary armor. The further your shot, the more armor. The armor disappears after one bullet hits you.

    Lone Star – DPS

    • Set Bonus (2): 100% Ammo Capacity
    • Set Bonus (3): 1000 LMG Damage
    • Set Bonus (3): 1000 Shotgun Damage
    • Set Bonus (4): When the weapon is holstered, it regains full ammo.

    Final Measure – Defensive

    • Set Bonus (2): 50% Exotic Damage Resilience
    • Set Bonus (3): 15% Protection from Elites
    • Set Bonus (4): When throwing a grenade, gain the defuse buff. When in range of a hostile grenade, the buff is consumed and defuses the grenades as well as gives you a grenade.

    Predator’s Mark – Support

    • Set Bonus (2): 20% Optimal Range
    • Set Bonus (3): 800 Assault Rifle Damage
    • Set Bonus (3): 700 Pistol Damage
    • Set Bonus (4): Hit 10 shots without switching target to make the target bleed for 100% of damage already done by those bullets.

    The Division’s 1.2/Conflict update comes out tomorrow across PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Recently, developer Ubisoft Massive admitted that the title’s end-game content was lacking, and that the new update is an attempt to draw lapsed players back.

    “We created that beautiful world that players really enjoyed exploring during the levelling experience, but it’s true that when you reach the end of the game, there is not much to do in the open world,” project coordinator Quentin Correggi said.

    1.2/Conflict introduces a new Incursion called Clear Sky, as well as new PvE features like High-Level Targets and Search and Destroy missions. Additionally, the Dark Zone is getting a new “hijack” feature that allows players to disrupt an extraction.

    Check out this post to learn more about The Division’s 1.2/Conflict update. The Division’s complete 1.2/Conflict patch notes will be published later today.

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Buy Xbox One, Get Free Game at GameStop and Best Buy All Week

    Buy Xbox One, Get Free Game at GameStop and Best Buy All Week

    In the market for an Xbox One? Retailers GameStop and Best Buy have launched a new deal you may want to consider. Now through May 28, you can get a free game of your choosing when you pick up a new console.

    The fine print explains that the console must be new (not secondhand) and that the free game needs to be $60 or below, so no special editions. Note, too, that the free game offer does not extend to preorders.

    This offer works on Xbox One systems that already come with games, meaning you’re getting at least a second free game as part of the deal. In addition to the titles shown above, the promotion works on games like The Division and Grand Theft Auto V, among many others.

    For more on this deal, visit the landing pages at GameStop.com and BestBuy.com.

    The Xbox One was offered for $299 March 20-April 30, but this price drop was not enough to boost the system ahead of Sony’s PlayStation 4. For all of March and April, the PS4 was the top-selling system in the US, according to NPD.

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Epic New Total War: Warhammer Trailer Invites You to "Conquer This World"

    With Total War: Warhammer‘s release now less than a day away, Sega has published a new trailer for the PC turn-based game. Titled “Conquer This World,” the video offers an overview of the game’s four races: Empire, Dwarfs, Vampire Counts, and Orcs.

    Warhammer is the first game in the series that combines the classic mechanics of the historical-based Total War series with the fantasy universe of Warhammer. Sega says this will deliver the “most colossal and addictive fantasy strategy game of a generation.” Check out the video below.

    Although Warhammer doesn’t launch until May 24, reviews for the game started showing up last week. GameSpot’s review scored the PC game a 9/10.

    “When you’re in the middle of a siege and you’re coordinating an assault with a friend, Total War: Warhammer approaches perfection,” reviewer Daniel Starkey said. “You’ll be tested on all fronts and asked to manage complex battles with broad, nuanced outcomes. Every system and piece feeds into others, and your choices make all the difference. It’s a triumph of real-time strategy design, and the best the Total War series has ever been.”

    For more on Warhammer’s critical reception, check out this roundup of scores and opinions.

    Warhammer was developed by Creative Assembly. The developer has big plans to support the game not only with DLC, but also two sequels.

    Creative Assembly is also working on this year’s Halo Wars 2 for PC and Xbox One.

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • How to Play Mirror's Edge Catalyst Five Days Early

    EA Access and Origin Access subscribers will be able to play a trial of Mirror’s Edge Catalyst from June 2, five days ahead of its full launch.

    While many previous trials gave subscribers 10 hours to play a new game, Mirror’s Edge Catalyst will be limited to six. This is, presumably, to prevent it from being completed within the trial period. Madden 15’s trial was also only six hours long.

    Although neither EA nor developer DICE have said how long the game will take to complete, it has said the game’s open-world city is “huge” and explorable.

    GameSpot recently played Catalyst and our hands-on impressions can be found here.

    The game was originally expected to launch on May 24, but after a delay, it’s now set for launch on June 7 in North America and June 9 in Europe. It will be available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

    EA Access will be free for 10 days for all Xbox Live Gold subscribers. The service is available on Xbox One, and a PC version called Origin Access arrived earlier in 2016. You can sign up for $5/month or $30/year, and in return get access to a library of free games, as well as a discount on all EA digital content.

    Additionally, EA gives members the opportunity to play most new games five days before they are released publicly. Battlefield 1, for example, will be playable early for subscribers.

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Star Trek Directors Step in to Allow Fan-Film to be Made

    Star Trek Directors Step in to Allow Fan-Film to be Made

    The widely published lawsuit between Paramount Pictures and a fan-made Star Trek movie has been resolved. Following the intervention of Trek directors Justin Lin and JJ Abrams, it seems that the studio is no longer looking to scrap the film titled Axanar and claim damages from its producers.

    As reported by iO9, Abrams, who directed the first two films in the recent Star Trek reboot series, addressed the issue at a recent fan event in LA. “A few months back there was a fan film, Axanar, that was getting made and there was this lawsuit that happened between the studio and these fans,” he said. “I’ll tell the story because he probably wouldn’t, [but Lin] was sort of outraged by this as a longtime fan. We started talking about it and realized this was not an appropriate way to deal with the fans.

    “The fans should be celebrating this thing. Fans of Star Trek are part of this world. So he went to the studio and pushed them to stop this lawsuit and now, within the next few weeks, it will be announced this is going away, and that fans would be able to continue working on their project.”

    Paramount and affiliate CBS have long had a reputation for supporting fan films made for non-commercial purposes, and had previously met with Axanar‘s executive producer Alec Peters to give him their approval. However, the film’s massively successful crowd-sourcing campaign raised more than a million dollars, turning the project into something that the studios felt violated their intellectual property. In December they filed a lawsuit to close the production down and claim damages.

    Peters himself claimed that the budget would now allow him to make a film that had “professionals working in front and behind the camera, with a fully-professional crew–many of whom have worked on Star Trek itself–who [would] ensure Axanar will be the quality of Star Trek that all fans want to see.”

    Axanar will be set in the early days of the Federation, before the events of the original ’60s series. It is to focus on the conflict with the Klingon Empire, culminating in a battle on the planet of Axanar.

    Disclosure: CBS is GameSpot’s parent company.

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Oculus Rift Update Designed to Remove Vive Compatibility Backfires, Enables Full-Scale Piracy

    Oculus Rift Update Designed to Remove Vive Compatibility Backfires, Enables Full-Scale Piracy

    The creator of Revive, a tool that allows VR games for Oculus Rift to be played on HTC’s Vive headset, has released an update that bypasses the Rift’s DRM entirely and lets users pirate its software.

    On May 22, Oculus released an update that introduced “platform integrity checks” which, among other things, closed the loophole allowing Revive to make Rift games compatible with Vive. Revive’s developer, however, has found a workaround that bypasses Oculus’ ownership check completely.

    “This is my first success at bypassing the DRM,” reads an update on the Revive subreddit. “I really didn’t want to go down that path. I still do not support piracy, do not use this library for pirated copies.”

    Speaking to Motherboard the developer, who identifies as Libre VR, said he didn’t design Revive to pirate games, but noted that people could use it for such a purpose, should they want to.

    He added that if he is able to find a workaround that allows Rift games to be played on Vive without bypassing ownership checks entirely, he will implement it. According to Libre VR, he would like to work with Oculus to allow people to play games on both devices without circumventing the ownership check.

    Following the release of its update, Oculus explained that the Revive tool wasn’t being specifically targeted.

    “Our latest software update included several new features, bug fixes, and security upgrades, including an update to our entitlement check that we added to curb piracy and protect games and apps that developers have worked so hard to make,” its statement said. “This update wasn’t targeted at a specific hack.

    “When we first learned about hacks that modify our software to interfere with the security, functionality, and integrity of the Oculus ecosystem, and allow games to run outside the scope of our QA, testing and support, we immediately notified the community that we will not be supporting or maintaining the long-term usability or quality of hacked software.

    “We take the security, functionality and integrity of our system software very seriously and people should expect that hacked games won’t work indefinitely as regular updates to content, apps and our platform may break the hacks.”

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Top 10 UK Sales Chart: Uncharted 4 Holds Off Doom

    Top 10 UK Sales Chart: Uncharted 4 Holds Off Doom

    Sony’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End retains the No.1 position on the UK sales chart for the week ending May 23, 2016.

    Doom also holds on to its position at No.2, showing just a 35 percent decline in sales over last week. According to data supplied by sales monitor Chart-Track, id Software’s shooter was “close to the No.1 in terms of units sold.”

    Deep Silver’s Homefront: The Revolution makes its debut at No.3, ahead of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 at No.4.

    Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright for 3DS reaches No.5 in its first week on sale. Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest, which tells another side of the same story, did not reach the top ten however.

    Sega’s Valkyria Chronicles Remastered, which updates the PlayStation 3 classic for the PlayStation 4, arrives at No.6. You can see the full top ten in below. This table does not include digital sales data, and thus should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.

    1. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
    2. Doom
    3. Homefront: The Revolution
    4. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
    5. Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright
    6. Valkyria Chronicles Remastered
    7. Tom Clancy’s The Division
    8. Grand Theft Auto V
    9. Lego Marvel Avengers
    10. FIFA 16

    Powered by WPeMatico

  • Gears of War 4 Twitter Poll: Most People Want "Insane" Difficulty Unlocked Right Away

    Gears of War 4 producer Rod Fergusson recently polled his Twitter followers on this question: “Gears 4 Insane Difficulty. You want to earn it by beating the game or play it right away?”

    After more than 6,400 votes, “Give it to me right away!” won out over “Make me earn it!” by a convincing margin.

    Quick Poll – Gears 4 Insane Difficulty. You want to earn it by beating the game or play it right away?

    — Rod Fergusson (@GearsViking) May 20, 2016

    Whether or not this informal poll has any bearing on how Insane difficulty shows up in Gears of War 4 remains to be seen.

    The Xbox One shooter launches on October 11 for Xbox One. Interestingly, Fergusson himself said that a PC version of the game is “possible,” though no official announcements have been made.

    Gears of War 4 is one of the games expected to show up at Microsoft’s Xbox E3 2016 briefing in June. Fergusson recently presented some new content from the game to Xbox bosses Phil Spencer and Aaron Greenberg.

    Powered by WPeMatico