Category: Gamespot

Professional Ukrainian gaming team Navi has taken first place at the World of Tanks 2016 grand final. The team emerged victorious over rival team Hellraisers, winning in a nailbaiting series of games which closed out at 7-6. The event took place at Torwar Hall in Warsaw, Poland, and was also live-streamed.

Navi picks up a cool $150,000 for their victory, and second place winners Hellraisers will be receiving $75,000 for their efforts. Team Wombats on Tanks placed third, netting themselves $35,000. The matches concluded the Wargaming.net League for 2016. The event itself took place from April 8-9 and saw 12 of the best World of Tanks teams from all over the world compete, after having fought their way through their respective regions.

In the 2015 WGL, team Hellraisers had taken home the victory, with team Navi placing third. Chinese team EL Gaming, who had placed second in last year’s tournament, were knocked out early on this year.

Last month GameSpot covered the World of Tanks Asia Pacific Season 2 final, which saw Chinese team EL Gaming and South Korean team Gold Bass earn the most points to represent the region on the world stage. The event took place at Yongsan Esports Stadium in Seoul, South Korea–get a closer look at the stadium in our photo gallery.

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Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment is perhaps best known for its single-player games like Alan Wake and most recently Quantum Break, but it’s possible future games from the studio may include multiplayer.

Creative director Sam Lake appeared on the latest Major Nelson podcast, explaining that Remedy has “all kinds of ideas floating around,” some of which involve multiplayer functionality.

“Certainly there are discussions about multiplayer,” he said, as reported by DualShockers. “There are discussions about all kinds of ideas. We want to evolve with the times as well: try out new things that push ourselves, and always come back and question, ‘What is a Remedy game and how can we evolve it into something even cooler?’

“A lot of this is happening all the time. So far we haven’t done that,” he added, referencing multiplayer. “Some times it has been maybe considered and some times not even in the discussions, but you know, we’ll see what will be the next iteration or a Remedy game.”

Also during the podcast, Lake stressed that telling stories in new ways is important to Remedy, referencing the way in which Quantum Break tells its narrative across a game and a TV show.

He also was asked if Remedy is thinking about the future of Quantum Break, which was just released on April 5. Lake didn’t share anything specific, but said the franchise’s future depends on how well the first game does.

“That’s something that will be obviously determined by the success of Quantum Break,” he said. “When we build a new IP we do a lot of background work on it, and kind of build a lot more than just the game. You know, time will tell.”

For more on Quantum Break, check out GameSpot’s review and what other critics are saying.

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Batman v Superman will not be as profitable for Warner Bros. as 2013’s Man of Steel, according to a new report. Batman v Superman is expected to make a profit of $278 million for Warner Bros., factoring in combined revenue from its theatrical release, home video, TV, and merchandise, SNL Kagan analyst Wade Holden told Bloomberg. By comparison, Warner Bros. made an estimated $300 million from Man of Steel when adding up box office receipts and the other items, according to the analyst.

A profit in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars is a significant achievement and by the numbers, the action movie is indeed a success. But it may not a success on the level Warner Bros. was hoping for.

“I’m sure that it’s a bit of a disappointment,” Holden explained. “They were probably hoping for box-office numbers similar to Avengers: Age of Ultron, since Batman v Superman had DC’s three most well-known comic book heroes together in the same movie.”

Also important to note when comparing Batman v Superman and Man of Steel is that Batman v Superman had a bigger production budget. Globally, Batman v Superman has already made more than $720 million at the box office, while Man of Steel took in $668 million during its run in 2013.

Whatever the case, Bloomberg reports that Warner Bros. management is pleased with Batman v Superman‘s performance, despite a steep second-week dropoff and not-so-kind reviews.

Bloomberg’s reports digs much deeper into the numbers and contextualizes them further. Go read the report here.

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By 2019, there will be around 108 million combined PlayStation 4 and Xbox One systems in the market, with Sony’s console leading the way with 69 million sold. Microsoft’s Xbox One will make up the other 39 million.

This is all according to data featured in a Game Developers Conference presentation from World of Tanks developer Wargaming creative director and executive producer TJ Wagner that was recently made public.

Another slide from the presentation claims there are 36 million active PS4 consoles in the market today, ahead of an estimated 19 million Xbox One systems. Wargaming got its numbers from sources including Superdata, IDG Consulting, and IHS, so bear in mind that these numbers don’t come directly from the source.

In terms of official numbers, Sony said in January that the PS4 had sold nearly 36 million systems worldwide. Microsoft does not share Xbox One sales figures, but it was reported that, months ago, there were around 18 million active Xbox Ones in the market.

In 2015, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said Sony’s lead in the current-generation console sales race was so large that he was unsure that Microsoft would ever be able to catch up. It doesn’t sound like Microsoft is stressing too much in its No. 2 position, either. “We’re not motivated by beating Sony, we’re motivated by gaining as many customers as we can,” Spencer said at the time.

The full Wargaming GDC presentation is stuffed with interesting insight about the free-to-play market on console and more. You can check it out here or read DualShockers’ roundup of key points.

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The opening to Naughty Dog’s Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is going to blow you away, according communications director Arne Meyer. In a recent interview, Meyer said the action game’s opening sequence may even surpass The Last of Us‘, which fans may recall was particularly powerful and moving.

“In my personal opinion, this is our strongest beginning, opening sequence for games since the Last of Us, which was obviously very emotional,” Meyer told PlayStation Espana (via NeoGAF). “But I think this is probably one of the best opening sequences as well. That feeling of wanting to keep playing and wanting to know where it goes continues the entire game.”

This isn’t the first time someone has spoken enthusiastically about A Thief’s End. Earlier this week, Sam Lake of Quantum Break developer Remedy said the game “raises the bar.”

For lots more on A Thief’s End, you can check out GameSpot’s recent hands-on preview, “How The Last of Us Made Uncharted 4 a Better Game.”

You can also check out GameSpot’s interview with director Neil Druckmann, writer Josh Scherr, and lead designer Ricky Cambier. In the interview, the developers talk about saying goodbye to Nathan Drake and the Uncharted series, A Thief’s End’s stealth elements, and a lot more.

After multiple delays, A Thief’s End launches on May 10 exclusively for PlayStation 4.

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MLB The Show 16‘s release didn’t exactly go well, with some players experiencing severe sever issues that in some cases left the game completely unplayable. Now, Sony has responded, apologizing for the problems and announcing that players are getting free DLC to make up for the issues.

In statement posted in the game’s forums, Sony said it’s largely proud of the PS4 and PS3 game, but acknowledged that, “our initial online experience has been inconsistent.”

The statement goes on: “We apologize that the excitement of launch and the start of the season has been soured by these issues. Our team is taking every step necessary and working around the clock to stabilize our online servers as soon as possible.”

To make up for the issues, Sony will give everyone who logged into the game before 1 PM PST on April 8 an allotment of 5,000 stubs and 10 standard packs. The stubs will show up automatically by April 12 with no further effort needed on your behalf. Redemption instructions are available here.

“To those of you who’ve reached out to us during this week, and to the many more who we haven’t heard from but who may have been affected, we extend our endless thanks and appreciation for your patience and ongoing support,” Sony said.

Check back soon, too, as GameSpot will be posting its MLB The Show 16 review shortly.

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The Oculus Rift’s privacy policy caused some concern in regards to the data it collects. The virtual reality company responded to the concerns this week, and now, a US senator wants to find out how exactly Oculus uses the collected data (via Engadget).

US Senator Al Franken sent a letter to Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe, asking him for more information on both the Rift and “the company’s collection, storage, and sharing of users’ personal data.”

“I believe Americans have a fundamental right to privacy, and that right includes an individual’s access to information about what data are being collected about them, how the data are being treated, and with whom the data are being shared,” he wrote. “As virtual reality technology evolves, I ask that you provide more information on Rift and how Oculus is addressing issues of privacy and security.”

Franken notes that Oculus using and sharing the collected information “may enhance consumers’ virtual reality experience,” but it must be done in a way where American citizens’ private information is protected.

The letter includes six questions that revolve around the information, how it’s used, and how Oculus protects it. Iribe has until May 13 to respond.

You can read the letter in full right here.

Oculus gave a statement to UploadVR this week that clarified some of the data usage.

“Facebook owns Oculus and helps run some Oculus services, such as elements of our infrastructure, but we’re not sharing information with Facebook at this time,” the company explained. “We don’t have advertising yet and Facebook is not using Oculus data for advertising.”

Despite not sharing information with Facebook now, Oculus says it’s something it “may consider in the future.”

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