Category: Gamespot

Many PC games support pre-loading, but Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain won’t be one of them. Metal Gear Solid community manager Robert Allen Peeler has confirmed the stealth-action game won’t support the feature, which he admitted was a “pretty common practice” in the PC space.

Asked by a fan why this is, Peeler replied, “I don’t have a specific reason,” noting that he was circling back with the development team in an attempt to find out.

Though you can’t pre-load The Phantom Pain, you can pre-purchase it today from Steam. The game will officially unlock on September 1 New Zealand time, which is actually August 31 at 5 AM PDT / 8 AM EDT.

The console versions of The Phantom Pain, meanwhile, do support pre-loading. They will unlock on September 1 at 12:01 AM EDT / August 31 at 9:01 PM PDT.

Pre-loading allows players to download games ahead of their release so they can start playing immediately at launch. This is a particularly nice feature, as file sizes for games today can be quite large.

According to GameSpot’s sources, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima will leave Konami after The Phantom Pain ships next month. Just recently, a Nikkei report exposed the troubling culture inside of Konami.

The PC version of The Phantom Pain was originally supposed to launch on September 15, but Konami this week brought forward the game’s release date to match up with the console version. Konami also announced that everyone who preorders The Phantom Pain on Steam gets a free copy of Ground Zeroes.

In other Phantom Pain news, Konami has published a new trailer and confirmed the game’s multiplayer mode–Metal Gear Online–will not be available at launch.

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Nintendo is pushing its Quality of Life’s initiative aside in favour of a focus on the mobile games market, if information from two analysts is to be believed.

Although the Japanese company is expected to release a Quality of Life device next year, analysts such as IDC’s research director Lewis Ward aren’t convinced this will happen, citing the lack of new information as a sign of a diminished commitment. Nintendo has yet to comment on the speculation.

“It’s supposed to be released in the United States by the end of March [2016],” he told Fortune. “But I haven’t heard anything.”

Ward admitted, however, that Nintendo’s interest in the market makes sense, and thus it may still pursue its Quality of Life ambitions.

“I do think Nintendo has always had an interest in ‘Blue Ocean’ markets and health care. The intersection with their hardware and their software is something they’ve viewed as an opportunity.”

Wedbush Securities’ Michael Pachter also expressed skepticism: “I think it’s probably dead–just like the Wii Vitality Sensor was before and they didn’t tell anybody.”

Pachter posited that Nintendo may be rethinking introducing more devices, and could instead be opting to produce content for vast number of mobile devices already in the market.

“The whole point of helping with lifestyle [through the Quality of Life plans] was getting people to buy more Nintendo devices–and I think they’re hurting so badly in devices that they’re trying to [stop] the haemorrhaging there,” he said.

“I would say they’re probably focused on just getting their mobile initiative working. That’s far more important than [Quality of Life].”

Nintendo first announced its plans Quality of Life plans in January 2014, when it said “non-wearable health monitoring systems are in the works to improve quality of life.”

Later that year, the Japanese company explained its thinking behind the initiative, saying Nintendo has worked on expanding the gaming population by offering products that can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of their age, gender, of experience.

“What Nintendo will try to achieve in the next 10 years is a platform business that improves people’s [quality of life] in enjoyable ways,” it said.

“[Quality of Life devices will] strive to further promote our existing strategy of expanding our user base, create an environment in which more people are conscious about their health, and in turn expand Nintendo’s overall user base.”

Nintendo has previously said it will show more of its Quality of Life plans in 2016, along with its next console, codenamed the NX.

Nintendo’s entered into a deal with the global mobile games publisher DeNA in March 2015. This collaboration includes the creation of “new gaming applications featuring Nintendo IP, which [both companies] will develop specifically for smart devices.”

The first DeNA-Nintendo mobile game will be released later this year. Nintendo has not announced any projects so far, but has pledged it won’t simply port its console games to mobile devices.

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The long-running and much-publicized lawsuit between Gearbox Software, 3D Realms, and Interceptor Entertainment regarding the rights to the Duke Nukem franchise has finally ended. The smoke cleared this week, and Gearbox Software has emerged as the “full and rightful” owner.

All three companies have issued individual statements regarding the culmination of the legal proceedings.

Terms of the settlement are being kept private, but the joint statement explains that all parties “voluntarily” ended the litigation between each other.

Interceptor boss Frederik Schreiber said: “I’m really happy that the lawsuit between Gearbox, 3DR, and Interceptor has come to an end.” He said he’s busy with his team right now working on their latest title, the isometric action game, Bombshell.

In 2010, Schreiber announced a new Duke Nukem game called Reloaded. But this game was later canceled, a decision that Schreiber said was his own choice.

“It was my own decision to pull the plug on Duke Nukem Reloaded, even though we were fully allowed to continue development,” he said. “I respect Gearbox for supporting a young developer, and I’m glad we can now put this behind us.”

3D Realms CEO Mike Nielsen, meanwhile, said in his statement that the company “never intended to cause any harm” to Gearbox or the Duke Nukem franchise.

“When Interceptor acquired a license to develop Duke Nukem Mass Destruction (Duke Nukem Survivor) from 3D Realms, we did so in good faith and were not aware of any conflict,” he said. “We never intended to cause any harm to Gearbox or Duke, which is why we immediately ceased development after Gearbox reached out.”

Nielsen went on to say that, in an effort to protect and ensure that the Duke Nukem series lives on, it was decided that “a single home serves the IP best,” referencing Gearbox.

Finally, Gearbox’s statement included a comment from CEO Randy Pitchford, who thanked Nielsen and Schreiber for their words and said he’s personally looking forward to Bombshell.

“I genuinely appreciate Mr. Nielsen’s and Mr. Schreiber’s statement and sincerely offer my best wishes to Interceptor Entertainment and 3D Realms towards their future success,” he said. “And, as someone who was part of the 3D Realms team when Bombshell was first imagined, I am excited to see what they have in store for us with their game.”

The most recent core Duke Nukem game was 2011’s maligned Duke Nukem Forever.

In his 3.5/10 Duke Nukem Forever review, GameSpot critic Kevin VanOrd wrote about the game, “The bland and ugly Duke Nukem Forever turns a famous gaming icon into an embarrassment.”

More recently, just last month, Pitchford said Gearbox had started production on a all new, “head-turning” Duke Nukem game.

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A long-running rumor, which suggests that Blizzard’s Hearthstone development team is considering adding a co-op mode to the game, has resurfaced following the discovery of new hints within the latest patch update.

On Tuesday, Blizzard deployed the game’s 3.0 update which, among other fixes, paves the way for the game’s next major expansion, The Grand Tournament, which is due for release in August.

However, data-miners have noticed references within the update’s code that shows the game now includes audio and text referencing a co-op mode. A Reddit user, going by the name “Insydr,” published the following script from the 3.0 patch:

Added VO_HRW_TEST_00.AUDIOFILE: “test”

Added VO_HRW_TEST_01: “Well done! You’ve defeated the boss together.nnBoth players win!”

Added VO_HRW_TEST_01.AUDIOFILE: “test”

Added VO_HRW_TEST_02: “Defeat Gearmaster Mechazod together to win!”

The nature of the text suggests that, should Hearthstone introduce co-op, it may be against AI in a future adventure expansion. It could also suggest that co-op wouldn’t necessarily require two players, but one player and an AI sidekick.

However, this discovery comes five months after an unverified report claimed that Blizzard was preparing to introduce a 2v2 mode to the game. Other information revealed in that report, such as the game’s player numbers, was debunked by Activision, leading some to believe that the co-op mode rumor was also inaccurate.

Hearthstone’s Grand Tournament expansion is set to introduce 132 new cards to the game. Below is a list of 82 Hero cards added to the game, and click through he link to peruse all of Hearthstone’s 50 Grand Tournament Neutral Cards.

Blizzard is believed to be earning some $20 million each month from Hearthstone, according to recent research.

The Grand Tournament: All New Hero Cards

Druid

Hunter

Mage

Paladin

Priest

Rogue

Shaman

Warlock

Warrior

Click here to view the set of 50 new Neutral Cards.

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The results of a survey conducted by retailer GameStop have claimed a significant number of players hold on to games they don’t play.

The study, released this week, states “approximately two in five gamers are leaving upwards of $200 unclaimed by holding on to unused games.”

The survey was commissioned by the retailer and conducted by its research partner Survata. Between June 22 and June 24, a total of 400 responders ages 25 to 54 responded to the online survey. The margin of error provided was 4.79 percent.

According to the results “92 percent of those surveyed owns at least one video game disc her or she no longer plays.”

It continues: “One-third of those surveyed (33 percent) said they have between five and nine unused games lying around the house, while 38 percent said they have as many as 10 to 20 unused games.”

Key factors in why people don’t trade-in games are cited as “inertia–28 percent have considered trading in games at GameStop but haven’t gotten around to it,” as well as “27 percent … only [trading in] when they were motivated by empty wallets.”

GameStop, like many other modern retailers, encourages its customers to trade in used games in return for cash or credit value. These games are then re-sold as secondhand products. Used games represent the largest source of profit for GameStop.

Its survey results also state “92 percent [of respondents] have postponed new video game purchases in the past for financial reasons,” before presenting itself as a solution to this problem.

“With hundreds of pre-owned items valued at more than $20 when traded at GameStop, gamers have potential for substantial cash and credit just waiting to be claimed so they can afford to buy new video games immediately.”

“Video games are more than just a hobby–they are a passion–and GameStop has the perfect solution for value conscious gamers eager to get their hands on the new games they want, when they want them, said Kyle Leonard, vice president of GameStop’s Trade & Pre-Owned Business.

“Pre-owned games have value and can be traded at GameStop for cash or in-store credit. The sooner the games are traded, the more money they are worth and the faster customers can use that cash or in-store credit toward the purchase of the next game they want to play.”

In July 2015, a GameStop senior executive said the company was still interested in applying its famous “buy, sell, trade” model to digital content.

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