Your EA Origin account will soon be called by a different name. Electronic Arts has announced that, in the coming weeks, they’ll be called “EA Accounts.”
This is being done “to better represent all of EA’s games and services,” the company said in an email.
No further explanation was provided; and it appears account owners should not expect any other changes.
EA says accounts will change names “in the coming weeks.”
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima was aware of an impending split between his studio and publisher Konami, and alluded to it in Metal Gear Solid 5: Ground Zeroes, according to a gameplay video posted online.
The footage, which was uploaded to YouTube by user TimeSplitter88, shows Ground Zeroes’ Deja Vu Mission, in which players take control of a Metal Gear Solid era Snake and recreate iconic scenes from the seminal PlayStation title.
It seems, however, there was also a prophetic sub-mission in which the player must find logos for Metal Gear titles from throughout the series’ history.
When logos for games directed by Hideo Kojima are found, they are expunged–a rather haunting prediction of recent events, where Konami removed the Kojima Productions logo from official artwork for The Phantom Pain, Ground Zeroes, and previous titles, as well as references to them being “A Hideo Kojima Game” from marketing material.
Anything not made by Kojima, however, is dismissed by Kaz: “Looks like that’s nothing special,” he says, when pointing looking at the Metal Gear Acid 2 logo.
Eventually, Kaz delivers a line directly addressing the split and, it would seem, Konami: “You might be able to erase the marking, but the memories will never disappear.”
A source close to Kojima Productions told GameSpot in March that Kojima is expected to leave the studio following the completion of The Phantom Pain. It is understood that the team’s contracts run until December.
The next game from Lords of the Fallen developer Deck 13, a dystopian sci-fi role-playing game for console and PC, will be officially announced next month at Gamescom. Publisher Focus Home Interactive announced the news on Monday, cautioning, however, that there won’t be a gameplay trailer to watch.
Instead, Focus said it will reveal the game to journalists through interviews with key developers at Deck 13, according to Videogamer.
This game was initially revealed, by way of a single teaser image and some light details, in the beginning of June. The publisher is calling the game a “premium action RPG” that features “innovative combat mechanics” and an “original character progression system.”
Focus managing partner Cedric Lagarrigue said back in June that Deck 13’s new RPG recently completed the pre-production phase of development. He described the game, overall, as “one of the most exciting RPGs to come in the future.”
GameSpot’s 8/10 Lords of the Fallen review praised the Dark Souls-like game’s combat system and atmospheric worlds. Reviewer Kevin VanOrd also enjoyed its grotesque creature designs that helped hammer home the dark setting.
Gamescom 2015 runs August 5-9; GameSpot will be reporting live from the show all week long.
Test footage for a cartoon series based on Naughty Dog’s Crash Bandicoot series has been released, along with additional information of other potential tie-in content considered for the character.
The video, which you can watch below, was released by David Siller, who served as lead designer and senior producer at Universal Interactive Studio, and worked on Crash Bandicoot.
According to Siller the video is a test animation produced by Universal Animation and was, in part, inspired by Warner’s Animaniacs cartoon series.
“It was based on ideas for where we were going with this IP at that time,” he said. “It was probably too ambitious in nature and was also trying to be humorous. It was never used or even embedded in the game as a hidden “easter egg” treat.”
He added: “This animation was influenced by Animaniacs and even a few others popular at that time.
Since Universal Interactive Studios was located close to the Universal Theme Park, a Crash Bandicoot “attraction was also discussed” at one point.
These ambitions fell by the wayside, however, when a co-publishing deal was struck with Sony to bring the character to the newly launched PlayStation console.
“The discussion at Universal at that time was if the game was successful (before Sony came a knockin’) then this animation was a somewhat prototype to further flesh out ideas for a possible cartoon series and inclusion into the game,” Siller explained.
“Once [Universal Interactive Studios] licensed the game to Sony for publication, Sony did not want [the animated series footage] utilized since they were heavily pushing the “3D” agenda.
“There are many close to the development of the original game that do not even know that this material even existed.”
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis attended the fighting game tournament Evo 2015 today in Las Vegas dressed in a Street Fighter disguise. No, really.
As you can see in the amazing image below, The Halloween and Freaky Friday star attended the event cosplaying as Vega. Her family was at her side, too, also in cosplay.
Husband Christopher Guest was dressed as Dr. Bosconovitch. She even played a Street Fighter match as Cammy against her son. She lost, but apparently had a fun time.
Curtis’ appearance at Evo 2015 wasn’t totally random. As spotted by Game Informer, Curtis says in this interview that, “I spend a lot of time playing Street Fighter.”
During a Street Fighter V panel at Evo 2015, Capcom revealed details about how it will handle post-launch content for the upcoming fighting game. It intends to only ever offer a single disc, and players will be able get all future DLC either by paying or simply playing the game.
Capcom set this up by taking a look back at how Street Fighter IV was handled. Following the release of the base game, there were a number of major updates released in bundle form over the years–Super Street Fighter IV, SSF IV: Arcade Edition, Ultra Street Fighter IV. Capcom said this had the benefit of reviving interest every few years, but it was hard to keep players engaged in the interim, and it punished those who took a break and came back to find out they had to spend money to play.
Rather than go that route again, Capcom plans to introduce new characters individually. Capcom says this will ensure there’s always something to look forward to, and the regular addition of new characters will keep the competitive scene fresh. This also allows players to pick and choose which characters they want, rather than be forced into picking up a whole Super or Ultra-sized package.
While this isn’t a new approach to DLC outside of the Street Fighter series, what is different from most games is how you won’t be forced to pay for anything. All balance and system updates will be free, while DLC characters can be purchased through a new in-game currency system. There are two types of currency: Fight Money, earned by playing the game, and Zenny, which can be bought with real-world money to unlock new content without needing to grind.
Capcom thinks this will offer “more long-term engagement, because the more you play, the more you are awarded.” Additionally, it says this route avoids dividing the player base by releasing an update you have to pay for. Those who don’t spend a dime beyond the cost of the game itself can simply play with the characters they have available to them.
Capcom also revealed that the game’s core roster consists of 16 characters, four of which are brand new to the franchise. A new character is to be unveiled on Sunday, July 19, during the Evo finals for Ultra Street Fighter IV.
Street Fighter V is coming to PS4 and PC next spring. A PS4 beta is set to kick off on July 23 and will run through July 28, to be followed by a PS4 and PC beta this fall. A third beta will then follow at an unspecified time. Among other things, these betas will be used to tweak the in-game currency system.
Originally aired during this week’s episode of Wayward Pines on Fox, the 15-second clip offers a quick peek at a handful of scenes from the new six-episode season. It starts out with a quick look at a crashed UFO, followed by soldiers in old uniforms (and someone in a suit, perhaps a young Smoking Man if I had to bet) moving in on something, presumably the UFO.
We later see what appears to be two alien corpses being dragged away, some kind of medical injector (possibly with the cure for the Black Oil), and someone walking across Mulder’s signature “I Want to Believe” poster. Finally, we see Mulder and Scully moving into a dark room because this is The X-Files, so of course they are.
Our first look at the new season consisted of an extremely brief shot hidden toward the end of a promotional video for a new X-Files marketing campaign. It showed Mulder and Scully entering a room in what may have been a callback to a scene from an early episode of the show that was used in the series’ title sequence.
The new event series premieres on January 24, 2016 and features the return of David Duchovny as Fox Mulder and Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully.
Activision this week released a surprise bundle consisting of Prototype and Prototype 2 on Xbox One (and then PS4). Despite the company’s claims that these versions offer improved frame rates, evidence suggests otherwise, at least on Xbox One.
Digital Foundry has examined the Xbox One versions of both games and found them generally lacking. Prototype is said to run at 30 frames per second, with occasional dips to the mid-20s. And while it runs at 1080p, it’s not as if the game’s visuals have been completely overhauled, making it unclear why it doesn’t run at 60 FPS. The site calls it “passable in its remastered guise, if a somewhat barebones conversion.”
Prototype 2, on the other hand, fares more poorly. DF says it’s “among the worst performing games on Xbox One to date,” with stutter during cutscenes and a framerate in the 20-25 FPS range while moving around the city. Comparing it with the Xbox 360 version, the frame rate in the Xbox One release is lower in multiple areas. The Xbox One version also has a good deal of screen tearing, something not present on PS3 while still running at a better frame rate.
At best, it looks as if the Xbox One version is fighting to offer an experience on par with that of the last-gen versions, just at a higher resolution–things like texture quality and draw distance haven’t been improved.
It’s possible the PS4 version handles things better, but that remains to be seen.
In light of this, it’s perhaps not a surprise that the Prototype Biohazard Bundle, as it’s called, was released so quietly. It’s not as if you’re getting much of a discount, either–it costs $50 on both Xbox and PS4, though Activision said that it plans to offer each game on its own starting on August 11.
Although the promotion isn’t listed on the bundle’s store page, just add it to your cart and you should see the gift card there. It says the deal expires on Monday, July 20, but the same was true of the Xbox One offer, which went away rather quickly. That means you should jump on this quickly if you’re interested.
If you’re wondering what you can do with a Dell gift card, the online store sells all sorts of games and gaming accessories. As our regular gaming deals roundup notes, there are also a handful of games you can preorder (including Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain) to receive a gift card, potentially allowing you to use that $100 to save even more money.
