Microsoft has updated its marketplace to allow users to purchase games and content with the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.
Xbox One, Xbox 360 and Windows games, along with other media and content, can now be bought with the digital currency.
Those who use Bitcoin can visit the Microsoft Billing webpage and add the currency to their account, which can then be used across a range of services such as Xbox Video, Xbox Music, Windows Phone, and Xbox Games.
This makes Microsoft the first games platform holder to accept Bitcoin as a legitimate currency.
The trading of Bitcoin began in 2009, and it has since grown to become the world’s largest cryptocurrency in terms of total market value.
The private digital currency is not typically regulated by governments or traditional banking systems.
Sales of 3DS software increased by “more than 40 percent” over November 2013. And Super Smash Bros. for 3DS, which Nintendo describes as “the best-selling individual portable game in the U.S. so far in 2014,” has also sold 1.5 million copies physically and digitally.
Nintendo’s console side also had some good news with “sales of Wii U hardware and software increasing by more than 10 percent and more than 90 percent respectively, over the same period in 2013.” Black Friday deals were obviously very big for Nintendo since “the week of Nov. 23 was the biggest single week of Wii U hardware sales since the system launched in November 2012.”
“Sales of Amiibo are approximately equal to sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U”
“Link, Mario and Pikachu (in that order) have been the best-selling figures to date.”
While the beginning of the year seemed rough for Nintendo, they’ve quickly turned things around with a strong slate of games and impressive sales numbers. But what consoles are you gaming on this holiday? Let us know in the comments below!
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Valve has closed its Holiday Auction just hours after the promotion went live, after it quickly emerged that some users were exploiting the system.
Some 100 copies of two thousand Steam games were due to go up for auction from December 15, meaning there were 200,000 games ready to bid on. What made this promotion unique is that users wouldn’t need to bid with money, but instead Steam Gems, which can be acquired by deleting various sundry items such as trading cards and badges.
Those who play games on Steam will have noticed they accrue such items just by buying and playing games, meaning that how many gems each person owns is supposed to reflect their dedication.
However, hours after the auction went live, some users discovered a way of exploiting the system via trading, while other users appear to have found ways to duplicate their own gem currency. One user, for example, was discovered on Reddit to have obtained 1.9 billion gems, which is theoretically enough to win every auction.
Valve has elected to delete that person’s gem inventory, and due to the exploitable nature of the promotion, has suspended it.
“Sorry, but there have been some issues with Gems and the Steam Holiday Auction has been temporarily closed,” the company wrote on its auction website.
“The elves are working frantically to get the issues sorted out, and the auction will start again as soon as they’re done.”
After more than 100 bids from 17 people, the factory-sealed toy–which normally sells for $13–went for $25,100 to a user with a high rating.
This suggests the deal will be finalized, though we’ve followed up with the seller to find out for sure. The manufacturing “defect” Peach Amiibo was purchased at Best Buy, and it appears the “no legs” mistake wasn’t a one-off occurrence.
In other Amiibo defect news, a Samus Aran toy with two arm-cannons instead of one sold for $2,500 earlier this month. I am actually quite excited to see what comes next.
Since we’re on the subject, what Amiibo manufacturing error would you like to see? Let us know in the comments below!
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Last weekend’s inaugural The Game Awards 2014 drew 1.93 million viewers, a dramatic increase of 75 percent compared to viewership numbers for last year’s Spike-produced VGX. The show’s producer, games media veteran Geoff Keighley, says the response to the show has been surprisingly impressive.
“I am absolutely stunned by the results,” Keighley told Polygon. “We didn’t have any marketing budget or TV spots for the show. I’m used to having a lot of support resources–a promotional team, a digital media team, a PR team. All we had was the support of the game publishers and fans to spread the word and on social media.”
“I didn’t make money on the show, but I always knew it would be an investment” — Keighley
The Game Awards ran for about three hours–which was about one hour too long, Keighley admitted. Viewers watched for an average of 28 minutes. Keighley added that he would have liked for more awards to be presented on stage instead on the sidelines as many were.
Though the viewership numbers suggest the show was a success, Keighley–who backed the event out of his own pocket–did not come out ahead on the endeavor. Of the 4,000 available seats in the Las Vegas venue, only 3,000 were filled. Making matters worse, only half of those were paid-for tickets, while the rest were taken by industry personalities.
“I didn’t make money on the show, but I always knew it would be an investment,” Keighley said. “If I’m going to invest in anything it’s going to be to support the industry which has given me my whole career.”
“This year was about earning the respect of the audience and proving that this ‘open source’ distribution model can work,” he added.
So will there be a show in 2015?
“I’d definitely like to see it continue on if publishers and fans want to keep it going,” Keighley explained. “But yeah, no idea what shape it will take.”
The PS4 will sell for 2,899 RMB ($468), while the PS Vita will go for 1,299 RMB ($210) in China. In addition to support from Sony’s internal studios, a total of 70 third-party developers and publishers are lined up to create a “steady stream” of games for the Chinese market, Sony said in a statement.
“PS4 is expanding at the fastest rate in PlayStation hardware history” — Andrew House
Sony has also enticed a string of Chinese developers to create games for its platforms, including Suzhou Snail Digital Technology, Shanghai Youju Information Technology, and Shanghai Kena Information Technology. In addition, Sony says it has put together a “robust after-sales service” to ensure Chinese gamers “have a smooth experience” on PS4 and PS Vita.
“PS4 is expanding at the fastest rate in PlayStation hardware history, and the global gaming community is enjoying the ultimate entertainment experience only available on PlayStation,” Sony executive Andrew House said. “We are delighted that we are able to fully launch our business in China, which is a market with great potential. We look forward to delivering exciting software, convenient services, and entertainment experiences only possible on PlayStation to the many gamers in China.”
“The Chinese censor will be Sony’s biggest challenge,” Roger Sheng, a research director at tech research firm Gartner, told Reuters.
Addressing censorship concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment Asia business head Hiroyuki Oda said, “Cooperating with the government, we’ll provide a broad range of content for our users in China.”
A software update for the Nintendo 3DS appears to have blocked a backdoor hack that allowed users to play unlicensed games on the handheld.
In November, homebrew games enthusiast Jordan Rabet revealed that 3DS owners could play unofficial games on the handheld by applying an exploit that he named NINJHAX. Curiously, the process requires a copy of Cubic Ninja, an obscure Ubisoft platform game released in June 2011.
However, 3DS firmware update 9.3, which rolled out on Tuesday, appears to have added new security features that prevent the exploit from working.
Writing on his twitter page, Rabet has warned fellow hackers to not update their 3DS system software to version 9.3. However, he suggested that some of the NINJHAX exploits still work.
according to @qlutoo one of the later stage exploits we use has been patched. so, again, DO NOT UPDATE TO 9.3 FOR NINJHAX.
Publishers and hardware manufacturers tend to clampdown on exploits that allow users to run unlicensed code, primarily due to fears that such hacks pave the way for piracy.
A new multiplayer mode could soon be implemented into Destiny which removes super abilities, the radar, and weapon bonuses. As reported on VG247, a Reddit user picked up a Grimoire card that cites a mode named “Inferno”
According to the post on Reddit, the card describes “Inferno” mode as a “modified variant of multiple Crucible match types” which leaves players to “rely on their weaponry and combat skills alone.”
In addition, enemies will need to be tracked by “sight and sound alone” as well as with the aid of team mates. The card description finishes with, “True skill put to the ultimate test. No trackers. No Supers. No bonuses. Only kills earn points.”
Destiny’s The Dark Below expansion was released this week across all platforms. In addition to the new Raid, the expansion raises the game’s level cap, adds new multiplayer maps, and introduces new weapons and items. The DLC’s featured raid, Crota’s End, was beaten within six hours. Developer Bungie confirmed last week that it would not be introducing Raid matchmaking to the game in the near future, instead focusing on how to add challenging content to other parts of the game.
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The developer of Papers, Please has announced the iPad launch of the game via Twitter. Lucas Pope tweeted a photo of the game appearing on an iPad with the words, “December 12th.”
Pope noted that the iPad version of the game will not contain the full nudity option for the search scanner photos, citing Apple’s rejection of the version of the game with that feature on the grounds of “pornographic content.”
He stated in another tweet, “I did this iPad version myself. The Vita port has way more dependencies so there’s still no ETA on that. I probably announced it too early.”
Pope’s Papers, Please won this year’s Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the Independent Game Festival, as well as the Excellence in Narrative and Excellence in Design award. The game was positively received in GameSpot’s review, praised for its emphasis on moral choices and engaging story. Developer Pope has since announced his next project, named Return of the Obra Dinn. The game will use a first-person perspective and take place on an East India Company merchant ship named the Obra Dinn. No release date has been confirmed.
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The PlayStation turns 20 years old this year and thanks to Sony, GameSpot Australia is giving away an exclusive 20th Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4. Only 12,300 were made, and each console is individually numbered. Packaged in a special commemorative box, the custom PS4 sports a familiar silver/grey finish. The DualShock 4 controller is coloured in the same manner and brings back the original PlayStation logo.
To enter this competition, simply tell us in 25 words or less what your favourite PlayStation memory is. The GameSpot AU team will pick the most creative answer, so make sure you give us your best one!
Competition closes on December 18, so get your entries in quickly! This offer is only open to Australian residents.
