Category: Gamespot

Nvidia has announced that its cloud-powered game streaming service, Grid, will be available starting next week for Nvidia Shield devices. Grid will roll out on November 18 in North America and in December for Europe. The service will be available in Asia sometime in 2015.

Grid will be free for Nvidia Shield Tablet ($300 + $60 for controller) and Nvidia Shield ($200) owners through June 30, 2015. After this, it will be offered through Netflix-like subscriptions or individual purchases or rentals.

Writing on its website, Nvidia explained that it look ten years for the company to create the technology to bring high-fidelity graphics to devices such as Shield.

“The reason: streaming games is hard,” the company explained. “You need to build a powerful gaming computer in the cloud. Then you need to get games to users in milliseconds.”

Grid will offer “super-low latency,” Nvidia said, thanks to the technology’s array of data centers around the world. “It’s an effort that’s put 20 petaflops of graphics processing compute power into the cloud. That’s equal to the fastest supercomputer in the U.S.,” Nvidia explained.

In terms of games support, users will be able to stream big-name games such as Batman: Arkham City and Borderlands 2, as well as older titles including Brutal Legend and Psychonauts. A total of 20 games will be available at launch, and more are planned to be released every week.

GameSpot sister site CNET recently went hands-on with Grid, reporting that resolution will be limited to 720p. Nvidia also advises that you have at least a 10 Mbps download speed to use Grid. For lots more on Grid, check out CNET’s in-depth coverage.

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Free-to-play PC and console game Warframe this week will make a world record attempt, and it’s one of the strangest ones we can recall. Developer Digital Extremes has announced that this Friday, November 14, it will attempt to set the new world record for “The Largest Gathering of People Wearing False Mustaches Simultaneously in a Video Game.”

Digital Extremes is calling on the Warframe community to display their in-game facial hair on November 14 between 3 PM – 6 PM Eastern to help set the world record. The developer recently released a handful of virtual mustaches that players can wear in-game.

It’s all part of Digital Extremes’ effort to raise awareness for men’s health as part of the annual Movember campaign, where men are encouraged to grow beards. The more donations Warframe players make to Movember, the more in-game mustaches will be released in-game.

To date, Digital Extremes has raised more than $7,600 for Movember. You can read more about Warframe’s Movember campaign and donate through the game’s website.

The virtual mustaches are available in Warframe on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4.

The world record attempt will be broadcast live on Warframe’s Twitch channel this Friday. Digital Extremes has even enlisted a local university professor to verify the record, and players are encouraged to send in screenshots of their mustachioed Warframe characters.

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Sony has reached an agreement with Electronic Arts to bring some of the publishers games to its streaming service, PlayStation Now, which is available now in beta on PS3, PS4, and PS Vita.

Beginning December 2, PS Now users will be able to stream the EA games listed below. Full pricing details were not announced, but Sony said the games can be rented for a week for about $1 a day.

EA Games Coming To PlayStation Now December 2:

• Mirror’s Edge
• Mass Effect 2
• Dead Space 3
• NBA Jam On Fire Edition
• Bejeweled 3

Following an extended closed beta period, PS Now entered opened beta in July. It now is available across five platforms: PS3, PS4, PS Vita, PS TV, and some Sony TVs.

PS Now director of marketing, Peter Jamshidi, also revealed on the PlayStation Blog that gamers have already together spent the equivalent of more than 100 years using PS Now.

Other major publishers already on-board with PS Now include Konami, Capcom, Square Enix, and Sega. Jamshidi said Sony will “continue to add more” over time.

Currently, PS Now only offers individual game rentals, but this is going to change. The service’s Netflix-like subscription plan, announced back in January, is still in the works, Jamshidi said. He added that Sony hopes to share more details about this soon.

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Following the release of XCOM: Enemy Unknown for mobile platforms last summer, 2K and Firaxis Games today released XCOM: Enemy Within for iOS, Android, And Amazon Fire devices worldwide.

The game is available today for $13. 2K president Christoph Hartmann describes the mobile version of Enemy Within as a “true” AAA game for devices that can fit in your pocket.

“Providing consumers with a true AAA game experience via a mobile or portable device is not an easy feat,” Hartmann said.

Firaxis Games lead designer Ananda Gupta said the release of Enemy Unknown last year proved that turn-based strategy games are a “natural fit” for touch-based interfaces.

Outside studio Virtuos, which also worked on Enemy Unknown, ported Enemy Within to mobile devices.

2K says Enemy Within “vastly improves” upon Enemy Unknown by offering new content, gear, classes, maps, and gameplay elements. It also has multiplayer support on iOS and Android, powered by Game Center and Google Play, respectively. The Amazon Fire version does not support multiplayer.

You can see more images of XCOM: Enemy Within for mobiles in the gallery below.

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Huge retailer Walmart today officially announced its lineup of Black Friday deals, and the company’s gaming offerings do not disappoint. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 console bundles are on sale, as are a range of new releases for a variety of consoles. Below is a roundup of the the deals.

Walmart’s Black Friday deals begin on Thursday, November 27 (Thanksgiving Day) at 6 PM local time. You can see Walmart’s full Black Friday deals flyer right here.

Black Friday deals often go quickly, but if you’re in the market for a new PS4, here’s some good news. A Walmart representative tells GameSpot that the retailer will has tripled the amount of PS4s it will have on-hand during the shopping bonanza. This increase in stock also applies to “other gaming consoles,” though Walmart did not mention any by name beyond the PS4.

Hardware:

• Xbox One with Halo: The Master Chief Collection and $30 Walmart gift card (no Kinect) – $330
• Xbox One with one game and a 12-month Xbox Live membership (online only) – $380
• 4 GB Xbox 360 – $100
• PlayStation 4 with copies of Grand Theft Auto V and The Last of Us – $400
• PlayStation 4 with $50 Walmart gift card – $400
• PlayStation 4 with choice of two games (online only) – $450
• Nintendo 3DS XL with New Super Mario Bros. 2 – $150

Controllers, peripherals, and other:

• Xbox One controller – $40
• DualShock 4 controller – $40
• PS4 Camera – $40
• Xbox Live Gold three-month membership – 50 percent off
• Turtle Beach XO1 Headset for Xbox One – $45
• Turtle Beach Universal headset for PS3 or Xbox 360 – $45
• Turtle Beach P12 Headset for PS4 – $45

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare:

Skylanders & Disney Infinity:

$35 Games:

$25 Games:

$20 Games:

$15 Games:

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One of Nintendo’s chief designers, Mario and Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto, has spoken out to lament the “boring” sameness in video games today. In an interview with The Telegraph, Miyamoto said he understands the business appeal of the approach other companies take to game development, but said he aims to separate Nintendo by creating brand new experiences for players.

“What the other companies are doing makes business sense,” Miyamoto said. “But it’s boring. The same games appear on every system. At Nintendo, we want an environment where game creators can collaborate and think of ideas for games that could have never happened before.”

This is not the first time Miyamoto has addressed the topic of sameness in games. In July, the industry veteran said he hasn’t been blown away by new games, in part because “creativity is still immature” in the field of game development. Miyamoto’s stance isn’t entirely bleak, however, as he maintains that game development overall is in a “transitional phase,” and more unique projects will come later on.

As for why video games often stick to the same formula instead of branching out, Miyamoto previously cited a quote from the late Nintendo executive Hiroshi Yamauchi, saying it is the nature of the entertainment business for one company to lead and others to follow with similar products. This is no different for video games, he said at the time.

Miyamoto’s latest project was a series of Pikmin animated shorts, which you can watch right now.

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With the release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions of Grand Theft Auto V now less than a week away, developer Rockstar Games is in the final stages of getting the game ready for launch. One part of that is announcing today that a title update will be available on launch day that will introduce some “last tweaks and optimization fixes.” This update will be applied automatically.

When GTA V was originally released in September 2013 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the game’s online mode faced widespread and sometimes significant issues. Rockstar says today that, while it cannot guarantee a fully smooth launch for Grand Theft Auto Online on Xbox One and PS4, it has tested the game thoroughly in hopes of hitting the ground running come Tuesday, November 18.

“We need your continued help, and, maybe, just a little patience if there are any teething problems around the launch on the new systems,” Rockstar said, reminding players that they can leave feedback for the team at the developer’s support page or through GTAOnline@rockstargames.com. “We have, of course, tested the game extensively but there is no way our several hundred testers can be quite as comprehensive as millions of players! Please bear with us should any issues arise–we will be working hard to fix any problems that arise, and generally ensure this launch is as smooth as possible.”

Rockstar added that it will be “looking closely” at player feedback to inform future updates and tuning changes. The developer went on to promise that GTA Online’s long-awaited Heists are still coming, and that this mode will be available on all platforms when it is finally released.

In addition, Rockstar shared some new GTA Online images, which show off the game’s 30-player support on Xbox One and PS4, as well as its new character creator and first-person mode. You can see these images in the gallery below.

We’ve also learned a little bit more about the number of props players will have access to through GTA Online creator tools. Rockstar says players will have double the number of props compared to the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the game. This, combined with the fact that up to 30 players can now participate in online matches, should create some “brilliant gameplay magic,” Rockstar says.

GTA V is also coming to PC, though not until January 2015. For more on GTA V, which is now available to pre-load on Xbox One, check out GameSpot’s previous coverage.

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Microsoft has announced this week’s Xbox One and Xbox 360 deals for digital games, and the list features hefty markdowns on games such as EA Sports UFC, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas.

The one caveat here is that you’ll need an Xbox Live Gold subscription to take advantage of the savings, with the exception of EA Sports UFC on Xbox One, which is available to everyone.

Below are this week’s deals, which run until November 17. What you are picking up? Let us know in the comments below.

Xbox One:

• Castlestorm Definitive Edition – $10.50 (normally $15)
• Divekick – $7 (normally $10)
• EA Sports UFC – $20 (normally $40)
• Kickbeat Special Edition – $7 (normally $10)
• Stick It To The Man – $7 (normally $10)

Xbox 360:

• Catherine – $8 (normally $20)
• Fallout 3 – $4.94 (normally $15)
• Fallout: New Vegas – $4.94 (normally $15)
• Foul Play – $4.94 (normally $15)
• How To Survive – $4.94 (normally $15)
• Pool Nation – $3.30 (normally $10)
• Serious Sam Double D XXL – $3.30 (normally $10)
• Serious Sam 3: BFE – $3.30 (normally $10)
• Serious Same 3: BFE – Jewel of the Nile – $3.30 (normally $10)

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More evidence to suggest a new Lego game based on upcoming movie Jurassic World is in the works has come to light. The Brick Fan reports that the iconic Jurassic Park theme music and a brick version of a T-Rex show up during the ending credits sequence of Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham.

On its own, this could be seen as a simple tease on the part of developer Traveller’s Tales. However, The Lego Group has announced that it’s releasing physical Lego sets based on Jurassic World for release in 2015 alongside the new movie starring Chris Pratt.

We also know that Lego video games are only made when there are real-world toys to pair them with, making a Jurassic World game sound likely. What’s more, a supposedly internal marketing document leaked earlier this year specifically stated that a Lego game based on the movie was in the works.

If a Lego game based on Michael Crichton’s famous fiction is indeed in development, it’s unclear if it would be a re-telling of Jurassic World or if it would follow the first three films. Or maybe it could do both or something different.

Other major franchises spun into Lego games have included Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, Harry Potter, and others.

Let us know in the comments below if you’re interested in a Jurassic Park/World video game, and what you’d like to see from it.

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