With Microsoft’s highly anticipated Xbox One game Halo: The Master Chief Collection now just days away, the company is ramping up marketing efforts for the title. One such campaign is a new TV spot featuring Queen’s “We Will Rock You” that will air this weekend during various NFL broadcasts.
The commercial rather ingeniously syncs up Halo weapon sounds with the track’s iconic, thumping intro for a dramatic effect. It also ends by reminding everyone that you can now buy an Xbox One starting at $350, the lowest official pricing since the system launched a year ago this month.
The Master Chief Collection launches on November 11 exclusively for Xbox One. In addition to remastered versions of Halo 1-4 and multiplayer support for every game, the package includes access to Ridley Scott’s Halo: Nightfall, as well as a beta key for December’s Halo 5: Guardians beta.
Microsoft Xbox gaming executive Phil Spencer recently addressed the subject of bigger Xbox One hard drives and a desire for more couch co-op games through a series of posts on Twitter.
First, Spencer talked about the topic of bigger Xbox One hard drives, saying he understands “the need” for more space, though he says using an external hard drive is a temporary workaround.
@hspjap Great collection. We shipped the AW 1TB console, I understand the need for bigger HDs. You can use a USB HD, that’s what I do.
As Spencer mentions, the most internal hard drive space offered today on Xbox One is 1 TB, which comes by way of the special-edition Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare bundle. With games today often weighing in at 50 GB and up, hard drive space can fill up quickly for people who play lots of games.
The standard Xbox One model ships with a 500 GB hard drive. Microsoft has not announced plans to offer anything larger than 1 TB.
Switching topics, on the subject of couch co-op games, Spencer said he would like to see more of these in the future for Xbox One. The recently released downloadable game Chariot (get it today for $15) is a strong example, and he hopes more will follow.
We need more same screen co-op games, played Chariot with my wife last night, nice fun game. Well done @FrimaStudios.
Finally, and on another unrelated topic, Spencer said he recently visited Fable series developer Lionhead Studios and was impressed by what he saw of Xbox One game Fable Legends.
Great day with @LionheadStudios team yesterday looking at #FableLegends. Closed beta is going very well and best looking Fable I’ve seen.
In other big Microsoft news, the company’s $2.5 billion deal to buy Swedish developer Mojang and the Minecraft series has closed, meaning the franchise now officially belongs to Microsoft.
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Developer Bungie has gifted a unique Destiny weapon to a brain surgery patient following doctor’s advice that playing the first-person shooter could help him recover.
The story comes from Reddit user Bkbunny87, who explained in great detail about her husband Eric’s health status and how Bungie was able to step in and warm their hearts.
In the last year, Eric had seven brain surgeries, three of which involved removing parts of his brain, resulting in memory loss. Though his condition was stable, Eric wanted to play Destiny when it was released in September, close to when he needed to have another surgery operation.
Eric’s exclusive Fate Of All Fools scout rifle
“He wanted it badly enough that two weeks ago he described the game in detail to his wonderful Neurologist,” his wife explained. To her surprise, the doctor said video games can work as an excellent physical therapy tool for people suffering from brain and memory damage.
“I have been shocked how well he has taken to it,” she wrote about her husband’s Destiny habits. “Once an avid cook, he was no longer able to navigate our kitchen–but with Destiny, it was like a duck to water. He has always been exceptionally good at games, and it seems like that hadn’t changed a bit. It’s been a joy to watch him.”
She goes on to say that Destiny’s effect on Eric’s health and outlook has been dramatic. “He has been going out more, doing chores, making jokes,” she says. “The effect of playing the game on his mood has been almost staggering.”
It wasn’t all great, however, as she reports that Eric has trouble communicating with friends in Destiny’s raid missions. This led to his fireteam getting frustrated with him, she says.
This story has found its way to Bungie, as community manager David “Deej” Dague reached out to Eric and sent him a care package, presumably stuffed with all manner of Destiny goodies. In addition, Bungie sent Eric an in-game weapon, the super-rare Fate Of All Fools scout rifle (above). Eric is the only gamer out there with this weapon, as it apparently won’t be released publicly until a future update.
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DICE’s 2013 shooter Battlefield 4 has returned to EA’s “Game Time” promotion on Origin, meaning PC users can now play the game for free. EA is offering up seven days of free play, though that clock begins when you launch the game and continues when you’re sleeping and eating.
But don’t worry, the time needed to download and install Battlefield 4 is not counted towards the 168 hours of free time. Once you get the game running, the clock will begin, and you’ll be notified in-game with how much time you have left.
Gamers who decide to buy Battlefield 4 when the Game Time ends won’t have to worry about starting over, as all of your progress will carry over. You can add Battlefield 4 to your Origin game library here.
Battlefield 4 is not the only game available now through Game Time, though its duration of 168 hours is by far the longest. Others include Respawn Entertainment’s shooter Titanfall (48 hours) and role-playing game Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (48 hours).
While it’s not completely free, Xbox One owners with an EA Access membership ($5/month or $30/year) can currently play Battlefield 4 all they want without paying anything extra.
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Interested in learning about where BioWare’s Mass Effect franchise may be headed in the future? Today could be your lucky day, as the developer will hold a special livestream event starting at 10 AM Pacific / 1 PM Eastern / 6 PM UK where the developer is expected to talk about all things Mass Effect.
Today, after all, is November 7–or N7 Day. Last year on this date, BioWare released the first images of the upcoming Mass Effect game to mark the occasion. Who knows what will be in store this year. BioWare is only saying that the event will take the form of a developer roundtable.
We will update this post with the Twitch livestream shortly before it begins.
One thing that BioWare probably won’t talk about during the event is the rumored Mass Effect Trilogy remake for current-generation consoles. BioWare Edmonton and Montreal general manager Aaryn Flynn poured cold water on that idea recently.
Looking forward to #N7Day14! Unfortunately we have no news about the Mass Effect Trilogy coming to new consoles. When we do we’ll share ASAP
What we do know about the next Mass Effect game is that it leaves the story of Commander Shepard and the first three games behind. BioWare began teasing images from the new game in November 2013, and shortly thereafter we learned it is already playable. Overall, the next Mass Effect game is described as “fresh but recognizable.”
A senior executive at BioWare Edmonton is looking into the possibility of developing a remastered version of the Mass Effect Trilogy for next-generation systems, and wants fans to offer their ideas.
Aaryn Flynn, general manger of the BioWare studio, wrote on the games forum NeoGAF his personal preferences for a remake. They include:
1080p resolution
60 frames-per-second
High-res textures “especially on ME1”
Shader improvements
All the DLC
In addition, Flynn said the trilogy should be a “seamless experience,” in that each game will flow into the next without the need to carry save files over.
Further along in the NeoGAF thread, the developer goes on to directly answer some fan requests, such as the idea of “seamlessly” implementing DLC levels and challenges.
He was also honest with his disagreement with some requests, such as rebuilding the first game with the combat system used in its sequels.
“The ‘ME3 combat mechanics in ME1’ request comes up relatively often, but it’s not on my radar,” he wrote.
“First it would be a helluva lot of work. Second, I hate the idea of us being accused of ‘retconning’ ME1. Third (and I bet everyone on NeoGAF knows this), there are those who prefer ME1… So given that all that, it doesn’t feel like the right thing to do.”
BioWare, and its owner Electronic Arts, has not formally announced that it is developing a Mass Effect Trilogy remake. Yet Flynn openly discussing such a project suggests it could be in the pipeline.
On Friday at 10am Pacific (6pm UK), BioWare will host a live-streamed developer roundtable to discuss the future of the franchise. However, there is no certainty that a Mass Effect trilogy remake would be annouced at the event.
Looking forward to #N7Day14! Unfortunately we have no news about the Mass Effect Trilogy coming to new consoles. When we do we’ll share ASAP
Japanese Metal Gear Solid publisher Konami today announced financial results for the six-month period ended September 30, showing year-over-year gains for revenue and profit. Overall, the publisher posted revenue of ¥98.7 billion ($856.6 million), up from ¥97.9 billion ($849.2 million) recorded last year. Meanwhile, profit was ¥3.3 billion ($28.6 million), an improvement over the ¥2 billion ($17.4 million) recorded during the first half of last year.
Konami has a number of different business units outside of gaming, including units focused on health and fitness, as well as slot machines. The publisher’s dedicated video game unit, Digital Entertainment, saw overall revenue fall during the six-month period, dropping slightly from ¥44.6 billion ($387 million) last year to ¥43.9 billion ($380.7 million) this year. Operating income, however, grew. It rose from ¥3.7 billion ($32 million) to ¥6.2 billion ($53.8 million) for the six-month term.
Konami called out mobile titles such as Dragon Collection, Sengoku Collection, the Professional Baseball Dream Nine series, the World Soccer Collection series, and the Crows X Worst series as ones that saw “steady sales” and meaningfully contributed to revenue during the quarter. The publisher added that the number of registered users across these mobile titles increased year-over-year.
In the console space, Konami added that Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, released in March 2014, “continued to enjoy strong sales” across the world as a result of resale orders.
In terms of unit sales by platform, the PlayStation 3 dominated all others, as you can see in the chart above. Looking ahead, Konami’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain will be released in 2015 across consoles and PC.
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Microsoft’s $2.5 billion deal to buy Swedish developer Mojang and the sandbox series Minecraft has now officially closed, Xbox gaming boss Phil Spencer announced on Twitter today.
It’s official, today we welcome Mojang to the Microsoft Studios family. We’re excited for the possibilities ahead w/the Minecraft community.
After some reports and speculation, Microsoft on September 15 announced plans to buy Mojang and Minecraft in the multibillion dollar deal. Now that the deal has gone through, Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson and two other key Mojang developers will leave the studio. Persson, who owned 70 percent of Mojang, stands to make around $1.75 billion from the acquisition.
Writing on Twitter, Persson reflected on moving away from Mojang.
I left the mojang office for the last time, and didn’t properly say bye because everything is strange.
At the time the buyout was announced, Persson said about the deal: “It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity.” It’s unclear what the future holds for Persson or if he’ll be involved in game development in any way.
Mojang joins other internal Microsoft game studios such as 343 Industries (Halo), Black Tusk Studios (Gears of War), Lionhead Studios (Fable), and Turn 10 Studios (Forza), among others.
At the time, Spencer explained that Microsoft must first “meet the needs” of the existing Minecraft community before the company expands the franchise.
Outside of Minecraft the game, Warner Bros. is currently working on a Minecraft movie. Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy is reportedly a frontrunner to direct the “large-budget” movie, which is in the very early stages of development and might not be released until 2017 or 2018.
Microsoft maintains that the $2.5 billion Minecraft acquisition will be “break-even in FY15 on a GAAP basis.”
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The Mushroom Kingdom’s diminutive Toad may not be as popular as Mario or Yoshi, but he’s finally getting his turn in the spotlight in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. The spinoff game for the Wii U is based on the Captain Toad mini games from Super Mario 3D World, where you have to navigate small levels in search of a golden star. For Treasure Tracker, the game’s been expanded to over 70 levels, and Toad’s no longer exploring alone; he’s now accompanied by his female counterpart, Toadette.
Unlike their friends, the Toads lack the ability to jump, which may seem limiting given the task at hand, but every level is outfitted with clever conveyances that make up for your lack of vertical mobility. Moving platforms, pipes, stairs, and ramps get you to where you’re going, but even with all of that assistance, you’re going to run into some perplexing situations now and again. This is especially true if you’re chasing special challenges and the three gems hidden in every level.
Each stage is a complex environment that needs to be heavily scrutinized in order to uncover all of its secrets. By rotating the world and zooming in, you can get a good idea of where most secrets lie, but discovering the path to glory is sometimes easier said than done. You’ll have to rotate every platform, destroy every block, and analyze every obstacle to uncover all of the game’s riches. That said, there are some scenarios where you have to be thorough rather than clever, making sure to defeat every enemy, just in case they possess the gem that you need to complete your collection.
Collecting gems is largely optional, but you eventually reach a point in the game when you need a certain amount in order to proceed. At that point, you may find yourself backtracking, and while returning to earlier levels may not sound like fun, they’re so chock full of character and thematic variety that making repeated trips is less of a bore than you might think. The bright and colorful worlds in Captain Toad reek of innocence and childlike charm, but the puzzles within are anything but easy or simple. However, as you progress through the game, improving your awareness and understanding of the game’s mechanics, you begin to see things in earlier stages that you may have missed during your first trip, and the sense of accomplishment sinks in as you find every gem, and check off every stage’s special challenge.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is an adorable little game, but it’s also deviously challenging. Thankfully, it subtly ramps the complexity of its puzzles, keeping you engaged and curious at every turn. It may have a simple premise, but it will no doubt surprise you, and if you’re anything like me, it will make you question your puzzle solving skills more often than you’d like. Puzzle lovers and Mario fanatics beware: Captain Toad means business. Keep an eye out for it on December 5, 2014 in the US, and January 2, 2015 in Europe.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt developer CD Projekt Red today announced a free DLC program for the 2015 role-playing game, and it does not disappoint. The studio will release a whopping 16 add-on packs for the RPG, all of which will be completely free, and are not tied to any platform.
The first bundle of DLC expansions for The Witcher 3 will be released on February 25, a day after the game’s public release. This content will come in the form of the Temerian Armor Set (includes horse armor) and the Beard and Hairstyle Set for main character Geralt.
After February 25, DLC bundles featuring two expansions will be released every week. Other content will include more quests and personalization options. CD Projekt Red has also released a Q&A about the free Witcher 3 DLC, which should clear up any questions you might have. You can read the full Q&A below.
You might be wondering why CD Projekt Red is giving away all the DLC instead of charging for it like so many other publishers do. CD Projekt Red co-founder Marcin Iwinski explains in an open letter to fans that offering free DLC is unfortunately “quite rare these days.”
“As gamers, we nowadays have to hold on tight to our wallets, as surprisingly right after release, lots of tiny pieces of tempting content materialize with a steep price tag attached. Haven’t we just paid a lot of cash for a brand new game?” he says.
“As CD Projekt Red, we strongly believe this is not the way it should work and, with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, we have decided to do it differently,” he added. “This is our way of saying thank you for buying our game.”
Q: What do I have to do to receive the 16 free DLCs?
A: The only thing you need to do to receive the 16 DLCs is purchase The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. All of the DLCs will be available for free on every platform (i.e. Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4).
Q: Do I have to pre-order to get the free DLCs?
A: No, each piece of content will be available for download regardless of you buying the game before or after launch on February 24th, 2015.
Q: I have the standard version of the game (i.e. not the Collector’s Edition). Do I still get the free DLCs?
A: Yes. You get the 16 DLCs regardless of the version of the game you bought (i.e. standard or Collector’s, digital or physical).
Q: What’s the plan? When can I expect the DLCs to be released?
A: The plan is to release a new DLC bundle (each bundle contains two DLCs) on a weekly basis, following the game’s launch February 24th, 2015. The first DLC bundle will be released the next day on February 25th. The next bundle will be available for download a week after that, on March 4th, the next on March 11th, and so on. The first bundle will contain the Temerian Armor Set and a Beard and Hairstyle Set for Geralt. The second bundle will contain an additional quest and an alternative look for one of the game’s main characters–Yennefer of Vengerberg.
Q: Where can I find out more?
A: You can find more details on thewitcher.com. At this moment, four DLCs (two bundles) are revealed. The remaining DLCs will be unveiled each week after launch.
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