Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Gaming at Comic-Con

Starting tomorrow, the San Diego Comic-Con will once again be in town. And like last year, there will be gaming companies who will show off their wares to their consumers.

Microsoft will once again be located at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. They will have the following games available.

Sunset Overdrive
Evolve
Forza Horizon 2
Fable Legends
Ori and The Blind Forest
Super Dead Rising 3 Arcade Remix
Madden NFL 15
Skylanders Trap Team
The Evil Within
The Crew
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes (2.0 Edition)
Killer Instinct
Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved
Project Spark
Minecraft
Powerstar Golf
Project Totem
Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime
#IDARB
Fenix Rage
Dance Central Spotlight
Titanfall
Forza 5
Kinect Sports Rivals

In addition, Microsoft will have two panels available for the public:
Halo: The Master Chief Collection Developer Panel
Digging E.T. - Behind the Scenes of the Xbox Originals Documentary, “Atari: Game Over”

Both panels will be on Friday. So any fan of the XBox should definitely check it out.

As for Nintendo, they will also be back at the Marriott next door to the Convention Center. So any and all Nintendo fan should check it out. Their games will be

3DS:

Wii U:

In addition, Nintendo will also have another Super Smash Bros tournament going on. This time, it is the 3DS version that will be the center point of the tournament. Those who are attending Comic-Con can sign up early on Friday all while the video will be recorded for the who internet to see.

So far, we have Microsoft with 2 panels and Nintendo with a Smash Bros Tournament. But what happened to Sony? Turns out, they have no plans for the San Diego Comic-Con this year compared to previous years. Why did Sony drop the ball on Comic-Con this year? With no news regarding Comic-Con and their attempt to appeal to the general public, it seems this might be a big mistake for the house of Playstation.

Anyway folks, if you're looking for a good console clash, check out the Nintendo or Microsoft gaming lounges this week at Comic-Con.

Works Cited:
XBox
Nintendo

Friday, July 4, 2014

NPD May 2014: Why talk about video games?

Before I discuss about the NPD, let's discuss things. As of now, both Kaz Hirai and Satoru Iwata have confirmed that they will be remaining as CEO of their respective bases of operation: Kazi Hirai for Sony and Satoru Iwata of Nintendo. But both have been grilled by their respective shareholders for lagging sales, especially with Iwata who wasn't available due to health issues.

As a matter of fact, one investor at Nintendo wonders why Nintendo keeps making video games?

I do not understand video games and I even feel angry because, at Nintendo's shareholders' meetings, the shareholders always discuss things relating to video games or such childish topics as "what the future of video games should be," while I, for one, was flabbergasted that Mr. Iwata continues to hold his position although he had said that he would resign if the company's performance were bad*.

I hope that Nintendo's shareholders' meeting will become an opportunity where the shareholders discuss the company's business operations from the viewpoints of capital gain and dividends

Exactly. Why bother being a company about designing video games when you could be something more like a bank? In fact, hasn't that shareholder consider wanting to ask Bains Capital on buying out Nintendo in the future? It's not like they'll destroy the company from within.

Anyway, it's that time again. Time to see what games sell and what don't.

At number 10: Call of Duty: Ghosts by ActivisionBlizzard for the 360, PS3, PS4, XBone, PC and Wii U. A best friend to man's best friend.

At number 09: Kirby: Triple Deluxe from Nintendo for the 3DS. Since when did an antagonist become a captive?

At number 08: Titanfall by EA for the 360, XBone and PC. Still not as good as Loadout. XP

At number 07: NBA 2K14 by Take 2 Interactive for the 360, PS3, XBone, PS4 and PC. Bet Shaq can't shoot a 3 pointer

At number 06: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 by ActivisionBlizzard for the 360, PS3, PS4, XBone, 3DS and Wii U. Rumors of the X Box systems not getting this game were shot down, believe it or not.

At number 05: Minecraft by Mojang and 4J studios for the 360 and PS3. Just be sure you're not being stalked by Cree...*BOOM* Too late

At number 04: Wolfenstein: The New Order by Bethesda for the 360, PS3, XBone, PS4 and PC. Welcome back BJ Blazkovic

At number 03: MLB 14: The Show by Sony for the PS3, PS4 and PSVita. In memory of Tony Gwynn. RIP

At number 02: Mario Kart 8 by Nintendo for the Wii U. Now with 7 Koopaling Goodness

At number 01: Watch Dogs by Ubisoft for the 360, PS3, XBone, PS4 and PC. Wangsty goodness. XP

As you are aware, Mario Kart 8 debuts at number 2, just shy of being number 1 thanks to Watch Dogs(Later due out on the Wii U). But still a nice display of power by Nintendo of all companies. As for the hardware, the PS4 is the number one hardware followed by the 3DS. And the Wii U may still be lagging, but it has gone up from last year, at least showing it has some form of legs.

Speaking of legs, the XBone may be getting some in June thanks to a price cut and the removal of Kinect. How will that favor Microsoft in June? Stay tuned.

Works Cited: Kotaku

NeoGAF

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

E3 Smash Madness

Folks, we've had a good run of E3. The last couple of days brought with us anticipation to the upcoming games of E3. Games like Destiny, Project Spark, Hyrule Warriors, the new Little Big Planet, Sonic Boom and various others blew the minds of gamers.

Meanwhile, Sony announced it's Micro Console the Playstation TV. The system will be out in North America during the Fall and will retail for ether $99 or $139 for the system, a controller, a game(Lego Movie) and an 8GB Memory Stick.

But what was the biggest announcement of E3 2014? It may be nothing but Super Smash Bros. Already due out in October for the 3DS version and the Holidays of 2014 for the Wii U version, the hype for what may be Nintendo's biggest title ever is at its highest.

And while we have characters like the Miis and Palutena joining us, the biggest surprise was the announcement of Namco's own Pac-Man

That's right folks. Pac-Man, the famous power pellet muncher and Ghost snacker will be joining Mario, Sonic and Mega Man in the 4th Super Smash Bros.

And believe it or not, there was a Smash Bros Invitational Tournament hosted by Nintendo, marking this as the first Smash Bros 4 Tournament. You can check out the complete video courtesy of Youtube user ZephyrSonic.

All in all, Super Smash Bros is the game to look forward to. Keep your eyes peeled this October for the 3DS version and the Holiday season for the Wii U version.

Monday, June 9, 2014

NPD April 2014: E3 Day

Folks. Today is the day E3 steps down and shows off the future of video games. Later on, I'm going to talk about each of the panels. But before I do that, here's what's going on in the sales of Video Games in April

At number 10: Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag by Ubisoft for the 360, PS3, Wii U, PS4, XBone and PC. Shiver Me Timbers

At number 09: Grand Theft Auto V from Take 2 and Rockstar for the 360 and PS3. Now why haven't they made a PC version?

At number 08: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 by Activision Blizzard for the 360, PS3, Wii U, PS4 and 3DS. It's not really that amazing

At number 07: LEGO Marvel Super Heroes by Warner Bros Interactive for the 360, PS3, Wii U, DS, 3DS, XBone, PS4, PSVita and PC. I still can't believe Disney let Warner Bros publish a Marvel game

At number 06: The LEGO Movie Video Game by Warner Bros Interactive for the 360, 3DS, PS3, Wii U, XBone, PS4 and PSVita. There's still one more on the list

At number 05: LEGO The Hobbit by Warner Bros Interactive for the 360, PS3, XBone, PS4, 3DS, Wii U and PSVita. Told ya there was one more. LEGO games are still going on strong

At number 04: Minecraft by Microsoft and Mojang for the 360. Also, keep your eyes peeled for Notch's new game "Cliffhorse."

At number 03: NBA 2K14 by Take 2 for the 360, PS3, XBone, PS4 and PC. I hope you're a better free thrower than Shaq.

At number 02: Call of Duty: Ghosts by Activision Blizzard for the 360, PS3, XBone, PS4, Wii U and PC. I dunno, we could use more explorative FPSs unlike this game.

And at number 01: Titanfall by EA for the 360, XBone and PC. Personally, I enjoyed Loadout more.

Overall, Software Sales are down 10% year over year despite a jump in hardware. But while the PS4 has the best selling hardware, the XBone is starting to take a dive at around 115K. And that may be a disaster considering that Mario Kart 8 is coming out in May and despite Titanfall being at number 1, it may not be enough to stave off the Wii U if Mario Kart 8 gets its up there.

Later today, I'll talk about most of the events going on at E3. So keep your eyes peeled.

Works Cited: NeoGAF

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Watching the Dogs and GoG goes Steam crazy

Folks, it's been a week since the end of May. We all want to know how games like Watch Dogs and Mario Kart did.

In a surprising twist, Watch Dogs sold 4 million units across 5 systems: The 360, PS3, PS4, XBone and PC. Mario Kart was able to get on by with 1 million units on the Wii U alone. Not bad. But is the sales worth it.

There are people who question the game's quality. Who think Ubisoft should have done better. Who think there are too many bugs in Watch Dogs.

And then....there is Glenn Beck.

That's right folks. Last week, Glenn Beck went and attacked this game straight out because of its Hollywood-like ability to hack into anything and even going as far as to criticize the protagonist of the game.

Popular American conservative TV and radio host Glenn Beck has spoken out to criticize Ubisoft's recently released open-world Watch Dogs, the fastest selling game in Ubisoft's history. During a recent episode of his show, The Blaze (via Polygon), Beck first called out the game's protagonist Aiden Pearce for being an anti-hero and not a traditional hero like Superman.

"Why must everyone be an anti-hero? Why must everyone break the law? Why can't we have a Superman? Why can't we have somebody who is doing the right thing, does the hard thing? Instead, everybody is an anti-hero," Beck said.

Because if everybody is not like Superman, then they are like Wolverine and Deadpool. Chimichangas, bub.

And as I stated, Glenn Beck went after Watch Dogs for the hacking.

Beck also took issue with the way in which, he believes, Watch Dogs promotes hacking.

"The idea here is they are teaching you to hack and then become the ultimate voyeur in other people's lives--including their bedrooms--by hacking into their phones and everything," Beck said. "This game is teaching people to hack into whatever is docked in your bedroom. What the heck is wrong with us? What are we thinking? We are inviting this into our home and our lives. We are teaching our kids [hacking] for entertainment purposes."

We have reached out to a Ubisoft representative for a response to Beck's comments.

Cuz nothing says teaching them in a negative way than to teach a gamer how to hack Hollywood Style. Just be glad Alex Jones of all people didn't go after this game.

Meanwhile, CD Project Red has confirmed that they will be taking GoG down a darker path: A Client like Steam. That's right, folks. GoG has now joined the dark side like Steam, Origin, and uPlay. I mean, who knows what kind of evil they're going to throw at us that will glue us to the PSN and XBLA.

Today we are excited to announce GOG Galaxy, a truly gamer-friendly, 100% DRM-free online gaming platform that will finally provide the GOG.com community with the easy option to play together online. GOG Galaxy will allow you to share your achievements, stay in touch with your pals and get the updates for your games automatically. We've developed this technology to improve your GOG.com experience. We think GOG Galaxy really deserves your attention and we hope many of you will give it a try!

But, here's the great thing: it is totally optional, so it's all up to you! If you do not want to play online, or use our optional client to access these features, then no worries, you will always be able to play the single-player mode 100% DRM-free, and download manually the latest updated version of your favorite title from our website.

Now, for one more feature we call cross-play. We always believed in an open world for gamers, with no obligation to be tied to a specific platform or client; and this is why GOG Galaxy will allow gamers to play with their buddies who use Steam, without any need to use any 3rd party client or account, nothing, nada. We’re taking care of connecting GOG.com and Steam players, so just sit back, relax and give it a try.

Oh my goodness. That is revolutionary.

I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT!

Works Cited:

GameSpot

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Watch Dogs PR Epic Fail

Before we get to this epic fail, something I wanna point out.

Last week Tuesday, Nintendo and GameSpy ended their partnership completely, meaning as of then, you can no longer play your Wii or DS games online. But it's not just the Wii and DS that will forever lose its official online service. Some other gaming services will be gone at the end of this month when Gamespy shuts down its gaming servers completely.

Games like the Star Wars Battlefront games, Saints Row II, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2, Bulletstorm for the PS3, Crysis 1, 2 and Crysis Wars, and even 3 Command and Conquer games will be taken offline.

Later, I will talk more about the Gamespy shut down when the servers are no more and which games are affected.

Meanwhile, in Ubisoft land, Watch Dogs has released onto a number of system: The 360, PS3, PS4, XBone and PC with a Wii U version due out later this year. Unfortunately, it seems something went horribly wrong.

A PR stunt for Ubisoft's new Watch Dogs game has backfired, with a Police bomb squad called to the offices of an Australian news station.

A package arrived at the offices of Ninemsn yesterday, containing a letter and a small safe. Media industry site Mumbrella reports that the letter told the addressee to check their voicemail, only that reporter didn't have a new voicemail. When they then punched a pin code into the safe, the safe started beeping.

Growing slightly concerned it might be an explosive device, Ninemsn started calling other newsrooms to see if they'd gotten a similar package.

Now as you are aware, Ninemsn is a joint effort between Nine Entertainment Company and the Microsoft Network, founded in 1997. The company also acquired mobile publishing leader HWW Limited and leading Australian SMS and mobile marketing service provider 5th Finger Pty Ltd in 2006. This allows the site for much better

But something like what's going on is freaking me out a bit.

"This is definitely the other side of the line in terms of what it's safe for a PR company to send anonymously to a newsroom", Ninemsn's Hal Crawford told Mumbrella. "The thing was black, heavy and slightly creepy.1

"We did check with other newsrooms to see if they had received a similar package as we thought it was a PR stunt, but no-one else had. We weren't panicked at any point, but given there was no note explaining what it was, we had to take sensible precautions."

This is getting nerve wrenching. I mean who would be stupid enough to leave something like that?

That meant evacuating some staff and calling the bomb squad, who opened the safe (you can see it pried open up top) to find...a copy of Watch Dogs, a baseball/iconic cap and a beanie.

.......

EPIC FAIL!

Ubisoft, what were you think driving Ninemsn to calling in the Bomb Squad? You should be ashamed of yourselves resorting to this kind of negative publicity.

If anything, this is going to look bad on their part and on Watch Dogs.

Works cited: Reddit user Stevoisiak
Electronic Arts
Kotaku

Friday, May 16, 2014

Fight for the Internet begins

Anyone here who has been reading the news about Net Neutrality knows that it has been a rough year. First it was struck down by the United States Supreme Court. Then a rumored merge between Comcast and Time Warner were announced. And even more so, the FCC proposed rules that would add in speed tiers to the internet.

And despite protest, it seems the FCC is winning the battle.

U.S. regulators on Thursday advanced a "net neutrality" proposal that would ban Internet providers from blocking or slowing down access to websites but may let them charge content companies for faster and more reliable delivery of their traffic to users.

For four months now, the public can weigh in on the rules proposed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in what promises to be an intense tug-of-war between some tech companies and consumer advocates on one side and Republicans and broadband providers on the other, over the extent to which the agency can regulate Internet traffic.

Dozens protested the vote at the FCC on Thursday as many consumer advocates have rejected FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's proposal that may allow some "commercially reasonable" deals in which content companies could pay broadband providers to prioritize traffic on their networks.

Critics worry the rules would create "fast lanes" for companies that pay up and mean slower traffic for others. Wheeler pledged to use all of his powers to prevent "acts to divide the Internet between 'haves' and 'have nots.'"

Anyone here who knows what Net Neutrality is all about, knows that by adding tiers, it would make the internet less equal and more favoring those with huge amounts of cash in their bank accounts. Especially companies like Comcast and AT&T.

Folks, we are at an impasse. We need to tell the FCC that this is not acceptable as part of Net Neutrality. No speed of ANY website should be faster than the other. Let them know that this is not Net Neutrality.

In the meantime, read the rest of the article at Reuters and stay tuned. We'll talk more about the Net Neutrality situation in the future.

The Game Reporter