Next-Gen Graphics Showdown

BY

The next-generation console war is about to heat up, with both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One set to arrive in the U.S. this November. There’s talk that Sony is more than prepared, stating that the PlayStation 4 is more powerful than the Xbox One by an approximate 30 percent. Microsoft doesn’t feel this is the case and recently announced the Xbox One’s clock speed has been boosted to 1.75 Ghz.

In a published interview with Rev3Games, Microsoft Director of Product Albert Penello stated that there’s “no way” the company will let the competition gain an advantage in terms of power.

Technical stats indicate that the PlayStation4’s GPU processes 1.8 TFLOPS and uses GDDR5 memory at 5500mhz, while the Xbox One has 1.23 TFLOPS (before the 150Mhz clock speed boost) and uses DDR3 memory at 2133mhz.

“I’m not dismissing raw performance. I’m stating – as I have stated from the beginning – that the performance delta between the two platforms is not as great as the raw numbers lead the average consumer to believe,” said Penello. “There are things about our system architecture not fully understood, and there are things about theirs as well, that bring the two systems into balance.”

“People do understand that Microsoft has some of the smartest graphics programmers in the world. We created DirectX, the standard API’s that everyone programs against. So while people laude Sony for their (hardware) skills, do you really think we don’t know how to build a system optimized for maximizing graphics for programmers Seriously There is no way we’re giving up a 30 percent plus advantage to Sony. And anyone who has seen both systems running could say there are great looking games on both systems. If there was really huge performance difference – it would be obvious.”

Source: Examiner

EA’s Creative Edge

BY

Electronic Arts is a company that knows how to get the most out of a franchise, as we’ve seen from various Need For Speed and Battlefield games over the years. Let’s not forget the amazing runs of sports games like Madden and FIFA, either. Yet some critics have wondered if EA and other large publishers are too risk-averse to launch new IPs as development costs continue to rise.

EA also knows how to churn out original fare as well, including the highly acclaimed multiplayer shooter Titanfall, and it looks like that’s not the only new game on the horizon. EA games chief Patrick Soderlund spoke with MCV, explaining that the company has even more ideas up its sleeve, along with some familiar franchises.

“We are working on a new Mirror’s Edge game, and although that’s not a new IP, it is a revival done in a new way. We are developing Star Wars Battlefront, which to us is a new IP, even though it isn’t technically,” he explained. “We have six to eight completely new IPs in the works. The day we stop making new IP is when we go onto life support. We need to incubate new ideas and push creative boundaries.”

It’ll be interesting to see what the company announces over the next couple of years.

Source: MCV

Put The ‘Pro’ In Procrastination

BY

Game Connection organizers have extended the deadline to enter their 3rd Edition Marketing Awards to September 20.

The awards are free to enter and consider work in a variety of marketing categories executed between January 2012 and August 2013. Winners will be chosen by a panel of senior executives in the game industry and announced at Game Connection Europe, scheduled to take place December 3-5 in Paris.

Entries can be submitted digitally through the Game Connection awards site.

For more insight into these awards, check out our interview with Giulia Palmieri, Game Connection’s head of marketing.

Hirshberg: Activision Takes Risks

BY

Some have criticized Activision for playing it safe by cranking out new Call of Duty titles every year, but Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg doesn’t believe it for a minute.

“I think there is a false narrative that all Activision wants to do is put out a Call of Duty every year, when in fact we’ve shown some real innovation and appetite for risk,” Hirshberg told CVG in an interview.

During the interview Hirshberg pointed to Skylanders as an example of a massive risk, but one that the media forgets about in favor of Activision’s shooters. “I think that publishers which have wider and ‘more diverse’ slates are far less risky than us, are far less creative. Just because you have a game in every genre does not mean you’re creative. So, what we do is certainly a strategy that’s not for everyone, and it’s not the only way to make good business, but it works for us. It’s something that pre-dates me, it’s something Activision has done for many years.”

Activision certainly took a risk with Skylanders, investing more than $100 million in development for an unproven title with high manufacturing costs for all the toys. The gamble has been a successful one, with Skylanders bringing in more than $1.5 billion at retail since its launch. Coming up, Activision is betting big on Bungie’s new game Destiny, a completely new IP that has potential to be a major hit.

Source: GamesIndustry International

‘Zero Viral Impact’ From Facebook Hashtags

BY

Back in June, Facebook  introduced a hashtag system, much like the one that Twitter has utilized over the past few years, hoping that users would tag particular subjects in their Facebook posts. Unfortunately, according to a new report, this new system isn’t as well received as company execs were hoping.

Facebook analytics service EdgeRank Checker showed that Facebook hashtags don’t really have much of an effect on the page, with no extra exposure or viral reach whatsoever. In fact, the effect is quite opposite, where posts with hashtags get less exposure than ones without.

“The data shows that posts that didn’t include a hashtag performed better than posts with hashtags…posts with hashtags don’t increase viral reach,” said EdgeRank in a blog post.

We’ll see what changes Facebook makes to the system in the months ahead.

Source: CNET

US Game Sales Healthy Despite Dip

BY

Big business continues to thrive in the U.S. video game market, even if numbers are slightly down from last year.

According to a report from the NPD group, Americans spent approximately $2.88 billion on gaming software during the second quarter. That’s a big number, but, surprisingly, it’s lower than previous years, down three percent from year-over-year. The numbers were unveiled as part of the quarterly Games Market Dynamics: US report.

According to said report, most of the sales – about 61 percent – came from digital games, with $1.77 billion totaled. These include full game downloads, add-on content and mobile/social games combined.

NPD analyst Liam Callahan stated, “The decrease in new physical spending is partly due to the decline in the number of new SKUs released at retail, (with 37 percent fewer new SKUs in Q2 ’13 compared to Q2 ’12) which is to be expected as developers, publishers and consumers alike prepare for the next hardware generation,” Callahan said. “Increases in digital format spending offset nearly all the losses from the declines in physical format spending, with digital full game downloads and downloadable content spending experiencing a combined 27 percent increase (when compared to Q2 ’12). Spending increases occurred across both video games and PC games in the digital format.”

We’ll see how Q3 2013 fares with a number of new releases on the horizon.

Source: GamesIndustry International

Nintendo eShop Embraces Indies

BY

Though Nintendo’s eShop has been moving slowly compared to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, the service will soon see an influx of original digital games and indie-published titles, thanks to a new push from Nintendo.

“We’ve actually been very proactive in helping developers,” said Nintendo’s Dan Adelman, who previously worked with Xbox Live Arcade before moving in to help Nintendo’s digital business. “We probably don’t do as good a job of broadcasting that as we should.”

Indie developers are welcome with open arms on the Wii U and 3DS, according to Adelman. “We have a place where aspiring developers go – it’s wiiu-developers.nintendo.com – where they can sign up to be a licensed developer. We have an introductory program where we’re making it easier for them to get dev kits.”

Those who qualify can get Unity Pro tools for Wii U development, something that will save them $1500 in equipment down the road. Licensing fees are waived as well. The catch They’ll need to use Unity in order to develop their games.

“More and more studios are using Unity as their go-to engine, and the cost associated with supporting Wii U becomes dramatically lower,” says Adelman. “The break-even point is so low that you can afford to do something completely experimental, just a one-off, try it out, and still do well.”

Source: IGN

Xbox One Upgrade Program Detailed

BY

Microsoft has clarified the details of an initiative first introduced a few weeks back, naming the games that qualify for the “upgrade” program taking effect when the Xbox One releases on November 22.

Through this program, players will be able to trade particular Xbox 360 games for the Xbox One versions, adding just another $10 to get the newer versions. Amazon and Best Buy are already on board, and GameStop is offering a similar initiative as well.

These titles include: Battlefield 4, Madden NFL 25, Need For Speed: Rivals, Call of Duty: Ghosts, NBA 2K14, FIFA 14 and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Watch Dogs has also been listed by Amazon and Best Buy, but not confirmed by Microsoft just yet.

The deal will go through December 31, so if you want to upgrade, prepare to do it quickly.

Source: MCV

Wii U Plays TV Tag

BY

Have you ever had a moment where you really wanted to draw an image during a TV program, John Madden commentator style, which expressed how you felt about a particular character or situation Well, prepare to put those imaginative drawing powers to use.

Nintendo has announced a new feature that will allow users to interact with TV programming through their Wii U and its TVii service. Called the “TV Tag” option, this will let users draw on the GamePad’s touch-screen with their stylus, creating words and pictures to express something that’s happening with live programming.

The program works across the board with various services, including cable and satellite providers, as well as the Netflix and Hulu apps. No additional equipment will be required to take advantage of this, though you will need to be a subscriber of the services to get the programming, obviously. In addition, you’ll be able to share these moments with folks through Miiverse, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

“TV Tag” is live now through the TVii menu.

Source: Polygon

Scratching The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Itch

BY

Disruptor Beam’s Game of Thrones: Ascent could be the fix fans of the series need while the HBO show is on hiatus.  The social and browser game, which is available online through Facebook, Kongregate and Disruptor Beam’s web site, is not surprisingly heavily intertwined with the storyline of the massively popular HBO series.  Although the game story initially starts in the books, preceding events in the show’s firsts season, they eventually tie closely to what the TV show has covered over three seasons.

According to Jessica Sliwinski, the game’s lead narrative designer at Disruptor Beam, the authenticity of the game’s narrative comes from a close relationship between the developer, producers of the show at HBO, and author George R. R. Martin.

In this exclusive interview with [a]list daily, Sliwinski and Disruptor Beam community director Katie Postma delve into the storyline and what players experience in the free-to-play game.