PlayStation 4 Demo Kiosks Arrive

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Up until this point, the PlayStation 4 has only been available to play at certain trade and fan events, including PAX Prime, the Electronic Entertainment Expo, and the San Diego Comic-Con. However, as of this week, that’s changed.

Sony has released various demonstration units featuring the PlayStation 4, allowing users to try out a variety of games for the system, including Knack, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, FIFA 14 and Contrast.

Curious buyers can go to the “Experience PlayStation” page to find the nearest location to play the system. The list will grow with new stores, mainly retailers, each day, so be sure to check back if nothing is in your area yet.

The PlayStation 4 releases in the U.S. on November 15th.

Source: Shacknews

First NFL, Now Soccer For Xbox One

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Microsoft’s Xbox Entertainment Studios has been working on ways to produce original content for the upcoming Xbox One game system, and this week, word comes about its latest move – street soccer.

The company is reportedly looking into a new unscripted reality series called Every Street United, which focuses on street soccer players across different countries, including the United States, Spain, Holland, France, Argentina, Brazil, Ghana and South Korea.

The show will last approximate eight episodes, at 30 minutes a piece, although a ninth is also being discussed to revolve around the 2014 World Cup, with the eight players facing off in a 4-on-4 match-up.

The show is being produced by Mandalay Sports Media and features the talents of Mike Tollin, producer of Coach Carter and Varsity Blues, as well as long-time producer Peter Guber (The Color Purple). Documentary filmmaker Jonathan Hock, who previously worked on entries in ESPN’s 30 For 30 series, will direct “a portion of the series.”

No word yet on when the series will air, but with the 2014 World Cup happening soon, it’s probably expected sometime next summer.

Microsoft’s Xbox One console makes its debut in the U.S. on November 22.

Source: Digital Trends

 

Range Rover’s Choose Your Adventure

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Failed experiments with interactive films back in the 80’s isn’t stopping Land Rover from trying out the practice for an ad campaign.

Land Rover has invited various customers to check out the 2014 Range Rover Sport in a new digital campaign called “Race the Sun.” In it, users will be able to take part in a fast race across various landscapes, controlling the action with their smartphone devices.

It interacts like a second-screen experience, letting viewers control on-screen action through their decisions and alter what happens next, either by tilting, swiping or tapping on their touch-screen.

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Developed by Y&R NYC and Wunderman NY, and directed by Dante Ariola, the project is just one part of Land Rover’s bigger “Driven To Another Level” campaign.Source: PSFK

Weirdly Astounding GIFs

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Creating GIF files isn’t uncommon for Internet users these days, as they create all sorts ranging from favorite moments in movies to ridiculous recreations of real-life events. However, Zach Dougherty has a few that stand out as quite different.

The technique is compelling, and might be well-suited to taking in-game graphics and juxtaposing them with the real world for images with high viral potential.

Dougherty, a talented digital artist, is no stranger to weird but enjoyable GIF’s, as he’s proven in the past. They’re definitely worth a look — and who knows, you just might become a fan.

Source: This Is Colossal

Cross-Platform Play Gaining Ground

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In this current generation of consoles, playing with your friends was pretty simple. Xbox 360 owners could play with each other; PlayStation 3 owners could compete with fellow system owners; and so forth. However, when it comes to cross-platform play, very few games provided an opportunity to do so.

However, it appears that console manufacturers could be backing down and allowing more options to play across various consoles. Nintendo, for example, has loosened up, as developers for both Pure Chess and Cubemen 2 stated that their games would be cross-playable with those on the PC. “On Pure Chess we asked whether we could do cross-platform multiplayer, expecting it to be the typical closed console platform I’ve been used to working with for 20 years,” said Pure Chess developer Phil Gaskell, speaking with Eurogamer. “Within a couple of days they said, ‘Yep, no problem. You can have other console players playing against Wii U players. You can have smartphone players play against them. No problem.”

“We’re still talking to Sony about them relaxing their policies, but we don’t think they’ll have any issue with it,” said Gaskell. “So when we launch Pure Chess you’ll be able to play against Wii U, 3DS, iOS and Android players. And when we patch PlayStation those consoles will be added into the mix as well.”

Microsoft has also suggested the idea, as general manager Phil Harrison stated the possibilities of playing between PC and Xbox One. “I’m not allowed to leak things, but I think what you’re talking about makes a lot of sense,” when someone at AusGamers suggested it.

Sony has eased up as well, especially with such releases as Final Fantasy XIV and Valve’s Portal 2 presenting ideas with PS3/PC connectivity. However, there’s no word yet on any PlayStation 4 games that would allow for it. It’s hard to see why not, though.

Source: Ars Technica

Zynga MOBA Comes To PC

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Solstice Arena was a rather big hit when it arrived on iOS and Mac a while back, bringing high-speed fighting action to players everywhere. Zynga, the publishers of the game, are bringing it to a new audience by releasing the game as a PC download on Steam featuring cross-platform play. Zynga’s previous PC games have all been hosted (either on Facebook or on Zynga.com), so this represents an interesting departure for the company.

Zynga has announced that Solstice Arena is now available for PC, bringing its “speed MOBA” tactics to a new audience. The game features matches that run approximately 5 to 12 minutes – much faster than the usual League of Legends face-offs – and also has options for 3-on-3 battle arenas across the board, whether players go solo or want to invite friends into some player vs. player and co-op matches.

The game also features various heroes and skins that can be unlocked through spending valor, which can be earned either naturally through the game or bought via an in-app purchase. Optimized mouse controls are also included, a nice change of pace from all the screen-tapping action.

Source: Shacknews

 

AR Meets RC Cars In Anki Drive

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There’s a new type of racing game coming to iOS, and it’s so unusual that Apple CEO Tim Cook presented it as part of the keynote at the Worldwide Developer’s Conference in June. It’s Anki Drive, and the racing game uses iOS devices to control real robotic race cars that can motor around the track by themselves. It’s easy to play by merely tilting your iPhone to control the direction of the car, and sliding a power button to control the speed.

The cars race on a special vinyl race mat, while the robot brains of the cars keep them on the track with ease. The game is like a real-world Mario Kart battle, where you fire your weapons at other cars (which activates LEDs and sounds) to earn points. You also gain experience through racing and then customize your cars, building them to suit your play style.

“As exciting as this step is for us, we look at it as much more than just the launch of our first product,” Boris Sofman, co-founder and CEO of Anki. “We see it as a key step in a massive new industry still in its infancy. We see Anki Drive as a milestone in consumer robotics, and a demonstration of how transformative robotics and artificial intelligence technologies can be to categories that have yet to be touched by them. When we created Anki Drive, we also created a foundation of technologies that are now the building blocks for many of our future products.”

The company grew out of nights and weekends at Carnegie Mellon, where the three co-founders looked for ways to bring robotics technology to a consumer audience. The relentless advance of Moore’s Law means that sophisticated microcontrollers, cameras and other components are inexpensive. “We can now take sophisticated algorithms and make them available to consumers,” said co-founder and chief product officer Mark Palatucci.

Anki is doing this with a sense of style, too, bringing in Hollywood designer Harald Belker. “Harald is the man behind the design of such film icons as the ’96 Batmobile, the vehicles in Minority Report, Tron Legacy and recently, Total Recall 2012,” said Hanns Tappeiner, co-founder and president of Anki. The car designs for Anki Drive show this heritage, and add to the impression that Anki has left no element of the product to chance.

The packaging and presentation are top notch, and Palatucci noted that the intent is that customers will use the packaging as a storage case for the product. Even the car cases are functional as well as beautiful, holding the car in a display case that also has a charging port.

Anki Drive is more than just attractive cars and packaging, though. It’s also a rather deep game, since you are competing to gain points by using customizable weapons and defenses while you race around the track. You gain experience over time and can further customize your cars. You can race against the AI of the robot cars, and when you crank up the difficulty level it’s very challenging. Of course, it’s fun to race against other people, and this brings all the fun of a slot car set or a train set to a whole new level.

One of the most important features of Anki Drive is the price. It’s $199.99 for the case, the track, and two cars, with additional cars available for $69.99 each. Each car provides about 20 minutes of racing before a recharge, which takes about seven minutes. The product is available at Apple stores on October 23, and next year will be available at a variety of major retail chains. It’s only on iOS at the moment, but Android compatibility would seem to be only a matter of time.

 

It’s a futuristic mix of the fun of RC cars without the need to learn fine motor skills in order to play a strategic racing game. The blend of game and toy works very well here, and points the way to some exciting possibilities for the future. Perhaps some day you’ll be controlling miniature robot fighters as they make their way through a dungeon. In the meantime, Anki Drive looks like great family fun as well as a competitive game for all ages.

U.S. Monthly Digital Game Sales Near $1 Billion Mark

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SuperData released data for top digital game sales in September 2013.

Joost van Dreunen, CEO of SuperData, provides insight for the report.

September saw the release of the biggest entertainment franchise to-date, the filing of King’s public offering, and a shuffling of the deck among several major free-to-play publishers. Across all categories, digital games accounted for a total of $970 million in sales, up six percent from a year ago. We expect GTA V’s foray into micro-transactions to be closely watched by its competitors, as it serves as an important barometer for the future of the revenue model for triple A titles.

Social Games

The social game segment showed signs of recovery, as monthly revenues reached $176 million in September, up 16 percent from a year ago. This is largely the result of an increase in average spending, as the average revenue per paying user reached almost $48, up from $45 last month. However, the overall conversion rate dipped below two percent for the first time in four months, reiterating the strong dependence this segment has on a narrow group of high-spending users.

After several shutdowns in August, September saw the launch of several new casino-style games such as CasinoRPG (Goldfire Studios), Stardust Casino (Win) and Akamon Slots (Akamon Entertainment). As the available inventory for social casino continues to grow, users have started to migrate to mobile platforms instead, allowing for a reshuffling of the top publishers in several of the major game categories.

Free-to-Play MMO

The free-to-play MMO segment stabilized around $249 million in September, as overall spending softened for a second month in a row. This offset a slight gain in the overall audience base, which grew by just under 700,000 monthly actives.

EA announced the release dates of the next expansion pack for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Scheduled for early release in 2014, Galactic Starfighter features 12-on-12 dogfighting in addition to the current PvP combat in the three “Warzones.” The new end-game content announced for Rift (Trion Worlds), called Beyond Infinity, offers several new 20-player raids, and is one of the largest updates for the title so far. At PAX Prime, Sony Online Entertainment released more details on EverQuest Next: Landmark, which allows players to build structures and in-game items. And finally, Lord of the Rings Online (Turbine) announced the release date of the next expansion pack, Helm’s Deep, for November 18, which will raise the level cap to 95 and offers pre-order packs.

Several disappointments also characterized the category this month. After four years of existence, EA announced the closure of card-based RTS BattleForge after it failed the transition to free-to-play. Firefall (Red 5 Studios) only managed to get 3 percent of its players to regularly play in PvP mode, thereby shattering its ambitions to become an eSports favorite. As a result, Red 5 Studios has taken PvP offline, hoping to “regroup, rethink and deliver the best PvP system possible.” Hi-Rez Studios CEO Erez Goren gave a candid account on why they shuttered Global Agenda and Tribes Ascend, stating that “overall we spend [sic] about $40 million running the company vs. $10 million in revenue.”

Pay-to-Play MMO

Despite losing over 300,000 subscribers in September, the subscription-based MMO category earnings reached $82 million, roughly the same as the month before. In the past 12-month period, the overall segment has lost 1.7 million subscribing gamers, but managed to offset its losses by growing the average revenue per paying user to about $25 a month with micro-transactions.

EVE Online (CCP Games) continues to perform well, especially on its Eastern servers, as the game encroaches upon 600,000 monthly subscribers. SW:TOR’s release of Rise of the Hutt Cartel failed to positively affecte its subscriber base, losing an estimated 20,000 players, but did manage to keep its monthly active user base above one million.

Mobile 

The mobile games segment grew an estimated 14 percent month-over-month to $266 million in September, and 52 percent year-over-year, up from $175 million in September, 2012. This was largely the result of the increase in monthly active users across the various platforms, which reached 246 million.

Chinese MMO giant Perfect World announced its intention to launch several free-to-play style mobile games, which potentially adds a worthwhile contender in the ecosystem. Meanwhile, app store leader King managed to file for an initial public offering and add a second title, Pet Rescue Saga, to the top grossing list on iOS. This second contender generated an estimated $360,000 per day in September, compared to its big brother Candy Crush Saga, which had an estimated daily yield of $850,000, or roughly 2.4x.

Downloadable (PC + Console)

The combined U.S. market for downloadable content on consoles and PC reached $198 million in September, down 23 percent from a year earlier. This was mostly due to an increase in spending on consoles, which grew 24 percent month-over-month. Nonetheless, we expect the total sales of DLC on console to remain limited throughout the rest of the year, as storage space on the hardware devices continues to be limited.

Because of enormous demand, Take-Two Interactive struggled to keep the multiplayer component of GTA V online. The company did confirm that it is offering micro-transactions as an additional revenue stream, but this has yet to fully materialize. As this additional monetization scheme currently only appears to offer in-game currency, and no unique items or vehicles, we forecast $206 million in additional revenues in the next twelve months.

Note from SuperData on methodology: SuperData collects anonymized user data directly from publishers and developers, looking at spending by more than 2.8 million unique paying online gamers across 50 publishers and 450+ game titles. 

For full reports, visit SuperData Market Data.

 

About the Author

Joost van Dreunen, Ph.D., is CEO SuperData Research, a market intelligence provider specialized in online games. He has written extensively on online audiences, monetization strategies, virtual goods, social games, free-to-play, online gaming and entertainment.

‘Perfect Storm’ For PC Gaming

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It’s the time of year when the game industry turns its attention to big console releases and how games sell at retail. With next-generation systems coming this year, expect consoles to take the lion’s share of gamer mindshare over the next few months.  In the midst of that storm, Newzoo sees another one — a “perfect storm,” as they call it — brewing to drive a resurgence in PC gaming.

In an extensive new report, Newzoo forecasts boxed and digital PC games will take a bigger share of the games market this year, carving out $27.6 billion of an estimated $70 billion global games market.  That’s compared to the $25.4 billion the firm forecasts for console game sales. Newzoo also sees the worldwide PC game market growing by nearly 17 percent over the next three years, thanks to continuing adoption of digital, MMO and free to play games as well as the proliferation of PC screens through tablets and mobile devices.

Newzoo states in the report: “On a global scale, there are more ‘core’ PC/MMO gamers than ‘core’ console gamers, all looking for the next great gaming experience — whether that’s an indie hit or a blockbuster ‘AAA’ title. These PC gamers are spending more time not just playing games, but creating and sharing videos about their favorite games. And they’re watching live streams of professional video game players practicing and competing in big tournaments for millions of dollars. This has created a ‘perfect storm’ for PC gaming that ties in nicely with the importance of post-launch exposure for free-to-play games that are all run as a service.”

The report, titled “PC Gaming: Power to the People,” is a broad look at the PC gaming landscape and the consumer culture around it. It looks beyond market forecasts to make sense of the demographics of today’s PC gamers worldwide and their habits, such as their growing adoption of eSports, cross-screen gaming and consumption of game content through online videos. Newzoo sees these trends as both indicative of and feeding the growth in PC gaming.  It estimates that nearly one in five PC game players can be classified as core gamers based on behaviors such as time and money spent on games and the genres they prefer.

The full report is a free download from Newzoo, available here.

A Digital Reunion

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Saroo Brierley was separated from his family at a train station and was eventually put up for adoption, but he never gave up hope of finding his birth family. Using Google Earth and a lot of determination, he was able to be reunited in this tear-jerking story that is also a great demonstration of Google Map technology in action.