Sony: PS4 Sales Will Beat PS3

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The PlayStation 3 did reasonably well in this generation of games, selling 80 million consoles despite the Wii and the Xbox 360’s popularity. Still, PlayStation CEO Andrew House believes that the PlayStation 4 could do even better.

Speaking with MCV, House explained, “It has an opportunity to significantly exceed what we’ve been able to achieve with PS3 and there’s a couple of reasons for that. We start off with a price point that is much more consumer friendly than was there for the PS3 (which launched at $499-$599).”

“Also, one of the success stories for the business as a whole has been our ability to open up new geographies for video games over the last five years. You are seeing opportunities for new markets that we haven’t tapped into. The other point is that we took several years to take PS3 from being a dual function device to a multi-functional entertainment device. PS4 arrives with a full suite of those non-game entertainment services right from day one,” House continued.

“And that’s important because there will be someone who wants this as a games device, but the fact it is a great place to view BBC iPlayer, for example, gives  other family members reason to use it. That is crucial in broadening what the console’s reach could be.”

The PlayStation 4 is currently available in stores

Source: MCV UK

GameStick Gets Ubisoft Game

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The GameStick Android-based console is making the rounds in retail, but the company is still looking to add some big names to its game library. Today, it added the Prince of Persia to its line-up.

GameStick as announced a partnership with Ubisoft that will bring the action/adventure title Prince of Persia: The Shadow and the Flame to the platform. This marks the first major publisher to hop on board the format, with others sure to follow sometime in 2014.

No other gaming projects have been announced through the partnership yet, and The Shadow and the Flame doesn’t have a release date. However, you can expect more information – and the game – in 2014.

Source: Engadget

China Mobile Gets iPhones, Huge Sales Predicted

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Now that Apple has (finally!) put together a distribution deal with China Mobile, high expectations are in place for iPhone devices in the country. An estimate from Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster indicates that iPhones could see huge sales when they are available next year in China.

China Mobile, with more than 700 million subscribers in the country, could sell 17 million total iPhones next year – approximately ten percent of the carrier’s 3G subscriber base, though only two percent of its total subscribers. Still, that could mean a big sales boost  for Apple, equal to more than a month of worldwide sales of iPhones.

Meanwhile, Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White paints a bigger picture for Chinese iPhone sales, with an estimated 20 to 24 million units sold through China Mobile.

“We expect a strong marketing push to follow the official announcement, and that is what is critical,” said Wedge Partners analyst Brian Blair, following his estimates of 18 to 20 million. “It’s Apple’s job to turn the Chinese consumer away from entrenched brands like Samsung.”

Source: All Things D

Kabam Lands Stadium Naming Rights

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Kabam, a mobile publisher who has gained popularity with such releases as Kingdoms of Camelot and The Hobbit: Armies of the Third Age, is taking its game to the next level – college football.

The studio will pay $18 million over 15 years for the naming rights to California Memorial Stadium at the University of California’s Berkeley campus, according to the company and UC Berkeley. This is the most lucrative naming rights deal in the history of college sports.

“We have such a strong ties to Cal. The original business plan, for doing social networking, was created in a Cal classroom,” said Kabam CEO Kevin Chou. “It wasn’t the game company. But of the four co-founders, three of us went to Cal and that’s how we go to know each other.”

Kabam will also finance a scholarship, and several execs will be guest-lecturing at the university in the coming years.

Source: GamesIndustry International

Jetpack PC Backs Your TV

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Say hello to the Jetpack, a SteamOS PC that hides out behind your TV.

This new PC, designed by hardware manufacturer Piixl, features a sleek, thin body and run’s Valve’s Linux-based Steam operating system…so it has plenty of power. It supports high-end components such as overclocked Intel Core i7 processors, the latest graphics cards from Nvidia, including the Titan and GTX780, and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Users could also put Windows or Linux on the Jetpack.

The real stand-out feature, though, is the system’s ability to latch onto the back of your TV, like an actual jetpack. That way, it stays out of view, while still giving you the game experience you want.

“Jetpack is designed for gamers that do not want to compromise on performance nor interior design,” said Piixl managing director Francois-Xavier Gardes. “Whether wall-mounted or on a table, its presence stays smart and minimalistic while providing leading edge-performance and tweak potential virtually on par with a full-tower.”

The Jetpack is expected to release on January 1st for a retail cost of $1,000. And yes, hackers, it will be enabled for modding.

Source: VentureBeat

Twitter’s Ads Set To Target

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It was only this past summer when Twitter whet advertisers’ appetites for better, more targeted ads. Yesterday in a blog post Twitter revealed that global availability for advertising to tailored audiences is now ready for prime time.

‘Tailored audiences’ is Twitter’s way of saying better ways of identifying existing and potential customers on Twitter. A beta test showed a huge bump in engagement rates of 45 percent when targeting the right audiences. Not only that, but Twitter wants to make sure your dollars are stretching. Cost-per-customer acquisition was decreased by 74 percent.

So how does this work Twitter sets up an example with a fictitious hotel chain:

“To get the special offer to those people who are also on Twitter, the hotel brand may share with us browser-related information (browser cookie ID) through an ads partner. We can then match that information to Twitter accounts in order to show the matched users a Promoted Tweet with the travel deal.”

 

Twitter has partnered up with AdRoll, BlueKai, Dstillery, Quantcast, ValueClick, Lotame, Chango and [x+1] as approved ad partners to create these ads and help transfer audience data to Twitter.

Source: TechCrunch

‘Battlefield 4’ Expansions On Hold

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Ever since its release last month for various consoles, Battlefield 4 has been stirring up a storm with players nationwide. Not all of them are pleased, however, as various online problems with the game have been reported. Today, Electronic Arts put a plan into action.

The company has stated that it has halted development on further expansions for the game while it fixes online issues with the current game. Speaking with Polygon, an EA representative stated that the developers at DICE are “working  non-stop” to fix the problems.

“First, we want to thank the fans out there that are playing and supporting us with Battlefield 4,” said the rep. “We know we still have a ways to go with fixing the game – it is absolutely our number one priority. The team at DICE is working non-stop to update the game.”

The rep continued, “Since Battlefield 4‘s China Rising expansion pack was already in the final stages of development by the time issues began with (the game), we decided to fulfill our promise to deliver it this week, but we’re not moving onto future projects or expansions until we sort out all the issues with Battlefield 4. We know many of our players are frustrated, and we feel their pain. We will not stop until this is right.”

The game is currently available for a number of platforms, including new game machines like the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Source: Gamesindustry International

Take-Two: High Hopes For Next-Gen

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With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One now available in stores, some people are wondering just how successful the next-generation of game systems will be. But Take-Two Interactive chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick has no doubt – they’ll be successful.

Speaking at the Credit Suisse 2013 Technology Conference the previous evening, Strauss stated, “It appears that – and this is largely anecdotal but tablets are a good example – all these new iterations of more and more exciting hardware seem to have picked up in velocity generationally compared to five or 10 years ago.”

“But if we had a big market meltdown, for example, a repeat of 2008 and 2009 in three years, or two years, or two minutes, that would influence it. But if this economy stays on this track, yeah, I feel good about it,” concluded Strauss.

Take-Two has been quiet in terms of releases for next-gen systems, but Strauss did state, “If I said we had a title called Steven’s Life In Elementary School next October and I told you it was going to sell 20 million units, what credibility could that possibly have New intellectual property is a risky business.”

Source: Eurogamer

Xbox One Or PS4 On Contract

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Don’t want to pay the full $499 for an Xbox One this holiday season Some lucky European gamers will soon have a payment plan available to get it, via contract.

Mobile phone network O2 has added the Xbox One to its current in-store line-up, offering consumers the opportunity to pay £99.99 up front to get their hands on the system. The catch is, they need to sign up for a two-year, £52-a-month contract to finish paying it off.

As part of the package, buyers will get the system, along with a copy of FIFA 14, an Xbox Live 12-month Gold membership, and a Nokia Lumia 1020 Windows 8 Smartphone.

The deal is currently only available in O2 stores, where they are also offering a similar deal for Sony PlayStation 4 bundled with a Sony Xperia Z1 smartphone.

Source: MCV UK

Pokémon 2DS Bundles Coming

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Nintendo has a ton of 3DS-related bundles available for purchase right now, including a Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds package that is a hotly anticipated item. Still, that isn’t stopping the company from producing a couple more.

This time around, the newly launched 2DS handheld is the focus, as Nintendo is teaming up with Target and Toys ‘R Us for exclusive Pokémon-related bundles.

Going for $149.99 apiece, the bundles will include either a red (for Target) or blue (for Toys ‘R Us) 2DS console, and come installed with either Pokémon X (for Target) or Pokémon Y (for Toys ‘R Us). Both will be available starting December 6, and should be steals for parents and gamers everywhere.

Source: Polygon