How Sony’s Steady Approach To PlayStation VR Will Pay Off

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While the competing Oculus Rift and HTC Vive virtual reality headsets sell for around $600 and $800 respectively, Sony just announced that the PlayStation VR will go for $400 when it releases in October. The price comes with a special virtual reality edition of Star Wars Battlefront, followed by 50 games that will support the headset before the year is out.

Among its features will be a “cinematic mode,” which lets users play non-VR games or watch movies with apps like Netflix. Details on other features are forthcoming.

The company’s been hard at work bolstering the line-up for its PlayStation VR headset for some time, with a recent showcase this past December at the PlayStation Experience event gaining some huge buzz, behind titles like Ace Combat 7, Rez Infinite and 100ft Robot Golf, among others. However, it hasn’t yet announced a release date or price on the headset, although that could change this week. The company is hosting a special event prior to this week’s Game Developers Conference that could shed some light on this department.

While some consumers just want Sony to announce the details already, the company’s slow and steady approach may just be the way to go. There are several reasons for this…

Seeing What the Competition Will Do

Based on the announcements made by HTC and Oculus thus far, virtual reality will be a bit on the expensive side. While most alternatives, like Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR, go for a much more affordable rate, the Vive and Oculus Rift, respectively, will cost several hundreds of dollars for consumers to pick up. And that’s if you can get your hands on one—both units’ initial shipments have been sold out for weeks, with plenty of backorders logged for each.

Sony, in the meantime, is taking the cautious approach. They have introduced gadgets for PlayStation consoles before–namely the PlayStation Move motion controller–with somewhat mixed results. It’s adapted the “live and learn” motto as a result, and is taking its time when it comes to solidifying details for the PlayStation VR. Several whispers have indicated that the unit will sell for a much more consumer-friendly price, around $400, and release during the holiday season–but that’s just speculation.

Built With PlayStation 4 In Mind

One frustrating factor that some consumers can’t get over with the Vive or the Rift is that both devices require a high-end PC to run in order to get the most out of them. And this is just for desktop computers–rumors indicate that the headsets won’t work on laptops at all.

Sony wants to make sure that the PlayStation VR works in stride with the PlayStation 4, if only because it wants to continue on the “hot streak” that it’s on. The PS4 has already sold 30 million units in just over two years’ time, and will continue its momentum with titles like Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and Ratchet & Clank, and whatever else it chooses to announce at E3 in just a few months. Sony is making sure that the peripheral is good and ready for a consumer base that feverishly wants it.

Being one of the few VR headsets that works with a game console, the PlayStation VR should be easily accessible compared to other high-end units.

A Killer Game Line-Up

Last but certainly not least, Sony knows that a device is only as good as the games that support it. This might explain why the PlayStation Move didn’t fare as well as the company was hoping, with weak titles like Kung Fu Rider and PlayStation Move Heroes failing to capitalize on the hardware.

So it makes sense that the company wants to pace out the PlayStation VR launch until the games are ready. So far, it’s got a very diverse line-up of games available, with a variety of genres and experiences lining up. Third-party support is picking up as well, with more set to sign up as the peripheral builds up steam.

So, sure, Sony is waiting a little bit longer until it has the games ready that will truly capitalize on what it can do. So far, there’s a lot of potential with what it’s introduced–but chances are we haven’t seen anything yet.

We’ll see whatever Sony has in mind with the PlayStation VR soon enough. It may be playing a waiting game, but it’s one that will certainly pay off, especially with the games and proper marketing campaign to back it up.

Hearthstone ‘Old Gods’ Expansion Breaks Into New Territory

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Digital card games have really blown up, with a variety of developers offering their own takes, like the Plants vs. Zombies-themed collectible card game. However, even with the rise in popularity, Blizzard continues to dominate the genre with Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft.

Today, the third major Hearthstone expansion, Whispers of the Old Gods, was announced to millions of fans that play the game on PC and mobile devices. It continues to grow the digital card game market overall, which has now topped $1.2 billion according to SuperData Research.

SuperData also noted that continued updates improvements, along with the general support provided by Blizzard, have helped push Hearthstone to become a huge success, and with revenues reaching over $500 million thus far. But to keep players interested, Blizzard is looking to shake things up. Old Gods includes the launch of new Standard and Wildcard formats. An update coming next week includes features like addition deck slots and new “Deck Recipes” (pre-selected decks) to help players build up their arsenal. On top of that, the expansion introduces a story that lets players explore a new, dark, territory—just the incentive needed to keep fans hooked.

To help promote the forthcoming expansion, Blizzard is giving away a special legendary card, featuring the C’Thun, a powerful creature with tentacles, as well as two different forms of one of its cultists, the Beckoner of Evil. This should no doubt draw in thousands of players as the promotion kicks off for Old Gods in late April to early May.

Blizzard has done a great job supporting the game, opening up potential tournaments and keeping the game freshly updated, between regular updates and expansions, to continue holding players’ interest.

Steam’s Early Access Program Leads To Big Results

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Three years ago, Steam introduced the Early Access program onto its platform, which lets developers sell early builds of games in an effort to get the community more involved and gain funding. This enabled users to provide feedback towards the game’s final release while building up hype for the final game.

But how effective has the program been? Patrick Walker, head of insights at EEDAR, recently wrote (via GamesIndustry International) on findings that indicate how more games are finding success through Early Access.

Although Early Access has exploded in popularity, only 25 percent of titles are being released as full games. However, the findings also show that the program has significantly more (over 5 times as many) games available than when it was first introduced.

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Although momentum slowed around the fourth quarter last year, about 573 games entered Early Access in 2015. As of March 2016, over 1,100 games in total will have been included in the program, with almost 70 percent of all Early Access games reaching completion.

The number of average days until release has dwindled during the course of the program, indicating that developers are taking community feedback and applying it much more quickly to the final product. At the same time, the rapidly increasing number of games take advantage of Early Access, along with a consistent 25 percent full-release rate, is a strong sign of stability.

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That doesn’t mean every developer is rushing to release, though. Some are taking their time in applying these changes, especially if it’s a deep experience, such as a role-playing game or a racing simulation. In fact, some games can take nearly a whole year for changes to be applied and a full release to be scheduled, which is probably one of the biggest hurdles when it comes to purchasing a game through the Early Access program.

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Regardless, the program has welcomed up-and-coming developments with open arms, while making a plethora of new games available through the Steam service. “Despite the long time these titles are spending in development, the program continues to grow rapidly,” writes Patrick Walker. “The program is cementing itself as a viable path for PC releases. It will be interesting to see how the platform continues to evolve, especially if the popularity continues to increase and discoverability becomes more and more of an issue.”

Mobile Gaming Picking Up Alongside Smartphone User Growth

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Mobile gaming continues to rise as more consumers use smartphones for entertainment, according to a new eMarketer report titled Growing Number of Smartphone Users Is Driving Mobile Gaming Consumption.

More than two thirds of mobile phone users  (about 56 percent of the overall U.S. population) play games on their phone at least once a month over the course of this year, eMarketer says. That comes out to an estimated 180.4 million people, which is a 9.4 percent increase over the 164.9 million from the previous year.

That growth is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. The report suggests that, by 2020, we’ll see a rise to 213 million mobile gamers. That will be 77 percent of overall phone users and nearly 64 percent of the overall population.

As for tablets, an estimated 120 million people (roughly 72.5 percent of users) play games on one of these devices at least once a month. That’s expected to increase to 140.3 million by 2020, which covers over three-quarters of all tablet users.

The report also tracks online console gamers, who are no doubt enjoying games like Tom Clancy’s The Division and Call of Duty: Black Ops III right now. Their numbers are a bit smaller, with only about 19.4 of Internet users partaking in games like these. That number will remain steady over the next few years, peaking only by a 1 percentage point by 2020. This is mainly due to the lack of console releases, audience maturity and the growing popularity of mobile gaming.

NOTE: A subscription to eMarketer’s Total Access program is required to see the full report.

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Glu Mobile And PacSun Partner To Showcase Kendall And Kylie’s Sense Of Style

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Following up on Glu Mobile’s freemium mega-hit Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, Kendall & Kylie features the fashion and reality TV celebrities Kendall and Kylie Jenner. In the game, the pair help players build careers in fashion and media while showcasing a unique sense of personal style.

The free-to-play mobile game recently stepped up its fashion sense with the inclusion of pieces from the real-life PacSun Kendall and Kylie’s Spring 2016 collection—a clothing line designed by the duo. With this partnership between Glu and PacSun, fans are able to dress their avatars in the new clothes before they become available in stores.

Niccolo de Masi, chairman and CEO of Glu Mobile, talked to [a]listdaily about bringing real-world fashion into virtual life, and the importance of always staying in style.

What inspired the idea to pre-release the PacSun Kendall and Kylie’s Spring 2016 collection through the game?

The idea was derived from the desire to offer Kendall & Kylie players with a unique experience not available to the mass market. This kind of exclusivity provides our players with a tremendous amount of value. Being that the collection was designed by Kendall and Kylie themselves, it adds an additional layer of transparency that already permeates the game.

In what ways does including a real-world brand and products enhance the gaming experience?

When players are granted access to interact with a brand’s product, even virtually, it allows for more of an intimate connection. The caveat of this, however, is that those brands must feel authentic to the game’s experience in order to create a genuine gameplay experience.

Can you describe some PacSun fashions players can shop for?

Kendall and Kylie’s Spring 2016 collection for PacSun embodies a contemporary ’70s aesthetic. Players can enjoy styling their avatars from an array of separates from frilly crop tops, feminine skirts, denim shorts and whimsical rompers.

Can we expect more PacSun collections to be added to the game in the future?

There aren’t any current plans, however we’re definitely interested in building long-term brand partnerships.

How Electronic Arts Uses Free Content To Add Premium Value

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Electronic Arts continues to be a juggernaut in the video game business, between both its traditional game titles and its lineup of sports hits like FIFA and Madden along with charming puzzle adventure games like Unravel. While we wait to see what the company will reveal at its forthcoming EA Play event in June, there is one interesting note in its business model: free content.

Sure, the company still relies on Season Pass content for some games, like Star Wars: Battlefront and Ultimate Team-themed goodies for FIFA and Madden, but lately the company has been experimenting more with free content updates for games, along with goodies offered through both EA Origin and EA Access. And it’s a move that’s certainly paid off for the better–even with “freebies” involved.

Today marks the release of free updates for a pair of the company’s bigger titles, Star Wars: Battlefront and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2. It’s a smart business tactic to help keep players involved with games, and possibly lead them to purchase premium content like in-game currency, items and cosmetic upgrades. While many of these items can be earned by playing, and none are required to win, getting players to stay with fresh content encourages more investment in the game.

While the original Garden Warfare saw an abundance of free content with its release, it’s great to see “bigger” games like Battlefront, which proved to be one of the company’s top sellers last year with 13 million-plus copies sold, grasp onto the formula. And chances are the trend could continue with other big games on the horizon for the next year, including a new Battlefield game for the holidays and a sequel to the multiplayer shooter Titanfall. Mass Effect 3 experimented with a similar model with its multiplayer mode, with the release of three free updates in addition to offering premium content to encourage players to return. It’s a feature repeated with Dragon Age: Inquisition, and is likely to return with the upcoming Mass Effect Andromeda.

Outside of content updates, the company has also been experimenting with free game offerings. On the PC, Origin offers an “On the House” program, with a select classic being available free of charge or obligation to consumers. This entices consumers to adopt the platform, and perhaps stick around to shop for games to go along with their free copy of Jade Empire or Plants vs. Zombies.

But that’s not to say that the free content is needed for every situation. Players still engage with blockbuster sports games like FIFA and Madden without any extra incentive. Both still rake in a ton of money with their Ultimate Team modes, which are almost certain to return when Madden NFL 17 and FIFA 17 release next year.

Sometimes it pays to offer a little something for free. Perhaps other companies can learn from the example.

 

Augmented Reality Helps Children Engage In Classrooms

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One of the biggest challenges for parents and teachers in a digital-first world is keeping their children engaged in school.

According to a 2013 University College London report, up to 10 percent of the population is affected by learning disabilities.

ZooKazam is bringing animals and the imagination of children to life with their educational and engaging app. It features more than 40 holographic and interactive animals that are coupled with information about each animal and environmental scene selections.

Navid Yavari, co-founder and one of the creative members of the Atlanta-based ZooKazam, joined [a]listdaily to talk about his “magical animals.”

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How did the idea for ZooKazam come about? 

Our team was working on a new product launch for a designer art toy and discovered a way to implement AR into the marketing scheme. We brainstormed on a new application that would showcase the high-quality work our team is able to create, and ZooKazam was born. 

Why did you choose “magical animals?”

Animals are universally loved. This gave us a chance to appeal to a wide variety of adults and children. Later we discovered that many teachers were using our app in classrooms and so we focused our app to provide more educational content.

How are parents, and children, reacting to the AR experience? 

The response from teachers is ‘wow!’ There is a huge wow factor in our app. All audiences are amazed at the technology and find the realistic feel of the animals very intriguing. Once children get hooked, they are very eager to take selfies with the AR animals and share their videos and pictures with their friends on social media.

How is ZooKazam being used in the classroom? 

Teachers are sharing the app on iPads within a classroom setting. ZooKazam gets the attention of students and then they can learn about the animals with infographics and voiceovers that tell them about each animal. Teachers can also choose from two content options, one for a more grown-up voiceover and one for children to listen to.

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What makes ZooKazam different from other learning tools currently only the market?

Clearly the attention-grabbing effect of ZooKazam is the key to get children in the mood to try out the app. Visual graphics are fundamental to learning. Studies have shown that visual learning is important to understanding a subject. With ZooKazam, the 3D visuals are far better that 2D-printed books and apps.

One of the biggest benefits for augmented and virtual reality is that it empowers those who yearn for education. What practices are you employing to capture that audience?  

We are getting more and more support from educators. Most of our new content is coming from teachers that have asked ZooKazam to add more information to help students learn. We are attending more teacher conferences and participating in teacher blogs to promote ZooKazam within the classroom.

How does AR enable content creators better than VR? 

AR is far easier and cheaper to deploy in the classroom. Most classrooms are already using tablets and smartphones that can easily run ZooKazam. VR requires very expensive equipment and takes too long to set up. The current VR headsets are not very user friendly and many doubt its future without further refinement.

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan.

MaxPlay’s Future-Focused View For VR Development

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Although pre-orders for Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive virtual reality headsets have already sold out for the spring, the success of these devices rests on the quality of content that is made available. To this end, both Epic’s Unreal Engine and Unity have revealed tools for developing for virtual reality. But now there’s a new player looking to take game development to the next level: MaxPlay.

MaxPlay Game is a “future-focused” cloud-enabled development suite that allows development teams to collaborate more efficiently to create games for every platform. That includes consoles, mobile devices, and emerging platforms like virtual and augmented reality. The company announced a set of premium technology partners like Nvidia, FMOD Studios and EMotion FX. MaxPlay will also be demonstrating its tools at GDC next week.

[a]listdaily talks to Sinjin Bain, CEO at MaxPlay, to discuss creating content for virtual reality.

sinjin_bainWhat is MaxPlay?

MaxPlay was founded by a group of game industry and enterprise cloud software veterans. Our company is founded with the purpose to provide a next generation game and interactive development environment for all platforms. We so much experience in making and deploying content, and we don’t have any legacy architecture, so we provide a fresh look at the existing issue developers have.

We asked, “How do we enable developers to ‘get to fun’ faster, and make more money?” And focused on making that available. Our architecture enables real-time collaborative development and provides developers with insight and analytics, so that they can see telemetry in the development environment in meaningful ways to impact what they’re doing.

We also have very compelling, forward-looking, runtime architecture for rendering and running games, which has big implications in terms of virtual and mixed reality. We’re building an environment that’s going to be a paradigm shift in a very positive way for developers.

MaxPlay is described as a “future-focused” game development suite. What does that mean?

It means our architecture is built for the future. We’ve constructed an open architecture that lets developers write plug-ins in very easy ways. Developers can go in to modify and extend the platform as new opportunities present themselves. For example, nobody really understands what super-compelling virtual reality experiences will be.

Developers will need to be able to modify their platform to be more creative in a new medium. The same goes for telemetry. You don’t know how something like eye-tracking telemetry will be used, but we know that it’s significant, so we need to get it to developers so that they can use it in meaningful ways. This and other features make up future enabled implementation.

We can also take advantage of four, six, eight, twelve core hardware that’s here and coming that enable the multi-view and multi-depth rendering that is required for VR and AR. Although today’s mobile devices, PCs and consoles are functionally multi-threaded, the existing technology doesn’t take full advantage of today and tomorrow’s hardware.

How does partnering with companies like Nvidia and FMOD help future-focused development?

As an example, FMOD is developing audio software, and the ability to plug-in, distribute and modify that software is seamless with MaxPlay. It enables the developers to access and use the audio in new and creative ways that don’t exist in standard platforms. Intel is coming out with chipsets that have more cores. Our architecture lets very sophisticated developers reserve a core for specific reasons, like processing audio. Several content creators like Fox and Technicolor believe that audio is an important aspect of virtual reality media.

In short, we can combine our partnerships to use our architecture to do special things, like more audio events, and take fuller advantage of the technology FMOD provides without degrading performance. We can’t predict what developers will need exactly — we just know that they’ll want to do things in VR and AR that they can’t do today. We’re future aware enough to provide them with flexible and creative tools to help them this year, the year after, and the one after that.

What challenges do developers face when working with emerging technologies like VR?

I think that it will be the transition from single screen games to VR and AR. You’re fundamentally changing the way users are experiencing and consuming content. That might mean that developers have increased pressure to explore that new experience in ways that they haven’t thought of before.

You need to be able to iterate and fail faster. We’ve developed an environment in which developers can do things quicker, work tighter as a team, and experience what they’ve done faster, so they can see what doesn’t work and move on to something different. I think the difficulty in moving into new creative spaces is that it puts more pressure on iteration time, so you need tools that help you do that better. That’s fundamentally what we at MaxPlay are providing.

How long do you think it will be before we see mass adoption of VR?

I think mass adoption is a couple of years out, but then you look around and see how Samsung is bundling the Gear VR with their phones. There are some very big players invested in accelerating hardware adoption and accessibility. That’s a really good sign for consumers. Then it’s a matter of how fast great content gets developed.

All the ingredients are coming online right now to enable very fast adoption of VR. You have the fact that VR can be done on current generation phones in a meaningful way. Then you have companies like Facebook, Samsung, Google, and Apple investing. So, I think we’re going to see numbers in 2018. We’re learning how to make great content in 2016 and 2017, and developers are excited about this platform.

There’s still a practical reality of getting a broad consumer base, but I think people are going to be surprised in 2018.

MaxPlay is relatively new to the scene. How would you say it compares to existing tools like Unreal Engine or Unity?

The way we would compare ourselves is that because we don’t have legacy architecture, we’ve been able to bring a lot of expertise and fresh thinking to the space. So, I think our strength is in our open architecture, and how it provides more ways for teams to work together so that they can be more productive and creative — with superior performance on devices.

It’s a big industry that’s growing rapidly. There are developers that will want to stick with Unreal or Unity, and then there are people who will see what we’re doing and try our tools.

What do you think developers should keep in mind when starting out, especially when there are so many diverse platforms?

I think a developer needs to keep in mind that, when they pick tools and technologies, they need to look and understand how the flexible the platform they’re investing in is. What does it let them do out of the gate, and what does it let them do as they are developing their product? How do their tools and technologies enable them to do their jobs, and where do they get in the way?

Another thing I would focus on is how it’s a big world out there, with different types of communities. How do their toolsets and platforms enable them to work with other people in productive ways. People who might not necessarily be in the next office, but could be across town or in a different state or country. Teams are distributed now, and that’s sort of the new reality. You need to make sure, as a developer, you’re plugged into that world.

ESL Explains Growth Of Intel Extreme Masters

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Over 100,000 people are in Katowice, Poland right now to watch the best eSports players in the world compete across games like League of Legends, StarCraft II, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Intel Extreme Masters (IEM), which is produced by ESL, is celebrating 10 years of global eSports. And the biggest event on the calendar is the IEM World Championship in Spodek arena March 4-to-6.

It’s more than just a showcase of eSports across three huge stages. Other games such as Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege are being played competitively throughout the arena. And it’s also  a gaming festival with plenty of hands-on opportunities for attendees, who travel from across Europe for the event.

This year, even more people will be watching the livestreams of the professional gaming matches. ESL has opened its content to Twitch, Azubu, Hitbox and the new Yahoo eSports streaming platforms.

Jesse Sell, senior manager of pro gaming and business strategy at ESL, explains the importance of Katowice in the eSports ecosystem in this exclusive interview.

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What separates Katowice from other IEM events when it comes to the sheer amount of live attendees?

Katowice is the IEM World Championship — it’s got the top eSports titles, the greatest teams and a fantastic venue; it’s always going to draw a big crowd. Beyond that, we go all-out. It’s the biggest event in the city for the weekend. We’ve got events and activations going on in three separate locations with seven live tournaments. In terms of scale, Katowice is the most gargantuan event we put on all year. We try to make sure our attendees have plenty to do when they’re on-site at these events. IEM Katowice has become something like a gaming trade show in its own right.

How have you seen attendance there grow over the years (and how does that attendance compare to other tour stops)?

We’ve seen massive year-on-year growth. With our fourth trip to Katowice we’re expecting an even bigger turnout than ever before, and we’ve amplified the event accordingly. Every IEM stop is a bit different, we can’t have seating for the same number of people at IEM Cologne or IEM Taipei that we can at stops like IEM San Jose (at the SAP Center) or IEM Katowice (at the Spodek arena). If you look at IEM San Jose though, we saw over 100 percent year-to-year growth in attendance. Every time we return to a location, the crowds get larger. It shows the growing appetite for these events in the markets we’re hitting.

What was the live streaming number from last year’s Katowice and from the last San Jose stop?

In terms of single-stream viewership, we peaked at over one million concurrent viewers with over 75 million sessions over the course of the weekend for Katowice in 2015. IEM Katowice is still the most-watched esports event of all time on Twitch. For the most recent IEM San Jose event, we had over 17 million sessions, but it’s important to note the sheer amount of content coming out of Katowice, which features more games over more days than IEM San Jose.

How far away do you see IEM being able to attract 100,000 attendees in the United States?

The U.S. is a rapidly growing eSports market. The year-on-year success of both IEM San Jose as well as ESL One New York show that growth in raw data. We can also point to Riot’s show at Madison Square Garden as an indication that eSports is ready to pack U.S. stadiums. It’s just a matter of patience. Getting 100,000 attendees isn’t something that will happen overnight. It’s not a ‘if you build it they will come’ mentality that’s going to fill seats. As an industry, we’ve got a lot of work to do to ensure that attending an eSports event in the U.S. is a truly unforgettable experience worth traveling coast to coast to see. That’s the sort of work that we look forward to in the off-season; honing in on what makes folks enjoy attending these events and making sure we’re catering to their wants and desires.

How has the prize pool for IEM grown over the last decade?

In season one we had 160,000 Euro on the line. Last year we awarded 535,000 and this year we’ve increased the number yet again. (The prize money for all seasons can be found here.)

What impact has the popularity of CS:GO had on IEM’s growth trajectory?

IEM will always feature the top eSports titles in a season. Any time one of those titles performs extremely well, IEM is better off for it. With CS:GO in particular it’s clearly had an impact on our attendance numbers and viewership numbers. We’re really in a scenario where all boats rise. The better the games perform, the better our product can be.

What do you feel separates IEM from other ESL eSports tournaments?

IEM is our only global circuit of events that culminates with a world championship at the end of a season. ESL One events are each massive stand alone events. They’re not connected in the same way as IEM. Both models are successful. As the market continues to grow and diversify, it’s important for us to have products that tell different stories. IEM is more like a Grand Prix, while ESL One is more like a The Kentucky Derby​. ​

Google Maps Teams With ‘The Legend of Zelda’

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It’s dangerous to go alone, so use a map.

Google Maps has introduced its latest promotion, one that involves the heroic character Link from Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda franchise. With it, users can start up Google Maps through their browser and see a yellow “street view” icon with a sword and green outfit. This is the traditional costume that Link wears in the Zelda games, complete with his iconic blue shield.

As a result, he becomes an interactive part in searches, and will run around the map while you pinpoint your next location before dropping down into “street view.” Link is also featured in the app’s current icon, as pictured below.

Google

The promotion is timed with the release of Nintendo’s latest Zelda game for the Wii U, Twilight Princess HD, which is a remake of one of its most popular games, initially released in 2006 for the GameCube and Wii consoles.

YouTube user Jeffrey Grubb posted a clip of just how effectively Link is used with the program.

Google has a history of toying around with video game-related Easter eggs. Typing “do a barrel roll” – an iconic line of dialogue featured in Nintendo’s classic Star Fox 64 – into the search box will result in the screen doing a full 360-degree spin. Users can also type in “zerg rush” (a term from the Blizzard game StarCraft) and watch as “O’s”appear and destroy items on the screen.

As an April Fool’s Day joke, Google Maps once let you find Pokémon among the streets and buildings. This no doubt helped inspire the upcoming Pokémon Go.

Last year probably got the most attention for the app, as Google Maps launched a cool April Fool’s promotion where any map could be turned into an interactive Pac-Man game, complete with dots and ghosts from the classic arcade game.

Similarly, Google partnered to create a whole Force Awakened experience last fall, which applied a Star Wars theme to everything from Gmail to Google Maps. Also, for one day, typing “a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away” displayed search results in the same iconic scrolling format from the movies.

Meanwhile, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is online on the eShop now.