rss:9d9437cc2bdadfdb0c2a6594385b5cf5548bd329 rss_modified:rss:9d9437cc2bdadfdb0c2a6594385b5cf5548bd329 http://www.gamespot.com/mashup/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 08 Aug 2014 07:42:19 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sleeping-dogs-definitive-edition-announcement-trai/2300-6420665/ 2300-6420665Fri, 08 Aug 2014 06:54:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-behind-the-scenes/2300-6420654/ 2300-6420654Fri, 08 Aug 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungie-destiny-xbox-one-is-not-dumbed-down-compare/1100-6421585/
Though Sony wants PlayStation to be "the best place to play" Bungie's upcoming shooter Destiny, the developer now assures fans that it is doing its best to ensure that the experience is equal across PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In an interview with GamingBolt, Bungie senior environment artist Jason Sussman was asked if the Xbox One version was "dumbed down" compared to PS4.
He replied: "No. We're working really hard to make sure that the best experience and the quality of the game we're trying to deliver is equal across the platforms." The interviewer also asked Sussman about the Xbox One's eSRAM, which reportedly caused issues for developers looking to reach 1080p on the system. He said every console has its subtle differences, but it won't keep Destiny from looking "good" on Xbox One.
"Each console has their own nuances; there is always like little tweaks and things," he said. "That's standard. Anytime you're working cross-platforms there is a-lot of new nuances to each console and we're making sure that the game looks best on all of them and it does; it looks really good. I think we've succeeded. It definitely looks good."
Bungie has confirmed that Destiny will run in 1080p on PS4, but the Xbox One's resolution is still not finalized. However, Bungie is hopeful that it can reach 1080p, thanks in part to the June Xbox One SDK that boosts console GPU power.
The interview also touches on a number of hot-button topics like microtransactions and a potential PC version of Destiny. Addressing microtransactions, Sussman said, "Currently, there are no microtransactions, everything is in-game." Microtransactions for Destiny have not been ruled out altogether, however. Asked about the topic in a separate interview this year, Bungie community manager Eric Osborne said if Destiny ends up adding microtransactions some day, Bungie won't offer "pay-for-power type stuff" to avoid schemes that nickel and dime players. "We're not going to do that," he said at the time.
Regarding a PC version of Destiny, Sussman said, "Wouldn't that be awesome?! Dude, I honestly like playing PC games. But honestly we've been so focused on delivering the game on four consoles and it's such an undertaking. It's the most inclusive thing that the Bungie has been working on. We'll see what the future holds, but for right now we're focused on these four consoles."
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, said previously that Destiny is a "natural fit" for PC. Destiny launches September 9 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
]]> 1100-6421585Fri, 08 Aug 2014 05:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam-client-will-soon-let-you-hide-games-what-gam/1100-6421584/
Valve's Steam PC platform is introducing a new "hide my games" feature that will allow the service's 75 million+ users to keep their guilty pleasures a secret. A new update to Steam's desktop client introduces the feature, and you can access it in the "Set Categories" menu. Once you have chosen to hide a game, it will show up in the new hidden menu.
PC Gamer reports that the Steam client update also includes a range of other features and tweaks, the first of which is a general update to the interface. Colors have been shifted slightly, and common controls have been simplified. The client update also fixes various crash issues.
You can see all the changes to Steam coming through the update on Valve's website here. And you can sign up for Steam beta testing by following these instructions.
Electronic Art's Origin platform for PC already lets players hide their games if they want to. In fact, Origin users have had this option since 2012, when it was introduced in Origin update 8.5.0.
Do you plan to hide some of your gaming activity on Steam? Let us know which games you'll hide in the comments below!
]]> 1100-6421584Fri, 08 Aug 2014 05:04:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamespots-ps4-destiny-giveaway/1100-6418365/THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED OR ADMINISTERED BY SONY, ACTIVISION, OR BUNGIE.
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the U.S., Canada (not including Quebec), and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 13 & older.
**See official rules
]]> 1100-6418365Fri, 08 Aug 2014 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/defunct-publisher-sierra-reveals-new-website/1100-6421583/
A new website for Sierra Entertainment has surfaced online and indicates that the game publisher will be making an appearance at this year's Gamescom. The site plays a brief trailer that animates into a new logo for the company but makes no mention of any games.
Sierra was first founded in 1979 and was eventually absorbed into Activision Blizzard before it was officially closed down in 2008. The organisation is best known for publishing Half-Life, F.E.A.R, and Counter-Strike.
What do you think, will Sierra Entertainment be making a comeback? Let us know in the comments below.
]]> 1100-6421583Thu, 07 Aug 2014 21:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/farmville-developer-zynga-posts-63-million-net-los/1100-6421582/
FarmVille developer has posted a $63 million net loss in its second quarter 2014 financial results.
The company has projected its net loss for the third quarter of the year to fall between $52 and $57 million. Earlier this year, Zynga announced that company founder Mark Pincus would step down from his role as Chief Product Officer to "focus on serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors."
In the same earnings call, Zynga announced its plans to take its first steps into the sports genre, starting with football. The company has announced its signing of a multi-year licensing agreement with the National Football League and NFL Players Inc., the marketing and licensing branch of the NFL Players Association.
The agreements will allow Zynga to incorporate the use of real-life NFL teams and athletes in its software. Zynga released NFL Showdown today in select regions, a game in which players run a team by stepping into the role of coach, general manager, and owner.
Zynga has also announced the signing of golfer Tiger Woods to an exclusive, multi-year, multi-platform partnership. The deal will see Zynga create "breakthrough mobile games that bring the world of Tiger Woods golf to life." The first of these is expected to launch on mobile platforms next year.
]]> 1100-6421582Thu, 07 Aug 2014 19:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wii-sports-club-review/1900-6415837/ Wii Sports is an undeniably important game to the whole of gaming history. Its status as a pack-in with the original Wii was responsible for getting the console into millions of homes (and breaking a few TVs), but it also signaled a significant change in player demographics that had been a long time coming. As the Wii U struggles to gain the sort of consumer traction its predecessor had, Nintendo has reissued the now-classic Wii Sports package, updated with a bevy of new bells and whistles. But while Wii Sports was forward-thinking in its ability to engage a different set of game players, Wii Sports Club is a clunky attempt to bring the title up to the standards of current games.Wii Sports Club features the five original sports from its predecessor: Tennis, Bowling, Golf, Baseball, and Boxing. On a fundamental level, these play similarly to the original game, requiring the player to perform various motions to simulate the acts of swinging a racket, throwing a ball, or launching a punch. The Wii MotionPlus (or a Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus built-in) is mandatory, and the additional range of gyroscopic control it provides adds a little bit more depth to these games: in Tennis, for example, it's a lot easier to control the type of swings you get than it was with the original Wii Remote, leading to greater control of the ball. Other games utilize the GamePad: in Golf, you position the GamePad on the floor, where it depicts the ball; you then swing the Wii Remote over the pad to hit the ball. Baseball lets you use the GamePad's gyroscopic features to pitch and catch the ball, which is a clever and fun new addition to the formula. For the most part, however, Wii Sports Club is all about that time-tested Wii Remote waggling.
Besides the main games, Wii Sports Club also features mini-games that put twists on the various sports, like launching a tennis ball to hit whack-a-mole targets, trying to bowl down unusual 100-pin patterns, and playing bingo by launching golf balls onto a grid. These games can be played solo or with friends (though not online), and make for a nice distraction if you get bored of the standard sports. These games are all quite short, however, so don't expect to be enthralled by them for very long.
One of the selling points of Wii Sports Club is its online features, and unfortunately, it's here where the collection falters the hardest. When you start the game, you're asked to join a regional "club" of your personal choosing. This isn't restricted by physical geography; I live in California, but I joined the Iowa club because I grew up in that state. You're supposed to socialize with other members of your club, forming friendships and rivalries with other territory clubs, but such socialization is uncommon because the online experience is simply not good at all.
For starters, online play is restricted to very basic rules for each sport, with only bowling featuring any sort of significant rule variations to choose from. Finding opponents is also a challenge. I'd log on during prime time in the evenings, weekends and weekdays, pick my sport of choice, and be sent to a practice room where I'd wait for an opponent for a few minutes before being told the game couldn't find anyone and I would be booted back to the menu. I had the most luck finding people to play Tennis, but trying to find a person to play 100-pin Bowling was like pulling teeth. Looking at the game's Miiverse, I saw plenty of folks discussing their online games with others, so why wasn't I getting any sporting funtimes?
It has much to do with the game's netcode. Wii Sports Club has serious, pervasive problems with lag and stuttering during games. Players in the Miiverse universally reported the same issues, making online play a bust. But beyond the online, how is Wii Sports Club at recapturing the magic of the original Wii Sports and getting non-typical players engaged in the game? I invited a few people I knew who aren't frequent game-players to partake in some virtual sporting with me. While they all seemed to enjoy the games--especially the new mini-games--the GamePad options proved troublesome. (There was a lot of worry about people and pets accidentally stepping on the controller during golf in particular.) There's simply no substantial improvement here--nothing to make the re-release a valuable upgrade over the original.
On top of everything is a rather confusing pricing structure: You can obtain the game as either a free download or in a retail package, but the downloadable version only lets you play for a limited time before you have to purchase a $1.99 24-hour "day pass" or unlimited access to individual sports for $9.99 each. The package version doesn't have any such restrictions, save for the minor inconvenience of having to take the disc in and out of the console, so why not offer a simple, full-access download version as well?
Wii Sports Club is emblematic of Nintendo's strange and silly approach to online games and distribution, given its unintuitive interface for finding sports partners, the consistently poor connection quality, and a pricing strategy that makes little sense. It works a lot better as a local game, but even then, it's not a massive improvement over the original title as a pick-up-and-play party pleaser. It's still great fun, particularly in short bursts, but it's hard to justify plunking down extra cash for Wii Sports Club.
]]> 1900-6415837Thu, 07 Aug 2014 17:49:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pewdiepie-more-popular-among-teens-than-katy-perry/1100-6421581/
It seems that the fame of pop stars, actors, and actresses has now been eclipsed, at least among teenagers. No longer can the celebrities of traditional entertainment mediums claim that they are the most popular with that demographic.
A study by Variety found that the top five most popular celebrities among kids aged 13-18 are all YouTube stars. Scored based on approachability, authenticity, and other measures of personality, these people surpassed actors, actresses, and performers from traditional film, television, and music industries. Sitting at number one among the celebs is the Smosh pair, who post comedy videos in games and real-life situations. The Fine Bros, who also make comedy videos, are second. Number three is PewDiePie, AKA Felix Kjellberg, the successful producer of video game content. His YouTube channel has the most subscribers on YouTube, sitting at 29 million.
The top mainstream celebrities are actor Paul Walker at number six, actress Jennifer Lawrence at number seven, and singer Katy Perry at number nine.
You can check out the top ten most popular celebrities among teens below. YouTubers are marked with an asterisk.
- Smosh*
- The Fine Bros*
- PewDiePie*
- KSI*
- Ryan Higa*
- Paul Walker
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Shane Dawson*
- Katy Perry
- Steve Carell
Recently, it was revealed that PewDiePie makes $4 million on his videos every year. He produces Let's Play videos in a wide number of games. PewDiePie often posts upwards of a dozen videos every two weeks, and all of them generally hit 2 million views in that same time period. But that doesn't mean he is comfortable with the fame. "I'm so central to YouTube now, and that puts me in the spotlight and raises a lot of questions like 'Why is he so big?'" he said. "I'd much rather prefer to have something like 5 million subscribers."
| Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @alexbnewhouse |
|---|
| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
Yesterday, Twitch overhauled the way it enforces copyright laws on audio, implementing automated censorship of thousands of its archived videos. Now, when you watch a video with copyrighted audio, the part with the music is muted. Twitch also changed the way it stores its archived video, removing the option to save a video indefinitely.
These new policies were expectedly controversial, so Twitch CEO Emmett Shear started a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread and answered several burning questions from the community. Before he addressed any questions, he put some concerns to rest by saying that Twitch has no plans to censor live video. However, Reddit users generally did not find his answers satisfactory and downvoted them until they were hidden behind a warning. You can read some of his answers below. (Thanks to user Rotsuki for gathering all of them)
Noted speedrunner Cosmo Wright: Why should I keep streaming on Twitch as opposed to a different site that [does not have content ID, copyright, and storage] issues?
Shear: With regard to 2 hour chunks [as the max length of video you can store indefinitely], our research prior to launching the feature indicated that almost no highlights were longer than 2 hours, and we were concerned about abuse of the tool. It's clear that we underestimated the demand and need for a solution here, and fortunately we have 3 weeks to figure one out. Expect changes here soon.
It has disproportionately large impact on certain communities (speedrunning most obviously) and we're very concerned about making sure that every community on Twitch has a good experience.
With regard to content ID, I understand your feelings here. We have absolutely no intention of flagging songs due to original in-game music. If that's happening (and it appears it is), it's a problem and we will investigate and try to fix it.
With regards to your last question, why Twitch: Because we care about you and your viewers, and we want every broadcaster on Twitch to be protected from potential liability. No matter how remote you might feel the issue is, we aren't willing to run the risk someone's life gets ruined over this.
Aniviasrevenge: Are you taking the stance that streaming audio isn't fair use? If you believe it is not, what is your rationale for believing streaming video is fair use?
Shear: Game companies have the public stance (and private stance directly with Twitch) that they allow anyone to stream their games. This isn't a fair use argument, it's a generally available license that you're taking advantage of.
Broadcasting unlicensed music in the background is not fair use either, and there is no generally available license. Therefore this is not something that we want our broadcasters to accept liability for (nor do we want to accept liability for it either).
They're completely different cases, and the logic is different in each.
Journalisms: So why is Dota 2 content (even The International) flagged, when Valve is [one of those companies that allow anyone to stream their games]?
Shear: That was a false positive (misidentification of crowd noise as music), which we've now fixed.
DooplissForce: Did Twitch need to change up things? Was there some sort of issue or problem that sparked this? If not, why then did Twitch change stuff?
Shear: We did need to change things. This is laying groundwork for some work in the future you guys are REALLY going to like. We've been intending to do this for some time, but it took us a while to identify and select a content identification partner and get the system up and reliable.
SirSnugglybear: Why was no advanced notice given before these policy changes were implemented?
Shear: Simply put: we screwed up and should have announced it ahead of time. Sorry.
J4nG: Is there a process a streamer can go through if they believe that their videos have been unfairly flagged and muted?
Shear: For now, please email feedback@twitch.tv if you think there's a problem. We're working on building an appeals system since that's obviously important. And no, I can't comment, it says so right in my original post.
Thehoods: Shouldn't you have built an appeals process before implementing a system with these results?
Shear: Probably, but no v1 is perfect.
Shear went on to answer many more questions, which you can check out on the Reddit thread. It seems, however, that even though this copyright system is here to stay, Twitch is acknowledging that it has been far too strict in its censorship.
But the controversy has already begun, and some of Twitch's competitors are capitalizing on it. Hitbox, another streaming service, posted criticism of these policies today (although the post never mentions Twitch).
According to the post, "It's sad to see someone lose touch with the very people that made them big. Forcing a 30+ second delay on streamers and ruining their [Videos on Demand] with automated copyright claims is a slap in the face of everyone who tries to share their passion for gaming with the world. Luckily we all have a voice and can make ourselves heard. We did it by creating a platform that is deeply rooted within the community, and you can do it too by joining with us. At Hitbox you're always with friends, and the soundtrack is whatever you want it to be."
Many speedrunners have been critical of the policies as well. A user in subreddit r/speedrun even created a list of all of the speedrunners moving over to Hitbox.
If you stream on Twitch, are you considering switching to a different service? Let us know in the comments.
| Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @alexbnewhouse |
|---|
| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
The European games conference Gamescom, the show that's rivaled only by E3 in terms of blockbuster reveals and new game footage, is coming next week. And just like at E3, there are going to be several big press conferences.
While the conference's timing means our US readers might not get to watch everything as it happens, we're still giving you the chance to check it out. You'll be able to catch the Electronic Arts press conference live right here on August 13 at 10AM CEST (1AM PST).
But even if you can't make the program as it airs, we'll have a full liveblog recap, as well as video of all the biggest announcements, so be sure to bookmark this page.
With Dragon Age: Inquisition, Battlefield Hardline, The Sims 4, and FIFA 15 set to make an appearance at the show, what do you most want to see from EA at Gamescom?
]]> 1100-6421579Thu, 07 Aug 2014 14:31:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oops-square-enix-launches-dragon-quest-4-as-dargon/1100-6421538/
Update: After being released (App Store link) in the US with the same Dargon Quest name, Square Enix was forced to release an update to the app in order to fix its name. The game now shows up as Dragon Quest IV, as it should. The 1.0.1 update notes, sadly, make no mention of this: Square Enix says the update is simply a "Bug Fix."
Original Story: Square Enix continues its trend of releasing classic RPGs for mobile platforms, but with its latest release, it's made a hilarious mistake.
Dragon Quest IV is the latest such game to get the mobile treatment, but, at least for the time being, it won't be found under that name. Instead, the game has somehow made it to the iOS App Store under the name Dargon Quest IV.
Inevitably, this resulted in a game of sorts on Twitter, with people giving similar treatment to the titles of other games. Many of these are being submitted with the hashtag DargonQuestMyGame. Some of the best so far include Pegleg (Peggle), Scared 2 (Sacred 2), and Valkyrie Prolife (Valkyrie Profile).
Dragon Quest IV has not yet been released on the United States App Store; it's currently available in New Zealand, which typically means it will be out in the US and other countries tonight. (We'll have to see if the typo gets fixed by then.) An Android release for the game is also planned.
The app's description notes what you're buying is the full game; it hasn't been divided up into DLC packages or had microtransactions added to it. That will reassure some fans, while others will no doubt balk at playing the game on mobile platforms. If that's the case, you're in luck; Dragon Quest IV is also available on NES, PlayStation, and DS, provided you have some older hardware still laying around.
This isn't the only trouble Square Enix has had with spelling today--its latest earnings report (PDF) refers to Murdered: Soul Suspect as "Muredered; Soul Suspect."
What's the best Dargon Quest-esque name for a game you can come up with? Share yours in the comments below.
| Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX |
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| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
Destiny's beta was a "tremendous success" and will lead to changes being made prior to the full game's release on September 9. If you're hoping for those changes to be substantial, however, it sounds as if you'll be disappointed.
As part of an Activision Blizzard investors call this week, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg talked about what Destiny's beta means for the final game. Reiterating that it was the biggest beta ever for a new IP, Hirshberg said, "[W]e were able to test everything at scale and everything held up well. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that feedback was nearly universally positive.
"I would describe these as tweaks and not major changes as we saw the fundamentals of the game to be very strong" -- Eric Hirshberg
"That said, as you might imagine, we learned a lot by watching players engage with the game and hearing their feedback and Bungie is now making tweaks to optimize the game and they actually did so after the alpha as well, so that's going to be, I think, an ongoing process to make it a better experience and nothing is more important to us or to Bungie than delivering a great experience to our community and the beta certainly helped us do that."
Without identifying what kind of changes will be made, Hirshberg offered some sense of how significant they will be, saying, "I would describe these as tweaks and not major changes as we saw the fundamentals of the game to be very strong."
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that, with the game just over a month way, Bungie won't be completely revamping it. If you weren't a fan of something like the game's structure or gunplay, you'll have to hold out hope that things will be changed in one of the yet-to-be-announced sequels coming as part of the studio's 10-year deal with Activision.
Bungie hasn't yet gone into great deal about all of the changes that will be made to Destiny following the beta. A recent Bungie Weekly Update post on its website did, however, mention a few tweaks, such as reducing the Interceptor vehicle's rate of fire and reducing the blast radius of rockets.
More than 88 million games were played during the beta by upwards of 4.6 million players. Activision has very high expectations for Destiny, having publicly said it believes the game will become the best-selling new IP ever. (One analyst has projected potential sales in the 10-15 million range.) Activision said this week that, despite being in the same first-person-shooter genre as Call of Duty, there is room for both games to succeed.
What kind of tweaks are you hoping Bungie makes in the full version of Destiny? Let us know in the comments.
| Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX |
|---|
| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
rss:9d9437cc2bdadfdb0c2a6594385b5cf5548bd329 rss_modified:rss:9d9437cc2bdadfdb0c2a6594385b5cf5548bd329 http://www.gamespot.com/mashup/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Fri, 08 Aug 2014 07:42:19 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sleeping-dogs-definitive-edition-announcement-trai/2300-6420665/ 2300-6420665Fri, 08 Aug 2014 06:54:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-behind-the-scenes/2300-6420654/ 2300-6420654Fri, 08 Aug 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bungie-destiny-xbox-one-is-not-dumbed-down-compare/1100-6421585/
Though Sony wants PlayStation to be "the best place to play" Bungie's upcoming shooter Destiny, the developer now assures fans that it is doing its best to ensure that the experience is equal across PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In an interview with GamingBolt, Bungie senior environment artist Jason Sussman was asked if the Xbox One version was "dumbed down" compared to PS4.
He replied: "No. We're working really hard to make sure that the best experience and the quality of the game we're trying to deliver is equal across the platforms." The interviewer also asked Sussman about the Xbox One's eSRAM, which reportedly caused issues for developers looking to reach 1080p on the system. He said every console has its subtle differences, but it won't keep Destiny from looking "good" on Xbox One.
"Each console has their own nuances; there is always like little tweaks and things," he said. "That's standard. Anytime you're working cross-platforms there is a-lot of new nuances to each console and we're making sure that the game looks best on all of them and it does; it looks really good. I think we've succeeded. It definitely looks good."
Bungie has confirmed that Destiny will run in 1080p on PS4, but the Xbox One's resolution is still not finalized. However, Bungie is hopeful that it can reach 1080p, thanks in part to the June Xbox One SDK that boosts console GPU power.
The interview also touches on a number of hot-button topics like microtransactions and a potential PC version of Destiny. Addressing microtransactions, Sussman said, "Currently, there are no microtransactions, everything is in-game." Microtransactions for Destiny have not been ruled out altogether, however. Asked about the topic in a separate interview this year, Bungie community manager Eric Osborne said if Destiny ends up adding microtransactions some day, Bungie won't offer "pay-for-power type stuff" to avoid schemes that nickel and dime players. "We're not going to do that," he said at the time.
Regarding a PC version of Destiny, Sussman said, "Wouldn't that be awesome?! Dude, I honestly like playing PC games. But honestly we've been so focused on delivering the game on four consoles and it's such an undertaking. It's the most inclusive thing that the Bungie has been working on. We'll see what the future holds, but for right now we're focused on these four consoles."
Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing, said previously that Destiny is a "natural fit" for PC. Destiny launches September 9 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4. For more, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
]]> 1100-6421585Fri, 08 Aug 2014 05:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/steam-client-will-soon-let-you-hide-games-what-gam/1100-6421584/Valve's Steam PC platform is introducing a new "hide my games" feature that will allow the service's 75 million+ users to keep their guilty pleasures a secret. A new update to Steam's desktop client introduces the feature, and you can access it in the "Set Categories" menu. Once you have chosen to hide a game, it will show up in the new hidden menu.
PC Gamer reports that the Steam client update also includes a range of other features and tweaks, the first of which is a general update to the interface. Colors have been shifted slightly, and common controls have been simplified. The client update also fixes various crash issues.
You can see all the changes to Steam coming through the update on Valve's website here. And you can sign up for Steam beta testing by following these instructions.
Electronic Art's Origin platform for PC already lets players hide their games if they want to. In fact, Origin users have had this option since 2012, when it was introduced in Origin update 8.5.0.
Do you plan to hide some of your gaming activity on Steam? Let us know which games you'll hide in the comments below!
]]> 1100-6421584Fri, 08 Aug 2014 05:04:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gamespots-ps4-destiny-giveaway/1100-6418365/THIS SWEEPSTAKES IS NOT SPONSORED, ENDORSED OR ADMINISTERED BY SONY, ACTIVISION, OR BUNGIE.
*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Open to legal residents of the U.S., Canada (not including Quebec), and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico 13 & older.
**See official rules
]]> 1100-6418365Fri, 08 Aug 2014 00:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/defunct-publisher-sierra-reveals-new-website/1100-6421583/A new website for Sierra Entertainment has surfaced online and indicates that the game publisher will be making an appearance at this year's Gamescom. The site plays a brief trailer that animates into a new logo for the company but makes no mention of any games.
Sierra was first founded in 1979 and was eventually absorbed into Activision Blizzard before it was officially closed down in 2008. The organisation is best known for publishing Half-Life, F.E.A.R, and Counter-Strike.
What do you think, will Sierra Entertainment be making a comeback? Let us know in the comments below.
]]> 1100-6421583Thu, 07 Aug 2014 21:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/farmville-developer-zynga-posts-63-million-net-los/1100-6421582/FarmVille developer has posted a $63 million net loss in its second quarter 2014 financial results.
The company has projected its net loss for the third quarter of the year to fall between $52 and $57 million. Earlier this year, Zynga announced that company founder Mark Pincus would step down from his role as Chief Product Officer to "focus on serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors."
In the same earnings call, Zynga announced its plans to take its first steps into the sports genre, starting with football. The company has announced its signing of a multi-year licensing agreement with the National Football League and NFL Players Inc., the marketing and licensing branch of the NFL Players Association.
The agreements will allow Zynga to incorporate the use of real-life NFL teams and athletes in its software. Zynga released NFL Showdown today in select regions, a game in which players run a team by stepping into the role of coach, general manager, and owner.
Zynga has also announced the signing of golfer Tiger Woods to an exclusive, multi-year, multi-platform partnership. The deal will see Zynga create "breakthrough mobile games that bring the world of Tiger Woods golf to life." The first of these is expected to launch on mobile platforms next year.
]]> 1100-6421582Thu, 07 Aug 2014 19:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/wii-sports-club-review/1900-6415837/ Wii Sports is an undeniably important game to the whole of gaming history. Its status as a pack-in with the original Wii was responsible for getting the console into millions of homes (and breaking a few TVs), but it also signaled a significant change in player demographics that had been a long time coming. As the Wii U struggles to gain the sort of consumer traction its predecessor had, Nintendo has reissued the now-classic Wii Sports package, updated with a bevy of new bells and whistles. But while Wii Sports was forward-thinking in its ability to engage a different set of game players, Wii Sports Club is a clunky attempt to bring the title up to the standards of current games.Wii Sports Club features the five original sports from its predecessor: Tennis, Bowling, Golf, Baseball, and Boxing. On a fundamental level, these play similarly to the original game, requiring the player to perform various motions to simulate the acts of swinging a racket, throwing a ball, or launching a punch. The Wii MotionPlus (or a Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus built-in) is mandatory, and the additional range of gyroscopic control it provides adds a little bit more depth to these games: in Tennis, for example, it's a lot easier to control the type of swings you get than it was with the original Wii Remote, leading to greater control of the ball. Other games utilize the GamePad: in Golf, you position the GamePad on the floor, where it depicts the ball; you then swing the Wii Remote over the pad to hit the ball. Baseball lets you use the GamePad's gyroscopic features to pitch and catch the ball, which is a clever and fun new addition to the formula. For the most part, however, Wii Sports Club is all about that time-tested Wii Remote waggling.
Besides the main games, Wii Sports Club also features mini-games that put twists on the various sports, like launching a tennis ball to hit whack-a-mole targets, trying to bowl down unusual 100-pin patterns, and playing bingo by launching golf balls onto a grid. These games can be played solo or with friends (though not online), and make for a nice distraction if you get bored of the standard sports. These games are all quite short, however, so don't expect to be enthralled by them for very long.
One of the selling points of Wii Sports Club is its online features, and unfortunately, it's here where the collection falters the hardest. When you start the game, you're asked to join a regional "club" of your personal choosing. This isn't restricted by physical geography; I live in California, but I joined the Iowa club because I grew up in that state. You're supposed to socialize with other members of your club, forming friendships and rivalries with other territory clubs, but such socialization is uncommon because the online experience is simply not good at all.
For starters, online play is restricted to very basic rules for each sport, with only bowling featuring any sort of significant rule variations to choose from. Finding opponents is also a challenge. I'd log on during prime time in the evenings, weekends and weekdays, pick my sport of choice, and be sent to a practice room where I'd wait for an opponent for a few minutes before being told the game couldn't find anyone and I would be booted back to the menu. I had the most luck finding people to play Tennis, but trying to find a person to play 100-pin Bowling was like pulling teeth. Looking at the game's Miiverse, I saw plenty of folks discussing their online games with others, so why wasn't I getting any sporting funtimes?
It has much to do with the game's netcode. Wii Sports Club has serious, pervasive problems with lag and stuttering during games. Players in the Miiverse universally reported the same issues, making online play a bust. But beyond the online, how is Wii Sports Club at recapturing the magic of the original Wii Sports and getting non-typical players engaged in the game? I invited a few people I knew who aren't frequent game-players to partake in some virtual sporting with me. While they all seemed to enjoy the games--especially the new mini-games--the GamePad options proved troublesome. (There was a lot of worry about people and pets accidentally stepping on the controller during golf in particular.) There's simply no substantial improvement here--nothing to make the re-release a valuable upgrade over the original.
On top of everything is a rather confusing pricing structure: You can obtain the game as either a free download or in a retail package, but the downloadable version only lets you play for a limited time before you have to purchase a $1.99 24-hour "day pass" or unlimited access to individual sports for $9.99 each. The package version doesn't have any such restrictions, save for the minor inconvenience of having to take the disc in and out of the console, so why not offer a simple, full-access download version as well?
Wii Sports Club is emblematic of Nintendo's strange and silly approach to online games and distribution, given its unintuitive interface for finding sports partners, the consistently poor connection quality, and a pricing strategy that makes little sense. It works a lot better as a local game, but even then, it's not a massive improvement over the original title as a pick-up-and-play party pleaser. It's still great fun, particularly in short bursts, but it's hard to justify plunking down extra cash for Wii Sports Club.
]]> 1900-6415837Thu, 07 Aug 2014 17:49:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pewdiepie-more-popular-among-teens-than-katy-perry/1100-6421581/It seems that the fame of pop stars, actors, and actresses has now been eclipsed, at least among teenagers. No longer can the celebrities of traditional entertainment mediums claim that they are the most popular with that demographic.
A study by Variety found that the top five most popular celebrities among kids aged 13-18 are all YouTube stars. Scored based on approachability, authenticity, and other measures of personality, these people surpassed actors, actresses, and performers from traditional film, television, and music industries. Sitting at number one among the celebs is the Smosh pair, who post comedy videos in games and real-life situations. The Fine Bros, who also make comedy videos, are second. Number three is PewDiePie, AKA Felix Kjellberg, the successful producer of video game content. His YouTube channel has the most subscribers on YouTube, sitting at 29 million.
The top mainstream celebrities are actor Paul Walker at number six, actress Jennifer Lawrence at number seven, and singer Katy Perry at number nine.
You can check out the top ten most popular celebrities among teens below. YouTubers are marked with an asterisk.
- Smosh*
- The Fine Bros*
- PewDiePie*
- KSI*
- Ryan Higa*
- Paul Walker
- Jennifer Lawrence
- Shane Dawson*
- Katy Perry
- Steve Carell
Recently, it was revealed that PewDiePie makes $4 million on his videos every year. He produces Let's Play videos in a wide number of games. PewDiePie often posts upwards of a dozen videos every two weeks, and all of them generally hit 2 million views in that same time period. But that doesn't mean he is comfortable with the fame. "I'm so central to YouTube now, and that puts me in the spotlight and raises a lot of questions like 'Why is he so big?'" he said. "I'd much rather prefer to have something like 5 million subscribers."
| Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @alexbnewhouse |
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| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
Yesterday, Twitch overhauled the way it enforces copyright laws on audio, implementing automated censorship of thousands of its archived videos. Now, when you watch a video with copyrighted audio, the part with the music is muted. Twitch also changed the way it stores its archived video, removing the option to save a video indefinitely.
These new policies were expectedly controversial, so Twitch CEO Emmett Shear started a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread and answered several burning questions from the community. Before he addressed any questions, he put some concerns to rest by saying that Twitch has no plans to censor live video. However, Reddit users generally did not find his answers satisfactory and downvoted them until they were hidden behind a warning. You can read some of his answers below. (Thanks to user Rotsuki for gathering all of them)
Noted speedrunner Cosmo Wright: Why should I keep streaming on Twitch as opposed to a different site that [does not have content ID, copyright, and storage] issues?
Shear: With regard to 2 hour chunks [as the max length of video you can store indefinitely], our research prior to launching the feature indicated that almost no highlights were longer than 2 hours, and we were concerned about abuse of the tool. It's clear that we underestimated the demand and need for a solution here, and fortunately we have 3 weeks to figure one out. Expect changes here soon.
It has disproportionately large impact on certain communities (speedrunning most obviously) and we're very concerned about making sure that every community on Twitch has a good experience.
With regard to content ID, I understand your feelings here. We have absolutely no intention of flagging songs due to original in-game music. If that's happening (and it appears it is), it's a problem and we will investigate and try to fix it.
With regards to your last question, why Twitch: Because we care about you and your viewers, and we want every broadcaster on Twitch to be protected from potential liability. No matter how remote you might feel the issue is, we aren't willing to run the risk someone's life gets ruined over this.
Aniviasrevenge: Are you taking the stance that streaming audio isn't fair use? If you believe it is not, what is your rationale for believing streaming video is fair use?
Shear: Game companies have the public stance (and private stance directly with Twitch) that they allow anyone to stream their games. This isn't a fair use argument, it's a generally available license that you're taking advantage of.
Broadcasting unlicensed music in the background is not fair use either, and there is no generally available license. Therefore this is not something that we want our broadcasters to accept liability for (nor do we want to accept liability for it either).
They're completely different cases, and the logic is different in each.
Journalisms: So why is Dota 2 content (even The International) flagged, when Valve is [one of those companies that allow anyone to stream their games]?
Shear: That was a false positive (misidentification of crowd noise as music), which we've now fixed.
DooplissForce: Did Twitch need to change up things? Was there some sort of issue or problem that sparked this? If not, why then did Twitch change stuff?
Shear: We did need to change things. This is laying groundwork for some work in the future you guys are REALLY going to like. We've been intending to do this for some time, but it took us a while to identify and select a content identification partner and get the system up and reliable.
SirSnugglybear: Why was no advanced notice given before these policy changes were implemented?
Shear: Simply put: we screwed up and should have announced it ahead of time. Sorry.
J4nG: Is there a process a streamer can go through if they believe that their videos have been unfairly flagged and muted?
Shear: For now, please email feedback@twitch.tv if you think there's a problem. We're working on building an appeals system since that's obviously important. And no, I can't comment, it says so right in my original post.
Thehoods: Shouldn't you have built an appeals process before implementing a system with these results?
Shear: Probably, but no v1 is perfect.
Shear went on to answer many more questions, which you can check out on the Reddit thread. It seems, however, that even though this copyright system is here to stay, Twitch is acknowledging that it has been far too strict in its censorship.
But the controversy has already begun, and some of Twitch's competitors are capitalizing on it. Hitbox, another streaming service, posted criticism of these policies today (although the post never mentions Twitch).
According to the post, "It's sad to see someone lose touch with the very people that made them big. Forcing a 30+ second delay on streamers and ruining their [Videos on Demand] with automated copyright claims is a slap in the face of everyone who tries to share their passion for gaming with the world. Luckily we all have a voice and can make ourselves heard. We did it by creating a platform that is deeply rooted within the community, and you can do it too by joining with us. At Hitbox you're always with friends, and the soundtrack is whatever you want it to be."
Many speedrunners have been critical of the policies as well. A user in subreddit r/speedrun even created a list of all of the speedrunners moving over to Hitbox.
If you stream on Twitch, are you considering switching to a different service? Let us know in the comments.
| Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @alexbnewhouse |
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| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
The European games conference Gamescom, the show that's rivaled only by E3 in terms of blockbuster reveals and new game footage, is coming next week. And just like at E3, there are going to be several big press conferences.
While the conference's timing means our US readers might not get to watch everything as it happens, we're still giving you the chance to check it out. You'll be able to catch the Electronic Arts press conference live right here on August 13 at 10AM CEST (1AM PST).
But even if you can't make the program as it airs, we'll have a full liveblog recap, as well as video of all the biggest announcements, so be sure to bookmark this page.
With Dragon Age: Inquisition, Battlefield Hardline, The Sims 4, and FIFA 15 set to make an appearance at the show, what do you most want to see from EA at Gamescom?
]]> 1100-6421579Thu, 07 Aug 2014 14:31:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oops-square-enix-launches-dragon-quest-4-as-dargon/1100-6421538/Update: After being released (App Store link) in the US with the same Dargon Quest name, Square Enix was forced to release an update to the app in order to fix its name. The game now shows up as Dragon Quest IV, as it should. The 1.0.1 update notes, sadly, make no mention of this: Square Enix says the update is simply a "Bug Fix."
Original Story: Square Enix continues its trend of releasing classic RPGs for mobile platforms, but with its latest release, it's made a hilarious mistake.
Dragon Quest IV is the latest such game to get the mobile treatment, but, at least for the time being, it won't be found under that name. Instead, the game has somehow made it to the iOS App Store under the name Dargon Quest IV.
Inevitably, this resulted in a game of sorts on Twitter, with people giving similar treatment to the titles of other games. Many of these are being submitted with the hashtag DargonQuestMyGame. Some of the best so far include Pegleg (Peggle), Scared 2 (Sacred 2), and Valkyrie Prolife (Valkyrie Profile).
Dragon Quest IV has not yet been released on the United States App Store; it's currently available in New Zealand, which typically means it will be out in the US and other countries tonight. (We'll have to see if the typo gets fixed by then.) An Android release for the game is also planned.
The app's description notes what you're buying is the full game; it hasn't been divided up into DLC packages or had microtransactions added to it. That will reassure some fans, while others will no doubt balk at playing the game on mobile platforms. If that's the case, you're in luck; Dragon Quest IV is also available on NES, PlayStation, and DS, provided you have some older hardware still laying around.
This isn't the only trouble Square Enix has had with spelling today--its latest earnings report (PDF) refers to Murdered: Soul Suspect as "Muredered; Soul Suspect."
What's the best Dargon Quest-esque name for a game you can come up with? Share yours in the comments below.
| Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX |
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| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
Destiny's beta was a "tremendous success" and will lead to changes being made prior to the full game's release on September 9. If you're hoping for those changes to be substantial, however, it sounds as if you'll be disappointed.
As part of an Activision Blizzard investors call this week, Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg talked about what Destiny's beta means for the final game. Reiterating that it was the biggest beta ever for a new IP, Hirshberg said, "[W]e were able to test everything at scale and everything held up well. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that feedback was nearly universally positive.
"I would describe these as tweaks and not major changes as we saw the fundamentals of the game to be very strong" -- Eric Hirshberg
"That said, as you might imagine, we learned a lot by watching players engage with the game and hearing their feedback and Bungie is now making tweaks to optimize the game and they actually did so after the alpha as well, so that's going to be, I think, an ongoing process to make it a better experience and nothing is more important to us or to Bungie than delivering a great experience to our community and the beta certainly helped us do that."
Without identifying what kind of changes will be made, Hirshberg offered some sense of how significant they will be, saying, "I would describe these as tweaks and not major changes as we saw the fundamentals of the game to be very strong."
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that, with the game just over a month way, Bungie won't be completely revamping it. If you weren't a fan of something like the game's structure or gunplay, you'll have to hold out hope that things will be changed in one of the yet-to-be-announced sequels coming as part of the studio's 10-year deal with Activision.
Bungie hasn't yet gone into great deal about all of the changes that will be made to Destiny following the beta. A recent Bungie Weekly Update post on its website did, however, mention a few tweaks, such as reducing the Interceptor vehicle's rate of fire and reducing the blast radius of rockets.
More than 88 million games were played during the beta by upwards of 4.6 million players. Activision has very high expectations for Destiny, having publicly said it believes the game will become the best-selling new IP ever. (One analyst has projected potential sales in the 10-15 million range.) Activision said this week that, despite being in the same first-person-shooter genre as Call of Duty, there is room for both games to succeed.
What kind of tweaks are you hoping Bungie makes in the full version of Destiny? Let us know in the comments.
| Chris Pereira is a freelance writer for GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheSmokingManX |
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| Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email news@gamespot.com |
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