Archived News:

Friday, Jul 18, 2014

Subscription MMOG Market Analysis

SuperData Research has a June 2014 update on the state of the U.S. digital games market with some analysis of subscription-based MMOGs, describing how even pay-to-play games have been adding microtransactions to make up for lost subscription numbers (thanks GamesIndustry International). They also provide a chart showing the top 10 subscription games earned combined $2.8 billion last year, with ore than a third of that ($1 billion) going to World of Warcraft, $165 million for The Old Republic, and $104 million for EVE Online. Here's a bit:
The pay-to-play MMO market has been shrinking since 2010, dropping from 30.6 million monthly active subscribers worldwide to 23.4 million this year. To offset the loss of revenue, several key titles have incorporated or switched entirely to a microtransaction-based revenue model. In the past five years, the percentage of revenue for subscription-based MMO generated via additional in-game microtransactions has roughly doubled from 14% for 27%. In addition, the average digital spend, in addition to the monthly fee, has tripled from $16 to $46, worldwide. Despite the overall decline, this category has so far managed to maximize their ability to monetize a shrinking yet loyal player base.

Ships Ahoy - Rise of Venice - Gold Edition

Kalypso Media announces the Rise of Venice - Gold Edition is now available though digital distribution offering Rise of Venice and all its DLC in a single purchase, adding that a retail boxed gold edition will come next month. Here's new Gold Edition trailer, and here's word:
Establish yourself as one of the most powerful traders of Renaissance Venice in the main game, and then expand your empire as far as Gibraltar in the major expansion ‘Beyond The Sea.’ In addition, the Rise of Venice – Gold Edition also includes both the ‘Steamship’ and ‘Sea Monsters’ DLC. A retail boxed version will be available to purchase on August 26, 2014.

Rise of Venice - Gold Edition challenges players to rise up through the ranks of Venetian society by crafting their own trading empire. Remove political opponents, apply merchant savvy and trade your way to becoming one of the most influential figures of the Renaissance. Check out the brand new trailer for Rise of Venice - Gold Edition below for a look at how to begin your journey on the path to riches.
Continue here to read the full story.

Styx: Master of Shadows Website & Trailer

Cyanide Studio invites you to come sail away to the Styx: Master of Shadows website, a new home to the upcoming infiltration game. They inaugurate the site with a new summer trailer from the game. They say: "This Summer Trailer invites us to follow Styx, the two-century old Goblin whose main occupation is thievery and assassination, as he begins infiltrating the huge Tower of Akenash. It is in this immense tower that is jealously kept hidden by elves, humans and other fantasy creatures, the World-Tree and its Heart, source of the precious Amber. This is the final objective of Styx, who today demonstrates a few of his skills and special powers, that will be of great help to make a silent way to his goal." Continue here to read the full story.

On Sale

The Evil Within a Week Early

The Bethesda Blog shares an announcement from QuakeCon that we should expect The Evil Within on October 14th in North America, one week earlier than previously expected. The reasons for this slight change are not offered. Here's what they say:
Announced today at QuakeCon, we’re ready to bring Shinji’s Mikami’s latest adventure to your darkly-lit living room a week early.

On October 14th in North America (and October 16th and October 17th for Europe, The Evil Within will launch on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.

To help you through Shinji’s return to survival horror, don’t forget that pre-ordering the game means you’ll have access to the Fighting Chance Pack — full of weapons and resources that will prove useful in your playthrough. Trust us… you’ll want every bit of help you can get.

We’ll be relaying more news and updates on The Evil Within as we get closer to launch. Stay informed by following the game on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.

Hearthstone Expansion Next Week

Battle.net announces a July 22nd release date in the Americas for the Curse of Naxxramas expansion for Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft, Blizzard's card-based strategy game, adding that this will be released in Europe the following day. Here's word:
Are you prepared to face the horrors lurking within the dread necropolis Naxxramas? Curse of Naxxramas: A Hearthstone Adventure is just about ready to open its gates to the world. There’s a whole host of undead monsters inhabiting the halls of Naxxramas, ready and waiting to defend their lair against Hearthstone’s heroes. If you . . . somehow . . . manage to defeat them, you’ll be rewarded with ghastly new cards for your Hearthstone collection!

Curse of Naxxramas goes live in the Americas region for Windows®, Mac®, and iPad® on Tuesday, July 22, starting with the Arachnid Quarter, the first of five creepy wings that will be released weekly after the gates are opened. The Arachnid Quarter will be free to play during the Curse of Naxxramas launch event, which will last roughly a month. Those brave enough to step foot into the Arachnid Quarter during the launch event will unlock it permanently for free. Check out our recent blog for further details on how to access the Arachnid Quarter and the subsequent wings of Naxxramas.

Polish up your decks, card-slingers—we’ll see you inside the necropolis soon!

Areal Videos

The Areal Kickstarter page has a couple of videos from West Games to support the fundraising for their survival/horror shooter and to combat doubts about this project's legitimacy. They offer an Anomaly zone prototype trailer, saying this was made in just two weeks, and prominently warning that this does not represent the final quality of the game. There is also a teaser 2 video with the developers discussing the game and a look at some play testing. And since nothing concerning Areal can pass without a touch of controversy, Rock, Paper, Shotgun has screenshots some backers are saying show that the environments in the video come from a off-the-shelf Unity engine asset pack. Here's part of what the developers at West Games say their goals are for the videos:
We know how to make games and are very passionate about Areal. What we've found out though, is that making and launching a Kickstarter is much harder than actually making the game! One of the biggest mistakes that we made was focusing too much on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. and not showing footage of Areal itself. This raised a lot of negativity in the community, and many accused us of being a fraud. We just wanted to show people that we were responsible for creating S.T.A.L.K.E.R.. We were completely unprepared for the wave of negativity that surrounded our Kickstarter and honestly, were more than a little discouraged.

But that did not break our will to make Areal, and it did not break our desire to create an awesome game that players around the world will enjoy.
Continue here to read the full story.

The Crew Video Interview

UbiBlog has a new video interview with Julian Gerighty, one of the crew developing The Crew, their upcoming racing game. They discuss the reception of the game at E3. They explain: "This time, we’ve captured our chatter on video, covering everything from the amazing 2.5-hour mission featured in the Coast to Coast trailer to PvP, Crew vs Crew and more. Watch to see why we’re so revved up for this game." Continue here to read the full story.

Steamships Ahoy - So Many Me

So Many Me is now available on Steam, offering a family-friendly platformer in the style of Lemmings that's currently carrying a 20% launch discount. A new launch trailer shows off the game, though this emphasizes its availability for Ouya consoles. Here's word on gameplay: "So Many Me combines classic puzzle-solving and platforming with the resource management mechanic of Lemmings. Players step into the shiny, richly-colored world as Filo, a Me who discovers that he has the power to clone himself – and then discovers it again, and again, and again. Each clone possesses unique superpowers, which must be combined creatively in order to solve puzzles, sidestep pitfalls, and defeat the nefarious creatures that threaten Filo’s home." Continue here to read the full story.

Diablo III Two-Handed Weapon Changes

Blizzard took to the Battle.net forums to outline some changes to how two-handed weapons work in Diablo III. Two-handers have been junk since the release of the action/RPG sequel, and they are springing to action to address this:
To summarize the changes:

  • The DPS of 2-Handed Melee Weapons has been increased by 23-26% across the board.
  • This applies to the following weapon types:
    • 2-Handed Maces
    • 2-Handed Mighty Weapons
    • 2-Handed Axes
    • 2-Handed Flails
    • 2-Handed Staffs
    • 2-Handed Swords
    • Daibos
    • Polearms
  • In direct response, Heavenly Strength will now reduce damage done by 20%. With both changes, Crusaders using a 2-Hander should see a very small DPS increase.
  • This change is retroactive to existing live items.
  • This change only affects level 70 two-handed melee weapons.
  • This change affects two-handed melee weapons of all rarities.

We are still considering additional changes if needed but this should be a solid step towards making 2-Handers viable again for all classes.

Ships Ahoy - Battle Fleet 2

Capital j Media announces the release of Battle Fleet 2 for Windows, OS X, and mobiles, offering a second installment in their naval combat series. The game is available through this page (DRM-free on Windows), and the new version supports cross-platform play between the different editions, as well as improved graphics, tactics, and ships. Here's what to expect so you can judge if this will float your boat:
Battle Fleet 2 is a true naval combat sim set in the WW2 era, with fights primarily taking place around island chains in The Pacific. Players manually control each ship's loadout, as well as maneuvering each ship in true turn based combat. Firing on enemy ships is done via power and angle controls, much like Worms or Scorched Earth. Ballistic weapons use real time collision physics, allowing you to use terrain of islands as cover or even allowing individual shells to take out key systems such as enemy guns, flight decks, rudders, and so on.

Assassin's Creed Jumps Into Parkour

This video demonstrates even Ubisoft's "chief parkour officer" cannot navigate walls as shown in Assassin's Creed games, though it does show the way the acrobatics in Assassin's Creed unity will be modeled on real-life action. Word is: "Meet Michael 'Frosti' Zernow, Ubisoft’s first Chief Parkour Officer. Starting with Assassin’s Creed Unity, Zernow will serve as an adviser to the franchise, helping the developers ensure the parkour mechanics are as authentic and accurate as possible. In addition to assisting with game accuracy, Zernow and his team of coaches at Tempest Freerunning have helped us design a special parkour course for San Diego Comic Con. Meet Zernow and get your first look at the Assassin’s Creed Experience in the video below." Continue here to read the full story.

Morning Crowdfunding Roundup

  • Tormentum - Dark Sorrow - Indiegogo. Now has Windows and OS X demos of this point-and-click adventure to support their fixed $9K fundraiser (they only collect the funds if the goal is met, Kickstarter style).

Morning Previews

Morning Screenshots

  • Elite: Dangerous on PC Gamer. 4K screenshots.

Game Reviews

Hardware Reviews

Out of the Blue

Had to make it out a early yesterday to do a little socializing with one of MrsBlue's cousins, who was in town for a showing of some of her husband's art. If this sounds like torture to you, then we are of like minds on this, but it turned out fine, and we didn't have to stay that long. This cascaded into a bit of an unexpected delay this morning, however, and for that I apologize (but this won't prevent my from trying to wrap up early again today).

Tardy Links: Thanks Ant and Acleacius.
Play: Feed Me Moar 2.
Mummys Path.
Timberman.
Link: The Rise and Fall of Professional Bowling. Thanks Cutter.
Stories: Watch How This Supermarket Got People To Buy Their Trash. Thanks Cutter.
Fake screener probes passengers at SFO.
Alan Moore Calls For Boycott Of 'Wretched Film' Hercules On Behalf Of Friend Steve Moore.
Science: New solar material goes hole-free for greater durability.
Navy’s Tiny 5-Pound Missile Packs a Big Punch.
Images: Handmade Wire Sculptures Straight Out Of A Fairytale. Thanks Cutter.
Media: This Driver Has Nerves Of Steel. Thanks nin.
Elastigirl’s Disney Stage Entrance Fail.
The Funnies: Choose-Your-Own-Fate: The Matrix.
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