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Archived News:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
-
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).
- Elite: Dangerous on
PC Gamer. 4K screenshots.
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).
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