Archived News:
Take-Two Interactive Software
announces fiscal third quarter 2015 results, calling them "strong" and
increasing their outlook for the fourth quarter and the full year. They say the
biggest contributors to their bottom line were Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K15, WWE
2K15, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and Sid Meier's Civilization®: Beyond Earth,
noting that that Grand Theft Auto V has now sold over 45 million units.
According to the report, there is quite a GAAP gap, as: "For fiscal third
quarter 2015, GAAP net revenue was $531.1 million, as compared to $1.86 billion
for fiscal third quarter 2014," while: "For fiscal third quarter 2015, Non-GAAP
net revenue grew to $954.0 million, as compared to $767.7 million for the
year-ago period." The Non-GAAP summary also demonstrates the shift to digital
distribution continues apace: Non-GAAP net revenue from
digitally-delivered content grew 64% year-over-year to $217.2 million. The
largest contributors were offerings for the Grand Theft Auto series, NBA 2K15,
the Borderlands franchise, and Sid Meier’s Civilization: Beyond Earth. Revenue
from recurrent consumer spending (virtual currency, downloadable add-on content
and online games) grew 23% year-over-year and accounted for 36% of Non-GAAP net
revenue from digitally-delivered content. Catalog sales accounted for $103.7
million of Non-GAAP net revenue led by the Grand Theft Auto series and offerings
for Borderlands 2.
Homeworld Remastered Collection is on the way from Gearbox Software with updated
versions of Homeworld and Homeworld 2, leaving fans of the series wondering why
Homeworld: Cataclysm is not included in the plan. Now
The Escapist has an explanation from Gearbox COO Brian Martel who says they
"would love" to remake the game, but they don't have access to Barking Dog
Studios' source code, and don't know if a complete copy exists anywhere. He
tells them: "I'd be surprised if we could actually do the kind of work that
we've done with the remasters for Cataclysm," though he adds "there are some
clever things [Gearbox] might be able to do if there was enough interest." That
said, they'd really like to get their hands on the original source code. "It
really comes down to finding the original source code," says Martel. "If
somebody out there has it, we would take it and make sure we at least released
the classic version."
Steam News announces
pre-purchases are underway for
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty,
saying the Oddworld remake is 10% off between now and February 25th, and that
the advance commitment also comes with two free DLC packs as a bonus. Here's a
refresher on the game: Once a happy floor waxer in Oddworld's biggest
meat processing plant, Abe stumbles across his boss's secret plan to turn the
factory's slave labor force into the latest in the RuptureFarms Tasty Treats
line of novelty meat snacks. Abe now has to save his own skin from the grinders,
but simply escaping the flesh farm is only the start of his Oddysee - for many
dangers await Abe on his journey to discover his destiny.
The Men of War
website announces the Iron Fist DLC for Men of War: Assault Squad
2, saying this will be released digitally on February 19th along with a new
patch adding DirectX 10 support among other things. Here's word: Iron Fist
contains a set of new features and additional single player content:
- Replays of your multiplayer matches and the
ability to save, load and share them with others
- 3rd person direct control feature
- 5 new singleplayer skirmishes in which you fight
as a veteran tank crew via the new 3rd person controls
- Free updates include DirectX 10 Support,
Multiplayer spectator slots, Unit veterancy, Auto ammo ressuply
Steam News announces
that Rise of Incarnates
is now available on Steam as an early access title. Word is: A
free-to-play action game blending fighting and shooting in a 2v2 battle arena.
Feel a rush of power as you awaken latent character abilities and string
together combos, all while working strategically with your partner to dominate
opponents.
A
post from Riot Games to a
thread on reddit confirms that accounts in League of Legends are
being exploited by third-parties (thanks
PC Gamer). They do not confirm theories about what's going on in the MOBA,
but they do state they plan on setting everything right again. Word is:
We're getting this fixed right now, though we can't speak to the
specifics of the exploit or the explanations fellow Redditors have been
offering. What we can say is that we can see everyone who was hit by an attack,
and we'll be returning all RP/IP that was lost.
Since the store was involved, we also want to reassure you that this didn't
expose any personal information like credit card numbers. Your data is
safe.
Independent Czech developer Soulbound Games announces RENOIR, a
story-driven puzzle/platformer for Windows and next-gen consoles. Fans of impressionist
art will be disappointed to learn this has nothing to do with Pierre-Auguste
Renoir, as the title derives from the game's noir style and its title
character, who is a private detective, not a painter. The
RENOIR website is online, offering
some details and this announcement teaser
trailer features a look at the game's monochrome Unreal Engine 4 graphics.
They say we should expect a Kickstarter in the spring. Here's more: "As private
detective James Renoir you will investigate your final case. On the complicated
path to solving it, James must finally overcome his past and face the fact that
in a city saturated with fear and corruption, there is hardly a future for him."
Daedalic Entertainment announces the full version of Decay – The Mare is
still on track for release next month as
promised, saying the third and final episode in the three-part series will
come to Windows and OS X on February 13th. Here's a refresher: "In Decay – The
Mare, you control Sam, an addict who ends up in an institution named “Reaching
Dreams” – hoping to kick his drug problem and clean up his miserable life. But
during the first night, something goes wrong and he gets stuck in a seemingly
endless nightmare. Decay – The Mare is a 3D psychological horror adventure and
homage to the Resident Evil and Silent Hill games, as well as to horror
adventure games like Phantasmagoria, The 11th Hour and Gabriel Knight."
Mortal Kombat X is on track for release in Australia, a case where the
region's relatively new R18+
rating is serving the needs of gamers, as it will allow Australians to purchase
and play the game, in contrast with the previous Mortal Kombat game, which was
refused classification. Aussie site
Player Attack has word that the game has received a
R18+ classification due to "High impact violence, blood and gore, online
interactivity."
The
WildStar website announces the commencement of the Protogames Initiative, a
new update for Carbine Studios' MMORPG. This
forum post has the extensive patch notes, and there's an explanation
in this post that will take a while to read. A
new trailer shows off
new features the new version, and here's a summary they sent along: "NCSOFT and
Carbine Studios today released their newest update – The Protogames Initiative –
delivering on the studio’s promise to address player feedback in the first half
of 2015. The latest update introduces a range of content for players to enjoy,
including a new Shiphand mission and two exciting dungeons. The update also
includes veteran versions of all existing Shiphands, enhanced customization
options, and quality-of-life improvements to everything from quest flow to
itemization." Continue here to read the full story.
Happy Groundhog Day! If the groundhog really does need to emerge from his hole
for his weather report today, he'll need a snow blower, as we're in the middle
of a pretty harsh nor'easter right now, and there's deep wet snow everywhere, so
I don't need to check the news to know that nobody's seeing any shadows around
here today, regardless of what
Punxsutawney Phil says.
Speaking of checking the news, this one time I'll finally remember to honor the
wishes of a long-time reader who was time-shifting the playoff games. I kept
spoiling outcomes by mentioning them here, but I can discuss the Super Bowl just
as easily without explicitly naming the winner. Of course congrats are in order
for the winners and their fans, but the ending of that game will perplex me for
the rest of my life, as I still cannot believe they called that pass play, and I
don't think I will ever be able to understand it.
Also congrats to Darkv for winning our
playoff pool, I had a shot at coming in second, but the last game crossed me
up. I had been on a pretty good roll, as this was only the second Super Bowl I
predicted incorrectly since Super Bowl XXXVI (the other was when I incorrectly
picked the Colts to beat the Saints a few years ago). Hopefully I'll start a new
streak next year.
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