• May 2013 - The Announcement of the Xbox One

    Its Now May 2013 and the Next Gen Console race is hotting up. Today May21st we have the announcement of the New Xbox One and details coming in all the time of the PS4. If your a fan of mobile phones then im sure you have already brought a Samsung Galaxy S4. If your after a WiiU then Target are selling the console at a decent £240.

  • September 5th, 2012

    Ubisoft clarifies "93-95%" PC piracy rate comments 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 23:08
    1. Categories:
    2. PC News

    Ubisoft has clarified comments made last month by boss Yves Guillemot, which suggested the company endured a piracy rate of "93 to 95 per cent" on its PC titles.This figure only relates to "specific or popular PC games", Ubisoft worldwide director for online games Stephanie Perotti explained to Rock Paper Shotgun.Perotti admitted that, even then, "that number often varies depending on the territory.""So we are not saying that it applies to all PC games for all territories, and we're not saying that the same situation would apply for any game.""It varies, from game to game, region to region," Ubisoft corporate communications manager Michael Burk added. "We've seen internal and external data to show that it can reach that high. But that doesn't necessarily mean that it is that high for all PC games, or that it is that high for all companies, or across all regions."This is one of the reasons why Ubisoft does not divulge data to show how successful - or not - its always-on DRM policy was."I think that's one reason why companies are not necessarily broadly publishing this, because we're trying to get a handle on what it means for different games, different titles."Doubt was also cast on comments by the company last year that it's now-repealed always-on DRM policy had shown a "clear reduction in piracy"."I'm not going to comment on data. That was an unfortunate comment," Perotti said. "We've listened to feedback, we will continue to listen to feedback, we will continue to make sure that we deliver great games and great services, and are now operating under this [always-on DRM free] policy."

    http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...-rate-comments
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    PlayStation Plus: 25% subscription discount for the next 2 weeks 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 23:05
    1. Categories:
    2. PS3 News
    Article Preview

    Sony has knocked 25 per cent of the price of an annual PlayStation Plus subscription.
    Running for two weeks until September 19, the offer lets you to pick up a 365 day PS Plus pass for £29.99/€37.49, down from the regular price of £39.99/€49.99.Annual subscriptions will stack, so current subscribers can also take advantage of the reduced price.
    During its Gamescom conference last month, the platform holder revealed plans to bring PlayStation Plus to Vita later this year.
    Sony has also kicked off a Retro Games Sale on PlayStation Network today to celebrate the recent launch of PSone support on Vita.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-next-2-weeks/     ...
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    Modern Warfare 3: Final CoD Elite content hit by Xbox Live issues 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 23:04
    1. Categories:
    2. Xbox 360 News
    Article Preview

    Update: Multiplayer maps Boardwalk, Gulch and Parish now available to download, according to CVG readers and Activision, although some users are still reporting getting XBL Marketplace error messages.
    The final round of Modern Warfare 3 DLC for Call of Duty Elite subscribers on Xbox 360 has been released, but Xbox Live users are facing difficulties downloading it.
    According to the online service's status page, "users will have issues accessing new MW3 content."We are aware of the problem and are working to resolve the issue," Microsoft added. "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your patience."
    Call of Duty's UK community manager also said on Twitter: "Things have been done a little differently for our ELITE drop in this instance. No idea on the length of the delay though."
    CoD multiplayer fans who have been underwhelmed by MW3's Face Off and Spec Ops DLC should be looking forward to the final Elite offering, which consists of three new online maps:Gulch, Boardwalk and Parish.
    They're scheduled to be made available to non-Elite subscribers on Xbox 360 tomorrow, September 6 as part of Content Collection 4, which also features Offshore and Decommission, maps Elite users received access to in July.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com...x-live-issues/     ...
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    StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm beta is live 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 23:01
    1. Categories:
    2. PC News
    Article Preview

    The StarCraft 2: Heart of the Swarm beta has gone live.
    The beta is currently only open to a select group of "pro-gamers, members of the press, Arcade contest winners, and shoutcasters", but there's no NDA, so if you're not already playing it you should certainly be able to watch a live stream to calm the anxious twitching.Blizzard says it'll be adding more players to the beta soon, so make sure you've 'opted in' for beta trials by clicking on the 'Beta Profile Settings' under the Account Management section of your Battle.net account.
    Opting in doesn't guarantee access, but here's the basis on which testers are picked: "Beta testers are chosen according to their system specifications and other factors, including recent StarCraft II activity (and an element of luck), when selecting individuals during each round of invitations. Our goal is to have a wide variety of players and system types," explains Blizzard.
    The beta focuses on multiplayer gameplay, you don't need to own StarCraft 2 (although it'll improve your chances of access) and there's currently no set ending date.
    Head through to the official site for more details.

    http://www.computerandvideogames.com...-beta-is-live/     ...
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    Google's Eric Schmidt: 1.3 million Android activations a day, 480 million devices wor 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 22:43
    1. Categories:
    2. Android News
    Article Preview


    Kicking off the Motorola event in NYC, Google's Eric Schmidt has revealed some new Android figures for its captive audience of journalists and bloggers. It's now notching up some 1.3 million activations a day, which includes around 70,000 tablets ("We were late to them", notes Schmidt) every 24 hours. In total, that makes for just shy of 500 million Google-powered mobile devices around the globe -- 80 million in just over two months.
    http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/g...vations-a-day/
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    Amazon Kindle Fire sequel may have surfaced in logs, points to Android 4.0 and return 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 22:41
    1. Categories:
    2. Android News
    Article Preview

    There have been surprisingly few if any concrete leaks of Amazon's future Kindle Fire plans, even with the follow-up's appearance likely just hours away. Thankfully, we may have been given a last-minute peek into the company's strategy after an Engadget reader tipped us to some unusual activity in an app's hardware usage logs. At least a pair of hits have come from a new device identifying itself as "AmazonKFTT" instead of the much plainer "AmazonKindleFire" language attached to the original model. There's also signs that Amazon has upgraded the OS underneath to Android 4.0.3. We wouldn't anticipate this particular slate carrying a quad-core chip to tackle the Nexus 7 head-on, though -- unless the KFTT variant is just a firmware-updated Kindle Fire with a name change, the next generation should still have at least one dual-core tablet in the range. Here's hoping there are a few more surprises in store by the time Amazon takes the stage on Thursday.

    http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/05/a...faced-in-logs/     ...
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    Gaming population in US has declined 5% according to NPD 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 22:40
    1. Categories:
    2. DCEmu

    The number of mobile gamers is up, however
    The NPD Group today announced that there are about 211.5 million gamers in the US, which is down five percent compared to last year. The firm's newest report, Gamer Segmentation 2012: The New Faces of Gamers, notes that of the six gamer segments outlined, only Mobile Gamers and Digital Gamers saw increases in the number of gamers when compared to 2011, with Mobile Gamers up 9 points to 22 percent and Digital Gamers up 4 points to 16 percent.
    Importantly, Mobile Gamers now represent the largest gamer segment, ahead of Core Gamers, which was the largest segment in 2011. NPD also said that the Family+Kid gamers segment experienced the most significant decline of an estimated 17.4 million gamers.
    "Given the long lifecycles of the current consoles and the increasing installed base of smartphones and tablets, it's not surprising to see a slight decline in the Core Gamer segment," said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. "It's the revenue contribution of the Core Gamer segment that continues to outpace all other segments, and remains vital to the future of the industry."
    "While this study segments the gaming audience based on a number of key variables and attributes, looking across the total gaming audience we see a tremendous impact from mobile gaming, particularly on smartphones and tablets," she continued. "Because of this, our next study, which will be released later this month, takes a deeper look into the area of mobile gaming."

    http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...cording-to-npd


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    Minecraft creator "constantly debating" Steam 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 22:36
    1. Categories:
    2. PC News

    Markus Persson dislikes the lack of user control on the platform

    Mojang


    Unlike a number of independent PC titles, Minecraft sits alone, preferring instead to self-distribute the game through its own website. In an interview with Penny Arcade Report's Ben Kuchera, Minecraft creator Markus Persson said that he's "constantly debating" whether Minecraft should go up on Steam.
    "I'm constantly debating whether or not we should put it up on Steam anyway. Because the people could even get a Steam code if they buy the game, I don't know what they would really do. Or if we should just not do Steam at all and try to come up with our own thing, or whatever. Right now we don't know what we're going to do. We're just focused on the games still. It's an interesting opportunity, so we try not to waste it," said Persson.
    Persson explained that while he likes Valve's service, there are some consumer issues and a lack of user control for developers.
    "I think Steam is a very good service for the customers. The only thing I don't like is that they reserve the right to remove all your games and account, which is bullshit. I understand the legal reasons, and they have to do it for their partners, and I don't think they're going to do anything, they're not going to remove it," Persson said.
    "But having that constant threat is not cool. I want to buy a game and be able to play it in 20 years. I still play Doom, I don't want it to be Valve closes down and I can't access my games, and then I have to do it through piracy. That's the only thing I don't like towards the players."
    "But with us we have so many registered users, and with Steam we can't really control those users. So for us it can't really go on Steam. But for many other developers it makes a lot of sense."
    The full, extensive interview covering a ton of topics is available over at the Penny Arcade Report.

    http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...debating-steam


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    Galaxy S III becomes top selling US smartphone, overtaking iPhone 4S 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 22:31
    1. Categories:
    2. Android News,
    3. Apple iPhone

    Apple’s iPhone 4S has finished out of first in monthly smartphone sales for the first time since its launch eleven months ago.
    Apple Insider reports that the recently released Samsung Galaxy S III won out in August, though the trend is not expected to continue.
    Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley expects the lead to be short-lived, with Apple’s impending iPhone 5 announcement set for next week.
    Walkley states his checks with US carriers found that iPhone sales have been particularly weak leading up to the reveal and subsequent launch of the new iPhone. That, he claims, is the sole reason attributed to last month’s victory for the Galaxy S III.
    "We believe this is the first month since the iPhone 4S launched in October 2011 that it was not the top selling smartphone in the U.S. market," Walkley wrote. "However, our checks indicated strong consumer interest and likely demand for the iPhone 5, and we believe Apple will return to strong number one smartphone share in the U.S. post the iPhone 5 launch."

    http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/galax...one-4s/0102354     ...
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    OPINION: Xbox 720 is 2014? You never know, but I doubt it 

    by
    wraggster
    Published on September 5th, 2012 22:29
    1. Categories:
    2. Xbox 360 News

    It was very, very nearly revealed at E3 back in June, but talk of a longer than expected wait for Xbox 720 is bubbling up once again.
    "We have heard no word yet from Microsoft or Sony about their plans to launch new consoles,” Michael Pachter said in his regular Wedbush Morgan investor note.
    “Both manufacturers are widely expected to launch consoles by year-end 2013, although we believe that Microsoft could delay a new console launch until spring of 2014 in order to accommodate what is certain to be overwhelming demand among hardcore gamers."
    It’s a staggering development in the already lackadaisical road to market for the next-generation of console hardware, although one that does concur with recent statements from GameStop CEO Paul Raines.
    “We have not been expecting two more consoles in 2013,” he insisted. “We're expecting Wii U this holiday, another one next year, and another one in '14. These rumours change every week, but we're hearing more about next year.”
    While possible, it’s hard to believe that Microsoft would be prepared to delay the launch of its Xbox 720 successor even further than it already has.
    At the turn of the year Microsoft was planning to reveal the Xbox 720 at E3. In fact, in the weeks running up to E3 Microsoft was pitching a very high profile brief to journalists that involved an unusual level of detail and attention involving pre-announcement meeting with regional management, pointing towards something very big at the LA expo.
    Which, as we know, didn’t happen. At what stage Microsoft decided to reign in its next-gen reveal we do not know. But what was shown was weak to say the least, and leaves Xbox 360 in an uncertain position this Q4.
    What’s more clear is Sony’s roadmap. It too planned a PS4 E3 reveal but gladly held back when it became apparent Microsoft was pulling the plug.
    Sony is nowhere near as far down the development road as Microsoft with its machine, as was evidenced byits excellent E3 showing. But at the same time it will not allow Microsoft’s new machine to enjoy the same sort of head start in the next generation as it did in the current.
    This sentiment may have been downplayed in more recent times by Sony execs but I assure you – that’s the bottom line at the top of the SCE hierarchy.
    Furthermore, delaying the new consoles further is beginning to make less and less sense. The traditional console market is dying on its feet. There’s a strong line-up of releases on the way over the next six months, but the market is still odds-on to suffer yet another year-on-year dip.
    The games market is more diverse than ever, and an increasing number of even traditional gamers are turning to emerging models such as smartphones and PC/online free-to-play. It’s becoming increasingly hard to convince consumers that £50 for a console game represents good value.
    Don’t forget the publishers, either. Some studios are now openly announcing next-gen titles while others are doing so in a more subversive fashion.
    And publishers can insists that games such as Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes aren’t next-gen until they’re blue in the face. I’m not buying it. Any developer worth its salt in this day and age is now working with a fully scalable game engine. If the next-gen holds off, they’ll release on PS3 and Xbox 360. If not, they flick and switch and their titles will gratefully utilise that extra power.
    Everyone is ready to go. We just need Microsoft and Sony to sound the claxon.
    And all hope is certainly not lost. EA Labels boss Frank Gibeau predicted recently that both Xbox 720 and PS4 would hit in the next 12 months and claimed last month that he has seen both machines.
    What’s remarkable about this transition is the staggering role reversal we’re seeing. Traditionally, platform holders have been keen push through new hardware (which more often than not equates to a nice sales boost) while publishers have resisted, hesitant at the idea of rebuilding (and, more often than not, upsizing) their ecosystems to accommodate new development requirements.
    This time it’s the publishers, tired of staring at their dwindling returns, who are desperate for an injection of new life. So why are the platform holders so reluctant?
    Well, Microsoft is still enjoying very strong sales of its Xbox 360 hardware in the US. It takes a leap of faith to turn your back on that. But chiefly it remains to be seen how easy it will be to convince them to fork out £250-£350 on a new console, too.
    All in the industry are very aware that we may have already seen the last great console generation. Is it any surprise that they’re holding on to what they’ve got for as long as they can?

    http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/opini...ubt-it/0102359     ...
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