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by Published on March 29th, 2013 20:09- Categories:
- PC News
Microsoft might want a piece of the mini-tablet market. The company has lowered the minimum screen resolution for Windows 8 tablets, from 1,366 x 768 pixels to 1024 x 768 pixels. "This doesn't imply that we're encouraging partners to regularly use a lower screen resolution," it wrote in an accompanying newsletter. "We understand that partners exploring designs for certain markets could find greater design flexibility helpful." As pointed out by ZDNet's Ed Bott—cited by other publications as the journalist who first noticed the altered guidelines—that lowered resolution "would allow manufacturers to introduce devices that are in line with the resolutions of the iPad Mini (1024 x 768) and the Kindle Fire and Google Nexus 7 (both 1280 x 800)." Whatever the contours of the smaller-tablet market, it's certainly popular enough to tantalize any potential competitor. But if Microsoft plunges in, it will face the same challenges that confronted it in the larger-tablet arena: lots of solid competitors, and not a whole lot of time to make a winning impression. There are also not-inconsiderable hardware challenges to overcome, including processor selection and engineering for optimal battery life.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...dows-8-tablets ...by Published on March 29th, 2013 20:02- Categories:
- Apple News,
- Apple iPad,
- Apple iPhone
Developers at GDC claim controller will be revealed next month
Apple is to launch an official gamepad for iOS devices “soon”, according to a report.
As reported by PocketGamer, the dedicated controller is set to be formally announced at the mobile giant’s annual press event in April.
A number of developers said although they have yet to see the gamepad first-hand, Apple, operating under a different name at GDC, has told them what to expect.
The gamepad could be part of Apple’s plans long-expected plans to tackle the TV in the living room.
The announcement of any kind of console, Smart TV or other TV-connected hardware would provide a huge challenge to the likes of Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony, and would also be worrying news for the wave of new Android TV companies such as Ouya and GameStick.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...al-iOS-gamepad
...by Published on March 28th, 2013 23:09- Categories:
- Ouya Android Console
Android micro-console could become destination for classic gaming
The forthcoming Ouya console may become a destination for emulation of classic games.
According to a post on the Ouya forums, the leading Android emulator developer Robert Broglia is bringing "all" of his work to the platform.
Broglia's work includes emulators for GameBoy Advance, GameBoy Color, Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Sega Master System, Sega Saturn, NES, SNES, N64, Neogeo and Atari 2600. The first to launch will be Snes9x EX+, which promises , "near complete game compatibility."
Broglia's interest in the Ouya helps to answer one of the major outstanding questions around the validity of the platform: the availability of games. In February, former thatgamecompany exec Kellee Santiago was hired as head of developer relations for Ouya.
"Ouya gets it," said Santiago at the time. "This is the first console company that really understands how important it is to remove the barriers to development. By freeing up the development process, Ouya is opening up new doors in console gaming."
Portal developer Kim Swift was also confirmed to be developing a game for the platform.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...alogue-to-ouya
...by Published on March 28th, 2013 23:08- Categories:
- Wii U News
GameStop saw revenue drop 7% last year, projects flat revenue for 2013 in best case
GameStop
gamestop.com
GameStop reported its earnings for the holiday quarter, and the results were mixed - which investors interpreted as good in a year when retail game sales were down by double digits overall. On the earnings call, CEO J. Paul Raines tried to put the news in the best light possible, of course. Raines had to admit, though, that last year was tough, citing a 21 drop in software sales and a 25 percent decline for hardware from NPD numbers. Of course, Raines was careful to point out that GameStop outperformed against that backdrop. Investors apparently liked what they heard, because GameStop shares were up over 7 percent after the earnings call.
Raines noted that GameStop has over 30 percent software market share in most of the markets, and the company grew its margins by 400 basis points. Outside of the classic physical business, Kongregate grew 48 percent during 2012, and GameStop's mobile division reported $184 million in sales. "We are going to be a strong player in launches of new tablets and devices," Raines claimed.
"We expect the first half of the year to be very difficult as we wait for new consoles"
Rob Lloyd
CFO Rob Lloyd added some detail to the numbers, noting comparable sales for the last quarter were down 4.6 percent when you took into account that the quarter had an extra week. The Wii U launch helped keep the quarter from looking even worse. Overall, the picture for the year wasn't great: A 7 percent sales decline for the year, and business in comparable stores was down 8.7 percent in US. GameStop was able to increase its earnings per share by 10.5 percent despite the grim retail sales picture. The essential question for GameStop's future is this: Will new consoles offset the decline in current generation console sales?
The guidance given for 2013 wasn't rosy. "We expect the first half of the year to be very difficult as we wait for new consoles," Lloyd said. "We expect to return for growth in the back half of the year." Putting numbers on that, Lloyd said that the full year would be down 8 percent to flat, with full year net income declining from 7 to 18 percent. According to Lloyd, the guidance at the high end reflects the possibility of a second new console launch in the fourth quarter other than Sony's PS4. Paging Microsoft; situation desperate, send new console.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...ting-this-year
...by Published on March 28th, 2013 23:02- Categories:
- DCEmu
UK retailers are rallying against reported plans to prevent pre-owned sales on the next Xbox.
Website VGLeaks reported last week that Microsoft’s next console will require a permanent online connection and will not need to read optical discs once a game has been installed.
The report adds weight to persistent rumours that Microsoft’s next console will block second-hand games – something Sony says will not happen on PS4.
“If Microsoft blocks pre-owned, it will be shooting itself in the foot,” says Insane Games’ Gregory Smith. “There could well be a shift in the market towards Sony and the PS4.”
Games Centre boss Robert Lindsay added: “The publishers are completely out of touch with consumers if they don’t understand how important pre-owned is in funding new releases.
“A new release with no sell-on value will put a massive hole in consumers’ spending budgets. At a time when retail is struggling, this will create an even quicker downward spiral.”
Some retailers stated they may consider not stocking the device if they are unable to make money from it. Others expressed concerns over the dependence on an ‘always-on’ internet connection.
“The UK broadband infrastructure isn’t robust or fast enough for this to be a prerequisite,” said Dixons Retail’s category manager for gaming Christopher Rogers. “Surely the teething troubles with SimCity are a warning against this?”
Chips boss Don McCabe surmises that Microsoft may focus on customers who regularly spend on Xbox Live.
“Blocking second-hand and forcing always-on connection will make the retail market shrink rapidly, but Microsoft will still make a profit out of Xbox,” he said. “As for the rest of us, tough titty.”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/retai...-owned/0113269 ...by Published on March 28th, 2013 22:59- Categories:
- PS3 News,
- PC News,
- Xbox 360 News
Retailers are braced for a blockbuster end to 2013 now that Battlefield 4 has joined the fray.
Leading specialists and supermarkets have told MCV that they have huge expectations for the new shooter, following the long-tail success of Battlefield 3. The original title shifted well over 1.5m units in the UK.
"It's an understatement to say that fans are excited about Battlefield 4; the franchise has built up a really passionate and dedicated following over the past decade and the Battlefield 4 release will be a key date in the gaming calendar," said GAME category director Charlotte Knight.
“EA always keeps its flagship shooter fresh and relevant and we can expect new gameplay features and improved graphics. Its predecessor, Battlefield 3, was particularly well-received by critics and the gaming community alike, so we can't wait to see what the next installment brings."
HMV's Sian Clarke added: "The Battlefield franchise has already come a long way since its first incarnation and has a huge, loyal and very avid fanbase. It is also probably the only real contender to challenge the lure of Call of Duty."
The game launches in a two month period that includes some of the biggest games ever released, including Call of Duty, FIFA 14, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag and Grand Theft Auto V.
“Having seen the gameplay released today, it has confirmed that Battlefield 4 is breaking boundaries,” said Tesco buyer Jonathan Ferdenzi.
“I’m glad to see that they are focusing a lot of time on the single player campaign, which I think has been slightly lacking in recent FPS shooters.
“In a blockbuster line-up of games this year, this will certainly challenge to be one of 2013’s biggest and best.”
ShopTo boss Igor Cipolletta added: “Battlefield 4 could eventually be one of our biggest titles ever. Battlefield 3 still holds the pride of place as the biggest day one purchase in ShopTo history.”
The long-tail success of Battlefield 3 was boosted by a comprehensive DLC strategy. And retailers hope that EA will adopt the same tactic for Battlefield 3.
Sainsbury’s games boss Gurdeep Hunjan said: “We all know what a huge success Battlefield 3 was and continued to be with the DLC drops. Lets hope EA builds on this with lots of new cutting edge technology that really pushes the boundaries once again.”
Battlefield 4 was revealed with a 17 minute trailer at two locations earlier this week, at GDC in San Francisco and in Stockholm, Sweden. And EA has told MCV that it expects the game to be one of the biggest releases of the year.
“The innovation and quality that DICE are known for will be to the fore again and, with the game dev and Frostbite teams working so closely together," Uk marketing lead on Battlefield Colin Blackwood told MCV.
"We’re looking forward to Battlefield 4 being one of the most exciting games of 2013."
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/retai...ats-up/0113272 ...by Published on March 28th, 2013 22:42- Categories:
- PC News
Minecraft, Diablo III and Guild Wars 2 spur on growth for PC software market
The global PC gaming software market ballooned to $20bn last year, according to a new report by industry research group DFC Intelligence.
The report (via Shacknews) was commissioned by the PC Gaming Alliance, which also announced the results. The organization includes both AMD and Intel.
The $20bn figure marks an eight per cent increase over 2011, with the report citing games such as Diablo III, Minecraft, and Guild Wars 2 as major influences on the market.
The report adds that the console-free region of China is the fastest-growing and largest market for PC games, with nearly $7bn in revenue.
With PC gamers currently in excess of 1bn, DFC expects the industry to grow to $25.7bn by 2016.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...evenue-in-2012
...by Published on March 28th, 2013 22:40- Categories:
- DCEmu
Industry needs to be spurred on by financial gain to adopt changes, says BioWare writer
The game industry needs better financial motivation to encourage more developers to use female protagonists in games, the lead writer of Dragon Age III has said.
Speaking to Rock Paper Shotgun, BioWare’s David Gaider said that developers and publishers as a whole largely relied on generally accepted industry wisdom that certain genres or ideas were not as popular and could not be as successful as others.
Citing EverQuest as an example, Gaider explained that when the MMO reached 800,000 subscribers at is height, it was generally accepted by the industry that the 800,000 was essentially the market cap for the genre that was already being catered for.
That was until World of Warcraft came along as a game-changer and proved the accepted industry wisdom was wrong.
He said that for more games to star female protagonists, more examples needed to be given that these titles could be as successful as those starring male characters in the lead role. Although accepting this was a jump in logic, he said it didn’t stop the industry trying to justify it.
http://www.develop-online.net/news/4...games-are-rare
...by Published on March 28th, 2013 22:39- Categories:
- Windows Phone
Microsoft mobile OS still only holds around three per cent market share.
While Windows Phone devices may only account for around three per cent market share, it was announced this week that smartphones on the Microsoft mobile OS outstripped iPhone in seven countries during Q4,Mashable has reported.
The announcement was made via a blog post from Frank Shaw, Microsoft’s head of public relations.
However, after The New York Times asked IDC – the research company that provided the data – which countries saw Windows Phone outsell iPhone, it emerged that one of the seven countries was, in fact, a group of smaller countries categorised as ‘the rest of central and Eastern Europe’.
The other six countries proper were Argentina, India, Poland, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine.
To contextualise the stats, IDC analyst Kevin Restivo pointed out that Windows Phone sold less than 100,000 units during Q4 2012 in Ukraine, South Africa and ‘the rest of central and eastern Europe’.
He also noted that Windows Phone performs expecially well in nations that are renowned strongholds for Nokia.
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/read/...ring-q4/020971 ...by Published on March 28th, 2013 22:32- Categories:
- PC News
Whilst little is known about Windows Blue right now, a report from Asia indicates that Microsoft will merge Windows 8 RT with the next-generation operating system.
The report from Digitimes fails to outline how exactly Microsoft is allegedly planning to "merge" the two OS' together, or what such a move would mean.
However, the new site does cite Asian-based suppliers over the reason behind such a merge.
"Although the PC supply chain had pushed the Windows on ARM (WoA) platform aggressively, the Windows RT's name, which has misled most consumers into believing that the operating system is able to support all existing x86 Windows programs...the lack of apps, as well as compatibility issues have all significantly damaged demand," says the Digitimes report.
As Microsoft continues to remain tight-lipped over Windows Blue, the reports could simply be little more than miscommunication between Microsoft and its suppliers.
Currently, Microsoft's only words on Blue remain vague, as the firm states it is working "on plans to advance our devices and services, a set of plans referred to internally as Blue."
It seems highly unlikely that the firm would simply merge its Windows RT OS into what is widely viewed as the first major update to the operating system.
Windows Blue is expected to be unveiled at the Microsoft Build Developer Conference, which takes place from June 26th - 28th.
http://www.pcr-online.biz/news/read/...en-blue/030619 ...
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