Tag: gaming news

God of War (2018) is PlayStation’s fastest PS4 exclusive

Congratulations to Santa Monica Studio for their work on God of War. The game sold 3.1 million units in 3 days (April 20 – 22). First revealed two years ago, fans were excited to see a new direction for the God of War series after the first trilogy and three spin-offs. In comparison to other PlayStation 4 exclusives: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End sold 2.7 million units in seven days. Horizon Zero Dawn sold more than 2.6 million in two weeks.

Head of Santa Monica Studio, Shannon Studstill, said

“I would like to personally thank the millions of fans around the world who decided to embark on Kratos’ latest adventure with us. Your support is truly inspiring, and it’s a reason why we push ourselves every day to go beyond the boundaries of play. I’d also like to thank our Creative Director, Cory Barlog, and Director of Product Development, Yumi Yang and our entire amazing team at Santa Monica Studio. The belief in the game’s vision and the passion for storytelling across the team is undeniable. We look forward to hearing more about how fans are creating new memories of their favorite God of War gameplay moments that will be remembered for a long time.”

God of War currently has a 94 score on Metacritic and is the highest rated game in the series. The game received assistance from developers from Guerilla Games and Naughty Dog Studios to improve the AI for Atreus, Kratos’s son (Boy). All three studios are under PlayStation.

Sources

PlayStation Blog

Polygon

Kirby: Star Allies datamines show 2 new DLC waves

Kirby: Star Allies has been the Nintendo’s Switch first big release for 2018. Although the sales numbers have not been released, Star Allies broke the franchise’s sales history in the first month. It outsold the previous holder’s first month sales, Nightmare in Dreamland, by 90 percent!(2.1 million overall) The game is the 4th best selling video game in March. The game centers around four-player co-operative play with Kirby and his different allies and enemies. The game had free DLC for four characters from past Kirby games. (Gooey, Marx, Rick, Kine, and Coo).

LuigiBlood datamined Kirby: Star Allies and found data for upcoming DLC characters. Although it hasn’t been confirmed by Nintendo, the data is in the game. Whether they come out in two DLCs remains TBD. The list of character is below.

 

  • Adeleine (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards)
  • Dark Meta Knight (Kirby & The Amazing Mirror)
  • Daroach (Kirby Mass Attack and Kirby: Squeak Squad)
  • Magolor (Kirby’s Return to Dream Land)
  • Susie (Kirby: Planet Robobot)
  • Taranza (Kirby: Triple Deluxe)
  • Three Mages (presumably the Jambastion Mages Flamberge, Francisca and Zan Partizanne from Kirby: Star Allies)

Business Focus:

Kirby is not Nintendo’s biggest IP’s but the game’s sales numbers shown the Switch’s strength in 2018. The series has always been a great casual game but the lack of additional levels or stories for DLC are disappointing. The potential DLC is largely catered to Kirby fans since the majority of characters are from past games. Although the first DLC is free, if they rely on selling the upcoming waves, the sales numbers may not be as large as expected.
Read more at

 

Sources:

Proof from Star Allies Go Stage ID ordering: Dlc2AdeleineStep01_01 Dlc2DarkMetaKnightStep01_01 Dlc2DaroachStep01_05 Dlc3MagolorStep01_05 Dlc3TaranzaStep01_05 Dlc3SusieStep01_05 Dlc3ThreeMagesStep01_05

Siliconera

VentureBeat – Kirby: Star Allies sales numbers

NintendoLife – Kirby Free DLC

PlayStation 4 beats Sales Numbers for 2017

Sony is dominating the current Console War against the Microsoft and Nintendo. The PlayStation 4 has shipped 79 million units worldwide. Sony’s sales improved by 17.8% based on their video game department and network. Its a significant jump by 2 million USD from 2016. The PS4 sold 19 million units in 2017 which is one million less than last year. This may indicate that the PS4 has reached its peak and sales would steadily decline. While this may seem ominous, the original PlayStation 4 is almost 5 years old. The PlayStation 3 was 7 years old before the launch of the PS4.

Rumors have begun to spread that the PlayStation 5 is in development; however, Sony hasn’t announced a new console.  Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has announced that they are manufacturing massive amounts of chips using 7nm process technology which could be used for the PS5.  Although the PlayStation 4 Pro was released in 2016, it is losing to the Xbox One X in its specs and capabilities which was released in 2017.

Sony predicts the PS4 to sell 16 million next year. If they reach those sales numbers, they will outpace the Nintendo Wii as the top 5 selling video game consoles.

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Sources:

Screen Rants – PS5 rumor

Sony – PlayStation sales numbers

Destructoid

Video Game Loot Boxes deemed as gambling in Belgium

This year, governments and countries around the world have been evaluating loot boxes in video games. Discouraged by Gamers, it has become an infamous growth in revenue for video games. Many mobile games and online video games have added loot boxes as a system. Some governments are considering loot boxes as a form of gambling because users rely on chance to earn good in-game items. Recently, the Belgian Gaming Commision has declared randomized loot boxes as a “game of chance” in 3 games: Overwatch, CS: GO, and FIFA. 

Repercussions

The Belgian Gaming Commission stated the “games don’t disclose the odds of receiving specific in-game items.” The three games must remove their loot boxes or be in criminal violation of the country’s gaming legislation. The fine is €800,000 and five years in prison for the operators. Clarification on who would face the consequences in the company remains to be determined. If the loot boxes affect minors, the punishment is doubled.

What happens next?

Minister of Justice Koen Geens wants to work with the gaming companies, developers, operators and the Belgian Gaming Commission to determine who should be punished for loot boxes. Belgium is one of the first countries that took a stance against loot boxes in games during the Star Wars: Battlefront 2 controversy. Hawaii, Washington D.C. and several countries are trying to create laws to limit the purchase of loot boxes in games.

Sources:

Koen Geens – Minister of Justice

Arstechnica