‘Mass Effect: Andromeda’ promises to be bigger and more beautiful
Andromeda is still delayed, but when you’re a big budget EA franchise, you can’t just show nothing at the world’s biggest gameshow. BioWare at least had a new fanciful trailer, showing what its “new galaxy” will look like. According to the teaser trailer: “Distant star systems with remote and hostile planets ripe for discovery.” So perhaps a little bit like No Man’s Sky, but with extra political intrigue and sci-fi powers? The originals are starting to show their age now, so it’s not surprise that Asarians and the citadel looking all the prettier on new gaming hardware. The teaser is peppered with creatures, locations, species and monsters from the Mass Effect trilogy, even if it’s hard to pin down any spoilers or tangible facts about this new universe — and when we’ll actually get to explore it. Best just hit replay on the teaser again.
EA launches an indie publishing program with ‘Fe’
The EA Originals program expands the company’s publishing business with a focus on small, innovative teams, and it’s kicking off with a nature-focused game called Fe. It’s a stylish, polygonal 3D romp through an enchanted forest that appears to hide dark secrets. There are no words in the game, but the flora and fauna have their own ways of communicating with the player. The title means “fairy” in Swedish, and the entire surreal project comes from Zoink Studios in Gothenburg, Sweden. Zoink previously released the eccentric, neon-infused adventure game Stick it to the Man.
Introducing a new EA Originals title, Fe #EAPlay pic.twitter.com/xBoLmm2i8M
— EA UK (@electronicarts) June 12, 2016
Fe is the first game in EA Originals, a new program wherein EA will fund and support smaller development teams. One hundred percent of the revenue that EA Originals games generate goes directly back to the studios themselves, not EA. EA Studios head Patrick Soderlund introduced EA Originals by talking about Unravel, the adorable yarn-creature game that EA published earlier this year.
Follow all the news from E3 2016 here!
Source: Fe
EA has a bunch of new ‘Star Wars’ games coming
EA’s got the rights to make Star Wars games, and it’s making a lot of them. At its E3 2016 press conference today, it detailed the numerous projects its working on. (Aside from fresh content for Battlefront, Galaxy of Heroes and The Old Republic, of course).
First up, DICE and Motive are working on a new version of Star Wars: Battlefront for release in 2017. Then, Visceral Games (of Dead Space fame) are creating an action-adventure game with an “original narrative set in the Star Wars universe with all-new characters.” Respawn Entertainment (Titanfall) is also developing a game in the universe with “a different style of gameplay and takes place in a different timeline we have yet to explore with our EA Star Wars titles.” So essentially, if there’s a studio owned by EA, you can bet that they’re working on something to do with Star Wars.
Anyway, without further ado, here’s the highlight reel attendees were treated to:
The first ‘Star Trek’ VR game arrives this fall
If you’re a Star Trek fan, the odds are that your dream game (outside of a Holodeck) involves helming a starship as if you were really on the bridge. Well, you’re about to get your wish: Ubisoft has teased Star Trek: Bridge Crew, the sci-fi series’ first-ever virtual reality game. The title is set in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek universe, and has you taking on the captain, engineer, helm or tactical stations of the remarkably Enterprise-like starship Aegis as it resettles what’s left of the Vulcan population. Think of it as a very sophisticated VR version of Spaceteam — you have to coordinate with the rest of your crew to explore the galaxy and fight off enemies.
Bridge Crew arrives this fall and will support both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift on PCs as well as PlayStation VR. More details will have to wait until Ubisoft’s E3 press event on Monday, but it’s already clear that the publisher is making good on its promise of a big VR gaming push this year. We wouldn’t be surprised if Ubi has more extra-immersive games to show when it takes to the stage.
Source: AP
‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ gets Lando and Cloud City on June 21st
You won’t have to wait too much longer to fill the Cloud City-sized hole in Star Wars: Battlefront’s content. EA has revealed that the promised Bespin DLC will arrive on June 21st for Season Pass holders, and two weeks later (July 5th) for everyone else. As before, the highlights of the paid add-on are the introduction of Lando Calrissian and Cloud City — you’re getting everyone’s favorite administrator-turned-general as well as a much-needed change of scenery.
The add-on also brings the bounty hunter Dengar and two fresh weapons (a blaster and a sniper rifle). There are also promises of new game modes, star cards and more, but EA is hush-hush on those details. You probably won’t know the exact value of the Bespin DLC until close to launch, then, but the odds are that it’s much like the Outer Rim pack. It’ll make the most sense if you’re either completely hooked on Battlefront, a Star Wars completionist or both.
Via: Polygon
Source: EA
The good, the bad and the weird at the Tokyo Toy Show
This year’s Tokyo Toy Show failed to turn up anything as impressive as the things I cooed over back in 2014. (Perhaps that’s why it’s only held every two years.) However, I did get another glimpse into what (the hell) Japanese toy companies think about shoppers: nearly all girls’ toys here are smothered in pink, gemstones and giant-eyed manga characters, while boys get a mix of trains, trains with cameras, trains that connect to your smartphone, and maglev … trains. Barring the Disney/Star Wars juggernaut, as a non-Japanese resident of the city, I don’t get the appeal of most of these things — but then again, I’m also more than willing to lay down cash for a Magikarp coin purse. So maybe I’m not the best judge.
The soccer madness of ‘Rocket League’ goes cyberpunk June 20th
Earlier this week, the team at Psyonix teased that we’d have even more details about Rocket League’s huge upcoming June patch and now those are here. On June 20th, fans will be able to knock oversized soccer balls into equally oversized nets against the new, neon-drenched and cyberpunky “Neo Tokyo” arena. It’s a free download for everyone, but if you want to add the map’s pair of anime-inspired cars to your collection you’ll have to pony up $1.99 for each in July. Conversely, you could pick up the game’s physical edition starting June 24th (that’s soon!) which includes early access to those and two others.
The patch also marks the beginning of the game’s third season for competitive multiplayer, a slew of additions to item drops, an item trade-in feature and a few other superficial bits and bobs. There are a few more details at the source link, and to help pass the time until the June 20th release, you should probably check out the new trailer embedded below.
Source: Rocket League
‘Game of Thrones’ star Kit Harington is in the new ‘Call of Duty’
Kit Harington, the actor best known as the fearless, misunderstood warrior Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, plays a dastardly villain in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. He portrays the face of the Settlement Defense Front, a radical organization hellbent on destroying Earth. Even though no one in Game of Thrones is completely innocent, the Infinite Warfare gig is a far cry from Harington’s regular role as a defender of humanity, Activision says.
“Kit is an amazing talent and the consummate pro,” Infinity Ward narrative director Taylor Kurosaki says in a press release. “Our story is about an epic showdown of opposing forces, and Kit immersed himself into the role. …We can’t wait for fans to see Kit play an entirely different kind of character.”
Check out a video of Harington in a motion-capture suit on the Infinite Warfare set right here.
Activision and Infinity Ward, the game’s developer, also worked with Snatch and Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie in creating Harington’s character. Ritchie previously crafted Surprise, a live-action trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2.
Infinite Warfare hits PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 4th.
Source: Call of Duty
People are still buying new consoles weeks ahead of E3
Every month, the NPD Group lays out the top-selling hardware and software in the gaming industry, tracking physical sales of everything from Xbox Ones and PlayStation 4s to Grand Theft Auto and Minecraft. There are slow months and busy months, dips in the console market and peaks in the software cycle, but in May 2016, something strange happened. Sales of current-generation consoles (meaning the PS4 and Xbox One, mostly), were “stable” according to the NPD’s Liam Callahan.
This wouldn’t be notable in many other months, but it just so happens that E3 2016 takes place in the middle of June, and rumors are flying about new consoles from both Sony and Microsoft.
There’s little concrete information about what exactly the companies will reveal at E3, but multiple credible reports suggest that we’re going to see a new Xbox One. Plus, Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House just this morning confirmed that PlayStation definitely has a new, more powerful console in the works.
The Sony console is codenamed “Neo,” and it will support 4K video and have all-around upgraded guts. Sony doesn’t plan to disenfranchise its 40 million existing PS4 players — developers will be able to patch existing games to work with the Neo’s higher specs, for example.
“It is intended to sit alongside and complement the standard PS4,” House said. “We will be selling both [models] through the life cycle.”
That said, the Neo is set to be a step up from the standard PS4 currently on the market, and it has interesting implications for the future of PlayStation VR, streaming entertainment and AAA games on Sony’s console. The Neo may emerge as Sony’s new standard.
However, House said that the Neo won’t be at E3, despite earlier reports to the contrary.
Keep in mind that House isn’t afraid to set the stage for drama at E3. The weekend before E3 2013, for example, House re-wrote portions of Sony’s script in order to capitalize on the hate flowing toward Microsoft after its announcement of an “always-on” Xbox One. Sony’s E3 MO involves mic drops and surprises. Even with House whispering reassurances in our ears three days before the big show, it’s worthwhile to wait and see what the company actually reveals on Monday.
The same goes for the Xbox One. Microsoft is poised to announce a new, slimmer model with a 2TB hard drive, larger than any of the versions on sale now. This one isn’t confirmed yet, but rumor has it the new console will arrive this year.
Microsoft is also diving into VR in a way that leaves plenty of room for Xbox One hardware upgrades in the near future. Xbox and Oculus have a particularly tight relationship, though a new “slim” console probably wouldn’t support the Rift. Apparently the company is building a second upgraded Xbox One model that will support the Rift, and while we don’t expect to see this at E3, it’ll be beneficial to see what information Microsoft offers at E3.
The PS4 and Xbox One debuted in November 2013. If you’ve waited nearly three years to buy a current-generation console, you might as well give it an extra month to see what new hardware Sony and Microsoft have in store. Sure, the Xbox One and PS4 have recently received widely publicized price cuts to $300 and $350, respectively — but if you’re saving up for a big tech purchase anyway, why not make sure you’re getting the best deal on the greatest gear your budget allows?
The Xbox One, PS4, Neo and any other console at E3 2016 will eventually be outdated and warmly ridiculed in augmented reality chat rooms — much like we now discuss the Atari 2600, Sega Dreamcast, Gameboy and other cutting-edge systems of decades past. Only right now will these consoles be fresh, new and exciting, and all players have the right to get in on the ground floor of nostalgia.
Amid all of the rumors, reports and hints from CEOs, one fact about E3 is clear: We don’t know what will be there. The new consoles, if they’re revealed at E3, may be too expensive for some people’s tastes — and that’s fine. Or the new consoles may not be at the show at all. Waiting until after the press conferences on Monday, June 13th simply ensures everyone will be an informed consumer, rather than someone taking a gamble.
That is, unless you bought a new console in May because you did your research and literally couldn’t wait another day to play the new Uncharted or Doom. If that’s the case, carry on, digital warrior. Carry on.
Twitch improves stream discovery with search revamp
Twitch search has never been bad, per se, but it’s fair to say that plenty of folks discover streams by other means — social links, Google or just by scanning the front page. The site is making an effort to improve discoverability on its own site with a new search function. It now updates in real time across games, live channels, users and video, giving you multiple options when you’re searching keywords. Hitting “more” will give you a full list of results in each category, ordered by popularity.
Amazon purchased Twitch in 2014 for nearly $1 billion, but the streaming service is now facing formidable competition from Facebook. The social network just announced it would team with Blizzard to stream the studio’s games on Facebook Live. That, along with new streaming services from YouTube Gaming and others, may have motivated Twitch to get its services up to snuff — both Google (obviously) and Facebook have formidable search. Twitch doesn’t have the userbase of those sites, but its 100 million unique visitors per month are rabid: Each spends an hour and 46 minutes per day on the site, and they sent over 9 billion messages in 2015.
Source: Twitch
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