Sony has sold over 40 million PlayStation 4 consoles
Sony has announced a new milestone in PlayStation 4 sales: 40 million. And it says it plans to sell another 20 million by April next year.
Anyone with a basic knowledge of math could’ve worked out the milestone from the company’s annual earning report last month, where it announced it had sold 17.7 million PlayStation 4s over the past year. Add that to 2014’s 14.8 million and 2013’s 7.5 million and that’s — you guessed it — 40 million.
The 40 million figure covers sales up to and including March 31st, and Sony obviously didn’t stop selling PS4s then. That’s why today’s announcement now states “more than” 40 million. In reality, given the pace of sales, we’re probably a couple million over that by now. Either way, the news has the added bonus of being some positive PR as we head towards the annual E3 conference.
Although Microsoft stopped reporting Xbox One sales, third-party statistics have the console at just under 21 million sales. If that’s accurate — Microsoft hasn’t confirmed or denied the figure — then the PlayStation 4 has outsold the Xbox One by around two to one.
Sony is rumored to be announcing a new version of the PlayStation 4, codenamed Neo, at E3 in June, prior to its release later this year. The new console would exist alongside the PS4 as a more powerful alternative capable of displaying 4K content. The Neo would certainly help Sony meet its aggressive target of selling 20 million consoles this financial year.
Source: Sony (2016 Forecast), (2015 Earnings), (2014 / 2013 sales)
HP goes big on gaming with new Omen laptops and desktop
HP gave us a brief taste of the legendary Voodoo PC gaming brand with its Omen laptop over nearly two years ago. Now, the company is bringing the Omen name to all of its gaming hardware — a new lineup of laptops and desktops, as well as a 32-inch quad-HD monitor. On the laptop side, HP is going is going for more aggressive pricing, starting at $899 for the 15.6-inch model ($980 for the 17.3-inch model). And with its new Omen desktop, HP is aiming to be VR ready with enough power to run the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
While it’s nice to see Omen laptops at a lower price, HP had to downgrade the machines a bit to make that happen. (In many ways they’re more reminiscent of last year’s Pavilion gaming laptop.) The biggest difference: instead of aluminum unibody cases, the new laptops have plastic cases with a “black shadow mesh” design. And instead of multi-colored keyboard lighting, they only feature red lights. The laptops felt pretty solid in my brief hands-on time, though you’d never mistake them for a premium metal design. The hinges also felt a bit more wobbly this time around.
The Omen laptops now support up to NVIDIA GTX 965M graphics and sixth-gen Intel Core i7 processors. They can hold a maximum 16GB of RAM, and you’ll have the choice of up to a 512GB SSD or 2TB hard drive (some configurations also allow for combination of SSD and a traditional hard drive). As with many laptops today, you can also add in an Intel RealSense Camera for an additional cost.
As for that Omen desktop, it looks like… your typical mid-tower desktop. The brief bits of design accent are the brushed metal facade and red lighting on the front. Otherwise, it’s fairly ho-hum. At the highest end, you can configure it with an Intel Core i7-6700K processor, 32GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and a 3TB standard hard drive. Naturally, you can also configure the desktop with NVIDIA’s new GTX 1080 Founder Edition card, or if you prefer AMD, a Radeon R9 390X. There’s also optional water-cooling, which could be helpful if you pick up an overclockable CPU.
Rounding out the motley crew of Omen products is a new 32-inch monitor with support for AMD’s FreeSync technology, which helps smooth out performance due to framerate variability. As I mentioned above, it’s a quad-HD display, which means it packs in a 2,560 x 1440 pixel resolution. While it’d be nice to see a 4K display from HP, quad-HD is also a far more sensible resolution for most gaming rigs. There’s no pricing for the Omen monitor yet, unfortunately.
The Omen laptops will be available on July 10 at Best Buy and HP’s website, while the desktop and monitor will ship in August.
The big news here, really, is the new branding. HP has offered powerful systems across several product lines over the year, but by focusing on the Omen brand, it gives consumers an easy way to know which machines are powerful enough for serious gaming.
Survive-’em-up ‘7 Days to Die’ hits consoles in June
Telltale Games, the very same name behind games like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us, is set to publish its survival horde crafting game 7 Days to Die. It’s coming out a lot sooner than expected, arriving on June 28th for $29.99.
7 Days to Die is a survival horror experience in the vein of games like DayZ or Rust, combining aspects of tower defense, survival horror, role-playing, and first-person shooter games with crafting, mining and exploration.
The post-apocalyptic world survival game will be available for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One with both digital and retail editions for $29.99. You can preorder now if you’re so inclined, which will net you five character skins from Telltale’s The Walking Dead series, including fan favorites Michonne and Lee.
If you can’t wait until June to get more of 7 Days to Die, check out the latest interview with developer The Fun Pimps below.
‘Hitman’ will take you to Morocco on May 31st
Where do you go after murdering the French fashion scene and defending the art of assassination in Italy? For Agent 47, the hired killer that defines the Hitman games, that’s up to his handlers — and on May 31st, they’re sending him to Morocco.
The third episode of Hitman’s seven-part story takes Agent 47 to Marrakesh, a bustling Moroccan city with densely packed alleyways and bazaars, stunning architecture and, of course, two brand new targets, ripe for assassination. Not enough? No worries: Io-Interactive says the new map will be teeming with new live content, including new Elusive Targets and Escalation Contracts — those obliquely named challenges are limited time assassination missions players only have one chance to complete, and bonus missions that get gradually harder with each attempt, respectively. If that sounds up your alley, you won’t have to wait long, either. Hitman Episode 3: Marrakesh hits PS4, Xbox One and PC at the end of the month for $9.99.
Source: Hitman
‘Miitomo’ players are apparently abandoning Nintendo’s app
Nintendo’s first big foray into mobile gaming, Miitomo, boasts 10 million downloads, but it’s more than a game — it’s a quasi social network that’s apparently turning into a ghost town. It’s generally understood that games see a big bump in players at the outset and gradually that number declines over time. For social networks, where the typical “gameplay,” so to speak, is interacting with others, once the user-base declines, there isn’t much else you can do. Just ask whoever is still on Ello. The folks at the SurveyMonkey Intelligence blog have been keeping an eye on Miitomo and have made some sobering observations on how Nintendo’s smartphone app has performed since launch.
Compared to mobile heavyweights Candy Crush and Clash Royale, Miitomo, on average, is only played half as much per week — something that could be a bad sign for its longevity. The amount average weekly users? By SurveyMonkey’s count, it’s just over 2.5 million. Meaning, only a quarter of the people who’ve downloaded it so far regularly open the app.
How Nintendo handles this and augments Miitomo with reasons for users to keep coming back is going to be interesting to watch. The firm already promised to bring Splatoon-inspired items into the fold, and while that’s a good step, it’s a bit on the minor side. Granted, Nintendo is still pretty new at mobile gaming and these could be seen as rookie mistakes. If it wants to keep people coming back to its apps (and there are a number en route this year), the company needs to start thinking about the long-term picture instead of simply relying on the Nintendo name alone to garner sustainable good will.
Source: SurveyMonkey
‘The Division’ update arrives with some giant bugs
The Division’s Conflict update is here, and it brings some big features for players eager to find new things to do. Great! Only… some of those features aren’t working properly. Players are reporting that high value target missions aren’t unlocking, and that the Clear Sky incursion resets all on its own. Worryingly, users have also noticed characters going missing — a problem that surfaced with the last update, and was eventually traced to a server hiccup.
Ubisoft has already told VG24/7 that it’s fixing the missing character problem, but it’s not yet clear how soon the company will tackle the other bugs. We’ve asked Ubisoft about the issue and will let you know if it can provide some details. However, it’s evident that The Division is rough around the edges these days. You might want to hold off until the kinks have been ironed out.
Source: Polygon, VG24/7
Hello Kitty is the latest addition to ‘Super Mario Maker’
Nintendo has added new characters to its Super Mario Maker before, but this week the title gains another fan favorite. Starting tomorrow evening (May 26th), there will be a new Event Course for players in North America to complete, and doing so will unlock both Hello Kitty and My Melody has playable characters. If you live in Europe or Japan, the two new options will be available the morning of Friday, May 27th.
Hello Kitty’s debut in the game follows the additions of Japanese band Babymetal last month. Earlier in May, Popo and Nana from the classic NES title Ice Climber made their way to the game as well. With the releases coming in such rapid succession, don’t be surprised if we see more new additions in the weeks to come. For now, take a look at Hello Kitty in action in the video that follows.
Via: IGN
Source: Nintendo News
‘Battleborn’ gets a hefty $20 price cut through the weekend
Battleborn, the frenetic team-based shooter from Gearbox Software, has introduced a $20 price cut. What’s more, a brand new character joined its ranks, all on the same day rival shooter Overwatch made its debut. Coincidence or genius marketing? It could be a little bit of both.
Battleborn will not retail for $54.99 for the digital deluxe version with all future downloadable content and $39.99 for the standard version, both of which are available in the 2K Store. The deal is going on through this upcoming Saturday, May 28th, in case you’ve been plowing through Blizzard’s Overwatch and need a taste of something different for your Memorial Day weekend.
Along with the $20 price cut, Battleborn introduced a new character to its fold named Alani, one of five planned characters to be released over the next few months. She’s up for grabs right now for anyone who participated in the Battleborn open beta or purchased the season pass or digital deluxe edition. The warrior monk looks pretty deadly, and fits in perfectly with the rest of the game’s roster. The latest, Pendles, will make an appearance “in the next couple months,” according to 2K Games.
There’s obviously room for both games out there, and the price cut makes Battleborn all the more palatable.
Source: Polygon
You can play the new ‘Legend of Zelda’ early in New York City
You won’t be left out of the E3 festivities just because you can’t make it to Los Angeles for E3 Live. Nintendo is giving gamers in New York City an opportunity to play The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U between June 14th and June 19th if they’re willing to jump through a few hoops. To start, you’ll have to show up for a “Super-Fan Signup Day” at Nintendo’s New York store on the morning of June 11th to have a chance of playing. If you’re one of the 500 people to make the cut, you’ll have to line up at the store on June 14th to get a wristband and make an appointment for some hands-on time.
Don’t despair if you aren’t part of the privileged few. There will be guided Zelda demos for everyone between June 15th and June 19th, and there are hints that “several fans” may get to participate. You’ll very likely get to see the game first-hand — it’s just a question of whether or not you get your mitts on a controller.
Source: Nintendo (BusinessWire)
Rumors are flying about new Xbox consoles and streaming devices
E3 kicks off on June 12th and Microsoft will be there in full-force, showing off the latest and greatest Xbox games and hardware. The company hasn’t yet revealed what it’ll announce at the big show, but The Verge and Kotaku claim Xbox is working on two new devices — however, that’s where the reports’ similarities stop.
The Verge says Xbox will reveal two streaming devices at E3, one that behaves like Chromecast and one that’s closer to a streaming microconsole. The second device would supposedly be able to access universal apps and games from the Windows Store, and stream games from the main Xbox One console to any TV in a house, The Verge says. Part of the focus here would be on TV, allowing users to access Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and other streaming services. This report stems mainly from Petri executive editor Brad Sams, who correctly predicted the Elite controller’s existence at E3 last year.
Kotaku claims that Microsoft is set to unveil two new Xbox consoles. One is a cheaper and smaller Xbox with a 2TB hard drive that should launch later in 2016. The site says Xbox will reveal this model at E3. The second console, which may not make an appearance at E3, is codenamed Scorpio and is due to hit shelves in 2017. It apparently sports a more powerful GPU and it will support the Oculus Rift VR headset. That wouldn’t be shocking, considering the Oculus already comes packaged with the Xbox One controller and the companies already enjoy a symbiotic relationship.
The new consoles are part of a larger initiative known as “Project Helix” that’s designed to converge Xbox and Windows, Kotaku says.
Regarding these reports, an Xbox spokesperson tells Engadget, “We do not comment on rumors or speculation.” We’ve reached out to Oculus for clarification on the reported 2017 console.
Lots of creative chatter today. Excited to share our gaming story at E3 on June 13th https://t.co/QjGUkH1Ofx….
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) May 25, 2016
Overall, the details of these reports differ but their hearts are the same: Xbox is on a path to merge its PC and console gaming brands. The streaming devices would tap into Windows 10 and universal Windows apps, while the rumored consoles aim to make PC-to-console gaming more accessible. Xbox hasn’t been shy about this strategy, either. Xbox boss Phil Spencer said in March that he wants Xbox to operate more like PC gaming, where libraries follow players even when they get new hardware.
“We can effectively feel a little more like what we see on PC, where I can still go back and run my old Doom and Quake games that I ran so many years ago and still see the best new 4K games come out — and my whole library is always with me,” Spencer said.
Plus, Spencer wants to see more console iterations, more often. Instead of nearly a decade between console generations, he’s looking at the two-year timeline of smartphones for inspiration.
“You look at improvements in graphics capability, you look at improvements in display, you look at things like 4K and HDR, and these other technologies that have come along, and for the most part consoles sit outside of that [upgrade cycle],” Spencer said.
E3 runs through the week of June 12th and Engadget will be on the ground, delivering the latest news and interviews from Xbox, Sony, EA, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Nintendo and other companies. Stay tuned.
Source: Kotaku, The Verge
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