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
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.
‘Destiny’ Rise of Iron expansion hits PS4, Xbox One in September
Destiny’s next expansion, Rise of Iron, hits PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on September 20th complete with a new raid, strike, weapons, gear, missions and competitive multiplayer mode. This is the first Destiny expansion to hit current-generation consoles only — there’s no word on Xbox 360 or PS3 releases.
Rise of Iron brings back the Gjallarhorn rocket launcher, a weapon that was over-powered in the game’s early days but fell off once Destiny entered Year Two. For those who pre-order the new content, the Gjallarhorn comes in an “Iron Black” color, fitting the whole ferrous theme. Rise of Iron also introduces a new social space called The Plaguelands Zone. The expansion costs $30 and requires players own the Destiny base game plus The Taken King.
Details about Rise of Iron leaked a tad early, but today’s livestream confirmed the expansion’s offerings. The story dives into the history of the Iron Lords, a faction of Guardians who were tasked with watching over Old Russia from a snowy, craggy mountain range called Felwinter Peak. The Iron Lords sacrificed themselves to keep a great evil at bay, but that plague returns for players to defeat once again. The story also reveals who Jolder is — she (that’s right, she) already has a legendary machine gun named after her, and players will discover what makes her so noteworthy in Destiny’s lore.
Destiny will get a sequel in 2017 and E3 is right around the corner — that show kicks off on Sunday, June 12th with press conferences from EA and Bethesda, followed by Xbox, Ubisoft and PlayStation on Monday. We’ll be live on the ground delivering the latest gaming news all week.
‘Injustice 2’ will make more dream superhero brawls reality
If you enjoyed watching your favorite DC superheroes and villains duke it out in NetherRealm Studios’ Injustice: Gods Among Us, get ready to do it all over again. A sequel, simply titled Injustice 2, is ready to swoop in and deliver a swift beatdown.
Fresh off the momentum of the superbly gory Mortal Kombat X, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and NetherRealm have teamed up to deliver another dose of the fighter with a set of new characters, features and other additions that should please DC Comics fans. Taking place in a world shattered by Superman’s actions in the previous game, players will take up the mantle of heroes like Batman and Superman to rally against newly-included villains like Atrocitus and Gorilla Grodd.
The newly-unveiled Gear System should be a step up from the previous game as well. The new mechanic utilizes RPG-lite mechanics that offer loot drops each time you play so you can customize the hero of your choice with the equipment you see fit. This way, you’re able to create a wholly different Aquaman or Supergirl than your opponent. You know, if there ever happened to be two versions of Aquaman in battle for some reason.
Injustice 2 is scheduled to drop for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2017.
Sony adds ‘Tethered’ to its PlayStation VR launch lineup
A gaming company called Secret Sorcery Towers has revealed that its lovely-looking Tethered will be one of the launch titles for Sony’s Playstation VR. The company says it was influenced by Studio Ghibli animated films, and the game certainly has a delightfully quirky look, judging by the (pre-alpha) video, below. “We’ve been working with an incredibly talented concept artist called Espen … and our art team have been tirelessly replicating his incredible concept pieces and bringing them to life in VR,” the studio says.
The sandbox-style gameplay is pretty straightforward. During the day, you get your “Peeps” to work chopping wood and doing other chores to build up the “Heavenly Archipelago” settlement. At night, you have to beat back waves of worm-like scavengers using clubs, crossbows and other weapons. “With a simple premise at its core –- gather and prepare by day, survive by night –- our goal is to strike balance between comfort, simplicity, beauty and challenge,” says the team.
Secret Sorcery Towers launched in April 2015 specifically as a VR-focused company and says that “comfort and fun gameplay are paramount” for the title. “During a typical play session, you can expect to spend around 30 to 40 minutes building up your village, gathering Spirit Energy, discovering ancient artefacts and learning new skills for your Peeps, not to mention fighting off the denizens of the night.” From what we’ve seen of virtual reality headsets so far, anything beyond that might get tiring, given eyestrain and headset weight. Hopefully, we’ll get a better idea if that applies to the PlayStation VR at Sony’s E3 presentation on June 13th.
Source: Sony
Jerks are plagiarizing ‘Fallout 4’ PC mods on Xbox One
Maybe the team at Bethesda should’ve seen this coming: Now that mods are available for Fallout 4 on Xbox One, the more unscrupulous among us are apparently stealing creations that originated on the game’s PC version and uploading them for Microsoft’s latest console. Some flagrant examples noticed by Reddit users include in-game mods there were hosted exclusively on modding emporium Nexus Mods being added to Bethesda.net as original creations, with uploaders even copying and pasting the PC-centric installation instructions into the mod description.
For its part, the development team at Bethesda has pulled a number of the pilfered mods from its download portal, and even issued instructions for how content creators can combat this. Of course, I’m talking about making a Digital Millennium Copyright Act claim for intellectual property infringement. Mod authors aren’t exactly pleased, as you might imagine, and some have taken umbrage with Bethesda’s course of action. How so? By threatening to stop creating mods until the company makes the uploaders — not the mod authors — provide proof that the work isn’t plagiarized.
With mod support scheduled to hit PlayStation 4 in the near future, and with it built into the new Doom across all platforms, this is something that will very likely only get worse until Bethesda takes a more active role. Given just how popular downloading mods on Xbox One has proven, hopefully that’s sooner rather than later.
Via: Polygon
Source: Bethesda forums (1), (2)
‘Psychonauts’ is available today on PS4 after all
PlayStation Blog editors are either confused or playing a tricky little prank on Psychonauts fans this week. Double Fine’s celebrated PlayStation 2 adventure game is available today on PlayStation 4, even though on Sunday Sony’s blog announced Psychonauts was “coming out soon, but not this week.” The PS4 version of Psychonauts is $10 on the PlayStation Store, available right now as a PS2 Classic.
We first heard about Psychonauts heading to PS4 back in January.
Double Fine successfully crowdfunded Psychonauts 2 earlier this year to the tune of $3.8 million (the goal was $3.3 million). The studio didn’t use Kickstarter, the platform that propelled Double Fine to prominence in 2012 with a record-setting campaign for Broken Age. Instead, it turned to Fig, a crowdfunding system that allows unaccredited people to actually invest in a project, rather than simply throw money at it. Former Double Fine COO Justin Bailey founded the platform in 2015 and studio founder Tim Schafer is on Fig’s board.
Via: Polygon
Source: PlayStation Store
‘XCOM 2’ arrives on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One September 6th
XCOM 2 hit PCs earlier this year, and in September you’ll be able to play it on those current-gen consoles. After some indications that the game wouldn’t make the leap to PS4 and Xbox One, 2K is set to release the title in North America on September 6th with a global launch to follow on September 9th. Two DLCs have already been released for the PC version, including a truckload of new gear for the soldiers and the addition of three new Ruler alien enemies. If the PC-only comments had you down, don’t fret: you’ll be able to take command at the end of the summer on the console of your choice.
We are deploying to a new battlefield, Commander. #XCOM2 is coming to #XboxOne and #PS4 on September 6.https://t.co/Y55NIcn4vR
— XCOM (@XCOM) June 7, 2016
Source: XCOM (Twitter), PlayStation Blog
‘Horizon: Zero Dawn’ pushed back to February 28th, 2017
Did Horizon: Zero Dawn’s 2016 release window seem overly optimistic to you given its open world game mechanics, David-versus-Goliath battles and novel setting? Your concern was well-warranted. Guerrilla Games has delayed the release of the PS4 title to February 28th, 2017. It needs the extra time to live up to its “ambitious vision” for the title. That’s not a gigantic setback, but it’s bound to be disappointing if you were hoping to hunt gigantic robot dinosaurs by the holidays.
Via: Polygon
Source: PlayStation Blog
‘Overwatch’ already has 7 million people aiming at your face
Blizzard Entertainment probably knew its online shooter Overwatch was going to be pretty popular following the wildly successful beta, but maybe not to this extent. The company has revealed that the game has earned some 7 million players worldwide already across PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with users logging over 119 million hours of the colorful shooter since its May 24th launch. For context, New York City has around 8.5 million residents and the playtime translates to over 13,500 years.
Furthermore, Blizzard says that folks have swapped between the game’s 21 characters 326 million times. Now I’m curious how many of the people who threatened they wouldn’t buy it out of protest (for a change in character Tracer’s victory pose) actually followed through on that.
Source: Businesswire
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