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[Industry Thread] Doom: The Next Generation - Exclusive to the Wii U
That still doesn't change how I feel. There needs to be some sort of quality assurance when it comes to putting games on either marketplace. XBLIG was a barren wasteland of garbage.
To be fair, that's only if you consider half-assed dating sims and controller vibrators to be garbage.
The only reason I know that game exists is because of these forums.
If not it would have sat there unplayed.
Which is probably why they are folding the marketplaces together, so that good stuff isn't hidden behind an unneeded abstraction.
I assume this also comes with a very solid "cream rises to the top" mechanic, like meta tags, popularity, etc... battlefield 5 will not be pushed off the page by "My Little Ponies Fanfic Dating Panic", and I doubt games like Braid, Below, or Minecraft will either.
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
The only reason I know that game exists is because of these forums.
If not it would have sat there unplayed.
Which is probably why they are folding the marketplaces together, so that good stuff isn't hidden behind an unneeded abstraction.
I assume this also comes with a very solid "cream rises to the top" mechanic, like meta tags, popularity, etc... battlefield 5 will not be pushed off the page by "My Little Ponies Fanfic Dating Panic", and I doubt games like Braid, Below, or Minecraft will either.
Really hope so. As someone mentioned before: the only indie titles I own/play are the ones I get from the Humble Bundles because they are dirt cheap. There's no real easy way of rating an Indie game.
...and now Angry Birds will be in Puzzle & Dragons. If there's another game this eager to whore itself out I haven't heard of it.
Define "whore itself out"
Because, well, Mario Kart, Mario Tennis, Mario Party, Mario Basketball, Smash Bros, Mario Soccer, Mario RPG...
Ed: all of which, to be clear, were great games.
Does Mario appear in games from other publishers as a main selling point?
I don't remember if the Olympics game was first party or not, so... maybe once?
NBA Street V3 and SSX on Tour for the Gamecube both had Mario Characters as its main selling feature. Im surprised that Nintendo hasn't tried this feature again with 3rd party titles on the Wii U as a selling point.
I don't think anyone bought SSX on Tour or NBA Street just because it had Mario characters in it.
While they didn't set the world on fire compared to the same titles on other formats (which was as expected due to lower install base etc) these titles did get a significant sales boost compared to previous versions of the franchise on the Gamecube. It stands though that having a significant USP for a console on a multi-platform title is needed badly on the Wii U because as it stands having multiplayer features removed, along with charging a higher price point is just asking for the title to arrive dead.
Here is an absolutely fascinating and exhaustive post at GAF (by Fellow PA'r FyreWulff) about the Halo 4 community one year later. Tons of sources and graphs showing significant events and the timeline for the demise of the player base.
It's astonishing how quickly the online player count drops off and never recovers. 20k daily users a year later after Halo 3 and Reach maintained almost a million per day after the same time period, it's unbelievable. I wonder what this means for Halo 5 next year, is it just series fatigue or is the franchise just a relic now that Bungie has moved on?
So, it looks like the new Forza is going to cost $110.
From Gamespot.com
Microsoft today provided more details on the Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass, the digital offering announced last week for Turn 10's Xbox One title that includes access to dozens of vehicles. Chief among the new details is information about pricing, with Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.
Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.
The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.
Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
Now, admittedly I was late to the franchise. I didn't own a Xbox, so my first taste of the series was Halo 3. Halo 3 was great, Reach was amazing, and ODST was one of the best First-Person Shooters I've ever played.
But Halo 4 just felt phoned in. While the game look great and was very technically proficient, the gameplay just didn't feel like Halo anymore. It doesn't help that the new enemies and weapons were rather weaksauce and the campaign was lackluster at best.
Here is an absolutely fascinating and exhaustive post at GAF (by Fellow PA'r FyreWulff) about the Halo 4 community one year later. Tons of sources and graphs showing significant events and the timeline for the demise of the player base.
It's astonishing how quickly the online player count drops off and never recovers. 20k daily users a year later after Halo 3 and Reach maintained almost a million per day after the same time period, it's unbelievable. I wonder what this means for Halo 5 next year, is it just series fatigue or is the franchise just a relic now that Bungie has moved on?
I'd like to see this for a lot of games, it's fairly fascinating.
So, it looks like the new Forza is going to cost $110.
From Gamespot.com
Microsoft today provided more details on the Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass, the digital offering announced last week for Turn 10's Xbox One title that includes access to dozens of vehicles. Chief among the new details is information about pricing, with Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.
Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.
The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.
Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
That's how much the pass cost for Forza Horizon as well. Bit more expensive than it was for FM4, and the value proposition vs the entire game usually makes no sense (as most DLC really) but they tend to be really interesting or neat cars. I'm curious how they're going to be giving out the Nurburgring, since that's apparently going to be done in January as well. Non-season pass DLC in the Season pass window would be kinda crap.
So, it looks like the new Forza is going to cost $110.
From Gamespot.com
Microsoft today provided more details on the Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass, the digital offering announced last week for Turn 10's Xbox One title that includes access to dozens of vehicles. Chief among the new details is information about pricing, with Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.
Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.
The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.
Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
Waitwaitwaitwait.
Wasn't Forza originally going to have a free, "sorry we couldn't finish the game on time" day one pack?
So does this mean they're now charging for it?
Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
So, it looks like the new Forza is going to cost $110.
From Gamespot.com
Microsoft today provided more details on the Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass, the digital offering announced last week for Turn 10's Xbox One title that includes access to dozens of vehicles. Chief among the new details is information about pricing, with Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.
Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.
The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.
Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
Waitwaitwaitwait.
Wasn't Forza originally going to have a free, "sorry we couldn't finish the game on time" day one pack?
So, it looks like the new Forza is going to cost $110.
From Gamespot.com
Microsoft today provided more details on the Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass, the digital offering announced last week for Turn 10's Xbox One title that includes access to dozens of vehicles. Chief among the new details is information about pricing, with Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.
Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.
The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.
Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
I'm.. fairly sure you'll be able to play Forza 5 just fine without buying that pass. Just, you know, a hunch I've got.
Here is an absolutely fascinating and exhaustive post at GAF (by Fellow PA'r FyreWulff) about the Halo 4 community one year later. Tons of sources and graphs showing significant events and the timeline for the demise of the player base.
It's astonishing how quickly the online player count drops off and never recovers. 20k daily users a year later after Halo 3 and Reach maintained almost a million per day after the same time period, it's unbelievable. I wonder what this means for Halo 5 next year, is it just series fatigue or is the franchise just a relic now that Bungie has moved on?
I'd like to see this for a lot of games, it's fairly fascinating.
Ditto, I bet the graph for Gears of War Judgment is even sadder.
There's tons of links to sources and references in that post, I haven't gone through them but I'm sure data exists for a lot of big online games like this.
0
syndalisGetting ClassyOn the WallRegistered User, Loves Apple Products, Transition Teamregular
Here is an absolutely fascinating and exhaustive post at GAF (by Fellow PA'r FyreWulff) about the Halo 4 community one year later. Tons of sources and graphs showing significant events and the timeline for the demise of the player base.
It's astonishing how quickly the online player count drops off and never recovers. 20k daily users a year later after Halo 3 and Reach maintained almost a million per day after the same time period, it's unbelievable. I wonder what this means for Halo 5 next year, is it just series fatigue or is the franchise just a relic now that Bungie has moved on?
Yeah, I love Halo, and I love the lore of Halo, and I am a bit of a Halo nerd.
I loved the fanservice they gave to the singleplayer campaign in 4, and the graphical advancements... but otherwise 4 was a massive disappoint for me.
Halo 4 was p much just a singleplayer experience for me, and I think its because while Halo 2 is largely responsible for the birth of widespread acceptance of console online multiplayer, and the mechanics they came up with still define the genre to this day... others have run with it and done so much more, and Halo is just kind of... there. Kind of lifeless.
What I would give for 343 to make a Halo multiplayer game mode that was set in the Pre-reach era with tons of spartans fighting tons of rebels and early covenant (pre-flood), and fully adopt the titanfall-style mechanic of multiplayer (dedicated server handling tons of enemy AI, missions instead of a full blown epic campaign structure, 15-16 spartans or Helljumpers or pilots all working together, all with distinct advantages).
343 needs to own the franchise and not try to just do what Bungie did. Otherwise, its going to seriously lose its luster.
SW-4158-3990-6116
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
If one thing has become clear as we’ve been working on ID@Xbox, our independent developer self-publishing program for Xbox One, it’s that today’s independent game developers are using middleware to help realize their visions more than ever. Of course, middleware isn’t cheap.
One of the cool things about working at Microsoft is that we have access to pretty amazing resources. For independent developers though, tools like Unity on console can cost quite a bit.
We talked internally at ID@Xbox about ways we could help developers for Xbox One. Many developers we talk to are using Unity today to get up and running quickly, and to be able to harness the power of hardware and realize their creative visions without spending tons of time on technology development. We thought about paying for some developers’ Unity licenses but the more we talked about it, the more we felt paying for some developers’ licenses and not others just didn’t feel right.
To us, ID@Xbox is about providing a level playing field for all developers. So, we worked with Unity and we’re pleased to announce that, when released in 2014, the Xbox One add-on for Unity will be available at no cost to all developers in the ID@Xbox program, as will special Xbox One-only Unity Pro seat licenses for Xbox One developers in the ID@Xbox program.
...
If this was announced much earlier Microsoft might have gained some of the credibility Sony now has with indies. IMO of course.
Is ID@xbox equivalent to their xblaIG cost, 100$ a year and x slots?
Also, people who get up in arms about day 1 dlc need to see the game development graph again. Tis the future, and i used to be bothered by it, but what else are those artists and modelers going to do in the QC phase of design.
If one thing has become clear as we’ve been working on ID@Xbox, our independent developer self-publishing program for Xbox One, it’s that today’s independent game developers are using middleware to help realize their visions more than ever. Of course, middleware isn’t cheap.
One of the cool things about working at Microsoft is that we have access to pretty amazing resources. For independent developers though, tools like Unity on console can cost quite a bit.
We talked internally at ID@Xbox about ways we could help developers for Xbox One. Many developers we talk to are using Unity today to get up and running quickly, and to be able to harness the power of hardware and realize their creative visions without spending tons of time on technology development. We thought about paying for some developers’ Unity licenses but the more we talked about it, the more we felt paying for some developers’ licenses and not others just didn’t feel right.
To us, ID@Xbox is about providing a level playing field for all developers. So, we worked with Unity and we’re pleased to announce that, when released in 2014, the Xbox One add-on for Unity will be available at no cost to all developers in the ID@Xbox program, as will special Xbox One-only Unity Pro seat licenses for Xbox One developers in the ID@Xbox program.
...
If this was announced much earlier Microsoft might have gained some of the credibility Sony now has with indies. IMO of course.
Is ID@xbox equivalent to their xblaIG cost, 100$ a year and x slots?
TBA. Right now they're only accepting applications from proven independent developers who've shipped games. The long-term plan is that any retail xbox can be used as a dev kit, but there is no word on publishing costs besides that title updates will be free of charge and not limited in any way.
So, it looks like the new Forza is going to cost $110.
From Gamespot.com
Microsoft today provided more details on the Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass, the digital offering announced last week for Turn 10's Xbox One title that includes access to dozens of vehicles. Chief among the new details is information about pricing, with Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.
Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.
The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.
Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
I'm.. fairly sure you'll be able to play Forza 5 just fine without buying that pass. Just, you know, a hunch I've got.
I would accept that argument if I were able to get DLC cars a la carte. If I just like 1 or 2 cars in a pack for $1.50 each, then great! But shelling out $50 for a Season Pass that so far has only 1 announced car is a stretch.
Mantle is getting more popular. AMD has announced that three more developers have pledged to support the close-to-the-metal Radeon API. The most notable of the bunch is Cloud Imperium Games, which is responsible for space sim Star Citizen. Eidos Montreal is the other big name; it's working on the upcoming Thief game. Then there's Oxide games, a new studio made up Firaxis and Microsoft veterans. Oxide recently revealed its Nitrous engine, which is optimized for multi-core and 64-bit processors.
Those three developers join EA DICE, whose Frostbite engine will be the first to support Mantle. A version of Battlefield 4 tuned for the new API is scheduled for release in December. After that, the plan is to roll Mantle into the rest of the "15+ games" slated to use the Frostbite engine. There's no word on when other Frostbite titles will actually get Mantle support, though. The AMD press release doesn't say when we could see the other Mantle-optimized games in development, either.
In fact, the press release doesn't actually confirm that Thief will use the Radeon API—just that the studio behind the game is part of a "developer partnership for Mantle." The accompanying statement from Eidos Montreal head David Anfossi is rather vague: "Mantle lets you use AMD Radeon GPUs the way they are meant to be used, unlocking many new opportunities and increased CPU and GPU performance. Because of this, Mantle is one of the most important changes to PC graphics in many years."
Interesting choice of words, Mr. Anfossi. "The way they are meant to be used," sounds like a thinly veiled reference to Nvidia's The Way It's Meant to be Played program. Touché.
Update: AMD has confirmed that the new Thief game will support Mantle.
So, it looks like the new Forza is going to cost $110.
From Gamespot.com
Microsoft today provided more details on the Forza Motorsport 5 Car Pass, the digital offering announced last week for Turn 10's Xbox One title that includes access to dozens of vehicles. Chief among the new details is information about pricing, with Microsoft revealing the pass will sell for $50 and feature multiple car packs.
Each Car Pack will include ten cars, and the first will arrive alongside Forza 5 at launch on November 22. Subsequent packs will be available the first week of every month, starting in January 2014 and running through March 2014.
The first expansion, the LaFerrari Car Pack, introduces ten vehicles, including the 950 horsepower LaFerrari that has yet to be released in the real world. The other nine cars will be announced on November 18, Microsoft said.
Individual cars will be available for purchase separately, but Microsoft said buying the $50 pass will allow players to save 18 percent compared to purchasing individually. For the first time in the history of the franchise, every vehicle in Forza 5 will be available in Forzavista mode. This will allow users to explore the inside and outside of every car, Microsoft said.
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
2 months between the first and second pack isn't that bad when you take into account that you've got an entire game's worth of content to unlock/play through in that time. i don't think you're going to get to mid/late december(or even january 1st) and be suddenly clamouring for more content.
If one thing has become clear as we’ve been working on ID@Xbox, our independent developer self-publishing program for Xbox One, it’s that today’s independent game developers are using middleware to help realize their visions more than ever. Of course, middleware isn’t cheap.
One of the cool things about working at Microsoft is that we have access to pretty amazing resources. For independent developers though, tools like Unity on console can cost quite a bit.
We talked internally at ID@Xbox about ways we could help developers for Xbox One. Many developers we talk to are using Unity today to get up and running quickly, and to be able to harness the power of hardware and realize their creative visions without spending tons of time on technology development. We thought about paying for some developers’ Unity licenses but the more we talked about it, the more we felt paying for some developers’ licenses and not others just didn’t feel right.
To us, ID@Xbox is about providing a level playing field for all developers. So, we worked with Unity and we’re pleased to announce that, when released in 2014, the Xbox One add-on for Unity will be available at no cost to all developers in the ID@Xbox program, as will special Xbox One-only Unity Pro seat licenses for Xbox One developers in the ID@Xbox program.
...
If this was announced much earlier Microsoft might have gained some of the credibility Sony now has with indies. IMO of course.
Is ID@xbox equivalent to their xblaIG cost, 100$ a year and x slots?
TBA. Right now they're only accepting applications from proven independent developers who've shipped games. The long-term plan is that any retail xbox can be used as a dev kit, but there is no word on publishing costs besides that title updates will be free of charge and not limited in any way.
Knew about the second half of that(the long term), first part is interesting. If you just had to buy a unity licence, that would be pretty sweet.
0
Ninja Snarl PMy helmet is my burden.Ninja Snarl: Gone, but not forgotten.Registered Userregular
Here is an absolutely fascinating and exhaustive post at GAF (by Fellow PA'r FyreWulff) about the Halo 4 community one year later. Tons of sources and graphs showing significant events and the timeline for the demise of the player base.
It's astonishing how quickly the online player count drops off and never recovers. 20k daily users a year later after Halo 3 and Reach maintained almost a million per day after the same time period, it's unbelievable. I wonder what this means for Halo 5 next year, is it just series fatigue or is the franchise just a relic now that Bungie has moved on?
Probably just reflects a shift in design goals from fun to listening to "pros" too much, along with shifting a mega-franchise over to a "new" studio.
I mean, I wouldn't call Halo 4 bad by any means, but I could make a really strong case that basically the entire new enemy force is dull as hell to play against, dropping the asymmetrical elements from the multiplayer in favor of keeping things "even" for the competitive players didn't do the game any favors, and keeping the main game focused entirely on the Master Chief after ODST and Reach both heavily incorporated other characters was a definite step back for the story. Hell, 343 basically pulled Armor Lock from MP because of bitching from pro players, and I never failed to have a blast with that one ability; there was literally a fraction of the Halo population that was always griping for that removal, but the pros got what they wanted and everyone else got a duller sequel. I also remember how they patched out aim bloom when they were handed over the reigns of Bungie's last Halo game, because, again, it was something vehemently opposed in very small circles but didn't actually make the game better.
As a long-time Halo player, I feel like it was definitely a solid first attempt by 343, but they've got some learning to do in regards to realizing that "fun" and "competitive" are in no way mutually exclusive, and change does not equate to improve. Doesn't do any good to appeal to a handful of thousands of players if it means literally hundreds of thousands find the game uninteresting compared to the last iteration.
Ninja Snarl P on
+4
HenroidMexican kicked from Immigration ThreadCentrism is Racism :3Registered Userregular
edited November 2013
On Halo 4 losing its multiplayer community fast: What changed from Halo 3 to Halo 4 in the multiplayer context? Even the most minute changes (no "you still shoot guns, nothing changed" answers please).
On Call of Duty: Dog Ghost Dog Doggy getting middling reviews: Maybe it's a sign that some franchises aren't meant to transition to / launch new hardware. Especially after a longer-than-usual console gen. People at this point are wanting something new or something recognizable. As far as I know, CoD isn't a series in the same sense that Metroid is a series; the latter has an established character and setting / villains, etc. CoD is just kinda like a brand name for War Dude Game. So when Activision is all "NEXT GEN COD" it doesn't have the same impact as "NEXT GEN (insert video game character here)." It's easier on current gen hardware to go, "You liked that game? Here's more of it!" (edit - In other words, it's hard to sell people on a series that lacks consistent elements) We've gone through this period of time of expecting the next event horizon in games, with a super new fancy plate, but then what we're being served is the next thing? I dunno, I'm shit at metaphors.
The bottom line is there's nothing shocking or controversial about people not caring for CoD. It'll suck for Activision in the short term, sure, and we need to see how they react (make a new / better CoD, or stop treating it as the thing and make a new thing).
Mantle is getting more popular. AMD has announced that three more developers have pledged to support the close-to-the-metal Radeon API. The most notable of the bunch is Cloud Imperium Games, which is responsible for space sim Star Citizen. Eidos Montreal is the other big name; it's working on the upcoming Thief game. Then there's Oxide games, a new studio made up Firaxis and Microsoft veterans. Oxide recently revealed its Nitrous engine, which is optimized for multi-core and 64-bit processors.
Those three developers join EA DICE, whose Frostbite engine will be the first to support Mantle. A version of Battlefield 4 tuned for the new API is scheduled for release in December. After that, the plan is to roll Mantle into the rest of the "15+ games" slated to use the Frostbite engine. There's no word on when other Frostbite titles will actually get Mantle support, though. The AMD press release doesn't say when we could see the other Mantle-optimized games in development, either.
In fact, the press release doesn't actually confirm that Thief will use the Radeon API—just that the studio behind the game is part of a "developer partnership for Mantle." The accompanying statement from Eidos Montreal head David Anfossi is rather vague: "Mantle lets you use AMD Radeon GPUs the way they are meant to be used, unlocking many new opportunities and increased CPU and GPU performance. Because of this, Mantle is one of the most important changes to PC graphics in many years."
Interesting choice of words, Mr. Anfossi. "The way they are meant to be used," sounds like a thinly veiled reference to Nvidia's The Way It's Meant to be Played program. Touché.
Update: AMD has confirmed that the new Thief game will support Mantle.
I posted about it yesterday. I wonder if AMD still has a surprise partner for their next event.
Apparently the story behind The Typing of the Dead: Overkill is even more amazing than just the fact that the game exists.
Long story short, Blitz Games was working on the conversion when the studio folded. But then the people making the game decided to finish it anyway. By themselves. In six weeks.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn outperformed and Square Enix revised their earning forecast. Their original estimate for net sales was between 59 billion yen ($598 million) and 63 billion yen ($639 million). This number was adjusted to 61.7 billion yen ($626 million).
Square Enix original estimated up to a 2 billion yen ($20 million) operating loss, but thanks to Final Fantasy XIV and strong arcade sales Square Enix expects 4.7 billion yen ($48 million) of operating profit. That’s a significant turn around. Net income was adjusted from between 0 to a 1.3 billion yen ($13 million) loss to 2.6 billion yen profit ($26 million). All numbers are for the six month period ending on September 30, 2013.
It's pretty much what I've been exclusively playing, other than Pokemon X away from home. Thought that may have a lot to do with the fact that we're nearing the end of a console generation and I don't have my Wii U yet.
But yeah, colour me genuinely surprised. I had figured the "first impression" law would have taken effect, and nobody would have given a shit. Or that people would try it, but then subs would crater after the free 30 days ran out. But it's thriving and surviving? That's awesome.
"The sausage of Green Earth explodes with flavor like the cannon of culinary delight."
On Halo 4 losing its multiplayer community fast: What changed from Halo 3 to Halo 4 in the multiplayer context? Even the most minute changes (no "you still shoot guns, nothing changed" answers please).
@Fyrewulff would be the one to ask for an exhaustive list, but a short summary would be that 343 decided to listen to the vocal minority of players and let them give them feedback on what needed to change, rather than give them their own dedicated playlist and let them exist in their own little isolation chamber like how Bungie handled them, and they also decided that making it more like Call of Duty would be a good idea.
Half-Life 3, if it exists, will not be exclusive to Valve's SteamOS or Steam Machines, nor will Portal 3, Left 4 Dead 3 or Team Fortress 3, if those games are in the works. Valve will not develop a game exclusive to SteamOS or Steam Machines, designer Greg Coomer told IGN.
"You won't see an exclusive killer app for SteamOS from us," Coomer said. "We're not going to be doing that kind of thing."
Valve spokesperson Anna Sweet added, "That would go against our whole philosophy, to launch something that's exclusive to SteamOS or Steam Machines."
Sweet doesn't even want third-party games to be exclusive to Steam products: "Whenever we talk to third-party partners, we encourage them to put their games in as many places as possible, including not on our platforms. Because we think that customers are everywhere, and they want to put their games wherever customers are."
On the other... um, what's the point of Steam Machines, again? (I mean for customers; I'm well aware Gabe is doing this because he's annoyed with Microsoft.)
Why the crap did I ever make my original name "cloudeagle?"
Half-Life 3, if it exists, will not be exclusive to Valve's SteamOS or Steam Machines, nor will Portal 3, Left 4 Dead 3 or Team Fortress 3, if those games are in the works. Valve will not develop a game exclusive to SteamOS or Steam Machines, designer Greg Coomer told IGN.
"You won't see an exclusive killer app for SteamOS from us," Coomer said. "We're not going to be doing that kind of thing."
Valve spokesperson Anna Sweet added, "That would go against our whole philosophy, to launch something that's exclusive to SteamOS or Steam Machines."
Sweet doesn't even want third-party games to be exclusive to Steam products: "Whenever we talk to third-party partners, we encourage them to put their games in as many places as possible, including not on our platforms. Because we think that customers are everywhere, and they want to put their games wherever customers are."
On the other... um, what's the point of Steam Machines, again? (I mean for customers; I'm well aware Gabe is doing this because he's annoyed with Microsoft.)
Well a steam machine would be about $100 cheaper.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)
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And Cthulhu Saves the World.
If not it would have sat there unplayed.
I assume this also comes with a very solid "cream rises to the top" mechanic, like meta tags, popularity, etc... battlefield 5 will not be pushed off the page by "My Little Ponies Fanfic Dating Panic", and I doubt games like Braid, Below, or Minecraft will either.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
Bastion was XBLA, not XBLIG.
And Cthulu Saves the World was a needle in a giant haystack.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
Really hope so. As someone mentioned before: the only indie titles I own/play are the ones I get from the Humble Bundles because they are dirt cheap. There's no real easy way of rating an Indie game.
So are most good games on Steam.
You have to have haystacks exist in order to have somewhere for the needles to hide.
And thankfully, this isn't going to be a problem moving forward.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
Hahahah I love this statement so much.
(Not sarcastic, I promise)
While they didn't set the world on fire compared to the same titles on other formats (which was as expected due to lower install base etc) these titles did get a significant sales boost compared to previous versions of the franchise on the Gamecube. It stands though that having a significant USP for a console on a multi-platform title is needed badly on the Wii U because as it stands having multiplayer features removed, along with charging a higher price point is just asking for the title to arrive dead.
http://m.neogaf.com/showpost.php?p=88715714
It's astonishing how quickly the online player count drops off and never recovers. 20k daily users a year later after Halo 3 and Reach maintained almost a million per day after the same time period, it's unbelievable. I wonder what this means for Halo 5 next year, is it just series fatigue or is the franchise just a relic now that Bungie has moved on?
From Gamespot.com
So $50 for four packs = $12.50 per pack. I'm guessing $15 for each pack individually. Which works out to $1.50 per car. That's not HORRIBLE, but the fact that the first pack is available Day 1 and then there's a 2 month wait for the next one just doesn't sit well with me.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
Now, admittedly I was late to the franchise. I didn't own a Xbox, so my first taste of the series was Halo 3. Halo 3 was great, Reach was amazing, and ODST was one of the best First-Person Shooters I've ever played.
But Halo 4 just felt phoned in. While the game look great and was very technically proficient, the gameplay just didn't feel like Halo anymore. It doesn't help that the new enemies and weapons were rather weaksauce and the campaign was lackluster at best.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
I'd like to see this for a lot of games, it's fairly fascinating.
Edit:
That's how much the pass cost for Forza Horizon as well. Bit more expensive than it was for FM4, and the value proposition vs the entire game usually makes no sense (as most DLC really) but they tend to be really interesting or neat cars. I'm curious how they're going to be giving out the Nurburgring, since that's apparently going to be done in January as well. Non-season pass DLC in the Season pass window would be kinda crap.
Waitwaitwaitwait.
Wasn't Forza originally going to have a free, "sorry we couldn't finish the game on time" day one pack?
So does this mean they're now charging for it?
this is a separate thing
I'm.. fairly sure you'll be able to play Forza 5 just fine without buying that pass. Just, you know, a hunch I've got.
Ditto, I bet the graph for Gears of War Judgment is even sadder.
There's tons of links to sources and references in that post, I haven't gone through them but I'm sure data exists for a lot of big online games like this.
Yeah, I love Halo, and I love the lore of Halo, and I am a bit of a Halo nerd.
I loved the fanservice they gave to the singleplayer campaign in 4, and the graphical advancements... but otherwise 4 was a massive disappoint for me.
Halo 4 was p much just a singleplayer experience for me, and I think its because while Halo 2 is largely responsible for the birth of widespread acceptance of console online multiplayer, and the mechanics they came up with still define the genre to this day... others have run with it and done so much more, and Halo is just kind of... there. Kind of lifeless.
What I would give for 343 to make a Halo multiplayer game mode that was set in the Pre-reach era with tons of spartans fighting tons of rebels and early covenant (pre-flood), and fully adopt the titanfall-style mechanic of multiplayer (dedicated server handling tons of enemy AI, missions instead of a full blown epic campaign structure, 15-16 spartans or Helljumpers or pilots all working together, all with distinct advantages).
343 needs to own the franchise and not try to just do what Bungie did. Otherwise, its going to seriously lose its luster.
Let's play Mario Kart or something...
Is ID@xbox equivalent to their xblaIG cost, 100$ a year and x slots?
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
TBA. Right now they're only accepting applications from proven independent developers who've shipped games. The long-term plan is that any retail xbox can be used as a dev kit, but there is no word on publishing costs besides that title updates will be free of charge and not limited in any way.
I would accept that argument if I were able to get DLC cars a la carte. If I just like 1 or 2 cars in a pack for $1.50 each, then great! But shelling out $50 for a Season Pass that so far has only 1 announced car is a stretch.
PSN: Beltaine-77 | Steam: beltane77 | Battle.net BadHaggis#1433
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
2 months between the first and second pack isn't that bad when you take into account that you've got an entire game's worth of content to unlock/play through in that time. i don't think you're going to get to mid/late december(or even january 1st) and be suddenly clamouring for more content.
Knew about the second half of that(the long term), first part is interesting. If you just had to buy a unity licence, that would be pretty sweet.
Probably just reflects a shift in design goals from fun to listening to "pros" too much, along with shifting a mega-franchise over to a "new" studio.
I mean, I wouldn't call Halo 4 bad by any means, but I could make a really strong case that basically the entire new enemy force is dull as hell to play against, dropping the asymmetrical elements from the multiplayer in favor of keeping things "even" for the competitive players didn't do the game any favors, and keeping the main game focused entirely on the Master Chief after ODST and Reach both heavily incorporated other characters was a definite step back for the story. Hell, 343 basically pulled Armor Lock from MP because of bitching from pro players, and I never failed to have a blast with that one ability; there was literally a fraction of the Halo population that was always griping for that removal, but the pros got what they wanted and everyone else got a duller sequel. I also remember how they patched out aim bloom when they were handed over the reigns of Bungie's last Halo game, because, again, it was something vehemently opposed in very small circles but didn't actually make the game better.
As a long-time Halo player, I feel like it was definitely a solid first attempt by 343, but they've got some learning to do in regards to realizing that "fun" and "competitive" are in no way mutually exclusive, and change does not equate to improve. Doesn't do any good to appeal to a handful of thousands of players if it means literally hundreds of thousands find the game uninteresting compared to the last iteration.
On Call of Duty: Dog Ghost Dog Doggy getting middling reviews: Maybe it's a sign that some franchises aren't meant to transition to / launch new hardware. Especially after a longer-than-usual console gen. People at this point are wanting something new or something recognizable. As far as I know, CoD isn't a series in the same sense that Metroid is a series; the latter has an established character and setting / villains, etc. CoD is just kinda like a brand name for War Dude Game. So when Activision is all "NEXT GEN COD" it doesn't have the same impact as "NEXT GEN (insert video game character here)." It's easier on current gen hardware to go, "You liked that game? Here's more of it!" (edit - In other words, it's hard to sell people on a series that lacks consistent elements) We've gone through this period of time of expecting the next event horizon in games, with a super new fancy plate, but then what we're being served is the next thing? I dunno, I'm shit at metaphors.
The bottom line is there's nothing shocking or controversial about people not caring for CoD. It'll suck for Activision in the short term, sure, and we need to see how they react (make a new / better CoD, or stop treating it as the thing and make a new thing).
I posted about it yesterday. I wonder if AMD still has a surprise partner for their next event.
On other news: EA Phenomic veterans form Envision Entertainment.
"We have years of struggle ahead, mostly within ourselves." - Made in USA
Long story short, Blitz Games was working on the conversion when the studio folded. But then the people making the game decided to finish it anyway. By themselves. In six weeks.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/203801/How_Typing_of_the_Dead_Overkill_survived_its_studios_apocalypse.php
The article also notes it was Sega's marketing team's idea to do a stealth release, and apparently its sales have been better than Sega expected.
http://www.siliconera.com/2013/11/05/final-fantasy-xivs-exceeds-square-enixs-expectations-prompts-earnings-forecast-increase/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+siliconera/MkOc+(Siliconera)
It's pretty much what I've been exclusively playing, other than Pokemon X away from home. Thought that may have a lot to do with the fact that we're nearing the end of a console generation and I don't have my Wii U yet.
But the game is pretty great.
Actually a very interesting interview about CoD:Ghosts and sequels and then the talk turns to console differences and things get awkward.
But yeah, colour me genuinely surprised. I had figured the "first impression" law would have taken effect, and nobody would have given a shit. Or that people would try it, but then subs would crater after the free 30 days ran out. But it's thriving and surviving? That's awesome.
@Fyrewulff would be the one to ask for an exhaustive list, but a short summary would be that 343 decided to listen to the vocal minority of players and let them give them feedback on what needed to change, rather than give them their own dedicated playlist and let them exist in their own little isolation chamber like how Bungie handled them, and they also decided that making it more like Call of Duty would be a good idea.
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
http://www.joystiq.com/2013/11/05/valve-wont-develop-exclusive-games-for-steamos-steam-machines/
On the one hand, yay for keeping the market open.
On the other... um, what's the point of Steam Machines, again? (I mean for customers; I'm well aware Gabe is doing this because he's annoyed with Microsoft.)
Well a steam machine would be about $100 cheaper.
(Please do not gift. My game bank is already full.)