http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 10 Apr 2014 09:07:58 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/massive-titanfall-patch-arrives-today-adds-private-matches-and-kills-wall-hacks/1100-6418897/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2451772-titanfall+screen+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2451772" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2451772-titanfall+screen+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2451772"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1365/13658182/2451772-titanfall+screen+2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Respawn Entertainment has released a massive patch for <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> today that, among other things, introduces private matches, a feature users have been clamoring for. The update is rolling out today for Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As <a href="http://www.titanfall.com/news/titanfall-patch-update-two" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">detailed on Titanfall's website</a>, the Titanfall private match mode available today is merely a beta. "Some features are unfinished or not yet implemented, and we welcome your feedback," the developer said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Private matches support 2-12 players, with 1-6 players on each team. You'll be able to start a new private match by choosing it on the main screen and you can invite your friends or have them join you at any time. Private matches also support any and all of Titanfall's maps and modes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While playing in a Titanfall private match, you won't gain XP, challenge progress, or unlock any achievements. In addition, for the current private match beta, the Last Game Summary screen will display what you would have earned in normal play, but "be aware that this progress will not be recorded to your lifetime total," Respawn said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What's more, all private matches are played on dedicated servers powered by Xbox Live Cloud Compute, just like standard matches. In the future, you'll be able to adjust round time, score limit, and "much more," Respawn said. These features will be introduced via future updates.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The addition of Titanfall private matches is just one of many tweaks for the game made today through the update. Other updates include the removal of certain wall-hack cheats and various bug fixes. The full Titfall patch notes, via Respawn, are below.</p><h3 dir="ltr"><ins>Titanfall April 10 patch:</ins></h3><p style=""><strong>Party Colors</strong> - Your party members and their titans now show up on the mini-map with green colors, instead of the normal blue colors that other friendlies use. Their names are also drawn in green on your HUD, the obituary text, and in the pre-game lobby. This helps you figure out where your friends are and what they're up to, especially in the heat of combat.</p><p style=""><strong>Auto-Titan Color in Obituary</strong> - Your auto-titan's name now shows up in the obituary with the gold color that your own name does. Previously it had the same blue color as any other friendly. This makes it easier to keep tabs on how your titan is doing.</p><p style=""><strong>Removed Wall-hack Exploit</strong> - PC cheaters were able to modify their local configuration files to enable a sort of wall-hack cheat using legit game code. We've closed the exploit that they were using.</p><p style=""><strong>Menu Changes</strong> - "Play Multiplayer" is now the default (top) option on the private lobby menu, if you've completed both the IMC and Militia campaigns. It has also been renamed from "Play Classic", since the term "classic", which we used internally, proved to be confusing to some players.</p><p style=""><strong>Game Version on Main Menu</strong> - The main menu now displays the game's version in the bottom-left corner. Now you don't have to wonder if you really do have the latest version of the game, and we can use that to double-check things if support is helping you troubleshoot issues.</p><h3><strong>NEW FEATURES (Xbox One)</strong></h3><p style=""><strong>Party App Shortcut in Menus</strong> - Added a shortcut on all menus that opens the Xbox One's "Party" app by pressing Left Trigger on the controller, similar to the existing Right Trigger shortcut that invites friends. You can then press 'B' to close it when you're done, or leave it up. (This is much easier than the manual method of going to the Home screen, opening "My games & apps", selecting Apps, scrolling a few screens over to the "Party" app, and opening it.)</p><h3><strong>GAME BALANCE CHANGES</strong></h3><p style=""><strong>The Gooser Challenge</strong> - Based on recent feedback from fans of the game, the Gen 5 challenge requirement 'Gooser', requiring players to kill 50 ejecting pilots, will be reduced to 5 total. We had a couple of design goals for Regeneration. One was to give players a structured way to discover and experience ways of playing the game they might not have otherwise tried on their own. The second was to recognize players' mastery of various skills, going beyond just 'time played'. We went a bit too far with this challenge, especially considering the unique conditions that have to be met just to have the opportunity to get a kill on an ejecting Pilot. We understand some players have already completed the challenge, or have already earned more than the new requirement so we will be internally noting those players so we can recognize their accomplishments in a future game update.</p><p style=""><strong>40mm magazine capacity for default and Extended Mag</strong> – The default magazine size was making the 40mm too powerful. It is intended to be the only weapon that can take a Titan down without reloading, if used skillfully. However, 20 rounds per magazine were proving to be too high and overly tolerant of indiscriminate fire. We've reduced it to 12 rounds per magazine, which still allows players to take a Titan down without reloading, but helps balance it out against other Titan weapons. The extended mag has also been dropped from 25 to 16, with the same design principles applying to this change.</p><p style=""><strong>Titan Quad Rocket mag size change</strong> – During development, there was a time when the Quad Rocket was too powerful. We made a lot of changes to pull it back before shipping (lessened the screen shake impact, lessened the duration of the first person impact FX, lowered the magazine size, pulled the damage back, etc.) It currently can struggle against other Titan weapons and going back to the 5/6 (default/extended mag) magazine sizes helps balance the weapon and allows players to miss a few shots and still be effective. It was 4/5, now its 5/6.</p><p style=""><strong>Titan Quad Rocket damage vs Titan shields</strong> – It was taking too long to drop a Titans shields with the Quad Rocket (5 shots). This meant you had to reload before you could even drop an enemy Titan's shields. This was the only Titan weapon that had this issue. We've now upped the damage against Titan shields so that it can drop a shield with 4 shots. Combined with the increased mag size, this damage increase effectively gives you one more volley in the mag to deal serious direct hull damage.</p><p style=""><strong>Titan Quad Rocket 'Rapid Fire' Mod's mag size change</strong> – We upped the magazine size for the Quad Rocket's Rapid Fire Mod to help it compete with the changes made to the extended magazine (from 5 to 6). The Rapid Fire Mod's magazine size is going up from 16 to 18.</p><p style=""><strong>Amped Kraber Titan damage change</strong> – We upped the damage that the Amped Kraber Burn Card does to Titans. It is now the only significantly effective "small arms" weapon against Titans. Note that this only applies to the Amped version of the Kraber. The damage goes up from 100 to 800. We added this to give the Kraber Burn Card a little bit more character, as well as to give you something to shoot if you have a hard time hitting those little Pilots with the Kraber. So snipe away at those Titans…before they kill you!</p><p style=""><strong>Hardpoint Domination scoring changes</strong> – We wanted to reward and encourage players to go out and capture enemy hardpoints. As important as defending a hardpoint is, capturing them is more important and a tougher task, generally speaking. We did not want to completely remove points for defending, but attacking players were getting too little credit for their efforts. Here is a breakdown of the changes:</p><ul><li>Capturing a hardpoint from <strong>150 to 250</strong></li><li>Assisting in capturing a hardpoint from <strong>75 to 100</strong></li><li>Neutralizing a hardpoint from <strong>50 to 150</strong></li><li>Assisting in neutralizing a hardpoint from <strong>25 to 75</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from outside (nearby) from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from outside (far) from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from inside the hardpoint from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing an NPC inside an enemy hardpoint from inside the hardpoint from <strong>25 to 10</strong></li><li>Killing a player outside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from<strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing an NPC outside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from <strong>25 to 10</strong></li><li>Killing an NPC inside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from<strong>25 to 10</strong></li><li>Defending a hardpoint now goes from <strong>75 to 25</strong></li></ul><p style=""><strong>CTF scoring changes</strong> – We wanted to make sure the big payoff in CTF came from capturing the flag. Killing the carrier and then returning the flag was worth 400 points (combined), while capturing the flag was worth 500 points in comparison. These changes are meant to reward players who capture the flag a bit more than those who kill the carrier and return the flag. Defense is still a very important aspect of CTF so we wanted to make sure to keep defending points high enough to still encourage playing defense. Here is a breakdown of the changes:</p><ul><li>Capturing a flag from <strong>500 to 400</strong></li><li>Returning the flag from <strong>250 to 100</strong></li><li>Killing the flag carrier from <strong>150 to 100</strong></li></ul><h3><strong>BUG FIXES (All Platforms)</strong></h3><ul><li>Fixed an issue where a Titan firing ordnance would not show on the minimap correctly.</li><li>Fixed a rare bug with Pilot health pools that would make them virtually invincible.</li><li>Fixed rare cases where Titans could be called in through solid geometry.</li><li>Titan shields now protect friendly rodeo players from explosion damage (such as from an Arc Cannon).</li><li>Fixed a case where a Pilot could embark a Titan through walls.</li><li>Spitfire LMG and XO-16 firing sounds will no longer sometimes cut off before the gun is finished firing.</li><li>The Archer now locks onto the top of a heavy turret rather than the base of the turret.</li><li>The Archer's rockets now home in on Titans correctly when those targets are kneeling.</li><li>Fixed shadows incorrectly shimmering on a particular area of Lagoon.</li><li>Fixed Satchel Charges and Particle Walls causing pilots to permanently rodeo other pilots.</li><li>Fixed certain characters not rendering properly in French and other languages.</li><li>Fixed an issue where "Initializing..." would be displayed if a server wasn't found.</li><li>Fixed being unable to scroll to the top of the datacenter list after scrolling down.</li><li>Greatly reduced the bandwidth used when connecting to a server. People who previously could not progress past the load-screen when connecting to servers should be able to play now.</li><li>Grunts now show up on the minimap when they shoot.</li></ul><h3><strong>BUG FIXES (PC)</strong></h3><ul><li>Fixed issues with Asian fonts.</li><li>'-nojoy' command-line parameter now disables gamepad input.</li><li>All anti-aliasing modes should now properly be displayed in the video settings menu.</li><li>Fixed graphics corruption and some GPU underutilization for SLI and Crossfire configurations.</li><li>Fixed a crash in the options menu when toggling between Low and Medium shadows.</li><li>Mouse buttons can now be used for voice chat in lobbies.</li><li>Titanfall will no longer override your Windows microphone volume setting when it is launched.</li><li>Fixed the Smart Pistol reticle so it scales properly based on the Field of View setting.</li><li>Fixed crashes on machines with 32 or more cores.</li></ul><h3><strong>BUG FIXES (Xbox One)</strong></h3><ul><li>Fixed a rare full-screen blue/red flash.</li><li>Audio should no longer overlap after going to the Xbox dashboard and back into Titanfall.</li><li>Fixed a crash when saying "Xbox go back" on certain menus.</li></ul><h3><strong>COMING SOON IN FUTURE UPDATE</strong></h3><p style=""><strong>A selection of improvements that will be released in an upcoming update:</strong></p><ul><li>More Custom Loadout Slots with Custom Slots per Game Mode</li><li>Ability to rename Custom Loadout Slots</li><li>Last Game Summary shows the scoreboard from the previous match</li><li>Additional customization options in Private Match</li><li>Better 120hz monitor support</li><li>Pick-up prompt for dropped Amped weapons appear in a different color than for normal weapons</li></ul><p style=""><strong> Enhanced interaction with Challenges. You will be able to review your Challenges by the following criteria:</strong></p><ul><li>Completed (in your previous match)</li><li>Most progressed (in your previous match)</li><li>Almost completed (overall)</li></ul><p style=""><strong>• Scoreboard icons will reflect 3 new states:</strong></p><ul><li>Player Evacuated</li><li>Player Dead with Auto-Titan Still Alive</li><li>Player Alive with Auto-Titan Still Alive</li></ul><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/massive-titanfall-patch-arrives-today-adds-private-matches-and-kills-wall-hacks/1100-6418897/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new video interview, Ubisoft cinematics animation lead Lars Bonde told <em>PC Games</em> that the PlayStation 4 version of <a href="/watch-dogs/" data-ref-id="false">Watch Dogs</a> is targeting 1080p, but stopped short of confirming resolution details for the Xbox One iteration.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xzkOWwTxniA" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">YouTube video</a>--which has since been set to private but was seen by <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458391/watch-dogs-ps4-targeting-1080p/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>--Bonde says even though there may be visual performance differences between the different versions of the game, the core gameplay will be the same regardless of what console you play on.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The first thing I want to make clear is that, at its core, it's the same experience on current-gen and next-gen consoles. You get the same gameplay out of it," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Of course there are nuances to it," he added. "We are utilizing Xbox One to its full capabilities and the same with PS4, of course, so I know that, as far as to my knowledge, on PS4 it will run in full HD."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This tallies with unconfirmed reports from earlier this year, which claimed that Watch Dogs on PS4 would run in 1080p while the Xbox One version would output in something less. Notably, the video in question here is the same video that Watch Dogs creative director Jonathan Morin <a href="https://twitter.com/Hurricane4343/status/453971322456903680" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">retweeted a link to yesterday</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Watch Dogs launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-release-date-announced-for-everything-except-wii-u/1100-6417977/" data-ref-id="1100-6417977">May 27</a> for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PS4, and PC. The Wii U version is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-for-wii-u-definitely-not-canceled/1100-6418164/" data-ref-id="1100-6418164"> coming sometime later</a>. Earlier this week, GameStop revealed that Watch Dogs will have a<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-season-pass-listed-by-gamestop-contains-new-playable-character/1100-6418861/" data-ref-id="1100-6418861"> $20 DLC pass that</a>, among other things, will include a new playable character.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soon-we-ll-know-if-atari-buried-millions-of-copies-of-failed-movie-game-e-t-in-a-new-mexico-landfill/1100-6418896/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503070-etnm.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503070" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503070-etnm.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503070"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2503070-etnm.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Are millions of copies of failed movie tie-in game <a href="/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/" data-ref-id="false">E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial</a> buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill? We're only two weeks from finding out. Microsoft, which has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/did-atari-bury-millions-of-e-t-copies-in-a-landfill-in-new-mexico-we-ll-soon-find-out-if-it-s-fact-or-fiction/1100-6418772/" data-ref-id="1100-6418772">commissioned a documentary series about the dig</a>, <a href="http://news.xbox.com/2014/04/ent-attend-atari-landfill-excavation" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">announced today</a> that the excavation of the rumored burial site will take place on April 26 and it will be open to the public.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whatever happens later this month will be documented by film crew Fuel Entertainment and spun into a documentary series that will debut on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Zak Penn (<em>X-Men 2</em>, <em>The Avengers</em>) is directing the movie.</p><p style="">In attendance at the dig will be E.T. game designer Howard Scott Warshaw and a team of archaeologists, as well as representatives for Microsoft and Xbox Entertainment Studios. Microsoft says attendees might even be interviewed for the film.</p><p style="">The final excavation of the site is a long time coming for Microsoft. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/documentary-aims-to-unearth-millions-of-et-copies/1100-6409193/">Alamogordo city commissioners approved the search in June</a>, but the project was later <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-exclusive-documentary-about-buried-atari-cartridges-put-on-hold/1100-6418477/" data-ref-id="1100-6418477">put on hold </a>because a waste excavation plan needed to be finalized before the digging could begin. Microsoft <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/did-atari-bury-millions-of-e-t-copies-in-a-landfill-in-new-mexico-we-ll-soon-find-out-if-it-s-fact-or-fiction/1100-6418772/" data-ref-id="1100-6418772">got that approval</a> just last week.</p><p style=""><strong>Alamogordo Landfill Excavation Details:</strong></p><ul><li>Sunday, April 26, 2014</li><li>9:30 a.m. -- 7:30 p.m.</li></ul><p style=""><strong>Alamogordo Landfill</strong></p><ul><li>4276 Highway 54 S</li><li>Alamogordo, NM 88310</li><li>(Near First Street and White Sands Boulevard)</li></ul><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soon-we-ll-know-if-atari-buried-millions-of-copies-of-failed-movie-game-e-t-in-a-new-mexico-landfill/1100-6418896/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dragon-age-inquisition-won-t-have-dlc-characters-because-of-on-disc-controversy/1100-6418895/ <p style=""> </p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503057-dainew.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503057" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503057-dainew.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503057"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2503057-dainew.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">As was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rumor-dragon-age-inquisition-has-40-endings-five-major-regions/1100-6418617/" data-ref-id="1100-6418617">rumored</a>, BioWare's upcoming fantasy RPG<a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false"> Dragon Age: Inquisition</a> will not offer new DLC characters, creative director Mike Laidlaw told <a href="http://www.totalxbox.com/74867/dragon-age-inquisition-wont-get-dlc-characters-because-of-on-disc-dlc-controversy/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Official Xbox Magazine</em></a>. This is because doing so would require them to be on-disc, and BioWare won't do this in the wake of the on-disc controversy that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/parts-of-mass-effect-3-dlc-already-on-disc-ea/1100-6365673/" data-ref-id="1100-6365673">dates back to 2012 and Mass Effect 3.</a></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Because of how deeply enmeshed in the system companion characters are, we can't just add them on the fly; part of them has to be shipped on the disc," Laidlaw said. "Which has led to criticism that we're forcing people to pay for content they already own. It's not the case, but we've decided this time to not go that route. There will be no DLC party members."</p><p style="">According to former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski, on-disc DLC is an "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/on-disc-dlc-an-ugly-truth-says-gears-of-war-designer/1100-6370601/" data-ref-id="1100-6370601">ugly truth</a>" for video game development. For various reasons, including compatibility issues, some content does need to be on-disc from day-one, Bleszinski said in 2012. BioWare itself caught flak in 2012 when <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/parts-of-mass-effect-3-dlc-already-on-disc-ea/1100-6365673/" data-ref-id="1100-6365673">users discovered that parts of an upcoming Mass Effect 3 expansion were already on-disc from launch day</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Dragon Age: Inquisition will feature nine total party members. Six are known right now: Cassandra Pentaghast, Varric, Vivienne, Sera, Iron Bull, and Solas. It has been rumored that Alistair and the original game's Morrigan could also be featured as playable characters.</p><p style="">Due out this fall, Dragon Age: Inquisition is coming to Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. For more, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false">GameSpot's previous coverage</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 07:43:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dragon-age-inquisition-won-t-have-dlc-characters-because-of-on-disc-controversy/1100-6418895/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/those-who-criticize-the-ethics-of-free-to-play-are-driven-by-snobbery-and-fear-former-ea-boss-says/1100-6418894/ <p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new opinion piece written for <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/9/5597062/snobbery-and-fear-drive-ethical-criticisms-of-free-to-play-games" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a>, former Electronic Arts and Lionhead Studios manager Ben Cousins argues that critics of the ethics of free-to-play are driven by "snobbery and fear." He goes on to claim that in fact it's traditional packaged games, not free-to-play mobile titles, that represent the real bait-and-switch scenario.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503045-bencousins.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503045" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503045-bencousins.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503045"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1179/11799911/2503045-bencousins.jpg"></a><figcaption>Ben Cousins</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The attacks and criticism of free-to-play mechanics are often unfair and selective, and leave questionable but traditional business practices alone," Cousins, who is now general manager of free-to-play studio <a href="http://www.scatteredentertainment.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Scattered Entertainment</a> said. "This is snobbery; evidence that the old guard is scared of where the industry is headed."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One major criticism levied against the free-to-play business model is that it uses the well-known bait-and-switch sales technique. Cousins says "innocent" players are "baited" into downloading a free game only to later find out that you can't progress through it without spending money--that's the "switch," he says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cousins says the problem with this critique is that this "switch" is ineffective. He pointed out that Candy Crush Saga developer King said last year that 70 percent of players who reached the end of the game <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/sep/10/candy-crush-saga-king-interview" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">never spent a dime on the game</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">He further explains that gamers can play a free-to-play title extensively before they make a purchase, while the same cannot be said for traditional $60 boxed products. Cousins said he's seen many great trailers for terrible games, and pointed out that getting a refund for traditional games is all but impossible.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This is why the real bait-and-switch techniques take place in traditional gaming," Cousins said. "Free-to-play games successfully avoid the bait-and-switch trap. You get to try the game, and invest more of your time or money if you enjoy the experience. Traditional games don't give you that luxury."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Overall, because the free-to-play model "breaks established norms" as it becomes more and more popular, "it's scary for the establishment," Cousins says. Offering up an ethical critique of the model is a misguided way to fight the changes, he went on to say. In doing so, opponents to free-to-play begin to sound just as reactionary as those who thought jazz music or rock 'n' roll would corrupt the minds of our youth, he claims.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We fear what we don't recognize, and in this case it's the industry not recognizing where it's heading," Cousins said. He ended his note saying those in the game industry will look back with amusement at the thought that free-to-play could pose a threat to the gaming landscape.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cousins also recently responded to a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-thirds-of-players-ditch-free-mobile-games-in-less-than-24-hours/1100-6418893/" data-ref-id="1100-6418893">new report from app testing firm Swrve</a> that claimed two-thirds of players ditch free mobile games after 24 hours. He accused Swrve of "trying to paint a depressing picture to sell [its] services."</p><p style="">For their part, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-smartphones-won-t-kill-consoles/1100-6417238/" data-ref-id="1100-6417238">Nintendo</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-mobile-won-t-kill-consoles/1100-6417662/" data-ref-id="1100-6417662">EA</a> maintain that the proliferation in gaming on smart-devices does not spell a demise for traditional console gaming. In fact, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen says that mobile gaming can <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-mobile-won-t-kill-consoles/1100-6417662/" data-ref-id="1100-6417662">actually help draw more consumers to the console market over time</a>.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/those-who-criticize-the-ethics-of-free-to-play-are-driven-by-snobbery-and-fear-former-ea-boss-says/1100-6418894/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-what-to-do-after-you-reach-level-70/1100-6418820/ <p style="">Reaper of Souls has revitalised the <a href="/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo III</a> community, and that's great. I'm having a real blast playing it right now, and many of the people I encounter on Battle.net every night are, too. While there are plenty of hardcore fans who know exactly what items they're going to be grinding for over the next week, month, or year, if you're new to Diablo III, then you might just be a little lost after you're done squaring up to Malthael's army in Act V. With the game now out for a few weeks, it's likely that you may have just reached level 70, vanquished the final boss a couple of times, and are now wondering what's left for you to do.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Welcome to the item grind!</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">After clearing the story, you're entered into the Diablo III endgame. Welcome! You'll now spend much of your time replaying old chapters and exploring old areas, and it's here that Reaper of Souls makes some of its more dramatic changes from the original version of Diablo III.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The gist is this: Replay areas over and over again, and make sure you open every chest, engage the glowing elite enemies, and take on bosses. If you're lucky, you'll get some legendary (orange) items--you should get one or two legendary drops every hour, roughly--that bestow a big increase in your power and ability. Now that you've hit the maximum level, you're looking to get stronger by getting better equipment and earning paragon levels. The bad news is that it's a lot more random than the linear progression of levelling, but the good news is that it's a lot of fun, and you're going to get a lot stronger if you stick to it.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">When I started playing <a href="/diablo-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo II</a> years and years ago, discovering that the endgame--the thing all my friends were playing on Battle.net every night, over and over--was essentially grinding for a hopeful jackpot payout left me initially confused and lost. I was used to having more structure in games: go here, achieve this, slay that. You might feel the same way with Diablo III. But once you've got a few good loot drops, and have felt the allure of clearing the game on torment difficulties, you'll start to naturally think, "Oh, if I can just get one of these to drop, or get a few more Paragon levels, or enchant a new status effect," and then you'll realise you're hooked.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418008" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418008/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><h3 dir="ltr">Know your difficulties</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Reaper of Souls (and the 2.0.1 patch that was rolled back into regular Diablo III) made some major changes to how the game handled enemies and levelling. Enemies levelled up as you did, and the game introduced nine new difficulty settings--normal, hard, expert, master, and torment, which has six tiers of difficulty. Here's the rub: even if you were blitzing through torment at level 60 in regular Diablo III, you're almost certainly going to find torment at level 70 too difficult until you find some new and better items.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Playing through the game on normal, finding better loot, and then becoming powerful enough to take on the higher difficulty settings is a natural attraction. Personally, I consider it my main goal. Torment is when things start to get more interesting, with the game throwing you its most powerful enemies but also making you more eligible for the most lucrative, newest, and most powerful items. It's a lot of work, but you'll get there in the end.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Don't rely on the game's stats</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Reaper of Souls divides your item properties into three main areas: damage, toughness, and healing. You're almost certainly swayed predominantly by the damage--who isn't?--and that's fine when you're blasting through the campaign for the first time. But more damage doesn't always work out for the best, since Reaper of Souls introduces many items that give bonuses to both overall elemental damage and particular skills.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499221-d3+boots+stats.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2499221" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499221-d3+boots+stats.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2499221"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2499221-d3+boots+stats.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">For instance, at first glance, these bracers, if equipped, would do 0.2 percent less damage, so you'd probably send them straight to the salvage pile. But if these boots are being equipped on a wizard who uses, say, arcane orb with the frozen rune as his main attack, then the orb damage would skyrocket from around 1.97 million to 2.13 million--a massive boost from an item that initially looks slightly inferior. If those were to be coupled with an item--or multiple items--that offered up boosts to ice attacks, that orb would be doing way, way more damage than the game might seem to indicate.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The thing to be aware of is the pointy diamond in the list. If that's there, then that particular effect isn't factored into the game's calculations for damage, toughness, or healing.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Mix things up</h3><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/6/1/4/2237614-704530_20130909_012.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2237614" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/6/1/4/2237614-704530_20130909_012.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2237614"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/mig/7/6/1/4/2237614-704530_20130909_012.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">One of the best things about Diablo III is that you're never forced to play your character a single way; skills and runes can be swapped and switched at a moment's notice. When you've been playing with one build for a few days, swap to something else.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Playing like this is not only more varied and fun, but also means you're more likely to enjoy your loot drops. A friend of mine was recently salvaging anything that didn't fit exactly with her current build, and ended up throwing away all sorts of valuable items that could have been combined into a wide array of valuable secondary builds. A waste.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The stash has four big tabs for a reason, so don't be afraid to store clumps of stuff for another time. You might be playing as a physical damage dealer now, but you never know when four different pieces of armour with a boost to fire damage will come in handy. Plan for alternate builds, and experiment! Maybe you'll be an ice-wielding wizard tonight, but tomorrow you could be a fiery demon hunter or physical barbarian.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Another thing: don't always think you've got to stick to the same difficulty or mode all the time. I love running around in torment for the challenge, but sometimes I enjoy the satisfaction of ploughing through hundreds and hundreds of enemies on normal to relax and farm bounties. Do lots of things, and you're less likely to find yourself burning out on the game after a few weeks, and far more likely to be enjoying it for months to come.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Head into Adventure mode</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Adventure mode, new with Reaper of Souls, is fantastic. You'll need to finish Act V once to get at it, and it's split into two main objectives: bounties and nephalem rifts. The former is where you'll start when you begin playing the mode; it has you trek across the acts and locations of the main campaign looking to accomplish various tasks. Each act features five bounties, and when you accomplish all five, you'll get a horadric cache, which will contain a random assortment of gems, shards, crafting materials, and weapons and armour. You might even get a rare cache-exclusive legendary item.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">When playing online, many people right now like to obtain bounties on normal difficulty and split up, with each player taking on one act each, to clear the map out and farm up those caches more quickly.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Another thing you'll come across in Adventure mode is rift keystone fragments, and when you've picked up five of those, you can open a nephalem rift back at the obelisk located in each act's town. These are randomly generated dungeons that are designed to take 15 to 20 minutes to complete, although you'll likely plough through them a lot more quickly on the lower difficulties once you start getting more powerful. Last week Blizzard also buffed the nephalem rifts to have a 25 percent increased chance of dropping legendary items, which is multiplicative with any bonuses from your difficulty settings, so right now, for instance, torment I will confer a 43 percent increased chance of legendary drops.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499223-screen+shot+2014-04-07+at+16.59.05.png" data-ref-id="1300-2499223" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499223-screen+shot+2014-04-07+at+16.59.05.png" data-ref-id="1300-2499223"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2499223-screen+shot+2014-04-07+at+16.59.05.png"></a></figure><h3 dir="ltr">Consider a trip to Whimsyshire and craft a level 70 hellfire ring</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Diablo III featured two main quests to find when you'd reached the end of the game: Whimsyshire and the ongoing toil of forging a hellfire ring. These have effectively been superseded by Adventure mode, but it's worth keeping them in mind if you're the kind of person who wants everything.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whimsyshire is Diablo III's secret level, where instead of fighting demons and monsters, you're pitted against unicorns, cuddly bears, and flowers in an environment with rainbows and happy bouncing clouds with smiley faces. How to get there? First you'll need the blacksmith plans to craft the staff of herding, which drops from Izual in Act IV. Then you'll need to collect five rare items: the black mushroom from the cathedral and Leoric's shinbone from Leoric's Manor in Act I; Wirt's bell from town vendor Squirt and liquid rainbow from the mysterious cave in the Dalghur Oasis in Act 2; and, finally, the random gibbering gemstone drop from rare monster Chiltara in the Caverns of Frost in Act III.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Once you collect all that (it'll take some time and multiple attempts, especially finding the gibbering gemstone), you can forge the staff of herding from Haedrig and then head to the now-glowing crevasse on Old Tristram Road in Act I.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A hellfire ring is also seriously hard work. You need to farm four powerful keywarden enemies, over and over and over, with one in each act: Odeg in Act I's Fields of Misery drops the key of bones; Sokahr in Act 2's Dalghur Oasis drops the key of gluttony; Xah'Rith in Act III's Stonefort drops the key of war; and Nakarat in Act IV's Silver Spire drops the key of evil. Each of the keywardens can also drop the plans for the four infernal machines, which can be given to the jeweler for crafting.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The catch? You have to be in at least torment I to be eligible for key drops. On torment I, there is about a 25 percent chance of a key dropping. On Torment VI, there is about a 50 percent chance. It's going to take you ages.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">These four keys can be used to build one of four machines, which can be used to enter the four challenging boss fights, with each boss having a slight, unknown chance to drop an item that can be used to craft the hellfire ring. If the boss doesn't drop the item, you'll need to farm the keywardens again until you can build another portal to give it another go. Like I said, it's seriously hard work. Oh, and you need to buy the plans from Squirt in Act 2 for 5 million gold.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you manage to go through all of that, you'll end up with a level 70 hellfire ring, which has no level requirement, has five random magical properties, can cast a ring of fire that causes 200 percent weapon damage, and grants 45 percent bonus experience. It doesn't really end up being worth it, but it sure is satisfying to finish the job. And the experience bonus is incredibly useful for levelling up alternate characters.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>If you're a hardcore Reaper of Souls player, are there any other tips and tricks you'd give to those who are just starting out at the endgame content? And what incredible items and builds have you found that will inspire the rest of us to keep questing onwards and upwards?</em></p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-what-to-do-after-you-reach-level-70/1100-6418820/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-thirds-of-players-ditch-free-mobile-games-in-less-than-24-hours/1100-6418893/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2503043-0795397392-PvZ-2.PNG" data-ref-id="1300-2503043" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2503043-0795397392-PvZ-2.PNG" data-ref-id="1300-2503043"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2503043-0795397392-PvZ-2.PNG"></a></figure><p style="">66 percent of players stop playing free-to-play mobile phone games within the first 24 hours of launching the game for the first time, a new report by app testing firm Swrve has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://recode.net/2014/04/09/most-mobile-game-players-quit-after-one-day-exclusive/" rel="nofollow">Posted on Re/code</a>, Swrve said its survey tracked over 10 million players over a 90-day period starting in November 2013. Over 30 titles were tracked, and Swrve's network includes major clients such as Activision, Epic Games, WB Games, Zeptolab, and Gameloft.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Swrve CEO Hugh Reynolds said that grabbing the attention of users is vital if they want to keep them engaged for more than 24 hours. "It's a bit like a first date," he said. "If it's going to be effective, it needs to be effective quick."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a bit of a sales pitch, mind: Swrve is a company established to help app makers maximize their in-app revenue, providing services such as in-app campaigns, push notifications, and UX and A/B testing. And free-to-play developer veteran Ben Cousins criticized Swrve on <a href="https://twitter.com/BenjaminCousins/status/453918281955835904" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a>, accusing them of "trying to paint a depressing picture to sell [its] services."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to Cousins, keeping 40 percent of your users into their second day "is the sign of a real hit" and that the numbers Swrve published are "totally normal" and "can drive success."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Martin Gaston is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/squidmania" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @squidmania</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 06:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-thirds-of-players-ditch-free-mobile-games-in-less-than-24-hours/1100-6418893/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mass-effect-s-commander-shepard-turns-140-on-friday-bake-some-cupcakes-bioware-says/1100-6418892/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503039-commandershepard.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503039" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503039-commandershepard.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503039"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2503039-commandershepard.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">This Friday, April 11 marks the 140th birthday of Mass Effect's "savior of the galaxy" Commander Shepard. To celebrate the event, BioWare has compiled a list of recipes--mostly for cupcakes--that you can follow to throw a bash for the esteemed spacefaring fictional hero.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can see the cupcake recipes, and some for special Renegade and Paragon mixed drinks, at <a href="http://blog.bioware.com/2014/04/09/happy-140th-birthday-shepard/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">BioWare's website</a>. BioWare will also celebrate Shepard's birthday this week at PAX East in Boston, Mass. at its "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/going-to-pax-east-bioware-to-discuss-dragon-age-mass-effect-at-the-event/1100-6418868/" data-ref-id="1100-6418868">BioWare Base</a>."</p><p style="">According to BioWare, Commander Shepard was<a href="https://twitter.com/truffle/status/27196273794" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> born on April 11, 2154</a>. Going by that, it appears BioWare is counting up from 2014 to get to 140. Whatever the case, eating cupcakes is (almost) always a good decision, so let's not get hung up on the dates.</p><p style="">BioWare is currently working on an all-new Mass Effect game, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mass-effect-4-leaves-shepard-behind/1100-6398559/" data-ref-id="1100-6398559">will not feature Commander Shepard</a>. It is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/next-mass-effect-is-playable-bioware-calls-it-fresh-but-recognizable/1100-6416811/" data-ref-id="1100-6416811"> already playable</a>, and BioWare calls it "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/next-mass-effect-is-playable-bioware-calls-it-fresh-but-recognizable/1100-6416811/" data-ref-id="1100-6416811">fresh but recognizable</a>." </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 06:22:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mass-effect-s-commander-shepard-turns-140-on-friday-bake-some-cupcakes-bioware-says/1100-6418892/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/head-of-xbox-microsoft-wants-to-build-products-that-change-the-world/1100-6418889/ <p style=""> </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WEIHPAJa7M" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F7WEIHPAJa7M%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7WEIHPAJa7M&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F7WEIHPAJa7M%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new video interview, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-boss-phil-spencer-gets-a-promotion-to-head-of-xbox-promises-incredible-new-chapter-for-gaming/1100-6418670/" data-ref-id="1100-6418670">new Head of Xbox Phil Spencer</a> explains that the reason he has stayed at Microsoft for so long--26 years!--is because the company wants to build products that change the world. Because Microsoft has the resources and the ambition to make this happen, he says he wouldn't want to work anywhere else.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Fundamentally, [Microsoft] is a company that wants to do things that change the world. And they have the resources and the ambition to do that," Spencer told Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb in a new video interview. "Whether it's with Xbox or any of the products that we build."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Spencer said he has met with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/meet-satya-nadella-the-new-microsoft-ceo/1100-6417513/" data-ref-id="1100-6417513">new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella</a> and the pair have discussed what Xbox means to the future of Microsoft as a company. For Xbox One specifically, Nadella and Spencer unsurprisingly agree that they want to deliver a top-tier product to consumers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have the ambition to build the best gaming console for fans," Spencer said. "The gaming console plays the best games, has the best entertainment...and to be in a company that has the resource, the ambition, and the drive to make that happen, it's incredibly motivating for someone like me."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Spencer joined Microsoft directly out of college and has worked there ever since.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gaming-can-revitalize-microsoft-like-music-did-for-apple-new-xbox-boss-says/1100-6418818/" data-ref-id="1100-6418818">not the first time</a> Spencer has spoken enthusiastically about the potential for gaming to help grow Microsoft overall. Last week, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gaming-can-revitalize-microsoft-like-music-did-for-apple-new-xbox-boss-says/1100-6418818/" data-ref-id="1100-6418818">he said </a>that "gaming can be a real catalyst for Microsoft's re-emergence as a consumer company," going as far to say that gaming can be for Microsoft what music was for iPod company Apple.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/head-of-xbox-microsoft-wants-to-build-products-that-change-the-world/1100-6418889/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wouldn-t-you-love-to-play-video-games-on-a-160-foot-screen/1100-6418891/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAKgWwReh6w" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FXAKgWwReh6w%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXAKgWwReh6w&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FXAKgWwReh6w%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Have you ever dreamed of playing video games on a massive screen? That dream came true for comedian Conan O'Brien, who got to play games like <a href="/madden-nfl-25/" data-ref-id="false">Madden NFL 25</a>, <a href="/flower/" data-ref-id="false">Flower</a>, and <a href="/need-for-speed-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Need for Speed: Rivals</a> on AT&T Stadium's 72' x 160' screen this week for his Clueless Gamer segment.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As you can see in the video, O'Brien had to sit hundreds of feet away from the screen to be able to play. He even takes a minute to crack a joke about thatgamecompany's Flower, saying, "There's no way these guys weren't high when they invented this."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The stadium's screen weighs 600 tons and is suspended 90 feet above the playing field. It is considered one of the largest screens in the world.</p><p style="">AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is home to the Dallas Cowboys and it served as the venue for this week's NCAA Men's College Basketball National Championship on Monday evening.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:54:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wouldn-t-you-love-to-play-video-games-on-a-160-foot-screen/1100-6418891/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/someone-has-made-100-000-by-selling-in-game-items-through-sony-s-player-studio/1100-6418890/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2502984-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502984" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2502984-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502984"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2502984-h1z1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Games are big business not just for the studios that make them. One gamer has made more than $100,000 so far by selling in-game items for <a href="https://player-studio.soe.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Sony Online Entertainment's Player Studio</a>, according to a <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/10/5600354/player-studio-user-earns-more-than-100000-creating-in-game-items" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a> report detailing the latest episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu-bpNaNw88#t=534" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Game Talk Live</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Responding to a question about whether or not <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/" data-ref-id="1100-6418884">SOE's new post-apocalyptic MMO H1Z1</a> will have Player Studio support, Smedley said this would be the case, and revealed that the company recently had its first user cross $100,000 in lifetime revenue.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Games from Valve like <a href="/team-fortress-2/" data-ref-id="false">Team Fortress 2</a> and <a href="/dota-2/" data-ref-id="false">DOTA 2</a> allow users to create and sell their own items, but it's not clear how much money is made doing this.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">SOE's Player Studio lets you download sample geometry files for actual in-game objects and then you can use third-party software like Photoshop or Maya to create new items and submit them for sales in games like <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest-ii/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest 2</a>, and <a href="/planetside-2/" data-ref-id="false">PlanetSide 2</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">To make money from Player Studio, SOE needs to approve your custom-made item. If they do, they will sell it in the SOE Marketplace, and you'll get to keep 40 percent of the net amount of sales. Right now, Player Studio is open only to people in the United States 18 or older.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:22:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/someone-has-made-100-000-by-selling-in-game-items-through-sony-s-player-studio/1100-6418890/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418201" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418201/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>"How many reliable sources of laughter do you have in your life, every day? Every time you open your device and play this game, you will have at least a laugh."</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a quote from TinyCo business head Andrew Green, describing his company's upcoming mobile game based on the Family Guy universe. It's a bold claim, for sure, but after meeting with Green at his company's office in San Francisco and learning about what his team hopes to deliver, it sounds to me like he's put the right pieces in place to pull off a hit with the appropriately (and hilariously) titled <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/family-guy-mobile-game-gets-release-date-has-you-rebuilding-quahog-after-insane-chicken-fight/1100-6418760/" data-ref-id="1100-6418760">Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">I caught up with Green--a former Take-Two and Electronic Arts manager--and we spoke at length about almost every facet of the new Family Guy game. How it got off the ground, how it is similar to and different than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheSimpsonsTappedOut" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">The Simpsons: Tapped Out</a>, the stigma attached to free-to-play games, and the ugly track-record that licensed games have. We discussed these topics and more. Below are highlights from our conversation.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>The Genesis of Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"I personally reached out to FOX myself because we didn't have any contacts there and we just started the conversation there. We had identified some of the properties that we would love to work with. There's literally a list of like 150 different properties...so many brands that we were interested in working on. I'm a huge nerd myself, like an actual nerd--I have social anxiety. I love storyworlds, a lot of people [at TinyCo] love storyworlds, if you walk around [our office] you'll see toys and whatnot and we have such a great process and platform for development and we just thought that bringing that to properties that people are already love for a variety of reasons was a really cool thing to do. Family Guy was one of our top ones though; we went and talked to FOX and then the process kind of went on from there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>How Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Is <em>Not</em> Like The Simpson's: Tapped Out:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy, but I think the key differentiator that you'll see...I think Simpsons Tapped Out is much more just straight collection; build and collect. Whereas [Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff] is all narrative-driven, which is really important for Family Guy because the humor is all about the character interactions, the cutaways, the randomness, the references, the insanity. And if you're just doing collect and build, you're not going to get access to as much of that. The core pillar of the game that we have when we first started was '<em>A Laugh Every Session</em>' and I think we really nailed that. I find the game to be hilarious. And we worked with the writers at FOX Television, we have writers internally also, so it's been a really collaborative effort there. And we've written tons of new stories, there's a lot of new animation, but chiefly, there's a lot of story and a lot of character interaction that drives the loop that could be seen as similar to Tapped Out."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"I don't want to go out on a limb and say it's an adventure game, but there is the element where you need certain things to actually motivate people. In the initial play session, Chris wet himself and needs new pants. There's a way that Peter can get him new pants; it's not like a coins or XP; there's actual materials that are story materials that drive the story forward. There's a lot more character discourse and narrative [than Tapped Out] and I think the other thing is there's some also major world...the interaction with the world. You might go and do a quest and then all of sudden your entire playspace is on fire. So it's stuff like that. The depth of the features are still rolling out. You'll end up with chickens on fire that will run around your playspace. Stuff like that. And so there's just a lot more randomness and interesting narrative elements."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The Pressure of Working On One Of Fox's Biggest Brands:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's actually been really good. I've been lucky to be involved initially a lot more with the writers here and at FOX and [Family Guy production studio Fuzzy Door]. It's pretty great. We write, they write, they edit, but essentially we want them to be as involved as possible. They're the experts, and they're hilarious and brilliant. We have a bunch of jokes that we'll write--maybe sometimes 50 percent, sometimes 40 percent, sometimes 30 percent will just get tossed. And it's just like a very collaborative process. And a lot of times we get back stuff or they have an idea and they get very involved in the process. And I think one of the things that was really important for it was to give them a platform that they understood to develop content in and then understand how to interact with us. And I think they actually have, at this point, a really deep understanding of the mechanics and how the game flows and that's where all their ideation really kills it."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy Creator Seth MacFarlane Is Not Very Involved, But Did You Think He Would Be?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Seth has been involved in approvals and more high-level stuff, but he hasn't been feet-on-the-ground. That's why he has the organization that he has. All the people there are entrusted with creating show content so they're amazing writers trusted by both the showrunners and Seth to be creating content. And so I think they can speak the quality through. I know he's very, very involved, in the brand and in the show. He definitely has been involved in the game, but it's not like we sit down."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Was Always Going To Be A Free-To-Play Game:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"First and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring."</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">TinyCo's always made free-to-play mobile games. We were one of the first free-to-play mobile game developers on mobile devices in general back in 2009/2010. Solving a lot of the issues with the mobile infrastructure in general and how to make free-to-play mobile games. That's one of our specialties, free-to-play mobile, and this was always conceived as a free to play mobile game."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The "Free-to-Play" Stigma And How Family Guy Will Be "Fair":</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Customers...their thoughts, their feelings on our products are important. Any and all customers. You want to listen to your customers, you want to understand what they're talking about. I come from a traditional games background; first and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring and I think it's actually a really interesting topic. It's a lot more nuanced than the black and white conversation that some people have. If you look at a lot of our games or even Simpsons: Tapped Out or a myriad of other popular free-to-play games that are in this space right now, people are monetizing, people are engaging, people are enjoying themselves with these games."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the disconnect comes from 'what type of experiences fits what platform' For instance, I play <a href="/borderlands-2/" data-ref-id="false">Borderlands 2</a> on console, I have my expectations set, I know how I'm going to play. I'm gonna lean back, I'm gonna drive through quest after quest, loot after loot; do I really want someone cherry picking $1.99 here or there? Interestingly, I've spent money on microtransactions for Borderlands 2, and I bet you if they threw out a new gun a week for $1.99 I'd buy it. So Borderlands is a very different type of experience on a very different platform than Family Guy is on its platform. And if I were to talk about experiences like a Borderlands or games that have PvP specifically, pay to win sucks. It just makes everyone that feels like their skill or their abilities that they're bringing to the game are moot because I could just loot up through hundreds of dollars of transactions and then I could just dominate whoever I wanted to because I'm just superior. And that to me strikes as unfair. It just feels unfair. Those kinds of games are really complex; the systems are complex, the moment-to-moment gameplay is really complex; the relationship the gamer has to those games is so much more entrenched and competitive and their heart is in it; it's skill, it's competition, and it's taken seriously.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What's funny is that this has been going on for a very long time. There are free-to-play games that have been out there since 1994. Magic: The Gathering is essentially a free-to-play game. Where you can essentially build a deck for $400; yeah, you'll probably still get your butt kicked by some other people, as I've learned over and over again, but yeah, you can buy your way into being competitive. That's an issue for those games. I think that's a very different issue than what people bring to...when they look at a free-to-play mobile game. I think they're not taking into account the platform to the game. So you look at games like the ones that we've made in the past or you look at a game like Family Guy that we're making now and what we're essentially doing is we're giving you access to a world that you love and you're getting bite-sized content access on your mobile devices. To me I think that's super-cool. Simpsons is a great example of that. I think even our games Tiny Monsters, Tiny Zoo, obviously these are much simpler games with brands that aren't as deep; the characters aren't as deep, the worlds aren't as deep, but that's the great value of Family Guy. So now I get to have a bite-sized content moment with Family Guy. I get to interact with the characters; I get to even play around with it a bit. And the monetization comes from the customization and the depth...more like speed of access. And it allows us to create a ton more content over a longer period of time and people can access pretty much all of that content for free as well. And it's a pretty big value in my opinion."</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"There's going to be customization as well as some premium elements, but eventually you are going to be prompted for microtransactions as part of the new user experience; we want that to be a really good experience. And we want to make sure that when you do get to the point where you have to potentially pay to go more quickly through the progression than waiting on the progression, that that's not an unforgiving thing. We also want there to be things that you can do that if you're waiting, there's other things for you to do so that you're not just waiting and that's that. The game and the model is actually a pretty good fit and I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that--on balancing the reward vs. the amount of what the user is putting in. I think that's important. And I do think that we've balanced it pretty well on Family Guy. And I think that the one takeaway that I think is really important is 'is the quality of what you're producing going to drive people to be happy with that dynamic?' And I think Yes. I think that people are going to get incredibly rich, premium story, adventure, access to the characters. It's actually very valuable.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"That's the thing that we really focus on here is to make sure that the game is valuable, and that it's funny, and that the brand flies out of your phone at you. I think it really sings. At that point, as a player, you get to decide do I want to purchase more quickly or should I wait? But the value is there in my opinion and that's what important."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>You'll Know What You're Getting When You're Prompted For A Microtransaction:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We illustrate that pretty directly, always. It's important that our customers understand what they are paying for and why they are paying for it. That's one of the points of good communication, good user experience. The other thing that we also have is a really great community team that actually really cares about our customers. And they're going to be heavily involved, and we have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FamilyGuy?fref=ts" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">55 million customers [on Facebook]</a> that we're going to be talking to; we're going to make sure that all of them have the best experience they possible can have with the game. I think [the debate around free-to-play] is something that as an industry that we should be talking about. But I also think that talking about it will [remove the stigma]. It's a changing and evolving industry."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Licensed Games <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/family-guy-back-to-the-multiverse" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Don't Have The Best Track Record</a>...Why Will Family Guy Be Different?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What we're doing is we went to the drawing board, literally, and we were like 'What is the experience that people want to have with this brand?' And what they want is they want more of the show. They want to interact in the same way that they interact with the show. So if you can't match the world, if you can't match the humor, if you can't match the characters, the feel, then you're not going to be successful."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Not talking about any other game, but let's say I take Snoopy. Let's say I take Snoopy and it's going to be the Snoopy shooter, and then everyone's like OK, sounds good. Let's make the Snoopy shooter. Now Snoopy is kind of just running around shooting Woodstock and everybody else, and you're not getting the normal kind of interactions between the characters that people want. Because really what you're interacting with is this mechanic. And I think console games in the past have had to rely very heavily on the mechanic and less on the experience of the IP. The best ones have been ones where they're like 'What makes this amazing? What makes being Batman the coolest thing you can possibly do?' And then how do you build a mechanic around that. As opposed to being, 'OK, third-person shooter, but you're Iron Man' [laughs]."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"There are some sh***y action games that I love. I'm just a fan of sh***ty third-person action games. For instance, I play all the Spider-Man games. I love the Spider-Man games, and those, ehh, they go up and down but they're never really reviewed past a 75 or so. I love them because I get to fly around like Spidey, the fighting is pretty good, they've done enough for me as someone who likes Spider-Man. As a game, for everybody? I don't know if it's going to make the cut. I think it's all about what is the brand, what is the experience of that, how do you translate that. It's just like taking a book and adapting it to a movie. Taking anything and adapting it to anything, it's like, what makes this great? Where does that actually spirit lie and then how do we get that onto the platform--which in this case are mobile phones [which are] very different than consoles--and actually make it work? I couldn't even tell you necessarily what a successful Family Guy game on consoles looks like. I haven't done the work. But what we've made for the mobile device is the right thing because we said what people want--when they look at the screen they want to know that they feel like they're watching the show. That they feel like they're in that world, they've got ownership of that world, that the characters are completely who they are, that the writing is new and just as funny as the show; it's unique, it's hilarious, that you have that element of randomness. And that you bring out the flavor and the subversivness of the Family Guy universe in everything that you do. That it's imbued in all of the mechanics and all of the things that you're doing. And it's there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff Will Riff On Current Events As Recent As The Week Prior:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have weekly content cycles. So we actually can make fun of or lampoon anything that's [recent]. Our updates are going to be pretty regular. Our bigger feature updates are going to be monthly, every five weeks or so, but yes, weekly content updates."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><b>Green Can't Wait For Someone Who's Not Familiar With Family Guy To Play The Game:</b></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What I'm excited about [laughs] is someone who hasn't watched Family Guy who downloads the game, starts playing it, and they're just like 'What the heck?' I can't wait to see how many more people we can bring into the brand because I do think it's a very authentic brand experience. But yes, you're going to have to like [type of humor]."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff is available today on iOS and Android. </em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/infamous-second-son/" data-ref-id="false">inFamous: Second Son</a> shifted one million copies worldwide after nine days on sale, Sony has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a press release <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458333/infamous-second-son-sold-1-million-units-within-9-days/" rel="nofollow">sent to CVG</a>, Sony adds that this makes it the fastest-selling inFamous title in the series, and with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-crosses-6-million-sales-following-strong-japan-launch/1100-6418086/" data-ref-id="1100-6418086">six million PlayStation 4's sold around the globe</a> it means roughly one in every six console owners have snapped up a copy of the open-world game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">inFamous: Second Son was released on March 21.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unsurprisingly, inFamous: Second Son was also last month's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/can-you-guess-what-the-best-selling-ps4-game-was-last-month-on-psn/1100-6418881/">best-selling game on PlayStation Network</a>. The game's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-ps4-patch-will-let-you-cap-the-game-at-30fps/1100-6418696/">upcoming patch will bring with it some additional features</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417839" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417839/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmLCRMbHe5w" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhmLCRMbHe5w&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">It's snow joke: Warner Bros. has released a 5 minute video (above) showing off its incoming Cold, Cold Heart DLC for <a href="/batman-arkham-origins/" data-ref-id="false">Batman: Arkham Origins</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The new content revolves around the frosty Mr. Freeze and an unnamed accomplice, who crashes a party at Wayne Manor, making it very difficult for Bruce Wayne and his guests to chill out. Enter Batman, who has a new thermal suit including thermal gloves that can melt through this new influx of ice. There's some new batarang and combat moves too, which is cool.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Seeing this video will almost certainly trigger a cold response from those who are victims of the game-breaking Arkham Origins bugs, mind, as Warner Bros. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-has-no-plans-to-fix-several-game-breaking-bugs/1100-6417619/" data-ref-id="1100-6417619">has said it has no plans to release a patch</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cold, Cold Heart will be released on April 22 PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Plans to release the DLC on Wii U were put on ice.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415747" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415747/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier/" data-ref-id="false">Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</a> developer Red Storm has revealed it is one of the development studios working on upcoming open-world adventure <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-the-division/" data-ref-id="false">The Division</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, based in North Carolina, will work alongside Swedish developer Massive Entertainment. The team is being put to work on creating the game's weapons.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, which fancies itself as a bit of an expert in this field, says its accuracy in building virtual weapons comes from its connections with local military. "We've had manufacturers come in and literally disassemble the entire weapon all the way down to the nuts and bolts," said producer Tony Sturtzel, "and our guys are taking hi-res photos of those things."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We probably have unparalleled access to these types of things because of our authenticity department and their focus on relationships. We're not ever gonna let the cat out of the bag on some of the relationships we have!"</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://blog.ubi.com/the-division-red-storm/" rel="nofollow">Writing on the company blog</a>, Ubisoft communications manager Gary Steinman said Massive started looking to enlist an additional developer to create the game's cache of realistic weaponry back in fall 2013.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Newcastle-based UK developer Ubisoft Reflections, the team behind Driver: San Francisco, is also working on the game.</p><p style="">Ubisoft says The Division is still on track for a release in 2014, though an anonymous developer reportedly said <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-s-2014-release-window-is-laughable-claims-ubisoft-source-report/1100-6416976/" data-ref-id="1100-6416976">the idea of the game making it out this year was "laughable"</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409647" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409647/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 02:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Thu, 10 Apr 2014 09:07:58 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/massive-titanfall-patch-arrives-today-adds-private-matches-and-kills-wall-hacks/1100-6418897/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2451772-titanfall+screen+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2451772" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2451772-titanfall+screen+2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2451772"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1365/13658182/2451772-titanfall+screen+2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Respawn Entertainment has released a massive patch for <a href="/titanfall/" data-ref-id="false">Titanfall</a> today that, among other things, introduces private matches, a feature users have been clamoring for. The update is rolling out today for Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As <a href="http://www.titanfall.com/news/titanfall-patch-update-two" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">detailed on Titanfall's website</a>, the Titanfall private match mode available today is merely a beta. "Some features are unfinished or not yet implemented, and we welcome your feedback," the developer said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Private matches support 2-12 players, with 1-6 players on each team. You'll be able to start a new private match by choosing it on the main screen and you can invite your friends or have them join you at any time. Private matches also support any and all of Titanfall's maps and modes.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While playing in a Titanfall private match, you won't gain XP, challenge progress, or unlock any achievements. In addition, for the current private match beta, the Last Game Summary screen will display what you would have earned in normal play, but "be aware that this progress will not be recorded to your lifetime total," Respawn said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">What's more, all private matches are played on dedicated servers powered by Xbox Live Cloud Compute, just like standard matches. In the future, you'll be able to adjust round time, score limit, and "much more," Respawn said. These features will be introduced via future updates.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The addition of Titanfall private matches is just one of many tweaks for the game made today through the update. Other updates include the removal of certain wall-hack cheats and various bug fixes. The full Titfall patch notes, via Respawn, are below.</p><h3 dir="ltr"><ins>Titanfall April 10 patch:</ins></h3><p style=""><strong>Party Colors</strong> - Your party members and their titans now show up on the mini-map with green colors, instead of the normal blue colors that other friendlies use. Their names are also drawn in green on your HUD, the obituary text, and in the pre-game lobby. This helps you figure out where your friends are and what they're up to, especially in the heat of combat.</p><p style=""><strong>Auto-Titan Color in Obituary</strong> - Your auto-titan's name now shows up in the obituary with the gold color that your own name does. Previously it had the same blue color as any other friendly. This makes it easier to keep tabs on how your titan is doing.</p><p style=""><strong>Removed Wall-hack Exploit</strong> - PC cheaters were able to modify their local configuration files to enable a sort of wall-hack cheat using legit game code. We've closed the exploit that they were using.</p><p style=""><strong>Menu Changes</strong> - "Play Multiplayer" is now the default (top) option on the private lobby menu, if you've completed both the IMC and Militia campaigns. It has also been renamed from "Play Classic", since the term "classic", which we used internally, proved to be confusing to some players.</p><p style=""><strong>Game Version on Main Menu</strong> - The main menu now displays the game's version in the bottom-left corner. Now you don't have to wonder if you really do have the latest version of the game, and we can use that to double-check things if support is helping you troubleshoot issues.</p><h3><strong>NEW FEATURES (Xbox One)</strong></h3><p style=""><strong>Party App Shortcut in Menus</strong> - Added a shortcut on all menus that opens the Xbox One's "Party" app by pressing Left Trigger on the controller, similar to the existing Right Trigger shortcut that invites friends. You can then press 'B' to close it when you're done, or leave it up. (This is much easier than the manual method of going to the Home screen, opening "My games & apps", selecting Apps, scrolling a few screens over to the "Party" app, and opening it.)</p><h3><strong>GAME BALANCE CHANGES</strong></h3><p style=""><strong>The Gooser Challenge</strong> - Based on recent feedback from fans of the game, the Gen 5 challenge requirement 'Gooser', requiring players to kill 50 ejecting pilots, will be reduced to 5 total. We had a couple of design goals for Regeneration. One was to give players a structured way to discover and experience ways of playing the game they might not have otherwise tried on their own. The second was to recognize players' mastery of various skills, going beyond just 'time played'. We went a bit too far with this challenge, especially considering the unique conditions that have to be met just to have the opportunity to get a kill on an ejecting Pilot. We understand some players have already completed the challenge, or have already earned more than the new requirement so we will be internally noting those players so we can recognize their accomplishments in a future game update.</p><p style=""><strong>40mm magazine capacity for default and Extended Mag</strong> – The default magazine size was making the 40mm too powerful. It is intended to be the only weapon that can take a Titan down without reloading, if used skillfully. However, 20 rounds per magazine were proving to be too high and overly tolerant of indiscriminate fire. We've reduced it to 12 rounds per magazine, which still allows players to take a Titan down without reloading, but helps balance it out against other Titan weapons. The extended mag has also been dropped from 25 to 16, with the same design principles applying to this change.</p><p style=""><strong>Titan Quad Rocket mag size change</strong> – During development, there was a time when the Quad Rocket was too powerful. We made a lot of changes to pull it back before shipping (lessened the screen shake impact, lessened the duration of the first person impact FX, lowered the magazine size, pulled the damage back, etc.) It currently can struggle against other Titan weapons and going back to the 5/6 (default/extended mag) magazine sizes helps balance the weapon and allows players to miss a few shots and still be effective. It was 4/5, now its 5/6.</p><p style=""><strong>Titan Quad Rocket damage vs Titan shields</strong> – It was taking too long to drop a Titans shields with the Quad Rocket (5 shots). This meant you had to reload before you could even drop an enemy Titan's shields. This was the only Titan weapon that had this issue. We've now upped the damage against Titan shields so that it can drop a shield with 4 shots. Combined with the increased mag size, this damage increase effectively gives you one more volley in the mag to deal serious direct hull damage.</p><p style=""><strong>Titan Quad Rocket 'Rapid Fire' Mod's mag size change</strong> – We upped the magazine size for the Quad Rocket's Rapid Fire Mod to help it compete with the changes made to the extended magazine (from 5 to 6). The Rapid Fire Mod's magazine size is going up from 16 to 18.</p><p style=""><strong>Amped Kraber Titan damage change</strong> – We upped the damage that the Amped Kraber Burn Card does to Titans. It is now the only significantly effective "small arms" weapon against Titans. Note that this only applies to the Amped version of the Kraber. The damage goes up from 100 to 800. We added this to give the Kraber Burn Card a little bit more character, as well as to give you something to shoot if you have a hard time hitting those little Pilots with the Kraber. So snipe away at those Titans…before they kill you!</p><p style=""><strong>Hardpoint Domination scoring changes</strong> – We wanted to reward and encourage players to go out and capture enemy hardpoints. As important as defending a hardpoint is, capturing them is more important and a tougher task, generally speaking. We did not want to completely remove points for defending, but attacking players were getting too little credit for their efforts. Here is a breakdown of the changes:</p><ul><li>Capturing a hardpoint from <strong>150 to 250</strong></li><li>Assisting in capturing a hardpoint from <strong>75 to 100</strong></li><li>Neutralizing a hardpoint from <strong>50 to 150</strong></li><li>Assisting in neutralizing a hardpoint from <strong>25 to 75</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from outside (nearby) from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from outside (far) from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside an enemy hardpoint from inside the hardpoint from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing an NPC inside an enemy hardpoint from inside the hardpoint from <strong>25 to 10</strong></li><li>Killing a player outside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from <strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing a player inside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from<strong>75 to 50</strong></li><li>Killing an NPC outside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from <strong>25 to 10</strong></li><li>Killing an NPC inside of a friendly hardpoint whilst inside of a hardpoint from<strong>25 to 10</strong></li><li>Defending a hardpoint now goes from <strong>75 to 25</strong></li></ul><p style=""><strong>CTF scoring changes</strong> – We wanted to make sure the big payoff in CTF came from capturing the flag. Killing the carrier and then returning the flag was worth 400 points (combined), while capturing the flag was worth 500 points in comparison. These changes are meant to reward players who capture the flag a bit more than those who kill the carrier and return the flag. Defense is still a very important aspect of CTF so we wanted to make sure to keep defending points high enough to still encourage playing defense. Here is a breakdown of the changes:</p><ul><li>Capturing a flag from <strong>500 to 400</strong></li><li>Returning the flag from <strong>250 to 100</strong></li><li>Killing the flag carrier from <strong>150 to 100</strong></li></ul><h3><strong>BUG FIXES (All Platforms)</strong></h3><ul><li>Fixed an issue where a Titan firing ordnance would not show on the minimap correctly.</li><li>Fixed a rare bug with Pilot health pools that would make them virtually invincible.</li><li>Fixed rare cases where Titans could be called in through solid geometry.</li><li>Titan shields now protect friendly rodeo players from explosion damage (such as from an Arc Cannon).</li><li>Fixed a case where a Pilot could embark a Titan through walls.</li><li>Spitfire LMG and XO-16 firing sounds will no longer sometimes cut off before the gun is finished firing.</li><li>The Archer now locks onto the top of a heavy turret rather than the base of the turret.</li><li>The Archer's rockets now home in on Titans correctly when those targets are kneeling.</li><li>Fixed shadows incorrectly shimmering on a particular area of Lagoon.</li><li>Fixed Satchel Charges and Particle Walls causing pilots to permanently rodeo other pilots.</li><li>Fixed certain characters not rendering properly in French and other languages.</li><li>Fixed an issue where "Initializing..." would be displayed if a server wasn't found.</li><li>Fixed being unable to scroll to the top of the datacenter list after scrolling down.</li><li>Greatly reduced the bandwidth used when connecting to a server. People who previously could not progress past the load-screen when connecting to servers should be able to play now.</li><li>Grunts now show up on the minimap when they shoot.</li></ul><h3><strong>BUG FIXES (PC)</strong></h3><ul><li>Fixed issues with Asian fonts.</li><li>'-nojoy' command-line parameter now disables gamepad input.</li><li>All anti-aliasing modes should now properly be displayed in the video settings menu.</li><li>Fixed graphics corruption and some GPU underutilization for SLI and Crossfire configurations.</li><li>Fixed a crash in the options menu when toggling between Low and Medium shadows.</li><li>Mouse buttons can now be used for voice chat in lobbies.</li><li>Titanfall will no longer override your Windows microphone volume setting when it is launched.</li><li>Fixed the Smart Pistol reticle so it scales properly based on the Field of View setting.</li><li>Fixed crashes on machines with 32 or more cores.</li></ul><h3><strong>BUG FIXES (Xbox One)</strong></h3><ul><li>Fixed a rare full-screen blue/red flash.</li><li>Audio should no longer overlap after going to the Xbox dashboard and back into Titanfall.</li><li>Fixed a crash when saying "Xbox go back" on certain menus.</li></ul><h3><strong>COMING SOON IN FUTURE UPDATE</strong></h3><p style=""><strong>A selection of improvements that will be released in an upcoming update:</strong></p><ul><li>More Custom Loadout Slots with Custom Slots per Game Mode</li><li>Ability to rename Custom Loadout Slots</li><li>Last Game Summary shows the scoreboard from the previous match</li><li>Additional customization options in Private Match</li><li>Better 120hz monitor support</li><li>Pick-up prompt for dropped Amped weapons appear in a different color than for normal weapons</li></ul><p style=""><strong> Enhanced interaction with Challenges. You will be able to review your Challenges by the following criteria:</strong></p><ul><li>Completed (in your previous match)</li><li>Most progressed (in your previous match)</li><li>Almost completed (overall)</li></ul><p style=""><strong>• Scoreboard icons will reflect 3 new states:</strong></p><ul><li>Player Evacuated</li><li>Player Dead with Auto-Titan Still Alive</li><li>Player Alive with Auto-Titan Still Alive</li></ul><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:41:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/massive-titanfall-patch-arrives-today-adds-private-matches-and-kills-wall-hacks/1100-6418897/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png" data-ref-id="1300-2449263"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/536/5360430/2449263-watch_dogs_running_on_ltrain_.png"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new video interview, Ubisoft cinematics animation lead Lars Bonde told <em>PC Games</em> that the PlayStation 4 version of <a href="/watch-dogs/" data-ref-id="false">Watch Dogs</a> is targeting 1080p, but stopped short of confirming resolution details for the Xbox One iteration.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xzkOWwTxniA" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">YouTube video</a>--which has since been set to private but was seen by <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458391/watch-dogs-ps4-targeting-1080p/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CVG</a>--Bonde says even though there may be visual performance differences between the different versions of the game, the core gameplay will be the same regardless of what console you play on.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The first thing I want to make clear is that, at its core, it's the same experience on current-gen and next-gen consoles. You get the same gameplay out of it," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Of course there are nuances to it," he added. "We are utilizing Xbox One to its full capabilities and the same with PS4, of course, so I know that, as far as to my knowledge, on PS4 it will run in full HD."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This tallies with unconfirmed reports from earlier this year, which claimed that Watch Dogs on PS4 would run in 1080p while the Xbox One version would output in something less. Notably, the video in question here is the same video that Watch Dogs creative director Jonathan Morin <a href="https://twitter.com/Hurricane4343/status/453971322456903680" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">retweeted a link to yesterday</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Watch Dogs launches <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-release-date-announced-for-everything-except-wii-u/1100-6417977/" data-ref-id="1100-6417977">May 27</a> for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PS4, and PC. The Wii U version is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-for-wii-u-definitely-not-canceled/1100-6418164/" data-ref-id="1100-6418164"> coming sometime later</a>. Earlier this week, GameStop revealed that Watch Dogs will have a<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-season-pass-listed-by-gamestop-contains-new-playable-character/1100-6418861/" data-ref-id="1100-6418861"> $20 DLC pass that</a>, among other things, will include a new playable character.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-watch-dogs-targeting-1080p-on-ps4-but-what-about-xbox-one/1100-6418888/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soon-we-ll-know-if-atari-buried-millions-of-copies-of-failed-movie-game-e-t-in-a-new-mexico-landfill/1100-6418896/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503070-etnm.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503070" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503070-etnm.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503070"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2503070-etnm.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Are millions of copies of failed movie tie-in game <a href="/e-t-the-extra-terrestrial/" data-ref-id="false">E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial</a> buried in a landfill in Alamogordo, New Mexico landfill? We're only two weeks from finding out. Microsoft, which has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/did-atari-bury-millions-of-e-t-copies-in-a-landfill-in-new-mexico-we-ll-soon-find-out-if-it-s-fact-or-fiction/1100-6418772/" data-ref-id="1100-6418772">commissioned a documentary series about the dig</a>, <a href="http://news.xbox.com/2014/04/ent-attend-atari-landfill-excavation" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">announced today</a> that the excavation of the rumored burial site will take place on April 26 and it will be open to the public.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whatever happens later this month will be documented by film crew Fuel Entertainment and spun into a documentary series that will debut on Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Zak Penn (<em>X-Men 2</em>, <em>The Avengers</em>) is directing the movie.</p><p style="">In attendance at the dig will be E.T. game designer Howard Scott Warshaw and a team of archaeologists, as well as representatives for Microsoft and Xbox Entertainment Studios. Microsoft says attendees might even be interviewed for the film.</p><p style="">The final excavation of the site is a long time coming for Microsoft. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/documentary-aims-to-unearth-millions-of-et-copies/1100-6409193/">Alamogordo city commissioners approved the search in June</a>, but the project was later <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-exclusive-documentary-about-buried-atari-cartridges-put-on-hold/1100-6418477/" data-ref-id="1100-6418477">put on hold </a>because a waste excavation plan needed to be finalized before the digging could begin. Microsoft <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/did-atari-bury-millions-of-e-t-copies-in-a-landfill-in-new-mexico-we-ll-soon-find-out-if-it-s-fact-or-fiction/1100-6418772/" data-ref-id="1100-6418772">got that approval</a> just last week.</p><p style=""><strong>Alamogordo Landfill Excavation Details:</strong></p><ul><li>Sunday, April 26, 2014</li><li>9:30 a.m. -- 7:30 p.m.</li></ul><p style=""><strong>Alamogordo Landfill</strong></p><ul><li>4276 Highway 54 S</li><li>Alamogordo, NM 88310</li><li>(Near First Street and White Sands Boulevard)</li></ul><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 08:09:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/soon-we-ll-know-if-atari-buried-millions-of-copies-of-failed-movie-game-e-t-in-a-new-mexico-landfill/1100-6418896/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dragon-age-inquisition-won-t-have-dlc-characters-because-of-on-disc-controversy/1100-6418895/ <p style=""> </p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503057-dainew.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503057" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503057-dainew.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503057"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2503057-dainew.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">As was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/rumor-dragon-age-inquisition-has-40-endings-five-major-regions/1100-6418617/" data-ref-id="1100-6418617">rumored</a>, BioWare's upcoming fantasy RPG<a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false"> Dragon Age: Inquisition</a> will not offer new DLC characters, creative director Mike Laidlaw told <a href="http://www.totalxbox.com/74867/dragon-age-inquisition-wont-get-dlc-characters-because-of-on-disc-dlc-controversy/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>Official Xbox Magazine</em></a>. This is because doing so would require them to be on-disc, and BioWare won't do this in the wake of the on-disc controversy that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/parts-of-mass-effect-3-dlc-already-on-disc-ea/1100-6365673/" data-ref-id="1100-6365673">dates back to 2012 and Mass Effect 3.</a></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Because of how deeply enmeshed in the system companion characters are, we can't just add them on the fly; part of them has to be shipped on the disc," Laidlaw said. "Which has led to criticism that we're forcing people to pay for content they already own. It's not the case, but we've decided this time to not go that route. There will be no DLC party members."</p><p style="">According to former Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski, on-disc DLC is an "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/on-disc-dlc-an-ugly-truth-says-gears-of-war-designer/1100-6370601/" data-ref-id="1100-6370601">ugly truth</a>" for video game development. For various reasons, including compatibility issues, some content does need to be on-disc from day-one, Bleszinski said in 2012. BioWare itself caught flak in 2012 when <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/parts-of-mass-effect-3-dlc-already-on-disc-ea/1100-6365673/" data-ref-id="1100-6365673">users discovered that parts of an upcoming Mass Effect 3 expansion were already on-disc from launch day</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Dragon Age: Inquisition will feature nine total party members. Six are known right now: Cassandra Pentaghast, Varric, Vivienne, Sera, Iron Bull, and Solas. It has been rumored that Alistair and the original game's Morrigan could also be featured as playable characters.</p><p style="">Due out this fall, Dragon Age: Inquisition is coming to Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. For more, check out <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false">GameSpot's previous coverage</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 07:43:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dragon-age-inquisition-won-t-have-dlc-characters-because-of-on-disc-controversy/1100-6418895/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/those-who-criticize-the-ethics-of-free-to-play-are-driven-by-snobbery-and-fear-former-ea-boss-says/1100-6418894/ <p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new opinion piece written for <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/9/5597062/snobbery-and-fear-drive-ethical-criticisms-of-free-to-play-games" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a>, former Electronic Arts and Lionhead Studios manager Ben Cousins argues that critics of the ethics of free-to-play are driven by "snobbery and fear." He goes on to claim that in fact it's traditional packaged games, not free-to-play mobile titles, that represent the real bait-and-switch scenario.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503045-bencousins.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503045" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503045-bencousins.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503045"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1179/11799911/2503045-bencousins.jpg"></a><figcaption>Ben Cousins</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The attacks and criticism of free-to-play mechanics are often unfair and selective, and leave questionable but traditional business practices alone," Cousins, who is now general manager of free-to-play studio <a href="http://www.scatteredentertainment.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Scattered Entertainment</a> said. "This is snobbery; evidence that the old guard is scared of where the industry is headed."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">One major criticism levied against the free-to-play business model is that it uses the well-known bait-and-switch sales technique. Cousins says "innocent" players are "baited" into downloading a free game only to later find out that you can't progress through it without spending money--that's the "switch," he says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cousins says the problem with this critique is that this "switch" is ineffective. He pointed out that Candy Crush Saga developer King said last year that 70 percent of players who reached the end of the game <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2013/sep/10/candy-crush-saga-king-interview" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">never spent a dime on the game</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">He further explains that gamers can play a free-to-play title extensively before they make a purchase, while the same cannot be said for traditional $60 boxed products. Cousins said he's seen many great trailers for terrible games, and pointed out that getting a refund for traditional games is all but impossible.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This is why the real bait-and-switch techniques take place in traditional gaming," Cousins said. "Free-to-play games successfully avoid the bait-and-switch trap. You get to try the game, and invest more of your time or money if you enjoy the experience. Traditional games don't give you that luxury."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Overall, because the free-to-play model "breaks established norms" as it becomes more and more popular, "it's scary for the establishment," Cousins says. Offering up an ethical critique of the model is a misguided way to fight the changes, he went on to say. In doing so, opponents to free-to-play begin to sound just as reactionary as those who thought jazz music or rock 'n' roll would corrupt the minds of our youth, he claims.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We fear what we don't recognize, and in this case it's the industry not recognizing where it's heading," Cousins said. He ended his note saying those in the game industry will look back with amusement at the thought that free-to-play could pose a threat to the gaming landscape.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cousins also recently responded to a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-thirds-of-players-ditch-free-mobile-games-in-less-than-24-hours/1100-6418893/" data-ref-id="1100-6418893">new report from app testing firm Swrve</a> that claimed two-thirds of players ditch free mobile games after 24 hours. He accused Swrve of "trying to paint a depressing picture to sell [its] services."</p><p style="">For their part, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-smartphones-won-t-kill-consoles/1100-6417238/" data-ref-id="1100-6417238">Nintendo</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-mobile-won-t-kill-consoles/1100-6417662/" data-ref-id="1100-6417662">EA</a> maintain that the proliferation in gaming on smart-devices does not spell a demise for traditional console gaming. In fact, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen says that mobile gaming can <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-mobile-won-t-kill-consoles/1100-6417662/" data-ref-id="1100-6417662">actually help draw more consumers to the console market over time</a>.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/those-who-criticize-the-ethics-of-free-to-play-are-driven-by-snobbery-and-fear-former-ea-boss-says/1100-6418894/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-what-to-do-after-you-reach-level-70/1100-6418820/ <p style="">Reaper of Souls has revitalised the <a href="/diablo-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo III</a> community, and that's great. I'm having a real blast playing it right now, and many of the people I encounter on Battle.net every night are, too. While there are plenty of hardcore fans who know exactly what items they're going to be grinding for over the next week, month, or year, if you're new to Diablo III, then you might just be a little lost after you're done squaring up to Malthael's army in Act V. With the game now out for a few weeks, it's likely that you may have just reached level 70, vanquished the final boss a couple of times, and are now wondering what's left for you to do.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Welcome to the item grind!</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">After clearing the story, you're entered into the Diablo III endgame. Welcome! You'll now spend much of your time replaying old chapters and exploring old areas, and it's here that Reaper of Souls makes some of its more dramatic changes from the original version of Diablo III.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The gist is this: Replay areas over and over again, and make sure you open every chest, engage the glowing elite enemies, and take on bosses. If you're lucky, you'll get some legendary (orange) items--you should get one or two legendary drops every hour, roughly--that bestow a big increase in your power and ability. Now that you've hit the maximum level, you're looking to get stronger by getting better equipment and earning paragon levels. The bad news is that it's a lot more random than the linear progression of levelling, but the good news is that it's a lot of fun, and you're going to get a lot stronger if you stick to it.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">When I started playing <a href="/diablo-ii/" data-ref-id="false">Diablo II</a> years and years ago, discovering that the endgame--the thing all my friends were playing on Battle.net every night, over and over--was essentially grinding for a hopeful jackpot payout left me initially confused and lost. I was used to having more structure in games: go here, achieve this, slay that. You might feel the same way with Diablo III. But once you've got a few good loot drops, and have felt the allure of clearing the game on torment difficulties, you'll start to naturally think, "Oh, if I can just get one of these to drop, or get a few more Paragon levels, or enchant a new status effect," and then you'll realise you're hooked.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418008" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418008/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><h3 dir="ltr">Know your difficulties</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Reaper of Souls (and the 2.0.1 patch that was rolled back into regular Diablo III) made some major changes to how the game handled enemies and levelling. Enemies levelled up as you did, and the game introduced nine new difficulty settings--normal, hard, expert, master, and torment, which has six tiers of difficulty. Here's the rub: even if you were blitzing through torment at level 60 in regular Diablo III, you're almost certainly going to find torment at level 70 too difficult until you find some new and better items.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Playing through the game on normal, finding better loot, and then becoming powerful enough to take on the higher difficulty settings is a natural attraction. Personally, I consider it my main goal. Torment is when things start to get more interesting, with the game throwing you its most powerful enemies but also making you more eligible for the most lucrative, newest, and most powerful items. It's a lot of work, but you'll get there in the end.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Don't rely on the game's stats</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Reaper of Souls divides your item properties into three main areas: damage, toughness, and healing. You're almost certainly swayed predominantly by the damage--who isn't?--and that's fine when you're blasting through the campaign for the first time. But more damage doesn't always work out for the best, since Reaper of Souls introduces many items that give bonuses to both overall elemental damage and particular skills.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499221-d3+boots+stats.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2499221" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499221-d3+boots+stats.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2499221"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2499221-d3+boots+stats.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">For instance, at first glance, these bracers, if equipped, would do 0.2 percent less damage, so you'd probably send them straight to the salvage pile. But if these boots are being equipped on a wizard who uses, say, arcane orb with the frozen rune as his main attack, then the orb damage would skyrocket from around 1.97 million to 2.13 million--a massive boost from an item that initially looks slightly inferior. If those were to be coupled with an item--or multiple items--that offered up boosts to ice attacks, that orb would be doing way, way more damage than the game might seem to indicate.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The thing to be aware of is the pointy diamond in the list. If that's there, then that particular effect isn't factored into the game's calculations for damage, toughness, or healing.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Mix things up</h3><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/6/1/4/2237614-704530_20130909_012.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2237614" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/6/1/4/2237614-704530_20130909_012.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2237614"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/mig/7/6/1/4/2237614-704530_20130909_012.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">One of the best things about Diablo III is that you're never forced to play your character a single way; skills and runes can be swapped and switched at a moment's notice. When you've been playing with one build for a few days, swap to something else.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Playing like this is not only more varied and fun, but also means you're more likely to enjoy your loot drops. A friend of mine was recently salvaging anything that didn't fit exactly with her current build, and ended up throwing away all sorts of valuable items that could have been combined into a wide array of valuable secondary builds. A waste.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The stash has four big tabs for a reason, so don't be afraid to store clumps of stuff for another time. You might be playing as a physical damage dealer now, but you never know when four different pieces of armour with a boost to fire damage will come in handy. Plan for alternate builds, and experiment! Maybe you'll be an ice-wielding wizard tonight, but tomorrow you could be a fiery demon hunter or physical barbarian.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Another thing: don't always think you've got to stick to the same difficulty or mode all the time. I love running around in torment for the challenge, but sometimes I enjoy the satisfaction of ploughing through hundreds and hundreds of enemies on normal to relax and farm bounties. Do lots of things, and you're less likely to find yourself burning out on the game after a few weeks, and far more likely to be enjoying it for months to come.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Head into Adventure mode</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Adventure mode, new with Reaper of Souls, is fantastic. You'll need to finish Act V once to get at it, and it's split into two main objectives: bounties and nephalem rifts. The former is where you'll start when you begin playing the mode; it has you trek across the acts and locations of the main campaign looking to accomplish various tasks. Each act features five bounties, and when you accomplish all five, you'll get a horadric cache, which will contain a random assortment of gems, shards, crafting materials, and weapons and armour. You might even get a rare cache-exclusive legendary item.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">When playing online, many people right now like to obtain bounties on normal difficulty and split up, with each player taking on one act each, to clear the map out and farm up those caches more quickly.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Another thing you'll come across in Adventure mode is rift keystone fragments, and when you've picked up five of those, you can open a nephalem rift back at the obelisk located in each act's town. These are randomly generated dungeons that are designed to take 15 to 20 minutes to complete, although you'll likely plough through them a lot more quickly on the lower difficulties once you start getting more powerful. Last week Blizzard also buffed the nephalem rifts to have a 25 percent increased chance of dropping legendary items, which is multiplicative with any bonuses from your difficulty settings, so right now, for instance, torment I will confer a 43 percent increased chance of legendary drops.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499223-screen+shot+2014-04-07+at+16.59.05.png" data-ref-id="1300-2499223" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2499223-screen+shot+2014-04-07+at+16.59.05.png" data-ref-id="1300-2499223"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2499223-screen+shot+2014-04-07+at+16.59.05.png"></a></figure><h3 dir="ltr">Consider a trip to Whimsyshire and craft a level 70 hellfire ring</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Diablo III featured two main quests to find when you'd reached the end of the game: Whimsyshire and the ongoing toil of forging a hellfire ring. These have effectively been superseded by Adventure mode, but it's worth keeping them in mind if you're the kind of person who wants everything.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whimsyshire is Diablo III's secret level, where instead of fighting demons and monsters, you're pitted against unicorns, cuddly bears, and flowers in an environment with rainbows and happy bouncing clouds with smiley faces. How to get there? First you'll need the blacksmith plans to craft the staff of herding, which drops from Izual in Act IV. Then you'll need to collect five rare items: the black mushroom from the cathedral and Leoric's shinbone from Leoric's Manor in Act I; Wirt's bell from town vendor Squirt and liquid rainbow from the mysterious cave in the Dalghur Oasis in Act 2; and, finally, the random gibbering gemstone drop from rare monster Chiltara in the Caverns of Frost in Act III.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Once you collect all that (it'll take some time and multiple attempts, especially finding the gibbering gemstone), you can forge the staff of herding from Haedrig and then head to the now-glowing crevasse on Old Tristram Road in Act I.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">A hellfire ring is also seriously hard work. You need to farm four powerful keywarden enemies, over and over and over, with one in each act: Odeg in Act I's Fields of Misery drops the key of bones; Sokahr in Act 2's Dalghur Oasis drops the key of gluttony; Xah'Rith in Act III's Stonefort drops the key of war; and Nakarat in Act IV's Silver Spire drops the key of evil. Each of the keywardens can also drop the plans for the four infernal machines, which can be given to the jeweler for crafting.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The catch? You have to be in at least torment I to be eligible for key drops. On torment I, there is about a 25 percent chance of a key dropping. On Torment VI, there is about a 50 percent chance. It's going to take you ages.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">These four keys can be used to build one of four machines, which can be used to enter the four challenging boss fights, with each boss having a slight, unknown chance to drop an item that can be used to craft the hellfire ring. If the boss doesn't drop the item, you'll need to farm the keywardens again until you can build another portal to give it another go. Like I said, it's seriously hard work. Oh, and you need to buy the plans from Squirt in Act 2 for 5 million gold.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">If you manage to go through all of that, you'll end up with a level 70 hellfire ring, which has no level requirement, has five random magical properties, can cast a ring of fire that causes 200 percent weapon damage, and grants 45 percent bonus experience. It doesn't really end up being worth it, but it sure is satisfying to finish the job. And the experience bonus is incredibly useful for levelling up alternate characters.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>If you're a hardcore Reaper of Souls player, are there any other tips and tricks you'd give to those who are just starting out at the endgame content? And what incredible items and builds have you found that will inspire the rest of us to keep questing onwards and upwards?</em></p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-reaper-of-souls-what-to-do-after-you-reach-level-70/1100-6418820/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-thirds-of-players-ditch-free-mobile-games-in-less-than-24-hours/1100-6418893/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2503043-0795397392-PvZ-2.PNG" data-ref-id="1300-2503043" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1493/14930800/2503043-0795397392-PvZ-2.PNG" data-ref-id="1300-2503043"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1493/14930800/2503043-0795397392-PvZ-2.PNG"></a></figure><p style="">66 percent of players stop playing free-to-play mobile phone games within the first 24 hours of launching the game for the first time, a new report by app testing firm Swrve has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://recode.net/2014/04/09/most-mobile-game-players-quit-after-one-day-exclusive/" rel="nofollow">Posted on Re/code</a>, Swrve said its survey tracked over 10 million players over a 90-day period starting in November 2013. Over 30 titles were tracked, and Swrve's network includes major clients such as Activision, Epic Games, WB Games, Zeptolab, and Gameloft.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Swrve CEO Hugh Reynolds said that grabbing the attention of users is vital if they want to keep them engaged for more than 24 hours. "It's a bit like a first date," he said. "If it's going to be effective, it needs to be effective quick."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a bit of a sales pitch, mind: Swrve is a company established to help app makers maximize their in-app revenue, providing services such as in-app campaigns, push notifications, and UX and A/B testing. And free-to-play developer veteran Ben Cousins criticized Swrve on <a href="https://twitter.com/BenjaminCousins/status/453918281955835904" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a>, accusing them of "trying to paint a depressing picture to sell [its] services."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to Cousins, keeping 40 percent of your users into their second day "is the sign of a real hit" and that the numbers Swrve published are "totally normal" and "can drive success."</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Martin Gaston is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/squidmania" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @squidmania</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 06:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/two-thirds-of-players-ditch-free-mobile-games-in-less-than-24-hours/1100-6418893/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mass-effect-s-commander-shepard-turns-140-on-friday-bake-some-cupcakes-bioware-says/1100-6418892/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503039-commandershepard.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503039" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2503039-commandershepard.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2503039"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2503039-commandershepard.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">This Friday, April 11 marks the 140th birthday of Mass Effect's "savior of the galaxy" Commander Shepard. To celebrate the event, BioWare has compiled a list of recipes--mostly for cupcakes--that you can follow to throw a bash for the esteemed spacefaring fictional hero.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can see the cupcake recipes, and some for special Renegade and Paragon mixed drinks, at <a href="http://blog.bioware.com/2014/04/09/happy-140th-birthday-shepard/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">BioWare's website</a>. BioWare will also celebrate Shepard's birthday this week at PAX East in Boston, Mass. at its "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/going-to-pax-east-bioware-to-discuss-dragon-age-mass-effect-at-the-event/1100-6418868/" data-ref-id="1100-6418868">BioWare Base</a>."</p><p style="">According to BioWare, Commander Shepard was<a href="https://twitter.com/truffle/status/27196273794" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> born on April 11, 2154</a>. Going by that, it appears BioWare is counting up from 2014 to get to 140. Whatever the case, eating cupcakes is (almost) always a good decision, so let's not get hung up on the dates.</p><p style="">BioWare is currently working on an all-new Mass Effect game, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mass-effect-4-leaves-shepard-behind/1100-6398559/" data-ref-id="1100-6398559">will not feature Commander Shepard</a>. It is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/next-mass-effect-is-playable-bioware-calls-it-fresh-but-recognizable/1100-6416811/" data-ref-id="1100-6416811"> already playable</a>, and BioWare calls it "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/next-mass-effect-is-playable-bioware-calls-it-fresh-but-recognizable/1100-6416811/" data-ref-id="1100-6416811">fresh but recognizable</a>." </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 06:22:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/mass-effect-s-commander-shepard-turns-140-on-friday-bake-some-cupcakes-bioware-says/1100-6418892/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/head-of-xbox-microsoft-wants-to-build-products-that-change-the-world/1100-6418889/ <p style=""> </p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WEIHPAJa7M" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2F7WEIHPAJa7M%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7WEIHPAJa7M&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F7WEIHPAJa7M%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a new video interview, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-boss-phil-spencer-gets-a-promotion-to-head-of-xbox-promises-incredible-new-chapter-for-gaming/1100-6418670/" data-ref-id="1100-6418670">new Head of Xbox Phil Spencer</a> explains that the reason he has stayed at Microsoft for so long--26 years!--is because the company wants to build products that change the world. Because Microsoft has the resources and the ambition to make this happen, he says he wouldn't want to work anywhere else.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Fundamentally, [Microsoft] is a company that wants to do things that change the world. And they have the resources and the ambition to do that," Spencer told Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb in a new video interview. "Whether it's with Xbox or any of the products that we build."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Spencer said he has met with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/meet-satya-nadella-the-new-microsoft-ceo/1100-6417513/" data-ref-id="1100-6417513">new Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella</a> and the pair have discussed what Xbox means to the future of Microsoft as a company. For Xbox One specifically, Nadella and Spencer unsurprisingly agree that they want to deliver a top-tier product to consumers.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have the ambition to build the best gaming console for fans," Spencer said. "The gaming console plays the best games, has the best entertainment...and to be in a company that has the resource, the ambition, and the drive to make that happen, it's incredibly motivating for someone like me."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Spencer joined Microsoft directly out of college and has worked there ever since.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">This is <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gaming-can-revitalize-microsoft-like-music-did-for-apple-new-xbox-boss-says/1100-6418818/" data-ref-id="1100-6418818">not the first time</a> Spencer has spoken enthusiastically about the potential for gaming to help grow Microsoft overall. Last week, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gaming-can-revitalize-microsoft-like-music-did-for-apple-new-xbox-boss-says/1100-6418818/" data-ref-id="1100-6418818">he said </a>that "gaming can be a real catalyst for Microsoft's re-emergence as a consumer company," going as far to say that gaming can be for Microsoft what music was for iPod company Apple.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/head-of-xbox-microsoft-wants-to-build-products-that-change-the-world/1100-6418889/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wouldn-t-you-love-to-play-video-games-on-a-160-foot-screen/1100-6418891/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAKgWwReh6w" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FXAKgWwReh6w%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DXAKgWwReh6w&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FXAKgWwReh6w%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Have you ever dreamed of playing video games on a massive screen? That dream came true for comedian Conan O'Brien, who got to play games like <a href="/madden-nfl-25/" data-ref-id="false">Madden NFL 25</a>, <a href="/flower/" data-ref-id="false">Flower</a>, and <a href="/need-for-speed-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Need for Speed: Rivals</a> on AT&T Stadium's 72' x 160' screen this week for his Clueless Gamer segment.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">As you can see in the video, O'Brien had to sit hundreds of feet away from the screen to be able to play. He even takes a minute to crack a joke about thatgamecompany's Flower, saying, "There's no way these guys weren't high when they invented this."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The stadium's screen weighs 600 tons and is suspended 90 feet above the playing field. It is considered one of the largest screens in the world.</p><p style="">AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas is home to the Dallas Cowboys and it served as the venue for this week's NCAA Men's College Basketball National Championship on Monday evening.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:54:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wouldn-t-you-love-to-play-video-games-on-a-160-foot-screen/1100-6418891/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/someone-has-made-100-000-by-selling-in-game-items-through-sony-s-player-studio/1100-6418890/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2502984-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502984" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2502984-h1z1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2502984"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2502984-h1z1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Games are big business not just for the studios that make them. One gamer has made more than $100,000 so far by selling in-game items for <a href="https://player-studio.soe.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Sony Online Entertainment's Player Studio</a>, according to a <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/4/10/5600354/player-studio-user-earns-more-than-100000-creating-in-game-items" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a> report detailing the latest episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wu-bpNaNw88#t=534" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Game Talk Live</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Responding to a question about whether or not <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reveals-new-post-apocalyptic-mmo-game-h1z1/1100-6418884/" data-ref-id="1100-6418884">SOE's new post-apocalyptic MMO H1Z1</a> will have Player Studio support, Smedley said this would be the case, and revealed that the company recently had its first user cross $100,000 in lifetime revenue.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Games from Valve like <a href="/team-fortress-2/" data-ref-id="false">Team Fortress 2</a> and <a href="/dota-2/" data-ref-id="false">DOTA 2</a> allow users to create and sell their own items, but it's not clear how much money is made doing this.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">SOE's Player Studio lets you download sample geometry files for actual in-game objects and then you can use third-party software like Photoshop or Maya to create new items and submit them for sales in games like <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest-ii/" data-ref-id="false">EverQuest 2</a>, and <a href="/planetside-2/" data-ref-id="false">PlanetSide 2</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">To make money from Player Studio, SOE needs to approve your custom-made item. If they do, they will sell it in the SOE Marketplace, and you'll get to keep 40 percent of the net amount of sales. Right now, Player Studio is open only to people in the United States 18 or older.</p><p style=""> </p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:22:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/someone-has-made-100-000-by-selling-in-game-items-through-sony-s-player-studio/1100-6418890/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418201" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418201/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>"How many reliable sources of laughter do you have in your life, every day? Every time you open your device and play this game, you will have at least a laugh."</em></p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's a quote from TinyCo business head Andrew Green, describing his company's upcoming mobile game based on the Family Guy universe. It's a bold claim, for sure, but after meeting with Green at his company's office in San Francisco and learning about what his team hopes to deliver, it sounds to me like he's put the right pieces in place to pull off a hit with the appropriately (and hilariously) titled <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/family-guy-mobile-game-gets-release-date-has-you-rebuilding-quahog-after-insane-chicken-fight/1100-6418760/" data-ref-id="1100-6418760">Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">I caught up with Green--a former Take-Two and Electronic Arts manager--and we spoke at length about almost every facet of the new Family Guy game. How it got off the ground, how it is similar to and different than <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheSimpsonsTappedOut" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">The Simpsons: Tapped Out</a>, the stigma attached to free-to-play games, and the ugly track-record that licensed games have. We discussed these topics and more. Below are highlights from our conversation.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>The Genesis of Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"I personally reached out to FOX myself because we didn't have any contacts there and we just started the conversation there. We had identified some of the properties that we would love to work with. There's literally a list of like 150 different properties...so many brands that we were interested in working on. I'm a huge nerd myself, like an actual nerd--I have social anxiety. I love storyworlds, a lot of people [at TinyCo] love storyworlds, if you walk around [our office] you'll see toys and whatnot and we have such a great process and platform for development and we just thought that bringing that to properties that people are already love for a variety of reasons was a really cool thing to do. Family Guy was one of our top ones though; we went and talked to FOX and then the process kind of went on from there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>How Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Is <em>Not</em> Like The Simpson's: Tapped Out:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"People are going to draw comparisons between Simpsons: Tapped Out and Family Guy, but I think the key differentiator that you'll see...I think Simpsons Tapped Out is much more just straight collection; build and collect. Whereas [Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff] is all narrative-driven, which is really important for Family Guy because the humor is all about the character interactions, the cutaways, the randomness, the references, the insanity. And if you're just doing collect and build, you're not going to get access to as much of that. The core pillar of the game that we have when we first started was '<em>A Laugh Every Session</em>' and I think we really nailed that. I find the game to be hilarious. And we worked with the writers at FOX Television, we have writers internally also, so it's been a really collaborative effort there. And we've written tons of new stories, there's a lot of new animation, but chiefly, there's a lot of story and a lot of character interaction that drives the loop that could be seen as similar to Tapped Out."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png" data-ref-id="1300-2497091"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2497091-fg1.png"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"I don't want to go out on a limb and say it's an adventure game, but there is the element where you need certain things to actually motivate people. In the initial play session, Chris wet himself and needs new pants. There's a way that Peter can get him new pants; it's not like a coins or XP; there's actual materials that are story materials that drive the story forward. There's a lot more character discourse and narrative [than Tapped Out] and I think the other thing is there's some also major world...the interaction with the world. You might go and do a quest and then all of sudden your entire playspace is on fire. So it's stuff like that. The depth of the features are still rolling out. You'll end up with chickens on fire that will run around your playspace. Stuff like that. And so there's just a lot more randomness and interesting narrative elements."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The Pressure of Working On One Of Fox's Biggest Brands:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's actually been really good. I've been lucky to be involved initially a lot more with the writers here and at FOX and [Family Guy production studio Fuzzy Door]. It's pretty great. We write, they write, they edit, but essentially we want them to be as involved as possible. They're the experts, and they're hilarious and brilliant. We have a bunch of jokes that we'll write--maybe sometimes 50 percent, sometimes 40 percent, sometimes 30 percent will just get tossed. And it's just like a very collaborative process. And a lot of times we get back stuff or they have an idea and they get very involved in the process. And I think one of the things that was really important for it was to give them a platform that they understood to develop content in and then understand how to interact with us. And I think they actually have, at this point, a really deep understanding of the mechanics and how the game flows and that's where all their ideation really kills it."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy Creator Seth MacFarlane Is Not Very Involved, But Did You Think He Would Be?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Seth has been involved in approvals and more high-level stuff, but he hasn't been feet-on-the-ground. That's why he has the organization that he has. All the people there are entrusted with creating show content so they're amazing writers trusted by both the showrunners and Seth to be creating content. And so I think they can speak the quality through. I know he's very, very involved, in the brand and in the show. He definitely has been involved in the game, but it's not like we sit down."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff Was Always Going To Be A Free-To-Play Game:</strong></p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"First and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring."</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">TinyCo's always made free-to-play mobile games. We were one of the first free-to-play mobile game developers on mobile devices in general back in 2009/2010. Solving a lot of the issues with the mobile infrastructure in general and how to make free-to-play mobile games. That's one of our specialties, free-to-play mobile, and this was always conceived as a free to play mobile game."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>On The "Free-to-Play" Stigma And How Family Guy Will Be "Fair":</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Customers...their thoughts, their feelings on our products are important. Any and all customers. You want to listen to your customers, you want to understand what they're talking about. I come from a traditional games background; first and foremost I'm a gamer, been a gamer since I was 4 years old; I understand all the issues that free-to-play would bring and I think it's actually a really interesting topic. It's a lot more nuanced than the black and white conversation that some people have. If you look at a lot of our games or even Simpsons: Tapped Out or a myriad of other popular free-to-play games that are in this space right now, people are monetizing, people are engaging, people are enjoying themselves with these games."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think the disconnect comes from 'what type of experiences fits what platform' For instance, I play <a href="/borderlands-2/" data-ref-id="false">Borderlands 2</a> on console, I have my expectations set, I know how I'm going to play. I'm gonna lean back, I'm gonna drive through quest after quest, loot after loot; do I really want someone cherry picking $1.99 here or there? Interestingly, I've spent money on microtransactions for Borderlands 2, and I bet you if they threw out a new gun a week for $1.99 I'd buy it. So Borderlands is a very different type of experience on a very different platform than Family Guy is on its platform. And if I were to talk about experiences like a Borderlands or games that have PvP specifically, pay to win sucks. It just makes everyone that feels like their skill or their abilities that they're bringing to the game are moot because I could just loot up through hundreds of dollars of transactions and then I could just dominate whoever I wanted to because I'm just superior. And that to me strikes as unfair. It just feels unfair. Those kinds of games are really complex; the systems are complex, the moment-to-moment gameplay is really complex; the relationship the gamer has to those games is so much more entrenched and competitive and their heart is in it; it's skill, it's competition, and it's taken seriously.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2384427"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2384427-bl2_hunger_wattlegobbler.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What's funny is that this has been going on for a very long time. There are free-to-play games that have been out there since 1994. Magic: The Gathering is essentially a free-to-play game. Where you can essentially build a deck for $400; yeah, you'll probably still get your butt kicked by some other people, as I've learned over and over again, but yeah, you can buy your way into being competitive. That's an issue for those games. I think that's a very different issue than what people bring to...when they look at a free-to-play mobile game. I think they're not taking into account the platform to the game. So you look at games like the ones that we've made in the past or you look at a game like Family Guy that we're making now and what we're essentially doing is we're giving you access to a world that you love and you're getting bite-sized content access on your mobile devices. To me I think that's super-cool. Simpsons is a great example of that. I think even our games Tiny Monsters, Tiny Zoo, obviously these are much simpler games with brands that aren't as deep; the characters aren't as deep, the worlds aren't as deep, but that's the great value of Family Guy. So now I get to have a bite-sized content moment with Family Guy. I get to interact with the characters; I get to even play around with it a bit. And the monetization comes from the customization and the depth...more like speed of access. And it allows us to create a ton more content over a longer period of time and people can access pretty much all of that content for free as well. And it's a pretty big value in my opinion."</p><blockquote data-align="right"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that"</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"There's going to be customization as well as some premium elements, but eventually you are going to be prompted for microtransactions as part of the new user experience; we want that to be a really good experience. And we want to make sure that when you do get to the point where you have to potentially pay to go more quickly through the progression than waiting on the progression, that that's not an unforgiving thing. We also want there to be things that you can do that if you're waiting, there's other things for you to do so that you're not just waiting and that's that. The game and the model is actually a pretty good fit and I think that there could be more innovation in the free-to-play space in general and I think we're going to continue to work on that--on balancing the reward vs. the amount of what the user is putting in. I think that's important. And I do think that we've balanced it pretty well on Family Guy. And I think that the one takeaway that I think is really important is 'is the quality of what you're producing going to drive people to be happy with that dynamic?' And I think Yes. I think that people are going to get incredibly rich, premium story, adventure, access to the characters. It's actually very valuable.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"That's the thing that we really focus on here is to make sure that the game is valuable, and that it's funny, and that the brand flies out of your phone at you. I think it really sings. At that point, as a player, you get to decide do I want to purchase more quickly or should I wait? But the value is there in my opinion and that's what important."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>You'll Know What You're Getting When You're Prompted For A Microtransaction:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We illustrate that pretty directly, always. It's important that our customers understand what they are paying for and why they are paying for it. That's one of the points of good communication, good user experience. The other thing that we also have is a really great community team that actually really cares about our customers. And they're going to be heavily involved, and we have <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FamilyGuy?fref=ts" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">55 million customers [on Facebook]</a> that we're going to be talking to; we're going to make sure that all of them have the best experience they possible can have with the game. I think [the debate around free-to-play] is something that as an industry that we should be talking about. But I also think that talking about it will [remove the stigma]. It's a changing and evolving industry."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Licensed Games <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/family-guy-back-to-the-multiverse" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Don't Have The Best Track Record</a>...Why Will Family Guy Be Different?</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What we're doing is we went to the drawing board, literally, and we were like 'What is the experience that people want to have with this brand?' And what they want is they want more of the show. They want to interact in the same way that they interact with the show. So if you can't match the world, if you can't match the humor, if you can't match the characters, the feel, then you're not going to be successful."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Not talking about any other game, but let's say I take Snoopy. Let's say I take Snoopy and it's going to be the Snoopy shooter, and then everyone's like OK, sounds good. Let's make the Snoopy shooter. Now Snoopy is kind of just running around shooting Woodstock and everybody else, and you're not getting the normal kind of interactions between the characters that people want. Because really what you're interacting with is this mechanic. And I think console games in the past have had to rely very heavily on the mechanic and less on the experience of the IP. The best ones have been ones where they're like 'What makes this amazing? What makes being Batman the coolest thing you can possibly do?' And then how do you build a mechanic around that. As opposed to being, 'OK, third-person shooter, but you're Iron Man' [laughs]."</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2017805"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/mig/7/8/0/5/2017805-669883_20121108_002.jpg"></a><figcaption>Family Guy: Back to the Multiverse</figcaption></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">"There are some sh***y action games that I love. I'm just a fan of sh***ty third-person action games. For instance, I play all the Spider-Man games. I love the Spider-Man games, and those, ehh, they go up and down but they're never really reviewed past a 75 or so. I love them because I get to fly around like Spidey, the fighting is pretty good, they've done enough for me as someone who likes Spider-Man. As a game, for everybody? I don't know if it's going to make the cut. I think it's all about what is the brand, what is the experience of that, how do you translate that. It's just like taking a book and adapting it to a movie. Taking anything and adapting it to anything, it's like, what makes this great? Where does that actually spirit lie and then how do we get that onto the platform--which in this case are mobile phones [which are] very different than consoles--and actually make it work? I couldn't even tell you necessarily what a successful Family Guy game on consoles looks like. I haven't done the work. But what we've made for the mobile device is the right thing because we said what people want--when they look at the screen they want to know that they feel like they're watching the show. That they feel like they're in that world, they've got ownership of that world, that the characters are completely who they are, that the writing is new and just as funny as the show; it's unique, it's hilarious, that you have that element of randomness. And that you bring out the flavor and the subversivness of the Family Guy universe in everything that you do. That it's imbued in all of the mechanics and all of the things that you're doing. And it's there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Family Guy: The Quest for Stuff Will Riff On Current Events As Recent As The Week Prior:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We have weekly content cycles. So we actually can make fun of or lampoon anything that's [recent]. Our updates are going to be pretty regular. Our bigger feature updates are going to be monthly, every five weeks or so, but yes, weekly content updates."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><b>Green Can't Wait For Someone Who's Not Familiar With Family Guy To Play The Game:</b></p><p dir="ltr" style="">"What I'm excited about [laughs] is someone who hasn't watched Family Guy who downloads the game, starts playing it, and they're just like 'What the heck?' I can't wait to see how many more people we can bring into the brand because I do think it's a very authentic brand experience. But yes, you're going to have to like [type of humor]."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Family Guy: The Quest For Stuff is available today on iOS and Android. </em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"> Twitter @EddieMakuch</a></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong><em>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 05:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-family-guy-game-wants-to-make-you-laugh-not-rob-your-wallet/1100-6418759/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2481550"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1365/13658182/2481550-infamous_second_son_4971_pioneer+monorail.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="/infamous-second-son/" data-ref-id="false">inFamous: Second Son</a> shifted one million copies worldwide after nine days on sale, Sony has said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a press release <a href="http://www.computerandvideogames.com/458333/infamous-second-son-sold-1-million-units-within-9-days/" rel="nofollow">sent to CVG</a>, Sony adds that this makes it the fastest-selling inFamous title in the series, and with <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/playstation-4-crosses-6-million-sales-following-strong-japan-launch/1100-6418086/" data-ref-id="1100-6418086">six million PlayStation 4's sold around the globe</a> it means roughly one in every six console owners have snapped up a copy of the open-world game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">inFamous: Second Son was released on March 21.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unsurprisingly, inFamous: Second Son was also last month's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/can-you-guess-what-the-best-selling-ps4-game-was-last-month-on-psn/1100-6418881/">best-selling game on PlayStation Network</a>. The game's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-ps4-patch-will-let-you-cap-the-game-at-30fps/1100-6418696/">upcoming patch will bring with it some additional features</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417839" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417839/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:30:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-sells-1m-in-nine-days-meaning-roughly-a-sixth-of-all-ps4-owners-bought-it/1100-6418887/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmLCRMbHe5w" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhmLCRMbHe5w&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FhmLCRMbHe5w%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">It's snow joke: Warner Bros. has released a 5 minute video (above) showing off its incoming Cold, Cold Heart DLC for <a href="/batman-arkham-origins/" data-ref-id="false">Batman: Arkham Origins</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The new content revolves around the frosty Mr. Freeze and an unnamed accomplice, who crashes a party at Wayne Manor, making it very difficult for Bruce Wayne and his guests to chill out. Enter Batman, who has a new thermal suit including thermal gloves that can melt through this new influx of ice. There's some new batarang and combat moves too, which is cool.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Seeing this video will almost certainly trigger a cold response from those who are victims of the game-breaking Arkham Origins bugs, mind, as Warner Bros. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-has-no-plans-to-fix-several-game-breaking-bugs/1100-6417619/" data-ref-id="1100-6417619">has said it has no plans to release a patch</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cold, Cold Heart will be released on April 22 PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Plans to release the DLC on Wii U were put on ice.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6415747" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6415747/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 03:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-arkham-origins-shows-off-mr-freeze-dlc-in-new-5-minute-video/1100-6418886/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png" data-ref-id="1300-2399012"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1197/11970954/2399012-tctd_screen_bridge.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-future-soldier/" data-ref-id="false">Ghost Recon: Future Soldier</a> developer Red Storm has revealed it is one of the development studios working on upcoming open-world adventure <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/tom-clancys-the-division/" data-ref-id="false">The Division</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, based in North Carolina, will work alongside Swedish developer Massive Entertainment. The team is being put to work on creating the game's weapons.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Red Storm, which fancies itself as a bit of an expert in this field, says its accuracy in building virtual weapons comes from its connections with local military. "We've had manufacturers come in and literally disassemble the entire weapon all the way down to the nuts and bolts," said producer Tony Sturtzel, "and our guys are taking hi-res photos of those things."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We probably have unparalleled access to these types of things because of our authenticity department and their focus on relationships. We're not ever gonna let the cat out of the bag on some of the relationships we have!"</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://blog.ubi.com/the-division-red-storm/" rel="nofollow">Writing on the company blog</a>, Ubisoft communications manager Gary Steinman said Massive started looking to enlist an additional developer to create the game's cache of realistic weaponry back in fall 2013.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Newcastle-based UK developer Ubisoft Reflections, the team behind Driver: San Francisco, is also working on the game.</p><p style="">Ubisoft says The Division is still on track for a release in 2014, though an anonymous developer reportedly said <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-s-2014-release-window-is-laughable-claims-ubisoft-source-report/1100-6416976/" data-ref-id="1100-6416976">the idea of the game making it out this year was "laughable"</a>.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6409647" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6409647/" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p> Thu, 10 Apr 2014 02:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-division-enlists-ghost-recon-developer-to-create-its-weapons/1100-6418885/
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