Battlefield 4 online challenges were unique, insist executives.
Will Titanfall suffer from the same online problems at launch as its larger stablemate, Battlefield 4? In an unsurprising turn of events, EA says it won't.
"New IP magic" is critical to platform's success.
Microsoft Studios chief Phil Spencer spent quite a lot of last night reassuring Twitter followers that Microsoft does, in fact, have unannounced new IPs in the can for Xbox One. Some fans fear that Microsoft's acquisition of the Gears of War IP has come at the cost of new ideas, you see. This isn't the case, Spencer insisted.
Become Michael Myers right now.
Activision has released Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC pack Onslaught on Xbox Live. Xbox One and Xbox 360 players can download it here, for $14.99 or #163;11.59 - you'll need to download the latest Call of Duty: Ghosts update first.
Also targets Kinect bugs and cheaters.
The tweaking and fine-tuning of last year's commercial juggernauts continues apace. Hot on the heels of the latest Battlefield 4 update, Activision has taken a spanner to Call of Duty: Ghosts. The new patch is 1187 MB big, and adds a number of multiplayer modes, including Gun Game from Call of Duty: Black Ops.
Franchise's future doesn't have to be cover-based.
Gears of War might be the definitive cover shooter, but it doesn't actually have to be a cover shooter. In the aftermath of yesterday's big news, the transfer of the IP from Epic to Microsoft, Studios boss Phil Spencer has suggested that future games could venture beyond the pale.
Contrast, Final Exam and Moon Diver also going cheap.
You know what game's awesome? Catherine. I think so anyway, and it makes me sad that, even in the OXM office, not many people have played it. It turns out though that the sexy block-pushing puzzler is discounted by 67% right now as part of Xbox Live's Deals of the Week. I think I'll go wave this news piece under Ed and Jonty's noses. It's for their own good, you know?
Feeling a bit wet behind the ears?.
There's always a man, there's always a lighthouse, yada yada yada. Except this time, in Bioshock Infinite's second story DLC offering, you're not a man. You're a lady, and a rather exceptional one at that.
New IP to sequel ratio is "at least 50/50 - if not 70/30 in favour of new stuff.".
You'll be "thoroughly sick" of Epic and Unreal Engine 4 by this time next year, according to the latter's European territory manager Mike Gamble. There are apparently a number of unannounced Unreal Engine games in the works for the first quarter of 2015, including a few "crackers".
EA takes an axe to its Marketplace catalogue.
Attention, digital marksmen, swordsmen and kickers of balls! EA is throwing another Xbox Live Marketplace sale, offering reductions of up to 75 per cent. You might want to pay particular attention to Battlefield 1943, if you're weary of the fourth game's charmless grit - this is first-person militarising at its most colourful and contagious.
Patch notes within, but no release dates as yet.
What's this, EA, you're twiddling the nobs on Battlefield 4 again? Gosh. I'm sure I'll sleep all the sounder tonight for knowing that bullets fired from the Mobile Anti-Aircraft vehicle's 20mm cannon will ultimately travel at 800 m/s, not 1200/ms. That additional 400 m/s could be a real life-saver when I'm plummeting uncontrollably towards the Earth's crust, for want of any understanding of aerodynamics.
Bluepoint Games is heading up old gen version.
Austin, Texas-based Bluepoint Games is creating the Xbox 360 version of Titanfall, Xbox One's most anticipated title at the time of writing. Not familiar with Bluepoint? They're the outfit behind the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, the PS4 version of Flower and the PS Vita version of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Port specialists, in other words.
Microsoft to "forge ahead" with Gears while series creator experiments elsewhere.
Microsoft's acquisition of the publishing rights to Gears of War means that Epic can devote resources to unspecified "new projects", in the words of the latter's founder and CEO Tim Sweeney. Among those projects, one presumes, is Fortnite, the little-seen Unreal Engine action game for PC. Let's hope that there's an Xbox One title on the way too.
Microsoft buys rights "to all existing and future games, entertainment experiences and merchandise".
Microsoft has acquired exclusive publishing rights to all future Gears of War games, and has confirmed that the recently founded Black Tusk Studios is developing a new Gears of War title for Xbox One under the leadership of Rod Fergusson, former director of production at Epic.
Book off 14th February now, dagnabbit, and not for Valentine's Day.
Hold the phone, somebody's published a picture of a poster of Titanfall with "beta" and some numbers on it. They are: "14/2". 14th February, in other words. Are you exchanging bodily fluids with anybody right now? Because you might want to forewarn them that you'll be spending the most romantic day of the year shooting giant robots in the face.
"We expect product announcements over the next year.".
I don't usually report on analyst commentary, because it basically amounts to educated guesswork, but every so often an analyst says something that I feel compelled to repeat. For instance, Baird Equity's Colin Sebastian says that GTA 5 and a Red Dead Redemption sequel for Xbox One are a matter of when, not if. Both could go public this year, even. Sploosh.
"The directions we can take the game are nearly infinite," says Team Dakota.
Team Dakota envisages plenty of post-release work on free-to-play Xbox One create 'em up Project Spark - in fact, studio manager Michael Saxs Persson feels the developer could add things to the game forever.
"Ha ha," observes David Ellis.
Somebody published a bunch of off-screen "Halo 5 screenshots" over the weekend, badged "343 Industries" and "Alpha Build". They are, you may be unsurprised to hear, not the real deal.
"Feels like a good day for announcements doesn't it?".
Aaaah - I love the smell of hype in the morning. How're you fixed for new game reveals this week? One's coming in a matter of hours, apparently, and it may just have something to do with Crackdown 2 developer Ruffian Games.
Beta servers going offline from the 29th January.
World of Tanks, the massively multiplayer online free-to-play game from Wargaming feels like it's been around for a while. It's been in beta for the best part of a year now, but it seems a proper release might finally be on the horizon.
Thy Kingdom Come, it will be done.
Earlier in the week, you may remember Ed brought to your attention the existence of Kingdom Come: Deliverance, an open world first-person RPG brawler that wanted a #163;300,000 leg-up in order to release on multiple platforms, including the Xbox One (MS approval pending). The great news is that it's succeeded.
