The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One games released so far haven't come close to taking full advantage of those systems' power. That's according to Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Rockstar and 2K Games parent company Take-Two Interactive, who said during a recent presentation that the best is yet to come.
"We have yet to see entirely what the technology can allow," Zelnick said during the 43rd Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference this week in New York City. "We've had a couple releases for new-gen, but I don't think we remotely have seen what can be done, and that's super exciting. And that speaks to many of our titles; hopefully all of our titles, ultimately."
Zelnick's comments follow those from PlayStation president Andrew House, who said earlier this week that he's optimistic that E3 2015 next month will deliver games that take fuller advantage of the new consoles.
"I think it will be a show where we see the next generation of hardware really start to deliver great content and experiences that, if not take full advantage of the platform, take a lot more advantage than we've seen before," he said at the time.
The most high-profile of Take-Two's current-generation releases thus far was Grand Theft Auto V. This comes with something of an asterisk, however, as the game is an updated version of a last-generation title, albeit with some major new features and changes.
The Borderlands games, much like action RPGs such as Diablo, are essentially loot-driven games. Legendary items are among the most exciting things you can find, and starting this week, you'll see them drop far more often in recent Borderlands games.
Following a series of tests, Gearbox has tripled the drop rate of legendary items in Borderlands 2, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, and Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (which is comprised of the former two games). This change is now in effect across all platforms; simply allow your game to download the hot fix that went live earlier this week, and you'll find it much easier to build up your collection of legendaries.
Last month, Gearbox began experimenting with the rate at which legendary weapons are dropped, tweaking the likelihood every week without giving players exact figures on how things had changed. This was done to avoid having players' opinions affected by their perception of the numbers, rather than simply how things felt.
Feedback was collected through surveys and the official forums, and after more than a month of testing, Gearbox arrived at the new 3x bump. "After digging through all the data, we discovered that standard drop rates were perceived as too rare but that anything over a 3x boost felt like too much--almost to the point where it was starting to take away the challenge and excitement from seeing that beautiful orange glow," Gearbox's Jeff Skal explained.
Toys R Us still has Destiny for $20 on Xbox One and PS4.
Target Cartwheel has a 25% off deal on Far Cry 4. Combined with the current $30 price, you can get the game for $22.50.
Best Buy is offering a $10 gift card with the purchase of Mortal Kombat X on PS4 or Xbox One ($60, $48 with Gamers Club Unlocked).
You can preorder a pair of games through Dell--The Elder Scrolls Online or Batman: Arkham Knight--and receive a $15 Dell gift card.
The fourth wave of Amiibo will be available through Amazon today, with each figure going on sale at a specific time. They'll cost the usual $13 each, but considering they will invariably sell out and be resold at much higher prices, that's as cheap as you're likely to get them.
Below you'll find the rest of today's best deals divided by platform:
Microsoft's latest Deals With Gold promotion is on, discounting a handful of Xbox One and Xbox 360 games, such as Alien: Isolation for $24 and Screamride for $27. You can check out all the deals here.
Amazon prices are accurate as of publishing, but can fluctuate occasionally throughout the day.
GameSpot's gaming deals posts always highlight the best deals we can find regardless of retailer. We also occasionally use retailer affiliate links, which means that purchasing goods through those links helps support all the great content (including the deals posts) you find for free here on the site.
Respawn Entertainment on Friday confirmed that it has no plans to show off new games at E3 2015 next month. That rules out Titanfall 2 or the developer's other, non-Titanfall game.
"For everyone asking, we aren't showing anything at E3 this year," studio head Vince Zampella said on Twitter. "I'll get to actually see all the games!"
Electronic Arts, which served as the publisher for the first game, will publish the sequel. The company's E3 briefing this year is scheduled for the usual time, in the early afternoon of Tuesday, June 16.
After lots of rumors, Respawn officially confirmed back in March that Titanfall 2 was in development and would be a "multiplatform" game. "We're working on a sequel," he said at the time. "No official name yet, but we're working on that."
The original Titanfall was released on Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. The "multiplatform" comment mentioned above suggests the sequel may also be released for PlayStation consoles, though this has not been confirmed.
The official charging cradle designed for use with the New 3DS XL is currently in stock at Nintendo's online store in the United States.
The dock was originally released in the US back in March, a month after the New 3DS XL debuted in North America. It quickly sold out, and has remained out of stock for the better part of three months.
Much like the charging cradle for the non-New variants of 3DS, this lets you easily drop your system in and charge it without having to specifically plug it in. This cradle is slightly different, however, in that the system stands up on its top when it's docked (rather than laying flat).
It's a minor convenience, but given the 3DS' relatively lackluster battery life, it makes it easier to keep the system charged at all times.
The charging cradle costs $15, with shipping prices starting at $5. Just the like system itself, an AC adapter is not included.
CD Projekt Red on Friday made a pair of announcements about patches for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
First, the Xbox One's long-awaited first patch will arrive today, community lead Marcin Momot said on Twitter. "Sorry for the wait!" he wrote. This patch, 1.03, will lock the game's frame rate at 30fps. This should clear up the somewhat annoying stuttering issues some players (including myself) have experienced.
This 30fps lock is not optional. "It's locked. Can't turn it off," Momot told GameSpot.
Presumably, the patch will make further tweaks, though CD Projekt Red has not published a changelog. Last week, the developer released an update for the PlayStation 4 edition that included a range of visual tweaks and bug fixes. We would imagine these would also be rolled into the Xbox One patch.
In addition, CD Projekt Red has announced plans to fix the XP bug that came to light earlier this week. A new patch to clear up this issue, 1.04, will arrive on Monday, June 1 for PC. The update will be deployed for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 "in the following days," Momot explained in the game's forums.
"First of all, it doesn't impact the game balance in any significant way," Momot said. "Also, you will be able to finish the game with your character achieving a level within the threshold we had in mind when we designed the game."
CD Projekt Red previously explained that if you're completing quests and not being rewarded with XP, it might simply be that you're undertaking ones that are too low-level for you.
Finally, Momot promised that CD Projekt Red "won't stop working" on making further improvements and tweaks for The Witcher 3. Additional patches are planned for the "near future."
PlayStation 4 and PC sci-fi horror game SOMA, from the developers of Amnesia, will launch on September 22, Frictional Games announced on Friday. The studio also published a 12-minute gameplay trailer, offering an extended look at SOMA's creepy environments and characters.
Writing on its website, Frictional explains that the video takes place about an hour into the game. The studio also points out that the video only shows off a small selection of places to explore in the level.
SOMA has been in development for nearly five years.
The game--set in an abandoned science facility--trades jumpscares for a slow buildup of tension, a deliberate effort to get inside your head, we wrote in our preview from last year.
The previously confirmed sequel to last year's Dark Souls-like RPG Lords of the Fallen is expected to launch in 2017, developer CI Games confirmed on Friday. The game, about which very little is known, is also leaving behind the original game's co-developer, Deck 13, CI Games studio head Marek Tyminski said.
"We are not working with Deck 13 right now," he told Eurogamer. "We are starting the project, we start from the concepting, but we definitely will be working with a lot of partners."
Pressed for more details on why Deck 13 won't be involved in the sequel, Tyminski replied, "We have spoken about certain things we could probably do after the release of Lords of the Fallen, but at the end of the day we came to the conclusion, both sides, that it won't happen."
The original Lords of the Fallen, which has now sold 900,000 copies, was developed by CI Games and Deck 13, along with other studios in China and the United Kingdom. For example, Tyminski pointed out that, at one point in development, more than 100 artists in China were working on Lords of the Fallen.
He went on to say that CI Games learned a lot from outsourcing some parts of Lords of the Fallen in this way. The studio plans to also take this approach with the upcoming Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3.
GameSpot's 8/10 Lords of the Fallen review praised the game's combat system and atmospheric worlds. Reviewer Kevin VanOrd also enjoyed its grotesque creature designs that helped hammer home the dark setting.
The chief executive of Grand Theft Auto parent publisher Take-Two Interactive has spoken out on the subject of microtransactions, one of the industry's hot-button topics. Speaking this week during the 43rd Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York, Strauss Zelnick said players should never feel as if they're being robbed.
"You never want to the consumer to feel as though you've picked their pocket," he explained. "You want a consumer to feel like you gave them a great experience. You want them to be happy that they spent money on the experience."
This might seem like an obvious approach to take, but Zelnick also said, without naming any names, that some developers prioritize monetization over creativity.
"But I think some interactive entertainment companies, typically not the console companies, but some of the free-to-play companies, have focused entirely on monetization and, 'creativity as a necessary but annoying pre-condition to monetization,'" he added. "And we just don't look at it that way at all. Monetization stems organically from creativity. And so the more that we give consumers to do that they love doing, the more likely they are to spend money while they're doing it."
Zelnick said 2K Sports' NBA 2K franchise has a "really high pay rate" for in-game currency sales. The executive has also previously spoken about Grand Theft Auto V's online mode, GTA Online, as "the gift that keeps on giving" as it relates to microtransactions. In addition, he pointed out that, importantly, Take-Two designs its games to be fun, complete experiences that don't require people to pay extra for in-game items or currency.
How do you feel about microtransactions in console games? Let us know in the comments below.
The Steam Summer sale may kick off on June 11, according to a listing on Russian social networking site.
The post featuring the dates was made on Valve's official VKontakte, which is the equivalent of a Facebook wall post, except with way more back-to-front Ns, upside down Ls, and letters that look like numbers.
The post states the sale will start on June 11 and last until June 20. It will be followed by two days of encore sales, with the best discounts from the ten-day sale on offer once again.
It is unlikely the company will confirm if these dates are correct since Valve doesn't generally announce when its sales will begin, opting instead to just launch unexpectedly and then watch as the internet catches fire. In this respect, Valve could be described as the Beyonce of the video game world.
Of course, it is also possible that these dates are entirely incorrect. GameSpot has contacted Valve for a comment.
As a frame of reference, the summer sale in 2014 started on June 19 and on June 11 in 2013, so the dates for 2015's sale are roughly in the same period as the previous two years. With E3 starting in the middle of June, it makes sense that the sale would be slightly earlier this year.
Valve is one of the companies involved in the first-ever "PC Gaming Show" that will be held at E3 Tuesday on June 16 at 5 PM PDT. Valve and HTC's Vive is scheduled to launch later this year, so it is also likely the headset will also have a presence at E3 this year.
Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic Jaws is returning to theaters this summer to mark the iconic film's 40th anniversary. The movie will be screened at around 500 theaters across the United States on June 21 and June 24. You can visit this special Fathom Events page to find a theater near you.
"Jaws is a classic thriller enjoyed by generations and it is ready for a comeback," Fathom Events vice president of programming Kymberli Frueh-Owens said in a statement. "Movie buffs will love seeing their favorite killer shark larger than life on the big screen. No risk of shark bite!"
The movie, based on the Peter Benchley novel, is set in the normally peaceful fictional town of Amity Island in New York. But one summer, a massive great white shark starts killing swimmers. Roy Schneider's character, sheriff Martin Brody, hunts down the beast alongside an oceanographer played by Richard Dreyfuss.
[UPDATE 2] The first images of the new Xbox One controller have been revealed by way of Austrian retailer Libro (via Eurogamer). See below.
[UPDATE] Following the publication of this story, a Microsoft representative offered the following statement:
"We're gearing up for an exciting E3 where we'll showcase more games and experiences. We have nothing further to share at this time."
The original story is below.
One of Microsoft's E3 surprises may have been spoiled. The company's own Xbox Support website reveals a new version of the Xbox One controller that features a 3.5mm headphone port at its base.
A line from the description explains that this port will "only available on controllers released after June 2015." This timing would suggest an announcement at Microsoft's E3 briefing next month, though this has not been confirmed. It's also unclear if a 3.5mm port is just one of the rumored controller's new features.
#16 is the new 3.5mm port
As you can see in the image above, the new controller design, in terms of form factor, is identical to the existing controller. We've contacted Microsoft, asking for more information.
This would be the first change to the Xbox One controller since launch in November 2013. Controller revisions are somewhat rare in console gaming, though Microsoft does have a history of making tweaks.
Back in 2010, Microsoft announced a new version of its Xbox 360 controller that featured a transforming d-pad. This decision came in response to complaints about the standard d-pad, which players felt yielded insufficiently precise inputs for some games.
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment on Friday released a new trailer for Lego Jurassic World, inviting players into the dinosaur park, which is a "completely safe" place totally not fraught with peril.
The game covers the stories of the first three Jurassic Park movies and the upcoming Jurassic World, but the trailer focuses principally on the latter. Watch the trailer to get an up-close look at the park's facilities, some colossal dinosaurs like the Indominus Rex and the Mosasaurus, and the Creation Lab where you can build your own dinosaur.
Warner Bros. also today announced some digital bonuses for pre-ordering Lego Jurassic World. These are listed at the bottom of this post, with descriptions courtesy of Warner Bros.
Konami has addressed recent reports of its intention to distance itself from the console gaming market in favour of mobile, as well as rumours surrounding the departure of Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima.
Speaking to Japanese business publication Nikkei, company president Hideki Hayakawa said that recent reports regarding Konami's pivot towards mobile "lacked the necessary context."
Hayakawa went on to reaffirm Konami's support for consoles, alongside mobile platforms.
"Konami will continue to embrace the challenge of creating entertainment content via different platforms," he said. "Not only mobile platforms, but for home consoles, arcade units, and cards, to meet the changing needs of the times."
Discussing the organisational changes, Hayakawa said the company has adopted a "centralised production division system," which was implemented to make it easier to react to changes in the market.
"The aim of this reform has been to guarantee that, in the quickly changing digital entertainment industry where new game designs and platforms constantly alter the market environment, we can accurately observe new customer demands and market trends, and apply our long-established technology and knowhow quickly and effectively with a range of targeted responses."
On the subject of Kojima, Hayakawa simply said the Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain director and his team members "are hard at work in the new production division system." The famed game developer's expected departure from the company has yet to be addressed.
In March GameSpot revealed that a fallout between Kojima Productions and Konami's executives has led to senior staff at the studio being given restricted access to corporate internet, emails, and phone calls.
In the days following the report, Hideo Kojima's name was removed from Twitter, the official Metal Gear website, and even the LA office listing. The Phantom Pain marketing material, as well as older Metal Gear Solid titles, were also scrubbed of Kojima's name.
In his latest statements, Hayakawa did not address whether Kojima would remain at Konami following the release of The Phantom Pain.
In April, Konami confirmed the Silent Hills project, which was revealed in the form of the Hideo Kojima and Guillermo Del Toro directed downloadable game P.T., had been cancelled.
Hayakwa once again reiterated Konami's previous stance that both Silent Hill and Metal Gear are important to the company.
"[The] Metal Gear and Silent Hill series, both beloved by countless fans around the globe, are also extremely important to Konami," he said. "We have nurtured them with care over many years since their inception, and will continue to produce products for both franchises."
He continued: "But we are not currently at a stage where we can announce the path these future titles will take ... Your support for our current endeavors, and your spurring us on to greater heights, are as always deeply appreciated."
In March, Konami revealed it is in the planning stages of developing a new Metal Gear game and is conducting "auditions for main staff to lead the development."
"Konami will continue to develop and distribute top-quality content in the Metal Gear series following Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain," it said at the time. "We greatly anticipate and deeply appreciate your ongoing support for Metal Gear."
The case against Gearbox has been dismissed with prejudice--meaning the developer can't launch another lawsuit for this case--under the condition that Gearbox won't seek legal fees.
The Northern District of California court also ruled to remove the suit's class-action status. A judge said the suit's definition of the gamers who made up the class was not specific enough. What's more, because Colonial Marines was advertised through a range of videos and presentations, it would be difficult to pin down which were misleading which were not, the court said.
The lawsuit is now represented by the two gamers who originally filed the complaint. They are in settlement discussions with Sega and have until June 3 to notify the court with how they want to proceed.
As part of the latest Bungie Weekly Update, the developer announced that Destiny's Iron Banner limited time multiplayer event will return on Tuesday, June 2. That's when Lord Saladin will show up in the Tower with new rewards including weapons, gear, and Etheric Light for you to earn for your Crucible prowess.
This being the first Iron Banner since the launch of House of Wolves and the 1.2.0.1 update earlier this month, the event has been changed in a number of ways since the last time you saw it.
Courtesy of Bungie, below is a breakdown of what's new this time around.
Lower-ranked Guardians on your account will receive a reputation boost to catch up to your higher-ranked Guardian more quickly
Rewards cost less Glimmer - the grind is less real
Etheric Light is available for purchase at Rank 3 and Rank 5
The Gunsmith has inherited Lord Saladin's weapon reforging service
Power still matters, and it matters a little more as the delta between two players increases
The Cauldron and Pantheon have been added to the playlist, along with Exodus Blue on PlayStation
Ahead of E3 2015, which is now just a few weeks away, video game retailer GameStop has teased that the show will deliver "fantastic" announcements and have a major focus on virtual reality. GameStop chief operating officer offered the tease as part of the company's latest earnings presentation.
"There's going to be a lot of gameplay at E3, and we're excited to see that," Bartel said. "We're excited to have others see what we've seen already, which is fantastic innovation amongst these games."
Bartel went on to say that he thinks, presumably based on conversations with key players, that virtual reality will be front and center at E3.
"I think the other thing that's going to take a lot of space and time at E3 is virtual reality," he said. "I think that's going to be something that a lot of people spend a lot of time on."
Zelnick made his comments this week as part of the 43rd Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in New York. Though the executive appears to be pleased with Evolve's performance so far, he acknowledged that the game's multiplayer-focus might have held it back somewhat.
"As you know, Evolve is very multiplayer focused, and that's worked for people--we've had something like 27 million game sessions played," Zelnick said. "And we've sold-in over 2.5 million units. We're really happy with where it's going. It isn't 10 million units...yet. But it is an important franchise for us.
"I think we come out of that experience reminding ourselves we have to have a strong single-player opportunity. But we knew that about Evolve," he added. "We think we've developed another permanent IP. But if there were something lacking, I would say it would be that it was probably a bit too multiplayer-focused, which we knew all along."
"Our goal is to try to create permanent franchises, that's the unique goal in the industry," he said back in 2013. "Our competitors do not see it that way. Our competitors' view is that our franchise will have a certain life, and at the end of that life, you move onto the next thing, so you better make hay while the sun shines. Our view is to the contrary. The best franchises are permanent franchises. Outside of our business you can look at James Bond, for example."
Take-Two has not announced plans for Evolve's future, though Zelnick labeling it "permanent" would suggest that the company plans to return to it someday. Until then, players can expect even more add-on content for Evolve. Just this week, Turtle Rock released a new Arena mode for the game.
If all goes to plan, Microsoft's next-gen API will usher in a new standard for visuals and performance across a whole range of devices, from high-end PCs, to modest laptops, to even the Xbox One.
But the extent in which each platform will benefit from the new software is a matter for debate. Xbox One developers, in particular, have tempered their expectations, with none going as far as publicly claiming that the difference will be day and night. Other developers and publishers, meanwhile, have suggested that the API will pave the way for meaningful enhancements to visual fidelity and performance on PC. But how far can DirectX 12 go? Below, GameSpot provides a guide explaining how each platform is expected to benefit from DirectX 12 support, explaining each of its key new features step by step.
DirectX 12 on Xbox One
Smarter Graphics Rendering
On the Xbox One, DirectX 12 could bring about meaningful improvements to its games and the system as a whole. The Xbox One currently works through DirectX 11, with several tweaks made specifically for the system. In many ways, using the older API of DirectX 11 had limited the full potential of Xbox One, with developers being forced to using an older, less efficient API.
In particular, using DirectX 11 prevented the system from using Asynchronous shaders (or Async shaders), which spreads the graphical load across multiple threads, and lets the system compute it simultaneously, rather than having to wait for the graphics queue to finish up before moving to the next job. In theory, DirectX 12 could speed up the time it takes to usually render post-processing effects. Async Shaders are something that the PlayStation 4 already uses in a variety of games such as Infamous: Second Son (the Async shaders helped the PS4 render the particle effects seen in-game). A similar effect will likely come to Xbox One games utilising similar rendering methods. In practice, this means more rendering ability, potentially paving the way for enhanced visual effects.
Unlocking the potential of eSRAM
The biggest update coming with the DirectX 12 update is a complete revamp in how the Xbox One's 32Mb of superfast eSRAM is used. Many developers believed that the way the Xbox One's eSRAM API was a pain to use. However with the DirectX 12 update, Microsoft has introduced a new tool to specifically optimise eSRAM usage.
In the company's own SDK Documentation for DirectX 12 (which leaked in January), it has specifically stated that "optimising to reduce memory bandwidth usage (Of the eSRAM) is a key strategy for Xbox One." This could potentially boost performance of the system, and result in a slight bump in performance in future games and titles. That suggests, but doesn't quite guarantee, that more Xbox One games will render at the same resolution and framerate as PlayStation 4 games.
A Faster Dashboard and 4K Possibilities
The boost that DirectX 12 gives the Xbox One is not strictly limited to performance bumps in-game. Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox division, has expressed an interest in speeding up the responsiveness of the console's dashboard. During a recent discussion with a fan on Twitter, who asked Spencer whether the Xbox One's system software would take advantage of the upcoming DirectX 12 API, he replied: "Yes, dashboard can take full advantage of [DX12] platform features."
"The Xbox One Dashboard can take full advantage of DX12 platform features."
He added that a more fluid Xbox One UI is "high on the list of improvements we want to make."
So far, developers have been somewhat conflicting with regards to how the performance of the Xbox One will be improved with DirectX 12. Damien Monnier, senior game designer at CD Projekt RED, recently suggested that DirectX 12 would not likely solve the issues the Xbox One has with resolution with certain games, stating that "resolution changes would require a much bigger change from Microsoft than DX12 upgrade." Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock and developer behind upcoming title Ashes of the Singularity, sits on the opposite side of the fence, remaining positive about the API upgrade and claiming that it could potentially solve the Xbox One's resolution woes. "I do think it'll largely address the Xbox One resolution issue but that is speculation," he recently stated.
The full impact of DirectX 12 on Xbox One will not be perfectly clear until developers begin to utilise it in practice. Along with conflicting statements from developers, we are not completely certain as to how much the update will impact the system on a technical level. We can however tell that it would give the system a welcome push in efficiency that will help the Xbox One in the long run.
DirectX 12 on PC
Unlocking More GPU Power With Multiadapter
Arguably the biggest feature of DirectX 12 on PC is the GPU Multiadapter. Since Microsoft has developed the new API to be low level, it allows a "deeper" access to the hardware that can unlock the unused power of graphics processing units inside your system. This processing is brand-agnostic and can combine the power of an integrated GPU as well as external cards. On the DirectX Developer Blog, Microsoft explains that performance can be enhanced by around 10 percent just by utilising a CPU's integrated graphics. According to Microsoft's tests, this does add a frame of latency, however the boost that the extra power gives should even things out. This means that if you just have an integrated GPU onboard your CPU, you should see tangible benefits once developers start to utilise this feature.
This boost in performance is achieved by dividing the workload across all of the hardware available instead of attempting to process it all on one single card. The way that this extra power is being used is completely up to software developers on a case-by-case basis. It's possible that the system will use a "Master" GPU, which will carry the brunt of the heavy lifting, leaving the other GPUs to handle tasks such as post-processing. In addition to this, the Multiadapter is also able to pool VRAM between external GPUs. Which essentially means that the larger RAM pool can handle bigger textures, meaning more efficient rendering at higher resolutions, such as 4K.
Windows 10 is expected to launch along with DX12 in late 2015
Backwards Compatibility with DirectX 11 Cards
Microsoft is pushing the release of DirectX 12 alongside Windows 10 to maximise the adoption of its new operating system, and coming along with it is a host of game-changing features. But the best news? The DirectX 12 API will be compatible with all DirectX 11 class GPUs shipped, which eliminates the absolute necessity to upgrade your card or system to enjoy the benefits of DirectX 12. Of course, for the best jump in performance, you'll need to upgrade your GPU, especially if your card is more than two years old.
GameTech's DirectX 12 API Overhead Test
We tested DirectX 12 in 3DMark's API Overhead test, which measures how fast your CPU and GPU communicate with one another by sending "Draw Calls" and then rendering it onscreen. The slower the API, the less we will see onscreen. The benchmark tests three different APIs; DirectX 11's single threaded performance, DirectX 11's multithreaded performance, and DirectX 12's multithreaded performance. Basically, the more draw calls per second, the faster the performance being pushed out of the same hardware.
One thing to note about this, is that it is not a CPU or GPU test, and doesn't measure the performance of the components themselves, but instead measures the driver behind it. For our test we used an Intel i5 2500k and a GeForce GTX 970 across all three APIs.
The results are pretty staggering, with DirectX 11's single threaded performance at 1.4 Million Draw calls per second, the multithreaded performance at 2.1 Million and DirectX 12's multithreaded performance at 13.1 Million per second. This all sounds amazing, however, bear in mind that this is just a simple test showcasing the efficiency of the new API. It does not exactly reflect the real-world performance that DirectX 12 would have in-game. This test shows us how the new API harnesses the power within multi-core CPUs in a more efficient manner, letting it communicate with the GPU even faster. Once developers start using the DirectX 12 API, we could see the requirement for a multi-core CPU become a standard in games, due to just how incredibly efficient the DirectX 12 API is in using multiple CPU threads.
Fact or Fantasy? Square Enix's DirectX 12 Showcase
Microsoft has bundled all of these new features into a quite staggering showcase of DirectX 12 with a demo by Square Enix, titled "WITCH - Chapter 0 [cry]". The demo was seen running on a bank-busting four Nvidia GTX Titan X cards in SLI. With the sheer processing power and DirectX 12 in tow, the demo touted over 63 Million polygons per scene and was also rendered with 8k by 8k textures.
This level of graphical fidelity is a scintillating tease of the future, a look into the potential of DirectX 12 and the ever-improving power of external GPUs. It may take some time for game developers to utilise the power of the Multiadapter and DirectX 12, but the potential gains from the new API are too great to ignore. This demo is essentially a showcase of rendering power and technology that we're likely to see from mainstream games in the coming years, and boy does it look pretty.
DirectX 12 on low-end systems
The benefits of DirectX 12 on PC are not strictly limited to high-end gaming systems, but also standard mobile devices and notebooks. Intel has showcased benchmarks running on a Surface Pro 3, using a Core i5 CPU with an Intel 4400 internal GPU. The Benchmark is split into two modes, one running a fixed framerate benchmark at 19 frames-per-second, which can flick between DirectX 11 and DirectX 12.
In this particular benchmark, we see that when switched to DirectX 12, the CPU power consumption plummets dramatically by what Microsoft claims is 50 percent. As for the second benchmark, the framerate is unlocked, and when switched from DirectX 11 to 12, the framerate jumps from 19FPS to 33FPS. This shows, in theory, that even lower end systems should be able to enjoy a jump in performance and power once the new API is widely adopted by developers. From these tests that we can see that DirectX 12 on PC has a dramatic effect upon systems of all kinds, from the high-end all the way to the lower-end of GPUs.
DirectX 12's 4k Future
It's clear that DirectX 12 will have a significant long-term effect on both PC and Xbox One with a clear, forward-looking focus on rendering games, content and video at 4K. Ian Bell, head of the development team behind Project CARS, was asked recently what he believed would be the benefits of utilising Direct X 12. His laconic response: "30-40 percent".
Because the new API's true capabilities remain to be seen on the Xbox One, it's not completely clear whether or not the update will serve to extend the console's performance. On the PC side, it's looking like DirectX 12 will have a profound effect on almost every PC capable of running Windows 10, but the real gains will be found when developers start using the GPU Multiadapter in new, innovative ways to optimise performance. Microsoft still needs to ensure that DirectX 12 marks a technological leap that will see tangible benefits to gamers everywhere, but for now, an exciting future lies ahead.
DirectX 12 is due to roll out Holiday 2015 on both Xbox One and PC.
Electronics Arts' upcoming open-world racing game Need For Speed will need an online connection to play. The news was revealed today via the official Need For Speed Twitter account in response to a fan question about whether the game will require players to be always online.
@DeanRheims NFS will require an online connection, but the benefits are nice. More variety and a more rewarding experience with friends.
Another Tweet explained that being connection will allow for other players to become a part of the game's "narrative experience," and that this could be achieved through online play. In a recent interview with GameSpot, Ghost Games general manager Marcus Nilsson confirmed that the game will build upon the seamless online mode that was featured in Need For Speed Rivals, called AllDrive. An offline mode has not yet been confirmed.
Need For Speed will be released for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC this year and is a "full reboot" of the iconic racing series. The game is being developed by Ghost Games, who also worked on 2013's Need for Speed Rivals with Criterion Games. Need For Speed will be an open-world, day-to-night racer, include customisation features, and feature an "immersive narrative." More on the game will be revealed at E3 this year.
You might have noticed that the Villager Super Smash Bros. Amiibo, one of the hardest to find (and thus most expensive) Amiibo has recently been a bit cheaper on the re-seller market. A recent re-release of the figurine in Japan has helped drive down prices, but a few users have pointed out that the character has gone through a few changes.
We had an original run Villager figurine in the office, and we've compared him to the recent re-release in the photos below.
The most notable difference is, obviously, the eyes and the smile. While there's no noticeably difference in the figures overall size, the larger eyes in the original figure give it the illusion of looking larger overall.
No official announcement has been made about bringing the re-release to the US.
Note: Credit for all photos goes to GameSpot video producer Mary Kish.
The latest update for Destiny will see players who cheated in the Trials of Osiris player-versus-player event be issued punishment. Detailed on the Bungie blog, the developers will be investigating players who cheated in the event and issue temporary time-outs, as well as permanent bans. The developer also confirmed that the OLIVE error some players were encountering has been fixed.
Players really liked those tunnels.
Bungie also released data showing where players spent the most time on the map during the Trials of Osiris event (see image on the right), as well as figures which reveal over 3.7 million matches played in Trials of Osiris. Of these, nearly 300,000 players earned a perfect scorecard.
The post also revealed the upcoming return of the Iron Banner event, which will allow players an opportunity to earn the elusive Etheric Light currency.
Destiny's Trials of Osiris event first launched on May 22. The event featured two teams of three players going head-to-head without respawns. Trials of Osiris was released as part of Destiny's recently launched House of Wolves expansion. For more on Destiny's latest content, check out our coverage.
Nintendo's Amiibo figurines have been notoriously hard to collect since their release last year, but online store Amazon listed out very specific instructions for purchasing the next round.
In an email circulated to anyone on Amazon's Amiibo mailing list, the retailer lists out the times each of the Wave 4 Amiibo will be available for purchase when they go on sale tomorrow, May 29.
Here are the text, times, and links from the email:
"Throughout the afternoon of Friday, May 29, we'll be posting each Wave 4 Amiibo figure individually within the following time windows. Each will become available for purchase at a random time during that time frame. Mark your calendars for the following times this Friday!"
"We're limiting each Amiibo figure to one per customer, and we'll be disabling 1-Click Ordering. Additionally, it'd be helpful to make sure you've updated your credit card and shipping information to help you move quickly through the checkout process.
"We've seen a tremendous amount of interest for the latest wave of Amiibo figures and we're always working with Nintendo to get our hands on more. While we cannot guarantee that every customer who wants an amiibo will be able to purchase one when they become available on May 29th, we are doing our best to make sure customers have an opportunity to purchase their favorite characters!"
Demand is expected to be especially high; earlier this year, pre-orders for Wave 4 Amiibo crashed GameStop's online and in-store servers. In the US, GameStop has the Ness figure (from Earthbound) as a retail exclusive. Meanwhile, the Jigglypuff Amiibo is a Target exclusive in the US, thus neither figure is listed above.
Electronic Arts today announced cross-buy support for Dragon Age: Inquisition's DLC, allowing you to buy it once and access it on both last-gen and current-gen consoles within the same console family.
The first DLC to offer this is Jaws of Hakkon, which was released on Xbox One and PC in March before debuting on PS4, PS3, and Xbox 360earlier this week. The console family restriction means that if you buy the DLC on PS3, you're only able to access it for free on PS4; the same applies with Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Considering the length of Inquisition, having access to DLC if and when someone upgrades to a current-gen means this offer won't necessarily be of use to many players. Still, it's a welcome offer, even if you do need to buy the game a second time on PS4 or Xbox One in order to take advantage.
Video game retailer GameStop on Thursday reported earnings for the first quarter of 2015 ended March 31, revealing total global sales and profit were up compared to last year.
Worldwide revenue rose 3.2 percent to $2.06 billion, driven in part by 9.6 percent growth in new software sales. Secondhand sales, one of GameStop's core categories, however, declined 3.4 percent.
GameStop's digital business--yes, the company has a digital business--saw revenue increase 17.2 percent to $222.2 million. Strong DLC sales for games like Evolve and Mortal Kombat X contributed to this sales spike. Increases in mobile game downloads and Steam currency sales were also major revenue drivers.
The retailer's mobile and consumer electronics division posted $136.8 million in revenue for the quarter, up 33.9 percent. GameStop's Technology Brands division, which includes Spring Mobile and Simply Mac, saw total revenue increase an even healthier 70 percent to $102.2 million.
GameStop's profit for the quarter was $73.8 million, up 8.5 percent from last year's $68 million. GameStop also pointed out that its first-quarter profit represented the "highest level of profitability" for GameStop during its first quarter since 2011.
"Our first quarter results exceeded expectations, displaying our market leadership and our ability to drive and leverage our core video game business and expand our diversified businesses to deliver healthy profits and solid top-line growth," GameStop CEO Paul Raines said in a statement. "This performance confirms that our effort to transform GameStop into a family of specialty brands is the right strategy to drive durable revenues and shareholder value."
The retailer will hold a call to discuss these results and answer analyst questions today, starting at 2 PM PDT / 5 PM EDT.
Among the variety of bugs The Witcher 3 suffers from--some funny and strange, others more serious--is one where you don't receive experience points. Developer CD Projekt Red is working to fix this, but if you've been tackling quests without getting experience, it's not necessarily the bug that's to blame.
In a post on CD Projekt Red's forums, one of the Witcher 3's gameplay designers briefly discussed the XP issues, revealing an important detail about how the game works.
"Quests that are six levels (or more) lower than yours are not granting experience," the post reads. "Anything else should reward you with exp[erience], we are looking into the issue."
Since then, CD Projekt Red has said it's found the bug causing XP to not be rewarded correctly and is working to fix it. But that forum post makes it clear that, if you're completing quests and not being rewarded with XP, it might simply be that you're undertaking ones that are too low-level for you.
Even though no new BioShock games have been announced, the franchise remains "really important" to publisher 2K Games, parent company Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick said today.
Speaking during the Technology, Media, & Telecom Conference in New York, Zelnick revealed that the BioShock franchise in all has sold more than 25 million copies. BioShock Infinite alone, he said, has sold 11 million copies.
"It's a really important intellectual property for the company," Zelnick said. "And while I don't have any announcements to make, yes, it's a really important franchise for us."
BioShock Infinite, released in 2013, is the most recent entry in the core series that initially debuted in 2007 and spawned a sequel in 2010. Creator Irrational Games effectively closed in February 2014, with series designer Ken Levine and a small team staying on to work on a smaller, more entrepreneurial project.
Development on the BioShock franchise going forward will be handled by 2K Marin. A year ago this month, Zelnick said during a presentation that he thinks BioShock series still has a lot of room to grow--creatively and commercially.
"I think there's a lot of upside in that franchise," Zelnick said at the time about BioShock. "It hasn't necessarily been realized yet. And the question for the future, assuming we decide to answer the question, would be 'How do you stay true to that creatively?'; 'How do you do something exciting?'; and 'How do you do expand the market?'. That would be the natural drill. We're starting from a good point on it. And certainly it's been a great piece of business for us; it's been a profitable piece of business."
Nearly three decades after its predecessor debuted on platforms like Atari Lynx and MS-DOS, Chip's Challenge 2 is now available on Steam.
As announced last month, the previously unreleased game is finally launching after its release was prevented due to rights issues in the early '90s. These are briefly detailed in a "History" section on the game's Steam page, which I can't remember seeing before.
With those issues sorted out, you can now buy the standalone game on Steam for $5. Alternatively, you can pick up a bundle that includes it, the original, and a level editor ($3 on its own) for that same $5 price. The new game is comprised of 200 new levels, and allows you to play as either the titular Chip or Melinda.
The first Chip's Challenge debuted in 1989, making this wait comparable to that of Wasteland 2, which came out last year as the sequel to the 1988 original. Length of the wait aside, the two situations are different in that Chip's 2 had already been developed, whereas Wasteland 2 was a new project made possible thanks to Kickstarter.
Being a game that was originally created so long ago, virtually any computer is capable of running it; you need only a Pentium 486--a processor as old as the original Chip's Challenge--16 MB of RAM, and 100 MB of storage space. Water-cooling is optional.
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