The majority of core gamers in the United States prefer to buy their games on physical discs rather than digitally, according to a new study from research firm the NPD Group. When pricing is the same, 74 percent of respondents said they would opt for a physical disc over a download. Though physical media still reigns king for core gamers, a preference for digital is growing, up 5 percentage points compared to last year, the NPD Group said.
Also in the report, titled Core Gaming 2014, the NPD Group found that there are 34 million core gamers total in the United States. These gamers spend an average of 22 hours per week playing video games, the report found.
The NPD Group defines core gamers are those people who play games for at least five hours per week on Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PC, or Mac. In a statement, NPD Group analyst Liam Callahan said he expects the average time spent playing games will only increase as a result of the launch of the Xbox One and PS4 console generation.
"Core gamers are really the lifeblood of the industry, spending tremendous amounts of time on their hobby of choice," Callahan said. "With the new console generation off to a great start, we can expect the amount of time spent gaming to increase as more core gamers adopt them."
Of the 34 million core gamers in the US, around two-thirds (22.6 million), said they also play games for smartphones and other mobile devices. Core gamers are also big fans of multiplayer games, the report found, noting that around 70 percent of core gamers play multiplayer titles regularly or occasionally.
"Core gamers are an important part of the games industry and understanding their behavior is critical to anyone invested in the games space--especially considering the launch of the new consoles and the continued evolution of digital gaming," Callahan said.
If pricing is the same, would you opt for the physical or digital version of a game? Let us know in the comments below!
Warner Bros. has announced (via Variety) that the first of three movies in the Harry Potter spinoff trilogy, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will hit theaters on November 18, 2016.
Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling makes her screenwriting debut for the film, adapting Newt Scamander's fictional Hogwarts textbook of the same name for the movie. The book chronicles efforts made in the field of "Magizoology," that is, the study of magical creatures.
The film version of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was announced in September 2013. Starting in New York 70 years before Harry Potter's story begins, it is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the Harry Potter series, but rather an extension to the beloved magical world.
There's no word yet on a director or cast for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
When the movie was announced in September, Warner Bros. also said that it would spin the movies into video games. However, no mention was made of these video game tie-ins in this week's announcement. We're following up with Warner Bros. for more information.
Video games based on the popular Harry Potter films were developed and published by Electronic Arts. It is unclear if Warner Bros. will develop the new Fantastic Beasts games internally through its Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment label or license them out.
The most recent Harry Potter game was 2012's Kinect-required Harry Potter for Kinect.
The Wii U may be struggling at the moment, but it's not the first Nintendo platform to come out of the gate slower than than expected. Speaking with analysts recently about the company's recent poor financial performance, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata reminded people that the Game Boy also was a slow-starter before rising fast thanks to the release of a single title.
"The fate of a video game system is often influenced greatly by the introduction of a single title. As many of you probably remember, before the release of the Pokémon game, Game Boy had been showing slow growth, and many people wondered whether it was the end of Game Boy," Iwata said. "But the Pokémon game singlehandedly changed the landscape of the system, which then started to show the strongest sales in the lifecycle of the system."
Some of the Wii U's upcoming marquee games include Mario Kart 8 (May 30), Super Smash Bros. (2014), and an all-new Legend of Zelda game, among others. These titles could be regarded as system-sellers, but the impact they have on the Wii U's overall prospects remains to be seen. Iwata also made clear that Nintendo isn't banking on the Wii U matching the sales of the original Wii, which is one of the best-selling home consoles of all time with over 100 million units sold to date.
"As I explained back in January, it is true that we cannot draw up a good business plan for Wii U by assuming that Wii U will sell more than Wii did. Therefore, we will need to think very carefully about the balance of revenue and expenses and try to operate by controlling overall costs," Iwata said. "On the other hand, we do not believe that this year's estimate of 3.60 million units of Wii U hardware will be the peak of its lifecycle, and we would like to work hard to make sure that we give sufficient momentum to the system so that we can expect good results in and after the next fiscal year, too. However, as for this fiscal year, as I explained before, the figures you see have been determined by rather conservative estimates."
Also during his briefing with analysts, Iwata shed some light on Nintendo's mysterious upcoming NFC initiative. He said that though Activision (Skylanders) and Disney (Disney Infinity) have seen success in the toys-to-life market, Nintendo may take a different approach.
"Our primary focus, however, is not to develop software that is compatible with figurines. Rather, we have been developing figurines since last year because we believe there may be different approaches or ways to appeal to consumers by using them, and this could also be one way for Nintendo to utilize its character IP," Iwata said.
Nintendo will share more details about its plans for the "toys-to-life" market at E3 next month.
Removing Kinect from Xbox One bundles is actually going to help the camera technology sell more units in the long run, according to Head of Xbox Phil Spencer. Speaking with GameSpot sister site CNET, Spencer outlined what you might think sounds like a backwards strategy.
"In the long run, I think we'll actually end up with more Xbox Ones with Kinect out there with this strategy," Spencer said.
Going by Spencer's logic, he thinks that the Xbox One's new $399 price point will drive more people to the system in the short-term, and later on they'll discover that they want a Kinect camera to fill out the overall Xbox One experience.
"If consumers choose that they don't want Kinect, or they want to add it later, we're going to make that available. But this is about a continuum and in the end, I hope everyone sees that the experience with Kinect is the best Xbox One experience," Spencer added.
Starting this fall, you'll be able to buy a standalone Kinect camera for the Xbox One, but Microsoft isn't saying what this will cost. The current Kinect camera for Xbox 360 sells for $100.
Microsoft's decision to make Kinect optional for Xbox One has not been universally praised. Staffers at Kinect-focused studio Harmonix (Dance Central, Rock Band, Fantasia) spoke less-than-enthusiastically about the move yesterday. Meanwhile, Zumba Fitness studio Zoë Mode told Develop that dropping Kinect "all but kills the chances" of an original Kinect game.
The Xbox One's ability to offer voice- and gesture-based commands is a groundbreaking feature and one that most consumer devices will use in the next five years. That's according to Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi, who told Forbes that Microsoft remains committed to Kinect even after the recent news that the company is unbundling it from Xbox One.
"The way I look at it is that you should take a five-year vision. I think in five years, we will laugh at any computing device you can't walk up to and talk to," Mehdi said. "Voice is going to be there for all devices. We're a pioneer with Kinect in the living room."
"The way I look at it is that you should take a five-year vision. I think in five years, we will laugh at any computing device you can't walk up to and talk to" -- Yusuf Mehdi
"And it's not just voice, and it's voice and biometric ID. The ability to pioneer that, and with the success we've had so far with five million people, it's remarkable," he added. "We feel great about it. And look, we're going to learn a lot, and our partners are going to learn a lot, and our customers are going to learn a lot, and we're going to continue to shape it. But I think we're breaking a lot of new ground and we're delighted with the progress."
Also in the interview, Mehdi said it was the "right call" to bundle Xbox One with Kinect when the platform launched last November, even though the company has now backtracked just six months later.
"In the beginning of a new console generation, you're trying to set the bar for a new experience, and I think we did that with Xbox One," Mehdi said.
Mehdi pointed out that 80 percent of all Xbox One owners use Kinect actively, and that players have issued over 1 billion voice commands to date.
Though removing Kinect from the standard Xbox One unit has led to some level of consternation from developers, doing so will actually help the camera technology enter more homes in the long run, Microsoft's Phil Spencer says. This is because, Spencer argues, more people are likely to buy the Xbox One at its new $399 price point and then purchase a standalone Kinect unit later down the road.
"We wanted to do a game about the war but not a war game, so that's why you don't kill people. The war kills them, but you don't kill them." That's what lead designer Julian Chevalier said when I asked him about the concept behind Valiant Hearts: The Great War, Ubisoft's upcoming game about World War I.
When I played Valiant Hearts recently at a preview event, I saw that the game wastes no time in putting a human face on war, focusing not on military strategy and the motivations of huge political powers but on how the machinations of those powers impacted the lives of ordinary people. The game starts as Karl, a German who has been living in France with his wife and newborn child, is forcibly separated from his family when the war breaks out. Back in Germany, Karl is conscripted into the German army, while his wife's father, Emile, is forced to enlist on the French side; Valiant Hearts isn't a story of good versus evil, but of regular people swept up in a conflict that is beyond their control.
You might be the target of some heavy firepower in Valiant Hearts, but you won't be wielding it.
The gameplay also tries to communicate the ordinary nature of the characters. This is not a power fantasy, and Emile is not a formidable killing machine. He's older, and fittingly, he struggles just to hoist himself over small obstacles. Another character, Anna, is a French nurse who, as Chevalier told me, "really wants to help people, and when I say people, I mean all people." Playing as her on a grim battlefield, I helped French and German soldiers alike. The game doesn't shy away from acknowledging the horrors of war, and as Anna, I had to amputate one poor soldier's arm, but the game didn't show the act itself, and the art style prevents such moments from being too soul-crushing. Chevalier said that the team wanted a visual style that would make the game's subject matter approachable for players of all ages.
Valiant Hearts also makes time for moments of sweetness and exuberance. A cute dog helps you solve many of the game's simple puzzles, and when he lies on his back and Emile rubs his belly, it may bring a smile to your face despite the devastation the characters have experienced. And in one inspired sequence, Anna drives through the bustling streets of Paris as you navigate obstacles that appear in rhythm with the music. It's a joyous moment.
Anna can't save everyone.
Clearly Chevalier doesn't want you to be overcome with despair as you play Valiant Hearts, but he also doesn't want to paint a rosy picture of what was a horrible event. The game, he said, gets "darker and darker, because we wanted to match what the people felt at this time. In France, for instance, when the war started, they weren't happy, but they thought the war would only last a short time, and then they started to be in the trenches, to be stuck in the mud." Things became increasingly horrific as the war progressed, and I saw Valiant Hearts depict the Second Battle of Ypres, which was the first major use of poison gas by Germany.
Valiant Hearts joins This War of Mine as a game that aims to depict war not as an explosive, action-packed spectacle, but as a tragic event that tears ordinary lives asunder, and I'm glad to see games that are attempting to tell stories about war that strive not to empower you, but to make you feel like you're just doing what little you can in a situation that's much bigger than you are. Valiant Hearts will be released on June 25 for the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC.
Written By Kom Limpulnam on Rabu, 07 Mei 2014 | 23.37
Gamespot's Site MashupEA shares rising fast after earnings reportCloud-gaming platform OnLive adds its first free-to-play gameXbox One getting a Sherlock Holmes game -- Here's three new screenshotsPokemon Ruby & Sapphire remakes coming to 3DS this yearTitanfall Review - Through the Eyes of a Lapsed Combatant"Retry" is an upcoming game that is so difficult it will make you feel like you've "stepped into an 8-bit time machine."Turtle Beach announces Star Wars gaming headsets, will be revealed at E3Sir, You Are Being Hunted - Random EncounterBlack Gold Online - Now PlayingReport: PS4 will top Xbox One globally, selling 51 million units by 2016Kevin Durant is NBA 2K15's cover starAssassin's Creed creator may show his next game soonEA will announce a "major" Frostbite 3 game at E3 -- What do you think it is?Wii U sales slow to a crawl as Nintendo posts $457 million lossEarthworm Jim 20th Anniversary Retrospective
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 07 May 2014 08:38:21 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-shares-rising-fast-after-earnings-report/1100-6419485/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525233-eae3new.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525233" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525233-eae3new.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525233"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525233-eae3new.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">One day after Electronic Arts reported <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-claims-it-s-top-next-gen-game-publisher-in-the-west-as-profits-increase/1100-6419466/" data-ref-id="1100-6419466">better-than-expected financial results for its latest quarter</a>, including revenue of $1.12 billion a profit of $367 million, the company's share value is <a href="https://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:EA&ei=o0tqU9DtNMOaqQHJhYHQDw" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">climbing at a significant clip</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now, EA shares are up more than 16 percent to $32.63 from their closing price yesterday of $28.05. That's a gain of more than $4.50 per share. Analysts for brokerage firms Sterne Agee and Cowen & Company said through investor notes today that EA's results for the quarter were ahead of expectations.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Looking ahead, EA has a number of marquee titles on its hands for the fall season, including <a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon Age: Inquisition</a>, <a href="/the-sims-4/" data-ref-id="false">The Sims 4</a>, and a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/" data-ref-id="1100-6419476">"major" Frostbite 3-powered game</a> that will be announced at E3. EA plans to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/" data-ref-id="1100-6419476">show off six new games</a> during its press conference at the show next month. <a href="/star-wars-battlefront/" data-ref-id="false">Star Wars: Battlefront</a>, from Battlefield developer DICE, will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-star-wars-battlefront-will-be-shown-at-e3/1100-6419470/" data-ref-id="1100-6419470">also be on-hand during the presentation</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 08:17:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-shares-rising-fast-after-earnings-report/1100-6419485/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cloud-gaming-platform-onlive-adds-its-first-free-to-play-game/1100-6419482/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525187-warthunder_android+login.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525187" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525187-warthunder_android+login.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525187"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525187-warthunder_android+login.png"></a><figcaption>The War Thunder log-in page at OnLive</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cloud-gaming company OnLive announced today that Gaijin Entertainment's free-to-play MMO <a href="/war-thunder/" data-ref-id="false">War Thunder </a>is now available through their service. It's the first free-to-play game available through OnLive, the company points out. War Thunder is currently available on PC and PlayStation 4 (in Europe, at least).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">War Thunder for OnLive also works with the company's <a href="https://games.onlive.com/games#selectCloudlift" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CloudLift subscription ($7.95/month)</a>, allowing subscribers to play the game wherever they want without re-downloading it. Progress and purchases are synced through the cloud, so there's no need to worry about that.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">OnLive explains that War Thunder through OnLive "massively lowers" the recommended PC specifications, and notes that the game can even be played on an Android tablet, so long as you have a Bluetooth controller. This is the first time War Thunder has ever been playable on a tablet.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"OnLive is making it possible for our millions of War Thunder fans to jump into combat quickly, wherever they are and on whatever device they're carrying," Gaijin Entertainment CEO Anton Yudintsev said in a statement. "We're looking forward to engaging our current players more deeply and more often, while bringing new users into our game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">War Thunder now has 6 million registered users, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/war-thunder-beta-nets-5-million-players/1100-6415971/" data-ref-id="1100-6415971">up from 5 million</a>, the company adds. You can <a href="http://games.onlive.com/games/war-thunder-cloudlift" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">try a 30-minute demo of War Thunder through OnLive at the game's product page</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's not the only announcement OnLive had to make today. The company also announced this morning that it has hired James Alan Cook as its general counsel and senior vice president of business and legal affairs. Cook previously worked at the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-to-acquire-cloud-gaming-service-gaikai-for-380m/1100-6385186/" data-ref-id="1100-6385186">Sony-owned Gaiki </a>under the same title, and also held positions at Atari and The 3DO Company.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"OnLive is poised to create enormous waves in the ways that interactive games and other consumer and commercial software products are delivered to their target audiences," Cook said in a statement.</p><p style="">For more about OnLive, <a href="http://www.onlive.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">check out the platform's website</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 08:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cloud-gaming-platform-onlive-adds-its-first-free-to-play-game/1100-6419482/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-getting-a-sherlock-holmes-game-here-s-three-new-screenshots/1100-6419484/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525216-sherlock1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525216" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525216-sherlock1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525216"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525216-sherlock1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Focus Home Interactive (<a href="/bound-by-flame/" data-ref-id="false">Bound By Flame</a>) announced today that its upcoming Sherlock Holmes game, <a href="/crimes-and-punishments/" data-ref-id="false">Crimes & Punishments</a>, will be released on Xbox One. Previously, the game was confirmed only for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developed by Frogwares, creators of <a href="http://www.frogwares.com/games.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">various Sherlock Holmes game for PC</a>, Crimes & Punishments features Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson investigating crime scenes. Three new screenshots for the game were also released today and you can see them in this post.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments launches in "early September" across all platforms. For more on the title, be sure to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/crimes-and-punishments/" data-ref-id="false">check out GameSpot's previous coverage</a>.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525218-sherlock2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525218" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525218-sherlock2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525218"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525218-sherlock2.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525220-sherlock3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525220" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525220-sherlock3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525220"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525220-sherlock3.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" 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> Wed, 07 May 2014 08:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-getting-a-sherlock-holmes-game-here-s-three-new-screenshots/1100-6419484/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-ruby-sapphire-remakes-coming-to-3ds-this-year/1100-6419483/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywGSON9tNq0" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FywGSON9tNq0%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DywGSON9tNq0&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FywGSON9tNq0%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Remakes of Game Boy Advance games <a href="/pokemon-ruby-version/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/pokemon-ruby-version/">Pokémon Ruby</a> and <a href="/pokemon-sapphire-version/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/pokemon-sapphire-version/">Pokémon Sapphire</a> are coming to the 3DS. The Pokémon Company announced today that Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire will arrive worldwide in November 2014, only on 3DS.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Pokémon Company describes the games as a "fresh take" on the originals, which debuted more than a decade ago in 2003. "The new titles promise to take players through a dramatic story within a spectacular new world," the company said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">More information about Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire will be shared in the lead-up to their arrival this November. The most recent entry in the main series was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pokemon-x-y-review/1900-6415303/" data-ref-id="1900-6415303" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pokemon-x-y-review/1900-6415303/">Pokémon X/Y</a>, which has now sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/" data-ref-id="1100-6419475" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/">12.26 million units to date</a>.</p><p style=""><br /></p><table data-max-width="true" class="mceItemTable"><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" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch"> 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" data-mce-href="mailto:news@gamespot.com">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""><br /></p> Wed, 07 May 2014 07:16:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-ruby-sapphire-remakes-coming-to-3ds-this-year/1100-6419483/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/titanfall-review-through-the-eyes-of-a-lapsed-comb/1900-6415753/ <p style="">I grew up playing competitive shooters like Quake and Unreal Tournament, but these days, it's rare that arena-based first-person shooter holds my interest, as evidenced by the fact that I've failed to connect with one since my tenure on the battlefields of Halo 3. I've looked for new suitors, but my efforts to reenter the fold with military-gilded games like <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3</a> and <a href="/battlefield-3/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 3</a> never lasted more than a couple of hours at best. I thought they were good on their own terms, but they didn't deliver significantly different experiences from other games I'd played in the past. I came close to reconnecting with the genre in 2012, when I thought I'd found a shiny new friend in <a href="/tribes-ascend/" data-ref-id="false">Tribes: Ascend</a>, but I was let down by maps that didn't capitalize on Ascend's style of movement; they simply made room for it. With Titanfall's promise of parkour-inspired mobility mixed with intense man-on-mech combat, I was hopeful I had finally spotted my boat back to shore. It was another military shooter, but one set in a futuristic conflict with massive mechs that I could interact with by leaping into and out of the cockpit as I pleased. If any shooter was to appeal to my tastes, this was the one.</p><p style="">The transition back into the world of competitive shooters wasn't easy. At first, I felt that I was unfairly at the mercy of other players because I couldn't grasp exactly how they were spotting and killing me. After several rounds and educational deaths, I knew why: I was looking at Titanfall through old lenses. Unlike in other shooters, gravity is much less of a hindrance when you have a propulsive jump kit that allows you to run on walls and double jump onto the top of buildings. While I was busy running on the ground, peering around corners, my opponents were leaping off of billboards, scaling buildings, and hanging on walls above doorways, handily shooting me when my back was turned. Before I learned the importance and nuance of using every inch of the environment, I was a sitting duck. A brief tutorial introduces the concepts of wall-running, double-jumping, and piloting a titan, which is useful from a mechanical perspective, but it only taught me what I was capable of. When it came to learning how to survive against other players, there was no better classroom than the battlefield.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418251" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418251/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Thankfully, there were a few tools that gave me some much needed aid, including the smart pistol, which I quickly learned could be my best friend during a difficult match. This handy weapon lets you lock onto multiple targets if they spend enough time in the pistol's generously sized reticle, subsequently delivering lethal hits to ground troops. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to spend more time learning the ropes of movement and less time worrying about precision aiming at the start. Eventually, however, the smart pistol began to feel like a crutch that was limiting my potential. Given the time it takes for the smart pistol to lock on to enemies, I would eventually have to switch to less-forgiving but faster-firing weapons in order to remain competitive, and that would require target practice. Luckily, most modes incorporate simple, AI-controlled enemies, which are an easy source of experience points and target practice, allowing me to unlock more powerful weapons and bolster my proficiency with traditional guns.</p><p style="">Titanfall also incorporates temporary upgrades known as burn cards, which grant power-ups that can give you an edge beyond your current abilities. Burn cards affect weapons, skills, and cooldown timers for both pilots and titans, and they're doled out steadily at the end of each round, but since you're working with limited inventory space, it's best to use them as often as possible. Learning which burn cards are best suited for your style of play is important from a strategic standpoint, as they allow you to access weapons and powers that may lie five or ten levels ahead of your current rank.</p><blockquote data-size="large"><p style="">It was another military shooter, but one set in a futuristic military conflict that put mechs front and center. If any shooter was to appeal to my tastes, this was the one.</p></blockquote><p style="">Despite having to learn a few new systems, most of the competitive modes are immediately familiar: you vie for enemy flags in Capture the Flag, you claim and protect disparate strongholds in Hardpoint Domination, and in both Attrition and Pilot Hunter battles, your only goal is to kill your opponents. Both titans and pilots are targets in Attrition mode, but Pilot Hunter only rewards pilot kills, which significantly alters the importance of titans in battle, making them more of a means of defense than offense. Alternatively, Last Titan Standing pits teams of titans against one another over the course of four rounds. Fall in the middle of battle, and you're stuck on the sidelines until the next round.</p><p style="">Attrition is by far the most exciting mode of the lot. The mix of titans and pilots is thrilling and chaotic, and though pilots are dwarfed by titans, their agility should not be underestimated. In the right hands, a pilot's jump kit can be advantageous during close-range combat, allowing them to mount a titan (referred to as rodeoing) and attack its most vulnerable spot, potentially destroying it and forcing the pilot to expose himself during ejection. Sometimes this occurs when two titans are in a face-off and a pilot slips in unnoticed. Less aggressive pilots may do well to use their heavy anti-titan weapons from the safety of distant cover if they've grown too familiar with the underside of a titan's foot, however.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524216-titanfallscreen.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524216" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524216-titanfallscreen.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524216"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1406/14063904/2524216-titanfallscreen.jpg"></a><figcaption>Warring titans present the perfect opportunity for an inventive pilot to score a few extra points.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Marksmanship is an invaluable skill, but Titanfall elevates the importance of environmental awareness, and this shift enables a new type of player to succeed and revel in the competitive arena. The entire world is your sidewalk as a pilot, but it takes an experienced eye to recognize the subtle paths that run through the ruined cities, buckled space structures, and massive, derelict airships. You can brute-force your way across a map, but these environments are waiting to be exploited by fleet-footed and keen-eyed soldiers. Experienced players have a small advantage, but years of aiming down sights and understanding traditional maps can't prepare you for wall-running combatants with invisibility cloaks. It's important to keep moving, because your opponents are just as likely to come from above as they are from your side.</p><p style="">Jumping into a titan introduces a whole other series of lessons, since you can no longer leap off of walls and onto the tops of buildings like a pilot can. Unless you're playing the Last Titan Standing mode, titans become available after the first few minutes of a match. You can summon them immediately to your side if you're in an open area, or the game will automatically choose the closest locations with proper clearance for you.</p><p style="">Although you can order your titan to follow you on foot or roam freely, you'll undoubtedly spend a lot of time in the cockpit. Titans control like massive soldiers without jump kits, but they can still be relatively nimble when they need to be. Rather than solely marching with a heavy foot, titans are capable of dashing in short bursts to avoid fire and pop into or out of cover, and different classes mix up the ratio of speed and armor to suit different play styles. Titans also possess extreme abilities--like the vortex shield that lets you catch and return enemy fire--which make for explosive and riveting exchanges between enemy titans.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417585" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417585/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Once I'd grasped the extent of my new abilities, which took a few hours, Titanfall became everything I'd hoped it would be. Fighting on foot as a pilot with the ability to run along walls and leap into second-story windows felt liberating, and when the mammoth titans came into play, I was David or Goliath depending on the moment, and each perspective came with its own sense of empowerment. Titanfall delivers a compelling competitive experience by mixing these two types of units on the battlefield, culminating in explosive and chaotic matches unlike anything I've experienced before.</p><p style="">The only thing missing is a rich single-player campaign. It simply doesn't exist. Titanfall is a pure multiplayer experience, and while it excels in that regard, it fails to form a meaningful link between you and its world. There's a story that provides the necessary context for a military conflict, where two human factions vie for resources and territory, but the events that take place during the online-only campaign are largely meaningless. You have no identity, there's no source of emotional inspiration, and the sole motivation for playing the campaign--twice--is for the new titan chassis that unlock at the end. These add a little variety to your titan loadout options, but it's not so great a prize as to justify forcing you to play through vapid and paltry narrative trappings.</p><p style="">Campaign issues aside, Titanfall's expert mix of light-footed pilots and massive Titans brings something entirely new to the competitive arena. These systems mesh perfectly with existing shooter tropes, and the combination of new and old has reinvigorated my interest in a type of game I had all but written off. If getting back into shooters after Halo 3 was challenging for me, I can only imagine how hard it will be to find a game that can live up to the new standards set by Titanfall.</p> Wed, 07 May 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/titanfall-review-through-the-eyes-of-a-lapsed-comb/1900-6415753/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/retry-is-an-upcoming-game-that-is-so-difficult-it-will-make-you-feel-like-you-ve-stepped-into-an-8-bit-time-machine/1100-6419481/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta0SJa6Sglo" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fta0SJa6Sglo%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed%26start%3D44&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dta0SJa6Sglo&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fta0SJa6Sglo%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/angry-birds/" data-ref-id="false">Angry Birds </a>developer Rovio Entertainment has announced a new game called "Retry," which bears similarities to the hugely popular (and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/flappy-bird-could-come-back-to-ios-and-android-creator-says/1100-6418252/" data-ref-id="1100-6418252">no longer available</a>) Flappy Bird.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Retry is described as "a game so hard, so addictive, so old school that you'll think you've stepped into an 8-bit time machine and gone back to 1986. Totally rad!" Like Flappy Bird, Retry challenges players to fly through a level without colliding with objects. "Fly. Crash. Repeat. It's called 'Retry for a reason," Rovio says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Retry is available now on iTunes in Finland, Canada, and Poland. There's no word yet on when it will see a wider release or if it's also coming to Android devices.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The game is released through Rovio's new "LVL 11" publishing label. Rovio executive vice president Jami Laes told <a href="http://www.pocketgamer.biz/interview/58999/lvl11-is-a-kind-of-magical-place-jami-laes-talks-rovios-new-publishing-arm/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">PocketGamer.biz </a>that this new experimental publishing arm was established for games that "don't necessarily fit the normal thinking" of what gamers might expect to be a new game from the makers of Angry Birds.</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 06:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/retry-is-an-upcoming-game-that-is-so-difficult-it-will-make-you-feel-like-you-ve-stepped-into-an-8-bit-time-machine/1100-6419481/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/turtle-beach-announces-star-wars-gaming-headsets-will-be-revealed-at-e3/1100-6419480/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525170-starwarsheadsets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525170" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525170-starwarsheadsets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525170"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525170-starwarsheadsets.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Video game headset maker Turtle Beach announced today that it is working with Lucasfilm for an upcoming line of Star Wars-themed headsets.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Turtle Beach's Star Wars headset line will feature characters and artwork from the Star Wars franchise, including the TV show <em>Star Wars Rebels</em>. They will include swappable speaker plates, which will be sold as accessories, allowing you to create a unique headset.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">These headsets will launch in 2014, but there's no word yet on pricing. The first headset and speaker plate designs will be announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) next month.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"As a company in the gaming and entertainment space, we can't help but be excited by the prospect of working on Star Wars headset designs in collaboration with Lucasfilm," Turtle Beach chief marketing officer Bob Picunko said in a statement. "We are looking forward to introducing state-of-the-art headsets that appeal to both casual and elite players who are fans of Star Wars."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Star Wars is not the first major entertainment franchise Turtle Beach has teamed up with, but it may be the most prominent. Turtle Beach also makes <a href="http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/headsets/call-of-duty" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">special Call of Duty: Ghosts </a>and <a href="http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/headsets/marvel" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Marvel headsets</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last week, director J.J. Abrams <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/official-star-wars-episode-vii-movie-cast-announced/1100-6419293/" data-ref-id="1100-6419293">announced the cast</a> for upcoming movie <em>Star Wars: Episode VII. </em>Electronic Arts is currently working on multiple Star Wars games, including a new <a href="/star-wars-battlefront/" data-ref-id="false">Star Wars: Battlefront </a>from Battlefield developer DICE.</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 06:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/turtle-beach-announces-star-wars-gaming-headsets-will-be-revealed-at-e3/1100-6419480/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sir-you-are-being-hunted-random-encounter/2300-6418682/ Danny O'Dwyer is being hunted by robots for sport. I mean, really - why are you not joining us in the chat to see this go down? Down with the robots! Down with the humans! Wed, 07 May 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sir-you-are-being-hunted-random-encounter/2300-6418682/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/black-gold-online-now-playing/2300-6418683/ Snail Games is in the house with host Kevin VanOrd as they turn him into the ultimate steam punk warrior in Black Gold Online! Join us in the chat and have all your questions answered by the developers! Wed, 07 May 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/black-gold-online-now-playing/2300-6418683/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-ps4-will-top-xbox-one-globally-selling-51-million-units-by-2016/1100-6419479/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525165-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525165" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525165-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525165"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525165-xb1ps4.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a new report from research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the PlayStation 4 will sell 51 million units globally by 2016, outpacing Microsoft's Xbox One. A preview of the report was shared with <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-05-06-ps4-to-lead-all-consoles-with-51-million-sold-by-2016-idc" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="2014-05">GamesIndustry International</a>, and it has many other interesting takeaways.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Though the PS4 will have the greatest global market share by 2016, according to the report, the Xbox One will actually be the market leader in North America if Microsoft decides to offer a version of the console without Kinect, thereby lowering the price.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The presumed unbundling of Kinect and Xbox One, which should facilitate rough price parity between it and the PS4, should lead to a spike in Xbox One sales," the firm said. "Assuming the console and sensor are unbundled in 2015, IDC expects Xbox One to recover and emerge with the largest installed base of any console in North America by the end of 2016."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now, the PS4 is the top next-generation console. It has sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reports-7-million-playstation-4-consoles-sold-worldwide/1100-6419044/" data-ref-id="1100-6419044">more than 7 million units</a>. Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii U has sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/" data-ref-id="1100-6419475">6.17 million consoles globally</a>, while the only sold-through figure Microsoft has shared to date for the Xbox One is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-sold-3-million-units-in-2013-microsoft-says/1100-6416955/" data-ref-id="1100-6416955"> 3 million</a>, though the company has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ships-1-2-million-to-retailers-during-2014-s-first-quarter/1100-6419194/" data-ref-id="1100-6419194">shipped 5 million systems</a> overall.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The IDC report goes on to say that Nintendo's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/" data-ref-id="1100-6419475">flagging Wii U</a> will get "the equivalent of a $50 price cut worldwide in late 2014 or early 2015." However, the IDC says this price cut will not be enough to help the Wii U catch up to competing consoles.</p><p style="">Finally, the IDC concluded that the traditional disc-based retail sector is expected to continue to decline, which you might expect as digital purchasing becomes more and more popular. To that end, the IDC also expects that by 2019, more than 50 percent of total game spending across all consoles will come through digital channels. "Rising digital revenue is forecast to nearly offset the fall in disc-based revenue," the group said.</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 05:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-ps4-will-top-xbox-one-globally-selling-51-million-units-by-2016/1100-6419479/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kevin-durant-is-nba-2k15-s-cover-star/1100-6419478/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525160-nba_2k15_announcement_v2_deliverweb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525160" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525160-nba_2k15_announcement_v2_deliverweb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525160"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525160-nba_2k15_announcement_v2_deliverweb.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, one of the most dominant players in the entire NBA, is the cover athlete for upcoming basketball game <a href="/nba-2k15/" data-ref-id="false">NBA 2K15</a>, 2K Sports announced today. This announcement comes just a day after <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24552566/its-official-kevin-durant-named-2013-14-most-valuable-player" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Durant was named 2014 NBA MVP</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'm honored to be selected for the cover of NBA 2K," Durant said in a statement. "I've been an avid fan and player of NBA 2K since I was a kid, and being selected as the sole cover athlete of NBA 2K15 is an amazing accomplishment at this point of my life. I feel like my time has come."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Durant has an impressive list of accomplishments to his name. After playing just one season of college ball at Texas, he joined the NBA and was named the 2007-2008 Rookie of the Year. He has since earned himself four NBA scoring titles and he's been selected to five All-Star teams.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Miami Heat superstar Lebron James was the cover star for last year's game, <a href="/reviews/nba-2k14-review/1900-6414934/" data-ref-id="1900-6414934">NBA 2K14</a>.</p><p style="">NBA 2K15 launches October 7 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. That date is becoming ever-crowded, as October 7 also sees the release of <a href="/alien-isolation/" data-ref-id="false">Alien: Isolation</a>, <a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon Age: Inquisition</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/driveclub/" data-ref-id="false">Driveclub</a>, and <a href="/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor/" data-ref-id="false">Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 05:20:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kevin-durant-is-nba-2k15-s-cover-star/1100-6419478/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassin-s-creed-creator-may-show-his-next-game-soon/1100-6419477/ <p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets may be gearing up to show off his next project. Asked by Internet super-sleuth Superannuation if he has <a href="https://twitter.com/supererogatory/status/463880282395779072" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">any interesting news to share</a> in the coming weeks, Désilets <a href="https://twitter.com/PatriceDez/status/463880911134543872" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">responded</a>, "Probably yes...at least I'm working on it."</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525149-desilets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525149" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525149-desilets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525149"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1179/11799911/2525149-desilets.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to Superannuation, Désilets has been under a "no-compete" clause since he was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassins-creed-creator-claims-he-was-fired/1100-6408032/" data-ref-id="1100-6408032">let go from Ubisoft last year </a>which has forbade him from showing any new games. This clause is apparently set to end at the end of the month, which would mean that Désilets could show off his new project if he wanted to.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Désilets <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassins-creed-creative-director-founding-thq-montreal-studio/1100-6282277/" data-ref-id="1100-6282277">originally left Ubisoft in 2010 </a>to start a new studio, THQ Montreal, where he was working on a game called 1666: Amsterdam. Upon THQ's bankruptcy, Ubisoft stepped in to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/thq-dissolved/1100-6402838/" data-ref-id="1100-6402838">purchase THQ Montreal and the 1666: Amsterdam game itself</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The designer re-joined Ubisoft as part of the company's acquisition of THQ Montreal, but it didn't last long. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the company and Désilets "couldn't align our visio both on project development and team management." 1666: Amsterdam was put on hold and Désilets left Ubisoft again, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassins-creed-creator-sues-ubisoft/1100-6409500/" data-ref-id="1100-6409500">suing the company on the way out</a> for $400,000 and for rights to purchase the 1666: Amsterdam game from Ubisoft. The status of that lawsuit is unknown.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6185213" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6185213/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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> Wed, 07 May 2014 04:50:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassin-s-creed-creator-may-show-his-next-game-soon/1100-6419477/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525144-eae3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525144" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525144-eae3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525144"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525144-eae3.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">During a post-earnings conference call last night, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson revealed that the publisher has a "major new game" to announce that's powered by Frostbite 3 and developed by "some of our most talented teams." Frostbite 3 is EA's proprietary engine that powers games like <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> and <a href="/need-for-speed-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Need for Speed: Rivals</a>. </p><p dir="ltr" style="">What could it be? We won't have to wait too long to find out, as Wilson said in <a href="http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ERTS/3149544128x0x751527/d217045d-90bd-4309-b922-82181e030a37/Q4_FY14_Earnings_Script.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">prepared remarks </a>that the game will be announced next month at E3. This game is scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year, and it appears EA has high hopes for it.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"If you don't have a Battlefield in a year, you've got a hole there that you have to fill," EA CFO Blake Jorgensen told investors (via <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/07/ea-promises-six-new-e3-games-more-titanfall-but-no-need-for-speed-2014-4720200/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Metro</a>). "The way we're filling that hole is essentially new titles along the lines of FIFA: World Cup, UFC, a golf game, The Sims, and Dragon Age. I would say that fills about two-thirds of the hole and the rest of the hole we would assume is being filled by this new, unannounced game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Jorgensen went on to say that EA is "highly conscious" that this game will need to be compelling if it is to succeed against other major titles in the busy holiday period. He added that when you see this game at E3, you'll be convinced that it's a unique offering.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also during EA E3 2014's press conference, Wilson said the company plans to not only talk about previously announced titles, but also "unveil details on at least six new projects in development at EA." None of these were specified.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Over the next few years, we will deliver some epic new entertainment experiences to our players, built on a foundation of creativity and innovation," Wilson said. "I'm looking forward to sharing a lot more with our gamers in just a few short weeks."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">EA's E3 2014 press conference, which it is calling "EA World Premiere: E3 2014 Preview," takes place Monday, June 9 starting at 12 p.m. PDT. It will be held at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles and should last for about 60 minutes. GameSpot will bring you all the news as it happens.</p><p style=""><em>What do you think EA's "major" new game is? The next Mass Effect? One of its Star Wars games? Let us know in the comments below!</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 04:24:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2525126-4311832434-mario.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525126" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2525126-4311832434-mario.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525126"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2525126-4311832434-mario.png"></a></figure><p style="">Nintendo has <a href="http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2014/140507e.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">posted a 46.4 billion yen ($457 million) loss</a> for its fiscal year ending March 31, making it a third year of annual losses in a row for the beleaguered company.</p><p style="">The Wii U--which Nintendo <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-slashes-wii-u-sales-expectations-by-two-thirds/1100-6417187/" data-ref-id="1100-6417187">revised sales estimates down</a> from 9 million to 2.8 million back in January--sold just 2.72 million units over the last 12 months. Lifetime sales stand at 6.17 million units.</p><p style="">This stands in stark contrast to Sony's PlayStation 4, which--despite only being on the market just over six months compared to the Wii U's 18--<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reports-7-million-playstation-4-consoles-sold-worldwide/1100-6419044/" data-ref-id="1100-6419044">has sold over 7 million units</a>.</p><p style="">"The Wii U hardware still has a negative impact on Nintendo's profits owing mainly to its markdown in the United States and Europe," Nintendo said in its financial statement, "and unit sales of software, which has high profit margins, did not grow sufficiently."</p><p style=""><a href="/super-mario-3d-world/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario 3D World</a>, <a href="/new-super-mario-bros-u/" data-ref-id="false">New Super Mario Bros. U</a>, and <a href="/reviews/new-super-luigi-u-review/1900-6410778/" data-ref-id="1900-6410778">New Super Luigi U</a>, were all cited as million-seller titles, but software sales reached only 18.86 million units overall. That's less than software for the original Wii, which reached 26.16 million units over the fiscal year.</p><p style="">Things were slightly rosier for the 3DS (3DS, 3DS XL and 2DS), which continues to buoy up Nintendo's financials. Hardware sales reached 12.24 million, and software 67.89 million. Lifetime sales for the 3DS now stand at an impressive 43 million units.</p><p style=""><a href="/reviews/pokemon-x-y-review/1900-6415303/" data-ref-id="1900-6415303">Pokemon X/Y</a> proved to the be the most popular 3DS game of the year, selling 12.26 million, while <a href="/animal-crossing-new-leaf/" data-ref-id="false">Animal Crossing: New Leaf</a> had a similarly impressive showing with cumulative sales of 7.66 million. <a href="/luigis-mansion-dark-moon/" data-ref-id="false">Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon</a>, <a href="/the-legend-of-zelda-a-link-between-worlds/" data-ref-id="false">The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds</a>, and <a href="/mario-and-luigi-dream-team/" data-ref-id="false">Mario & Luigi: Dream Team </a>sold more than two million units during the year.</p><p style="">Despite such slow growth for the Wii U, Nintendo remains surprisingly optimistic about its future, forecasting an operating profit of 40 billion yen ($394 million) for the year ending March 2015. It also expects to increase Wii U sales in the year ahead, but not by much. The company is forecasting 3.6m in Wii U sales for the year ending March 31st 2015. It expects 3DS sales to decline slightly to 12m units.</p><p style="">How Nintendo is going to pull it off remains to be seen. The company continues to push its focus on the unique features of the Wii U GamePad, including its built-in functionality as an NFC reader/writer, as a key driver of sales. It also hopes the addition of Nintendo DS Virtual Console titles to the Wii U, and the upcoming release of <a href="/mario-kart-8/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart 8</a> and <a href="/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/" data-ref-id="false">Super Smash Bros</a>. will drive sales.</p> Wed, 07 May 2014 02:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/earthworm-jim-20th-anniversary-retrospective/1100-6419458/ <p style="">When Shiny Entertainment opened its doors in 1993, it struck a deal to develop games for Playmates Interactive Entertainment, which was the media division of a prominent toy manufacturer. Its first project was none other than <a href="/earthworm-jim-1996/" data-ref-id="false">Earthworm Jim</a>, a game that parodied popular character action games of the day using an original character designed by artist Doug TenNepal. Parody suited the team nicely, since a lot of the crew at Shiny had experience working with licensed characters, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 7 Up's Cool Spot, Disney's Aladdin, and the Terminator, for the better part of their careers, and they were probably ready for a bit of development therapy. Without the borders of a preexisting franchise to limit their creativity, Shiny Entertainment's designers concocted a surreal game that was unlike any other platformer that had come before it, and Earthworm Jim grew into a full-blown entertainment property that produced action figures and an animated TV series.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sadly, Jim's time in the spotlight was brief, ending roughly six years after his arrival. There was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/earthworm-jim-hands-on/1100-6155723/" data-ref-id="1100-6155723">talk</a> of a new Sony PSP game back in 2006, which GameSpot editor Brian Ekberg had the chance to play, but it was mysteriously shuttered a few years later. The last time we saw Jim was in the <a href="/earthworm-jim-hd/" data-ref-id="false">Earthworm Jim HD</a> remake on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, but for some of us, it has been far too long since we've had a proper new Earthworm Jim game. Still, we'll always have our memories of the original to look back on. With Earthworm Jim's 20th anniversary coming up later this year, here's what a few of us remember about our favorite super-suit-wearing invertebrate.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EolW7ZxAOJ8" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FEolW7ZxAOJ8%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEolW7ZxAOJ8&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FEolW7ZxAOJ8%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><h3 dir="ltr">Maxwell McGee</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Earthworm Jim and I were close friends growing up. I can remember my younger self, sitting on the lap of a jolly old mall Santa, asking for an Earthworm Jim toy for Christmas. Jolly old mall Santa stared back at me like I had earthworms hanging out of my ears. Clearly, he had no idea what I was talking about, but Santa was able to save face by reassuring me that one of his elves surely knew what I was talking about. Apparently he did, because on Christmas morning, I got that Earthworm Jim toy--and I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that my mother was with me during my chat with Santa.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524998-jimcave.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524998" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524998-jimcave.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524998"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1406/14063904/2524998-jimcave.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The '90s were full of outrageous characters--from Sonic the Hedgehog to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--all vying to pollute kids' minds with their totally bodacious attitudes, man. Few, however, could compete with the sheer absurdity of Earthworm Jim. He was a talking earthworm wearing a special muscle suit. His catchphrase was "Groovy!" His nemesis was Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. Every part of his character and his world oozed with excess and sheer ridiculousness--and I ate it up.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While I loved Earthworm Jim the character, I was horrible at his games. To this day, I still have not finished either Earthworm Jim or Earthworm Jim 2, but I vividly remember my time with both. The stage Jim's Now a Blind Cave Salamander! stands out in my mind as being especially bizarre. True to its name, the stage finds Jim dressed as a blind salamander swimming his way through the intestinal tract of some unknown creature. Pinball bounce pads and tiny sheep bar your path, as does the lining of the intestinal wall, which damages Jim on contact. And did I forget to mention that a low-fi version of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is playing in the background? Once you finish your gastrointestinal journey, you're unceremoniously dropped into a game show and forced to answer questions you couldn't possibly know the answers to. Do you know Jim's favorite fighting game? PROTIP: It's Samurai Slowdown.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Zorine Te</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">It was the junkyard dog that scared me the most. It was loud and erratic, and its presence in the first level of Earthworm Jim struck a fear into me. Much like the rest of the game, the beast possessed a unique look and sound that would not be easily forgotten.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">My first encounter with Earthworm Jim was in the form of a demo. As I child, I did not understand that a full game existed outside of the level New Junk City. Regardless, the garbage-themed design entranced me with its unusual enemies and quirky humor, and it quickly became the playground I conquered again and again.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">When my father gifted me with the full version of Earthworm Jim, I was blown away. An entire universe of varied worlds suddenly became available, each whackier than the last. As the levels progressed, so did the difficulty I faced in finishing them. Visiting friends would take turns with me to attempt to clear levels.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="center"><p dir="ltr" style="">...I was blown away. An entire universe of varied worlds suddenly became available, each whackier than the last.</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">Of these attempts, one in particular remains vivid in my mind. It involved a particular cousin who always butted heads with me. As children, we often fought about trivial matters or wrestled over toys. Then Earthworm Jim appeared, and suddenly our differences were no longer relevant. He and I worked together in peace to clear the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It was on the level What The Heck that it happened. The level had stumped me for days, as I became stuck at a seemingly dead end marked with a large, slowly spinning gem. Back then, such dead ends were a source of endless frustration to me. After all, it was the time before GameFAQs, before the Internet provided the solution to all the mysteries of the gaming world.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">My cousin, whether by a stroke of brilliance or sheer luck, suddenly solved the puzzle by running on the gem and turning it into a floating platform that would carry Earthworm Jim to the next part of the level. I was so ecstatic, I cheered loudly and almost hugged him (I did not).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That victory brought an ongoing truce between the two of us, and I'll never forget Earthworm Jim for that. Thanks, Jim, for forging peace between a duo of fighting children.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Peter Brown</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">I first set eyes on Earthworm Jim when I was in the fourth grade, and it couldn't have come at a better time. By that point, I had spent the better part of a year playing Road Rash II and ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron on the Sega Genesis, both of which I loved, but I was ready for something different. Now, no reasonable person would argue that Panic on Funkotron wasn't an unusual game, but its strangeness paled in comparison to Earthworm Jim's surreal sci-fi tale.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524982-professormonkeycrop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524982" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524982-professormonkeycrop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524982"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1406/14063904/2524982-professormonkeycrop.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">After all, you play as an everyday worm who happens upon a super suit that grants him vertebrate-like posture and movement, and during your journey, you fight unreal enemies like Professor Monkey-for-a-Head and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. There's even a boss enemy that rides a zip-line while projectile-vomiting rotten fish. Need I say more? At the time, I was also in the throes of a crippling Nickelodeon cartoon addiction, particularly <em>The Ren & Stimpy Show</em>. John Kricfalusi's twisted world view was both confusing and amazing to 9-year-old me, and Earthworm Jim bore those same qualities, which made it an easy sell.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Of course, it was more than just Earthworm Jim's odd art direction that drew me in. The character animations were exceptionally smooth, and while most levels stuck to the side-scrolling, run-and-gun design, there were a few that deviated in new and interesting directions. Bonus levels put Jim on a rocket flying into Z-space, and another hooked him and a boss up to bungee cords where they battled while bouncing up and down. Earthworm Jim is a series that I will always remember for its concentrated, unbridled creativity, and it's a shame that the series has been dormant for the better part of 15 years.</p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 06 May 2014 18:50:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/earthworm-jim-20th-anniversary-retrospective/1100-6419458/
Gamespot's Site MashupEA shares rising fast after earnings reportCloud-gaming platform OnLive adds its first free-to-play gameXbox One getting a Sherlock Holmes game -- Here's three new screenshotsPokemon Ruby & Sapphire remakes coming to 3DS this yearTitanfall Review - Through the Eyes of a Lapsed Combatant"Retry" is an upcoming game that is so difficult it will make you feel like you've "stepped into an 8-bit time machine."Turtle Beach announces Star Wars gaming headsets, will be revealed at E3Sir, You Are Being Hunted - Random EncounterBlack Gold Online - Now PlayingReport: PS4 will top Xbox One globally, selling 51 million units by 2016Kevin Durant is NBA 2K15's cover starAssassin's Creed creator may show his next game soonEA will announce a "major" Frostbite 3 game at E3 -- What do you think it is?Wii U sales slow to a crawl as Nintendo posts $457 million lossEarthworm Jim 20th Anniversary Retrospective
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Wed, 07 May 2014 08:38:21 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-shares-rising-fast-after-earnings-report/1100-6419485/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525233-eae3new.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525233" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525233-eae3new.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525233"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525233-eae3new.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">One day after Electronic Arts reported <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-claims-it-s-top-next-gen-game-publisher-in-the-west-as-profits-increase/1100-6419466/" data-ref-id="1100-6419466">better-than-expected financial results for its latest quarter</a>, including revenue of $1.12 billion a profit of $367 million, the company's share value is <a href="https://www.google.com/finance?q=NASDAQ:EA&ei=o0tqU9DtNMOaqQHJhYHQDw" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">climbing at a significant clip</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now, EA shares are up more than 16 percent to $32.63 from their closing price yesterday of $28.05. That's a gain of more than $4.50 per share. Analysts for brokerage firms Sterne Agee and Cowen & Company said through investor notes today that EA's results for the quarter were ahead of expectations.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Looking ahead, EA has a number of marquee titles on its hands for the fall season, including <a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon Age: Inquisition</a>, <a href="/the-sims-4/" data-ref-id="false">The Sims 4</a>, and a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/" data-ref-id="1100-6419476">"major" Frostbite 3-powered game</a> that will be announced at E3. EA plans to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/" data-ref-id="1100-6419476">show off six new games</a> during its press conference at the show next month. <a href="/star-wars-battlefront/" data-ref-id="false">Star Wars: Battlefront</a>, from Battlefield developer DICE, will <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-star-wars-battlefront-will-be-shown-at-e3/1100-6419470/" data-ref-id="1100-6419470">also be on-hand during the presentation</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 08:17:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-shares-rising-fast-after-earnings-report/1100-6419485/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cloud-gaming-platform-onlive-adds-its-first-free-to-play-game/1100-6419482/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525187-warthunder_android+login.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525187" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525187-warthunder_android+login.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525187"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525187-warthunder_android+login.png"></a><figcaption>The War Thunder log-in page at OnLive</figcaption></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Cloud-gaming company OnLive announced today that Gaijin Entertainment's free-to-play MMO <a href="/war-thunder/" data-ref-id="false">War Thunder </a>is now available through their service. It's the first free-to-play game available through OnLive, the company points out. War Thunder is currently available on PC and PlayStation 4 (in Europe, at least).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">War Thunder for OnLive also works with the company's <a href="https://games.onlive.com/games#selectCloudlift" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">CloudLift subscription ($7.95/month)</a>, allowing subscribers to play the game wherever they want without re-downloading it. Progress and purchases are synced through the cloud, so there's no need to worry about that.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">OnLive explains that War Thunder through OnLive "massively lowers" the recommended PC specifications, and notes that the game can even be played on an Android tablet, so long as you have a Bluetooth controller. This is the first time War Thunder has ever been playable on a tablet.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"OnLive is making it possible for our millions of War Thunder fans to jump into combat quickly, wherever they are and on whatever device they're carrying," Gaijin Entertainment CEO Anton Yudintsev said in a statement. "We're looking forward to engaging our current players more deeply and more often, while bringing new users into our game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">War Thunder now has 6 million registered users, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/war-thunder-beta-nets-5-million-players/1100-6415971/" data-ref-id="1100-6415971">up from 5 million</a>, the company adds. You can <a href="http://games.onlive.com/games/war-thunder-cloudlift" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">try a 30-minute demo of War Thunder through OnLive at the game's product page</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's not the only announcement OnLive had to make today. The company also announced this morning that it has hired James Alan Cook as its general counsel and senior vice president of business and legal affairs. Cook previously worked at the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-to-acquire-cloud-gaming-service-gaikai-for-380m/1100-6385186/" data-ref-id="1100-6385186">Sony-owned Gaiki </a>under the same title, and also held positions at Atari and The 3DO Company.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"OnLive is poised to create enormous waves in the ways that interactive games and other consumer and commercial software products are delivered to their target audiences," Cook said in a statement.</p><p style="">For more about OnLive, <a href="http://www.onlive.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">check out the platform's website</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 08:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cloud-gaming-platform-onlive-adds-its-first-free-to-play-game/1100-6419482/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-getting-a-sherlock-holmes-game-here-s-three-new-screenshots/1100-6419484/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525216-sherlock1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525216" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525216-sherlock1.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525216"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525216-sherlock1.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Focus Home Interactive (<a href="/bound-by-flame/" data-ref-id="false">Bound By Flame</a>) announced today that its upcoming Sherlock Holmes game, <a href="/crimes-and-punishments/" data-ref-id="false">Crimes & Punishments</a>, will be released on Xbox One. Previously, the game was confirmed only for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Developed by Frogwares, creators of <a href="http://www.frogwares.com/games.html" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">various Sherlock Holmes game for PC</a>, Crimes & Punishments features Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson investigating crime scenes. Three new screenshots for the game were also released today and you can see them in this post.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sherlock Holmes: Crimes & Punishments launches in "early September" across all platforms. For more on the title, be sure to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/crimes-and-punishments/" data-ref-id="false">check out GameSpot's previous coverage</a>.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525218-sherlock2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525218" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525218-sherlock2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525218"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525218-sherlock2.jpg"></a></figure><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525220-sherlock3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525220" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525220-sherlock3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525220"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525220-sherlock3.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" 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> Wed, 07 May 2014 08:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-getting-a-sherlock-holmes-game-here-s-three-new-screenshots/1100-6419484/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-ruby-sapphire-remakes-coming-to-3ds-this-year/1100-6419483/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywGSON9tNq0" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FywGSON9tNq0%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DywGSON9tNq0&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FywGSON9tNq0%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""><br /></p><p dir="ltr" style="">Remakes of Game Boy Advance games <a href="/pokemon-ruby-version/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/pokemon-ruby-version/">Pokémon Ruby</a> and <a href="/pokemon-sapphire-version/" data-ref-id="false" data-mce-href="/pokemon-sapphire-version/">Pokémon Sapphire</a> are coming to the 3DS. The Pokémon Company announced today that Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire will arrive worldwide in November 2014, only on 3DS.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Pokémon Company describes the games as a "fresh take" on the originals, which debuted more than a decade ago in 2003. "The new titles promise to take players through a dramatic story within a spectacular new world," the company said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">More information about Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire will be shared in the lead-up to their arrival this November. The most recent entry in the main series was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pokemon-x-y-review/1900-6415303/" data-ref-id="1900-6415303" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/pokemon-x-y-review/1900-6415303/">Pokémon X/Y</a>, which has now sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/" data-ref-id="1100-6419475" data-mce-href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/">12.26 million units to date</a>.</p><p style=""><br /></p><table data-max-width="true" class="mceItemTable"><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" data-mce-href="https://twitter.com/EddieMakuch"> 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" data-mce-href="mailto:news@gamespot.com">news@gamespot.com</a></em></strong></td></tr></tbody></table><p style=""><br /></p> Wed, 07 May 2014 07:16:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-ruby-sapphire-remakes-coming-to-3ds-this-year/1100-6419483/ http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/titanfall-review-through-the-eyes-of-a-lapsed-comb/1900-6415753/ <p style="">I grew up playing competitive shooters like Quake and Unreal Tournament, but these days, it's rare that arena-based first-person shooter holds my interest, as evidenced by the fact that I've failed to connect with one since my tenure on the battlefields of Halo 3. I've looked for new suitors, but my efforts to reenter the fold with military-gilded games like <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-3/" data-ref-id="false">Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3</a> and <a href="/battlefield-3/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 3</a> never lasted more than a couple of hours at best. I thought they were good on their own terms, but they didn't deliver significantly different experiences from other games I'd played in the past. I came close to reconnecting with the genre in 2012, when I thought I'd found a shiny new friend in <a href="/tribes-ascend/" data-ref-id="false">Tribes: Ascend</a>, but I was let down by maps that didn't capitalize on Ascend's style of movement; they simply made room for it. With Titanfall's promise of parkour-inspired mobility mixed with intense man-on-mech combat, I was hopeful I had finally spotted my boat back to shore. It was another military shooter, but one set in a futuristic conflict with massive mechs that I could interact with by leaping into and out of the cockpit as I pleased. If any shooter was to appeal to my tastes, this was the one.</p><p style="">The transition back into the world of competitive shooters wasn't easy. At first, I felt that I was unfairly at the mercy of other players because I couldn't grasp exactly how they were spotting and killing me. After several rounds and educational deaths, I knew why: I was looking at Titanfall through old lenses. Unlike in other shooters, gravity is much less of a hindrance when you have a propulsive jump kit that allows you to run on walls and double jump onto the top of buildings. While I was busy running on the ground, peering around corners, my opponents were leaping off of billboards, scaling buildings, and hanging on walls above doorways, handily shooting me when my back was turned. Before I learned the importance and nuance of using every inch of the environment, I was a sitting duck. A brief tutorial introduces the concepts of wall-running, double-jumping, and piloting a titan, which is useful from a mechanical perspective, but it only taught me what I was capable of. When it came to learning how to survive against other players, there was no better classroom than the battlefield.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6418251" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6418251/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Thankfully, there were a few tools that gave me some much needed aid, including the smart pistol, which I quickly learned could be my best friend during a difficult match. This handy weapon lets you lock onto multiple targets if they spend enough time in the pistol's generously sized reticle, subsequently delivering lethal hits to ground troops. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to spend more time learning the ropes of movement and less time worrying about precision aiming at the start. Eventually, however, the smart pistol began to feel like a crutch that was limiting my potential. Given the time it takes for the smart pistol to lock on to enemies, I would eventually have to switch to less-forgiving but faster-firing weapons in order to remain competitive, and that would require target practice. Luckily, most modes incorporate simple, AI-controlled enemies, which are an easy source of experience points and target practice, allowing me to unlock more powerful weapons and bolster my proficiency with traditional guns.</p><p style="">Titanfall also incorporates temporary upgrades known as burn cards, which grant power-ups that can give you an edge beyond your current abilities. Burn cards affect weapons, skills, and cooldown timers for both pilots and titans, and they're doled out steadily at the end of each round, but since you're working with limited inventory space, it's best to use them as often as possible. Learning which burn cards are best suited for your style of play is important from a strategic standpoint, as they allow you to access weapons and powers that may lie five or ten levels ahead of your current rank.</p><blockquote data-size="large"><p style="">It was another military shooter, but one set in a futuristic military conflict that put mechs front and center. If any shooter was to appeal to my tastes, this was the one.</p></blockquote><p style="">Despite having to learn a few new systems, most of the competitive modes are immediately familiar: you vie for enemy flags in Capture the Flag, you claim and protect disparate strongholds in Hardpoint Domination, and in both Attrition and Pilot Hunter battles, your only goal is to kill your opponents. Both titans and pilots are targets in Attrition mode, but Pilot Hunter only rewards pilot kills, which significantly alters the importance of titans in battle, making them more of a means of defense than offense. Alternatively, Last Titan Standing pits teams of titans against one another over the course of four rounds. Fall in the middle of battle, and you're stuck on the sidelines until the next round.</p><p style="">Attrition is by far the most exciting mode of the lot. The mix of titans and pilots is thrilling and chaotic, and though pilots are dwarfed by titans, their agility should not be underestimated. In the right hands, a pilot's jump kit can be advantageous during close-range combat, allowing them to mount a titan (referred to as rodeoing) and attack its most vulnerable spot, potentially destroying it and forcing the pilot to expose himself during ejection. Sometimes this occurs when two titans are in a face-off and a pilot slips in unnoticed. Less aggressive pilots may do well to use their heavy anti-titan weapons from the safety of distant cover if they've grown too familiar with the underside of a titan's foot, however.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524216-titanfallscreen.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524216" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524216-titanfallscreen.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524216"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1406/14063904/2524216-titanfallscreen.jpg"></a><figcaption>Warring titans present the perfect opportunity for an inventive pilot to score a few extra points.</figcaption></figure><p style="">Marksmanship is an invaluable skill, but Titanfall elevates the importance of environmental awareness, and this shift enables a new type of player to succeed and revel in the competitive arena. The entire world is your sidewalk as a pilot, but it takes an experienced eye to recognize the subtle paths that run through the ruined cities, buckled space structures, and massive, derelict airships. You can brute-force your way across a map, but these environments are waiting to be exploited by fleet-footed and keen-eyed soldiers. Experienced players have a small advantage, but years of aiming down sights and understanding traditional maps can't prepare you for wall-running combatants with invisibility cloaks. It's important to keep moving, because your opponents are just as likely to come from above as they are from your side.</p><p style="">Jumping into a titan introduces a whole other series of lessons, since you can no longer leap off of walls and onto the tops of buildings like a pilot can. Unless you're playing the Last Titan Standing mode, titans become available after the first few minutes of a match. You can summon them immediately to your side if you're in an open area, or the game will automatically choose the closest locations with proper clearance for you.</p><p style="">Although you can order your titan to follow you on foot or roam freely, you'll undoubtedly spend a lot of time in the cockpit. Titans control like massive soldiers without jump kits, but they can still be relatively nimble when they need to be. Rather than solely marching with a heavy foot, titans are capable of dashing in short bursts to avoid fire and pop into or out of cover, and different classes mix up the ratio of speed and armor to suit different play styles. Titans also possess extreme abilities--like the vortex shield that lets you catch and return enemy fire--which make for explosive and riveting exchanges between enemy titans.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6417585" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6417585/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Once I'd grasped the extent of my new abilities, which took a few hours, Titanfall became everything I'd hoped it would be. Fighting on foot as a pilot with the ability to run along walls and leap into second-story windows felt liberating, and when the mammoth titans came into play, I was David or Goliath depending on the moment, and each perspective came with its own sense of empowerment. Titanfall delivers a compelling competitive experience by mixing these two types of units on the battlefield, culminating in explosive and chaotic matches unlike anything I've experienced before.</p><p style="">The only thing missing is a rich single-player campaign. It simply doesn't exist. Titanfall is a pure multiplayer experience, and while it excels in that regard, it fails to form a meaningful link between you and its world. There's a story that provides the necessary context for a military conflict, where two human factions vie for resources and territory, but the events that take place during the online-only campaign are largely meaningless. You have no identity, there's no source of emotional inspiration, and the sole motivation for playing the campaign--twice--is for the new titan chassis that unlock at the end. These add a little variety to your titan loadout options, but it's not so great a prize as to justify forcing you to play through vapid and paltry narrative trappings.</p><p style="">Campaign issues aside, Titanfall's expert mix of light-footed pilots and massive Titans brings something entirely new to the competitive arena. These systems mesh perfectly with existing shooter tropes, and the combination of new and old has reinvigorated my interest in a type of game I had all but written off. If getting back into shooters after Halo 3 was challenging for me, I can only imagine how hard it will be to find a game that can live up to the new standards set by Titanfall.</p> Wed, 07 May 2014 07:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/titanfall-review-through-the-eyes-of-a-lapsed-comb/1900-6415753/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/retry-is-an-upcoming-game-that-is-so-difficult-it-will-make-you-feel-like-you-ve-stepped-into-an-8-bit-time-machine/1100-6419481/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta0SJa6Sglo" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2Fta0SJa6Sglo%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed%26start%3D44&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dta0SJa6Sglo&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2Fta0SJa6Sglo%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="/angry-birds/" data-ref-id="false">Angry Birds </a>developer Rovio Entertainment has announced a new game called "Retry," which bears similarities to the hugely popular (and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/flappy-bird-could-come-back-to-ios-and-android-creator-says/1100-6418252/" data-ref-id="1100-6418252">no longer available</a>) Flappy Bird.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Retry is described as "a game so hard, so addictive, so old school that you'll think you've stepped into an 8-bit time machine and gone back to 1986. Totally rad!" Like Flappy Bird, Retry challenges players to fly through a level without colliding with objects. "Fly. Crash. Repeat. It's called 'Retry for a reason," Rovio says.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Retry is available now on iTunes in Finland, Canada, and Poland. There's no word yet on when it will see a wider release or if it's also coming to Android devices.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The game is released through Rovio's new "LVL 11" publishing label. Rovio executive vice president Jami Laes told <a href="http://www.pocketgamer.biz/interview/58999/lvl11-is-a-kind-of-magical-place-jami-laes-talks-rovios-new-publishing-arm/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">PocketGamer.biz </a>that this new experimental publishing arm was established for games that "don't necessarily fit the normal thinking" of what gamers might expect to be a new game from the makers of Angry Birds.</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 06:38:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/retry-is-an-upcoming-game-that-is-so-difficult-it-will-make-you-feel-like-you-ve-stepped-into-an-8-bit-time-machine/1100-6419481/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/turtle-beach-announces-star-wars-gaming-headsets-will-be-revealed-at-e3/1100-6419480/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525170-starwarsheadsets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525170" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525170-starwarsheadsets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525170"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525170-starwarsheadsets.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Video game headset maker Turtle Beach announced today that it is working with Lucasfilm for an upcoming line of Star Wars-themed headsets.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Turtle Beach's Star Wars headset line will feature characters and artwork from the Star Wars franchise, including the TV show <em>Star Wars Rebels</em>. They will include swappable speaker plates, which will be sold as accessories, allowing you to create a unique headset.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">These headsets will launch in 2014, but there's no word yet on pricing. The first headset and speaker plate designs will be announced at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) next month.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"As a company in the gaming and entertainment space, we can't help but be excited by the prospect of working on Star Wars headset designs in collaboration with Lucasfilm," Turtle Beach chief marketing officer Bob Picunko said in a statement. "We are looking forward to introducing state-of-the-art headsets that appeal to both casual and elite players who are fans of Star Wars."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Star Wars is not the first major entertainment franchise Turtle Beach has teamed up with, but it may be the most prominent. Turtle Beach also makes <a href="http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/headsets/call-of-duty" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">special Call of Duty: Ghosts </a>and <a href="http://www.turtlebeach.com/products/headsets/marvel" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Marvel headsets</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Last week, director J.J. Abrams <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/official-star-wars-episode-vii-movie-cast-announced/1100-6419293/" data-ref-id="1100-6419293">announced the cast</a> for upcoming movie <em>Star Wars: Episode VII. </em>Electronic Arts is currently working on multiple Star Wars games, including a new <a href="/star-wars-battlefront/" data-ref-id="false">Star Wars: Battlefront </a>from Battlefield developer DICE.</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 06:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/turtle-beach-announces-star-wars-gaming-headsets-will-be-revealed-at-e3/1100-6419480/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sir-you-are-being-hunted-random-encounter/2300-6418682/ Danny O'Dwyer is being hunted by robots for sport. I mean, really - why are you not joining us in the chat to see this go down? Down with the robots! Down with the humans! Wed, 07 May 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/sir-you-are-being-hunted-random-encounter/2300-6418682/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/black-gold-online-now-playing/2300-6418683/ Snail Games is in the house with host Kevin VanOrd as they turn him into the ultimate steam punk warrior in Black Gold Online! Join us in the chat and have all your questions answered by the developers! Wed, 07 May 2014 06:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/black-gold-online-now-playing/2300-6418683/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-ps4-will-top-xbox-one-globally-selling-51-million-units-by-2016/1100-6419479/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525165-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525165" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525165-xb1ps4.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525165"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525165-xb1ps4.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a new report from research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the PlayStation 4 will sell 51 million units globally by 2016, outpacing Microsoft's Xbox One. A preview of the report was shared with <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-05-06-ps4-to-lead-all-consoles-with-51-million-sold-by-2016-idc" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="2014-05">GamesIndustry International</a>, and it has many other interesting takeaways.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Though the PS4 will have the greatest global market share by 2016, according to the report, the Xbox One will actually be the market leader in North America if Microsoft decides to offer a version of the console without Kinect, thereby lowering the price.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The presumed unbundling of Kinect and Xbox One, which should facilitate rough price parity between it and the PS4, should lead to a spike in Xbox One sales," the firm said. "Assuming the console and sensor are unbundled in 2015, IDC expects Xbox One to recover and emerge with the largest installed base of any console in North America by the end of 2016."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Right now, the PS4 is the top next-generation console. It has sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reports-7-million-playstation-4-consoles-sold-worldwide/1100-6419044/" data-ref-id="1100-6419044">more than 7 million units</a>. Meanwhile, Nintendo's Wii U has sold <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/" data-ref-id="1100-6419475">6.17 million consoles globally</a>, while the only sold-through figure Microsoft has shared to date for the Xbox One is<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-sold-3-million-units-in-2013-microsoft-says/1100-6416955/" data-ref-id="1100-6416955"> 3 million</a>, though the company has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-one-ships-1-2-million-to-retailers-during-2014-s-first-quarter/1100-6419194/" data-ref-id="1100-6419194">shipped 5 million systems</a> overall.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The IDC report goes on to say that Nintendo's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/" data-ref-id="1100-6419475">flagging Wii U</a> will get "the equivalent of a $50 price cut worldwide in late 2014 or early 2015." However, the IDC says this price cut will not be enough to help the Wii U catch up to competing consoles.</p><p style="">Finally, the IDC concluded that the traditional disc-based retail sector is expected to continue to decline, which you might expect as digital purchasing becomes more and more popular. To that end, the IDC also expects that by 2019, more than 50 percent of total game spending across all consoles will come through digital channels. "Rising digital revenue is forecast to nearly offset the fall in disc-based revenue," the group said.</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 05:47:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/report-ps4-will-top-xbox-one-globally-selling-51-million-units-by-2016/1100-6419479/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kevin-durant-is-nba-2k15-s-cover-star/1100-6419478/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525160-nba_2k15_announcement_v2_deliverweb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525160" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525160-nba_2k15_announcement_v2_deliverweb.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525160"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525160-nba_2k15_announcement_v2_deliverweb.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, one of the most dominant players in the entire NBA, is the cover athlete for upcoming basketball game <a href="/nba-2k15/" data-ref-id="false">NBA 2K15</a>, 2K Sports announced today. This announcement comes just a day after <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on-basketball/24552566/its-official-kevin-durant-named-2013-14-most-valuable-player" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Durant was named 2014 NBA MVP</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I'm honored to be selected for the cover of NBA 2K," Durant said in a statement. "I've been an avid fan and player of NBA 2K since I was a kid, and being selected as the sole cover athlete of NBA 2K15 is an amazing accomplishment at this point of my life. I feel like my time has come."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Durant has an impressive list of accomplishments to his name. After playing just one season of college ball at Texas, he joined the NBA and was named the 2007-2008 Rookie of the Year. He has since earned himself four NBA scoring titles and he's been selected to five All-Star teams.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Miami Heat superstar Lebron James was the cover star for last year's game, <a href="/reviews/nba-2k14-review/1900-6414934/" data-ref-id="1900-6414934">NBA 2K14</a>.</p><p style="">NBA 2K15 launches October 7 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC. That date is becoming ever-crowded, as October 7 also sees the release of <a href="/alien-isolation/" data-ref-id="false">Alien: Isolation</a>, <a href="/dragon-age-inquisition/" data-ref-id="false">Dragon Age: Inquisition</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/driveclub/" data-ref-id="false">Driveclub</a>, and <a href="/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor/" data-ref-id="false">Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 05:20:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/kevin-durant-is-nba-2k15-s-cover-star/1100-6419478/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassin-s-creed-creator-may-show-his-next-game-soon/1100-6419477/ <p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">Assassin's Creed creator Patrice Désilets may be gearing up to show off his next project. Asked by Internet super-sleuth Superannuation if he has <a href="https://twitter.com/supererogatory/status/463880282395779072" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">any interesting news to share</a> in the coming weeks, Désilets <a href="https://twitter.com/PatriceDez/status/463880911134543872" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">responded</a>, "Probably yes...at least I'm working on it."</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525149-desilets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525149" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525149-desilets.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525149"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1179/11799911/2525149-desilets.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to Superannuation, Désilets has been under a "no-compete" clause since he was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassins-creed-creator-claims-he-was-fired/1100-6408032/" data-ref-id="1100-6408032">let go from Ubisoft last year </a>which has forbade him from showing any new games. This clause is apparently set to end at the end of the month, which would mean that Désilets could show off his new project if he wanted to.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Désilets <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassins-creed-creative-director-founding-thq-montreal-studio/1100-6282277/" data-ref-id="1100-6282277">originally left Ubisoft in 2010 </a>to start a new studio, THQ Montreal, where he was working on a game called 1666: Amsterdam. Upon THQ's bankruptcy, Ubisoft stepped in to <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/thq-dissolved/1100-6402838/" data-ref-id="1100-6402838">purchase THQ Montreal and the 1666: Amsterdam game itself</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The designer re-joined Ubisoft as part of the company's acquisition of THQ Montreal, but it didn't last long. Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the company and Désilets "couldn't align our visio both on project development and team management." 1666: Amsterdam was put on hold and Désilets left Ubisoft again, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassins-creed-creator-sues-ubisoft/1100-6409500/" data-ref-id="1100-6409500">suing the company on the way out</a> for $400,000 and for rights to purchase the 1666: Amsterdam game from Ubisoft. The status of that lawsuit is unknown.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6185213" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6185213/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><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> Wed, 07 May 2014 04:50:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/assassin-s-creed-creator-may-show-his-next-game-soon/1100-6419477/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525144-eae3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525144" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2525144-eae3.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2525144"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2525144-eae3.jpg"></a></figure><p style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">During a post-earnings conference call last night, Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson revealed that the publisher has a "major new game" to announce that's powered by Frostbite 3 and developed by "some of our most talented teams." Frostbite 3 is EA's proprietary engine that powers games like <a href="/battlefield-4/" data-ref-id="false">Battlefield 4</a> and <a href="/need-for-speed-rivals/" data-ref-id="false">Need for Speed: Rivals</a>. </p><p dir="ltr" style="">What could it be? We won't have to wait too long to find out, as Wilson said in <a href="http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/ERTS/3149544128x0x751527/d217045d-90bd-4309-b922-82181e030a37/Q4_FY14_Earnings_Script.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">prepared remarks </a>that the game will be announced next month at E3. This game is scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year, and it appears EA has high hopes for it.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"If you don't have a Battlefield in a year, you've got a hole there that you have to fill," EA CFO Blake Jorgensen told investors (via <a href="http://metro.co.uk/2014/05/07/ea-promises-six-new-e3-games-more-titanfall-but-no-need-for-speed-2014-4720200/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Metro</a>). "The way we're filling that hole is essentially new titles along the lines of FIFA: World Cup, UFC, a golf game, The Sims, and Dragon Age. I would say that fills about two-thirds of the hole and the rest of the hole we would assume is being filled by this new, unannounced game."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Jorgensen went on to say that EA is "highly conscious" that this game will need to be compelling if it is to succeed against other major titles in the busy holiday period. He added that when you see this game at E3, you'll be convinced that it's a unique offering.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Also during EA E3 2014's press conference, Wilson said the company plans to not only talk about previously announced titles, but also "unveil details on at least six new projects in development at EA." None of these were specified.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Over the next few years, we will deliver some epic new entertainment experiences to our players, built on a foundation of creativity and innovation," Wilson said. "I'm looking forward to sharing a lot more with our gamers in just a few short weeks."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">EA's E3 2014 press conference, which it is calling "EA World Premiere: E3 2014 Preview," takes place Monday, June 9 starting at 12 p.m. PDT. It will be held at the Shrine Expo Hall in Los Angeles and should last for about 60 minutes. GameSpot will bring you all the news as it happens.</p><p style=""><em>What do you think EA's "major" new game is? The next Mass Effect? One of its Star Wars games? Let us know in the comments below!</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> Wed, 07 May 2014 04:24:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ea-will-announce-a-major-frostbite-3-game-at-e3-what-do-you-think-it-is/1100-6419476/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2525126-4311832434-mario.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525126" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/917/9176928/2525126-4311832434-mario.png" data-ref-id="1300-2525126"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/917/9176928/2525126-4311832434-mario.png"></a></figure><p style="">Nintendo has <a href="http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2014/140507e.pdf" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">posted a 46.4 billion yen ($457 million) loss</a> for its fiscal year ending March 31, making it a third year of annual losses in a row for the beleaguered company.</p><p style="">The Wii U--which Nintendo <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-slashes-wii-u-sales-expectations-by-two-thirds/1100-6417187/" data-ref-id="1100-6417187">revised sales estimates down</a> from 9 million to 2.8 million back in January--sold just 2.72 million units over the last 12 months. Lifetime sales stand at 6.17 million units.</p><p style="">This stands in stark contrast to Sony's PlayStation 4, which--despite only being on the market just over six months compared to the Wii U's 18--<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-reports-7-million-playstation-4-consoles-sold-worldwide/1100-6419044/" data-ref-id="1100-6419044">has sold over 7 million units</a>.</p><p style="">"The Wii U hardware still has a negative impact on Nintendo's profits owing mainly to its markdown in the United States and Europe," Nintendo said in its financial statement, "and unit sales of software, which has high profit margins, did not grow sufficiently."</p><p style=""><a href="/super-mario-3d-world/" data-ref-id="false">Super Mario 3D World</a>, <a href="/new-super-mario-bros-u/" data-ref-id="false">New Super Mario Bros. U</a>, and <a href="/reviews/new-super-luigi-u-review/1900-6410778/" data-ref-id="1900-6410778">New Super Luigi U</a>, were all cited as million-seller titles, but software sales reached only 18.86 million units overall. That's less than software for the original Wii, which reached 26.16 million units over the fiscal year.</p><p style="">Things were slightly rosier for the 3DS (3DS, 3DS XL and 2DS), which continues to buoy up Nintendo's financials. Hardware sales reached 12.24 million, and software 67.89 million. Lifetime sales for the 3DS now stand at an impressive 43 million units.</p><p style=""><a href="/reviews/pokemon-x-y-review/1900-6415303/" data-ref-id="1900-6415303">Pokemon X/Y</a> proved to the be the most popular 3DS game of the year, selling 12.26 million, while <a href="/animal-crossing-new-leaf/" data-ref-id="false">Animal Crossing: New Leaf</a> had a similarly impressive showing with cumulative sales of 7.66 million. <a href="/luigis-mansion-dark-moon/" data-ref-id="false">Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon</a>, <a href="/the-legend-of-zelda-a-link-between-worlds/" data-ref-id="false">The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds</a>, and <a href="/mario-and-luigi-dream-team/" data-ref-id="false">Mario & Luigi: Dream Team </a>sold more than two million units during the year.</p><p style="">Despite such slow growth for the Wii U, Nintendo remains surprisingly optimistic about its future, forecasting an operating profit of 40 billion yen ($394 million) for the year ending March 2015. It also expects to increase Wii U sales in the year ahead, but not by much. The company is forecasting 3.6m in Wii U sales for the year ending March 31st 2015. It expects 3DS sales to decline slightly to 12m units.</p><p style="">How Nintendo is going to pull it off remains to be seen. The company continues to push its focus on the unique features of the Wii U GamePad, including its built-in functionality as an NFC reader/writer, as a key driver of sales. It also hopes the addition of Nintendo DS Virtual Console titles to the Wii U, and the upcoming release of <a href="/mario-kart-8/" data-ref-id="false">Mario Kart 8</a> and <a href="/super-smash-bros-for-wii-u/" data-ref-id="false">Super Smash Bros</a>. will drive sales.</p> Wed, 07 May 2014 02:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/wii-u-sales-slow-to-a-crawl-as-nintendo-posts-457-million-loss/1100-6419475/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/earthworm-jim-20th-anniversary-retrospective/1100-6419458/ <p style="">When Shiny Entertainment opened its doors in 1993, it struck a deal to develop games for Playmates Interactive Entertainment, which was the media division of a prominent toy manufacturer. Its first project was none other than <a href="/earthworm-jim-1996/" data-ref-id="false">Earthworm Jim</a>, a game that parodied popular character action games of the day using an original character designed by artist Doug TenNepal. Parody suited the team nicely, since a lot of the crew at Shiny had experience working with licensed characters, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, 7 Up's Cool Spot, Disney's Aladdin, and the Terminator, for the better part of their careers, and they were probably ready for a bit of development therapy. Without the borders of a preexisting franchise to limit their creativity, Shiny Entertainment's designers concocted a surreal game that was unlike any other platformer that had come before it, and Earthworm Jim grew into a full-blown entertainment property that produced action figures and an animated TV series.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Sadly, Jim's time in the spotlight was brief, ending roughly six years after his arrival. There was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/earthworm-jim-hands-on/1100-6155723/" data-ref-id="1100-6155723">talk</a> of a new Sony PSP game back in 2006, which GameSpot editor Brian Ekberg had the chance to play, but it was mysteriously shuttered a few years later. The last time we saw Jim was in the <a href="/earthworm-jim-hd/" data-ref-id="false">Earthworm Jim HD</a> remake on the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, but for some of us, it has been far too long since we've had a proper new Earthworm Jim game. Still, we'll always have our memories of the original to look back on. With Earthworm Jim's 20th anniversary coming up later this year, here's what a few of us remember about our favorite super-suit-wearing invertebrate.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EolW7ZxAOJ8" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FEolW7ZxAOJ8%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DEolW7ZxAOJ8&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FEolW7ZxAOJ8%2Fhqdefault.jpg&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=text%2Fhtml&schema=youtube" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><h3 dir="ltr">Maxwell McGee</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">Earthworm Jim and I were close friends growing up. I can remember my younger self, sitting on the lap of a jolly old mall Santa, asking for an Earthworm Jim toy for Christmas. Jolly old mall Santa stared back at me like I had earthworms hanging out of my ears. Clearly, he had no idea what I was talking about, but Santa was able to save face by reassuring me that one of his elves surely knew what I was talking about. Apparently he did, because on Christmas morning, I got that Earthworm Jim toy--and I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that my mother was with me during my chat with Santa.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524998-jimcave.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524998" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524998-jimcave.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524998"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1406/14063904/2524998-jimcave.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The '90s were full of outrageous characters--from Sonic the Hedgehog to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles--all vying to pollute kids' minds with their totally bodacious attitudes, man. Few, however, could compete with the sheer absurdity of Earthworm Jim. He was a talking earthworm wearing a special muscle suit. His catchphrase was "Groovy!" His nemesis was Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. Every part of his character and his world oozed with excess and sheer ridiculousness--and I ate it up.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">While I loved Earthworm Jim the character, I was horrible at his games. To this day, I still have not finished either Earthworm Jim or Earthworm Jim 2, but I vividly remember my time with both. The stage Jim's Now a Blind Cave Salamander! stands out in my mind as being especially bizarre. True to its name, the stage finds Jim dressed as a blind salamander swimming his way through the intestinal tract of some unknown creature. Pinball bounce pads and tiny sheep bar your path, as does the lining of the intestinal wall, which damages Jim on contact. And did I forget to mention that a low-fi version of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" is playing in the background? Once you finish your gastrointestinal journey, you're unceremoniously dropped into a game show and forced to answer questions you couldn't possibly know the answers to. Do you know Jim's favorite fighting game? PROTIP: It's Samurai Slowdown.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Zorine Te</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">It was the junkyard dog that scared me the most. It was loud and erratic, and its presence in the first level of Earthworm Jim struck a fear into me. Much like the rest of the game, the beast possessed a unique look and sound that would not be easily forgotten.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">My first encounter with Earthworm Jim was in the form of a demo. As I child, I did not understand that a full game existed outside of the level New Junk City. Regardless, the garbage-themed design entranced me with its unusual enemies and quirky humor, and it quickly became the playground I conquered again and again.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">When my father gifted me with the full version of Earthworm Jim, I was blown away. An entire universe of varied worlds suddenly became available, each whackier than the last. As the levels progressed, so did the difficulty I faced in finishing them. Visiting friends would take turns with me to attempt to clear levels.</p><blockquote data-size="medium" data-align="center"><p dir="ltr" style="">...I was blown away. An entire universe of varied worlds suddenly became available, each whackier than the last.</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">Of these attempts, one in particular remains vivid in my mind. It involved a particular cousin who always butted heads with me. As children, we often fought about trivial matters or wrestled over toys. Then Earthworm Jim appeared, and suddenly our differences were no longer relevant. He and I worked together in peace to clear the game.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">It was on the level What The Heck that it happened. The level had stumped me for days, as I became stuck at a seemingly dead end marked with a large, slowly spinning gem. Back then, such dead ends were a source of endless frustration to me. After all, it was the time before GameFAQs, before the Internet provided the solution to all the mysteries of the gaming world.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">My cousin, whether by a stroke of brilliance or sheer luck, suddenly solved the puzzle by running on the gem and turning it into a floating platform that would carry Earthworm Jim to the next part of the level. I was so ecstatic, I cheered loudly and almost hugged him (I did not).</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That victory brought an ongoing truce between the two of us, and I'll never forget Earthworm Jim for that. Thanks, Jim, for forging peace between a duo of fighting children.</p><h3 dir="ltr">Peter Brown</h3><p dir="ltr" style="">I first set eyes on Earthworm Jim when I was in the fourth grade, and it couldn't have come at a better time. By that point, I had spent the better part of a year playing Road Rash II and ToeJam & Earl in Panic on Funkotron on the Sega Genesis, both of which I loved, but I was ready for something different. Now, no reasonable person would argue that Panic on Funkotron wasn't an unusual game, but its strangeness paled in comparison to Earthworm Jim's surreal sci-fi tale.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524982-professormonkeycrop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524982" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1406/14063904/2524982-professormonkeycrop.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2524982"><img src="http://static.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1406/14063904/2524982-professormonkeycrop.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">After all, you play as an everyday worm who happens upon a super suit that grants him vertebrate-like posture and movement, and during your journey, you fight unreal enemies like Professor Monkey-for-a-Head and Queen Slug-for-a-Butt. There's even a boss enemy that rides a zip-line while projectile-vomiting rotten fish. Need I say more? At the time, I was also in the throes of a crippling Nickelodeon cartoon addiction, particularly <em>The Ren & Stimpy Show</em>. John Kricfalusi's twisted world view was both confusing and amazing to 9-year-old me, and Earthworm Jim bore those same qualities, which made it an easy sell.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Of course, it was more than just Earthworm Jim's odd art direction that drew me in. The character animations were exceptionally smooth, and while most levels stuck to the side-scrolling, run-and-gun design, there were a few that deviated in new and interesting directions. Bonus levels put Jim on a rocket flying into Z-space, and another hooked him and a boss up to bungee cords where they battled while bouncing up and down. Earthworm Jim is a series that I will always remember for its concentrated, unbridled creativity, and it's a shame that the series has been dormant for the better part of 15 years.</p><p style=""> </p> Tue, 06 May 2014 18:50:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/earthworm-jim-20th-anniversary-retrospective/1100-6419458/
You might be the target of some heavy firepower in Valiant Hearts, but you won't be wielding it. 
Anna can't save everyone. 
