http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:43:20 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-pocket-edition-gets-biggest-update-yet-j/1100-6420928/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNXtyRNQH-Y" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FvNXtyRNQH-Y%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DvNXtyRNQH-Y&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FvNXtyRNQH-Y%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=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft-pocket-edition/">Minecraft: Pocket Edition</a>, the mobile version of the game available through the iTunes App Store and Google Play, will get its biggest update to date on Thursday, July 10.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Version 0.9.0 will bring the mobile version closer to its PC counterpart by adding infinite worlds, caves, many new blocks and items including Monster Eggs and huge mushroom blocks, wolf pets, new mobs, new biomes including mesas, jungles, swamps and extreme hills, and much more. You can find a detailed list of the new addition on <a href="https://mojang.com/2014/07/minecraft-pocket-edition-0-9-0-coming-july-10th/" rel="nofollow">Mojang's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In late April, we learned that Minecraft PC sold 15 million, but the mobile version is significantly more popular. Earlier in April, Jens Bergensten of the Mojang's mobile team revealed that Pocket Edition sold over 21 million copies.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">On Xbox 360, Minecraft<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-xbox-360-sells-12-million-copies-dev-says-it-would-have-been-happy-to-sell-1-million/1100-6418779/"> sold more than 12 million copies</a> and on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-sold-1-million-copies-on-ps3/1100-6417335/">PlayStation 3 it sold a million copies in just a little over a month after its release</a>. Xbox One and Playstation 4 versions of the game are coming in August.</p><p style="">Mojang's Patrick Geuder Saga, who heads up data analysis at Mojang, recently revealed that the company sold almost <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-console-sales-pass-pc-series-nears-54-million-copies-sold/1100-6420724/">54 million copies of Minecraft across all platforms</a>, but did not share details regarding how the 54 million figure breaks down between platforms.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 17:19:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-pocket-edition-gets-biggest-update-yet-j/1100-6420928/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-will-explain-dota-2-to-newcomers-in-a-dedica/1100-6420927/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586898-dot2a2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586898" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586898-dot2a2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586898"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2586898-dot2a2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The prize pool for the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/dota-2/">Dota 2</a> world championship tournament The International is now <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/10-million-dota-2-international-exceeds-super-bowl-masters-and-tour-de-france-prizes/1100-6420785/">greater than $10 million</a> thanks to sales of its digital program, <a href="http://www.dota2.com/international/compendium/" rel="nofollow">The Compendium</a>. With that much money on the line, you might be curious about the eSports event, but no sporting event is fun to watch if you don't understand what's going on.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's exactly why Valve will have a "Dota Newcomers Broadcast," dedicated to introducing new players and viewers to the basic rules. <a href="http://www.dota2.com/international/overview/" rel="nofollow">Valve says</a> the Dota Newcomers Broadcast is "an English stream happening alongside the main stream, and will feature commentary aimed at easing people into understanding the exciting world of BKBs, tri-lanes, and counter-picks."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Dedicated Dota 2 fans will probably want to stick to the International Multicast, which will consolidate all the simultaneous matches into one stream, or the Spoiler-Free DVR Broadcast, which allows you to catch up with matches or moments you missed with pause and rewind features.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can find out more about how, when, and where to watch the event on <a href="http://www.dota2.com/international/overview/" rel="nofollow">Dota 2's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The International's $10 million in prizes marks the world record for biggest reward in history for an eSports tournament. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dota-2s-the-international-prize-pool-hits-26-million/1100-6411851/">It crushes last year's mark of $2.8 million</a>, which was the biggest eSports prize to date. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-releases-compendium-for-2014-dota-2-championships-increases-prize-pool-to-2-2-million-overnight/1100-6419547/">When the Compendium launched in May</a>, its proceeds raised the prize from its initial $1.6 million to $2.2 million in its first night. In case you're wondering, the first place will win more than $4.7 million.</p><p style="">The International 2014 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-announces-dates-for-dota-2-tournament-the-international-2014/1100-6418682/">takes place between July 18-21 in Seattle</a>. It will be held in Seattle's Key Arena, with a seating capacity of 17,000.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:08:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-will-explain-dota-2-to-newcomers-in-a-dedica/1100-6420927/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cole-train-actor-says-he-ll-reprise-his-role-in-ne/1100-6420926/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586886-2858415372-22728.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586886" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586886-2858415372-22728.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586886"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2586886-2858415372-22728.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Lester Speight, the actor who voiced Augustus "Cole Train" Cole in the previous <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/gears-of-war/">Gears of War</a> games, has said that he's been approached to reprise his role.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speight made the announcement in response to a question from a fan on <a href="https://twitter.com/lesterspeight/status/484942538483052545" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">He didn't share any additional details about the game, but the only Gears of War in development that we know of is the one being made by the Microsoft-owned Black Tusk Studios.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-can-do-a-lot-more-now-that-microsoft-owns-it/1100-6419678/">Last we heard</a>, the next Gears of War project was still in "the concept/prototype" phase. Black Tusk producer Rod Fergusson, who worked on previous Gears of War titles, is leading development on the project. He previously said that now that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-buys-gears-of-war-from-epic/1100-6417361/">Microsoft owns the IP</a>, it can do a lot more with it. He also said that Black Tusk will try stay true to Gears of War canon for its new game, but he made it clear that the studio won't have any reservations about deviating if it's in the interest of fun.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unless Speight has misspoken, now we know it will feature at least one returning character.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">He's impossible to forget if you've played the game, but in case you didn't, Cole Train is a former Thrashball player, a football-like sport in the Gears of War fiction. After Emergence Day, when the human species is attacked by the Locust, he becomes a Gear soldier and joins the war effort.</p><p style="">There's no release date or even a title for the new Gears of War game for Xbox One, and Microsoft did not showcase the game at E3 last month.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:21:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cole-train-actor-says-he-ll-reprise-his-role-in-ne/1100-6420926/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-still-debating-post-launch-support-for-di/1100-6420925/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419599" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419599/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/">Diablo III</a> players on PC are used to getting regular updates that address bugs and balancing issues, as well as new content. The console version of the game hasn't received the same treatment, and Blizzard is currently debating how it will support the Xbox One and PlayStation 4-bound <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-ultimate-evil-edition-confirmed-for-both-xbox-one-and-ps4-coming-this-august/1100-6419572/">Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition</a> after launch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're still working out all the details regarding if and how Ultimate Evil Edition will be supported post-launch," a Blizzard community manager said on <a href="http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/13272817274?page=6" rel="nofollow">the game's official forums</a>. "(e.g. will we patch the game after it ships? if yes, should we only patch to fix bugs and address critical game issues, or should we patch in new content as well? at what frequency should we patch?), so we don't have an answer for you right now."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard did confirm that Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition will ship on all platforms with all updates included up to patch 2.0.5, and that there will "likely" be a "Day 1" patch to add in fixes and content from patch 2.0.6 as well. That would bring it up to date with the current PC version, but Blizzard is already testing patch 2.1.0, which adds leaderboards, more challenging rifts, new environments, and much more content.</p><p style="">Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition launches August 19 for PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game contains the main Diablo III game and the Reaper of Souls expansion. As we learned at E3, the PS4 version of the game includes<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-last-of-us-infected-coming-to-diablo-iii-ultimate-evil-edition/1100-6420279/"> infected from The Last of Us</a>, as well as a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-diablo-3-gets-shadow-of-the-colossus-dlc-new-update/1100-6420386/">special Shadow of the Colossus transmog set</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-still-debating-post-launch-support-for-di/1100-6420925/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-says-players-more-open-to-dlc-now-are-you/1100-6420924/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586840-5469591619-20475.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586840" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586840-5469591619-20475.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586840"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2586840-5469591619-20475.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Ubisoft VP of digital publishing Chris Early has said that players don't resist DLC and other digital content for games as much as they used to.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speaking with <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-07-03-gamer-resistance-to-digital-decreasing-ubisoft" rel="nofollow">GamesIndustry International</a>, Early noted that barely any players complained about <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a>'s "Time saver" DLC packs, which unlock resources and hidden locations in the game you can also earn through normal play.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"There was no resistance," Early said. "Maybe there were 12 guys somewhere who said something, but whatever. As a whole, there wasn't a problem."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whereas in the past players would complain that such features should be added to the game as cheat codes, Early believes that Ubisoft is seeing less of a negative reaction these days because the publisher does a better job of communicating with the player community. He said that Ubisoft also tries to make DLC that adds to the overall experience instead of asking players to pay for content that should be in the game to begin with, so they don't feel forced to pay for anything.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think there are some models that are accepted now," Early said. "DLC is pretty much accepted. Season pass is pretty much accepted. Now it's interesting when you start to think of Season Pass as a Service Pass. For our Season Pass holders, I know we hold events for them specifically, so it's little bit more than just DLC content. So there's an evolution going on there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Are you less skeptical of DLC than you used to be? Let us know in the comments below. </em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 12:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-says-players-more-open-to-dlc-now-are-you/1100-6420924/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-huge-proportion-of-ps4-owners-never-played-the-l/1100-6420923/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419609" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419609/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">If you've already played The Last of Us on the PlayStation 3, you might be less inclined to buy <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-last-of-us/">The Last of Us Remastered</a> on the PlayStation 4 for $50, but according to Sony there are many PlayStation 4 owners who haven't played Naughty Dog's award winning game before.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The Last of Us is considered one of the most significant titles of the last console generation, winning countless awards," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe product manager Josh Walker told <a href="http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/huge-proportion-of-ps4-owners-are-yet-to-play-the-last-of-us-says-sony/0134967" rel="nofollow">MCV</a> in an interview. "It would be almost unfair for all our new fans to never play a game like this."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Walker didn't share exact numbers, but said that Sony can see how many PS4 owners have played The Last of Us by looking at its PlayStation Network data.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This is quite indicative of the shift in the market and the many players who have migrated from competitive platforms that we're glad to welcome to PlayStation," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Last of Us Remastered runs at 1080p and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-ps4-at-60fps-is-a-transformative-experience-dev-says/1100-6420815/">Naughty Dog has suggested it will run at 60fps</a>. It features higher resolution character models, as well as improved shadows and lighting. The bundle includes DLC, director's commentary, and special interviews with voice actors Troy Baker (Joel) and Ashley Johnson (Ellie).</p><p style="">The Last of Us Remastered releases on July 29 for $50.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 10:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-huge-proportion-of-ps4-owners-never-played-the-l/1100-6420923/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-halo-the-master-chief-collection-developer-p/1100-6420922/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-PtjomjQ-Y" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FQ-PtjomjQ-Y%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQ-PtjomjQ-Y&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FQ-PtjomjQ-Y%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=""><strong>Update:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">343 and Certain Affinity have finished their panel at RTX. If you're a Halo fanatic but weren't able to catch the broadcast, these are the highlights:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7NCg0venpKJg3kuJojKlbQ" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Halo YouTube channel</a> uploaded a new trailer (above) for the game featuring The Arbiter, voiced by actor Keith David.</li><li dir="ltr">343 announced that Coagulation will be one of the six remastered maps.</li><li dir="ltr">In addition to returning multiplayer game types, Halo 2: Anniversary will add new modes like Ricochet (from Halo 4), Race (with "a huge number of game mode options"), SWAT, Infection, and others.</li><li dir="ltr">The Mongoose vehicle is being upgraded with mounted guns to become the "Gungoose," which should be a nice addition to the Mongoose capture the flag mode, especially on the remastered Coagulation map.</li><li dir="ltr">Responding to a question from a fan, 343 said it has no plans to give Halo 3 the anniversary treatment at the moment.</li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Original story:</strong></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.twitch.tv/rtxlive2" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Fwidgets%2Flive_embed_player.swf%3Fchannel%3Drtxlive2&wmode=opaque&fv=hostname%3Dwww.twitch.tv%26start_volume%3D25%26channel%3Drtxlive2%26auto_play%3Dfalse&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Frtxlive2&image=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic-cdn.jtvnw.net%2Fjtv_user_pictures%2Frtxlive2-profile_image-013fc4f9cf307783-300x300.png&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=application%2Fx-shockwave-flash&schema=twitch" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Check out the Twitch broadcast above at 10:00 a.m. PDT to watch a live panel of 343 Industries and Certain Affinity developers discussing the upcoming <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-master-chief-collection/">Halo: The Master Chief Collection</a>, a remastered collection of the main Halo games for Xbox One.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The panel is part of the <a href="http://rtxevent.com/home.php" rel="nofollow">RTX</a> gaming event hosted by <a href="http://roosterteeth.com/home.php" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rooster Teeth</a> at the Austin Convention Center this weekend. The developers will discuss the design and vision of the project, with original Halo 2 development stories from lead Halo 2 multiplayer designer and Certain Affinity president Max Hoberman. According to Halo's official site, 343 should also be showing some new stuff during the panel.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">343 is leading development on the project with help from Austin-based developer Certain Affinity.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Announced during E3, Halo: The Master Chief Collection includes <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/halo-combat-evolved-anniversary/">Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary</a>, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4. All multiplayer maps and all Halo 4 Spartan Ops missions will be included. Each game will run at 1080p and 60 frames per second.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The game is scheduled to be released on November 11 for $60. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-skulls-forge-returns-and-more-coming-in-halo-the-master-chief-collection/1100-6420366/">You can read more about the collection and what's included here</a>.</p><p style="">343 also stated that it will announce more about the game at Gamescom this August.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 07:48:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-halo-the-master-chief-collection-developer-p/1100-6420922/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/unlike-apple-amazon-refuses-to-settle-over-in-app-/1100-6420921/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586716-1730306633-25715.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586716" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586716-1730306633-25715.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586716"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2586716-1730306633-25715.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Back in January, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-to-pay-at-least-32-5-million-to-refund-kids-in-app-purchases/1100-6417149/">Apple agreed to pay at least $32.5 million in refunds</a> to consumers to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint brought against the company related to the way in which iOS devices make it simple for children to spend real-world money on in-app purchases without parental consent.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The FTC filed the same complaint against Amazon, but the company is refusing to settle, and is instead choosing to defend its position in court.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a letter from Amazon to the FTC, the FTC filed the complaint against Amazon despite several weeks of "constructive meetings" between the two focusing on Amazon's "customer-centric" approach to in-app purchasing.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's an understatement to say that this response is deeply disappointing," Amazon said. "The Commission's unwillingness to depart from the precedent it set with Apple despite our very different facts leaves us no choice but to defend our approach in court."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Amazon's letter explains that it has continuously improved its experience since launch, but that even at launch, when customers told Amazon their kids had made purchases they didn't want, it refunded those purchases. It also said that its practices were responsible and lawful, including prominent notice of in-app purchasing, effective parental controls, and real time notice of every in-app purchase.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Pursuing litigation against a company whose practices were lawful from the outset and that already exceed the requirements of the Apple consent order makes no sense, and is an unfortunate misallocation of the Commission's resources," Amazon said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In addition to announcing its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-announces-fire-phone/1100-6420575/">Fire Phone</a> last month, Amazon already sells and developed apps for its Kindle Fire tablet.</p><p style=""><em>Should Amazon refund customers like Apple, or are the parents the ones responsible for their kids' purchases? Let us know what you think in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 07:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/unlike-apple-amazon-refuses-to-settle-over-in-app-/1100-6420921/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-producer-joins-oculus-vr/1100-6420920/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586635-1794695608-23772.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586635" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586635-1794695608-23772.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586635"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2586635-1794695608-23772.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR has hired <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/plants-vs-zombies-2-its-about-time/news/">Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time</a> producer Bernard Yee.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yee, who was Senior Producer at the Electronic Arts-owned Plants vs. Zombies 2 developer PopCap Games, previously worked on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/destiny/">Destiny</a>'s companion app at Bungie, Harmonix, Atari, and Sony Online Entertainment's massively multiplayer online role-playing game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest/">EverQuest</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yee told <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/03/popcaps-plants-vs-zombies-2-producer-leaves-for-the-siren-song-of-oculus-vr-exclusive/" rel="nofollow">GamesBeat</a> in an interview that he decided to join Oculus after he saw a demo of Valve's impressive VR room demo that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-holding-steam-dev-days-conference/1100-6415524/">Steam Dev Days attendees</a> got a chance to try out in January.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I was really blown away by the level of emotional reaction I had to the demo," he said. "The virtual reality technology was immersive and made you feel present in a way that games have never done."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve previously said that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-produced-virtual-reality-headset-not-likely-to-see-release/1100-6417199/">it's not likely to release its VR room demo and virtual reality headset</a>, but instead help drive PC VR forward by helping Oculus. Michael Abrash, who helped develop the VR room demo, has since joined Oculus, as did <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-loses-three-vr-veterans-in-three-weeks-to-oculus-vr/1100-6418697/">Aaron Nicholls</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-veteran-joins-oculus-rift-company-brings-expertise-in-eliminating-simulator-sickness/1100-6418241/">Atman Binstock</a>, both of whom researched VR at Valve.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Oculus' high profile hiring spree this year also includes <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-vr-hires-google-glass-engineer/1100-6419716/">Google Glass engineer Adrian Wong</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-vr-hires-bastion-transistor-programmer/1100-6420561/">Bastion programmer Chris Jurney</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-oculus-hires-naughty-dog-co-founder-announces-alien-isolation-vr/1100-6420312/">Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin</a>, and others.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 06:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-producer-joins-oculus-vr/1100-6420920/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/the-point-is-marketing-killing-the-wonder-of-games/2300-6420070/ Do we know too much about games before they're released? Danny investigates the idea that over-marketing and the internet is killing the wonder in games. Also, he waves a flag. Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/the-point-is-marketing-killing-the-wonder-of-games/2300-6420070/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-drm-sucks-according-to-magicka-developer-parad/1100-6420910/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2585721-paradox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2585721" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2585721-paradox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2585721"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2585721-paradox.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-dev-drm-is-worst-thing-in-the-gaming-industry/1100-6407588/" data-ref-id="1100-6407588">The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-drm-can-t-stop-piracy/1100-6420602/" data-ref-id="1100-6420602">Assassin's Creed studio Ubisoft</a> aren't the only companies that think DRM is a waste of time for PC games. Speaking with GameSpot, <a href="/magicka-2/" data-ref-id="false">Magicka</a> and <a href="/hearts-of-iron-iv/" data-ref-id="false">Hearts of Iron</a> developer Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester outlined why he thinks DRM can be such a headache and provided some steps that he thinks will convince people to buy legal copies of Paradox games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It can punish players who actually bought the game," Wester said about DRM. "I remember buying <a href="/sid-meiers-civilization-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Civilization III</a>, and I couldn't install it because I had something else installed. I had to uninstall two different programs, change settings...it was a hassle."</p><blockquote data-align="left"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I have no idea how many of our games are pirated. We don't really have any intention of finding out or hunting these people" -- Fredrik Wester</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"If I had pirated it from anywhere, I would have gotten it much faster, more convenient," Wester added. "So we don't want to put barriers on convenience for the gamers. It should be more convenient, you should get more content, it should be easier for you to install if you buy the legal copy."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">How do you stop people from pirating your games, then, I asked Wester. "Well, we don't," Wester said with a laugh. Instead of hunting pirates down, Wester says Paradox is instead focusing on providing a better gameplay experience overall. This, Wester says, will encourage people to buy legal copies.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I have no idea how many of our games are pirated," he said. "We don't really have any intention of finding out or hunting these people. What we want to do is provide people who bought the game legally a better service. With frequent updates; good and convenient services; that's how we fight piracy. I hope it works. I keep my fingers crossed."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Wester also pointed out that Paradox is a "highly profitable" company already, so launching an anti-piracy campaign at this juncture doesn't make a lot of sense.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on Wester's thoughts about the video game industry, be sure to read the first part of our interview, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/industry-shouldnt-shy-away-from-women-in-games-dis/1100-6420905/" data-ref-id="1100-6420905">ran yesterday</a>. In that piece, Wester talks about how the industry has changed since Paradox was formed a decade ago, including his<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/industry-shouldnt-shy-away-from-women-in-games-dis/1100-6420905/" data-ref-id="1100-6420905"> thoughts on women in video games</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Paradox is currently working on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/hearts-of-iron-iv/" data-ref-id="false">Hearts of Iron IV</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/magicka-2/" data-ref-id="false">Magicka 2</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/runemaster/" data-ref-id="false">Runemaster</a>. Magicka 2 was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-magicka-2-coming-to-the-playstation-4/1100-6420281/" data-ref-id="1100-6420281">announced at E3 during Sony's press conference</a>. However, Paradox has signed only a timed-exclusive deal with Sony for the game, so it's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-why-magicka-2-is-coming-to-ps4-but-not-xbox-one-for-now/1100-6420409/" data-ref-id="1100-6420409">possible it could come to other platforms later</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> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-drm-sucks-according-to-magicka-developer-parad/1100-6420910/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-creator-cliff-bleszinskis-new-studio-/1100-6420919/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2586358-screen+shot+2014-07-04+at+11.19.48+am.png" data-ref-id="1300-2586358" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2586358-screen+shot+2014-07-04+at+11.19.48+am.png" data-ref-id="1300-2586358"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1534/15343359/2586358-screen+shot+2014-07-04+at+11.19.48+am.png"></a></figure><p style="">The <a href="http://itsalmo.st/#time_biuoe" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">countdown clock</a> is still running on Cliff Bleszinski's upcoming reveal, but it looks like the name of his studio may have leaked early: Boss Key Productions.</p><p style="">Veteran game designer Cliff Bleszinski announced earlier this week that he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-veteran-developer-cliff-bleszinski-coming-out-of-retirement/1100-6420828/" data-ref-id="1100-6420828">would be coming out of retirement</a> and that he wanted to "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cliff-bleszinski-wants-to-redefine-his-legacy/1100-6401537/" data-ref-id="1100-6401537">redefine his legacy.</a>" But details on what he's working on, which could be the previously rumored PC arena-based shooter, will have to wait until Monday.</p><p style="">The website for his new studio is live now at <a href="http://bosskey.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">BossKey.com</a>. Though it's currently just the static logo pictured above, it previously had links to Blezinski's twitter account as well as an empty <a href="https://twitter.com/bluestreak" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">BlueStreak Twitter account</a>. <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/4/5871047/cliff-bleszinski-boss-key-productions" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a> reports that they uncovered documents linking the founding of the Boss Key studio to both Bleszinski as CEO and Arjan Brussee as COO. Brussee is currently listed as executive producer at EA "working on Battlefield Hardline" according to his <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/arjanbrussee" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">LinkedIn profile</a>; he previously partnered with Blezinski on the <a href="/jazz-jackrabbit/" data-ref-id="false">Jazz Jackrabbit</a> games.</p><p style="">In response to the Polygon documents, Bleszinski wrote, "I do not comment on rumors and speculation on the birthday of the nation that could allow a game designer to have a fantastic 20 year run at his first studio and then take nearly two years off only to seek out funding and start his new lean, agile, fun startup in Raleigh, N.C."</p><p style="">Bleszinski <a href="https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/485107842798465024" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">posted a follow Friday hashtag</a> to a Boss Key Twitter account, which currently only has <a href="https://twitter.com/BossKey" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">one cryptic message</a> posted back on June 20: "soon." We'll follow up with more details as they become available.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>Justin Haywald is a senior editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinHaywald" rel="nofollow"> Twitter @JustinHaywald</a></strong></p><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-creator-cliff-bleszinskis-new-studio-/1100-6420919/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/from-bedrooms-to-billions-and-the-origins-of-briti/1100-6420917/ <p dir="ltr" style="">Much has been said about the history of game development in North America and Japan, but British developers were just as busy as their international counterparts back in the day; we just rarely get the chance to hear about it. <a href="http://www.frombedroomstobillions.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em></a>, a film about the pioneer days of game development in the UK from Nicola Caulfield and Anthony Caulfield, aims to set the record straight. The enthusiast developers who forged ahead and paved the road for future generations have shared their stories, and though some of the interviewees developed successful careers in gaming, many of them failed to turn their passion projects into commercially viable products under the pressure of financially driven publishers. Regardless of the individuals' outcomes, at the start, Anthony says they all had one thing in common: "it was never for the money, only for the love." This is the story that<em> From Bedrooms to Billions</em> aims to tell.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The creative passions of the film's subjects inspired the Caulfields, who want to bestow these tales of love and loss to a wider audience, to preserve the early history of their corner of the industry. "We both feel this is a long overdue story," Nicola said, "and while most of the main protagonists are still around to tell the story in their own words, the time had to be now. We want a permanent record of a remarkable and creative time in UK history."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420063" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420063/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The "Billions" in the film's title isn't a reference to the financial success of the champions featured within, but to the budgets and profits that drive modern-day game development. Almost no one the Caulfields interviewed saw the industry of today coming. After all, in the beginning, they were working on passion projects, not blockbusters. "I know that sounds a little melodramatic," Anthony said, "but...they all tended to stare off into the misty-eyed distance and say the same thing. However they have all mainly said they had no idea it would become this, just some little geeky hobby that only they enjoyed, and then, whoosh!"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The love they speak of led to some inadvertent success, which is something the indie scene of today has experienced on occasion. The problem is, once critical and financial success arrives, you have two options: use your newfound assets to continue as you were, or, use them to expand your horizons. Of course, when publishers come into play, your passion no longer dictates your schedule, your boss does, and the shift to playing by the corporate ruleset sent some developers careening off course. According to Anthony, "If there is one common thread that runs through the interviewees, it is to have unwavering belief in what you are doing. It was when the love seemed to go from what they were doing that many people lost their way. Also as a publisher you have to understand that for a developer to do what he or she does best they must be given time, space and security to do that. Yes, keep them on track if a deadline is looming, but when those with no experience of game design in a position of power start dictating to a developer what makes a good game and how they should change what they've done, it usually ends in tears. However today a lot of those mistakes (often made in the late 90's) have been learnt the hard way and remembered."</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p dir="ltr" style="">If there is one common thread that runs through the interviewees, it is to have unwavering belief in what you are doing.</p><cite>Anthony Caulfield</cite></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">You could say the industry was healthy when it began to grow and generate record sums of money, but the developers featured in <em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em> aren't revered for their ability to rake in dough. They're remembered, first and foremost, for their iconically British design philosophies. "The core of a UK title is the rather bizarre humor, or the 'different' game design. Not better than other countries, mind…just different. We have many stories during the mid-90's of our game designers trying to explain their game ideas to overseas corporate-minded publishers who would shake their heads in amazement at what they were being pitched. The film industry often says that British crew are among the best in the world and our game designers are exactly the same, yes we can be eccentric but we are very workmanlike when we need to be and can always get the job done!"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Defeat can be crushing, and regret can leave a sting that lasts a lifetime, but even though careers may have fallen apart when publishers began to dictate content, the the early indie successes from the UK have had a lasting impact that continues through today. "I'm not saying there'd be no games industry without us," Anthony said, "but, as with the US and the Japanese and other countries, we all form strong spokes on a big wheel and we all offer different qualities. We needed each other as it started to gather speed. In the mid-90's our publishing dropped off at an alarming rate and financially we weren't able to keep up, but as game designers I'd like to think that the overall industry might be a little more sane and straight without us…as I said our at times oddly wired brains came up with some remarkably original stuff. In fact that was where our decline started to come, suddenly when our greatest first wave designers were having game formats thrust on them by formulaic publishers eagerly trying to follow on someone else's success they threw in the towel…and that's a common story!"</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7qKCzbaof0" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FN7qKCzbaof0%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DN7qKCzbaof0&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FN7qKCzbaof0%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="">As common as the stories within <em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em> may be among the interviewees, the film itself is an uncommon retrospective that focuses on an oft-neglected part of the industry's past. Gaming is an international business that began in disparate, and very different, corners of the world. In order to understand how we got to this point, we have to look back, and considering how little has been said about the origins of the industry in the UK, <em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em> offers a glimpse into the past that would otherwise have been ignored, and at worst, forgotten.</p> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:13:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/from-bedrooms-to-billions-and-the-origins-of-briti/1100-6420917/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/from-bedrooms-to-billions-the-power-of-the-bbc-mic/2300-6420063/ In this exclusive clip from upcoming UK games development documentary From Bedrooms to Billions, Peter Molyneux, Geoff Crammond and many others talk about the powerful influence of the BBC Micro. Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:12:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/from-bedrooms-to-billions-the-power-of-the-bbc-mic/2300-6420063/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hunting-heroes-and-building-a-garrison-in-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/1100-6420868/ <p dir="ltr" style="">The rhythmic pounding of hooves met my ears, and I surveyed the icy terrain around me, It had been a while since I had been forced to traverse via mount on the ground, having become so accustomed to taking to the skies on a whim. This <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/warcraft-warlords-of-draenor-expansion-has-no-flying-until-patch/1100-6416189/" data-ref-id="1100-6416189">removal of the ability to fly</a> is just one of the core changes Blizzard intends to introduce in its upcoming <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a> expansion, <a href="/world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/" data-ref-id="false">Warlords of Draenor</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The change was the first thing I noticed while playing the beta. Tied to the ground once again, I found an appreciation for the landscapes I explored in Draenor, the new setting featured in the expansion. Because my travel distance was limited, this change slowed down the pace at which I took on and completed quests in comparison to how I had previously played World of Warcraft.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420017" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420017/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">My habit of flying directly from quest point A to quest point B was no longer feasible. The landscapes of Draenor needed to be considered--not just in the routes through hubs of monsters, but in the possible player-versus-player encounters with stray enemies.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor is the fifth expansion to be released for Blizzard's landmark massively multiplayer online game. New features include a graphical overhaul to all characters, raising of the level cap from 90 to 100, player-managed garrisons, and a new overarching story that sends you back to the past to save Azeroth once again.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585147-garrison_ad_07_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585147" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585147-garrison_ad_07_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585147"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/280/2802776/2585147-garrison_ad_07_tga_jpgcopy.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Finer details to changes include Blizzard's intention to scale down the numbers representing various statistics, which it has referred to as an "<a href="http://wowpedia.org/Item_squish" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">item squish</a>," and the aforementioned omission of the ability to fly until a later patch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For the most part, quests still follow a recognisable formula. Upon first arriving in Draenor, I was immediately assaulted with "kill X amount of Y" tasks intermixed with "gather X amount of items" quests. The tedium of these was broken up by some cinematic flair upon completion, as well as familiar interactive quests that played more like action minigames. First encountered in the World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade expansion, these interactive quests littered my screen with satisfying explosions and lots of numbers, which brings me to the next prominent change I noticed: the number crunch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Having played the majority of my World of Warcraft life as a healer, a large portion of my game time was spent staring at numbers and different bars in a bid to heal my party correctly. These numbers grew exponentially in each subsequent expansion, with players able to easily hit six-digit figures in health and damage values.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585149-frostfire_ridge_frostfire_frostfire_ad_14_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585149" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585149-frostfire_ridge_frostfire_frostfire_ad_14_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585149"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2585149-frostfire_ridge_frostfire_frostfire_ad_14_tga_jpgcopy.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard has announced its intention to conduct an "item squish" with the Warlords of Draenor patch, streamlining item statistics, player and monster health, and ability values. The effects of this were immediately felt upon selecting a character from the preassigned beta templates. As a level 90 paladin, I sported about 50K health and averaged a much lower amount of damage output than I was accustomed to. However, enemies had also been scaled down, so the average amount of time I spent in combat with each individual monster was relatively the same.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585150-wowscrnshot_070114_115738.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585150" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585150-wowscrnshot_070114_115738.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585150"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/280/2802776/2585150-wowscrnshot_070114_115738.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The streamlined figures felt easier to grasp because I no longer needed to calculate into half-million territory. Although somewhat trivial-sounding, the change helped to make figures in combat more understandable.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a break from standard combat, Warlords of Draenor also introduces garrisons. To my delight, these player-built areas borrow elements from the Warcraft real-time strategy games. Assigned an area of my own, I could build structures and grow the size of my garrison. However, instead of having free rein over building placement, I was restricted to preassigned empty slots. Buildings cost resources, which exist separately to the gold players usually accumulate. I acquired these resources as quest rewards. Like in the Warcraft RTS games, structures take time to build, and I found myself quickly running out of the resources I had on hand.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">More importantly, garrisons serve as a home to followers, whom I could manage and send out to complete missions independently. My first follower was a non-player character I rescued from a cave, who would go on to aid me at my garrison. Followers can be assigned missions to complete, with varying parameters determining their level of success and the rewards reaped.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585151-draenor+screenshot.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585151" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585151-draenor+screenshot.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585151"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2585151-draenor+screenshot.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">To keep an eye on the progress of such missions, I could pull up the in-game mission tab at any time. Unable to participate directly in the assigned missions, I only had the ability to watch the mission timer tick down. Once a mission was completed, I was required to return to the garrison to look at the results and claim any rewards, creating a reason for me to regularly return to my established base. With a wealth of structures I have yet to build, the feature evidently requires a degree of time investment, but adds a layer of management into an otherwise combat-heavy beta experience.</p><p style="">Indeed, the content I've explored in the Warlords of Draenor beta strikes me as comfortably familiar, never veering too far from traditional World of Warcraft tropes. That's not to say my experience wasn't enjoyable; because of its questing system that results from many expansions' worth of tweaks, and its wealth of lore to draw upon, stepping into the past in Warlords of Draenor struck a balance between the old and the new. The introduction of garrisons and the appearance of key characters in the Warcraft universe were enough to reignite an interest that can be slaked only by taking up the MMORPG once again upon its release.</p> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hunting-heroes-and-building-a-garrison-in-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/1100-6420868/
http://auth.gamespot.com/ Gamespot's Everything Feed! News, Reviews, Videos. Exploding with content? You bet. en-us Sat, 05 Jul 2014 22:43:20 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-pocket-edition-gets-biggest-update-yet-j/1100-6420928/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNXtyRNQH-Y" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FvNXtyRNQH-Y%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DvNXtyRNQH-Y&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FvNXtyRNQH-Y%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=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/minecraft-pocket-edition/">Minecraft: Pocket Edition</a>, the mobile version of the game available through the iTunes App Store and Google Play, will get its biggest update to date on Thursday, July 10.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Version 0.9.0 will bring the mobile version closer to its PC counterpart by adding infinite worlds, caves, many new blocks and items including Monster Eggs and huge mushroom blocks, wolf pets, new mobs, new biomes including mesas, jungles, swamps and extreme hills, and much more. You can find a detailed list of the new addition on <a href="https://mojang.com/2014/07/minecraft-pocket-edition-0-9-0-coming-july-10th/" rel="nofollow">Mojang's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In late April, we learned that Minecraft PC sold 15 million, but the mobile version is significantly more popular. Earlier in April, Jens Bergensten of the Mojang's mobile team revealed that Pocket Edition sold over 21 million copies.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">On Xbox 360, Minecraft<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-xbox-360-sells-12-million-copies-dev-says-it-would-have-been-happy-to-sell-1-million/1100-6418779/"> sold more than 12 million copies</a> and on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-sold-1-million-copies-on-ps3/1100-6417335/">PlayStation 3 it sold a million copies in just a little over a month after its release</a>. Xbox One and Playstation 4 versions of the game are coming in August.</p><p style="">Mojang's Patrick Geuder Saga, who heads up data analysis at Mojang, recently revealed that the company sold almost <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-console-sales-pass-pc-series-nears-54-million-copies-sold/1100-6420724/">54 million copies of Minecraft across all platforms</a>, but did not share details regarding how the 54 million figure breaks down between platforms.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 17:19:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/minecraft-pocket-edition-gets-biggest-update-yet-j/1100-6420928/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-will-explain-dota-2-to-newcomers-in-a-dedica/1100-6420927/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586898-dot2a2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586898" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586898-dot2a2.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586898"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2586898-dot2a2.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The prize pool for the <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/dota-2/">Dota 2</a> world championship tournament The International is now <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/10-million-dota-2-international-exceeds-super-bowl-masters-and-tour-de-france-prizes/1100-6420785/">greater than $10 million</a> thanks to sales of its digital program, <a href="http://www.dota2.com/international/compendium/" rel="nofollow">The Compendium</a>. With that much money on the line, you might be curious about the eSports event, but no sporting event is fun to watch if you don't understand what's going on.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">That's exactly why Valve will have a "Dota Newcomers Broadcast," dedicated to introducing new players and viewers to the basic rules. <a href="http://www.dota2.com/international/overview/" rel="nofollow">Valve says</a> the Dota Newcomers Broadcast is "an English stream happening alongside the main stream, and will feature commentary aimed at easing people into understanding the exciting world of BKBs, tri-lanes, and counter-picks."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Dedicated Dota 2 fans will probably want to stick to the International Multicast, which will consolidate all the simultaneous matches into one stream, or the Spoiler-Free DVR Broadcast, which allows you to catch up with matches or moments you missed with pause and rewind features.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">You can find out more about how, when, and where to watch the event on <a href="http://www.dota2.com/international/overview/" rel="nofollow">Dota 2's website</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The International's $10 million in prizes marks the world record for biggest reward in history for an eSports tournament. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dota-2s-the-international-prize-pool-hits-26-million/1100-6411851/">It crushes last year's mark of $2.8 million</a>, which was the biggest eSports prize to date. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-releases-compendium-for-2014-dota-2-championships-increases-prize-pool-to-2-2-million-overnight/1100-6419547/">When the Compendium launched in May</a>, its proceeds raised the prize from its initial $1.6 million to $2.2 million in its first night. In case you're wondering, the first place will win more than $4.7 million.</p><p style="">The International 2014 <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-announces-dates-for-dota-2-tournament-the-international-2014/1100-6418682/">takes place between July 18-21 in Seattle</a>. It will be held in Seattle's Key Arena, with a seating capacity of 17,000.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 16:08:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-will-explain-dota-2-to-newcomers-in-a-dedica/1100-6420927/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cole-train-actor-says-he-ll-reprise-his-role-in-ne/1100-6420926/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586886-2858415372-22728.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586886" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586886-2858415372-22728.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586886"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2586886-2858415372-22728.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Lester Speight, the actor who voiced Augustus "Cole Train" Cole in the previous <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/gears-of-war/">Gears of War</a> games, has said that he's been approached to reprise his role.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speight made the announcement in response to a question from a fan on <a href="https://twitter.com/lesterspeight/status/484942538483052545" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">He didn't share any additional details about the game, but the only Gears of War in development that we know of is the one being made by the Microsoft-owned Black Tusk Studios.</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-can-do-a-lot-more-now-that-microsoft-owns-it/1100-6419678/">Last we heard</a>, the next Gears of War project was still in "the concept/prototype" phase. Black Tusk producer Rod Fergusson, who worked on previous Gears of War titles, is leading development on the project. He previously said that now that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-buys-gears-of-war-from-epic/1100-6417361/">Microsoft owns the IP</a>, it can do a lot more with it. He also said that Black Tusk will try stay true to Gears of War canon for its new game, but he made it clear that the studio won't have any reservations about deviating if it's in the interest of fun.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Unless Speight has misspoken, now we know it will feature at least one returning character.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">He's impossible to forget if you've played the game, but in case you didn't, Cole Train is a former Thrashball player, a football-like sport in the Gears of War fiction. After Emergence Day, when the human species is attacked by the Locust, he becomes a Gear soldier and joins the war effort.</p><p style="">There's no release date or even a title for the new Gears of War game for Xbox One, and Microsoft did not showcase the game at E3 last month.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 15:21:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cole-train-actor-says-he-ll-reprise-his-role-in-ne/1100-6420926/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-still-debating-post-launch-support-for-di/1100-6420925/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419599" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419599/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/diablo-iii/">Diablo III</a> players on PC are used to getting regular updates that address bugs and balancing issues, as well as new content. The console version of the game hasn't received the same treatment, and Blizzard is currently debating how it will support the Xbox One and PlayStation 4-bound <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-3-ultimate-evil-edition-confirmed-for-both-xbox-one-and-ps4-coming-this-august/1100-6419572/">Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition</a> after launch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"We're still working out all the details regarding if and how Ultimate Evil Edition will be supported post-launch," a Blizzard community manager said on <a href="http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/13272817274?page=6" rel="nofollow">the game's official forums</a>. "(e.g. will we patch the game after it ships? if yes, should we only patch to fix bugs and address critical game issues, or should we patch in new content as well? at what frequency should we patch?), so we don't have an answer for you right now."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard did confirm that Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition will ship on all platforms with all updates included up to patch 2.0.5, and that there will "likely" be a "Day 1" patch to add in fixes and content from patch 2.0.6 as well. That would bring it up to date with the current PC version, but Blizzard is already testing patch 2.1.0, which adds leaderboards, more challenging rifts, new environments, and much more content.</p><p style="">Diablo III: Ultimate Evil Edition launches August 19 for PlayStation 3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game contains the main Diablo III game and the Reaper of Souls expansion. As we learned at E3, the PS4 version of the game includes<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-last-of-us-infected-coming-to-diablo-iii-ultimate-evil-edition/1100-6420279/"> infected from The Last of Us</a>, as well as a <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-diablo-3-gets-shadow-of-the-colossus-dlc-new-update/1100-6420386/">special Shadow of the Colossus transmog set</a>.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 13:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzard-still-debating-post-launch-support-for-di/1100-6420925/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-says-players-more-open-to-dlc-now-are-you/1100-6420924/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586840-5469591619-20475.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586840" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586840-5469591619-20475.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586840"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2586840-5469591619-20475.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Ubisoft VP of digital publishing Chris Early has said that players don't resist DLC and other digital content for games as much as they used to.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Speaking with <a href="http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-07-03-gamer-resistance-to-digital-decreasing-ubisoft" rel="nofollow">GamesIndustry International</a>, Early noted that barely any players complained about <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/assassins-creed-iv-black-flag/">Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag</a>'s "Time saver" DLC packs, which unlock resources and hidden locations in the game you can also earn through normal play.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"There was no resistance," Early said. "Maybe there were 12 guys somewhere who said something, but whatever. As a whole, there wasn't a problem."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Whereas in the past players would complain that such features should be added to the game as cheat codes, Early believes that Ubisoft is seeing less of a negative reaction these days because the publisher does a better job of communicating with the player community. He said that Ubisoft also tries to make DLC that adds to the overall experience instead of asking players to pay for content that should be in the game to begin with, so they don't feel forced to pay for anything.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I think there are some models that are accepted now," Early said. "DLC is pretty much accepted. Season pass is pretty much accepted. Now it's interesting when you start to think of Season Pass as a Service Pass. For our Season Pass holders, I know we hold events for them specifically, so it's little bit more than just DLC content. So there's an evolution going on there."</p><p dir="ltr" style=""><em>Are you less skeptical of DLC than you used to be? Let us know in the comments below. </em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 12:01:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-says-players-more-open-to-dlc-now-are-you/1100-6420924/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-huge-proportion-of-ps4-owners-never-played-the-l/1100-6420923/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6419609" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6419609/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style="">If you've already played The Last of Us on the PlayStation 3, you might be less inclined to buy <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-last-of-us/">The Last of Us Remastered</a> on the PlayStation 4 for $50, but according to Sony there are many PlayStation 4 owners who haven't played Naughty Dog's award winning game before.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"The Last of Us is considered one of the most significant titles of the last console generation, winning countless awards," Sony Computer Entertainment Europe product manager Josh Walker told <a href="http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/huge-proportion-of-ps4-owners-are-yet-to-play-the-last-of-us-says-sony/0134967" rel="nofollow">MCV</a> in an interview. "It would be almost unfair for all our new fans to never play a game like this."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Walker didn't share exact numbers, but said that Sony can see how many PS4 owners have played The Last of Us by looking at its PlayStation Network data.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"This is quite indicative of the shift in the market and the many players who have migrated from competitive platforms that we're glad to welcome to PlayStation," he said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The Last of Us Remastered runs at 1080p and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-last-of-us-ps4-at-60fps-is-a-transformative-experience-dev-says/1100-6420815/">Naughty Dog has suggested it will run at 60fps</a>. It features higher resolution character models, as well as improved shadows and lighting. The bundle includes DLC, director's commentary, and special interviews with voice actors Troy Baker (Joel) and Ashley Johnson (Ellie).</p><p style="">The Last of Us Remastered releases on July 29 for $50.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 10:15:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/a-huge-proportion-of-ps4-owners-never-played-the-l/1100-6420923/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-halo-the-master-chief-collection-developer-p/1100-6420922/ <div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-PtjomjQ-Y" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FQ-PtjomjQ-Y%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQ-PtjomjQ-Y&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FQ-PtjomjQ-Y%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=""><strong>Update:</strong></p><p dir="ltr" style="">343 and Certain Affinity have finished their panel at RTX. If you're a Halo fanatic but weren't able to catch the broadcast, these are the highlights:</p><ul><li dir="ltr">The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7NCg0venpKJg3kuJojKlbQ" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Halo YouTube channel</a> uploaded a new trailer (above) for the game featuring The Arbiter, voiced by actor Keith David.</li><li dir="ltr">343 announced that Coagulation will be one of the six remastered maps.</li><li dir="ltr">In addition to returning multiplayer game types, Halo 2: Anniversary will add new modes like Ricochet (from Halo 4), Race (with "a huge number of game mode options"), SWAT, Infection, and others.</li><li dir="ltr">The Mongoose vehicle is being upgraded with mounted guns to become the "Gungoose," which should be a nice addition to the Mongoose capture the flag mode, especially on the remastered Coagulation map.</li><li dir="ltr">Responding to a question from a fan, 343 said it has no plans to give Halo 3 the anniversary treatment at the moment.</li></ul><p dir="ltr" style=""><strong>Original story:</strong></p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.twitch.tv/rtxlive2" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Fwidgets%2Flive_embed_player.swf%3Fchannel%3Drtxlive2&wmode=opaque&fv=hostname%3Dwww.twitch.tv%26start_volume%3D25%26channel%3Drtxlive2%26auto_play%3Dfalse&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitch.tv%2Frtxlive2&image=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic-cdn.jtvnw.net%2Fjtv_user_pictures%2Frtxlive2-profile_image-013fc4f9cf307783-300x300.png&key=6efca6e5ad9640f180f14146a0bc1392&type=application%2Fx-shockwave-flash&schema=twitch" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p style="">Check out the Twitch broadcast above at 10:00 a.m. PDT to watch a live panel of 343 Industries and Certain Affinity developers discussing the upcoming <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/the-master-chief-collection/">Halo: The Master Chief Collection</a>, a remastered collection of the main Halo games for Xbox One.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The panel is part of the <a href="http://rtxevent.com/home.php" rel="nofollow">RTX</a> gaming event hosted by <a href="http://roosterteeth.com/home.php" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Rooster Teeth</a> at the Austin Convention Center this weekend. The developers will discuss the design and vision of the project, with original Halo 2 development stories from lead Halo 2 multiplayer designer and Certain Affinity president Max Hoberman. According to Halo's official site, 343 should also be showing some new stuff during the panel.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">343 is leading development on the project with help from Austin-based developer Certain Affinity.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Announced during E3, Halo: The Master Chief Collection includes <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/halo-combat-evolved-anniversary/">Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary</a>, Halo 2: Anniversary, Halo 3, and Halo 4. All multiplayer maps and all Halo 4 Spartan Ops missions will be included. Each game will run at 1080p and 60 frames per second.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The game is scheduled to be released on November 11 for $60. <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-skulls-forge-returns-and-more-coming-in-halo-the-master-chief-collection/1100-6420366/">You can read more about the collection and what's included here</a>.</p><p style="">343 also stated that it will announce more about the game at Gamescom this August.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 07:48:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-halo-the-master-chief-collection-developer-p/1100-6420922/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/unlike-apple-amazon-refuses-to-settle-over-in-app-/1100-6420921/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586716-1730306633-25715.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586716" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586716-1730306633-25715.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586716"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1535/15354745/2586716-1730306633-25715.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Back in January, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/apple-to-pay-at-least-32-5-million-to-refund-kids-in-app-purchases/1100-6417149/">Apple agreed to pay at least $32.5 million in refunds</a> to consumers to settle a Federal Trade Commission complaint brought against the company related to the way in which iOS devices make it simple for children to spend real-world money on in-app purchases without parental consent.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The FTC filed the same complaint against Amazon, but the company is refusing to settle, and is instead choosing to defend its position in court.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">According to a letter from Amazon to the FTC, the FTC filed the complaint against Amazon despite several weeks of "constructive meetings" between the two focusing on Amazon's "customer-centric" approach to in-app purchasing.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It's an understatement to say that this response is deeply disappointing," Amazon said. "The Commission's unwillingness to depart from the precedent it set with Apple despite our very different facts leaves us no choice but to defend our approach in court."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Amazon's letter explains that it has continuously improved its experience since launch, but that even at launch, when customers told Amazon their kids had made purchases they didn't want, it refunded those purchases. It also said that its practices were responsible and lawful, including prominent notice of in-app purchasing, effective parental controls, and real time notice of every in-app purchase.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"Pursuing litigation against a company whose practices were lawful from the outset and that already exceed the requirements of the Apple consent order makes no sense, and is an unfortunate misallocation of the Commission's resources," Amazon said.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In addition to announcing its <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/amazon-announces-fire-phone/1100-6420575/">Fire Phone</a> last month, Amazon already sells and developed apps for its Kindle Fire tablet.</p><p style=""><em>Should Amazon refund customers like Apple, or are the parents the ones responsible for their kids' purchases? Let us know what you think in the comments below.</em></p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p><p style=""> </p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 07:32:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/unlike-apple-amazon-refuses-to-settle-over-in-app-/1100-6420921/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-producer-joins-oculus-vr/1100-6420920/ <figure data-align="right" data-size="small" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586635-1794695608-23772.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586635" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1535/15354745/2586635-1794695608-23772.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2586635"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_small/1535/15354745/2586635-1794695608-23772.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Virtual reality headset maker Oculus VR has hired <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/plants-vs-zombies-2-its-about-time/news/">Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time</a> producer Bernard Yee.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yee, who was Senior Producer at the Electronic Arts-owned Plants vs. Zombies 2 developer PopCap Games, previously worked on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/destiny/">Destiny</a>'s companion app at Bungie, Harmonix, Atari, and Sony Online Entertainment's massively multiplayer online role-playing game <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/everquest/">EverQuest</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Yee told <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/07/03/popcaps-plants-vs-zombies-2-producer-leaves-for-the-siren-song-of-oculus-vr-exclusive/" rel="nofollow">GamesBeat</a> in an interview that he decided to join Oculus after he saw a demo of Valve's impressive VR room demo that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-holding-steam-dev-days-conference/1100-6415524/">Steam Dev Days attendees</a> got a chance to try out in January.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I was really blown away by the level of emotional reaction I had to the demo," he said. "The virtual reality technology was immersive and made you feel present in a way that games have never done."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Valve previously said that <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-produced-virtual-reality-headset-not-likely-to-see-release/1100-6417199/">it's not likely to release its VR room demo and virtual reality headset</a>, but instead help drive PC VR forward by helping Oculus. Michael Abrash, who helped develop the VR room demo, has since joined Oculus, as did <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-loses-three-vr-veterans-in-three-weeks-to-oculus-vr/1100-6418697/">Aaron Nicholls</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-veteran-joins-oculus-rift-company-brings-expertise-in-eliminating-simulator-sickness/1100-6418241/">Atman Binstock</a>, both of whom researched VR at Valve.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Oculus' high profile hiring spree this year also includes <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-vr-hires-google-glass-engineer/1100-6419716/">Google Glass engineer Adrian Wong</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/oculus-vr-hires-bastion-transistor-programmer/1100-6420561/">Bastion programmer Chris Jurney</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-oculus-hires-naughty-dog-co-founder-announces-alien-isolation-vr/1100-6420312/">Naughty Dog co-founder Jason Rubin</a>, and others.</p><table data-max-width="true"><thead><tr><th scope="col"><em>Emanuel Maiberg is a freelance writer. You can follow him on <a href="https://twitter.com/emanuelmaiberg" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Twitter @emanuelmaiberg</a> and <a href="https://plus.google.com/116710591398405257934/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Google+</a>.<br /></em></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><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></p></td></tr></tbody></table> Sat, 05 Jul 2014 06:44:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/plants-vs-zombies-2-producer-joins-oculus-vr/1100-6420920/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/the-point-is-marketing-killing-the-wonder-of-games/2300-6420070/ Do we know too much about games before they're released? Danny investigates the idea that over-marketing and the internet is killing the wonder in games. Also, he waves a flag. Fri, 04 Jul 2014 12:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/the-point-is-marketing-killing-the-wonder-of-games/2300-6420070/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-drm-sucks-according-to-magicka-developer-parad/1100-6420910/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2585721-paradox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2585721" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1179/11799911/2585721-paradox.png" data-ref-id="1300-2585721"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1179/11799911/2585721-paradox.png"></a></figure><p style=""><a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/witcher-dev-drm-is-worst-thing-in-the-gaming-industry/1100-6407588/" data-ref-id="1100-6407588">The Witcher developer CD Projekt Red</a> and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-drm-can-t-stop-piracy/1100-6420602/" data-ref-id="1100-6420602">Assassin's Creed studio Ubisoft</a> aren't the only companies that think DRM is a waste of time for PC games. Speaking with GameSpot, <a href="/magicka-2/" data-ref-id="false">Magicka</a> and <a href="/hearts-of-iron-iv/" data-ref-id="false">Hearts of Iron</a> developer Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester outlined why he thinks DRM can be such a headache and provided some steps that he thinks will convince people to buy legal copies of Paradox games.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"It can punish players who actually bought the game," Wester said about DRM. "I remember buying <a href="/sid-meiers-civilization-iii/" data-ref-id="false">Civilization III</a>, and I couldn't install it because I had something else installed. I had to uninstall two different programs, change settings...it was a hassle."</p><blockquote data-align="left"><p dir="ltr" style="">"I have no idea how many of our games are pirated. We don't really have any intention of finding out or hunting these people" -- Fredrik Wester</p></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">"If I had pirated it from anywhere, I would have gotten it much faster, more convenient," Wester added. "So we don't want to put barriers on convenience for the gamers. It should be more convenient, you should get more content, it should be easier for you to install if you buy the legal copy."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">How do you stop people from pirating your games, then, I asked Wester. "Well, we don't," Wester said with a laugh. Instead of hunting pirates down, Wester says Paradox is instead focusing on providing a better gameplay experience overall. This, Wester says, will encourage people to buy legal copies.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">"I have no idea how many of our games are pirated," he said. "We don't really have any intention of finding out or hunting these people. What we want to do is provide people who bought the game legally a better service. With frequent updates; good and convenient services; that's how we fight piracy. I hope it works. I keep my fingers crossed."</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Wester also pointed out that Paradox is a "highly profitable" company already, so launching an anti-piracy campaign at this juncture doesn't make a lot of sense.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For more on Wester's thoughts about the video game industry, be sure to read the first part of our interview, which <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/industry-shouldnt-shy-away-from-women-in-games-dis/1100-6420905/" data-ref-id="1100-6420905">ran yesterday</a>. In that piece, Wester talks about how the industry has changed since Paradox was formed a decade ago, including his<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/industry-shouldnt-shy-away-from-women-in-games-dis/1100-6420905/" data-ref-id="1100-6420905"> thoughts on women in video games</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Paradox is currently working on <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/hearts-of-iron-iv/" data-ref-id="false">Hearts of Iron IV</a>, <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/magicka-2/" data-ref-id="false">Magicka 2</a>, and <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/runemaster/" data-ref-id="false">Runemaster</a>. Magicka 2 was <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-magicka-2-coming-to-the-playstation-4/1100-6420281/" data-ref-id="1100-6420281">announced at E3 during Sony's press conference</a>. However, Paradox has signed only a timed-exclusive deal with Sony for the game, so it's <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/e3-2014-why-magicka-2-is-coming-to-ps4-but-not-xbox-one-for-now/1100-6420409/" data-ref-id="1100-6420409">possible it could come to other platforms later</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> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:03:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/why-drm-sucks-according-to-magicka-developer-parad/1100-6420910/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-creator-cliff-bleszinskis-new-studio-/1100-6420919/ <figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2586358-screen+shot+2014-07-04+at+11.19.48+am.png" data-ref-id="1300-2586358" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/1534/15343359/2586358-screen+shot+2014-07-04+at+11.19.48+am.png" data-ref-id="1300-2586358"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/1534/15343359/2586358-screen+shot+2014-07-04+at+11.19.48+am.png"></a></figure><p style="">The <a href="http://itsalmo.st/#time_biuoe" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">countdown clock</a> is still running on Cliff Bleszinski's upcoming reveal, but it looks like the name of his studio may have leaked early: Boss Key Productions.</p><p style="">Veteran game designer Cliff Bleszinski announced earlier this week that he <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-veteran-developer-cliff-bleszinski-coming-out-of-retirement/1100-6420828/" data-ref-id="1100-6420828">would be coming out of retirement</a> and that he wanted to "<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/cliff-bleszinski-wants-to-redefine-his-legacy/1100-6401537/" data-ref-id="1100-6401537">redefine his legacy.</a>" But details on what he's working on, which could be the previously rumored PC arena-based shooter, will have to wait until Monday.</p><p style="">The website for his new studio is live now at <a href="http://bosskey.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">BossKey.com</a>. Though it's currently just the static logo pictured above, it previously had links to Blezinski's twitter account as well as an empty <a href="https://twitter.com/bluestreak" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">BlueStreak Twitter account</a>. <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/7/4/5871047/cliff-bleszinski-boss-key-productions" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">Polygon</a> reports that they uncovered documents linking the founding of the Boss Key studio to both Bleszinski as CEO and Arjan Brussee as COO. Brussee is currently listed as executive producer at EA "working on Battlefield Hardline" according to his <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/arjanbrussee" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">LinkedIn profile</a>; he previously partnered with Blezinski on the <a href="/jazz-jackrabbit/" data-ref-id="false">Jazz Jackrabbit</a> games.</p><p style="">In response to the Polygon documents, Bleszinski wrote, "I do not comment on rumors and speculation on the birthday of the nation that could allow a game designer to have a fantastic 20 year run at his first studio and then take nearly two years off only to seek out funding and start his new lean, agile, fun startup in Raleigh, N.C."</p><p style="">Bleszinski <a href="https://twitter.com/therealcliffyb/status/485107842798465024" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">posted a follow Friday hashtag</a> to a Boss Key Twitter account, which currently only has <a href="https://twitter.com/BossKey" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">one cryptic message</a> posted back on June 20: "soon." We'll follow up with more details as they become available.</p><table data-max-width="true"><tbody><tr><td><p style=""><strong>Justin Haywald is a senior editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinHaywald" rel="nofollow"> Twitter @JustinHaywald</a></strong></p><strong>Got a news tip or want to contact us directly? Email <a href="mailto:news@gamespot.com" rel="nofollow">news@gamespot.com</a></strong></td></tr></tbody></table> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gears-of-war-creator-cliff-bleszinskis-new-studio-/1100-6420919/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/from-bedrooms-to-billions-and-the-origins-of-briti/1100-6420917/ <p dir="ltr" style="">Much has been said about the history of game development in North America and Japan, but British developers were just as busy as their international counterparts back in the day; we just rarely get the chance to hear about it. <a href="http://www.frombedroomstobillions.com/" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false"><em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em></a>, a film about the pioneer days of game development in the UK from Nicola Caulfield and Anthony Caulfield, aims to set the record straight. The enthusiast developers who forged ahead and paved the road for future generations have shared their stories, and though some of the interviewees developed successful careers in gaming, many of them failed to turn their passion projects into commercially viable products under the pressure of financially driven publishers. Regardless of the individuals' outcomes, at the start, Anthony says they all had one thing in common: "it was never for the money, only for the love." This is the story that<em> From Bedrooms to Billions</em> aims to tell.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The creative passions of the film's subjects inspired the Caulfields, who want to bestow these tales of love and loss to a wider audience, to preserve the early history of their corner of the industry. "We both feel this is a long overdue story," Nicola said, "and while most of the main protagonists are still around to tell the story in their own words, the time had to be now. We want a permanent record of a remarkable and creative time in UK history."</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420063" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420063/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">The "Billions" in the film's title isn't a reference to the financial success of the champions featured within, but to the budgets and profits that drive modern-day game development. Almost no one the Caulfields interviewed saw the industry of today coming. After all, in the beginning, they were working on passion projects, not blockbusters. "I know that sounds a little melodramatic," Anthony said, "but...they all tended to stare off into the misty-eyed distance and say the same thing. However they have all mainly said they had no idea it would become this, just some little geeky hobby that only they enjoyed, and then, whoosh!"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The love they speak of led to some inadvertent success, which is something the indie scene of today has experienced on occasion. The problem is, once critical and financial success arrives, you have two options: use your newfound assets to continue as you were, or, use them to expand your horizons. Of course, when publishers come into play, your passion no longer dictates your schedule, your boss does, and the shift to playing by the corporate ruleset sent some developers careening off course. According to Anthony, "If there is one common thread that runs through the interviewees, it is to have unwavering belief in what you are doing. It was when the love seemed to go from what they were doing that many people lost their way. Also as a publisher you have to understand that for a developer to do what he or she does best they must be given time, space and security to do that. Yes, keep them on track if a deadline is looming, but when those with no experience of game design in a position of power start dictating to a developer what makes a good game and how they should change what they've done, it usually ends in tears. However today a lot of those mistakes (often made in the late 90's) have been learnt the hard way and remembered."</p><blockquote data-size="large" data-align="center"><p dir="ltr" style="">If there is one common thread that runs through the interviewees, it is to have unwavering belief in what you are doing.</p><cite>Anthony Caulfield</cite></blockquote><p dir="ltr" style="">You could say the industry was healthy when it began to grow and generate record sums of money, but the developers featured in <em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em> aren't revered for their ability to rake in dough. They're remembered, first and foremost, for their iconically British design philosophies. "The core of a UK title is the rather bizarre humor, or the 'different' game design. Not better than other countries, mind…just different. We have many stories during the mid-90's of our game designers trying to explain their game ideas to overseas corporate-minded publishers who would shake their heads in amazement at what they were being pitched. The film industry often says that British crew are among the best in the world and our game designers are exactly the same, yes we can be eccentric but we are very workmanlike when we need to be and can always get the job done!"</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Defeat can be crushing, and regret can leave a sting that lasts a lifetime, but even though careers may have fallen apart when publishers began to dictate content, the the early indie successes from the UK have had a lasting impact that continues through today. "I'm not saying there'd be no games industry without us," Anthony said, "but, as with the US and the Japanese and other countries, we all form strong spokes on a big wheel and we all offer different qualities. We needed each other as it started to gather speed. In the mid-90's our publishing dropped off at an alarming rate and financially we weren't able to keep up, but as game designers I'd like to think that the overall industry might be a little more sane and straight without us…as I said our at times oddly wired brains came up with some remarkably original stuff. In fact that was where our decline started to come, suddenly when our greatest first wave designers were having game formats thrust on them by formulaic publishers eagerly trying to follow on someone else's success they threw in the towel…and that's a common story!"</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7qKCzbaof0" data-width="854" data-height="480"><iframe src="//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FN7qKCzbaof0%3Fwmode%3Dopaque%26feature%3Doembed&wmode=opaque&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DN7qKCzbaof0&image=http%3A%2F%2Fi1.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2FN7qKCzbaof0%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="">As common as the stories within <em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em> may be among the interviewees, the film itself is an uncommon retrospective that focuses on an oft-neglected part of the industry's past. Gaming is an international business that began in disparate, and very different, corners of the world. In order to understand how we got to this point, we have to look back, and considering how little has been said about the origins of the industry in the UK, <em>From Bedrooms to Billions</em> offers a glimpse into the past that would otherwise have been ignored, and at worst, forgotten.</p> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:13:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/from-bedrooms-to-billions-and-the-origins-of-briti/1100-6420917/ http://www.gamespot.com/videos/from-bedrooms-to-billions-the-power-of-the-bbc-mic/2300-6420063/ In this exclusive clip from upcoming UK games development documentary From Bedrooms to Billions, Peter Molyneux, Geoff Crammond and many others talk about the powerful influence of the BBC Micro. Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:12:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/videos/from-bedrooms-to-billions-the-power-of-the-bbc-mic/2300-6420063/ http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hunting-heroes-and-building-a-garrison-in-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/1100-6420868/ <p dir="ltr" style="">The rhythmic pounding of hooves met my ears, and I surveyed the icy terrain around me, It had been a while since I had been forced to traverse via mount on the ground, having become so accustomed to taking to the skies on a whim. This <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/articles/warcraft-warlords-of-draenor-expansion-has-no-flying-until-patch/1100-6416189/" data-ref-id="1100-6416189">removal of the ability to fly</a> is just one of the core changes Blizzard intends to introduce in its upcoming <a href="/world-of-warcraft/" data-ref-id="false">World of Warcraft</a> expansion, <a href="/world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/" data-ref-id="false">Warlords of Draenor</a>.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">The change was the first thing I noticed while playing the beta. Tied to the ground once again, I found an appreciation for the landscapes I explored in Draenor, the new setting featured in the expansion. Because my travel distance was limited, this change slowed down the pace at which I took on and completed quests in comparison to how I had previously played World of Warcraft.</p><div data-embed-type="video" data-ref-id="2300-6420017" data-width="100%" data-height="100%"><iframe src="/videos/embed/6420017/" width="100%" height="100%" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe></div><p dir="ltr" style=""> </p><p dir="ltr" style="">My habit of flying directly from quest point A to quest point B was no longer feasible. The landscapes of Draenor needed to be considered--not just in the routes through hubs of monsters, but in the possible player-versus-player encounters with stray enemies.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor is the fifth expansion to be released for Blizzard's landmark massively multiplayer online game. New features include a graphical overhaul to all characters, raising of the level cap from 90 to 100, player-managed garrisons, and a new overarching story that sends you back to the past to save Azeroth once again.</p><figure data-align="right" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585147-garrison_ad_07_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585147" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585147-garrison_ad_07_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585147"><img src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/280/2802776/2585147-garrison_ad_07_tga_jpgcopy.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Finer details to changes include Blizzard's intention to scale down the numbers representing various statistics, which it has referred to as an "<a href="http://wowpedia.org/Item_squish" rel="nofollow" data-ref-id="false">item squish</a>," and the aforementioned omission of the ability to fly until a later patch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">For the most part, quests still follow a recognisable formula. Upon first arriving in Draenor, I was immediately assaulted with "kill X amount of Y" tasks intermixed with "gather X amount of items" quests. The tedium of these was broken up by some cinematic flair upon completion, as well as familiar interactive quests that played more like action minigames. First encountered in the World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade expansion, these interactive quests littered my screen with satisfying explosions and lots of numbers, which brings me to the next prominent change I noticed: the number crunch.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">Having played the majority of my World of Warcraft life as a healer, a large portion of my game time was spent staring at numbers and different bars in a bid to heal my party correctly. These numbers grew exponentially in each subsequent expansion, with players able to easily hit six-digit figures in health and damage values.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585149-frostfire_ridge_frostfire_frostfire_ad_14_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585149" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585149-frostfire_ridge_frostfire_frostfire_ad_14_tga_jpgcopy.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585149"><img src="http://static2.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2585149-frostfire_ridge_frostfire_frostfire_ad_14_tga_jpgcopy.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">Blizzard has announced its intention to conduct an "item squish" with the Warlords of Draenor patch, streamlining item statistics, player and monster health, and ability values. The effects of this were immediately felt upon selecting a character from the preassigned beta templates. As a level 90 paladin, I sported about 50K health and averaged a much lower amount of damage output than I was accustomed to. However, enemies had also been scaled down, so the average amount of time I spent in combat with each individual monster was relatively the same.</p><figure data-align="left" data-size="medium" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585150-wowscrnshot_070114_115738.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585150" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585150-wowscrnshot_070114_115738.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585150"><img src="http://static3.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_medium/280/2802776/2585150-wowscrnshot_070114_115738.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">The streamlined figures felt easier to grasp because I no longer needed to calculate into half-million territory. Although somewhat trivial-sounding, the change helped to make figures in combat more understandable.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">In a break from standard combat, Warlords of Draenor also introduces garrisons. To my delight, these player-built areas borrow elements from the Warcraft real-time strategy games. Assigned an area of my own, I could build structures and grow the size of my garrison. However, instead of having free rein over building placement, I was restricted to preassigned empty slots. Buildings cost resources, which exist separately to the gold players usually accumulate. I acquired these resources as quest rewards. Like in the Warcraft RTS games, structures take time to build, and I found myself quickly running out of the resources I had on hand.</p><p dir="ltr" style="">More importantly, garrisons serve as a home to followers, whom I could manage and send out to complete missions independently. My first follower was a non-player character I rescued from a cave, who would go on to aid me at my garrison. Followers can be assigned missions to complete, with varying parameters determining their level of success and the rewards reaped.</p><figure data-align="center" data-size="large" data-img-src="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585151-draenor+screenshot.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585151" data-resize-url="" data-resized="" data-embed-type="image"><a href="http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/280/2802776/2585151-draenor+screenshot.jpg" data-ref-id="1300-2585151"><img src="http://static4.gamespot.com/uploads/ignore_jpg_scale_super/280/2802776/2585151-draenor+screenshot.jpg"></a></figure><p dir="ltr" style="">To keep an eye on the progress of such missions, I could pull up the in-game mission tab at any time. Unable to participate directly in the assigned missions, I only had the ability to watch the mission timer tick down. Once a mission was completed, I was required to return to the garrison to look at the results and claim any rewards, creating a reason for me to regularly return to my established base. With a wealth of structures I have yet to build, the feature evidently requires a degree of time investment, but adds a layer of management into an otherwise combat-heavy beta experience.</p><p style="">Indeed, the content I've explored in the Warlords of Draenor beta strikes me as comfortably familiar, never veering too far from traditional World of Warcraft tropes. That's not to say my experience wasn't enjoyable; because of its questing system that results from many expansions' worth of tweaks, and its wealth of lore to draw upon, stepping into the past in Warlords of Draenor struck a balance between the old and the new. The introduction of garrisons and the appearance of key characters in the Warcraft universe were enough to reignite an interest that can be slaked only by taking up the MMORPG once again upon its release.</p> Fri, 04 Jul 2014 10:00:00 -0700 http://www.gamespot.com/articles/hunting-heroes-and-building-a-garrison-in-world-of-warcraft-warlords-of-draenor/1100-6420868/
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