PS4, Xbox One, And Switch Are Getting Indie Narrative Adventure Where The Water Tastes Like Wine Very Soon

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Where The Water Tastes Like Wine, a narrative-focused game in which you work your way around the 1930s American Dust Bowl, hearing and trading stories, is come to consoles later this month. The game, which released on PC in 2018, is coming to Switch, PS4, and Xbox One on November 29.

The game’s impending release was announced by publisher Serenity Forge on Twitter. It’s now available to pre-order on Switch.

The game also received a new launch trailer ahead of its console release.

The game, which contains a guest appearance from Sting, struggled at launch, with creator Johnnemann Nordhagen publicly discussing the difficulties developer Dim Bulb Games faced following the game’s release. “At the end of the day it’s astounding that a game that got this much attention from the press, that won awards, that had an all-star cast of writers and performers, that had a bizarre celebrity guest appearance(!) failed this hard,” Nordhagen wrote. Perhaps the game’s console release can recoup some of the costs of development.

We gave the game a 6/10 in our original review, stating that “if the basic premise of gathering folk stories across a version of 1930s America strongly appeals to you, then Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is worth a look, but it’s probably not worth finishing”. Since launch, the game has been updated with Chinese-American tales. It’s currently discounted by 70% on Steam.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-xbox-one-and-switch-are-getting-indie-narrativ/1100-6471341/

Blizzard’s Jeff Kaplan Does Not Believe That Blitzchung’s Ban Was Fair

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Blizzard has come under fire lately for their harsh treatment of Hearthstone Grandmaster pro Blitzchung, who was banned from the game and had his winnings taken away for expressing a pro-Hong Kong sentiment during a post-match interview. Although eventually his prize money was reinstated and his ban was reduced to six months, the fallout from the incident was immense: the game’s developers spoke out against the way Blitzchung had been treated, sponsor Mitsubishi cut ties with the Hearthstone esports scene, and numerous protests were held, which led to further bans.

Blizzard president J. Allen Brack addressed the decision directly during BlizzCon, but it’s clear that many within Blizzard remain unhappy with how things have played out. Now Jeff Kaplan, director of Overwatch, has added his own voice to the discussion. Talking to The Washington Post, Kaplan has said that he would personally like to see Blitzchung’s suspension reduced further. “I was relieved when they reduced his suspension…and I think the suspension should be reduced more or eliminated. But that’s just me.”

“I’m obviously a huge supporter of free speech,” Kaplan said. “It’s something that’s very important to me…it got to me personally. I think the punishment was too harsh and I was greatly relieved when they gave his money back. I think that was extremely important.” Kaplan talked about his own experience in Overwatch, where decisions like this typically take “four or five days” to get settled. He said that it was surprising to see a punishment like this get metered out so quickly: “I was actually shocked that such a harsh penalty was levied.”

For now, Blitzchung’s suspension remains in place. For more on this, watch our interview with Freedom Hong Kong organizer Dayton Young about Blizzard’s action here, and why change is important.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/blizzards-jeff-kaplan-does-not-believe-that-blitzc/1100-6471340/

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Upcoming Update Will Change The 725 Shotgun Again

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Activision is planning another update for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to address one of the military shooter’s most controversial weapons. In a tweet, multiplayer co-director Joe Cecot said developer Infinity Ward is planning another change for the 725 shotgun that should address how effective the weapon is at a distance.

Specifically, the update will “massage out” instances where the 725 is seemingly too effective at range, Cecot said. As you can see in the video below, the 725 is still very, very effective at a distance, which many have remarked makes the shotgun far too powerful.

The 725 is a break-action shotgun that carries only two rounds. It’s also not a standard shotgun. The weapon has a cylindrical choke that keeps the projectile spread tight. This is what makes the 725 effective at long ranges unlike other, more standard shotguns.

In another tweet, Cecot said Infinity Ward is being careful to make sure that whatever changes it plans for the 725 do not impact the “soul” of the weapon. He also confirmed that Infinity Ward has no plans to simply remove the 725 from the game. “No,” he said.

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The video below shows the 725 killing someone in one shot, from across the map. Cecot said this video shows a “rare” situation where one of the shotgun pellets lands. That being said, Cecot added that there are “changes still to come,” presumably for instances like this.

Modern Warfare launched at the end of October, and it generated $600 million in revenue right away. The game is expected to sell as many as 27 million copies this quarter, while it will bring in even more money when the first Battle Pass launches in December.

In other Call of Duty news, the Call of Duty Mobile game is racing up the charts with more than 140 million downloads and $50 million in revenue over its first month.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-modern-warfare-upcoming-update-will-c/1100-6471339/

Diablo 4 Is Planning On Featuring Cosmetic Microtransactions

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Diablo IV was announced during BlizzCon 2019, and while it’s still a very long way from release we’ve already gotten quite a lot of information about it. In our hands-on time with the game, we found its shared world and dark vibes intriguing. Now, in the wake of BlizzCon, more information is coming out from interviews conducted during the show.

We know that Diablo IV will feature mounts and character customization, but now we’ve heard that there are plans to let you spend money on cosmetic items for your characters. This comes via an interview by Twitch streamer Quin69 with lead designer Joe Shely, where Shely discusses monetization plans for the upcoming loot RPG.

The video is quite long, but PCGamesN has nabbed the highlights. After confirming that the base game will get expansions, Shely said that, “you also will be able to acquire cosmetics in the game.” Asked directly if that means the game will have microtransactions, Shely says that it will. While the game will not let you spend money to improve your build or become more powerful, this seems to confirm that you’ll be able to spend money on skins.

According to Shely, “it’s also an opportunity to have more options available than you would otherwise.” It’s likely that we won’t know more details about this system for some time yet, and with the game so far away, there’s always the possibility that Blizzard’s plans will change.

Diablo IV was announced alongside Overwatch 2, but neither game was given a release date.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/diablo-4-is-planning-on-featuring-cosmetic-microtr/1100-6471337/

Call Of Duty Mobile Has Strong Start, Only Behind Pokemon Go In Terms Of Downloads

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The new Call of Duty mobile game is doing very well. Research company SensorTower reports that the game has accumulated around 148 million downloads across iOS and Android since its release on October 1. That makes it the second most successful mobile game in history in terms of first-month downloads; it’s only behind the wildly popular Pokemon Go on that front.

Call of Duty Mobile was developed by Chinese company Tencent in partnership with Activision. The game is a “greatest hits” title of sorts, featuring some of the most popular and memorable maps, modes, and characters from Call of Duty history.

In terms of comparisons against other games in the shooter category, Call of Duty Mobile’s 148 million first-month downloads is more than four times Fortnite‘s first-month downloads (35 million). However, that game was only available on iOS at launch. The mobile version of PUBG had 60.7 million downloads in its first month, according to the report.

SensorTower’s data shows that Call of Duty Mobile had around 4.9 million downloads every day across iOS and Google Play, starting with 24 million downloads on the first day. In terms of geographic breakdown, the US made up the lion’s share of downloads with 23.6 million, or 16 percent of the total, followed by India with 16.2 million downloads (11 percent of the total).

Looking at spending, Call of Duty Mobile made around $53.9 million from its various microtransactions during the first month. The busiest single day was October 5, on which players collectively spent $3.1 million. The US leads the way in terms of spending with $22.8 million so far; Japan was second with $7 million.

The report says downloads were spread almost evenly between iOS and Android, but iOS players are spending more, making up 60 percent of all revenue.

Call of Duty Mobile features two main multiplayer modes: a traditional 5v5 head-to-head mode and battle royale game type for up to 100 players. The game features a number of iconic Call of Duty maps, including Nuketown 2, Crash, Hijacked, and Firing Range. Familiar characters are also featured, including Captain Price, Alex Mason, and Simon “Ghost” Riley.

Given the massive success of Call of Duty Mobile, fans can expect even more mobile games from Activision. Just recently, the company said it is considering every one of its franchises for a mobile game.

It’s not just Call of Duty Mobile that’s performing well. This year’s new console game, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, generated $600 million in revenue at launch and is expected to sell as many as 27 million copies during its launch quarter. Activision will make even more money from the game when the Battle Pass goes live in December.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/call-of-duty-mobile-has-strong-start-only-behind-p/1100-6471338/

Hideo Kojima Has Been Awarded Two Guinness World Records, But Not For What You Might Expect

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Hideo Kojima’s latest game, Death Stranding, released last week. Reviews have been mixed, but our critic loved it, and the game has inspired a lot of discussion. Over the weekend, director Hideo Kojima was awarded two Guinness World Records, but curiously neither of them directly relate to the new game–he’s yet to collect an award for “first strand game”, or “most babies in jars in a game”.

Instead, Kojima has been awarded for his follower counts on Twitter and Instagram, claiming two separate awards: “most followers on Twitter for a video game director” and “most followers on Instagram for a video game director”.

Kojima, who has 811,600 followers on his Japanese Twitter account and a further 2,813,385 million on his English language account, tweeted out a picture of both awards after receiving them. A close up of the award shows that it specifically focuses on his English account rather than combining the two. The award is specific to his role as a director, too–Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson has 3.7 million followers.

Kojima’s Instagram has 888,539 followers, according to his award, but that appears to have gone up considerably: his page now shows 918,000 followers. This is all particularly serendipitous when you consider that the “like” is a major form of currency in Death Stranding–Kojima seems to put real stock in the power of social media.

Before this, Hideo Kojima could reasonably claim some responsibility for one other Guinness World Record: the very specific “first interactive digital graphic novel for the PlayStation Portable” award, held by Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel, which launched June 13, 2006.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/hideo-kojima-has-been-awarded-two-guinness-world-r/1100-6471334/

Top New Game Releases On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Week — November 10-16, 2019

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This episode of New Releases is all about exploring new worlds, whether its the Galar Region in Pokemon Sword & Shield, a whole galaxy in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, or the entire space-time continuum in Doctor Who: The Edge of Time. There’s also a pair of remastered games for those who missed out the first time around: turn-based RPG Romancing SaGa 3 and grand strategy title Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. There’s a ton of stuff for sci-fi and fantasy fans!

Romancing SaGa 3 — November 11

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch, Vita

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Romancing SaGa 3 is releasing outside of Japan for the first time since its 1995 debut. This RPG has been gussied up with better graphics, an extra dungeon, more story content, and a New Game Plus mode. You can choose from one of eight protagonists and start saving the world on the original game’s 24th birthday.

More Coverage:

Doctor Who: The Edge of Time — November 12

Available on: PS4, PC

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While it is based on the super-popular BBC series, this VR game doesn’t actually have you play as the Doctor herself. She’s been kidnapped, so it’s up to you, her companion, to rescue her. To do that, you’ll have to pilot the TARDIS and confront classic Doctor Who bad guys like Daleks and Weeping Angels.

More Coverage:

Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition — November 14

Available on: PC

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The PC strategy staple is back, sporting a lovely coat of 4K paint. This remaster also includes new content called “The Last Khans,” which adds four new civilizations, bringing the total to a whopping 35. Couple that with three new campaigns, and you’ve got tons of possible war strategies to devise.

More Coverage:

Pokemon Sword & Shield — November 15

Available on: Switch

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By this point, you probably know what you’re getting with a Pokemon game, but Sword & Shield are mixing things up. The new Galar Region has its own variants of classic Pokemon like Weezing and Ponyta, plus region-specific evolutions for Farfetch’d and Linoone. Sword & Shield also introduce new giant, kaiju-like monsters called Dynamax Pokemon, some of which can even change form, known as Gigantamax Pokemon.

More Coverage:

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order — November 15

Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

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It might sound cliche, but Fallen Order’s combat really does feel like the Dark Souls games. In fact, if you die, you’ll have to defeat the last enemy you fought to regain your lost XP, a la Bloodborne. It’s pretty fitting that this original Star Wars story is challenging, since protagonist Cal Kestis is one of the few surviving Jedi Padawans after Order 66.

More Coverage:

November has more video games to come. Next week, New Releases will take a look at the return of a cult classic with Shenmue 3 and the latest in tactical shooters with Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/top-new-game-releases-on-switch-ps4-xbox-one-and-p/1100-6471316/

Pillars Of Eternity Dev Says Deadfire Sales Were Low, Sequel Might Not Happen

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Will there be a Pillars of Eternity III? That’s the question someone put to Obsidian design director Josh Sawyer recently, and his response doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

Writing on his Tumblr, Sawyer said the “relatively low” sales of Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire suggest that if Obsidian were to develop a third game, the studio would have to “re-examine the entire format of the game.” He added that whether or not a third mainline game happens is not up to him.

Despite solid reviews and strong pre-orders, Deadfire sold worse than the first game, Sawyer added. That leaves Obsidian scratching its head for answers.

“Is it because the first game satisfied the existing need and the audience just wasn’t interested in the second? Is it because awareness was lower for the sequel? Is it because despite the strong reviews and the strong sales for the first game, people didn’t ‘really’ like it? Maybe it’s a combination of all of these things,” Sawyer said.

Sawyer went on to say that because Obsidian doesn’t fully understand why Deadfire failed to sell at a better level, that makes it hard to move forward with the series. Had the game been a critical failure, then the studio could know that perhaps more time spent in development would be needed for the next game. But Deadfire reviewed well with critics; the game has an 88 on Metacritic compared to an 89 for the original game.

Some have said Pillars of Eternity could have benefited from abandoning the real-time with pause (RTwP) battle mechanics, but Sawyer said this did not hurt sales.

“I’m sure some of the people reading this think they know precisely why Deadfire sold worse than Pillars 1. I don’t have that confidence, which is one of several reasons why I am leery about trying to direct a sequel,” Sawyer said. “I couldn’t give our (Obsidian’s) audience the game that they wanted and without understanding where I went wrong, I would be guessing at what the problems are and how to remedy them.”

Replies flooded in after Sawyer posted this blog post, and here are some other takeaways that he shared on Twitter:

  • Pre-sales for Deadfire were 3X better than the first Pillars, but sales on launch day and after were “quite low” compared to the first game (source)
  • Deadfire sold better than Obsidian’s 2016 game Tyranny but worse than Pillars of Eternity 1 (source)
  • Sawyer’s big takeaway on why Deadfire sold worse than the first game? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (source)

While Deadfire might not have been a top-seller, Obsidian’s latest game, The Outer Worlds, was a critical and a commercial success. Sawyer did not have much involvement in that game, however.

Microsoft recently acquired Obsidian, and the Xbox-maker reportedly has plans to turn The Outer Worlds into a franchise. As Sawyer alluded to here, there is no word on if the Pillars of Eternity franchise will continue going forward.

Deadfire is supposed to launch on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch sometime in 2019 through a partnership with Grip Digital. However, no release date has been announced yet.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pillars-of-eternity-dev-says-deadfire-sales-were-l/1100-6471333/

New Rainbow Six Siege Y4S4 Shifting Tides Operators Revealed

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Ubisoft has confirmed the rumors that Year 4, Season 4 of Rainbow Six Siege will be titled Shifting Tides. Like previous seasons, Shifting Tides adds new Operators to the game.

Team Rainbow is getting two new Operators in Shifting Tides: one Attacker and one Defender. The new Attacker is codenamed Kali, while the new Defender goes by Wamai. Kali is the very rich head of a successful private military contractor while Wamai is former Kenyan Navy Special Forces who now works for Kali.

Kali is the first Operator to carry a bolt-action sniper rifle as her primary firearm, and the heavy-duty weapon packs a punch. It fires bullets with enough firepower to penetrate through both destructible walls and Operators, allowing you to kill enemies hiding behind teammates or walls. Kali’s gadget is the LV Explosive Lance, an under-barrel projectile that tears through walls–even reinforced ones–and destroys all gadgets within its radius once it reaches the other side. Think Ash’s Breaching Rounds combined with Thatcher’s EMP Grenade.

Wamai doesn’t have anything special in regards to firearms, but he makes up for it with one of the coolest gadgets that Siege has ever seen. The Mag-Net System allows Wamai to attach powerful magnets to pretty much any surface. These magnets activate when they sense projectiles of a certain speed (faster than someone walking but slower than a bullet, like a thrown grenade) and pull them away before they detonate. If carefully placed, Wamai can use his Mag-Net System to cause Attackers to grenade a hostage, flashbang themselves, or–in the case of certain Operators like Ash or Capitão–accidentally use their own gadgets against their teammates.

Rainbow Six Siege is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. A spin-off, Rainbow Six Quarantine, is scheduled to release in 2020.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-rainbow-six-siege-y4s4-shifting-tides-operator/1100-6471320/

Black Friday 2019: Best Xbox One Subscription Deals On Game Pass And Xbox Live Gold

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The Xbox One’s subscription service Game Pass is one of the most exciting things in video games right now, with a huge library of games for the Xbox One and/or PC for a monthly fee a la Netflix. In recent weeks, there have been some great deals on Game Pass, but with Black Friday is just around the corner, we expect even greater discounts on Game Pass, Game Pass Ultimate, and Xbox Live Gold to pop up in the coming weeks.

Additionally, Xbox is slated to reveal its full selection of Black Friday deals on November 14 at its X019 event in London. The Inside Xbox livestream is scheduled for 12 PM PT / 3 PM PT that day, and you’ll be able to tune in on Mixer, Twitch, or YouTube.

For those unfamiliar with the Xbox One’s subscription services, you can find more details on Game Pass for Xbox One and PC, Xbox Live Gold, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at the bottom of this article. As a reminder, these subscriptions stack, so even if you’re already a member and don’t need to renew quite yet, you can save yourself some money in the long-term by buying these subscriptions while they’re cheap.

Plus, catch up on more of Black Friday 2019’s best Xbox One deals so far, including great discounts on games as well as console bundles and accessories.

Best Black Friday deals on Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: Buy 3 months, get 3 months free | $45 ($90)

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate normally costs $15 a month, which adds up to $90 over six months, but this offer effectively gets you a six-month membership for half price. This is the best deal we’ve seen for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate so far, and it’s available right now for a limited time. Please note that if you’re a new subscriber, you can currently get your first month for $1, so be sure to claim that offer first.

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Xbox Live Gold: 3-month membership | $15 ($25)

Starting November 28, Best Buy is selling three months of Xbox Live Gold for $15, a full $10 off its normal price of $25.

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Xbox Game Pass Ultimate: 3-month membership | $25 ($45)

Best Buy will have three-month Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions for $25 each on November 28. If you happen to miss out on the “buy three months, get three months free” deal at Walmart, then this is the next best thing–buy two, and you’ll have a six-month subscription for $50 (only $5 more).

What is Xbox Game Pass?

Xbox Game Pass for Console

Xbox Game Pass for Console provides access to over 200 Xbox One games. New games are added to the service every month, and users get special discounts on the ones that are leaving just in case players want to keep them. In addition to all this, first-party Xbox One games always launch on Game Pass day one–this has included games like Gears 5, The Outer Worlds, and Forza Horizon 4. It costs $10 a month to join Game Pass for Xbox One.

Xbox Game Pass for PC

Xbox Game Pass for PC provides access to over 150 PC games through the Xbox app on Windows 10. Like the console version, new games are added every month, and special discounts are available in case you want to keep any games on their way out. First-party Xbox One games launch on PC the same day as console, so you gain access to them as well. You can join Game Pass for PC at $1 for the first month, after which the price goes up to $5 a month.

What is Xbox Live Gold?

Xbox Live Gold provides access to online multiplayer, exclusive discounts, and free monthly games. You can subscribe to Xbox Live Gold for $10 a month, $25 for 3 months, or $60 for a year.

What is Xbox Game Pass Ultimate?

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate packages the benefits of Xbox Game Pass for Xbox One and PC with Xbox Live Gold. You can join Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 for your first month, after which the price goes up to $15 a month.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/black-friday-2019-best-xbox-one-subscription-deals/1100-6471291/