Alan Wake Breaks 2 Million Sales

April 30, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, PC, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Alan Wake, Alan Wake 2, Alan Wake Season 2, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, American Nightmare, Gaming, Microsoft, Microsoft Game Studios, Microsoft Studios, PC, Remedy, Remedy Entertainment, Steam, XBOX, Xbox 360, Xbox 720 | Leave a comment

Remedy’s psychological action thriller Alan Wake has managed to sell over 2 million copies on both Xbox and PC. The game, which debuted on Xbox in May of 2010, has taken just under 3 years to complete this task, but Remedy remains hopeful about the future of the franchise. Being a new IP from a small studio, it’s entirely understandable that sales for Alan Wake weren’t on par with bigger budget games from the powerhouse developers, but it’s proven to be financially and critically successful.

News of this sales milestone comes just in time for Microsoft’s next Xbox reveal in just under a month. While Remedy owns the Alan Wake IP, Microsoft is the series publisher and Remedy has stated in the past that the software giant is in charge of the franchise’s future. Remedy has also been teasing a reveal of their latest project for some time now, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if we see an Alan Wake: Season 2 reveal at Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox reveal or E3.

Source: Games Radar

Rumor: Destiny to Feature Micro-Transactions

April 30, 2013 by Andy in Other, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Activision, Bungie, Destiny, Gaming, Halo, Next Xbox, Nextbox, PlayStation, PS3, PS4, XBOX, Xbox 360, Xbox 720 | 1 Comment

An Activision employee’s LinkedIn profile has been updated to include certain information of his work on Bungie’s upcoming Destiny. Said employee, one Ryan Wener, is listed as “Senior Director, Product Management” with Activision and is “leading marketing activities for the hotly-anticipated new gaming universe Destiny.” Beneath that bullet point, however, is listed his work in “monetization modeling.” This has led to some speculation as to whether Bungie’s upcoming sci-fi shooter will feature micro-transactions in its business model.

Nothing has been announced, but given that micro-transactions in games are more and more common these days, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Activision is publishing Destiny, so an in-game monetization platform would be a shock to no one.

Destiny is currently in development at Bungie for Xbox 360, PS3, and PS4; a version for the next Xbox has not been officially announced, but it would be safe to assume that it’s headed there, too. No release date or window has been given for the game at this time.

Sources: Destructoid, LinkedIn

Techland Announces New First-Person Slasher

April 29, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Dead Island, Dead Island: Riptide, Hellraid, PC, PlayStation, PS3, Riptide, Techland, XBOX, Xbox 360 | Leave a comment

Dead Island developer Techland has announced Hellraid, an upcoming first-person action game featuring a single-player campaign and multiplayer offerings. The single-player experience will let players “fight, develop skills, collect loot and craft weapons while exploring a world devastated by demons.” A four-player co-op mode and “system-generated online challenges, loot and enemy spawn points make the game playable for hundreds of hours!”

Hellraid is currently in development for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 for a late 2013 release.

Source: Destructoid, Techland

Watch_Dogs Coming to PC and Consoles in November

April 29, 2013 by Andy in Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Gaming, next gen consoles, Next Xbox, Nextbox, PS3, PS4, Ubisoft, Watch Dogs, Watchdogs, Watch_Dogs, Wii U, WiiU, Xbox 360, Xbox 720 | Leave a comment

Ubisoft’s upcoming Watch_Dogs has a new trailer and a concrete release date. Announced at last year’s E3, Watch_Dog places gamers in the shoes of the technically-inclined vigilante Aiden Pearce who can hack electronic devices to gain information, wire funds, or trigger traps in an open-world game environment. Watch_Dogs will be available on current and next-gen consoles as well as PC on November 19, 2013.

Next Xbox Reveal Coming May 21

April 24, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, Technology, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Durango, Microsoft, Next Xbox, Nextbox, XBOX, Xbox 360, Xbox 720, Xbox Durango | 1 Comment

Microsoft has confirmed that it will be unveiling its next-generation videogame console in nearly a month. With the date set for May 21, we still have quite the wait to find out what they have in store for the future of Xbox, but it’s nice that they’ve finally said something about the inevitable Xbox 360 successor.

The reveal is set to take place just 19 days before E3, so hopefully their E3 conference will focus more on the games and less on the system’s new features (it’d also be refreshing to have a conference that doesn’t flaunt Kinect and all the terrible games that have been made for it).

According to Major Nelson’s blog, the conference will focus on the future of Xbox and give us a “real taste of the future.” The conference will stream on Xbox Live, xbox.com, and be broadcast on Spike.

Sources: Facebook, Major Nelson

Bethesda Reveals Shinji Mikami’s “The Evil Within”

April 19, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Gaming, horror game, Microsoft, Next Gen, Next Generation Consoles, Nextbox, PC, PlayStation, PS3, PS4, Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, Sony, Survival Horror, The Evil Within, Windows, XBOX, Xbox 360, Xbox 720 | Leave a comment

Bethesda’s been teasing a new game for a while now and while many speculated that the teases were for a new Fallout title, those rumors were quickly denied and have now been proven wrong. Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami has been working on a new horror game for Bethesda and we now have a teaser trailer (featuring shots from Bethesda’s teaser teasers) for this new game. The Evil Within was originally announced as Zwei and is being developed by Shinji Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks. The game has been given a vague 2014 release and is headed to current and next gen consoles as well as PC.

The teaser doesn’t reveal much, but it’s twisted, disturbing, and intriguing. Have a look for yourself:

From the official website:

EVIL TAKES HOLD 2014

Shinji Mikami, the father of survival horror, is back to direct The Evil Within™ – a game embodying the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story weave together to create an immersive world that will bring players to the height of tension. The Evil Within is in development for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PC and next generation consoles and is slated for release in 2014.

Microsoft may Resurrect Series “Heroes”

April 18, 2013 by Andy in Comics, News Snippets, Television, Xbox and tagged Heroes, Heroes on Xbox, Microsoft, Microsoft Heroes, Microsoft Television, New Heroes Episodes, XBOX, Xbox 360, Xbox Television | Leave a comment

Despite reception of the superhero show Heroes having a steady decline following its first season all the way to its end, rumors are circulating that Microsoft may bring the show back in a new iteration as an Xbox exclusive series. This new vision of Heroes will feature new characters with the original cast being confined to cameos.

While it’s been no secret that Microsoft has been interested in creating Xbox-specific programming, one has to wonder if pursuing Heroes is really wise. Having an existing brand can be good marketing when it’s a big name, but the IP lost its following and now isn’t very highly regarded. Right now this is all just speculation, but maybe Microsoft can restore the show to its former glory with a new cast of heroes and accompanying story arc.

Source: Gamespot

Castle of Illusion Remake to be Released this Summer

April 16, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, PC, PlayStation, Xbox and tagged Castle of Illusion, Mickey Mouse, PC, PS3, PSN, Sega, Steam, XBLA, XBOX, Xbox 360 | Leave a comment

A 2.5D remake of the classic platformer Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse is headed to consoles and PC this summer. This remake is being developed by Sega Studios Australia and features environments and characters modeled in 3D on a playable 2D plane. Trailer below:

Source: Eurogamer

State of Decay Coming to XBLA this June

April 12, 2013 by Andy in News Snippets, PC, Videogames, Xbox and tagged Class 3, Class3, Microsoft, Microsoft Studios, State of Decay, Survival Horror, Undead Labs, Video Games, Videogames, XBOX, Xbox 360, Zombie Apocalypse, Zombies | Leave a comment

Upcoming open-world zombie survival game State of Decay has a new trailer and a June release date. The game is being developed by Undead Labs and published by Microsoft Studios. Synopsis and trailer below:

The end is here. Life as you knew it has gone to hell after the mother of all zombie outbreaks. Now you and the few scattered survivors must band together to survive and rebuild in a 3rd-person action game set in a dynamic open world. You choose where to make your stand, designing and fortifying your home base, performing daring raids for food and ammunition, and rescuing other playable survivors with unique talents. The open, sandbox world develops in real-time, shaped by your actions, dynamically generating content based on your choices and the ever-increasing zombie threat.

Source: Undead Labs

Batman: Arkham Origins Announced

April 9, 2013 by Andy in Comics, Handheld Console, Mobile, News Snippets, Nintendo, PC, PlayStation, Videogames, Xbox and tagged 3DS, Batman, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham City, Batman: Arkham Origins, Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, Castlevania, DC, DC Comics, Metroid, Metroid-vania, PS3, Rocksteady Games, Vita, Warner Bros, WiiU, Xbox 360 | Leave a comment

It’s official: a prequel to the Arkham games has been announced. The game is set to take place before both Arkham Assylum and Arkham City and is being developed by Warner Bros. Montreal. The first two installments of the franchise were developed by Rocksteady Games. This change shouldn’t drastically change the property as WB Montreal is familiar with the Arkham franchise having ported Arkham City to the WiiU. Batman: Arkham Origins will be released on current-gen home consoles and PC on October 25, 2013.

In addition to Arkham Origins, an additional prequel game is being developed for 3DS and Vita. Titled Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate, this portable entry in the franchise will take place after the events of its home console counterpart. Blackgate is being developed by Armature Studios, which was formed by staff from Nintendo’s Retro Studio (developer of the Metroid Prime series and Donkey Kong Country Returns). The game will be a 2.5D Metroid-vania style game and is set to release alongside Arkham Origins.

Sources: Game Informer, Joystiq