NUMBER One!
According to a new video, the Destiny Beta will be making it's way to Microsoft consoles at the end of July. The beta requires players to have an active Xbox Live Gold account and pre-order the game in order to gain access, similar to Sony's user requiring PS Plus. This time line gives Sony consoles roughly 2 weeks exclusivity above the Xbox fanbase.
It seems like the era of exclusive content is shrinking faster and faster. Perks like extra time in the beta or DLC earlier than the rest seems to be getting shorter and only really appeals to the hardcore fans. That being said, there is money in it and I'm sure the pre-orders on all four platforms has increases substantially compared to not offering the beta through pre-orders.
NUMBER Two!!
Despite the sequel not being out yet, Bayonetta game director Yusuke Hashimoto has explained his interest in continuing the franchise on Nintendo consoles exclusively. Speaking with CVG, Hashimoto said "In terms of nurturing the content of this game, there’s a lot that we learned from Nintendo and if possible we would love to do it again and keep nurturing our child." Hashimoto continues, stating "I feel that it’s important to let your creativity flow and Nintendo has been able to provide us with the freedom to create what we had originally envisioned. We were able to have a lot of back-and-forth and they were able to provide objective feedback."
This is great news for Nintendo, as Bayonetta has some great cache amongst action game fans and Nintendo needs more 3rd party (or 2nd party in this case) exclusives for the Wii U. It will be interesting to see what Platinum Games does after Bayonetta 2 releases. Nintendo is the publisher, but many game developers get disparaged when their title does not sell as many units as they were hoping, and the Wii U install base is still rather small compared to the other consoles. I personally am incredibly excited for this game. The original is definitely a classic and the sequel is looking even more over the top.
Number THREE!!!
Titanfall sequels may come packed with actual single player story campaign. Speaking to GameInformer, Respawn Entertainment COO Dusty Welch talked about the future of the franchise, touching on a lot of points, including the campaign mode. “Campaign mode, I think, was interesting but ultimately not as engaging or rewarding as we would’ve liked. It kind of begs the question for us – do you go further in that? Do you trim that back?”
Welch continues talking about a single player campaign, stating "Would I rule it out for the future? Certainly not. But I think that there’s a lot of reward in continuing to push the paradigm that Titanfall introduced, which is this always connected, real live visceral multiplayer universe. We learned a lot, and I think it’s up to us to think about how we apply the learning to make the next game even more expansive and more engaging than the first.”
This is not surprising, as Titanfall was well received specifically for its always online gameplay. Going away from that doesn't seem to be in the best interest for a franchise that is making its way into eSports and continuing to push online mutliplayer shooters. However, the studio did just hire on Stig Asmussen, the creative director of God of War III. Asmussen has done nothing but work on single player experiences, and though he has been reported as not working on Titanfall, it's not out of the realm of possibilities.
Number FOUR!!!!
Apparently Microsoft has not completely written off the idea of the Home Share originally proposed at the announcement event for Xbox One last year. Speaking to Gamer Tag Radio, head of Xbox Phil Spencer stated that the game sharing system is still in Microsoft's overall plan for the Xbox One. "I haven't given up on those ideas. There's some complexity now that you've got these discs around that have DRM that you've got to figure out. But it's definitely part of our map with the overall product." The plan was originally announced to allow gamers to share games by activating your account on a friends Xbox One. After activation, your entire game library would be playable to anyone on that Xbox One, as long as your account was active on the console. This is very similar to Steam's setup, and many were disappointed when this plan disappeared alongside the DRM.
In order to stay competitive with services like Steam, both Sony and Microsoft will have to head to this point, but I don't think it is truly conceivable until we move to an all digital format. Sure, PC still has hard disks for gamers to buy, but the amount is few and far between, and even these physical mediums are substantially cheaper than the console brethren. This is a system that will have to be fleshed out over time, with both the developers and the consumers working to make it just right.
And, of course, here's a list of somewhat self explanatory stories from today's news:
- Octodad is getting some free DLC soon.
- PS Plus members get free content for War Thunder on July 1st.
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