Author Archives: 1080Partners

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Playstation 5

Sony presents its new Playstation 5

Category:Latest News

SAN MATEO, Calif., June 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Innovation and creativity collide this holiday season, as Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) revealed new details for PlayStation®5, including the next-generation console’s design and a deep lineup of brand new games coming to the platform. In a livestream event today reaching millions of gaming fans, SIE showed the PS5™ hardware for the first time, with its bold, two-tone design marking a radical departure from previous PlayStation consoles. PS5 will launch in two options: a standard model with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive, and a digital model without a disc drive, offering unprecedented choice at launch to gamers.

Today’s livestream also provided fans with a first look at the new games that will define the next generation of gaming on PlayStation 5. Across dozens of titles, most of which are launching as console exclusives or full exclusives on PS5, the world’s most talented developers showcased the potential of the hardware, which will unlock rich experiences for gamers, bringing them deeper into extraordinary game worlds than ever before.

“With PlayStation 5, we are making a significant leap to deliver a truly new generation of transformative play experiences that will redefine expectations for what games can be,” said Jim Ryan, President and CEO of SIE. “Worlds will be richer and more beautiful, they’ll captivate your senses in ways you didn’t think possible, and you’ll be able to experience them much more seamlessly, with lightning fast loading. Today’s showcase is just a glimpse of what’s to come in the next generation, and we want to thank our community for taking this journey to PS5’s launch with us.”

One of the biggest series of all time, Grand Theft Auto, will be coming to PS5, thanks to the close partnership between SIE and Rockstar Games. Enhanced and expanded versions of Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online will launch on PS5 in the second half of 2021. With a range of technical improvements, visual upgrades and performance enhancements, GTAV & GTA Online will take full advantage of the PS5 hardware and its new features, making the game more beautiful and more responsive than ever. In addition, a new standalone version of Grand Theft Auto Online will also be made available, with access to all PS5 owners for free within the first three months of the title launching. Once the entitlement is claimed, the game is theirs to keep, and with a PlayStation Plus membership, PS5 owners will be able to play GTA Online as much as they want. Finally, starting today, all GTAV PS4 owners will get GTA$1,000,000 every month until the PS5 version of the game launches in 2021.

Additionally SIE Worldwide Studios and the industry’s top publishers and developers unveiled a lineup of PS5 titles that demonstrate a depth and breadth of unique experiences. Some of the first-party PlayStation Studios exclusives included: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games), Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital), and Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games).

Reveals from third-party publishers included blockbuster franchises such as NBA 2K21 (2K, Visual Concepts) and Resident Evil™ Village (Capcom), as well as brand new IP launching on PS5 as console exclusives, such as DEATHLOOP™ (Bethesda) and Project Athia* (Square Enix/Luminous Productions). New titles from independent developers, such as Stray (Annapurna/ Blue Twelve Studio) and Bugsnax (Young Horses), demonstrated the diversity of content coming to the platform.

SIE also announced a slate of new PS5 accessories to enhance the gaming experience, including:

PULSE 3D™ wireless headset – offering 3D audio support and dual noise-cancelling microphones;
HD Camera – featuring dual 1080p lenses for gamers to broadcast themselves along with their epic gameplay moments;
Media Remote – a remote control with built-in microphone to navigate movies and streaming services with ease; and
DualSense™ Charging Station – for convenient charging of two DualSense™ Wireless Controllers.
SIE will announce pricing and additional details for PlayStation 5 at a later date.

For more information, or to watch the stream on-demand, please visit: https://blog.us.playstation.com.

PS5 Games from SIE Worldwide Studios and second-party partners

Astro’s Playroom (Japan Studio)
Demon’s Souls (Bluepoint Games / Japan Studio)
Destruction All Stars (Lucid Games / XDEV)
Gran Turismo 7 (Polyphony Digital)
Horizon Forbidden West (Guerrilla Games)
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales (Insomniac Games)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (Insomniac Games)
Returnal (Housemarque / XDEV)
Sackboy A Big Adventure (Sumo Digital / XDEV)
PS5 Games from third-party publishers and developers

Bugsnax (Young Horses)
DEATHLOOP (Bethesda)
Ghostwire™: Tokyo (Bethesda)
Godfall™ (Gearbox Publishing / Counterplay Games)
Goodbye Volcano High (KO-OP)
Grand Theft Auto V and Grand Theft Auto Online (Rockstar Games)
HITMAN 3 (IO Interactive)
JETT : The Far Shore® (Superbrothers)
Kena: Bridge of the Spirits (Ember Lab)
Little Devil Inside (Neostream Interactive)
NBA 2K21 (2K, Visual Concepts)
Oddworld Soulstorm™ (Oddworld Inhabitants™)
Pragmata (Capcom)
Project Athia* (Square Enix/Luminous Productions)
Resident Evil™ Village (Capcom)
Solar Ash (Annapurna Interactive / Heart Machine)
Stray (Annapurna / Blue Twelve Studio)
Tribes of Midgard (Gearbox Publishing / Norsfell)
The Pathless (Annapurna Interactive / Giant Squid)
*Working title

About Sony Interactive Entertainment
Recognized as a global leader in interactive and digital entertainment, Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) is responsible for the PlayStation® brand and family of products and services. PlayStation has delivered innovation to the market since the launch of the original PlayStation in Japan in 1994. The PlayStation family of products and services include PlayStation®4, PlayStation®VR, PlayStation™Store, PlayStation®Plus, PlayStation™Video, PlayStation™Music, PlayStation™Now, and acclaimed PlayStation software titles from SIE Worldwide Studios. Headquartered in San Mateo, California, SIE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation and has global functions in California, London and Tokyo.

“PlayStation,” “PS5 ,” and “DualSense” are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.s


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Apple launching Arcade service

Category:Latest News

Apple has revealed more details about its upcoming premium game service, Apple Arcade, including confirmation the subscription will launch on September 19, 2019, for $5 a month.

First announced back in March 2019, Apple stated the subscription service for iOS was “unlike any other” service and would feature “over 100 groundbreaking new games where storytelling and design are pushed further than ever before”. One subscription will unlock the entire catalogue across 150 counties, and all games will be available – without ads or in-app purchases – to download to your device. Up to six family members are able to share a single subscription.

At the time, Apple said it “will be partnering with a variety of high-profile studios and publishers” including Annapurna Interactive, Bossa Studios, Cartoon Network, Konami, Lego, Mistwalker, and Ustwo Games, and reported it would be “contributing development costs” to some of the games on its new service.

“We are so excited to launch Apple Arcade on the App Store. A curated selection of over 100 new and exclusive games from many of the most innovative game developers in the world is the perfect complement to the App Store’s existing massive catalogue of games,” said Phil Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing.

“We think customers of all ages are going to be delighted that a single subscription gives the whole family unlimited access to the full catalogue of amazing Apple Arcade games, all without any ads or additional purchases, while knowing every game must meet Apple’s high privacy standards.”

Via www.mcvuk.com


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GameStop

Gamestop to close more stores

Category:Latest News

Video game retailer GameStop hasn’t been doing too well in recent years, and the hits don’t stop coming. GameStop held its second quarter earnings call today, announcing that it would be closing down between 180-200 “underperforming” stores this year. This announcement follows a couple massive rounds of layoffs, including one that affected a large portion of the editorial staff at Game Informer.

GameStop currently operates more than 5700 stores worldwide, and earnings call indicated that a majority of them were profitable. The total number of “opportunistic” closures based on performance alone amounts to fewer than 5% of GameStop’s brick and mortar locations. Gamesindustry.biz reports that this is the beginning of on ongoing effort that will result in a “much larger tranche” of additional locations closing down over the next two years.

While that is an impressive statistic, we have a clear opportunity to improve our overall profitability by de-densifying our chain. That work is well underway. We are on track to close between 180 and 200 underperforming stores globally by the end of this fiscal year. And while these closures were more opportunistic, we are applying a more definitive, analytic approach, including profit levels and sales transferability, that we expect will yield a much larger tranche of closures over the coming 12 to 24 months.”

These drastic moves are in an effort to revitalize the retailer with a complete revamp of the GameStop identity as more and more business is pushed to digital storefronts and fast physical shipping from online retailers like Amazon. GameStop also has to compete with other brick-and-mortar stores like Walmart, Target, and Best Buy carrying video games. GameStop also noted that the end of the current console generation is partially to blame for the losses that it’s been experiencing, as well as console manufacturers confirming the upcoming launches earlier than they have in the past.

For Q2, GameStop posted a net loss of $415 million and an adjusted net loss of $32 million. While individual store locations may be profitable, that isn’t translating to a wider profit for the company. In after-hours trading today, GameStop shares were below $5 each, a massive drop of nearly 15%, despite previous investment from The Big Short guy.

[Source: Gamesindustry.biz]


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Overcooked 2 arrives on August 7th!

Category:Latest News

Overcooked 2, the sequel to the fun, frantic cooperative multiplayer cooking game, is coming later this year. The follow-up to the original Overcooked, which was first released in 2016 and came to Nintendo Switch last year, will include a major new feature: online multiplayer.

Teams of up to four players will be able to play Overcooked 2 in local wireless and online co-op multiplayer. Developer Ghost Town Games and publisher Team 17 promise new recipes to bake, barbecue, boil and broil — and, let’s be honest, burn — with Overcooked 2. There will also be new gameplay mechanics, new characters, new locations and wild new stages.

Players can now throw ingredients to each other and stages will change dramatically on the fly.

Overcooked 2 will be released on Nintendo Switch on Aug. 7. Other platforms were not announced, but we expect the game to be confirmed for a multiplatform release after today’s Nintendo Direct.

Via Polygon.com


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Rebellion is always looking forward

Category:Latest News

Rebellion is a company full of unique characters that has spent the last 25 years pushing technological boundaries. Jason Kingsley, CEO and creative director of Rebellion says that the company was born out of freelance game work that he and his brother Chris, a co-founder and the company’s CTO, were doing alongside their PhDs.

“We were doing more and more computer game stuff,” says Jason Kingsley. “But we also ended up doing quite a lot of management, because nobody else in the team was doing it. So we ended up managing projects, and trying to coordinate things a little bit, as well as our freelance tasks and we weren’t getting paid for it. “

So the brothers decided to found Rebellion together and go into business for themselves.

We’ve always wanted to make games that we want to play. One of the problems we’ve always had at Rebellion is that we’re always too ambitious in how we create our environments,” Kingsley says with a smile that indicates he’s not too upset.

Take Sniper Elite, an FPS game about taking out soldiers of the Third Reich at long range, perhaps Rebellion’s best-known franchise in recent years.

“A sniping game means you need to be able to zoom into the distance,” Kingsley continues. “For a lot of people that don’t have sniping in their games, they don’t have to worry about distance and the number of polygons.

“We often feel that we’ve made a rod for our own backs with some of our creative decisions, but our technical team is so good that they can make the best of it and make it really work. And that’s why our games are successful, and why, I think, games like the Sniper Elite series are right up there with the best games in the world from the very expensive and very well funded big studios.”

Kingsley says that the firm is “absolutely” drawn to technical and gameplay challenges that they can try to conquer. It’s something shared by the entire company.

Everything Rebellion creates is built on its own technology, so the studio uses its own engine, and tries to avoid middleware where possible so that everything is tooled towards the game it’s been created for.

“If there’s something we need it to do, we can make the engine do that,” says Kingsley. “We don’t have to worry that ‘Oh, the engine can’t do that so we have to compromise our creative visions’.”

This focus on bettering themselves led to the art team pulling out and reworking the rendering system between Sniper Elite 3 and its sequel, the well-received Sniper Elite 4 but it also means that, of all the projects Payton is most excited about at Rebellion, he’s hoping he’ll get another chance to go back to World War II, as he’s got unfinished business with the Nazi-killing sniper Karl Fairburne.

“I would love to make another Sniper Elite game,” he enthuses. “I think it’s an artistic thing, when you’ve been making something for a while, I think the last third of it, you’re already thinking: ‘Shit, if I do this again, I’d be doing that or I’d be doing this.”

Making games for themselves

Jason Kingsley suggests that the reason Rebellion throws itself so entirely into every technological challenge is that, fundamentally, they’re making games for themselves:

“We’ve always wanted to make computer games that we want to play. That’s the truth of it. We don’t do much in the way of analytics or analysis of what’s the next big thing in computer games, because we just like making the games we like to play.”

Rebellion’s stability, Kingsley opines, is down to its portfolio approach to games so that there’s a mix of projects of different sizes landing at different times with manageable budgets. There’s plenty of room for experiments, but the team doesn’t gamble everything on
a single game.

The company has experimented with VR with Battlezone – “a huge financial success for Rebellion,” Kingsley says, adding that Rebellion is “going to stay in VR.” The studio is also experimenting with remasters of earlier games, with a recent Rogue Trooper release doing good numbers for the company, although Kingsley says the team isn’t keen to just continue retreading old ground when there are new games to release.

New games in this case takes the form of Strange Brigade, a four player co-op shooter that channels something distinctly British in its story of four pulp-era adventures battling mythological creatures for ancient relics and profit. If it works out, it’ll be another successful IP for Rebellion. If not, the studio has several more ideas for what might come next.

Kingsley describes the portfolio approach as a desire to avoid gambling everything on one project. But, as it turns the page on its second quarter-century, the company feels like a sure bet.

Read more at mcvuk.com


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All games will be digital in 2027: Take-Two

Category:Latest News

Don’t expect NBA 2K38 to come on a disc. Speaking at the Credit Suisse 21st Annual Technology, Media & Telecom Conference today, Take-Two Interactive president Karl Slatoff said he ultimately sees the mix of physical/digital sales tipping entirely to one side.

“I think over the long-term, it will be 100% [digital],” Slatoff said. “I just can’t predict whether that’s five years, 10 years, or 20 years. It’s probably less than 20 and maybe more than five, but I think it ultimately gets there. That’s the zeitgeist. Things are moving in that direction.

“Why I think it’s a little quicker than people imagined is honestly, Sony and Microsoft have done a really nice job with their services. You’ve got more people on Xbox Live, more people on PSN, and it helps. The friction is going away at a quicker rate because these platforms have been really well developed, and the consumers love it.”

Even if the brick and mortar retailers of the world won’t be playing a large role in Take-Two’s future, Slatoff acknowledged the company still relies heavily on them in the present.

“The truth is physical retail is still the majority of our business, and very important partners of ours,” he said. “And we want to do everything we can to support that environment. And we do. They’re very strong marketing and distribution partners for us. But again, it’s out of our control. Whether we want it or not, it looks like it’s going to happen eventually.”

The shift to digital has also enabled publishers to pursue business models including loot box-driven microtransactions. But as EA recently discovered with Star Wars Battlefront II, players aren’t always enthusiastic about how they’re incorporated. Slatoff acknowledged recent consumer uproar over the practice, but suggested their objections were not with microtransactions themselves, but the game around them.

“The whole gambling regulator thing, we don’t view that sort of thing as gambling. Our view of it is the same as the ESA statement for the most part,” Slatoff said. “That’s going to play its course, but in terms of the consumer and the noise you hear in the market right now, it’s all about content. It’s about overdelivering on content and making sure you’re focused on engagement. That has been our strategy and where we’re focused, and as long as you keep your eye on that ball, you’re going to be OK. The consumer’s going to be really happy with what they get.”

He added, “You can’t force the consumer to do anything. You try to do your best to create the best experience you possibly can to drive engagement. And driving engagement creates value in entertainment. That’s just how it’s always been and always will be.”

Via gamesindustry.biz


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Armored Ogres invade in new Extinction trailer

Category:Latest News

Cut Down Giants Equipped with Armor Made of Bone, Thorn, Spikes and More

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. (Oct. 4, 2017) — Avil is the last-remaining Sentinel and only he has the power to save humankind. Iron Galaxy presents a brand-new gameplay trailer for their upcoming action-adventure game – Extinction.

Extinction places emphasis on high-speed traversal around an interactive environment. Avil must move quickly – traversing across rooftops, alongside buildings, and more – to save humanity from the encroaching horde, and take down the seemingly endless waves of Ravenii using his powers as a trained Sentinel. And while the swarm of smaller minions may seem like the crisis at hand, there’s always a larger problem on the horizon.

Armies of ogres are equipped with their own weapons and armor, requiring Avil to use tactical thinking, the structure of the environment, and even the enemies themselves in order to quickly eliminate the giants before they destroy all that’s left of the world and drive it to extinction.

It will take more than raw power to defeat these monstrous foes. Avil needs to use strategy, cunning and quick thinking to permanently take down ogres covered in layers of bone, iron, spikes, thorns, and dark steel.

Avil fights these giants in real-time combat, but there’s only one way to stop them permanently – decapitation. However, a Ravenii decked out in spiked armor isn’t going to be easy to take-down: his armor will injure Avil if he comes in contact with it. Therefore, he must lure a spiked Ravenii into smashing the ground, cracking his own armor until it breaks away. Only then can Avil sever a limb, vertically run up the monster’s torso, and make the finishing blow using a Sentinel’s most valuable skill: a powerful rune strike.

Extinction will be available on PlayStation®4, the family of Xbox One Devices and PC in Q1 2018.

For more information:


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Gamers moving fast towards digital games

Category:Latest News

The move from physical to digital is happening faster than most analysts had predicted. A report from Games Industry shows that in some instances, triple-A console titles are seeing as much as 45 per cent of their sales being claimed by digital.

Indeed, Activision just yesterday revealed that digital sales of Destiny 2 on consoles accounted for over 50 per cent of its total, setting a new record for the company.

EA CFO Blake Jorgensen also this week told investors that the company was “very pleased and a bit surprised” at the strength of digital downloads for both this year’s FIFA and Madden, adding that “it’s great to see the movement towards digital”.

Digital is appealing to publishers – not only is a digital unit cheaper to produce than a physical one, but it cannot be traded in to potentially claim an otherwise new sale further down the line, for which the publisher would receive no money.

Games Industry adds that while a number of big 2017 releases (such as FIFA 18, Forza Motorsport 2, Assassin’s Creed Origins and, indeed, Destiny 2) have reported annual unit sales drops in the physical-only UK charts, once the missing digital sales are factored in, many of these titles are actually up compared to their predecessors.

Sources tell the site that retail’s insistence on selling games at or close to RRP is a crucial factor in the rapid change.

With digital games now typically costing around the same as their boxed counterparts, consumers are starting to value the convenience they offer, even at the cost of lost trade-in potential.

Via MCVUk.com


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Path for Fire new goodies for Holidays

Category:Latest News

ArenaNet is prepping some nifty goodies for the holidays, all themed around the Guild Wars 2 expansion, Path of Fire.

You’ll be able to get hold of a Quaggan mug (currently available for preorder), a Choya plushie (currently available for preorder), the Path of Fire soundtrack in both digital and vinyl editions and other items to be announced soon.

You can check out some of the items…that Choya plushie though ^^ … by visiting the Guild Wars 2 shop site.

Via mmorpg.com


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Giant Ogres invade in new Extinction trailer

Category:Latest News
Avil is the last-remaining Sentinel and only he has the power to save humankind. Iron Galaxy presents a brand-new gameplay trailer for their upcoming action-adventure game – Extinction.

Extinction places emphasis on high-speed traversal around an interactive environment. Avil must move quickly – traversing across rooftops, alongside buildings, and more – to save humanity from the encroaching horde, and take down the seemingly endless waves of Ravenii using his powers as a trained Sentinel. And while the swarm of smaller minions may seem like the crisis at hand, there’s always a larger problem on the horizon.

Armies of ogres are equipped with their own weapons and armor, requiring Avil to use tactical thinking, the structure of the environment, and even the enemies themselves in order to quickly eliminate the giants before they destroy all that’s left of the world and drive it to extinction.

It will take more than raw power to defeat these monstrous foes. Avil needs to use strategy, cunning and quick thinking to permanently take down ogres covered in layers of bone, iron, spikes, thorns, and dark steel.

Avil fights these giants in real-time combat, but there’s only one way to stop them permanently – decapitation. However, a Ravenii decked out in spiked armor isn’t going to be easy to take-down: his armor will injure Avil if he comes in contact with it. Therefore, he must lure a spiked Ravenii into smashing the ground, cracking his own armor until it breaks away. Only then can Avil sever a limb, vertically run up the monster’s torso, and make the finishing blow using a Sentinel’s most valuable skill: a powerful rune strike.

Extinction will be available on PlayStation®4, the family of Xbox One Devices and PC in Q1 2018.

For more information:


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1080partners Twitter

In case you were curious to know what Mr. Toad's glamour might've looked like in #TWAU Season 1 - if he could've afforded it - here's some concept art for you.

Now how could he not afford a glamour and yet afford to drive a car in NYC? 🤷

#TWAUs1fables.

Following the news that Sony will increase the price of the PlayStation 5 in several markets, Microsoft has confirmed that it will not adjust the price of the Xbox Series X and S. https://bit.ly/3ANCOxx

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