Bruce Maclean, Senior Producer at BioWare Austin, has shared a few details about Star Wars: The Old Republic‘s next two content patches, 2.2 and 2.3.

First up is 2.2, due to release June 11, which adds Nightmare Mode for the Terror from Beyond Operation, a new appearance system for armor and weapons called “Scrolling UVs,” guild bonuses, craftable Underworld gear, and a unified chat channel for all fleet instances.

• Nightmare Mode Terror From Beyond. It’s got vicious new mechanics and is definitely not for the faint of heart. I’m very excited for you to see the new gear that comes with this, which uses a new appearance system we’ve developed for armor and weapons called ‘Scrolling UVs’.
• New Guild Bonuses! Players in guilds currently receive a +5% experience bonus, but now every 5 active players in the guild will add an additional 1% bonus to XP and reputation, up to a maximum bonus of 10% each.
• Crafters can now craft Underworld gear! But don’t RE that piece if you are still using it…
• Unified fleet chat channel for each faction, for easier group finding without having to hop between instances.

On top of this Nightmare Mode for the Scum and Villainy Operation will go live on July 9 with update 2.2.2. On July 23 the Relics of the Gree event will make a return for two weeks and this time it will be scaled up to level 55. The developer also revealed that double XP weekends will return this summer. Starting June 22 for three weekends players will be able to earn double XP–triple with various buffs.

After that on August 6 update 2.3 will go live, which BioWare claims is the biggest patch since 2.0, it includes:

• New Flashpoints
• New Daily Area
• New Recurring Event
• Significant graphical upgrades

Finally the developer teased that patch 2.4 will be PvP focused, but failed to offer any details.

During Microsoft’s reveal event for their upcoming Xbox One this week, EGM got a chance to speak to Xbox corporate vice president Ben Kilgore about what went into the design of the system.

“As you can see from what we have here on the table, you’re literally seeing the evolution of hundreds of different models on the sensor, the controller, and the console itself,” Kilgore told me as we looked across a table containing an array of prototypes. Those prototypes—some of which are shown in the photos below—were just a fraction of what was worked on before the company arrived at the designs they revealed on Tuesday.

“The team starts with a bunch of different ideas for what we call our design languages—which is kind of a brief on, what’s the thing we’re going for, or what is it that we want to communicate,” Kilgore continues. “Part of what we’re trying to get across with Xbox One is this message of, how do we appeal to the core and a broader audience at the same time? We kind of have this interesting challenge. Our industry is based around a lot of core gaming, but our strategy is to be an all-in-one entertainment system.”

With that balance in mind, the team went through a lot of testing and tweaking, all based around that core design language that was first thought up. An example of that language was a 16:9 design metaphor, which was carried through everything from the software and user interface, to the console’s design itself.

One aspect I brought up to Kilgore was the seemingly huge difference in design mentalities between the Xbox One and the Xbox 360. For Microsoft’s current console, we were given a piece of hardware that felt unique, striking, and which came in a color that isn’t always common for home electronics. Now, with the Xbox One—it’s hard to get away from the fact that, essentially, we’ve been given a big, black box.

“Part of what we wanted to accomplish was, while the design is important, we wanted that design to kind of melt away in your living room,” he answered. “We looked at what our mission was, and it was creating this all-in-one system that was simple, instant, and complete. We decided that part of what we wanted to do with the design was have it just melt away with the rest of your electronics, and black kind of fits in with everything you probably have underneath your television—so that it doesn’t stand out.”

There was another, even larger question I had in regards to console design: the question of why we care. I pointed out the fact that I do care what my consoles look like, even if I’m not always sure why. With the PlayStation 4 reveal, we didn’t get to see the system, and that drove a lot of people crazy. Today, we had gotten a first look at the Xbox One, and plenty of people had opinions on it—both good and bad. Why all this concern for how our game-playing machines look on the outside?

Kilgore laughed. “You create this emotional attachment to it. You probably care a lot about the phone you carry, right? I think Apple taught a whole generation of people a lot about how they wanted to think about design on their things. You create emotional attachments to these products. You spend a lot of money on them, and they’re an integral part of your life. And if you’re a gamer, the device that you game on, and that you hang out with your friends on, that’s a really important thing to you. It’s not like the mop in your closet that you pull out every once in a while, and you don’t care, because it’s a chore when you use your mop.

“This is something that brings fun and joy to what you do,” states Kilgore, “and it’s kind of a centerpiece to how you define yourself as a gamer.”

Trion Worlds Lead Game Designer Bill Fisher has moved to quell fears that RIFT will adopt a pay-to-win model when it goes free-to-play by announcing the removal of currency gain consumables from Raids.

The anger started over a consumable in the cash shop called “Greater Token Tablet” which boosts the rate of all currencies gained in the game by 100 percent for two hours. Players argued that this could be used to get ultra rare Frozen Eclipse Stones at a faster rate while raiding. Fisher has since announced over on the official forums that this item will no longer work in Raids and the rate has been reduced to 80 percent from 100.

“There is no master tin-foil hat plan to try to super monetize the raiders in RIFT. I’m being straight up like I always try to be,” he wrote. “If trying to /force/ raiders into paying large amounts of money were part of any plan, it would be a failing plan because to be honest guys, raiders are not in the majority.

“I don’t want you to have the perception that to take part in that section of the game you are going to be forced into buying something. RIFT doesn’t win the race by trying to be exploitative of any given group–yes, it has to make money to continue getting updates, and I know everyone out there understands that.”

Microsoft has confirmed the existence of a new Halo-related project titled “Bootcamp,” which was recently discovered over on the Korean Ratings Board.

The Microsoft-filed Korean listing, spotted by a NeoGAF poster, reads: ”A Third-Person Shooter game based on the ‘Halo‘ universe where players complete various types of missions.” The listing offers no other details, but a kind Microsoft rep confirmed Bootcamp’s existence to Game Front.

“What’s Bootcamp? It is not related to our Xbox One efforts, or the Reclaimer Saga, but rather a project we’re very enthusiastic about and will have more to say about in the near future.”

Question: Who Won the Battle of the Next-Gen Reveals, Microsoft or Sony?

The dust has begun to settle following the announcement of the Xbox One, so now is the perfect opportunity to take stock of what went on. Both Sony and Microsoft have now revealed their next generation consoles, and we know what the future looks like, but who did the best job?

Sony got PlayStation 4 off to a good start with several interesting features, such as easy game streaming, the ability to watch your friends play, and several other neat sharing features—not to mention the announcement of several strong titles including inFamous: Second Son, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Diablo III, Destiny, and a new Final Fantasy.

Microsoft took to the stage earlier this week to finally reveal their challenger to the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One. Everybody seemed to be on board after the first few minutes, when we got lots of fanfare and they one upped Sony by actually showing us what the console looked like.

However, things have gone a little downhill since. There was too much focus on fancy entertainment features and television, plus several pieces of information have cropped up post-event which have not done Microsoft any favors. There was a bright side though: Two exclusives were confirmed for the console—Forza 5 and Quantum Break—with the promise of additional announcements at E3.

Now, the question we have for you is: which company won the battle? Was the PlayStation 4′s feature list enough to tip the balance or did Microsoft actually showing the console give it the edge?

Simply let us know your thoughts in the comments below. We will be updating this post throughout the day showcasing the best comments, so be sure to check back to see if yours has been chosen.

According to EA’s chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen, the company is still developing for Wii U—just not nearly as much as for Sony and Microsoft’s systems.

Speaking at the the Stifel Nicolaus 2013 Internet, Media, and Communications Conference, Jorgensen’s statement contradicts EA spokesman Jeff Brown’s comments about EA having “no games in development for Wii U currently.”

“You know, I think NIntendo’s business was more [an] extension of their last console,” Jorgensen said. “We are building titles for the Nintendo console, but not anywhere near as many as we are for PS or Xbox.”

“I think what the consumer will find is a lot more powerful gameplay with the new boxes that are coming out, and a lot of excitement, but it’ll remain to be seen as to the services associated with those as to how consumers decide which direction they might want to go,” Jorgensen said about the PS4 and Xbox One.

Ubisoft is offer a chance for fans to become in-game pedestrians in Watch Dogs by entering their details on Facebook and Uplay.

To enter the competition, players must have a Facebook profile and Uplay account and submit their name, birth date, occupation, and three additional facts about themselves to the Watch Dogs profile app. When the game launches, 30 entries will be chosen at random and inserted into the game.

Watch Dogs launches on PC, PS3, Xbox 3660, and Wii U November 19 with PS4 and Xbox One versions also slated for release.

Posting on the PlayStation Blog, Splinter Cell community developer Zack Cooper shared some additional details about Blacklist’s co-op play.

According to Cooper, Blacklist will boast 14 unique co-op missions and four different co-op mission types—two of which Cooper touched upon in his post.

Isaac Briggs missions are played with a partner either online or local split-screen, and cater to three play styles: Ghost, Panther, and Assault.

The Grim missions are geared toward hardcore players, and are limited only to the Ghost play style. These missions require players to completely avoid detection. If spotted, they must start the missions over entirely.

Splinter Cell: Blacklist launches on PC, PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii U August 20 in North America, August 23 in Europe. Check out the dev diary embedded below for a look at the co-op modes in action.

Publisher 505 Games has released a teaser trailer for their Payday 2 live-action web series scheduled to debut next week.

The web series is being directed by Demian Lichtenstein (3000 Miles to Graceland), who is also serving as director on the Payday film adaptation.

In the teaser, all four antiheroes—Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf, and Chains—are shown gearing up in the back of a van (presumably en route to whatever location they’ll be heisting). The narration paints them as modern day Robin Hoods as opposed to unscrupulous criminals.

Payday 2—the videogame—launches on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 in August. The console versions will be a physical retail release priced, according to Amazon, at $40.

Sources close to Polygon report that the Xbox One will feature Skype-based remote play and two-way conversations through the Kinect.

According to Polygon’s report, the two-way conversations with the Xbox One will be pretty limited. The scenario they describe involves the Kinect not recognizing someone in a crowded room and asking them to identify themselves. Once done, the Xbox One would then welcome the newly identified person.

As for the remote play, Polygon’s sources say this feature—which is similar to the PlayStation 4′s Gakai-based remote play—will operate through Skype on Xbox One. When the option is selected, a prompt pops up on Skype asking if the player is OK with their friend taking control. Remote play can be ended with the push of a button.

Polygon’s sources say that the Xbox One might not launch with these features, but will incorporate them through updates within the first few months of its launch. The remote play feature is reported to be fully functional.

The developers behind Dead Island are pumping out another zombie-killing jam with the announcement of Dying Light for the Xbox One, PS4, Xbox 360, and PS3.

According to developer Techland, Dying Light is a first-person action title that revolves around a realistic day/night cycle. The daytime is described as a period geared for preparation—the ideal opportunity for scavenging supplies. The nights, however, bring with them much more powerful monsters, and will require greater emphasis on stealth tactics.

Combat in Dying Light will be similar to Dead Island in that it’s very melee-focused. Dying Light sets itself apart from Dead Island, however, with its agility-based parkour traversal.

Techland and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment said they will reveal more details on Dying Light in the near future. The title is expected to drop on current- and next-gen consoles sometime 2014.

Microsoft has applied for a patent which will allow it to use an Achievement-like system for watching television shows. Achievement Unlocked: Hummed your way through the entire Game of Thrones opening credits!

The patent application, spotted by GamesIndustry International, was filed back in November and reads: ”Television viewing tends to be a passive experience for a viewer, without many opportunities for the viewer to engage or have interactive experiences with the presented content.

“To increase interactive viewing and encourage a user to watch one or more particular items of video content, awards and achievements may be tied to those items of video content.”

Two examples of potential achievements were given, watching a single event like the Super Bowl or watching an entire television series. Of course the major driver behind this patent is earning lots of money from advertising opportunities.

“Additionally, by tying the awards and achievements to particular items of video or advertising content, viewers may be encouraged to increase their viewership of the content, thus increasing advertising opportunities,” the application reads.

Microsoft also adds that the Kinect could be used to unlock achievements while watching. Users could be asked to perform a certain gesture while watching a show or hold up a product. The patent also details several other rewards for completing achievements such as Avatar gear, virtual in-game currency, and physical items.

Neverwinter Lead Producer Andy Velasquez has decided to share some details about the future of the game in the very first State of the Game Address.

Velasquez began by discussing the various bugs and exploits that have plagued the game since it entered open beta and how the team had fixed any issues. He then went on to reveal that a Public Test Shard will be added to the game in the near future, to try and catch any bugs before they hit the live servers, and new Raid-style PvP/PvE content in on the way called Gauntlgrym.

Other updates coming to the game include Foundry improvements, new companions, zones, mounts, and a new “ranged” class.

Treyarch has released updates for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, which include several fixes for multiplayer and Zombies, balance changes for weapons, and support for the Xbox 360′s ee Revolution DLC trial.

You can check out the full patch notes below:

Xbox 360 Update

Feature Improvements

• Added support for free-trial of Revolution DLC from 5/24-5/28.
• Added support for Personalization Pack Community Voting.
• Improved and expanded who can be the host of a game lobby.

Multiplayer Issues Addressed

• Resolved an issue reported by the community where the reticle would sometimes disappear.
• Addressed an issue reported by the community where the Peacekeeper would sometimes disappear after a host migration.
• Addressed an issue reported by the community where the Scorestreak progress bar would not fill up.
• Fixed an issue reported by the community where the ammo count for the Death Machine and War Machine would reset on round change.
• Fixed the player’s character model shifting sideways slightly when the A10F Warthog makes a strafe run.
• Addressed an issue with the Death Machine receiving the War Machine’s ammo.
• C4 will no longer detonate when it touches the front of moving gondolas on Downhill.
• Resolved a client freeze when the client continually scrolls Create-a-Class sets while the host of a party changes lobbies and brings the party with them.
• Fixed an issue with sound and visual effects not working when a tactical insertion is destroyed by the sliding alien targets on Studio.
• Addressed an issue with C4 not being destroyed by the sliding alien targets on Studio.
• Resolved an issue with the player floating down slowly when re-spawning if their tactical insertion was placed on a ledge.
• Fixed an issue with held Scorestreak weapons not reloading the current ammo upon death.

Pistols

• KAP-40: Damage reduced.
• B23R: Damage reduced.
• B23R Dual Wield: Damage reduced.
• B23R Dual Wield: Hip fire accuracy reduced.

Launchers

• FHJ-18: Movement speed increased.

Zombies Issues Addressed

• Resolved an issue with the Grief Leaderboards not updating properly on the first match completed.

Mob of the Dead

• Addressed several Zombie pathing issues found by the community.
• Addressed an issue that caused Zombies to pile up on the planted Zombie Shield.
• Fixed an issue where players could get more Blundergats than intended.
• Addressed an issue where you could fall out of the Gondola into unplayable areas.
• Addressed an issue where players could mantle into unplayable areas in the Cell House.
• Addressed an issue in Grief Mode where players could push each other onto the top of the map in the cell house.
• Fixed an issue where players would not receive grenades after a round change.
• Fixed an issue where afterlife doors would not show up if you hot joined a game.
• Fixed several theater mode issues where the free roam camera could clip out of the world.
• Fixed an issue where all players in a co-op game could hear the “click” of an empty Ray Gun.
• Addressed an issue where players could revive themselves and fall under staircases.
• Fixed an issue where the Hell’s Retriever effects would sometimes vanish.
• Fixed an issue where Zombies would not attack players crouched in corners.
• Fixed an issue where players could fall through the map after being revived in the Infirmary.
• Fixed an issue where random Afterlife markers would show up for players after the first plane trip.

Die Rise

• Fixed an issue with Zombies getting stuck in the starting room on Die Rise.

PlayStation 3 Update

Feature Improvements

• Improved and expanded who can be the host of a game lobby

Multiplayer Issues Addressed

• Resolved an issue reported by the community where the reticle would sometimes disappear.
• Addressed an issue reported by the community where the Peacekeeper would sometimes disappear after a host migration.
• Addressed an issue reported by the community where the Scorestreak progress bar would not fill up.
• Fixed an issue reported by the community where the ammo count for the Death Machine and War Machine would reset on round change.
• Fixed a joining exploit reported by the community where players could create a lobby for boosting.
• Fixed the player’s character model shifting sideways slightly when the A10F Warthog makes a strafe run.
• Addressed an issue with the Death Machine receiving the War Machine’s ammo.
• C4 will no longer detonate when it touches the front of moving gondolas on Downhill.
• Resolved a client freeze when the client continually scrolls Create-a-Class sets while the host of a party changes lobbies and brings the party with them.
• Fixed an issue with sound and visual effects not working when a tactical insertion is destroyed by the sliding alien targets on Studio.
• Addressed an issue with C4 not being destroyed by the sliding alien targets on Studio.
• Resolved an issue with the player floating down slowly when re-spawning if their tactical insertion was placed on a ledge.
• Fixed an issue with held Scorestreak weapons not reloading the current ammo upon death.

Pistols

• KAP-40: Damage reduced.
• B23R: Damage reduced.
• B23R Dual Wield: Damage reduced.
• B23R Dual Wield: Hip fire accuracy reduced.

Launchers

• FHJ-18: Movement speed increased.

Zombies Issues Addressed

• Resolved an issue with the Grief Leaderboards not updating properly on the first match completed.
• Resolved an issue with host migration not functioning between disc to disc users.

Mob of the Dead

• Addressed several Zombie pathing issues found by the community.
• Addressed an issue that caused Zombies to pile up on the planted Zombie Shield.
• Fixed an issue where players could get more Blundergats than intended.
• Addressed an issue where you could fall out of the Gondola into unplayable areas.
• Addressed an issue where players could mantle into unplayable areas in the Cell House.
• Addressed an issue in Grief Mode where players could push each other onto the top of the map in the cell house.
• Fixed an issue where players would not receive grenades after a round change.
• Fixed an issue where afterlife doors would not show up if you hot joined a game.
• Fixed several theater mode issues where the free roam camera could clip out of the world.
• Fixed an issue where all players in a co-op game could hear the “click” of an empty Ray Gun.
• Addressed an issue where players could revive themselves and fall under staircases.
• Fixed an issue where the Hell’s Retriever effects would sometimes vanish.
• Fixed an issue where Zombies would not attack players crouched in corners.
• Fixed an issue where players could fall through the map after being revived in the Infirmary.
• Fixed an issue where random Afterlife markers would show up for players after the first plane trip.

Die Rise

• Fixed an issue with Zombies getting stuck in the starting room on Die Rise.

EA has officially announced the Amusement Park expansion for SimCity which leaked earlier this month. Prepare to become the owner and manager of your very own amusement park.

“The Amusement Park is a tourist attraction similar to casinos and landmarks, however the way in which you use the Amusement Park is very different. We really wanted to add new content that not only enhances the look and appeal of your city, but also give you even more things to do as a Mayor. And that’s what this set does – in addition to managing your city like always, running a successful Amusement Park is almost a mini-game in itself,” gameplay scripter Jason Halvorson wrote on the game’s official blog.

“First off, your city earns money from the Amusement Park is by having guests either go on rides or purchase goods from concession stands. Unlike landmarks and casinos, where you’re paid by the amount of guests you have in your attraction, you’ll need to actually get your park guests to rides and concessions stands in the most efficient way possible. So what does that mean? It means you’re really going to need to pay attention to the layout of your park in order to maximize profits.”

Mayors will be able to place one of several features down to maximize customers and profit once they have placed an amusement park gate:

• Signs - These can be placed by your park entrance to attract more tourists to your park. In fact, it not only benefits your park, but all tourist attractions in your city. I highly recommend placing a sign as soon as possible as it’s a fairly cheap module that pays for itself rather quickly.
• Main Attractions - These are the rides that tourists really come to your park for (roller coasters, Ferris wheel, go-karts, etc.). Not only do they tend to have a larger capacity for riders, they also will increase the tourist attraction rating of your city. A higher attraction rating means more tourists — and that’s always good for business. Main attractions are also great tools in herding your guests where you want them to go, as guests seek them out first when entering the park.
• Secondary Attractions - These rides are cheaper than the main attractions and have a lower maintenance cost (drop tower, carousel, etc.), but doesn’t satisfy as many riders and don’t add nearly as much attraction when compared to the main attractions. Despite that, they’re very beneficial since guests who have just visited a main attraction tend to seek out secondary attractions next.
• Concession Stands - These are the cheapest attractions available. They have a small capacity, but work their way through guests quickly. Every guest will go on three rides without going to a concession stand. Once they purchase a good from a concession stand, they are “refreshed” and ready to go on more rides. The most successful parks retain their guests, and without concession stands, it won’t happen.
• Mini Train Stations - Your guests treat the mini train station much like a secondary attraction. The only difference is that the ride is customizable. You can draw the rail in any way you want within your park, just like a road. It’s a lot of fun winding your rail line throughout the park, through tunnels and over bridges. You can also connect two train stations together, transforming the mini train station into a transport system for your guests. Use the train to transport your guests exactly where you want them to go, whether it’s right to a main attraction or perhaps even to a group of concession stands.
• Park Gates - These are additional entrances into your park. Ideally, building a gate close to any major entry point into your city works the best for bringing in tourists. The more direct your route is into your park, the better.
• Benches - Although these do not have any gameplay benefits, it just seems cruel not to give your park guests anywhere to sit. Go ahead and build a few around the park and let your guests take a load off their feet.

The Amusement Park DLC will be available to download from May 28 on Origin, no price was offered.

PlayStation Europe boss Jim Ryan has decided to explain why the decision was made to release Gran Turismo 6 on PlayStation 3 and not on PlayStation 4 as many expected.

“You had GT1 and GT2 on PS one, GT3 and GT4 on PS2, then there’s GT5 on PS3 and a space next to it,” he told the official PlayStation Blog. ”The difference between Gran Turismo and GT2 is unbelievable, but they’re both on the same platform. The difference between GT3 and GT4 is huge. We’re absolutely confident when GT6 comes, you’ll see a big step change up from GT5 too. There’s still a lot of potential on PS3 that a developer like Polyphony can really exploit.

“And the other factor is that on PS3 we have an install base of 70 million units. On PS4 on launch day we’ll have an install base of zero units. There’ll be plenty of games to help drive PS4 – not least Drive Club in the racing genre from Evolution Studios, a studio with a fantastic pedigree.”

Polyphony Digital CEO Kazunori Yamauchi revealed after the Gran Turismo 6 announcement event that there are plans to bring the game to PlayStation 4 at some point.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2‘s Revolution DLC will be free to play for this weekend only, so if you’re yet to dive into the add-on pack then now is the perfect time to do it.

From today, May 24 until Tuesday, May 28 at 10am PDT players can download the DLC for free and play it on Xbox 360. After the event is over players must purchase the DLC to continue playing on the maps, according to Activision’s social media manager Dan Amrich. He adds that this is the first time that the publisher has offered temporary free access to DLC.

The Revolution DLC includes four new multiplayer maps, a new Zombies map, and the Peacekeeper SMG.

Via: One of Swords

Following a bit of teasing earlier today, Ninja Theory has officially announced Fightback, a beat-em-up for iOS and Google Play.

The game is being published by EA’s Chillingo arm and is described as ”a thrilling free-to-play action game with a striking 80s action movie vibe.” It will also use ”a revolutionary touch-based combat system,” according to the developer.

“Mobile and tablet gaming is a phenomenon that we just couldn’t ignore as a studio and we’re very proud to be working with one of the industry’s heavy-weights on bringing Fightback to market,” said Dominic Matthews, Product Manager at Ninja Theory. ”Ninja Theory has always strived for the highest production values and that absolutely remains the case in this exciting new space.”

Fightback is scheduled to release this summer.

Codemasters has released a new gameplay video for GRID 2, this one features footage from the game’s Face-off event–it’s basically a one-on-one race.

Earlier today the developer unveiled the game’s Mono Edition which will set you back £125,000, making it the most expensive commercial video game available. Earlier this week Codemasters detailed the game’s IndyCar pre-order DLC, you can check out all the information here.

GRID 2 is set to release May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

It’s already been confirmed that Xbox One will still allow for games to be traded in, but quite how the system will work hasn’t been explained yet, however a new report explains exactly what will happen and who gets a cut.

MCV has gotten in touch with several U.K. retail sources who have explained how the system will work. A customer can take their used disc copy of an Xbox One title into any store as long as the store has ”agreed to Microsoft’s [terms and conditions] and more importantly integrated Microsoft’s cloud-based Azure pre-owned system into its own,” according to MCV. Once the game disc has been registered on the store’s system it will be wiped from your Xbox Live account, meaning that you can no longer access the game.

The retailer can then sell the game for whatever price they like, however, unlike before where retailers got to keep 100 percent of the resale, Microsoft and the game’s publisher will now get a cut of the sale with retailers keeping the remaining money.

This is basically what publishers have wanted all along, a slice of the resale action. The major problem that companies have with second hand game sales is that they don’t get any of the revenue, well now they do. The only problem is that pre-owned games won’t be as cheap as they used to be as retailers will want to recoup the losses from Microsoft’s and the publisher’s cut.

It’s wise to remember that this isn’t confirmed as the official system so don’t take it as read. Microsoft has stated that it will officially reveal its trade-in plans in the future.

How do you feel about this system? Share your thoughts below.

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are apparently a generation more powerful than today’s high-end PC rigs, according to EA’s chief technology officer Rajat Teneja.

“Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have adopted electronics and an integrated systems-on-a-chip (soc) architecture that unleashes magnitudes more compute and graphics power than the current generation of consoles,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

“These architectures are a generation ahead of the highest end PC on the market and their unique design of the hardware, the underlying operating system and the live service layer create one of the most compelling platforms to reimagine game mechanics.”

Teneja also believes that both consoles will be around 8-10 times better than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. When reading this you have to remember that in order to survive in the market both Sony and Microsoft had to really ramp things up against PCs, and it appears that they have achieved this. However, both of these consoles are going to be on the market for a long time and I have no doubt that PCs will overtake them way before the end of their lifecycles.

Team Ninja has released a new trailer for its Ultimate edition of Dead or Alive 5 which will feature all of the content from Dead or Alive 5 Plus along with new characters and stages.

The trailer below shows off some of the characters and stages which will be added to this edition of the game, such as Ein and Virtua Fighter‘s Jacky Bryant. Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate will be out this fall for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 2‘s third and fourth DLC packs will be coming to Xbox Live in July and August, according to information found in the source code of the Call of Duty: Elite website.

The video below, posted by YouTube group TWiiNSANE, states that he discovered the dates of the next two packs while digging around in the source code of Elite’s DLC section. DLC 3 carries the date July 2 and DLC 4 August 27. TWiiNSANE adds that an inside source has confirmed the dates as being real.

As with most rumors, take this with a pinch of salt for now.

Via: MP1st

Battlefield 4 is set to get a Deluxe Edition which will only have limited quantities available and contains a few bonus goodies.

The Deluxe Edition is only available at GAME and contains:

• Battlefield 4 Game
• Battlefield 4 China Rising Expansion Pack
• Bonus In-Game Content
• Collectible SteelBook Cover
• Battlefield 4 Dog Tags

No other details were offered about what the bonus in-game content actually is. You can read up about the China Rising expansion pack here.

Nintendo has released a new batch of screenshots for Pokémon X and Y showing off Pokéball-throwing, the bird Pokémon Fletchling, and the game’s starter Pokémon.

Now the single best thing about this new batch of screenshots is the trainer throwing a Pokéball, this is the first time in the series that we have actually seen the trainer’s hand as he throws the ball from the first-person perspective!

Pokémon X and Y are due to release exclusively for 3DS in October.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD, the iOS version of the first three games, has finally been given an official release date by Capcom.

The collection will arrive on iOS next Thursday, May 30, according to the publisher. The trilogy will offer the first two cases of the first game for free. Players will then have to pay $5.99 to unlock the full game. The next two games can be unlocked for $6.99 each or you can just buy the whole trilogy for $16.99.

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy HD has been “fully optimized for iOS,” with retina display graphics and the addition of the ”Everyone Object” mode which ”allows players to share dissatisfaction with everyday life, Phoenix-style.”

Microsoft’s Larry Hryb, also known as Major Nelson, has offered the first official glimpse of the Xbox One boxes that will be gracing our game shelves for years to come.

He revealed the box art for Forza Motorsport 5 over on his official blog, complete with Xbox One top and side branding.

Forza Motorsport 5 will be a launch title for Xbox One when it releases later this year. You can check out an official trailer for the game here.

What do you think of the box? Share your thoughts below.

Codemasters has announced the most expensive game commercially available, according Guinness World Records, and it’s a special edition of its racer GRID 2.

The GRID 2: Mono Edition will set you back £125,000 and contains a copy of GRID 2 for the PlayStation 3, a PlayStation 3 to play it on, a BAC Mono supercar with GRID 2 livery, a day at the BAC factory, and custom race suit, boots, and gloves all with GRID 2 branding.

“The BAC Mono is a British manufactured, road-legal, ultra-high performance supercar which stars in the game. Created from high-strength carbon fiber, the BAC Mono is an unrivaled example of light-weight performance engineering and its 2.3 liter, 280 bhp four cylinder power plant will propel its driver from 0-60 m.p.h. in just 2.8 seconds,” according to the developer.

There is only one copy available of this insane special edition and it can be pre-ordered exclusively at U.K. retailer GAME.

An advert in today’s Metro newspaper has pretty much confirmed that Sony’s PlayStation 4 console will make it to European stores by the end of this year.

When the PlayStation 4 was revealed back in February, Sony promised a holiday 2013 release in at least one the three main territories–Europe, the U.S., and Japan. An advert in today’s Metro–U.K. newspaper–says that the console is releasing in 2013, which should put to bed any worries that fans had of having to wait until 2014.

“Now is the time. The world’s greatest players are going to entertain, create and amaze on the ultimate stage. This year a new generation will push the boundaries of play and share in moments of wonder. This year players will become legends. PS4. Coming 2013,” the advert reads.

Via: CVG

Still yet to jump into Trion World’s Defiance? Well this weekend you have no excuse as it will be free to play!

From today, May 23 until Sunday, May 26 at 1pm PDT the game will be free to download and play on Steam. Also, if you happen to get hooked, you can purchase both the standard and Digital Deluxe Editions of the game at a 30 percent discount.

If that still isn’t enough for you, the game’s in-game currency, known as “Bits,” will be on sale throughout the weekend.

Amazon Germany has posted up a listing for Mirror’s Edge 2, which is a little odd considering there’s been no mention of it even existing by EA.

The listing has since been removed. It featured place holder box art and no release date–which is to be expected. Did the retailer accidentally jump the gun? Is EA planning to announce the game during its E3 press conference? I sure as hell hope so!

If you remember, retailer Tesco jumped the gun by listing Call of Duty: Ghosts before Activision had even announced it, and it’s happened to other games in the past, so keep your fingers crossed for now.

Via: Eurogamer

Bungie has released a new CG trailer for Destiny titled “Law of the Jungle” and has promised a full gameplay reveal for E3 next month.

“Crafted together with the award-winning visual effects studio Digital Domain, Law of the Jungle gives players a taste of Destiny’s action-packed adventures through a live-action and CG interpretation of the epic game universe,” the developer explains.

Destiny still has no official release date, but is currently scheduled to hit Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.

EA has confirmed the official release date for FIFA 14 and also offered up details of four different editions of the game. So many choices!

The game will be available in Europe from September 27. Players who pre-order the standard edition of the game will receive four free gold Ultimate Team packs along with one of the following, depending on where you pre-order, The Adidas bundle, five online pro boosters, three new celebrations, or a collection of historic kits.

Pre-order the Limited Edition, exclusively at GAME, and you’ll net yourself one premium gold Ultimate Team pack per week for 24 weeks, a FIFA 14 collectible steel book with magnetic lenticular, and all of the previously mentioned pre-order bonuses for the standard edition.

The Ultimate Edition can be pre-ordered from anywhere and offers one gold Ultimate Team pack for 24 weeks along with all the bonuses from the standard edition. Finally there’s the Collector’s Edition, another GAME exclusive, which includes one gold Ultimate Team pack for 24 weeks, a special edition Adidas EA SPORTS glider ball, a FIFA 14 collectible steel book with magnetic lenticular, and again all the bonuses that come with the standard edition.

Square Enix has finally announced the official date of Final Fantasy XIV‘s re-launch known as A World Reborn.

The game will be available on PC and PlayStation 3 from August 27, with both standard and special edition versions available. A third beta phase for the game is set to begin on both platforms June 3.

“It has been a long road from the game’s inception to the beta, but thanks to your fervent support and invaluable feedback, the world of Eorzea will soon complete its journey of rebirth,” said producer and director Naoki Yoshida.

“We have endeavoured to make the game affordable so that adventurers will be able to experience the vibrant world of Eorzea. We have also prepared a collector’s edition version of the game, which includes a veritable assortment of premium items.”

Deep Silver has released a new, very short, trailer for Saints Row IV asking players to Hail to the Chief, oh, and it also features a man getting hit by a plane in mid-air.

Saints Row IV is set to release August 20 in North America and August 23 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. You can check out the trailer below.

EA has finally lifted the lid on its next generation entry into the Need for Speed franchise, titled Need for Speed: Rivals.

Rivals is being developed by new development studio Ghost in collaboration with Criterion and will be powered by DICE’s Frostbite 3 engine. The game is set to launch later this year for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Need for Speed: Rivals transports players to Redview County, an open-world environment which offers players the choice of being either a street racer or police officer. Players can customize their cars with custom license plates, paint, liveries, rims, and performance upgrades.

You can check out a debut teaser trailer for the game below.

EA’s Chief financial officer, Blake Jorgensen, has revealed that the publisher will continue to support the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for the next four years.

He revealed that the publisher will support current-gen consoles until 2017 in a keynote address at the Stifel 2013 Technology Conference in New York (via GameSpot). He added that several games are already in development for current-gen consoles, despite the next generation releasing later this year, such as Battlefield 4, FIFA 14, and the new Need for Speed.

This would extend the current-gen lifecycle to around 12 years.

Firaxis Games has released a new video for Civilization V‘s upcoming expansion, Brave New World, which focuses on policies and ideologies.

The expansion will introduce three new social policy trees to the game, autocracy, order, or freedom, these will either cause peace or discord depending on the choices you make.

Brave New World is set to release in North America on July 9 and in Europe on July 12.

Rockstar Games has officially unveiled the Collector’s and Special Editions of Grand Theft Auto V, which are available to pre-order from today. As an added bonus there’s also access to a flyable blimp for all pre-orders.

First up let’s deal with the flyable blimp which you’re obviously all excited about. Anyone who pre-orders any edition of Grand theft Auto V, including the Collector’s and Special, will be given access to the Atomic Blimp in-game vehicle (pictured above).

“High above the streets of Los Santos floats the Atomic Blimp, hawking Los Santos’ finest tire company (whose products are available in any LS Customs garage). Pre-order now to gain the ability to pilot the most iconic and leisurely aircraft in the Los Santos skies,” the developer writes.

Now onto the contents of the game’s Special Edition:

• Full retail copy of Grand Theft Auto V

• Collectible SteelBook with Exclusive Artwork
  This special SteelBook features double-sided, never-before-seen artwork of Michael, Trevor and Franklin. Custom color and metallic treatments bring out the detail of the artwork created exclusively for this SteelBook.

• Blueprint Map
  This exclusive, additional 21.5” x 26.75” map displays a blueprint view of Los Santos and Blaine County. Cryptic markings indicate locations for fast cash and other points of interest for the up-and-coming entrepreneur.

• Special Ability Boost
  Michael, Franklin and Trevor each have a unique special ability. With this boost, the special ability bar will generate 25% faster.

• Stunt Plane Trials
  Single player Stunt Plane Trials let you take on additional aerial challenges spread throughout Los Santos and Blaine County.

• Bonus Outfits, Tattoos and More
  Michael, Franklin and Trevor get bonus outfits in their wardrobes, character specific tattoos at tattoo parlors, and special deals from shopkeepers across Los Santos and Blaine County.

• Additional Weapons
  When visiting Ammunation stores in single player, merchants will have special weapons in their inventory available for free: the Pistol .50, Bullpup Shotgun and melee Hammer.

The Collector’s Edition of the game includes everything in the Special Edition plus:

• Grand Theft Auto V Security Deposit Bag with Logo Key
  Inspired by the heists in Grand Theft Auto V, this custom 10.75” x 8.5” money bag features a pop-up style lock and laser cut logo key to secure important items. The reverse side features a pressed Rockstar Games logo on the security mount with a framed ID window.

• Grand Theft Auto V New Era 9FIFTY™ Snapback Cap
  This exclusive New Era 9FIFTY™ cap features an embroidered Los Santos logo on the front, a stitched, black Rockstar Games logo on the wearer’s left side, a Grand Theft Auto ‘V’ logo applique on the opposite side, and snapback closure for an adjustable fit.

• Custom Characters for Grand Theft Auto Online
  Get classic Grand Theft Auto characters to use within the Grand Theft Auto Online Character Creation System.

• Unique Vehicles and Garage Property
  Players will instantly receive a garage to store custom vehicles. In single player, the garage will be stocked with the 1930’s style Hotknife hotrod and the CarbonRS sports bike. In Grand Theft Auto Online, players will get the high-end Khamelion electric car.

You can find links to pre-order each edition right here. The Special Edition will set you back $79.99 and the Collector’s Edition $149.99.

Codemasters has released another trailer for GRID 2, this one details the game’s IndyCar DLC pack which is available with all pre-orders of the game.

The DLC includes extra routes for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Circuit and a selection of IndyCar liveries such as the Dallara IndyCar and Indy 500 Pace Car skins. If you want more GRID 2 action then you can check out a video of a race taking place at the Yas Marina circuit right here.

GRID 2 is set to release May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Sony has announced that a collection of four PlayStation Network titles will be released at retail next month under the title Best of PlayStation Network Vol. 1.

The collection will hit store shelves on June 25, priced at $40. Best of PlayStation Network Vol. 1 is the first in a new series of “Best Of” releases, according to Sony, and includes When Vikings Attack, Sound Shapes, Tokyo Jungle and Fat Princess.

There was no word on when Vol. 2 will make an appearance or what games will be included.

The original Far Cry is set to get a HD makeover, according to a listing on the Brazilian Ratings Board website.

The board lists the game for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, but no release date was offered. The 2004 PC title was the first in the series and was developed by Crytek, whereas Far Cry 2 and 3 were developed by Ubisoft.

Would you be interested in a HD makeover for Far Cry? Let us know in the comments below.

Via: CVG

Rockstar has announced that its PlayStation 2 classic The Warriors will be heading to the PlayStation Store next week for just $9.99.

The brawler will be available to download from the PlayStation Network on May 28 as a PS2 Classic. The developer currently has 12 games from its back catalog available on the PlayStation Store and plans to make more available in the future.

Infinity Ward has released a video that it showcased at the Xbox One reveal featuring a comparison between the technology used in Call of Duty: Ghosts and that used in Modern Warfare 3.

Call of Duty: Ghosts has been built from the ground up using a new next generation Call of Duty engine and you can see the vast improvement that its made in the video below. For all the details on Ghosts you can check out this article here.

Ghosts is set to release November 5 for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. It will also be available on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One after the consoles launch.

Update 4.0 for SimCity is set to go live later today, adding a few new features and re-enabling several that were disabled during the game’s troubled launch.

The update adds the SimCity Launch Park to the game, which is exclusive to early adopters, and introduces a new region called Edgewater Bay featuring seven city sites. Re-enabled features include dynamic market prices, leaderboards on certain servers, and region filtering.

The full patch notes are below:

• New: SimCity Launch Park, an exclusive new park just for our dedicated fans who were early adopters.
• New: Region: Edgewater Bay. Seven city sites in one cluster around a beautiful bay with one great work site.
• New: Your current server will now be shown in the options menu.
• New: More detailed rollover information on buildings telling player’s if their Sims received happiness from a park or from shopping. Previous to this fix, this information was generic.
• Re-Enabled Feature: Global Market prices now dynamically change during gameplay.
• Re-Enabled Feature: Leaderboards will be active on EU West 3, Pacific 1 and Pacific 2 at the release. We will enable them on additional servers throughout the day.
• Re-Enabled Feature: Region filters are now enabled on all SimCity servers. Players will be able to search for open games by Map Name, Sandbox Mode, and Abandoned Cities.
• Rain Clouds: Fixed an issue where some cities would not have rain clouds to replenish their water table. If you had a city with this issue, you will start seeing clouds again within a game day.
• Fire: Improved response time of fire trucks to fires. Improved the time it takes for a fire signal to reach a fire station.
• Mission updates: Tuned Metals HQ and Community College missions. These were appearing too early, making them difficult to complete. They now appear later in a city’s development.
• Solar Farm Great Work: Reduced fire risk at the Solar Farm Great work. Local fire engines were spending too much time at the Solar Farm.
• Messaging: Improved pre-requisite messaging for Trade Port, Casinos, Smelting Factory and Oil Refinery. It should be clearer on how to unlock these buildings.
• Graphics: Fix for flickering low wealth buildings on NVIDIA graphics cards.
• Education: Fix for an issue some cities experienced where commuting students did not return from a neighbor’s city. This was causing a problem where students would disappear from a city in some cases.
• Tuning: Sims will lose a small amount of happiness if they don’t have a place to shop. Cities without places to shop will see complaints and feel the effect of unhappy Sims. This will emphasize the importance of commercial zones.

EA is teasing a Need for Speed reveal for later today, will we finally get our first glimpse of the franchise’s first next generation entry?

Earlier this week the publisher released a screenshot of a Koenigsegg police cruiser with the words ”Have no rules, show no mercy.” Now the game’s Facebook page has been updated with a second image of a Ferrari with the following text, ”The Rivalry Begins. Learn More on May 23rd.”

Now the first thing that came into my head upon reading that sentence was Need for Speed: Underground Rivals which was released for the PSP in 2005. Could we see a new game set in that universe?

Diamond Select Toys has announced they’ll release a four-pack of Hulk Minimates that show Bruce Banner’s alter ego in four of his most famous (or infamous) incarnations.

Dubbed the Hulk through the Ages collection, the four-pack will include Joe Fixit (when he was a Vegas tough guy), The Maestro (an alternate future version), the self-explanatory Barbarian Hulk, and Composite Hulk (half red, half green).

DC Collectibles has announced a Batman: Arkham City action figure of Hugo Strange will be among the exclusives they’ll have available at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

The Hugo Strange toy is 6.75-inches tall, comes with a syringe, and will be available for $29.95.

Other exclusives at this year’s show include two based on interstitials shown on Cartoon Network’s DC Nation block. The first is an action figure of Superman in the style of Wallace & Gromit masterminds Aardman Animations. The figure stands 6.5-inches tall, and will sell for $24.95. The other is a three-fer of Supergirl, Batgirl, and Wonder Girl in the style of the “Super Best Friends Forever” interstitials, which will be $49.95.

Finally, they’ll also offer a four-pack of Green Lantern’s BFFs Dex-Starr, Green Lantern Sinestro, Arkillo, and Black Hand, which will be $49.95.

Funko has announced they’ll release a series of stylized Walking Dead mystery figures on June 20.

The 2.5-inch tall toys will include both regular and blood-splattered versions of Daryl, Merle, and a multitude of zombies.

As with all of Funko’s mystery figures, these will only be sold in sealed boxes, with the odds of getting the last one you need to complete your collection varying from toy to toy. For example, in a case of twenty-four, there will be two regular Daryls, but the odds of getting his bloody doppelganger are one in a hundred forty-four.

NECA has announced they’ll release a series of HeroClix figures featuring Iron Maiden’s mascot, Eddie, next week.

The nine different figures are based on various versions of Eddie that have appeared on Iron Maiden albums and single covers, including Somewhere in Time, “The Trooper,” and Powerslave.

Each figure will retail for $2.99, though you can also buy a box of 24 with a display box for $71.99.

Diamond Select Toys has announced they’re releasing two toys based on Star Trek: The Next Generation, as well as one from Star Trek VI.

First up is a 7-inch action figure of Captain Jean-Luc Picard that has him on a Borg ship, standing over the body of a dead Borg, while aiming a phaser at what we can only assume is another Borg.

Next, they’ve also got a replica of the Enterprise-E, which is the ship Picard commanded in the 1996 movie Star Trek: First Contact. As with all of their ship replicas, this one will light up and has sound effects that include Mssr. Picard barking orders. It will be available this summer.

Finally, this summer will also see a replica of the Excelsior as it appeared in the 1991 movie Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. It also lights up, and will include quotes from its captain, Hikaru Sulu, which have been recorded by actor George Takei (though we doubt one of them will be, “Oh my,” unfortunately).

During yesterday’s Xbox Reveal, EA Sports unveiled FIFA 14, NBA Live 14, Madden 25, and UFC running on their new Ignite engine. The footage shown in the trailer, however, was pre-rendered.

“It was all pre-rendered,” EA Sports executive vice president Andrew Wilson informed Polygon. “Listen, we’re not hiding behind that fact. This was an event that we’ve been planning for a number of months on a new platform. And what we wanted to do was use real game assets, so they’re all real game assets, straight out of our game teams, but we had to get it into a format that would be usable in this style of event.”

“What I’m really happy to say, though, is that our games right now are delivering on that, and in some cases more, and we’re going to show a lot more of that at E3 in a couple of weeks. And then by the time we get to launch, the sky’s the limit of where we get to.”

According to Wilson, though pre-rendered, the footage is absolutely representative of the games themselves. As always, Mr. Wilson, we’ll believe it when we see it.

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 both launch later this year.

Metro: Last Light is getting a few extra stops along the track courtesy of four DLC add-ons due to arrive this summer, publisher Deep Silver announced.

All four DLC packs can be purchased for $15 with a season pass, or, of course, individually.

First out the gate is the “Faction Pack,” which launches in June and—according to Deep Silver—adds “new, original single-player gameplay that expands on the Metro: Last Light universe and story.” So too does the second add-on, the “Chronicles Pack,” which is currently without a release window.

Deep Silver describes the third Last Light DLC, the “Tower Pack,” as something that presents “a unique solo challenge to Metro veterans.” The wave of Metro DLC concludes with the mysterious “Developer Pack,” something Deep Silver says will “give creative players some interesting tools with which to explore the world of Metro.”

Metro: Last Light launched on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 last week. Our own Ray Carsillo returned to the subterranean Russian railways in his review.

NHL 14 won’t see a release on the Xbox One or PlayStation 4, EA Sports informed IGN.

EA’s statement to IGN reads, “NHL 14 will not be available for Xbox One or PlayStation 4 this year. Our team is laser-focused on delivering the greatest hockey experience to-date on the Xbox 360 and PS3, grounded in the speed, skill, and aggression of the sport. We look forward to developing a best-in-class hockey experience for new platforms in the future.”

Yesterday’s Xbox Reveal confirmed other EA Sports titles—UFC, FIFA 14, Madden 25, and NBA Live 14—would be gracing the Xbox One and PS4 (though only Madden and FIFA have been confirmed for 360 and PS3 as well).

NHL 14 launches on Xbox 360 and PS3 September 10 in North America, September 13 in Europe.

Zenimax has released a brand new trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online which introduces the terrifying wamasu.

The wamasu are basically really big electric lizards and, according to the lore, have lightning for blood. Their attacks include tail strikes and shooting lightning beams. If you manage to overcome these beasts there’s a giant boss version of this creature waiting to smash your face in.

You can check out the video below.

Will Avatars still be around on the Xbox One? While Microsoft’s FAQ may seem to say one way, a Microsoft rep had another answer.

Near the end of the Xbox One new released posted to their website yesterday, Microsoft posted this particular footnote:

Some Xbox Live content and features available on Xbox 360, including avatar content and some apps, are not available with Xbox Live on Xbox One.

So, what does that mean? Some have taken that to mean that Avatars themselves would no longer be part of the Xbox experience, but my take from that line is that some of your purchased Avatar content won’t make the transition from the current Xbox platform to the next (possibly due to rights, incompatibility, or some other reason).

Why do I feel so confident about that? Because I had the chance yesterday to speak to Ben Kilgore, corporate vice president at Xbox, and Avatars were one of the questions I had for him. With no sign of them during the presentation, would the Rare-crafted virtual representations of gamers still have a home on Microsoft gaming platforms?

“Avatars are still around. Identity is a big thing for us. We believe on Xbox One, people will start to use more real images of themselves as well, but we still support Avatars.”

So, there you go. For any of you out there who hate Avatars, sorry—they aren’t going away. For people like me who love them, don’t fret over their fate.

Cryptozoic’s Kickstarter for its MMOTCG game HEX: Shards of Fate has surpassed the $1 million mark with 16 days still to go.

To celebrate this mark three new stretch goals have been revealed, Keep Defense, Playback support, and motion comic intros. Keep Defense allows players to set up decks to protect their virtual keep, players can then challenge these decks to win rewards. If you successfully defend you get a reward and if you defeat a keep you get one too, what’s even better is that the AI will control your decks if you’re not online.

Playback support allows players to capture moments of matches to keep and brag to friends about and the motion comic intro is pretty self explanatory.

HEX: Shards of Fate is currently sitting on $1,118,518 with 16 days left to run–it only needed $300,000 to be funded.

Warner Bros. has today confirmed that the Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition will be coming to PC this July containing all of the console version’s DLC.

The Komplete Edition contains the DLC characters Skarlet, Kenshi and Rain, and Freddy Krueger, 15 classic Mortal Kombat skins, plus three classic Fatalities for Scorpion, Sub-Zero, and Reptile. The PC versions supports the Mortal Kombat Tournament Edition Fight Stick and other controllers.

The PC version was ported by High Voltage Software and will be released digitally on July 3 with a retail release set for August 6.

Xbox One will come with a 500 GB hard drive which cannot be replaced by users, unlike the current Xbox 360 hard drives, Microsoft has confirmed. However, players can add additional storage to their console’s via third-party USB 3.0 devices.

Engadget reports that Xbox One’s hard drive is “non-user-serviceable,” but Microsoft’s senior director of product planning Albert Penello confirmed to the site that third-party USB 3.0 devices can be used for storing game files, saves, music, movies, and more.

You can check out all the details regarding Microsoft’s next generation console here.

EA has posted what appears to be Xbox One and PlayStation 4 box art designs for Battlefield 4, but whether these are final designs is unknown.

It’s quite possible that both images are just mock-ups and do not represent either console’s final box art design. Neither Microsoft or Sony has offered up any official box art for any of its next generation titles as of yet. Both consoles are due out holiday 2013.

You can check out both pieces of box art below.

As we all expected, Crytek has announced that its Kinect game Ryse will be an Xbox One exclusive.

An update on the developer’s website confirms the news alongside a countdown which ends during Microsoft’s E3 press conference. ”Exclusively for Xbox One,” reads the website. “Fight as a soldier. Lead as a general. Rise as a legend.”

The website also notes that the game features ”Controller-based gameplay enhanced by Kinect,” which is different to the Kinect exclusive gameplay that was suggested during the game’s E3 2011 reveal. Last month rumors suggested that Ryse will be a launch title for Xbox One alongside Forza 5.

Microsoft has released six screenshots of the recently announced Xbox One’s new look dashboard showcasing the new Trending feature, Pins, and more.

Trending allows you to see what your friends, or what the entire world, is watching, playing, or listening to at any given time–similar to how Twitter’s Trending feature works. The Pin feature, which is currently available on the Xbox 360 dashboard, makes a return, but is now more streamlined and useful.

Users will also be able to open and close content on the Xbox One dashboard via hand gestures. As revealed yesterday, simply hold your hands out and push them together to close an app/movie/song and then pull your hands back apart to re-open it with no delay.

The Xbox One is expected to launch this holiday season and you can get all the details on Microsoft’s new console right here.

Carbine has delivered on its promise of new WildStar information by releasing two new videos for the game detailing the various Path choices that players can make.

Paths are different to Classes and Races as they determine how you like to play MMOs. There are four choices available when you create a character, Warrior, Scientist, Explorer, and Settler. Warriors are people who like to kill things and can access special super hard boss fights and encounters which offer greater rewards. Scientists like to examine the world around them learning interesting bits of information, discovering hidden rooms, and more.

Next up is Explorers, this group can scale huge buildings/trees/mountains, set up time challenges, and discover secret caves and dungeons. Finally there are Settlers who basically create buildings for themselves and others to use such as buff stations, vendors, hidden quest givers, and much more.

You can check out all four of these paths in action in the videos below.

Electronic Arts has posted up a screenshot of a Koenigseggon on the official Need for Speed Facebook page, which appears to be teasing a reveal of the next Need for Speed game for next generation consoles.

The image comes with the caption ”Have no rules, show no mercy,” and the car has the words ”Police Pursuit” written across the side. EA is set to reveal the next generation of its Need for Speed franchise during its E3 press conference on June 10.

Prepare for battle as DICE has announced that Battlefield 3‘s delayed 96 hour double XP event will kick off tomorrow.

The event will begin tomorrow, May 23, and run until May 27. During this time all players can enjoy double XP on all platforms and in all game modes.

Don’t miss the upcoming BF3 double XP event — 96 hours worth of double XP starts tomorrow morning: bit.ly/147B8rw #BF3

— Battlefield (@Battlefield) May 22, 2013

Activision has released six screenshots for Call of Duty: Ghosts to go alongside the game’s official unveiling at Microsoft’s Xbox One reveal event.

At the event it was confirmed that the game will run on a new next generation engine, be set in a new universe, and feature a brand new cast of characters. Players will also be able to lean round corners and slide along the floor before opening fire.

The publisher also shed some light on the game’s multiplayer, stating that its maps will feature dynamic aspects such as flooding rooms, breakable doors, wildlife, and traps. Finally customization will be at its fullest, with players able to change their characters armor, clothes, and helmets.

For a full rundown on all the details and a look at the reveal trailer you can check out this post here. The screenshots below are taken from the Xbox One version of the game.

Microsoft has revealed that a historic Rare IP will be announced at next month’s E3 event for Microsoft’s new Xbox One console, but what could it be?

“Fans of Rare and Rare IP I think will be pleased with what we’re going to show at E3,” Microsoft Studios corporate vice president Phil Spencer told Polygon. “We had a limited amount of time today and a lot of story to tell. But Rare remains an incredibly important part of our development capability.

“That historic IP that they’ve built I think can play a real important role on Xbox One.”

The developer currently retains the rights to franchises such as Banjo-Kazooie, Conker, Perfect Dark, and Killer Instinct. Microsoft recently renewed the trademark for one of these classic franchises, Killer Instinct, could this be the historic franchise being talked about? We’ll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.

EA Labels president Frank Gibeau has confirmed that the publisher will offer a first look at its Star Wars plans during its E3 press conference next month.

The press conference will include ”a first look at our plans for the Star Wars partnership with Disney,” Gibeau said on the company’s Beat blog. Earlier this month EA announced that it had signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Disney for the rights to produce Star Wars games. Studios such as BioWare, Visceral, and DICE will all work on games in the franchise, but the first is not expected until after April 2014.

EA’s E3 press conference is set to take place at 4pm Eastern Time on June 10.

Bungie has confirmed what most of us already knew, that Destiny will be releasing for Microsoft’s newly announced Xbox One console.

“Today, we’re happy to announce that we’ve added a fourth console to the list of Destiny platforms,” the developer said in a statement. ”Destiny will ship on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the recently announced Xbox One.

“We’re excited by the opportunity to reach more players than ever before, and we can’t wait to show you more of what we’ve been up to at this year’s E3.”

Destiny is just one of several games confirmed for the console. Others include Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Forza 5, Quantum Break, and FIFA 14.

Microsoft’s stance on pre-owned games and game ownership with Xbox One has been more than a little confusing, however it appears that pre-owned games are not dead, but there are some catches involved.

Microsoft’s Phil Harrison tried to explain away the confusion. Basically when you buy a game and install it to your hard drive it will be locked to your account, so as long as you’re signed in to your account you can play the game without restriction and anyone in your house can also play the game as long as they’re signed into your account.

“So, think about how you use a disc that you own of an Xbox 360 game,” he told Eurogamer. “If I buy the disc from a store, I use that disc in my machine, I can give that disc to my son and he can play it on his 360 in his room. We both can’t play at the same time, but the disc is the key to playing. I can go round to your house and give you that disc and you can play on that game as well.

“What we’re doing with the digital permissions that we have for Xbox One is no different to that. If I am playing on that disc, which is installed to the hard drive on my Xbox One, everybody in my household who has permission to use my Xbox One can use that piece of content. [So] I can give that piece of content to my son and he can play it on the same system.”

However, when you leave the house that’s when things get tricky. If you take your game round a friends you can play it as much as you want without a fee as long as you’re signed into your profile. If you want to play on your friends profile or leave the game with him then your friend will have to pay the list price of the game on Xbox Live to unlock the content.

“I can come to your house and I can put the disc into your machine and I can sign in as me and we can play the game,” Harrison explained. ”The bits are on your hard drive. At the end of the play session, when I take my disc home – or even if I leave it with you – if you want to continue to play that game [on your profile] then you have to pay for it. The bits are already on your hard drive, so it’s just a question of going to our [online] store and buying the game, and then it’s instantly available to play.

“The bits that are on the disc, I can give to anybody else, but if we both want to play it at the same time, we both have to own it. That’s no different to how discs operate today.”

This doesn’t mean that pre-owned games are dead though, Harrison also mentioned to Eurogamer that Microsoft has a system in place to allow users to trade in digital content at a retail store. Quite what this system entails is unknown at this time.

“We will have a system where you can take that digital content and trade a previously played game at a retail store,” he said. “We’re not announcing the details of that today, but we will have announced in due course.”

How do you feel about fees for friends and trading in digital content? Share your thoughts below.

Source: Eurogamer

Following Microsoft’s unveiling of the Xbox One yesterday Sony’s share price has risen by nine percent. Was it really that bad?

The company’s stock price has fallen by around 1.23 percent before the presentation, but then jumped two percent in after hours trading, GamesIndustry reported. The stock continued to rise and is now sitting at an increase of 9.25 percent.

The reaction to the Xbox One has been mixed, with some loving the look, new features, and games, however there are some who are upset about certain restrictions that Microsoft is imposing–such as the fee for pre-owned games.

Trion Worlds is set to introduce a new loyalty system when RIFT goes free-to-play offering players a chance to earn free items when they spend real-money or the game’s real-money substitute REX.

Players will receive loyalty points whenever they make purchases, subscribe to the game, or consume REX. Current and former subscribers will also be given some loyalty points based on how long they have been a member. These can be spent on exclusive costumes, new target icons, and dimensions.

RIFT is set to make the switch to free-to-play on June 12.

EA has confirmed the official release date for its highly anticipated next and current-gen shooter Battlefield 4, and also announced the China Rising DLC pre-order bonus.

The game will be available for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC from October 29 in the U.S. and November 1 in Europe. The publisher was unable to offer up a specific release date for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions except for holiday 2013.

Players who pre-order the game will receive the China Rising digital expansion pack at no extra cost which includes four ”massive multiplayer maps, using all-new vehicles and high-tech military equipment.”

Square Enix and Eidos Montreal have announced that Thief will be heading to the recently announced Xbox One.

“The team at Eidos-Montreal is thrilled to confirm that Thief is coming to Xbox One. The next generation of home consoles allow us to create the best and the most immersive Thief game ever. The feedback we have received so far is simply amazing and we can’t wait to show more of Thief at E3 this year” said Stephane D’Astous, General Manager, Eidos-Montréal.

The game is currently scheduled to release for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2014.

As promised Activision and Infinity Ward has unveiled Call of Duty: Ghosts to the world. There’s much higher graphical fidelity, a dog, multiplayer character customization, and that’s just the beginning.

Activision’s Eric Hirshberg took to the stage at the Xbox One reveal to confirm that the game will run on a new next generation engine and be set in a new universe with new characters. Traffic and Syrianna writer Stephen Gaghan has penned the game’s story which sees the American military crippled. The Ghosts team is comprised of elite soldiers from several different groups who have adopted the most effective fighting styles from around the world.

Not only do you get some new characters, but for the first time in the franchise’s history you get a dog for an ally. He will protect the team from attackers and sniff out bombs, among other things. There are also a few tweaks to gameplay, players can now lean around corners to get a better view and can slide along the ground before firing.

Ghosts‘ multiplayer introduces dynamic maps which see certain areas flooding, destroy-able doors, traps, and wildlife. Players can customize their avatars fully, including their armor, clothing, and helmet. Finally the game will feature Kinect voice commands, co-op, and second screen functionality.

As with the Xbox 360 all Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC will be a timed exclusive on Xbox One.

While the specifics the arrangement remain unnamed, Microsoft announced they’ll be partnering up with the NFL to bring “exclusive, interactive content.”

The only noticeable element to this partnership is the seamless integration of Xbox Smartglass and the Xbox One by way of easily pulling up Fantasy Football league information during live NFL games without interrupting the game itself.

343 Industries’ general manager Bonnie Ross took to the stage at the Xbox One reveal event and announced that a live action Halo television series is heading to Xbox One.

The series currently has the name Halo: The Television Series–of course this may change in the future–and will be directed by the legend that is Steven Spielberg. No other details were offered about the series, but it appears that it will be a Xbox One TV exclusive for Xbox Live members.

Turn 10 Studios and Microsoft announced Forza Motorsport 5 for Xbox One, while Remedy Entertainment—the studio behind Alan Wake and Max Payne—revealed an original IP, Quantum Break.

Microsoft promised more details on Forza 5 during E3.

The teaser for Quantum Break was brief, but what we saw reminded us a great deal of television show Fringe, focusing on quantum disturbances as investigated by police.

These two games are among 15 exclusive titles coming to the Xbox One in its first year, 8 of which are described as “brand new franchises.”

EA has announced a new partnership with Microsoft and will be developing four sports games for Xbox One, FIFA 14, Madden NFL 25, NBA Live 14 and UFC. If that wasn’t enough, all of these games will use a new engine known as EA Sports Ignite.

All four of these games will be available in the next 12 months and use a next generation engine which will change the face of sports games forever. The EA Sports Ignite Engine takes into account player emotions, motion, and intelligence. The engine also allows developers to generate 3D crowds, a genuine atmosphere, and new daily content for its games.

“Through years of investment and innovation, we have built technology across EA Sports to create a game engine that will deliver stunning accuracy, realism and experiences that we previously could only dream about,” said Andrew Wilson, executive vice president and head of EA Sports. “With EA Sports Ignite and the power of next generation consoles, our games will come alive—with more authenticity, more emotion, more connectivity, and more fun.”

“EA Sports Ignite will deliver the dynamic movements and biomechanics of the world’s best athletes. With 10 times more animation depth and detail than previous consoles, and thousands of new sport-specific animations to drive new locomotion systems, players now plant, pivot and cut, quickly change speeds, and shift momentum with the agility and explosiveness of superstar athletes,” the publisher explained.

The publisher also mentioned that FIFA 14 Ultimate Team will “only be on Xbox.”

Microsoft has revealed some of the technical specifications of the Xbox One.

• 500 GB HDD
• 3.0 USB
• 8GB of RAM
• Blu-ray Drive
• Dedicated serves
• Interplay between Kinect, controller, and Smartglass
• Game DVR with native editing and sharing tools for easy upload to the cloud

According to Microsoft, where 15,000 serves power the modern Xbox Live experience, 300,000 servers will power Xbox One’s, relying heavily on cloud-powered media storage.

The new Xbox Live will carry over your existing membership and progress (in short, you gets to keep them sweet, sweet cheevos).

The Xbox One’s controller (seen above) has been redesigned slightly, boasting a much tighter-looking D-pad (something the Xbox has needed for years), with the Xbox jewel pushed higher up and noticeably deeper concave analog sticks.

More on the Xbox Reveal as it continues.

Well the Xbox One is official, but what you really want to know about is its features right? So far we know about “Instant Switching” and “Snap Mode.”

First up is Instant Switching, this basically does exactly what it says on the tin. Thanks to this feature with just a single phrase you can instantly switch between games, TV, movies, music, and more. There’s a nanosecond wait and you’re away. It was pretty impressive to see especially seeing as it’s impossible on the current Xbox

There’s also gestures for closing programs and reopening them with no delay, simply grab the outside of the screen and push your hands together to close, and pull them back apart to re-open.

Next up is Snap Mode, this allows you to open up a second window at the side of your movie/music/game similar to Windows OS. Users can open up Internet Explorer, Favorites, and more all without interfering with whatever you are doing. Want to search the web while watching a film, no worries, simply use Snap Mode to open the browser and the film will continue to play.

Today, we can finally put to bed all the various Nextbox name rumors. Microsoft has revealed their next console will be called “Xbox One.”

Details are still emerging from Xbox Reveal, but what we know so far is that the Xbox One is cloud-powered and features a slightly redesigned Xbox controller. Microsoft’s goal is to crete an all-in-one home entertainment experience with their new console, championing how quickly it can shift from playing games to browsing the web to watching television, and how this is controlled through the voice-commands via the new Kinect.

More on the story as it develops.

Get all the latest Xbox One news below:

• ‘Instant Switching’ and ‘Snap Mode’ Announced for Xbox One
• Microsoft Details Xbox One Tech Specs, Features
• EA Announces FIFA, Madden, NBLA Live, and UFC for Xbox One, Use New EA Ignite Engine
• Forza Motorsport 5, Quantum Break Announced for Xbox One Among 15 Year-One Exclusives
• 343 Industries Announces Live Action Halo TV Series for Xbox One
• Microsoft and NFL Partnering Up to Create ‘Exclusive, Interactive Content’
• Call of Duty: Ghosts Officially Unveiled, Higher Polygon Counts, a Man’s Best Friend, Player Customization, and More
• Thief Announced for Xbox One

A new trailer for Media Molecule’s Tearaway has been released alongside a batch of screenshots.

Tearaway is a Vita exclusive starring ”adventurers from another dimension” who are trapped inside the handheld. The game is due to release October 22 in North America and October 23 in Europe.

Via: AllGamesBeta

Cryptic Studios has decided to offer an olive branch to Neverwinter players to apologize for the server rollbacks and exploit that occurred over the weekend.

Players lost seven hours worth of gameplay following a rollback to fix an economy exploit which allowed players to obtain billions of Astral Diamonds, one of the game’s currencies. To say sorry the developer is offering all players the Caturday Survivor’s Pack for free.

All characters created before 5am PDT on Sunday, May 19 will find this pack sitting in their mailbox. The pack contains a Stone of Health, a Dwarven Facemask, 5 teleport scrolls to the Protector’s Enclave, 2 Adventurer’s XP boosters, and a Cape of Catastrophe.

Capcom has released a launch trailer for Resident Evil: Revelations‘ HD makeover to celebrate the game’s release in the U.S.. It’s due out in Europe later this week.

If you fancy trying before you buy then you can download a demo right now on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U.

You can read Eric L. Patterson’s thoughts on the game in our review here.

Sony Japan Studio has officially announced that its mysterious title, codenamed Panopticon, is in fact called Freedom Wars and will be a PlayStation Vita exclusive.

A trailer was released for the game which appears to show a prison of some kind–or the world has become a prison, or it’s a metaphor, I have no idea–with each character having how long they have left on their sentence displayed above their heads. Sony lists the game’s genre as “Recovery Multiplayer Action,” so make of that what you will.

You can check out the trailer below.

Scarlet Blade‘s major selling point is that it offers a choice of only female characters to play as, well that and the ability to completely remove your character’s clothes. However, that is about to change in Taiwan–where the game is known as Queen’s Blade.

Due to the recent demand of players, the decision has been made to add a male character to the game. Whether this character will be added to the Western version is unknown at this time. You can check out the first trailer for this new character below.

Activision is giving Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 players a chance to vote on one of four new Personalization Packs which will be added to the game.

Every player gets one vote and the two with the highest will be added to the in-game store on May 29. Each pack comes with a weapon camo, three reticles, and a calling card. Voting is set to begin on May 23 via the game’s Message of the Day, so you’re going to have to play the game to vote.

The four choices are:

Source: One of Swords

Nintendo has released a new system update for the Wii U taking it up to version 3.0.1.

The update improves system stability and compatibility with certain software, according to the company. The platform holder offers the following advice before updating: ”Performing a system update may take an extended amount of time (for some users it could take an hour or more to download and install). Do not power off your console or remove the Wii U AC adapter during this time.”

A major update for the console is set to go live this summer which will increase its overall performance.

Codemasters really doesn’t want you to forget about GRID 2 as it has released yet another gameplay trailer for it, this time showing a race around the Yas Marina circuit.

If you haven’t had enough GRID 2 media then you can check out yesterday’s Elimination trailer here. GRID 2 is set to release May 28 in North America and May 31 in Europe for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Techland has released an official launch trailer for its downloadable Western shooter Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, whose main character has a fondness for shooting people in the face.

Gunslinger sees you battling some of the greatest names that the Wild West has to offer such as Butch Cassidy and Jesse James. The trailer showcases some of the abilities that you have at your disposal such as Sense of Death which allows you to dodge incoming bullets and Concentration mode that allows you to slow down time.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger will be available to download from Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and PC from May 22 for $14.99.

Civilization V‘s upcoming expansion, Brave New World, will introduce the Moroccan and Indonesian civilizations to the game as playable options, according to the game’s Facebook page.

Indonesia’s leader is Gajah Mada, who was the prime minister of the Majapahit Empire. Morocco is led by Ahmad al-Mansur, who was sultan of the Saadi dynasty. The expansion will also add eight new wonders, two new scenarios, nine playable civilizations, a new trade system, and the Culture victory path.

Brave New World is set to release July 9 in North America and July 12 in Europe for $29.99.

NCsoft and ArenaNet have announced that Guild Wars 2‘s latest content update “Last Stand at Southsun” will be going live on May 28, extending the game’s Living Story, adding custom PvP Arenas, adding Infusions, and much more.

“In the newest extension of the Living Story, the culprit behind the recent wildlife attacks on Southsun Cove has been revealed as the Sylvari renegade, Canach. In a confused attempt to free the new settlers from The Consortium, Canach has turned the creatures of the island into tools of destruction,” the developer explains.

A full list of features can be found below:

• New Improved World XP: ArenaNet has improved the award system for World XP in World vs. World, allowing players to gain rewards for a much wider range of activities in the Mists – everything from destroying siege weapons, repairing walls, escort missions and more.
• Greater Variety and More Rewards in WvW: Earn World XP for playing the way you want with WvW daily achievements. Each time players gain a new World rank, they’ll earn a bonus chest with WvW loot.
• New WvW Abilities and Matchup Changes: Choose to become even deadlier in The Mists with new abilities like Burning Oil Mastery or new ranks in Defense Against Guards. WvW matches allow players to face new opponents in new matchups and test their world’s skill against more foes.
• Custom PvP Arenas and Spectator Mode Beta: Based on feedback from beta players, ArenaNet has been able to fix bugs and further improve these new features. Now players can extend the time of their favorite custom arenas with added Custom Arena Time Tokens in the Gem Store.
• Introducing Infusions and Ascended Gear in WvW: ArenaNet has introduced the ability to purchase Ascended rings and amulets and to upgrade WvW abilities with six new Infusions that give players’ characters special WvW bonuses. Just speak to the new Laurel and Badge Merchants on each map.
• New Southsun Cove Rewards: Players can find their very own Mini Reef Rider – a loyal floating friend available only until June 11. Dedicated defenders of the Southsun settlers can also earn rare new limited-edition rewards from creatures and chests in Southsun Cove, and by playing Crab Toss.
• Exclusive Southsun Items: Players who help keep the peace during the Secret of Southsun can earn two exclusive new back items, the floral Fervid Censer and the writhing Sclerite Karka Shell.

EA has confirmed that a new Ultimate Fighting Championship game will be unveiled today, May 21, the same day as the Next Xbox reveal event. Coincidence?

The publisher posted teaser images on Facebook and Twitter along with the message: ”First news: May 21.” EA has already confirmed that FIFA 14 will be at the Next Xbox reveal so it stands a good chance, based on the timing, that this UFC game will also be there.

EA’s UFC title is currently in development at EA Canada, the team responsible for the Fight Night series. Microsoft’s Next Xbox reveal is set to begin at 10am Pacific Time today and titles such as Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and FIFA 14 will be on show.

Call of Duty: Ghosts will be officially unveiled at today’s Next Xbox reveal event, and Xbox Australia has released a video showing fans reacting to an early screening of the debut trailer running on next generation hardware.

Now this has to be the cheesiest and most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen, but I thought I’d share it in case any of you really wanted to see it. It’s basically just a bunch of guys whooping, cheering, and pulling shocked faces at a computer screen that we can’t see.

I highly doubt that I’ll react like any of these people when the debut trailer is shown later today, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Will you lose your mind at the trailer or stare blankly wondering what happened? Share your thoughts below.

Via: MP1st

Some new Battlefield 4 information is just on the horizon, according to the game’s official Twitter account. Could the Next Xbox reveal have something to do with it?

Big announcements are coming soon! Retweet to alert your friends!#BF4

— Battlefield (@Battlefield) May 20, 2013

This pretty much confirms that Battlefield 4 will play some part in the event later today. However, it won’t be the only EA game on show: the publisher has already confirmed that FIFA 14 and a new UFC title will be showcased at the event.

Previous rumors have suggested that EA has signed some kind of exclusivity deal with Microsoft for the Next Xbox. It’s expected that this will either involve exclusive DLC or timed exclusive content releases like Activision currently has with Call of Duty‘s DLC.

Microsoft’s Next Xbox reveal event will begin today, May 21 at 10am Pacific Time.

FIFA’s next-gen incarnation will be revealed during tomorrow’s Xbox event, according to an image on Facebook by EA Sports.

“See the next generation of FIFA,” reads the image posted to Facebook—complete with “#XboxReveal” hashtag.

EA revealed FIFA 14 mid-April, along with a handful of screenshots and a few details, so it’s safe to assume whatever’s being teased here is just the next-gen version of FIFA 14 and not the next installment altogether.

Microsoft’s Xbox event is being held tomorrow at their Redmond campus at 10 a.m. PT. The event will be live streamed over Xbox.com, Xbox Live, and Spike TV. And obviously we’ll be in attendance reporting live as the next iteration of Xbox is revealed.

Adorable versions of ManShep, Liara, Garrus, and Wrex are coming to LittleBigPlanet by way of a Mass Effect Costume Pack being released tomorrow.

The costume pack will be compatible with LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet Karting, and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita, and in addition to the aforementioned skins, also includes armor accessories and in-game stickers.

I’m guessing LittleBigPlanet is quite a hit in the U.K., since they’ve got a release date and price—May 22 for £4.79, while the North American release remains up in the air. Expect a similar price (’bout 5 bucks) and similar release window (soon).

World of Warcraft‘s 5.3 patch is set to go live later this week adding a new battleground, arena, four new scenarios, heroic scenarios, and a lot of class changes.

You can check out the long list of patch notes here and also catch a video of the new Tiger’s Peak arena (via MMO Champion) below.

Ubisoft has released a new trailer for Splinter Cell: Blacklist, showcasing some gameplay footage from the game’s co-op campaign featuring Sam Fisher and his partner Isaac Briggs.

Blacklist‘s co-op campaign features four mission types spread across 14 maps and can be played either online or via local split-screen. The game is set to launch August 20 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, and Wii U.

You can check out the trailer below.