Posts with «game consoles» label

Sony launches 'PlayStation Studios Mobile' with Savage Game acquisition

Sony is making a push into mobile gaming with the launch of "PlayStation Studios Mobile" and acquisition of Savage Game Studios, it announced. Sony said the new studio will be "providing more ways for more people to engage with our content, and striving to reach new audiences unfamiliar with PlayStation and our games."

Savage Game Studio doesn't appear to have produced any games yet, but its co-founders had a hand in mobile franchises like Clash of Clans and Angry Birds. It will join PlayStation Studios Mobile, which will operate separately from its console division and create "new experiences" based on PlayStation IP and franchises. Savage is also currently working on a "new unannounced triple-A mobile live service action game," though it didn't offer any more details. 

As a console maker first and foremost, Sony has a delicate balancing act with mobile, much as it did when it jumped into PC gaming with titles like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. To that end, it was sure to note that any efforts beyond console "in no way diminish our commitment to the PlayStation community." 

At the same time, Sony no doubt felt pressure to enter the very lucrative mobile space. Michail Katkoff, CEO and Co-founder of Savage Game Studios, said that Sony's PlayStation Studios "respects our vision for how we can best operate and succeed," and will let them "tap into PlayStation’s amazing catalog of IP." In that sense, Sony might take the same course Nintendo did when it brought Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and other franchises to mobile. 

Sony has a new PS5 controller, the DualSense Edge

Sony is leveling up its PlayStation 5 gamepads with the DualSense Edge. The Edge is all about customization, apparently — it features five customizable profiles, upgraded guts and a few extra input methods. There are two buttons below the analog sticks on the new controller, and in initial images all of the rubberized grips look extra grippy all around. 

Feel free to think of the DualSense Edge as Sony's take on the Xbox Elite controller. There's no word on availability or pricing for the new gamepad. 

The DualSense is a standout feature of the PlayStation 5, offering intense haptic feedback and trigger buttons with adjustable tension. This adds a layer of immersion to games from Deathloop to Stray to Astro's Playroom, and it's something that Xbox simply doesn't offer.

The Edge was revealed during Gamescom's Opening Night Live showcase.

Developing...

'Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed' hits PC, PlayStation and Xbox on October 18th

Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, a four vs. one multiplayer game, will arrive in the midst of spooky season. The game will hit the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on October 18th.

You can either play as a ghost or one of four Ghostbusters trying to hunt it down with the help of gadgets like the PKE Meter, Particle Thrower and Ghost Trap. The ghost can slime and stun the humans, teleport between rifts and possess objects.

There's full multiplayer support across all platforms, though you'll need a PS Plus or Xbox Live Gold membership to play online on PlayStation or Xbox. If you'd rather play solo as either a ghost or Ghostbuster, AI bots can fill out the other four slots.

Preorders are now open for Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, which is from Predator: Hunting Grounds studio Illfonic. If you lock in a digital preorder, you'll get advance access to a custom Particle Thrower and Proton Pack, Slimer and special clothing colorways.

PlayStation PC launcher references found in 'Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered' code

Like Blizzard, Rockstar and Ubisoft, Sony may soon require you to download a launcher before you can play its games on PC. Digging through the Windows version of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered, VGC verified code referencing a PlayStation PC launcher. The discovery follows the recent revelation that Sony likely plans to add PlayStation Network integration to its PC titles.

If Sony moves forward with the launcher, it’s unclear if the company also plans to make its games exclusive to the software. At the moment, you can buy all of Sony’s PC titles through both Steam and the Epic Games Store. Different publishers employ different strategies. For instance, Blizzard games are only available to download through the Battle.Net app. Other companies such as EA and Rockstar allow you to buy and download their games through Steam and the Epic Games Store, but you must also install their software for verification purposes. Even if Sony were to go the latter route, it’s almost certain its launcher would include a storefront. In that way, the company could avoid giving Valve and Epic a cut of some of its PC sales.

The Morning After: The new gaming-subscription normal

'Hogwarts Legacy' is delayed until February 10th, 2023PlayStation’s game-streaming scheme, at its top tier, is now competing directly with Xbox Game Pass, the service that proved the concept by earning 25 million-plus subscribers over the past five years. It’s now been over a month since PlayStation Plus Premium went live, offering similar cloud gaming services to Microsoft's console.

Engadget

However, there are some major differences in strategy, however. Sony doesn’t plan on adding big PlayStation-exclusive games like Forspoken or God of War Ragnarök to Plus on day one, meaning subscribers will have to buy these titles separately, at least at launch. On the Xbox side of things, Game Pass Ultimate includes big first-party games like Halo Infinite on release day. But as Engadget’s Jessica Conditt put it, this isn’t about one service being better than the others, but about adjusting to the new normal for video games.

For your monthly subscription dues, do you value Game Pass Ultimate over Netflix?

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Peloton is jacking up prices of its Bike+ and Tread fitness gear again

The company is also cutting another 784 jobs.

Another service with a monthly tithe is adjusting its business. It's been a brutal year for Peloton, and the company is enacting more major changes to get back on track. On the consumer front, Peloton is reversing price cuts to two pieces of fitness equipment. The Bike+ is going back up from $1,995 to $2,495 in the US. Peloton announced a huge loss of $757.1 million for the first three months of 2022 due to a decline in revenue and soaring costs.

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Formula E’s 100th E-Prix: Eight years of all-electric racing

We take a look back.

Formula E's first race, the 2014 Beijing E-Prix Sam Bloxham

When the checkered flag dropped yesterday in Seoul, Formula E finished its 100th race. Starting on the back of a napkin in 2011, the world’s first all-electric single-seater championship launched after three years of planning. Engadget’s Billy Steele talked to cofounder Alberto Longo and former champ Lucas di Grassi.

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Apple reportedly tried to partner with Facebook to get a cut of its revenue

It would have gotten a cut from an ad-free, paid Facebook subscription service.

Apple announced back at WWDC 2020 that iOS would require apps to ask users to opt-in to cross-app advertising tracking. Facebook then spent much of the next few months speaking out against Apple and predicting revenue instability due to the upcoming changes. The feature was released in April 2021, and Meta, as it’s now called, did survive. Surprisingly, though, a new report from The Wall Street Journal claims that before this all went down, Facebook and Apple were working on a partnership and revenue-sharing agreement.

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'Hogwarts Legacy' is delayed until February 10th, 2023

It's coming to PC, PlayStation and Xbox.

Avalanche Software/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has once again delayed Harry Potter game Hogwarts Legacy, which at least now has a firm release date. It will hit PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on February 10th. The Switch release date will be announced sometime soon, indicating the version faces a further delay.

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Xbox, PlayStation and the new subscription normal

It’s been more than a month since PlayStation Plus Premium went live, cementing the video game industry’s shift toward cloud gaming and subscriptions. PlayStation’s game-streaming scheme is competing directly with Xbox Game Pass, the service that proved the concept by earning more than 25 million subscribers over the past five years, leveraging Microsoft’s massive cloud network.

As the two main console manufacturers and the owners of huge franchises, Sony and Microsoft set the stage for the rest of the video game marketplace, and the transition to streaming subscriptions is no different. Here we’ll break down what they’re each offering and take a look at the industry from the perspective of the cloud.

PlayStation Plus has three tiers: Essential, Extra and Premium. Essential costs $10 a month or $60 a year, and it’s basically the PlayStation Plus you’re used to, offering three games to download each month, access to online multiplayer features, cloud storage and discounts. PS Plus Extra costs $15 a month or $100 a year, and has everything in the Essential tier plus a library of up to 400 downloadable PS4 and PS5 games.

PS Plus Premium costs $18 a month or $120 a year, and adds up to 340 games from past PlayStation consoles. This is also the tier that unlocks cloud gaming, supporting more than 700 titles and adding the ability to stream or download games from older eras. This tier actually replaces PlayStation Now, Sony’s often-underwhelming cloud gaming service that launched on PS4. With PS Plus Premium, cloud gaming is available on PS4, PS5 and PC, but not on mobile devices.

Sony

That’s one difference between Sony and Microsoft’s approach, as Xbox titles are playable on mobile devices as well as consoles and PC. But the bigger distinction is the type of games that are available on each network. Sony doesn’t plan on adding big exclusive games like Forspoken or God of War Ragnarök to Plus on day one, meaning subscribers will have to buy these titles separately if they want to play right away. On the Xbox side of things, Game Pass Ultimate offers a streaming library of more than 300 titles, and it includes big first-party drops like Halo Infinite on release day. That’s significant, considering Xbox owns influential studios including Bethesda and id Software, and it’s in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard. Xbox offering the next Doom or Elder Scrolls on day one is a bigger draw than Sony offering Stray, even if Stray is the most adorable game of the year.

Xbox has been the loudest proponent of cloud gaming in the console space, and with the support of a robust network from Microsoft and years of public testing, Game Pass has set the standard when it comes to subscription services. Game Pass has PC-only and console-only tiers providing access to a library of more than 300 downloadable games for $10 a month, while Game Pass Ultimate unlocks cloud play on PC, mobile and Xbox consoles for $15 a month. Assuming you pay for PS Plus Premium up-front, this puts the annual price of Game Pass Ultimate ahead of Premium by $60 – which is roughly what it’ll cost PlayStation subscribers to buy one of those first-party Sony games, so it all shakes out in the end.

Aaron Souppouris/Engadget

Xbox has been steadily building the foundation for an industry that isn’t limited by hardware, relying on cloud gaming rather than console generations, while Sony still seems married to the idea of hardware cycles and more traditional game sales. Despite being there first with PlayStation Now, when it comes to streaming, Sony is playing catch-up to Microsoft, but it still has plenty to offer in the form of classic games and new exclusives. Cloud play is here to stay and it’s possible that other services like Steam and the Epic Games Store will follow Xbox and PlayStation’s lead in the coming years. Nintendo is bringing up the rear in terms of online, cloud, and anything resembling 21st century technology, but it has an unrivaled back catalog and Switch Online unlocks a number of NES, SNES and N64 games.

This isn’t about any one service being better than the others. This is about adjusting to the new normal for video games, where your money won’t be spent on a $60 disc or a discrete download code, but will instead be spread among streaming services with individual purchases on the side. We’re used to this idea when it comes to TV and movies, and streaming technology is almost reliable enough to make it the standard in gaming. 

These are the new calculations we'll be running each month: Do I value Game Pass Ultimate over Netflix? Or PS Plus Premium over Spotify? New subscription services pop up almost weekly; something's gotta give.

Backbone made a PlayStation version of its excellent iPhone controller

It’s no secret that the Backbone One is one of the best mobile gaming controllers you can buy. So it should come as no surprise then that the company is partnering with Sony to release a PlayStation version of its accessory for iPhones. The new Backbone One - PlayStation Edition features the same two-tone white and black design as a standard DualSense controller.

The layout of the controller hasn’t changed. As before, there are dedicated buttons for launching the Backbone app and capturing gameplay footage. It also retains the asymmetrical stick layout of the standard model. On the bottom of the device, you’ll find a Lightning port passthrough and a headphone jack for connecting a pair of wired headphones to your iPhone.

Backbone

Most of the more notable changes Backbone has made for PlayStation fans come courtesy of tweaks to the Backbone companion app, which will be available to all Backbone One owners. A new standalone mode allows you to use the software without first connecting the controller to your iPhone. Effectively, that makes it easier to look for new games to try and chat with friends in between play sessions. Backbone is also adding new PlayStation-specific integrations, including a dedicated row highlighting new releases and updates from Sony.

The Backbone One PlayStation Edition is available today from the Backbone website for $99. Like the standard model, it comes with a one-year free trial to Backbone+, which in turn comes with free trials to Discord Nitro, Stadia Pro and, most notably, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. An Android version of the controller will arrive in the fall.

Discord voice chats are finally coming to Xbox consoles, but it's complicated

Discord voice chats are coming to Xbox. Starting today, those enrolled in Microsoft's Xbox Insider beta program can test the functionality before a wider rollout later this year. The feature allows Discord users on Xbox, PC and mobile to join the same voice channel, thereby making it easier to communicate when playing cross-platform games like Halo Infinite. That said, the integration isn’t as seamless as simply downloading Discord on your Xbox.

You first need to connect your Xbox Account to Discord. If you previously did that so that your Discord contacts could see your Gamertag, you’ll need to do so again to grant the app voice permissions on your Xbox console. You’ll find the option to connect your accounts within Discord’s User Settings. Click or tap the cog icon, navigate to the “Connections” menu, select the Xbox icon and then follow the on-screen instructions.

Discord

Because the entire process works through a series of hand-offs, you’ll then need to download the Xbox mobile app. To talk with your friends, join a voice channel through Discord, where you'll see a new “Join on Xbox” button. Tap that and the Xbox app will automatically open on your phone, solely to ask what console it should forward the call audio to. Now imagine doing that every time single time you want to use Discord on your Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S.

It’s not the most elegant process, but it’s still something Discord users have been waiting for the company to add since it first announced Xbox integration in 2018. The integration may also offer a glimpse at how Sony plans to add Discord voice chat to its PlayStation consoles. Discord did not say exactly when voice chat would be available to all Xbox users, though the feature is expected to arrive sometime later this year.

With a Samsung TV and Game Pass Ultimate, I don’t need to buy an Xbox

It took a bit of time, but you can now stream Xbox games from your TV without a Microsoft console in sight. As long as you have a Samsung TV. The Xbox app is now available on Samsung’s latest smart TVs and monitors, alongside apps for rival gaming services like Stadia and NVIDIA’s GeForce Now. It’s bigger news, however, when a console maker — and its huge catalog of games on Game Pass Ultimate – offers game streaming straight from your TV.

I had an extended play session during a launch showcase at Samsung’s London event space, and it made me, a PlayStation gamer, an offer I can’t refuse: Play Xbox games from the cloud with no additional hardware, aside from a Bluetooth-connected controller. I can even use my DualSense controller because I’m that kind of person.

This will be familiar news to anyone that’s already streamed games with Xbox Cloud or Google’s Stadia, but, all the games I tried were smooth, with incredibly swift load speeds. Some early previews of Samsung’s Gaming Hub kept gaming media to familiar hits, but with Xbox rolling out the entire Game Pass experience, I got to test its limits with Flight Simulator, a game that benefits from speedier load times and avoiding those pesky huge patch files.

On a big TV, even while standing up, playing Flight Simulator turns into a meditative experience. Type in your destination for an exploration flight (or, easier on a controller, set your cursor on the world map), and just fly and fly and fly. That’s what I did, and I started to hate that I’ll never be able to do this on my PS5. I’m sold on the idea already – I just don’t have a 2022 Samsung TV. Damn you, Microsoft.

Xbox

It’s not perfect, of course. Don’t expect 4K or variable refresh rates beyond 60 fps – this is still cloud gaming, although we get 4K streams on Stadia... The bigger question is whether Xbox’s games can stream on Samsung’s Game Hub, stably, for several hours on end, and that’s something that can only be answered after extensive testing. What if your connection hiccups and you lose that major progress made in Red Dead Redemption 2?

For now, the hub is limited to Samsung’s 2022 TVs and monitors, and it’s unclear exactly how Microsoft will deliver Xbox Cloud to other big screens not connected to its consoles. For Samsung’s part, its spokesperson said the company hoped to “extend the device coverage in the near future”.

Microsoft’s own streaming stick, similar to a Chromecast, seemed like the obvious solution, but the company said earlier this year that it was taking a 'new approach' with its game streaming devices, so that’s not happening for a while at least. It hasn’t elaborated further, besides teasing “a new approach that will allow us to deliver Xbox Cloud Gaming to more players around the world in the future."

That could mean a dedicated device, or it could be exactly what I’m testing today, the TV app, coming to more TVs. Hopefully some that already exist. Hopefully mine? Buying a new TV to avoid paying $300 for a new console seems more than a little circuitous. For now, I’m left waiting for a way to stream Xbox Cloud to my TV without a console. Barring some particularly laborious workarounds, it seems I’ll be waiting a little longer.

Sony completes $3.6 billion deal to buy Bungie

The developer behind Destiny is now a part of the Sony universe. Sony Interactive Entertainment officially closed on a $3.6 billion deal today to buy the independent game studio and publisher Bungie, according to tweets from both Bungie and PlayStation Studios. Under the terms of the acquisition, Bungie will still maintain creative control over its operations and independently develop its games. As leaders from bothcompanies have noted since the deal was announced in January, Bungie will be considered an independent subsidiary of Sony and won’t be required to make either current or future games exclusive to PlayStation consoles.

We are proud to officially join the incredible team at PlayStation, we are excited for the future of our company, and we are inspired to bring together players from all over the world to form lasting friendships and memories.

Per Audacia ad Astra! https://t.co/trVT3s0BTEpic.twitter.com/YQbnLrnAQW

— Bungie (@Bungie) July 15, 2022

As TechCrunch noted, Sony is hoping Bungie’s expertise with games like Destiny will help it expand its own live service game offerings. The company plans to spend 55 percent of PlayStation’s budget on live service games by 2025, revealed Sony CEO Jim Ryan at a May investor presentation. PlayStation plans on releasing 10 live service games before March 2026, and Sony believes Bungie’s assistance will be crucial in this effort.

Sony this week also closed on a deal to acquire Montreal-based Haven Studios, which is working on a multiplayer title for PlayStation. And Sony is far from finished. The company plans to acquire even more studios over the next few years in a bid to grow its live service and PC offerings, as Ryan has noted in several interviews. And on the Xbox side, Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is expected to close next summer.