Gamer's Outpost Press (Archived)

“This was in no way intended to misrepresent the title on Xbox One.”

by Eddie Makuch

Earlier today, the official Microsoft Xbox YouTube channel published an impressive new video for CD Projekt Red’s upcoming role-playing game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Since the video was published to the Xbox channel, some might have thought the gameplay was captured on the Xbox One edition of the game.

However, it’s now been discovered by Kotaku that the footage of the game shown in the video is from the PC edition, not the Xbox One version, despite the Xbox logo being featured prominently. Microsoft has since apologized for the confusion (more on that later).

Microsoft never explicitly stated that the footage was not captured on Xbox One, but–just a few hours after the video went up–the company added a disclaimer to the video to say the footage was “captured on a PC.”

One major giveaway that the footage was captured on PC and not Xbox One is that the gameplay video plays at 1080p/60fps. The Xbox One version of The Witcher 3, however, outputs at 900p/30fps, which raised some red flags–the video’s comments are overflowing with people pointing out the difference.

In a statement sent to GameSpot this afternoon, a Microsoft representative said it never intended to misrepresent the visual fidelity of the Xbox One version of The Witcher 3, and apologized for any confusion caused by the video.

“This morning we posted a new trailer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt to our YouTube channels featuring footage provided by CD Projekt Red that was captured from the PC version of the game and may not be reflective of final Xbox One gameplay,” the spokesperson said. “This was in no way intended to misrepresent the title on Xbox One. We have updated the description of the asset to make clear the source and platform of this footage. We apologize for any confusion and look forward to the game arriving on both Xbox One and PC on May 19, 2015.”

Whatever the case, The Witcher 3 looks quite nice across all platforms: PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. But the PC version, like so many other games, is likely to look the best, as it will run at 60fps (if your computer can run it).

The Witcher 3 launches on May 19th.

by Chris Reed

If you like massive games you can play for dozens of hours, your needs will be well served in next week’s video game releases. Two franchises that have been big names for decades are set to launch games, including the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V, which has been available on other platforms for nearly a year-and-a-half.

Even though only four major games are launching next week, you’ll probably find something worth playing. That’s because we’ve got a fighting game, a strategy game, an open world game, and a unique indie title heading our way. Read on for details about what’s coming to all systems during the week of April 13, 2015.

1. Grand Theft Auto V

Finally coming to PC on April 14

Console owners have been painting the neighborhood red for 17 months now, with GTA V available on two generations of Xbox and PlayStation hardware. Finally, after seemingly endless delays, developer Rockstar is bringing one of the best games in recent years to the PC, where it will serve up simulated criminal activity to a sizable group of dedicated gamers. And since top-end PCs are powerhouse machines, the game will look better than ever — assuming you have a super-powered rig.

The story, for those who haven’t played it yet, follows three criminals with very different backgrounds who come together to work on a number of big scores. The storytelling is cinematic and the action set pieces are some of the most memorable ones in the series’ history.

There are two minor consolations for PC gamers who have waited patiently these 17 months to play the game:

1. They get the first-person mode from the get-go, and

2. They won’t have to wait to play the GTA Online heist missions that seemed like they’d never come out.

And now that GTA V is available on all the major current platforms (sorry, Wii U!) maybe Rockstar can get started on GTA VI.

2. Mortal Kombat X

Coming April 14 to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC

The year’s biggest fighting game is launching after months of slow reveals, character trailers, and roster updates. All signs indicate that this game is going to be well worth playing if you have even an inkling of an interest in fighting games. It has a huge cast of characters, heavy-hitting fighting mechanics, and some of the grossest, goriest fatalities ever to grace the series. Is that really a major selling point? You betcha.

3. Titan Souls

Coming April 14 to PlayStation 4 and PS Vita

Although it’s a very different game in practice, Titan Souls is built on the same principle as the PS2 classic Shadow of the Colossus: Every battle is a boss battle. You play as a small hero with a single arrow you can shoot and then retrieve.

Twenty bosses wait in 20 lairs for you to enter and take them on. The bosses are usually huge, and they each require a different approach to defeat them. But here’s the bad news: Your character dies in a single hit. That makes for some tense battles as you observe how the bosses behave and try to figure out what you need to do to kill them. Titan Souls is a puzzle-solving action game that looks like a whole lot of fun.

4. Age of Wonders III

Coming April 14 to Mac and Linux

This strategy game puts you in charge of a kingdom set in a fantasy world and has you oversee how it’s run. You’ll choose a race (human, high elf, dwarf, etc.) and direct your subjects to gather resources while you expand your kingdom by making alliances with neighbors or marching to war against them. The game has already been released on Windows to positive reviews, so if you’re a fan of strategy games with RPG elements, be sure to check it out.

by Michael McWhertor

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will once again send the first-person shooter franchise into the future, where “cutting-edge military robotics define warfare,” according to an official description of the game on the Call of Duty website. It will also see the return of Treyarch’s signature Zombies mode.

While Activision and Treyarch didn’t say much about Black Ops 3 when they teased the game earlier today, the official website offers a detailed description about the game’s setting in its source code:

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is the first title for next-gen hardware in the critically acclaimed Black Ops series. Developed by Treyarch, the award-winning creator of the two most-played games in Call of Duty history. Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 deploys players into a dark, twisted future where a new breed of Black Ops soldier emerges and the lines are blurred between our own humanity and the technology we created to stay ahead, in a world where cutting-edge military robotics define warfare. With three unique game modes: Campaign, Multiplayer and Zombies, providing fans with the deepest and most ambitious Call of Duty ever.

On Treyarch’s Facebook, the Black Ops developer recently posted about embeddable implants and “biohacking,” potential clues about where Black Ops 3 might be headed.

The first Black Ops took place during the 1960s and played out as a series of flashbacks during the interrogation of SOG operative Alex Mason. The sequel, Black Ops 2, took place in the 1980s and in 2025, when Mason is retired.

In addition to the official description, Twitter user ThaTiemsz posted what they called “official Black Ops 3 art” that was supposedly pulled from the game’s website. That’s posted above, and we’re checking with Activision on its authenticity, but it looks inline with previous Call of Duty: Black Ops artwork.

A full official reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is planned for April 26.

by Eddie Makuch

Why did Nintendo finally announce plans to enter the smartphone market after years of holding out? It wasn’t because the company felt “cornered,” according to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. The English translation of a Q&A session with analysts from last week’s presentation in Japan has been published, and in it, Iwata offers an in-depth explanation for why the company chose to make the dramatic move.

“A variety of media have written that Nintendo is cornered a number of times, but I do not think we were cornered at all,” he said. “Needless to say, we are also aware that unless a company can deal with the rapidly changing world, it will face decline. But I would like to emphasize here that our alliance [with DeNA] is not the result of a lack of better options for a cornered company.”

As for why Nintendo chose DeNA specifically as a partner for the new mobile venture, Iwata said, as discussions with the company progressed, it became clear that “DeNA knew so many things that Nintendo did not.” Partnering with DeNA allows Nintendo to tap into the company’s expertise in the mobile field and also develop games more rapidly than it could on its own, he explained.

“This is why I just said that this is not a decision made out of a lack of options,” Iwata said. “In fact, Nintendo has received a number of proposals from a variety of companies. Among them, Nintendo has proactively chosen DeNA.”

Iwata also responded to one analyst’s concern that Nintendo entrance into the smartphone market (the company expects to launch its first mobile game this year) is too late. The executive doesn’t agree.

“I think that whether it is late or not will be decided by what we produce in the coming years, and it could rather be described as the best timing,” Iwata responded. “My personal view is that the time is ripe as many factors like various encounters with people, the ways our internal discussions have progressed and the ideas we have generated through that process occurred simultaneously. We will do our best to prove that our decision was made at the right time.”

Nintendo has not announced any smartphone games so far, but has pledged it won’t simply port its console games to smartdevices. The company is also considering a range of business models, including free-to-play, which Iwata actually calls free-to-start.

Nintendo’s big move into the smartphone market has been received positively by investors, as shares of the company skyrocketed by more than 30 percent. The company also announced that it had started work on a new system, known internally as the “NX.” This system, which Nintendo says it won’t start talking about officially until 2016, aims to surprise and innovate.

by Eddie Makuch

In a new interview with Japanese business publication Nikkei, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata spoke–albeit briefly and in vague terms–about the company’s mysterious new platform, codenamed “NX.”

Although he did not offer specifics, Iwata suggested that the NX aims to catch gamers by surprise and offer meaningful innovation.

“If you only expand upon existing hardware, it’s dull,” Iwata said in the report, as translated by Kotaku. “In some shape or form, we’re always thinking about how we want to surprise players as well as our desire to change each person’s video gaming life.”

Iwata officially announced the NX during a presentation in Japan last week, where the company also revealed plans to finally enter the smartphone market. Revealing the NX project was a means to demonstrate that Nintendo remains committed to gaming hardware.

“As proof that Nintendo maintains strong enthusiasm for the dedicated game system business, let me confirm that Nintendo is currently developing a dedicated game platform with a brand-new concept under the development codename ‘NX,'” Iwata said at the time.

More details about NX are set to be revealed in 2016. And though concrete information about Nintendo’s NX is extremely light at the moment, one retailer is already accepting preorders for the device.

by Khurram Imtiaz

God of War 3 Remastered was officially announced by Sony last week during an event celebrating the 10th anniversary of the series.

This announcement came as a surprise as earlier rumors had suggested a God of War: Ascension Remaster for the PS4, but that rumor has yet to be confirmed.

Industry Insider Shinobi602, clarified that God of War: Ascension is still happening for the PS4, and that he was not aware that Sony was planning to remaster God of War 3 as well.

The person I spoke to about that works at a Sony studio, however I no longer have contact with him unfortunately. In a metrics listing, “GOW: A – PS4″ was listed, so I was a bit surprised GOW3 was remastered first. I spoke to another individual earlier today after the announcement to do some fact checking and it turns out Ascension remaster is supposedly still a thing but coming separately later.

Shinobi added that the Remaster took more work than anticipated, and as a result, they couldn’t do both at the same time.

Yea no problem, and I agree as I said the same thing. Apparently remastering them was a bit more intensive than initially planned so couldn’t do them at the same time.

Now, such a remaster shouldn’t be surprising, given the track record of Sony remastering PS3 games for the PS4. We’ll have more on this topic as it develops over the next few weeks.

by Rashid Sayed

Xbox One boss, Phil Spencer has once again taken to to his Twitter account to reveal and tease some interesting information regarding their strategies and development for games on the Xbox One. When asked whether a Gears of War collection or a remastered version is in the works for the Xbox One, Spencer teased that he ‘will have more to say coming up’ and he ‘can’t talk more about the plans yet.’

This is rather interesting since Rod Fergusson from Black Tusk Studios, the team that is working on the new Gears of War for the Xbox One, outright denied that such a remaster is in development for the Xbox One. He also assured that the Phantom Dust reboot has not been canceled and that they are adding new features in the game. “Game dev isn’t that cut and dry. Things will be used, new stuff will be created, it will be a mix,” he stated on Twitter.

He also teased there might be more than one major announcement for the Xbox One in the future. “I hope we have more than just one but you have strong minds so we’ll have to see how we do”, he teased when asked by a fan on how they plan to blow everyone’s mind off. He also further stated that developing first party games is critical for the Xbox One so a game like Sunet Overdrive is great to have on the console.

He also clarified that Microsoft are not lying about the advantages of DirectX 12 on the Xbox One and it will provide speed improvements over DX11 but ultimately it depends on how developers update their code. If this is the case, then Microsoft should probably share some benchmark results soon for the Xbox One.

by Matt Stanyon

In a fresh interview with GameSpark (via Reddit and The Snake Soup), Konami’s Editorial Department has revealed that Hideo Kojima will continue as the director of the Metal Gear series, and that because of the reorganization at Konami, Kojima Productions Japan will be disbanded. Konami says that “all releases previously made under different studios will be centralized and coordinated from headquarters.”

We’ve also got confirmation that the staff at Kojima Productions Japan are dealing with restricted internet and e-mail access, because of the reorganization, so that they can provide a greater development environment, and that Hideo Kojima will become less available for interviews.

Will Kojima Productions be disbanded?
Yes. All releases previously made under different studios will be centralized and coordinated from headquarters.

Will Kojima be leaving his position?
Kojima will remain the director of the “Metal Gear” series. He will continue to innovate with new ideas as creator.

What about talks of him stepping down as director? Are those true?
He is still one of our employees, and is continuing to work full-strength on “MGSV:TPP”.

And is it true that he has been changed to a contract employee?
We cannot reveal private details.

Is it true that KojiPro’s staff have restricted internet and e-mail access?
It is true that the reorganization has resulted in this. This is done in order to provide a greater development environment.

In that case, will Kojima be less available for interviews?
As a result, yes.

The last couple of days have been crazy when it comes to the future of Hideo Kojima and Kojima Productions Japan. It all started when Konami started removing Hideo Kojima’s name from all websites, social media and Metal Gear Solid branding, and even renamed the new Kojima Productions LA Studio to Konami Los Angeles Studio. Then, an inside source at Konami said that Hideo Kojima will apparently leave the publisher following the completion of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

Apparently, Kojima Productions and Konami have had a fallout which led to senior staff at the studio getting restricted access to corporate internet, e-mails and phones, and meant that key developers like Hideo Kojima would have limited opportunities to lend their names to promotions for the game. The fallout was described as a “power struggle” between Kojima Productions and Konami, and led the publisher to make “drastic changes,” including the employee status of its Metal Gear team, which saw some senior staff becoming contractors at the publisher rather than permanent employees.

Following that, Konami revealed that were planning to “embark on production of a “new Metal Gear series” after the completion of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, and that they were seeking “key staff” to work on that “new Metal Gear series”, with auditions to “begin” upon production. They also revealed that Hideo Kojima would “remain involved throughout” the development of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Hideo Kojima himself said that he is “100% involved” in the continued development of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and will continue working on the game until the end.

by Chris Mawson

The rift between Konami and Hideo Kojima looks to be intensifying, as the publisher has today effectively erased the Metal Gear creator’s name from series history.

It was well publicised yesterday that the studio had removed all Kojima Productions branding from promotional materials for the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, following rumours that the game director and his team are set to part ways with Konami.

It seems they’ve gone even further than that, however, with Kojima’s name also being removed from the company’s back catalogue of Metal Gear titles, including Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes and the Metal Gear Solid Legacy Collection. Below are two screenshots: one taken from an archived version of the official Metal Gear website late last year, and one of how the site currently looks:

In related news, Konami issued a statement this morning in which it refused to confirm Kojima’s involvement with the company beyond the release of the Phantom Pain, while somewhat ominously announcing that it will be hiring a new development team to begin working on a new Metal Gear title following the conclusion of The Phantom Pain. The game’s September 1 release date is currently unaffected.

by Chris Smith

Microsoft earlier this week revealed that it plans to offer Windows pirates a free upgrade to Windows 10, even if they do not own a genuine copy of a Windows version eligible to receive the update free of charge. Initially, it wasn’t clear whether the policy applies to anyone currently stealing Windows, or only to Chinese pirates. Ars Technica has learned more details on the matter, revealing that the free update isn’t necessarily the good news pirates may have been expecting.

The publication says that ZDNet has confirmed the update path for illegal Windows copies applies to pirates everywhere, not just in China. This rather lax policy towards piracy might also encourage certain users to already take advantage of Microsoft’s intentions by installing a non-genuine Windows version on their devices and just wait for the final Windows 10 build to be released.

But once the Windows 10 upgrade is installed over a non-genuine Windows 7 or Windows 8.x version, that computer will keep being considered non-genuine by Microsoft.

“With Windows 10, although non-Genuine PCs may be able to upgrade to Windows 10, the upgrade will not change the genuine state of the license…” the company told Ars. “If a device was considered non-genuine or mislicensed prior to the upgrade, that device will continue to be considered non-genuine or mislicensed after the upgrade.”

It’s not clear what the repercussions might be after the Windows 10 upgrade is installed on a non-licensed device. The publication asked Microsoft for clarification on the material implications of getting a “non-genuine” upgrade, but the company did not elaborate on the matter.

Therefore, anyone planning to take advantage of this loophole towards obtaining a free Windows 10 copy – that’s installing a pirated copy of Windows on a computer and then simply updating it to Windows 10 – should think twice about what the potential implications might be.