Blade and Soul Passes 1 Million Players
The Korean fantasy MMO Blade & Soul has reached more than one million players.
The news comes from developer NCSosft just one week after the game was released in Europe and North America. Though the game originally launched in Korea and China way back in 2012, which was the same year the game was announced for release in the West.
Senior Vice President of Publishing of NCSOFT West John Burns says "The sheer enthusiasm – not to mention volume – of North American and European players that have jumped into Blade & Soul since launch has been tremendous."
The free-to-play online game has also found some notice in Japan. An anime series based on Blade & Soul aired there in early 2014.
Former Burnout Devs Announce New Game
Three Fields Entertainment has revealed its new game, Dangerous Golf. The former Burnout developers promise the new game will is as "serious a golf game as Burnout was a serious" racing simulation.
In other words, it's a golf game with explosions.
"Players aren’t striving for Par or aiming for Birdie," Three Fields explained on its site. Instead, players aim for "dollar damage as their high score."
Xbox One Exclusive Quantum Break Rated for PC
Quantum Break may be headed to more than just Xbox One, as Remedy's upcoming title has been rated for PC in Brazil.
As of yesterday, January 25, the Brazil Advisory Rating Board (via Gematsu) lists the title for both Xbox One and PC.
Quantum Break is currently only confirmed for Xbox One, as Microsoft has yet to announce plans to bring Remedy's story-driven action game to PC. However, the company said previously it isn't ruling out the possibility of a Windows version sometime in the future.
Samsung to Open Virtual Reality Movie Studio
Samsung has announced that it will be opening a VR movie studio in New York.
According to Digital Trends, this news comes from the Sundance Film Festival, where Samsung also announced that it is entering a year-long partnership with Sundance.
There aren't many details available yet, but we do know that the studio will be in an existing Samsung office, where it will share space with a marketing team.
It looks as though Samsung is trying to get ahead of the game in the VR entertainment business. Samsung's VR headset is already out, and costs $100. IGN's review of Gear VR says that it "offers a great, albeit basic, VR experience for some Samsung phones."
Unity Infographic Shows the Rise of the Tablet
A new infographic released by Unity shows smaller, cheaper tablets dominated the mobile space, at least over the 2015 Christmas holiday.
By studying the numbers, Unity was able to track things like game installs and device types, and the numbers show fully 60% of mobile devices used on Christmas day were tablet.
Bigger, flashier tablets like the iPad Pro and hybrid devices like the Microsoft Surface may capture more consumer mind-share, but when it comes to playing games, it's smaller, cheaper tablets that seem to be preferred. Out of all devices tracked, 18% were what Unity refers to as "sub-$100 tablets."
Massive Sonic Image Heralds Comic Event Finale
The Sonic the Hedgehog comic has been telling the Shattered World story for three years and now it’s finally coming to a conclusion in the four-issue arc titled “Panic in the Sky.” We’ve got your first look at the massive image created by connecting the event’s covers, Sonic the Hedgehog #284-287. You'll definitely want to click to enlarge.
Art by Dan Schoening & Luis Antonio Delgado.
New Co-Op Mode for Homefront: The Revolution Revealed
New details about the Homefront: Revolution beta, as well as an online co-op mode and pre-order bonuses, have been revealed.
The beta, which will only be on Xbox One, will run from February 11 through February 14, with additional stress tests being run on January 29 and February 5, again on Xbox One.
Gamers who pre-order on any platform will receive the "Revolutionary Spirit", which gives "unique skins and instant unlocks of select weapons for the campaign." The pack includes a Red Skull motorbike and golden pistol skin, as well as instantly unlocks the "Marksman Rifle, Sniper Scope and Remote Explosives" for players' in-game characters.
Homefront: The Resistance's co-op mode is called Resistance Mode, a "brand new four-player co-operative online experience." In it, players form a "Resistance Cell" online and wage battle in KPA-occupied Philadelphia.
Bandai Namco Confirms One Piece: Burning Blood Release Date
One Piece: Burning Blood will release in Europe on June 3, 2016.
Although the North American date has yet to be pinned down to a specific day, publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed that it will be available sometime in June, too.
According to Silconera, the game will be available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita and Xbox One in Europe, and on PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One and PC in the States. It's the first time a One Piece game will be available on a Microsoft console.
UK Deals – Quantum Break under £33
Capcom Confirms Umbrella Corps Release Window
Capcom has confirmed Umbrella Corps will release in May 2016 in North America and Europe.
The third-person shooter's digital-only release supports 1-6 player multiplayer across environments taken from existing Resident Evil games, with "the majority of modes geared towards competitive team battles". There will also be a single-player mode, The Experiment, offering 20+ missions. The game will also offer a "coliseum-style horde-like mode".
Announced environments include the Village from Resident Evil 4 and the Tricell organisation from Resident Evil 5.
The game will be available in May, 2016, for £30/$30/€30 on PlayStation 4 and PC.
Vikki Blake is a very jumpy survival horror survivalist. You can find her twittering over at @_vixx and twitching at twitch.tv/vixxiie.