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Review: God of War Ragnarok

Kratos and Atreus are the heart and steel that forge God of War Ragnarök into a flawless and fitting end to the Norse Saga

PlayStation Plus Subscribers Decline, But Revenue Increases In Latest Financial Report

For Sony Interactive Entertainment, user engagement is everything when it comes to its PlayStation platform. Came the release of the PlayStation 5, user engagement was at an all-time high compared to any other predecessor before it. So as the generation continued, many were surprised to see the decline for PlayStation Plus subscriptions then. Noted, Sony was not concerned about the change either. It wasn’t until the summer this year that we understood why that was. In that, Sony Interactive Entertainment revamped PlayStation Plus with its new tier options: Essential, Extra, and Premium. This brought new initiative to be subscribed whilst also countering Xbox Game Pass as its subscription count is at a towering 25 million as of this January. But in the latest financial results from corporate Sony, PlayStation Plus subscriptions face yet another decline for its second year for the fiscal year. Overall subscriptions dropped from 47.3 million to 45.4 million which is a shot down of 1.9 million users. Despite that, revenue for Network Services – which PlayStation Plus is categorized under – is facing an incline. This is pointed out by Niko Partners analyst David Ahmad on Twitter. “Depends how you slice it. Are subscribers down? Yep. But despite that, Sony just had its best quarter ever for subscription revenue. ” He continues, “Revenue per subscriber in the PS+ segment is up 21% YoY.” So turnout is in favor of Sony despite where subscriber count stands. Viewing Network Service closing out Q2 this year recorded at 117,006 million compared to 100,444 million from the same time last year further illustrates that. Elsewhere from Sony’s financial results, it is revealed that PlayStation 5 has sold more than 25 million units. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you subscribed to PlayStation Plus at all? Source: Sony

PlayStation 5 Lifetime Sales Exceed 25 Million, Overtaking GameCube & Original Xbox Number Of Units Sold

It is no question that there are not enough PlayStation 5s to keep on store shelves. While the first two years remain difficult for many consumers to purchase the new console, it appears many retailers are slowly receiving systems to meet the demand. Since its release, it became the fastest-selling system in the United States, NPD Group reported then. As of July 2022, the PlayStation 5 was recorded to have sold roughly 21.9 million units since launching in November 2020. But as the economy reshapes against inflation, Sony shared prices for the PlayStation 5 will increase across select markets. Despite that, the firm still went ahead with a God of War Ragnarok bundle which will ship later this month. According to the fiscal year closing filing from corporate Sony, the PlayStation 5 has now sold more than 25 million units. In the three month period ending on September 31, 2022, the console sold over 3.3 million units. Glancing over at VGChartz, the PlayStation 5 is finally making traction against beloved consoles. In that, the GameCube has finally been overtaken with its lifetime sales standing at 21.74 million units. Additionally, the same can now be said for the Original Xbox which sold approximately 25.65 million systems. In additional statistics recorded by Sony, PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5 software has sold a total of 62.5 million units. However, this metric is a decline from the previous fiscal year by 13.9 million which was 76.4 million before. And while 6.7 million of it was first party releases, it is still down 900,000 which was 7.6 million the past fiscal year. Are you surprised by the turnout of the PlayStation 5 so far? Source: Sony, (1)

Xbox Head Phil Spencer Reveals Xbox Sales Loses Up To $200 Per Console

Although a general understanding of how the console market works, platform holders front the bill for its hardware whilst software is where profits generate revenue. For Microsoft however, it never turned a profit. Most of Nintendo and even the PlayStation 4 turned a profit, but it was revealed in 2021 that the hardware was never profitable. Instead, services & subscriptions is told to be the main contender for gross profit according to a spokesperson. Now looking at Xbox Game Pass, the service is told to be profitable said Xbox head Phil Spencer. When glancing at the current state of the market and the overall economy, price increases are almost inevitable for many products. And Xbox is no exception. But, Spencer in a previous statement told that not to be the case. Howbeit, it appears that only applied for this coming holiday. On the topic of profitability of Xbox, Spencer when speaking during the Wall Street Journal TechLive event last week, he shared that Xbox consoles are up to a $200 loss for Microsoft, Eurogamer transcribes. Consoles as a business model, in the overall scope of gaming, is fairly small relative to the places people play. Consoles evolved to a business model much different from phones where consoles are actually sold at a loss in the market. So when somebody goes and they buy an Xbox at their local retailer we’re subsidizing that purchase somewhere between a hundred and two hundred dollars, with the expectation that we will recoup that investment over time through accessory sales and storefront. From Spencer’s comment, it shows he views this as a minor retainer in a larger scope for where the industry is heading. Previously, Spencer has expressed continued interest in evolving Microsoft’s focus towards mobile gaming. He even acknowledged the main desire from the Activision Blizzard deal to be for its established standing on the mobile market. And while Microsoft is pushing hardware currently, it is questioned how much they can continue doing this with more criticisms rising against its two SKU business model. In a string of comments towards the Xbox Series S, it appears more and more developers are growing against the entry-level system. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you surprised by the loss Microsoft takes per console? Source: Eurogamer

More Developers Request To Opt-out For Xbox Series S Mandatory Development

While the turn of the console generation became a fairly difficult process for many users attempting to purchase the next new console, Microsoft had an answer for that with the Xbox Series S. The new unit costing only $300 with a third of the power of its Series X sibling, it was an easy buy for many during the holidays. In a report from Adobe’s Digital Economy Index, the system outsold PlayStation 5 & even Nintendo Switch during Black Friday 2021 last year. And while the system was even recorded to outperform competition in key markets, there were some criticisms drawn to the device. From Control team Remedy Entertainment, they found the Xbox Series S to be a hurdle to overcome with Xbox Series X & PlayStation 5 hardware being miles ahead of the smaller model. Now in a new discovery on Twitter, there are more teams vocal on this. Whilst former GiantBomb Jeff Gerstmann defended the Xbox Series S, Bossa Studios’ VFX artist Ian Maclure expressed the system to be a problem for “many” developers in the now-deleted tweet preserved by Video Game Chronicles. “It might sound broken, but the reason you are hearing it a lot right now is because MANY developers have been sitting in meetings for the past year desperately trying to get Series S launch requirements dropped. “Studios have been through one development cycle where Series S turned out to be an albatross around the neck of production, and now that games are firmly being developed with new consoles in mind, teams do not want to repeat the process.” Similarly, Lee Devonald, senior character technical at Rocksteady Studios also told a familiar response to the console concerning Gotham Knights. “I wish gamers understood what 60fps means, in terms of all of the things they *lose* to make the game run that fast. “Especially taking into account that we have a current-gen console that’s not much better than a last gen one.” He further told GameRant that an “entire generation of games, hamstrung by that potato” is thanks to the Xbox Series S. While it is still fairly early into the console generation with the two year anniversary just a week away, there is room for Microsoft to improve on the Xbox Series S. In a discovery from June’s Microsoft Game Dev, the Xbox firm shares that it is unlocking more memory for developers on the system which could result in better results for new games. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you in the same party against Xbox Series S or no? Source: Video Game Chronicles

TinyBuild Acquires I Am Bread, Surgeon Simulator Team Bossa Studios

From developer Bossa Studios, the team most known for Surgeon Simulator and I Am Bread has officially found a new home in a previous acquisition deal. In that, publisher TinyBuild announced the acquisition for the London-based game studio for $3 million. In a statement from Bossa Studios’ co-founder Henrique Olifiers: “Since early 2022, Bossa has been focused exclusively in the genre of co-op PvE. “We have been prototyping a lot, and now find ourselves in full production of titles we are pouring our hearts and souls into. This brought us to the question of how best to take care of our legacy, our existing games, and how to ensure they have a future of their own. Together with TinyBuild, we found a path that allows Bossa to dedicate its full attention to its new projects, while ensuring Surgeon Simulator, I Am Bread and I Am Fish have a new home that understands what makes these games tick as well as we do.” In terms of turnout from Bossa Studios, the team was said to generate roughly $6 million in revenue from its releases according to the report from gamesindustry.biz. But, the team has faced some downfall experimenting with new properties. Back in 2017, the developer tested the waters with Decksplash which combined painting with skateboarding. But by November that year, the title was shelved indefinitely.  Howbeit, by the time that Surgeon Simulator 2: Access All Areas was set to ship, the firm with Microsoft established a partnership to ship the game via Xbox Game Pass to guarantee a safety net for the game with a ring of players able to jump in then. You can read the full report by heading here. Are you surprised that TinyBuild acquired the notable independent developer? Source: gamesindustry.biz

Google Play Games Beta For Android On PC Goes Live This Week

At the turn of last year, Google at The Game Awards made a surprising reveal at the show. Unlike prior years advertising Stadia, this time the firm featured a new Google Play Games suite that is coming to PC. The new feature would implement native support to play games from the Google Play Store natively on Windows devices without the necessity of installing third-party software. This sudden urge for a new push only left many questioning how close the demise for Stadia really is. In a later report from Business Insider, the firm has already made a trajectory for a new cloud initiative that would overshadow Stadia. And this fall, Google officially shared the service will shut down in a statement from platform lead Phil Harrison. This week, Google has resurfaced to share the beta for Google Play Games is now officially in beta. With that comes nearly 100 titles to choose from as this opens in select regions such as the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore. You can read the FAQ PC specifications in the list below: Windows 10 (v2004) Solid state drive (SSD) with 10 GB of available storage space IntelⓇ UHD Graphics 630 GPU or comparable 4 CPU physical cores 8 GB of RAM Windows admin account Hardware virtualization must be turned on “The Google Play Games mobile app is primarily focused on the instant games experience where you can jump right into casual games. We’ll have more announcements for the mobile app in the near future. Going forward, ‘Google Play Games’ will refer to the PC experience where you can enjoy your favorite Android games,” the firm gives in comparison it to Google Play. Google Play Games director Arjun Dayal in a statement to The Verge says, “We’re thrilled to expand our platform to more markets for players to enjoy their favorite games on Google Play. As we move towards a full release, we will continue to add new features and evaluate developer and player feedback.” Are you planning to try out Google Play Games? Source: Google