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Countdown to 2015 Xbox sale starts: Dark Souls 2, Resident Evil, more
Microsoft kicked off its "Countdown to 2015" sale today on the Xbox Store, discounting a myriad of games with bigger price cuts for Xbox Live Gold members. This week's deals are good until December 22 and feature Lords of the Fallen at 40 percent off, Thief at 67 percent off, Wolfenstein: The New Order for half-price and The Evil Within at half-off as well for Xbox One, among a slew of other games. Microsoft also discounted The Crew/Assassin's Creed: Unity as well as The Crew/Far Cry 4 bundles by 25 percent for the week. Two Xbox One games are also on sale for today only: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its season pass are each 33 percent off and Lego: The Hobbit is 50 percent off. Among the many Xbox 360 games on sale this week, Dark Souls 2 is half-off, Tomb Raider is 67 percent off, Halo: Spartan Assault and Dance Central 3 are each 67 percent off and BioShock Infinite's price is slashed by 85 percent. A handful of games in the Resident Evil series are discounted this week as well, such as Resident Evil 5, Revelations and Code Veronica X by 67 percent each, Raccoon City by 75 percent and Resident Evil 6 by 50 percent. Lego: The Hobbit is also discounted by 67 percent on Xbox 360 for today only, and Lego Lord of the Rings is 75 percent off. The full list of this week's deals can be found after the break.
All of the Lights: Many curious uses for the PS4 light bar
Sony is no stranger to idiosyncratic hardware design. Nintendo and Sega put analog sticks on their controllers in the '90s? Sony adds on an extra stick and redefines console controllers. Touch screens are de rigueur? Sony slaps a touch surface on the front and back of PS Vita. The PlayStation 4 is a sleek piece of modern consumer tech design, but even it's got its quirks. Case in point: the Dualshock 4 light bar. Every PS4 controller looks like KITT from Knight Rider, with a giant oblate spheroid of light pulsing on the front. Not just good for running down the battery, the light bar actually performs some unusual functions in a variety of games. Below the break is a taster's choice selection of memorable light bar uses from the PlayStation 4's first year of games. After browsing that, take our poll and discuss the light bar's career in the comments. What do you think of the Dualshock 4 light bar? [Images: Sony]
Deals with Gold: All Lara Croft, all week
Microsoft's current Deals with Gold lineup spotlights adventurer Lara Croft, offering discounts on many of her recent releases on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Xbox One owners get a deal on Tomb Raider Definitive Edition this week, while the non-definitive 2013 Xbox 360 version and all DLC also see a series of steep price drops. Other featured Xbox 360 Games on Demand releases include Tomb Raider Underworld, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Tomb Raider Legend, and Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light. From Software's Armored Core Verdict Day and Ninja Theory's Enslaved round out this week's discounted offerings for Xbox Live Gold subscribers. All listed deals are available through November 24. [Image: Square Enix]
Square Enix to focus on JRPGs, niche appeal following Bravely Default's success
Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda mused on a potential shift in the company's focus in a recent interview with Nikkei Trendy (via Siliconera), admitting that the publisher "lost [its] focus" during recent attempts to engineer mass-market games for a worldwide audience. "Regardless of whether they're for smartphone or console, there's a difficult element to developing global titles, so we'll be making them without focusing too much on the 'global' aspect," Matsuda told Nikkei Trendy. "For example, in the past, when we developed console games with a worldwide premise, we lost our focus, and not only did they end up being games that weren't for the Japanese, but they ended up being incomplete titles that weren't even fit for a global audience." Matsuda specifically cited Io Interactive's Hitman: Absolution as a victim of this practice. "The development team for Hitman: Absolution really struggled in this regard," Matsuda admitted. "They implemented a vast amount of 'elements for the mass' instead of for the core fans, as a way to try getting as many new players possible. It was a strategy to gain mass appeal. However, what makes the Hitman series good is its appeal to core gamers, and many fans felt the lack of focus in that regard, which ended up making it struggle in sales." Square Enix reported disappointing sales for Hitman: Absolution and fellow mainstream-appeal effort Tomb Raider last year, resulting in a corporate restructuring and a shift in its publishing strategy. The worldwide commercial success of Square Enix's Nintendo 3DS JRPG Bravely Default has since made Matsuda reconsider the company's approach. "Bravely Default [...] ended up selling well all around the world," he notes. "For the new games we'll be developing from this point on, while this may sound a bit extreme, we've been talking about making them as heavy JRPGs. I believe that way, we can better focus on our target, which will also bring better results." [Image: Square Enix]
Thief, Tomb Raider discounted on Xbox Live this week
Xbox Live serves up a series of steep discounts this week on retail-released Xbox One games, bringing price drops for the digital versions of Thief, Call of Duty: Ghosts, and other featured titles. Starting March 28 and extending through March 30, the Xbox One versions of Thief and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition will be priced at $29.99 each. Call of Duty: Ghosts will be available for 33 percent off of its regular retail price ($39.99), while Ghosts' DLC-bundled Digital Hardened Edition is up for grabs at 20 percent off. Xbox Live Gold members can also pick up the Xbox 360 Games on Demand versions of all three games at a discount through March 31. Other sale-priced Xbox 360 games featured in this week's lineup include NBA 2K14, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, and 2K's BioShock series. [Image: Square Enix]
Square Enix marketing VP Karl Stewart leaves company
Former Square Enix vice-president of marketing Karl Stewart announced his departure from the company after eight years of service, and he'll begin a new job at the Burbank-based Petrol Advertising agency in April. Stewart worked in recent years at Crystal Dynamics and was one of the key figures driving the Tomb Raider reboot, which despite rumblings at a boardroom level went on to be a hit both with critics and at retailers. Stewart revealed his departure publicly in a blog post this week, in which he thanked his former employer by giving it a glowing recommendation "Square Enix is an amazing company," Stewart wrote, "whether you work for one of its studios or publishing arms, or if you're thinking of joining, this company has given me the opportunity to grow and do what I love to do best, work in creative and ridiculously talented company at the heart of the video game industry. The potential for opportunity and growth at Square Enix is limitless." Stewart will now bring his expertise to Petrol, an advertising agency that over the last decade has amassed a client list brimming with big-name games companies. "For the last 8 years I have worked with [co-founders] Alan [Hunter] and Ben [Granados] at Petrol on many different projects, from Batman to Tomb Raider to Thief, and on every occasion they've blown me away with their vision and creativity," Stewart explained. "So when the conversation started about joining the company which they've both worked extremely hard to develop and grow, there was no doubt in my mind this was the right next step for me, as they both think the same way I do. I'm all about experiences, and this is the new experience I'm looking for right now." [Image: Square Enix]
Tomb Raider stretches to 6 million sold, one year later
Has any franchise reboot endured more scrutiny and debate over its degrees of success (or is it failure?) than 2013's Tomb Raider? Perhaps it's apt fallout from Lara Croft's rugged origin story, in which she proves herself against wolves, wild cultists and supernatural weather. Tomb Raider's commercial splash has gone from "'biggest opening" to "weak," back to "profitable" and onward to exceeding "profit expectations," according to a fan-facing note from Square Enix's head of studios, Darrell Gallagher. Looking back at the year since Tomb Raider first launched, Gallagher plays the referee and makes the call fans have been waiting for: "By the end of this month we will surpass 6 million units for our Tomb Raider reboot, and, having achieved profitability back in 2013 Tomb Raider has exceeded profit expectations and continues to make significant contributions to our overall financial performance." Publisher Square Enix was never going to get an instant Call of Duty caliber hit out of the story-driven Tomb Raider, but this affirmed success becomes important when we see doom hanging over major AAA studios, investing years into a game that hits – but doesn't hit quite hard enough. For now, Lara Croft appears to be a viable business again, even if she's not yet swimming in it. And let's get some actual swimming in the next one, please?
PSN Europe: Tomb Raider, Brothers, PixelJunk Monsters free for Plus members
PlayStation Plus subscribers in Europe can access a smorgasbord of free content starting this week, including downloadable copies of Tomb Raider, PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD, and Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition. PlayStation 3 owners with an active Plus subscription receive Tomb Raider and Starbreeze's Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons for free this week. Brain-training puzzler Smart As... and tower defense game PixelJunk Monsters Ultimate HD arrive as free PlayStation Plus offerings on the PS Vita, while the upgraded PlayStation 4 version of Housemarque's co-op zombie shooter Dead Nation is also available as a free download in its debut week. Other PSN games premiering in Europe this week include Gust's Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky, Wales Interactive's Master Reboot, and Obsidian's South Park: The Stick of Truth. [Image: Sony]
Tomb Raider, Brothers head up Europe's PlayStation Plus lineup in March
Sony has revealed next month's additions to its PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection in Europe, mirroring much of the content set for a free release in North America throughout March. Starting next month, PlayStation Plus subscribers in Europe can pick up a no-cost copy of Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition, an enhanced PlayStation 4 version of Super Stardust developer Housemarque's top-down zombie shooter. PlayStation 3 owners will receive free downloads of Square Enix's Tomb Raider and Starbreeze's Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, which hit the PlayStation Plus program in North America last month. March's PlayStation Vita freebies include the brain training app Smart As... and Q Games' tower defense game Pixeljunk Monsters Ultimate HD. Launch dates for featured games have not been announced. [Image: Square Enix]
March's PlayStation Plus freebies are Tomb Raider, Thomas Was Alone, more
PlayStation Plus subscribers have six free games to look forward to across Sony's three current platforms as part of its Instant Game Collection program. PS4 owners signed up to PS Plus will receive arcade shooter Dead Nation: Apocalypse Edition for free this coming month. Three more games will be free on PS3 in March: Tomb Raider, Thomas Was Alone and Lone Survivor: The Director's Cut. Lastly, Vita players will get to add military shooter Unit 13 and beast-slayer Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite to their download queues. Those with copies of Monster Hunter Freedom 2 can transfer their data to Freedom Unite to continue progressing their characters. Penny-pinchers would also be wise to remember the Back to 2013 and Vita anniversary sales Sony is hosting at the moment. The sales offer discounts on games like Hotline Miami, Escape Plan, Flower, Killzone Mercenary, Tales of Xillia, Dragon's Crown, Ni no Kuni and more. [Image: SCEA]
Tomb Raider, Walking Dead, Brothers in today's Xbox Ultimate sale
Today's Xbox 360 Ultimate sale includes two entries from Joystiq's Top 10 of 2013 in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons and Tomb Raider. Meanwhile, the first episode of Walking Dead Season 2 can be yours for just a single dollar, and that really is an excellent deal - the first season placed #3 in our 2012 list. All of which reminds us that Oh Come On Telltale Where Is Episode 2 We Need To Know What Happens To Clementine Please Oh God Why. Ahem. In addition to the nine games that are on sale today, there's a whole bunch of On Demand and Arcade discounts running through until February 25. Check out the full list here, and head past the break for today's list of on-sale games and their prices.
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Tomb Raider PS4, Xbox One drops to $40 in Amazon sale today
Amazon roped in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition for its Deal of the Day this morning, reducing Lara's enhanced PS4 and Xbox One debut to $40 just a few weeks after launch. If your eyes are arrowing towards the purchase button, you've got until midnight PT, 3AM on Wednesday ET to grab yourself the discount. Lara's latest adventure, Definitive or otherwise, notched an impressive fifth place in Our Top 10 of 2013 list, with Community Manager and Comments Raider Anthony John Agnello calling it a "a prequel that works because it makes story the centerpiece." [Image: Square Enix]
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition more definitive on PS4, says Digital Foundry
Now that Tomb Raider has made its way to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the techie aesthetics experts at Digital Foundry have used their bag of tools to compare the graphics found in these new versions of the game. End result: The PlayStation 4 release pulls ahead ever so slightly. Though it's been known that the PlayStation 4's Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition can reach 60 frames per second (though not at all times) while the Xbox One game runs slower, Digital Foundry has also discovered that certain cutscenes in the Xbox One game are reduced to 900p resolution. Oddly, this resolution change only applies to those select vignettes, while the game itself maintains its high-definition 1080p visuals. Further, Digital Foundry finds certain graphical bells and whistles lacking in the Xbox One game, saying "alpha-based effects in certain areas give the appearance of rendering at half resolution - though other examples do look much cleaner. We also see a lower-quality depth of field in cut-scenes, and reduced levels of anisotropic filtering on artwork during gameplay. Curiously, there are also a few lower-resolution textures in places on Xbox One, but this seems to be down to a bug (perhaps on level of detail transitions) as opposed to a conscious downgrade." While Digital Foundry ranks the PlayStation 4 game above the Xbox One version for pure graphical splendor, the comparison also notes that neither of the next-generation games runs as well as the original, 2013 release of Tomb Raider on a modern gaming PC. Both of the console games, however, feature more built-in content and an improved 3D model for Lara Croft.
PSN Tuesday: Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition, free Smart As on PS Plus
This week's PlayStation Network content update is now live. You'll find downloads for Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition and Dragonball Z: Battle of Z, as well as the option to pre-order Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII ahead of its February 11 launch. There's also a pretty tempting cross-buy enabled Curve Studios bundle, which includes Thomas Was Alone, Stealth Inc., Lone Survivor and Proteus. PS Plus subscribers can grab a free copy of Smart As..., a brain-training game for the PS VIta starring John Cleese, and all PSN users can sift through deals on select Final Fantasy and Assassin's Creed content this week. Permanent price drops have been extended to Batman: Arkham Origins, Grid 2, Killer is Dead and more, so hit up the PlayStation Blog if you want the full rundown. Image: Square Enix
Joystiq Streams: Definitively playing Tomb Raider on PlayStation 4 [UPDATE: It's over!]
Joystiq Streams doesn't shy away from the difficult challenges. When we're thrown down a cavernous chasm, impaled on a piece of rebar, and forced to rescue our closest friends from deranged cultists, we don't take the easy way out! No, sir. We grit our teeth and keep it on hard mode. Truth is, none of those things have ever happened to the Joystiq crew, but they do happen to Lara Croft in the first moments of Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition for PlayStation 4, which we'll be streaming today at 4p.m. EST on the Joystiq Twitch channel. A glutton for punishment, Anthony John Agnello will be playing on hard and trying to only use melee and bow and arrow attacks in an attempt to prove that his survival skills have improved since our Don't Starve stream. Alexander Sliwinski will be hanging in the chat feeding your questions to the man on controls. See you there!
Next-gen Tomb Raider framerate differs, Microsoft defends Xbox One
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition has gone digging in the not-so-ancient ruins of next-gen gaming consoles and come back with a shiny debate over framerate differences. While the PlayStation 4 version of the game has been confirmed to run at 60 frames per second, the Xbox One version's framerate is, as of writing, unconfirmed. A Square Enix rep weighed in on the issue to VideoGamer.com, stating that, "Delivering the core Tomb Raider gameplay at native 1080p and running at 30fps was always our primary goal given the type of experience Tomb Raider is and the exploration we want players to do. Anything beyond 30fps for this version is gravy." Microsoft Senior Director of Product Management Albert Penello told Gamertag Radio that the differences between the two versions were minor, and defended the Xbox One version by reminding listeners that we've only just begun the new generation of consoles. "Everybody wants to focus on, you know, there's a framerate thing going on in Tomb Raider, there is a resolution thing going on and okay, there's a lot of reasons why that could be true, but we're weeks in. We just shipped, it's a long generation."
Tomb Raider's definitive launch trailer
Lady Croft's definitive next-gen edition launches next week on Xbox One and PS4, and here's the trailer to go along with it featuring full TressFX. But, honestly, watching this will make anyone who has gone through the survival experience want to travel the path of the warrior once again.
Tomb Raider arrows onto Mac, out now
Mac owners can raid some rebooted tombs starting today, with Crystal Dynamics' 2013 edition of Tomb Raider out now on the App Store for $50. A word of warning: The App Store version doesn't feature online multiplayer, but Mac ports specialist Feral Interactive says other versions are on the way next week on January 30. PS4 and Xbox One owners are up next on January 28, with those platforms being treated to Definitive Editions. If you're wondering what exactly makes those versions Definitive, check out the graphical improvements which include improved texturing, a more detailed Lara model, and even silkier hair graphics - because she's worth it.
Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition shines spotlight on silky hair graphics
Maybe she's born with it? Maybe it's TressFX. Here's another look at the next-gen Lara coming to PS4 and Xbox One on January 28 in Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. She could use a spa day if we're being honest.
Tomb Raider sales broke even by the end of 2013
Though publisher Square Enix originally lamented its lower-than-expected post-launch sales figures, Crystal Dynamics' Tomb Raider earned back its development costs by the end of 2013, executive producer Scot Amos told Eurogamer this week. "By the end of last year - Tomb Raider is in the black," Amos said. "We've crossed the line of profitability for the last-gen and PC versions." Despite its record-setting first-week performance and sales that topped 4 million units worldwide in the months following its launch, Tomb Raider was characterized by Square Enix as a financial disappointment. The publisher cited "weak" sales for Tomb Raider and other published games as factors driving its financial losses for the 2013 fiscal year. An upgraded reissue of Tomb Raider for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 titled Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is due for release on January 28.
