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Tesla's car sales are going online-only
Along with launching its long-awaited $35,000 Model 3, Tesla announced that it is taking car sales to the internet -- exclusively. That shift is apparently a part of why it's going to be able to lower prices by a claimed 6 percent on average, as it winds down "many" store locations. A few spots in high-traffic areas will remain as galleries and showcases, even as it ramps up the service system with a goal of providing same-day or even same-hour appointments where techs come to you. That does mean Tesla will fire some employees. On a call with the media, CEO Elon Musk said "We will be closing some stores and there will be some reduction in head count as a result." For customers, Tesla is hoping that by offering the ability to return their car at no cost within the first 7 days or 1,000 miles is enough to remove the need for a test drive. Musk sent out an internal memo to employees expanding on his statements about layoffs. CNBC posted it in full, as the exec told employees: "Unfortunately, this means that some jobs will be impacted or transitioned to other areas of the business. This is a hard decision, but it necessary to make our cars more affordable...In the coming weeks, we will be evaluating all of our sales and marketing organization to understand where there are operation efficiencies"
SimCity getting offline single player mode in next update
SimCity will receive an update that allows for offline play in the near future. Arriving as a free download with Update 10 for the game, SimCity's offline play will allow players to access all of their previously downloaded content in the new single player mode. The developer was last exploring the possibility of offline play for the game in October 2013. While EA did not reveal a full list of details for the update, it did note that single player campaign save files will be stored locally, so players will no longer be required to have an internet connection when playing the game. EA recently allowed for official mod support of the game, which the publisher cites as a major reason for SimCity's new offline mode to begin with. Now, mods can be made "to the game and its components without compromising the integrity of the Online game," an EA blog on the matter says. No release date was given for Update 10, though Maxis is in the "late phases" of wrapping up its development.
Dragon's Dogma Quest site goes live, Capcom 'evaluating' western release
The official website for Dragon's Dogma Quest is live, broadly confirming yesterday's report from Game Jouhou. Quest is a 2D online-only, free-to-play RPG for Vita, coming to Japan via PSN this fall. Regards whether or not it's winging its way west, a Capcom spokesperson told Joystiq "At present Dragon's Dogma Quest is only confirmed for release in Japan and we are currently evaluating if the title will be released in pan-western markets." As before, Quest begins with the hero character's heart being stolen by a dragon – biology be damned. The hero finds another heartless victim in a wizardly-looking woman called Lota, and together the pair trek towards home as they begin their quest to retrieve their tickers. While it's unclear if Quest's story follows on from the original Dragon's Dogma, the Vita RPG features returning non-player characters like the knight Julien, Captain Mercedes of the Enlistment Corps, and Black Cat storekeeper Mountebank. One screen shows Mercedes in dialogue, with what looks like a hand-drawn background of a country village behind her. As previously reported, the hero employs a party of pawns that go into battle - it's unclear if the hero's involved in combat or is more like a commander. The party size is increased to eight, with a maximum of four player pawns and four pawns from friends. The website reveals several of the 150-plus pawn vocations in Quest, including the poison archer, arc guardian, gatherer, and rogue. It remains unclear how exactly combat adapts from 3D to 2D in Quest. The pawns-orientated combat of Dragon's Dogma, particularly in terms of formulating strategies for the larger beasts, was a key component of that game. We're curious to see how it works in Quest, particularly given there are so many vocations to choose from.
