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Alien: Isolation: One million sold, scared
Publisher Sega and developer Creative Assembly are indirectly responsible for one hell of a laundry bill, as it was announced today that Alien: Isolation has officially sold one million copies worldwide. Accounting for at least one million players, and factoring in regular sessions with Alien: Isolation's precision engineered terror, we're talking millions of soiled undergarments. We're not aware of any spikes in detergent sales, but it seems like a given. We're rather fond of Alien: Isolation here at Joystiq, where the game stealthily crept into our top ten games of 2014.
Joystiq Streams: Resident Evil HD bites back plus free PS4/PC copies!
A whole lot of superstars in this game here tonight, but I want you all to know one thing: This is Resident Evil in high definition. Whose blood? Chris' blood. I said whose blood? Chris' blood! Y'all know what time it is! While the impossible dream of a Resident Evil soundtracked entirely by classic Run DMC cuts remains elusive, the HD remaster of Capcom's Gamecube classic is a sweet, sweet reality this week. After 13 years restricted to Nintendo's SD consoles, the hardest, prettiest version of the survival horror game is finally playable on more modern machines. How does it stack up? Do the new controls make it too easy? Is this indeed Chris' blood and will we ever discover the ingredients in a Jill sandwich? Join us and find out. We're streaming Resident Evil on PC starting at 4:00PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch. This will be a New Game+ run so some fresh costumes will be on display as well. Plus: we're giving away a few copies of the game on PC and PS4. Join us! Joystiq.com/Twitch broadcasts every Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00PM EST. It's Wednesday, you say? That's right! We stream all the time at random times so follow us on Twitch to never miss a show.
Lawsuit alleges EA infringed on sports stadium update patent
White Knuckle IP filed a lawsuit late last week against EA, alleging that the publisher infringed on a patent that focuses on methods for updating sports games based on real-life changes. The suit referred to U.S. Pat. No. 8,529,350, which described methods that record real-world parameters, then store those elements on a server so players can download them to update their games. The patent dates back to October 2002. While the patent is related to another one that deals with updating an athlete's statistics and skills based on real-life performance, the lawsuit focuses on changes to the appearance and attributes of stadiums and venues. The lawsuit specifically targets games in EA Sports' NCAA Football and Tiger Woods PGA Tour series, from NCAA Football 10 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 through the last respective entries, NCAA Football 14 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 14. According to Patent Arcade, White Knuckle "did not identify any specific feature in its complaint." [Image: EA Sports]
Exo Zombies invade Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare trailer
The latest trailer for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare shows off the game's upcoming downloadable content, Exo Zombies. Arriving as part of the first content pack, Havoc, Exo Zombies features the voice acting talents of John Malkovich, Bill Paxton, Rose McGowan and Jon Bernthal. The Havoc DLC pack will launch on January 27 for Xbox One and Xbox 360. Havoc also includes four multiplayer maps, the AE4 assault rifle and Widowmaker custom variant. While the Havoc DLC can be purchased separately for $15, season pass holders will receive the pack at no additional charge. Advanced Warfare's $50 season pass grants access to three other pieces of downloadable content: Ascendance, Supremacy and Reckoning. Activision struck a deal with Microsoft to bring Advanced Warfare DLC to the Xbox platforms before it arrives on other systems, so the publisher has yet to offer a release date for Havoc on PS4, PS3 or PC. [Image: Activision]
Evo 2015 line-up announced, double helping of Smash
Super Smash Bros Wii U and Melee are two of the nine games already confirmed for this year's Evolution Championship Series. As revealed during last night's Twitch stream, the line-up for Las Vegas this July also includes returning games Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Ultra Street Fighter 4 and Killer Instinct, The remaining four games are new for this year, and they are Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Guilty Gear Xrd Sign, Mortal Kombat X and Tekken 7. Recent years have seen more games added closer to the event, though a roster of nine is already on the high end for an EVO championship. Whatever the full line-up proves to be, it's coming to the Bally's/Paris Las Vegas Casino, where the world's fighting game specialists will duke it out across July 17-19.
Plex finally brings media relief to US Playstation 4 owners
The media streaming options for Sony's Playstation 4 have always been its weak point, especially compared to the formidable PS3 living room experience. Now, there's some good news for US users: Plex is finally available on both PS4 and PS3 in North and South America, after it rolled out in Europe and Asia last month. The popular media server lets you put all your media in one hub on your PS4, regardless of where you actually store it. You can then organize it by criteria like poster art, plot summary, album cover and share it to other devices and platforms. Sony said that it'll only stream video at first, with music and photo sharing arriving shortly. There is one drawback: you'll need a Plex Pass, a service that costs $4.99 -- more than half the price of Netflix.
PSN Store Update: Stop It Don't Open That Door Edition
This week's headline new release on PSN is definitely Saints Row: Gat out of Hell, the $20 standalone follow-up to Saints Row 4. PS3 and PS4 owners can both get their Gat on, but the latter group can also get it in a $50 bundle with SR4: Re-elected. The visually enhanced, DLC-stuffed PS4 version of Saints Row 4 is also available on its own for $30. This week's other big deal is also a remaster, but of a much, much less recent game. The PS4 and PS3 edition of the first Resident Evil brings the S.T.A.R.S. into HD, and at an asking price of $20. Since it's a remaster of the GameCube game, itself a remake, we'll just have to reminisce about the original's memorably awful voice acting.
Plex media streaming app arrives on PS4, PS3
Plex, the personal media streaming service, can now send content directly to the PlayStation 4 and PS3 with a new app now available on the PSN. The program allows users to stream media from their computers to any Plex-ready device, including mobile phones, tablets and now the PlayStation home console ecosystem. While the service may not mean much to PS3 users – since that console has its own built-in media server support – a Plex debut on PS4 means users can now use the console as a hub for their own downloaded media content. There is a catch, of course: Plex streaming to PlayStation consoles is only available for Plex Pass subscribers, which is priced at $5 a month ($40 year, $150 lifetime). The app "will be made available, for a fee, to those without a Plex Pass" in the future, a post on the PlayStation Blog revealed. The PlayStation Blog says the app is available in the US, Canada and Latin America. On the Plex website, the company notes a select number of other regions where the app will be available, including the UK. The Plex site also reveals a few additional details, such as the PS3's limitation of streaming 720p content using the app and the Plex on PlayStation's lack of support for the MKV file format and DTS audio. At launch, Plex on PlayStation will only support video content, but music and photo streaming "will be coming shortly." [Image: Plex]
PlayStation exclusive TV show 'Powers' debuts in March
The PlayStation-exclusive original series Powers will debut on March 10, the PlayStation Blog has announced. The series will span ten episodes, with the first episode available for free to all PSN account holders. PlayStation Plus subscribers will have access to the complete season. Based on the ongoing Image Comics series from writer Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man) and artist Michael Avon Oeming (Judge Dredd), Powers is a police-procedural set in Chicago where two homicide detectives investigate cases involving citizens with superhuman abilities. The series stars District 9 standout Sharlto Copley as Christian Walker, a former superhero who becomes a detective after he loses his powers, and his partner Deena Pilgrim, played by The Following's Susan Heyward. Eddie Izzard portrays the villainous character Wolfe. Watch a trailer for the series after the break. [Image: Sony]
PSN members get one-use 10% discount code this weekend
Sony's goodwill discount is up for the taking this weekend, allowing users to save 10 percent off a one-time total cart purchase in the PlayStation Store. The offer is part of Sony's show of appreciation for PSN members' patience following the network issues over the holidays. The rules are that the purchase must be made between 9AM PT/12PM ET on January 23 and the same time on January 26. To reiterate, it's 10 percent off a total cart purchase rather than a single item, so if you're in the mood for a PSN splurge then it's your lucky day. However, it's a one-time dealio, so make sure you put all your PSN eggs in your 10 percent basket.
Who The Hell Is: Johnny Gat
The following feature contains spoilers for the existing Saints Row franchise. On Tuesday, gamers will be able to go to Hell – literally – and fight off both Satan himself and hordes of undead in the Saints Row 4 standalone expansion, Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell. Previous Saints Row games have allowed players to customize an avatar which, over the course of the series, rises from lowly street thug to President of the United States and even intergalactic badass supreme. Gat Out of Hell though, does not. In Gat Out of Hell, players will be stepping into the shoes of either Kinzie Kensington or Johnny Gat. If you've never played the previous games and don't have either the time or inclination to power through them before the standalone expansion's January 20 release date, you might be asking yourself: who the hell is Johnny Gat? Friends, we are here to help.
Saints Row: Gat out of Hell review: Shout at the Devil
Xbox 360, PS3, PC, Xbox One, PS4 If your best friend, a person who has saved your life countless times (often in super-cool, action movie fashion), was sucked into hell, would you go after them? Of course not, that's ludicrous. That poor schmuck is on their own. But you're not Johnny Gat, resident murder-happy antihero of the Third Street Saints. When Johnny's best pal is pulled into the netherworld, he jumps in after him, guns blazing. Through bat-winged demons, flaming monster trucks and historically questionable playwrights, Johnny will do whatever he can to save his friend, especially if it involves punching Satan in the face. With that succinct intro, Saints Row: Gat out of Hell drops players into a netherworld that's equal parts Hieronymous Bosch, Megadeth album covers and the 1989 Beetlejuice cartoon series. Concrete roads crack and spiral around pits of molten lava while glowing obelisks hover ominously above crowds of shambling, doomed souls huddled within a twisted mockery of a human metropolis. It's gorgeous, in a grim sort of way, and is pocked with all kinds of neat diversions and fun excuses for Johnny to test his new demonic superpowers. Saints Row: Gat out of Hell is developer Volition's most successful attempt at proving that a license is not required for a great, open-world superhero game, though a too short run time, a few technical flaws and some odd design choices keep it from eclipsing Saints Row 4.
GTA 5 continues to hold off FIFA & CoD in this week's UK charts
And now for something completely similar: Right now you'd need a microscope to find the week-to-week changes in the UK charts. Nonetheless, it's interesting to see Grand Theft Auto 5 stay ahead of traditional front-runners FIFA and Call of Duty, especially since Rockstar's game is a re-release on current-gen. At this new release-less time of year, we'd normally be talking about a 28th consecutive No. 1 for FIFA [Insert Year Here]. The current top three are the same trio that sold the most in the UK last year, though FIFA 15 won out overall in 2014. Moreover, seven of this week's top ten are in the 2014 top ten, and most of those hit store shelves in the second half of the year. Right, stop that UK charts analysis! It's silly. This week's full top ten can be found below the break, along with the customary music video that's a bit suspect.
Dragon Age: Inquisition stats record more than 2 million flying lizards slain
The official Dragon Age: Inquisition Twitter account has some interesting statistics for all the Heralds of Andraste out there. According to tweets made earlier this week, more than 2.6 million dragons have been slain by players of Inquisition. The unfortunate Ferelden Frostback was the most-killed of her species, while the Highland Ravager has been the most successful at evading death. Fifty-eight percent of all dragons were killed in the land of Orlais, so any of our readers who happen to be fire-breathing monsters, take note: this is not a land you want to be traveling to right now. As for who's doing the slaying, the overall majority - 68 percent - of Inquisitors have been male, while 32 percent have been female. While the percentage of female heroes may seem small, it's actually a big step up from BioWare's Mass Effect series; back in 2011, the developer revealed that fewer than 15 percent of players used a female version of Commander Shepard between Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2. But really, it doesn't matter if you're male, female, Qunari, Dwarf, etc. What matters is that we find the dragon that sounds like Sean Connery and -- oh, wrong thing? Wrong thing. [Image: EA]
Dead or Alive 5: Last Round nets copycat schoolgirl, Honoka
Dead or Alive 5: Last Round was never exactly short on female representation, but one more can't hurt, right? Meet Honoka, a schoolgirl fighter (as in, a schoolgirl who fights, not someone who beats up schoolgirls) who, according to a press release, can instantly learn any fighting move she sees. Honoka has used this ability to create her own fighting style, which she calls "Honoka Fu." Unfortunately, while Honoka is a skilled fighter, she is not a particularly practiced one. Her punches pack less of a whollop than other, more seasoned fighters, unless she is using her "Hissatsu-no-Kamae" stance. In this stance, Honoka possesses a much higher amount of strength and is capable of using moves she has never seen from any fighter. You can see her moves and stances in action after the break. Dead or Alive 5: Last Round is due in the Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and PC fighting rings on February 17.
Minecraft getting in-game name changes, Pocket Edition sells 30 million
Minecraft players will be able to change their in-game name soon, development studio Mojang has announced. The process is set to go live on February 4, and looks to be pretty straightforward; once the name-changing system is in place, players can change their in-game name simply by logging into their account. Any name that is not being used by another player will be available, but players will have to wait 30 days before they can change again. If you're worried about someone swiping your name while you wait said 30 days to come back to it though, don't be: it takes 37 days for an old name to become available for someone else. So if you were to change your name from, say, "MinecraftMasta" to something else, we wouldn't be able to swipe MinecraftMasta for ourselves before you had a chance to reclaim it. Changing names does not change inventory or character status, meaning if someone has blocked you, changing your name won't allow you to circumvent said block. Mojang also announced that to date, Minecraft: Pocket Edition has sold a combined total of more than 30 million copies. Pocket Edition surpassed 21 million copies back in April, and expanded its reach to Windows Phone users in December, though Mojang did not share how many of the 9 million new sales were due to releasing on a new platform. [Image: Mojang]
Oddworld: New 'n Tasty on Steam next month; Vita, console ports still underway
Just Add Water, developer of Oddworld: New 'n Tasty, is getting ready to distribute the remaining ports for its revisit of the series' origins, and Steam users are next in line. A cloud save-compatible version of New 'n Tasty will be offered on PC, Mac and Linux via Steam on February 25 for $20 (£15, €20). A 10 percent discount will also be available for those that place pre-purchases, though further details and recommended specs will be shared at a later date. The related press release also notes that PS3 and Xbox One arrivals will follow sometime in early March, and a note from the Oddworld Staff states that the above versions will feature post-launch improvements that have been made to the existing PS4 version, including "old school" control settings. Series creator Lorne Lanning assured fans the remaining ports were being "adamantly worked on" about two months ago. At that time, Lanning also spoke of problematic limitations concerning the Wii U hardware, but the post from Oddworld Staff explains that work "continues on the Wii U and PlayStation Vita versions," adding that "recent progress is encouraging." If you're wondering whether all this waiting and extra development time is really worth it for a remake, consider Sam Prell's review of the PS4 version: "This HD remake is more than a simple reskin of nostalgia, and offers a compelling adventure with contemporary design that will satisfy most anyone's puzzle-platformer appetite." [Image: Just Add Water]
Disney's Big Hero 6 come to save LittleBigPlanet 3
Burgeoning crimestoppers with a copy of LittleBigPlanet 3, take heed: you can suit up and save the day as any of the heroes from Disney's Big Hero 6 thanks to a costume pack made available this week. Wasabi, GoGo, Hiro, Honey and Fred (pictured above, left to right) are available either separately for $1.49 each or together for $5.99. Choose the latter option and you'll also receive a Baymax costume for the LBP3 character Toggle. Awwww, just wookit 'im! He's so cuuuute! We shall name him Baysack, and he will be our Baysack. Vroom vroom, go Baysack, go! [Image: Sony]
Amplitude revival now estimated for summer arrival
Amplitude's multi-instrument path to revival is a little longer than was initially anticipated, developer Harmonix has announced via Kickstarter update. The rhythm game's estimated arrival has been pushed from its initially-planned window of March, with Harmonix "currently targeting" a summer release. Harmonix explained the delay is partially due to Amplitude being the team's first project on PS4, adding that extensive work is being put into Amplitude's proprietary engine. Unlike traditional development setups where content or quality could be sacrificed in order to meet a publisher's deadline however, Harmonix stated that Amplitude's success on Kickstarter has allowed the team to "create the game we want to make and, more importantly, make the game that you want." Once Amplitude starts blasting notes on PS3 and PS4, fans will have a chance at jamming to original tracks from Freezepop, Anamanguchi and Super Meat Boy composer Danny Baranowsky, among others. [Image: Harmonix]
UK teen arrested over suspected involvement in Xbox Live, PSN DDoS attacks
An 18-year-old male was arrested as part of a larger investigation into the attacks which brought down the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live in 2014, according to a statement released earlier this week by the UK's South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU). Craig Jones, head of SEROCU's Cyber Crime Unit, attested to working with the FBI on the investigation, which also includes numerous "swatting" offenses. "This investigation is a good example of joint law enforcement cooperation in relation to a type of criminality that is not restricted by any geographical boundaries," Jones said. "We will continue to work closely with the FBI to identify those to who commit offences and hold them to account." The alleged cyber criminal was brought in under suspicion of unauthorized access to computer material contrary to section 1 of Computer Misuse Act 1990, unauthorized access with intent to commit further offences contrary to section 2 of Computer Misuse Act 1990 and threats to kill contrary to Section 16 of Offences against the person Act 1861. [Image: Microsoft/Sony]
