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Titanfall lands on Xbox 360 on March 25, after Xbox One, PC launch
Titanfall on Xbox 360 has been delayed to March 25 in North America and March 28 in Europe, EA announced. Titanfall launches on Xbox One and PC on March 11 in North America, and before now, that date has been associated with the Xbox 360 release as well. Bluepoint Games is developing Titanfall for Xbox 360. "In these last few weeks before launch, Respawn is in the final stages of polishing the Xbox One and PC versions of the game," EA Studios EVP Patrick Soderlund said. "Bluepoint is doing the same with the Xbox 360 version. To give them the time they need to put the finishing touches on the current-gen version of the game, we are moving the Xbox 360 ship date to March 25 in North America and March 28 in Europe. The extra two weeks will ensure the full world of Xbox gamers has an awesome experience." [Image: EA]
Xbox One party and multiplayer update before Titanfall in March
The incoherent party and friend systems on the Xbox One aren't ready for Titanfall - not even in Microsoft's opinion. A system update scheduled for March 4 will introduce "many new features and improvements, most significantly to our party and multiplayer systems," Microsoft has announced. Microsoft has not divulged details yet, but says a new party and multiplayer system will be in place prior to Titanfall's arrival on March 11, 2014. The futuristic multiplayer shooter, which sees combatants run across walls and jostle around in muscular mechs, is viewed as one of the Xbox One's flagship games, though it is also being developed for PC by Respawn Entertainment, and for Xbox 360 by Bluepoint Games. If all goes according to plan, we'll be inviting you to our party with just a few effortless presses on that snazzy Titanfall controller. [Image: EA]
Titanfall PC system requirements revealed
Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella has revealed the minimum specs for Titanfall on PC. As expected, you're going to need a decent rig to run the multiplayer mech shoot-em-up. Minimum requirements for Titanfall on PC: OS: 64-bit Windows 7, 8, 8.1 Processor: AMD Athlon X2 2.8GHz or Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz Memory: 4GB RAM Video card: 512MB VRAM, Radeon HD 4770 or GeForce 8800GT In response to the question of a Mac port, Zampella said the studio is "talking about it" and that he'd "like to see it happen." Zampella offered a similar answer when the question of mod support arose last month. Titanfall launches on Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC on March 11. [Image: Respawn Entertainment]
Respawn: Titanfall server-side updates won't cause downtime
During Titanfall's recent closed alpha playtest, developer Respawn Entertainment instituted several changes at the server-side level. As a result, Titanfall changed, yet players were never locked out of the game during these periods. In a post on the Titanfall forums, Respawn Programmer Jon Shiring revealed the studio "rolled out 3 new server builds and completely moved players from one build to the next without interrupting gameplay." He added that players "never noticed a difference" outside of certain bugs vanishing from the multiplayer shooter. Shiring went on to say this is how the majority of updates will be handled in the final version of Titanfall, though obviously not every problem can be corrected on the server side. "We will definitely be rolling out new server builds to fix issues that we find. Not every issue can be patched entirely on the server, and so some fixes will require a client patch. But new server builds are definitely something we will be doing." Titanfall launches on March 11 for the Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC. During an investor's call yesterday, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said Titanfall DLC is already in the works and will "evolve over time as we see how the player base evolves through the year."
EA prepping Titanfall DLC, to 'evolve' depending on player base
We all assumed there would be DLC for Titanfall, but EA has confirmed it's currently working on supplemental content for Respawn's multiplayer shooter. "We're planning extra content already for the product," EA boss Andrew Wilson said during today's investor call, "but in the nature of the live service, I think that that will evolve over time as we see how the player base evolves through the year." Wilson failed to offer any further details on what that content may be. Titanfall, exclusive to the PC, Xbox One and Xbox 360, is set to launch on March 11. The Xbox One and PC versions of Titanfall are currently in development at Respawn Entertainment, the outfit formed by ex-Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West, while Bluepoint Games is handling the Xbox 360 version.
Titanfall on Xbox 360 to land courtesy of Bluepoint Games
Titanfall on Xbox 360 is in the hands of Bluepoint Games, the port specialists responsible for the HD Collections of Metal Gear Solid 1-3 and Ico & Shadow of the Colossus. Respawn's Vince Zampella, whose studio is developing the mech-stuffed shooter on Xbox One and PC, confirmed the 360 version was outsourced to Bluepoint's Texas-based studio. Bluepoint also developed the PS4 and Vita ports of the rather less mech-stuffed Flower. The news comes as Zampella also confirmed the game's inevitable beta on Xbox One and PC, with details "in the coming days." As soon as they drop from the sky, we'll let you know. As for the game proper, all versions are being deployed on March 11.
Strap yourself in and watch 10 minutes of Titanfall alpha footage
For games as big as EA's Titanfall, it's all but inevitable that footage slithers out of an alpha test, and oh how footage has slithered out. This 10-minute or so video is just one of plenty of examples out there, but it neatly showcases the Respawn shooter's mix of on-the-ground warfare and colossally mechanized bloodshed, all in one round from start to finish. If you're unlucky enough to not be meching around in the alpha, the good news is the game proper is less than two months away. To recap, Titanfall drops from the skies and onto retail shelves on March 11 in North America and March 13 in Europe, when you'll be able to embark on Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC.
Beat and shoot-em-up in former Titanfall, God of War devs' To The Death
Indie developers Scary Mostro and Section Studios launched their Kickstarter campaign for To The Death today. The game combines beat-em-up and arcade shooter elements together, as players control one of two warriors that are dashing towards one another, hacking away at everything in their path. As To The Death's story goes, the warriors killed each other and are now stuck in The Crawl, a purgatory-like world between life and death. The two studios are led by developers with a deep history in the industry, with To The Death's game design and engineering coming from Scary Mostro's Todd Alderman and Francesco Gigliotti. Both Alderman and Gigliotti are credited as lead designer and engineer respectively at Infinity Ward on the Call of Duty series, and later worked on Titanfall for Respawn Entertainment. Likewise, To The Death's art direction comes from Section Studios Creative Director Cecil Kim, visual development lead for God of War 3. To The Death is in development for PC, Mac and Linux with early access tentatively planned for August. Scary Mostro and Section Studios are seeking $400,000 by February 19 to fund its development.
Titanfall alpha invites going out to Battlefield 4 players
Electronic Arts is now sending out alpha trial invitations for the Xbox One version of Respawn Entertainment's upcoming mech-combat FPS Titanfall. Competitive console shooter resource Beyond Entertainment reports that Battlefield 4 players who are registered with EA's Origin service are being randomly selected for the alpha. EA's invitation encourages players to "take part in an exclusive trial for an upcoming title on Microsoft's Xbox One." The e-mail then leads Origin members to submit an alpha application here, warning that "availability to this trial is extremely limited." Speaking to Joystiq, an alpha participant notes that players do not receive immediate access to the Titanfall test version upon registering with EA. Instead, accepted players are told to wait for further details after filling out a brief application.
Titanfall special edition Xbox One controller drops this March
Hey, Xbox One Day One Edition owner, we get it: you're into special editions. So how about if we told you there's another opportunity to own yet another piece of "limited edition" swag for your Xbox One? That's exactly the news we've got today, as Microsoft and Respawn Entertainment worked together to create the limited edition Titanfall-themed Xbox One gamepad seen above. Like Titanfall, it'll be available this March and it'll cost over $60. There are some flowery quotes about how it's supposed to look like military tech from the game and stuff, but you really just wanna ogle the gamepad from every angle, right? We thought so. Gallery's below, Vine's after the break.
Prepare for Titanfall controller
Control your Titan on March 11 with the limited edition Xbox One wireless controller, announced by Microsoft today in preparation for Titanfall's drop in two months. We're working on finding out a price, but controllers for Xbox One will normally set you back $60. It's listed at $65 on the Microsoft Store. [Thanks, @GamerCrash]
Titanfall devs cite proper balance for 12-player limit
When the giant mechanized suits of Titanfall touch down in March, its battlefields will be populated by a maximum of 12 combatants, according to Vince Zampella, founder of Respawn Entertainment. Zampella was asked point-blank how many players the game will support in a single match. "6v6 is max player count," he replied. "Turned out to be the best balance with AI for us." Following Zampella's tweet, prospective Titanfall players reacted negatively, throwing around descriptors that we'd rather not republish on a family website. In response, a Respawn Entertainment employee calling his or herself "DKo5" took to the NeoGAF forums to offer a more comprehensive explanation of why Titanfall is limited to six-on-six skirmishes. "[W]e tried a huge amount of playercounts (all the way down to 1v1 and up quite high) and designed the maps, gameplay mechanics, and entire experience around which played best," DKo5 wrote. "And FYI, for amount of stuff happening at once in a map you'll be hard pressed to find a game that keeps the action higher. I literally have to stop playing every few rounds because my heart just can't take it some times. Remember, you can get out of your Titan and let it roam on AI mode - meaning there can be 12 Pilots wallrunning around, 12 Titans stomping below, and dozens of AI doing their thing." Finally, DKo5 addresses player speculation over what Zampella meant with his mention of AI: "Oh, and I keep seeing people thinking we've got 'bots' when we talk about AI. Thats not how they are. The AI in Titanfall are not replacements for human players. Our playercount is not 6v6 because of AI - AI play their own role in the game and are a different class of character in the game."
No mods for Titanfall on PC, studio to 'evaluate' after launch
Titanfall on PC will not support mods or offer any map editor tools to players at launch. Respawn Entertainment co-founder Vince Zampella confirmed as much on Twitter, though he did say that the studio "will have to evaluate after launch." Former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella were dismissed by Activision in early 2010, spurring a lengthy legal battle between the duo and publisher. The two would quickly go on to form Respawn Entertainment, partner up with EA and begin work on Titanfall. Titanfall launches on March 11, 2014, exclusively for the Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC. While Titanfall will remain exclusive to these platforms throughout the lifetime of the game, Respawn has said it plans to develop games for PS4 down the line.
Snipers confirmed for Titanfall, but quick- and no-scope shots are 'ineffective'
Beyond the joys of stomping people into goo from the cockpit of a giant robot, Titanfall is largely a traditional shooter, though unlike other, modern console shooters Titanfall won't allow snipers to cheat the system. "Sniping is in the game, but due to how the game plays it's a pretty different animal than you'll find in your run of the mill modern military shooter," claimed "scriptacus," a representative of developer Respawn Entertainment in the game's forums. "Quick scoping and no scoping are ineffective." For those unfamiliar with the terms, "quick scoping" and "no scoping" allow snipers to drastically increase their fire rate by exploiting the way virtual rifles work. No scoping is simply firing without aiming and relying on the power of your gun to offset your lack of precision. Quick scoping is a practice in which virtual snipers learn to bring up the scope reticle only long enough to squeeze off one, quick shot. On consoles, where auto-aim has become standard, those who have mastered quick scoping can almost guarantee a hit - which is usually all a sniper will need. How Titanfall's developers plan to counter these tactics is unknown. It could be that players simply move too fast for quick scoping and no scoping to work properly (as in Tribes: Ascend), or Respawn may have increased the amount of time necessary to aim and then fire. We have attempted to contact the developer for further information, but have yet to hear back.
Meet Atlas, Titanfall's mechanized workhorse
When Titanfall touches down on the Xbox One, it will be the Atlas leading the charge thanks to its balanced blend of armor and firepower - a design feature adding much-needed versatility to a machine that would otherwise spend its days stomping puny humans into goo.
Spike VGX round-up: Telltale's new projects, Cranky Kong, No Man's Sky and more
Despite ending with musical performances that closely resembled a form of torture, the Spike VGX show packed some decent surprises! Joel McHale and Geoff Keighley endured four three hours of nonstop programming, and they only seemed to want to murder each other a handful of times. Let's recap everything that was shown: Telltale Games' success with the first season of The Walking Dead seems to have granted them a Golden Key to any partnership they desire. Naturally, they've revealed Tales From The Borderlands, a collaboration with Gearbox Software that will be set in the Borderlands universe. They've also started work on a Game of Thrones series, which will be based off the HBO show. Both projects are slated for 2014. Cranky Kong has had it with these youngsters and their rambunctious romps through jungles, so much so that he's decided to chase them all as the fourth playable character in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. Cranky must have gotten a few good strikes in with his cane for that delay, too, because the Kong family has settled on braving the Wii U's incoming frost on February 21. Titanfall had already shown a decent arsenal for blowing up buildings with, but in case you doubted its capabilities, Respawn Entertainment debuted two new mech types tonight. Aside from the Titans, Ogre and Stryder mechs will spread destruction across Titanfall's cityscapes. Ogres will be slow, clunky and powerful, while Stryders will focus on outrunning everyone on the field. Hello Games, the developer of the Joe Danger series, brought along the show's biggest surprise - No Man's Sky is a procedurally generated, exploration-focused sci-fi game planned for 2014. The game's trailer showcased vivid landscapes before blasting its way through asteroids in spacecrafts.
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Stryder class mech strides proudly in Titanfall reveal trailer
The Stryder class titan will be stridin' across your Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC when Titanfall lands on all three systems on March 11, 2014. This lithe and shapely mech outperforms every other class of bipedal death machine in speed and mobility but it lacks the heavier armor of other classes.
Ogre class of mechs revealed for Titanfall
A secondary type of mech to the Titans, the heavy-plated Ogre, was revealed for Titanfall during Spike's VGX show. Ogres are a little heavier and slower in movement, but when you're waging war with jetpacks and mechs falling from the sky, options are good! When questioned about a beta, Vince Zampella explained that Respawn Entertainment is "thinking about it." Respawn's debut effort for the new IP will be exclusive to the PC and Xbox platforms "for the life of the title." Titanfall's raging, acrobatic firefights will be open to all once the game titanfalls onto the PC, Xbox One and Xbox 360 on March 11. While that means there won't be a PS4 version of Titanfall, Respawn has clarified that they intend to bring other projects to the PS4.
Tonight's VGX lineup features GOTY in the middle of a world exclusive sandwich
If you plan on camping out with us during our liveblog of tonight's three hour VGX 2013 awards show, you can get a head start on the evening's activities by checking out the schedule of events. Among the noteworthy events for the evening are 12 "world premieres" for games like Quantum Break, Titanfall and Broken Age. Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime will also take the stage for a game demo during the show's first hour. Given that an ad for a next-gen Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition showed up today, it would explain the slot for tonight's Tomb Raider-centric announcement during the first hour. Those that are in it for the awards will be interested to know that the Game of the Year winner will be crowned during the early parts of the show's second hour. Additionally, the Best Indie Game will be determined near the end of the show's second hour and Character of the Year announced during the third hour. A few of the awards segments will be determined by fan vote, dictating whether the the Best Action Adventure or Best Sports Game will be announced in the first hour and Best Shooter or Best Studio award will presented in the third hour.
The Titanfall Collector's Edition statue isn't 'something that you'd find in a kid's meal'
The Titanfall Collector's Edition statue is so big it needs its own trailer. In the above video, Respawn Entertainment Lead Artist Joel Emslie describes piece-by-piece the limited collectible, sharing behind-the-scenes info for fans. The titan, for example, is posed in mid-run to reflect the "dynamic" nature of the game, where "things are always in motion." Although the official press release and accompanying image from the Titanfall Collector's Edition announcement both mention a height of 18 inches for the statue, Emslie mentions in the video that's only where the production team started. "We kinda crept up a little higher," Emslie says. "He's almost pressing 20 inches with the pilot on the back." Well, you know what they say: "The bigger they are, the harder they Titanfall." We may have messed that one up.
