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Prepare for Titanfall figures from Threezero
Designer toy manufacturer Threezero has acquired the rights to produce figures based on Titanfall's towering automatons in 1/12 and 1/6 scale. The first figure to be introduced will be the 1/12 scale Atlas, which is about 20 inches tall and comes with a pilot. Threezero has released a teaser image of the figure, which you can see uncropped after the break. The price for the Atlas will likely be nothing to shrug at (get it?): Threezero's 1/12 scale Fullmetal Ghost figure, which is of comparable size and likely similar quality, costs $320. Just tell yourself - and your wallet - that at least it's cheaper than the real thing. [Image: Threezero]
Joystiq Weekly: Facebook buys Oculus VR, Bioshock Infinite DLC review, GDC videos and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. If GDC and this past week has taught us anything, it's that almost no one's happy with the present state of reality. Virtual reality headset Oculus Rift now has a pretty cushion-y parent company, the comparable Project Morpheus potentially has Sony's developers behind it, and Microsoft might be toying with their own ideas for augmented reality. The common consensus seems to be "let's reach the future, even if it means strapping displays to our faces." We're starting to wonder what Nintendo's non-wearable health technology is going to look like. If it's not something to block out our primary reality, and if it's planned to launch through Nintendo's fiscal year of 2016, will it be something to supplement devices we already own? Maybe we'll face a line of AdventureTrek treadmills, where we run and jump our way through iconic Nintendo universes. Maybe it will involve a Pokemon MMO played with pedometer devices like the Pokemon Pikachu, with dungeon raids consisting of a dozen people throwing their devices into dryers for the best possible attack speed. Or maybe neither of those ideas! Because they're garbage. What isn't garbage is the slew of news, reviews and original content we've lined up for you in this week's Joystiq Weekly. Even if you don't care about VR, there's news of a legal tussle between 3D Realms and Gearbox over Duke Nukem, a hint of The Last Of Us reaching the PS4 and a review of Bioshock Infinite's Burial at Sea Episode Two. There's also video features from GDC for Fantasia: Music Evolved, Goat Simulator and Videoball, in case you like moving pictures with your words. We've summarized all that and more for you to delve into after the break!
Titanfall matchmaking updated to discourage dominating teams
Titanfall's matchmaking system has been updated in the new "Improved Matchmaking (Beta)" playlist in Classic MP mode. The new program changes up the teams more frequently – if one team is kicking the snot out of another, the dominating team's skill level will be updated and it'll be paired with a better team. "Did you lose to a really great team?" Respawn asks. "We'll make them disappear and replace them with a new opposing team – and they will have no idea that you just got your butts kicked. This should end some of the frustration with playing for extended periods when you're having an off night." Finding appropriate teammates may take longer with the new system now, but the end goal is to build more suitable, and longer-lasting, matches. The graph above shows Respawn's behind-the-scenes skill curve, with level 25 as the average. [Image: Respawn]
Titanfall cheaters pool live on PC now, here's how it works
Titanfall's anti-cheating system, FairFight, is now active on PC, and it places all cheaters in the same pool to play with each other – and only each other. As Respawn puts it, "You can play with other banned players in something that will resemble the Wimbledon of aimbot contests. Hopefully the aimbot cheat you paid for really is the best, or these all-cheater matches could be frustrating for you. Good luck." If you're not banned and invite a banned friend into your party, you'll all end up playing in the all-cheater pool. Respawn promises that playing with cheaters won't raise your risk of getting banned. Only cheating can do that. If you think you've been unfairly banned, Respawn says to hit up anticheat@respawn.com.
Titanfall State of Service: Week Two
This is State of Service, an ongoing review of the online service of a recently launched game. See our scored review of Titanfall here. Tuesday, March 25 | T-minus 16 days until final verdict Current State of Service: Good Summary: PC version experiencing limited issues. Balance patch deployed. Xbox 360 version delayed. After two weeks on PC and Xbox One, Titanfall's service performance remains mostly solid. The PC version is still experiencing isolated issues, notably infinite loading screens when trying to connect to a game. It seems most players on both versions, however, have had a smooth experience. For its part, the Joystiq staff has encountered no significant issues on Xbox One or PC (though matchmaking still has a confusing habit of pairing low-level players with high-level players). Servers briefly went offline around 10pm Eastern on Thursday, March 20, and began to come back online within an hour. Titanfall has also received its first balance-tweaking and bug-squishing patch, and you can find the patch notes right here. Finally, neither Joystiq or players at large will be able to test the service of the Xbox 360 version this week, as it was delayed to April 8 in North America and April 11 in Europe. If you encounter any problems with Titanfall, let us know in the comments or on Joystiq's Twitter or Facebook accounts (use the hashtag #sos and don't forget to specify your platform!).
Other retailers follow suit with $450 Titanfall Xbox One bundle
Other outlets including the Microsoft Store are following Walmart's lead by reducing the Titanfall Xbox One bundle to $450. Target, Microsoft and Amazon (with the promo code XIAMAZON) are all offering the Titanfall bundle with the $50 discount, and both Target and Microsoft have the same price on the Standard bundle that includes a Forza 5 code. The Microsoft Store denotes the bundles as "limited time discounts," so don't expect the reduced price to hang around for long, even if the console got a permanent price drop in the UK. On a side note, our pals at Engadget spotted Amazon getting a bit overexcited this morning after the retailer briefly marked down the Forza Xbox One bundle to $400 with the XIAMAZON code applied. It looks like it was an accident, though, since the bundle is back up to $499 and the code no longer works with it. [Image: Microsoft]
Nvidia, Respawn implementing GameWorks support for Titanfall
Titanfall just got an update yesterday to squash bugs and balance general gameplay elements, but it didn't do anything to pretty up the game's visuals. A recent Nvidia post explains that visual improvement updates are still coming however, outlining a collaboration with developer Respawn Entertainment to implement GameWorks features for players piloting PCs. Among the additions will be support for Temporal Anti-Aliasing (TXAA), which boosts image clarity and reduces a flickering effect sometimes seen with games in motion. Horizon Based Ambient Occlusion+ (HBAO+) is in, which creates shadows based on what a scene's lighting can realistically reach. SLI support is also planned, which allows multiple GPUs to be used at once. An update to include support for 4k displays is coming as well, in case you're dreaming of dropping Titans on opponents in a new-age resolution. Unfortunately, release windows weren't shared for any of these updates, so you'll likely be playing Titanfall as-is for a while longer. If you're an Xbox One user that's a little jealous after reading this post, know that there's still a chance for the Titanfall's visuals to be improved on the Xbox One, too. [Image: EA]
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Titanfall patch helps players escape, crushes bugs under robot boots
While Titanfall's online service has been pretty stable - barring some launch day hiccups - that doesn't mean that Respawn is done with tweaking the game experience. A server update has been applied to the game that fixes a handful of issues, as well as re-balances some of the gameplay. For example, Cluster Missiles now do less damage against Evac Dropships, which is good news for anyone who loses more than a handful of games (see: us once, and us again) and needs to hitch a ride out of the game's hectic warzones. You can check out the full list of fixes and tweaks after the break. [Image: EA]
Titanfall on PCs will soon support 4K and NVIDIA's latest graphics tricks (updated)
Many gamers already argue that the PC version of Titanfall is the best-looking of the bunch. Pretty soon, though, it won't even be a contest. Respawn plans to update its robotic shooter to handle both 4K displays as well as a host of technology from NVIDIA's GameWorks program, including full support for multiple GeForce cards, improved antialiasing and more realistic shadow effects. The upgrades aren't all that surprising. Some modern video hardware is powerful enough for 4K gaming, and developers have already used GameWorks to spruce up flagship titles like Assassin's Creed 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts. Still, the visual improvements are bound to make a big impact -- Titanfall is one of the most important games of the year, and a good excuse to pick up a new gaming rig. Update: Right now however, Titanfall is getting some tweaks on its servers that will change how it plays on PC and Xbox One. The updates will roll out over the next day, but you can see a changelog on Respawn's forums here. There are a number of fixes and updates included, and among them it appears the controversial Smart Pistol is having its effectiveness reduced, with slightly lower accuracy from hip fire and decreased damage when it's not locked-on. A troublesome glitch that allowed Burn Cards to be duplicated has also been fixed, and point values for certain actions in Hardpoint and Capture The Flag games have been adjusted.
Xbox One's 'Titanfall' bundle gets a price cut to $450 at Walmart and Best Buy (update: Amazon too)
The PS4 may have commanded an early lead over the Xbox One, partly thanks to a $100 price difference, but Microsoft is quickly narrowing the gap. Now, the company might just seal the deal with a discounted Xbox One-Titanfall bundle: both Walmart and Best Buy have cut the price to $450. The move is an aggressive one on Walmart and Best Buy's part: Microsoft only recently started selling the Titanfall bundle for $500 a week and a half ago. Now, just 10 days later, it's received a $50 discount. For those keeping track, that puts the Xbox One within spitting distance ($50) of the PlayStation 4, which doesn't even come with a game in the box. Subtract Titanfall's $60 value from the cost, and Microsoft at last has the cheaper console. So, which of you is buying? Update: Amazon is also getting in on the action. Though the Titanfall bundle is still listed for $499, adding it to the cart and using promo code "xiamazon" drops the price to $450.
Titanfall bundle discounted by $50 at Walmart
Walmart is offering a $50 discount on the new Titanfall Xbox One bundle, bringing it down from $500 to $450. The deal looks to be available both online and in stores, and should you prefer you can get your new console minus giant mechs by picking up the standard Xbox One bundle for the same price. Walmart isn't indicating how long the discounted price will be available for. Microsoft released the Titanfall Xbox One bundle alongside Respawn's multiplayer shooter last week, priced $500 in North America as per the system's launch price. The Xbox One did get a price cut in the UK, though, after Microsoft reduced the suggested tag from £430 to £400, including the Titanfall bundle. [Image: Microsoft]
Rumor: Titanfall 2 rights secured by EA, won't be Microsoft-exclusive
Electronic Arts has the rights to publish the sequel to Respawn shooter Titanfall, according to what GameSpot describes as a "reputable source." EA refused to comment on "rumor and speculation" to GameSpot, but the site says EA's option to secure the rights was based on the first game's sales performance. Polygon backs the claim EA secured the rights to a Titanfall sequel, adding that according to its sources the game won't be a Microsoft exclusive. EA is only releasing Titanfall on Xbox One, Xbox 360, and Windows PC. While EA is refusing to comment and the sources' claims aren't confirmed, the bits and pieces we've heard from EA and Respawn seem to back up the speculation. Respawn co-founder Vince Zampella already assured fans that his studio will make games for the PS4, just "not the first Titanfall." EA Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen previously said, "I'm sure that there will be future Titanfalls at some point that may be on multiple product platforms. [I] don't know, that's up to the teams that are going through that now." In any case, the Xbox 360 is still waiting on the first Titanfall. The Bluepoint-developed version was due to hit the platform on March 25, but EA delayed it yesterday to early April. [Image: EA]
Titanfall delayed again on Xbox 360, now launching April 8th
If you're an Xbox 360 owner that hoped to get your hands on a copy of Titanfall before the end of the month, we have some bad news: you're going to need to wait a little longer. EA announced today that for the second time in just over a month, the launch date will be pushed back, this time until April 8th in North America and April 11th in Europe. EA says the delay will help developer Bluepoint Games make things "even better." The game was originally due to hit stores on March 11th, but was delayed by two weeks to "put the finishing touches" on the current-gen title. What those finishing touches were, we don't know, but given reports of graphical imperfections on the Xbox One, Bluepoint's decision to push back the launch to "get the last details right" could be the right one.
Titanfall for Xbox 360 delayed
Titanfall for Xbox 360 is receiving a two-week delay. Originally scheduled for titanfall on March 25, the game will now be ready for pilots on April 8 and April 11 in North America and Europe, respectively. "We see a few things that can be made even better, so we're giving Bluepoint a little more time to do just that and deliver an epic Titanfall experience for Xbox 360 players," said EA's Patrick Soderlund in an official post. "The game will feature the same 6v6 gameplay, maps, modes, weapons and Burn Cards as the Xbox One and PC versions of the game." We should note that we've yet to see or touch the Xbox 360 version. The Xbox One version is pretty fantastic. [Image: Respawn]
Titanfall State of Service: Week One
This is State of Service, an ongoing review of the online service of a recently launched game. See our scored review of Titanfall here. Tuesday, March 18 | T-minus 23 days until final verdict Current State of Service: Good Summary: Launch day problems resolved. PC experiencing limited issues. Australia receives dedicated servers. One week out, Titanfall seems to be running strong. Isolated reports of lag and hanging matchmaking screens are reaching us, but the Joystiq staff is reporting no significant issues on either PC or Xbox One. The biggest complaint so far seems to be uneven matchmaking, with low-level players regularly being matched with high-level and even Prestige level players. Some PC users with Belkin routers are still having trouble connecting, but Belkin offered a workaround that's less expensive than "buy a new router." If you encounter any problems with Titanfall, let us know in the comments or on Joystiq's Twitter or Facebook accounts (use the hashtag #sos and don't forget to specify your platform!).
Microsoft to take Xbox One to 26 new countries in September
On sale in 13 countries, Microsoft's Xbox One is already pulling in the sales. Now that A+ titles like Titanfall and Twitch game streaming are finally with us, the company is ready to take the next-generation console to new markets: 26 of them in fact. Gamers on all continents will be served, but you'll have to wait until September to get your hands on Redmond's new black box. In the meantime, check out if you reside in one of the confirmed markets in the list after the break, and then wait a few short weeks until Microsoft shares more information on its local launches.
Daily Roundup: 8GB iPhone 5c rumor, Microsoft OneNote goes free, and more
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Titanfall graphics test highlights glitches on Xbox One (video)
If there was ever a game that could cope with a few graphical imperfections, it'd be a frenetic multiplayer shooter like Titanfall. But flaws do visibly exist on the Xbox One version of that game, and Eurogamer has highlighted them in a side-by-side video with the PC version. You can see the impact of the console's lower resolution (1,408 x 792) and weaker anti-aliasing, versus the 1080p experience offered by a mid-range Windows gaming rig (with a six-core AMD FX CPU and a NVIDIA GTX 760 graphics card). More noticeable than any of that, however, is the issue of screen tearing: Horizontal slashes that happen when the game drops below the holy grail of 60 frames per second that its creators intended. Like Eurogamer, we really don't think this does significant damage to Titanfall's overall experience -- we're still glued to it -- but this is one more notable instance of a mismatch between what developers wanted to achieve in a next-gen title, and what Microsoft's console was able to deliver.
Titanfall helps the Xbox One almost double weekly sales in the UK
The Xbox One saw UK week-on-week sales jump by 96 percent alongside the arrival of Titanfall, with the game's bundle accounting for 70 percent of the hardware shifted. It's no surprise, then, that EA's multiplayer shooter went top of the country's sales charts, despite a valiant effort from Dark Souls 2. Namco brought Demon's Souls to Europe almost a year after Atlus released it North America, and it debuted sixth in the UK charts back in June 2010. A year later, Dark Souls landed in third, and its sequel went one better with a 20 percent rise in UK sales over its predecessor. Not a bad performance for the action-RPG series, especially since at one stage it looked uncertain to even reach Europe. Looking down the UK charts, a month that's been packed with new releases meant there wasn't enough space in the top ten for Yoshi's New Island. The 3DS game placed 12th. [Image: EA]
Weekly Roundup: Apple releases iOS 7.1, Amazon raises the price of Prime and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
