All those who raised a question about graphics/visuals downgrade in Watch Dogs must check out this comparison screen, the details are next-to real.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Watch Dogs vs Google Maps
Ubisoft's upcoming hacking open world title, Watch Dogs is set in
Chicago City. The development team did a great job of replicating
real-life Chicago City in Watch Dogs and proof of this is a comparison
screen posted below showcasing Chicago City in Watch Dogs vs Chicago
City Snapshot via Google Map.
All those who raised a question about graphics/visuals downgrade in Watch Dogs must check out this comparison screen, the details are next-to real.
All those who raised a question about graphics/visuals downgrade in Watch Dogs must check out this comparison screen, the details are next-to real.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Microsoft Q3 Financial Results
DualShockers yesterday reported the quarterly financial results for Microsoft, including a press release detailing the revenue for the quarter ended on March 31st.
Just to put things into perspective.
For the quarter MS reported a $20billion in revenue overall... $1.97 billion included all hardware devices sold.
Of that $1.97billion approximately $600million came direct from console sales of X1(1.2mil * 500). another $200 million came from the 360(.8mil * 250).
The surface tablets alone accounted for $494 million which roughly equates to 1.2 million sales(494mil / ~$400).
The rest probably came from other peripherals and mobile devices that ms sells.
The total revenue for all Devices & Consumer Other category was 1.95 billion which included office 365, ad revenues generated from sources like bing as well as xbl transactional revenues among other things. I would guess at least half of that comes from bing and potentially alot more as it now has an 18% market share in the US. I'd guess that 500-600 million might be reasonable for xbl transactions. Might be generous though too. I'm shooting in the dark here.
Revenue is meaningless though. The actual net income overall for MS was $5.6 billion. This is what they gained after subtracting all costs. For all of devices and hardware the gross margin was $256million. Please stop and let that sink in for a moment. The actual net income would be less than that as the gross margin does not factor in all costs... (they neglected to report any net incomes at this level in the article as MS probably didnt report them either).
Last year the gross margin for the same quarter was 393 million. Its nearly half as profitable as it was at this time last year. That is what georgeenoob means by being at its most successful state.
The gross margin (which again doesn't include all costs) for Devices and Consumer other(bing, office 365, xbl) was only 540 million. Once again the net income is less than that. and the xbl generated income is less than that still probably by at least half. That is for the massive install base of the 360 along with the x1.
To say it is doomed isn't true, but these aren't exactly good numbers or something to be exactly proud of. The margins and volumes even on the software side do not look too stellar. I understand why they are hiding things.
The company announced a revenue of $20.40 billion for the quarter ended on march 31st. Gross margin, operating income, net income, and diluted earnings per share for the quarter were respectively $14.46 billion, $6.97 billion, $5.66 billion, and $0.68 per share.
Just to put things into perspective.
For the quarter MS reported a $20billion in revenue overall... $1.97 billion included all hardware devices sold.
Of that $1.97billion approximately $600million came direct from console sales of X1(1.2mil * 500). another $200 million came from the 360(.8mil * 250).
The surface tablets alone accounted for $494 million which roughly equates to 1.2 million sales(494mil / ~$400).
The rest probably came from other peripherals and mobile devices that ms sells.
The total revenue for all Devices & Consumer Other category was 1.95 billion which included office 365, ad revenues generated from sources like bing as well as xbl transactional revenues among other things. I would guess at least half of that comes from bing and potentially alot more as it now has an 18% market share in the US. I'd guess that 500-600 million might be reasonable for xbl transactions. Might be generous though too. I'm shooting in the dark here.
Revenue is meaningless though. The actual net income overall for MS was $5.6 billion. This is what they gained after subtracting all costs. For all of devices and hardware the gross margin was $256million. Please stop and let that sink in for a moment. The actual net income would be less than that as the gross margin does not factor in all costs... (they neglected to report any net incomes at this level in the article as MS probably didnt report them either).
Last year the gross margin for the same quarter was 393 million. Its nearly half as profitable as it was at this time last year. That is what georgeenoob means by being at its most successful state.
The gross margin (which again doesn't include all costs) for Devices and Consumer other(bing, office 365, xbl) was only 540 million. Once again the net income is less than that. and the xbl generated income is less than that still probably by at least half. That is for the massive install base of the 360 along with the x1.
To say it is doomed isn't true, but these aren't exactly good numbers or something to be exactly proud of. The margins and volumes even on the software side do not look too stellar. I understand why they are hiding things.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Minecraft coming to PS4 and Vita Soon
Since they were first announced, Mojang has been
hesitant to provide a release date for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation
Vita versions of Minecraft.
And while it still hasn't given us anything exact, the developer now
says the sandbox building game will be out on the two systems during the
second or third quarter of this year, placing its release somewhere
between now and the end of September.
Mojang shared this release window in the comments of a recent PlayStation Blog post (via CVG) about the retail PS3 version of Minecraft coming on May 16.
In
another comment, Mojang's Owen Hill described the Vita version as being
"closer to the console versions," as opposed to the more limited Pocket
Edition available on mobile systems. In response to a question about
the ability to transfer Minecraft saves from the PS3 version, Hill said,
"You should be able to bring your PS3 save to PS4."
As
for whether owners of the PS3 version will have to pay again for access
on the PS4 or Vita, he said, "We’re in the process of finalising
cross-buy/upgrade/DLC things. More news soon."
Minecraft was announced for the PS4, PS3, and Vita last August. It was released on the PS3 in December, with the other two versions--along with the Xbox One version--expected to be released sometime this year.
Monday, April 21, 2014
PlayStation Now Beta
Looks like Sony is applying some very fast iteration to the games offered as part of the PlayStation Now
beta test, dualshockers delivered
a few snapshots showcasing the new catalog, which shows an arguable
improvement in the quality of the titles included since the last update.
Here’s the full list of the games currently available:
At the moment, of course, there are no price tags attached, and it’ll be interesting to see how this will translate into the final version this summer. Of course we have to remember that this is indeed a beta, and it doesn’t represent the final list of games that will be offered by the service.
See images and original article HERE
Here’s the full list of the games currently available:
- Heavy Fire: Shattered Spear
- LUMINES: Supernova
- NIGHTS Into Dreams…
- Retro/Grade
- Sacred Citadel
- Saints Row: The Third
- Skullgirls Encore
- Sniper Elite V2
- Puppeteer
- Eat Them!
- PixelJump Racers 2nd Lap
- PixelJunk Shooter 2
- BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
- Ben 10 Omniverse 2
- Contrast
- Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness
- Catherine
- El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron
- FUEL
- GRID
At the moment, of course, there are no price tags attached, and it’ll be interesting to see how this will translate into the final version this summer. Of course we have to remember that this is indeed a beta, and it doesn’t represent the final list of games that will be offered by the service.
See images and original article HERE
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Building A Gaming PC On A Next Gen Console Budget
Gamespot has a great new feature out about whether or not you can build a gaming PC at the same cost of a PS4 or a Xbox One, and get relatively equal performance or better. They conducted a study by having two their people each build a system, one being AMD and the other being Intel/Nvidia. Here are their results:
With these systems, they were able to get adequate results on the new popular titles Assassin's Creed IV, Battlefield 4, Thief, and Titanfall. They all had above an average FPS of 30, and some averaged over 60 on high/ultra settings.
Many in the comments were quick to react with arguments to the study. They didn't include the cost of a monitor, or a controller. What about the HDMI cable? The Wifi, BluRay drive, Blutooth and Kinect were also not included. Does any of that matter though? Should they be factoring in the cost of a TV when talking about the cost of consoles? What about the $60 yearly subscription fee that is required to play anything on multiplayer on either a PS4 or Xbox One? A keyboard and mouse may not be the same experience as a game controller but many would argue it's a better experience. This wasn't a test to emulate a console experience, but to find if a PC could deliver an equally good if not better one. HDMI cables are only around $5. PCs don't need BluRay drives, as PC games are still primarily sold on DVDs. And Kinect? Microsoft has yet to prove its worth to the consumer, as no game needs it, and the couple that do are garbage.
If anything, Gamespot's inclusion of a Windows license more of a formality than a necessity. Most consumers don't buy windows for home use. Unless the rig is being used for professional work or the computer came with it preinstalled, people just pirate Windows. It's understandable why Gamespot didn't do this. They're a business. They're owned by a major corporation. They survive on advertisement revenue. They can't be perceived as encouraging piracy.
Who in these modern times doesn't have a computer? Everyone, at least people who have an interest in playing video games, owns a PC or a laptop. Nobody is replacing their real computer with a next gen video game console. So people are paying for computers whether or not it's being used as a gaming system. Forgoing consoles just means putting more money towards a computer that you were going to buy anyways.
AMD Gaming PC
| Component | Type | Price | Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD FX-6300 Vishera 3.5GHz | $109.00 | Amazon |
| Motherboard | ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 AM3+ AMD 760G | $48.49 | Newegg |
| Case | Fractal Core 1000 | $39.99 | Newegg |
| PSU | EVGA 100-W1-500-KR 500W | $44.99 | Newegg |
| GPU | PowerColor AX7850 2GBD5-DH Radeon HD 7850 (open box item) | $107.00 | Newegg |
| RAM | HyperX XMP Blu Series 4GB DDR3 1600 | $40.00 | Newegg |
| Storage | Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB | $50.95 | Amazon |
| OS | Windows 8 | $70.00 | eBay |
| Key/Mouse | V7 Standard PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse Combo | $10.19 | Amazon |
| Subtotal | $520.61 | ||
| Sales Tax | $45.55 | ||
| Total | $566.16 |
Intel/Nvidia Gaming PC
| Component | Type | Price | Store |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Pentium G2130 3.2 GHz | $74.99 | Newegg |
| Motherboard | Biostar H61MGV3 | $36.99 | Newegg |
| Case | Topower TP-1687BB-300 | $34.99 | Newegg |
| PSU | 300W SFX Power Supply (included w/case) | n/a | Newegg |
| GPU | EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2 GB | $154.99 | Newegg |
| RAM | Team Elite 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1333 | $39.99 | Newegg |
| Storage | Western Digital Blue 500 GB 7200 RPM 16MB | $54.99 | Newegg |
| OS | Windows 8.1 64-Bit | $99.99 | Newegg |
| Key/Mouse | Rosewill PS/2 Wired | $12.98 | Newegg |
| Subtotal | $509.91 | ||
| Sales Tax | $38.24 | ||
| Total | $548.15 |
With these systems, they were able to get adequate results on the new popular titles Assassin's Creed IV, Battlefield 4, Thief, and Titanfall. They all had above an average FPS of 30, and some averaged over 60 on high/ultra settings.
Many in the comments were quick to react with arguments to the study. They didn't include the cost of a monitor, or a controller. What about the HDMI cable? The Wifi, BluRay drive, Blutooth and Kinect were also not included. Does any of that matter though? Should they be factoring in the cost of a TV when talking about the cost of consoles? What about the $60 yearly subscription fee that is required to play anything on multiplayer on either a PS4 or Xbox One? A keyboard and mouse may not be the same experience as a game controller but many would argue it's a better experience. This wasn't a test to emulate a console experience, but to find if a PC could deliver an equally good if not better one. HDMI cables are only around $5. PCs don't need BluRay drives, as PC games are still primarily sold on DVDs. And Kinect? Microsoft has yet to prove its worth to the consumer, as no game needs it, and the couple that do are garbage.
If anything, Gamespot's inclusion of a Windows license more of a formality than a necessity. Most consumers don't buy windows for home use. Unless the rig is being used for professional work or the computer came with it preinstalled, people just pirate Windows. It's understandable why Gamespot didn't do this. They're a business. They're owned by a major corporation. They survive on advertisement revenue. They can't be perceived as encouraging piracy.
Who in these modern times doesn't have a computer? Everyone, at least people who have an interest in playing video games, owns a PC or a laptop. Nobody is replacing their real computer with a next gen video game console. So people are paying for computers whether or not it's being used as a gaming system. Forgoing consoles just means putting more money towards a computer that you were going to buy anyways.
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