Xbox One sales see huge jump in the UK after Xbox One S launch

When we reviewed the Xbox One S, we asked ‘who is this for?’ In the United Kingdom, at least, the answer is ‘lots of people.’

According to data obtained by MCV, the Xbox One had a 71 percent share of the hardware market last week, an increase of 76 percent over last year.

It’s tough to know how this compares to sales in other markets, or whether this will continue. PlayStation 4 sales accounted for 19 percent of market share last week, down 66 compared to last year, but a special set of circumstances is making for a sort of perfect storm here.

Xbox has typically done better in the United Kingdom when compared to other markets, and many consumers are likely hesitating to buy a PlayStation 4 right now with the significantly more powerful PlayStation 4 Pro just six weeks away from release. On top of that, there’s a new FIFA game this week, which is a huge system seller. So we have a game that pushes systems off the shelves in a market that typically likes Xbox during a time when consumers are hesitating to buy their competitor.

Microsoft has to gain a lot of momentum to push back against Sony’s PlayStation 4, so we’d need to see months and months of numbers like this, which doesn’t seem likely. With that said, Sony’s been making some missteps lately.

No Man’s Sky, which Sony pushed hard for, was so far off the mark that the developer is being investigated for false advertising. News recently broke that Fallout 4 won’t be receiving mods on PlayStation 4 due to policies within Sony. The PlayStation 4 slim and PlayStation 4 Pro were poorly received as well after their September 7 unveiling. The new system is underpowered in comparison to the upcoming Xbox Scorpio and lacking in features compared to the Xbox One S, which features a UHD Blu-ray drive, something that currently seems like a huge omission for a system touting 4K as a major feature.

Microsoft is in a good place to start building up if they can hang on.

“It’s great to see how popular both the Xbox One S and the FIFA 17 Xbox One S consoles are with fans, not just over the last week but since the Xbox One S was released in August.” said Xbox UK’s head of marketing Harvey Eagle when speaking to MCV. “4K video streaming and 4K UHD Blu-ray have been extremely well received and we believe there is no better value right now for those looking to upgrade their console.”

Harvey called out the return of Gears of War with Gears 4‘s release on October 11 and Skyrim: Special Edition, which will allow mods on Xbox One, on October 28 as making now the best time yet to own an Xbox One.

SOURCE MCV

Ubisoft’s shareholder meeting could mark turning point in its battle for independence

Normally, talking about which board members a company might vote for in a meeting is coma-inducing, but today it’s a big deal. Ubisoft has a shareholder meeting today, and it could mark a turning point for the company.

For months now, French media conglomerate Vivendi has been slowly buying up shares of otherwise independent game publisher. Earlier this year, Vivendi pushed and successfully took control of Gameloft, a mobile-focused company that is, like Ubisoft, owned by the Guillemot family.

Like a significant other slowly moving stuff into Ubisoft’s apartment, Vivendi continues to insist that it’s not looking to move in – with the difference being that when Vivendi moves in, it gets to keep all the stuff while the brothers Guillemot move out. Vivendi insists that it is not looking to take control of Ubisoft, but rather sees a greater level of synergy between the two companies’ music, movie, television, and video game divisions. Vivendi owned a large stake in Activision Blizzard until 2013, when it sold its shares back to the publisher due, apparently, to a lack of synergy.

What’s happening this morning is a stockholder meeting including a vote for two new proposed members of the Ubisoft board of directors. Adding two Ubisoft-allied directors would help Ubisoft push back against Vivendi’s unwanted advances. Vivendi, meanwhile, has the ability as a shareholder to raise a vote at the meeting without warning to bring its own shareholders into the fold.

Vivendi holds about 23 percent of Ubisoft’s stock right now. As Polygon notes, the company can’t buy much more before French law obligates it to make a public offer on Ubisoft.

Ubisoft, meanwhile, has publicly and vocally opposed the takeover. CEO Yves Guillemot has used opportunities like the Ubisoft conference at E3 2016 to give impassioned speeches about Ubisoft’s long history as a creative studio. Guillemot told the Wall street Journal that Ubisoft won’t be able to rest comfortably until Vivendi sells shares.

Ubisoft has remained independent through its existence and, for its part, been the source of a number of unique games. We complain about the annualization of games like Assassin’s Creed, but a history of games like Prince of Persia and Beyond Good & Evil and more recent stuff like Child of Light and Grow Home show the company is willing to experiment. The company has also shied away from pumping out tons of remakes, finally relenting with an Assassin’s Creed collection focused on Ezio Auditore, the fan-favorite protagonist of Assassin’s Creed II, Brotherhood, and Revelations.

Even stuff like Far Cry: Blood Dragon, Far Cry Primal and The Crew have ended up being interesting experiments even if they don’t venture too far outside of the company’s usual fare.

The concern floating around among not only gamers but investors, analysts, and even Ubisoft’s executives is that a takeover from Vivendi has the potential to not only hamper more creative projects but to cause a mass exodus of talent to other studios. Much of Ubisoft’s development is located in Montreal, and there’s no shortage of other studios around there to pull in the studio’s experienced developers.

By the time the meeting ends, we may have a better idea of what Vivendi’s plans are, whether it’s a hostile takeover by stock buyout or a creeping acquisition by way of board members.

SOURCE WALLSTREET JOURNAL, POLYGON

Pokemon Go Updated, as Dev Teases "Exciting Features and Changes"

Niantic has updated Pokemon Go on iOS and Android, though fans shouldn't expect any big changes.

As detailed on the Pokemon Go website, iOS update 1.9.0 and Android update 0.39.0 make changes to things like capture location display and Pokemon Go Plus functionality with incense. There are also "minor" bug fixes in the update, though these were not specified. The patch notes are below.

Interestingly, Niantic also teased that there are some "exciting features and changes coming soon," though no further details were shared. One of the biggest new features for Pokemon Go was its buddy system, which launched last week, alongside the Pokemon Go Plus accessory.

Pokemon Go Update Notes:

• Capture location: The location where a Pokemon was caught will now be displayed on their information screen.
• Pokemon Go Plus and Incense: Trainers can attempt to capture Pokemon they encounter from using Incense with the Pokemon Go Plus accessory.
• Minor bug fixes

Earlier this week, the CEO of The Pokemon Company teased a multiplayer battle mode for Pokemon Go, though it's not clear if that's one of the "exciting features" referenced above.

Pokemon Go launched in July and took the world by storm--it's reached a staggering 500 million downloads. Even The Pokemon Company was not expecting it to be such a hit, as CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara said the reaction was "10 times or even 100 times bigger than we expected." The game has also led to significant increases in Pokemon game and trading card sales.

Minecraft: Education Edition launches Nov. 1, includes lesson plans

You know what I played on the computers in the computer lab when I was a kid? Number Munchers. Odell Lake. Oregon Trail. Kids today? They’ll be playing Minecraft.

Microsoft has announced the launch date and a few details for Minecraft: Education Edition. The game will be available on November 1, 2016. The game is already in Early Access form, and it’s seen over 35,000 students and teachers give it a shot.

Educators can try out the early access version of Minecraft: Education Edition before buying by heading to the site that will host all resources for your needs, education.minecraft.net. That includes lesson plans for specific age groups, too.

Teachers will have access to Classroom Mode, a companion app “that enables educators to manage world settings, communicate with students, give items and teleport students in the Minecraft world.”

What about cost? Well, with education software, you’re typically going to look at a price per user per year, and that’s what Microsoft has done with Minecraft: Education Edition. Don’t worry, it’s not too bad. “Minecraft: Education Edition will be available for purchase later this fall and will cost between $1 and $5 per user, per year depending on the size of your school and qualification for volume licensing,” Microsoft said.

Man, I wish I had a Minecraft class.

SOURCE MICROSOFT

Amazon now offers a photo printing service

Photo printing services are a dime a dozen but that hasn’t stopped Amazon from jumping into the crowded market. Launched this week, the new service is a perk for Prime users looking to print photo books (hardcover with glossy paper or hardcover with matte paper) or a collection of images, say from a family event or vacation. Standard shipping is free for a limited time.

The service is pretty straightforward and barebones. Prime members can choose between 4×6 prints, 5×7 prints, and 8×10 prints, ranging in prices from 9 cents up to $1.79 for each 8×10 print. So far as I can tell, there’s no limit on how many photos users are required to order, which means you can do as few as one or more. (For what it’s worth, I ordered a single 8×10 and it went through just fine.) It doesn’t make sense to do just one 4×6 at 9 cents, but ordering a single family portrait at $1.79 (plus tax) is understandable.

Photo books are a little more complicated and there are a few different options depending on how much money you’re willing to spend. You can get an 8×11 hardcover photo book for $19.99 or an 8×11 premium lay flat option that uses thicker paper and essentially eliminates the spine of the book in order to best showcase your photos.

Here’s where it gets a little tricky. The printing service ties into Amazon’s Cloud Drive, which is free for Prime members ($100 a year). However, if you aren’t a Prime member, a Cloud Drive membership is required, which goes for $60 per year if you don’t want to shell out for Prime. Whichever option you choose, you get unlimited storage for photos, which can then easily be printed out through Amazon’s new service.

In addition to photos and photo books, the printing service will soon offer stationary cards and wall calendars, making it a well-rounded one-stop-shop for all your printing needs, especially with the holidays on the horizon. If you already have a Prime membership, it sure beats a trip to Walgreens and fussing with those self-checkout machines.

SOURCE BLOOMBERG

Look at this real-life full-size Transformer (is it real?)

Dreams really do come true, at least if your dream is to own a working Transformer. Turkish company Letvision says it’s developed a robot that can actually transform into a full-sized car.

Each robot features a BMW-inspired design and comes with a remote controller you can use to drive it around or start the transformation. Once the Letron is in robot form it can move its head, arms and fingers thanks to internal hydraulics. It can also talk using a built-in speaker. The company is offering a full robot lineup with options in red, blue, orange, white and gray.

Of course, it’s possible this could just be a clever hoax, but videos of the robot look pretty convincing. Whether the company can turn its prototype into a polished final product remains to be seen. For now, we’re pretty happy just watching this demo on repeat.

SOURCE LETRONS

List of Pokémon GO buddies tells you how far you’ll need to walk to get a candy

Candy is the ultimate goal of Pokémon GO. Without it, your beasts will never grow stronger and you’ll forever dangle in mediocrity knowing you never got over the edge to get that Gyadaros.

The new buddy system is looking to ease the burden of collecting candy by allowing you to generate it on your own. Selecting a favorite Pokémon and having him walk alongside you enables this new skill, and the further you walk with your companion, the more candy of hihs type you’ll get.

Naturally, the stronger Pokémon will generate candy at a much less frequent rate, similar to egg rarity. Here is a list from Pokémon GO Hub that spells out how far you’ll need to walk for each Pokémon. The website also breaks down which are the best economically to use.

Pokemon Go: 1km per Candy Buddy Pokemon

• Caterpie
• Metapod
• Butterfree
• Weedle
• Kakuna
• Beedrill
• Pidgey
• Pidgeotto
• Pidgeot
• Rattata
• Raticate
• Spearow
• Fearow
• Pikachu
• Raichu
• Clefairy
• Clefable
• Jigglypuff
• Wigglytuff
• Zubat
• Golbat
• Geodude
• Graveler
• Golem
• Magikarp
• Gyarados

Pokemon Go: 3km per Candy Buddy Pokemon

• Bulbasaur
• Ivysaur
• Venusaur
• Charmander
• Charmeleon
• Charizard
• Squirtle
• Wartortle
• Blastoise
• Ekans
• Abrok
• Sandshrew
• Sandslash
• Nidron (F)
• Nidorina
• Nidoqueen
• Nidoran (M)
• Nidorino
• Nidoking
• Vulpix
• Ninetales
• Oddish
• Gloom
• Vileplume
• Paras
• Parasect
• Venonat
• Venomoth
• Diglett
• Dugtrio
• Meowth
• Persian
• Psyduck
• Golduck
• Mankey
• Primeape
• Growlithe
• Arcanine
• Poliwag
• Poliwhirl
• Poliwrath
• Abra
• Kadabra
• Alakazam
• Machop
• Machoke
• Machamp
• Bellsprout
• Weepinbell
• Victreebel
• Tentacool
• Tentacruel
• Ponyta
• Rapidash
• Slowpoke
• Slowbro
• Magnemite
• Mangeton
• Farfetch’d
• Doduo
• Dodrio
• Seel
• Dewgong
• Grimer
• Muk
• Shellder
• Cloyster
• Gastly
• Haunter
• Gengar
• Drowzee
• Hypno
• Krabby
• Kingler
• Voltorb
• Electrode
• Exeggcute
• Exeggutor
• Cubone
• Marowak
• Lickitung
• Koffing
• Weezing
• Rhyhorn
• Rhydon
• Tangela
• Kangaskhan
• Horsea
• Seadra
• Goldeen
• Seaking
• Staryu
• Starmie
• Tauros
• Porygon

Pokemon Go: 5km per Candy Buddy Pokemon

• Onyx
• Hitmonlee
• Hitmonchan
• Chansey
• Mr. Mime
• Scyther
• Jynx
• Electabuzz
• Magmar
• Pinsir
• Lapras
• Eevee
• Vaporeon
• Jolteon
• Flareon
• Omanyte
• Omastar
• Kabuto
• Kabutops
• Aerodactyl
• Snorlax
• Dratini
• Dragonair
• Dragonite

Pokemon Go: Unknown Buddy Pokemon Candy Distances

• Ditto
• Articuno
• Zapdos
• Moltres
• Mewtwo
• Mew

Pokémon GO’s update has been sent in for approval, and it should turn up on iOS and Android very soon.

SOURCE POKÉMON GO HUB

Super Mario Run will be free-to-start, just like Rusty’s Real Deal Baseball

When Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto took the stage at Apple’s iPhone 7 reveal last week, he announced that Super Mario Run would come to the App Store at a set price.

Well, sort of, as we’ve learned.

Nintendo’s taking the same approach with Super Mario Run that they did with games likeRusty’s Real Deal Baseball (which I adored) on the Nintendo 3DS. It’ll be free-to-start.

Super Mario Run will be free to download, as Shigeru Miyamoto explained this to IGN. But what you get when you snag the free version isn’t the full game.

“The basic goal is to give people a sample of what the gameplay will be so that they can get a sense of what they’ll experience when they get the full game…”

Once you sample those levels, you’ll have the option to buy the full game at a single price through an in-app-purchase. Here’s Miyamoto on that decision.

“But of course one of the reasons that we want to offer the game for a set price is so that parents who are buying it for their kids can know that ‘I’ve bought the game and now my kids can play it as much as they want and there’s not going to be additional costs associated with that.’ But obviously I think between the world tour single player mode and clearing all those levels, plus the kingdom mode, plus the battle mode, you’re going to want the full experience because it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Remember: just because you see that free download button for Super Mario Run, the whole game isn’t free. If you want to take the plumber on his first full mobile adventure, you’ll have to cough up some coins. The good news is that you’ll only cough them up once. At least, that’s the case for now.

SOURCE IGN

The PS4 Pro was created to keep players from migrating to PC, says Sony boss

After the official reveal of the PlayStation 4 Pro last week in New York, gaming and tech sites around the world have been asking sort of the same question: who was this system made for?

It sounds like a loaded question that suggests the PS4 Pro is pointless. It isn’t. We understand what it does and recognize that the games look good on it if the proper display is in place. It’s just such a minor bump in capabilities that one has to wonder who, exactly, Sony had in mind when they created the machine.

We have an answer! At least, it’s the public answer that Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House was willing to share with The Guardian. Sony’s created the PS4 Pro to serve pre-existing PS4 owners. Here’s House.

“There’s a dip mid-console lifecycle where the players who want the very best graphical experience will start to migrate to PC, because that’s obviously where it’s to be had…

…We wanted to keep those people within our eco-system by giving them the very best and very highest [performance quality].”

It’s the PS4 “Please Don’t Leave, We’ll Do Better,” basically. Doesn’t have as nice a ring to it as PS4 Pro, does it?

Will the PS4 Pro be enough to keep you Sony-exclusive, dear gamer?

SOURCE THE GUARDIAN

VIA POLYGON

Pokémon GO buddy update is on the way, Niantic details latest patch

Niantic has submitted the latest update for Pokémon GO, version 1.7.0 on iOS and 0.37.0 on Android. This update will deliver the highly anticipated Buddy system which will allow players to get candies and improve a favorite Pokémon faster than others.

The Buddy system and other details for the patch are now available, via Niantic.

Pokémon GO is in the process of being updated to version 0.37.0 for Android and 1.7.0 for iOS devices. Below are some release notes and comments from our development team.

• Implemented Buddy Pokémon: Trainers will now be able to choose one of their Pokémon to be their buddy. A Trainer can earn Candy for their Buddy Pokémon by walking a certain distance.

• Made it easier to select smaller Pokémon on the screen.

• Fixed an issue where Eggs would sometimes hatch without displaying the animation.

• Improved performance reliability when a device switches networks to no longer cause the application to hang or stop updating.

• Pokémon GO Plus support

• Minor text fixes.

We continue to focus on eliminating bots and scrapers from Pokémon GO. Rooted or jailbroken devices are not supported by Pokémon GO. Remember to download Pokémon GO from the official Google Play Store or iTunes App Store only.

No specific date has been set for this Pokémon GO update, but keep an eye out for it before the end of the week.

source SILICONERA