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All Articles: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
CoD Ghosts and Xbox One are December 2013’s best-selling game and console
The NPD Group has delivered their monthly report on the state of the retail game market and December 2013 was another blockbuster month. According to Joystiq, consumers spent $3.28 billion on video game products last month, an increase of two percent over December 2012. And thanks to new consoles, hardware sales were way up, totalling $1.37 billion (versus $1.07 billion last year).
And speaking of next-generation consoles, NPD is reporting that the Xbox One can lay claim to the US sales crown for December. Though Sony still holds a slight edge in total worldwide sales.
As for the games, Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 pulled off a repeat atop the retail sales chart. They were followed by the usual assortment of holiday season bestsellers and you can find last month’s complete top ten after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA 14, Grand Theft Auto V, Just Dance 2014, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, NPD, Skylanders Swap Force
The Last of Us leads 2014 DICE Awards with 13 nominations
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences has announced the nominees for this year’s DICE Awards. This year, The Last of Us leads all games with 13 nominations, including “Game of the Year.” It will compete against four other games for the honor: Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, BioShock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.
Each of this year’s “Game of the Year” nominees has a chance to collect multiple awards as Grand Theft Auto V (seven), BioShock Infinite (six), and Assassin’s Creed IV (five), and A Link Between Worlds (three) were all nominated in multiple categories. With five nominations, Tearaway is also up a huge number of awards. All told, 61 games received nominations in 24 categories this year.
The 2014 DICE Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, February 6 during the close of this year’s DICE Summit. A complete list of nominees can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, BioShock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
2014 Writers Guild Awards nominees announced
The Writers Guild of America has announced the nominees for this year’s Writers Guild Award. The award, which honors “Outstanding Achievement in Writing for Videogames,” will be given out on Saturday, February 1 during the 2014 Writers Guild Awards ceremony.
This year, the writers behind Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, God of War: Ascension, The Last of Us, and Lost Planet 3 will all battle it out for the award. A full list of every nominated writer can be found right here:
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft)
Story by Darby McDevitt, Mustapha Mahrach, Jean Guesdon
Lead Scriptwriter: Darby McDevitt
Scriptwriter: Jill Murray
AI Scriptwriter: Nicholas Grimwood
Scriptwriter Singapore: Mark Llabres HillBatman: Arkham Origins (Warner Bros. Interactive)
Narrative Director: Dooma Wendschuh; Writer & Senior Narrative Designer: Ryan Galletta
Writer: Corey MayGod of War: Ascension (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Written by Marianne Krawczyk
Additional Writing: Ariel LawrenceThe Last of Us (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Written by Neil DruckmannLost Planet 3 (Capcom)
Head Writer: Richard Gaubert
Writers: Orion Walker, Matt Sophos
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, God of War: Ascension, Lost Planet 3, The Last of Us
XBL Store Today: Walking Dead: Season 2 Episode 1, Assassin’s Creed IV
The Dead walk on the Xbox Live Arcade once again! The first episode of Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Season 2, “All That Remains,” is now available to download. Episode One (and all subsequent chapters) has been priced at $4.99, but you can grab the Season Pass for $14.99, which is a pretty hefty discount.
Also available to download today is Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, the latest game to chronicle the fight between the Assassins and the Templars (now with pirates!).
More details on both games are available right here:
The Walking Dead: Season 2 – “All That Remains” ($4.99)
Left to fend for herself, Clementine has been forced to learn how to survive in a world gone mad. Many months have passed since the events seen in Season One of The Walking Dead, and Clementine is searching for safety. But what can an ordinary child do to stay alive when the living can be just as bad – and sometimes worse – than the dead? As Clementine, you will be tested by situations and dilemmas that will test your morals and your instinct for survival. Your decisions and actions will change the story around you, in this sequel to 2012’s Game of the Year.
Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag ($59.99)
It is 1715. Pirates rule the Caribbean and have established a lawless Republic. Among these outlaws is a fearsome young captain named Edward Kenway. His exploits earn the respect of legends like Blackbeard, but draw him into an ancient war that may destroy everything the pirates have built.
Posted in News, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, The Walking Dead Season 2
CoD: Ghosts, Battlefield 4 march to the top of November 2013’s best-selling games chart
With the PS4 and Xbox One now available in stores across the country, the NPD Group is ready to talk about the financial health of the video game industry with their most recent monthly report. Total sales of $2.7 billion fueled the game industry in November, an increase of seven percent over November 2012’s sales numbers. The next-generation had a lot to do with the inflated number, as hardware sales were listed at $1.3 billion for the month, a 58% increase year-over-year.
But what about the games? Well, new releases Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag marched to the top three spots. Below that is a trio of non-November releases (Madden NFL 25, Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K14) and below that is a trio of family-friendly titles (Skylanders Swap Force, Just Dance 2014, Disney Infinity). FIFA 14 rounded out the top ten.
The top ten brought with it an interesting comparison between the two next-generation consoles and there seemed to be no clear-cut winner. According to Joystiq, the PS4 versions of Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, Assassin’s Creed IV, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, and FIFA 14 outsold their Xbox One counterparts. But the Xbox One can claim sales superiority with Skylanders Swap Force and Just Dance 2014 among multiplatform releases.
Finally, it was a bad month to be a platform-exclusive game as major releases like Super Mario 3D World, Killzone: Shadow Fall, Forza Motorsport 5, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds failed to crack the top ten.
You can find the complete chart of November 2013’s best-sellng games after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Disney Infinity, FIFA 14, Grand Theft Auto V, Just Dance 2014, Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, NPD, Skylanders Swap Force
GTA5 is “Game of the Year” at the 2013 VGX Awards
The first ever VGX Awards (formerly known as the Spike TV Video Game Awards) were held last night and the best games of 2013 were once again crowned by GameTrailers.com’s Geoff Keighley (with an assist from Community‘s Joel McHale). The general consensus among the Internetatti is that the show still doesn’t know what it wants to be and that the “intimate studio setting” (and McHale) made the whole thing feel a bit bizarre. But what about the award winners?
In what is sure to be the first of many, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V was named “Game of the Year” by the VGX Advisory Council. Rockstar’s crime saga also took home “Best Soundtrack.” But, the developer missed out on “Studio of the Year” honors. That award went to Naughty Dog for their work on The Last of Us. Their apocalyptic story was also awarded “Best PlayStation Game.” “Best Voice Actor” (Troy Baker), and “Best Voice Actress” (Ashley Johnson). Other multiple award winners include indie sensation Gone Home (“Best PC Game” and “Best Independent Game”) and BioShock Infinite (“Best Shooter” and “Best Song in a Game”).
A complete list of this year’s winners, including the remaining genre awards, “Best Xbox Game” (the surprising Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons), and “Best Nintendo Game” (Super Mario 3D World), can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, BioShock Infinite, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon, Forza Motorsport 5, Gone Home, Grand Theft Auto V, Injustice: Gods Among Us, NBA 2K14, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch, Super Mario 3D World, The Last of Us, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, VGX 2013
Grand Theft Auto V is October 2013’s best-selling game
Once again, Grand Theft Auto V reigns supreme. The latest entry in Rockstar’s blockbuster franchise remains atop the NPD Group’s monthly tabulations of the best-selling games at retail.
It’s important to note that GTA5 didn’t pull off this repeat performance against a group of lightweights. The remaining spots in the top ten, all nine of them, were claimed by new releases. You can check out the rest of the top ten right here and, if you gambled that Pokemon X would sell more copies than Pokemon Y, it’s time to collect:
Bestselling Games in October 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Pokemon X (3DS)
3. Pokemon Y (3DS)
4. Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
5. Batman: Arkham Origins (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
6. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U)
7. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
8. Skylanders Swap Force (Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
9. Lego Marvel Super Heroes (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, 3DS, Vita, PC)
10. WWE 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3)
According to Joystiq, GTA5 wasn’t the only big winner last month. The entire industry had a very profitable four weeks as last month’s software sales were higher than the same period from 2012, making October 2013 the third month in a row to see year-over-year sales gains.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Batman: Arkham Origins, Battlefield 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Marvel Super Heroes, NBA 2K14, NPD, Pokemon X/Y, Skylanders Swap Force, WWE 2K14
Assassin’s Creed IV, Battlefield 4, Angry Birds Star Wars, more added to PS Store
It’s another big week for the PlayStation Store as five PS3 games (and one Vita title) made their digital download debut simultaneously with their retail release.
Do you like exciting military action? There’s Battlefield 4.
Do you like stealth action with a dash of piracy? There’s Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.
Do you like Pac-Man (and who doesn’t?)? There’s Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures.
Do you like wrasslin’? There’s WWE 2K14.
Do you like flinging birds at Stormtroopers? There’s Angry Birds Star Wars on the PS3 or Vita.
More details on all of these titles, as well as a few others (including Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate HD), can be found after the break. And, as always, a full rundown of this week’s new game add-ons can be found at the PlayStation Blog. (more…)