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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD MEDIA NETWORKS ANNOUNCES RECORD ESPORTS VIEWERSHIP

Philip Federico
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ACTIVISION BLIZZARD MEDIA NETWORKS ANNOUNCES RECORD ESPORTS VIEWERSHIP

Audiences Set New CS:GO Major Records With 45 Million Hours Watched and Record-Breaking Concurrent Viewership

Sydney, Australia. – April 13, 2016 – Activision Blizzard Media Networks, a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), today announced that Major League Gaming’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship (CS:GO Major) set new viewership records during its March 30 – April 3 broadcast from Columbus, Ohio. Audiences generated 71 million video views,[1] watched a record-breaking 45 million hours of live broadcast[2] and set a new record of 1.6 million concurrent viewers[3] across OTT, web, mobile and in-game streaming during this year’s event.

This breaks the previously-reported CS:GO Major record of 34 million hours viewed and 1.3 million concurrent viewers set at the 2015 CS:GO Major in Cologne, Germany.[4]

“Last year, more than 225 million people watched competitive gaming, and the passion, engagement and size of this audience only continues to grow,” said Mike Sepso, Senior Vice President of Activision Blizzard Media Networks and Major League Gaming (MLG) co-founder. “As this year’s CS:GO Major numbers show, Activision Blizzard Media Networks’ commitment to broadcasting premium content and creating incredible events is resonating with players and fans around the world.”

With the goal of building on its competitive gaming leadership and becoming the ESPN of esports, Activision Blizzard announced its Media Networks Division in October 2015, and recruited former ESPN CEO Steve Bornstein and MLG co-founder Mike Sepso to serve as the division’s Chairman and Senior Vice President, respectively. Activision Blizzard acquired the business of MLG in December 2015 to further its ability to deliver best-in-class fan experiences and premium broadcast content across games, platforms and geographies.

This year’s CS:GO Major was the first held in North America, with the world’s best CS:GO teams competing for a $1 million prize pool. The historic competition, held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, drew a sold-out crowd of over 10,000[5] fans for each of the three final days of live competition. The Columbus event concluded on April 3 and peaked with a record 1.6 million concurrent viewers[6] as the Luminosity Gaming team claimed top honours and the majority of the prize pool. Overall, MLG produced 68 hours of premium content broadcast in 15 languages during the event.

Counter-Strike competitions have been held globally for the past 16 years, with game developer Valve instituting a CS:GO Major system in 2014. The Columbus championship is the eighth CS:GO Major event held since 2013, and the first produced by MLG.

With over 225 million unique viewers, the esports audience is estimated to be bigger than audiences for many professional sports leagues. Creating premium content for these audiences will provide significant opportunities in ticket sales, advertising, sponsorships, licensing and merchandising. By 2017, esports is projected to have over 300 million viewers.[7]

Previous matches in the MLG Major can be viewed here

About Activision Blizzard

Activision Blizzard, Inc., a member of the S&P 500, is the world’s most successful standalone interactive entertainment company. We delight over 500 million monthly active users around the world through franchises including Activision’s Call of Duty®, Destiny and Skylanders®, Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft®, StarCraft®, Diablo® and Hearthstone®: Heroes of Warcraft™, and King’s Candy Crush®, Pet Rescue® and Farm Heroes®. The company is one of the Fortune ʺ100 Best Companies To Work For®ʺ. Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard has operations throughout the world, and its games are played in 196 countries. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the companyʹs website, www.activisionblizzard.com.

[1] Data provided by MLG.tv, Twitch and GOTV

[2] Data provided by MLG.tv, Mars.tv, Twitch and GOTV

[3] Data provided by MLG.tv, Twitch and GOTV

[4] ESL Press Release

[5] Ticketmaster

[6] Data provided by MLG.tv, Twitch and GOTV

[7] NewZoo

THE MILITARY HARDWARE OF THE FUTURE COMING TO ARMORED WARFARE

Philip Federico
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THE MILITARY HARDWARE OF THE FUTURE COMING TO ARMORED WARFARE

Update 0.15 Adding Tier 10 Vehicles, New Maps and Much More

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – April 12, 2016 – Developer Obsidian Entertainment and global publisher My.com are delighted to announce Update 0.15 will be bringing the first Tier 10 vehicles for Armored Warfare. Command the Challenger 2B Main Battle Tank, or outrun and outsmart your enemies in the SPHINX Armored Fighting vehicle. All of these six vehicles are cutting edge prototypes and concepts that might appear in service in the upcoming decade[S1] , but will be coming to Armored Warfare very soon.

Check out the Tier 10 tanks preview HERE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTpuPz705b4

Features introduced with Update 0.15:

  • The first six Tier 10 vehicles:
    • T-14 Armata (Main Battle Tank)
    • PL-01 (Light Tank)
    • Leopard 2A7-140 (Main Battle Tank)
    • SPHINX (Armored Fighting Vehicle)
    • XM1A3 (Main Battle Tank)
    • Challenger 2B (Main Battle Tank)
    • Two new PvE missions: Operations, Prometheus, and Meltdown will bring new challenges for players teaming up in Armored Warfare’s co-operative gameplay mode.
    • Garage UI Update: A revised User Interface based upon player feedback will enable players to efficiently filter which vehicles are shown among other enhancements.

    Read the full preview on more upcoming features HERE: aw.my.com/gb/news/general/update-015-preview

    Armored Warfare is a free-to-play massively multiplayer online tactical military game that puts the player into the world of modern warfare. In Armored Warfare, players get a chance to try the most powerful tools of destruction invented by mankind – from modern main battle tanks, to scouts and wheeled vehicles. Using modern defense systems like anti-missile protection and smoke grenades, various types of armor and ammunition, players can jump into fast paced battles both in PVP mode and a vast amount of PVE missions.

    Download Armored Warfare for free today, visit: aw.my.com.To learn more about Armored Warfare, please visit aw.my.com, ‘Like’ it on Facebook, and follow its development on Twitter @ArmoredWar for all the latest developer updates and news.

    # # #

    ABOUT MY.COM

    My.com comprises myMail, MAPS.ME, myTarget, and online and mobile games. Its mobile communications and entertainment services and apps facilitate people in pursuing their business goals – and let them relax and have a good gaming time in-between. Copyright © 2015 My.com. For more information, visit my.com/

    First Tom Clancy’s The Division Incursion Released with Patch 1.1

    Jamie Laike Tsui
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    First Tom Clancy’s The Division Incursion Released with Patch 1.1

    tom-clancys-the-division-promo-art-011

    Patch 1.1 rolled out today for Tom Clancy’s The Division on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. As with every patch, Ubisoft Massive has stomped out some bugs and exploits, including a nasty bug that disabled daily missions from resetting and another that blocked people from logging on.

    More importantly, the new patch introduces some new gameplay features. The big marquee addition is the new Falcon Lost incursion. Designed for four highly geared and coordinated players, the incursion is set in a water treatment facility being held by the Last Man Battalion. New daily and weekly assignments have also been added to the game, encouraging players to craft, do dungeons, and explore the Dark Zone.

    tom-clancys-the-division-screenshot-011

    The Dark Zone has been tweaked with new supply drops full of uncontaminated gear. These drops will happen several times a day and will force agents and NPCs to battle it out for the treasures the boxes may contain. Additionally, two new High End named weapons and four named gear sets have been released. Designed for lone wolves, support specialists, marksmen, and assaulter roles; the named gear sets will yield powerful bonuses when worn as a set. Crafting and loot drops have also been rebalanced in this patch, along with the ability to trade items with people in your instance group.

    BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE DELIVERS A NEW FREE-TO-PLAY EXPERIENCE FOR THE WII U WITH LOST REAVERS

    Philip Federico
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    BANDAI NAMCO ENTERTAINMENT EUROPE DELIVERS A NEW FREE-TO-PLAY EXPERIENCE FOR THE WII U WITH LOST REAVERS

    New Free-to-Play Dungeon Crawler Co-Op Game Enters Open Beta Today and is Available for Download Now on the Wii U eShop

    BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe today announces the latest title in their growing free-to-play catalogue, LOST REAVERS, a four-player action co-op game for the Nintendo Wii U that is now available for download in Open Beta in the Nintendo eShop.

    LOST REAVERS is an intense four-player co-op game where players must discover hidden treasures at the end of a series of dungeons and haul it safely back to their extraction point while their friends protect them. Along the way, the team will encounter a variety of traps, clever foes and the dungeon bosses who will do everything in their power to thwart the quartet. Through all of these challenges, one of the brave four must bring the treasure hoard safely back home by using only their wits and their friends to survive.

    Players can choose from one of four distinct characters to play through the game. Sayuri, a sword-wielding modern day samurai; Dwayne, a heavy-weapon toting specimen of human artillery; Victoria, a svelte dual-wielding mistress of pistols, and a mysterious masked fourth character, who wields many weapons to cut down his foes.

    With a variety of worlds ranging from Ancient Ruins, Medieval Castles and a Modern City, LOST REAVERS provides endless hours of entertainment and dozens of challenging environments for determined players and team to conquer. Along the way, players must search for new and powerful weapons, level up their characters’ skills and learn to evade cleverly placed traps. Only with trusted compatriots by your side will players prevail!

    Open Beta for LOST REAVERS commences today and players with a Wii U are able to head to the Nintendo eShop to download the game. Open Beta for LOST REAVERS will continue until April 28, when the full version of the game will become available on the Nintendo eShop.

    Watch the official Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5f0OKW8ME0

     

    More Information:

    New Trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows Out Now

    Jamie Laike Tsui
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    New Trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows Out Now

    teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-out-of-the-shadows-screenshot-001

    A brand new trailer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows has been released! The new trailer serves as a great introduction to all the characters of the film to people new to the series while teasing the film’s plot.

    Shredder has escaped prison and has teamed up with a mad scientist who has created a purple ooze that turns humans into animals and animals into humans. While the Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles struggle internally with the possibility of being able to walk freely outside of the sewers, Shredder is now looking to use the invention to take over the world.

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows is produced by Michael Bay and stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Stephen Amell, and Tyler Perry. The movie will hit cinemas on June 9th.

    Indie Gala Every Monday Bundle #106 Now Available

    Jamie Laike Tsui
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    indie-gala-monday-bundle-april-4-16

    Indie Gala and Capsule Computers is back this week with another Every Monday Bundle. This week’s bundle is crammed with seven great indie games, with six dropping Steam trading cards!

    Generic Space Shooter – A simple, yet challenging space shooter featuring 30 spacecrafts to unlock, each with a unique ability.

    Story of a Cube – A minimalistic action game that is part twin-stick shooter and part bullet hell.

    big-fish-legend-screenshot-001

    Big Fish Legend – A kitten’s adventure through three worlds to find the prized fish that can only be captured by the bravest and the strongest of predators.

    Airstrike HD – A 2D aircraft game that challenges players to destroy buildings and battle bosses.

    Ares Omega – A top down rogue-lite shooter set on Mars in the middle of a violent robot revolution.

    stop-online-battle-of-words-screenshot-001

    Stop Online – Battle of Words – A multiplayer word game to test vocabularies! A letter and five themes are randomly selected, and then Players race to provide five words that both match a theme and begin with that letter in the shortest amount of time possible.

    Rhino’s Rage – A turn based strategy game about all about charging down enemies and slamming into them.

    For the first 24 hours of the sale, the bundle is only $1.89, so grab your copy at Indie Gala before the price goes up!

    BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. Delivers a New Free-to-Play Experience for the Wii U with LOST REAVERS

    Philip Federico
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    0

    BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. Delivers a New Free-to-Play Experience for the Wii U with LOST REAVERS

    New Free-to-Play Dungeon Crawler Co-Op Game Enters Open Beta Today and is Available for Download Now on the Wii U eShop

    SANTA CLARA, Calif,. (April 14, 2016) – BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc. today announces the latest title in their growing free-to-play catalogue, LOST REAVERS, a four-player action co-op game for the Nintendo Wii U that is now available for download in Open Beta in the Nintendo eShop.

    LOST REAVERS is an intense four-player co-op game where players must discover hidden treasures at the end of a series of dungeons and haul it safely back to their extraction point while their friends protect them. Along the way, the team will encounter a variety of traps, clever foes and the dungeon bosses who will do everything in their power to thwart the quartet. Through all of these challenges, one of the brave four must bring the treasure hoard safely back home by using only their wits and their friends to survive.

    Players can choose from one of four distinct characters to play through the game. Sayuri, a sword-wielding modern day samurai; Dwayne, a heavy-weapon toting specimen of human artillery; Victoria, a svelte dual-wielding mistress of pistols, and a mysterious masked fourth character, who wields many weapons to cut down his foes.

    With a variety of worlds ranging from Ancient Ruins, Medieval Castles and a Modern City, LOST REAVERS provides endless hours of entertainment and dozens of challenging environments for determined players and team to conquer. Along the way, players must search for new and powerful weapons, level up their characters’ skills and learn to evade cleverly placed traps. Only with trusted compatriots by your side will players prevail!

    Open Beta for LOST REAVERS commences today and players with a Wii U are able to head to the Nintendo eShop to download the game. Official service for LOST REAVERS begins April 28, the full version of the game will become available on the Nintendo eShop.

     

    About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc.

    BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America Inc., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive content — including all major video game consoles, iOS, mobile and online.  The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises, including PAC-MAN®, TEKKEN®, SOULCALIBUR®, NARUTO™, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, Dragon Ball®, GALAGA®, RIDGE RACER® and ACE COMBAT®.  More information about the company and its products can be found at www.bandainamcoent.com or www.facebook.com/BandaiNamcoUS

    Toy Story Review

    Mateja Simovic
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    Toy Story Review

    Toy-Story-Poster-01

    Toy Story
    Studio: Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures
    Publisher: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
    Format:     Cinema
    Release Date: Out Now

    Overview

    Toy Story was a staple of many childhoods, including my own. It was a seminal film which cemented the position of the Pixar as a leading animation studio and is considered one of the best animated films of all time. This film broke ground with computer generated imagery in not just film but video games as well as it proved to be a masterclass for animation. The film established itself as a cultural touchstone and spawned its franchise with sequels, spin-offs, and games. Putting my childhood nostalgia aside for a moment, I walked on down to George St cinemas for the In the House screening.

    Jason ‘Jabba’ Davis and Anthony Kierann were the live MCs this evening as David ‘Quinny’ Quinn was away attending to Supanova duties. They gave away a bunch of prizes to children in the audience and also did a give-away for adults. Following a quick game of ‘heads or tails’ with the whole audience, we were screened short video starring Quinny and Jabba discussing the film in a toy store. An interesting tidbit they mentioned which stuck with me was the fact that the production time for three seconds of the film required about a week of work by the studio.

    Toy-Story-Screenshot-01

    Story

    The film narrative follows the eponymous toys the toys owned by a young boy named Andy. They are organised by a toy cowboy named Woody (Tom Hanks) as they go about their lives playing with their young owner and keeping up appearances of being inanimate. The trouble when Andy gets a new astronaut toy, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), for his birthday who upsets the comfortable life Woody had for himself by replacing him as Andy’s favourite toy. To complicate things even more, Buzz is not aware of the fact that he is a toy which only annoys Woody more. Through a series of mistakes and misunderstandings; Woody and Buzz both get separated from Andy and have to find their way back home.

    The story is a quintessential buddy story where the two leads meet each other with mutual enmity before growing past that into friendship. The performances of Hanks and Allen in this regard needed to be strong to make the emotional journey of their characters seem real… with just their voices. They both rose to the challenge and put out amazing performances with their respective however. Hanks gives Woody charm which help to make you to empathise with him even as he goes works through his the jealousy and selfishness of his character arc. Allen plays Buzz as the subdued foil to Hank’s more expressive Woody but still manages to give him emotional depth as he works through the character arc of a character who comes to terms with some pretty extreme self-realisations.

    Toy-Story-Screenshot-05

    The writing is very well written with plenty of sarcasm, slapstick, and solemn moments to keep audiences entertained. The script is able to jump from moments of levity to more sombre beats and back with ease to keep its audience invested. When minutes require weeks of work, there’s no room for unnecessary dialogue or superfluous plot points. The script is lean and funny, and that’s exactly what you need as an adult watching a children’s film.

    The direction is absolutely beautiful with some amazing moments being created in the film. One particular standout scene is Buzz’s realisation of the truth of his existence as a toy. He attempts one last time to prove to himself that he is not simply a child’s plaything but, in a truly tragic turn, he fails. The build up to this moment was substantial and the sequence as a payoff is shattering as Sailing No More played to the scene. In the cinema watching it, the person sitting next to me cried and, were I not emotionally dead on inside, I’m sure I would have too.

    Toy-Story-Screenshot-04

    Visuals

    The animation itself hasn’t aged as well as the rest of the film unfortunately as, compared to the super slick and smooth animations we’re spoiled with today, Toy Story seems a bit crude. Don’t get me wrong, the visual design of the characters is par excellence but some of the movements and facial expressions might look a bit strange for a second or two. However, if you’re seeing this movie through the eyes of a child then I doubt you’ll love the adventure of Woody and Buzz any less. I’d say that older audience members brace yourself for characters that might feel a bit wooden… but they’re toys and some of them are literally made out of wood.

    Fun fact: The rendering power for the computer animation that Pixar was working with at the time had difficulty in adding translucence to skin. This effectively meant was that all the human characters looked like they were made out of the plastic. Rather than running the risk of jumping straight into the gorge of the uncanny valley, Pixar decided to double down and make a film about characters who were themselves made out of plastic. Thus, Toy Story was born.

    Toy-Story-Screenshot-06

    Audio

    I’m not someone who is easily impressed by film soundtracks as most of the time they simply provide a backing accompaniment to the action and, in most film soundtracks, you don’t even notice the score until something is horrendously wrong or tremendously right. Luckily, Randy Newman’s composition is absolutely spot on throughout the film. As well as matching every plot point perfectly, the soundtrack brings out some absolute classics that will stick in your memory like nothing else. The film’s signature song is of course; You’ve Got a Friend in Me but another entry which I feel is under appreciated is Sailing No More. Both these songs lyrically match up with the action of the film and are powerful in their own ways.

    Toy-Story-Screenshot-02

    Overall

    Toy Story was and still is an amazing film. The characters and story are moving for audiences both young and old. The animation hasn’t aged all that well but if you’re looking at it through nostalgia-vision or are someone who can count your age on your hands then I doubt you’ll particularly care. The soundtrack is amazing and I challenge anyone to not leave the cinema humming You’ve Got a Friend in Me after watching this film. I enjoyed this film just as much now as I did when I was an ankle biter myself and I have no problems recommending it. Kudos to In the House for screening this movie!

    For other films which In The House is screening, feel free to check out their schedule here.

    Toy-Story-Seal-01

     

    Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.

    Gears of War 4 ‘Tomorrow’ Trailer Unveiled

    Travis Bruno
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    Gears-of-War-4-screenshot-004

    With the new season of Fear the Walking Dead debuting tonight Microsoft and The Coalition decided to fit a little something special in for fans of the Gears of War franchise. This came in the form of a brand new trailer for Gears of War 4 and if you weren’t keeping an eye out on the show then you won’t have to worry as the video has already been released online by the company and can be found below.

    Set 25 Years after Gears of War 3, spurred by a series of strange disappearances, JD Fenix must embrace his father’s legacy and battle a terrifying new enemy and the trailer called “Tomorrow” is meant to show the family connection between father and son and provide us a brief glimpse at the new enemies that will be awaiting in Gears of War 4 when it is released worldwide on October 11th.

    Ray Gigant to be Released in North America in May

    Travis Bruno
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    ray-gigant-screenshot- (39)

    Acttil has announced that they will be releasing Experience’s dungeon crawling RPG Ray Gigant for the PlayStation Vita in North America and Europe sometime this May. The title will be released digitally in both regions and will feature three main characters which have a goal in saving the world.

    Each of these three characters have a different set of ideals however which means as you progress with each character through the story you’ll witness how their ideals impact their journey. To go along with this announcement acttil has released a ton of new English screenshots for Ray Gigant and you can check them all out below.

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