2015 arrival looking unlikely for Oculus Rift

April 23rd, 2015, 21:26 Posted By: wraggster

It’s looking increasingly unlikely that the pioneering virtual reality headset Oculus Rift will launch this side of Christmas.

“We have not announced any specific plans for shipment volumes in 2015 related to Oculus," Facebook CFO David Wehner told analysts, as reported by Gamasutra.
“Oculus is very much in the development stage, so it's early to be talking about large shipment volumes, and our expense guidance reflects any volumes that we might do in 2015.”
The site also noted that Facebook boss Mark Zukerberg failed to mention Oculus Rift at all in his pre-pared investor statement – a stark contrast to previously where he has spoken at length about the company’s acquisition of the VR firm.
In November last year Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe described the Rift as being “months, not years away, but many months”.
A 2016 launch could yet place it ahead of Sony’s Project Morpheus, which is due out in the first half of next year. Steam’s HTC-made Vive, however, is due out this year, while the likes of Samsung’s Gear VR are already available.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/2015-...s-rift/0148497

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Grand Theft Auto V was really this week's No.1

April 21st, 2015, 22:17 Posted By: wraggster

Grand Theft Auto V was this week’s No.1 game in the UK if digital numbers were included, MCV understands.
This week’s GfK Chart-Track report reveals that Mortal Kombat X was the best-selling UK boxed game. But the data does not factor in sales on digital platforms such as Steam.
PC games are primarily sold digitally - analysts estimate as little as 10 per cent of PC sales take place on the High Street - so whenever a big PC game is released, it is inevitably underestimated in the boxed charts.
And there was no bigger PC release last week than Grand Theft Auto V.
In fact, sources close to the data tells MCV that GTA V would have sold almost six times more than what the Chart-Track reports says.
Mortal Kombat X was released digitally, as well. We have no insight into how that game performed via download platforms, although according to Steam’s global Top Ten, Mortal Kombat X was the third best-selling PC game of the week, while GTA V was No.1.
It is widely accepted that triple-A games on console (such as Mortal Kombat) are overwhelming bought via boxed retailers. However, what the split is between download and physical is not known, because we still do not have accurate sharing of data.
MCV is trying to pull together a chart that includes digital sales data. We already have several publishers signed up and we will be regular putting out alternative charts and stories, including this one.
This isn’t to play down the success Warner Bros has had with Mortal Kombat X. The brawler is the second-biggest launch of the year (behind Battlefield: Hardline) and is the most successful launch yet for a Mortal Kombat release.

Below is the official GfK Chart-Track boxed charts.

1. Mortal Kombat X - Warner Bros
2. Grand Theft Auto V - Rockstar
3. Battlefield: Hardline - EA
4. FIFA 15 - EA
5. Bloodborne - Sony
6. Far Cry 4 - Ubisoft
7. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Activision
8. Minecraft: Xbox Edition - Microsoft
9. Dying Light - Warner Bros
10. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection - 2K Games

And here is the chart if GTA V’s digital sales had been included.

1. Grand Theft Auto V - Rockstar
2. Mortal Kombat X - Warner Bros
3. Battlefield: Hardline - EA
4. FIFA 15 - EA
5. Bloodborne - Sony
6. Far Cry 4 - Ubisoft
7. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare - Activision
8. Minecraft: Xbox Edition - Microsoft
9. Dying Light - Warner Bros
10. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection - 2K Games
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/grand...s-no-1/0148241

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PS4, Battlefield: Hardline top US retail in March

April 17th, 2015, 23:37 Posted By: wraggster

NPD's March 2015 report shows PlayStation 4 on top in a down period for hardware at US retail, while Battlefield: Hardline and Bloodborne duked it out for the top spot in a flourishing software category.
While Sony declared victory over Microsoft and Nintendo in hardware, the category was down 21 per cent compared to March 2014.
"Hardware unit sales decreased by 9 per cent, and with average prices down 13 per cent across all platforms, dollar sales decreased by 21 per cent," NPD Group's Liam Callahan said.
"Console hardware was the primary culprit responsible for the March 2015 sales decline, with a 29 per cent, or $104 million decrease, in spending while portable hardware rose by 71 per cent over last year."
The software division fared far better, with sales across new consoles up 58 per cent year-over-year. Battlefield: Hardline took the top spot, outlasting a strong effort by PlayStation-exclusive Bloodborne. The game had the strongest debut month for a PS4 game since Infamous: Second Son in 2014.
Here's the top ten games for March

1. Battlefield: Hardline (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3, PC)
2. Bloodborne (PS4)
3. Grand Theft Auto V (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)
4. Mario Party 10 (Wii U)
5. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
6. MLB 15: The Show (PS4, PS3)
7. Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4)
8. NBA 2K15 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
9. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (PS4, XBO)
10. Final Fantasy: Type-0 HD (PS4, XBO)

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'2015 will be the year of smartwatch gaming'

April 17th, 2015, 23:35 Posted By: wraggster

Smartwatch games could be a major force in the industry, as long as developers don’t just port smartphone titles to theplatform, says Everywear Games.

Aki Järvilehto, who is the CEO of the smartwatch developer, told MCV: “We expect 2015 to be the year of smartwatch gaming.
He added: “Smartwatches and mobile games are quite different markets and the people who buy smartwatches are going to look for entertainment that’s specifically tailored for them. It’s going to be very different from games you’ve seen before and I think a lot of people will be surprised.
“We’ll deliver games that you can play in five to 15-second sessions, where the experience builds from short sessions into something you can be passionate about over days, weeks and months.
“It’s all about creating games which are more fun on a smartwatch than any other screen.”


http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/2015-...gaming/0148188

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Google's 'Works with Cardboard' program is all about VR compatibility

April 17th, 2015, 23:33 Posted By: wraggster

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Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D Sells 730,000 In U.S., Smash Bros. 3DS At 2.4 Million

April 17th, 2015, 00:34 Posted By: wraggster

The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D sold more than 184,000 copies in its second month in the U.S., Nintendo of America announced this afternoon. The the game has now sold over 730,000 units in the U.S. in total.Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS has been trucking along as well, Nintendo said, selling 110,000 units in the month of March, bringing total U.S. sales to 2.4 million units. In comparison, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is now at 1.6 million units sold in the U.S.Meanwhile, Mario Kart 8 has sold 1.9 million units in the U.S., while the recently launched Mario Party 10 (March 20th) sold 290,000 copies in its first two weeks.Nintendo say that hardware sales of Nintendo 3DS increased by nearly 80% over the first three months of 2014. In the case of Wii U, hardware sales are up 20% over the same timeframe in 2014.
Read more at http://www.siliconera.com/2015/04/16...TFRpzyKTYzy.99

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Dark Souls II remaster tops Japanese software charts as Bloodborne slips

April 17th, 2015, 00:19 Posted By: wraggster

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin was the best-selling game of last week in Japan, but its success couldn’t keep PS4 hardware sales buoyant.
According to the latest data from Famitsu, From Software’s remastered and remixed PS4 edition of the 2014 title debuted at number one with just over 16,000 unit sales.
It’s just over a tenth of spiritual successor (and Sony-published PS4 exclusive) Bloodborne’s week one sales, which totaled 150,245 in late March.
That game slipped to seventh place last week, sales more than halving from 23,557 to 9,654.
PS4 hardware sales similarly dipped, dropping from almost 27,000 during the previous week to just below 17,000.
Scholar of the First Sin was the only new release to make the Top Ten last week.
Meanwhile, Nintendo’s Mario Party 10 reentered the rankings at number eight, while the PlayStation Vita Edition of Minecraft jumped five places to third.
The hardware chart remained largely static, with the New Nintendo 3DS XL overtaking Sony’s rival Vita handheld to reclaim second place after the latter handheld’s strong performance over the last few weeks.
Further down, the Xbox One outpaced Sony’s Vita TV device by around 200 units, climbing to ninth.

Here’s the software Top Ten for the week ending April 12th:

1. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (From Software) PS4 – 16,047 (New)
2. Dai-3-ji Super Robot Taisen Z: Tengoku-hen (Bandai Namco) PS3 – 14,743
3. Minecraft: PlayStation Vita Edition (Sony) Vita – 13,364
4. One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3 (Bandai Namco) PS3 – 13,251
5. Dai-3-ji Super Robot Taisen Z: Tengoku-hen (Bandai Namco) Vita – 12,964
6. Xenoblade Chronicles 3D (Nintendo) 3DS – 11,641
7. Bloodborne (Sony) PS4 – 9,654
8. Mario Party 10 (Nintendo) Wii U – 9,404
9. Ansatsu Kyoshitsu: Korosensei Daihoimo!! (Bandai Namco) 3DS – 8,997
10. Sword Art Online: Lost Song (Bandai Namco) Vita – 8,397

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Gamefly Under $15 April Blowout Sale LIVE!

April 14th, 2015, 22:53 Posted By: wraggster

Gamefly Under $15 April Blowout Sale LIVE!The Gamefly Under $15 Blowout Sale is LIVE and features blowout sale pricing, plus free shipping on many used titles in the GameFly Store!All Gamefly pre-played games are pre-inspected, come with a new case and manual and are 100% guaranteed. FYI - you don't have to be a current rental member to get in on these deals!Browse the selection and grab games today, as it will thin out quickly as word spreads...Check it out: http://www.gamefly.com/#!/games/all/...rs?pagesize=72

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Battlefield Hardline narrowly beats FIFA 15 to No.1

April 13th, 2015, 21:42 Posted By: wraggster

Battlefield Hardline spent its fourth week in pole position of the GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40.
It managed this in spite of a 56 per cent sales decline. EA's shooter was nearly No.2 this week as FIFA 15 came extremely close to taking the top slot with less than one hundred units seperating the two titles.
Grand Theft Auto V is pushed down one place to No.3 as sales drop 39 per cent, but it remains ahead of Far Cry 4 in fourth place.
Meanwhile, Minecraft: Xbox Edition is back in the Top 10, after dropping out last week.
Microsoft titles Forza Horizon 2 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection climb up this charts this week thanks to strong sales of their respective Xbox One hardware bundles.
And further down the charts, PQube's new racing IP Ride shoots up 31 places to No.18 following the release of the Xbox SKUs. The title launched on PS4 and PS3 last month.
Below is the Top 10 for the week ending April 11th:
1. Battlefield Hardline, EA
2. FIFA 15, EA
3. Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar
4. Far Cry 4, Ubisoft
5. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Activision Blizzard
6. Bloodborne, Sony
7. Forza Horizon 2, Microsoft
8. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, 2K Games
9. Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Microsoft
10. Minecraft: Xbox Edition, Microsoft

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/battl...o-no-1/0147906

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Raspberry pi controlled chicken door

April 12th, 2015, 00:12 Posted By: wraggster


We’re not sure if the Chickens know it yet, but they could be one of the reasons for all this IoT craze now a days. Look for chicken coop, and out come dozens of posts from the Hackaday chest.
Here’s another one from self confessed lazy engineer [Eric]. He didn’t want to wake up early to let his chickens out in the morning, or walk out to the coop to lock them up for the night to protect them from predators like Foxes, Raccoons and Opossum. So he built a Raspberry-Pi controlled chicken coop door that automates locking and unlocking. The details are clear from his video which you can watch after the break. The door mechanism looks inspired from an earlier anti-Raccoon gravity assist door.
The hardware (jpg image) is simple – a couple of hall sensors that detect the open/close status of the coop door that is driven by a DC motor via a bridge controller. The whole setup is controlled using a Raspberry-Pi and this is where the fun starts – because he can now add in all kinds of “feature creep”. Motion sensor, camera, light array, and anti-predator gizmos are all on his drawing board at the moment. Add in your feature requests in the comments below and let’s see if [Eric] can build the most advanced, complicated, gizmo filled chicken coop in the Universe. Combine that with this design, and it could even turn out to be the most beautiful too.

http://hackaday.com/2015/04/11/raspb...-chicken-door/

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Virtual Desktop Makes Windows OS Oculus Rift-Capable

April 11th, 2015, 00:15 Posted By: wraggster

Virtual Desktop is a free program that makes the Windows operating system compatible with the Oculus Rift VR headset. To the surprise of some, plugging the Oculus Rift into a computer doesn't result in a native view of the OS, meaning that users have to put on and take off the headset as they move from one VR-specific app to the next. If you want to use typical Windows programs—like Photoshop, Firefox, or Microsoft Office—no dice! That's where Virtual Desktop comes in, enabling the entire Windows desktop, and any application that can run on it, to be seen through the Oculus Rift. It also works as a bridge between VR-specific applications, allowing you to move from one to the next without ever taking off the headset. The latest version released today includes voice commands for launching VR games, global monitor mirroring, performance improvements, and is built against the latest Oculus Rift SDK.
http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/1...s-rift-capable

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'Virtual reality is the most compelling platform ever' - AMD talks breaking into VR

April 11th, 2015, 00:06 Posted By: wraggster

Virtual reality. It’s a phrase that’s often thrown around with both excitement and wariness – some proclaim it as the next big leap in gaming technology, while others question its potential outside of a niche audience.

While the current wave of virtual reality may have started as the dream of start-up companies, these have now worked their way into the mainstream – the prime example being Oculus, which was purchased by Facebook last year for $2bn, just two years after it raised $2.4m on crowd-funding platform Kickstarter.
This success has encouraged other tech giants to join the fray.
One such firm is AMD, which announced at last month’s GDC that it would take its first big leap into VR by launching LiquidVR, a set of technologies designed to expand virtual reality’s appeal by making headsets plug-and-play compatible and boosting performance. This will in turn help eliminate possible side effects like nausea, which can be caused by poorly-performing applications.
“The enormous potential of VR has created immense excitement in the computer industry,” says Sasa Marinkovic, head of software technology marketing at AMD.
“Our current VR initiative focuses on the ‘Three Cs’ of ensuring an enjoyable VR experience: content, comfort and compatibility.”
He adds that ensuring these three conditions are met ahead of the launch of devices such as the Oculus Rift, Sony’s Morpheus and Valve’s Vive may be vital for VR’s success among a wider community.
“Mainstream users will fully embrace VR,” he says. “VR is not niche; it is going to be the most compelling and engaging computing platform ever.
“The biggest obstacle is to make sure that the first user experience someone has in VR world is a positive and comfortable one.
“We as an industry cannot rush in – we need to fix these problems before the headsets are released for consumers to purchase.”

"We as an industry cannot rush into VR – we need to fix problems before the headsets are released to consumers."

Sasa Marinkovic, AMD

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OnLive's inability to tap into consoles was its downfall, Gaikai's Perry says

April 11th, 2015, 00:05 Posted By: wraggster

Its failure to access the console ecosystem was the main cause behind the eventual demise of streaming games platform OnLive, one of its key competitors has said.
“Onlive was a heck of a competitor to Gaikai, at every single turn we made different choices. It was very worrying, were we making the right choices?” Gaikai founder Dave Perry said on his blog.
“Our issue was that PC games (for keyboard and mouse) were becoming really difficult to get running across a myriad of TV’s, phones, set-top boxes and websites from the cloud, especially as a lot of great games are no longer supported by anyone, even their publishers have disappeared.
“So at Gaikai we kept looking at the console libraries and sighing… how lucky they were to have organized, well supported platforms, with incredible game libraries that worked on standard controllers.”
Gaikai was eventually acquired by Sony, whereas OnLive’s hopes of a console tie-in never materialised.
“Onlive did an assignment for the benefit of creditors (an asset sale) shortly after Sony acquired us. We were in complete shock,” Perry added, although OnLive management has always disputed the way in which the events of 2012 at OnLive were depicted by the press.
“Onlive then grew a second time enriched by new funding and new leadership, by integrating Steam versions of the games, they accelerated onboarding but they never got the chance to integrate a console library.
“I have a lot of personal respect for the management at Onlive, I’m personal friends (from the past) with executives and staff there and I wish them the best of luck going forward. We have opened up numerous job positions to help their transition in any way we can.”

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/onliv...y-says/0147850

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ESA Rebukes EFF's Request To Exempt Abandoned Games From Some DMCA Rules

April 10th, 2015, 00:06 Posted By: wraggster

It's 2015 and the EFF is still submitting requests to alter or exempt certain applications of the draconian DMCA. One such request concerns abandoned games that utilized or required online servers for matchmaking or play (PDF warning) and the attempts taken to archive those games. A given examples is Madden '09, which had its servers shut down a mere one and a half years after release. Another is Gamespy and the EA & Nintendo titles that were not migrated to other servers. I'm sure everyone can come up with a once cherished game that required online play that is now abandoned and lost to the ages. While the EFF is asking for exemptions for museums and archivists, the ESA appears to take the stance that it's hacking and all hacking is bad. In prior comments (PDF warning), the ESA has called reverse engineering a proprietary game protocol "a classic wolf in sheep's clothing" as if allowing this evil hacking will loose Sodom & Gomorrah upon the industry. Fellow gamers, these years now that feel like the golden age of online gaming will be the dark ages of games as historians of the future try to recreate what online play was like now for many titles.
http://games.slashdot.org/story/15/0...ome-dmca-rules

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Battlefield Hardline holds No.1, Far Cry 4 sales increase thanks to Easter deals

April 7th, 2015, 23:59 Posted By: wraggster

EA's Battlefield Hardline maintains its position at No.1 in the GfK Chart-Track Top 40.
The shooter holds its position at the top of the charts in spite of a 40 per cent decline in sales. The title holds off competition from Grand Theft Auto V, sales of which rose 35 per cent, bringing it up two positions to No.2.
Rockstar's crime title wasn't the only game who sales increased this week – a number of titles benefited from Easter sales.
Far Cry 4's sales rose 116 per cent thanks to retailer promotions, while FIFA 15 sold 44 per cent more units week-on-week.
And joining Bloodborne in the Top 10 is another From Software game. This time its the re-release of Dark Souls II – Scholar of the First Sin – which debuts in eighth place. Meanwhile From's PS4-exclusive falls one place to No.3 in the Top 40.
Below is the software Top 10:
1. Battlefield Hardline, EA
2. Grand Theft Auto V, Rockstar
3. Bloodborne, Sony
4. FIFA 15, EA
5. Far Cry 4, Ubisoft
6. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Activision Blizzard
7. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, 2K Games
8. Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin, Bandai Namco
9. Dying Light, Warner Bros
10. Destiny, Activision Blizzard

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/battl...-deals/0147646

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More power for raspberry pi usb ports

April 6th, 2015, 21:24 Posted By: wraggster

Since the Raspberry Pi 2 was released, everyone building RetroPi emulators has been graced with four USB ports. For those of us doing useful stuff with the Pi, those ports are a little anemic: you can’t plug in a webcam and a WiFi module at the same time without suffering CPU brownouts. The maximum current all USB peripherals can draw from the USB port is 600mA. By changing a value in the /boot/config.txt file, this current limit can be increased to 1.2A for all four ports.
The yellow line traces the signal from the GPIO to the USB power switch.Because the USB current limit is set in software, there must be a few bits of hardware that do the actual work. Tucked away below the right hand of the GPIO header is the hardware that does exactly that. It’s anAP2253 current-limited power switch (PDF), and the current is adjustable by tying a resistor to pin 5 on the chip.
Pin 5 on the AP2253 is connected to two resistors. One resistor goes directly to a ground plane, while the other is switched through a FET. The gate of this FET goes to another resistor, and when a GPIO pin is high, these resistors are wired in parallel. This means the resistance is halved when the GPIO pin is high, doubling the current limiting circuit in the AP2253.
This setup provides a relatively easy mod to increase the current limiting of the USB ports so they can provide 4x500mA, meeting the USB spec. The AP2253 power switch’s current limiting can be set by a single resistor, anywhere from 10kΩ to 232kΩ. By removing R50 and R4, and replacing R50 with a 10kΩ resistor, the current limiting of the AP2253 switch will be set to its maximum, 2.1A. Divide that by four, and you have 500mA per port, just like every other computer on the planet.
There is a reason the Raspberry Pi foundation set the current limiting of the USB ports so low. The Pi was originally intended to run off of a micro USB phone charger. There aren’t many phone chargers out there that will supply more than 1A, and the CPU and related peripherals will take half of that. If you’re going to change the /boot/config.txt file, you’re going to need a beefy power supply. Increasing the current limiting of the USB ports to 2A will require an even bigger, beefier supply.

http://hackaday.com/2015/04/06/more-...-pi-usb-ports/

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Pack your Raspberry Pi into an underpowered laptop for $100

April 5th, 2015, 01:19 Posted By: wraggster

The Raspberry Pi has already found its way into a number of unusual applications fromDIY cell phones to Gif-capturing cameras. Now, a recently launched IndieGoGo campaign aims to put it somewhere more familiar: your lap. The PiKasa is essentially a laptop shell. It doesn't sport a 3D-printed chasis like the Pi-Top but does feature a 7-inch LCD display over a ruggedized keyboard, a smattering of connectivity ports and charging cables -- basically, everything you'd need except the actual computer bits and power supply.

http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/02/p...aptop-for-100/

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Target BOGO 50% Off LIVE!

March 30th, 2015, 20:36 Posted By: wraggster

Target BOGO 50% Off LIVE!The Target Buy 1 Get 1 50% Off on video games sale is LIVE in-store and online!Get browsing while the selection is good!Check it out: Target BOGO Promo
http://www.target.com/?clkid=1EzWRIT...u3c0&lnm=81938

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Battlefield Hardline No.1 for second week, Bloodborne debuts in second place

March 30th, 2015, 20:13 Posted By: wraggster

Battlefield Hardline has spent its second week in pole position of the GfK Chart-Track All Formats Top 40.
Sales of EA's new shooter fell by 43 per cent week-on-week, but Hardline still beat this week's top new release, Sony's PS4-exclusive Bloodborne.
The hardcore RPG debuted at No.2, falling 22,500 units short of first place.
In third place is another new entry into the charts, Borderlands: The Handsome Collection – a PS4 and Xbox One remaster of 2012's Borderlands 2 and last year's Pre-Sequel.
Grand Theft Auto V falls once place to No.4 as sales dip 11 per cent, while FIFA 15 remains steady in fifth position.
Retailer promotions help Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Far Cry 4 this week – sales of the former rose 43 per cent, while the latter's sales shot up 233 per cent.
They weren't the only games to benefit from price activity, either. Sales of The Order 1886 rose 112 per cent thanks to retailer promotions, bringing it back to No.10.
And Minecraft: PlayStation Edition falls out of the Top 10 for the first time since February. In spite of a nine per cent rise in sales week-on-week, the PlayStation SKUs of the construction title drop from No.10 to 13th place. Minecraft: Xbox Edition sits in ninth place.
Below is the software Top 10 for the week ending March 28th:
1. Battlefield Hardline (EA)
2. Bloodborne (Sony)
3. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (2K Games)
4. Grand Theft Auto V (Rockstar)
5. FIFA 15 (EA)
6. Dying Light (Warner Bros)
7. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Activision Blizzard)
8. Far Cry 4 (Ubisoft)
9. Minecraft: Xbox Edition (Microsoft)
10. The Order 1886 (Sony)

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/battl...-place/0147340

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EU wants to end regional digital pricing, enforce Digital Single Market

March 30th, 2015, 20:12 Posted By: wraggster

The European Commission has announced plans that, if passed, will turn the digital video games market on its head.
Currently sellers such as Valve (Steam), Sony (PlayStation Network) and Microsoft (Xbox Live) funnel customers through regional portals according to their location. This is done partially for rights reasons but primarily to allow for the setting of individual prices in each region.
Such pricing strategies, however, could be outlawed in the EU. The move would also pose problems for services such as Netflix, which currently ranges its content on a per-region basis.
“Let us do away with all those fences and walls that block us online,” the Commission’s VP for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said. “People must be able to freely go across borders online just as they do offline.
“Innovative businesses must be helped to grow across the EU, not remain locked into their home market. This will be an uphill struggle all the way, but we need an ambitious start. Europe should benefit fully from the digital age: better services, more participation and new jobs.”
Commissioner for the Digital Economy Günther Oettinger added: “Europe cannot be at the forefront of the digital revolution with a patchwork of 28 different rules for telecommunications services, copyright, IT security and data protection.
“We need a European market, which allows new business models to flourish, start-ups to grow and the industry to take advantage of the internet of things. And people have to invest too – in their IT-skills, be it in their job or their leisure time.”
The report adds: “Too many Europeans cannot use online services that are available in other EU countries, often without any justification; or they are re-routed to a local store with different prices. Such discrimination cannot exist in a Single Market.”
The news comes at a time when Steam, in particular, is trying to tighten its grip on regional pricing. Valve recently extended its restrictions affecting those who attempt to buy content in one region and then access it in another.
Steam was also criticised earlier this month when it appeared to change its rules to as to comply with the EU’s 14-day refund requirement – only for users to discover that they must waive the right at the point of purchase.

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/eu-wa...market/0147346

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