Black Desert Launches on PS4 With Celebrity Endorsement


Black Desert is here and it has some celebrity chops behind it.

Launch day is here for Black Desert on the Playstation 4 and Pearl Abyss is breaking out the celebrity collaborations. Actress Megan Fox has talked about her love of Black Desert in previous interviews and has worked with Pearl Abyss to create a teaser trailer for today’s launch.

“Launching on the PlayStation 4 marks an important milestone for our company and the game’s continued expansion into new territories, fulfilling player needs for a strong MMORPG on console system,” said Robin Jung, Chief Executive Officer of Pearl Abyss. “We’re launching on a strong note and will maintain a steady drumbeat of regular content expansions to make Black Desert the best action MMORPG available in the world.”

Black Desert is launching with three starter packs from the standard ($29.99), Deluxe ($49.99), and Ultimate ($99.99). Six classes are available at launch with more to be added in future updates. Pearl Abyss has also launched a content creator partnership where interested parties can sign up and be rewarded for promoting Black Desert.

More information on Black Desert can be found at the official website.

Netmarble Posts Q2 2019 Fiscal Results


Netmarble has posted its Q2 2019 financials and the results are a mixed bag. Company sales rose 10.2% over last year to $459.2 million while operating profit plummeted 46.6% to $29 million and net profit dropped 42% to $33.2 million.

“We have been focusing on enhancing our competitiveness by successfully launching new games of various genres in the global market,” said Young-sig Kwon, CEO of Netmarble. He added, “We expect a turnaround in Q3 as new successful titles launched in Q2 will be reflected in full Q3 sales. We also expect the proportion of sales outside of South Korea to continue to increase to 70% in the second half of the year with the launch of Blade & Soul Revolution in Japan, The King of Fighters Allstar in North America, and new games based on our popular franchise games.”

Netmarble’s top performing games include MARVEL Contest of Champions (15%), Lineage 2: Revolution (14%), Blade & Soul Revolution (10%), MARVEL Future Fight (8%), and Seven Deadly Sins: GRAND CROSS (8%) among others. Sales outside of South Korea made up 64% of total revenues and the second half is expected to bring in a number of new titles from YOKAI WATCH: Medal Wars in Japan and Koongya Catchmind in Korea, Blade & Soul Revolution in Japan and THE KING OF FIGHTERS ALLSTAR in North America, along with the Korean launches of its proprietary franchise games, Seven Knights 2, and A3: STILL ALIVE.

Source:

Black Desert Launches Into Head Start On PS4


Good news, everyone!

You Playstation gamers looking to get your hands on Black Desert are finally in luck, as the game has just gone into head start on PS4 before the full launch on August 22. If you want to take part, you can go ahead and pick up one of the starter packs available on the Playstation Store. Black Desert is a buy to play MMO from Pearl Abyss that initially launched on PC and subsequently launched on Xbox One.

PS+ members can get their hands on the starter pack for 10% off, but only if you buy before the game fully launches on the 22.

[Video] Gamigo Announces ArcheAge Unchained


What happens when you have a game like ArcheAge? Start anew, at least that’s the plan that Gamigo seems to be taking with today’s announcement of ArcheAge: Unchained.

Your feedback over the years encouraged us to provide a different game experience for you, our community. ArcheAge: Unchained is a new way to play the game with a different business model. We’ve changed entirely its monetization which was simply not possible to this great extent with the already existing ArcheAge F2P version.
In ArcheAge: Unchained there is no longer a subscription model. With a onetime purchase, you can enjoy the content as often as you want. You will be able to purchase vanity items via Credits and we will implement seasonal ArchePasses. We are focusing on fairer gameplay which is why we decided to change a few monetization features for ArcheAge: Unchained. There’ll be more information in the next couple of weeks so stay tuned!

For more information on ArcheAge: Unchained, check out the FAQ.

Rant: The Industry Makes Its Contempt For Consumers Public Once Again


I have to be honest with you folks: The AAA gaming industry has become such a contemptuous ball of greasy slime that I frankly no longer find it believable when companies do shady things and chalk it all up to human error.

I’ve spent the better part of the last six years shouting to the high heavens about how the gaming industry, specifically the AAA sector, has been meticulously and in many ways purposely building an increasingly hostile and bitter relationship with consumers. We’re talking about an industry that brings psychologists on board so they can figure out better ways to subtly manipulate people into spending more money than ever, an industry that is building massive databases of information and artificial intelligence so they can low-key manipulate your behavior all in the name of selling microtransactions. One where companies deliberately introduce problems in order to sell you the solution, where they can use every dirty tactic to get you to pay exponentially more for exponentially less.

Let’s talk about how Respawn is the latest developer to acquire EA’s venom for the public.

All of this hubbub began when Apex Legends released its latest update introducing solo mode and the Iron Crown loot box. The Iron Crown box is special because it costs $7 as opposed to $1 for the normal box, and contains limited time items that will only be available until the event ends on August 27. There are 24 items in the box and you can obtain two boxes by completing challenges. Nothing in the boxes could be bought directly, and you are guaranteed no duplicates. So all in all, you’re looking at being required (as there is no other way to get these items) to spend $140 USD to get everything.

I say required because Respawn is using the tactic where they know fully well that they are pushing this for completionists in the hopes that many will buy the whole set, while giving themselves the plausible deniability of “it’s all optional.” It leads into the Bloodhound’s Raven’s Bite axe, an item that must be purchased directly but can only be purchased once you buy all 24 items, and it costs 3,500 coins. All in all, you’ll need to spend at least $170 in bulk if you want these items. There’s greedy and then there is Electronic Arts greedy.

Naturally the community went in an uproar over the update because consumers don’t like being fleeced, and Respawn’s apology didn’t do a whole lot to assuage criticism by taking the loot box items and placing the skins on the store for individual purchase at $18 a pop.

“With Apex Legends it is very important to us that we don’t sell a competitive advantage. Our goal has not been to squeeze every last dime out of our players, and we have structured the game so that all players benefit from those who choose to spend money – events like Legendary Hunt or Iron Crown exist so that we can continue to invest in creating more free content for all players. This week has been a huge learning experience for us and we’re taking the lessons forward to continue bringing the best possible experience to all of you.”

An EA subsidiary not trying to bleed its customers dry? Sorry, I don’t buy it.

The folks at Respawn aren’t that stupid that they built up this very obvious and blatantly greedy cash event and had absolutely no idea how egregious it would be. Because the overall corporate structure at Respawn doesn’t give a damn if you’re unhappy with the product, just shut your stupid peasant mouth and open up that wallet to give them more money. This is a free to play game, you ungrateful putz, that means that instead of giving $60 up front for a few years of entertainment, you agree to spend hundreds of dollars over the course of a couple of weeks while shutting your trap and not questioning any of the business decisions that are made for you.

But it wouldn’t quite be a rant if I didn’t show you the absolute contempt that some of the Respawn devs have for their players, such as Drew McCoy who took to Reddit to call gamers “dicks” and freeloaders. This is what happens when bullshysters are called out on their schemes, they immediately go on the attack in order to hopefully divert attention away from why people are angry in the first place.

“Hey everyone – found the dick I was talking about. Guess what, I didn’t even read your comment except for the first sentence and last. This kind of garbage doesn’t warrant a reply – but lucky for you I already made a comment about this earlier. Go find it.”

“I think technically I was calling gamers dicks? I dunno. I had a spicy lunch, feelin’ it.”

“There is a wealth of data available on how monetization works in free-to-play games, and we ourselves have run tests by putting skins on sale in the store. The amount of people who spend is crazy low, most of ya’ll are freeloaders (and we love that!) and a change in price doesn’t move the needle.”

Drew goes on to act like the changes are because Respawn is such a benevolent overlord and honestly you freeloaders should be happy that they put the game out for free and are so magnanimous and charitable. Sure, Apex Legends released for free because selling it at a box price would be a financial disaster since the competition is free, and the whole point of releasing free to play is to forego a consistent amount of money up front distributed among 100% of the community in favor of the 15-20% of the community fronting more money and those free players adding more traffic to the servers so those paying players stay more engaged and end up spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars over its lifespan. As opposed to $60 plus maybe some small cosmetic purchases.

Stop asking questions and buy more product.

“Jeez, whats with the conspiracy theories? This event has been quite the success, and I can’t say that any clearer. We’re making changes that will most likely reduce revenue, but we’re doing it because its the right thing to do.”

Nobody tell Jayfresh that he can help avoid being called a liar by not being a liar.

But Respawn’s inability to handle criticism for its anti-consumer business practices is par for the course in the Electronic Arts family and follows in line from the “pride and accomplishment” statement regarding Battlefront II loot boxes to former CEO Patrick Soderlund telling customers that he doesn’t care if they don’t buy Battlefield. Apex Legends is stupidly successful right now, but I’m going to go back to what I said ten years ago: The model is only successful until it isn’t, and the gaming community turns on a dime with games going from overnight successes to overnight abandoned warehouses…overnight. The industry doesn’t turn that fast, and Respawn is

Sure, the developers at Respawn probably think they are invincible right now, but let’s keep one thing in mind: You work for Electronic Arts, a giant with a graveyard larger than a prepubescent Sims player who knows how to remove the pool ladder. Titanfall 2 sold below expectations and Mass Effect took only one game to go from massive success to studio-closing failure.

Game companies are not your friends, I can’t express that statement enough. They aren’t your buds, they don’t have your best interest in mind, and they will turn on you at a moment’s notice.

Otherwise I have no opinion on the matter. Oh, one more note:

“I’ve been in the industry long enough to remember when players weren’t complete ass-hats to developers and it was pretty neat,”

Dear Drew, that era was back when developers like yourself weren’t releasing $200 cosmetic events and formulating your game as cynical slot machines designed to get kids to spend as much of their parent’s money as humanly possible.

[Not Massive] It’s Time For More Interesting Steam Games


Get that toilet out, it’s time for more Steam releases.

What can I say about this week’s Steam releases other than to say it might be the worst week I have seen in a long time. Over 250 releases of which nine might be worth looking into. If you’re a fan of hentai puzzle sliders and trashy Unity games, this list unfortunately won’t cater to your tastes. For everyone else, you might find something worth playing or at least adding to your wishlist until the next Steam sale.

#1: Pixel Shinobi Nine demons of Mamoru / Ametist Studio

Pixel side scrolling action games are a dime a dozen these days, so in order to stand out from the crowd you really have to have a good presentation. Pixel Shinobi, at least judging by the trailer, seems to have fluid animations, fast pace gameplay, and a ton of challenge. Pixel Shinobi promises to combine stealth, platforming, and RPG mechanics in a game where you play as a ninja to stop a demonically possessed military leader on a campaign of bloodshed.

89% of 126 users agree that this game is worth the $8.24 asking price. Check it out.

#2: Warfork / Team Forbidden

Warfork looks like a cosmetic overhaul of Quake 3 and plays a lot like Quake 3. If you really like Quake 3, you’re probably going to enjoy this game as 91% of 137 reviewers on Steam agree. Even better, the game is free to play. Check it out.

#3: Devious Dungeon / Woblyware Oy

Devious Dungeon looks like a quaint little game. I initially assumed that it was a roguelike given the graphics and user interface, but it appears to be more of a platformer with RPG elements than a Rogue Legacy type game. It’s $4.24 and oddly enough the developer is already talking about the sequel coming out in Q4 2019. It promises five worlds, 68 levels, randomized levels, and plenty of loot.

Check it out.

#4: Ikeda : The Scrap Hunter E.P. / Trent Kaniuga

Ikeda is a free to play side scrolling hack and slash game that challenges you to obtain hard to reach scrap in order to achieve 100% completion. The only DLC for the game is a $5 gold patron badge that doesn’t do anything except support the developer and get you a fancier menu screen.

Following a tip from an old friend of his landlords, Iggy Ikeda infiltrates an abandoned Neptune Facility in search of the remains of a decommissioned Warthog Mk II tank. You’ll need to wall jump, and slash your way through 6 stages of challenging narrow saw blade corridors, security droids and lasers while grabbing as much scrap as you can.

Check it out, because there is not a whole lot of quality that came to Steam this week.

#5: Last Knight / Enoops

Last Knight looks a lot like the Go! games developed and put out by Square Enix: Tomb Raider Go and Hitman Go. This should be a positive, since those games were very well put together. It looks like a fun game and at 59 cents, what do you have to lose other than your spare time?

#6: Brewer / Slava Victorov

Brewer looks like it takes an established genre and throws a rather unique spin on it. A business strategy game where you open up pubs and brew your own beer. Brewer looks like it has all of the micromanagement aspects that strategy game lovers will pour through for hours. Hire employees, brew the beers, change every aspect of your pubs from the snacks on menu to the number of seats and strength of the drinks. It also looks like the game lets you be a gigantic asshole and ruin the competition by scouting out competing pubs, provoking fights on their property, and even spoiling their beer and calling in the health inspector.

If only you could fill the pub with drunk minors and then call the inspector like in that episode of Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Brewer will set you back $3.59.

#7: DARQ / Unfold Games

You may be familiar with DARQ simply because the developer got in the gaming press over their refusal to sign an exclusive deal with the Epic Game Store. You may not know about the game itself, or that it launched. DARQ is a side-scrolling game that looks right out of Tim Burton’s nightmares. The game is heavily puzzle-based, requiring you to use physics and room manipulation in order to navigate through the dream world.

DARQ tells the story of Lloyd, a boy who becomes aware of the fact that he is dreaming. To Lloyd’s misfortune, the dream quickly turns into a nightmare and all attempts to wake up end in failure. While exploring the darkest corners of his subconscious, Lloyd learns how to survive the nightmare by bending the laws of physics and manipulating the fluid fabric of the dream world.

DARQ is $20 and may constitute the only real “Must Buy” on the list this week. On second thought…

#8: Ion Fury / Voidpoint LLC

Ion Fury is freaking fantastic. As one of the games on this list that I personally own, Ion Fury is a collaboration between 3D Realms and Voidpoint to go back and create a game on the Duke Nukem 3D engine. Yea, this game is running on a (modified) version of an engine older than many of the people that will be playing it. Ion Fury, or Ion Maiden as it was formerly titled, stars Shelly “Bombshell” Harrison, a character that was originally supposed to be a sidekick to Duke in Duke Nukem Forever. Ion Fury is the latest title to star Shelly, with the first being the not-well-received 2016 game Bombshell.

Those familiar with the Build engine games will see Ion Fury as more of the good stuff. Shelly is equipped with a wide array of weapons from her ridiculous handgun (pictured above) to bowling bombs, submachine guns equipped with incendiary bullets, shotgun, and more. Ion Fury is a true successor to Duke Nukem 3D, and even features Duke VA John St. John as the villain Heskel. 95% of the 1,569 reviewers on Steam agree that this game is a hit.

If you’re looking to scratch a retro-shooter itch, you can do so for $24.99.

#9: Wanna Survive / PINIX

Wanna Survive looks like a blend of something old and something new. It is a turn based strategy top-down strategy game that seems to combine Fire Emblem with The Walking Dead. Judging by the trailer, it pits your team of heroes against a massive mob of zombies in a game that is a little bit more fast paced than you might be used to. Help your cast of characters escape the city, deal with permadeath, and manage rations of food as you try your best to survive.

And at $10.79, it won’t break the bank.

MapleStory Explains Server Mergers With Worlds Unite Academy


MapleStory is merging servers and Nexon wants to make sure that you know exactly what is happening. The existing worlds will be reduced to five in the North American region: Scania, Bera, Aurora, Elysium, and the Reboot server.

Maintenance starts late on August 27 and the servers aren’t expected to be back up until some time on August 28. Nexon recommends that you don’t fashion weapons out of cookware and creeping down dark alleys looking for hogs. Instead, you can mow some lawns, build a website, or do some reading. You’ll be limited to fifty characters. If you had purchased character slots that exceed this amount, the cost will be credited to your account. Nexon notes that you have until January 2020 in order to decide which characters are going to be kept, otherwise the game will keep the 50 highest leveled people.

More information can be found at the official website.

Nexon Talks: The Story of MapleStory


This week I got the opportunity to chat with a couple of the folks behind MapleStory, a game that you may have seen a fair amount of coverage here in recent months. Yes, this game that launched in 2003 is still going very strong, with major content updates coming out on a rather impressive schedule.

You see, every time I talk about MapleStory there are some questions that I see revolving the content that I’m talking about and often times I don’t exactly have an answer. Who is the Black Mage, what are these theme dungeons, what’s the deal with the Reboot server, etc. So we brought Nexon on board, and they were happy to provide two of their own to give us some answers; Nam Jun (NJ), Global MapleStory Lead Game Designer, as well as Young Mi (YM), Global MapleStory Leader of Planning and Designing.

 

Us: What is the current state of the MapleStory story for those that may not have kept up with the game in recent times?

Nam Jun: Going back to the story from last winter in 2018, Black Mage, the character that reigned as the “final boss” for a long time in MapleStory, was defeated. Black Mage had planned to destroy Maple World, and to create a new world without transcendents. Empress Cygnus of Maple World formed an alliance in order to fight against his great power, and triumphed after a hard fight in Tenebris, located at the end of the Arcane River.

After Maple World found peace again, we then presented players with ‘Pathfinder’ as the next storyline, which included a new Explorer Bowman class captivated by ancient artifacts.

Us: How do theme dungeons factor into the overall plot of MapleStory?

NJ: In theme dungeons, we sometimes include hints or characters that may relate to the future plot, or provide players with a glimpse of different events that take place in various parts of Maple World that may not necessarily tie to the main plot. When players play through the theme dungeons, on top of each job’s story quests, they’ll be able to enjoy the added fun that comes with understanding MapleStory’s supplemental plot.

Us: How many total classes are there right now?

NJ: There are a total of 45 classes at the moment.

Us: Can you explain what the idea is behind having temporary characters like the Beast Tamer and Pink Bean? Why not make them permanent?

NJ: Because MapleStory has 45 different jobs, we’ve been servicing some jobs to only be available to be created or played during a certain period. For example, Pink Bean, one of the most beloved boss characters in Maple World, was specially made available as a playable character for a limited time, so players can experience something new.

Us: Are there any functional differences between named hero classes and explorer classes?

Young Mi: Heroes refer to the five heroes who have sealed the Black Mage, and therefore praised most highly in Maple World.

Explorers are new heroes that appeared in Maple World after the heroes who sealed the Black Mage have disappeared, and they try to protect the peace in Maple World.

Regarding the functional differences, we do try and make a general distinction by giving each job a unique story, theme, function (combat method), and etc. So we’d like players to experience those differences and enjoy them in various ways.

Us: Has the Pathfinder class been positively received?

NJ: Yes! Pathfinder drew attention as the first Explorer Bowman Class character to be released in a while. We also received feedback that she was enjoyable to play with given her exceptional hunting abilities–dealing high amount of damage and displaying excellent secondary skill functions—and her superior abilities when it comes to bossing.

Us: Do the burning character events bring back a high number of people who may not have played in a while?

NJ: Absolutely! We heard a number of people saying they returned to the game after hearing the news that a Tera Burning Event (benefits until Lv. 200) and a Burning Event (benefits until Lv. 150) will take place back-to-back this summer.

Players will be able to level up their character quickly with the burning event providing various equipment, items, and the perk of 1+2 leveling. So a lot of new and returning players, and of course the existing players who are leveling up various characters for link skills and Legion bonuses, usually take advantage of this event.

Us: What are the tradeoffs of the reboot server for people who might be looking to come back to MapleStory?

NJ: Reboot server is a special server where trade between other characters is limited, and obtained meso rate is 6 times as high and EXP obtained is 2.5 times than that of a regular server. Because trade is limited, more time and effort may be needed than in regular servers in the beginning stages of growing the character to obtain equipment items.

However, players can benefit from the feeling of achievement by leveling up their character, and earning equipment items on their own.

Us: What is next on the plate for MapleStory?

YM: Right around the corner, we plan on proceeding with the world merge that a lot of people have been looking forward to. We also have various new events and contents in the works. 

We know players will be most curious about the story after the battle with Black Mage. An entirely new story is planned to unfold, beginning with the story of Explorers standing up against a newly approaching danger. We hope that you look forward to it as the story continues.

I’d like to thank Nexon for getting us this Q&A session, as well as both Nam Jun and Young Mi for taking time out of their busy schedules to answer them.

Black Desert Adds In Archer Class, New Region, Fairy Follower


Black Desert Online is making big updates this week with a free to play weekend to go along with it.

First among the list of new content is the addition of the archer class. The archer brings his bow to the fight and makes his entrance along with the forest region of Kamasylvia. While you are there, you’ll have the opportunity to pick up your very own fairy companion. The fairy can imbue players with a number of skills including Tingling Breath and Feather Steps to help them along their way.

“The Archer is a highly mobile class capable of shooting enemies while simultaneously dodging their attacks. Even against insurmountable odds, he is able to escape death’s grip. The Archer is able to utilize two weapons right from level 1, including his main Crossbow and the awakening Greatbow, freely switching between the two while casting magic such as Meteor Dive and Winged Strike to defeat his enemies.”

From August 15-18, Xbox Live members will have a chance to play Black Desert free of charge with discounts on the game’s various starter packs.

And finally the game is now available for pre-order on the Playstation store following what has been classed as a successful beta period.

[Mobility] Knights Chronicle Offers New Awakening, New Heroes


Netmarble Corp has announced a new awakening and additional heroes being added into mobile MMO Knights Chronicle in the latest update. Support hero Karen will be able to awaken, receiving a number of passive skills. Karen’s pre-awakening character buffs water/light allies HP recovery while also granting 10% healing over time to the lowest HP ally. No word on stat advantages when dealing with retail store managers.

In addition to Karen, new heroes Eurora and Baskerville have also entered the game along with the following two updates:

  • Auto Repeat – Players can now set the number of rounds when auto-repeating cleared stages
  • Guild Shop – New changes have been added, granting players access to the SSR Hero Ticket

More information on Knights Chronicle can be found at the official website.

Source: Netmarble Press Release