It’s the weekend, which means two things: 1) Everyone gets some gaming time (I hope) and 2) the first entry of this year’s Weekly Wrap-Up is coming your way. Below, you’ll find brief summaries of our top 5 stories from this week, as well as a few stories that were interesting, but weren’t quite that big to make the cut. As always, if you want to read the full story, simply click on the link hidden in the titles. If you have suggestions for future entries, feel free to email me at jeremy.tyler@bagogames.com.
Here we go.
Number 5
Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC Content Just Released for XBox One and 360
Call of Duty developer Activision and Infinity Ward have just released the first Call of Duty: Ghosts DLC today. The DLC is known as Onslaught. Among the content is four new maps which are Fog, BayView, Containment, and Ignition. All feature competitive multi-player capability and one of the four maps is a fan favorite from, this time around, Modern Warfare 2′s Scrapyard.
Players who may want more of a cooperative experience can jump into the first chapter of Extinction which is called Nightfall. This involves aliens in a kill or be killed scenario. This will be a timed exclusive on XBox Live, which means that PC and PlayStation will be getting their DLC a little bit of time after XBox One and XBox 360.
Number 4
PS1 and PS2 Games Possibly Headed to PS4
According to one source, emulation of PS1 and PS2 games on the PS4 is right around the corner. They could carry HD enhancements if all goes according to plan. Reportedly, the PS3′s firmware contains emulators for PS1, PS2, and the PSP and the Vita handheld is capable of running PS1 emulators using the same technology. Sony is apparently pursuing the ability for older titles to run with less blur than seen on PS3 emulation and may be as successful as resolution seen on PCs emulating Sony’s consoles.
Running the code locally would provide a far better experience in terms of both input latency and image quality and a single download could actually work better and be more economical. This, however, as one source noted, would mean that anything running on the PS3 can also operate on the PlayStation Now servers and so there would be no technical reason why PS1, PS2, and PSP titles running on the existing and upscaled PS3 emulators couldn’t be added to the streaming service if Sony decided they want to go that route.
Number 3
PS Vita 2000 Released Tomorrow in UK?
While the internet has been abuzz following the news of a new PlayStation Vita in Japan, no word has come from Sony as to when this “slimline” version of the handheld console and PlayStation 4 companion will come to the West. Well, that is until now. According to a retailer advert, the PS Vita 2000 will be revealed and released TOMORROW for UK gamers.
While some may question the validity of such a statement, the advert looks very real. It was posted by AllGamesBeta on Twitter where the words “Revealed and available to pre-order tomorrow 30.1.14″ were accompanying the title of “The New PS Vita Slim Console.” Sounds pretty definite. According to the Tweet, the reveal was sent in an email from the online retailer ShopTo, which are quite well known in the UK.
Unfortunately, no one seems to be able to confirm that they have also received such an email, raising a few eyebrows. Remember that there is an event being run by Sony tomorrow to announce something. The invites for this event read “following the biggest launch in PlayStation history, join us for an introduction to the slimmest.” Are things adding up? Most certainly.
Number 2
Nintendo Offering Four Swords Game on 3DS for Free
Starting January 30 and ending February 2, Nintendo is offering The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Edition for free on the 3DS eShop. This special offer is in honor of the latest Zelda game, Link Between Worlds, winning GameSpot’s 2013 game of the year. There is only three more days left to take advantage of this offer for 3DS owners. What are you waiting for? Grab your 3DS and start downloading!
Number 1
Nintendo CEO Taking Pay Cut Due to Low Wii U Sales
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata may not be stepping down but he will once again be taking a major pay cut as a result of poor sales of the Big N’s fledgling Wii U console. So far, the company has continued to not draw the point across of what exactly the GamePad does to add extra excitement to gameplay like they were able to do with the Wii’s Wii remote controller which became such a phenomenon years ago.
As a result, Iwata is cutting his salary in half for the next five months (similar to what he did when the original 3DS launched with a $299.99 price point) years ago. However, he’s not the only one cutting back. Other Nintendo board members are slashing their pay back ranging at between 20 to 30 percent off their normal salary. Nintendo announced last week that sales expectations for the Wii U are being reduced to two-thirds with an expectation to hopefully move 2.8 million units by March 2014.
Honorable Mentions
This week had a lot of big news and the news staff and I found it hard to narrow it down to the usual five stories:
- Remember Me Developer Bankrupt?
- Nintendo Denies Mini-Games on Smartphone Rumors
- Blackguards Released Early
If you missed out on the big news items this week, you can check out our weekly podcast and get an audio update of this week’s madness from our podcasting team. Listen to us as we talk about some things seriously and a few other things not so much. We guarantee this episode will make you shake your fist at times and nod your head at others.
