If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.
This week, Microsoft revealed the Xbox One is launching Nov. 22 (a week after the PlayStation 4), gamers spent $2.88 billion on games in the second quarter, and video production studio Area 5 releases its I Am Street Fighter documentary on YouTube. We also take an in-depth look at what the Xbox One’s cloud features will be good for, and what it might stink at.
You’ll also find reviews for Puppeteer, Outlast, Rome: Total War II, and Killzone: Mercenaries.
News:
- The DeanBeat: Cloud gaming gives companies more room to maneuver
- Microsoft and Sony finally put their console cards on the table
- Pokémon Bank enables players to store pocket monsters in the cloud
- Xbox One launches Nov. 22; Microsoft boosts console CPU speed
- Watch ‘I Am Street Fighter’ — the beloved fighting-game franchise’s 25th anniversary documentary
- Beyond Madden: Microsoft, ESPN, and NFL turn the Xbox into a football box
Mobile news:
- Activision releases Call of Duty: Strike Team for iOS
- SGN goes on a hiring spree as it expands into mobile games
- Analysts expect China’s mobile game market to surpass $1.2B in 2013
- Kabam to publish Chinese hit Wartune on mobile in the West
Announcements and reveals:
- NPD report: U.S. gamers spent $2.88 billion on games in the second quarter of 2013
- GamesBeat 2013 speaker highlight: Oculus VR’s Brendan Iribe to address disrupting the traditional game cycle
- Saints Row IV’s dubstep gun gets additional tracks in downloadable content
- Creative Assembly to release patch to improve Total War: Rome II’s performance
- New Pokémon X and Y-themed 3DS XL systems launch later this month
- Xbox One’s Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is $40 and multiplayer only
Tech:
- Xbox Video getting improved content discovery from Jinni movie search engine
- What Xbox One’s cloud is good for — and what it might stink at
- Microsoft shows its Xbox One consoles are rolling off the production line
- Researcher says a neurogame can improve multitasking skills
- PlayStation 4 VR: Rumor claims Sony is working on virtual-reality headset
- The PS4 can do voice recognition through the PlayStation camera
All this funding:
Acquisitions incorporated:
Trailer hoedown:
- Xbox One video demonstrates NFL features on Microsoft’s next-gen console
- 14 minutes of open-world Watch Dogs gameplay
- Xbox One’s Ryse features combat with ‘rhythm and flow’
Above: It’ll take more than an apple to keep this doctor away.
Reviews:
- Puppeteer’s endearing whimsy makes it worth the price of admission (review)
- The inmates are running the asylum in Outlast, and they’re terrifying (review)
- Killzone: Mercenary brings console quality first-person shooting to the Vita (review)
- With Total War: Rome II, you can conquer the world and watch the replay
Pieces of flair:
- Dr. Wily’s castle from Mega Man would cost $113 million if it were real
- 14 must-read survival tips for Splinter Cell: Blacklist’s ‘Spies vs. Mercs’
- 11 notable MOBAs of the past, present, and future
- BioShock Infinite’s Columbia re-created in Disney Infinity
- Ultima Forever’s missing women warriors are a sign of Mythic’s future improvements