Game Consulting

Sales figures for games consoles are not released in the UK. However, a new report has shown has certain consoles and games companies are dominating the market and getting the biggest share of the sales.

One of the most interesting figures to come out of the report showed that 50.2% of all games sold in the UK were for the PlayStation 4. 31% of games were for the Xbox One, and 7.5% were for the Nintendo Switch. Both the PS4 and the Xbox One are now in their fourth Christmas, showing that the PS4 has gained much better traction in the market. Of course, it does make a difference that digital sales were not a part of this report, which could make a difference to some of the figures.

It also pointed out that EA are the publishers with the highest number of sales in the UK, taking a massive 16.8% share of the market.

4K resolution is around 4 times the resolution of a 1080p screen. It makes for an incredible picture and is great for playing video games. However, many experts are saying that you should wait until next year to purchase your 4K television. Of course, price comes into it – the technology is going to become cheaper over time. The main reason, though, is to do with the actual technology behind this type of television.

A 4K television will soon use HDMI 2.1, rather than 2.0. This means it will support Game Mode VRR, which will improve gaming immensely. It supports variable refresh rates and the 3D processor will be able to display an image immediately. This will help to reduce lag and will make for a more immersive gaming experience. It is somewhat similar to PC gaming technology, which uses Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync. So if you are tempted by any sales, hold on. It will be worth it.

There is a certain trend in gaming at the moment: retro. With the Snes Classic Mini taking the UK by storm and Nintendo struggling to meet demand, it is clear that a precedent has been set by the games company. This has begun lots of speculation about other consoles that could be about to receive a similar treatment. If this is to be the case, wouldn’t the Nintendo Game Boy Classic be the obvious decision?

The release of a new Game Boy throwback console would also make sense in terms of the timeline. It is thought Nintendo may also be working on an N64, which came after the Game Boy. Why not keep it in chronological order?

What would a new Game Boy look like? Some are hoping for something very retro, with games pre-loaded rather than needing a cartridge. Others are hoping for a modern take with back lighting and colour.

Fifa 18 has now been released in the UK and can be purchased for the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It was available to order as of midnight and can be purchased online or in store in various retail outlets.

The new game has received a number of enhancements, online and offline. There have been graphic improvements that make it feel more realistic than ever before. The experience is not dissimilar to watching a football game on TV.

The gameplay is also being described as more realistic, as the defenders no longer work automatically. You will need to time tackles perfectly in order to get the ball back and hold onto it.

The story mode has been improved and gameplay will carry over from the previous Fifa game, so you can hold onto any achievements.

Not everyone is happy though. Some players are unhappy with their ratings in the game and Delle Alli has complained about his speed.

Rainbow Six Siege Operation Blood Orchid is going to be available for free over the coming weekend for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Players will be able to save their progress and buy the game half price in the upcoming weeks. The offer will also be available for Xbox Live subscribers who have the Xbox One or a PC.

Rainbow Siege Six is one of the most popular tactical action games for PlayStation. Operation Blood Orchid will introduce three new operators, two who are from Hong Kong’s SDU, and the other from Poland’s GROM. There will also be changes to the attackers, who will be able to operate both drones at once. The game will be set in a haunting theme park in Hong Kong.

Players can see the new operators and new map during the Pro League Finals, which are also on over the weekend. They will be broadcast from Gamescom.

That awkward moment you invest into Nintendo because of Pokemon Go and then you find out the game won’t impact your share price that much as the company doesn’t actually own the game!

There’s still plenty of reasons to be optimistic about Nintendo’s future on mobile, even if Pokemon GO isn’t necessarily a huge money-maker for them. It is seen as a fundamentally Nintendo property – as the doubling of their stock price shows – and it shows that mobile players want Nintendo content. Nintendo’s fully-owned mobile apps could be a reason to invest in the company further. Crazy that Nintendo didn’t make people aware of the ownership of Pokemon Go from the get-go.

Was the Wii U a flop? It’s been out for long enough to discuss fairly. We don’t really see the Wii U mentioned when discussing gaming and we guess there’s a reason for that? It isn’t exactly the most popular of consoles.

GameStop boss, Paul Raines thoughts on the matter;

“Wii U was disappointing to everybody, including Nintendo. They made some bold bets, and maybe some of them didn’t work out.”

With Nintendo denying plans that they’re wanting to cancel production of the console with only approximately 800,000 units sold to date, it is yet to confirm if there is a schedule in place to cease manufacturing.

Shadow of the Beast on PS4 comes with the Amiga original but you’ll have to unlock it first, because the emulation of the Amiga classic is burrowed away somewhere in the main campaign!

“As fans of the original, we wanted to offer new players to chance to experience first-hand the game that inspired us and offer fellow fans of the original a chance to re-live it,” reads a statement by Heavy Spectrum founder Matt Birch.

“To that end, we’ve included a full emulation of the original Amiga game (we think this might be the first time an Amiga emulation has been published on a Sony console!) as an unlockable bonus in the main game – that means you’ll get the entire original Amiga game alongside the new Shadow of the Beast!“

Good news for people who are enjoying Halo 5: Guardians’ new Warzone Firefight mode, which was released this week in beta form. Developer 343 Industries has announced that it’s extending the beta period an extra day, meaning it will now end on April 19 instead of April 18.

343 said it’s giving players an extra day with the mode as a thank you for their patience, presumably for some launch issues. This being pre-release software, there are elements that 343 is hoping to improve for the final release.

Designer David Ellis said on Twitter that 343 has heard the feedback around the “Defend the Garage” objective and how it’s not explained well enough to players.

“Good feedback and totally agree,” Ellis replied when this issue was brought up to him by a fan. “We need better feedback for players on that objective.”

With Microsoft dropping a major bombshell earlier this week, confirming that it was open to the possibility of cross-platform play between the consoles, all eyes have been on Sony’s response.The company’s recent announcement meant that Xbox One vs PS4 multiplayer could one day become a reality, just like it has for Xbox One and Windows 10.

But Sony would have to be on board for anything like this to happen, and considering the success of the PS4, the Japanese gaming giant would seemingly have little to gain. A Sony spokesperson said that the company would be happy to talk to any publishers or developers about such an arrangement.

“PlayStation has been supporting cross-platform play between PC on several software titles starting with Final Fantasy 11 on PS2 and PC back in 2002. We would be happy to have the conversation with any publishers or developers who are interested in cross-platform play.”