Month: March 2018

Sea of Thieves is immensely popular–and that’s part of the reason why the game is having widespread technical issues. In a developer update, Rare studio head Craig Duncan and executive producer Joe Neate discussed the game’s problems and what’s being done to fix them. They also revealed that the Xbox One and PC game reached 1 million players in its first 48 hours.

“We have seen unprecedented numbers coming in to Sea of Thieves and playing Sea of Thieves. The interest has been insane; the amount of people playing has been mind-blowing,” Neate said.

Sea of Thieves is free for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. Microsoft has not shared any details on how many people bought the game outright versus those who picked it up with a Game Pass subscription. Additionally, Microsoft offers a 14-day free Game Pass trial, and we don’t know how many people are playing Sea of Thieves on that trial. Whatever the case, 1 million players in 48 hours is a huge figure, and it has surely only grown higher still.

In the video, Duncan says an engineer told him that at one point near launch on March 20, some 5,000 people were joining the game every minute. Rare held multiple scale tests for Sea of Thieves before launch, but the live game is seeing 3-4 times more people trying to play during peak times than during the tests. Many of the game’s problems now are scale-related, and Duncan stressed that Rare has engineers working 24/7 to fix the issues and improve the experience.

A massive update for Sea of Thieves dropped today, and it includes various fixes for the game’s online infrastructure. You can see the full patch notes here in GameSpot’s previous coverage.

GameSpot’s Sea of Thieves review scored the pirate game a 6/10. Reviewer Peter Brown said, “Even though it’s hard to wholeheartedly recommend, I like enough of what I see to hold out hope that things will eventually improve as the game continues to be patched and updated with new content.

For more on Sea of Thieves, including some tips for getting started, check out the linked stories below.

[UPDATE] The Sea of Thieves Game Pass issue has now been resolved, developer Rare announced on Twitter. If you still encounter an issue, Rare advises that you try again.

The original story is below.

Microsoft’s Netflix-style subscription service, Xbox Game Pass, has been available for some time now, but it took on new value when the company announced plans to launch its first-party exclusives on day one through the service. That started with last week’s release of Sea of Thieves, but due to a new problem that has popped up, the game isn’t currently playable for Game Pass members.

As long as you have a Game Pass subscription, you can ordinarily play Sea of Thieves on Xbox One or PC in its entirety just like anyone who owns a digital copy of the game. However, players opening the game right now are presented with the same type of message you see when trying to play something you don’t own. “Do you own this game or app?” the error message asks. “If you have a game disc, insert it now. If you bought this online, make sure you’re signed in to Xbox Live. If you don’t have rights for playing it, you’ll need to get it at the Microsoft Store.” This also presents you with the 0x803f8001 error code, which directs you to a support page for this otherwise standard problem.

The issue is currently specific to Sea of Thieves; the Xbox Live status page confirms that Game Pass access to the title isn’t working correctly right now. That page has an unusually terse message stating that the issue is being worked on, and the official Sea of Thieves Twitter account also states as much: “Our team are currently investigating an issue affecting Game Pass players and are working to resolve it as soon as possible. We’ll update you as soon as we can.”

We don’t know how long the issue will persist or if it’s related to the new Sea of Thieves update that was just released. Regardless, it means that Game Pass members are unable to play the game right now. We’ll report back as more details are shared. In the meantime, check out our Sea of Thieves review.

The Strong Museum has announced the 12 finalists for this year’s World Video Game Hall of Fame, including Minecraft, Metroid, Tomb Raider, Half-Life, and Call of Duty. The Strong Museum gaming director Jon-Paul C. Dyson said these games and the other finalists all had an “undeniable impact” on gaming and pop culture and are among the “most influential games of all time.”

The other nominees included Asteroids, Dance Dance Revolution, Final Fantasy VII, John Madden Football, King’s Quest, Ms. Pac-Man, and Spacewar!

The Strong Museum opened public nominations for the World Video Game Hall of Fame, and the organization received “thousands” of entries from more than 100 countries are the world. The winners, which are voted on by journalists and scholars, will be announced on May 3. New for 2018 is the “Player’s Choice” ballot, which lets fans vote on which games they think are most deserving. The three games with the most votes will make up a ballot that will be considered alongside those from the previously mentioned journalists and scholars.

Games are recognized for a number of criteria, including “icon-status,” longevity, and geographical reach, as well as impact on design and development on other games, pop culture, and society. Full details on the criteria can be found on the Strong Museum’s website.

This is the fourth World Video Game Hall of Fame class. You can see the existing inductees at the bottom of this post. They are on permanent display at The Strong Museum in Rochester, New York.

2018 World Video Game Hall Of Fame Finalists

• Asteroids
• Call of Duty
• Dance Dance Revolution
• Final Fantasy VII
• Half-Life
• John Madden Football
• King’s Quest
• Metroid
• Minecraft
• Ms. Pac-Man
• Spacewar!
• Tomb Raider

Previous World Video Game Hall Of Fame Inductees

• Donkey Kong
• Doom
• Grand Theft Auto III
• Halo: Combat Evolved
• The Legend of Zelda
• The Oregon Trail
• Pac-Man
• Pokemon Red and Green
• Pong
• The Sims
• Sonic the Hedgehog
• Space Invaders
• Street Fighter II
• Super Mario Bros.
• Tetris
• World of Warcraft

WonderCon is always home to amazing cosplay where fans dress up as their favorite characters from both video game and entertainment properties. And 2018’s iteration of the event was no exception.

We attended the recent event, which ran March 23-25 in Anaheim, CA. We saw people dressed up as everyone from Spider-Man to X-Men’s Colossus to Captain America to Overwatch’s Reaper and so many more. Above, we’ve rounded up many of the best cosplayers we saw over the weekend; be sure to let us know in the comments below which ones were your favorites. And for more amazing cosplay, check out the outfits we saw at New York Comic-Con and BlizzCon.

WonderCon is an annual fan convention that celebrates all things comics, movies, and sci-fi. It’s been going on for more than 30 years, and we already know it’ll be back in 2019. Next year’s event will again be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, where it’ll run from March 29-31.

Season 3 of Fortnite: Battle Royale is ongoing, and each week brings a new set of challenges for players to complete. There’s a free set of objectives for everyone to take on over the course of the season, but only those who purchase the Season 3 Battle Pass get to deal with the additional weekly challenges. These present players with specific goals to target and offer a path to quickly level up the Battle Pass and acquire its many rewards.

Although challenges are referred to as weekly, you have more than a week to complete them–they’re available until Season 3 concludes at the end of April. As such, it’s not too late to pick up the Battle Pass now and go back to complete challenges from past weeks.

Many of these challenges are relatively straightforward; you’ll need to secure kills in certain locations or with specific weapon types. Others are things you’ll likely do without even trying, like reviving teammates. Others still will require a bit more attention and management, as they might require certain things to be done in a single match (such as visiting three gas stations) or ask you to go to a specific location you otherwise would be unlikely to stumble upon.

Below, you’ll find a complete list of every weekly challenge that’s been rolled out so far along with links to some of our guides that will help you to deal with those trickier objectives. We’ll continue to update this as more challenges are announced over the course of the season.

Week 1

• Deal damage with Pistols to opponents (500) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Pleasant Park (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Revive players (5) — 5 Battle Stars
• Visit a Llama, Fox, and a Crab — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Follow the treasure map found in Dusty Depot — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Sniper Rifle Eliminations (2) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Fatal Fields (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Week 2

• Use a Launchpad — 5 Battle Stars
• Deal damage with Assault Rifles to opponents (1000) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Wailing Woods (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Dance in different forbidden locations (5) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Search between a Pool, Windmill, and an Umbrella — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: SMG Eliminations (3) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Greasy Grove (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Week 3

• Harvest building resources with a pickaxe (3000) — 5 Battle Stars
• Deal damage with Suppressed Weapons to opponents (500) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Junk Junction (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Land on different Bullseyes (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Follow the treasure map found in Snobby Shores — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Crossbow Eliminations (1) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Salty Springs (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Fortnite week 3 challenges guide

Week 4

• Deal damage with Sniper Rifles to opponents (500) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Chests in Flush Factory (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Search Supply Drops (3) — 5 Battle Stars
• Visit different Ice Cream Trucks (5) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Search between a Vehicle Tower, Rock Sculpture, and a Circle of Hedges (1) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Trap Eliminations (1) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Tomato Town (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Fortnite week 4 challenges guide

Week 5

• Use the Bush — 5 Battle Stars
• Search chests in Moisty Mire (7) — 5 Battle Stars
• Deal damage with a pickaxe to opponents (200) — 5 Battle Stars
• Visit different gas stations in a single match (3) — 5 Battle Stars
• Hard: Follow the treasure map in Anarchy Acres — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Pistol eliminations (3) — 10 Battle Stars
• Hard: Eliminate opponents in Tilted Towers (3) — 10 Battle Stars

Fortnite week 5 challenges guide

If you’ve been holding out on picking up a Nintendo Switch, now might be a good time jump in. Through Ebay, you can get the system with either gray Joy-Cons or neon red/blue Joy-Cons for just $255 USD. The sale also includes free shipping but cannot be shipped to locations outside of the continental US.

The standard price for a Switch is $300, so you’ll be saving $45 with this deal. Take note that you have to use the limited time promo code PREPSPRING to get the discount. This offer will only be valid until 8 PM PST / 11 PM EST today, March 27. The deal runs through Newegg as the Ebay seller, which is a reputable retailer.

Other notable bundles currently available on Ebay (with the aforementioned promo code) include an Xbox One X with Far Cry 5 for $410 and a DualShock 4 or Xbox One controller with Far Cry 5 for $68. More deals are currently active on Ebay and you can check them all out here.

The Nintendo Switch recently made history by becoming the best-selling game console of all time in the US during its first year of release. Although Nintendo hasn’t given a solid sales figure through one year, it did state that the console sold 14.86 million units as of December 31, 2017.

For more on Nintendo’s wildly popular console-handheld hybrid, check out our roundup of the best Switch games out now or our breakdown of what the new 5.0.0 firmware update does. We tested out over 30 different wireless gaming headsets with the Switch; find out which ones work with the system. Be sure to catch up on all the new games that were recently announced for the Switch during the Nindies Showcase and the latest Nintendo Direct stream.