Author: Trafficblast

Technology giant Microsoft has announced earnings for its latest fiscal quarter, and the report shines a light on how the Xbox business is doing–though it’s becoming harder to know.

Microsoft’s Xbox business is housed within the company’s More Personal Computing division. That business unit reached $11.1 billion in revenue for the quarter ended September 30, and that’s up 4 percent year-over-year. More Personal Computing also includes things like Microsoft Surface, search advertising revenue on Bing, Windows OEM revenue, and more.

Halo Infinite is one of 2020’s most anticipated games on Xbox

In terms of Xbox-specific stats, Xbox Content and Surfaces Revenue was up 1 percent. This includes revenue from Xbox Live–including transactions, subscriptions, cloud services, and advertising. Additionally, it counts sales of Microsoft’s own video games and royalties from third-party games sold on Xbox devices.

Minecraft experienced “strength” in subscription sales, Microsoft said, but overall sales declined due in part to a tough comparison to this time last year when a “third-party title” was performing well. This is likely a reference to Fortnite, which has moderated in revenue.

Minecraft is quietly among the most popular games on planet Earth. The game has more than 112 million monthly players, which is many millions more than Fortnite’s latest publicly released numbers.

Overall gaming revenue for Microsoft was down 7 percent

Microsoft no longer reports Xbox Live active users, which makes understanding the company’s fortunes more difficult to understand, but the company did share that total gaming revenue during the quarter was $2.542 billion, which is down $2.738 billion from the same period last year. Hardware specifically was down 34 percent due to fewer consoles sold. That’s to be expected given the Xbox One is at the end of its lifecycle with the new, more powerful Project Scarlett coming in Holiday 2020.

Another interesting note from Microsoft’s earnings report was that total Research & Development expenses jumped by $588 million, or 15 percent, due in part to efforts related to gaming (among other things).

2020 will be a big year for Xbox with the launch of Scarlett and Halo Infinite. Not only that, but Microsoft’s new streaming service, xCloud, is expected to continue its rollout throughout 2019 and into next year.

Microsoft’s total revenue–across all of its business units–reached $33.1 billion for the latest quarter, which is up 14 percent. Total income was $10.7 billion.

EA has announced Battlefield V‘s next free update–and it is a big one. Chapter 5: War in the Pacific adds new maps, US and Japanese factions, more weapons, and additional pickups.

The new maps in War in the Pacific are reimagined versions of classic Pacific maps, including Iwo Jima and Pacific Storm, both of which will be available at launch. Then in December, EA will introduce perhaps the most-anticipated map: Wake Island. This is one of the most iconic Battlefield maps ever, and it’s exciting to see it finally coming to Battlefield V.

As for the new weapons, War in the Pacific is adding the M1 Garand rifle, the bolt-action Type 99 Arisaka for the Recon class, and the Type 100 SMG for the Medica class. The final new weapon is the M1919A6, which is a smaller machine gun for the Support class.

These weapons will be available at release on October 31, while others–including the M3 Grease Gun, Nambu Type 2A, Type 97 LMG, and M1918 A2–will be released over time through gameplay rewards. A new gadget, the Lunge Mine–which can destroy tanks–is also headed to Battlefield V with the new War in the Pacific update.

War in the Pacific also introduces two new pickups–the katana and the M2 flamethrower. As with all other Battlefield V pickups, these weapons are found on the map.

Additionally, there are new vehicles–the M4 Sherman and the Type 97 tanks–coming to Battlefield V with the new update. New amphibious vehicles, the LVT and Ka-Mi Light tanks, are also coming to Battlefield V alongside the speedy MB Jeep and Type 95 car.

In the skies, the Battlefield V update adds the F4U Corsair for US troops and the Zero Fighter for Japanese forces. The update also introduces two new Elites–Jack Culver for US forces and Keisuke Nakamura for the Japanese troops. Elites are special characters that can be purchased with real money but do not impact gameplay.

For more on the big new War in the Pacific update, go to the Battlefield website.

Before Netflix takes The Witcher to Lucca Comics & Games convention on October 31 in Italy for a big panel event, the streaming giant has released new images from Season 1 of the new fantasy series, which stars Henry Cavill.

Check out the four new images below at the start of our Season 1 images gallery:

While the image of Yennefer is ripped straight from the trailer we saw back at San Diego Comic-Con 2019, the other three images offer new shots of Geralt, Roach, and a mysterious hand (Ciri’s?) touching a monster’s claw… Is it one of Geralt’s kills perhaps?

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One Piece: Stampede will play in limited theatrical release in North America on the following dates: Oct 24, 29 & 31 (Subtitled); October 26 & 30 (English Dub) Canada: Oct 25 & Nov 5 (Subtitled); Oct 28 & Nov 8 (English Dub).

“In a deep, lofty darkness, you will find your answer.” This is the only hint left by Gol D. Roger, king of the pirates, after he hides an “invaluable treasure” on the island where the great Pirate Festival, the setting of One Piece: Stampede, takes place. And that’s all the setup we need for a perfect “greatest hits” film which pits the Straw Hat crew and so many of One Piece’s most beloved and fan-favorite heroes and villains (Trafalgar Law, Boa Hancock, Buggy, Eustace Kid, and more) against one another in a thrilling carnival setting as they race to find Gol D. Roger’s treasure.

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Whether you’re listening to a tiny Acorn yodel as it transforms into a mighty Oak tree or watching a wannabe superhero zombie hold his arms aloft like Superman when he sprints, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville’s roster pops with personality. Its PvE campaigns may be boring and repetitive, and its multiplayer maps can create chaotic clusters of action where it’s hard to work out what’s going on, but that’s easy to forgive after you meet its varied and amusing cast of playable plants and zombies. Their unique abilities fill the full range of playstyles, from snipers to healers, and kept me smiling even if the modes around them never quite hit the same high bar.

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There are plenty of good movies and TV shows to be thankful for in November on Netflix!

First off, Martin Scorsese’s highly-anticipated crime drama, The Irishman, is dropping on November 27 with an all-star cast that includes Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. The film centers on the “epic saga of organized crime in post-war America told through the eyes of World War II veteran Frank Sheeran, a hustler and hitman who worked alongside some of the most notorious figures of the 20th century,” according to a synopsis from the streaming provider. Be sure to check out our review of The Irishman right here.

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To hype the upcoming release of Death Stranding, Hideo Kojima invited comedian and late night TV host Conan O’Brien to his office for a behind-the-scenes look at the game.

It went about as well as you would think, as Conan spent his time cracking jokes and ribbing with Kojima through a translator. Upon viewing a Death Stranding trailer and meeting BB for the first time, Conan said to Kojima, “What’s wrong with you?”

Also during the silly segment, Kojima reveals that Death Stranding actor Norman Reedus, who plays main character Sam “Porter” Bridges, asked the team to make his muscles bigger.

In another segment, Kojima invites Conan to have himself scanned into Death Stranding. Conan entered the camera rig and made all manner of silly faces, and we sure hope they make it into the game. There is even a sequence at the end when Conan’s character model in the game speaks with Sam. It’s pretty great; take a look at the video below.

We can only hope that Conan follows this up with a Clueless Gamer segment for Death Stranding, because that would seemingly be comedy gold.

The Death Stranding review embargo lifts on November 1, so keep checking back with GameSpot for more on the title in the days and weeks ahead.

Death Stranding officially launches on November 8 for PS4.

A brand-new trailer for the Persona action game spinoff Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers has arrived. The newest trailer shows off more of the project that Atlus is creating alongside Koei Tecmo and Omega Force (the Dynasty Warriors team).

In addition to showcasing new gameplay and more of the setting and characters, the trailer ends by confirming a release date: February 20, 2020. So far, it’s only confirmed for Japan, so there is no word on when or if The Phantom Strikers will be released in the US or other parts of the world.

The Phantom Strikers is coming to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. It is the first action-RPG in the Persona series.

In other news, Persona 5 Royal, which features new characters, more areas to explore, additional story elements, and more, is coming to PS4 in Japan on October 31. It’ll be released in the west in Q2 2020, which is sometime between April and June.

A sequel to 1993’s Hocus Pocus is in development for Disney+ and Workaholics writer and co-producer Jen D’Angelo will be writing the script.

As reported by Collider, Hocus Pocus’ stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy have not been attached to the new project as of yet, but “D’Angelo has been tasked with finding a way to bring back the original cast” in some way.

The original followed Midler, Parker, and Najimy who were witches from 1693 in Salem, MA that were resurrected 300 years later. They must learn to live in the 20th century and deal with the fact that Halloween has become a holiday.

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