Author: Trafficblast

At one point in time, media giant Disney published video games like Disney Infinity and Epic Mickey in-house through its now-defunct Disney Interactive Studios. That’s no longer the case, as it now primarily licenses its franchises to outside studios instead. One major partner is Electronic Arts. In 2013, Disney and EA signed a 10-year deal to make EA the exclusive publisher of Star Wars games on console, and now Disney chief Bob Iger has commented on the company’s philosophy about publishing games and its relationship with EA.

He said on an earnings call that Disney’s history of internal development and publishing of games has been shaky, so he’s happy that Disney has now shifted to a licensing model.

“Over the years we’ve tried our hand in self-publishing, we’ve bought companies, we’ve sold companies, we’ve bought developers, we’ve closed developers. And we’ve found over the years that we haven’t been particularly good at the self-publishing side, but we’ve been great at the licensing side which obviously doesn’t require that much allocation of capital,” Iger said.

Regarding EA specifically, Iger said Disney’s relationship with the publisher has been “good,” despite what could be seen as issues recently.

“We’ve had good relationships with some of those we’re licensing to, notably EA, and the relationship on the Star Wars properties, and we’re probably going to continue to stay on that side of the business and put our capital elsewhere,” he said.

While Disney has been enormously successful in the areas of making its own movies, theme parks, cruise ships, and TV shows, video games have been a tough nut to crack. “We’ve never managed to demonstrate much skill on the publishing side of games,” Iger said.

EA has released two Star Wars console games, Star Wars: Battlefront and Star Wars: Battlefront II, since its licensing deal with Disney began in 2013. The next one is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order from Titanfall developer Respawn that is due out this fall. In other news, it was recently reported that EA canceled an open-world Star Wars game, with its developer EA Vancouver, now focusing on a smaller-scale project that can be released sooner. EA maintains that it is “fully committed” to making more Star Wars games as part of its deal with Disney.

2015’s Star Wars: Battlefront was an enormous success, shipping more than 14 million copies. The sequel, which was criticised for its loot box mechanics, shipped 9 million copies at launch.

Assuming EA’s deal with Disney for Star Wars video games hasn’t been updated, it runs until 2023. Unlike wholly owned franchises like Battlefield and Dragon Age, EA must pay Disney a licensing fee for its Star Wars games. However, the specific terms of the licensing agreement between Disney and EA is unknown.

Microsoft has revealed the second in its Sports series style of Xbox One controllers. The new version, named the Sport Red Special Edition, is, well, red, and “inspired by the world of activewear and sports lifestyle.”

The new controller, which boasts rubber grips on its rear, launches worldwide on March 5 and costs $70 in the US. International pricing has not been announced. Microsoft says the pad includes a 14-day trial for Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass “in select regions.”

In addition, the publisher has unveiled a matching Pro Charging Stand, also in Sport Red. The charging stand comes with a six foot cable for long-distance charging and launches on May 1 in North America for $50. It’s unclear whether Microsoft plans to bring the Sport Red charging stand to other territories.

Microsoft Game Studios has rebranded as Xbox Game Studios, a change that corporate vice president Matt Booty says reflects the company’s evolution. “As we’ve expanded our focus beyond the console, the Xbox brand has also evolved from its original roots,” he explained.

“Xbox is our gaming brand across all devices, no matter how or where you want to play, or who you want to play with. In that spirit, I’m pleased to share that we are changing the name of our game development organization from Microsoft Studios to Xbox Game Studios.”

Xbox Game Studios is comprised of 13 teams including “343 Industries, The Coalition, Compulsion Games, The Initiative, InXile Entertainment, Minecraft (Mojang), Ninja Theory, Obsidian Entertainment, Playground Games, Rare, Turn 10 Studios, Undead Labs, and [Xbox’s] Global Publishing Group.”

According to Booty, these teams are “working hard to deliver incredible exclusives, original IP, and all-new chapters from your favorite franchises.” Looking ahead, he noted that 2019 will offer Xbox owners Crackdown 3 (coming later this month), Gears 5, and Ori and the Will of the Wisps, all of which will be available on both Xbox One and PC and through Game Pass.

In 2018, Microsoft went on an acquisition spree, adding seven new game studios to its roster. While the new games these teams are working on haven’t been revealed, Booty said, “as a gaming organization, [Xbox has] never been in a better position to deliver a diverse line-up of exclusive games for Xbox fans now, and in the future.”

Of course, the projects these new studios are working on may not be targeting Xbox One as, at E3 2018, Microsoft confirmed work on new Xbox hardware was underway. Whatever the case, we might learn more in June, as Microsoft has teased big E3 plans.

Microsoft and 343 have announced a traveling Halo event filled with in-universe activities and games, panels with the Halo creators, and more. The weekend-long Halo Outpost Discovery will kick off this summer and visit five major cities across the United States.

The announcement promises you can explore a Halo Ring, see a real Warthog, play Halo-themed laser tag, and take part in VR simulations of Halo adventures. You can also attend a panel to hear the creators talk about their work building the Halo universe, or take part in one of the community themed panels revolving around livestreaming or cosplay. Finally, hundreds of game stations will let you kick back and just play some Halo.

Halo Outpost Discovery boasts a 300,000 foot area, and will debut in 2019 with stops in Orlando, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston, and Anaheim. Check below for the full schedule and read more details at the official site.

It’s been quite a while since 343 has brought out a major Halo release. Halo 5 Guardians released in 2015, and since then the only hint at something new that we’ve seen has been teases for Halo Infinite. The studio has clarified that Infinite is Halo 6, but we still have no idea when to expect it. The Outpost Discovery does begin after E3, though, and Microsoft has promised it’s “going big” this year, so the event may boast some Infinite content.

Halo Outpost Discovery:

• July 5-7 – Orlando
• July 19-21 – Philadelphia
• August 2-4 – Chicago
• August 16-18 – Houston
• August 30-September 1 – Anaheim

Another new Shiny Pokemon has arrived in Pokemon Go. Beginning today, February 5, players will have a chance of encountering the Shiny form of the series’ newest Mythical Pokemon, Meltan, but it’ll only be around for a limited time.

Meltan is unique among Pokemon in that its appearance is tied to the Mystery Box–a special item you’ll receive in Go when you transfer a Pokemon over to either Let’s Go Pikachu or Eevee on Nintendo Switch. Once the Mystery Box has been opened, Meltan will spawn in the wild for 30 minutes. After that time has elapsed, the Mystery Box will close, and you’ll need to wait seven days before you can transfer another Pokemon to Let’s Go and open the item again.

Thanks to this new event, any time you open the Mystery Box through March 4, you’ll now have a chance of finding a Shiny Meltan in the wild. You can tell the Shiny variant apart from a typical Meltan by its slightly darker head and blue (rather than red) tail. Moreover, Niantic has reduced the time you need to wait to open the Mystery Box by three days, allowing you to find Meltan much more quickly than before.

Unlike other Mythical Pokemon, Meltan is capable of evolving, which means this is also your first opportunity to get a Shiny Melmetal. You can read more on how to catch the Mythical Pokemon in our Meltan and Melmetal guide. Additional details about the Meltan event can be found on the Pokemon Go website.

In addition to Shiny Meltan, Pokemon Go players have their first chance to catch Shiny Spoink as part of the game’s Lunar New Year event, which runs until February 13. As part of the event, players will also receive twice the normal amount of XP for catching and evolving Pokemon, and certain monsters such as Dratini, Electabuzz, and Torchic will appear more frequently in the wild.