PCR Tech and IT retail, distribution and vendor news
Budding MMO Wildstar has announced an open beta, goofy billy-bashing game Goat Simulator has had its retail release dated and EA has revealed its Q4 results.
NCSoft and Carbine Studios have confirmed that upcoming MMO Wildstar will have an open beta period from May 8th to May 18th ahead of the game’s launch on June 3rd.
During the 10-day length of the beta, which will be opened with a series of livestreams from the developers of the title on May 8th and 9th, players will be able to level up to level 30.
The executive producer of Wildstar, Jeremy Gaffney, previously told PCR of developer Carbine Studios’ “go big or go home” approach to its debut game.
“We’re going to go head-to-head and see what we can carve out on our own from that market,” Gaffney said.
“Go big or go home, man.
“Any business you’re in you’d better be trying to the best – or what the hell’s the point of wasting 16 hours a day scrumming around being second best?”
Read the full interview with Gaffney here.
Publisher Koch Media has announced that comedy billy-flinging game Goat Simulator will be arriving on store shelves on May 23rd.
The skateboarding-inspired parody title, which sees players wreaking havoc as the titular kid, originally launched as a digital-only download on April Fools’ Day.
Following the release of the “small, broken and stupid game”, Koch Media – publisher of the Dead Island series – granted it a full boxed release.
As with the digital release, advertised features includes “bugs”, “butts”, “maximum skill” and a “lick feature”.
Gaming publisher giant EA has announced its Q4 financial results, revealing that EA games accounted for 40 per cent of Western world sales on the PS4 and Xbox One consoles.
Fifa 14, Titanfall and Battlefield 4 were partly to thank for this success, with the titles occupying three of the top five slots for best-selling titles across all platforms in the West.
The firm also stated that its operating cash flow for the fiscal year had doubled from the year previous – up to $712 million from $324 million.
“While navigating through a year of tremendous change in the industry, which included a challenging console transition, we were able to exceed revenue guidance, lower our operating expenses, double operating cash flows, and invest in new products and services for the future,” said EA CFO Blake Jorgensen.
“On a non-GAAP basis, we drove higher gross margins, improving our operating profit margins to 18 per cent.”
