Games as a service | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net KitGuru.net - Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards Fri, 09 Oct 2020 11:30:02 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://www.kitguru.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cropped-KITGURU-Light-Background-SQUARE2-32x32.png Games as a service | KitGuru https://www.kitguru.net 32 32 Crystal Dynamics addresses Avengers’ waning player base https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/mustafa-mahmoud/crystal-dynamics-addresses-avengers-waning-player-base/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/mustafa-mahmoud/crystal-dynamics-addresses-avengers-waning-player-base/#respond Fri, 09 Oct 2020 11:30:02 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=489293 When Marvel’s Avengers launched last month, the release came with a respectable amount of fanfare. Most who played the games as a service title enjoyed the feeling of the various Marvel characters. That being said, after hitting the endgame, many appeared to get tired of the gameplay loop, leading to playercounts dwindling. Crystal Dynamics has …

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When Marvel’s Avengers launched last month, the release came with a respectable amount of fanfare. Most who played the games as a service title enjoyed the feeling of the various Marvel characters. That being said, after hitting the endgame, many appeared to get tired of the gameplay loop, leading to playercounts dwindling. Crystal Dynamics has now commented on the current state of the game, saying “We are listening. We are making fixes, improvements, and additions as fast as we safely can to make Marvel’s Avengers the game we all aspire it to be.”

In a statement to Kotaku, Crystal Dynamics’ studio head Scot Atmos said: “To our players: every day we fight to make the best game possible for our community. We have a great community management team at Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix who funnel all of your concerns, suggestions, and feedback to the development team daily. We are listening. We are making fixes, improvements, and additions as fast as we safely can to make Marvel’s Avengers the game we all aspire it to be.”

In the near future, Marvel’s Avengers will be adding “a totally new War Zone mission type called Tachyon Rifts, a new Outpost that’s a jumping off point for new story missions in the future, and AIM’s Cloning Lab, which requires a coordinated high-level group of four players to beat with new top-end loot rewards for finishing it.”

(Image Source: Twinfinite)

With the game’s more long-term plans, “we’ve announced two new Heroes coming in the near future: Kate Bishop in Operation: Taking AIM, and after that the double-feature Operation starring Clint Barton… This is the “two Hawkeyes” we mentioned in the last War Table. These new Operations pick up right from where the main Reassemble campaign ended in the core game and will propel the overall world story forward with new mysteries and villains, as well as new multi-player content.”

In direct response to the rapidly falling player base, Atoms said: “We are confident that we’ll see PC players (as well as those on Xbox One and PlayStation 4) return to the game as we add exciting new late-game content and demonstrate that we continue to be focused on improving the game.”

While the concept of a multiplayer Avengers game which sees new heroes being added regularly sounds exciting, it's a shame that the current state of the game does not live up to these expectations. Hopefully over time this concept comes to be fully realised. Scot Atmos’ full statement can be read HERE.

KitGuru says: What did you think of Avengers? Are you bored of the game? What needs to be changed/added in your opinion? Let us know down below.

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Bethesda reassures fans that games-as-a-service titles aren’t the future of the company https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/bethesda-reassures-fans-that-games-as-a-service-titles-arent-the-future-of-the-company/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/bethesda-reassures-fans-that-games-as-a-service-titles-arent-the-future-of-the-company/#respond Thu, 05 Jul 2018 12:45:08 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=378745 Much to the dismay of its fans, Ubisoft revealed that the future of its titles lies with games-as-a-service, providing players with continues strings of content in the aftermath of release. With the controversial new direction taken by Fallout 76, many feared that Bethesda was heading down the same path. Luckily, the company has heard these …

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Much to the dismay of its fans, Ubisoft revealed that the future of its titles lies with games-as-a-service, providing players with continues strings of content in the aftermath of release. With the controversial new direction taken by Fallout 76, many feared that Bethesda was heading down the same path. Luckily, the company has heard these concerns, reassuring fans that its experimental format is not representative of the company’s direction with other titles.

Bethesda director and Fallout 76 lead Todd Howard explained in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz that, like The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 76 is very much a one-off experiment. As evident by the Lynda Carter-fronted #SavePlayer1 parody during The Game Awards 2017 and subsequent reveal of Starfield during this year’s E3, Bethesda is far from giving up its traditional experiences.

“It doesn't mark the future,” Howard explains in reference to the online-only nature of Fallout 76. “Corporately we've done a mix—people forget sometimes. Elder Scrolls Online is one of the biggest online games in the world, we have Fallout Shelter which we keep updating, and Elder Scrolls: Legends.”

With each less-than-traditional release, Bethesda has always accompanied it with expansive solo experiences that it’s known for, whether it’s first-party developed such as Skyrim, and its numerous re-releases, or simply published with ZeniMax-owned third-party developers, such as id Software’s Doom (2016) or MachineGames’ Wolfenstein reboots.

“Anyone who has ever said ‘this is the future and this part of gaming is dead' has been proven wrong every single time. We like to try it all. For a long time we wanted to try a multiplayer game and we had this idea. We shouldn't be afraid. We should try it.”

Alongside Starfield, Bethesda showed its commitment to the traditional single-player experience by teasing The Elder Scrolls VI, presuming it will remain faithful to the series.

KitGuru Says: While I see nothing wrong with games-as-a-service done right, I do not think that it is the entire future of the gaming industry. A healthy dose of variety, experimenting with new formats as well as continuing the tried and tested is what keeps the majority of gamers happy. Are you thankful that Bethesda hasn’t given up on its traditional format?

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Ubisoft shifts further into games-as-a-service, phasing out “finite experiences” https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/ubisoft-shifts-further-into-games-as-a-service-phasing-out-finite-experiences/ https://www.kitguru.net/gaming/damien-cox/ubisoft-shifts-further-into-games-as-a-service-phasing-out-finite-experiences/#respond Wed, 04 Jul 2018 09:38:09 +0000 https://www.kitguru.net/?p=378559 Despite being known for its open world single-player experiences, Ubisoft has found tremendous success in recent years thanks to ongoing games-as-a-service titles that constantly provide smaller chunks of content across the years. Vice president Lionel Raynaud has stated that Ubisoft intends to continue this approach, leaving behind one-shot narratives in favour of smaller stories that …

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Despite being known for its open world single-player experiences, Ubisoft has found tremendous success in recent years thanks to ongoing games-as-a-service titles that constantly provide smaller chunks of content across the years. Vice president Lionel Raynaud has stated that Ubisoft intends to continue this approach, leaving behind one-shot narratives in favour of smaller stories that keep people engaged.

Deciding when a full-fledged sequel is best over the continued content of an existing game is a line that gets fuzzier every year, according to Raynaud, as Ubisoft is experiencing “bigger post-launch periods” and “longer lives for each of our games.” While this primarily applies to multiplayer titles such as Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege, players are also staying in the worlds of “solo-oriented games, like action adventures” a lot longer.

“What drove this is the will to not give finite experiences. The idea was that you have this conflict, and the resolution, and then it’s finished – you’ve killed the bad guy, for instance. We build a strong nemesis, and the goal of the game is to kill him or free the country, we’ve done that a few times in our games. But when you succeed, you have to leave the game, because there is nothing else to do,” explains Raynaud.

“So the goal was to break this, and say that you will be the hero of a region or population many times, not just once. And if you get rid of a dictator or an oppressor, something else is going to happen in the world, and you will have a new goal.”

Ubisoft has been working on technology to break down the barriers of sequels, potentially making multiple historical periods accessible within a single Assassin’s Creed game via the Animus, or seamlessly blending the ability to travel to different countries within Far Cry and Watch Dogs. It allows the player to build upon their existing experiences rather than moving on, forgetting the original self-contained story over time.

While the upcoming Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey might not tear down these walls just yet, it will be one of the first examples of Ubisoft’s continued dedication to smaller narratives. Instead of the player finishing the story, they will always find new conflicts in the ever-changing, adaptable world.

KitGuru Says: So long as a story has an emotional resonance, I personally don’t mind whether it is delivered in smaller portions or one long narrative. I do, however, worry that smaller stories could mean the impact will be diminished, making less memorable as a result. How do you feel about Ubisoft’s shift to games-as-a-service titles?

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