In a recent conference that took place in Japan, From Software’s executive director, Eiichi Nakajima, revealed that Dark Souls has sold approximately 2,367,000 worldwide.

The bulk of the sales come from the original Dark Souls release which sold over 1, 675, 000 copies while the Artorias of the Abyss edition managed to sell 692,000. Dark Souls was not released for the Xbox 360 in Japan, an issue which From Software is rectifying for the game’s sequel. Dark Souls II will be released for the Xbox 360 in Japan.

The release of the Dark Souls: Artorias of the Abyss, with the added PC platform boosted the sales by a significant margin. Dark Souls II will also be heading to PCs on launch day.

The release date for Dark Souls II is still currently a mystery however it is speculated the game will hit stores sometime in 2014.

Source – LiveDoor (Japanese)

There are quite a few things about Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon that just gets me excited and I am going to share them with you.

1. The Name

Blood Dragon. Seriously? How badass is that?

2. A Throwback to the 80′s Hollywood Action Movie. 

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon seems like a throw back to the 80′s-90′s action movies and video games that we used to get. Things didn’t need to make a whole lot of sense back then. An action movie didn’t need a deep and damaged character, all he needed to do was get the job done while piling up the body count. Don’t believe me? Check out the synopsis.

“The year is 2007. It is the future. Earth has been ravaged by a nuclear war and new paths for peace must be found. A U.S. cyborg army may have found a solution: a powerful bioweapon on a distant island. A Mark IV Cyber Commando, Sergeant Rex Power Colt has been sent over to gather information and figure out what the hell is going on.”

Your character’s name is Rex Power Colt. Rex Power Colt. 

3. The Visual Atheistic 

The whole visual make up of the game is simply not something you get these days – it evokes strong feeling of the classic TRON movie thrown in with an 80′s metal band.

How cool does that look? Lightning in the background, lasers firing and the VHS look; this game definitely has a strong visual identity.

4. The Music

The game is being powered by some kick ass music. I won’t say much about it because it speaks for itself.

More of the powergloves’ music can be found on his SoundCloud page

5. It Has a Ridiculous Website

http://fc3blooddragon.uk.ubi.com/

Don’t forget to check out the store!

6. It’s a Far Cry 3 Expansion 

Quite possibly the most import reason I have to be excited about the game. Far Cry 3 came out right near the end of 2012 and nearly blew everybody away. It won numerous Game of the Year awards from many publications. More Far Cry 3 is a very good thing. It might not look the same, and you may not have the same weapons but that open-ended nature of the game should stay the same.

The Xbox 720 development kits have been going around a number of game development studios around the world. Sometimes, classified information trickles out. In this case, we get some information about the 720′s appearance.  Both the console and the controller are covered in Zebra stripes. This is most likely a dev kit only situation, do not expect the console and controllers to look like this come launch.

Kotaku’s source tells them that the controller seems to be almost identical to the current 360 controller. All the buttons and analog sticks are in the same position as the 360 controller however it does not include a touchscreen like the Wii U and the PS4 controller. A strange omission considering that the competition has incorporated the touch screen in some way.  Here is a mock up of what the Xbox 720 controller currently looks like.

Source – Kotaku

The Call of Duty franchise has been under attack and heavy criticism for the past few years for its lack of innovation and stagnant visuals by many gamers.  While the franchise might deserve some of the flack it gets, it receives it with no punches pulled. However, we as gamers, tend to turn a blind eye on many game series which do the exact same.  Whether it’s nostalgia that blinds our vision, or maybe we are just too reluctant to admit that some of our favorite childhood franchises have become the same thing we despise.

Childhood franchises like Pokémon, Sonic the Hedgehog, and even Mario – we loved them decades ago and we still do, to this day. They shaped our childhood and defined us as gamers. We owe them our appreciation for video games. We smile when we see a young boy or girl playing a Pokémon game on their Nintendo handheld system; because we know what kind of wonderful experience awaits them, the same one we went through.  We can relate to them, for a short time, without ever knowing their names but that feeling of comfort is not permanent at least not in our society. Things change – not every child will be playing Pokémon or Mario.

The lot of them are playing their favorite game at home, which these days are usually the Call of Duty games. This is where our blood beings to boil, we ask ourselves “Why do these kids spend their time with this drivel? Don’t they know they buy the same game every year? Where is the innovation?” A plethora of questions we ask and they tell us “because it’s fun.” How can a game that recycles its content, and gives us practically the same game very year be any fun? It’s not like when we were young. We usually got a brand new Pokemon game ever year, sometimes two brand new games. We would go on an epic quest, fight a Pokémon terrorist organization like Team Rocket, best 8 Gym Leaders in brutal battles, but most importantly catch and train our Pokémon. We did that every year.

Wait…this doesn’t seem right.

Pokémon has been the same game every year at its core but we love it because it is the same. We grew up with it and playing a Pokémon game makes us happy. It reminds us of our childhood. We don’t criticize it much or at all for that matter. The world doesn’t go into a spiteful rage when the next Pokémon game is announced but the tables are turned with Activision’s game. We polish up every hateful comment we can think of, we bash the developers, and we insult Activison. However, Activision respect’s our intelligence enough not to sell us the same game twice. Red and Blue, Ruby and Sapphire, and X and Y…you get the point. They know the lengths we are willing to go for that one extra Legendary monster. Basically, if we refer to Call of Duty as the “same game every year” we should do the same for Pokémon as well.

Now the argument to be made against that is Pokémon games aren’t the same every year because they introduce new characters, new locales, and hundreds of new Pokémon but we can say the same thing about Call of Duty. Every campaign is new, we meet new characters, we get new guns to play with, and a lot of new maps to try out in the multiplayer mode.  In actuality, both Pokémon and Call of Duty are not the same games everywhere – they are different but not very different. But that didn’t stop us from having conversations about our Pokémon experiences during lunch break at school in the same way many young gamers talk about their Call of Duty experiences today.

As gamers, we need to start looking past this, and also look at ourselves.  Call of Duty is bigger than us, and it affects more people than us. Why should we lambast the people who play and like the Call of Duty series, when we are guilty of liking a franchise that is guilty of the same crime? A kid likes Call of Duty as it gives him enjoyment; it’s a fun experience for him or her, just like it was for our generation with Pokémon back in the day. Call of Duty is this generation’s Pokémon in a lot of ways. They both give us very similar sequels and children gravitate towards them.

Now, maybe when the next Call of Duty game is announced we can just leave the pitchforks in the tool shed, move on, and spend that energy in playing another video game.

Maybe Pokémon.

During GDC, at their “Bungie’s Brave New World” conference, the development studio went ahead and showed of a slew of brand new, stunning, concept art.

Paul Thurrot, the man behind SuperSite for Windows revealed on Twitter that the Xbox announcement which was supposed to take place in April has been pushed back a month.

That April Xbox announce? Pushed back a month.

— Paul Thurrott (@thurrott) March 28, 2013

Paul Thurrot is a notable blogger and has sources inside Microsoft. Thurrot also orginally proposed the idea of Microsoft announcing the new Xbox in April. Current speculation still points to a Pre-E3 reveal.

The new teaser trailer for the upcoming Thief reboot is done completely in-engine

“The coolest thing about this video is that it was completely captured in-engine, in real time. And YES, I can confirm that what you’re seeing is Garrett’s actual 3D mesh that is used in the game.” as said by Adam Badke, Edios Montreal’s Community Manager

Thief will be hitting next generation platforms in 2014. The full trailer is expected to arrive in the next few days.

People around the world have gotten their hands on Irrational’s latest game, Bioshock Infinite and they aren’t afraid to show it off. While not a technical masterpiece, Bioshock Infinite is certainly one of the most beautiful video games around and here are some screenshots to prove it.

By jim2point

By Spineless Jelly

By Recluse

By Recluse

By Recluse

By jim2point

We also created a screenshot to celebrate the release of Bioshock Infinite!

David Hayter will not be making a return in the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5 [Ground Zeroes and The Phantom Pain]. Hayter originally voiced Solid Snake and was also the voice behind Big Boss…except for MGS 4 where that role went to Richard Doyle.

Richard Doyle, will be again taking the role of Big Boss in Metal Gear Solid 5. Although not officially confirmed yet, all signs point to it. He’s next in line, and he’s already proven himself as Big Boss. Richard Doyle has become the official voice of Big Boss following Metal Gear Solid 4 and David Hayter is out – at least for the time being.

It’s a polarizing move for some; especially the fans how have grown up with Hayter always voicing the main character in a Metal Gear Solid game. However, it’s also important to note that both Solid Snake and Big Boss are different characters and having the same actor voice both characters defeats that purpose. That was one of the reasons Kojima opted to use Richard Doyle in the first place. It creates a sense of separation between the characters.

Going back to Hayter for Metal Gear Solid 5 will also disharmonize Big Boss. Doyle voiced Big Boss in MGS4 so why do we need Hayter voicing him in MGS5.  Doyle is now the canon voice actor for Big Boss and we must accept the fact we will not be hearing the words “Metal Gear!?” coming out of Hayter’s mouth.

The Assassin’ Creed 4: Black Flag Gameplay Reveal trailer is now up. It shows of the world you will be exploring as Edward Kenway as well some more background information about him.