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All Articles: Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Sports! NBA 2K17, Madden 17, FIFA 17, NHL 17 are the best-selling games in September 2016
Football season is in full swing, and the NBA season is getting ready to tip-off this weekend, so it’s a great time to check out this year’s newest sports simulations. Gamers definitely agreed, as four sports titles were at the top of September 2016’s sales report from The NPD Group.
2K’s NBA 2K17 was #1, and it was followed by three from EA Sports: Madden NFL 17 (#2), FIFA 17 (#3), and NHL 17 (#4). Shooters dominated the rest of the list with BioShock: The Collection rounding out the Top 5, and Destiny: The Collection (#6), Overwatch (#8), and Call of Duty: Black Ops III (#10) all in the Top 10.
Believe it or not, Minecraft failed to find a place in the Top 10 for the first time in nearly a year. Perhaps this is why hardware, software, and accessory sales totaled $838.2 million last month, which is down from September 2015’s $1.09 billion tally. But the NPD is pinning the blame on the PS4 Slim and Xbox One S.
“Spending on software, hardware, and accessories declined by 23% compared to this time last year,” NPD Analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz. “The release of the PS4 Slim and the second month of the Xbox One S was not enough to stimulate total hardware spending and this month’s new software releases could not compete with last year’s stronger slate of new games.”
The full Top 10 from September 2016 can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged BioShock, BioShock 2, BioShock Infinite, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, FIFA 17, Forza Horizon 3, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 17, NBA 2K17, NHL 17, NPD, Overwatch
Salvation DLC Pack is now available for Call of Duty: Black Ops III on PC and Xbox One
Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s fourth, and final, downloadable expansion is now available to download on the PC and Xbox One. The Salvation DLC Pack includes four additional multiplayer maps and “Revelations,” the final episode of Treyarch’s Zombies Saga:
Multiplayer Maps
- Citadel: Once home to a powerful medieval army, this ancient castle now sits broken and abandoned. Tight corners force close-quarters engagements, while the moat and drawbridge allows for unique player movement opportunities in this mid-sized map. The last trespassers didn’t make it out alive – maybe you’ll have a better shot.
- Micro: What’s better than a BBQ on a hot summer day? A miniaturized war zone that takes place on a well-stocked family picnic table, that’s what! Navigate this bite-size battlefield for a larger-than-life experience.
- Outlaw: Gear up for a showdown in Outlaw; a western-style re-imagining of the fan favorite map Standoff from Call of Duty: Black Ops II. This rough-and-tough medium-sized map brings classic engagements, flanking routes and strategic positions for long and medium ranged combat.
- Rupture: The Call of Duty: World at War classic Outskirts is re-imagined as a high-tech facility, designed by a futuristic society desperate to repair the Earth’s atmosphere.
In “Revelations,” we meet up with the Origins characters after they’ve taken an epic journey through space and time – all of their struggles lead to this very moment. In this, the final chapter of the Zombies experience, Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo, and Nikolai finally come face to face with the mysterious Doctor Monty in The House. Confronted by an ancient evil, our heroes must fight the zombie horde once more in the final battle to save their immortal souls.
The Salvation DLC Pack is available as a free download for owners of the Black Ops III Season Pass, but it’s also be available as a standalone download for $15.
The next game in the franchise, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, will be released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on November 4. Fans who pre-order the Legacy Edition or Digital Legacy Edition will also receive a copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Madden NFL 17 rumbles its way to the end zone as the best-selling game of August 2016
A trio of new releases stood atop the NPD Group’s recounting of the best-selling games of August 2016, but Madden NFL 17 unsurprisingly took the top spot.
EA’s juggernaut is almost always unstoppable during the calendar’s eighth month, but it was equally unsurprising to see No Man’s Sky and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided take up residence at #2 and #3, respectively.
NPD analyst Sam Naji told GamesIndustry.biz: “The release of strong new titles such as Madden NFL 17, No Man’s Sky and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided bolstered console software dollar sales by 8%.”
The remainder of this month’s best-sellers included the usual mix of big titles from 2015 and 2016, with some Grand Theft Auto V (#4) and Minecraft (#9) tossed in for flavor.
A full look at August 2016’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Experience the end of the Zombies saga with CoD: Black Ops III’s Salvation DLC Pack
This is it… Treyarch’s Zombies saga, which began in Call of Duty: World At War, comes to and end in “Revelation.” The final episode in the Call of Duty franchise’s popular co-operative multiplayer mode will be included in Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s Salvation DLC Pack, which will be available to download for the PS4 on September 6:
In “Revelations,” we meet up with the Origins characters after they’ve taken an epic journey through space and time – all of their struggles lead to this very moment. In this, the final chapter of the Zombies experience, Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo, and Nikolai finally come face to face with the mysterious Doctor Monty in The House. Confronted by an ancient evil, our heroes must fight the zombie horde once more in the final battle to save their immortal souls.
“With the release of Zombies as an Easter Egg in 2008’s Call of Duty: World at War, Treyarch set forth on a journey – or, really a conversation – with fans, and Revelations is the final punctuation mark,” said Jason Blundell, Treyarch’s Director of Zombies. “The secrets we laid out years ago will finally make sense – we’ve been waiting a long time for this.”
The Salvation DLC Pack will also include two brand new multiplayer maps and two remade maps:
- Citadel: Once home to a powerful medieval army, this ancient castle now sits broken and abandoned. Tight corners force close-quarters engagements, while the moat and drawbridge allows for unique player movement opportunities in this mid-sized map. The last trespassers didn’t make it out alive – maybe you’ll have a better shot.
- Micro: What’s better than a BBQ on a hot summer day? A miniaturized war zone that takes place on a well-stocked family picnic table, that’s what! Navigate this bite-size battlefield for a larger-than-life experience.
- Outlaw: Gear up for a showdown in Outlaw; a western-style re-imagining of the fan favorite map Standoff from Call of Duty: Black Ops II. This rough-and-tough medium-sized map brings classic engagements, flanking routes and strategic positions for long and medium ranged combat.
- Rupture: The Call of Duty: World at War classic Outskirts is re-imagined as a high-tech facility, designed by a futuristic society desperate to repair the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Salvation DLC Pack will be available as a free download for owners of the Black Ops III Season Pass, but it will also be available as a standalone download for $15. And don’t worry, Treyarch will likely make the expansion available to PC and Xbox One owners sometime in early October.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Almost three years after its release, GTA5 was NPD’s best-selling game in July 2016
With a sweltering Summer in full swing, game publishers mostly skipped the month of July. And nowhere is this more evident than the monthly NPD ranking of best-selling games, which was topped by Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V, a game that was originally released almost three years ago. The only new release to crack the top ten in July was Capcom’s Monster Hunter Generations, which claimed the #4 spot.
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD analyst Sam Naji said: “Lack of strong new titles for the month resulted with poor comparison with last July’s Batman: Arkham Knight with consumers spending 14 percent less year-on-year on hardware, software and accessories. However, the release of Monster Hunter: Generations and the price drop for the 2DS helped to bolster spending for 3DS and 2DS hardware by 44%”
While brand new titles were a rare sight in the NPD’s July 2016 top ten, new-ish titles like Overwatch (#2), Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (#3), and Doom (#8) continue to be popular with shoppers.
The NPD Group continued their foray into tracking sales of digital downloads last month, though Capcom, Mojang, Bethesda, and Blizzard (for Battle.net sales) chose not to participate.
A full look at July 2016’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Call of Duty: Black Ops III Descent DLC Pack now available for PC, Xbox One
Just in case you forgot, Call of Duty: Black Ops III‘s Descent DLC Pack is now available to download for the PC and Xbox One. Originally released last month for the PS4, the downloadable expansion adds four more multiplayer maps and a new Zombies episode to Treyarch’s shooter:
- Empire: Treyarch adapts its Black Ops III movement system to the Call of Duty: Black Ops II fan favorite map Raid. The re-imagining of this classic, medium-sized map features an authentic Roman villa that has been “recreated by a modern-day eccentric billionaire,” where a classic map structure mixes with the new gameplay mechanics of Black Ops III.
- Cryogen: Located far off the coast in the Dead Sea, an isolated compound holds some of the world’s most dangerous criminals in frozen isolation. Sentry towers keep watch over the small map’s circular design as frenetic combat is funneled around the prison’s cryogenic tubes, where opportunities for wall running attacks abound.
- Berserk: Ancient sentinels from a lost civilization guard the entrance to Berserk, a Viking village frozen in time. Players will fight through blizzards, and control the center bridge as they navigate this medium-sized map’s wooden buildings, deadly rocky outcroppings, and tight chokepoints.
- Rumble: Gamers battle amongst larger-than-life mechanized warriors in Rumble, a stadium where giant robots battle to the roar of the crowd. This medium-sized map funnels high-speed combat to the central arena, where players battle their way through fallen mechs and pyrotechnics.
Descent also thrusts players to an alternate universe of Nikolai’s motherland, the 1940s Soviet Union, in the next highly-anticipated chapter of the Origins Zombies saga, “Gorod Krovi.” Players face-off against a swarm of mechanized zombie infantry and dodge hell-fire from aerial dragon assaults, all in the middle of a raging battle within the remnants of Stalingrad. “Gorod Krovi” delivers the most exciting Zombies experience yet, filled with horrifying new enemies, exciting new gameplay mechanics and an epic set of Zombie annihilating weapons.
The Descent DLC Pack is included as part of Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s Season Pass, or it can be purchased as a standalone download for $14.99.
Posted in News, PC, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Overwatch climbs to the top of the NPD’s list of best-selling games for June 2016
June is typically a slow period for new game releases, but The NPD Group’s look at last month’s best-selling games proves just how slow it was. According to tracking firm, consumer spending on games was down 20% from last year, when Batman: Arkham Knight launched to strong reviews and even stronger sales.
To make matters worse, the only new release to crack the top ten were Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (#3) and Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst (#5). But that means the path to the top of the list was clear for Overwatch, which rode a wave of support from fans to become June 2016’s best-selling game. Grand Theft Auto V (#2) and Doom (#4) rounded out the top five.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom in June, as NPD Analyst Liam Callahan told GamesIndustry.biz: “After 32 months since the launches of the PS4 and Xbox One, the combined cumulative hardware sales for these two consoles exceed the sales of [the PS3 and Xbox 360] by 40% at the same point in their lifecycles.”
However, the biggest news this month might be the new way that the NPD reports their monthly sales data. Provided a publisher supplies the numbers, the company has agreed to begin integrating digital sales into their monthly tally. Most publishers have already signed on, though Bethesda, Sony, and Mojang remain holdouts, and Blizzard has decided not to share sales data from Battle.net.
A complete look at last months top ten best-selling titles can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Destiny, Doom (2016), Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Minecraft, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, NBA 2K16, NPD, Overwatch, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Here’s a new CoD: Black Ops III Descent DLC Pack trailer ahead of tomorrow’s launch
Call of Duty: Black Ops III players on the PS4 will be able to download the Descent DLC Pack beginning tomorrow… which makes it the perfect time for Activision to release a trailer focusing on the four new multiplayer maps.
With the Descent DLC Pack, players will be able to battle it out in “Empire” (“an authentic Roman villa”), “Cryogen” (a futuristic prison heavily inspired by Demolition Man), “Rumble” (a stadium built for fights between giant robots), and “Berserk” (“a Viking village frozen in time”).
If you’re more interested in the new Zombies map, you might want to know that Sid Shuman of the PlayStation Blog will invite Treyarch’s Director of Zombies, Jason Blundell, to his studio for a special livestream tomorrow at 1:00 PM (Eastern Time).
The Descent DLC Pack will also be available for download on the PC and Xbox One sometime in August.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Black Ops III