WWE 2K15's cover stars John Cena — and a new logo

 

The cover of WWE 2K15 features John Cena — and the new logo of the WWE itself.
Cena, who claimed his 15th WWE world championship at Sunday's Money in the Bank pay-per-view event, was revealed as the cover superstar last night on WWE Raw. 2K Sports released the packshot this morning.

The new logo, which will replace the scratched-style logo that has been in use (with modifications) since 1997, will enter use across the entire WWE business in August. It's currently the logo for the new WWE Network, and also was recently used in the logo for Wrestlemania 31.

"It is truly an honor and privilege to serve as the WWE 2K15 cover superstar," Cena said in a prepared statement. "I look forward to carrying the flag for WWE 2K15, and introducing the incredible next generation of WWE gaming to the WWE Universe."

WWE 2K15 will be the second wrestling title published by 2K Sports, who picked up the series following the dissolution of THQ. The game launches on Oct. 28 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Polygon discussed the series' new focus and direction with executive producer Mark Little at E3 2014.

Source: Polygon

The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us listed by Amazon for PS4, Xbox One in fall

Amazon is listing release dates in October and November for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version of Telltale Games' episodic series' The Walking Dead Season One, Season Two and The Wolf Among Us.

According to the listing for The Walking Dead: Game of the Year Edition — which includes the 2012 award-winning original season as well as the 400 Days DLC — and the listing for The Walking Dead Season Two, both are slated to hit on Oct. 14 for $29.99. The latter season, which debuted in Dec. 2013, still has two unreleased episodes to go in its five-episode run.

Amazon's listing for The Wolf Among Us, which launched last October and is slated to release its final episode very soon, pegs Nov. 18 as the $29.99 compilation's release date on PS4 and Xbox One, as well as on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

In May, Telltale announced that all three series would be coming to PS4 and Xbox One this year, though no specific release dates were given at the time. All three series are available to download for PS3, PS Vita, Windows PC, Xbox 360 and iOS, with The Walking Dead's first season also available at retail for PS3, PC and Xbox 360.

Polygon has reached out to Telltale to clarify these dates and will share further information.

Source: Polygon

FIFA 15 video shows off upgraded weather effects, player models and more

FIFA 15's latest developer diary, released today by publisher Electronic Arts, focuses on the graphical upgrades that developer EA Canada is making in this year's game.

Chief among those improvements is in the player models, with head scans providing higher detail in faces and new animation rigs allowing for more lifelike movement. Uniforms will flutter in the breeze and get dirty over time. Items on the field will also move more realistically — players will no longer ghost through the corner flag, and the goal will move according to how the ball hits it.

The pitch itself will degrade over the course of a match, as footprints and slide tackles leave their mark on the grass. In rainy games, you'll see sprays of water as appropriate. And LED boards throughout stadiums will now animate in real time.

The aforementioned upgrades apply to the current-generation version of FIFA 15, which will be released on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One in standard and Ultimate editions. The game will also be available on Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, Wii and Xbox 360. All versions are set for release Sept. 26.

For more on FIFA 15, check out our comprehensive coverage from E3.

Source: Polygon

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare gets Aquafina-sponsored characters in new DLC

Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare developer PopCap Games is adding a new map, a new mode, Aquafina-sponsored characters and more to the shooter on Windows PC, Xbox 360 and Xbox One next month, the studio announced today.

Known as the Tactical Taco Party Pack, the downloadable content includes the new Jewel Junction map, Vanquish Confirmed mode and an eight-versus-eight playlist across all modes.

The add-on also comes with two new character variants sponsored by Aquafina FlavorSplash: Berry Shooter and Citrus Cactus. In screenshots of both characters, which you can see in the gallery below, it doesn't seem that Aquafina branding appears in gameplay. This is different from another EA game with sponsored content, SimCity, whose Nissan Leaf Charging Station bears the auto manufacturer's logo.

The Tactical Taco Party Pack will be released July 1. Jewel Junction is already available on PC, where it launched as a timed exclusive on the platform along with the PC version last week. And Vanquish Confirmed will be a timed exclusive on Xbox 360 and Xbox One for one week; it will be released July 8 on PC.

For more on the Tactical Taco Party Pack, you can check out the preview video above from Microsoft's Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb, as well as our full review of Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare.

Source: Polygon

Titanfall gets 12 new achievements to boost your Gamerscore

Titanfall's fourth update brings with it 12 new achievements to help fatten up your Gamerscore.

Developer Respawn Entertainment released the update alongside its latest mode Marked for Death, mech decals and Titan Burn Cards.The new achievements, which offers players a total of 200 additional Gamerpoints, can be viewed below.

Polygon got a hands-on of the update's new mode during E3 which you can check out right here. At the time, Respawn Entertainment co-founder Vince Zampella told us that an Xbox 360 vernon of this update will release shortly after its launch on Xbox One and Windows PC, adding that updates for the 360 port will generally be delayed due to Bluepoint Games' efforts to integrate the patches.

• Blood Water: Kill 200 enemies on Runoff - 30G
• Runoff Connoisseur: Play every game mode on Runoff - 10G
• Side Pipe: Kill 25 enemies while wall running on Runoff - 20G
• Runoff Victor: Won a match on Runoff - 5G
• Swampland Connoisseur: Play every game mode on Swampland - 10G
• It's Safer Here: Don't touch the ground for 60 seconds on Swampland - 20G
• Tree Runner: Be airborne for 500 meters on Swampland - 30G
• Swampland Victor: Won a match on Swampland - 5G
• War Games Connoisseur: Play every game mod on War Games - 10G
• Faded: Killed 12 Pilots in a single match on War Games - 20G
• Super Faded: Killed 100 Pilots on War Games - 35G
• War Games Victor: Won a match on War Games - 5G

Source: Polygon

Chinese Press Claim Xbox One Will Cost $800 In China

The Xbox One is coming to China! In September to be exact. The biggest question now is how much the Xbox One will cost once it launches in the Middle Kingdom, and Chinese media is suggesting that the price will be... EXTREME!

Chinese online electronics site Zol.com posted a photo detailing the price of the Xbox One in China. Zol.com, citing Microsoft's Xbox China homepage, Zol is claiming the Xbox will cost 4999 RMB when it launches in September. 4999 RMB is about $800!

When the Xbox launched in the States last November, the total packaged cost $499.99—that's the console and Kinect. In Japan, the system will cost about $490 when it releases in Japan later this year. If Zol's to be believed, that would mean that China's version of the Xbox will cost $300 more than everywhere else!

Zol and the rest of Chinese media are citing one webpage, a webpage that Kotaku's been unable to access, as the source of the 4999 RMB price point. Looking at the screen capture, the 4999 RMB price tag might just be the "expected value" of the system and not the price. Think about the price situation of the Moto 360.

Now, China and Chinese consumers aren't new to getting shafted with higher costs for products. In China, Apple's 64GB iPhone 5S costs $1109, compared to $829 in the States.

It's funny to think about it, but most electronics are made in China, yet the cost is almost 27% higher than elsewhere. The reason for the higher prices is because China has something called a value-added tax, commonly known as a VAT tax. The VAT is a form of sales tax, but it's not. The cost of the VAT is added directly to the cost of the product, think sales tax included but much more. The Chinese government has set the VAT for goods in China at 17%.

Kotaku has reached out to Microsoft for comment on the pricing.

真的4999？Xbox One国行价格疑似曝光 [ZOL via People's Daily]

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian Internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

Eric is a Beijing based writer and all around FAT man. You can contact him @FatAsianTechie@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @FatAsianTechie

Source: Kotaka

Get a glimpse of the alleged controller that may ship with Android TV

Android TV, Google's platform designed to deliver entertainment and games on televisions, may ship with an Xbox One-like controller, according to a photo of the alleged peripheral taken by Google I/O 2014 attendee Artem Russakovskii.

According to Russakovskii, the Android TV box will ship with the controller, which sports two thumbsticks, four face buttons, D-pad, home button, two navigation buttons, a line of four LEDs and shoulder buttons. The photo is followed by renders of the controller found in the Android L Developer Preview build's directory by Reddit user bedofgoatturds.

As demonstrated during Google's conference, Android TV allows the use of virtual controls on a smartphone or tablet, a remote control or a game controller and voice navigation is built into the interface. Android TV will run on set-top boxes and can be integrated into TVs.

Razer also unveiled its own livingroom entertainment product during Google I/O 2014 with its Android TV-powered micro-console. Along with an "emphasis on gaming, Razer's unnamed micro-console will stream movies, music and other apps. Amazon's recently announced Fire TV also supports a game controller and is designed to support mobile games in the living room.

Source: Polygon
 

Rookie quarterback turns to Madden to prepare for NFL training camp

Teddy Bridgewater, drafted at the end of the first round by the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, has until July 25 before training camp officially begins. He's getting ready, ESPN reports, by importing the Vikings' playbook into Madden NFL 25 and using the video game to prepare for opposing defenses.
"It helps because you get one more rep than you had in practice, actual practice," he told ESPN, calling the plays "virtual reps."

"Any chance you get to take an extra rep or go the extra step, extra mile, it's going to be very beneficial transferring it to the field," he said.

At the University of Louisville, Bridgewater did the same thing with NCAA Football 14 — presumably with "himself" on the roster. (He could get a check somewhere north of $1,000 for his three appearances, as "QB#05" in that game, thanks to settlements EA Sports and the NCAA reached with current and former college players.)

Bridgewater is neither the first nor the only NFL figure to use Madden to prepare or credit it with his development. Margus Hunt, an Estonian and currently a second-year defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals, said he taught himself how to play American football with Madden. And Raheem Morris, the former head coach of Tampa Bay (and currently an assistant with Washington) said he "majored in Madden" in college, saying it helped him develop his coaching philosophy today.

Madden NFL 15, with a renewed focus on defensive playability, arrives Aug. 26 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. For more, see Polygon's E3 preview.

Source: Polygon

GameStop will now give you $40 for an Xbox One Kinect

If you have an Xbox One Kinect and you're looking to get rid of it, you can now trade it in to GameStop.

Multiple GameStop locations around the U.S. confirmed to Polygon over the phone that as of today, June 27, GameStop will accept trade-ins of the Xbox One Kinect. Customers who take advantage of the offer will receive $40 of store credit, or $32 in cash. For reference, used Xbox One Kinect sensors appear to be going for an average of $60 to $70 on eBay.

We also confirmed that GameStop will take a PlayStation Camera for PlayStation 4, and in exchange, customers will get $27 in credit or $21.60 in cash. And the retailer is still accepting trade-ins of the Xbox 360's Kinect, for $4 in store credit or $3.20 in cash.

Microsoft has yet to release a stand-alone Kinect for Xbox One; that is coming this fall. But the peripheral added $100 to the cost of an Xbox One — Microsoft un-bundled Kinect from the console earlier this month, and is selling the console by itself for $399 instead of $499. The PlayStation Camera, which is an optional add-on that doesn't do nearly as much as the Xbox One Kinect, costs $59.99.

Source: Polygon

Xbox.com's new profile page will let you watch Xbox One gameplay clips

Xbox.com will soon allow users to view gameplay clips, friends, followers and more as part of their Xbox One profile, Microsoft's Larry Hryb announced via a new video.

In the video above, Hryb explains that profile pages have been completely redesigned; users can view their profile picture, reputation, online friends and game clips for "the first time ever." Players will also be able to view gameclips from friends on their respective pages.

"You can play the game clips right there on there on the profile page," Hryb says. "But you can also 'View All' to view all of your saved and uploaded game clips."

Additionally, players can compare their game achievements against friends.

The new features will be available "beginning next week." Xbox.com began displaying Xbox One achievements earlier this month

Source: Polygon

Skulk around with this Styx: Master of Shadows gameplay footage

Styx: Master of Shadows is an upcoming stealth role-playing game from Cyanide Studio, and you can check out 15 minutes of gameplay footage in this video released today by publisher Focus Home Interactive.

You play as Styx, a 200-year-old Goblin who is skilled in the dark arts of stealth, theft and murder. A magical fluid called Amber flows through Styx's veins, and he's on a quest to climb the miles-high Tower of Akenash, which is where Humans and Elves keep the Tree — the source of the Amber — safe from harm.

As you can see in the video, Styx is at his best when he's avoiding open combat; as long as you keep to the shadows, you'll have the upper hand. It's wise to hide the bodies of any enemies you do kill, and murder can be accomplished in a variety of ways: Sometimes you might want to strangle guards from behind, and other times you might want to vomit in a communal water tank to poison anybody who drinks from it afterward.

Styx: Master of Shadows is in development on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One. It is a prequel to Of Orcs and Men, the 2012 action RPG from Cyanide.

Source: Polygon