Battlefield V will be one of the largest games Electronic Arts releases in 2018 — 2016’s Battlefield 1 attracted more than 25 million players — but the latest shooter could be in trouble. According to industry analysts, pre-order numbers should have the publisher worried about the World War II shooter.
According to Wall Street Journal reporter Sarah Needleman, the analysis firm Cowen stated that pre-orders for Battlefield V have thus far been “weak,” possibly because of its launch positioning between heavyweights Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2.
“Cowen says Battlefield could suffer the same fate as EA’s Titanfall 2,” Needleman added.
Titanfall 2 sold far below EA’s expectations when it launched in 2016, but some of the sales disappointment likely came from EA itself; the publisher chose to release Battlefield 1 just a week earlier, forcing many players to pick between the two. As the original Titanfall hadn’t released on PlayStation 4, its name recognition was certainly not as strong as Battlefield, and it sold several million fewer copies than predicted. It was an especially unfortunate case because Titanfall 2 happens to be one of the best shooters of the generation, and it has received quite a bit of free downloadable content over the last few years, including new modes and maps.
There is likely another reason for the lower-than-expected pre-order numbers on Battlefield V. Last year’s Star Wars: Battlefront II was a public relations nightmare for EA, as its initial loot box system was criticized as being pay-to-win. Though the system was completely overhauled and EA promised that a similar system won’t appear in Battlefield V, the company has a long way to go toward restoring players’ faith that it will do the right thing. That being said, the decision to make all multiplayer maps free will likely keep the community together for a longer period of time than it did in Battlefield 1.
Battlefield V releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on October 19. Those who Buy Now will get access on October 16, and there will be a free trial available to EA Access members on Xbox One and Origin Access members on PC on October 11.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.