Fable sets the stage for a spectacular holiday season for Microsoft Game Studios by paving the way for titles such as Halo 2, Blinx 2 and MechAssault 2. Sales records are being broken at retailers throughout North America: the game was EB Games’ biggest first-week sales for any Xbox title ever; it broke Game Rush’s first-day sales record for any game; it is the No. 1-selling overall title on any platform last week at GameStop and is the fastest-selling Xbox game at EB Games Canada for the first week. Fable even grossed more money than the No. 1 box office movie last week, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
“Fable was the best first-week title on Xbox that we’ve ever had” says Jim Tyo, vice president of EB Games Canada. “The game has exceeded our expectations, and we’re confident that this strong sales trend will continue.”
“Fable has been a huge hit for us, and it was our number one-selling title across all platforms over the last week” says Dan DeMatteo, president and chief operating officer of GameStop.
In Fable, the players’ every action determines their character’s skills, appearances and moralities. Character’s life stories are created from childhood through adulthood and on to old age. They can grow from an inexperienced child into the most powerful being in the world, spoken of by all and immortalized in legend. Players may choose the paths of righteousness or dedicate their characters’ lives to evil; observing as they transform into reflections of their actions and decisions. Age leaves characters wizened, battle leaves them scarred, gluttony affects obesity. With experiences come advancement and physical change; whether it is by expanding muscles, a keen eye and nimble form or the buzz of magical energies around their finger tips. As players’ characters develop, the world reacts to them and their actions. People comment on their successes, failures, appearances and behaviors. Their many opinions are expressed through applause, mockery, trepidation, panic and even flirtation. With each person characters aid and every creature they slay, the world is changed forever. In Fable, gamers decide: “Who will I be?†For more information about Fable, visit the official site at http://www.xbox.com/en-US/fable/default.htm. Fable is available in North America for an estimated retail price of $49.99 (U.S.). Fable will be available in Europe in October.
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.