List of titles to be discounted next week includes Assassin's Creed III, Bulletstorm, Crysis 3, Left 4 Dead 2, and The Witcher 2.

Microsoft will launch an "Ultimate Game Sale" next week, Xbox Live director of programming Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb announced today.

Hryb listed off 32 titles in all that will be discounted during the week, though exact sale prices are being kept secret for now.

On-sale games include newer releases like Crysis 3 and Far Cry 3, as well as older games like Prey and Mass Effect.

The full list of "Ultimate Game Sale" titles is below.

• Assassin’s Creed III
• Bioshock Infinite
• Borderlands 2
• Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway
• Bulletstorm
• Command and Conquer Red Alert 3
• Crysis
• Crysis 3
• Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga
• Dragon Age Origins
• Far Cry 3
• Far Cry Instincts Predator
• Forza Horizon
• Gears of War: Judgement
• Hasbro Family Game Night 3
• Hitman Absolution
• Kinect Sports 2
• Left 4 Dead 2
• Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes
• Lego Lord of the Rings
• Mass Effect
• Metal Gear Rising: Revengence
• Monopoly Streets
• Perfect Dark Zero
• Prey
• Rockstar Table Tennis
• The Orange Box
• Tomb Raider
• Witcher 2
• WWE 13
• XCOM: Enemy Unknown

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Information from analytic firm EEDAR suggests that releasing a game without a demo can almost double sales.

New data from games industry research and consultancy firm EEDAR suggests that releasing demos can actually have a detrimental effect on game sales.

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Image credit: Oscar Clark

Game developer Jesse Schell presented the data during a keynote speech at the Gamelab conference in Barcelona (via CVG).

Schell's slide showed that the average Xbox 360 game sells 525,000 units after six months when released with a trailer but no demo. On the contrary, a game with both a demo and a trailer will only sell about 250,000 units.

An average Xbox 360 game released without a trailer nor a demo sold fewer than 100,000 copies in the same time period, however.

One potential problem with interpreting the EEDAR data in this way, however, is that it is difficult to determine whether there is a correlation between some of the industry's best-selling titles--such as Call of Duty, BioShock Infinite, or Tomb Raider--generally opting not to release a demo at launch.

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Company says says it is putting out the "right number" of Mario titles based on fan feedback.

Despite the frequent release of new Mario titles, Nintendo does not believe it is diluting the power of the esteemed platforming brand.

Speaking with Shacknews, Nintendo senior director of corporate communications Charlie Scibetta said so long as each new entry is innovative, the Mario brand will not lose its freshness.

"We think we're putting out the right number of Mario games based on what fans are asking for, based on what our own developers' creative visions are," Scibetta said. "The key to that is as long as there's innovation is occurring within the gameplay, as long as there's new features, then marrying the characters and the IPs that people love is the right call from our standpoint."

Some have questioned why Nintendo does not more frequently create all-new franchises instead of sequels to existing ones. Scibetta said Nintendo is doing this, in a way, based on the new gameplay concepts each game brings to the table.

"You could call all the games that we're making here new IP in the sense that they're new gameplay experiences," he said. "They just happen to also have the IP that people associate with."

Nintendo director of product marketing Bill Trinen said in April that Nintendo continues to return to existing franchises because in many cases, once a compelling new idea is conceived, it makes sense to pair that with an established character--like Mario or Zelda--so that the game can appeal to a wide range of people.

The latest core Mario title--Super Mario 3D World--comes to Wii U this December.

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Major League Gaming says pass sales are "insane" for this weekend's event in California.

This weekend's MLG Anaheim Spring Championship is poised to be the biggest event in MLG history, according to Adam Apicella, who heads up operations for the league.

"Wow #MLGAnaheim pass sales are insane. HUGE spike in the last 20 minutes. Biggest @mlg event ever," Apicella wrote on Twitter today.

Apicella also revealed that the venue has exhausted its chair supply for the event, a milestone he described as "unprecedented."

MLG CEO Sundance DiGiovanni also revealed record-breaking statistics for the event, saying ad sales for MLG Anaheim are also on track to "shatter previous records" and that the event has enjoyed the "highest gate sales for an MLG event to date."

MLG Anaheim kicks off tonight with competitors for StarCraft II, League of Legends, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II. GameSpot will be on-hand to provide coverage of the event via the dedicated eSports hub

MLG is also hosting an All-Star Showdown featuring Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dez Bryant of the Dallas Cowboys, Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets, and DeJuan Blair of the San Antonio Spurs. The professional athletes will battle it out alongside professional gamers on Saturday, June 29 beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The MLG Anaheim Spring Championship will be streamed in its entirety through MLG's website.

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Second title update for open-world zombie survival game fixes problems caused by first update.

XBLA zombie survival hit State of Decay has received its second title update, massively changing the game and fixing the bugs that were introduced from the first patch.

The new update contains all of the updates of the broken first update, and should also help refine the game from its well-received but buggy launch state.

GameSpot awarded State of Decay a score of 8.0 in its review, saying that "its flaws are numerous and impossible to ignore, but in spite of them, State of Decay is a captivating survival adventure set in a bleak and harrowing world."

Developer Undead Labs' founder Jeff Strain says the update should be rolling out across Xbox Live imminently.

The full update notes are below:

• Fixed story getting blocked if you refuse Quentin's request to talk to the sheriff.
• Fixed soldier and zombie pathing in "The Armory" mission.
• Fixed character getting stuck in passenger seat if hit by a zombie right when you enter the vehicle.
• Corrected displayed weapon type for Hockey Stick.
• It is no longer possible to establish an Outpost or relocate your Home while on a mission.
• Enabled V-sync to eliminate screen tearing.
• Find Missing Survivor mission opportunity timeouts increased from 30 to 60 minutes.
• All mission opportunity timeouts pause while not playing.
• Fixed Leaderboard crashing for profiles with a large number of friends on the SoD Leaderboards.
• Fixed incorrect camera angle in final mission.
• Reduced frequency of "I brought you a pony’" line.
• Fixed rucksacks falling through floor and being unrecoverable. Rucksacks are now moved to an easily accessible location within the same building.
• You can now manufacture homemade painkillers in the Medical Lab.
• Stockpiles that are over the maximum storage provided by your current Facilities (the "cap") will no longer drain while you are not playing. Instead, Stockpiles that exceed the cap will drain every five minutes of play at the following rate: 2 if you're 100% over, 1.5 if you're 50% over, and 1 if you're 15% over.
• Improved awareness of Stockpiles that are over the cap. The Assets page now displays both the current amount and cap for each Stockpile. Stockpile amounts that are over the cap will be displayed in yellow, both in the Assets page and the Home Status panel.
• Influence in excess of Fame no longer drains while you are not playing. Influence in excess of Fame drains for every five minutes of play at the following rate: 2 if you're 100% over, 1.5 if you're 50% over, and 1 if you're 15% over.
• The rate at which Stockpiles are consumed no longer factors in the number of missions played during the current day. It was causing Stockpile consumption to be too high.
• Fixed a bug that caused some characters to be given 100 ammo.
• The "Too many infestations!" to-do item is now properly cleared if you relocate your Home to a site with fewer than two infestations within 500m.
• Fixed several areas on the map where the player can get stuck.
• Fixed several pockets of deep water.
• Fixed a bug that could cause unexpectedly large numbers of zombies to spawn near the Mt. Tanner cabins.
• Fixed a bug that caused games with large communities to fail to load.
• Fixed a bug that allowed players to get stuck in the abandoned farm house north of Marshall.
• Removed several sections of fencing around warehouse near fairgrounds to improve navigation for missions in the area.
• Made it easier to navigate fairgrounds in vehicles.
• Adjusted draw distance of dynamically generated vehicles to match pre-placed vehicles.
• Fixed a bug that caused character to become stuck in a falling state when dropping from a ladder into a group of zombies.
• Fixed a bug that prevented weapon durability from being reduced by certain combat moves.
• Made it easier to execute "Double Kill" move.
• Fixed a bug that caused a Feral zombie to react incorrectly if you dodged while he was leaping.
• Fixed a bug that briefly displayed debug text in the main menu after selecting a storage device.
• Made major adjustments to Facility action times.
• Globally changed Want delays from 1 real-time day to 4 real-time hours.
• Duration of Fitness Regimen, Combat Training, Big Meal, Feast, and Firearms Practice changed from 3 real-time days to 2 game-time hours (where "game time" means time playing the game, not counting time that elapses while you are paused or logged out) so you get the full benefit of the bonus while you are actually playing the game.
• Cooldown on Big Meal and Feast changed from 22 real-time hours to 3 game-time hours. This means your community is "full" for 1 game-time hour after the effects of Big Meal and Feast wear off before the Facility actions can be used again.
• Trade Opportunity action time changed from 1 real-time day to 90 real-time minutes.
• Train Outsiders action time changed from 1 real-time day to 90 real-time minutes.
• Preservation Attempt action time changed from 3 real-time days to 90 real-time minutes.
• Create Biodiesel action time changed from 3 real-time days to 90 real-time minutes.
• All Library research actions changed from 2 real-time days to 4 real-time hours.
• You now receive a Stockpile bonus upon claiming a new Home site. Each site comes with a specific number of Stockpiles, based on the size and number of Facility sockets in the site.
• Fixed a pathing bug that caused zombies to get stuck in the floor during a "Besieged" mission.
• Added a "Stick Sensitivity" option.
• The game will now repair saves affected by a bug fixed in TU1 that could cause Lily to be killed by the simulation.
• Characters selected for Mercy Shot mission can no longer recover from their injuries.
• Mercy Shot missions can no longer select playable characters.
• Moved "Horde Alerted!" banner higher on the screen and reduced size to avoid interfering with driving.
• If you move your Home site when a Trade Opportunity mission opportunity is active, the mission opportunity now relocates to the new Home site.
• Lily no longer reminds you to come to the final mission site. It was annoying during sandbox play after winning final mission.
• Edged weapons are now effective against Feral zombies.
• Fixed bug relating to Juggernaut reactions to incendiaries.
• Fixed a bug that notified you of simulation events affecting NPCs that are not in your community.
• Searching for Stockpiles with the radio is now more reliable.
• Fixed bug causing stimulants to have permanent effect. Stimulants such as coffee and energy drinks now properly wear off over time.
• Improved music track selection logic.

Title Update 1 changes (also part of Title Update 2):

• Playable characters can no longer be killed by the simulation
• Workshop now repairs weapons and vehicles at game dawn rather than the next real-world day.
• Reduced cooldown times of commands in the Radio Menu, notably Words of Encouragement, Words of Inspiration, and Medical Advice.
• NPCs no longer get stuck behind the counter or on the stairs at the gun shop in Spencer's Mill.
• The "Too many infestations!" event will now only occur when there are too many infestations within 500m of your Home, rather than anywhere in the world.
• The "Too many infestations" to-do item is now cleared when there is only one remaining infestation within 500m of your Home, rather than anywhere in the world.
• You must now be close to the ranger station for the Memento mission scene to play. Previously you would be teleported to the station if you left before the end of the mission.
• Community members will properly interact with Facilities in your home. Previously they would stop after a period of time.
• Feral zombie now properly dodges vehicles approaching at an angle.
• NPCs will now reliably reach warehouse between Mt. Tanner and Spencer's Mill when called to gather supplies.
• You can now punch out through the windshield of a vehicle if both doors are blocked.
• Zombies and NPCs no longer get stuck behind the grocery store in Marshall.
• NPCs now properly move to the proper location during cinematic scenes.
• Zombies no longer fall through floor in the Marshall courthouse.
• Zombies can no longer get under porch or floor at the Wilkerson's farmhouse.
• Fixed a few rare crash bugs.
• Fixed various translations bugs.

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Gamers can go hands-on with next-generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony during August event in Las Vegas.

The Xbox One and PlayStation 4 don't launch until this holiday, but gamers can go hands-on with both machines during the GameStop Expo this summer, the retailer has announced.

Previously, only the PS4 was confirmed for the show because at the time, the Xbox One had not been officially announced.

GameStop did not specify which titles will be playable during the event, saying only that attendees can "get a close-up look and hands-on experience with the new systems and their exciting launch lineups."

In addition, GameStop announced that Microsoft and Sony will hold Q&A sessions regarding the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, respectively. As outlined previously, only VIP ticket holders can attend the Q&A sessions.

GameStop said only a "very limited" number of VIP tickets remain. Priced at $90, the premium tickets include early access to the show floor, a VIP lounge, a gaming tournament, access to panel discussions, and a swag bag that includes a t-shirt and Madden NFL 25 for Xbox 360.

General admission tickets are currently available for $35 online and in-store. VIP tickets are sold only through GameStop's website.

GameStop also announced today that specially priced student tickets will be available for $20. These tickets can be purchased onsite only.

The 2013 GameStop Expo takes place August 28 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas.

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Electronic Arts reveals it is planning to "re-establish Origin as a service to gamers, not as a means to drive transactions."

Electronic Arts is aware that a negative perception surrounding its Origin service exists and is planning to launch significant changes to the platform to re-establish it with gamers in mind.

"In the near term, quite frankly, our focus is making that download better, making that install better, making that automatic patching better," executive vice president Andrew Wilson told GamesIndustry International. "Making that friends presence better, making the various game services better. That's what you're going to see from us over the next year, which is really re-establish Origin as a service to gamers, not as a means to drive transactions."

Regarding the negative sentiment that some users have expressed for Origin, Wilson said he doesn't expect users to change their perception of the service overnight. Still, he said he hopes gamers will come to appreciate the gamer-first changes in the pipeline.

"I want to reiterate, it's very important for people to understand that we don't expect that all of a sudden people are going to get up and go 'Oh! Great! We now love Origin!'" Wilson said.

"We get it. We understand it," he added. "We have heard, we have made some changes already in terms of how we do things, and we're looking at more changes that we'll talk about over the coming months that really are gamer-focused."

EA launched Origin during the 2011 Electronic Entertainment Expo. The digital distribution hub is a full-on replacement for the EA Store and sells first- and third-party PC and console games. As of March, it has 40 million members.

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Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 item creators can now allocate a percentage of revenues to those who aided in development.

The Steam Workshop has introduced revenue-sharing for item creators. Valve has announced that beginning this week, item creators in Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2 can allocate a percentage of revenue from in-game item sales to those who helped create the goods.

"Creating high-quality content for games is rarely a solo endeavor. Along the way, item creators often make use of specialized tools and receive help, guidance, and feedback from various communities and individuals," Valve said. "We've heard from a number of item creators that are looking for a formal way of recognizing and rewarding the toolmakers and service providers that have helped them. Now they can!"

Under the new Steam Workshop terms, when submitting an item to the Workshop, creators can choose from a list of companies, organizations, or individuals to receive a portion of the revenue from a given item's sales.

"The contribution will be made from a set percentage that is redirected from Valve to the toolmakers, not taken from the item creator's royalty," Valve said.

Valve also noted that since the Steam Workshop opened in October 2011, users have created over 1,200 items for Team Fortress 2 and Dota 2, resulting in over $10 million in royalties paid to creators.

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Console version of open-ended sandbox game reaches new sales milestone.

The Xbox 360 version of Minecraft has now sold over 7 million copies, developer Mojang announced today over Twitter.

"Minecraft on Xbox has now sold 7 million copies!!! CRAZY! =D," business developer Daniel Kaplan said.

It is unclear if this figure is referencing the Xbox Live Arcade version, the disc-based retail version, or combined sales of both. Mojang was not immediately available to comment.

The XBLA version of Minecraft crossed 6 million units sold at the end of March, while the disc-based iteration released this month and broke retail records in the United States.

Meanwhile, the PC/Mac/Linux version of Minecraft recently crossed 11 million copies sold.

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Minimum specification requires a 2GHz dual core processor, 2GB RAM, and a 512MB graphics card.

Creative Assembly has released the minimum and recommended system specs for the upcoming PC historical strategy sim Total War: Rome II.

The minimum specs for the game have been designed to stay the same as predecessor Shogun 2's, requiring only a 512MB graphics card, 2GB of RAM, and a 2GHz dual core processor.

• OS: XP/Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8
• Processor: 2GHz Intel Dual Core processor / 2.6 GHz Intel Single Core processor
• Memory: 2GB RAM
• Graphics: 512MB DirectX 9.0c compatible card (shader model 3, vertex texture fetch support).
• DirectX: 9.0c
• Hard Drive: 35GB HD space
• Screen Resolution: 1024x768

Meanwhile, the full recommended specs require a slightly loftier rig:

• OS: Windows 7/Windows 8
• Processor: 2nd Generation Intel Core i5 processor (or greater)
• Memory: 4GB RAM
• Graphics: 1024MB DirectX 11 compatible graphics card.
• DirectX: 11
• Hard Drive: 35GB HD space
• Screen Resolution: 1920x1080

Total War: Rome II will be released worldwide on September 3. Creative Assembly says the game notched up six times more preorders in its first week than Shogun 2..

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