Ever since Call of Duty first hit it big, the franchise has consistently topped the charts, both during its launch week, as well as throughout the year. It therefore came as a major surprise when Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which launched in the same week as Black Ops Cold War, actually …
Read More »The Xbox Series X launch caused record broadband usage across the country
The launch of any new major game often comes with a great deal of downloading, due to the sizes of patches and updates. This bandwidth usage is increased tenfold with the launch of a new console however. According to internet service providers, there was record demand for bandwidth on Tuesday …
Read More »Crash Bandicoot 4 beats Star Wars: Squadrons to no.1 in the charts
Crash Bandicoot served as one of the first major video game mascots when the original trilogy first released on the PlayStation 1. Since then, the Bandicoot saw a gradual decline in both popularity and releases. The franchise was finally revitalised in 2017 when the N.Sane Trilogy launched. Now, 22 years …
Read More »Marvel’s Avengers sold less than 1/3 of Spider-Man’s sales in the UK
While Marvel’s Avengers represents one of the bigger releases for the latter half of 2020 (at least until next-gen consoles arrive), it appears as though the ensemble action-adventure Destiny-like is falling behind compared to one other superhero outing. According to the UK physical sales charts, Marvel’s Avengers’ launch sales are …
Read More »UK DCMS to continue investigation into loot boxes and gambling
The UK's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has been investigating video game loot boxes for a while now, all in an attempt to figure out whether they should be considered as a form of gambling. There have been plenty of arguments on both sides of this debate and …
Read More »Xenoblade Chronicles: DE doubles original game’s launch sales
Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition represents one of the three major first-party Switch titles that Nintendo has announced for 2020. Nintendo’s efforts to remaster its older titles appears to continue to pay off, as in the UK, the Definitive Edition managed to more than double the sales of the Wii original …
Read More »UK reportedly set to ‘phase out’ Huawei 5G tech
Tensions between the US and Huawei can be traced back to at least early 2018, and resulted in the company being blacklisted in the US. However, the UK allowed Huawei to continue to sell its 5G infrastructure domestically, albeit with some limitations. Now it looks like the UK is preparing …
Read More »COVID-19 adverts to be added to a number of video games
Video games have always had a spotty relationship with in-game advertising. To some, the inclusion of these ads in games may lead to a greater immersion, as the ads would mirror what players would see in real-life. To others however, it is an invasive practice that serves no benefit to …
Read More »Thermaltake 2020 Mod challenge heads to the UK
The Thermaltake case modding challenge is kicking off in the UK soon, giving UK PC builders a chance to show off their skills and be in for the chance to win a £1,000 cash prize. Five contestants will be given a Thermaltake View 51 TG Snow to build around, in …
Read More »Research reveals Vodafone was the best UK mobile internet provider in 2019
Vodafone beat out EE, O2 and Three in 2019 UK network tests...
Read More »Nintendo dominates this week’s UK top-ten games chart
This year, video game chart tracking in the UK has changed quite a bit, with UKIE taking on the challenge and mixing physical and digital game sales when possible. So far, this has made the weekly 2020 charts quite interesting so far and this week, the top ten had another …
Read More »UK video game charts see The Witcher 3 rising and Dragon Ball remaining at number one
At the start of 2020, the UK video game charts went through a major change, switching from GfK to UKIE/GSD tracking, which counts physical sales as well as digital sales when those figures are made available. The numbers are now in for last week's sales, with Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot …
Read More »GAME set to close 40 of its high street stores across the UK
Purchasing digital copies of PC and console games has become the favoured way for gamers to get their hands on the latest releases, rather than obtaining a traditional physical copy. Retail stores have noticed a huge decline in sales over the past few years which has contributed to many high …
Read More »Last UK top-ten video game chart of 2019 released, digital tracking coming in 2020
2019 has been a great year for video games from beginning to end. We’ve now passed the last full week of the year, so we’ve also got our final top ten weekly video game chart for the year, with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare unsurprisingly leading the way. As reported …
Read More »Ofcom proposes ban on network locked smartphone sales in UK
Over the years, most major mobile networks have tried to keep customers tied to their business by selling ‘locked' smartphones. While your device can be unlocked for another network if you call up and ask, Ofcom wants to make the switching process easier for UK customers and is considering new …
Read More »Shenmue 3 has worst opening of the series in Japan
After 18 years since its last entry, Shenmue 3 finally released earlier this month. The game’s original reveal in 2015 was met with much anticipation, with the Kickstarter becoming the most funded video game campaign ever at the time, having raised over $6.3 million. It appears that an 18 year …
Read More »Intel Cascade Lake-X UK pricing and availability revealed
This has been a big week for CPU news. Yesterday, we presented our full review of the Core i9-10980XE and now today, we take a look at UK retail availability and pricing for the Cascade Lake-X lineup.
Read More »Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sells less than Battlefront II at launch
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was released on the 15th of November to much praise and anticipation. It’s the first Star Wars game since Disney’s partnership with EA to primarily focus on its single player narrative. While its performance in the UK physical charts were solid, it didn’t manage to …
Read More »Pokémon Sword and Shield is franchise’s second biggest launch ever
Ever since Pokémon Sword and Shield were first announced, the game has been mired in controversy. From the removal of the National Dex, to the reuse of Nintendo 3DS assets, to the texture quality of the trees, fans have been voicing their grievances with the game. Despite all that, critics …
Read More »Death Stranding underperforms in the UK sales charts
Death Stranding has been treated as the biggest exclusive of the year by Sony. From the budget of the game, to the amount of marketing and promotion, to all the famous actors and singers present within the game itself, it’s clear that Sony was expecting Death Stranding to be a …
Read More »Call of Duty Modern Warfare beats Black Ops 4 in first week sales
Going back to its roots and reimagining the 2007 smash hit that was Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, seems to be paying off as, if the UK sales charts are any indication to go by, Call of Duty Modern Warfare (2019) is outpacing the sales of last year’s Black …
Read More »ESA ‘strongly disagrees’ with UK committee’s decision on loot boxes
The ongoing loot box debate continued late last week when the UK’s Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee announced that it would be recommending that video game loot boxes be regulated under gambling laws. As you might imagine, the Entertainment Software Association isn’t too happy about this. The committee, which …
Read More »UK High Court orders ISPs to block several Nintendo Switch piracy sites
Nintendo is often fighting against piracy. In the past we have seen the company shut down various ROM sites directly but here in the UK, Nintendo is now trying a new tactic, with the High Court of Justice ordering ISPs to block access to Switch piracy sites. Over the last …
Read More »Sports Direct is taking over GAME in deal worth £52 million
Update (15.07.19): Last month we heard that Sports Direct was looking to save UK retailer GAME with a takeover bid worth roughly £52 million. Now just over a month later, it looks like the takeover is all set to go forward, with Sports Direct set to own 84 percent of …
Read More »New Corsair RM650x modular Gold PSU now available in UK
Just a few days ago, we launched our review for the brand new Corsair RM650x modular power supply. We were very impressed when we reviewed it, especially considering its MSRP price but at the time of publishing, we didn't have any details on UK availability. We've had a few dedicated …
Read More »EE usurps Vodafone’s 5G launch, will start roll out next week
A couple of weeks ago, Vodafone announced plans to become the first UK carrier to offer 5G, with the service set to go live in July. Today, EE usurped those plans by announcing that it will be kicking off its own 5G roll out in May, more than a month …
Read More »What’s Holding up 5G in the UK?
If you're into technology, there's a good chance that you're waiting with bated breath for every shred of news that may give you a hint about when you'll be able to get your hands on the next-generation of 5G wireless devices. If you live in the UK, there are already …
Read More »Vodafone will be the first UK carrier to offer 5G
The 5G revolution has been touted for years now, with plenty of large tech companies hedging their bets on the upcoming mobile networking standard. Devices with 5G support are starting to arrive for consumers this year and soon, carriers will be making their networks live. Here in the UK, Vodafone …
Read More »The UK to implement GDPR-level fines for online content deemed harmful
On the heels of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s plea for more government regulation, the UK wants to begin cracking down on harmful content. Declaring the “era of self-regulation for online companies” as over, Minister Jeremy Wright states that larger companies could be fined up to 4% of their annual turnover …
Read More »Survey Reveals Misery in UK Broadband Market – But Help is Coming
When it comes to internet service providers (ISPs), most users aren't exactly in love with their available choices. In the UK, that sentiment is even stronger than it is in most other places. According to a biannual survey by consumer ratings publication Which?, it appears that most of the most …
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