GTA Online: Christmas Gifts Coming For All

Rockstar has announced it's updating GTA Online to celebrate Christmas.

A post on the Rockstar Newswire explains that a number of special events and items will be added to the game, while Los Santos itself is given a lovely dusting of the white stuff, which promises to make driving even more hazardous.

From now until January 5, you'll be able to get your hands on seasonal-themed accessories like Santa hats, Elf jackets and shoes, Snowman masks, Reindeer antlers and more.

Fans of the Snapmatic feature will be pleased to know new filters, borders, facial expressions and more have been added permanently to the game, all of which can be access in Story mode as well as online. Additionally, a Meme Creator feature is now available, which promises to spawn some insightful quips, we're sure.

Finally, a sale will be happening between today and January 5 that'll see a range of discounts on select weapons, vehicles and apartments. So if you've been struggling to afford everything you want, now's your chance!

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

The Elder Scrolls Online PvP and Cyrodil Detailed

Bethesda has revealed that The Elder Scrolls Online's version of Cyrodil will take around 30 minutes to traverse north to south.

The information comes courtesy of an Elitist Jerks Forum Q&A with lead PvP developer Brian Wheeler, who also took some time to explain how the more competitive elements of the game would work.

In case you weren't aware, Cyrodil is the main PvP (player versus player) area of the game, so the fact it'll take so long to cross means it's going to be pretty sizeable indeed. Wheeler also explained that if one of the game's Alliances is in the lead, then its players will earn fewer Campaign points for things like capturing keeps, while members of the other two Alliances that are trailing will get bonuses. Presumably this is to encourage the losing teams not to throw in the towel.

He also reassured players that there will be a serious place for skill in TESO's PvP combat thanks to its action-focus. "Skill is a tricky thing to measure as when most people talk about skill in Elder Scrolls it’s referring to headshots with a bow, blocking, power attacks or dodging at the right time," he wrote. "In Elder Scrolls Online we have many opportunities for players to show their skill as we also have blocking, roll dodging, and sneaking up on enemy players without getting detected.

“There are opportunities to block power attacks which knock your enemy off balance, opening them up for a power attack of your own! That being said we do have to account for network latency so while it’s not pinpoint, there is some wiggle room for dodging that we’ve found to work quite nice in our Cyrodiil battles.”

There's a heap more content over on the forum thread, but most of it will only really appeal to hardened PvP players who want to know the ins and outs of how competitive play will work in the upcoming MMO. If that's you, feel free to leap on in and read more, otherwise check out our impressions of PvE play thus far.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor and longtime MMO player. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

GTA Online: Christmas Gifts Coming For All

Rockstar has announced it's updating GTA Online to celebrate Christmas.

A post on the Rockstar Newswire explains that a number of special events and items will be added to the game, while Los Santos itself is given a lovely dusting of the white stuff, which promises to make driving even more hazardous.

From now until January 5, you'll be able to get your hands on seasonal-themed accessories like Santa hats, Elf jackets and shoes, Snowman masks, Reindeer antlers and more.

Fans of the Snapmatic feature will be pleased to know new filters, borders, facial expressions and more have been added permanently to the game, all of which can be access in Story mode as well as online. Additionally, a Meme Creator feature is now available, which promises to spawn some insightful quips, we're sure.

Finally, a sale will be happening between today and January 5 that'll see a range of discounts on select weapons, vehicles and apartments. So if you've been struggling to afford everything you want, now's your chance!

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

The Elder Scrolls Online PvP and Cyrodil Detailed

Bethesda has revealed that The Elder Scrolls Online's version of Cyrodil will take around 30 minutes to traverse north to south.

The information comes courtesy of an Elitist Jerks Forum Q&A with lead PvP developer Brian Wheeler, who also took some time to explain how the more competitive elements of the game would work.

In case you weren't aware, Cyrodil is the main PvP (player versus player) area of the game, so the fact it'll take so long to cross means it's going to be pretty sizeable indeed. Wheeler also explained that if one of the game's Alliances is in the lead, then its players will earn fewer Campaign points for things like capturing keeps, while members of the other two Alliances that are trailing will get bonuses. Presumably this is to encourage the losing teams not to throw in the towel.

He also reassured players that there will be a serious place for skill in TESO's PvP combat thanks to its action-focus. "Skill is a tricky thing to measure as when most people talk about skill in Elder Scrolls it’s referring to headshots with a bow, blocking, power attacks or dodging at the right time," he wrote. "In Elder Scrolls Online we have many opportunities for players to show their skill as we also have blocking, roll dodging, and sneaking up on enemy players without getting detected.

“There are opportunities to block power attacks which knock your enemy off balance, opening them up for a power attack of your own! That being said we do have to account for network latency so while it’s not pinpoint, there is some wiggle room for dodging that we’ve found to work quite nice in our Cyrodiil battles.”

There's a heap more content over on the forum thread, but most of it will only really appeal to hardened PvP players who want to know the ins and outs of how competitive play will work in the upcoming MMO. If that's you, feel free to leap on in and read more, otherwise check out our impressions of PvE play thus far.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Junior Editor and longtime MMO player. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Zynga Reports Fewer Players of Its Online Games and Shares Drop

Shares fell 10 percent to $2.99 in extended trading.

The San Francisco-based publisher behind games like "FarmVille" and "Words With Friends" said its number of monthly players continued its decline to 253 million, the lowest figure since the number peaked at 331 million at the end of the third quarter of 2012.

On an adjusted basis, Zynga reported earnings of 1 cent per share, beating analyst expectations of a loss of 4 cents per share. But the company also projected that its second-quarter loss would be between 3 to 5 cents per share, exceeding the 1 cent per share loss analysts had expected.

"The second quarter guidance is light," said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. "We continue to think that any hope for real growth for this nebulous company really depends on what it can do in real-money gaming."

Zynga has struggled to keep users, who once flocked to its games on Facebook Inc's website. In recent months, Zynga and Facebook have revised their business partnership, as Zynga has sought to establish itself as a more independent gaming network at the risk of receiving less visitor traffic from Facebook.

Zynga has promised investors that it could tap into a potentially lucrative new revenue stream by launching real-money casino games around the world.

The company reported revenues of $263.6 million, down 18 percent from the year-ago quarter but above Wall Street's depressed expectations as the online game maker wrung more sales than expected out of its shrinking user base.

Zynga's quarterly bookings of $229.8 million also topped estimates but represented a 30 percent decline from a year ago.

(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)

Zynga Reports Fewer Players of Its Online Games and Shares Drop

Shares fell 10 percent to $2.99 in extended trading.

The San Francisco-based publisher behind games like "FarmVille" and "Words With Friends" said its number of monthly players continued its decline to 253 million, the lowest figure since the number peaked at 331 million at the end of the third quarter of 2012.

On an adjusted basis, Zynga reported earnings of 1 cent per share, beating analyst expectations of a loss of 4 cents per share. But the company also projected that its second-quarter loss would be between 3 to 5 cents per share, exceeding the 1 cent per share loss analysts had expected.

"The second quarter guidance is light," said Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia. "We continue to think that any hope for real growth for this nebulous company really depends on what it can do in real-money gaming."

Zynga has struggled to keep users, who once flocked to its games on Facebook Inc's website. In recent months, Zynga and Facebook have revised their business partnership, as Zynga has sought to establish itself as a more independent gaming network at the risk of receiving less visitor traffic from Facebook.

Zynga has promised investors that it could tap into a potentially lucrative new revenue stream by launching real-money casino games around the world.

The company reported revenues of $263.6 million, down 18 percent from the year-ago quarter but above Wall Street's depressed expectations as the online game maker wrung more sales than expected out of its shrinking user base.

Zynga's quarterly bookings of $229.8 million also topped estimates but represented a 30 percent decline from a year ago.

(Reporting By Gerry Shih; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)