Gaming Hardware market expected to reach $130 billion

DFC predicts massive hardware growth

Despite game consoles turning into compact x86 PCs and game sales being mostly digital, the gaming hardware market is still growing at a healthy pace and DFC Intelligence believes the market will be worth $130 billion soon.

Game hardware is estimated to rake in $82 billion this year, and DFC Intelligence thinks that number will increase dramatically over the next half decade. Its estimation includes growth across consoles, PC hardware, and accessories like game pads and racing wheels.

• Consumers are “willing to pay for high-end hardware”
• Biggest hardware market growth “on the PC side”
• PlayStation 5 demand “continues to remain twice” of Xbox
• Game Pass “great value” but doesn’t require an Xbox

Stay-at-home: The COVID-19 pandemic increased consumer demand for videogames, and particularly Nintendo enjoyed a surge in sales of Switch. PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S remain in short supply.

Hard profits: “This is ironic as prior to the 2017 launching of the Switch many analysts argued that Nintendo should abandon the hardware market to focus on software,” concluded DFC Intelligence.

What is the very first quest in RuneScape called?

a) Demon Slayer
b) Cook’s Assistant
c) The Shield of Arrav 
d) Goblin Diplomacy

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Kotick considers resignation if the company fails to address issues

The Wall Street Journal’s recent report on Bobby Kotick’s apparent knowledge of the scandalous work conditions at Activision Blizzard has led to calls for his resignation, and he might be considering bowing down.

Sources claim Kotick will only consider leaving if his company fails to address its issues in an expedient manner.

Apology: Kotick himself has been accused of various misconduct, and has been told by senior executives that many employees will not be satisfied until he leaves. He has apparently apologized for his behaviour, but considering he has been at the helm of the company for 30 years a simple apology might ring hollow.

Oversight: Activision directors are considering forming a “workplace excellence committee” which will oversee the company's efforts to improve its culture, but there appears to be no desire for the company to investigate its own CEO at this time.

Kojima branches out into new media

Kojima Productions is entering the TV, film, and music business with the opening of a new division headquartered in Los Angeles and headed by Riley Russell, formerly Sony's chief legal officer.

Kojima already has strong ties to Hollywood and has worked with stars like Mads Mikkelsen and Léa Seydoux, as well as directors like Guillermo del Toro in the past.

Beyond games: "The team has as its charter, the goal of expanding the reach and awareness of the properties now under development at Kojima Productions, and to make them even more a part of our popular culture,” said Russell.

New frontier: “Our new division will take the studio into even more areas that present our creative narratives beyond videogames and to open up ways for our fans to communicate and immerse themselves in these spaces,” added Kojima Productions Yoshiko Fukuda.

Empire of Sin keys for budding gangsters

Crime doesn't pay – unless you're good at it, and that's every sensible and enterprising crime entrepreneur needs lackeys. Prohibition, racketeering, money laundering – it’s the Chicago dream. Empire of Sin blends real-time strategy and turn-based tactical combat as you climb the ranks in the sleazy criminal underworld.

Here's the list of winners for this week's giveaway:

• Gareth Billington
• Mac Christensen
• Dave Johnston
• Duncan Akken
• Ian Martin

SanDisk & Samsung microSDXC sales

Need some more storage space for your Switch, camera, phone or some other device? Well, you're in luck: microSDXC cards are on sale at Amazon!

Pick between SanDisk Extreme 400GB for £59.99, a Samsung EVO Select 512GB at £45.99, or a SanDisk Ultra 400GB at £32.99.

Mercenaries in VR next year

There seems to be a free update on the way for Resident Evil 4 VR that adds the Mercenaries mode from the original Resident Evil 4 to the VR remake. The video was briefly live before going private again, and announced a release date for sometime in 2022.

Grand Theft Auto trilogy in unintended VR

The standard character controller in Unreal Engine supports both first and third person views, and that means a simple console command can turn Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition into a first-person VR game. It's a bit rough and neither shooting nor melee works perfectly, but rest assured that modders will pick up the slack even if Rockstar does not.

Hitman 3 goes VR on PC in January

The Hitman trilogy has reached 50 million players, and IO Interactive is celebrating by adding VR support to the PC version of Hitman 3 in January along with ray tracing. Since all the missions from previous Hitman games are playable from Hitman 3, that potentially means the entire trilogy becomes a giant buffet of VR assassination.

• Second season of Arcane: League of Legends “in production” according to a brief 32 second teaser trailer
• Hideo Kojima looks back fondly at Metal Gear Solid 3 on its 17th anniversary and reveals some behind-the-scenes tidbits
• Niantic announces Pokémon Go Community Day for December and says “goodbye to 2021”
• Riot Games reveal ever so slightly more about Project L, their assist-based fighter set in the world of Runeterra
• EA DICE pitched a third Battlefront but was “shot down” over licensing cost since sales would need to increase by 20% to justify expense

What is the very first quest in RuneScape called?

ANSWER: Cook’s Assistant!

RuneScape has over 230 quests, which can be pretty overwhelming to a new player – but fortunately the very first quest keeps it pretty simple. The Duke of Lumbridge is having a birthday party, and his cook needs milk, an egg and flour to bake him a cake. Bring those three items to the kitchen and you're done!

You return to kitchen service for the game's 100th quest with the farcical Recipe for Disaster. What starts as a simple fetch quest quickly spirals out of control and becomes an epic tale of murder, betrayal and home cooking. Who says MMO quest design has to be uninspired?

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!