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Clash of consoles: New PlayStation and Xbox enter $150 billion games arena – fight! – Reuters Canada

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TOKYO/CHICAGO/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Think Michelangelo vs Da Vinci. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Batman v Superman. Another epic rivalry is rejoined next week when Sony and Microsoft go head-to-head with the next generation of their blockbuster video-game consoles.

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Xbox Series XIS – Microsoft’s next generation gaming consoles are seen in this handout image dated September 2020. Microsoft/Handout via REUTERS

Sony, whose PlayStation 5 (PS5) takes on Microsoft’s Xbox Series X and Series S, is widely viewed as being in pole position to capitalise on a pandemic-driven boom in consumer spending that has buoyed the $150 billion video game industry.

The Japanese company’s deep bench of games and broader fan base – it has sold over 100 million PS4s, winning the battle of the previous generation – should see it retain its edge over it American archrival, according to industry experts.

“People who own Xbox tend to buy the new Xbox, while people who own PlayStation tend to buy the new PlayStation,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter.

Yet the industry is changing and cloud gaming is on the rise, allowing games to be streamed without bulky hardware. This could curb console sales in coming years, analysts say, a shift that could benefit Microsoft.

The two consoles – the first to be released by the two companies for seven years – are eagerly awaited; the Xbox will go on sale on Tuesday, and the PS5 two days later in core markets, costing about $300 to $500 apiece.

The race to order the devices in advance actually began weeks ago, though blink and you might have missed it. Pre-orders of Sony’s PS5 sold out within minutes on many retail sites, for example, frustrating fans.

Julian Mercado, 17, managed to reserve a PS5 from Walmart.com WMT.N just minutes after pre-orders started on Sept. 16, knowing he’d be up against a legion of gamers.

“It’s exactly like shopping on Black Friday,” said the high school student from Dallas, who has been playing video games with his dad since he was five. “You show up early, you walk away with something good. You show up too late, you’ll walk away with nothing.”

PLAYING IN A PANDEMIC

Sony 6758.T might have the edge, but the stakes are high for the Japanese company. Its gaming business is its biggest cash cow; in its fiscal 2019 the division, which includes hardware, software and services, brought in close to a quarter of its roughly $77 billion group sales and nearly 30% of its $7.9 billion operating profit.

Microsoft MSFT.O does not break out the results of gaming, though it’s a smaller part of its business than for Sony. It also does not disclose hardware sales but the current Xbox One is estimated by analysts to have sold 50 million units.

For the other big hardware player, Japan’s Nintendo 7974.T, sticking to consoles is paying off with it hiking forecasts last week following elevated demand for its Switch.

The PS5 will retail at $499.99 or $399.99 for a digital-only version, while the Xbox Series X will sell for $499.99 and the lower-spec Series S for $299.99.

About 5 million PS5s are forecast to be sold this year, versus 3.9 million of the new Xboxes, according to media research firm Ampere, with combined sales expected to be higher than the previous generation.

See GRAPHIC tmsnrt.rs/3l3Rpe3 of PlayStation v Xbox sales forecasts: tmsnrt.rs/3l3Rpe3

“The pandemic is expected to transform the U.S. holiday shopping season,” said Jason Benowitz, a senior portfolio manager at Roosevelt Investment Group. “Playing from home has become a way for some to safely socialize.”

Sony’s games depth is supported by in-house studios behind exclusives such as “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales”. By contrast the new Xbox, say games experts, will lack killer launch titles, with the latest in its flagship “Halo” series pushed back to next year as the pandemic hits development.

Cloud gaming growth could hand the U.S. software giant an advantage in coming years, though. Although both companies have moved to offer services, Microsoft has been more aggressive.

Its Xbox Game Pass subscription service has grown rapidly; it offers more than 100 titles including brand-new games and has over 15 million users. Sony has been reluctant to make its hottest titles available on services like PlayStation Now, fearing this could cannibalise sales of big-budget games.

‘DEMAND OUTSTRIPS SUPPLY’

The pandemic, while fuelling some demand, has also constrained Sony and Microsoft’s production, according to industry experts, who see shortages stretching into 2021.

“Demand will outstrip supply so there’s going to be some people who won’t get a-hold of the console when they want to,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, director of Ampere’s games research.

Sony has announced that retailers like Walmart, Best Buy BBY.N and Target TGT.N will sell the PS5 exclusively online when it launches on Nov. 12, to prevent people from camping outside stores during a pandemic.

Walmart stands to sell as much as $1.1 billion worth of new consoles by the end of January, according to Wedbush. It dominates the U.S. market along with GameStop GME.N, each with a roughly 30% share, while sales of consoles at Target and Best Buy comprise about 15% apiece, the research firm said.

Target said it was working closely with its vendors to secure enough inventory. Some shoppers who had reserved consoles told Reuters that Target had said they may receive them days after the launch date.

Walmart said it would start selling the new consoles at launch but declined to comment on whether it would have enough stock to meet demand. Best Buy also declined to comment on whether it would be able to meet demand, while GameStop did not respond to requests for comment.

For DeAnthony Thicklin, a casino attendant who reserved his PS5 on Target.com in September, the priority is to get their hands on a console on the launch day itself.

The 25-year-old offered some advice.

“Have all your card information set up so the only thing you have to do is click,” he said. “Don’t hesitate. Be quick.”

Reporting by Sam Nussey in Tokyo, Richa Naidu in Chicago and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; Additional reporting by Uday Sampath Kumar; Editing by Kenneth Li and Pravin Char

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Take-Two Interactive to Acquire 'Borderlands' Developer Gearbox From Embracer Group for $460 Million – Yahoo Canada Sports

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Take-Two Interactive has acquired video game developer Gearbox, the maker of the “Borderlands” franchise, from Embracer Group for $460 million.

Per Take Two, the company “expects the transaction to deepen its successful relationship with Gearbox Entertainment and to provide increased financial benefits through a fully integrated operational structure.”

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As part of the deal, Take-Two will acquire Gearbox IP, including “Borderlands” and “Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands” franchises, games published by Take-Two’s 2K Games, as well as “Homeworld,” “Risk of Rain,” “Brothers in Arms” and “Duke Nukem.”

Currently, Gearbox has six “key interactive entertainment projects in various stages of development,” per Take-Two, which includes five sequels, two from “Borderlands” and “Homeworld” universes, and at least one “exciting new intellectual property,” all of which have been acquired in the sale.

Take-Two’s purchase of Gearbox is expected to close in June, pending regulatory approval. Upon completion, Gearbox will operate as a studio within 2K, continuing to be led by Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford and his management team.

Former Gearbox owner Embracer, a Swedish gaming conglomerate who snapped up the rights to “Lord of the Rings” two years ago, has undergone a severe restructuring program over the past year, which has seen the company shut down or dispose of dozens of games studios and titles and lay off hundreds of staff, resulting in aftershocks that have reverberated throughout the games industry.

The sale of Gearbox marks the latest insistence of Embracer unloading assets, following the company divesting Saber Interactive.

“Our acquisition of Gearbox is an exciting moment for Take-Two and will strengthen our industry-leading creative talent and portfolio of owned intellectual property, including the iconic Borderlands franchise,” Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said. “This combination enhances the financial profile of our existing projects with Gearbox and unlocks the opportunity for us to drive increased long-term growth by leveraging the full resources of Take-Two across all of Gearbox’s exciting initiatives.”

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An OLED iPad Pro and the first big-screen iPad Air will reportedly arrive in May – Engadget

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Apple will finally launch new iPads in early May, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Expected are a new iPad Pro with an OLED display and a faster iPad Air, including a 12.9-inch model for the first time in that lineup. The details of the upcoming iPad models have been consistent, circulating through the rumor mill since last year.

The new iPad Pro models will reportedly add OLED displays (offering deeper blacks and richer colors) and run on the new M3 chip, already found in several Macs. The new tablets are said to launch alongside a redesigned Apple Pencil and Magic Keyboard. Other than a white color option, the latter has remained unchanged since its arrival four years ago.

Meanwhile, the iPad Air will supposedly run on a new processor. Bloomberg didn’t specify which, but — considering the current model uses the M1, and Apple likely wants to reserve the M3 for the more expensive Pro — the M2 sounds like a safe bet. The 12.9-inch screen option would mark the first time the iPad Air line has offered a display larger than 10.9 inches. Although Apple will charge more for that model than the smaller sibling expected alongside it, that would be the cheapest way yet to get a supersized iPad screen.

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Gurman said early this month that the new tablets would launch alongside the M3 MacBook Air, but the laptop arrived without any iPads in tow. He now reports that Apple’s release schedule was pushed back to finish working on the devices’ software and ironing out the kinks from the “complex new manufacturing techniques” they require.

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Ashleigh Oakridge offers boutique-style condos with concrete construction – Vancouver Sun

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Peterson Group’s latest project will be chock-full of amenities and have timeless interiors

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It may not sound exciting to say the big selling points for a new condominium project are that it’s concrete construction and four storeys. But start thinking in terms of getting all the benefits of concrete-tower construction in a sophisticated, boutique-style building of only 34 to 35 units, chock-full of amenities, situated on a quiet, tree-lined Vancouver street and the appeal is obvious—especially to those downsizing in the neighbourhood.

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“That on its own really sets it apart because if you want to be in a boutique setting, you don’t love the idea of highrises, and you want a concrete home type, there aren’t many options. It’s highly unique,” explains Barrett Sprowson, vice-president of sales and project marketing at Peterson Group, the developer of the Ashleigh Oakridge project, which will be composed of three buildings when completed.

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Two of the three buildings, the Berkley and the Alma, will be constructed first, with the Cambridge following later. Each one will have its own curb appeal, but all are designed to integrate into the neighbourhood, hence the plan to maintain the existing trees. The wellness amenities of sauna, steam room, cold and hot plunge pools and fully-equipped fitness room are centrally located in the Berkley for all the residents’ use. All three buildings have their own rooftop amenities that feature an indoor-outdoor flow from an expansive entertainment and co-workspace to patio lounging, dining, fire pits, communal gardens and children’s play area.

The interiors at Ashleigh Oakridge will feature classic styling with design-forward touches.
The interiors at Ashleigh Oakridge will feature classic styling with design-forward touches. Photo by Supplied by Peterson Group

The interiors of the homes, which Sprowson says offer generous, well-laid-out floorplans, feature numerous elevated design details that complement a classic esthetic. His personal favourite is the pot filler over the gas cooktop in the kitchen. “There’s not too many times you run into that, and there’s a little feature that’s practical, helpful and useful but is also tricky and expensive to do,” he says.

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The interior design team at Ste. Marie Studio framed their overall concept around the idea of classic styling accented with design-forward touches.

“We looked at it through the lens of a single-family home and wanting it to feel really timeless,” says Craig Stanghetta, founder and creative director of Ste. Marie Studio. “We don’t want it to feel that it doesn’t have a little bit of risk. There’s a little bit of risk in terms of some brushed metal accents.”

Their use of a bold marble for the kitchen backsplashes makes a dramatic visual statement, but though striking, the pattern is a classic marble, not one heavily veined, and one that would be at home in a Paris apartment or a New York brownstone, Stanghetta observes. In the larger homes, they’ve used it to wrap the islands. “They become a big feature, but in some of these other ones, we’re using the manufactured stone in those areas and letting the backsplash be the big design gesture,” Stanghetta says.

The wellness amenities will include sauna, steam room, cold and hot plunge pools and a fully-equipped fitness room.
The wellness amenities will include sauna, steam room, cold and hot plunge pools and a fully-equipped fitness room. Photo by Supplied by Peterson Group

In the smaller units where the backsplashes are marble, but quartz is used on the counter and island surfaces, the team introduced a dining table-island combination that works for multiple uses—kitchen prep, home office or dining—and the generous bank of wall storage available in the L-shaped configuration allowed for this unique style of island.

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“I think we just acknowledged that sometimes people are prioritizing different things, and if you’re in a one-bedroom living scenario, then we want the flexibility to choose your own adventure with that piece of furniture,” Stanghetta explains.

The appliance package is Miele and features built-in coffee makers, gas ranges, speed ovens, wall ovens and, in some units, wine fridges. There are also sleek can lights over the islands and open shelving for personalizing the space. Sprowson notes that the full-height pantries also boost the kitchens’ functionality and that, though expected when downsizing from a single-family home, they’re often not an option in condo living.

“It’s also a striking kitchen. You look at the marble backsplash and the marble countertop with the waterfall edge, and you’ve got all the functionality, but it’s also, dare I say, very pretty to look at,” he says.

When complete, each building at Ashleigh Oakridge will have rooftop amenities that include an entertainment and co-workspace, patio lounging, dining, fire pits, communal gardens and children's play area.
When complete, each building at Ashleigh Oakridge will have rooftop amenities that include an entertainment and co-workspace, patio lounging, dining, fire pits, communal gardens and children’s play area. Photo by Supplied by Peterson Group

The bathrooms reflect that same mix of functionality and sophisticated styling, with details like flattering sconce lighting and wall-mount toilets. Stanghetta says the floating shelf under the medicine cabinet creates a “nice balance of high-functional storage but then these clean lines that also give you a more fully designed and realized space.”

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He notes that the double vanities in the larger bathrooms have an oversized countertop, a beautiful detail that works with the timeless design concept: attention to detail that will last. The combination of timelessness with contemporary accents creates interiors that reflect the project’s overall vision.

The development is ideally situated to allow residents to be central to everything while enjoying a quiet location.

“This is a viable option for anyone who wants concrete, a good amount of space, decent amenities, all the walkability and proximity to Oakridge and all the cool stuff that’s on the Cambie corridor,” Stanghetta observes.

Ashleigh Oakridge

Project Address: 5080 Ash Street, Vancouver

Project Scope: A development of three, four-storey, concrete, boutique buildings offering one, two and three-bedroom homes that range from 590 to 1,800 square feet. Each building features rooftop amenities and a shared wellness and fitness centre in the Berkley building.

Developers: Peterson Group

Architects: GBL Architects

Prices: Starting in the low $800,000s

Sales centre: Ashleigh PC 2094 W 43rd Ave, Vancouver

Sales centre hours: Open daily (Except Friday), noon to 5 p.m.

Sales phone: 604-476-429

Website: ashleighoakridge.com

Occupancy date: Estimated completion summer 2028

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