Morning News Wrap (4 Jan 2013)

Breakfast Wrap 01

We realise that while we are all asleep (or otherwise preoccupied with other things), the news does not stop.  So in an effort to give you the titbits to keep you informed and the centre of conversation at the office water cooler we thought we’d give you the news that happened in one breakfast wrap.  Yum.

Details of the Tomb Raider multiplayer have started to emerge.  There are at least two modes – Team Deathmatch and Rescue – along with the usual XP related upgrading, stats, loadouts and “a deep roster of characters”.  More via CVG.

Sony has patented a new pre-owned games block that immediately caused GameStop’s stocks to plunge.  The tech ‘tags’ individual game copies as to whether the game has been previously tied to different consoles or user accounts.  If the system finds a tag on the game it could block playback of titles purchased second-hand.  We would assume that future consoles and their associated discs would then need to be writable…

Microsoft is testing an Xbox Live Region Migration tool which will allow you to change regions with a few clicks rather than a few weeks.  The tool can be used once every three months and will move a user’s Gamertag, achievements, points and remaining time on a Gold subscription to the new country of choice.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 has received a fixed release date.  City Interactive has confirmed that the game will be released on 12 March 2013.

And finally, Deadly Premonition‘s director Hidetaka Suehiro (or SWERY) has teased a promise of ‘surprising and amazing news’ this year.  A sequel?  A prequel?  An HD remake?  Who knows, watch this (or another) space.