While there have been reports that put Call of Duty: Ghosts at par with Battlefield 4 in most aspects, it seems that the issue of lower sales of the latest COD installment has been very noticeable for the franchise.

However, according to Activision, the problem in the shift in numbers lies with the gamers' shift in console.

"We've been pretty transparent all year that we think, because of the challenges of the console transition year, that that was likely in the short-term," said Eric Hirshberg of Activision to PlayStation Universe. "I think it would be a mistake to conflate the challenges of the console transition year with any indications about the health of the franchise."

It seems that the developers are vehement about keeping the annual release of Call of Duty installments, not seeing any negative effects on the long-term appeal of the brand. In their defense, Activision does consider its fan base in each iteration, so perhaps another installment can gauge the difference in sales next time.

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Gran Turismo 6 microtransations

The wave of surprise and outcry met the announcement of Gran Turismo 6's new microtransactions scheme, a first for the franchise, and a growing trend in games. What this basically means is that you can buy some things and even cars at a price.

Eurogamer outlines the currency microtransactions, which are offered in four denominations: 500,000 in-game credits for £3.99, 1 million for £7.99, 2.5 million for £15.99, and 7 million for £39.99. What will happen is that you can check out the price of the car that you want to have and get the denomination closest to the amount.

Obviously, you'll need to buy a lot of the denominations--a Jaguar XJ3 can amount to 20 million credits, so that would mean around three buys of the 7 million denomination with change.

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Despite these microtransactions, Sony Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida took the time to reiterate that the microtransactions are not mandatory for all.

Basically, according to Yoshida, the microtransactions are just alternatives for those who may not want to or may not have the time to spend earning in-game money to buy the items and vehicles.

"The game is just offering an alternative path to busy people," said Yoshida in a tweet quoted by DualShockers.

*Fallout 4 rumours: New clues found in new codes for Survivor 2299 web site. Another hoax or building up the tension?

PSN hacked, users attribute it to FIFA

There seems to have been a number of unauthorised activity when it comes to user accounts in PSN, and it can mean that some accounts may have been hacked despite following the advisement for change in passwords.

Gamingbolt has found Reddit users who have been complaining about it and have been throwing around possible explanations for the hacking.

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For instance, some have suspected that the FIFA 14 trading cards may be one channel for the hack. Others think that despite the change in password, if it's something that you've used elsewhere, it may be easy to associate it with your account.

Sony has yet to give any official statement on the hacking, but for the meantime, it's best to remain vigilant and keep watch of your account. Change your password if you can, and make sure it's complicated enough to avoid hacking, but not too much that you might forget it yourself.

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