Videogame News Thread

[Sepholio]

God of War is going to be a big one, for sure. Wouldn't be surprised to see another Uncharted either even though they said that was done in the past. Gonna go ahead and say Final Fantasy 16 is about to be unveiled as an exclusive as well, at least on a timed basis. FF16 prob getting unveiled tomorrow.

Sony baited MS with that last press conference where they showed off Horizon 2 and Ratchet and Clank and all that. MS probably thought they finally were going to have a decent showing for their exclusives event and steal Sonys thunder, and while I am def hyped for Fable and Forza is always good, Halo kinda underwhelmed. Now Sony will go for the throat tomorrow.

If you are looking to get a PS5 at launch you may want to watch that presser tomorrow afternoon btw. Have a feeling they are going to announce preorders and pricing tomorrow and you will prob have to be quick to snatch one up before all the asshole reseller bots lock a ton of them down.

[Kalyx triaD]

I mean I get why Spiderman is exclusive. Sony owns the rights to the character for movies and games and has for about 20 years or so. They have a licensing deal with Marvel to allow them to use the character in their movies/games.

No it's because it's likely PS4's version of Spider-Man, same voice actor and everything. Spidey has appeared on Xbox and Nintendo plenty of times even with Sony's movie deal which is only a movie deal.

[Fignuts]

Yeah as far as I know, Sony doesn’t own merchandising rights beyond movie related products. That’s all on Marvel’s side.

But Sony pretty much has Marvel by the balls. With Cap and Iron Man gone, the MCU’s biggest draw is spider-man. At least until we get X-men which is looking like a long ways off. So if Sony wants spider-man to be an exclusive, Marvel isn’t really in a position to say no.

[drave]

I'd LOVE to have another good X-Men game.


I'd also love another great Metroid game. With other games already released, Metroid would probably make me buy Nintendo again.

[Emperor Smeat]

* For those interested, Nintendo announced a Switch port of Pikmin 3 is currently in development and arrives on October 30th. To celebrate the announcement, Nintendo decided to delist Pikmin 3 from the Wii U's eShop.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/nintendo-kills-pikmin-3-on-wii-u-to-make-room-for-deluxe-edition-on-switch-599713.phtml

* Based on Take Two's recent fiscal report, Grand Theft Auto V has sold around 135 million copies since its launch in September 2013. It was also revealed that this past June had the highest monthly sales of the game since its launch period.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/grand-theft-auto-v-still-making-bank-pushing-135-million-copies-and-counting-599659.phtml

* Obsidian Entertainment reportedly is currently working on four projects with the newest revealed in a recent tweet by the company's design director Josh Sawyer. Three of the projects are games while the fourth is an upcoming DLC pack for The Outer Worlds.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/obsidian-is-working-on-a-fourth-game-right-now-599709.phtml

[ClockShot]

If you are looking to get a PS5 at launch you may want to watch that presser tomorrow afternoon btw. Have a feeling they are going to announce preorders and pricing tomorrow and you will prob have to be quick to snatch one up before all the asshole reseller bots lock a ton of them down.

If that happens, definitely calling out sick on Friday to get in line.

[ClockShot]

*shrugs*

Sony State of Play today wasn't anything too crazy.

[Sepholio]

Nah it was pretty weak tbh

[Emperor Smeat]

* Street Fighter series producer Yoshinori Ono recently announced that he has left Capcom after a 30 year career with the company.
https://twitter.com/Yoshi_OnoChin/status/1292430444672163842

* In a recent internal email, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar announced that the company is currently in the process of restructuring with layoffs expected and Warner Bros Interactive will not be getting sold off despite recent rumors.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/at-t-seemingly-decides-against-selling-off-warner-bros-interactive-600155.phtml

* For those with a Twitch Prime subscription, Amazon officially changed the service's name to Prime Gaming earlier today with the only notable big change being Amazon dropping the requirement of needing a Twitch account to use the service.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/amazon-rebrands-twitch-prime-as-prime-gaming-will-not-require-a-twitch-account-to-access-600113.phtml

[Fignuts]

Holy shit at Ono leaving

[Kalyx triaD]

There's some rumors about Street Fighter 6 that may be involved in that.

[ClockShot]

Microsoft sets November as a launch date for the XBox Series X.

But if you're thinking about getting Halo Infinite as a launch title, think again. It's been pushed into 2021.

https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-series-x-confirmed-for-november-release-window-launch-lineup-plans-detailed

[Big Vic]

* For those interested, Nintendo announced a Switch port of Pikmin 3 is currently in development and arrives on October 30th. To celebrate the announcement, Nintendo decided to delist Pikmin 3 from the Wii U's eShop.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/nintendo-kills-pikmin-3-on-wii-u-to-make-room-for-deluxe-edition-on-switch-599713.phtml

How much was it selling for on the eShop? (If you know)

[Emperor Smeat]

It was selling for about $20 before it got yanked.

[Emperor Smeat]

Besides Sony getting exclusive content for Playstation versions, Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers game is also currently rumored to contain timed exclusive content that will be locked into specific retailers and internet providers.

According to recent online reports, Square Enix's upcoming comic book adventure Marvel's Avengers will feature timed exclusive content tied to customers of specific internet media providers such as Verizon, Virgin Media, and Intel.

The content was first spotted by Redditor Smoove4254, before finding its way to Twitter via Avengers news-hound @PlayAvenger. The leaks suggest that Marvel's Avengers will be offering exclusive skins, gear, emotes, nameplates and other cosmetic items to users of the aforementioned network providers. Further reports reveal that chewing gum company 5Gum will also be offering its customers in-game items - for example an emote for Ms. Marvel that sees her... chewing gum, obviously.

It should be noted that all of the above is yet to be officially announced by Square Enix. Verizon had previously confirmed, however, that it would be offering in-game content on a "timed exclusivity" basis, so it would at least seem that these extra items will be made available to all players at a later date.

https://www.reddit.com/r/MarvelAvengersProject/comments/i67w3r/leaked_skins/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/marvel-s-avengers-reportedly-features-cosmetic-content-tied-to-network-providers-and-other-retail-brands-600202.phtml

[Fignuts]

Jesus the way this game is going they may as well have as breaks in between the gameplay. Like there’s been cross marketing in games for years, but this Avengers game is approaching ludicrousness.

[drave]

That's a new level of wank right there. Never planned on buying the game, but god damn.


It's like a disturbing trend man. Like there are going to start being lobbyists from ISP's and shit who say "Hey, we will help fund your game if you give our subscribers early, exclusive stuff".


What a fucking mess of a game that one sounds like.

[Emperor Smeat]

Based on a recent investor's meeting, Capcom is currently undecided on if they will enact a $10 price hike for their next gen games.

At the moment, only one major publisher, Ubisoft, has committed to remaining at $60 for their net gen games at least for the launch period.

During a recent investor Q&A session, Capcom was asked about its intended approach to pricing future games. "We do not have a set policy at this time," Capcom said. "We will consider our approach having analyzed both our strengths and weaknesses while closely monitoring industry trends."

Capcom's response is aligned with the timidity most major publishers are showing on this topic. Nearly everyone falls into the "monitoring industry trends" camp publicly, unwilling to follow Take-Two's lead and become the second face of rising consumer costs. Ubisoft, however, has committed to a $60 price tag -- at least for this holiday season.

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/capcom-has-joined-the-list-of-publishers-considering-a-next-gen-price-increase/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/capcom-is-undecided-about-whether-it-ll-charge-70-for-next-gen-games-600327.phtml

[Savio]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3gc1xuzHIDs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Fignuts]

Turbo-Graphix mini has a bunch of games from its Japanese counterpart, the PC Engine. I might look into getting one.

[drave]

Have fond memories of playing Turbo Grafix 16 at a friend's houes. Remember playing Bonk's Adventure a shit ton.


Lots of R-Type too.

[Emperor Smeat]

Epic Games recently sued Apple over issues regarding the status of Fortnite and V-Bucks purchases at the App Store.

The main issue revolves around Epic Games has been in a growing dispute with Apple and Google regarding the current revenue splits and fees for purchases made at their digital stores.

Epic recently took their dispute to a new level by issuing a permanent price cut for V-Bucks but only for those who purchase it directly from Epic and not from the App Store of Play Store.

Epic's antics resulted in Apple pulling Fornite from their App Store over claims of Epic violating their digital store's rules.

That then led to Epic filing a lawsuit against Apple claiming Apple committed violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the California Cartwright Act, and the California Unfair Competition Law.

[Update: Epic immediately sued Apple. Shortly after Fortnite was pulled from the App Store, Epic filed a 62-page lawsuit for injunctive relief. The Complaint alleges violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the California Cartwright Act, and the California Unfair Competition Law. The lawsuit was clearly drafted well in advance, as Epic obviously anticipated Apple removing Fortnite ...

Fortnite's V-Bucks just got a little cheaper across the board. Epic has permanently discounted the Fortnite currency by 20 percent. Previously, $1 used to get you 100 V-Bucks; now you get the same amount for 80 cents.

The impetus behind this price reduction seems like it's driven entirely by Epic's need to throw a giant "Fuck You" at Apple and Google. Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store's policies have long been in Epic founder Tim Sweeney's crosshairs, as he takes issue with the revenue splits they take. They'll demand up to 30 percent of revenue just for processing payments and being included inside those mobile ecosystems.

Today, Epic launched its own direct payment system on mobile versions of Fortnite and it's awfully compelling to any prospective V-Bucks buyer ...

Anyone who opts for paying Epic directly will see that 20 percent savings; anyone who doesn't is paying more than the new permanent price. The choice is pretty obvious.

Epic has dragged Apple and Google into a high-risk game of chicken, seeing if the tech giants will delist the world's most popular video game for running afoul of their store rules. There are even higher stakes than just Fortnite, as Apple is under fire in both the United States and European Union for possible antitrust violations. Slapping down Fortnite might just bolster the argument for regulatory agencies that Apple is engaged in anti-competitive business practices.

It worked. Apple has removed Fortnite from the App Store. In a statement to The Verge, Apple says its hand was forced by Epic because of "express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services." Apple adds that it's willing to work with Epic to resolve these issues, but it's not making a special exception for Epic.

What happens next will be fascinating. Sweeney and Epic don't even want special exception. They have a fundamental problem with the forced revenue splits from Apple and Google. They want unilateral reform. That's especially true in the case of Apple, where Sweeney is particularly frustrated by the "closed ecosystem" approach.

This is all a stunt to make Apple and Google look bad. Not many companies would be willing to sacrifice its cash cow to make that statement. For now, Fortnite can't be found on iOS devices. That's exactly the outcome Epic wanted.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/-update-epic-just-goaded-apple-into-removing-fortnite-from-the-app-store-600427.phtml

[Kalyx triaD]

60+ page lawsuit ready within hours? This was a power play.

[drave]

So host the mobile downloads on their own site. Sucks for Apple users.... but they've had a walled garden since forever anyway.


Epic will be fine. Devices that already had it installed are still installed.

[Fignuts]

The fucking gall of Epic to try and turn Fortnite players against apple with their little video and hashtag. As if Epic isn't just as much of a greedy, soulless corporation that gives no actual fucks for their user base.

[Emperor Smeat]

Nintendo is currently rumored to be working on a remaster of Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword for the Switch based on a recent retailer leak from Amazon's UK branch.

Following on from an Amazon UK listing for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered yesterday, a page for a Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has now been discovered.

Although there's no launch date on display in the image below, in the description underneath this section of the listing there appears to be a placeholder release date of "1 Jan. 2030" - you can also apparently pre-order the game for £69.99.
Amazon Zelda: Skyward Sword - Nintendo Life IMG© Amazon / Nintendo Life

Surprisingly, this isn't the first time we've heard about Skyward Sword taking flight on the Switch. Back in November 2018, there was a rumour about it, and not long after this, a Nintendo representative shot it down.

As pointed out by Nintendo Life contributor, Chris Scullion, next year is The Legend of Zelda's 35th anniversary. Earlier this week trademarks supposedly tied to the Zelda series also appeared online.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/08/rumour_is_the_legend_of_zelda_skyward_sword_taking_to_the_skies_on_nintendo_switch

[Emperor Smeat]

* Sony and developer Sucker Punch announced a new co-op mode for Ghost of Tsushima will be arriving this fall. This mode is called Ghost of Tsushima: Legends and will feature its own story for 2 player co-op mode and a new survival mode for 4-player sessions.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/ghost-of-tsushima-legends-is-a-new-co-op-multiplayer-mode-coming-this-fall-600782.phtml

* Nintendo announced that a new Indies World Direct episode will be airing tomorrow starting at 12PM EST. This episode was also announced to be around 20 minutes long and will focus on upcoming games for the Switch.
https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/1295344648748240896

* For those interested in the PC version of Spelunky 2, the developer of the game stated that it will be released "a few weeks" after the PS4 version's release of September 15th. Official reason for the different date is due to needing more time to optimize the game for PC.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/spelunky-2-is-releasing-on-steam-no-later-than-a-few-weeks-after-ps4-600799.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

* For those who own or are interested in an Oculus Rift VR headset, the company announced starting this October a Facebook account will be required in order to use their headsets. They also announced that existing Oculus accounts will remain active until 2022 and then will need to be merged with a Faceook account in order for all features to remain usable. Upcoming headsets will require a merged account at launch.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/oculus-is-going-to-require-you-to-have-a-connected-facebook-account-to-use-its-vr-headsets-600929.phtml

* During today's Nintendo Indie World Showcase episode, developer Supergiant Games announced a Switch port of their Hades game is currently in development and scheduled for a Fall 2020 release.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/supergiant-games-hades-is-coming-to-switch-will-offer-cross-save-with-pc-version-600906.phtml

* WB Games is currently rumored to be officially debuting a new game in the Batman series tomorrow based on a recent teaser tweet.
A new verified Twitter account has popped up with the handle @r3dakt3d. The bio for this edgy l33t-speak account reads #DCFanDome. It only follows two accounts, WB Games (the publisher) and WB Montreal (the developer). It has a URL with the same "r3dakt3d" branding. This site simply says "We have been expecting you. 8 [August] / 18" ...

All of these r3dakt3d developments are perfectly aligned with the rumors that have run rampant for months now. WB Montreal is making Gotham Knights, which is a game based on the extended Batman family. It's expected that there will be more playable characters than just Batman. The likes of Robin, Batwoman, and Nightwing are all said to support the Caped Crusader.

Assuming Gotham Knights is getting a proper reveal tomorrow, that'll be two in less than a week for WB. Gotham Knights will be announced and then elaborated upon at DC FanDome on Saturday, August 22; Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be revealed later on August 22 at FanDome. Lots of crime-busting and crime-propagating coming from DC soon.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/the-next-batman-game-is-probably-getting-revealed-tomorrow-600830.phtml

[ClockShot]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. That's going to cause some screaming down the road. I mean, Xbox Live and PS Plus is one thing. Online access, free games, sales discounts, etc.

But having to sign up for Facebook. One of the almighty gods of social media. Putting your name "out there" is something to really consider. Might even push some people to consider Sony or HTC's VR rigs if they're feeling the itch to try VR.

[Emperor Smeat]

Worst part is Facebook doesn't even hide the fact this is solely being done just to get more personal data from users for their ad algorithms.

"We will use information related to your use of Oculus and Facebook for purposes such as showing you personalized content, including ads, across Facebook products. This could include recommendations for Oculus Events you might like, ads about Facebook apps and technologies, or ads from developers for their VR apps."

[Fignuts]

Can’t imagine enough people own an Oculus Rift, that this is going to have any kind of impact. Still scummy,but not all that surprising.

[Sepholio]

That new Batman game is also rumored to potentially revolve around The Court of the Owls. Hope it's true.

[Fignuts]

That would be really cool, although given the track record of Batman games, I'm nervous about how it will turn out now that Rocksteady has moved on to Suicide Squad, which I'm really interested in.

[Kalyx triaD]

It def matters who makes the game.

[ClockShot]

So, did Rocksteady make their big announcement yet?

Or are they scrambling and prepping for damage control after the toxic workplace report hit the 'net this afternoon?

[Emperor Smeat]

Apparently both the lead narrative designer and creative director of upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines game were abruptly fired from developer Hardsuit Labs studios.

Seems the reason is due to minority owner Paradox Interactive wasn't happy with the direction and development of the game since they were the only one from management to speak publicly about the firings at the moment.

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/brian-mitsoda-suddenly-terminated-as-narrative-lead-on-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-601066.phtml

[Extreme Angle]

Hey Kalyx, what were your thoughts on the Halo Infinite demo?
Just listened to this and is has me hyped:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mBvWZjoW06k" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Kalyx triaD]

Hey Kalyx, what were your thoughts on the Halo Infinite demo?
Just listened to this and is has me hyped:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mBvWZjoW06k" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I'm not a bitch about the visuals like everybody seems to be, overall I like the classical aesthetics even if Halo's trademark geometry looks a tad dated in 2020. People just forget that those basic looking ramps and staged encounter areas are cery important to how Halo plays, which H5 learned the hard way. Anyway:

- That grapple hook is god awful. Does not belong at all.
- Either sprint is in or out, don't have it be this sluggish jog trying to make everyone happy you just piss everyone off. OG Halo fans, our demographic, needs to realize you're not getting kids to play a shooter with no sprint. Unless you're prepared for cult success rather than mega success. And we know which one Microsoft wants for Halo.
- I guess you can equip items on both hands? The grapple took up a slot pertaining to the hand using it.
- Looks like ADS is gone and only certain weapons can zoom in like older Halo.

I don't really play Halo for story anymore after H4 and H5's back to back character assassination spree so I'm displeased that the delay certainly means I won't see multiplayer for another year maybe.

[Emperor Smeat]

* Demon's Souls is currently rumored again to be getting a remaster version for the PS5 and a potential Holiday 2020 release date based on a recent Korean ratings report.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/demon-s-souls-could-be-closer-than-expected-if-a-recent-rating-is-any-indication-601151.phtml

* For those interested in the PC version of Hitman 3, that version will be a timed exclusive for Epic Games Store at launch.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/hitman-3-is-an-epic-games-store-exclusive-601129.phtml

* Also for those interested, Nintendo is currently holding a Share The Fun sale on the Switch's eShop with a variety of games on discount between 15% to 50% off. The sale itself lasts until August 30th.
https://www.nintendo.com/deals/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/nintendo-s-share-the-fun-sale-has-deals-on-great-multiplayer-switch-games-601139.phtml

[Extreme Angle]

I'm not a bitch about the visuals like everybody seems to be, overall I like the classical aesthetics even if Halo's trademark geometry looks a tad dated in 2020. People just forget that those basic looking ramps and staged encounter areas are cery important to how Halo plays, which H5 learned the hard way. Anyway:
Yeah, I was really digging the vibe! Admitedly looked a little sketchy pretty much all over, but by no means warranting the backlash.

- That grapple hook is god awful. Does not belong at all.

Amen.

- Either sprint is in or out, don't have it be this sluggish jog trying to make everyone happy you just piss everyone off. OG Halo fans, our demographic, needs to realize you're not getting kids to play a shooter with no sprint. Unless you're prepared for cult success rather than mega success. And we know which one Microsoft wants for Halo.

I'm all for Sprint. if you want real classic Halo then play MCC.

I don't really play Halo for story anymore after H4 and H5's back to back character assassination spree so I'm displeased that the delay certainly means I won't see multiplayer for another year maybe.
It's not uncommon for me to argue that Halo 5 has the best feeling multiplayer of Halo to date. Something about sprinting, sliding, dashing and doing cheeky hovers makes me feel like a super hero.

[Emperor Smeat]

For those interested in the PC version of Crysis Remastered, Crytek decided to wait until very recently to reveal that version will be Epic Games Store exclusive at launch.

PC, PS4, and Xbox One need another month. Crytek has announced that Crysis Remastered is coming on September 18. It'll be priced at $30.

Aside from the release date, Crytek slid in some more info about the remaster. Somewhere along the line, Epic secured Crysis Remastered as an Epic Games Store exclusive on PC. Crytek, no stranger to being in dire financial straits, probably leapt at the opportunity for Crysis Remastered's development to be automatically profitable.

As for technical capabilities, Crysis Remastered is said to have "high-resolution textures up to 8K, HDR support, temporal anti-aliasing, screen space directional occlusion, global illumination, state-of-the-art depth fields, new light settings, motion blur, parallax occlusion mapping, screen space reflections and shadows, new particle effects, and more." Also, PS4 Pro and Xbox One X players will get console ray tracing. PC supports Nvidia DLSS technology and ray tracing on RTX cards.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/maybe-your-pc-can-run-crysis-remastered-but-steam-can-t-601241.phtml

[Kalyx triaD]

Yeah, I was really digging the vibe! Admitedly looked a little sketchy pretty much all over, but by no means warranting the backlash.

Amen.

I'm all for Sprint. if you want real classic Halo then play MCC.

It's not uncommon for me to argue that Halo 5 has the best feeling multiplayer of Halo to date. Something about sprinting, sliding, dashing and doing cheeky hovers makes me feel like a super hero.

I've gotten back into Halo2a weeks ago and I've learned to love it. Tbough I'm back on an Apex kick now.

[Curtis]

<IFRAME height=315 src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pKqzdrGPtGY" frameBorder=0 width=560 allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></IFRAME>

I was actually kinda looking forward to it, but it looks like it will either never come out or be a hufe flop at $400. What are they thinking? You can get one of those crappy AtGames 2600's for like $50

[Emperor Smeat]

* 343 Industries is currently denying recent rumors of development for the Xbox One version of Halo Infinite being shelved in favor of only developing the game for the Xbox Series X.
https://twitter.com/Unyshek/status/1298334578721996801

* For those who own Fall Guys but have been finding it to be less fun to play recently due to rampant cheaters, developer Mediatonic studios announced that an upcoming patch will tweak the game's anti-cheat system to boot cheating players after the end of a round instead of currently only at the end of a match.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/fall-guys-promises-to-start-banning-cheaters-in-between-rounds-601615.phtml

* Update to recent Fornite lawsuit news as a judge recently gave a partial ruling both in favor and against Epic. The judge sided with Epic in granting a temporary order to prevent Apple from pulling their Unreal Engine developer tools software from the App Store but sided against Epic in their request to have Fornite reinstated. Official reason for the decision against Fornite was the judge stated that Epic's deliberate actions and not Apple were the cause for the game's removal.
https://www.engadget.com/judge-protects-unreal-engine-053428437.html

* Nintendo is once again rumored to be currently working on a new Switch Pro model that is rumored to feature support for 4K graphics and be released at some point next year.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/the-rumor-that-nintendo-is-planning-a-switch-pro-popped-up-again-could-come-next-year-601587.phtml

[Fignuts]

The more I hear about how Avengers works, the less I want it.

Its "armor" system is stat based, like Anthem. There's no visual change. That was a huge criticism of Anthem, and I don't like it here either. Showing off the armor you've earned is honestly a big part of loot based games, and removing that really takes a lot of fun out of the grind. Loot based games only work if the loot pool is diverse and exciting. This doesn't look like a lot of work was put into it. Feels tacked on.

Anthem did it so they could sell cosmetic armor as microtransactions, and it's no different for Avengers. They're just sneakier about it. Every character has their own seperate battle pass with cosmetic skins. You can grind to unlock it all in game, or you can spend money to unlock the skins. If it's anything like 99% of battle passes, it will have glacial progress speed to tempt rank up purchases.

Just about every "live service" game with the exception of Monster Hunter World has stumbled out of the gate, and this is looking like another in a long line of games that get "fixed" later on.

Wish we could have just gotten something like Spider-man.

[Fignuts]

Injustice 2 is a fighting game, and it has a better loot system than this loot based game.

[drave]

MHW still so damn good, still adding free shit.

[Emperor Smeat]

Activision announced the next gen versions of their upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War game will be getting a $10 price hike.

This becomes the 2nd game confirmed to be getting a price hike for next gen following Take Two's announcement for NBA 2K21.

Following in the footsteps of Take-Two/2K Games, Activision has now confirmed that the standard edition of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is priced $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

In a blog post breaking down the game’s different editions, the company tucked away that detail towards the end of the page. This makes Black Ops Cold War the second next-gen game, after NBA 2K21, to have a starting price of $70 on next-gen consoles.

Because Activision has never talked about this price increase publicly, we’re not yet sure if all of its next-gen games will also start at $70. In 2K Games’ case, at least, the publisher was hesitant to confirm a flat increase to $70 across its entire catalogue, opting instead to set prices on a game by game basis.

https://www.vg247.com/2020/08/27/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-70-usd-standard-ps5-xbox-series-x/

[drave]

Anything tied to Bobby Kotick will squeeze every last fucking dime out of the consumer.

[Kalyx triaD]

Mentioned this before, $70 was inevitable.

[drave]

Think Nintendo can have a larger market impact with cheaper games that are still awesome.


I completely understand the rationale of hours invested into money's worth, but $70 just seems steep for a single purchase. As buggy and fucked as many games were at launch this gen, the quality drastically needs to improve.


Hopefully better tech will allow for that, but something tells me the driving force of "quarterly reports" will still produce meh results.

[Kalyx triaD]

Oh with Microtransactions, seasonal battle passes, 'roadmaps', and such there's no more incentive to release a completed functional game. The bubble will burst and f2p+seasonal passes will likely become common.

[Kalyx triaD]

Holy shit Apple just catapulted *every* Epic game from its store. Epic no longer has an account with them, either.

[ClockShot]

Sounds like this Apple-Epic feud is about to get nasty.

[Emperor Smeat]

* According to a recent episode of the GamesBeat Decides podcast, EA had plana to release an unannounced Mass Effect remastered trilogy for current gen consoles this October but are now currently rumored to have delayed those plans due to coronavirus-related issues.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/unannounced-mass-effect-trilogy-remaster-might-slip-out-of-its-unannounced-october-release-date-602184.phtml

* Based on a recent corporate report from Sony, the company is currently planning on porting more of their first party Playstation series games to PC within the near future.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sony-interactive-entertainment-looking-to-port-more-first-party-titles-to-pc-602121.phtml

* Capcom is currently rumored to be working on a new game in the Monster Hunter series for the Switch and the game is being developed using the RE Engine.
https://twitter.com/AestheticGamer1/status/1299498175930138625
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/reliable-insider-says-that-a-new-monster-hunter-switch-is-coming-602124.phtml

[Fignuts]

Square-Enix has been releasing new articles on their website all week long about Avengers, and they've honestly gone a long way to soothing some of the worries I've had with this game. It SOUNDS like there is a lot of content beyond the campaign. That's where a lot of these types of games stumble out of gate.

Also, the battle pass style challenge cards that each character has, is not time gated. You can take all the time you want to complete them. The limited time factor is what makes most battle passes such a predatory tactic. So that's a big tic mark in it's favor, with me.

Still feeling cautious about it, but I'm definitely also feeling more optimistic. I've been a Marvel fan since I was 5 years old, so I was always going to get it. Just a matter of whether it was at launch or on sale for $20. The big War Table presentation tomorrow could seal the deal one way or the other.

[Kalyx triaD]

I'm already ready to Assemble. My buddy got the reg edition otherwise I would have played today, but I'm good til the official launch. I really hope they go past Avengers and make this a general platform for the Marvel universe. X-Men, F4, solo heroes, etc.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to a report from Bloomberg, AT&T has recently changed their mind regarding plans to sell off their Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment gaming division due to their current serious financial debt situation.

This new information comes via Bloomberg, who has sources that state AT&T decided against the sale because WBIE is too valuable. This feels like confirmation after an August internal staff email had the WarnerMedia CEO say "Warner Bros Interactive remains a part of the Studios and Networks group."

A sale was an intriguing scenario, as Microsoft was rumored to be interested in buying the whole WBIE portfolio. That includes developers such as Rocksteady, Traveller's Tales, Avalanche Software, NetherRealm, Monolith, and WB Montreal. Collectively, a sale was estimated to be valued around $4 billion.

The impetus for exploring the idea of selling WBIE is because AT&T reportedly has about $154 billion in debt after acquiring WarnerMedia and DirectTV. However, the video game unit is apparently staying put as AT&T opts against some fast cash to pay down a very small percentage of what it owes.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-01/at-t-is-said-to-scrap-sale-of-warner-bros-video-game-unit
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/warner-bros-sale-is-off-the-table-as-at-t-decides-it-s-too-valuable-to-sell-602301.phtml

[Kalyx triaD]

I'm already ready to Assemble. My buddy got the reg edition otherwise I would have played today, but I'm good til the official launch. I really hope they go past Avengers and make this a general platform for the Marvel universe. X-Men, F4, solo heroes, etc.

Kate Bishop confirmed.

[Fignuts]

Thought that was kind of weird at first, having two archers as the first dlc characters, but it seems like it’s for story purposes. It’s a two part story likely having the player use Kate to free Hawkeye from AIM’s control, and then playing Hawkeye in Part 2.

Looked like Hawkeye had a Katana, so he’ll likely lean into his Ronin skills, while Kate will use her teleportation. Hopefully their archery abilities are varied and not just cut and paste.

Also Black Panther is all but confirmed. They declined to make an official announcement out of respect for Boseman’s passing. Seems like Wakanda will be connected to or maybe even the setting for a raid.

[Fignuts]

The marketplace prices are pretty absurd. Not the worst I’ve seen but still. They need to work on that. People were saying you can save the credits you get from the challenge cards to purchase future cards, but I honestly think it’s a better value to pay $10 for the card and save the credits earned to cherry pick stuff from the market.

It’s already been revealed that there’s buckets of skins, emotes, nameplates, etc. available to get just through playing so this isn’t a deal breaker. Just disappointing. If this game has the continuous, meaningful content it says it will, I would of liked to support them with a skin purchase now and then, but not at those prices.

Hopefully it’s something they’re willing to take feedback on, but I doubt it. The whales justify this kind of thing every time.

[drave]

Beta was fun AF for sure. Might buy down the line, after seeing how the game fares a bit

[Kalyx triaD]

Skins are around $20 value, right?

[Fignuts]

$15

[Fignuts]

Beta was fun AF for sure. Might buy down the line, after seeing how the game fares a bit


There were actually a lot of people let down by the beta, and now that they've gotten the full game in hand, they're turning their opinions around and giving it shining reviews.

The beta poorly represented the game just like everything else in it's marketing.

[Kalyx triaD]

15 is actually less than I thought, being that I'm dressing up the most iconic characters in media today rather than spending $20 to dress up some asshole in a shooter.

[Emperor Smeat]

CD Projekt Red currently denying recent rumors of their upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 game will require at least 200GB of free space on a harddrive in order to be playable.

The company stated the actual size of the game will be comparable to other recent modern games.

Basis for the rumor revolves around a recent tech video that showed off the game's graphical and technical abilities using the new Nvidia 30XX graphics cards. That led to some people thinking to achieve those very high fidelity results, the game's file size must be very bloated as a result.

https://twitter.com/Marcin360/status/1301091805627383808
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/cd-projekt-red-says-that-cyberpunk-2077-s-file-size-will-be-reasonable-602399.phtml

[drave]

I will format my internal HDD for 2077.

[Fignuts]

15 is actually less than I thought, being that I'm dressing up the most iconic characters in media today rather than spending $20 to dress up some asshole in a shooter.

If they provide enough good, quality free content I might be willing to splurge on a skin once in a while, if I have extra cash.

But I’d probably spend a lot more if it was cheaper. I pretty much bought anything that caught my eye in sfv, because for 5 bucks you get a new skin with 12 different colors.

[RP]

Just take my bank account Nintendo

Play three of Mario’s greatest 3D platform adventures—all in one package!

Play three classic games at home or on the go—all in one package on the Nintendo Switch™ system! Jump into paintings in Super Mario 64™, clean up paint-like goop in Super Mario Sunshine™, and fly from planet to planet in Super Mario Galaxy™.

Run, jump, and dive with ease!

Make Mario move using the Nintendo Switch system’s Joy-Con™ controllers. You can also pass a Joy-Con controller to a friend to play the Super Mario Galaxy game in Co-Star Mode! Mario’s movements are as smooth as ever with HD resolution for each game, while still retaining the look and feel of the originals.

Listen to timeless Super Mario tunes

Listen to a total of 175 iconic tunes from all three games! Whether you want to get up and dance or take a minute to relax—this collection has music to fit your mood!

Discover (or rediscover) three of Mario’s most iconic 3D platform adventures, all in one package, available on the Nintendo Switch™ system. Experience Mario’s first foray into 3D platforming in the Super Mario 64™ game, originally released in 1996. Wall jump, backflip, and even fly as you explore paintings and collect Power Stars to save Princess Peach!
Soak up the sun in the Super Mario Sunshine™ game, originally released in 2002, and spray the goop away with your water-spouting pal, FLUDD! You’ll need to collect Shine Sprites and clear the picturesque Isle Delfino of pollution—just look out for Bowser Jr.
Defy gravity as you explore space in the Super Mario Galaxy™ game, originally released in 2007! Help Rosalina restore her ship by collecting Power Stars and save Princess Peach. Gently shake a Joy-Con™ controller to activate Mario’s Spin ability or pass a Joy-Con controller to a friend for some extra help in Co-Star Mode*.
Even when you aren’t playing, you can enjoy the sounds that these worlds (and galaxies!) are so famous for. With three games, modern upgrades, and music-player mode, this collection is filled with fun for both new players and 3D platforming Mario masters. Super Mario 3D All-Stars will be available as a limited-run retail edition and a digital edition that is available for a limited time until the end of March 2021.
*If playing on Nintendo Switch Lite, detached Joy-Con controllers are required and sold separately. See support.nintendo.com/switch/play for details.

[El Vaquero de Infierno]

Any news on whether Dying Light 2 will see the light of day any time soon?

[Big Vic]

Nintendo turned 'Super Mario' into a battle royale (https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/super-mario-bros-35-battle-royale-tma-111520748.html)

Also a cool looking augmented reality Super Mario kart thing.

[Kalyx triaD]

That Mario Kart AR game would have drove me crazy at age 12.

[RP]

It cracks me up that you basically have to have wooden floors and a living room the size of a 1 bedroom house. Those fucking kids lived in a mansion.

[Emperor Smeat]

Xbox Series S model is currently expected to cost $299 based on a recent video leak.

Also the console itself is smaller and a lot thinner compared to the more powerful Series X model.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Xbox Series S video leaked <a href="https://t.co/GnSOBERVlM">https://t.co/GnSOBERVlM</a></p>&mdash; Wario64 (@Wario64) <a href="https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1303165513573388288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Kalyx triaD]

That's what I'm waiting for.

[Sepholio]

Oof that's an ugly box though. The Series X looks like a minifridge, the PS5 looks like a giant router....but they both look far better than the 1980's intercom speaker that is apparently the Series S.

[Sepholio]

Hope they at least have an option for that (and the PS5) in black though. Not a huge fan of white consoles because they don't match any of my stuff and will stick out like a sore thumb.

[Kalyx triaD]

I have never in my life cared how a console looks. It's the least looked at thing in my life.

[drave]

Hope they at least have an option for that (and the PS5) in black though. Not a huge fan of white consoles because they don't match any of my stuff and will stick out like a sore thumb.




Couple torx security screws with a white finish = lots of custom cases if you wanna go that route. Love taking apart white controllers and doing work on them, can be fun.



Bonus if it goes retro into an old school intercom, complete with a dome attachment over the speaker.

[Sepholio]

Couple torx security screws with a white finish = lots of custom cases if you wanna go that route. Love taking apart white controllers and doing work on them, can be fun.



Bonus if it goes retro into an old school intercom, complete with a dome attachment over the speaker.

Challenge accepted. Do I get double bonus if it actually functions as an intercom as well?

[Emperor Smeat]

* Sega is currently planning to release several new games in the Sonic series next year as part of the series 30th anniversary celebrations.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/official-sega-ad-claims-that-sonic-is-getting-new-games-in-2021-602907.phtml

* Microsoft confirmed the recent leaks of the Xbox Series S model costing $299 at launch and also announced a November 2020 release date. In regards to the Series X model, it is currently rumored to cost around $499.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/xbox-series-s-officially-revealed-priced-at-299-602897.phtml

* Nintendo announced a new game in the Legend of Zelda series for the Switch called "Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity" which is a spin-off of Hyrule Warriors and a prequel to Breath of the Wild. The game was also announced to be arriving on November 20th.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uDMWRRAEogs" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/nintendo-surprise-announces-breath-of-the-wild-focused-hyrule-warriors-age-of-calamity-for-switch-602929.phtml

[drave]

Challenge accepted. Do I get double bonus if it actually functions as an intercom as well?




Only if you make it say "Seph to the principals office" every time you power it on.

[Big Vic]

Gonna be weird (but kinda cool) playing a Zelda game where everyone dies in the end.

[ClockShot]

Your move, Sony.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This is the tweet...<br><br>Xbox Series X: $499 (ERP)<br>Xbox Series S: $299 (ERP)<br><br>Release date: November 10<br><br>Pre-order starts September 22: <a href="https://t.co/Dz5bRsAuwQ">https://t.co/Dz5bRsAuwQ</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PowerYourDreams?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PowerYourDreams</a> <a href="https://t.co/MadZl4OOKJ">pic.twitter.com/MadZl4OOKJ</a></p>&mdash; Xbox (@Xbox) <a href="https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1303680112156524544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 9, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[Kalyx triaD]

Series S is a huge kick in the nuts, but I don't think Sony is bothered.

[Emperor Smeat]

For those interested, Ubisoft announced a re-release of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World and a remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time will be arriving within the next few months.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World arrives Holiday 2020 and includes all of the original game's DLC packs. Game itself will cost $14.99 and be released for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Stadia, and PC.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is currently being developed by Ubisoft Mumbai and Pune studios and is scheduled to arrive on January 21, 2021 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Game is currently priced at $39.99 and is being remade "from the ground up" via the Anvil engine.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wUU_wRjdi2I" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rlhRMcbyOME" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/scott-pilgrim-vs-the-world-the-game-complete-edition-is-coming-this-holiday-season-603179.phtml
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time-remake-is-out-in-january-603182.phtml

[drave]

:|

[ClockShot]

The rebooted Prince of Persia was sitting on a cliffhanger. And we're all sitting here through the years waiting for a follow up.

So, instead let's just throw some money away and remake Sands of Time.

Smart. No, not really.

[Kalyx triaD]

Because it was ass and the first reboot is better.

[Emperor Smeat]

Microsoft is currently rumored to be working on three versions of their upcoming Xbox Series console with this third model to be in between the Series S and Series X in terms of overall power.

This third Xbox Series consoles would also be digital only in terms of games support.

Rumors have surfaced that Microsoft has a third Xbox Series model in store. It'll be the exact same as the more-capable Xbox Series X but without the disc drive. Word of this all-digital console popped up via this tweet and was then reported by GamesRadar+:

This new model is allegedly called Xbox Series V and would serve as a perfect analog to the PlayStation 5 All-Digital model. It's not kneecapped in terms of power; it just doesn't have an optical disc drive.

In its favor, the Xbox Series V would clear up an existing Microsoft codename. Something internally called "Edinburgh" popped up in Microsoft's game development kit, supporting the idea that there's another machine planned besides Series X (codenamed Anaconda) and Series S (codenamed Lockhart). Alternatively, Edinburgh could reference something much more mundane like Project xCloud infrastructure.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">(Rumor) There is a Xbox Series V (codename is Project Edinburg) it's rumored to be less powerful than the Series X but more Powerful than the Series S �� <a href="https://t.co/C8V2FYYF5e">pic.twitter.com/C8V2FYYF5e</a></p>&mdash; Idle Sloth ����█♂️1️⃣2️⃣❎ (@IdleSloth84) <a href="https://twitter.com/IdleSloth84/status/1304218062275698696?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 11, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/is-there-really-a-third-unannounced-next-gen-xbox-model--603272.phtml

[Helmsphere]

Woo Scott Pilgrim is coming back. Thru I could literally plug my Xbox 360 up and play it there.

[drave]

their naming scheme is the worst naming scheme ever, of all the things.

[Droford]

the 3 new x box consoles totally dont feel at all like sega with sega cd, 32x and dreamcast

[teamXtremist]

the 3 new x box consoles totally dont feel at all like sega with sega cd, 32x and dreamcast

You got $800 dollars powder. Im sure youll be ok:rofl:

[Curtis]

the 3 new x box consoles totally dont feel at all like sega with sega cd, 32x and dreamcast

Completely accurate if that's what you actually mean.

CD and 32X were add-ons to the Genesis, not separate consoles. Sega did plan for a standalone 32x, but it never came to fruition. Dreamcast was a separate console, but it was a sucessor to the Saturn.

t. Bought a Dreamcast at launch, still remember the date, 9/9/99. Too bad Sega messed it up, especially by going with CD or GD instead of DVD. PS2 was helped by people buying it for the DVD player feature, getting two devices at once etc.

[Kalyx triaD]

the 3 new x box consoles totally dont feel at all like sega with sega cd, 32x and dreamcast

How so? CD and 32x were add-ons and Dreamcast was their console after Saturn.

[Droford]

the two cheap x box varriants feel like gimmicks much like the 32x and cd.

I suppose I should have said the Saturm as the 3rd,

the kicker for me on the $299 model is its all digital and only has 512 gb storage. Supposedly theyre going to make add on storage cartridges that just plug in for added storage, or you can use an external hard drive..but even if you have a external drive already that cost money and suddenly the cheap version that sacrifices 4k and other features to be cheaper is costing more money. If games didnt take so much space up and require room for patches it wouldnt be an issue but again 512gb for base storage in 2020/21 & beyond is a joke.

[Kalyx triaD]

A joke I'm totally going with. The biggest issue the last few console generations was the growing cost of jumping into the next gen. Typically me and others would trade up in year 2 down the line. This would be the second time I got a new console at launch ever because of this variant. So I'm liking the joke.

[Big Vic]

Spelunky 2 releases tomorrow, Me and the 3 other fans are really excited about this.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oVMdFfiDaII" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[drave]

the two cheap x box varriants feel like gimmicks much like the 32x and cd.

I suppose I should have said the Saturm as the 3rd,

the kicker for me on the $299 model is its all digital and only has 512 gb storage. Supposedly theyre going to make add on storage cartridges that just plug in for added storage, or you can use an external hard drive..but even if you have a external drive already that cost money and suddenly the cheap version that sacrifices 4k and other features to be cheaper is costing more money. If games didnt take so much space up and require room for patches it wouldnt be an issue but again 512gb for base storage in 2020/21 & beyond is a joke.




Except the fact that external storage is so dirt fucking cheap, it makes this entire post invalid.

[Emperor Smeat]

* Sony is currently denying rumors of them scaling back production of PS5 consoles due to custom chip supply issues. Rumor originated from Bloomberg who stated Sony was scaling back production by as much as 4 million consoles due to not being able to hit their target goal of chip production needed for the console's launch.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sony-reportedly-scaling-back-production-of-playstation-5-603551.phtml

* According to Activision, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 + 2 recently broke a Tony Hawk series record by becoming the fastest game to reach 1 million sales in series history.
https://twitter.com/ATVI_AB/status/1305568653920931841

* According to a report from website TechRaptor, the reason why Ubisoft changed the name of their upcoming action adventure game Gods & Monsters to Immortals Fenyx Rising was due to beverage company Monster Energy had filed an opposition to Ubisoft's trademark for Gods & Monsters. Ubisoft decided it would be easier on their end to just change the name of their game instead of having to deal with a potentially costly legal battle and delays to keep the game's original name.
https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/gods-and-monsters-started-monster-trademark-fight-with-monster-energy
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/ubisoft-changed-gods-monsters-name-because-it-violated-monster-energy-s-trademark-603623.phtml

[Destor]

miles confirmed for ps4

[Emperor Smeat]

For those interested in the Xbox Series S model, Microsoft stated game install sizes for that model will be around 30% smaller than the more powerful Series X model due to the lack of needing 4K assets for game downloads.

Although Microsoft's expectations completely revolves around developers actually putting in the effort and care to offer separate graphical assets packs and not going the lazy route of only offering 4K assets for digital game downloads.

There are a lot of component differences between the Xbox Series X and S that warrant the $200 price gap between the two (check out this handy cheat sheet if you're still confused), However, one of the most obvious get-what-you-pay-for gulfs between the two is that the Series X comes with an NVMe SSD that's twice as large as the one in the Series S. Even though it's half the size, Xbox says developers will have options to stretch those 512GB further.

Speaking with IGN, Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald said that install sizes should be significantly smaller on Series S than on Series X. Like, approximately 30 percent smaller. That's because developers won't need to ship 4K texture packs for the Series S because it targets 1440p resolution. "Our expectation is that developers will not ship their highest level mipmaps to Xbox Series S, which will reduce the size of the games," Ronald explained.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/developers-will-have-options-to-save-xbox-series-s-owners-some-precious-ssd-space-603971.phtml

[drave]

Be getting the Series X. The price point is pretty good considering what's under the hood.

[Emperor Smeat]

For those interested, CD Projekt RED recently released the specs for the PC version of their upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 game.

Required

OS: Windows 7/10 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K or AMD FX-8310
Memory: 8 GB
Graphics Card: NVidia 780 3 GB or AMD Radeon RX 470


Recommended

OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
Processor: Intel Core i7-4790 or AMD Ryzen 3 3200G
Memory: 12 GB
Graphics Card: NVidia GTX 1060 6 GB or AMD Radeon R9 Fury


Direct X 12 is both the required and recommended API. 70 GB of storage is required as well, with an SSD recommended but not required.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/cyberpunk-2077-s-pc-requirements-are-pleasantly-accommodating-604065.phtml

[drave]

lower than what i thought they'd be, based on how the game looks and plays. good though!

[El Vaquero de Infierno]

My PC can easily handle the recommended specs; bring this shit on!!!!!!!!

[ClockShot]

Microsoft just bought Zenimax Media.

Ka-boom.

[El Vaquero de Infierno]

Is that going to be a good thing or a bad thing for Elder Scrolls VI?

[ClockShot]

Probably going to need an Xbox down the road to play it.

[El Vaquero de Infierno]

Fuck that noise; that game belongs on the PC.

[ClockShot]

Well, yeah. PC is obviously safe. Just anything going forward will be exclusive to Xbox if you're a console player.

[drave]

Fuck that noise; that game belongs on the PC.




Eh, Xbox implemented mods and they work just fine. Outside of that, I don't see a big difference.

[Sepholio]

After the way ESV performed on PS3 I would never get another one of their games on a Sony system anyways. No big loss for me. PC it is.

[Sepholio]

ESVI prob gonna be on Xbox Series X360TWO by the time it comes out anyways.

[Emperor Smeat]

* For those interested in Spider-Man: Miles Morales' Ultimate Edition for PS5, the game will require around 105 GB of free space. For some comparison, the PS5 internal SSD holds around 825 GB usable space in total.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/spider-man-miles-morales-ultimate-edition-takes-up-105gb-of-your-ps5-s-825gb-by-itself-604312.phtml

* Next DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros Ultimate is currently rumored to be getting announced on October 4th based on a recent ad leak.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/the-next-smash-ultimate-dlc-fighter-could-be-revealed-as-early-as-the-start-of-october-604311.phtml

* According to CD Projket RED, Cyberpunk 2077's campaign will be "slightly shorter" in length than The Witcher 3 was. Main reason is due to The Witcher 3's long length being the main complaint from players about the game and wanting more players to be able to finish Cyperpubk 2077 than they did for The Witcher 3.
https://clips.twitch.tv/SoftDifferentPorcupinePanicVis
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/cdpr-shortened-cyberpunk-2077-campaign-following-witcher-3-length-complaints-604304.phtml

[Tom Guycott]

Microsoft just bought Zenimax Media.

Ka-boom.

"Microsoft sent us bags full of money, with a note that said "Weigh these.""

[El Vaquero de Infierno]

* According to CD Projket RED, Cyberpunk 2077's campaign will be "slightly shorter" in length than The Witcher 3 was. Main reason is due to The Witcher 3's long length being the main complaint from players about the game and wanting more players to be able to finish Cyperpubk 2077 than they did for The Witcher 3.
https://clips.twitch.tv/SoftDifferentPorcupinePanicVis
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/cdpr-shortened-cyberpunk-2077-campaign-following-witcher-3-length-complaints-604304.phtml

What kind of whiney-arsed pussy-fuck would be complaining about the length of Witcher 3's main story, or any similar games like GTA or Elder Scrolls? You spend most of the time exploring the world and being side-tracked by the side-missions, and then occasionally progress with the main arc when it comes to such games.

[drave]

ugh - agree with El Vaq...... that seems to be the only negative decision I've heard so far. While Witcher does get overwhelming at a certain point (looking at you land of the Bloody Baron), the side quests were 100% unnecessary, but also so well fleshed out they damn near didn't feel like side-quests.


I see myself replaying it multiple times with varied builds anyway.

[Emperor Smeat]

* Geoff Keighley announced this year's The Game Awards show will be taking place on December 10th.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/the-game-awards-will-close-out-this-stream-filled-year-on-december-10-604592.phtml

* For those interested, Nintendo is currently working on a sequel to Kirby Fighters based on a recent accidental leak on their official website.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/kirby-fighters-2-for-switch-pops-up-on-nintendo-site-604532.phtml
https://kotaku.com/nintendo-accidentally-announces-new-kirby-game-1845149542

* According to a report from Ars Technica, the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset will not allow the use of dummy or fake Facebook accounts as a way to sidestepped the new requirements by Facebook for Oculus VR headsets.
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/09/review-we-do-not-recommend-the-299-oculus-quest-2-as-your-next-vr-system/

* Epic Games is currently giving away $10 in Epic Games Store credit to those who add the newly free-to-play Rocket League to their game libraries on the service. The offer will be available until October 23rd and the discount is valid for any game purchases made over $15.
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/product/rocket-league/home
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/get-a-10-epic-games-store-coupon-when-you-add-free-to-play-rocket-league-to-your-library-604568.phtml

[Sepholio]

Phil Spencer said that Bethesda games will not be exclusives and will come to playstation.

Smart move honestly. With the likelyhood that PS5 will continue being the better selling console worldwide selling those games on both platforms will make MS a lot more money than exclusivity would.

[Fignuts]

There's also the fact that while they may not be exclusive, they will probably be on game pass at launch, where as you will have to pay full price to play on playstation.

[Emperor Smeat]

Capcom recently teased that their upcoming Resident Evil Village game for next gen consoles could potentially arrive for current gen consoles some time afterwards.

Meanwhile Capcom is rumored to have recently run into major issues with the game's development. Supposedly development for the PC and Xbox Series X versions have been okay but the PS5 version has been plagued with issues to the point they might have to remove stuff planned for the game in order to make the PS5 version playable.

During its Tokyo Games Show presentation, Capcom noted that upcoming gothic horror title Resident Evil Village could potentially arrive on PS4 and Xbox One, alongside its PC and next-gen brethren.

"While Resident Evil Village is being developed specifically for next-generation consoles and PC, we're looking into delivering the experience on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well," said a Capcom producer during the stream. "We're looking into it but we can't make any promises, however we will do our best to bring a top-tier survival horror experience to current-generation consoles" ...

Interestingly, Capcom rumour merchant DuskGolem - who has a track record of being accurate on all matters Resident Evil Village - has recently suggested that the RE development team were encountering issues in the production of the new title, running into various technical snafus due to the infancy of PS5 and Xbox Series X hardware. It should be clearly clarified that this was merely a rumour, albeit one from a recognised source.

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/resident-evil-village-may-come-to-ps4-and-xbox-one-604799.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

A new video game based series reportedly is in the works for Netflix.

This new series is called Resident Evil Infinite Darkness and according to Netflix, it will be a CGI-based drama series and is planned to debut on the service in 2021. The series is being developed by TMS Entertainment.

Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness will star two of the survival horror franchise's most beloved protagonists, Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy. The Resident Evil 2 superstars will reunite for what appears to be an all-new adventure. While there are currently no plot details to speak of, I'm sure fans can expect a deadly adventure packed with conspiracy, intrigue, and more than a few nightmare-inducing monsters.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4xnEbLzoeig" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/-update-new-cgi-series-resident-evil-infinite-darkness-coming-to-netflix-in-2021-604956.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

* According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, the on-going Randy Orton tattoo artist lawsuit against WWE and Take Two will be heading towards a trial by jury. A judge recently ruled in partial favor of a tattoo artist who is suing both companies over claims that they used her tattoo designs for the WWE 2K series games without her permission. The tattoos in question were inked on Orton from 2003 to 2009 and has appeared in WWE's games since then.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-09-29-take-two-sued-over-use-of-tattoos-in-wwe-2k
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/take-two-and-wwe-face-lawsuit-over-wwe-2k-s-replication-of-tattoos-605136.phtml

* In other lawsuit related news, Epic Games lawsuit against Apple over Fortnite's removal from the App Store recently took another big hit. During a recent preliminary hearing, the judge found Epic to not have been honest about their intentions regarding in-game purchase actions for Fortnite and "lied about it by omission" in regards to them purposely committing a contract breach with their actions to cause the game's removal from the App Store.
https://www.gameinformer.com/2020/09/29/judge-says-epic-games-lied-by-omission-in-fortnite-vs-apple-lawsuit

[drave]

the tattoo lawsuit seems weird. wouldnt that mean ANY superstar with tattoos would then be in the same boat, if said artists wanted to bring it up like this one did?

[Emperor Smeat]

the tattoo lawsuit seems weird. wouldnt that mean ANY superstar with tattoos would then be in the same boat, if said artists wanted to bring it up like this one did?

Probably would still depend on where the lawsuit would be filed. Take Two won a similar lawsuit regarding tattoo designs and their NBA 2K series due to a different court being less sympathetic towards artists over that issue.

A key factor with this case is the tattoo artist actually owns the trademarks for the designs in dispute. If this was like the Fortnite dance/taunt case where people were suing first and then trying to file for legal ownership afterwards, she probably would have dropped the lawsuit by now since even with a sympathetic court, her chances of winning would still have been very low.

[Savio]

Got 2 Ws in super mario 35

[Fignuts]

Star Wars Squadrons' controls are rooted in flight simulation and have a steep learning curve. Not as much as an actual flight sim game, but it's more difficult to master than the arcade like Battlefront controls.

[Kalyx triaD]

I figured they would go for that. Surprised they would greenlit such a 'core' experience for Star Wars. Impressed.

[Sepholio]

EA Play to be included for free with Xbox Games Pass Ultimate starting on launch day for the new consoles. Nice.

[Emperor Smeat]

* According to a report from Kotaku, the PS5 is going to be the first Playstation console from Sony where Circle for "confirm" and X for "cancel" will be the default option for all regions instead of before where the button options were swapped around for Japan. Predictably, this has led to negative online backlash by Japanese players over Sony's decision.
https://kotaku.com/sony-is-changing-the-confirm-and-cancel-buttons-in-japa-1845273030
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/japanese-ps5-players-will-have-to-get-used-to-hitting-the-x-button-to-confirm--605830.phtml

* For those interested in Godfall for the PS5, the game's single player mode won't be playable offline since the game requires a constant internet connection.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/godfall-won-t-let-you-play-offline-in-single-player-605833.phtml

* Based on a recent listing on the Writer's Guild of America West website, Netflix recently ordered a third season to be made for their The Witcher television series and currently have tentative plans for a late 2020 to 2021 release on the service.
https://www.vg247.com/2020/10/04/the-witcher-season-3-confirmed/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/netflix-already-making-plans-for-a-third-season-of-the-witcher-605803.phtml

[ClockShot]

Not all that interested in Godfall. With all the gameplay and stuff I've seen, it ain't all that appealing.

Thinking about going the other way and grabbing Outriders.

[Sepholio]

I've actually been eager to give Godfall a go since the original announcement. Hope he ends up being good.

[Emperor Smeat]

* For those interested in the upcoming Spider-Man: Miles Morales game, Marvel announced that they are currently working with Titan Books on a comic book that will act as a prequel to the game's story. The book is titled "Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury" and is set to be released on November 10.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/marvel-is-publishing-a-spider-man-miles-morales-prequel-606090.phtml

* Constantin Film studio announced that they are currently developing a new Resident Evil film that will not be associated with the previous film series and instead act as a hard cinematic reboot and be based on the first two RE games.
Written and directed by 47 Meters Down's Johannes Roberts, the new movie will see the action return to the iconic locale of Raccoon City, retelling the events of one grim night in the Spencer Mansion. Constantin Film has unveiled a cast of characters, including Upload's Robbie Amell as Chris Redfield, Maze Runner's Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield, Avan Jogia as Leon Kennedy, and Hannah John-Kamen - who you will remember as Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp - in the heralded role of Jill Valentine. A real all-star set of Resi heroes right there ...

The new film will be produced by Robert Kulzer, who was also the producer for the 2002 Resident Evil movie, as well as sequels Resident Evil: Extinction, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, thus the new film may not entirely eschew the style of its previous cinematic universe - for better or worse.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/resident-evil-movie-reboot-reveals-cast-and-plot-outline-606037.phtml

* According to a report from Bloomberg, Activision Blizzard is currently in the process of shutting down their French branch with hundreds of layoffs expected to be made. It was also reported that staff members at their French office have yet to be fully informed of the company's plans for them and the office.
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2020-10-06-activision-blizzard-closing-france-office
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/report-activision-blizzard-is-set-to-close-its-france-office-606040.phtml

[Fignuts]

MOST PROFITABLE YEAR EVER!

[drave]

Same shit from a different page of the Kotick playbook. Not the 1st time that dude pockets a shit ton of money just to lay off a substantial amount of people.

[Emperor Smeat]

Besides Epic Games, Microsoft also has recently gotten into a big dispute with Apple regarding their strict rules for the App Store.

Microsoft's issues revolve around them wanting to expand their Xbox Game Pass to iOS devices but are not fond of Apple demanding that in order for the service to be allowed, every game included has to each pass their own separate review by Apple. That would make it a lot more of a hassle to run the service on the platform than elsewhere. Microsoft wants the whole service to be treated as a single app and not have the games be treated as individually separate apps within an app.

Similar to Epic Games, Microsoft will also be circumventing Apple's rules in order to launch the service on the platform next year but as a browser-based software for their workaround solution.

Xbox has channeled its inner Epic and is bringing that Fuck You energy to its battle with Apple. Everyone has a problem with the draconian way Apple runs its App Store. Currently, Microsoft is jammed up because it can't bring Xbox Game Pass game streaming to iOS devices without passing a review for each and every individual game on the service. Amazon's Luna and Google's Stadia are in the exact same situation.

"Nah, that's not how this is going down," Xbox says (probably). According to a report from Bloomberg, Xbox head Phil Spencer called a meeting with all employees to declare that Xbox game streaming will be on iOS devices in 2021. So, what changed? Microsoft found a workaround.

Next year, Xbox Game Pass will be offered on iPhones and iPads via a "direct browser-based solution." Because Xbox Game Pass won't be an app, it won't be subject to the usual App Store policies. Now Microsoft's challenge is building out a browser version that's functional in ways that offer a smooth app-like experience. Nevertheless, Spencer is quoted as saying "We absolutely will end up on iOS with Game Pass."
https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-apple-iphone-ipad-2020-10
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/xbox-is-hellbent-on-circumventing-apple-s-rules-and-getting-game-streaming-on-ios-606306.phtml

[drave]

X Cloud anyone?

[Fignuts]

God, Apple are such cunts.

[Kalyx triaD]

X Cloud anyone?

Got a buddy who's been a part of xCloud's testing and closed release for quite some time. He plays shooters at work and swears it's smoother than pretty much any other similar platform (I suspect it's because you're streaming your own console rather than some random server granted to your account but who knows).

Once it has full release with the rebooted Ultimate Game Pass Microsoft will have bypassed necessity for a handheld *and* casually dunk on companies trying their damndest to get it to work. It's gonna be a slaughter house, particularly if they can get it working thru a browser (which shouldn't be an issue technically speaking).

[drave]

Its pretty slick dude. Definitely been impressed. I have always been skeptical of cloud gaming, but they've done well so far. I can only imagine it getting better as technology progresses

[ClockShot]

Rockstar Games acquires Ruffian Games and renames them Rockstar Dundee. They're known for Crackdown 2 and the Halo: Master Chief Collection.

[drave]

Day 1 optimize titles for Xbox. Smart delivery is what they call their system they use to automagically upgrade any "last gen" title to current - at no extra cost.


Presumably, GTA V will come out next year, and you can buy it for the 3rd time (or more)




Day One Xbox Series X|S Optimized Titles


Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (Smart Delivery)
Borderlands 3 (Smart Delivery)
Bright Memory 1.0
Cuisine Royale (Smart Delivery)
Dead by Daylight (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
DIRT 5 (Smart Delivery)
Enlisted
Evergate
The Falconeer (Smart Delivery)
Fortnite
Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Gears 5 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Gears Tactics (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Grounded (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
King Oddball (Smart Delivery)
Maneater (Smart Delivery)
Manifold Garden (Smart Delivery)
NBA 2K21
Observer: System Redux
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Planet Coaster (Smart Delivery)
Sea of Thieves (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
Tetris Effect: Connected (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
The Touryst (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
War Thunder (Smart Delivery)
Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition
Watch Dogs: Legion (Smart Delivery)
WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship (Smart Delivery)
Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Smart Delivery)
Yes, Your Grace (Smart Delivery)

[Fignuts]

I’m not surprised rockstar is charging for the upgrade since up until Valorent’s weapon skins, shark cards were the biggest ripoff in all of gaming. I’d hope it’s at least a budget price.

[Emperor Smeat]

Blizzard Entertainment is currently facing the possibility of dealing with a workers strike protest due to Activision-Blizzard's recent actions involving their French based office.

Three unions representing Blizzard employees have recently called for a strike to take place if the company does not cease their plans to shut down the office. Their main issue is the company has not been honest regarding their actual plans for the office and those who will be affected. Also issues regarding poor work conditions at the office.

A trio of workers' unions representing the employees of Blizzard Entertainment has called for strike action over ongoing plans to close the World of Warcraft developer's studio in Versailles.

As we reported last week, Activision-Blizzard is currently in the process of shuttering the French studio following a long and drawn-out dispute over severance, payable to some 130 employees who were hit with redundancy back in 2019. Originally, Blizzard had planned to relocate half of the Versailles team to its London offices, but the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has produced numerous setbacks, and seemingly the French studio will now close outright.

Speaking in an official statement, unions CGT, SPECIS-UNSA and CFE-CGC described the action of sending 285 employees to a COVID-hit job market was "inconceivable," while lambasting the studios' decision to repeatedly deny its plans to close the studios' doors.

"This comes as a shock for employees who were not expecting that announcement," said union spokespeople in the statement. "In 15 years, many of us left their homes from across Europe and beyond to join the company, people truly invested their whole lives into Blizzard success [...] Management has willingly deteriorated work conditions to a point where psycho-social risks raised dangerously, forcing work inspection to intervene and the CSE to launch a 'droit d'alerte'."

The union requests that Activision-Blizzard cease its plans to close the Versailles office, increase the production of activity in its European region, and invest in the effective prevention of further psycho-social risks. On social media, Blizzard fans have been trending the #KeepVersaillesOpen hashtag in an effort to show support to the affected parties.

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/blizzard-unions-call-for-strike-action-over-versailles-office-closure-606865.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

For those that purchase Playstaion games via mobile devices or the PS Store website, Sony announced they are dropping the ability to purchase PSP, PS Vita, and PS3 games from those platforms during the next 2 weeks.

The games, their DLC packs, and other related stuff like apps, themes, and avatars will still be available to purchase but only via those console and handhelds storefronts.

Sony is about to make a frustrating change to the PlayStation Store that's going to hit desktop and mobile users the hardest. Soon, it will no longer be possible to buy PS3, PSP, or Vita games (or their DLC) from the PlayStation Store if you're browsing on a web browser or mobile device. That restricted access also goes for apps, themes, and avatars – and the wishlist feature is being "discontinued" too.

What's the deal? Sony is cleaning house for the fast-approaching PlayStation 5.

The company sent out an email to PlayStation users yesterday with details about these (previously rumored) PlayStation Store changes and when they will take effect. On desktop, the switchover will happen sometime next week. On mobile devices, the removal is happening on October 28, 2020.

Under the new setup, if you want to buy a PlayStation 3, PSP, or PS Vita game, you'll need to do so on your original system using its less-than-ideal storefront. (One of the big reasons why this change is such an annoyance.) If you want to get PS4 apps, themes, or avatars, you'll need to use your PS4.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/ps3-psp-and-vita-listings-are-about-to-vanish-from-the-playstation-store-on-desktop-and-mobile-607012.phtml

[Sepholio]

meh. I maybe would have left the vita accessible for the time being but ps3 and psp have been retired long enough to let it go. If you are buying games for those systems still then you clearly own them and its not much of an issue to log in and d/l games from them tbh. People making a much bigger deal out of this than needs to be made.

[Emperor Smeat]

For those that shop at Gamestop stores during the annual Black Friday sales, the company announced they won't be open on that day for this year.

To make up for it, the company also announced they will be holding more pre-Black Friday sales events at their stores.

http://news.gamestop.com/news-releases/news-release-details/gamestop-releases-its-ready-set-gift-2020-holiday-gift-guide
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/essential-retailer-gamestop-closing-down-for-thanksgiving-607249.phtml

[drave]

Fuck gamestop

[ClockShot]

Good for them.

Nice to know they're being smart and safe.

[Kalyx triaD]

The virus isn't going to respect 'pre-black friday' events either.

[Emperor Smeat]

Probably just means a few more weekly sales or notable discounts and not actual mini-Black Friday events.

Them shutting down Black Friday at their stores is way more due to them very likely weren't going to get that many people showing up anyways. Easier on their end to just pocket the money they would have spent on extra wages for their employees for lower in-store sales this year.

Now if they don't get a big boost from online sales for Black Friday, then that's very troublesome for their future considering their serious financial problems.

[Fignuts]

Major retailers are in fact having mini blck friday events throughout the month of November. Seems like a really dumb idea, given the spike in cases we're seeing.

[Kalyx triaD]

Dunno if it's a 'spike'. Seems like the usual numbers trumped up whenever we try to reopen. Fla is in phase 3, which is pretty much open with some indoor restrictions, and we're not a hotzone like we were months ago.

[Emperor Smeat]

* Ubisoft recently revealed a new service from them called Ubisoft Connect which is pretty much just UPlay but with the added feature of support for cross-platform saves for all of their games going forward.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FF0LQW5oRM
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/all-of-ubisoft-s-games-will-have-cross-platform-saves-from-now-on-607469.phtml

* Sucker Punch Productions studio is currently rumored to be working on a new Ghost of Tsushima related project based on recent job posting for a writer with knowledge of feudal era Japanese history.
https://in.ign.com/ghost-of-tsushima/151879/news/sucker-punch-job-listing-hints-at-more-ghost-of-tsushima
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sucker-punch-job-listing-requests-a-writer-with-knowledge-of-feudal-japanese-history--607440.phtml

* Publisher Devolver Digital announced that they have recently purchased Croteam studios, developer of the Serious Sam series, for an undisclosed amount of money.
https://devolverdigital.com/propaganda/croteam-and-devolver-got-hitched

[ClockShot]

Ghost of Tsushima Raid goes live next Friday.

Unfortunately, Sucker Punch is taking page out of the Destiny playbook and will not support matchmaking. So, you gotta put a team together before hand.

[Fignuts]

If it's anything like Destiny's raids, then it's for good reason.

[drave]

Feel like they should make a "lesser" version, similar to the sherpa runs or whatever they were called. Sucks not being able to do new content :(

[Emperor Smeat]

Netflix recently signed a deal with Ubisoft to produce a live-action Assassin's Creed series for the streaming service.

Netflix also has plans for two other potential series involving the Assassin's Creed brand with both being animated series.

Streaming service Netflix has entered into a collaboration with publisher Ubisoft to produce several media projects related to the latter's long-running adventure franchise, Assassin's Creed.

The first of these projects is expected to be a live-action series, set to premiere on the streaming service at some point in the future. While there are no plot details to speak of, Netflix promises Assassin's Creed will be an "epic, genre-bending adventure," and has begun its search for a showrunner and other production crew members ...

The live-action series is one of a number of projects that Netflix has on the books. The press release also hints at the possibilities of future "animated" and "anime" adventures set within the time-hopping franchise. Whether a live-action Assassin's Creed series receives the same level of global adoration as Netflix's The Witcher remains to be seen.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Netflix + Assassin's Creed <a href="https://t.co/yI2sItnMgi">pic.twitter.com/yI2sItnMgi</a></p>&mdash; NX (@NXOnNetflix) <a href="https://twitter.com/NXOnNetflix/status/1321081578697621508?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Link: https://www.destructoid.com/stories/netflix-to-produce-assassin-s-creed-live-action-series-608065.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

* According to Ubisoft's recent investor's meeting, Far Cry 6 has been delayed from its planned February 18, 2021 release to now a fiscal year 2021-2022 release window which means as late as a March 2022 date. Also being delayed into that time frame is Rainbow Six Quarantine. Official reason due to work issues related to the on-going coronavirus pandemic.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/far-cry-6-delayed-well-into-2021-and-possibly-beyond-608338.phtml

* According to a report from Bloomberg, development on Halo Infinite hit another snag recently as the game's lead director dropped out of the project and might also be leaving 343 Industries for a new job within Microsoft.
Another big one happened recently. Bloomberg reports that 343 partner studio head Chris Lee is no longer working on Halo Infinite. Lee says "I have stepped back from Infinite and I am looking at future opportunities." According to Lee's public LinkedIn profile, he has been at 343 for 12 years and at Microsoft Game Studios for 5 years prior to his time working on Halo.

Although Lee will remain with Microsoft, it's unclear whether he's leaving 343 Industries. He's being shuffled around to some extent, but that could mean he's remaining with the studio but no longer influencing Halo Infinite. It could also mean that he's moving elsewhere within Microsoft's game division, as he's probably a prime candidate to help lead one of the many new development teams under Xbox's banner.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/343-industries-studio-head-steps-away-from-halo-infinite-amid-uncertain-development-608208.phtml
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-28/microsoft-s-new-halo-game-loses-top-director-after-project-delay

[Curtis]

Are they really calling the new Rainbow Six Quarantine? What's the next COD gonna be called, Call Of Duty : Social Distancing?

[ClockShot]

I think it's the new expansion that's been in the works before Covid-19 arrived in the world.

[teamXtremist]

Looks like Best Buy is going to have The Last of Us Part II and Final Fantasy VII Remastered for $30, and Persona 5 Royal for $20 for Black Friday week. Will probably pick up TLOU II then, but think I'll wait for FF VII to come to PC so I can play in JP and English.

[Curtis]

I wonder how Black Friday is going to be done at stores that are open with social distancing

[Emperor Smeat]

For those interested in the PC version of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Activision broke down the hard drive space needed for certain aspects and modes of the game.

Multiplayer alone requires at least 50GB of free space at launch with more expected for future updates. All modes with regular graphics will require at least 175GB of free space and 250GB in free space for top tier graphics option at launch.

Activision shared the PC requirements for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War today, and – no surprise here after the way Modern Warfare ballooned – the game needs 50GB for multiplayer alone "at launch."

If you're installing "all game modes," Cold War will need 175GB, and if you're going extreme with top-of-the-line Ultra RTX specs with a GeForce RTX 3080, you're looking at a 250GB storage requirement.

https://www.callofduty.com/blog/2020/10/Black-Ops-Cold-War-PC-Launch-Trailer
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-is-a-storage-hog-but-you-can-install-multiplayer-only-on-pc-608391.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

* For those interested in the Xbox Series S model, almost a third of the console's HDD space will be unusable due to O.S. reasons. Out of around 512GB in total space, only 364GB can actually be used for game related stuff. For some comparison, the install size for this year's Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War game at launch will be around 136GB just for its campaign and zombies modes.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/only-364gb-of-the-xbox-series-s-512gb-ssd-is-actually-usable-609041.phtml

* Sega's parent company Sega Sammy Holdings recently announced that they have sold off around 85.1% of their entertainment business to GENDA with their gaming division except for Sega's arcade business unaffected by this sale.
According to an official statement, Sega Sammy plans on transferring most of their physical business to GENDA, which will help that department remain solvent. Naturally, savvy businessmen have their sights on low-cost investments that could grow exponentially in a post-pandemic world: whenever that may be.

Again, what does this have to do with games?! Well, the pachislot industry is certainly gaming, or gaming-adjacent, but this deal impacts Sega as a whole. Although their physical entertainment industry is the only space impacted here, it could help ensure that Sega Sammy doesn't have to make any cuts for existing studios. The future is uncertain, but it seems like Sega Sammy had no real choice here other than to find a buyer.

The corporation even explains it in their own words, noting that the "utilization of facilities has declined remarkably, and a significant loss was recorded at 1Q of the fiscal year ending March 2021."
https://www.explica.co/sega-sammy-sells-85-of-its-arcade-and-physical-space-division-following-coronavirus-losses/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sega-s-parent-company-sells-off-majority-of-its-physical-entertainment-business-609007.phtml

[Kalyx triaD]

External HDD life again.

[drave]

Get what you pay for

[Kalyx triaD]

True. Price is hot.

[Fignuts]

Yeah, I dunno. If I'm gonna spend the money on a new console, that I'm going to be using for 5-8 years, I'm going to save up for the best version.

[drave]

^


Absolutely.

[ClockShot]

Take Two Interactive acquires Codemasters.

[Fignuts]

I’m ready for Dizzy 2k20

[Curtis]

I’m ready for Dizzy 2k20

<IFRAME height=315 src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/acRTx-X88aw" frameBorder=0 width=560 allowfullscreen allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture"></IFRAME>

[rez]

Is Dragon's Lair the most MF BITCH game ever? I received a medium arcade version in the mail today. It's just the right size to throw through the window.

[rez]

https://www.sideshow.com/collectibles/dragons-lair-dragons-lair-replicade-new-wave-toys-llc-906971

[rez]

I backed it...finally came. Damn Covid made it take forever to get manufactured and boated here.

[Emperor Smeat]

* For those interested in either the PS5 or Xbox Series X or even both, the PS5 has around 667.2GB of usable space of out its 825GB SSD hard drive while the Series X has around 802GB of usable space out of its 1TB SSD hard drive. Another 10.98GB in free space is possible for the PS5 if you delete the pre-inetalled Astro's Playroom game that comes with every PS5.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/the-ps5-comes-with-667-2gb-of-usable-space-out-of-the-box-pre-installed-astro-s-playroom-takes-up-10-98gb-609277.phtml

* Based on a recently released PS5 FAQ from Sony, the battery life for the DualSense controller is around the same as the PS4's DualShock controller. Also takes around 3 hours to fully charge a DualSense controller via the PS5.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sony-s-huge-ps5-faq-has-some-surprising-new-details-and-confirmations-609598.phtml

* According to a report from Bloomberg, Microsoft has been in recent talks with several Japanese studios regarding plans to purchase at least one of them as part of their aggressive plans to boost the strength of their Xbox Game Studios brand and market presence in Japan. For some reference, Xbox One sales have only been around 0.1% of all consoles sold in Japan during this year.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-07/microsoft-sets-sights-on-sony-s-home-turf-in-game-console-clash
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/xbox-really-wants-to-buy-a-japanese-studio-609614.phtml

[Kalyx triaD]

Japan gives no fucks about the gaijin machine.

[Fignuts]

lol unisoft got hacked and someone stole the source code for Watchdogs Legion.

Maybe it was Deadsec.

[ClockShot]

Ooof. Sounds like a worse hack job than the one Capcom just had.

Big time gaming outfits should do a check on their security right now.

[drave]

LOL - that's too funny. Man, if it turns out to be some Meta-level shit, that'd be even better. I don't think a company would do something "that cool" but that'd be good stuff.

[Emperor Smeat]

Xbox boss Phil Spencer currently denying reports of Microsoft planning to purchase a Japanese studio soon to beef up their Xbox Games Studios brand and market presence in Japan.

Xbox vice-president of gaming, Phil Spencer, has suggested that there is no truth to the recent reports that Xbox is in the market to purchase a Japanese development studio. In a recent interview with GameSpot, Spencer noted that while the company is looking to expand its relationships with a wider variety of game developers, an outright purchase is not on the cards.

"We're usually not out there... I say I don't think so, I mean, I'm not in every meeting that every team has. I'll say not from me," said Spencer. "Most of the opportunities that we've had to date have been for a long-lasting relationship. So I don't think we're out there with our business cards throwing them out on the corner trying to find people."

"I've talked about my affinity for Japanese studios and the thinking back in the day when we had more games in Japan created as part of our first-party. I'm excited when the deal closes to spend more time with Tango (Gameworks) and the work that they're doing. So it's an area I'm interested in, but no, I don't think. That's not accurate."
Link to the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0duvlbro4Gk
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/phil-spencer-casts-doubt-on-report-that-xbox-is-looking-to-buy-japanese-studio-609923.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

According to reports, Ubisoft is currently dealing with a potential hostage situation at their Montreal studios.

Incident started at around 1:30PM today and appears to have been a robbery attempt that quickly turned into a hostage situation based on reports from local media.

A potential hostage situation is reportedly taking place at the building in which game developer Ubisoft's Montreal office is housed.

A group of suspects are reportedly holding tens of people hostage at Ubisoft Montreal, according to local (French-language) media outlet LCN. The situation reportedly began around 1:30pm Eastern Time.

Montreal police confirmed that there is an "ongoing police operation" at the intersection where Ubisoft Montreal sits, adding, "We ask people to avoid the area. The SPVM is currently validating information and more details will follow."

Montreal mayor Valérie Plante confirmed that her office is coordinating with the police and monitoring the situation and echoed the police's request for everyone to avoid the area.

According to Radio-Canada (story in French), police were dispatched to the scene following a 911 call reporting a robbery in a nearby commercial building.

Live-streamed footage from an LCN helicopter showed a group of people together on the roof deck of the building behind a makeshift barricade seemingly constructed of folding tables leaning against the access door. Developer Eric Pope confirmed in a Tweet that the individuals on the roof were indeed Ubisoft employees, saying, "This is insane. This is my team on the roof."
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/11/ubisoft-montreal-staffers-barricade-on-roof-amid-possible-hostage-situation/

[Kalyx triaD]

Holy fuck

[Emperor Smeat]

Based on some recent updates, police started evacuating employees from the building and local media now saying it was a "swatting" prank by someone instead.

[Kalyx triaD]

Fortunately not with American cops.

[teamXtremist]

Based on some recent updates, police started evacuating employees from the building and local media now saying it was a "swatting" prank by someone instead.

wth, their games are not even that terrible. EA on the other hand...

[Fignuts]

Their games have absolutely been terrible, recently.

Breakpoint is hot garbage, and a massive step down from Wildlands. Meanwhile Watchdogs Legion is still almost unplayable due to constant crashing.

[Kalyx triaD]

Breakpoint broke my heart. I counted on that.

[Emperor Smeat]

THQ Nordic recently denied rumors of them currently working on a remake of TimeSplitters 2.

The rumor originated from an Easter egg discovered in their recently released SpellForce 3: Fallen God game involving one of the merchants in the game who talks about being willing to selling a copy of Timesplitters 2 to the player.

That led to people speculating THQ Nordic is currently working on a remake of the game since the same merchant also sells other games that THQ Nordic worked on in the past.

THQ Nordic set tongues wagging this weekend, after an Easter egg in RPG SpellForce 3: Fallen God appeared to hint at an incoming Timesplitters 2 remake. The publisher has since peed on the parade, however, confirming that the reference was just a cheeky joke.

Players journeying through the continent of Urgath came across a particularly shady merchant who, among their wares, is willing to sell you the highly wish-listed remake of the classic 2002 shooter sequel. The same merchant also sells you "canceled" games such as Gothic and BioMutant - both of which have had lengthy development periods at THQ Nordic.

This didn't stop fans on the internet from proclaiming the appearance of the hypothetical remake as an official confirmation, which is apparently not the case at all. Speaking to Eurogamer, THQ Nordic has confirmed that the Timesplitters 2 reference is "just an innocent Easter egg" notably available from "a character known especially for not telling the truth."
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/spellforce-timesplitters-2-remake-reference-is-just-a-joke-says-thq-nordic-610367.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

Square Enix recently announced that a new Tomb Raider game is currently in development but with a big catch.

The game will be called Tomb Raider Reloaded, scheduled for a 2021 release, and is being developed by Emerald City Games. The big catch being that it will be a free-to-play type game for mobile devices.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Lara blasts onto mobile in 2021! <a href="https://twitter.com/tombraider?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TombRaider</a> Reloaded is a free to play action arcade game made by Emerald City Games and published by Square Enix London Mobile, stay tuned for more news. <a href="https://t.co/IleSFQ1Aee">pic.twitter.com/IleSFQ1Aee</a></p>&mdash; Square Enix (@SquareEnix) <a href="https://twitter.com/SquareEnix/status/1330912203466100736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[drave]

https://i.redd.it/yb6afnmig8w11.jpg

[Emperor Smeat]

* For those interested, developer 4A Games announced that a new game in the Metro series is currently in development and it might include multiplayer features.
http://www.4a-games.com.mt/4a-dna/2020/11/17/metro-10th-anniversary-studio-update

* Sony recently announced that the PS5's launch ended up being the largest ever in Playstation history although they did not reveal any actual numbers for their statement. The company also announced that the next major batch of PS5 consoles is currently expected to arrive at stores prior to the end of this year.
https://twitter.com/PlayStation/status/1331583421668319234
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sony-calls-ps5-their-biggest-console-launch-ever-more-ps5s-will-be-in-stock-before-the-end-of-the-year--611282.phtml

* Square Enix recently announced new changes to their business practices with the biggest being the option for employees to work at home will be a permanent thing following the end of the coronavirus pandemic. Official reason is due to them feeling it will help create a "more productive, happier and healthier working environment" for projects going forwards.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/square-enix-introduces-permanent-remote-working-for-around-80-of-its-staff-611272.phtml

[Fignuts]

Had a feeling this was going to be shit

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jU99yDFosk4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Big Vic]

PS Plus membership half off:

https://www.cdkeys.com/1-year-playstation-plus-membership-ps3-ps4-ps-vita-digital-code?__currency=usd&gclid=Cj0KCQiAk53-BRD0ARIsAJuNhps2bzSL8WuvW7gLWxMOKzGob9Nd1s3yj7PFwiVC8Fz16AecTnsdZQcaAnd0EALw_wcB

[ClockShot]

Casey Hudson is leaving BioWare again. Mark Darrah, who is the executive producer of the upcoming Dragon Age game is leaving too.

[Emperor Smeat]

Micorosft is currently expected to be making a major announcement at this Thursday's Game Awards Show with one rumor being them reviving the Perfect Dark series.

There's a breadcrumb trail of evidence that Xbox has something up its sleeve for The Game Awards. First and foremost, Xbox has been promoting the show through its social channels. Xbox has also mentioned The Game Awards elsewhere, like in its most recent Game Pass post. Most interesting (via VGC), is that Jeff Grubb said on a new GamesBeat podcast that "Microsoft has something coming to The Game Awards, I know that much."

The smart money (or at least the wishful "This could be a really big announcement" money) is that Xbox will lift the veil on whatever its new studio, The Initiative, is working on. The rumor that has picked up the most momentum over the past few months is that it's some sort of full reboot of the Perfect Dark universe.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/xbox-is-allegedly-announcing-something-big-at-the-game-awards-612560.phtml

[Big Vic]

Would be nice "Zero" looked awful.

[Emperor Smeat]

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/S--lFTxAVs8" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[Kalyx triaD]

Philosophy and 'topical themes' are nice but if you wanna make Perfect Dark I'll need to see gameplay. Nice Laptop Gun cameo tho.

[Big Vic]

Looks nice, Anita Sarkesian would be proud that they didn't sexualize Joanna in this trailer

[Emperor Smeat]

According to a report from Sky News, Take-Two's recent purchase of racing genre developer Codemasters ended up being dropped because of EA.

Codemasters originally agreed to a $975 million takeover deal by Take-Two but before it could be finalized, EA swooped in and countered with a $1.2 billion offer for the studio.

Last month, we reported on how publisher Take-Two Interactive was in the final stages of purchasing developer Codemasters, with the latter having agreed to a non-binding offer from the former which had valued the UK studio at around $6.40-per-share, or roughly $975 million USD.

But, in a sudden and surprising move, Electronic Arts made a last-minute bid this weekend, successfully swooping in and snatching up the studio before the ink has dried on the Take-Two agreement. It is believed that EA put in a late offer at around $7.98-per-share, ultimately valuing Codemasters at around $1.2 billion USD. Codemasters is expected to close the deal in early 2021 ...

Given that Electronic Arts owns franchises such as Need for Speed and Burnout, it seems obvious why the publisher would be interested in bringing Codemasters on board, with the developer having long proven their pedigree with road-rippers such as DIRT, OnRush, and the F1 series.

https://news.sky.com/story/games-giant-electronic-arts-gatecrashes-725m-codemasters-takeover-12160582
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/ea-swoops-in-to-acquire-codemasters-overtaking-recent-bid-by-take-two-interactive-613427.phtml


Considering EA's track record with buying new studios in recent times, Codemasters long term future not looking that good.

[rez]

<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ALpBmM6EqBQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[ClockShot]

Ugh. Should have stuck with Take Two.

[rez]

Hopefully it has Ash vs Evil Dead characters as well as stages other than the cabin... S-Mart, a medieval castle, etc.

[El Vaquero de Infierno]

The Steam sale is on, you glorious bastards!

I'm probably going to buy Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice; I want something that is going to abuse me and fill me with despair, but have me coming back for more like some masochistic fuck.

[drave]

kfc made an actual pc gaming rig with a chicken warmer......


https://www.windowscentral.com/sites/wpcentral.com/files/styles/larger/public/field/image/2020/12/kfconsole-1.jpg




https://www.windowscentral.com/kfconsole-worlds-first-gaming-pc-built-chicken-chamber

[ClockShot]

Nintendo acquires Next Level Games.

No word on how much the paid. But, the deal is set to close March 1st.

https://www.ign.com/articles/nintendo-acquiring-luigis-mansion-3-developer-next-level-games

[drave]

Open world Star Wars in the works. (https://www.gematsu.com/2021/01/ubisoft-and-massive-entertainment-announce-open-world-star-wars-game)




https://www.gematsu.com/2021/01/ubisoft-and-massive-entertainment-announce-open-world-star-wars-game

[road doggy dogg]

anyone else besides me excited to finally be able to trash their PS3 now that Scott Pilgrim is coming out on other platforms tomorrow

[drave]

Just glad I never bought one.....

[ClockShot]

Open world Star Wars in the works. (https://www.gematsu.com/2021/01/ubisoft-and-massive-entertainment-announce-open-world-star-wars-game)




https://www.gematsu.com/2021/01/ubisoft-and-massive-entertainment-announce-open-world-star-wars-game

Well, if it's anything like The Old Republic with a Destiny-like style, this could be interesting. Big open world games are Ubisoft's thing.

Just curious as to how much of the Massive staff is on this since some are probably still keeping Division 2 going.

[drave]

New KOTOR (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic) game in the works, NOT by EA nor Bioware.




And a Diablo II remake is being done by Vicarious Visions (Crash Bandicoot remakes, other stuff too probably).


Good stuff.

[ClockShot]

Supposedly it's some outfit not even on the radar in the gaming industry handling KOTOR.

BUT, if it's a full on remake of the first 2 and the chatter about getting that into canon is true, I can see Bluepoint handling it.

[Curtis]

And a Diablo II remake is being done by Vicarious Visions (Crash Bandicoot remakes, other stuff too probably).


Good stuff.


Incredible. Hopefully they stay true to the original art style. I put so much time into Diablo 2, it was a huge part of my teenage gaming years. Used to rush home from school just to play with my online friends.
Diablo III was a gigantic disappointment, Blizzard doesn't know how to do atmosphere in games anymore.

[Splaya]

Yesterday was the 24 year anniversary of Final Fantasy 7 being released. I could really see where Final Fantasy 7 Remake Part 2 is released Jane 31 2022 to mark the 25 year anniversary.

[Emperor Smeat]

Google is currently in the process of shutting down their internal gaming studios and sticking to just signing deals with third party devs and publishers to provide games for their Stadia streaming service.

As announced today, the company is moving away from developing games internally ...

Google isn't abandoning the Stadia technology or brand, but it "will not be investing further in bringing exclusive content from our internal development team [Stadia Games and Entertainment], beyond any near-term planned games," according to Stadia VP Phil Harrison. In a blog post, he cited the "exponentially" rising costs involved with "creating best-in-class games from the ground up."

"Over the coming months, most of the SG&E team will be moving on to new roles," he said. "We're committed to working with this talented team to find new roles and support them." At least one high-profile name, Jade Raymond, is out – she "decided to leave Google to pursue other opportunities."

According to reporting from Kotaku, Google's closure of its Montréal and Los Angeles development studios will "impact around 150 developers" ...

As for where Google's cloud-gaming ambitions are headed, Harrison is staying on-board as VP and GM of Stadia, and he's pursuing more partnerships with external game developers and publishers.

https://blog.google/products/stadia/focusing-on-stadias-future-as-a-platform-and-winding-down-sge/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/google-calls-it-quits-on-internally-developed-stadia-games-618482.phtml

[drave]

So it begins......

[ClockShot]

Embracer Group acquires Gearbox Software for $1.3 billion.

Randy Pitchford will remain as CEO and they'll keep doing their thing.

[Emperor Smeat]

The ESA reportedly is currently working on plans for this year's E3 event to be a digital-only style event.

Only problem is they need to convince enough publishers to support the idea or could potentially be looking at another year without E3 due to coronavirus pandemic issues.

As reported by Video Games Chronicle, plans are forming around a digital-only E3 2021 that would take place over three days in mid-June, similar to the Before Times – but it still needs to gain traction.

The ESA's proposed event is trying to line up support from major publishers, but the idea for a remote E3 would potentially include "multiple two-hour keynote sessions from games partners, an awards show, a June 14 preview night, and other smaller streams from games publishers, influencers, and media partners," as VGC summarizes. Throughout 2020, publishers offered playable previews of upcoming games through streaming apps like Parsec; that would also be the case for this new E3 ...

The cancellation of E3 2020 and lack of a digital-only replacement opened the path for Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest alternative – to say nothing of smaller and mid-tier publishers rallying with their own one-off streams and showcases. We can expect Summer Game Fest to return in 2021.

Thankfully, the next iteration will be shorter – "less than one month," according to Keighley.

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/e3-pushes-forward-with-plans-for-a-digital-2021-event/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/e3-2021-could-be-a-three-day-digital-event-but-it-needs-publisher-support-619169.phtml

[ClockShot]

EA top brass will be doing a review of BioWare's Anthem reboot later during the week. It's pretty much going to determine if EA will continue to back it or just give it up.

https://www.ign.com/articles/anthem-next-ea-internal-review-abandoned

Jesus, if it gets axed, talk about how the mighty have fallen.

[drave]

They had better have MAJOR changes for Anthem.


Tried going back to it about a month ago and didn't last too long.

[Emperor Smeat]

According to CD Projekt RED, the company was recently hit with a major cyber attack.

Among the data stolen from their servers was the source code to Cyberpunk 2077. The hackers also sent a ransom note threatening to leak it and other sensitive company files online if their demands were not met.

CD Projekt RED has announced that it has become the victim of a serious "targeted cyber attack," with an unknown person or persons having stolen private data from the Polish developer's servers.

CDPR has noted that it has full backups of all of the stolen data, which is believed to include the source code to the studio's recent release Cyberpunk 2077, code for an unreleased edition of Witcher 3, as well as "documents relating to accounting, administration, legal, HR, investor relations and more." CDPR has said that - to the best of its knowledge - no data involving players' personal information is at risk.

In a surprising move, CDPR also released a copy of the "ransom note" it received from the hacker(s), requesting that CDPR contact the individual(s) responsible or face public release of the hacked documents, source code, and other data files. CDPR has said it will "not give in to the demands nor negotiate with the actor, being aware that this may eventually lead to the release of the compromised data."

The studio is currently investigating the security breach with the help of its IT analysts, law enforcement officials, and the President of the Personal Data Protection Office.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">To our ex employees: As of this moment, we don't possess evidence that any of your personal data was accessed. However, we still recommend caution (i.e. enabling fraud alerts). If you have questions, please write to our Privacy Team dpo[at]<a href="https://t.co/0UUMoqT5tF">https://t.co/0UUMoqT5tF</a></p>&mdash; CD PROJEKT RED (@CDPROJEKTRED) <a href="https://twitter.com/CDPROJEKTRED/status/1359230980775694341?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/cdpr-ransacked-by-hackers-in-targeted-cyber-attack--619216.phtml

[drave]

Big fucking oof right there. Had to be a helluva exploit to be able to get into the DB's and datastores that would hold that info. Bet it was undetected for a very long time.

[Emperor Smeat]

Sony is currently facing the possibility of being hit with a class-action lawsuit soon in regards to drift issues with the PS5 controller.

Unlike Nintendo's issues with Switch joycons, seems PS5's drift problems can be triggered quicker and with less wear-and-tear usage needed.

If I remember correctly, drift and thumbstick issues becoming a growing problem with controllers these days is mostly due to the current standard for thumbstick tech and design. Add in manufacturing issues like Nintendo has been experiencing and that's the recipe for controllers being less reliable these days for long-term usage. Plus some issues with Bluetooh and/or wireless tech inside the controllers as well.

There have been recent reports of a manufacturing fault in regards to Sony's new PlayStation 5 hardware, specifically its sleek DualSense controller. Multiple players have been reporting cases of the notorious "drift" issue - whereby the controller's thumbsticks register movement whilst remaining sat in a neutral position - with some PS5 owners telling Kotaku that the problem arose mere days after purchasing the new console.

U.S. law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D) has stepped into the situation, announcing that it is beginning an investigation of the complaints, with an eye to filing a class action lawsuit against Sony Interactive Entertainment ...

This is not CSK&D's first rodeo, as it is one of a number of firms that has previously launched a class action suit against Nintendo when the troublesome controller fault affected myriad Switch owners. CSK&D's 2019 suit was ultimately compelled to arbitration, (essentially asking the plaintiff and the defendant to come to private resolution), after the presiding judge refused to dismiss the case.

https://kotaku.com/ps5-controllers-are-drifting-and-the-repairs-are-a-has-1846233739
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/ps5-dualsense-drift-issue-could-be-leading-to-class-action-lawsuit-619416.phtml

[drave]

Thankfully not had to deal with drift on any controller I have. This sounds bad tho, and Sony should do what they can to get in front of it like Nintendo did if true.

[Emperor Smeat]

* Update on the recent CD Projekt RED hacking attack news as the hacker group responsible, called HelloKitty, recently held an auction on the "dark web" and sold the source code for Cyberpunk 2077 and other stolen data files for an alleged amount of around $7 million.
https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/11/22278121/cd-projekt-red-ransomware-hack-cyberpunk-2077-the-witcher-3-auction-sale
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/cdpr-hackers-reportedly-sell-cyberpunk-2077-code-following-7-million-auction-619767.phtml

* Update on the recent Sony's PS5 controller "drift" issues news as U.S. law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D) filed a class against lawsuit against Sony this past Friday over claims of Sony being fully aware and purposely negligent over resolving the PS5 controller's drift issues.
According to a copy of the lawsuit - acquired by Destructoid from CSK&D - the firm filed against Sony Corporation of America and Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC in a New York court on February 12. The suit claims that the DualSense controller is "defective" and claims Sony offers "slim" options for those owners affected by the fault. "Drifting" refers to a physical defect whereby analogue stick register movement while remaining in a stationary position.

"Sony is - and at all relevant times has been - aware of the Drift Defect through online consumer complaints, complaints made by consumers directly to it, and through its own pre-release testing," accuses CSK&D's suit, later concluding "As a result of Sony's unfair, deceptive, and/or fraudulent business practices, owners of DualSense controllers have suffered an ascertainable loss, injury in fact, and otherwise have been harmed by Sony's conduct."
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/first-ps5-dualsense-drift-lawsuit-filed-against-sony-interactive-entertainment-619785.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

Capcom is rumored to be currently working on a new Resident Evil Revelations game. The rumor also hints that this game is currently expected to be released within a year of RE Village's release and as a timed exclusive for the Switch.

Speaking on Twitter, Dusk Golem (who was spot on about multiple RE-related news tidbits) states that "Revelations 3 is coming out within a year of Village's release date, (corrected to) late 2021 or early 2022." They clarify the news by saying that it likely won't be called Revelations 3, but possibly Resident Evil Outrage, as Capcom seemingly is moving away from the Revelations moniker.

It'll be part of the 25th anniversary celebration, "along with Village," and Dusk Golem claims that Revelations 3 (or whatever title it ends up with) is "almost definitely going to be a Switch timed exclusive." All of this will allegedly happen "later this year," as Capcom announces another Resident Evil marketing blitz post-Village launch.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">(2/2) very least. Releases as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations, along with Village, almost definitely going to be a Switch timed exclusive.<br><br>But that'll be announced later this year, for now Village is deserving of the attention, and out in just a few months now!</p>&mdash; AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem (@AestheticGamer1) <a href="https://twitter.com/AestheticGamer1/status/1360760558962634755?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 14, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://www.destructoid.com/stories/reliable-resident-evil-insider-says-to-prep-for-resident-evil-revelations-3-on-switch-619864.phtml

[rez]

Nintendo...

New Mario Golf announced
Splatoon 3 announced

take mah money

https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/nintendo-direct-2021-new-games-1234909752/

[rez]

<iframe width="800" height="448" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aucAzFWpvMc" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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[drave]

Seems like a bad choice to have sword controls tied to the right analog joycon for the Zelda remake.


Gonna make cameras wonky. Feel like they would have done better with an Ocarina of Time reboot.

[OssMan]

Nintendo <s>fanboys</s> man children are gonna throw a fit about the Skyward Sword remake. They all hate that game already plus it was literally made to accomodate the updated motion controls of the Wii. I would not be surprised if it's cancelled

[Emperor Smeat]

If they do any other quality-of-life tweaks to the game besides the controls, hope it involves scaling back on the amount of hand holding and talking by Fi and the annoying issue of how it treated getting items every time you started a new play session.

Plus maybe make the first hour or two of the game more enjoyable or less sluggish in pacing although that might be a bit harder because of how story and world building heavy it was.

[Emperor Smeat]

Konami is currently rumored to be working on a new game in the Silent Hill series, according to VGC.

This new game isn't being developed by Konami themselves and instead by a "prominent Japanese developer" with plans to officially reveal it during this summer.

Same source also claims that Konami is also currently working on plans for a potential new game to be made for both the Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania series.

The latest word, from VGC, suggests Konami has turned to external partners to help revitalize Silent Hill.

The outlet heard from sources that a Supermassive pitch didn't move forward, and that Konami has "outsourced a Silent Hill project to a prominent Japanese developer, with a reveal due this summer."

(The author noted on Twitter that it's not Kojima Productions – a frequent guess – and added that Konami is eying externally-developed Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania projects further out.)

On a separate but (maybe) related note, potentially suggesting that there could be more than one modern interpretation of Silent Hill, speculation has come out of a GamesIndustry.biz interview with Bloober Team CEO Peter Babieno, in which he commented on the studio's next horror game.

Babieno says they've "been working for more than a year on another gaming project, another horror IP, and we're doing this with a very famous gaming publisher. I can't tell you who. I can't tell you what the project is, but I'm pretty sure when people realize we're working on it, they will be very excited."
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/bloober-team-hints-it-could-be-working-on-silent-hill-but-its-not-the-only-one/
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-18-bloober-team-adding-action-to-its-psychological-horror-focus
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/silent-hill-might-finally-get-a-proper-comeback-thanks-to-a-prominent-japanese-developer--620229.phtml

[Big Vic]

Apparently its still in the Wii U shop for 20 dollars.

[Savio]

Kept dreaming "9 years ago was 'the year of Luigi', wow time flies"

[Emperor Smeat]

* Sony announced their next State of Play episode will air on February 25th and will focus on "new updates and deep dives for 10 games coming to PS4 and PS5."
https://blog.playstation.com/2021/02/23/state-of-play-returns-this-thursday-february-25/

* Sony also confirmed that they are currently working on a new VR headset and controller for the PS5 although it won't arrive until 2022 at the earliest.
https://blog.playstation.com/2021/02/23/introducing-the-next-generation-of-vr-on-playstation/#sf243317607

* Google is currently facing a class-action lawsuit in regards to allegations of the company purposely misleading consumers over their claims of 4K support for their Stadia cloud-based gaming streaming service.
The suit, originally filed back in October 2020 and moved to a New York federal court last week, alleges that Google, alongside developers Bungie and id Software, stated that the Stadia service would feature 4K resolution support, but did not walk back or correct this statement once it was openly reported that Stadia was upscaling several titles from resolutions such as 1080p and 1440p, rather than offering "true" 4K resolution.

The Plaintiff alleges that publishers such as id Software "sold access to Doom Eternal, and other games, through the Google Stadia subscription and wrongfully generated millions of dollars in revenue as a result." The suit seeks non-specific monetary compensation for Stadia purchasers, and requests Google accurately and publicly display Stadia's resolution and FPS on all included titles going forward. Like many class-action suits, the case could take years to reach its conclusion.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/google-stadia-facing-class-action-lawsuit-over-4k-claims-620645.phtml

[ClockShot]

Anthem is dead.

EA and BioWare have agreed to give it up and move on to other things.

[Emperor Smeat]

Gamestop announced that their CFO and Executive Vice President Jim Bell will be resigning from his roles in the company late next month.

No official reason was given for the decision.

As part of his resignation, Bell will be getting a severance package worth more than double his annual salary.

GameStop has announced that its Chief Financial Officer is to resign from the company next month. Jim Bell, who also holds the position of Executive Vice President within the video game retailer, will officially resign from both roles on March 26.

The retailer noted that as Bell is resigning with "good reason," the soon-to-be-former CFO will receive severance in the region of $2.8 million - over twice their annual salary. The company's filings do not denote specifically what led to the resignation decision. GameStop has begun interviewing candidates for a suitable replacement.

The news comes following a particularly chaotic financial period for the company. While GameStop, like many retailers, has struggled to adapt to a changing retail market, these efforts were further hampered by the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the recent stock rush drama only served to further complicate matters, with GameStop stock rising to almost $500-per-share before plummeting to around $40-per-share in the space of a fortnight, as online communities such as Wall Street Bets inflated prices in order to cause major losses for market short-sellers.

The U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission is currently investigating the events of the so-called "Gamestonks" rush, in order to ascertain whether any unlawful conduct was committed by any of the parties involved - including online communities, independent traders, and stock market trading apps.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/gamestop-cfo-executive-vp-to-resign-from-roles-in-march-620782.phtml

[drave]

OOH TINFOIL HAT!!!

Them bastards at Citadel are forcing it to make GME Tank. The problem is, there are too many retards who like the stock.

[Emperor Smeat]

* According to a report from Deadline, production on a new Halo television series is currently set to resume filming in Budapest, Hungary soon. It was also reported that the upcoming series currently has a launch date of early 2022 for the Paramount Plus streaming service.
https://deadline.com/2021/02/halo-tv-series-latest-paramount-plus-move-1234698703/

* The producer of Bloodborne, Masaaki Yamagiwa, announced that he will be leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan at the end of this month. Official reason was due to him wanting to go in a new direction for his career.
https://twitter.com/giwamasa/status/1364776713280913412?s=20
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/another-bloodborne-luminary-leaving-sony-as-masaaki-yamagiwa-announces-departure-620887.phtml

* During today's State of Play stream, Sony revealed that Final Fantasy VII Remake will be arriving for PS5 on June 10th. This version is called Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and features some additional content exclusive to the PS5.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F7bEoGile7Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/yuffie-returns-this-summer-in-final-fantasy-vii-remake-intergrade-620957.phtml

[Curtis]

Konami is currently rumored to be working on a new game in the Silent Hill series, according to VGC.

This new game isn't being developed by Konami themselves and instead by a "prominent Japanese developer" with plans to officially reveal it during this summer.

Same source also claims that Konami is also currently working on plans for a potential new game to be made for both the Metal Gear Solid and Castlevania series.


https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/bloober-team-hints-it-could-be-working-on-silent-hill-but-its-not-the-only-one/
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-02-18-bloober-team-adding-action-to-its-psychological-horror-focus
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/silent-hill-might-finally-get-a-proper-comeback-thanks-to-a-prominent-japanese-developer--620229.phtml



Amazing. Most exciting gaming news I have heard all year. Silent Hill 2 is one of my top games of all time, I still play it time to time. I just hope its a new original game and not a remake, I don't think any remake could do the original justice.


A little bit wary, I don't know if a new development team outside of Konami can capture the magic. I will still buy it, but the newer Silent Hill games never matched the masterpieces that 1-3 were. Homecoming was really bad, and Vatra games' Downpour left a lot to be desired, but was still a really good game that got overlooked because of a disastrous buggy launch.


Hope they hand it off to someone who UNDERSTANDS Silent Hill. I want a new story in the vein of the originals. I would hate to see another Silent Hill with a pyramid head enemy just because "PYRaMid HeaD = SILENT HILL". Anyone who just throws a pyramid head in, like the Silent Hill movies do, really did not understand it's origins. It was unique to the story of Silent Hill 2, the protoganists inner demon punishing him for his sins, perceived or otherwise.


If they get it right, it will be the game to make me run out and buy a next gen console.
I could talk Silent Hill for hours...SO MUCH depth to those games, especially 2.

[Emperor Smeat]

Sony reportedly is currently in the process of restructuring their Sony Japan Studio, according to a report from VGC.

It was reported that as part of the restructuring plans, a "vast majority" of the studio's staff have been laid off and will cease to be a key studio within the company starting on April 1st.

Following a glut of rumors and reports, Sony Japan has stated that it is currently in the process of "re-organizing" Japan Studio, Sony's oldest and longest-running in-house game developer.

Word of the restructure first came via an in-depth report by VGC, who noted that Sony Japan Studio had released a "vast majority" of its development staff, not renewing their annual contracts as the clock ticks down on a new financial year. It has also been impossible not to notice the growing list of producers who have recently left Sony to seek their fortunes and creative muses elsewhere. Sony has since responded to VGC's report, openly stating that the Japan Studio is currently in a deep process of consolidation and restructure.

"In an effort to further strengthen business operations, SIE can confirm PlayStation Studios Japan Studio will be re-organized into a new organization on April 1," said a Sony spokesperson. "Japan Studio will be re-centered to Team ASOBI, the creative team behind Astro's Playroom, allowing the team to focus on a single vision and build on the popularity of Astro's Playroom. In addition, the roles of external production, software localization, and IP management of JAPAN Studio titles will be concentrated within the global functions of PlayStation Studios" ...

VGC's report suggests that creative differences may be a key factor in the studio's struggles, with Japan Studio wishing to continue its focus on unique and most creatively distinct titles, while Sony Interactive Entertainment at large was hoping for the studio to develop games with a more universal, mainstream appeal. While the former way of thinking is noble and to be celebrated, the fact remains that Japan Studio hasn't been profitable in some time, with many seeing the writing on the wall as far back as a year ago.
https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/sources-playstation-is-winding-down-sony-japan-studio/
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/sony-is-in-the-process-of-restructuring-sony-japan-studio-621013.phtml

[ClockShot]

Sony is getting out of the movie and TV show market on the Playstation Store. It'll be just strictly games. No more purchases and rentals. Of course, anything you have bought can still be watched.

You got until August 31st of this year to look around for some deals.

https://www.ign.com/articles/sony-to-discontinue-playstation-store-movie-and-tv-purchases-and-rentals

[Emperor Smeat]

Bandi Namco is currently rumored to be working on a Nintendo Direct-like series for their own game announcements.

Basis for the rumor involves a recent trademark filed by the company for the term "Bandai Namco Next" for entertainment related stuff like online streaming shows.

Internet sleuths are at it again, and it seems as if Bandai Namco has trademarked a peculiar phrase.

"Bandai Namco Next" was recently approved, and evidently applies to "amusement parks, esports competitions, movies, toys, plays, musical performances, radio programs, computer networks, online publications, animated feature films, and games," according to TheGamer. Given that their prior Bandai Namco event was kind of a bust (consistently mostly of stuff we've already seen, very late at night in the US), I hope they bring it.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/bandai-namco-might-be-trying-a-nintendo-direct-format-of-their-own-621460.phtml

[Emperor Smeat]

Sony currently working on the idea of using a banana (and other items) as a gaming controller based on a recent patent filing.

The gamepad has reigned supreme for controlling video games for several decades. But a Sony patent application could change things up by letting you use a simple household object as a controller. In Sony's case, it seems to really want you to use a banana. Just don't let anyone eat your controller before a big game.

In a filing spotted by GamesIndustry.biz, Sony said that it "would be desirable if a user could use an inexpensive, simple, and non-electronic device as a video game peripheral."

Enter the banana.

Presumably, you'd be able to use just about anything with this patent-pending system, as you'd be moving the "non-luminous" object based on the poses you're doing with it. One image also shows X and Triangle buttons mapped out on different parts of the peel. In addition to the banana--or two bananas--Sony mentions objects such as oranges, mugs, or pens.

https://gamespot1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/scale_super/1597/15971423/3802859-screenshot2021-03-03at8.50.47am.png

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps5-could-let-you-use-a-banana-as-your-controller/1100-6488333/?UniqueID=27BAAC04-7C6D-11EB-B37B-912A3A982C1E&ftag=ftag%3DGSS-05-10aab8e&ServiceType=twitter&PostType=image&TheTime=2021-03-03T22%3A09%3A42

[Sepholio]

I've got a banana I'd like to map my controls to. For testing purposes.