This Week In Gaming: March 1
Industry News
Switch becomes the fastest selling console in France
The Nintendo Switch continues to set records worldwide. This time, the system has become the fastest selling console in the country of France, selling around 900,000 units in 2017. While it hasn't reached the massive numbers that the Nintendo Wii did (a whopping 6.4 million), Nintendo of France's CEO expects another million in sales by the end of 2018.
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Horizon Zero Dawn has sold over 7.6 million units
Guerilla Games' highly anticipated PlayStation 4 exclusive, Horizon Zero Dawn, has celebrated a year of release, as of today. Shipping 2.6 copies of the game within the launch window, the game was a commercial and critical success. Sony has decided to update H:ZD's sales numbers, revealing that the game has sold 7.6 million copies. To celebrate having reached this milestone, PlayStation will be offering some free avatars and a menu theme based on the game, for your PlayStation 4 systems.
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Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency shuts down
A gaming studio, one founded by David Jaffe, known for his work on the God of War series, named the Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency will be closing its doors, after reports of laying off most of its staff. The company was founded in 2013, and only released one game in its lifetime; Drawn to Death. David Jaffe has said on Twitter that he'll be giving away any and all props from the studio to anyone in the area that shows interest.
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General News
A Hat in Time will NOT be coming to the Nintendo Switch
The acclaimed retro throwback 3D platformer, A Hat in Time, might seem like it would fit perfectly on the Nintendo Switch. But according to the developers at Gears for Breakfast, and despite having console ports on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, the lovely Nintendo inspired game won't be appearing on the Switch in any capacity.
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Stardew Valley dev teases new game
Eric Barone, the creator of the Harvest Moon inspired indie sensation, Stardew Valley, has taken to Twitter to talk about the 2 year anniversary of his game. While thanking his fanbase, and saying that the Stardew Multiplayer patch is almost complete, he also mentioned that he's working on a new secret project, and that fans should look forward to hearing about it soon.
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Nintendo to shut down Streetpass Relay Stations in Japan
The era of the 3DS is slowly fading, and though Nintendo has pledged to continue supporting it, it's quite clear that the system is nearing the end of its time. Nintendo Japan will be putting all the StreetPass relay stations, basically gathering points to get Streetpasses, to an end.
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Dark Horse Comics to publish Super Mario Encyclopedia in English
If you were a fan of Dark Horse Comic's Hyrule Historia, you might be excited to learn that the company will be bringing its other series-wide encyclopedia of another Nintendo franchise--Mario, to the west. Releasing this October, the Super Mario Bros. Encyclopedia will be fully translated, covering every Mario game from the original Super Mario Bros. all the way up until Super Mario 3D World. The book will offer concept art, maps, and interviews with developers. It'll also retail for about $39.99.
Square Enix plans to continue releasing DLC content for Final Fantasy XV into 2019
FFXV director Hajime Tabata has been on record saying that he had plans for three additional DLC packs for Final Fantasy XV to release, eventually. Now, he states that there's four DLC add-ons currently in development, that are scheduled to release throughout 2018, and into 2019. That means that the recently released Royal Edition won't be the end-all-be-all version of the game. It also means that by that time, FFXV will have been worked on for at least 13 years and have received 3 years of post launch support, seeing as the game was initially revealed in 2006, and released in 2016.
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Yu Suzuki claims Shenmue story won't end at 3
Shenmue 3, the long-awaited sequel to a franchise that fans have been wanting an ending to its narrative for years, might not actually get a full conclusion when it does release. Yu Suzuki, the man behind the series stated that ending the story at the third entry would feel "rushed", and that he and his team didn't want to do that. So it looks like Shenmue fans might have a long wait ahead of themselves if they want to see the series get a total and final conclusion.
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The Alliance Alive gets a demo
If you check the 3DS eShop today, you'll be able to try out a demo for Atlus' upcoming JRPG, The Alliance Alive. Featuring the writing work of Suikoden's Yoshitaka Murayama, and the music from FFXIII's composer, Masahi Hamauzu, the game features a turn-based battle system like more classic JRPGs of the past. The Alliance Alive is set to launch on March 27, 2018.
PlayStation 3 to shut down online servers for six games this month
Last time, we talked about the shutdown of Demon Souls server, which occurred yesterday. However, that isn't the only PS3 game that'll be affected, because by the end of March, PlayStation will be shutting down the servers for six more games, including Gran Turismo 6, Killzone 2 and 3, WipEout HD, EyePet, and Ace Combat: Infinity. If you want to collect the online-only trophies for Killzone, or play online with any of these games, you have until March 30.
SEGA's Alex Kidd series originally started as a Dragon Ball game
For those of you who grew up with a Sega console prior to the rise of Sonic the Hedgehog, you might remember Sega's original Mascot; Alex Kidd. Previously assumed to be a platformer made as competition to Nintendo's Mario, a new interview with the creator of the series has shed some light on how things came to be. Initially, Alex Kidd was supposed to be Dragon Ball game that was made by Sega, but when the company lost the license to the franchise, they quickly changed the game mid-development into the series we've come to know today.
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PlayStation Plus' free games for March, new service change
For those of you who subscribe to PlayStation Plus, you might be excited to hear what Sony will be offering as their free games for the next month:
Bloodborne (PS4), Ratchet and Clank (PS4), Legend of Kay Anniversary (PS3), Mighty No. 9 (PS3/PS4), Claire: Extended Cut (PSV/PS4), and Bombing Busters (PSV/PS4). Additionally, next year, starting on March 8, 2019, PlayStation Plus will stop offering PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita titles as part of the program, and will focus only on PS4 games.
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SEGA: SEGA FES will have a "surprise announcement!"
While the makers of Sonic the Hedgehog already have a "surprise" set for this year's SXSW convention, it looks like Sega of Japan has something up their sleeves as well. On April 14th, Sega Fes 2018 will take place, where the company will have a "unique surprise announcement" for fans.
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Emulation/Hacking News & Fan Projects
CEMU 1.11.5 to release publicly on 3/3
The latest version of CEMU is out for the team's backers, and will be released to the general public on the 3rd of the month. This release brings some new features, like support for emulating the Wiimote via a keyboard or USB-connected controller. Those with Nvidia GPUs will also find a performance increase as well, with preliminary tests finding that Breath of the Wild gets a boost of about 5-7fps per second more, compared to previous releases.
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RetroArch 1.7.1 released
The latest version of RetroArch is here! You can check the new updates in the changelog below!
- New Direct3D 11/12 driver
- Emscripten/Web Player back in action and better than ever
- Xbox port back from the dead
- Subsystem support – Game Boy 2-player Link, Super Game Boy support with SNES emulators, etc
- Universal shader spec gaining steam – Vulkan/D3D11/D3D12/WiiU all using the same shaders now
- WiiU port vastly improved
- Switch port
- Configurable audio resampling
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Dataminers find some new costume data in Super Mario Odyssey
The Cutting Room Floor, perhaps one of the best resources for beta and unused content, has found some new data within Mario Odyssey. According to the findings, there's ten new costumes that haven't been officially released, yet linger in the game's code. These items appear to be fully functional within the game, but are time-locked. If you want to know the full list of costumes found, you can check the source below.
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Fallout 3 fan-remake
There's many classic games that people feel need a remaster, be it because of outdated controls, graphics, or bugs. This time, fans have taken it upon themselves to recreate Fallout 3...in Fallout 4. The people working on this project have uploaded a video, showcasing the metro tunnels from Fallout 3 fully remade in Fallout 4's engine. Of course, these projects are monumental and take years for significant progress, so we'll be sure to keep an eye on it in as time passes.
Game Announcements
Kirby developer HAL Laboratory's new smartphone game has launched
Hal Laboratory, known for making Nintendo's Kirby series, has released a new little mobile game. Titled "Part Time UFO", the game revolves around you playing as a UFO that has a crane that picks up items, and attempts to stack them. It's available for $2.99 on the iOS App Store and Google Play Store, and appears to have generally positive reviews.
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Wild Guns: Reloaded will fire onto the Switch this April
Natsume's remake of the SNES classic, Wild Guns, will be releasing on the Nintendo Switch next month. The Switch version will cost $29.99 and will be available as both a physical and digital release. Wild Guns: Reloaded adds new features that were not in the SNES version, such as new characters, stages, and weapons, and will have 4 player local co-op as well.
Outlast quietly launches on the Nintendo Switch
Outlast, a 2013 horror game, has found its way to the Nintendo Switch. Priced at $29.99 on the eShop, you get Outlast and its prequel DLC. If you're a fan of this game, the sequel will be making its way to the Switch as well, later this month.
Drake of the 99 Dragons is coming to Steam
Drake of the 99 Dragons--a game from the early 2000s that many will probably know for being infamously terrible and glitchy, or by having watched ProJared--has suddenly received a Steam store page, and will be releasing on March 6. Publisher Majesco is behind the PC port, randomly bringing this 15 year old game, one of the worst reviewed original Xbox games, in fact, onto the PC platform.
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Rumor Mill
RUMOR: Disney supposedly in talks to find new developer for Star Wars video games
In 2013, EA and Disney signed a license to develop multiple video games with the Star Wars brand. As a result of that contract, we've gotten two home console release of Star Wars titles--Battlefront I and II. Respawn Entertainment and EA Vancouver are also currently developing their own games as well. However, after the backlash from the release of Battlefront II, and according to Cinelinx and their sources, it looks like Disney/Lucasfilm might be trying to back out of the deal, and instead broker a contract with either Ubisoft or Activision to make future Star Wars games. However, all three of these companies are known for microtransaction controversies in the past, so this rumor doesn't seem entirely likely. Although, on the other hand, Disney is known to care a great deal about its IPs, so perhaps they're looking to change publishers just to avoid more negative feedback on the Star Wars video game brand.
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RUMOR: Marvel Vs Capcom: Infinite to maybe be pulled from digital storefronts this October
The latest Marvel VS Capcom title, Infinite, certainly wasn't as successful as fans or Capcom had hoped it to be, going so far as to be snubbed by the community at this year's EVO tournament. And according to this next rumor, Capcom might be doing something drastic about it. According to a source with Marvel PR, Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite will be pulled from all digital storefronts by October 2018, only a year after its release. Even though the game was a critical failure, a reaction of this magnitude seems a tad exaggerated. However, this source was the one to correctly leak the fact that Marvel Heroes: Omega would be shut down. We'll have to wait until around October to see if this one is fact or fiction.
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Review Recap
Official Reviews
HyperX Cloud Alpha headphones
Zwei: The Arges Adventure
Bayonetta 1+2
Dynasty Warriors 9
The Darkside Detective
Crossing Souls
The Fall: Part 2
Past Cure
Scuf Infinity 1 Controller
Layers of Fear: Legacy
8bitdo Arcade Stick
User Reviews
Onirim
Patchwork
Ninku
Settlers of Catan
Trailers
Yoku's Island Express Switch release trailer
Overwatch: New Hero Announce trailer
Bloodstained: Music update
Elder Scrolls Online: Dragon Bones trailer
Kirby: Star Allies Japanese overview trailer
Far Cry 5: Live Action trailer
Nintendo Power Podcast episode 3
Overwatch: New Hero Announce trailer
Bloodstained: Music update
Elder Scrolls Online: Dragon Bones trailer
Kirby: Star Allies Japanese overview trailer
Far Cry 5: Live Action trailer
Nintendo Power Podcast episode 3
Release Calendar: March 1-April 1
March 1
Mulaka (NS)
Little Triangle (NS)
Damascus Gear: Operation Tokyo (NS)
March 6
DJ MAX: Respect (PS4)
Final Fantasy XV (PC)
Scribblenauts: Showdown (XBO, PS4, NS)
March 13
Devil May Cry HD Collection (XBO, PS4, PC)
The Raven: Remastered (XBO, PS4, PC)
March 16
Kirby: Star Allies (NS)
Burnout Paradise: Remastered (XBO, PS4)
March 20
Attack on Titan 2 (XBO, PS4, PC, NS)
Sea of Thieves (XBO, PC)
Assassin's Creed Rogue: Remastered (XBO, PS4)
Titan Quest (PS4, XBO)
March 23
Ni No Kuni 2 (PS4, PC)
Detective Pikachu (3DS)
A Way Out (XBO, PS4, PC)
March 27
The Alliance Alive (3DS)
Far Cry 5 (XBO, PS4, PC)
Injustice 2 Legendary Edition (PS4, XBO, PC)
Outlast 2 (NS)
Atelier Lydie & Suelle (PS4, NS, PC)