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It's time yet again, for another roundup of the latest gaming, technology, and scene news! We'll be taking a look at the success of the NES Classic, A Hat in Time's secret announcement, and more! Let's check out this week in gaming.

Industry News

Fire Emblem Heroes reaches $400 million in revenue​

Though only a few years ago was the series was on its last legs, Fire Emblem has come back stronger than ever, and that's proven by the massive numbers that the mobile title Fire Emblem Heroes is generating. Since launch, the game has raked in $400 million in pure gacha microtransaction purchases. June 2018 was the most successful month for the game since its release, due to Summer character events. On average, the mobile Fire Emblem game brings in about $20 million a month for Nintendo.

Source

Microsoft's new studio, The Initiative, is hiring major staff from Rockstar and Sony Santa Monica​

Microsoft has been buying up and funding studios at a rapid pace, recently. One of their newer studios, The Initiative, has had an influx of high profile staff members hired on as of late. These new recruits include Brian Westergaard, the lead producer of God of War 2018, the most notable of the group, as well as Christian Cantamessa from Rockstar, Daniel Neuburger from Crystal Dynamics, and Annie Lohr, from Riot Games and EA. Currently, there's no major project being worked on over at The Initiative, but with the amount of new workers hired, it's assumed to be something related to a major IP.

Germany finally removes the ban on using Swastikas in video games​

For the longest time, any game with references to Nazis have been instantly banned by Germany's ratings board. Titles like Wolfenstein, or Call of Duty WWII have either been outright denied for release, or heavily censored to be allowed in the country. Now, Germany's USK is beginning to reverse that ideal, as now, they'll be reviewing such games on a case-by-case basis. For the first time, games that refer to swastikas or Hitler can be released in Germany, so long as it's done as an "art form" in gaming.

Source

Nintendo reaches 300 million home console sales, 700 million hardware total​

With the end of the quarter, many game companies released stats on their sales. Since the NES's original release going all the way up to the Switch, Nintendo has sold 300 million home console systems. The Wii leads the pack at taking up a third of the numbers, at 101.63 million units shifted. If you combine handheld systems, then their sales become a whopping 700 million, with the DS and Game Boy taking up the bulk.

Source

NES Classic outsells both the PS4 and XB1 in the previous month​

Nintendo hardware tends to be familiar with topping the charts of monthly sales in the west, but this time, the one leading the pack isn't the Switch. In June 2018, for the first time in over 23 years, the original Nintendo Entertainment System has topped the board of the NPD sales tracking charts. It outsold all of the competition, including the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, both of which are selling very well lately on their own.

Source

Emulation News

Dolphin is now back on the Google Play Store​

After being removed from the Google Play Store, Dolphin Emulator is back, and now available to download. This version will offer automatic updates, as opposed to the side-loaded APK that users had to download prior. The specs are below.

The Dolphin Emulator team has officially released Dolphin on the Google Play Store again. This means you can now get automatic updates with Dolphin and the peace of mind that you're always getting Dolphin from a reliable source.

• Android 5.0 or higher
• A 64-bit processor
• A version of Android that supports 64-bit applications
• A graphics processor that supports OpenGL ES 3.0 or higher.

BlueStacks 4 beta out​

BlueStacks is an Android emulator for the PC that can be used to play or use certain mobile applications for those without Android phones. As of today, developer BlueStack has released a beta for BlueStacks 4, with improvements such as better optimization, a cleaner UI, and wider support for games that weren't able to run through the emulator in previous versions. A full release for BlueStacks 4 will be coming sometime in September.

Source

RPCS3 gets another update, makes major improvements​

The PlayStation 3 emulator, RPCS3 continues to improve itself with each update, the most recent of which makes changes to the RSX and buffer synchronization. Games like God of War: Ascension are more stable and are more accurately emulated, while Uncharted now runs at a very playable 30FPS. The majorly requested Red Dead Redemption also sees more improvements and tweaks as well.

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General News

Pokemon 2019 delayed a handful of months​

The new mainline Pokemon game was announced to be in development shortly after the reveal of Pokemon Let's Go, and was given an estimated "mid 2019" release date. Recently, however, the schedule for the game's release was pushed back by a few months to "late/holiday 2019". This was found in Nintendo's own earning's report, published in July.

Source

A Hat in Time developers tease a major announcement​

With a multiplayer mode and DLC content coming soon to Gears For Breakfast's indie platformer A Hat in Time, things are looking exciting for the game. That's not all, though, as the developer has tweeted out a teaser stating that there will be a "special" announcement that's slated to take place at this year's Gamescom. Could this potentially be a Switch port?

Source

Europe will be getting the Taiko Drums​

While Namco has gone on record saying that North America wouldn't be getting the Taiko drum controllers for the Nintendo Switch version of Drum 'n Fun, that won't be the case for Europe. Bandai Namco EU will be bringing the peripheral to European territories. A tracklist was also uploaded, showing the songs that will be included in the game.

Source

Dragon Ball FighterZ has Cooler join as DLC fighter​

Announced at EVO 2018 was another DLC roster addition for Arc System Work's Dragon Ball FighterZ. This time, the movie-villain Cooler will join the cast of the game as paid DLC. He'll be playable sometime later this year.

Source

EA axes fanmade Sim City remake​

1993's SimCity 2000 is a nostalgic game to many, though, it has become a bit dated in the decades since its release. That's why lone developer Nicholas Ochoa started creating an open-source remake of the game, using the game's assets, but brand new code. It managed to get a release earlier this year on GitHub, but as of last week, it was silently removed. The culprit behind this was Electronic Arts, who had a takedown filed because Ochoa still used SimCity 2000's artwork and assets, which belong to EA. The company also mentioned that it was removed because you can still legally buy the original game through EA's Origin service.

Source

Cyber Gadget announces Switch controller with customizable macros​

With third party controller support being mildly lacking on the Nintendo Switch, Japanese hardware company Cyber Gadget intends to fill a niche by creating a controller with gyro support, and customizable macros for the face buttons. There are four buttons on the back that you can map to the ABXY buttons, and there will be a wireless and wired version of the gamepad. It'll launch on October 31st in Japan.

Source

Trailers

Review Recap

Official:
clockwork GameShell
Salt and Sanctuary
Octopath Traveler

User:
Mega Man X Legacy Collection
Avantree Leaf DG50

Major Release Calendar

August 21
Shenmue 1 + 2 (PC, XB1, PS4)
Guacamelee 2 (PS4, PC)
August 24
Little Dragon's Cafe (NS, PS4)
August 28
Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate (NS)
De Blob 2: Remastered (NS)
Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4)

 

[guisadop]

I'd love a physical copy for A Hat in Time.
Also, it's nice that the ban on Swastikas was lifted. It's not like ALL depictions of Swastikas are made by Nazi supporters - in fact it's pretty much the contrary, at least in gaming.

 

[Deleted User]

"Germany lifts ban on Swastikas in gaming, Pokemon 2019 delayed by a few months"

Germany for new Pokemon region confirmed. Nazis will be villains.

 

[jt_1258]

I wonder if the drums from europe or japan will work on the us version, I don't see why not but it would be a dam shame if they didn't

 

[TotalInsanity4]

I'd love a physical copy for A Hat in Time.
Also, it's nice that the ban on Swastikas was lifted. Is not like ALL depictions of Swastikas are made by Nazi supporters - in fact it's pretty much the contrary, at least in gaming.

I'm willing to bet it was Wolfenstein II that expedited that reconsideration, honestly, given that it was actually the Nazis that were giving it bad ratings to tarnish its reputation in the first place, "in spite of" (in this case definitely because of) it's use of Nazi imagery

 

[Alato]

Holy cow I did not realize there were that many Sonic fan games in development.

 

[VitaType]

I'm willing to bet it was Wolfenstein II that expedited that reconsideration, honestly, given that it was actually the Nazis that were giving it bad ratings to tarnish its reputation in the first place, "in spite of" (in this case definitely because of) it's use of Nazi imagery

At least offically it was due to a game called Bundesfighter and its use of a swastika for the far-right AfD in there. That beeing said I'm pretty sure ultimatly the ruling is strongly related to the change in public mood after everyone and there mother read about the absurd censoring of Wolfenstein II in the newspapers. I wonder if Bethesda now will submit a uncensored version of Wolfenstein II to the USK, guess it would make sense since it should boost the sales without a expensive marketing campagne.

 

[Ritsuki]

Technically swastikas were allowed so long as they weren't being used to glorify Nazism and were used as art or historical reference. Video games actually could have fallen under art, but no one ever pushed and just censored them to avoid possible legal issues. All Germany really did was say, "Video games fall under art, thus that rule applies here too."

Still a good thing for Germany though, they really have a hard censorship when it comes to Nazism, which is a good thing to prevent that kind of ideology to come back, but on the other hand you're avoiding all the necessary discussions for people to understand why and how it happened, and how to prevent it IMHO

 

[The Catboy]

I like how Sega is so chill with Sonic fan games, that there's a fucking Expo for them! Then comes EA in the same article to remind us that the rest of the game industry isn't even close to being as chill as Sega.

 

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

Swastikas... finally. Can we now have WW2 games with motion controls for the Roman salute? It's just such a powerful move. You should try it in the comfort of your own home. Don't want to do the dishes or work out? A Roman salute should do the trick. It must be firm and start from the chest.

 

[Zumoly]

I wish BlueStacks would come to the Switch as a homebrew.
There are some handful android apps and games I won't mind on my Switch.

 

[RedoLane]

Ahh, SAGE.... the temporary paradise for sonic fangames each year.
I've been there since 2005, and I also participated with my own fangame(Sonic Rebirth) around 2009.
Although ever since last year when I had a depressing situation inside the community, I lurk in SAGE from now on.

Also there are many fangames which may look in great quality in the trailer, but usually there will be more fangames which aren't shown here.
They may look good, but be prepared for technical issues, 'cuz that's a common thing for fangames in early stages.

Hoping for another great SAGE this time!

 

[Enryx25]

Pokemon Switch wasnt delayed.
The release date was always Second Half of 2019. Late/Holiday 2019 isnt a delay.
Btw did anybody really expect it to be a Summer Title? Lol
It will be released on November like every other Pokemon game.

 

[Ritsuki]

Pokemon Switch wasnt delayed.
The release date was always Second Half of 2019. Late/Holiday 2019 isnt a delay.
Btw did anybody really expect it to be a Summer Title? Lol
It will be released on November like every other Pokemon game.

Apparently they were aiming for a mid 2019 release.

 

[Glitchk0ud1001]

Pokémon delay everything you want but please give me a solid game xD.

 

[SirNapkin1334]

Pokemon 2019 delayed a handful of months

@sks316’s torment lasts longer >=D

 

[AdenTheThird]

Time to remaster Kino Der Toten again...

 

[UltraDolphinRevolution]

Time to remaster Kino Der Toten again...

You mean CoD Black Ops?

 

[Cyan]

EA axes fanmade Sim City remake

And that's why other projects (for example, Hexen II, Ultima7 Exult, Descent wii, etc.) don't share original file's assets, and let the people find the original game instead.
Lot of project like this are only emulators or recoded engine to use existing files from the old game, but don't provide the old game.

This also proves IP and copyright owners still care, even if it's more than 30 years old, and there's a reason we force our users to respect that when releasing game patches (undub, translation, mod), homebrew or applications on the forum or a lot of projects would be dead now.

 

[AdenTheThird]

You mean CoD Black Ops?

Oh yeah. Zombies forever!!