Recap 12.16.16

Reviews

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PlayStation

  • Studio Wildcard and Peacock Studios announced a new VR game for PSVR called ARK Park, which will let players experience dinosaurs in they wild. Think, quite literally, Jurassic Park in VR. Players will be able to show off dinosaurs they tamed in the original ARK game or take part in photographing wild dinosaurs similar to Pokémon Snap. You can view the first trailer here.

  • If you’re in the market for a regular PS4, starting December 11 through December 24 you can pick up the Uncharted 4 bundle for $249.99.

  • Preorders for Shenmue III will be made available soon as the game has now entered mass production. Series creator Yu Suzuki hopes to show off new gameplay early next year and is hopeful in hitting their target of December 2017.

  • The Division looks sharper and prettier if you’re playing on PS4 Pro. Perhaps more surprising is that you’re still playing.

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Xbox

  • Dolby Atmos support is coming to Xbox One and Windows PC. It makes games sound better, they say.

  • To celebrate the first year of Xbox One backwards compatible titles, Microsoft is giving Xbox Gold subscribers Lost Odyssey for free until December 31.

  • A new update enables faster downloads for users of the console. How much faster? Well, if your internet speed is 100Mbps or faster (you’re lucky) and you may see boosts up to 80%. If you’re like the rest of us and have slower speeds you may still see a boost up to 40% which isn’t bad. You’re move Sony.
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Nintendo

  • Most of us are anticipating Nintendo’s eighth home console in 2017, but that doesn’t meant old platforms won’t be getting any new releases. I don’t mean Wii U either, I mean the SNES of course! A new game called Unholy Night: The Darkness Hunter and is set to launch in February 2017 on SNES carts (obviously).

  • Nintendo and Universal announced Super Nintendo World is coming to Universal Studios Japan in 2020.

  • Playtonic Games announced due to technical reasons, Yooka-Laylee won’t be coming out on Wii U but will make the jump to Switch instead. Those who preordered or backed the Wii U version can have their platform changed free of charge. There’s no word on those who want a refund due to not having other platforms, however.

  • Another indie title won’t be making it’s way to Wii U and that title is Clive ’N’ Wrench. With Wii U being quickly phased out the team is focusing on the upcoming Nintendo Switch instead. Hopefully it works out for them.

  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is getting a limited vinyl release. You can place your order here at iam8bit for $40.

  • Upcoming Switch exclusive Seasons of Heaven released a jaw-dropping teaser trailer you can check out with a full reveal coming next week.

  • Select My Nintendo members are receiving a special exclusive invitation for themselves and a plus one to check out the Switch at a hands on event in their respective cities. The locations and dates are New York – January 13 – 15, Washington, D.C. – February 10 – 12, Chicago – February 17 – 19, Los Angeles – February 24 – 26 and San Francisco – March 3 – 5.

  • Nintendo sold 196,000 NES Classic Editions to consumers in America since launch.

  • Super Mario Run has taken the number one spot as the top grossing app in the App Store. It currently has over 21,000 ratings with a little over half at five stars and nearly half at one star. It’s clear players are divided by the $10 price and/or are discovering you can’t play offline.

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Industry News

  • Previously announced as a PS4 exclusive, upcoming indie title Rime has been rated for PS4, Xbox one, Switch, and PC. No news on a release date as of writing.

  • Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe has stepped down from his role and will head up lead its PC VR group within the company. Iribe said he’s working with Facebook to find a new CEO to take over.

  • Castle Crashers dev The Behemoth is bringing their newest title, Pit People, to Xbox Preview and Steam Early Access January 13, 2017.

  • Overwatch dropped a huge patch adding some holiday cheer among other things. You can read the full release notes here.

  • Porn site Brazzers is now offering Let’s Plays featuring famous porn stars. I have nothing else to say about this.

  • Dishonored 2 is gearing up for it’s first of two big free updates. Update one includes New Game Plus which allows players to mix Corvo and Emily’s powers between each other. It releases soon on December 19.

  • Season 3 of Telltale’s The Walking Dead series will skip PS3 and Xbox 360, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise at this point. Fortunately gamers can download a free patch and move their saves over to modern hardware after creating a free Telltale Account.

  • The Pokémon Company dropped a trailer for a new movie based on everyone’s favorite pocket monsters. It’s called Pokémon I Choose You and will release next July in Japan.

  • CoD Infinite Warfare is gaining micro transactions for cosmetic items like gun skins as well as the inclusion of female characters. That last part is really great to hear since, you know, girls play games too.

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Rumors

  • It looks like Yooka-Laylee may be releasing in April as it was listed on the Xbox Store page with a release date of April 11 along with a Brazilian retailer listing an April 7 date

  • A new Nintendo patent shows off what appears to be the Switch sliding into a Head Mount for VR purposes.

Antonio Worrall
Antonio Worrallhttps://antonioworrall.com
I'm a Senior IT Support Engineer, every day tech geek, gaming enthusiast, world traveler, and foodie living with my wife and cat in the NY/NJ area.

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