Recap 12.8.17

PlayStation


  • This week Jak II, Jak III, and Jak X: Combat Racing joint the PS2 Classics lineup along with the original Jak & Daxter. For those unaware, PS2 Classic games benefit from 1080p upscaling, trophy support, and integration into the PS4’s system features like screenshots and video recording.

  • PS4 has cleared 70.6 million units sold to consumers worldwide, having been at 60.4M units in June—that’s 10M units in about six months! PSVR also sold over 2M units to consumers along with 12.2M games globally. That’s not to shabby for a pricier accessory.

  • Speaking of PSVR being a pricey accessory, Sony dropped the price of PSVR and PS4 to unbelievable prices for the holidays!

    • PlayStation VR + PS Camera + Gran Turismo Sport ($199.99) (Regularly $299.99)
    • PlayStation VR + PS Camera + DOOM VFR ($299.99) (Regularly $399.99)
    • PlayStation VR + PS Camera + two Move controllers + Skyrim VR ($349.99) (Regularly $449.99)
    • PS4 Pro 1TB console + DualShock 4 controller ($349.99) (Regularly $399.99)
    • Limited Edition Battlefront II PS4 Pro + matching DualShock 4 + Star Wars Battlefront II: Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition ($399.99) (Regularly $449.99)
    • Glacier White PS4 Pro + matching DualShock 4 + Destiny 2 with expansion pass ($399.99) (Regularly $449.99)
  • Impulse Gear has given Farpoint players a reason to return with the arrival of a free Versus Expansion Pack. Players will be able to compete in 2v2 PvP modes (round-based Deathmatch and capture-and-hold Uplink), earning new player skins and weapons as you progress.

Nintendo


  • Cat Quest recently landed on Switch and it’s also available on a few other platforms as well. The game’s developer The Gentlebros said that the first two weeks of sales on the console have “definitely outpaced” both Steam and mobile.

  • According to Sensor Tower’s data, Fire Emblem Heroes has grossed over $240M worldwide for Nintendo, with players spending an average of about $20 per download.

  • Pokemon GO’s roster of Pokemon is expanding to include gen 3 Pokémon as well as including a new dynamic weather system, which will require players to brave the elements to catch their favorite ‘mons. Now instead of dying in car accidents while playing, people can freeze to death waiting for Jynx.

  • Mario + Rabbids is a difficult game. So difficult in fact, that no one here at Pixelrater actually finished it. Even still, we can’t help but adore the work Ubisoft did and now players can enjoy a free new versus mode! Check out the description.

    “Versus Mode is a new multiplayer experience, playable locally on a single console and developed especially for you, the fans! This long-awaited two-player game mode allows you to defy a friend and show your tactical abilities in fun local fights, filled with random bonus items that make every battle epic.”

  • I always enjoyed the Scribblenauts games and this recent spotting from Nintendo Everything caught my attention. The site discovered a rating in Taiwan that reveals the existence of what appears to be a brand new entry in the series, with Scribblenauts Showdown said to be coming to Switch in addition to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, according to the classification.

  • WWE 2K18 is out on Switch and it’s, uhhhh, pretty rough. Not only is the title a full 10GB larger than Breath of the Wild, it also runs at about 75% speed. Seriously. It’s no wonder we didn’t see any footage of the game prior to release.

  • It’s been revealed Ryan Reynolds will play Pikachu in the live action American version of Detective Pikachu.

  • Nintendo’s partnership with NVIDIA has seen the release of select Wii and GameCube games for the NVIDIA Shield in China. Players have titles like Twilight Princess, New Super Mario Bros Wii, and Mario Galaxy to play, all of which are running at 1080p natively.

  • Nintendo’s plan to use mobile games to help steer gamers to their full fledged console counterparts appears to be working as Animal Crossing Pocket Camp brought New Leaf back to the number one seller spot for 3DS in Japan with over 13,000 copies sold.

  • Outlast and Outlast II are making their way to Switch in Q1 2018 the developer announced. No way in hell am I going to get either one. I’ll break my Switch for sure!

Xbox


  • Fortnite players on Xbox will get four exclusive characters in an upcoming update. In order to get the new Save the World heroes, players will have had to purchase the Founders Pack on Xbox previously and complete the Loot Llamas quest. Those who have already beaten the quest will have the players unlocked upon logging in.

Industry News


  • Blizzard is currently testing changes to Doomfist in the PTR due to his low utilization in competitive play.

  • Steam has pulled bitcoin as an acceptable currency amid concerns about skyrocketing processing fees and unstable value.

  • DotEmu, a studio specializing in developing and publishing retro classics, announced the launch of the Flying Power League, the official Windjammers eSports circuit. For the first time in history, a game from the 90s will jump into the international competitive gaming scene The Flying Power League’s first stage happens December 15 – 17 at NEC 18 in Philadelphia, PA, with no less than $2,000USD up for grabs.

  • The final episode for Life is Strange Before the Storm titled ‘Hell is Empty’ will release December 20. Those who purchased the deluxe edition of the game for $25 will still have a bonus episode to look forward to with both Ashley Burch and Hannah Telle reprising their roles as Chloe and Max.

  • Back in 2015, Sam Barlow released the indie game Her Story, which was critically praised for its non-linear storytelling. Now, game developer Eko announced his next experience: #WarGames, a series coming early next year that brings the classic 80s story about technology gone amok into the hacking age.

  • There’s a new Portal game! No—seriously! Although it’s probably, definitely not what you were expecting. Bridge Constructor developer ClockStone and Valve have teamed up to release Bridge Constructor: Portal December 20 across PC, Mac, Linux, and mobile with versions for PS4, Xbox One, and Switch coming early next year.

  • Discord has almost quadrupled its user base in the past year, jumping from 25 million registered users to more than 90 million estimated by the end of the year at a rate of 1.5 million new users per week.

  • On December 7, Superhot received a stand-alone expansion for Steam Early Access called Mind Control Delete. The announcement from Superhot Team alluded to new playable characters, new abilities, and smarter, stronger foes to challenge the player. Key to Mind Control Delete will be procedural generation within each level, “enabling us to tell longer, more complex stories and deliver tons more of satisfying skill-based gameplay,” Superhot Team said. Mind Control Delete will also show off new animations and artificial intelligence supporting new weapons, abilities and enemies. The studio is estimating a dev time through Autumn of 2018.

  • With all the buzz around Pokémon Go and an upcoming Harry Potter game, it’s easy to forget about Niantic’s original augmented reality title, Ingress. Niantic offered a peek at Ingress Prime, a revamp of its hidden-reality sci-fi game due to launch in 2018. It’ll sport a more polished, up-to-date design, but the biggest improvements will come from Pokémon Go… and not just the expected under-the-hood elements.

  • All of the world record times for each stage of GoldenEye 007, on Agent difficulty, were set more than 12 years ago and Dam, the first stage, is the oldest of them all. Yesterday, that time was beaten. Dam, Agent difficulty, was run in 53 seconds by Bryan Bosshardt on Sept. 27, 2002. Karl Jobst ran it in 52 seconds on Dec. 2, 2017.

  • During Capcom’s Mega Man 30th celebration, the studio revealed the long awaited Mega Man 11! The game is set to release in late 2018 for all platforms including Switch. Expect Tristan to go into great detail in episode 93 of LAN Party.

  • Bungie continues their streak of fucking up as the studio recently locked some content behind a paywall in Destiny 2’s latest DLC patch, some of which was previously accessible to all players regardless of purchase of extended content or not.

  • Subnautica has released an update for Subnautica dubbed “Eye Candy” that brings a big graphics overhaul along with lots of ways to fine tune the look to fit your liking. Expect it on Xbox as well.

  • Nutaku, the crowdfunding adult game website, is helping developers Pixel Dash Studios and EQ-Games publish an X-rated version of their Road Rash revival Road Redemption. This all came about from a $10M initiative Nutaku is taking to reach out to smaller studios and make low brow versions of their games.

  • Square Enix announced a new Tomb Raider game is currently in development (to the surprise of no one). The publisher did not provide any specifics about the project, such as a name, release window or platforms. A Square Enix representative told Polygon that the company is not giving further details at this time beyond the announcement posted on Twitter. Part of the reason this announcement is light on details is that Square Enix is “taking a new approach this time” with its rollout plan. Instead of unveiling a game well ahead of release, the publisher is shortening its typical marketing cycle.

    “Driven by our goal of putting our fans first, we want you to know that it won’t be very long between the official reveal and when you can play. Our journey together will begin with a major event in 2018.”

    This may be a reference to the upcoming release of the new Tomb Raider film, Tomb Raider, starring Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft which is scheduled to hit theaters March 16, 2018.

    • Ubisoft has delayed three games, the publisher revealed. Far Cry 5, previously scheduled for February, will be out March 27, 2018. The Crew 2 will be out later next year, and an unannounced game that was scheduled for FY18-19 (April 2018-March 2019) will now come out the following fiscal year. Sorry to those of you who were really looking forward to ‘Unannounced Game Scheduled For Fiscal Year 2018-2019’.

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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