PlayStation
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In a recent interview with Game Informer, the chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios said that the company was “open for business” when it comes to cross-play between PS4 and other consoles, however, multiple reports from developers behind games like Smite and Wargroove say that’s not the case.
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The PlayStation Classic console, Sony’s attempt at capturing the success of Nintendo’s retro mini consoles, has failed to catch on to consumers with prices steadily declining since its December 2018 release. Now, the console is down to just $39.99 at Walmart, which is $60 off the $99.99 aunch price.
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PlayStation’s Shawn Layden explained why the company decided to bow out of E3 this year. He explains that the trade show used to be for trade; retailers and journalists would flock to Los Angeles to learn about new games on the horizon for their respective fields. Nowadays, Sony has its own February trade show called Destination PlayStation, informing retailers of the platform holder’s plans for the year. As for games media, the internet has lessened the impact of reporting from E3. In other words: “the trade show became a trade show without a lot of trade activity. The world has changed, but E3 hasn’t necessarily changed with it.”
Nintendo
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The Nintendo Switch Online apps has been updated with the following games:
• Super Mario Bros 2
• Kirby’s Adventure
• Blaster Master SP
• Metroid SP -
Nintendo held a Direct this week and there was a lot of announcements.
* Super Mario Maker 2 Confirmed For Switch, Launches This June
* Game Boy Classic Zelda: Link’s Awakening Is Getting Remastered For Switch
* Fire Emblem: Three Houses Marches Onto Switch This July
* Smash Ultimate Version 3.0.0 Coming This Spring, Joker Will Arrive By April
* BoyBoy! + BoxGirl! Is Coming To Switch On 26th April
* PlatinumGames Is Bringing Astral Chain To Switch This August
* Tetris 99 Is A Free Battle Royale Tetris Game Launching On Switch Today (Yes, Really)
* Disney’s Tsum Tsum Arrive In Festival Form On Nintendo Switch Later This Year
* Oh Look, Assassin’s Creed III Remastered Has Finally Been Confirmed For Switch
* The Award-Winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice Is Switch-Bound This Spring
* A Demo For Yoshi’s Crafted World Is Now Live On The Switch eShop
* Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker Gets Two-Player Co-op And Paid DLC
* Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition Brings Exclusive Content To Switch
* Final Fantasy IX Is Out On Switch Right Now, Final Fantasy VII Launches 26th March
* New Star Fox Missions Are Being Added To Starlink: Battle For Atlas This April
* Asymmetric Horror Game Dead By Daylight Places You In Your Very Own Slasher Movie
* Daemon X Machina Demo Is Now Live On Switch eShop
* GRID Autosport Swerves Onto Switch This Summer
* Check Out The Cosmic Protector Captain Marvel In The Latest Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Clip
* Travel Between Worlds When Square Enix’s Oninaki Arrives On Switch This Summer
* Ken, Daisy And Young Link amiibo All Release This April
* Battle And Build When Dragon Quest Builders 2 Launches On Switch This July
* Rune Factory 4 Special And Rune Factory 5 Are Both On The Way To Switch
* Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Emerges From The Shadows This Summer
* PlatinumGames Still “Hard At Work” Developing Bayonetta 3
* Undertale Creator Brings Deltarune To Switch eShop On 28th February
* EA’s Puzzle-Platformer Unravel Two Releases On The Switch eShop This March
Xbox
- Two more 360 games have been added to Xbox Backwards Compatibility
• The King of Fighters XIII
• Orcs Must Die!
Industry News
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Ubisoft has provided a lot of content for Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and the company isn’t done yet. Here are a few new things coming in the next update
• new game plus mode
• an increase to the level cap from 70 to 99
• the addition of two new mercenary tier -
Hollow Knight has sold 2.8M copies, and now Team Cherry have announced a sequel called Hollow Knight: Silksong. As a thank you to all the original game’s Kickstarter backers, anyone who backed the original will receive the sequel for free for Switch or PC.
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Moonlighter received a new update that adds NPC companions that can accompany you during dungeon raids as well as new mini-bosses to challenge you and your ally even more.
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Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has surpassed 10M units sold across all platforms.
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While 2018 was Activision Blizzard’s most successful year to date, that didn’t stop the company from laying off around 800 employees, some of which were new and some of which were with the company for decades.
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Developer/publisher Starbreeze has given up the publishing rights to sci-fi sequel System Shock 3 back to the game’s developer, OtherSide Entertainment. This comes after a disastrous year with a failed launch of Overkill’s The Walking Dead.
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The Division 2 will get an open beta from March 1st through March 4th, meaning that everyone will get a chance to try out Ubisoft’s latest and greatest loot shooter—no purchase necessary.
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Beat Saber, a VR rhythm game I really need to try on PSVR, is a bonafide hit. The gist is that you use two remotes (in each hand) to simulate virtual lightsabers, then slash cubes to the beat. Well funnily enough, Steam VR was just recently updated because Beat Saber ‘experts’ were moving in ways that Valve didn’t ‘think was ‘humanly possible’.
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Several members of the development team behind Sonic Mania have banded together to form their very own game development studio, Evening Star, based in LA with others working across Melbourne and London.
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Apex Legends is popular. Really popular. One week ago, EA and Respawn unveiled a new contender in the battle royale genre. Seven days later, it has a ridiculous number of players at 25 million since launch one week ago.
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Activision has opened a refund program for US customers who purchased Guitar Hero Live on or after 1st December 2017 following the closure of the game’s GHTV service. When it launched back in 2015, Guitar Hero Live featured two main games modes: an offline mode which had you playing in front of a crowd of real, pre-recorded actors, and an online mode where you could play along to official music videos being streamed to you on various, in-game, TV-like channels. For hardcore fans of the peripheral-heavy series, it was a true return to form for the most part, but disappointing sales led to its early demise.
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Solitaire is a simple game, the sort of mindless activity that’s perfect for old people who know how to do nothing else on their iPad. Microsoft is trying to spice it up by giving Solitaire some light RPG systems. Sometime in the very near future, the suite of Solitaire games (Klondike, Spider, FreeCell, Pyramid, and TriPeaks) will get a leveling system with experience points and rewards. It’s meant to track progress and keep people chasing new badges.
