May 2020

The trend of getting new Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition news every few days continues, as Nintendo of Japan just put out a lengthy video (roughly six minutes and change) that showcases the re-release as a whole: including a glimpse at the new epilogue content.

As we established previously, the Definitive Edition will provide an extra bit of story content, which is the perfect way to go about a re-release like this. The thing is Xenoblade Chronicles isn't that old compared to a lot of other remasters and remakes that are aping the PlayStation 1 or PS2 eras, so Nintendo and Monolith Soft are adding a little incentive here to pick it up for what might be the third time (remember the New 3DS?).

The video below shows off the sharpness of the new Switch edition, as well as a general overview of the dormant giants that define the game's entire world and compromise its landscape. You'll also get a general feel for the cast and tone of the game, which is very "hopeful shonen."

Even if you don't understand Japanese there's some reveals in there, so make sure you avoid it if you want to go in completely fresh! For the veterans, the new stuff starts at 5:30 in. That's when the trailer kicks into high gear with a tease of the epilogue, which will feature a new battle mechanic (shown directly at 6:15).

I think I've seen enough! I'm going to dive directly into the epilogue when it's out: you can do that!

THQ Nordic has released a new trailer for its upcoming remake SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, giving fans of the Nickelodeon show a chance to check out the newly revamped version of SpongeBob's deep-sea habitat, Bikini Bottom.

In SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom - Rehydrated, players will alternate control between three popular characters, the dim-witted Patrick Star, the rootin' tootin' Sandy Cheeks and, of course, SpongeBob himself as the trio go on an epic adventure to save the underwater 'berg from the devious Plankton and his latest nefarious schemes.

Fallout 76 just launched their biggest free expansion yet in Wastelanders, but according to a recent AMA, they're not done yet.

According to project lead Jeff Gardiner and lead quest designer Eric "Ferret" Baudoin, a roadmap is coming soon for this post-Wastelanders world, and "will include content for the entire year." More Brotherhood story involvement is teased, companion dress-up is coming in May, legendary perks are coming "in the summer," camps are getting an upgrade on a nebulous timeline, text chat could come to PC (no promises), the entire game's weapon system is getting re-balanced, new events are coming and there will be a "looking for group" mechanic to help connect people for events dungeons and raids. In other words, there's some quality of life and content stuff in there, but no other major expansion has been announced.

Other informational tidbits include the fact that 54% of players sided with the settlers and 46% sided with the raiders (the new Wastelanders factions), with Crater serving as the "most liked" settlement and Commander Daguerre was the most popular ally. If you're interested in testing out future content, the Private Test Server (PTS) is already open.

Japan's Computer Entertainment Ratings Organization (CERO) has announced that it intends to resume rating new ratings from May 7, following its closure last month as part of the country's COVID-19/coronavirus pandemic legislation.

CERO shut up shop on April 7, following an announcement by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the country was in an official State of Emergency. Without CERO able to address publisher submissions, this move put all of the country's upcoming video game releases in limbo, including all base games, demos, and DLC products.

While tele-work is being addressed, it does appear that the company will actually be reopening its Tokyo-based office, and suggests that it will be changing its operating hours so that employees can commute during "off-peak" time-frames. Business is expected to resume on May 7.

At the time of writing, there have been over 3,500,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide. Japan itself has recognised almost 15,000 cases to date.

Japan games ratings board CERO to reopen on May 7 [Gematsu]

One of Amazon’s top cloud engineers has left his $1 million dollar-per-year job in protest over the company’s handling of worker concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a blog post, he cited Amazon’s “chickenshit” response to employee protests of the company’s less-than-ideal conditions for the tens of thousands of…

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When this time of imposed social isolation began, I had a theory: In the absence of real human connection, some people would find themselves growing more attached than usual to video game characters. Well, dear reader, It Happened To Me.

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Creating a new type of combat system inside a 60-hour RPG was a daunting task. Yet that's exactly what BioWare did with its classic Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, released 14 years ago today. ...

EA is taking its usual E3-adjacent festivities online through EA Play Live, set to be held during the gap in mid-June left by E3†™s COVID-19-driven cancellation. ...

As was foretold, Fortnite‘s new Party Royale island is real. As an alternative to its main Battle Royale mode, Epic have introduced “a new experimental and evolving space” where friends can hang out and play minigames together or, apparently, attend a concert by DJ man Diplo performing his Major Lazer set last Friday. It was the latest in a series of live events that Epic have been testing in Fortnite and it seems like we can expect plenty more now that they’ve got a dedicated space for them.

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E3 2020 may be cancelled but many of its big announcements will still be made. Electronic Arts today EA Play, their annual E3-adjacent showcase of upcoming games, will return on June 11th. That would have been the final day of E3. They’ll once again host a live show with games and that, just without an audience sitting MORTIFYINGLY close. Now begins the guessing game: what will EA have to show this year?

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Oh look, it’s Star Wars Day and to celebrate of course an entire galaxy of Star Wars games are on sale. There are discounts to be had on all yer old favorites from back in the day and some of the newer laser sword adventures of the decade as well.

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Disney has a real treat for Star Wars fans celebrating May the fourth; not only is it announcing a new Star Wars film to be directed by Academy Award winner Taika Waititi but also a new Star Wars TV series to air on Disney+.

Waititi, who directed the first season of the highly popular Disney+ series The Mandalorian, will be co-writing the feature film’s script along with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Wilson-Cairns is another celebrated film-maker, who recently received a BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year on the three-time Oscar-winning film, 1917.

Meanwhile, Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, Bachelorette) is said to be developing a new Star Wars series for Disney+, which she’s writing, producing, and serving as the showrunner on.

The series will stand alongside the on-going The Mandalorian, which is set to debut its second season in the near future. Further, two other series are soon to be released, one based on Cassian Andor’s life prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and another following the adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.

Disney has not confirmed release dates for either Waititi’s and Headland’s projects as yet.

In related May the fourth news, Electronic Arts celebrated with a brand new update to Jedi Fallen Order by Respawn Entertainment.

Today Naughty Dog has announced that its upcoming action-adventure game The Last of Us Part II has gone gold.

You can check out the announcement below, starring director and writer Neil Druckmann. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the industry lingo, it means that the development of the data that will be shipped on the disk has been concluded, and the game is ready for its release. There may still be a day-one patch, but what will be printed on the physical release is ready and finalized.

This comes just a few days after Sony Interactive Entertainment reopened digital pre-orders for the game on the PlayStation Network.

Last week, the game suffered a serious leak and Naughty Dog encouraged fans to do their best to avoid spoilers and not to spoil the story for others. The studio also promised that no matter what we see and hear, the experience will be worth it when the game launches.

Today Electronic Arts is celebrating Star Wars Day with a brand new update to Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order by Respawn Entertainment.

The update is free and brings several new elements to the game including the “New Journey +” option (which is basically a New Game +), challenges, and cosmetics.

You can check out the trailer below.

Below you can read a list of the new elements coming with the update.

Release Notes

“We sincerely hope you enjoy this surprise update to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Respawn has been working hard (from home) on this update, but we want you to know we’re still listening to your feedback. Should you run into any issues, please let us know!”

General

EA has confirmed that its annual EA Play event will take place this year in a digital format. The show will broadcast on June 11 at 4 PM PST / 1 PM EST, and is to showcase “world premiers, news, and more.”

Word comes by way of EA’s Twitter account, which published a short video teaser in tandem with the announcement.

EA Play Live goes digital in 2020!
See you on June 11th at 4pm PST… World premieres, news and more! https://t.co/ShTNzjqJ3D pic.twitter.com/xqmYfGBWfs

— Electronic Arts #stayandplay (@EA) May 4, 2020

Despite linking its EA Play website, there are no specifics as to what we can expect in terms of either the format of the show or its content.

EA Play 2020 will be the fourth year of the show, marking as many years since EA exited E3 for the first time. It was the first major publisher to abandon E3, which has since been a strategy echoed by other companies like Sony, and even Microsoft to some extent (its show floor presence has been in a separate building since 2018).

Of course, as a digital-only event, EA Play 2020 won’t really be the same celebratory fan-centric showcase as it is in its typical form. Presumably, we’re just getting a keynote with new announcements? That or EA perhaps plans to offer free trial periods similar to digital events that Steam has run in the past? We’ll keep you posted when we learn more.

Doom Eternal executive producer Marty Stratton has issued a statement in response to a recent controversy surrounding the game's original soundtrack (OST) release after composter Mick Gordon distanced himself from the project, prompting a backlash in part against Id Software. In a lengthy open letter posted to Reddit and confirmed by GameSpot, Stratton expresses respect for Gordon's work but explains the background of the OST release.

According to Stratton, Gordon had asked for extensions to deadlines, including the one that pushed the OST past the game's March release date. As a backup, Stratton requested the help of Chad Mossholder, Id Software's lead audio engineer, to develop the OST tracks in case Gordon could not deliver the full list of tracks. Stratton told Gordon of this backup, and according to Stratton, it was Gordon who suggested he work with Mossholder to compile their work into one OST. That ultimately led to the OST as we know it, with roughly a dozen songs from Gordon and the rest filled in by Mossholder.

Stratton also explained why the non-Gordon tracks are of lower quality. He said that mixing together an OST usually involves working from the source material, which Id Software does not have access to, so Mossholder was forced to mix game tracks. Stratton said part of what prompted him to make a statement was to defend Mossholder against personal attacks that stemmed from the lower-quality mixes. In the end, Gordon is listed as a composer and artist, while Mossholder is listed as a "contributing artist" on his tracks. Stratton says, "It would have been misleading for us to attribute tracks solely to Mick that someone else had edited."

Game director Neil Druckmann has confirmed that the long-awaited and highly-anticipated The Last of Us Part 2 has officially gone gold. This means the game is ready for printing and distribution (both digital and physical) for its newly-cemented June 19 release date.

In the video, below, Druckmann announced that developer Naughty Dog has "submitted the gold master." With this news signaling that production on TLOU2 discs can finally begin, this should indicate that the sequel will not miss its June launch date. Druckmann doubled-down, saying we will have the game "in just a few short weeks." He also thanked the team for working on what he calls ND's "most ambitious game to date."

Super Mario 64 is one of the most beloved games of the '90s, and its die-hard fans have long relied on emulators to revisit and modify it. Now, as first spotted by VGC, a team of fan-modders have released a port of the game for PC, which allows players to experience their childhood memories at far higher resolutions, or using third-party tools like Reshade to add visual effects to the game.

The port should make the lives of Super Mario 64 modders far easier. Previously, those looking to create custom levels for the game would have to understand the arcane intricacies of the Nintendo 64 and its emulators in order to craft them effectively.

May the 4th is here, and if you've been checking out all of the Star Wars Day deals in the hopes of finding something cool, then there's one more you need to lay your eyes upon. Newegg announced today that it's giving away a custom Star Wars-themed gaming PC built by YouTuber RobeyTech. All you need to do to be eligible is to provide Newegg with your name, email, and birth date. That'll net you your first entry, though if you want a greater chance, there are a number of things you can do to snag up to 18 more, including following various social media accounts, providing Newegg with feedback, and more.

Newegg's custom Star Wars gaming PC is absolutely stacked. It boasts an Asus RTX 2080 Ti, Ryzen 9 3950X processor, 32GB of Corsair Dominator Platinum RAM, 2TB of WD Black NVMe M.2 SSD space, and more. It's all plugged into an Asus Strix X570-E gaming motherboard and cooled by a custom water-cooling system using Optimus parts. The PC's lighting is bright red to give you that sith lord vibe, and if that wasn't enough, Kylo Ren's mask also glows red. You can see the nitty-gritty details and specs on Newegg.

The Division 2 has a small patch coming on Tuesday, May 5 that will require a downtime of three hours, starting 3:30 AM ET / 12:30 AM PT. According to the patch notes, the update will fix an issue making it possible to kill the enemy Kajika in a certain mission before the intended time, as well as adding more spawn points for reinforcements during the Warhound Convoy activities.

Fans of the Division 2 have been looking for more information on the game's upcoming raid for weeks now. In a recent video on the state of the game released by Ubisoft, a developer said that they "don't have any information about the raid yet." The video also detailed Ubisoft's continued investigation into the widespread connectivity issues that many players have reported. Though the developer still hasn't figured out what's causing them, they're the team's "highest priority."

If you were thinking of stepping into The Division 2 for the first time, Ubisoft is currently offering a free 8-hour trial for the game on all platforms.

Codemasters, the British studio responsible for the Dirt Rally and F1 franchises, has confirmed that a new entry in the Dirt series will "roar to life very soon."

In a community blog post, Codemasters said this new Dirt experience will be handled by a separate in-house team, one removed from the Codemasters group that works on Dirt Rally. The studio didn't provide any other information on this new Dirt title, such as intended launch platforms, expected release date, and the like.

"Prepare to see something new roar to life in the world of Dirt, very soon," Codemasters said. "Developed by a separate Codemasters studio to the Dirt Rally team, we're incredibly excited about what's around the corner. We invite you to be part of a brand new experience, while also continuing to enjoy our definitive Rally offering."

May is officially underway, which means a new batch of Field Research tasks has arrived in Pokemon Go, as has a new Research Breakthrough reward. Each time you achieve a Research Breakthrough this month, you'll earn a chance to catch the Electric-type Pokemon Shinx, and it'll come with some bonus Candies.

To achieve a Research Breakthrough, you'll need to collect seven stamps. You'll receive one stamp for the first Field Research task you complete each day, so you'll need to complete tasks over the course of at least seven days to achieve a Research Breakthrough. Fortunately, your progress from last month does not reset, so if you were already on your way to a Research Breakthrough, you'll only need to collect however many stamps you were missing this month to encounter Shinx.

Unlike the story-focused Special Research tasks, which are assigned by Professor Willow, Field Research tasks are distributed through PokeStops. In addition to netting you stamps, you'll earn various rewards each time you complete a task, ranging from helpful items like Berries and Poke Balls to Pokemon encounters. You can see the full list of May's Field Research tasks, as compiled by The Silph Road, below.

Back in 2018, the video game records and adjudication organization Twin Galaxies made headlines when it stripped prominent arcade competitor Billy Mitchell of his scores after a lengthy investigation concluded that he achieved his Donkey Kong record on non-original hardware. Now, according to a report from Ars Technica, Mitchell has sued Twin Galaxies for defamation, claiming that the decision gave him the implicit label of "cheater," which he believes to constitute libel.

The report notes that Mitchell first filed the suit in California in April 2019 to fit inside the statute of limitations for defamation cases. Among many other claims, Mitchell and his legal team condemn Twin Galaxies' reliance on "scientific evidence" rather than eyewitnesses who support Mitchell's contention that the records are the result of legitimate play, including original Twin Galaxies founder Walter Day. (Day left the organization in 2010; current owner Jace Hall purchased it from a third party in 2014.)

In a public declaration filed with the court, Hall called Mitchell's former Donkey Kong record "the most professionally documented and thoroughly investigated video game score of all time." The next action in the case will take place July 6, when both sides will argue over a motion filed by Twin Galaxies. Interest in the ongoing competition to claim the top score in the arcade version of Donkey Kong was first ignited by the highly-regarded 2007 documentary film The King of Kong. The current holder is John McCurdy, with a score of 1,259,000 points.

Just in time for Star Wars Day, developer Respawn Entertainment has dropped a free Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order update for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One that adds a bunch of new content.

The free update introduces new combat challenges and cosmetics for both protagonist Cal Kestis and his little droid companion, BD-1. The most notable of the additions to the action-RPG is the New Game Plus mode, which allows you to replay the campaign with "unlocked cosmetics." There is additional meditation training with "unique combat challenges" that will test your mettle against tough foes in an arena. You can also create your own challenges by placing enemies on a grid-based arena before loading into the fight.

Lastly, Cal gets a slight makeover in this free Jedi: Fallen Order update. Now, you can dress Cal up as an Inquisitor with the "Inquisitor Cal" appearance that puts him in a blacked-out, Sith-like uniform. He also gets a new red lightsaber color to complete the Sith Warrior look.

The Nintendo Switch Eshop is always having one sale or another, and it's not unheard of for a particularly big discount to bring a game down to under a dollar. One new game is performing a Herculean limbo by going even lower, at just 9 cents. That's couch cushion money.

The game is Totes the Goat, a Qbert-like block-hopping game with a voxel art style reminiscent of Crossy Road. It usually goes for $5, so this signifies a discount of more than 90%. It's a paid version of a free-to-play mobile game, which offers in-app purchases. The Switch version flew under the radar in 2018, but the iOS version is fairly well-reviewed on the App Store.

Since the launch of the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo has been using friend codes for adding online friends to your consoles. They're a string of 12-characters that are difficult to remember by heart and a pain to enter, but have endured for over 15-years. The reason? They're just easier than usernames.

That's according to a leaked internal presentation from prior to the Wii's launch, which has been uncovered as part of a larger Nintendo leak encompassing old source code, internal memos, and more. The slide about friend codes in particular is interesting, because it shows that there was a time where Nintendo was at least considering traditional users names for the Wii, and might have stuck with it from then on.

The slide (shared by Kinda Funny's Imran Khan) shows that it clashed with Nintendo's "comfortable" and "simple" principles at the time. The potential of duplicate usernames meant that it wouldn't be simple enough for users to find a unique one without multiple attempts. Similarly, Nintendo saw the potential of users guessing other usernames and finding friends that way rubbed against the "comfortable" nature of online play they were aiming for.

Gaming giant Electronic Arts has announced more details about its upcoming summer games showcase. EA Play Live 2020 will be held on Thursday, June 11, and it'll be completely digital.

The show will stream on EA.com and other sources, including here at GameSpot, with the event kicking off at 4 PM PT / 7 PM ET. You can check out the logo for EA Play Live 2020 below.

EA Play Live is an extension of EA's previous EA Play events that were held surrounding the E3 gaming show in recent years. With E3 2020 canceled completely due to the COVID-19 crisis, EA is shifting its plans as well and launching this digital show.

Vader Immortal, the episodic Star Wars VR game released for Oculus Rift and Quest last year, is making the lightspeed jump to PlayStation VR. According to an announcement on the PlayStation Blog, the game is coming this summer and will include all three episodes and Lightsaber Dojo challenges together.

It was designed by ILMxLAB, an immersive experience studio founded in 2015. While Vader is the focal point of the plot, you actually play as a smuggler recruited by the Sith Lord to find an artifact. The story was written by screenwriter David S. Goyer (Terminator: Dark Fate, Man of Steel). It was awarded Best AV/VR game at the 2020 GDC Awards.

This was announced as part of the Star Wars Day festivities, which comes every May 4. The unofficial fan holiday started as a pun, but has been quickly picked up by official channels as companies plan merch releases and other celebrations around the date.

Taika Waititi is one of those rare talents capable of dazzling with his writing, directing, and acting. From his work behind the camera on Thor: Ragonarok and Jojo Rabbit to his portrayal of IG-11 in The Mandalorian (of which he directed the season one finale), he's building up quite the body of work. Disney today announced the Academy Award-winning Waititi has been tapped to direct and co-write a new Star Wars film for theatrical release.

The other writer is Krysty Wilson-Cairns who wrote 1917 along with a number of Penny Dreadful episodes. No date or story details were given for this film.

On top of the movie news, Disney revealed yet another Disney+ Star Wars series is in the works. This one is helmed by Leslye Headland (Russian Doll, Bachelorette) who will also write and executive produce the series. This untitled project joins the second season of The Mandalorian, as well as the untitled Cassian Andor and Obi-Wan series slated for Disney's streaming service. Like the film, no details have been announced for this series.

Naughty Dog has overcome the recent COVID-19 delay to finally go gold in preparation for its June 19 release date.

Writer/director, and studio vice president, Neil Druckmann took to twitter to make the announcement, and also to assure fans that regardless of the recent leak, they aren't prepared for how good the game is in his estimation.

Our own @Neil_Druckmann has some exciting news about The Last of Us Part II...

(Beware of spoilers in the replies)https://t.co/mq0smECvXt

— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) May 4, 2020

[Source: Naughty Dog]

May the fourth be with you(r wallet)

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War of the Visions Producer Hiroki Fujimoto talked about the global launch and its ties to Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.

The post War of the Visions Producer Talks About the Global Version and Its Influences appeared first on Siliconera.

New Pikachu graduation items have arrived for folks in search of gifts or other items to mark their 2020 graduation.

The post The New Pikachu Graduation Items Have Arrived appeared first on Siliconera.

Aniplex treated fans to beautiful Servants against killer views of Japan for the Fate/Grand Order 5th Anniversary campaign

The post Fate/Grand Order 5th Anniversary Celebrates ‘Under the Same Sky’ appeared first on Siliconera.

Electronic Arts is normally the first company to get its E3 festivities done and dusted. Typically held the Saturday before E3, day minus-two, EA is the warm-up press conference before the furious onslaught over the next few days. However, if this year were a normal year, the timing of EA's event would make it last. But, as you and I both know, this is anything but a normal year.

EA has confirmed that it's hosting another EA Play in June, this time an all-digital event that reflects the current all-digital lifestyle we live. It's going to be held on June 11 at 4pm Pacific. That's the Thursday that E3 was set to wrap up but E3 was canceled.

Not much has been divulged as to EA's approach to this revamped EA Play. We're told to expect "world premieres, news, and more," and that much was probably always obvious. It's uncertain if EA will find ways to make good on the "Play" part of the name, finding ways to replace the Hollywood demos for a digital showcase that's accessible for everyone. EA is already contributing to Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest, so adapting EA Play demos to an online format doesn't seem like much of a stretch.