Ed Boon said that a Mortal Kombat roster is determined by the story, how long its been since a character appeared, and other factors.
The post Boon Says Mortal Kombat Rosters Are Decided by Stories and Timelines appeared first on Siliconera.
IGN is delaying its Summer of Gaming event schedule "out of respect for and in support of those rightfully demanding justice and change."
The post IGN Summer of Gaming Events Will Now Begin on June 8, 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.
CD Projekt Red has announced that its planned Cyberpunk 2077 event is being pushed back amid protests against racial injustice to make room for more important voices to be heard.
The event, which was scheduled for June 11, is now set for June 25. This follows Sony, who yesterday delayed its PlayStation 5: The Future of Gaming event originally scheduled for this week.
In a statement on Twitter, the development team laid its thoughts out for all to see:
We decided to move Night City Wire to Jun 25th. We still look forward to sharing new information about CPâ77, but more important discussions are happening right now and we want them to be heard. We wholeheartedly stand against racism, intolerance and violence. Black Lives Matter.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) June 2, 2020
I didn't set out to buy Borderlands 2 for Nintendo Switch, but it worked out that way over the weekend.
Why? Well, it's been a while – I haven't gotten around to Borderlands 3 yet (or even The Pre-Sequel), and I'm not sure I ever will – but split-screen on my go-to co-op platform sounded pretty appealing.
If you're considering getting Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (BL2 and The Pre-Sequel) or the Borderlands Legendary Collection (BL1, BL2, and The Pre-Sequel) on Switch from a similar state of mind, you're probably curious about how these ports look, run, and feel. You might've already heard that they're aiming for 1080p (docked) at 30 FPS, and that there's optional motion/gyro control support.
I've only had time to check out Borderlands 2, but so far, so good in single-player and two-player local co-op – it's stable. It's smooth enough to keep up with at least the early-game chaos. While the Switch isn't my favorite console for shooters – not even close – I'm happy overall with how Borderlands feels.
Your best bet is a Switch Pro Controller if you've got one, or playing in handheld mode, which feels like the dream of Borderlands 2 for PlayStation Vita brought to life. Both of those options feel natural. I don't particularly care to use the Joy-Con for a frantic FPS like this, but maybe you're more used to 'em. Whichever route you to take, brace your hands for some teeth-chattering rumble (or toggle it off).
Before Sonic Adventure, Sega’s blue mascot made his first foray into the third dimension with 1996’s Sonic 3D Blast for the Sega Genesis and Saturn. It wasn’t great! But now we have a 2D total conversion thanks to independent developer Sotaknuck, which takes the story and aesthetics of Sonic 3D Blast and reimagines…
In the United States your online data privacy is always at risk, and because at any point lawmakers could vote to surrender your browsing history to the FBI, now is the time to start using a VPN—a virtual private network that conceals your IP address from unwanted spectators including your internet service provider…
Having previously been a series that we first associated with DVD drives and then Steam, the next release in the Total War series—the spinoff A Total War Saga: TROY—is going to be a 12-month Epic Games Store exclusive. And it’ll be...free?
Arc System Works recently shared the results of a survey taken by players of the Guilty Gear Strive closed beta. The most interesting findings come from the character request section. Players from around the world left some surprisingly uniform responses, and sadly, my favorite character is nowhere to be seen.
Soul Eater: Medusa no Inbou, a DS spin-off game based on the anime, has gotten a full English translation faithful to the Funimation subs.
The post Soul Eater: Medusa no Inbou DS Game Gets Fan Translation appeared first on Siliconera.
To mark the company’s 60th anniversary, Sega has decided to take one of its most notorious systems and re-release it in micro form. It’s not the Dreamcast or the Saturn, though; rather, it’s the handheld Game Gear.
More than a week has passed since the brutal police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Rallies and protests have since ensued, rightfully, from coast-to-coast. And it’s not just Floyd. It’s Philando Castile and Breonna Taylor, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner (among many, many, many…
Today Sega is celebrating its 60th anniversary and to celebrate, the publisher released a new video portraying its mission.
The popular Japanese company was founded on June 3, 1960, and it has a long history of success and struggle among many beloved games and consoles.
The video is rather emotional, following the story of Sega’s products mainly around video games but also touching other fields of the business like movies.
We get to see brand new things like Sakura Wars, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Persona 5 Royal, and Total War: Three Kingdoms, which are certainly highlights of Sega’s recent prodyction.
We also get the mission of the company spelled in the video, including “aiming for greater heights,” being “always proactive and always pioneering,” and baing “game changers.”
This is noth the first trailer of this kind Sega releases, as another was launched exactly one year ago.
Today Sega opened a teaser site for a new hardware that isn’t that new. It isn’t the Dreamcast 2, but the “Game Gear Micro.”
This comes in the wake of wild rumors spread last week about something new related to Sega, which saw people come up with a range of rather ambitious theories.
In reality, sega is bringing a new mini console following the successful Genesis Mini releases last year.
This time around, it’s the Game Gear Micro, a miniaturized version of the Game Gear, the portable console released in 1997 in Japan and in 2000 in the west.
If the image above portrays the real size, it’s certainly rather small.
Price and release window have not been announced yet, but the full reveal is scheduled to come at 1:00 PM Japan Time today, which is just in a few hours.
It’s not a new Dreamcast, but for fans of Sega’s history who weren’t wishing for the stars, this is likely welcome news.
Of course, we’ll post all the relevant information as soon as Sega reveals them later today.
The date of the announcement is not random, as today marks the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the company all the way back to June 3, 1960.
The post Sega Reveals “Game Gear Micro” to Celebrate 60th Anniversary appeared first on Twinfinite.
It looks like the next Sega micro console could be a micro handheld, as it is teasing a full Game Gear Micro reveal for June 3, 2020.
The post Sega Teases a Game Gear Micro Reveal appeared first on Siliconera.
Rumors have been swirling about possible announcements for Sega's 60th anniversary, and here's one of them: the Game Gear Micro – a system so small, you can comfortably fit it in the palm of your hand.
A worldwide reveal hasn't happened yet, but in Japan, the Game Gear Micro will release for 4,980 yen on October 6, 2020. (30 years after the original!) For now, check out this teaser with multiple colors:
I see Sonic, I see Shining Force, and I see the need to stop by my optometrist's office.
It's not the miniature Dreamcast I was hoping for, but I'm tentatively interested. The price is reasonable, the size is questionable, and the game selection? Well, we'll just have to wait. I was happy with the way the Sega Genesis Mini turned out pretty much across the board, but this will be an uphill battle.
My only personal experience with the original Game Gear was through a childhood friend who, as long as I ever knew him, only owned two or three games, tops. I only had its Very Large son, the Nomad.
Are you open to the idea of a micro-as-hell Game Gear Micro, or has science gone too far?
[Via Famitsu]
On June 1, GameSpot began hosting Play For All--a celebration of all things gaming. We asked that you join us as we bring you the summer's hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. But we're also taking this opportunity to state our support for the recent protests that have popped up across the US in response to the continued police brutality against black people.
To that end, GameSpot would like to highlight black creators in our industry, whether they specialize in writing video essays, producing hard-hitting articles, or hosting good podcasts. Below, we've listed the work of notable black creators--regardless of whether or not they work at GameSpot. We hope you'll take a few moments to read and watch them and maybe gain a new perspective into your favorite video games. And keep checking this page, as we'll continue to update it with more voices over the coming days and weeks.
This article, originally posted on March 29, 2019, has been republished to amplify black voices in GameSpot's support of Black Lives Matter. Donate to the effort to fight systemic racism here.
Since its pre-video game years as a Japanese playing-card company, Nintendo has designed games that combine strategy, competition, and luck. This mixture takes competition-centric pressure off players, making the game less about winning and more about having fun.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThis article, originally posted on December 16, 2019, has been republished to amplify black voices in GameSpot's support of Black Lives Matter. Donate to the effort to fight systemic racism here.
On December 17, we will reveal which of the 10 nominees gets to take home the coveted title of GameSpot's Best Game of 2019. So be sure to come back then for the big announcement, and in the meantime, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best Games of 2019 hub.
Death Stranding is the anti-open-world game of the 2010s. Instead of hinging on combat encounters and large-scale thrills in an expansive world, Hideo Kojima's experimental game focuses more on the struggles of a lone character exploring a massive landscape on his own two feet and with the weight of the world on his shoulders. It takes a step back to observe the foreboding sense of isolation when in the wild, which can give rise to a surreal sense of calm when embracing your routine amid a paranormal, post-apocalyptic setting. Death Stranding wasn't the kind of open-world game we were expecting, but in truth, it was the one we needed this year.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThis article, originally posted on September 19, 2019, has been republished to amplify black voices in GameSpot's support of Black Lives Matter. Donate to the effort to fight systemic racism here.
Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to), a game that encourages people to write nice things about each other over the internet, seems like a recipe for disaster. Every time I boot up the game, I wonder if this is going to be it, if this is going to be the moment when its formula backfires and pairs me up with a sadistic troll. Surprisingly, it hasn't, even as the game has garnered increased attention and users since its official launch. The folks behind Kind Words aren't worried about the attention though--not yet anyway--as they're confident that the game will not become so popular that it evolves into something too difficult to control.
This article, originally posted on October 31, 2019, has been republished to amplify black voices in GameSpot's support of Black Lives Matter. Donate to the effort to fight systemic racism here.
Death is such a major part of video games, but rarely in a way that's constructive--it's most commonly a failure mechanic for you or the ever-present goal for you to enact on others, regardless of whether you're facing other players or NPCs. A story-driven game's most dramatic moment may use the death of a beloved character to create a severe emotional response and plenty of horror games rely on surprising character deaths to produce jump scares. But that's usually the extent to what games do with death. So in the few cases when games actually do deal with death and grief as a reality, it's almost always surprising.
Video games should talk about death more. And I don't mean just show it; more games should really talk about it and explore how normal it is. Video games too often gloss over or demonize death but that's not an accurate reflection of real life. We're all going to die someday, as are the people we know. And as frightening as that may be, those deaths will probably be boringly normal. So too, in turn, are the emotions associated with coming to terms with that, whether it's depression, grief, anger, or acceptance.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThis article, originally posted on June 28, 2019, has been republished to amplify black voices in GameSpot's support of Black Lives Matter. Donate to the effort to fight systemic racism here.
Game development is a risky endeavor. Between designing, programming, QA testing, and all the other steps involved, you can spend years working on the same project. There's no guarantee that what you'll make will be well-received when it's released and, even if it is, a lack of exposure could still spell financial loss. There's a lot of pressure to succeed, and failing to meet expectations might mean there's not enough money for a next time.
And yet, despite this pressure, there are some people out there who choose to shoulder this burden alone. There are over a dozen success stories of indie developers who forged ahead with little to no outside help, managing to achieve both wide-spread critical acclaim for their work and earn enough money to make a living. It's not a very common occurrence though, and asking those who've managed to do it reveals plenty of reasons as to why that could be the case. Developing a game can already be a fairly mentally and emotionally taxing process, and doing it solo without a support system can exacerbate the stress and feelings of self-doubt. Some appreciate this challenge, but others do not.
Continue Reading at GameSpotAs promised a few hours ago, Sega provided with a press release the first details and a trailer for the upcoming Game Gear Micro.
The console will be priced at 4,980 yen and will release in Japan on October 6, 2020. The price translates roughly into $46.
It will come in four different colors, each of which will have a different selection of games.
The black version will include Sonic the Hedgehog, Puyo Puyo, Out Run, anmd Royal Stone.
The blue version will come with Sonic & Tails (Sonic Chaos), Gunstar Heroes, Sylvan Tale, and Baku Baku Animal.
The yellow version will include Shining Force Gaiden, Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya, Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict, and Nazo Puyo Arle no Roux.
Last, but not least, the red version will include Revelations: The Demon Slayer, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, The G.G. Shinobi, and Columns.
Since the screen is rather small (1 inch), Sega is also releasing an accessory named Big Window Micro, which gives you a broader vision. If you buy the four-color set you get it for free.
The size of the console is 80 mm x 43 mm x 20 mm, which is less than 40% of the original. It comes with a 1” monitor and save states, and it operates with two AAA batteries or powered via USB.
M2 is still taking care of the software of the mini-console like it did for the Genesis Mini.
You can check out the trailer and official images of the Game Gear Micro below.
The Game Gear Micro will release in Japan this October in four color variants, each with its own set of four games.
The post Game Gear Micro Revealed, Set to Release in Four Color Variants in Japan on October 6, 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.
Studio Ghibli is doing a long-form adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ novel Earwig and the Witch. Previously, the studio adapted the author’s 1986 fantasy novel Howl’s Moving Castle. This will be Ghibli’s first full-length CG feature.
Wow Rhythm Fighter makes my brain hurt. It's the controls: it's like learning to type on a different language keyboard. There's an easy option but it puts you at a disadvantage overall and you can feel the game frown at you for choosing it.
I'm getting ahead of myself. Rhythm Fighter is a side-scrolling beat-'em-up where you have to do everything in time to bopping music. And it looks like a cartoon. And you fight giant vegetables. And you only get one life. Got it?
OK, the controls. They don't sound difficult but let me tell you: they do not feel natural.
Word's been going around for a while that Sega's had some big news planned for this week, and it's leading with the announcement of a very small console - the Game Gear Micro, coming out in four variants in Japan to mark the 30th anniversary of Sega's only dedicated portable system.
Due out on October 6th (in Japan only for now - we've yet to hear about plans for a western release, and given how eccentric this diminutive machine is we'd be surprised to hear any), the four variants each come with their own four games, meaning you'll have to collect all four to get the entire catalogue.
It's a decent list, though, with developer Ancient's take on Sonic the Hedgehog - for my money one of the very best Sonic games - leading the way on the black version of the Game Gear Micro, alongside Puyo Puyotsu, Outrun and Royal Stone (known as Crystal Warriors in the west). The yellow edition is something of a Shining Force special, with three of Sega's RPGs being bundled with Nazo Puyo: Arle no Roux, a puzzle/RPG hybrid.
Along with practically every other sporting event in the first half of 2020, The Isle of Man TT was canceled earlier this year as a result of COVID-19.
It was a particular point of upset for yours truly, having already paid for flights, accommodation, and tickets. Boo!
Thankfully, there’s a silver lining in the form of a virtual competition; announced yesterday, publisher NACON and developer KT Racing have collaborated with the Isle of Man TT Races committee to produce TT Ride on the Edge 2020, an online event set within the acclaimed Isle of Man TT: Ride on the Edge 2 game.
Launched earlier this year, Ride on the Edge 2 had originally been intended as a celebration of the 2020 competition which was scheduled to take place later this month before being canceled. Now it finds itself literally as the competition itself, with the event kicking off this week.
The competition is divided into two separate parts. There will be an initial event between eight teams composed of invited competitors from the TT Races and experienced players from June 2 to June 6 as part of the Isle of Man Government’s ‘TT Lock-in’ program of entertainment.
Davey Todd, Conor Cummins, and Peter Hickman are some of the big TT names taking part.
Highlights of each team’s performance can be seen on the official iomttraces.com website and social media channels.
After that, gamers from all over the world who play TT Isle of Man – Ride on the Edge 2 on PS4 and PC can enter an open competition and go head to head in an event that runs from June 13 to June 25.
They will be competing to win a trip for two to the Tourist Trophy on the Isle of Man in 2021 to meet their heroes. The runner-up will win an official and limited-edition TT 2020 Arai helmet.
The event will consist of three rounds:
As part of Sega's 60th anniversary, Sega has teamed up with watchmaker Seiko to release a limited line of watches.
The post Die-hard Sega Fans Can Pre-Order Sega 60th Anniversary Watches Now appeared first on Siliconera.
「#ゲームギアミクロ」10月6日発売決定！
CD Projekt Red joins Sony's PS5 event and IGN Expo in delaying events due to current circumstances. Night City Wire is part of IGN's Summer of Gaming. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.We decided to move Night City Wire to Jun 25th. We still look forward to sharing new information about CP’77, but more important discussions are happening right now and we want them to be heard. We wholeheartedly stand against racism, intolerance and violence. Black Lives Matter.
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) June 2, 2020
Steam's summer and winter sales drive the most post-launch purchases of your game. Is your page ready for all this traffic? ...
Fukuta Kishimoto, a 21-year-old Kyoto man, has been arrested after allegedly threatening to kill Tatsuki, the anime director best known for Kemono Friends. Kishimoto also allegedly threatened Yui Ishikawa, who did voice work for Kemono Friends 2, as well as an anime production company.
Expect it to be huge. Valorant, Riot Games' tactical, abilities- and weapons-based shooter, is finally out in the wild, and it's arrived off the back of a frankly massive "closed" beta. Some of those numbers, like the outrageous watch times and concurrent viewers on Twitch, are artificially inflated - namely by Riot's "drops" system of handing out beta keys to random viewers of streams - but the player numbers aren't. There's good reason for it.
For starters, I'm not sure I've played a game that feels as ground-up optimised for its own purpose as Valorant. This is a game that makes its case through competency. It has the best servers (are we numb to the words "128-tick" yet?), the most optimal art style, an aggressive, proprietary anti-cheat system and a team behind it that feels frankly obsessed with proving its pedigree. It's a statement, Riot Games standing up and saying "this is what we can do".
The good news for us is, for the most part, that means Valorant is an exceptionally well-made game. It's gunplay might not outright surpass the precision of Counter Strike, but it certainly matches it, and while it might not beat Call of Duty or Halo for the pure satisfaction of firing a weapon, in this case that's sort of besides the point. There are settings for reticule sizes, shapes and colours. There are exact damage stats displayed on the weapon-choice screen that detail head, body, and limb damage - including at different ranges - and bullet-point accurate rates of fire for every firing mode a gun has. Much like Counter Strike - and Valorant really is very close to Counter Strike - precision rules above all.
The Isle of Armor, Pokémon Sword and Shield's first major expansion, will launch for Nintendo Switch on 17th June.
Nintendo revealed the date in a detail-stuffed trailer, alongside several new creatures you'll meet in that expansion and its follow-up The Crown Tundra.
Of particular interest are two new legendaries in the Regi family - the electric Regieleki and dragon-type Regidrago. These will be available in The Crown Tundra when that arrives later this year.
Destiny 2 looks like it's heading to Europa for its next big expansion.
Jupiter's icy moon is the setting for a quickly-deleted teaser trailer, uploaded to Bungie's Instagram account.
The video shows fan-favourite character Eris Morn crossing the frozen wastes of the planet to find... something. Bungie's teaser concludes by promising more next week.
Activision has postponed its new season in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, due to go live this week.
In a statement posted to the official Call of Duty Twitter account, Activision said the launch of Modern Warfare Season 4 and Call of Duty: Mobile Season 7 would shift to "later dates".
There's no word yet on when those might be.
This year's PlayStation Days of Play deals have already been at UK retailers for over a week now. Today, however, our US pals get to partake in the offers. On top of that, the Days of Play sale has begun on the PSN Store, with prices cuts on PS Plus, PS Now and loads of PS4 games that match (or better) what we've seen already.
For those of you who want to get to the bargains straight away, you can use the links below to see everything in each region. I've kept in any offers that retailers are still running, but also added a section that specifically highlights the best Days of Play deals of the PSN Store.
Up for grabs are a number of terrific price cuts on PS VR, PS Plus, PS Now and loads of PS4 games. Some of which are on par with - or even better than - last year's PlayStation Black Friday deals.
Developer The Creative Assembly's Total War spin-off A Total War Saga: Troy will be free to download and keep when it launches as an Epic Games Store exclusive on 13th August.
Total War Saga: Troy is The Creative Assembly's second entry in its strategy spin-off series - following on from 2018's decent Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia - and, like its predecessor, is designed to offer a shorter, more focused take on the core series' blend of turn-based empire management and real-time tactics.
While Thrones of Britannica set its strategic action in the British Isles of 878 AD, Troy heads to the Mediterranean of the Bronze Age - the earliest period the Total War series has tackled so far - focusing on the battle between Troy and Mycenaean Greece, better known as the Trojan War.
Photo: Warner Bros.
