Image: Ryu ga Gotoku Studio/Sega via Polygon
The challenges of making a modern RPG
There are eight million stories in The City; this is one of them. | Image: Visual Concepts/2K Sports
Next-gen versions offer players even more off-the-court, lifestyle diversions
Today Sega announced with a press release that it’s relinquishing control of Sega Entertainment, transferring most of its shares to another company.
To be specific, the house of Sonic will sell 17,882 shares of its Entertainment business (which includes its arcade machines, UFO Catchers, and their prizes) to Genda.
While Sega will retain a small stake in the business, this means a drop in voting rights from 100% to 14.9%.
Sega Logistics will also continue provide its services to Genda on the distribution front.
The transfer of shares will become effective on December 30.
As a result, Sega predicts a 20 billion yen extraordinary loss due to restructuring , which results in the following revision to its annual forecast.
It’s worth mentioning that in financial terms, “extraordinary” loss means that it’ll happen only once.
Here’s Sega’s comment on the issue:
If you’re playing Sea of Thieves or plan to jump on the ship on Xbox Series X or S, today Rare provided some relevant information on what you can expect.
The game is getting an optimized next-gen version when the two consoles will launch on December 10 via Smart Delivery.
This version will run at 60 FPS in full 4K on Xbox Series X. Frame rate won’t be compromised on the series S, but the smaller brother will run Sea of Thieves at 1080p resolution.
On top of that, and perhaps predictably, load times will be significantly reduced.
Sea of Thieves is currently available for Xbox One and PC.
If you’re unfamiliar with the game, you can read an official description below.
“Sea of Thieves offers the essential pirate experience, from sailing and fighting to exploring and looting – everything you need to live the pirate life and become a legend in your own right. With no set roles, you have complete freedom to approach the world, and other players, however you choose.
Whether you’re voyaging as a group or sailing solo, you’re bound to encounter other crews in this shared world adventure – but will they be friends or foes, and how will you respond?
A Vast Open World
Explore a vast open world filled with unspoiled islands, sunken ships and mysterious artefacts. Take on quests to hunt for lost treasure, seek out cursed Skeleton Captains or gather valuable cargo for the Trading Companies. Go hunting and fishing or choose from hundreds of optional goals and side-quests.
Unforgettable stories
Ubisoft’s Greek mythology romp Immortals Fenyx Rising is being launched into a pretty long shadow and no, it isn’t Zeus’s. Between the climbing and gliding and puzzles and oh so many other things, it has a more than passing resemblance to Breath Of The Wild. One thing it won’t share, though, is your ability to say peanuts to the grand quest and immediately go knock on the final boss’s door. Ubisoft say that they really want you to see the game’s story. Typhon will wait.
While the maker of Phasmophobia did once hint at plans to add a PvP mode to the smash-hit cooperative ghost-hunting game, they’ve now said naw that’s off. Didn’t fit what the game is. Makes sense. Phasmophobia’s a game of terse and unpredictable encounters with entities who behave in inhuman ways, and even the most murderous spirit is often inscrutable. A human opponent playing to win objectives sounds boring in comparison. And with only one person making the game, sure, it’s best to focus on the good stuff rather than get lost in modes people didn’t buy it for.
The shortest point between two points is a straight line. “As the crow flies,” they say. But in Teardown, I can’t fly. Instead, I am more like a worm. I eat my way forward, creating straight lines of travel by smashing, crashing, and bombing through warehouses and mansions. I will emerge from one building then dive through a self-made entrance into another – and I will do it all so I can rapidly steal or destroy the contents inside.
Red may be sus but the new content plans for Among Us are pretty awesome. The indie title that released two years ago has seen a massive surge in popularity over the past month thanks to streamers and the impact of Fall Guys from Mediatonic. In response to that rapid (and random) success, the team over at InnerSloth has decided to abandon Among Us 2 plans so that they can focus on improving the game currently out. In a recent blog update, the studio has confirmed what some of those plans look like.
In its latest blog post, InnerSloth first addressed the hacking elephant in the room, saying: "Firstly, we want to be sure to talk about the cheating and hacking going on. It was pretty bad there for a bit, so Forte pushed out server changes really fast. They seemed to help a lot, but some cheats still work and now there are bugs too. There will be more server updates to fix all of this, but rushing anti-hacks is what caused the bugs, so cleaning things up is a slower process. Also rest assured that any threats made in the game are false and your devices and data are safe. If you see a hacker, ban them or find a different room."
A new update has been deployed adding an anonymous voting option that makes all jelly bean astronauts appear greyed out during Emergency Meetings. This allows people to vote for who they want without the repercussions, adding a new layer of intrigue to this deceptive game.
Click to watch embedded media Rainbow Six Siege continues to beef up its gameplay experience with a constantly evolving setup of new operations and operators. With Operation Neon Dawn on the horizon, Ubisoft is sharing a first look at what the next step for this game offers, and that's our introduction to the latest operator to join in on the fun: Aruni.
Ubisoft took to the game's official Twitter page to share a teaser surrounding the latest Defender that is joining the fight:
Can you take the heat? ☀️ pic.twitter.com/ezGgjzX2n1
Click here to watch embedded media WWE 2K Battlegrounds, Saber Interactive’s cartoonier take on the already-wacky world of WWE, is getting its first free roster updates. Beginning November 6 and over the couple of weeks players can look forward to receiving new batches Superstars, current and legendary, that they can feed to live alligators using John Cena’s Attitude Adjustment.
The first batch of characters arrives this Friday, with two more sets coming over the next couple of weeks. Some of the new superstars and their cosmetics must be unlocked using the in-game currency (which can be earned or purchased using real cash). Characters that are unlocked from the get-go have been labeled as such:
November 6
November 11
November 18
Back in October, fans got their first look at the cast for the upcoming Resident Evil movie reboot, confirming who will be bringing to life iconic characters like Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield, and more. Now, we've got our first look at Racoon City with new set images from the film.
Fans curious about the upcoming Resident Evil movie reboot were quick to sus out any and all information they could find. The fruits of that labor resulted in quite a few on-set images showing off Racoon City's police station:
O filme reboot de #ResidentEvil está sendo filmado em Ontario (EUA). Estas fotos foram postadas ontem pelos moradores locais Ryan Bazi & @pinkharte; Ryan afirma que vários locais da cidade serão usados como cenários de Raccoon City, incluindo um hospital abandonado. #REBHFun pic.twitter.com/0Upt0zws9p
Donald Trump may turn out to be a one-term president, but the results from election night are a bleak reminder that Trumpism isn’t going away anytime soon. Trump has turned the Republican Party into a cult of personality, one that is willing to literally die to “own the libs.” It’s no surprise then that its freshest…
Call of Duty games are routinely some of the biggest you can download on console, and this year’s Black Ops: Cold War is continuing that trend, especially on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Kenny Ilko helped us understand how Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia took shape and what fans and newcomers can expect when it releases.
The post Talking Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia Story and Design with Executive Producer, Kenny Ilko appeared first on Siliconera.
People might have a way to save on PS5 games at Target. A B2G1 sale starting next week includes some next-gen titles.
The post Target Buy 2 Get 1 Free Sale Shows PS5 Games appeared first on Siliconera.
Get ready to get behind the wheel, as an Arcade1Up Outrun cabinet is on the way. It will be a seated driving cabinet with four games.
The post People Can Park an Arcade1Up Outrun Cabinet in Their Homes appeared first on Siliconera.
I spent a surprising amount of time with Borderlands 2 on Nintendo Switch this year, and while I've had my fill – enough to the point where I might not ever revisit this game – sure, I'll take a moment to claim the Commander Lilith & the Fight for Sanctuary DLC while Take-Two is still giving it out. Just in case.
You can do the same if you own Borderlands: The Handsome Collection (that's the two-game bundle) or Borderlands: Legendary Collection (the compilation with three games). The Commander Lilith DLC is free to claim until December 3, 2020, and you can find it listed on the Nintendo eShop – I'd link it if I could.
Once it's installed, how do you access the quest? Hit up a Fast Travel station at level 30 or higher and look for "Fight for Sanctuary." Aside from new guns (including the Effervescent rarity tier) and more bosses, areas, and enemy variants, there's also a new level cap: it's bumped from level 72 to level 80.
A word of warning: I've seen some players report that the DLC is crashing Borderlands 2 (especially the comments on the YouTube trailer embedded above), so it's probably worth waiting for the all-clear.
Otherwise, in general, Borderlands 2 is pretty good on Switch (if you're still into it).
Seeing as how Xbox Series S/X is completely backward compatible with Xbox One, a lot of people are going to have a new console that populates a very large library of already-owned games. But, how to quickly find the games that get the most horsepower out of the Xbox Series S/X?
Microsoft has created a nice quality-of-life filter that sorts by games that are optimized for Xbox Series S/X. Xbox's Major Nelson showed it off this morning:
This month, stealth 'n' snipe adventure Sniper Elite 4 will arrive on Switch, marking the series official debut on the Nintendo platform. Developer Rebellion has released a new trailer, giving wannabe sharpshooters their first decent look at the Switch version in action.
It's referred to as a "gameplay trailer," but aside from the opening 10 seconds is still a little too "quick-cut" to really get a feel for how the Switch will handle the third-person adventure. We do get to see our man in Italy, taking down the Nazi regime one bullet at a time, as expertly demonstrated through Sniper Elite's gloriously gory X-ray kill cam.
The video also espouses some of the features incorporated into the Switch port, including gyroscopic aiming, HD Rumble support, character customization, and local multiplayer modes for up to four perfect shooters. Let's hope you don't get me on your squad, decades of coffee have left my hands about as steady as a rock grinder.
Sniper Elite 4 launches November 17 on Nintendo Switch. Pre-ordering via the eShop will bag you a 15% price discount.
The SteamWorld series has been near and dear to my heart since 2013 (sorry SteamWorld Tower Defense), ever since I first played SteamWorld Dig on my 3DS.
Developer Image & Form really had a hit on their hands, which they've expanded upon to great success with SteamWorld Heist, Dig 2, and Quest. Moving into strategy and RPG realms was a big move for the company, but they pulled it off and managed to craft a fun and unique shared universe along the way. Now, after around a year of near-silence regarding the franchise, we could see it expanded even further in the near future.
Speaking to a fan on Twitter, Image & Form explained that they are "making new SteamWorld games" (first of all, yes) and they are "not ruling out sequels." Going a tad further, the studio says that they would "love to revisit earlier games in the series." Boom. That's like, triple-confirmation!
Obviously our imagination could run wild here, but I think turning SteamWorld Dig into a trilogy is the most obvious move. Next, a whole new game in a completely different genre would be my next bet. Either way, the world is Image & Form's oyster. They seem to have a firm foundation of a fanbase around them and are expanding far beyond the confines of the SteamWorld universe, developing titles like Gunk on PC/Xbox.
Image & Form [Twitter]
Today’s issue of Weekly Famitsu included an interview with Xbox division head Phil Spencer about the upcoming next-gen release and the Japanese market.
According to Spencer, Japanese is considered by Microsoft a very important market in the gaming industry. There are great Japanese game developers and many enthusiastic gamers in the country.
Spencer admits that the delay of the Xbox One’s launch in Japan (in September 2014, nearly a year after the west) gave a negative impression. That’s why Microsoft decided to launch Xbox Series X and S in Japan on November 10, wanting to prevent the same situation from happening and out of respect for Japan.
Asked about the shortages in available pre-orders, Spencer mentions that it’s humbling for him to see the Xbox Series X and Series S accepted by the Japanese fans.
Given the goals Microsoft is looking at for the new consoles, this is still the first step in a long way to go. The fact that many people have pre-ordered them is encouraging.
Microsoft plans to ship as many units as possible at launch, and that is considered the top priority. However, it’s inevitable that demand will be higher than supply at launch and afterward.
In the future, Spencer would like to be able to meet demand within a few months from launch. Especially in Japan, Microsoft is planning according to a long-term perspective.
Speaking of the two consoles, Spencer mentions that historically price has always been an important factor in reaching a wide target of people. Xbox Series S is being released because it allows players to enjoy the next-generation at a relatively low cost. The Xbox Series X brings more power to the gaming experience. They’re like two wheel of the same vehicles.
The Rainbow Six: Siege EU Majors are a few days away, so a big reveal is coming. The Majors take place on Nov. 8 on Twitch, and Ubisoft has told fans to prepare themselves to see more of Rainbow Six’s Operation Neon Dawn. For now, today’s trailer gives us a quick look at a new Operator.
The new Operator is a defender named Aruni. From the looks of it, she can effectively block doorways with some kind of laser wall.
Her device seems to function similar to Castle’s, except it’s pretty evident that these lasers of hers can actually do some damage.
Check out the reveal trailer below to get a glimpse at Aruni before more Operation Neon Dawn details are revealed at the EU Rainbow Six Majors:
In case you missed it, Rainbow Six is currently offering an interesting “Sugar Fright” Halloween event before Neon Dawn in which sock puppet costumes are available for Operators. You read that right. It started on Oct. 27, and it’s lasting until Nov. 10.
Today’s issue of Weekly Famitsu included a brief interview to Sony Interactive Entertainment senior vice president, Platform Planning & Management Hideaki Nishino about the UI of the PS5.
Nishino-san mentioned that the concept of the new UI is to provide the user with hints and hooks in the system to immerse themselves in the games at a deeper level.
That’s why there is a “Control Center” that can let you easily access the system menu and presents a lot of information about the games. Sony believes this will improve the gaming experience for the users.
However, the PS4 UI has been well-received because it was simple and easy to use, so Sony applied its good points without eliminating them and hopes players will get used to the new UI soon.
PS5 is also more closely connected with the network allowing the user to easily see additional information for each game including available downloadable content.
In the future, Nishino-san would like to consider implementing customization elements for the home screen like the custom themes that are on PS4.
First of all, he’d like users to get hands-on with the UI when the PS5 launches and get used to its operation.
In case you missed it, the PS5’s standard edition will cost $499.99, €499.99, £449.99, or 49,980 yen while the Digital Edition is priced at $399.99, €399.99, £359.99, or 39,980 yen.
The first release date for the console will be on Nov. 12 in the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea.
Ah yes, a tale as old as time—or at least as old as old-school MMO players. You’ve got multiple World Of Warcraft accounts, for one reason or another, and are “multiboxing” to sign in to both accounts simultaneously. Blizzard have updated their policy on multiboxing to clarify that multiple instances of the game are fine, but they’ll be issuing warnings and bans to players using third-party software to automate playing them.
is leveling the flying field, as it were, with a new update that addresses lobbies and matchmaking with changes to match forfeiting in its spaceflight battles. Update 2.0 brings plenty of other bug fixes and AI tweaks, including one for swatting pesky pilots taking down big Capital Ships in a sneaky fashion.
Square Enix will soon be unleashing the interminably titled Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age - Definitive Edition on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and ahead of its 4th December release, a substantial free demo is now available on all platforms.
Dragon Quest XI Definitive Edition (as I shall be referring to it from here on in, to save my fingers and your eyes) is, of course, a port of the game that released on Switch last year, which was, in turn, an expanded and enhanced version of 2017's Dragon Quest XI - a game that eventually made its way west via PlayStation 4 and PC in 2018.
The original release's tale of a young boy forced out of his idyllic existence to thwart an age-old evil was about as traditional a J-RPG offering as its sounds, albeit entirely charming, and frequently breathtaking its lavish presentation.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare gets a lot of flack for how it basically takes over your console with its huge install sizes. For Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Activision has given players the courtesy of knowing exactly how much hard drive space they'll need to allocate ahead of its November 13th launch.
Those who pre-ordered the game digitally will be able to pre-install the game on the following dates, times, and platforms:
PlayStation 4: November 5th at 9pm PT
Size: 95GB
PlayStation 5: November 12th (no time given)
Size: 133GB
Xbox One: November 5th at 9pm PT
Size: 93GB
Xbox Series X/S: November 10th (no time given)
Size: 136GB
PC: November 10th at 10am PT
35 GB (multiplayer only)
82GB (full game)
125GB (full game on ultra graphics)
Minecraft is one of those games that absolutely inspires the best in all of us in terms of creativity. Through the years, we've seen so many amazing crossovers in Minecraft due to creative and dedicated players and with Beyond Light just around the corner for Destiny 2, this Tower homage is just too perfect not to share.
Courtesy of YouTuber 'EetzJosh, we've got an interesting take on Destiny 2's social space with a complete Tower walkthrough. Given the limitations of Minecraft and its particular art style, the Tower isn't an exact replica but that doesn't mean it's any less impressive:
Click here to watch embedded mediaThe Minecraft craftsman even faithfully recreated the secret route to get into Zavala's office, a location that many Destiny 2 players became familiar with due to a particular Exotic questline. They even added a picture of Cayde-6, because we're still not ready to accept that he's really gone.
The Rune Factory 4 Nintendo Switch Online free trial isn't a Japan-exclusive offer. It's now available for subscribers in Europe too.
The post Free Rune Factory 4 Switch Trial Begins in Europe This Week appeared first on Siliconera.
Image: Treyarch/Activision
Players will only have to install the modes they want to play
Image: Beautiful Glitch
Image: InnerSloth
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