December 2020

Even now that Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over, there's still some very good offers on high-demand games, with a notable pattern of lowered prices on Nintendo Switch games at stores like Amazon and Asda.

We hesitate to call these "sales," per se, but if you'd bought a Switch console over Black Friday and were looking for some supplementary games to go with it, this feels like a good opportunity, as they'll be going for about as cheap a price as anybody could expect for the time being. We've listed the best offers we saw below, but we'll be sure to update if we see anything better in the immediate future.

There's plenty more deals around at the moment, and you can find all of them here! Check out where you can find affordable Switch Bundles here, or check out our full deals hub page! Alternatively, follow us on the Jelly Deals Twitter for quick info on discounts everywhere!

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Growing up, I often imagined myself charging through the jungle in pursuit of some exotic creature then whispering excitedly into an imaginary camera.

Eventually, I did indeed have an enjoyable and productive career in the wildlife sector, mainly working in the field of UK wildlife, often travelling around the country in search of bats and birds.

At the age of 40, however, I was diagnosed with a serious neurological illness which has resulted in full paralysis. I needed to find wildlife that would come to me, rather than having to travel to see it. Then I heard about moth-trapping.

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Microsoft has announced the new games coming to Xbox Game Pass in December.

Remedy's Control comes to Game Pass for Android and console on 3rd December (here's Donlan's Control review). Also on that date, id Software's first-person shooter Doom Eternal hits Xbox Game Pass for PC (here's Edwin's Doom Eternal review).

3rd December is a big day for Game Pass: romantic space adventure Haven, from The Game Bakers - the studio behind gloriously psychedelic arcade boss-rush extravaganza Furi - hits the service then for console and PC, as does id Software and Avalanche Studios' Rage 2 on Android.

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A new teaser website has appeared alongside this announcement, teasing a new project.

The post Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet Will Release in April 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

Kay Hirono and Yugo Ogura revealed future plans for the mobile SRPG War of the Visions, such as character stories and PvP content.

The post Square Enix Reveals Its Post FFBE War of the Visions Anniversary Plans appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller + Super Mario Odyssey | $69 | Walmart

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Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today it’s time to jump through hyperspace with the whiz-bang chiptune-y goodness of the soundtrack to 2012’s strategy roguelike masterpiece FTL: Faster Than Light.

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If you play video games for a long stretch at a time, it’s probably taken a toll on your body. In Japan, there’s now “gaming chiropractic” to help iron out those aches and stiff joints.

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As a year, 2020 felt about 25 years long. Maybe that was because of all the world events, but videogames also had a hand in warping our sense of time. Which of our favourite games lies behind door number two in the advent calendar? Click below to find out.

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A while ago I commented on the hugeness, and powerful auras, of the women in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey’s godly DLC. And their hugeness was only a step up from Kassandra, already a big hench mercenary girl about a foot taller than any other human that dared to look at her.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon’s

turn-based fights are a turning point for the bat-swinging, crime caper that is the Yakuza series. I thought the game still retained its messy brawls even after the added tactical punch, but according to the latest patch, the game has been missing a key battle feature this whole time: “WEAK”.

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It’s time to head back to 1862, and date some people who may well be murderers. Failbetter Games have announced Mask Of The Rose, a romantic visual novel set in the Fallen London universe. It’s a prequel to all of Failbetter’s games, including Fallen London itself, as well as Sunless Sea and Sunless Skies, and follows a group of lodgers in a boarding house just months after Victorian London has gone underground. Ah, trapped in a creepy underground building together, what better place for love to blossom, eh?

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A few months ago, Apex Legends cruelly took away the train, the best bit of its World’s Edge map, leaving us with nothing but boring stationary ground to fight on. Man, the train was amazing. Oh how I loved the rush of dropping onto that speedy death tube, wading through the gas of six Caustics in an attempt to find loot. It’s a buzz we’ll all be able to feel again this holiday season, however, because Respawn have brought it back for Apex’s winter event, the Holo-Day Bash.

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Amazon has begun contacting customers hit by its launch day missing-presumed-stolen PlayStation 5 disaster, and is offering a priority order for a replacement.

But because all affected orders were mass-refunded last week, this will now mean ensuring payment details are up to date and accepting a new £449.99 charge.

One affected customer - Push Square managing director Anthony Dickens - shared the email he received from Amazon via Twitter. In the message, Amazon gives a deadline of 23:59 UK time this Saturday, 5th December to accept.

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A hacker who stole Nintendo secrets and was found to be in possession of child abuse images has been sentenced to three years in prison.

21-year-old Californian hacker Ryan S. Hernandez, aka Ryan West, who used the online name "RyanRocks", was sentenced to three years in prison this week in the US District Court in Seattle for crimes relating to hacking and possession of child abuse images, the United States Department of Justice announced.

In 2016, Hernandez and an associate used a phishing technique to steal credentials of a Nintendo employee. These credentials were used to gain access to and download confidential Nintendo files, including information about the upcoming Nintendo Switch. This was then leaked to the public.

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PlanetSide developer Daybreak has been bought for $300m.

Enad Global 7 (EG7) agreed to buy 100 per cent of the shares in San Diego MMO specialist Daybreak Game Company for $300m, on a cash and debt free basis. The deal consists of a cash payment and newly issued shares in EG7.

EG7 is a Stockholm-based company that has so far focused on helping other game companies with marketing, publishing and distribution. It owns the budget publisher Sold Out and has worked with the likes of Team17, Rebellion and Frontier.

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Apple's honored Genshin Impact with a Game of the Year nod as well. Also, miHoYo is giving everyone 800 Primogems to celebrate.

The post Genshin Impact Is Apple’s iPhone Game of the Year (Update) appeared first on Siliconera.

The sequel to VA-11 HALL-A has been put on the back burner.

The post N1RV-Ann-A Indefinitely Delayed appeared first on Siliconera.

Individual streamers will be allowed to monetize streams of the latest Shiren port on legal streaming websites.

The post Shiren the Wanderer 5plus Video Guidelines Allow Monetization appeared first on Siliconera.

Get new Final Fantasy VII Remake souvenirs and merchandise by participating in the Mako Reactor escape room event.

The post Final Fantasy VII Remake Merchandise Available at Mako Reactor Event appeared first on Siliconera.

New progression, open worlds, and gliders

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Huh, people seem to like massive free-to-play action role-playing games with serious The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild vibes. miHoYo’s Genshin Impact came out on top of both Google and Apple’s official game of the year lists, beating out whatever the Candy Crush people are doing and all of those games advertised…

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Fortnite's latest season ending event pulled in a record 15.3 million concurrent players, according to developer Epic. ...

Apple has named its favorite games of the year as part of its App Store Best of 2020 awards, and there are some familiar faces among the winners. ...

In the game Mafia III, the player has an ability called Intel View. It highlights characters and objects in the scene, thus making it easier to see them. Here we will describe how it was implemented. ...

Happy #PS5 day everyone. Tried to document our one’s unveiling, but Amazon have tricked us with an unsolicited air fryer instead (after giving delivery password). Anyone else had this problem today? pic.twitter.com/99IUSzSJUU

There's no sopping MiHoYo's Genshin Impact. In the two months since the fantasy adventure's release, Genshin Impact has raked in an incredible $393 million USD on mobile platforms - as reported by the statisticians over at Sensor Tower.

For the period September 28-November 28, Genshin Impact's numbers push the mobile edition past several other major titles including Pokemon GO, PUBG Mobile, and Coin Master. Even more shockingly, this figure does not include any revenue made on the Android platform in China, believed to be Genshin Impact's most lucrative market.

CD Projekt Red’s hotly-anticipated upcoming RPG Cyberpunk 2077 has looked superb in recent gameplay trailers, and so fans will be pleased to know the game comes with a robust photo mode to capture its beauty. A new presentation today from the developer has showcased its many different features.

As you’ll see below, it allows users to customize images with a huge array of different options, including various effects, filters, and other enhancements. You can even put characters into poses and add new graphics to create funky pieces of art according to your tastes.

You can check out the whizz’s at CDPR creating some awesome shots below.

Cyberpunk 2077 is coming to PS4, Xbox One, PC (the system requirements have recently been revealed) on Dec. 10, 2020. It has also been confirmed to be coming for Xbox Series X and PS5 down the line with upgrades available for those who purchase the game for the current generation of consoles.

Gameindustry.biz has today reported the UK’s video game spending for the month of November, based on data provided by GFK. The numbers highlight a successful period across the board for the console market as 900,000 total units were sold. It was the PS5, though, that came out on top, toppling Nintendo’s hold on the top spot for only the third time in two years.

The Switch still sold superbly too, however. The console had a very good Black Friday period with sales up 63.1% year-on-year. It was also the platform for which the most software was sold, accounting for nearly 35% of the 2.38 million.

Unsurprisingly, then, Nintendo is also the top publisher of the month, with Animal Crossing New Horizons, Mario Kart 8: Deluxe, Minecraft and Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

Following closely behind was Ubisoft, with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla landing in second overall place on the software charts, and Watch Dogs: Legion in fifth — a game which had a very strong start in the US according to the NPD’s October report.

But, rather predictably, it was Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War that scored the top spot for November. Gbiz notes that the game sold far less physical copies at launch than predecessors as digital sales were far more numerous this year.

Other noteworthy entries include Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the PS4 and PS5 console exclusive that launched day-and-date with Sony’s new machine. It debuted in fourth place behind FIFA 21, which continues to go strong.

You can see the full software chart below:

If you like buying digital games or whaling gacha games in Japan, this new credit card could provide more points for those practices.

The post Saison Gaming Card Will Let You Collect Points For Game Purchases appeared first on Siliconera.

Balan Wonderworld's Spectacle Trailer showcases gameplay and different costume actions.

The post Balan Wonderworld Spectacle Trailer Showcases Its Wondrous Action Gameplay appeared first on Siliconera.

The 1/144-scaled Gunpla will come with the dock used to support the real-life robot showcased in Yokohama.

The post 1/144 RX-78F00 Gundam Gunpla Will Come With Supporting Docks appeared first on Siliconera.

Nezuko will make a perfect pair with the Tanjiro figma.

The post Demon Slayer Nezuko Kamado Figma Pre-Orders Open appeared first on Siliconera.

The photo mode looks robust

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Zero Point event alters the reality of Fortnite’s island

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Photo modes have become a key attraction in video games over the last few years, and Cyberpunk 2077 will also have an option to pause your tour of Night City and grab a few snapshots of your surroundings. Revealed in a new trailer, Cyberpunk 2077's photo mode includes all the regular features such as filters, aperture control, and the ability to maneuver the camera at the perfect angle.

One other innovative shutterbug option is that you'll be able to position the protagonist V wherever you need them to be in a scene. You can also cycle through several facial expressions and poses, such as Run the Jewels, On the Trail, and V for Victory.

Daybreak Games--the developer of H1Z1, Planetside 2, and EverQuest--separated from parent company Sony a few years ago after having operated as Sony Online Entertainment. However, its days of independence were short-lived. The studio has now been acquired by Enad Global 7 for $300 million.

Announced by Enad Global 7 (EG7) on December 1, the deal sees the company acquiring 100% of Daybreak's shares.

"On behalf of the Daybreak team, we are elated to be joining the EG7 family," said Daybreak executive chairman Jason Epstein. "The combined companies are strategically positioned to expand Daybreak's unique and iconic portfolio of live games and will help amplify our passion for making great games for our communities."

As video games get more and more realistic, it becomes harder for an untrained eye to distinguish screenshots and real-world photographs. The latest victim of this mistake is Oregon local news station NewsChannel 21, who published a stunning Red Dead Redemption 2 screenshot in its 'Out & About' nature photography segment.

The image first appeared on Reddit, with the catch proudly shared by the father of the person responsible for the fake-out. "My daughter sent another picture into our local TV station… from Red Dead Redemption 2 for their "Out & About" segment…" the post reads. "And once again they fell for it!"

The screenshot still exists in a video of the segment posted to NewsChannel 21's YouTube channel, which has accumulated a number of comments poking fun at the screenshot's inclusion.

This December, Amazon Prime subscribers can download EA's Battlefield 3 at no additional cost, joining a library of 38 free PC games. Players can also redeem free, exclusive content for Ubisoft's Watch Dogs: Legion, as well as its upcoming new release Immortals: Fenyx Rising.

Battlefield 3 has been added to Prime's library of free games, though the freebie is only redeemable on Origin. Redeem the free download by December 31 to keep the game in your library forever. Other new free games include historical sim Turmoil, strategy title Sigma Theory: Global Cold War, and minimalist action arcade game HyperDot.

Ubisoft players are in for a treat this December--Watch Dogs: Legion players with Prime will be able to redeem the Nerdcore and Futurist outfits for free, while those looking to get their hands on the Breath Of The Wild-esque Immortals: Fenyx Rising will also get access to the Frozen Pack, which includes a themed helmet, outfit, wings, and horse. Prime is also dropping the the Thatcher Gladiator Full Operator Set for players in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege.