April 2021

Today Bandai Namco released a new trailer of its fighting action game Jump Force, focusing on the upcoming playable character Giorno Giovanna.

Coming from the popular manga and anime franchise JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki, Giorno Giovanna will be available as DLC in the spring.

You can see what he looks like in action below.

The character pass that includes Giorno Giovanna also comes with Shoto Todoroki from My Hero Academia, Hiei from yu Yu Hakusho, and Meruem from Hunter X Hunter, and Yoruichi from Bleach.

Jump Force is currently available for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. If you want to know whether it’s any good, you can read our review.

SimulaM’s upcoming game “I Am Jesus Christ” is continuing to progress toward its Kickstarter campaign. Today, the developer revealed another new video just before Easter.

The video showcases a cutscene portraying the famous episode in which Jesus heals the pralytic in Capernaum

We also get to see some visual effects including the level transformation for the moment in which Jesus meets Satan in the desert.

Last, but not least, we take a look at screenshots of the cutscene of the episode in which he walks on water.

It’s been well over a year since Netflix’s acclaimed and immensely popular first season of The Witcher aired. Even though a sequel season was almost instantly greenlit, complications with filming due to COVID-19 have made for slow progress in production.

Today, however, the cast and crew are celebrating a wrap on filming, and Netflix has a behind-the-scenes trailer to mark the occasion.

As you’ll hear from showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, a team of 89 cast members and 1,200 crew have been busy for 158 filming across 15 different locations in sun, rain, snow, and frost.

Of course, Hissrich also hypes the return of familiar characters for season 2, as well as the prospect of new stories, adventures, and creatures that will feature along the way.

While filming itself has wrapped up, there’s no release date for the show as yet. Typically, post production takes several months to complete, so there’s no guarantee that it will be in 2021.

San Diego Studio has today announced that the next iteration of MLB The Show, a Sony published and former PlayStation-exclusive series, will not only be coming to the Xbox family of consoles but will be available on Game Pass at launch, April 20.

In a blog post today, MLB Senior Vice President Jamie Leece noted the team’s excitement for Xbox players to experience the “thousands of new animations, revolutionary innovation on gameplay, and an all-new Stadium Creator” featured in the latest game (though the latter mechanic will only be available on PS5/Series X|S consoles).

A trailer accompanies today’s announcement:

As previously announced, players across all PlayStation and Xbox consoles can also look forward to full cross-platform support.

The KOF XV King trailer teased the return of Surprise Rose, and Character Designer Tomohiro Nakata said her moveset will include old attacks.

The post KOF XV King Moveset Will Have ‘Older Attacks Making a Big Comeback’ appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix offered more details about the FFXIV 5.5 part one patch and shared a trailer showing the NieR: Automata raid and Diamond Weapon.

The post FFXIV Patch 5.5 Trailer Shows Off the New NieR: Automata Raid appeared first on Siliconera.

Rumors have been long circulating about an upgraded Nintendo Switch model. What do we most want to see in a Nintendo Switch Pro?

The post What We Need From a Nintendo Switch Pro appeared first on Siliconera.

You can see what a fashionable fighter Giorno Giovanna will be ahead of his Spring 2021 debut with the new Jump Force trailer.

The post Watch Giorno Giovanna Fight in a Jump Force DLC Trailer appeared first on Siliconera.

You’d be forgiven if you forgot all about World of Demons. Platinum Games announced the mobile action game back in 2018, and guess what? It’s suddenly available now exclusively on Apple Arcade.

Do you like stylish action games with pretty art directions? World of Demons might be up your alley. The game’s aesthetic harkens titles like Okami in that it rocks a gorgeous, watercolor art inspired by ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

Players control a samurai who leads an army of yokai, demons in Japanese folklore, on a mission to take down the evil lord of oni, Shuten Doji. Along the way players will recruit additional yokai and samurai to their cause, each bringing new abilities. Because it’s a Platinum joint, the game’s action is fast, fluid, and over-the-top, and you can play using a controller or with virtual inputs on the touchscreen. Check out the game’s launch trailer for a look at the gorgeous title in action.

If you like Metroid, you’re in luck. Over the years, countless games have taken inspiration from Nintendo’s classic series, giving gamers an abundance of ways to explore connected maps, earn upgrades, and unearth secret items. But of all the projects that contain traces of Metroid DNA, 2015’s Axiom Verge came the closest to reconstructing it. The original Axiom Verge had a retro aesthetic, a lonely atmosphere, and an array of clever abilities that made the mysterious world a joy to traverse.

However Axiom Verge wasn’t a mere imitator; it built on a solid foundation with its own signature elements. A heady sci-fi story and mind-bending meta elements put a contemporary twist on the familiar formula – and with Axiom Verge 2, players are about to learn even more about this series’ unique identity. After five years of work by solo developer Tom Happ, this prequel/sequel hybrid is almost done, and I played the first few hours of an alpha version to see how the Axiom Verge universe is evolving.

Now that Demon's Souls is on PS5 with an incredible amount of updates to make it feel like a new experience, even more eyes are on this brutally unforgiving game experience that launched an epic line of gaming experiences with Dark Souls and Bloodborne. For those itching for more Demon's Souls goodness, the game's original soundtrack is coming to vinyl form for a limited time, and pre-orders are available now. 

Milan Records has announced the first-ever vinyl release for the original Demon's Souls soundtrack centering around the album of music from the PlayStation 5 remake from composer Shunsuke Kida. If you've played Demon's Souls, then you already know that the music for this game is hauntingly beautiful, an incredible representation of the detailed lore behind this world. 

This new collection is also great for those collector's out there looking to commemorate the Demon's Souls experience because there will be several variants to choose from. While each variant hasn't been revealed at this time, Milan Records did confirm that Mondo, Light in the Attic Records, Newbury Comic, Channel 3 Records, and Black Screen Records. Those variants will be available later, but we'll update this post as they go live. 

Borderlands 3 has reached the point in its life where we're repeating events. In some cases, that's fine! A few of them have been pretty fun ways to inject some more personality into the loot system and encourage curated, timed plays where everyone is on at the same time. Show Me the Eridium was one of those lightning-in-a-bottle events, and it's back this week. 

There's actually three bits of Borderlands 3 news all at once, and we'll go step by step. Show Me the Eridium (one of many self-described "mini events") is running from now through April 8, and will increase the Eridium drops across the board. Oh, and Gearbox reminds us that you need to spend 500 Eridium to take on the Hemovorous the Invincible raid boss in the paid Director's Cut addon, which is still slated for April 8. Good to know!

So the second part is actually related: there's more Eridium rewards now. This change is facilitated through two new machines (Crazy Earl's Reroll and Maurice's Black Market Vending Machine). The former (which is near Crazy Early's abode in the cargo bay) lets you reroll gear similar to a lot of other looter shooters and MMOs, and the latter provides "top-tier legendary loot," with its location scattered across Pandora's non-DLC zones each week. In short, it's basically Xur from Destiny. 

It has been a big week for One More Level's cybernetic hack 'n' slash adventure Ghostrunner. Not only was the entire IP - along with its underlying technology - purchased by Italian publisher 505 Games, but the new owners have also announced release windows for its upcoming DLC, as well as an exciting upgrade for the PS5 platform.

505 Games revealed Ghostrunner will receive three further content drops in 2021. Spring will see the arrival of both a Photo Mode, the new "Kill Run" mode, and an Amazon Luna port. The summer months will see the addition of two unannounced content bundles, as well as another new mode and a paid Vanity Pack, containing new customization options for yer boy Jack.

Monster Hunter Rise, as expected, is a powerhouse. It's a "system seller," and the data is showing that's the case, at least in Japan thus far.

Famitsu has reported its latest sales figures for Japan for the week of March 28, and no surprise, Monster Hunter Rise leads the way on Switch with over 1.3 million units sold. Trickling down, the Switch sold 190,133 units through the week of March 28, with a further 77,364 Switch Lite units (looks like the Lite was a good idea!).

For reference, the last Japanese chart numbers, for the week through March 21, had the Switch at 52,579 units sold and 36,525 Switch Lites. It's a significant jump! And given that Monster Hunter Rise can be played both online and locally, pretty much anyone can grab a Switch, grab the game, and go, and play with friends.

Looking at the rest of the chart, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is still doing well, as is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which refuses to die in the region. It's kind of insane how dominant the Switch is, still, in terms of hardware and software. The next highest contender in the latter category is the PS5 with 51,931 units pushed that week, then the PS5 Digital Edition with 10,364.

Some weeks, it's not even a contest!

Monster Hunter Rise Switch Sales [Famitsu via Gematsu]

In this classic postmortem from Game Developer magazine, Lucy Bradshaw and the Maxis team recount what went right and what went wrong during development. ...

In this 2018 GDC talk, Joseph Sanabria explains how developers, designers and artists can use sketches to help create a vision and bring teams together. ...

Resident Evil Village comes out May 7.

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Pikachu Twin/Full Comforter With Two Pillow Shams | $60 | Amazon

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Twitch trends come and go, but one thing remains constant: the endless debate around what women should be allowed to wear on the platform. Now it comes in a summery new flavor: hot tub streams. Recently, streamers have declared these broadcasts the new “meta,” outraging the usual suspects—but also leading some female…

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One of the most annoying aspects of modern sports games, including the console and PC versions of NBA 2K21, are the obtrusive microtransactions. NBA 2K21 Arcade Edition, released today for the Apple Arcade service, has no microtransactions whatsoever. What a breath of fresh air.

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The one.

Pick up two armor pieces and the same weapon twice

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Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire is back

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Sealed NES cartridge outsells Nintendo Play Station prototype

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Head to Nessus for some Exotics

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Marvel’s wretched hive of scum and villainy makes its neon-soaked debut

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Won’t launch this spring, says Traveller’s Tales

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With the PS3’s July 2, 2021 PlayStation Store shutdown approaching, it's your last chance to grab the best PS2 Classics. Here are our picks!

The post The Best PS2 Classics to Download Before the PS3 PlayStation Store Closes appeared first on Siliconera.

Clap Hanz Golf is now on Apple Arcade. Think of it as a successor to Everybody's Golf. Subscribers can immediately play alone or with others.

The post Clap Hanz Golf Appears From Everybody’s Golf Developer appeared first on Siliconera.

The Genshin Impact Dragonspine soundtrack, Vortex of Legends, is out now on Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.

The post Genshin Impact ‘Vortex of Legends’ Dragonspine Soundtrack Released appeared first on Siliconera.

Turns out that 2019 Bandai Namco trademark led to the Apple Arcade exclusive Taiko no Tatsujin: Pop Tap Beat. It's out now on Apple devices.

The post Taiko no Tatsujin: Pop Tap Beat Drops the Beat on Apple Arcade appeared first on Siliconera.

Outriders launched yesterday on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, as well as on Xbox Game Pass as a day one addition. While the issues seemed to even out yesterday regarding being able to get into the game, the Outriders servers are down currently. Luckily, People Can Fly is looking into a fix. 

Outriders Servers Are Down

The team at People Can Fly took to Twitter to update players on the server status when the outages began to become more widespread. "We are continuing to investigate the Server issues," says the studio in its most recent tweet. "Some players may be able to get back online, but it's not guaranteed."

We are continuing to investigate the Server issues.

Some players may be able to get back online, but it's not guaranteed.

We will update you here once the issue has been conclusively resolved! https://t.co/cdXYMLGeeP

— Outriders (@Outriders) April 2, 2021

To track the ongoing server issues and to stay up-to-date regarding the current status, you can track that using the server website right here. The most recent updates to the server status includes the following notes for players to be aware of: 

So you like Super Mario Bros., eh? Do you like it for $660,000, because there are collectors that sure do. A sealed copy of Super Mario Bros. just broke the world record for the most expensive title ever sold, selling for the impressive amount mentioned above. 

Game History's Kelsey Lewin took to Twitter to share this expensive feat, heralding in the most expensive game sold to this date: 

The first $1 million dollar game is just around the corner. I’ve been too afraid to look back at Pink Gorilla’s inventory history to see how much money we’ve sold sealed things for in the past, but I remember a Pokémon Red for $400 🥲

— kelsey lewin (@kelslewin) April 2, 2021

This isn't the first time Super Mario has made headlines regarding auction prices, including a super-rare variant for Super Mario Bros. 3 that sold for just over $156,000. 

So, the Dynasty Warriors movie is almost out in China, as it's set to debut on April 30.

Wait, what?! Yep, it's a real thing, and it's finally coming out after ages of hearing about it. I know it's an international release, but it's really flown under the radar in terms of recent overarching "game adaptation film" conversation especially in light of flicks like Sonic (which is getting a sequel) and the upcoming Mortal Kombat reboot.

This trailer does the new Dynasty Warriors movie a lot of favors. It starts off with a little homage to the games, then jumps straight into over-the-top combat and big-picture military strategy footage. The anime-like moves look authentic, the costumes are on point, the game soundtrack is infused into this clip. Everything checks out on paper.

I don't know why, but the "produced by Omega Force" logo at the beginning really got to me. A lot of the time when a gaming adaptation is produced, the original studio that started it all is completely forgotten. Like when "Sega" is credited with producing the Sonic movie, and so on. But to see a trailer with the developer front and center: it's a beautiful thing.

Get set for the more adorable little invasion you ever did see, as D3 Publisher, in association with Yuke's, has finally announced a western localization for the newest, pint-sized entry in the EDF franchise: Earth Defense Force: World Brothers, which will launch on PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch on May 27.

Microsoft has done a bang-up job in terms of game preservation and backward compatibility this generation.

The Xbox Series X is a powerhouse of a console in terms of cross-generation preservation, letting people play a large swath of games across the entire lifecycle of the Xbox ecosystem. The program expanded even further recently as Microsoft explained that backward compatibility support was headed to the cloud, with "classic Xbox and Xbox 360 games" available on mobile devices.

Responding to a fan on Twitter, Microsoft reiterated their commitment to the past. Here's the full statement from Microsoft's Xbox team: "As time goes on, it becomes more important than ever that we ensure gaming icons and classics are preserved for new and old players alike. Whether your first time playing Morrowind is from 2002 on your Xbox or 2021 on your phone, we're excited to share these experiences with you!"

Having played Morrowind in 2002, that statement is wild to think about. While I figured games would proliferate on as many devices as possible in the future, I never thought it would be a shared ecosystem like this; with pushes from cross-play and cross-progression.

I've said this many times, but Sony's "this is how you trade games" PSA is coming back to bite them now. Microsoft could have made that video ten times over this generation with all of their advancements, like the aforementioned backward compatibility push, as well as things like save and upgrade license transferring through "Smart Delivery." Oh, and last generation: cross-play, when Sony was the last big holdout.

Bloober Team - the horror-loving studio behind titles such as Observer and The Medium - as backed away from acquisition talks from various potential buyers. The Polish studio had been looking into merging or selling to a larger conglomerate, but has decided its best option is to remain relatively independent for now.

The news came in a report by Polish outlet Bankier, (as translated by VGC), where Bloober said it is more likely to try and work in cooperation with other companies, rather than be purchased or merged outright with them. Bloober believes that such a merger might jeopardize the studio's "strategic objectives" going forward.

"The company has decided not to continue discussions with potential financial and industry investors interested in acquiring a majority stake due to the high risk of losing its overriding strategic objectives," read the Banker statement. "At this stage it would be incompatible with the culture of the organization, and would significantly limit the potential growth of the company's value in the coming years, especially taking into account the projects implemented and planned."

Apple is expanding the subscription library's offerings by adding premium games already found elsewhere on the App Store. ...