August 2021

Earlier today, a pair of PlayStation 5 development kits reportedly popped up on eBay before being taken off the auction site within a few hours.

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The full sentiment, which you've perhaps seen floating about social media, is "I want shorter games with worse graphics made by people who are paid more to work less and I'm not kidding". That's exactly what the games in this particular Itch bundle of 28 indie games are. A good number of people were not kidding, indeed, because the bundle keeps blowing through the modest sales goals that its organiser has set. After initially only setting a goal for $1,000, it's currently surpassed $8,000 with over a week remaining.

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Steve Gaynor, the co-founder of Gone Home developers Fullbright, has left his position as creative lead and manager on their latest game Open Roads following allegations he fostered a “toxic” work environment.

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My daughter turned 11 today, and given the fact she loves the thing but always has to share our existing unit with me and her brother, all she wanted was a Nintendo Switch. So we got her one.

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UPDATE: Studio tweets cryptic statement about status of Fullbright co-founder Steve Gaynor†™s employment, says move is to "foster a work environment that is healthy and collaborative." ...

The state of California is currently suing Activision Blizzard following a two-year investigation into the company's behind closed doors workplace culture. The lawsuit addresses various labor abuse allegations, including sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and a "frat boy" culture regarding internal behavior. As more details surface in relation to the lawsuit, an investor's call took place on August 3, and the overall feeling of the meeting felt different than the usual shareholder conference. Though advertising goals and release timelines were addressed, including news about Diablo II and Overwatch 2, a portion of the call took on a somber tone as questions from stakeholders were fielded about the future of the company. 

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick opened the call with a statement that was similar to his public acknowledgment of the labor lawsuit last week. "I want to start by making clear to everyone that there is no place at our company where discrimination, harassment, or unequal treatment of any kind will be tolerated nowhere," said Kotick when he opened the August 2021 investor's meeting. "We so appreciate the current and former employees who have come forward in the past and recent days with courage."

Type-moon released a brand new trailer of its upcoming fighting game Melty Blood: Type Lumina, which will soon launch both in Japan and in the west.

The trailer focuses on two of the playable characters, Hisui and Kohaku. I guess you could define them one as they add as a tag-team and you select and play them together.

You can check it out below alongside an official description of the characters from the developer.

Hisui

“A maid for the Tohno family, responsible for household chores (except cooking) and taking care of Shiki.
She is Kohaku’s younger twin. Unlike her sister, she is known for wearing more modern, non-traditional clothing.
Her quiet nature makes her true feelings difficult to read, and her formal way of speaking has led Shiki to see her as being rather mechanical. Her fighting skills are not quite on the same level as her sister, but she holds her own well enough.”

Kohaku

Today Nexon showcased its upcoming lineup of games with a large series of trailers.

We start with the first trailer of Project Magnum, a new looter shooter for PC and consoles combining RPG elements with TPS gameplay.

We already know that this game will be launched worldwide, but the console platforms have not been announced just yet.

Next is Project Overkill, a 3D action-RPG set in the world of the super-popular IP Dungeon & Fighter.

Fullbright co-founder Steve Gaynor has departed his position as creative lead on the studio's new game Open Roads following allegations regarding the company's work culture. A new report from Polygon shares a deeper look into the "toxic" work environment at Fullbright, following shortly after the game's Twitter account shared a notice of the leadership change. 

The official Open Roads Twitter account offered a message to fans about Gaynor's change in position. "We are a small team passionate about making an inclusive, poignant, story-driven game that gives players a feeling of discovery," begins the social media post. "We care deeply about creating games that have a positive impact. We are also fervent believers in fostering a work environment that is healthy and collaborative, where we can work with transparency, autonomy, and trust.

pic.twitter.com/OX11QJo6Qe

Today  Nintendo announced its quarterly financial results and published an update to the number of Switch units shipped worldwide since the console’s release.

The data you’ll see below is updated as of June 30, 2021, when the latest fiscal quarter (which began on April 1) ended.

Specifically, the infographic below shows exactly how many Nintendo Switch units have been shipped to retailers. 89.04 million units of the hybrid console have been shipped to retailers.

This means that the console has shipped 4.45 million units worldwide during the quarter (compared to 2.3 million PS5 plus 500,000 PS4 units shipped by Sony). We also hear that the estimated sell-through (which means sold to customers) for the console is over 85 million units.

Today Konami announced its financial results for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022, which ended on June 30, 2021.

As you can see from the tables below, the business of the company as a whole was quite strong, with 68,636 million yen in sales (+29.2% year-on-year) and 20,278 million yen in business profit (+64.2% year-on-year).

The digital entertainment business, which includes video games and the popular Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game also showcased solid performance and year-on-year growth.

Specifically, sales were 49,859 million yen (+16.4% year-on-year), while business profit was 19,161 million yen (+25.2% year-on-year).

Amazon launched a beta for their new MMORPG New World this past week, and the initial impressions have been looking pretty positive so far. However, the company’s game division announced today that they will be delaying the game yet again, making this the fourth delay since its initial announcement.

The statement reads:

“We want New World’s launch to be a smooth and fun experience for all players, and that means making some improvements based on what you encountered during Closed Beta. So we’re going to take a few extra weeks to smash bugs, improve stability, and polish the game. New World’s new global launch date is September 28, 2021.”

Twitter

New World is shaping up to be a pretty interesting MMO, as it features a fantasy setting that’s also very grounded in realism, with various different factions and market economies to check out. It’s certainly disappointing to hear that it’s been delayed yet again, but hopefully it’ll make for a better game in the end.

The post Amazon’s Ambitious MMO, New World, Gets Delayed Yet Again to September appeared first on Twinfinite.

The Embracer Group, an enormous corporate blob encompassing publishers like Gearbox, THQ Nordic and Deep Silver, has just bought seven new studios, including 3D Realms (Duke Nukem) and Ghost Ship Games (Deep Rock Galactic).

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Today Koei Tecmo reached out with a press release to share new screenshots, artwork, and details of the upcoming Blue Reflection sequel Blue Reflection Tie, titled Blue Reflection: Second Light in English.

We get to take a look at two of the girls that will join our heroine in her adventure, Hiori Hirahara and Shiho Kasuga, on top of plenty of elements of the game.

You can check all the images out below alongside an official description with plenty of details from the press release.

Today Square Enix released brand new artwork dedicated to Final Fantasy XIV’s expansion Endwalker.

The artwork, created with beautiful CGI, portrays Alphinaud with his new sage job.

You can enjoy it below as we wait to be able to play as Sages ourselves when the expansion releases in a few months.

Incidentally, the new Final Fantasy XIV expansion Endwalker will release on November 23, 2021, for PS5, PS4, and PC. A benchmark has been released for PC, including the male viera character creation.

Today Square Enix announced its financial results for the fiscal quarter that ended on June 30, 2021.

We learn that for the whole company net sales were 88.6 billion yen, slightly up year-on-year while operating income was 17.3 billion yen, down year-on-year.

For the digital entertainment business, which includes video games, both figures dropped year-on-year due to the comparison with the strong HD games lineup during the same quarter last year, led by Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Mobile performance was “bearish” partly due to the lack of new releases.

Yet, good news comes from the MMORPG segment, with “brisk” recurring revenue due to Final Fantasy XIV paying subscribers growing year-on-year.

Considering that the upcoming expansion Endwalker is still months from its release on November 23, 2021, and the fact that the recent population boom continued well into July (and the results here end at June 30), looks like the MMORPG that once upon a time appeared to be dead and buried is basically unstoppable nowadays.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see what kind of numbers it achieves when Endwalker will be released in a few months.

Today Nintendo announced its quarterly financial results for the fiscal quarter ended on June 30, 2021.

First of all, we learn that Nintendo’s sales declined 9.9% year-on-year, while operating profit dropped by 17.3%.

While the figures dropped, this doesn’t tell the whole story as sales of Switch software and hardware remain “steady” as Nintendo itself mentions. Simply, the past quarter could not compare with last year’s in which the company released Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which was a major driver of business for the console.

Steve Gaynor, co-founder of Gone Home and Tacoma developer Fullbright, has stepped down as the studio's creative lead and manager.

Fullbright officially announced the change last night, ahead of a Polygon report which detailed an exodus of staff at the company "at least in part due to Gaynor's behaviour toward workers".

Gaynor will remain a writer on Open Roads, the upcoming Annapurna-published story of a mother and daughter, which will now no longer be released in 2021.

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This web browser based event will reward players will Primogems and Mora.

The post Genshin Impact Summer Night Mementos Event Now Available appeared first on Siliconera.

Pikachu, Dedenne, and Greedent join a pop idol group called the "Pikachus", managed by none other than Meowth.

The post Pop Team Epic Creator Designed Pokemon Goods Featuring Pikachu Idol Group appeared first on Siliconera.

Following yesterday’s reveal, Nippon Ichi Software released the first trailer and screenshots of its upcoming “time-loop investigation adventure” Asatsugutori.

The story sees protagonist Hibari waking up in a strange room alongside seven other girls. They’re welcomed by an announcement affirming that only one survivor will be able to leave the building. Yet, those who survive may be able to use magic.

A few days after this mysterious communal life begins, one of the girls is killed. Hibari regrets not being able to save her. “If I could go back to before it happened…” she thinks.

The day after she finds the girl that she thought had died alive in the cafeteria, revealing the ability to start over as many times as she wants.

When a girl is killed, Hibari can activate the time-loop ability and go back to before the death occurred. This shifts the game into the “exploration part” in which you explore the surroundings and collect information and evidence that may be relevant to the incident. Basically, you can see the story from the point of view of the victim.

You actually investigate in real-time and the information and clues you can find change with the time of day. Repeating the time loop over and over may let you find all the details you need.

Once you complete your investigation, the game moves to the “incident prevention part” in which you organize the information you gathered, draw conclusions, and avoid the girl’s death.

You can check out all the new assets below.

Embracer Group has acquired eight companies including Deep Rock Galactic developer Ghost Ship Games and Ion Fury creator 3D Realms for a combined $313 million. ...

Switch hardware and software sales remain steady at Nintendo, but that wasn't enough to prevent net sales and profits from dipping year-on-year. ...

Last year was effing awful, but Nintendo did great. At this time last year, Kotaku reported that Nintendo’s profits between April and June 2020 increased by over 400 percent—a number that even a year later is hard to comprehend. Understandably, during that same period this year, the feat was hard to repeat.

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Embracer Group - the parent company of THQ Nordic, Saber Interactive, Koch Media and Gearbox - has added another eight studios to its bulging collection.

Notably, this includes Duke Nukem studio 3D Realms, which currently has six new projects in the works. It, alongside support studio and fellow Danish outfit Slipgate Ironworks, will be folded into Saber.

Lost in Harmony and 11-11 Memories Retold developer DigixArt will be folded into Koch Media, meanwhile. Its next project is the promising-looking procedural roadtrip game Road 96.

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In a bold move that certainly didn't pay off, a pair of PlayStation 5 development kits appeared on eBay yesterday - although the listings didn't last more than a few hours before being removed.

As spotted by Twitter user iDCx1337, the listings were for a DFI-D1000AA dev kit and a DFI-T1000AA test kit (thanks, Kotaku). A screenshot of the DFI-D1000AA dev kit, complete with two all-black DualSense controllers, showed that the listing apparently reached a bidding price of €2850 (£2423) before being pulled.

It remains unclear whether eBay decided to remove the listings or whether Sony got involved, but either way, the listings apparently only survived a few hours before they mysteriously vanished. We still don't know how the seller got their hands on these kits: dev kits are normally given out to developers under strict NDA. It seems these two have somehow managed to trickle down into the hands of someone who was willing to take a punt on an eBay listing.

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Nintendo has now shifted 89.04m Switch consoles worldwide as of 30th June, though sales have slowed compared to this time last year.

Shipments of the main Switch console actually increased year-on-year, though a fall for the Switch Lite model offset that, leading to an overall decrease for the last quarter of 21.7 percent.

In its latest earnings briefing, Nintendo pointed to last year's sales boom "substantially driven" by Animal Crossing: New Horizons as providing tough comparisons.

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New titles like Miitopia and New Pokemon Snap have sold above 1 million units worldwide.

The post Nintendo Switch Sales Surpass 89 Million Units Worldwide appeared first on Siliconera.

Final Fantasy XIV continues to drive profits for Square Enix in tandem with its mobile division.

The post Square Enix Financial Report Reveals Final Fantasy XIV Sales Increased appeared first on Siliconera.

Three songs and a short story segment will be available through the demo.

The post The Idolmaster: Starlit Season Demo Now Available for PlayStation 4 appeared first on Siliconera.

The latest piece of key artwork showcases Alphinaud as the new Sage Job Class that will arrive with the release of the Endwalker expansion.

The post New Final Fantasy XIV CGI Artwork Shows Alphinaud as a Sage appeared first on Siliconera.

That's more than six times the amount its predecessor, the Wii U, managed during its entire lifespan.  ...

Monthly Action magazine publishes Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, a manga about a maid-outfit-wearing dragon who lives with a computer programmer named Kobayashi. The editorial department thought a good way to promote the manga would be with an official cosplay by Enako.

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Steve Gaynor, the co-founder of Gone Home studio Fullbright, has stepped down from his role as creative lead on their upcoming game Open Roads, following allegations about his treatment of employees. Multiple former staff have come forward claiming he had a "controlling" and "demeaning presence", and fostered a toxic culture that led to a "pattern of women leaving" the studio.

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Embracer Group, named for the wonderful hugs they give, have announced the acquisition of several development studios under their various subsidiaries. They now own 3D Realms, who, despite operating largely as a publisher nowadays, will forever be linked to Duke Nukem. This means that Embracer now owns both 3D Realms and Duke Nukem’s owners, Gearbox, who they acquired earlier this year. Can you see where this is heading?

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***Spoiler Warning: The following article contains in-depth spoilers for the MCU and its Disney+ television shows. If you don’t want spoilers for Falcon and the Winter Soldier, WandaVision, Loki, and all of the Marvel movies, don’t read any further.***

6. Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Ranking the MCU Shows Worst to Best

Let’s get one thing straight: Falcon and the Winter Soldier has a lot of good moments in it. Those high points include a solid dynamic between Bucky and Sam, an arc that is pivotal to legitimizing Sam as Captain American, and side characters that really shine like Baron Zemo and Isiah Bradley. 

There is also the option to purchase the finished product directly.

The post Fate/Grand Order Osakabehime Figure Requires Some Assembly appeared first on Siliconera.

Hibari will continue to gather information until she can prevent her friends' deaths.

The post Asatsugutori Protagonist Hibari Will Investigate Deaths Using Time Loops appeared first on Siliconera.

Gen Kobayashi and Miki Yamashita told Siliconera what it was like making NEO TWEWY characters like Fret, Nagi, Minamimoto, and Coco.

The post Interview: Discussing Designs of NEO TWEWY Characters appeared first on Siliconera.