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There's an update on Hollow Knight: Silksong, and it has to do with another delay. Team Cherry's Matthew "Leth" Griffin, who handles the marketing and PR for the game, issued a statement on Twitter. Instead of arriving in early 2023 as planned, it is now pushed out of the first half.

Here is Griffin's first statement. He cited the team's desire to focus on the title's quality as an explanation for the extended development.

Hey gang, just a quick update about Silksong.

We had planned to release in the 1st half of 2023, but development is still continuing. We're excited by how the game is shaping up, and it's gotten quite big, so we want to take the time to make the game as good as we can.

Expect…

— Matthew Griffin (@griffinmatta) May 10, 2023

Hollow Knight: Silksong is a follow-up to the original game starring Hornet. In the original game, players would occasionally clash with her. As she wields a needle with a thread attached to it, her attacks are quite different than the Knight's.

As a reminder, here's how it looks:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFAknD_9U7c&ab_channel=TeamCherry

As of May 9, 2023, VTuber Suou Patra is no longer a part of 774 Inc. She is now an independent content creator and will continue to use her current identity. Patra merchandise is still available on 774 Inc.’s website for those who wanted to buy something. However, the company will stop selling it once it runs out of its current stock.

The notification on the official Twitter account for 774 Inc. apologized for the sudden announcement and thanked fans for how long they’ve supported Patra. It also requests that fans do not bother other VTubers associated with 774 Inc. or ask them any questions about the Patra situation.

Patra herself has made a statement to us on her channel in regards to her departure from the company. Though she will be an independent VTuber, she will be allowed to keep her avatar and her channel. She will also continue to produce ASMR and gaming content. According to her announcement, she started thinking about leaving 774 Inc. after the the company disbanded Honey Strap. Honey Strap was a unit that Patra and five other VTubers belonged to. But on March 21, 2023, 774 Inc. consolidated it with Nanashi Inc.

Nintendo announced another promotional item for its next game. There is now a The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Snapchat Lens that is also a clock that offers a countdown to the game's launch. When used, on the left side of the screen you’ll see how many days, hours, minutes, and seconds are left until “your adventure begins.”

There's no official trailer shared online to show how it works. However, the Snapchat Lens official page for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom countdown clock lens offers a sample. It shows how it uses the same font as the game. Below the message about "your adventure begins," the countdown appears vertically. The hilt of the Master Sword also appears to the left of the person. This would allow it to look like you're about to grasp it.

For the 25th anniversary of the Yu-Gi-Oh OCG, family restaurant Coco’s will have a collaboration menu for a limited time. When you order one of the Yu-Gi-Oh dishes from the Japanese restaurant, you will randomly get a card from the OCG or from Rush Duel. The first wave of the collaboration will be May 16-June 5, 2023. The second will be June 6-26, 2023. [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

During the first wave of the collaboration, there is the chance of getting these cards:

• Dark Magician
• E Hero Neos
• Stardust Dragon
• Sevens Road Magician
• Multistrike Dragon Dragias
• Prima Guitarna of the Colorful Light

The second wave will offer us:

• Number 39: Utopia
• Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon
• Firewall Dragon
• Steam-Knight Hamburke (Coco’s original)
• Galactica Oblivion
• Jointech Rex
• Blue-Tooth Burst Dragon
• Cocosh the Spellcaster of Happiness (Coco’s original)

As for the food items, all of them look like a particular monster from the series. There is a hamburger that looks like the Hungry Hamburger Ritual Monster (1,190 JPY), as well as a parfait that shares Galactica Oblivion’s color scheme (1,090 JPY). These two are available during the first portion of the collaboration. During the second one, you can order Sevens Road Magician Curry (1,190 JPY) and Blue Eyes White Dragon Parfait (1,090 JPY).

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A new bundle from Nvidia includes a selection of cosmetic bonuses for Blizzard games ahead of Diablo IV's launch on June 6, 2023. The bundle is available with purchases of select GeForce RTX 4070, 4070 Ti, 4080 and 4090 graphics cards from eligible retailers. Nvidia also announced that the upcoming Diablo IV Server Slam will add support for the Nvidia DLSS 3 software.

On top of the selected graphics card, purchases of the Diablo IV Nvidia GeForce RTX 40 Series Bundle will also receive

• Amalgam of Rage mount for World of Warcraft
• Diablo IV code redeemable via Battle.net
• Inarius Wings cosmetic and an Inarius Murloc pet for Diablo III
• The Lightbearer mount and Caparison of Faith mount armor for Diablo IV
• Umber Winged Darkness cosmetic set for Diablo Immortal

The Server Slam is an open beta and stress test beginning on May 12, 2023 and running until May 14, 2023. Players will be able to play through the prologue and first act of the game on PCs, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PS4, and PS5. Blizzard said that couch co-op, crossplay and cross-progression will all be enabled for this beta. Progress from the beta tests will not carry over to the full release.

If you’re in Japan and you get a hankering for some good ol’ post-apocalyptic Hyrulean grubs, then Lawson has your back. The convenience food chain will sell food items and merchandise of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for a limited time. All of the items will come in packaging with renders of Link on them, and the titles for them reference the games. Among the merchandise will be a Tri-force speaker.

As an aside, many of the food items will not be available at the Lawsons in Okinawa. The menu items that you’ll be able to eat include Dry Curry Onigiri With Goron Spice Flavoring, Mighty Banana Au Lait, and a Big Hearty Truffle Focaccia. There is also a curry bread stuffed full of meat, as well as a clam chowder full of Hearty Salmon. Like any Lawson collaboration, the store’s signature Karaage-kun fried chicken will also have a Tears of the Kingdom flavor. In this case, it’s Spicy Pepper.

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Sampo is a weird character in Honkai: Star Rail, and not just because of his role in the story. He’s a Nihility character, which makes you think he’d act as a supporter debuffing. But really, he’s there to act as a damage dealer who can attack groups of characters. This means when coming up with a Sampo build that’d be best for you in Honkai: Star Rail, you’ll want to prioritize a Relic set or Light Cones that boost his attack. His various attacks and Talent all look to that stat for damage.

What are the best Light Cones for a Sampo build in Honkai: Star Rail?

The bad news for Sampo is due to the way he works, the Light Cones that work best for a build for him in Honkai: Star Rail are a bit limited. For example, the only three-star you can really use with him is Void. That increases his Effect Hit Rate, which aids his Wind Shear capabilities.

As for a four-star, I’d say Fermata is your best bet. It’s base description notes, “Increases Break Effect dealt by the wearer by 16%, and increases their DMG to enemies afflicted with Shock or Wind Shear by 16%. This also applies to DoT.” But Eyes of the Prey is also really good. It increases the Effect Hit Rate and the amount of damage over time the foe will take from attacks.

Good Smile Company revealed a new Nendoroid figure based on main character Guts from Berserk. The new Nendoroid figure includes several face plates and additional parts to customize Guts’ pose. The figure costs 7,500 JPY/$53.99. It’s expected release date is December 2023, and the figure is now available for pre-order from the Japanese Good Smile Company online store, and the North American one.

The new Guts figure depicts the character wearing his iconic Berserk armor. The figure comes with three different pace plates. These are a serious face, a combat fase, and a “Berserk” fase of Guts smiling. Additional parts include Guts’ Dragon Slayer sword, and his cannon arm, alongside a required stand.

You can take a better look at the new Guts Nendoroid figure in the gallery below.

[gallery columns="5" link="file" ids="962276,962278,962281,962285,962286"]

The new Berserk figure was announced last year at WonHobby G 2022 Autumn, and it is the first Good Smile Company Nendoroid figure of Guts to be produced.

The official Naruto website shared some key information about the Live Spectacle Naruto: Shinobi’s Path stage play. This is the final installment of the live-action series running in Japan. Not only is the full cast list on the Naruto official website, but you can check out the schedule and locations as well. More information on tickets will appear later on.

The performance schedule, as well as the venue, is as follows:

• Kanagawa Prefecture (Kanagawa Arts Theater):
  October 8-11, 2023

• Hyogo Prefecture (AiiA 2.5 Theater Kobe)
  October 18-22, 2023

• Tokyo Prefecture (Tokyo Dome City Hall)
  October 28-November 5, 2023

Because the play will start in early October 2023, we will likely see tickets appear around mid-to-late May 2023 at the earliest. The Live Spectacle series of Naruto stage plays are a re-telling of the Naruto series, and it debuted in 2015. When it started, Kodai Matsuoka played Naruto but Masaki Nakao took over in 2021 with Uzumaki Naruto Monogatari.

Good Smile Company announced release windows for two Plamax Asuka Shikinami Langley model kits variants based on the character’s Rebuild of Evangelion appearance. One is a kit with colored runners. The other is a sculptor’s white version that is entirely white. The standard version is ¥7,700/$55.99. The sculptor’s white option is ¥9,800 and only available in the Japanese branch’s shop.

Both of the Plamax Asuka Shikinami Langley model kits are assembled in the same way. The difference is that one involves colored plastic runners, while the other is entirely white. Both kits create a 200mm/almost 8 inch tall figure when complete. Each one doesn’t require glue, but it could be used. Good Smile Company recommended that and tools like nippers when assembling them.

When it comes to the Otomate Switch otome games we’ve seen, they often tend to fall into certain genres and categories. Some titles, like Birushana, are period pieces that involve combat elements. Titles like Dairoku bring in supernatural affairs. Hakuoki is famous for blending the two. Now there’s Winter’s Wish: Spirit of Edo, which follows in Hakuoki’s footsteps by featuring supernatural warriors in a historical time period who also form a bond with a heroine who’s considered “special.”

Suzuno is an isolated young woman who can see “threads” around the necks of humans and formfolk. Formfolk being entities that are essentially born from a human’s beloved object and live alongside people. Following her father’s death, she’s ostracized from her town due to warning people about black threads that are portents of doom. However, Shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa is in dire need of this gift, which marks her as the descendant of a powerful clan, and sends two members of his Oniwaban force to protect Edo from the blightfall creatures that appear when these black threads are strongest. As you may expect, given this is a Switch otome game, said members of the Oniwaban are also eligible bachelors who might end up getting close to her as they protect the city. However, in a twist, they’re essentially a special kind of Formfolk known as Vessels. These special individuals make up the Oniwaban, due to their capabilities of properly dispatching the blightfall. However, their nature means if they gain a sense of self or emotions, they need to be executed due to the risks that poses.

Ahead of official global social media accounts, HoYoVerse revealed on its bilibili channel who the next new characters will be in Honkai Star Rail. Silver Wolf and Luocha will be limited 5-stars and Yukong will be a 4-star, and they'll likely debut in Honkai Star Rail Version 1.1. Of the three, only Silver Wolf belongs to a faction other than Xianzhou Luofu. [Thanks, Inside Games!]

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From the tutorial, we know that Silver Wolf is a Quantum/Nihility character in Honkai: Star Rail. She very closely resembles Bronya Zaychik from Honkai Impact 3rd, of which Star Rail is a spin-off of. Silver Wolf has a very hacker-like moveset, in which it looks like she can manipulate the space around her to create constructs from retro video games.

Luocha is a traveling merchant who carries around a giant coffin. He is an Imaginary character who is likely of the Abundance Path due to his healing capabilities. Akira Ishida (Athrun from Mobile Suit Gundam SeeD) voices him in the Japanese dub. We already meet him as an NPC in the game as part of the 1.0 Trailblazer Missions.

Yukong is Tingyun's superior, but little else in terms of information is available to us at the moment. As a 4-star, she will likely be available permanently even after the next banners. In Japanese, Yumi Toma (Raine from Tales of Symphonia) is her voice actress.

May 9, 2023 is a big day for Dragon Ball Z fans, as it will be both Goku Day and King Piccolo Commemoration Day. The official website for the series uploaded a summary of the upcoming celebrations in a fake news segment. There will be a poll for users to vote on their favorite Goku quote, as well as a "Piccolection" of Piccolo-related items.

Shueisha collected fifty-nine iconic Goku quotes for you to choose for readers to choose from. The video shows a reel of some panels rom the manga. The announcer's personal pick is Goku's "They died because of it," which he said during his battle against Frieza. The top quotes will become merchandise. We'll see more information on that when it will come up in July 2023. It's unclear if the quotes themselves will turn into an item, or if it's the context of the quote that will be.

In the Dragon Ball Z canon, May 9 is literally King Piccolo Commemoration Day. To celebrate, there will be a quiz that looks back on Piccolo's best hits. Fans will also be able to vote on what they thought were Piccolo's most amazing moments. Voters will be eligible for prizes such as a figure and special card. Toriyama will create original artwork of the scenes that fans pick. Speaking of Toriyama, a sneak peek at the draft for the new chapter six of Dragon Ball Super will be available for a limited time on May 12, 2023.

Nintendo announced a three-part The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom interview series, and the second entry touched upon returning sounds. Producer Eiji Aonuma, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Technical Director Takuhiro Dohta, Art Director Satoru Takizawa, and Sound Director Hajime Wakai all commented on design decisions for the sequel. Aonuma mentioned a desire to try and mitigate the feeling of “déjà vu” when people would play. However, he also noted, “Breaking boundaries doesn't mean you can just destroy whatever you like, though.” Fujibayashi also joked that consistent and recurring elements were referred to as "the Great Mundanity” during development.

Sound Director Wakai specifically spoke about retaining classic The Legend of Zelda sounds in Tears of the Kingdom. His statement noted, “We intended to keep iconic sounds from the previous title, such as the sounds that play when you obtain an item or solve a puzzle.” Art Director Takizawa also noted that part of that was to ensure “it feels like an adventure in the same world.” In that same conversation that discussed sounds, Producer Aonuma said, “Breaking boundaries doesn't mean you can just destroy whatever you like, though. Those boundaries give you the basis to feel safe about taking risks elsewhere.”

A Horizon Forbidden West sequel seems to be on its way in the future, as confirmed by developer Guerrilla Games. The information was teased as part of a retrospective of Guerrilla’s work celebrating their 20th anniversary on the PlayStation Blog. Studio Director Jan-Bart van Beek said that he looks forward to fans seeing where Aloy goes next in her story.

Guerilla also confirmed that the Horizon franchise has sold 32.7 million units combined. Horizon Forbidden West makes up 8.4 million units of this total. However, there is a higher number of players due to subscriptions such as PlayStation Plus.

Elsewhere in the post, Van Beek looks back at the history of the studio, starting out in 2003 on Shellshock: Nam ’67. He then goes through the history of making the Killzone series for Sony and how it led to them becoming a first-party studio.

Naturally, a big chunk of the blog is dedicated to the development of Horizon Zero Dawn. Van Beek talks about the challenges of making the shift from a sci-fi FPS franchise to an open world action adventure. He also discusses the nervousness he and the other staff experienced showing off the reveal trailer for the first time.

Horizon Forbidden West is out now for PS5 and PS4. A major expansion, Burning Shores, released on April 19, 2023 for PS5 exclusively.

A new “Ask the Developer” interview from Nintendo goes over The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom development process. It’s part of a series of interviews about the upcoming game with people like Producer Eiji Aonuma, Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Technical Director Takuhiro Dohta, Art Director Satoru Takizawa, and Sound Director Hajime Wakai. This first part is dedicated to members of the team talking about how the goal during development was always to create a The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel with Tears of the Kingdom.

Aonuma started out by saying ahead of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel development, the team wanted to see “if we could make it possible for players to continue exploring the world after they've reached the game's ending” with Tears of the Kingdom. He then noted that “we started to come up with new ideas that we wanted to bring to life in this already realized version of Hyrule, so our direction in making a sequel did not change.” Fujibayashi followed that up by saying when they started to begin work, “ in the initial proposal, we clearly stated ‘the setting will not change’ as an important concept.”



Part of Nintendo’s Financial Results Explanatory Material Fiscal Year Ended March 2023 included milestone updates on recent releases. Among them is the latest sales figures for Fire Emblem Engage, the newest entry in the series. As of March 31, 2023, it’s passed 1.6 million in sales. To help provide a sense of context, the game launched on January 20, 2023. So it hit that hallmark in about two months.

The official breakdown went into a bit more detail about the exact Fire Emblem Engage sales figures. It noted that 1.18 million of that came from overseas purchases. That means the remaining 430,000 in sales came from Japan alone.

While Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes came out in June 2022, there was no update on its sales figures. It was only listed in a section going over “launch dates of primary Nintendo products.” We do know it passed over a million in sales as of August 2022. There was also no update on sales figures for the other Switch Fire Emblem game, Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Ahead of its first anniversary, it passed 2.87 million units sold.

Fire Emblem Engage is available for the Nintendo Switch. All of the DLC in its expansion pass is now available.

Nintendo announced that Switch sales crossed 125 million units in its latest financial report. This is an increase of three million from the company's previous financial results, which pushed the Switch to become the third best-selling console of all time.

However, while this is an impressive number, we can see the report showed a small decline for Nintendo Switch sales numbers overall. Gross profit fell 6.4% from 946 billion yen (roughly $7 billion) in the previous financial year to 885.4 billion yen (roughly $6.5 billion). Sales are down for both the Switch and its games, as is mobile income. Interestingly, playing card sales are up 105.1% compared to the previous financial year.

However, it doesn’t appear to be a dire situation. Nintendo confirmed that while software sales on Switch are down from 2022, last year still provided the third-highest year sales in the console’s lifespan. In addition, the number of annual playing users has increased from 103 million to 114 million.

In terms of software released in the past year, Nintendo noted that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet sold a combined 22.1 million units. Meanwhile, Splatoon 3 sold 10.67 million, Nintendo Switch Sports sold 9.6 million units and Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has sold 1.6 million units.

Viz Media launched a new subscription service and app with a video from CEO Ken Sasaki. Called Viz Manga, the service offers access to over 10,000 chapters of manga including works from Rumiko Takahashi and Junji Ito. Certain series will have new chapters made available simultaneously alongside their publication in Japan. A subscription will cost $1.99 a month and is available immediately in the US and Canada. A free trial is also available.

Sasaki cited the success of the Viz's Shonen Jump App for the decision to expand. The Jump app launched four years ago and costs $2.99 a month, but is limited to only titles published under the Shonen Jump label. A Twitter reply from the official Viz account confirms the two apps are separate services and subscriptions.

You can catch the announcement video with Viz CEO Ken Sasaki below:

[embed]https://youtu.be/K9mZfhUI4pc[/embed]

While subscription to the service is only available through the mobile app, subscribers will be able to access their manga through the Viz website on any other device. More details can be found on the Viz FAQ page.

As is common after a Financial Results Explanatory Material Fiscal Year Ended March 2023, Nintendo updated its list of first-party, best-selling Switch games of all time. The order isn’t too different this time around. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still holding onto its position in the top spot.

Here’s the current list of 10 first-party, best-selling Switch Games of all time following the latest financial results. These sales figures cover worldwide totals and include digital and physical copies.

There’s a new update on Pokemon Scarlet and Violet sales figures. Following its Financial Results Explanatory Material Fiscal Year Ended March 2023 release, Nintendo updated its Top Selling Title Sales Units. The two newest Pokemon installments are now at 22.10 million copies sold.

This falls in line with its sales milestones so far. In its first three days after launch, Nintendo told us the sales figures for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet hit 10 million. Its last financial report from February 2023 also noted that the two newest games passed 20 million in sales in 2022.

HoYoVerse Honkai: Star Rail took to the official Twitter account to announce an animated, anime style short. There are few details about what to expect from the video just yet. Only a single still from it was revealed. However, it seems like it could star the next Honkai: Star Rail five-star limited character Jing Yuan. It will air online on May 10, 2023.

The description also seems to affirm that the Honkai: Star Rail animated short will be a Jing Yuan and Xianzhou Luofu-focused story. It refers to a “teacher” and “student” fighting one another alongside the picture of the character. We do know from Yanqing’s existing lore and details that Jing Yuan acted as his mentor and teacher. As part fo his character backstory, it notes the general found him.

A fleeting flash — thus is the speed of swift blades as the teacher and student spar, and thus is the whirlwind passage of the unceasing torrent of time.
The animated short film “Honkai: Star Rail — A Flash” is set to be officially released on May 10th (UTC+8). Stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/YugdMR0O1C

— Honkai: Star Rail (@honkaistarrail) May 9, 2023

Over the weekend, Ateam teased the final two VTubers who would be a part of the Valkyrie Connect Hololive event. We already knew one would be a member of the English branch, and the other from the Japanese one. Now, we know that both Nanashi Mumei and Sakamata Chloe will appear as playable Valkyrie Connect characters. They will appear alongside Houshou Marine and Ouro Kronii.

Their full art and movesets aren't revealed yet. Rather, Ateam showed us splash art of their faces in a new banner that also showed the previously revealed VTubers. It also noted that the Nanashi Mumei and Sakamata Chloe Valkyrie Connect characters will appear in their own videos, as will the other two.

#hololive production x #ValkyrieConnect 2nd Collab
Member Reveal

We already knew the Sylvie Paula Paula DLC would come to KOF XV in Summer 2023. Now we have an exact release date. SNK said people can pick up the add-on on May 16, 2023. She will be a paid addition. Players who get it will get both her and an additional costume.

Here's the official KOF XV Sylvie Paula Paula announcement trailer. It notes Mio will return as her official voice actress. She played the character in her debut game, which was KOF XIV, as well as SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy. At the 2:15 mark, we can see the extra outfit. That costume is inspired by her debut appearance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGffinSuRQ8&ab_channel=SNKOFFICIAL

This marks the third DLC character for the game so far in 2023. Things kicked off in January 2023 with Shingo Yabuki. After that, Kim Kaphwan joined the roster in April 2023. The next character to appear will be Goenitz. He’ll be a free add-on for all players. After that, Najd is also expected to launch in Summer 2023. Two more as-yet-unnamed characters are also set to appear eventually.

The King of Fighters XV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and Sylvie Paula Paula joins as DLC on May 16, 2023. A demo is available for the PS4 and PS5.

Capcom announced its Street Fighter 6 open beta. It will appear between May 19-21, 2023. However, who can play it that weekend is a bit limited. The trial is only for players on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. Those with a PS4 can't participate.

Capcom clarified that if someone got to be part of the closed beta test two, things will look familiar. People will again be able to go into the battle hub and play online. Chun-Li, Guile, Jamie, Juri, Ken, Kimberly, Luke, and Ryu will be the playable characters. There's also a trailer showing off the various modes and options.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMAao7ooWhY&ab_channel=StreetFighter

Leading up to Street Fighter 6's launch, we've had another way to look at the game. Capcom's been sharing video clips of characters online. The one for May 7, 2023 showed off Dhalsim beating Ryu in a match.

Dhalsim, the Yoga Master.

Likes: Meditating
Hates: Distractions, Harming Othershttps://t.co/MHy8tcCrgj pic.twitter.com/VytlaavQAQ

— Street Fighter (@StreetFighter) May 8, 2023

The Xianzhou Luofu “Fired” mission in Honkai: Star Rail is one with a lot of moving parts, what with counting starskiffs, finding lost notes, hunting down the starskiff hit-and-run suspect, and trying to convince Luhui to not fire Mei the maid. It’s a lot to deal with in the game! It might also leave you wondering “what if,” since the Trailblazer can make a lot of dialogue choices.

Editor's Note: There will be Honkai: Star Rail "Fired" mission spoilers below, including details about whether or not Luhui will fire Mei.

Things start out with the Honkai: Star Rail “Fired” mission seeming like a standard observation task, as you’ll report to Tantan at Central Starskiff Haven in Xianzhou Luofu. The first part involves counting starskiffs and keeping track of their colors. So the first question just asks, “How many white passenger starskiffs went past?” The correct answer is three. However, when starting the second task, you’ll see a blue starskiff come out of nowhere and hit another one.
[caption id="attachment_962172" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via Siliconera[/caption]

The strongest Chesnaught will be the next 7-star Tera Raid in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. It’ll run from May 12-15, 2023 and May 19-22, 2023. As a note, Chesnaught and its pre-evolutionary forms are not native to Paldea. So this will be our only chance for trainers to catch one this generation unless you trade.

Like other 7-star Tera Raids in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, the Chesnaught will come with a Mightiest Mark. It will have a rock Tera Type. In previous games, Rollout was the only rock-type move that the Chespin line could naturally learn. So this Tera Raid Chesnaught might know something like Rock Slide or Stone Edge, which are moves that you would normally need to teach via TM.

Chesnaught, which is the final form of Chespin, debuted in Pokemon X and Y as the Grass-type starter. It’s a grass/fighting type and looks like a cross between a giant hedgehog and an armadillo. So far, the only other Kalos starter to appear as a Tera Raid Pokemon is Greninja, which was the Water-type. Delphox is the final form of Fennekin, and it will likely join its compatriots in Paldea later on.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are readily available on the Nintendo Switch. The Chesnaught Tera Raid Battle event will run from May 12-15, 2023 and May 19-22, 2023.

Honkai: Star Rail is a game where even four-star characters can be the best, and Tingyun is an especially helpful one with the right Relic set and Light Cone build. Like her and Pela are both extraordinarily helpful. Increasing her attack and making great use of her Blessing ability and energy regeneration is key for making sure characters like Seele get to use their Ultimates more often.

What are the best Light Cones for a Tingyun build in Honkai: Star Rail?

The best possible Light Cone for your Tingyun build in Honkai: Star Rail is the five-star But the Battle Isn't Over. This is partially because of its “When the wearer uses their Skill, the next ally taking action (except the wearer) deals 30% more DMG for 1 turn(s)” part of its base ability. Tingyun is all about increasing a target ally’s attack and adding Lightning damage to it, and this increases that further. That Light Cone’s “Increases the wearer's Energy Regeneration Rate by 10% and regenerates 1 Skill Point when the wearer uses their Ultimate on an ally” part also pairs perfectly with her Ultimate, which also increases the target’s energy and damage. Bronya may be on that ‘card,” but it’s basically made for Tingyun.

For three-star ones, I’d say Meshing Cogs or Chorus are great. The former helps her get energy faster, so you can use her Ultimate on an ally sooner. The latter increases everyone’s attack by a certain percent, which greatly benefits her Skill.

VTubers Murasaki Shion and Minato Aqua of Hololive tested positive for COVID-19. The news came from the official Twitter account for the company. The two of them will go on a temporary hiatus in order to recover. The dates of their return will appear on social media.

Shion uploaded a Twitter Voice clip saying that her throat hurts and she feels terrible. She can’t speak in a loud voice because of her condition, and she has a fever of about 39 degrees Celsius (102.2 Fahrenheit). She noted that she’s barely clinging onto life (hopefully an exaggeration), and that she will return to streaming as soon as she’s better.

Minato Aqua also posted several updates on the situation. About ten hours before Cover’s announcement, she stated that she’s had a fever of 39 degrees Celsius since the day before. She also uploaded a voice clip of herself saying “Yahoo!” twice. We can see her voice sounds very hoarse compared to normal. She stated that she only went out once during Golden Week, which was when she caught the virus.

As part of the various Splatfest events in the Splatoon series, Nintendo releases official art. So for Splatoon, we’d see the Squid Sisters Callie and Maries engaged in activities for the festival, and so on. Now Nintendo’s Japanese branch released a virtual gallery online that shows the imagery created for all three games’ special events.

The official site doesn’t show the winners for the Splatoon, Splatoon 2, and Splatoon 3 Splatfest events, only the art. Each one shows what the question was for that one, as well as what the two sides were. In the case of situations where there were different topics, there are buttons that you can click to see the different options. For example, the July 2017 Splatoon 2 Splatfest was Rock vs Pop in Japan and Cake vs Ice Cream in North America, Europe, and Oceania. So if you scroll to that event in the virtual gallery, it initially shows Pearl and Marina with the Rock vs Pop art, and clicking the button for other regions shows the Off the Hook members with cake and ice cream.

There’s a new line of Persona 5 Royal character merchandise. Otaku Lamps announced its new collection. There are nine lamps total in the collection. Each one is an acrylic stand based on members of the Phantom Thieves. The normal retail price for each one is $39.99, though they are temporarily on sale for $34.99 each. While they are noted to be based on the updated version of the game, there isn’t one for Kasumi “Violet” Yoshizawa.

Eight of the nine Persona 5 Royal character lamps feature members of the Phantom Thieves. You can get Joker, Ryuji “Skull” Sakamoto, Morgana, Ann “Panther” Takamaki, Yusuke “Fox” Kitagawa, Makoto “Queen” Niijima, Futaba “Oracle” Sakura, and Haru “Noir” Okumura. The ninth design features the Phantom Thieves insignia hat with mask, rather than Goro “Crow” Akechi or Violet.

Here's how all of the lamps look both in their packaging and while in use. Each one has 16 different color options when in use. There are also different modes that offer static light or strobe and active effects.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="962127,962128,962129,962130,962131,962133,962132,962134,962135,962136,962137,962138,962139,962142,962140,962143,962141,962144" link="file"]

Shonen Jump added yet another new manga series, with this one being Do Retry. It is a boxing series by Jun Kirarazaka, who previously worked on Bone Collection. It is also a period piece that takes place after World War II. The first chapter is already live on the Manga Plus and Viz Media sites, with additional ones appearing weekly.

Do Retry stars Aozora Okami, the teenage son of a boxer who was sent off to war. After the bombings, him and his younger sister Akari are left as war orphans doing their best to survive. When its discovered Akari has tuberculosis, Aozora ends up going to confront some men who stole from him. It’s then that his ability to get back up after taking a punch and right hook are noticed by a woman who thinks he’d be suited to become a boxer.

This series follows two other debuts in April 2023. Shonen Jump added Tenmaku Cinema at the beginning of that month. It follows a high schooler who’s “possessed” by a deceased screenwriter who wants him to get his final work made. Kill Blue, a series about an assassin turned into a kid, is the other.

VShojo released two new videos following the story of a new possible VTuber labeled as a “genius.” Each video has been posted both on both the English and Japanese Twitter accounts with respective narration and subtitles. The company has not shared an official name yet, only referring to the project by #IQ999 on each post.

Check out the IQ999 VTuber teaser videos from the VShojo Twitter account in the thread below.

https://twitter.com/VShojo/status/1655407173118164992?s=20

The animated videos tell the story of a child test subject, acknowledged for her impressive intelligence, who escapes from a secret laboratory where she is being held. From what can be seen, she is referred to as “genius.” Among her test results appears that she has an IQ of 999.

Many fans have been speculating this could be some sort of preliminary teaser for a new talent joining the agency. It should be noted that VShojo held auditions for new talents back in August 2021, but since then the Japanese branch only consists of Kson and Nazuna Amemiya.

Cosmic horrors abound in Darkest Dungeon II, a game is bleak as its predecessor. The stress inducing aspects of Darkest Dungeon are back and more nail-biting than ever. But what the sequel offers is a new way to tackle challenges by adding a wealth of new mechanics that will play into whether you walk away from encounters victorious or at the brink of self-destruction. It doesn’t necessarily reinvent what makes Darkest Dungeon so good to begin with, but instead builds upon its core strengths to create something more engaging.

Darkest Dungeon II requires the player to fail in order to progress, which feels almost antithetical to the original by design. Yes, you can trudge on through the game with minimal upgrades or even with the four starter characters. This is entirely possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you want the full experience. Obtaining candles by completing objectives during your runs, such as tackling certain encounters, will allow you to unlock restorative and curative items, accessories for your carriage, and even other characters like the Flagellant and Vestal.

Yet another Genshin Impact event kicked off, and The Recollector's Path involves the Bloomguard Sorush. Starting on May 8, 2023, we can start going through six stages consisting of Tranquil Trial protection stages, Intrepid Impulse traveling ones, and Reinforced Reminiscence trials that involve creating a Scene of Significance. As usual, rewards include Hero’s Wits, Mora, Mystic Enhancement Ores, Primogems, and Weapon Ascension Materials.

What are the Genshin Impact The Recollector’s Path event requirements

As usual, there’s an Adventure Rank requirement. You must be at AR 20. You also need to have made your way to the Sumeru region, as this involves the Girdle of the Sands. While many quests involve certain Archon Quests to be finished, this one has a Khvarena of Good and Evil mandate due to it involving the Pari Sorush. You need to have started that World Quest and finished "The Splendorous Sky That Day.”

There’s also a Quick Start option. It involves another quest in that line. If you opt for it, you can avoid finishing “As the Khvarena's Light Shows."

How does the Genshin Impact The Recollector’s Path work?

First, here’s the schedule for stages.

HoYoVerse took to HoYoLab to detail the inspiration for the Honkai: Star Rail Xianzhou Luofu, citing Golden Age of Science Fiction authors and Chinese architecture, history, and mythology as references for the flagship’s design. It referenced details about the people who live on the ship. The goal was to make it feel “retro” and futuristic all at once. The official site's page also showed concept art from the location.

HoYoVerse’s announcement noted the goal is to convey the idea of an enduring culture. It specifically noted, “the inspiration for the Xianzhou Luofu comes from the pre-Qin Dynasty myth of ‘seeking immortality.’” This influenced the races that appear there, as we see people with long lives, the Foxian race with animalistic traits, and the dragon-like Vidyadhara. It also noted at the end of the article that all designs follow the concept of “In what way would a society completely led by long-living lifeforms express themselves.” Authors like Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, and Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s work were all cited when discussing design directions as well. HoYoVerse specifically noted the realism mixed in with their stories' lore.

Nintendo revealed the winner of its The Legend of Zelda Splatfest in Splatoon 3, and Ganondorf won. Team Power swept the board, as the winning team of the Sneak Peek, Open and Pro contests and the Tricolor Battles. This means that the Splatfest ultimately handed a victory to the Gerudo king.

https://twitter.com/SplatoonNA/status/1655396316925644801

The Splatfest took place over the weekend of May 5-7, 2023. It was a crossover event with The Legend of Zelda ahead of the release of Tears of the Kingdom. Players were asked to choose between Power, Wisdom and Courage, representing the three parts of the Triforce. The Tricolor Battle portion of the Splatfest took place on a special Triforce-shaped variant of Scorch Gorge.

Ganondorf and Team Power started strong as the winner of the Splatoon 3 Splatfest Sneak Peek, based on the number of conch shells won by players who’d chosen the team in the week before the event. The half-time results also showed a strong lead for Power, with 34.23% victories over 33.7% for Wisdom and 32.07% for Courage. They also won the Tricolor Battle with 34.47%.

Power also turned out to be the most popular team, with 36.9% of players choosing the team over 32.08% for Wisdom and 31.02% for Courage.

VShojo announced Ironmouse and Zentreya will both be getting new VTuber models. For Zentreya, this will be a 2.0 model. That will show up on May 20, 2023. There's no exact time for its first appearance. As for Ironmouse, this is just a new model for her. That will show up first at 12pm PT/3pm ET on May 11, 2023.

It’s been quite some time since a new Zentreya model appeared, as the VShojo VTuber’s last look showed up in July 2022. That’s when she got a 3D cyborg design. Prior to that, she had a 2D version of that look from earlier that year. Some of her past designs involved one where she wore a military uniform and another in which she looked like a dragon.

Here's the first teaser for her new design, which only features her eyes and face.

2.0 Model⚡️May 20th pic.twitter.com/sYJ55At4zg

— Zentreya ⚡VSHOJO (@zentreya) May 6, 2023

Meanwhile, Ironmouse gets new models fairly regularly. For example, we saw her new Race Queen model back in February 2023. She’s been using it rather regularly since then. Prior to that, she ended up getting a Demon Queen model in November 2022. This new model for her comes not long after she passed 1.5 subscribers on Twitch.

Uniqlo revealed the UT The World of CLAMP t-shirts, showing the ones based on Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and xxxHolic will look like. They are estimated to arrive in the middle of July 2023. Six designs will be available for ¥1,500 each (~$11). However, only women’s sizes will appear. Also, we haven’t seen any confirmation from the worldwide branches of the retailer suggesting they’ll be sold everywhere.

There's no special event page for the Uniqlo UT The World of CLAMP t-shirts with any official art, as the search page just shows the Cardcaptor Sakura, Magic Knight Rayearth, Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, and xxxHolic designs. The styles will be available in sizes extra small (XS) through three extra large (3XL).

First, here are the two kinds of Cardcaptor Sakura shirts that will appear. They only feature designs on the front.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="962085,962086" link="file"]

There are also two Magic Knight Rayearth shirts at Uniqlo. While the black one only features a design on the front, the white has imagery on the front and back.
[gallery size="full" ids="962088,962089,962090" link="file"]

Nintendo announced more details about Nintendo Live 2023, its Seattle, Washington presentation that will offer a chance to see Switch games and take part in activities. It will be a four day event running September 1-4, 2023. People will need to be at the Seattle Convention Center Arch at 705 Pike in Seattle Washington to attend. Nintendo noted people will need to register to win tickets to attend. This will start on May 31, 2023. Nintendo also confirmed it will run alongside PAX West, but that paying to attend that convention won't get you into its show.

The page to register isn’t live yet. Nintendo did note that the period during which people can possibly get free tickets will be May 31, 2023 through June 22, 2023. It only noted that there’s a chance people who sign up will get free tickets and didn't say how many will be given away.

The official page for the Nintendo Live 2023 Seattle event hasn’t been updated with details about Switch games that will be there yet. It only noticed that “popular” ones will be there. There are also no updates about what the tournaments and live stage events will entail. Everything still looks the same as it did when we first learned about this event back in April 2023.