When The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom launched in May, it immediately became a cultural phenomenon. In addition to spawning countless viral social media posts about the creations of players, it also quickly became the fastest-selling Legend of Zelda title, as well one of the frontrunners for 2023's Game of the Year award. At the time of its launch, producer Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi didn't know what the community reaction would eventually become.

However, now more than a half year removed from the launch of Tears of the Kingdom, I once again caught up with Aonuma and Fujibayashi to break down some of the more discussed moments of Tears of the Kingdom and speak about the evolution of the series. You can read the full interview below.

Just be warned that there are sporadic spoilers for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the interview below.

The Day Before kicked off 2023 as one of the most wishlisted games on Steam. Now, after endless controversies, the self-proclaimed open-world survival-horror MMO styled after The Last of Us is finally in Steam Early Access, and it’s getting panned. The first players to lay hands on the much-hyped zombie shooter are…

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The Cup Noodle measuring cup set will receive a re-release in Japan following it going out of stock. The set costs 3,993 yen (or about $28) and will return on December 8, 2023.

This special set includes a transparent measuring cup decorated with the Cup Noodle logo and branding, as well as a mini, regular, and big servings of original Cup Noodle flavor, Cup Noodle Curry flavor, and Cup Noodle Seafood flavor each. The set originally appeared in Japan on September 26, 2023, and went out of stock shortly after is release.

The measuring cup itself includes measurements for how much water each of the three different servings need in order to fully cook, and is designed to use the minimum amount of water necessary. The cup is made of heat-resistant glass, it is safe to heat in the microwave, and it includes regular measurements in milliliters.

You can check out the measuring cup in more detail in the video below.

We are now blessed with not one but two annual Day of the Devs indie game showcases, and the latest one lives up to the event’s reputation. A roughly 90-minute stream yesterday highlighted some awesome-looking games from developers around the world, and I want to play all of them right this minute.

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James Cameron's Avatar hit theaters in 2009 and absolutely demolished box office records. It spawned a sequel (with more on the way), as well as books and a theme park attraction. Now, the franchise is diving into gaming for the first time in 14 years with Ubisoft's Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is a first-person, open world game that takes place on a portion of Pandora not yet seen in the films. Massive Entertainment, a Ubisoft studio, developed it. Ubisoft did the Avatar movie tie-in back in 2009, so the company is working from experience. Not to mention the publisher is no stranger to the open world genre, with several Far Cry titles under their belt. And, to address the possible elephant in the room, there is Far Cry DNA all over Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

However, this isn't a bad thing in and of itself. Remember, Far Cry 3 was once called "Skyrim with guns" and yet it revitalized the franchise. Similarly, even the original Avatar movie faced comparisons to Dances with Wolves, then made literally billions of dollars. Not everything has to reinvent the wheel; it's all about execution.

So, is Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora more or less Far Cry with an Avatar paint job? Sort of. But, does it execute it well? Also sort of.

The 2023 edition of The Game Awards, hosted by Geoff Keighly, airs tonight starting at 4:30 p.m. P.T./7:30 p.m. E.T. The event is expected to run between 2.5-3 hours, including a 30-minute pre-show. You can catch the big event by watching the video below, and it will also be streaming live on Twitch. Be sure to brush up on all of the nominees before the festivities begin. 

Ahead of The Game Awards 2023 Arc System Works announcement, Bandai Namco's Asian branch revealed the next Guilty Gear Strive DLC character is Elphelt. Bandai Namco's leak also noted that she is "available today," with the article publish date being December 8, 2023.

This is one of the most requested characters for the game. Back in November 2023, Arc System Works noted Elphelt was often asked for by fans. She debuted in Guilty Gear Xrd Sign and also appeared in Revelator and Rev 2. Her “sisters” are Ramlethal and Jack-O. In the past, she was known for using guns.

Here is a closer look at some initial gallery images and character art:

Capcom and Niantic announced the first major Monster Hunter Now update, called Fulminations in the Frost, and confirmed it will add monsters like Barioth and Zinogre and the Dual Blades and Lance weapons. All of the new content is live in the game.

With the two new Monster Hunter Now weapons, Director Chihiro Kanno explained why the Dual Blades and Lance were chosen. With the Lance, it was more of a balancing situation. It includes Guard and Offensive Guard skills, making it the second weapon in the game that can. With the Dual Blades, their inclusion was due to fan demand. Kanno also noted that it will bring Demon Mode with it. 

As for the new Monster Hunter Now monsters, the inclusion of characters like Barioth and Zinogre were designed to touch on both fan-favorites and wintry themes. Zinogre was the one that was in-demand. Barioth, Cortos, and Wulg were added to help add more “Winter” monsters. As such, they’ll be around between December and March months each year. Banbaro was also noted as a winter-themed character, but Kanno didn’t note if that one will also only appear in that four month “season” as well. Finally, Kanno noted Radobaan was included so the “sleep” status effect could be added.

HoYoVerse revealed details about Hanya, one of the four-star characters introduced with the latest banner update for Honkai: Star Rail. In the new trailer, we get to see a showcase of all her skills while using the Oracle Brush as her weapon.

Hanya is a four-star Physical Harmony character who appears in Honkai: Star Rail as a judge in the Ten-Lords Commission. Her Skill, Samsara, deals Physical damage to a single enemy and inflicts Burden on them. Burden will apply a damage boost to any party member attacking the afflicted target and will restore one skill point. Burden can also be applied at the start of battle if Hanya uses her Technique. The effect can only be applied to one target at a time though. In addition, her Ultimate can give an ally a speed and damage boost for a few turns.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has ended its theatrical run, but still thrives on a handful of different streaming services. After making a billion dollars and garnering middling reviews, the greatest gift Mario’s animated romp gave us was the song “Peaches,” sung by Bowser about his unrequited love for Princess Peach.…

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Ultros is a bizarre and mesmerising Metroidvania-style action game arriving on February 13. Our layman's description wouldn't do the game justice, so here's the official synopsis on its Steam page:

What does all of that even mean? Join Marcus Stewart and Charles Harte as they explore an early slice of Ultros to figure out what the heck is going on while indulging its promising gameplay. 

Head over to Game Informer's YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.

CTW officially launched Black Lagoon: Heaven's Shot on G123, and the first-ever standalone game adaptation for the Black Lagoon franchise is a free-to-play browser game. Pre-registrations for the game opened in September 2023, and it is now available to play in not only Japanese, but also English.

The developer team described Heaven's Shot as a hard-boiled RPG. Players will generally spend Recruit Tickets to gather characters from the franchise. Other than members of the Lagoon Company like Revy and Dutch, they can also team up with characters from other factions, such as the Hooligan Church's Eda, Chang from the Hong Kong Triad, and Hotel Moscow's Balalaika. Every player who finishes the game's tutorial will also be able to have Gretel join them as a four-star-rated character.

The Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo event has been canceled and will not take place in late January 2024. Nintendo announced the event's cancellation while postponing several tournaments related to Splatoon 3 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

The chain of event delays and cancellations began when Nintendo received persistent threats aimed at its employees. The perpetrator later expanded their targets to staff members and the public audience of the upcoming Japanese national finals tournament in Splatoon Koshien 2023, which was about to take place in Tokyo on December 16-17, 2023.

Nintendo ultimately decided to postpone the Splatoon Koshien tournament as it prioritizes the safety of visitors to the venue. As the tournament would determine the Japanese representative in the Splatoon 3 World Championship 2024, the company also postponed the world finals tournament that would take place in Nintendo Live 2024 Tokyo.

Now that the Honkai: Star Rail Pelicana Chicken event is on, HoYoVerse shared a trailer showing the launch of the event. This involved footage from one of the Fan Celebration Kickoff events held once the collaboration began last week. 

The Fan Celebration Kickoff was a special occasion that happened at the Buena Park, California and Queens, New York Pelicana locations. People who attended could see official Dan Heng and March 7th cosplayers, get hats, collect some of the exclusive tie-in merchandise, and participate in festivities. The video and announcement didn’t note white exact location was being shown. However, it did show the cosplayers, cardboard Pom Pom hats, acrylic stands, and fans who also showed up wearing costumes based on the various characters.

Here’s the full Honkai: Star Rail event trailer:

The Game Awards 2023 is tonight and we'll be reporting it live, right here. So if you need a quick summary of everything that's happened, or you simply want to watch it along with us then please do - we've got your back.

Oh, and this year there's bingo. That's right, in an effort to stay awake and keep ourselves entertained, we've come up with a bingo card full of things Geoff Keighley may or may not do during the show. We think you'll like it.

The Game Awards 2023 begins at the ungodly hour of half-past midnight in the UK (0.30am GMT) and is likely to run on way past 3am. But think of all the announcements! I know Geoff Keighley has changed the language away from "world premieres" for the event, which suggests he doesn't have many world premieres, but there's still likely to be lots to talk about. In fact - tease - we know of a few things.

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The Communications Workers of America (CWA) has published a guide on using AI in the workplace.

The organization said that the guide serves not to stop new technologies but to ensure that their benefits are shared broadly.

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It’s no secret that Grand Theft Auto VI takes a lot inspiration from IRL events and people, but one person colloquially called the “Florida Joker” has seemingly taken umbrage with Rockstar Games for possibly copying his whole entire vibe.

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UPDATE 1.20am UK: The demo has now been confirmed, and you can watch the trailer below!

ORIGINAL STORY 5pm UK: Looks like there is going to be a Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown demo.

This demo was presumably meant to be announced tonight as part of the game awards. Ubisoft previously confirmed it would release a story trailer at the show later today. However, it has leaked, and mention of a demo is featured towards the end of the video's two and a bit minute run.

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Anycolor revealed the third set of Nijisanji Fragrance Vtuber perfumes inspired by Ibrahim, Sukoya Kana, Tsukino Mito, Yumeoi Kakeru, and Leos Vincent. The company will open pre-orders for these perfumes on the Nijisanji Official Store on December 8, 2023. People in Japan will also be able to place pre-orders in physical Animate and Kotobukiya stores on December 15, 2023.

Here is the full list of ingredients used for the third set of Nijisanji VTuber perfumes:

Ibrahim

• Top Note: Orange, Raspberry
• Middle Note: Rose, Heliotrope
• Last Note: Chamomile, Hinoki Cypress

Sukoya Kana

• Top Note: Green Apple, Bergamot
• Middle Note: Rose, Muguet (Lily of the Valley)
• Last Note: White Musk, Vanilla

In Modern Warfare 2019, the reboot of the popular Call of Duty series, a 10-person multiplayer killstreak rewards you with white phosphorus, an odorless, waxy chemical you can drop on the battlefield to kill dozens in one fell swoop. It was a controversial addition to an already controversial game series, which has,…

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It’s been over two years since it was announced that the 2018 medieval RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance would be launching on Switch. That silence has finally been broken with the news that the Nintendo port is arriving sometime next year.

The Switch version comes in the form of Kingdom Come: Deliverance - Royal Edition. The port is being handled by Saber Interactive (Warhorse Studios is the original developer) and bundles the base game with all released DLC. It will be available both digitally and physically. There's no new trailer showcasing how the game runs on Switch, but Saber did release a few screenshots of the port. 

Good Smile Company opened pre-orders for its upcoming Pop Up Parade figures of Chun-Li and Juri from Street Fighter 6. Both figures are available to order separately at ¥5,500 / $34.99 each. The pre-order window for both figures will close on January 18, 2024, at noon JST (January 17, 2024, at 10 PM ET).

After previously showing the prototypes at WonHobby G 2023 Autumn in November 2023, the company has published the final sample images for the Chun-Li and Juri figures. Both non-scale figures will stand at around 170mm (~6.69 inches) tall.

Just when we thought Microsoft’s Activision acquisition was finally set in stone two months ago, it looks like the Federal Trade Commission has made another appeal to block Master Chief and John Call of Duty’s marriage.

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Players will be able to play as their captured creatures in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet's DLC, The Indigo Disk.

The second chapter of DLC will include a device called the Synchro Machine that will allow players to sync up with one of their Pokémon and then move around and battle wild Pokémon.

While we've played as Pokémon in spin-off games, this is a first for the main series. It's all part of a new quest to help a certain scientist in the Terarium with her research.

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This week on the Electronic Wireless Show podcast we give our live* reactions to the new trailer for ">Grand Theft Auto 6, a game that certainly exists! Basically none of the predictions we made two weeks ago came true, but hey, there might still be a bunch of gorillas in it. And what about the fact that it leaked, huh? Is that bad? Should we feel sad for Rockstar? Will it make a difference, really? And why did James drink so much whiskey this weekend?

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Following the previously teased McDonald’s Japan collaboration with Hello Kitty, we now know what this Happy Meal toys crossover has in store for the Sanrio mascot’s 50th anniversary. Starting on December 15, 2023 and for approximately four weeks, those who purchase a Happy Set in Japan will receive one of 50 different Hello Kitty mini plush keychains at random.

Many of the Hello Kitty plush keychains you can receive are based on previous legacy designs of the character. For example, an original milk Hello Kitty version from her debut year of 1974 is a potential toy. Other examples include a monochrome Hello Kitty from 1987, a rainbow pearl Hello Kitty from 1996, and “Friend The Future” Hello Kitty from 2005. You’ll also notice toys themed after the beach, bumble bees, weddings, and more. There are also some new designs and versions exclusive to this collaboration. For example, some of the plush toys available have Hello Kitty dressed as McDonald’s employees and managers.

You can see all of the potential Hello Kitty 50th anniversary Happy Meal Set toys in the image below:

Rovio has shut down Studio Lumi following its recent acquisition by Sega.

As PocketGamer.biz reports, 16 members of staff lost their jobs as a result and development has ended on an unannounced project.

Rovio confirmed that staff in key roles, such as SVP of brand strategy Ben Mattes, will retain their positions.

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Baldur's Gate 3 once looked quite different from how it looks today.

According to Baldur's Gate 3 lead character artist Alena Dubrovina, the game's development - at least in terms of its art - started out "pretty bumpy, actually".

"We couldn't figure out the visual look that we wanted because of the very limited skill sets that we had," Dubrovina told GQ. "Within the first year, we probably changed direction three times."

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GTA 6 is already breaking records despite being at least a year away from release.

The first trailer for the game, which Rockstar released ahead of schedule after it leaked on Monday, now holds the record for the most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours which isn't a music video, according to Guinness World Records.

This also makes it the most viewed video game reveal on YouTube, according to the organisation, reaching 90,421,491 views in 24 hours.

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THQ Nordic announced that Alone in the Dark remake has been delayed again. Originally set for a January release, the release has now been pushed back to March 20, 2024.

The reason Alone in the Dark has been delayed is to avoid crunch. Due to the holidays, developers at Pieces Interactive would have had to work long hours to get the game completed ahead of their Christmas break. With a new March release date, the team now has an extra two months to polish the game. The delay will also allow them to take more time off over the holiday period.

This is the second time Alone in the Dark has been delayed. Originally set for an October 2023 release, the game was pushed back to January 2024. At the time, THQ Nordic cited a busy release window as part of their decision. However, with this latest delay, it suggests the game was not as close to completion as they would have liked.

It's been a difficult year across the games industry, but the games-as-a-service sector has had some additional concerns all its own, from the trend of just-launched and seemingly successful titles being unexpectedly shut down to Destiny 2 reportedly missing its revenue projections by almost half, there are some questions about what's happening in live service games.

We put these questions to Stewart Chisam at the Montreal International Games Summit last month. As the president of Smite and Paladins company Hi-Rez Ventures and the CEO of Hi-Rez subsidiary and live service game operational support company RallyHere, Chisam has some expertise on the subject, and he seems fairly optimistic about the underlying health of the segment.

"Realistically, I think there's a big COVID hangover in games-as-a-service," Chisam says. "I have a background in supply chains and in supply chains we would call this a bullwhip effect. We had a surge in demand overnight when the pandemic happened. All of our games and practically every other game saw their engagement go up by 50% in many cases, literally overnight. Many more people poured in, and not just numbers of people, but the hours players were putting into the game.

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The Game Awards are back tonight, as is our Game Awards liveblog. I’ll be doing the turbo-reporting solo this year, and since the show kicks off at 12:30am GMT (that’s 7:30pm ET and 4:30pm PT), you lucky readers can follow both an announcement-rammed awards gig and one hardware hack’s public crumbling into exhausted, sleepless ruin. Live!

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Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s second DLC, The Indigo Disk, is out as soon as December 14, and Game Freak has released a lengthy trailer giving us a rundown of new features and story beats coming to the RPGs. One of the most notable additions seems to be the return of almost every legendary from the first nine…

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A major live Nintendo event for early 2024 has been canceled following threats against attendees and staff, the company has announced, expunging world championship tournaments for games like Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon 3.

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Nintendo announced that there are Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Shiny Lucario, Darkrai, and Master Ball Mystery Gifts available and on the way. These, along with a Mass Outbreak event, are designed to celebrate the new Indigo Disk DLC. 

The free Master Ball for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the one that doesn’t require a password. Between December 14, 2023 and January 3, 2024, all players will be able to claim one. You just need to head into the Poke Portal’s Mystery Gift menu. When you do, the Get via Internet option will let you get it immediately in your backpack. 

Both the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Shiny Lucario and Darkrai Mystery Gifts require a password to claim and are available now. The Darkrai’s password is "NEWM00N1SC0M1NG.” Details about its level and moveset weren’t provided. People can get it until December 21, 2023, so that’s the one players should claim first.

High-quality microphones can be quite expensive - I recently reviewed SteelSeries' Alias mics which start at $180 - but you can still get a great mic for far less than you expect.

Case in point: you can get the excellent Neat Bumblebee 2 USB mic for $17 at Woot right now, using the code TECHELF to knock off an extra $3 off the list price of $20. This mic originally retailed for $100 and attracted strong reviews at that price point - but at $17, it's cheap enough to recommend to literally anyone that uses a computer.

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In the freshly dropped trailer for December 14's second half of Pokémon Scarlet And Violet’s The Hidden Treasures of Area Zero DLC, it was revealed that there’s a way to directly control your buddy Pokémon, via a new technology called The Synchro Machine.

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After the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in 2022 – read Game Informer's review here – developer Game Freak revealed that the ninth generation of Pokémon would be getting two DLC expansions, just like Pokémon Sword and Shield did. The first installment was called The Teal Mask and it hit Switch on September 13. The second expansion, The Indigo Disk, hits Pokémon Scarlet and Violet next week, on December 14, and to celebrate its arrival, Game Freak and Nintendo released a four-minute trailer today showcasing some of the DLC's highlights. 

As promised, the new Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Indigo Disk DLC trailer appeared. and offered more of a hint of what to expect. It began with teases of The Teal Mask adventures, before showing Area Zero and Blueberry Academy.

First, the trailer began with the player in front of a crystal tree in Area Zero. After that, we saw some moments from The Teal Mask, such as our first encounters with Blueberry Academy students Carmine and Kieran. The video then cuts to the new school proper, with the player character meeting principle Cyrano. From there, we see the returning Pokemon we can catch there. 

It is then that Lacey introduces Blueberry Quests (BBQs). These are things you can look for or do while exploring the biomes. As an example, the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Indigo Disk DLC trailer shows one tasking players with finding “three Ditto Blocks in the Savanna Biome.” It then shows what these blocks look like. We also see some gym leaders showing up again to battle and interact with each other at Blueberry. After hearing about special snacks, returning Legendary Pokemon appear.