Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra announced a series of concerts featuring anime titles owned by the Bandai Namco group, including Code Geass and Gundam. The concerts will take place in Sendai City in 2024 and beyond.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion will be the highlight of the first orchestra concert scheduled to run on May 4, 2024. The second concert on August 10, 2024, will focus on two Gundam titles: The 1985 TV anime Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and the 1988 movie Char's Counterattack. Both concerts will take place at Sendai Bank Hall Izumity 21, which will have its major renovation completed at the end of March 2024.

Code Geass and Gundam will not be the only franchises to get orchestra concerts in Sendai. The philharmonic orchestra group will first perform tracks from Sunrise's 2016 musical comedy anime ClassicaLoid as the "zeroth" concert at Hitachi Systems Hall on March 20, 2024. It will also hold an Aikatsu Orchestra Katsudo concert at Izumity 21 one year later on March 20, 2025.

As 2023 comes to a close, I think it's fair to say that the fighting game genre is in a great spot. Capcom and NetherRealm both launched stellar new entries in their respective franchises this year, with Street Fighter 6 in particular righting the wrongs of the previous numbered entry. In January of 2024, Bandi-Namco will unleash Tekken 8 - and I've played a near-final version of the game at an event, so I wanted to share my initial thoughts. This the first new fighting game to ship on Unreal Engine 5 while also skipping last-gen consoles and the Switch - so how does it fare thus far?

During my time with Tekken 8, I had a chance to play several different modes including the story mode, the arcade quest mode and Tekken Ball - more than what's available in the publicly available demo. As feature-packed as Street Fighter 6 and MK1 are, there's a sense that Tekken 8 might still have the most to offer.

Based on the first chapter of the story mode, this section feels like a natural evolution of what was achieved in Tekken 7 via a formula arguably pioneered in Mortal Kombat 9. That is to say that cutscenes and event sequences are used to chain together battles to tell a larger story.

Read more

If you haven’t heard, over 1.3 million internal documents from Spider-Man and Ratchet & Clank developer Insomniac Games were leaked after Sony didn’t meet ransomware group Rhysida’s demands for $2 million worth of Bitcoin. The documents include early footage of the team’s Wolverine game, the studio’s roadmap for the…

Read more...

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Once upon a time, games veteran Don Daglow gazed into his crystal ball and told GamesIndustry.biz what he expected from the next decade in the video games business.

Ten years later (okay, 11, but Daglow's very busy and so are we), we caught up with him to see how accurate his predictions were and what he believes the future holds for the games industry.

Read more

A product page for The Suika Game (Watermelon Game) appeared on the PlayStation Store, suggesting a PS4 or PS5 version of the game is on its way. The Aladdin X game has previously been a viral hit as an exclusive Nintendo Switch title.

This might also not be the official Suika Game. The name specifically is listed as The Suika Game. Also, GOGAME CONSOLE PUBLISHER is listed as the publisher, while the Switch version is an Aladdin X game. The official art on the page also looks different than the designs on the eShop or in browsers.

Here are the two images to compare.

It’s been encouraging to see how post-Steam Deck handheld PCs aren’t merely copying Valve’s homework. The Asus ROG Ally made a (mostly) successful attempt at slimming down while upping performance, and now we have the Lenovo Legion Go: an even higher-concept portable with Switch-style detachable controllers. One of which transforms into a mouse. It’s a bit mad but I’ve always loved the concept’s ambition, even as I rendered working protypes a little less... working.

I’m happy to report that this, the Legion Go’s retail version, is far more resistant to such improprieties. Moreover, it’s basically the best Windows handheld out there right now – though some occasional fiddliness, and the looming issue of the Steam Deck OLED, mean it isn’t necessarily the finest palmable PC outright.

Read more

Remember when the pandemic hit?

Everything sucked, nobody could do anything, and things got weird. Everyone dealt with it in their own way.

For example, we decided that instead of devoting all of our resources to covering the ins and outs of the games industry, it would serve our readers better to address their mental health. By way of showing them pictures of cute pets.

Read more

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Activision Blizzard is ending its hybrid work model for QA staffers next month.

The mandate will result in quality assurance employees in Minneapolis, Austin, and El Segundo returning to office work full-time.

Read more

With Christmas barely a week away, it's time to start celebrating my own RPS Christmas traditions. Games to play, songs to time, surprises to spring. Let's start with a wee surprise. Pull on your mittens, fill your flask with cocoa, and clip-click-skkrachk those ski boots, for it is time to play the free downhill slalom game Skeal.

Read more

The Monster Hunter Wilds PlayStation Store and Steam pages are live for the PC and PS5 versions of the game. Information on both is very limited, and the Microsoft Store page isn’t live for the Xbox Series X version yet.

Capcom revealed very little about the new installments in the Sony and Valve product listings. Both basically confirm the 2025 launch window and that it is the next entry in the series. The PC one only notes English is a language, with others to be revealed, and it doesn’t mention any system requirements. It does, at the moment, only list it as a single-player game. The Steam page and PlayStation Store listing for Monster Hunter Wilds basically serve as means to wishlist the title.

The Steam page did offer a number of screenshots. These feature the same scenes as the ones shown in The Game Awards 2023 announcement trailer for the Monster Hunter game. It showed monsters that appeared to be Arzuros and Rathalos. The hunter shown is also riding a new, bird-like mount capable of gliding, though we don't know exactly what this new Canyne-like ally's name is.

Original Story, Tuesday, December 19: A ransomware group has published 1.67 TB of content from Insomniac Games following a breach last week.

As Cyber Daily reports, the Rhysida ransomware group stole data from the PlayStation studio on December 12.

It put the data on auction for 50 bitcoins (roughly $2 million) with a week's deadline before releasing 1.67 TB of stolen internal data earlier today.

Read more

The 1.3 million files leaked as part of the recent ransomware attack on Insomniac Games contain tons of confidential information, including Sony’s projected plans for all of the studio’s upcoming games on PlayStation 5 and beyond. Those alleged roadmaps include a standalone Venom game, a Ratchet and Clank sequel,…

Read more...

Well, they’ve done it. The hacker group that breached Sony subsidiary Insomniac Games on December 12, demanding $2 million for the terabytes of data it stole, has published almost all of it online now that Sony has refused to open its wallet. This unprecedented hack contains all kinds of internal documents about the Sp…

Read more...

Kotobukiya has opened pre-orders for its upcoming plastic model kit of Mega Man X in his Falcon Armor. People can now place orders for the kit, which has a price tag of 8,360 yen (~$58). The 1/12 scale kit will have an overall height of around 140mm (~5.5 inches) when completed.

After previously revealing an unpainted prototype in May 2023, Kotobukiya has shared new sample images with the prototype now fully painted. The full package will come with pre-painted parts so that anyone can simply build the kit. The set will come with interchangeable hands, facial expression parts, and arm crystals. Some of the sample images show X wielding the Z-Saber, which is only available separately in Zero's model kits.

An Armored Core 6 behind-the-scenes seminar will be held online in Japan. .Too has opened registrations for prospective viewers to attend the webinar. It will start on Friday, January 19, 2024, at 4:30 PM JST (2:30 AM ET) and it will run for approximately 100 minutes.

Kozo Maeda, the sub-leader of FromSoftware's 3D graphics section, will be the main speaker at this Armored Core 6 seminar. He will explain how the game has undergone reforms and evolutions after ten years have passed since the release of Armored Core Verdict Day in 2013. Other than revealing behind-the-scenes talks about the game's production and development, Maeda will also show 3D artwork made with digital tools like Autodesk 3ds Max.

The webpage also includes an agenda list of topics that Kozo Maeda will cover at the seminar:

1. Title Introduction
2. Development Structure
3. Character Production
4. Background Production
5. Motion Production
6. Customization Feature Enhancements

UPDATE 22nd December: You do not disappoint! I've laughed, I've wiped away a tear or two, and I've had my heart well and truly warmed. Thank you - thank you to all of you who shared a memory. I've genuinely had a lovely time reading them.

I noticed a few themes popping up. Frankly, it's alarming how sneaky some of you are! The number of you who were able to find your presents ahead of time and then sneak them out of their boxes, play with them, then return them to their boxes afterwards - without a trace - was shocking. I'm very impressed. It actually made me feel quite sorry for your parents, until I realised what they were doing to you, the trolling that they did. There were countless memories about crestfallen children thinking they'd missed their heart's desires, only to have their parents spring a last-minute surprise and turn it all around again. What a rollercoaster. Some plans were quite elaborate too.

What really touched me, though, was the sense of respect and gratitude in so many of your memories, about what your parents went through to enable the memories in the first place. It's easy for people to forget that at this time of year - especially children - so to hear the recognition in some of your stories really got me. So too did the memories of families coming together over games, whether they did it routinely as part of a Christmas tradition, or came together only for the day. It didn't often matter what the game or machine was, it was the people gathered around to play it that was the point.

Read more

Entire generations of Pokémon history often feel defined by a single game. As wide-ranging as this franchise is—games, anime, trading cards, lifestyle merchandise—Game Freak’s video games provide the single creative wellspring from which everything else springs forth. As such, games like Scarlet and Violet often…

Read more...

A new collaboration between Disney's Wish and Spy x Family Code: White has appeared in Japan. Disney Japan initiated the unique crossover after noticing multiple similarities between Asha and Anya Forger, the key characters for each movie.

While Asha and Anya have two different letters in the alphabet, their names in Japanese katakana only have one different letter. Both characters also tag along with a companion pet that has a special ability. Asha has Valentino, the goat that can speak with the help of magic. Anya often walks together with Bond Forger, the large dog that can predict the future. Disney's Japanese blog further added that both Wish and Spy x Family have "star" as a key theme, and both Asha and Anya also get to know secrets that will shock their respective worlds.

The trailer is available to watch on the Japanese Disney Studios YouTube channel. It features narration by Erika Ikuta and Atsumi Tanezaki, the respective Japanese voice actress for Wish's Asha and Spy x Family's Anya.

Last week, ransomware group Rhysida revealed it had hacked Marvel's Spider-Man 2 developer, Insomniac Games. It posted images to prove the validity of its claim, demanding 50 bitcoin – roughly $2 million – from Sony within seven days or it would leak what it had discovered, as reported by CyberDaily. Sony did not comply with the demand and now the group has released more than a terabyte of hacked data pertaining to Insomniac Games. 

The total leak comprises more than 1.3 million files, for a total of 1.67 terabytes of data, according to VideoGamesChronicle via CyberDaily. The leaked data includes information about Marvel's Spider-Man, future Insomniac Games titles, release schedules, and private employee information like tax and employment forms, internal studio messages, and more. Game Informer will not be disclosing any of the hacked information. 

2023 is coming to a close. To mark the end of the year, Valve has rolled out a "year-in-review" tool that allows players to review their 2023 stats and find out which games they played the most, their top genres, number of achievements unlocked, and lots more.

The Steam Year-in-Review page also allows players to see how their results compare against the wider community and share their results around the internet. Valve created a pretty funny video, too, to promote the Steam Year in Review--check it out below.

The Steam Year-in-Review page follows similar wrap-ups from Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo. You can use the links below to find your 2023 stats on those platforms.

EA is rebranding its in-house engine Frostbite to reflect its "renewed focus on partnership" with its studios, but also says its teams are "free to develop on any engine they choose".

Frostbite was originally developed by DICE for use in its Battlefield series, and has since been adopted internally at other studios also owned by its parent company EA.

Historically, the engine was used by BioWare to develop Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem to mixed reception on technical performance. Recently, it was used in this year's Dead Space remake and EA's numerous annual sports franchises.

Read more

Advent calendars are all about opening doors in search of wonderful treats, but you should probably leave this one closed.

Read more

Sony has privately described Microsoft's $68.7bn takeover of Activision Blizzard as a potential "leapfrog" moment for its long-term console rival to take the lead, via presentation slides included in the many files stolen from Insomniac Games by ransomware hackers who have now released them publicly online.

Threats identified by Sony include Microsoft using Call of Duty to "disrupt and threaten console gaming and game subscription markets", with a potential "massive threat to PlayStation Plus".

Sony has frequently expressed its concerns about Microsoft's Activision Blizzard takeover in public and in private. Today brings more detail on how exactly PlayStation believes Xbox will benefit from the buyout, via those stolen slides.

Read more

The New Zealand games industry generated NZD $434.4 million ($270.9 million) in the financial year ended March 2023, according to a survey by the New Zealand Game Developers Association.

This represents a 7% growth year-over-year, compared to an increase of 47% in the previous financial year.

According to the NZGDA, this small growth was attributed to competition from Australian tax incentives and the end of lockdown, as well as skill shortages and a lack of hiring diversity.

Read more

When you kill someone in The Finals, they explode in a shower of coins, their body scattering across the ground like a tub of popcorn dropped by King Midas. As with much else about the Finals, this wowed me when I first saw it. What an ingenious way to depict death in a multiplayer shooter, I thought. It's spectacular without being grisly, satisfying without being gross. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sicko for virtual gore. But this seemed like a smart, clean alternative.

The longer I played the Finals, though, the more its glittering corpses troubled me. The Finals is explicitly a game about exchanging death for money, a free-to-play multiplayer shooter where you compete in teams for virtual cash prizes, and pay real money to give your tracksuit-wearing competitor a snazzier outfit. Its smash-n-grab gunfights are satisfying in the moment, with sleek movement, precision-engineered weapons, and an exhilarating destruction mechanic. Look closer, though, and you'll spot an emptiness behind its contestants' eyes, one that speaks volumes not just about The Finals, but of modern multiplayer shooters in general.

We'll get to all that in due course, but first, let's give The Finals the credit it deserves. The premise is intriguing and unusual - a multiplayer shooter that blends the cooperative heists of Payday with the explosive destruction of Bad Company 2. The Finals offers three game modes to choose from, but the one you'll probably play most, Quick Cash, sees three teams of three players competing to grab Vaults filled with coins, then transfer them to cashout points to gain the funds. The first team to successfully cash out twice wins.

Read more

UPDATE 20/12/23: Embark Studios has released patch 1.4.0 for The Finals, which addresses the previously reported issues with anti-cheat measures.

The patch went live earlier today and Embark says it has made "major changes to our anti-cheat detection to ensure fewer matches with players who don't play fair". The patch also includes balance changes and quality-of-life improvements, plus a festive version of the Monaco map.

You can read the full patch notes on Steam.

Read more

After threatening to do so last week, ransomware group Rhysida have published well over a terabyte of stolen Insomniac Games data, with files ranging from personal information about Insomniac employees to details of forthcoming videogame projects, such as the already-announced Wolverine.

Read more

Detailed plans revealing the future projects of PlayStation-owned Spider-Man developer Insomniac have been published online, stolen from the company by hackers.

The files include a project roadmap for the next decade and beyond including an array of unannounced projects, plus production details, art assets and personal information on Insomniac employees.

Insomniac suffered a data breach last week, with ransomware group Ryhsida demanding 50 bitcoins - the equivalent of $2m - within a week to avoid the data being published publicly. Now, seven days later, the group has gone through with its threat.

Read more

Trade body UKIE has maintained a lovely tradition for several years now: celebrating a UK Game of the Show at Gamescom.

The task of finding a winner has fallen onto GamesIndustry.biz for the past couple of years now, last year leading us to the wonderful Shadows of Doubt.

There were many worthy contenders this year again, but our decision went towards a title that channelled the perspective-shifting cleverness and striking visual identity of a Monument Valley or a Carto: Paper Trail, from Newfangled Games.

Read more

Platform: PlayStation 5
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Developer: Team Ninja
Release: March 22, 2024

A Rōnin is a samurai without a master. Unshackled from bonds, these wandering swordsmen are free to carve their own path, and that freedom forms the foundation of Rise of the Ronin. The adventure is Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Nioh developer Team Ninja’s first choice-driven, open-world action game. We recently got another peek at the title during The Game Awards, and we spoke to the game’s lead designers to get some insight and context as to what the adventure entails. 

4K 144Hz gaming monitors continue to drop in price, with the very cheapest being this incredible MSI MAG274UPF at Best Buy in the US. It costs just $360 right now after a $90 discount, an extremely low price given the high-spec monitor that you get in return.

Meanwhile, in the UK the MSI is also the cheapest 4K 144Hz option from a mainstream brand (though AWD-IT's X= XRGB27UHD is cheaper at £350), so I've linked that below as well at a price point of £399 (was £549).

Read more

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D is a phenomenal gaming CPU thanks to its Zen 4 architecture and added 3D V-Cache which boosts gaming performance far beyond standard Ryzen 7000 processors. That performance - and extremely modest power draw and a reasonable price - has caused the 7800X3D to become the best selling CPU by a huge margin according to a German PC part retailer.

Anyway, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D continues to drop in price. Recently we reported on a reduction in the UK, and now it's time for the US to get a turn on the deals train with a new asking price of just $339.99 - a full 40% off its US MSRP. That's a great price for a CPU that even comes with the breathtaking Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.

Read more

The Nintendo Switch has an incredibly strong library of games, with many worth recommending. For our 10 absolute favorite games, however, you can check out the list below. We will update this list as often as games worthy of inclusion release.

Please note that while the list below contains 10 entries, we aren’t actually ranking them – if a game has made it this far (and managed to stay here), it’s a must-play, period. As such, we’ll be listing entries in reverse chronological order. Also, you’ll find a rundown of previous entries at the bottom of the list. While those titles have gotten bumped for bigger and better experiences, they are still all great games in their own right and worth exploring if you’re already caught up on the latest hits.

Here are Game Informer’s picks for the top 10 games on the Switch.

The Indigo Disk, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, has introduced a new evolution for Dipplin, the evolution of Applin. The new evolution is Hydrapple, and you will need to advance through the first few story quests of the new DLC to get access to their evolution. Applin cannot be caught in the Terarium in The Indigo Disk, you will need to catch Applin and evolve them into Dipplin in Kitakami--the area from the first DLC--using a Syrupy Apple. Once you have a Dipplin, here's what you need to do to evolve them into Hydrapple.

How to evolve Dipplin into Hydrapple

To evolve Dipplin into Hydrapple you will need to teach them the move Dragon Cheer and level it up. The move Dragon Cheer will need to be taught using TM 226, which is awarded for beating Drayton of the Blueberry Academy Elite Four. Drayton is the dragon-type user located in the Polar Biome. To beat him you will need to take down his trial, which requires you to beat three trainers using only Pokemon caught in the Terarium. After that, you have to beat Drayton in battle. Upon beating him, you will unlock TM 226, Dragon Cheer, which can be crafted at the TM maker in the Central Plaza. If you don't have access to the elite four battles, you need to progress further in the main story.

Milcery, the ice cream fairy-type, has returned in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, The Indigo Disk. Milcery has a unique evolution method and has a variety of different forms they can take, depending on how you evolve them. Evolving them requires a specific held item, in addition to the unique method. Here's where you can catch Milcery and how to evolve them into Alcremie.

Where to catch Milcery

Milcery can be found pretty much anywhere in the Polar Biome. They are pretty common throughout the entire region, with the only exception being the inside caves, where they appear less frequently.

How to evolve Milcery into Alcremie

To evolve Milcery into Alcremie, they need to be holding a specific item while in your party and then you must spin around in the game. There are multiple different items that it can hold, with each one impacting the decorations on its evolution. All of these items appear randomly in the Terarium as sparkling ground pickups. Those items are:

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's DLC, The Indigo Disk, adds Duraludon and gives them a new evolution, Archaludon. Duraludon is a steel/dragon type, which makes it resistant to dragon-type attacks, which most dragon-type Pokemon are weak to. This dual type is pretty powerful and their evolution makes it even stronger, but you will need a special item to evolve them. Here's how to evolve Duraludon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Where to catch Duraludon

Duraludon can be found in the Polar Biome, primarily in the southern half. It appears pretty frequently and seems to be most common in higher-elevation areas. They aren't too difficult to find, but you can always eat a sandwich that boosts dragon-type or steel-type encounters if you are having trouble.

Three classic fighting type Pokemon return in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as part of The Indigo Disk DLC. Those Pokemon are Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, and Hitmonlee, all three of which evolve from Tyrogue. The requirements for evolving Tyrogue are simple, but there is a specific method to get each of the different versions. Here's how to evolve Tyrogue in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Where to catch Tyrogue

Tyrogue can be found on the eastern border of the Canyon Biome, in addition to the southern part of the area. Tyrogue is a fairly common Pokemon in this area, so finding one isn't too difficult.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, The Indigo Disk, adds a number of new Pokemon to the game. Included in that list is Cottonee, a grass/fairy from Gen 5, which requires a special method to evolve them. Considering that fairy-type Pokemon are pretty powerful and one of the elite four in the new DLC uses dragon-type Pokemon, this is one Pokemon you might want to have. Here's where you can catch Cottonee and how to evolve them into Whimsicott.

Where to catch Cottonee

Cottonee is found in the Coastal Biome, specifically in the northern section of the area. It can be found pretty much anywhere on the island where the Coastal Plaza is located.

The Indigo Disk, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's second DLC, adds a bunch of new Pokemon, including a few regional variants. One of those is the Galarian Slowpoke, which is only psychic as opposed to their normal version, which is psychic/water. Evolving Galarian Slowpoke requires a special item for both of their evolutions. Here's where you can catch Galarian Slowpoke and what you need to evolve them.

Where to catch Galarian Slowpoke

Galarian Slowpoke can be found on beaches in a few sections of the Coastal Biome. However, you want to go to the beach in the northern part of the Coastal Biome, near the border to the Polar Biome. The reason for this is that there is an item there that you will need to collect a bunch of, and it only spawns there.