News:: 1-2-Switch is nearing 1 million units shipped, Super Bomberman R has surpassed 500K

We know Zelda: Breath of the Wild is selling super well, but what about other Switch games?

Alongside a surprise New 2DS XL announcement, Nintendo also shared some more game sales figures in its financial results briefing. Looking at three notable games from the Switch's launch lineup, 1-2-Switch is "on track to ship one million units very soon," Super Bomberman R managed to ship "over 500,000 units" in March, and Snipperclips has secured 350,000 downloads worldwide.

The latter is especially interesting to hear. I love Snipperclips and I think it well represents the Switch as a system, but I wouldn't have expected that many downloads for an eShop title. That said, it had high visibility on the storefront given how few other games were available around launch.

Financial Results Briefing for Fiscal Year Ending March 2017 [Nintendo]

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News:: Nintendo's latest portable is the $150 2DS XL

Nintendo is dropping the NES Classic from its lineup, but it has new hardware on the way with this just-announced New Nintendo 2DS XL. The portable system will cost $150 when it goes on sale July 28th, with the same large screen of the 3DS XL, but as its name implies, it will only display "Nintendo 3DS, New Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo DS" games in 2D.

Developing...

Source: Nintendo (Businesswire)

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News:: Nintendo is launching the New 2DS XL this July

With the Switch out and high-profile 3DS game releases starting to wind down, it hadn't even crossed my mind that Nintendo would come out with another model, but here we are. Enter the New Nintendo 2DS XL, which will sit right in between the 2DS and 3DS XL lines. It's out July 28, 2017 for $150.

"The new system will be available in a stylish black/turquoise color, and will use the same size large screen found on New Nintendo 3DS XL systems," according to Nintendo. "As the name of the new system implies, visuals will be displayed in 2D only. The system is lighter but still packs the same power as New Nintendo 3DS XL, and has built-in NFC support for amiibo cards and figures."

Assuming you don't mind (or potentially even like) the aesthetic, and you also don't care about missing out on 3D functionality, this thing seems pretty good.

Nintendo of America [Twitter]

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News:: The next generation of VR enhancements coming to HTC Vive

The first year of consumer virtual reality has been exciting, to be sure, but ask anybody in the industry, and they'll tell you that it's only the beginning. Engineers and developers are always chasing the next big thing in VR technology: wireless headsets, better walking simulation systems, eye-tracking and more. It's a long road to getting that better VR experience, but there's tons of room to grow -- and Vive's Virtual Reality Venture Capital Alliance is one group trying to help that happen. We stopped by the VRCA's fourth member meeting to see how the next generation of VR is coming along, and some of it is closer than you might think.

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News:: Blood on the Sand had helicopters because 50 Cent's son wanted them

These days, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand exists in my mind as little more than a fever dream. I still own a copy, but it's been years since I've played the absurd cover-based shooter, much less thought about it.

Things I vaguely remember: a diamond skull, it getting stolen from 50 Cent, and hijinks ensuing in the Middle-East (?). I also recall there being "big-ass" ramps and helicopters. Loads and loads of helicopters.

Hilariously enough, we can thank 50 Cent's own flesh and blood for the choppers.

Recounting some amusing Blood on the Sand development stories to Edge magazine, production director Ian Flatt spoke about a particular milestone that involved the crew flying out to present a build of the game to 50 Cent and his team. "He wanted his son, who was about six or seven at the time, to be the person who would review the build and decide if it was any good," recalled Flatt.

"So he played it and was saying, 'I love this, I love this, it's great! But I want a level with helicopters in!' Our guy explained it was a third-person shooter and didn't have helicopters in. But 50 Cent's son said, 'No, I want helicopters,' and 50 Cent turned around and said, 'You heard him. Make a level with helicopters in.'"

I love everything about this.

This revelation about 50 Cent's 7-year old making executive decisions for 2009's Blood on the Sand is too good [GamesRadar]

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News:: Peep Darkseid's laser peepers in newest Injustice 2 gameplay trailer

Although he's locked behind pre-order DLC, and we've yet to see the more iconic villain leaked via achievements, here we have a gameplay trailer for Darkseid. I'm digging his Injustice 2 look, as well as how crazily animated the omega beam is, but he seems a little lacking. 

Leave it to Superman's rogues gallery to be kind of boring. Anyone inspired to pre-order Injustice 2 for Darkseid now? I'm not exactly champing at the bit here. Folks are already disappointed with NetherRealm and Warner Bros.' DLC plans, and Darkseid's not even included in the nine planned additions. This may not be a good sign. 

Too bad about those Source Crystals too.

Injustice 2 is out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One May 16.

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News:: More gear, heroes, and maps coming to For Honor's second season

Two new hero classes are entering the fray next month, as Ubisoft’s historical hack-and-slash fighter For Honor kicks off its second season. The samurai assassin Shinobi and knight hybrid Centurion both join the fight as early as May 16, and bring with them two new maps, Forge and Temple Garden. 

Season 2 also brings new customization items and gameplay updates, partially through the introduction of a new level of gear rarity. Epic gear will ultimately increase the maximum gear score, but its inclusion also seeks to overhaul and rebalance the entire gear stats system at the same time.

Season pass owners will be able to start playing as both the Centurion and the Shinobi right away on May 16, while the rest of you will have wait until May 23 and spend hard-earned in-game steel to unlock the new heroes. Maps and the other gameplay updates will be available to all players for free at the start of Season 2.

There’s a painfully uninformative teaser trailer bundled with the announcement, but it’s only worth checking out if you enjoy ominous music and slow pans over lifeless character models. A slightly more detailed image featuring a menacing pose from each new hero, however, can be found below. 

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News:: Dead Space 2 and 3 are now playable on Xbox One

And with that, the Dead Space trilogy is now playable on Xbox One.

Dead Space became backward compatible last year, and as of today, Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3 are tagging along too. If you no longer have your Xbox 360 game discs, all three limb-blasting space-horror adventures are available for purchase digitally (those three links point to the store listings).

Personally speaking, the timing here is fortuitous. Dead Space has been fresh on my mind this whole week since watching Mark Brown's "The Design of Dead Space" video for his wonderful Game Maker's Toolkit series. I don't have any desire to dip into the third game, but I've felt the urge to revisit the original and Dead Space 2, definitely. It'll be great to have that pair accessible on Xbox One.

Major Nelson [Twitter]

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News:: Your PC shouldn't go into system shock trying to run Prey

Getting to Talos-I, the moon-orbiting space station in Prey, won't require a bunch of rocket fuel or alien technology. Nothing too powerful is needed to travel there, just the same rig that can run a bunch of other games.

Alongside today's console demo, Bethesda released the minimum and recommended PC specs for Prey. Here's what's needed to have a baseline experience:

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News:: Gundam Versus is heading West

Gundam Versus is a game I didn't know I needed in my life. I've never been that big a fan of the anime series, but I really love Virtual-On from the arcades and I could definitely go for a giant robot fighting game. Versus will be releasing in a few months in Japan (July 1), but Bandai Namco has confirmed it will be making its way West for a Fall 2017 release.

The game includes 2V2 and 3V3 fight modes along with over 90 robots. I'm going to just link you to this wiki, because I have no idea what any popular mobile suits are. There doesn't seem to be any single-player campaign, but I'm almost certain online capabilities are included.

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News:: Nerdcore artist Mega Ran takes us on a Gameboy nostalgia trip

Nerdcore artist Mega Ran has a new video out today and it's full of Nintendo nostalgia. Church ft. KadeshFlow is a fun homage to the 8-bit visual style popularized by the GameBoy in the late 1980s. In the video, Mega Ran and KadeshFlow make their way through a green dot-matrix world full of retro gaming references to battle ghosts at Alex Trebek's house (Trebek has been a favored target of the nerdcore community ever since he called them "losers" on an episode of Jeopardy!).

Source: YouTube

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News:: Battlefield 1's spring update has some terrific additions

As a Medic player in Battlefield 1, I'm all about today's massive spring update.

Along with a wide-ranging list of other additions, tweaks, and fixes, there's now a Medic ability to "spot" your deceased teammates so they visibly know you're en route to revive them and that they shouldn't necessarily force a respawn. Rushing to a body only for it to vanish at the last second is something every Medic player has experienced before, and this should help alleviate that awkward dance.

What else? Too much to reasonably sum up here, but a few other items did catch my attention, including: a Platoon system for organizing a group of like-minded players, the admin option to password-protect servers, one new weapon variant for each class, and faster-loading maps.

There's also this gem: "Frontlines - Fixed issue where timer would not start. Longest game recorded was over 3.5 hours long." I don't know who these committed players were, but bless their hearts.

Battlefield 1 Spring Update Notes [Battlefield]

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News:: 'Tropes vs. Women in Video Games' says goodbye

The groundbreaking critical series Tropes vs. Women in Video Games is coming to an official end. "This is one of the most emotionally complicated projects I've ever created," writes creator Anita Sarkeesian in a new note to fans. She's been looking to finish the series for a while now, thanks to the toll it's taken on her both personally and professionally. But, while her latest post touches upon the trauma she experienced from angry gamers, the overall focus of the entry is positive and forward looking.

Source: Feminist Frequency

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News:: Take a look at Nioh's Dragon of the North DLC before Tuesday's launch

Back to Nioh we go. On Tuesday, Team Ninja is bringing out the Dragon of the North DLC, which centers on yet another historical figure, as well as an update to introduce a new player-versus-player feature.

You might've heard bits and pieces about the $10 add-on, but if not:

"Dragon of the North will take place in the Oshu region and introduce the ambitious ruler, Masamune Date, also known as the 'One-Eyed Dragon.' Just when you thought that peace was finally restored in Japan, we’ve now begun to hear troubling rumors that the One-Eyed Dragon is secretly gathering spirit stones, setting a stage for more unrest and mayhem to take hold.

Prepare to defy death once again as you will face a variety of new Yokai and imposing enemies set in exciting new stages. But rest assured, we will provide you with some formidable ammunition of your own to negotiate your battles. With new Guardian Spirits, armor, ninja skills, magic and a brand new weapon called the Odachi, you should be well prepared to take on your foes."

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News:: Microsoft Surface sales fall by 26 percent

Microsoft's third quarter earnings are mostly rosy -- except when it comes to sales of its Surface laptops. The company reports that Surface revenues fell 26 percent compared to last year, reaching $831 million down from $1.1 billion. It's not hard to see why: Microsoft points to more pricing competition among premium 2-in-1 competitors, as well as "product end-of-life dynamics" for the decline. Simply put, Microsoft needs new Surface models to compete with the onslaught of new entries on the market, like Dell's XPS 13 2-in-1 and Lenovo's Yoga 910.

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News:: Review in Progress: Expeditions: Viking

Your father is dead, pretty much everyone wants your territory, and your only allies are in the mysterious lands across the seas. You're forced to kill your cousins at your father's remembrance for their impudence, and forgiving their uncle for his ignorance will damn you in the eyes of your people. Expeditions: Viking developer Logic Artists wastes no time in emphasizing that your normal fantasy-style RPG morality need not apply here. Certainly, there is a peaceful route to be had, but the time period – and Vikings as a whole – are not known in popular culture for their peaceful and loving ways, and one may need to be cruel to be kind.

Unfortunately, a vast array of (hopefully soon resolved) pre-release bugs and an endless stream of patches has prevented me from finishing my journey of conquest (or “trade”) before its release, but there's still plenty to talk about this sequel (and precursor) to Expeditions: Conquistador.

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News:: Still curious about Prey? Play the first hour now

Look at that headline up there, being all coy about your feelings on Prey. Like it doesn't know that most everyone who has followed its development isn't curious about it to some degree. There are two realistic camps right now: People who are wondering what the hell Prey is and if it'll be good, and those who wrote it off a long time ago. Prey is too much of an unknown quantity for anyone to be fully sold on it.

It's a tricky spot for Bethesda to be in because it means that plenty of folks will be interested in figuring out what Prey's all about, but they may not be blind-sixty-dollar-investment interested. They'll wait for reviews and they'll wait for general consensus and they'll wait for sales. A lot of them will wait long enough until they forget about it entirely. That's where today's development comes in.

As we reported last week, Prey is getting a demo of sorts. It's the first hour of the game and it released today. Here is the link to queue it up on PlayStation 4; the Xbox One link isn't working right now, so your best bet is to probably download it from the console or the Xbox app on Windows 10. (Oddly, the PC version will not be getting a demo.)

This feels like the right opportunity to remind you that it's incredibly likely our Prey review won't be particularly timely. Last fall, Bethesda enacted a new policy to not send copies to media until launch day. It doesn't seem like that'll change for Prey. Expect us to have initial impressions of the first few hours posted on May 5; our full, scored review will come sometime in the days to follow.

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News:: Roger Jr. has been cut from Tekken 7 due to fear of 'animal activists'

One of the best things about the Tekken series is that it has never taken itself seriously. Sure, there is a ruff and gruff story about how screwed up the Mishima family is, but then you can fight a damn panda bear wearing a swimsuit with a shaolin wooden man. Clearly this isn't meant to be some statement about human dominance over animals or even inspire animal cruelty, but it looks like series producer Katsuhiro Harada is trying to avoid any controversy whatsoever.

In an interview with VG 24/7, Harada explained, "There was a video of a man’s dog being head locked by a kangaroo, and he punched it in the face. It turned into a big problem... It seems that in the last few years there’s a lot more animal activists – even though they probably wouldn’t play our game they would still hear about that, about a kangaroo in our game being punched, and would complain about it.”

The only reason Kuma is being left in is because he is, "obviously stronger than a human being." Well, kangaroos can kick the shit out of a human on any given day, so I don't follow that logic. I can understand being weary of potential backlash, though, as the internet is volatile even on the best of days. It just sucks since Roger Jr. has been a series staple since his introduction in Tekken 2.

Tekken 7: Roger the kangaroo cut due to “animal activists”, Kuma the bear still in because he’s “stronger than a human being” [VG 24/7]

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News:: Super Rude Bear Resurrection dev offers bounty for death-less playthrough

Super Rude Bear Resurrection isn't out yet, but that hasn't stopped developer Alex Rose from challenging players with a seemingly impossible task. Rose, according to a video uploaded on his YouTube channel, is offering $1000 to the first person who beats his game without losing a single life.

There are a few caveats, of course. Rose specifies that the perfect run must be completed in Rude Bear's "Rainbow Challenge" mode and recorded in a single, glitchless video with the game's timer and music present. 

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News:: Creative director at Turn 10 promises big things for Forza and Porsche partnership

Last year, Turn 10, developer of the Forza series, announced that they had bagged the rights to put Porsche vehicles in their games, starting with a Forza 6 Porsche expansion. That led to Forza Horizon 3 getting yet another pack last month. But just this month they noted that it was a little more than just a two-time thing -- it's now a six year partnership.

It's important to note that this isn't another exclusivity deal following EA's. Gran Turismo is actually partnering with the German auto manufacturer too, Turn 10 and Microsoft just locked it in for that long because they have big plans.

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News:: Nintendo's Switch sales exceed March expectations, looks toward prosperous future

Nintendo has said all along it is aiming for 10 million Switch sales in its first year. The company's fiscal earnings report for fiscal year 2016 revealed that it did more than a quarter of that in the console's launch month. Hoping to sell at least two million Switches in the initial month, Nintendo got that and then some, moving 2.74 million worldwide.

The Wii U ended its five-year life with 13.6 million sales, 670,000 of which coming between April 2016 and March 2017. The 3DS, meanwhile, churned out 7.27 million consoles for the year. Nintendo states Pokémon GO drove 3DS sales outside of Japan.

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News:: Is anyone even excited for Tekken 7?

Tekken has always rocked it with extra modes. Sports minigames, beat 'em up gaidens -- they're par for the course. Tekken 7: Fated Retribution doesn't look as crazy as some past releases but it seems up there in terms of variety, at least based on this game mode trailer below. But the real question is, does anyone care?

Although I've played every Tekken since 4, the only one I was semi-competitive in was Tag 2, mostly because I had no one else to play with. My crowd is mainly into anime games or (at the time) Street Fighter IV's multiple iterations, and that seems to be the case even now.

I'm planning on picking up Akuma in Tekken 7 day one and going all-in, but I'm really wondering what the general consensus is here, at least in the west, as to Tekken's staying power.

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News:: Capcom's yearly earnings: Dead Rising 4 bombs, Resident Evil saves the day

Dead Rising 4 failed to make even half of what Capcom was hoping for. Having projected two million sales in the 2016 fiscal year, the lumbering husk of a once-great series didn't each reach one million. Poor performance of the Xbox One outside the U.S. and middling reception are possible causes. Monster Hunter Stories also "underperformed."

Resident Evil 7 (3.5 million sold) and Monster Hunter XX (1.7 million) also failed attain their projected numbers (four million and two million, respectively), but they performed well enough to satisfy Capcom, perhaps due to the lower budgets they required. Re-releases of older Resident Evil games "performed steadily thanks to a stable fanbase," with Resident Evil 6 surpassing one million on the year.

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News:: Nintendo's updated release schedule shows the 3DS still has fight left in it

Nintendo says a lot of things, and their cardinal rule seems to be "deny, deny, deny." When the Wii U was rumored to be on the way out, they denied it, only to confirm it weeks later. Folks thought the 3DS would meet the same fate given that the Switch is portable, and that very well may be once it sells a lot more than a couple of million units, but for now it's alive and well.

As part of their financial earnings report they released an updated schedule for 3DS and Switch games, and it looks pretty good. There's a lot of the usual suspects on there, but it's easy to forget about upcoming 3DS titles like Ever Oasis, Devilish Brain Training, and Miitopia. There's also likely more Mii Plaza games in the works.

For the time being the little portable that almost wasn't is fine. I still remember its gigantic launch failure and Ambassador comeback -- what a weird time!

Earnings Release [Nintendo]

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News:: Nintendo Download: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

It's a huge week for the Switch, as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is hitting the platform tomorrow, and Puyo Puyo Tetris is out today. Oh, and there's Tumbleseed, Neogeo Over Top, and Kamiko to consider too on the eShop. Not bad at all! It remains to be seen if Nintendo can keep the pace up like this, but it's heading into a packed June/July lineup after the relative lull in May.

The 3DS is oddly getting nothing today, not even shovelware, but the Wii U is hosting Use Your Words and Absolutely Unstoppable MineRun. The former is...very okay, and not a good substitute for the Jackbox Party Pack.

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News:: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite's newest gameplay trailer is definitely marvelous

I'm so glad to be eating my words here. While I had worried about the art direction of Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite (even going as far as nitpicking character size and the quasi-realism bringing it closer to Contest of Champions' art style), it was mainly because I had feared the new title would lose its famous coverage over the entire screen. While that fear has been put to bed for sure, I'm still a bit hesitant about the new HUD since we haven't officially seen it in action. 

But with this gameplay trailer revealing Level 3 supers from the new additions, more Infinity Stones in action, and if I'm not mistaken, the easier off-the-ground techniques found in the earlier Marvel vs. Capcom games, it definitely looks and plays like Marvel. Ultron looks friggin' fantastic. 

Now it's just a matter of detailing the new tag system, button layouts, and whether or not combos will be as simplified as they were in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. 

Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite releases for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC September 19th. 

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News:: Get a closer look at Gravity Rush's NieR: Automata homage

We knew Gravity Rush 2's 2B outfit was coming west for free on May 9, but you can get a better look at the costume in the trailer below. It doesn't give her any new abilities or whatnot but it's cool all the same, and seems to come with two variants -- mask on, or mask off.

You have to hope that with all of this heavy promotion that the Gravity Rush series is here to stay. Sony clearly likes Kat, having put her in at least one spinoff (PlayStation All-Stars), and they're pushing her like crazy with this sequel.

As long as they keep taking their time and making core entries as good as the last two, I'm down.

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News:: Cynics will call them walking simulators

In this episode of Podtoid, Brett talked about two walking simulators, What Remains of Edith Finch and Scanner Sombre. Steven just wanted to talk about the Silicon Valley failure Juicero. I made a machinima condolence video for a friend whose cat died. It was a weird one all around.

We capped the episode off with a listener question about eating habits, then hit a quick SATPOTPAQ (which I am dominating), before ending on a musical Hot Dish. All the while, Steven and Brett were fixated on circumcisions. It was a little distracting, but perhaps not as distracting as having one's foreskin sliced off.

 

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