Sunday, October 15, 2017

News:: Nintendo is encouraging mature titles on the Switch

We're all well aware of Nintendo's bent towards making games for all ages. Nearly every game developed by Nintendo is squeaky-clean, garnering the company a reputation for only having family-friendly titles on their consoles. However, it looks like someone out there is tired of that stigma - namely, Nintendo. 

In a report yesterday by The Wall Street Journal, (note: there's a paywall) several game developers said that Nintendo is actively encouraging them to put mature games out for the Switch. 

When Nintendo says mature, they mean mature. Inti Creates Co., the company behind the Gal*Gun series (you know, those weeb railshooters that have you shoot classmates with pheromones) said they were bringing Gal*Gun 2 to the Switch. The Chief Executive of Inti Creates, Takuya Aizu, said he was unsure if Nintendo would even want their game on the platform. 

“I thought it wouldn’t be possible to release such a game for the Switch, but surprisingly, Nintendo gave me positive feedback,” said Aizu, talking to The Wall Street Journal. 

This isn't an isolated incident either: several other developers came out of talks with Nintendo bearing the same sentiment. Nintendo isn't just allowing mature games on the Switch; it is actively pursuing them to beef up their third-party catalogue. 

In the Wall Street Journal report, Nintendo said that they wanted to have variety in terms of both genre and content on their console, saying, “As with books, television and movies, different content is meant for different audiences.”

Nintendo has changed their stance on a lot of things this past year, but their position on mature games is, to me, the least surprising. Bayonetta 2 only exists today because Nintendo stepped in at the last moment to save it, and that was three years ago. In the near future we'll have versions of Doom, Skyrim, Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, and more on the Switch, something we never would have got from the Nintendo we grew up with.

The times are-a-changing folks, and Nintendo doesn't want to stay stuck in the dark forever. Unless it concerns online play. Or how to manufacture consoles. 

Nintendo is encouraging mature titles on the Switch screenshot

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News:: Check out the patch notes for NBA 2K18's huge 1.04 update

The fourth major update has landed on the latest iteration of basketball (or "B-Ball") series, NBA 2K18. The 1.04 update launched on PS4 then Xbox One this week and has just gone live on the Switch today.

The extensive list of patch notes below cover all tweaks and changes, ranging from multiple bug fixes and glitch removals, to improvements in visuals, animations, the game's UI and the CPU's actions in-game. A host of new customisation options are also added in the update.

Most importantly however, your million-dollar players will now be less likely to suffer left ankle injuries. Another amusing note is a bug has been fixed which was causing members of the losing team to join in the celebration with the winning team post-match.

General

– The Classic Edition uniforms for the Bucks, Hornets, Lakers, and Suns have been added to the game. Look for these to be released in the next roster update!
– Five new shoes have been added to the game: BBB ZO2: Prime, Jordan CP3.X AE, Jordan Super.Fly 2017, Nike Foamposite One, and Kobe A.D. NXT. Look for these to be released in the next roster update!
– Improvements to the CAP/Lab user interface.
– New CAP facial hair: 18 new beards, 2 new mustaches, and introducing 8 facial stubble styles that can be mixed & matched with our various hair styles.
– Girth now changes when adjusting weight in roster Create-A-Player.
– Added eyebrows and eye colors to the roster Create-A-Player.
– Detroit Pistons court floor updated has been updated to their new Platinum Equity floor.
– Orlando Magic court floor has been updated.
– Player names are no longer cutoff in the uniform editor when creating a uniform.
– (Switch) Game no longer suspends when pressing the home button while in a Play With Friends locker room. This will prevent the accidental disconnects reported to us.
– (PC) Coaches Clipboard timeout prompt will no longer appear off-screen on 21:9 monitors.
– (PC) Mouse support has been added to the MyCOURT Customization menu.

Gameplay

– The number of left ankle injuries should now be greatly reduced during user-played games.
– Added more variety to the types of injuries that can occur in-game.
– Attempting icon passing while posting up will no longer disengage you from post.
– More responsive triple threat moves when crowded by a defender.
– Fixed a dribbling issue that would cause escape crosses and hesitations to sometimes face sideways.
– Made catching passes in the corner more reliable.
– Made some improvements to the screen system to improve reliability and user control.
– Edited several off-ball ride/deny animations to improve user control and visual fidelity.
– Fixed an issue with putback layups that would sometimes cause them to hit the front rim or bottom of the backboard.
– Fixed a bug that would cause defenders to pop to a stand while lying on the ground after a hard foul.
– Various improvements to the Teammate Grading system.
– Fixed issues where defenders were set to GAP, ignoring user and ACE settings.
– Fixed a hang that could occur when the ball boy picked up the ball while it’s in play.
– “After Foul” animations updated to prevent hands from clipping into the head of another player.
– When the offensive team wins a jump ball, the shot clock should now be reset.
– Addressed a case where defensive settings inside the Coaches Clipboard were not sticking after being changed.
– Fixed an issue where a player on the losing team would sometimes celebrate with the winning team when his team lost the game.

MyCAREER

– On-Court shoes are now free for the given shoe company your MyPLAYER has a contract with.
– Updated MyCOURT murals for: Thunder, Bulls, Pelicans, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Rockets.
– Support for subtitles has been added for the on-court interviews following a played NBA game.
– The user’s VC balance will now correctly display the current VC total in the post-game recap following a played NBA game where the received teammate grade was D+ or lower.
– XB1 Silver and PS4 Non-Plus users can now play MyCOURT drills with AI players they invite over.
– The in-game framerate will no longer hiccup when the ‘My Matchup’ overlay is on the screen.
– Fixed a hang that could occur when the coach caught the ball during a live practice.
– The shot meter will now display when taking shots outside of the court while playing HORSE in your MyCOURT.
– Logos for the events on the event calendar app on the 2K phone should now always appear alongside the correct event.
– The Karl Anthony-Towns pre-game scene will no longer repeat every time you play him.
– Fixed a hang that would occur when selecting the “I’m always in rhythm” answer upon David Aldridge asking you how you were able to find your rhythm during the current game.

Neighborhood / Playground

– New Player Edition NBA Nike Jerseys (and more!) in the NBA Store: Wade, Carmelo, I. Thomas, D. Rose, K. Thompson, D. Green, A. Wiggins, B. Ingram.
– The displayed VC balance should now correctly match what was earned after a played Playground game (the earned VC was there all along, but the balance was not always getting refreshed).
– A number of performance and stability improvements for the Ruffles event.
– Controllers Settings should now apply to Playground games.
– Gamertags will no longer cover the turbo meter in Playground games.
– Fixed a stutter that would occur when people are playing on the courts and someone levels up.
– The correct score will now be attributed to the correct team during in-progress Playground games when queued up on a Got Next spot.
– Shots will no longer queue up when playing the mini-basketball game in the 2K Zone, making it easier to develop a smooth rhythm.
– The Who To Guard indicator has been re-designed to make it easier for you to quickly identify the offensive player you should be guarding in Playground games.
– Player signature walks that incorporated a basketball will now correctly draw the ball when performed in the Playground area of the neighborhood.
– (XB1) Fixed an issue where the game became unstable when a team attempted to use custom Pro-Am Away uniforms.
– (PC) The shot release text will now provide accurate feedback when using a keyboard to shoot ball in the mini-basketball game located in the 2K Zone.

Pro-Am

– Resolved Pro-Am Accessory issues that prohibited them from showing up correctly in the closet.
– Users will no longer earn progress toward their badges and cap breakers while the AI plays for them after fouling out in Pro-Am games.
– Fixed a case where users were not getting paid their full VC amount after Pro-Am games.
– When a team quits out of a Pro-Am game, the remaining team will no longer obtain the badge progress and progress of the team that quit out.
– The team overall will now calculate correctly on the loading screen of a Pro-Am game when there is at least one CPU player on the team.
– Fixed the issue where arena changes would fail to be applied the first time ‘Save Changes and Exit’ was selected when attempting to make changes to your Pro-Am Team Arena.

MyTEAM

– Users can now use strategy cards in Super Max games in MyTEAM.
– Strategy cards are now stackable, in quantities of 20.
– Non-NBA balls will now properly appear in your home court when set in the Edit Franchise menu.
– Users will no longer be automatically taken to the Edit Lineups menu after upgrading a player’s badge.
– Users that excessively foul in online multiplayer MyTEAM games will now get kicked and given a loss.
– The “Replace Player” option has moved from the Edit Player menu to the Edit Lineup menu for usability improvements.

MyGM/MyLEAGUE

– To satisfy a popular community request, the NBA logo has been removed from the created uniform template in MyGM/MyLEAGUE.
– The CPU will no longer override user-made decisions during the Qualifying Offers offseason time period.
– CPU teams will now be more conscientious of when they should renounce the rights to their players during the offseason.
– Fixed a hang that would occur for some users when they were signing a two-way player for the remainder of the season.
– Fixed a soft hang during the draft in MyGM/MyLEAGUE when the user attempted to negotiate a trade.
– Addressed a fantasy draft issue where certain players were being incorrectly omitted from the selected player pool.
– Fixed a case where we were incorrectly determining that a user was trying to maintain the rights to too many Draft & Stash players (it would force you to release a player you should have been able to sign).
– Addressed a case where a Draft & Stash player would appear on a G-League roster prior to his signing an NBA contract.
– Identified and corrected an issue that would lead to the inability to load your MyGM file. For those previously affected by this, your save will now properly load.
– Baskets will now count for the correct amount of points when the league approves the rule change that grants automatic points to be granted on shooting fouls (in lieu of free throws).
– Attendance will no longer show as 0% for playoff games in the financial information menu of MyGM.

Many other small bug fixes and adjustments were also made, game-wide.

Check out the patch notes for NBA 2K18's huge 1.04 update screenshot

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News:: A former Naughty Dog employee claims he was sexually harassed, Naughty Dog responds

The recent scandal with Harvey Weinstein has given courage to victims of sexual abuse to speak out about their trauma. No one should have to harbor such horrible transgressions for their entire life because the industry they are in has "power". While the games industry may not have a large number of reported cases, that doesn't mean it's safer than anywhere else.

Taking to Twitter, David Ballard (environmental artist and multiplayer level artist on Uncharted 2-4 and The Last of Us) spoke about how he was the victim of harassment from a lead at the company and how Sony's HR department actually fired him once he came forward.

A former Naughty Dog employee claims he was sexually harassed, Naughty Dog responds screenshot

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News:: Devs do the darndest things: Jacob Janerka

It takes a lot to stand out as an indie developer these days. Even if your game actually makes it to major platforms, there’s no guarantee that you’ll even make any money from it. Despite offering iterations of what essentially amounts to the same damn game every single year, AAA publishers have a solid chokehold on the majority of gamer’s wallets, and the rest of the industry is left to fight over the scraps like rabid dogs.

While many choose to follow the same old song and dance that publishers have been using for ages, or hope that their game is good enough to garner positive word-of-mouth press, there are others out there who have decided to do things a little bit differently. One of them, Jacob Janerka, is the creator of the point-and-click adventure game Paradigm.

Devs do the darndest things: Jacob Janerka screenshot

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News:: Defeated Marvel vs Capcom Infinite player prepares for movie-style redemption

Fighting game website Event Hubs posted a great message sent to them by Marvel vs Capcom Infinite player "482 MastaStef" which the latter received in the wake of a random online victory.

A lot of regular fighting game players (or online players in general) will have received salt-soaked hate mail in their time. Hell, sometimes people try to add you after a fight specifically so they have access to wishing death upon you, or attempt to somehow ruin your year by making lame accusations on your sexuality or social life.

482 MastaStef instead received a collected admittance of defeat, followed by a speceific plan of action for his opposition to take revenge for the loss precisely one month from now. MastaStef has said he will keep people updated as to whether his own personal Moriarty keeps to his word and steps back into the ring in four weeks time.

Ok sure, this is hardly Red-Hot News. But it's amusing to see someone take a loss as if they were bested in a gentleman's duel. Hatemail is typically an ugly, torrid and hurtful affair, I suppose that's why they don't call it "Nicemail", but to see someone truly inspired to take a random online match and turn it into a Rocky-style redemption story, well, here's hoping the declared rematch takes place.

The Liam Neeson of MVCI [Event Hubs]

Defeated Marvel vs Capcom Infinite player prepares for movie-style redemption screenshot

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News:: Dear Harvest Moon...

My family used to be farmers. Did you know that? – Of course you didn’t. My family moved to the US to get away from a life of farming in the in the archaic death-scape that was the 1970s. Yet here I am, giving years of my life to your simulated agriculture.

I disgust myself.

That’s all the negativity I have for you. Not that there isn’t anything wrong with your games. On the contrary. Each successive game forgets the useful features of the last one and starts from scratch, leaving me with fantasies of a ‘super’ game that combines Parade’s part-time job feature, DS’ paused time indoors and Island of Happiness’ realistic and achievable objectives. Your difficulty careens dangerously between extremes from game to game and yet, here I am, hundreds of hours later. Farming.

Dear Harvest Moon... screenshot

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News:: Is there anything that could make you give up gaming?

My Twitter feed has been buzzing this week about three highly anticipated games and the more seedier aspects of them. Star Wars Battlefront II, Forza 7 and Middle-Earth: Shadow of War are all releasing soon. All three of them have been getting some negative attention due to loot boxes, the “reward” that’s becoming more and more common in any game with a multiplayer component. I’m totally for the idea of loot boxes when it comes to costumes and cosmetics because I really don’t give enough of a shit about those aspects. I’m fine with my Pharah looking just like a regular old Pharah in Overwatch, I don’t need her totally badass Thunderbird getup even though it reminds me of my years living in the Pacific Northwest.

But a lot of people are upset but how these three games are implementing the boxes, from Shadow’s supposed locking of the true ending behind either endless grinding or buying boxes to how Forza is choosing to dole out mods that help you. I’ve seen some say they’re not buying these titles because of this, but history shows that isn’t always the case. But as I read those complaints, I wondered “Is there anything that would get me to just stop gaming?”

I’ve touched on this before when I wrote about my experience with VR, but thankfully my fears of an all VR future appear to be decades away. For the foreseeable future, my favorite hobby is safe for me to enjoy. So what would get me to just give it all up? A spouse asking me to? Nah, I’d just get a new spouse. Losing my hands and eyes in a terrible Fro-yo accident? Pfft, I’d learn to play with my feet and ears. I thought about this as I played my 3DS in my room, the dining room, the living room and then on the bus to the movies and that’s when it hit me: I love my home consoles, but the end of portability would be the end of my gaming adventure.

I’ve endured enough mobile games to know they’ll never fully replace my dedicated gaming machines (though many are very good), but I also know I’m having the most fun when my gaming is on the go. Sure, there are some experiences that are best on a big screen, but over the past five years, I’ve spent more than 70% of my time on my 3DS and Vita. Even if I’m not taking it with me on the bus and train, I’m antsy and I love the freedom of being able to move around my house as I want. Perhaps that's ADHD or simply the end result of living in a world as full of distractions as this one – excuse me while I look up 500 random things on Wikipedia and then refuse to send the website even a dollar so it can keep its doors open – but I don’t like to be confined to just one spot on the couch for too long unless it is a really, REALLY enthralling game.

That’s me. Is there anything that could make you give up gaming?

Is there anything that could make you give up gaming? screenshot

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News:: Looking back at Revolution 2017

[Disclaimer: I am personally acquainted with the organisers but I was not asked to write about this event nor was any money distributed. This is simply my take on Revolution 2017.]

Last weekend saw the annual Nth Gen Interactive fighting game tournament event called Revolution being held. The event focuses mostly on anime fighting games (so no Street Fighter V) and has been going on for four years and had outgrown its old home last year (registration for entry had to be cut short because there was no space left in the venue!) and this year saw the event held at the Rocket Complex in north London. The event has grown from an FGC event for around a hundred entrants to being pretty much the de-facto premier anime FGC tournament in Europe with several hundred entrants competing over the course of three days.

Revolution has grown considerably and is now able to provide more than just a place for tournaments and get-togethers. Publishers have taken note and the guys at Nth Gen have cultivated ties to be able to give attendees a chance to play games still unreleased. But this expansion has come at a cost...

Looking back at Revolution 2017 screenshot

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News:: BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle coming to PS4, PC, and Switch, adds RWBY's Weiss Schnee

I'm pretty sure Arc System Works is going to reach a pretty huge audience with BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Not only does it combine assets and characters from the BlazBlue series, Persona 4 Arena, and Under Night In-Birth, but also characters from Rooster Teeth's RWBY series. 

Joining the previously announced Ruby (from RWBY), Ragna and Jin (BlazBlue), Yu and Yosuke (Persona 4 Arena), and Hyde and Lynne (Under Night In-Birth) are Rachel and Hazama (who I didn't expect to see here) from BlazBlue and the cute Weiss Schnee from RWBY. 

What's really going to grab that audience, however, is the fact that BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle will be releasing on PlayStation 4, PC via Steam, and Nintendo Switch sometime next year. Yes to more fighting games on the Switch, son. 

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle coming to PS4, PC, and Switch, adds RWBY's Weiss Schnee screenshot



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News:: Zeku is Street Fighter V's final Season 2 DLC character...to great surprise

As predicted by a character leak months ago, Street Fighter V's last DLC character of Season 2 (following Akuma, Kolin, Ed, Abigail, and Menat) is Zeku, Guy's former master. He's got lots of flips and his kick specials seem to have a good amount of range. 

But the craziest part of his repertoire is his V-Skill/V-Trigger. It makes him younger (and looking like a straight riff of Capcom's Strider Hiryu), and gives him a few more special options. He's going to be fun to play around with. 

Zeku will be available October 24th. 

Zeku is Street Fighter V's final Season 2 DLC character...to great surprise screenshot



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News:: Dead End Job coming to Nintendo Switch

Dead End Job is a twin-stick shooter with a great sense of humor, and it’ll be aiming straight for your computer in the not-so-distant future.

I’m done with my pathetic attempts at slant rhyme. You can come back now. I promise, it won’t happen again…

The creators cite Ren & Stimpy as an influence on the art direction, and it’s easy to see a bit of that in the trailer below. The game will feature drop in/drop out couch co-op, but also boasts that dreaded phrase, “procedurally generated,” that seems to be so popular these days. (I lied. Rhyming is fun!)

Dead End Job coming to Nintendo Switch screenshot

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News:: Landslide victory in Splatoon 2's Vampires vs Werewolves battle

The ink has dried on North America's latest Splatfest, as players fought it out in paint-em-up Splatoon 2 for the Halloween-themed battle of Vampires vs Werewolves.

In a landslide 3-0 victory, Pearl's bloodsuckers came out on top over Marina's choice of furry ferociousness. Vampires not only took the player vote, but also squeezed out victories in both Solo and Team play. Though it was a straight 3-0 win for Vlad and chums, it was a very close score in all regards, with only a meagre percentage difference between the two teams in all categories.

This is cause for celebration for Pearl, who also recently told us the correct way to hang toilet paper and that Flight is better than Invisibility. Pretty hipster Marina only got so far with her trendiness, now it's the true Splatoon diva's time to shine. Blam! (or something).

The next Splatfest takes place in Japan, and will see Pearl argue Agility over Marina's choice of Endurance in the essential question of which is the best physical attribute.

Vampires vs Werewolves result [Splatoon twitter]

Landslide victory in Splatoon 2's Vampires vs Werewolves battle screenshot

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News:: First 'Rocket League' Halloween event kicks off October 16th

There may be an emerging backlash to loot boxes in video games, but that isn't stopping Psyonix from hyping them up. Rocket League is holding its first-ever Halloween event between October 16th and November 6th, and it's ushering in a new event system that encourages you to earn crates. The more you play online, the more you earn a special event-only currency (Candy Corn) to spend on event-specific keys (Decryptors) that unlock crates holding Halloween-themed perks. You'll occasionally get lucky with crate drops, but you'll otherwise have to buy as many crates and Decryptors as you can.

Source: Rocket League



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News:: Steam will support VR in very large rooms

If you want to play a room-scale VR game using Steam's current tracking method, you need to do it in a 13-by-13 foot area. That's fine for your living room, but what if you want more space? Don't fret: Valve has announced that SteamVR Tracking 2.0 will support a cavernous 33 feet by 33 feet space starting in early 2018. You'll need four trackers to do it instead of two, but this could be very helpful for arcades or any other experience that could benefit from greater freedom of movement.

Via: Gamasutra

Source: Steam



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