Monday, November 20, 2017

News:: Clicker Heroes 2 ditches the free-to-play model of its predecessor

Anyone hoping that Clicker Heroes 2 would come out for free might be surprised to read this. For the upcoming sequel, developer Playsaurus is dropping the free-to-play model in favor of a one time purchase. A lot of that comes down to ethical reasons and how Playsaurus doesn't want to feed into the addictive nature that video games can possess.

In a long blog post, Fragsworth (one of the developer's behind the game), states, "We really don't like making money off players who are in denial of their addiction. And that's what a large part of free-to-play gaming is all about. Everyone in the industry seems to rationalize it by shifting the blame, assuming way too much cognizance on the part of their victims. People can make their own decisions, right? But it just doesn't sit well with me. Despite very few of our players having complained, it felt wrong when we started doing it and it still feels wrong now."

"Games are inherently addictive. That alone is not a bad thing, until it gets abused. In Clicker Heroes 1, we never tried to abuse players with our real-money shop," Fragsworth says, "and for the most part we designed it without the shop in mind so that you never have to purchase rubies to progress. Despite this, we found that some number of players spent many thousands of dollars on rubies. I can only hope that these people could afford it, and that they were doing it to support us, and not to feed an addiction."

As such, Clicker Heroes 2 will launch with a price of $29.99 and no free-to-play trappings. You'll be getting access to a full game on launch with modding capabilities coming at some later date. "We like games with mods and we want mods," Fragsworth mentions. If you can't get on with the new direction this sequel is taking, the studio is also offering a full refund for up to one year after purchase, which is certainly nice.

If you're hoping that the original Clicker Heroes will now be ditching its freemium model, then you're going to be disappointing. Fragsworth goes on to say, "We're not going to change how we monetize Clicker Heroes 1. It would destroy our studio if we did. Most people are OK with how we've handled it. Our unlimited refund policy still stands. But going forward we're going to at least try the paid-up-front model for our business."

The original Clicker Heroes was sort of a sensation back when it released in 2015. While it is possibly the bare minimum you could call a game, fans got addicted to its bright, cheerful art style and its infinite loop of Call of Duty-esque prestige levels. It also contained all the microtransaction nonsense you'd expect of a free-to-play game, albeit without predatory tactics or purposely stonewalled gameplay. At least one never felt the urge to dip into the shop if they just wanted to mindlessly click things.

Why Clicker Heroes 2 is abandoning free-to-play [Clicker Heroes 2]

Clicker Heroes 2 ditches the free-to-play model of its predecessor screenshot



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News:: Puzzle Fighter is out for iOS and Android

Capcom is bringing Puzzle Fighter back in big-headed built-for-mobile form.

The free-to-play iOS and Android title has been out in select regions like Canada and Australia since late September, but now the game is available worldwide. You'll pick a character and two supports, puzzle-battle others in real time, and try to work your way up the leaderboard in PvP seasons.

The faces don't quite reach Garbage Pail Kids levels of disconcerting, but yeesh. I'm not a fan.

Also, for folks like Patrick, there's a color-blind mode. Are you reading this random post on the off chance I name-drop you, Patrick? No? Quick, everyone talk behind his back! Now's our chance.

iOS, Android [Puzzle Fighter]

Puzzle Fighter is out for iOS and Android screenshot



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News:: 'Rez Infinite' arrives on your phone through Daydream VR

Rez Infinite is a sublime experience in virtual reality, but there's a catch: that requirement for PlayStation VR or a PC usually means you're tied down. That won't be an issue after today, provided you have the right hardware: Enhance Games has released Rez Infinite for Android. You'll need a Daydream-compatible VR headset with a controller (and the phone to match, of course), but you too can soar through virtual worlds and shoot enemies to a trance beat. And yes, the Infinite-only Area X is as visually intense as ever -- modern mobile hardware is clearly up to the job.

Source: Google Play



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News:: PUBG as an esport seems like a hell of a ride for spectators

PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, currently one of the most popular video games in the world, has hinged its success on a few relatively-unique systems. It's a competitive shooter, but it usually values survival over killing; often, being quiet and discreet is the smart play. Its loop is also rooted in randomness, with players constantly unsure about what kind of equipment they're going to find.

We don't think of these traits as positives with regard to esports. Playing games at a professional level almost always has some sort of strict standardization attached to it. Action should be steady and external factors should be mitigated. We want pure skill to win out and we want to be entertained.

PUBG sort of defies that convention and it's partially because of the presentation to the audience. The Intel Extreme Masters Oakland tournament took place this past weekend and pitted 20 4-player squads against one another in 8 games to determine a champion. France-based aAa won the whole thing with 1,620 points, 38 kills, and 1 chicken dinner. (Actually, only one team, Digital Chaos, won multiple games.)

While the PUBG playing experience is predicated on always being unsure of what lies just ahead, the spectator experience is vastly different because, for once, we have all the information. Just skim through some of the gameplay of the final match at IEM Oakland:

PUBG as an esport seems like a hell of a ride for spectators screenshot

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News:: Surprise, Turkeys: Fate/Grand Order opens Thanksgiving giveaway

If you're one of the poor bastards still playing Fate/Grand Order (Hi there!), you may know that one of the odder things about the game's launch was the decision to duplicate the original Japanese content rollout, putting the NA game years behind the original in terms of new additions. While odd, one beneficial side effect has been that players know pretty much everything that's going to happen long in advance. That kind of forward planning helps when dealing with microtransactions and FGO's notoriously stingy random draw system.

That period just got disrupted, though, because FGO's English version has just gone off-script. A special, North America-only Thanksgiving promotion officially kicks off on November 22nd, running through December 1st. Unlike the current "Guda Guda Honnoji" event, this one's mainly focused on giveaways and a new premium summon promo, but it'll be a doozy for folks aiming to get their hands on some rare Servants, or maybe just display some Irish pride.

The Thanksgiving special will add several Servants from Ireland's Ulster cycle. Leading the pack is Scáthach, the game's first 5-Star Lancer, teacher of Fate/Stay Night's original Lancer, Cú Chulainn, and wearer of history's tightest leotard. Also repping the Emerald Isle 3-Star Lancer Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (aka the Fate/Zero Lancer) and 3-Star Saber Fergus mac Róich (who was nicknamed "Brock" after his resemblance to the eponymous Pokemon trainer).

The real money shot, though, is for folks willing to shoot some money Aniplex's way. A one-time, paid premium summon promises a guaranteed 5-Star Servant from a pre-selected pool. The pool includes some classic characters like Fate/Stay night's original Saber, but also a number of best-in-class units like Francis Drake and Zhuge Liang, and even Okita "Sakura Saber" Souji, an otherwise limited-run character. For players deep into the game (read: beyond saving), it's a good deal, considering that the standard drop rate for a 5-Star Servant is 1% (going even lower if you're targeting a specific 5-Star. Whatever the case, it looks like FGO is looking to get its gravy train sauced. 

Surprise, Turkeys: Fate/Grand Order opens Thanksgiving giveaway screenshot



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News:: Visual Novel Maker has given me newfound respect for game developers

If Steam tracked how long we stared at games in the Steam Store the same way it tracks how long we actually play the games we own, it would probably show I've stared at the listing for TyranoBuilder for approximately five hours. I've always had that desire to write and create my own visual novel, but due to my artistic talents being par with those of Janey Briggs, I've withheld putting any money down on programs that would require original art.

Then came a beta opportunity for Visual Novel Maker.

Originally set for release around this time last year, VN Maker was delayed to provide more time for Degica to work on its development. I applied to be part of the Beta and was lucky to get in. With only 20 people select, I felt I had a responsibility to make sure I did it right. Working a full-time job with a three-hour daily commute kept progress to a minimum early in the process. Add in traveling over one weekend to visit my mom on Mother’s Day and I had mostly wasted the first two weeks of the roughly six weeks I would have to put together a sample project. In that time I was given a behind-the-scenes look at game development. Seeing how the sausage is made is allowing me to look at the hard work of developers I frankly couldn't before.

Visual Novel Maker has given me newfound respect for game developers screenshot

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News:: 'Bait!' brings an ice fishing expedition to Facebook's social VR

Facebook launched its social VR Spaces beta last April, finally showing us a compelling experience that helped put the social media company's acquisition of Oculus in the first place. Recently, Oculus showed off a little ice fishing game from casual game studio Resolution Games at the Oculus Connect 4 conference. Now, the game -- dubbed Bait! -- is ready to take you and a friend into Spaces VR together.

Source: Oculus



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News:: Overwatch's Blizzard World map is now on the PTR

The latest Overwatch map, Blizzard World, is ready for testing on the PTR. Part Assault and part Escort, the map is an amusement park that mostly pays tribute to Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo. It's a fun idea for sure, but based on Chris' impressions out of BlizzCon, I've lowered my expectations a little.

Still, with this in the works and Moira in the live game, I'm in the mood for Overwatch again.

Today's PTR patch also introduces some assorted bug fixes:

General

  • Fixed an issue that caused the arcade card for Limited Duel and Mystery Duel to not list all currently disabled characters
  • Fixed an issue that prevented certain sound effects from playing when navigating the Options menu with a controller

Heroes

  • Fixed a visual bug that caused Ana's Biotic Rifle ammo clip to detach when her Captain Amari skin was equipped
  • Fixed a bug that caused Doomfist's Seismic Slam to create performance drops when repeatedly used with no cooldown
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Mei's Cryo-freeze from clearing the healing debuff caused by Ana's Biotic Grenade
  • Fixed a visual bug with Moira's Biotic Orb that sometimes caused Biotic Grasp's healing spray effects to display instead
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Moira from being able to pass through enemies when using Fade
  • Fixed a bug that caused Moira's eyelashes to detach from her face during her Heroic highlight intro
  • Fixed a visual issue with Moira's Oasis skin that caused her knees to clip through her knee guards while crouched
  • Fixed a bug that caused Reaper's shotguns to animate incorrectly when discarded on the ground
  • Fixed an issue that prevented highlights captured by Zenyatta players from recording correctly when the Cultist skin was equipped

Maps

  • Fixed a bug that caused a performance drop when players shot at the gold coin piles in the last Defender spawn of Junkertown

I really want to see the bug that caused "Moira's eyelashes to detach from her face."

Overwatch PTR Now Available - November 20, 2017 [Overwatch]

Overwatch's Blizzard World map is now on the PTR screenshot



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News:: Review: School Girl/Zombie Hunter

This is a game that knows exactly what it is. Even the title doesn’t leave a hell of a lot to the imagination. You’ve got school girls, and you’ve got zombies. These high school ladies don’t appear to be too worried about getting bitten though. In fact, they’re constantly throwing their clothes and used underwear into the hordes of undead enemies. They don’t give a fuck about common sense or the practicality of covering yourself up when surrounded by things that are trying to bite you. Welcome to School Girl/Zombie Hunter

The story focuses around five ladies as they battle their way through, the adorably named, zom-zoms. The best parts have almost nothing to do with any overarching plot, it’s the inane dialogue exchanges where it really shines. I touched upon it a bit during my review in progress a few days ago, but everything is presented in a deliriously fashioned B-movie sheen. The cast is split between generic, shy types and ultra-vain, over-the-top badasses. The one thing all of them have in common is their desire to escape the school where they’re stranded. Also, that they really don’t like wearing clothes. 

Review: School Girl/Zombie Hunter screenshot

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News:: North American 'League of Legends' championship finalizes 10-team roster

Earlier this year, League of Legends studio Riot Games introduced new rules for the game's American pro league. At long last, the North American League Championship Series (NA LCS) will have a permanent roster of ten teams, starting with the 2018 season -- and Riot has just announced who made the cut.



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News:: The Walking Dead Season 8 Recap: 'The Big Scary U'

If you've been following AMC's eighth season of The Walking Dead, you know that so far, we're dealing with the events of a single day, focused around the alliance's attack on the empire, aka Hilltop-Alexandria-Kingdom (HAK, as I'm fond of calling them--for no reason whatsoever) against the Saviors. Inherently, with a show already in its eighth season, with ratings that aren't entirely holding steady and showing slight declines, there's always a sense that endings are inevitable, because they are. Outside of character decision making that ignores logical progression of any variety, the ability to squander screen time with a lack of plot progression remains TWD's biggest flaw.

We don't have forever to come to resolutions for our characters or this world. One day, the plug will be pulled, and you'd hope that in the interim, the goal is to take the story forward so that when said ending arrives, it can happen in a fashion that satiates the audience. At least, that's always been my understanding of how storytelling should work when it works best. TWD's done this before--season 2, on the farm, was like plodding through thigh-high wet snow, uphill. Its pace was glacial. 

Season 8 makes season 2 look like torrential river waters thrumming through a gorge after strong rains. Five episodes down, three to go in 2017 and we're still in day 1.

[Editor's Note: This recap will obviously go into detail about last night's episode of The Walking Dead, so there are going to be a ton of spoilers. Final warning!]

The Walking Dead Season 8 Recap: 'The Big Scary U' screenshot

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News:: Humble's giving away Brutal Legend for free right now

AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young died over the weekend. He's the latest in a never-ending sad and continuous stream of beloved musicians passing away. This year has seen, among others, Young, Chuck Berry, Tom Petty, Chris Cornell, Gregg Allman, and Chester Bennington all shuffle off this mortal coil. Some earlier than others, but all undeniably influential in their own way.

Maybe it's a strained connection, but this opportunity to remember gone musicians is also an opportunity to remember a mostly-forgotten music video game. Humble is giving away real-time-strategy-game-in-disguise Brutal Legend for free. No strings attached (apart from having a Humble account) -- just go through the checkout process and get sent a Steam key. The promotion ends at 10am Pacific on Wednesday November 22.

Looking through our archives of Brutal Legend stories, I found this retrospective that I apparently wrote four years ago. (I've written 3,000-some stories here, it's hard to remember even a fraction of them!) In that piece, I said "Brutal Legend is the From Dusk Till Dawn of video games." That is still the smartest thing I've ever said.

Brutal Legend [Humble]

Humble's giving away Brutal Legend for free right now screenshot



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News:: Celebrate Uncharted's 10th anniversary with a free PS4 theme

2017 marks the 10th anniversary of the Uncharted series (holy shit time flies) and Naughty Dog has a freebie to give fans. If you act fast, you can nab a bundle with some PS4 themes and avatars to deck out your PSN profile. It conspicuously leaves Uncharted 3 out of the mix, but at least you can show off your love for the series in style. The bundle will be free until November 21, so don't dawdle.

Celebrate Uncharted's 10th anniversary with a free PS4 theme screenshot

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News:: Marvel Strike Force is the new squad-based superhero RPG

Marvel has tapped FoxNext Games for its latest franchise-spanning mobile RPG and we've got a first-look trailer. Marvel Strike Force will have players assembling a team of characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, Groot, and Daredevil to take on Ultimus and the Kree.

The game is due out in 2018 and pre-registration is open for iOS and Android.

Now, this probably goes without saying, but when it comes to investing your time and money into games like Marvel Strike Force, you're doing so at your own risk. As evidenced by the shutdown of Marvel: Avengers Alliance and more recently Marvel Heroes, these things don't last forever. I mean, nothing does, but you can only be burned so many times before you learn to stay away.

I do like the bit where Cap punches out the Red Skull and salutes him, though.

Marvel Strike Force is the new squad-based superhero RPG screenshot



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News:: Minecraft's Aquatic update will overhaul oceans, adds new weapon and mob

One of Minecraft's biggest updates ever will be arriving in the spring of 2018, which will host a complete overhaul of aquatic gameplay.

Appropriately dubbed the "Update Aquatic," the ocean biome will now randomly generate objects like coral and fish differently, as well as accounting for additional ideas like underwater treasure hunts and shipwrecks (with helpful dolphins who will guide you toward them). Aquariums are also in, and another big change is the addition of the trident weapon (which can be used as a melee attack or thrown, or even enchanted to act like a boomerang).

Mojang also used the opportunity during the unveiling to announce that the "Super Duper Graphics Update" and Switch cross-play have been delayed into 2018. The reason for delaying the latter is to make sure that the collaboration with Nintendo is "just right," which seems to line up with Nintendo's famous "ready when it's ready" mentality. As a reminder, Sony is the lone holdout in the cross-play program -- as it stands, PC, Xbox, mobile, and Switch players can operate in the same play space. The former three can play together right now.

Minecraft's Aquatic update will overhaul oceans, adds new weapon and mob screenshot

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News:: Review: Star Wars Battlefront II

In the time since I posted my review-in-progress for Star Wars Battlefront II, EA temporarily halted the sale of in-game purchases. "This means that the option to purchase crystals in the game is now offline, and all progression will be earned through gameplay," the company said. "The ability to purchase crystals in-game will become available at a later date, only after we've made changes to the game."

When exactly microtransactions will return and to what extent isn't yet clear. But I do know this: even without the option to spend real money on loot crates that award randomized Star Cards (active abilities and passive boosts) for character classes, ships, and heroes, there's no escaping Battlefront II's unpleasant progression system. It's good that the real-money option is gone for the time being, but there's much more work to be done, and it needs to come to fruition sooner than later.

There's a decent multiplayer title buried in here, but it's absolutely hindered right now.

Review: Star Wars Battlefront II screenshot

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News:: Hideki Kamiya has a lot of dream gigs, and one involves a Dante and Bayonetta crossover

Hideki "BLOCKED" Kamiya is legendary in more ways than one. Many (myself included) like his approach to action games, and are constantly awaiting his next project. Speaking to Dengeki PlayStation, Kamiya threw out a few ideas:

“I want to work on a Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe remake, or a true sequel for Okami. A cooperation with Dante (from Devil May Cry) and Bayonetta might also be fun. Dear Capcom, if it’s okay with someone like me, I will help anytime. Best regards. Everyone, bow down your heads with me!”

They're all noble causes, and all things that could happen. Capcom loves remakes, especially for proven IP like Devil May Cry (Viewtiful might be a harder sell, but given its appearance in Dead Rising 4 recently there's hope). The Okami remaster is coming sooon and sales could possibly spur a sequel, and that Dante vs. Bayonetta concept could come to life on a Switch version of Super Smash Bros., given that Bayonetta is already a cast member and Capcom has a good relationship with Nintendo (and Mega Man is in).

I mean, never say never! Who would have thought that Cloud, Bayonetta, Sonic, and Mega Man would be in the same game 10 years ago?

Kamiya [Dengeki PlayStation via Siliconera] [Image Credit]

Hideki Kamiya has a lot of dream gigs, and one involves a Dante and Bayonetta crossover screenshot



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News:: Nintendo releasing Google Home app 'Pikachu Talk'

Whilst Nintendo appear to be the masters of consistent trademark applications, one such legal declaration, filed earlier this month, looks like a pretty amusing piece of software.

The trademark is for an app intended for use with Google Home, Google Home Mini and Amazon's Alexa device. Titled Pikachu Talk,  it is apparently some form of home interaction tool, using the voice of Pokemon's electrifying poster-boy.

As you can see from the video below, it's going to be really useful. Whether you need weather or traffic reports, additions making to your shopping list, or just an ego-boosting pick-me-up, Pikachu will always have the answer you need to hear.

It'll be pretty cute to have the lil' monster's voice echoing throughout your home.
Y'know, for about a day, at least.

Nintendo trademark Pikachu Talk Google Home app [Japanese Nintendo]

Nintendo releasing Google Home app 'Pikachu Talk' screenshot

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News:: Following the Star Wars Battlefront II debacle, EA scrambles to rework Need for Speed loot crates

The revolution may have begun on loot boxes, or at least as far as EA is concerned. While there isn't truly a victory in the case of Star Wars Battlefront II as the boxes are only "temporarily" on pause, the developers of Need For Speed Payback have revised the way they approach their take on it.

You can view the entire changelog below, but the gist is that you now get more in-game XP for playing, which results in more rewards. This is by way of just plain giving out more progress and allowing more avenues to actually earn XP. One of the most contentious ideas, the fact that cars are upgraded with cards, remains intact.

As the industry continues to grow, EA of course once again goes overboard with a mechanic several other developers have gotten less flak for. Between them and WB, they've killed off a lot of bad ideas like online passes due to justified fan outrage.

Progression updates rolling out [Reddit]

Following the Star Wars Battlefront II debacle, EA scrambles to rework Need for Speed loot crates screenshot

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News:: Does tournament confetti point to Sakura's Street Fighter return?

This weekend saw some of Street Fighter V's finest players gather in Boston, Massachusetts for the North American Finals of the Capcom Cup 2017, held at Red Bull Battlegrounds.

After a weekend of hard-hitting and intense matches, PG|Punk's Karin took the gold, beating out Idom's formidable Laura in the finals. A major boost to Punk's confidence ahead of the looming Capcom Cup, which will take place on December 10. At the conclusion of the event, a trailer was shown at the conclusion hyping the upcoming Pro-Tour final, but it was noted by eagle-eyed viewers that the video ended with what appeared to be blossom petals floating through the air.

If this wasn't enough, the Battle Grounds show was closed out with a beautiful flurry of confetti, some of which were formed in the shape the Cherry Blossom, the national flower of Japan, where it is known, of course, as "Sakura". A photo of the decoration was taken by long-time Sakura player Alex Myers.

For well over two years now, two prominent names have been oft-repeated by fans when requesting new characters for the Street Fighter V roster. The King of Muay Thai, Sagat, is one of them, and the super-cheerful fangirl, Sakura Kasugano, is another.

To double-down on Sakura petal imagery like this feels like more than coincidence, so I can understand why fans of the knuckle-flying teen are getting all in a tizzy. Nevertheless, the truth will out at the Capcom Cup very soon.

"Sakura" confetti at Red Bull Battlegrounds [EventHubs]

Does tournament confetti point to Sakura's Street Fighter return? screenshot

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News:: Contest winners' original character and stage to feature in King of Fighters XIV

Back in September, Manga Productions held a competition in the Middle-East to design a character and a stage for SNK's legendary fighting game franchise, The King of Fighters.

Entries came in from across the region, with some 300 character and stage designs in total. In a presentation last week at the Misk Global Forum, attended by SNK chairman Zhihui Ge and Manga Productions' President, Badr Al-Azerkel, and CEO Essam Bukhary, the winning entries were formally announced.

For the character portion of the contest, a slinky and mysterious female fighter, hailing from the Saudi Arabian region of Najd, was chosen as the winning combatant. This rad-looking gal was created by Mashael Al-Barrak of. In the stage category, Oman's Zainab Al-Lawaty was selected as the winner for their interpretation of the Masmak fort, a legendary monument located in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh province.

The winning entries were chosen by a selection committee made up of SNK and Manga Productions staff, including KOF's character designer Eisuke Ogura, and art director Nobuyuki Kuroki. No date has been given for when the new character and stage will be available in the game.

The King of Fighters XIV is available now on PS4 and PC.

Contest winners' original character and stage to feature in King of Fighters XIV screenshot

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News:: Japan is getting 30th anniversary Mega Man stamps, so you can mail all those new Rockman games out

Will we ever get a new Mega Man game? There's a chance. I mean if Capcom didn't announced it at TGS during the highly anticipated 30th anniversary stream it's likely there isn't going to be anything anytime soon, but if the time is right, and Capcom can farm it out to another developer, there's probably a chance.

In the meantime, more merch is on the way. Announced by way of the Japan Post's website, there's gong to be a set of stamps celebrating the 30th anniversary of Mega Man, or specifically, Mega Man 1. All of its Robot Masters (including Roll, Rockman, Wily, and Dr. Light) are represented, and it'll also come with a t-shirt. If you're located in Japan you can reserve the set on November 20 for 5,400 yen (or roughly $50).

So when that new Mega Man game eventually does come out in Japan, you can mail it to all your friends. Or not.

Test

Rockman [Japan Post via Rockman Corner]

Japan is getting 30th anniversary Mega Man stamps, so you can mail all those new Rockman games out screenshot



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News:: 'Dota 2' and 'League of Legends' players might be smarter than you

People who play multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBA) like Dota 2 and League of Legends perform better on problem solving and logic tests than those who play shooters Destiny and Battlefield 3, researchers found. "The specific MOBA genre is remarkable in the sense that it already engages a vast number of players across the globe, but more generally, complex, socially-interactive and intellectually demanding video games are now ubiquitous and generate a constant stream of performance data that can be normalized against millions of other players," a team from the University of York in the UK concludes.

Via: TechRadar

Source: PLOS One



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News:: Call of Duty: WWII still rocking the UK chart, despite Battlefront II's strong offensive

Activision's military-shooter Call of Duty: WWII is celebrating a third week at the top of the UK Charts, holding off strong debuts from Electronic Arts and Nintendo.

EA's controversy-laden shooter Star Wars Battlefront II debuted straight into second place. A reminder that no matter how angry the internet gets at a title, it's still often a minority voice compared to overall global view of a product. Conversely however, despite this high rankeing debut, sales for the Sci-Fi shooter are reportedly down sixty percent over the previous Battlefront's launch weekend.

Nintendo's Pokemon Ultra Sun and Moon released on 3DS this week and, as expected, made a very strong showing, debuting in fourth and fifth place. Also making it into the Top Ten are EA's management title The Sims 4 and the Switch re-release of Rockstar's murder-mystery, L.A. Noire. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 closes out the chart at number ten.

Call of Duty: WWII still rocking the UK chart, despite Battlefront II's strong offensive screenshot

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News:: Pokemon Bank app updated to support Ultra Sun and Moon

The Pokemon Company announced earlier this month that the Pokemon Bank app (for 3DS) would be updated "soon" to provide support for the pair of Ultra releases, and that turnaround was pretty darn quick.

Soon is actually today, and if you have 516 blocks available you can upgrade to version 1.4, which adds said Ultra support, as well as Poke Transporter support for Pokemon Gold and Silver (the recent Virtual Console games).

At this point you have a decision to make if you haven't finished Ultra yet -- on whether or not to bring over your old crew and wipe the floor with the story and postgame. As always it's your prerogative, but waiting until at least most of the endgame narratives are cased closed is probably going to be the most rewarding. I'm still waiting to move everything en masse, but given that the Marshadow code doesn't work on either Ultra, I had to at least bring that lowly level 50 over!

Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon - Pokemon Bank [Serebii.net]

Pokemon Bank app updated to support Ultra Sun and Moon screenshot



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News:: Justice League comes in well under expectations, can't break $100 million

Well Warner Bros. and DC have got to be pretty damn nervous. Their universe expanding, all-in, reverse-the-course, team up film, Justice League, performed well under expectations pulling in $96 million over the opening weekend. In many respects that's a perfectly good box office, but it's also the lowest grossing DCEU film, losing out to BvS's $166 million and Suicide Squad's mammoth $133 million. Another interesting comparison is that Justice League, film with some of the most iconic heroes in existence all together, only beat out Doctor Strange, a movie featuring a relatively little known hero, by only 13 percent.

$96 million is drastically disappointing (overseas take was good, but again below expectations), but now we know that there is a point where crummy movies will make people stop going to comic book movies. The sad thing is that Justice League was easily better than any other DCEU aside from Wonder Woman. This obviously doesn't spell the end for the DCEU -- they've got nine films in the tubes between now and 2020 -- but WB now knows that fans will make them pay for poor quality.

Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that that's the case. No offense to all us nerds, but we kind of suck at rejecting things with our wallets when it involves things we love. But way to go. This is a pretty clear message to WB that we want better films, and they better deliver or they're going to see even worse returns. 

Justice League comes in well under expectations, can't break $100 million screenshot

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News:: New Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition trailer features new abilities and more

Capcom have released a new trailer for the revamped version of their divisive fighting game, Street Fighter V. The new iteration, Arcade Edition, launches in January and will feature new moves, mechanics and abilities.

As seen in the trailer below, characters will be given new V-Trigger skills to select, affording some new abilities, such as a low hook for Birdie, and the return of the Psycho Crusher for yer boy Bison. Also glimpsed is the new "Combo Extender" mechanic, which appears to be some form of cancel, allowing new links that were unavailable to the roster of scrappers before.

One of SFV's biggest issues, without a doubt, is its lack of inventiveness. The best Ryu in the world plays more or less identically to that great Ryu player you know down the street. This was a possible concern raised by pro-players even before launch, and turned out to be true within mere months of release. Hopefully a choice of V-triggers, as well as a whole new cancelling system, will rejuvenate Capcom's flagship fighter and give it the player inventiveness it has been sorely missing.

Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition launches January 16, 2018.

New Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition trailer features new abilities and more screenshot

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