News:: Despite the Vita's failure in the west, Sony CEO hints they could return to the portable game

It's an interesting time for Sony. The PS4 is sitting at the top of the totem pole, encroaching 80 million in hardware sales. It's already broken into the top 10 all-time best selling console list, and is poised to break the Xbox 360's 84 million mark to enter the number six slot, in an attempt to overtake the Wii's 101 million mark. It did all this while introducing the most affordable form of mainstream VR to the market.

The Vita, however, isn't doing nearly as well. It's basically bombed in the west, and Sony is even pulling support for all physical cartridges within a year outside of Japan. Yet, John Kodera, CEO of Sony, told Bloomberg that everyone shouldn't count them out of the portable game, even in the near future.

Kodera notes, "In my opinion, rather than separating portable gaming from consoles, it’s necessary to continue thinking of [portable gaming] as one method to deliver more gaming experiences and exploring what our customers want from portable. We want to think about many options."

It's entirely possible that a traditional PS5 was in the works, but with the worldwide success of the Switch, companies are rethinking their strategy. If Nintendo's whole idea of "multiple hardware units per household" takes off, platform holders will see dollar signs that surpass the traditional one console model.

Sony's New PlayStation Chief Hints at Portable Gaming Revival [Bloomberg]

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/despite-the-vita-s-failure-in-the-west-sony-ceo-hints-they-could-return-to-the-portable-game-504429.phtml

News:: Ubisoft announce details and games scheduled for their E3 appearance

Ubisoft have issued a press release containing the details pertaining to their upcoming press conference, to be held at E3 2018 next month.

The live conference will take place on Monday, June 11 at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. A pre-show is scheduled for 12:15 PT, with the main show expected to start at 13:00 PT / 16:00 ET / 21:00 CET, followed by a short round-up show afterwards.

At E3, Ubisoft will have new details and content to show for Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Beyond Good and Evil 2, For Honor, Skull & Bones, Starlink: Battle for Atlas and Transference. The major league publisher also says there are some "surprises" in store.

"Video games are playing a bigger role in the future of entertainment and in people's lives, which is why I’m always excited to see the innovations and games from around the industry showcased at E3," said Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot. "Our talented teams can't wait to show off what they're creating, and to share how we're partnering with players to develop diverse experiences that are enriching and, most importantly, fun.”

E3 2018 takes place at the L.A. Convention Center between June 12-14.

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/ubisoft-announce-details-and-games-scheduled-for-their-e3-appearance-504474.phtml

News:: Nintendo Download: Ikaruga

While this week should have hosted PixelJunk Monsters 2 and Dark Souls on Switch, both have been pushed back (slightly and greatly respectively). Still, we're getting some pretty good additions to the eShop coming up!

The Switch is getting Street Fighter: 30th Anniversary on May 29, as well as Ikaruga on that same date. It's also hosting Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, 6180 the moon, NeoGeo Top Player's Golf, Arcade Archives Ikki, Atomine, Baobabs Mausoleum, Dead Fun Pack: Penguins and Aliens Striker Again, Die for Valhalla, Discovery, Dungeon Rushers, Escape Game: Aloha, Fallen Legion: Rise to Glory, Harvest Moon: Light of Hope Special Edition, Jumping Joe & Friends, Jurassic Pinball, Knights of Pen and Paper, Legend of Kay Anniversary, Mecha Storm, N++, Punch Club, Yoku's Island Express, and Zen Bound 2. Yowza that's a mouth full.

The 3DS is no slouch either with Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers, and the Wii U has one game this week -- Cycle of Eternity: Space Anomaly.

Read more...

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/nintendo-download-ikaruga-504416.phtml

News:: Super Neptunia RPG reveals some fun new characters

Compile Heart have updated the Japanese website for Brave Neptune, recently re-named Super Neptunia RPG - giving us a look at three of the new characters joining our regular gals for a jaunt through Gameindustri.

Part of the so-called "Three Musketeers of Silkworm" (Nah, me neither) the site update features profiles for Kukei Tobihachi, Mai Kamimura and Surara Izuda. Kukei is a classy-looking lady with a penchant for video game music, Steampunk goth Mai is the manager of the "Trial Grounds" and is feared by the people for her irrational behaviour. Rounding out the trio is engineering wiz Surara, who is rarely seen unaccompanied by her mech pal, Caramel Man.

As for what role these girls will play when they come face-to-face with Nep, Noire, Blanc and Vert remains to be seen. Neptunia games past often had characters with fragile loyalties, so perhaps these will be enemies-turned-friends, or maybe they will do all they can to stand in our intrepid heroes' path.

We will find out later in 2018 when Super Neptunia RPG lands on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Read more...

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/super-neptunia-rpg-reveals-some-fun-new-characters-504404.phtml

News:: Xenoblade Chronicles 2's next update brings Season Pass quests into the fray

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is so packed and lengthy that it doesn't really need ancillary DLC quests, but if you got the Season Pass you're in luck tomorrow. Update 1.41 is bringing in five new missions with sprinkled availability from Chapter 3 all the way up to 10, one of which even requires the completion of previous expansion past quests.

All of this is amidst free updates that have added new quality of life features to the game -- in other words, Monolith Soft has been working overtime since Xenoblade Chronicles 2 first launched in December. This level of support for a single-player JRPG has been nothing less than impressive.

The main DLC event is yet to come, but we have a line on what it is if you want to read this spoiler-heavy post. As for tomorrow's update you can get the full rundown of quest names and requirements below.

Xenoblade [Nintendo via Siliconera]

Read more...

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/xenoblade-chronicles-2-s-next-update-brings-season-pass-quests-into-the-fray-504420.phtml

News:: New SNK Heroines trailer showcases customisation and Love Heart's moustache

SNK have dropped a new Japanese trailer for their upcoming all-girl fighting title SNK Heorines: Tag Team Frenzy, which is headed to PS4 and Nintendo Switch later this year.

The video focuses on the game's customisation mechanic, in which players can apply certain gear, taunts and costumes to their rumble ladies to give them added advantage in battle. We also get to see brief clips of the sky buccaneer, Love Heart, who has recently been added to the game's roster.

I'm looking forward to checking this out, having been a dedicated SNK fan for some decades, but I am disappointed that the game appears to be playing it safe with its KoF-based roster, which thus far excludes characters from SNK classics such as Metal Slug and Last Blade. There's still plenty of time to go before launch though, so fingers crossed.

SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy launches September 7 on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. An arcade version of the game is also in production.

Read more...

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/new-snk-heroines-trailer-showcases-customisation-and-love-heart-s-moustache-504407.phtml

News:: We Happy Few refused classification in Australia, developer 'looking into it'

It's fascinating that a government's intervention can have all sorts of repurcussions for a game that's already been publicly known for three years, has been Kickstarted, in Early Access, and was all set to go, but here we are.

As a result of Australia refusing to classify We Happy Few, and this banning its sale in the region, develper Compulsion Games is scrambling to respond. They've noted that they're "looking into  it" and are appealing the decision, but in the meantime in addition to "sharing frustration," the company is also looking into the whole refund thing -- especially for Kickstarter backers.

Compulsion notes that if Australia doesn't back down that they'll "make sure" the impacted folks get a refund, and will work with backers to "figure something out." In this globalized era where someone can spoof regional locations and easily buy media anywhere in the world, it's so weird to see something effectively banned like this -- almost like it's out of a dystopian work of fiction.

We Happy Few in Australia [Compulsion Games]

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/we-happy-few-refused-classification-in-australia-developer-looking-into-it--504422.phtml

News:: 'Runescape Classic' will shut down after almost two decades

One year after revealing plans to port both RuneScape and Old School Runescape to mobile and tablet, developer Jagex has announced that the original RuneScape's PC servers will be going offline permanently. To be clear, that's Runescape Classic -- the 2001 game -- so Old School Runescape servers remain unaffected.

Via: PC Gamer

Source: Jagex

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/05/24/runescape-classic-shut-down-almost-two-decades/

News:: Valkyria Chronicles 4 gets new trailer and 'Memoirs from Battle' Premium Edition

Sega have revealed some new details on the Western release of the anime warfare title Valkyria Chronicles 4, which launches in North America and Europe later this year.

A new trailer, which you can check out below, introduces you to the members of Squad E (although I feel like I've met them about thirty times already). Lead by tactician Claude Wallace, and backed up by a brave platoon of medics, snipers, technicians and even a doge in a jaunty hat, Squad E are read to take the fight to front line of the Imperial Alliance.

Read more...

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/valkyria-chronicles-4-gets-new-trailer-and-memoirs-from-battle-premium-edition-504401.phtml

News:: Mega Man X is getting new armor for the X Legacy Collections

A lot of things seem to be going right for the Mega Man X Legacy Collection. The first pack especially contains some of the most incredible platformers of all time (X1-X4), and we've learned that the packs are coming with a gametype unique to the re-releases -- X Challenge.

This mode will pit Mega Man X against enemies from various points in the subseries' history, and mishmashes several games together. Earlier this week it came to light that it will have a story mode of some kind, and thanks to Famitsu a few more details are now known.

Evidently the rumored new armor type is confirmed, as X will don a new white/blue variant armor based on the Ultimate Armor that debuted in X4. You can also choose up to three special weapons to bring along when you start the challenge (of nine), which range from X1-X6. This all but confirms that X7 and above will not be included in the set of challenges, both in terms of weaponry and bosses.

It'll also sport 27 stages, difficulty levels (yes!), and different bosses depending on which volume you're playing (1 or 2), as well as online leaderboards. Yep, this is pretty much a hardcore Mega Man fan's dream.

Mega Man X [Famitsu via Rockman Corner]

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/mega-man-x-is-getting-new-armor-for-the-x-legacy-collections-504415.phtml

News:: One spoiler-free tip for Detroit: Become Human - back out into the main menu every so often

There isn't a lot I can say about Detroit: Become Human before it launches, but there is one thing that you'll immediately see after booting up the game that's worth talking about. Without spoiling anything, the main menu operates as a sort of meta-narrative, occasionally commenting on your choices as well as offering up questions of its own.

Most notably you can take a short survey pertaining to your own views on artificial lifeforms, which in turn showcases answer percentages from players. The game saves frequently so you can back out into this menu after every chapter if you felt like it, and the only downside is waiting roughly a minute or so for the next portion to reload.

If you plan on picking up Detroit this weekend remember to quit back to the main menu at least once!

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/one-spoiler-free-tip-for-detroit-become-human-back-out-into-the-main-menu-every-so-often-504180.phtml

News:: PS4 exclusive 'Detroit' is a flawed depiction of race in America

Detroit: Become Human begins with a warning: "This is not a story, this is our future." Writer-director David Cage's follow-up to Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls weaves a tale about robots attempting to transcend their programming. But rather being a thoughtful, philosophical examination of consciousness, Detroit, instead, is a tone-deaf look at race.

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/05/24/detroit-become-human-ps4-review/

News:: Review: Detroit: Become Human

Sony seems to have a thing for storybook adventure games. They hosted Until Dawn in 2015, and have been steadily supporting Quantic Dream for the past eight years with PlayStation exclusivity for Heavy Rain and Beyond: Two Souls.

Like everything Quantic Dream has ever made, that latter pair was met with a polarizing response, and Detroit: Become Human is poised to be more of the same.

Read more...

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/review-detroit-become-human-502748.phtml

News:: The Morning After: Sony looks beyond the PS4

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Morning there! The end of the PS4 has been greatly exaggerated, but Sony is already planning for it. Don't expect to see the PS5, however, until after 2020. Meanwhile, Apple is offering a tidy $50 of credit for people who replaced their iPhone batteries, and we get all the details on Battlefield V.

It's not all good news, however. The Morning After -- in its email form -- is taking a hiatus for a few weeks. We'll be making sure everything works like it should and upgrading parts in the process, so there's certainly something to look forward to. Our pre-coffee briefings will continue to go out daily, so we'd advise bookmarking this link to ensure you're up to date each morning. When our newsletter is once again ready for your inbox, we'll let you know!

via Engadget RSS Feedhttps://www.engadget.com/2018/05/24/the-morning-after-sony-looks-beyond-the-ps4/

News:: Get the lowdown on Moonlighter's money-making mechanics

Although it's not out for another week, there's no harm in preparing for Moonlighter's twist on adventuring. The shopkeeping sim meets dungeon crawler mash-up has a lot going for it, and would-be fantasy capitalists would be wise to learn a thing or two about the game's mechanics before diving into the game.

The above video dishes out 11 digestible factoids about Moonlighter's world, economic system, and nightly dungeon dives among others. Despite its charming art style and randomized elements, it seems as though a series of surprisingly deep systems drive Moonlighter. 

Armed with knowledge gleaned from the video, there's little doubt that players can run a profitable shop when Moonlighter drops on May 29.

via destructoid https://www.destructoid.com/get-the-lowdown-on-moonlighter-s-money-making-mechanics-504311.phtml