The number of WWE PPVs has slowly increased each year. The first WrestleMania in 1985 was industry-defining. By 1987, WWE had four regular PPVs: Wrestlemania, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Summerslam. In 1993, WWE added King of the Ring, for a total of five regular PPVs. It wasn't until 1995 that the company added the In Your House PPVs, which resulted in one PPV event per month. Originally, WWE planned these PPVs as minor events: they would last only two hours, and they would cost less for fans to purchase them. But in the end, they too ran three hours in length.
Now, fast forward to today. How many hours of content does a WWE fan consume in an average year?
WWE hosted 20 PPVs in 2017, not including special tournaments like the Mae Young Classic and the United Kingdom Tournament. WWE scheduled 19 PPVs for 2018.
These shows average three hours in length, not including the pre-show which has up to three "dark" matches. There are single-branded PPVs that are exclusively Raw or exclusively SmackDown (though they may soon become cross-brand, if the rumors are true), in addition to the "big" events like WrestleMania, which feature both rosters. Including their overlapped, joint events, Raw will host ten PPVs in 2018. SmackDown will host nine PPVs.
Then, there's the weekly shows: Raw (three hours), SmackDown (two hours), NXT (one hour), 205 Live (one hour), NXT (one hour), and Main Event (one hour). That's eight hours of in-ring content per week--over 30 hours of new content in an average month. Perhaps--and I'm only half-joking--this is the reason why WWE fans are so loyal. They simply don't have the time to follow anything else.
Usually, when critics discuss the sheer volume of WWE content, they focus on fan burnout and fatigue. That's valid: entire matches can take on a rehearsed sameness. There's only so many times you can watch two competitors do their run the ropes / shoulder tackle / dropdown / leapfrog / hip toss spot before it becomes tiresome. The matches become less about who wins and who loses, and more about how well the wrestlers execute their movies and sell their opponents'.
But there's another, greater concern with having this many PPVs in a year. The wrestlers cannot tell effective stories--nevermind narrative arcs--in such narrow time frames.
Let's use a practical example to illustrate this point. WWE Payback, a Smackdown exclusive PPV, is on May 27. WWE Money in the Bank, a joint PPV, is on June 17. SmackDown has three weeks between these two PPVs--six hours of weekly television, with commercials--to advance its storylines and sell Money in the Bank to potential subscribers. Meanwhile, SummerSlam is in August.
Imagine you're on WWE Creative, and there are four weeks until Payback. It's more pressing to book and sell the minor, tangible PPV in less than a month than worry about the major, intangible PPV that's three months away. But when Payback is over, what do the writers do for a follow-up act--especially if they already booked their must-see match at Payback, and they only have three weeks to create something new? They could use the SummerSlam storylines to bolster Money in the Bank; but if they do that, then what happens at SummerSlam? Do they cannibalize the WrestleMania 35 storylines to bolster that?
The end result is that everything feels rushed because the feuds gets scrunched together like an accordion. WWE is valuing expediency over narrative build. In the old days, a feud could take months to percolate to a boil. Today, the entirety of that feud is crammed into a short, two-month window. And after that feud's over, what's next for both wrestlers? There's only so many permutations that WWE Creative can book. That's how staleness sets in--when fans have already seen it all, and the company has conditioned them to expect immediate gratification.
Sometimes, allowing conflicts to simmer is the better option. There's a great backstage story about Jim Cornette and Vince Russo, two of the main creative forces in WWE during the late '90s. Kane had just debuted at Badd Blood, where he Tombstoned the Undertaker after ripping the door off Hell in a Cell.
According to Cornette, Russo wanted to follow up immediately by having Kane put the Undertaker through a table on Raw. But Cornette pointed out that they had half a year until WrestleMania; if Kane put his brother through the announcer's table, what could they do to raise the stakes further over the next six months? So instead, WWE de-escalated the feud for the time being. Undertaker refused to fight his brother; it was only after Kane tried to burn him to death at the Royal Rumble that he acquiesced.
This was back in 1997-1998, when there were 12 PPVs per year and no split roster. Would WWE be this patient, and let a feud build for this long, in 2018? It's highly unlikely. Every week, the WWE superstars do the figurative equivalent of putting the Undertaker through the table. No plot point ever gets saved for later. And although it's easy to criticize WWE's short-term, hotshot booking, the PPV schedule leaves the writers with few other options if they want to keep their jobs.
It's too late for 2018, which has already been scheduled and set in stone. But for 2019, 15 PPV events, rather than 19 or 20, would be a marked improvement. With fewer major events each year, the remaining ones will have more prestige and importance. The writers can then focus on the bigger picture rather than hitting a series of plot points.
Sometimes--even in the pageantry-driven, excessive melodrama that is professional wrestling--less can be more.
GOG's Chinese New Year sale has now begun, offering tons of discounts on a variety of great PC games. To celebrate the start of the sale, GOG is also giving away one title completely free of charge just for visiting digital store, although you'll have to do so soon, as the offer won't be available for very long.
Right now, everyone who visits GOG can download the classic Neo Geo fighter The King of Fighters 2002 for free. The offer will expire at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET / 2 PM UTC on February 15, giving you a little over 40 hours as of this writing to grab the title while it's still available.
To claim your digital copy, simply click on the "Get for free" button near the top of GOG's homepage. You can also download the game from the King of Fighters 2002 product page here. The game is DRM-free and works with Windows, Mac, and Linux.
GOG's Chinese New Year sale ends at 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET / 11 PM UTC on February 20. Until then, players will be able to pick up a large assortment of games at some steep discounts, including The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Game of the Year Edition ($20), Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice ($21), Stardew Valley ($10), Cuphead ($17), Absolver ($15), and many others. GOG is also offering flash deals on a number of titles throughout the duration of the sale.
Some links to supporting retailers are automatically made into affiliate links, and GameSpot may receive a small share of those sales.
What are you watching on Netflix this week? If you're not sure, perhaps it's time to try something new. The streaming service as plenty of options being added this week, in case you're looking for the perfect Valentine's Day binge.
The most notable arrival is the first season of the original series Everything Sucks. The coming-of-age comedy is set in the mid-1990s and, if the trailer is any indication, is going to hit many viewers right in the nostalgia. With nods to everything from Alanis Morissette to Beavis and Butthead to dating in a pre-social media and texting world, Everything Sucks aims to capture what it was like to be a freshman in 1996. Whether it succeeds it nor is something you'll have to find out.
Other titles coming to Netflix include the movies Evan Almighty and Blood Money. Additionally, originals like Irreplaceable You, DreamWorks Dragons: Race to the Edge, and Greenhouse Academy will premiere as well.
You can take the full list of what's coming to Netflix this week below. Alternatively, you can check out the list of everything being added in February.
February 14
Greenhouse Academy: Season 2 (Netflix Original)
Love Per Square Foot (Netflix Original)
February 15
Deep Undercover Collection: Collection 2
Re:Mind: Season 1 (Netflix Original)
February 16
DreamWorks Dragons: Race to the Edge: Season 6 (Netflix Original)
Destiny 2's first Valentine's Day-themed event is officially live. Following a period of server downtime, Bungie has launched a new update that marks the start of the Crimson Days event on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Among other things, that means there are new rewards to now get your hands on.
As outlined recently, Crimson Days centers around a new 2v2 Crucible mode. You can join up solo or with a friend, but either way, you're strongly encouraged to stay physically close to your partner. Doing so causes your abilities to recharge more quickly than usual, while straying far apart will provide the enemy team with waypoints directing them to your location.
Taking part in the Crimson Days playlist is described as the "best" way to earn rewards, though it isn't the only path. Most of the new items are found in the Crimson Engram, which is guaranteed to not decrypt into any duplicates until you've gotten everything it contains. In addition to earning them through the Crucible mode, you'll receive a Crimson Engram (as well as the usual Illuminated Engram) each time you level up, provided you've hit the level cap. You'll also get one just by logging in and speaking with Tess at The Tower.
Among the items you'll find in the Crimson Engram are weapon ornaments, Sparrows, Ghosts, and shaders. There are also five other rewards that are each obtained by completing a specific objective. Here's how Bungie describes those:
Complete the milestone "Welcome to Crimson Days" by finishing five Crimson Days matches and visiting Lord Shaxx in the Tower to earn the Fire of the Crimson Days Emblem and the Tirastrella Ghost Shell.
Complete matches in the Crimson Days Crucible playlist for a chance to earn the Undeterred Exotic Sparrow.
Complete either the Leviathan Raid or the Raid Lair: Eater of Worlds to claim the Dieselpunk Exotic Ornament for Wardcliff Coil from the final chest.
Complete the Nightfall Strike during the Crimson Days event to earn the Flaunting Dance Emote.
Crimson Engrams are handed out only by playing--they can't be purchased. However, some of the included items will be sold for Bright Dust through the Eververse store. Crimson Days items you obtain can be broken down for Bright Dust, so it's possible you can recycle those into something you do want.
Additionally, this event's launch coincides with the release of update 1.1.2.1. This relatively minor update ditches throttles in Lost Sectors and makes it so that you can only open a Lost Sector chest once per boss kill.
All of this is available now and runs until the weekly reset on February 20. Beyond that, many more updates are on the way to Destiny 2, including major changes to Nightfalls.
There's a wide selection of VR headsets out on the market, which can make it difficult to parse which one is right for you with varied pricing and spec information. That's why we've compiled comprehensive lists below that break down resolution, refresh rate, and other specs across all the major VR headsets. We've separated our lists by four categories: major VR headsets, Windows Mixed Reality VR headsets, mobile VR headsets, and all-in-one mobile solutions that don't require external hardware.
Major VR Headsets
HTC Vive
HTC Vive Pro
Oculus Rift
PSVR
Pimax 8K
LG VR Headset
Resolution
2160x1200 (1080x1200 resolution per eye)
2880x1600 (1440x1600 resolution per eye)
2160x1200 (1080x1200 resolution per eye)
1920x1080
Two 3840x2160
2880x1280
Refresh rate
90Hz
90Hz
90Hz
120Hz
90Hz
90Hz
Display type
PenTile OLED
AMOLED
PenTile OLED
5.7" OLED
LCD
Convex, non-Fresnel OLED
Field of view
About 110 degrees
About 110 degrees
About 110 degrees
About 100 degrees
About 200 degrees
About 110 degrees
Tracking System
Vive Base Stations
Vive Base Stations
Constellation
PlayStation Camera
Inside-out or Vive Base Stations
Vive Base Stations
Room scale support
Yes
Yes
Requires a third sensor
No
Yes
Yes
Weight
470 grams (new model), 555 grams (old model)
TBA
470 grams
610 grams
Approximately one pound
TBD
Integrated Headphones
Only with optional Deluxe Audio Strap attachment
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
TBD
Built-in Mic
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
TBD
External camera
Yes
Yes (two)
No
No
No
TBD
Official controllers
Vive controller
Vive controller
Xbox One controller, Oculus remote, and Oculus Touch controllers
DualShock 4, PlayStation Move, Aim Controller
Vive controller, Pimax controller
TBD
Store compatibility
SteamVR, HTC Viveport
SteamVR, HTC Viveport
SteamVR, Oculus Store
PlayStation Store
SteamVR
SteamVR
Release date
April 5, 2016
TBA
March 28, 2016
October 13, 2016
Q2 2018
TBA
Launch Price
US$799/£769.99
TBA
$599.99
$399, €399, £349, A$549
$799
TBA
Current Price
$599
NA
$399
$350
NA
NA
Windows Mixed Reality Headsets
Windows Mixed Reality headsets are VR headsets specced out by Microsoft and manufactured by several PC OEMs. One major feature that distinguishes them is that they all feature external cameras that enable inside-out tracking of both the headset and controllers. This means you can get six degrees of positional movement without the use of external sensors.
Modern Android and iPhones between 4.7 and 5.5 inches
Controllers
Handheld controller
Bluetooth controller
Bluetooth wireless controllers
Store compatibility
Oculus Store, Gear VR
Google Play Store
SteamVR, Google Play, Apple Store
Release date
November 27, 2015
November 10, 2016
May 2018
Launch Price
$99.99
$79 (first gen)/$89 (second gen)
$150 (with controllers)
Current Price
$99.99
$79 (first gen)/$89 (second gen)
NA
All-in-one VR headsets
All-in-one VR headsets are mobile VR headsets that don't require a smartphone. This means they feature built-in processors, RAM, and batteries.
Oculus Go is an example of an all-in-one VR headset.
Oculus Go
Oculus Santa Cruz
Pico Neo
Lenovo Mirage Solo Daydream
Resolution
2560x1440
TBD
2880x1600 (1440x1600 resolution per eye)
2560x1440
Refresh rate
TBD
TBD
90Hz
TBD
Display type
LCD, "fast switch"
TBD
TBD
5.5-inch display
Field of view
About 110 degrees
TBD
TBD
About 110 degrees
Processor
Snapdragon 821
TBA mobile processor
Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 with 4GB of RAM
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 835 with 4GB of RAM
Built-in storage
32GB
TBD
SD card support up to 128GB
64GB + MicroSD card slot
Battery size
TBD
TBD
TBD
4,000 mAh
Tracking System
Accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer
Seven sensors + Constellation
6DoF tracking
WorldSense's inside-out positional tracking
Room scale support
No
Yes
TBD
TBD
Weight
TBD
TBD
TBD
644.1g
Integrated Headphones
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Built-in Mic
TBD
TBD
TBD
TBD
Controllers
Wireless remote
Wireless tracked controllers
6DoF wireless hand controllers
Wireless Daydream controller
Store compatibility
Oculus Store, Gear VR
Oculus Store
TBD
TBD
Release date
Early 2018
TBD
TBD
Spring 2018
Launch Price
$199
TBD
$749
TBD
Current Price
NA
NA
NA
NA
With so many VR specs to parse, we've highlighted some interesting tidbits below:
Which VR head-mounted display (HMD) has the sharpest resolution screen? Currently, the Samsung Odyssey Windows Mixed Reality headset offers the highest resolution with a 2880x1600 panel. The forthcoming HTC Vive Pro will also use the same resolution, but the Pimax 8K headset, set to release later this year, will feature two 3840x2160p panels.
Which VR headset offers the widest field-of-view? Most of the VR headsets currently out on the market feature FOVs around 100 to 110 degrees. It's difficult to pinpoint an exact degree because your FOV will vary depending how close your eyes get to the lenses. Pimax's 8K headset is advertising a 200 degree FOV when it releases.
Which headset has the highest refresh rate?PlayStation VR's panel is capable of reaching 120Hz, whereas most other VR headsets refresh at 90Hz.
Why does a high refresh rate matter for VR? While most monitors use a 60Hz refresh rate, research thus far dictates that 90Hz or higher is desired for a smooth VR experience that mitigates judder and motion sickness.
What is the difference between an OLED and LCD screen? OLED screens feature individually lit pixels, which allow them to reach deeper black levels than LCD equivalents.
Which VR headset is the lightest? If you're counting mobile VR headsets, then Google's Daydream View is currently the lightest, weighing 261 grams without a phone. On the desktop side, Acer's Windows Mixed Reality headset is the lightest at 350 grams.
Which VR headset is the heaviest? HP's Mixed Reality headset is the heaviest at 834 grams.
Which VR headset is the cheapest? The first-generation Google Daydream headset is the cheapest at $79. If you're not including mobile VR HMDs then it's Sony's PSVR at $350.
Which VR headset is the most expensive? The HTC Vive is currently the most expensive VR headset at $599.
What is room scale VR? Unlike seated or standing experiences, room scale tracking allows you to walk around your tracked physical environment, which can bolster your VR experience.
What VR headsets are capable of room scale VR? The HTC Vive was the first VR system to support room scale right out of the box right. The Oculus Rift also supports room scale, but requires the purchase of a third optional sensor. Microsoft's Windows Mixed Reality headsets support room scale. Forthcoming headsets that will support room scale include the HTC Vive Pro, Pimax, LG VR headset, and Oculus Santa Cruz.
Can the Oculus Rift play SteamVR games? Yes. Not all, but the majority of SteamVR games support the Oculus Rift.
Can the HTC Vive play games on the Oculus store? Kind of. It requires a third-party mod called Revive and the quality can vary from game to game.
What are the VR system requirements for the Oculus Rift?
NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 processor equivalent or greater
8GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2 USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer
What are the VR system requirements for the HTC Vive?
NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 processor equivalent or greater
4GB+ RAM
One HDMI 1.4 or one DisplayPort 1.2
One USB 2.0
Windows 7 SP1 or newer
What are the VR system requirements for Windows Mixed Reality headsets?
Integrated Intel® HD Graphics 620 (GT2) equivalent or greater DX12 API Capable GPU
Intel Mobile Core i5 (e.g. 7200U) Dual-Core with Hyperthreading equivalent
8GB+ Dual Channel required for integrated Graphics
HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 for 90Hz head-mounted displays
USB 3.0 Type-A or USB 3.1 Type-C Port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode
Will PlayStation VR games look or perform better with the PlayStation 4 Pro? In games that are optimized to take advantage of the PS4 Pro's extra processing power, users can experience a crisper image via supersampling, improved graphics, or sometimes both.
Before going to visit Rare, the British studio behind Xbox One's first big exclusive of the year, I wasn't really sure what you do in Sea of Thieves. It's a pirate game, sure, but what does that mean, exactly? It seems obvious now, but of course the answer is: you act like a pirate. You take on quests to retrieve loot or kill a skeleton captain and then proceed to sail a ship, look out for enemy boats, fix leaks, bail water out, position the sails, lower or raise the anchor, and shoot cannons.
As it turns out, that's all really fun. Playing in a team of four, I enjoyed swapping between those roles, communicating with my crewmates to navigate the sea or if we spotted an opposition ship in the distance. The entertainment comes from the role-playing, the coordination, and the satisfaction of knowing that skeleton captain's skull lies on the floor beneath you because your crew attacked his fortress together. You can do whatever you wish, and go in any direction you want, and it's enjoyable to see what hilarity ensues from those decisions.
For Rare, this sensation of making your own fun was very much intentional. "That happened because we give you a great degree of mechanical freedom," says Sea of Thieves' design director, Mike Chapman. "You've got a ship that's not gonna sail itself; it's just a piece of wood. You are the ship: you are a person on a ship and you must work together to sail it and then you've got these tools that you can use in different ways. Like the gunpowder kegs [which can be used to blow up enemy ships, for example], like [randomly] finding a merchant message in a bottle that leads you on a different adventure. All of these things are deliberate in terms of the freedom they give players because when you put multiple players in the same world doing the same thing, you get all these incredible scenarios."
Of course, you do have objectives to accomplish in Sea of Thieves--it's just up to you whether you actually aim for them. Sure, you can go and find that one specific pig and keep it alive on the journey back--one of the game's three existing factions will task you with retrieving rare creatures and maintaining their health for the duration of your voyage--or you can ignore any quests and just chill out. Simply sailing around the game's colorful oceans, hanging out with friends, is an equally enjoyable experience, and the world will distract you with emergent mechanics such as the aforementioned messages in bottles or public events on distant islands that draw other players to their shores.
A shared world, public events, and live content all made me, at least, recall Bungie's Destiny, which has a similar structure--the ability to jump into a squad with friends and explore a beautiful world, engaging in missions if you want to. However, while Destiny and Destiny 2 have strikes, raids, a story campaign, and a combat-focused Crucible, Sea of Thieves appears to contain no extra modes as yet. After the game's recent beta, some fans were left concerned that the final version would be too light on content to maintain any sort of significant longevity, and it's a concern I share. Specifically, I wonder whether the game's weapons and gear will offer enough depth to keep me coming back after more than a few hours. Using in-game currency, you can purchase new guns and clothing--among other items--but there are no stat advantages to be gained from buying more expensive pieces. You can obtain different types of weapon, such as the shotgun or sniper rifle, but within those categories there are no mechanical differences between the first shotgun available to you and the last. "The compass never gets more powerful," says Chapman. "A compass is just a compass. A pistol is just a pistol. You'll need to grow as a player as you face these high level challenges."
Rather than acquiring more powerful weapons and thicker armor, Rare's idea of growth is experienced players growing to know Sea of Thieves' map more closely, so they'll have the advantage over other sailors when it comes to acquiring treasure fastest and escaping unscathed. The developer intends to support the game post-launch with additional content--it even said it views Sea of Thieves as a 10-year project--though it's not sharing whether that will be in the form of distinct expansions or sequels.
Chapman did say that much of the game's live content will be for those who reach Sea of Thieves' endgame, which he calls becoming a "Pirate Legend." Becoming a Pirate Legend grants you access to an exclusive location in the world called the Tavern of Legends, the home of NPCs who will spread the word of in-game "rumors" such as any additional trading companies coming soon, or "new ways to play." Pirate Legends can also take part in exclusive missions called Legendary Voyages--the most challenging missions in the game--and choose to share those quests with their non-Legend friends, if they wish.
Interacting with friends and strangers is key to Sea of Thieves--so much so that Rare says it is constantly adjusting the size of its world to ensure you spot another ship every 15-30 mins, precisely--and doing so magnifies everything that's great about Sea of Thieves. Whoever's in the Crow's Nest tells the rest of their team they've spotted an enemy, at which point the four of you must decide whether to run or engage, which direction to steer in, who's going to shoot, and whether to board the enemy ship, as well as ascertain whether the enemy have any stealable loot, among other things. "It's a game that celebrates soft skills, how you talk together, how you relate to each other," says Chapman. "It's gonna be different based on who's playing and who's in the crew." Of course, the best moment is when you all, inevitably, fail; seeing a shipmate clinging on to a sinking ship with three human enemies attacking him is hilarious.
Interactions with other players are amazing, but I fear they may also be required for Sea of Thieves to be fun. Although I didn't get to try it, a smaller ship is available for those who prefer to play by themselves, but that's not going to help when a crew of four strangers are attacking you head on. If your friends don't buy the game, you could of course team up with random people on the internet, but relying on strangers hidden behind Gamertags rarely promises consistent fun.
Sea of Thieves makes performing each role of a pirate team so fun that it undoubtedly has the potential to become a multiplayer favorite. But given so much of its depth and base enjoyment is reliant on having a good group around you, I worry for anyone planning to set sail alone.
As it currently stands, Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch League--a hybrid of both esports/traditional sports systems--is already a solid success. With the closing of Stage 1--the first of five phases leading up to the Season 1 playoffs later this year--the London Spitfire came out on top against their current rivals in the New York Excelsior. While the end of the first part of the season is a major milestone, there's still a ways to go as we inch closer to the grand finals later this year. In the meantime, there's much room for growth and change for the League and the many teams over the next few stages.
While the League itself is has been gaining traction and found an audience of diehard fans, there's still plenty of room for improvement--which the organizers are well aware of. We had the opportunity to speak with Overwatch League commissioner Nate Nanzer during the Stage 1 finals, where he spoke about how things are progressing with Blizzard's big gamble on esports, how they plan to refine how the games are run, and how they hope to make their sport as welcoming and inclusive as Overwatch itself is.
GameSpot: Even though it's only been a few weeks for Stage 1, it already feels like Overwatch League is off to a solid start. Can you share your thoughts on how things are going so far with the League?
Nate Nanzer: Yeah, I think we're off to a good start. There's tons of things we want to continue to iterate on and improve, but right now we're just really focused on figuring out how to continue to evolve and improve the show throughout the year, and have all of that culminate in the awesome finals event. But yeah, that's the focus right now, and it's really awesome that people are happy with it. Nothing is broken, so right now we're just focusing on making it better. Our goal is to just make every stage and every season better than the last.
Esports is still in its infancy, and sort of trying to define what it is seems like a tough challenge. The sports genre is always evolving, and having this League try to define itself within the broader and evolving esports pantheon must a tough thing to get a handle of.
Yeah, that's sort of the idea here. The thing about esports, with it being this awesome and organic thing, was really hard for people to follow--like there was no one place to go to aggregate the information--so we wanted to make following the Overwatch League really easy and have a consistent schedule. It's been amazing to see all these teams play week in week out, and how the playing field has leveled. I think everyone coming into the League had certain ideas about which teams were good, and which teams were bad. And that in itself is exciting from the fan perspective.
Sports always has an underlying sense of drama to it, and you may end up finding yourself becoming attached to teams you didn't expect you would. The Shanghai Dragons in particular haven't been doing so great so far, yet I can't help myself to root for them. Especially with their recent inclusion to the roster in Geguri, who's the first female player in the League.
That's one of the things that's common in all of sports. Fandom often times is generated from familiarity with something, like your dad liking a team or being in the city where you grew up, or being a part of the same college, and we're seeing that a lot here--such as the fans that drove up here to watch the finals to support their local team. Or, and in a lot of cases, you see fandom generated from the players themselves. And also, fans tend to like rooting for the underdog--which is why there are so many people hoping to see Shanghai turn things around. It's really exciting to see how players have taken to game, the teams, and the players themselves. But all in all, it's really cool seeing a bunch of fans come together whether at watch parties or online to come out and support their local teams. It's really cool seeing how the regionality of it all is taking shape.
The game of Overwatch is something that celebrates diversity and inclusiveness, and it's what many fans find most endearing about it. Do you feel there's still room to go for the League itself, in terms of the regionality of the teams, and representation to match up with what the game is all about?
Well as of now, there's 113 players in the League currently from 19 different countries. It's an incredibly diverse league. Obviously we have players from Korea and China, but then we have players like Nomy is from Tijuana, and dhaK is from Venezuela. The League looks like what our playerbase looks like--with players from all over the world. One of the cool things about esports is that there are no physical differences between female and male players at this level, and we're going to see things change and evolve over time. As a game, and as a league, we take professionalism and being a good citizen of our community very seriously. We're not gonna solve toxicity on the internet and gender equality issues on our own, and it's a bit unreasonable that one game is going to solve all those problems, but we definitely want to make Overwatch League just as welcoming and inclusive as Overwatch the game is, and we're gonna do our best to do that.
With the League in its infancy, and there's bound to be a few missteps here and there from players and also in how its systems function. Can you speak to how the League will go about addressing upcoming changes and fixes going forward?
Well, the Overwatch League is four and a half weeks old, and I don't think we're gonna have all the answers right away, and who knows what the League will look like three, four, five, ten years from now, so what we're really focused on is just listening to all of our feedback from our players, our teams, our community--and making changes where we need to. We've already changed the order of the maps and flow our games, and we've always been iterating things, but at some point when designing a eague like this you have to put a flag in the ground and say "alright, this is what we're doing"--but I think we're gonna be very quick about something that needs fixing or needs to be addressed in a certain way, then we're not going to be precious about our original decisions. We're constantly listening to feedback from all of our stakeholders.
While opinions on the various entries in the Assassin's Creed series vary, one thing we can all agree on is that each one delivers a rich world to explore. These virtual landscapes are the product of exhaustive research and meticulous attention to detail so, for many, Assassin's Creed is as much about learning history as it is sticking bad guys with wrist blades. For Assassin's Creed Origins, Ubisoft has taken a step further into presenting the game as a learning tool.
Discovery Tour takes Origins' beautifully realised version of ancient Egypt and strips away many of the traditional gaming systems to present an experience that is entirely focused on exploration and education. Gone are the aggravated enemies and multi-part quests, instead replaced with hundreds of characters just going about their daily lives and the opportunity to gain deeper insight into the people, places, and culture of the time.
According to Ubisoft, its goal was to "make history everyone's playground ... and make ancient Egypt accessible to a broader audience." And it has done the legwork needed to realise this vision. Discovery Tour features 75 guided audio tours, making it feel like a virtual museum that players can walk around, all while having information gathered with the aid of experts delivered to them.
Players retain control of their character, which in Discovery Tour can be anyone from Bayek, protagonist of Assassin's Creed Origins, to Cleopatra or Julius Caesar, among others, so they're free to wander aimlessly and soak in the atmosphere or dip in and out of the tours as they please.
We spent some time with Discovery Tour (watch our gameplay video above) and came away thinking it's an experience that has a huge amount of potential, both as a unique way to present game worlds to people that love video games, and as a smart way to leverage the immense efforts put into creating them to reach a broader audience that may not be into games. Ubisoft told us that it has already tested Discovery Tour in classroom environments and found that it was useful in helping students learn about ancient Egypt, and this is an exciting avenue for video games to explore.
Where Ubisoft takes it from here is unclear, but we're keen to see the company head back into settings from previous games and give them the same treatment. Furthermore, we hope that other developers and publishers take note, as the idea of being completely free to explore and learn from worlds is incredibly enticing.
As previously detailed, Discovery Tour will be available on February 20 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. It is free for owners of the main game, but a standalone version will also be available on Steam and Ubisoft's UPlay service.
Alongside Discovery Tour, Assassin's Creed Origins will receive a New Game Plus mode in February. In this mode players will be able to begin start a new game while holding on to their weapons, outfits, and abilities. New Game Plus becomes available after completing the game once.
Xbox One X deals have been fairly common in the months following the console's launch, and now retailer Newegg is offering another bundle to consider if you're still in the market for Microsoft's new system. For a limited time, you can get a copy of the newly released Dynasty Warriors 9 when you purchase an Xbox One X (via Wario64).
Newegg is selling a brand-new 1 TB Xbox One X for its typical retail price of $500, and it's including a copy of Koei Tecmo's new hack-and-slash game at no additional cost. This offer will only be available through Wednesday, February 14, so you'd better act fast if you're interested in picking the bundle up. You can purchase the console here.
If Dynasty Warriors doesn't appeal to you, there's another great Xbox One X deal to consider right now. On Ebay, AntOnline is selling the Xbox One X with an extra controller for only $460. This is a particularly enticing offer if you just want the console, as an Xbox One controller on its own typically retails for $60.
If you don't care about the Xbox One X's added horsepower, Microsoft will also offer a new Xbox One S bundle later this month that includes PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. That bundle releases around the world on February 20. It also comes with one-month trials for both Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass, letting you sample a selection of games for the console.
Dynasty Warriors 9 is out now for Xbox One, as well as PS4 and PC. Unlike other installments in the series, Dynasty Warriors 9 is the first to feature an open-world setting. You can read more about the title in GameSpot's Dynasty Warriors 9 review.
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This week is home to Valentine's Day, so let New Releases suggest a few gifts for that special someone. For the history buff, you can explore China in Dynasty Warriors 9, or roam the Kingdom of Bohemia in Kingdom Come: Deliverance. For the old-school RPG fan, there's the Secret of Mana remake. You can also step into the gun-shoes of Bayonetta 1 and 2 on Nintendo Switch, or save the forest in Fe.
Dynasty Warriors 9 -- February 13
Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC
The latest entry in the long-running Dynasty Warriors saga is going open world. That means you can roam the kingdom and attack enemy garrisons at your own pace, instigating those massive battles with thousands of troops.
If you've ever wanted to play a medieval RPG without all the fictional wizards and dragons, this is it. Deliverance's goal is to deliver a historical adventure with period-accurate armor, combat, and castle designs.
The Super Nintendo classic is coming to the modern generation, with improved HD visuals. But no matter which current platform you play on, you're still in for the classic story of a heroic trio protecting the Sacred Mana tree.
Fe is the first in the EA Originals lineup, and this indie action-adventure game has a gorgeous art style. Beyond the looks, your goal is to help a little fox in getting the forest creatures to sing and protect their land from the dark Silent Ones.
Bayonetta 3 was announced for Nintendo's hybrid console, but if you missed out on the first two, here's you chance to catch up. If you've already completed the journey, it's a chance to jump back into Witch Time and throw down with another army of angels.
The first part of Monster Hunter World's Horizon: Zero Dawn crossover event is now over, meaning PS4 players can no longer get the Watcher gear set for their Palico. However, the second part of the event is on the way in a couple of weeks, and now Capcom has shared some more details to help players prepare for it.
The next Horizon-themed Event Quest is called The Proving. While we don't know exactly what the quest will entail, Capcom has revealed that it involves hunting down a giant Anjanath. You'll also need to reach Hunter Rank 11 or higher before you can accept the quest.
The Proving begins on February 28 and runs until March 5. Completing the quest will reward you with materials to craft Aloy's bow and armor, which you can take a look at above. Equipping Aloy's armor will change your appearance to look like the Horizon protagonist, regardless of your hunter's gender.
The Horizon Event Quests and gear are exclusive to the PS4 version of Monster Hunter World, but those aren't the only crossover costumes coming to the game. Capcom also revealed a pair of Street Fighter V armor that turns your hunter into Ryu and Sakura. In addition to that, players will have a chance to get retro Mega Man armor for their Palico.
The Legendary Pokemon Rayquaza may have just arrived in Pokemon Go, but another Gen 3 Legendary is on its way out very soon. The cover monster from Pokemon Sapphire, Kyogre, will disappear from the mobile game on February 14, making this your last opportunity to catch one if you still haven't.
Like most other Legendaries to appear in Pokemon Go thus far, Kyogre can only be encountered as a Raid Battle at Gyms. You'll first need to battle and defeat the Pokemon before you have an opportunity to capture it. As one of the most powerful Water-types in Pokemon Go, players will want to bring Electric- and Grass-type Pokemon such as Jolteon, Zapdos, and Exeggutor to gain the advantage over Kyogre.
Kyogre was the second Gen 3 Legendary to arrive in Pokemon Go, following Groudon, which appeared in the game from December to January. Along with Rayquaza, the three Legendaries make up what is informally known as the "weather trio." Rayquaza will be available as a Raid Battle until March 16.
Alongside Rayquaza, Pokemon Go developer Niantic recently introduced another wave of Gen 3 Pokemon to the mobile game, which consists primarily of Flying- and Dragon-types, such as Salamence, Altaria, and Tropius. With this most recent batch, more than 100 Gen 3 Pokemon have now been added to Pokemon Go. To celebrate this milestone, every wild Pokemon that players encounter until February 3 will originate from the Hoenn region.
Pokemon Go's next Community Day takes place later this month, on February 24. Like last month's event, which featured a Pikachu that can use Surf, the upcoming Community Day will give players a short window of opportunity to capture a rare Pokemon with a special move. Niantic hasn't revealed which move that will be yet, but the Pokemon in question is the Dragon-type Dratini.
If you've yet to pick up Blizzard's popular hero shooter Overwatch, you'll soon have another chance to try it out free of charge. Beginning Friday, February 16, Blizzard will hold a free weekend for the game on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
The free trial kicks off at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET and will feature all of Overwatch's 26 heroes and 16 maps. Players will also be able to try "a variety of modes" during the free weekend, including Quick Play, Custom Games, and Arcade. Additionally, players can level up, earn loot boxes, and unlock cosmetic items for the duration of the event.
The free weekend concludes at 11:59 PM PT on February 19. Those who decide to purchase the game after the trial period will retain any progress they made over the weekend; however, players will need to use the same Blizzard, PSN, or Xbox Live account that they used during the trial period to carry their progress over. You can find more details about the upcoming free weekend on the official Overwatch website.
Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon launched for 3DS back in November, marking the mainline series' swan song on Nintendo's dual-screen handheld. As it did for the original Sun and Moon versions, The Pokemon Company is continuing to support the pair in the months following their release with free items and Pokemon. The company has a lot of giveaways lined up for 2018, which it has dubbed the Year of Legendary Pokemon, though those certainly won't be the only freebies players can expect to find this year.
We've rounded up all of the free distributions currently running for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon below, many of which are also open to Sun and Moon players. We'll be updating this list as more giveaways are announced, so check back often to see what free items and Pokemon you can get. In the meantime, you can learn more about the latest Pokemon games in our rundown of everything new in Pokemon Ultra Sun And Ultra Moon. We also break down the differences between Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, if you're still unsure of which version to pick up.
Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon Free Gifts
Dialga/Palkia -- Feb. 2-28
Kicking off the Year of Legendary Pokemon are the Space and Time Pokemon, Palkia and Dialga. The two are being distributed in the US at GameStop from February 2-28, while UK residents can pick them up from participating Game stores. The Legendary you receive will depend on which version you have: players with either Sun or Ultra Sun receive Palkia, while those playing either Moon or Ultra Moon get Dialga. You'll need to redeem your download code by May 23 to claim the Legendaries.
Magearna
Unlike most other gift Pokemon, the Mythical Steel/Fairy-type, Magearna, is not available through the Mystery Gift feature, but via a QR code, which is compatible with Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon. After defeating the Elite Four and completing the main story, you can use the QR Scanner to scan the code below. Once you've done that, visit the Antiques shop in Hau'oli City and pick your Magearna up from the deliveryman waiting there.
Celebi -- Ends Sep. 21
Players who purchase either Pokemon Gold or Silver from the 3DS Eshop by September 21, 2018 will receive a bonus download code for the Mythical Pokemon Celebi. The code can be redeemed in Pokemon Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, or Ultra Moon. We've outlined the steps you need to take to find and redeem the code here.
If you're a fan of the SMG in Fortnite's Battle Royale mode, you should get some time in with the game now. Epic Games plans to at least temporarily remove it from the popular online shooter on PC, PS4, and Xbox One, although some variants of it will remain usable for the time being.
As part of its recent development update, Epic shared some plans it has for the game, including a 60 FPS mode on consoles and the introduction of new items. It also noted that a specific gun--the SMG--will be put into the "Vault." The developer has since expanded on what this means exactly.
Effectively, the SMG will be gone completely from the game, though it will return in the future. "As we add more weapons, consumables, and other item types, we want to make sure that the balance of itemization isn't ruined," an Epic representative wrote on Reddit. "Expect more items to be released (and likewise vaulted!) in the future. And of course, items will often come back out of the Vault when the timing is right."
It's important to note that this change specifically involves the basic SMG; another post from Epic on Reddit confirmed, "Tactical SMG and the Suppressed SMG will still drop." Unfortunately there's no indication provided of just how long a stay in the Vault may last, be it days, weeks, or months.
Fortnite's new update just added a weapon type in the Crossbow, which is silent and features unlimited ammo. New weapons and consumables are also in the works, Epic confirmed in its development update, though it also teased, "Additionally, we're looking to add different types of items down the road (beyond just weapons and consumables) that will allow for exciting new ways to play."
Beyond that, Epic also has plans for many new Limited-Time Modes. Among those on the way in the near future are a modified version of 50v50, Blitz (where matches are shorter), and one where there is less time between circles. The studio is also listening to feedback regarding proposed changes to Fortnite's matchmaking.
For those who fantasize about becoming a professional athlete, sports video games provide the closest route to ever realizing that dream. As a result, the ability to accurately create yourself in-game just as you wish is always a key feature. For this year's new PS4 entry of MLB The Show 18, much of Sony's focus on create-a-player has involved a particular aspect of the create-a-player feature.
As showcased in the video above, MLB 18 introduces a batting stance creator. This provides you with a great deal of control over exactly how your player looks while at the plate. You can move the exact positioning of your hands on three different axes in addition to tweaking the rotation of your hands, the position of each elbow, how much your knees and hips are bent, where your feet are placed, and the amount of waggling your hands do. Based on what Sony showed us, this allows for a wide range of possibilities, including some extremely goofy-looking stances, though it stops short of letting you cause the bat to go through your head or body.
Later in the video, there's a look at some of the other customization options that should also help in your pursuit to create exactly the player you have in mind. Two areas that Sony highlighted specifically involve skin tones and the color density of hair. It also addressed a frequent fan request in adding dreadlocks as a hair style.
Sony just recently began to share what fans can expect from this year's MLB game. We learned that the tagging system has been completely reworked, and catchers should now more appropriately react to passed balls, among other things. The Yankees' Aaron Judge is on the cover of MLB 18, which releases on March 27. Pre-ordering the game gets you early access that begins on March 23.
As is to be expected, given how different Deadpool is from the average superhero movie, the marketing campaign for Deadpool 2 has been quite quirky. That's continued today, with star Ryan Reynolds celebrating the birthday of co-star Josh Brolin.
Brolin is set to play Cable in the upcoming sequel to Deadpool. February 12 marks his 50th birthday, and in heartwarming fashion, Reynolds has commemorated the occasion with a picture he shared on social media. It shows Cable posing for Deadpool, who's meant to be painting a photo of the villain. Instead, he's painting Brolin's character from The Goonies, Brand.
Amazingly, this is not even the first reference to the 33-year-old The Goonies that we've seen from the promotion for the upcoming movie. A new Deadpool 2 trailer introducing Cable featured a moment where Deadpool is wearing a shirt much like the one worn by another character from The Goonies, Jeff Cohen's Chunk.
This follows a new Deadpool 2 poster released recently which contained an obvious reference to another '80s film, Flashdance. These are just some of the promotional materials being launched in the lead-up to the release of the new Deadpool, which is due out on May 18. In the meantime, we've got a full breakdown of the recent Deadpool 2 Cable trailer and an in-depth recap answering just who Cable is.
Since the short-lived 50v50 mode it introduced back in December, Fortnite developer Epic has been regularly holding limited-time events for the game's free Battle Royale mode, and even more are on the way in the near future. In an update on its official website, Epic gave players a peek at some of the limited-time modes it plans to hold for Battle Royale soon, including the return of the 50v50 event.
According to Epic, approximately five limited-time modes will run in Fortnite: Battle Royale "in the next month or so." The developer hasn't detailed which of the events will be held first, nor has it provided a time table for when they'll roll out, but one of the modes players can expect to play is another 50v50 event. Unlike the previous version, Epic says this one will be "closer to the 50v50 trailer experience," with more supply drops and a bus for each team.
In addition to that, Epic plans to hold a limited-time Blitz Mode in Battle Royale, which will feature shorter matches than usual. Epic also says it will introduce modes that feature team sizes in between 50v50 and squads (which features four-player groups). You can read more about some of Fortnite: Battle Royale's upcoming limited-time modes on Epic's website.
On top of the new limited-time modes, Epic has also teased some new items that are coming to Battle Royale. These include a Glider modeled after a Chinese dragon, a spacesuit outfit, and a Llama Unicorn Pickaxe. Epic hasn't announced when the items will be available in Battle Royale, but it has shared concept art for them, which you can take a look at above.
This month's free PS Plus games are now available, but those aren't the only freebies Plus subscribers can get right now. Those who claimed the 2D shoot-'em-up Mercenary Kings when it was free on PS Plus can now upgrade to the game's Reloaded Edition for no cost.
Mercenary Kings originally launched for PlayStation 4 back in 2014 and was part of the PlayStation Plus Instant Game Collection, allowing PS Plus subscribers to download the title for free immediately on its release. The Reloaded Edition arrived earlier this month and introduced two additional characters, new guns and knives to craft, and an assortment of gameplay improvements.
If you downloaded Mercenary Kings when it was first available on PS Plus, you can snag the free upgrade here. The Reloaded Edition also supports Cross-Buy and comes with a version for Vita. You can learn more about the Metal Slug-inspired shooter in our original Mercenary Kings review.
We're still coming to grips with how Monster Hunter World will engage players long-term with its endgame. New monsters to fight and new video game-themed gear are on the way, but in the meantime, Capcom will provide a regular supply of new limited-time quests and bounties to keep players busy. Here's what's new this week on PS4 and Xbox One.
In terms of event quests, the next batch of three have rotated into the game and will be available until February 15. All of them involve hunting multiple monsters, but the first two are five-star quests that can be taken on starting at Hunter Rank 8. Kirin the Myth, as the name suggests, involves slaying two Kirin in Coral Highlands; there is a faint limit of three, a 50-minute time limit, and a reward of 14,400 Zenny. Wicked Wildspire Warfare has the same failure conditions but a reward of 9,360 Zenny (plus some Armor Spheres). You'll have to hunt two Barroths and a Diablos to emerge victorious.
Those looking for a higher-end challenge can take on the Triple Threat Throwdown event quest. This is a Special Arena mission where you'll have to hunt a Great Girros, Great Jagras, and Dodogama. You again have 50 minutes to complete this and will fail after three faints, and you'll need to reach HR 13 in order to take this on. The reward is 14,040 Zenny in addition to unspecified decorations.
Also new are the latest set of Limited Bounties. If you're unfamiliar with these, they're bounties which are automatically assigned to you from the Resource Center and provide specific challenges to complete during the week. (The exact timing for the reset seems to differ between Xbox One on Thursday and PS4 on Friday, US time.) All three Limited Bounties are Ecology Surveys that call for you to hunt specific monsters (or categories of monsters). You'll have to hunt three Great Girros, four Rathalos, and five Elder Dragons. Completing each of these objectives rewards you with some combination of Research Points, Armor Spheres, and trade-in items, and completing all three nets you an additional reward. Here's exactly what's on tap:
Ecology Survey: Hunt Great Girros
350 Research Points
2 Armor Sphere+
1 First Wyverian Print
Ecology Survey: Hunt Rathalos
450 Research Points
4x Armor Sphere+
1x Steel Wyverian Print
Ecology Survey: Slay Elder Dragon (high rank)
600 Research Points
4x Hard Armor Sphere
1x Silver Wyverian Print
General: Limited Bounty
500 Research Points
1x Gold Wyverian Print
1x Golden Egg
Finally, there's a limited-time mission--Challenge Quest 1: Beginner--which you can access from the Arena Counter in the Gathering Hub once you hit HR 2. You'll have to slay a Kulu-Ya-Ku and Pukei-Pukei with one of a handful of weapons, with the goal being to finish as quickly as possible. The faint limit is nine, and the reward is 1,080 Zenny.
Also of note right now is a new update that's been released on both platforms. It makes some balance changes to Bowguns, resolves Squad issues on PS4, and addresses various other issues. That includes fixing an issue that prevented some players from accessing the free 5 Million Celebration Item Pack; as a result, its availability has been extended through February 22. There's also a new pack now available to celebrate the game's 6 million milestone; you can grab both by playing online and claiming your Daily Login Bonus.
Capcom has announced that the next DLC character for Street Fighter 5 is Blanka and he'll be available from February 20. A new trailer for the character provides us with a showcase of the latest iteration of the beast, whose visual design looks mostly the same, other than some longer arm and leg hair.
"In SFV: AE, Blanka is living peacefully with his mother, and has adapted well to being introduced back into society," Capcom explains on its website. "One day, a suspicious salesman approaches him and offers a way to make Blanka famous by mass producing a doll made in Blanka's likeness. Will it work? Find out in his character story mode."
Click image to view in full screen
He's also as savage as ever in battle, biting, head butting, clawing at enemies. His Coward Crouch ability is now his V-Skill and, according to Capcom, can be used to "avoid many attacks, including fireballs." After the Coward Crouch, Blanka can execute either Wild Lift with a punch button or Raid Jump with a kick button. The former will move Blanka forward while attacking to launch the opponent into the air. The latter, meanwhile, allows Blanka to leap into the air "where he can use any mid-air attack to advance."
His V-Trigger I is called Jungle Dynamo and is a roll attack that does more damage can then be followed up by additional attacks, including the Critical Art. Additionally, Jungle DynamoIt "powers up his Electric Thunder and changes the animation so Blanka steps forward while unleashing the electric current." If it hits, the enemy is popped into the air and can be hit with a Blanka ball.
His V-Trigger II is Lightning Beast, which "unlocks a special move, Rolling Cannon (Direction + HP+HK), which can be performed after using Rolling Attack, Back Step Rolling, and Vertical Rolling." This new move can extend combos or move Blanka into more advantageous positions. Finally, his Dynamic Rolling Critical Art combines electricity with rolling for devastating results. Check him out in the video above.
Blanka is available for $6/£6 or 100,000 Fight Money. For those who have the Season 3 Character Pass he's available at no additional cost. The pass also includes Sakura (available now), Falke, Cody, G, and Sagat, who will become available at a later date. If you purchase Blanka is purchased as part of the Season 3 Character Pass or with real money, his Battle Costume with colors 3-10 and default costume colors 3-10 are also included.
Square Enix has released new screenshots for Kingdom Hearts 3, showing off more of the gameplay from its upcoming action RPG, as well as the new characters and worlds it revealed recently. During the D23 event held on February 12, a new trailer confirmed there will be a Monsters Inc. world in Kingdom Hearts, complete with Mike, Sully, and Boo making an appearance. The new screenshots below feature these iconic characters, in addition to monster versions of Sora, Donald, and Goofy.
Click image to view in full screen
There's also another look at The Little Mermaid's Ariel, who looks to appear in the game as a summon. Traditionally, summon characters can be called into battle to lend a hand, similar to the way they're used in Final Fantasy. The screenshots also include scenes from the Tangled world, where Sora, Donald, and Goofy team up with Rapunzel. If you'd like to see all this in motion, instead of static screenshots, you can watch the latest Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer at the top of the page.
During D23 Square Enix said development of Kingdom Hearts is split into three sections: early, middle, and late. The early phase worlds are around 90 percent complete, while middle section worlds are at roughly 60 percent done. The company didn't confirm what stage the end section is at, but Tetsuya Nomura, director of the series, said it was "something he's always wanted to do and put into Kingdom Hearts, ever since the days of working on Final Fantasy."
Although it is expected to launch in 2018, Kingdom Hearts 3's release date hasn't been confirmed yet. Nomura--who is also working directing the Final Fantasy VII Remake--explained the extremely long wait last year, saying there were numerous factors, including a change in engines. As for directing the two games at once, he actually thinks it's proven advantageous for him.
Click image to view in full screen
For fans of the music in the Kingdom Hearts series, Square Enix confirmed that Utada Hikaru will be returning for the third game's theme song, which is called "Don't Think Twice." You can hear the song in this second new Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer released at D23.
After a strong 2017 with prequel title Yakuza 0 and Yakuza: Kiwami, Sega is continuing Kazuma Kiryu's journey through the Japanese underworld in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life this year. The game picks up some time after the events of Yakuza 5, with Kiryu returning to the Sunflower Orphanage to find Haruka is missing. Naturally, Kiryu takes it upon himself to solve the mystery of her disappearance, which inevitably embroils him in Yakuza politics once again.
We recently got to spend some hands-on time with Yakuza 6 and have put together a video of the first 30 minutes of gameplay for you to watch. It must be clarified that this isn't actually the opening of the game, as much of that is spent recounting the events of previous titles and catching players up on the various characters that have been involved in Kiryu's journey so far. This is instead the first significant chunk of gameplay that becomes available to the player.
As you'll be able to tell, it's a familiar setup to previous titles in the series, with players exploring a large, detailed depiction of Kamurocho to find missions, fight gangs of no-goodniks, engage in weird but entertaining side stories, and pump hours into activities such as bowling and karaoke. In the video, we get a decent look at a small slice of the game, mainly focused on combat and exploration, as well as an introduction to the main antagonists.
Early impressions are good, Kamurocho looks better than ever, there's a greater amount of voiced dialogue, and the game is overflowing with that eccentric Yakuza charm that fans love. Combat has also been streamlined to place less of an emphasis on switching styles, but still feels rewarding and, most importantly, brutal.
Sea of Thieves is often bandied about as an exclusive to Xbox One, but it's only a console exclusive; the seafaring pirate game is also coming to PC. Following earlier technical tests, official system requirements and recommended specs have been shared, and they truly run the gamut.
Microsoft and developer Rare have shared a wide range of possible specs for running Sea of Thieves on PC. What it describes as the minimum requirements involve running the game at 720p and 30 FPS. Doing so requires an Intel Q9450 or AMD Phenom II X6 and 4 GB of RAM. It also divides up the suggested video cards into "GPU" and "modern GPU" categories; the former calls for a 1 GB GTX 650 or AMD Radeon 7750, while the "modern" cards start with a GTX 1030 or R7 450. Unusually, we also get a hard drive speed suggestion too; you'll need 60 GB free on a 5,400 RPM drive.
From there, the specs scale up to the recommended level of 1080p and 60 FPS, which requires an i5 4960 or FX 8150, 8 GB of RAM, and a GTX 1060 or RX 470 (for modern GPUs), and a 7,200 RPM hard drive. The highest end provides the necessary specs to run the game at 4K and 60 FPS: an i7 4790 or Ryzen 5 1600, 16 GB of RAM, a GTX 1080 TI or RX Vega 64, and an SSD.
click for a full-size view
There are also requirements outlined for a slightly...lesser experience. Rare previously promised Sea of Thieves support for 540p with a 15 FPS lock. In this list of specs, we see the necessary hardware to run the game at 540p and 30 FPS with the minimum graphics setting, which is dubbed "Cursed." For this, you'll need an Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 or Iris 540, 4 GB of RAM, and integrated graphics. And, like all other specs, 60 GB of hard drive space and DirectX 11 support are still required.
Microsoft has rolled out a fresh set of deals on Xbox Live, and there are some solid offers to be had across Xbox One and Xbox 360. Starting with Xbox One, the newest Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: WWII, is on sale for one of the first times since release. Right now, you can get it for $39, which is 35 percent off its normal $60 price.
Go to Major Nelson's blog to see a full rundown of this week's Xbox One and Xbox 360 deals, including country-specific price points and more. The offers, some of which require an Xbox Live Gold membership, are good through February 19.
Every year, the developers of Sony's MLB The Show franchise come up with new elements to add to the game to make the professional baseball sim even more authentic. One of the new additions for MLB The Show 18 is rain delays. Yes. Rain delays.
As explained in the video below, MLB The Show 18 will have "more diverse" atmospheric effects, including fog and better-looking rain. We're not sure of all the details yet, as only a few seconds were dedicated to rain in the video. Presumably, if it's raining too hard, the umpires will call a rain delay, just as it would happen in real life. When this happens, you'll have to decide if you want to leave in your current pitcher or warm up a fresh arm. This is the same managerial challenge that MLB managers must make in real-world games.
As for what will happen during the rain delay, we can't imagine you'll have to sit around and actually wait for the fictional weather to clear. In real life, rain delays can last for hours, so naturally, players and fans get into all manner of hijinks during the downtime. We can only hope that MLB The Show developer Sony San Diego incorporates some of this frivolity into the game, though that remains to be seen. In real life, the umpires can choose to cancel a game if the rain persists and reschedule for a later date, though we can't imagine that would ever happen in the game.
Another new element for MLB The Show 18 is a batting stance creator that lets you control things like hand positioning and bat-wiggle, along with the placement of your hips, front elbow, and hands. Also, there are now home run celebration animations that correspond to how much the home run meant to the result of the game. As explained in the video, a home run that wins a game is completely different in emotion than one that happens during a blowout. Additionally, there are more team-specific celebration animations in MLB The Show 18, including the dancing Chicago Cubs pitchers.
In other news, Sony recently showed off MLB The Show 18's revamped create-a-player features, including the custom batting stances and more. Check out GameSpot's in-depth video here (and embedded above) to get a full rundown of what's new this year.
MLB The Show launches exclusively for PS4 on March 27, though if you pre-order you can start playing on March 23. The 2018 MLB season begins on March 29. In all seriousness, Sony's MLB The Show franchise is the leading baseball sim, and the addition of rain delays is a further step towards realism that fans may welcome and appreciate.
PUBG's mobile version launched in China this month. To support the release, launch partner Tencent put out a live-action trailer--and it looks pretty great.
It follows the narrative of the game, beginning with characters parachuting out of an airplane as they prepare to fight to the death on the ground. The characters are shown doing all manner of PUBG things such as scavenging for equipment and working alone and together (Solo vs. Squads). We also get a glimpse of PUBG's famous frying pan and its bullet-stopping power, as well as a character gloating about a takedown before himself getting mowed down. Here's the trailer, as posted on YouTube by Soy Effectiivez (via USGamer).
As others have pointed out, this live-action trailer shows off what a PUBG movie could look like. Last month, the CEO of PUBG developer PUBG Corp, Chang Han Kim, said in an interview that the studio sees the game as being a "universal media franchise," with movies and TV shows extending the brand beyond a game alone.
"We want to take part in diverse industries including Esports, movies, drama, cartoons, animation, and more," Kim said at the time. "In fact, we received a couple of love calls from a number of developers in Hollywood and Netflix. Our dream is to build a new game-based culture through various ways like this, and have the lead of that culture."
Gamers in China can download PUBG right now for mobile devices. Check out the gameplay video below to get an idea about what the game looks like and how it plays. As of yet, there is no word on if PUBG mobile will be released in Western markets.
Are you in the market for a new Xbox One X? A store page on eBay is currently offering a pretty excellent deal on the super-powered console that you may want to consider.
Right now, the AntOnline store on eBay (via Wario64) is selling the Xbox One X with an extra controller for only $460 USD. That's an excellent deal, considering the system alone normally sells for $500. Extra controllers go for $60, so normally you'd pay $560 for all of this.
Of course, shipping will run you extra, with that fee depending on where you live. Another note is that this is a brand-new Xbox One X, so you get Microsoft's full warranty, too.
The Xbox One X launched in November. An improved version of the Xbox One, the Xbox One X features more horsepower which affords better graphics and faster load times. All Xbox One games (and a library of backwards-compatible Xbox 360 games) play on Xbox One X. Some Xbox One titles are optimised to be "enhanced" on the the Xbox One X.
For more on the Xbox One X, check out GameSpot's video review embedded above and our written review here.
If you've been looking for a good music game to jump into, this week's a good week. Two fantastic rhythm games, Rez: Infinite and Thumper, are on a great sale right now on Steam.
The games have a lot in common: they're both heavily influenced by electronic music, colorful, and very psychedelic. As a result, they are currently on sale together. If you own one, you can get the other for 50% off. And if you don't own either, you can get 50% off both if you buy them together. This brings Thumper down to $10 from $20, and Rez to $12.50 from $25. The sale runs from now until next Tuesday, February 20.
Rez: Infinite is a remaster of the classic PS2 rhythm game that originally launched back in 2001. It's playable in VR as well as on a normal screen, and you can check it out in action in the embed above.
Thumper, meanwhile, is more aggressive than Rez (the developer describes it as a rhythm-violence game) but just as trippy. It's also playable in VR headsets or normally, and GameSpot gave it a 9/10 when it launched in 2016.
The sale runs from now until next Tuesday, February 20.
The Five Nights at Freddy's film is moving ahead--with a huge name behind it. Deadline reports that Chris Columbus has been brought on to write, direct, and produce the film.
Columbus is a Hollywood veteran. He directed classics like Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire, as well as the first two Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. He picked up an Oscar nomination for his role as producer on The Help and he wrote the classic The Goonies. Columbus has some familiarity with video game movies, too, as he directed the Adam Sandler film Pixels.
The FNAF movie is being produced by Blumhouse Productions. The studio was behind smaller-budget horror films like The Purge, Get Out, and Split, as well as the Oscar-winning drama Whiplash. The Blumhouse Twitter account welcomed Columbus to the FNAF movie today with a cheeky tweet, while Blumhouse founder Jason Blum tweeted about the news: "oh yea."
As reported previously, the FNAF movie was originally set up at Warner Bros., with Gil Kenan attached to write and direct. Tyler Burton Smith, who worked at Finnish developer Remedy Entertainment as a writer on the Xbox One game and TV show Quantum Break, was at one point writing the FNAF movie. Veteran producer Roy Lee (The Departed, The Lego Movie) was initially named as a producer, but it is unclear if he remains onboard now that the movie has changed hands from Warner Bros. to Blumhouse.
According to Deadline "every genre filmmaker" wanted to land the FNAF movie rights before Blumhouse emerged victorious. FNAF creator Scott Cawthon is producing the movie alongside Columbus.
There is no word as of yet regarding a release date, cast, or plot details for the FNAF film. In the game, players must survive in a scary version of Chuck E. Cheese's that's full of animatronic monsters. It is legitimately terrifying.
The FNAF series debuted in August 2014 on PC and has since been ported to iOS. Sequels Five Nights at Freddy's 2, 3, and 4 followed, along with the latest entry before Pizzeria Simulator, Sister Location.
The next big video game movie is Tomb Raider, starring Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander in the title role. The film opens in March--check out the latest trailer here.
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