Now that June is nearly behind us, Pokemon Go developer Niantic has shared the first details for the game's next Community Day. July's event will take place on Sunday, July 21, and this time around, the featured Pokemon will be another starter from Ruby and Sapphire: Mudkip.
Throughout July's Community Day, Mudkip will appear in the wild much more frequently than it normally does, making this a good opportunity to stock up on Mudkip Candy. You'll also have your first opportunity to catch a Shiny Mudkip during the event, and any Mudkip you evolve all the way into its final form, Swampert, up to an hour after the Community Day ends will know an event-exclusive move it couldn't otherwise learn in the game, although Niantic hasn't announced what that is yet.
On top of increased Mudkip spawns, Niantic is offering a couple of bonuses during July's Community Day as well. As usual, any Lure Module you use during the event will remain active for three hours rather than their usual 30 minutes. Additionally, you'll earn triple the usual amount of XP for capturing Pokemon. You can read more details about the event on the official Pokemon website.
Like previous events, July's Community Day will run for three hours. However, this time around, the event will take place a little later in the day, from 4-7 PM local time, when the weather is a little cooler. As Niantic explained, "As part of our continuing effort to make events accessible to as many people as possible, we hope this new time creates an even better Community Day experience overall." The developer says it'll revert back to the traditional Community Day hours when summer ends.
July's Community Day is still a few weeks away, but there's a lot happening in Pokemon Go in the meantime. The Legendary Kyogre is leaving Raid Battles on June 27, when Groudon is set to return. Both Legendaries will also be available through July's new Field Research tasks, as will Shiny Spinda. Speed Forme Deoxys has also begun appearing in EX Raids, and Niantic is bringing Raikou back for a special Raid Day on June 29.
The Pokemon Company capped off its Pokemon 2019 Press Conference last month with the reveal of Pokemon Masters, a brand-new smartphone game developed in collaboration with DeNA (the studio behind Super Mario Run, Mario Kart Tour, and most of Nintendo's other mobile titles). Few details about the game were shared at the time, but we'll soon get another look at it thanks to a special livestream presentation happening this week.
The stream is scheduled to air tomorrow, June 27, and will run for roughly eight minutes, offering the first new details about Pokemon Masters since it was announced. If you're eager to learn more about the anticipated title, here's when and where you can tune into the stream, as well as what you can expect to see.
What Time Does The Pokemon Masters Livestream Start?
The Pokemon Masters stream airs this Thursday, June 27. In the US, the stream will begin at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET. That equates to 2 PM BST for fans in the UK. Those in Australia, meanwhile, will need to stay up late in order to tune in, as the stream won't begin until 11 PM AEST.
6 AM PT
9 AM ET
2 PM BST
11 PM AEST
Where To Watch
The Pokemon Company will broadcast the Pokemon Masters stream on its official YouTube channel. You'll also be able to watch it right here on GameSpot using the video embed below, so you can bookmark this page and tune in when the time comes to watch the stream unfold.
What To Expect
We've only gotten a brief look at Pokemon Masters thus far, so Thursday's stream will presumably offer much more insight into the gameplay loop and what you'll be able to expect from the overall experience. We already know Pokemon Masters will feature a wide assortment of the series' most notable trainers, and that you'll be able to battle alongside them in three-on-three contests. However, it's unclear how the battle system will work or how you'll be able to build your own Pokemon team. Will battles play out similarly to mainline titles, or offer more simplified mechanics? And will you be able to catch new Pokemon? These questions will likely be cleared up.
We'll also likely get a look at more of the trainers you'll be able to encounter in the game. We've already seen a handful of them. In the brief footage the Pokemon Company showed off during last month's press conference, we saw former Pokemon Champion Blue, as well as Brock, Misty, Cynthia, and Steven Stone, while the key art that longtime Pokemon artist Ken Sugimori drew also features Red, Lance, and a few newer characters, including Diantha (the champion from Pokemon X and Y) and the female heroine of Pokemon Black 2 and White 2. That's likely only scratching the surface of the game's roster, and it's a safe bet we'll see more fan-favorite characters during tomorrow's stream.
The second day of Fortnite's 14 Days of Summer event has brought with it another unvaulted weapon and another challenge to complete. Like the first, this will be available for the duration of the three-week Battle Royale event, and it involves another summer-themed objective. Epic Games asks you to bounce a giant beach ball in different matches. Here's where to go and what to do.
How To Complete The Giant Beach Ball Challenge
As with beach parties dancing challenge, this is simple in theory--all you have to do is make contact with a giant beach ball. But also like the preceding challenge, you're given zero indication of where to find these giant beach balls or even how many there are. When you do happen upon one, there won't be any uncertainty--they are quite large, as advertised--and all you have to do to receive credit is run into the ball. That should trigger the pop-up notification letting you know you've progressed the challenge.
Particularly if you're attempting this right away, you're likely to run into a lot of other people doing the same thing. They could be hostile, or you might find other players camping the area in search of some easy kills. Fortunately, you can complete each step of this challenge without actually landing. As you're descending with your glider, you can move into the ball and register progress before your feet touch the ground. That should make it a little easier to complete the challenge before you're killed.
You'll need to bounce a total of five beach balls to finish the challenge. As the challenge text notes, you have to do this across different matches, so you'll need to play at least five rounds to get this done. However, you can keep returning to the same beach ball location over and over from match to match.
Where To Find Giant Beach Balls - All Locations
We've discovered three different giant beach ball locations on the map. You'll be able to see the ball from a far distance, so if you head to the general area you shouldn't have much trouble tracking one down. You can see the locations and a map below, and we'll have a video guide soon.
On the border of D3/E3, south of The Block
Western part of F6, southwest of Dusty Divot
On the border of H7/I7, northwest of Paradise Palms
Giant Beach Ball Challenge Reward
Finishing the giant beach ball challenge will earn you an Uncommon rarity loading screen called Soak It Up that shows various Fortnite characters lounging on the beach. This is also one step toward earning the Smoothie back bling, which you'll get for doing all 14 challenges from the 14 Days of Summer event, which kicked off with the release of Fortnite's 9.30 content update patch.
Annapurna Interactive has announced What Remains of Edith Finch is coming to the Japanese Nintendo Switch eShop on July 4. As the announcement lists that the English version will be supported, it can be assumed the port will be released worldwide. However, that hasn't been officially confirmed. Regardless, the Switch can access multiple regions, so even if the port remains exclusive to Japan, you'll still be able to buy it.
According to Japanese Nintendo, What Remains of Edith Finch will release on Switch in Japan for ¥2,200, which is just over $20 USD / £16. The game requires a 2.2 GB download.
What Remains of Edith Finch is one of the best games of 2017, receiving universal critical praise. You play as the titular Edith Finch, who returns to her family home after her mother's death. Over the course of the game, you visit the rooms of each member of Edith's family--all of whom are deceased--to learn about the lives and ultimate demise of each person. You also begin to unravel the truth behind the curse supposedly haunting the Finch family, which dictates that only one member of each generation will live a normal life. All the others are doomed to die in a strange or unusual way.
In GameSpot's What Remains of Edith Finch review, Justin Clark gave the game a 9/10, writing, "Developer Giant Sparrow managed to strike the delicate balance between joy and sorrow in 2012's The Unfinished Swan, but What Remains of Edith Finch transcends even the latent sadness of that game, finding the beauty--even sometimes the fun--in what's always fundamentally a tragedy. It's not often that a game's plot slips past the bitterness of grief to finally get to the acceptance, but that's the triumph in What Remains of Edith Finch. Ultimately, if the game has any resemblance of a moral, it's that the bravest, most beautiful thing every one of us does is choose to keep going, despite knowing what's coming."
If you just cannot wait until next week and want to buy What Remains of Edith Finch right now, the game is 55% off during the Steam 2019 Summer Sale--which continues through July 9. You can see the game's discounted price in the US, UK, and AU below.
What Remains Of Edith Finch Steam 2019 Summer Sale Prices
DC has announced a brand new "pop-up imprint" under its adult-reader Black Label line called Hill House Comics, spearheaded by horror author and comics veteran Joe Hill (Locke & Key, NOS4A2).
The pop-up imprint will kick off with the first of five announced stories: Basket Full Of Heads, created by Hill and artist Leomacs. It tells the story of a woman named June Branch on a mission to save her kidnapped boyfriend, wielding an "impossible 8th-century Viking ax" that can "pass through a neck in a single swipe, leaving the severed head conscious and capable of speech."
Basket Full Of Heads will be joined by four other monthly limited series and one ongoing back-up story featured in each Hill House Comics issue.
The Low, Low Woods is created by Carmen Maria Machado and artist Dani. The synopsis reads, "a mysterious plague is afflicting the small mining town of Shudder to Think, Pennsylvania. It strikes seemingly at random, eating away at the memories of those suffering from it. From tales of rabbits with human eyes to deer women who come to the windows of hungry girls at night, this town is one of those places where strange things are always happening. But no one ever seems to question why." The Low Low Woods is "a gruesome coming-of-age body-horror mystery series about two teenage women trying to uncover the truth about the mysterious memory-devouring illness affecting them and the people of the small mining town they call home—and the more they discover, the more disturbing the truth becomes."
The Dollhouse Family by Mike Carey and Peter Gross tells the story of a young girl named Alice who is given a mysterious dollhouse by a late aunt that Alice can actually enter "to visit a new group of friends, straight out of a heartwarming children's novel: the Dollhouse family. As the years pass, Alice finds herself visiting their world more frequently, slowly losing track of where reality ends and make-believe begins. What starts as play concludes in an eruption of madness and violence."
Daphne Bryne by Laura Marks and Kelley Jones will focus on a 14-year-old girl named Daphne in 19th-century New York City who must rescue her grief-stricken mother from a predatory group of occultists promising to contact her late father. But, "while fighting to disentangle her mother from these charlatans, Daphne begins to sense a strange, insidious presence in her own body…an entity with unspeakable appetites. And as she learns to wield this brutal, terrifying power, she wages a revenge-fueled crusade against the secret underworld that destroyed her life."
Finally, Pulge by Hill and an unannounced artist will uncover a nautical mystery focused on a ship from 1983 which "disappeared, wiped out in a storm on the edge of the Arctic circle—the world's most advanced research vessel in the hunt for oil, lost in the aftermath of a tsunami."
But, "almost 40 years later, the Derleth begins to transmit its distress signal once again, calling into Alaska's remote Attu Station from the most forlorn place on earth, a desolate ring island in the icy faraway. A US salvage team made up of experts, scientists, and mercenaries helicopter in just ahead of a storm—and the Russian competition—to find the abandoned wreck hung up on the island shores of the atoll. As a wintry blizzard clamps down, anomalies begin to surface: first the samples of an oil with unlikely properties, and then the sonar readings of a sunken prehistoric civilization just offshore. Still, nothing could prepare the salvage team for the reappearance of the Derleth's crew from the island cave, no older than they were four decades ago, every one of them struck blind by an inexplicable infection…and yet capable of seeing in new ways, possessed of extraordinary powers and stripped of all but their last vestiges of humanity…"
Every issue will be accompanied by a chapter of Sea Dogs, by Hill and an unannounced artist which will tell the story of nautical werewolves set during the American revolution.
Hill House Comics kicks off with Basket Full Of Heads, hitting shelves on October 30.
Game of Thrones might have completed its run on HBO, but many fans will still want to own the final season on Blu-ray and DVD. Details have now been revealed of Season 8's upcoming physical release, as well as an amazing set which collects the entire series.
All of these sets are due to arrive in December. The biggest release is Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection. As well as including all eight seasons of the show, this collection includes the exclusive Game of Thrones: Reunion Special, a two-part reunion show with cast members from the final season. Hosted by Conan O'Brien, this special was filmed in front of a live audience and features stars such as Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, and Sophie Turner, plus former cast members like Sean Bean, Jason Momoa, and Mark Addy.
The Complete Collection also features a wealth of bonus content. These include all-new deleted and extended scenes, animated histories, behind-the-scene featurettes, audio commentaries, and the documentary Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, which chronicles the making of Season 8. The whole set comes in an amazing wooden case, with illustrated panel designs by artist Robert Ball that tell the story of the whole show. Check out a preview of the box set in the video below:
The entire series will also be collected in a standard DVD/Blu-ray set. As for Season 8, this will available separately in a Steelbook Blu-ray & 4K Ultra HD edition, and a standard DVD/Blu-ray set. These releases feature the same bonus content as The Complete Collection, and all editions will be available on December 3.
Full details of the exclusive content are listed below:
Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection and Game of Thrones: The Complete Series on Blu-ray Bonus Features Include:
Game of Thrones: Reunion Special: A reunion show shot live in Belfast with the cast, both past and present, hosted by Conan O'Brien and available exclusively on these complete series collections. The reunion special is assembled in segments focused on Houses Lannister, Stark, & Targaryen and concludes with the key players all onstage for their final reflections on the years they shared in Westeros and Essos.
Bonus content and retail exclusive videos from previously released individual season box sets, totaling more than 15 hours of extra materials for fans to explore when they've finished watching the series.
Complete Series and Season 8 formats exclusively feature:
Game of Thrones: The Last Watch: A documentary featured on DVD in two parts by filmmaker Jeanie Finlay chronicling the making of the final season.
When Winter Falls: Exclusive 30-minute featurette with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, along with major stars and behind-the-scenes players, breaking down all that went into the colossal filming of the Battle of Winterfell in Season 8, Episode 3.
Duty is the Death of Love: A compelling look at how the team behind Game of Thrones and its major stars, including Kit Harington, Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke, brought the show to its conclusion in the series finale, "The Iron Throne."
Audio Commentaries: 10 Audio Commentaries with cast and crew, including the show's creators, Benioff and Weiss, on the final season.
Deleted and Extended Scenes: 5 never-before-seen deleted or extended scenes from season 8.
Histories and Lore: New animated pieces giving the history and background of notable season 8 locations and storylines.
Sort of like the movie itself, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse has hopped from screen to screen, delighting fans worldwide. After a strong showing during awards season and grossing $375.5 million, the Oscar-winning animated film has hopped to another screen--the home screen. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has finally landed on Netflix.
Miles Morales, a socially-awkward teenager, is the lead in Into The Spider-Verse. What starts as a narrative about love and acceptance slowly opens into grander scope as Miles is bit by a radioactive spider, granting him spider-like abilities and impressive physical prowess. The movie then transitions into an endearing story about hope and faith and confidence as an older Peter Parker involuntarily mentors the hapless teen.
Into The Spider-Verse walked away with a few trophies in hand earlier this year, winning both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature, and many others. It was no surprise that producer Amy Pascal confirmed a sequel with the film's smashing success, saying her team is "definitely hard at work on the sequel." No further details were provided, including a release window, but we do know the sequel will likely contain more dimension-hopping Spideys.
In our Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse review, we said, "It manages to blow right past the dangers of sinking into after school special territory by believing wholeheartedly in its own message and delivering it with appropriately genuine stakes. The end result is an instant animated classic, and, with any luck, the first of many of its kind."
Netflix has a stacked month ahead. The releases for July look to fulfill a wide range of binging desires, with Cloverfield (July 1), Stranger Things 3 Season 3 (July 4), The Princess and the Frog (July 16), Inglourious Basterds (July 22), and more, all showing up for America's birthday month.
The three major console manufacturers behind Switch, Xbox One, and PS4--Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony--have penned a joint letter voicing their opposition for tariffs that would impact Chinese goods including game consoles. The three say the proposed tariffs on video game consoles would cause harm to consumers, developers, retailers, and manufacturers, risk job losses in the industry, and stifle innovation.
"While we appreciate the Administration's efforts to protect U.S. intellectual property and preserve U.S. high-tech leadership, the disproportionate harm caused by these tariffs to U.S. consumers and businesses will undermine—not advance—these goals," the letter states.
The letter goes on to note that in 2018, more than 96% of video game consoles imported in the US were manufactured in China, and that moving 100% of manufacturing to the US or another country would cause "significant supply chain disruption" and increase costs "even beyond the cost of the proposed tariffs."
"Each video game console comprises dozens of complex components sourced from multiple countries," it says. "A change in even a single supplier must be vetted carefully to mitigate risks of product quality, unreliability and consumer safety issues. Tariffs would significantly disrupt our companies' businesses and add significant costs that would depress sales of video game consoles and the games and services that drive the profitability of this market segment."
The industry leaders also note that consoles are sold under very tight margins, sometimes at a loss. Increasing the cost of production would either need to add to the sales price ("console purchasers are extremely price sensitive") or cut into the companies themselves. A 25% price increase in consoles to match the tariff cost would "likely put a new video game console out of reach for many American families who we expect to be in the market for a console this holiday season."
It goes on to note the potential harm to third-party accessory makers, developers, and especially retailers. In particular it voices concern over these tariffs going into effect before the 2019 holiday season.
"Given that retail margins on video game consoles are generally very tight, we see no possible reasonable scenario for retailers other than passing tariff costs down to consumers," it states. "Any imposition of tariffs leading into the winter holidays—the strongest sales season for consoles—would have a significant negative impact on U.S.-based retailers and their employees, in particular because promotional offers on consoles are important to driving sales volume. Tariffs would make it especially difficult for both console makers and retailers to support the types of promotional offers typical of the holiday season."
The proposed tariffs would add a 25% tax on all imports from China. That tax is paid for by the importers--in this case, the console manufacturers themselves. But as pointed out in the letter, these increased costs would likely be offset with price increases on retailers and consumers. Nintendo has reportedly been preparing itself for the tariffs by moving manufacturing out of China ahead of the launch of rumored new Switch models. The United States Trade Representative held hearings on June 17, and now could put them into effect at any time.
PC gaming giant Steam just launched its annual summer sale, offering huge discounts across the board on thousands of PC games, and now you can save even more with this great deal on Steam gift cards. For a limited time at MassGenie, $100 and $50 Steam gift cards cost $85 and $43, respectively. An additional 15% off when you're already seeing discounts of 50-75% is the cherry on top of a savings sundae. Enter the code STEAMGIFTCARD100 or STEAMGIFTCARD50 at checkout to apply the discount. Per usual with MassGenie deals, ignore the ominous, 24-hour clock counting down on the side of the page--the offer is valid until June 30, or while supplies last.
This year the Steam sale includes a new mini-game in its Grand Prix theme. Users select a team for a race (among Hare, Corgi, Cockatiel, Pig, and Tortoise) and then complete quests in their various games to earn points toward a boost, which then helps their team do better in the race. Supporters of the winning teams will earn free games from their Steam wishlists, so be sure to get yours up to date.
We'll be posting more highlights from the sale as it goes on, but for starters check out our favorite overall deals. Also be sure to take a look at the best games under $10, since that category explodes during this time of year with some absolute steals. Not to be outdone, Fanatical also has its own Red Hot summer sale going on right now with a lot of great deals on Steam codes as well. Fanatical is worth keeping tabs on in general, since they often have better deals than Steam does directly, so be sure to compare prices to make sure you're getting the best deal possible.
Avengers: Endgame is the biggest movie of the 21st century to date. Globally, the movie made $2.7 billion at the box office, making it the second highest grossing movie of all time. So of course, when this movie releases digitally 7/30 and on Blu-ray on 8/13, chances are you're going to buy it. Luckily, we know what special features will be included on this home release.
Recently revealed, both the digital and physical release of the movie will have plenty of features giving us more insight into 2019's biggest movie. Most importantly, there will be audio commentary from directors Anthony and Joe Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. Last year with Infinity War's home release, the commentary gave us a ton of insight into the movie, along with some Easter eggs.
Additionally, there are six deleted scenes included, and the titles of these scenes are listed below. They may give us some idea of what they're about. There is also a gag reel, so there is a pretty good chance we'll see some of these actors dancing between takes. Sadly, there's no mention of Chris Hemsworth as fat Thor playing "Hurt."
The digital version of the movie only has one exclusive feature, and that's a featurette diving into Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter, dissecting Steve's controversial decision at the end of the movie. There is plenty more on this home release, so check out the full list of special features below.
Avengers: Endgame Special Features:
Digital Exclusive:
Steve and Peggy: One Last Dance--A special feature exploring these two characters relationship and history.
Blu-ray & Digital:
Remembering Stan Lee--The cast and filmmakers discuss Lee's cameos in MCU movies.
Setting The Tone: Casting Robert Downey Jr.--Recounting casting RDJ for Iron Man
A Man Out of Time: Creating Captain America--The evolution of Cap.
Black Widow: Whatever It Takes--The evolution of Black Widow
The Russo Brothers: Journey to Endgame
The Women of the MCU
Bro Thor--An exploration of this character for Endgame
Six Deleted Scenes--"Goji Berries," "Bombs on Board," "Suckiest Army in the Galaxy," "You Used to Frickin' Live Here," "Tony and Howard" and "Avengers Take a Knee."
Gag Reel
Audio Commentary-- By directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.
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Sony has revealed the games PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to download for free in July. The first is something for the sports fans out there: Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, while the second is Horizon Chase Turbo, which is described on the PlayStation Blog as "a love-letter to the iconic, just-one-more-go racers of the arcade's golden age."
While Horizon Chase Turbo may not be familiar to you, it's available at no additional cost if you're already paying for PlayStation Plus, so worth taking a shot on anyway. Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, on the other hand, will no doubt be familiar to you. The latest entry in Konami's beloved soccer sim series is also one of its best and earned a 9/10 in our review.
"For as long as EA continues to develop FIFA and hold a monopoly over official licences, PES will be the scrappy underdog just hoping for a surprise upset, even when it's fielding the likes of London Blue and PV White Red," said Richard Wakeling. "The lack of licences for top-tier leagues remains a disheartening sticking point, but PES continues to make brilliant strides on the pitch, building on what was already an incredibly satisfying game of football to produce one of the greatest playing football games of all time.
"It might be lacking off the pitch, but put it on the field against the competition and a famous giant killing wouldn't be all that surprising." Read our full PES 2019 review for a detailed analysis of the game.
The announcement of July's titles means time is running out to claim June's free PlayStation Plus titles, which are Borderlands: The Handsome Collection and Sonic Mania. After July 1, these two games will no longer be available to download. PES 2019 and Horizon Chase Turbo will be available for free from July 2 until August 5.
July 2019 PlayStation Plus Games For PS4
Pro Evolution Soccer 2019 (July 2 - August 5)
Sonic Mania (July 2 - August 5)
Konami has announced the next game in the series, which has the odd title of "eFootball PES 2020." The game is expected to launch on September 10 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
While Luigi will no doubt remain in the shadow of his spotlight-hogging brother, Mario, the little-plumber-that-occasionally-could has had something of an increase in popularity of late. Given that there was an entire year of Nintendo games and marketing dedicated to him in 2013, this shouldn't come as a surprise, but he's also become a bit bolder as a character recently--who can forget the gifs of him giving dagger eyes to fellow racers as he passed them by in Mario Kart 8?
Luigi's Mansion 3 allows the lanky green boy to continue his side-hustle as an exorcist and ghost hunter but puts him up against his greatest challenge yet: an entire hotel full of ghouls to be vacuumed and vanquished. This time Mario and the gang have been captured, and it's up to him to free them and save the day. This will require bravery the likes of which Luigi has never shown before, so could it also be a turning point in his life? Will we get a self-assured, composed Luigi on the other side?
That's one of the questions we posed to Kensuke Tanabe, producer of Luigi's Mansion 3, and the game's supervisor, Yoshihito Ikebata. We also discussed the surprising popularity of the character and what distinguishes him from Mario, as well as how moving to a hotel changes the ghost hunting experience, and Nintendo's thinking on DLC for the game.
GameSpot: During the presentation, you mentioned the Luigi's Mansion games have done really well. Was that a surprise to you?
Tanabe: I was genuinely surprised to see so many people so excited about this game. There was a very long gap in the time between the first and second game coming out, but the fact that the third one came out pretty much right away must have something to do with the fact that it was so popular. So, right now we're talking to [Luigi's Mansion 3 developer] Next Level Games, trying to get more out of the game; creating a more fun game featuring Luigi.
Do you think that Luigi as a character is now more relatable to the common person? Everyone loves Mario but he's a hero beyond reach. He rescued the princess many times, he's been to outer space, and done all sorts of wild stuff. Luigi is still just the scared younger brother. Would you say that Luigi's more popular and relatable than Mario?
Tanabe: Yeah, we agree with you exactly. Mario is just basically the hero, someone to look up to, an inspiration. Whereas Luigi is someone who [people can feel] closer to and I think that's a part of his charm.
How does that translate to designing a game? In a lot of games, you want to fulfill the fantasy of being a hero, but Luigi is scared a lot of time. And he achieves things, but he rarely has the same kind of triumph moment.
Tanabe: Were you able to play the game?
Yeah, I played it.
Tanabe: So you saw things like [the] slam?
[Editor's note: The slam is an ability Luigi has that allows him to grab enemy ghosts, wrangle them, and then slam them into the ground to do damage.]
Yeah. But when he does it, he seems like he's kind of terrified the entire time and scared of doing it. He never quite looks confident--even three games in.
Tanabe: Well, that's exactly it. In terms of the gameplay and how it feels like to the user, that's something we really focus on [to] let the player feel good when they play the game. So, in animating Luigi himself, we want to keep it very Luigi-like. Even if Luigi's terrified, if the player can [be] satisfied by doing these actions, I think they will feel satisfied.
What was it about a hotel setting that intrigued you?
Tanabe: Simply put, I just really wanted a different atmosphere. In addition to that, structurally speaking, in Luigi's Mansion, I really wanted a bunch of the rooms to be interconnected with each other and then have the users visualize that in their minds and make that into a game plan in itself. But, when that's kind of stacked up vertically, it becomes kind of difficult to make that very clear.
But, when it's a hotel, it's very obvious, very easy to visualize. The other thing we wanted to do was to give it a different theme and atmosphere for each of the floors and that's what was facilitated by choosing this.
Do you find it harder to create a consistent atmosphere? Because, as you go from levels that are drastically different in theme, you're almost resetting everything. How do you approach making sure that it's still spooky throughout while also having to start over each time you move up a floor?
Ikebata: Actually, because it's a hotel, it was very easy to come up with completely different atmospheres for each floor. We always had a thing from the perspective of the user, for the players who are going to play it, it's like, "How can we surprise them, how can we keep them kind of anticipating something new each time?" It's really all about the art style. So, by unifying the artistic look and feel of the entire thing, you're able to kind of maintain that same feel.
Did you do any actual research to go to spooky, haunted hotels? There's a few in LA. Did you try any of them? Because the Ghostbusters hotel is down the road, The Millennium Biltmore.
Tanabe: Oh man! Had we known about that haunted house, we totally would have gone. Unfortunately, we didn't think to do that.
Randomizing levels in multiplayer is interesting. What was the thinking behind that?
Tanabe: Because you can play with a lot of people, say four, they can all be in the same room at once if they want to, but it does kind of slow down the pace. Whereas everyone can be dispersed but then they also need to be able to come back together. They're about to battle a bunch of ghosts.
With that in mind, even though the rooms are randomly generated, we want to make sure people are able to come back together if they have to. Just making the layout so that it facilitates that was something I had in mind so we were sure to let Next Level Games know that was something that needs to happen.
Could this game be a moment of decisive change for Luigi as a character? Because Mario is trapped and all of their friends are trapped. We've got a game where Luigi rescues Mario, and if that is the case, is there a chance that he perhaps becomes more self-assured as a character? I think a lot of Luigi fans want to see that, if only for their own confidence.
Tanabe: That's a great observation because that is exactly the reason why we wanted to have the whole gang in there. He's going to rescue Mario. It's good.
I think it's time Luigi was no longer a coward and I think he's proved himself enough times that he should get a little bit of a confidence level up.
Tanabe: Sure. But, he's scared still.
A couple of years ago we had gifs of Luigi in Mario Kart looking at everyone very angrily and it seems like everything's building for him to finally push Mario out of the way.
Tanabe: [Laughs] I think Mario is a traditional hero type whereas Luigi is Luigi. We think that, regardless, he'll go in his own direction.
It was also mentioned during the presentation that Luigi as a character, and also his games as a whole, appeal to a much broader audience than you'd expect. Specifically, women were mentioned as liking Luigi more than Mario. Why do you think that is?
Tanabe: Well, I don't know for sure, but I think it's what we said earlier about the fact that he's not a traditional hero and is [therefore] a little bit closer to us, and I think the fact that you can kind of empathize with him might be what it is.
Structurally, how many levels can we expect the hotel to have and is there room to expand that later on? Are you looking at this hotel format as something you can build upon?
Tanabe: Are you speaking of the single-player?
Single-player and multiplayer, if that's something that you can add to later on. Is that something you want to do?
Ikebata: Right now there are 17 floors [in single-player].
Tanabe: Because like you said, it's a hotel structure with multiple floors, I think it would have been possible to add even more floors. But, I think the hardest part of that is not necessarily the act of adding floors, but it's like ... the story is done, so by adding [more floors], how are we going to expand that aspect? Because I want to experience completing the whole hotel and just feel satisfied that it's done. Adding on new stuff is not really something that gives us that.
What about introducing new elements in multiplayer? Now, when people design games, they don't want others to play it, be done, and move on. Instead, they want people to keep coming back. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate do well with additional multiplayer options. Is that something you're thinking about with Luigi's Mansion?
Tanabe: This is a pretty important point, but trying to continue to add onto things that are already completed keeps the development team working on that project. What we really want to do is focus on the next thing, it keeps us moving onto new things. I personally don't have that kind of endurance.
That's interesting to hear since much of the industry's going the opposite direction. People spend a lot of time and money creating one thing and then they want to get as much out of it as possible to the point where it can be kind of exhausting for them and the player. What are your thoughts on that trend of people spending years and years and years making the same game? How do you feel about that from a creative standpoint?
Tanabe: Of course, we have titles like that in Nintendo too. Personally, I think there's got to be a couple of content updates over time because it's really fun. But I don't feel like we need to necessarily do that with all of our titles. So, this is entirely based on my personality, but I'm someone who likes to finish something and then move on.
As a player, I like to finish a game and then move on. It's good to hear that Luigi's Mansion has a finishing point.
Tanabe: Of course, there are games like that for those types of people who want to keep playing that type of game, and fans like you who wants to finish a game and move on, so I think it's great that there's a variety of different types of games.
For sure. And moving on helps creators channel that creativity and also get their ideas flowing. Is that something that you actively encourage while making games like Luigi's Mansion--or people to start thinking of the next thing?
Tanabe: I, myself, am like that. Even when I'm creating something I'm constantly thinking of the next thing. Even as we're wrapping up the development of Luigi Mansion 3, Next Level Games is like, what about [Luigi's Mansion 4]? What's going to come after a hotel?
How do you feel about that? Where you have wrapped up [development] and you're in the mindset of wanting to finish the game, and then someone comes along and says, "What about the fourth one?" Are you like, "Let me do something else first," or are you like, "I'm ready, I've got another idea, I want to go now, let's do the next one now?"
Tanabe: So, I personally work on multiple titles at the same time, not just one. When someone approaches me with a new idea, I have no issues. But on the other hand, if you try to make three of the same type of title, sometimes the staff will become exhausted. So, if the same team has worked on the same game three times, I try to make sure they get to work on something else.
Nintendo was a company that made games internally and was very careful about who creates its games. More recently, we've seen Nintendo partnering with other developers, whether it's Japanese companies like Bandai Namco or others like Next Level Games or Retro. What's it been like to have that shift?
Tanabe: I personally have been working since the '90s with external companies. The one thing I always think about is not just letting anyone make our games. We always work with someone who understands the way Nintendo games are. Another reason is that now that a lot of things are in HD and the quality is very high, it's really hard for us to just make everything on our own, so we do have to rely on other companies that understand the way things are made at Nintendo to make this together.
Do you find that these outside studios will bring in ideas that Nintendo wouldn't think of? When that happens, how do you weigh up taking on new ideas that are unexpected with what your fans expect from a Nintendo game?
Tanabe: Nintendo traditionally doesn't do a lot of things that are really grotesque or violent, for example. Our priority is doing something that is [uniquely] Nintendo. So, when people come up with ideas that we don't agree with and they're like, "In our culture, we make it like this." We, in turn, ask them, "Have you made a Nintendo game?" I turn it around and say, "I probably know more about making a Nintendo game than you do. So, how about I tell you how to work together on this?"
If you just can't wait until Cyberpunk 2077 arrives next year, you can now keep the hype alive with a free skin for your PS4 user interface, available now in the PlayStation Store. "Mercenary of the Dark Future" takes inspiration from CD Projekt Red's upcoming open-world RPG to upgrade your PlayStation's backgrounds, icons, sounds, and music. The icons have that classic, blue, wireframe look of sci-fi UIs, evoking a netrunner's rig in the game. Check it out below.
Cyberpunk 2077 is CD Projekt Red's hugely-anticipated follow-up to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which is based on Mike Pondsmith's seminal tabletop RPG, Cyberpunk 2020. Keanu Reeves was revealed to be a major character during Microsoft's recent E3 presentation. The open-world RPG launches on PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 16, 2020.
The fantasy series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is one of Netflix's biggest upcoming shows, and the cast just keeps getting better. The series arrives in August, and it has been announced that Game of Thrones star Lena Headey and Doctor Strange's Benedict Wong are among the new members of the voice cast.
Netflix has confirmed that Headey and Wong will play Maudra Fara and The General respectively. Other new cast members include Sigourney Weaver (Ghostbusters) as The Myth-Speaker, Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians) as The Collector, Hannah John-Kamen (Ant-Man and The Wasp) as Naia, and Dave Goelz, who appeared in the original Dark Crystal movie, as Baffi.
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is a prequel to the classic 1982 film, and it hits Netflix on August 30. The cast also includes Taron Egerton, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mark Hamill, Jason Isaacs, Keegan-Michael Key, Simon Pegg, Andy Samberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Izzard, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Mark Strong, and Alicia Vikander. There also two other stars from Game of Thrones in here--Natalie Dormer and Nathalie Emmanuel.
Like the movie, which was co-directed by the late Muppets creator Jim Henson, the new show uses puppetry to create the world of the Dark Crystal. You can check out the stunning first trailer here. Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance will run for 10 episodes.
The official synopsis reads: "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance tells a new epic story, set many years before the events of the movie, and realized using classic puppetry with cutting edge visual effects. The world of Thra is dying. The Crystal of Truth is at the heart of Thra, a source of untold power. But it is damaged, corrupted by the evil Skeksis, and a sickness spreads across the land. When three Gelfling uncover the horrific truth behind the power of the Skeksis, an adventure unfolds as the fires of rebellion are lit and an epic battle for the planet begins."
The industry veteran, who was instrumental in the creation of Dead Space before his work on Call of Duty, has founded a new studio named Striking Distance, which is wholly owned by the PUBG publisher.
"Throughout my career, I've had a lot of opportunities to make some remarkable games that tell incredible stories, and each of them has meant something special to me," said Schofield. "But now, those learnings will help me build a AAA team that can explore new designs and concepts at Striking Distance.
"As a creative, the freedom to explore the PUBG universe has me excited about the possibilities, which I view as beyond the battle royale genre. Today represents a special moment for me and I'm so thankful to be taking this journey with the team at PUBG Corporation."
Striking Distance is developing the next game in the PUBG universe, though it won't be a sequel. Judging from Schofield's statement, it sounds as if the game won't be a battle royale title. Little else is known about the game at present.
Before founding Striking Distance, Schofield worked extensively on the Call of Duty franchise. His work spanned Modern Warfare 3, Advanced Warfare, and WWII. Before that, he was at Visceral Games and EA, while his past employers include Crystal Dynamics and the now-defunct Absolute Entertainment.
The Steam Summer Sale has revved up its engines, offering a truckload of discounts on PC games. The store has paired its annual promotion with another minigame this year, and if you're on one of the winning teams you could score some free games.
The Steam Grand Prix pits players from different teams in a virtual race. You build up your "Boost Meter" and then you can hit the boost to help your team. Teams are split into Pig, Hare, Corgi, Cockatiel, and Tortoise. At the conclusion of each day's race, random members of the three winning teams will earn free games. Steam notes that you should make sure to update your wish list, since that will determine the free games.
The maximum size of your Boost Meter can be increased by making purchases during the sale; each $1 you spend grants 100 points of capacity to your bar. (You might have started out with a larger Boost Meter due to purchases you've made previously.) The Boost Meter is filled by both earning Steam Achievements and completing special quests, such as one that tasks you with playing 30 minutes of a game that includes Steam Achievements.
Aside from free games, you can also trade in your race tokens for personal prizes at the "Pit Stop." Those include cosmetics like emoticons, profile backgrounds, as well as store coupons for further discounts. If you're busy during the sale and can't participate in the Grand Prix, there will be a period on July 7 where everyone can spend leftovers tokens at the Pit Stop.
Limited accounts aren't locked out of this event altogether, although they don't add anything to their team's speed. They can, however, redeem tokens at the Pit Stop.
The next Playerunknown's Battlegrounds game is in development, the game's publisher has announced. The as yet untitled game is being made by a new studio named Striking Distance, which has appointed ex-Call of Duty and Dead Space developer Glen Schofield as CEO.
The project is seemingly in its infancy, so little is known about the game at present. PUBG Corp.'s press release states the game is an "original narrative experience within the PUBG universe," while Schofield hints the game might not be a battle royale title. He said: "As a creative, the freedom to explore the PUBG universe has me excited about the possibilities, which I view as beyond the battle royale genre." Schofield went on to tweet that the new game is not a sequel to PUBG.
PUBG began life as an Arma 2 mod, before being spun off into its own battle royale title--in early access on PC--in early 2017. It later came to both Xbox One and PS4.
PUBG has also been one of the most influential games of the 21st century. It remains a huge game in its own right, but it has also inspired and influenced what is possibly the industry's biggest trend right now in the battle royale genre, including successful titles like Fortnite and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
If you have even the slightest inkling that you might ever want to play the newly-revived Samurai Shodown fighting game, head over to the US PlayStation Store: this week anyone can get the season one DLC pass for free, even if they don't yet own the game itself. Normally $20, the season one pass is free from now through 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET on July 2. If you're then eager to see those weapons clashing, you can save $10 when you buy the game itself from Amazon US.
Just released on June 25, Samurai Shodown is actually the 12th main entry in the eponymous fighting game series from Japanese developer SNK. The games have released on a variety of platforms, but most iconically on SNK's own Neo Geo. The series traditionally simplifies the often-complex combo-focused dueling of other fighting games into an accessible, but nuanced system of timing and anticipation. This latest iteration is no different, refreshing the still-solid basic mechanics with vivid graphics that are reminiscent of Street Fighter V. GameSpot's review is forthcoming.
When it comes to San Diego Comic-Con, there is a ton to see and do at the show, but the fans spending all that money to visit the biggest pop culture convention of the year probably want to take some things home with them. Luckily, there are plenty of exclusive toys to take home from Funko Pops to action figures from Hasbro, Mattel, and more. And speaking of Hasbro, it's just revealed a really cool SDCC exclusive based on Overwatch, along with a blaster headed to retailer GameStop
First is the Overwatch Ultimates Series 6-Inch Reinhardt Figure with the Bundeswehr Skin. The 6-inch figure looks massive, as the latest addition to the Overwatch Ultimates Series--which also included Reinhardt with his normal skin. Check the exclusive figure out below.
The figure includes six accessories, and you can get the Comic-Con exclusive figure at the Hasbro Booth (#3329) for $60. There are limited quantities for this item though. If you're not attending SDCC this year, there is a chance you may be able to get it. The Overwatch figure may be available at select conventions and online retailers after the show, depending on the supply.
That's not the only Overwatch item Hasbro is announcing today. Coming exclusively to GameStop is the Soldier 76 Blaster and Targeting Visor. Modeled after the weapon as seen in the game, the motorized blaster fires 30 rounds at 90 feet per second. Check it out below.
This blaster and visor will run $131 when it arrives this fall. The set comes with the blaster, the visor, and 30 Nerf rounds. It has electronic lights on the blaster, and there is recoil action as you operate it. However, you may want to pick up some batteries, as this puppy requires six D batteries. We're discussed both Overwatch and Fortnite Nerf blasters in the past, and the company does a great job at bringing these gaming weapons to life. The Soldier 76 Nerf blaster won't be available until this fall, but you can pre-order the item now.
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Super Mario Maker 2's release date is fast approaching. The game launches for Nintendo Switch in just a few days, and now reviews for the platforming game have started to hit the internet.
GameSpot's Super Mario Maker 2 review-in-progress awards the game an 8/10, with Peter Brown stating "the Mario series is worth all the admiration it gets." You can check out much more on the game in the selection of reviews below. Alternatively, check out GameSpot sister site Metacritic for a wider view on the game's critical reception.
"With the story mode and dozens of custom-built stages under my belt, I'm anxiously waiting for the floodgates to open upon Mario Maker's 2 release. What I've played so far has proven, once again, that the Mario series is worth all the admiration it gets, and Mario Maker 2 is an excellent tool for picking it apart by pushing its enemies, mechanisms, and Mario, to their limit. I've yet to make a stage of my own that I think is worthy of sending out to other players, but I'm committed to getting there. Whether exploring the full potential of a single element or throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, I've got the itch to join the creator's club. And thankfully, even if you aren't an instant success (like me), Mario Maker 2 makes the learning process intuitive and enjoyable." -- Peter Brown [Full review-in-progress]
IGN -- 9.5/10
"Super Mario Maker 2 is the most accessible game design tool ever created, and that core is just one part of a greater whole. I spent hours building levels, testing them, and starting over again, and I feel like I've only barely scratched the surface of what's possible. The Story Mode has a basic story, sure, but it's still a great excuse to introduce hundreds of novel, professionally made levels to play. Its design tutorials are so much more in depth than they ever needed to be, and you can take them or leave them as you see fit. Super Mario Maker 2 affords so much freedom in how you play, how you make, and even how you learn, it's astonishing how incredibly well it's all held together in one cohesive package." -- Seth G Macy [Full review]
Eurogamer -- Recommended
"Like the first game, this is a warm bubble bath to settle into, or an afternoon on the sofa with the Sunday papers and nothing else in the diary. Has it changed? Not too much. But it is wonderfully soothing to have it back." -- Christian Donlan [Full review]
Game Informer -- 8.75/10
"Super Mario Maker 2 is not a radical reinvention of the original Mario Maker, but it earns the "2" in its title with a story mode full of great Mario levels, worthwhile additions to the creation toolset, and new options for playing and creating cooperatively. The future is bright for Super Mario Maker 2, and I can't wait to see what the community makes with it. But even at this starting line, I had plenty of Mario to play and enjoy." -- Kyle Hilliard [Full review]
US Gamer -- 4.5/5
"Players now have the chance to make their own hellish, evil Mario levels on Nintendo Switch. Super Mario Maker 2 starts with the foundation established in the first game, and adds new themes, new game styles, and new items. It falters due to the loss of the second screen of the Wii U and 3DS iterations, and the lack of Amiibo costumes hurt, but this is still a fantastic package for a Mario fan or budding lever designer." -- Mike Williams [Full review]
Video Games Chronicle -- 5/5
"For 2D Mario fans, Super Mario Maker 2 is a classic in the making. There's already a consistently surprising and delightful offering at launch for creators and non-creators alike, but we suspect this sequel will continue to impress--and improve--well into the future." -- Andy Robinson [Full review]
Final Fantasy XIV's Shadowbringers expansion launches for PS4 and PC in just a few days, and developer Square Enix has now revealed the expansion's full patch notes for the accompanying 5.0 update.
The update will add two new cities, The Crystarium and Eulmore, as well as new field areas Lakeland, Kholusia, Amh Araeng, Il Mheg, and The Rak'tika Greatwood. Main scenario quests will of course be included, along with "myriad" side quests. Notably, those side quests will utilize a new "automatic level adjust system known as quest sync." Square Enix says the new side quests "will have their difficulty and EXP rewards adjusted to match your current level."
Plenty more content will be added in the 5.0 update, though Square Enix says some Shadowbringers features are being withheld until future patches. The Eden's Gate raid will be added in version 5.01, for example, while a New Game+ mode will land in update "5.1 or later."
For the full patch notes, you can check out the Final Fantasy XIV blog. You can also take a look at our list of Shadowbringers' biggest changes for FFXIV. Also bear in mind you can grab a previous Final Fantasy XIV expansion for free right now. That promotion is to celebrate the impending release of Shadowbringers, which launches on July 2 and enters early access on June 28 for those who pre-order. On PS4, the expansion costs $40 / £37 / AU $68, while PC players will need to fork out $40 / £30 / AU $60 for the standard edition.
IO Interactive has released its first DLC location for Hitman 2. The new level, named The Bank, is set in New York City, and it's out now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The location also comes with a new campaign mission called Golden Handshake, along with accompanying special contracts. In addition, the DLC pack includes new challenges, trophies/achievements, and mastery progression levels, as well as the corresponding rewards.
The Bank is included in Hitman 2's expansion pass, which costs $40 / £32.79 / AU $60. However, the add-on is not available to purchase by itself--you'll need to fork out for the expansion pass if you want to play it.
Hitman 2 launched in November to a positive critical reception. We liked Agent 47's latest outing, with critic Edmond Tran awarding the game an 8/10 in our Hitman 2 review. "The addition of other minor mechanical changes--like concussive weapons, a picture-in-picture enemy activity alert, and visible security camera sightlines--help to improve Hitman 2 overall as a dense and accessible stealth assassination game," he wrote.
"But the new locations are the real stars, impressive and inventive sandboxes ripe for picking apart with exciting experiments. Hitman is about experiencing the anticipation of seeing whether a plan will work when you try it for the first time. It's about feeling the tension of briskly walking away from a bad situation, hoping you can lose the suspicious guards. It's the satisfaction of knowing the machinations of a level so well that when a target moves into a particular place at a particular time, you have the perfect way to intervene. Hitman 2 is a familiar experience, but in the Hitman world, familiarity is an incredible strength."
The Coalition boss Rod Ferugsson has spoken more about how Gears 5 was inspired by the movie Mad Max: Fury Road. In an interview with IGN, Fergusson said Gears of War 4 felt like Mad Max: Fury Road in that it was really the story of Kait Diaz, with playable character JD Fenix serving as the facilitator. This is not unlike how Fury Road's story was really all about Furiosa, even if Max was the title character.
"Mad Max: Fury Road was really Furiosa's story, and Mad Max was the facilitator of her story," Fergusson explained. "That's what we did with Gears of War 4. It was really Kait's story about saving her mom, and JD was there to facilitate it."
But with Gears 5, Fergusson and the team decided it would be more impactful to shift the perspective to Kait herself. "It's actually more impactful to live the story then to watch the story. So rather than being JD watching Kait go through a bunch of stuff, why not be Kait and go through it yourself," he said.
Here is more from the official Gears 5 description regarding Kait and her place in the story and wider Gears of War universe:
"Kait was born and raised beyond the COG's formal jurisdiction. Her mother, Reyna, was the leader of her isolated Outsider village. Yet Kait also has deep family ties to the COG: her late father was a widely admired lieutenant colonel during the Pendulum Wars and her uncle, Oscar, was a highly decorated frontline Gear in the early years of the Locust War. Even after her induction into the COG, her true loyalties are unknown, even to her."
One of the biggest storylines in the gaming industry over the past year is how Epic is going after Steam with its own store and paying for exclusives. It's brought and or will bring games like The Division 2 and Borderlands 3 to the Epic Store, with Steam releases only potentially coming months after release. Now, Epic founder Tim Sweeney has offered some insight into why the company is pushing so hard.
In a Twitter thread, Sweeney spoke about how Epic believes pursuing exclusives is the "only strategy" to change the current 70/30 revenue split between publishers and storefronts. The 70/30 model is considered to be the industry standard, with 70 percent of revenue going to developers/publishers and 30 percent to the storefront.
However, Epic's new Epic Games Store only takes 12 percent, giving 88 percent to publishers/developers. This makes the story theoretically more attractive, and on top of that, Epic is paying some studios to release their games as timed-exclusives.
"We believe exclusives are the only strategy that will change the 70/30 status quo at a large enough scale to permanently affect the whole game industry," Sweeney said.
Sweeney went on to say that other independent games retailers have done "great work" in recent years, but none of them have been able to even hit 5 percent of Steam's scale (outside of the stores run by huge gaming publishers). While Epic's pursuit of exclusives might make the company unpopular with some subset of Steam users, the strategy of pursuing exclusives does work, Sweeney maintains.
Sweeney went on to say that the 30 percent "store tax" can erase any profits a developer might see, which creates a "disastrous situation." If the Epic Games Store can become No. 2 behind Steam, or if it can spur change on Steam with regards to its revenue split, the result would be a "major wave of reinvestment in game development and a lowering of costs," he said.
Ultimately, pursuing exclusives as Epic has done is a benefit to gamers in the long-run, according to Sweeney. It may not be easy to get to a new, better place, however. "There are LOTS of challenges along the way," Sweeney admitted.
You can read Sweeney's full comments on exclusivity below.
Tim Sweeney Statement On Epic Games Store Exclusives
"We believe exclusives are the only strategy that will change the 70/30 status quo at a large enough scale to permanently affect the whole game industry.
For example, after years of great work by independent stores (excluding big publishers like EA-Activision-Ubi), none seem to have reached 5% of Steam's scale. Nearly all have more features than Epic; and the ability to discount games is limited by various external pressures.
This leads to the strategy of exclusives which, though unpopular with dedicated Steam gamers, do work, as established by the major publisher storefronts and by the key Epic Games store releases compared to their former Steam revenue projections and their actual console sales.
In judging whether a disruptive move like this is reasonable in gaming, I suggest considering two questions: Is the solution proportionate to the problem it addresses, and are gamers likely benefit from the end goal if it's ultimately achieved?
The 30% store tax usually exceeds the entire profits of the developer who built the game that's sold. This is a disastrous situation for developers and publishers alike, so I believe the strategy of exclusives is proportionate to the problem.
If the Epic strategy either succeeds in building a second major storefront for PC games with an 88/12 revenue split, or even just leads other stores to significantly improve their terms, the result will be a major wave of reinvestment in game development and a lowering of costs.
Will the resulting 18% increase in developer and publisher revenue benefit gamers? Such gains are generally split among (1) reinvestment, (2) profit, and (3) price reduction. The more games are competing with each other, the more likely the proceeds are to go to (1) and (3).
So I believe this approach passes the test of ultimately benefitting gamers after game storefronts have rebalanced and developers have reinvested more of their fruits of their labor into creation rather than taxation.
Of course, there are LOTS of challenges along the way, and Epic is fully committed to solving all problems that arise for gamers are for our partners as the Epic Games store grows."
Rod Fergusson of Gears of War developer The Coalition recently spoke about the Gears of War movie, saying it's set in an "alternate reality" separate from the game series. Some fans worried that this meant it wouldn't really be a Gears of War movie, but now Fergusson has spoken up to clear up the confusion. He explained to IGN that the movie exists outside of the game canon, so what happens in the movie doesn't affect the game series and vice versa.
"I'm not going to say what's going to happen in the story, all I'm saying is by saying it's 'alternate reality' I'm not saying it doesn't have game characters in it. I'm just saying it's not in the game canon," he explained. "Something that happens in the movie doesn't affect the games. Something that happens in the games doesn't affect the movie. Either way."
Fergusson added that this doesn't mean Marcus Fenix won't be in the movie. Officially, plot details for the movie are a secret.
Guardians of the Galaxy actor Dave Bautista has said he wants to play Marcus Fenix, and Fergusson agrees that Bautista would be great for the role. However, casting decisions are out of his hands.
"Dave is great. I think Dave would be awesome in that role. Unfortunately I don't have casting control of what we do with that and whether we have the character that he would play," he said.
Whatever the case, Fergusson said it's exciting that someone of Bautista's caliber is interested in being in the Gears of War movie. Fergusson went on to say that the movie's producers have told him that actors have reached out seeking roles in the movie. He teased that people you wouldn't necessarily think about have inquired about roles.
Also in the interview, Fergusson talked more about how the Gears of War movie has to be a good movie first and a Gears movie second. "I think that's one of the places where video game movies make the mistake; they try to be so true to fan service and so true to what the game is that they lose the notion of that it actually has to be a really good story with really good characters," he said.
No director has been announced for the movie. The late Tony Scott, who directed Top Gun and Man On Fire, reportedly wanted to direct the Gears of War movie.
The next game is Gears 5 which launches in September for Xbox One and PC. At E3, Microsoft showed off a brand-new mode called Escape. You can see 10 minutes of gameplay from Escape in the video above.
One of Microsoft's next big exclusive, Gears 5, launches in September for Xbox One and PC, and its release date is just ahead of the release of Project Scarlett in Holiday 2020. Gears 5 will presumably play on Scarlett given the console supports all Xbox One games, but developer The Coalition isn't ready to talk about its plans yet.
The Coalition boss Rod Fergusson told IGN that he and the team are "really focused" on launching Gears 5 on the existing Xbox consoles. Given that The Coalition is owned by Microsoft, you can connect the dots and imagine that Gears 5 will also support Scarlett, but Microsoft isn't ready to make any announcements yet.
"Really focused on Gears 5 right now on what we have now in terms of Xbox One X and One S and One Regular. The Xbox One family of devices [in ad sales guy voice]," he said. "That's what we're really focused on right now. I think there's stuff, as first-party, you could probably make some suppositions about what we would and not do but I think it's too early to talk about that now."
Gears 5 launches on September 10, but those who buy the Ultimate Edition can play beginning September 6. Additionally, all Xbox Game Pass members get the game at no extra cost.
The latest mashup pack for Minecraft is out now, and it brings Toy Story to the popular sandbox game.
The Toy Story Mash-Up pack adds a number of character skins from the Pixar franchise, including classics like Woody, Buzz, and Bo Peep, as well as new ones from Toy Story 4 such as Keanu Reeves' Duke Caboom and Ducky & Bunny.
Some of the new locations in the Toy Story Mash-Up Pack include Andy's bright and colorful bedroom and Sid's spooky bedroom of horrors. Everything is scaled down to be seen from the perspective of a toy. That puts a new spin on Minecraft as you'll need to jump and climb around.
The Toy Story Mash-Up Pack is available now on Xbox and PC for $8 USD. Click through the images in the gallery above to get a closer look at the new character skins.
Toy Story is just the latest mega-franchise to come to Minecraft with a Mash-Up Pack. Some of the other notable ones include The Simpsons, Pirates of the Caribbean, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Minecraft remains immensely popular, and Microsoft continues to expand the franchise with new extensions. While Minecraft 2 may not be happening, a new game called Minecraft Dungeons is on the way. Additionally, a Pokemon Go-style AR game called Minecraft Earth is in development as well.
United States presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has joined Twitch, becoming the second major presidential candidate in US history to do so.
According to Vox, the Sanders Twitch channel might come to life on Thursday, timed with his appearance in the first round of the Democratic primary debates. The channel page is live right now, but there is no programming on it.
Sanders' move into Twitch is reportedly part of the 77-year-old Vermont Senator's wider "Bernie TV" campaign, where he'll livestream to a variety of streaming services including Twitch, as well as Facbook and YouTube, where he already has a presence.
The content will apparently include discussion on the news of the day, campaign updates, and pre- and post-debate programming.
"We're moving toward doing a lot more live content on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook, tapping into an audience where there's not a lot of political content already," Josh Miller-Lewis, the head of Sanders' digital campaign, told Vox.
It's official: The Office is leaving Netflix, but it's not happening very soon. NBC announced today that it picked up the "exclusive" streaming rights to The Office for the United States, and that all nine seasons of the show will be available on NBC's own streaming service beginning in 2021. The show will remain on Netflix until January 2021.
NBC's streaming service will have ads, which is a fact that Netflix pointed out in a tweet responding to the news.
We're sad that NBC has decided to take The Office back for its own streaming platform — but members can binge watch the show to their hearts' content ad-free on Netflix until January 2021
According to NBC, The Office is the most popular show in all of streaming on-demand video. The show tallied an astounding 52 billion minutes of viewing time in 2018, according to NBC. And in April this year, it was watched for nearly double the amount of time as the most-viewed show on streaming video on-demand, though it's unclear how NBC calculated that given it presumably doesn't have access to streaming data for competing shows.
NBC's untitled streaming service is scheduled to launch in 2020 featuring a library that contains "some of the world's most popular television and film franchises," as well as brand-new shows and programs from other networks.
Before this announcement, one other possibility was for Netflix to pay NBC Universal to retain The Office. This likely would have cost Netflix a small fortune, as the streaming network reportedly paid $100 million to keep Friends on Netflix through 2019. Friends is believed to be Netflix's No. 2 most popular show, so The Office presumably would have cost more to keep.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, NBC is paying $100 million per year for five years to producers Universal Television to have The Office on the NBC streaming service. Universal Television and NBC are owned by the same company.
Also of note here is that NBC's deal is for The Office's domestic streaming rights, so it remains to be seen how this contract will affect streaming availability in other parts of the world. For example, The Office is available on the streaming platform Stan in Australia, not Netflix. The show is relatively new to Australia as well, having only just arrived on Stan in 2018.
The Season of Opulence in Destiny 2 encourages you to get greedy as you fight through the Menagerie to earn new weapons and armor. The season also provides weekly bounties that send you all over the solar system doing jobs for Cabal Emperor Calus in order to earn Imperials that can be used to upgrade the Chalice of Opulence. All of those bounties have a second component, though: In addition to racking up kills or gathering items, you also need to track down hidden treasures in order to claim your prizes. Finding those treasure can be a bit of a pain, but we're here to help.
The treasure for the Gaze Into Death's Eyes bounty takes you to Mars. The bounty itself encourages you to get in the face of your enemies, racking up 200 close-range kills with shotguns, SMGs, sidearms, or swords. Once you've done that, you'll unlock a Treasure Map directing you to Alton Dynamo on Mars.
Where To Find The Treasure
Start at the Braytech Futurescape landing zone on Mars, then hop on your sparrow and head west toward Alton's Dynamo. You'll power through Dynamo Approach and into the facility by passing through the cave tunnel. Fight through the Cabal you find there until you go through a door and enter a hallway. You'll find two paths ahead: one to the left and one to the right.
Take the right hallway and you'll enter a big server room. Like most of the facility, this room is laid out in the shape of a big diamond, and you're going to want to go toward the back wall to your left, around the back of the raised central platform. Watch out for Hive enemies as you head toward the back of the room.
When you find the stairs on the left side of the platform, keep going past them around the side to find the glowing chest nearby.
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