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Platinum Games will self-publish two original games in the near future

Posted on January 1, 2018 by John Scalzo

Platinum Games has been cozying up to big-name publishers like Nintendo, Activision, and Square Enix in recent years. These partnerships have produced an interesting (and critically-acclaimed) slate of games, including Bayonetta 2, Transformers: Devastation, and Nier: Automata.

The developer will continue working with Nintendo in 2018, and they recently confirmed that Bayonetta 3 is coming to the Nintendo Switch. But Platinum is also independently working on several other projects, and they have plans to self-publish a pair of original titles in the near future.

Atsushi Inaba, Platinum’s Head of Development, recently sat down with Game Informer, and described the company’s process for creating these original titles alongside their more high-profile work:

Over the last year we’ve pretty much opened the company up to “Anybody can pitch a game,” and so over the last year we’ve gotten about 70 design documents from different people. And if you’re going list out the other random ideas, the scratched stuff on paper, that’s a hell of a lot more. So this year has been about us basically diluting which stuff we wanted to focus on and not focus on, and drilling down to the point where we now have two designs that we’re genuinely focused on.

According to Inaba, fans can expect an experience that’s positioned somewhere between a smaller indie game and a larger AAA project like Bayonetta:

We can’t put together a AAA, $10 million-plus game, because we just don’t have that sort of cash as an independent developer. However, we don’t plan to go the indies route with just a few people on a team making a game, so it’ll be somewhere in the middle, looking at probably about 20 people on the staff making the game, so that’ll still be a healthy [size].

Neither game currently has a release date, but Platinum is known for working fast, and (at the very least) we’ll probably learn more about both games this year.

Posted in News |

Van Helsing III, Winx Club: Alfea Butterflix Adventures, Dustoff Heli Rescue 2 added to Xbox Store

Posted on December 29, 2017 by John Scalzo

Microsoft is closing out 2017 by adding a trio of new games to the Xbox Games Store.

The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III is the latest entry in the Diablo-like series of action RPGs, and it’ll be a free download all this month for Xbox Live Gold subscribers as part of the Games With Gold program.

Also available to download today is Winx Club: Alfea Butterflix Adventures, a 3D adventure featuring the Winx fairies, and Dustoff Heli Rescue 2, a blocky helicopter rescue sim.

You can learn more about all three of these games after the break. (more…)

Posted in News, Xbox One |

Diablo III’s “Darkening of Tristram” event will return on January 1, 2018

Posted on December 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Blizzard has announced (via their official website) that Diablo III‘s “Darkening of Tristram” event will return on January 1st. The anniversary event will feature a dungeon that’s designed to be a “loving homage” to the original Diablo, as well as a retro-themed graphical filter, and exclusive loot:

Stop the Cultists
Your journey begins on the trail of a group of mysterious cultists causing trouble in Sanctuary. As you hunt them down in Adventure Mode, you’ll uncover clues leading to a portal into Tristram’s past, and the terrifying darkness that took hold of the town so many years ago…

Explore the Cathedral
Follow the clues and you’ll soon find yourself in a realm of glorious RetroVision™, where an all-too-familiar cathedral looms. Explore the depths and you’ll discover familiar enemies and iconic items, all brought to life in the Diablo III engine. Meanwhile, deep beneath the catacombs, the Dark Lord himself awaits any intrepid adventurer who dares to challenge him…

Discover Precious Loot
What is a Diablo game without shiny new loot to call your own? Completing activities in the anniversary event yields unique transmogrification effects, achievements, portraits, pets, and more.

The “Darkening of Tristram” event will be available in Diablo III on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One through January 30th.

Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One | Tagged

Vs. Super Mario Bros., SteamWorld Heist, Style Savvy: Styling Star, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on December 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Nintendo has one more Nintendo eShop update in the works for 2017… and it’s a doozy.

This week, Nintendo and Hamster Corporation have teamed up to bring Vs. Super Mario Bros. to the Switch. This arcade adaptation of Super Mario Bros. provides a slightly different variation on the revolutionary side-scroller, and it’s an historical artifact that all Nintendo completionists should be interested in.

Also available to download for the Switch this week is a pair of side-scrollers that previously appeared on other platforms. SteamWorld Heist is a tactical shooter from Image & Form, and Guns, Gore, and Cannoli is a platformer from Crazy Monkey that mixes mobsters and the undead.

Finally, Nintendo themselves will expand their fashionista simulation series with the release of Style Savvy: Styling Star for the 3DS.

You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break. (more…)

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch | Tagged ,

Nintendo might consider “very different” Joy-Con designs in the future

Posted on December 28, 2017 by John Scalzo

Have you ever wished the Joy-Cons attached to your Nintendo Switch came with a full-fledged D-Pad on the left side? I know I have.

And I’m sure others would love to see a GameCube-style button layout on the right. Or maybe we could replace both sides with a split keyboard design. But let’s not get too carried away, because unfortunately, none of these wild designs are currently in development for the Switch.

However, the General Manager of Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning and Development Division, Shinya Takahashi, recently told IGN that the company might introduce some “very different” Joy-Con designs in the future:

“One of the great strengths of the Nintendo Switch is that though you can play it as a console, you can also separate these two controllers from the hardware. This gives us a lot of possibilities that we could consider for the future in terms of what you could attach,” Takahashi said. “I think that that would be a really good time for us to think about some very different colors or designs applied to [Joy-Cons]. That might be interesting.”

Nintendo’s dedicated fan community has already stepped up and produced some interesting Joy-Con designs, and Takahashi specifically cited this enthusiasm as inspiration for where Nintendo might take the console in the future:

“There’s a lot of joy to be had from handmaking something yourself or having all of those customizable possibilities, and we absolutely embrace that. We love to see that,” he said.

Just one little D-Pad, Nintendo. That’s all I ask.

Posted in News, Switch |

Super Meat Boy will be released for the Switch on January 11

Posted on December 26, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Nintendo Switch has been absolutely flooded with indie classics this year, and Team Meat had planned to bring Super Meat Boy to the console before the end of 2017. However, with New Year’s Day fast approaching, that no longer seems likely.

Thankfully, we won’t have to wait very long to play it. The developer has announced they’ll be serving it up on the Nintendo eShop on January 11:

As you can see, the ultra-challenging platformer’s Switch debut will also receive a brand new splitscreen Race Mode that’s playable with two Joy-Con controllers. It’s unknown if this mode will eventually make its way to earlier releases of the game on the PC, PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox 360.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged

Ubisoft removes VR requirement from Star Trek: Bridge Crew

Posted on December 26, 2017 by John Scalzo

Star Trek: Bridge Crew is a game that puts you in control of your own Federation starship, but only if you own the required virtual reality headset. However, the slow adoption rate of VR peripherals has prevented many Trekkies from playing the game, and Ubisoft has announced (via their official website) that they’re dropping the requirement in a new update:

Star Trek: Bridge Crew challenges four players to work together to pilot a Federation starship through dangerous missions, but until now, it’s only been playable through VR hardware. That changes with the latest Star Trek: Bridge Crew free update, which removes the requirement for a headset and opens the door for non-VR players to join in and boldly go where no one has gone before.

This free update for Star Trek: Bridge Crew is now available to download on the PC and PS4.

Posted in News, PC, PS4 |

Nintendo has begun thinking about the next Legend of Zelda game… and it could be Breath of the Wild 2

Posted on December 23, 2017 by John Scalzo

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has begun racking up “Game of the Year” accolades as 2017 comes to a close… but developers at Nintendo are already thinking about the next chapter in the long-running series.

According to Game Informer, an official Breath of the Wild artbook that was recently released in Japan includes confirmation from Producer Eiji Aonuma that work has already begun on the next 3D Zelda adventure.

And earlier this week, Breath of the Wild Director Hidemaro Fujibayashi told IGN that the development team is considering concepts for the next Zelda game. During the interview, Fujibayashi also said that one of the approaches the team is considering is a direct sequel to Breath of the Wild:

“I can’t say at this point if it will be in sequels or in continuations, or what form it will take, but I definitely have lots of ideas and lots of motivation right now,” Fujibayashi told IGN.

“I think while we were working on both the main game and the DLC, it was a process of constantly getting lots of different, new ideas as we refined the game, and finding new things we wanted to do,” he added. “Even in situations like this, talking to people and finding out that people gives me a lot of motivation, a lot of ideas for things we could put into the game.”

Knowing Nintendo’s history, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 is probably a long shot. But if all goes well, we should learn more about the next Zelda game in a few years… and we might even get to play it a few years after that.

Posted in News, Switch | Tagged