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Sony will release Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son for PlayStation VR later this year

Posted on February 2, 2019 by John Scalzo

Get your torches and pitchforks ready, Sony has announced they’re working on a sequel to Groundhog Day…

But perhaps put them down, as the story’s continuation will actually be a game sequel and not a movie that couldn’t possibly live up to the original. Announced earlier today, Sony will release the PSVR-powered Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son for the PS4 sometime this year.

Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son is in development at Tequila Works, and rather than rope in Bill Murray, the game follows Phil Connors Jr. as he becomes trapped in his own time loop. More details about how it’ll all work are available on the PlayStation Blog thanks to Creative Director Raul Rubio:

In Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son, you’ll play the charming but arrogant Phil Connors Jr., who grew up in the shadow of his father — a man who spent a lifetime repeating a single day until he had made it perfect. But for Phil Jr., today is the worst day of his life. He’s trapped back home in Punxsutawney, the small town he thought he’d escaped — where he can’t even get a decent cappuccino — and he’s going to have to repeat the day over and over until he learns the true value of friends and family.

Like the film, the game will branch out into wildly different scenarios depending on the choices made by Phil (no word yet if the game will include a variety of gruesome suicide options):

This game contains a time loop mechanic with multiple branching narratives, as well as individual meaningful stories that we can build upon. It also includes the same dark humor of the original film, letting us play around with the inherent instinct of every VR player to mess with everything around them. James Siciliano of Rick and Morty and Joshua Rubin of Telltale lent their expertise to help us build this original story from the world of the beloved movie. We have developed an ever-changing experience through deep branching narrative gameplay and full interaction with all NPCs. Because what would you do with eternity if there were no tomorrow?

Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow this morning, so that means Spring is right around the corner. Unfortunately, the rodent doesn’t control Groundhog Day: Like Father Like Son’s release date, and all we know for sure is that it’ll be available “later this year” through the PlayStation Store.

Posted in News, PS4 |

13 Nintendo-published games for the Switch have sold more than 1 million copies

Posted on February 1, 2019 by John Scalzo

Nintendo-branded products have always taken up a hefty portion of Santa’s sack, and 2018 was no different as Switch sales were huge during the holiday season.

Nintendo sold 15.05 million Switch consoles during the last quarter of 2018, bringing the platform’s total install base to 32.27 million. Consumers also spent the last three months stocking up on software, purchasing 63.51 million games from October through December.

Two games stood out last quarter on the sales charts, as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold 12.08 million copies and the combined might of Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee! and Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu! sold 10 million copies. All told, 13 Nintendo-published Switch games have joined the vaunted “Million-Seller” club during this fiscal year (April 2018 – December 2018):

Title Apr 18 – Dec 18 Sales Total Sales
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 12.08 Million 12.08 Million
Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee!
Pokemon: Let’s Go Pikachu!		 10 Million 10 Million
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 5.8 Million 15.02 Million
Super Mario Party 5.3 Million 5.3 Million
Super Mario Odyssey 3.35 Million 13.76 Million
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 3.21 Million 11.68 Million
Mario Tennis Aces 2.53 Million 2.53 Million
Splatoon 2 2.25 Million 8.27 Million
Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze 2.08 Million 2.08 Million
Kirby Star Allies 1.16 Million 2.42 Million
Octopath Traveler
(US + Europe Only)		 1.08 Million 1.08 Million
Nintendo Labo: Variety Kit 1.06 Million 1.06 Million
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker 1.05 Million 1.05 Million

Even Nintendo’s dedicated handheld was still kicking along in 2018 (albeit slower than before). 3DS owners scooped up 1.07 million copies of Mario Kart 7 during the April through December period, bringing its total to 18.11 million copies sold.

Nintendo’s current fiscal year will end on March 31, and the consolemaker will announce their full-year sales figures sometime in April or May.

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NetherRealm konfirms that Kano will appear in Mortal Kombat 11

Posted on February 1, 2019 by John Scalzo

Mortal Kombat fans, lend me your ears…

Kano, the leader of the Black Dragon Clan and nemesis to Sonya Blade, will be joining Mortal Kombat 11 as a playable character. NetherRealm Studios delivered the news yesterday via Twitter, likely in lieu of Wednesday’s canceled Kombat Kast stream. The polar vortex hit Chicago particularly hard and the developer moved the broadcast for the “safety of [their] team.”

Mortal Kombat 11’s first Kombat Kast will now be held on Tuesday, February 5, at 4:00 PM (Eastern Time), and we’ll likely learn more about the game’s roster then.

And don’t forget, Mortal Kombat 11’s launch is coming up very soon after that. It’ll be available for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23.

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

Nintendo will release Dr. Mario World for mobile devices this Summer

Posted on January 31, 2019 by John Scalzo

Nintendo delayed Mario Kart Tour‘s mobile debut earlier today, but it looks the company is planning another major mobile release for this Summer.

Dr. Mario World will be co-developed by Line Corporation and NHN Entertainment, and it’ll be released for iOS and Android devices this Summer. Like all of Nintendo’s mobile offerings, the “action puzzle” game will be free-to-download with optional in-app purchases.

More information about Dr. Mario World will be revealed at a later date.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged

Nintendo delays release of Mario Kart Tour to Summer 2019

Posted on January 31, 2019 by John Scalzo

Nintendo announced last year that the Mario Kart franchise would race onto mobile devices in Early 2019, but it looks like the company has put the brakes on that plan for now.

As part of a Consolidated Financial Highlights document the company released alongside their latest quarterly financial report, Nintendo confirmed that Mario Kart Tour will now launch sometime this Summer. If all goes well, this delay will allow Nintendo to “improve [the] quality of the application and expand [the game’s] content offerings after launch”:

In the smart-device business, Mario Kart Tour was scheduled to be released this fiscal year, but in order to improve quality of the application and expand the content offerings after launch, the release date has been moved to summer 2019. As we endeavor to develop future planned applications, we will also focus on continued service operations for applications that have already been released so that consumers can enjoy playing them for a long time.

Aside from its rather snazzy logo, we currently don’t know much of anything about Mario Kart Tour. Hopefully that’ll change soon.

Posted in Mobile, News | Tagged

Jumpgrid will be available to download for PC on February 12

Posted on January 29, 2019 by John Scalzo

Developer Ian MacLarty describes Jumpgrid as a cross between a “bullet hell” shooter and a hypersonic version of Pac-Man. I had a similar reaction to the game last month, but you can judge the accuracy of this claim for yourself by viewing its latest trailer, which has been embedded above:

Jumpgrid is bullet hell hyper-Pac-Man. Survive an ever-moving cosmic obstacle course by deftly teleporting between nodes on the “Jumpgrid”. Clear all nodes to open a wormhole to the next level. Success requires only a few seconds of precision finger ballet, but touch any of the pulsing hazards and the level instantly resets, ready for you to try again, and again, and again…

If you’re interested in giving Jumpgrid a try, MacLarty also announced that the game will be available to download for the PC (through Steam and Itch.io) on February 12.

Posted in News, PC | Tagged

Ed Boon responds (in typical Ed Boon fashion) to a fan petition asking to add Scooby Doo’s Shaggy to Mortal Kombat 11

Posted on January 29, 2019 by John Scalzo

Did you know that Scooby Doo’s pal Shaggy has godlike powers? It’s one of the stranger memes currently circulating around the Internet (even Matthew Lilliard is somehow involved), and Mortal Kombat fans recently took it one step further by asking NetherRealm Studios to add the mystery-solving teen to the upcoming Mortal Kombat 11.

The Change.org petition has more than 165,000 signatures as of this writing, and it even prompted a response from Ed Boon, NetherRealm’s Creative Director. But in typical fashion for Boon, the developer spent the day teasing his fans about Shaggy’s possible inclusion in Mortal Kombat 11 on Twitter.

First, he sarcastically told his followers that it wasn’t happening (“Let me know how that works out for you…“). But he followed that up a few hours later with a second tweet that hinted Shaggy might make it into the game after all.

Mortal Kombat and Scooby Doo both live under the vast corporate umbrella of Warner Bros., so Shaggy could easily be added to the blood-soaked series if the right executives signed off on it. But while it’s unlikely that Warner Bros. would want one of their family-friendly characters fighting for his life in the game, it wouldn’t be first time Shaggy was involved in a more adult adventure. DC Comics’s Scooby Apocalypse series is absolutely drenched in blood and gore, so that version of Shaggy would be right at home in Mortal Kombat 11.

The comic also features a cybernetically-enhanced Scrappy Doo and a dream sequence where Velma becomes the bikini-clad “Monster Queen”… it’s a weird book.

Mortal Kombat 11 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23. I have my doubts that Shaggy will make the cut, but nothing seems to be impossible for NetherRealm Studios.

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

MLB The Show 19’s newest Teaser Trailer features “Big Sexy” Bartolo Colon

Posted on January 29, 2019 by John Scalzo

Even though Bartolo Colon is 45 years old, he still wants to play Major League Baseball in 2019. And he just might get the chance, because Bartolo Colon is possibly immortal. The seemingly-invincible pitcher has amassed 247 career wins and a comically rotund physique that has earned him the nickname “Big Sexy” (and a legion of fans to go with it).

He is also the star of the newest Teaser Trailer for Sony’s MLB The Show 19.

At first parodying a commercial for cologne, the pitcher is shown whacking his one career home run (in sexy live-action), before transitioning to show the same highlight in MLB The Show 19. You can view it for yourself above, but it’s as glorious as you’d expect.

MLB The Show 19 will be released exclusively for the PS4 on March 26, and stay tuned for the first Gameplay Trailer, which will be unveiled on February 5.

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