Most Recent: Xbox One

World Video Game Hall of Fame announces finalists for Class of 2018

Posted on March 27, 2018 by John Scalzo

Curators at the International Center for the History of Electronic Games and the Strong Museum have announced the finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018. Eight games will get their first chance to be inducted into gaming’s inner circle, including Asteroids, Call of Duty, Dance Dance Revolution, Half-Life, King’s Quest, Metroid, Ms. Pac-Man, and Spacewar!.

Two other games, Final Fantasy VII and Tomb Raider, were previously in the finalist pool for the Class of 2017. They’ll get another chance this year alongside John Madden Football and Minecraft, which were previously on the ballot in 2016.

The World Video Game Hall of Fame will announce the inductees for the Class of 2018 on Thursday, May 3, at 10:30 AM. But this year, fans will get a vote in the first-ever Player’s Choice ballot. According to the rules, “the three games that receive the most public votes will form one “Player’s Choice” ballot, which will join the 27 other ballots submitted by members of the International Selection Advisory Committee, a supporting group composed of journalists, scholars, and other individuals familiar with the history of video games and their role in society.” Fans can make their voice heard through the Player’s Choice ballot once a day until April 4th. So vote early and vote often!

And if, for some reason, you’re unfamiliar with this year’s finalists, the World Video Game Hall of Fame has put together a helpful cheat sheet that can be found after the break. (more…)

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Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will be released for the Xbox One on April 11

Posted on March 26, 2018 by John Scalzo

Ninja Theory has announced that Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice will be released for the Xbox One on April 11. The developer also shared a bit about the game’s enhanced graphics options on the Xbox Wire blog:

Xbox fans have waited patiently for us to bring Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice to their console’s library and we can’t wait to see what you think. Hellblade supports HDR and the game is enhanced for Xbox One X, with players having the choice of three enhanced modes to select from: Enhanced Visuals mode offers extra FX and visual quality throughout the experience, High Framerate mode runs the game at 60fps, and High-Resolution mode runs the game with dynamic resolutions up to 4K.

Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is now available to pre-order through the Xbox Games Store.

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New Retail Releases: Far Cry 5, MLB The Show 18, The Alliance Alive, More

Posted on March 26, 2018 by John Scalzo

A nonet of new releases will be available to purchase from your favorite gaming establishment this week…

Ubisoft is leading the way this week with the launch of Far Cry 5, the latest game in their open-world shooter franchise. This time, players will have to infiltrate a doomsday cult and rescue the citizens of Hope County, Montana from the violent followers of “The Father.” As you might expect, Far Cry 5 will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Far Cry 5 includes a nice variety of vehicles, and racing fans will get to explore an even bigger garage in THQ Nordic’s MX Vs ATV: All Out for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. MX Vs ATV: All Out will include several different race types (Supercross, Nationals, Opencross, Waypoint, Tag, and more), as well as stunt tracks, and online multiplayer.

Baseball fans will also get the chance to play ball this week with Sony’s annual entry in the MLB The Show series, MLB The Show 18, for the PS4.

If you’re looking for something a little off the beaten path, a big batch of JRPGs will also make their way to North America this week. Atlus will launch The Alliance Alive for the 3DS; Koei Tecmo’s Atelier Lydie & Suelle: The Alchemists and the Mysterious Paintings closes out the “Mysterious” saga on the PS4 and Switch; NIS America will release The Witch and the Hundred Knight 2 for the PS4; and Aksys will pull double duty with Code Realize: Bouquet of Flowers for the PS4 and Code Realize: Future Blessings for the Vita.

Finally this week, WB Games and NetherRealm Studios will launch the Injustice 2: Legendary Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One. The Legendary Edition will package together the original game, as well as every extra character from the Fighter Packs, and exclusive new content.

That’s it for this week’s New Retail Releases report, but we’ll be back in a few days with a look at all the upcoming additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.

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A Way Out, Western Press, Waku Waku 7 added to Xbox Store

Posted on March 23, 2018 by John Scalzo

A trio of new games are now available to download for the Xbox One today…

The jailhouse drama of Hazelight’s A Way Out leads the way in today’s Xbox Games Store update. Two players will take control of Leo and Vincent, a pair of cons that form an uneasy truce as they work to break out of prison and regain their freedom. Best of all, only one copy of A Way Out is required to play the game cooperatively online. Using the “Friends Pass” feature, players can share the game with their friends to help make their great escape.

Also available to download today is Western Press, a 1v1 dueling game that asks players to press a random string of ten buttons the fastest, and Waku Waku 7, a fighting game that was originally released for the NeoGeo in 1996.

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

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Prepare yourself… to not be shocked in the slightest… Zelda: Breath of the Wild won “Game of the Year” at 2018 GDC Awards

Posted on March 22, 2018 by John Scalzo

gdcawardsThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild continues its sweep of this year’s “Game of the Year” awards, as it won the top honor at last night’s Game Developers Choice Awards. Developers for the adventure game also strode on stage to collect awards for “Best Audio” and “Best Design” during the ceremony.

The unique visual stylings of Jason Roberts’s Gorogoa were honored with the “Innovation Award,” and the puzzle game’s portability were also honored as “Best Mobile/Handheld Game.” Studio MDHR also carried home multiple trophies during last night’s GDC Awards ceremony for Cuphead, including “Best Debut” and “Best Visual Art,”

“Every year sees countless amazing games worthy of recognition, but this year in particular has seen some of the strongest titles to arrive this generation. The GDCAs give us an opportunity to reflect on and honor the games that provided us with endless joy,” said Katie Stern, the General Manager of the Game Developers Conference. “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild helped us rediscover a childlike sense of adventure and discovery. Titles like Gorogoa and What Remains of Edith Finch offered us distinct creative visions that can only be experienced in games, and games like Cuphead and Horizon: Zero Dawn crafted worlds we could lose ourselves in. Congratulations to all of tonight’s nominees and winners and thank you for your creativity and dedication.”

A replay of the 2018 GDC Awards ceremony can be viewed at the Twitch channel for the Game Developers Conference. And a complete list of the winners can be found after the break. (more…)

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Night in the Woods wins the Seumas McNally Grand Prize at the 2018 IGF Awards

Posted on March 22, 2018 by John Scalzo

Indie developers from around the world got dressed up last night to fit in with the pomp and circumstance of the the Independent Games Festival’s 2018 IGF Awards ceremony. But it was Infinite Fall’s Night in the Woods that took home the top prize, the Seumas McNally Grand Prize, as well as the IGF Award for “Excellence In Narrative.”

Night in the Woods had plenty of company on the big stage, as Amanita Design’s Chuchel (“Excellence In Visual Art”), Hempuli’s Baba Is You (“Excellence In Design” and “Best Student Game”), Nifflas Game’s Uurnog Uurnlimited (“Excellence In Audio”), and Bennett Foddy’s Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy (the “Nuovo Award”) all took home at least one IGF Award of their own.

A replay of the 2018 IGF Awards ceremony can be viewed at the Twitch channel for the Game Developers Conference.

Congratulations to all the winners, and don’t forget, GDC attendees will be able to try out all the winner and nominees at the IGF Pavilion on the expo floor through Friday, March 23. A complete list is available after the break. (more…)

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Sea of Thieves, RBI Baseball 18, Assassin’s Creed: Rogue Remastered, more added to Xbox Store

Posted on March 21, 2018 by John Scalzo

Prepare to walk the plank in Microsoft’s mid-week Xbox Games Store update…

Two pirate-themed adventures are now available to download for the Xbox One including Rare’s multiplayer-focused Sea of Thieves (which also includes access to the PC version through the Xbox Play Anywhere program) and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Rogue Remastered re-release.

Also available to download today for the Xbox One are MLB Advanced Media’s RBI Baseball 18 and Koei Tecmo’s Attack On Titan 2.

You can learn more about the rest of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store (including THQ Nordic’s Titan Quest and Square Enix’s Octahedron) after the break. (more…)

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February 2018’s best-selling game was Monster Hunter: World… and Nintendo Switch set the record for first-year console sales in US

Posted on March 21, 2018 by John Scalzo

The Nintendo Switch continues to break records, and the consolemaker can now add “Best First-Year Sales in the US” to its trophy case. The news comes courtesy of The NPD Group’s February 2018 report (via GamesIndustry.biz), which estimates that Nintendo sold more than five million Switch consoles in the US over the previous 12 months.

On the software side of the ledger, Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World was the top-selling game yet again. It was challenged by several new releases in February, but while EA Sports UFC 3 (#7), Kingdom Come: Deliverance (#8), Bayonetta 2 (#14), and Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet (#18) all cracked the top 20, none could dethrone Monster Hunter: World.

The NPD Group’s complete top 20 for February 2018 can be found after the break. (more…)

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