GameStop is creating a line of Amiibo-like figures without the NFC features

Posted on January 21, 2018 by John Scalzo

It looks like GameStop is getting into the collectible figure game with the Totaku Collection.

Similar in size and shape to Nintendo’s Amiibo collection (but without any of their game-enhancing NFC features), the Totaku Collection’s first wave will be available exclusively through GameStop on March 23. According to the retailer’s website, each Totaku figure has been priced at $9.99 and seven different figures will be available as part of the first wave:

  • The Hunter from Bloodborne
  • Crash Bandicoot from Crash Bandicoot
  • Kratos from God of War
  • Sackboy from LittleBigPlanet
  • Parappa the Rapper from Parappa the Rapper
  • Heihachi Mishima from Tekken 7
  • Feisar FX350 from Wipeout

It’s unknown how often new figures will be added to the Totaku Collection, but GameStop wants to create “a unique series of highly detailed figurines from video game franchises past and present,” so if they’re a success, the line could grow very large in the future.

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

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, Beholder: Complete Edition, more added to Xbox Store

Posted on January 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

Microsoft is closing out the week with yet another Xbox Games Store update. Today, Xbox One owners will get the chance to purchase and download five new Xbox One games including The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and Beholder: Complete Edition.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a first-person mystery game where players will search for a missing boy and possibly stumble across a murder with ties to the occult.

Beholder: Complete Edition also plays into this sense of paranoia as players take control of a landlord who’s been tasked with spying on his tenants. Peep into their lives and eavesdrop on their conversations to keep the ominous-sounding totalitarian “State” happy.

You can learn more about all of today’s additions to the Xbox Games Store after the break.

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Posted in News, Xbox One |

Call of Duty: WWII was the best-selling game for all of 2017

Posted on January 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

Call of Duty: WWII earned a spot at the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games for both November and December, and now the tracking firm has confirmed that Activision’s shooter was also the best-selling game for all of 2017.

It looks like Activision had a pretty good year, especially with Destiny 2 checking in at the #3 spot, but Nintendo was the publisher with the biggest presence on the NPD’s Top 10. The consolemaker can claim three games in the Top 10 including The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Super Mario Odyssey (#9), and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#10).

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, The NPD Group also confirmed an uptick for the industry as a whole. Gamers spent $14.59 billion on their favorite hobby in 2017, an increase of 11% over 2016.

Sony’s PS4 was the best-selling console of the year, but the Switch and Xbox One have also benefited from brisk sales:

“Combined sales of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One continue on a record-setting pace,” [NPD Gaming Analyst Mat] Piscatella said. “Over the first 50 months in market for each console, the combined hardware installed base of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One now exceeds that of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 by 18 percent, and that of the PlayStation 2 and Xbox by 4 percent.”

The NPD’s Top 10 best-selling games for 2017 can be found after the break.

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Call of Duty: WWII repeats as the best-selling game of December 2017

Posted on January 19, 2018 by John Scalzo

Activision’s Call of Duty: WWII has reenlisted for a second tour of duty as the best-selling game of the month. According to The NPD Group (via GamesIndustry.biz), the shooter was the best-selling game in December 2017, besting Star Wars: Battlefront II (#2) and Super Mario Odyssey (#3).

The holiday season dominated last month’s list, as several games that were tailor-made for gift-giving ranked high in the Top 20 including NBA 2K18 (#4), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#5), Madden NFL 18 (#6), and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#9). But perhaps most surprisingly, the Xbox One debut of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds landed at #7 after just a few weeks on sale (PC sales weren’t included in the NPD Group’s calculations).

You can find The NPD Group’s complete list for the Top 20 best-selling games from December 2017 after the break.

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Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm’s Retail Edition will be available in stores on March 6

Posted on January 18, 2018 by John Scalzo

Square Enix and Deck Nine Games have announced that Life Is Strange: Before the Storm will make its way to retail stores on March 6. The prequel to the very popular Life Is Strange will be available for the PS4 and Xbox One in three different configurations including a Standard Edition ($29.99), a Limited Edition ($39.99), and a Vinyl Edition ($69.99).

All three versions of the game will include a bonus episode entitled “Farewell,” which reunites Chloe and Max, as well as their original voice actors, Ashly Burch and Hannah Telle. A new Mixtape Mode will let players score cinematic scenes with selections from the game’s soundtrack, and an Outfit Pack will add three new costumes to Chloe’s closet (“Punk Doe,” “Hawt Dawg Man,” and “Illuminati”). Finally, the first episode of the original Life Is Strange will be included with all retail versions of the game.

Players who opt for the Limited Edition will receive a physical art book and a soundtrack CD for the game. The Vinyl Edition, which will be sold exclusively through the Square Enix Store, will swap out the CD with a vinyl record and add a pair of Chloe and Rachel figurines.

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm fans who have already purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition will also be able to download “Farewell” on March 6. And in case you missed it, a behind-the-scenes video for the bonus episode can be found after the break.

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

Lost Sphear, Darkest Dungeon, Kirby: Battle Royale, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week

Posted on January 18, 2018 by John Scalzo

Welcome to a brand new update for the Nintendo eShop… cardboard not included.

Switch owners will be able to download Darkest Dungeon, Red Hook’s turn-based “gothic roguelike,” beginning today. But if you’d prefer to stay aboveground, Rain Games’s colorful 3D adventure, World to the West, will also launch for the Switch today.

Fans of dungeon crawlers may want to pop back into the Nintendo eShop on Tuesday, which is when the latest retro-styled RPG from Square Enix, Lost Sphear, will be available to download for the Switch.

Starting tomorrow, 3DS owners will be able to find Kirby: Battle Royale on the other side of Nintendo’s digital storefront. As you might expect from its name, Kirby: Battle Royale is a multiplayer-focused arena battler that includes ten different minigames… but also a single-player Story Mode.

You can learn more about all of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop after the break.

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See the first trailer for Batman: The Enemy Within’s fourth episode right here

Posted on January 18, 2018 by John Scalzo

Bruce Wayne and The Joker will cross paths again next week in Episode 4: What Ails You, Telltale’s next entry in Batman: The Enemy Within‘s story. Today, the developer released a new trailer for Episode 4, but I’d skip it if you’re not caught up with the game’s earlier episodes:

When the Pact puts its plan into motion, Bruce’s cover is finally blown, and as his web of lies unravels, new questions emerge: When and how will the Pact regroup? What’s truly motivating Amanda Waller and the Agency? And perhaps most importantly, how will John Doe handle the truth about his buddy Bruce? With another showdown brewing, the clown prince of crime may finally earn his crown…

Batman: The Enemy Within – Episode 4: What Ails You will be available to download for the PC, PS4, Xbox One, and mobile devices on Tuesday, January 23.

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

Nintendo Labo turns the Switch into a kid-friendly creative construction kit

Posted on January 17, 2018 by John Scalzo

Nintendo is at it again. Today, the consolemaker unveiled Nintendo Labo, a series of kid-friendly software packages that also double as creative construction kits powered by the portability of the Nintendo Switch.

Each Labo kit will come packed with several sheets of modular cardboard that can be molded into objects like a piano, or an RC car, or a (child-sized) wearable robot suit. Inserting a Joy-Con or the Switch console into these contraptions (which are known as Toy-Cons) will bring them to life, and allow players to play a song, race down the road, or do battle with invading aliens.

Nintendo will launch the Variety Kit (which includes the aforementioned piano and RC car, as well as a few other options) and the aptly-named Robot Kit on April 20. More information about the Toy-Con options available in both kits can be found right here:

Nintendo Labo: Variety Kit ($69.99)

  • Toy-Con RC Car: Insert the Left and Right Joy-Con into your newly built RC Car and control its movement using touch screen controls on the Nintendo Switch console. The HD Rumble feature in the Joy-Con controllers will cause vibrations that move the car in the direction you choose. Materials to construct two RC Cars are included.
  • Toy-Con Fishing Rod: Construct the Fishing Rod with an active, rotating reel that is attached by string to a cradle holding the Nintendo Switch console. Catch one of many exotic fish shown swimming on the Nintendo Switch screen by casting your Fishing Rod and unwinding the reel to lower the hook. Once you feel a vibration from the Joy-Con inserted in the reel, you must tug the Fishing Rod upward and crank the reel quickly to try and complete the catch!
  • Toy-Con House: By inserting various assembled blocks into openings in the sides and bottom of the House, you can interact with, play games with and feed a cute creature on the front-facing Nintendo Switch screen. Each differently shaped block is detected by the IR Motion Camera on the Right Joy-Con inserted on top of the House.
  • Toy-Con Motorbike: Insert each Joy-Con into an assembled set of handlebars to drive a motorbike on the Nintendo Switch screen. Pressing the ignition button starts the engine, while twisting the right handle activates the throttle. Leaning your body or turning the handlebars left and right controls the motorbike.
  • Toy-Con Piano: After assembling a beautifully crafted 13-key piano and inserting the Nintendo Switch console and Joy-Con, you can experiment with your own musical creations by pressing different keys. You can even insert different assembled knobs to create new sound effects and tones!

Nintendo Labo: Robot Kit ($79.99)

  • Toy-Con Robot: Create a wearable Robot suit, and insert the Left and Right Joy-Con into the designated slots on the backpack and visor to assume control of the robot, which is shown on the TV when the Nintendo Switch console is docked. Enjoy a variety of fun game-play experiences, including Robot mode, in which you can destroy in-game buildings and UFOs.

Whatever you do, don’t miss the Labo’s debut trailer, which has been embedded above. It should tell you everything you ever wanted to know about Nintendo’s new idea.

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