Rumor: Pokemon Sun/Moon might be released for the Nintendo Switch as Pokemon Stars

pokemon-header

Back when it was officially known as the NX, Pokemon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara confirmed that at least one Pokemon game was in the works for Nintendo’s next console. A few weeks later, Nintendo pulled the curtain back on the Switch, a console/handheld hybrid that seems like the perfect device to deliver the on-the-go trading and battling the Pokemon franchise is known for.

Hold that thought, as a new rumor report on Eurogamer might possibly be pointing to a re-release of Pokemon Sun and Moon on the Switch.

The Pokemon Company routinely creates a third companion game to go with each pair of Pokemon games in the main series. Red and Blue lead to Yellow, Gold and Silver were joined by Crystal, Diamond and Pearl were enhanced with Platinum… you get the idea. But none of those games managed to jump platforms. If Eurogamer’s sources are correct, fans will be able to explore an enhanced version of Pokemon Sun and Moon, currently codenamed Pokemon Stars, on the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2017.

Said to be in development at Game Freak, Pokemon Stars will include a redone visual presentation and so much more:

Pokemon Stars’ development shouldn’t be seen as taking anything away from Sun and Moon’s launch – this is how all third entries in the Pokemon franchise are developed.

And there will be reason to play both: Pokemon will be tradable between Sun/Moon and Stars via the Pokemon Bank app. We’ve also heard suggestion there will be more creatures to collect in the Switch version, although not all of our sources could confirm this.

Expect the Switch version of Sun and Moon to feature the same map – the same routes and cities – and the same art style, although be built using separate, higher-resolution assets.

Nintendo will let us in on all their Switch secrets on January 12 during a special “Nintendo Switch Presentation 2017” livestream. If Pokemon Stars is in the works, and it is on track for a 2017 release, we’ll probably learn more about it then.

In the meantime, Pokemon Sun and Moon can be found on store shelves for the 3DS as of today.

Posted in 3DS, News, Switch | Tagged ,

EA, 2K dominate October’s best-selling games list as Battlefield 1, Mafa III lead the way

battlefield1-header

More games get released in October than any other month (though November is probably close), so it shouldn’t be surprising that megapublishers like Electronic Arts and 2K Games nearly ran the table with the NPD Group’s monthly best-sellers report.

EA’s Battlefield 1 took the top spot, and the publisher placed three other games in the top ten including FIFA 17 (#4), Titanfall 2 (#9), and Madden NFL 17 (#10). 2K Games had an equally strong month, thanks to Mafia III making gamers an offer they couldn’t refuse (and the #2 spot on the list). It was followed by NBA 2K17 (#5), WWE 2K17 (#7), and Civilization VI (#8).

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, NPD’s Sam Naji said that overall industry revenues were up 6% in October 2016, though hardware and accessories aren’t selling as well as they did a year ago.

The full Top 10 from October 2016 can be found after the break.

Press Start to Continue

Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Play Overwatch for free on the PC, PS4, Xbox One during a “Free Weekend” starting today

overwatch-header

Have you had the chance to play Overwatch yet? If not, then you’re in luck, Blizzard is offering the chance to try it out during a “Free Weekend” that begins today.

The “Free Weekend” officially kicks off at 2:00 PM (Eastern Time) today, and runs until 7:00 PM (Eastern Time) on Monday, November 21. Best of all, players will also get the chance to play as Overwatch’s newest character, Sombra. And if you enjoy your time with Overwatch and decide to purchase it, Blizzard has also said that all progress you make in the game during the “Free Weekend” will carry over to the full game.

More information about Overwatch’s “Free Weekend” can be found at PlayOverwatch.com.

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

Amy Hennig’s Star Wars game won’t be “Star Wars Uncharted”

starwars-logo

Amy Hennig has worked in the game industry for nearly three decades, but her name is most familiar to gamers as the co-creator of the Uncharted franchise. Hennig left Naughty Dog during the development of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, and eventually landed at EA to work on a brand new (and untitled) Star Wars game with Visceral Games and Jade Raymond’s Motive Studios. And even though it won’t be out until 2018, fans are dying to learn more about the secretive project.

Hennig recently had a chat with Glixel to discuss her career, and her ambitious new Star Wars game, but one thing she made abundantly clear is that players shouldn’t think of her new project as “Star Wars Uncharted”:

While the new Star Wars game will be spiritually similar to Uncharted, Hennig insists it won’t be “Star Wars Uncharted.” It’s an important distinction to make. For example: you’ll never see an Uncharted game cutting away to the point of view of the villain. It may be third person, but we’re always following the hero, as in the Indiana Jones films. Star Wars, however, is different. It’s more of an ensemble adventure with multiple character arcs, which enables everyone to do things in parallel – witness the Death Star escape in A New Hope.

While Hennig is eager to leave her prior work in the past (“If you break up with your spouse and they get remarried, you don’t want to see photos of the happy couple on Facebook, do you?”), she admits that she is very focused on Star Wars‘s past:

What ultimately convinced her to take the Star Wars gig was the promise of a close collaboration with Lucasfilm, specifically with Kiri Hart, the head of the company’s story group, and Doug Chiang, Lucasfilm’s executive creative director. To Hennig’s continued delight, there have been frequent visits to Skywalker Ranch since work began work on the game, at first to photograph and scan props for the game – costumes, masks, original artwork by Ralph McQuarrie – and then simply to soak up the atmosphere. “There’s this giant warehouse full of Home Depot shelves stacked with precious things from your childhood,” Hennig says. “Luke’s Stormtrooper costume, the original Yoda, just kind of saggy and slumped over on this dusty shelf…it’s almost silly, seeing all this precious stuff just sitting there so unceremoniously.”

It might be a long time before we hear anything more about the untitled Star Wars game currently under the direction of Amy Hennig at Visceral, but we did get a look at some concept art from the project during this year’s Star Wars Celebration.

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

Nintendo Download: Pokemon Sun/Moon, Excitebike 64, Wario Land Shake It, more

It’s time to catch ’em all once again… and that’s because Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon will be available to download through the 3DS eShop beginning tomorrow. The latest pair of games in the long-running series will let players travel to the never-before-seen Alola Region. There, they’ll discover new Pokemon and unleash intense Z-Moves in battle.

Over on the Wii U eShop, two new Virtual Console titles have made Nintendo’s home console a bit more retro-tastic today. First up is Excitebike 64, which was originally released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. The well-received motocross racer brought the franchise back from a lengthy pit stop, and Nintendo even managed to resurrect the famed Track Editor.

Also available to download for the Wii U today is Wario Land: Shake It, which first launched for the Wii in 2008. Wario’s last side-scroller platformer used hand-drawn artwork to tell its story, but players were still encouraged to be as bad as they could be by shaking to Wii Remote to “shake down your enemies, free coins from treasure bags, and even cause in-game earthquakes.”

More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break.

Press Start to Continue

Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U | Tagged

Mages of Mystralia will cast a spell on the PS4 (and maybe the Xbox One) in Spring 2017

Earlier this week Borealys Games announced their upcoming action RPG, Mages of Mystralia, will also be released for the PS4 in Spring 2017. Already in development for the PC, the announcement was made on the PlayStation Blog, along with the release of a new trailer and a bit more information about the game’s backstory:

To feel powerful and wise, you must first know what it’s like to be weak and unwise. In Mages of Mystralia, you play as Zia, a young girl who discovers one day that she has the gift of magic. In the Mystralia universe, magic is known to exist, but it is rare — and illegal. Zia goes into exile on a quest to learn the ways of magic and master her skills. Along the way, she discovers runes which can be combined in different ways to create new spells.

Mages of Mystralia’s spellcasting is said to give players “potentially millions of ways” to craft new spells, and PS4 fans will get the chance to test out a demo of the game’s magic system next month at the PlayStation Experience in Anaheim.

Dan Adelman, Mages of Mystralia’s PR Guru, also revealed that Borealys is in discussions with Microsoft to bring the game to the Xbox One. While Adelman didn’t have anything official to announce just yet, he said on Twitter that the talks have produced “positive vibes all around.”

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

Daily Scoop: November 17, 2016 – Tomb Raider sale at Steam

I finally got my new 3DS XL up and running last night, and it’s absolutely gorgeous! I’ve had a launch system since, well, launch, and it’s still kicking, but I wanted something bigger so I could play… well, OK, I first got the idea because I was having a hard time playing Pokemon Picross, but let’s not go down that road! Needless to say, I’m super excited about Pokemon Sun and Moon tomorrow! Which one are you getting?

Let’s talk about today’s deals! There are lots more great sales today for the Humble Birthday Sale! Tabletop Simulator is $9.99, Total War: Warhammer – Realm of the Wood Elves is $17.09, Prison Architect is $7.49, and Slime Rancher is $14.99, among many others!

The Weekend Deal at Steam is all about Tomb Raider. Tons of games in the franchise are on sale, including Rise of the Tomb Raider for $29.99, Tomb Raider for $4.99, and Tomb Raider: Underworld for $2.24. The Daily Deal is the awesome Darkest Dungeon, which is on sale for $14.99.

Hit the jump to see today’s t-shirts!

Press Start to Continue

Posted in Daily Scoop |

Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 4 gets the last laugh on November 22

Ladies and gentlemen, The Joker has arrived. The Clown of Crime will make his Batman: The Telltale Series debut in Episode 4: Guardian of Gotham, which asks players to help Bruce Wayne attempt to escape from Arkham Asylum:

In Episode 4, Penguin has taken control of Wayne Enterprises, and the Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane has a new guest – you – Bruce Wayne. With the Batman removed from the streets of Gotham City, Harvey Dent’s forces and the Children of Arkham are at war, with innocent citizens caught in the crossfire. To escape the “comforts” of your padded cell, you must choose allies to aid in your escape, even if they aren’t the sort to put a smile on your face. How far are you willing to go for justice? For vengeance? What now, Dark Knight?

Batman: The Telltale Series – Episode 4: Guardian of Gotham will be available to download for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices on November 22. You can get a sneak peek at Episode 4 in the embedded above, but beware of spoilers if you’re not caught up to the latest chapter.

Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Tagged