This Week in Gaming - April 21
Industry News
Pokemon Red and Green (And Other Finalists) Get Nominated For the Video Game Hall of Fame
The first Pokemon games are getting a shot at being inducted to the Video Game Hall of Fame. This year's finalists have been picked, ranging from classic titles like Final Fantasy VII, Halo, Donkey Kong, Portal, Resident Evil 1, Street Fighter II, Wii Sports, Tomb Raider, Myst, Mortal Kombat, Pokemon Red & Green, and Windows Solitaire. The results of which games will get awarded will be announced at the Strong Museum world video game exhibit, on May 4, 2017.
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US Federal Trade Commision Warns People About Switch Emulators
Now here's something interesting: The FTC has made an official statement, about none other than...Nintendo Switch emulators. The American government claims that all Switch emulators are scams, and that emulator sites should be treated with caution. Of course, while this is common knowledge to most of us, it is a good reminder for those who aren't as adept to the homebrew and hacking scene. The FTC also offers an amusing solution to those who want a Switch emulator...turn on automatic updates to your PC, and go play a Nintendo Switch at your friend's house instead!
SourceThe ESA Publishes Sales And Demographic Results for 2016
The Entertainment Software Association has published their yearly review of the video game industry for 2016. Titled 'Essential Facts', there's a ton of information included in the report, such as the fact that video games were a 20.4 billion dollar industry, the average "gamer" is 35 years old, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare was the bestselling game of 2016, and more. You can read the full document in the source.
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Bandai Namco Files Trademark for "Pac-Man Maker"
It looks like Bandai Namco might be planning something, as a trademark for a Pac-Man related game has shown up on EUIPO (the Eurpean Union trademark database). Titled 'Pac-Man Maker', there's no other information known at this time, but it does make one wonder, with such a similar name as that of Mario Maker.
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Crytek Shanghai Shuts Down Doors
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Microsoft To Offer Self-Service Refunds For Digital Purchases
Microsoft is following in Steam's footsteps, in terms of digital refunds, it appears, as the company is now in the process of rolling out the ability to refund digital game purchases. According to early testers, this is an instant, no-questions-asked refund process. Can we hope that Sony will follow suit as well?
General News
Hey! Pikmin! Isn't Being Developed By Nintendo
The latest Nintendo Direct shed a bit more light on Nintendo's upcoming Pikmin spinoff title coming to the 3DS. What it didn't show, however, was that the game won't be made by Nintendo's internal development teams. According to a filing with the Australian Ratings Board, Hey! Pikmin! will be developed by Arzest, known for 2014's Yoshi's New Island and 2016's Mario & Sonic and the Rio Games. Shigeru Miyamoto has overseen all prior Pikmin games, but he will not be involved with this specific title.
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PlayStation 4 Slim To Get New 1TB Model
Although it's a bit late to the game, Sony is now pushing a new 1TB model of the PS4 Slim for North America. Amazon has already cut the old 500GB HDD PS4 Slim down to around $250, while this new model will retail for $300.
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Bandai Namco Announces Code Vein
Previously teased earlier this week in a promotional video, Bandai Namco has unvielded the name of one of their upcoming games. Titled Code Vein, the game is set to be a "dungeon exploration" type of RPG, coming from the makers of the God Eater series. You play as a vampire, where you can fight alongside an AI partner, and absorb the abilities of your enemies. It's slated for release in 2018, with no platforms mentioned.
BlazBlue Central Fiction Coming To PC
Aksys Games will be bringing another one of Arc System Works' fighting games to PC, in the form of BlazBlue Central Fiction. It'll be hitting Steam on April 26, and although there is no price on the Steam page, customers will get 10% off for buying within launch week.
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Saints Row 2 Free On PC For A Limited Time
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StarCraft Is Permanently Free Now
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Syberia 2 Is Free Too!
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Layton's Mystery Journey Heads West
Level-5 will be bringing their follow-up series to the Professor Layton series to the west, this fall. Previously titled as "Lady Layton", this new title features a new cast of characters, and new puzzles to solve. It'll be releasing worldwide on July 20, 2017 for mobile devices, with a Japan-only 3DS release sometime in the fall. Interestingly enough, the Japanese 3DS release, though region-locked, will feature a full english localization.
Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days Gets Release Date
Emulation & Hacking/Homebrew News
PlayStation Vita Gets 3.65 FW Update
Though the Vita is a "legacy" console, it seems Sony is fully aware of the attempts on cracking its system, and to combat that, they've pushed out another update for the handheld. If you're on 3.60, get your things in order ASAP, before the spoof stops working.
TheFl0w Updates Adrenaline to V4, Takes Extended Break From Vita Scene
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2Dark Devs Remove Denuvo From Their Game...After It Gets Cracked
Well, this is certainly a confusing turn of events. Developer Gloomywood's latest game, 2Dark, initially ran a crowdfunding campaign in order to help get the game funded. As a promise to backers, Gloomywood promised that there would be no DRM included once 2Dark released. However, once the game did release, not only did the game have DRM, but it had Denuvo, the high-cost nigh-uncrackable type of DRM, to boot. Cracking team CPY wasted no time in mocking Gloomywood, however, as they cracked the game less than a month after release. Now, the devs have removed Denuvo from their game entirely, trying to frame it as them doing a favor to their customers.
Enter Nintaco: The New NES Emulator
It looks like there's a new NES Emulator in town, in the form of Nintaco, a cycle-accurate Nintendo Entertainment System emulator. It boasts features such as being written in JAva, and therefore being cross-platform, netplay, a TAS editor, as well as having a rewind function to let players go back and fix mistakes. You can check it out below!
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Fan Games and Projects
Sonic Fan Game Releases After 12 Years of Development
The Sonic series is known for having copious amounts of fangames and romhacks, all with varying levels of quality. However, this fangame stands out a bit more than the rest. Sonic Time Twisted is a game created by indie devs Overbound Game Studios, and has been in development for 12 years, and looks like a cross between Sonic 3 and Sonic CD's styles. Their project is now finally released, featuring 28 different acts, and a custom soundtrack as well. This might just satiate those who are getting antsy for Sonic Mania's upcoming release. The download link is in the source.
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Trailers
Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology Opening Animation
Reservoir Dogs Cinematic Trailer
Fire Emblem Echoes
Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality Launch Trailer
Syberia 3 Launch Trailer
Prey 'Talos' Exploration
Reservoir Dogs Cinematic Trailer
Fire Emblem Echoes
Rick & Morty: Virtual Rick-ality Launch Trailer
Syberia 3 Launch Trailer
Prey 'Talos' Exploration
Release Dates
May 2
The Caligula Effect (PSV)May 3
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 3rd (PC)May 5
Prey (PS4, XBO, PC)Dreamfall Chapters (PS4, XBO)
May 9
Birthdays: The Beginning (PS4, PC)LocoRoco Remastered (PS4)
Strafe (PC)
May 16
Injustice 2 (PS4, XBO, PC)The Surge (PS4, XBO, PC)
May 18
Reservoir Dogs: Bloody Days (PC)May 19
Fire Emblem: Echoes - Shadows of Valentia (3DS)Endless Space 2 (PC)
May 23
Samurai Warriors: Spirit of Sanada (PS4, PC)Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception (PS4, PSV)
Darksiders: Warmastered (Wii U)
Disgaea 5 Complete (NS)
May 26
Ultra Street Fighter II (NS)Guilty Gear Xrd: Rev 2 (PS4, PS3)
Rime (PS4, XBO, PC)
May 30
Ys: Origins (PSV)