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Well, it's only been 6 months since the last edition of This Week in Gaming! Let's not waste any more time, and get right to what you've been waiting for--a roundup of news and the latest going-ons in the industry.

Industry News

EA sets new Reddit record of most downvotes...ever
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It's definitely not a good time to be working for Electronic Arts, as the company has once against drawn ire of all gamers alike to their business practices. In fact, this time, they managed to unite over half a million people with shared hatred of their lootbox policy for the upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Video game review sites noted that it should take either over 40 hours of grinding to unlock the two most notable characters in the series, or alternatively, around $250 on average. EA decided to explain their choices on the social media website Reddit, which did not end well for them. Their response is currently sitting at 640,000 downvotes (dis-likes), a landslide site record for Reddit. The thread was then locked to prevent more people from commenting, but people were so angry, that they paid money to "gild" EA's comment, purely just to send enraged comments via PM.

Source

Deadpool game to be removed from Steam, again
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Activision is going to be pulling their Marvel-licensed game, Deadpool, from Steam. On November 16, the game will no longer able to be purchased on the digital storefront. Of course, this isn't the first time this has happened, as it was pulled back in 2013 as well, due to licensing. This time around, Activision hasn't given a reason, and merely stated that the game is slated to be removed permanently. This might be your last chance to own the game legally if you don't already, and the company is at least offering a 70% off sale for people to grab the game before it's gone.

Source

Assassin's Creed series reaches 10th anniversary
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One of the biggest Ubisoft franchises is celebrating its 10th anniversary this month. Assassin's Creed 1 is now a decade old, having released for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, all the way back on November 13, 2007. Perhaps one of the most important and defining games of the company, Assassin's Creed has had 10 mainline installments, and more than 7 spinoff games. The franchise has also sold over 100 million copies in its lifetime, setting it as one of the highest selling game franchises ever.

GameStop halts its PowerPass program
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GameStop seems to be having some slight issues with their recently announced "PowerPass" subscription, which allows customers to rent used games for $60 every 6 months, and then keep the final rental. According to Kotaku, GameStop isn't able to keep up with the demand, and thus, the program is now suspended without any intention of returning, for now. If you did happen to purchase the PowerPass sub, you can get a full refund, as well as a free pre-owned game for your hassle.

Source

The Game Awards nominees announced
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For those of you who enjoy voting, or otherwise fighting about which game was better over the other, the Game Awards has chosen their picks for this year's competition. Ranging from games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, NieR Automata, Persona 5, and Super Mario Odyssey, as well as categories such as best narrative, best art, and of course, game of the year. Check out the link below to vote in your favorite games, so that they can win the oh so illustrious "Game of the Year" award sticker on their boxart reprints. The contenders and games are also listed in the spoiler tag here.

Spoiler: GOTY

Game of the Year:

• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Super Mario Odyssey
• PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds
• Persona 5
• Horizon: Zero Dawn

Best Game Direction:

• Wolfenstein II
• Resident Evil VII
• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Horizon Zero Dawn

Best Narrative:

• What Remains of Edith Finch
• NieR: Automata
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
• Wolfenstein II
• Horizon Zero Dawn

Best Art Direction:

• Destiny 2
• Cuphead
• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Persona 5
• Horizon Zero Dawn

Best Score/Music:

• Destiny 2
• Cuphead
• NieR: Automata
• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Persona 5

Best Audio Design:

• Destiny 2
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
• Resident Evil VII
• Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Super Mario Odyssey

Best Performance:

• Melina Juergens (Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice)
• Laura Bailey (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy)
• Claudia Black (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy)
• Brian Bloom (Wolfenstein II)
• Ashly Burch (Horizon: Zero Dawn)

Games for Impact:

• Please Knock on My Door
• Night in the Woods
• Life is Strange: Before the Storm
• Bury Me, My Love
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Best Ongoing Game:

• Warframe
• Rainbow Six: Siege
• Overwatch
• GTA: Online
• Destiny 2
• PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

Best Mobile Game:

• Super Mario Run
• Old Man's Journey
• Monument Valley 2
• Hidden Folks
• Fire Emblem Heroes

Best Handheld Game:

• Poochy and Yoshi's Woolly World
• Monster Hunter Stories
• Metroid: Samus Returns
• Fire Emblem: Echoes
• Ever Oasis

Best VR/AR Game:

• Superhot VR
• Star Trek: Bridge Crew
• Lone Echo / Echo Arena
• Farpoint
• Resident Evil VII

Best Action Game:

• Prey
• Nioh
• Destiny 2
• Cuphead
• Wolfenstein II

Best Action/Adventure Game:

• Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
• Assassin's Creed: Origins
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• Super Mario Odyssey
• Horizon: Zero Dawn

Best Role Playing Game:

• South Park: The Fractured But Whole
• Final Fantasy XV
• Divinity: Original Sin 2
• NieR: Automata
• Persona 5

Best Fighting Game:

• Tekken 7
• Nidhogg 2
• Marvel vs. CApcom: Infinite
• Injustice 2
• Arms

Best Family Game:

• Splatoon 2
• Sonic Mania
• Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Super Mario Odyssey

Best Strategy Game:

• XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
• Tooth and Tail
• Total War: WArhammer II
• Halo Wars 2
• Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle

Best Sports/Racing Game:

• Project Cars 2
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2018
• NBA 2K18
• GT Sport
• Forza Motorsport 7
• FIFA 18

Best Multiplayer:

• Fortnite
• Call of Duty: World War II
• Splatoon 2
• Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
• Destiny 2
• PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds

Most Anticipated Game:

• The Last of Us Part II
• Red Dead Redemption II
• Monster Hunter: World
• Marvel's Spider-Man
• God of WAr

Best Independent Game:

• Pyre
• Night in the Woods
• Cuphead
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice

Best Student Game:

• Meaning
• Level Squared
• Impulsion
• Falling Sky
• Hollowed
• From Light

Trending Gamer:

• Steven Spohn (AbleGamers)
• Mike Grzesiek (Shroud)
• Guy Beahm (Dr. Disrepect)
• Clint Lexa (Halfcoordinated)
• Andrea Rene (What's Good Games)

Best Esports Game:

• Rocket League
• League of Legends
• DOTA2
• Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
• Overwatch

Best Esports Player:

• Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi (Team Liquid)
• Je-hong "ryujehong" Ryu (Seoul Dynasty)
• Nikola "NiKo" Kovac (FaZE Clan)
• Marcelo "coldzera" David (SK Gaming)
• Lee Sang-hyeok "Faker" (SK Telecom 1)

Best Esports Team:

• Team Liquid
• SK Telecom 1
• Lunatic-Hai
• FaZE Clan
• Cloud 9

Best Debut Indie Game (Fan-voted):

• Slime Rancher
• Mr. Shifty
• Hollow Knight
• Golf Story
• Cuphead

Source

General News

Hollow Knight Switch port delayed to next year
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Team Cherry's successful metroidvania title, Hollow Knight was set to launch on the Nintendo Switch this month. However, the company has just put out a press release stating that the port will be pushed back to "early 2018". This is reportedly due to the current version being "unoptimzed" for the console. Team Cherry also says that after the Switch release, they'll be talking with PlayStation and Microsoft to potentially get Hollow Knight ported to other systems as well.

Source

Atlus locks in release date for Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology
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The cult-classic 2011 JRPG Radiant Historia will be getting a port to the Nintendo 3DS, a fact we've known since earlier this year. Atlus has decided to give us some more details about the upcoming port, specifically the release date. Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology will be out on February 13, (16 in EU) 2018, both digitally and physically. The game will also feature new story additions, a difficulty setting, and balancing.

PlayStation Plus requirement waived for PS4 owners this week
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Sony will be waiving the regular PlayStation Plus requirement to play online for five days in a row. From November 15th at 10AM GMT, to November 20th at 10AM GMT, anyone that owns a PS4 will be able to use PS+ functionality in any game. This is to promote the latest Call of Duty game, so that players can test out the online multiplayer system on the console, though the feature extends to all online games. As a bonus, if you're a current PS+ subscriber and live in areas of Texas, Florida, or Puerto Rico that were affected by natural disasters, you'll be getting a free extra month added onto your sub.

Source

You can now "gift" digital games on the Xbox store
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If you've ever felt the need to want to gift friends and family digital games on Xbox Live, you can now do so. Perfectly timed for both Black Friday and the Holiday season, players can gift others their digital purchases from the service.

Starcraft II goes free to play
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After the remastered edition of the original Starcraft was released, Blizzard announced that it would also be making the sequel, Starcraft II, free to play. As of today, you can now download the game for free from Blizzard. The other three expansions of the game, Heart of the Swarm, Legacy of the Void, and Nova Covert Ops will all still cost money, however, retailing for $14.99 each, or as a complete bundle for $39.99.

Mario Party: The Top 100 gets a new release date in EU
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Mario Party: The Top 100 already launched on November 10th for North Americans, but Europeans are stuck waiting on the game. Initially set to release on January 5, 2018, Nintendo of Europe has brought the release date a bit forward, to December 22, 2017.

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Emulation/Hacking News

Dataminers find Super Sonic DLC in Sonic Forces...and a "Sanic" shirt
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Thanks to some dataminers, there's been some...interesting reveals in Sonic Forces' latest patch. Version 1.01 adds bugfixes and other things you'd expect, but there's two more additions. One is a Super Sonic transformation, not yet available in the game at the time of writing, and something a little more odd--a green t-shirt for your custom character with an image of Sanic, a longtime meme, adorned upon it.

Source

CEMU 1.11.0 - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild gameplay


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Wii U emulator juggernaut CEMU is only getting better and better with each update. While Breath of the Wild has been playable start to finish via the emulator for a while now, new updates offer more stable framerates, and better performance. Why not take a look and see how it runs?

PS3 FW 4.82 released + 4.81 exploit
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It sounds like Sony has caught wind that PS3 scene hackers have found out about an exploit on the once-latest PS3 firmware version. Merely a week after user esc0rtd3w revealed that he had made signifigant progress on his PS3Xploit, Sony quickly pushed out an update for the near-obsolete PlayStation 3. It is not known if this update patches the exploit, but seeing how the timing worked out, it's more than safe to assume as such. The 4.81 exploit is currently set to be public sometime around Christmas. Once, or if, released, this will be the first exploit available for Super Slim PS3 models, and will allow software downgrades without extra hardware.

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Trailers

Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire


Dragon Ball FigherZ: Android 18


Pokemon US/UM Necrozma Secrets


Overwatch: Moira
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Release Calendar

November 17
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (NS)
Pokemon Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon (3DS)
Star Wars Battlefront II (PC/PS4/XBO)
The Sims 4 (PS4/XBO)
November 21
Superbeat XONiC (NS)
Axiom Verge (PSVita)
November 23
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (3DS)
November 28
Resident Evil Revelations (NS)
Resident Evil Revelations 2 (NS)
Star Ocean: The Last Hope (PC/PS4)
November 30
Little Witch Academia: Chamber of Time (PS4)
Syberia II (NS)
December 1
Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (NS)
DOOM VFR (PSVR/Vive)
December 7
Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4)
December 8
Tokyo Xanadu eX+ (PS4)
Yakuza 6 (PS4)
December 9
LocoRoco 2 Remastered (PS4)
December 12
Okami HD (PC/PS4/XBO)
Fallout 4: VR (Vive)

 

[DRAGONBALLVINTAGE]

ohh SANIC

 

[rileysrjay]

Sanic shirt in Sonic forces? TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY SONIC TEAM!!!

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Also glad to see this week in gaming back! Hopefully it stays around for a while!

 

[Hells Malice]

Oh EA never change.

I'd actually have pre-ordered Battlefront 2 if it wasn't EA and I knew they'd fuck something up.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

Nice job @Chary Now i just need to wake up tomorrow to read with coffee and breakfast.

 

[DarthDub]

I thought Gamestop liked money? That's odd.

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

I honestly didn't expect that GameStop thing to take off so well! I'm surprised, I really thought it'd just be another one of those ideas that's good in theory but bad in practice cuz GameStop is meh. Apparently it just worked too well.

 

[rileysrjay]

I thought Gamestop liked money? That's odd.

Oh, they still like money. they probably stopped the program so they can shove all those used games at clueless shoppers during the holiday shopping season. Watch, the program will return as soon as the new year starts!

 

[RustInPeace]

The Japanese version of the USUM trailer is longer and so much better. I wonder if they would've made a trailer teasing Ultra Necrozma if the leaks didn't happen.

I just read about the EA thing somewhere else and find it hilarious. The last EA game I played was Madden 03 on Gamecube. In fact I only played EA Sports games, not just EA. Every couple months, I read something about them and thank goodness that lack of EA consumption continues. They seem to be the biggest example of a company dissuading people from playing a game, regardless of its actual quality.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

So is the deadpool game even good to play?

 

[Tom Bombadildo]

So is the deadpool game even good to play?

It's not a bad game or anything, it's basically just a simple beat em up with Deadpool humor thrown in. Think the Batman Arkham games, but with a lot simpler gameplay, meh story, and the occasional dick joke.

 

[Sonic Angel Knight]

It's not a bad game or anything, it's basically just a simple beat em up with Deadpool humor thrown in. Think the Batman Arkham games, but with a lot simpler gameplay, meh story, and the occasional dick joke.

So even with discount is it worth playing? Only if i like toilet humor or something? I mean is the whole game fueled by jokes or is any of it fun?

 

[DeoNaught]

huh, GS new service is money making it looks, I hope they bring it back, I enjoy(ed) Gamestop.
to buy a game irl, instead of online.

f you're a current PS+ subscriber and live in areas of Texas, Florida, or Puerto Rico that were affected by natural disasters, you'll be getting a free extra month added onto your sub.

That's very nice of them honestly, my heart is warmed by this.

 

[BlueFox gui]

SANIC???? REALLY????? HAHAHAHAHA XD
i can't wait for pokyman

 

[leon315]

Good news about CEMU, even i've already played Zelda on wiiu i'll still play that again on my 6700k+1070, playing Zelda BOTW at 60fps is simply PRICELES!!!!

 

[Stephano]

A "Sanic" Shirt? That's it! Nintendo, i want my official "Lunk" and "7 Grand Dad" shirts pronto!!!

 

[Pacheko17]

Persona 5 for game of the year! Yay!

 

[SonicfanCEMUTesting]

A "Sanic" shirt?




wut

 

[migles]

thank you chary


~~i miss ya charmanders collection

 

[Termer]

SANIC! Sega fan service strikes again! (Sega is the best)