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Ubisoft delays Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six: Quarantine, and Watch Dogs Legion
Ubisoft had previously announced plans to release storybook adventure Gods & Monsters, co-op shooter Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Quarantine, and the massive Watch Dogs Legion during the first three months of 2020, but that packed release schedule underwent a shakeup this afternoon.
After disappointing sales of Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, the publisher decided today to devote more development time to all three titles. Each one will now be released sometime during Ubisoft’s next fiscal year, which falls between April 1st of 2020 and March 31st of 2021.
Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot released this statement about the delay:
In this overall context, we have decided to postpone the releases of Gods & Monsters, Rainbow Six: Quarantine, and Watch Dogs Legion until [April 1, 2020 – March 31, 2021]. While each of these games already has a strong identity and high potential, we want our teams to have more development time to ensure that their respective innovations are perfectly implemented so as to deliver optimal experiences for players.
Ubisoft also said that they plan to release two additional “AAA” games during their next fiscal year, though the titles went unnamed. We know that the company is currently hard at work on Beyond Good & Evil 2 and Skull & Bones, but neither has a confirmed release date as of right now.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Tom Clancy's The Division 2, Watch Dogs Legion
Darksiders Genesis gets a release date for PC/Google Stadia (December 9) and consoles (February 14)
THQ Nordic and Airship Syndicate have announced that Darksiders Genesis, their top-down spinoff set within the Darksiders universe, will be released for the PC and Google Stadia on December 9.
In addition to a release date for Darksiders Genesis, we also got a new trailer that teases Strife’s confrontation with Malgros the Defiler (it’s actually an expanded version of the original Announcement Trailer). The video clip definitely has a great Jabba’s Palace vibe, and even slyly hints at the game’s co-op gameplay:
Darksiders Genesis features the debut of the fourth and final horsemen – Strife – who can battle alongside his brother and fellow horsemen WAR in the first ever Darksiders two-player co-op mode. Solo players will be able to alternate between Strife and War on the fly, taking advantage of Strife’s ranged and War’s melee style attacks. Both characters can build up a special attack meter that, when activated, temporarily turns them into a colossal creature that leaves epic destruction in its wake.
Darksiders Genesis is also in development for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One, and the the Diablo-like game will make its console debut on February 14, 2020.
Bethesda’s Doom 64 re-release gets a new trailer
Doom 64 debuted as the official third entry in the FPS franchise for the Nintendo 64 all the way back in 1997, but id Software (and now Bethesda) has kept it locked in a vault ever since. Thankfully, that all changes next Spring when the game returns in a new re-release for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.
While that wait might feel like an eternity, Bethesda did unveil a brand new trailer for Doom 64 today, and it’s been embedded above. The publisher also reconfirmed that fans who pre-order Doom Eternal will receive a free download code for Doom 64 as part of that game’s Rip and Tear Pack, which also includes the DOOT Revenant Player Skin, the Throwback Shotgun Weapon Skin, and the Cultist Base Master Level.
Doom 64 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on March 20, 2020. Doom Eternal will arrive on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on the same day, and on the Switch at a later date.
NBA 2K20 is the best-selling game from September 2019
It long ago become an annual tradition, but the latest entry in 2K’s NBA 2K franchise absolutely dominated the sales charts in September. According to The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella (via Twitter), NBA 2K20 was not only the best-selling game from last month, but it also currently sits atop the list as the best-selling game for all of 2019 (dethroning Mortal Kombat 11).
But it’ll face some stiff competition throughout the rest of the year as a big batch of new releases took over the Top 10 including Borderlands 3 (#2), FIFA 20 (#3), The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (#4), Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (#6), Code Vein (#8), and NHL 20 (#9). Microsoft’s Gears 5, which was also available to download through the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, managed to make its way onto the list at #7.
However, the most surprising addition to this month’s list might be EA’s Plants Vs Zombies: Battle For Neighborville, which is currently only available as an Early Access download on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One. We can expect it’s profile to rise next month as the game will make its retail debut on store shelves tomorrow.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from last month after the break. (more…)
Kickstart This! Naima’s Melody, Real Arcade Bike, and Fallen Angel
Kickstarter has been trending for all the wrong reasons recently, and that’s because the company’s interim CEO, Aziz Hasan, fired two employees who had been at the forefront of trying to unionise the crowdfunding platform’s workforce. Of course, Hasan claims that’s not why Clarissa Redwine and Taylor Moore were fired.
Legal action is now being taken by the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) on behalf of Kickstarter United, the unofficial union at the heart of the matter. And Redwine directly challenged the reasoning behind her firing (given as “performance issues”) on Twitter.
Redwine is clearly a class act, because she cuts through the BS and tells people to keep supporting creators, because that is what Kickstarter is all about, and it does it far better than any other platform. Many creators and backers are taking the time to pause and reflect on whether the platform is still the right fit for them. But we’re going to follow Clarissa Redwine’s request and continue to support creators on the crowdfunding platform, while keeping a watchful eye on how the company continues to operate.
So let’s check out some games. This edition sees us humming along to Naima’s Melody, tearing up tarmac on our Real Arcade Bike, and chilling with the devil in Fallen Angel. (more…)
More than 2,500 playable MS-DOS games have been added to the Internet Archive
The Internet Archive has made it their mission to safeguard as much of the Internet as they can, but the group is also heavily involved in preserving classic video games and making them playable for a new generation of players through in-browser emulation.
Earlier this week, they massively expanded the number of retro video games available in their collection thanks to the addition of more than 2,500 MS-DOS games from the 1980s and 1990s.
It wasn’t easy getting all of those titles to work in a browser, and Curator Jason Scott had a bit to say about the process on the Internet Archive Blog:
The update of these MS-DOS games comes from a project called eXoDOS, which has expanded over the years in the realm of collecting DOS games for easy playability on modern systems to tracking down and capturing, as best as can be done, the full context of DOS games – from the earliest simple games in the first couple years of the IBM PC to recently created independent productions that still work in the MS-DOS environment.
What makes the collection more than just a pile of old, now-playable games, is how it has to take head-on the problems of software preservation and history. Having an old executable and a scanned copy of the manual represents only the first few steps. DOS has remained consistent in some ways over the last (nearly) 40 years, but a lot has changed under the hood and programs were sometimes only written to work on very specific hardware and a very specific setup. They were released, sold some amount of copies, and then disappeared off the shelves, if not everyone’s memories.
It is all these extra steps, under the hood, of acquisition and configuration, that represents the hardest work by the eXoDOS project, and I recognize that long-time and Herculean effort. As a result, the eXoDOS project has over 7,000 titles they’ve made work dependably and consistently.
Even with 2,500 new additions, you’re not going to find every MS-DOS game ever released in the Internet Archive’s collection. But you will find a wide variety of beloved games, including id Software’s The Ultimate Doom, Psygnosis’s Wipeout, EA’s original The Need For Speed, LucasArts’s The Secret of Monkey Island, and many more.
Google Stadia will launch on November 19
Google has announced (via the official Google Blog) that the Founder’s Edition Bundle for their Stadia game streaming service will be available on November 19. Stadia’s online storefront will open its doors on the same day and all users will receive a free copy of Destiny 2 as part of the deal:
Stadia Founder’s Edition will start arriving on gamers’ doorsteps on November 19, 2019. If you were one of the first gamers who pre-ordered and have received your Founder’s Editions, you’ll be able to buy and play your favorite games beginning at 9AM PST/5PM BST/6PM CET on November 19.
Whether you ordered Stadia Founder’s Edition or Premiere Edition, you’ll have three months of Stadia Pro, with access to Destiny 2: The Collection. Using the included Chromecast Ultra and Stadia Controller, you’ll be gaming in up to 4K HDR with 5.1 surround sound when playing on your TV.
Stadia Founder’s Editions and Stadia Premiere Editions will begin shipping in the same order that pre-orders were received. You’ll get an email when your package ships, and soon after, will receive a code to activate your Stadia account and Stadia Pro.
According to Google, Stadia will offer instantaneous game streaming with no downloads required. However, players will also need to subscribe to the Stadia Pro service (priced at $9.99 per month) to receive access to the the Stadia storefront. Prices for individual games have yet to be announced, but they will likely be comparable to competing digital game merchants. A free Stadia Base tier will be available in 2020… but you’ll still have to purchase individual games through the service.
If you still have questions about Google Stadia, the search giant has uploaded a brand new “What is Stadia and How It Works” video that answers most of them, and it’s been embedded above.
Play as Sonic the Hedgehog in Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD
Sonic the Hedgehog is strapping on his red sneakers and heading out for a new destination later this month.
Sega has announced that their beloved Blue Blur will make an appearance in the upcoming Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD as an unlockable character. And don’t worry, you’ll be collecting Rings, not bananas, when you play as Sonic:
Playing as the world’s fastest hedgehog comes with some unique effects. In addition to boasting incredible speed (obviously), selecting Sonic automatically changes all stages’ bananas to golden rings, complete with nostalgic, classic SFX!
You can check out Sonic’s slick moves in the trailer embedded above, but if you’d prefer to stick with Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD’s original rollers, the re-release will also include a selection of unlockable costumes for every monkey in the base cast.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD will be released for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on October 29. The game will also be available for the PC (through Steam) later this Winter.