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Kingdom Hearts III, Resident Evil 2, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe unsurprisingly lead NPD’s list of best-selling games from January 2019
Kingdom Hearts fans were kept waiting more than a decade for the third game in the franchise, but Square Enix finally rewarded their patience with the launch of Kingdom Hearts III last month. As you might have guessed, fans purchased the game in droves, pushing it all the way to the top of The NPD Group’s list of best-selling games from January 2019.
Two highly-anticipated re-releases, Resident Evil 2 (#2) and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (#3) were close behind, and Bandai Namco’s Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (#7) and Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition (#12) also cracked the top 20.
However, while several games had strong starts on the sales chart, the industry overall suffered a decline last month versus January 2018. All together, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that total sales (hardware, software, and accessories) were down 19% to $893 million.
You can find a full list of best-selling games from January 2019 after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, FIFA 19, Grand Theft Auto V, Kingdom Hearts III, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Minecraft, NBA 2K19, NPD, Red Dead Redemption 2, Resident Evil 2, Spider-Man, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario Party, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Tales of Vesperia, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Darkest Dungeon 2 announced by Red Hook Studios
“In the howling darkness of the end men will become monsters. But hope will ride with those courageous enough to carry the flame.”
Red Hook Studios has announced that Darkest Dungeon 2 is currently in development, and the first Teaser Trailer has been embedded above. Details are currently scarce, but Red Hook’s Tyler Sigman and Chris Bourassa sat down with PC Gamer to talk a bit more about the RPG sequel:
PC Gamer: What’s interesting to you about making a direct sequel to Darkest Dungeon?
Tyler Sigman and Chris Bourassa, Red Hook Studios: We love our dysfunctional cast of characters, our atmosphere, and our world. Horror is a fantastic space to explore interesting and unconventional ideas, and we have a lot more story we want to tell. Mechanically, we also think we have some valuable nuggets (e.g. combat) and there is more there that we’d like to explore and build on. Above all, we are committed to crafting Darkest Dungeon 2 to be its own experience; it will have its own creative and thematic identity.
PC Gamer: What gameplay and other changes are you able to talk to us about at this time?
Tyler Sigman and Chris Bourassa, Red Hook Studios: We’re playing this pretty close to the chest! Our combat system is making a return, but we’re giving it a significant tune-up—mechanically, and in terms of presentation. Most significantly, however, we are working with a completely different metagame structure. Darkest Dungeon 2 is a game about enduring a gruelling journey, not cleaning up your backyard.
The pair also confirmed that six character classes will return in Darkest Dungeon 2 (Grave Robber, Leper, Man-at-Arms, Plague Doctor, Highwayman, and Hellion), and hinted that Darkest Dungeon 2 will likely receive an Early Access release so fans can “kick the tires of the systems.”
After debuting on the PC in 2016, the original Darkest Dungeon eventually made its way to the PS4, Vita, Switch, and Xbox One. Presumably the sequel will land on the same platforms, but that announcement will have to wait for another day.
Negan and Julia Chang will be available to download in Tekken 7 on February 28
Bandai Namco has announced they will add the final two characters from Tekken 7‘s Season Pass 2 expansion to the game later this month.
Negan, from AMC’s The Walking Dead, and Julia Chang, who made her first appearance in the franchise in Tekken 3, will be available to download on February 28. A new trailer featuring both fighters has been embedded above.
Yacht Club delays Shovel Knight: King of Cards and Shovel Knight Showdown
Yacht Club Games originally planned to close the book on the Shovel Knight saga on April 9 with the release of Shovel Knight: King of Cards and Shovel Knight Showdown. But plans change, and late last night the developer confirmed (via their official website) that both titles would be delayed by “several months… at most!”
Naturally, this delay will also apply to the upcoming retail release of Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove (a compilation containing all five Shovel Knight games), as well as the Amiibo 3-Pack featuring Specter Knight, Plague Knight, and King Knight.
This is not a major delay so much as more space to bring everything together for a polished and complete finale. As always, these last steps require coordination with many teams beyond our own.
We realize the delay is disappointing. To communicate better with everyone moving forward, we will not be announcing a new date until we know one for sure, from all partners involved. All builds shipped out, updates ready to launch, for everybody and everyone. We will announce it for good once it is 100% all across the board!
The final two games in the Shovel Knight saga are currently in development for the PC, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, but other platforms will also get in on the fun. King of Cards will be available as a free expansion on the 3DS, PS3, Vita, and Wii U for owners of the original Shovel Knight, while Showdown will receive a similar release on the PS3 and Wii U.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Shovel Knight, Shovel Knight Showdown, Shovel Knight: King of Cards, Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment
New Retail Releases: Anthem, SteinsGate Elite, More
BioWare is back in the spotlight this week thanks to the launch of Anthem, their latest co-op sci-fi adventure. Anthem will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and players will take control of exosuit-wearing Freelancers in a fight against “a shadowy faction threatens all of humankind.”
Microsoft will also team up with BioWare to produce a 1 TB Xbox One S + Anthem Bundle.
Elsewhere on store shelves this week, Spike Chunsoft will expand the SteinsGate saga on the PS4 and Switch with SteinsGate Elite, a remastered re-release of the first game in the franchise. Players will be able to experience a more “immersive” version of the time-travelling adventure in SteinsGate Elite, which will also include “animated scenes from the anime.”
PS4 owners looking a different kind of turn-based RPG this week might want to look at Idea Factory’s Death End ReQuest. According to the developer, players will be able to change the game’s genre, and switch the action to a fighting game, a shooter, or even a slot machine.
Finally this week, Switch owners will be able to take their console of choice off-road in V-Rally 4, a new racer from BigBen Interactive.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a look at the newest additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
Resident Evil 2’s Ghost Survivors expansion is now available… and so is its Launch Trailer
Capcom completely flipped Resident Evil 2 on its head with the recent remake, and now they’re giving fans even more zombie action with a free expansion known as The Ghost Survivors.
The Ghost Survivors stars Robert Kendo, the owner of an infamous gun store; Katherine Warren, the daughter of Raccoon City’s Mayor; and an anonymous Umbrella Security Service soldier as they each attempt to survive a gauntlet of ghouls. The three what-if scenarios (Kendo’s “No Time To Mourn,” Warren’s “Runaway,” and the USS soldier’s “Forgotten Soldier”) will also feature never-before-seen enemy types as each character tries to rewrite history.
The Ghost Survivors is now available to download as a free update for Resident Evil 2 on the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, and a Launch Trailer has been embedded above.
Posted in News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Resident Evil 2
The Textorcist’s Launch Trailer is here (and so is a free demo)
Abandon all hope, ye who enter type here…
Headup and Morbidware have announced that The Textorcist is now available to download for the PC through Steam and GOG. If you’re unfamiliar with the game, which is a bullet hell/typing tutor hybrid set within a world overrun by demons, the developer has also made a free demo available through both online storefronts:
Get ready for an electrifying mix between a bullet game and a typing hell! Dodge bullets while typing exorcisms and jump into the adventure of Ray Bibbia, a private exorcist who’s going to face the threats of a demonic outbreak and deal with his sinful past at the same time! A city in decay, streets filled with thugs and only one man to stop it all. Groundbreaking gameplay, exorcists, demons, the Pope and tons of hardcore action-filled boss battles for the first type em up game ever realized.
A brand new Launch Trailer, which has been embedded above, also gives us our best look yet at some of The Textorcist’s gruesome bosses.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged The Textorcist
Mortal Kombat 11 goes green as Jade is revealed as the next playable character by NetherRealm Studios
Jade is one of the Mortal Kombat franchise’s most popular characters, but she did not emerge from 2011’s Mortal Kombat unscathed. The Outworld spy was murdered by Sindel and eventually resurrected by Quan Chi as one of his “Revenants.” Though she still wields her bo staff, this is the version of Jade that’ll return in Mortal Kombat 11. A new trailer reintroducing Jade into the Mortal Kombat universe has been embedded above:
Now resurrected by an evil sorcerer, she serves the Netherrealm as an undead Revenant. Death hasn’t slowed Jade down, though. She still thrashes her enemies with her bo staff, razorrang, and patronizing put-downs.
Mortal Kombat 11 will be released for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One on April 23.