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New Retail Releases: FIFA 19, Valkyria Chronicles 4, This Is the Police II, More
It’s Monday, and that means another big batch of new games will be available at your favorite retail establishment this week…
Leading the way is the latest iteration in EA Sports’s annual series of soccer simulations, FIFA 19. The game will launch its way towards the goal on the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One in a Standard Editions and a Champions Edition. FIFA 19 will also be available to download for the PC through EA’s Origin service.
Sega is bringing back a beloved franchise this week as Valkyria Chronicles 4 will also make its way to the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Featuring hand-drawn visuals and gameplay that melds together a turn-based strategy RPG and a third-person shooter, fans will also be able to download Valkyria Chronicles 4 for the PC.
Strategy RPG fans might also be interested in This Is the Police II for the PS4, Switch, and Xbox One. Players will manage a Sheriff’s Department in the “cold border town” of Sharpwood in a “harsh story where no one is completely innocent.”
Elsewhere on the shelves, Bandai Namco will re-release Dragon Ball FighterZ and Namco Museum Arcade Pac (which comes bundled with Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 Plus) for the Switch. And Nintendo themselves will launch new Starter Editions of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, Super Mario Odyssey.
Finally this week, Gun Media will resurrect the Friday the 13th: Ultimate Slasher Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One, which includes the original game and all previously-released downloadable content.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Madden NFL 19 beat out Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 to become the best-selling game of August 2018
As new entries in the series always do, EA Sports’s Madden NFL 19 broke away from the pack and sprinted for the end zone as the best-selling game of August 2018. But it’s one of the games it beat out that might be the most interesting story from The NPD Group’s latest report.
According to the market research company (via GamesIndustry.biz), the #8 spot in last month’s list of best-selling games was occupied by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a title that was originally launched in 2009. So why the sudden sales surge? The most likely explanation is because Microsoft recently added the Xbox 360 edition of the game to the Xbox One’s Backwards Compatibility Library.
Adding new sales to perennially best-selling games was absolutely a trend in August, as 2015’s Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Siege (#3), 2013’s Grand Theft Auto V (#4), and 2014’s Mario Kart 8 (#5) all cracked the top five. But if you’re looking for newer titles, Capcom’s Monster Hunter: World continued its improbable run at the top of the charts by landing at the #2 spot thanks to the PC edition’s August launch.
Overall, the game industry grew 26% year-over-year with total sales of $796 million, including $214 million in hardware (a 28% increase), $330 million for software (a 16% increase), and $251 million for accessories (a whopping 39% increase).
A list of last month’s best-selling games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, God of War 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 19, Mario Kart 8, Monster Hunter: World, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, NPD, Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Siege
Sony will release PlayStation Classic microconsole with 20 games on December 3
With a history stretching all the way back to the failed Super NES disc drive, the fates of Sony and Nintendo have always been closely linked. Late last night, the PlayStation purveyor decided to take another page out of Nintendo’s nostalgia-themed book with the announcement of the PlayStation Classic microconsole.
The PlayStation Classic will be available on December 3 (the 24th anniversary of its launch in Japan), and it’ll include 20 pre-loaded games (Final Fantasy VII, Jumping Flash, Ridge Racer Type 4, Tekken 3, and Wild Arms have been announced so far). The package will also include two USB-powered replica PlayStation controllers, an HDMI cable, and a USB power cable (but no AC Adapter, you’ll need to supply your own). And don’t worry, you won’t need to dust off your old Memory Cards, the PlayStation Classic will give players the chance to save their progress directly to the system.
All this can be yours for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $99.99. More pictures of the rather snazzy-looking device can be found at the PlayStation Blog:
The mini console is approximately 45% smaller than the original PlayStation, and it emulates the original’s look and feel by featuring similar controllers and packaging. Long-time fans will appreciate the nostalgia that comes with rediscovering the games they know and love, while gamers who might be new to the platform can enjoy the groundbreaking PlayStation console experience that started it all. All of the pre-loaded games will be playable in their original format.
Your move, Nintendo.
Posted in News, Retro
Tagged Final Fantasy VII
Shadow of the Tomb Raider, NBA 2K19, NHL 19, more coming to PS Store this week
A trio of sequels lead the way in this week’s PlayStation Store update…
Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics will close out Lara Croft’s “Origin Trilogy” with the launch of Shadow of the Tomb Raider for the PS4. This time, Lara will travel to South America as she attempts to stop a Mayan apocalypse.
Also available to download this week for the PS4 are a pair of brand new sports simulations. 2K Games brings 20 years of gameplay innovations (and a cover appearance by Giannis “The Greek Freak” Antetokounmpo) to NBA 2K19, while EA Sports tapped P.K. Subban to serve as NHL 19‘s cover athlete.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Hyper Light Drifter, Gone Home, SNK Heroines, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
Switch owners will be able to stock up on another big batch of classic indie games with this week’s Nintendo eShop update…
Heart Machine’s visually-distinctive (and critically-acclaimed) Hyper Light Drifter leads the way this week. The Zelda-like action RPG is now available to download in a “Special Edition” that includes new weapons and a new Tower Climb area.
The Drifter will be joined by several other indie favorites this week including Gone Home, Fullbright’s narrative adventure; Broforce, Free Lives’s insane side-scrolling shooter; and Dust: An Elysian Tail, a hand-drawn action RPG from Dean Dodrill.
If you’re looking for something new, NIS America will bring their one-on-one fighter, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, the Switch eShop beginning tomorrow. And it’ll be joined by a deluxe edition of 2K’s latest basketball simulation, NBA 2K19: 20th Anniversary Edition.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Yo-Kai Watch Blasters: Red Cat Corps and Yo-Kai Watch Blasters: White Dog Squad for the 3DS) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch
Tagged Broforce, Dust: An Elysian Tail, Gone Home, Hyper Light Drifter, NBA 2K19, SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy
Casual Bit Games shares a new trailer from Battle Princess Madelyn’s Arcade Mode
Casual Bit Games delivered the “August 2018 Development Update” for Battle Princess Madelyn to Kickstarter backers over the weekend, and they also gave fans their first look at the game’s Arcade Mode:
There are seven levels in arcade mode, and 11 boss fights – two of them being end-of-the-game gauntlet fights. These levels come at you like you would expect – relentlessly but in a fair sorta way. They’re definitely not a walk in the park, but those o you who have good reflexes will find themselves right at home with this more demanding version of the gameplay.
The levels are a mash-up of the three main stages in story mode. We’ve picked our favorite levels and turned them into the levels contained within this mode. In Arcade Mode there are less hidden items and no puzzles to get around, so it’s straight up Ghouls ‘n Ghosts style action, presented in our own way.
The bosses have been tweaked to be harder, but with less hit points in order to balance out the play time in these levels. Enemies have been tuned differently to be a little more spot-on with their abilities compared to how they behave in Story Mode.
Battle Princess Madelyn doesn’t have a final release date just yet, but the game will be available for the PC, PS4, Switch, Wii U, Vita, and Xbox One.
New Retail Releases: Spider-Man, Dragon Quest XI, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, More
Summer is (unofficially) over and we’ve reached the fine month of September. But this calendar flip is also wrapped up in the very official start to the “Holiday Shopping Season” and game publishers have begun stocking store shelves with a bumper crop of new games this week. Ready? Because here we go…
Sony and Insomniac Games are starting things off in a big way with the long-anticipated release of Spider-Man. The PS4-exclusive aims to take the wallcrawler’s video game adventures in a new direction, and Sony is giving non-PS4 owners an easy in with the Limited Edition Spider-Man PS4 Pro 1TB bundle.
Another staltwart video game franchise will get a new lease on life this week, as Square Enix is gearing up to launch Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age for the PS4 (and digitally for the PC). The massive turn-based RPG will include (as always) dozens of hours of gameplay and artwork by Akira Toriyama.
Over on the Xbox One, Microsoft has teamed up with PUBG Corp to launch the “Full Product Release Edition” of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Unlike the earlier retail package for the battle royale game, this version includes a fully-updated copy of the game on a disc.
This Fall’s NBA season won’t tip off until the end of October, but 2K Games and EA Sports don’t want to wait. Both publishers will release their new basketball simulations, NBA 2K19: 20th Anniversary Edition for the PC (download-only), PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and NBA Live 19 for the PS4 and Xbox One, later this week.
A decidedly different kind of competition will take place in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, but the one-on-one fighting game will launch for the Switch this week (and on the PS4 as a PS Store-exclusive). And Bungie will crank up the action in Destiny 2 with the game’s first major expansion for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One, Destiny 2: Forsaken.
Finally this week, a slew of other titles will also be added to store shelves, including Hinterland’s The Long Dark (PS4, Xbox One), 704 Games’s NASCAR Heat 3 (PS4, Xbox One), Konami’s Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – Mars (PS4), Monomi Park’s Slime Rancher (PS4, Xbox One), and Nicalis’s Blade Strangers (PS4, Switch). NASCAR Heat 3 and Blade Strangers will both also be available to download for the PC.
A full rundown of this week’s new retail release can be found after the break.
Shovel Knight: King of Cards will be released on April 9, 2019
Yacht Club Games originally wanted to release Shovel Knight: King of Cards a few years ago, but the expansion kept getting pushed back as they dug deeper into Shovel Knight’s world. Today, the developer is finally ready to confirm that Shovel Knight: King of Cards will be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One on April 9, 2019.
The developer is also bundling together the original Shovel Knight and all of its expansions (including Plague of Shadows, Specter of Torment, King of Cards, and the recently-announced Shovel Knight Showdown) in a new retail release for the PS4 and Switch. This Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove will also launch on April 9.
But wait, there’s more. The Amiibo 3-Pack featuring King Knight, Specter Knight, and Plague Knight will also make its debut in stores on April 9. The figures will unlock “exclusive armor sets, new Challenge stages, and the ability to summon fairy companions to accompany players on quests” in the games for the 3DS, Switch, and Wii U.
Finally, attendees at this weekend’s PAX West show in Seattle will get the chance to try out a playable demo of Shovel Knight: King of Cards at Yacht Club’s booth.