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Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler was the best-selling game in July 2018
It would have been amusing if Square Enix’s Octopath Traveler took the #8 spot in The NPD Group’s monthly report of best-selling games (as reported by GamesIndustry.biz). But instead, the retro-styled RPG smashed expectations and landed in the top spot for the preceding four-week period. That means the publisher is likely less amused and more amazed.
Nintendo Switch exclusives dominated the list of best-selling games last month, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (#3), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (#5), Super Mario Odyssey (#7), and Mario Tennis Aces (#10) all cracking the top ten. The recent Switch launch of Crash Bandicoot: N. Sane Trilogy (#9) also likely accounted for its rise in the rankings (the game is also available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One).
The Switch was also the best-selling console in July, the first time that’s happened since December 2017.
You can find out how the rest of the top ten shook out, with a quick rundown of the remainder of July 2018’s best-selling games, after the break. (more…)
Nintendo will scare up a 3DS re-release for Luigi’s Mansion on October 12
Nintendo has announced that Luigi’s Mansion, which was originally released for the GameCube all the way back in 2001, will make its way to the 3DS on October 12.
Luigi’s first ghostbusting adventure is nearly two decades old, and Nintendo is thrilled that fans will finally get the chance to play it again. But developer Grezzo has also added a few portable-exclusive features to the game:
Luigi must enter a sprawling mansion equipped with nothing but his trusty flashlight and Poltergust 3000, a vacuum-like contraption used to capture ghosts, find treasure and solve puzzles.
This is the first time the Nintendo GameCube classic can be played on the go. This updated version of the game includes the same classic adventure, but with some added features perfect for Nintendo’s popular portable systems. Using the bottom touch screen on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, players can view the mansion map.
In the new Gallery Battle Mode, exclusive to the Nintendo 3DS version of the game, Luigi will have the ability to re-challenge boss ghosts that were defeated in the game.
A new website for Luigi’s Mansion (with a handful of new screenshots) can be found at LuigisMansion.Nintendo.com.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Gamescom 2018, Luigi's Mansion
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s launch pushed back to 2019; Vita version canceled
In a new Kickstarter update, Koji “IGA” Igarashi announced that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night‘s PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One launch has been pushed back to 2019. Within that same update, Igarashi also confirmed the game is no longer in development for the Vita.
According to the developer, the delay is to “raise the quality level” of the game:
Our first announcement is that the game will now launch in 2019. The most important reason for this is to raise the quality level, especially after all the very valuable feedback from the Beta Backer Demo.
He went on to say that the Vita version of Bloodstained was canceled due to Sony’s plans to discontinue the handheld:
The second announcement is that the game will no longer launch on PlayStation Vita. This decision is largely due to Sony’s plans to discontinue the Vita console, ending production of physical copies and stopping certain online store support features.
It is extremely unfortunate, but as a result, we won’t be releasing the game on Vita. For the backers who have ordered the PS Vita version of the game, you will be able to choose another platform or request a refund.
You can see “IGA” deliver this message personally in the video embedded above.
New Retail Releases: Shenmue I & II, F1 2018 Headline Edition, Little Dragons Cafe, More
It’s Gamescom Week, and like E3 Week last month, most game publishers have decided not to launch any new games during Europe’s biggest gaming event. But a few brave souls are racing ahead and trying anyway…
This week, Sega will give gamers another chance to experience the Shenmue franchise with the launch of Shenmue I & II for the PS4 and Xbox One. This re-release will include original and modern control options, as well as Japanese audio.
Codemasters got the green light to release F1 2018: Headline Edition for the PS4 and Xbox One this week. The speedy simulation will include the full calendar of circuits from the 2018 Formula One Season. Racing game fans will also be able to look into All-Star Fruit Racing for the PS4 and Switch this week.
Also this week, Aksys Games will bring Little Dragons Cafe to the PS4 and Switch. Players can raise their own little dragons and master the art of cooking by running a cafe.
And speaking of firepower, Grip Digital’s Mothergunship, a “bullet hell” first person shooter, is now available on retail shelves for the PS4 and Xbox One.
Finally this week, Retroism will release Return of Double Dragon for the Super NES. The game is actually a re-release of 1992’s Super Double Dragon, but it includes several bonus levels that were exclusive to the Japanese version of the game, as well as an expanded moveset for the ninja brothers.
That’s all for now, but we’ll be back later this week with a complete look at the latest additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Nintendo eShop.
THQ Nordic acquires rights to the TimeSplitters franchise
THQ Nordic is doing that thing again where they buy up the rights to an old franchise. This time, the publisher has purchased the right to the TimeSplitters trilogy from Crytek.
All three games in the franchise (TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2, and TimeSplitters: Future Perfect) were originally developed by Free Radical Design, and THQ Nordic’s purchase is a homecoming of sorts for the series. Crytek originally acquired the rights to the franchise after purchasing the developer in 2009. They were then shut down by Crytek in 2014, and the majority of the staff went on to form the core of THQ Nordic’s Dambuster Studios.
Now that you’re all caught up, it’s tempting to wonder if this means that TimeSplitters 4 is on the way. THQ Nordic wasn’t ready to talk about the future, but they do have a habit of re-releasing classic games (like the Re-Mars-tered Edition of Red Faction: Guerrilla) and commissioning sequels (like Darksiders III) from the franchises they acquire:
TimeSplitters was largely considered as one of the most influential console games of the early 2000s. The three game series earned a large and passionate fan base thanks to its unique humour, art style, and pop culture references while encouraging customization and modification to give each person their own individual experience. TimeSplitters was originally created by the development studio Free Radical Design that later become Deep Silver Dambuster, part of the THQ Nordic group.
Finally, THQ Nordic also announced they’ve acquired the rights to Second Sight, another shooter produced by Free Radical in the early 2000s.
UPDATE: THQ Nordic’s Deep Silver label has confirmed that “forthcoming products” based on TimeSplitters and Second Sight are both currently in development. We don’t yet know if they’re sequels or remasters (or both), but hopefully we’ll learn more soon.
Madden NFL 19, Dead Cells, Overcooked 2, more coming to PS Store this week
Are you ready for some football?
EA Sports intercepts another PlayStation Store update with this week’s launch of Madden NFL 19 for the PS4. This time around, the football simulation will feature an expanded Story Mode and a new animation engine known as Real Player Motion. Also available to download this week for the PS4 is Dead Cells, a MetroidVania that also includes the “constant adrenaline-pumping threat of permadeath.”
Equally nerve-wracking is the kitchens found in Overcooked 2, a multiplayer cooking simulation for the PS4 from Ghost Town Games. And after you cook up some grub, you can settle in for a game of “basketbrawl” from Bread Machine Games and try to impress the Giant Blue Man of Slam Land.
Finally this week, Compulsion Games will bring their wild tale of an alternate 1960s England to the PS4 in We Happy Few. Players will explore a retrofuturistic city in three intertwined storylines as they try to survive among the drugged-out populace.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the PlayStation Store after the break. (more…)
Posted in News, PS4, Vita
Tagged Dead Cells, Madden NFL 19, Overcooked 2, Slam Land, We Happy Few
Sega’s Gamescom 2018 lineup includes Team Sonic Racing, Valkyria Chronicles 4, Persona 3: Dancing, Persona 5: Dancing, and more
Sega has big plans for this year’s Gamescom show, and the publisher will give attendees the chance to try out six playable demos, as well as give gamers their first look at the soccer-centric skills needed for Football Manager 2019.
Strategic planning is at the center of several of Sega’s Gamescom offerings, including “epic strategy RPG” Valkyria Chronicles 4 and team-based racer Team Sonic Racing. But if you want to kick off your shoes and dance, the publisher will also have kiosks available for Persona 3: Dancing in the Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in the Starlight.
Here’s a look at their complete Gamescom 2018 lineup:
Team Sonic Racing, developed by award-winning studio Sumo Digital, is the ultimate arcade and fast-paced competitive style racing experience, featuring your favourite characters from across the Sonic Universe. Visitors to the stand will have the opportunity to race on an all new track, Ice Mountain, and experience two brand new playable teams.
Creative Assembly’s Total War: Three Kingdoms will also showcase never-seen-before content and consumers will get the chance to go hands-on with the game for the very first time. Players will witness an exclusive look at the exotic lands of ancient China in a campaign map flythrough before being thrust into the midst of a night-time ambush battle. Sun Jian’s army, led by Sun Ren and Sun Quan, must defend against waves of incoming heroes and warriors or choose to make a break for freedom.
As if that wasn’t enough, epic strategy RPG Valkyria Chronicles 4, frantic action/adventure Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, and the hugely anticipated rhythm games Persona 3: Dancing in the Moonlight and Persona 5: Dancing in the Starlight will feature on the stand in a collection of some of the hottest unreleased Japanese IP on the planet. Make sure you leave yourself enough time to play everything!
Football Manager 2019 will make its Gamescom debut this year as an official partner of the Bundesliga, with an activation that will put football fans in the firing line for questioning from renowned ESPN Football Journalist, Raphael Honigstein. After they’ve been grilled, they’ll get to line-up in front of a Football Manager themed step and repeat for an authentic Football Manager photo and leave with a Football Manager notebook. A must have for would-be managers! The game itself will not be playable.
Gamescom 2018 will take place, as always, in Cologne, Germany. This year’s show will open its doors beginning on Tuesday, August 21.
WarioWare Gold, Dead Cells, Overcooked! 2, more coming to Nintendo eShop this week
It is another big week for the Switch, but this Nintendo eShop belongs to the 3DS as Wario makes his debut on Nintendo’s dedicated handheld.
WarioWare Gold is the latest microgame collection starring Mario’s (other) nemesis, and this time around players will be able to tackle more than 300 new and returning microgames. Players will need to “use the touchscreen, tilt the system, push buttons, and rock the mic” when WarioWare Gold is available to download for the 3DS beginning tomorrow.
But Switch owners will once again get to choose from dozens of new releases this week, including today’s eShop launch for Salt and Sanctuary, a brutally challenging 2D Action RPG from Ska Studios. Also available to download today is comedic side-scroller Guns, Gore, and Cannoli 2 and picture puzzler Picross S2 (now with a Story Mode!).
And early next week, on August 7, Switch owners will be able to download Dead Cells, a MetroidVania-style roguelite from Motion Twin; Overcooked! 2, another multiplayer cooking sim from Team17; Slam Land, a basketball-style party brawler from Bread Machine; and 1979 Revolution: Black Friday, an interactive adventure set during the Iranian Revolution.
You can learn more about the rest of this week’s additions to the Nintendo eShop (including Iconoclasts, Not A Hero, Flipping Death, and more) after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch
Tagged Dead Cells, Salt and Sanctuary, Slam Land, WarioWare Gold