Month: February 2018

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain‘s base-building multiplayer mode incentivizes players to build nuclear weapons. They are the most expensive development project in the game, and they provide a huge defensive boost to players’ bases–but they can also dismantle them and work toward total disarmament. But this week, although there are still a ton of nuclear weapons out there, the game’s secret nuclear disarmament cutscene was triggered–and Konami doesn’t know why.

In spite of the fact that players have significant reasons to pursue nukes, including deterrence and prestige, Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima included a bit of motivation to urge them to destroy their stockpiles. He stated that if every player on a certain platform (PS4, Xbox One, or PC) were to dismantle their nukes, a special event would unlock in the game.

As you might expect, it’s very difficult to get thousands of players to coordinate toward a goal, and as of September 1, 2017, there were still over 9,800 nuclear weapons on the PC server. However, PC MGSV users discovered on February 2 that the cutscene had triggered prematurely.

Konami apparently still does not know what happened. Over the weekend, it took to Twitter to apologize for the mistake. “The nuclear disarmament event was triggered in the Steam version of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain on [February 2]… We are still investigating, but can confirm that the event was triggered while the nuke count hadn’t reached zero.”

Back before the game released, Hideo Kojima explained that he hoped to communicate his anti-nuclear weapons, pro-disarmament feelings through a means other than normal storytelling. “As it’s difficult to make player feel ‘anti-war, anti-nuke’ like a movie can do, what I’ve tried was to make something only game can do,” he wrote on Twitter. Much like disarmament plans in the real world, however, this one has gone awry–and not for the first time. The cutscene was found by dataminers essentially as soon as the game was released. You can see it in the embed above.

[News via Polygon]

Sometimes, Madden’s annual Super Bowl prediction is eerily accurate. In 2015, it not only accurately predicted the final score of Super Bowl XLIX, but also that the Patriots would come from behind to beat the Seattle Seahawaks. It also predicted the receiver who would catch the winning TD and the exact type of pass play it would be. Scary stuff.

This year, however, Madden’s simulation was completely wrong in pretty much every major way. Madden’s simulation predicted that the New England Patriots would defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20 in Super Bowl LII. In reality, the Eagles defeated the Pats to claim their first-ever title by a score of 41-33.

Madden’s sim said Patriots QB Tom Brady would win the Super Bowl MVP; he did not. The more deserving Eagles QB Nick Foles took home that award. Below are some other things that the Madden sim got wrong this year:

• Madden Prediction: Eagles score first with a touchdown run by Jay Ajayi.
  • Reality: Eagles score first with a field goal.

• Madden Prediction: Brady connects with Danny Amendola for a first-quarter touchdown.
  • Reality: Brady connected with Amendola eight times for 152 yards, but never for a touchdown.

• Madden Prediction: Patriots score two touchdowns in the second quarter on passes to Rob Gronkowski and Brandin Cooks.
  • Reality: The Patriots scored zero touchdowns in the second quarter, and Cooks left the game with a terrible-looking head injury.

• Madden Prediction: Brady threw an interception that led to an Alshon Jeffery touchdown.
  • Reality: Brady did not throw an interception in the game.

• Madden Prediction: Chris Long, a former Patriot, recorded a sack on Brady.
  • Reality: Brady was sacked once, crucially, in the fourth quarter. Brandon Graham recorded the sack.

• Madden Prediction: Eagles safety Malcolm Jennings stripped the ball from Patriots running back Dion Lewis, resulting in a turnover.
  • Reality: Lewis never fumbled the ball in the game.

• Madden Prediction: The game ended with Foles heaving a hail mary to Jeffery, but Patriots DB Stefon Gilmore breaks it up to secure the Patriots win.
  • Reality: It was Brady who threw a desperate pass as time expired, hoping to give the Patriots the come-from-behind victory. The ball was tipped into the air in the endzone, giving Patriots fans hope for a moment, but it was not meant to be (for the Patriots).

• Madden Prediction: Gronkowski leads all receivers with four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown.
  • Reality: Amendola led all receivers with eight catches for 152 yards and no touchdowns.

• Madden Prediction: Ajayi led all rushers with 73 yards and a touchdown.
  • Reality: Former Patriot Legarrette Blount was the top rusher, picking up 90 yards on 14 carries.

For lots more on Super Bowl LII, check out GameSpot’s roundup of the best and funniest commercials from the big game. You can see more of this year’s Super Bowl commercials below.