Month: May 2020

Crunchyroll Getting New Anime Dubs Next Week

The anime streaming service Crunchyroll has announced the return of dubbed anime to the weekly schedule.

Back during the early stages of the coronavirus lockdown, Funimation was forced to delay all dubbed releases. The safety of the employees at Funimation was the top priority, with all employees transitioning to working from home during the quarantine. This caused a number of delays to the recording of of English dubs for various anime.

During this time Funimation and Crunchyroll were still able to roll out subbed versions of the latest anime episodes, but have fallen behind the release schedule due to nearly two months of no dubbed releases.

The following Crunchyroll shows will have dubbed episodes available going forward:

  • Tower of God
  • Somali and the Forest Spirit
  • Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It
  • The 8th son? Are you kidding me?
  • My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
  • Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun
  • In/Spectre

For the exact dates and more information regarding the release schedule, check out the Crunchyroll blog post.

Now Playing: Best Shows And Movies To Stream For May 2020 – Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, Amazon Prime Video

Doom Eternal Adds The Mullet Slayer This Month, But Only For Twitch Prime Members

Doom Eternal is introducing another strange skin for the Doom Slayer later this month, and it’ll give him an awful 80s mullet to rock. The original Doom debuted in 1993, of course, so the Slayer has never had a mullet until now.

The new skin will grant the Slayer dry, flowing hair, and a beer gut too, which should make the campaign’s cutscenes a bit weirder to watch. You can practically sense the dandruff in the video below. It’ll be available on May 21, but not for everyone.

The Mullet Slayer is the latest Twitch Prime drop for the game, meaning that it will be given to users who subscribe to that service. You can sign up here.

Doom Eternal received an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review. “Though it can take a bit to get the hang of it, the intricacies of Doom Eternal’s combat, combined with its enhanced mobility and option-heavy level design, create a ton of white-knuckle moments that elevate everything that made Doom 2016 work so well,” wrote reviewer Phil Hornshaw.

Now Playing: Doom Eternal – Personalize Your Doom Slayer Trailer

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AHS: Freak Show – Episode 12 “Show Stoppers” Breakdown

Finally, it’s time for Stanley to pay the price for the murders he’s committed. Let’s just say he gets what he deserves and joins the Freak Show as its newest member.

With or without Stanley (aka Richard), Elsa is determined to leave Florida for Hollywood, CA. She believes she will become the star that she’s always dreamed of. But first, she needs to sell off the Freak Show. She does so and Chester Creb becomes the new owner.

But Chester has a few problems of his own. He’s gone a bit crazy following his return from the war and we soon find out that he’s no magician at all. He commits a horrible accident during a practice run with the Goldin’s Sawing Box.

Dandy returns to turn the Tattler twins against Chester by exposing his dark past but we all know Dandy has ulterior motives as well. The twins tip Elsa off that the rest of the group wants her dead, and before they can track her down, she runs off.

With Elsa and Chester no longer in the picture, Dandy becomes new owner of the Cabinet of Curiosities for a mere $10,000. Something tells us Dandy isn’t going to be a nice boss.

Paris Games Week 2020 Has Been Cancelled

Paris Games Week 2020 will not go ahead, the event’s organizers have announced. The event, which was planned for October 23-27, would have marked the week’s 10th anniversary.

“It is with great emotion that we have made the difficult decision to cancel Paris Games Week,” the announcement reads. “The current context and the necessary anticipation of both the technical and logistical complexities of an event such as Paris Games Week have led us to cancel this edition.”

While COVID-19 is not explicitly mentioned, it is undoubtedly responsible for this decision. “This year should have been special, with a line-up full of new releases, and an anniversary edition which we were thrilled to celebrate with you,” the announcement continues.

Paris Games Week is one of the major game trade show events in Europe, and it’s one of many 2020 events cancelled–E3 will not happen this year, and GDC will be digital only. An event this late in the year, though, could have given attendees a look at Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 games, so it’s unfortunate that it cannot go ahead.

Some major reveals have occurred at Paris Games Week in the past–for instance, Sony used it to unveil a huge and brutal The Last of Us Part II trailer back in 2017.

Hopefully Paris Games Week will be able to resume in 2021.

Now Playing: The 23 Biggest Upcoming Games Of 2020 (And Beyond)

Nintendo Switch: This Week’s New Eshop Games And Deals On Digital Titles

This week on the Nintendo Switch, a number of indie titles are being released, along with some big discounts on Switch titles.

With only a few weeks to go until Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition drops, Nintendo is releasing a myriad of indie titles to tide us over until then. Beat up some foes in the electro arcade platformer Megabyte Punch, raise your own island of amazing animals in Island Saver, and cook up a culinary storm in Cooking Simulator.

New Switch Games This Week:

May 8

  • Megabyte Punch
  • Fury Unleashed
  • SuperMash

May 9

  • Highrise Heroes: Word Challenge

May 12

  • Huntdown
  • Jet Lancer

May 13

  • Island Saver
  • She Sees Red – Interactive Movie
  • Super Mega Baseball 3

May 14

  • TT Isle of Man Rise on the Edge 2
  • Cooking Simulator
  • Oddworld: Munch’s Oddysee
  • Kholat
  • Ion Fury
  • Satazius NEXT
  • Armed 7 DX
  • Carnage: Battle Arena
  • Wolflame
  • Zenge

May 15

  • Emma: Lost in Memories
  • Thy Sword
  • The Eternal Castle [REMASTERED]
  • Kakuro Magic
  • Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix
  • Dungeon of the Endless

There’s also a range of games up for sale on the Eshop this week with titles such as Splatoon 2, Assassin’s Creed: The Rebel Collection, Trials Rising, Rayman Legends Definitive Edition, and an assortment of NIS America titles all on discount. Deadly Premonition is currently on sale to celebrate the pre-purchase of Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing in Disguise being available on the Nintendo Eshop.

For a full rundown of all the games on sale check out our article on the best digital game deals for this week.

Now Playing: Nintendo Switch Shortages, Breaches, & Lawsuits Are Happening Right Now – GS News Update

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Huge Sales Figures Were About 50% Digital

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been an incredible success for Nintendo, selling 13.41 million copies since launch and landing high in the system’s all-time top seller list. There are numerous factors involved here, but one element that is perhaps leading to a surge in sales is the current state of the world and the COVID-19 pandemic–which might also be why the latest Animal Crossing has had strong digital sales.

According to Nintendo’s recent investor call, live-tweeted (and translated) by Astris Advisory Japan KK’s Dave Gibson, about 50% of Animal Crossing: New Horizon’s sales were digital, with people buying the game through the Eshop in lieu of picking up a cartridge from a store.

Nintendo is expecting a growth in digital sales within the next financial year overall, but not that all games will hit a 50-50 split–the Switch’s low internal memory and the cost of SD cards means that many people prefer to own their games physically.

Animal Crossing is also a game that players will likely keep returning to, or want to jump into briefly every day over months or years, which makes a digital copy attractive.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons received a 9/10 in GameSpot’s review. “New Horizons certainly came at the right time, and its strengths are particularly comforting right now,” reviewer Kallie Plagge wrote. “I’m as excited to see what random events await me each morning as I am glad to have it during hard times, and that’s sure to keep me coming back for the foreseeable future.”

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Avatar Sequels And Lord Of The Rings Series Could Resume Production In New Zealand Soon

New Zealand has begun to allow some film and TV productions to resume shooting after the Coronavirus lockdowns, setting up a path for Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series and James Cameron’s Avatar sequels to kick back into gear.

Deadline reports that some movie and TV productions have already begun again, and the Lord of the Rings series and the Avatar sequels may follow, the site said.

The live-action shoots for the Avatar sequels were filming in New Zealand. After the Coronvirus pandemic broke out, filming stopped, but work continued on the visual effects.

The New Zealand Film Commission told Deadline that all local productions must register with New Zealand’s health and safety group, ScreenSafe, to assist the country’s Ministry of Health in tracking the virus.

New Zealand, which has some of the strictest border protection and lockdown rules in the world, has recorded around 1,100 cases of COVID-19 and 21 deaths. For comparison, the state of California alone recently surpassed 60,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths.

New Zealand continues to limit international travel and still has bans on large gatherings of people, preventing or impacting large-scale productions like the Avatar sequels and the Lord of the Rings series from resuming. Deadline reports that New Zealand is expected to relax its social-distancing rules later this month to allow for groups of up to 100 people to gather, though international travel may still be restricted or limited for some time, which could impact talent flying into the country for filming.

The first Avatar sequel hits theaters on December 17, 2021. Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, and Stephen Lang will reprise their roles from the first movie, and will be joined by Kate Winslet, Vin Diesel, Michelle Yeoh, and Jemaine Clement.

There are also another three Avatar movies scheduled for 2023, 2025, and 2027 releases. However, Cameron has previously stated that the latter two films depend on the box office performance of the first sequel. The first Avatar held the record for the biggest movie of all time for nearly a decade, before it was finally beaten by Avengers: Endgame last year.

As for the Lord of the Rings series, Amazon has not yet announced a release date. The network is clearly enthusiastic about the series, however, as it’s already announced Season 2.

Don’t Expect The Switch 2 Soon–Nintendo’s Hybrid Console Is Only Just In The Middle Of Its Life Cycle

Nintendo had a lot to celebrate in its latest financial report and call to investors, as the system has achieved 55 million sales, and the recently released Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold incredibly well. With this in mind, Nintendo is sticking to its guns and continuing support of the Switch as the next generation of consoles rolls in.

During their call to investors, which was live-tweeted (and translated) by Astris Advisory Japan KK’s Dave Gibson, Nintendo stated that that system is “barely in the middle” of its cycle. The system came out three years ago, which means we’re looking at least another three years before we might expect to see Nintendo announce or release a successor.

If the Switch is supported for six years, it’ll roughly match the life cycle of the Wii. There is, historically, some fluctuation in how long Nintendo consoles have been supported–the Wii U was closer to four and a half years–but the gap between console releases is generally around six years. There has been some suggestion from Nintendo that the Switch’s life cycle might be longer than usual, though–so it could stretch well past six years.

Whether or not the Switch will match the Wii’s total sales figures (101.63 million) remains to be seen, but it’s currently tracking to overtake that figure and become Nintendo’s best-selling console of all time.

Here are the top ten best selling titles on the system to date–unsurprisingly, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe holds the top spot.

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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Creative Director Responds To Xbox Series X Gameplay Reveal

New footage of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla premiered during the Xbox Series X event this week, but some fans were hoping to see more. Creative director Ashraf Ismail has now responded to the reaction, saying he understands people wanted to see more of the next-gen Assassin’s Creed title. More details on the game, including an “in-depth gameplay” demonstration will come later on, he said.

“You rightfully expected to see more today. We have a long marketing campaign ahead of us, you will see in-depth gameplay and get a lot more info about the game,” he said on Twitter. “Thank you for your excitement and passion! Be patient with us and be kind. It will be worth it!”

The Valhalla trailer shown during the Xbox event disappointed some fans because, despite being labeled as a “gameplay trailer,” it didn’t exactly deliver on that. Instead of featuring combat or exploration, the video put more of an emphasis on the locations you’ll visit when Valhalla launches this holiday.

You can play as a man or woman in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but either way their name will be Eivor (pronounced Ay-vor). Like many Assassin’s Creed games, this one is based on real history, but the historians at Ubisoft had to do a little more digging to construct a narrative from the dark ages. At the same time, Ubisoft says it isn’t concerned with comparisons to God of War, despite the similarly Norse setting. For more on Valhalla, witness our pre-order guide.

Now Playing: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla Full Presentation | Inside Xbox

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