The Nintendo Switch continues to gain momentum, according to Nintendo’s Q2 financial report for the fiscal year 2020/2021. The company’s new investor relations information for the quarter has launched, and it has revealed some huge sales figures.
The Switch has now sold 68.30 million units, making it the second highest-selling Nintendo home console ever. This quarter, which stretches from July 1-September 30, saw 6.86 million Switch units sold around the world, judging by their previous report (thanks, Vooks).
The Switch Lite makes up 10.36 million of those sales, meaning that the hybrid system remains the most popular.
The system has now overtaken the NES’ lifetime sales of 61.91 million, a figure that it was just barely under last quarter. If this momentum holds–and that seems likely–it will overtake the 3DS (75.94 million units) within this financial year. The Wii remains Nintendo’s top-selling system, with 101.63 million units sold, but with the Switch expected to have a long life cycle, it stands a good chance of surpassing the motion-controlled system.
Nintendo has adjusted their earnings forecast for this financial year, and is projecting a 50% increase in net profit compared to their previous forecast.
The Switch has also now sold 456.49 million units of software. The big performer of this quarter was Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which has now sold a phenomenal 26.04 million units. It remains the system’s second-highest seller, after Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (28.99 million units).
Nintendo released two first-party titles this quarter, both of which have sold well–one incredibly so. Paper Mario: The Origami King has sold 2.82 million units, while Super Mario 3D All-Stars, released less than two weeks before the end of the quarter, sold a phenomenal 5.21 million units.
High sales of 3D All-Stars might have been driven by the fact that the game will only be available for a limited time.
With the holiday season on the horizon, expect Switch sales to remain high towards the end of the year.
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In another timeline, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run would’ve hit U.S. theaters on May 22. But then, 2020 happened. SpongeBob saw its theatrical premiere pushed back to August and limited to Canada. Now, SpongeBob’s first all-CGI adventure is finally heading to streaming–everywhere but here in the United States, where it will finally arrive in early 2021. Oh, and it won’t show up on Netflix even then.
After ViacomCBS rescheduled and re-rescheduled the theatrical debut of SpongeBob’s third movie, the studio finally was forced to cancel it entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the studio announced that the movie would head for streaming services. Netflix picked up international distribution rights for the movie. If you have friends in the UK, Japan, or any other country where Netflix operates, they can already watch Sponge on the Run.
Here in the U.S., though, ViacomCBS is in charge of distributing the Paramount Animation-produced flick. The company plans to put SpongeBob on premium video-on-demand services in early 2021. Once the movie’s PVOD period ends, it’ll move to CBS All Access, recently rebranded as Paramount+.
Talking to Looper last month, SpongeBob director Tim Hill expressed disappointment in the movie’s strange release timeline.
“It’s terrible. I was hoping for a big fanfare and a great premiere and seeing all the people I worked with, and doing a cast and crew screening, being able to at least thank people, which never happened,” said Hill, who also directed the similarly COVID-affected Robert DeNiro family comedy, The War with Grandpa. “It was just what we’re doing now, like, ‘Bye. Movie’s over.’ It didn’t feel natural, for sure.”
While Netflix is promising no COVID-related delays, studios have pushed back countless movies and television shows. Delayed movies include Fast & Furious 9, Marvel’s Black Widow, and the latest 007 movie, No Time To Die. Television has seen just as many shifts, with CW shows like Supergirl, The Flash, and Riverdale ending early. Premieres of shows like Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+, Lord of the Rings on Amazon Prime, and the Handmaid’s Tale on Hulu have all been pushed into 2021.
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EA has shared a few new tidbits about its next Battlefield game. During the company’s latest investors call, it confirmed that the next Battlefield game is coming to next-generation consoles in holiday 2021, with more details to be revealed in the spring.
“DICE is creating our next Battlefield game with never-before-seen scale,” EA said during the call. “The technical advancements of the new consoles are allowing the team to deliver a truly next-gen vision for the franchise. We have hands-on playtesting underway internally.”
Moreover, EA confirmed that the next Battlefield game “is set to launch in holiday 2021.” Ahead of its release, the studio says it will share “a lot more about the game in the spring.”
EA had previously confirmed that its next Battlefield game would release for PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S in 2021, but this is the first time the company has narrowed the release window down to the holiday season. It’s one of “at least” six new games the publisher plans to release for next-gen systems in fiscal year 2022 (April 2021 – March 2022), alongside a new Need for Speed that EA says “is bringing some astounding visual leaps.”
Although details about the next Battlefield are scant, EA’s Laura Miele teased the game will turn DICE’s “crazy ambitious ideas” into reality. “Our studios are taking their crazy ambitious ideas and making them real,” Miele said during EA Play 2020. “Every console generation DICE sets the bar for excellence in audio and visual presentation. We are creating epic battles at a scale and fidelity unlike anything you’ve experienced before.”
The most recent Battlefield game was Battlefield V, which originally launched for PS4, Xbox One, and PC back in 2018. Since then, developer DICE has been steadily supporting the shooter with new content and updates. Last month, EA launched a definitive edition of Battlefield V that includes the base game and a ton of other extras, including every weapon, vehicle, gadget, and all of the Elite characters.
The Nuketown map is one of Black Ops’ most iconic, and it returns in a new way with Black Ops Cold War through a version called Nuketown ’84. This map comes out on November 24, and you can see a teaser image for it in the tweet below.
Then beginning on December 10 with the start of Season One, there will be more multiplayer maps and modes, including 2v2 Gunfight. More weapons, new Zombies modes, and “much more” is also coming, alongside a “Classified Warzone experience.”
The statement says Activision is delivering “epic free content,” but it’s not immediately clear if all of this content will be available at no extra charge. For Modern Warfare, Activision released all post-release DLC for free, in an effort to keep the player base connected.
In addition to this content, there will be another Battle Pass that comes with extra cosmetic content that you can earn through gameplay or purchase with real money.
With the communities for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone still going very strong, Activision is changing things up for how these games will continue to be supported when Black Ops Cold War launches on November 13, and the changes sound exciting.
This includes XP and leveling shared across the three games, a new Prestige system, expanded cross-play, and more. Below is a rundown of the key points, but be sure to read Activision’s incredibly detailed blog post to get all the details.
SynchronizedLevelling
Starting with player progression, for the first time in Call of Duty’s history across mainline titles, there will be “synchronized” progression across Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War. This begins on November 13 with a new system that leads up to the launch of Season One on December 10, which is when Black Ops content will come to Warzone. Here is how Activision describes the process:
“Players will begin by completing Military Ranks, a traditional leveling journey to unlock functional gameplay items. Once completed, Black Ops Cold War players will enter an updated and improved Season Leveling that begins at game launch with the Pre-Season, and which becomes synchronized with all three games at the beginning of Season One on December 10th.”
When Season One begins in December, all XP and levelling will be shared across Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War.
With the change, your ranks (1-55) will be known as Military Ranks, and they will be “synchronized” across all three games. You can play normally in any game, and you’ll rank up in each. The Black Ops Cold War Zombies mode also shares this new progression system.
When Season One starts, player levels will be reset to 0 for Modern Warfare and Warzone, so that everyone starts with the same rank when Black Ops Cold War launches with Season One. Only XP is reset, however, so you aren’t losing any items you’ve purchased or unlocked.
New Prestige System
The Office Progression levels are going to be known as Season Levels, and they are synced with all three games. “Seasonal Progression has been updated with aspects of the traditional Prestige system, allowing players to unlock and use rewards, including some incredibly cool legacy player identity items from the world of Black Ops,” Activision said.
All of your XP and leveling from Black Ops Cold War, Warzone, and Modern Warfare will contribute to your Season Leveling and Prestige level.
Activision said the “preferred” way to reach Prestige is to play Black Ops Cold War because there will be specific XP events and “other advantages” in that game and presumably not the others.
Weapon Progression
For weapons, every gun from Modern Warfare and new ones from Black Ops Cold War will be available in Warzone. “The current plan is for Warzone to also include all Primary and Secondary weapons available throughout the lifespan of Black Ops Cold War, including launch and Season weapons, as well as every single Weapon Blueprint,” Activision said. “Naturally, this includes the assortment of free weapons you received during every Season of Modern Warfare, just for playing the game.”
Activision said it has no plans to remove any guns from Warzone. However, weapons from Modern Warfare cannot be used in Black Ops Cold War and Black Ops Cold War weapons can’t be used in Modern Warfare. In the Warzone menu, you will see the Black Ops and Modern Warfare logos on each gun to show which game it originally debuted in.
In terms of progression for weapons, this applies across Black Ops Cold War and Modern Warfare. “Choose an available weapon from Black Ops Cold War or Modern Warfare and use it in Warzone. All XP and leveling counts both in Warzone and the game from which the weapon originated. Work to unlock weapons and attachments for any weapon you like in either game by playing that game or Warzone,” Activision said.
As for other items, Modern Warfare’s perks, lethal equipment, tactical equipment, field upgrades, and some killstreaks will stay in Warzone. Also of note is that all weapon progression and unlocks will remain intact when Season One kicks off.
Operators
All Operators from Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War will come into Warzone, and this also includes any skins you might have purchased or unlocked through gameplay. There is one exception, however, as the indomitable Marine Corps Master Sergeant version of Frank Woods is only available in Modern Warfare and Warzone. You can get this skin by preordering Black Ops Cold War digitally.
Battle Pass
As with previous seasons, there will be a new Battle Pass available when Black Ops Cold War launches. This Battle Pass will include content for Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, and progress is shared between Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War. Activision said it expects to deliver “a multitude of fresh and exciting Battle Pass” items, though they were not disclosed.
Activision said it has no current plans to remove any Warzone content, but this could happen in some situations. “To ensure the best possible player experience, there may be occasions where content is delayed, or becomes temporarily or permanently inaccessible,” Activision said.
The Store
The Call of Duty in-game store is also coming to Black Ops Cold War, and content purchased in the new game can also be used in Warzone, for the most part. Players can spend COD Points to purchase various cosmetics, and while most can be used in Warzone, those that can’t will be marked as such.
Cross-Play
Modern Warfare and Warzone already enabled cross-play, and this continues with Black Ops Cold War. There will also be a new feature called Cross-Title Invites, and this lets you invite friends who are playing one of the three titles to join yours; the leader will choose which game you’ll play. There is also cross-gen cross-play, so people on Xbox One can play against those on PS5 or any other variant.
When Shout Factory announced it would be releasing the entire Friday the 13th movie franchise as a Blu-ray set, the news was accompanied by a revelation that long-lost footage from Friday the 13th Part 2–the first movie to feature Jason Voorhees as the killer–had been unearthed.
The “gore cut” of the film, as it’s been called by fans, was the first version of the movie and features more intense and longer death scenes, with far more blood and gruesome imagery. As the story goes, the scenes were trimmed from the film due to the MPAA, though the footage was eventually believed to be lost. Then, earlier this year while prepping this set, it was discovered on an old VHS tape that visual effects artist Carl Fullerton found.
From there, things somehow get more interesting. Samuelson Studios, the production company that put together the bonus material for the new set, got possession of the tape and baked it–literally–to make it viewable. In a Facebook posting by the company, it was explained, “the lab indicated that the tape was stuck together. If pulled apart, the magnetic information could be stripped, which would mean that we would lose everything. The only solution: baking the tape in an oven overnight to separate the reels. The VHS would have to be taken apart, the reels would have [to be] placed into an oven and baked overnight in order to make it playable.”
Shockingly, that worked and the footage now appears in Shout Factory’s set. It might not be what you were expecting, though.
Is there a gore cut of Friday the 13th Part 2?
Technically, the gore cut is not included in the set because it doesn’t exist. Instead, what those who picked up the set get is a new 4K scan of the film from the original camera negative. Then, in the bonus features section, is an option called “Slashed scenes.” That is where you can access nearly four-and-a-half minutes of scenes that were cut from the film. Some of them are pretty gruesome, so it’s not hard to see why.
Among the deleted scenes are a longer and more disturbing shot of the death of Alice from the beginning of the film, along with a truly horrifying alternate version of Mark’s death by machete. There are a number of other scenes features–including the double impalement of Jeff and Sandra– featured in this section, as well.
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What’s missing, though, is the audio. While the footage looks great, especially for a VHS tape baked in an oven, the audio is missing from all of the scenes. That said, even without the sound of a machete hacking its way through flesh and bone, these new scenes should send a chill down your spine.
These new sequences should be required watching for all Friday the 13th fans. Given that this film was the first outing of Jason Voorhees, the final scene of the original movie notwithstanding, these longer and gorier death sequences go a long way in showing just how disturbing the Jason character initially was.
While plenty of blood was spilled and bodies were stacked up in the movies that followed, there’s something special about seeing just how far those making this movie were willing to go to show Jason’s viciousness. While the scenes aren’t long, if you’re a completionist they’re absolutely worth seeking out.
Thankfully, it’s not too late if you’re one of those people. The 13-disc Friday the 13th set is still available on Shout Factory’s website, and it’s not just the second movie that includes new special features. In fact, there’s hours of extra content on this set, between deleted scenes, audio commentaries, unearthed trailers, and so much more.
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Not that it’s a surprise, but Electronic Arts has confirmed it will keep making more NHL games. The publisher has signed a new multi-year deal with the NHL and its player’s association to create more games in the future.
EA did not confirm the specific duration of the deal or how much it paid the hockey league for the rights. EA has been in business with the NHL for 30 years already, and EA Sports boss Cam Weber said in a statement, “This extension will ensure it remains at the forefront of connecting millions of fans around the world to the sport through interactive entertainment.”
NHL chief brand officer Brian Jennings said in a statement that EA’s NHL series helps bring new fans to ice hockey. Jennings added that, during COVID-19 lockdowns, people turned to EA’s series to get their hockey fix while the real sport’s latest season was delayed and impacted by the virus.
“The past eight months illustrates how EA is a critical extension to real-world sports, as fans turned to EA Sports NHL to play and watch hockey while we temporarily paused during the pandemic,” Jennings said.
NHL 21 launched on October 16, following a delay related to COVID-19. Another release, NHL 94 Rewind, came out on October 30 and is currently only available to those who preordered NHL 21.
NHL 21 will be playable on PS5 and Xbox Series X with some improvements, but EA did not create a dedicated next-gen version of the game. As such, NHL 22 will presumably be the first NHL game with a dedicated version for PS5 and Xbox Series X.
In addition to the NHL, EA has licensing deals in place with other gigantic sports leagues and organizations, including FIFA, NFL, and UFC.
The next generation of gaming is here. In the same week, we’ll be seeing the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S all launch, which means there’s a ton of ground to cover right now. From console reviews to game reviews to tips on things you might not know and beyond, GameSpot’s ongoing coverage will be going strong in the days and weeks to come.
To help you keep on top of everything that we have coming, we’ve put together a schedule showcasing some of our upcoming content, including reviews, big features, essential news stories, and our freshly updated preorder guides with all the latest on how and when you can buy these consoles for yourself. There’s plenty more on top of what you see here, so be sure to stay tuned to both GameSpot’s homepage and Generation Next hub for a more comprehensive rundown as things get published. Due to embargoes, we can’t always share when things are coming, but you can expect coverage of all the big games hitting the consoles this month.
Thursday, November 5
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Friday, November 6
The Best PS4 Games To Play On PS5
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During a press conference for AEW’s Full Gear PPV–taking place on Saturday, November 7–Cody discussed the future of using his name. “I’m very happy about being Cody Rhodes, again. The details of it all aren’t important other than it was a very positive, no hard feelings on either side, type scenario. I will say though it’s not something I probably will use in the wrestling space. I’ve gotten very used to ‘The American Nightmare’ Cody. I like how Justin Roberts says it. I just like it, [and have] for some time.
“Where I’m most excited about ‘Cody Rhodes’ being available again is when it comes to third party ventures and things like Go-Big Show that I just took part in coming to TBS and other projects like that.”
Cody went on to say that within the world of wrestling, everyone knows and understands the saga of the name, but outside of this community, the vast majority of people don’t. So when it comes to Cody in future projects outside of wrestling, “It’ll be nice to finally tell them what they can credit on the screen, and where the SAG credits can go and things of that nature. It was a very special day. I’m happy. It worked out, and I’m very thankful for everybody who was involved.
Cody will most likely continue under the name of “The American Nightmare” Cody, and you can see him defend the TNT Championship on Saturday against Darby Allin at Full Gear. The pre-show can be watched for free onYouTube, and it starts at 4:30 PM PT / 7:30 PM ET. The main card for Full Gear starts at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET and can be purchased for $50 onB/R Live.
We’re just days away from the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but unless you’ve already preordered the next-gen console of your choice, don’t count on being able to purchase it at Best Buy in the near future. In a blog post today, Best Buy confirmed it will not have the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S in retail stores on launch day or during the holidays. Instead, the consoles could be restocked on BestBuy.com, but Best Buy gave no indication of when that might be.
“If you haven’t preordered a new console yet, you still might be able to get your hands on one–but only on BestBuy.com,” Best Buy representative Katie Huggins wrote in the blog post. “While our stores won’t have devices for purchase on launch day or throughout the holiday season, keep an eye on BestBuy.com, where they’ll be available for purchase as soon as we have them available.”
This statement means it’s now unclear whether Best Buy will have the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S available online during Black Friday as previously reported. Best Buy’s Black Friday 2020 ad shows both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and advertises them as being available online-only in limited quantities, and their inclusion in the ad implies they’ll be available during Best Buy’s Black Friday sale, which the retailer has still not shared start dates and times for.
However, when GameSpot asked Best Buy specifically about Black Friday availability, the spokesperson only reiterated that consoles would not be available in stores throughout the holiday season and that consoles would be “available on BestBuy.com as we have inventory available.”
So here’s what we know now: Best Buy’s website will probably restock the PS5 and Xbox Series X sometime in the near future, but we won’t get any advance notice, and it may or may not occur around Black Friday. Best Buy stores will not have either console in stock until 2021.
People who have already preordered the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S and selected in-store pickup will still be able to do so on launch day when stores open early at 9 AM local time (or at your confirmed appointment time).
Meanwhile, Walmart today announced its launch day restock times for the next-gen consoles next week. The Xbox Series X and Series S will be available on Walmart.com at 12 PM ET on Tuesday, while the PS5 will have four different time slots for hopeful buyers on Thursday: 12 PM, 3 PM, 6 PM, and 9 PM ET.
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