Category: Games

Super Nintendo World is reportedly now planning to open in Spring 2021 at Universal Studios Japan.

Pop culture website Kai-You reports that the Super Mario-themed theme park is planning to open early next year. Super Nintendo World’s was supposed to open in July 2020, but its launch was indefinitely delayed back in June 2020 in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Kotaku‘s Brian Ashcraft suggests that the opening date for Super Nintendo World may be April 2021, due to the fact that this is when the country is currently considering removing its entry ban for tourists.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/06/08/super-nintendo-world-japan-teaser-trailer”]

The Kai-You report also reveals the ‘Mario Cafe & Store,’ which will apparently open prior to the official launch of the theme park – in its Hollywood Boulevard area – offering Nintendo merchandise and themed food and drinks.

Some of the images shown offer a glimpse at the confectionary, including a pancake sandwich shaped like Mario and Luigi’s iconic caps, a Super Mushroom cup and a set of themed Mario Brothers drinks with cute straws that make it look like you’ve got the face furniture made famous by the moustached plumbers.

Check out these images to see some of the theme park’s areas, courtesy of a Japanese photographer who captured the shots during the theme park’s construction.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said that he and Microsoft want to bring xCloud to Xbox consoles and PC, but that it is “just a bit further down” a long list of “cool things the xCloud team is working on”.

Talking to a fan on Twitter, who quote-tweeted a post from Insider’s Ben Gilbert questioning why Xbox Game Pass doesn’t stream to consoles and PCs, Spencer clarified that the xCloud team does intend to bring the streaming service to console and PC.

Yes, we want to do this. It’s in the long list of cool things the xCloud team is working on, just a bit further down the list. But we want console and PC players to be able to browse as easily as mobile players, it’s a good gamepass feature.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) October 7, 2020

“Yes, we want to do this,” said Spencer. “It’s in the long list of cool things the xCloud team is working on, just a bit further down the list. But we want console and PC players to be able to browse as easily as mobile players, it’s a good game pass feature.”

Currently, xCloud is only available on Android phones and tablets, although internal testing began for Windows 10 PCs earlier this year. It is unavailable on iOS devices due to Apple guidelines that restricts Microsoft from streaming the Game Pass library. But, despite being an Xbox product, xCloud is unavailable on actual Xbox consoles, and so games must be fully downloaded to play.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/05/xcloud-might-be-xboxs-secret-weapon-unlocked-455″]

If or when xCloud does make it to Xbox, it would allow players to sample games before they commit to the download, or play entire games through the cloud.

For more in xCloud, check out our hands-on preview of xCloud.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Netflix has revealed the first official look for Anya Chalotra as Yennefer in The Witcher Season 2.

The two new photos were shared to The Witcher’s official Twitter account on Wednesday in a tweet that teases Yen’s return in the upcoming season. The verse accompanying the first-look images reads: “She used her full might, and the battlefield burned. Then she vanished from sight, but Yen will return.”

The photos were also posted on the show’s official Instagram page, with a caption to assure fans that Yennefer is “out there somewhere.” The last time that we saw Yennefer, she had unleashed her fire and roasted most of the Nilfgaardian troops at The Battle of Sodden Hill. Now she appears to be paying the price for her actions, as her face is bloodied and her hands are bound in her Season 2 character photos.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/19/the-witcher-how-magic-works-for-geralt-and-yennefer-ign-first”]

Yennefer’s storyline in Season 1 spanned about 70 years, and even though she had her time at court and had many lovers, she ultimately found that her life was unfulfilled. Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich previously told IGN that she intended to deal with all of the “messy stuff” that the character experiences before her transformation.

The second season of The Witcher will finally see all of the characters exist on the “same timeline,” with the show’s “controversial” multi-timeline format being dropped in favour of a more streamlined narrative structure. With this news, a lot of fans are now looking forward to seeing how Yennefer’s storyline could potentially intersect with Geralt and Ciri’s stories.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=the-witcher-netflix-first-look-season-2-images-geralt-ciri-yennefer&captions=true”]

Netflix’s daily teasers of The Witcher Season 2 have already given us a little bit of insight into Geralt and Ciri’s adventures. In their individual character photos, we glimpsed Henry Cavill’s Geralt suited up in his new armour ahead of any training sessions that he might be having with Freya Allan’s Ciri, who looked ready for combat in her official character snaps.

We’ll catch up with all of the characters when The Witcher Season 2 premieres in 2021. Filming resumed on The Witcher’s highly anticipated second season in August following a five-month production shutdown as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Netflix is currently also working on The Witcher: Blood Origin and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Netflix has announced that Godzilla Singular Point, an all-new anime series centered on the titular famed Kaiju, will premiere on its streaming service in 2021.

Godzilla Singular Point will not be directly tied into any of the other Godzilla-related projects that have debuted on the streaming service in recent years. In fact, the upcoming anime series is set to feature a brand new cast and a completely original story, which will combine hand-drawn and CG animation styles. Check out an early sketch from the show’s character designer Kazue Kato below:

Atsushi Takahashi is directing the new anime series, with a creative team that comprises of Doraemon composer Kan Sawada, sci-fi novelist turned writer and editor Toh EnJoe, and Studio Ghibli animator Eiji Yamamori who is creating a brand new Godzilla design for the series. The project is being produced by Bones, the anime studio behind My Hero Academia, in partnership with Orange.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/02/new-to-netflix-for-october-2020″]

Godzilla Singular Point is the latest addition to a growing list of Godzilla titles in the Netflix library, following on from the success of the streamer’s slate of anime films based on the classic Japanese monster, including 2017’s Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, 2018’s Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, and Godzilla: The Planet Eater.

IGN’s review of Godzilla: The Planet Eater praised the film for providing an “emotionally satisfying conclusion” to an “uneven” animated trilogy. In our write-up, we also gave credit to the final chapter for offering “an emotional payoff and makes the trilogy as a whole much better when viewed as the conclusion of a single, ambitious longform story.”

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=a-visual-history-of-godzilla&captions=true”]

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

It seems like a new wave of amiibo used to arrive every few months. Not so anymore. We’ve been waiting for the next set since Dark Samus and Richter arrived in January. Thankfully, the next wave of Nintendo amiibo is now available. It’s a pair of new figures from the Super Smash Bros. series: Persona 5’s Joker and Dragon Quest 11’s Hero.

Both figures are now shipping from a variety of retailers. Here’s where you can grab them.

Joker Amiibo Preorder

[poilib element=”commerceCta” json=”%7B%22image%22%3A%7B%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fassets1.ignimgs.com%2F2020%2F07%2F17%2Fjoker-amiibo1595011159962.jpg%22%2C%22styleUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fassets1.ignimgs.com%2F2020%2F07%2F17%2Fjoker-amiibo1595011159962_%7Bsize%7D.jpg%22%2C%22id%22%3A%225f11f05ce4b0cf6015a1bd0d%22%7D%2C%22url%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Fr.zdbb.net%2Fu%2Fbyk7%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Joker%20Amiibo%22%2C%22store%22%3A%22Amazon%22%2C%22additionalInfo%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ourPick%22%3Afalse%7D”]

• Preorder at Amazon – $15.99
• Preorder at Best Buy – $15.99
• Preorder at GameStop – $15.99

Hero Amiibo Preorder

[poilib element=”commerceCta” json=”%7B%22image%22%3A%7B%22url%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fassets1.ignimgs.com%2F2020%2F07%2F17%2Fhero-amiibo1595011176918.jpg%22%2C%22styleUrl%22%3A%22https%3A%2F%2Fassets1.ignimgs.com%2F2020%2F07%2F17%2Fhero-amiibo1595011176918_%7Bsize%7D.jpg%22%2C%22id%22%3A%225f11f06de4b0d73708443823%22%7D%2C%22url%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Fr.zdbb.net%2Fu%2Fbyk6%22%2C%22title%22%3A%22Hero%20Amiibo%22%2C%22store%22%3A%22Amazon%22%2C%22additionalInfo%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ourPick%22%3Afalse%7D”]

• Preorder at Amazon – $15.96
• Preorder at Best Buy – $15.99
• Preorder at GameStop – $15.99

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

[widget path=”ign/modules/recirc” parameters=”title=&type=articles%2Cvideos&tags=us-shopping&count=3&columnCount=3&theme=article”]

A new Special Battle event has begun in Super Mario Bros. 35, the free-to-play battle royale-style Mario game for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. This one is called Frantic Fight Against Exceptional Enemies, and it has players contending with some of the game’s trickiest foes.

As Nintendo describes, Special Battles are limited-time events. The basic rules are similar to the game’s standard 35-player mode, wherein 35 players run through a series of classic Super Mario Bros. levels while vying to be the last one remaining, but with some special conditions on top of that. This Special Battle fills levels with enemies like Lakitu, Hammer Bros., and Bowser himself, which should make rounds even more hectic.

Super Mario Bros. 35 is free to download and play for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. If you’re already a member and haven’t downloaded it yet, you can head into the Switch eShop and find it listed under the “Nintendo Switch Online” option from the left side bar. If you’re not already a subscriber, individual members cost $4 USD for one month, $8 USD for three months, and $20 USD for one year. You can learn more in our Nintendo Switch Online guide.

Super Mario Bros. 35 launched on October 1 as part of the Super Mario series’ 35th anniversary celebration, but it won’t be a permanent addition to the Switch library. Much like Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Mario Bros. 35 is a limited-time release that will only be available until March 31, 2021. It’s unclear if Nintendo will offer the game again in the future or if it will change its mind and keep the game up, as it did with Jump Rope Challenge, which was originally scheduled to be delisted on September 30 but will remain available going forward.

Nintendo has more plans for Super Mario’s 35th anniversary. On October 16, the company is releasing Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, a “mixed reality” product that combines toy RC cars with video games. We recently had a chance to learn how Mario Kart Live actually works. A few other Switch games will also hold Mario-themed events. Super Mario Maker 2 will have a special Mario anniversary course next month; Splatoon 2 is hosting a Mario-themed Splatfest in January; and Animal Crossing: New Horizons is finally receiving Mario furniture in March.