Month: February 2019

Zen Studios has announced its upcoming RPG, titled Operencia: The Stolen Sun, will release as an Xbox One console exclusive. The game will also be enhanced on One X and launch day one on Xbox Game Pass.

“Much of our development team grew up on classic RPG series like Wizardry, The Bard’s Tale, and Eye of the Beholder–and we’re just not seeing many games like those these days, especially on console. So not only would creating a CRPG for Xbox One be something we want to play–it would also fill a void,” Zen Studios creative director Chris Baker wrote in a blog post.

Operencia represents yet another title that the Epic Games Store has managed to nab away from Steam. The RPG was originally scheduled to launch on Valve’s store when it was first revealed during the Kinda Funny Games Showcase. However, in a blog post, Zen Studios announced that Operencia caught the eye of Epic after the showcase, and a deal was made. Epic has quickly become a competitor to Steam’s dominance of the PC gaming market by grabbing impressive exclusives, like Hades and Ashen, and securing triple-A games that were originally scheduled for Steam, such as The Division 2 and Metro Exodus. Valve described the loss of Exodus as “unfair” to customers.

Operencia takes place in the fantastical, titular place. The land of Operencia is referred to in several folktales told in Central Europe, and the game takes the concept of these fictional stories to deliver an expanded universe that incorporates both fantasy creatures and real historical figures. The game is played in first-person and has tile-focused, turn-based combat. For a more challenging experience, you can turn on permadeath mode and/or turn off automapping.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun is scheduled to launch on Xbox One and PC in Spring 2019.

The upcoming spin-off RPG starring an ensemble of Persona characters, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, was recently confirmed to come to North America and Europe later this year. It’s the Nintendo 3DS exclusive that gives the casts adorable chibi designs and brings them together in an alternate, sinister movie-themed dimension for a wild ride. But despite Persona 3, 4, 5, and all other spin-off games having an English voice cast, Persona Q2 will not.

Atlus USA confirmed to us and other outlets that the game will only feature the Japanese voice track with English subtitles. This may come as a disappointment to some fans, especially since the localized versions of Persona 3 and Persona 4 had English voice work exclusively and didn’t offer the opportunity to enjoy the Japanese voice overs. It’s not entirely surprising, however. Considering the deep cast of characters spanning three other games and the fact that the 3DS is at the end of its life cycle, bringing in the necessary number of voice actors may not have been cost-effective for Atlus, unfortunately.

Along with the announcement of the North American/European release date, Atlus also showed off the collector’s edition called the “Showtime” Premium Edition. It includes a plushy of good boy Koromaru, a deck of cards with character designs, an art book, a four-button set with each protagonist, and an exclusive box along with the game.

Persona Q2 launched in Japan on November 29, 2018 and will make its way to the West on June 4, 2019 for Nintendo 3DS. Prior to the announcement, I was confident enough in the game getting localized that I declared it my most anticipated game of 2019.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has proven to be a big critical and commercial success for Nintendo since it arrived on Switch last month. Despite launching toward the end of the year, the title was Amazon’s best-selling video game of 2018 as well as the fifth best-selling game in the US (not accounting for digital sales), and now it’s hit another huge sales milestone.

In its latest earnings report, Nintendo revealed that the mascot fighter has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, making it the company’s third best-selling Switch game to date. According to Nintendo’s updated list of best-selling Switch software, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate moved a combined 12.08 million physical and digital copies as of December 31, 2018–a figure that’s all the more impressive considering the game had only been available for roughly three weeks by that point.

Ultimate launched for Switch on December 7 and quickly set new sales records for the series. The title has already sold more than twice as many copies as its predecessor, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. At this rate, it’s also on track to overtake the series’ best-selling entry, Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, which sits at 13.29 million units–assuming it hasn’t already done so, as Nintendo has yet to share Ultimate’s January sales figures.

Ultimate wasn’t Nintendo’s only big sales success in 2018. Switch’s first Pokemon RPGs, Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee, have also sold a combined 10 million copies since their launch in November. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, meanwhile, remains the companies best-selling Switch game, surpassing 15 million units, with Super Mario Odyssey following at 13.76 million.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s first DLC character, Piranha Plant, arrived earlier this week as part of the game’s big 2.0.0 update. Those who’ve registered their copy of the game via My Nintendo by January 31 are able to claim it for free; here’s how to do it. Everyone else will be able to purchase Piranha Plant at a later date.

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Members of the PlayStation 4 system software beta program can try out the next iteration of the console’s firmware now. Invites have gone out for PS4’s 6.50 beta, letting players kick the tires and test the stability of an update that is mostly focused on, what else, stability.

The invite notes that firmware 6.50 “does not include any new major consumer-facing features” but requests the community’s help “fine-tuning the performance and stability improvements the update brings.” Interested testers can download the beta through a special link, and then provide feedback on a beta forum.

This is similar to the 6.00 update, which despite being a whole number was focused squarely on stability improvements. Sony is being more upfront about that fact this time around though, after functionality in the 6.00 beta was kept a secret known only to testers. That left the eventual roll-out somewhat of a disappointment when it didn’t do much at all.

We do know that some consumer-facing features are on the way, however, including the long-awaited PSN name change feature. Those who have access to that beta have been able to change their name for free the first time, and then at $10 USD/CAD / €9.99 / £7.99 for each subsequent change. PlayStation Plus members get a break, costing only $5 USD/CAD / €4.99 / £3.99. But Sony also warned those testing the feature that it could lead to losses of data, including DLC purchases, game saves, and more.

Sony also just announced its PlayStation Plus games for February, which include For Honor and the full first season of Hitman, Divekick, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Gunhouse and Rogue Aces. February will mark the last month that PS Plus includes PS3 and Vita games, but Sony is offering significantly more cloud storage space.

With DJ Marshmello set to hold a concert in Fortnite very soon, Epic Games has kicked off a mini event that consists of new challenges and rewards. The first segment of this is now live and involves something called Showtime posters; here’s how it works.

The first of the Showtime challenges asks you to search a Showtime poster. This simply involves tracking down one of these posters and holding the Use key while standing in front of it. Do that, and you’ll net a Marshmello-themed spray for yourself. Two more challenges will open up on February 1, each with a reward of their own; complete all three to net an additional reward.

Until the others unlock, that leaves you to merely track down a showtime poster. It’s unclear exactly where these can be found at this point, but they appear to be scattered all around the map. We found one located on the side of the structures just north of Dusty Divot; you can see what you’re looking for in the image below.

It’s a relatively easy challenge, provided you can locate one of the posters. Whether the other two objectives prove to be just as simple remains to be seen, but even if they’re knocked out quickly, there’s a new batch of Week 9 challenges to keep you busy. Among them: one asking you to pop golden balloons and a multi-tiered one that has you dance on a sundial, followed by two other objects.

As for DJ Marshmello, the electronic musician is currently on tour. The next stop listed on the schedule is Pleasant Park, one of the locations on Fortnite’s island. If you go there now, you can actually see that a stage has been set up for the concert, though just what it will look like on the day remains to be seen. The concert is scheduled for Saturday, February 2, at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 7 PM GMT.

Ben Affleck has played Batman in three DC movies to date, but it’s safe to say that none of those movies were particularly well received. From the “sad Affleck” meme that did the rounds while he was promoting the critically panned Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice to the commercial failure of Justice League, there has been much speculation that the star will not return to the role again. He has now confirmed this. Sort of.

Following the news that the next Batman movie, titled The Batman, is set to hit theaters in June 2021, Affleck took to Twitter to retweet a story that he would no longer play the role. The original story ran in Deadline carried the headline “Ben Affleck Passes The Torch To Next Generation Of Bruce Wayne.” Affleck retweeted this, adding that he was excited for the film, which will be directed by Matt Reeves. Check it out below:

The Batman was first announced back in 2016, with Affleck attached to star, co-write, and direct. He initially stepped down as director when Reeves came on board, and soon after it was reported that Affleck’s script had been abandoned. While Affleck never stated that he was leaving the role, last year it was reported that Reeves’ movie will feature a much younger Bruce Wayne.

The Batman hits theaters on June 25, 2021. Earlier this week, Reeves hinted at what fans could expect from the film. “It’s very much a point of view-driven, noir Batman tale,” he said. “It’s told very squarely on his shoulders, and I hope it’s going to be a story that will be thrilling but also emotional. It’s more Batman in his detective mode than we’ve seen in the films. The comics have a history of that. He’s supposed to be the world’s greatest detective, and that’s not necessarily been a part of what the movies have been.”

In related news, DC has also announced the release date of the next Suicide Squad movie. It’s simply titled The Suicide Squad, and is not a sequel to the 2017 movie, but a new version written by James Gunn. Gunn was hired by DC to work on the script in October, following his departure from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gunn is also in negotiations to direct, and that it will “take the franchise in a new direction with a mostly all-new cast of characters and actors.”

Square Enix has been very protective of Kingdom Hearts 3 spoilers, even holding back some of its special endings for post-launch. That rolling time period has now ended, as Square Enix has announced that its closely guarded “Secret Movie” is now available for those who have fulfilled the requirements.

The Secret Ending is tied to photographing the Lucky Emblems, which are recognizable as Disney’s Mickey Mouse logo, hidden throughout the world. Check out our Lucky Emblems guide for details on their locations. The number of Lucky Emblems you need to collect to unlock the Secret Movie is different based on your difficulty level. On easy mode you’ll need to get them all, but in the other two modes you can get fewer to unlock them.

This is actually the second post-launch movie added to Kingdom Hearts 3. A special epilogue was also added and is viewable upon finishing the game’s main story. Square also patched in a “Memory Archive,” a series of short films that reviews the major points of the story so far.

When the game leaked and spoilers began to circulate online, director Tetsuya Nomura asked fans to please not share them, and detailed his plans for the post-launch movies. More recently, he said he’s reconsidering simultaneous worldwide launches to avoid leaks.

For more on Kingdom Hearts, check out our history of the franchise and full story recap. You may also need some beginner’s tips to get started off on the right big floppy yellow shoe.

“What sticks with me is the exciting battle against elemental titans with Hercules, taking Rapunzel out into the unfamiliar wide world for the first time, snapping selfies with Winnie the Pooh, and going toe to toe with Davy Jones,” critic Tamoor Hussain wrote in GameSpot’s Kingdom Hearts 3 review. “In 2002, as Sora, I left Destiny Islands to travel across the universe and make new friends. In 2019 I brought old ones home, and I had so much fun doing it.”