E3 Day 0 (Part 3) -- The Sony Press Conference

Written By: Tyler

Here we are... the last press conference of the day/night. I don't have to remind you, but remember when Sony came out and Ether'd Microsoft? Can they do it again? What does Sony have to say for themselves? Read below.

We see the blue, we hear the calming, pretty music... and then there is black. When images and light return the stage, we see Mars. It looks exactly like Mars and I would know because I've been there. But what does this all mean? It's your destiny to know. It's um, Destiny, and spoiler alert, it still looks really cool, even if the opening video didn't really give us much in the way of gameplay footage.

Andrew House takes the stage and uh, rocks the house (okay I'll stop) by talking about understanding what it takes to be the best in the world. Then, he announces that Playstation gamers will get their grubby little hands on the Destiny beta first on July 17th. Also, starting on Thursday Playstation owners can play the first-look alpha of the game. If you act now you can actually help develop the game. One of these things is a lie made by me, I'll let you guess which.

There's also a white PS4 coming, with an exclusive Destiny bundle.

Next comes a new exclusive IP: The Order: 1886. It is a dark, third-person shooter and in the footage there's a lot of walking through the dark with only your flashlight. But wait, there's more, because you are not alone. I can't imagine. At least now we've seen some gameplay.

Jumping from dark, scary and depressing to light and beautiful, we have two bird-things flying through the air. It's Entwined, and it's apparently about two souls that are in love and can't be together. You have to guide two things at once using the dual sticks, and when you bring them together they'll transform into a dragon. Could be neat, but I wish my soul could merge with something and become a dragon. It is available right now for $9.99 so I think I may have to check it out tomorrow.

Infamous: Second Son is getting standalone DLC. You get exclusive content if you own Second Son but you don't need it. It's called Infamous: First Light.

Then Little Big Planet 3 hits the stage. I'm not real familiar with the previous two, despite buying the first (and not playing it yet) but it appears there are new characters. It looks charming like the first two did and this co-op play looks entertaining. I know they're slightly different but I feel like Little Big Planet 3 will be a better game than Project Spark.

Next on the agenda is the new game from From Software, Bloodborne. They appear to be trying something new by making a dark, gruesome game. You can get it in 2015.

Then Far Cry 4 flashes on the screen. We saw the first five minutes of the game earlier during the Ubisoft press conference, but now we see some gameplay. The video involves the player walking around, where he then picks up some equipment and starts grappling. Then he walks through the trees a little and after that the fun starts. In an unexpected twist, it looks like it's going to play like other Far Cry games, but that isn't even a criticism. Trust me, this looks like it's a lot of fun.

But they're not done, because this one seems to have co-op or at least some form of multiplayer. You can invite your friends to play with you even if they don't own the game... but only on Playstation. What?

What don't we see much of? Zombies. So we better make a game about zombies. We get to see go jogging while people get molested by zombies, things crash and an upbeat song plays. But then he transforms into a zombie himself. The video is silly fun. It's Dead Island 2.

Battlefield Hardline makes another appearance. I'm already sold, I didn't need this, but it's more of a mixture video of gameplay and cinematic. I'm more impressed with what EA showed us in their press conference.

There's an exclusive Disney Infinity collectors edition for PS3 and 4.

They talk about Destiny some more, talking about how Playstation owners will get stuff for owning it on a Sony system. Hulk also smashed during that, which made me chuckle.

They have a new partnership with Paradox Interactive. The first game they're working on is the new Magicka game, appropriately titled Magicka 2.

Grim Fandango is getting a remastering. I suck at Adventure games but I dig this one. It will be exclusive to PS4 and Vita.

After the biggest cheer of the night, we get a montage of a bunch of games who make their debut on Playstation platforms. I won't list them all because I've already forgotten the titles as I write this, but a lot of them look really cool. Some of them are Not A Hero, Hotline Miami 2, and The talos Principle. Wait I can do this... Titan Souls and Broforce as well. I may have missed some.

Oh god yes, here we go. The new Suda51 one game, that's only coming to PS4... I'm a huge Suda51 fan and up until now we only got a brief teaser that told us nothing about his new game. Only this is called Let It Die and it's not the game I thought he was making. What a confusing guy.

Then there's an awkward transition to Journey. Then we get to see the Giant Squid game, Abzu, and I'm not really sure what the point is. I don't think that's a criticism because it's intriguing and beautiful. It's another exclusive console debut for Sony.

No Man's Sky then shows up and it's even more gorgeous than I remember it being the first time I saw it. It's got the visuals and the scope is incredible, especially when you consider it's an indie game. It's a procedural universe, and every player will start on a different planet where the universe is supposedly infinite. Whether it'll be fun to explore these worlds or not remains to be seen, but I'm optimistic and anticipate this game.

After being inspired by No Man's Sky, Andrew House comes back to talk about the Playstation Camera and starts discussing Project Morpheus.

House introduces Shawn Layden, the new President and CEO of SCE. He starts talking about the PSN and statistics. Youtube will be coming to PS4 later this year. In the summer, their broadcasting will be enhanced. He also thinks that free-to-play is important, and there are a bunch of games coming in the next year, then we're treated to a montage of some of these games. Some look cool, some look crappy, but all will annoy a large portion of gamers who hate F2P.

Playstation Now is going to be available in beta on July 31st on PS4. Shortly after it will be on Vita
and PS3. I'm excited for this.

Layden then went on to talk about PS Vita. There are over a hundred games in development for the platform.

Playstation TV is a thing too. You can pair it with your PS4, and play your games via remote play on another TV. When it's released it will cost $99 but there's a bundle for $139 that includes a Dual Shock 3, a game, and an HDMI cable.

After that, we get the world premiere of gameplay footage of Mortal Kombat X, and guess what? That teaser trailer we saw a while back was not gameplay footage, to those who debated how much of it was. When did Mortal Kombat get gory?

After Mortal Kombat, Andrew House comes back and starts talking about movies and television on Playstation. Their first original program is a show called Powers, which is about superheroes.

If you didn't know, there's an animated Ratchet & Clank movie in the works. We got to see a little bit of it. 

Finally we get back to games... with the remastered version of The Last of Us. If you haven't played The Last of Us and you only own a PS4, you definitely have to check this out when it releases on July 29th because it definitely lives up to the hype. The footage presented also has a cover of a Nirvana song so that's a plus in my eyes.

I love Metal Gear, and Sony knows this, so they chose to show us a new trailer of Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Not that I need a new trailer, but of course it looks awesome. The trailers for this game have been incredible.

Next comes Grand Theft Auto 5 for PS4. I'm really happy about this because the online aspect of the game seems really interesting and my PS3 broke a while back so I haven't gotten a chance to play it.

After stroking the audience with next-gen GTA5, we get to see the next Batman game, Arkham Knight. This was a must-buy before I knew anything about it. The video that they showed made me happy because now there is no doubt in my mind at all that the game is going to be awesome.

The press conference ends with Uncharted 4. If I'm being honest, I'm not real excited because I'm not a fan of the series, but it's nice to see that the game hasn't imploded with all the people leaving over the past year. It's just a short cinematic, but it says that it's coming out in 2015. There is a big applause at the beginning of the video and at the end.


Closing Statement: Sony suffered from some technical issues on occasion during their presser, but for the most part it was good. It's interesting that they were more like Microsoft last year than Sony of last year... focusing a bunch on their non-game features. Some of this is really interesting, but I felt like it went on a little too long and started clamoring for more game talk. After the talk about all their hardware and services, they came back in a huge way though, which I think kept Microsoft from edging out a victory here. The games that Sony showed are, for the most part, just more interesting.

Weekly News Round-Up, March 30 - April 5: Did You Know Mario Kart 8 Is Coming Out Next Month?

Written By: Tyler

Welcome again to another Weekly News Round-Up with yours truly. In case you're a virgin to this, I go through numerous video game sites and steal their news and claim it as my own... while adding snarky comments and making fun of things (even things I like).

It's the week of April Fools' and there were plenty of jokes all around. As far as I know I didn't believe any of that crap, but hey, something could have snuck through.


Let's Start This Off With A Game I Slobbered Over -- Two Brothers (That Other Game With Brothers In The Title) Coming To Wii U
http://www.destructoid.com/two-brothers-is-still-being-ported-to-wii-u-developer-to-be-revealed-272652.phtml

A lot of people talked about Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons last year, and even when I tried to look for Two Brothers on Google I'd get a lot of links to that game, but Two Brothers snuck out of the woodwork and ended up being genuinely awesome.

AckkStudios has confirmed that the game is being ported to the Wii U "by another developer who is really good at Wii U ports."

Getting someone else to do your dirty work? Well played Ackk, well played. Anybody want to write for a blog who is really good at writing?


Square Enix Is Going To Stop Fucking Around And Are Going To Make Great Games Again
http://www.destructoid.com/bravely-default-s-success-has-square-refocusing-on-heavy-jrpgs-core-audience-272658.phtml

Yosuke Matsuda said that because of the success of Bravely Default, they've realized that they shouldn't be scared to make games for core gamers, instead of trying to make everything accessible which often diluted the product as a whole. 

I grew up with Square and the JRPG, so all I can think of is a return to the great days like Final Fantasy 3/6, Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, etc. When I read this news I felt so empowered that I went out and did this:

Playstation Plus Free Games For April
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-gets-free-mercenary-kings-on-ps-plus-in-april-as-sony-announces-full-lineup/1100-6418621/

US

• Mercenary Kings (PS4)
• Batman: Arkham City (PS3)
• Stealth Inc. A Clone in the Dark (PS3)
• Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse (PS3)
• Velocity Ultra (Vita)
• Pixeljunk Monsters Ultimate HD (Vita)

Europe

• Mercenary Kings (PS4)
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (PS3)
• Sly Cooper Thieves in Time (PS3/Vita)
• Hotline Miami (PS3/Vita)
• MotoGP 13 (Vita)

Xbox Live Gold Free Games For April
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-unveils-its-free-xbox-360-games-for-april/1100-6418671/


If you have an Xbox 360, for the first half of the month, you can nab Hitman: Absolution, and for some reason in the second half you can get Deadlight. I'm not sure why they did it this way, but hey, at least if you cancel your Xbox Live Gold subscription you can keep the games, unlike with Sony.


There Are Going To Be Over 80 Indie Games At PAX East
http://www.destructoid.com/over-80-games-on-display-at-the-indie-megabooth-at-pax-east-272670.phtml

That's right, screw you and your triple A titles!

In the link above there is a list to all the games that will be at the Indie Megabooth. Also, for the first time ever, there will be board games. Did you say board games? I want a new version of this one:

But we know that isn't happening. *Sigh*

I Think It's About Time That Ubisoft Gets Turned Into A Meme
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-not-abandoning-xbox-360-and-ps3-anytime-soon/1100-6418660/

Ubisoft is going to continue to make games for the PS3 and 360... years into the future. They won't quit the previous generation for a long time, they say.

Battlefield 4 DLC Hit This Week, But...
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/battlefield-4-s-delayed-naval-strike-dlc-finally-out-for-pc/1100-6418664/

...Only if you have a Battlefield Premium Membership. The peasants have to wait another two weeks to play the DLC on PC.


Warface Hits 25 Million Registered Users
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/game-with-a-silly-name-warface-gets-25-million-registered-users/1100-6418673/

The free-to-play shooter by Crytek (a game I didn't like so much) hit a milestone this week -- it hit 25 million registered users. I'm conflicted about this... on one hand that's 25 million people who may not be playing Call of Duty, but that also means people support this mediocre game with a godawful name.

This is what a warface looks like, I guess.

Metro: 2033 and Metro: Last Light Are Coming To Get You On PS4 And Xbox One Eventually
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/metro-last-light-and-metro-2033-could-be-coming-to-ps4-and-xbox-one/1100-6418655/

There was a leaked image and instead of denying it, 4A Games came out and said that Metro: Redux is in fact a thing.


Phil Spencer Cares About the "Core" Gamer
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-xbox-one-boss-pledges-to-support-core-gamers/1100-6418674/

He says that the other non-gaming features of the Xbox One are important but not if they interfere with the actual, y'know, gaming. So we have another boss telling us stuff but not really going into any real detail about anything.


Ubisoft Won't Confirm If Watch Dogs Runs In 1080p On PS4 And Xbone
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ubisoft-won-t-say-if-watch-dogs-runs-in-1080p-on-ps4-and-xbox-one/1100-6418692/

Ubisoft won't confirm what resolution Watch Dogs will run in, but they did say that the PS4 frame rate is constant. They also said some other stuff, and here is important stuff (quoted from Gamespot):

• "Normal" enemies will go down easily (2-3 bullets, or 1 in the case of a headshot).
• If you join invade someone else's game, chases can last for 20-30 minutes if both players are highly skilled.
• There won't be any microtransactions.
• Recommended PC specs are not yet finalized.
• Won't feature "unnecessary gore" for takedowns. "Blood spatter is in there, but don't expect heads blowing up."

Gamers all over the world are upset by this news because whether or not a game runs in 1080p is obviously all that is worth knowing. If I have to prioritize what's important in games, my list would go like this:

1: Resolution -- Does it run in 1080p? If yes to PS4 version and no Xbox One, mock Xbox One fanboys accordingly. If yes to Xbox One and no to PS4, that didn't happen.
2: How realistic the trees/grass/water/fish/guns/sky looks. I want to play the real world in my fictional worlds.
3: See above.
4: See above.
5: Tomatoes.
6: Gameplay.
7: Music.


Gearbox Is Taking Time Out Of Their Day To Probably Announce A New Xbone/PS4 Game Later This Year
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-dev-will-probably-announce-an-xbox-one-ps4-game-this-year/1100-6418698/

Though we won't see a Borderlands 3 for a long while, Gearbox has some stuff coming. We may even get to see a new Xbox One/PS4 game later this year.


Another Valve Employee Has Left For Oculus
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-loses-three-vr-veterans-in-three-weeks-to-oculus-vr/1100-6418697/

The Facebook conquest of the world is still going. Aaron Nicholls has left Valve for Oculus -- now owned by Facebook in case you were living under a rock last week -- and has apparently become a "Scientist." Sweet! I'm going to leave my job and become "Important."

Most Of The Games That Microsoft Is Taking To PAX East Are Games That Are Already Out
http://www.destructoid.com/most-of-the-games-microsoft-will-have-at-pax-east-are-already-out-272693.phtml

In news that baffles me and makes my head want to feature unnecessary gore and blow up, Microsoft has a few games that aren't currently purchasable that are going to PAX... but mostly you can wait in line to play games you may already own.

Awesome.

I thought this was an April Fools joke but then I saw the date it was posted.


Infamous: Second Son Patch Is Comin'
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/infamous-second-son-ps4-patch-will-let-you-cap-the-game-at-30fps/1100-6418696/

An Infamous: Second Son patch is coming and it'll allow you to change between night and day once you beat the game, turn the HUD on and off and even cap the frame rate at 30! Whoa!

In related news, I keep saying Infamous instead of inFamous because that trips me out.


EA Puts Up April Fools Joke... EA Apologizes For April Fools Joke
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/01/ea-apologizes-for-unacceptable-stupid-nintendo-joke

For April Fools, @Frostbite put up a series of comments on Twitter mocking the underpowered Wii U.

Peter Moore took to Twitter and apologized personally, saying that the comments were unacceptable and stupid. He also said that they weren't condoned by EA.

So of course, I'll post the comments here too so I can help them live on forever.

Frostbite now runs on the #WiiU since it is the most powerful Gen4 platform, our renderer is now optimized for Mario and Zelda.

Frostbite will power #HalfLife3, coming out summer 2014! #WiiU exclusive.

Good news, we have finally fixed and optimized our 'netcode'. Uses quantum entanglement for Zero Latency connections. Exclusively on #WiiU.

I'm A Nintendo Guy In My Heart, So Let's Get Some Revenge -- Guess What? Battlefield 4 Still Not Working
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/dice-promises-to-fix-battlefield-4-rubber-banding-woes/1100-6418705/

Guess what kids? Battlefield 4 still doesn't work. Now DICE is promising to fix the rubber band issues that have been plaguing the game since its release fifteen years ago. The next update will address this, and hopefully then people will get to enjoy the game they paid money for ages.

When reached for comment, EA had this to say:

On a serious note, come on. Goat Simulator is less buggy than this game.


Well Ain't That Some Shit -- Thief Save Files Corrupted...
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/april-fools-square-enix-investigating-save-corrupting-thief-bug/1100-6418709/

...On April Fools'. People reported that their save files were getting all kinds of messed up on the day that people do mean things for laughs. Square insists that it's not a prank, and I believe them, but talk about bad timing.


Ed Fries Lays It Down On How Xbox One Can Beat PS4
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-xbox-one-can-beat-ps4-according-to-xbox-co-creator/1100-6418708/

Chalk this up as a "news we already know" type of deal, but Ed Fries had this to say this past week:

"They need better exclusive games than PS4. They need to be more open to indie developers. They need to adopt free to play gaming more aggressively. They need to continue to move Xbox Live forward as the leading online service. They need to show people why they included the new Kinect on every machine by demonstrating a compelling use for it."

So the Xbox One needs better games and to use the Kinect -- a device forced upon the world -- for something.


Tyler on how to make On The Gamely successful: Stop having crappy content, and make good content. Hell, just don't be On The Gamely at all.


Persona 4 Could Hit The PS3
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/classic-cult-jrpg-persona-4-could-be-coming-to-ps3/1100-6418703/

I'm going to tell you all something because I know you care about my personal life. My PS3 broke, and so I'm left with only my PS4. This sucks because there are still games coming out for PS3 that I want to play. I've never played a Persona game. I want to play Persona 4. So when I hear that Persona 4 could possibly hit the PS3, all I can feel is:

Then there was that news a while back that Persona 5 will come over here... for the PS3, and I'm just like:

UPDATE: APRIL 8, 10 BUCKS, GET IT!!


The Developer Of Everquest Next Talks Everquest 1 and 2
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/everquest-next-dev-reveals-future-for-everquest-1-and-2

David Georgeson sat down with IGN and talked shop about Everquest 1 and 2, MMOs and business.

He basically stated that he wants Everquest 1 and 2 to live forever, but understands that sometimes Triple H and Stephanie McMahon come in and screw games because it's what's best for business business gets in the way. He also said that he loved City of Heroes and that people want MMOs to live forever because they put pieces of their souls into them.

Agreed. A little bit of my soul has gone into every MMO I've played. And it went straight to hell.


He Also Said That He's Interested In VR
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/soe-hugely-interested-in-ps4-virtual-reality-headset-for-everquest-next 

"But I mean, VR and AR are things that I personally am extremely excited about. I honestly think that’s the future of gaming. But we have a lot of miles to go before we sleep. So we need to build the game, and then we can talk about virtual reality and stuff beyond that.

"I will tell you this though: I’m hugely interested in Project Morpheus. So… we’ll see what happens."

"Hey hunny. Remember how I was going to ignore you anyway when this new MMORPG came out? Well now with virtual reality it's like I'm actually there. I'm just kidding about ignoring you... I want to break up."


Guess What He Also Said? F2P Rocks!
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/03/everquest-dev-gamers-should-want-all-mmos-to-be-free-to-play

"We’re effectively street performers: we go out there and sing and dance and if we do a good job, people throw coins into the hat. And I think that’s the way games should be, because paying $60 up front to take a gamble on whether the game is good or not? You don’t get that money back. So if you buy a turkey, you’ve just wasted your money. With free-to-play you get to go in, take a look at it and find out. It’s entirely our responsibility to make sure you’re entertained. That’s the way things should be in my opinion with free-to-play."

I'm totally cool with that logic, and if a F2P doesn't try to suck all money out of you then that's great... but be prepared to feel the wrath of the gamer community since they seem to hate free by default.


Phil Spencer Talks Shenmue 3
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-s-phil-spencer-biggest-request-i-get-is-to-bring-back-shenmue/1100-6418687/

Shenmue 3 is the most requested game, according to Phil Spencer. Only he said before that Sega owns it and they can't build it. So why am I telling you this non-news? Because I wanted to see you get excited.

Sorry.

Daylight Is Delayed Until April 29
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ps4-pc-horror-game-daylight-delayed-to-make-it-scarier/1100-6418718/

If you were looking forward to playing Daylight, a new zombie horror game, then you'll have to wait a little longer. It is being delayed until April 29 so they can make it scarier.


Tropico 5 Release Date Announced
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/tropico-5-launching-may-23-on-pc-comes-to-ps4-this-fall/1100-6418716/

Tropico 5 comes to you on PC May 23rd, on the 360 and Mac in summer and PS4 in the fall. Strangely, it hasn't been announced for Xbox One.


Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor Gets A Release Date Too
http://www.destructoid.com/middle-earth-shadow-of-mordor-set-for-release-on-october-7-272770.phtml

October 7th is the day that you can pick up this game, and you probably should because it looks awesome. Don't believe me? There's a new trailer in that link too.


Amazon Announced The Fire TV 
http://www.destructoid.com/amazon-announces-its-99-set-top-box-fire-tv-272769.phtml

You can now buy the Fire TV for $99. You can stream services, which is to be expected, but there is also game support here. There are over a hundred games currently supported and thousands more are promised.

But they also said, "This is absolutely not a game console." It just plays games.


Amazon Games Hires Portal And Far Cry 2 Designers
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/amazon-games-hires-portal-far-cry-2-designers

Amazon Games hired Far Cry 2 designer Clint Hocking and Portal designer Kim Swift. But it's not a game console.


Ouya CEO Criticizes The Fire TV
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ouya-responds-to-amazon-fire-tv-says-it-lacks-a-focus-on-games/1100-6418743/

In what I can only assume is an effort to sell an Ouya (still waiting for that first one!), CEO of Ouya Julie Uhrman said that games are a focus of the Ouya and they shouldn't just be an 'added bonus' like with the Fire TV.

Ouya and Amazon... Wrestlemania 30 is this weekend so maybe you can settle your differences then?



Like Mario Kart? If You Don't You Have No Soul -- Here's Some Info On Mario Kart 8
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/03/buckle-up-for-mario-kart-8-hands-on-impressions-videos-and-more

I went to bed with Mario Kart not really being in my head because it would excite me too much if I thought about it. I woke up and it had infected the entire world -- ending poverty, creating world peace, premiered the new Game of Thrones season early. Hell, it even made me a sandwich.

So here's some of the news and whatnot that appeared. There are videos and whatnot in the IGN link above but I'm better than IGN anyway.

- Cheep Cheep Beach, Donut Plains, DK Jungle and Rainbow Road are being remade.

- You can't design your own courses because level design in Mario Kart is hard and they don't think they can offer that in a rewarding way.

- There's a horn in the center of the Gamepad so now we can be obnoxious even when we're playing Mario Kart. Yay!

- The idea of two characters per kart is not something they've forgotten and they'll keep it in mind for future games.

Never forgotten.

- There are two unannounced items in the game yet to be... uh, announced.

-  Like Mario Kart 7, there will be item customization... only expanded! So now there are more options to choose how items in the races pan out.


More Mario Kart News!

From IGN:

• 12-player online competitive play
• 4-player local multiplayer
• A new Spin Boost feature for when you're racing upside down or on walls
• Returning characters like Metal Mario, Lakitu, and Shy Guy
• New items: Piranha Plant (attaches to your cart and chomps other players; also gives you speed boost), Boomerang Flower (can be thrown forward or backward at opponents to stun).
• New courses: Remixed classics include Moo Moo Meadows from Mario Kart Wii, Toad's Turnpike from Mario Kart 64, and Donut Plains from Super Mario Kart. The remade tracks include re-designed and re-imagined graphics and layouts.
• Live recorded music: For the first time in the history of the Mario Kart series, some courses in Mario Kart 8 will feature music recorded by live performers, though we don't know who.
• Control options: Wii U GamePad, Wii U Pro Controller, the Wii WHeel, and the Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Also supports off-TV mode.

Remember How The Wii U Doesn't Have Games?
http://www.destructoid.com/the-wonderful-101-gets-a-digital-price-drop-on-the-wii-u-272752.phtml

While I won't deny there's definitely a shortage, there have been games released that people just didn't buy. Enter The Wonderful 101... a fantastic strategy-action game that was released last year. Why do I bring this up? Just give me a second, I'm not done shaming the people who didn't buy it yet!

So they missed out on a wonderful game... okay fine, there's a price drop and it's only $30 digitally. Pick it up, seriously.

You can also get Wario and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge cheaper, but I reckon the developers of Ninja Gaiden 3 should pay you to play that game.


Nobuo Uematsu Is Going To Do The Music For Defender's Quest 2
http://www.destructoid.com/composer-nobuo-uematsu-joins-defender-s-quest-ii-272734.phtml

Legendary composer Uematsu is signed on to help do the music for Defender's Quest 2, and this is great news for people who like music. Which... is almost everybody I would imagine.


There Apparently Was A Game-Breaking Bug In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-releases-fix-for-game-breaking-donkey-kong-country-tropical-freeze-3-3-bug/1100-6418737/

There was a bug in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze that sometimes affected games when they hit world 3-3... it was very possible you wouldn't be able to progress. Don't worry, Nintendo got this covered!

New "Gothic Psychological FPS" Is In The Works By Awesome People
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ex-witcher-silent-hill-f-e-a-r-devs-reveal-open-world-gothic-psychological-fps/1100-6418726/

Ex- Silent Hill, F.E.A.R. and Witcher devs are going to be making a new scary game. You can sign me up right now.


PAX East Will See A Playable Ultra Street Fighter IV
http://www.destructoid.com/ultra-street-fighter-iv-will-be-playable-at-pax-east-272810.phtml

So Ultra Street Fighter IV will be playable at PAX East. Want my prediction? I bet it's going to play a lot like Street Fighter IV. Just a guess.

People Get Let Go After Phil Spencer's Rise To Power
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/microsoft-cuts-jobs-following-phil-spencer-s-promotion-to-head-of-xbox/1100-6418739/

Phil Spencer crawled over dead body after dead body to get to where he is, but now Microsoft has cut jobs because of this.

A Microsoft representative said, "At Xbox, our goal is to constantly create new fun, social, and interactive entertainment experiences. As part of our commitment to this goal, we are always evaluating our development priorities, and there are times when decisions need to be made to realign plans and refocus our efforts."

I did some sleuthing and I found out who this Microsoft representative is:

There's something fishy going on at Microsoft.

"Get Even" Has Great Name, Will Also Support VR
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/this-xbox-one-ps4-pc-shooter-will-use-oculus-rift-and-project-morpheus/1100-6418744/

The shooter Get Even will support Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus. With a name like Get Even, I'm also assuming that you'll settle all your debts and start fresh.

No?


GTA 5 Online Mode Is Going To Get Heists
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gta-5-s-online-mode-finally-gets-heists-later-this-spring/1100-6418724/

In the upcoming months, the online feature will be added, and Rockstar teased that the single-player DLC will be announced this year.


The New A Wolf Among Us Hits Next Week
http://www.destructoid.com/play-the-wolf-among-us-a-crooked-mile-next-week-272796.phtml

The new episode of A Wolf Among Us hits next week, so you can continue your happy and kid-friendly adventure through the fables we know and love.


Murdered: Soul Suspect Developer Sees Layoffs
http://ca.ign.com/articles/2014/04/02/murdered-soul-suspect-developer-airtight-games-suffers-layoffs

14 people have been let go from Airtight Games.


Ed Fries Said VR Is A "Fad," But Phil Spencer Says It's Not
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-says-virtual-reality-is-not-a-fad/1100-6418747/

What? This is a news article so I have to sensationalize everything.

Ladies and gentlemen, there's beef. Ed Fries said how Xbox could be better than PS4 but said that he didn't think virtual reality would hit the mainstream. Phil Spencer is having none of that. He harshly replied to Ed Fries by saying, "Ed's smart."

When it came to virtual reality, Phil Spencer unloaded with some comments that I don't think your children should see. "I don't believe VR is a fad," he said. Ouch.


Rest In Peace Masato Masuda
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/fire-pro-wrestling-creator-masato-masuda-passes-away-at-48/1100-6418767/

The creator of the Fire Pro Wrestling series passed away this week at the age of 48. I have only played one Fire Pro Wrestling game and it's one of my favourite wrestling games of all time.

Suda51 confirmed this on Twitter, "The creator of Fire Pro-wrestling, Masato Masuda, has passed away. He was 48 years old, still young. I genuinely pray for his happiness in the next world. He was one of the greatest creators of video games and he was my direct teacher. Thank you for giving us our favorite Fire Pro-wrestling. You are the god of it"

I hope you get the championship belt in heaven.


Final Fantasy 14 (Screw Roman Numerals) Beta Open For Everyone On PS4 This Weekend
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/ffxiv-beta-on-ps4-open-to-everyone-this-weekend/1100-6418769/

If you want to try out Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, and you happen to own a PS4, then you can try it out this weekend. Your character will even be transferred over to the full game when it launches.


Of All Things That Need To Rise From The Dead -- Boogerman Is Back
http://www.destructoid.com/some-weird-stuff-was-just-greenlit-on-steam-272857.phtml

Gaming companies are having troubles, the industry gets a new Call of Duty every year... Boogerman is here to save the day.

There's a list right here that shows all the games that Stream greenlit on April 3, and obviously due to the headline, the one that sticks out to me is Boogerman. I remember as a kid chuckling at the title but I never actually rented it. Nobody seems happy in the comment section on Destructoid because it apparently failed to get funded on Kickstarter, but let people have their booger flicking.

There are a bunch of other games that seem interesting, but as Destructoid pointed out, one of the games is already on Stream under a different name. GearGrinder is actually there as Sledgehammer.


Nintendo Direct Next Week -- Will Talk About Smash Bros.
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-smash-bros-for-wii-u-and-3ds-info-coming-next-week/1100-6418764/

Make sure to tune into Nintendo Direct next week to find out more information on the much-anticipated brawler. Gaming websites are speculating that we'll finally see a release date. I'm expecting to be disappointed like I usually am after a Nintendo Direct (I still love you Nintendo).

TITANFALL For The Xbox 360 Will Run Above 30fps
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/titanfall-xbox-360-runs-above-30fps-but-the-action-is-all-there-dev-says/1100-6418782/

The Xbox 360 version of monkey simulator TITANFALL will run above 30fps but not 60 like its Xbox One counterpart, for obvious reasons. But rest assured, because they're promising that the game will have all the action that we know and love. I have an exclusive image of the Xbox 360 version:

Can hardly tell a difference between 360 and PC/Xbox One.

Microsoft Is Giving A Free Week Of Xbox Live Gold
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/affected-by-recent-xbox-live-outage-microsoft-giving-you-free-week-of-gold/1100-6418778/

If you had issues on March 11, don't worry, because Microsoft will be giving you one whole week of Xbox Live Gold... for free! Yes!


A Kid Finds A Flaw In Xbox One... Gets Lots o' Stuff
http://www.destructoid.com/this-five-year-old-found-a-major-xbox-one-password-flaw-272888.phtml

I'm just going to copy/paste from Destructoid on this one:

See that adorable little kid? That's five-year-old Kristoffer Von Hassel, and he discovered a major Xbox One password flaw. Kristoffer's parents noticed that the young kid was playing games he wasn't supposed to be on his father's account. When asked how he did it, Kristoffer showed the process which simply involved him typing in space keys at the password verification screen, hitting enter, and then getting into his dad's account.

The family notified Microsoft of the bug, which they have since fixed and even acknowledged Kristopher on their website for the fix. They're also sending him four games, $50, and a year-long subscription to Xbox Live.

That's right, this kid is officially smarter than me. Hey don't laugh, he's probably smarter than you too.


The Shark In Battlefield 4
http://www.destructoid.com/there-is-a-giant-shark-in-battlefield-4-272900.phtml

Yes, there is a gigantic shark in Battlefield 4. There's a video of it in the link above, but if you're at work and can't watch videos, I'll show you a couple still images of it appearing. Ready? I sure am.

Yes this Battlefield 4 hate train just keeps on going. Don't mess with Nintendo!

If You Like Playing Resistance Online... Get On There Now
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-shuts-down-resistance-series-online-features-for-good-april-8/1100-6418790/

Sony is shutting down the online services for Resistance 1, 2 and 3 on April 8, so if you enjoy playing those games online... make sure to get in on that one last time.


Adam Orth Gets Inspired By Internet Hate, Makes "Gravity"
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-vr-game-from-former-microsoft-creative-director-adam-orth-finds-a-publisher/1100-6418791/

Obviously I'm not the first one to say this, as it's literally in the article above, but Adam Orth's game Adr1ft sounds an awful lot like Gravity -- that movie last year where Sandra Bullock floated around in space and imagined Space Clooney.

Seriously, here's the description from Gamespot:

"A first-person experience (FPX) that tells the story of an astronaut in peril. You’ll play as the only survivor of a destroyed space station with no memory and a damaged space suit. You’ll explore the wreckage in search of resources and a way to fix an emergency escape vehicle that can take you back home."

Mhm.

But want some real news? Adam Orth was inspired by internet hate to create this game, because I can see how going on the internet would feel like being trapped in space.


Watch Dogs Is Now Available For Pre-Order on Steam, And You Can Totally Run It
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/watch-dogs-now-available-to-preorder-on-steam-recommended-system-requirements-revealed/1100-6418788/

Just kidding, no you can't.

The last news of this week's edition of The Weekly News Round-Up may upset some people with less than stellar computers because they may have to upgrade. I chose this news because I like to leave everyone feeling bad when I exit, so you're welcome.

Here are the specs:

• OS: Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 (SP1) or Windows 8 (Please note that we only support 64 bit OSs.)
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8400 @ 2.66Ghz or AMD Phenom II X4 940 @ 3.0Ghz
• Memory: 6 GB RAM
• Graphics: DirectX 11 graphics card with 1 GB Video RAM - Nvidia Geforce GTX 460 or AMD Radeon HD 5770
• DirectX: Version 11
• Hard Drive: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card with Latest Drivers

Recommended:

• OS: Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 (SP1) or Windows 8 (Please note that we only support 64 bit OSs.)
• Processor: Eight core - Intel Core i7-3770 @3.5 GHz or AMD FX-8350 X8 @ 4 GHz
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: DirectX 11 graphics card with 2 GB Video RAM - Nvidia Geforce GTX 560 ti or AMD Radeon HD 7850
• DirectX: Version 11
• Hard Drive: 25 GB available space
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c Compatible Sound Card with Latest Drivers

Pretty beefy specs. But anyway, you can also pre-order the game on Steam now! So do it! And buy a new computer!



I hope you enjoyed the news round-up for this week, because I sure as hell didn't. Make sure to tune in next Saturday for more of the same shit. Also make sure to brush your teeth and check out the blog daily because you never know when I'm going to post something up.

If you're tired of my crap and want to tell me how bad I am, follow me or message me on Twitter @ArtBathednCrime. I will respond and probably friend you even if you're hating on me.

On The Gamely Episode 5 -- VGX 2013, Metal Gear Solid 5, Starbound, EA, Nintendo And More!

Welcome welcome welcome, to yet another episode of On The Gamely -- a weekly show where we sit around and talk about video games. Some of the topics included this week are: VGX 2013 (and a bunch of announcements made during the show), Bravely Default, more EA bashing, Path of Exile, Staround, Nintendo being bosses, Metal Gear Solid 5 and more!

http://youtu.be/2j250G1426Q