Granblue Fantasy Versus received two new trailers, one for the latest update and the other a character trailer for one of two upcoming new fighters making their debut.
The 1.40 update includes a new "Boss Battle Time Attack," in which players compete against each other to see who can take down bosses faster, and a "GBVS: Blitz" game mode which includes a limited time Ranked Battle event. There's also new RPG mode episodes. Players will earn a code for 1,000 crystals after clearing episode 45 of the main quest. Start dates for the Boss Battle Time Attack and GBVS: Blitz modes will be announced in-game.
You can check out the trailer for that content below:
Arc System Works also premiered a brand new trailer revealing the popular Granblue Fantasy villain Belial. According to the official description, he may fool some players with his deceptively standard moveset, but his unique abilities and tricky neutral fighting style will take down unsuspecting challengers:
Cagliostro will join the Season 2 roster in October, with additional details to follow. The Japanese voice actors for Belial and Cagliostro are Yoshimasa Hosoya and Sakura Tange. English language voiceovers, however, will be delayed and won't be included when the characters release due to issues related to COVID-19.
XSEED Games also revealed their partnership with Arc System Works for "ARCREVO America Online 2020," an online tournament which will feature Granblue Fantasy: Versus and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. Kicking off October 2020, the top two players in Granblue Fantasy: Versus and BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle from each region will be invited to take part in a special America VS Japan exhibition match planned for Spring 2021.
Producer Yuito Kimura and Director Tetsuya Fukuhara chatted about how they'd like to make more Granblue games. However, they stated they can't work on too many projects simultaneously and first need to finish PS4 action RPG Granblue Fantasy Relink. The game might get ports to other platforms like Stadia, PC and PS5 too once the PS4 version is done.
Granblue Fantasy Versus is available on PS4 and PC. You can read our review and our beginners' guide.
The post Granblue Fantasy Versus 1.40 Update Launches With Trailer, DLC Characters Belial and Cagliostro Revealed by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.
Pokemon the Movie – Coco Gets New Trailer Featuring Story and Pokemon Zarude
Pokemon the Movie — Coco has received a brand new trailer showcasing Coco, the child raised by Pokemon, as he interacts and bonds with Ash after their first meeting. Coco is also seen extensively with his companion Zarude, including during a battle with Team Rocket:
Below is the translated summary for the upcoming Pokemon film, which will premiere on December 25th:
This is a story of a slightly unusual parent-child relationship involving one Pokémon and one human. In the depths of a jungle in the middle of nowhere, we find Okoya Forest, a Pokémon paradise operating with strict laws. The stubborn and obstinate Zarude lived there with his kin, but one day he discovered a human baby by the riverside.
"Human, this is…"
Zarude could not allow himself to abandon it, so he decided to disobey the law of the forest, leave his tribe behind, and live alone with the child, whom he named Coco. It has been 10 years since this Pokémon first started to raise this human. Coco meets Ash and Pikachu as they visit Okoya Forest. This is the first "Human friend" he has ever made. And little by little, questions start to sprout deep in the mind of a boy who had been fully convinced he was a Pokémon.
"Father, am I a human?" Am I a Pokémon? Or am I a human? As Coco ponders this, one days sees the sound of uninvited human footsteps approach Okoya Forest, signalizing a drastic change to the peaceful days it has thus far been enjoying.
Two new expansion packs for the mainline games, called Isle of Armor and the Crown Tundra, were announced with plenty of details. The former launced in June 2020 and the latter will launch sometime in Fall 2020. A remake of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX for Nintendo Switch released in March — you can read our review here. Finally the new Pokemon Home service dropped in February and is available for both the Switch and mobile devices with a variety of plans.
According to Nintendo's recent financial results, Pokemon Sword and Shield are now the third best selling Pokemon games of all time. The pair have now sold 18.22 million copies in just nine months and sit just behind Gold and Silver in the lifetime sales chart. And if you're one of those buyers, reading up on our guide on how to train Pokemon EVs and breed perfect IVs for competitive play is a great way to learn how to strengthen your team.
From Nintendo's nine-month earnings report, it was revealed that Sword and Shield has sold more than 16 million copies since its November release, becoming the biggest highlight in an already strong fiscal year for the company. The latest NPD data, the latest installment in the long running series has the highest launch month dollar sales in Pokemon franchise history. And for the month of November, Sword was the third best selling game, the double pack including both titles ranking at fourth place, and Shield being in fifth place. However, if you combined those sales then total it would bring them to the number two spot.
Pokemon Sword and Shield released for Nintendo Switch on November 15th, 2019. Meanwhile check out our in-depth review for the game here, in which the News Editor states that "Sword and Shield are a lot of fun, even if the series is experiencing growing pains with the transition to home consoles." You can purchase Sword here and Shield here.
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PS5 Reportedly Investing Heavily In Third-Party Exclusive Content
Are you looking forward to PlayStation exclusive content coming to Marvel's Avengers? Get ready to be more hyped. According to industry insider Imran Kahn, Sony has actively approached all major third-party developers and publishers to poach exclusive games, in-game content, or both for PS5. According to Kahn, PlayStation Advantage will have long legs through the next generation as Sony looks to maintain market dominance.
News comes by way of Resetera, where notable leaker and insider "Matt" noted that there "is a lot of [third PS5 party exclusive content] coming and the scale will be shocking." In support of that statement, Kahn backed up Matt by going further into depth into the workings of Sony. According to Kakn, PlayStation has been pitching to all major third-party studios with high-figure amounts to create exclusive content:
Echoing what Matt said. There isn't a major third party out there Sony failed to approach asking what kind of deals they could work out. Some had content, some had games, some had content and games. It is not like Microsoft was not willing to offer, they just didn't want to pay the asking price, because Sony approached with pretty high numbers in the first place.
In summary, Kahn opined that the terms "PlayStation Advantage" and "Console Exclusive" are going to become ever more prevalent in the next generation.
To a degree, this shouldn't be surprising — most developers typically enter contracts with developers and publishers during the early lifecycle of a console to shore up exclusivity deals. However, there is undoubtedly a different dynamic this generation — Xbox has been pushing for a more inclusive gaming space, which would include not leaving old generations in the dark. In turn, they seem to invest money in building in services, infrastructure, and studio acquisitions.
Meanwhile, PlayStation seems to be quietly taking a PS5 consumer-oriented approach, seeking to quietly add as much value to its ecosystem as possible. We have to imagine we will begin to hear more news about these deals soon. And while this makes sense given some of the latest moves by PlayStation, make sure to keep this — like all rumors — with a grain of salt.
PS5 is set to launch in Holiday 2020, though no price or specific launch date is known. Keep an eye on DualShockers for more upcoming news.
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Xbox Boss Phil Spencer is Getting Interviewed on Animal Crossing Talk Show
Here's some unexpected and fun crossplay: the head of Microsoft's Xbox division Phil Spencer will be making his (virtual) appearance on the surprisingly popular Animal Crossing talk show Animal Talking on Wednesday, August 12th at 7pm PT / 10pm ET. It's a smart move on both Spencer and Whitta's part, as the Xbox Series X is fast approaching its Holiday 2020 launch and this move is sure to put plenty of eyes on the show and the upcoming console.
The virtual show was created by Rogue One: A Star Wars Story writer Gary Whitta and has featured high-profile celebrities including Elijah Wood, Brie Larson, and Selena Gomez and is formatted after popular late-night talk shows.
During the first of two Animal Crossing: New Horizons Summer update videos we were treated to a couple of new activities, including swimming and diving, plus a range of new DIY recipes before being teased with a second update. The official Animal Crossing Twitter account also shared what was in store as part of that second update, which dropped on July 30th.
The previous free update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons was back in April and it brought a host of changes such as new villagers to the island, added some fun seasonal events, and opened up a new wing in the museum. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was recently featured in the Financial Times, an actual real life publication, after some severe in-game interest rate cuts from Tom Nook.
Nintendo recently released its financial results for Q1 of the fiscal year ending March 2021. And through those results it has been revealed that Animal Crossing: New Horizons now sold over 22 million copies and is second place in the all-time best selling Nintendo Switch software chart. In Japan alone Animal Crossing on Switch previously sold more than 1.88 million copies as of March 23th. The title released worldwide on March 20th, which means it managed to sell 1.88 million physical copies in Japan in only three days. And overall the game's Nintendo Switch debut sold 11.77 million units between its March 20th launch and the March 31st, placing it seventh among the console's highest-selling titles.
Check out our glowing review of the game here for a more in-depth breakdown.
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Spider-Man Being a PlayStation Exclusive Character for Marvel's Avengers Sucks
Here's a hot take for you: Spider-Man Being a PlayStation exclusive character for Marvel's Avengers sucks. And while this is an opinion being passed around by stalwarts in the Xbox community, a few members of our team (who are primarily PlayStation gamers) share the same opinion. Specifically, that console-locked in-game content is a bad practice that ruins the broader gaming space.
In the video below, DualShockers' Managing Editor (Logan Moore) and Video Manager (Mario Rivera) give their hot take about the business decision by Square Enix. Specifically, they look to see if Marvel's Avengers content could be better implemented to promote PS4 and PS5 products, and why even PlayStation fans should seem bummed by it.
You can catch the full discussion, below:
And hey, if you disagree with our opinions, let us know why in the comment section below (or on YouTube).
If you totally missed the news, it was revealed (originally by leak) that Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers would be adding Spider-Man as a PS4 exclusive. This was later confirmed as the only platform-exclusive character in a follow-up interview with the development team. Understandably, this came with a significant PR blowback from many in the Xbox community that tried to boycott the game (though, in turn, drove it to the #1 pre-order spot on Amazon for all consoles).
All in all, we really liked our hands-on preview with Marvel's Avengers; in our most recent write-up, we noticed that the game has some similar vibes as vanilla Destiny. In other words, the gameplay fell somewhere in the middle of "not bad but not blowing us away" — definitely not something that will stand head-to-head against Insomniac Games' Marvel's Spider-Man.
Marvel's Avengers is set to be released on Google Stadia, PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X; if you are looking to pre-order the PS4 version (to get Spider-Man, obviously), you can grab the game physically from Amazon to help support DualShockers.
The post Spider-Man Being a PlayStation Exclusive Character for Marvel's Avengers Sucks by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.
Persona 4 Golden PC Version's Success Leads to Planned Port Releases in the Future
Sega Sammy recently released their Fiscal Year Ending March 2021 first quarter financial results, encompasing the period from April to June 2020. As such there was the usual investor's Q&A which featured Haruki Satomi (President and Group COO) and Koichi Fukazawa (Senior Executive Vice President and Group CFO). One of the questions concerned the recent Persona 4 Golden PC port and how its resulting success would affect any possible future Atlus titles making its way to Steam. This was their response:
Q: Persona 4 the Golden has been selling well on Steam, but do you have any plans to sell newly released games on Steam as well?
A: We remastered Persona 4 the Golden, a title previously sold on the PlayStation Vita, and released it for sale on Steam this fiscal year. Because of the game's critical acclaim and its low selling price, sales were much stronger than expected. We will continue to actively promote porting previously released titles to Steam and new platforms. We are also negotiating with platform holders for new games in the future, and we're considering ways to sell under favorable conditions for each title. Among them are measures such as preparing PC versions of the titles from the beginning, with multi-platform releases in mind.
Just last month, Atlus West announced that the PC port of the popular JRPG title hit the 500,000 player mark. To commemorate the occasion, series character designer Shigenori Soejima drew an adorable sketch of some of the main character.
As a heavily expanded and refined release of the original game, Persona 4 Golden considered one of the most acclaimed JRPGs of the past decade. But unfortunately despite its critical praise the game, which launched back in 2012, was essentially trapped on the poorly-received and ill fated PS Vita. This had the effect of limiting the potential audience. And for the longest time, Golden stayed there, even though the Vita was increasingly fading out of the picture as the years went by and fans were consistently vocal in wanting to see a port or remaster of the game — and other Atlus favorites — on other platforms.
During the PC Gaming Show earlier this year, eight years after its initial launch, Golden was announced and released for the PC the same day via Steam, finally freeing it up from the Vita. This also offered a small but encouraging hope that Atlus is becoming more open to porting its existing titles to PC. If you're interested in reading a more opinionated take on Persona 4 Golden's PC iteration, be sure to also check out our review of the port.
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Granblue Fantasy: Relink Won't Get Major Reveals Before December
What's new in the world of Granblue Fantasy: Relink? Not much — and expect it to stay that way for a while. In the recently held Summer 2020 stream, it was revealed by Cygames that we shouldn't expect any major announcements about the game until December's Granblue Fes 2020.
As noted above, today Cygames healed their special Granblue Summer 2020 stream where the discussed some new developments in the game. With this in mind, Granblue Fantasy: Relink Director Tetsuya Fukuhara noted that new info and the game's release day estimate should be coming specifically at the December festival.
While everyone could rightfully assume that we would be hearing about the game at the biggest Granblue festival of the year, it's noteworthy that we likely won't be hearing much more before then. Seemingly the people on stream even seemed to acknowledge that these reveals are being stretched out, likely due to the current state of the world.
On the bright side. Fukuhara-san also noted that the game's development is going well — with improvements coming rapidly. The image (seen below) is actually an in-game 3D screenshot — showing off the beauty of Relink.
In recent Relink news, Fukuhara-san had noted that the games could be getting ports to both PS5 and Google Stadia in a recent Famitsu interview. They also recently declined to give a release date, noting that they only want to announce when "it's just a bit more realistic." Without a doubt they will likely know that timeframe by December 2020.
Granblue Fantasy is available on Android, iOS, and PC You can check our guide to play the game here; meanwhile, Granblue Fantasy Versus is on both PC and PS5. You can check out our review of GBVS and our beginners' guide. Granblue Fantasy Relink is coming to PS4 someday, and hopefully to some other consoles down the line.
The post Granblue Fantasy: Relink Won't Get Major Reveals Before December by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.
Lepow Portable Monitor Review — Gaming on the Go
If we weren't in the middle of a pandemic, the Lepow portable monitor would be my best friend. Not only does it take most of the qualities of a high-quality monitor and condense it into a sleek, portable form factor, but it helps transform my laptop into a full-on work station; it even helps me realize my dream of playing Persona 5 Royal (almost) portably. That said, I did have a few issues making some of the connections work the way they were supposed to. Clocking in at just under $200, Lepow's 15.6-inch portable monitor is a steal.
Lepow promises that their monitor will connect with any HDMI or USB type C device, and for the most part it does. Between my 2017 Macbook Pro, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 Pro and Google Pixel 3a, I only encountered issues with my smartphone, which didn't connect to the screen properly, despite my following the instructions included with the device.
The monitor itself is lightweight and relatively slim. Smaller than most laptops, Lepow's monitor fits comfortably in most laptop pockets in standard backpacks and laptop cases. It even comes with its own cover that acts as a kickstand of sorts. It's surprisingly sturdy considering how soft it is.
From a functionality standpoint, the monitor is full of surprises. It features two USB type C ports, one for power and the other to connect to devices that use USB type C, a mini HDMI port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, speakers on each side, and a slider to adjust brightness and volume.
The monitor's biggest surprise is that it supports high dynamic range — or HDR. When I booted up Ghost of Tsushima in bed, I was floored that this device offered something that no other screen in my apartment did, and equally impressed by its range of colors. On the topic of using it with gaming consoles, because the monitor is powered by USB type C rather than a proprietary power source, you can plug it into a gaming console to keep it powered, so it only needs to take up one outlet, allowing easy setup.
The monitor's main drawbacks come from the constraints of making a cheap monitor with a good display; its speakers. Not only were they tinny, but the volume sounded inconsistent, which, although minor relative to the rest of the monitor's offerings is pretty disappointing. The other notable problem with the device is that sometimes when the brightness is high, especially when something bright is on screen, distracting rays of light show through at the edges. This muddles the colors on the screen, thus making the otherwise stunning effect of HDR lose its appeal.
As someone who prefers to write and do a lot of work on his laptop, the monitor's biggest appeal to me is that it gives me a second screen to work with, allowing me to be more productive wherever I choose to set up my workspace. It's certainly an attractive and cheap option for gaming compared to buying a gaming laptop. That said, I'd rather stick with my Switch than lug my PS4 Pro around just so I can play games on the go. If we weren't in the middle of a pandemic I'd be at a coffee shop, monitor in tow, writing this review from my laptop.
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Fall Guys is the Biggest Launch Ever for Devolver Digital and Topped 100k Players on Steam
When I first saw Fall Guys last year at E3, I thought it was going to be a smash hit. When I went hands-on with it at E3 last year, I knew it was going to be a smash hit. Looks like my thoughts were right.
According to GitHyp, Fall Guys is the biggest launch ever for Devolver Digital and its developer Mediatonic. It is #4 on Steam's list of most played games.
The statistics have already doubled the previous biggest launch for Devolver Digital. Before, SCUM was the biggest performing title for the publisher and saw a peak of 68k players on Steam in September of 2018.
The Fall Guys twitter account revealed the other day that the game has already totaled more the 1.5 million players. With the game being a free game on PS Plus, I am sure that number will continue to grow, especially when word continues to spread about how great it is.
I think it is safe to say that this game will continue to be a success. The simplicity of the game is wonderful for people who want something to quickly pick up and play. However, the game surely rewards players who have practiced and know what they are doing. The constant change-up between obstacle courses, memory games, and team-based challenges make sure that every time someone is playing it is a different experience than the last. On top of that, the game is just flat out pure joy to play. There are no complicated systems to understand, just run, jump, grab, and dive.
Fall Guys is currently available on PC and PS4. If you are a PlayStation Plus member, make sure to snag it soon because it is one of the free games of the month. Make sure to check out DualShockers' official review of the game as well.
The post Fall Guys is the Biggest Launch Ever for Devolver Digital and Topped 100k Players on Steam by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.
PS5 is Expected to Outperform Xbox Series X According to DFC Intelligence
The PS5 and Xbox Series X are set to launch sometime this holiday season and it looks like the two consoles are taking different approaches on release. With that said, according to the games industry research firm DFC Intelligence, the PS5 will go on to outsell the Xbox Series X by about two-to-one.
The report forecasts data up until 2024 and states that the new PlayStation console will likely be the third console from Sony to go one to sell more than 100 million units.
DFC Intelligence states that consumer brand preference blows just too strong in PlayStations direction and as much as Xbox tries, there is not much they can do to change the perception.
The briefing also stated that Sony is a global powerhouse whereas Microsoft tends to only be strong in English speaking Markets and has almost no presence in Japan and most of Europe.
Although, even though the forecasts don't look great for Xbox in a head to head battle between the two consoles, it does state that Microsoft might have a better strategy for the long-term. Now that Xbox Game Pass isn't restricted to just an Xbox console, they have opened the market up to everyone who owns a PC and a mobile device (excluding iOS devices for now).
It is almost a given that the latest PlayStation console will outsell the latest Xbox console. In fact, it has outsold its counterpart every single generation. Even when Sony launched the PS3 for an outrageous $600 with an architecture nobody wanted to develop for, it still went on to eventually outsell the Xbox 360. Microsoft has to know this by now and I think that is why they have really changed up its strategy with the Series X. While it might not sell as many consoles as the PS5, it looks like that might not matter to them as much as it once did. As long as they are selling Game Pass subscriptions and other software, I think Microsoft will be happy.
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