Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Also to Include 2 Months of Funimation Premium Plus

game pass funimation

In a tweet this morning, the official Twitter account for Xbox Game Pass posted a photo revealing one of the latest perks for Game Pass Ultimate: two months of free Funimation Premium Plus. Funimation is an anime streaming service that seems like a perfect pair for Game Pass Ultimate. There is a high crossover between anime fans and gamers so this deal is perfect for consumers while also being just one more thing to add to the incredible service that Game Pass Ultimate provides.

Offering a great selection of shows like My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball Z Super, and Death Parade, the Funimation streaming service is something of a Game Pass Ultimate itself, but for anime.

This addition to Game Pass is just one of several that makes the deal even sweeter. Just last month, Microsoft announced that EA Play will also be added to the service this holiday season with no extra cost.

Microsoft's gamer/consumer-friendly model has been giving it a name ever since Game Pass was announced back in 2017. Heading into this new generation of consoles, however, it's certainly leaning on that aspect of its marketing to really sell the Xbox Series X/S. Their approach of putting gamers first by offering big AAA first-party games for free on the service the day they launch is huge for fans who are deciding which of the next-gen consoles they want to buy.

In 2020, Game Pass Ultimate has gone from something described as "the Netflix for gaming" to undeniably the best deal that gaming has to offer. With the constant addition of huge titles like Doom: Eternal and Resident Evil 7, Game Pass seems like it can do no wrong, and adding Funimation to the mix is just another step in the right direction.

For more on Microsoft, make sure to check out our tag right here on DualShockers.

The post Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Also to Include 2 Months of Funimation Premium Plus by Peter Hunt Szpytek appeared first on DualShockers.

Nintendo Is Reportedly Downplaying the Joy-Con Drift Problem

For all of you Switch owners out there, I am willing to bet at least half of you have to experience Joy-Con drift. And for those of you who somehow have no idea what that is, Joy-Con drift is when one of the controls acts as if the user is pushing the analog stick in a certain direction when they aren't. Nintendo is reportedly downplaying the issue during a class-action lawsuit that was filed in July of last year.

Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith (CSK&D), a law firm in the US reports that Nintendo is arguing that the Joy-Con drift issue "isn't a real problem or hasn't caused anyone any inconvenience."

CSK&D is working to get the case through the arbitration process. The law firm has been replying to consumers who have previously contacted them and asking if they could provide videos that can display the defect. On top of that, they would like to see how Nintendo handled their complaints and if it affected the consumer's confidence in Nintendo's products.

An email from the firm had been republished on Reddit and states: "Thank you for contacting our law firm about the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Drift litigation. We are working on putting together a montage of video clips from Nintendo Switch owners such as yourself as a way to give voice to the joy-con drift issues you've experienced. This will be helpful to us in responding to Nintendo's arguments about how this isn't a real problem or hasn't caused anyone any inconvenience. In an effort to humanize and demonstrate these issues and their impact on consumers, it would be helpful to our prosecution of the case if you would submit a short (90 seconds or less) video to us describing your experience with the Joy-Con drift on your controllers."

The law firm would like if videos could be submitted no later than October 16. They intend to share them with both Nintendo's attorneys and the company's representatives.

After the suit was filed last year, Nintendo did stop charging Switch owners for Joy-Con repairs. On top of that, the company also refunded those who had sent in their controllers to be fixed.

It does seem a little weird that Nintendo would refund and fix controllers for free but also not acknowledge and try to downplay the issue. Who knows. I am sure there is legal mumbo jumbo that has caused them to do so. It does still seem a bit misguided though.

The post Nintendo Is Reportedly Downplaying the Joy-Con Drift Problem by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.

Bloodborne is Currently Appearing Free for PS Plus Members on PS4

Bloodborne

Bloodborne has been a free title for PlayStation Plus users in the past, but without warning, it seems as though the game has once again become available.

In what looks like it could very well be an error, Bloodborne can currently be added to your cart free of charge on the PlayStation Store if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber. The iconic action title wasn't set to be available as a free title in the month of October with this month's lineup instead consisting of Vampyr and Need for Speed: Payback.

It seems as though the most likely cause for why Bloodborne could be appearing for free comes with PlayStation's new PS Plus Collection program. Announced in the most recent stream dedicated to the PS5, Sony revealed that it would be expanding PS Plus to contain a library of popular PS4 titles that could be downloaded on the next-gen system. While the program wasn't supposed to have started yet, Bloodborne was indeed included in the Collection's initial lineup that was unveiled. Perhaps this could be why we're seeing it appear for free at this moment.

Either way, you can head to the PlayStation Store right here to add Bloodborne to your own game library if you haven't already.

The post Bloodborne is Currently Appearing Free for PS Plus Members on PS4 by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.

Genshin Impact New Regions Update Order Confirmed By miHoYo, New Characters Teased

Genshin Impact Story Chapters trailer new regions characters

DualShockers recently had the opportunity to interview the Genshin Impact development team at miHoYo. The game is out now on PC, PS4, mobile, and currently has two vast regions to explore, Mondstadt and Liyue. miHoYo confirmed the next region to be added is the Japan-themed Inazuma. Moreover, in a recently revealed trailer, miHoYo actually listed in which order each of the new regions of Teyvat should be added to Genshin Impact via future updates.

The trailer features each of the main story acts that will be included in Genshin Impact. Each story arc will be focused on one of the seven regions of Teyvat, ruled by one of the seven Archon. Each segment also reveals a character from the region.

The trailer lists all the regions of Teyvat in Genshin Impact in this order:

Act Prologue: The Outlander Who Caught The Wind. Region: Mondstadt (Anemo / wind element). Featured character: Diluc

Act I: Farewell, Archaic Lord. Region: Liyue (Geo / earth element). Featured character: Ningguang

Act II: Omnipresence Over Mortals. Region: Inazuma (Electro / lightning element) Featured character: Ayaka Kamisato

Act III: Truth Amongst the Pages of Purana. Region: Sumeru (Dendro / wood element) Featured character: Cyno (new)

Act IV: Masquerade of the Guilty. Region: Fontaine (Hydro  / water element) Featured characters: Lyney and Lynette (new)

Act V: Incandescent Ode of Resurrection. Region: Natlan (Pyro / fire element) Featured character: Iansan (new)

Act VI: Everwinter Without Mercy. Region: Snezhnaya (Cryo / ice element) Featured character: Harbinger Pulcinella (not fully revealed)

Act ?: The Dream Yet to Be Dreamed. Region: Khaen'riah (no element listed). Featured character: Bough Keeper Dainsleif (new)

Genshin Impact Cyno Genshin Impact Lyney and Lynette Genshin Impact Iansan

Diluc and Ningguang are already in the game. The character appearing in the Inazuma Chapter segment, Ayaka Kamisato, was actually already playable in the first Closed Beta Test. She wasn't reintegrated into the game since though. All the other characters are new.

It's technically not officially confirmed yet if each Genshin Impact major update will each bring one of these new story chapters and region. We could get more content between each. The fact that the final Act isn't numbered might also hint that there will be more Acts after Act VI before reaching the final Act.

The trailer is narrated by Bough Keeper Dainsleif, who was first revealed at TGS 2020, is voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda, most notably famous for voicing Seto Kaiba in Yugioh. Recently, he also dubbed Sam Bridges / in the Japanese dub of Death Stranding.

Genshin Impact Teyvat Chapters Storyline Preview Trailer (Japanese, English Dub)

 

Soon after the launch of Genshin Impact, multiple Japanese players claimed the game was "spyware" or was executing clipboard snooping. miHoYo denied both of these allegations and explained in detail what actually happened. The issues were both unintentional, and have now been resolved.

The post Genshin Impact New Regions Update Order Confirmed By miHoYo, New Characters Teased by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

NHL 21 Pre-orders Come With a New NHL 94 Rewind Mode

NHL 21, NHL 94 Rewind, EA Sports

NHL 21 is about to be upon us. The game launches October 16, and EA announced today that fans who pre-order will get an enticing new bonus. The team has taken today's rosters and put them inside classic NHL 94 gameplay. If you pre-order this year's game, that mode comes with it. And, while it won't be available at launch, it's a fun addition for fans. Check it out.

EA has done something very similar to this before. NHL 14 celebrated the series' anniversary by including an NHL 94 mode. However, that version remains took the gameplay from the classic and transported it into the modern engine. This go-around appears to be the opposite. You're getting current rosters, but classic graphics. Sign me the heck up.

Of course, NHL 94 Rewind won't be able on day one of NHL 21. It's a bit of a weird turn for a pre-order bonus, but the mode won't actually be in the game until October 30. That's two weeks after the game launches which is a bit puzzling.

I also have to wonder if they'll make the mode purchasable for everyone later on. It would really suck for people who haven't pre-ordered to never have a chance to check the classic mode out. Surely, you'll be able to buy this for like five bucks somewhere down the line.

NHL 21 comes to PS4 and Xbox One on October 16. It doesn't look like we're getting upgraded next-gen versions; however, the game will be forward compatible with PS5 and Xbox Series X. So, while you won't have all the shine of a new version, you can still play it on whichever console you upgrade to.

The post NHL 21 Pre-orders Come With a New NHL 94 Rewind Mode by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.

What the Addition of Minecraft's Steve Means for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

No matter who you wanted to be yesterday's newest character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the one we got probably wasn't what you were expecting. He's been called a "meme pick" through the years, a character that everyone always joked about adding to Smash alongside Master Chief, Sora, Goku and the L-shaped block from Tetris. But now Minecraft's Steve, along with a bunch of other characters from the massively successful title are in Smash, and likely by the end of the year will be fighting alongside Nintendo's cast of classic, iconic characters.

Reactions to the character's reveal have been extremely varied. SylesX2, a prominent Smash YouTuber, reacted with disbelief, laughing at most of the trailer. Another hit YouTuber, Alpharad, recorded his reaction to the reveal from his bed, although it didn't stop his surprise or excitement. One of the legends of competitive Smash, Armada, uploaded his reaction as well, although he was more disappointed than anything, hoping for either Phoenix Wright or Crash Bandicoot.

Regardless of what you or your favorite social media personalities think of the Smash Bros. and Minecraft crossover, this latest addition to the franchise throws picks for the game's next four characters into question, and sets a new precedent for the series moving forward.

Let's get right to the point here: the addition of Minecraft's Steve to Smash Bros. takes everything off the table. I know this isn't the first time you've heard someone say this – it was probably said after the reveals for Persona 5's Joker, Banjo and Kazooie, and maybe even Terry from Fatal Fury. But I maintain that this addition is what really does it, mainly because Steve is so radically different from other characters added to the game so far.

Let me ask you a question – who do you think Steve is? What is he like? Is he strong, is he goofy, is he brave, is he serious? What does his design say about him? These questions could quickly be answered for almost every other character in Smash (looking at you Game & Watch, you weirdo), but what about this latest addition? Steve is a strange pick for Smash, not because of the game he's from, but because he has no personality. He's more of an empty shell character, someone for players to conflate with themselves. If you're playing Minecraft, you never call your character "Steve," they're "you." Smash doesn't have many characters like that – its roster is full of personality, from the fierce Ridley to the soft, friendly Kirby.

Besides that distinction, Steve and the other Minecraft characters making their way to Smash Ultimate are also visually divergent from the rest of the game. Just looking at Steve among the cast of characters, he stands out. His jagged edges and pixelated design play into that. In his reaction, Armada called Steve "random," and I have to agree. In the context of Smash Ultimate, this new addition to the roster is random. Steve and the other Minecraft characters don't fit the game's style at all.

For Smash, this is a big change. Every character until now has been altered in some way to fit the look and feel of Smash Ultimate. Steve doesn't do that – he's portrayed here the same way he's portrayed in Minecraft. This could potentially point to a change in priority for Smash Ultimate. What a character looks like doesn't matter anymore; they can still be added in.

Super Smash Bros Ultimate Steve

That's huge, considering we still have four characters left to go for the second Fighters Pass in Smash Ultimate. Now, there isn't the extra layer of scrutinizing a character's appearance: they can look like anything. A giant man in a green suit of armor? Doesn't matter. The Smash Bros. style guide is officially out the window. While Steve's addition shakes things up for predictions for Smash Ultimate's remaining characters, the real question here is what happens after Smash Ultimate? The answer to this is far down the line, likely years away, but today does give us something to speculate from.

If the next Smash continues to ignore a style guide, what kind of game will we be looking at? Ultimate has been called a "celebration of games" instead of a "celebration of Nintendo" for its additions outside of the Japanese developer and publisher's IPs. For a while now, Smash hasn't just been about Nintendo characters; it's been about Konami's characters, and Rare's characters, and Square Enix's characters. It's about the prominent figures in gaming.

While it might not have meant to, Smash has become a kind of pedestal for games. If your games and characters are good enough, one way or another they're ending up in Smash, and I feel that mantra will be used liberally to justify additions to the roster for future Smash titles. The developer of the game doesn't matter, and what the characters look like or who they are doesn't matter. Nintendo will approach and ask if developers want their character to be able to beat the snot out of Mario if their title is successful enough.

The future of Smash is all up in the air of course, but from here on it feels more open. As I said, you've probably heard it before but now more than ever, nothing is off the table for one of Nintendo's biggest franchises. Going forward, I'm done calling characters that people want "meme picks" (unless it's Geno, in which case it's never happening) because there aren't any anymore. That's all because of the addition of one, strange pixelated character.

The post What the Addition of Minecraft's Steve Means for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.

K/DA is Getting a Full-Length EP Next Month Titled 'All Out'

After releasing its first new single since 2018 just a couple of weeks back, K/DA, the fictional K-pop group that is comprised of champions from League of Legends, is now set to release an entire album in a little over a month.

Riot Games announced today that K/DA is set to receive its own EP that is called All Out on November 6, 2020. The album will be released across various streaming services and will be the first collection of music that the group has released outside of its lone singles 'The Baddest' and 'Pop/Stars'. The number of songs that will be appearing on the EP has not been divulged, however.

In addition to announcing the release date for K/DA's All Out, new images of each champion/band member–Ahri, Evelynn, Kai'Sa, and Akali–have today emerged. The group's new look, which can be seen in the featured image for this article, seemingly resembles the new skins that will surely be coming to League of Legends in the coming weeks. A release date or price point for these skins hasn't been divulged just yet, but they'll likely be dropping around the conclusion of Worlds 2020, which wraps up at the end of October.

Other than featuring a slate of new songs, All Out will also likely contain an appearance by Seraphine, who is slated to be the next champion coming to League of Legends. Riot Games always goes all out (pun intended) when it comes to Worlds season, so if you're a big League of Legends fan, there should be a ton of new content related to the game dropping in the next few weeks.

The post K/DA is Getting a Full-Length EP Next Month Titled 'All Out' by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.

The Witcher 3 Ciri Cosplay Is an Enchanting Mirror Image of the Princess

Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon (better known as Ciri) from The Witcher 3 is undeniably an unforgettable character. Proclaimed by the law of surprise by Geralt of Rivia, Ciri fought hard for her place in the world and while running from the Wild Hunt, Ciri's journey throughout The Witcher 3 was truly a remarkable one and one that fans of the game would love to continue with. It's not hard to see why players keep coming back to this game, replying it for a second or maybe a third time but it's not just gamers who love The Witcher's world. Cosplayers from all over the world adore slipping into the shoes of characters like Geralt, Yennefer and, of course, Ciri. Let's check out seasoned cosplayer shirogane_sama as she jumps into the persona of the one and only Lady of Space and Time.

Shiro, a professional cosplayer from Russia, Moscow is probably someone you are already familiar with. She has previously taken on the persona of many characters that include Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII Remake, 2B from Nier Automata, and many other video game personalities. Even though all of her cosplaying adventures are incredible, Shiro's Ciri from The Witcher 3 could very well be her best one in my opinion. Here we see Shiro mirror Ciri's outfit, hairstyle and stance right down to a T. As I've harped on about in previous articles regarding cosplayers, this line of work is an extremely tough and challenging place to leave your own unique print. Given that most outfits take days if not weeks to complete, of course not taking into account finding the right materials, it's truly incredible how people like Shiro can pull off such brilliant cosplaying achievement that looks like they've just naturally slipped into the role.

If you're a fan of The Witcher 3′s Ciri, you may already know that Shiro's is donning Ciri's Zerrikanian outfit which is inspired by the latest fashion in Zerrikania, a realm located to the east of both the Northern Kingdoms and the Nilfgaardian Empire. It is one of the 16 free DLCs for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt released on July 19, 2015, and players can disable or enable it in the downloadable content tab of the game's main menu. The colors of the outfit are beautiful and are in stark contrast to Ciri's pale skin and ashen hair. You can also see that Shiro hasn't forgotten to include Ciri's Zireael Sword, a 200 years old gwyhyr, a very expensive and precious sword, forged by the gnomes of Tir Tochair, on her back which is an important detail to any Ciri cosplay.

You can check Shiro out over on her Instagram where you'll be greeted with a host of her cosplaying endeavors. Be warned though, some are NSFW.

If you're excited for Netflix's The Witcher Season Two to land, you may not be as excited as showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich. Lauren gushed on Twitter about her excitement that her show is being renewed stating "I could not be more proud of what the amazing cast and crew of The Witcher have accomplished, and can't wait for the world to dig in and enjoy these stories with us," whilst attaching an image of two swords from the show to her tweet as well. When season 2 does land on Netflix, we will be greeted by a few new faces that will be joining the cast of The Witcher. The seven new cast members to join the series is Yasen Atour as Coen, Agnes Bjorn as Vereena, Paul Bullion as Lambert, Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen, Basil Eidenbenz as Eskel, Aisha Fabienne Ross as Lydia, and Mecia Simson as Francesca. For those of you who love Killing Eve, you'll notice a familiar face in the next season. Kim Bodnia, who plays the role of Konstantin in the spy-action thriller, will play Geralt's father figure and the oldest Witcher on the continent, Vesemir.

The Witcher: Blood Origin, the prequel series which was announced back in July, is set to become even bigger with the introduction of a group of talented writers known for a wide range of works ranging from Swamp Thing, Carnival Row, Moon Knight, Snowpiercer, Mandy, Iron Fist, and many more. Also, even more importantly, the writer's come from a wide and diverse background meaning that the variety of ideas and creative input will lead to an even greater experience for the show. According to news site Redanian Intelligence, Netflix is looking to cast Aquaman and Game of Thrones star Jason Momoa as the lead character in The Witcher: Blood Origin.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt celebrated its 5-year anniversary a few months ago so, naturally, I took to my keyboard to type out why I still love it so much to this very day. If you have a few minutes, you can check that out right here. For all things monsters and mythology from The Witcher Netflix show, you may enjoy this guide that goes into great detail about the lore of the monsters that Geralt encounters. If you wish, be sure to check out our own review for the Netflix series The Witcher Season One here. If gaming is more your style, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is available now on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition will be heading to next-generation platforms and this time, the game will look as pretty as ever.

The post The Witcher 3 Ciri Cosplay Is an Enchanting Mirror Image of the Princess by Rachael Fiddis appeared first on DualShockers.

Genshin Impact miHoYo Interview – Striving For The Ultimate Anime Open World ARPG

Genshin Impact miHoYo interview feature

Genshin Impact by miHoYo is finally available worldwide on PC, PS4, iOS, and Android. A Switch version is also in development. Set in the fantasy world of Teyvat, Genshin Impact mixes an action battle system using elemental affinities, with open world RPG and gacha mechanics. Many eagerly awaited the release date of Genshin, seeing only Closed Beta Tests were held before the official launch on September 28, 2020. With an engaging single player adventure, fun co-op online multiplayer, and charismatic characters, Genshin Impact is a strong contender for being one of the best anime themed, Japanese-stylized open world Action RPG. And yet, Genshin Impact's developer miHoYo isn't primarily based in Japan, but in Shangai, China.

The developers of Genshin Impact, miHoYo, is an independent game company founded in 2012 by three Shanghai Jiao Tong University graduate students. A trio of "Super Otaku", who shared a passion for technology and ACG (anime, comics, and games) culture. While Genshin Impact was officially announced in June 2019, a Genshin Impact manga is actually ongoing since 2018, proving miHoYo's wish to excel at all aspects of Otaku culture. Not only developing games such as Honkai Impact 3rd and Tears of Themis, miHoYo is also tech-driven, and is developing its own rendering technology and projects. Such as the VTuber Lumi N0VA, the Number 0 Virtual Actress of miHoYo. Using the fitting slogan "Tech Otakus Save The World", miHoYo strives to develop new and original anime-stylized IPs.

In order to learn more on Genshin Impact, DualShockers recently had the opportunity to interview the development team at miHoYo. We most notably heard details regarding miHoYo's creative process for Genshin Impact, and hints for future updates.

You can find our interview with miHoYo after the jump.

Iyane Agossah: The first thing players see when beginning their adventure in Genshin Impact is the amazing opening cutscene. Multiple incredible in-game engine cutscenes are included throughout the storyline of Genshin Impact. Could you tell us more regarding how these are created? Furthermore, do you have plans to add a Theater Mode feature for re-watching cutscenes?

miHoYo: Cutscenes in the game serve to build an original game world and story, helping players better understand both. After setting an overall direction for the story, we looked for places to add cutscenes in order to enhance the player's understanding of the storyline. After that, we think about how to best present the cutscene. Getting the cutscenes right is the result of close collaboration between different teams working on the project. As for Theater Mode, we are keeping an eye on player feedback in order to determine whether to add such features to the game.

IA: Genshin Impact is an Action RPG. However, the game also includes completely different gameplay sequences. Such as Shoot 'em up sequences or stealth-based sequences. How did you decide to include these sequences? Can we expect even more different gameplay sequences like these in the future?

miHoYo: As an open-world ARPG, it is important that the player continues to experience new elements that draws them to explore the world further. There are many smaller features that are meant to keep the game fresh and deliver new surprises as you progress. The game will continue to receive ongoing updates to enrich its content, and it is up to the player to discover and experience them first-hand.

IA: Genshin Impact also includes an online co-op mode. Up to four players can adventure together in the same open-world. Could you tell us more about it?

miHoYo: Our goal is to deliver an immersive gaming experience, empowering the player to freely explore the vast land of Teyvat. Most of the time, each player has their game world to themselves, but can invite unknown players and friends to join their world as well. Invited players can gather items such as ore and plants on the world map. But more valuable items like chests, and the Oculi collectibles such as Anemoculi and Geoculi can only be gathered in your own game world. Maintaining the integrity of the immersive single-player experience. Of course, in Co-Op Mode, each participating player gets their fair share of rewards from the boss fights and Domain challenges.

IA: Regarding online matchmaking, we can chat with other players once we are in the same world. However, there is no method in-game to contact players before joining their world. Could we get additional communication methods in the future, like a Lobby to meet with other players?

miHoYo: Currently, Co-op mode supports text chat. We are listening to player feedback and looking to add more features to improve communication between players.

IA: In the city of Liyue Harbor, there are multiple NPCs who speak of a country across the ocean called Inazuma. Will we get to see that country at some point?

miHoYo: Perceptive players will have already noticed the hints that we dropped about the new city in development. We are working hard to bring it to players as soon as we can.

IA: Could you tell us more regarding the update schedule for Genshin Impact post release? Could we expect monthly updates?

miHoYo: Genshin Impact has been conceived as a live service game, with continuous updates and new content that will improve the player experience. However, we cannot comment on how frequently updates will be released at the moment.

IA: Genshin Impact is the most "Japanese" game not primarily made by Japanese developers I've ever seen. Everyone at miHoYo perfectly understood Otaku Culture and how to recreate it. Could you share some comments regarding that?

miHoYo: Anime, Comic and Games (ACG), has brought together fans from many different regions and cultures, making it a truly global cultural phenomenon. At its heart, miHoYo is a team of people who simply love ACG, and our product development is based on the principle of "Something new, something exciting, something out of imagination". When developing a core product, our goal is to make a game that not only makes us want to play it, but also exceeds the expectations of our users. Genshin Impact is one such title that we feel has the potential to exceed players' expectations.

IA: The character design of Genshin Impact is amazing. Each character is unique and charismatic. Could you tell us more regarding your creative process for characters? In particular, I was also interested in how the Japanese cast, full of popular seiyuu, was selected.

miHoYo: This is a very broad topic, but to put it simply, every character is the result of collaboration between numerous departments and staff, and every setting, personality trait, action and dialogue has been carefully thought out and refined. The devil is in the details, so to speak, and we believe that the effort we put in will make a difference when you interact with the characters in various ways in-game. As for the Japanese cast selection, we can't comment on this subject yet.

 

IA: Another interesting aspect is how you integrated many fanservice elements in the game for male and female characters. Including sexual fanservice elements like jiggle physics. I personally believe Japanese-stylized IP which weren't developed by Japanese developers tend to exaggerate these aspects of Otaku culture or miss the point by being too obvious. However, Genshin Impact has the subtlety characteristic of Japan developed IPs.

miHoYo: Every product on the market has its own characteristics and target audience, and we will not comment on the styles of other games. For Genshin Impact, it has been gratifying to see that some of our characters have already developed fan followings, and we continue to develop new characters that we hope players will love just as much.

IA: Recently, there are many anime-stylized IPs originating from China which managed to become even more popular than IPs made by Japanese creators. How do you feel about Genshin Impact entering this highly competitive world?

miHoYo: As an ACG company founded in 2012, we are keenly aware of the importance of building and accumulating. It is our shared love of ACG that pushes us forward ,as our young company continues to establish itself.

IA: In May 2020, miHoYo launched its own Virtual YouTuber, YoYo Lumi. Over 10 videos of the VTuber were published so far on the Lumi_N0va Desktop YouTube Channel. Moreover, an animated desktop app featuring Lumi was also published. Is it possible Lumi will make appearance in Genshin Impact at some point?

miHoYo: We are very happy that players around the world are already beginning to discover and fall in love with our virtual avatar, Lumi N0va. While we do not yet have any plans for cross-over cooperation, please feel free to leave us feedback about your thoughts and where you might want to see Lumi N0va in the future.

IA: Gacha games are very popular and accepted in Asia. However, many players outside Asia are very skeptical regarding Genshin Impact because of the gacha elements. Could you tell us more on this subject?

miHoYo: The F2P system allows the game to be accessible to more players, and players are free to choose whether and how they want to spend money based on their experience with the game. Our goal is to allow players to experience Genshin Impact for themselves, and to let everyone enjoy it in their own way.

IA: Do you have a message you'd like to share with our readers?

miHoYo: Thank you for supporting Genshin Impact and miHoYo. We are eagerly looking forward to launch, when we can finally bring the vast open world of Genshin Impact to players worldwide. We always appreciate feedback to help us make improvements to the game and deliver a better experience for players.

Genshin Impact is available now on PC, iOS, Android, and PS4. The game supports the following languages: Traditional and Simplified Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, French, German, Spanish (Spain), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Indonesian. The game includes voiceovers in Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean.

The post Genshin Impact miHoYo Interview – Striving For The Ultimate Anime Open World ARPG by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Silent Hill 4: The Room Returns to PC via GOG Today

Over the past week, Konami has shown a propensity to bring back some of its games from yesteryear to PC to make them more widely available. As of today, that trend has continued, with a notable addition from the publisher's most iconic horror series making a return just in time for the year's spookiest season.

Once again via GOG, Konami has now re-released Silent Hill 4: The Room on the marketplace today. Originally released on PC back in 2004, this new iteration of Silent Hill 4 makes the game accessible on modern setups and is only retailing for $9.99. While it's not the most beloved or iconic entry in the Silent Hill saga, The Room definitely has its own hardcore group of fans that are certainly thrilled by this move.

While Konami in recent years hasn't been doing much with its iconic licenses, it's honestly really good to see them being so proactive to bring some of these older titles back to PC. Within the past week alone, PC users have gained access to titles like Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2, and now Silent Hill 4. Making old games accessible on PC is something that I've wanted nearly all publishers in the industry to do more of over the years, so good on Konami for actually beginning to do this.

Whether or not Konami has even more games that it's planning to bring over to GOG in short order remains to be seen, but I'll keep my fingers crossed for a PC version of Metal Gear Solid 3 in the meantime.

The post Silent Hill 4: The Room Returns to PC via GOG Today by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.