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Nintendo Intends to Make More New Franchises in the Future

Nintendo logo

One criticism that's been levelled at Nintendo quite often over the years is how the company tends to focus primarily on its established major properties like Mario, Zelda, and Pokemon, often at the cost of creating new IP. Though Nintendo has certainly introduced new properties in recent years, with the likes of Splatoon, ARMS, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Ring Fit Adventure being notable examples, that's a criticism they still haven't been able to shake.

Going forward, however, it looks like Nintendo will be looking to change that. Speaking in a recent interview with Nikkei (translated by VGC), Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said that in order to remain competitive, Nintendo is going to focus on creating more new original IP going forward. The company will, of course, also continue to invest in the likes of Mario and Zelda at the same time.

"Games are not a necessity of life," Furukawa said. "In order for customers to choose games in their finite time, they have to be interesting. Competition is tough, and I am not optimistic. I myself am looking at and studying various forms of entertainment. In the future, we will focus on creating new game series as well as long-sellers such as Mario and Zelda."

Of course, whether or not these new properties manage to break into the top rungs of Nintendo's hierarchy of properties remains to be seen, but it'll certainly be interesting to see what they come up with.

Resident Evil Village Will Have an Unlockable Harder Difficulty Mode That Will Randomize Enemies, Items, and More – Rumour

Resident Evil Village

Replay value has always been a crucial component of the Resident Evil franchise, and one of the primary ways it encourages that in each of its entries is by having excellent unlockables to encourage players to go back and play the game. It seems Resident Evil Village is going to have that as well, and with a pretty unique spin as well.

Known Resident Evil insider AestheticGamer aka Dusk Golem recently took to Twitter and stated that similar to Resident Evil 7's Ethan Must Die mode, Resident Evil Village will also have an unlockable harder difficulty- though it will allegedly do much more than just making the game more difficult. Apparently, it will have some roguelite elements, and in addition to making the game more open-ended, it will also randomize enemies and placement of items in the world.

This is unverified information right now, so take it with a grain of salt. That said, Dusk Golem has been very reliable with his Resident Evil information in the past, so there's a good chance we end up hearing concrete details about this in the near future.

Resident Evil Village launches on May 7 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. More details and gameplay footage from the game will be arriving in a new showcase on April 15, and it's likely that the game's second demo will also go live then. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for all the updates until then.

Everything on Phil Spencer's Shelf Meant Something, Including the Switch, Journalist Says

nintendo switch

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has been known to hide teases of major reveals and announcements in plain sight, and he tends to do that most frequently by putting stuff on shelves behind him during livestreams and videos. For instance, his shelf had an Xbox Series S in many livestreams several weeks before the console was even unveiled. Most recently, fans spotted everything from Kojima Productions' Ludens figure to a Nintendo Switch on Spencer's shelf, leading many to speculate that those could also be hinting at future announcements.

Recent developments have suggested that at least one of those indeed going to happen, with Microsoft apparently on the verge of finishing a deal with Hideo Kojima for his next game. According to GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb, however, it's not just the Ludens figure- in a recent GamesBeat Decides podcast, he said that pretty much everything on Spencer's shelf means something. And that includes the Switch as well.

On top of this, known insider Shpeshal_Ed also took to Twitter not long after Grubb said that, and added that "the cat seems to be out of the bag" where the Nintendo and Xbox news is confirmed, before stating that more information on this will be arriving in the Fall. Whether that's something like xCloud coming to the Switch, ports of Microsoft games on the Nintendo platform, or something else entirely remains to be seen.

Of course, if everything on the shelf does mean something, perhaps it's time to get our magnifying glasses out and start analyzing said shelf in even greater detail.

Kojima Went to Sony for His Next Game First, But They Turned Him Down – Rumour

Kojima Productions

Hideo Kojima has been closely associated with the PlayStation brand for as long as the former has been around. When he broke ties with Konami and reformed Kojima Productions as an independent studio, he immediately signed on with Sony for Death Stranding, a PlayStation console exclusive. Recent reports, however, have suggested that there might be a major paradigm shift coming soon, and that allegedly, Xbox and Kojima are close to signing a deal for the studio's next game.

That's a pretty surprising twist, if it does end up happening, and many have been left to wonder why Kojima is pivoting from Sony to Microsoft. Well, apparently, that may not have been his first choice. In the recent episode of the Xbox Era podcast, insider Shpeshal_Ed stated that Kojima Productions originally went to Sony with a pitch for their next game. Sony, however, was not satisfied with how Death Stranding did commercially, and as such, turned down the offer to work with Kojima again.

He also suggests that Kojima may have been in talks with Google and Stadia for a while, owing to the fact that his game apparently makes a lot of use of cloud technology, but that ultimately, talks with Microsoft progressed further. The Microsoft-Kojima deal is apparently close to being completed, so if it does happen, we might be hearing about it quite soon.

Kojima Productions' art director Yoji Shinkawa did recently mention that the studio's next game would be announced in the near future, so here's hoping we don't have to wait too long.

Epic Has Lost Over $450 Million on the Epic Games Store

Epic Games Store

The Epic Games Store launched in December of 2018, and since then, the digital PC storefront has seen massive growth. Though it's still lagging behind Steam when it comes to usability and features, its exclusivity deals and attractive weekly giveaways have been major factors contributing to its growth. The storefront currently has over 160 million registered users (of whom 56 million are monthly active users)- but even so, it hasn't yet turned a profit for Epic Games.

In a recent court filing (via ResetEra), it was revealed that since its launch about two and a half years ago, the Epic Games Store has lost Epic over $450 million- $181 million in 2019 and $273 million in 2020, with projections of losses for 2021 currently standing at $273 million. As with any new venture, those losses are attributed to the heavy investments Epic has made in the storefront to capture a larger piece of the marketshare, and though they will continue to lose money on it for the foreseeable future, they expect it to become profitable starting in 2023.

Meanwhile, other interesting details have also emerged from the court filing. The 12% revenue cut that Epic takes from each game sold on its storefront has been one of its headlining factors, especially for developers, since a 30% revenue cut is the standard across the entire industry on pretty much all other digital storefronts. That smaller revenue cut, however, is apparently been enough to cover operating costs for the storefront.

Interestingly enough, Epic has recently said that the Epic Games Store is going to have more exclusives over the next two years than ever before, so the company is still aggressively making investments to ensure a larger userbase. It remains to be seen how well that will pay off.

SIE London Studio's Next Game Will "Show the Exciting Potential" of the PS5, as Per New Job Ad

blood and truth

It's been a couple of years since SIE London Studio's PSVR first person shooter Blood and Truth came out, but there's been next to no updates on what their next game is going to be. Even in the absence of official announcements though, there have been a few details here and there. The developer itself is quite excited about the project's potential, while it's also looking like the game is going to have a multiplayer component.

Now, a couple of new job ads on the developer's website (spotted by Push Square) have dropped a few more hints about what we can look forward to. For starters, a listing for the position of Principal Online Gameplay Designer once again hints at an emphasis on online multiplayer. The ad states that the person in the position will need to be "up for experimenting and working in uncharted design territory", and that the game itself is going to "show the exciting potential of the latest PlayStation hardware."

Meanwhile, another ad for the position of Lead VFX Artist mentions delivering "diverse and rich content", and suggests that the studio is aiming to craft "the next generation of rewarding gameplay and cinematics."

SIE London Studio has been heavily invested in virtual reality development, and it's unlikely that they'll be stopping any time soon. Even in the absence of an official announcement, it's likely that their next game will be another VR title, especially with PSVR 2 coming up.

Sony is Looking to Bring "PlayStation's Most Popular Franchises" to Mobile

PlayStation logo

A recent report shed light on Sony's shifting priorities, and how PlayStation no longer wants to make smaller games as it instead pivots to save all of its time and resources for larger AAA blockbuster productions. Outside of the console market though, it seems as if they're still willing to expand and try new things. A new job listing was recently posted by Sony for the position of the head of PlayStation Studios' mobile division, which suggests that Sony is looking to enter the mobile gaming scene in a big way.

The job ad in question states that Sony is looking to "develop the mobile games strategy for PlayStation Studios and help build a foundation for future growth opportunities" and is working toward the "expansion of our game development from consoles and PCs to mobile & Live Services with a focus on successfully adapting PlayStation's most popular franchises for mobile."

Of course, when you think of PlayStation's biggest franchises, you think of the likes of God of War, Uncharted, The Last of Us, Gran Turismo, and more. It should be interesting to see how some of those make the jump to the modern mobile gaming scene (if they all do indeed make the jump).

That said, it's not surprising that Sony is taking this step. There's huge potential in the mobile gaming scene, especially from a commercial perspective. As games such as Genshin Impact and PUBG Mobile have shown (to name just a couple), there's a lot of money to be made in the mobile gaming space.

Resident Evil 9 Might be the Last Numbered Entry in the Series – Rumour

resident evil

Resident Evil Village might not technically have an "8" in its name, but Capcom have made it abundantly clear that it is the eighth mainline numbered entry in the series. For starters, it obviously has the roman numeral "VIII" in its logo, while Capcom have also mentioned on no few occasions that the game serves as a direct narrative sequel to Resident Evil 7. Now, according to new potential details dropped by an insider, that story is going to carry forward and conclude in another mainline numbered sequel, but following that, Capcom might start adopting different naming conventions for the series.

Known Resident Evil insider Dusk Golem (or AestheticGamer) recently took to Twitter and stated that Resident Evil 7, Village, and the upcoming 9 (which he has previously mentioned is already in development) have a single, connected story with a main arc running throughout all of them. The story for the trilogy was apparently mapped out collectively, supposedly since all three of their development cycles were so close to each other.

However, Dusk Golem goes on to add that Resident Evil 9 will likely be the final mainline numbered entry in the series, and Capcom will adopt a new naming convention. He suspects that this is being done so that Capcom can tell more focused and self-contained stories with a single game rather than having to plan out larger narrative arcs that span multiple games.

This is, of course, unverified information, and it's talking about things that are way off in the future, which means nothing is set in stone yet. Dusk Golem has a solid track record when it comes to Resident Evil leaks, but either way, take this with a grain of salt for now.

Resident Evil 9 is still probably several years off though, and we've got plenty else to look forward to before that. Resident Evil Village launches on May 7 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia.

Final Fantasy 16 Tops Famitsu's Most Wanted Charts

final fantasy 16

Famitsu's latest weekly charts for the most highly anticipated upcoming games (as decided by votes from their readers) are in, and Final Fantasy 16 has topped the charts. Typically, Monster Hunter Rise has had a stranglehold on the top spot in these charts for some time now, but with it now having been released, Final Fantasy 16 moves up to claim the throne. It is followed in second place by fellow upcoming action RPG Tales of Arise.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's sequel has also been a permanent fixture in the top 5 of these charts for many weeks, and takes the third spot here. It has a lead of over 30 votes over the game placed fourth, which is Resident Evil Village. The only new entrant in the top 10, in fact, is Samurai Warriors 5, which comes in at eighth position.

Meanwhile, with the likes of Bayonetta 3, Rune Factory 5, Shin Megami Tensei 5, and New Pokemon Snap also factoring in the top 10, the rest of the table is pretty familiar for anyone who's been following these of late.

You can check out the full top 10 below. All votes were cast by Famitsu readers between March 18 and March 24.

1. [PS5] Final Fantasy 16 – 636 votes
2. [PS4] Tales of Arise – 581 votes
3. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 – 437 votes
4. [PS5] Resident Evil Village – 401 votes
5. [NSW] Bayonetta 3 – 398 votes
6. [NSW] Rune Factory 5 – 389 votes
7. [NSW] Shin Megami Tensei 5 – 323 votes
8. [PS4] Samurai Warriors 5 – 225 votes
9. [NSW] New Pokemon Snap – 207 votes
10. [NSW] Ushiro – 205 votes

[Via Nintendo Everything]

Monster Hunter Rise Guide – All Silkbind and Switch Skills, and Choosing the Best Weapon

monster hunter rise

Monster Hunter Rise mixes up the classic formula by introducing new Silkbind attacks. These rely on the Wirebug to execute certain moves and as such, they share a cooldown with the same. However, along with Silkbind attacks, there are different Switch Skills which provide an alternative move in that slot. For example, the Great Sword's Tackle can be switched out for Guard Tackle which is a slower tackle used to guard against attacks before transitioning to a True Charged Slash.

Check out all of the different Silkbind and Switch skills below in Arekkz Gaming's video. It's also worth noting the different weapons in Monster Hunter Rise. Like previous games, there are 14 archetypes to choose from. There is no true best weapon in the game – it all depends on your play-style and how you'd like to approach hunts. But regardless, you can find success with any weapon type if you know how to use it properly.

Here's a brief rundown of each weapon and which play-styles they suit the best.

  • Longsword – Great combos and exceptional damage along with decent counter-attacks. The Longsword is capable of some diverse movesets and is relatively easy to pick up.
  • Dual Blades – Quick attacks and exceptional dodging, the Dual Blades are for those who favor hit and run tactics instead of defense. Great for elemental damage and status builds due to its quick attack speed.
  • Hunting Horn – Often labelled a "support" weapon, the Hunting Horn is capable of providing buffs while also dishing out heavy damage and K.O.s. Its changes in Rise make it easier to pick up and manage than before.
  • Charge Blade – Perhaps the most complex weapon in the game, the Charge Blade's default form is a sword and shield. It can transform into an axe and, when its phials are filled, release a powerful discharge attack. Great for a variety of play-styles though takes a while to master.
  • Sword and Shield – A well-balanced weapon that can be geared towards DPS, defense, support and so on. It's main advantage is being able to use items without sheathing the weapon.
  • Hammer – Heavy blows but still decent mobility, the Hammer is capable of combos and K.O. hits. Perfect for those who want to knock-out monsters and deal big damage.
  • Switch Axe – A transforming weapon that offers mobility and good damage in axe mode and slightly less mobility but even more damage in sword mode. Sword mode can also deliver Elemental Discharge explosions for big burst damage.
  • Insect Glaive – A glaive that boasts incredible mobility and a Kinsect which can be used to target individual parts of a monster and gain buffs that enhance the glaive's combos.
  • Great Sword – Slow mobility but delivers heavy charged blows which require some timing for exceptional damage. Also has some decent damage reduction abilities thanks to its Tackle.
  • Lance – The strongest shield in the game, the Lance can block almost every attack and deliver powerful counter-attacks. Though it doesn't have the best mobility, it's exceptional for those who favor a more tanky play-style.
  • Gunlance – Offers a great defensive option like the Lance but also some strong damage with its explosive shells. The Gunlance also has Wyrmstake, which deals burst damage to a monster, and stronger mobility options thanks to new skills in Rise.
  • Bow – A ranged weapon that utilizes different coatings for different arrow types. Consistent damage and varied options along with good mobility, though it lacks in defenses.
  • Light Bowgun – Another ranged weapon which requires reloading after a set number of shots, it boasts good mobility and a variety of options thanks to its ammo types. Can also release some strong explosive damage.
  • Heavy Bowgun – The highest damage ranged option, the Heavy Bowgun is capable of dishing out some serious pain from a distance thanks to charged shots and ammo types like Cluster Bombs. New skills in Rise provide counter-attacks and more mobility.