Xbox Creates TikTok Account, Instantly Meme Themselves
TikTok, for the uninitiated, is effectively the new vine. Users create and share short videos of themselves, their pets or other miscellaneous events and garner tonnes of attention. It's a great place for brands to market themselves due to the massive userbase, the app's place in the current zeitgeist and the fact that it doesn't cost a penny. The latest brand to jump on this trend is none other than Xbox.
Sharing their TikTok link via their official Twitter account, after, by their own admission, failing to combine Xbox and TikTok into one word, Microsoft is fully on board. Their first video, which has already clocked up over two million views, is an instant classic, with the company mocking their past few months.
@xboxPART 1. What should our first post be? Let us know what you think ##xbox ##gaming ##gamer ##fyp ##foryou ♬ original sound – Xbox
The video shows them "trying to figure out" what to post as their first clip. After showing off the Xbox Series S, the footage cuts to their camera roll as they scroll back through a multitude of memes. They pass mock images of the Xbox Series S looking like a boombox and a washing machine, before hitting the awkward monkey meme from when the console leaked, then moving onto the Series X fridge memes.
It's a great time for Microsoft to join the platform with their new consoles hitting the market in under two months time. The fact they've managed over two million views in just over 12 hours is an indication of the reach that the app can offer.
Tiktok has undergone a tumultuous time as of late however. The US Government are taking measures to ban the app, alongside WeChat and potentially other Chinese based businesses such as gaming giant Tencent. Tencent is one of the biggest gaming companies in the world owning League of Legends and Valorant developer Riot while also having a 40 per cent stake in Epic Games.
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Kirby Fighters 2 Has Stealth Released on Nintendo Switch
Nintendo has had a recent habit of stealth dropping news on us. Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and Paper Mario: The Origami King were all revealed by their trailers randomly releasing on Twitter. Nintendo has also shared a few Nintendo Direct Minis in this format. Now, keeping up their newly found tradition, they've revealed a brand new Kirby title, and it's out right now.
Kirby Fighters 2 is a follow up to 3DS title Kirby Fighters Deluxe. It sees players choose one of 17 copy abilities and battle it out against other Kirbys to be the last one standing. It's available right now through the Nintendo Switch eShop for $19.99.
The game includes a huge range of different copy abilities from Kirby that have appeared across a range of titles. The 17 abilities include Ninja Kirby, Archer Kirby and the newly added Wrestler Kirby. The game also sees the addition of some familiar Kirby foes including Meta Knight and King Dedede.
Kirby Fighters 2 includes a variety of modes to play through. There's the Single-Handed mode, which sees you take on and clear enemies, single-handedly, as fast as possible and a full-fledged story mode that can be played solo or co-operatively. The game also has a few different multiplayer options. Up to four players can play using a single Switch system, via local play and online.
The game, which is developed by HAL Laboratory, looks to have a distinctly Super Smash Bros. feel about it. Players will battle across a huge range of stages, leveraging items and the environment to help them defeat their opponents.
This is the first Kirby game since the free-to-play Super Kirby Clash was announced during Nintendo's last full Nintendo Direct and the first brand new paid Kirby title since Kirby Star Allies released on the Switch in March 2018.
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Square Enix Tokyo Game Show 2020 Full Stream Schedule
At TGS 2020, Square Enix will have some Yoko Taro, Kingdom Hearts, SaGa and Final Fantasy XIV. As a reminder, the company already mentioned additional info on Final Fantasy XVI will only come sometime in 2021, so don't expect any of that. Square Enix will also reveal lots of new information on mobile games quite popular in Japan but pretty obscure outside, like the Toji no Miko gacha game or Dragon Quest Rivals Ace. There's even a segment on the Sinoalice manga adaptation.
Here's the full schedule TGS 2020 schedule of Square Enix, translated below. The most important events are in bold, with links to a time converter.
Square Enix TGS 2020 Day 1 September 24, 0500 ET / 0200 PT (YouTube) (Other time zones)
0500 ET / 0200 PT: New information on the new Densha De GO game by Square Enix and Taito.
Will feature live gameplay, including with the VR Mode. Featuring: Furukawa Mirin (MC) Ryo Nomoto (Producer) Yoshinori Ozaki (Director) Hikaru Ishihara (Project Manager).
Densha de GO!! Hashirou Yamanote Sen is releasing on PS4 and Switch on December 3 in Japan.
0900 ET / 0600 PT (other time zones): NieR TGS 2020 Special Programming – The "We Have a Decent Amount of New Info" Special.
This stream will feature "decent" information on NieR Replicant ver.1.22, NieR Re[in]carnation and NieR:Automata. Yoko Taro previously explained the stream's name and why it'll have "decent" info. An English translated version of the stream will be available here.
The stream will feature:
- NieR Creative Director Yoko Taro,
- Producer Yosuke Saito,
- NieR composer Keiichi Okabe,
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Director Saki Ito,
- NieR Re[in]carnation Director Daichi Matsukawa
- NieR:Automata Senior Game Designer Takahisa Taura (PlatinumGames).
- Hiroki Yasumoto as the MC. He's the seiyuu of Grimoire Weiss
Square Enix TGS 2020 Day 2 September 25, 0530 ET / 0230 PT (YouTube) (Other time zones)
0530 ET / 0230 PT: Square Enix Music, talk show" Game Sanpo" focusing on the music of Final Fantasy IX and FF X. The show will feature Ai Takahashi (ex Morning Musume member, singer, actress), Junichi Konuma (music critic and poet), Katin / Hayato Sumino (pianist), Yamaguchi Quest (comedian).
0630 ET / 0330 PT: Sinoalice manga adaptation segment. Talk show featuring the manga version's author, Aoki Tact, and the artist, Himiko. This is for Sinoalice aficionados.
0715 ET / 0415 PT (other time zones): Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory TGS 2020 Special Show. Will include information regarding the development of KH MoM, and a live piano performance.
The stream will feature:
Susumu Imadachi (MC)
Ichiro Hazama (KH MoM Producer)
Tetsuya Nomura (Not physically present and voice only, KH MoM Director)
Masanobu Suzui (Co. Director of KH MoM)
Shinya Kiyozuka (pianist)
Yoko Shimomura (composer)
Kasumi Ashizawa (Game Talent)
Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory will launch on PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch on November 13. The game will be out two days earlier in Japan, on November 11.
0815 ET / 0515 PT: Square Enix Music: talk show focusing on music in Square Enix games. Will feature Shinya Kiyozuka (pianist), Kosuke Hiraiwa (MC, Esports caster).
Square Enix TGS 2020 Day 3 September 26, 0015 ET / September 25 2115 PT (YouTube) (Other time zones)
September 26, 0015 ET / September 25 2115 PT: Outriders segment. Focusing on the Japanese version of the game which will launch this winter.
0115 ET / 2215 PT: Square Enix Slime Chigiri Pan Challenge Arrange Chapter: a cooking show with recipes from Square Enix games. Will feature Nobuo (comedian), and Moga Mogami (singer, model, ex Denpagumi member), she's the one who came up with the Slime Chigiri Pan recipe.
0145 ET / 2245 PT: Dragon Quest Rivals Ace segment, with new information on this revamped version of the Dragon Quest battle card game which launched in Japan on August 13.
0245 ET / 2345 PT: Introducing goods themed on one of Square Enix' YouTube shows called Counter Stop TV.
0300 ET / 0000 PT: Dragon Quest X segment with new information geared toward players of the game. Will most notably feature Koji Aoyama (Producer of Dragon Quest X), Takashi Anzai (Director of DQ X).
0430 ET / 0130 PT (other time zones): SaGa series segment. Will include the "latest information" on the SaGa series, and new information on Romancing SaGa reuniverse, SaGa Collection, and Imperial Saga Eclipse.
The segment will feature:
Akitoshi Kawazu (General Director of the SaGa Series)
Masanori Ichikawa (Producer of SaGa series)
Hiroyuki Miura (Producer of SaGa Collection)
Kazuma Oshu (Producer of Imperial SaGa Eclipse)
Kenji Ito (Composer)
Benny Matsuyama (game writer, novelist)
Seizan Shimazaki (Akatsuki Creative Producer and Engineer)
Yosuke Fujimoto (Director, Think & Feel Co., Ltd.)
MC: Nobuo (Penguins, comedian)
Assistant MC: Yui (結) (Actress / Talent)
0545 ET / 0245 PT: Introducing more goods themed on Counter Stop TV.
0700 ET / 0400 PT: Segment on Toji no Miko: Kizamishi Issen no Tomoshibi, the Toji no Miko mobile gacha game, also known as Tojitomi. Will most notably include information on the new Tojitomi OVA. The stream will feature the seiyuu Himika Akaneya and Kaede Hondo, Producer Takanori Shiina.
0800 ET / 0500 PT: Mini-live concert on the OST of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition. Will feature Composer Kumi Tanioka and singer Yae.
0900 ET / 0600 PT (other time zones): NieR Talk Show with "nearly nothing new".
Will feature:
- NieR Creative Director Yoko Taro,
- Producer Yosuke Saito,
- NieR composer Keiichi Okabe,
- NieR Replicant ver.1.22 Director Saki Ito,
- NieR Re[in]carnation Director Daichi Matsukawa
- NieR:Automata Senior Game Designer Takahisa Taura (PlatinumGames).
Note that unlike the first NieR stream, this one doesn't have an English version. We'll be sure to write a report if anything interesting comes up.
Square Enix TGS 2020 Day 4 September 26, 2345 ET / 2045 PT (YouTube) (Other time zones)
September 26, 2345 ET / 2045 PT: Lecture on the Final Fantasy TCG by YouTuber Kabukin.
September 27, 0030 ET / September 26 2130 PT: "Latest information" on Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. Geared towards FFBE players.
September 27, 0145 ET, September 26 2245 PT (other time zones): "Latest information" on War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. This will include the announcement of a "new project" to celebrate the game's first year anniversary coming in November.
September 27, 0300 ET / 0000 PT: Marvel's Avengers segment. Will feature seiyu Honoka Kuroki if you're a fan.
0415 ET / 0115 PT (other time zones): Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai games segment. This will focus on the arcade game and the mobile game. However, Dai no Daiboken game projects Producer Ryutaro Ichimura will be present so maybe he'll mention the console game Infinity Strash a bit. Will also feature the seiyuu Atsumi Tanezaki (Dai) and Mikako Komatsu (Maam)
0600 ET / 0300 PT: Video interview with FFCC character designer Toshiyuki Itahana. Will include developments stories for both the original game and the new remaster.
0630 ET / 0330 PT: DJ performance with DJ Ram Rider
0730 ET / 0430 PT (other time zones): Final Fantasy XIV TGS 2020 stream with YoshiP. This will focus on YoRHa: Dark Apocalypse. The stream will feature Naoki Yoshida, Yoko Taro, Yosuke Saito (NieR series Director), Toshio Muro (FFXIV Global Community Producer).
There you have it, everything Square Enix has in store for TGS 2020. Stay tuned for our coverage all week.
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Among Us Developer Has Cancelled Sequel Plans to Add More Content to the Original Game
In a post on their website, Among Us developer Innersloth has announced that they're canceling Among Us 2 and focusing on making the original game even better.
"We have decided to cancel Among Us 2 and instead put all our focus into improving Among Us 1," said the developer in a statement. "All of the content we had planned for Among Us 2 will instead go into Among Us 1. This is probably the more difficult choice because it means going deep into the core code of the game and reworking several parts of it. We have lots of things planned and we're excited to bring new content to everyone as you continue to enjoy playing."
In addition to canceling the sequel, Innersloth announced some features which will make their way in the game. These features include adding a new stage, fixing server issues, adding a friends section, and adding colorblind support. These features sound amazing and will make the game even more enjoyable to play with friends.
For those that don't know, Among Us is an online team-based game where you're trying to figure out who's sabotaged your spaceship. The game released in 2018 but it's become extremely popular, to the point where it surpassed Fall Guys as a top seller on Steam. Over a month ago, Innersloth announced plans for a sequel. At the time, the developer didn't have any art, sound, or programming concepts done. Additionally, they said it'd possibly be in beta longer than the original game. To compare, Innersloth said Among Us was in early access for six months, followed by another six months before it left open beta.
Among Us is available now on Android, iOS, and PC. As more news comes out about the game, we'll be sure to let you know.
The post Among Us Developer Has Cancelled Sequel Plans to Add More Content to the Original Game by David Gill appeared first on DualShockers.
The Game Awards Adds New Award Category That Recognizes Accessibility
In a post on his Twitter account, Geoff Keighley announced that this year's Game Awards will feature a new award which highlights accessibility.
As his tweet mentions, the Innovation in Accessibility award is "recognizing developers that are pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience."
This year we introducing a new award @thegameawards:
Innovation in Accessibility
Recognizing developers that are pushing the medium forward by adding features, technology and content to help games be played and enjoyed by an even wider audience. pic.twitter.com/yCt8M8czaK
— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 23, 2020
Earlier today, Keighley announced that The Game Awards will air on December 10 and it'll be live across Los Angeles, Tokyo, and London. Like any other event effected by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Game Awards won't have an in-person crowd. No specific time of the broadcast has been mentioned yet.
"We have specialists and we'll ask our regular jury what they think about accessibility," said Keighley in an interview with Gamesbeat. "But I really want people who are experts to recognize the work for a colorblind mode or other things."
Last year's Game Awards had a 75 percent increase in viewership compared to 2018's show, meaning that roughly 50 million people watched the broadcast. Major game announcements were made including the reveals of Bravely Default II, Godfall, and The Wolf Among Us 2. Additionally, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice won the Game of the Year award and best action/adventure game.
Going back to game accessibility, it's been a large topic in the gaming industry for several years. One of the most notable games to include accessibility options is The Last of Us Part II, which features over 60 accessibility options for gamers. Other games like Ghost of Tsushima, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and Overcooked are just some that have added accessibility options this year. Adding the award category to the Game Awards is an awesome addition that will continue to showcase the importance of adding accessibility in games going forward.
The Game Awards air on December 10. As more news comes about this year's show, we'll be sure to let you know.
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Ghostrunner Announced for Switch in New Trailer
Ghostrunner, the cyberpunk hack n' slash title that made waves with an impressive demo on Steam, is officially releasing across all platforms. It's already been announced that Ghostrunner would be making its way to PC, PS4 and Xbox One, but a new trailer released today revealed that the game would also be heading over to the Nintendo Switch.
The trailer is a simple announcement for the game on Switch and doesn't reveal much more information past that. If you're not totally clued in on Ghostrunner yet, it's a futuristic hack 'n slash title that places players in the shoes of a cybernetic ninja. Using quick and precise movements, players have to bob, weave and slice their way through enemies, avoiding getting hit at all costs because, after one, it's game over.
Today's trailer did give us a hint and what Ghostrunner will look like running on the Switch. Although this footage was extremely sparse, it showed a smooth, fluid experience much like the footage we've seen of the game on PC. Of course, this is all from a trailer so we won't know how the game actually performs on Switch until we get our hands on it.
Ghostrunner is set to release on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch on October 27. If you'd rather not wait that long to play the cyberpunk slasher, the game will have another demo available on Steam starting September 29. The game's co-publishers 505 Games and All in! Games are also putting together a private beta that you can sign up for here.
The post Ghostrunner Announced for Switch in New Trailer by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.
Capcom Tokyo Game Show 2020 Full Stream Schedule
Capcom published, in both English and Japanese, schedules for the festivities of TGS 2020. We detailed everything below. Note that a simultaneous English translated stream will be watchable on CapcomUSA on Twitch.
Capcom TGS 2020 Day 1, September 26 0805 ET / 0505 PT (YouTube) (Other time zones)
0805 ET / 0505 PT: Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Presentation
Will feature Producer Shuhei Matsumoto and Director Takayuki Nakayama.
Capcom revealed Street Fighter V Season 5 back in August, with the surprising addition of Akira, the cutest and strongest character from Rival Schools / Justice Gakuen coming Summer 2021. This isn't Akira we'll be seeing here though, as the event will include the "latest information" on Dan, the first character of Season 5.
0840 ET / 0540 PT: Capcom Information
This segment won't be translated on the English stream, but shouldn't feature any announcements. This will be a summary of Capcom's ongoing games' info.
0850 ET / 0550 PT (other time zones): Monster Hunter Rise & Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Presentation
This segment will reveal live gameplay of Monster Hunter Rise for the first time. It'll feature Monster Hunter Producer Ryōzō Tsujimoto, and Director Yasunori Ichinose. New story details and characters appearing on Monster Hunter Stories 2 will be revealed as well.
Monster Hunter Rise launches on March 26, 2021 on Switch. Monster Hunter Stories 2 is coming on Switch in Summer 2021.
0950 ET / 0650 PT Monster Hunter Rise & Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin Guest Talk Part
The guest will be Maki Goto, a singer and ex Morning Musume member widely known as a huge Monster Hunter nerd. She already participated in many MH events in the past. This part will not be translated on the English stream. We'll be sure to report if anything juicy happens.
1030 ET / 0730 PT: Capcom Information part 2, Ending
Capcom TGS 2020 Day 2, September 27 0805 ET / 0505 PT (YouTube) (Other time zones)
0805 ET / 0505 PT: Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition Presentation
Will feature Producer Matthew Walker, Director Hideaki Itsuno, Main Planner Junya Kumabe. They will introduce DMC5 Special Edition and what makes it so interesting.
0830 ET / 0530 PT: Capcom Information
0840 ET / 0540 PT (other time zones): Resident Evil Village Presentation
Will feature Producers Peter Fabiano and Tsuyoshi Kanda. This segment will include development stories on the game and the "latest information" on the Biohazard / Resident Evil series.
Resident Evil Village is coming 2021 on Steam, PS5, Xbox Series X.
0910 ET / 0610 PT: Resident Evil Village Guest Talk Part
The guest will be comedian and singer Eiko Kano. Again, this won't be translated on the English Twitch stream, so we'll be sure to tell you if anything interesting happens.
0940 ET / 0640 PT: Capcom Information 2, Ending
There you have it. Capcom's plans for TGS 2020.
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Fall Guys Had the Biggest PC Launch Since Overwatch Raking in $185 Million
Mediatonic's Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has swept the summer by storm. The game has gone on to become a phenomenon where all your favorite streamers and lets players have jumped in. While the game did take off on PS4, partially due to the game being one of the free games of the month in August for PS Plus, the game has seen a huge amount of success on PC. In fact, it was the biggest PC launch since Overwatch released back in 2016.
SuperData's released the monthly tracking numbers for digital video game spending during the month of August and Fall Guys was at the very top of the list. The multiplayer title earned $185 million during the month and made it the biggest launch on PC since Overwatch.
In total, the gaming industry topped $10.8 billion in revenue for digital spending, bringing 2020 to a total of $82 billion. This was up 16% year-on-year.
Sports titles have done well during the summer. Madden 21, NBA 2K21, and PGA Tour 2K21 earned a total of $321 million during August.
Fortnite saw a rise and grew 76% month-over-month on both PC and console. A new season that brought in Avengers is probably the reasoning behind the success.
Finally, Pokemon GO just keeps on dominating mobile markets. The popular mobile title generated 25% more than its previous revenue peak back in August 2016.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is currently available for PS4 and PC. If you still are a little worrisome about picking the game up, make sure to check out DualShockers' official review right here.
The post Fall Guys Had the Biggest PC Launch Since Overwatch Raking in $185 Million by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.
Xbox Won't Have Any New Next-Gen or Acquisition News at Tokyo Game Show
Tokyo Game Show 2020 kicks off later this week and Xbox is one of the many companies making an appearance. In fact, the company is holding down the first live stream slot after the opening ceremonies this year. That's a prime position and you might expect some big news to come out. Some might even hope for even more acquisition news out of a console maker that could really use some extra Japanese flair. However, in a new tweet today, Microsoft made it clear that we shouldn't expect new next-gen or acquisition news at the event. If you were hoping for a reveal that they'd bought up all those Konami properties or something, it looks like you'll need to wait a little longer.
…and btw, there won't be any new acquisition news at the show
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 23, 2020
It's not overly surprising news. After all, they just announced the new Bethesda deal. You gotta give Phil Spencer's pocketbook a little breathing room after the $7.5 billion deal. And, it makes a ton of sense to hold off on more next-gen announcements as they try to focus on launch.
That said, it does feel like a slightly missed opportunity given Xbox's primetime slot on the show. If you're them, you'd love to have something crazy to show their fans in the East. As good as Microsoft Flight Sim and Minecraft are, I don't know how far they move the needle with that audience. If you could drop something wild like the next Nier game or had a new partnership with Capcom, this would be an awesome chance to talk about it.
Either way, TGS 2020 looks like it's going to be a ton of fun. Sure, Xbox might not have any major bombs to drop. However, that shouldn't bring the show down too much. Make sure to stay with DualShockers for all the event's news.
The post Xbox Won't Have Any New Next-Gen or Acquisition News at Tokyo Game Show by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.
In the latest edition of the Xbox Podcast, Bethesda's Pete Hines and Todd Howard came together with Xbox's Phil Spencer and Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb to talk a bit more about the future now that Microsoft owns Bethesda. In the process, all parties involved talked about their history with one another, which resulted in some rather funny anecdotes.
The relationship between Xbox and Bethesda started all the way back when Bethesda Game Studios was working on The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. As explained by Howard and Hines, Morrowind was the first time that Bethesda had brought a game to consoles and they didn't really know how to develop with the Xbox hardware in mind. Howard went on to say that the team at Microsoft was able to show Bethesda some tricks on the original Xbox that the developers never would have thought of.
"My favorite one on Morrowind is that you can actually–if you're running low on memory–you can reboot the original Xbox and the user can't tell," Howard explained. "You can throw like a screen up. So when Morrowind loads sometimes, you'll get a very long load. That's us rebooting the Xbox." The explanation of this crazy feat was met with laughs from Spencer, Hines, and Hryb.
In another example, Howard called back to Bethesda's work on The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and how the studio implored Microsoft to increase the memory restraints that were placed on the Xbox 360 at first. When Microsoft informed Bethesda that it would be able to double the 360's memory, Howard said that Bethesda then threw a "double memory party" to celebrate. Hines even chimed in to say that they had a cake made for the occasion that had the Xbox 360's new memory limitation written on the cake itself. "That was a good party," Howard said while smiling.
All in all, the working relationship between Microsoft and Bethesda has been well-established for decades at this point, which is one reason why this week's acquisition makes so much sense. It remains to be seen how the two will work together in the future, but if the past is any indication, there should be a lot to be excited about.
The post The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on Xbox Would Completely Reboot the Console During Certain Loading Screens by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.