Greetings Commanders, We wanted to share an update with you regarding the ongoing development of Elite Dangerous: Odyssey. 2020 was a difficult year for many, but in spite of those challenges we are pleased with our progress towards what is a truly ambitious new era for the game. We’ve been delighted with the excitement and positive response to our development diaries, interviews, streams and trailers and want to thank all of you for your continued support. The ongoing impact of the pandemic however, including the renewed lockdowns in 2021, continues to put added pressure on our teams and ultimately our development timeline. We have therefore had to make the difficult decision to make some adjustments and changes to our existing development roadmap. Our PC plans have only been affected by a small amount, however our plans for the console release will unfortunately see a larger development shift. Please do know that these difficult decisions have been made with a focus on making Odyssey as incredible as it can possibly be for all our Commanders regardless of their platform, while also respecting realistic project deadlines for our teams during this difficult global situation. We would like to sincerely apologise to all of our community. We know you have been waiting patiently and how disappointing and frustrating this must be. With that in mind, we would like to share with you our latest roadmap so that you are fully aware of our plans.
Alpha – early spring 2021
We are continuing with plans to bring Alpha access to our PC players and get boots on the ground. This will now be a little later than originally planned, in early spring. Much like our original Elite Dangerous release, we will be taking a phased approach to our Alpha, bringing new features and systems online throughout the period. This will allow us to focus and best consider our community feedback while also providing vital user testing on key areas of the game. We will be sharing further information including details of feature drops and Alpha plans as we get closer to release. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey Deluxe Alpha and Lifetime Expansion Pass holders will get access to this release.
PC release – late spring 2021
Following the completion of our Alpha phase we are targeting a full launch on PC in late spring. As with every era in Elite Dangerous’ history, we will be closely engaging with our community and continuing to react to feedback refining Odyssey through to the console launch. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey pre orders will be able to access the game with this release.
Console release – autumn 2021
After continued feedback, iterations and balancing, we are targeting our release on PlayStation®4 and Xbox One in the autumn of this year.
We understand that for many, this additional delay will be frustrating. Once again, we would like to apologise wholeheartedly to our community, especially our console Commanders. However, as mentioned previously, we feel it is vital to ensure that the content being released on consoles meets the highest standards and this will require this additional extension to our roadmap. Throughout this time we will continue to bring more news, videos and content of the development in progress. We would like to thank you all for the ongoing support and we are very excited to bring in this new era to the game with you. Your feedback, support and involvement is a vital part of this process and we are looking forward to a shared Alpha experience, which will be touching down very soon. o7 Commanders
More about the Elite Dangerous Odyssey timeframes and COVID-19 impact on devteams:
Extended home working has created additional development challenges. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is still planned for release on PC in FY21, with PlayStation and Xbox releases now coming in FY22 to ensure the best experience for players on all platforms.
HOME WORKING
We successfully transitioned to working from home prior to the official lock-down in March 2020, enabling our teams to continue to work as effectively as possible. Our talented and dedicated teams performed amazingly through the challenges of 2020, continuing to develop and launch high quality content to our player communities, including the great technical achievement of expanding our audiences with Planet Coaster being launched on both current and next generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles, and Jurassic World Evolution having added the Nintendo Switch to its list of platforms. In general we found individual task-based working in most cases to be just as effective from home as from the office, but are continually trying to adapt our processes for group and planning tasks that require collaborative working. There is no question there are still some efficiency challenges, especially for larger projects, when working remotely.
ELITE DANGEROUS: ODYSSEY
Our next major internally developed release is Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, which is a major new paid era for Elite Dangerous, allowing Commanders to explore distant worlds on foot for the first time, taking on new missions and engaging in intense tactical combat, seamlessly merging with Elite Dangerous' iconic cockpit experience. Premiered during The Game Awards on 10 December 2020, reaction to the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey trailer has been positive and encouraging in advance of its release this year. Elite Dangerous continues to perform well through an engaged and ever growing community of Commanders. During 2020 Elite Dangerous hit its highest ever player numbers shortly after the Fleet Carriers update at Easter, and then again higher still since on multiple occasions, including just before Christmas. There is a great deal of excitement around Elite Dangerous: Odyssey both outside the Company and within. Over its lifetime Elite Dangerous has already generated over £100m in revenues, with over 4 million base game units sold. A successful strategy to seed new players in advance of the launch of Odyssey yielded an additional 8 million base game owners through the launch of Elite Dangerous on the Epic Games Store in November 2020 including a 'Free Week'. As always we are committed to delivering a high quality experience through the release of Odyssey, to a large and engaged player community with high expectations. Odyssey is coming together well, despite Covid-related challenges with collaborative working on such a large project, which are resulting in some inevitable minor delays. Having reviewed project timelines to take into account the renewed need to continue with remote working for the near future, as well as our commitment to release only when we are certain that the experience for our players, on all platforms, will be as enjoyable as possible, our launch plans for Odyssey have now been updated. Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is expected to release on PC, the biggest platform for Elite Dangerous, before the end of the financial year (which ends on 31 May 2021), albeit slightly later than our initial target for Q1 2021 (January to March). This will be preceded by an alpha period. Our plan for PlayStation and Xbox is to submit console versions for approval as soon as possible after we have released on PC, rather than putting the console developments of Odyssey under additional time pressure by planning for a simultaneous PC/console launch. PlayStation and Xbox console releases will therefore now come in FY22.
David Braben, Chief Executive, said
"2020 was a hard year for a great many people because of the challenges of Covid-19. Despite this, and doubtless helped by lockdown boosting demand for screen-based entertainment around the world, we had a successful year through the hard work and adaptability of our talented teams. Our four great franchises have really long play times and engaging social aspects to them, which make them well-suited to lockdown. We know that our Elite Dangerous community are looking forward to the arrival of Odyssey this year, and we're focussed on delivering the high quality experience that they expect and deserve. 2021 is set to be another great year for Frontier."
https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-pre-launch-guide/ --- Welcome to the HITMAN 3 Pre-launch guide. This blog post will be our place to share in-depth details about HITMAN 3, including how to carryover your progression, our new Access Pass system, what to expect on launch day and more. We are excited to see all of our players embark on Agent 47’s next journey and experience the dramatic conclusion to the World of Assassination trilogy. Before you start reading, this is how the game begins.
Release Details
HITMAN 3 will be available on 20 January 2021 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Stadia, Nintendo Switch and PC. We’re happy to confirm that the Nintendo Switch version of HITMAN 3 will also launch on 20 January. The Switch version of HITMAN 3 is playable via cloud streaming technology. A stable and permanent internet connection is required to play. Release Time HITMAN 3 will release simultaneously on all platforms at 13:00 UTC on 20 January 2021. To see the exact release time in your timezone, follow this link. This release time will ensure that the IOI teams in Copenhagen and Malmö are best-placed to ensure a smooth launch. At that time, digital copies will be available to play and the games servers will be online. 📷 Pre-load It will be possible to pre-load HITMAN 3 on PlayStation and Xbox platforms. Make sure that you’ve configured your console to do that and the downloads will begin when they have been prepared and certified. On PC, there won’t be a pre-load option for HITMAN 3 and downloads will begin at the above release time. (For PS4 and PS5 owners in Asia, please note that HITMAN 3 will not be available for pre-order or pre-load. This is due to recent changes in the age ratings systems in those regions. HITMAN 3 will be available for purchase at the above time.) Day One Patch HITMAN 3 will require a day one patch for all disc users. The day one patch will be automatically applied to digital players. This patch will include access to the VR mode for PlayStation users and will include the remaining locations that are not included on the disc. Game Size HITMAN 3 will take up approximately 60-70 GB of storage space on all platforms, with the obvious exceptions of Stadia and Switch. The data that you download will also include all the content required to access HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 – but you are still required to own/purchase access to those games. To underline that; purchasing HITMAN 3 does not grant access to the previous two games by default. Using this method allows us to reduce the file size for all players to 60-70 GB and has the benefit of making the process of redeeming or purchase access to HITMAN 1 and HITMAN 2 as simple as possible. (We talk about that more later). Also, we want to clarify that reducing the file size doesn’t mean that we’ve made any compromises on the visual/audio quality of the game. If you’re curious about the technical aspects that made this possible, we recently talked to PC Gamer about it.
HITMAN 3 - Editions
There are two editions of HITMAN 3; The Standard Edition and the Deluxe Edition. – The Standard Edition includes the HITMAN 3 base game. Nice and simple. – The Deluxe Edition includes the HITMAN 3 base game and the Deluxe Pack. Again, nice and simple. The only difference between the two editions is the Deluxe Pack, which includes 6 Deluxe Escalations, in-game suits, items and weapons, a digital soundtrack for each game in the World of Assassination trilogy, an introduction to each HITMAN 3 campaign mission by the Game Director and a digital artbook that highlights the characters, targets and missions included in the trilogy. A free IOI Account is required to download the digital soundtracks and World of HITMAN Art Book. Here’s a visual look at everything that’s packed into the HITMAN 3 Deluxe Edition: 📷 Next-gen Upgrade Console players who pre-order or purchase a physical or digital copy of HITMAN 3 (either Standard or Deluxe) on the current generation of consoles (PS4/Xbox One), will receive a free upgrade to the next-gen version of the game for no additional cost. Note that you won’t be able to receive the next-gen upgrade if you purchase HITMAN 3 on disc and you own a disc-free next gen console. When making a digital purchase, you will automatically be entitled to download the next-gen version when you access the game on that console. When making a physical disc purchase, you’ll need to insert the current gen disc into your next gen console and you’ll be able to download the next-gen version for no additional cost. Simply keep the disc in your machine whenever you want to play and you’ll be good to go. Pre-order Bonus The HITMAN 3 pre-order bonus celebrates all three games in the World of Assassination trilogy. Introducing the Trinity Pack. You’ll get it just by pre-ordering the game, no matter what platform or edition. The Trinity Pack includes a total of 9 items, with 3 distinct sets that represent a different game from the trilogy. Each set includes a suit, briefcase and weapon. From the White of HITMAN 1, the Red of HITMAN 2 or the Black of HITMAN 3, you’ll have all 9 items in your inventory to mix and match as you like. The classic Hitman insignia is etched onto the items in gold to add an elegant flourish. Note: The Trinity Pack will not be included with either the Standard Edition or Deluxe Edition after January 20. 📷 At selected retailers, pre-ordering a physical edition of HITMAN 3 will also include an exclusive physical passport. This unique item is filled with details and references from Agent 47’s career and commemorates 20 years of Hitman. See the list of retailers in our previous pre-order blog post.
Progression Carryover
All current HITMAN 2 players will be able to carryover their hard-earned progression into HITMAN 3. After completing the carryover process, HITMAN 2 players will be able to start HITMAN 3 with their existing player profile, XP rank, location mastery levels, location mastery unlocks, challenge progress, challenge unlocks and Elusive Target suits/unlocks. All of those things are what we call ‘progression’. It’s not possible to pick and choose elements to carryover. It’s all or nothing. The carryover process requires an IOI Account and can only be done through a web browser, it’s not possible to do it in-game. We will have the website ready to go before launch, but it is not live yet. Once it is ready, we will share the news via ioi.dk and update this post. 📷 Here’s more about how it will work: – Progression can only be carried over from HITMAN 2, including progression you have from the Legacy Pack (HITMAN 1 locations within HITMAN 2). – Progression can only be carried over from within the same platform. There are only three options: HITMAN 2 (PlayStation) → HITMAN 3 (PlayStation) HITMAN 2 (Xbox) → HITMAN 3 (Xbox) HITMAN 2 (PC/Steam) → HITMAN 3 (PC/Epic) Note: “PlayStation” = PS4, PS4 Pro and PS5. “Xbox” = Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X. Essentially, it doesn’t matter what specific console you have earned progression on. It only matters that progression can only move forward and within the same console ‘family’. – Progression carryover is a one-time process, meaning once you have performed a carryover for a particular platform, you will not be able to do so again at a later time. – If you have played HITMAN 2 on multiple platforms, you CAN perform a carryover for EACH of those profiles, but only within the same platform, as listed above. For example, if you play H2 on Xbox and PlayStation, you can carryover your H2 Xbox progression into H3 Xbox and independently carryover your H2 PlayStation progress into H3 PlayStation. – When you complete the carryover process, your existing HITMAN 2 progress will remain as it is (i.e it will not be removed/deleted). However, your progression in H2 and H3 will NOT be synchronised. – If you have already started playing HITMAN 3 and THEN choose to perform the progression carryover process, you will lose all progression earned within HITMAN 3 up to that point. We recommend you carryover progress before starting HITMAN 3. 📷 What exactly will be carried over? When you start the process, you will need to select an account that you have linked to your IOI Account. You will then be able to review the HITMAN 2 progress earned on that account and confirm that you want to perform the carryover process into HITMAN 3. The following progression will be included in the carryover process: player profile, XP rank, location mastery levels, location mastery unlocks, challenge progress, challenge unlocks and Elusive Target suits/unlocks. Savegame files are not carried over. Note that there are a small amount of items/unlocks that are not carried over through this process, such as the rewards unlocked through the HITMAN 1 GOTY Escalations, becuase they are linked to a purchase. Those items will be available in HITMAN 3 when you redeem access to the associated content. In addition, the ICA Electrocution Phone has been retired and will not be available in HITMAN 3. HITMAN 3 on Stadia On Stadia, all progression that players have earned in Hitman: World of Assassination (from both H1 and H2) will automatically ‘carryover’ to HITMAN 3. For additional clarity, Stadia and PC are two different platforms and progress cannot be shared or carried over between them. HITMAN 3 on Nintendo Switch Progression carryover is not possible on Nintendo Switch because HITMAN 2 is not available on that platform as a standalone game.
Access Pass FAQ
HITMAN 3 allows players to access locations from the previous games in the trilogy (H1 and H2) and play them all under one roof. Essentially, we have setup H1 and H2 as DLC for HITMAN 3. You can buy or redeem/download an Access Pass and get access to its content within H3. For example, if you buy the HITMAN 2 Standard Access Pass DLC for HITMAN 3, you’ll get access to the locations and missions included in the HITMAN 2 Standard Edition within HITMAN 3. 📷 In addition to the option of purchasing an Access Pass, it is also possible to redeem/download an Access Pass for no additional cost, if you have already purchased that content from the same store that you have pre-ordered or purchased HITMAN 3. To make this happen, we detect what you already have installed for HITMAN 2 and can make the corresponding Access Pass available for no additional cost on the same store. Note: If you only own HITMAN 1, you will need to import that content into HITMAN 2 first, via the instructions in our Legacy Pack FAQ. This process will work between console generations. For example, if you own HITMAN 2 on PS4, you’ll be able to download the HITMAN 2 Access Pass DLC in HITMAN 3 for both PS4 and PS5. The same applies for the Xbox family of consoles as well. We know that’s a lot of information, but once you’ve seen all of the Access Pass options, and there are five in total, it will make more sense. 📷 HITMAN 1 GOTY Access PassIncludes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 1 GOTY Edition: ICA Facility, Paris, Sapienza, Marrakesh, Bangkok, Colorado, Hokkaido, 3x GOTY Escalations and rewards and 4x Patient Zero campaign missions How to get it– Consoles: If you have previously downloaded the HITMAN 1 Legacy Pack, HITMAN 1 GOTY Legacy Pack or HITMAN 1 GOTY Upgrade for HITMAN 2, you will be able to download it for no additional cost. (Yes, that’s a free upgrade to the GOTY Edition if you only own the Standard Edition of H1!). The price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. – Disc: If you own a version of H1 on disc, you must follow the process in the Legacy Pack FAQ to access that content in HITMAN 2 – and then redeem this Access Pass. – PC (Epic): If you pre-purchase or purchase HITMAN 3 on EGS within the first 10 days of launch, you will be granted the HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass for no additional charge. In addition, if you own or redeemed a free copy of HITMAN – The Complete First Season on EGS when it was available for free, you will be able to download this Access Pass at any time after purchasing HITMAN 3. 📷 HITMAN 2 Standard Access PassIncludes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Standard Edition: Hawke’s Bay, Miami, Santa Fortuna, Mumbai, Whittleton Creek, Isle of Sgail, plus 1x Sniper Assassin map: Himmelstein How to get it– Consoles: If you own a digital copy of HITMAN 2 Standard Edition or HITMAN 2 SilveGold, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost. The price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. – Disc: [See below] – PC (Epic): As HITMAN 2 is not available on EGS, we have set up an 80% discount for this Access Pass for the first 14 days after HITMAN 3’s launch. HITMAN 2 Standard Access Pass [DISC]Includes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Standard Edition: Hawke’s Bay, Miami, Santa Fortuna, Mumbai, Whittleton Creek, Isle of Sgail, plus 1x Sniper Assassin map: Himmelstein How to get it– Consoles: If you own a physical disc copy of HITMAN 2 Standard Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost through the HITMAN 2 in-game store. (You will see the full listing price if you look for the Access Pass in the PS/Xbox store as a disc owner.) On Xbox, you also need to own a digital copy of either HITMAN 3 or the HITMAN 2 Free Starter Pack before navigating to the in-game store. 📷 HITMAN 2 Gold Access PassIncludes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Gold Edition: Hawke’s Bay, Miami, Santa Fortuna, Mumbai, Whittleton Creek, Isle of Sgail, New York, Haven Island, plus 3x Sniper Assassin maps: Himmelstein, Hantu Port, Siberia and 4x Special Assignments. How to get it– Consoles: If you own a digital copy of HITMAN 2 Gold Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost. The price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. – Disc: If you bought HITMAN 2 Gold Edition on Disc, it will have included a download code for the HITMAN 2 Expansion Pass; you need to use that to get access to the content from the Gold Edition. See below. – PC (Epic): As HITMAN 2 is not available on EGS, we have set up an 80% discount for this Access Pass for the first 14 days after HITMAN 3’s launch. It will also grant access to the HITMAN 2 Expansion Access Pass. 📷 HITMAN 2 Expansion Access PassIncludes: Locations and missions currently available in the HITMAN 2 Expansion Pass: New York, Haven Island, plus 3x Sniper Assassin maps: Himmelstein, Hantu Port, Siberia and 4x Special Assignments. How to get it– Consoles: If you own a digital copy of HITMAN 2 Gold Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost. The price for the Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. – Disc: If you own a physical copy of HITMAN 2 Gold Edition, you will be able to download this Access Pass for no additional cost because a download code for the HITMAN 2 Expansion Pass was included in the box. If you have redeemed that code, the price for this Access Pass will be listed as ‘free’ when you look for it in the store. HITMAN 3 Access Pass on PC We’ve done everything possible to make this process smooth and player-friendly. However, due to various circumstances out of our control, we want to acknowledge that the process is different to our initial plans for PC players. We also want to share some of the initiatives we’ve set-up to make sure that PC players the chance to keep enjoying the benefits of the World of Assassination.
The HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass will be available to claim in the first 10 days after launch for anyone who purchases (or has pre-ordered) any edition of HITMAN 3 on Epic Games Store.
Owners of HITMAN 1 on EGS (including all players who claimed it when it was available for free in August) will get a free upgrade to the HITMAN 1 GOTY Access Pass at any time after purchasing HITMAN 3.
The HITMAN 2 Standard Access Pass and HITMAN 2 Gold Access Pass will be 80% off for 14 days after the launch of HITMAN 3 on Epic Games Store and will continue to be discounted regularly.
Our hope is that these initiatives help to ensure all HITMAN 3 PC players can able to enjoy the new game with full access to HITMAN 1 and their progression carried over as a minimum. HITMAN 3 Access Pass on Stadia Due to the convenient set-up of HITMAN 1-3 on Stadia, the Access Pass system is not required. Players will continue to have access to the locations they already own through Hitman: World of Assassination, or can purchase the games that they don’t own through the Stadia Store. HITMAN 3 Access Pass on Switch HITMAN 3 is the first game in the trilogy to be available on Switch. As such, each relevant Access Pass is available for purchase through the HITMAN 3 in-game store.
HITMAN VR
At launch, HITMAN 3 will support PS VR and all locations in the World of Assassination trilogy can be experienced in a new first-person perspective. Yes, that means you can traverse the outside of the tallest building in the (Hitman) world in PS VR! If you own the previous games from the trilogy on PS4, you can also access locations from them within HITMAN 3. That’s more than 20 Hitman locations from the World of Assassination trilogy to enjoy in PS VR. 📷 You can either play HITMAN 3 in PS VR natively on your PS4 or via backward compatibility on PS5. To make sure all PS VR owners can experience the game in VR, we’re including a free digital copy of the PS4 version of HITMAN 3 with all PS5 copies, whether you choose to buy it via disc or digital. If you are playing on PS5, your progress between the PS4 (VR) and PS5 (non-VR) versions is shared between the two versions. You’ll be able to play the non-VR version of HITMAN 3 on PS5 with the next-gen improvements that we support (including Dual Sense support!) and then switch to the PS4 version for VR and all of your items and unlocks will be right there waiting for you. You will need to have both versions of the game installed on your PS5 to make that happen. 📷 Whether you play on PS4 or PS5, a DUALSHOCK®4 wireless controller is required to play HITMAN 3 in VR. Playing HITMAN 3 in VR on PS5 also requires a PlayStation Camera adaptor. For full details on the requirements for playing PS VR on your PS5, including how to order a free PlayStation Camera adaptor, see the official PlayStation PS VR site.
More to come
📷 We have got our sights firmly set on January 20 and our entire team is doing everything in our power to make the launch of HITMAN 3 as successful as possible. It’s an incredibly exciting time for us to be so close to releasing our next game, as well as deliver the dramatic conclusion to the World of Assassination trilogy. Please keep the conversation going on Twitter, Discord, Reddit and in HitmanForum and be excellent to each other. The World of Assassination awaits…
I bought a PS4 at the start of 2020 and played video games a bit too much this crazy year! Here are my rankings and brief reviews of the 32 excellent games I finished this year, as well as my thoughts on patient gaming.
Introduction:
It's basically trite at this point to say this year has been challenging, but one positive out of everything is that I've been fortunate enough to have the time and funds to play a huge number of games that I've heard so much about, yet never was able to before now. I grew up on almost exclusively Nintendo games and then branched out to indie games in college I could play on my laptop, so I was more than excited when I bought the base PS4 that came bundled with God of War, Last of Us, and Horizon Zero Dawn for $200 (and I snagged Bloodborne for $15 while I was at it). What ensued was a year of frenzied gaming-- never in any year of my life have I played games as much as I did this year. I enjoyed it, but there were also some surprising drawbacks to placing such an emphasis on gaming as a primary hobby, and I'll discuss those towards the conclusion. But man, there were some absolutely fantastic games that I played this year and I want to share my thoughts on them! Not every game I played this year was PS4, but most were. Since literally every game I played this year was a good game, I have stratified my rankings into three overarching tiers: Best, Great, and Good. I was lucky enough to not even need a Meh tier this year. Lots of games within the same tier could probably have their orders switched, but I did my best. And all but two of these games I was patient™ on, which is a fun side note. Disclaimer*:* These rankings reflect my personal opinions on the experience I had after finishing the game, rather than my thoughts on its overall quality as a product for everyone. There are a few rankings that are sure to ruffle some feathers-- I know that God of War, RDR2, Journey, Undertale, and Nier: Automata for example are great games, but they didn't resonate with me nearly as much as some others. So know that I appreciate them and those who hold these games so dear. Without further ado, let's get going!
The BEST:
1.Bloodborne (PS4): Quite simply, I'm still chasing the feeling I had after playing this game for the first time. So much so you could say, that I played it 7 times this year. Never has a game enraptured me with its shocking world, brutal combat, and the best DLC I've ever played. I want to talk about Bloodborne (and all the souls games, really) constantly, learn everything about them, and play them forever.
Last of Us Part II (PS4): One of two games I broke being patient™ on, I waited a couple months before diving in just to stop working to avoid spoilers. I enjoyed the first game but this absolutely blew me out of the water. On a gameplay level I couldn't believe how fluid and visceral the combat was, how immense the encounters were with countless approaches to every situation, and how fun it was to play. The narrative was challenging and forced me to grapple with the same emotions as the protagonist initially, then brilliantly the player and character on divergent emotional tracks as you become more shocked and uncomfortable with what happens. I encourage anyone who hasn't yet to play with an open mind and avoid trying to reduce the story to a single theme or message. It may not be your cup of tea, but it was mine.
3. Outer Wilds (PS4): This game feels like it was made just for me. I love space and rocket physics, I love discovery, and I love it when a game makes me feel clever. The level of wonder and curiosity I felt while playing can only be compared to what I experienced with Breath of the Wild. This game is difficult to talk about without spoilers, but if discovery and outer space get you excited, there is nothing like Outer Wilds.
Dark Souls III (PS4): Yeah, I like souls games. While certainly less groundbreaking than DS1 and perhaps less atmospheric than Bloodborne, DS3 is a grand experience with, in my opinion, the best bosses in all the souls games. It's also the best souls game for experimenting with different playstyles without needing to watch 6 hours of VaatiVidya to figure out how to be a pyromancer.
Control (PS4): Objectively speaking, this game might not have the same merits as the others in the "Best" category. But it sucked me in with it's completely unique visual style. It felt like a strange acid trip and I was always excited to see what was next. The powers and combat were fun even if not terribly original (and even though the gunplay wasn't too strong) but I was completely enthralled by the nonchalance of the cast amid mind blowing supernatural activity. Far from a perfect game, but give it a chance if the style seems intriguing to you!
The Great:
The Last of Us Remastered (PS4): One of my most anticipated games when I picked up a PS4, having watched my friends play some of it. Though it didn't blow me away as much in 2020 as it might have in 2013, I thought it had decent gameplay, a great story, and a stunning world. The cities and post-apocalyptic environments were a pleasure to soak in, packed with detail, and well paced. Definitely a deserved classic.
Horizon Zero Dawn (PS4): In a lot of ways, this game isn't good as an open world game. It doesn't do a great job of compelling you to explore and engage with all the cool stuff it has. The sidequests are kind of bad, many characters forgettable and oddly animated. But this game is this high on the list because it's just so much fun taking down machine dinosaurs. They nailed gameplay in a technically beautiful world, and actually surprised me with the quality of the main story line. Not groundbreaking, but solid and a joy to play.
Death Stranding (PS4): For being one of the best games I have ever played, Death Stranding kinda sucks. I absolutely adored the premise and the world Kojima crafted, and delivering packages was really enjoyable. I loved figuring out traversal and just soaking in the graphics. I'm not one that normally cares about technical graphical showcases, but this game has made me reconsider how important graphics can be to an experience. Unfortunately, the dreadful gun mechanics, broken driving, constant NPC interjections, and the game's refusal to just end already kinda bogged it down. There's a lot here though that won me over and is an experience unlike anything I've ever played.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo Switch): The other game on this list I was not patient™ for, since I bought it for my wife... and then got sucked in. Truth is, as a non-creative type, I just loved this game as an outlet for my creativity and expression. I loved having projects like my zen garden, my Domino's Pizza restaurant, and then getting to share them with my friends. I've heard it said something along the lines of "It wasn't the best game of 2020, but it was the game for 2020".
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (PS4): Once I adjusted my expectations of what this game was and was not, it was great. While it doesn't reward open exploration as much as BoTW and Skyrim did, it simply has the best quests of any open world game I've played. Very rich environments and stories, and I even thought the gameplay was more than serviceable. It did kind of drag on by the end though. Also, disclaimer, I haven't played the DLC (sorry).
Return of the Obra Dinn (Nintendo Switch): I had hoped it would blow me away in a way similar to Outer Wilds, and while it didn't quite reach the same heights for me it was great nonetheless. I loved the nautical setting, the critical thinking and deduction required, and the way it was balanced perfectly between leaving you totally on your own and confirming bits at a time. My only real complaint is that I felt the true ending didn't really reveal anything about the story I didn't already know, I guess I expected some grand reveal.
Doom Eternal (PS4): White-knuckle, heart pounding, insane. The game forces you to engage with every mechanic it throws at you and is brutally challenging, but all in the best way. Though the gameplay was better than DOOM 2016, I actually preferred the latter since Eternal's levels felt more like a silly mario level than a tense demon-infested place. I get what they were going for and they executed well, I just prefer the more serious tone.
Hades (Nintendo Switch): Biggest surprise of the year for me, I didn't actually expect to like it. Hades is perfectly polished and a big step forward for integrating its excellent narrative with its roguelike structure. It's very easy to play without investing too much, making it great for unwinding. It deserves all the praise it's getting.
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (Remastered) (PS4): All the mainline Uncharted games are on this list but I enjoyed 2 the most. The set pieces were the most memorable, and I enjoyed almost every second. These games aren't as high on the list because, no matter how you dress it up, it's a pretty simple affair ultimately in terms of gameplay but it nails the style of game that it is.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (PS4): An amazing game in its own right, but was ultimately disappointing for me as a From Software fan. I found that what I appreciated most about Souls games was the tension of not knowing if you could make it to the next checkpoint, the terror of encountering something surprising and having to deal with it. Sekiro litters checkpoints left and right, which is of course great for its more boss-focused design, but left me far less immersed in the environments personally. I also wished I had more options for playing aggressively rather than just memorizing the parry patterns. In any case, these gripes are my personal preferences coming through and any hardcore gamer owes it to themselves to conquer this behemoth of a challenge.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 (PS4): Pure, unadulterated fun. I was absolutely addicted to the core gameplay and the levels, especially in the first game, were so cool to explore. For me the core loop started to get stale by the time I finished all the challenges on the levels, but for those that wanted more there is almost an endless amount of bonus challenges to tackle.
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End (PS4): There's definitely a strong argument that this is the ultimate uncharted game to play-- best gunplay and options in encounters, by far the best puzzles, and the delivery of the story is leagues above the rest of the series. I simply think that Uncharted 2 had the highest highs, so 4 is a tad lower. That, and the beautiful story set up was not brought together in a satisfying way; it in no way felt like Drake had earned Elena's forgiveness, but they kind just glossed over it. Still, a must play and Naughty Dog games at their best.
Subnautica (PS4): I wanted to love it more than I did. I was hooked on exploring and discovering the mysteries of the alien underwater, but I think I do better with games with less of a survival focus. I got really far into the game, but didn't actually finish since eventually the slow drip of clues started to get a bit too slow for my tastes, and the survival and basebuilding began to get tedious. Minor PS4 technical issues aside though, This is a dang good survival game, and immense in a terrifying and wonderful way.
Monster Train (PC): Slay the Spire is one of my all-time favorites, so I was pretty excited to be gifted this. It's a blast as a deckbuilder, and I think it was smartly designed in how it throws significant and strong rewards at you at every phase of a run, whereas StS often forces you to make the best of an iffy situation. Had a great time, but I lost interest after 15 or so hours since most runs tend to feel fairly similar. Still would absolutely recommend for StS and deckbuilding fans.
Spelunky (PC): Not the hardest game I've ever played, but definitely the most unforgiving. The controls took a while to get used to but once I was engaged, the game is a tight, slick, and enthralling adventure and test of skills. Full of secrets (I've only scratched the surface) and deeply satisfying to conquer. But boy, is it unforgiving.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (Remastered) (PS4): Another strong entry in the Uncharted series, just a tad weaker than 2 I think. I will credit it though with having the most memorable environments and locales in any Uncharted though!
The Good:
Read Dead Redemption II (PS4): *Full disclosure, I'm still playing through act 5 at the time of this post.* This one is really tough for me to fully form an opinion on. On the one hand, I think this is the most stunning and immersive open world I've ever seen. Deeply authentic towns, regions, unparalleled attention to detail, and great characters and a decent story. But the way the missions force you to do things explicitly one way with terrible hand-holding just isn't fun to me, and makes Uncharted games feel like open-world sandboxes by comparison. There's a lot of quality here and I've enjoyed many elements, but have been disillusioned by others. NakeyJakey explains what I felt far better than I can (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvJPKOLDSos&t=392s). Still a good time though.
God of War (PS4): Like RDR2, an incredible technical achievement, for me hands down the best looking PS4 game, best voice acting, and for most people this should be towards the top of your must-play list. At its best, the characters are great, the combat is crunchy and satisfying, and the world beautiful. I just felt that for far too often the game was far from its best-- too many combat encounters didn't feel like I was a God of War but rather smacking a giant meat sack of health, so many secrets and puzzles that I just stopped caring about because finding treasure chests isn't fun when the rpg/loot elements feel so tacked on and pointless, endlessly recycled bosses... for me it was just pretty good, nothing like the game of the generation in my eyes. That said, most people don't seem too bothered by the things I found mediocre, so the sheer spectacle (looking at you world serpent!) and great moments make this well worth the price of admission!
Undertale (PC): I did not play this game the way it was meant to be played, let's say that up front. It was a gift, and I played about a half an hour every month for a year and just finally finished it. I loved the music, it was charming, and I see why people love this game so much. I think it just didn't hit those highs for me and I was left with a fairly silly little 8-bit game. Which was good. I'm glad I experienced what it had to offer but didn't leave a huge mark on me.
Superhot (Google Stadia): I had wanted to play this game forever but couldn't justify spending $20 on it, so I was pleased when I got a free Google Stadia kit and got to play it free! Really neat blend of stylized retro computer flavor and a fabulous central time-stop mechanic. A great 2 hour experience but tough to recommend as more than a novelty.
NieR: Automata (PS4): I have made it through 1.5 playthroughs so I know I haven't gotten the full experience, but I wasn't enjoying it enough to continue. I think every game developer though should learn from the brilliance of this game-- constantly keeping the player on its toes by not confining itself by a genre and by focusing on what's fun and cool, rather than convention. Excellent music. I get the hype, and the healthy dose of existential musings was interesting... it just didn't ultimately click for me. I can't unequivocally recommend this game to everyone, but if the premise and style stand out to you, this could be your next all-time favorite game.
Star Wars Battlefront II (PS4): Picked this up for free with PS Plus, and while there's not a lot here that's that special it was honestly super nice comfort food gaming. I just enjoyed shooting stuff in really cool Star Wars settings, a franchise I love. For what it was, I had a blast, minus the fact that I personally feel Jedi/heroes really kinda ruin the game for me. Unfortunately, it also is nothing more than a basic mass multiplayer battlefield game, so don't expect anything crazy.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (Remastered) (PS4): Definitely weaker than its successors, but still a really fun romp with trope-y but effective narrative and characters, and totally serviceable gunplay. This would be much higher on the list, and I honestly had a great time with it, but man the final third of the game was really painful to play. The switch to zombies was bad, and just wasn't fun to play through.
Until Dawn (PS4): I did not think I would like this game at all, I don't care for cheesy horror and definitely am not interested in interactive movies. But if you have a significant other or group of friends to play this with, it can be a great time! I played with my wife and we were honestly pretty engaged with the characters and the story was well told and had plenty of nice jump scares. There's not much game here, but for what it is it was a neat experience.
Shadow of the Colossus (Remake) (PS4): There were some incredible highlights to this game like the flying colossus and the sand worm, and the scale of the encounters with the epic music has earned this game a place as a masterpiece and classic to so many gamers. The remake looks stunning and it was exciting to see what type of colossus was up next. Unfortunately, every great moment I had was accompanied by an equally frustrating moment with mediocre controls and a couple of colossus that were so bad (looking at you, little bull/lion Celosia) that made me have to put down the game for a few days. A great game let down by some dated and poor elements.
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (PS4): Souls games are my favorites, so it pains me to put this game so low. The best areas in the game (Heide's tower, Drangleic Castle, etc) are up there with the best in the series and most of the excellent combat found in the other games is more or less present here. But I think 2/3 of the game is bogged down by drab areas that feel more like a mario level designed to kill the player more than an area that could really exist. The Iron keep was the worst offender, the area was absolutely nonsensical and like so many other areas, enemies were placed in a way designed to frustrate the player with difficulty rather than engage them with challenge. Bosses were also mostly forgettable, but I did love the Looking Glass knight and the Pursuer!
Journey (PS4): Look, I'm as surprised as you that this game is on the bottom of the list. I honestly expected to love it. An artistic, beautiful marriage of environmental storytelling and unforgettable online interaction? A smooth and cathartic movement system? It has all these things, and no doubt deserves the acclaim and love it has from so many gamers. It just didn't resonate with me. Especially the ending, I felt for sure that there would be some great climax that contrasted with the struggle of the icy segment, but instead it fell a bit flat. Maybe I'll give it another try someday.
Conclusion, Gaming Patiently, and a Warning:
There you have it! I'd love to hear what surprised you in my rankings, where I'm horribly wrong, and what games you recommend I play next! Personally, I'm considering Persona 5 (though I'm not super into JRPGs), Dishonored 2 (am curious about immersive sims), and Jedi Fallen Order. Gaming patiently is a strategy I absolutely endorse. Not only has it allowed me to form my own opinions of games independent of hype, but has allowed me to play a huge quantity of incredible games for honestly pennies. The average cost per game of everything I played this year was under $20. Now, more than ever, is an amazing time to get a PS4 and be a patient gamer, due to both the relative inexpensiveness and the sheer volume of outstanding games. I still will probably buy the big nintendo titles at launch and occasionally buy into hype, but most of the time it just isn't worth it anymore. Finally, a friendly warning as a personal story for those of us who deeply love games and devote a lot of time to them. Like many kids, I was pretty limited by my parents growing up on what and how much I was allowed to play. I loved gaming but it was somewhat of a forbidden fruit. In college, I loved gaming and definitely played more, but still was very busy with social activities, studies, and other hobbies. Now, as a working adult with a comfortable job, I suddenly have more time and money than I have ever had in my life, and thus this giant list of games I played was created. For the first few months it was enthralling; all I wanted to do was play. Over the course of the year, however, it has become clear to me that requiring so much of my happiness and fun coming from having a game to be excited about can have some drawbacks. In the middle of a pandemic, if I'm sitting on the couch waiting for video games to make me happy and they just aren't giving me the same enjoyment that Bloodborne did when I played it for the first time, I'm just gonna be stuck there on the couch, slowly getting a bit depressed when my main source of fun isn't cutting it. So what's the point? Well, enjoy your games! Don't let anyone stop you from loving what you love. But if you start to burn out, please take care of yourself and engage in other hobbies, get outside, and keep things balanced. For me, doing so has made gaming all the sweeter. Thanks for reading and indulging this long post!
How I shipped my game solo on consoles & how you can do that too (Q & A)
After a good launch for my game, i started to get some random questions from users across all the channels, but there were one user on reddit (u/TamoorGames) who had many questions and he sent them in a very nice and organized way (mostly asking about the Xbox and Nintendo Switch for each question), i did answer him. Although i own the answers, i did ask his permission to put his questions alongside my answers in public, just in case it can help someone. So, Enjoy it, and feel free to AMA. Q.1: Have you signed up as Individual or as a company? Or enrolled into Xbox Creator Program? Can you please share the overall process in a quick brief. - Singed by myself for both platforms, i only had to contact the ID@Xbox team, show them my game, they first didn't approve it as it was not polished enough, so i did try once more time after a couple of years, and then it was approved, and everything started from there. No not Creator Program, and tbh i don't even know what is Creator Program, will google it later. For Nintendo, I did reach out the Nindies guy who was always on the youtube videos and on twitter (he left by now, a new guy came, and that new guy just left a year ago or so). But in general, this is how i showed my game, just reaching out the nindies team leader. ================================================================================== Q.2: From which country you’d signed up? Is the Xbox Developer program available for developers all around the world? I’ll signup from Pakistan - I did from China while I'm not Chinese, i would say Microsfot is the most open company, they don't have per region issues, like for example if you are in China and try to sort things with Sony or Nintendo, it won't be that easy...not at all. Because you've then to go through Japan office (due to region), but then you targeting the western market and English only game...it becomes a lot of communications and troubles. ================================================================================== Q.3: Can we publish any game on Xbox? Or first we need to get concept approval from Xbox and then we can start our development. Or does Xbox have any categories on which we can only develop our games? e.g. shooting, puzzle etc - While the certain answer for this question is not from me, but I would say any game. Xbox & Switch are platforms, mostly for gaming, despite the fact there are some apps in there (YouTube, Netflix,...etc.) so whatever your game genre or type is, I'm sure if they like it they won't mind it on their platform. ================================================================================== Q.4: Which Game engine have you used to develop your game? I am using UNITY. Is it good for Xbox or i’ve to consider any other game engine? - Unreal. Any Engine is good for any platform. Don't let the engine be your biggest issue, we're are in 2020, all Engines are great and most of them are cross platform. if you are not so confident about Unity, you can just remember it made Cuphead, Ori franchise, Max & Magic Marker, and many more Xbox exclusives. And if we start thinking about Unity games made for Switch, we will have endless list! Even more than Unreal based titles, as Unity already prove that it is super optimized engine for Nintendo devices since the WiiU and 3ds. ================================================================================== Q.5: Can you please share the list of Hardware that you used for Xbox development and testing? E.g. Does Xbox have their own development kit or we can test our game on any Xbox? Which Xbox you used? - Yes, i used devkits. With that said, i learned that any Xbox One (consumer device) can be turned to a devkit mode. I tested my game on Xbox One S & Xbox one X (the weakest and the Powerful one, so i can grantee the performance). For Nintendo, i can't explain what hardware i did use, but once you are approved you've access to the documentations where you can read about the different hardware types, and then you can based on your use and game type or development type request the hardware that you need. But all in all, for any platform, you need their hardware (aka devkit). And at least one device per platform. ================================================================================== Q.6: What are the main reasons for rejection from Xbox? And what factors do I need to consider while developing my game? - If you mean rejected as a project to be released on the platform, I guess when my game rejected first time, because it hasn't a "Full playable loop". Start, Play, End, Restart if you want. It was a punch of levels, not connected, no UI & lots of Debug menus. Xbox team (or any other platform) they need a very clean and clear vision so they can decide.. ================================================================================== Q.7: What kind of Legal document and other Document Xbox require? This will help me to save time by preparing in advance. - Most of the documents as far as i can remember, they send to you. You don't produce documents, you just read and sign (of course if you find it make sense and nothing against your goals or considerations). Xbox was the least demanding, Nintendo was fine, no magical papers were requested. But Sony for example would require your last fiscal year revenue breakdown and documents to proof that! ================================================================================== Q.8: Do Xbox have their own tools for leaderboard, cloud, ranking & in-app purchases? - Any Xbox player already know, all that called Xbox Live (which is a set of services), and most of the engines does have high level interface to deal with those services. Don't worry :) and there is always documentations and pages to help you, either at Xbox websites or at the engine (Unity at your case) site. For Nintendo it is different, i don't have any online features in my game, because online in Nintendo is treated differently, where any user on Xbox have online access and online features, in Nintendo the online features you purchase as a product (per month, per year,...etc.), so it is common to find many games doesn't have leaderboard or clouds save,...etc. But again, all engines already have the high level interface for those features, regardless you will support them or no. ================================================================================== Q.9: Can you please share the complexities of the Xbox development as you’d mentioned in your message? Like which development steps i can follow to avoid delays and rejections (Any Tips and Tricks) - I was already familiar with the platform[s] (remember I'm already a game engine programmer), but what was new and seemed complex to me was the "rules" of the platform. Those are things you must read about at your first days of developing for the platform, due to NDA i can't talk further about that. But what i meant by the rules it is for example how to save, when to save, for example a platform would give you limit/bandwidth for saving calls per second, where other platform won't care and give you unlimited calls. Or what is the status of a player while playing (online/offline), some platforms won't care, where others would care a lot about that. Can a player change account while playing or not, some platforms would require, where others would not even allow.....etc. those are thing that vary between the different platforms, and they were the reason for any rejection i had (the ignorance of the rules). Because even if your game is already complete and finished before the port, the port to a platform is not just hit "Build", you have to "re-adapt" the game for the platform. ================================================================================== Q.10: What advice would you like to give yourself, if you are starting today as an Xbox Developer? - Don't rush things. And try to "Understand" the reason behind any thing in the platform. If you just adapt the game for the platform rules, you will have lots of complications, because you could make something to fit a rule, but it break with another rule. If you understand perfectly the platform, and the reason behind everything, you will not suffer during development. ================================================================================== Q.11: What are the things you wished you knew when you were starting as an Xbox Developer? - as i said, the platform set of rules. It takes time to know them correctly. ================================================================================== Q.12: Can you please share any other tips and tricks or would like to add any point/Question if i am missing? - just focus on the game more than on what platforms you need to target. If your game is good, solid, bug free, the platform stuff won't take much time. Also some info about how to be recognized by platforms could be changed, I've been Nintendo developer for long time, even before the Switch device announced, and I've been Xbox developer since 2014 i guess, when the ID program was announced. So things might be different, might be easier or might be harder now, not quite sure. ================================================================================== Finally, few more points:
I'll tag him as soon as i get his approval, i wanted to put his name, but yet there is no answer from him.
All questions were duplicates, one version for Xbox and other version for Nintendo Switch, for the sake of making this shorter, i put the Xbox question version only, but each answer is about both.
I wanted to put all those in Audio/Video format, but dunno, it is not my thing, and I'm not good at it.
The game (if you're interested) is Chickens Madness, which is now on Steam, Xbox& Switch. Solo developed in 7 years.
My DD on GME and their potential future as a buisiness
Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, and this should not be taken as financial advice. I eat the peels of oranges and throw out the fruit. This is for entertainment purposes only. Just wanted to run through a few points on GME in hopes of having some quality discussion. I’m going to try and focus on the long term potential of the company, and less about squeeze related potential. For a moment, lets forget about the GameStop hype train, and get down to the basic facts and fundamentals of the business, in hopes of trying to pick apart it’s future potential in the world of gaming. Video games are a $150 billion industry, with that expected to grow twice the GDP by 2023 Source. This market is largely untapped at the retail level, the reasons for which can be argued into the dirt. Yes, brick and mortar businesses are the next blockbuster, I get that. But even when Blockbuster was dying, there were other competitors fighting for every movie rental customer out there. And do you remember going to Blockbuster every Friday or Saturday night with the family because it was movie night, and how enjoyable it was to wander around to pick out the nights movie? Perhaps GameStop could corner this potential nostalgia for younger generations? Parents are still going to need to go to the mall to pick out school clothes or groceries. Why can’t they dump their kids at GameStop while they go do the shopping the way they left us in the magazine aisle of the grocery store? Understandably, the gaming industry is shifting towards digital and online purchases. Does that mean children will never ever leave their house again? Look how cooped up Covid has made you feel. I would kill to go to a mall right now. DFV believes that while the shift is happening towards digital gaming rather than physical discs, it is not happening at the speed everyone thinks, and likely won’t see it’s full realization until the next generation of consoles in about 3 years Source DFV. DFV notes that while numbers are hard to pin-point, estimates that between 40-50% of games are still purchased in physical format. Switch Animal crossing had sales split right down that middle at 50/50 digital/physical. This buys GameStop at least a few years of revenue from physical sales while the transition is made towards a more digital consumer basis. GameStop has already made it clear that they are to reduce store locations considerably due to rising costs their leases, and overseas brands almost entirely liquidated. It is still too early to say if they will reopen storefronts overseas, but I think that will largely be based on the success of their new test stores. An experimental store was opened in Tulsa Oklahoma, and proved very successful while trying out new strategies like DnD and tabletops style game rooms. Much like the video game market, the tabletop market is widely untapped and has a massive market for purchasing new games, accessories, figurines, paints, dice, you name it. Furthermore, offering a place to play creates atmosphere, with in-store purchases for DnD or WarHammer 40k sessions only an arms-reach away, opening up the opportunity for spur of the moment product sales. Geek culture has come out of the woodwork in the last decade, and it’s here to stay. I think GameStop could potentially offer a place of gathering for all sorts of like-minded tabletop gamers. They also floated ideas like PC building stations, and learning to program a video game. These are massive growing industries and GME could be the stepping stone for those that are too intimidated by them. We’ve all heard the “Brick n mortar is dead” counter argument from the bears, but while there may not be a place for 5700 GameStop locations world wide, it does have its place in this world. Apple products are all available on their website, or even through BestBuy, but why is the Apple store at the mall always packed when you walk by it? How often do you see people in there who don’t even intend to buy anything? Product image is a powerful force, and should never be discounted. Seeing an artificial line up outside the Pandora jewelry store creates an image that their market (mainly younger to middle-age females) cannot walk by without feeling compelled to see what all the fuss is about. Or when you go out on the town, do you go to the club with the dude trying to solicit you to go inside, or do you go to the bumping one with the loud music sexy girls waiting in line trying to get in. Walking by and seeing a Super Smash bros tournament going on will cater to their consumer basis in the same fashion. I feel that GameStop has already taken many steps in this direction, and is well underway towards becoming this powerhouse business within the gaming industry. With board members like former Nintendo COO and CEO Reginald Fils-Aime Watch this to see this guys massive potential! He’s already a widely known face and well loved within the gaming community, and could fall into GameStop promotion without breaking a stride. We all know of Ryan Cohen’s success in cornering a market in pet toys and food that could’ve easily been filled by Amazon. How did he do this? Through outstanding customer service. People were willing to pay more because of the relationships he built with his clients. Things like sending hand-written cards to pet owners goes a long way. Ryan of course brought with him 3 of his Chewy buddies to the exec team, including Kelli Durken the new VP of customer care. Chewy scored a Net Promoter Score of 86 in 2018. Anything less than 80 is bust for those of you who aren’t familiar with the rating, and is not easy to obtain. I believe this was largely part of Durken’s efforts. GameStop’s bonds will also be maturing on March 15, 2021. With share prices so much higher than expected, they will easily be able to pay back investors on this loan should they choose to raise capital via issuing more shares from the treasury. GameStop before the massive hype was also considering buying back shares, which of course would raise their value considerably, as well as put any short-sellers in a bind as they are further reduced from the available share float from which they are shorting. OR AS A BONUS THIRD OPTION, GameStop could issue a one-time cash dividend to all shareholders, as an appreciation to all those investors supporting the company (Lets say it’s $25 / share, $25 * 51,000,000 available shares = $1.275 billion) HOWEVER, if you are currently shorting any shares, you now must PAY $25 per share. If 100% of shares are currently shorted, then shorts are coughing up $1.275 billion. This is essentially a direct cash transfer from short sellers to share holders and has little direct benefit to GameStop, but we can all speculate on what this would do for publicity given the current thoughts on GME shareholders and Hedge funds that are shorting GME. I don’t know all the ins/outs of this, feel free to provide more info if you know more about this. Will any of these moves carry over to the $150billion gaming industry? Or will people just order video games off Amazon and Wal-mart and play CoD in their basement? This of course does not touch on the potential for e-sports, as I feel that would almost deserve a post for its own discussion. I even read potential for an agreement with console makers / developers to “trade-in” digital copies of games for credit towards another, with GameStop acting as the hub which you can do this, taking a $0.50 commission. That’s free revenue for virtually no cost. Curious to hear more thoughts on that model. Source I encourage you to poke holes in the potential I see. My opinion is obviously biased at this point, and welcome any alternate views or theories for discussion. It seems hard to have quality talk regarding GME without spamming memes or getting voted down by bots and bears. Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, and this should not be taken as financial advice. I eat the peels of oranges and throw out the fruit. This is for entertainment purposes only. Position: Diamond handing 2326 shares. I just like the stock. Tl;dr:
Potential to corner gaming market
Physical games still in demand for a few years
Test store in Tulsa Oklahoma very successful
Expansion into tabletop / board games market
Powerhouse of talent welcomed to the board
Bonds maturing March 15, 2021. Opportunity to clear debt or even screw shorts.
Still potential revenue for in-store trade ins on a digital market.
All of the changes/improvements/additions I want to see in MKT!
Hi all! I really enjoy Mario Kart Tour. I love playing it, strategizing what to do with my tickets and rubies, chatting with people online about MKT, etc. However, I can’t pretend it’s a perfect game. The game has improved drastically since its launch, but Nintendo refuses to listen to their fans and add simple changes to the game, that would benefit us, and oftentimes Nintendo. So, I’ve compiled a list of all the changes/improvements/additions that I want to be made to Mario Kart Tour. These are in no particular order. Hope you enjoy! Add More Standard Challenges Most people who have been playing for 6+ months have all the challenges completed. Challenges were an excellent way to motivate players to play more and to reward those who do so, and they added goals to work towards. They’ve added the Expert Challenges, which are cool, but not what we want, and the New Year’s Challenges were nice as well, but we want permanent challenges that give us ruby rewards. Pick which course in multiplayer rooms When playing online multiplayer, you play through the cups of a random cup that changes every 15 minutes. That is fine during online multiplayer, but this happens when in a room also. The host should be able to pick the track to race on (as long as it’s in the current tour). It would make multiplayer with friends so much more fun. To contradict the problem of people coordinating to get high scores, just remove the scoring system, or make the scores you get in rooms not actually count. Add a “Courses” icon to the menu An icon labeled “Courses” would be added to the menu, and when clicked on, it would display all the courses in the game. It would put all the courses in the current tour in one section, and the others in another section. You can click on a course to see all of the variants of that course, and you can click on the variants to see the top shelf for D/K/G, and what you have. This would be helpful for those who want to see what top shelf they have for tracks not in the current tour, as well as many other uses. Allow us to see player level of opponents in ranked IDK why this isn’t available already, you can see the Player Level of those in your friend's list, why not opponents? It would be nice to see opponents' Player Level and compare it to yours, so you can estimate a score for yourself in ranked. Fix the ranked matchups Players should be matched up with people in their same tier, and with those who can get similar scores to them. It’s that simple. Add something for players to do in the last few days of a tour The last few days of a tour are always a drag, as you have every cup completed, all the challenges done, and all the pipes and changes are out, and you are just waiting for the next tour. So, something should be added for players to do the last few days of a tour! I saw a concept on here about "Completion Challenges", where the last few days a tour you get a challenge each day with increasing rewards. Anyway, something like that. Add full landscape mode I love the addition of landscape mode. It is amazing for screenshots, and it is fun to use when playing multiplayer, even if it isn’t good when going for points. However, it is really annoying having to switch from portrait mode when starting a race, to landscape mode during the race, to portrait mode after the race, and over, and over, and over. So, the whole game should be compatible with landscape mode to make it easier for those who use landscape mode often. Make auto mode more customizable I love auto mode, I use it to take some great screenshots. However, there are a lot of changes I would like made to make it a better tool for taking photos. First of all, we should be able to choose how many racers are going to be in the auto mode race, and the D/K/G for each one. This way, if we want a pic of just one D/K/G, we don’t have to deal with other racers photobombing, and so we can take some group photos with D/K/G of our choice. Also, I would like an option to control a driver in auto mode, so that I can take the driver wherever I want to get the best screenshot. If you have a D/K/G maxed out in Tier Shop, replace it with a ticket It’s annoying when you have a super or high end at Level 6, then it appears in the Tier Shop, because it is just an empty space now. If an item that appears in the Tier Shop is maxed out, it should be replaced with a Skill Up Ticket of the same type for the normal price, for example, a Level 6 King Boo would be replaced with a Super Driver Ticket that costs 3k coins. Add fewer alts and more unique drivers Nintendo almost always does an amazing job with the alts, gotta give them credit for that, they put time and effort into these alts. But we would always appreciate a brand new driver more than an alt. We’ve gotten Pauline and Peachette at launch, Birdo during Holiday, the Bros during Hammer Bro, Dixie during Jungle, Monty during Flower, Nabbit during Wild West, and King-Bomb Omb during Pirate Tour, but nothing since then. Imagine Honey Queen, Petey Piranha, Paratroopa, or Wiggler from the older games, and brand new drivers like Pianta, Spike, Gooigi, Egad, Luma, Toadsworth, and of course Kamek. Kamek getting into MKT is the Mario Kart equivalent of Waluigi in Smash. Please Nintendo, we want new characters. Add more normals I’ve been playing since launch, haven’t spent too much money on the game, and I have every single normal at Level 6, except for a few karts. Pipe pulls are a lot less fun now, as every normal I just get coins, and I have nothing to spend my common tickets on. So, we should get at least 2 new common drivers, 2 new common karts, and 2 new common gliders. These will be available in the shop and in the pipes. Allow us to have more than 50 friends Not a huge buff, just maybe from 50 friends to 75 friends or some such, it’s time for an upgrade. Fix the multiplayer I love doing multiplayer with friends, but there are some big issues. I'll be playing with someone in the same room as me, and Ill throw a green shell and hit them, even get the points for it, but they get back up like it never happened, and on their screen the green shell missed. This is frustrating, so this needs to be fixed. Tone down the aggressiveness of the bots on certain tracks As you all know, on certain tracks (Royal Raceway, RMX courses, Berlin Byways, etc.) the bots are extra aggressive, always dragging you and rubber banding and such. Just tone them down Nintendo, it’ll be easy and it won’t hurt you. Allow us to sort D/K/G list by what we have There are so many D/K/G now, especially karts, and scrolling through them takes forever, especially trying to find once certain item. We should be able to sort the D/K/G just by what we have, only the D/K/G we have will appear. (Minor) Bring back more old D/K/G This is minor, but Nintendo should bring back more of the old D/K/G. We haven’t seen Yoshi Egg Hunt since the last easter, Daisy Yukata since Summer Festival, Choco Macharon since Cooking, Happy Ride since Peach, Chocolate Banana Crepe since Cooking, and Le Tricolre since I think Paris Tour back in 2019. I’m just scraping the tip of the iceberg here, there are tons of D/K/G that haven’t appeared in months, especially karts and gliders. They are getting better at this, bringing back Santa Mario, Reindeer Yoshi, and their karts and gliders, along with Ice Blue Poltergust which hadn’t been seen since Ice, etc. But, more would be appreciated. (Minor) Controller Compatibility This is once again minor, but some controller compatibility would be nice to have, maybe with the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller or Joy-Cons. This wouldn't be that helpful for scoring purposes, but if you are doing some multiplayer or such, propping your phone up sideways and playing with a controller would be surreal! You could also screen share with your TV if that is an option, so you could play MKT on a TV with a controller, which would be amazing! Recommended by u/Sebba869, Show how much XP each course has left, Remove 99 coin per race limit, Recommended by u/dtra33, Add the option to remove the reverse camera button Recommended by u/FreeToLose, Remove the token shop after you've completed it Recommended by u/Gusty_Wind, Let us use Level Up tickets more than one at time Recommended by u/almogaver_bot, Allow us to see the actual Tier of players in our ranked groups, Allow us to see all the karts and gliders of ranked opponents Additional notes by me, Add the option to put the SteeDrift button on the right hand side in landscape mode to benefit people who are right handed, Allow us to buy items in the Event Shop more than one at a time, Add a replay feature, Add a feature to download courses so we can race them offline ALSO ADD A FREAKING COMBO METER! Wow, that was a long list! Hopefully most, if not all, of these suggestions will come true in 2021, but I’m not counting on it. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and tell me if you think I should add something to the list, I’ll add it as soon as I can!
What a year, this is definitely one that will go down in history if only for how the world was shut down economically. Not going into what should have been done, so with the global pandemic hitting many industries, programmers had work from home orders which in turn caused numerous delays to titles that were being prepared for release. Regardless we still saw a steady stream of high-quality titles and the completion of DLC for titles of previous years. DLC releases Fire Emblem: Cindered Shadows (February) final DLC with the season pass included new characters and a bonus story playable at any time focused on the catacombs below the school Super Mario Maker 2: The final update included new snow mechanics and a world maker where you could create a full Mario game (April) Luigi’s Mansion 3: saw the release of two multiplayer packs (April) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The final expansion “Fantastic 4: Shadow of Doom” (March) Pokémon Sword/Shield: Two expansion packs in one pass “The Isle of Armor” (July) and “The Crown Tundra” (October) for the first time in a Pokémon game, bringing back many favorite Pokémon Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: finished the first character pass with Byleth (January) and had previously announced a second waiver of character pass with 6 characters. Currently we have seen 3 – Min Min (June), Steve from Minecraft (October), and Sephiroth (December) and 3 more to go. Major Releases Super Mario time Celebrating his 35th anniversary, Nintendo came out with a slew of products starring our favorite Italian Plumber. First was Paper Mario: The Origami King (July) which advanced past the previous two entries but was not quite back to its RPG routes like fans want. Next was Super Mario 3D All-stars (September) which included ports of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy. Adjusting control schemes to account for the lack of analog triggers and pointing controls, the ports were solid but not the best way to play the games. Also missing was Super Mario Galaxy 2 from the package and any extras like documentaries making the games. An MMO-platformer Super Mario 35 (October) was also released free to NSO subscribers where you compete to complete levels in the original Super Mario Bros. Lastly was a Game & Watch version of the original Super Mario Bros. Pokémon Battle As stated before, we got the first DLC ever for a Pokémon game and it came in two packages “The Ilse of Armor” and “The Crown Tundra” which added extra Pokémon (both new and old) and new areas to the game. Some criticism on the way the DLC was handled as if you bought the expansion for the wrong version, it would not work despite being the same content. Pokémon Home (February) final arrived on the Switch. The spin off Mystery Dungeon series came in the form of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX (March) which was an updated port of the old Mystery Dungeon games. A free puzzle game Pokémon Café (June) to little fanfare. Also promises of a new Pokémon Snap which was delayed into 2021. Other notable releases · Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore (January): port of the Wii U game with a few added extras and English voice acting. · Animal Crossing: New Horizons (March): hit at the start of the pandemic, added features and a promise of evergreen additions made this game Switch’s best-selling game that has not been a pack-in (ie only beat by Mario Kart 8 Deluxe). This game allowed gamers to escape reality and build their own island. · Streets of Rage 4 (April): Return of the 2D brawler · Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition (May): a remake of one of Wii’s top RPGs with newer graphics, and a cleaner layout, it also included a bonus mission that connects the ending to the sequel. · Bioshock Collection (May): A collection of all three critically acclaimed Bioshock games for the first time on an Nintendo console. · Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (June): A collection of various minigames like Connect Four, various card games, Mahjong and more. Barebone options and quick online play for random or with friends. · Jump Rope Challenge (June): A free exercise type game that makes use of the joycon to mimic jumping rope · Burnout Paradise Remastered (June): An open world arcade racer that was critically acclaimed at its original release and updated for modern consoles. Also shows EA putting in more dedication to the Switch console. · Kirby Fighters 2 (September): A fighting game starring Kirby and his power ups and nobody else. · Hades (September): Rogue like game that tells the story as you die. Many different gameplay styles depending on which weapons you use. · Ori and the Will of the Wisps (September): Metroidvania that is visually stunning and developed originally only for Xbox. · Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit (October): Not wanting to give up on the AR experience, Nintendo released toy RC cars that you control with the Switch and a free software download. · Pikmin 3 Deluxe (October): not done porting all their Wii U games to Switch, this includes all the added DLC at no extra charge · No More Heroes/No More Heroes 2 (October): Ports of the Wii games with better graphics and framerate and alternate control style to prepare for the upcoming sequel. · Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity (November): Based on the past events of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, this musou game changes up its formula but still plays like a musou game. · Doom Eternal (December): competent port of the PS4/XB1 first person shooter by Bethesda. · Among Us (December): Shadow dropped indie title that has taken mobile and Twitch by storm. While not the best year, it was far from empty. Still lacking some key releases such as the sequel to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Metroid Prime 4, Bayonetta 3 and Super Mario Odyssey 2. There are many Nintendo teams that we have yet to see titles. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic a lot of development has been postponed due to work at home directives set by government.
Current Release List for 2021
· Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game (Jan 14) · Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy (Jan 26) · Cyber Shadow (Jan 26) · Little Nightmares 2 (Feb 11) · Romance of the Three Kingdoms 14 (Feb 11) · Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury (Feb 12) · Persona 5 Strikers (Feb 22) · Ghosts ‘n Goblins Resurrection (Feb 25) · Bravely Default 2 (Feb 26) · Harvest Moon: One World (Mar 2) · Balan Wonderworld (Mar 26) · Monster Hunter Rise (Mar 26)
First Party Software
Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development Tokyo Kenta Motokura In charge of the team that was previously under Yoshiaki Koizumi (whom was promoted to Deputy General Manager of the Tokyo office). This team was previously the lead development group of Super Mario Odyssey and developed Super Mario 3D All-stars for September 2020. Due to ports being easier to produce. Now that has wrapped up and they have created an update to allow for inverted camera controls, chances are they have been placed back on developing a sequel to Super Mario Odyssey which will likely be seen in 2022. Koichi Hayashida The other team that helped with Super Mario Odyssey also did the port of Captain Toad: Treasure Trackers. They have been busy working on a port of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury for Switch due February 2021. They have been focused on implementing numerous changes to that title including: full 3D movement, online gameplay, and amiibo support with Cat Mario and Cat Peach. With all the extras being added, this game probably got pushed out of 2020 and into 2021 due to the pandemic changing the development lifestyle. Also, there is a highly likelihood was that they were working with Motokura’s group originally on Odyssey 2 but plans changed to get out more games for Mario’s 35th Anniversary. I expect them to fold back into Motokura’s group on Odyssey 2 when their port is completed. Nintendo Entertainment Planning and Development Kyoto Eiji Aonuma Known as the “Zelda team”, there are two core teams. I believe both are working under Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Hiromasa Shikata to help develop the sequel to Breath of the Wild. Nintendo knows that Zelda sells consoles and what they have shown at e3 (2019) while stating the title is “in full development”. Nintendo know the popularity of the Breath of the Wild game and wants grow on that title. They have done so with the musou game Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in which this team has assisted Tecmo Koei with development and the overall story. In September 2020 during an online presentation for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Aonuma stated that gamers will have to “wait a bit longer before we can provide more updates” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifm8tpcO4vw). With the 35th Anniversary of the Legend of Zelda series coming in 2021, I do expect this title to be a highlight for the holiday season as long as the game is not pushed back due to unforeseen circumstances in development. Hideki Konno This team is the team behind the Mario Kart series. Their latest endeavor was with Augmented Reality (AR) and developing Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit which was released this past October. Not having a full game released since Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in 2017, they have been developing something over the past 3 and a half years. The problem though is MK8D still sells incredibly well and if they develop Mario Kart 9 that will cannibalize any additional sales of their previous title. While chances are they could have altered their development to change it from Mario Kart 9 to another kart racer such as Donkey Kong Racing, I think gamers will probably see something from them when Nintendo showcases a newer model Switch (either the rumored PRO or an actual Switch 2) so I would not expect a full game release until 2022 at the earliest. Hiroyuki Kimura Super Mario Maker 2 and New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe were developed under Kimura with the help of Takashi Tezuka. In April 2020, Nintendo released the final major update for Super Mario Maker 2 which included a World creator, where you can make your own full fledged Mario game. They also released New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe in January which is an updated port of the Wii U game. There have been rumors of a new Wario platformer being developed which this team has likely been developing. Chances are likely that we will hear about their new title this year. Kosuke Yubuki Previously worked on ARMS in 2017 and its DLC. This producer also worked with Konno so it is likely this team was folded back into the Mario Kart team to prepare something for this year or next. It is possible they are working on an ARMS follow up, but with the success of Smash and one of its main characters Min Min being the first of the second waive of Smash DLC, it is unlikely. Most likely working on something brand new which we may see in 2021 or the following year. Hisashi Nogami This is the young producer in charge of both Animal Crossing and Splatoon series. He worked with another young producer Aya Kyogoku on Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer. With the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons taking an evergreen approach with constant DLC content, especially when it comes to special occasions. A more seamless online experience and a lot more to do, I am sure this group is still working on Animal Crossing. Its next game will be a while away while they focus on Animal Crossing in the current future. Do not expect anything new from this team for a while.
2nd Party Studios
Camelot Software Planning Their last title was Mario Tennis Aces (2018) and its respective DLC. Being a smaller studio, it takes some time for development. The team was hit harder due to the pandemic. Now, with all the DLC on Mario Tennis Aces completed early 2019, they have likely been busy in full development on Mario Golf. Most likely will see Mario Golf sometime in 2021. It is likely they were probably aiming for a 2020 title buy delayed the development into 2021 – so expect a release this year. Game Freak They just released the 2 DLC packages for Pokémon Sword and Shield for the Nintendo Switch this year to mixed review. They typically have something Pokémon related out each year and they also developed their own title Little Town Hero last year meaning they have been hard developing some titles. Current rumors suggest either a Let’s Go remake of Gold/Silver or a full remake of Diamond/Pearl since Ruby/Sapphire were the last full remakes. Personally, I think we will either see Sword/Shield 2 or a whole new Pokémon game due out this year since they have been incredibly busy, are a larger studio that works on many titles at once, and have not had a big release in 2020. Grezzo This team just release the port of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening in 2019. Mostly known for their 3DS ports of Zelda titles and TriForce Heroes, chances are they are still working on the Zelda franchise. With 2021 being Zelda’s 35th Anniversary, there have been many rumors of a collection or ports of some of the older Zelda games to be released in 2021. Since 2018, there has also been rumor of a Zelda: Skyward Sword port (which was shot down by Aonuma) (https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-11-26-nintendo-fans-excited-by-zelda-skyward-sword-nintendo-switch-port-reports) Good Feel They released Yoshi’s Crafted World in 2019 and has likely they have started on the next Yoshi game as it tends to sell well and it is what they know. It is also possible that Nintendo has given them another 2D IP to work with such as Wario Land, however; I think that series might be in development by the 2D Mario team under Kimura. It is highly likely that we will see something from them in 2021 and depending on how the pandemic hit their development cycle it may have either a 2021 or 2022 release. HAL Laboratory Developer of all things Kirby, we have seen some smaller Kirby titles lately. Their last games were Kirby Fighters 2 and Part-time UFO both digital only eShop games. They have teased something for early this year but on the smaller scale (https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/12/kirby_developer_hal_laboratory_teases_new_projects_for_20211) . I think they may also have a full-fledged Kirby game due this year as our last one was early 2018. Intelligent Systems This team was hard at work as it finished the DLC on Fire Emblem: 3 Houses and released Paper Mario: The Origami King in July of 2020. They also continue to work on Fire Emblem Heroes on mobile as that is Nintendo’s highest grossing mobile project. Growing the studio in 2019 to be able to handle numerous projects at a time, they likely have a few titles in development. The biggest rumor is that Nintendo is readying another Fire Emblem game but a remake of an older title. Current rumors are remakes of Geneology (next one in line for a remake) or Binding Blade (the game that introduced Roy). If it is a remake, then we will likely see the release in 2021. If it is not a remake, then creating the scenario will take some time so we will likely see the game this year with a release for 2022. Chances are they are likely working on another title as well but that probably won’t be seen until 2022. Next Level Games Last responsible for Luigi’s Mansion 3 and its DLC that was released in 2020. They have also worked on Metroid and Punch-out! With actual 3D Mario titles being handled internally by Nintendo’s Tokyo studio, they are likely working on something new. Possibly a sports title, new Punch Out, or even a 2D Metroid (though I doubt this despite rumors of development). We may see what they have developed this year, but I would expect a 2022 release to be more realistic for what they are working on. NDCube Responsible for Super Mario Party in 2018 and they did Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics for 2020, which was a barebones release in the form of options. Considering the lack of DLC for Super Mario Party, chances are they are working on a sequel to the game that sold well. The single problem if they are working on Super Mario Party 2 is that the original is still selling incredibly well even 2 years after release with over 12 million units. Even if the game is ready this year, I think Nintendo will hold out on Super Mario Party 2 until 2022. Monolith Soft Responsible for help with Breath of the Wild and the Xenoblade franchise. We did not hear much from them in 2019 or 2020 with their only release being a remake of the original Xenoblade Chronicles in May. In 2017 they advertised jobs for a new fantasy action-RPG which likely was transferred to their help with the Zelda franchise. I believe we will see the sequel to Breath of the Wild this year and first glimpse of a new Xenoblade game for 2022. Retro Studios This year also marks the 35th Anniversary for the Metroid series. Unfortunately, the series is not as high priority as many other Nintendo franchises. With the sequel of Breath of the Wild likely coming out this year, it will be the focus for Nintendo in 2021; we probably will not see any development from Metroid Prime 4 until 2022. Nintendo knows that they need to make Metroid Prime a quality title so they will give Retro Studios as much time as they need for the title. As for the long-rumored port of the Metroid Prime Trilogy, I still have hopes that we will see some information on it this year, potentially in August to support the anniversary and prepare for Metroid Prime 4 the following year.
3rd Party collaborations
Bandai Namco Collaborating with Nintendo on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and its DLC, there are still 3 character-packages to go before they are finished with that game. Additionally, they are the development team behind New Pokémon Snap, which was originally due 2020 but delayed into an unknown time 2021 – so expect that title. The Tales team is busy on Tales of Arise which is not bound for Switch, so outside the DLC and Pokémon game do not expect much. Bethesda The parent company Zenimax was recently purchased by Microsoft. The sale included Bethesda and all its partnering companies. The last release was Doom Eternal released in December 2020 and was a digital only release. The move from physical to digital only was due to the fact it came 9 months after the main PS4/XB1 release. With no Switch games scheduled on the horizon and its recent acquisition and focus on next generation, I think we have seen the last Switch game from Bethesda Capcom They have ported many of their older titles (REmake, RE0, RE4, RE5, RE6, Rev1, Rev2 DMC 1,2,3) to Switch and have brand new games: Monster Hunter Rise and Monster Hunter Stories due in 2021. With the Capcom leak, there is a game due Q4 of 2021 called Biohazard Outrage which is rumored to be Resident Evil Revelations 3 and featuring Rebecca Chambers. There was also a leak of a new Dragon’s Dogma and Ace Attorney 7 which are rumored to come to Switch. Electronic Arts They have pledged 14 games from April 2020 to March 2021 fiscal year. EA has kept the games closely guarded and it is unsure if the global pandemic has postponed any of the planned games. Still waiting on Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 and some Plants vs Zombie games. Koei Tecmo Since Nintendo has invested heavily in this studio, they have worked increasing hard for Nintendo hardware. They finished the Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 DLC, assisted with Breath of the Wild in 2017, assisted with Fire Emblem: 3 Houses and released Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity in 2020. They co-own the Fatal Frame franchise with Nintendo and it has a game that is rumored to be in development. There is also a possibility of a port of the Wii U game to come to Switch. It is likely they are helping with the sequel to Breath of the Wild as well. Lastly there has been a year long rumor on the return of Ninja Gaiden and it seems that Switch would be likely candidate for that game considering how well their games are selling on Switch Platinum Games They are working on Bayonetta 3 and have a good relationship with Nintendo. Being in development the over the past 3 years, I do expect to at least hear something about the title in 2021 if not a release but I have been wrong before. Ubisoft I went out on a limb last year and said Assassin Creed ports and they are working with Nintendo on a new Star Fox game. We have seen ports for Assassins Creed 3, Liberty, 4: Black Flag and Rebel. New Assassins Creed games are a bit too much for Ubisoft, but I still think we will see another Nintendo collaboration and I am positive it will be a new Star Fox game. Ubisoft will also continue to support Nintendo with Just Dance and look forward to a lot of their smaller titles to also come to the Switch. Sega Their biggest releases were games along the Sega Ages line (which they recently discontinued https://nintendoeverything.com/sega-confirms-the-end-of-sega-ages-but-teases-more-plans-for-switch-and-past-titles/), Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, and Football Manager 2021. They also released Mario & Sonic at the Tokyo Olympics late 2019. They are likely working on a new Sonic game for Switch and while the Sega Ages line is gone, they are still open to port older titles on the system. Square Enix Bravely Default 2 has a release date of February 2021 after being pushed out of 2020. They have also released in 2020 a few collections of older games, Trials of Mana, and Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory which is a music game spin off for the Kingdom Hearts series. Rumored to have The World Ends with You 2 in development for Switch. I would also expect some more collections to come out (or at least ports) and a rumored new entry in the SaGa or Mana series. Take Two Games Released 3 collections for Switch in May of 2020 with their 2K Games development studio. I think they likely will have some more games in development, especially with the way EA has provided lackluster support in the sports games field. There has also been a long rumor of Rockstar developing Grand Theft Auto V for Switch but that seems to be more of a dream than an actual rumor as Rockstar is working on development of GTAV for PS5 and XSX. Ports and complication packages being quick and easy turnover, I am certain they will delve into their back catalogue and find a release for the Switch in 2021.
This dreadful year isnt quite over yet I dont think I am planning on buying/playing anymore games so I figured I might as well make this post now. A few years back, I started posting these type of end of the year reviews on here and it started a bit of a trend on this subreddit that people seemed to enjoy so I'm back! Unfortunately, I didnt keep a list this year so this is all off the dome piece. I might have forgotten a few. Doom (1993): I tried playing Doom on PC many years ago and while I found it enjoyable, I just didnt feel compelled to finish it. However, I bought the Switch port for 3 bucks and it was absolutely incredible and perfect for me to play in bursts (Switch ports are going to be a common theme). I found it quite refreshing to play a game that was purely devoted to fast paced action. No filler, no fat. My only gripe was the labyrinthine levels getting kind of tiresome after a while. I also wasnt a fan of the chapters that were added after the original release. It's not a steep drop in quality but you can tell that those last two episodes or whatever they're called were developed after the fact. They play very differently and are a little obnoxious in terms of enemy placement. The base game however is really damn good. Animal Crossing New Horizons: The most interesting aspect about this game will be the time it came out in. I honestly think this is something people will be citing for decades to come, about how a relaxing game with cute animal villagers and calming tasks offered some true escapism during a very weird time, yadda yadda yadda. I had a lot of fun playing with my friends. It was refreshing to have so many people, especially a lot of my girl friends playing online. Added a nice social dynamic and it was so much fun designing and checking out everyone's island. Personally, I kind of lost interest around the Easter update. It just isnt my kind of game despite the fact that I can appreciate a lot about it. Spyro Reignited (Spyro 1): I havent played the other two yet. Let's just say, this game is absolutely beautiful, like a DreamWorks movie you can roam through. The platforming is fun, I actually like the methodical collect a thon element to the levels. They could have easily gone overboard but managed to keep everything straightforward and fun enough to stay entertaining. I do think this game becomes a bit of a slog in the later levels but I'm hard pressed to find a 3D platformer that doesnt suffer the same issue. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3: Absolutely incredible game. I was initially complete ass at it and still dont consider myself that good but I ended up really enjoying this one. Ngl, I was working from home and every now and then I would take a break to decompress and just do some tricks. It was an absolute blast. Soundtrack was dope too. The Last of Us Part 2: i'm in the camp that thought this game was incredible and I really wish there wasnt such a nasty discourse surrounding it. I can definitely see people's issues with it, but I personally thought Naughty Dog knocked it out of the park. Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1 and 2: I swear I usually dont buy games full price, but 2020 made me say what the heck. Having only played THPS3, I thought this remake would be perfect for me and it absolutely was. The soundtrack was so good, all the courses were loads of fun and a game like this is sorely missed in the modern era. Bulletstorm (Switch): Never did I think I would be playing this game on a handheld. What on earth. It's absolutely surreal for me because I still consider Bulletstorm as a modern title in my head. I opted out of playing the OG and decided to just do the Duke Nukem campaign. It's easily better than the original. Theres just something so compelling about Duke Nukem deciding to help people he doesnt know. I thought the original was eye rolling and cringe but the Duke Nukem campaign is actually one of the funniest games I played. Star Wars Episode 1 Racer HD: Even more surreal than Bulletstorm is playing a childhood classic in crisp HD on a handheld with better performance than ever had before. I managed to beat this game in 5 hours on Switch, whereas I had never been able to beat the N64 version in my 20 years of playing it. Yes, the performance and improved textures made THAT much of a difference. A beautiful and fun high octane racer that suffers from being either brain numbingly easy to trivially hard. You often wont see any other racers because you're so far ahead. And on the off chance you fall behind, theres no way to catch up. Trust me. The rubberbanding is ridiculous. Uncharted Lost Legacy: This game was just sitting on my shelf 70% completed for a long time so I decided to finally finish it up. It's a nice spin off with a really fun last level. It's more of what was great about Uncharted 4 but reduced to a smaller scale. And that's completely fine. Sonic Forces: Complete ass. I really thought the whole 3D Sonic sucks stuff was blown out of proportion for the longest time, but oh my lord, what an abomination this game is. Terrible story, baffling tone and bland level design. You have these vapid kid friendly characters running around fighting an apocalyptic war and it doesnt work at all. You can create your own character which was goofy fun but these levels are a chore compared to the Sonic ones. Thankfully, this game was free on PS Plus so no real skin off my ass. Donkey Kong Country: After 10 years I have finally beat this game thanks to Switch Online. Such an absolute blast. I loved the secrets, the music is just masterful and will be played on my deathbed and the level design had a lot of charm. I played a little bit of DKC2 as well and wow, what a step up. Both games ooze style and feel "cozy?" Sure they are difficult and frustrating but they also are fun and charming enough to be relaxing. Super Mario World: Same story. Finally beat this game after being introduced to it over a decade ago. I really wanted to love this one but the 2D Mario games just dont do much for me beyond a nice fun barebone distraction to kind of turn my brain off to. I am glad I finally beat it, I respect its place in history and I had fun with it. The art style has aged so well too. But I have little to no desire to really play through all of it again. Dark Souls: I didnt think I would ever be able to say "I beat Dark Souls." I first got the game on 360 for free and put maybe 15-20 hours into it. Rung the first bell, got to the depths and just stopped playing it. I realized these games just weren't for me and I dont know, I just associated them with depression and a "gluttonous" waste of time. Well, 2020 came by and I'm hella depressed and got plenty of time to waste so hell yeah, let's beat Dark Souls! I bought the Switch version and exclusively played it in handheld mode which was amazing. I cant believe I missed so much of this game. I thought it ended kind of abruptly tho. I really wish there had been something a bit more conclusive. It took me about 50 hours to beat and I had a lot of fun. I never summoned other players on 360 either so doing that here on Switch for the first time was pretty cool. I am currently doing NG+, something I never do in games, but my curiosity just got the best of me. In about an hour or so, I have already managed to ring both bells. It's just a testament to how tightly designed this world is that From developed where you can struggle for 60 hours and then later breeze through the same game in 4. Aside from one or two of the late game areas, everything here felt very tightly designed and woven. Definitely among my all time favs now. Minecraft: Never played Minecraft in my life lol. I remember when it came out and thinking it looked kind of neat and then a few years later it blew up bigger than before. I have never seen a game come out and then perpetually get super super popular 3-4 years after release like Minecraft did. Like Dark Souls, I associated Minecraft with being a waste of time and pointless. However, playing with my friends has made the experience very fun. I have gotten lost for hours already just designing my home. I can see why this was and still is so popular. Crash 1 (N-Sane on Switch): Prior to owning the NSane trilogy, the og Crash 1 was the only game in the series I played. I dont even have childhood nostalgia for it, I played it on PS3 in 2018 and just fell in love with it. The difficulty, the charm, the music just all felt nice. Clunky, frustrating and sloppy but nonetheless fun. The remake was a great way to get back in. Yet again, the novelty of a handheld Crash remake was just too good to pass up. While I do wish the originals were included as a bonus, the remakes seem really well done. I like how you can redo bonus stages now. ALSO despite this, is it me or is the remake actually a tad harder? Particular those Road to Nowhere bridge levels induced a lot of rage in me that I havent felt with a game in a LONG time. I remember it being a hard level but I just got annihilated here and watched almost all the lives I accrued dwindle to single digits. That being said, it's still the same fun game I remember. Controls smoother in most ways. I also restarted mid-playthrough once or twice for no real reason. I just really like those opening levels and stocking up so many lives so I didnt even mind it. I am still on Crash 2 as of now but since I never had the OG, it doesnt have the novelty of being comparable to anything so it almost feels like I am playing a really good DLC with a few tweaks in presentation. So far the level design is much more streamlined. Star Wars: Jedi Outcast (Switch): If you're gonna play this game on a console, get this version. Just do it. This game is absolutely insufferable if you aren't able to play with gyro controls or a keyboard/mouse. Aspyr didn't bother to add autoaim and instead of being true 16:9, they stretch the image and chop it. It just seems like such a lazy port which is weird because Episode 1 Racer by them was so well done. I havent even got a lightsaber yet and I just got tired of it. It's not a good FPS. The gunplay is not satisfying and the level design is pretty bland. And I am just gonna say it, I dont care about Kyle Katarn at all. He's a fan favorite BECAUSE he was specifically written for these video games in a time where there weren't any new Jedi in the Star Wars universe aside from Luke. He's just really a tame mix of Han and Luke. I got this game for 5 bucks so it was whatever, I had some fun with it and got a few levels in but I just dont feel compelled to continue much. Doom 64: Another Switch port. I actually like this better than the original. It may not have that bombastic soundtrack but the gunplay feels so much more impactful and visceral. I also like the new art direction and the level design. The enemy placement feels a lot more focused too. Super Mario 64: Played this with 3D All Stars. It's still a masterpiece in my book and it feels nice to have a portable edition of the OG game. Wish Nintendo at least made it 16:9 but whatever it's not a big deal for me. I have noticed a lot of newcomers are dismissing this game as archaic and that's it aged poorly which I get where they are coming from but that still just makes my blood boil tbh lol. SM64 is still a masterpiece in 3D design, structure and platforming. The movement is some of the most fluid to this day. The camera isnt good? No, you just need to adjust it. That's all. That's a mechanic of the game and it's been that way since 96. Bastion: I heard Hades was real good so I decided to buy one of Supergiants previous games first. At 3 bucks, this was a steal and absolutely gorgeous in handheld mode. I love the art style and narration and I like how many weapons and abilities you can swap between. I also appreciated the ability to make the game more challenging along the way with different quirks. Very rarely do games let you set the difficulty in interesting ways like that, especially through the use of in game items like that. Certain items make enemies more aggressive, better at blocking, land more critical hits, etc. Easy to pick up and play. Halo 3: I played this on MCC through PC and it was an absolute blast. I played Halo 3 online in 2009/2010 and while that wasnt late or anything, many people had already transitioned to MW2 and later Reach so the online community was just a little tiny bit past its peak. Being able to play in 2020 with so many active users, interactions and fun moments. I felt like players were willing to do more risky maneuvers than I ever saw on 360. It was really really cool and it kind of saddens me that this game is 13 years old which probably seems absolutely ancient to kids and teens today. Just for reference, when I first played Halo 3, Goldeneye 007 was the same age as Halo 3 is now and not a single kid in my class knew or cared about anything from the N64 era. It might be showing its age, but it's still a beautiful game. Also while I thought the story for Halo 3 was a step down from the first two games, the campaign is an absolute blast and looks gorgeous in full HD and high framerate. So that's it. Those are the games I played in 2020. My goal is not to buy any new games next year and just finish/revisit games that I've being meaning to for a while now.
Some very basic Animal Crossing tips and tricks for all newcomers! Welcome to the AC:NH world!
Hi everyone! I know many people are going to be new to starting the game after Christmas so I wanted to compile a list of basic tips and tricks that might be helpful for anyone who is just starting! Please feel free to comment with extra information to add! Also feel free to ask me any questions! 😇 Controls:
Craft faster by repeatedly pressing A.
Speed up up character dialog either by holding B or holding either of the front bumpers!
Hold B while moving to run.
Reorganize stuff in your pockets by holding A to select and pickup the item; then you can drag and drop it.
Rocks:
You can get multiple resources from your rocks! Dig 2-3 holes behind your character so when you start hitting the rock you don’t bounce back too far and you can get 8 items out of each one.
Also a heads up if you eat fruit to smash the rocks only 1 will reappear each day so be careful!
Fruit energy:
If you have an excess of energy you can rid yourself of it by sitting on a toilet lol
Alternatively, if you don’t have a toilet you can save and end the game; then when you load back in it will be gone! Or by digging up and replanting a tree.
Trees:
Shake your trees daily! You will get 5 with wasps, 2 with furniture items, and several that drop 100 bells.
To easily catch the wasps hold your net in your hand and shake the tree while standing somewhere in front of it - that way your character will automatically turn to face the fallen wasps and you only have to hit A immediately to catch them!
Adding to that: shake all the trees on mystery islands too! Most of the time you will get 1 with wasps and 1 with furniture.
Glowing spot on the ground:
If you dig at the glowing spot you will dig up 1,000 bells. If you bury bells in the spot while it’s still glowing it will grow into a bell tree! Maximum profit is to plant 10,000 bells because you will then get 30,000 once it’s fully grown! However if you plant 30,000 there’s a small chance it will give you 90,000 but most of the time you will just get back the 30,000 buried. Basically like a lotto risk but for trees lol
Fossils:
You can find 4 fossils per day on your island! If you don’t dig them up though the next day you will get one extra until there’s a max of 6 at one time.
DIYs:
To get a larger variety of DIYs make sure you have villagers of every personality type because each different personality is known to craft specific DIYs.
Shopping:
Try to order a max of 5 items every day from the nook shopping app at the terminal because once you’ve ordered 100 items you will get a super convenient new nook phone app! I’ll leave it at that lol
Once you have the Able’s clothing store built make sure to start talking to Sable (the one at the sewing machine) every day. She will slowly open up to you and eventually gives you many patterns that you can use to customize items!
”Cataloging”:
If you do any sort of online play with others you will see this term a lot! It’s referring to the fact that once you’ve held an item in your pockets it will then show up in your Nooks shopping catalog. So “to catalog an item” from someone you will simply pick it up and then drop it again. This allows you to order it for yourself in the future while still allowing the other person to keep their items!
Misc. Info:
You can see what critters you’ve donated to the museum in your critterpedia! Open the critterpedia and highlight an animal with the cursor to show the name of it - it will have a little owl icon next to the name if it’s been donated!
You can place buildings on the beach!
Take the time to interact with items that you place by pressing the A button while facing it - you will be pleasantly surprised at the amount of hidden details in the items! Whether they move or make a sound it’s a lot of fun! (My favorite items are the lucky cat and baby chair lol)
If you have a Nintendo online membership you absolutely need to download the Nintendo switch app! It allows you to type in game chat and preform reactions from your phone! (Plus a few other things!)
If you like gifting and dressing up your villagers then Photopia (Harv’s Island) will be your new BFF! You can invite your villagers (or amiibos!) over to his island and there is a little “dress up function” (use x button while highlighting villager) where you can then dress them up in anything from your catalog!
I personally really enjoy using the ACNH.Guide app to help keep track and double check in game information! There’s a plethora of amazing online websites and resources though. Most importantly just have fun! You don’t have to make a big lavish island like the many photos posted. Play the game however best suits you and your tastes! 😊 EDIT: if you check out the main page of this subreddit and sort the posts by hot you will be able to see a pinned mega thread that is supposed to be for tips/tricks/questions! My apologies as I should have double checked for that before creating this post.
Diablo Immortal AMA with Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer) and Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer)
Hello folks, Today folks who are part of the technical alpha for Diablo Immortal had the opportunity to ask questions in an AMA style format for Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer) and Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer). Below is the full text of the AMA. Enjoy! sVr: Will there be seasonal buffs or events ? (RedDragonFlayer) Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): So we are definitely looking to have a variety of cool events. There's actually one event in the game right now which is the Challenge Rift Event. You can see this on the left side of the main menu. The backend that drives that event can and will be used to run new events in the future. Maybe we'll make Halloween a special thing? sVr: Will PvP have a reward system? (RedDragonFlayer) Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): We have more plans for PVP that we can't talk about just yet. But I hope you guys have been able to check out the Bilefen Zone Trial. One thing I can say now is that none of our PVP plans are going to move the game towards an eSport. What we want is a fun place that players of all types can gather and have a good time killing each other. sVr: We have runes, however, they are just materials currently. What about Runewords and what made you "not include" them? (Swootcandy) Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): No current plans for Runewords. Runewords are super cool, but their functionality overlaps a bit with Legendary items. We wanted to include runes as a consistent thematic element so using them as a reagent in the crafting recipe seemed cool. Leviathan: Can you speak towards Hardcore and if it will be in? If not, philosophies on why? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Hey Levi. Not only does Diablo Immortal extend character progression, but it is also an inherently social experience, in that we want to encourage players to join guilds and build in-game friendships. Having your buddy permanently disappear from your guild because their character died in an unfortunate and gruesome way could be a fun idea for some, but it's not the experience we're looking for, so we do not currently have plans for Hardcore mode. MuggleMama: Is there a reason some legendary gear needs to be identified but some does not? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): Sometimes we identify the gear when you get it from somewhere like the free track on the Battle Pass, but the legendary drops from the rest of the game should be unidentified. Right now there's actually a bug in the game that makes this inconsistent, and we'll be fixing that in the future. Leviathan: Some of the people on my stream notice (and love) that many of the sounds are from old Diablo games. Are they placeholders or there to stay? Great nostalgia. Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): All the sounds you hear are intended to stay unless we have a reason to change it. Personally I love the nostalgic sound of gold falling on the ground. Leviathan: Will there be a transmog system or ways to customize characters so that people can differentiate themselves from one another? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): We are not currently looking at a transmog system but we do have a couple things which are similar. The first is that we are looking at a way for your to manage your legendary powers more easily. No details to share about this right now but stay tuned. The second is that we are planning to have full body cosmetic outfits. These will be available as a real money purchases in addition to being on the paid track of the Battle Pass. sVr: What are your plans to "circumvent"/"restrict" the continuous powercreep inherent to ARPGs (with each major content patch)? (Demonic Eevee) Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Hey sVr. I'll answer in two parts. We plan to cap Paragon progression and gradually raise that cap with each new content update. Legendary powers are designed to scale and will carry forward to higher level versions after content updates as well. Gems and Legendary Gems can also be unsocketed and carried into a new sweet item in the future. The second part would be with regards to the numerical tuning. Without diving too deep into the math right now, one of the reasons we have both "Attack" and "Offense Rating" as well as "Life" as well as "Defense Rating" is so that these attributes can scale linearly over time, while still making you feel more powerful. Normally you need exponential numerical growth to really feel the power difference, but the dual-attribute system should allow us to avoid crazy large damage numbers over time. Leviathan: Will the Bestiary have statistical details on enemies (like if they have Armor and such - could help with gearing/more info) or be more flavorful/lore based? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): The Bestiary entries are going to show more about the lore of the creatures than gameplay related details. We want to reveal more of the world every time you get a new page. Leviathan: How is the Power stat on items calculated? What does it take into consideration? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Power is calculated from all the stats on your item. The attributes on your item (strength, int, fort, spirit, willpower) are all 15 points each. Your particular build might value one attribute over another, but we didn't want to try and guess which ones you are looking for so they are all weighted equally. Then there are extra points added for magic and legendary properties. Again, we try not to make judgement calls on which property you might want for your character, the points added varies with the level of the item but not with the property itself. Finally, sockets are given a base score (I believe it's 48? Don't quote me on that) to make the socket appealing. Ultimately the "Power" of an item is supposed to give a rough gauge of which item might be better for somebody who doesn't want to do a lot of math but the actual best item might differ for somebody who wants to do a lot of min/maxing. Dredscythe: Reforge seems to be unlocked at 45 (current level cap). Is that the plan when 60 is the new level cap, or can we get access at lower level 30, 45, etc.? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): Reforging is available when you get a Legendary item to Rank 6, not when you reach a certain level. It might not be common to get to that point before max level due to the amount of crafting materials needed to rank up your items. Dredscythe: The XP to level ramps up after 30 quite a bit, what’s the plan going forward looking at 60. Aimed for play time in hours range? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): I can't give any specific time amounts because we'll be analyzing data and feedback from the Tech alpha to possibly go back and make adjustments to the 1-45 experience as well. However, a few high level goals: (1): The amount of XP and time required to level post 45 continues to increase in the same way that things increased after 30. (2): We like the way level 1-20 feels in that it's very fast which is great for getting people into the game. (3): As a singular data point the last level from 59 to 60 should be about 2.5 hours for most players. Neinball: Is it possible to use the phasing tech when interacting with quest givers/story points so that we don’t get swarmed with mobs while unable to control our characters? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): In Technical Alpha we have an issue where sometimes you are attacked by mobs while you are in a dialog sequence with an NPC. We definitely will be fixing this in the future. echohack: Upgrading individual items and gems is a major shift for Diablo Immortal from previous games. We currently know about several upgrade systems: Gems, Legendary Gems, Charms, Reforging, and Salvage. What limits are being put into place to prevent Pay2Win from dominating these upgrade systems? Are there some upgrade systems that will be driven by gameplay only, and never influenced by monetization (such as the current Blacksmith / Salvage system)? (Chaosteil) Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Echohack, great question! When we set out to make Diablo Immortal one of the first "tentpoles" we laid down is that the gear should be earned strictly through gameplay. I think the question understates just how important gear is (and by extension salvage/rank up) and how it affects gameplay... it's the majority of your power. I think it's worth noting that I don't think the "hunt" part of the item hunt feels strong enough yet and we hope to tune it more after the Tech Alpha. sVr alluded a bit to this in feedback he gave relating to the stats on items (still waiting for you to send over your details sVr!!!) The "magic" attributes that roll on items such as "+3% damage for your primary attack" don't feel impactful enough yet, and the attributes that initially appear on an item might be a bit light compared to the attributes gained from rank-up. Beyond items, Paragon is another example of a system you use to upgrade your character solely by playing the game. We don't have XP boosts and that was a conscious decision. At its core everything you do in Immortal is tied to gameplay: how you progress, acquire gear, earn various items, etc. all have to be done by actually playing the game, there's no way to bypass that. echohack: Will bluetooth controllers, or other mobile phone controllers such as the PS4 / PS5 / Xbox / Nintendo Switch Pro / Razer Kishi be supported? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): We get this question a lot! During Technical Alpha we're focused on making the best mobile experience for our players. However, because it's been such a common request from the community we hope that we can test controller support in the future. Lord Fluffy: It seems pretty clear that a lot of assets were reused from Diablo III? I assume work wasn’t done to actually recreate these assets exactly as they were in D3. So, assuming you’re somehow importing them... why not import everything to give us a a way bigger pool of Elder Rift maps? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): We are still in active development on the game, so the assets in Technical Alpha now will not necessarily be the versions we ship with. I'll talk about environments for a second because you brought up Elder Rift maps. The game engine for Immortal is in many ways capable of higher quality in art than we were able to achieve in Diablo 3. On top of that, we have a large talented art team that have their own creative ideas on how Sanctuary should look in Immortal. So between the tech and the team we have invested a lot in making new zones that have never been seen before, but also recreating zones you have seen so they are fresh and reflect our commitment to quality. echohack: Can you talk in more detail about rewarding players for exploration? Specifically, can you talk in more detail about Lairs and "Legendary Monsters" (name?) -- these seem very interesting! Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): The Lairs are intended as fun side dungeons that are rewarding to explore when you come across them but not quite common enough to explicitly farm. Ideally when you're out in the world for other reasons, like main questline, a Zone Trial, or doing bounties you see a Lair and think "ooooh! Shiny!" and jump in, but we don't necessarily want you to wander the world aimlessly looking for them as your top priority. With regard to Legendary Monsters, they're a bit similar to Lairs in this regard, but with the possiblity that you may or may not ask some guild mates to come and join you if they're online. I'd love to know if you all think we're close on these goals. echohack: Is the current hub-and-spoke model for towns similar to what we will see at release? (ie: Westmarch the main hub with minor towns in other zones) Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Yes - the way the minor towns are set up with Westmarch as the capital city is the plan for release. Lord Fluffy: Would Blizzard ever consider a pay to play server of Diablo Immortal where you couldn’t pay to win? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Hey Fluffy! We really want to introduce Diablo to as many players as we can around the world, and we believe the best way to do that is with a free to play game. It's also important for us to make one shared experience and not split up the community. I was watching your stream when you were pushing Challenge Rifts and I know some concern was brought up that this wouldn't be as enjoyable for you when the Crests are ultimately purchasable in the future. In that regard, I think an important note is that Challenge Rifts are not going to be the ultimate end game that Greater Rifts are in D3. I don't want to spoil anything right now, but I will say it includes both PvE content and activities for larger groups of players. Grats on getting #1. BTW, in Australia there's a Barbarian who cleared 40. :wink: sVr: For the remaining 15 levels to 60, is each class going to see new skills? (or are the current skills stretched over to 60)? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): The tech alpha does not include all the skills characters will be able to learn when the final version of the game is released. There are 2 additional skills per class and we are hoping to add more skills to each class post-launch as free expansion content. Mugglemama: Will phasing be used to reduce the number of people you see in places like Westmarch? Or will it become overloaded with players? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): There are a few things we're doing to help combat having too many players on screen. First, when many players are in the same zone at once we do spin up a second copy of that zone and divide the players between the different areas. Secondly when a large number of players are on the screen at once we do some dynamic culling of players who may be farther away from you to help performance. Even right now we are hanging out in Westmarch and you can see how characters fade in and out depending on their proximity to you. We will continue to tweak and improve this system so that points of interest in Westmarch are not overcrowded. ECHO Gaming: How will the battle pass work across multiple character accounts. If you purchase the pass will it only work for one character per account or across all characters on that account. Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Hey Echo. The current plan is that you purchase the Battle Pass once and it unlocks the benefits and paid reward track on all of your characters. Pretty sweet right? While we're on the subject I want to clarify that we are currently thinking of a monthly battlepass that starts at the beginning of each month and ends at the end of the month. During tech alpha the duration is set to 2 months only because we didn't want the battlepass to reset partway through the tech alpha in the event it goes past Dec 31 (duration of tech alpha still TBD. We are getting lots of good data and fixing bugs on the backend as it relates to server stability and other behind-the-scenes stuff). Orelus: Will there be additional zones with upcoming patches once released or any plans for another classes joining the roster? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): Yes! We are planning for more of everything. New Zones, new Dungeons, more legendary items, quest lines and bounties. We will even be working on new Classes to add. All of this will become a part of the game for everyone to enjoy for free without purchase. Raxxanterax: How will the sharing of resources (if at all) be implemented into the released version of immortal? Currently our paragon levels seem to carry over to other characters, will anything else? Shared stash? Any other shared resources? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Hey Raxx, I lurked in your stream on Saturday, it was nice to see you enjoying the game. Right now most of the progression is done on a per-character basis. Before I dive in I want to caveat that this is definitely an area of design that might change (or might not). We would love for more things to be shared between characters but the problem we ran into is that we also have bonuses (such as bounties, first kill of the day, battlepass) that reward you for activities on a daily/one-time basis. We don't want the best way of progressing your main to be rolling up a stable of alts and then funneling all the resources into your main. Neinball: So after starting up a new character: is it meant to be a whole new experience (no shared currency, completely reset battle pass, etc) per character or a limitation of the alpha? And do paragon levels on those new character only unlock at max level? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): Paragon is shared across characters but only unlocked when those characters reach max level. We did this to have a more meaningful leveling experience similar to World of Warcraft when your main character is the primary focus. We wanted to to make sure that a level 33 Demon Hunter and a level 34 Wizard had reasons to group and tackle hard challenges and create a social environment that is beneficial to the game. If that level 33 Demon Hunter had 300 paragon points to spent they would not need to engage in leveling the same way. Leviathan: Has there been anything from the reports, videos, streams, that has surprised you in the alpha whether pleasantly or unpleasantly?What do you think of the alpha thus far, community reaction, etc. Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): I'm really overwhelmed by the positive reception. It's definitely been a busy two years and it's very rewarding to be able to "show don't tell". I think one moment that gave me a chuckle on Sunday was opening two streams at once (I think it was Gregg and Raxx?). The two of them were partied up. I was on my anonymous-smurf account and joined them in the party. But then Gregg booted me from the party! LOL. Fortunately I could hear Gregg talk in stream about how I think he was poking around the UI. Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): We've been saying that "playing is believing" mantra for a long time. It's great to finally see you all play the game and hear their reaction. I've been watching multiple streams constantly for days and it's only made me more excited about making this game! Also I really thought I was good at CR pushing until a few days ago :frowning: Lord Fluffy: Will there be end-game currency conversion? hitting that arcane dust blocker on the alpha right now and the progression slow down feels pretty bad. Just playing for rare drops and having thousands of reusable parts. Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Tuning the materials is one of the areas we're looking at for technical alpha. Things are constantly in flux during development, and the ratios of crafting materials is an area we wanted to learn more from this test. I don't know if running out of Arcane Dust feels any better than running out of Scrap Materials (you're always going to be blocked by /something/). One solution is to provide a conversion mechanism, but another solution is to provide different activities for different resource types. Maybe activity X is good for parts, activity Y is good for gold, and Z is good for Arcane Dust. All that said, it's awesome to see people getting to this part of the game, and this will definitely help inform decisions for the next phase of development. Raxxanterax: How important are clans going to be? In Diablo 3 theyre mostly just another looking for group channel. Are clans in Diablo Immortal going to have more importance? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): Guilds in Diablo Immortal are a great way to group up with like-minded players and we have achievements to help guide some of the activities. But I have to say that we have larger plans for social groups beyond what Guilds are in Technical Alpha. Can't say more than that today but we are excited to share more in the future. Megax: What information do you intend to add to the bestiary? I couldn't find a way to decipher what power each rare and elite monster brings with it. The icons help but it is still not the complete information Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): The Bestiary will contain lore information on the many enemies to defeat in Immortal, but will not contain gameplay details. The Elite monster powers are dynamic every time they are spawned in the world. I think it's a good point of feedback that we should make sure that these powers are easily understood by our players. Wudijo: Do they plan on trying to do a low config version for like 2-3 years old phones? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): During Technical Alpha we intentionally have a pretty narrow list of supported devices that help us test compatibility, performance and stability. At ship our game will support as many devices as possible. And even after installing the game, you can customize the graphics quality to suite your preferences. Wudijo: Items being the root of Diablo, will they add primal kinds of items in DI? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): There are no current plans to have Primals (or Ancients) in the game. That said, we do want to add more content after launch and Primals and Ancients are certainly on the table. However, I think systems like that are more interesting when they are also tied to new content (new ways to interact with the game). Wudijo: At BlizzCon they said a fully fledged mobile game with no PC version, is it still the case or will this change? Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): We are focused on creating the best mobile Diablo experience. We are excited to bring the epic action rpg elements to Diablo veterans and newcomers alike on their mobile devices. Wudijo: If there are no primals, what would be the other version, like uniques kinda replacing legendaries in D4, but for DI? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): For launch I feel the item system we have with game-changing legendaries and the rank up system is fairly robust. We do need to examine and tune the numerical values on attributes but no major changes planned right now. (but this is tech alpha, so things are always subject to change) Wudijo: Considerations for another skill slot for movement or utility skill only? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): We have explored that but no current plans. We're pretty happy with the control scheme right now and want to avoid adding too much more complexity. NotPatrick: What is the design intent, pacing and soft limits for your gameplay and paid systems? For example, gear upgrading and the amount of crafting material, paragon, and how to engage with the market? Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): The short answer is we want the game experience to be enjoyable for both players who want to remain free and those who choose to spend money. How all of these systems interact with the player experience is something we're paying close attention to, and tuning them will be important to get the balance right. Caleb Arseneaux (Lead Producer): Hey everyone I'm going to sign off for now. It was great hanging out and getting to answer all of your questions. I just want to say that this Technical Alpha is just a part of the game we are making and have much more to reveal in the future. Wyatt Cheng (Lead Designer): Thanks for all the great questions. A few extra tidbits of information that I picked up from watching videos and streams over the past few days. Auto-navigation is unlocked for a zone when you complete the main questline for that zone. That's why it's not obvious at first, but then available later (most often when a bounty sends you back to a previous zone). We could do a better job communicating this. I don't know how many of your found Guild Achievements, but I've already made a note that we need to iterate on the UI here. If you open up your guild page and hit the arrow to expand to full screen, there's a UI for guild achievements. Thanks again for all the great questions and I'll see you around!
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