Phil Spencer: Amazon And Google Are Xbox’s Main Opponents For The Coming Future

The continuation of the Xbox platform leading up to the approaching Xbox and differing Series iterations that will launch later this holiday is more than a conceptual hardware system, instead the brand will continue to branch onto other non-gaming standard landscapes through mobile and streaming. And while the main assumption for competition points a strong finger towards Nintendo and Sony, Microsoft thinks otherwise. According to an interview with Protocol, Xbox head Phil Spencer denounces the forthcoming aggression that will be held against both Xbox and overall Microsoft in the long run. Although the physical consoles are a driving cause for both companies, Spencer urges that Microsoft’s main concern is pointed towards Amazon as well as Google. Again, while Microsoft is scheduling to release a new version of Xbox for the next generation in the latter half of 2020, the company’s main focus now shifts towards accessibility through stream-based integration and cloud gaming. When you talk about Nintendo and Sony, we have a ton of respect for them, but we see Amazon and Google as the main competitors going forward,” says Spencer. “That’s not to disrespect Nintendo and Sony, but the traditional gaming companies are somewhat out of position. I guess they could try to re-create Azure, but we’ve invested tens of billions of dollars in cloud over the years. We have already witnessed these initiatives with Xbox Play Anywhere, Xbox Game Pass, and Project xCloud in the past few years. Additionally, Spencer cites for Microsoft’s “ultimate goal” is to provide gaming to 7 billion throughout the world. Branding these current services with the Xbox name is only to identify Microsoft’s footing as the listed initiatives are available on PC as well as mobile devices. Even more, Spencer shares some insight from the company which only reiterates what was previously said concerning Microsoft’s ambitions for cross-platform play support for more projects in the long run. However, this looks to be the furthest collaboration that Microsoft intends to settle with Sony or Nintendo in the coming future as tech giants Amazon and Google are on the brink of developing alternatives to what Microsoft has already implemented through Xbox. In a different interview elsewhere, Spencer discloses that Microsoft’s ambitions for the coming Xbox Series X will emphasizes more stable framerates over higher resolution output for supported games. You can read the full report by going here. Do you agree with Phil Spencer’s statement on Xbox’s prime competition? Source: Protocol
PlatinumGames Reveals ‘Platinum4’ Initiative For Self-Published Titles

The announcement last month made between Chinese Holdings firm Tencent and Japanese video game development studio PlatinumGames revealed that the one company would provide a capital investment for the developer. In tow, this also disclosed the team’s ambitions to pursue self-publishing as well. However, this reveal also left no room regarding what upcoming projects will be birthed from the collaboration. Now this week, PlatinumGames open a new domain going by the name ‘Platinum4’, initially leaving many fans and industry faces confused as to what this new project could possibly be. But it wasn’t until the team officially announced the Kickstarter campaign for The Wonderful 101: Remastered that more details emerged for this new website. It was later on that developer shared this website to be a new initiative to showcase the team’s first line of self-published projects. Noted, while the remaster of the 2013 Wii U title is being crowd funded, the project ultimately is still determined to be a self-published title nonetheless. But as for what else to come from this new website is where the trail runs cold. Currently, there are still three unannounced projects that have yet to be properly revealed from PlatinumGames. Leaning into some speculation, it is suggested that one of these new titles might be a game for Apple Arcade, reports tell. Other fair guesses would be a new IP that could be result from the agreement made with Tencent in January also. Regarding pre-existing intellectual properties, discussion for Scalebound is on the table as PlatinumGames head Atsushi Inaba told of potentially acquiring the property if not granted publishing rights from Microsoft. Head over here to read the full report on the developing story. What other games do you think PlatinumGames might have under their belt for Platinum4? Source: Platinum4
New Mythical Pokémon To Be Revealed On Pokémon Day Later This Month For Sword & Shield

Fans who have already settled into the Galar Region for the latest installments of Sword & Shield for the Pokémon franchise should already be aware of what is next for the current duo of titles as of late. Nintendo alongside Game Freak revealed that instead of the two titles receiving a third game will instead be met with an expansion pass later this year. This new content campaign will include two story add-ons that will available further into 2020: The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. Each is shared to include new experiences, settings, and of course, Pokémon. Combined between both downloadable content stories is cited to include over 200 new Pokémon. Now in a recent announcement made by The Pokémon Company, this coming Pokémon Day will disclose a new mythical Pokémon for both Pokémon Sword & Shield. Distributing this information via the official Pokémon website in Japanese, we are thankful that Pokémon-rounded website Serebii has translated the announcement: learning that we will receive this new mythical Pokémon alongside a “Special Max Raid Event” too. One segment of the announcement that surely stood out is that The Pokémon Company revealing that the unnamed mystical Pokémon will also be showcased in an upcoming animated film, Coco. You can watch the trailer for the movie below: For a little history lesson, Pokémon Day falls on February 27 which is the day that both Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green both launched in Japan. Since the commencement of the series, the date has been recognized as a celebratory holiday which has been acknowledged by the Japanese Anniversary Association to solidify it as a holiday. This year will mark the 24th anniversary of the series since its debut. While we did receive mythical Pokémon through traditional means of game releases this past November, the last Pokémon drop was ahead of the release for Pokémon let’s Go Pikachu & Let’s Go Eevee. More specifically with the introduction of Meltan and its evolution Melmetal. You can view the full report by heading here. What do you think this new mythical Pokémon might be? Pokémon Sword & Pokémon Shield are out now for Nintendo Switch. Source: Serebii
Astro Bot: Rescue Mission Director Nicolas Doucet Helms Japan Studio

The past few months have introduced very big changes to the current ecosystem that surrounds Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia. In October of last year, we discovered that the then-standing President of the company Atsushi Morita would be stepping down from his corporate position to pursue retirement. Now according to a new press release made by Sony, it looks that another major change has been made to the Japan Asia division has been made recently. This week, the company disclosed that Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Studio has found their new head, Nicolas Doucet. Unsure about who Doucet is? Well, you might have heard of some of his notable work this past generation such as PlayStation VR exclusive Astro Bot: Rescue Mission. Doucet alongside the studio at Asobi Team also developed The Playroom and a virtual reality port which played as a launch title for PlayStation VR in 2016. In the report made by Sony Interactive Entertainment, the firm clarifies that despite Doucet’s newly given position at Japan Studio, he will still be a Producer at Asobi Team alongside helming the new role as head of the first-party development team. In other Sony Interactive Entertainment-related news, it was reported back in November that Guerilla Games’ co-founder Herman Hulst will be the new head for the titular Worldwide Studios. Source: Gematsu
Teases Of Season 2 For Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare Pokes At Ghost And Possibly Rust Returning

Just one month following the release of 2019’s Call of Duty annual installment, developer Infinity Ward unleashed the first free content season for Modern Warfare. Headlining the segment of additional add-ons that will be added to the first-person shooter listed fan-favorite maps returning from Call of Duty 4 like Vacant, Shipment, and Crash. With a bevy of other game modes and weapons that were also introduced, now is time for the next season that will debut in just one week from today. In a subliminal tweet that was posted earlier today, the developer sheds some light on a few new aspects of the forthcoming season. Disclosing that Modern Warfare 2 character Simon “Ghost” Riley will be returning to the newest entry of the franchise. However, there looks to be a glimpse of another potential nostalgic map that will be returning to the reboot of the Modern Warfare series. In the brief moment of the video that deciphers the objective folder shows two images. From dissecting both, many online have concluded the setting to be Rust from Modern Warfare 2 due to identical similarities in the background. Regarding if that is true or not will be determined in the coming days ahead of the season’s official reveal. How Ghost will be integrated into Modern Warfare will most likely be an Operative that you can unlock or even purchase via the respected battle pass. As for Rust, it is expected that the map could potentially be reworked with new additions alike the previous returning locations from season 1 if speculation happens to be true. If you have yet to experience this past year’s Call of Duty title, go over to our full review for the game by heading here. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
Mortal Kombat 11 left out of EVO 2020 lineup

Yesterday, February 4th, the Evolution Championship Series announced the official games lineup for Evo 2020 in its reveal show on Twitch. The official games lineup will be the following: DRAGON BALL FighterZ (PS4) Granblue Fantasy Versus (PS4) Samurai Shodown (PS4) Soulcalibur VI (PS4) Street Fighter V: Champion Edition (PS4) Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Switch) Tekken 7 (PS4) Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[cl-r] (PS4) This year’s Evo will also host a special invitational tournament for Marvel Vs Capcom 2 (Dreamcast). A celebration of Marvel vs. Capcom 2’s 20th anniversary, the “20urnament of Champions” will feature a total of eight players, including the four Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Evo title holders from past Evo tournaments. The most notable snub in this lineup would be Mortal Kombat 11 since it was there last year with over 1500 entrants where our very own Ryan ‘Big D’ placed 9th. The other would be Super Smash Bros. Melee. Evo 2020 will take place at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas July 31 – August 2, 2020. Registration for the event is now open.
Rockstar Games’ Vice President Dan Houser Departs From The Company Next Month

Deciphering the repertoire of projects that have released from developer Rockstar Games essentially is the DNA that imbeds the two founders of the company, Dan Houser and Sam Houser. The two brothers who were fans of cult-classic films of genres spanning from crime-centered entertainment to westerns transformed their ambitions into interactive experiences that the world is well-known of now. And while the two hold a heavy footing for the entries of differing franchises, the company this week reveals that Vice President Dan Houser will be departing from the company next month. After an extended break beginning in the spring of 2019, Dan Houser, Vice President, Creative at Rockstar Games, will be leaving the company. Dan Houser’s last day will be March 11, 2020. We are extremely grateful for his contributions. Rockstar Games has built some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful game worlds, a global community of passionate fans and an incredibly talented team, which remains focused on current and future projects. The news comes from parent company Take-Two Interactive which discloses that Houser will officially be stepping down from his position at Rockstar Games on March 11 in the coming month. The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame recipient has yet to comment on his decision to leave Rockstar Games after founding the company since 1998. A spokesperson for Rockstar Games clarified with IGN that co-founder Sam Houser still resides at the company. In the midst of the current climate that revolves around Rockstar Games, it was revealed in a recent report that Red Dead Redemption 2 and even Grand Theft Auto V has experienced a very populated holiday season as record high player counts have been recorded entering the new decade. You can read the full report by heading here. Source: Take-Two Interactive
PlatinumGames Shares Interest In Porting Astral Chain to Other Platforms, Nintendo Has The Final Say

The launch of Astral Chain last year still holds up to be a miracle for the Nintendo Switch seeing how much content and visuals contained in the game whilst still maintaining a stable framerate that wouldn’t cheapen or even dilute the experience alike other big projects that have launched for the Nintendo eShop. And while there is so much potential for the game alone on the Switch, many would hope there would be the possibility to branch off to other platforms. Traditionally, exclusive IPs that originate on Nintendo’s line of systems for the most part are only featured on their platform which is to be expected by now. However, developer PlatinumGames looks to possibly be the only driving force that would break this trend Nintendo holds close to the company’s heart. We already witnessed the team do this previously; yesterday actually with The Wonderful 101: Remastered being announced for PC as well as PlayStation 4. But does that mean there is the possibility for other release projects to also follow suit the 2013 title? Well, PlatinumGames definitely isn’t against bringing the game to other consoles. According to an interview with Video Game Chronicles, PlatinumGames head Atsushi Inaba shares to be interested in developing other versions for competing platforms, but the decision is for him to make, it’s “Nintendo’s call.” In the case of Astral Chain, it’s an IP that’s owned half by Platinum and half by Nintendo. So right now it just came out and it’s too early to say. For the time being we’re just hoping that it’s a success for the Nintendo Switch and we’ll see how it goes from there. When further questioned about the chance of future ports for Astral Chain being a possibility, Inaba tells that this instance is not to their choosing since Nintendo does own a segment of the IP. Adding on that the Kickstarter for The Wonderful 101 was an “exclusive case” for the game’s debut on other hardware. Although there is no definite information to suggest the chances of Astral Chain for other systems coming to fruition, more installments however, is what looks to be on the forecast. Previously, PlatinumGames told that the team would be exempting the game from receiving additional content to determine if the title would develop into a full on trilogy. T wasn’t until this past December that we learned of the game’s over exceeding sales that virtually settles more games to be on the horizon. Last month, Nintendo released sales figures for releasing software on the Nintendo Switch which shared that the title sold over a million copies. What platform would you choose to play Astral Chain on? Astral Chain is out now for Nintendo Switch. Source: Video Game Chronicles
PlatinumGames Looks To Possibly Acquire Scalebound IP From Microsoft To Finish Development

One of the biggest upsets for Xbox fans was discovering that the then-upcoming and highly-anticipated Scalebound from developer PlatinumGames has been cut short on active development for the title. At the time, the platform began to show some real battle scars from the rough lineup of first-party exclusive projects available on Xbox One, and now with Scalebound gone only added another marking to the list of lashings. However, one who did not forget about the project aside from disappointed fans was PlatinumGames themselves. In an interview recently, PlatinumGames’ head Atsushi Inaba tells that the studio still would like to pursue finishing development on the 2014-announced title. He shares that the Japanese developer has even looked to outright acquiring the property from Microsoft. Talking with Eurogamer Portugal, Inaba explains that despite the team’s interest to return to developing the game tells that Microsoft is the only obstacle in their way as the company has complete ownership of the IP. This was an intellectual property that belongs 100% to Microsoft. Whatever happens to this project, we can’t do anything with it unless Microsoft leaves us. But it’s a game that falls in love and loved, if the opportunity arises, it’s something that we’d love to go back to. The Japanese studio is more than capable to do so if given the window to pursue continuing development for Scalebound. Even more, the title would also be a self-published project as well if PlatinumGames does decide to follow the path of purchasing the property: Chinese firm Tencent Holdings previously announced a new partnership with the developer which would grant more financial freedom for the development team. While the team shares their interests in returning to the unfinished project, PlatinumGames currently has a full plate to work over as The Wonderful 101 has been confirmed for Nintendo Switch, PC, and PlayStation 4 thanks to backers who supported the campaign on Kickstarter. For more detail on the remastered version of the 2013, head here to read the full report. Were you excited for Scalebound when the title was initially announced? Source: Eurogamer Portugal
It’s a Dragon Ball World!

Ultra Instinct….Jiren…Super Saiyan God Super Saiyans, these are phrases that have have invaded pop culture whether you like anime or not. While writing this review of Dragon Ball Kakarot, it was hard to keep the focus purely on this single title. While Kakarot is the first in a presumably new series of games from Bandai Namco, it’s the latest title based on the classic manga, Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball games were on a down turn, just like the anime they’re based on in the early 2010’s. A lack of new content to base games off saw games that were lackluster and stagnant in quality. A random spattering of mediocre titles made it seem as if Dragon Ball games were finally on the outs, a relic of the licensed game era of previous generations destined for used game bins and rental stores (remember those) everywhere. The absolutely godawful DBZ live action film surely didn’t help matters much. *Editors Note* Attack of the Saiyans, a DS RPG created by the makers of Xenoblade, Monolith Studios, would be the lone exception during this era. In 2013, a new animated film was released that actually continued the DBZ storyline and was fully created by series visionary Akira Toriyama. Battle of the Gods was the first good Dragon Ball content in years, and it got the gears turning for all of the years to follow. In 2015, a sequel named Resurrection F would return Dragon Ball’s greatest villain, Freeza, and introduce the world to blue Super Saiyans. In the gaming world, Bandai Namco unleashed Xenoverse and the comeback was in full swing. Xenoverse was basically the dream game fans had been pining for their whole lives. A Dragon Ball game, with support for fully created characters across multiple races in the anime’s history. It also featured a persistent online world, in which players could take their custom heroes online and fight in some of the shows vast history of battles alongside friends. Although it wasn’t perfect, Xenoverse was a clear jump up in terms of graphics, gameplay and fan service that gamers hadn’t had since the Budokai and Tenkaichi games came and went. Soon after it’s enormous success a sequel was announced, and a new show called Dragon Ball Super would debut as the first official new series in decades. The combined success of Super and Xenoverse 2 seemed to reignite Dragon Ball fans across the world. Every week, fans were talking about that weeks latest episode of Super. You couldn’t scroll through Youtube without seeing some Xenoverse compilation or fervor around a new DLC release based on the show. Bandai Namco was smart, and decided to expand Dragon Ball in different ways to keep the content fresh. Dragon Ball FighterZ would debut during the 2017 Xbox E3 conference and the first look at an Arc System Works versus fighter was like throwing a grenade on a pile of dynamite. The absolutely incredible visual style and versus gameplay was a stroke of genius. It came hot on the heels of Marvel Vs Capcom being a letdown, and at a time where Arc System was creating compelling and unique titles. In 2018, FighterZ would launch and become a huge success. Hot on the heels of it’s reign, Xenoverse would continue to get massive new dlc expansions based on the Tournament of Power. The TOP saga in Dragon Ball Super was absolutely massive. It would invade all chat rooms an talks between friends as a spectacle to watch week in and week out. During this time, Bandai Namco would also release Super Dragon Ball Heroes. Heroes was a port of the popular Japanese arcade card battler based on it’s own unique universe. A new spin off anime was also created that has seen moderate success. It didn’t stop there however, it wasn’t long after when Dragon Ball: Kakarot would get announced. Developed by CyberConnect2, this was a full blown single player action RPG covering the entirety of Dragon Ball Z. From Raditz, all the way to Kid Buu. If that sounds a bit ambitious for a single title, in a way it is. Dragon Ball Kakarot is packed with a ton of heart, love and dedication to the source material, but 250 plus episodes is a lot of ground to cover. It’s a third person game in a huge open world, with lot’s of places to see but not much to do in that space. After spending dozens of hours with it, the open world is essentially a set designed to lead you from mission to mission and allow for some very minor distractions outside of the big moments. The actual traversing the world is a ton of fun. The controls are simple but satisfying. Flight is the closest anybody has come to delivering on what it would feel like to control one of these characters in a realized world. The actual open world design and gameplay elements however are rudimentary at best. At it’s best it’s merely a flood of collection quests that feature more items than the N64’s entire line-up of platformers. Orbs, food, minerals, animals and more are scooped up for the most part by simply flying head long into them like a crazy person. The side missions in the open world provide much more than the world does itself. After each main story battle, the world gets repopulated with various side missions that range from the odd fetch quest to recreations of infamous show moments. Certain topics such as the origin of Senzu Beans to Goku and Piccolo getting their drivers license. These side missions provide some of Kakarot’s best moments. The sheer fan service is astounding. Many of these sidequests are similar to each other in terms of mechanics, but the little bits of lore, story and banter that sometimes call back to the original Dragon Ball are great. The game also features collectible postcards from the shows history, and paired with the in game encyclopedia provides a great resource for