Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Arrives To Android & iOS This Week
On its radar, Capcom has been consistent with supporting its legacy IPs for newer systems. We witnessed this most recently in January. Then, the publisher shipped Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy. In a follow-up, producer Kenichi Hashimoto did view it an opening for the series to continue with his hopes featuring a continued story with Apollo now moving forward. Additionally, Capcom is effortlessly working for more remakes on the Resident Evil side of things. Although nothing is confirmed as of the report in December 2023, it is solidified more games in that vein are on the way. Even more, the previous Monster Hunter Stories is set to release later this summer, Capcom announced recently. Now this week, following the release of Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on modern systems, the classic DS title is set to hit mobile on Thursday. You can watch the trailer in the video below: In preparation for this new release, Capcom did delist the original version on iOS. “Thank you for your purchase of Ghost Trick (2010). We apologize for the sudden announcement, but as of March 25, 2024, Ghost Trick (2010) will no longer be available for download. Some content will no longer be accessible,” the firm writes on a support page. In an obscure corner of the city, a single bullet takes your life, but that’s not all it takes. When you awaken as a spirit, you realize you have no recollection of who you are. Thus begins your search for the answers to these questions: ‘Who am I?’, ‘Who killed me?’, and ‘Why was I killed?’”, an overview for the game reads. “One night is all you have to answer these questions before your soul vanishes at dawn’s first light, and your only lead is the female detective who witnessed your death…” Do you plan to get Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on mobile? Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective ships for Android & iOS on March 28, 2024; available for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
No Man’s Sky ‘Orbital’ Update Welcomes New Ship Customization, Guilds Upgrades, And More
In terms of the scale in which more content is delivered to Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky, it’s gradual. Just this past February the developer shipped the ‘Omega’ update for No Man’s Sky. In a general sense of this new batch of content, the major additions included more plot & lore alongside new Atlas Artifacts that players can uncover when playing. Now just roughly a month since the last update, another is already here for No Man’s Sky. This time titled the ‘Orbital’ update, this new client introduces another bevy of additions that continue growing the value of the game – at no additional cost, most importantly. You can watch the trailer in the video below: “Dock your fully customised starship in the sleek new space stations of update 4.6, ORBITAL! Space stations have been completely overhauled; brand new starships can be constructed from salvaged parts; frigate fleets can request intervention with interstellar expeditions; trading, standing and guilds have been improved – and much more!” Hello Games pens for the overview. Going more detail into the new revised space ship designs, it wrote: “Space station interiors have been completely redesigned and expanded. Engine improvements have enabled a vast and dramatic new station experience. […] The external architecture of space stations has been completely reimagined. The new designs bring incredible detail and bold silhouettes, as well as a broad range of colour palettes to these deep space orbital platforms.” Additionally, space stations have also faced a similar overhaul as well. “Space Station interiors are now procedurally generated and vary dramatically from station to station. A huge range of different designs are waiting to be found, as well as a wide array of atmospheric and lighting arrangements.” This also plays into part of the new space ship salvage feature to collect from vessels you find upon your journey. What has you most excited for the new Orbital update for No Man’s Sky? No Man’s Sky is out now for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation VR, and PlayStation VR 2. Source: Hello Games
Images of the all-digital white Xbox Series X have been leaked
It was reported in February that Microsoft will release their all-digital white Xbox Series X this Summer and a recent leak proves it. eXputer has leaked images of the brand-new Xbox Series X console that will be exclusively digital meaning you can’t use physical games with it. Thanks to Wario64 putting the images from eXputer together: The images show there is absolutely no disc drive on the front, everything in the back such as the ports looks the same as well as the front. This Xbox Series X will have improvements says the outlet such as the heatsink. The price of the all-digital white Xbox console is expected to be $499.99 in the United States. The release date is expected to happen this Summer unless Microsoft has different plans than we think. Before this new Series X releases this year, it’s expected the new Xbox controller codename “Sebile” will launch this May.
Marvel Rivals has been officially announced
Marvel Games and NetEase Games have officially announced their new Super Hero Team-based PVP Shooter, Marvel Rivals. The game has been reported to happen over the last few months and the first gameplay trailer has now been released. Marvel Rivals is a 6v6 third-person shooter that utilizes brand-new Team-Up Skills in destructible locations from across the Marvel Multiverse. For now, it’s said that Marvel Rivals is in development for PC, but other reports indicate that a console version is also planned. The development of this game is led by a NetEase team composed of global talent who previously worked on Call of Duty and Battlefield. Marvel Rivals Key Features: Creative Environment Destruction Tear your way through iconic Marvel worlds across destructible environments! From Asgard to the Tokyo of 2099, use superpowers to alter these environments, reshape the terrain, and craft a strategic advantage on the battlefield! Take cover to dodge attacks or use makeshift weapons to strike down enemies. Players will find countless ways to utilize the environment to claim victory. Dynamic Hero Synergy Coordinate unique combinations between characters to ignite surprising Team-Up Skills! Unleash the synergy of combined superpowers and invent new tactics that can turn the tide of combat. Ride on Groot’s back as Rocket Raccoon to take on your enemies as a dangerous duo, unleash Gamma energy as Hulk to charge Iron Man’s armor for massive damage, and so much more. Continually Evolving Universe and Robust Post-Launch Updates The Marvel Multiverse brings infinite possibilities! Each seasonal drop will introduce new Super Heroes to the battlefield along with challenging and diverse maps! Unlock new content to implement across various gameplay strategies while experiencing thrilling action and endless possibilities in these adventurous team battles. Marvel also announced there will be a closed Alpha Test happening in May that you can sign up for now. Are you looking forward to Marvel Rivals? Source: Marvel
Immortals of Aveum, Minecraft Legends, and Skul: The Hero Slayer Confirmed For PlayStation Plus April 2024 Free Games
Already, three months into 2024 is almost behind us. And with the turning of each page on the calendar, so is for a new batch of titles for PlayStation Plus. In January, the free titles consisted of A Plague Tale: Requiem, Evil West, Nobody Saves The World; February with Foamstars, Rollerdrome, Steelrising; March featuring Sifu, EA Sports F1 23, Hello Neighbor 2, Destiny 2: Witch Queen. And, of course, the game catalog lineups were equally satisfying. Offering Tiny Tina’s Wonderland, Resident Evil 2, Just Cause 3 in January. Then Need For Speed Unbound, Tales Of Arise, The Outer Worlds in February. And then with the most recent batch headlining Marvel’s Midnight Suns, Lego DC Supervillains. Now with April just on the horizon, Sony Interactive Entertainment has already mapped out the next trio of free titles for PlayStation Plus owners. Next month, Immortals of Aveum, Minecraft Legends, and Skul: The Hero Slayer will all be available to install at no extra cost for all PlayStation Plus members. From a preview of the Immortals of Aveum, Rectify Gaming wrote: “Immortals of Aveum is a single player, story driven shooter, and the laser focus comes across with the level of polish on display. Furthermore, despite the Call of Duty background, my lasting thoughts on the entirety of the game resembled an older, but beloved EA classic.” Another feature we did was on Skul: The Hero Slayer back at PAX East 2020. “An alternative approach which still has the theme [Rogue-lite] as a basis, but redirects how you would expect the story to be told.” You can read the full piece by heading here. Which title has you most excited to play first? Immortals of Aveum, Minecraft Legends, and Skul: The Hero Slayer will be available for PlayStation Plus from April 2, 2024 to May 6, 2024. Source: PlayStation Blog
Sony Faces Hurdles With $10 Billion Loss From PlayStation & Disappointing Turnout From Bungie
Thus far, the PlayStation 5 is appearing to be on a track to possibly outpace the previous PlayStation 4. In its most recent financial report, nearly 55 million units were sold. However, despite that achievement, the number of PlayStation Plus users did decrease. And while Sony did mark yet another milestone for itself, users are questioning the direction this generation is heading. In one statement, it is said that PlayStation 5 is already at the halfway mark of its life cycle. What’s more, despite the continued success Sony Interactive Entertainment is opening to multiplatform support. One report, Sony president Hiroki Totoki did press on a new drive for multiplatform releases of its titles. Additionally, Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida did express that this new pursuit will go beyond console; although clarifying that console will be a focus moving forward. One outlier for this decision was indicated in a report from CNBC. Analysts have found that Sony lost $10 billion in stock value following its decision to cut sales forecast for the PlayStation 5 back in February. What’s more polarizing is the dip in operating margin that now accounted for 6 percent in December 2023 – less than the 9 percent of the year prior. “The shipment forecast cut for PS5 … is not what is disappointing … What is disappointing is the low level [of operating margin],” Atul Goyal, Jefferies equities analyst says. Adding more weight to the same side of the scale, the recent layoffs that affected PlayStation is also requiring PlayStation Studios & Sony Interactive Entertainment to rethink its approach to titles moving forward. The largest concern for PlayStation has yet to come in 2024 as legacy IPs will take the bench as new properties, live-service are expected to ship periodically. At the same time, our industry has experienced continuing and fundamental change which affects how we all create, and play, games. Delivering the immersive, narrative-driven stories that PlayStation Studios is known for, at the quality bar that we aspire to, requires a re-evaluation of how we operate. Herman Hulst, PlayStation Studios Head “Delivering and sustaining social, online experiences – allowing PlayStation gamers to explore our worlds in different ways – as well as launching games on additional devices such as PC and Mobile, requires a different approach and different resources,” Hulst injected. This follows further shelving of free-to-play projects backed at PlayStation. Amid a power change in leadership, the firm is also returning to its single player approach as well. One of its largest investments for live-service, Bungie, is also in shallow water. At one point considered the future for PlayStation with then’s emphasis on the business model, is now scrutinized by corporate Sony for its mismanagement in meeting release date promises. The latest example of this is the delay for Marathon. Thank you Video Game Chronicle for transcribing the statement: “I visited the Bungie studios and had meetings with [the] management, and I saw that employees working at the studios were highly motivated, showing great creativity as well as an impressive knowledge of live services. However, I also felt that there was room for improvement from a business perspective with regard to areas such as the use of business expenses and assuming accountability for development timelines. I hope to continue the dialogue and come up with some good solutions.” One of the most evident symptom of the recent shift in focus for Sony Interactive Entertainment is the sudden support planned for PlayStation VR 2. Already coined to be a market it struggles to grasp financially, it is now set to be made compatible with PC in 2024. You can read the full report by heading here. What is your biggest concern for PlayStation? Source: CNBC, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Xbox Reportedly Facing Free Fall In Sales With Developers Questioning Support For The Platform
This current generation remains to be the most questionable for the state of console gaming. While platforms like Nintendo continue to thrive, competitors appear to be grasping at straws to break even. For the sake of Xbox especially, many were convinced via unconfirmed sources that the platform would be giving up its IPs entirely. However, beyond the initial four, there are no plans to branch out says Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Additionally, the decisions Microsoft pursued for the gaming initiative is to blame. In one aspect, Xbox Cloud Gaming can be blamed. According to one internal document, the initiative was platformed in favor of the Xbox Series X|S SKUs as resources were used for cloud. Even more, the further Xbox Game Pass push has hurt studios. One report tells that the subscription ‘cannibalizes’ games with no proper support outside of the business model. From gamesindustry.biz, head Chris Dring from his recent excursion to GDC this month reveals that many firms are questioning whether to continue backing the platform. You can watch the segment of the show in the video below: “You can follow our monthly coverage in the games market and you can see that Xbox sales are falling, and it’s been falling all throughout last year and it’s falling even harder this year,” Dring states. “The other thing I heard—I heard it from a very prominent company and one not so prominent—was Xbox’s performance in Europe is just flatlining.” One of the biggest concerns was the skyfall in support for Xbox physically in recent reports this year. Now, general focus on the game system is in jeopardy according to teams that spoke with Dring. “The phrase one major company who released a big game last year said [was], ‘I don’t know why we bothered supporting it’.” He continued: ”We mentioned on a previous podcast that we’d heard retailers in Europe are considering or had already been cutting back their Xbox stock on their shelves—hardware, games, that kind of thing—and now you’ve got third-party publishers going, ‘we’re putting in a lot of effort trying to create a Series S version and an X version of a game when, to be honest with you, for us the market is PC and PS5’.” What are your thoughts on the state Xbox is heading from these reports?
Still Not Confirmed, Phil Spencer Entertains Several Points On What Could Be An Xbox Handheld
Some of the bigger strategic moves for Microsoft has been in favor of other platforms recently. In total, four games are coming to competing systems with Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush, Grounded, and Sea of Thieves. However, he does clarify current Xbox heavy-hitters including Starfield & Indiana Jones and the Great Circle are not part of that conversation. During the same discussion, it also entertained its plans for the next Xbox system. From Xbox president Sarah Bond, she elaborated the new device will be “the largest technological leap” any console has ever faced. On the other hand, a new string of claims also point towards the Xbox firm also piecing together plans for an official handheld as well to some capacity. And although there is still no evidence pointing to the device coming to fruition entirely, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer does press on what he would expect from such a device. Speaking to Polygon, he expressed that “I want my Lenovo Legion Go to feel like an Xbox” when speaking on his experience with the handheld during GDC recently. Spencer adds: “What should we build that will find new players? That will allow people to play at times when they couldn’t go play [in the past]?” He goes one step further when elaborating that the Roanna Sones-led team for Xbox hardware are searching “different hardware form factors and things that [they] could go do”. Ultimately, he visions this device to be a centralized device that delivers the Xbox experience natively. “I want to be able to boot into the Xbox app in a full screen, but in a compact mode. And all of my social [experience] is there. Like I want it to feel like the dash of my Xbox when I turn on the television. [Except I want it] on those devices.” On the other hand, the Xbox firm continues to chase cloud gaming. In a recent development, Xbox Cloud Gaming is now 10 percent of the overall user base for Microsoft. Even more, the service is to embrace the mainstream later this year it appears. According to an exchange between a fan & Spencer, plans to support your purchase library via cloud streaming is planned for 2024. You can read the full report by heading here. What do you want from an Xbox handheld? Source: Polygon
A Sonic Heroes remake is reportedly being considered by Sega
It had been recently reported that Sega is developing a Sonic Heroes remake, but it may not be in development just yet. According to Midori, a reliable Atlus and Sega insider, the Sonic Heroes remake is being considered and does not think the original report of it releasing in 2026 or 2027 is correct. The original leak also suggests it would come to the Nintendo Switch 2 when it is released. https://twitter.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1772463880800743818 She then answers another question about it potentially starting development and replies she does not think so and doesn’t know about this remake being released in the next three years. https://twitter.com/MbKKssTBhz5/status/1772498991403442236 Last August it seemed that Sega hinted about a Sonic Heroes Remaster through one of their Fast Friends Forever trailer which clearly teased something related to the game. In other Sonic-related news, Sonic Toys Party looks to be one of the mobile exclusive titles Sega has been working on which is inspired by Fall Guys.
You can’t ride the sandworm in Dune Awakening
Dune Awakening by Funcom has not been released yet, but recently at PAX East, the company held a private presentation which Rectify Gaming was invited to. In our early impressions, we mentioned the iconic sandworm from both Dune films will be featured in Dune Awakening, but a question was asked to see if we can actually ride it. Can you ride the sandworm in Dune Awakening? If you saw Dune: Part Two and heard about the upcoming Dune Awakening game you might question if you can ride the sandworm. When asked about the idea of riding the sandworm, Funcom said players cannot ride the sandworm, yet. It seems that when Dune Awakening does release that feature won’t be available yet, but don’t lose hope as this is something the developers are going to work hard in trying to make it a reality. A release date for Dune Awakening has not been revealed yet.
