Julius

EA revealed during their conference call today that a new premium (i.e. paid for) Titanfall game is coming later this year, which will be a twist on the franchise. So maybe the Titans will be driving the pilots this time around? Or maybe a Battle Roy-- Oh. Right.

Yep, though I’m a little worried for her that her only company is Tony. It’s been a while since he’s been stranded with only some scraps...

And Captain Marvel’s still lookin’ good Curious to see if we’ll see a Far From Home TV Spot from Sony at this rate... ... Narrator: We didn’t.

9 words. 30 seconds. All new footage. Awesome TV Spot

Coming June 4th 2019 It’s worth noting that the game will not be receiving an English dub. From IGN:

He said that he’s not crying tears of joy, so they’re probably tears of despair. His dedication to continue playing a game that he’s clearly not enjoying is almost unnerving.

So, uh...to no-one’s real surprise, Level 5 has done a great job of making this game look spectacular. Kind of envious as a Pokémon fan, but hey, hopefully Game Freak will surprise us and hopefully we’ll end up with something not too dissimilar to this. Hopefully.

The game has just been given an ESRB rating, so maybe a release date soon?

Yeah, for sure. It would certainly help with the transition between generations on the consumers’ end. I think that the healthy competition which Xbox has brought to the table thanks to its backwards compatibility this generation does mean that PlayStation can’t just rest on their laurels when it comes to BC with the PS5, but I agree with you that it might not take the same form as it has with Xbox (i.e. true BC), because while it’s certainly a nice thing to have, I don’t think that it’s necessarily going to be a system-selling feature when PlayStation is currently firing on all cylinders when it comes to console exclusive game development, be it third or first party.

So, that’s a wrap on BB-8 for Episode IX... Principal photography should be completed by the middle of the month, so I think we can expect a title announcement in the coming weeks. We probably won’t be getting a trailer until mid-April at Star Wars Celebration, as it lines up far too perfectly with the release of Avengers: Endgame (typically trailers are released within the two week window prior to a film which they are aiming to be attached to). Any thoughts on a possible title for the film? I’ve been backing A New Order: it harkens back to A New Hope, but is also ambiguous in a way that both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi brought to the table.

Just realised that it’s been two years since the Switch’s awesome Super Bowl LI commercial: It really did such a great job of putting the Switch across to a more general audience. It’s got me wondering...could we maybe see a similar commercial for the Switch again this weekend, seeing as Nintendo have lowered their sales forecast for this fiscal year? Or could we get something for a game, perhaps? As neat as the Pokémon 20th Anniversary Super Bowl commercial back in 2016 was, it wasn’t cheap for what was essentially a $5 million reminder that Pokémon existed. There are going to be TV spots for many of the most anticipated films coming this year (probably a Detective Pikachu one, too?), sure, but I do feel like a first look at Gen 8 here could overshadow everything else. It’s very, very unlikely, but just thought I’d put it out there, seeing as Pokémon has had some pretty quirky marketing campaigns...

You mean Garfield, right?

Another day, another report (this time from HobbyConsolas, in Spain) about how the PS5 might have backwards compatibility for PS, PS2, PS3 and PS4 games — though this time, it’s based on a patent by Sony Japan.

English voice recording is “70% - 80% done”.

Yep. The Hollywood Reporter are reporting that it will serve a relaunch, as opposed to a sequel, with a new cast and new direction: I also forgot to mention that it’s slated for August 2021. Can’t wait for The The Suicide Squad in 2024...

So...Bo Peep is Rey now Also, recording has wrapped. And finally, we’ll get our next look at the film after this weekend’s Super Bowl:

So yeah, this is happening, apparently... Summary: Aiming for an early Summer 2019 release, this puzzle game will be free to download (with optional in-app purchases) on iOS and Android devices, and initially launch in around 60 territories, including Japan and the United States. The game will support multiple languages, including Japanese and English. The press release:

Microsoft will be airing a commercial during the Super Bowl for the Xbox Adaptive Controller! below is the extended version: I’ve said this before, but I need to say it again: I love the direction that Xbox are heading in. Sure, the future looks bright for their games, and if they can match the technical prowess of their consoles, we’re in for a treat next gen. However, much more important to me is that they are funding controllers and projects like this and helping those that can often find themselves ostracised socially, or often left behind as an afterthought when it comes to gaming options, to be included too.

Wouldn't they need to match Wii + 3DS sales to not be worse off though? You mean the Wii U, right? I think most people bundle the Wii and the DS together generationally and when talking about eras of Nintendo, and i think it’s largely thanks to that era that Nintendo is going to be safe from catastrophic failure for a long while — between those two consoles, Nintendo sold over 250 million console units in a generation, and thanks to their generally not wanting to push the limits of technology (at least for the last decade and a half or so), that would surely make for a massive profit margin, and thus likely give them a large cushion to deal with discomforts brought about by relative failures like the Wii U. Also worth mentioning that I imagine the profit margins for Nintendo’s handheld consoles are historically much larger than their profit margins for home consoles, and that in each generation that Nintendo has had both a home and handheld platform, the handheld platform (i.e. likely the more profitable platform) has always outsold the home platform, so I imagine that their cushion for discomfort is large and plush. In addition to the points made by @Hero-of-Time and @Glen-i, it’s also worth noting that Nintendo had been the only ones seriously fighting on both the home console and handheld console fronts for a while, so it made perfect sense for them to pool their resources into one console — as H-o-T mentioned, why have a dedicated handheld console when you have no direct competitor in the dedicated video game space in the first place (largely thanks relative failure of the Vita), and thus mainly find yourself competing against a much larger, broader, and much more varied competitor in the shape of the smartphone market?

Somewhat unsurprisingly, Nikkei are reporting that a smaller and less expensive version of the Switch will be launching in Nintendo’s next fiscal year (i.e. April 2019 - March 2020). We’ve talked about it here before plenty of times, but a smaller and more cost effective version of the Switch launching in potentially the same year as the next Pokémon and Animal Crossing makes far too much sense to not be happening.

Matt Reeves’ The Batman has been handed a release date of June 25th 2021. Yes — the film that he was brought onto back in February 2017. Ben Affleck will be stepping down as Batman, with the film reportedly focusing on a younger Batman. It is believed that Affleck will have a producing role on the film. So, it probably won’t be too long until we hear that Henry Cavill will be stepping down as Superman, if recent reports (and this shakeup) are anything to go by. James Gunn has also been revealed to be writing and directing The Suicide Squad, aka Suicide Squad 2, after months of rumours and reports about him taking on the role.

Aren’t these the figures as of December 31st 2018? Which makes it all the more impressive, given that it would have sold that many units in only three and a half weeks! I’m of surprised that they lowered their Switch unit sales forecast as much as they did, though I suppose it’s always better to forecast low and “over perform” when there are shareholders to take into account.