A wild Kickstarter appeared!
We’ve seen all kinds of Pokémon-likes over the years from monster-catching visual novels to roguelikes. But a musical comedy? Like, an actual on-stage musical comedy? That’s new.
Curtain up on Balls: The Monster-Catchin’ Musical Comédy, more specifically on its Kickstarter page, where it is a little over halfway to reaching its $30,000 goal with 23 days to go (ending on 26th September).
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Out on Switch next week.
Marvel vs. Capcom: Fighting Collection will launch on the Switch next week, and ahead of the big day, Capcom has been releasing highlights of each game in the collection.
The latest one is a look at ‘X-Men vs. Street Fighter‘ – another all-star fighting game that originally landed in arcades in 1996. Its roster is comprised of all sorts of X-Men and Street Fighters like Rogue, Gambit, Ken, Ryu and Cyclops.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
It will also cover other “retro themed products”.
Yu-Gi-Oh! is reviving its past with an official ‘Yu-Gi-Oh! Retro Games’ account launching on the social media platform ‘X’ today.
This account will cover all things related to retro Yu-Gi-Oh! including the long-running trading card game as well as the upcoming Early Days Collection, which has been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Super Mario is one of the biggest gaming properties ever created, with hundreds of games since the Nintendo Entertainment System. 20 different Mario games have released for Nintendo Switch, with more on the way later this year. As part of Walmart’s Labor Day sale, you can save on some of the biggest Mario titles available on Nintendo Switch.
While Labor Day isn’t considered one of the best times to buy video games, there are still some great deals here that are worth looking at. If you’ve yet to complete your Mario collection on Switch, don’t miss out on these deals, which are set to end today.
First, you can save $20 off Super Mario RPG, the Nintendo Switch remake of the SNES title. The beloved game returns with a fresh coat of paint and the combat we all love, with even Yoko Shimomura returning to compose a remade soundtrack! Super Mario RPG is incredibly beginner-friendly, so you don’t need to have any RPG experience to dive right in and enjoy this classic.
Another great title on sale is Super Mario Bros. Wonder, which is 20% off this weekend. Wonder introduced loads of wonderful new ideas to 2D Mario, including three new power ups, the Wonder Flower, and much more. While this game released just last year, this is the first new 2D Mario that Switch received, as previously only New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe was available.
Additionally, you can save on Mario Party Superstars, the latest Mario Party title. Released in 2021, this game acted as a return to form for the Mario Party series, with multiple boards returning from previous entries. If you’re looking to refresh yourself before Super Mario Party Jamboree, now is a great time to pick up Mario Party Superstars.
Below, you can take a look at more Mario Nintendo Switch deals available at Walmart for Labor Day. Even new titles like Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD are available on sale for a limited time!
Looking for more deals? Check out our guide to the very best Labor Day sales of 2024 so far.
“The guilty will always lie to avoid being found out”.
Among Us continues to stack up the crossovers, and in a week’s time, we think one of the funniest ones yet will be dropping in the game for free.
On 9th September, the little space beans will be able to dress up as Miles Edgeworth, our favourite prosecutor from Ace Attorney. The outfit is as daft as you’d imagine, with the character’s signature grey bangs, red suit, and jabot.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
A score to die for?
Have you spent your weekend solving the mystery of Emio? Well, if you have, then we want to know what you think of the brand new Famicom Detective Club title, Emio -The Smiling Man.
No one expected a sequel 30+ years after the original, but then again, no one expected the 2021 remakes. We love it when Nintendo gets unpredictable. The marketing alone for Emio: The Smiling Man deserves a gold star. And, amazingly, the game was only announced weeks ago, and we’re already sitting here playing it!
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Rocksteady Studios has reportedly laid off several staff members as a result of the disastrous release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Anonymous employees told Eurogamer that the Rocksteady quality assurance team had been cut from 33 members to 15 with poor sales of Suicide Squad (which cost owner Warner Bros. Discovery a $200 million hit to revenue) cited directly.
Rocksteady management has allegedly acknowledgedthat product quality will take a hit as a result of the lay offs, as remaining QA testers struggle to uphold the same standard as the team once double in size.
The 18 staff members affected reportedly included junior employees and veteran team members who were at the studio more than five years. IGN has asked Warner Bros. Discovery for comment.
Suicide Squad launched in January 2024 as a live service game featuring the likes of Harley Quinn and Deadshot, and issues emerged almost immediately as players who paid extra to play the game sooner were kicked out after an hour as Rocksteady dealt with a bug.
This was the first of several frustrations for fans and Suicide Squad failed to sell well, being dubbed a disappointment by Warner Bros. Discovery boss David Zaslav.
Its critical reception was just as poor, as in our 5/10 review, IGN said: “Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is a repetitive and bland looter-shooter that, despite an engaging story, never stays fun for long enough.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Amazon is currently offering a significant discount on one of the best microSD cards for the Steam Deck. The Lexar 1TB Play microSDXC Memory Card, an ideal storage solution for portable gaming devices like the Steam Deck, ROG Ally X, and others, is now priced at just $66.49, or £61.74 in the UK. This is a substantial drop from its original $129.99/ £129.99 list price, making it a great deal while the sale lasts.
Fast transfer speeds for quick loading time with up to 160MB/s read.
“intentionally disrupting game progress” is a big no-no.
Nintendo has updated its Game Content Guidelines for Online Video & Image Sharing Platforms. The tweaks are generally quite small, though there are a couple of noteworthy additions including a new stance on fair game in multiplayer modes and an additional warning against breaking any of the guidelines (thanks, @OatmealDome).
Let’s start with the note on multiplayer modes. Nintendo has added to the FAQ section, “What do you mean by content that is ‘unlawful, infringing, or inappropriate’?”, to now include “actions that may be considered to impair the gameplay experience in multiplayer modes, such as intentionally disrupting game progress”.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
When you think of games made in Asia, your mind most likely goes to games made in Japan or, more recently, China. Asia’s a big continent though, with plenty of talent just waiting for their time to shine – but it’s tough out there for small developers from developing regions to get the attention often focused on their larger neighbors.
That’s why the Xbox Global Expansion team exists, designed to help developers from places like Southeast Asia, India, Africa and Latin America reach audiences around the world. Here’s how the Xbox Global Expansion team put a spotlight on a small Indonesian team and their new title, My Lovely Empress.
My Lovely Empress is a dark fantasy empire management game inspired by Asian mythology and created by Jakarta-based developer GameChanger Studio. You play as the most powerful man in the Ashuwa continent, Emperor Hong of the Crimson Empire, and your life is torn to pieces after your beloved Empress Xiang succumbs to a mysterious disease.
Unwilling to accept that there are limits for even an emperor, you turn to black magic and begin summoning the supernatural Yaoguai to help you run your empire and eventually resurrect your empress.
With a game so clearly based on the myths and legends of East and Southeast Asia, it can be quite a challenge for indie game developers to get the word out, especially when it comes to audiences unfamiliar with the original tales. This is where the Global Expansion Team came in to help.
In April 2023, GameChanger’s CEO Riris Marpaung met with the Global Expansion Team to discuss strategies on how to best release My Lovely Empress on Xbox, as well as share the game’s development progress from using 2D art to 3D models.
Discussions culminated in My Lovely Empress being featured in the Xbox Digital Broadcast at Tokyo Game Show 2023, helping GameChanger and their publisher Neon Doctrine set the stage for the game’s world premiere. This was an incredible opportunity for GameChanger to get the game in front of players outside their own region, and for its founder and CEO Riris Marpaung to appear on camera speaking directly to global audiences. The response was amazing with people from around the world reaching out to share their interest in My Lovely Empress and their support for the studio.
The Global Expansion team’s support provided GameChanger Studio more than just the ability to sell copies of the game, it provided a platform from which a small team could create meaningful connections and foster more opportunities. And more such games are being discovered through the Global Expansion team’s work, traveling to events around the region, and through initiatives such as Game Camp Asia – Xbox’s education program to uplevel developers in regions like Southeast Asia and India – and the Developer Acceleration Program which provides funding and support for underrepresented developers sharing their games and stories with the world.
It is GameChanger’s hope that players from around the world enjoy My Lovely Empress’ take on East Asian and Southeast Asian culture, and that people find many more games from all over the world supported by these invaluable initiatives.
My Lovely Empress launched on Xbox August 21, 2024. If you’d like to support the growth of the wonderful Southeast Asian indie scene, do give My Lovely Empress a chance and check out all the other indie titles the region has to offer!
Neon Doctrine
You have everything, and yet, in your heart, you have nothing.
You are Emperor Hong, the esteemed Emperor of the Crimson Empire, and you have experienced profound loss. Following the passing of your mother, the former ruler, you tragically lost your beloved Empress as well.
Faced with no other options, you are compelled to summon and seek the aid of the Yaoguai, forbidden but powerful creatures of the north with a taste for human souls, to assist you in resolving imperial challenges, enforcing your will, and supporting the welfare of your citizens.
You are far from the only ruler in the world, and balancing the needs of your people with the businesses you conduct with other rulers will be a difficult necessity on the path of growing the Crimson Empire. However, once your land has hit the peak of its prosperity, you are given a choice—live with all you have created or command the Yaoguai to bring about a calamity to devour your empire and sacrifice your people in a bid to resurrect your beloved empress.
The post My Lovely Empress: How Xbox Helped a Fascinating Game Find Its Audience appeared first on Xbox Wire.
