Look at all these indies!

Dtoid sister site, The Escapist, is proud to announce that they’ve partnered with GOG.com to host their very first Indie Showcase event from June 11-14, 2020.

This completely digital event will begin on June 11 with a "direct"-style showcase on YouTube, where they'll be showing off over 70 different indie games from developers all around the world. The showcase will include new reveals and lots of gameplay, and even had develop?ers create short little developer diaries so you could meet the passionate people behind the games you'll be playing.

Following the Indie Showcase, from June 12-14 they will be providing post-show coverage on YouTube and Twitch featuring many of the games you saw in the showcase via in-depth hand??s-on demos, pre-recorded game??play videos, and interviews with the developers.

There is also a landing page for the entire showcase where you can watch the livestreams and find every game that we're showcasing. The games will be added to the page after the showcase p??remieres on June 11.

We at EG are very excited to put on this event to bookend another year of The Escapist's rejuvenation effort as we work to provide a positive and fun atmosphere for?? our viewers to escape to, all while supporting the independent developers that have lost out on many opportunities to showcase their games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If you'd like to support this event, we are taking on further sponsors and donations. If you're interested in sponsoring, please get in touch via email (editor@escapistmagazine.com). If you'd like to donate to support the creation of this event, please follow the link.

Schedule of Events:

• June 11 -- The Escapist Indie Showcase (3 pm - 5 pm EST) on YouTube
• June 12-14 -- The Escapist Indie Showcase Post-Show (11 am - 7 pm EST) on YouTube and Twitch

The post Announcing The Escapist Indie Showcase, premiering on J?une 11 appeared first on Destructoid.

The final entry in Kamiya's 'Hero Trilogy'

[Update: Platinum Games has updated the Platinum4 website and released a teaser trailer for Project G.G.,? which y??ou can check out at the foot of the article.]

Platinum Games has dropped new, mysterious information regarding the second title of the fabled "Platinum4." As revealed in the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu, "Project G.G." will be a brand new video game dire?cted by industry legend Hideki Kamiya.

The new endeavour is set to be the third and final entry in Kamiya's "Hero Trilogy," with the first two entries presumably being 2003's Viewtiful Joe and 2013's The Wonderful 101 (which Platinum is currently remastering as the first Platinum4 release).

Kamiya - along with Platinum Games Studio Head Atsushi Inaba - notes that Project G.G. is in its pre-development stage, and that it is expected to launch on "all existing platforms." The duo also says that Project G.G. is a "giant hero-esque title" that will "go against user expectations in a good way." ??Asked what genre the title would fall into, Kamiya says he'd put it in the "something-something action something-something" genre, as it is not a game solely ?focused on action.

Project G.G. is the second entry of the Platinum4, the third and fourth announcements wi?ll be revealed at some point in the future. Inaba notes that the final announcement, in p??articular, will be "very Platinum and interesting."

Platinum Games announces Kamiya-directed Project G.??G. [Gematsu / Ryokutya2089]

The post (Update) Platinum Games releases teaser trailer for?????????????????????????? Hideki Kamiya-directed Project G.G. appeared first on Destructoid.

Waiting for a star to fall

Platinum Games has updated its curious "Platinum4" website with a new date, revealing that the second of its four mystery announcements will be made tomorrow, February 26. Within the same 24-hour period, Japanese magazine Famitsu launches its newest issue, and it's expected that these two events will align to deliver the previously-teased "major" news.

While there is currently no info - not even a hint - of what Platinum has in store, we know that the first release of the Platinum4, a remaster of Wii U classic The Wonderful 101, went down an absolute treat with fans. Hopefully whatever the Bayonetta and NieR: Automata producer has up its sleeve will be equally?? exciting.

Of course, we will bring you all the details as soon as they hit the airwaves, so don't touch that dial. In the meantime, you can check out the resounding success of The Wonderful 101 Remastered's crowdfunding campaign over at Kickstarter, where the proj??ect has raked in a cool $1.6 million US?D.

The post Platinum Games ‘major’ news to be revealed tomorrow appeared first on Destructoid.

Will feature in next week's Famitsu

Platinum Games, the studio behind such wild action titles as Bayonetta and NieR: Automata, has revealed that it will be making a "major" announcement next week. The mysterious news will drop in the February? 27 issue of Japanese publication Fami??tsu.

It is unknown whether this new news will specifically pertain to the fabled "Platinum4" - four? incoming mystery news ?drops that were revealed back in January - but at least we won't have to wait too long to find out. We already know that one of the Platinum4 is a remaster of The Wonderful 101, but what could the other three quadrants repres??ent? Hmmm... What say you?

Also noted by Platinum, in the announcement of the announcement, was that development of Bayonetta 3 continues, with Director Hideki Kamiya saying that the anticipated sequel? is ??coming along "very well."

Platinum Games teas??es major announcement for February 27 [Gematsu / Ryokutya2089]

The post Platinum Games has ‘major’ announcement coming February 27 appeared first on Destructoid.

Movin on up

[Update: It turns out this may be a case of YMMV. After this story broke during the week, outlet Go Nintendo reached out to Nintendo of America to confirm if the company would be providing exchanges on any unit?s. In a PR statement, the company confirmed that is is not offering such a?? service.

"We do not have a Nintendo Switch exchange program. We always want players to enjoy their Nintendo Switch systems, and if anything ever gets in the way of that, we encourage them to visit //support.nintendo.com for support, or to contact our consumer supp?ort team."

The official policy may be that this offer doesn?'t exist, but some people have had success in getting new units. Your best bet would be to call N??intendo for yourself and see if it is willing to do an exchange for you. If not, you could always return the unit to whichever store you purchased it from if you're still under the 30-day warranty.]

According to multiple sources, Nintendo of America is allowing anyone that purchased the older Switch model after July 17, 2019, to trade-in their unit for the upgraded one with better battery life. For those unaware, a hardware refresh was released?? into ??the wild last month that increased the Switch's battery life from 5.5 hours to around 9 hours in portable mode. Since?? the announcement came out of nowhere, many people may have purchased the older unit unaware that a ?better one even existed.

The discovery came from a Reddit thread that asked about the possibility of trading in a launch day unit for the new one. Nintendo told user DarthMewTwo that only consoles purchased after July 17 would be eligible for exchange. YouTube channel GameXplain confirmed the report, as did outlet Digital Trends. There are no strings attached, oth??er than Nintendo re??quiring you to pay postage for shipping.

If you think this may apply to you, you'll have to first confirm you have the older Switch model. The easiest way to tell is if the packaging contains a white background as the newer model is in a mostly red box (like the header image). If you've thrown out the box, then check the serial number. The newer models all start with "XKW" for their serial number. Once you've confirmed everything, send an email to Nintendo's support address and they'll give you all the information you'll need to?? get the ne?wer Switch revision.

Nintendo will allow you to trade in your Switch console for the revised model ??under certain conditions [VG 24/7]

The post (Update) Nintendo allowing trade-ins of older Switch models bought after announceme?nt of new one appeared first on Destructoid.

Problems of the digital age

Minecraft: Story Mode is about to be delisted from digital marketplaces, but something odd is going on with the Xbox 360 version. In a strange limitation of the Xbox Live Marketplace, there is no way to remove a title from sale while letting legitimate owners redownload?? them. I guess Microsoft didn't think of that when it launched the 360 14 years ago (how dare they!), so a different type of workaround has been utilized.

Each episode of Minecraft: Story Mode is currently available for $100 on 360. That is not a joke, but something done to deter people from actually buying the game. In a message on the Minecraft: Story Mode Facebook page, what??'s left of Telltale Games' staff w?rote:

Minecraft: Story Mode games will no longer be supported via the necessary game servers on June 25th, 2019. All of Minecraft: Story Mode content was removed from sale on each digital storefront ahead of that happening. In the process of removing these items for sale, on the Xbox 360 platform only, existing Minecraft: Story Mode players became unable download their remaining episodes. From working with the Xbox 360 platform, the only solution to this situation is to re-list the downloadable content for purchase. So, to assist existing customers, all the downloadable Episodes for the two Minecraft: Story Mode titles are? temporarily re-listed but, to deter new purchases, they will be re-listed at a very high price!

So if you really feel like dropping over $1,000 to get all of Minecraft: Story Mode digitally, you can now fulfill that dream. Sadly, once June 25 rolls around, you'll no longer to able to redownload any of the episodes on Xbox 360. A physical version of the complete season one exists on 360, but it seems season two will be lost to? the passage of time. The problems of a digital age, I suppose.

Minecraft: Story Mode [Facebook]

The post Minecraft: Story Mode’s Xbox 360 price hike is not a joke appeared first on Destructoid.

Reports of corrupt save data are coming in

Nintendo surprise released Piranha Plant for Smash Ultimate tonight and I'm just now finding out! Kingdom Hearts III sucked me away for quite a bit, so I'm late to the party. What I'd hate to happen, though, is for my save data to get corrupted for trying out the new fighter. While there isn't 100% confirmation of the issue, a lot of reports are coming out on Twitter and ResetEra about people losing their save data while running through "All??-Star" Smash with the prick?ly biter.

?For the moment, I'd advise all of you readers to just avoid playing that mode with Piranha Plant. I wasn't in a rush to try it out (I don't care for All-Star this time), but I'd be pretty ??pissed off if I lost my 30-hour Adventure Mode save.

Warning: using Piranha Plant on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's all-star mode may corrupt your save [ResetEra]

The post PSA: Avoid using Piranha Plant in Smash Ultimate’s all-star mode for the moment appeared first on Destructoid.

You only have three seconds

One of the cooler bonuses in Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise is the ability to play the game as Yakuza protagonist Kiryu Kazuma. It brings an entirely differ??ent light to the game that further cements its development by Sega's Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios. It also gives you a glimpse of what Kiryu might be if he were completely unchained from his strict moral code.

When Lost Paradise launched two weeks ago, Kiryu was offered for free as DLC. Sega set a deadline of two weeks for people to grab the skin and that grace period is about to end. Today will be your last day to grab Kiryu before the skin goes up to $4 USD. If you are in Europe, you'll have a few extra days since Lost Paradise launched on October 5.

I won't say Kiryu dramatically improves the experience, but it certainly is a kick to see him exploding heads left and right. If you??'re worried about buying the game so early just to get Kiryu, don't be: you can safely add the skin to your account without owning th??e game. Why not do that in case you ever get the itch to step into Kenshiro's boots?

The post Today is your last day to grab Fist of the North Star’s Kiryu DLC for free appeared first on Destructoid.

Hallelujah!

$20 for a year of Nintendo Switch Online isn't the worst price around, but the value isn't really there. All of the features are years behind the competition and the selection of free titles is incredibly lackluster. I suppose the family plan option might make it more palatable for customers, but there seems to be a silver lining here that we didn't notice before. In the newly updated FAQ for Nintendo's online service (which is separate from the one I had used for my last article about Switch Online), it states that users can?? use My Nintendo Gold Coins to p?ay for their subscriptions to Nintendo's service.

For a lot of users, that could mean the service ends up being free. Surprisingly, you can use Gold Coins for discounts on eShop purchases, but I don't believe many people are even aware of that functionality. I could see a lot of people having a small stockpile of coins and being all set for this Tuesday when the service launches (provided their coins haven't expired, because of course, that is a thing).

As for me, I haven't really used my coins on anything. The Switch's digital storefront has fewer restrictions than past Nintendo consoles, but I'm still not entirely comfortable with the way Nintendo handles DRM. At least now, my coins can be put to some use, even if it is just to rest??ore features I've previously had for months now.

Nintendo Switch Online Service FAQ [Nintendo]

The post Those worthless gold coins from My Nintendo can be used to pay for Swit?ch Online memberships appeared first on Destructoid.

Good luck

First, the good stuff: Here's the link to buy PAX West passes this year. This post went up at the?? exact minute tickets went on sale. If you want to go, you're gonna have to queue up quick. Or else you'll fin??d yourself paying twice as much to some shady-ass scalper.

Okay, now that you're in the queue, let's run down the details. PAX West is taking place in Seattle from August 31 through September 3 -- over Labor Day weekend like always. PAX has done away with four-day passes in recent years, instead only offering single-day passes for reach individual day. Any one day costs $50, meaning that entry for all four days will run you a cool $200. (That's a $2-per-day price hike over last year, but a cumulative $8 is c??hump change compared to what the rest of the trip is sure to cos??t you.)

Also, Penny Arcade is offering some pre-PAX merch alongside the ticket sales. Th?ere are PAX-branded blankets for $35 (which are limited to 1,200)?, socks for $25, and a dice stand and pair of die for $75 (which are limited to 1,000).

That's all well and good, but getting a hold of passes should be priority numero uno. They go faster and faster every year so time really is of the essence her??e. Just trying ??to help you out so we can see your smiley sunny faces in Seattle.

PAX West [PAX West]

The post PAX West passes just went on sale appeared first on Destructoid.

Game Over, out of stock

If you've been looking for the Super Mario Cereal either as a goof or for its amiibo functionality, then you're going to re??ally dislike this news. Not even a week after release, Target stores in the US have discontinued the product and will no longer be carrying it.

I can't say I'm surprised. While I didn't expect the item to buck the trend of Nintendo's false scarcity, I've not seen one anywhere in the wild. I wanted to do a mock review of it (like our excellent Skyrim cinnamon roll piece), but the sugary product might as well not exist in the North East. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough, but you'd think stores would be jumping all over a Mario themed breakfast item!

Either way, if you're still holding out hope of grabbing a box, Target doesn't seem to be getting any new stock. Some follow-up Tweets have stated the stores are looking into the matt??er, but I wouldn't hold out hope.

AskTarget [Twitter]

The post Target is? no longer st??ocking the Super Mario Cereal appeared first on Destructoid.

The king stay the king

Twitch.tv, the ?streaming and social platform popular among video game fans, inked a multi-year deal with Che??ss.com. The partnership is part of a push to promote both chess streams and major events.

It might sound a bit silly at first, but chess is probably the only good, pure game. It's fascinating to watch and playing chess falls somewhere between PUBG's final circle and asking an at??tractive human out on the "very str?essful things" scale. 

According to a statement by Chess.com, "[Twitch.tv] will officially partner with Chess.com as a sp?onsor for its entire lineup of?? chess events and to help grow the global brand of chess as an online spectator sport."

The part??nership includes plans to market chess better to attract new viewers, players, and future sponsors. Additionally, content creators on Chess.com wi??ll get a "better ecosystem" and "access to monetization opportunities."

I, for one, am down with the chess takeover. I fell in love with the game in high school after an algebra teacher made learning chess a mandat??ory part of his class. Granted, I still suck at it, but the idea of watching a few streams is appealing on a logic-expanding level.

Tw??itch, ??Chess.com Partner to Promote Chess Streaming [Chess.com]

The post Twitch to sponsor, promote the best game, Chess appeared first on Destructoid.

Pro strats

I really really like Cuphead. I think it's one of the most reward??ing action platformers that I've ever played. That's, in part, because it's so dang tough. Victory tastes so much sweeter when you have to earn it.

But, we don't need things to be needlessly more difficult. The default controller configuration is far from optimal. For whatever reason, all the main actions are set to face buttons; on an Xbox controller, A jumps, X shoots, Y dashes, and B performs a super attack. It's ne??arly impossible to competently and consistently string together quick sequences, especially when you'll be holding down the shoot button most of the time.

Here's what I suggest: You feel those triggers on the back? Put them to good use! I assigned dash to the right tri??gger, so that my right thumb only had to worry about jump and shoot (and, less often, super attack). Chris one-upped me and bound the super attack to the left trigger. Or, if your brain more closely associates triggers with shooting, put that on the right trigge??r. Experiment, figure it out, see what works for you.

But, whatever you do, please change the default bind??ings. This g?ame is too good to get weighed down by that nonsensical control scheme.

The post PSA: If you’re starting Cuphead today, you’re gonna want to change the controller bindings appeared first on Destructoid.

Donations open until September 10

In the wake of the disastrous aftermath of Hurricane Harvey in Texas, the Florida coast is bracing itself for impact of another hurricane, Irma, which has already hit the Carribean. These are unfortunate an?d tumultuous times for the thousands upon thousands affected by these natural disasters.

SoCal professional fighting game player Chris Tartarian is currently putting together a relief fund, building charitable donations from the fighting game communi??ty and elsewhere, money that will go towards the vic??tims of the Florida storm.

The donation page, which can be visited here, will be open until September 10. Tartarian will also be heavily promoting the charity drive on?? twitte?r and during livestreams with the aim of reaching a total of at least $10,000.

This is yet another example of videogamers coming together in des??perate times for a great cause. The generosity and charity on display in the aftermath of these terrible event?s never ceases to amaze me.

Chris Tartarian's Hurricane relief fund [Tiltify]

Okay guys here it is!! Donate directly through this link!
Goal of $10,000 and it is set for 9/6-9/13! RT RT RT!!//t.co/NYJFWyptol

— Chris Tatarian (@Chris_Tatarian) September 6, 2017

The post F?ighting Game Community appeal for Hurricane I?rma donations appeared first on Destructoid.

I fought the law...

For anyone looking to nab LawBreakers on PS4 today, just be aware that the game currently suffers from some stuttering issues. While this is only coming from one source, its hard to argue with raw metrics that point out the issue. The developer, Boss Key, ev??en admits they are aware of the problem, so you might as well be aware of it, too!

Upon booting up the game, you'll see this message displayed at the menu. "We are currently aware and investigating a hitching issue on PS4 when joining/leaving a match or changing roles. ??Thanks for your understanding while we wo??rk to resolve the issue." At least they aren't shying away from the problem, but being aware of a problem and still shipping a game is plain odd.

Thing is, the error do??esn't occur in specific instances, like Boss Key has stated. According to Eurogamer, it can randomly happen and basically pauses the game for a third of a secon??d. In their testing, it did not occur in custom games, so this may be a network error more than a system bug. You can even see in the graph below that the game drops pretty erratically, which is just unfortunate.

Still, I doubt this is going to be a problem for very long. Since LawBreakers is an online multip??layer shooter, it is going to be getting patches and tweaks f??or a little while. This just happens to be a launch issue, so just be wary today.

Lawbreakers PS4 launch code hitches and stutters [Eurogamer]

The post PSA: LawBreakers suffers from stuttering on PS4 appeared first on Destructoid.

I didn't need an extra 80GB

Back in October of last year when Modern Warfare Remastered was originally revealed as a pre-order bonus for Infinite Warfare, there was a bit of text that read, "game disc must be inserted to play." While it was understandable for when MWR was locked to a pre-order, you'd think the restriction would ??have been lifted when the game went standalo?ne.

It turns out, Activision is just as greedy as we thought. If you nabbed MWR from the Legacy or Legacy Pro Edition of Infinite Warfare, then you're going to be keeping that game if you want to experience the "Mile High Club." This also goes for people who opted for the digital version; you'll need to have Infinite Warfare installed to even boot the remaster.

I'm not sure why this stipulation is in place. Activision has nothing to gain by forcing people to retain their copies of Infinite Warfare, but the digital version is doubly puzzling. Your platform of choice should have DRM associated with your purchase, so insisting on an install of the newer game is just plain mean. Since both games take up something like 120GB, that is eating away roughly 1/5th o??f a 500GB hard drive.

My only guess is that this inconveniences enough people that they then pony up for the standalone release, effectively buying MWR twice. I'd be angrier if I had any intention of nabbing the remaster, but the inclusion of microtransactions basically killed my desire. I can happ??ily play the original without bogus additions.

Don't trade in your Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Legacy Edition just yet [Eurogamer]

The post PSA: Modern Warfare Remastered requires the ??disc/install for Infinite Warfare owners appeared first on Destructoid.

Ooh... shiny

Starting today, Overwatch aficionados can claim a free golden loot box if they're signed up for Amazon Prime. As part of Twitch's Prime Loot program, anyone who's linked their Twitch and Amazon Prime accounts together can claim the loot box, which is guaranteed to contain at least one Legendary cosmetic item for Overwatch.

To claim the loot box, you'll need to click the crown icon on your homepage at Twitch.Tv and click "Get Code." You'll then need to head to Blizzard's code redemption page and log into your Blizzard account. If you're attempting to claim the code for PS4 or Xbox One, you may need to link your console version to Battle.net. The ??golden loot box is only available for a limited time, though I wasn't able to fi?nd a hard end date.

This isn't the first time a Blizzard game has been part of Twitch Prime's promotion, as the program launched with a HearthStone cosmetic item. Twitch's blog page promises that eligible members will also receive five free normal Overwatch loot boxes in both August and October, and additional promotions for HearthStone and Heroes of the Storm are in the works. Unfortunately, the gold loot box won't contain any seasonal items, but I noticed mine did?n't have any duplicates for a change. Good luck!

The post Get a free Golden Overwatch box on Twitch Prime appeared first on Destructoid.

Hurry hurry hurry hurry hurry

You know how this goes. PAX West badges go up for sale, PAX West badges sell out very quickly. Quit reading and hit this link if you want? a chance at buying them. Come back when you're in the qu??eue.

All queued up? Good. Here are the other details:

PAX West badges went on sale at 12pm Pacific today -- the exact time we're posting this. In recent years, Penny Arcade has done away with four-day passes, instead opting for convention-go?ers to buy badges for individual days. A single-day badge is priced at $48 this year; that?'s $192 for anyone who wants to attend the entire show.

As is usually the case (but not always the case), PAX West will again take place over Labor Day weekend. It's set for September 1 through September 5, in Seattle as always. It'll be a hot ticket, h?ence us posting this PSA.

Penny Arcade has also given us a heads-up on official PAX merchandise that can be ordered before the show. Pictures of the blanket ($38) and the dice set ($?38) are in the gallery below; a photo of the scarf ($28) was not sent. Penny Arcade mentions that these ar?e available to order on the online store and that they'll be sent out before the convention.

That's a secondary priority for anyone who wants to go to PAX West, though. The first step is making sure you have a badge. We're doing our best t??o help you out with that.

PAX West 2017 registration [PAX West]

The post PAX West badges just went on sale, go get yours! appeared first on Destructoid.

Just a quick PSA

T-Mobile ?is in the middle of making a serious play ?to be the "fun" mobile service provider. Every week it holds T-Mobile Tuesdays, a promotion for subscribers where they can nab free or discounted offers and enter contests. One of today's deals appeals to our core demographic.

Anyone who is a T-Mobile subscriber can get a free one-night video game rental at Redbox. The details are a bit fuzzy (mostly because I'm a proud Verizon user) but it seems like you have to download the app (iOS, Android) and claim the offer by the end of the day. Then, you have until the end ??of May 15 to actually redeem it at a Redbox.

Anyway, just a quick PSA that will apply to a few of you. Maybe this will give you a reason to go check out a game you've been hesitant about. I've heard Prey is surprisingly good. But all you Cricket and?? Boost users will have to pony up the thr?ee bucks to find out.

Prizes [T-Mobile Tuesdays]

The post T-Mobile u?sers get a free game rental from Redbox today appeared first on Destructoid.

Get up to Get Down!

It has been quite some time since we last reported on Hover: Revolt of Gamers. While I somewhat remember the announcement of the Jet Set Radio inspired indie game, I didn't realize it had been available on Early Access for almost two years. It looks like development is wrapping up as developers Midgar Studio and Fusty Ga??me have announced it will be leaving Early Access on Steam May 31.

If you know nothing of the game (like me), then let this nice bullet pointed list fill you in on the featu??res:

• An Amazing City: Hover City is a huge futuristic city full of colors. Its buildings offer breathtaking vertical playgrounds.
• Total Freedom: Explore the open-world city from its skyline to the underground while doing “parkour”, tricks and high-speed races.
• Build Your Team: Unlock 9 playable characters and improve their skills to create the perfect team.
• Various Gameplay: The core action is based on nervous races and amazing tricks, but the game also offers many alternative ways to play from stealth missions to sport matches with friends.
• Choose Your Experience: Instantly switch from single player to multiplayer, whenever you want. Play in first or third-person, or activate the auto camera that mixes both and offers a dynamic experience.
• Create Your Own Challenges: Without leaving the game, use a very simple editor to create your own challenges playable in solo or multiplayer.

There is no mention of the release dates for the console ports, but I would as??sume those will be landing this year as well. Some new screenshots will have to tide you over, for the time being. The game is currently priced at $19.99 and isn't set to increase, so don't worry about rushing to get some pre-order deal.

The post Hover: Revolt of Gamers is launching on May 31 appeared first on Destructoid.

Last call to earn online Trophies

Sony is shutting down the servers for a number of old?er games that you probably aren't still playing but will surely recognize. As of July 1, 2017, the following titles will lose their online?? features:

PS3

• High Velocity Bowling
• Medieval Moves: Deadmund's Quest
• Sports Champions
• Sports Champions 2

PS Vita

• ModNation Racers: Road Trip

PS4

• Kill Strain

I'm always curious how many people are still playing games like these. Not many, I'd imagine, given their age (and also Sony's willingness to sunset them). That said, Kill Strain only just came out last year, and it's a Sony San Diego production to boot. It really must not have caught on.

Decommissioned servers [Sony via NeoGAF]

The post Sony is closing the servers for Kill Strain?, Sports Champions, and a few other?s appeared first on Destructoid.

WB strikes again

I know I shouldn't be surprised that a WB games PC release is utterly broken, but I'm an optimist at heart. I thought that having Lego City Undercover on PC would clear up some of the issues present in the Wii U original, not introduce a whole new heap of problems. A post over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun has outlined some of the more pressing issues present with the game, but a quick glance over at the Steam user reviews will fill you in on the rest.

According to everyone, changing the resolution of the game is impossible. While that wouldn't directly impact performance, even attempting to fiddle with graphical settings results in a black screen. Better still, the accept button on the graphics menu doesn't even work. Trying to Alt-Tab o??ut of the game is futile as the program remains in the foreground above even the task manager.

As for people who wish to play with a mouse and keyboard, you better have a gamepad handy. Mouse support isn't even an option and the game doesn't allow you to mix and match keyboard and gamepad controls (or hot swap between them). If you can somehow manage to get the game to launch, you're greeted with a stuttering frame rate, tons of bugs and eventual crashes to the desktop. For something as low key as a Lego game (which apparently has a history of awful PC ports), I ??have no idea how this got so bad.

It seems Traveler's Tales (the developer behind the game) is aware of the Alt-Tab issue and has posted this message on the Steam forums; "The team behind LEGO City have asked me to pass on a message that we are aware of alt-tab functionality and windowed mode issues on LEGO City Undercover. We are working on ??fixing these asap. Apologies for any in??convenience caused by these issues."

Why the game was allowed to release in this state is beyond me. It would be one thing if only a select few people had suffered issues (that is kind of the nature of PC gaming), but not this many. I haven't seen a release this busted since Batman: Arkham Knight on PC; funny how that was also a WB release.

Criminal: Lego City Undercover PC is utterly broken [Rock Paper Shotgun]

The post PSA: Lego City Undercover is a mess on PC appeared first on Destructoid.

Same day as consoles

Anyone eager to play the upcoming Danganronpa V3 and without a console will be happy to know that the game is coming to PC. Spike Chunsoft confirmed, today, that the game will be launching on September 26 for the platform (which is the same day as the PS4 and Vita versions). While NIS America will be publishing the game for Sony's platforms, Spike Chunsoft will be doing it f?or PC.

What hasn't been confirmed is whether or not the port will be handled by a different company. The previous two games on PC were ported by Abstraction Games (who has a decent portfolio of some pretty big-name c??onsole ports), so hopefully it will be tackling this one.

Murder time! Danganronpa V3 PC release confirmed [Rock Paper Shotgun]

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Hurry, or 'xXBonerf4rt69Xx' will be taken

It doesn't seem to be common knowledge, but sometime over the last couple of days, Nintendo opened up the section of their website tha??t allows you to select your online name. You can change your user ID any time, and it will be attached to your Nintendo account. For some reason, you won't automatically be assigned t??he name already associated with your Nintendo Network ID (NNID). Fortunately, it's not too difficult to set it up, so I'll walk you through it using my own ID as an example. 

If you haven't set up a Nintendo ID and/or My Nintendo account before to use the Wii U or 3DS, you'll need to do that first. After that's done, head to accounts.Nintendo.com, and look for the "User ID" section. Click the E??????????????????????????di??t button, as shown.

If you've set up 2-factor identification, the website will send a verification code to the email address on file. I??t may also require you to change your password if you haven't logged in for a while. Once you've entered the verification, you'll be returned to the screen above and will be able to request your desired username. Usernames have to have at least six characters, and as you might expect there are filters in place to pr?event usernames from having any slurs or profanity in them. 

Once you have your desired name in place, it will show up on this page, and will presumably be shown underneath your chosen avatar icon on the Switch's version of a friends list. If you're unhappy with the name you chose, you can always come b?ack and change it later. That's all there is to it. What name will you be going by?

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It'll be a long time before you'll have another chance

Just a reminder; the last Pokémon distribution for 201??6 is set to end this Saturday, December 24. This month's Pokémon is Meloetta, and if you miss this opportunity you probably won't have another one for quite some time.

Meloetta i??s unique among Pokémon for being able to change its form and typing while still in battle. By using its signature move Relic Song, it ??can switch its subtype from Psychic to Fighting and back again. If you'd like to have Meloetta learn Relic Song, take it to Snowbelle City in Pokémon X or Y, or to Mauville City in Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire.

If you haven't downloaded Meloetta to your copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire, it's not too late. First, select Mystery Gift from the main menu. Choose Receive Gift, open the communication channel, and then select Get Via Internet. You??'ll need your 3DS connected to the internet to redeem it, and each copy can only receive one Meloetta. When you've done that, you'll be able to pick up Meloetta in any Pokémon center.

Meloetta closes out a great year for Pokémon fans. Here's hoping the downloads continue in 2017 now that Pokémon Sun and Moon have taken center stage.

The post PSA: Don’t forget to download this month’s Pokemon, Meloetta appeared first on Destructoid.

Might wanna get in line right now

Hopefully it's not too late when you read this, but we just found out that the NES Classic edition should be available at GameStop stores starting on Thursday, December 15. The report comes from an image shared on the Cheap Ass Gamer Twitter feed:

NEWS: NES Classic Edition Will be at GameStop in the Morning. Your Miles May Very. pic.twitter.com/mcPLhQnFCg

— Cheap Ass Gamer (@videogamedeals) December 15, 2016

It's been extremely difficult to find these consoles, so if you're after one, good luck. Don't give up hope if this doesn't work out for you; the image refers to another shipment before next Friday. Additionally, Best Buy is still ?expected to receive more conso??les next Tuesday.

VideoGameDeals [Twitter]

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Online play and rankings will be offline overnight

Just a heads up that Nintendo's network services will be undergoing maintenance beginning at 5PM Pacific time (8PM Eastern) and running until 1AM Pacific tomorrow morning. Both the Wii U and the 3DS networks will be affected. The listing of services impacted is a bit vague, but the page mentions that Online play, Rankings and other functions may be affected, so you probably won't be able to get in any rounds of Splatoon or multiplayer Monster Hunter tonight.

While it's unclear what the maintenance is meant to repair or upgrade, it was thoughtful of Nintendo to put it off over the long weekend. The maintenance is scheduled to take place starting an hour after this post goes live, so if you need to check in with the Arcade Bunny or bring a Pokémon back from the GTS, better do it soon. 

There will be some additional maintenance on Wednesday to upgrade the Super Mario Maker servers and allow for cross-play between the 3DS and Wii U versions. That will only affect the Mario Maker ?game?s though, and other Nintendo titles will be unaffected.

Network Maintenance Inform??ati??on / Operational Status [Nintendo]

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Get a cannon bug before it's too late

As part of the celebration for Pokémon's 20th anniversary, players have been able to download one of the rarest creatures to their cartridges every month this year. The distribution for this month's Pokémon, Genesect, is sc??heduled to end on Thursday, November 24.?? 

To get your Genesect, yo?u'll have to enter a code from a free card being distributed at brick-and-mortar game stores, and these vary based on your region. In the U.S., Genesect cards can be picked up at any?? GameStop, in the U.K. they're available at GAME, and people in Australia and New Zealand will need to go to EB Games. Don't forget that Thursday is a holiday in the United States, so GameStop stores won't be open.

Once ?you have the card, load up your copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire an?d select Mystery Gift from the main menu. Choose Receive Gift, open the communication channel, and then select Get With Code. You'll need your 3DS connected to the int??ernet to redeem it, and each code will only work once. Unfortunately, Genesect can't be downloaded directly to Pokémon Sun or Moon. I suppose the developers didn't want a level 100 behemoth rampaging through the tranquil islands of Alola. You'll be able to import creatures from the older games once Sun and Moon are updated? to support the Pokémon Bank ?early in 2017.

Next month's distribution will be Meloetta, previously only available to those who played Pokémon Black, White, Black 2 or White 2. It'll be distributed over the Nintendo Network, so there won't be any need to get a card at a physical store. Meloetta is fairly unique in that it can change its element typing midway through a battle by using the move Relic Song. We'll let you know more once this p?romotion goes live in December.

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Get one while you can

As part of Pokémon's 20th anniversary, at least one of the harder-to-get creatures has been made available every month this year. Although there were two of the special Pokémon available this month, the Keldeo distribution is set to end on Monday, October 24.

Downloading Keldeo doesn't require anything other than a 3DS, an internet connection, and a copy of Pokémon X, Y, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire. You can do?wnload Keldeo once to ev??ery copy you own by selecting "Mystery Gift" from the main menu and choosing "Get via Internet."

The Volcanion cards should still be available at your local game store, and you can check this link for the details. T?he code cards won't be available after October 31 but ar?e still redeemable until January 2017, so it's not as time sensitive as downloading Keldeo.

Next month's offe??ring is Genesect, which will be available from November 1-24. It looks like you'll need a code card for the Bug/??Steel hybrid as well, but we'll let you know when it becomes available.

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It's raining Pokemon up in here

We let you know on Saturday about some of the special Pokémon distributions happening during the month? of October. Yet another legendary? creature just became available in North America, the Djinn-inspired Hoopa.

Previously, Hoopa was only available as a special promotion from McDonald's in November of 2015. This one is available to you even if you downloaded the McDonald's promotion though, so it's possible to get a spare for trading. To download it, go to the main menu in Pokémon X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, or Omega Ruby, se?lect Mystery Gift, Receive Gift, open the communication channel, then Get With Code. When prompted, enter the code 2016HOOPA. Note that there is one zero and two Os in the code.

Hoopa is a Psychic/Ghost type that can be changed to a Psychic/Dark type in Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire when ??the Prison Bottle item is used on it. Hoopa comes in at level 50 holding a Smoke Ball, which makes escaping from wild Pokémon automatic. When you receive it, it will know the moves Psychic, Astonish, Nasty Plot, and the new move Hyperspace Hole, a?? special Psychic attack that hits Pokémon even if they're using Protect or Detect.

No end date was given for the Hoopa distribution, so it'd probably be a good idea to download it as soon as? you can.

Serebii [Twitter]

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