Reminder: Nintendo Is Ending 3DS And Wii U Online Play Early Next Month

The official shutdown is almost here.

In case you missed it, Nintendo is shutting down online play and other functionality for the 3DS and Wii U early next month.

As we get closer to this deadline, Nintendo’s Japanese social media accounts have been issuing regular PSA. The latest one was posted earlier this week, once again reminding everyone online play for both of these devices will end on 9th April 2024 (that’s 8th April in the US).

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Leaked Images Reveal White Xbox Series X With No Disc Drive – Report

Images of a white Xbox Series X have leaked and it looks to be a disc-less version of the black Xbox Series X.

First published by Exputer, the images show a white Xbox Series X console, with what looks to be the same coating as the white Xbox Series S. The report also stated that it will have a different heatsink, among other upgraded parts. The Verge corroborated that the images look genuine as it has seen documents detailing the specifications of the console.

Additionally, Microsoft insider Brad Sams suggests that the chassis on the white Xbox Series X console is the same as the black Series X, which indicates that the former will not include any bump in specifications. The console is reportedly set to be released in June or July and cost less than the standard black Xbox Series X.

Back in September 2023, court documents leaked with seemingly some of Microsoft’s future plans. The leaks included a mid-generation refresh for both the Series S and X consoles, the former codenamed Ellewood and the later codenamed Brooklin. Both were digital-only consoles as well.

It also provided a timeline, with Ellewood releasing in August 2024 while Brooklin was due for October 2024. If the white Series X presumably releases during the summer, then there’s a chance that Microsoft shifted its mid-generation refresh strategy. Microsoft’s Phil Spencer even said that those plans were outdated.

There are also rumors that Microsoft is currently working on an Xbox handheld, and Microsoft has already confirmed that it will have a next-generation console.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

Call of Duty: Warzone Adding Bots for the First Time in New Bootcamp Mode

If you’re feeling intimidated by the growing complexity of Call of Duty: Warzone and want somewhere to train, you won’t have to suffer on the battlefield anymore. Instead, Warzone is officially introducing the ability to play against bots via a mode called Bootcamp.

An expansion of the Modern Warfare III Training Course that launched in Season 2, Bootcamp is a Quad-only training mode set on Urzikstan that is designed to give players a “snapshot of the real-deal Call of Duty: Warzone experience.” It features up to 20 players via mode-specific matchmaking, and can be accessed either by partying up or via a fill-squad.

Bots are only available in Bootcamp, so their integration is fairly limited, and the new mode also won’t progress the various Daily/Weekly challenges or other in-game quests. Activision said in its announcement that if bots are introduced in any other mode that it it will “ensure the community is informed ahead of time.”

While never really acknowledged by Activision, Warzone is long believed to have had bots in one form or another, usually to fill out games or smooth out the ranked matchmaking. Bots are also a common sight in other shooters like Fortnite.

Elsewhere, Activision has revealed all of the details on Modern Warfare and Warzone Season 3, including the return of Rebirth Island, Warzone Mobile integration, and Snoop Dogg. Season begins April 3 at 9am PT.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Nintendo Confirms Testing Layoffs Amid First-Party ‘Lull’ and Reports of Switch 2 Delay

With few major games on the horizon and the Switch 2 seemingly delayed, Nintendo of America’s testing department is undergoing major changes, according to a new report from Kotaku that includes a statement from Nintendo.

In its statement, Nintendo acknowledged that it is restructuring its internal testing, which will “involve some contractor assignments ending, as well as the creation of a significant number of new full-time employee positions.”

“For all assignments that are ending, the contractors’ agencies, with [Nintendo of America’s] support, will offer severance packages and provide assistance during their transition,” Nintendo said in its statement. “For those contractor associates who will be leaving us, we are tremendously grateful for the important contributions they’ve made to our business, and we extend our heartfelt thanks for their hard work and service to Nintendo.”

According to the contractors in the report, the restructuring comes as the company faces a “lull” in its testing department. The contractors claim that Nintendo has no new major first-party games on the horizon and that no one has had hands-on time testing the upcoming Switch successor — which was initially rumored to release toward the end of 2024.

While the official number of employees impacted by layoffs is unknown, four former and current Nintendo employee claimed in Kotaku’s report that the restructuring could potentially affect over 100 workers, and that those being converted to full-time employment are being moved out of software testing.

Nintendo’s restructuring comes off the heels of a slew of industry-wide layoffs, including major layoffs from competitors Sony and Microsoft. In January, Microsoft laid off 1,900 staff from its workforce following its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the exit of its controversial former CEO Bobby Kotick — who allegedly received a $15 million “golden parachute” following his departure. In February, Sony laid off roughly 900 employees, including developers across critical and commercially studios like Insomniac, Naughty Dog, and Guerrilla.

Nintendo recently released Princess Peach Showtime, which we awarded a 7 in our review. Nintendo is also planning a remaster of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. For more, check out our list of the biggest games releasing in 2024.

Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Animators Explain the Motion Capture Magic of Hailey Cooper

One of the best trends in games in recent years has been a greater thoughtfulness in how diverse characters and stories are portrayed. While that work takes a number of different forms, one critical way developers are making this happen is through improved technology, specifically around animation and motion capture. One key example is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, which saw Insomniac Games take advantage of a group of talented actors, consultants, and lots of fun little motion capture sensors to bring the Deaf character Hailey Cooper and her use of American Sign Language (ASL) to life.

Last week at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), a group of animators on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 gave a talk entitled ‘Thwips and Hugs: The Animation of ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.’ In it, the group discussed the intricacies and challenges of animating elements of the game such as the Sandman fight and various QTEs. But they kicked off with the story of Hailey, whose portrayal may be one of Spider-Man 2’s most impressive accomplishments.

Hailey was introduced as an original character in the first Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, but got an expanded role in the sequel as she and Miles start dating, including a mission all her own. During the talk, associate animation director Lindsay Thompson explained the work that went into ensuring Hailey was an accurate and thoughtful portrayal of a young, Deaf, Black teenager growing up in New York City.

To start with, Hailey was portrayed and fully motion captured by Deaf actor Natasha Ofili, who herself frequently offered guidance and suggestions stemming from her own experiences. Insomniac also hired Deaf consultants from Hyper Nova to answer questions about Deaf culture, consult on scripts, and interpret the scripts into ASL.Thompson says the consultants went over every single scene and shot that had ASL in it to make sure the performances were clear and understandable.

For animators, getting accurate mocap data was critical. Insomniac ensured every hearing cast member had a Deaf body double on the mocap stage, and changed up how the actors would record different scenes depending on the complexity of the ASL being used.

“We had to figure out the best way to shoot our hearing cast’s spoken performances, along with our Deaf body doubles that would work best for Natasha to play against,” Thompson said. “For [one particular scene], we ran them side-by-side so Natasha had signing people to play off of, but could still see Nadji [Jeter, who plays Miles Morales] and Griffin [Puatu, who plays Ganke Lee] doing their speaking performance. Each Deaf cast member had their own interpreter so we could all communicate on set. And we also had the Hyper Novas on stage to help determine the scripts with the cast and plan out signing performance.”

The scene Thompson showed as she explained this concept initially had all the actors standing side-by-side in a big crowd, allowing the animators to capture the body doubles’ signing performances as well as the main cast’s emotional performance simultaneously. She pointed out that the cast’s mocap gloves had far more sensors on them than is typical. Hands, she said, are normally a challenge for animators to capture very intricate movement. The extra markers allowed them to collect more accurate data.

We had to consider each character’s experience and knowledge with ASL.

But having all the actors side-by-side at once wasn’t always the ideal formation. “Sometimes it made sense to have all of our Deaf cast standing and playing against each other. But other times, it was more important to have Natasha face-to-face with Nadji, while his body double would sign next to or in front of him, so Nadji could match his performance.”

Sometimes, the main cast would even perform the signs themselves. For longer conversations, the body doubles would perform the signing to ensure all complex signs and ideas were accurate. But for shorter chats, Insomniac decided it would be more authentic to have the actors themselves sign.

“Seeing as they were playing a more inexperienced signer, it was authentic for them not to be signing as fluently as a Deaf person would,” Thompson explained. “We had to consider each character’s experience and knowledge with ASL. So Ganke, Miles’ best friend, is working very hard to learn. Miles is probably the most comfortable and experienced when speaking with Hailey. Rio, Miles’ mom, is clearly just beginning to learn because Miles has just started dating Hailey. So we made sure her double didn’t sign as fluently and experienced.”

Thompson added that at the very end of the game, a certain character signs “It’s nice to meet you,” in ASL to Hailey. “We approached it as though he had literally watched a YouTube video before coming over and saying something to her. So our interpreter was like, ‘Well, that maybe wasn’t quite it but that looks like somebody who’s just trying to say a nice phrase to somebody.’ So yeah, it was pretty cool.”

Near the end of the talk, during the Q&A, Thompson added one parting thought about the importance of capturing as much data as possible from both Deaf and hearing performers to fully tell the story Insomniac developers wanted to tell.

“We’re a performance forward studio, so we always want the most emotional and authentic performance,” she said. “There’s where it comes into collaboration. Our Deaf actors and our main cast, they were treated equally on the set and we want both of their performances.”

Spider-Man 2’s impressive performances and animation are among the many things we loved about the game, which we gave an 8/10 and called “Insomniac’s best tale yet.” At GDC, it received multiple nominations for the Game Developers Choice Awards, and in a separate talk at the conference we learned that its acclaimed fast travel system was almost cut entirely.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Talking Point: Why Isn’t Nintendo Revealing Its Partner Devs Before Launch?

Wanted: Dev ‘fore it’s live.

Welcome to the Wild West of the modern gaming landscape.

Game sales are soaring. Film and TV adaptations are crawling out of the wilderness quicker than they can be counted. All eyes are on the saloon doors of a bar named ‘Nintendo’ as the smell of something tasty wafts from the kitchen and out into the nostrils of hungry customers after some fresh grub.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Full details on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Warzone Season 3, launching April 3

Rally your squad for the biggest season update yet! Introducing new maps, a new Zombies mission and Rift, the return of Rebirth Island, and much more, Season 3 is stacked with new experiences.


Full details on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Warzone Season 3, launching April 3

Season 3 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone launches on April 3 on PS4 and PS5. 

Multiplayer Overview

Core 6v6 Maps 

6 Star (Launch): Battle atop the Hadiqa 6 Star resort in Dubai, catering to ultra-rich guests with an infinity pool, skybridge, and exclusive club.

Emergency (Launch): Deploy to a wing of the State Disease Control Agency in the wake of a disaster, set around the red sandstone of Sedona, Arizona.

Growhouse (Launch): A re-imagined take on Sphere from Call of Duty®: Vanguard. Fight mid- to long-ranged battles above ground and close up underground.

Tanked (Launch): Drop into Vondel Zoo after hours in this fast-paced, mid-sized map centered around the aquarium and reptile exhibits.

Mid-Season Maps: Play the rundown Grime map next to a derelict canal, plus Checkpoint based on Rebirth Island’s Stronghold.

New Game Modes

Capture the Flag (Launch): Steal the enemy’s flag and return it to your home base while yours is still in place.

Minefield (Launch): Defeated players drop a Proximity Mine where they fall. The mine is only deadly to their team, setting up wild combos. Applied to a variety of game modes.

One in the Chamber (Launch): Start with three lives and a one-hit-kill bullet. Earn another bullet for each elimination. If you’re out, go for the melee finish. 

Plus, Ranked Play: Compete in Ranked Play Season 3, featuring all-new Seasonal and Skill Division rewards.

Zombies Overview

New Rift, New Mission (Mid-Season): Embark on a rescue mission in the third Dark Aether Rift to save Dr. Ava Jansen.

New Challenges, Schematics (Mid-Season): Tackle new Prestige Calling Card and Camo challenges, and face down enemies with three new earnable schematics:

New Warlord (Mid-Season): Warlord Rainmaker has commandeered a fortress on Rahaa Island. Approach the artillery and demolitions expert with caution.

Call of Duty: Warzone Overview

Welcome Back to Rebirth Island (Launch)

Rebirth Island returns, the main destination of your Resurgence matches and Season 3 Ranked Play.

Modes: Along with Rebirth Resurgence, other Season 3 modes include Rebirth Lockdown, Rebirth Resurgence Loaded, and High Trip Resurgence.

Public Events and Contracts: Compete in Public Events like Gulag: Climb and Punishment and Heavy Armor. Take on the new Spy Drones Contract. Attempt the Rebirth Island Champion’s Quest.

New Features: Buff your squad with the Squad Rage Field Upgrade and gear up with the Military Box. See future gas circles with the Foresight Killstreak and improve your abilities with the hard-to-find Specialist Perk Package.

Season 3 Battle Pass

Earn 100+ tiers of content, including four new weapons, eight new Aftermarket Parts, and new Operators like Vladimir Makarov and Snoop Dogg. Up your game with the “Stasis BlackCell” Operator and more with BlackCell premium content.

New Store Offerings: Get new bundles like Tracer Pack: Cheech and Chong, several Godzilla x Kong: New Empire bundles, Tracer Pack: Big Brain Ultra Skin, and more.

Season 3 Combat Pack for PlayStation Plus members

Available on April 10, the Season 3 Combat Pack grants Élodie, “Lockpick” a new Operator Skin “Starry Nightmare”.

PlayStation Plus members will also receive the following: the “Rembrandt Rifle” Assault Rifle Blueprint, the “Raphael Rival” SMG Blueprint, the “Cerulean Enigma” Weapon Charm, the “Cobalt Conspirator” Calling Card, the “Azure Avenger” Weapon Sticker, and the “Anonymous Artist” Emblem.

Plus, PlayStation Players will receive a 2XP Player boost in-game from 4/18 – 4/19.

New Challenges and Events

Along with new Weekly Challenges, play seasonal events like Godzilla x Kong: Battle for Hollow Earth, Blaze Up, High Trip, and Vortex, with four more events arriving in the mid-season.

Season 3 launches April 3

Purchase Modern Warfare III on PlayStation to enjoy additional benefits and a free in-game bundle each season with the Combat Pack.

Stay frosty.

Ex-Dragon Age director’s new studio teases their new fantasy RPG ahead of a full reveal next week

More than three years after former Dragon Age lead designer Mike Laidlaw was revealed to have joined forces with fellow games industry veterans behind the likes of Assassin’s Creed under newfounded studio Yellow Brick Games, the developers are finally teasing their first game. And yup, it’s definitely a fantasy game!

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