Confirmed in California WARN notice.
SEGA of America has submitted a notice of layoffs which will affect 61 of its employees on 8th March 2024.
The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notice was submitted earlier this month on 8th January in Orange County, California, and was flagged by the Twitter account @WhatLayoff (via GamesIndustry.biz).
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Warner Bros. has gifted Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Deluxe Edition owners $20 of in-game currency as a make-good for server issues that rendered the always-online game unplayable for periods during launch.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League arrived on January 30, 2024 for those who paid $100 for the Deluxe Edition, granting customers a three days’ head start over everyone else.
But the early launch had issues, including a bizarre bug that automatically completed Suicide Squad for some and forced the game offline for more than six hours. Additional downtime prevented players from logging on before the servers stabilized, but not before disgruntled customers complained about not getting their money’s worth.
Now, Warner Bros. has sent affected customers an in-game message about the gift. “Thank you for being one of our first console players during early access of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League,” the message reads, per a post from X/Twitter user @JayShockblast. “We recognize that you’ve been patient with us during our initial launch server updates and we’d like to show our appreciation for your patience with a special gift of 2000 LuthorCoins. Thank you again!”
2000 LutherCoins cost $20, and will get you a couple of standard in-game skins or a single deluxe or legendary skin.
Check your mailboxes in Suicide Squad Kill The Justice League. WB/Rocksteady just sent out 2000 vbucks for the server issues on launch day. About $20 value give or take. pic.twitter.com/JvmBLkvwAl
— JayShockblast 🔜PAX East (@JayShockblast) January 30, 2024
The furore over Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League’s launch issues have renewed calls for the promised offline mode to be added to the game as soon as possible. With Suicide Squad launching for standard edition owners on February 2, all eyes on are on the servers to see if they hold firm, or render the game unplayable once again.
This week, IGN reported that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League isn’t the late Kevin Conroy’s final Batman performance, as previously suspected. Conroy, of course, is beloved for his performance as Batman both in The Animated Series and Rocksteady’s Arkham series of video games. With that in mind, controversy arose in regards to one of his scenes in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. We won’t spoil the specific details (you can learn more here), but one scene had many fans feeling that it was an unceremonious goodbye to Conroy’s time as Batman.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
If I’m over at someone’s place with a bunch of people and they say, “Let’s play Overcooked!” I will always visibly recoil. The game is bad for my blood pressure and for the solidity of my friendships. So, I am terrified by the prospect of Speed Crew, an Overcooked-like set in racing pit stops as opposed to kitchens. I gave it a whirl and it has promise! Even if I now need a big lie down. I am not cut out for jobs involving manual labour, nor games where I play as someone who needs to perform manual labour.
It worked on three RPG games for Switch.
There’s some industry news coming out of Japan today that Square Enix has absorbed the developer Tokyo RPG Factory.
As part of this, Tokyo RPG Factory will be immediately dissolved and “will cease to exist as an individual entity” (thanks, Gematsu). Tokyo RPG Factory was a subsidiary of Square Enix and was founded by Yosuke Matsuda a decade ago.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Returning next month.
Nintendo’s upcoming release Mario vs. Donkey Kong will revive the 2004 Game Boy Advance title next month on the Switch.
If you haven’t already seen our own “hands on” here on Nintendo Life, we mentioned how “psyched” we were for the full release, as the Switch version is a game filled with meaningful changes, new modes, and a modern look and feel that should make it even better than the original game.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Warning: The below story contains a potential spoiler for Persona 3 and Persona 3: Reload.
The Persona series has long had issues with gay and trans panic, but Persona 3: Reload at least removes the transphobia from one scene in particular.
The Persona 3 scene in question had the party trying to hit on women at the beach, with Akihiko, Junpei, and the protagonist approaching a character referred to as “Beautiful Lady.” After some back-and-forth, Akihiko points out a bit of facial hair on her chin, to which Beautiful Lady responds, “I-I missed a spot?!” Junpei then exclaims “she’s a he?!”
The dialogue is very slightly changed in Persona 3 Portable (the character is named “Pretty Lady” instead of “Beautiful Lady”), but still includes the same trans panic.
As first reported by Kotaku and verified by IGN, however, Persona 3: Reload changes the dialogue quite a bit. The end result is the same – the party running away from the woman – but instead of it being due to her being trans, it’s because she’s actually a conspiracy theorist trying to sell them sunscreen.
In the new scene, the conversation starts to go awry after “Pretty Lady” tells them, “You know that sun in the sky isn’t real, right? That’s an artificial sun that got sent into space back into the 1980s.”
Her character name then changes to “Delusional Lady” as she tells them that “normal sunscreen doesn’t” work” against that fake sun, and tries to sell them “special” sunscreen for 300,000 yen. The gang figures out this character is a little off, and scurry. The scene’s still a little odd, but the transphobic aspect, at least, is gone in this new version.
This isn’t the first time Altus has made a change based on homophobic or transphobic content in the Persona series. In 2020, Altus changed certain scenes in Persona 5 that were considered offensive and homophobic by fans for the Western release of Persona 5 Royal.
For more on Persona 3: Reload, check out our review, where Michael Higham gave the remake a 9/10. With a stellar visual overhaul and countless small but impactful changes, Persona 3 Reload tells a timeless story of tragedy and hope with sharp emotional sincerity,” Higham wrote.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Though wild speculation around metaverses has calmed somewhat in the last year, the idea is far from dead, with a number of companies still hard at work trying to find ways to integrate all their properties into one massive, interconnected space. The latest to discuss these ideas is Electronic Arts, with CEO Andrew Wilson responding to a question during today’s earnings call about a potential EA Sports metaverse with what sounds a heck of a lot like a concrete plan to make one in the near future.
During the Q&A portion, Wilson was asked if he had ever thought about “taking all of your siloed sport communities and thinking about a way to bring them all together” to “just sort of create, for lack of a better word, a metaverse?”
To this, Wilson gave a lengthy response outlining a whole lot of reasons why a publisher like EA might consider doing exactly that. He began by reiterating the enormity of the EA player community: over 700 million players, about half of which interact with the sports catalog in some way. EA Sports itself is, per Wilson, “one of the most recognizable and recognized sports brands.” And the upcoming generations Z and Alpha, he continued, often use EA Sports as an entry point to a love of sports in general.
“What we know to be true right now is our players spend on average about 90 minutes a session inside one of our games. They then leave that game experience where they’ve been deeply connected with their core friend unit, then they go and talk about that experience on another platform, then they go and create content about that experience on yet another platform, then finally they go and watch that content on another platform. We do believe we have a meaningful opportunity over the coming years to harness the power of that community both inside and outside of our games, which is really the third pillar of our core strategy, and will be led by our EA Sports brand.”
Wilson then reiterated that while he had nothing to announce today, EA sees “an incredible opportunity” in all these interconnected relationships between EA Sports’ popularity, how players behave within it and outside of it, and how it can interact with other experiences. “So best I can say is: watch this space,” he concluded.
While speculation on the metaverse has cooled in the last year, Wilson’s strategy seems far more tactical and focused than some of the more grandiose metaverse propostions floated by companies like Epic and Meta in the past. And his remarks are unshocking in light of the company’s continued EA Sports success. In today’s earnings report, EA reported net bookings of $2.37 billion and net revenue of $1.945 billion for the quarter ending on December 31, 2023, largely driven by EA Sports FC outperforming expectations with 7% year-over-year growth. Madden also remains a moneymaker, bringing in 5% year-over-year net bookings growth. And that doesn’t even get into its other properties: NHL, UFC, F1, PGA Tour, WRC, and the long-awaited EA Sports College Football. With its live services now consisting of 73% of EA’s business, it’s no surprise that EA would want to find ways to capitalize on that power, especially now that it’s proven it doesn’t need the FIFA name attached to succeed.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Plus One.
The King of the Monsters is making its way to Minecraft in some brand new DLC, available on the Minecraft Marketplace.
The Godzilla DLC is out right now, and what a perfect fit for Minecraft, if we say so ourselves. The idea of the dinosaur-like kaiju stomping around the blocky world of Minecraft is genius, and that’s exactly what it’ll be doing. The DLC has been developed by Japanese studio Team-KYO and Impress and introduces four new gameplay modes that highlight the history of Godzilla and its films.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Granblue Fantasy: Relink will be available on February 1 for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. Ahead of its release, we sat down with the General Director, Tetsuya Fukuhara, and Director Yasuyuki Kaji from Cygames to discuss the efforts that went into this title.
PlayStation Blog: As the release day approaches, tell us your feelings and thoughts about the upcoming title.
Tetsuya Fukuhara: Just like most team members, the reality hasn’t sunk in yet for me. With the support of the company, we were able to focus on the development of the game, and the demo version received a more positive response than we had hoped for, so I feel all the effort we made to make this title as exciting as possible has paid off.
Yasuyuki Kaji: I feel terrible about how long it took for us to develop Relink and for keeping our fans in limbo. That said, I truly believe our time and effort have translated well into this title. The great response we’ve received for the demo version has instilled confidence in us that players would appreciate the work we have put into Relink, but of course, I feel nervous as it gets closer to the launch.
The battle movements and tempo are quite nimble. Are there any behind-the-scenes stories on how the team decided on the battle speed and what adjustments needed to be made?
Fukuhara: From the initial concept stage, our goal was to make it so that even those still new to action games could control their character skillfully. As we refined the details like movements and hit timing, we adjusted the battle speed; Slower movement or delayed timing would ruin the exhilarating sensation, and faster movement or quicker timing would make it too difficult for the player to keep up with the movement.
Kaji: We wanted to appeal to a broader range of players. Or, more precisely, with the assumption that people who have played the original Granblue Fantasy will be playing the console version for the first time, so we wanted to avoid making the game system too strict.
With over 20 playable characters appearing in the product version of the title, each with their own unique action style and different playstyle, what mind process did you go through to create this level of difference?
Kaji: Since Granblue Fantasy characters are very popular, I didn’t want Relink to be just another game with them. We aimed to create a game that pushes the limit by bringing out the best in each character and having depth and profundity in the action.
Fukuhara: When choosing characters to include in Relink, we envisioned which characters from the original title would offer a unique play feel and contribute best to make the game more exciting. In earlier days of development, I recall reminding the team not to hold back their creativity because they seemed too focused on mirroring the animation and styles of the original title. It is true that we had to make sure that we stayed within the character images of our original Granblue Fantasy fans, but it is also true that our job was to exceed their expectations and surprise them.
Kaji: One of the stages features an ether cannon that fires projectiles. When firing two types of projectiles, the adaptive trigger has different resistance, so the player feels the sensation of firing and the recoil at the tips of their fingers.
Haptic feedback, on the other hand, was fully utilized, especially in battles. As the title boasts a variety of fighting characters who use a wide range of weapons, the haptic feedback is distinctively different from slashing with a large sword to striking with a heavy fist to slicing with two swords. This is directly related to the difference in the playstyle of each character. Also, regarding the game system, when a player successfully performs a just-guard or other move, the DualSense wireless controller sends stronger vibrations. With Haptic feedback, players can feel whether their move was a success or failure, while simultaneously allowing them to experience a sense of tactility and exhilaration.
Fukuhara: Our fundamental goal was to stay true to its 2D illustrations. Achieving that in 3D took us years of trial and error until we were finally satisfied.
Kaji: There was a period of time when we would compare the finished 3D model with the original illustration and repeatedly make adjustments, saying, This part can still be better. All the textures of the background were hand-drawn. For the background illustrations in Granblue Fantasy, the amount of information is cut back for objects seen in the distance, but to reproduce this in 3D space, we walked around the world and made adjustments.
This title places a great deal of importance on the characters. How are characters portrayed in the game?
Fukuhara: Each character comes from a unique, rich background, so it was important to include the elements of their Fate Episodes from the original version. We wanted to make them easily accessible to players stepping into the world of Relink. Since the backstory of who each character is and why they are with the main character plays an indispensable role in the game, the first two episodes of each character’s ten-part Fate Episode are revealed automatically.
Kaji: It’s not a lie if I say the Link Attacks were included for the purpose of dialogue. Chain Bursts, which is also in the original game, allow the characters to talk to each other, but that alone does not give them enough opportunities to have dialogue during normal gameplay. When we were trying to develop an organic way to allow players to have dialogue with their allies instead of monologue for a more enjoyable game experience, we decided to employ the concept of fighting together.
What are your plans for additional downloadable content, new quests, and other post-launch developments?
Fukuhara: We have already announced that we will add the most challenging quest in March, two playable characters, Seofon and Tweyen, and a new quest in April. Beyond that, I cannot reveal yet, but we are planning another update in May.
Anything else you’d like to make sure players know?
Fukuhara: Each character offers a different play experience, so I recommend playing with all characters. Of course, you can enjoy the game even if you play the main character exclusively and play solo until endgame content. You’ll notice it will go smoothly when you play the story mode, but as we have carefully created every nook and cranny of the map, we hope you step away from the story and explore the map from time to time. It’s sure to give you a fresh perspective during the game!
Kaji: We designed the game to be accessible so that many people can play and enjoy this title. As each character has their own unique style of play, we successfully imbued palpable profoundness in the game. We hope you will enjoy playing the game in a way that allows you to explore each character’s unique moves. The game offers a large selection of equipment and skills, so you can master your characters how you like to fight.
Granblue Fantasy: Relink launches on PS5 and PS4 on February 1.
Yesterday, IGN reported that Spec Ops: The Line had been delisted from Steam. Today, we updated that story with reporting that the game had also disappeared from other digital storefronts, including Fanatical, Gamesplanet, and Nuuvem. And now, we have confirmation from 2K themselves: one of the most important video games of the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation is disappearing from online storefronts for good.
2K Games sent IGN the following statement confirming The Line’s delisting:
Spec Ops: The Line will no longer be available on online storefronts, as several partnership licenses related to the game are expiring.
Players who have purchased the game can still download and play the game uninterrupted. 2K would like to thank our community of players who have supported the game, and we look forward to bringing you more offerings from our label throughout this year and beyond.
While 2K hasn’t provided specifics as to what partnerships are expiring, Spec Ops: The Line contains several pieces of licensed music, including Jimmy Hendrix’s iconic rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. Expiring music licenses have been the reason for many delistings in the past, and that would seem to be a probable reason here.
The delisting is not only a huge blow to games preservation, which already faces enormous challenges, but a loss for the medium in general. Spec Ops: The Line was one of the most important and acclaimed games of the seventh console generation and one of the rare military shooters that dared to critique the genre it operated in.
In our review, we wrote, “Spec Ops is a daring experiment worth celebrating. For the first time, a
game with guns doesn’t want you to be the hero – it wants you to feel terrible about trying to be one.”
The Line helped to usher in a new, more critical era of video games based on modern conflict and produced several groundbreaking works of games criticism, including Brendan Keogh’s Killing is Harmless, one of the first book-length analyses of a single video game. There’s a reason people still talk about the white phosphorus scene. It’s a shame that soon, people will no longer be able to access it on digital storefronts.
As of the time of this writing, Spec Ops: The Line is still available on Good Old Games and Xbox, where it is backwards compatible. Anyone interested in purchasing it should probably do so before it disappears into the heart of an immense darkness… for good.
Will Borger is an IGN freelancer. You can find him on Twitter @bywillborger
