The TOTK and Mario Movie effects take their toll.
Nintendo has published its financial results for the first quarter of the 2024/25 fiscal year, revealing that Switch hardware sales now stand at 143.42 million units sold (as of 30th June 2024).
This is up from 141.32 million as reported in May, with Nintendo selling 2.1 million consoles across the Switch family of systems between 1st April and 30th June, which represents a 46.3% decline year-on-year.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Out on Switch this September.
The famous prosecutor Miles Edgeworth is returning this September in Capcom’s Ace Attorney Investigations Collection.
The first batch of “hands on” have now gone live, including our own here on Nintendo Life which also happens to include an interview with three members of the development team. Here’s our closing argument for this preview:
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
CEO says there were “no requests for changes to the game”.
Although physical pre-orders for Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP have already gone live, we’re still actually waiting for the digital pre-purchases to be made available.
Dragami Games CEO Yoshimi Yasuda has taken to social media now to mention how pre-orders for digital version will be “opening soon” on multiple platforms including the Switch. He has also mentioned how there were “no requests for changes to the game content” during this process, which was “very important” to the team.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Bungie misrepresented its finances and had significantly overextended itself when Sony acquired the studio for $3.6 billion in 2022, former workers claimed in a new Game File report published in the wake of Wednesday’s layoffs.
It was apparently bad enough that at least one source described as a “well-connected former worker” went so far as to claim that Bungie faced dire consequences if the acquisition hadn’t happened, saying that the “alternate history is insolvency.”
Their comments paint the picture of a studio that was struggling despite the success of Destiny and Destiny 2 due to supporting too many projects and other problems. Following the Sony acquisition, Game File’s sources claim Bungie repeatedly missed its financial targets, leading to roughly 100 employees being laid off in November 2023.
A second round of layoffs followed on Wednesday, impacting another 220 people, or 17 percent of the studio’s workforce, with another 155 being integrated elsewhere in Sony Interactive Entertainment. Bungie is also spinning out one of its incubation projects to form a new studio under the PlayStation banner.
Within Bungie, the layoffs had been anticipated for some time. In December 2023, IGN reported that the feeling within the studio was that it faced more reductions if The Final Shape didn’t do well. But according to Game File’s source, even The Final Shape being a major blockbuster success couldn’t have stopped the layoffs. Indeed, with Destiny 2 on the wane some seven years after its original release, The Final Shape reportedly failed to outsell the previous expansion, Lightfall, despite being a critical success.
Former Bungie workers and other members of the games industry have been vocal in the wake of the layoffs, with many of them blaming the studio’s leadership led by CEO Pete Parsons. Their sentiments were echoed by those in Game File’s report, claiming that Bungie “sold things they were just not able to deliver.” Parsons, for his part, blamed the cuts on the rising costs of development and “enduring economic conditions,” confirming that the studio had been “running in the red” following delays to The Final Shape and Marathon.
Bungie is far from alone in being hit with layoffs, with other publishers including EA, Xbox, Riot, and others also introducing cutbacks in what has been a difficult year for the games industry. For now, it will continue to focus its efforts entirely on Destiny and the upcoming Marathon, which does not have a release date and is currently set for some time in 2025.
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.
Woot! (which is owned by Amazon) is offering the best deal on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Right now you can get a 3 month code for only $36.49. Microsoft recently raised the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate to $19.99 per month, so now you’re saving 40% off a 3 month membership. Note that you can purchase multiple codes and apply them to your account, up to a maximum of 36 months. This deal expires on August 10 or sooner if the quota is met.
Note: There is a coupon code “VIDEOGAMES” that takes $3 off one order. If you purchase multiple gift cards, this code will only work on a single gift card.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate gives you access to a library of hundreds of Xbox games, including day one releases. You can play them for the entirety of your membership without any restrictions. You do lose access to them once your membership is over, but if you ever decide to renew, all your past achievements and progress will be saved. You’ll also have access to Xbox Game Pass for PC. Although there aren’t nearly as many games as there are on Xbox, there are still plenty of AAA titles to keep you sated. Other perks include exclusive membership discounts, the ability to play your games across multiple devices with cloud gaming, free access to EA Play membership, as well as bonus in-game content and rewards. It is an exceptionally good – almost essential – membership for Xbox gamers. New release games are not cheap, and being able to play them without buying them will save you a lot of money and easily recoup the cost of the membership.
Looking for more Xbox deals? Check out all of the best Xbox deals today.
For me, and I believe also for all gamers who find video games an opportunity to experience great adventures, discoveries and challenges, Mars has always been an ongoing source of fascination and mystery. Throughout history, many works of science fiction have placed the planet as the setting for epic adventures in books, films and, of course, video games.
And it’s precisely all of these references, spanning 40 years, since the core of our development team is comprised of 80s kids (I’m almost 50 myself!), that have set the tone, theme and genre for the game Mars 2120, out today.
In Mars 2120 you’ll face an adventure that tries to bring back the nostalgia of the action and science fiction films of the 80s and 90s, as well as a loving homage to the genre known as metroidvania, a mix of RPG elements, platforming and non-linear exploration. And nothing could be more appropriate than encouraging exploration in a game whose main theme is space exploration and the scientific curiosity that drives us as innate explorers towards incredible discoveries about our universe.
Every time you play a game, there is a rich story from the very first sketches to its final form. Mars 2120 was no different. With a very small team and dividing our time between our other projects and games, it took us almost five years to finish the game that we’d love you to experience, explore and feel like, again or for the first time, depending on your age, watching the movies that fascinated us when we were young, or playing the games of the genre that left you in front of the screen for hours trying to find that special item or power up to overcome a challenge that seemed insurmountable at first.
All that time may seem like a lot to you, but for us it also represented a giant step forward. For the first time, we faced a project four times bigger than any other before, as you do in a game that puts you in front of great challenges, while learning and experiencing a new development technology with which we were not completely unfamiliar.
Step into the shoes of Sergeant Anna “Thirteen” Charlotte and traverse scenarios reminiscent of the planet seen in “Total Recall”, feel the fear of facing gigantic enemies like Ellen Ripley did with the queen of the xenomorphs in “Alien”, throw punches like Arnold Schwarzenegger did in his classic action films (Yes! Mars 2120 has hand-to-hand combat!) and feel the abandonment and uncertainty of being lost in space like the character of Willis Davidge (Dennis Quaid) felt in the 1985 movie “Enemy Mine”.
I think you get the message here. We have taken everything that amused us when we were young and brought it back especially for you, in the form of a game. Because we want you to have fun with everything that sparked our desire to make entertainment our job – games! So I’m not exaggerating when I say Mars 2120 is a dream we have been building since we were kids.
The games industry is for everyone, you just have to jump in and make the game you want to play. And that’s exactly what we did and what you can do too! Now it’s time to put on your spacesuit, get your fists ready and go on a great adventure knowing that Mars 2120 is not just a game, it’s also a dream, a piece of our lives that we really want to share with you.
Are you ready to defeat terrifying enemies and discover all the secrets of the first human colony on Mars?
I dare you! And then come back and tell us how it went. Good luck and have a good adventure!
QUByte Interactive
The post Mars 2120: How a Veteran Indie Team Turned their 90s Dream into Martian Reality appeared first on Xbox Wire.
If you’re an IGN Plus member, a new game is available to claim now with IGN Rewards. You can claim a free Mecha Break Steam key with your membership while supplies last. If you’re a fan of Mecha anime or titles like Armored Core, Mecha BREAK is perfect for you. From developer Amazing Seasun Games, this multiplayer title looks to offer explosive action like never seen before.
This Mecha BREAK Steam key can be used to access the game’s latest beta build, which is available during the Limited and Open Access phases, set to run from August 3 to August 13. Full access to the game will be available for IGN Plus users starting on August 2 at 7 PM, so you can play the game for the entirety of the beta period.
The beta test will be used by Amazing Seasun Games to stress test the server to prepare for launch. Regional servers will be available across most major continents, including North America, Africa, Europe, and more. One of the modes available will be the 6v6 multiplayer mode, where you face off against other players in explosive action combat.
Mecha BREAK is set to release across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. If you’re interested in the title, don’t miss your chance to check it out early with IGN Plus!
If you’re unfamiliar with IGN Plus, it’s the ultimate subscription to get the most out of your IGN experience! Some of the perks include no ads across IGN, unlimited maps and checklists for games, free games each month, and even discounts at IGN Store! Learn more and try IGN Plus today.
Star Wars Outlaws creative director Julian Gerighty isn’t interested in entertaining “bad faith” conversations about the upcoming Ubisoft game’s protagonist, Kay Vess.
As previews for the upcoming open-world title rolled out this week, Gerighty, in an interview with The Washington Post, touched on the discourse that some are pushing on social media that Kay isn’t “attractive enough.” His response? Don’t give that conversation attention.
“Kay is meant to be approachable, a petty thief who ends up barreling through this story, making bad decisions and centered with a lot of humor, humility, and toughness,” Gerighty said. “That’s what’s important to me. And she’s beautiful, come on.”
“It makes no sense to me and it’s not worth engaging with,” he continued. “If you engage with bad-faith people, there’s no nuance and no possibility of real dialogue. So all we can do is make the best game possible.”
Gerighty’s comments come shortly after Ubisoft raised eyebrows with a statement on another one of its upcoming games, Assassin’s Creed Shadows. In the statement, the company apologized to its Japanese community for promotional elements that “have caused concern.” Moderators of the main Assassin’s Creed subreddit complained that the statement “exacerbated” the “tedious discussion” about protagonist Yasuke and his status as a samurai, and warned users against engaging with the debate.
We’ve been learning more and more about Star Wars Outlaws as final previews published this week. In IGN’s preview, Ryan McCaffrey wrote that he had a “fantastic time” with the game, adding, “Open-world games tend to be jacks-of-all-trades, masters-of-none, and while I’m not sure Outlaws will master any of its gameplay components, it nonetheless not only does them all very well, but it does so with a convincing Star Wars sheen.”
Star Wars Outlaws will release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 30.
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.
So powerful.
The latest Famitsu charts are in and, as expected, it’s another strong week for the Switch, with only Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025 representing a competing console in the software top ten.
There are two newcomers this week, too, with One Piece Odyssey entering the charts at in second place – not to be sniffed at – while The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II just about makes it onto the podium at number nine.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
After a successful landing on PC back in October, AirportSim, the advanced airport ground handling simulator, arrives on Xbox Today. For the past few months, Polish studio MS Games have been hard at work bringing their highly-detailed airport experience to console. With the release of AirportSim on Xbox now on the horizon, Iceberg Interactive’s Ben Kobs sat down with producer Krzysztof Stabryła to talk about their journey so far!
Can you tell us a little bit about the history of AirportSim? How long have you been working on it and how did the development go?
We’ve been working on AirportSim since late 2021. We’re all aviation fans at MS Games, but Mateusz, our CEO, has been a devoted aviation enthusiast since childhood. Not only does he have a pilot’s license, but he has also been creating software for flight simulators since 2008. The idea of developing a ground handling simulator has been floating around in his head for a long time and we felt like that area was generally unexplored in the sim space, so we were eager to get to work on a sim focussing on ground operations.
The development had its ups and downs, but it was a lot of fun. We had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people and collaborate with them to create our game. From actual ground handling companies to vehicle manufacturers, we were lucky to get access to meticulous technical documentation and first-hand insights into the intricacies of airport life, which made the development process a lot easier.
How exciting is it for you to be able to bring your game to a console like Xbox?
We are very excited to introduce AirportSim and the world of ground handling to Xbox. This will help us reach aviation enthusiasts who may not have access to the game otherwise. Bringing our game to a console like Xbox is a thrilling milestone for us, as it allows us to share our passion for aviation with a wider community!
What role does an active community play in the development of the game? How does fan feedback affect you?
During production, we received enormous amounts of support and feedback from our community. We launched a couple of demos for people to try out, and their feedback was invaluable in fine-tuning some features and fixing key issues before launch. The aviation community has always been a huge help in creating projects like this one, and their insights were crucial to our development process.
How important was it for you to give players a realistic experience in AirportSim? Can you elaborate on how realistic the game is compared to real-life ground handling?
It was important for us to deliver a realistic ground handling experience in AirportSim. We are proud to say that our mechanics are nearly identical to real life! We visited many airports and ground handling firms, and, during production, partnered with Welcome Airport Services, LS Airport Services, Warsaw Chopin Airport, and countless others. These partnerships provided us with enormous support.
Of course, some procedures can vary from country to country, airline to airline, and even city to city. This means there may be some discrepancies as certain tasks might be performed differently than what some players are used to. That’s why we decided to standardize these procedures. We wanted to keep things realistic, but also needed to ensure the game was cohesive and enjoyable for players.
What challenges have you faced in the design and execution?
Before we partnered with industry experts, one of the biggest challenges we faced was the lack of documentation and clear and detailed photos. Creating and recreating these models took a lot of time and effort and it was tough to start working on accurate models and representations. We dug through thousands of pages of documentation. It was a tedious and time-consuming task, but essential for the level of realism we were aiming for.
Sound recording was another big hurdle. Airports are incredibly loud places! It’s difficult to get clear audio recordings. But our sound designer, Łukasz, did an amazing job navigating this and made sure everything sounds just right in the game.
So, what’s next?
For now it’s focussing on Xbox! The game is out today and we’re stoked to see how it goes. We’re proud of how it turned out, so make sure to check out AirportSim on Xbox and enjoy the fulfilling experience of the duties of a ground crew member at various airports!
Iceberg Interactive
There is always so much to do!
Enjoy many of the accurate in-game tasks developed using documented knowledge and interviews with real-world airport ground handling staff:
– Follow me – Taxiing Aircraft Guidance
– Marshalling
– Securing an aircraft
– Connecting GPU
– Fuelling
– Handling Luggage
– Jetway manoeuvring
– Catering…
– and more
Real life Airports
Four true-to-life airports which we personally captured and carefully recreated, focusing on elements such as ground layouts, plane parking, lines, and gate numbers all matching real life. You can follow real aviation charts to move around!
Gameplay Modes
There are multiple gameplay modes within AirportSim,
– Scenario: Based on stacked flight plans, predefined weather conditions and tasks you’ll need to complete in sequence.
– Challenge: Feel like you can handle any situation at the airport? Test your skills by placing as high as possible on the scoreboard!
– Co-op: Together you can do more, and have more fun – invite your friends to join you on an adventure at one of the busy airports.
– Free Play: No rules here, explore airports at your own speed and do as you please. You can watch the planes come and go or get involved, you decide!
The post AirportSim Has Landed on Xbox: The Journey So Far appeared first on Xbox Wire.
