System: Switch
Release date: September 26, 2019
Developer: THQ Nordic
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Earlier this year, THQ Nordic treated us to a rather lovely Switch port of Darksiders – titled Darksiders Warmastered Edition – that proved, if nothing else, to be a bit of a technical achievement. Being a fast-paced hack and slasher that relies on precise inputs and visual cues, it gave Switch owners the choice of either playing the game at high resolution and 30 frames per second, or at a lower resolution whilst running at 60 frames per second. This choice, and the work that went into making it possible, resulted in a technically magnificent game that drew plenty of praise across the Switch community. As we near the all-important holiday season, THQ Nordic has decided to bolster its late 2019 lineup with a Switch port of the game’s sequel, Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening had a strong debut in Europe, as Nintendo has said that the game sold 430,000 copies in its first three days. To put it another way, that’s over 100 games sold per minute.
As previously reported, Zelda: Link’s Awakening is the fastest-selling Switch game in Europe this year. We also know that it sold around 150,000 copies sold in its first week in Japan.
Source: Nintendo PR
Galarian Ponyta will be included in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield, the recent 24-hour live stream for the games revealed. The Pokemon has a new look similar to other Galarian forms.
Here’s a quick look:
Compared to the some of the big developers out there, Game Freak is relatively small. Companies like Ubisoft, Activision, and EA have massive amounts of staffers working on their projects. Meanwhile, the core team at Game Freak has only around 180-200 people working on Pokemon Sword/Shield, which may seem small in comparison.
Junichi Masuda, who has been at Game Freak since the early days, told Game Informer that he’d work with just 20 employees if he could. He noted that having bigger teams results in having too many cooks in the kitchen. Masuda prefers small teams due to how key communication is, which can be challenging when developing games.
Game Freak established the Gear Project system in which it lets even smaller teams create projects outside of Pokemon. Little Town Hero, HarmoKnight, Pocket Card Jockey, and Giga Wrecker Alt. were all born from that initiative. If Masuda had a chance to do something within Gear Project, he’d make a shooter along the lines of R-Type.
Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled kicked off its new Spooky Grand Prix yesterday. Take a look at some footage of the event below.
My Nintendo has updated with its latest rewards in North America. Members can spend their points on discounts, 3DS themes, and even some other items like a coupon at Cold Stone Creamery.
Here’s the full listing of rewards:
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield are the next true entries in the franchise. This is also the latest generation and the first new one on a console. Given those aspects, it makes sense that Game Freak re-examined all aspects of gameplay while developing Pokemon Sword/Shield.
Planning director Kazumasa Iwao spoke with Game Informer in the magazine’s latest issue as to how Game Freak approaches keeping the experience fresh, stating:
