Author: Brittany Vincent

NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Co-op RPG Minecraft Dungeons is getting its own arcade cabinet.

• READ MORE: ‘Ghosts ’n Goblins Resurrection’ review: the punishing classic is back with more fighting chances

Mojang creative communications assistant and editor Per Landin took to the official Minecraft blog to reveal the new game. Created in cooperation with arcade gaming company Play Mechanix, Minecraft Dungeon Arcade is a new way to play.

The cabinet features four-player co-op that’s perfect for arcade action. It comes with nine unique levels, and each player has three different moves they can use: Range, Melee, and Dodge.

Separate from the console and PC version is a mode where players use physical cards (likely assigned via the arcade) to save their progress. There are 60 cards to collect. Each session, players can scan up to five cards via embedded scanner right on the arcade machine. The idea is to eventually collect them all. There are ways to earn additional weapons, skins and more goodies.

“If you take a step back, you can see the similarities between the two, but when you take a step into [a consumer] game, it’s like a waltz,” said Play Mechanix creative director Will Carlin.

Carlin suggests using “every button that’s on that control panel to survive”. Players can head out to the arcade to try out Minecraft Dungeons Arcade later this year. Several cabinets are currently stationed around North America right now for early testing.

Previously, Flames of the Nether, the latest Minecraft Dungeons DLC, debuted in late February.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Codemasters’ racing title Dirt 5 and 2K Sports’ basketball game NBA 2K21 are both free to play this weekend on Steam.

• READ MORE: Tempted to try gaming? Here’s everything you need to know

Dirt 5 is an amalgam of off-road racing. It features a career, mode, split-screen and online multiplayer, a livery and wrap editor, and additional ways to customise each ride.

Players zip around a variety of different tracks in global locations. In addition to rough terrain, drivers also have to concern themselves with inclement weather. Rain, snow, ice, and gravel impede racers’ progress. There’s a wide selection of vehicles up to the task, however, including both cars and trucks.

Currently, the game is on sale for 50 per cent off its normal price. Both the standard and Year One editions are included in the sale.

NBA 2K21 is the latest release in a long line of basketball titles. As per usual, it offers online and local multiplayer, a career mode, community features, and plenty of players to choose from. The MyTEAM option lets players create their own team comprised of legendary players, and there are of course dozens of courts to play on as well.

NBA 2K21 is on sale too, for 67 per cent off its normal price. The Mamba Edition is 33 per cent off as well.

Both Dirt 5 and NBA 2K21 will be available for the next three days, after which time they’ll go back to their sale price for a limited time.

Previously, EA officially completed its $1.2billion acquisition of developer Codemasters, which created Dirt 5, in mid-February. EA has since announced it will release new racing games every year following the acquisition, though Codemasters’ operations will remain largely unchanged. With EA’s franchises like Need for Speed and Burnout under its belt, it’s possible Codemasters could contribute to a new instalment in one of those series in the future.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two believes it’s time to start introducing $70 games.

• READ MORE: ‘Skyward Sword’ isn’t the Zelda remaster everyone wanted, but who cares when we have ‘Mario Golf’

During the recent Morgan Stanley Tech, Media, and Telecom Conference, an investor asked Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick his thoughts on the company’s decision to raise prices.

“Our view was that we’re offering an extraordinary array of experiences and lots of replayability,” said Zelnick.

“The last time there was a frontline price increase in the US was in 2005-2006. So we think consumers were ready for it.”

When Take-Two announced sports title NBA 2K21 would debut for $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, fans were taken aback. Since then, the publisher has changed its stance, stating instead that it would not raise the price of each game, after all.

Afterward, Take-Two’s actions inspired additional publishers to pursue a similar sales model. Publisher Activision, known for its massively popular shooter series Call Of Duty, adopted the same sales model, as did Sony. Going forward, all first-party PS5 titles will retail for $70.

However, Zelnick indicated that the company won’t be taking a blanket pricing policy stance across all its release. They will be decided per game, taking multiple factors into account.

“We all know anecdotally that even if you love a consumer experience, if you feel you were overcharged for it, it ruins the experience and you don’t want to have it again,” Zelnick explained. “If you go to a nice restaurant and have a great experience and a great meal, but the check is double what you think it should be, you’re never going back.”

Previously in February, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) reportedly purchased over $3billion (£2.1billion) stocks in several publishers, including Take-Two Interactive.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

The Super Nintendo World theme park in Orlando, Florida reportedly won’t open to the public until 2025.

• READ MORE: Is the Xbox Series S good value in the long run?

According to the Orlando Sentinel (via IGN), Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings stated that Universal made the decision to push back the park’s opening two years later than originally planned.

Previously, the park was on schedule to open in 2023. When the coronavirus pandemic shook the world in 2020, work on Universal’s Super Nintendo World location in Orlando ceased. Now, in a press release from the Orlando Informer, Universal states that work will begin again “immediately”.

Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is among those at Universal who wants to see Super Nintendo World come to fruition, even if it is a little later than planned.

“We have high, high hopes for what it means,” he said. “It’s a whole interactive gaming experience. We’ve been investing in parks and hotels, so as we look at the next 10 years, it’s hard not to see an exciting road map ahead for the parks business.”

It’s unclear how much longer it will take to complete the park and whether some of this extra time will take current COVID-19 restrictions into account. It hasn’t been explicitly stated whether or not the Orlando location will mirror the Universal Studios Japan location.

The Super Nintendo World location in Japan is currently open to the public. There, visitors can enjoy attractions like a real-world Mario Kart ride with AR glasses, a recreation of Princess Peach’s castle, and various cafes and shops.

Ahead of the park’s official opening, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto recorded a video tour of the park for fans. Given that most Mario fans around the globe are still unable to travel to Japan at this time, it allows for vicarious visits to the cartoon-like park.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Developer People Can Fly’s Outriders demo has seen over 2million players.

• READ MORE: What happened, Google Stadia?

Square Enix’s Outriders community manager ‘thearcan’ took to Reddit to deliver the news. The post also explained what to expect from an upcoming patch for Outriders that’s set to release next week.

The free demo first debuted in late February. It allows players to make their way through the game as quickly or as slowly as they’d like and will be live indefinitely. That way, players can transfer their progress over to the full game starting April 1.

People Can Fly explains that certain issues arose during the demo that the patch is aiming to resolve.

For instance, some players experienced connectivity issues when trying to join the game. The backend couldn’t scale in time with how many people were joining at the same time, which meant some players weren’t able to get in and play as soon as they wanted.

The developer assures players in the Reddit post that won’t be an issue with the full release. The patch will resolve similar problems to that one as well as crash fixes, a motion blur toggle, improvements to matchmaking times, and a host of additional “minor” improvements and fixes.

There’s a backend update coming specifically for the demo as well on March 5 at 3pm GMT for all platforms. It won’t require a separate download, with “seamless” changes. This includes changes to Captain mob abilities, Gauss’ health points, and loot drop frequency and the types of items you can receive.

Square Enix and People Can Fly been working hard to bring the final version of Outriders to fruition. Previously in October 2020, the companies made the difficult decision to push the game’s release back to February 2021. It was since delayed further in January 2021, with the announcement of a free demo, and is now expected on April 1.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

The mobile version of Genshin Impact has earned about $874million in revenue in its first five months on the market.

• READ MORE: Is the Xbox Series S good value in the long run?

According to data from analyst firm Sensor Tower, the free-to-play adventure from miHoYo is also now the sitting atop the App Store and Google Play revenue charts. Since launching in Sep. 2020, it has rocketed to the top of the list, third behind Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile. Sensor Tower estimates that both games have earned over $1billion in the past five months.

This puts Genshin Impact in the position of being the top-earning mobile RPG. Sensor Tower estimates the app brings in about $175million each month on average. In October 2020 alone, it earned nearly $234million.

China is currently the main revenue generating country for the game. There, Genshin Impact earned about $253million from the Chinese App Store, or around 29 per cent of combined global spending.

Many players who spend money on the game are doing so in the hopes of receiving access to their favourite characters. They’re given away in special “gacha” giveaways where random characters are awarded, much like titles that include Fire Emblem Heroes.

The open world adventure game has been receiving regular updates since its debut. With update 1.3, it introduced The Lantern Rite festival, a seasonal event.

The Rite sent players to assist the citizens of Liyue in preparation for the festival. It offered an abundance of new activities as well as the introduction of a new hero named Xiao.

Previously, Genshin Impact revealed its roadmap back in October 2020. Developer miHoYo hasn’t deviated from the plans it lined out. It received its first full map update in December 2020.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

IO Interactive revealed the Hitman 3 March roadmap on Thursday, showcasing all the new content on its way for players to dig into.

• READ MORE: ‘Valheim’ is a Steam survival smash hit with serious depth

The content-rich Hitman 3 roadmap kicks off on March 4 with the Lesley Celebration Escalation Contract, with several other additions peppered throughout the month. The following week, the Easy Allies Featured Contracts in the Chongqing level are set to go live on March 11.

Following that, players can track down an Elusive Target in the Isle of Sgáil level from March 19 through march 29. On March 25, there will be several new Eurogamer Featured Contracts available on the Mendoza map as well.

Check out a look at the content in the March roadmap via the official trailer on YouTube. The complete dates of interest are as follows:

• March 4: Escalation – The Lesley Celebration
• March 11: Featured Contracts by Easy Allies – Chongqing
• March 19 – March 29: Elusive Target – The Stowaway
• March 25: Featured Contracts by Eurogamer – Mendoza
• March 30 – April 12: Seasonal Event – Berlin Egg Hunt & Unlockable Raver Outfit
• March 30: Deluxe Escalation – The Satu Mare Delirium & Unlockable Items

The game receives a festive update on March 30 with the addition of the Berlin Egg Hunt, which lasts through April 12. Agent 47 will be on the lookout for colourful eggs, as you’d expect, in a bit of a warped version of the classic Easter pastime. In addition, a Deluxe Escalation Contract, The Satu Mare Delirium, for Hitman 3 Deluxe Edition owners, will be available on the same day.

There’s a wealth of content coming for Hitman 3 players throughout the month. Previously, IO Interactive stated that future DLC packs for the game could include reimagined versions of past levels from Hitman and Hitman in an interview with TheGamer. IO Interactive hasn’t announced what its next series of content will feature.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate adds its two newest DLC characters, Pyra and Mythra, today on Nintendo Switch.

• READ MORE: Sometimes the best games are the most boring games

The Xenoblade Chronicles 2 characters are part of the second Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass. They’re also available to purchase for $5.99.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai helmed a presentation showing off Pyra and Mythra’s moves. The nearly hour-long look at the fighters reveals Pyra’s powerful offence and Mythra’s high-jumps and quick movement. Players can swap between both characters at will. They have similar movesets, though each have clear strengths and weaknesses over the other.

Check out the full presentation below.

Pyra and Mythra also come with a new stage to fight on: the Cloud Sea of Alrest. Pulled from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, this area finds combatants flying through the sky on the back of a mythical creature. There are also a series of songs from the game as well to use as a backdrop.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is an action role-playing game from Monolith Soft. It first debuted on Nintendo Switch in 2017. The Xenoblade series has been around since 2010, though Xenoblade Chronicles only received a remastered Switch debut in 2020.

Pyra and Mythra are the latest additions to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team, but there are still two more coming to Fighters Pass 2. We’ve seen Arms’ Min Min, Minecraft’s Steve and Alex, and Final Fantasy VII’s Sephiroth so far.

Previously, Nintendo announced Pyra and Mythra’s impending Smash arrival in mid-February. There’s no word about which characters are set to make an appearance in the future. But Switch gamers can look forward to a blast from the past as next-gen remasters of several titles, such as the Crash Bandicoot series, are headed to the system.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach is the latest entry in the long-running horror series.

• READ MORE: ‘Valheim’ is a Steam survival smash hit with serious depth

Announced during Thursday’s PlayStation-centric State of Play, the game introduces a new, creepier setting than the smaller Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza: the Mega Pizza Plex.

Check out the trailer below.

Called “the most ambitious” Five Nights At Freddy‘s game yet by Steel Wool Games, Security Breach unleashes killer animatronic in a much larger arena. Players will have to step outside the sanctity of their security office and explore a maze of Freddy Fazbear-themed attractions.

This is the biggest addition to the series yet, in terms of areas to explore. With animatronic monsters prowling around, it seems there will be additional narrative elements than usual.

This isn’t the first time the game has been announced, but this is the first full gameplay trailer. It was first announced in August 2019 by way of a few hidden messages on a special promotional website.

Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach is set to debut on PS5, PS4 and PC in 2021, but there’s no release date confirmed yet.

During Thursday’s State of Play, Sony also revealed a new Final Fantasy VII Remake narrative episode, a new Deathloop trailer, and a new release date for Kena: Bridge Of Spirits.

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NME | Music, Film, TV, Gaming & Pop Culture News

Square Enix announced two new Final Fantasy VII mobile games during Sony’s latest State of Play event.

READ MORE: ‘Skyward Sword’ isn’t the Zelda remaster everyone wanted, but who cares when we have ‘Mario Golf’

Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier and Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis joined Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade to create a trifecta of new Final Fantasy announcements.

Check out the trailer for Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier below.

Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier is a battle royale title that features familiar summons from the RPG series, magical spells, Chocobos and other Final Fantasy mainstays. It takes place in the Final Fantasy VII universe, where the Shinra Electric Company is seeking new participants in its SOLDIER program.

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis is a much more expansive affair, involving additional story elements. It will be structured in separate chapters that tells the entire story of Final Fantasy. From Dirge of Cerberus to Before Crisis, it will include all of the story details seen under the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII name.

Check out the trailer.

Both mobile games are headed to iOS and Android devices later in 2021, though there’s no concrete release date for either just yet.

Previously during the State of Play event, Sony confirmed a new story-centric episode would be coming to Final Fantasy VII Remake. Titled Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade, it will focus on materia thief Yuffie. The game will also be seeing an upgrade from PS4 to PS5 that will be free for all players who previously purchased the game.

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