Disqualification

Are you a WWE fan? How about a lapsed fan? Either way, chances are that you do pay attention to the video game series from 2K. The series has traditionally included not only modern superstars, but classics as well.

Personally, I’m not a fan of the modern product, but I love the iconic 80s and late-90s stuff. And even with all the modern stuff in there, 2K19 was a joy for me. 2K20 though… well it didn’t exactly get the best reception.

Loaded with oodles of technical issues and without elements that fans missed, 2K19 was the first game to come out of the post-Yukes era. If you remember, 2K Games had split from the usual WWE developer, and didn’t have a heck of a lot of time to produce the game afterwards.

So with that, fans were looking forward to the 2020 edition of the game to see just how 2K Games would do with a full year of dev time behind it. Well you can keep waiting if Justin Leeper can be believed.

According to Leeper, who is a former writer for the series, there will not be a game this year. Leeper cites his own sources for this, and that’s fairly believable given his experience with the studio in question. He also points to the ongoing global coronavirus issues as a hindrance.

What’s NXT?

Aside from throwing cold water on this year’s WWE release, Leeper also says that another game is coming instead. But what could that be? Well, as we told you some time ago, 2K Games has been working on a second in-house wrestling game series. Yes, in addition to the WWE games.

So presumably, that’s what we’ll be getting instead. The question of course, is just what that game includes. Is it totally original? Something featuring NXT, or maybe even a secret NWA or AEW license? Or might it be another ‘Legends’-type game that is stocked with classic grapplers only?

We just don’t know right now. Though, if this mystery game is coming up later this year, we should hear something pretty soon. Maybe via a digital event around what would have bee E3 time? Stay tuned.

Source: MCV

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Switching again

For a while now, there have been rumors swirling around Nintendo’s Switch. Even though the console just released in 2017, and even though it’s cleaning up at retail, some have insisted that Nintendo was hard at work on a revamp… or two.

The rumors were, more or less, that there was a more portable (cheaper) Switch coming, alongside a more powerful version of the hardware. Those rumors though, seemed to be dashed since Nintendo hasn’t really done much publicly to even hint that such a move was coming. And, of course, the E3 show for 2019 just passed without so much as a mention.

That isn’t stopping the Wall Street Journal though, who continue to report that something new is on the horizon. According to industry site MCV, the paper just ran a report citing “anonymous sources” that contradicts Nintendo.

Though the original story is behind a pay-wall, MCV says the Journal has sources from within Nintendo’s “supply chain”. It’s those sources who say that there are indeed two new Switch’s being prepared for launch.

Just as previous rumors have said, one is said to be “much more powerful”, while the second will be a streamlined version, presumably with purely portable gaming in mind.

There’s still no confirmation from Nintendo on any of this, and I wouldn’t expect any. Unless the new Switch’s are being readied for a Holiday ’19 launch, it’s unlikely that we’d hear word of them till after the New Year.

Read the full story at the link below, and then stay tuned.

Source: MCV

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Infinitely exciting

It’s been a while since we’ve seen a Halo game. And honestly, the last one was a little lacking in the enthusiasm department, seemingly even with fans. Distance does make the heart grow fonder though, and it sure feels like Halo Infinite is going to be a monster of a launch.

So it’s pretty exciting then, that we could see it at E3 this year. Not that it’d be strange, since it was announced a while ago, but exciting nonetheless. Know what’s even more exciting? That it could be accompanied by the next generation of Xbox hardware. Well, two next generation units to be exact.

Website IGN is reporting that that could be the case, if a French video game website is to be believed. Going deeper into the rumor mill, that same site also says that Scarlet (that’s the code name) will come in two flavors.

Cross-generation

The first is “Lockhart”, which will be less powerful than “Anaconda”, the top of the line unit. So pretty much the way the current generation is ending, just from the beginning. It also reminds me of the original Xbox 360 launch a little, with the “Arcade” console hitting along with the standard system. Bottom line- Microsoft has done this kind of stuff before. Often even.

Reportedly also, Halo Infinite will launch on both the new-gen (whatever it’ll eventually be called) Xbox and the Xbox One. That makes sense too, though I’d have loved to have seen Infinite be a Scarlet exclusive. It makes more sense to me, if you’re trying to get fans to buy into the new experience.

Whatever happens, we don’t have long till we find out for sure. E3 2019 is only a few months away.

Source: IGN

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The next big thing

Part of this rumor, and it is a rumor, is almost undeniably true. We all but know for certain that Sony is working on a PS5. That much has basically been said plainly at this point.

Of course, what we don’t know is how far off that new console might be. And more than that, which games are currently in development for it. If this commentary is to be believed though, there could be a whole lot.

Website GamesIndustry is reporting that an industry analyst named Daniel Ahmad says that Sony’s first-party studios are already switching dev time from the PS4 to the PS5. He goes on to say that some games currently in development for the 4 will be shuffled over to the 5. Adding that there’s a possibility there might be some cross-generation play possible.

That should bring a number of triple-A titles to mind, including The Last of Us sequel. And then there’s what he said after that, which is even more interesting.

Blockbusters to come

Ahmad claims that Sony “has a couple of unannounced games (already existing IP) with PS4 in mind but I’m conscious that there have been discussions around making them cross gen/next gen titles”. Unannounced stuff from already existing properties? What could he mean by that?

Uncharted? Spider-Man? God of War? Two of those three just had games release last year, but if the new PlayStation is looking at a 2020 release (or later) then it’s entirely feasible that new entries would be in work now, to prep for launch.

Again though, all of this is hearsay at the moment, and certainly none of it has been validated by Sony itself. It’s a tantalizing peek at what might be though.

While Sony will be skipping E3 this year, they will be in attendance at GDC. So there’s a possibility we might be hearing some more solid rumblings sooner than later.

Stay tuned.

Source: MCV

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No Last Son for Rocksteady

Rumored for months (if not years), this is probably the end of the road for the big “Superman” rumor concerning Rocksteady. Exactly why the company picked this moment to kibosh the piece of vaporware is unknown, but it probably has something to do with the rumors surrounding the upcoming Game Awards.

Posting on Twitter, Rocksteady big Sefton Hill announced that there would be no announcement from the company at that show. Going one step further, he also said that they’re still working on something in their “development bunker”, but that it’s not Superman.

So, that’s that. And I honestly think it’s a good thing. Actually, I hope that the company isn’t working on a DC Comics anything. That’s because, as a fan of DC in general, I want a clean break from the Arkham universe as we move forward.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the first two Arkham titles (I even liked Origins), but I felt like Rocksteady lost a lot of the magic by the time Knight rolled around. The bulk of the game was okay, but I found Jason Todd’s reintroduction to be lacking and I hated the ending beyond words.

So if we are to have a “DC video game universe”, and I hope that we do, then I hope the mantle of developer is picked up by another studio or studios. Though everything surrounding DC’s stable of heroes and villains is just wishful thinking at this point.

The post Developer Rocksteady confirms it’s not working on a Superman game appeared first on BrutalGamer.

You can wait a little longer of the new Zelda. Right?

Well, this is kind of a mixed-emotion sort of announcement.

On the one hand, if Breath of the Wild needs more time in the oven, then that’s what it should get. On the other, REALLY? Seriously? One of the most hotly anticipated games of 2017, on any console, is really going to miss the launch of Nintendo’s new system? Then again, this is Nintendo we’re talking about. The company that sent single digits of NES Classics to some stores at launch.

In any event, this latest news of delay came to us via MCV, who’s reporting on a rumor. That rumor though, should be taken with just a lil’ seriousness since it comes from Emily Rogers, who seems to know from what she speaks when it comes to the Big N. So what’s she say?

According to Rogers, localization on Breath of the Wild is taking longer than anticipated. It’s looking like it’ll be complete some time around December. According to the source, that means that appropriate testing won’t be done for another four to six months after that, as BotW is a monster of a game.

And all that places launch in the Summer, not in March. That’s the window for the Nintendo Switch’s release. So again, there’s two ways you could take this news. Think of it this way, it’ll be nice to have something meaty to play over the usually dead Summer months. I guess.

Source: MCV

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The PS4 gets a re-design

In terms of leaks, this is a pretty major one.

Shots of a ‘slim’ version of the PlayStation 4 leaked out the other day, in a story that had someone posting pics of the unit on Twitter. Somehow apparently, this gamer had come into possession of the unit. Still, there was heavy speculation that the whole thing was a prank, and that the console wasn’t real. Maybe it was a 3D printed mockup? We didn’t report on it.

Well guess what? It’s real.

What you’re seeing in the shot above is a 500gb unit. The LED strip of lighting on the face has been removed, and physical power and eject buttons have taken the place of the touch-sensitive ones that adorn the current model. And, of course, it’s smaller than the current SKUs. It kind of wouldn’t be ‘slim’ if it wasn’t.

There’s even a video of the system booting, thanks to website EuroGamer. They went to the Twitterer’s house and recorded it, along with taking some snaps of their own. You can check all that out at this link.

Dueling SKUs

So why two SKUs then? Well it looks like Sony is simply following the trends. Streamlined consoles are nothing new, with all the major manufacturers having engaged in the practice over the years. Sony in particular has done more than a few remodels on its line of systems.

And with the Xbox One S landing (and proving to be a pretty big success), the smaller PS4 only makes more sense. As for the heavily-rumored PS Neo reveal on the 7th, that’s more than likely a part of what was to be a two-pronged attack. There is an interesting question that comes up now though. That being whether or not the Neo will be hitting this year at all.

Everyone was so sure that there was only one new PS4 coming, that there wasn’t much consideration for a plan that might include the slim this year, with the Neo hitting in 2017. So that could be the plan, which would make sense excepting one thing – PSVR. Remember that Sony’s virtual reality headset hits retail this Fall.

The beefier PS4 could be almost a necessity to experience the ‘best’ that the PSVR headset can deliver. While Sony doesn’t really acknowledge that, there’s a good deal of thought that neither the current PS4 nor the Xbox One could really do VR justice. PC gamers know that you need a powerful system to run VR hardware/software. Microsoft apparently believes that so much that they’re not even going to bother with VR till the steroid-injected Xbox Scorpio lands next Holiday Season (2017). So keep that in mind.

Either way it goes, there’s only a few weeks left till we find out for sure. In the meantime, enjoy ogling the PS4 Slim.

Source: MCV

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We recently learned that the upgraded PS4, codenamed Neo, won’t be at E3 2016 this month in LA, but the Xbox Scorpio might. Though the team at Microsoft hasn’t said as much in plain language, they’ve hinted aplenty that there’s something for fans to get excited about at this year’s installment of the super-show.

Talking up the numbers that Xbox Live has registered over the past month, vice president of Xbox Marketing Mike Nichols said that “we expect this to be a special E3”, and also that the company would be chatting about what gamers can expect from them this year and beyond.

MCV reports that there are a few reasons why this might be a “special” show for the company. Firstly, that there’s a ‘slim’ version of the Xbox One on the drawing boards that might be making an appearance. Secondly, that there might be some streaming devices to talk about, and thirdly- that the Xbox Scorpio is looming.

Reportedly four times a powerful as the PS4 (as it stands now), the Scorpio would be a beast and a half. It’d also be the perfect time to introduce the new upgrade, since again – there’ll be no PS4 Neo at the show this year. Then there’s also the specter of VR looming, which the Scorpio could definitely be a part of.

Stay tuned folks, and make sure you check out our coverage of the Microsoft E3 presser, there’s bound to be some very interesting stuff to pour over.

Source: MCV

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Making the change to optical media with the GameCube, Nintendo has previously been pretty happy with the venerable cartridge as a storage medium. The platform-holder changed things up when CDs/DVDs had become the standard though, and so far hasn’t looked back.

Though that might be changing if a fresh round of industry rumors are on point. Rounding things up, MCV follows-up on a Nintendo Life report that the maker of the 3DS’ gamecards is predicting a rise in revenue. And it’s a predicted increase that’s timed (in their forecast) right for that Nintendo NX launch period of March 2017.

Moreover, the company is also saying that they’ll be making some new cards that will be capable of more storage than the current 8gig limit. As the original story points out, that’d be a must for the games of the NX to stand a chance next to newer machines from the competition.

Things are getting very interesting indeed for Nintendo and the outlook for the possibility that the NX (or whatever it’ll eventually be called) will be a split system, capable of both home and on-the-go play. That sounds infinitely more possible as a card-based console.

Stay tuned, we’ll have more for you as it’s announced (or leaked). Just remember that there’s little to nothing coming at E3 about the NX, as Nintendo will be all about the new Legend of Zelda title. But with a launch that’s set for less than a year off, there’s sure to be plenty of news on the horizon as we head towards Autumn.

Source: MCV

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Lorne Lanning from Oddworld Inhabitants (yep, the developer of the game series of the same name) did an interview with PlayStation’s own Shuhei Yoshida (he’s the boss of Sony Studios) a little over a year ago. The pair had dinner together and then followed that meal up with a meeting on stage at the DICE convention. I had no idea this actually took place back in February of 2015, but apparently it did and the results were interesting to say the least.

I should add though, that the remarks that Yoshida made at the time weren’t all that conspicuous. It was actually only after recent events, here over a year later, that something worth talking about is taking shape. And that’s that, when asked about a PlayStation 5, Yoshida answered with a very interesting “if” there’s to be one.

If might seem to most, and I’m sure it seemed this way at the time, that this was just an innocent and somewhat tongue-in-cheek statement from the man. After all, the PS4 is off to an amazing start, doubling the sales of the Xbox One and taking over even staunchly Microsoft-centric territories.

Recently though, Sony and Microsoft both have been chatting about upgrading their current systems, and foregoing another round in the now-standard ‘console cycle’. If something like that should come to pass, then you’d actually not see a PS5, or a another Xbox for that matter. Instead you might see a console like a PS4.5… sound familiar? It should.

If you don’t remember, it wasn’t all that long ago that reps from both of the big two gaming companies (MS and Sony) were talking about upgraded or, in Microsoft’s case, upgradable consoles. Neither were talking about consoles in the next round either, and were instead pretty plainly referring to new versions of the existing PS4 and Xbox One.

Adding fuel to that fire is that talk heated up about once again about the PS4’s end of the deal a week ago, with rumors and leaks aplenty floating around the web as to the PS4.5 (referred to as PlayStation Neo), which would have upgrades like 4k playback and added horsepower, but still would play all current PS4 games. The rumors point to a Fall 2016 release for the alleged revision, which is right around the corner now. I’d imagine that, if there is a PS4 ‘Neo’ on the way, we’ll be hearing about it come E3-time.

And if that’s to be believed, then I think Yoshida’s comments might have been literal, and the case for there not being a PlayStation 5 might be all that much stronger. If console-makers can get away with upgrading a system that’s already existing and has a built-in install base and library, why wouldn’t they?

True, you’d have to ramp up release cycles for something like that, instead of waiting five to seven years for a new machine you’d probably be talking about every two to three years, but offering a more optional (for consumers) and slightly newer model more often could be incredibly beneficial. It might do wonders for both costs and profits, and I have to believe that that’d be way more desirable for those companies than crafting a whole new unit.

And at the same time, that kind of move would make for much greater technological parity between consoles and PCs. In the end, a move like what we’re talking about here could be both good for companies and good for gamers. In fact, the only downside I could see from something like this is that it’d be a somewhat major shakeup for the industry itself.

Publishers and developers would have to be constantly updating their games and making sure that they could run on all available versions of a console. That could be particularly problematic since newer components, say two revisions down the line, might not play nice with some older pieces of software.

Still though, the inability to play some older titles would probably not be all that much of an issue for most. It’d be a relatively small price to pay on the consumer end, when what you’re getting in return would represent better graphics, new features, and a lower price point… even if you’d have to drop some cash on a new console more often than you do now.

If a PS4.5 does come to pass in the next few months, it’s going to be very interesting indeed to see just how the gaming populace takes to it. And when it comes down to the bottom line, that’s really what dictates the path of events to come.

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