CATCH ‘EM ALL WITH POKÉMON GO PLUS, LAUNCHING IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND ON 16TH SEPTEMBER
Enjoy the Pokémon GO experience without looking at your smartphone 8th September, 2016 – Pokémon GO Plus, the small wearable device that lets players interact with Pokémon GO without looking at their smartphone will launch in Australia and New Zealand from 16th September.
Compatible with both iOS and Android*, Pokémon GO Plus connects to smartphones via Bluetooth low energy and notifies players about nearby Pokémon and PokéStops. When a Pokémon is near, the device will vibrate and its LED will flash green**. Players can press the button on the device once close to throw a Poké Ball. A successful catch will result in the device flashing and vibrating.
The Pokémon GO Plus will also blink and vibrate whenever in range of a PokéStop, allowing players to receive items with a simple tap of the Pokémon GO Plus button. Pokémon GO Plus can also be used while Pokémon GO is running in the background on smartphones***.
Get alerts, get going and get Pokémon when the Pokémon GO Plus device launches on 16th September. Stay tuned to Nintendo Australia Facebook and Twitter for more details on where Pokémon GO Plus can be purchased.
* To use the Pokémon GO Plus device with the Pokémon GO app, by Niantic Inc, an app update is required. Pokémon GO Plus is compatible with the following operating systems:
iOS
Compatible OS versions: iOS 8 – 9
Compatible with: iPhone® 5/5c/5s/SE/6/6s/6 Plus/6s Plus
Android
Compatible OS versions: Android 4.4 – 6.0
Compatible with: Android 4.4 or higher that have Bluetooth® Smart（Bluetooth v4.0 or higher) capability and RAM2GB or more.
Please refer to compatibility information on Pokémon GO Plus Support site.
** Pokémon GO Plus is unable to provide an alert for any Pokémon attracted by the in-game item Incense.
***Pokémon GO does not track distance walked when running in the background.
STUDIO WILDCARD ANNOUNCES NVIDIA ANSEL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST
Seattle, WA – September 7, 2016 – Studio Wildcard announced today its first NVIDIA Ansel Photography Contest. This weekly screenshot competition asks players to take in-game photographs from either ARK: Survival Evolved or its new desert themed expansion pack ARK: Scorched Earth using NVIDIA Ansel, and meet the category requirements listed below.
As announced last week, ARK: Survival Evolved and its Scorched Earth Expansion Pack now include support for NVIDIA Ansel — a revolutionary new way to capture in-game shots. Simply start the game with Ansel enabled and hit “Alt+F2” to start capturing your favorite shots!
Winners will be announced each Friday during ARK’s regular “Community Crunch” blog post with the initial batch of winners announced Friday, September 9. Each winner (3) will receive $100 each. Want to enter? ARK-Ansel screenshot entries should be e-mailed to [email protected].
Three Categories
Super Resolution: These should be taken at 8x Super Resolution. Players can optionally use Depth of Field effects accessible in Spectator mode by pressing the [Delete] key.
Panoramic 360 Stereoscopic 3D: These should be taken at 4x Super Resolution, in 360 Stereoscopic 3D mode. We will crop them to 2D for web display, while also providing the 3D version for viewing within VR display. Check out your 360 Stereo results on your HMD or on your Android Phone with NVIDIA VR Viewer
Freeform: Any settings, whacky and creative use of Ansel filters are encouraged. Adding humorous titles/captions in Photoshop is also acceptable for this category!
Ansel is a revolutionary new way to capture in-game shots. Compose a shot from any position, adjust with post-process filters, capture HDR images in high fidelity formats, and share the screenshots in 360 via a smartphone, PC or VR headset. Learn more about these features in the Ansel Technology page and the NVIDIA blog.
Last week saw the launch of the ARK: Scorched Earth Expansion Pack (available now on Steam and Xbox One), an entirely new desert-themed ARK filled with new biomes, creatures, gameplay mechanics, and challenges that will push players’ survival skills to the limit.
ARK: Survival Evolved is in development for Xbox One via the ID@Xbox program, PlayStation®4 with VR support, and Steam PC. The game is currently playable in Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One and Steam’s Early Access program, which includes Oculus Rift VR support and an integration of Steam community features such as Steam Economy and Steam Workshop for custom maps and mods. Players can host private/LAN servers and have access to a custom-built version of the Unreal Engine 4 Editor for creating mods. The world of ARK is designed to be modder-friendly and ever-expanding!
To join our growing band of survivors, journey to Steam or Microsoft’s Game Preview on Xbox One to download the game. For the latest updates follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, subscribe to us on YouTube, visit the Website at playark.com and watch us tame and train leviathan dinosaurs on Twitch.TV.
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ABOUT STUDIO WILDCARD
Studio Wildcard was co-founded in 2014 by Jesse Rapczak, former Technical Art Director at Microsoft Game Studios, and industry veteran Jeremy Stieglitz with the mission of bringing AAA quality to ambitious indie productions that are designed for core gamers. With combined 25 years of industry experience across multiple independent and studio-backed titles, Jeremy and Jesse have teamed up with other veteran developers for Seattle, WA-based and Gainesville, FL-based development studios that also include distributed team members across multiple continents. Wherever talented, driven developers may reside, Studio Wildcard intends to seek out and work with them!
ABOUT INSTINCT GAMES
Instinct Games is Egypt’s leading game development studio. Started in 2011 by former Timeline Interactive co-founders, the Instinct Games team develops and produces video games on all major platforms utilizing its competent technical team. Its mission is to collaborate with world class partners to foster Egypt’s video game development ecosystem and set a precedent of high quality, low cost, entertaining indie games with worldwide appeal.
We’ve had Miitomo and Pokemon GO (which by the way is receiving an update to run partially on the new Apple Watch Series 2) but now a truly core Nintendo series is making it’s way to iOS. Shigeru Miyamoto himself took the stage at the 2016 Apple iOS Keynote event to announce Super Mario Run alongside industry defining announcements such as the iPhone 7.
The game will be a side scrolling continuous runner type game with the visual style of the New Super Mario Bros. franchise. Players will control Mario by simply holding their finger on the screen to make him jump, with Mario’s jump height being determined by how long you hold your finger on the touchscreen. Players will make their way through a number of different courses with different themes similar to the main series games.
Super Mario Run will feature three main game modes. The first is the standard mode where you run through a course, trying to complete it with the highest score. The second has you challenge the play data of other people’s completed courses to see who can complete the course with the most style. The more stylish your run through a level is the more Toad’s you collect which will give you more points along with coins. The third mode involves using those to customise your own Mushroom Kingdom.
The game will be out on iOS devices in December with an Android release sometime after that. It will feature some free content but players will then have to pay a one off cost to continue playing. In app purchases will also be available, presumably to buy coins.
As someone that has followed Nintendo for a long time this is an unprecedented move for the company. Nintendo have been known for keeping their IP’s to themselves and shying away from technological advancements. Their comment about how gamers didn’t want online gaming back in 2004, despite the likes of Halo and other Xbox Live games really taking off really demonstrated this stubbornness.
More relevant to this latest news however, just 3 years ago the late Satoru Iwata said we would NEVER see Nintendo games on a mobile device and that it was absolutely not under consideration.
“I would never think about providing our precious resources for other platforms at all.”
His main concern was that while short term profits would most likely be excellent, it would not be a smart move for the company in the long term. Iwata passed over one year ago to much sadness, but it seems his death has allowed Nintendo to move in a different direction it may not have taken had Satoru Iwata still been at the helm. It will definitely be interesting to see if his concerns were well warranted.
Personally I think this is the right time for Nintendo to go mobile with their struggling Wii U console but I do believe they have to be careful with over saturating the mobile market with their titles. I also believe they should also limit the experiences to short casual games such as what Super Mario Run seems to offer as to not overstep into their own console market share. What is your opinion on Mario heading to iOS and the greater mobile market? It seems the stockholders agree with Nintendo’s decisions, with shares up 28% after the announcement.
The Sony PlayStation event went live early this morning and as expected, Sony unveiled the PlayStation Pro and a new look for the standard PlayStation 4 model going forward. There were also a few new gameplay clips shown to help demonstrate the awesomeness of 4K resolution but unfortunately the full effect will be lost on many of us who still have regular high definition TV’s and monitors. We’ve collected all the data on these half-new consoles in one place with all the important information and new details up front.
Let’s start with the PS4 Slim that will be replacing the original model of PS4 that we have now. PS4 Slim is just a term media are using to refer to the new look console, it’s official title is simply PlayStation 4.
PlayStation 4 (Slim Model)
Release Date: September 15th, 2016
Price: $299 US. No official price has been released for the Slim yet in Australia but based on US pricing and current trends expect $449 to be the final price point. (UPDATE: Our guess was very close, the official Australian pricing is set at $439 for the 500 GB and $509 for the 1TB.)
Storage: 1 TB and 500 GB Models
What’s new
While the specs are the exact same as the regular PS4 the hardware has gone through quite a few design changes, improvements and one downgrade. The most obvious being the slims smaller form, measuring at 264 x 39 x 288mm in comparison to the originals 275 x 53 x 305mm size. The slim also weighs 25% less. The console still features two USB ports but they are now spaced out as opposed to being placed side by side. A redesign of the systems fans will make this model the coolest and quietest in the PS4 family.
In keeping with tradition with PlayStation slims of generations past, the new console has a simple matte finish to deter fingerprints. In another lesson carried forward from the PS3 slim, gone are touch sensitive buttons and introduced are regular buttons with clear labels. For those who like to swap out their hard drive that will be easier to do so as well, with the SATA drive port being moved to the consoles rear with only one screw holding it in place.
Now for the downgrade and while it’s a small one it might affect some people like myself. The optical audio port used to connect the PS4 and older amplifiers for surround sound has been removed.
Now for the main event, the PS4 Pro.
PS4 Pro
Release Date: November 10th, 2016
Price: $399 US. $559 AU.
Storage: 1 TB
What’s new
The PS4 Pro announcement featured a lot of technical talk from hardware architect Mark Cerny, but what all this transcribed too was that the PS4 Pro is a much more powerful console that can utilize 4K displays. Select titles such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Call of Duty Infinite Warfare will be displayed in a native 4K resolution (if connected to a 4K Television of course). Popular video on demand apps Netflix and YouTube are creating PS4 Pro specific apps so there content can also be displayed in 4K. Netflix will offer over 600 hours of 4K content on launch, including the upcoming Netflix Marvel TV show Luke Cage.
To be able to manage 4K output, the PS4’s GPU and CPU needed a significant upgrade. An upgraded AMD Jaguar CPU and a 4.2 teraflop Radeon GPU power the PS4 Pro. In comparison the original PS4 sports a 1.84 teraflop GPU and the rumoured Xbox One Scorpio will feature 6 teraflops. Mark Cerny wanted to make it clear that a 4K TV isn’t required to see better performance and graphics in games, with regular high definition displays still being able to enjoy super-sampling, advanced anti-aliasing, brighter colours and smooth jagged edges.
The other big feature touted at the conference was HDR which stands for High Dynamic Range. What this basically means is a higher spectrum of colours, blacker blacks and whiter whites that allow for greater realism with lighting. These also require specific TV’s that support HDR but the great news is that HDR isn’t going to be a PS4 Pro specific feature. Sony are patching regular PS4’s as of next week to be HDR enabled as well.
Sony wants to make it clear they want the PS4 family to stay together. While games may take full advantage of the Pro to look and perform better, they will not have any gameplay features which can’t be enjoyed on the regular PS4. It was noted that VR users would benefit significantly from the PS4 Pro, with higher frame rates and more graphical content being able to be pushed to the screen.
There is one huge omission however. The PS4 Pro will NOT support 4K Blu-ray playback. Yes, despite Sony pioneering Blu-ray and the Xbox One S having access to the feature, the PS4 Pro will not support 4K Blu-rays. A very strange choice that has me wondering why it was excluded. My educated guess is that Sony didn’t see it necessary to include with the rise of digital media and wanted to keep cost down.
On the brightside for those with older amplifiers like myself, the PS4 Pro will feature an optical audio output unlike it’s slim brother.
Two other big Sony accessories also received new models today. The DualShock 4 controller is receiving a slight revamp with model CUH-ZCT2. The biggest improvement is a small light bar that runs across the top of the touch panel. There is also a slight dip in the center of the D Pad and the control will now use a cable to transmit data when plugged in instead of continuing to rely on a wireless signal.
The second accessory getting a makeover is the PS4 camera. Functionally it remains the same however it features a new cylindrical design. It will come with a stand to help allow the user to place the camera where ever they would like in their setup. On the topic of accessories, a vertical stand being sold separately will be required to stand the console on it’s side and can be used for both the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.
If you’ve got a spare 3 hours be sure to check out a replay of the live presentation and all the post show content in the video below. If you just what to see what the new console is capable of visually, check out the short sizzle reel which features all new footage of Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mass Effect: Andromeda and most excitingly for me, the new PS4 Spider-Man game. Look at the suit! Are you impressed by Sony’s mid generation console offering? Let us know in the comments below.
Full PlayStation Meeting 2016 – Skip to 11:15 for the start of the conference.
Learn More About the PvE Experiences in an all-new Video
Amsterdam, The Netherlands – September 7, 2016 – Global publisher My.com and developer NetEase are thrilled to reveal more details about the challenging content for players and their guilds in Revelation Online. In the story-driven Player versus Environment experience, players can fly to fabled places in which they will always find new friends to storm a myriad of dungeons. Go in alone and test your strength or form a group of five or 10 to overcome obstacles and defeat the bosses. At maximum level, players can hone their tactical skills and gain epic equipment by gathering up to 20 allies for multiphase raids. In the darkest corners of Nuanor lurk numerous legendary beasts. Gather a guild and take on these open world bosses together, before rivaling guilds take the glory!
Revelation Online is a breathtaking Massively Online Multiplayer experience in which players will discover the lands of Nuanor. Explore a vibrant world of ancient mystery, and use the power of flight to experience absolute freedom. Spread your wings or master one of the many aerial mounts to soar through the sky. Dive into the waters or climb to the top of the world – in Revelation Online you can freely reach any place. Sign up for the Beta: ro.my.com/en/about
Key Features
Experience the absolute freedom to explore a gorgeous, persistent open world. Discover hundreds of stunning locations with different settings and dynamically changing weather conditions
Spread your wings and fly without any restrictions! Fly with your friends across the world and unleash the power of your wings in aerial combat!
Enjoy hundreds of story driven adventures unfolding through spectacular cut scenes
Participate in raids with challenging bosses for up to 20 players
Join intense PvP battles in numerous modes with hundreds of players simultaneously
Enjoy the wide variety of character customization and progression
Develop relationships with new allies using advanced socialization systems
Elaborate guild system with personalized guild fortresses and cross server guild battles
To sign up for the Revelation Online Beta today, visit ro.my.com/en/about. For more information, ‘Like’ it on Facebook and follow the game’s development on Twitter @RevOnlineGame for all the latest developer updates and news.
NetEase, inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) is a leading internet technology company in china. Dedicated to providing online services centered on content, community, communication and commerce, NetEase develops and operates some of China’s most popular online pc and mobile games, advertising services, email services and e-commerce platforms. In partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, NetEase operates some of the most popular international online games in China.
2K today released a new trailer highlighting the all-new NBA 2K17 MyCAREER storyline. As previously announced, players will be able to play alongside Michael B. Jordan’s character Justice Young, a rising NBA star that teams up with your MyPlayer in the path to NBA stardom.
NBA 2K17’s MyCAREER experience has been completely revamped to include enhanced player creation, more dynamic interactivity, new authentic endorsement system and a new off-court AI system.
‘Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series’ Episode 8: ‘A Journey’s End?’ Lands September 13th
Episode Concludes the Three-Part ‘Adventure Pass’ Add-On Series
Today we can announce the release date and two special guest stars for the eighth episode of Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series.
The third and final episode in the ‘Adventure Pass’ add-on series, Episode 8: ‘A Journey’s End?’ will be available digitally worldwide starting Tuesday September 13th on PC and Mac from the Telltale Online Store, Steam, and other digital distribution services, on the PlayStation®Network for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3, and on the Xbox Games Store for Xbox One® and Xbox 360®. The episode will be available the same week for compatible iOS devices via the App Store, and for compatible Android-based devices via Google Play and the Amazon Appstore; and will also be coming to the Windows Store.
This episode may be purchased digitally as part of the Adventure Pass for $14.99 USD or equivalent, which includes access to Episodes 6, 7, and 8 as they release. The episode will also be available individually for $4.99 USD or equivalent. Players need to own at least Episode 1 in the series, or the season pass disc, in order to purchase Episodes 6, 7, and 8.
In Episode 8: ‘A Journey’s End?’, with Harper leading them to the world of the Old Builders, Jesse and crew finally have their chance to return home… but it won’t be easy, and the stakes are high. You’ll need to take on opponents in a series of gladiatorial games to win your freedom, save your friends, and maybe, just maybe, make it back to your own world!
The all-star cast gets two more new additions for this episode, with Jim Cummings (Winnie the Pooh, Darkwing Duck) as Hadrian, the leader of the Old Builders; and Kari Wahlgren (Rick and Morty, The Fairly OddParents) as Mevia, the Enforcer.
Minecraft: Story Mode – A Telltale Games Series – Episode 8: ‘A Journey’s End?’ is rated ‘E10+’ (Everyone 10+) for Fantasy Violence and Mild Language by the ESRB. The series is published by Telltale Games in partnership with Mojang.
Mojang is a Microsoft owned game studio based in Stockholm, Sweden. We’re responsible for the relatively popular video game, Minecraft. More recently, we released Scrolls; it’s nothing like Minecraft, but also fun to play. We’re also publishing Cobalt, an upcoming game from Oxeye Game Studio; it’ll include lots of robots performing slow-mo combat rolls.
About Telltale, Inc.
Telltale is a leading and award-winning independent developer and publisher of games for every major interactive platform from home consoles and PC to mobile and tablet devices, and is the pioneer of the episodic delivery of digital gaming content. By successfully developing games as an episodic series and frequently releasing in the format of a game season, they create longer consumer engagement than traditional games for each release. Founded in 2004 by games industry veterans with decades of experience, Telltale has quickly become an industry leader with numerous honors and awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, BAFTA, SXSW, the IMGA, and more, as well as being named Studio of the Year across multiple years. Telltale’s reputation for quality has been established across more than two dozen different product releases over the years with recognition and acclaim from publications like IGN, The New York Times, and Variety, including over 100 “Game of the Year” awards from publications like USA Today, Yahoo! Games, Wired, Spike TV VGAs, E!, Official Xbox Magazine, The Telegraph, Metacritic, and more. Telltale is a fully licensed third party publisher on consoles from Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo, and also publishes games on the PC, Mac, iOS, and Android-based platforms. For more information visit www.telltale.com .
OCEANHORN – MONSTER OF UNCHARTED SEAS COMES TO XBOX ONE AND PLAYSTATION®4
Critically Acclaimed Action-Adventure Delivers Captivating Story, Lush 3D Visuals, Musical Score from Legendary Composers Nobuo Uematsu and Kenji Ito Munich – Sept. 7, 2016 – FDG Entertainment, a leading video game publisher based in Germany, today announced the North American and European release of Oceanhorn® – Monster of Uncharted Seas™ for the Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system. Oceanhorn – Monster of Uncharted Seas is a classic fantasy action-adventure game featuring a rich and engrossing storyline, a multitude of lush land and sea environments, engrossing puzzles and challenging melee and spell-based combat. Oceanhorn – Monster of Uncharted Seas is available now for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for $14.99.
Players will also have an opportunity to experience the work of music legends Nobuo Uematsu, considered by many the master of video game music composition, and Kenji Ito who have worked collaboratively to create the game’s stunning soundtrack. The Oceanhorn – Monster of the Uncharted Seas soundtrack represents Uematsu’s finest work in years and his first ever non-Japanese project.
“Oceanhorn was inspired by some of the great action-adventure titles of the past including, The Legend of Zelda®: The Wind Waker™, but also delivers its own unique and compelling storyline, exciting combat, inventive puzzles and hour after hour of immersive adventure.” said Philipp Döschl, executive producer. “We think Xbox One and PlayStation 4 fans will love what Oceanhorn – Monster of the Uncharted Seas has in store for them.”
In Oceanhorn – Monster of the Uncharted Seas, the story is told through the eyes of a heroic young boy on a journey of self-exploration in search of his father and his connection to the mysterious sea monster, Oceanhorn. Players will set sail and discover hidden secrets, dangers, challenges and wonders of more than 10 exciting and unique islands. A melee and magic combat system must be used creatively to fight through dangers and deep dungeon battles while wits will be needed to solve challenging and entertaining puzzles to unearth key items and secret pathways.
Oceanhorn – Monster of Uncharted Seas is available now for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 for $14.99. For more information about FDG Entertainment or Oceanhorn – Monster of Uncharted Seas, please visit http://www.fdg-entertainment.com.
About FDG Entertainment
FDG Entertainment is a leading producer and publisher of highly creative, downloadable games from independent developers for all major platforms. The company portfolio totals over 50 Million Downloads on iOS alone and has won numerous awards like the International Mobile Games Award (IMGA 2010) for the Best Mobile Game 2010 with Beyond Ynth. Other critically-acclaimed franchises include Oceanhorn (sold over 1 million units), Banana Kong, Blueprint 3D and Across Age. FDG Entertainment is based in Munich, German and is a privately funded and 100% independent company.
2K and Firaxis Games today revealed that Harald Hardrada will lead Norway in Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, launching on Oct 21st for Windows PC.
New to the Civilization series and leading Norway is the last Great Viking King Harald Hardrada.
Norway’s eventual king wasn’t always close to the throne. Exiled from his native land in 1030 after supporting his half-brother Olaf’s failed campaign, Hardrada sought refuge in Kievan Rus and later, Constantinople. Being a highly skilled warrior, he climbed the ranks of the Varangian Guard, earning the nickname “Devastator of the Bulgarians” after quelling an uprising.
In 1042 he returned to Norway and skillfully maneuvered his way into joint kingship with Magnus I. After Magnus’ passing, the now sole ruler of Norway warred with Sweyn, King of Denmark, in 1048 until 1064 before settling peacefully. He then attempted to claim the throne of England, perishing during the Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.
Hardrada’s reign was marked by war, but also by great progress. Peace flourished as Norway was unified under a strong government, new currency, external trade, and religious advancement.
Koei Tecmo has released another new trailer for their upcoming Berserk game and this time around the focus is placed on the recently announced playable character Nosferatu Zodd. You can check out the brief gameplay video below and see his destructive move-set and powerful transformation ability.
Currently Berserk is set to be released in Japan for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita on October 27th and sometime in North America and Europe this fall where it will be available for the PlayStation 4, PS Vita, and PC though at the moment Koei Tecmo has not stated whether or not the Japanese Casca pre-order bonus will be included in the Western release.
The Sony PlayStation event went live early this morning and as expected, 
