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Xbox Newsbeat: January 8th, 2016

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January 8, 2016

Welcome ladies and gentlemen and step right up to the first Xbox Newsbeat for 2016! After a tremendous 2015, the guys and gals over at Microsoft are ready to keep the party on trucking into the new year. So sit back, relax and get stuck into all the hottest news from Microsoft HQ for this first week of January.

Start the New Year off Right with January’s Great Games with Gold Titles

The Games with Gold programme was responsible for bringing players three, sometimes even four new games a month to Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners over the past year and now with backwards compatibility being offered for select Xbox 360 games, Microsoft shows no signs of slowing down. Here is a list of the available games that you can download this month (totally free) if you have an Xbox Gold subscription:

Xbox One
- Killer Instinct Season 1: Ultra Edition (Jan 1 – 31)
- Zheros (Jan 16 – Feb 15)
Xbox 360 (These are playable on the Xbox One)
- Dirt Showdown (Jan 1 – 15)
- Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Jan 16-31)

Rise of the Tomb Raider is coming to Windows Store on Jan 28

If you have been waiting for a PC release of last year’s awesome Rise of the Tomb Raider, then your waiting has finally paid off because Lara’s newest adventure will be available through the Windows Store later this month. Considering the game launched on Xbox One the same day as Fallout 4, many players may have missed the game so this is the perfect time to rectify that mistake and play through one of 2015’s greatest adventure games.

Celebrate the New Year with New Xbox One Bundles

If you were waiting until the new year to purchase your new Xbox One then now is the perfect time, with two brand new console bundles having been announced from Microsoft today. CHeck out these new bundles and see which you prefer:

Xbox One Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Bundle
- shipping to retailers in most regions starting today and featuring a 1TB hard drive, a copy of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and full-game downloads* of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2
Xbox One 500GB Name Your Game Bundle
- The bundle comes with a 500GB hard drive and a full-game download of one title from the greatest games line-up in Xbox history – Forza Motorsport 6, Rise of the Tomb Raider, Gears of War: Ultimate Edition or Rare Replay. The choice is yours.

There we have it folks, the first Xbox Newsbeat of the year. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday period and could come in fresh for the hot Microsoft news. Did any of today’s headlines really have your attention? Let us know in the comments below and make sure you stay tuned to Capsule Computers for all the latest and greatest Xbox news as it becomes available.

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir Post-Game Content Detailed, Japanese Demo Released

Travis Bruno

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January 8, 2016

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Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir Post-Game Content Detailed, Japanese Demo Released

With Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir set to be released next week in Japan Atlus and VanillaWare have released a new trailer for the game where they show off some newly added post-game elements. After beating the game for the first time, a mode called “Xtra New Game” will be unlocked and in this mode players can play the game from the beginning using a previous save file’s items and ability level. A “Hell” difficulty will also be upgraded to the point where the player’s HP will never grow from the initial starting value, making it much harder to clear the game, especially since enemies will be far more difficult the second time around even if you chose to only replay on normal difficulty.

Also added to the game is a thirty round special mode that will pit the player against all of the game’s mid-bosses and bosses as their favorite character with no checkpoints and item boxes as players must rush through them. With the title releasing next week, Atlus has also released a demo for the game onto the Japanese PlayStation Store where those with a Japanese PSN account can already download the demo for either the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, or PS Vita versions of the game.

Hanabee Entertainment Reveals Three Anime Releases For February 11, 2016

K. Roberts

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January 8, 2016

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Hanabee Entertainment Reveals Three Anime Releases For February 11, 2016

Following on from their announcement of the DVD and Blu-ray release date Rooster Teeth’s X-Ray & Vav in Australia, Hanabee Entertainment has revealed their February 2016 release schedule. All of the following titles will be released on February 11, 2016.

Chaika the Coffin Princess will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. 12 episodes will be included with dual audio options and English subtitles. The textless opening and ending animation will be included as on-disc extras. Both editions have a suggested retail price of $59.99 AUD.

Tamako Market will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. 12 episodes will be included with Japanese audio and English subtitles. Hanabee’s product information does not mention Sentai Filmworks’ new English dub of the series. The textless opening and ending animation will be included as on-disc extras. Both editions have a suggested retail price of $59.99 AUD.

ALDNOAH.ZERO Part Two will be released on DVD and Blu-ray. Episodes 7-12 will be included with dual audio options and English subtitles. The commercials and textless ending animation will be included as on-disc extras. Both editions have a suggested retail price of $49.99 AUD.

Bandai Namco Joins Wizard World as Anime Partner for 2016 Comic-Con Tour

Travis Bruno

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January 8, 2016

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With Bandai Namco being the company that releases nearly every anime game that ends up getting localized, it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that today it was announced that Bandai Namco America is joining with Wizard World as the official anime entertainment partner for the 2016 Comic Con Gaming Tour.

This means that while the tour is going on throughout the year that Bandai Namco will be bringing games and providing major live events to provide those in attendance a chance to experience some of this year’s most anticipated games such as Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, Dark Souls III, and more.

While Bandai Namco will have a presence at every Wizard World show, they will be making a major appearance involving “major gaming activations” and an eSports tournament streaming stage in Portland , Ore. (Feb. 19-21); St. Louis (April 1-3); Minneapolis (May 6-8); Philadelphia (June 2-5); Sacramento, Calif. (June 17-19); Columbus, Ohio (July 29-31); Orlando , Fla. (August 5-7); Chicago (August 18-21); Austin, Texas (September 23-25); and Pittsburgh (November 4-6).

FUNimation Streaming Service to be Updated in February

Travis Bruno

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January 8, 2016

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Those who use FUNimation‘s streaming services will soon be able to experience a revamped service as the company announced today that starting in February they will be launching the FUNimationNow streaming service. This revamped service will serve as a replacement to the current streaming system and the app will be available on Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Windows 10 Universal with redesigned Android, Kindle, and iOS apps also slated for February.

As for those who use the website, gaming consoles, or Roku, to stream those services will be given a full update in May though the official FUNimation website has already undergone a revamp complete with a new logo that many people seem to be on the fence about. Those who want to start up a thirty day trial and begin watching some of their recently licensed series, such as Dimension W, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, Pandora in the Crimson Shell Ghost Urn, and Snow White with the Red Hair, can do so here.

HI-REZ STUDIOS KICKS OFF THE SMITE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY XBOX ONE WITH NEW REVEALS IN KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Press Releases

Philip Federico

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January 8, 2016

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HI-REZ STUDIOS KICKS OFF THE SMITE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY XBOX ONE WITH NEW REVEALS IN KEYNOTE ADDRESS

New surprises unveiled for SMITE and Paladins, including the SMITE Japanese Pantheon

Hi-Rez Studios’ first mobile game, Jetpack Fighter, is available today on iOS

ATLANTA – Jan. 7, 2016 – Hi-Rez Studios has opened the 2016 SMITE World Championship presented by Xbox One (SWC), revealing new details about SMITE and its latest titles, Paladins and Jetpack Fighter. COO and co-founder Todd Harris will go in-depth with these announcements during today’s keynote address at 11 a.m. EST, viewable at www.twitch.tv/smitegame.

Season 3 of SMITE will focus heavily on improving the game’s overall user experience, including changes to the in-game shop, the introduction of Daily Quests and a host of user interface updates. But most notably, Season 3 will introduce the long-awaited Japanese Pantheon. Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun, will be the first of these new playable characters based on Japanese mythology to join the Battleground of the Gods, starting Jan. 12 on PC (and late February on Xbox One). Amaterasu’s release also begins the new multi-week event, Rising Dawn, which will include many Japanese-themed skins, such as Kaiju Sobek and Harajuku Neith. Learn more about Amaterasu in this special making-of video from the developers, located here.

SMITE will also feature a 3v3 Joust League, a highly requested feature from the community, as well as an all-new 3v3 Joust map, a Chinese-themed environment based on the sky palace from the famous Sun Wukong legend. Hi-Rez dives into the new map in a new in-game cinematic video, found here.

In addition, Hi-Rez has officially launched its first mobile game, Jetpack Fighter, a swipe-to-attack, high-speed platformer with gear progression. One of Jetpack Fighter’s heroines, Leona, will also appear in SMITE as an alternate skin for the goddess Nemesis, and Nemesis will be a playable character in Jetpack Fighter. The game is available today in all English-speaking territories as a free-to-download title on select iOS devices via the App Store; additional markets will follow in the coming months. Jetpack Fighter’s gameplay trailer can be found here.

Hi-Rez also revealed that Grover, the treant of SMITE’s Sylvanus, will be the next playable Champion to join Paladins, its team-based, first-person shooter, currently in closed beta on PC. A first look at Grover in Paladins is available here. Hi-Rez announced the first official Paladins tournament, expected this spring with a prize pool of $100,000. More information about the game’s development will arrive throughout the year.

The SMITE World Championship is currently underway and will conclude on Sunday, Jan. 10. The winning team from the PC World Championship will take home the majority share of a $1 million prize pool, while competitors in the Xbox One Invitational will battle over a $150,000 prize pool. Watch the SWC at www.twitch.tv/smitegame, and follow the action on the official SWC website, Facebook or Twitter for up-to-the-minute news.

About SMITE

SMITE is the online Battleground of the Gods, a mythology-themed action game for PC and Xbox One. Since launching in Europe and North America in March 2014, SMITE has quickly established itself as one of the Top 3 games in the rapidly growing MOBA genre, with over 13 million players. Themed around gods of mythology and offering a third-person camera and more game modes than any other leading game in its genre, the game provides a unique, action-packed experience that puts the player in the thick of the action. SMITE is free-to-play on both PC and Xbox One.

About Hi-Rez Studios

Atlanta-based Hi-Rez Studios was established in 2005 to create exceptional online interactive entertainment, and is now one of the largest video game studios in the Southeast United States. Its games include the squad-based shooter Global Agenda, the critically acclaimed Tribes: Ascend and SMITE, the Battleground of the Gods. Hi-Rez Studios also has two new games: Paladins, a fantasy FPS with progression using collectible cards currently in closed beta testing for PC, and Jetpack Fighter, a swipe-to-attack, high-speed platformer with gear progression. www.HiRezStudios.com.

Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Console Beta to Begin on January 14th

Travis Bruno

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January 8, 2016

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Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 Console Beta to Begin on January 14th

EA and Popcap Games have announced that they will be launching an open beta for the console versions of Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 starting on January 14th and ending on January 18th. The beta, that will only be available on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions and not the PC version, will feature the below content:

Enjoy the Backyard Battleground (we’re saving tons of great content and plenty of surprises for launch!), and play our King of the Hill-inspired mode, Flag of Power, where you can jump into the action right away and experience an immersive and escalating battle.
You’ll also get to try out six new PvZ character classes, as well as a returning roster of your favorite characters from the original Garden Warfare.
Jump into our 24 person multiplayer modes – the new Herbal Assault and Gardens & Graveyards
You’ll be able to play across four distinct maps – Moon Base Z, Frosty Creek, Z-Tech Factory, and Seeds of Time.

As for the full game, Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2 is set to be released on February 23rd in North America and February 25th in Europe and you can check out a trailer for the beta below.

Psychonauts 2 Crowdfunding Campaign Successfully Funded

Travis Bruno

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January 8, 2016

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A little over a month ago Tim Schafer took to the stage at The Game Awards 2015 to announce that he would begin crowdfunding Psychonauts 2 and now with only four days left before time ran out, the funding goal of $3.3 million was met. Those who still want to try and fund the project have a few more days left and can do so through the Fig.co platform.

After meeting the goal a thank you video was released and you can check that out below. Currently Psychonauts 2 is aiming for a release in Fall 2018 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, and Linux.

Girls Beyond the Wasteland Anime Licensed by Sentai Filmworks

Travis Bruno

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January 8, 2016

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Sentai Filmworks has announced that they have acquired the license for Girls Beyond the Wasteland and are planning on releasing the series through digital outlets and will be releasing it on home video sometime in the future. The first episode of Girls Beyond the Wasteland debuted today and is already available for streaming on Hulu with subsequent episodes coming out every Thursday for the rest of the Winter 2016 season.

Those who wish to check it out will find that the story of Girls Beyond the Wasteland follows a lackadaisical high-school student Buntaro Hojo as he ventures into the realm of dating game development.

Final Fantasy IX PC Release to Offer No Encounter and High Speed Mode

Travis Bruno

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January 8, 2016

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Square Enix has let the official Steam page for Final Fantasy IX go live and with it came a number of new details as well as a release window for the upgraded version of the original game. Final Fantasy IX‘s PC release is set for sometime in early 2016 and with it comes seven game boosters, a high speed and no encounter mode to allow for players to progress through the title at a faster rate, autosaves, high-definition movies, high-def character models, and of course Steam achievements.

Currently the price for the PC release of Final Fantasy IX has not been set but you can check out all of the details on the game’s Steam page.