March 30, 2018

A mobile only entry in the long running Tale of series, Tale of the Rays, will see the “Worldwide” version (read: international editions outside of Japan) end service just 15 months after launch. Originally released in February 2017 on iOS and Android, Tales of the Rays stars two brand new playable characters – Ix and Mileena – who must discover their true potential and the mystery behind Chiral Particles.

Billed by Bandai Namco as a “console quality experience”, Tales of the Rays allowed players to well known Tales of characters from across the franchises’ 23 year history. In practice, the game looked the part of a polished JRPG complete with voice acting and cinematic but the limitations of touch screen controls and up to 5 different forms of micro-transaction currency (!!) didn’t do the game any favors.

As announced on the official North American Tales of the Rays Facebook, service for the game will end on May 29^th, 2018:

[Important] Tales of the Rays is Shutting Down　

We regret to announce the closure of Tales of the Rays. Thank you all for your support and we hope you enjoyed playing. We will be keeping the servers open until 20:00 PDT May 29, 2018, so please continue to enjoy Tales of the Rays until the very end.

All items can be used until the last day, so if you have any items or Mirrogems in your account, please use them before May 29, 2018. Also, from today, we are disabling the purchase of Mirrogems.

For more information, please check in-game announcements.

*The exact time service will no longer be available may vary depending on your region.

Despite its use of “gacha” forms of microtransaction for random weapon drops, Tales of the Rays, did build quite a fan following across the globe in the short time it has been out. Players took to twitter to vent their frustrations about the game’s closure – including some who posted Change.ORG petitions to plead with Namco Bandai to keep the game open.

Tales fans: At least we still have Tales of the Rays.

Namco: pic.twitter.com/EwhO9MtbYe

— Jonathan Gruver (@Jonigiri17) March 29, 2018

bamco are you serious.

i mean i don’t even play Tales of the Rays, but you launched that thing like…… 6 months ago. and you’re already killing it.

literally nobody is going to play your mobile games if they expect you to just set them on fire a few months after release

— Fiora Aeterna 🧙‍♀️ (@FioraAeterna) March 29, 2018

„Namco Bandai: Continue Tales of the Rays” – Sign now! https://t.co/CkSJBDt2VN via @ChangeGER
Doubt it will chance anything, but let’s try.

— Prom (@CookieEater95) March 30, 2018

These days, I don’t have much time to play or anything, so I’m playing mobile games to avoid reading too many (awful) political news.

One of these games is Tales of the Rays, which will be shut down in 2 months, as announced today.

Should I even begin to express my frustration.

— HikakiGo (@HikaAki) March 30, 2018

[Source]

Today marks the launch of the Monopoly Gamer: Mario Kart Edition game. This new MONOPOLY game introduces the fun and competition of Mario Kart through iconic characters and unique gameplay.

The game looks, at least on the surface, to be a reskin of the previously released Monopoly Gamer, which played somewhat like Mario Party. Throughout the game, players will pass – and potentially purchase – iconic Mario Kart themed properties such as Rainbow Road and Bowser’s Castle, while simultaneously encountering familiar challenges like dodging Banana Peels, tossing Shells and scooping up Super Star spaces to win the game.

To introduce another layer of competition and strategy, landing on or passing “Go” triggers a Mario Kart race where players compete for the coveted Grand Prix card. In addition, each character token will have its own unique Power-Up ability activated by landing on a Super Star board space.

“In 2017, our fans were excited to see Mario and Mr. Monopoly join forces, so it’s only fitting we continue this collaboration with another franchise favorite – Mario Kart,” said Jonathan Berkowitz, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing for Hasbro Gaming. “The game will integrate iconic elements of Mario Kart into the Monopoly game, offering a one-of-a-kind experience for gamers across the globe.”

“Mario Kart is a franchise cherished by fans of all ages,” said Tom Prata, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives. “Expanding our partnership with Hasbro to build upon the fun of Monopoly Gamer offers families even more surprising and engaging ways to interact with Nintendo characters.”

Monopoly Gamer: Mario Kart Edition game is available at select GameStop stores in the United States now, however it is not yet available at EB Games in Canada.

The game will be available at other U.S. retailers in June.

The release from Nintendo says that the MSRP will be set at $24.99, though the Gamestop website has the game listed for $29.99. In addition, much like the original Monopoly Gamer, there will be “Power Packs” available for $2.99 each. These power packs include additional Mario Kart character tokens such as Bowser, Rosalina, Shy Guy, Metal Mario, Donkey Kong and Yoshi. Both offerings will be available globally in August.

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Bandai Namco Says Goodbye To Tales of the Rays This May

Hasbro and Nintendo join forces to add Mario Kart twist to Monopoly game