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No Date For NA Arena of Valor Switch Beta Test, Transfer of Mobile Progress Possible

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Rae Michelle Richards

Popular mobile Multiplayer Online Battle Arena Arena of Valor was originally set to make its debut on the Nintendo Switch in North America last month, needless to say the scheduled beta Christmas time beta test never materialized.  Outlet Comicbook.com got a chance to sit down wth reps from publisher TenCent and get an update on the upcoming Switch port, plans for North American beta testing and obviously quite a few questions about the licensed D.C Comics heroes.

It seems like TenCent will roll the beta version of Arena of Valor in European territories first with North America to follow sometime after. Just as the mobile version on iOS and Android was launched in European territories first, TenCent will start taking applications for Switch Beta testers very soon – with a later, unspecified date, in mind for North America.

“The Nintendo version of Arena of Valor is being handled by a different team at the moment. We’re supporting the Nintendo version with beta testing, branding, and everything company-side. We have the closed beta testing coming up for Europe, and after we have the results from that beta testing, we’ll have a more clear timetable for launches in different regions.”

Comicbook.com also asked a question that I hadn’t considered – would it be possible for mobile players of Arena of Valor to transfer their gold, talent shards and unlocked heroes to the Nintendo Switch version? TenCent says that this is certainly technically feasible but they do have to consider the imbalance that this would create for new players who are just starting out on Switch.  From the sound of things there’s still some deliberation going on about the possibility of porting over account progress from one platform to another.

“We had that discussion earlier, internally. The answer is that the decision is still being made. It is technically possible, but having people on the mobile version and Switch version competing with each other may compromise the arena as a “fair” arena, if you see what I mean. Because they’re using different devices, when they compete with each other we feel it could generate complaints of unfair competition, so we’re still balancing it.”

Lastly, the topic of Monetization has of course came up. Naturally with many calling last year – “the year of the loot box” – it is understandable that potential players might be a little skeptical of a free to play title on Nintendo’s latest platform. From my own personal experience, Arena of Valor is filled with blind boxes (loot boxes)  – both in the “free” daily variety and those paid for with real currency.

“We haven’t made a decision about that. Monetization has never been the “start.” It’s not the major concern early on, for any version of the game. We will have more information after the beta test in EU.”

Arena of Valor will launch sometime in 2018 in both North America and Europe. The free to play mobile version is currently available in most countries on both Google Android and Apple’s iOS platforms. I’ve played a couple hours here and there on my phone and found it to be a competent M.O.B.A experience, even if I don’t really recognize or resonate with many of the heroes on offer.

[Source]

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Star Citizen’s Single Player Campaign Won’t Be Released This Year

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Today at CitizenCon Cloud Imperium Games announced that Star Citizen’s single player campaign ‘Squadron 42’ has been delayed outside of this year.

Squadron 42 is the single player component of the ambitious space title which is currently under development at Foundry 42’s UK Studio. Featuring a high profile cast with actors like Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill as well as Liam Cunningham and a whole host of other performers. The story tells the tale of the United Empire of Earth Navy and will include first person shooter sections, large scale space battles and ship to ship combat.

The current state of Squadron 42 has been described by the developers as being in the ‘grey box’ phase of testing, meaning that things are still early-on. It was revealed that key features like pathfinding for enemy characters and a mission structure still have yet to be implemented. Foundry 42 is working on polishing one of the game’s many chapters before any more footage will revealed to the public.

Alongside the reveal of the delay several other pieces of Star Citizen including the developers roadmap for the persistent universe. Here are some of the highlights of upcoming patches:

  • 2.6 – Arena commander will be updated. Leader boards will be refactored and the game’s flight model will be updated.
  • 3.1 – Mining & Refining and Processing will be added, Several new ships will be rolled out including four newly announced ships.
  • 4.0  – Will add jump points allowing citizens to travel between multiple star systems, Science and Research will be added and new Exploration & Discovery improvements.

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Gravity Rush 2 Delayed Until January 2017 Worldwide

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Sad news for fans Gravity Rush fans that were looking forward to finishing Kat’s story in Gravity Rush 2 this December, you’re going to have to wait a little longer to experience the game’s (presumably) fantastic story.  Kat’s current generation adventure has been delayed worldwide until January 2017 according to an update Keiichiro Toyama provided over on the PlayStation Blog.

The team behind the game have spent a considerable amount of time working on asyonchris multiplayer functions and they want as many players as possible online at the same time.

Toyama wrote on the PlayStation Blog:

“A lot of work went into online features that allow for asynchronous player interaction, we want as many people as possible playing the title at the same time. Thus, after careful deliberation, we have decided to change the release date. Gravity Rush 2 will now launch on January 20, 2017.” 

Fans will at least get some consolation prizes to help ease the pain – the developers were planning to launch a side-story DLC pack for the game which will now be released to all players free of charge. Also Keiichiro Toyama mentioned that a special animated short will make its debut before the game’s release.

Here are the details about the DLC:

“In exchange for the longer wait, we have decided to release the premium DLC planned for the title free of charge. This additional story will take place in the world of Gravity Rush 2 and we think fans will have a lot of fun playing through it.” 

Gravity Rush 2 is now scheduled to be released on Jan 18th in Europe, January 19th in Japan and Jan 20th in North America.

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Square Enix Makes Final Fantasy XV Delay Official

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Square Enix announced during GamesCOM today that the rumored Final Fantasy XV delay is indeed official. The long awaited game will now make its debut on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One worldwide on November 29th, 2016. The publisher also announced that the delay of the game will not affect the digital release fo the tie-in film, KingsGlaive: Final Fantasy XV, which is set to debut at the end of the month.

What’s the reason for the delay? Well there was actually very little PR / Corporate speak in Square’s news release – they’ve admitted that the game needs more polish and QA testing before it is ready for prime time.

Final Fantasy XV

FFXV’s director Hajime Tabata is quoted regarding the two month release as saying:

“From the moment we joined this project, our vision was to create a level of freedom and realism previously unseen in the series. Regrettably, we need a little bit more time to deliver on this vision and are confident that this new release date will help us achieve this.”

Square’s admission that the game needs a bit more polish falls in line with a rumor that sprang up on 4-chan (unsourced of course (**ALSO POTENTIAL UNCONFIRMED SPOILER WARNINGS AT THAT LINK**) that claimed FFXV was only partially playable on production PlayStation 4 units. According to the leaker only about 2 hours was playable on PS4 and the Xbox One version faired even worse.

As soon as we know more about the delay of Final Fantasy XV we will let you know. I got the chance to play the Titan Demo at E3 and was generally impressed with what I played.

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New Evidence Suggests That Final Fantasy XV Has Indeed Been Delayed

Posted on August 14, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Rumblings have been happening on places like the official Final Fantasy XV Reddit, NeoGAF and other gaming discussion communities that the upcoming Final Fantasy XV has been delayed by 60 days. Originally posted by outlet Gamnesia – instructions were reportedly sent out to GameStop locations in the United States to update their cardboard standees with a new date: November 29th 2016.

Kotaku reporter Jason Schrier took to Twitter to confirm that he has confirmed the delay with non-retail sources. Here’s the original tweet:

Images also surfaced on NeoGAF from the GameStop mail-out explaining the process of updating Final Fantasy XV’s in-store marketing materials.

final_fantasy_xv_launches_nov_29__large

Final Fantasy XV re-emerged from years of silence during E3 2013 and has had two playable demos released to the public over the past 18 months – Episode Duscae was released as a pack in with  Final Fantasy Type-0 HD in March 2014 and Final Fantasy XV: The Platinum Demo was released just before E3 2016. Final Fantasy XV began development as Final Fantasy Versus XIII and was announced more than 10 years ago at E3 2006!

 

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X Com 2 Console Release Delayed Until September

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

The console port of Firaxis Games’ sequel to their popular X Com reboot, X Com 2, has been delayed until September according to the game’s official twitter account.

X Com 2  will bring a new generation of strategy to the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Sept 27th in North America and the rest of the world will fight off the invasion on September 30th.

The latest official trailer for the game is embedded below.

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Star Fox Zero Locks-On To A New Release Date

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Rae Michelle Richards

It looks like Star Fox fans will be waiting just a little bit longer before they can pilot their Arwings on Nintendo’s latest console as Star Fox Zero has slipped into the first quarter of 2016.

This news comes via IGN.com which reports that legendary designer Shigeru Miyamoto is quoted in the following statement regarding the game’s development. It seems that Nintendo needs a bit more time to add some polish to the dual screen experience and cut-scenes.

“We have been developing Star Fox Zero for Wii U with the aim of releasing it this year, Although we felt that the development had been progressing well, we now believe that we will need a little more time to work on areas such as the unprecedented discovery that we want players to experience in the game by using two screens, and further polishing the level designs and perfecting the tone of the cut scenes.”

Star Fox Zero was originally revealed at E3 2014 and was featured prominently during Nintendo’s treehouse live segments during the show. The game takes several design cues from Star Fox 64 and includes the ability to transform the Arwing into a walker, similar to core mechanic from the cancelled SNES title Star Fox 2.

No specific release date for Star Fox 0 is currently available, previously it was scheduled for a November 20th release.

[youtube id=”s6PEecNY0Sc”]

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Atlus Delays Persona 5 Until Next Year

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Rae Michelle Richards

Fans clinging to hope that the long awaited Persona 5 would make its worldwide release this fall have had their hopes dashed with the announcement that the game would now ship sometime in 2016 for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3. This isn’t the first delay for the fifth entry in the Persona series, during the games original 2013 unveiling a “Winter 2014” release widow was promised.

In a brief statement Atlus USA had this to say:

The strengths of the Persona series are compelling characters, a moving, relatable story, and a borderline obsession with minutiae – elements which can’t be rushed or taken lightly. So while ATLUS realizes the frustration and disappointment that this must cause for the JRPG-loving public, please know that we are delaying the game in order to make sure the next iteration of the Persona series lives up to the expectations of fans.

Hopefully the release of a brand new TGS trailer will appease the series’ hardcore fanbase. Clocking in at almost 4 minutes in length it is pretty hefty. Check it out below:

[youtube id=”wvpOwQaqRXA”]

 

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Final Fantasy X / X-2 HD Delayed

Posted on November 18, 2013 by Rae Michelle Richards

Square Enix has decided to delay the upcoming re-mastered versions of Final Fantasy X & Final Fantasy X-2 the publisher announced this morning. Instead of launching on the PlayStation 3 this November the collection has been moved to March 21st 2014 for the PlayStation 3 in North America. No news on the release date of the upcoming Vita version of the Final Fantasy X HD re-masters, but Square Enix issued a small statement to Joystiq where they will clear things up at a ‘future date’.

Final Fantasy X / X-2 has been touched up for the current generation of consoles with enhanced graphics and both games pressed on to a single disc. Other improvements that Square announced include the inclusion of 60 re-arranged music tracks and cross-save support for those who will be playing it on both PS Vita and PS3.

More information is available at the source link.

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Watch Dogs, The Crew, Held Back Until 2014

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Kintarius

Hotly anticipated Ubisoft titles Watch Dogs as well as The Crew are being postponed until next year – Spring 2014 for Watch Dogs and an ambiguous fiscal year 2015, meaning it could release as early as April 2014.

Ubisoft released a statement concerning the delay.

“Our ambition from the start with Watch Dogs has been to deliver something that embodies what we wanted to see in the next-generation of gaming. It is with this in mind that we’ve made the tough decision to delay the release until Spring 2014.”Read More

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Naughty Dog Delays The Last of Us Until June 14th

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Rae Michelle Richards

The wait for Naughty Dog’s Ps3 exclusive post-apocalyptic action game The Last of Us is about to get a little longer with the announcement that the game is now due out on June 14th 2013.

Neil Druckmann, Creative Director at Naughty Dog, made a post announcing the delay on the PlayStation Blog this morning. Citing the fact that the extra few weeks will allow the studio to continue to polish the game, he promised it would allow them to stick to their original vision without cutting corners.

Interestingly the game is scheduled just after E3 2013 is scheduled to run, from June 11th through the 13th. We already know that the PS4 will be unveiled well before the convention; perhaps The Last of US will be one last hurrah for Sony’s seven year old platform.

Are you excited for the The Last of Us? The first hands-on previews of the game came a little while back but other than that things have been relatively quiet. Perhaps SCEA and Naughty Dog will scare up a new trailer soon.

Check out a quote from the PlayStation blog after the jump.Read More

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Bioshock Infinite Facing Further Delays, Out March 26th

Posted on December 8, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

The wait for irrational games’ follow up to 2007’s Bioshock, Bioshock Infinite, gets even harder with the announcement that the game is being delayed by a few weeks to make room for minor improvements and bug fixes.

According to Ken Levine, creator of the Bioshock Franchise, the game will drop on March 26th. The team needed time to fix some minor annoyances and that recent addition, Rod Ferguson, convinced him that the entire team would benefit from additional development time. He admits that the press might beat up on 2K and Irrational for this decision but they believe it was the right choice.

Check out his full comments after the jump. Bioshock Infinite was originally scheduled for release in the fall of 2012 before being moved to February and now to its current March 26th date. It will go up against other March 2013 heavy weights like God of War Accession and Tomb Raider.

Source: Kotaku

Read More

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PC Port of DMC: Devil May Cry Delayed

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Dante’s new look isn’t the only thing causing a stir in regards to DMC: Devil May Cry. Capcom confirmed yesterday that the PC version of the game will be delayed until after the console versions release. The Windows/Mac port is not being handled by Ninja Theory, the game’s developers, but rather by QLOC who handled the PC duties for the mediocre Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City and the pretty good Street Fighter X Tekken.

If you’re going to be buying Capcom games, maybe you should wait for the ULTRA SUPER DELUXE re-release of DMC. Although, I am uncertain as to what DLC they could possibly add to a traditionally linear game.

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