Category: Gameinformer

When Capcom first revealed Devil May Cry 5, they introduced Nero’s theme, Devil Trigger from vocalist Ali Edwards. The song was catchy, which made it all the stranger when Dante’s theme was revealed to be an deathcore metal song titled Subhuman. The music video reached a high number of dislikes as fans voted against the song, and was removed from YouTube shortly after, but not for the reasons everyone thought. After fans discovered that the vocalist of the band, Suicide Silence, had admitted to sexual and emotional abuse of a fan who was a minor when their relationship began, Capcom pulled the music and publicly pontificated on the possibility of replacing the song but warned they might not have the resources to do so.

Today, Capcom announced that they’re keeping Subhuman in the game, but replacing the vocalist. The rest of the band, which was not involved in the controversy, is keeping their instrumentation in place.

“While the song was written and recorded in-game well before such allegations, we’d still like to ensure, to the best of our abilities, that your experience with the game ultimately goes unmarred,” Capcom’s Yuri Araujo wrote in a blog post. “As such, our development team, producers, recording and mixing teams have worked hard to find and implement a new vocal track by Michael Barr. It is worth noting that the hard work of the Suicide Silence band members, as well as song writers Cody Matthew Johnson & Mark Heylmun, remained intact, as they were not involved with the incidents.”

One of the reasons this might have been such a difficult replacement is the way DMC5 uses its battle music, layering it depending on how the style rankings in battles fluctuate. Replacing just the vocal track was likely a more feasible option for how the music was implemented into the game than making an entirely new track.

Capcom’s claim that the song was written and recorded before the allegations might be true, but the allegations were certainly known well before Capcom went public with the song. They were initially reported in November 2017 and were easily searchable by Googling the band’s name, so that excuse does not pass muster. That said, they appear to be doing the right thing by replacing the vocalist.

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For a number of years, players have had their preferences for Call of Duty’s various modes. Some people couldn’t give a lick about single-player and didn’t understand why they have to pay for a campaign they didn’t touch. Not everyone is going to like every part of a game, but Activision has traditionally been hesitant to split the games up and sell it in pieces, though they appear to be poking at the idea in an official capacity with Black Ops 4.

Dubbed “The Battle Edition,” the PC-only version of Black Ops 4 will be available with just the traditional multiplayer and Blackout modes. This means that the zombie content in the game is being left by the wayside, letting Activision sell the game on Battle.net for a discounted $30.

The most obvious reason for this move is that it competes with other Battle Royale games sold for cheaper prices by making Blackout an actual competitor in both content and price. By letting Blackout compete directly with PUBG, Activision likely hopes to position themselves as the strongest option for a paid Battle Royale game rather than simply a mode in a larger title.

While Black Ops 4 has no single-player campaign, it does raise the question of further games creating similar split SKUs, should single-player ever return to the series. It probably depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to how well the Black Ops 4 split does and whether a hypothetical new campaign is good enough to stand on its own without multiplayer propping it up.

You can read our review for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 here. While the Battle Edition is only for PC, the game is also on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

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A LinkedIn listing today has revealed a new Pokémon project in the works. The Pokémon Company, the all-seeing eye of Pokémon creation, has put up a job listing for a principal game designer for an unnamed Pokémon mobile project in Washington, sparking speculation of what it could be.

The listing specifically makes mention of wanting someone with experience in Unity, which none of the other Pokémon mobile titles have used, with the exception of the tablet-only Pokémon Trading Card Game. This might refer to a port for that title to phones, hoping to compete in the burgeoning but lucrative TCG market on smaller devices.

There have already been a few Pokémon mobile titles, like the puzzle game Pokémon Shuffle and of course Pokémon Go. As Go evolves and starts bridging the gap between it and the mainline titles, including adding trainer battles in an update soon, it seems likely that mobile Pokémon games are going to veer toward spinoff territory with different kinds of game mechanics.

What would you want in a Pokémon mobile title?

[Source: LinkedIn]

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Rumors have been popping up that Naughty Dog’s classic cart racer, Crash Team Racing could be getting a remaster with an announcement coming soon. 

Among the rumors, last week a Facebook page began posting questionable announcements that the cult classic would be announced at this year’s Game Awards. Even more recently, PlayStation Access host Hollie Bennett sent out a tweet that includes an image of orange fuzzy dice, and a card bearing the cryptic message, “Sliding into the Game Awards on 6/12 – Anonymous.”

With the mad marsupial’s successful revival last year via the Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, Activision could very well be setting its sights on the old PlayStation exclusive cart simulator. With this year’s inaugural Game Awards taking place on December 6, an announcement could be in the works. If you’ve never played the game, you check out some footage of the frenetic cart racer, here. 

[Source: Eurogamer]

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It was only last week that Bioware general manager Casey Hudson openly teased “secret Dragon Age stuff” in the next few weeks, but it seems like it is a little less secret now. According to a report from GamesBeat, Dragon Age 4 will be revealed this week at The Game Awards, but the reveal seems to be the only part of the game that’s actually done.

“Dragon Age 4 — or whatever name it’ll carry — is at least three years away, according to sources familiar with the studio,” GamesBeat reporter Jeffrey Grubb writes. “That timeline could change, but that is the current expectation at EA. BioWare and EA have not even settled on a name for the new Dragon Age — although that is something they could decide in preparation for a reveal at The Game Awards.”

If true, it could mean that Bioware’s enthusiasm for Dragon Age is vastly outpacing their development schedule. Bioware is reportedly still all-hands-on-deck on Anthem, which releases early next year. With EA cancelling all of Mass Effect Andromeda’s single-player DLC and staying quiet on the future of the series since, Dragon Age seems a logical place to go after. That still makes the decision to announce it so early puzzling.

It is also possible that Bioware wants to assure fans that traditional content is on the way. While Anthem is looking to impress, it is not the type of game that fans of the studio expect, and an announcement of Dragon Age 4 conveys that the developer will still be working on those sorts of titles. It also just seems likely that there is a lot of enthusiasm for the series within Bioware.

The Game Awards take place on December 6 at 5:30 p.m. PT. Anthem will release on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on February 22.

[source: GamesBeat]

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Like clockwork, Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland returns on December 11 and runs through January 2. New winter-themed skins, sprays, and victory poses will likely be announced over the new few days to coincide with the event. The one thing we know at this point is that Blizzard World is living up to its name and is transforming into a frigid place.

You can see the map transform before your eyes in the video teaser below. We’ll update this story as new details emerge.

Overwatch recently introduced a new hero into its ranks. You can read about Ashe’s introduction if you’re eager to learn more. 

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Civilization VI’s upcoming Gathering Storm expansion (February 14) features devastating environmental effects, but Maori legend Kupe – discoverer of New Zealand – finds a hospitable place to settle for his civilization.

Check out the expansion’s new trailer detailing the Maori’s advantages, from increased production, a unique building, and more.

For information on the Gathering Storm expansion as a whole, check out this previous preview.

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Epic Games, developer of titles like Fortnite, the first Gears of War trilogy, and Unreal Tournament, has announced the creation of a new digital PC store that hopes to compete with Steam by offering an unprecedented revenue split for developers.

The Epic Games Store is launching as a full-fledged game marketplace supporting all sorts of titles. The Fortnite developer hopes to incentivize developers to come over to the Epic Games Store by pushing the revenue split for software further than any platform holder has before, giving developers 88 percent of the revenues while keeping 12 percent for overhead. This is a big change considering the traditional industry standard for digital revenue split usually gives 30 percent to the store owner, whether it be Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Apple, Android, or Valve. Perhaps anticipating this move, Valve recently made adjustments to Steam’s revenue model, but only above certain thresholds that most games won’t hit.

“As a developer ourselves, we have always wanted a platform with great economics that connects us directly with our players,” Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney said in a press statement. “Thanks to the success of Fortnite, we now have this and are ready to share it with other developers.”

The absurd amount of money that Fortnite makes every day clearly allowed Epic to invest the money into making this more developer-friendly store. The company also made this change with its Unreal asset store earlier this year, again citing the massive profits from Fortnite as the reason they can afford a thinner profit off store purchases.

Another prong of Epic’s developer-friendly approach is waiving all Unreal Engine royalty fees for revenue generated on the store. If a developer’s game uses UE4, copies sold on Epic’s store don’t give a separate percentage to Epic, encouraging developers and publishers to direct their fans to the Epic Game Store and buy there. To get anywhere close to the same revenue split on Steam, a creator would have to make $50 million in revenue on Steam alone before getting to an 80/20 split, with engine fees still on top.

Despite Epic being the creators of the Unreal Engine, there’s no limitations for what kind of games can appear on the store. Whether developers use Unity, GameMaker, or any other engine to make your games, Epic is willing to sell those titles under its umbrella.

In tandem with the store announcement, Epic also plans to launch a Support-A-Creator program, which connects developers to YouTubers, streamers, etc. These developers can share a percentage of their revenue with video producers who make content about their game, with Epic covering the jumpstart costs for the first five percent. 

Epic plans to hand-curate its store, which might entice both developers and consumers away from competitors, especially with many expressing frustrations about the poor visibility for software in crowded marketplaces. How that looks in practice is still anyone’s guess, but if executed correctly it could answer some complaints that have been boiling for years.

The Epic Game Store is launching soon and is being built out of Epic’s current launcher. We got a chance to talk with Epic founder Tim Sweeney and ask him a few things about the store, including questions about DRM, how games are curated, and whether the store will be home to any exclusive games.

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Today saw the announcement of the Epic Games Store. With higher percentages for developers who place their games on the new service, Epic is clearly attempting to position itself as a competitor to Valve’s Steam service. Tim Sweeney also answered more of our questions in an interview.

In the wake of the announcement, developers have taken to Twitter to voice their thoughts. Here’s a collection of some of the most interesting things we’ve seen said.

Barry Meade, co-founder and director at Fireproof Games, makers of The Room games:

Rami Ismail, Vlambeer, makers of Nuclear Throne and Luftrausers:

Garry Newman, creator of Garry’s Mod:

Forrest Dowling, co-founder of Molasses Flood, makers of The Flame in the Flood:

George Broussard, co-founder of 3D Realms, makers of Duke Nukem 3D:

Mike Rose, founder of No More Robots:

Philip Tibitoski, co-founder and president of Young Horses, creators of Octodad:

Davey Wreden, Everything Unlimited, creator of The Stanley Parable and The Beginner’s Guide:

What’s your current take on the Epic Games Store? Can it compete with Steam? What do you think about its benefits to developers? Can it bring in consumers? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

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In an effort to rebuild damaged relations with its community over Fallout 76, Besthesda announced over Twitter today that it is arranging to manufacture and distribute canvas bags to fans who purchased the game’s Power Armor Edition. 

Fallout 76 has been a PR nightmare for Bethesda, the company responsible for the popular Fallout franchise. Fans were initially disappointed that the next game in the series would deviate from the franchise’s single-player story formula in favor of an online multiplayer experience. The game dashed the hopes of many more when it launched on November 14 to universal criticism. Game Informer’s Andrew Reiner gave Fallout 76 a 6 out of 10 and said it was “teeming with irradiated beasts and technical issues.” The issues following the game only grew when Bethesda remained silent on its plans to improve the technical issues and seemly refused to refund upset gamers. This refusal kicked off a possible class-action lawsuit which claims the game’s technical issues make it unplayable. 

On top of everything else, players who had ordered the Fallout 76 Power Armor edition discovered that one of their special edition items – a collectible canvas bag – had been swapped out with a cheaper nylon one. One fan’s experience with Bethesda’s costumer service went viral when he posted a conversation he had with a representative who said Bethesda wouldn’t do anything to rectify the situation. Though Bethesda did offer 500 atoms (Fallout 76’s in-game currency) to anyone who was disappointed, the deal did little to stem gamers’ anger since the in-game currency amounted to only $5. The compensation wasn’t even enough to cover the in-game outfit that comes with the canvas bag. 

If you bought Fallout 76’s Power Armor Edition and are hoping to receive a canvas bag, head over to https://beth.games/2QDropM and submit a ticket before the end of January. 

[Source: Twitter]

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