Gematome 5/2: Silent Hills cancelled, Yooka-Laylee announced, Final Fantasy XV demo update coming, more
All the news from the past few days.■ Silent Hills officially cancelled + P.T. distribution ceased on April 29
It’s official. Hideo Kojima, Guillermo del Toro, and Norman Reedus’ Silent Hills collaboration is no more. And what’s more, the Playable Teaser that announced it was pulled from the PlayStation Store. Farewell, sweet dream.
■ Persona 5 screenshots
New direct-feed screenshots from Persona 5 came out this week. Most of them were featured in Japanese magazines back in February, but they haven’t been released in high-res and online until this week.
■ Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor revealed as Yooka-Laylee + Kickstarter launched (and funded)
Playtonic Games revealed and launched the Kickstarter campaign for its Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor, which is titled Yooka-Laylee. It starts Yooka the chameleon and his buddy Laylee the bat. The Kickstarter was funded in 40 minutes and broke all of its stretch goals within a day. Two more were since set. It’s coming simultaneously to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC, Mac, and Linux.
■ Call of Duty: Black Ops III officially announced
The next Call of Duty is coming November 6 exclusively to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. No more last-gen platforms. It boasts a future setting, four-player co-op campaign, customizable character, a new Zombies experience, and more.
■ Final Fantasy XV feedback live stream full report: Episode Duscae 2.0 coming mid-May
Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata hosted a live stream this week going over some of the feedback received by players of the Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae demo. The long and short of it is: there’s lots of complaints that are being addressed, a 2.0 of the demo is coming mid-May, and promotion for the main game will kick off at Gamescom in August.
■ D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die coming to PC
The fans requested it, and Access Games is delivering. Xbox One‘s D4: Dark Dreams Don’t Die is coming to PC. There’s no release date yet, but it’s in development now.
■ Mighty No. 9 release date set, physical version announced
After being Kickstarted in September 2013, Mighty No. 9 finally has a release date: September 18. And what’s more, the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Wii U versions are getting retail releases via Deep Silver. The PS Vita and 3DS versions will launch at a later date.
■ Just Cause 3 gameplay reveal trailer
Square Enix and Avalanche Studios released the first gameplay trailer for Just Cause 3, and it’s all mayhem you’d expect it to be. Watch it through the link.
■ Batman: Arkham Knight ‘All Who Follow You’ trailer, screenshots + Season Pass and Premium Edition announced
The latest trailer for Batman: Arkham Knight is out, and it reveals the game’s new “Dual Play” system, which allows players to seamlessly switch between Batman and his allies as playable characters.
■ Dutch retailer lists Tales of Zestiria for PS4
Tales of Zestiria on PlayStation 4 has become a general assumption by now, but a Netherlands-based retailer has provided further backing. It’s listed on their website alongside a PlayStation 3 version.
■ Free-to-play Gundam Battle Operation Next announced for PS4 and PS3, beta out now + it’s the PS4 Gundam game first teased in 2013
That PlayStation 4 Gundam game Bandai Namco teased way back when is a free-to-play sequel to the free-to-play PlayStation 3 game Mobile Suit Gundam: Battle Operation. It’s called Gundam: Battle Operation Next and a beta is running until tomorrow on in Japan.
■ Gengar joins Pokken Tournament + official trailer, Gengar trailer, and battle gameplay
Gengar is joining Pikachu, Lucario, and company in the upcoming Pokemon arcade fighting game, which is due out this summer in Japanese game centers.
■ Tekken 7 unveils new character Gigas
A new character is coming to Tekken 7. The robot character was made available in arcade units on April 29.
■ Persona 4: Dancing All Night first-print copies include girls’ swimsuit DLC in Japan + ‘Nanako’ trailer
Pre-orders for Persona 4: Dancing All Night in Japan will include swimsuit costumes for Chie, Yukiko, Rise, and Naoto. If you don’t pre-order the game, you can get the outfits later as paid DLC. But that’s ew. Also, there’s a new trailer out for Nanako Dojima.
■ Atlus probably localizing The Legend of Legacy
Atlus is localizing The Legend of Legacy. Probably. Most likely. They’re U.S. PR manager mentioned it in a podcast as one of their announced titles. Oops!
■ Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess coming west in July
Koei Tecmo confirmed it will localize Deception IV: The Nightmare Princess, its updated version of Deception IV: Blood Ties featuring a new princess character, for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, and PS Vita this July. Only the PlayStation 4 version will see a retail release, however.
■ Sengoku Basara 4: Sumeragi second trailer
Capcom released a new trailer for Sengoku Basara 4: Sumeragi, featuring the game’s ending theme song sun by Chiaki Ishikawa.
■ Amatsumi Sora ni and Himawari announced for PS Vita, PreCure puzzle game for 3DS, Monster Gear for smartphones + Famitsu Review Scores
This week’s Famitsu leak was meh, so here’s it all in one post. Two PS Vita adventure games, one 3DS puzzle game, and a smartphone hunting game. Plus, review scores.
■ Killer Instinct Cinder trailer teases Aria
Another Season 2 character has launched for Killer Instinct, and with it a trailer teasing Season 2’s final character release: Aria. It’s the smallest of teases, but worth checking out, regardless.
■ Grand Ages: Medieval listed for PS4 + Dungeons 2 rated for PS4 by ESRB
After Tropico 5‘s launch this week, Kalypso looks to have at least two more PlayStation 4 games lined up. Amazon Germany leaked Grand Ages: Medieval, while the ESRB leaked Dungeons 2.
■ Yoshi’s Woolly World screenshots
A new set of Yoshi’s Woolly World screenshots came out this week. The game is still without an exact release date, but it’ll launch for Wii U this fall.
■ Death Under the Labyrinth introduces enemy characters
The official Death Under the Labyrinth website was updated this week with descriptions of some of the game’s villains, including the knight overlord, stubborn leader, muscular brute, and sexy water lady.
■ Cross Ange PS Vita five-minute trailer
Bandai Namco released a new trailer for its PS Vita game adaption of the Cross Ange: Rondo of Angels and Dragons anime. Watch through the link.
■ Code: Realize otome coming to PS Vita in North America this fall
If you found it hard enough to believe Amnesia was coming westward, another otome visual novel, Code: Realize ~Guardian of Birth~, is coming west via Aksys Games. The PS Vita title is due out this fall.
■ Corpse Party 3DS first-print copies include additional chapter in Japan
The game itself already includes an additional chapter within it, but if you pick up an early copy of Corpse Party for 3DS, you’ll gain access to a chapter involving Yoshiki, Yoshikaze, Tomohiro, and a dead girl.
■ Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX demo hits Japan on May 13
Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX will get a demo on the 3DS eShop in Japan head of its May 28 release. The demo will featuer two songs and be compatible with save data from Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai 2.
■ PlayStation Network Golden Week Sale: Catherine, Demon’s Souls, Tales, and more
The U.S. PlayStation Store is celebrating Golden Week with a slew of Japanese and Japan-inspired game sales. There’s lots on sale, and it ends May 4, so be sure to check it out and buy what you want before the sale closes.
■ Halo 5: Guardians cover art revealed
Microsoft revealed the official box art for Halo 5: Guardians this week, and it features both Master Chief and Agent Locke, given they’re both playable. There’s also a video version of the cover art teasing new Spartans.
■ Natsumegu coming to PS Vita + Tsuki ni Yorisou coming to PS Vita
The Famitsu games weren’t enough. Even more love adventure games are en route to PS Vita. This time, Cotton Software’s Natsumegu and Navel’s Tsuki ni Yorisou Otome no Sahou were announced.
■ Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition launching next week
Giving you yet another reason not to buy games at launch, Warner Bros. announced that a Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition is launching on new-gen consoles and PC next week. It’ll include the game and all the post-launch downloadable content.
■ Media Create Sales: 4/20/15 – 4/26/15
Bravely Second: End Layer topped this week’s Media Create sales charts, selling over 100,000 units. Outside of that, new releases Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory II, BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend, and Tropico 5 also made the chart.
■ Danganronpa series sales top 200,000 in the west
Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair sales combined topped over 200,000 units in the west. Because of that, NIS America is “shifting the system towards visual novels.” Hooray for people buying good games!
■ PlayStation Plus Free Games for May announced + Xbox Live Gold Free Games for May announced
This month’s free PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live Gold offerings were announced this week. On PlayStation, you can get games like Ether One (PS4) and Murasaki Baby (PS Vita) free, among more, while Xbox users can get CastleStorm for Xbox One and Mafia II and F1 2013 for Xbox 360.
■ 505 Games to publish Overkill’s The Walking Dead
OVERKILL Software‘s The Walking Dead co-op shooter is still a ways off with a 2016 release window, but the developer confirmed that longtime partner 505 Games will publish the title. It’s coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
■ Skullgirls for PS4 and PS Vita has fully-voiced character stories, cross-play, more
Skullgirls 2nd Encore, otherwise known as the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita versions of Skullgirls Encore, will have a number of new version-exclusive features (that may or may not be added to the PC version as downloadable content). They’re detailed in full through the link.
■ CyberConnect2 boss talks new Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 features
CyberConnect2 president and CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama talked about the new features of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 during a video interview this week. This includes a renewed battle system, including Leader Changes, boss battles, and teasers for the new online mode. The game’s out later this year on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
■ Imperial SaGa browser game debut trailer
Square Enix released the debut trailer for its new SaGa PC browser game… We just posted it because it’s SaGa.
■ Toren launching for PS4 and PC on May 12
Toren, the ICO-inspired PlayStation 4 and PC adventure game, will launch on May 12, Versus Evil confirmed. Check out the new trailer.
■ Tokyo Xanadu screenshots detail Cross Drive and Cross Strike combat systems
The latest batch of Tokyo Xanadu screenshots introduce the game’s Cross Drive and Cross Strike combat systems, as well as some character-specific Cross Strike abilities.
■ The Witch and the Hundred Knight Revival debut screenshots, limited edition announced
First screenshots of The Witch and the Hundred Knight Revival, the PlayStation 4 update of The Witch and the Hundred Knight, are out. The PlayStation 4 version runs in 60 frame per second at 1080p. There’s comparison shots with the PS3 version, too.
■ Taiko Drum Master: V Version adds Bakemonogatari and Tekken Revolution songs
Bandai Namco confirmed five new songs for the PS Vita version of Taiko Drum Master, including songs from Bakemonogatari and Tekken Revolution. There’s new guest characters, too.
■ Splatoon Direct to broadcast on May 7
Nintendo will share more information about Splatoon this coming Thursday, May 7 in a Splatoon Direct broadcast. And that’s all.
■ Watch Dogs 2 spotted on Ubisoft employee’s resume
Oopsie. The LinkedIn resume of an Ubisoft profile had work on a “Watch Dogs 2” listed. When contacted, Ubisoft declined to comment. E3 announcement incoming?
■ Terra Battle surpasses two million downloads, console version underway
Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi is coming back to consoles. Terra Battle has topped two million downloads, which means a console version of the game is greenlit. We’ll have to wait for further details on what the console version entails, however.
■ Dead Island 2 delayed to 2016
Dead Island 2 won’t make its planned spring 2015 release. In fact, it’s been pushed to next year. Yager Development needs more time to make the game all it wants it to be.
■ Square Enix showcases Witch Chapter 0 [Cry] Luminous Engine DirectX 12 tech demo
Square Enix showcased a new tech demo for DirectX 12 at Microsoft Build 2015. It was made by the same team behind the Agni’s Philosophy tech demo, thus featuring Agni. Square Enix hopes to use the research gathered from this project on its future games.
■ Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker battle trailer
Atlus released a new trailer for Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker a week ahead of the game’s release this coming Tuesday. This time, you’ll get a look at the game’s strategic battle system.
■ EA dates E3 2015 press conference
Electronic Arts has dated its E3 press conference. It will hold its annual presentation on June 15 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. PT.
■ Spelunker Z teases “Project Code V”
The free-to-play Spelunker Z is now available for PlayStation 4 in Japan, but a PS Vita version might be on the way, if we’re interpreting a new “Project Code V” teaser on the game’s official website correctly. We’ll find out if we’re right come May 8.
■ The Last of Us: Left Behind getting standalone release
The Last of Us‘ popular Left Behind story downloadable content will be released as a standalone game on May 12. It will also have various upgrade options for players who want to continue after clearing it.
■ Genso Rondo dated for PS4 in Japan + Mystery Gensokyo PS Vita debut trailer
Touhou Project news! First, the PlayStation 4 version of Touhou shoot ’em up Genso Rondo will launch in Japan on June 11. Next, Mystery Gensokyo: The Tower of Desire for PS Vita got a new trailer. That’s planned for release in Japan shortly after on June 25.
■ Attack on Titan: Humanity in Chains hits North America on May 12, delayed in Europe
The 3DS Attack on Titan game will launch in North America on May 12 for $39.99. In Europe, the game’s been delayed to “as soon as possible,” however, because of a copyright dispute resulting in the name changing to Shingeki no Kyojin: Humanity in Chains for the region.