The Internet is buzzing today with speculation about the release dates for a pair of high-profile Wii U games after Nintendo Germany general manager Bernd Fakesch was quoted by Neckar-Chronik as saying Mario Kart 8 andSuper Smash Bros. are to be released this spring.
We already knew Mario Kart 8 was planned for spring 2014, but the date is new for the Super Smash Bros. title, which will also see release on 3DS. We reached out to the Mario maker for comment on the story, but were told, "Nintendo has nothing to announce at this time."
According to Fakesch, the spring 2014 date for the new Smash Bros. game pertains only to the Wii U version, not the 3DS iteration.
The Mario Kart and Smash Bros. franchises are two of Nintendo's biggest properties. Last generation, Mario Kart Wiiwas the top-selling non-bundled Wii software, moving 34.26 million copies. Meanwhile, Super Smash Bros. Brawlsold 11.49 million copies, making it the system's eight-biggest game.
Both franchises are generally seen as system-movers. And releasing both heavy-hitters during the same quarter would conceivably give the Wii U platform the shot in the arm it will need to help the console sell 9 million units by the end of March as Nintendo has previously forecast.
Mario Kart 8 was playable at E3 2013 and Nintendo has released numerous gameplay videos for the upcoming racing game. However, the developer has been far less forthcoming for the new Smash Bros. game.
While we have seen a few cinematic trailers, Nintendo has yet to reveal any gameplay from the project outside of avideo demonstration from E3 2013. The new Smash Bros. game is currently in development at Sora Ltd. in partnership with SoulCalibur series studio Namco Bandai.
The competitive multiplayer Bungie created for the Halo series is generally understood to be one the tightest and most refined multiplayer experiences in console games, but the studio has elected to change things up with its new online shooter Destiny.
In an interview with Game Informer, Bungie multiplayer lead Lars Bakken (who was also the multiplayer lead forHalo 3) explained that Destiny's competive multiplayer will be much faster, with its characters significantly more lethal, compared to Halo.
"Definitely faster. If we are to talk about lethality, it's certainly more lethal than Halo," Bakken said. "When you catch a guy with his pants down, you can take him out really quickly. And that's not even including using a heavy weapon or a super to do that. But generally, your primary assault class weapons are going to do a little more damage than what he had in Halo."
In the Halo series, players--even novice players--could escape from a firefight without dying and live to battle again in another skirmish. But in Destiny, it's all about one character living and the other perishing, Bakken said, though he noted experienced players may still be able to get away.
"Combat resolution is fun, right? Getting into combat and having it end is fun; it's satisfying for both sides," Bakken said. "And it's not all the time. Good players are still going to be able to get away some of the time. But it's a little harder now."
Similar to the Halo series, players will have health and armor in Destiny. As your armor bleeds down, you'll tap into your health reserves. This health allotment is described as "low," though it will depend on class.
Regarding Destiny's multiplayer environments, Bakken said players should expect maps that adhere to the "Bungie philosophy" of design. These maps will include dynamic elements that will change an environment's line of sight "in a really cool way."
"I want the game to be fast and frenetic and fun and let players come at combat opportunities in a variety of different ways," Bakken said. He also reiterated that the progress you make towards building out your character in the campaign will carry over into multiplayer.
It stands to reason that a portion of Bungie's fanbase is interested in only playing multiplayer. For these people, Bungie has created unannounced systems that will courage them to play campaign, Bakken said.
"We're not talking about that yet. The interesting thing about Destiny is that you, because it is your character, and because you're doing all these other things, and because the way the world is put together, we want people to be moving around and trying these different things and there will be many good incentives."
Lastly, in a bid to create a more hospitable and inviting environment for players, voice chat in Destiny--across campaign and multiplayer--will be limited to your fireteam, Bakken said. Bungie has never done anything like this before.
"One of the things that we're doing for the first time ever in Destiny, we're taking a different approach to voice chat. We know that, not just in multiplayer, that in general, when you get into a game with someone that you don't know or someone that you've never seen before and may never see again, they have this power to completely destroy your entire experience and maybe ruin the game for you forever. And so what we're doing instead of having that...one in ten chance possibility of someone ruining your game, we're effectively saying you only have voice chat to your fireteam. And we're doing other things to let you communicate with other players, but it'll be interesting to see how people react to it, for sure."
Bakken made clear that so long as you enter a match or mode with your fireteam, voice chat among participants is enabled. However, in the case that you enter a match without the required number of players, you won't be able to speak with the match-made players.
Bakken pointed out that if you really want to buddy up with players you meet on the Destiny battlefield, you're still free to do so through traditional Xbox or PlayStation party chat systems. Overall, Bakken explained that Bungie's new voice chat system for Destiny was designed to create a more curated experience so players "won't have their night ruined."
"We have big plans for substantial additions in 2014 continuing Michael, Franklin, and Trevor's action, mayhem, and unexpected adventures in Southern San Andreas," Rockstar said.
No new single-player content for GTAV has been announced to date. Predecessor Grand Theft Auto IV welcomed two post-release expansions: The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony.
Also planned for 2014 are GTA Online Heists. Rockstar said it is currently working "very hard" to polish them as best it can before release next year, though no other details were revealed.
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The game engine for Tom Clancy's The Division, the upcoming Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC game set in the Splinter Cell universe, promises to deliver an unprecedented level of realism.
"Never before has a video game reached this level of detail," Ubisoft said about its previously announced Snowdrop Engine in a new video released today during the Spike VGX Awards.
The Snowdrop Engine is capable of capturing light realistically via a volumetric lighting system, which will help establish a more believable atmosphere, Ubisoft said. The game engine also powers The Division's procedural destruction elements.
In the video, bullets were shown being fired into police car as little bits of the vehicle flew off. The Snowdrop Engine also powers The Division's day/night cycle and various weather elements. We'll have the video later tonight and will post it here when available.
Following the release of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 last month, Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has spoken out to say "technology is at a crossroads." In an interview on the Xbox Wire, the industry veteran explained why he believes technology is moving in a horizontal direction rather than the vertical progression of the past.
"Technology is at a crossroads, facilitating evolution perpendicular to the path we've taken thus far," Kojima said. "It's not just about the next level of gaming hardware anymore, it's about how that hardware will allow games to interact with multiple devices and SNS platforms. Technology is fanning out in a horizontal direction as opposed to the vertical evolution of the past."
Kojima's latest body of work, the two-part Metal Gear Solid V, will feature some kind of second-screen support. In anOctober interview, he said, "Metal Gear Solid V will have many more elements that aren't limited to one console. You'll be able to play the game on whatever you want, whenever you want." No other details have been made available.
Also in the interview, Kojima said he is excited by the cloud functionality featured on the Xbox One and PS4, but said the "true" cloud-gaming revolution remains a ways off.
"I'm most looking forward to the 'pseudo-cloud' era that the next generation of hardware will bring," he said. "It's still one step away from the 'true' cloud revolution, but it will allow players to interact with their games, and each other in new and exciting ways using multiple devices such as tablets and smart devices. Social experiences and player interaction are what will drive the next wave of games."
Switching to the subject of Metal Gear Solid V specifically, Kojima pointed out that his definition of "open-world" may be different from the mainstream perception of the term.
"A more accurate way to describe it would be a 'stealth simulator' in an open-world environment," he said. "The open-world elements exist to remove the rails from the stealth experience, allowing players to freely plan their own routes and experiment with their own unique infiltration strategies. However, at its heart, the gameplay is all about stealth and we don't intend to shift the focus away from that."
Also in the interview, Kojima said 24 actor Kiefer Sutherland's performance as Snake in Metal Gear Solid V is going to help the game "raise the bar" for the level of expressiveness that a character can provide. In addition, with the Metal Gear Solid franchise marking its 25th anniversary this year, he was asked about the potential for the series to live on for another quarter century.
"I honestly have no idea," Kojima said. "The only thing I can say for certain is that I personally will not be able to carry MGS forward for another 25 years. However, with new talent at the helm guiding the series through each new stage, I can easily imagine a world 25 years from now where a new MGS franchise continues onward into the future."
Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, the prologue to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, launches on March 18, 2014.
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