Monthly Archives: October 2017
GTA Online: From Near Failure to Grand Success
Back in May this year Grand Theft Auto V crossed 80 million copies shipped. The only games that have officially moved more than that are Wii Sports (which came packed in with four out of every five Wii consoles ever sold whether you liked it or not), Minecraft (which needs no introduction these days but this is a decent summary), and Tetris (a 33-year-old game so ubiquitous people are apparently now finding it baked into the dashboard LCDs of Russian-made vans).
80 million is an astonishing number. It’s hot on the heels of the combined sales total of GTA III, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas, and 2008’s GTA IV, which seems to sit at just over 80 million. Yep: it takes one-and-a-half generations of GTA games to top the staggering success of GTA V alone, a game that still consistently charts four years after release.
Out This Week: Super Mario Odyssey, Wolfenstein II, Assassin’s Creed Origins
With so many new games and movies coming out, it can be hard to keep up. Lucky for you, IGN is here to help with a weekly round-up of the biggest releases each and every week. Check out the latest releases for this week, and be sure to come back next Monday for a new update.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Shin Megami Tensei V Announced for Nintendo Switch
The previously teased Shin Megami Tensei game for Nintendo Switch has officially been revealed as Shin Megami Tensei V.
As promised by Atlus last month at Tokyo Game Show, new information about the upcoming Switch title was revealed on October 23. Check out the new teaser below for a look at the game's demon infested urban setting.
Atlus has yet to share details regarding when the new RPG will be released.
Shin Megami Tensei V was first teased by Atlus back in January during the Nintendo Switch reveal event. Atlus had just started development on the project at that time and has yet to announce whether or not it will be localized for the west.
Stranger Things: All the Best ’80s References
If you're an '80s lover, Stranger Things is pretty much the perfect TV series. The first season paid tribute to countless '80s movies and other pop culture relics, and Season 2 continued that trend in a big way.
From Star Wars to Ghostbusters to Stephen King, here are our favorite '80s references from the first two seasons:
For more on Stranger Things, make sure to check out our review of Season 2, read up on newcomer Dacre Montgomery's thoughts on his character Billy, and take a dive into our spoiler-filled examination of Season 2's ending.
High-Definition Super NES Includes Unreleased SNES Game
We already reported on the Super Nt, Analogue's new high-definition Super NES that doesn't use software emulation, and now Analogue revealed each unit includes an unreleased version of Super Turrican cooked right in.
Each Super Nt includes a director's cut of the game, as well as the sequel Super Turrican 2, and a Super NES-style package for Super Turrican: Director's Cut. Analogue released a trailer for the newly-complete game as well.
Originally released in 1993, Super Turrican was developed as a 6MB game. "Unfortunately the game had to be cut down by 33% to 4MB," Analogue's Christopher Taber explained.
Dragon Ball FighterZ Gets a Release Date
Dragon Ball FighterZ will be released for Xbox One, PS4 and PC on January 26, 2018.
Bandai Namco also announced two editions of the game with bonus content. The FighterZ Edition will include a 'FighterZ Pass' adding 8 extra characters to the roster, along with cosmetic items to go with them.
The Ultimate Edition adds the FighterZ Pass, as well as a commentator voice pack, and the Anime Music pack, which adds 11 songs from the Dragon Ball anime to the soundtrack.
It's not clear from Bandai Namco's press release whether the 8 bonus characters from the FighterZ Pass will be available at launch, or as a season pass of content - we'll update once they let us know.
Digitally pre-ordering either of the two special editions will allow players to unlock SSGSS Goku and SSGSS Vegeta early, and all pre-orders for Xbox One and PS4 will offer early access to an open beta in January.
Star Trek: Discovery Will Return for Season 2
CBS has announced that Star Trek: Discovery will return on its All Access streaming service for a second season.
Announced in a press release, showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg have also signed on to return.
CBS Interactive president, Marc DeBevoise explained the decision to renew the show mid-season:
"In just six episodes, Star Trek: Discovery has driven subscriber growth, critical acclaim and huge global fan interest for the first premium version of this great franchise. This series has a remarkable creative team and cast who have demonstrated their ability to carry on the Star Trek legacy.“
Discovery has driven record growth for the network's streaming service, and the latest episode "Lethe" was our favourite of the series so far, garnering an 8.7 review and saying that it marked the point at which the show had found its pace.
Save £439 on a Samsung 49″ 4K QLED TV and BR Player Bundle
Want IGN UK Deals in your social feeds? Like us on Facebook and follow me on Twitter for the most up-to-date bargains.
Check out my Xbox One X Preorder Guide here.
Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct This Week, No Switch Info
Nintendo has announced an Animal Crossing-themed Nintendo Direct coming on Wednesday, October 25 (or late on October 24 in the US) - but it will focus exclusively on the upcoming smartphone game, and will not feature 3DS or Switch announcements.
Announced on its Japanese Twitter account , Nintendo says the broadcast will take place at midday in Japan - that makes it October 24 at 8pm Pacific / 11pm Eastern, or October 25 at 4am UK / 2pm AEST.
Nintendo UK has announced a second version for the region, at a slightly more friendly time of 7am on the 25th.
The Untold Story of Xbox One Backwards Compatibility
Quick: name your favorite E3 ever.
Time’s up! Can you even pick one? Hopefully they’re all fun in their own way for gamers, but for 28-year Microsoft veteran Kevin La Chapelle, the answer to the question is both instant and unlikely to ever change: 2015.
That’s the year you heard some of the loudest cheering ever at Microsoft’s Xbox E3 media briefing. And those cheers weren’t for new versions of Halo or Gears of War, or even Project Scorpio. Instead, the Galen Center erupted in applause when Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced what La Chapelle’s team had spent months working on: backwards compatibility.
Microsoft partner software engineering manager Kevin La Chapelle recounts the early days of the Xbox One backwards compatibility program.