Atsuko Tanaka, 61, died on August 20th, 2024, after succumbing to an undisclosed illness. Best known for providing the Japanese voices of Bayonetta, Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft, and Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell, Tanaka worked on countless video games, movies, and anime throughout her career- bringing characters to life with honor and passion.… Read More »Atsuko Tanaka, Bayonetta’s Japanese voice actor, has passed away

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A new manga trailer for Jujutsu Kaisen has been released, paying tribute to the series' characters as the story nears its conclusion. The video, available on the official Shonen Jump YouTube channel, features a mix of iconic scenes and heartwarming moments from the manga. 

You can view the official trailer video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GSIFAgYz3M

The trailer, presented as an edited motion comic, culminates in a face-off between Sukuna and Itadori Yuuji, highlighting the dramatic stakes the series has taken on as it approaches it's final five chapters. In addition to the manga trailer, Shueisha announced they are offering 245 chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen for free on the Jump+ app and Zeblack platform. This initiative allows readers to relive key moments or catch up on the series as it heads towards its conclusion.

This trailer follows a similar style to a previous teaser released for the third season of the anime, which focused on the Culling Game arc. That teaser used stylized manga animation and video editing to give a preview of the upcoming anime adaptation of the arc.

With only five chapters left until the finale, the trailer serves as a poignant reminder of the journey the characters have been on and the challenges that still lie ahead.

The post Heartbreaking Jujutsu Kaisen Manga Trailer Pays Tribute to Characters appeared first on Siliconera.

Nobuo Uematsu, the renowned composer behind iconic video game music such as the Final Fantasy series, will hold a special concert event titled "Nobuo Uematsu con TIKI SHOW" in Tokyo. The performances are scheduled for October 5-6, 2024, at Otemachi Mitsui Hall, and tickets are now on sale to the general public. Uematsu will be joined by his band "con TIKI".

View the announcement video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7MqqkU-7s

The concert will feature a mix of Uematsu's classic game compositions, including tracks from Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X, as well as original works. Attendees can expect to hear pieces like "Melodies of Life" and "Isn't it wonderful," alongside newer compositions from his latest projects.

In addition to the musical performances, the event will offer special opportunities including a limited-edition commemorative sticker and a chance to meet con TIKI members including Nobuo Uematsu during a post-show handshake session. There will also be a lottery for photo opportunities with the band.

Uematsu previously appeared on The First Take alongside vocalist Loren Allred, where they performed the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth theme song, “No Promises to Keep.” Uematsu played the piano while Allred, performing in character as Aerith, provided the vocals.

Tickets are available through Lawson Ticket, Ticket Pia, and e-plus.

The post Composer Nobuo Uematsu con Tiki Concert Airs in October  appeared first on Siliconera.

Anycolor announced that the Nijisanji Japan Vtuber Naruse Naru will graduate on August 31, 2024. He debuted in VOIZ back in June 2018, meaning he was with the company for over six years.

Here is the official Anycolor notice about Naruse Naru deciding to graduate. While he will depart from the company on August 31, 2024, fan letters will be accepted until September 30, 2024. Also, as is customary for a Nijisanji Vtuber graduation, we will see the social media account close once he does graduate and videos could be archived. 

https://twitter.com/nijisanji_app/status/1825774835248857393

Naruse Naru also took to social media to talk about his decision to graduate from Nijisanji. In his statement, he noted that he will still be a part of Vsaikyo 2024. That is the yearly Vtuber Apex Legends tournament. Naru is part of the D.D. Dogs alongside Nijisanji’s Harusaki Air, Cover Holostars Vtuber Rikka, and FENNEL’s Miki "Pinotr" Tsurumaki. That is being held August 24, 2024. 

https://twitter.com/narusenaru_2434/status/1825780383545512140

Most recently, Naru has been playing Apex Legends during streams. He was known for playing games primarily. However, he would also occasionally perform covers of songs as well.

Naruse Naru will graduate from Nijisanji on on August 31, 2024, and he will still be in Vsaikyo 2024.

The post Nijisanji Vtuber Naruse Naru Will Graduate in August appeared first on Siliconera.

A re-release version of Sanctuary, an artbook to celebrate 40 years’ worth of artwork from Inomata Mutsumi, will come out on August 21, 2024. The book will be available via Amazon and will cost 4070 JPY ($27.80). [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The book contains 256 pages and over 2000 pieces of work from various genres that Inomata worked on in her lifetime. This includes anime, games, novels, and magazines. It serves as a chronicle that looks back on her career, which heavily focuses on designs for sci-fi and fantasy characters.

Inomata Mutsumi died on March 10, 2024, though the news broke on March 18, 2024. Her career started in 1979 and lasted until she died. She was known for her work on the Tales series, including Destiny, Graces, Hearts, Innocence, Xillia, Berseria, and Zestiria. She also worked on the animation for Urusei Yatsura and City Hunter, as well as designed for the My-HiME and Mobile Suit Gundam SEED franchise. Her art style included the usage of watercolors, and her characters tended to have large eyes and slender figures, making them look like they came from a shojo manga.

Sanctuary, which collects artwork from Inomata Mutsumi over the past 40 years in a single artbook, will come out on August 21, 2024.

The post Inomata Mutsumi Artbook Sanctuary Will Be Re-Released appeared first on Siliconera.

Ever since The Sims 4 came out in 2014 (oh my goodness...), I’ve been adamant that The Sims 2 and 3 remain the superior titles in the series, especially once you start using core mods to improve performance or quality of life. For those who want to get their life simulation fix but The Sims 4 is broken or too boring, I highly suggest playing The Sims 3 instead!

Those who know anything about The Sims 3 may know that Electronic Arts and Maxis did not optimize this game very well. There are a lot of reasons for this. One reason is that it’s an open-world 32-bit game. This can lead to your files bloating up and causing the game to crash to desktop. The Sims 3 is also notorious in that the game does not naturally cap your FPS, which can overheat your graphics card if you’re not careful. Some of these mods are not mere recommendations. They’re straight up essential for the overall health of your computer.

Though not a mod, I recommend using MATY’s FPS Limiter and 3Booter. This will help to keep your frame rate at the game’s default 30. If you’re like me and you’re using a NVIDIA graphics card, you can also go into your control panel and cap The Sims 3’s frame rate at 30 through there.

Here are some of the best mods for The Sims 3 in 2024

• NRaas Master Controller
  NRaas’s entire library of mods is fantastic, but I have a few that I recommend for even people who aren’t too keen on installing mods. Master Controller is exactly as it says on the tin. With this mod, you can control virtually everything in your town, from relationships to careers to ages. It’s a handy tool for little accidents (oops, my Sim is wearing a raincoat at her garden wedding) to more heavy-duty tasks (I need to reset every single object and sim in my neighborhood).
• NRaas Story Progression
  As mentioned earlier, The Sims 3 has an open world for its neighborhood, which means that things can happen in inactive households completely out of your control. You can turn this off if you want, but for those who don’t mind letting Sims live out their own little virtual lives, I recommend Story Progression from NRaas. This replaces EA’s slow and stagnant Story Progression, preventing your neighborhood from devolving into a ghost town over time.
• NRaas Overwatch
  ESSENTIAL MOD; YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR COMPUTER. Overwatch goes through your neighborhood at an interval you set to clean up things like deserted cars. In general, you can think of Overwatch as a garbage truck that throws away junk files which can cause bloating down the line.
• NRaas Error Trap
  ESSENTIAL MOD; YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR COMPUTER. Error Trap is, like Overwatch, a mod that’s for keeping your save file as clean as possible. It catches and corrects data corruption errors that can prevent you from loading up a save. Think of it as insurance. Under ideal circumstances, you won’t need it. But when you need it, man, you’ll be glad to have this thing in your folders.

• Simpishly's More Traits for All Ages
  If you raise a Sim in-game, you’re forced to only pick from limited pools of traits in the earlier life stages, which can get boring after a while. Enabling traits for all ages can lead to some wacky Sims like a toddler who’s Flirty and has Commitment Issues. But if you don’t mind that, this is a great mod for more varied Sims.
• LazyDuchess Smooth Patch
  As a note, the LazyDuchess Smooth Patch does not work with some NRaas mods if you’re using 2.x versions. I recommend using a 1.x build if you want to use it with, say, Master Controller. Smooth Patch alters some of the script in the game to make the game run faster. For example, it’ll load hairs and outfits in CAS as you scroll through rather than making you wait for the game to pull everything out.
• LazyDuchess Lot population
  This is a personal pet peeve, but I don’t like going to a community lot to scope out a joint, only for everyone to be elsewhere in town. In The Sims 2, the game will populate lots after you arrive. However, the open world concept works against that since, again, Sims have their own lives. The Lot Population mod pushes Sims to lots your active Sim is at so you won’t be partying alone. It can also add walkbys like in The Sims 2, making your neighborhood feel more alive.
• Retuned Attraction
  The attraction system in The Sims 3 is ridiculous and can cause more trouble than it’s worth. With this mod, the attraction system is more sane and logical, as well as less indiscriminate. It will also prevent Sims from continuously harassing you for dates or sending you random stuff in the mail.

• OMSP, S3DT
  For people who like to build and decorate fancy houses, OMSP and S3DT are both absolutely essential. OMSP allows you to create more space on surfaces for clutter. This can include beds and sofas (so you can put blankets and cushions), or mini-fridges (if you want to put a radio or something on top). S3DT gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to moving things around a lot, as well as lets you change the height and angle of objects. If you only care about gameplay, these aren't necessary.
• Ghost Reaction Remover
  This is fantastic for people who play legacy style like I do, as you’ll naturally end up with a lot of ghosts in your house. If you’re annoyed by Sims constantly stopping what they’re doing to go “Ew, you’re getting ectoplasm all over the floor, Great-Great-Grandpa,” then this mod can curb that behavior. Other reaction removers from this maker include mods to curb relation loss from the Emperor of Evil and stop sims from freaking out over Bonehilda.
• Children Can mods
  The Children Can series of mods is fantastic for people who want to give their Sim kids more freedom and independence, as well as get them started in life. With this mod, Sim kids will be able to do laundry, make sculptures, call services, and more. It’s really handy for people who are doing challenges like, again, the legacy challenge or the 100 Baby Challenge, since it’ll make playing with kids more fun.
• NeuroBlazer Random Genetics
  I highly recommend the Random Genetics mod for people who want more varied faces around town or in your Sims. However, NeuroBlazer seems to have removed this mod and they’re not hosting it anymore. Fortunately, there is a backup (this link will directly download the file to your computer).

• Brntwaffles environment mods
  Pretty much all of Tumblr user brntwaffles’s default replacement mods (whether environment or genetics) are really good! They make the game really pretty and it looks even better if you install Reshade. My personal recommendations from brntwaffles for eyes are the MS93 and Sarhra default replacements. I also really like their Perfect Day and Dream Dimension lighting mods.
• Twinsimming mods
  Twinswimming’s mods are great for adding flavor to your game. I recommend basically all of them. Some of them can make your game more difficult, such as Pest Control and Utilities adding new things you have to watch out for. Their best mods are Growing Pains and the Level Up! mods, in my opinion.
• Velocitygrass No Automatic Memories
  ESSENTIAL MOD; YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR COMPUTER. As mentioned in the beginning, memories can really bloat your save file, causing the eventual corruption of your neighborhood and mess with your computer. Even if you turn off notifications, the game still accumulates memories, including from inactive families. This mod completely removes the feature.
• Icarusallsorts's User-Directed Scolding
  If you don’t have kids in your game, this might be a non-issue. But Generations added a mechanic that lets parents scold and ground their kids when they do something bad. On paper, that sounds really neat. In practice, it’s freakishly annoying. This mod gives you more control over how your sim punishes their kid without turning it into unnecessary drama.

• Ultimate Careers
  The Ultimate Careers mod is a very intensive mod that overhauls how careers work in this game. This makes them a lot more similar to how professions work rather than just pushing your Sims to go to a rabbit hole where you can’t peek in on them. Fortunately, you don’t have to micromanage as much as you do with a profession, so it’s friendly for players with large families too.
• TheSweetSimmer mods
  TheSweetSimmer makes a lot of mods that focus on pregnancy interactions and toddlers, making them more fun to play with. It also frees up your teen or adult Sims, since children and toddlers will be able to perform acts that would usually require an older Sim's help. This is mostly useful for people who play families, but it might incentivize YA and Adult sim players to have a kid or two.
• Moar Interactions
  This is one of those mods that add things you’d figure would have been in the base game. It’s great for group meetings and parties, as you can do so much more with other sims around town.
• PhoebeJaySims Social Clubs Mod
  PhoebeJaySims, like TheSweetSimmer and Twinsimming, has a lot of really cool mods. My favorite of them is the Social Clubs mod. This lets you create a club, but without the objectives that are in The Sims 4 clubs. Clubs with this mod are more chill and are a great way for you to set up regular meetings and playdates, or add a layer of storytelling to your neighborhood.

The Sims 3 is readily available on the Windows PC.

The post Best Mods For The Sims 3 in 2024 appeared first on Siliconera.

The official Kingdom Hearts soundtracks for HD 2.5 ReMIX, Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days, Dream Drop Distance, and HD 1.5 ReMIX are now available via the Square Enix Store. Each comes as a three CD set except for HD 2.5 ReMIX, which contains four CD's.

There are four soundtracks in total, including music from across seven games in the franchise. The music is created by composers such as Tsuyoshi Sekito, Yoko Shimomura, and Takeharu Ishimoto. Each is a re-release of products that originally debuted between 2011 and 2014, while the Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days CD set also includes some extra music from the Japanese exclusive Birth by Sleep FINAL MIX release. The soundtracks for Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days, Dream Drop Distance, and HD 1.5 ReMIX are available for $30.99 each, while the one for HD 2.5 ReMIX costs $42.99. Each is expected to ship sometime in September 2024.

Back in July 2024, Square Enix showed off some new hair clips themed around Halloween Town from Kingdom Hearts II. More recently, the company also announced the return of 4 metallic keychains shaped like the series' signature Keyblades.

The original soundtracks for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days, Dream Drop Distance, and HD 1.5 ReMIX are now available via the Square Enix online store. Each product is expected to release sometime in September, 2024.

The post Kingdom Hearts Game Soundtracks Come to Square Enix Store appeared first on Siliconera.

Good Smile Company announced seven Rebuild of Evangelion Huggy Good Smile figures of Asuka, Kaworu, Mari, Rei, and Shinji. These will cost ￥1,800/$10.99 each, and will debut in February 2025 in Japan and Q3 2025 worldwide.

While there are seven figures in this collection, two of them are alternate versions. All of them feature Asuka, Kaworu, Mari, Rei, and Shinji in their plugsuits. The bonus Asuka one is her Eye Patch Version one, while the extra Rei is a Long Hair Version. Each one is about two and a half inches tall, which is 65mm. You can adjust the position of the arms. However, the other parts can’t be moved. The extra magnet is in the back of the head, should someone want to display it on a magnetic surface.

Here’s the Japanese announcement, which also shows how the Huggy Good Smile Evangelion figures of Asuka, Kaworu, Mari, Rei, and Shinji can be posed on shelves or displayed on magnetic surfaces like fridges.

https://twitter.com/gsc_goodsmile/status/1825730930167701774

We also have a better idea of each one looks, as Good Smile Company shared individual photos of each character.

The Huggy Good Smile Rebuild of Evangelion figures of Asuka, Kaworu, Mari, Rei, and Shinji will come to Japan in February 2025, followed by a global release in Q3 2025. Pre-orders close on September 18, 2024. People can catch the Evangelion anime on Netflix, and the Rebuild of Evangelion films are on Amazon.

The post Evangelion Huggy Figures Include Asuka, Shinji, Rei, Kaworu, and Mari appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo has announced the opening date for the Nintendo Museum while launching its official website. People will be able to visit the new museum starting from October 2, 2024.

This opening date announcement followed the Nintendo Direct stream that exclusively featured the museum earlier on the same day. Nintendo first revealed the date in that program. The whole museum will also have English language support for foreign visitors who are not well-versed in Japanese.

This museum will not only feature a collection of Nintendo's consoles and game products, including the Hanafuda flower cards that the company made shortly after it was established in 1889. The facility will also have interactive physical games and workshops based on the company's creations, ranging from digital Hanafuda and Karuta games to a Super Mario-themed shooting gallery. The Hatena Burger cafe and the Bonus Stage merchandise shop will complete the facility.

Nintendo will restrict access to the museum with a limited number of tickets. People who want to visit the museum must first have a Nintendo Account that they also use on the Switch. Most of the tickets will be available via a lottery drawing, but Nintendo will also open sales for the remaining tickets if there are cancellations.

People with other nationalities other than Japan can also purchase tickets for the museum, but they can only pay with credit cards. The museum's staff will also only accept passports to confirm the identities of foreign nationals.

Here are the ticket prices for the Nintendo Museum, which are grouped by age:

• Ages 0-5: Free
• Ages 6-11: 1,100 yen (~$7.55)
• Ages 12-17: 2,200 yen (~$15.10)
• Ages 18 or more: 3,300 yen (~$22.65)

The Nintendo Museum in Kyoto, Japan, will be accessible to the public on October 2, 2024.

The post Nintendo Museum Opening Date Falls in October 2024 appeared first on Siliconera.

On August 20, 2024, FromSoftware announced that the Prime Video anthology show Secret Level will feature an all new story set in one of the universes of Armored Core. The series, being developed by the same creative team as Love, Death & Robots, will feature 15 shorts from various video games.

Armored Core joins a list of many other famous games to appear in installments in Secret Level, including Mega Man, Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer 40,000 and Pac-Man. The tweet announcing this FromSoftware game's involvement also showed off a mech racing across an icy wasteland and a picture of a human character who resembles actor Keanu Reeves.

You can see the official tweet here:

https://twitter.com/armoredcore/status/1825978617781723177

This isn't the first time the Armored Core property has gone beyond the video games. Numerous model kits have been made of famous Cores from the series. A novel called Armored Core: Brave New World appeared in Japan.

Blur Studio, the production company behind Love, Death & Robots and Secret Level previously did work on films like James Cameron's Avatar, created trailers for Batman: Arkham City and Batman: Arkham Knight, and redid the cutscenes for the Master Chief Collection version of Halo 2.

Secret Level will be streaming on Amazon Prime Video on December 10, 2024, and the Armored Core episode will be a part of the show.

The post Secret Level Anthology Show Includes an Armored Core Short appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix released a Chrissy Costanza music video for the FFXIV “Give It All” Arcadion Raid song, as well as shared the official English lyrics for the track. The song debuted alongside the 7.01 Dawntrail Raid AAC Light-heavyweight Tier.

In FFXIV, you hear the song “Give It All” during AAC Light-heavyweight M4. The Orchestrion Roll for the track is also a basic rarity reward from a Treasure Coffer from the fight. The idea is that Wicked Thunder is “performing” the track. In reality, it is a The Primals song with Costanza providing the vocals. Previously, the company shared the track following its release. However, now the additional video and lyrics are also available.

Here are the full, official “Give It All” FFXIV Arcadion Raid song lyrics:

Tonight our city bleeds red, blue, and green 
As I walk in the dark unseen 

Yet like the grey the sky is draped in 
The colors in my heart have faded 

Gone 
They're gone 
They're gone 
All gone 

A girl looks to the stars and dares to dream 
On the world she'd make her mark, it seemed 

This phantom in my mirror starin' back 
I realize that girl is 

Gone 
She's gone 
She's gone 
I'm gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge 

Look in my eyes, yeah I know you understand 
(somebody help, my misery's taking me) 
I've made up my mind, now there ain't no going back 
(somebody help, I'm losing what's left of me) 
I've made up my mind, now my heart's demanding 
I'm ready to fight til there's one left standing 
Tonight, lightning'll strike, thunder will fall 
(and) You're gonna give it all 

To me 
To me 
To me 
To me, I gotta believe 
You'll set 
Me free

Tonight my circle finally comes complete 
One last step from the dark, I breathe 

The music's swellin', crowd is chantin' 
And for this moment fear's an after-thought
It's gone
It's gone 
All gone 

I look out to the crowd and there I see 
A thousand little girls--all me 

I've turned the tables, yeah I'm fightin' back 
I'll bring the lightnin', now it's 

On 
It's on 
It's on 
You're gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge, no more 

Next, here’s the “Give It All” music video from YouTube, which features gameplay footage from FFXIV, Solution Nine, and the Arcadion Raid. Note there are spoilers for all the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier fights in the video below, and not just the Wicked Thunder one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU-swmCxVM

Both standard and Savage versions of the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier Arcadion fight are available in the game. The more difficult version of the Raid debuted at the end of July 2024 in patch 7.05.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Arcadian Raid series are part of the Dawntrail patches.

The post See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadion Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video appeared first on Siliconera.

During GamesCom 2024, HoYoVerse released a new trailer for Honkai: Star Rail, teasing new character Feixiao and the upcoming Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works collaboration. More details on both will appear closer to the release date.

You can watch the Honkai: Star Rail GamesCom trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTDtxqzKgE

It’s also available in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

The trailer starts with Guinaifen describing Feixiao’s exploits on the battlefield, though she can’t really remember everything. Feixiao actually appears to defeat a borisin about to attack, but she’s just asking for directions. Then, the trailer temporarily shifts to an anime style to show Pom-Pom, Caelus, March, and Dan Heng on the Astral Express. They hear a kind of explosion noise and though you can’t see who appeared on the train, it’s most likely to be EMIYA between his voice and the line he says.

The Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works collaboration event will come out some time in Summer 2025. At this point in time, we don’t know if the crossover will only be skins, or if we will actually get a playable character like how Aloy appeared in Genshin Impact. As for Feixiao, she will be a 5-star Wind Hunt character. Before her debut though, we have her subordinate Jiaoqiu coming out in the second phase of Version 2.4. He’ll be a 5-star Fire Nihility who specializes in a unique DoT.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. Feixiao will appear as a playable character in Honkai: Star Rail Versioin 2.5.

The post Honkai: Star Rail GamesCom Trailer Teases Feixiao and UBW appeared first on Siliconera.

Konami's Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-2025 was Japan's best-selling title in July, moving a combined total of 260,000 units during the first two weeks following its launch on July 18.

Released on Switch and PS4, the title beat its predecessor eBaseball Powerful Pro Baseball 2022 which had a combined total of 202,000 units according to Famitsu's latest sales data.

July's best-selling title Luigi Mansion 2 HD moved down a spot to No.2 with 71,000 copies sold, while Mario Kart 8 climbed back to No.4 having shifted 37,000 units.

Read more

Ever since The Sims 4 came out in 2014 (oh my goodness...), I’ve been adamant that The Sims 2 and 3 remain the superior titles in the series, especially once you start using core mods to improve performance or quality of life. For those who want to get their life simulation fix but The Sims 4 is broken or too boring, I highly suggest playing The Sims 3 instead!

Those who know anything about The Sims 3 may know that Electronic Arts and Maxis did not optimize this game very well. There are a lot of reasons for this. One reason is that it’s an open-world 32-bit game. This can lead to your files bloating up and causing the game to crash to desktop. The Sims 3 is also notorious in that the game does not naturally cap your FPS, which can overheat your graphics card if you’re not careful. Some of these mods are not mere recommendations. They’re straight up essential for the overall health of your computer.

Though not a mod, I recommend using MATY’s FPS Limiter and 3Booter. This will help to keep your frame rate at the game’s default 30. If you’re like me and you’re using a NVIDIA graphics card, you can also go into your control panel and cap The Sims 3’s frame rate at 30 through there.

Here are some of the best mods for The Sims 3 in 2024

• NRaas Master Controller
  NRaas’s entire library of mods is fantastic, but I have a few that I recommend for even people who aren’t too keen on installing mods. Master Controller is exactly as it says on the tin. With this mod, you can control virtually everything in your town, from relationships to careers to ages. It’s a handy tool for little accidents (oops, my Sim is wearing a raincoat at her garden wedding) to more heavy-duty tasks (I need to reset every single object and sim in my neighborhood).
• NRaas Story Progression
  As mentioned earlier, The Sims 3 has an open world for its neighborhood, which means that things can happen in inactive households completely out of your control. You can turn this off if you want, but for those who don’t mind letting Sims live out their own little virtual lives, I recommend Story Progression from NRaas. This replaces EA’s slow and stagnant Story Progression, preventing your neighborhood from devolving into a ghost town over time.
• NRaas Overwatch
  ESSENTIAL MOD; YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR COMPUTER. Overwatch goes through your neighborhood at an interval you set to clean up things like deserted cars. In general, you can think of Overwatch as a garbage truck that throws away junk files which can cause bloating down the line.
• NRaas Error Trap
  ESSENTIAL MOD; YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR COMPUTER. Error Trap is, like Overwatch, a mod that’s for keeping your save file as clean as possible. It catches and corrects data corruption errors that can prevent you from loading up a save. Think of it as insurance. Under ideal circumstances, you won’t need it. But when you need it, man, you’ll be glad to have this thing in your folders.

• Simpishly's More Traits for All Ages
  If you raise a Sim in-game, you’re forced to only pick from limited pools of traits in the earlier life stages, which can get boring after a while. Enabling traits for all ages can lead to some wacky Sims like a toddler who’s Flirty and has Commitment Issues. But if you don’t mind that, this is a great mod for more varied Sims.
• LazyDuchess Smooth Patch
  As a note, the LazyDuchess Smooth Patch does not work with some NRaas mods if you’re using 2.x versions. I recommend using a 1.x build if you want to use it with, say, Master Controller. Smooth Patch alters some of the script in the game to make the game run faster. For example, it’ll load hairs and outfits in CAS as you scroll through rather than making you wait for the game to pull everything out.
• LazyDuchess Lot population
  This is a personal pet peeve, but I don’t like going to a community lot to scope out a joint, only for everyone to be elsewhere in town. In The Sims 2, the game will populate lots after you arrive. However, the open world concept works against that since, again, Sims have their own lives. The Lot Population mod pushes Sims to lots your active Sim is at so you won’t be partying alone. It can also add walkbys like in The Sims 2, making your neighborhood feel more alive.
• Retuned Attraction
  The attraction system in The Sims 3 is ridiculous and can cause more trouble than it’s worth. With this mod, the attraction system is more sane and logical, as well as less indiscriminate. It will also prevent Sims from continuously harassing you for dates or sending you random stuff in the mail.

• OMSP, S3DT
  For people who like to build and decorate fancy houses, OMSP and S3DT are both absolutely essential. OMSP allows you to create more space on surfaces for clutter. This can include beds and sofas (so you can put blankets and cushions), or mini-fridges (if you want to put a radio or something on top). S3DT gives you a lot of freedom when it comes to moving things around a lot, as well as lets you change the height and angle of objects. If you only care about gameplay, these aren't necessary.
• Ghost Reaction Remover
  This is fantastic for people who play legacy style like I do, as you’ll naturally end up with a lot of ghosts in your house. If you’re annoyed by Sims constantly stopping what they’re doing to go “Ew, you’re getting ectoplasm all over the floor, Great-Great-Grandpa,” then this mod can curb that behavior. Other reaction removers from this maker include mods to curb relation loss from the Emperor of Evil and stop sims from freaking out over Bonehilda.
• Children Can mods
  The Children Can series of mods is fantastic for people who want to give their Sim kids more freedom and independence, as well as get them started in life. With this mod, Sim kids will be able to do laundry, make sculptures, call services, and more. It’s really handy for people who are doing challenges like, again, the legacy challenge or the 100 Baby Challenge, since it’ll make playing with kids more fun.
• NeuroBlazer Random Genetics
  I highly recommend the Random Genetics mod for people who want more varied faces around town or in your Sims. However, NeuroBlazer seems to have removed this mod and they’re not hosting it anymore. Fortunately, there is a backup (this link will directly download the file to your computer).

• Brntwaffles environment mods
  Pretty much all of Tumblr user brntwaffles’s default replacement mods (whether environment or genetics) are really good! They make the game really pretty and it looks even better if you install Reshade. My personal recommendations from brntwaffles for eyes are the MS93 and Sarhra default replacements. I also really like their Perfect Day and Dream Dimension lighting mods.
• Twinsimming mods
  Twinswimming’s mods are great for adding flavor to your game. I recommend basically all of them. Some of them can make your game more difficult, such as Pest Control and Utilities adding new things you have to watch out for. Their best mods are Growing Pains and the Level Up! mods, in my opinion.
• Velocitygrass No Automatic Memories
  ESSENTIAL MOD; YOU DEFINITELY SHOULD DOWNLOAD THIS FOR YOUR COMPUTER. As mentioned in the beginning, memories can really bloat your save file, causing the eventual corruption of your neighborhood and mess with your computer. Even if you turn off notifications, the game still accumulates memories, including from inactive families. This mod completely removes the feature.
• Icarusallsorts's User-Directed Scolding
  If you don’t have kids in your game, this might be a non-issue. But Generations added a mechanic that lets parents scold and ground their kids when they do something bad. On paper, that sounds really neat. In practice, it’s freakishly annoying. This mod gives you more control over how your sim punishes their kid without turning it into unnecessary drama.

• Ultimate Careers
  The Ultimate Careers mod is a very intensive mod that overhauls how careers work in this game. This makes them a lot more similar to how professions work rather than just pushing your Sims to go to a rabbit hole where you can’t peek in on them. Fortunately, you don’t have to micromanage as much as you do with a profession, so it’s friendly for players with large families too.
• TheSweetSimmer mods
  TheSweetSimmer makes a lot of mods that focus on pregnancy interactions and toddlers, making them more fun to play with. It also frees up your teen or adult Sims, since children and toddlers will be able to perform acts that would usually require an older Sim's help. This is mostly useful for people who play families, but it might incentivize YA and Adult sim players to have a kid or two.
• Moar Interactions
  This is one of those mods that add things you’d figure would have been in the base game. It’s great for group meetings and parties, as you can do so much more with other sims around town.
• PhoebeJaySims Social Clubs Mod
  PhoebeJaySims, like TheSweetSimmer and Twinsimming, has a lot of really cool mods. My favorite of them is the Social Clubs mod. This lets you create a club, but without the objectives that are in The Sims 4 clubs. Clubs with this mod are more chill and are a great way for you to set up regular meetings and playdates, or add a layer of storytelling to your neighborhood.

The Sims 3 is readily available on the Windows PC.

The post Best Mods For The Sims 3 in 2024 appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix released a Chrissy Costanza music video for the FFXIV “Give It All” Arcadion Raid song, as well as shared the official English lyrics for the track. The song debuted alongside the 7.01 Dawntrail Raid AAC Light-heavyweight Tier.

In FFXIV, you hear the song “Give It All” during AAC Light-heavyweight M4. The Orchestrion Roll for the track is also a basic rarity reward from a Treasure Coffer from the fight. The idea is that Wicked Thunder is “performing” the track. In reality, it is a The Primals song with Costanza providing the vocals. Previously, the company shared the track following its release. However, now the additional video and lyrics are also available.

Here are the full, official “Give It All” FFXIV Arcadion Raid song lyrics:

Tonight our city bleeds red, blue, and green 
As I walk in the dark unseen 

Yet like the grey the sky is draped in 
The colors in my heart have faded 

Gone 
They're gone 
They're gone 
All gone 

A girl looks to the stars and dares to dream 
On the world she'd make her mark, it seemed 

This phantom in my mirror starin' back 
I realize that girl is 

Gone 
She's gone 
She's gone 
I'm gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge 

Look in my eyes, yeah I know you understand 
(somebody help, my misery's taking me) 
I've made up my mind, now there ain't no going back 
(somebody help, I'm losing what's left of me) 
I've made up my mind, now my heart's demanding 
I'm ready to fight til there's one left standing 
Tonight, lightning'll strike, thunder will fall 
(and) You're gonna give it all 

To me 
To me 
To me 
To me, I gotta believe 
You'll set 
Me free

Tonight my circle finally comes complete 
One last step from the dark, I breathe 

The music's swellin', crowd is chantin' 
And for this moment fear's an after-thought
It's gone
It's gone 
All gone 

I look out to the crowd and there I see 
A thousand little girls--all me 

I've turned the tables, yeah I'm fightin' back 
I'll bring the lightnin', now it's 

On 
It's on 
It's on 
You're gone 

Climbed every mountain, made it to the top 
I had it all, or so I thought 
Traded tomorrow for a lie 
And found the price too high 

The clock is ticking counting down to naught 
I'm outta time but it won't stop 
I'll bet my life before it's lost 
That final line I'll cross 

There ain't no going back 
No going back 
No going back 
No 

What light's left here inside 
I'll suffocate 
If that's what it takes, oh 

And those who look to cast me aside 
or turn their backs and leave me to die 

You can try, can try, come try, 
But I will survive 

No going back 
No going back 
Won't ever 
(no) Never again, no 

Ain't no going back 
No going back 
No coming back from the edge, no more 

Next, here’s the “Give It All” music video from YouTube, which features gameplay footage from FFXIV, Solution Nine, and the Arcadion Raid. Note there are spoilers for all the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier fights in the video below, and not just the Wicked Thunder one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU-swmCxVM

Both standard and Savage versions of the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier Arcadion fight are available in the game. The more difficult version of the Raid debuted at the end of July 2024 in patch 7.05.

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Arcadian Raid series are part of the Dawntrail patches.

The post See the FFXIV ‘Give It All’ Arcadion Raid Song Lyrics, Music Video appeared first on Siliconera.

During GamesCom 2024, HoYoVerse released a new trailer for Honkai: Star Rail, teasing new character Feixiao and the upcoming Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works collaboration. More details on both will appear closer to the release date.

You can watch the Honkai: Star Rail GamesCom trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=huTDtxqzKgE

It’s also available in Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

The trailer starts with Guinaifen describing Feixiao’s exploits on the battlefield, though she can’t really remember everything. Feixiao actually appears to defeat a borisin about to attack, but she’s just asking for directions. Then, the trailer temporarily shifts to an anime style to show Pom-Pom, Caelus, March, and Dan Heng on the Astral Express. They hear a kind of explosion noise and though you can’t see who appeared on the train, it’s most likely to be EMIYA between his voice and the line he says.

The Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works collaboration event will come out some time in Summer 2025. At this point in time, we don’t know if the crossover will only be skins, or if we will actually get a playable character like how Aloy appeared in Genshin Impact. As for Feixiao, she will be a 5-star Wind Hunt character. Before her debut though, we have her subordinate Jiaoqiu coming out in the second phase of Version 2.4. He’ll be a 5-star Fire Nihility who specializes in a unique DoT.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. Feixiao will appear as a playable character in Honkai: Star Rail Versioin 2.5.

The post Honkai: Star Rail GamesCom Trailer Teases Feixiao and UBW appeared first on Siliconera.

There is always an intriguing risk when it comes to adapting an existing movie or TV show into video game. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle takes an even greater risk with developer MachineGames introducing its own standalone story in the Lucasfilm saga. It certainly captures the cinematic feel of the movies, but it still has question marks regarding gameplay.

My recent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle preview for Gamescom 2024 was notably strictly hands-off. I had the chance to check out 30 minutes of particularly edited gameplay footage across different areas with narration. Since this was totally hands-off, it is hard to say exactly how this first-person action adventure game will play.

That said, I walked away from the hands-off preview impressed by the visuals and spectacular presentation of the Great Circle, but uncertain about its gameplay. If there is one element I am certain about this game, it is the sheer scale and diversity of the various missions players will experience. In the short time, I saw clips of adventures in Vatican City, the Himalayan’s, and Egypt. Every location looks stunning in-engine and grandiose.

If these sections are anything to go by, these iconic and beautiful locales will also have the adventurous nature of the movies as well. Indiana Jones, played by Troy Baker, encountered plenty of traps and thrilling scripted sequences. These were extremely fun to watch, especially from the fascinating first-person perspective.

However, when it comes to the actual gameplay, especially in movement and combat, I am less thrilled. The movement, at times, seemed clunky and a bit too slow. This could be due to the slower nature of the edited footage, emphasizing the detail of the environments. However, I’m not confident in this, mainly because of the combat.

Fights seem to generally happen in a one-on-one nature, at least from what I saw. There are ranged weaponry and fighting, but I mostly saw up close and personal gameplay. Jones would swap blows with enemies but the animations seemed a bit too slow. I wasn’t particularly excited by the slow pace of the fights. There is a chance the actual end result will be smoother or be faster, but I’m not impressed with that part yet.

Even still, I admire the exploration aspect of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. This is where the first-person perspective really shines from my short hands-off demo. MachineGames put a lot of thought into recreating these 1930s settings and, fortunately, it shows. Missions often have large open areas to explore, with merchants and even optional side missions to complete. Seeing the hustle, bustle, and many NPCs roaming around a market had me interested in spending time there. In some ways, these locations remind me of the historical adherence and detail of an Assassin’s Creed title.

This extends the player’s time with the gameplay beyond the typical scripted dungeon delving and crypt exploring main missions. Everything about these massive scripted sequences evoke feelings of watching the movies. I especially enjoyed the pit Jones fell into towards the end of the demo. This led to a creepier moment with scorpions and other creatures in the dark, which teased some thrilling sequences in the title. While I do have some concerns about linearity and lack of player input in these moments, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle feels incredibly cinematic.

This movie-like quality and feel comes down to the story and characters. I only have bits and pieces of the story so far, but Troy Baker nails the voice of Indiana Jones as best as one can without getting Harrison Ford himself. In the end, this makes Indiana Jones and the Great Circle seem like a faithful cinematic game adaptation of the beloved movies. While it remains to be seen if it plays as well as it looks, there is some hope for Indiana Jones fans.

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will release for Xbox Series X/S and PC on December 9, 2024 and in Spring 2025 for PS5.

The post Preview: Indiana Jones and the Great Circle Feels Rightfully Cinematic appeared first on Siliconera.

At gamescom 2024, Bandai Namco shared a new Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero trailer that featured both Super Buu and Ultimate Gohan. Both will be among the Buu Saga representatives joining as playable fighters in the game.

The focus of the trailer is more about us being 50 days out from the launch of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero in October 2024, rather than one focused on just revealing new members of the roster, though Ultimate Gohan and Super Buu are featured in it. Both quickly appear during brief gameplay segments. This is in stark contrast to the typical trailers for the title. Those tend to give people a better chance to see fighters in matches against new or previously announced fighters.

Here’s the full “50 Days from Now” trailer for Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROcsMP0yHJ4

Recent trailers tended to focus on certain arcs for character reveals. For example, the Android Saga one showed four versions of Cell, Android 16, Android 17, Android 18, and Android 19. The Saiyan and Namek Sagas trailer involved five versions of Frieza and two versions of Zarbon.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero will appear on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC on October 11, 2024.

The post Ultimate Gohan and Super Buu Are in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero appeared first on Siliconera.

During the GamesCom opening night livestream on August 20, 2024, a trailer for Masters of Albion appeared to show what the gameplay is like. You’ll have complete control over a civilization in an open world setting.

Here is the trailer for Masters of Albion, which includes a short interview with Peter Molyneux afterwards:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9ij15VNKMQ

In it, you can see how you can micromanage the town of Oakridge. Everything from the food people eat, to their economic bracket, to their weapon of choice is something you can choose. At night, the horrors of Albion will attack, meaning that you have to fight them off. You’re able to take direct control of villagers as well. When the going gets tough, you can always possess a stronger creature.

Though this is not a new Black & White, it has some similarities with that game. Peter Molyneux, who worked on Masters of Albion, also designed that game during his time at Lionhead Studios. As for the Albion setting for the game, it’s the same world that Fable took place in. Fable was also a game that Peter Molyneux worked on, though that was an action RPG rather than a sandbox.

Masters of Albion will come out on the Windows PC and you can now wishlist it on Steam.

The post Masters of Albion Feels Like a Black & White Revival appeared first on Siliconera.

Mai Shiranui will be making her return to the Fatal Fury series in SNK's newest fighting game Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. A trailer for her came up as the latest announcement for the game at gamescom 2024. The game appeared with a new trailer featuring Mai in both a brand new design for the new entry and her classic look.

You can take a look at the gamescom 2024 Mai Shiranui Fatal Fury trailer here:

https://twitter.com/summergamefest/status/1825970638890160220

The trailer showcased Mai Shiranui's combos and highlighted her design through the ages before revealing her new black jacket and pants ensemble. It showed off some of her specials and supers as well. After that, SNK revealed the classic look, which involves the red and white kunoichi dress from her previous appearances.

Mai Shiranui is one of many stars making their way to Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves. Characters like B. Jenet, Terry Bogard and Rock Howard will also be taking the stage alongside new fighters.

The trailer also featured a release date for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves: April 24, 2024. That was followed by the contents of the special edition. The special edition will feature the base game and the first season pass, featuring five new characters to play as, for $59.99. In addition, pre-orders of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will give players the Fatal Fury 2 look for Terry Bogard and along with three-day early access. So people who pre-order can play starting on April 21, 2025.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will be available on the Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox Series S/X and PC on April 24, 2024.

The post Mai Shiranui Returns in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves appeared first on Siliconera.

Grinding Gear Games has announced that early access for the upcoming Path of Exile 2 will begin on November 15, 2024. The announcement came during the opening ceremony for Gamescom 2024, alongside a new trailer.

Other than the early access date itself, the other main features of the trailer are the new gameplay footage and boss designs. We see a floating lich, a bloated creature with a mask and four arms, a plant monster, a figure covered in hands, and a Egyptian or Mesoamerican-looking golem creature channeling lightning. After these enemies are introduced, we get to see some gameplay. This segment showed off the mobility of not just the player characters, but the bosses too. One opponent called Ignaduk the Bog Witch performed what looks like a power-slide on a broom, and others seem to be able to target vast swathes of the arena. Then comes the early access date announcement. While there is currently no direction on how to sign up, there will likely be more information added to the official website nearer to the launch.

You can watch the trailer via YouTube below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYaSU9UCe0w

Path of Exile is a Diablo-style action RPG that first released back in 2013, setting itself apart from 2012's Diablo 3 with a a graphical style more remeniscent of the older games in the series and a incredibly complex and flexible skill tree.

The Early Access period for Path of Exile 2 begins on November 15, 2024, for the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. There is currently no release date for the full game.

The post Path of Exile 2 Early Access Begins in November appeared first on Siliconera.

A new land vehicle, the REV-8, is coming to Starfield in a free update. This was revealed at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 in a teaser trailer.

The REV-8 is a land vehicle that will allow players to drive around on planets at high speed. While the vehicle looks a lot like a moon buggy, it appears to handle like a sports car. The trailer shows the REV-8 drifting around moons and alien planets. It also has jet boosters underneath that allow it to jump and the ability to shoot while driving. The new vehicle will be coming to Starfield in a free update later today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rA1z1DbA_Io

While the Gamescom announcement focused on the new vehicle, there was also a teaser for the Shattered Space DLC expansion at the end. While little was shown in this latest look, a release date of September 30, 2024 was confirmed. More news is likely to arrive during Xbox's own streams, where Starfield is confirmed to appear on August 21, 2024.

Starfield is out now for PC and Xbox Series X/S. The REV-8 vehicle update arrives today.

The post REV-8 Vehicle Being Added to Starfield in a Free Update appeared first on Siliconera.

At Opening Night Live at gamescom 2024, the Marvel Rivals release date and Captain America and Winter Soldier gameplay appeared. The game will launch on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on December 6, 2024.

Here is the new Marvel Rivals release date, Captain America, and Winter Soldier gamescom 2024 trailer. It begins with Wakanda being mentioned and Black Panther shown. From there, we get to see more of Captain America and Winter Soldier. First, Bucky gameplay comes up. After that, Steve takes the stage. The video closes with the confirmed release date for the title.

https://twitter.com/summergamefest/status/1825973174569214261

The trailer also included a number of promises and commitments at the end of it. Netease noted that the game will launch with every playable character unlocked. People won’t need to pay to unlock them or earn them via playing. It will also be free-to-play. The publisher noted this will apply past launch as well.

Seeing Captain America and Winter Soldier in Marvel Rivals marks two additional series staples. Others showed up as of late in the past few weeks and months. For example, a more obscure character named Jeff the Land Shark will be a part of it.

Marvel Rivals release date falls on December 6, 2024, and people will find it on the PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Epic Games Store and Steam.

The post Marvel Rivals Release Date Set, Captain America and Winter Soldier Shown appeared first on Siliconera.

The previously announced new trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds appeared during gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live. The trailer gave us a look at two new monsters, a new zone, and NPC Hunters.

The trailer begins with a gang of hunters investigating a new locale called the Scarlet Forest. Inhabiting this forest is the spider-like Lala Barina that appears to have a paralysis-like ability and a red flower-theme. Also shown is an NPC hunter joining an expedition, though how they will work is not yet apparent. Then we see some more of a village in the Windward Plains area before another monster called the Rey Dau appears, which is described as the region's Apex Predator. Finally and most importantly, the trailer ends with a new cooking animation and the traditional cry of "So Tasty!".

You can get a look at the Monster Hunter Wilds gamescom 2024 trailer via Youtube below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp4gR1QEvVA

Earlier this month, Capcom released a slew of Youtube videos showcasing how the various weapon types will play in Monster Hunter Wilds, including the Gunlance and Insect Glaive. The company also confirmed that a playable demo would be available at both PAX West and Gamescom.

Monster Hunter Wilds will launch in 2025 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

The post Monster Hunter Wilds Gamescom Trailer Shows New Monsters appeared first on Siliconera.

During gamescom 2024 Opening Night Live, HoYoVerse announced a Genshin Impact Xbox Series X release date. The game will come to the console on November 10, 2024, following the 5.0 launch on August 28, 2024.

The Xbox Series X version of Genshin Impact came up in the gamescom 2024 trailer for the title. For the most part, the video focused on the 5.0 update. We got to see the three new characters joining in August 2024 in action. These are the five-stars Mualani and Kinich and four-star Kachina.

https://twitter.com/summergamefest/status/1825969246767042859

This is the second Genshin Impact trailer to appear recently. On August 19, 2024, there was a Natlan-focused one. It highlighted certain areas we’ll visit and creatures we’ll encounter in the new region.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-IgLbEmtDM

This announcement means Genshin Impact is only missing on one major console. The Switch version of the title was announced not long after launch. However, it’s since been absent over the years with no updates. It is unknown if this means it might not appear on a Nintendo platform until a Switch successor appears.

Genshin Impact is available on the PS4, PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and the Xbox Series X release date is November 10, 2024. 

The post Genshin Impact Xbox Series X Release Date Set at Gamescom appeared first on Siliconera.

Well folks, Gamescom Opening Night Live has now come and gone. We had some predictions about how the night could’ve gone including an appeal to finally get a single crumb of a Sonic The Hedgehog 3 trailer for the upcoming movie and a Hideo Kojima sighting, as has become the norm around events put on by Geoff Keighley.…

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Earlier this month, Amazon announced that it had ordered an animated series full of shorts based on video games like Spelunky and Mega Man, called Secret Level. Now we’ve gotten our first look at the teaser trailer for the series, and it certainly looks like there’s a short based on Armored Core, the FromSoftware mech…

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As the Year of Shadow continues, Sonic the Hedgehog fans are eagerly anticipating what’s coming in the second half of 2024. Though Paramount cannot be bothered to give us even a frame of footage of the upcoming live-action Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film that will star Shadow, despite it coming out in just a few short…

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Silent Hill 2 Remake had a rough reveal, between some disappointment that it was being handled by hit-or-miss horror studio Bloober Team and, more recently, divisive takes on protagonist James Sunderland’s new face. But a new batch of glowing hands-on previews is giving fans something to get hopeful for as the…

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Square Enix has announced that the previously confirmed PC port of Final Fantasy 16, the latest main entry in the publisher’s long-running RPG franchise, is releasing next month. But PC players won’t have to wait until then to check out the game, as Square Enix has released a free demo on Steam and the Epic Games…

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An MMO wouldn’t be complete without a generous dose of grinding, and while this is true for Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix’s online game eases the pain slightly by adding Daily Roulettes. These missions help more efficiently procure some of the different resources in the game. This guide will help explain what Daily…

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The Pokémon World Championships isn’t just a both a gathering for all the best competitive Pokémon players across the globe, but also a pseudo Pokémon Presents showcase to talk about the future of the franchise. The event was held in Hawaii this year, so its closing ceremony took place late at night for many people…

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We’re in the thick of summer right now, and while many of us are already looking forward to the cooler days and changing colors of fall, we shouldn’t miss the chance to snag some great games on the cheap as various platforms run their big summer sales. We’ll clue you in on some of the biggest deals on some of the best…

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Yesterday saw Japan’s stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange, The Nikkei, decimated amid fears of a looming recession in the United States. Fast forward to today and the majority of companies have regained their losses from yesterday, which will come as a surefire relief to the companies previously affected. Check out the bounce… Read More »Japan: Almost all video game companies regained their Monday losses

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Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a journey over a mountain to restore nature to all it’s glory, but is it a path worth treading?

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is brought to us by Capcom and is billed as an action strategy game, which is technically accurate but as with many genres in gaming nowadays that doesn’t actually tell you all that much about what is going on. 

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a tower defence game, however it’s forced me to add two new genres to our gaming lexicon, “Passive Tower Defence” and “Active Tower Defence”, and believe it, this distinction counts…Why you ask?

Well… I hate Tower Defence games, or henceforth what I shall call “Passive Tower Defence”, they are often an awful mix of dull and frustrating and not even beloved franchises to me have been able to engage me with the genre (heres looking at you Crystal Defenders”. I describe Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess as an “Active Tower Defence” and believe me does that activity make all the difference. 

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess runs on the RE Engine and looks absolutely stunning, for those of you seeing Kunitsu-Gami and having memories of Okami invoked, I’m right there with you. Like Okami, Japanese folk lore heavily inspired the game, the enemies derive from Japanese Yokai and the combat is inspired by Kagura, a form of ceremonial dance. 

The game beings with Yoshiro, Son and the villagers atop the mountain, while dwelling on the mountain humanity has abused nature and sin has accumulated over the years and now the mountain is defiled. This has summoned the Seethe, has corrupted the villagers and tainted the animals. It’s your task as Soh to guide Yorshiro and cleanse the mountain. 

Gameplay is split into the day and the night, during the day, you’ll clear the defilement, rescue animals (which earns you rations, health potions), clear the tainted blossom (which earns you crystals) and free villagers who will aid you in defending Yoshiro from the Seethe during the night. With the crystals you’ve earned you can assign the villagers different roles raging from melee, ranged and supports roles. Once darkness falls the Seethe emerge from Torii gates (In the Shinto religion a Torii gate marks passing into a sacred area, which is fitting given the corruption the Seethe represent) they wish to kill Yoshiro to stop her cleansing the area. 

There are two types of stages in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, the main stages with the literal path you must clear for Yoshiro, each of which is followed by a “Boss” stage offering an entirely different sort of challenge. Both forms of stage are designed to be played more than once, initially you just need to complete the stage, but doing so, provides you with the option of replaying the stage completing specific challenges. If complete these challenges provide you with rewards to upgrade Soh or Musubi which you can use to level up the different villager roles, these upgrades apply to the role in general and aren’t stage specific so I’d heavily recommend completion of the challenges. Spending Musubi is easy enough and will have a massive impact, especially when it comes to defeating certain bosses. You may have upgraded your Woodcutters (melee units) into axe wielding gods of nature only to come across a flying Seethe and have them rendered useless, however, fear not, you won’t need to sit and grind, you can “refund” your spent Musubi and reallocate them as need be. This is a brilliant move on Capcoms part as far as I’m concerned, it immediately removes any anxiety about how to level up, eliminates any potential frustration and respects the players time, something increasingly uncommon in the modern industry. 

The removal of frustration shouldn’t be misunderstood however, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess isn’t a cake walk and one will have to pay attention during every moment of a stage or boss encounter. Some bosses have environmental factors that will impact how tough they are to vanquish, ignore your surroundings at you peril.  

Unlike “Passive Tower Defence” games the gameplay of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess gameplay is incredibly dynamic, given that you actively control Soh and are right in the thick of the action vanquishing the foul Seethe. Not only that, while you can position your village allies strategically in the best spots to defend Yoshiro, they aren’t merely static towers of DPS, you can redeploy them as the battle rages and I actually found myself invested in their survival. 

I think investment might be a core reason I enjoyed Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, maybe it’s the old hippy pagan in me but the world of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is so beautiful designed, as is the foul corruption brought by the Seethes defilement that it was a joy to see the world cleansed. Everything about the game is stunning to look at, the character designs are fantastic, especially the Amaterasu costume you can use for Soh. Each villager role has a distinct look featuring a unique mask which becomes more embellished as you level up that roll. So stunning is the games design that I’m actually using a screenshot I captured in game as much as current MacBook desktop background. 

The post Review – Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess – PS5 appeared first on GameHype.

Japan’s benchmark stock index The Nikkei has seen its biggest fall in four decades this morning amid fears of a looming American recession in the world’s biggest economy. Nintendo, Capcom, SEGA, and more, saw stock fall sharply with Cave suffering the most losses with shares down more than 23% this morning. Here’s the damage which… Read More »Japan: Nintendo stock tumbles amid US recession fears

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Killing Machine Boy Meets Vampire Princess Girl

HIGH A riveting supernatural story with a legendary legacy.

LOW What do you mean the other half is still in production?!

WTF The tonal shifts when encountering a bad ending and reading the cast commenting on your failures.

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Frankly speaking, the mere thought of being able to draft a review of the official English-language international release of Tsukihime feels unreal. For nearly 24 years, it seemed like Type-Moon’s legendary visual novel would forever be Japan-exclusive, never to appear in English without the help of fan translations — but it’s here now, and all is well.

To be accurate, the subject of this review is not, strictly speaking, the Tsukihime that I first played a fan translation of in high school. Instead, I’m reviewing Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon-, a remake developed by Type-Moon and released in Japan in 2021. It features a fully rewritten story and new original art from Type-Moon co-founders Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi.

Though the story has been rewritten, the core premise hasn’t changed. As before, the narrative is told almost entirely in the first person, experienced through the very special eyes of Shiki Tohno, a young high school student.

Shiki possesses the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, causing him to see supernatural “lines” drawn all over everything around him. Cutting along those lines instantly kills almost anything… or anyone, unless Shiki wears a pair of special magical glasses that hide the lines from his sight. After years living in exile away from his aristocratic family, Shiki is called back to the massive Tohno mansion following the death of his father. A shockingly violent encounter with a mysterious, beautiful woman named Arcueid kicks off the story proper, drawing Shiki deeper into a mystical world that lies just beneath the surface of the urban ordinary. It’s a world where vampires war in the city streets under cover of night, all the while dodging monster hunters empowered by the church itself, and where seemingly anyone, from the family doctor to one’s own classmates, might be hiding some kind of supernatural secret.

Adventure stories with a horror twist aren’t new, but it’s notable that Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- is also, at its core, a romance.

Alongside the vividly rendered passages describing magical battles and vampire hunts are meet-cutes straight out of a romantic comedy playbook. In these instances, the writing bubbles with a sweet puppy-love vibe, full of dramatic teenage infatuation rendered in flowery, heartfelt passages. Thanks to an top-class English-language localization, the mood of reckless teenage romance is perfectly captured. It’s even thanks to this localization that segments where Shiki essentially ogles his female conversation partners come across as cutely awkward, rather than creepy — immensely helpful considering the large number of pretty girls that interact with Shiki. That said, the story of Tsukihime does focus on two main narrative branches, each centered around a different heroine.

One of the biggest departures A piece of blue glass moon makes from the original Tsukihime is in the writing of the second branch, which focuses on Ciel, Shiki’s mature, reliable, enigmatic upperclassman.

The original game presented Ciel as an alternative romantic “route,” as is the custom for games in the genre, though the bulk of written material and development was clearly concentrated on Arcueid as the “main” heroine. The result was a Ciel route that felt like a variation of Arcueid’s — an alternative path included less as an equally valid option than a value-add for players seeking replayability.

By comparison, Ciel’s route in Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon– truly feels distinct, with its own plotting, cast of characters, and and exploration of a different side of Tsukihime‘s setting and lore. If Arcueid’s story route largely involves vampires and other supernatural kindred, Ciel’s dips heavily into the holy church, a vaguely Christian organization that defends human society against supernatural threats and violently suppresses the ones that come too close to revealing the magical world’s existence to mankind at large. In their way, the two main routes in Tsukihime‘s remake feel like genuinely equal options, fitting well with Type-Moon’s permissive attitude towards what counts as “canon” in its various properties.

With that in mind, players must read through Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- multiple times to get the most out of the story. Thankfully, it includes plenty of tools to ease exploration. Players can save and load anytime, and a handy “flowchart” system not unlike the one seen in Vanillaware’s 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim allows players to jump back and forth in the timeline, checking the results of choices at their leisure. The main routes and their endings are also unlocked sequentially, so there’s no danger of making the “wrong” choice and being forced to reload or wait until the next playthrough.

There are even more than a dozen different “bad endings” to acquire for completionist players. Bad endings are very much the “wrong choices,” usually in the sense that picking them results in Shiki’s death, described in gruesome, embarrassing detail. These are usually played for laughs, though, and invariably conclude with a post-credits classroom sequence where the characters discuss what just happened and advise the player on what choices to pick after they reload.

Outside of the occasional typo and an odd bug where a small amount of voiced Japanese-language lines aren’t properly subtitled in other languages, Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- is larger in scale than the original, polished to a mirror sheen, and convenient almost to a fault. Its writing expands the story in an appealing way that’s conscious of Type-Moon’s status as a company at the top of its field managing its own multiverse of related stories and projects (such as the Fate/Grand Order mobile game and more besides). It doesn’t supplant the scrappy, rough-hewn, original Tsukihime, but rather compliments it, presenting the visual novel equivalent of a breathtakingly costly but inimitably entertaining triple-A blockbuster to contrast with the original’s history as an out-of-nowhere indie hit.

The only wrinkle in this otherwise perfect remake story is that A piece of blue glass moon is just the first entry of the Tsukihime remake project. The two routes contained in this release are just the “Near Side” routes. The original game’s three other “Far Side” routes — routes that were more psychodrama-focused and starred supporting characters like Akiha, Kohaku, and Hisui, are due to be included in another installment, Tsukihime -The other side of red garden-, which is still in production. This isn’t to say that the experience feels incomplete without the additional routes, but it’s an acknowledgement that those who want to know more about certain other characters and see how Type-Moon will address their respective stories may end up waiting a while for the second half of the remake project to release.

Nevertheless, as it is, Tsukihime -A piece of blue glass moon- remains a superlative visual novel, and a must-read for any fan of Type-Moon’s work, as well as a great potential entry point for those looking to get into visual novels as a medium.

Rating: 9 out of 10

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Disclosures: This game is developed Type-Moon and published by Aniplex. It is currently available for the Switch and PS4. This review is based on a paid download and reviewed on Switch. A PS4 code provided by the publisher was tested. Approximately 47 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode and acquiring all main endings. There is no multiplayer mode. The game was completed.

Parents: This game is rated M by the ESRB, with content descriptors for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, and Suggestive Themes. The rating description is as follows: “This is a visual novel in which players follow the story of a high-school student who encounters vampires and ghouls in Japan. As players progress through the narrative, they view stylized story sequences (mostly still images), some depicting violence and blood: blood splatter; pools of blood; characters killed off camera; a character’s hand repeatedly stabbed. The text includes descriptive details of violent acts (e.g., “I stab, I cut, I slice, I carve. Severing piece after piece until nothing is left…”; “After listening to the weakling beg for its life, she begins her meticulous work…Once the other arm is gone too, she swaps her tools and sets work on its inside.”). Some sequences depict severed limbs and dismembered body parts in large pools of blood. A female vampire is depicted partially nude, with exposed pelvic area (no genitalia), and her arm covering her breasts. The words “f**k” and “sh*t” are heard in the game.”

Colorblind Modes: The game has no colorblind modes.

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: The gameplay is not reliant on audio cues. All voiced dialogue is represented by on-screen text. There are no options for text size or readability configuration, but detailed options exist to manage text display speed. This game is fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: This game’s button controls are not remappable.

Riot Games’ team shooter doesn’t have any plans to fade away soon. In fact, Valorant is expanding its reach thanks to this week’s console launch on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. This makes the first time that Riot’s had a live service console title, so that’s a notable piece of company history in the […]

The East Asia games market generated $30.1 billion in 2023, and is expected to decline by 2.9% in 2024 to $29.2 billion according to a new report by Niko Partners.

The East Asia Games Market Model report covers Japan and Korea, markets that also saw a slight increase in their number of gamers in 2023, to 96.3 million players.

Mobile was the largest segment, accounting for 68.4% of revenue in the region.

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Toei Animation has announced on Twitter that the 3DCG anime Girls Band Cry will be getting an official release in English. North America will be the first region to receive the show. The tweet also featured a new trailer, complete with official English subtitles and showing off the main players.

The North American release will be available on digital storefronts on August 13, 2024. All 13 episodes will be available to purchase in digital form from storefronts like Fandango at Home and Prime Video. However, there are no announcements to whether or not Girls Band Cry will be available on streaming services or if it will be made available in any physical disc editions.

Girls Band Cry was originally aired in Japan in April, 2024. Until now, there had been no signs of official translations being sent to other regions. You can watch the official trailer for the North American release here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qn9yHqIa8UA

In addition to the Girls Band Cry announcement, Toei Animation has also confirmed the release of the newest Dragon Ball show: Dragon Ball Daima for the 40th anniversary of the series. Toei Animation also celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Digimon Adventure on August 1, 2024 with a special music video for "Butter-Fly," the main opening theme of the show.

Girls Band Cry will be available for purchase on Prime Video, Fandango, Microsoft Store, and Hoopla on August 13, 2024.

The post Girls Band Cry English Release Confirmed for North America appeared first on Siliconera.

The highly anticipated season 2 of Kaiju No. 8 has been officially announced, with a release set for 2025. The announcement was made via the official Kaiju No. 8 Twitter account, featuring a promotional video (PV) that showcases scenes from the first season and confirms an upcoming continuation of the series.

You can view the announcement post below:

https://twitter.com/KaijuNo8_O_EN/status/1820414451788763469

In addition to the second season, the PV also revealed that a new original episode titled Hoshina's Day-off is in production. This episode will likely explore the daily life of vice-captain Soshiro Hoshina. Furthermore, a compilation of the first season is also being produced, allowing newcomers to relive key moments from the initial episodes before diving into the new season.

Kaiju no 8’s anime is Based on Naoya Matsumoto’s manga serialized in Shonen Jump, it follows a man named Kafka with the ability to transform into a Kaiju. The anime’s first season began airing in April 2024 and concluded on July 13th 2024.

In related news, Akatsuki Games and Toho announced Kaiju No 8: The Game, a free-to-play adaptation of the anime and manga for mobile devices and PCs. The release date has yet to be announced. The Kaiju No 8 anime is currently available on Crunchyroll, and the manga is handled outside Japan by Viz Media.

The post Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 Announced for 2025 appeared first on Siliconera.

Another Puella Magi Madoka Magica staple is confirmed as a playable Magia Exedra character, as we’ll be able to be Homura Akemi in the game as well. A first trailer appeared for her. Keep in mind though, it does involve some Madoka Magica Homura spoilers if you aren’t familiar with the anime and past games.

Editor’s Note: There are some Homura Akemi Puella Magi Madoka Magica spoilers in the Magia Exedra trailer below.

The latest Madoka Magica: Magia Exedra trailer is more about establishing the character and showing one major attack than showing off a lot of her gameplay. It begins with Homura inside of a Witch’s Labyrinth. She asserts, “I can do it on my own, and I’ll do it over and over.” From there, we get to see an animation that looks like her summoning an attack in the series. She brings out a major rocket launcher, which she crouches on, that shoots an unseen opponent. All of the text references her actions in the original anime for the sake of Madoka.

The video then shows Homura’s official art and voice actress for the game. Chiwa Saito will play her in Madoka Magica: Magia Exedra. She also played her in the anime, games like Madoka Magica: Magia Record, and in other game crossovers involving the series. People may also recognize her as the voice of Jean in Genshin Impact, Changli in Wuthering Waves, Elaine in Trails Through Daybreak, Tamamo no Mae in the Fate/ series, and Aoi in Danganronpa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5foPPMU_RV8

While we’ve seen screenshots of Madoka Magica characters like Homura Akemi, Sayaka Miki, Kyoko Sakura, and Mami Tomoe in parties before, Aniplex only confirmed Madoka Kaname and Iroha Tamaki in official trailers so far.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Magia Exedra will be available on the PC via Steam and mobile devices.

The post Homura Akemi Is Playable in Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Magia Exedra appeared first on Siliconera.

A 1/7 scale figure of Anby Demarra from Zenless Zone Zero is open for pre-orders in Japan. It will come out in July 2025.

The Zenless Zone Zero Anby Demarra figure is from Apex, which had worked on multiple figures for HoYoVerse games in the past. It costs 22,400 JPY, which is approximately $153.90.  AmiAmi has warned that the shipping costs may be on the pricier side for this figure, as it’s quite big and heavy.

Anby is looking like she’s ready for battle in this figure. She’s got a hand on her sword and her other one outstretched. Her expression is her usual neutral one. Apex seems to have put a lot of care into the sculpting, between all the details of her outfit and the way her skirt billows around her thighs. The stand for the figure looks like a film reel, with the welcome slogan for New Eridu on it.

Anby is the poster girl for Zenless Zone Zero (in that her face is on the icon like Paimon in Genshin Impact and March 7th for Honkai: Star Rail). When you start the game, you can get a copy of her for free. She’s a member of the Cunning Hares along with Billy Kid and Nicole. Though she’s usually very stoic and quiet, she has a bit of a silly side. For example, she sometimes conflates movies with reality.

Zenless Zone Zero is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. The Zenless Zone Zero Anby figure will come out in July 2025.

The post Zenless Zone Zero Anby Figure Will Come Out in July 2025 appeared first on Siliconera.

Massive Monster and Devolver Digital announced The Pilgrim Pack, which is a new piece of DLC for Cult of the Lamb with additional Follower forms and unique quests. It’ll come out on August 12, 2024 alongside the new update.

The Pilgrim Pack will be a bit different from what people expect from Cult of the Lamb. It’ll be an interactive digital comic, through which you can access new secret quests, Follower forms, outfits, and accessories.

You can check out the Cult of the Lamb new DLC trailer below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY1EYzn_5qY

Instead of playing as a cult leader like you do in the main game, it seems like the Pilgrim story will focus on Followers instead. You’ll be helping Jalala and Rinor journeying in search of a new home, only for dangerous cultists to stalk them in hopes of sacrificing them to their gods. As The Pilgrim Pack will include two unique Follower quests, it’s likely that you’ll be able to further explore Jalala and Rinor’s stories outside of the comic as well.

As a reminder, The Pilgrim Pack will be paid DLC. It will come out on the same date as the Unholy Alliance free update, but if you want to experience it, you’ll need to pay some money. The Pilgrim Pack will cost $6.99 on PC and $8.99 on consoles.

Cult of the Lamb is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. The Pilgrim Pack will appear in Cult of the Lamb on August 12, 2024, and it will not be part of the free Unholy Alliance update.

The post Cult of the Lamb Pilgrim Pack DLC Adds Follower Forms and Quests appeared first on Siliconera.

Kadokawa announced that the official NieR Reincarnation art book will come out on November 28, 2024, instead of its expected launch date. The Ebten DX pack, as well as the bonus version of the art book exclusive to Ebten, will also be delayed until November 28, 2024.

When the book comes out later this year, there will be over sixty more pages than the original estimate. In total, the NieR Reincarnation art book will contain 528 pages, as opposed to 464. The price will remain the same at 4,950 JPY ($34.35). Kadokawa apologized for the delay, but promised to aim for more satisfying content in the final product.

The Ebten DX pack will cost 9,350 JPY ($64.90) and contains multiple pieces of merchandise along with the art boo. You’ll be able to get an F3 canvas board, a set of calendar postcards, an acrylic keyholder, and an A6 illustration card. This illustration card is also the exclusive bonus that comes with the art book if you purchase it from Ebten.

The NieR Reincarnation art book was supposed to come out on August 28, 2024 to commemorate the end of the game’s service. Inside of the book, there will be stills and images from the game, as well as behind-the-scenes notes on the design process. NieR Re[in]carnation ended service on April 29, 2024 after around three years.

NieR Reincarnation was available on mobile devices, but you can no longer download it. The art book for NieR Reincarnation will come out in Japan on November 28, 2024.

The post NieR Reincarnation Art Book Delayed to November 2024 appeared first on Siliconera.

A new timed event for Zenless Zone Zero focused on unique coffee bonuses called Coffee Sorcery: Tuning is about to begin. HoYoVerse noted it will involve bonuses for drinking special event coffee in-game between August 7-12, 2024.

Two new coffee varieties will be available from Coff Cafe during the Zenless Zone Zero event, each of which will offer special bonuses. Ginseng Americano will allow players to obtain double Drive Disc rewards during Routine Cleanup missions. Meanwhile, Mint Espresso will award double Plating Agent drops in Combat Simulation missions. Due to the rewards on offer, the event will only be open for players who have unlocked the Routine Cleanup missions. As with all coffees in the game, only one coffee can be purchased a day, and its effects will last the whole day.

The "Coffee Sorcery: Tuning" event will run almost up until the release of the first major update for Zenless Zone Zero. The 1.1 Update will release on August 14, 2024 and feature new Agents Jane Doe, Qingyi and Seth Lowell. These Agents will feature heavily in a new storyline featuring the Criminal Investigation Special Response Team.

Zenless Zone Zero is out now for PC, PS5 and mobile devices. The "Coffee Sorcery: Tuning" event will run from August 7-12, 2024.

The post Coffee Sorcery: Tuning Event in Zenless Zone Zero Offers Special Limited Bonuses appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco is releasing Bleach Rebirth of Souls character trailers to highlight different fighters’ gameplay styles, and Byakuya Kuchiki is the latest one to appear. This marks the second time a video focused on him, as he starred alongside Ichigo Kurosaki in a general gameplay video at the end of July 2024.

The video begins with an introduction to who Byakuya Kuchiki is. In addition to being Rukia’s brother and Renji Aburai’s superior, he’s head of the Kuchiki family and Sixth Division. His Zanpakuto is Senbonzakura. After showing him off, more specific attacks are highlighted. He uses Senbonzakura Seal & Release as his Signature Move, and it has two forms to it that swap when used. His Spiritual Pressure moves are Release: Senbonzakura/Seal: Senbonzakura and a That Won’t Touch Me counterattack. His Awakening involves Bankai: Senbonzakura Kageyoshi being unleashed.

Here's the full Bleach Rebirth of Souls Byakuya trailer: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzBelDvJt4c

We’re now at four Bleach Rebirth of Souls character trailers total. The first three provided us an opportunity to see Ichigo, Rukia, and Uryu Ishida fight. Other characters confirmed so far who haven’t shown up in videos are Renji and Yasutora “Chad” Sado.

Bleach Rebirth of Souls is in development for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC. The Bleach anime, including Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, is streaming on Disney+ and Hulu. Viz Media handles the manga.

The post Byakuya Stars in a Bleach Rebirth of Souls Character Trailer appeared first on Siliconera.

A new event focused on trashcan photography will appear in Honkai: Star Rail, and it is called The Self-Accomplishment of a Trashcan Photographer. It will run August 7-19, 2024, and HoYoVerse revealed the unlock requirements.

The event will take place across multiple stages in Honkai: Star Rail, and players must use their photography skills to capture trashcan pictures. The trashcans are special ones added for the event, with three varieties making appearances within the crowds. Bronze trashcans will award someone 100 Capture Points, silver 150, and gold 200, with the gold offering a bonus for capturing its special poses. These Capture Points can then be used to obtain rewards, including up to 500 Stellar Jades and leveling items.

To take part in the trashcan photography event, Honkai: Star Rail players need to be at least Trailblaze Level 21 and are recommended to have completed the mission "Penacony – Tales from the Golden Age”. The mission will be offered by a trainee doctor from Penacony hanging out in Starskiff Haven on the Xianzhou Luofu.

This is the latest timed event added as part of the Honkai: Star Rail 2.4 update. It will run alongside another timed event, Saga of Primaveral Blade: Swordsage Saga, which stars March 7th. This event is currently ongoing until August 9, 2024.

Honkai: Star Rail is out now for PC, PS5 and mobile devices. The "Self-Accomplishment of a Trashcan Photographer" event will run from August 7-19, 2024.

The post Honkai: Star Rail Trashcan Photography Event Begins Soon appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco revealed new merchandise based on the Tales of the Rays finale illustration. The company has also opened orders for the items on Asobistore for a limited time.

This merchandise collection will primarily focus on the chibi illustrations of characters from the Tales Of series, such as Tales of Destiny's Stahn Aileron and Tales of Vesperia's Yuri Lowell. It will also feature the normal illustrations of the mobile game's original protagonists Ickx and Mileena.

Here is the list of new merchandise featured on Asobistore, along with the prices in Japanese yen:

• Tin badge - ¥700 for a random item
• Acrylic character clip - ¥880
• Tales of the Rays acrylic logo - ¥900
• Custom character acrylic keychain - ¥2,000
• Hanging tapestry - ¥3,900

Tales of the Rays was available worldwide on Android and iOS mobile devices. While the global release disappeared abruptly in 2018, Bandai Namco formally shut down the 2017 online-exclusive game in Japan on July 23, 2024. Those who had played the Japanese version can still download the offline archive version until October 22, 2024.

The Tales of the Rays finale merchandise is available to purchase on Asobistore until September 9, 2024. Bandai Namco will ship the finished items inside Japan in early November 2024.

The post Bandai Namco Sells Tales of the Rays Finale Merchandise appeared first on Siliconera.

Mages revealed more details about the upcoming Rent-A-Girlfriend adventure game for consoles, including its release date. The visual novel will have the subtitle The Horizon and the Girlfriend in the Swimsuit, and the company will release it for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 on November 28, 2024.

The company initially revealed the title in July 2024. It revealed new details on the visual novel on August 5, 2024, as promised. Mages has yet to provide new in-game screenshots, but it did reveal the game's story synopsis.

The player will assume the role of the series protagonist Kazuya Kinoshita, who is working part-time at a beach house in Enoshima Island in order to gather funds to produce a movie that stars Chizuru Mizuhara. During the seven-day stay, Kazuya can interact with not only Chizuru but also Mami, Ruka, Sumi, and Mini.

Mages has also opened pre-orders for the upcoming Rent-A-Girlfriend game in Japan with various bonus benefits. In addition to regular physical copies, the company will offer a limited edition that includes an original soundtrack CD and four drama CDs. People who pre-order the game can also receive a small illustration based on one of the five heroines at random by the series creator Reiji Miyajima. Each store chain in Japan will also have a different bonus character item that comes with the physical copy.

Rent-A-Girlfriend: The Horizon and the Girlfriend in the Swimsuit will be available for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan on November 28, 2024.

The post Rent-A-Girlfriend Console Game Release Date Set in November appeared first on Siliconera.