Good Smile Company reveals Fire Emblem: Three Houses Dimitri figure
Could be yours...for $200
Just last night, Good Smile Company announced figures for both the male and female versions of Byleth from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Turns out they have even more in store for fans of that installment in the long-running franchise.
Good Smile Company has revealed a Fire Emblem: Three Houses figure of Dimitri based on his post-timeskip design. The figure is set to ship Q1 2026 and is priced at $203. You have until Oct. 30th, 2024 to place a pre-order, and you can do so through this link.
This Dimitri figure is inspired by the Battle at Gronder Field, and is 1/7 scale. Dimitri is seen holding his Hero Relic, the lance Areadbhar. Dimitri will come with a stand and measures roughly 13 inches tall.
Check out the latest trailer for World of Goo 2
Gooness gracious!
World of Goo 2 was announced for Switch back in February, and at that time we heard it would be launching on May 23rd, 2024. Unfortunately the game got pushed back to Aug. 2nd, 2024, but thankfully that date has stuck. That means we’re just one week away from launch, and today brings us a new trailer to celebrate the upcoming arrival.
In World of Goo 2, a powerful company has re-branded as an environmentally friendly, sustainable, green, clean, Goo processing non-profit.Help them collect as much Goo as possible. But what do they really want? Explore a new story spanning hundreds of thousands of years and watch the world change.
Be careful! The world is beautiful, but it is dangerous. Guide as many Goo Balls into the exit pipe of each area as you can. …but what’s on the other end of the pipe? Discover new species of Goo: Jelly Goo, Liquid Launchers, Growing Goo, Shrinking Goo, Explosive Goo, and more. All with mysterious new properties.
World of Goo 2 has dozens of new musical tracks in a beautiful and haunting new soundtrack, plus a thrilling new story to explore over the course of 5 new chapters, bursting with over 60 new levels, each featuring additional challenges.
Pokémon Center Nagoya to relocate
Big things in store
Pokémon Co. has announced that yet another Pokémon Center is set to close in preparation for a grand reopening at a different location.
Pokémon Center Nagoya is going to close on Sept. 8th, 2024 in order to move into a brand-new spot. The store won’t reopen until sometime in Fall 2024, but no specific date has been shared. As for the location, fans will be able to find the new Pokémon Center on the second floor of the Nagoya PARCO East Building.
Between now and the store’s closer, anyone who buys products at Pokémon Center Nagoya will get to take home some special clear cards. It’s not known how much a customer must spend in order to get these cards.
New Pokémon Fundamentals School Supplies Available Now at Pokémon Center
Back to school in style
You’ll be pulling double duty as a top-notch student and a skilled Pokémon Trainer when you head back to school equipped with the latest supplies from the Pokémon Fundamentals collection at Pokémon Center. This collection features a wide range of high-quality products that highlight different Pokémon types and some of your favorite Pokémon. This season, look for new accessories showcasing Poison-, Grass-, Fire-, and Fairy-type Pokémon along with some classic designs.
Carry your gear in style with a selection of awesome backpacks, daypacks, and lunch bags. Look for details on these bags such as comfortable padding, a Poké Ball custom liner, Poké Ball zipper pulls, and a Pokémon Center badge. Once you’re in class, you’ll have all sorts of useful items like spiral bound notebooks, pencil cases, and folders to help you make the grade.
Show off your love of Pokémon to all your fellow students (and professors!) with these Pokémon Fundamentals. Have fun in class, Trainers!
Meet the Top 100 Artists from the Pokémon TCG Illustration Contest 2024
A talented group of people
The Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2024 is an exciting opportunity for artists and Pokémon fans around the world to showcase their artistic skills and love for Pokémon. The announcement of the top 100 artists from this year’s contest reveals an abundance of talent and adorable Pokémon.
Drawing inspiration from the theme, “Magical Pokémon Moments,” this year’s contest opened to entries on October 12, 2023, and closed on January 31, 2024. You can learn more about the top 100 artists from this year’s contest here.
The top 100 artists will also have their work showcased at a special location. If you’re in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, for the 2024 Pokémon World Championships, you’ll be able to see all the amazing artwork in person at the Pokémon Trading Card Game Illustration Contest 2024 Gallery. Stay tuned for more details coming to the Worlds site!
Nintendo takes a look at upcoming Switch games for August 2024
Hot games for a hot month
Pretty much from day one with the Switch, there has been an insane amount of content to enjoy. The amount of content and genres available on the platform is staggering, and August is set to bring us yet another massive wave of big-name games, hidden gems and everything in-between!
Nintendo has once again put together a feature to showcase just a small sampling of what’s on the way to Switch, and today we’re getting a glimpse at the August 2024 lineup. This month on Switch, enjoy revived classics, brand-new outings, award-winning games and more.
As usual, Nintendo has recommended some of their own titles along with third party offerings, and you can find the complete rundown here. You can find the wrap-up from Nintendo of Europe here.
Masahiro Sakurai discusses how to get over mental blocks
Damn those mental blocks
Masahiro Sakurai is back with yet another installment in his game development video series, and today’s feature slots into the “Work Ethic” category.
It’s not easy coming up with great ideas…and sometimes, no matter how hard you think, inspiration just won’t strike! Even Sakurai has that happen to him, but he’s got some pointers on how to get out of that funk.
Sometimes all it takes is a slight shift in thinking or setting to get out of your rut. You never know what’ll be the catalyst to brand-new ideas and fresh ways of thinking, so don’t beat yourself up over getting stuck. Get up, walk around, and let the creative juices flow!
Pokémon Kids TV shares "Tankobushi Dance Lesson" music video
Time for a bit of exercise
The Pokémon Co. has really been leaning into their Pokémon Kids TV YouTube Channel lately, adding all sorts of content for youngsters to enjoy. Today they’re back with yet another feature, and yes, it’s another music video!
In today’s video, we get a dance tutorial for the traditional Japanese song, ‘Tankobushi’! Let’s learn and dance together!
Just in case you couldn’t tell from the Channel name, these videos are aimed at very young children. If you’re a parent looking to steal away just a few minutes of personal time, this video might be able to help!
New Star Wars content heading to Fall Guys on July 30th, 2024
Excited, you are
A new round of cosmetic content has been announced for Fall Guys, and it’s set to arrive on July 30th, 2024.
As you can see in the trailer above, Fall Guys is once again teaming with Star Wars to bring some iconic characters over to the party royale game. This time around, players can look forward to snagging Yoda, R2-D2, Padme Amidala and Darth Maul skins for their Beans.
Details on pricing of these skins and how long they’ll be around are yet to be shared. We’ll bring you the full rundown once the items arrive in the shop.
Taking a deep dive into No Man's Sky's latest visual overhaul on Switch
Looking better than ever?
Just a couple of weeks back, the latest free update to No Man’s Sky, Worlds Part I (version 5.0) launched. This update ushered in an entire universe refresh, bringing huge leaps in water and cloud quality, as well as increased planetary variety, new gameplay features, and more.
Update 5.0, WORLDS, transforms the universe into a richer, wilder, more varied and immersive place. With that came some serious visual upgrades to the game across all platforms, Switch included. The question is, can the Switch actually keep up with all these graphical enhancements?
In the video above, you can check out some detailed analysis of what’s been overhauled on the visual side of things for Switch. There are some considerable changes under the hood, and they’ve made for a much more interesting presentation on Nintendo’s platform. It might not be the prettiest version of the game out there, but it’s pretty darn good for an impossible port!
Deadpool content available in the Rocket League shop
The merc with a driver's license
Time to make chimichangas! Deadpool is taking over the Rocket League Item Shop, and you can check out some of the items added in the trailer above. Make sure to cruise by the Rocket League shop before time runs out on August 12th, 2024.
In Rocket League, download and compete in the high-octane hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem! Unlock items in Rocket Pass, climb the Competitive Ranks, compete in Competitive Tournaments, complete Challenges, enjoy cross-platform progression and more! The field is waiting. Take your shot!
Nintendo strikes Team Jackpot's win at the 2024 Splatoon 3 World Championship due to Community Guideline violations (UPDATE)
More like Team Bust
Nintendo has made a major announcement concerning the 2024 Splatoon 3 World Championships. If you followed the series, you might remember that Team Jackpot came out on top in their battles against Team Phantom Thief. While they were declared the victor at the time, Nintendo is now reversing that decision.
The official Nintendo Versus social media account has shared a statement saying that Team Jackpot violated Nintendo’s Community Guidelines. As such, the win will be stricken from the record and the Splatoon 3 in-game banner will be yanked in a future update. Last but not least, Team Jackpot will no longer receive their trophies.
Nintendo didn’t go into the specifics on what Team Jackpot did to violate Community Guidelines, but the end result is the same. You can see Nintendo’s message on the matter below.
UPDATE: While we don’t have official comment from Nintendo, it seems this decision may have been made due to select members of Team Jackpot making racist comments about other players/people in general. Again, this information does not come from Nintendo itself, but social media posts discussing team members have surfaced, complete with Discord screencaps and more showcasing racist verbiage.
UPDATE 2: Nintendo has removed a significant amount of 2024 Splatoon 3 World Championships content from its websites and social media. This includes videos, posts and news features. It seems these were removed due to mentions of Team Jackpot.
LRG announces physical Switch release and vinyl collection for VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III
A classic collection
Limited Run Games has announced that they’ll be offering a physical release for VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III, and pre-orders go live on August 2nd, 2024. There will be a $45 standard version that gets you a boxed copy of the game, along with a $90 Collector’s Edition that packs in the following:
- Physical Copy of VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III for Nintendo Switch
- VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III Collector’s Edition Box
- 3- Disc Soundtrack
- Fantasm Jewel Metal Pin
- PVC Valis Shield Keychain
- Reversible 12” x 16” Poster
- Art Prints
- Genre: Action
Along with that comes VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier Collection III 3LP Vinyl for $60. This album includes the following:
- Vinyl 1 Side A: VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier (PC-88); Side B: VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier (NES)
- Vinyl 2 Side C and D: VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier II (MSX2)
- Vinyl 3 Side A: VALIS III (Genesis); Side B: SUPER VALIS IV
The third installment in the highly acclaimed ‘Valis: The Fantasm Soldier’ reissue series has arrived. This edition finally includes the popular titles ‘Valis: The Fantasm Soldier (PC-88 version)’ and ‘VALIS: The Fantasm Soldier (Family Computer version),’ which had particularly high demand for a reissue. Furthermore, the collection boasts a substantial volume with a total of five titles, adding ‘Valis: The Fantasm Soldier II (MSX2),’ ‘VALIS III (MEGA DRIVE),’ and ‘SUPER VALIS IV.’ This is the ultimate culmination of the Valis revival, a must-have for Valis and retro game fans.
Pre-orders for all of these goodies go live on Aug. 2nd, 2024 through the LRG store.
Limited Run Games has officially opened pre-orders for Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP, and there are two versions to snag. There’s a standard release for $45 that gets you a boxed copy of the game, and then there’s the $15 Cheerleader Edition that packs in the following:
- Physical Copy of Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP for Nintendo Switch
- Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP Collector’s Box
- Soundtrack
- Artbook
- 10” Juliet Starling Statue
- Nick Carlisle’s Head Keychain
- San Romeo Knights High School Medal
- Sticker
LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW RePOP is a remake of the original LOLLIPOP CHAINSAW (2012), on which Yoshimi Yasuda lead development as producer. RePOP is a definitive version of the game which leaves the story unchanged, with the focus on quality-of-life improvements and additional gameplay content. Watch Juliet, a descendant of zombie hunters, as she fights alongside her boyfriend and family to stop a zombie apocalypse starting in her high school in “Juliet’s 18th Birthday.”
You have until August 25th to lock in your pre-order, and you can do so through the LRG store.
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream "Yuuki" Trailer
Say hello to Yuuki
Publisher Bandai Namco recently confirmed that SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream will see worldwide release on Switch come Oct. 4th, 2024. Following that news, a fresh trailer has dropped as well. May death never stop you. The Absolute Sword - Yuuki - takes on all comers in this video!
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream has been confirmed to be a cross-platform compatible game with no loot boxes, and it supports up-to-20-player co-op. The dev team specifically set out to test cross-platform and online co-op functionality to make sure they could get everything working perfectly on all platforms, and obviously those tests were a success.
Following the recent beta test, the devs also noted some changes that will be implemented in the final game. In the final release, you’ll be able to turn automatic lock-on off, Goddess Statues will appear, difficulty will be based on how many players you’re with, and offline Story Mode and online Free Mode will be available. Last but not least, another beta test could happen at some point.
In SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream, a new system is applied to the world of Alfheim Online, but a malfunction causes all worlds and timelines to collide, creating a unique setting and challenging environment for Kirito and other players. All lost in uncharted territory, enemies become allies, departed characters are back and unlikely alliances will be formed to survive the dangers in this unsettled world.
SWORD ART ONLINE Fractured Daydream offers an original story in an All-Star game, focused on a large-scale co-op experience. Players will enjoy playing their favourite characters from the first three seasons of the animated series and Sword Art Online movies, in a cross-play battle action game featuring thrilling boss raids and co-op quests.