Persona Series Tops 8.5 Million Units Sold
The Persona series has reached a new sales milestone. According to SEGA's 2017 annual report, the franchise has now topped 8.5 million units sold (packaged and digital total) across 13 total editions. The series first launched back in 1996.
Meanwhile, the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, which first launched in 1987 (and which the Persona series spun off from), sits at approximately 7.2 million units sold across 28 total editions. The Yakuza games have sold 10.5 million units across 75 total editions. The first game was released back in 2005.
For more on Persona, be sure to read IGN's glowing review of Persona 5, which we scored a 9.7. Also check out what might be next for Persona 5 developer Atlus and read about the upcoming Persona 5 anime TV series.
The Flash: Danny Trejo Couldn’t Stop Laughing While Playing His Grizzled Bounty Hunter
Tonight’s episode of The Flash, “Elongated Journey Into Night,” introduces a new character named Breacher played by action star Danny Trejo. Trejo is known for using his cold stares and gravelly voice to play tough, intimidating characters, and while Breacher is certainly in that vein, calling for a dead-serious performance, Trejo couldn’t keep it together during filming.
“I love comedy. Being fierce ain't that hard, you just show up. I like the way they put both menacing and funny together. The whole thing would sometimes just crack me up,” Trejo said at a press event to screen and talk about the episode.
On top of being one of the most feared and ruthless bounty hunters across the Multiverse, Breacher is Gypsy’s father, so you won’t be surprised to hear he’s not happy to find her in Cisco’s arms when he comes for a visit. It’s not long before he tells Cisco he’s going to hunt him like one of his bounties, and unceremoniously begins a countdown from 10. To say Breacher is extreme is an understatement, with the way he switches in the blink of an eye from showing affection for his daughter to murderous disdain for Cisco. Trejo said they had to keep redoing scenes because he kept laughing at his lines where he had to make ridiculous threats on Cisco’s life while keeping a straight face.
How Nintendo Switch Owners Play the System
Nintendo has revealed how Switch owners are utilizing the hybrid system.
At Nintendo's recent financial briefing, the company showed that around half of Switch owners use the console in both modes: TV and handheld. But what might be surprising is that more people play the system mainly undocked than hooked up to the big screen.
Nintendo released this graph at a recent financial briefing to highlight how people are utilizing the Switch. (Courtesy of Nintendo)
The Last Jedi Creature Designer on Crystal Foxes, Porgs
Special effects artist Neal Scanlan, who heads up the Creature Workshop for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, has shed some light on the origins of those mysterious Crystal Foxes from the film's latest trailer.
In an interview with Empire, Scanlan explained the Crystal Foxes have developed a crystalline fur because of the planet they live on. "The theory is they’ve fed off this planet for so long that their fur has become crystalline," he explained. "They’ve taken on the very surface of the planet they live on."
As for the adorable Porgs, it seems Chewbacca actually befriends one during the course of the film. The very same Porg who is seen in the Millennium Falcon with Chewie "shows some very Wookiee traits in the way he's coloured; his patterning is very similar to Chewie's."
Nintendo Says 3DS Sales Are Stable, Even After Switch
Nintendo has made a point to show that Switch sales haven't significantly impacted 3DS hardware numbers so far.
During a recent financial briefing, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima said, "Even after Nintendo Switch sales began, sales of the Nintendo 3DS family remain stable, as you can see here." He was pointing to a graph that's showcased below.
Nintendo highlights how 3DS sales have stayed stable this year, even after Switch's release. (Courtesy of Nintendo)
This Comic Belongs on Your Horror Movie Binge List
Now that it’s October 31st, Halloween devotees might be winding down on their horror must-watch lists, but there’s one more essential piece of frightful storytelling you should experience: Saga of the Swamp Thing, Book 3 (issues 35-41 of the Swamp Thing series, previously collected and published as Swamp Thing Vol. 3: The Curse). The entire series is a fantastic example of the pulp/horror genre, but this story arc is one of the best works to come from the brilliant collaborative team of writer Alan Moore and artists Stephen Bissette and John Totleben, certainly deserving of a place on your shelf between classic Frankenstein movies and Tales From the Crypt DVDs.
Some background information is helpful, but for the most part you’d be fine diving into the series at the point that Book 3 begins. Anthropomorphic vegetable swamp creature Alec just wants to protect his fellow humans, animals, and earth from threats to their existence, which usually take the shape of big game hunters, power-hungry scientists, and supernatural entities. That’s about it in a nutshell. From Book 3’s exciting plot featuring updated classic horror monsters to its mindblowing (and occasionally stomach-churning) artwork, below we’ve outlined a few of the reasons you should spend some valuable Halloween hours on this series, and give your Cronenberg and Carpenter films a much-deserved rest.
PUBG “Never Banned Anyone For Honking at Streamers”
Following PUBG streamers and honking car horns at them in-game has never been treated as a bannable offense, according to creative director Brendan "PlayerUnknown" Greene.
"A lot of our Steam reviews say 'don't buy this game because they ban people for honking at streamers,'" Greene said. "We've never banned anyone for honking at a streamer."
'Stream honking' surfaced as a popular method to annoy PUBG streamers several months ago. But while some players have been banned for 'stream sniping,' repeatedly hopping between lobbies with the intent to kill or harass specific streamers by using their live stream as a cheat sheet, Greene insists the honking itself has never resulted in a player being banned.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Has Sold 18 Million Copies
PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds has now sold over 18 million copies, according to C.H. Kim, executive producer and CEO of newly formed studio PUBG Corp.
Creative director Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene added that 40 percent of PUBG players play on the game's first-person servers.
"I was expecting maybe 10 percent of players would enjoy
, but it's really shown huge numbers," he said, adding that North American and European players are especially fond of first-person mode.
PUBG Dev: “I Don’t Want to Win a Game of the Year Award”
Speaking to PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds creative director Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene, I asked what he thought of Early Access games like PUBG being considered for Game of the Year awards, and he somewhat surprisingly told me “Personally, I don’t want to win a Game of the Year award.”
“While I would love to win it for the team, I think this year there have been far better games.” Greene specifically called out The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn as “masterpieces of game design and storytelling.”
“They're just wonderful, wonderful games... I think they will probably win it. I would hope they would win it.” Greene said the award “would be a nice feather in their cap” for the PUBG Corp. team, but reiterated “I don't know if we deserve it.”
PUBG Releasing on Xbox Game Preview in December
Today PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer PUBG Corp. announced the wildly popular Steam Early Access shooter, which has sold over 18 million copies, will be launching on Xbox Game Preview on December 12 for $30.
Xbox Game Preview is essentially the Xbox version of Early Access, allowing players to buy a still in-development version of PUBG. Creative director Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene said it’s “essentially a beta version,” and that it will allow them to work with the community to balance the game before its final release.