Oddworld’s Move to Xbox ‘A Matter of Survival’
Lorne Lanning, creator of the Oddworld series, says the decision to move Oddworld from PlayStation to Xbox was a matter of survival.
In a panel discussion at the DICE Summit in Las Vegas called “A Conversation with Shu Yoshida”, Lanning discussed a few reasons behind the move -- a potentially touchy subject considering the presence of the president of Sony Worldwide Studios.
Lanning said it became unpredictable to plan and develop a game on the PlayStation 2 from a budgetary standpoint. And he said the cost of acquiring dev kits became prohibitive. When the original Xbox was announced as a machine built for developers, it made development costs more predictable. "We were trying to survive,” he said. “It was a way to actually land and survive."
Daily Deals: $110 Off an iPad Air 2, $350 PS4, Xbox Live for $40
$110 less than if you bought it right from Apple. It's the 16GB Wifi version.
NBC Renews The Blacklist, Grimm, More
NBC has announced it’s renewing dramas The Blacklist (for Season 3), Chicago Fire (for Season 4), Chicago PD (for Season 3), Grimm (for Season 5) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (for Season 17!!!).
For the 2014-15 season to date, NBC ranks #1 among the Big 4 networks in adults 18-49 and all other key demographics.
“The creative vision of the executive producers who’ve guided these outstanding dramas has been nothing short of incredible,” said Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment. “We’re highly appreciative of the passion they bring to their shows at every step of the creative process and we’re thrilled to reward that dedication with these renewals.”
App Store Update: February 5
Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.
Note: The prices and deals compiled below are accurate at the time we published this story, but all are subject to change.
Ammo Pigs – ($1.99)
Taking things back to the days of DOS is Ammo Pigs, a new platformer/shooter that pits futuristic swine against oppressive slaughterhouse robots:
MLB 15: The Show 10th Anniversary Edition Announced
A special 10th Anniversary Edition of MLB 15: The Show will be released alongside the standard version on March 31.
For $70 USD, the Anniversary Edition includes an exclusive cover on a woodgrain steelbook, 12k in Stubs, fifteen Bonus Item packs, dynamic PlayStation 4 themes for all thirty MLB teams, and the official MLB 15 dynamic theme, according to the PlayStation Blog.
The post also revealed Canadian copies of the game will feature Toronto Blue Jays' catcher Russell Martin on the cover, rather than Yasiel Puig.
Pre-orders for physical copies of the Anniversary Edition begin today, while digital pre-orders will begin on February 10. Pre-ordering will get you a voucher for a DualShock 4 Skin for the MLB team of your choice from Skinit. Pre-ordering from GameStop will also net you six additional Bonus Item packs.
Pokemon Bank Subscribers Getting Triple Gift This Month
From February 27 to November 30, Pokemon Bank subscribers will receive special versions of Meganium, Typhlosion, and Feraligatr, The Pokemon Company International and Nintendo announced today.
Each final evolution of the Johto starters is level 50 and comes with a Hidden Ability previously unaccessible through normal gameplay. To receive the Pokemon, simply access your Pokemon Bank account and use Pokemon Link in either Pokemon X, Y, Omega Ruby, or Alpha Sapphire between the dates listed above.
Meganium's Hidden Ability, Leaf Guard, protects it from status conditions when the sunlight is harsh or extremely harsh. It also knows Sunny Day, allowing you to create the necessary conditions for Leaf Guard.
When Can You Play Assassin’s Creed Rogue on PC?
Assassin's Creed Rogue will be released for PC on March 10, Ubisoft announced today. The port is being handled by Ubisoft's Kiev studio.
Rogue, which tells the story of Shay Patrick Cormac, an Assassin turned Templar, is one of the two Assassin's Creed games released in the end of 2014. Its counterpart, Assassin's Creed Unity was available for PS4, Xbox One and PC, while Rogue was only available for Xbox 360 and PS3.
IGN really liked Rogue's story when we reviewed it. We weren't so happy that the series' infamous control issues popping back up, though. On the technical side of things, Rogue fared better than Unity as Ubisoft ended up giving away the game's first DLC pack for free as an apology for the various issues that plagued it when it launched.
How 343 is Changing Halo 5 After the Beta
343 Industries has shared several statistics following its recent Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta, as well as several changes it plans to make to its shooter based on user feedback.
About 1 million people played 20 million matches throughout the beta's three-week duration. Spartans killed each other over 180 million times, and the most popular power weapon was the sniper rifle. For more stats, check out the infographic below.
Inside the Mind of Bloodborne and Dark Souls’ Creator
Hidetaka Miyazaki is one of the most influential game directors of the last generation, but he’ll never tell you that. Director on Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, and Bloodborne, he helped put From Software on the AAA developer map by creating beautiful, punishing, and incredibly rewarding games that remind us what it was like to sit in front of our NES’ and chip away at the classics.
During our IGN First trip to Tokyo for Bloodborne, we spent a day at From Software and sat down with Miyazaki himself. Our discussion traveled from Bloodborne’s inception, to the rise of speed runs and streaming, and even to which games he’s looking forward to in 2015. Sit back and relax, this one’s a doozy.
PS4, Xbox One Get 6-Player Dark Souls 2
There's an ogre standing in the stream. It really shouldn't be. This stream – which leads into the Forest of Fallen Giants – is one of Dark Souls II's starting areas, and it's where a lot of players get their first real taste of action. I've died here often enough to know exactly who shows up here and when, and this huge, waddling blob is not on the list. Its presence is throwing me off, and that's the point.
Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin is more than just a "Game of the Year" edition or a new-gen remake, and while it features better graphics and all three DLC installments, it's not content to simply rehash last year's game. Instead, the new-gen version of Scholar of the First Sin reshuffles Dark Souls II from top to bottom, meaning that familiar monsters and items won't appear where you remember them (although they will on the PS3/360 versions, which include the DLC and patches, but otherwise are unchanged).