One Of Gen Con’s Biggest Hits Was A Board Game About Photosynthesis

Before last weekend’s Indianapolis tabletop gaming convention Gen Con, I was skimming lists of the weekend’s most anticipated games and seeing the same-old, same-old: a feudal Japan card game, a fantasy role-playing campaign—but a ubiquitous outlier kept catching my eye: Photosynthesis, a game about growing trees. Halfway through Gen Con’s first day, attendees had greedily…

Microsoft Again Stretches Definition Of ‘Exclusive’

One of the most annoying trends in video games is the word “exclusive,” which perhaps once meant “limited” or “restricted” but now, thanks to Microsoft and Sony, means absolutely nothing. Today’s big exclusive is PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. Which probably isn’t an exclusive. At the Xbox showcase during E3 in June, Microsoft announced that the popular battle…

NFL Signs On To Co-Organize, Overhaul Madden 18 Championships

Today, Electronic Arts and the NFL announced the launch of the Madden NFL Club Championship, an esports event that involves all 32 of the NFL’s teams. The competition, which will be part of this year’s Madden NFL Championship Series, starts on August 22, which is the game’s preorder release day. Starting today, would-be competitors can…

PlayStation Classic Fear Effect Gets A Modern Makeover

Following last year’s successful Kickstarter campaign for Fear Effect Sedna, French studio Sushee’s next project is a complete remake of the 2000 original. Fear Effect Reinvented is coming to PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC next year. The original Fear Effect is a 2000 PlayStation game by now-defunct Kronos Digital Entertainment, in which a trio…

Final Fantasy XV Comes To PC Next Year

Final Fantasy XV, a video game about male friendship and good hair, will come to PC in early 2018. The fifteenth mainline Final Fantasy, which came out in November 2016, was previously only available on PS4 and Xbox One. This version, which publisher Square Enix is calling Final Fantasy XV: Windows Edition (lol), will be…

The Surprising Ways Tokyo Has Changed In The Last 10 Years

When photos of Tokyo taken, for example, in the 1950s are compared with recent ones, it’s easy to see how much the city has changed. But what about in the last decade? In 2007, writer Tatsuo Mitsuchitook photos at various spots throughout the city. Then he returned to those same places this year and once…

The New Anime Godzilla Has An Old, Dumb Face 

In the trailer for the upcoming Godzilla anime, we don’t get a good look at the titular monster’s mug. An official statue to promote the movie has gone on display in Japan, finally providing a real-life look at the anime version. Damn, does this Godzilla look old and melty. Godzilla: Kaiju Wakusei (Godzilla: Monster Planet)…

The HTC Vive is now $599, receiving its first official price drop since the virtual reality headset launched last year at $799. That puts the Vive at $100 more than the Rift/Touch combo, though the latter is current on sale for a limited time for $399. (Updated with latest Rift pricing)

Pikachu’s Vagina Bounce House Makes Anime Cameo 

Way back in 2000s, a photo surfaced of a Pikachu bouncy house with an entrance at the character’s crotch. It would go on to spawn a “Pikachu’s Vagina” meme. That bounce house recently made a cameo in the latest Pokémon Sun Moon anime episode. Via FunnyJunk: The meme didn’t explicitly get a mention in the…

At Senso Temple. Tokyo, Japan. By Scott Bartley. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Skyrim Ported To Expensive Art Prints

Art dealer Cook & Becker (who put out that Sonic book we looked at on Monday) have something else to show this week: a series of quality art prints featuring concept art from Skyrim Most of the pieces chosen are by senior concept artist Ray Lederer, and come hand-signed and numbered, though there are also…

Dang, This Is Some Good Metal Gear Cosplay

Here’s Norwegian cosplayer CryoCanine with one heck of a Skull Sniper (from Metal Gear Solid V) cosplay. She’s actually been wearing the outfit for a few years now, but as with many other cosplay costumes that are good enough to keep around, CryoCanine has continually been improving it, to the point where she now may…

Look At This Official Minecraft-Themed Xbox One

Over the next two months Microsoft will be releasing some very Minecraft-themed pieces of hardware: an Xbox One S and two controllers. They have gone all in on the branding, to surprisingly excellent effect. The console itself (out on October 3) looks like some Minecraft terrain from the top, and is easily the best of…

PlayStation’s Twitter, Facebook Accounts Briefly Hacked [Update]

PlayStation had its Twitter and Facebook accounts compromised earlier today. The group OurMine appears to have been behind it, the same team that gained access to HBO and Game of Thrones’ social media accounts a few days ago. They had enough time to send out a few tweets and Facebook messages before being locked out.…

The Week In Games: Standalone DLC

What a time to be alive! People want more Uncharted and Naughty Dog didn’t have to go and create an entirely new game to deliver it. Why are we even calling The Lost Legacy DLC? After all, what’s standalone DLC if not, well, a game? It even comes on a disc in a box. And…

Overwatch Pros Melt Before The Zarya-Doomfist Double-Ult

The Zarya-Doomfist combination, sometimes referred to as a “gravfist,” is a simple but effective one-two punch. It’s brutal in public games, but seeing it land in a professional Overwatch match is spectacular. Zarya starts it off with her Graviton Surge, which launches a gravity bomb, sucking opponents into one confined area. Then Doomfist launches into…

Microsoft Announces ‘Project Scorpio’ Edition Xbox One X 

Xbox One X will have a limted “Project Scorpio” edition available when it launches this fall Microsoft announced today at its pre-Gamescom briefing. What’s so special about the $500 Scorpio edition, which leaked last Friday, you might ask? Well there’s the box which was made to resemble the original Xbox and also has the name…