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Online for the arcade version of Pokkén Tournament is ending in Japan. The game launched in 2015 and online for arcades will cease from March 25. Shame about arcade online play, but the game is very good on the Switch 

Here’s Towers, A Game About A Big World With Big Animals

This is Towers, a prototype/demo made by a small team of developers, including some of the same folks behind Hawken. It looks a lot like Ico cosplaying as Monster Hunter Here’s a trailer, which the team say is 100% in-game and being controlled by human players (well, the people are being controlled, the monsters are…

Hearts Of Iron IV’s New Expansion Doesn’t Really Make A Splash

I really enjoyed grand strategy game Hearts of Iron IV at release, but one thing that sucked was the way navies worked, which was boring and not fun and made using some of the game’s biggest powers a massive pain in the ass. HOIIV’s latest expansion, Man The Guns, is an attempt to fix that.…

If you happen to be at GDC, I’m giving a talk tonight. I will be giving a small breakdown of idle animations at the Animation Bootcamp: Animation Microtalks. Folks from places like Blizzard and Bioware are speaking as well. At 5:30pm, in West Hall room 2010. Hope to see you there!

Ocarina Of Time Is Now Playable In Co-Op

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time is one of the quintessential singleplayer video game experiences. But now, thanks to the work of some modders, it can also be played with another Link there to fight alongside you. Beginning development last year, OoT Online is an effort by a small team of fans to transform…

Here’s What We’re Hearing About Google’s Plans For Gaming

Tomorrow, the tech giant Google will reveal its newest plans for entering the video game world. What we’re hearing suggests that the main focus isn’t on a console, as has been speculated, but instead a streaming platform with all sorts of bells and whistles. And a fancy new controller that you can use to play…

In case you missed me shooting for that loot in Captain Toad Treasure Tracker’s new Special Episode DLC, here’s the YouTube archive. Follow us on Twitch for daily streams

Laura Hall shares an insightful quote about puzzles in her standing room only GDC talk about escape room narrative design. 

Players Debate Whether Red Dead Redemption 2‘s New Patches Downgraded The Game’s Graphics

Post-launch updates are supposed to make a game better, but some players now believe Red Dead Redemption 2’s graphics have been slightly downgraded following the release of the most recent patch. They have been sharing before and after screenshots to try and prove it. Rockstar Games released Title Update 1.06 on February 26. It introduced…

BadLand Gaming has responded to the accusations that it’s refused to pay Tom Happ, creator of Axiom Verge, the money it owes him as part of a publishing deal, claiming instead that it has always tried to negotiate a repayment plan. Happ and business manager Dan Adelman dispute that characterization. 

Smash Bros. Player Leaves Pivotal Tournament Match After Getting Frustrated With Audience Member

During Smash regional Collision 2019 in New Jersey last weekend, a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate match came to a halt when one of the competitors got annoyed with the gathered audience and walked offstage. This left tournament organizers reeling for over an hour as they tried to come to a solution for both players. By…

Massively multiplayer online fantasy role-playing game EverQuest turned 20 years old over the weekend, and it’s still going strong. Daybreak Games celebrates the milestone with a pair of new progression servers, special in-game events and a 50 percent experience point bonus through March. Ding! 

Here’s a fun thing to do at GDC: You can play an interactive detective story, presented as a radio drama, by clicking the dial of an old-timey radio. You can also play a beta of The Klaxo Radio Hour on your PC. It should eventually come to iOS and Android.

It’s hard to miss this massive, nearly empty Google booth here at GDC in San Francisco. Monitors promise that “all will be revealed” at its keynote tomorrow at 10 a.m.  Presumably these kiosks will then be filled with its game device. 

StarTropics On Switch Is Missing The Clue You Need To Beat The Game

Last week, Nintendo added the cult-classic 1990 NES game StarTropics to the Switch Online library. There’s just one problem: it doesn’t contain the secret clue necessary to actually beat the game. StarTropics follows a young boy named Mike Jones as he searches a mysterious island for his researcher uncle who’s gone missing. In the process…

At his GDC panel on God of War’s animation, Sony Santa Monica Animation Director Bruno Velasquez revealed one scene in God of War where the mo-cap was handled by the animation team: when Kratos beats up that freaky monkey-ogre. Looks at those happy animators!

Free to play battle royale The Culling will take its servers offline on May 15, the developers announced today. They wrote that “The Culling’s offline modes will remain available after that date, online play and associated features will not. To that end, the game’s store pages and in-app purchases will be disabled as soon as…

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Won’t Be Part Of Xbox Play Anywhere

343 Industries studio head Bonnie Ross confirmed yesterday during the Halo Championship Series Invitational at South By Southwest that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will not be part of the Xbox Play Anywhere program which makes Xbox One games cross-buy and cross-play on PC. Those who already own it on console will have to buy…

Apex Legends’ first season, “Wild Frontier,” launches tomorrow at 1pm Eastern. The Battle Pass will cost 950 Apex Coins, or 2800 coins to unlock the first 25 levels. Rewards include character and weapon skins, trackers, quips, and Apex packs. There’s also a new Legend, Octane, and free rewards for those who choose not to purchase…

No One Won Last Night’s HQ Trivia, But You Might Have Had A Shot

Last night’s winner-takes-all HQ Trivia game ended without someone taking home the $10,000 prize, because a Nintendo question stumped everyone. HQ Trivia is basically a bar trivia app you play on your phone. Twice daily there will be trivia games live broadcast through the app, with a cash prize for whoever wins. Usually, games of…