News:: GameStop is taking limited pre-orders on that pricey Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

GameStop already ran out of their initial Nintendo Switch and Zelda: Breath of the Wild special edition allotment, but you'll have another crack at something Switch related today -- the polarizing Switch Pro Controller. It's $70, but based on hands-on impressions so far, seems almost essential for a lot of retro-type games that require precision inputs when the Joy-Con won't cut it.

If you want the Switch Pro Controller, you can snag a pre-order atGameStop in-store today in limited amounts. It's sold out entirely online already, but many stores in my area had anywhere from five to nine available for pre-order -- at my local shop, I was the second person to pre-order out of eight controllers an hour after it opened.

That doesn't sound too bad, but it sold out everywhere in under 30 minutes online, so odds are your chance will be completely obliterated after today.

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News:: Friday Night Fights: Once more unto the breach

I have played a lot of different multiplayer shooters over the years. I started out with F.E.A.R., Gears of War and Halo 3, but I don't think any of them had me coming back as much as Overwatch has. That's all thanks to constant developer updates such as new characters, maps, balance changes and events.

After I reached my diamond status last month, followed by a losing streak, I put the game down. Well, it looks like it is time to start opening loot boxes again, thanks to a new event.

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News:: Here's tons of pictures of Japanese Nintendo Switch cases

I know a lot of folks care about cases sizes and the like, especially collectors. It's nice knowing roughly how much space something is going to take up, and it seems like the Nintendo Switch physical copies are actually smaller than PSP cases.

Content creator Gaijinhunter got their hands (literally) on some Switch boxes over at a Japanese retailer, and as you can clearly see, they're small, but sexy. Most of them have really poppy art, and astute folks will notice that the back indicates how many controllers you need, as well as if the game supports TV/docked and tablet play.

Some games like Puyo Puyo Tetris even take it a step further, and showcase options like four-player TV support, or two player tablet play.

Gaijinhunter [Twitter]

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News:: It's time Heroes of the Storm took another look at Brawls

Heroes of the Storm's "Brawls" were a good idea when they were originally pitched months ago.

Providing something akin to what League of Legends had with Dominion (a now defunct arena-type game), or better yet, Blizzard's own "Brawls" with Overwatch and Hearthstone, the concept was to spend your time in an alternative "one week only" mode that was simplistic and not focused on typical MOBA conventions.

But with the debut of this week's Brawl, it's very clear that the entire gametype needs to be looked at or overhauled.

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News:: Kojima Productions' new studio has one hell of a hallway

Kojima Productions has shared photos of its new studio in Tokyo, and regardless of how you feel about Death Stranding, I hope you can join me in geeking out over the creative space. I live for this stuff!

For instance, take this hallway. It is out of control.

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News:: This amazing maniac has a complete Wii collection

I didn't know what I was in for when I clicked a thread called "So I completed a Wii set" on the NintendoAge forums. Somehow, user NintendoTwizer managed to fully complete a Wii collection -- yes, I mean he has every game ever made on the Wii, which is 1262 games in all. The only thing Twizer doesn't include are variants, demos, 2-packs, and the Netflix disc, which is more than fair. Although one game was released in 2016 (Just Dance 2017), they're fairly certain that will be it.

Delineating further into the post you'll get some really interesting factoids, like why it's a great time to start a Wii collection, and the actual rarity of some of these games, culminating in a top 40. As our own Jonathan Holmes points out the Wii is now 10 years old, and a lot of folks are even starting to get nostalgic for it.

As a collector myself, I love how that full collection is displayed on that giant bookcase, with all 12 first-party Wiimotes and the four console variants (I forgot they made it in red!).

So I completed a Wii set [Nintendo Age]

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News:: Classic puzzle adventure 'Myst' comes to Android

Myst needs little introduction. The puzzle adventure game was a smash hit when it originally released on the Macintosh in 1993. Now, it's available on Android too. The latest port, developed by mobile studio Noodlecake, is called realMyst and features a bunch of improvements, including "dynamic environments," a built in hint guide and "bookmarks" for saving and restoring your progress. You will, of course, have to put up with touchscreen controls, or hook up a Bluetooth gamepad for some analog stick action. Otherwise, it's classic Myst, with the iconic island and devious puzzles faithfully restored. Can you remember all of the solutions?

Via: The Verge

Source: realMyst (Android)

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News:: The Morning After: Friday, January 27 2017

Welcome to Friday! In the last 24 hours you might have missed Pokemon cheaters getting punished, even more Facebook security if you need it, and for some reason, the first ever viable human-pig embryo.

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News:: Resident Evil 7 has shipped 2.5 million copies

Resident Evil 7 is one of those games I hope does well enough commercially to encourage more of its kind. Like Zack, I'm pretty much head over heels here. Playing in VR, this has been one of my most memorable gaming experiences in quite some time (the Bakers are shockingly good!), and I'm planning at least a few more playthroughs while I anxiously wait for that DLC to start pouring in.

We don't have sales numbers for the game yet, but Capcom is reporting a few early figures. To date, it has shipped 2.5 million copies of Resident Evil 7. That's by no means record-setting, but it is a promising start to the company's goal of 4 million sales by March 31 (the end of its fiscal year). One record was broken for the series, however: demo downloads. The RE7 demo drew in 7.15 million downloads.

Capcom also updated its cumulative sales figure for the overall Resident Evil series. As of now, that number is reportedly a staggering 75 million sales. That's a lot of herbs!

I'll be extra curious to see how well RE7 sustains sales and stacks up to its action-heavy predecessors longer-term. I suspect it's only just getting started as word of mouth continues to grow.

RESIDENT EVIL 7 biohazard Ships Over 2.5 Million Worldwide! [Capcom]

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News:: Locomalito's next remaster is shoot-'em-up Super Hydorah

It's been a while since we've spoken about Locomalito, but some of you surely know the cherished freeware developer for its familiar but fresh-feeling games like Maldita Castilla (a veritable must-play for Ghosts 'n Goblins fans) and The Curse of Issyos (which is foolishly still on my backlog).

Following its remaster of Maldita Castilla as Cursed Castilla for PC and consoles last year, Locomalito and Abylight are now planning to give the branching-path shoot-'em-up Hydorah a similar treatment with Super Hydorah. It's another good'un! The developer calls the game a "true son" of the classics Gradius, R-Type, and Darius, and it would've been my next pick as a candidate for re-release.

Super Hydorah doesn't have its platforms or release date down yet, but it should at least hit PC.

Super Hydorah announced: save the universe in the most intense shoot'em up! [Abylight]

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News:: NVIDIA updates older Shield TVs for HDR streaming

Remember when we told you the old NVIDIA Shield TV would be getting the new units smarts via firmware update? It's rolling out now as part of an over-the-air patch, TechCrunch has noticed. That means 4K HDR streaming from Netflix and Amazon Prime, and GeForce Now game streaming. Of course, to take advantage of the latter, you'll need to pony up for a new game controller. But hey, $60 is a lot cheaper than $200 for the new streaming device itself. Or, maybe skip that altogether considering how much the service costs -- $25 for 10 hours of GTX 1080-class play.

Source: TechCrunch

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News:: QuakeCon 2017 is all set for August 24

QuakeCon will return from August 24 through August 27, 2017, ZeniMax has announced.

This year, the event is going to be held at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, TX, with the usual showcase of new games (remember Quake Champions?), competitive play, and a couple thousand seats reserved for bring-your-own-computer lan-party shenanigans.

The event is free for general admittance, and Bethesda is coyly promising that attendees will be among the "first to see sneak peeks of [its] upcoming titles and announcements." A proper Doom single-player expansion, please. I need it. You need it. The whole word needs it. Let's go already!

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News:: This is probably the first Nintendo Switch tattoo

It might be a tad preemptive considering the Nintendo Switch is still over a month out, but someone went and got a tattoo of the system's logo. Scwinsett shared his fresh ink over on reddit, noting, "Possibly a terrible decision, but hopefully the first in the world!" First we've seen, anyway!

This isn't just a one-off, either. "It's actually the first in a series of Nintendo logos I'm doing so it's more about Nintendo's history than it is about the Switch in particular," he explained. "Even if the switch is a total stupid piece of shit, I still love Nintendo, and it's still part of Nintendo's history. Also we intentionally only used red so that we could easily cover it up later with something else."

That reasoning checks out with me. More importantly, though, "The wife seems to like it."

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News:: Humble Bundle is offering John Wick: Chapter 2 tickets alongside Payday 2

I know Humble Bundle has offered things like books in the past, but I don't believe I've ever seen them pre-selling tickets to an upcoming film. There is a first time for everything, though. Humble, alongside Starbreeze Studios, is giving us the John Wick bundle that includes the first film alongside two tickets to the upcoming sequel.

For the cheapest tier, you'll receive Payday 2 and some small DLC, including a John Wick-inspired gun pack (because nothing screams John Wick like bank heists...). For $6 you'll get the "Game of the Year" edition of Payday 2 and some mask DLC (plus the previous tier). $14 sees them throwing in Dead By Daylight, $25 gets you a pre-order for the John Wick Chronicles VR game, and $45 nets you the first film and the tickets for the new one (it should be noted that tickets are limited to the first 5,000 purchases and are for AMC or Regal theaters only).

Now, I'm not going to totally crap on John Wick as it was a decent film. The action was shot pretty well and I really liked how regular action movie tropes were thrown out the window. Sadly, the main villain then succumbs to stupid syndrome and begins complaining about how no one can kill John, despite having the guy knocked out right in front of him. I suppose there just has to be a totally contrived and thrown-together finale in every film.

Still, $45 seems a bit insane for three games (one of which isn't even out yet) and a movie. I mean, you can get the 4K Blu-ray of the first film for $15 on Amazon and Dead By Daylight routinely goes on sale for cheap. I've heard Payday 2 isn't worth a damn anymore, but with Starbreeze handling the game, maybe everything has changed. Still, I know I've seen the "Game of the Year" version for $5 during a Steam sale.

Supporting charity is always a nice thing, so maybe I'm just being too frugal about this. Well, if you feel like biting the bullet, you only have a few more days to get a shot at this deal. If you don't feel like going through Humble Bundle, pre-ordering the John Wick Chronicles game on Steam will net you Payday 2 and the John Wick DLC for a short time.

Humble Starbreeze Studios Bundle Presents John Wick [Humble Bundle]

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News:: Hideo Kojima reflects on time with Konami, promises unique experiences for the future

It is well known that the mastermind behind the Metal Gear franchise had originally wanted to make movies. Instead, Hideo Kojima got caught up in the new form of media we have come to know as video games, bringing his love of film with him. Free of Konami's reigns, he wants to not only blend the different media further, but continue to create brand new experiences.

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News:: 'Overwatch' boasts over 25 million players

Last we'd heard, online shooter Overwatch had 15 million players. A little over three months later, and that number's gone up by quite a bit. Developer Blizzard has just announced that the current count has crossed 25 million across PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It's pretty impressive and given all the moves Blizzard has made (announcing an eSports incubator, frequent seasonal events and doling out additional characters for free) perhaps it isn't surprising that the number of players is growing. Now, if some of them would actually help move the payload we'd really be in business.

Source: Play Overwatch (Twitter)

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News:: Comments of the Week 06: Down But Not Out

See, what did I tell you? The week started off with the cancellation of Scalebound and ended with Switch pre-order madness. 2017 has officially begun!

Also, my old MacBook decided to stop charging in the middle of the week which means I have to work from this Chromebook now. Needless to say, this recap is going to be a little bit... different because of it. More quickposts, less threaded conversations, and one weird header. Let's do this!

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News:: Nintendo: Play Switch while you poop

Now that's just silly. But yes, it's real. Nintendo's latest German trailer for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe shows off various locations you can take your Switch to play on the go. Take it to class and hope you don't get caught (hey at least there's no more chance of awkwardly StreetPassing your teacher now!), or make use of its port-ability in a porta potty.

I can't read German but I'm sure there must be a disclaimer saying you can't sue Nintendo for losing feeling in your rump for sitting there too long. I recommend leaving the Joy-Con attached to the console, lest they go "Splatoon" and send you on your very own odyssey.

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News:: Review: The Descendant

_{[Disclosure: I went to university with The Descendant's lead writer, Giles Armstrong - same film course, same graduating year - though I haven't spoken to him in over a decade. He did not request me to review this game (it was the Swedish developer, Gaming Corps) nor have I reached out to him in any way.]}

Sometimes, there are games that just slip under our radar at Destructoid. We get so many requests, through so many channels, that we end up with a virtual slush pile. There have been many times when I have to spring clean and find something that should've caught my eye the first time around.

The Descendant looked to be one of those lost games. What with the final episode getting a release quite recently, I thought it best to play catch up and give the whole season a fair shake, spurred on by my left-field plight and a surprise name not heard in years. But was it really worth dragging out of the slush pile, or better to be left buried instead?

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News:: Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown slated for PC, PS4, and Xbox One

There was talk of Ace Combat 7 potentially making an appearance on Xbox One, but it gets even better! This year's title, now subtitled "Skies Unknown," has been confirmed for both Xbox One and PC in addition to the previously announced PlayStation 4 version with PlayStation VR compatibility.

If you're invested in the series' ongoing story or are otherwise just curious about the game's plot after this dialogue-heavy trailer, it's worth pointing out that Sunao Katabuchi (of Kiki's Delivery Service fame) is back as lead writer on Ace Combat 7 following his involvement with Ace Combat 4 and 5.

I'm down to fly some badass warplanes in virtual reality, so this checks off that box and then some.

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