Originally Posted by Seph (Post 5364185)

I mean I get why Spiderman is exclusive. Sony owns the rights to the character for movies and games and has for about 20 years or so. They have a licensing deal with Marvel to allow them to use the character in their movies/games.

Originally Posted by Seph (Post 5364198)

If you are looking to get a PS5 at launch you may want to watch that presser tomorrow afternoon btw. Have a feeling they are going to announce preorders and pricing tomorrow and you will prob have to be quick to snatch one up before all the asshole reseller bots lock a ton of them down.

Originally Posted by Emperor Smeat (Post 5364290)

* For those interested, Nintendo announced a Switch port of Pikmin 3 is currently in development and arrives on October 30th. To celebrate the announcement, Nintendo decided to delist Pikmin 3 from the Wii U's eShop.
https://www.destructoid.com/stories/...h-599713.phtml

Originally Posted by Destructoid

According to recent online reports, Square Enix's upcoming comic book adventure Marvel's Avengers will feature timed exclusive content tied to customers of specific internet media providers such as Verizon, Virgin Media, and Intel.

The content was first spotted by Redditor Smoove4254, before finding its way to Twitter via Avengers news-hound @PlayAvenger. The leaks suggest that Marvel's Avengers will be offering exclusive skins, gear, emotes, nameplates and other cosmetic items to users of the aforementioned network providers. Further reports reveal that chewing gum company 5Gum will also be offering its customers in-game items - for example an emote for Ms. Marvel that sees her... chewing gum, obviously.

It should be noted that all of the above is yet to be officially announced by Square Enix. Verizon had previously confirmed, however, that it would be offering in-game content on a "timed exclusivity" basis, so it would at least seem that these extra items will be made available to all players at a later date.

Originally Posted by Destructoid

During a recent investor Q&A session, Capcom was asked about its intended approach to pricing future games. "We do not have a set policy at this time," Capcom said. "We will consider our approach having analyzed both our strengths and weaknesses while closely monitoring industry trends."

Capcom's response is aligned with the timidity most major publishers are showing on this topic. Nearly everyone falls into the "monitoring industry trends" camp publicly, unwilling to follow Take-Two's lead and become the second face of rising consumer costs. Ubisoft, however, has committed to a $60 price tag -- at least for this holiday season.

Originally Posted by Destructoid

[Update: Epic immediately sued Apple. Shortly after Fortnite was pulled from the App Store, Epic filed a 62-page lawsuit for injunctive relief. The Complaint alleges violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the California Cartwright Act, and the California Unfair Competition Law. The lawsuit was clearly drafted well in advance, as Epic obviously anticipated Apple removing Fortnite ...

Fortnite's V-Bucks just got a little cheaper across the board. Epic has permanently discounted the Fortnite currency by 20 percent. Previously, $1 used to get you 100 V-Bucks; now you get the same amount for 80 cents.

The impetus behind this price reduction seems like it's driven entirely by Epic's need to throw a giant "Fuck You" at Apple and Google. Apple's App Store and Google's Play Store's policies have long been in Epic founder Tim Sweeney's crosshairs, as he takes issue with the revenue splits they take. They'll demand up to 30 percent of revenue just for processing payments and being included inside those mobile ecosystems.

Today, Epic launched its own direct payment system on mobile versions of Fortnite and it's awfully compelling to any prospective V-Bucks buyer ...

Anyone who opts for paying Epic directly will see that 20 percent savings; anyone who doesn't is paying more than the new permanent price. The choice is pretty obvious.

Epic has dragged Apple and Google into a high-risk game of chicken, seeing if the tech giants will delist the world's most popular video game for running afoul of their store rules. There are even higher stakes than just Fortnite, as Apple is under fire in both the United States and European Union for possible antitrust violations. Slapping down Fortnite might just bolster the argument for regulatory agencies that Apple is engaged in anti-competitive business practices.

It worked. Apple has removed Fortnite from the App Store. In a statement to The Verge, Apple says its hand was forced by Epic because of "express intent of violating the App Store guidelines regarding in-app payments that apply to every developer who sells digital goods or services." Apple adds that it's willing to work with Epic to resolve these issues, but it's not making a special exception for Epic.

What happens next will be fascinating. Sweeney and Epic don't even want special exception. They have a fundamental problem with the forced revenue splits from Apple and Google. They want unilateral reform. That's especially true in the case of Apple, where Sweeney is particularly frustrated by the "closed ecosystem" approach.

This is all a stunt to make Apple and Google look bad. Not many companies would be willing to sacrifice its cash cow to make that statement. For now, Fortnite can't be found on iOS devices. That's exactly the outcome Epic wanted.

Originally Posted by NintendoLife

Following on from an Amazon UK listing for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered yesterday, a page for a Switch version of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword has now been discovered.

Although there's no launch date on display in the image below, in the description underneath this section of the listing there appears to be a placeholder release date of "1 Jan. 2030" - you can also apparently pre-order the game for £69.99.
Amazon Zelda: Skyward Sword - Nintendo Life IMG© Amazon / Nintendo Life

Surprisingly, this isn't the first time we've heard about Skyward Sword taking flight on the Switch. Back in November 2018, there was a rumour about it, and not long after this, a Nintendo representative shot it down.

As pointed out by Nintendo Life contributor, Chris Scullion, next year is The Legend of Zelda's 35th anniversary. Earlier this week trademarks supposedly tied to the Zelda series also appeared online.

Originally Posted by Destructoid

A new verified Twitter account has popped up with the handle @r3dakt3d. The bio for this edgy l33t-speak account reads #DCFanDome. It only follows two accounts, WB Games (the publisher) and WB Montreal (the developer). It has a URL with the same "r3dakt3d" branding. This site simply says "We have been expecting you. 8 [August] / 18" ...

All of these r3dakt3d developments are perfectly aligned with the rumors that have run rampant for months now. WB Montreal is making Gotham Knights, which is a game based on the extended Batman family. It's expected that there will be more playable characters than just Batman. The likes of Robin, Batwoman, and Nightwing are all said to support the Caped Crusader.

Assuming Gotham Knights is getting a proper reveal tomorrow, that'll be two in less than a week for WB. Gotham Knights will be announced and then elaborated upon at DC FanDome on Saturday, August 22; Rocksteady's Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be revealed later on August 22 at FanDome. Lots of crime-busting and crime-propagating coming from DC soon.

Originally Posted by Destructoid

"We will use information related to your use of Oculus and Facebook for purposes such as showing you personalized content, including ads, across Facebook products. This could include recommendations for Oculus Events you might like, ads about Facebook apps and technologies, or ads from developers for their VR apps."

Originally Posted by Extreme Angle (Post 5367644)

Hey Kalyx, what were your thoughts on the Halo Infinite demo?
Just listened to this and is has me hyped:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mBvWZjoW06k" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD (Post 5367738)

I'm not a bitch about the visuals like everybody seems to be, overall I like the classical aesthetics even if Halo's trademark geometry looks a tad dated in 2020. People just forget that those basic looking ramps and staged encounter areas are cery important to how Halo plays, which H5 learned the hard way. Anyway:

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD (Post 5367738)

- That grapple hook is god awful. Does not belong at all.

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD (Post 5367738)

- Either sprint is in or out, don't have it be this sluggish jog trying to make everyone happy you just piss everyone off. OG Halo fans, our demographic, needs to realize you're not getting kids to play a shooter with no sprint. Unless you're prepared for cult success rather than mega success. And we know which one Microsoft wants for Halo.

Originally Posted by Kalyx triaD (Post 5367738)

I don't really play Halo for story anymore after H4 and H5's back to back character assassination spree so I'm displeased that the delay certainly means I won't see multiplayer for another year maybe.