‘Many consumers became interested in Nintendo Switch’ Animal Crossinghas been a powerhouse for Nintendo. Although there were several marketing lead-ins for it, I don’t think a lot of people expected it to bethat big, but with current world events, it kind of lead to a perfect storm for the life simulator. Nintendo is exceedingly proud of it, andit’s about to become the best-selling Switch game of all time in just under a year....

What dark mechromancy is this? Free-to-play mech shooterHawkenmay have a new lease on life with the announcement that it has been acquired by Reloaded Games, the publisher behindAPB: Reloaded. “Hawkenis here to stay” says Joshua Clausten, the game’s new producer, onHawken‘s officialFacebook page revealing the acquisition. He also outlined a checklist of goals the new team will be working on, mostly concentrating on bug fixes and stability issues in the immediate future with additional updates to come....

You’ll need an HTC Vive to play If you’re still feeling drowsy, I can personally confirm that this trailer will wake you the hell up. It’s forSerious Sam VR: The Last Hope, which arrived on Steam Early Access today with current support for HTC Vive (and eventual support for Oculus Rift,once the Touch controllers are out). As previously touched on, Croteam is looking to get this through Early Access in around six months or so depending on how player feedback shapes development....

Wonder how much dialog there will be Mamadirector Andrés Muschietti has been tapped forShadow of the Colossusnow that previous director Josh Trank (Chronicle) is busy withFantastic FourandStar Wars, reportsDeadline. We’ve had years to warm up to the idea of a film adaptation but I’m still struggling to see howShadow of the Colossus, arguably thebest videogameof the 2000s, will work outside of its original medium. Every bit of news surrounding the project is just a reminder that “Right, this exists....

So wait until then After the reception to the sometimes overly dark (torture?)Sonic Forces, I hope Sonic Team is ready to course correct. But we won’t truly know until 2021, which is when the developer says Sonic is making his next big splash. Speaking to Game Informer at E3, Sonic Team boss Takashi Iizuka explained again that 2021 is “the next big year forSonic,” and that they are “preparing” for it already....

Call it an E3peat After admitting it hasnothing worthwhile to show for the rest of 2015, Sony today confirmed rumors it will be remastering its 2010 press conference for this year’s E3. Called “Sony 2010 Press Conference: The DE3finitive Edition,” the remaster will allow Sony to revisit a time when it actually made new games for people to get excited about. “Do you remember 2010? God that was a great year for us,” reminisced Sony Computer Entertainment President Andrew House during the announcement....

GOTY 2013, if you don’t mention The Last of Us to me State of Decaywas one of thosepleasant surprisesback in 2013. Sure, the sandbox/RPG-lite horror game was alittlerough, but it was an intense experience full of free flow situations, base building, and likable survivors. Undead Labs was also keen to hear fan feedback, refining its ideas with each patch, and eventually producing the excellentState of Decay: Lifeline. Since then, it has sold over a million copies on both Xbox and PC....

All the secrets have been ruined Recently on a stream called Vinesauce, Edmund McMillen and Tyrone Rodriguez, the original creator ofThe Binding of Isaacand the guy who lead theRebirthproject respectively talked about datamining. In short, most of the secrets ofRebirth, stuff that would take months or even years to find, were ruined within one week by dataminers who posted all of the information readily online. Edmund voices his frustrations, stating, “It’s disheartening....

‘PC version will always be at the heart of our plans’ Metro Exodushas been ripe with controversy over the last few days. Fromditching Steamto THQ Nordic saying the decision wasentirely Koch Media’s call, fans have had a lot to unpack over the weekend. It didn’t help when early Sunday, a supposed developer from 4A Games took to aRussian forumand stated something along the lines of the series would leave PC if fans continued to boycott it....

A blinding look at Zavod 311 Battlefield 4will start off with 10 multiplayer maps, each of which is playable acrossall seven modes. One of them, Zavod 311, takes place in and around an abandoned Soviet tank factory. It’s playable at the Eurogamer Expo and has an active warhead that can be set off by destroying the factor’s chimney — that’s going to happen literally every time, I’m sure. I’ll admit, 10 maps doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but I’ve always preferred quality to quantity....

Modern masterpiece or big gay shark jumper Chuck Tingle, the Hugo-nominated author of such contemporary classics asBigfoot Sommelier Butt Tasting,Anally Yours, the Unicorn Sailor, andPokebutt Go: Pounded by ‘Em Allis making a dating game. I know what you’re thinking, “What?! Chuck Tingle, who was once legitimately nominated for a Hugo award forSpace Raptor Butt Invasion, is making a video game?” Yes, that is correct. Chuck Tingle, who again, I cannot stress enough, was once up for the same award won byI Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, is making an FMV-dating-adventure game set in the Tingleverse,which is like the Dark Universe only less gay....

I didn’t much care forTony Hawk: Ride. Other critics appear to agree, with the game’sMetacriticscore hovering just under 50 out of 100. Tony Hawk, who worked with Robomodo and Activision every step of the way to bring the game to life, isn’t please with the reaction. “Most snarky critics had their minds set before ever seeing/playing the game,” he wrote on hisTwitter account. “I’m proud of what we created,” he added....

Crowdfunded console woes continue The still-unreleased Atari VCS console continues to hit new hurdles en route to realisation. Back in October,consultancy firm Tin Giant resigned from project development, citing six months’ worth of unpaid invoices. Now it seems that the company is taking matters further by filing suit against Atari. Tin Giant head Rob Wyatt, former Atari VCS Project Architect, filed suit in a Colorado federal court last week, claiming breach of contract to the tune of $261,720....