The Gaming News Corner

PlayStation Classic’s 20 Games

The PlayStation Classic was announced a month ago and they have finally announced the 20 games.

Battle Arena Toshinden
Cool Boarders 2
Destruction Derby
Final Fantasy VII
Grand Theft Auto
Intelligent Qube
Jumping Flash
Metal Gear Solid
Mr Driller
Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee
Rayman
Resident Evil 1: Directors Cut
Revelations: Persona
Ridge Racer Type 4
Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo
Syphon Filter
Tekken 3
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six
Twisted Metal
Wild Arms

I was wrong about the console not having unique games. Many of them have not been re-released on PlayStation 3 or 4 such as Battle Arena Toshinden and Wild Arms. The original Persona is very difficult to acquire. While I am not interested in the console, old-school fans of the PlayStation will love it.

It will release in the US and Canada for $99.99 USD (MSRP) / $129.99 CAN (MSRP) on December 3, 2018. It’ll have two controllers and everything below.

PlayStation Classic

Pokemon Go finally has Idle Step Tracking. Adventure Sync

You know what sucks about step counters? Your phone not reading your steps while it’s idle or the application is not opened. It was especially bad with Pokemon Go. Players had to leave the Pokemon Go app open on their phone and walk to count their steps. This was draining on your phone but it was the only way for the app to count your steps to hatch Pokemon Eggs or Candies. The initial solution was for players to purchase a Pokemon Go Tracker. Now Niantic is finally adding Adventure Sync.

The application syncs in the background with iOS HealthKit and Android Google Fit. This allows players to leave the Pokemon Go app idle or even closed on your phone and helps you save battery life. It will also provide weekly rewards to players who walk or run certain kilometers. The launch will be global but the official release date is unconfirmed.

The game has been a huge success for Nintendo and Niantic. Despite its first year having technical issues, the company has been working hard to cater to fans demands. They have gradually rolled out more features and Nintendo is slowly beginning to have a grip on the mobile market. Fire Emblem Heroes, Mario Run, and Animal Crossing have scratch casual fans’ itches for a Nintendo game. Early this year, Analyst Sensor Tower reported a $1.8 billion in revenue for Pokemon Go and $400 million for Fire Emblem Heroes.

Are you playing Pokemon Go? Did you stop or did you recently get back into the game?

Sources:

Niantic

Variety

Variety – Pokemon Go Revenue

WARNING! Avoid Changing your PlayStation Network Name

Many PlayStation users have been clamoring for the ability to change their PlayStation Network (PSN) name for years. It turns out their cool name as a teenager isn’t as cool 10 years later. In Patch 6.10, it will give users the ability to change their PSN names by late November. However, if you read the fine print, there are some consequences if you happen to change your name.

Users received this message: “Not all games and applications for the PS4™, PS3™, PS Vita, and other PlayStation® systems support the Online ID change feature.”

You may lose access to content (including paid-for content) that you have acquired for your games, including content like add-ons and virtual currency.

You may lose your progress within games, including game saved data, leaderboard data and progress toward trophies.

Parts of your games and applications may not function properly, both online and offline.

Your previous Online ID(s) may remain visible to you and other players in some places.

First change is free for all users.

Second change will be charged at €9.99 / £7.99 (PlayStation®Plus subscribers receive a 50% discount).

If your previous Online ID violates any of the current Terms of Service, you will not be able to revert back to your previous Online ID.

You can revert to your previous Online ID once per account during the preview period.

Sub-Accounts cannot utilise the Change Online ID feature.

After you change your Online ID, it may take a few hours for some services and applications to reflect the new ID.

While the name changes are still in beta, users may be locked out of their own content that they acquired. This is incredibly awful for players who have paid for DLC, items, or other good purchased with real money. Your name being unchanged in front of other players also defeats the purpose of a name change. The name change would only be for yourself.

Hopefully, Sony will listen to the feedback from their fans as many users are unhappy.

does anyone actually hate their PSN ID enough to do this? pic.twitter.com/bDTymXUP9S

— 9 V O L T (@9_volt_) October 23, 2018

Amico: The Intellivision Returns!

If you don’t know what an Intellivision is, it’s probably because A) you didn’t watch The Angry Video Game Nerd or B) You weren’t born in the 1970’s. The home console was released back in 1979 and meant to compete against the Atari 2600. Tommy Tallarico promised to revive the console for the modern age. It’s called the Amico.

The Amico will be released on October 20, 2020. It will sell between $149 – $179. The games will range from $2.99 – $7.99 but the console will have built-in games. Games will be sold via through online store and are rated E for Everyone. There are games from Intellivision, Atari, Imagic, and more and they’ll be remastered to include better audio, image quality, and controls. New exclusive games from the Amico are going to be developed by people who have experience with older consoles.

The Amico will have Bluetooth controllers and people can use their phones to play with six players. Each controller will have a color touchscreen, a circular directional pad and tactile buttons along the left and right side. A gyroscope and accelerometer will allow for motion control. Polygon.

How will it Compete?

In the previous article, Tallarico stated the Amico wasn’t meant to compete against modern consoles but be a gaming console for “casual players” or for people who want an easy entry to gaming.

“We see a world where everyone is interested in playing at home and with friends, but this isn’t currently possible because the barrier to entry is nearly impossible for a non-gamer due to the complexity of the controllers, intricacy of gameplay, expense of the hardware and software and steep learning curve with an unbalanced fun factor for the beginner. Our goal was to create a console that both gamers and non-gamers are able to have fun with and play together. The Intellivision Amico is our answer to this gaping hole we see within the current video game industry” – Tommy Tallarico

I am unsure how the Amico will do. Many parents buy gaming consoles based on their children’s interest. If kids don’t know what the games are, parents may not look at the Amico either. It will also have to compete against mobile games. The mobile gaming industry is valued over a billion dollars and has ease of access. It’ll be interesting to see whether it will fill “the gaping hole” in the gaming industry.

Sources:

Polygon