The Nintendo Switch is a unique console that acts as a video game system that can seamlessly switch (pun intended) into a handheld. Some people treat it as a handheld system and rarely place it on the dock or play it on the TV. Out of 148 participants on a GameFaq forum, 17 people would play the Switch without the dock. In Japan, Nintendo has recently been selling the Switch as a standalone handheld.
The Nintendo Switch Second Set is selling at 24,980 yen which is about $250. You can charge the system with a USB-C adapter. No word on whether it will be released in the West.
Congratulations to Santa Monica Studio for their work on God of War. The game sold 3.1 million units in 3 days (April 20 – 22). First revealed two years ago, fans were excited to see a new direction for the God of War series after the first trilogy and three spin-offs. In comparison to other PlayStation 4 exclusives: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End sold 2.7 million units in seven days. Horizon Zero Dawn sold more than 2.6 million in two weeks.
Head of Santa MonicaStudio, Shannon Studstill, said
“I would like to personally thank the millions of fans around the world who decided to embark on Kratos’ latest adventure with us. Your support is truly inspiring, and it’s a reason why we push ourselves every day to go beyond the boundaries of play. I’d also like to thank our Creative Director, Cory Barlog, and Director of Product Development,Yumi Yang and our entire amazing team at Santa Monica Studio. The belief in the game’s vision and the passion for storytelling across the team is undeniable. We look forward to hearing more about how fans are creating new memories of their favorite God of War gameplay moments that will be remembered for a long time.”
God of War currently has a 94 score on Metacritic and is the highest rated game in the series. The game received assistance from developers from Guerilla Games and Naughty Dog Studios to improve the AI for Atreus, Kratos’s son (Boy). All three studios are under PlayStation.
Sony is dominating the current Console War against the Microsoft and Nintendo. The PlayStation 4 has shipped 79 million units worldwide. Sony’s sales improved by 17.8% based on their video game department and network. Its a significant jump by 2 million USD from 2016. The PS4 sold 19 million units in 2017 which is one million less than last year. This may indicate that the PS4 has reached its peak and sales would steadily decline. While this may seem ominous, the original PlayStation 4 is almost 5 years old. The PlayStation 3 was 7 years old before the launch of the PS4.
Rumors have begun to spread that the PlayStation 5 is in development; however, Sony hasn’t announced a new console. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company has announced that they are manufacturing massive amounts of chips using 7nm process technology which could be used for the PS5. Although the PlayStation 4 Pro was released in 2016, it is losing to the Xbox One X in its specs and capabilities which was released in 2017.
Sony predicts the PS4 to sell 16 million next year. If they reach those sales numbers, they will outpace the Nintendo Wii as the top 5 selling video game consoles.
This year,Sony announced that PlayStation Plus would not include free PS3 and PS Vita games. Fans criticized the decision because it limited players exposure to potential games they may have missed. It also made players less likely to play their older generation consoles. Recently, a tweet from PlayStation Spain announced they had stopped production of the PlayStation Vita.
While rumors speculated the Sony would stop manufacturing the Vita last year, it seems like Spain is the only region currently that has stopped for the Vita. Whether new Vitas will be manufactured world-wide remains to be seen. The PlayStation 3 stopped production on January 7, 2013 globally. The PlayStation Vita struggled to compete with Nintendo’s 3DS. Now that the Nintendo Switch is out, the Sony handheld looks deader than ever. A lack of third party support, popular game titles, and marketing led to the inevitable failure of the Vita.
The Gaming News Corner 