Game News
GameStop Just Bought Half A Billion Worth Of Bitcoin
Video game retailer GameStop is a big believer in Bitcoin. The Grapevine, Texas-based company disclosed today, May 28, that it had purchased 4,710 Bitcoin. At the current trading rates, that's worth more than $510 million USD.
Bitcoin is one of the world's most valuable, and volatile, assets. It's currently worth more than $2 trillion overall, which is ahead of the total market cap of Google's parent company Alphabet. The current price for one Bitcoin is about $108,000.
GameStop's press release announcing the purchase of Bitcoin is a single sentence long, and there is no word on why GameStop did this or what its plans are. The announcement was not a surprise, though, as CNBC reported in February that GameStop was planning to buy cryptocurrencies. On May 27, US President Donald Trump reiterated his desire to create a "Bitcoin treasury."
Continue Reading at GameSpotAhead Of Switch 2's Launch, Animal Crossing: New Horizons Gets First Update In Years
Animal Crossing: New Horizons has just received its first patch in nearly three years, ahead of Switch 2's launch on June 5. The update makes New Horizons more stable in multiplayer sessions with players on both Switch and Switch 2, part of Nintendo's effort to make sure some of its tentpole games from the original Switch are compatible with the new console.
According to Nintendo's patch notes, the New Horizons update "improve[s] the compatibility for multiplayer sessions between Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch." While no other details are provided, the update's timing and focus suggest that Nintendo is emphasizing cross-platform performance and backwards compatibility to ensure a smooth console transition.
Prior to this, its last update came back in November 2022, when Nintendo wrapped up its ongoing support for the game. New Horizons originally launched in March 2020 at the onset of widespread lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, which supercharged its popularity. However, despite its adoption rate by Switch owners, Nintendo has not announced plans for a specific Switch 2 version of the game, unlike other headliners such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Continue Reading at GameSpotNext Pokemon Presents Livestream Announced For July
The Pokemon Company has confirmed that a new Pokemon Presents livestream will be held on July 22. Like previous installments of the Pokemon showcase, this will be broadcast through the official Pokemon YouTube channel. As for what the livestream will cover, The Pokemon Company has not divulged any details.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of a release date for Pokemon Legends: Z-A being confirmed. The next big Pokemon game will officially launch for Switch and Switch 2 on October 16.
The February Pokemon Presents livestream was mostly focused on the game as well, revealing more details on the characters, how the main hub of Lumiose City has evolved, and the new gameplay systems that will make this entry in the franchise stand out from the traditional turn-based Pokemon games. With Pokemon Scarlet and Violet also getting a Switch 2 upgrade, we wouldn't be too surprised if a portion of the show is dedicated to showing the game off or revealing details on a new Tera Raid event.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThe Last Of Us Showrunners Say "Entire Concept" Of Heroes And Villains Is Flawed
The Last of Us Part II prepared players for the dark journey of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in The Last of Us Season 2. Casual fans may not have been ready for the choices Ellie made in the Season 2 finale or the way her confrontation with Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) played out. But if you're still thinking of those two as the hero and villain of the story, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have explained why the entire concept behind that is flawed.
Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Season 2 finale!
"The point of this story--and this is looked at from so many different angles in so many different ways--is that the entire concept of protagonist is flawed," explained Mazin via The Hollywood Reporter. "The entire concept of villain is flawed. Our way of processing the world through heroes and villains is a mistake. It ends up creating these barriers between people that shouldn't be there. It ends up giving ourselves justifications and conveniences for bad behavior, and it ends up allowing us to judge others summarily for things that we don't quite understand the motivation behind it. We know this is a challenging thing to keep track of emotionally. We understand people are going to be provoked. But part of this story is about examining why we're so comfortable with following one person's point of view about everything."
Continue Reading at GameSpotPokemon Legends: Z-A Launches In October, Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Detailed
With the Nintendo Switch 2's launch approaching quickly, the Nintendo community has been wondering what games will be coming to the brand-new console as the holiday season approaches. One major question has been answered, as today The Pokemon Company confirmed that Pokemon Legends: Z-A will launch October 16 on Nintendo Switch--with an upgraded Nintendo Switch 2 Edition releasing the same day.
Official Pokemon social media accounts confirmed the release date and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, which will feature "improved graphics and frame rates." Both the physical and digital versions of Pokemon Legends Z-A will be eligible for upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition via a separate "upgrade pack" purchase.
Pokemon Legends: Z-A takes place in the Paris-inspired Lumiose City, part of the Kalos region from Pokemon X and Y. Players will search for Pokemon in designated zones, battle with other Trainers in the streets and on rooftops, and compete in a nightly contest called Z-A Royale.
Continue Reading at GameSpotThis Ridiculous-Looking Fishing Game Has Players Blasting Fish With Automatic Weapons
There have been plenty of solid fishing games over the years, but this new one ups the ante. Fish Hunters: The Most Ridiculous Fishing Simulator is a new PC game where players haul in fish with rods, but then the fish are vaulted into the sky and players blast away at them with automatic weapons. It sounds similar to the popular mobile game Ridiculous Fishing, but with a first-person perspective and more action.
From developer Dos Ivanes and publisher Polden Publishing, Fish Hunters riffs on the idea that fishing is boring (and in reality, it can be; after all, it's called fishing, not catching). "Fishing can be a total snoozefest, right?" a character says in the announcement trailer. "But not this one."
"In Fish Hunters, you ain't got time to get bored. Grab quests, search for the right fish in different bodies of water, and shoot that bad boy with everything you've got," the trailer narrator says.
Continue Reading at GameSpotWhy The Last Of Us Season 2 Didn't Include This One Heartbreaking Death From The Game
A lot of people die in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and the HBO series that's based on it. But in the Season 2 finale, viewers who already played The Last of Us: Part II or knew the story might have been expecting even more bloodshed, and now the showrunners have discussed why one death was cut.
Major spoilers follow below.In The Last of Us Part II, Ellie kills a dog named Alice at the aquarium on her hunt for Abby. Alice the dog is kind of a big deal in the overall narrative and there are some sweet, tender moments featuring the pup. In the TV show, Ellie does not kill the dog. But why?
Showrunner Craig Mazin is no stranger to working on TV shows where the dog dies, as one episode of the beloved Chernobyl series for HBO that Mazin wrote included soldiers culling dogs to help prevent nuclear radiation from getting worse. Mazin said that was enough dog-killing for him.
Continue Reading at GameSpotHello Neighbor 3 Playtest Is Live Now
TinyBuild is returning to the town of Raven Brooks with Hello Neighbor 3, and now players can too with an open playtest. The "cozy yet eerie" game tasks players with exploring--and eventually escaping--the now-half-abandoned town of Raven Brooks.
The game's second playable prototype was announced in a video by lead developer and franchise creator Nikita Kolesnikov, who also gives a general rundown on what players will be able to discover in the playtest. The newest version of Hello Neighbor 3 features an all-new map that's "much closer to what it's meant to be," Kolesnikov.
The player is tasked with exploring the houses that make up the town of Raven Brooks to find useful items, with the prototype's ultimate goal being to escape before a storm hits the town. Some of the houses are occupied, however--and the occupants may be less than happy with the player's intrusion.
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