Localizing video games can be challenging, and in the case of Animal Crossing, bringing the distinctly Japanese social-sim to the West in 2002 proved to be a Herculean labor. One of the big obstacles was renaming the game, as its Japanese title of Dōbutsu no Mori had to be changed for its Western release.

The entire localization job took between six months and a year to complete, former Nintendo of America localization manager Leslie Swan said to Time Extension, and one of the proposed titles was Animal Acres, a name that was inspired by the grids of the town. This was ultimately rejected by Nintendo, with the title of Animal Crossing being approved instead.

The late Satoru Iwata--who was the head of Nintendo's corporate planning division at that time--laughed when he heard that Swan and her team were working on the English localization. Game producer Takashi Tezuka had also warned the team about taking on the task, as they'd need to not only translate thousands of lines of text, but also rename characters, come up with new catchphrases for them, and figure out how to adapt Japanese-specific themes for Western audiences.

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Hollow Knight: Silksong's first patch has been announced, and it makes the game easier, at least somewhat. The new update includes a "slight difficulty reduction" for the early-game bosses Moorwing and Sister Splinter. Additionally, Sandcarvers will do less damage.

The new Silksong patch also includes a variety of fixes. Players should no longer get stuck floating after down-bouncing on certain projectiles, while Silk Snippers in Chapel of the Reaper could previously get stuck out of bounds but that should be fixed now.

This patch will arrive mid-next week. Team Cherry said it's already working on more fixes for the second patch. "If you have an issue and you don't see the solution in the list, we may be working on it," the developers said.

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Ghost of Yotei's developers embraced the fact that Rockstar chose to delay GTA 6 to 2026, thereby giving Sucker Punch's own game space in the fall season.

Ghost of Yotei co-creative director Nate Fox was asked by MinnMaxx if the entire studio uncorked some champagne and celebrated the news in May 2025 when Rockstar announced GTA 6's delay.

"We're all still hungover. Multi-month hangover. That was a great day," Fox said.

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2017's Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus is one of the last decade's best first-person shooters, blending brutal combat with a Nazi-hunting story that sees protagonist BJ Blazkowicz come face to face with Adolf Hitler himself. For those who have played the game, you likely remember this pivotal scene, but according to the development team, it also could have been a penile scene.

That's right: If it weren't for higher-ups at Bethesda, the game would have shown Hitler's weird penis.

Speaking to Noclip (via IGN), MachineGames studio director Jerk Gustatfsson revealed the (tiny) tidbit of information while discussing the creation of the game. It would have occurred when Hitler was urinating in a bucket (which did make it into the game) as Blazkowicz prepared to deliver his lines in a film audition.

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Microsoft has announced that it has collaborated with LG to bring Xbox Cloud Gaming to select internet-connected vehicles. By using LG's webOS Automotive platform, passengers will be able to stream and play games directly from the Xbox app. Players will need to have an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and an automotive data plan to access their gaming library, but Microsoft says that it will give them instant access to hundreds of games via Game Pass as well.

A new video showed off how this works, with the footage specifically focused on people in the rear enjoying some games--just in case you were worried that this partnership could lead to some IRL Forza Horizon from the driver in the front.

It's not unsurprising to see Microsoft expand its cloud gaming initiative to cars, as the company's marketing for its gaming brand in 2025 has been focused on how you don't need to own an Xbox console to play Xbox games. "This Is An Xbox" has been the primary slogan for this advertising campaign, which emphasizes how the Xbox ecosystem can be accessed through a wide variety of devices.

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Helldivers 2 has a way of bringing players together, especially now that Xbox Series X|S gamers can join their PS5 and PC allies in the battle for Super Earth's survival. While Helldivers 2 players have requested an in-game social hub like the tower in Destiny, that won't be coming anytime soon. But it may be a feature in Helldivers 3.

Arrowhead CEO Shams Jorjani recently addressed the fan request for a Helldivers 2 social hub during an appearance on Reddit (via Games Radar). According to Jorjani, "it's on the feature list for the next one."

Posts from the helldivers
community on Reddit

Just don't expect to move into that social hub anytime soon. As Jorjani previously noted on Discord, "We honestly are focusing on the here and now. [Helldivers 3] is hopefully many years away."

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The iPod age of gaming came and went fairly quickly during the two-decade lifecycle of Apple's signature brand of music players. Apple released 54 games for the iPod clickwheel that could have been lost to time if not for the efforts of game preservationists. It took a lot of effort to bring all of the games back together, but the complete lineup of iPod clickwheel games has now been preserved.

As reported by Ars Technica, iPod Clickwheel Games Preservation Project founder Olsro recently completed the collection by tracking down a copy of Real Soccer 2009. Preserving the titles meant finding people who still had the original games downloaded on their iPods and syncing them up to a Virtual Machine master library that lets other iPod owners access the games at their leisure. Olsro also expressed relief that the completed project "means this whole part from the early 2000s will remain with us forever."

The Virtual Machine titles are compatible with iPod Classic 5G, 5.5G, 6G, 6.5G, and 7G, iPod Nano 3G or 4G, and iPod Nano 5G. Olsro has shared detailed instructions for how to access the Virtual Machine on GitHub. Once those steps are followed, players should be able to enjoy those titles on their own iPods.

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Combining cute Japanese vending machine aesthetics with classic management sim mechanics, Vending Machine Co. is on its way to help you build a passive income empire. The simulation game will release in full later this year, but is currently previewing its kawaii aesthetic with a free Steam demo.

Japan is well-known for its vending machine culture, and this new management sim is putting you in charge of your own Japanese vending machine empire. You can choose which neighborhood to put your machines in, and what to stock them with, with different demographics of customers likely to purchase different stock.

While Vending Machine Co. follows the classic management sim formula, its cute illustrative style and satisfying restocking gameplay is reminiscent of cozy indie hit Unpacking. Managing your machines will initiate other little mini-games along the way, from repairs and upkeep to sorting and counting your cash.

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Xbox is headed to Japan later this month, as it'll be hosting a livestream during Tokyo Game Show. Scheduled for September 25 at 3 AM PT / 6 AM ET, the broadcast will be focused on various first-party, as well as "news from our partners in Japan, across Asia, and around the world," Xbox added.

"We know players around the world delight in Japan-inspired content and games developed in Asia, and we can't wait to connect with players across the globe to show off the incredible talent and creativity behind upcoming games coming to Xbox," Xbox Asia senior director Mena Kato said (via Xbox Wire). If you can't make it to Japan, the Xbox broadcast will be livestreamed through official Xbox and TGS channels:

• YouTube
• Twitch
• Twitch (With American Sign Language support)

Xbox confirmed that attendees will be able to go hands-on with its upcoming mobile gaming PCs it co-developed with Asus, the ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X. Ninja Gaiden 4 will also be playable at the Koei Tecmo booth, but there is speculation that Microsoft could announce Forza Horizon 6 at the trade show. With the game rumored to be set in Japan, officially revealing it at Tokyo Game Show would be thematically appropriate.

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Roblox has announced a new feature called Roblox Moments, a TikTok-style social feed allowing users to share videos taken directly in-game. The feature was unveiled at the Roblox Developers Conference, where Roblox also revealed it was working on a bevy of AI tools to assist creators with game development.

Roblox Moments is in beta now, and consists of short videos up to 30 seconds in a vertical format that'll be familiar to anyone who uses TikTok or Instagram Reels. The difference with Roblox Moments is that the videos are taken directly within various Roblox experiences--what the platform calls the user-created games and apps that live on the platform. When scrolling through Moments, users will be able to go directly to the featured experiences from the video feed.

The Roblox Moments feed

Roblox is also investing heavily in new AI tools designed for its creators, Eurogamer reports, with the aim to automate various parts of the game development process for solo developers and small teams. The company revealed that it has 400 AI models in development, including asset-generation tools, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and auto-translation AI. One of the major AI products showcased was 4D Objects, a tool that aims to fully automate asset creation by generating interactive, scripted assets from a simple text prompt.

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Arcade1Up: Mortal Kombat 2 Special Edition Arcade Machine

$334

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Arcade1Up: Ms. Pac-Man Special Edition Arcade Machine

$334

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Arcade1Up: Pac-Man Special Edition Arcade Machine

$334

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Arcade1Up Riser

$59

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Most Arcade1Up releases these days are $500-$600 Deluxe Arcade Cabinets, but Walmart carries a trio of models that more closely resemble Arcade1Up's early hits. These throwback Special Edition machines cost $334 each and are themed around Mortal Kombat 2, Ms. Pac-Man, and Pac-Man. Each cabinet is preloaded with 13 games and has a 15.6-inch IPS display. Other features include dual stereo speakers, Wi-Fi support for leaderboards and multiplayer, and pretty solid controls to mirror Arcade1Up's pricier options.

There are a few reasons why these are cheaper than the average machine from Arcade1Up. The Deluxe cabinets are just over 5-feet tall--ideal standing height for adults--whereas the Special Editions are just under 4-feet tall. The good news is you can get a universal Arcade1Up Riser for $59 that raises the height to 5 feet. If you don't get the Riser, you will likely want an adjustable barstool--unless the cabinet is for kids, in which case the original height will likely be a better fit. The Deluxe editions have 17-inch displays and light-up marquees, so the screen is slightly smaller and you miss out on the illuminated marquee with the Special Edition. The Special Editions also drop the faux coin doors in favor of a panel with logos showcasing each preloaded game.

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A Better Tomorrow Trilogy on 4K Blu-ray

$100 | Releases November 18

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Hard Boiled: Deluxe Edition on 4K Blu-ray

$65 | Releases November 4

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When it comes to action, the golden age of Hong Kong cinema is hard to beat. During the '80s and '90s, some of the best movies in the genre were made here, and at long last, all three movies in the A Better Tomorrow saga are headed to 4K Blu-ray as a box set with tons of new special features. Restored by Shout Factory, A Better Tomorrow Trilogy is available to preorder for $100 ahead of its November 18 release. Shout Factory is also releasing a 4K Blu-ray edition of Hard Boiled on November 4. This Deluxe Edition looks promising as well, but it's worth noting the price has jumped from $40 to $65 at Amazon and Walmart. It's unlikely to launch at this price, and you won't be charged for preorder until it ships.

A Better Tomorrow Trilogy on 4K Blu-ray $100 | Releases November 18

Directed by renowned filmmakers John Woo and Tsui Hark, all three A Better Tomorrow movies have been remastered in 4K from the original camera negatives. Each one is presented in Dolby Vision--and are HDR-10 compatible and viewers can choose between the original Cantonese language track or the English dub, in DTS-HD Master Audio mono and English DTS-HD Master Audio mono. If you choose to go with the original Cantonese audio, each film features newly translated English subtitles. You'll also get an exclusive poster in this box set, based on the newly commissioned art.

Each film is accompanied by dozens of brand-new extras, which are mostly audio commentary tracks and interviews with established film critics, members of the cast and crew, and even notable directors like Gareth Evans (The Raid). The real jewel of this collection is the sought-after workprint of A Better Tomorrow 2, which was thought to be lost for years. This version of Woo's sequel was originally re-edited producer Tsui Hark, and it features an extra 30 minutes of footage. While Woo considers it to be the black sheep of the trilogy--the third film was in turn directed by Hark--he has still spoken fondly about its climatic gunfight as some of his best work in cinema.

You'll also find the Taiwanese cut of A Better Tomorrow 3 here, which adds around 10 extra minutes of content, resulting in several extended scenes. The seven-disc collection includes 4K UHD and 1080p Blu-ray editions of each film.

You can check out the full list of features on each disc below.

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Disc 1: A Better Tomorrow (4K)

• Audio commentary with James Mudge, Hong Kong film critic at EasternKicks (New)

Disc 2: A Better Tomorrow (Blu-ray)

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Funko Pop! Astro Bot Collectible Vinyl Figure

$15 | Releases January 30, 2026

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If you missed out on the limited-edition Astro Bot with Protector Funko Pop that launched earlier this year, fret not: Funko has officially opened preorders for the similarly styled Funko Pop Astro Bot, which arrives on January 30, 2026. It's not quite the same as the limited-edition model, but it gives fans another chance to add PlayStation's newest mascot to their figure collection. Since the last Astro Bot Funko Pop sold out quickly, we're expecting this new $15 model to be quite popular, too. Consider taking a peek at its Amazon page and preordering while you can.

Funko Pop! Astro Bot Collectible Vinyl Figure $15 | Releases January 30, 2026

This upcoming 3.75-inch Funko Pop Astro Bot vinyl figure features the same mid-air pose as the sold-out, Limited Edition model. The only difference is that it sports Astro Bot's standard white and blue design, rather than the Limited Edition's chrome finish. While it's not as flashy, the upshot is it matches Astro Bot's in-game look, which is nice for those who want an authetic version of the cute platforming mascot to display. The figure comes with a display base and packaging.

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If you don't want to wait for this new Funko Pop! to launch next year, there's a highly poseable Astro Bot Nendoroid available for $130. It's likely a bit too expensive for all but the most diehard Astro Bot fans, but with three face plates, optional parts like a fuse, fuse lid, coin, and laser feet, it's a deluxe choice for discerning collectors. You'll also find a handful of Astro Bot shirts up for grabs. These are all priced at around $20, with a variety of colors available for each style. From Astro Bot taking a quick rest to a collage of the game's most common enemies, there are some cool designs to peruse.

Astro Bot T-Shirts

• Astro Bot Casual Pose -- $19.51 ($23)
• Enemies -- $19.51 ($23)
• Rescue Mission -- $19.51 ($23)

Haven't yet played Astro Bot? You can snag it for $53 at Amazon. Our glowing Astro Bot review gave it a 9/10, praising just about everything it has to offer. "Stranded in space following an attack from a googly-eyed alien, Astro's mission is to repair their ship and rescue all 300 pals scattered across five main clusters of planets, each composed of individual levels," wrote critic Mark Delaney. "It may be 2024's most immersive game, and it achieves that without a line of dialogue. Instead, each level tells a story, clear as day, about where you ought to go next and what you should do there."

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Peak recently received a decent-sized patch addressing both major and minor bugs and some balancing issues--but its biggest addition is a new Color Blindness mode, a highly-requested feature that adds patterns to Peak's colored berries, giving players another way to differentiate them from one another during a climb.

Having more accessibility options is always a good thing. Not only do they allow for more people to experience a particular game, but a lot of these features eventually become ingrained in a base level of play; Fortnite's visual sound effect option comes to mind.

Other fixes include a long-running issue players were having obtaining the Endurance Badge, one of Peak's many achievements that unlock new cosmetic options for player characters. And game-crashing bugs--like how getting caught in a tornado could cause the game to freeze on the loading screen--have been squashed as well.

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There's no denying that the hype train for Hollow Knight: Silksong is unlike anything we've ever seen for an indie game. In the days leading up to its release, multiple other small studios delayed their games to stay out of Silksong's way, something generally reserved to make space for the Grand Theft Autos of the gaming world. The sequel's release led to Steam and the Nintendo eShop crashing (the lack of preorders played a role here, of course) and saw the metroidvania game top out at 587,000 concurrent players on Valve's platform alone. The game also released on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and Switch 2, plus it's available on Game Pass. With that in mind, the total player numbers for Silksong are huge, showcasing that the online memes and anticipation for the game to show up at events were true indicators of sales success.

All of this said, it's begun to feel unlikely that Silksong's launch will ever be matched by another indie game. But as Yoda said: There is another.

One indie game that could take the entire gaming world by storm is Haunted Chocolatier, the follow-up to Stardew Valley. Sure, it's not a direct sequel to the perennially popular farming simulator (that could be in the cards eventually, though). However, Haunted Chocolatier shares a similar visual presentation and will offer a larger world than Stardew Valley, according to creator Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone. The RPG will see people living in a haunted castle and making chocolate, which requires gathering ingredients. It's a "town game" like Stardew Valley, per Barone, though Haunted Chocolatier will lean more into the action-RPG genre. Oh, and it may just be set in the same world as Stardew Valley.

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In just over a week, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater has flown past 1 million in sales across consoles and PC. Konami has now released a new update that addresses a few fixes.

Metal Gear Solid Delta's version 1.1.3 update for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S is now live, with the Steam version to follow "soon." The inverted camera option is the most notable new addition in the update. Konami notes that version 1.1.3 fixes minor bugs and updates textures and models "in certain scenes." The update also addresses game crashes and a bug where players weren't getting their rewards for collecting GA-KO.

According to Konami, the following issues are being investigated for future fixes:

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Dragonlance Chronicles 3-Book Omnibus Edition (Hardcover)

$18.51 (was $35)

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Dragonlance Chronicles is one of the most celebrated Dungeons & Dragons book series, but physical editions had been difficult to find for reasonable prices in recent years. That changed when Random House Worlds published the original trilogy as an omnibus earlier this year. The 1,056-page hardcover made the New York Times Bestseller list at launch and sold out multiple times at major retailers. D&D fans who haven't picked up a copy can get the eye-catching omnibus for nearly 50% off at Amazon and Walmart. Normally $35, Dragonlance Chronicles is on sale for just $18.51 at both retailers.

Dragonlance Chronicles 3-Book Omnibus Edition (Hardcover) $18.51 (was $35)

Dragonlance Chronicles contains three classic fantasy novels co-written by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman:

• Dragons of Autumn Twilight (1984)
• Dragons of Winter Night (1985)
• Dragons of Spring Dawning (1985)

As mentioned, the trilogy had been out of print for a long time before Random House Worlds reissued it on February 4; the most recent standalone edition of Dragons of Autumn Twilight was published back in 2006. The Chronicles arc is widely considered the best in the wider Dragonlance book series, so it's awesome that it was reissued as a budget-friendly friendly omnibus.

See at Amazon See at Walmart Dragonlance Chronicles (Random House Worlds)

Along with a gorgeous new cover art, Dragonlance Chronicles includes a foreword by actor Joe Manganiello, who is a massive D&D fan. Manganiello also recently designed an expansion for HeroQuest, a tabletop board game inspired by D&D.

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NBA 2K26 is officially out for all players, and whether you're a first-time player or a grizzled veteran of the franchise, free rewards are something you're bound to be interested in. With the release of any new 2K title, the developers offer Locker Codes, which can be utilized to earn a variety of cosmetics, currency, and other rewards.

These Locker Codes are completely free to redeem. However, most of them are only active for a limited time, so you have to act quickly if you want to secure the rewards they offer. You also need to know what the Locker Codes themselves are and how to redeem them. Otherwise, all you'll be doing is surfing the various menus in 2K26, trying to figure out what the codes are.

Below, you can see every active Locker Code in NBA 2K26 and how to redeem them in-game.

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Former Bethesda executive Pete Hines has opened up on some of the predictions people made about Bethesda games over the years, and why he stuck to his guns when others doubted him.

Speaking to dbltap, Hines said people questioned if The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind would even work as an Xbox exclusive, or if The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim could find success with its release date--November 11, 2011--being so close to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (November 8, 2011).

"'Oh, Skyrim can't survive going up against Call of Duty. Same window. Everybody's gonna play Call of Duty. Nobody's gonna buy your game,'" Hines recalls hearing.

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Borderlands 4's launch is coming fast, and those who want to be dressed for the occasion can score a free gun skin by signing up for a Gearbox Shift account.

The Hazard Pay weapon skin is available for anyone with a Shift account, including existing users or those signing up for the first time. To claim the skin, players will need to create an account (or log in to an existing one) and sign up to receive digital newsletters and marketing materials.

Borderlands 4 Hazard Pay skin available to Shift account owners who opt-in to newsletters and marketing emails.

Players will need to link their Shift account to their Borderlands 4 platform of choice, after which logging in to that Shift account in-game should reward the skin (though Gearbox notes players should allow for "up to a week" to receive in-game items). The free skin offer is valid until the end of the year, December 31.

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