As kids and parents alike eye a return to school (or their first day!), it’s time for us to take another look at the world of gaming news, and this week’s been an eventful one indeed.
Nintendo held two back-to-back presentations, reports appeared alleging various very interesting things, and the gaming world was generally alight with goings-on.
Without further ado, then, let us take a trip back in time (albeit a very recent trip) and see what’s been happening in the gaming news world at the advent of September 2024!
Crash Bandicoot 5 was reportedly cancelled for live-service games
Our first report comes to us from gaming personality Liam Robertson (via Eurogamer), who alleges that Crash Bandicoot 5 was in the early stages of development at one point at Activision, but that it was cancelled in favour of live-service games.
According to Robertson, Activision wasn’t impressed by what it considered to be Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time’s lacklustre sales, and so staff from the followup were shifted onto live-service games like Crash Team Rumble.
Of course, we all know how that one ended. Seems a shame to cancel a game that would have had lasting appeal in favour of something ephemeral like a live-service game, doesn’t it? Another lesson not learned, it seems.
Two Nintendo Direct shows contain announcements galore
This week, Nintendo took the unusual direction of holding two Direct showcases back-to-back. The first was an Indie World show, and the second was a Partner Direct showcase.
The two shows together contained announcements galore, including a re-release for the popular Castlevania DS games, Shrek-based PowerWash Simulator DLC, and a free Sea of Stars expansion, plus more.
You can watch the shows, which were broadcast one after the other, above. Make yourself a snack while you watch, because they’re pretty lengthy!
The third Sonic movie has its first trailer
Keanu Reeves is officially taking the role of Shadow the Hedgehog (which was becoming the movie industry’s worst-kept secret) in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which is arriving in December.
This was confirmed by the movie’s first trailer appearing this week, and hey – as we’ve come to expect from the new Sonic movie franchise, the trailer looks pretty okay.
It’s got Keanu being moody as Shadow, Sonic and his friends cracking wise, and even an appearance from an old friend later in the trailer, complete with a surprise that should get Sonic lore hounds talking.
Foamstars is already going free-to-play
It hasn’t been that long since Square Enix’s Foamstars was released as an attempt to challenge Splatoon’s crown, but it doesn’t look like things are going that well for the shooter.
This week, we learned that Foamstars will be going free-to-play later in the year, and that everyone who bought the game at its premium price point will get a cosmetic pack to say thank you.
It doesn’t seem like the most exciting prize, but given that Foamstars likely doesn’t have too many players left, we’re not sure Square Enix is too bothered about that.
Final Fantasy XIV producer says he’s learned from Dawntrail’s criticisms
When Final Fantasy XIV’s latest expansion Dawntrail was released, many players criticised the glacial pace of its story, as well as the characterisation of de facto protagonist Wuk Lamat.
Well, it seems like producer Naoki Yoshida has taken some of those criticisms on board. Speaking to Eurogamer, Yoshida said this week that he and his team have “taken on” their “learning” from the community’s reaction.
Yoshida acknowledges that some of Dawntrail’s story moments could have been moved to sidequests, but if you were hoping for more Scions, you might be disappointed; the producer says the team is “really at the limits” of its capabilities on that front.
Blue Protocol isn’t coming west any more
Amazon and Bandai Namco announced this week that the western release of anime RPG Blue Protocol has been cancelled, and the reason was somewhat opaque.
According to Bandai Namco, the studio would find it “difficult to provide a service that satisfies you all” (i.e. the players), which is why the game’s western release was shelved.
We don’t really know exactly what this means, but either way, Blue Protocol won’t be coming out in the west, sadly. The Japanese version will also be ending service in January.
Croc: Legend of the Gobbos is getting a remaster
If you grew up during the 90s and you had a PS1, then you may well be familiar with Argonaut’s platformer Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. You may even be hoping for a remaster.
This week, your (potential) hopes were realised, as Argonaut announced not only its own revival as a studio, but also a remaster of the very platformer in question.
Said remaster will be coming to PC and all current consoles later in 2024, so get ready for some more kersplats and yazoos while you rescue those furry little Gobbo fellas.
A PS5 Pro design may have leaked
This week, French platform Dealabs and noted leaker bilibil-kun supposedly revealed the existence of a PS5 Pro, complete with a sketch purporting to show what the console looks like.
Since this is a rumour, you should, of course, approach it with caution, but it’s also worth noting that it comes from a fairly trusted source, so the rumour isn’t necessarily groundless.
The sketch shows a console that’s a little bigger than the PS5 Slim. It’s got two USB-C ports and no disc drive, suggesting that it would probably come with a detachable drive (or ask you to buy one separately).
It looks like Concord is on the rocks
Sony hero shooter Concord launched last week, and it didn’t exactly make a splash, reaching a high of less than 700 players within the first 24 hours (and going on to sink to even lower depths).
According to a new report from IGN, who spoke to analyst Simon Carless this week, Concord is sitting at a measly 25,000 sales across both Steam and PlayStation.
That, as you can probably figure out for yourself, is a terrible start for a first-party Sony hero shooter that was supposed to form part of the company’s big live-service push.
