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New Post: George R.R. Martin wasn’t involved in ‘Elden Ring’ expansion ‘Shadow Of The Erdtree’ - https://lnkd.in/gt_GcD_e - It has been confirmed that Game Of Thrones author George R.R. Martin did not contribute any new ideas to Elden Ring expansion Shadow Of The Erdtree. READ MORE: ‘Elden Ring’ review: Miyazaki’s masterpiece exceeds every expectation Martin assisted with “a bit of worldbuilding” for Elden Ring, after being contacted by FromSoftware, helping to create “the backstory and history” for the title despite not being a huge fan of video games. The “offer was just too exciting to refuse,” he explained. Developers wanted “a deep, dark, resonant world to serve as a foundation for the game they planned to create,” which Martin created before it was “handed off to my new friends in Japan, and they took it from there.” In a new interview with Famitsu , game director Hidetaka Miyazaki revealed that Martin was not involved in the creation of upcoming expansion Shadow Of The Erdtree. “Martin’s involvement is the same as in the main title. The world and story of the DLC was inspired by the mythology that he penned just as in the main title, and was created thus. To be more precise, what was created this time is part of what was created from the inspiration we took from his mythology for the main title. So, there was no additional writing done specifically for the DLC,” he explained. Shadow Of The Erdtree is set for release June 21 with FromSoftware sharing a new gameplay trailer earlier this week. “Guided by Empryean Miquella, players are beckoned to the Land of Shadow, a place obscured by the Erdtree where the goddess Marika first set foot,” reads the official description. “In these strange new lands, players discover the dark secrets of the world as they meet others who follow in Miquella’s footsteps with ulterior motives.” Miyazaki also teased a sequel to Elden Ring. “We don’t want to discourage the possibilities for that. There might be more ideas in the future,” he said. In other news, The Word Alive have re-recorded their 2018 League Of Legends anthem ‘Rise’ to celebrate its fifth anniversary. Check out ‘Rise (Redux)’ here. The post George R.R. Martin wasn’t involved in ‘Elden Ring’ expansion ‘Shadow Of The Erdtree’ appeared first on NME. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

New Post: ‘Star Wars: Hunters’ launches on Nintendo Switch and Mobile - https://lnkd.in/gShwQfHi - Take-Two Interactive’s Zynga studio has finally released Star Wars: Hunters, a free-to-play combat game. READ MORE: ‘Dead By Daylight’ directors on eight years of terror: “We rolled the dice” Available for Nintendo Switch and Mobile devices, the cross-platform Star Wars: Hunters sees teams of four players taking to a battle arena in Vespaara and facing-off in competitive matches set across various Star Wars-inspired battlefields including the ice planet of Hoth, the forest moon of Endor, the Death Star and the frustratingly-sandy world of Tatooine. “With Star Wars: Hunters, we’re inviting fans to a new destination in the Outer Rim to experience a larger-than-life expression of the Star Wars galaxy unlike any we’ve seen before,” explained LucasFilm Games vice president Douglas Reilly. Star Wars: Hunters has been developed alongside LucasFilm Games and features a number of new hunter characters that include a Wookie with a “penchant for disarming droids and his opponents”, a righteous Mandalorian, a “dark side warrior”, a gun-wielding Stormtrooper and a droid that has been programmed to believe it is a Jedi. It had been due for release in 2022 but was delayed “to ensure we meet the high expectations we are setting for fans globally and ourselves as developers”. “Star Wars: Hunters represents a huge step forward for Zynga as our first cross-platform competitive shooter set in such a beloved universe,” said Yaron Leyvand, executive vice president of mobile studios at Zynga. “We can’t wait for our players to experience our fresh new take on Star Wars which is jam-packed with original engaging characters that we’re sure will become instant favourites.” “We are thrilled to finally welcome fans across the globe to Vespaara and introduce them to our incredible lineup of hunters,” Zynga vice president Sam Cooper added. “Matches in our game are easy to hop into, but hard to master. We can’t wait to see the action as players duke it out in the Arena. Good luck, the galaxy is watching!” Star Wars: Hunters is available now as a free download and Nintendo Switch players don’t need an active online membership to play. Last month it was reported that Total War developers Creative Assembly are working on a new Star Wars game, with Bit Reactor also confirming that their strategy Star Wars games was still in development.  In other news, it looks like Metallica could be coming to Fortnite for a live concert. The post ‘Star Wars: Hunters’ launches on Nintendo Switch and Mobile appeared first on NME. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge

New Post: Is ‘Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’ coming to Game Pass? - https://lnkd.in/g_3-E_tU - Is Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League coming to Game Pass? With Rocksteady‘s latest game almost here, 9 years after Batman: Arkham Knight reception to the evolving world of Metropolis and the radical shift from the tone and gameplay Rocksteady built the Arkham-verse on, many players are keen to know if they can jump in at a discounted price or with a subscription. READ MORE: ‘Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’ Joker release date, abilities, and more Warner Brothers Games hasn’t been a huge supporter of services like PS Plus or Xbox Game Pass. However, Gotham Knights did come to both after its middling reception in October 2022. Unfortuantely, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League is not coming to Game Pass when it launches, as Microsoft has announced the full lineup for the service up until February 6, 2024, and the game is not included. If you are looking to play something with a Game Pass subscription, Persona 3 Reload will arrive on February 2, 2024, alongside the indie title Anuchard on February 6, 2024. Plus, games like Resident Evil 2, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and more were added in January as a part of the January 2024 Game Pass games. There is still a chance that the game will show up on the service down the line in 2024 or 2025, especially if the mixed reception to the third-person shooter so far results in poor sales or if the seasonal content struggles to hook existing players. Warner Brothers Games has a track record of doing this and they did throw Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga onto Xbox Game Pass after launch too. If you are keen to grab Rocksteady’s latest title, then you can play from January 30, 2024 thanks to Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League early access and prepare your PC with the Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League PC requirements.  The post Is ‘Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League’ coming to Game Pass? appeared first on NME. - ----------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR

New Post: A new ‘Silent Hill’ game has been released for free on PS5 - https://lnkd.in/gyfVv_Jf - The Silent Hill franchise has received a new game, available for free on PlayStation 5 right now. READ MORE: Mikael Hedberg makes video game nightmares Silent Hill: The Short Message was released last night (January 30) during the PlayStation State of Play. The game was actually originally leaked way back in 2022, with a South Korean board rating spotted for the game but no real indication of when it might release or if it was actually still in development. As it turns out, the title was still in development and has been released for free exclusively on PlayStation 5. In a new PlayStation blog post, producer Motoi Okamato explained the thinking behind this new Silent Hill game. The game is fairly short, weighing in at around two hours, but shows off the potential future of the Silent Hill franchise beyond the already announced games such as the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake and the upcoming Annapurna Interactive published Silent Hill: Townfall. “We wanted to make a new, modern Silent Hill. As part of that we explored how we could incorporate contemporary problems. We ended up looking at how modern youth communicate online and through phones, and the role that could play in a psychological horror story,” Okamato wrote. Okamato also elaborated on the subtitle of the game, explaining what the ‘short message’ is supposed to represent in the game, and why Konami chose to have young characters as the focus. “We chose to set our story around young characters like this. Characters who are genuinely suffering and lost, where even one more minor setback can wind up pushing them even deeper into a spiral of anguish. But, in the same way, even the smallest kindness can be the thing that pulls them back from the brink. And that’s what also makes this game a message, from us to everyone living with that ever-present conflict and pressure”. In other gaming news, Death Stranding 2 has confirmed a 2025 release date along with the subtitle for the game. The post A new ‘Silent Hill’ game has been released for free on PS5 appeared first on NME. - ----------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR

New Post: Chains Of Hades removed from ‘Fortnite’ tournament after Doja Cat rages against the weapon - https://lnkd.in/gtAb3YFr - Epic Games has removed the recently-added Chains Of Hades weapon from Fortnite’s tournament mode, after Doja Cat complained about the weapon. READ MORE: Borislav Slavov on scoring ‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ and what’s next: “We’re just warming up” Chains Of Hades were one of several Greek-inspired weapons that were added to Fortnite as part of the Chapter 5 Season 2 update, with the whip-inspired weapon able to capture opposing players and drag them closer, or deal heavy melee damage. However, as the game enters the final weeks of Myths and Mortals, Fortnite have removed the weapon from the tournament game mode, which will impact the Fortnite Championship Series grand finals taking place this weekend \(May 18-19\). According to Epic Games \(via esports.net\), this is due to a bug that could cause major problems in a major tournament, though Chains Of Hades can still be found in ranked and pubs modes.   However, this change comes shortly after Doja Cat took to social media to complain about the weapon. In a series of now-deleted posts on social media, Doja Cat wrote: “If you’re horrible and garbage at Fortnite make sure you grab a Chains of Hades whip to pass the time. Dumb c***s. If Fortnite knew what was good for them they’d get rid of Chains of Hades,” she added \(via Eurogamer\).  She then called a fan “terrible” for having Chains Of Hades as their favourite weapon. Last night \(May 16\) Doja Cat said people who use other Myths and Mortals weapons like the Wings Of Icarus and Thunderbolt Of Zeus were “perfectly fine”. thunderbolt is fine https://t.co/VcDawiVfjD — DOJA CAT \(\@DojaCat\) May 16, 2024 She did have some choice words about the new Waterbending mythic though. “Fortnite wouldn’t be so fucking embarrassing if they made lobbies where people with actual aim skills and FPD experience didn’t deal with losers using fucking Waterbending and Chains Of Hades,” Doja Cat wrote. “Waterbending is fucking crutch. You are not good at the game because of Waterbending. I would become severely depressed if I had to rely on any of these stupid non-fucking-weapons,” she added. FORTNITE WOULDN'T BE SO FUCKING EMBARRASSING IF THEY MADE LOBBIES WHERE PEOPLE WITH ACTUAL AIM SKILLS AND FPS EXPERIENCE DIDN'T DEAL WITH LOSERS USING FUCKING WATER BENDING AND CHAINS OF HADES. * — DOJA CAT \(\@DojaCat\) May 16, 2024 A couple of Fortnite fans then came for Doja, one sharing a montage of her playing the game \(“this is old baby,” she replied\) while another wrote: “You mad cuz somebody just Zeused your ass and you finished #83.” “I haven’t finished #83 in years. Try again, you fucking shrimp,” she responded. Doja Cat previously revealed she modded The Sims so much, her Sims became drug kingpins and last year, she returned to Twitch to play PowerWash Simulat

New Post: Newly announced ‘Ghost Of Tsushima’ sequel ‘Ghost Of Yōtei’ divides fans - https://lnkd.in/g9i5Wbki - Sony has confirmed a sequel to Ghost Of Tsushima, with the newly announced Ghost Of Yōtei already dividing fans. READ MORE: How ‘Rise Of The Ronin’ tackles historical accuracy in 19th century Japan Ghost Of Tsushima was first released in 2020 and saw players take on the role of Jin Sakai, the last samurai, as he fights for the freedom of Japan. Newly announced sequel Ghost Of Yōtei is set in a new time period and focuses on new protagonist Atsu. “When we set out to make a new Ghost game, we wanted to maintain the core pillars established in Ghost of Tsushima: playing as a wandering warrior in Feudal Japan, offering freedom to explore at your own pace, and highlighting the beauty of the world. We also wanted to continue to innovate,” explained Sony in a new blog. “To create something fresh but familiar, we looked beyond Jin Sakai’s story and the island of Tsushima,” they continued. Specific plot details are still being kept under wraps but Sony did confirm that Atsu’s journey takes place in 1603, more than 300 years after the events of Ghost of Tsushima. “Our story is set in the lands surrounding Mount Yōtei, a towering peak in the heart of Ezo, an area of Japan known as Hokkaido in present day. In 1603, this area was outside the rule of Japan, and filled with sprawling grasslands, snowy tundras, and unexpected dangers. It’s a far cry from the organised samurai clans who lived in Tsushima, and it’s the setting for an original story we can’t wait to tell,” Sony wrote. I’ve dreamed of this my entire life. But I still can’t believe I’m part of art like this. I am the Ghost of Yōtei. https://t.co/W07Sy1jKEW — Erika Ishii (@erikaishii) September 24, 2024 Ghost Of Yōtei is due for release at some point in 2025 for PlayStation 5. However some fans aren’t happy that Jin has been killed off and replaced by Atsu, despite the time jump between the games “Female samurai? I don’t think so,” wrote one X user. “Ghost of Tsushima sequel stars a Japanese woman samurai warrior because of course it does. They can’t help themselves until every franchise that was built on masculinity is replaced by women. So sick of the forced girlboss narrative man,” said another. “Could be woke, could be not,” wrote a third. Responding to the backlash one fan said, “Can’t wait for people to pull out some ancient scripture to prove that women didn’t ride horses back then,” with another adding: I’d hate to be like this and never enjoy stuff because women exist as lead characters.” Earlier this year, Ubisoft received backlash for a “cowardly” apology after a vocal minority of fans took issue with Assassin’s Creed Shadows protagonist Yasuke, named after a historical figure known as “the black samura

🚨 The latest issue of #SWOT by Sound Story is here! SWOT is your inside track on the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats looming for the creative industries. In this issue: 👉 Strength: Vivid Sydney 👉 Weakness: TV’s Image Problem 👉 Opportunity: Gaming x Music 👉 Threat: Redundancy Season https://lnkd.in/g2sYKYu7

Make a ruckus with the new RukusFXPro! When you use the app, you can make music, edit it, and play two music-based games. Check it out in this review: https://lnkd.in/dHrAEXKb #toys #games #justplay #playtime #ttpm #toyreview

What is more influential in the discovery of music? TikTok, YouTube, or video games? Music discovery comes from multiple listens across multiple sources. As a matter of fact, in the old days, radio listeners didn’t even recognize a song until over 100 plus impressions/plays. So why should there be one more important source of discovery over the other? Games deliver massive amounts of impressions through time spent playing, but again it’s a matter of rotation through multiple sources. Where do music fans spend their time? Video games are a critical source of music discovery for GenZ and younger, but the goal should be to get your music heard everywhere. Nate Lindsay commented “creating the memorable playing experience by playing your favourite game and hearing your favourite songs is an innovative key to user experience.” Matt Thompson wrote “My daughters tend to discover new music either playing Roblox or watching a gaming related video on YT. They then want to listen to it over and over on Apple Music. There is definitely cross-over potential!” Thank you for all of your amazing comments! #music #musicdiscovery #videogames #videogameindustry #musicbusiness #musicindustry #composer

Video game music was influential Why it matters: This article looks at the history and influence of video game soundtracks. As the gaming industry has grown, so has the 'real world' reach of video game music. Considering the size of the potential revenue stream, it's surprising that more music stars haven't collaborated with video game companies to get their songs featured in popular games.