Top Story
Next Project CARS “going to be a Revolution”
Ian Bell of Slightly Mad Studios declares his team’s next Project CARS to be a “revolution” and that it’s “at least 200% better already” than Project CARS 2. Well, he’s certainly optimistic.
An official announcement for Project CARS 3 is “coming soon” with the exact time and date in the hands of the publisher. Given that Gamescom is scheduled in August it’s likely to be revealed in Germany. The next CARS will definitely be focusing on improved simulation and realistic physics, but also on the fun factor.
On your marks…
“The next Project CARS is going to be a Revolution. Huge thanks to all of the team who are honing it to perfection. I might rightly be accused of being overly positive/optimistic on occasion, but this is a game changer. It’s epic already and it’s one we’ll ship when we’re ready,” tweeted CEO Ian Bell.
The original Project CARS released back in May 2015 with a more ‘sandbox’ approach to the racing sim genre, to differentiate itself from Forza Motorsport and Gran Turismo. The sequel Project CARS 2 released in September 2017 for PC and consoles. Both titles have been published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Gamescom 2019 is scheduled August 20-24 in Cologne, Germany.
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
What year was the first QuakeCon?
- 1994 (the release of Doom 2)
- 1996 (the release of Quake 1)
- 1997 (the release of Quake II)
- 1999 (the release of Quake III Arena)
The answer will be revealed at the end of this issue!
News Bits
MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries delayed and now exclusive to Epic Game Store
Good or bad news about MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries, depending on how much you love Steam: The game is delayed from September to December, and (surprise, surprise) is going to be a timed exclusive to Epic Games Store. On the positive side, there’s going to be a closed beta in November!
If this is too much to swallow, you can cancel pre-orders before September 1st and receive a full refund – and keep any MechWarrior Online content – but you’ll miss out on the beta. The official FAQ explains everything in more detail.
Surprise! Doom, Doom II & Doom 3 almost out now on Switch
What the hell is this!? Id Software’s 1993 original Doom, Doom II and Doom 3 all just appeared on – and then promptly disappeared from – the Nintendo eShop. The surprise almost-launch was probably meant to mark the 25th anniversary of the demon-slaying franchise, but someone at Nintendo jumped the gun. We’ll probably see them again very soon since QuakeCon is just around the corner, and on other platforms!
Daily Fact
Final Fantasy was once exclusive to Nintendo
Today many might think of Final Fantasy’s home having been traditionally the PlayStation platform, but that only started with the iconic Final Fantasy VII in 1997. All those early Final Fantasy RPG adventures were actually tied very closely to Nintendo’s various platforms, but Final Fantasy VII would eventually come to Nintendo Switch in March 2019.
It was the limitation of cartridges that stopped Final Fantasy staying with Nintendo consoles. Anyone who’s played a Final Fantasy knows developer Square sure love their cinematics – it was begging for the world of optical disc storage at 700MB, which is why the games arrived on multiple discs. Square even ran a rather unflattering ad against Nintendo 64 at the time, joking you’d need about $1,200 worth of cartridges to even play Final Fantasy VII if they’d have stuck with it and not switched to PlayStation and optical discs.
Weekly Deals
What are ya buyin’?
This marks our first collection of weekly deals for our US readers. Of course, if you’re living elsewhere in the world and happen to have a US PSN account, you can take advantage of the deals as well! The PlayStation Store is offering substantial discounts on some popular titles, Steam has PUBG for half price, and there’s a tasty bundle including six games up for grabs!
Moonlighter & This War Of Mine (PC) Free from July 25th – August 1st @ Epic Games Store
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege Deluxe Edition (PS4) $11.99 @ PlayStation Store
Dark Souls III Deluxe Edition (PS4) $21.24 @ PlayStation Store
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PC) $15.00 @ Steam
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition (PC) $13.20 @ Voidu
BioShock Infinite (PC) $7.49 @ IndieGala
Empire Bundle (PC) – Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Fahrenheit: Indigo Prophecy Remastered, SimCity 4 Deluxe Edition & Homeworld Remastered Collection $5 @ Fanatical
Make sure you keep cool and stay hydrated while you play these awesome titles over the weekend. PUBG Season 4 just went live this week, and the original map Erangel has just seen a number of improvements. The new AFTERMATH Survivor pass was also just released, featuring 100 unlockable rewards based on Erangel’s past and present. If Fortnite and Apex Legends aren’t quite hitting the spot for you, consider checking out this more sober take on battle royale.
Daily News
Remothered: Tormented Fathers for Switch delayed
You won’t be able to cool yourself down with the Switch version of the chilling horror game Remothered: Tormented Fathers this week, since it has been delayed until the end of August.
According to developer Stormind Games, the delay was necessary to “polish and tune the final product.” It was originally released in January last year for PC, and then hit Xbox One and PlayStation 4 a bit later. “We want the Nintendo Switch version of Remothered: Tormented Fathers for North America, Europe, and Australia, to be a release that lives up to both the standards of our players and our studio.”
Remothered is now Rescheduled
The horror game from the Italian indie studio has won many awards and accolades, and is meant to be the first entry in a trilogy. The sequel Remothered: Going Porcelain was announced in April this year during the Italian Video Game Awards in Rome, and is due out in 2020 for PC and consoles. Remothered is a psychological horror game where audio plays a crucial role in giving you clues to danger, and offers a more realistic approach to puzzles.
Step into the shoes of Rosemary Reed and figure out exactly what’s going on in eccentric Richard Felton’s mansion. You’re there to investigate the disappearance of a girl called Celeste, at least until Dr. Felton discovers your true purpose – and things start going horribly wrong. Remothered: Tormented Fathers is scheduled to launch August 30th for Nintendo Switch.
Google Stadia nabbed talent from Microsoft’s “Project Rio”
In a not particularly surprising turn of events, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer revealed that they were working on something similar to Google Stadia and their own recently announced Microsoft xCloud, known internally as Project Rio.
More than half a decade ago, Microsoft was showcasing their prototype streaming tech for delivering Xbox games to PC to partners. Spencer also revealed that part of the Stadia team at Google are Microsoft alumni, and that Microsoft shut the project down due to “technical and cost issues” – oh, and the billion-dollar question: “What goal does this serve?” Microsoft was after all in the business of selling Xbox consoles, and Project Rio would compete with their own platform.
It’s a small world after all
According to the interview Spencer gave to Fortune Magazine, this might be changing, since “…it’s really just about how can you reach as many customers as possible in a delightful way that gives them enjoyment and lets them play”. Spencer finds this new perspective “liberating” since it certainly makes sense to stream to customers’ existing devices, “because that’s where the customers are” – and also saves Microsoft the bother of developing and selling these devices, allowing them to focus on the games.
The big game-changer that enabled Microsoft xCloud was the company’s investment in the Azure platform: The work done by the Azure team means there is suddenly infrastructure available that can tackle the major problems for game streaming, such as latency: “…there’s already cement poured, there’s already power and cooling into these buildings, there’s already people to monitor all of the machines…” – so there’s no reason not to use them!
Microsoft xCloud was announced at E3 2019 and will start performing its streaming magic this October. Google Stadia launches a month later in November.
