Top Story
Three teams working on Cyberpunk 2077, not three Cyberpunk games
CD Projekt RED has clarified that they are not working on three separate Cyberpunk projects after all. The source of the widely-publicized error was apparently a less-than-stellar Google translation of statements made by studio president Adam Kiciński.
He was actually saying that CD Project RED has three teams working on Cyberpunk 2077 together, and not on three separate projects. The Warsaw and Kraków teams are combining their efforts on the game itself, while the 40-strong Wroclaw studio is knee-deep in R&D – presumably inventing actual chipware or something along those lines.
Three teams enter, one game leaves
And that’s not all! Another two teams are busy elsewhere: “A separate, dedicated team at the Warsaw studio is handling the development of Gwent. The final team is Spokko, which is currently working on a yet unannounced mobile project.”
CD Projekt RED has made no secret of their plans for meaty expansions for Cyberpunk 2077, much along on the lines of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s extended adventures – and if sales are strong enough, there will probably be a sequel. Cyberpunk 2077 launches for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on April 16th, 2020
| Official Website | Release Date |
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
Which of these classic characters is NOT available in the Super Mario Maker Mystery Mushroom?
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Pac-Man
- Shaun the Sheep
- Hello Kitty
- Dixie Kong
The answer will be revealed at the end of this issue!
News Bits
Remedy wooed by Sony? Shuhei Yoshida gives a visit
Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida was recently spotted visiting Remedy Entertainment during his on-going tour of game studios. He even got to play Control! Was it just a quick friendly visit? Rumours are circulating about partnership, but Remedy seem to like their newfound independence and have started shying away from exclusivity.
Metal Wolf Chaos XD out August 6 for PC and console
The Microsoft Store has revealed a release date for Metal Wolf Chaos XD, and we can expect the Vice President to perform his coup on August 6, 2019. That means we can once again help the President defeat the rebellion with his personal assault mech suit and fight his way back into the Oval Office.
The famously bonkers Metal Wolf Chaos was originally released on Xbox in December 2004, and was developed by FromSoftware in partnership with Microsoft. This new version has received a facelift courtesy of Devolver Digital.
| Official Website | Release Date |
Daily Fact
It’s-a Me, Jumpman! From New York City to Mushroom Kingdom
Mario-creator Shigeru Miyamoto didn’t just pull everyone’s favorite mustachio’d plumber out of thin air – he actually evolved from an earlier character named ‘Mr. Video’, also called ‘Jumpman’. In fact, there probably wouldn’t be any Mario at all if Miyamoto-san had been able to license Popeye for his arcade game!
Unable to use Popeye, Bluto and Olive Oyl, Miyamoto invented Donkey Kong, a game about a man rescuing his girlfriend from the clutches of an ill-tempered ape. Originally, the hero of Donkey Kong was called Mr. Video, and was supposed to find his way through a maze to save his distressed damsel. The design eventually evolved to involve jumping over barrels, and the Donkey Kong we know was released in 1981.
Hold the spinach – give me some of that Fire Flower power
In the English language version of the game, the hero was called Jumpman – but the sales brochure named him Mario instead. Mr. Video was supposed to be the leading man of every game designed by Miyamoto, who recognizes that the red and blue hero would quickly have disappeared from memory if the original name had been kept.
The name Mario was officially adopted in the 1982 arcade game Donkey Kong Junior, where Mario would appear as the villain of a game for the first and last time. Mario finally got his own game in 1983, starring alongside his younger brother Luigi in Mario Bros. The arcade game portrayed them as Italian-American plumbers battling sewer creatures below New York City.
Eventually, Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo Entertainment System brought Mario and Luigi to the Mushroom Kingdom to save Princess Toadstool from King Koopa.