PS4 to PS5 Transition, Nintendo Hails Third-party Games

Nintendo don’t expect third-party support for Switch to dry up any time soon

Now that the next-generation PlayStation and Xbox consoles are the future of gaming, you might be forgiven for wondering what will happen to Switch, but Nintendo is not worried.

“Other software publishers plan to release a wide variety of titles for Nintendo Switch going forward,” said Nintendo’s Shuntaro Furukawa to investors. Third-parties broaden the range of software and experiences available for Switch customers, and Nintendo considers them critical to the platform's success.

Runaway sales: Switch sales show no sign of slowing down, and 2020 has been a very profitable year for Nintendo: “The fact is that sales of Nintendo Switch software are increasing both for Nintendo titles and titles by other software publishers,” explained Furukawa.

Island escape: Animal Crossing: New Horizons has proven especially lucrative, and although Nintendo is keen to point out that third-party developers and publishers are important for the platform, Nintendo's own games dominate the platform's sales charts.

Who voiced Sam in Sam & Max Hit The Road?

a) Bill Farmer
b) Nick Jameson
c) David Nowlin
d) William Kasten

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Too much sex and violence for Oz

Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number was a little too hot for Australia, where it was denied classification and consequently banned from sale. The developers’ response? Just pirate the game if you want to play it.

What got the Aussies all worked up? An adult film set where the player is free to murder everyone present, which included one of the actors getting busy with, well, the act.

Join our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

PlayStation 4 over to 5 “about three years”

The fifth season of the Go Battle League starts this week, and the next Pokémon Masters EX spotlight has been revealed.

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Hideaki Nishino said they would keep supporting PlayStation 4 during the transition period, which Sony seems to estimate will last three years: “It may not be easy to develop PS5-specific development from day one,” he told AV Watch. “For the time being, development for PS4 is also necessary.”

Play forward: Future PlayStation 4 games will need to be compatible with PlayStation 5, however: “After a certain period of time, we ask developers to develop on the premise of ‘cross generation’ of PS4 and PS5,” he explained. So far, there are not a lot of developers working on PlayStation 5 exclusives.

Peaceful transition: Many of Sony's big PlayStation 5 games are not due until next year, with Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launching early next year, followed by Gran Turismo 7 and a new God of War. Horizon Forbidden West will launch in the second half of 2021.

Phil Spencer talks Xbox and Elden Ring

Xbox big cheese Phil Spencer has “seen quite a bit” and “played quite a bit” of FromSoftware and George R. R. Martin collaboration Elden Ring.

He talked about the anticipated role-playing game and – of course – Xbox in a video interview with GameSpot. “I can’t tell you much other than – as somebody who’s played all of Miyazaki’s games over the last decade – this is clearly the most ambitious game that he’s done.”

Power of Halo: Spencer also talked about Halo and what the series means today, after Halo Infinite missed the Xbox Series X launch. He says Halo “has the potential” to win back the popularity the series enjoyed on the Xbox 360, and that the Master Chief Collection has been very successful.

Xbox Japan: He did not comment about rumours that Microsoft is looking to acquire Japanese studios, saying that most of Microsoft's recent round of acquisitions were simply a matter of cementing “long lasting relationships” between parties. He concluded by saying that “it’s not accurate” to say Microsoft is shopping for talent in Japan.

• DYING: 1983 announced for PlayStation 5 and the grim puzzler is playable at WePlay 2020 in Shanghai
• Sam & Max Save The World – Remastered unveiled and due to launch on December 2nd for PC and Switch
• The next Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary event will be a ‘Course Limited Battle’ from November 13th until November 16th
• Mid-season update for Fall Guys adding “fiendishly fresh creations” featuring medieval madness
• Rocket League coming to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 and Psyonix are keen to point out the improvements

To celebrate the start of a new generation of console gaming we are giving away a new PlayStation 5 to one lucky DailyBits reader. You can find out more about this giveaway on our dedicated page.

Here’s the Giveaway Code for Week 46: 5577

Who voiced Sam in Sam & Max Hit The Road?

ANSWER: Bill Farmer!

Sam & Max Hit the Road was the first time the two rascals had been voiced, and they got the royal treatment. Sam was voiced by Bill Farmer, while Max was voiced by Nick Jameson. Bill Farmer has been the voice of Goofy since the 80s, and he has appeared in all the Kingdom Hearts games. He’s certainly got a knack for voicing anthropomorphic dogs.

Unfortunately, he only appeared as Sam in the Lucasarts game. Harvey Atkin voiced him in the animated TV show, and David Nowlin starred in the Telltale series. They’re all good boys, and manage to capture the big dog’s wacky noir sensibility in their own ways.

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey.

We hope you've enjoyed today's issue DailyBits! Please feel free to send any feedback over to [email protected]. Thank You!