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Ubisoft Forward and Flight Sim Dates, LEGO NES Leaked

TODAY: Death Stranding is finally out on PC this week, and you can preload it on Steam — Microsoft Flight Simulator generates its realistic terrain from Bing maps — KnuckleDu is retiring from competitive gaming

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Highlights from Ubisoft Forward

The Ubisoft Forward event aired this weekend, revealing the French publisher’s line-up for the immediate future complete with new announcements, trailers and release dates.

Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?

What was Smash Bros called before it got the Nintendo mascot treatment?

  • Punch Session
  • Dragon King: The Fighting Game
  • Riverside Rumble
  • Hey Guys, Let’s Roughhouse

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.

Daily Fact

Syphon Filter 3 cover art was a little bit too realistic about its terror threats

Sony’s third-person stealth shooter Syphon Filter 3 was originally scheduled for release on September 25th 2001, but the 9/11 terrorist attack and the subsequent anthrax scare made Sony hold the game back until November 6th.

The original box art featured the stars and stripes surrounded by green gaseous fumes and the blurb featured language like “WANTED: Deadly Force Authorized”, “deadly arsenal” and “terrorists”. All this was changed, but some copies had already shipped and became a bit of a collector’s item, known as the 9/11 American Flag Cover.

Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today’s fact.

This Week In Gaming

It’s all about Japan this week

Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding finally arrives on PC this week, alongside Ghost of Tsushima for PlayStation 4 and Paper Mario: The Origami King for Switch.

Tuesday – July 14

Thursday – July 16

  • Dragon Quest Tact launches for iOS and Android
  • Superhot: Mind Control Delete launches for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

Friday – July 17

  • Ghost of Tsushima launches for PlayStation 4
  • Death Come True launches for PC
  • Paper Mario: The Origami King launches for Switch

Microsoft Flight Simulator Dated

Microsoft opens Flight Simulator pre-orders and announces launch date

Preorders have opened for Microsoft Flight Simulator from Asobo Studio and Xbox Game Studios, ahead of launch on August 18th.

The long-running flight simulation series will be part of Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass for PC, so you can already preload the game on Windows 10.

Globetrotting: “Travel the world and experience over 2 million cities and expansive environments from mountains to trees, rivers, animals, traffic, and even roads. From light planes to wide-body jets, test your piloting skills and experience the challenges of flying at night, real-time atmospheric simulation, and live weather in a dynamic and living world.”

Photorealism: Microsoft Flight Simulator uses Microsoft’s own Bing Maps data – over 2 petabytes of data sitting in the cloud – that Azure AI uses to create photorealistic 3D models of buildings and terrain features. Add realistic physics and weather systems, and you have the most ambitious consumer-grade flight simulator ever!

What Else Happened Today?

Esports Bits

Trusted Mode is causing some issues

Trusted mode is out of beta and enabled by default in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The software blocks third-party applications that interfere with the game’s files and memory data.

There are still some kinks to iron out, however, including performance problems for many players. If you have trouble starting or running the game, you can disable Trusted mode and still play. Predictably, there’s a lot of misinformation surrounding the roll-out, so consult Valve’s Trusted mode FAQ rather than believe everything you hear.

The Overwatch League will introduce tournaments to the 2021 homestands

Overwatch League president Jon Spector has revealed Blizzard’s plans to introduce tournaments to the 2021 homestands: “We are still working on 2021 format concepts and the uncertainty around the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made that really challenging,” said Spector.

“It’s clear that monthly tournament cycles are compelling, and we want to do something similar next year too,” he continued. Tournaments have been trialled for two months, and viewership has grown considerably on YouTube as a result. While the final format of leagues and tournaments is not settled, it is clear that fans are happy about the changes.

Capcom Cup 2016 Champion retires

Capcom Cup 2016 winner Du “KnuckleDu” Dang has announced his retirement from competitive gaming. “I will be putting my controller down now. Furthermore, I will step away from social media in general since I can’t offer you guys anything anymore,” said Dang.

Dang was involved in a car accident on July 3rd, and was hospitalized but recovering well. Dang is only 24 years old, and had the potential to become one of the greatest fighting game players in competitive history. He dominated the 2016 Capcom Cup, winning the tournament without losing a single set.

Gaming Deals

Today’s Gaming Deal Highlights

There are so many great deals now that it felt wrong not to share some of them ahead of the weekend’s bargain extravaganza.

https://amzn.to/32hi3JN

Watch Dogs 2 (PC) Free @ Ubisoft UPlay Store

Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe Edition (PS4) $36.93 @ Amazon US

Predator: Hunting Grounds (PS4) $24.72 @ Amazon US

Yakuza Remastered Collection (PS4) $39.99 @ Amazon US

Persona 5 Royal: Standard Edition (PS4) $39.99 @ Amazon US

Maneater (PS4/Xbox One) $25.05 @ Amazon US

New Super Lucky’s Tale (Nintendo Switch) $29.99 @ Amazon US

Club Mocchi Mocchi- Kirby (Plush Stuffed Toy) $23.99 @ Amazon US

Need for Speed Heat (PC) £21.99 @ Humble Store

Dead by Daylight (PC) £5.99 @ Humble Store

The Dark Eye Universe Bundle (PC) £2.69 @ Humble Store

If you buy any of these games by following our links, DailyBits will earn a small commission, so thanks in advance! Saturday will bring even more amazing video game deals, so stay tuned!

Quiz Answer - Did You Get It Right?

What was Smash Bros called before it got the Nintendo mascot treatment?

Answer: Dragon King: The Fighting Game!

It’s hard to imagine Super Smash Bros without Nintendo characters, but the game didn’t start out as a mascot mash-up.

Satoru Iwata used to be both president and programmer at HAL Laboratories before he became president of Nintendo, and on weekends he worked on Smash Bros with Sakurai. Iwata programmed and Sakurai designed Dragon King: The Fighting Game.

Sakurai wanted to bring Nintendo characters into the mix to make the game stand out, but it was an uphill battle to get Nintendo to approve their character designs. In the end, Iwata and Sakurai had their way, but the game didn’t get much of a budget or marketing support since fighting games were past their prime in Japan. Fortunately, it turned into a sleeper hit and birthed the massive phenomenon we know today.

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