UK Retailers Calm Next-Gen Delay, Fortnite Upgrades

UK Retailers announce different ways to buy a next-gen console on launch day

The UK government has announced a nation-wide four-week lockdown, prompting British retailers to issue statements about how Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 pre-orders will be honored.

Game, Argos and Smyths will operate a so-called click-and-collect service when Xbox Series X launches on November 10th, and again for the PlayStation 5 launch on November 19th.

You can visit a Game retailer to pick up your console between 8.00am and 2.00pm, while Xbox All Access customers will be contacted directly.

Pick up points: Smyths will contact customers and inform them when their order is ready, and will only take payment by card. Argos will allow customers to pick up their orders from an Argos store, or from collection points in Sainsburys.

Retail fever: All non-essential retailers have been asked to close during the lockdown, but can still offer pick-up and delivery services. Despite the inconvenience, the lockdown will most likely help bolster next-gen console sales.

What was the studio behind Driver called before Ubisoft bought them?

a) Reflections
b) Monolith Productions
c) GT Interactive
d) Infogrames

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.

Put some shorts on and get shredded

Konami’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters featured some creative copy-protection: If the string “konami” could not be found in the console’s video memory, the final fight against Shredder would become way harder.

If you should survive the battle against the overpowered Shredder, the fight would simply start over again. There were also some changes between the Japanese and international versions: Ninja girl Aska wore a pair of shorts instead of just a thong, and crossed her arms modestly instead of thrusting her jiggly chest out when winning a match.

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

Dinos, dirt rallies and illegal street racing

The next-gen consoles are just around the corner, but that doesn’t mean the release schedule is empty. Dino park extravaganza Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition is out for Switch, while racing fans can look forward to DiRT 5 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered.

Tuesday – November 03

• Bakugan: Champions of Vestroia for Switch
• Jurassic World Evolution: Complete Edition for Switch

Wednesday – November 04

• Soldner-X 2: Final Prototype Definitive Edition for PlayStation 4

Thursday – November 05

• Shadowverse: Champion's Battle for Switch

Friday – November 06

• Descenders for Switch
• DiRT 5 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4
• Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
• Tropico 6 for Switch

Fortnite with Day 1 next-gen upgrades

Fortnite will be available on both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X at launch, complete with next-gen upgrades.

Expect a bunch of improvements after you transfer your profile from your old console. You can also claim a Throwback Pickaxe from the first season between November 4th and January 15th.

PlayStation 5 upgrades

• Play in 4K at 60 FPS
• Improved visuals and physics
• DualSense controller immersion
• Select your favorite Mode from the Home Screen
• Get into matches faster
• Enhanced split-screen

Xbox Series X/S upgrades

• Play in 4K at 60 FPS on Series X
• Improved visuals and physics on Series X
• Get into matches faster
• Enhanced split-screen

Crossplay for all: “No matter what platforms you played Fortnite on previously (or plan to continue playing alongside your new consoles), crossplay remains available, and your progression and cosmetics carry over to the new platforms.” Check out the official Fortnite website for more details.

Super Smash Bros. Melee still smashing

Super Smash Bros. Melee has a new lease on life thanks to Slippi Champions League, which features an online matchmaking system.

For the last four weeks, sixteen top North American players have duked it out across two divisions with a weekly $1600 prize and commentary from Beyond the Summit. Zain Naghmi was crowned champion after three straight victories.

Clash Royale begins 17th season today

The next Clash Royale season, Treasures of the Old King, begins on November 2nd and that means a new Royale Pass with a new tower skin, emotes and a new arena.

$4.99 buys you better rewards, including the first semi-transparent tower skin called Ghostly Treasure. The boosted cards for this season are Royal Ghost and Electro Giant, and an update with balance changes will launch on November 3rd.

• Microsoft hasn't forgot about Master Chief even though Halo Infinite has been delayed: there's a tiny Halo emblem hidden inside console
• The online servers for Shadow of Mordor will be shut down in January 2021 which means Vendetta missions and Platinum trophy runs will no longer be possible
• PlayStation 5 faceplate shop PlateStation5.com in legal trouble after Sony's lawyers decided the store was infringing on Sony's trademarks
• Sharkmob announces Vampire: The Masquerade battle royale where the Kindred duke it out in Prague
• 9 Ubisoft games are not compatible with PlayStation 5, most of which are older Assassin’s Creed games

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 45: 8090

What was the studio behind Driver called before Ubisoft bought them?

ANSWER: Reflections!

Before they became Ubisoft Reflections, they were simply Reflections and made PlayStation classics like Destruction Derby and Driver. They were first acquired by GT Interactive in the late 90s, but after GT rebranded to Atari and ran into financial trouble, Ubisoft picked up the company for a fairly reasonable $24 million.

It has been 9 years since the last Driver game, so it seems like that franchise has been put to pasture, but Reflections are still making driving games. They helped Ivory Tower make The Crew, and provide development services to other Ubisoft studios on a wide range of titles. Could they still bring Tanner out of retirement?

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!