TODAY: LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens proved lawyers have no sense of humour — Looks like Pikmin 3 is being remastered for Switch — It's been 10 years since West and Zampella were fired from Infinity Ward

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Videogame sales rocketed in Q1 2020

The latest market data from NPD Group shows that North Americans spent $10.86 billion on videogames in the first quarter of 2020.

Sales increased by 11 percent compared to the first quarter of 2019. The increase in sales are mostly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has trapped a lot of people at home. Fortunately, games have “brought comfort and connection to millions during this challenging time,” according to NPD analyst Mat Piscatella.

Top Performing US Titles In Q1 2020

• Animal Crossing: New Horizons
• DOOM Eternal
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot
• MLB The Show 20
• NBA 2K20
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Minecraft
• Fortnite

“As people have stayed at home more, they’ve utilized gaming not only as a diversion and an escape, but also as a means of staying connected with family and friends,” Piscatella continued. Nintendo’s Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold more than 13.5 million copies, while Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 7 Remake has surpassed 3.5 million sales.

Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?

Which Finnish band has performed songs for most of Remedy's games?

• Nightwish
• Kardemimmit
• Poets of the Fall
• Loituma

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

Matt the Radar Technician got cut from LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens

2016 movie tie-in LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens by TT Fusion was supposed to feature a tongue-in-cheek character costume. The LEGO games tend to have a rich variety of costumes for famous characters, and the developers had prepared a very special one for Kylo Ren.

Not long before Star Wars The Force Awakens hit the theaters, Saturday Night Live aired a sketch where actor Adam Driver portrays Kylo Ren going undercover among his nervous subordinates as Matt the Radar Technician.

The game files contain code and art assets for Matt, but in the end the content was disabled for legal reasons.

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

Game Spotlight

Kholat Mini Review

Version tested: Nintendo Switch

Kholat is an interesting game, mixing a walking simulator with full-blown horror. It looks good and is practically oozing with atmosphere, but its unusual approach to save states might turn off some players.

Autosaves are only triggered by finding notes or returning to the campsite, so you lose all your progress if you perish on your trek. Additionally, there are some technical shortcomings like pop-in and wobbly framerate, meaning the Switch version isn't exactly the best way to enjoy Kholat.

Despite all its frustrations, Kholat is definitely worth recommending if you're after something disturbing and discomforting that doesn't care too much about making you feel good about yourself. It's got that Eastern European flavour that makes the STALKER and Metro games stand out, and it's definitely a unique experience. It might be a better experience on PC or another console, though.

Verdict: Wait for Sale

Pikmin 3 Remastered

Pikmin 3 Remaster headed to Switch

There have been rumours about Nintendo preparing to re-release some classics on Nintendo Switch, and it looks like Pikmin 3 is getting ready to make the journey from Wii U.

Games Beat‘s Jeff Grubb has reported that Nintendo is working on a rematered version of Pikmin 3 alongside a number of 3D Mario games. Nintendo has already re-released some old titles, like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Direct delayed: Nintendo just announced Paper Mario: The Origami King to everyone's great surprise. Nintendo had scheduled a Nintendo Direct for July, but later cancelled it since staff is working from home and the logistics for producing the show is not in place.

Quiet on plans: Nintendo has also taken action against a fan-made Super Mario 64 port for PC. The company is usually very protective of its intellectual property, but might be extra vigilant if they have a remastered version for Switch waiting in the wings ...

Titanfall Future?

Respawn Entertainment is 10 years old

Respawn Entertainment is growing up quick, and just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

To mark the occasion, the studio put together a highlight reel showing off Titanfall, Apex Legends, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and teasing the upcoming Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond virtual reality project they are developing in collaboration with Oculus Studios. Respawn studio boss Vince Zampella is “extremely proud of the smart and creative team” they’re building.

Not-so-humble beginnings: Last year was “one of the most memorable yet,” Respawn Entertainment, but they haven’t forgotten where it all started: “Of course, we can’t forget Titanfall, which is near and dear to everyone here at Respawn, as it’s the franchise that really helped put the studio on the map and show the world the caliber of games that we want to make.”

The next ten years: Respawn has no more plans for Titanfall at the moment, since the studio has its hands full with Apex Legends, a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Medal of Honor. Zampella finished by saying: “...we can’t wait to continue to create new games for you to enjoy for the next 10 years and beyond.”

What Else Happened Today?

• More NES and SNES games coming to Switch Online on May 20th, including Operation Logic Bomb, Panel de Pon, Wild Guns and Rygar
• Photo Mode and 9 missions added to Nioh 2 as Team Ninja prepares to launch “3 sizable & badass DLC batches”, the first launching July 30th
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 & 2 Remastered in-game footage showing 3 minutes of gameplay to get you excited for the September 4th launch
• Microids announces 3D adventure game based on The Smurfs, developed by OSome Studio who promises to stay “as faithful as possible” to the source material
• Alan Wake will be added to Xbox Game Pass on May 21st, just in time for the game's 10th anniversary

Quiz Answer - Did You Get It Right?

Which Finnish band has performed songs for most of Remedy's games?

Answer: Poets of the Fall!

If you’ve played a Remedy game, you’ve also heard The Poets of the Fall.

Their song Late Goodbye was featured on the end credits of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, and since then they kept collaborating with Remedy and their music has appeared in the Death Rally remake, Control and – their biggest contribution yet – Alan Wake.

Alan Wake features the song War (and Alan Wake features in the song's music video), and Poets of the Fall perform all the music by the in-game band The Old Gods of Asgard, including The Poet and the Muse and Children of the Elder God.

They even have a cameo appearance as themselves! If you watch Alan Wake's appearance on the Harry Garrett Show, the band appears at the end of the broadcast. It's safe to say that Poets of the Fall is a central part of Remedy's unique aesthetic.

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