Join independent journalists and industry decision-makers at GamesBeat NEXT, returning to San Francisco November 2–3. The event brings together 500 executives, founders, investors and tech leaders shaping the $200 billion interactive economy for candid discussions on gaming, entertainment, technology and AI, plus executive networking and opportunities to build partnerships and close major deals.
Welcome to another GamesBeat weekly roundup! This time, Super Mario Run finally come out on Android, Yooka-Laylee’s developers deal with the fallout of a popular YouTuber’s racist remarks, and Red Dead Redemption is coming to PC … as a Grand Theft Auto V mod.
Please check out our GamesBeat Summit 2017 event coming May 1-2 on the inspiration between science fiction, tech, and games. Use Deantak code for 20 percent off.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: Bouncing between the vast worlds of Zelda and Mass Effect: Andromeda
- Self-driving car expert and Project Cars exec to speak at GamesBeat Summit
- 6 ways to invest in augmented reality
- Is Mass Effect: Andromeda a success or a failure? GamesBeat Decides
- How to test Splatoon 2 for Nintendo Switch
- Watch a Guardian ignore Link to fight a Stone Talus in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
- The emerging business strategies for monetizing virtual reality
- How Magic Leap’s gaming wizard sees the future of mixed reality games
- Magic Leap, the virtual reality backlash and the arc of technology
News
- Razer to pay people zVault currency for playing PC games like Overwatch
- InXile’s Brian Fargo to retire after Wasteland 3 is done in 2019
- Pokémon drove 27.8% growth in collectibles sales for GameStop last quarter
- GameStop retail stores saw 13 percent revenue drop in the fourth quarter
- Respawn reveals Titanfall 2’s next content drop brings back a classic map
- Yooka-Laylee developer removes voice of YouTube personality JonTron after racist statements
- Fig announces fans and investors can own a stake in Wasteland 3
- Destiny 2 is coming in September according to leaked, unconfirmed poster
- Electronic Arts reveals playable games for EA Play event
- Tencent leads the top 25 public game companies with $10.2 billion in revenues
- Wii U emulator team has huge parts of Zelda: Breath of the Wild working on PC
- Steam rival GOG Galaxy exits beta with universal cloud saves and more customization
- Rocket League’s latest update introduces new mode and fourth competitive season
- Chrono.gg bags $1 million for PC store that sells 1 game at a time
- Twitch and esports event group DreamHack renew their partnership for 2017
- Game about Iran’s revolution nets first U.K. acting nomination for a Muslim actor
- Red Dead Redemption is coming to PC — as a Grand Theft Auto V fan mod
- Game academy opens submissions for video game scholarships
- ARM unveils Dynamiq multicore chip designs for faster AI and cloud computing
- Nintendo is shipping more Switch systems to U.S. retailers this week
- Mass Effect: Andromeda’s latest patch fixes black-screen bug and multiplayer issues
- Xbox One update takes players into the Arena with custom gamerpics
Mobile and social
- Kim Kardashian launches Facebook Messenger bot to promote her mobile game
- Lionsgate’s gaming division has a hell of a good day with Power Rangers launch
- Plarium and Fox Interactive debut Rio: Match-3 Party mobile game
- Family Guy: Another Freakin’ Mobile Game attempts to bring the show’s humor to the match-3 field
- Kalypso’s quiz companion app is a novel way to promote a strategy game
- Super Mario Run is out on Android early
- Android software company Cyanogen reportedly shot down working on a Nintendo OS
- Akamai accelerates Netflix-like video services and game downloads
- Kidoz content-discovery network jumps from 1 million to 50 million users in a year
- Netmarble to raise $2.4 billion in IPO for it mobile gaming business
- PlayFab taps IBM’s Watson AI to understand why gamers keep playing
- Blackstorm Labs seizes the HTML5 instant games opportunity
Previews, reviews, and interviews
- Preview: What Remains of Edith Finch is a haunting tale of 13 deaths
- Razer’s Blackwidow Chroma V2 is a subtle and solid refresh of its flagship keyboard
- Mass Effect: Andromeda’s Act I: The good and the bad
- LucidSound’s LS40 gaming headset looks and sounds great in every situation
- This boss fight captures Mass Effect: Andromeda’s highs and lows
- Mass Effect: Andromeda is EA’s Godfather III