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, Pokémon Go got more creatures (although not as many as some fans hoped for), Overwatch gets a festive update, and we learn more about Super Nintendo World in Universal.
Enjoy, and have a great weekend!
Pieces of flair and opinion
- The DeanBeat: The road ahead in VR and AR will have two steps forward, one step back
- Super Mario Run’s internet-connection requirement is dumb
- Want more Nintendo nostalgia? Try this Hyperkin mechanical keyboard
- Are babies enough to get people back into Pokémon Go? GamesBeat Decides
- Final Fantasy I to XV: Ranking the series from worst to best
- Why The Last Guardian’s AI is a good example for chatbot developers
News
- GameStop: Nintendo 64 is the hottest system in the retro-gaming scene
- NES Classic Edition sold 196,000 systems in November in the United States alone
- November 2016 NPD: Pokémon has its biggest debut in franchise history
- Planet Coaster’s winter update adds new rides, shops, and more
- NES Classic Edition is back in stock in ‘limited quantities’ at GameStop
- Twitch now permits streamers to broadcast non-gaming vlog-style content
- Lego Worlds will be $2 less than Minecraft when it launches February 21
- Seismic Games acquires Grue Games as it expands into AR and VR gaming
- PC RPG hit Victor Vran moves to the PS4 and Xbox One in 2017
- Nintendo Switch specs: less powerful than PlayStation 4
- Torment: Tides of Numenera launches its Planescape-like role-playing world on February 28
- Valkyria Revolution revives a beloved alternate World War II series in the West
- Skyrim and Fallout 4 director Todd Howard inducted into gaming’s Hall of Fame
- Wevr Transport launches premium subscription for virtual reality apps
- Nintendo Switch and NES Classic were Googled more than PlayStation VR, PS4 Pro, or Xbox One in 2016
- Top 10 most Googled video games of 2016: Overwatch, Battlefield, and Slither.io
- AMD introduces Ryzen brand for highly anticipated Zen-based desktop processors
- Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland brings a snowball fight to Blizzard’s blockbuster
- Destiny’s The Dawning holiday event is now live
- The BioShock series is now backward compatible on Xbox One
- Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe steps aside as company shuffles structure for mobile and PC VR groups
- VR game studio Survios nabs MGM as investor in fundings totaling $50 million
- Forza Horizon 3’s Blizzard Mountain expansion slaps snow tires on year’s best racing game
- Boom.tv raises $3.5 million for esports 3D livestreaming platform
- Nyko does what Nintendo won’t: make a longer NES Classic controller cord
- Rokoko unveils SmartSuit Pro to capture your movements for virtual worlds
- Hand-drawn adventure game The Little Acre out now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC
- Greenlight Insights merges with M2 Advisory Group to do more VR, game, and tech analysis
- Venture Reality Fund releases AR industry landscape
- Crytek employees worry about the fate of their company as payroll goes unpaid
- Twitch finally adds a smarter tool to take on bigots, racists, and trolls in chat
- Warframe’s biggest update of the year comes to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
- AMD takes on Nvidia with new Radeon Instinct chips for machine learning
- Pixvana delivers Spin Studio VR video creation and delivery platform
- Gunslinger Studios raises $1.4 million for one-minute multiplayer games
- Play Pac-Man on the MacBook Pro Touch Bar with this app
- Super Nintendo World will open at Universal Studios Japan by 2020
Mobile and social
- Super Mario Run is the top-grossing iOS app in 5 countries on launch day
- Galatron brings retro-arcade-style space shooting to Facebook Messenger instant games
- Super Mario Run is out now for iOS devices
- Subatomic’s Fieldrunners Attack! hits the iPhone after a four-year wait
- Pretty Little Liars gets its own Episode in Pocket Gems’ hit storytelling app
- Big Viking will turn Valiant Entertainment’s comic properties into HTML5 mobile games
- Giroptic’s attachment turns your iPhone into a 360-degree VR camera
- Clash Royale event brings together the best North American players for The Crown Duel
- Pokémon Go’s ‘baby’ update disappoints some fans
- Pokémon Go gets ‘select’ monsters from the Gen 2 games Gold and Silver
- Gfycat launches mobile GIF creator for Android
- Scotland’s Outplay Entertainment acquires mobile game developer Eight Pixels Square
Previews, reviews, and interviews
- Epic’s Tim Sweeney: Be patient. The Metaverse will come. And it will be open.
- 8Bitdo’s wireless NES Classic controller solves the cable problem without losing the nostalgia
- Super Mario Run captures Nintendo’s magical game design for mobile — even if it’s too short
- Sound BlasterX Katana speaker system pumps big sound through a small package
- Creative goes beyond gaming audio with its new Sound BlasterX keyboard and mouse
- Astro’s A50 is the smartest wireless gaming headset you can buy
- Star Wars: Force Arena hands-on — a remix of Clash Royale, Dota, and a galaxy far, far away
- Troll and I is a co-op adventure that pairs two unlikely friends in a grand tale
- Watch how the snowballs fly in Overwatch’s Winter Wonderland Arcade mode