Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s weekly news feature, Catch-up coffee Monday. Each Monday we will bring you the best news from the previous week that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us!
The biggest-selling game of the week in Japan was for PS Vita
Europeans and Americans may consider the PS Vita a legacy console, but in Japan it seems as though it’s anything but. For proof, look no further than the sales figures for January 11-17: the Vita version of the Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir remake topped the sales list, selling nearly 40,000 copies. The PlayStation 4 version of the same game couldn’t even make that magic happen, sitting comfortably at number three with about 6,000 copies less. Not only that, but during that same week the PS Vita was third in terms of consoles sold. The 3DS XL sold the most at about 30,000 units, followed by the PS4 (approximately 25,500) and the PS Vita (just over 18,000). This means the Vita outsold two of the three current-gen home console systems… not too shabby for a “legacy console!”
Stranger of Sword City on PS Vita
Last week, I wrote about how NIS America’s Stranger of Sword City would be coming to Xbox One and PS Vita this year, on March 22 and March 25 respectively. Unfortunately, the PS Vita version of the game has been delayed by just over a month and is now expected to be out on April 29 in Europe. The good news? Once released, Stranger of Sword City’s PS Vita version will feature two selectable in-game art styles, so there will be double the gorgeous visuals to take in. The game is getting both a physical and a digital release.
Detective Pikachu is a great detective, but a terrible Pokemon
More details have been announced this past week regarding Detective Pikachu, the 3DS game releasing in Japan in a few short days. While the rest of the world steamed over when they’ll get a turn to investigate crime with the Pokemon-turned-sleuth, some more information was released regarding the game’s content. The player becomes Tim (no option to be a girl? Really?), who resides in Rhyme City. Tim and his partner, none other than Detective Pikachu, must interview people and gather evidence found around Rhyme City to solve cases. Pikachu is able to talk, but that allowance means he is no longer capable of doing any of his signature moves. He’s also a little slow, and weak around attractive women. But hey, he loves coffee, and that’s kind of cool, right? …Right?
Team17 partners with Melbourne student to publish Way to the Woods
I can never quite predict was Team17 will do next, and in this case I was more than pleasantly surprised at its announcement: the game publisher is teaming up with Anthony Tan, a 16-year-old student and indie developer of Studio Happy Bee, to publish Way To The Woods. The upcoming game became all the rage after a post to Reddit last month, attracting the attention of players and industry veterans alike. Debbie Bestwick, CEO of Team 17, says of the game and its creator, “Way to the Woods is an absolutely beautiful, unique looking game and upon speaking with Anthony, we could not have been more impressed. He’s an incredibly mature person for his age with a very bright future ahead of him and it’s mind blowing what he’s achieved thus far.” We’ll keep you updated on any news stemming from this upcoming third-person adventure game.
Does any of this news tickle your fancy or make you steaming mad? Let us know in the comments! And meet us again next week for a new edition of Catch-up coffee Monday.
– Lindsay M.
News Editor
