News by Lindsay M., News Editor
Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!
PONG meets RPG in Pong Quest
Yes, this is a bit of a weird story, and no, it’s not an April Fools joke, either. Developer Chequered Ink and publisher Atari (of course) have announced PONG Quest, launching this spring. It will be released for PC, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One. Here’s the announcement trailer:
As a young paddle, you’ll traverse treacherous dungeons, each loosely based on an Atari hit; dungeon themes include Asteroid, Centipede, and more. Your opponents will be a variety of paddles. The goal is to reveal the mystery of the Spooky Door. Okay, so it all sounds a little far-fetched, but tell me you’re not incredibly interested in how it actually turns out.
Atari COO Jean-Marcel Nicolai spoke about the game via a press release: “PONG as an RPG is something completely unexpected, but wonderful in execution. We are thrilled to bring PONG Quest to life to honor the classic IP and bring the beloved gameplay to a new generation of players and RPG fans. Atari has a rich portfolio of titles and exploring new ways to breathe new life into those franchises yields exciting results.”
Have you gotten your copy of FFVII Remake yet?
Depending on where you are in the world, you may be able to get that physical and start playing, well, now. Final Fantasy VII Remake will ship earlier to Europe and Australia; I know for sure it’s available in Australia, despite the rumours yesterday that it was an April fools joke. The digital edition’s launch date will remain in line with that for the rest of the world: April 10.
A message from Square Enix producer Yoshinori Kitase and director Tetsuya Nomura states the reasoning: “We had some hard decisions to make during the final few weeks before launch due to disruption to distribution channels caused by the spread of the COVID-19 virus. These unique circumstances have made it very difficult to align timing of our global shipping. Our highest priority is that all of you, including those who live in countries currently facing the biggest disruption, can play the game at launch, so we made the decision to ship the game far earlier than usual to Europe and Australia.”
It’s kind of cute that Square Enix thinks asking fans to not post about the game is going to work. In the same message, Kitase and Nomura say, “We know there are potential spoilers that have been out there for over two decades as the original Final Fantasy VII was released in 1997. But Final Fantasy VII Remake is a new game that still has many surprises for everyone.”
Kawaii Deathu Desu coming to the Switch
Fast-paced beat-em up Kawaii Deathu Desu will be launching for Nintendo Switch on April 16, with digital pre-load beginning April 9 and a launch discount applicable until April 29. Inspired by games such as One Finger Death Punch, this title promises rhythmic gameplay that is simple yet satisfying. Here’s a trailer:
Supernatural beings have found themselves reincarnated as adorable Japanese idols, landing them somewhere between cute and terrifying. These idols start a worldwide competition to determine who can claim the throne of the underworld. The winner is the one who collects the most souls from their faithful followers. Players will choose in idol then beat up as many overzealous fans as possible.
What I really love about Kawaii Deathu Desu it its international team: publisher-developer eastasiasoft is based out of Hong Kong, publisher Top Hat Studios is from New York but with team members worldwide, and developer Pippin Games is from Brazil.
Gamescom keeping its options open while preparing for the worst
The future of Gamescom 2020 is up in the air, and unlike the planners of GDC, its organisers accept that there’s a good chance it won’t be able to happen as planned. The conference is set for August 25 to 29 in Cologne, with another component called Devcom set to run from August 22 to 24. The situation will be fully accessed mid-May, but for now, preparations are underway for both a physical and a digital event, or some combination of the two. If either even cannot take place on location, exhibitors and ticket-holders will be fully reimbursed.
Oliver Frese, Managing Director at organiser Koelnmesse, said through a statement, “Gamescom and Koelnmesse already rank among the digital pioneers in the international trade fair landscape. We therefore also see the current corona crisis as a chance to implement digital event formats even more. Gamescom 2020 offers the perfect platform for this.”
Another statement was made by Felix Falk, Managing Directs at Game (The German Games Industry Association), further highlighting the need of digital features not only this year, but moving into the future. “In view of the corona crisis, we are now expanding all digital formats at full speed so that Gamescom 2020 can at least take place digitally in any case. We already reach millions of Gamescom fans worldwide with the global show Gamescom: Opening Night Live and the Gamescom now portal. Further expansion of our digital strategy is the way to go right now.”
