Hamster is bringing SNK’s 1994 title Samurai Shodown II to the Switch eShop. If the first game was revolutionary this first sequel somehow managed to surpass expectations thanks to gameplay refinements such as the very welcomed inclusion of rolling and ducking which enable you to safely dodge incoming projectile attacks. You may even have the honour of being challenged to fight against the game’s iconic umpire, Kuroko!

The old roster has been expanded with four new comers joining up with all the original cast: no-nonsense Genjuro Kibagami would become a recurring character in the series; Tam Tam got replaced with the cute catgirl Cham Cham and her monkey sidekick Pako Pako; Neinhalt Sieger (which translates from German as “non stop winner”) is spreading peace and love by punching people with a giant steam-powered iron fist and finally there’s the hilarious Nicotine Caffeine, who was named after those same nasty habits sported by game director Yasushi Adachi.

You can add some over the top “Engrish” to round up the whole package. While still on the subject of translations, the original Japanese name for the game is Shin Samurai Supirittsu: Haōmaru Jigokuhen which translates as “True Samurai Spirits: Haohmaru Hell Change” which we still believe around the NL office is a reference to Haohmaru’s very bad hair day displayed in the game’s cover.

There is no other way around this: Samurai Shodown II remains the finest game in whole series. Any fond memories of this one back in the day? Will you be slashing you way to the eShop on February first? Fight fair in the comments below.

Ojiro “Moppin” Fumoto – best known for the award-winning mobile title Downwell – has joined Nintendo.

Fumoto made the announcement via his Twitter account, and his profile now features the text “Downwell / Nintendo”.

While “serious” gamers often look down on smartphone titles, Downwell is one of those rare cases of a mobile game being really good. Despite its simple controls, it delivers one of the most intense and challenging gameplay experiences you can have on a smartphone, and boasts some striking pixel visuals which call to mind the twitch arcade classics of yesteryear. It’s since been ported to Windows, PS4 and PS Vita.

This (very roughly) translates as: 

I got a job on the Nintendo DS! I’ll do my best to

It will be interesting to see how Nintendo uses Fumoto’s unique talents, and it’s good to know that the company is hiring such fresh talent. 

Welcome aboard, Moppin!

SOS is Now Available on Steam Early Access!

SOS is an interactive game show where 16 entertaining performers are dropped onto La Cuna Island with one simple goal – get off La Cuna Island. Players must find a relic, signal for extraction, and grab a spot on the rescue chopper while out-thinking opponents and fending off monster hordes. Survivors will be rewarded with fame and fortune, not to mention their lives.

According to the ESA’s annual assessment, the U.S. game industry once again saw a year-over-year increase in revenue, with this year’s numbers coming in at $36 billion in revenue between hardware, peripherals, software, in-game purchases, and subscriptions. 

By the ESA’s count, that makes for an 18 percent increase over the $30.4 billion reported in 2016. Those numbers were based on the NPD Group’s annual year-end reporting and supplemented with App Store and Google Play data from the mobile analytics firm App Annie.

Keep in mind however that the NPD’s reporting on game and downloadable content sales, particularly digital, isn’t an exact measurement. The report notes that its numbers don’t include digital sales for Switch and 3DS games, or PC digital sales from Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, Battle.net, Origin, or Uplay. 

Game developers should be aware that data gaps like that have led to amended reports in the past, but, with that in mind, the NPD’s overall reports still offer a useful glimpse at larger trends in the game industry as a whole.

Looking at just the NPD Group’s record of game industry sales for 2017, video game hardware brought in a total of $4.7 billion in 2017, a 28 percent increase from the $3.6 billion sold in 2016. That same report clocked a 6 percent increase year-over-year in physical and digital games sold on consoles and handhelds, though these numbers exclude digital sales on Nintendo platforms. 

PC games, however, saw a 20 percent decrease in game sales between 2016 and 2017 on the platforms tracked by the NPD Group. By the NPD’s count, PC game software saw $275 million in sales this year, down from the $342 million reported in 2016. 

Across all platforms, the NPD says that Call of Duty: WWII saw the most money brought in from both physical and digital sales in 2017 though, as mentioned above, not all platforms or storefronts provided digital sale information to the group. Following that, NBA 2K18 falls in second place with Destiny 2 coming in third overall.

Looking at just December and, again, ranked by dollars in sales, Call of Duty: WWII was the highest selling game when comparing sales on all major platforms. Additionally, the game topped the charts for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One individually. Meanwhile, the Xbox console exclusive PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds saw the next most sales on the Xbox One while the runner-up on PlayStation 4 looks to be Star Wars: Battlefront II.

Facebook has signed an agreement that secures it exclusive broadcasting rights to both the CS:GO Pro League and ESL One eSports events. The social media site replaces YouTube as the sole stream provider for the upcoming competitions. 

Be it original content or live streaming video, Facebook has doubled its efforts in recent years to grow its social media site as a major video platform and its growth is something developers may want to pay attention to.

The ESL cites this effort as one of the reasons it opted to partner with Facebook this time around and notes that the arrangement has the benefit of making live events accessible to a large number of eSports fans with little friction thanks to the company’s Facebook Watch platform.

Those benefits, the ESL says, extend further to recently implemented social video experiences that let viewers form private stream chats with online friends or form virtual viewing parties through Facebook’s built-in messenger chat.

“For years ESL has used Facebook to nurture its global community while broadening the audience for eSports competition to millions of fans worldwide,” said Facebook Games Partnerships global director Leo Olebe in a statement “Having two of ESL’s most adored properties for [Counter-Strike: Global Offensive] and Dota 2 streaming exclusively on Facebook is the next step in our efforts to delight the passionate eSports community on Facebook.”

SteamWorld Dig is one of our favourite Wii U and 3DS eShop titles so the news that we’ll get the chance to play it a third time on Switch is very welcome indeed.

Image & Form’s Brjann Sigurgeirsson has stated that it’s coming on February 1st and will cost $9.99 in North America.

Sigurgeirsson said that he hopes bringing the original game to Switch will help fans see things have evolved when compared to the sequel. While it’s certainly true that SteamWorld Dig 2 is a more ambitious game, we have a real soft spot for the first title.

What about you? Will you be downloading this one on Switch?

Famous secret agent and ’80s cartoon sensation Danger Mouse is coming to the Nintendo Switch, courtesy of 9th Impact Studios.

Danger Mouse: The Danger Games features DM, Penfold and Silas Greenback as they race around the streets of London in an effort to prove who’s the fastest. The gameplay looks quite basic, which is no surprise when you learn that The Danger Games originally launched on smartphones. 

Still, after countless mornings spent watching DM’s heroic feats as children (as well as checking out the recent reboot when nobody else is in the room) we have to admit our love of the character may mean we overlook such issues. Maybe.

Let us know if you’ll be downloading this acclaimed secret agent’s latest game by posting a comment below.

The Red Strings Club is Now Available on Steam and is 15% off!*

The Red Strings Club is a cyberpunk narrative experience about fate and happiness featuring the extensive use of pottery, bartending and impersonating people on the phone to take down a corporate conspiracy.

*Offer ends January 30 at 10AM Pacific Time