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I’ve yet to let modular synths get their hooks into me, with their patch bays offering up a tinkerer’s paradise and a surefire way to overnight bankruptcy, but my wallet’s grateful that someone’s stepped in with a facsimile of the whole thing in The Signal State - a brilliantly tactile puzzler that turns the tangle of cables and muddle of modular units into a challenging, Zachtronics-esque game of logic. There’s a fair bit of something like Shenzen I/O to The Signal State - which means, if you’re an idiot like me, it can be hard....

Creative director Davide Soliani was initially told Rabbids were not to speak by Ubisoft. However, thanks to some creative manipulation of the rules and a successful bid by Soliani to “gain trust” from Ubisoft, Mario and his Rabbid companions will now talk during their upcoming escapades (thanks, IGN). Let’s rewind back to the start to understand how this all came about. In the first Mario + Rabbids game, Kingdom Battle, Soliani made a choice to bend the wording of his orders from Ubisoft - yes, he had been told Rabbids couldn’t talk, but he was never told that they could not sing....

That said, this mobile version has a few new additions - such as Pauline and Musician Mario - as well as changes to how each character choice can give you an advantage. Instead of simply slotting neatly into light, medium and heavy racers, these characters have their own rarities and a special skill - which you can pick up from Item Boxes on the track - and can pick up more Item Boxes depending on the course they race on....

That’s according to data from reliable app store analytics company Sensor Tower, from across both the App Store and Google Play store. The estimates follow the recent news that Nintendo will remove gacha elements from Mario Kart Tour, which allow players to spend money on randomised rewards. This will be replaced by a rotating item shop. Watch on YouTube Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Courses Analysis: New Circuits Are Lacking In Quality That $293m isn’t just from gacha payments, however, but from monthly subscriptions to the game’s Gold Pass costing $4....

Yesterday he posted his final screenshot from Super Smash Bros Ultimate, hinting that something new was on the way. Launching today is Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games, with a new video available now. Watch on YouTube Eurogamer Newscast: What does Embracer’s Lord of the Rings buyout mean for Middle-earth games? The videos will be uploaded in both Japanese and English and Sakurai aims to “help make games around the world a little more fun”....

As was the case for previous Mega Man Legacy Collections, Capcom’s Battle Network compilation - which gathers together 10 games in the real-time tactical RPG spin-off series - will be split across two volumes for its digital release. Volume 1 features Mega Man Battle Network, Mega Man Battle Network 2, Mega Man Battle Network 3 Blue, and Mega Man Battle Network 3 White - all of which originally launched for Nintendo GBA between 2001 and 2003....

The trademark listing, spotted by Aggiornamenti Lumia, describes Microsoft’s P as “a geometric design in the shape of an uppercase ‘P’ in gradient shades from green to blue”. Why does Microsoft want this P in particular? Well, it’s set to be used for computer software of some kind - the trademark itself covers various uses, including programs for “visualising, animating, transforming, presenting and sharing data and other information” as well as “software development tools for the creation of computer software applications and mobile software applications”....

Crimson Glow Valstrax, if the name sounds familiar, is a new variant of the Elder Dragon first introduced in Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate, making its Rise debut with a new form and attacks. The beast is able to change the shape of it wings, notes Capcom, enabling it to fly freely through the sky and survive at unusually high altitudes. As for the Apex Zinogre, it’s a tougher version of the familiar Monster Hunter staple already in Rise, and features a striking new look with its golden fur and lightning....

We initially got a taste of Sunbreak’s moody new climes in September, when Capcom brought first news of the expansion. However, as part of this year’s Game Awards, the publisher has traded pre-rendered cinematics for what appears to be in-engine footage. Granted, we’re still talking cut-scenes here, but it’s nice to get a more tangible look at the game as its release drawers slowly nearer. It offers a glimpse of a brand-new monster coming in the expansion - which Capcom has now confirmed to be the “ravenous beast” Lunagaron - as well as a brisk peek at Sunbreak’s new setting, the island of Elgado, looking considerably more sunbleached than expected, given the moody twilight hues seen elsewhere....

Unfortunately Munna is pretty useless in competitive play and raids in Pokémon Go, as is its evolved form, Musharna. However, there’s a solid chance that you’re still missing shiny, given how new it is, and if you still need the 4* perfect Munna, this is your chance to try to find one. Even if you’re not keen on Munna, you should still try to catch as many Pokémon as possible during this week’s Spotlight Hour because of the double catch Stardust bonus that runs alongside the event....

Coder Ryan Dwyer is behind this, working on both the launch NTSC version and a later re-release that fixed various bugs (thanks VGC). We can now expect PC players to have plenty of fun improving the visuals of the game, or simply messing around with Joanna Dark, Elvis the alien and more. Watch on YouTube Eurogamer Newscast: Will Microsoft’s $68bn Activision Blizzard buyout be blocked? This isn’t the first N64 game to be decompiled for PC ports....

Square Enix’s long-awaited follow-up to the Nintendo DS cult classic features a fresh cast of characters but a familiar stylised version of Tokyo’s Shibuya district. This time around, Shibuya is created in full 3D, but it keeps the original’s comic book aesthetic. Here’s a new trailer: In other The World Ends With You news, there’s an anime adaptation of the original game coming - and it looks like its heading to the West as well....

The new Warzone, which Activision today again described nebulously as an “experience” rather than a fresh update or full sequel, will also be free-to-play. It’s being “built from the ground-up” alongside this year’s main Call of Duty release, Activision said, which is a sequel to Infinity Ward’s 2019 Modern Warfare. In a statement to investors, Activision was cagey on when exactly we would see the new Warzone launch, and how different it would be from the existing offering....

That includes three new Pokémon introduced here: the crab-like Klawf, plus the fire warrior Armarouge (Scarlet), and its ghostly counterpart Ceruledge (Violet) - could these be Bisharp regional evolutions? Titled Seek Your Treasure, the trailer introduces the Treasure Hunt that forms a special independent study project depending on the version played. Check it out below. Watch on YouTube Seek Your Treasure! | Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet The trailer shows a variety of what’s on offer in the world of Paldea....

BlizzConline - which debuted this February as a digital-only replacement for Blizzard’s annual BlizzCon live event in response to the coronavirus pandemic - was due to return “early” in 2022 after the company opted to cancel BlizzCon for a second year running back in May. Now however, Blizzard has announced it’s made the “tough decision” to “take a step back and pause on planning” of next year’s BlizzConline. “At this time,” the company explained in a statement, “we feel the energy it would take to put on a show like this is best directed towards supporting our teams and progressing development of our games and experiences....

Company mismanagement and poor sales of the ambitious RPG meant 38 Studios collapsed shortly after it became clear Kingdoms of Amalur was not going to be a World of Warcraft-style hit. This left nearly 400 developers adrift, and waiting for their final paycheck - until now. A new report from Bloomberg [paywall] states staff are now belatedly receiving their last pay packet - albeit just a fraction of what they were owed (thanks GamesIndustry....

The initial 3DS model now looks angular and small compared to some of its many later, larger redesigns. Back in 2011, the dinky portable was available in just Aqua Blue and Cosmos Black colours, and launched without a major Nintendo franchise as a system seller. Sure, it had Nintendogs + Cats, as well as Pilotwings Resort. And from third parties such as Ubisoft and Sega it had Rayman 3D, Super Monkey Ball 3D and two Tom Clancy games....

The Tokyo-based studio will be purchased for an undisclosed sum, and become part of Nintendo from 1st April this year. SRD has assisted Nintendo in the development of numerous games, most recently including Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Zelda: Breath of the Wild for Switch, plus Mario Kart Tour for smartphone. The studio’s partnership with Nintendo extends back decades - to the NES days of Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros....

The Smash World Tour, an “international tournament circuit in which competitors for both Ultimate and Melee can qualify for the Smash World Tour Championships”, is described by organisers as the “the largest esports tour in history, for any game title”. This year’s event, which ran between March and November, incorporated 6,400 live events around the world, attracting 325,000 in-person entrants. With the tour now concluded, this year’s Smash World Tour Championships was due to beheld between 9th-11th December, but organisers announced on Tuesday (as reported by Kotaku) they had “received notice the night before Thanksgiving from Nintendo that we could no longer operate”....

The NX name was used by Nintendo to refer to the Switch both internally and publicly, as the company began to drum up excitement for the Switch’s unveiling. (And because in the Wii U era, there wasn’t much else to get excited about.) But here’s one thing we never saw publicly: Nintendo’s own internal NX logo used in early versions of games destined for the Switch. An animated NX logo has been leaked online, pulled from the files of an early in-development copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe....