It’s the battle of the JRPGs as we pit the Final Fantasy franchise against the Kingdom Hearts series. Vote for who you think wins!If there’s one indisputable fact about video games in 2018, it’s this: Fortnite is doing really, really well. It’s done so well, in fact, that Bloomberg now says developer Epic Games is worth between $5 billion and $8 billion.
Although it’s not known precisely how much Fortnite has fueled that valuation, it’s clearly played a major role in it. But, as Bloomberg pointed out, it is known that Chinese company Tencent Holdings Ltd. purchased 40 percent of Epic in 2012 for $330, when the entire company was worth $825 million. That means Epic has gained up to seven billion dollars in value in about six years.
GameStop puts out its weekly ad each Wednesday, with a new selection of deals on video games, hardware, accessories, and collectibles. This week’s sale has some good discounts on gaming headsets, as well as a handful of PS4 and Xbox One games (Switch owners will have to look elsewhere for deals this week). If you’re ready to unload some of the games you’ve already played, you can find some nice trade-in bonuses as well. These deals are good through July 31, so let’s dive in.
Not many games are on sale this week, but you can see the full list below. Basketball fans can grab NBA 2K18 or NBA Live 18 for $20 each. Both are fine sports games, though 2K18 came out one point ahead in our review scores. Star Wars Battlefront II is on sale for $25–not bad for a game that’s gotten many updates since its disastrous launch last year.
Middle-earth: Shadow of War recently got a big update that removed the microtransaction market from the game. It’s currently on sale for $20, and if you buy it for PS4 at a local brick-and-mortar GameStop, you get the season pass for free (the code is printed on the receipt).
In terms of hardware, just like at Best Buy, you’ll get $10 off an extra controller if you buy an Xbox One. And if you’re in the market for a gaming headset, you can save a $30 on a wireless one from HyperX, bringing it down to $130, or save $5 on a wired Turtle Beach headset for a total of $40.
If you’re looking to trade in games or other items between now and August 12, you’ll get extra cash, because cash is getting temporarily bumped up to credit value. And if you can find four used games under $10 you want to buy, you’ll get them all for $20.
As Microsoft prepares to release its Adaptive Controller for the Xbox One, it continues to think outside of the box.
Microsoft announced via a blog post Wednesday that its new Adaptive Controller for people with limited mobility will also feature accessible packaging to ensure that players can unbox the device with minimal fuss.
“The out-of-box experience is the first thing customers encounter when they purchase our products and it’s important that we get that right,” Kevin Marshall and Mark Weiser wrote in the blog. “Physical touchpoints, visual or material cues and structural elements are designed to lead the customer through a logical and seamless unboxing. With the Xbox Adaptive Controller, we knew we had to make the packaging accessible for gamers with limited mobility. That required us to re-think some things about how we package our products, including what type of moments would be most meaningful.”
If you buy something through this post, IGN may get a share of the sale. For more, read our Terms of Use.
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for the latest deals.
Have you been looking for a good mobile phone contract deal?
I’ve gathered and rounded-up the market-leading offers for Apple iPhone contracts from the best network providers below. This month sees a range of exclusive price-drop deals on the most popular Apple handsets, including iPhone X, iPhone 8, 8 Plus, iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
Fortnite, Minecraft, and Rocket League all allow cross-play, but Sony have prevented it on PS4. We investigate why, and talk to industry experts about if and when this will change.Bandai Namco recently revealed the classic versions of Goku and Vegeta will be the next two DLC characters coming to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Ahead of their release next month, the publisher has shared a pair of new trailers, giving fans their first look at the two upcoming fighters in action.
Both base forms of Goku and Vegeta are modeled after their appearance from the Saiyan Saga in Dragon Ball Z. Goku sports his original training gi and flies in at the start of the match on his Flying Nimbus. His moveset is likewise taken primarily from this era of the series. Along with the Kamehameha, he can unleash the Spirit Bomb and use the Kaioken to amplify his power.
Vegeta, meanwhile, wears his iconic Saiyan armor, complete with his tail wrapper around his waist. He can unleash his signature Galick Gun attack, as well as the Galaxy Breaker–the move he used to kill his comrade Nappa in the series. You can watch Vegeta showcase these attacks in the video below.
Bandai Namco hasn’t announced a release date or pricing details for Goku and Vegeta yet, but the pair are slated to arrive in August. Previous DLC characters like Vegito and Fused Zamasu could be purchased for $5 US / £4 / $7.55 AU each. The new fighters are also included in the Dragon Ball FighterZ season pass, which costs $35 US / £22 / $40.95 AU and gives players access to eight DLC characters upon their release.
Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is also scheduled to release for Nintendo Switch on September 28. Before then, Bandai Namco will hold an open beta for the Switch version sometime in August. Players who pre-order the Switch version will also receive a digital Japanese copy of the rare Dragon Ball Z Super Famicom game, Super Butoden, as well as immediate access to Super Saiyan Blue Goku and Super Saiyan Blue Vegeta.
Steam has updated with revised chat features. The revised functionality was announced last month and has been available in beta, but with the recent update it’s become available to all users. It includes new grouping features, a Favorites tag, and more details on what your friends are up to.
The big Chat Update lets you set a handful of friends in a Favorites bar at the top of your list so you can always see what they’re up to at a glance. Friends will also automatically be grouped by game and by party, making it easier to jump in and play with them. The friends menu will show more specific detail about what exactly your friends are doing in a game, too. Finally, group chats can be pulled together more easily.
The actual chat features more in-line functions as well. Video, images, and tweets are visible right inside the chat space, and you can drag new friends and drop them right into an existing group chat. If you like your group, you can save it for future reference. The persistent group chats make it easier to find your friends for a game, and voice will persist while chatting before, during, and after the game. This update is available now on the Steam client, but you can also try it out on the Web client.
Steam recently revealed its mid-year charts of the top sellers and most popular games, including games like Jurassic World Evolution, Far Cry 5, and Kingdom Come Deliverance.