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Hello there good video game news reader how’s a lockdown-lite life treating you? Me? Well, thanks for asking, as a dedicated shut-in I’ve noticed very little change. My local shop changed its rules to allow four people in at a time rather than two, which is great. Now I can get to the shop, buy the essentials (energy drinks, cake and crisps) without queueing and get home with minimal outdoor exposure.
You see, throughout the two-week lockdown that lasted a year, I made an enemy, nay, an arch-nemesis. She went to the shop every day and would spend upwards of half an hour looking around. Which would make a huge queue form. She did this EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Why she felt the need to inspect every shelf, every day in a village shop whose stock barely changes weekly, I’ll never know. But every time she left the shop she’d look at the queue, smile and be all like “ooh, I just needed to get out of the house” or “ooh, I’m 92 so it takes me a while to get around”. Pfft, up yours Edith.
So, yeah, now the restrictions have eased I don’t have to deal with my 92-year-old arch-nemesis... which is nice.
Anyway, July was fairly quiet in the gaming world. Maybe “quiet” is the wrong term, we got some great news, but it was all a bit sporadic. The biggest new came from EA Play Live 2021, which Zatu covered for you good people. It took place at the halfway point of the month and hit it into outer space by announcing a Dead Space remaster coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in 2022. I’m more than a little excited. Before we delve into what other announcements you may have missed, I’m going to slow things down and force everyone to find out what I’m playing and what games I’m excited about! Enjoy!
I’m currently playing: Guilty Gear Strive, Hitman 3 and Desperados 3 on PlayStation 4. While on Switch I’m cracking through my back catalogue with Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is staring at me from the shelf.
I’m currently hyped for: Hot Wheels Unleashed - what started as a game for my son to enjoy is now one I’m now completely invested in. I’m also looking forward to WarioWare: Get it Together! coming out in September.
New Games
July hit us with Oddworld: Soulstorm, exclusively on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Worms Rumble, the first real-time combat entry for the series made its way onto PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. F1 2021, indie title Song of Horror and Necromunda: Hired Gun also arrived. Not only that but Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD exclusively hit the Switch.
But what does August have lined up for us? Well, on the 10th there’s Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid on Switch and PlayStation 4. On the 13th, Paw Patrol: Adventure City Calls hits Xbox, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, in an ideal world Chase wouldn’t feature, but he’s front and centre on the cover art... the little brown-nose. Motorbike fans can rejoice on the 19th, when RiMS Racing releases on Switch and Xbox One. And the very next day American Football fans can celebrate the release of Madden NFL 22 on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. And finally, the 24th of August is a busy one with King’s Bounty II on Switch and PlayStation 4, Sniper Ghost Contracts on PlayStation 5 and Aliens: Fireteam Elite comes out 24th August for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One... stay frosty.
Announcements
Sealed Copy of Super Mario 64 Sells for £1.12m
Yep, a pristine sealed copy of Super Mario 64 has sold for $1.56m (£1.12m), setting a record for the highest amount anyone has paid for a video game at auction.
Heritage Auctions has auctioned off numerous rare games in the past, but nothing comes close to this price. The previous record was set only a week before, an unopened NES copy of the original Legend of Zelda went for $878k (£633k).
Heritage said it was “a bit speechless” at the condition of the Super Mario 64 box, which is now 25 years old. This, rather than the simple fact it was still sealed, seems to have pushed the price up. WataGames gave the copy a virtually perfect score of 9.8 A++, far higher than many other previous sealed copies sold.
Meanwhile, if you fancy playing Mario 64 for a fraction of the price you can grab Mario 3D All-Stars from Zatu, and you get two other games as well.
Kylian Mbappé is FIFA 22 Cover Star
The Paris Saint-Germain and France star retains the job after first becoming the series’ cover star with last year’s FIFA 21.
EA released the FIFA 22 cover art alongside a quote from Mbappé, which definitely wasn’t written by Janice in PR: “Being on back-to-back FIFA covers is amazing. I have a very special relationship with the game and look forward to enjoying FIFA 22 alongside all of you.”
FIFA 22 will kick-off on October 1st and is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and Stadia... for some reason. EA gave an official announcement and gave away a few details of what players can expect, we covered it here.
QuakeCon 2021 Announced
Bethesda has announced that QuakeCon 2021 will be held from 19th - 21st August in an all-digital event once again this year. Last year’s event went online only from its usual big in-person event in Dallas, Texas for obvious reasons.
Tune in on Thursday 19th August at 7pm (UK time). You can expect “special influencer streams, Bethesda’s own community teams from across the world, developer appearances, and game updates”.
There will also be a focus on charity initiatives, with events and virtual attendees encouraged to support chosen organisations such as Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC), NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, The Trevor Project, and UNICEF.
A full streaming schedule is set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Mortal Kombat 11 Sells More Than 12m Copies
Mortal Kombat 11 has sold more than 12m copies, Warner Bros. Games has announced.
To put this into context, Mortal Kombat X, which came out in 2015, was in April 2019 NetherRealm’s best-selling game with almost 11m copies sold.
“When Mortal Kombat launched nearly 30 years ago, I never dreamed it would grow into the franchise it is today with more than 73m games sold,” said Ed Boon, creative director at NetherRealm Studios and co-creator of Mortal Kombat.
“We have some of the most passionate fans in the world and we appreciate the support they have shown us over the years.”
Mortal Kombat 11 launched in April 2019 and became the fastest-selling Mortal Kombat ever.
Since then NetherRealm has released a number of DLC characters, such as The Joker, Spawn, The Terminator and RoboCop.
Earlier in July, NetherRealm announced Mortal Kombat 11 DLC had come to an end. The studio will now focus on its next, currently unannounced, project.
Gamescom’s Opening Night Live 2021 Announced
The digital-only events keep on a-coming. The next big one is Gamescom’s Opening Night Live. This year’s event marks the third outing for the show since its debut in 2019. This will be the second time it’s been a digital-only event. It’ll be held on Wednesday 25th August, which is slightly later than previously announced.
Confirmed by Geoff Keighley, who’ll once again be presenting, the showcase will run for two hours. Proceedings will start at 7 pm (UK time).
Keighley is promising a “new look at this holiday’s biggest upcoming video games and what lies beyond”, which could mean anything.
And That’s That!
So there you have it, another month summed up in one neat little package. What games are you looking forward to in August? Let us know on the Zatu social media and I’ll see you next time. Take care.