Cuphead sales reach new heights, 3 million units worldwide

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 10, 2018 4:00 AM CDT

The critically acclaimed platformer title Cuphead by StudioMDHR Entertainment has reached new milestone, according the developers recent announcement the game has now sold 3 million copies.

Cuphead sales reach new heights, 3 million units worldwide

Studio MDHR Entertainment released Cuphead back on the 29th of September 2017, just three months later in December it was reported that the title had already sold two million copies. Now, Studio MDHR has announced via their Twitter that Cuphead has reached 3 million copies sold worldwide, to celebrate this achievement the developers have provided users with a limited time sale.

The sale will be running for a full 42 hours and will be providing gamers that haven't already picked up Cuphead with a 20% discount, bringing the price down from $19.99 to $15.99. The sale is available on the Steam Store as well as the Xbox Live Store. If you don't know what Cuphead is here is the official Steam listing description: "Cuphead is a classic run and gun action game heavily focused on boss battles. Inspired by cartoons of the 1930s, the visuals and audio are painstakingly created with the same techniques of the era, i.e. traditional hand drawn cel animation, watercolor backgrounds, and original jazz recordings." If you are interested in picking up Cuphead, the official Steam Listing can be found here.

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Nintendo Switch Online delayed until 2nd half of September

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 10, 2018 3:00 AM CDT

Nintendo has announced via their Twitter that they will be delaying their Nintendo Switch Online service to the second half of September, after plans of releasing it early September.

Nintendo Switch Online delayed until 2nd half of September

Back in June, we learned that Nintendo would be discontinuing their Virtual Console as a separate service but instead have decided to combine the Virtual Console into the upcoming Nintendo Switch Online service. The Nintendo Switch Online service will be providing gamers online play for titles such as Splatoon 2, ARMS, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Tennis Aces, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and more.

Nintendo Switch Online will also be providing gamers will a large selection of Nintendo Entertainment System or NES games. Also included within the online service is 'Save Data Cloud Backup' which will allow for gamers to save their game data to the cloud for ease of access. Pricing wise, Nintendo has three different options: 1 month, 3 months and 12 months. The pricing respectively follows: $3.99, $7.99 and $19.99. There is also a 'Family Membership' option that comes in at $34.99, this option will provide "A Nintendo Account holder may invite up to seven others to join a family group; all members of the group will have access to Nintendo Switch Online."

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Monster Hunter: World debuts to PC, breaks a Steam record

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 10, 2018 2:00 AM CDT

Capcom has released their highly anticipated Monster Hunter: World onto the PC. Just hours after its debut, the title has already been that well received that its broken the Steam launch record for most played Japanese title.

Monster Hunter: World debuts to PC, breaks a Steam record

Monster Hunter: World originally launched on consoles on the 26th of February this year, since then Capcom, the developers and publisher behind the title have been working towards getting the game onto the PC. Now, that day has finally arrived and what better way to celebrate the launch of the game by smashing some Steam records?

According to the Steamcharts, just within a couple hours of release Monster Hunter: World peaked with 239,779 concurrent players, absolutely obliterating the Japanese launch record Dark Souls 3 had with 129,831 concurrent players back in March 2016. If you are interested in purchasing Monster Hunter: World, it is currently going for $59.99. For further information visit the official Steam listing here.

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Donkey Kong Country designer regrets King K. Rools name

Jak Connor | Gaming | Aug 10, 2018 1:00 AM CDT

The original designer for the hit classic Donkey Kong Country has spoken out after the recent news of his villain King K. Rool debuting to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It appears the designer wishes he spent some more time with naming the character.

Donkey Kong Country designer regrets King K. Rools name

After the surprise announcement of King K. Rool during the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Direct Nintendo held a few days ago, the original Donkey Kong Country designer, Gregg Mayles commented on his villain joining the Smash roster.

Mayles said that he never would of expected K.Rool to ever leave Donkey Kong Country, and that it's an even bigger surprise to see him debut to such a popular game as Smash a whole 25 years down the track. Mayles said if he knew the fate of K.Rool before he named him, he would of spent more time choosing a different name. If you missed out in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate direct, check out the Simon Belmont confirmation trailer here. If you want to keep on top of what Nintendo are posting about Smash UItimate, visit the official Super Smash Bros. Ultimate website here.

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Fortnite for Android out, exclusive to Samsung until Aug 12

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Aug 10, 2018 12:27 AM CDT

It's finally here... well, kinda - Fortnite for Android has dropped and it is exclusive to Samsung Galaxy devices until August 12, coinciding with the launch of Samsung's just-announced Galaxy Note 9.

Fortnite for Android out, exclusive to Samsung until Aug 12

Fortnite for Android will work on Samsung Galaxy devices from the Galaxy S7 and up, exclusively until August 12. After that, Fortnite for Android will open up to hundreds of millions of other Android device users. Fortnite developer Epic Games has said that beta access will open up to other Android users "over the next few days". If you're interested in jumping in, visit this website.

Samsung is offering Galaxy Note 9 and Tab S4 owners an exclusive Fortnite Galaxy skin, with Note 9 pre-orders that are stamped in before August 10 will have the choice between AKG N60 over-ear, noise-canceling headphones (worth $299) or the Fortnite Galaxy skin and 15,000 V Bucks (worth $150). If you want to spend another $99, you can get both which is a pretty sweet deal if you want kick ass headphones and were looking to get Fortnite anyway.

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Samsung enters the smart speaker market with Galaxy Home

Anthony Garreffa | Audio, Sound & Speakers | Aug 9, 2018 11:27 PM CDT

Samsung has officially unveiled its new Galaxy Note 9 smartphone but that wasn't all the South Korean giant unveiled during its NYC-based Unpacked event, with a new standalone smart speaker unveiled.

Samsung enters the smart speaker market with Galaxy Home

Galaxy Home is the latest smart speaker to join the ranks dominated by Google, Amazon and others and it looks radically different, but still feels like home. Samsung's new Galaxy Home kind of looks like a mini-BBQ or fireplace, with a mix of a cauldron that a witch would use to make spells to hurt iPhone sales. But don't let its unique looks deceive you, it's what's on the inside that counts.

Inside, Samsung's new Galaxy Home features AKG, full-range speakers and a subwoofer that will give you some great bass. Samsung has designed the Galaxy Home for wherever-you-go music, where it will use SoundSteer to direct the music towards you. For your convenience, Samsung is tapping not just Bixby but Spotify to keep your audio listening experience at its peak.

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Battlefield V's second closed alpha starts on August 14

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Aug 9, 2018 10:41 PM CDT

DICE is set to kick off the second closed alpha of Battlefield V, beginning on August 14 and running "for a limited time". Not everyone can join, which is unfortunate as I'd love to try it out since the hype is wearing off incredibly quick.

Battlefield V's second closed alpha starts on August 14

The developer isn't inviting everyone in, with "Players eligible to participate in the Battlefield V have been pre-selected from the Battlefield player community and will receive invites to participate". Will anything be different in the second closed alpha? Nope. It'll have everything the first closed beta had, which means we'll see the same modes, weapons, maps, and more that the original Battlefield V closed alpha had.

DICE explains: "We have made some changes that we think will better cater to players across all play styles and skill levels based on how fast players scored points, and how quickly they progressed through the ranks in the first Closed Alpha".

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Samsung Galaxy Note 9: starts at $999, available August 24

Samsung has finally made its Galaxy Note 9 smartphone official during its annual Unpacked event in New York City, confirming some of the things we already knew, some of the rumors, and a bunch of new exciting things for the Note 9.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9: starts at $999, available August 24

First off: let's tackle the Fortnite exclusivity rumors - yes, the Galaxy devices have Fortnite for Android as an exclusive for "a few days" but by the time the Galaxy Note 9 actually hits users hands, that exclusive will be finished. The biggest change with the new Note 9 is that it features a much larger 4000mAh battery (Note 8 rocks a 3300mAh battery) that Samsung promises all-day battery life with, and is the largest battery to be used in a Note smartphone ever.

The display has been upgraded slightly from the Note 8, with the new Note 9 featuring a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a native resolution of 2960x1440. If you pre-order the Note 9 now you'll receive a set of AKG N60 over-ear, noise-canceling headphones that are worth $299. You'll also get a Fortnite Galaxy skin and 15,000 V Bucks ($150 worth of value) - or both that you'll get for $99, a saving of $350 if you purchased them separately.

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NVIDIA's next-gen GPU rumor: dual-fan cooler = new TITAN?

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Aug 9, 2018 7:58 PM CDT

NVIDIA edges closer to the unveiling of their next-gen graphics cards and one of the craziest rumors of them all have hit: the company will reportedly use a dual-fan, open-air cooler on their purported GeForce GTX 1180/2080 graphics card. Don't forget to enter our GeForce GTX 1180/2080 giveaway! We're giving away not one, but TWO next-gen cards as soon as they launch.

NVIDIA's next-gen GPU rumor: dual-fan cooler = new TITAN?

BenchLife is reporting this rumor and if it turns out to be true, we could be looking at the first Founders Edition card with a dual-fan cooler, but it definitely wouldn't be the first NVIDIA graphics card to don a dual-fan cooler. NVIDIA previously used a dual-fan cooler on the high-end GeForce 7900GX2 back in the day, and have not used a dual-fan on a GeForce graphics card since.

Sure, plenty of AIB partners use dual-fan coolers but they're all custom cards so they can do whatever they want. I really can't see NVIDIA using a dual-fan cooler on a new GeForce GTX 1180/2080 but then again, that's only because the company hasn't used a dual-fan cooler in a very long time. The aesthetics of the GTX 10 series FE cards is stuck in my mind after looking at, and using them everyday for over two years now... a dual-fan cooler just sounds strange.

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Discord to launch digital game store

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Aug 9, 2018 6:26 PM CDT

Discord is getting into the game-selling business with its own proprietary storefront on PC.

Discord to launch digital game store

In an attempt to compete with the likes of Steam and GOG.com, massively popular VoIP app Discord plans to open a game store. Rather than Steam with its sprawling, messy storefront, The Discord Store will be a more targeted endeavor: the company affirms it'll be like a "cozy book shop" instead of, say, a rambling department store.

"We'll be launching a curated game store experience similar to one of those cozy neighborhood book shops with recommendations about the hottest and newest games from us to you," reads the blog post.

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