Latest Technology Content

We have quite the slew of Mortal Kombat 11 news leading up the launch planned for April 23rd, but what about cross-play support since MK11 is coming to the Nintendo Switch?

WCCFtech has been lucky enough to be at the Mortal Kombat 11 press event in London, their on-site reporter Callum Agnew managed to get a hold of Game Designer, Derek Kirtzic from NetherRealm Studios. In discussion with Kirtzic, Agnew asked the designer whether NetherRealm Studios was considering the addition of cross-play support for Mortal Kombat 11. While Kirtzic didn't confirm anything as of yet, he did say that NetherRealm Studios was looking into it.

This could coincide with the planned new cross-play feature roll-out that Epic Games are doing to Unreal Engine. It also makes sense considering that Mortal Kombat 11 will also be coming to the Nintendo Switch, meaning that cross-play would of definitely been on the table for discussion. Since the fiasco of cross-play becoming more apparent throughout 2018, I'd no doubt say that Mortal Kombat 11 will feature support for it, but not on initial launch. I'd say it would be sometime after the game is accurately balanced and most importantly, Epic Games is ready with those Unreal Engine updates. Mortal Kombat 11 will be launched on April 23rd for the Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch.

• Cross-Platform Login, Friends, Presence, Profile, and Entitlements (coming Q2-Q3 2019 to PC, other platforms throughout 2019): Provides the core functionality for persistently recognizing players across multiple sessions and devices; identifying friends; and managing free and paid item entitlements. This will support all 7 major platforms (PC, Mac, iOS, Android, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch) to the full extent each platform allows per-title.
• PC/Mac Overlay API (coming Q3 2019): Provides a user interface for login, friends, and other features in a game-agnostic, engine-agnostic way.
• Cross-Platform Voice Comms (coming Q3 2019 to all platforms): Epic is building a new in-game voice communications service supporting all platforms, all stores, and all engines, which will be available for free. (For developers needing an immediately-available voice solution, check out Discord, Vivox, TeamSpeak, Ventrilo, and Mumble.)
• Cross-Platform Parties and Matchmaking (coming Q3-4 2019 to all platforms)
• Cross-Platform Data Storage, Cloud-Saved Games (coming Q2 2019)
• Cross-Platform Achievements and Trophies (coming Q3 2019)

We learned back in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate themed Nintendo Direct that players who pre-ordered Smash Ultimate would receive a completely free fighter. To everyones surprise this fighter was Piranha Plant, but when is the release going to be?

Originally, the many players that pre-ordered a copy of Smash Ultimate received an email with their download code if they grabbed the physical edition of the game. The email came with a short description of when to expect Piranha Plant to join the completed roster, the email read "Thank you for purchasing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. As a bonus for purchasing the game early, we are sending you a download code for the new fighter: Piranha Plant, which will be playable from around February 2019."

It should be noticed that the email clearly states that Piranha Plant will be released sometime "around February" which isn't a very accurate release date. Nintendo have now released a reminder to everyone on the 'news' section of Smash Ultimate, the above screenshot has been provided by our friends at Destructoid. From the screenshot we can see that Nintendo say that Piranha Plant is "scheduled for a February 2019 release", confirming that Piranha Plant will be released sometime through the month of February.

The Mortal Kombat 11 producer has confirmed that the Nintendo Switch version of Mortal Kombat 11 will come with significant downgrades and will also be co-developed by a third-party studio.

In an interview with NetherRealm Studios' producer Trevor Traub, the topic of the Nintendo Switch was presented to the producer and he was asked how the Nintendo Switch version of the game was progressing. In response to this question, Traub says "I actually really like the Switch build. I like the Joy-Con controller more than I thought. We're trying to reach as many people as we possibly can. So we're going to take that opportunity."

In continuation of that question regarding the Nintendo Switch version of Mortal Kombat 11, Traub is asked that since the Nintendo Switch has considerable hardware limitations when compared to the PS4 and Xbox One, how will the Switch version of the game be 'downgraded'. More accurately, Traub was asked how these 'downgrades' would take place without taking away from the games core or frame rate. Traub answers "There are special geometry reductions that happen to make it work on the Switch. The end product is actually really fantastic. We're actually not developing it in house; it's being developed by Shiver Studios. They're developing it at the same time as us so it's sort of a co-development. There is no lead SKU."

Bloober Team is back with another mind-bending sequel, this time taking us to a haunted cruise ship out in the midnight seas of weirdness.

The latest Layers of Fear 2 trailer shows some ultra-creepy gameplay footage that sparks our imaginations. Narrated by none other than the Candyman himself Tony Todd, the trailer highlights some of the cerebral visuals and sequences that clearly are the result of a broken mind. Infused with that psychedelic style and visual flair Bloober is known for, Layers of Fear 2 seems to throw players into a macabre stageshow aboard a lost cruise ship: as Tony Todd says, "Time waits for no man, actor. Do not waste ours. So act."

The game is based around classic horror themes and cimea, and even borrows from silent era masterminds like George Melies. The team also directly references Alfred Hitchcock as an inspiration for the sequel.

Back at the start of November we had the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Nintendo Direct. Throughout the Direct we were introduced to Piranha Plant, the pre-order fighter that must be redeemed if you purchased the physical edition of the game, how do you redeem it though?

Before I get into how to exactly redeem Piranha Plant, it should be noted that if you purchased a digital copy of Smash Ultimate then Piranha Plant has already been redeemed for you, and you can skip this entire process. Assuming you have a physical copy of Smash Ultimate, you will firstly need to go to your home screen on your Switch, hover over the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and press the + button on your Switch. This will open up an options menu where you will see at the bottom "My Nintendo Rewards Programme", select this option and then further select "Earn Points (game card verison only)".

Selecting this option will activate the redeeming process of Piranha Plant, which will then send a confirmation email to your email account linked to your Nintendo Account. From here you want to navigate to whatever email address you have linked to your Nintendo Account and find the respective email from Nintendo. Once that has been done, click the "redeem now" option provided in the email, this will redirect you to the Nintendo website where you will be asked to enter your Nintendo Account password. After this is completed Piranha Plant will be redeemed and you will await your download once the fighter is released.

Square Enix trademarks HD-2D in the United States, strongly hinting more classic pixel-style games are on the way.

Octopath Traveler's success on the Nintendo Switch prompts Square Enix to make more singleplayer-driven JRPGs for the platform. But a recent trademark for effectively means these new games should have SNES-like graphics just like the turn-based Switch RPG.

According to Gematsu, Square Enix coined the term HD-2D to describe Octopath Traveler's old-school visual flair. Now Square Enix will likely use the trademark as an instantly recognizable umbrella term for its future games, possibly kicking off a galaxy of new-but-old-looking turn-based JRPGs.

Nintendo wants to sell 20 million Switch consoles in a year, but analysts say it won't happen.

The sales momentum of Nintendo's handheld-console hybrid isn't enough to break the company's internal 20 million sales mark, key analysts tell Bloomberg. The average consensus of a dozen-plus analyst firms sees Nintendo selling about 18 million Switch units in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2019, missing the target by some 2 million consoles.

As of September, Nintendo was nearly 15 million sales shy of its goal. The Switch sold 5.1 million consoles in Nintendo's first two quarters, leaving 14.9 million sales to meet the target. Nintendo sold about 8.7 million Switch systems during the holiday period, up 22% year-over-year, analysts forecast, which leaves about 6.2 million systems to be sold.

If we remember back to the build up of "leaked" information for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster before the game launched, we would remember several sources of information mentioning Decidueye. It turns out Decidueye was officially considered.

According to Source Gaming, Super Smash Bros. Director, Masahiro Sakurai revealed throughout an interview with Nintendo Dream that Decidueye made it to the final two spots of the games potential roster. Ultimately, Decideueye lost out to the fire-wrestling Pokemon Incineroar.

If we remember back to the slew of "leaked" information before the launch of Smash Bros. Ultimate we can remember the leaker Vergeben talking about Decidueye, but ended up confirming from his inside sources that Incineroar made the final cut. This claim was not taken seriously by the community as it was way back in September when Vergeben claimed this, it obviously turned out to be true. Vergeben must of had inside sources within Nintendo that had ears within Nintendo's internal discussion teams for what Pokemon character should be chosen.

Outside of deluxe editions at launch, Anthem's cosmetics will be the sole way to pay real money for extra content in the shared-worlds shooter. But this could ultimately change as the game matures.

To survive for years and years, service games typically go through many transformations throughout their lifecycles. Games-makers have to be willing to adapt and experiment when things go wrong, when publishers demand more cash, or when more funds are needed to actually upkeep the game and fund new content. Look at Final Fantasy XIV, which added piecemeal microtransactions after previously only being monetized with subscriptions. Or Destiny for that matter, which had separate instances of paid expansions with Eververse mTX layered on top. This could also happen to EA's massive new shared-worlds shooter Anthem.

Although BioWare says Anthem's extra content will be free, bigger expansions could end up costing money at some point in the game's future. This is especially true if the game's cosmetic-only monetization scheme doesn't take off or if engagement and player numbers falter. Battlefront II's controversy has taught EA a lot about changing up live service business models and a pivot would undoubtedly happen if Anthem saw a drop in specific metrics. Anthem represents one of the biggest projects EA has ever invested in: it's a multi-year wholly-owned IP that rivals Destiny in scope and offers the company millions in revenues if handled correctly.

Ubisoft's latest story trailer for The Division 2 gives us a look at the game's scope, themes, and overall feel.

Where the first Division game was a snowy emergency response to a terrorist attack, the Division 2 is more about the fallout of the virus attack and what comes next. The incident essentially fractured society and saw the fabric of our country break apart, leading to tribalism and gun-toting groups to rise up and force their command over key areas of the U.S., including the capital. Now Washington D.C. has devolved into anarchy and chaos, and it's up to Division agents to put out the fires and regain control.

The themes sound interesting enough, but the game's sun-lit world and setting don't really bring that same sense of urgency as the confused and wrecked icy streets of New York. There was something choking and claustrophobic about The Division 1's setting, a dark sense of foreboding as violence seemed to lie around every corner.