Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced the revisions of the consolidated projections for the second quarter (six months) of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, which were announced on August 8, 2024, and the revisions of the consolidated projections for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, which were announced on May 9, 2024.

According to Bandai Namco, Shadow of the Erdtree, the downloadable expansion for Elden Ring, has become a hit in markets worldwide. Moreover, repeat sales for Elden Ring have also performed well. As a result, the company expects net sales, operating profit, recurring profit and profit attributable to owners of parent for the second quarter (six months) of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, to greatly exceed the projections for that period, which were announced on August 8, 2024.

The consolidated projections for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2025, have been revised from those announced on May 9, 2024. This revision is based on the second-quarter earnings significantly exceeding previous projections, along with current market conditions, sales trends, and marketing plans for products and services in the third quarter and beyond. Additionally, projections for recurring profit and profit attributable to owners of the parent company have also been adjusted, as shown in the table above. Moving forward, the Group will continue to strengthen initiatives under the All Bandai Namco concept, focusing on the IP axis strategy through collaboration across regions and businesses. More details will be provided by the company in its Consolidated Financial Report for the Second Quarter of the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2025, scheduled for release on November 6, 2024.

FromSoftware expects a similar revenue boost in its next fiscal year, mainly due to the success of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. The development team at the studio is comprised of 423 employees, and is a part of Kadokawa, a public company in Japan.

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Studio 2/Studio S is a new internal development team at Bandai Namco that is currently working on 2D and 3D action games commissioned by Nintendo, based on its job listing. The listing suggests that the 3D game is likely to be a remaster or a remake of an existing Nintendo title.

Not a whole lot is known about either game, though the job description in an earlier listing for this project mentioned HD remastering of deformed 3D backgrounds, porting of existing 3D background data, creation of deformed background assets Incorporation of data into in-house game engine, material adjustment using in-house game engine, creation of lighting in in-house game engines, and post-effects adjustment in in-house game engine.

Meanwhile, the job description for the 2D game mentions the construction of stage specifications, level designs etc. for side-view action games, suggesting that it may be the next Smash Bros title.

Previously, in a recent column, Sakurai mentioned his plans including what he thinks will happen with the Smash Bros. IP in the future. When asked if Sakurai will return for a new entry, his reply was: “I’m not even thinking of a sequel at all. This happens with every release. But I can’t say that this will be the last Smash ever.”

He also suggests that without his involvement, there won’t be a new game in the series. Sakurai has also tried to hire others to do this job, but apparently, this hasn’t worked out, or it was implied that it couldn’t work at all. While a new Smash could release without him, it may lead to disappointment among fans if it doesn’t end up living up to its predecessor’s success. If Nintendo plans to continue the series, Sakurai wishes to have a long discussion in order to make it a success.

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According to a member of the gaming enthusiast forum, Reset Era, Sony is scaling back on its recent GAAS push, and is instead using third-party studios like Sega and Bandai Namco to “catch up” on some PlayStation IPs. The individual, who goes by the username of Head on the Block, also claimed that nearly every first party studio at PlayStation is or had been working on an online game, some of which were forced into doing so.

The Reset Era member stated that they had heard Sega has a hand in an old IP that will “wipe the floor”. However, they added that, with things just starting to turn around, it’s going to take at least 4 years or so until some of these changes become visible.

In related news, we had previously reported that first party studios at PlayStation were allegedly upset over the GAAS focused direction taken up by the company. In his recent video on YouTube, David Jaffe, father of the God of War series, had mentioned hearing from multiple sources that first party studios at PlayStation were unhappy with the direction the company had taken with regards to its focus on the development of GAAS titles.

According to Jaffe, PlayStation President Jim Ryan was convinced that GAAS was the future of gaming and pivoted PlayStation first party studios to work on them. PlayStation studios were unhappy about this new direction. Furthermore, he said that the alleged cancellation of The Last of Us Factions multiplayer game from Naughty Dog made a lot of PlayStation studios upset, resulting in internal turmoil. Jaffe’s sources told him that Sony pinned the entire blame on Producer Connie Booth and fired her, as well as the vast majority of people who worked under her.

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The first character unveiled on the official website is Raven. This appears to be the older iteration of Raven from previous Tekken games, rather than the version seen in Tekken 7.

Joining Raven is Azucena, a completely new addition to the Tekken universe. As a new character, details on Azucena’s appearance and fighting style remain under wraps. Intriguingly, the character’s name was previously leaked on 4chan by an anonymous user who hinted at three new additions to Tekken 8. Alongside Azucena, the user mentioned two more characters, Reina and Victor.

Reina is described by the leaker as Heihachi’s secret daughter, providing a potential path to incorporate some of Heihachi’s moves into Tekken 8. For those unfamiliar with the Tekken series, the revelation of Heihachi’s death may be a major spoiler.

Victor, on the other hand, is identified as a French UN Agent. He is expected to employ Spy CQC (close-quarter combat) moves in battle. Meanwhile, Azucena is depicted as a Peruvian mixed martial artist with an affinity for coffee.

These revelations follow another significant leak that emerged just a few days ago, showcasing the purported launch roster for the game. Additionally, a list of potential characters was datamined from the beta version. This leaked list might not be entirely accurate as some of it could be the leftover code from Tekken 7.

Tekken 8 is currently slated to launch sometime in 2024. It will be available for PC and current-generation consoles. The game received a closed beta recently for PC and consoles that gave the fans an early look at it ahead of the official launch. If this leak is real, an announcement might happen sometime during this Evo tournament which is currently undergoing in Las Vegas.

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Elden Ring has received a major update in the shape of the Colosseum that brought together three different PvP arenas. They were labeled as free downloadable content but apparently, this is not the end of support when it comes to DLCs. There are more planned to launch later for the game according to a report.

As the Colosseum update is live now on all major platforms, Bandai Namco has followed up this patch with a small hotfix that was deployed today. This addresses two particular issues. One is related to an attacking animation bug that was linked to the colosseum update, and the other is related to the players’ positions displayed on the compass.

Elden Ring Update 1.12 Patch Notes

Game changes

• Fixed a bug that changed crouching attack behavior of right-handed weapons when holding specific weapons in the left hand.
• Fixed a bug that prevented other players’ positions from being displayed correctly on the compass and the map during multiplayer sessions aside from the Colosseums.

The version number of this update shown at the lower right corner of the Title Screen will be as follows:

App Ver. 1.08.1

Regulation Ver. 1.08.1

Details on this update were taken from the official Bandai Namco support website so don’t expect to see any hidden changes with this patch. If you do notice something odd, do let us know in the comments below.

Elden Ring has become one of the fastest-selling games developed by From Software. It was also the first collaboration between the Game of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki. It helped shape the lore of the world as well. This was the first proper open-world game by From Software and it is one of the highest-rated games of all time as well.

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Bandai Namco has confirmed that a new Tekken 7 update will be released on December 13 ahead of the start of the Tekken World Tour Finals. This will basically add new illustrations to the game. They are also asking the fans to share their fan art on social media for a chance for it to be displayed during the Tekken World Tour Finals.

They have stated any changes will be made to the character balance though, so it is highly unlikely that they sneak in any nerfs or buffs to the character with this patch.

Tekken 7 Update 5.10 Patch Notes

NOTE: Recorded battles from previous versions cannot be replayed after this update due to system changes.

Addition of New Customization Items

The version 5.10 Character Panel Set has been added.

Addition of Streaming Mode

Streaming Mode has been added to the Game Options.

When Streaming Mode is activated, the online ID/gamertag of the opponent on the VS screen and the battle screen in Ranked Match, Player Match, and Quick Match will be replaced to the character name.

Expanded Character Selection Features

Players can now register their favorite character and costume combination and select it with one button.

We also added a feature that remembers the last costume that was selected until the game is closed.

Modified Tournament Settings

We made some modifications to the Tournament Settings in Game Options. When Tournament Settings are switched on, players will not be able to use the following character selection features in the Versus Battle:

• “Favorite” settings
•  Character costume selection
•  Saving of last costume selected

Updated Connection Status Info Display

We made the following changes to the connection status info display:

• Connection status info display format updated.
• Text color in some parts of the display updated to show sync status.
• Info added on the processing load of the PCs used in the match.

Here’s a look at the various character panels that are confirmed to be added to the game with the new patch.

Tekken 7 is one of the best-selling games in the series. It is the only game to have sold more than 10 million copies for the franchise thanks in part to post-launch support and multiple characters passes that added new fighters to the game. It was available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One but missed out on the Nintendo Switch.

Tekken 8 is the follow-up to Tekken 7 and it is already announced by Bandai Namco. The ongoing Tekken World Tour will have its finals soon and it is likely possible that new announcements or promotions for the sequel will begin once the TWT 2022 concludes later in 2023. The prize pool for the Tekken World Tour is $100K which will be divided among the winners.

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This game appears to be interesting on the surface. The plot revolves around H. H. Holmes, a historical serial killer, and his murderous hotel. It is essentially an inspiration for the developers who have turned this story into a video game. The tutorial takes place in the past and places the player in the shoes of a couple who are unlucky enough to stumble into H. H. Holmes’ hotel. It was widely assumed that this hotel was outfitted with traps that assisted the historical serial killer in murdering his victims, although this has never been confirmed to be true. This premise, however, is utilized in the game’s opening when the couple suffers a terrible death at the hands of H. H. Holmes.

While the opening prologue is set in the 1800s, the game transitions to present times and focuses on a documentary team with a varied cast. They are working on a serial killer series, and their most recent work looks to be focused on Holmes. They are on a mission to gather all of the proof and facts regarding Holmes, who claimed to be possessed by the Devil, hence the game’s title. As they discover a unique opportunity to gain a closer look into Holmes’ life, things take a turn for the worst when they discover they are stuck with a copycat killer who is inspired by Holmes’ works.

The majority of the story takes place in a hotel that looks to be based on Holmes’ works. It is filled with numerous traps and death lurks around every corner, therefore it is essential to look into the many gameplay choices to prevent murdering any of the key characters. This has been a major theme in The Dark Pictures series, as our decisions affect who lives and who dies. As a result, the game has multiple endings and scenarios to go through, which means it has great replay value.

The gameplay of The Devil In Me is a progression of what we’ve seen in earlier titles. This time, a new mobility system is included, allowing the player to sprint or climb around things. The puzzles and inventory management are also different this time around, challenging the player to think with the clues at hand. Because there are multiple playable characters in the game, they each provide a unique gameplay twist by having access to items that only they have. This leads to various sequences when a specific character is required to have a deeper understanding of the game’s story. While these things provide some value to the game, their design makes them feel redundant. Even though the game tries to spice things up, their use becomes tedious quickly. This is also dependent on the player’s decisions since if a certain character dies, it will be impossible to utilize their item.

The lack of supernatural components is The Devil In Me’s worst flaw. The Dark Pictures has long been known for its jump scares, but the excitement of turning a corner is diminished here due to the lack of a potential threat. The traps build up an intriguing narrative twist, and while a potential serial killer is stalking the character in the story, the majority of the segments fail to heighten the tension. As a result, it appears to be a straightforward adventure game in which the player is just attempting to go to the next objective.

In terms of the PC port, I was able to run it just properly with all options set to ultra. The game also looks to support ray tracing, so if you’re playing on a low-spec PC, you can set the frame rate to 30 FPS, which is great given that this is more of a cinematic experience. Overall, I believe the PC port works well and can scale smoothly from a low-spec to a high-spec PC. Keep in mind that I did not test with ray-tracing enabled.

The Dark Pictures: A Devil In Me always seemed like a Supermassive Games experiment, and it still does now that I’ve played it. The new gameplay elements are intriguing, but they are not utilized creatively in the game, and the characters lack personality, making it difficult to care whether they survive or die. If the game had been more focused on giving a decent combination of survival horror and twists, it may have been a satisfying finale to the saga, but as it stands, this is a bland final chapter that had potential but fails to deliver.

The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil in Me Game Information

• Price: $39.99
• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Developer: Supermassive Games
• Platform: PC (Reviewed)
• Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher

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You may be familiar with the controls if you’ve played any of the Story of Seasons games. As a sequel, the visuals seem almost identical to the original Doraemon: Story of Seasons, with no big improvements, but it’s not like this needed one. The game’s graphic style is quite beautiful, like a watercolored cartoon. All of the characters are well-animated and given proper introductions. The story of the game does not look to be particularly engaging, but it does set up the opportunity of managing farmland.

A boy named Lumis who has been wounded is first introduced to us in the prologue. Lumis owns a farmhouse, which Nobita agrees to manage in exchange for allowing them to remain there. However, this planet, Illuma, too has a queen who appears to be unhappy with Nobita and his friends and takes away their gadgets. With the aid of Lumis, Nobita must find his way back to his home. During his time on this planet, Nobita develops a lot of new friendships with the locals, who also assist him achieve his goal.

If you’ve never played a farming sim game before, the game features a helpful tutorial, but if you have, there’s no need to go through it. The gameplay of managing a farm is straightforward. There are tools for tending the land, such as a hoe for plowing, a watering can for the seeds, and an axe for cutting wood. These tools can also be upgraded in the future to improve their efficiency. A co-op mode is one of the sequel’s new features. This enables two players to work on the farm. If you don’t have somebody to play with, AI can take over, reducing the chore of some of the tedious jobs.

I’ve played through most of the Story of Seasons games, but I found this entry refreshing in the sense that the developers have virtually embodied the Doraemon series by including all of the important characters. Doraemon is represented not just in the story but also in the gameplay. Sadly, despite this, the game’s writing tends to feel more like a dull filler than anything that piques our attention. There are several conversations with the characters in between the various story objectives, but they are rarely engaging. The sequel has a lot more cutscenes in an attempt to add drama, but they aren’t that entertaining.

Nobita can travel across the planet using a world map, however, it is not very useful for navigation. The world map is separated into segments, and if there is anything important to perform in a certain location, a notice will appear on the map, but the player must identify the event that triggers it. This implies that they will have to investigate every spot on the map to determine what causes a certain event. There is a useful to-do list and a bulletin board with chores to do, but the side content itself is weak.

Nobita can capture fish and bugs in addition to caring for the farm by cultivating crops and increasing farmland. These side activities, however, tend to feel monotonous, and the thrill of completing them fades after the first few hours. The game also has a Doraemon flavor with the option to use gadgets. These give some interesting farm management shortcuts that we haven’t seen in earlier Story of Seasons games. Seasonal events occur since the game follows a set calendar, and Nobita must also manage the farm’s revenues and expenses. These might be useful while deciding on farmhouse upgrades.

I played the game on a PS5, but I don’t believe it would be as demanding on a Nintendo Switch. It is also available on a PC, although there is no PS4 port, even though the original was released on it. It’s pretty lovely visually, with its watercolor aesthetics. The world appears to be a living picture, especially given the magnificent backgrounds. The slow-paced nature of the gameplay can be frustrating, but as I spent more time with it, the tools improved to make it acceptable. Co-op mode appears to be fascinating as well, but I wasn’t able to play it thoroughly.

If you enjoy agricultural simulation games, Doraemon: Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom is an easy recommendation. It looks stunning graphically, and the gameplay is designed for newcomers to the genre. If you’ve never played a farming sim but enjoy the Doraemon franchise, this may be a good place to start.

Doraemon: Story of Seasons: Friends of the Great Kingdom Game Information

• Price: $49.99
• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Developer: Marvelous
• Platform: PS5 (Reviewed)
• Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher

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Fast forward to the release of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R, and it appears like we have a game worthy of the JoJo brand. This is a comprehensive roster of the main cast covering the various arcs of the JoJo series. It also includes manga that has yet to be adapted for the big screen. While this is officially an eight-year-old remaster, it still seems like a respectable effort because the game’s primary foundation is entertaining.

To begin, there are 50 playable characters spread among the JoJo stories. It’s easy to become overwhelmed with such a vast roster at first, but the fighting system is really fairly simple to comprehend and doesn’t take long to figure out. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R is not a difficult game to play. It’s not like Tekken or Street Fighter, where we have to memorize a slew of combinations and moves just to have fun. There is a basic battle system in place here, with light, medium, and heavy attacks as well as some special moves.

The major draw of this remaster is the big roster, so if you like any of these characters, you’ll appreciate their movesets. CyberConnect 2 developed the game, and while they are not Arc System Works, they have already given some great fighting games like the Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series. They updated the fighting system and rebalanced the game for this remaster. In addition, nine new characters have been introduced to the game, resulting in a larger roster overall. The battle system has been improved with a new assist mechanism that can help those who are not proficient at fighting games. It also leads to exciting new combinations to play with.

There are always constraints when dealing with such a vast roster, and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R seems like a minor setback in this sense. I wasn’t able to try each character individually, but the ones I did felt nicely designed, with each character giving a different strength or weakness that corresponds with their unique powers, much as in the original series. There is also an easy combo system that allows anyone to link combinations with a special finisher at the end by just tapping the light attack button. This is found in other games, but its inclusion here makes this a good starting point for someone new to fighting games.

In terms of presentation, CyberConnect 2 has nailed the anime aesthetics down to the animations and graphics. There are magnificent flashy attacks that smash our opponents, while the player may utilize both their human powers and their stand to figure out a plan for their opponent’s vulnerability. In addition to special moves, each character has finishers that deal a lot of damage, and some of these are straight from the series.

The battle system is simple enough to learn and enjoyable enough to spend a lot of time with, but what else can you do in the game? Aside from the single and multiplayer modes, there is a story mode that takes you through the major battles from the various JoJo arcs. There are also exceptional scenarios in which the developers have included fights they believe are fan favorites but did not occur in the series. Consider it an alternate scenario, if you will. Overall, it isn’t the ideal narrative mode for a game like JoJo, but it suffices. There are also several unlockables to help you along your way.

The online multiplayer is the most annoying part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R. It’s such an ancient component of this new makeover that I’m perplexed by it. Because of the enormous level of input latency, it is unfit for modern fighting games and is unplayable in its current condition. When every other major fighting game is transitioning to rollback netcode, the makers of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure are still stuck with a delay-based netcode that causes latency in most fights, ruining the experience.

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R Game Information

• Price: $49.99
• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Developer: Cyber Connect 2
• Platform: PS5 (Reviewed)
• Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher

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Klonoa Phantasy Reverie is a modernization of the previous two games in the series. While it would have been easy for Bandai Namco to just remaster them, they went to great lengths to ensure that they are kept in the finest possible state. The series’ last major game was released in 2008, but it has seldom been in the limelight since so receiving something new and fresh right now is a delight even if we aren’t fans of the franchise.

The package mostly comprises two games. The first is a remaster of Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, which was first published for the PlayStation 1 and Nintendo Wii. The second is a remastered version of Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, which was first released for the PlayStation 2. All of these games have stood the test of time and still look fantastic, thanks in part to visual style improvements. The presentation of this bundle looks to be intended for both long-time fans and newcomers. Klonoa performs admirably as a basic 3D Platformer, even exceeding recent efforts such as Kao The Kangaroo.

While Klonoa was never a great hit, it did have a devoted following. There were a lot of games for the GBA after the 3D platformers, but there was never a strong follow-up until this generation with the release of the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series. Both of these games aren’t particularly long and can be completed in a matter of hours, but they do come with a slew of extras, such as unlockables like Music Jukeboxes. Each of these games has collectibles throughout the levels, so returning to revisit them adds some value over time.

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie is largely a single-player game, but I was intrigued by the co-op multiplayer feature. It turns out that this is more of an assist mode, similar to Super Mario Odyssey, with the main character and another player aiding them with various moves rather than two controlled characters. In this aspect, I thought this was a lackluster option, but it was still nice for a game like Klonoa. It is also feasible to obtain some of the more difficult collectibles with this option, so if you are a completionist, having someone walk you through the stages is beneficial.

Indie games and Nintendo have permanently redefined the platformer genre, but Klonoa seems like a step back in certain ways. Despite the memories of playing these games, I thought them to be very simplistic. The side-scrolling elements are wonderful to see in 2.5D design, and there is some verticality to the moves that add a dimension to the exploring, but the gameplay is lacking in excitement and challenges overall.

Klonoa’s level design has a dream-like appearance with some appealing sights overall. The main action consists of picking up enemies and throwing them in a line or in the foreground/background to obtain some of the more difficult collectibles. These are also employed for fundamental puzzle-solving skills, albeit they don’t truly strain our wits enough to be considered puzzles. The gameplay and level design feel coherent and professional, yet certain artistic vibes can give the impression that things are out of place.

One of my concerns with this collection is that it is way too clean. When played on the PS5, the visual style is extremely sharp, with 4K and 60 FPS performance. Overall, it’s a joy, but I do miss some of the cell-shading from previous games. This release frequently appears to have abandoned the creator’s intent. The animations are also flawed and do not feel modern, but in the great scheme of things, we can ignore this.

Another criticism of the game is that it is lacking in material. Because of the short play duration, the replay value is determined by how much you love returning to acquire all of the collectibles. However, if you are a one-and-done gamer, there isn’t much to offer here. The two games may be finished within only over ten hours by just progressing through the levels and ignoring the collectibles. There is no significant new content in this edition to tempt someone who has just beaten them.

Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Game Information

• Price: $39.99
• Publisher: Bandai Namco
• Developer: Bandai Namco
• Platform: PS5 (Reviewed)
• Disclaimer: A review code was given by the publisher

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