Final Fantasy Brave Exvius Fan Fiesta Announced for New York City August 15, 2017

Square Enix has just announced the date for their Final Fantasy Brave Exivus Fan Fiesta in New York City.

The Fan Fiesta will be held October 6th, 2017 at Capitale.  Just visit this website and sign into your Square Enix account (if you play Final Fantasy XIV or use the Final Fantasy Portal App you can use that sign-in information) and give it your unique Player ID Number.  Players who attend will be given some exclusive goodies and have access to exclusive panels!  The best part is the event is totally free!

Final Fantasy Brave Exivus is out now on iOS and Android devices.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Closed Beta August 11, 2017

Big news, PS4 owners. We had a blast playing Dissidia Final Fantasy NT back at E3 2017 and now Square Enix has announced the active play dates for the game’s upcoming closed beta test.

Before I announce the dates, I just want to remind everyone this is a closed beta test and only selected players will be able to participate in it.  If you haven’t signed up for the test yet, you can sign up here before August 20th.  If you attended EVO 2017, you’re already granted a spot in the beta, just use the code EVO’s organizers e-mailed you when registering on that website.

The beta test will run from Friday August 25th to September 3rd 2016.  You will need a PS4 and an active PlayStation Plus account to participate in the closed beta even if you are selected to participate.

Dissidia Final Fantasy NT is coming exclusively to the PS4 in 2018.

Toys R Us Announced Pokemon Day August 12th August 8, 2017

The toy retailer chain Toys R Us has announced they will be hosting another one of their wonderful Pokémon Trade and Collect events this Saturday from 1PM-3PM.

Pokémon Trade and Collect events are great experiences, where fellow Pokémon Trainers can meet up to compete in the Pokémon Trading Card game, trade Pokémon, and obtain exclusive prizes. The first attendees to this weekend’s event will get an exclusive Collector’s Album and a Foil Stufful Card.

All Toys R Us locations in the United States should be participating in the Pokémon Day, with the exception of outlet and express stores.  Check with your local store this week if you are unsure if they are participating in the event!

Nintendo World Championships 2017 Announced August 8, 2017

Nintendo has just announced some incredible news earlier this morning. Nintendo World Championships 2017 will take place this October in New York City!

Nintendo World Championships is Nintendo’s flagship event. Selected gamers earn a spot to compete at the main event, where those competitors will challenge each other across Nintendo’s enormous catalog of classic, new, and upcoming games.  It started in the early 90s and was revived in 2015 to great success. Heck, the 2015 event was even rebroadcasted with commentary on the Disney X D Channel!

To qualify for the event, you must visit a participating Best Buy store during the selected qualifying period and post a time in Mario Kart 7 on the Nintendo 3DS.  You can read the full list of participating Best Buy locations here.

Good luck players, I can’t wait to see this event!

PS4 Software Update 4.73 Released August 3, 2017

Sony has released a minor software update for the PlayStation 4 earlier this week. The new update includes very vague notes about optimizations and bug fixes but that is all.  This may fix the online availability issues certain users were reporting from the last firmware, but I haven’t yet had the chance to test the new system software  long enough to confirm that.

You’ll have to download the latest software update as soon as possible because you won’t be able to log into the PlayStation Network without it.  You can get it right now using the system software update feature in your console’s settings menu.

Final Fantasy XV Chocobo Carnival is Back July 31, 2017

I finally started playing Final Fantasy XV on the Xbox One and I couldn’t be happier to announce Square Enix has brought back the limited-time Chocobo Carnival event!

If you want to join the carnival, fire up your game console right now!  Players will need to install the latest Final Fantasy XV patch and the Free Holiday + DLC to participate in the carnival.  The event will take place from July 31st to September 2nd!

Final Fantasy XV is out now for the PS4 and Xbox One.

Halo Wars 2 Operation Stormbreaker and Leader Serena DLC Released July 26, 2017

It has been a day since the release of the latest Halo Wars 2 patch and today Creative Assembly has officially released two DLC expansions for the game. The first is the Leader Serena DLC, which adds all-new Blitz Packs to multiplayer. The second is the Operation Storybreaker DLC, which adds two new single-player missions featuring the fan-favorite ODST squad.  Here’s the trailer:

The two DLC expansions are free to download with the Halo Wars 2 Season Pass and the Halo Wars 2 Legendary Edition. It can be purchased in a bundled pack for those who do not have the Season Pass.

Halo Wars 2 is out now for Windows 10 and Xbox One.

If You’re Having Issues Updating Halo Wars 2, Keep Your Xbox One Running July 25, 2017

Since the second patch was released for Halo Wars 2 on the Xbox One, I’ve had nothing but issues installing it.  The update would simply hang at 0% in my download queue, seemingly accomplishing no progress regardless of the amount of time it was running.

Today, an all new patch has just been released for Halo Wars 2, including new balancing tweaks and support for the new DLC Blitz Packs, and once again the download stalled before it even started. I kept my Xbox One running for over two hours before the game finally began to patch.

In the past, I believed this issue to be a bug with the Xbox One’s operating system or a mistake with my game installation, the developers have assured me neither is the case.  They believe it is an issue with the Xbox Live Marketplace and they are still working on fixing it. If you do a hard restart of your Xbox One console while it is patching the game, the Xbox One will immediately re-download the entire game from scratch, all 30GB+ of it, so be aware of that.

Halo Wars 2 is out now on the Xbox One and Windows 10.

Destiny 2 Beta Extended, Final Hours Today July 25, 2017

Bungie has been overwhelmed by the popularity of their Destiny 2 Multiplayer Beta and because of that, they have extended their online test to today.  Just be aware that Bungie is doing an extreme test in its final hours, as they are spending this time to test their network under extreme stress.  Sudden disconnects are a very real possibility for anyone who continues to play.  If you haven’t had the chance to check it out, you can download it for free off the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live Marketplace.

The beta test is expected to end in a few hours so make sure to play it all you can until then.  Destiny 2 is coming to PC, Xbox One and PS4.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy Western Ghats Gameplay Preview July 25, 2017

I got an in-depth look at Uncharted: The Lost Legacy during E3 2017, and I honestly thought that would be the longest preview Sony would do for the game before its release, but it looks like I was wrong. Earlier today, Sony released this all-new preview of the game, featuring the Western Ghats section.  Its a pretty lengthy preview so if you want to avoid spoilers you may not want to give it a watch until after the game is released.

Is it just me or did this level feel like it was a bit more open than some of the other Uncharted games have been?  I guess we will find out next month.

Uncharted: The Lost Legacy is coming August 22nd, 2017 exclusively to the PS4.