DailyBits News – April 21st

Kojima Productions delays the PC launch of Death Stranding to July 14th

Kojima Productions has announced on Twitter that the PC launch of Death Stranding has been delayed until July 14th, 2020. The team at Kojima Productions is temporarily closed for the time being, hence the need for more development time.

The PC version of Death Standing is shaping up to be the definitive version of the game. Death Stranding on PC will feature support for high refresh rates and ultrawide aspect ratios, as well as the Photo Mode that was recently added to the PS4 version of the game.

  • Death Stranding on PC was originally scheduled to launch on June 2nd
  • Pre-ordering the game on Steam will net you a number of in-game cosmetics, in addition to some HD wallpapers

How was the PS4 version of the game received? Death Standing’s Metacritic score landed at an 82 based on 111 critic reviews, but that doesn’t really tell the whole story. A lot of the reviews skew from straight 100s to as low as 35. You could say Death Stranding is the Marmite of games!

Nintendo plan to boost production of the Switch by 10%

Nikkei has reported about Nintendo’s plans to increase the production of the Switch by 10% in 2020, up from 20 million units last year. Judging by the stock levels of the Nintendo Switch in different countries, it is clear the demand for the home console has increased drastically.

Nintendo has been suffering from issues in their supply chain, just like many other hardware manufacturers during the coronavirus crisis. With the launch of the incredibly popular Animal Crossing: New Horizons, coupled with millions of people staying at home, the demand for the Nintendo Switch has never been higher.

  • Though the Nintendo Switch has sold out everywhere, the Switch Lites appear to be readily available
  • Tracking company Nielsen has reported that the time spent gaming has risen by 45% in the U.S.

Here’s what Nintendo had to say about the supply chain issues: “We hope [suppliers] will be responsive to the production increase, but for procurement of some parts, the outlook remains uncertain, and we can’t forecast exactly how many Switches can be supplied.”

The next Animal Crossing update introduces new seasonal events

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is receiving a new free update this Thursday, introducing two new merchants to the game as well as seasonal events like Nature Day and May Day. The museum is also getting an upgrade with the addition of an art gallery.

Prior to this update, players were unable to grow their own shrubs. Leif is one of the new merchants added to the game – a Garden shop merchant who sells scrubs and seeds. The other merchant is Redd, an art and furniture merchant to help supply the new museum art expansion.

  • Reese and Cyrus are two returning villagers from Animal Crossing: New Leaf
  • Be careful when buying certain paintings from Redd as he has been known to stock fakes

Here are the seasonal events you can expect to see: Nature Day will run from April 23rd – 4th May, May Day from May 1st – May 7th, International Museum Day from May 18th – May 31th, and Wedding Season from June 1st – June 30th.

Nintendo’s final update to Super Mario Maker 2 is a big one, there may be more Crysis remasters on the way, Unravel 1 rated for the Nintendo Switch, GeForce Now loses three big publishers, and the new Japan-exclusive My Nintendo app launches today

  • Super Mario Maker 2’s final update is the biggest yet adding in a host of course parts like the Frog Suit, all seven of the Koopa kids as bosses and a World Maker. Check out everything the update has to offer over on YouTube.
  • There could be more Crysis remasters coming according to a series of deleted tweets by Tim Willits, Chief Creative Officer at Saber Interactive. The tweets referenced the Crysis games (plural) – so far only one remastered game has been confirmed.
  • Unravel 1 has been rated for the Nintendo Switch in Brazil. While this now-deleted listing was rated on April 17th, Unravel 1 was also rated for PC, Xbox One and PS4 at the same time. This could suggest there may be an improved version of Unravel coming to consoles soon.
  • Nvidia’s GeForce NOW streaming service loses three big publishers: Xbox Game Studios, Codemasters and Warner Bros on April 24th. The official release of GeForce NOW is currently scheduled for June.
  • Nintendo launches the My Nintendo app, currently exclusive to Japanese Android users. The app allows users to view their Switch, 3DS, and Wii U play records, check up on Nintendo news, watch Nintendo related videos, and buy Nintendo Switch software.