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When F-Zero rose from the ***** in 2023’s September Nintendo Direct, no one was more surprised than the man who designed Captain Falcon over three decades ago. Ex-Nintendo designer Takaya Imamura was with the company for over 30 years, with credits on all-time classics like The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, Star Fox 64, and F-Zero. But when F-Zero 99 launched on Nintendo Switch last year, it was the first entry in the franchise without Imamura’s input, and the creator admits he wouldn’t have thought of the 99-player online direction for the series. “The first thing I thought was really that if I'd still been at Nintendo, I don't think I'd have been able to take this approach to it.,” Imamura says. “So I was really surprised that they made such an original take on the IP on the game itself and arranged it in such a fun way.” Imamura may not be at Nintendo anymore, but he still holds his two main creations – F-Zero and Star Fox – very close to his heart. In fact, Imamura has already found his way back to video game development, as he's working on a new project with an art style that’s very reminiscent of his pair of Nintendo darlings. OMEGA 6: The Triangle Stars uses the same retro future art style that Imamura built his career on, and it’s the first game he’s worked on since leaving Nintendo three years ago. “I think it's the first time I've drawn pixel art since Star Fox on Super Nintendo, which has been a while,” he says with a smile. Imamura’s OMEGA 6 began with a 2022 manga published in France that’s now being adapted into an adventure game due out on PC and Nintendo Switch in 2025. It’s set around a journey to locate a new home planet for the human race, and Imamura says he put his all into the original comic before beginning work on the video game. While Imamura himself tinkers on a new IP, he also comments on the state of the games and entertainment industry, noting how difficult it is for a new idea to take off. “I think Nintendo's real peak was when [Shigeru] Miyamoto-san was in a really central position and they were creating lots of new IP. But at the moment – and this is not just related to Nintendo – but at the moment, in the games market and in general in the entertainment world, it's really tough to bring a new IP to market and have it be successful.” Read on for IGN’s full interview with Imamura-san (through an interpreter), where we discuss where F-Zero goes from here, his new project OMEGA 6, why Star Fox 64 is still the most special game he’s worked on, and the keys to Nintendo’s success in the future. IGN: When you spoke with IGN in 2021 right after you left Nintendo, you said F-Zero wasn't gone for good, but a grand new idea was needed to bring it back. Last year, Nintendo revealed and released F-Zero 99, the first F-Zero game released that you weren't involved with. What were the emotions when you saw F-Zero finally return from the outside? Takaya Imamura: First off, I was really surprised. The first thing I thought was really that if I'd still been at Nintendo, I don't think I'd have been able to take this approach to it. So I was really surprised that they made such an original take on the IP on the game itself and arranged it in such a fun way. IGN: Why don't you think that you would've been able to take that direction? Imamura: I think it was mainly because when I saw it, I thought, "Well, that's just like Nintendo to take this direction." And for me, F-Zero, I've been working on it so long that I've got this... My vision of it is not as flexible as whoever took the reins on [F-Zero] 99 and was able to basically think outside the box and recreate what it was. IGN: So now that Nintendo has acknowledged F-Zero again in this way, where do you think this series can go from here? Imamura: If you're asking me, in my imagination, I'm seeing something scaled up akin to F-Zero GX. But given Nintendo's got the reins at the moment, I think they as a company will probably take it in the direction for a wider range of players, including casual gamers as well. So it's an IP that can really capture a wide range of players. IGN: I think that we're in agreement that GX is the pinnacle of the F-Zero series, but basically every F-Zero game is fantastic and the sales numbers didn't always reflect their quality. And that led to a near twenty-year hiatus. I'm wondering, as the series progressed, did you and the team ever feel like you needed a big sales hit to keep the series alive? Or as a creative were you never really focused on that side of things? Imamura: Of course, the most important thing of any product is that it sells. So that was the first thing on our mind. We can't just focus on game fans. We couldn't, I couldn't when I was at Nintendo. But F-Zero and Star Fox tend to be supported by more core gamers than casual, and Nintendo obviously needs to be able to approach a wider range of players. So yes, of course, the first thing on my mind was to have something that sells. But these games seemed to have better support with a more core gamer audience. IGN: So you just mentioned Star Fox, and last time we spoke with you, you called Star Fox 64, "the game of your life." And I think a lot of fans agree that is the highlight of that series. I’m wondering if you can share why Star Fox 64 is so special to you beyond the fact that you put so much care and hard work into it. Imamura: I think it's difficult to express exactly why I feel that, but I think it's probably mainly because out of all the games I've worked on, it's the one where my vision has been most reflected in the final product. I was able to put most, if not all, of the ideas I had into the game. So it's the game that I've made that has the most of me in it. I'm a huge film and game fan myself. And I think probably Star Fox 64 has the most elements of that, homage to other creative works, film, games, et cetera. [Star Fox 64] is the game that I've made that has the most of me in it. IGN: We've talked about F-Zero and Star Fox, and now you're working on OMEGA 6, and it only takes a glance to see the similarities in your character design with those two Nintendo series we've touched on. OMEGA 6: The Triangle Stars uses your iconic retro future art style that F-Zero and Star Fox share. Can you just tell me very simply to readers who may not know, what is OMEGA 6? Imamura: I don't know if it's the elevator pitch, but in a single phrase, the best way to describe it would be that it's the video game spin-off product of me really wanting to become a manga artist, a mangaka, and creating a comic, putting my all into this comic and then spinning off into a game. IGN: I find that really interesting because you left Nintendo to try something new, and you've been teaching, you wrote this manga, but through it all, it's led you back to video game development. And I'm wondering when you left Nintendo, if you planned to eventually work on another game again and how that all came to be. Imamura: Well, I had actually been thinking about game development. It was on my mind after I'd left, but I wasn't thinking about something quite as large as OMEGA 6 has become. It was more a compact, smaller experience at first, but then we started adding things, and before I knew it, here we are. IGN: What excites you the most about OMEGA 6? And what do you want to tell fans of your previous works about it to get them excited as well? Imamura: Well, one of the things would be that I basically drew every single pixel in the game. So the first thing would be that I want the fans to look at the pixel art and enjoy it basically. I think it's the first time I've drawn pixel art since Star Fox on Super Nintendo, which has been a while. IGN: So speaking of that, the Super Nintendo was a long time ago, and you saw Nintendo through many highs and many lows. And right now, Nintendo's riding what you could call an all-time high, at least financially speaking. In your opinion, what about Nintendo's leadership and direction keeps the company relevant both across the generations that you were there for and into the future? Imamura: Obviously, it's just my opinion, but I think Nintendo's real peak was when Miyamoto-san was in a really central position and they were creating lots of new IP. But at the moment – and this is not just related to Nintendo – but at the moment, in the games market and in general in the entertainment world, it's really tough to bring a new IP to market and have it be successful. So I think what Nintendo will need to do is to work on new IP and also the existing IP, become something like Disney in terms of having all these IPs that they can create products from. IGN: I want to make sure we touch on Zelda because you were the art director on Majora's Mask, which is one of the most visually interesting games in the series. And the story is different and mature as well about sadness and regret. What it was like working on a Zelda game that's still so distinct from the rest of the franchise? Imamura: That's quite a well-known episode in that the president of the Nintendo at the time, [Hiroshi] Yamauchi, the order came down from him to make a new Zelda in one year. And so it came down to two points. One of them was that we had the previous Zelda and we wanted to differentiate it from that. And the other one was how do we create a new world, something that is very new, that is distinctively different from previous Zeldas in such a short time? And that was basically what we came up with. We took a different path visually and conceptually. My job on the art side was to make it different from Ocarina of Time – as clearly different as possible. And that's why we ended up with the world that that game is set in. I think Nintendo's real peak was when Miyamoto-san was in a really central position and they were creating lots of new IP. IGN: I've always been very fascinated by the design of Majora's Mask itself, the item. When I was a ****, I used to just stare at the cover art of it on the Nintendo 64 box. What were your inspirations for the design of the very creepy mask? Imamura: So in Osaka, there's a museum that collects lots of different artifacts and clothing from different ******* groups. And I often go there for inspiration for different designs and stuff. And for the mask in particular, that was one place where I absorbed a lot of design ideas from. IGN: My final question here is, as the person who created Tingle, every time a new Zelda is revealed, are you hoping that Tingle shows up in some capacity? Imamura: [Laughs] I haven't seen him in recent games, but I think there is a character similar to Tingle in Tears of the Kingdom. IGN: Thank you so much, Imamura-san. I appreciate the time, and best of luck with OMEGA 6 and at gamescom. Imamura: Thank you for your time as well. Parts of this interview were edited for clarity. Logan Plant is IGN's Database Manager, Playlist Editor, and Super Ninfriendo on Nintendo Voice Chat. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant. Blogroll image credit: Takaya Imamura ([Hidden Content] View the full article

Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Fans play MTG in ********* dark matter lab, 1.3 miles underground Phyrexian horror-making MTG card sees rapid 500% price spike Wizards of the Coast runs out of MTG boxes for Arena prize View the full article

****** Myth: Wukong comes with a plethora of settings that allow players to adjust its visuals and performance. Its graphical settings are largely the same as any other major 3D action RPG, encompassing both big-picture options like view distance, antialiasing, and texture quality. But ****** Myth: Wukong also allows players to adjust some of the more minor details of its graphical fidelity, changing, for example, the detail rendered in the NPCs' hair, reflections, and vegetation. View the full article

Doctor ***** is controlling his vast army using control chips in Fortnite, and if you’re going to put a stop to his reign, you need to learn about them. To do so, you have to collect a control chip by hitting a headshot on *****’s henchmen. This story quest is a key step in figuring out what to do about Doctor *****’s relentless rule. It requires immense precision to complete, so here’s how to collect a control chip by hitting a headshot on *****’s henchmen in Fortnite. View the full article

A new Marvel Snap update is now live for download on all platforms, and it’s full of genuinely positive changes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said out loud “please, let me play my deck” while playing Marvel Snap. And it appears that Second Dinner was listening because a handful of the game’s most annoying locations are changing in today’s update. View the full article

Mecha Break lets you ask for advice from in-game characters. | Screenshot: YouTube Nvidia ACE, the company’s AI-powered system for giving voices and conversation skills to in-game characters, is set to debut in Mecha Break, a new multiplayer mech battle game coming to PC, Xbox X / S, and PlayStation 5 in 2025. In Mecha Break, players can choose from a variety of mechs across categories like ********, melee, and ******* for online matches where they’ll ****** both on the ground and in the air. It looks similar to something like the Armored Core series, just without a single-player mode. Nvidia writes that players will be able to “interact via natural language with game characters” and that the characters can “see” and identify you or objects around you through your webcam, using GPT-4o. It’ll also use a combination of... Continue reading… View the full article

Xbox Game Pass is adding Atlas Fallen on August 22. The open-world RPG will spearhead the fairly slim second wave of this month's Xbox Game Pass releases. View the full article

The quirky discovery was made by our own Steve Walton at Hardware Unboxed while benchmarking the Ryzen 7 9700X. After putting over a dozen games to the test, he found the 9700X was averaging around 3.8% higher frame rates when using a Windows administrator login versus a standard user account. Read Entire Article View the full article

With Season 5 Reloaded set to kick off on August 21, Activision has confirmed that the popular multiplayer mode Cyber *******, last seen in 2019's Modern Warfare, will make its return in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The much-loved game mode features no respawns, and is just one of many reasons to check out the mid-season update in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. View the full article

****** Myth Wukong is making some tremendous strides, and less than 12 hours after release, it’s already the second most-played Steam game of all time ahead of this year’s previous contender, Palworld. The Soulslike title has magnetism beyond anything we’ve seen this year, and it’s likely it’ll continue growing. According to SteamDB’s player count tracker, ****** Myth Wukong stands at a whopping 2,223,179 concurrent players, or over 120,000 above the third-place Palworld. The game came out just today, Aug. 20, and it hasn’t even been half a day since it opened its gates to the public. Players have been massively enjoying their Journey to the West, so much so that the title has “Overwhelmingly Positive” reviews on Steam, with 96 percent of players willing to recommend the game. View the full article

Nvidia has just announced ACE Minitron 4B, a new small language model (SLM) that allows game developers to add AI-powered NPCs easily into their games. Nvidia ACE Minitron 4B will then allow gamers to have natural language interactions with in-game characters, in a similar manner to large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, but all powered locally via an Nvidia RTX GPU. The new Nvidia tech that will first be found in the upcoming mech shooter game, Mecha Break, gives the company another way to differentiate its best graphics cards from the competition, as the tech will only work on RTX GPUs. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Mecha Break's free playtest is now open to all, but get in quick Mecha Break is already flying on Steam as multiplayer playtest begins Vicious new MechWarrior rival Mecha Break finally getting a playtest View the full article

As Doctor ***** sets his eyes on Fortnite island, Jonesy and Hope join their hands to protect the island and investigate the bad guy’s nefarious plans. After dealing damage to players or NPCs at new points of interest in Fortnite, Jonesy asks you to look for evidence at the Redline Rig. However, the place is big, and finding a piece of ******* evidence can be daunting. If you’re having trouble finding the piece of evidence, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

The HyperX QuadCast 2 S features 100 RGB lights that can be controlled through its Ngenuity software. | Image: HyperX HyperX announced new versions of its QuadCast USB gaming microphones today. The QuadCast 2 and QuadCast 2 S now include a streamlined multifunction control dial and welcome upgrades to their recording quality. The original versions of the HyperX QuadCast mics delivered a lot of functionality at a sub-$200 price point, including multiple pickup patterns and programmable LED lighting. But recording quality maxed out at 16-bit/48kHz. The new QuadCast 2 boosts recording quality up to 24-bit/96 kHz, while the QuadCast 2 S goes even higher, maxing out at 32-bit/192kHz. The new versions are still priced under $200, although each has received a price bump. The QuadCast 2 is now $149.99 instead of $139.99, while the QuadCast 2 S is $199.99, up... Continue reading… View the full article

I'm not going to oversell it - I'm not saying the work is done or that we're anywhere close. But after a seriously troubled launch in September of last year, the controversial Payday 3 seems to be on a correctional course, and recent metrics suggest a comeback may actually be possible. Cyberpunk 2077 did it. No Man's Sky pulled it off. Thanks to the new Payday 3 update, Starbreeze, too, may be able to find some redemption. They may be subtle, but the signs are there - on Steam at least, Payday 3 seems to be slowly recovering. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New Payday 3 update adds two epic heists, and one of them is free Payday 3 fully reveals its first free new heist and kicks off 50% ***** Payday 3 could be making a comeback following an update and a big ***** View the full article

Microsoft has announced the second wave of games coming to Xbox Game Pass in August 2024, which also includes access to the Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 open beta. Atlas Fallen is perhaps the biggest full title of this wave as an open world action role-playing game set. Available August 22, players can explore a vast desert and ****** terrible beasties in a reworked campaign which arrived alongside the Reign of Sand update. "Atlas Fallen is a solid open-world action RPG with plenty of platforming and large monsters to ****** with a co-op buddy, so long as neither of you cares about story or is a stickler for high-quality textures," IGN said in our 7/10 launch review. Available on August 27 is Core Keeper, where players take on the role of an explorer drawn towards a mysterious relic in a 2D survival sandbox. "Craft, build, and explore in a dynamic world," reads the synopsis. "Develop your character, uncover ancient secrets, and engage in thrilling co-op or competitive play. Embrace the challenge and unearth the mysteries that await." Star Trucker, meanwhile, arrives September 3 puts a spin on the truck driving simulator genre by putting players in space. "Haul cargo, trade salvage and keep your space suit close as you search for fame and fortune among the stars in a game that puts an interstellar twist on the truck sim genre," reads description. Xbox Game Pass August 2024 Wave 2 LineupAtlas Fallen (Cloud, Console, and PC) - August 22Core Keeper (Cloud, Console, and PC) - August 27Star Trucker (Cloud, Console, and PC) - September 3 The Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 open beta, which is available from August 28 to August 30, otherwise requires a preorder of the game to play but Xbox Game Pass members can access it too. It will be available to download on August 28, and certain rewards will carry over to the full game when it launches into Xbox Game Pass on day one. A handful of games are leaving Xbox Game Pass on August 31 too, though those looking to continue playing afterwards can save 20% on their full price by purchasing them while they're still available on the subscription service. Everything Leaving Xbox Game Pass on August 31Atomic Heart (Cloud, Console, and PC)Guilty Gear-Strive (Cloud, Console, and PC)NBA 2K24 (Cloud and Console) Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day. View the full article

Sports game fans, rejoice! Backyard Sports, the iconic video game series known for making ****-friendly sports games, is back. In a press release, Playground Productions, the company currently holding the rights to the Backyard Sports IP, confirmed it was reviving the series, noting that the franchise is "slated to return in the coming months." Playground Productions also provided the first teaser trailer for Backyard Sports, featuring memorable characters like Pablo Sanchez and Stephanie Morgan. You can check out the first trailer below. Beyond the confirmation of new Backyard Sports video games, Playground Productions said the series' return will expand its reach to multiple verticals beyond video games, such as film, TV, and merchandise. Playground Productions explained that the revival of Backyard Sports will use "cutting-edge technology and esteemed character IP" to aim to create stories and experiences that will resonate with those who grew up with the series along with the current generation of youth. "We're incredibly excited to reintroduce Backyard Sports to a new generation of players," Playground Productions CEO Chris Waters wrote in the press release. "We're taking great care to preserve the look and feel that made the original games so special while updating them with modern features and gameplay that today's audience expects. I can't wait for fans to see what we're building on the Playground." The Backyard Sports series began in 1997 with the release of Backyard Baseball. The franchise would eventually include games in other sports, such as basketball, football, hockey, and even skateboarding. Since 2015, however, the series has been dormant. While fans of the series have long awaited a new entry for nearly 10 years, chatter saw a spike when NFL star and former Eagles center Jason Kelce revealed on his podcast last January that he was interested in trying to make a new Backyard Baseball and Backyard Football game. A Playground Productions spokesperson confirmed to IGN that Kelce is "isn't directly involved in this relaunch," but acknowledged that Kelce represents an "audience of people that, to this day, fondly remember Backyard Sports as a staple game with iconic characters beloved by many." Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster. View the full article

As you help Hope and Captain Jones figure out how to stop Doctor ***** in Fortnite Chapter Five, season four, you must work your way through some important story quests. One of these tasks asks you to eliminate opponents from over 30 meters. This can be a tricky task, but it’s one of the earlier story quests, which means you must complete it to progress. If you’re stuck on this one and need some help finishing it, here’s how to eliminate opponents from over 30 meters in Fortnite. View the full article

VALORANT EMEA fans have something new to look forward to this Fall as Riot Games announces two upcoming LAN events in the region. The Game Changers Stage Three Finals and the newly introduced mixed-gender tournament will feature live competitions, finally giving fans what they’ve been asking for years. The VALORANT Game Changers EMEA Stage Three Finals will be held in front of a live audience for the first time, offering fans the chance to watch their favorite teams compete in person after years of online competition—but that’s not all. The event will take place on Oct. 6 at the ESA Arena in İstanbul, Türkiye, which offers more than double the 2021 GC Championship Finals seating capacity. View the full article

Good news, people who’ve been unhappy about the state of Helldivers 2 since the deployment of the Escalation of Freedom update, there’s a fresh patch out and it very much looks to be the first step on Arrowhead’s road to addressing all of the complaints. If you’re out of the loop, the studio’s previously outlined a 60-day plan of changes to help get the game back where it thinks the majority of players want it to be, and at a glance, this update is definitely a step in the right direction. As outlined in the notes for patch 01.001.004, the biggest fixes it offers are all aimed at improving the situations of several mechanics vocal players have taken issue with recently. Read more View the full article

League of Legends players have just about had enough of the preview system in the client. For years, players have complained about the client and how it needs to be changed; this is just another day at the office for Riot Games. The client has had its fair share of problems in the past. Players have called for a change in the system for years but to no avail and only adjustments to the current client. A group of players expressed their frustration on Reddit about a particular part of the client. “The client for league is a ******** pile of *****,” one player said. View the full article

A significant 14.16 B-patch in Teamfight Tactics dropped on Aug. 20, featuring all nerfs to overperforming Set 12 traits, champions, and Augments. The 14.16 B-patch is the first for Set 12 with the launch update running its full two-week duration without any changes. Many players and the TFT devs like Game design director Stephen “Mortdog” Mortimer are happy with the launch of Magic n’ Mayhem but feel “the balance has got to a spot where the first two patches had a big gap between the best comps and the rest.” The 14.16 B-patch seeks to close that gap with nerfs to traits like Portal, Augments like High Horsepower, and champions like Ahri, and Fiora. View the full article

Separating Zotac's freshman effort from the crowded handheld gaming space is its 7-inch 1080p AMOLED display with a blazing 120Hz refresh rate and impressive 800 nit peak brightness. That should provide a far superior visual experience compared to Asus's rival device, which has an LCD that goes up to 500 nits. Read Entire Article View the full article

What are the best Spirits in ****** Myth: Wukong? One of the rewards you can obtain from beating the many bosses in ****** Myth Wukong is a Spirit. Spirits are a form you can temporarily shapeshift into, to use their unique abilities or spells. Spirits can be activated once their corresponding Qi meter is charged. Only one Spirit can be used at a time, and those obtained from bosses cost more Qi, but have stronger effects. You'll also have benefits to your statistics just from having the Spirit equipped. Choosing the correct Spirit is as important as choosing the best ****** Myth: Wukong weapons or the best ****** Myth: Wukong armor. When timed correctly, they can inflict huge damage and other ailments to foes, giving you the edge in battle. Here are all of the ****** Myth: Wukong spirits, the best ones to choose, and where to find them. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Best ****** Myth Wukong skills - all abilities to unlock first In just one hour, ****** Myth Wukong has smashed every other Steam game ****** Myth Wukong guide and walkthrough View the full article

Despite a set of stalwart mechanics, the roguelike genre is an incredibly diverse one. Permadeath, procedural generation, and a power creep of new abilities and equipment can be found in almost every spin on the genre, but there's so much more to it than that. Inscryption bakes the mechanics into the narrative, Slay the Spire was a spinoff into deckbuilding, and FTL pits you against an unpredictable galaxy. There are so many roguelikes that you undoubtedly missed some, so this new Humble ***** is filled to the brim with them - take your pick. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: Slay the Spire leads a big Humble roguelike *****, with up to 95% off The best Slay the Spire mods Slay the Spire is yours for cheap right now, so everyone should try it View the full article

Game Science’s ****** Myth Wukong is a headline act in 2024, and the action-adventure title tackling ******** mythology has garnered a staggering player count very quickly. Player counts are important to developers, publishers, and the gaming community as a whole. They are a clear indicator of how well a game is performing and how able it is where player retention is concerned. View the full article