Will The Pokémon Company ever get a handle on insatiable demand for new cards? We’re almost certainly getting Nioh 4 now. And Ubisoft just can’t catch a break. It’s the latest edition of Morning Checkpoint, Kotaku‘s daily roundup of gaming news, rumors, and culture. It’s back after a brief two-day hiatus. It’s been a busy week! We’re still trying to find Tuvok’s lungs.
We used to have honest-to-god commercials in this country. Including live-action ones for video games. Which company will be brave enough to bring them back?
Ubisoft studio evacuated over potential bomb threat
500 staff at Ubisoft’s Montpellier had to leave the office on February 19 after a bomb threat was sent to the local police station, Midi Libre reports. The email claimed there was an explosive device at the studio where developers have been working on Beyond Good and Evil 2 and a new Rayman game. Dozens of police responded, created a perimeter around the building, and searched for anything suspicious-looking but ultimately couldn’t find anything. Was it just a random hoax or an unfortunate “prank” by a disgruntled employee or gamer?
Ubisoft has been dealing with frustrations from staff over the company’s ongoing cuts and a new return-to-office policy as well as perennially being the target of unhinged rants by some people online, including individual shareholders, over culture war grievances.
Pokémon buys a new U.S. card distributor
“This reflects our long-term commitment to supporting the Pokémon community and the broader trading card ecosystem,” Pokémon Company president Kenji Okubo said in a press release this week. “Excell Brands has built a strong reputation as a trusted distributor and category management partner for their customers with deep insight into the needs of Pokémon fans.” Does that mean I’ll finally be able to buy booster packs without having to stake out restock days?
Bioshock 4 and the Bioshock movie are in a staring contest to see who can take the longest to come out
Director Francis Lawrence is attached to the cinematic adaptation of Bioshock, but work on other projects has kept him from getting to it. “We would have gotten it made a few years back, but then other movies got in the way, with one being The Long Walk and the other being the Hunger Games prequel, which comes out this December,” producer Roy Lee told Collider. “We’re just waiting for him to finish post-production, because he’s going to be working on it through at least September, and then jump back into it. I know that Netflix and Take-Two are very anxious to see the movie come out because they want to have the release coincide with some of the potential new incarnations of the game.”
Nioh 3 is great and it’s selling very well
The latest sequel is already the fastest-selling entry in the masocore action-RPG series, hitting over 1 million copies sold in its first month. The franchise as a whole is now at 10 million, Koei Tecmo announced this week.
The biggest fighting game tournament is now fully owned by Saudi Arabia
NODWIN Gaming has exited its co-ownership stake in Evo, leaving Qiddiya City-owned RTS, which is ultimately a subsidiary controlled by Saudi Arabia, in full control. The Las Vegas tournament takes place this summer with the championship stage games announced back in December. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, which is made by Saudi-owned SNK, will be one of the new games featured this year.
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