It’s official, I’m obsessed with LEGO Dimensions, well, sort of. Last week I reported that my collection of the little building blocks was steadily growing. This week, I’ve added even more. There are only seven more fun packs that have yet to make it onto my shelf display. Look, I know I need help, but I just want them all. What games are currently consuming your time and wallet? Any gaming marathons planned this weekend? I recently completed Metal Gear Solid V, and if you haven’t done so yourself, I highly recommend completing it. It’s a total blast, and you only have a little bit of free time before Halo 5: Guardians and Fallout 4 finally hit retailer’s shelves.
But, before you go off to play games this weekend, let’s look at today’s news. In today’s Gaming Daily, Microsoft and YouTube are partnering up for Halo 5: Guardians launch festivities, third party developers have started to receive Nintendo NX dev kits, GTA Online to get Lowriders, and EA wants their own Assassin’s Creed or Grand Theft Auto.
 
Microsoft & YouTube are Partnering Up For Some Halo 5: Guardians Launch Festivities
Microsoft has planned out a new way to celebrate the launch of Halo 5: Guardians. Instead of opting to create just different parties at retailers for the usual midnight shenanigans, the publisher has decided to partner up with YouTube to hold a special programming event leading up to the midnight launch. The festivities will begin 6-hours prior to the eventual release of the game on the west coast. The schedule features the first episode of The Fall of Reach animated series. There will also be a roundtable with the writers and Nathan Fillion, and even a documentary. Not much else is known yet about what else will be filling the schedule, but there is bound to be more information coming out once we get closer to the arrival of the game. Live events will be held in certain locations, including New York, New Zealand, and Hong Kong.
I have to admit, this is a brilliant way of involving more people than a midnight launch event ever could. This also shows off Microsoft’s marketing prowess. We already know plenty of details about the game, including story content, so it’s great that the wait is almost over. Soon, we will all be able to hunt the truth.
[HT: Gameinformer]
Third-party Developers are Reportedly Receiving NX Dev Kits
There’s been no shortage of rumors floating around about the mysterious NX from Nintendo. Today, however, we got substantial information from a reliable source who revealed to the Wall Street Journal that third-party studios were already getting their hands on the NX. Better yet, the source also revealed that the console does indeed consist of multiple parts, with at least one piece being a mobile unit. Many had predicted that a combination featuring a home console and a 3DS-like handheld could come together in perfect marriage, and this report supports that idea. It also seems like the Big N will be revealing the new hardware early next year. It’s great that Nintendo is moving on from the Wii U. Very little excitement surrounded the struggling hardware, despite it having an excellent game library. Watch today’s Nerdist News to hear more on the NX from our own Jessica Chobot.
[HT: Nerdist]
Grand Theft Auto Online: Lowriders Coming October 20
As if Grand Theft Auto Online wasn’t crazy enough already, Rockstar revealed that lowriders will be joining the madness on October 20 on the PS4. Car lovers will now be able to mess around with new, fly-looking whips. This update will also bring new missions from Lamar, as he hatches some insane plans. There will be a new shop called Benny’s Original Motor Works to customize your ride. Check out the launch trailer above.
You’ll be able to meet up with fellow car enthusiasts to show off your pride and joy. Opening up all the doors and hood to display will be doable using the player interaction menu. It sounds like you’ll be able to hold your own personal car show with friends. I’m a big fan of extra missions, so the Lamar additions are also exciting. There’s already a bonkers amount of things to do in GTA Online, but I’m glad that fact isn’t slowing Rockstar down from doing their thing.
[HT: PlayStation Blog]
EA Wants Their Own IPs to Rival the Likes of Assassin’s Creed and GTA
In an interview with IGN, EA’s executive vice president Patrick Soderlund admitted that the publisher is lacking in the open-world action genre. But, they believe that won’t be the case for long. “If you look at the biggest segment in our industry, which is action, we don’t have a lot,” Soderlund said. “EA is not known to make gigantic action games like Assassin’s Creed or Batman or GTA or those types of games that are really big. The strategic direction that we put in motion is to expand our portfolio more into that segment, to see what can we bring to gamers that maybe hasn’t been done before.”
He continued with, “I’m not suggesting we’re going to go after GTA and sell 50 million units. We would love to! But what I’m saying is those types of absolutely AAA, big productions is what we want to do. And I think for us to do that, we need the right people.”
The interview is a great insight into EA’s future plans. There’s no doubt this company is a powerhouse, despite being loathed by fans. The funny thing is, their portfolio is impressive, and I’m sure other publishers would love to have their own Madden or FIFA. Still, new IPs are welcomed in this time where remasters rule.
“You need a leadership and people that have done this in the best and they’ve done it successfully in the past. That, coupled with a large ambition to invest in new IP. We want to. We’re building a lot of new IPs today but we want to invest more money into new IP,” Soderlund said about their future plans. That’s exciting.
[HT: IGN]
That’s another week in the books, ladies and gents. Keep it chill this weekend, and don’t forget to play lots of games. Keep it on Nerdist for all your gaming coverage, and the rest of your nerdy needs. Will you be watching the Halo 5 festivities on Youtube? What do you think about this move by Microsoft? Let us know in the comments below.
