With Comic-Con going down in New York and a ton of games on the way, it’s safe to say that we’ve been pretty busy. But, as we the weekend draws near, we’ve taken time out of our hectic schedules to plan a fun, game-filled weekend. Now that I’ve completed LEGO Dimensions (which I loved), I’ll be moving on to Transformers: Devastation and dipping back in for some more Destiny. As exciting as the prospect of the weekend sounds, we need to get to some news first. In today’s Gaming Daily, it sounds like voice actors might finally going on strike, the PS4 is getting a price drop, Bungie is nerfing shot guns in Destiny, Han Solo might be playable in Star Wars: Battlefront, and Black Ops III is getting a weekly video series.
It looks like voice actors might go on strike.
Remember last month when we reported on the news that video game voice actors might go on strike? Well, according to recent reports around the web, it’s looking like the strike is going to happen unless an agreement is reached. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio (aka SAG-AFTRA) held a vote to see if its members would support the strike. It turns out that 96.52% of the union was in favor.
Seeing as the vote surpassed the required 75% approval, the strike has been officially authorized. Included in the group of actors who supported the decision were Wil Wheaton (Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.), Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect), Steve Blum (Vanquish), Elias Toufexis (Deus Ex: Human Revolution), Tara Strong (Batman: Arkham Knight), and David Hayter (Metal Gear Solid).
Though the strike was approved, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is going to happen. If the group’s demands–including residuals for games that sell over 2 million copies, and pay for stunt coordinators that are involved in dangerous mo-cap stunts–are met, they will back down. There are several other things on the table at the moment, so only time will tell.
HT: Eurogamer
PS4 price officially slashed
Well what do you know. It looks like the PlayStation 4 is getting a price cut. The console, which originally retailed for $399.99, will now only cost $349.99. That’s a whole $50 docked off of the price. Though the news didn’t come as much of a surprise after Target accidentally spilled the beans a few days ago, it’s nice to hear official confirmation regardless. For more on the news, check out our full article (link below).
HT: Nerdist
Bungie is nerfing shotguns
You’re either going to love this news, or hate it. If you’ve been playing Destiny at all in the last few weeks, you’ve probably noticed how OP shotguns are in the crucible. For those that have an exotic shotgun like the Four Horsemen (or something similar), running through a multiplayer match and taking out enemies was a breeze. If you’re like me, and were on the other side of that, well..you were probably annoyed.
Luckily, Bungie revealed via their latest weekly update, that shotguns would finally be nerfed. As the post notes, shotgun-wielding guardians had an unfair advantage when it came to Destiny. This lead the folks at Bungie to tweak the game’s weapon balance.
Senior Designer Jon Weisnewski noted, “With the deployment of Update 2.0.1, we will wholesale remove the Shot Package perk from all Shotguns. Any shotgun with Shot Package (depending on the exact weapon) will now have Close and/or Personal, Crowd Control, or Knee Pads. This change has not negatively impacted our PVE playtests.”
Though Shot Package is disappearing, Wesnewski insists that the weapon will still be pretty effective in the Crucible. He continued, “With or without Shot Package, even our shortest range Shotguns will continue to be effective death dealers in the hands of a skilled Guardian. With Shot Package on a time-out, we can recalibrate the effective range and research a way to hopefully reintroduce the perk after some time at the work bench.”
Make of this announcement what you want, but I’m pretty happy.
HT: Bungie Blog
Han Solo might appear in Star Wars: Battlefront
We already know Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader are making an appearance, but now, thanks to a certain Reddit user named TheeUberMedic who decided to dig around in the Star Wars: Battlefront beta code, it sounds like Han Solo might be joining the fun. What’s more exciting is that there are also traces of Boba Fett, Princess Leia and Emperor Palpatine in the code. For more on the report, check out our full write up (link below).
There’s going to be a weekly video series for Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
Are you getting pumped for Black Ops III? Activision took to the web today to reveal that a weekly video series for the upcoming game was on the way. The series will start this Friday, and will air every consecutive Friday until the end of this month.
In the coming weeks, Treyarch will be airing “new, never-before-seen” footage from the next entry in the COD series over on the official Call of Duty YouTube channel.
The “Black Ops Fidays” event will start at 12 PM PDT and will be held on October 9, 16, 23, and 30. In addition to showing off new footage, Activision will be interviewing developers, answering fan questions and more.
HT: Gamespot
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That’s it for today everybody. Keep Nerdist tabbed for upcoming gaming news, reviews and features.
