All articles tagged with #morning checkpoint
Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu suffer a 69% drop in their second weekend, earning about $25 million domestically and $246 million worldwide on a $165 million budget, landing in third place behind Obsession; the article also flags other gaming and pop-culture notes, including a Streets of Rage movie, a Baldur’s Gate 2 remake, and the July release date for ModRetro’s Nintendo 64 clone.
Fallout co-creator Tim Cain says gamers increasingly rely on online influencers to shape opinions rather than forming judgments from content themselves; the roundup also notes Sony raising prices on used PS5s, FF7 Remake Part 3 director Naoki Hamaguchi claiming over 40 playthroughs, and rumors of Halo 2/3 remakes as well as potential Silksong DLC.
Nacon, facing insolvency, shutters RPG studio Spiders just 24 hours after delaying its showcase, with a union urging fans not to buy its games; the publisher still plans to air a May 7 showcase. The roundup also notes Atomfall getting a TV adaptation and Tales of Eternia Remastered coming to Switch.
Kotaku’s Morning Checkpoint highlights a Costco RAM miracle: an iBuyPower PC with a Ryzen 9800X3D, RTX 5070, and 32GB DDR5 RAM for around $1,100, a steal for RAM value; the roundup also notes Rugrats retro games coming to modern platforms, a phantom chapter in Resident Evil Requiem, and rumors of Injustice 3.
Square Enix revealed colored prototypes for FORM-ISM Chrono and Marle statues to be displayed at Ikebukuro PARCO with potential overseas pre-orders, feeding ongoing chatter about a Chrono Trigger remake—possibly in HD-2D style—even as the merch push stands on its own.
A YouTuber named Zac Builds constructed a DIY Steam Machine for about $950, packing a Ryzen 5 5600X, Radeon RX 9060 XT with 16GB RAM, 2TB SSD, and a custom 3D-printed case. It’s a bit larger than Valve’s expected footprint but aims to be cheaper, faster, and capable of 4K/60fps with FSR in games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Spider-Man 2. While it undercuts Valve’s cost, Valve may still reap savings through bulk manufacturing, suggesting homemade rigs could pressure Valve on pricing and timelines.
Crimson Desert’s sales top 3 million and player sentiment improves after rapid patches and a promised Intel Arc/AI-related updates, despite earlier disclosure about using genAI; the recap also notes Dragon’s Dogma 2 expansion clues and broader gaming news.
Bethesda teases a major Starfield reveal next week, with Todd Howard stressing it isn’t a 2.0 reboot but promising tweaks and possibly new DLC; a PS5 port reportedly due in April; Warner Bros. Games Montreal faces layoffs amid broader budget cuts tied to Paramount's deal; Atlus announces a 15% raise for developers and overtime caps; and a PS5 Pro update is rolling out to improve upscaling on top titles.