Metroidvanias prioritize exploration and the gradual unveiling of the game world through the acquisition of new abilities, encouraging players to think creatively and persevere. As the genre has grown in popularity, it is essential to recognize the most influential and top-rated titles since its inception.

In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase the best Metroidvania games available.

1. Hollow Knight

Hollow Knight, released in 2017, marked the impressive debut of Team Cherry, a small game development team from Australia. Due to its amazing graphics, compelling soundtrack, and carefully designed stages, the game soon became a popular favorite among Metroidvania lovers. The player takes on the role of the Knight, who sets out on a perilous trip through a huge underground network of tunnels and deserted cities, fighting mighty opponents and learning the truth about Hallownest's terrible past.

With a playtime of approximately 60 hours, players can explore the richly curated content and discover hidden areas in Hollow Knight.

2. Super Metroid

No list of top Metroidvania games would be complete without including Super Metroid. While the original Metroid introduced the concept of a non-linear platformer, Super Metroid refined and perfected the gameplay. Regarded as the quintessential Metroidvania game, Super Metroid features Samus revisiting the planet Zebes and encountering new and old enemies while exploring changes since her previous visit. The game emphasizes clever exploration and features a hauntingly memorable soundtrack.

3. Ori and the Will of the Wisps

Ori and the Will of the Wisps, a sequel that builds upon and enhances its predecessor, continues the story of the forest spirit Ori in his search for his lost friend in a new land. The game features charming creatures, touching moments, and visually stunning levels to explore. While it is recommended to play Ori and the Will of the Wisps as it stands out among the rest, it would be a mistake not to play Ori and the Blind Forest beforehand as the former beautifully builds on the latter.

4. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

Since its release in 1997, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night has established a legendary reputation as one of the best games in the Castlevania series. The game centers on Alucard, the half-vampire son of Dracula who explores his father's castle in search of upgrades, artifacts, and weapons to use in fight against the evil forces. The gameplay of the game emphasizes exploration and discovery while adding RPG aspects.

5. Metroid: Dread

Metroid: Dread, a sequel that fans have been waiting for since 2002's Metroid Fusion, finally arrived after a whopping nineteen-year gap and received glowing reviews. The game features Samus Aran, who is sent to the enigmatic planet ZDR to investigate the Federation's missing EMMI units. These units were dispatched to examine the sightings of the mysterious X Parasite.

As Samus explores the planet's depths, she confronts and avoids the corrupted EMMI while traversing ancient laboratories, eerie cave systems, and alien ruins.

6. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night

Players can use a distinctive combat system in the game Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night to explore a strange castle full with hideous monsters that is heavily influenced by Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. The game offers players a variety of combat tactics to choose from, including guns, martial arts, spells, and heavy, slow weaponry. It also boasts excellent graphics and refined gameplay.

Bloodstained is a capable and expertly made sequel to the finest that Castlevania has to offer, even though it may not quite achieve Symphony of the Night's level of greatness.

7. SteamWorld Dig 2

Although SteamWorld Dig was an enjoyable game, it now appears to have served as more of a demonstration of concept compared to its sequel. SteamWorld Dig 2 has significantly enhanced the mechanics, controls, and overall flow of the game, resulting in a remarkable and flawless experience throughout.

Although trying out the first game is recommended to explore the captivating SteamWorld universe, SteamWorld Dig 2 is undoubtedly the superior and more refined Metroidvania.

8. Guacamelee! 2

Due to its improved fighting and cooperative capabilities while preserving the same humor and plot as its predecessor, Guacamelee! 2 gets added to this list. The universe built in the first game is expanded upon by the introduction of the Mexiverse, a multiverse with a Mexican flavor. Guacamelee! 2 also incorporates wrestling combos and further develops the combat mechanics of the chicken form. While there is debate as to whether it is superior to the first game, both titles are definitely worth playing for Metroidvania fans.

9. Blasphemous

Blasphemous, which draws its inspiration from Roman Catholic iconography, is one of the bloodiest games on this list and leans heavily into dark fantasy themes. As you progress through the corrupted lands of Cvstodia, you'll encounter grotesque creatures, battle monsters, and meet enigmatic allies. While the game's setting and atmosphere are impressively realized and contribute to its inclusion on this list, it's worth noting that the game's challenging difficulty may prove frustrating for even the most experienced Metroidvania players.

10. Metroid: Zero Mission

The 1986 video game Metroid, which became a cultural phenomenon, helped create the Metroidvania subgenre. The NES, however, had some drawbacks as a result of its technological constraints. To improve upon the original idea, Metroid: Zero Mission was launched in 2004 as a remake with new graphics and design.

To improve the player experience, Zero Mission fixed the original game's design problems and introduced fresh story components. Additionally, Zero Suit Samus, a character who has gained a lot of popularity among fans, was added in the game.

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No stranger to offering emulated titles among its lineup, Nintendo has recently announced the release of a range of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance (GBA) games on the Switch. A natural move for the company, players have been left wondering what took so long, though there remain concerns about the quality of these ports, with Nintendo's track record being rocky at best.

The New (Old) Titles 

According to The Verge, the new set of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games are arriving on Switch via the online store, which makes sense. Considering Game Boy games measure in kilobytes, printing out full cartridges with gigabytes of empty space is more than a little wasteful. As for GBA games, these will be exclusive to Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers.

Titles in the initial launch window include Tetris, Metroid 2: Return of Samus, Mario Kart Super Circuit, and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. All of these games are established classics, and all have a proven track record on handheld systems, so their suitability to the Switch is guaranteed.

Moves and Fears 

The reason for the shift to the Switch is simple; a bigger library gives players more reasons to engage. More engagement means more users, and more users mean more money. Plus, with the Switch recently becoming the third-best-selling system of all time, Nintendo would probably like to continue building the platform's legacy. On top of this, Nintendo making the Switch a dual handheld/console has already consolidated two sides of its library into one, on top of which they’ll want to add more.

This move is hardly new in the entertainment space, as shifting titles onto new systems has been equally graced by others in the interactive entertainment market. The online casino industry is one of the standout examples in this regard, with the titles on their websites converted to mobile platforms from desktop thanks to new HTML 5 code. If you play Rainbow Riches in the modern age, the game can now be enjoyed on a huge range of tablets, smartphones, computers, and laptops. With the addition of welcome bonuses, games like this similarly help online casinos like Nintendo’s move helps the Switch.

There is some concern, however, about how well these emulation jobs will perform. Nintendo has a long track record of putting handheld games on other systems well, as it managed with the Game Boy Player for the GameCube. Less encouraging are recent efforts like the GoldenEye 007 re-release. As mentioned by Metro, there are issues in this game that have persisted since the original Nintendo 64 version. Considering GoldenEye has notorious performance issues that can easily be bypassed today, this lack of effort is less than welcome, especially since fan ports and emulations have long since solved the problem.

Early signs from Nintendo’s release of these Game Boy and Advance games are good, so as long as the pace is maintained, this move still appears a positive one. Whether for classic players or newcomers to the library that made Nintendo what it is today, Game Boy games shouldn’t be overlooked for their simplicity. For current Switch owners, we’d especially recommend giving Minish Cap a try, as we prepare for the upcoming release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

The Wii U was the short lived successor to Nintendo's highly successful Wii console, and the predecessor of the Switch. Despite being a commercial flop, its library is quite big and there are still quite a few titles on Wii U yet to be ported to the Switch.

Buying a dead console to experience them is a waste of money. In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase how to set up CEMU Emulator to play Wii U Games on PC.

Where to Download Cemu From?

Cemu can be downloaded from the official website. Just click download the latest version to get a zip file containing the installer.

Minimum system requirements

• OS: Windows 10 64bit.
• RAM: 8GB RAM (more is always better)
• GPU: Nvidia GTX 750Ti / AMD Radeon R7 265 or above
• CPU: Intel Core i5 3470 3.2GHz / AMD FX-8350 4GHz. CPUs with higher cores and threads are always preferred.

How to Setup Cemu?

Extract the zip file onto your desired folder (not on C drive). Create 2 folders named "DLC" and "Games"

Right click on the Cemu Launcher, click on Properties>Compatibility>enable Disable fullscreen optimizations and Run this program as an administrator

Next, on the Change high DPI Settings option, tick the Program DPI option and High DPI scaling Override

Run Cemu. On the quickstart, you can ignore the Mlc01 option and use the gamepath option to browse to where you have put your games.

How to configure your Controller for Cemu?

Go to Options >Input Settings. Pick a controller type and choose your controller API. It is best to stick with the Wii U Pro Controller - you could switch between the APIs until your controller works. And don’t forget to also click on Controller so that it’s marked as Controller 1.

Start mapping your inputs to your own desire. Once you’re done, don’t forget to name your profile, and hit Save.

• SDL: PlayStation/Nintendo Controllers
• Xinput: Xbox Controllers
• DirectInput: Generic Controllers

Where to get Wii U games?

Players can either dump them legally from their own console or download a dumped version of the game on the internet.

How to Install Games Using Cemu?

• On the top bar, go to File, then Install game title, update or DLC
• If using Dumpling, navigate to the /dumpling folder on the root of your SD card, otherwise navigate to your dumping tool's directory for games
• Open the relevant folder corresponding to what you want to install. This is either the Games, Updates or DLC folder for dumpling
• Open the folder of what you’d like to install
• Open the meta folder and select meta.xml

What are the best Wii U games that haven't come to the Switch?

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Xenoblade X is the spiritual sequel to Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii. Despite its few graphical shortcomings due to the limitation of the Wii, XBX still manages to impress with its sheer artistry and scale. Speaking of scale it's been estimated that Xenoblade X is larger than the worlds of the Witcher 3 and Fallout 4 combined. The Witcher 3 could fit in Xenoblade X three times while Fallout 4 could fit inside X's world 5 times.

The biggest selling point of the game is getting your own mech (Skell). This doesn't happen until 30+ hours into the game but is rewarding once you do. Skells themselves offer different combat and traversal options including the ability to fly. However, it comes at a cost. The Skells themselves are expensive and can be destroyed in combat. Replacing them isn't cheap either. In combat, your Skell's equipment determines what arts you can use. However, like attacking appendages of your enemies in ground combat? Enemies can also attack individual parts of your skell. Once you lose an arm or something, this can prevent you from using a specific art in that fight. So it is imperative to know when to use your skell and when to save it from destruction.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

Twilight Princess is among my favorite Zelda games. To say that the original hadn't aged well would be quite an understatement. Make no mistake that this is not a full-on remake. You are still seeing the original character models and geometry with a fresh coat of paint.

While Twilight Princess is not the best in the franchise, it does have probably the best dungeons of any 3D Zelda, maybe tied with Majora's Mask. I admire this game a lot for its uniquely darker tone, a wealth of atmosphere, epic/cinematic storytelling, and I love the variety of types of gameplay including mini-games in between the big quests.

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD

This is everything a remake should be. It keeps the entire essence of the original while at the same time fixing so many of the problems that the original did have. It didn't try to distance itself too far, but it also improved itself. This is as perfect as a remake really can be done.

The story and characters are among the best in the Zelda series, bosses are challenging.

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For so long, Contra has become an icon of the run-and-gun genre. Back in the day, you have to own a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to enjoy the game. But that is long gone! Thanks to the rapid advancement of modern technology, we now have ported versions of the classic franchise for mobile devices, even re-made ones! Stay tuned for everything you need to know on Contra Game Download for mobile.

About Contra Game

Contra was first introduced on February 20, 1987, as a coin-operated arcade game. In 1988, Konami released a home version of the game for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). Various ports for different computer formats soon followed in the same year. Several sequels also continued the first installment of the franchise, but Super Contra remains the most iconic.

Regarding gameplay, Contra games feature a simple and straightforward control, using an eight-way joystick and two action buttons for shooting and jumping. Up to two players can enjoy the game simultaneously as Bill and Lance.

If you have played Contra in your childhood, you will certainly remember the iconic somersault curl jump instead of the usual jump pattern. The question is are you ready for the mobile version of the game?

Super Contra Game Download for Mobile Guide

To download and install this classic game on your mobile devices, you will need two things. The first will be an emulator to emulate an NES operating system. Then you will also need the game file for the obvious reason. With that being said, here's our Super Contra game download for Android mobile guide.

Contra Game Download for Mobile Step 1: Get An Emulator

RetroArch is an open-source project that uses the powerful development interface Libretro to allow users to make cross-platform applications. It means you can access rich features such as OpenGL and cross-platform camera support on your Android devices.

Libretro and RetroArch are perfect for playing Super Contra on an NES emulator. If you're excited to learn more, visit their website via the link here.

The Playstore version of RetroArch supports 50 cores, fewer than the website version, in compliance with the Google Play Store's policies.

You can also upgrade to the Plus version to access even more exciting features from RetroArch. But to play Super Contra on your mobile devices, just the normal version is more than enough.

Download RetroArch from Google Play Store

The beauty of this app is that you can directly download it from Google Play Store, saving you a ton of time. But it can be very in-depth and overwhelming to navigate through at first. Take your time, we're sure you'll figure it out.

To download RetroArch, visit its Google Play Store page here. The file is verified, so you don't need to enable "Install for Unknown Sources".

Another viable option to go for is the John NESS emulator, which is easier to use. It's vanilla or a newbie-friendly emulator. However, you don't have that control over settings and other features as you do with RetroArch. Yet, it's still a solid choice to check out.

Contra Game Download for Mobile Step 2: Get the Game

Once you have RetroArch up and running, it's time to download Super Contra. But since this is actually a port of the NES version, you can download and install the game via APK files. Here's how to do it!

• #1 Visit the APKpure website or open the APKpure app on your Android devices
• #2 Type in "Super Contra for mobile" on the search bar
• #3 Download the first or the most relevant results

Contra Game Download for Mobile Step 3: Set-up

After you get all of the required elements, it's time to set up Super Contra. Open your emulator (RetroArch or John NESS) and run it for the first time. Then, you want to allow the app to scan for existing APK files for ported games (including Super Contra).

Wait for the scan to complete, the emulator should detect Super Contra as a playable game from your storage. From there, just dive in and enjoy your childhood memory.

Garena Contra Returns 

If you're not a fan of using an emulator for gaming on mobile devices, then we have another option for you. It's a completely revamped and re-made version of Contra, known as Contra Returns. It's a mobile game published by Garena, available for both Android and iOS devices.

However, do expect the gameplay to be different. It will be more of a multiplayer co-op game, featuring a 4vs4 gameplay. If you want to check it out, we will leave a link right here: Contra Returns. For other games in the franchise, such as Contra 4 game free download for mobile, you can install them with the same steps, as long as you have the APK file.

That's everything you need to know about Contra Game Download for mobile in April 2021. If you like our article here, check out our website at GuruGamer.com for more.

Finding an external memory card to have more storage on the Nintendo Switch consoles is always a great topic for many players. Although 32GB of memory is considered to be adequate for popular smartphones, the situation is quite different for consoles, especially those who have a large number of Nintendo Switch games from digital downloading and love taking screenshots or videos during their experience without any stop. Not messing around anymore, here're the best micro SD cards for the Switch so far.

#1 Sandisk microSDXC 

The most official micro SD card for the Switch

Widely known as a big memory card supplier for cameras, Sandisk undoubtedly receives the guarantee stamp from Nintendo, which allows it to manufacture products with a read speed of up to 100MB made for fast loading and a 30-year warranty as well. 

They are also attached to a friendly mushroom (for the 128GB model) or a Triforce design (for the 64GB model). In fact, when it is put in the console, you won’t care much about the design, but the manufacturer knows how to make you be aware of it. All in all, a Nintendo-developed memory card will never be a wrong choice by all means. 

#2 Kingston Canvas Select microSDXC

Best for value - You can gain huge storage at an affordable price 

Unlike the official Sandisk, Kingston does not own that luck but still be widely welcomed by a majority of users because its 128GB memory card can be purchased at a cheaper price compared to the equivalent of Sandisk. Although the load time might be a little bit slower, 80 mb/s in particular, your Switch devices, including every model of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, or 256GB, can live happily with it. 

#3 SanDisk Ultra 400GB micro SDXC

Best for storage - It exceeds your imagination

Why? It’s for the 400GB memory card which can allow you to download without fearing your storage will run out someday. Technically, you will have 512GB, but spending a much more amount of money on just small add-up storage might be a waste of time. Therefore, a 400GB one will be an ideal recommendation, especially for those who are going to play lots of indie titles.

Now, let the numbers speak out. Some game titles require a huge load of storage: for instance, Breath of the Wild will take up 13.4GB of space, equalling 40% of the console’s onboard storage. To be honest, Switch and Switch Lite will have the same problem. In order to avoid the storage expansion of Mario and Zelda, players can purchase AAA games on physical cartridges. But for complete convenience, compressing all the titles in just one handy Nintendo Switch memory card may sound much more appealing. 

Q1. Are Files Kept On Switch Memory Cards Too?

It’s a definite no. You can only save your games, images, and videos onto the external memory cards. Save files are all saved on internal storage to prevent piracy, but thankfully, those files do not require much storage. 

If you subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online, you can back up your save files to the cloud to prepare for the case that you unintentionally - or intentionally - break your console. The system also allows you to download every game you purchased before without paying any other fee. 

Q2. What Micro SD Cards Will Work On Nintendo Switch?

Actually, any micro SD card below 4GB, micro SDHC from 4 to 32GB, and micro SDXC with an extended capacity above 32GB are all allowed to operate, even when you only want at least 16 to 32GB memory cards that worth your spending. High-speed memory cards are also suggested by Nintendo to achieve optimum performance, so you may need a card equipped with UHS-I support and a read speed of 60-95mb/s. Luckily, all the aforementioned cards meet these criteria. 

If you are using a micro SDXC memory card that exceeds 32GB, Nintendo will warn you to connect your console to the Internet to update the system before downloading games onto the card.

We've flicked through everything about micro SD cards for the Switch. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any further questions!

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Are you the type that enjoys a good old-fashioned game once in a while, even if it’s on your high-tech home game console system? If so, then you may be interested to check out some classic casino style games on your Nintendo or Xbox. Here we’ll take a look specifically at blackjack, arguably the most popular table game at the casino. So, let’s jump right in.

Super Blackjack Battle 2 Turbo Edition - Nintendo

Fans of Super Blackjack Battle for Nintendo are most definitely going to want to check out the follow-up - Super Blackjack Battle II Turbo Edition. In this game, you're given 12 brand-new characters to compete as when you're busy trying to achieve ultimate blackjack player status.

Standout features in the game include the classic blackjack feel that everyone knows and loves, some rather intriguing characters that have their own back-story, and the fact that it's got a real retro arcade feel to it. It also has single player mode and the ability to play with up to four players at a time - which means you can challenge your friends. Originally released in 2018, this one still manages to hold its own in the genre.

It should be noted that this game is also available on the Xbox console with its own unique features and twists.

Just Black Jack - Nintendo Switch

For fans who like keeping things true and classic, Just Black Jack on the Nintendo Switch is the perfect offering. There's nothing flashy, over-the-top, or confusing here; instead, it's all about the card game.

The scene is meant to feel like a table in Las Vegas and your goal is simple: become a professional blackjack player. This one is only for one player so there is no multi-player mode here - it will just be you against the computer. Released just over a year ago, this one is a laidback, easy-to-play offering that classic blackjack lovers will take to.

THE Card: Poker, Texas Hold'em, Blackjack and Page One - Nintendo Switch

For those who are looking for the classic game of blackjack, but wouldn't also mind checking out other casino games, THE Card: Poker, Texas Hold'em, Blackjack and Page One could be the perfect offering.

As the name implies, you’re getting four games here, all of which are easy to understand and addictively fun to play. You can even see how you stack up against other players around the world when you play. Customisation features help to make this game even more fun.

Vegas Party - Xbox

Here's a game that delivers blackjack to your Xbox console, but a whole bunch of other classic offerings as well. Vegas Party features 10 mini games and allows you to check out 17 different casinos. You'll be able to play blackjack, slots, roulette, bingo, and more. As its title implies, it takes on the whole Las Vegas vibe and theme, and you'll find this to be a newbie-friendly game. Even if you've never played casino games, this one won't overwhelm you.

BlackJack X - Xbox

Another fun Xbox offering is Blackjack X which is meant to feel just like a real casino. The fact that you've got an online leader board just adds to the competition element, as you'll get to see how you stack up to others.

In this game, you're competing against the dealer, and because there are no additional add-on purchases needed, you know you'll get full access from the start.

So, What If You Want the Real Thing?

As fun as these versions are for Nintendo and Xbox, you may instead be craving for the real thing just from your own home. Online blackjack is an incredibly popular entertainment option and is safe as long as you take the time to find a casino that is legitimate. You can check out more information at this Blackjack site.

Plenty of Options to Choose From

So, if it’s blackjack on your Nintendo or Xbox that you’re after, as you can see, there are plenty of great and entertaining options to choose from. These games give you the freedom and flexibility to enjoy all the thrills of the casino from your own home.

Having been founded more than 40 years ago, Nintendo is surely among the biggest video game companies in the industry right now. With such a huge history, this gaming company surely has a lot of rare titles for its consoles, besides successful modern games. If you want to own a copy of those rare video games, we are afraid that you will have to pay thousands of dollars for one copy.

That sounds really hard to believe, right? But that is true. When it comes to collecting limited titles for Nintendo consoles, there are a lot of surprising things that a normal gamer may never think of. That is why we have gathered down here the list of top ten rarest games for Nintendo consoles and their prices. If by any chances, you find a copy of any games in our list at a lower price, buy it and then resell it for the collectors. They will surely pay you some good money for the below title.

10. LEGEND OF ZELDA: ORACLE OF AGES & SEASONS – LIMITED EDITION

These two games were originally for Gameboy Color, but then it got a re-release later 2013. However, whenever it comes to a Zelda conversation, these two games are not mentioned much, since people don’t remember those two-game often. But the graphics and gameplay of the two games are still very much the same as original Legend of Zelda game. Moreover, the seasons have an impact on the gameplay of these two games. You can only enter some certain locations of the game during one season. These two games are sold together with a Limited Edition box, alongside with some other items as gifts from the publisher (maybe a shirt, maybe a working boomerang).

Up to now, there have been only 500 copies for the Limited Edition box. If you want to take home a box, you may have to pay $1150 dollars (about Rs 0.8 Lakh) for one. If you aim for a complete-in-box version of these two games, don’t expect any price lower than $2200 dollars (about Rs 1.56 Lakh).

9. CHEETAHMEN II

At first, Cheetahmen II game was a part of the Action 52 cartridge. This cartridge was produced for NES console in 1991. Although Action 52 itself is a rare game, people pay a lot of attention for Cheetahmen II specifically. That is why Cheetahmen II got a re-release with a gold label on its cover. This is not a finished game, of course, but that does not stop Cheetahmen II from gaining the love of the fans. With less than 2,000 of the physical edition for Cheetahmen II, you will have to pay at least $1300 dollars (about Rs 0.9 Lakh) if you want to take home a physical copy of Cheetahmen II.

8. DUCK TALES – GOLD CARTRIDGE EDITION

Normally, Duck Tales has already been an expensive game, in comparison with other similar titles. So, when Capcom re-released this game in 2013, it decided to level up the rarity of the classic title. In the 2013 re-release, Capcom made a super rare kit for this game, which includes a real gold copy of the game for the original NES platform, as well as some other gifts from the publisher, namely a lunch box with the Duck Tales theme.

With exactly 150 kits being produced, you will never be able to take home a kit with a price lower than $1400 dollars (about Rs 1 Lakh). If you have a lot of money to spend, and you really want to have one copy, there is a deal of this game on eBay with the price of $3000 dollars (about Rs 2.12 Lakh - a bit too high, we know, but that deal offers free shipping policy).

7. DONKEY KONG COUNTRY COMPETITION EDITION

The standard version of the classic game Donkey Kong Country was released for the Super NES platform in 1994 (this game has some re-releases later for Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance platform). The special edition of the game that we are talking about was released in 1994 for the Nintendo PowerFest ’94 competition with some modifications to fit with the rules of that tournament.

The publisher initial intention was to release the competition edition of the game for that tournament only, so there were exactly 2500 copies only. But if you want to take home a copy of the competition edition (which looks quite similar to the standard edition, except for the “Competition Cartridge” labor on top), don’t expect any prices lower than $1650 dollars (about Rs 1.17 Lakh).

6. MYRIAD 6-IN-1/CALTRON 6-IN-1

This is a cartridge that contains six games for the NES platform. At first, this cartridge was sold with the name of Caltron 6-in-1, but then Caltron went bankrupt, and the stock of this company was bought by Myriad Inc. This company then re-sold this cartridge with the name of Myriad 6-in-1. Although all six games inside this cartridge are clone versions of famous games, Caltron 6-in-1 and Myriad 6-in-1 are both extremely rare.

The Myriad 6-in-1 only has 888 copies, and each copy has its own serial number. If you manage to find a Myriad 6-in-1 box, its price can be $1400 dollars (about Rs 0.9 Lakh). But if you want a complete-in-box copy of Myriad 6-in-1 with the same serial numbers between the cartridge, instructions, and box, be ready to pay $3000 dollars (about Rs 2.12 Lakh) for that box.

5. NINTENDO CAMPUS CHALLENGE 1992

This is surely a very strange looking cartridge for the Super NES platform. It was first created for the Campus Challenge in 1992 in the North America region. This cartridge contains three games only: Super Mario World, Pilotwings, and F-Zero. Up to now, there are only two copies of this cartridge all over the world, and each copy can have the price of $4000 dollars (about Rs 2.83 Lakh). Rumors say that there is a third copy floating somewhere out there, so if you can find it, people will willingly pay you more than $4000 dollars to have that copy.

4. STADIUM EVENTS

This is a must-have game for any hardcore Nintendo game collectors on earth. At first, there was a game called Family Fun and Fitness for the NES platform by Bandai. But Nintendo loved it so much, so it bought the idea, rebranded it into Stadium Events. Normally, a copy of this game will cost you about $10,000 dollars (about Rs 7.1 Lakh) to $21,200 dollars (about Rs 15 Lakh), but if you want a sealed copy of the game, be ready to pay $28,000 dollars (about Rs 19.8 Lakh).

3. NINTENDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – GREY CARTRIDGE

This is the cartridges for NES platform that contains three games only: Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer, and Tetris. At first, Nintendo produced this cartridge for the Nintendo World Championship competition in 1990 in the US, but then the fans all wanted to buy one copy for themselves. There is no exact number of produced copies, but be ready to pay $19,000 dollars (about Rs 13.5 Lakh) if you want to have one copy for yourself.

2. NINTENDO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP – GOLD CARTRIDGE

These cartridges are actually the same as the World Championship cartridges with grey covers. The only difference may be the shiny gold cases only. But due to the fact that there were twenty-six of these cartridges being produced, this is one of the rarest game for the NES platform. And of course, not all the 26 copies can survive until today, so the estimated price for one copy is about $20,000 dollars (about Rs 14.2 Lakh). In 2014, one copy was sold with the price of more than $100,000 dollars (about Rs 71 Lakh) on eBay.

1. NINTENDO CAMPUS CHALLENGE 1991

This is perhaps the rarest cartridge for the NES platform. There are three games in this cartridge: Super Mario Bros. 3, PinBot, and Dr. Mario, and there is one copy of this cartridge being found. The only time this cartridge being sold was in 2009 (ten years ago), and its price at that transaction was $20,100 dollars (about Rs 14.26 Lakh).

Recently. we got a new announcement from NIS America. The latest installment in their cataclysmic adventure franchise of the company - Disaster Report, will head to the Western markets in 2020. It will come with the name of Disaster Report 4: Summer Memories for Nintendo Switch, PC, and PS4.

The gameplay

This game features a grim concept where you play the role of an ordinary person with customizable outfits, who goes to a big city in a search for a job in a very hot summer. Then a titular disaster happens when a huge earthquake reaches the city, causing massive devastation. So your job in this game is to guide your character through dangerous places, interacting and communicating with other survivors, gathering resources and food, managing their mental and physical health. This game is not Crash Bandicoot at all.

Control your protagonist through the ruined city's remnants, be on the move, calm and clean. Help the other out, or just save yourself. Be careful of aftershocks, debris, flood, fires, etc. With good teamwork and some luck, maybe you could survive this carnage's aftermath.

A long development process

In fact, NIS Amecia originally planned this game for the PS3, but it was halted by the developer Irem because of the terrible Tōhoku tsunami back in 2011. After that, they canceled this game several days. Then Granzella Studio picked it up and restarted its development from scratch. Finally, they released the game on PS4 for the Japanese market in November of 2018. There will also a Switch port for that version later 2019.

The localized version of the game will hit the western markets early next year on Nintendo Switch, PC and PS4. They also plan for a limited edition to go with the release for consoles. This limited edition will come with a soundtrack CD of the game, and "First-Aid" style backpack and identification tag.

At a press conference, Pokémon fans were surprised by several amazing new games and services relating to Pokémon revealed by the Pokémon Company, mostly for mobile users. With Pokémon Home, a cloud service, players will have the ability to keep and shift their monsters, which is a great addition to the game. Another interesting thing is about a brand-new peripheral of Pokémon Go named Pokémon Go Plus+. Yes, you don't read it wrong! The title is "plus plus" as you pronounce! Mentioned releases seem a bit complicated, but the real thing that baffles me is Pokémon Sleep.

According to the developer, Pokémon Sleep is a game that “aims to turn sleeping into entertainment by having a player’s time spent sleeping, and the time they wake up, affect the gameplay.” What are you really talking about, Pokémon Company? Is that working as a sleep tracker together with Pokémon Go and Pokémon Go Plus+, and this combination will do some uncertain things that are useful for your Pokémon? If yes, I am waiting for its launch on mobile in 2020 as expected, and I will absolutely use that as a Pokémon themed sleep tracker instead of my current one just to make sure that I will have some good sleep at nights. As we always to find more reason to sleep, now we are allowed to train Pokémon in our dreams.

Select Button, who recently worked on the project of a mobile title called Pokemon: Magikarp Jump, is developing Pokémon Sleep.

Apparently, this announced title raises a lot of questions and confusion all over the internet, especially those who are sleep-deprived Pokémon lovers like me.

In addition, the Pokémon Company also announced that a following title of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is making its way to Nintendo Switch and Pokémon Home - a cloud-based service that connects your mobile and Switch to allow you to grab your Pokemon and chuck them all together.

Everybody knows Mario Kart Tour, and now, we'll be able to try out the legendary Mario Kart Tour right on our mobile - the Android device, to be more specific.

Unfortunately, this mobile version is still in closed beta with pretty limited access, only available on a few regions and platforms - for the moment, anyway.

So the bad news is, if you haven’t signed up for the beta, then you have no chance with it already! However, even if you have, it doesn’t mean that you will get your full access. It all depends on your hardware setup. Here are some pieces of official information that we have until now, sure you will need it:

The dates and access

First, the beta of Mario Kart Tour will open for two weeks only, from the 22nd of May to the 4th of June.

Then, to get the full access to the Mario Kart Tour beta, you will have to satisfy all of the following criteria:

• You must have pre-registered prior to the 7th of May
• You must be in the USA or Japan during the entire period
• You must own an Android phone

If you fail to meet any of those, then the key to the Mario Kart Tour beta is already slipping through your fingers, unfortunately.  

How to get the beta on your Android device

In case that you are one of the lucky people who just signed up for the beta access on time, live in Japan or the USA and have a Samsung phone in your pocket, then, here is an easy instruction for you to get the full access.

If you have done everything right, you might get an email from Nintendo by now. It will allow you to download the Mario Kart Tour beta from Google Play. Then, you use the same Nintendo account you used in registration to get in the game.

Keep in mind that, to be able to run the game, your Android device must meet the following requirements:

• It must run on Android 4.4 or a later version
• It has 1.5 Gigabytes of RAM or higher
• It must be a mobile device. That means tablets and Android Q don't count.

If you tick all those boxes, you are ready to go. Let’s rock the game!

Do iOS device owners have any chance with the beta access?

Unfortunately, until now, there is no official announcement from Nintendo about this.

Maybe they will give those iOS devices a taste on Mario Kart Tour beta access. However, with the game set to launch "this summer", it's unlikely that the developer will have enough time to run another beta for iOS. Nothing stays certain by now, all we can do is to keep waiting and cross our fingers. Maybe a miracle will happen!

Still, don't count on it too much

Is there anything else we need to know about Mario Kart Tour beta?

Here is something you should keep in mind about the game:

• Mario Kart Tour beta version doesn’t allow players to share pictures or videos!
• Your save and progress from the beta cannot be transferred to the final game.
• You will not be able to purchase any item in the beta
• The abilities of the characters, kart performance, or other features might receive some tweaks, so the final product might be different.

Mario Kart will be the next major franchise from Nintendo to make its way to mobile devices. Originally announced way back in early 2018, Mario Kart’s first mobile entry was supposed to launch last March, but it was delayed into “summer” 2019 with no specific release date confirmed. Now, however, it seems like Nintendo is ready to open its game to some players to collect feedback and help the development process.

Starting from April 23, interested players from Japan or the US could go to the official Mario Kart Tour website to apply for the closed beta test of the game. This application period will end on May 7 at 7.59 pm (May 8, 8:30 am IST), after which eligible candidates will be able to participate in the beta to help improve the quality of the game.

Do note, however, that Nintendo is only looking for a limited number of testers, so if the number of applications is higher than the required number, then participants will be selected at random.

After the application phase, the closed beta is scheduled to open on May 22 and will last until June 4, 2019. However, this might still be subject to change in the future. As of now, the beta is only available on Android.

Besides this beta test announcement, Nintendo still has not revealed any of the mechanics or features of Mario Kart Tour, nor is it clear whether the game will support online racing for players to compete against their friends. With how tight-lipped the Japanese company has been, it is exciting to see what it has in store for us.

Mario Kart Tour is scheduled to launch before the end of this year on both Android and iOS. Nintendo has also said that it will “strive to expand the business” in the future.

We all say to each other that the gaming industry now consists of 3 fields: PC gaming, console gaming, and mobile gaming. While mobile games and PC games can be played on the players’ devices immediately (if the devices can run the game), console gamers have to buy the consoles first, and then buy the game later. Thus, there have been numerous consoles exist through the history of gaming.

When we have many consoles, there will be some which are more successful and famous than others. So let’s take a look at the top 7 most successful consoles of all time, counted by the selling statistics of them.

PlayStation 3

First release date: November 11, 2006 (JP)

Production status: Ended

Units sold: 88 million

The last time Sony counted PS3 sales numbers was in November 2013. Sony reported a sale of 80 million copies of PS3 consoles, and that number was published on March 31st, 2014 on the reveal of the business results of Sony in 2013 fiscal year. In that announcement, Sony also claimed to sell 7.1 million copies of PS3 in the fiscal year 2013. In the report for the fiscal year since 2014, Sony only includes the sale number for PS4, so we could not say for sure how many PS3 copies have been sold totally. But still, many PS3 copies were sold after 2013, so we estimate that 88 million copies of PS3 consoles have been sold all over the world.

PlayStation 4

Initial release date: November 15, 2013 (NA)

Production status: Ongoing

Units sold: 91.6 million

PlayStation 4 has been dominating the gaming console field since it was released. Only for 5 years since its release date, Sony has officially sold more than 91 million PS4 units (counted till December 31st, 2018). Sony has also been extremely benefited from the software sales for PS4, with more than 875 million software products for PS4 sold. Sony has confirmed that the so-called PS5 will not be introduced until 2020, so PS4 still has chances to become the most sold console in history.

Nintendo Wii

Initial release date: November 19, 2006 (NA)

Production status: Ended

Units sold: 101.63 million

The second most successful console of Nintendo. Wii has been ended by its developer, but it has also gathered more than 100 million purchases for Nintendo, alongside with 920 million software product purchases for this console.

PlayStation 1

Initial release date: December 3, 1994 (JP)

Production status: Ended

Units sold: 102,5 million

Not much to say about this console, to be honest. This is the childhood of every gamer on earth. It would not be too much to say that this console started the successful era of Sony’s console. With more than 102 million units sold, this bad boy is the second most successful console of Sony (though PS4 is looking to take this spot).

Game Boy/Game Boy Color

Initial release date: April 21, 1989 (JP)

Production status: Ended

Units sold: 118.69 million.

With more than 118 million units sold, this Game Boy from the childhood another classic console by Nintendo. This is only considered the third most successful console of Nintendo since it has only gathered for Nintendo 501 million software products sold.

Nintendo DS

Initial release date: November 21, 2004 (NA)

Production status: Ended

Units sold: 154,02 million

The sale numbers are counted as the total sales of all consoles in the DS family: the original console, DS Lite, and DSi. This console series also gathered for Nintendo more than 950 million software products sold, so it is considered to be the most successful console of this developer.

PlayStation 2

Initial release date: March 4, 2000 (JP)

Production status: Ended

Units sold: 159 million

Well, not much to introduce this classic bad boy. Perhaps all gamers who were born before the 21st century have played this console at least one. With nearly 159 million copied sold all over the world, it would be long until we can see another console breaks PS2’s selling record.

Just a few days ago, Nintendo announced the new Chapter 8 for its free RPG Dragalia Lost. Aside from the new chapter, we also receive some additions elements for the Advanced Dragon Trials such as the High Mercury’s Trial. The developer has also put in the Visions of Amity which is a new showcase that went lived with the new chapter. It will help increase the appearance rate for many featured dragons and adventures. But not like detailed previously, this showcase will not include any featured wyrmprints but some of that will come in the summon pool.

Chapter 8 and More

Chapter 8 of Dragalia Lost comes around with the name "Entwining Flames" is now LIVE with the in-game content. You will be able to play it after clearing out Chapter 7 of the game.

So basically, in this Chapter, you will take on the role of the prince and his friends to head north. On the way, they encounter the strongest prince of Alberia together with his verboten pactbound dragon. They also give the new Advanced Dragon Trials a new addition, High Mercury’s Trial. To participate in this trial you will need up to 13,000 might or higher, and the regular co-op rules are applied here as well.

Dragalia Lost

First announced back in April of 2018, Dragalia Lost was a mobile game developed under the collaboration between Nintendo and Cygames. Considered as one of Nintendo's key projects, Dragalia Lost debuted on September 27 of 2019 in Japan, the United States, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Then over this year, they have brought it to many different regions like the UK, Australia, Ireland, Singapore, New Zealand, and Canada.

Now, if you want, you could download and try the game out on Play Store and App Store for free.

It's a tradition that annually, studios all over the world will celebrate April 1st by impressing their players with some great updates or special events for their games. Some even choose to create whole new web games to make it more exciting. While there are a lot of memorable DLCs and games over the years, we will breakdown every of this year's significant pranks and events.

Binging with Babish: Brock's Donuts from Pokémon

LoL Epic New Cats VS Dogs skin

Alongside new cats and dogs skins for certain champions, LoL also announced some new cute icons, borders, and many bundles for you to buy. Check them out.

Nintendo Direct: Everything coming to Switch

IGN apologized for making a phony Nintendo Direct for this year's April Fools Day to raise people's hope and then quickly shut it down. Nevertheless, it's still a fun video to watch so why not?

SMITE Lore Lady is coming back

Also, she voices everything in the video by SMITE. Check out for yourself in their video for April Fools Day:

Capcom hires new zombies

Pokemon Go Features Ash-hat Pikachu

During the special event, a Pikachu which wears an Ash's hat will replace the normal Smeargle to photobomb when you play Pokemon Go. Try it and you may like it.

Rabbids invade For Honor

Capcom site's shooting game

During April Fools, people accessing Capcom's site found a temporary game called World President Challenges a Shooting Game.

Nintendo Kirby and Qbby swap body

During April Fools, people found that Kirby became square on his website, while Qbby took on his traditional appearance and became round

Landfall Game Release TABS

TABS or Totally Accurate Battle Simulator, which has been anticipated since 2016, was announced to be released by Landfall Game in April Fools. And no surprise, it was just a prank.

DOOM artistic experience

DOOM tweeted a picture of a weird painting scene, saying it is a new experience for the artist inside everyone.

Mike Inel's new game

Youtube channel Mike Inel published a video featuring a new mobile game called Splatoon Island, which was promising to be very fun and euphoric.

Wykrhm Reddy about Dota

In his Tweet on April Fools, famous Reddy claims that the game will support dynamic transformations with Silencer to be the first character to experience. According to him, Silencer's brain will now grow as he gains more intelligence. Enemies who lose intelligence will find their heads shrinking.

Yakuza turns into a turn-based JRPG game

A new video published on Youtube features how it is if Yakuza was a turn-based JRPG game.

Final Fantasy XIV features Omega as a home assistant

Final Fantasy XIV Youtube channel uploaded a video showing what it's like to have a home assistant like Omega - the game's powerful boss.

As the mobile division at Nintendo continues to bring more of its major franchises to phones and tablets, some fans have wondered if the company might come up with its own mobile hardware. Right now, there’s no proof that the acclaimed game developer is committing resources to this purpose, but a report from DigiTimes suggests that Nintendo could be a potential player in the gaming phone manufacturing market in the future.

According to this report, Nintendo might be one of those companies (alongside the likes of Vivo, Nubia, and Xiaomi) that are either planning to enter the market or looking to empower their presence in it.

The report also talks about the upcoming Razer 3 phone, which is going to be the third attempt from Razer to convince gamers to buy a gaming phone. It seems that even though Razer recently laid off 30 people from its team, it still intends to continue working on the Razer 3. The phone is expected to come out within this year.

Meanwhile, on Monday Xiaomi announced the Black Shark 2, a sequel to its own gaming phone series. The phone is advertised to have incredibly high specs, including Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 CPU and 12GB RAM. On the other hand, while the iQOO from Vivo is not specifically categorized as a gaming phone, it certainly has enough hardware powers to rival one.

The report claims that there were “speculations” that Nintendo is planning to release a new gaming mobile gaming device that supports integration with the Switch. However, Nintendo has not made any comment about these speculations.

The Nintendo Switch came out just a little bit over 2 years ago, and the company’s focus right now is clearly on supporting this platform.  As a result, it’s unlikely that it will launch any new hardware (except maybe a Switch refresh) in the foreseeable future. Still, moving forward mobile will play a key role in Nintendo’s plans, so a gaming phone from the company might not be out of the realm of possibility.

News of Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent, a mobile exclusive version of the amazing Switch game Octopath Traveler, surfaced just a few days ago. Alongside the announcement, the developers have also announced the closed demo and pre-registration campaign for the game. This new mobile game will be a prequel and share the same universe as Octopath Traveler. There is also a possibility for some cross-over characters from the original game. See the video below:

The release plan

In a recent interview with Famitsu, a quite well-known Japanese magazine ( NintendoEverything has translated to English of course), some developers of the game have revealed the development plan of the game including the plan for post-launch. This mobile version of the game was intended for people who don't own a Switch but still want to experience Octopath Traveler, just like Bravely Default which was at first released on the 3DS but then ported over to mobile. So in the case of Octopath Traveler, they will try to preserve as much of the Switch experience as possible with the mobile port. While these days most mobile games all have some kind of components for multiplayer, the team of this game still want to focus most of their effort for the RPG single player experience.

Same experience

From what we have learned from the team Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent will follow the model of free-2-play games. There will be some changes in term of controlling scheme for the phone but the core gameplay from Octopath Traveler will remain untouched. I love and still keep on playing the Switch version at the moment, but I am really looking forward to this mobile version. If you love the game and own a Switch, we could try the demo for this game right now before the full release on App Store.

What is a Kaizo Mario?

Complete the game Mario is just one thing - many people have done the very same thing of cleared the entrance to the top franchise of Nintendo. But have you ever go through a fan-made Mario hack? Just try to survive the first moment of the game, and then try to complete the introduction level. Just bear in mind that dying many times is part of the experience haha.

Those fan-made or Mario “Kaizo” games is Maro game with difficulty level tune to a crazy high level. In these games, even the most diehard experts in Mario will find it difficult with those pixel precise jump with the difference of death and life. Get to the very first Kaizo Mario, or more well-known as Asshole Mario. A ROM hacker names T. Takemoto from Japan has made it in 2007. The whole creation is such a hellish gift - with the direct transition mean " make your friend play my hack game". But I guess that Takemoto wouldn't know that his creation will lead to the spawning of a whole genre of trap-filled games and millions view of those gameplays on YouTube. And since the rise of Kaizo on the internet nobody has any new of him too.

Maybe the mystery behind the whereabouts of Takemoto will remain forever hidden. His legacy continues to live on till today. It has become a tradition that Kaizo players will make the experiences for their friend to "enjoy", like digital ribbing of video game. Just in the same way that good friends dare each other, player of Kaizo will challenge others to beat a certain Mario hack game in the community.

Grand Poo World 2

In 2019, the whole Mario community is focused on the new Grand Poo World 2,  a new concoction of DKBarbarian. He is well regarded in the community as one of the best Mario designers right now.  He got noticed from his levels in Super Mario Maker back in 2015.

According to DKBarbarian, with Super Mario Maker create a level has become very streamlined and straight forward, anyone can create a Mario level with it. However, there are also limits and restrictions on all the items like stage size, number of objects on one screen ... Those are the kind of limits that player doesn't have to worry about on a more specialized program.

The story of DKBarbarian is that after fell in love with custom levels of Mario, he goes on to make more by himself. Those of his most known creations come under the name of GrandPooBear, a game speedrunner friend of DKBarbarian.

Even better

After a year with the help of a small technical team, Grand Poo World 2  is now ready to play. The first entry - Grand Poo World-  was a perfect combination of spectacle, challenge, and trolls to players.

Grand Poo World 2 follow the same path - there are also many secrets in this new entry. According to many, it is amazing and clever platforming obstacles which will challenge the best players. In one level that I remember, player's mission is to hit a clock to freeze the enemies but to hit the clock you have to get through a - let's say - not a very easy passage.  Even the trolls in this new entry are upgraded too. For example, in the first level, there is that random pipe which hides in that goddamn place just to mess around. A level inside a level with no checkpoint. Anyone know that might temp to skip the pipe but doing that missing out a big secret too. The best part is the reward when you got to the final line is you get thrown back to the starting screen, what's a troll.

But what makes Grand Poo World 2 really different than the rest of Kaizo Mario is that it's a total nightmare which will break your patience. The challenge is much more than just reflexion- it's more about cognitive abilities. To reach the true ending of this game, you have to solve a puzzle of breaking the fourth wall. You may be good in Mario, but to beat Grand Poo World 2 you also need pen and paper to decipher the code. Look at the background, the environment and even outside of the game to look for clues.

An even more hellish future

DKBarbarian said that the development process of the game takes up to a few thousand hours, and that was nothing straightforward.

The hard work of him has paid off: Grand Poo World 2 was highly praised by the whole community. But it is just a starting point, the Kaizo community has just warmed up.

Recently, an all-new game initiative has been teased by Google. The company plans to announce their “vision of future gaming” throughout a session of the Game Developers Conference which will take place in San Francisco the following week. This plan is very likely to involve some combination of hardware and cloud streaming. But whatever their deal is, Google’s new gaming service might turn up dead on arrival.

GDC 2019 trailer teaser by Google

Yesterday, in a teaser trailer which was posted on YouTube, gaming fans were invited by Google to “gather around”. This clip lasted only 37 seconds and did not exactly show any of their hardware or further details. Instead, it was a combination of scenes from many famous video games categories. Those scenarios remind watchers of games such as Tomb Raider, Call Of Duty and FIFA 19 without even mentioning any of them.

It seems like Google wants to attract the attention of the devoted gaming community as its technology is perfectly suitable for that. However, the difference here is that Google could potentially bring premium games to anyone on a variety of devices.

Project Stream was extraordinary

Recently, Google has been testing its Project Stream platform for cloud streaming on one of Ubisoft’s new games, Assassin Creed: Odyssey. A lot of people at the test said that the method worked unexpectedly well. It encountered almost no stutter or lag even with slower, older Internet connections. The games which were tested looked and ran great as well.

Google has exclusively designed that test to prove to everyone that their system was ideal for a game as demanding as Odyssey.

“Streaming media has transformed the way we consume music and video, making it easy to instantly access your favorite content,” exclaimed Catherine Hsiao, Project Stream manager, in October. She then added: “It’s a technically complex process that has come a long way in a few short years, but the next technical frontier for streaming will be much more demanding than video.”

Google is now in an exclusive position to build a game streaming platform like what Netflix does for movies. After all, it is one of those companies that possess cloud datacenters worldwide. This infrastructure allows Google to execute its game streaming services without relying on a third party such as Twitch or Amazon.

Is Google planning to create their own games?

When Sony entered the market for video games in 1994, the hardcore gaming fans found no trouble writing the company off. The market has been dominated by Sega and Nintendo for such a long time at that moment, and besides, what could Sony possibly know about video games? And then, Sony launched its first gaming device, the PlayStation. Now, Sony is just as associated with video games as Sega and Nintendo were in the 90s.

The original PlayStation from Sony

The evident lesson learned from the PlayStation incident is that one should not assume that a new organization cannot enter the gaming industry and change everything. Especially a mega company with such long reach as Google.

We are not in 1994 anymore

These days, making games are very complicated and require a lot of money. It was much easier for game manufacturers to make do 25 years in the past. Ubisoft, one of the biggest game publishers in the world, annually launches approximately three blockbuster-tier video games in addition to a few more smaller releases. They employ almost 14,000 people to accomplish that goal. Sony Interactive Entertainment has 8,000, while that number for Nintendo is 6,000.

Now, we have to acknowledge that each of these companies employs only a small fraction of Google, as it possesses nearly 100,000 employees all around the world. However, these 100,000 are busy with tens, if not hundreds, of other projects and products at the time. They create Google Search, Maps, Chrome, and Android. Can Google expand its workforce by a whole ten percent just for them to create their own video games?

Again, we should turn our attention to Sony and why they have eight thousand people working on hardware and games. The answer is simple: They did not suddenly wake up one day and decided to hire thousands of video game developers. In the 90s, a company could make a premium game with just fifty people instead of five hundred. Furthermore, Sony has had the time to expand their employment rolls along with the knowledge on how to create successful games.

Even in the case that Google does decide to employ thousands of game developers, it is very unlikely that they could match the potential output of SIE, Nintendo or Ubisoft, at the very least for a few years. Even then, they would still struggle for competition in terms of quality control.

Game making is very risky, especially when your competitors are putting out some of the best games ever such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and God of War that only a handful of other game developers can only hope to match.

The Witcher 3 - Wild Hunt: Hailed as the best game ever made

A gaming platform by Google is not going to suffice

If one were to guess why Google wanted to make games, it would be to attract the audience. Devoted gamers do not seem to care all that much about gaming platform nearly as much as their games.

We have seen how this worked for Sony. Their internal products like God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man are all blockbusters. While games released on the third-party platform such as Grand Theft Auto V  and Call of Duty sell better on PlayStation 4, a lot of people still show up for the exclusives. 

In the case that Google’s new gaming service turns out to be just another way to access the games which people can somewhere else, most people will simply ignore it. Such platforms already exist with Atomik, Nvidia’s GeForce Now, and more. Previously it existed in the forms of GameFly and OnLive, both of which were failed cloud streaming services that involved a lot of third-party video games.

It is also challenging getting the gaming platforms right

This does not mean gaming platforms do not matter, in fact, it is quite the opposite. While the games themselves get people to buy, it is the platform that causes people to stay and spend money for a long time.

This is the reason why Nintendo Switch is successful. It possesses some great video games, but all of them are not much superior to what the failed Nintendo Wii U console had just half a decade ago. The difference here is that people actually enjoy using the Switch. I used to unwillingly turn on the Wii U to play Super Mario Maker, now I am actually excited to build my own game library on the Switch. A major reason for that change of heart is because the new hardware proves convenient, and it was designed for games in such a way that tablets, smartphones or even gaming laptops are not.

The failed Nintendo Wii U

You do not really need hardware to create a successful gaming platform, of which Steam is a great example. However, if one were to introduce an alternative platform for Steam at the moment, they would need to satisfy other needs. Discord has managed this by building a chat and voice communication app which has hundreds of millions of accounts and is now building a store to further capitalize on that.

The newest threat to Steam is called the Epic Games Store, which is thriving and competing due to the sheer popularity of Fortnite, a rare PC exclusive PC game. Furthermore, Epic the developer is spending large sums of money to get timed exclusives from renowned game publishers such as THQ Nordic and Ubisoft on EGS.

So in the end, we are back to discussing the games themselves.

What Google could do to become larger in the gaming market

While Google is looking at significant risks and hurdles as they enter the gaming market, a lot of things can potentially be done to prevent, or at the very least, reduce them. With their money and financial prowess, Google could manufacture their own games or buy out exclusives from its development and publishing partners.

Their tech has the ability to become revolutionary and to provide billions of gamers who could not previously access a certain blockbuster with a way to their favorite game. From this, they are capable of enabling publishers to earn more income whilst charging customers less. And it is probably common knowledge that people would jump at the chance to get a product they want at a reduced price.

Google could potentially possess some extraordinary hardware which ties their strategy together. In the case Google develops something that resembles a slim Nintendo Switch but is capable of streaming high-end PC games over a stable LTE connection or Wi-Fi, then a lot of people, myself included, would want to try it instantly.

In reality, it all comes down to price, enthusiasm, and convenience sooner or later with exclusive games. If Google can hit home with at least two out of these points, it has a serious chance of success. The one thing that Google should NOT do is to give gamers just another way to play Darksiders III.

Personally, I think that is what we are supposed to get. Google could potentially surprise every one of us, but the reality is that tech companies do not want to build their own products. Not a single one in Silicon Valley desires to become a guitar player, they opt to make the guitar instead. And that impulse is understandable. Entertainment has proven to be a hard business all along, so one should not come into gaming if they do not have the willpower to handle the risk.