TGO Daily | April 28, 2021 | Microsoft Q3 Financials
+ Super Mario Party, Monster Hunter: Rise, and Capcom Arcade Stadium!
TGO Daily | April 28, 2021
Lately I’ve been trying to use smaller “banners” as graphics for each story. I used to just pull any old image I could find from Google, but I think the newsletter flows a bit more smoothly with some uniformity. Hope it has made for a more pleasant reading experience :)
Adrian
In The News
Microsoft Q3 Results
Microsoft reported on their third quarter financials. For the three months ending March 31, 2021, gaming revenue grew by 50% year-over-year.
Hardware was up 232% thanks to the popularity of the Series X, though it obviously wasn’t available last year during the same period.
That being said, the majority of their gaming revenue (80%) is being driven by content and services. Considering there weren’t any major titles that were released from Xbox Game Studios, that revenue can be attributed to Game Pass. With multiple different entry points into the Xbox ecosystem, Game Pass is their main driver.
All of this shows that Xbox has a lot of momentum right now. This quarter was their best Q3 since they started tracking gaming specifically six years ago. By the time first party exclusives are coming out *coughBethesdacough*, they’ll be raking in the dough.
In the conference call, they also mentioned that Minecraft now has 140 million monthly active users, which is up 30%. Crazy to see how the game is continually being played by more and more people than ever before.
Super Mario Party Gets Surprise Update
The latest Super Mario Party released for the Nintendo Switch has received a surprise update which adds full online multiplayer. Prior to this, the game only had local multiplayer for the main gameplay, with online options being available for just the mini-games.
Unfortunately, this iteration of the franchise is not looked upon fondly. It features only 4 boards to choose from, and various issues like pacing and balancing have been common sticking points for people who have played the game. That being said, it seems like the mini-games are well-liked, and maybe online multiplayer will offset some complaints.
I have some seriously fond memories of this franchise, and I really hope they go all-out on the next one (a la Super Smash Bros Ultimate).
Monster Hunter Rise Update
The first major update for Monster Hunter Rise is available today, called “2.0”. It will be introducing some new end-game content for people who have already gotten there — they have notably uncapped the levelling system so that people can level up infinitely. It will include two returning “elder dragons” which are apparently some pretty tough fights. They are also introducing three new Apex monsters, which are more powerful alternate versions of existing monsters. Throw on some cosmetic DLC, and you’ve got a pretty solid update.
The “3.0” update will happen at the end of May, and will bring a new story ending and even more monsters to fight.
Capcom Arcade Stadium
Capcom’s Arcade Stadium will be arriving on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC on May 25th. Currently released on the Nintendo Switch, it is a collection of 32 retro arcade games from the company’s catalogue.
The game itself is free to download, with 1943: The Battle Of Midway free to play. You can then purchase packs of 10 games, which there are currently three of. They plan on adding more games in the future.
The Grab-Bag
Say Hello!
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