New Xbox One releases: January 27-31, 2020

NIS America is releasing an updated version of Game Freak’s Little Town Hero on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 this summer.

Game Freak is best known for developing the mainline games in the popular Pokemon franchise, but the studio occasionally branches out with new IP such as Pocket Card Jockey and Tembo the Badass Elephant.

Last year, Game Freak brought the broadly well-received RPG Little Town Hero to Nintendo Switch. The game is now coming to PlayStation 4 in a revised form and is also getting a limited physical release on both platforms.

The Little Town Hero Big Idea Edition comes to North America on June 2, Europe on June 5, and Australia and New Zealand on June 12. It includes a physical copy of the game plus an art book, poster, lapel pin set, and official soundtrack from composers Hitomi Sato and Toby Fox of Undertale fame.

Addressing some of the complaints directed at the game on its initial release, the updated version of Little Town Hero features an easy mode that lowers the attack and defence of enemy Dazzits.

NIS America is also running a fan contest to choose the reversible cover for physical release. You can make your vote count, right here.

Visit the Thumbsticks new releases page for the latest Switch, Xbox One and PS4 games. You can also follow us on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboardfor a daily dispatch of gaming news.

For some reason, angry nerds have been losing their cool over the “absence” of a Nintendo Direct recently.

That’s patently ridiculous, of course. They started wheeling out stats that it was the “longest wait ever” for a Nintendo Direct. (Well, other than the wait between the company’s foundation in 1889 and the first Direct in 2011, obviously.)

Some people were suggesting that Nintendo was “withholding” its Direct presentation. (Like Nintendo somehow owed it to them? Weird sense of entitlement.)

Then they started speculating as to why Nintendo was “withholding” the Nintendo Direct. (Maybe they don’t have anything to show? Maybe they’re waiting to reveal something new? Maybe they’re waiting to see what PS4 and Xbox Series X are going– seriously? Shhh.)

Anyway, there’s been a new Nintendo Direct announced, and it’s coming up tomorrow at 2 pm GMT / 6 am PT / 9 am ET. That’s February 20, 2020, if you’ve not been marking your calendars.

Tomorrow’s Direct presentation will be all about Animal Crossing: New Horizons, of course. It makes sense: the game’s release is only weeks away. In it, we’ll get a better look at Tom Nook’s island timeshare scam holiday packages, and all of the gameplay and other delights on offer in the latest Animal Crossing.

Where can you watch the Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct? Why, right here, of course:

The main advantage of watching it here with us on Thumbsticks is that you don’t have to see the live comment feed. Gosh, YouTube is just the worst, isn’t it? The secondary advantage is that we’re really nice and you should hang out with us more.

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard. As we said before; we’re really nice and you should totally hang out with us.

Save on some of the best PlayStation 4 games of the generation in the PS Store Essentials sale.

A new raft of PS4 discounts are now live in Europe and North America in the PlayStation Store Essentials and Essential Picks sales.

Sale highlights include the ultimate edition of Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption 2, a value-packed collection of Assassin’s Creed games, and CD Projekt Red’s resurgent RPG, The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. There are some brilliant PS4 exclusives to choose from, too, including Uncharted 4, Bloodborne, and The Last of Us Remastered.

Deeper cuts include Dontnod Entertainment’s Vampyr, Supermassive’s Man of Medan, and Greedfall, the impressive historical fantasy RPG developed by Spiders. We’re also rather fond of The Witness, Grid, and Metro Exodus.

The full range of discounted games varies slightly by region, so visit the PlayStation Store for the full lineup of available titles. The sales end on March 3, 2020.

PlayStation Essentials Sale Highlights

• A Way Out
• Assassin’s Creed Origins
• Assassin’s Creed Triple Pack: Black Flag, Unity, Syndicate
• Batman: Arkham Knight
• Bloodborne
• Borderlands 3 Deluxe Edition
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
• Crash Bandicoot Bundle – N. Sane Trilogy + Ctr Nitro-Fueled
• DayZ
• Diablo III: Eternal Collection
• Erica
• Far Cry 5
• Farming Simulator 19
• Gran Turismo Spec II
• Grand Theft Auto V
• Greedfall
• Grid
• Jak And Daxter Bundle
• L.A. Noire
• Lego Marvel Collection
• LittleBigPlanet 3
• Mafia III
• Metro Exodus
• Moss
• NNL 20
• No Man’s Sky
• Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition
• Resident Evil Revelations 1 and 2 Bundle
• Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
• Star Wars Battlefront II
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
• The Dark Pictures Anthology – Man Of Medan
• The Last Of Us Remastered
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition
• The Witness
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
• Vampyr

Visit the Thumbsticks new releases page for the latest Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 games. You can also follow us on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard for a daily dump of video game news.

Sad that you’ve missed out on the Animal Crossing Nintendo Switch bundle? This coral pink Nintendo Switch Lite is suitably pastel and calming.

Nintendo likes to yo-yo wildly. When a new console is released, you can usually only get it in one colour. The early consoles were grey. The Gamecube was as purple as Prince’s mansion. Then the Wii and Wii U were crisp white, and finally, the Nintendo Switch is a utilitarian grey. (It’s a similar story with Nintendo’s handhelds.)

Then after sufficient time has passed – and we have no idea what arcane calculation or criteria determines this – Nintendo goes batshit crazy with a Dulux paint colour-match tool, and turns its devices every colour under the sun. Colours, prints, patterns; we’ve even seen translucent hardware over the years.

For the most part, dalliances with colour on the original Nintendo Switch were for the Joy-Con controllers. With these, Switch owners can mix and match and create any number of glorious colour combinations. (And all the while, Nintendo makes more money because we need the watermelon green and purple ones, even though we only just bought the neon blue and yellow set. Nintendo Switch accessories are a whole thing.)

Then the Nintendo Switch Lite came along. In addition to stock Nintendo Switch grey, there are cheery yellow and blue-green options. Now there’s a third colour option on the way: coral pink.

A new splash of color joins the #NintendoSwitchLite lineup! The vibrant and playful coral Nintendo Switch Lite system arrives on 4/3! pic.twitter.com/bZwdrPMm1R

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 18, 2020

And lovely it is too!

The coral pink Nintendo Switch Lite launches in Japan just in time for Animal Crossing: Horizons. It’s due to follow in North America on April 3, 2020. We don’t know if the coral pink handheld will be coming to the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world, but here’s hoping. It’s gorgeous.

You should definitely follow us on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard. For our expert sartorial advice, obviously.

Microsoft has announced a new selection of games coming to Xbox Game Pass for Console in February 2020, including some massive games.

Kingdom Hearts III is the obvious headline item coming to Xbox Game Pass in February 2020. The massive, convoluted, Disney-powered RPG from Square Enix released a year ago and – while it’s not perfect – it is beloved by fans.

There’s no PC release for Kingdom Hearts III yet, though. The game’s (currently) only available on PS4 and Xbox One, so it’s no surprise that the game is only available on Xbox Game Pass for Console, with no Windows version in sight. (Yet.)

The other big hitters on Xbox Game Pass for Console in February 2020 are Yakuza 0, the prequel at the beginning of Kiryu’s saga, and Two Point Hospital, the spiritual successor to Theme Hospital made by veterans of the original game. Wasteland Remastered is also particularly noteworthy, as Wasteland 3 releases on May 19, 2020.

February 2020 has been a big month for Xbox Game Pass, with Final Fantasy XV, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, and Death Squared all making the trip to Xbox’s snazzy subscription service.

Xbox Game Pass for Console – February 2020

• Ninja Gaiden II – February 20
• Kingdom Hearts III – February 25
• Two Point Hospital – February 25
• Wasteland Remastered – February 25
• Yakuza 0 – February 26
• The Jack Box Party Pack 3 – February 27

But it’s not all good news. The addition of these new games means others will sadly be leaving the service in the near future. Here’s the list as it currently stands:

• Fallout 3
• Just Cause 4
• Rise of the Tomb Raider
• Snake Pass
• The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
• Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham City
• Batman: Return to Arkham – Arkham Asylum

If you’re not done with these games, you can make use of Xbox Game Pass’s 20% discount to pick them up before they disappear.

Visit our new releases page for regular updates on the latest Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 games. You can also follow Thumbsticks on Flipboard, Facebook, Google News, and Twitter.