Long before Mario and the gang got violent on the soccer pitch in Super Mario Strikers there was Soccer Brawl on the Neo Geo. This futuristic footy game was released in arcades in 1992 and will be the next Neo Geo game headed to the Switch on 23rd November.

In Soccer Brawl you play as either cyborgs or bionically-enhanced humans, while the action plays out like a regular soccer match. There’s a element of violence on offer as the title might suggest; for example, defenders can launch electric charges to stop an incoming opponent on their tracks.

Soccer Brawl never did get a release on the Wii Virtual Console, so this fresh to Nintendo platforms. Do you plan on picking it up next week?

Tokyo Tattoo Girls / 刺青の国 is Now Available on Steam and is 10% off!*

After a calamity befalls Tokyo, some of the city’s survivors find themselves with powerful abilities bestowed on them by colorful tattoos. To create peace, the city has been divided into 23 wards, each controlled by a powerful group known as Kumi.

*Offer ends November 21 at 10AM Pacific Time

The team behind Electronic Arts’ upcoming Battlefront II published a blog post today announcing they’ll be lowering the cost players will pay (in virtual currency) to unlock specific heroes in the game by 75 percent.

It’s a direct response to some fan outcry over the weekend about the game’s virtual currency economy, and it may help give fellow devs a bit more insight into what players are willing to tolerate when it comes to rewards in a full-priced multiplayer game.

While the game doesn’t launch until Friday, a brouhaha erupted over the weekend after a player who had early access to the game (via EA’s Access program) published data to Reddit which suggested it would take an average of 40 hours of time spent playing multiplayer to earn enough virtual currency (60,000 credits) to unlock a top-tier hero character like Darth Vader or Luke Skywalker.

Yesterday, someone representing EA’s community management team responded to the Reddit thread by thanking the community for the feedback and explaining that “the intent is to provide players with a sense of pride and accomplishment for unlocking different heroes. We selected initial values based upon data from the Open Beta and other adjustments made to milestone rewards before launch.”

The same account made a similar reply in another thread complaining about the pricing scheme; that reply has since become the most unpopular post (in terms of “downvotes” to “upvotes”) in the history of Reddit. At least one person who claims to be with EA (and who has since locked down his Twitter account) stated publicly this morning that he’d received “7 death threats and over 1,600 personal attacks” as a result of the fracas.

“There’s been a lot of discussion around the amount of in-game credits (and time) it takes to unlock some of our heroes,” reads an excerpt of today’s company blog post. “We used data from the beta to help set those levels, but it’s clear that more changes were needed. So, we’re reducing the amount of credits needed to unlock the top heroes by 75 percent.”

The post goes on to make it clear that the dev team plans to continue tweaking the game over time, making a point of celebrating how quickly a live game like Battlefront II can be updated to respond to player feedback.

This echoes the team’s efforts last month to rework how the game’s loot box system works after players of the Battlefront II open beta complained that the loot boxes (which could effectively be purchased with real money) unbalanced the multiplayer game in favor of people who spent more money. 

A number of IGN employees reportedly refused to work today until the company made a public statement about the allegations of former IGN staffer Kallie Plagge.

It’s a very significant display of solidarity on the part of IGN workers, one that may impact the outlet’s ability to continue covering and talking about the game industry in the manner to which devs have become accustomed.

On Friday, Plagge took to Twitter to claim that she and another woman who works at IGN had been sexually harassed by a significantly older staffer (former IGN editor Vince Ingenito, who has since responded to the claims) for months.

Plagge stated that when she eventually reported the harassment to HR in June of last year, “HR and upper management told me I needed to have better judgment about who I was ‘friends’ with, making me out to be an equal participant.”

“I was made to sign a document stating that I’d behaved inappropriately, on the condition that I’d be fired if it happened again,” Plagge wrote. “I was forced to work with Vince for another six months until I left IGN for my current job.”

This morning a number of IGN staffers voiced support for Plagge, and IGN staffer Alanah Pearce stated on Twitter that “There won’t be a Daily Fix today because a large group of IGN employees have refused to work until the company issues a statement/apology regarding what happened to Kallie Plagge.”  

Hours later, a public statement was published on the IGN website that was attributed to “the IGN content team, not by management or legal or anyone else”; that statement puts the blame squarely on IGN’s shoulders and expresses regret for what reportedly happened to Plagge and her colleague.

“When the women made management and human resources aware of the situation involving a now-former employee, those women, in the estimation of the IGN team, did not get the respect and care that they deserved as IGN employees and as people. That system, plainly put, failed them. It especially failed them but it also failed all of us,” reads an excerpt of the statement.

“All of us have been wounded deeply by this – though again, our suffering is nothing compared to those of our two beloved friends – and this morning we addressed the open wound directly with our management team and human resources representative in an emotional, difficult, but ultimately productive two-hour meeting, where any and all voices were heard.”

The statement went on to claim that the HR representative who Plagge went to is no longer with the company, but that “our current HR rep has been transparent and willing to listen to ideas and suggestions for how to create a better work environment going forward.”

However, as of this publication there has been no public statement on this issue from anyone who identifies as IGN upper management. Gamasutra has reached out to the company for more details and an explanation.  

We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!

The World’s Most Powerful Console, Xbox One X, Launches Worldwide
The official launch of the world’s most powerful console, Xbox One X, brings a new era of immersive 4K gaming and 4K entertainment to gamers across the globe. With 40 percent more power than any other console, Xbox One X is where console gamers can play the best versions of games… Read more

Xbox One X: Explaining 4K, HDR, Supersampling and More
As we continue to roll up to the release date of Xbox One X on November 7, you’ve no doubt heard us talking a lot about feature terminology: 4K, High Dynamic Range (HDR), supersampling and others. Just a few weeks ago, Major Nelson sat down with Albert Penello to cover many of your questions about Xbox One Enhanced… Read more

There Are Xbox One Consoles and Accessories for Everyone This Holiday
It’s been an exciting year for Team Xbox. Just a couple days ago, on November 7, we launched the world’s most powerful console, Xbox One X, which joins Xbox One S in the Xbox One family of devices. The Xbox One gaming experience features a robust library of titles… Read more

Get Your Hands on The Sims 4 Before Launch with EA Access
Hello, Simmers! It’s an exciting time for us working on The Sims 4, as we prep for our official release on Xbox One this November 17. But starting today, we are especially excited to exclusively offer Xbox players a trial of the game before launch through EA Access. If you’re a member of EA Access, you can now enjoy up to 10 hours of The Sims 4… Read more

Gears of War Esports Takes Over the Flagship Microsoft Store This Weekend
This weekend, the flagship Microsoft Store in New York will host the Gears Esports Fall Regionals tournament, where some of Gears of War’s most prestigious pro teams will battle it out for a $20,000 prize pool as part of Season 2 of the Gears Pro Circuit. The flagship Microsoft Store will host the tournament on Saturday, November 11… Read more

Inside Xbox One X Enhanced: The Elder Scrolls Online
Many of gaming’s most compelling stories come from those who’ve helped to create our favorite Xbox One games. In our Inside Xbox One X Enhanced series, these creators will share the behind-the-scenes accounts of the work involved in enhancing these epic games for Xbox One X, how they’ve helped chart the course of the world’s most powerful console… Read more

Inside Xbox One X Enhanced: Madden NFL 18
Many of gaming’s most compelling stories come from those who’ve helped to create our favorite Xbox One games. In our Inside Xbox One X Enhanced series, these creators will share the behind-the-scenes accounts of the work involved in enhancing these epic games for Xbox One X, how they’ve helped chart the course of the world’s most powerful console… Read more

Play Star Wars Battlefront II First on Xbox One Plus Win an Ultimate Intergalactic Bundle
Droids marching on Theed’s Royal Palace. Tauntauns racing underneath lumbering AT-ATs on Hoth. First Order Stormtroopers exchanging blaster fire with Resistance fighters on Starkiller Base. This is Star Wars Battlefront II and the Play First Trial on Xbox One is available starting Thursday, November 9 for EA Access members… Read more

Xbox and Under Armour Team Up To Create the Xbox One X “More Power” Curry 4 VIP Kit
To celebrate the launch of Xbox One X and the all-new Curry 4 from Under Armour, a showcase of premium design, innovation and performance has united to become the Xbox One X and Curry 4 “More Power” VIP Kit… Read more

Super Lucky’s Tale Is Here!
Hello, from all of us at Playful! This is an incredible day for us. We finally get to hand the controller to Xbox One and Windows 10 PC players and see what they think of Super Lucky’s Tale! The Lucky’s Tale series is a diary of sorts for our development team. The original Lucky’s Tale, both our first platformer and first experience… Read more

Native 4K Racing on Xbox One X Begins Today with Release of Forza Motorsport 7 and New Demo
Since the launch of Forza Motorsport 7 on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs, we’ve been energized by our fans’ feedback and engagement. We’re excited to share that with the release of Forza Motorsport 7, starting with early access in September, and the continued success of Forza Horizon 3, the Forza franchise has had its biggest months to date… Read more

Xbox One X Launch Events from Around the World
This week, across the world, fans flocked to special Xbox events to celebrate the highly-anticipated launch of Xbox One X. Launch festivities were captured in a live broadcast from the Mixer NYC Studio on Mixer, Xbox.com, Twitch and Facebook Live. There are some highlights below, but you can grab all of the photos from each event in the Media Assets section… Read more

Experience HDR and 4K with the Insects Demo Experience on Xbox One X
When you pick up your Xbox One X on November 7, you’ll experience many of the latest cutting-edge technology features that will be focused in gaming for years to come like 4K Ultra HD, High Dynamic Range, or HDR as it’s better known, as well as Spatial Audio. To help showcase these new features to you, even if you may not have the 4K display to run… Read more

Helzberg Diamonds Celebrates the Xbox One Family of Devices This Holiday
Season’s greetings! Here at Xbox we’re getting into the holiday spirit by teaming up with Helzberg Diamonds for some amazing Xbox One family offers. To help spread love and joy throughout the holiday season, Helzberg physical and online retail stores will gift customers an Xbox One S Starter Bundle with purchases of $999.99 or more… Read more

What are you hoping Santa will bring you for Christmas this year? If you are lucky perhaps you will get the cheerily-titled The End Is Nigh, which Nicalis is bringing to Switch as a physical release on 12th December. 

For those not in the know, The End Is Nigh is the latest game from award-winning designer Edmund McMillen, creator of indie-game sensations like The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy.

In the game you play as Ash, a little anthropomorphic globule who sets out to find himself a friend in the aftermath of a global catastrophic event. Ash must avoid mutated monsters, lethal hazards and deadly pitfalls as he navigates the wasteland, picking up collectable tumors (yum!) and playable mini-game cartridges along the way.

Nicalis president Tyrone Rodriguez shares his thoughts on maintaining a positive attitude in face of the coming apocalypse:

The key themes are survival and the basic human need for friendship. But The End Is Nigh is also a parable about persistence, facing adversity and maintaining a positive attitude in unbelievably stressful situations. You get a rush of pride and delirious satisfaction every time you clear a screen.

Thankfully for the faint-hearted, there is no life counter in The End Is Nigh; you’re free to try and fail as many times as it takes to conquer each challenge. Ash’s plight is accented by the game’s dramatic soundtrack, a collection of classical music themes arranged by the fan-favorite game music composition team known as Ridiculon.

As with all Nicalis boxed games there will be a few fun bonus items included. The initial print run of retail copies will include the Game Card along with a full-colour instruction booklet and a squishy Ash toy made of sticky silicone. Double yum!

Do you plan to pick this up to enjoy on Christmas day with a cup of eggnog?

Nintendo of Europe has revealed that it will be shipping stock closer to launch to avoid games being sold to consumers early.

The company confirmed the news to Gamesindustry.biz, stating that it is “constantly reviewing” its shipping schedule to ensure that games are not sold before the official release date.

Getting games early might be a nice bonus for players, but it’s not fair to other retailers who do honour the street date. Recently, with Super Mario Odyssey, there were cases where buyers had the game several days before launch; the rise of social media has made it even more obvious how much of a problem this is.

It’s worth noting that someone people get games early when they order online as the retailer in question usually wants to avoid the issue of players not getting their game in time for launch. However, this usually means the game arrives perhaps a day before release, rather than several days.

It’s understandable that Nintendo is annoyed about street dates being broken, but by holding back stock it is effectively throwing the baby out with the bathwater and punishing those smaller indie stores which do play by the book.

One prominent UK indie store told Gamesindustry.biz:

It’s a bit of a worry. Nintendo is doing so well at the moment, and it’s been a boost to us in what would have been a difficult year. If I end up getting stock late, then customers will just shop at the supermarket instead.

Have you ever been sold a game early by your local indie? Let us know by posting a comment.