R-Type is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game developed and released by Irem in 1987 and the first game in the R-Type series. The player controls a star ship, the R-9 "Arrowhead", in its efforts to destroy the Bydo, a powerful alien race bent on wiping out all of mankind. The R-9 can acquire a glowing orbicular device called a "Force", protecting it from enemy fire and providing additional firepower. The arcade version was distributed by Nintendo in North America; it is the last arcade title Nintendo distributed.
A regional lockout is a class of digital rights management preventing the use of a certain product or service, such as multimedia or a hardware device, outside a certain region or territory. A regional lockout may be enforced through physical means, through technological means such as detecting the user's IP address or using an identifying code, or through unintentional means introduced by devices only supporting certain regional technologies.
A dedicated console is a video game console that is limited to one or more built-in video game or games, and is not equipped for additional games that are distributed via ROM cartridges, discs, downloads or other digital media. Dedicated consoles were popular in the first generation of video game consoles until they were gradually replaced by second-generation video game consoles that use ROM cartridges.
R-Type II is a horizontally scrolling shooter developed and published by Irem. It was released in arcades in 1989. It is the sequel to R-Type, and the second game in the R-Type series.
G-Darius is a horizontally scrolling shooter arcade video game released by Taito in 1997. It is the fourth arcade installment of the Darius series and the first with three-dimensional polygonal graphics. A port to the PlayStation was published as G Darius.
Darius is a shoot 'em up video game franchise developed and published by Taito. The eponymous first game was released in February 1987 for arcades, and has since been followed by six sequels and several spin-offs. The series takes place during the events of a war between humans and the Belsar empire, which plot to destroy all that is left of mankind. Darius is known for its branching stage paths, upbeat soundtrack, and cute sea life-inspired enemies.
M2 Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher, best known for handling emulation of re-released games, such as some Sega Ages titles, Virtual Console titles for Nintendo systems, the 3D Classics series for the Nintendo 3DS and their ShotTriggers range of classic STG games. M2 has also created entirely new titles such as WiiWare games for Konami under the ReBirth moniker and more recently a new GG Aleste game. In addition, M2 currently holds the rights of Aleste series and all NEC Avenue and NEC Interchannel games on TurboGrafx-16 and variants, previously owned by Lightweight.
Metal Gear Solid HD Collection is a compilation of remastered ports of Metal Gear video games released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2011 and PlayStation Vita in 2012. The compilation contains Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on all three platforms, plus Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the home console versions, with the individual games all branded as HD Edition. Bluepoint Games handled the conversions of Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3, while Genki worked on Peace Walker.
BlazBlue: Central Fiction, released in Japan as BlazBlue: Centralfiction, is a 2-D fighting video game developed by Arc System Works. It is the fourth game in the BlazBlue series, and is set after the events of BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma. It is also the final game with Ragna as the main protagonist, and serves as the conclusion of the C-Series that began in Calamity Trigger.
In the video game industry during 2019, both Sony and Microsoft announced their intent to reveal their next-generation consoles in 2020, while Nintendo introduced a smaller Nintendo Switch Lite, and Google announced its streaming game platform Stadia. The controversy over loot boxes as a potential gambling route continued into 2019, with some governments like Belgium and the Netherlands banning games with them under their gambling laws, while the United Kingdom acknowledging their current laws prevent enforcing these as if they were games of chance. The first video cards to support real-time ray tracing were put onto the consumer market, including the first set of games that would take advantage of the new technology. The Epic Games Store continued its growth in challenging the largest digital PC game distribution service Steam, leading to concern and debate about Epic Games' methods to seek games for its service. Dota Auto Chess, a community-created mod for Dota 2, introduced a new subgenre of strategy games called auto battlers, which saw several games in the genre released throughout the year. Blizzard Entertainment faced criticism due to their involvement in the Blitzchung controversy, which began after they had banned a Hearthstone player for making comments during a tournament regarding the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
In the video game industry, 2021 saw the release of many new titles. The numerous delays in software and hardware releases due to the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic heavily impacted development schedules, leading to several games being delayed into 2022 or even postponed indefinitely. Additionally, computer and console hardware were impacted by the combined effects of a semiconductor shortage and a rising growth of bitcoin mining that strained the supply of critical components.
The Evercade is a handheld game console developed and manufactured by UK company Blaze Entertainment. It focuses on retrogaming with ROM cartridges that each contain a number of emulated games. Development began in 2018, and the console was released in May 2020, after a few delays. Upon its launch, the console offered 10 game cartridges with a combined total of 122 games.
Namcot Collection, also known as Namco Museum Archives, is a 2020 video game compilation published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Originally released in Japan for the Nintendo Switch, it was localized for international territories as two separate collections, Namco Museum Archives Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, for the Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Windows. Namcot Collection includes a wide array of video games published by Namco for the Family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System, with save states, achievements, and homebrew ports of Pac-Man Championship Edition and Gaplus.
Xeno Crisis is a 2019 multidirectional shooter homebrew video game developed and published by Bitmap Bureau for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Linux, macOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. It was later ported to Dreamcast, PlayStation Vita, Neo Geo, Neo Geo CD, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Evercade. The premise takes place in Outpost 88, a scientific research facility overrun by aliens. The facility sent a distress signal, leading Commander Darius dispatching space marines John Marsh and Sarah Ridley to confront the aliens. Gameplay revolves around players defeating enemies, rescuing survivors, collecting in-game currency for upgrades, and facing against bosses.
Capcom Arcade Stadium is an arcade video game compilation by Capcom. It includes 32 arcade games originally published by Capcom between 1984 and 2001. The compilation was initially released on Nintendo Switch in February 2021, then on PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in May 2021, and Amazon Luna in May 2022.
Capcom Fighting Collection is a fighting game compilation by Capcom in celebration of the Street Fighter series' 35th anniversary. The collection includes arcade versions of ten fighting games originally released by Capcom between 1994 and 2003, including all five Darkstalkers games. It was released on June 24, 2022 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. A follow-up focusing on the Marvel vs. Capcom series, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, is set for release in 2024.
Eastasiasoft Limited is a private, independent game developer and video game publisher headquartered in Hong Kong and specializing in niche indie video games and related media with an estimated revenue of $5.1 million. Incorporated on 28 June 2007, eastasiasoft began as a digital only publisher before branching out to publishing physical games starting in 2016 with Rainbow Moon, Lost Sea, and Söldner-X 2: Final Prototype. The company has since published a diverse variety of titles in both digital and physical format for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Playstation Vita, Windows, MacOS, SteamOS, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. Eastasiasoft is credited as a developer and/or publisher on 331 games between 2007 and 2023. Some of eastasiasoft’s recently licensed and published games are Mugen Souls, Sword and Fairy: Together Forever, Xuan Yuan Sword 7, Empire of Angels IV, Seven Pirates H, Moero Crystal H, Trigger Witch, Rainbow Skies, and the Söldner-X franchise. Eastasiasoft has published games by developers such as DOMO Studio, Compile Heart, Rainbite, Suzaku Games, SideQuest Studios, and Softstar Entertainment, among others. Although their primary physical distributions are in Asian markets and via online retailers such as Playasia, Eastasiasoft has at times partnered with other publishers such as Funbox Media or Serenity Forge in order to release their games in other markets like Europe and North America. In addition to developing some of their own games, Eastasiasoft has also developed English localizations for games that otherwise would not make it to western markets and have developed ports to other consoles for games originally developed by others.
