Recap!

Weekly Recap: Pokemon Go Breaks Records, PS4 Outsells Xbox One, Star Wars 8 Finishes Shooting

Here’s a roundup of the week’s biggest news and some stories you may have missed.

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PS4 #1

The PlayStation 4 was again the top-selling console in the United States during June 2016, the NPD Group and Sony reported this week. Read this post to get a full rundown of hardware performance, while June’s top 10 best-selling games can be seen here.

A New Record

Pokemon Go is now in the history books, as Apple confirmed this week that the game was downloaded more times in its first week than any other app in history. The company declined to say how many downloads in total there have been or what app was the previous record-holder. Whatever the case, Pokemon Go is ludicrously popular. [Full story]

It’s Done

Star Wars Episode VIII, or whatever Lucasfilm eventually decides to call it, has finished filming, the production company announced this week. Next up? Post-production and maybe reshoots if needed. The film, which is said to be “darker” than 2015’s The Force Awakens, comes to theaters in December 2017. [Full story]

Coming Soon

Microsoft announced this week that the Xbox One S will launch in stores on August 2. The system is 40 percent smaller than the existing Xbox One and features an internal power supply. It also comes with a new Xbox One controller that has textured grips, better wireless, and Bluetooth support. Only the 2 TB, $400 Xbox One S will be available on August 2, as the 1 TB and 500 GB editions will come later. [Full story]

Another Sale

Steam’s Summer sale is over, but another has just begun. PC digital store GMG’s summer sale kicked off this week, with lots of games on sale, including XCOM 2 and Deus Ex Human Revolution. See all the deals here.

Down With DRM

We know CD Projekt Red, the makers of The Witcher series, are not fans of DRM, but it’s always refreshing to hear what they have to say on the subject. Here’s a cool video of CDPR CEO Marcin Iwinski speaking frankly on the subject.

Sequel? Maybe!

Is the Warcraft movie getting a sequel? Director Duncan Jones would like that to happen, but it’s out of his hands. Read his tweet on the subject here.

Go For A Swim, In Style

Pop culture clothing company Musterbrand has announced swimwear inspired by gaming brands like Mass Effect and Borderlands, as well as Star Wars and other franchises. Go see it all here.

Fantastic!

According to a new leak, content from Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is coming to Lego Dimensions. Get all the details here at Eurogamer.

Increasing

French media conglomerate Vivendi has increased its stake in Ubisoft, potentially foretelling a takeover in the future. Get the details here.

Crackdown Go

What if Microsoft were to make Pokemon Go-style games from its franchises? The Xbox UK team created some mockups of what that might look like for the Forza, Crackdown, and Halo franchises. Check it out.

Swipe

John Hanke, the CEO of Pokemon Go developer Niantic Labs, has offered his take on virtual reality–and it’s not all that positive.

“I don’t think we were built to sit in a dark room with a piece of electronics strapped on our head,” he told Financial Times. “I’m more enamored of going outside and building real social connections.”

The Numbers Are In

What do the numbers look like for eSports? Superdata this week released a report on the competitive gaming scene; read it here.

Battle Arena Arrives

Disruptor Beam has announced the release of a new Battle Arena mode for its mobile game, Star Trek Timelines. The Battle Arena, as it’s called, lets players go head-to-head

Here’s how it’s described:

“The Battle Arena is a newly designed feature in which Captains manage their crew consisting of iconic Star Trek characters, and then compete against other Captains for prestige and valuable rewards. Players are grouped into divisions based on the rarity of their ships and crew each with their own leaderboards and daily rewards.”

Timelines has also recently added lots of new features, characters, and items, as well performance enhancements. Go to the game’s website to get all the info.

Star Trek celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

Revving Up

A new NASCAR game is racing to PS4, Xbox One, and PC this year. This week, the first trailer for NASCA Heat Evolution came online, and it certainly looks…. Well, watch the video and find out for yourself.