Eric Watson

Eric Watson

Eric has been writing for over five years with bylines in Dicebreaker, Pixelkin, Polygon, PC Gamer and Tabletop Gaming magazine, covering movies, TV shows, video games, tabletop games and tech. He reviews and live streams D&D adventures every week on YouTube. He also makes a mean tuna quesadilla.

Aug 11 2020
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Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Surpasses 2 Million Players

Posted by | News, PC, PlayStation 4 | No Comments

There’s a new hotness in town, and it stars a bunch of weird little potato people. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is only a week old, but has already stumbled past two million copies sold on Steam alone.

At the moment I’m writing this post there are over 100,000 players competing in Fall Guys, making it the fifth most popular game on Steam, ranking it up there with PUBG, Destiny 2, and Grand Theft Auto 5. Fall Guys is easily the most popular release from prolific indie publisher Devolver Digital and developer Mediatonic.

Fall Guys is also a popular spectator sport, with over 23 million hours watched on twitch.

“It has been overwhelming and humbling to watch the launch and reception of Fall Guys. We’re incredibly grateful to all of our players for their support and have big plans for the game in the future,” said Paul Croft, Co-Founder & Chief Games Officer for Mediatonic. “We’re thrilled by the response and can’t quite believe how beloved our little jelly beans have already become!”

Fall Guys combines physics-based obstacle course mini-games in a Battle Royale format, as dozens of players compete until a single winner is declared. The titular characters are cute little jelly beans with lots of customizable (and purchasable) costumes. Mini-games include both competitive and team-based challenges.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is also available on PlayStation 4, and is currently free to download for PlayStation Plus subscribers.

Aug 10 2020
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The Animal Crossing Diaries Will Explore Socialization During the Pandemic

Posted by | News, Switch | No Comments

Animal Crossing: New Horizons released at a unique time in our history: March 2020, when much of the world began reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Videogame Museum, located in Sheffield, England, has been awarded a grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation to chronicle the impact of the popular Nintendo game and how it affects socialization during a global pandemic.

“Animal Crossing is the perfect experience for a lockdown. The coincidental timing of its release provided a welcome relief for millions of people who wanted to go outdoors but couldn’t, who wanted to meet friends but weren’t allowed,” said Iain Simons, Director of Culture for the NVM. “It’s no surprise that this incredibly creative, social space became a safe haven for millions during this turbulent year. With the fantastic support of Esmee Fairbairn, we want to explore the different ways in which videogames touch our audience’s lives.”

It’s impossible to say how much the pandemic affected sales of New Horizons versus the quality of the well-received and critically acclaimed game. Nintendo recently announced an incredible 22.4 million units sold. That’s more than titanic franchises like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Pokémon Sword and Shield. Only Mario Kart 8 Deluxe has sold more units (26.7 million).

With social distancing still in place, The Animal Crossing Diaries will be an online exhibit to record, archive, and present unique videogame histories through the lends of the players.

The National Videogame Museum is running a virtual Saturday club throughout the month of August called Pixelheads. Kids are encouraged to watch the official NVM YouTube channel every Saturday for quizzes, discussions, let’s plays, and other gaming activities.