The second half of 2023 will also feature blockbuster and popular titles!
The gaming industry has benefited from the increased time at home due to the coronavirus pandemic. It remains to be seen what trends will emerge once the coronavirus pandemic subsides.
In this column, I would like to pick five titles scheduled to be released in the second half of 2023 that will predict the future of the gaming world. Which works are your favorites?
◆Simulated experience of a nostalgic summer vacation
●Natsumon! 20th Century Summer Vacation
Nintendo Switch / Spike Chunsoft / Scheduled to be released on July 28th
First of all, during the summer vacation sales season, the secret topic of discussion is “Natsumon! ”. “Natsumon! ” is the game creator who worked on the classic PS classic “My Summer Vacation” series and “Crayon Shin-chan: His Ora and the Doctor’s Summer Vacation ~An Endless Seven-Day Journey~” (2021), which has sold a total of 450,000 copies worldwide.・Title by Kazu Ayabe.
As the only son of the leader of a circus troupe who came to the verdant town of Yomogi with a view of the ocean, he spends his summer doing things like fishing, collecting insects, and investigating crimes while interacting with the residents.
With the camping boom, many people will be spending this summer in real nature. Will this work, which simulates a nostalgic summer experience within the game, become a smash hit? If it becomes a hit on par with “Crayon Shin-chan: Ora and the Doctor’s Summer Vacation,” which went viral during the coronavirus pandemic, “Natsumon!” It looks like we may see a series of “.
◆Legendary mecha action, latest work after a long time
●“ARMORED CORE VI FIRES OF RUBICON”
PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam/From Software/Scheduled to be released on August 25th
“Game of Death” FromSoftware has gained worldwide recognition with the highly difficult action RPG “Soul” series and “Elden Ring.” Before the “Soul” series, the signature title was the mechanical customization action “Armored Core” series. “Armored Core VI” is the first new game in the series in 10 years since “ARMORED CORE VERDICT DAY” (2013).
This time, you will become an independent mercenary who stowed away on Rubicon 3, a remote development planet, and throw yourself into the conflict over the new substance Coral. He creates his own humanoid weapon by combining hundreds of different parts and carries out a variety of missions.
Although it has a completely different feel from the Soul series, Armored Core is no different in terms of hard work. Will the deep mechanical customization and high-speed battles appeal to the fans of the Soul series? I’m curious about how “Armored Core” will be received.
◆Extremely epic space version of “Skyrim”
●“Starfield”
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, Steam/Bethesda Softworks/Scheduled to be released on September 6th
This is the first completely new work in 25 years from Bethesda Softworks, the American developer known for “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim” and “Fallout 4.” Set in the year 2330 A.D., it is an epic open-world RPG with more than 1000 planets to explore.
Gaming PCs are more popular than ever before, and Steam is becoming a popular option in addition to home game consoles. It is certain that it will be a hit overseas, but will it spread to involve the general public in Japan as well?
◆The next “Momo Tetsu” will compete on the world stage!
●“Momotaro Electric Railway World ~ The earth revolves around hope!” ”
Nintendo Switch / Konami Digital Entertainment / Scheduled to be released on November 16th
“Momotaro Dentetsu ~ Showa Heisei Reiwa is also a classic!” released in 2020! ~” became a hit with cumulative sales of over 3.5 million copies, and “Momotetsu” showed its potential. This time, the stage will expand to the whole world, and we will use airplanes to travel around the world. There will also be events related to historical heroes from around the world, such as Joan of Arc and Vasco da Gama, making it a great place to learn about world history.
The previous game enabled online battles, and has been analyzed to meet the needs of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, many people are likely to have a busy New Year’s holiday, returning home or traveling. The focus will be on whether it can get close to the previous work’s 3.5 million sales. Also, now that Vtubers have become more prevalent than in the previous game, the key to making it a hit is whether the live game will be even more exciting than the previous one through collaborations.
◆The miraculous revival of the phantom RPG!
●“Super Mario RPG”
Nintendo Switch/Nintendo/Scheduled to be released on November 17th
”Super Mario RPG” was jointly developed by Nintendo and Square (at the time) and was released for the Super Famicom in 1996. The phantom title, which has been rumored to be difficult to remake due to copyright issues, will be revived with new graphics.
This game won’t just be revived as a one-off, but depending on sales, we might be able to expect a new version of “Mario RPG” created by Square Enix and Nintendo. Kingdom Hearts, a collaboration between Disney and Square Enix, has become a worldwide hit. It will be interesting to see how the current Square Enix brings out the charm of Nintendo characters.
In addition to the above five games, in the second half of the year we will also be releasing “Pikmin 4” (Switch/scheduled to be released on July 21st) and “Assassin’s Creed Mirage” (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC/scheduled to be released on October 12th) ), “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” (Switch/scheduled to be released on October 20th), “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” (PS5/scheduled to be released on October 20th), “Ryu ga Gotoku 7: The Man Who Vanished” (PS5) , PS4, Xbox Series Full of major titles such as “Dragon Quest Monsters 3: Journey of the Demon Prince and the Elf” (scheduled to be released on Switch/December 1st).
With many saying that they haven’t finished playing The Legend of Zelda yet, it looks like it’s going to be a busy second half for game fans.