Trivia Browser
Company: Next Level Games
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During 2004, Next Level Games was working on a game based on the WWE franchise called "WWE Titans: Parts Unknown". Planned to release on the Playstation 2 and Xbox as a 1-vs-1 fighter, the game was planned to have a radically different direction from past WWE titles, featuring a new art style that focused on exaggerated character designs and cinematic locales. Settings for the game included urban environments (i.e. rooftops in a city) and an old castle located in the snowy wilderness. Additionally, one stage concept was labelled "Cena Stage", likely in reference to wrestler John Cena. This suggests that some individual wrestlers would have received arena dedicated to them.
While the game would have featured several established wrestlers, Next Level also considered adding original cast members made specifically for the game. One piece of artwork for the game shows that there were plans for anthropomorphic characters (such as crocodiles and bears) and sorcerers. Not much is known about the gameplay, though art for the game suggests that destructible environments were intended to be a key focus. For unknown reasons, the pitch was rejected by the game's publisher, THQ.
While the game would have featured several established wrestlers, Next Level also considered adding original cast members made specifically for the game. One piece of artwork for the game shows that there were plans for anthropomorphic characters (such as crocodiles and bears) and sorcerers. Not much is known about the gameplay, though art for the game suggests that destructible environments were intended to be a key focus. For unknown reasons, the pitch was rejected by the game's publisher, THQ.
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In early February 2024, one month prior to the game's release, multi-time WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar was removed from the cover of the "Forty Years of WrestleMania" showcase edition of the game in response to a sexual assault and sex trafficking lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE. Although Lesnar's name was not directly mentioned in the lawsuit, his reported connection to the case led to his removal as part of a wider effort by the WWE to disassociate from him. The cover was updated to feature a larger version of John Cena, where Lesnar used to be. Content creators who got early access to the game on February 23 confirmed that both Lesnar and McMahon were no longer playable characters in WWE 2K24. While the extent of McMahon's removal is unknown, Brock Lesnar’s data remains locked away in the game due to his matches with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 30 and Roman Reigns at Wrestlemania 31 being featured in the "Showcase of the Immortals" Showcase mode, and it being too far into development to remove them.
Brock Lesnar Removed From WWE 2K24 Special Edition Cover:
https://www.ign.com/articles/brock-lesnar-removed-from-wwe-2k24-special-edition-cover
Brock Lesnar's replacement on WWE 2K24 cover revealed:
https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/news-brock-lesnar-s-replacement-wwe-2k24-cover-revealed
[Below source and additional info provided by SOGESNAKE.]
WWE 2K24 Final Roster Confirms Removal of Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon:
https://www.ign.com/articles/wwe-2k24-final-roster-confirms-removal-of-brock-lesnar-and-vince-mcmahon
https://www.ign.com/articles/brock-lesnar-removed-from-wwe-2k24-special-edition-cover
Brock Lesnar's replacement on WWE 2K24 cover revealed:
https://www.sportskeeda.com/wwe/news-brock-lesnar-s-replacement-wwe-2k24-cover-revealed
[Below source and additional info provided by SOGESNAKE.]
WWE 2K24 Final Roster Confirms Removal of Brock Lesnar and Vince McMahon:
https://www.ign.com/articles/wwe-2k24-final-roster-confirms-removal-of-brock-lesnar-and-vince-mcmahon
subdirectory_arrow_right The Joy of Creation: Classic (Game)
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When "THE JOY OF CREATION" was still in development as "The Joy of Creation: Ignited Collection", the first game in the The Joy of Creation series was going to be remade as part of the collection, where it would have been known as "The Joy of Creation: Classic". However, on July 27, 2023, Nikson revealed that he had changed his mind about adding Classic to the collection, instead having it only include The Joy of Creation: Reborn and The Joy of Creation: Story Mode.
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Banjo-Tooie has become somewhat infamous for its large-scaled and convoluted structure in comparison to its predecessor, Banjo-Kazooie, with far more larger interconnected worlds with longer, complex puzzles that typically require backtracking, in comparison to Banjo-Kazooie's more straightforward and compact, self-contained levels and objectives.According to Steve Malpass, one of Banjo-Tooie's game designers, the game was designed more in the vein of an adventure game as opposed to a platformer, being heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in particular. The development team was aware of how overcomplicated the game's structure had become by its launch (the QA department was vocal about the backtracking and navigation issues), but it was ultimately too late for them to streamline it. The Warp Pads found throughout the worlds were actually included after the levels were designed, as an attempt to mitigate the aforementioned navigation issues.
Steve Malpass comments on Banjo-Tooie's game design within the video comments:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36wclKt4vdk&lc=Ugw8_LWH3PTwR6r3FSJ4AaABAg
All of Steve Malpass' comments posted in this Reddit thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BanjoKazooie/comments/1avpvub/steve_malpasss_comments_about_banjotooie/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36wclKt4vdk&lc=Ugw8_LWH3PTwR6r3FSJ4AaABAg
All of Steve Malpass' comments posted in this Reddit thread:
https://www.reddit.com/r/BanjoKazooie/comments/1avpvub/steve_malpasss_comments_about_banjotooie/
Company: Next Level Games
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Next Level Games once had a project pitch for an action game called "Catalyst" that would have been released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. As the game was never officially announced, not much is known about it other than what is seen in the pitch video, which involves an unidentified man attacking a group of soldiers using a device called the "Catalyst" after they had betrayed him and kidnapped his daughter. The game was never released, likely due to not being able to find a publisher.
subdirectory_arrow_right Nintendo GameCube (Platform)
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The Brazilian release of the Nintendo GameCube has special code that patches a crash glitch that can only be found in NBA Courtside 2002. This patch does not exist in any other version of the hardware.
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Frank Sahwit, the culprit of "The First Turnabout" (the first episode of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney), plays a major role in the second episode of Ace Attorney Investigations 2, "Gokuchū no Gyakuten" (roughly translated to "Reversal in Prison"). This is notable in that it suggests that not everybody convicted of homicide is given either a life sentence or the death penalty in the Ace Attorney series, as it's implied that he would have been eligible for parole after the events of the case had he not Spoiler:served as Marie Miwa's accomplice in the murder of Manosuke Naitou. This is consistent with real life, as Frank had committed a second-degree murder (a murder which occurs in the spur of the moment) rather than a first-degree murder (which are premediated). Additionally, given the short amount of time he had served prior to his near-parole (around two years and nine months), it's possible that Sahwit had been convicted of a lesser crime such as manslaughter since the first game did not indicate that he had actively intended to murder Cindy Stone.
Episode 2 Gameplay:
https://youtu.be/pAQn89092mM?si=vUpuzwKW26JAKv2g
Difference Between First and Second Degree Murder:
https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/criminal-defense/difference-between-first-second-degree-murder/
Difference Between Second-Degree Murder and Manslaughter:
https://grl.law/second-degree-murder-vs-voluntary-manslaughter-explained/
https://youtu.be/pAQn89092mM?si=vUpuzwKW26JAKv2g
Difference Between First and Second Degree Murder:
https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/criminal-defense/difference-between-first-second-degree-murder/
Difference Between Second-Degree Murder and Manslaughter:
https://grl.law/second-degree-murder-vs-voluntary-manslaughter-explained/
Collection: Bubsy
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When asked about Bubsy's height and weight for an episode of the Death Battle-esque YouTube series Limit Break featuring him fighting Gex, creator Michael Berlyn said that Bubsy is 3'6'' (42 inches) and 80 lbs, making his height closest to the length (or height if they were to be bipedal like Bubsy) of an Eastern or Mexican bobcat, but significantly heavier than any real-world species of bobcat.
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When Stellar Blade was first announced as "Project Eve", it was stated to be coming to the PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. However, during the September 2021 PlayStation Showcase, it was announced that the game would instead be exclusive to the PlayStation 5, after Sony Interactive Entertainment had agreed to publish the game.
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In a 2005 interview with the game's producer Koji Igarashi published in the official Konami strategy guide, he explained the decision to change the series' title in the domestic Japanese market from "Castlevania" back to "Akumajo Dracula".
The title change to Castlevania in Japan initially occurred because the Akumajo Dracula games enjoyed a larger market share in Europe and America compared to Japan. Consequently, more reports and information about the games were available in those regions, and they were released there first. In the recent past, news from outside Japan was harder to access, but with the advent of the internet, Japanese users could now easily stay informed. However, there was a concern that Japanese players might not immediately recognize the equivalence between Castlevania and Akumajo Dracula, so the main title of the previous game Lament of Innocence was changed to Castlevania in Japan to address this.
Subsequently, for Curse of Darkness, the decision was made to revert to the original title because the team felt that the Castlevania name had become associated with trilogies, inadvertently making it challenging for fans to find information about the Akumajo Dracula titles. The team wanted to ensure clarity for Japanese fans and clear up any confusion among Akumajo Dracula fans about if Castlevania was supposed to be Akumajo Dracula.
The title change to Castlevania in Japan initially occurred because the Akumajo Dracula games enjoyed a larger market share in Europe and America compared to Japan. Consequently, more reports and information about the games were available in those regions, and they were released there first. In the recent past, news from outside Japan was harder to access, but with the advent of the internet, Japanese users could now easily stay informed. However, there was a concern that Japanese players might not immediately recognize the equivalence between Castlevania and Akumajo Dracula, so the main title of the previous game Lament of Innocence was changed to Castlevania in Japan to address this.
Subsequently, for Curse of Darkness, the decision was made to revert to the original title because the team felt that the Castlevania name had become associated with trilogies, inadvertently making it challenging for fans to find information about the Akumajo Dracula titles. The team wanted to ensure clarity for Japanese fans and clear up any confusion among Akumajo Dracula fans about if Castlevania was supposed to be Akumajo Dracula.
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According to a 2005 interview with the game's producer Koji Igarashi published in the official Konami strategy guide, he stated that the decision to set the game three years after the events of Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse was significantly driven by his love for the game. The introduction of the "Innocent Devil" system, where players have a demon servant fighting alongside them, prompted him to consider the game's placement within the Castlevania timeline. Given the demonic nature of the Innocent Devils, Igarashi decided the story should align closely with that theme.
The idea he came up with back then revolved around a hidden narrative during Ralph C. Belmont's battle against Dracula, where there existed someone who betrayed Dracula, and another individual who relentlessly pursued this traitor. Igarashi believed that despite these circumstances not being part of the officially recorded history in-universe, they still significantly impacted Dracula’s defeat, and in that sense the gameplay system came first and the story was woven around it,
The idea he came up with back then revolved around a hidden narrative during Ralph C. Belmont's battle against Dracula, where there existed someone who betrayed Dracula, and another individual who relentlessly pursued this traitor. Igarashi believed that despite these circumstances not being part of the officially recorded history in-universe, they still significantly impacted Dracula’s defeat, and in that sense the gameplay system came first and the story was woven around it,
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Checkered Flag was originally called Checkered Flag 2 (referring the previous game with the title on Atari Lynx), before being changed to Redline Racing and finally Checkered Flag, positioning it as a remake/port instead of a sequel.
St. Format Issue #59 (Page 62):
http://www.atarimania.com/atari-magazine-issue-st-format-issue-59_185.html
http://www.atarimania.com/atari-magazine-issue-st-format-issue-59_185.html
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Dan Arey, a former Crystal Dynamics and Naughty Dog developer who worked on the second and third games in the series, praised the first game in a 1996 Retro Gamer magazine interview. Prior to joining Naughty Dog, he talked about how the game maintained its unique identity in the world of 3D platformers, even when faced with the groundbreaking influence of Super Mario 64. Arey emphasized that while Super Mario 64 embraced open-ended levels, programmer Andy Gavin and director Jason Rubin designed Crash Bandicoot to adhere to a more old-school, level-based structure while adding 3D depth to its platforming challenges by "going down 3D roads with occasional 2D side-wave elements, but everything was very focussed in terms of mechanics". Arey also expressed admiration for the game's technical achievements even before he joined Naughty Dog, which likely soon motivated him to do so:
"We saw some early demos when I was at Crystal Dynamics, and we were asking ourselves how they were getting so many polygons on the PlayStation. What they had done was pre-calculate the polygons you couldn't see from a fixed-camera viewpoint, so it looked like there were many more polygons being pushed on the system than ever before."
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On January 11, 2023, the game's official Thai Facebook page posted an advertisement that was quickly met with backlash from the Thai player community. The ad depicted a player engaging in the game due to him not enjoying his birthday party. Entranced by the anime characters' buttocks physics in an erratic manner, his behavior gets interrupted and questioned by a partygoer who gives him his birthday cake with candles. He then wishes for the characters Anis, Rapi, and Marian to appear in real life, and in a vision prior to blowing out the candles, the three arrive in his home and proceed to twerk in front of him, simulating the game's attack animations. The advertisement was heavily criticized for depicting the player base as perverts who only play the game for the attractive characters, prompting the developers to issue an official apology in Thai and take down the ad. However, the removal of the ad caused another round of backlash from a different part of the fanbase, one that was already upset with the developers after a new character costume had been released with more clothing than initial leaks for a winter holiday event had suggested, leading to accusations of censorship. Reportedly, some fans even went as far as to say that there was nothing wrong with the ad for "being honest about why some players are attracted to the game."
The advertisement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZkFLmIGDA
Initial controversy:
https://sea.ign.com/nikke-the-goddess-of-victory/194210/news/nikki-devs-took-down-controversial-advertisement-video-after-thai-playerbase-backlash
Counter-backlash:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gywq/mobile-game-takes-down-ad-portraying-its-players-as-horny-nerds
Quote source:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/removed-game-ad-featuring-player-salivating-over-jiggle-physics-sparks-fan-outcry/1100-6510671/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hZkFLmIGDA
Initial controversy:
https://sea.ign.com/nikke-the-goddess-of-victory/194210/news/nikki-devs-took-down-controversial-advertisement-video-after-thai-playerbase-backlash
Counter-backlash:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/m7gywq/mobile-game-takes-down-ad-portraying-its-players-as-horny-nerds
Quote source:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/removed-game-ad-featuring-player-salivating-over-jiggle-physics-sparks-fan-outcry/1100-6510671/
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"SURVIVAL AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE", released for Gold Class on May 3rd, 2023, marks the final BEMANI song by composer Akira Complex, who later passed away in June 2023.
Remy Wiki Page on "SURVIAL AT THE END OF THE UNIVERSE":
https://remywiki.com/SURVIVAL_AT_THE_END_OF_THE_UNIVERSE
Remy Wiki Page on Akira Complex:
https://remywiki.com/Akira_Complex
Twitter Announcement of Akira Complex's Death:
https://twitter.com/AtkTheMusic/status/1673300101857697793
https://remywiki.com/SURVIVAL_AT_THE_END_OF_THE_UNIVERSE
Remy Wiki Page on Akira Complex:
https://remywiki.com/Akira_Complex
Twitter Announcement of Akira Complex's Death:
https://twitter.com/AtkTheMusic/status/1673300101857697793
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Some of the character models in Stellar Blade were created using a 3D scanning process. This is most notable with the game's protagonist Eve, whose character model was based on the real life Korean model Shin Jae-eun.
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Nightingale was originally planned to be an MMORPG, but this idea was scrapped in favor of making it a survival game. Inflexion Games, the company behind the game, also stated that unlike most role-playing games, Nightingale was intended to have an interesting premise and lore rather than a strong narrative. This was done to allow players to create their own stories for the game.
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Game designer Yuki Nakamura, who was in charge of writing the DLC episode "Turnabout Reclaimed", used the concept of "lighthearted fun" to set it apart from the episodes in the base game. The episode featuring an orca and taking place in an aquarium was the first thing she decided on, but she struggled to come up with the rest of the story. One scrapped idea had the orca stealing treasure from the aquarium and attacking people by the shore as it escaped to sea, with the mystery involving the reason for the orca's behavior. The draft for this version of the episode opened with Bobby Fulbright and some guards vaguely referring to somebody escaping. This was intended to mislead players into thinking that they were referring to Simon Blackquill, before it was ultimately revealed to be the orca.
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Within the 2023 Insomniac Games ransomware leak, a PC developer build of the game was found to include several unused Symbiote bosses, including Riot, Lasher, Agony, and Phage. These characters were intended to appear as a team alongside the main antagonist, Venom. However, during development, the game’s story likely underwent changes and the focus shifted to other characters, such as Kraven and Venom. As a result, the Symbiotes besides Venom, Scream, and Anti-Venom were abandoned.
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Leak Reveals Cut Content, Including Riot And Other Symbiotes:
https://exputer.com/news/games/marvels-spider-man-2-leak-riot/
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Leaks Reveal Symbiote Bosses That Didn’t Make the Final Cut Along With Some Scrapped Story Elements:
https://in.ign.com/marvels-spider-man-2/200881/news/marvels-spider-man-2-leaks-reveal-symbiote-bosses-that-didnt-make-the-final-cut
https://exputer.com/news/games/marvels-spider-man-2-leak-riot/
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Leaks Reveal Symbiote Bosses That Didn’t Make the Final Cut Along With Some Scrapped Story Elements:
https://in.ign.com/marvels-spider-man-2/200881/news/marvels-spider-man-2-leaks-reveal-symbiote-bosses-that-didnt-make-the-final-cut
Franchise: Sonic The Hedgehog
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"TailsTube" is a webseries that began airing on March 22, 2022. Described as a "fun and informative, Tails-hosted show about all things Sonic", the series is hosted by a VTuber version of Miles "Tails" Prower, as he answers questions from fans about the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, often featuring special guests from throughout the series. The series is notable for explaining various aspects of the series' lore. For example, the first episode debunks a popular fan theory that claims that Sonic's world and Earth are two separate planets, and the fourth episode confirmed the existence of a multiverse in the series, as well as establishing that "Classic Sonic" and "Modern Sonic" are not separate entities from alternate dimensions, instead being the same character's past and future variants. The sixth episode also sees Tails mention Jewel the Beetle and the Restoration, two prominent parts of IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog comic book series, further connecting it to the game series canon.
TailsTube announcement:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220317172643/https://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1504487800514637834?s=21
TailsTube #1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmzc8L8zTBk&t=65s
TailsTube #4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnqXIGA_UQ&t=111s
TailsTube #6:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUJHORsMg_g
https://web.archive.org/web/20220317172643/https://twitter.com/sonic_hedgehog/status/1504487800514637834?s=21
TailsTube #1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nmzc8L8zTBk&t=65s
TailsTube #4:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnnqXIGA_UQ&t=111s
TailsTube #6:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUJHORsMg_g