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Final Fantasy 14 Rewards Japanese Players for Paying Their Real-Life Taxes With a Giant Dog

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Final Fantasy 14 players in Japan now have the opportunity to get in-game cosmetics and items by paying their real life taxes, as reported by Famitsu . These rewards include the online MMORPG’s Megashiba Mount. Japan has a Hometown tax initiative (Furusato Nozei), which allows people to redirect portions of their residence tax to other areas of the country, even if they don’t live there. In return, you can choose a special gift from the region (everything from local snacks and traditional handcrafted items, to hotel stays and local cultural experiences). The scheme launched back in 2008 with the aim of directing tax funds back to rural, less-populated areas, but now almost every municipality in the country offers some kind of reward via the scheme. It’s a win-win as local governments receive more funds, while taxpayers receive presents in exchange for tax money they would have had to fork out anyway. In recent years, some areas have started offering digital rewards. For example, last y...
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Granblue Fantasy: Relink - Endless Ragnarok Preview: A Deeper Look at the New Summon System

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Granblue Fantasy: Relink introduced a brand new audience to the floating islands of Zegagrande and the adventuring Skyfarers of the Granblue Fantasy series back when it launched in 2024. Marking the first console RPG adventure for the primarily mobile gacha series, Relink let players pull off dazzling arrays of anime spectacle as they worked together either with their CPU-controlled party or with their friends to tackle quests and monsters. Now, we are mere weeks away from diving into the massive new expansion, Endless Ragnarok, and during SGF we had a chance to sit down and speak with the creative director, Tetsuya Fukuhara, and narrative director, Sanshiro Hidaka, but also get some hands-on time with the new expansion. Some of the most jaw-dropping moments of Relink were when Granblu's heroine, Lyria, would summon her big ol' lizard pal, Bahamut, to let him do what dragons do best - rain fire/laser breath down on chumps. Lyria's ability to summon Bahamut is a pretty big d...
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 Are Officially Being Ported to New Platforms Next Month

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 1 and 2 are being brought to new platforms in July, courtesy of Iron Galaxy. Treyarch confirmed today that its beloved Call of Duty games are making a grand return via new ports, courtesy of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 developer Iron Galaxy. These ports will only be available on PlayStation, though it's unclear which PlayStation platforms. The initial leak for these ports indicated they'd likely be available on PS4 and, as a result, would also be available to play on PS5 through backwards compatibility. It's currently unclear if PS5 will get native ports. Treyarch also confirmed that the ports will include campaign, multiplayer, and Zombies, so players will get to experience the full packages. It's not known if players will be able to carry over their progress, if cross-play will be enabled with other versions, or if these ports will simply live in isolation. While Treyarch made no mention of any upgrades coming to Xbox or PC, keep in mind...
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Entire Luna Abyss Development Team Laid Off One Month After Launch

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The entire development team for Luna Abyss , a well-received shooter that was released just a month ago, has been laid off. Hollie Emery, the CEO of Kwalee Labs, revealed the news in a LinkedIn post. Emery claimed that the decision to make the development team redundant was completely outside of their control. The decision was made despite piles of critical praise for Luna Abyss (the game holds an 81 on Metacritic). Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to have made a commercial splash. Luna Abyss peaked at 317 concurrent players on Steam, suggesting it hasn't found a big audience. The development team was made up of nine people, all of whom are now seeking work. The team spent seven years working on the game, which entered development in 2019. IGN first previewed the game back in 2023 and expressed plenty of optimism for the overall vision that Kwalee Labs had for Luna Abyss. That optimism trickled into another preview of the game earlier this year , ahead of the game's releas...
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Save Nearly 60% Off the Logitech G29 Racing Wheel and Pedal Set, Perfect for Forza Horizon 6 on PC

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Forza Horizon 6 for PC and Xbox was released just last month. This is the perfect excuse for you to finally upgrade from a controller to a bona fide racing wheel. Logitech via its official eBay store is offering a fantastic deal on its most popular racing wheel. Right now you can pick up a refurbished Logitech G29 Racing Wheel and Pedal Set for PS5 and PC for just $145 shipped. The G29 retails for $330 new. It comes with a 1 year Logitech warranty, which isn't quite as long as the 2 years you get purchasing new, but a lot better than the standard 3 to 6 months you typicall get with a recertified model. Save 56% Off the Logitech G29 Racing Wheel and Pedal Set If you're a big fan of racing games and you've been using a DualSense controller or gamepad this entire time, then this price drop might be the excuse for you to step up your immersion to the next level. The G29 as already one of the best racing wheels under $300, and definitely the best racing wheel under $150. Sta...
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Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 Is Now Available To Preorder, Out in October

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June's Nintendo Direct had some exciting news for Kingdom Hearts fans. Alongside a surprise trailer for Kingdom Hearts 4 , the Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 was also announced. If it caught your eye and you're hoping to pick it up for your gaming library, preorders for the collection are live right now at various retailers ahead of its release on October 8. No matter if you're interested in a physical or digital copy of the Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3, we've broken down where it's available to preorder right now for $74.99, alongside any bonuses it comes with. Check them out at the links below, and secure your copy to have in time for release day. Preorder Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 – Amazon Exclusive Edition PS5 (Physical) See at Amazon - $74.99 Nintendo Switch 2 (Physical - Game-Key Card) See at Amazon - $74.99 Amazon has its own exclusive physical edition of the Kingdom Hearts Collection 1-3 available to preorder right now which comes with a double-sided...
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Why Turn-Based RPGs Are Resurging, According to Final Fantasy Resonance Devs

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Final Fantasy returning to turn-based combat through the upcoming Final Fantasy Resonance is a pretty big deal, even if you were just going off the reception to its initial reveal. Many folks, including myself, are thrilled to see the series' name attached to a game with an HD-2D art style and have the story of Brave Exvius get adapted in the form of Resonance. In my exclusive hands-on preview of Final Fantasy Resonance , I experienced first-hand just how its rethinking turn-based combat with a stagger system, the Job-like Visions, and intricate party customization. And I got to dig deeper into its inspirations, namely Final Fantasy V, in a conversation with producer Keisuke Nakashima and director Hiroto Furuya . There's also this lingering feeling that turn-based RPGs have had a resurgance in recent years. By no means did they ever go away – look at the continued success of Atlus RPGs (Persona, Metaphor, Shin Megami Tensei) and Square Enix's own (Octopath Traveler and Drag...
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