The best and worst of April Fools' Day 2015 in gaming
UPDATE: BioWare! Ubisoft! Witcher! Destiny! Minecraft!
April Fools' Day - your annual helping of internet silliness (and a limited number of genuinely fun surprises).
Google, Microsoft, Sony and Blizzard are among the companies to have chipped in with their own jokes. Meanwhile, only Nintendo would actually schedule a Nintendo Direct broadcast for today without any hint of irony.
In terms of things you can enjoy and play today, we've already reported on Dying Light's time-limited physics tweaks and Google Maps' Pac-Man mode.
Then there's the new free MotorStorm buggy DLC for DriveClub (the only thing more hilarious would be if Sony actually released the game's PlayStation Plus Edition. Imagine!)
Microsoft and Insomniac have Xbox One owners covered with two new Achievements for Sunset Overdrive, worth 1 Gamerscore and 199 Gamerscore, that ask players to beat a huge high score.
PC gamers can meanwhile enjoy a mash-up of Kickstarter success Superhot with the original Quake, which follows the crowd-funded shooter's mechanic of only allowing time to move when you do.
Blizzard has unlocked a new Big Head Mode for MOBA Heroes of the Storm and teased a new feature for World of Warcraft - the familiar-sounding T.I.N.D.R. extension that will allow you to find companions for your companions. Or not.
Even less likely to come true - PlayStation Flow, Sony's new Virtual Reality glasses for swimming underwater in video games (that also look suspiciously like a standard pair of pool goggles).
Namco has shown off a new Tekken and Galaga collaboration:
And in other crossover news, D4 creator Swery has teased D5: Dark Dreams Don't Die with Deadly Premonition:
Not to be left out, Capcom has shown off a new trailer for its upcoming Phoenix Wright title that reveals a new cast of dog characters, including Sherlock Hound:
Google Japan has shown off an innovative new way to type on its touch devices - via blowing into a party horn:
Polish Witcher developer CD Projekt Red yanked a few chains when riffing on the whole 'Geralt can change his hair' DLC, which has already been announced but not detailed. Shame - the style on the right is rather fetching.
Ubisoft's Montpellier studio, headed up by Rayman creator Michel Ancel, revealed this advertisement for a new mosquito repellent via Twitter:
Minecraft's PC edition has been updated with a new, non-violent version of the game. Creepers no longer attack, animals spawn hearts and 'Survival' mode has been re-named 'Existence'. It's quite possibly a reference to recent a reports that questioned whether parents should worry about their children playing a game where you could kill animals.
War of the Overworld's developers have mocked up a special Australian version of the game - it looks pretty much the same, except for one key difference. Oh, and they take a pop at Dungeon Keeper, too:
Cities: Skylines publisher Paradox has said that it will add the game's Twitter-esque social network Chirpy to other games in its stable, including the slightly anachronistic Crusader Kings 2:
BioWare has announced a new game - no, not Mass Effect 4 - but Dragon Age spin-off Nug Elope, which features the lovable pig/hippo creatures from the series in an RPG all of their own:
And finally - Destiny has unlocked a colourful Easter egg for players logging onto their Bungie.net accounts - you'll find characters dancing against a multi-coloured disco backdrop: