Xbox Series X's mini-ITX chassis isn't gargantuan
The next-gen Xbox Series X is bigger than current consoles, but it's not not ridiculously huge. It should still fit on the shelf of your entertainment center when laying down.
Microsoft just announced its new monster Xbox Series X console with a very distinct shape. PC gamers will notice right away it looks like a mini-ITX build, somewhat akin to the Corsair One with a more rectangular prism shape. It also looks like the giant obelisk from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Looks are pretty deceiving though and it won't actually be as big as you think.
While Microsoft hasn't given exact dimensions of the Xbox Series X, Venture Beat did some approximations using the Xbox One controller for scale. Their findings show the Xbox Series X is around 6 inches (152mm) deep, 12.75 inches (323mm) wide, and 6 inches (152mm) high when on its side. This is how most people will use it, safely tucked away onto a shelf below their TV.
Continue reading: Xbox Series X's mini-ITX chassis isn't gargantuan (full post)
The Outer Worlds story DLC confirmed for 2020
The best RPG of 2019 is about to get even better in 2020. One of the best (and disappointing) things about The Outer Worlds is that it's linear. It has a beginning, middle, and end that respects your time. But when you're finished there's not a lot you can do with the game except for replay it with smaller shifts in perspective. Obsidian wants to remedy that by launching official DLC for their hilarious space epic.
The Outer Worlds is getting story expansions next year, Obsidian just confirmed. "The journey isn't over yet as we are excited to announce that we will be expanding the story through DLC next year! Details will be made available at a later date," Obsidian social media manager Shyla announced.
There's so many places Obsidian could take us that it's not even funny, and hopefully these are nice-sized expansions with plenty of story content, irreverent comedy, and memorable characters.
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Final Fantasy 7 Remake has lots of pre-order exclusives
Square Enix just revealed the retailer-specific pre-order bonuses for Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and there's quite a few of them.
Final Fantasy 7 Remake has a handful of pre-order extras for Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and Gamestop to give gamers some extra tidbits. Walmart's pre-order bonus is the best, giving you a nice set of double-sided art cards. The Amazon pre-order bonuses might be good--it's a dynamic Sephiroth theme--but there's no preview so we're not sure how it'll look.
All pre-orders also get the Chocobo Chick summon for free regardless where you buy, and remember Final Fantasy 7 Remake is timed exclusive to PS4 for a year. That means it won't be coming to PC or Xbox One until March 2021.
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The Wolf Among Us 2 announced, first game is free on Epic Store
It's officially happening. The Wolf Among Us 2 is in development at the resurrected Telltale Games.
The Wolf Among Us 2 was re-announced last night at The Game Awards 2019, confirming work has resumed on the Fables comic sequel-prequel. The sequel was originally in development but the studio's closure in 2018 forestalled development.
Telltale Games and its IP was purchased by LCG Entertainment in 2019, who then revived the Telltale Games brand and formed Adhoc Studios, a team made up of original Telltale devs.
Continue reading: The Wolf Among Us 2 announced, first game is free on Epic Store (full post)
Xbox Series X naming scheme leaves door open for Lockhart
As promised, Microsoft's next-gen console come with a new naming scheme the sets the stage for the future of Xbox.
The new Xbox Series X console (formerly Project Scarlett) isn't just the name of a new system, but the name of a new generation. We can expect more Xbox systems to use the "Series" label as Microsoft blurs the lines between generations. More systems like, say, the rumored lower-end Lockhart console that's rumored to release alongside the Xbox SX in Holiday 2020.
Rumor has it Microsoft will release two next-gen consoles in 2020: Anaconda, the codename for the revealed Xbox SX that hits 4K 60FPS, and Lockhart, a disc-less system with lower specs that targets 1440p 60FPS. Microsoft has yet to confirm Lockhart's existence, but the new Series moniker strongly hints that it's possible.
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New Ghost of Tsushima footage is all about samurai slaughter
Sucker Punch shows off some impressively atmospheric footage for their samurai game Ghost of Tsushima.
The latest footage for Ghost of Tsushima is pretty intense. It highlights the main narrative of the ghost, a resurrected samurai warrior with one goal: bloody, rampant revenge. We see some lethal gameplay slaughter in the trailer, but sadly it's not all gameplay and there's some CG thrown in there. It mostly plays like a film with plenty of heavy lore, a somber tone, and powerful themes straight out of Akira Kurosawa's immortalized Seven Samurai film.
Even as Sony pivots towards next-gen with the PlayStation 5, its still investing heavily into PS4 games and Ghost of Tsushima looks damn good for a current-gen title. We didn't get an exact release date this time, though. Ghost of Tsushima is still listed as Summer 2020 and will be a PS4 game (Sony isn't ready to talk about PS5 upgrades of PS4 games, but expect this one to be included).
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Superman DID have a black suit in Zack Snyder's Justice League
Henry Cavill originally teased the black Superman suit for Justice League before director Zack Snyder left the movie when his daughter took her own life, in that time WB took over control and replaced Snyder with The Avengers director and changed the entire movie -- including the entire plot of the black Superman suit.
Back in July 2017, I wrote about the black Superman suit and said at the time: "Could he return with the black Superman suit that Henry Cavill teased on Instagram earlier this year? Superman could even rock a beard, which would be beyond awesome. A bearded, evil Superman?"
I continued, pondering: "That sounds like Superman being evil to me... so bearded Supes with a black suit? PLEASE, DC... but I have one request: bad Superman is beaten by Justice League, for the true Superman to arrive after. I want the true hero behind Superman to be in Justice League, but I'm totally down with a pissed off, and vengeful Kal-El".
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Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is now the best-selling fighting game in US
Right before The Game Awards kicked off, NPD decided to drop the sales for Nintendo's massive fighter, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
According to NPD, Super Smash Bros. UItimate has now officially dethroned 2008's Super Smash Bros. Brawl to become "the best-selling Fighting game in U.S. history." NPD has equated this new achievement of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the basis of lifetime dollar sales. Nintendo said back in November that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has sold a staggering 15.71 million copies and counting.
If you have been out of the loop for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate news, then I should catch you up with a big announcement. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate just received at The Game Awards the 'best-fighting game' award, more on that here. Nintendo also recently announced that they would be re-releasing their official Super Smash Bros. Nintendo GameCube Controller, more on that here.
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ASAP Rocky & Run the Jewels will have their music in Cyberpunk 2077
Tonight's Game Awards have been huge. With new announcements left, right, and center, it's tough to keep up with everything. But something I did manage to catch was Cyberpunk 2077's soundtrack and who will be included with it.
CD Projekt Red has taken to its official Cyberpunk YouTube Channel to release a video describing what kind of effort has gone into the music behind the title. From the video, we learn that rap duo Run The Jewels will be providing gamers "with the soundtrack to f*cking sh*t up!". We also learn that Refused, Grimes, and more artists will be thrown into the mix.
Big names such as ASAP Rocky will also be included in the game's soundtrack. Alongside other artists such as Gazelle Twin, Ilan Rubin, Richard Devine, Nina Kraviz, Deadly Hunta, Rat Boy, and Tina Guo. Marcin Przybylowicz, the music director for Cyberpunk 2077, says that these artists are just a glimpse at what is to come.
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First neutron star surface mapped, but astronomers are more confused
Astronomers have, for the first time, mapped the surface of an extremely dense collapsed star, we call neutron stars. The new way of looking at the star raises some questions that are puzzling astronomers.
Aboard the International Space Station, the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER for short examines X-rays that are emitted from space. NICER observes these astronomical objects called pulsars (neutron stars), and researchers used NICER to observe the J0030+0451, or J0030 for short. From these observations, researchers at the University of Amsterdam and the University of Maryland managed to map the pulsar's surface and measure its mass.
The team managed to measure the neutron star in at 1.3 and 1.4 times the mass of the Sun. Funnily enough, the neutron star is only about 16 miles wide, while our Sun, on the other hand, is 864,000 miles wide. Originally, astronomers believed that the neutron star had two hotspots -- one at the top its magnetic pole and one at its bottom. What the astronomers found when mapping J0030 is that it has two or perhaps even three hotspots that are all located in its southern hemisphere. Astronomers didn't expect these results, but they believe that NICER is on the way to explaining what is truly going on with neutron stars.
Continue reading: First neutron star surface mapped, but astronomers are more confused (full post)