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Some new information has come forward regarding how long it is going to take Smash Ultimate players to progress through unlocking the games roster. We should now expect it to not take us very long at all, in fact the unlocks will be quite rapid.

According to Nintendo Life, a "Nintendo Spokesperson" has given some details regarding how fast players will be unlocking each of the fighters throughout Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's adventure mode. Nintendo Life explains that they have spoke to a Nintendo representative during their hands-on experience with the game and the representative said that players should expects unlocks to be rapid and fast.

I'm quite undecided whether I like the idea of the unlocking of each of the characters to be fast experience or a slow one. I personally first subscribed to the idea of there being much more of a challenge that would extend the period of time played in adventure mode, but then again I also think that this isn't what Nintendo have intended for though. As I also believe they want players to be spending a lot of time in their time in Spirits Mode instead.

Amazon's coming The Lord of The Rings TV show has had a composer reach out to them after gaining support from his audience to whether he should pursue working on the goliath of a series.

If you aren't that big into soundtracks then you probably have never heard the name Jeremy Soule, but if you have played Bethesda's award-winning title Skyrim and some other pretty popular gaming titles then you have heard his incredible work. Soule has composed the soundtracks for the following games; Guild Wars, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, five Harry Potter video games and Skyrim.

Soule took to Twitter to ask his fan base whether pursuing the idea of taking the composing helm of Amazon's The Lord of The Rings TV show was a good idea or not, he was quite surprised with the overwhelmingly positive response. Soule also does not forget to recognize Peter Jackson's composer, Howard Shore. Shore composed the entire Lord of The Rings Trilogy as well as The Hobbit movies. Soule sends praise to Shore's efforts with both series' of movies, saying "Howard did an iconic score. Truly one of the best of all time."

One of the first stories I wrote about Star Citizen dates back to November 2012 when the game had reached a then-record $6.4 million in funding, with $2.1 million coming from Kickstarter and the remaining being raised by Roberts Space Industries.

Star Citizen has now officially crossed the $200 million milestone for total crowdfunding, an achievement thanks to the 2.1 million backers who put money into the ambitious project. With 2.1 million backers, we have an average of $94 or so per backer towards that huge $200 million milestone. RSI is also throwing its hands up in celebration of the $200m milestone with a new "Free Fly" event to celebrate Star Citizen's first explorable planet, Hurston, being made available.

We have said since June this year that AMD worked with Sony on the next-gen Navi GPU architecture for the upcoming PlayStation 5 console, where we expect an 8C/16T processor based on the Ryzen CPUs to be included. But now there's a fresh rumor coming out about the PS5, its price, hardware inside, and launch frame.

RuthenticCookie on Reddit said that the PS5 is a beast capable of "4K/60 stable and at the same time kinda monster" and lines up with what I expect, and what I said in my report on Sony working directly with RTG engineers on the Navi GPU for the PlayStation 5. In my article, I said: "Sony needs the next-gen PS5 to truly drive 4K 60FPS if it's going to be released in 2020-2022 where 4K will be greatly established at the time. The next generation of consoles need to offer 4K 60FPS at a minimum if they want to keep up with mid-range GPUs in 2020-2027 (given that the PS5 is released in 2020, and lasts for 5-7 years)".

The big tease with the PS5 is that it will reportedly be $500 at launch and have some truly gigantic launch games for Sony with Death Stranding, The Last of Us Part II, and Ghost of Tsushima. Another tid bit is that PlayStation VR 2 will be launching with a built-in camera, and next-gen PlayStation Move controllers are in development alongside virtual reality gloves. If this is all true, and I suspect Sony are working on most of this right now as the next-gen consoles do truly have to be a gigantic leap, we are in for the largest hype train in console and gaming history.

Apple has finally released its beefed-up 15-inch MacBook Pro laptop, which rocks a power hungry and hot Intel Core i9 processor and AMD Radeon Pro Vega graphics in the form of Vega 16 and Vega 20.

The new MBP can be optioned with GPUs that will be joined by the Intel UHD Graphics 630 on the CPU, with AMD Radeon Pro Vega 16 and Vega 20 graphics options both packing 4GB of HBM2. AMD explains the Vega 16 and Vega 20 options for the new MacBook Pro as "Vega next-generation compute units" with 16 or 20 compute units respectively.

AMD is touting a rather large 60% increase in performance over the current-gen Radeon Pro 560X in the current MacBook Pro, so we can expect a truly huge leap in graphics performance - but only 60% over the Radeon Pro 560X with a new HBM2-powered Radeon Pro Vega offering? Hmm. Anyway, the upgrade from the Radeon Pro 560X to the Radeon Pro Vega 16 is $250, while the Radeon Pro Vega 20 adds another $350 onto the MBP, which is already ridiculously expensive.

NVIDIA lost a gigantic $23 billion in market cap in a single 24-hour period on Friday, with NVIDIA stock peaking on October 1 at $289.36 and at the time of writing was down to a much weaker $144.70.

Why? Well, there are many reasons - with some claiming it was the cryptocurrency mining bubble popping, but it seems the various issues with the newly launched Turing-based GeForce RTX series being center focus for NVIDIA right now. NVIDIA stock dropped heavily after the company posted their Q3 2018 earnings report which saw the company missing revenue estimates.

NVIDIA shares reached a 52-week low a couple of days ago when they hit $161.61 but the continued spiral down to $144.70 is worrying, with this now being the worst 24-hour percentage drop in 10 years. The last time this happened was back in July 2008 when NVIDIA shares dropped 30% over disappointing sales forecasts. Jensen Huang, CEO and founder of NVIDIA told MarketWatch in an interview on Thursday afternoon that this was all over a "crypto hangover", where Huang explained: "The crypto hangover lasted longer than we expected and we were surprised by that, but it will pass".

Years ago the marketing slogan for Intel was 'Intel Inside' but Intel aren't inside of as many products as AMD these days, with Team Red inside of all variants of the Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and interesting devices like the upcoming SMACH Z.

SMACH Z is a new handheld PC device that is powered by AMD Ryzen Embedded and features Radeon Vega 8 graphics, with the SMACH Z team announcing that they will be launching their new product in Q1 2019. The SMACH Z team explained: "The SMACH Z team confirms that providers are already working on components production and delivery. Mass production of SMACH Z, the device that promises to revolutionize the world of PC gaming, is scheduled for Q1 of 2019. After two years of development, the device is ready to go to market with a 6-inch high-definition touchscreen and hardware based on AMD Ryzen Embedded and AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics".

What will the SMACH Z be powered with exactly? Well, there are there different variants to choose from: SMACH Z, SMACH Z PRO, and SMACH Z ULTRA. Each of these models feature varying specs, with the SMACH Z including 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and NO camera while the other models bump up the RAM and storage with each tier, and both include a camera.

Microsoft's new studio acquisitions are a combination of AA and AAA studios, and this distinction could be a major break from the company's gaming business model.

When Microsoft bought studios like Ninja Theory, Obsidian, and inXile, I immediately thought: "how long until microtransactions are pushed?" After all, Microsoft's gaming business is built around engaging a digital playerbase. The company's Xbox LIVE and Game Pass services and subscriptions are lucrative and its first-party games have been infused with live service monetization in some form (microtransactions usually). The game plan is ultimately about keeping players funneled and active into the online ecosystem simply because once they're in, they're more likely to spend and keep spending on content, whether it be games, DLC/microtransactions, or subs.

So any time Microsoft acquires a games-maker I'm always reminded of how it makes its money. This is true for any live service-pushing publisher; Take-Two, EA, Ubisoft, Activision...any time we see acquisitions it's important to remember what models are used. Now it appears the Xbox studios head has made a clear distinction between AA and AAA, which implies that only the latter big-budget projects will be monetized with mTX.

Fallout 76's big new patch drastically improves FPS performance on higher-end PCs.

While Bethesda didn't explicitly confirm it in patch notes, gamers are reporting speedier frame rates in irradiated Appalachia after the update. "Several issues have been addressed to resolve hitches during gameplay and other performance issues," is practically the only clue Bethesda gave.

The patch has dished out a number of performance and stability tweaks to break Fallout 76's previous 63FPS hard-lock on PC, and exceeding 60Hz no longer leads to janky slowdowns in combat or environments.

Fallout 76's new update is quite huge on PS4 and PC, but it won't stack on existing data.

Bethesda just released a big new Fallout 76 patch on all platforms that clocks in at 47GB on PS4, over 48GB on Xbox One, and a smaller 15GB on PC (although you need at least 49.5GB available). While this is frustrating for your monthly data cap, your hard drive won't be obliterated.

Eurogamer reports that the update will overwrite existing data rather than add to it (after the patch FO76's PS4 install sat at 52.23GB). So you won't have ~100GB of Fallout 76 assets crammed into your storage device.

Valve's first (and arguably best) game redefined the FPS world 20 years ago today.

Not enough can be said about Half-Life and its lasting legacy on the games industry. When I first played it in 1998, Half-Life was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. It had action, it had this macabre and weird horror aspect to it, it even had humor (the scientists still crack me up today). But most importantly, it was different and unique, it was experimental and created an interesting universe that we've all been re-visiting for two decades.

Today Half-Life celebrates its 20th birthday, and two of my closest friends and I still play it even now. With high-fidelity FPS games like Call of Duty, Halo and Battlefield, we still choose to jump into those old endearing graphics to blast up some enemies with a popular Half-Life mod. Sven Co-op has breathed new life into an old game and allowed a kind of multiplayer experience I had always dreamed of back in the day, and everyone should log in for a match or two with some buds to celebrate this monumentous occasion.

Given the chance, original Deus Ex director Warren Spector would herald the triumphant return of the cyber-sleuth series.

The original Deus Ex game is regarded as one of the best PC games of all time. It featured dark story elements with engaging action and ultimately propelled Ion Storm and Warren Spector to gaming fame. But after Ion Storm was closed and Deus Ex changed hands to Eidos Interactive, the series changed over time and morphed into something that, while tapping the original's overall dystopian themes, diverted in key ways. With Invisible War's successor Human Revolution, many gamers wanted something more tuned to the first Deus Ex...and Warren Spector says he's willing to help make it happen.

"I'd make another game in a heartbeat. I love that world. I love gameplay, [but] don't hold your breath," Spector told VG247.

Fallout 76 hasn't been out a week yet and players are already finding ways to overload the servers.

Just a bit ago we found out Bethesda wasn't lying about nuclear missile launches in Fallout 76. Blasting a nuke will result in monstrous bosses like a level 95 winged scorcedbeast and mutate the spot around it, creating a kind of haven for higher-level enemies and loot. But what happens when you launch not one, not two, but three nukes at the same time and have them hit the same zone? Apparently the game crashes.

It appears enacting nuclear holocaust has an undesirable affect on Fallout 76's server sessions--and as we all know, online-only games can't be played when the servers are offline. So when six Fallout 76 players (Ancker, Blicher, Pure_Savagery, SamMonahan, Polaflex and Nickaroo93) fired off three nuclear warheads at Fissure Site Prime on the Eastern end of the map, the game essentially couldn't handle the insanity. Everyone got disconnected and their curiosity wasn't satiated the way they'd expected.

We recently saw the release of the Spyro Reignited Trilogy and despite the massive graphical improvements and overall upgraded awesomeness of the game, there is just one slight problem that could be fixed. Subtitles.

The Spyro Reignited Trilogy arrived in the hot hands of players with remastered visuals, remastered audio and the option to be able to use the original soundtrack from the old games, new physics, visuals and the ability to be able to play in multiple languages. One of the things that are lack-luster from the game is the absence of subtitles in the newly pre-rendered cut-scenes.

This is truly quite unfortunate, as many players of Spyro Trilogy may be children that are required to play their game in the living room that may come with additional noise. Having subtitles allows for players to follow along with the story regardless of outside noises or distractions. Rob Pitt from GamePitt reached out to Activision regarding the lack of subtitles, here is what they had to say "While there's no industry standard for subtitles, the studio and Activision care about the fans' experience especially with respect to accessibility for people with different abilities, and will evaluate going forward."

Jump Force will be getting some brand new additions according to the lastest release of V-Jump, introducing to the game Piccolo, Cell, Kenshin and Shishio.

From the above image which has been taken from the lastest release of Japanese magazine V-Jump, we can spot Piccolo standing behind Vegeta in his iconic heavy armor set. Next to Vegeta on his opposite side we can see Cell in his 'perfect' form towering over Freiza. The other image located in the entirety of this post showcases in large Kenshin and Shisio, from the Rurouni Kenshin manga series.

Just last week we saw the additions of Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan Goku/Vegeta as well as Golden Freiza, check that story out here if you happened to miss it. We will be sure to get more trailers as well as more character announcements ahead of Jump Force's release, which is planned for February 19th, 2019. Jump Force will be arriving on the PC, Xbox One and PS4. For more information about Jump Force, visit the official website here.

A new rumor has gained some traction in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate community, as little surprising as that is, this rumor addresses the games post-launch content.

The rumor originates from Twitter account LeakyPandy, who claims that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will have quite a lot of content in the pipeline for after its launch on December 7th. The LeakyPandy Twitter account claims to be a "Group devoted to Gaming & Entertainment Industry News & Rumors" and their Twitter post regarding post-launch Smash content says "SSBU post launch content is not limited to balance and the Fighter Pass" and "The game will apparently get updated with new spirits and modes for free for everyone."

Of course this just being a Twitter post with absolutely no legitimate proof whatsoever, do take it with a very large grain of salt just like all rumors. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is planned for launch of December 7th and will be coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch. If you want to pick up Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and are wondering what you are going to need to get the 'Ultimate' experience, everything you need to know can be found here.

A new trailer released onto the SMITE YouTube Channel has cleared up the release date confusion for the Nintendo Switch version that is making its way to the hand-held console.

A couple days ago it was rumored that SMITE would be arriving on the Nintendo Switch on November 16th. Unfortunately these rumors did not make their way to becoming true, but on November 16th the above Nintendo Switch SMITE trailer was released clearing up the official early access release date.

According to the trailer we can expect SMITE to be arriving on the hybrid console on January 24th of 2019. At the moment, the Founders Pack is available for pre-order on the Nintendo eShop, a link to that can be found here. It should also be noted that SMITE for the Switch will be coming with cross-play as well as cross-progression through all platforms. For more information, visit the official SMITE website here.

Just three weeks out from the launch of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Amazon has completely run out of stock for the title, players that wanted to pre-order may have lost the opportunity to do so.

We are not very far away at all from the epic release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and for players that haven't already pre-ordered the title may not be able to until it is re-stocked. Looking towards the Amazon listing for both the stand-alone game and also the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Special Edition, we can see that they are both "currently unavailable" until further notice.

The fact that the stand-alone game as well as the special edition are both out of stock gives us a great indicator to how well Smash Ultimate will be selling once it is released. This is no doubt the most hyped Smash Bros. title since the franchises' beginning and with Amazon running out of stock three weeks before the games official launch we should expect Nintendo will be moving quite a lot of units within its first week. I will be sure to update you with a follow-up article if Amazon re-stocks between now and the games launch. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will launch on December 7th exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

Blizzard North's early 2003 build of Diablo III could've led to a very different game.

Following the mass-market casualization of Diablo for mobile phones, I thought it pertinent to take a look back at the days when the series was that grim and bloody ARPG that defined a generation. The kinds of things Diablo fans expect and actually get are often quite different (Diablo Immortal, cough cough) and this back-and-forth goes as far back as Diablo III.

Diablo III is a great game...now. But when it launched in 2012 it alienated a lot of core fans. The bright colors and visuals were a big departure from the dark, grisly and macabre style of Diablos I and II. The mechanics hadn't changed much, but the core multiplayer was dramatically skimped--down from 8 players in DII to just 4 players--and there was no trading. The Real Money Auction House plagued gamers and created one of the most frustrating experiences I've ever had while gaming. But all of these things weren't originally in Diablo III; it once resembled its forebears quite closely.

Square Enix announces Shadowbringers, the new major expansion coming to Final Fantasy XIV.

Final Fantasy XIV has enjoyed long-running success thanks to its strong content rollouts and the team's incredible dedication to quality, and in 2019 the popular MMORPG is getting even bigger with a new expansion. Shadowbringers will offer a wealth of new content like a new playable race, new jobs, boosted level caps, and new crafting/battling/and gathering updates. We'll also see lots of tweaks across the board to keep gameplay mechanics fresh and unique.

As the name implies, Shadowbringers is a dark expansion. Players will actually become Warriors of Darkness this time around (quite interesting) and take on "threats to the world." Exact details are light and Square Enix won't reveal new info until Spring 2019 during the Paris- and Tokyo-based festivals. These events will be streamed on the FFXIV Twitch channel.