Sony registers new patent for PS5 backwards compatibility

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 24, 2019 6:46 PM CST

At the start of the month I reported on a newly-surfaced patent that suggested Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 would be backwards compatible with PS1/PS2/PS3/PS4 games, and here we are again with a new patent that was filed yesterday and is registered to Sony Interactive Entertainment.

Sony registers new patent for PS5 backwards compatibility

PlayStation hardware architect Mark Cerny has his name attached to the patent as an inventor, and should be leading the PS5 charge. The new patent is titled "Simulation of legacy bus operation for backward compatibility" and was registered alongside the "CPUID impersonating method" that we reported on earlier this month.

With these patents, we can only guess that Sony will have backwards compatibility as a huge feature on the PlayStation 5. If the PS5 can 'emulate' previous-gen PlayStation consoles, it would open up playing thousands of PlayStation games from all generations. Not only that but the previous post I wrote on the PS5 backwards compatibility patents teased the SRGAN process that would see "remastering by emulation" that would upscale SH/HD games to 4K using AI technology.

Continue reading: Sony registers new patent for PS5 backwards compatibility (full post)

Halo Infinite: more RPG elements, arrives on next-gen Xbox

Anthony Garreffa | Gaming | Feb 24, 2019 5:49 PM CST

Microsoft is set to have one of, if not its biggest E3 ever this year where we should be introduced to a couple of next-gen Xbox consoles that will be released in 2020. We won't just find ourselves drooling over next-gen Xbox consoles, but also next-gen games that will launch alongside the beefed up consoles.

Halo Infinite: more RPG elements, arrives on next-gen Xbox

One of these games should be the new Halo Infinite, which will roll out with a brand new engine and according to Brad Sams, will have "more RPG elements than prior versions of the series". The last news we heard about Halo Infinite was that it would be a launch title for the next generation Xbox, and this is something we should expect to be unveiled and announced during E3 2019 in June.

Sams added: "Plans around the event are still coming together but the company is starting to lock-down the announcements for the keynote. Seeing as the event is still about four months away, the company could change plans and alter their keynote but for now, expect to hear more about the plans for Scarlett family of devices at E3 2019".

Continue reading: Halo Infinite: more RPG elements, arrives on next-gen Xbox (full post)

Fallout 3 remaster teased by Amazon listing?

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 23, 2019 5:18 PM CST

Bethesda could be planning a Fallout 3 remaster for current-gen consoles similar to Skyrim: Special Edition, complete with mod support and Creation Club integration.

Fallout 3 remaster teased by Amazon listing?

Bethesda just listed a new mystery game on Amazon. Of course the listing has no actual information other than Bethesda's name (the ASIN didn't reveal much either), but there's a teaser trailer that looks very familiar. The footage is just like the classic film countdown reels from the Fallout franchise--all that's missing is those booming violins.

It could be something else though. Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media recently filed a trademark for a game called Deathloop, which we guessed was either a horror game or maybe a kind of weird roguelike where players get as far as they can before dying. ZeniMax is also making a brand new MMORPG set in an original IP, and maybe the new listing has something to do with it.

Continue reading: Fallout 3 remaster teased by Amazon listing? (full post)

Fallout 76 gets three free expansions in 2019

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 23, 2019 3:12 PM CST

Fallout 76 may not be the game it should (or could) be just yet, but it's come a long way since launch. The game's journey is far from over and Bethesda plans to roll out a ton of new content throughout this year.

Fallout 76 gets three free expansions in 2019

The online-only disaster that was Fallout 76 at launch has morphed into something that more resembles a competent service game (which it totally wasn't at launch). There's still a lot of hiccups, and Bethesda has a lot more work to do, but things are moving along. The studio isn't giving up on their multiplayer Fallout game.

Today Bethesda announced a big roadmap for their experimental online game that sees considerable expansions planned for 2019. Fallout 76 is set to get three major content updates called Wild Appalachia, Nuclear Winter, and Wastelanders, each of which brings new things like modes, quests, loot and features. These expansions will be totally free, and will release across Spring, Summer, and Fall.

Continue reading: Fallout 76 gets three free expansions in 2019 (full post)

EA CEO pay is 371 times higher than average worker's salary

Derek Strickland | Gaming | Feb 23, 2019 11:40 AM CST

EA CEO Andrew Wilson makes a lot of money. We're talking tens of millions of dollars every year, or hundreds of times more than its 9,300 employees make. As developers toil over projects and pay a very real human cost, publisher CEOs are raking in tons of cash.

EA CEO pay is 371 times higher than average worker's salary

According to a new report from financial firm As You Sow that outlines the Top Most Overpaid CEOs of 2019, video game CEOs like Bobby Kotick (Activision) and Andrew Wilson (EA) are making a killing as their respective companies slay jobs and restructure business models.

Electronic Arts' Andrew Wilson is among the highest-paid CEOs on the list, let alone in the games industry. In the same year EA talked about carefully weighing their investments, restructuring their business, and cancelled Star Wars games, Wilson earned $35.7 million or about 371 times more than the average Electronic Arts employee. About 97% of EA's shareholders agreed with this payout, which is calculated as an excess of over $19 million.

Continue reading: EA CEO pay is 371 times higher than average worker's salary (full post)

NVIDIA GeForce 419.17 drivers out, support for GTX 1660 Ti

Anthony Garreffa | Video Cards & GPUs | Feb 22, 2019 9:56 PM CST

NVIDIA unleashed its new price/performance monster today with the new GeForce GTX 1660 Ti (our review here) and now we have some drivers that will support it with the new GeForce Game Ready 419.71 drivers released.

NVIDIA GeForce 419.17 drivers out, support for GTX 1660 Ti

The new drivers include the best support for Anthem, support for the newly released GeForce GTX 1660 Ti, a bunch of the usual fixes but a surprise that I didn't expect - SLI support for Apex Legends and Far Cry New Dawn. There are some fixes built into the new drivers, even for games that aren't released yet funnily enough with DOOM Eternal seeing decals rendered as black fixed.

If you've got GeForce Experience installed you'll be able to grab the new drivers if you didn't have them automatically downloaded, but if not you can find them here.

Continue reading: NVIDIA GeForce 419.17 drivers out, support for GTX 1660 Ti (full post)

Scooby-Doo's 'Shaggy' added to JUMP FORCE roster by modder

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 22, 2019 4:00 AM CST

A modder has brought to life the one and only 'Shaggy' in Bandai Namco's JUMP FORCE through a brand new mod. The hungry mystery solving icon goes head-to-head against the amine universes strongest.

Scooby-Doo's 'Shaggy' added to JUMP FORCE roster by modder

The release of Bandai Namco's JUMP FORCE has hit the fighting game community with some questionable poise. Some players claiming the title is barely finished and needs considerable work, others just enjoy the simplicity of having anime characters from different series' beating each-other up. I suppose it really comes down to the saying of 'different strokes for different folks'. I think what most members of the fighting game community can agree upon is the inclusion of Scooby-Doo's 'Shaggy' in any fighting game. We simply just don't care, we want a playable Shaggy and we want to be able to kick butt with him as well, now that is possible.

Above you will find a video from BeatzYT3 who has modded Shaggy into JUMP FORCE, taking the moveset of Vegeta and even keeping his gloves. BeatzYT3 has done an absolutely fantastic job with the character animation for Shaggy and even adding some voice lines for players to enjoy. What can be pointed out is that Shaggy's has zero facial expressions while beating up his opponent, this is due to BeatzYT3 not knowing this part of the modding process but I'm sure will be updated as more of the process if figured out. It should be noted that PC owners of JUMP FORCE will be the only owners able to play this mod since it has be downloaded and installed into the games file directory.

Continue reading: Scooby-Doo's 'Shaggy' added to JUMP FORCE roster by modder (full post)

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 'Joker' stage title 'Mementos'

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 22, 2019 3:00 AM CST

We know that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's first fighter that is apart of the 'Fighter Pass' will be arriving with a unique stage to complement the fighter, but what would the stage be called for Joker? Mementos?

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 'Joker' stage title 'Mementos'

All Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players are keen to see Persona 5's 'Joker', the first fighter in Nintendo's 'Fighter Pass' coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. While we are still a few months out from the release of 'Joker', data miners have not wasted time in diving into Smash's updated system files to try and find a piece of information regarding the coming fighter. Dr.HyperCake is one of these data miners, and he claims to have come across Joker's stage name that is planned to be arriving with the fighter.

According to Dr.HyperCake, "Digging through LVD files in Ultimate, and I found "Jack_Menentoes_" lying around amongst the strings. The format of this string matches stage name strings in ui_stage_db ("[Series]_[Stage]"), and Joker's internal name is "jack". Mementos stage confirmed?" Dr.HyperCake is claiming that the file "Jack Mememtos" is the title of the DLC stage coming. This would make sense considering that there is a stage within Joker's Persona 5 called 'mementos'. Nintendo confirmed that 'Joker' would be arriving to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate owners who picked up the 'Fighters Pass' "before the end of April".

Continue reading: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate 'Joker' stage title 'Mementos' (full post)

Guild Wars 2 developers prep for lay-offs and restructuring

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 22, 2019 2:00 AM CST

Putting it lightly would be saying that ArenaNet and more specifically the player-base around Guild Wars 2 was struggling. Now the company is preparing for job layoffs and company restructuring.

Guild Wars 2 developers prep for lay-offs and restructuring

I'll first start off by saying that Guild Wars 2 was an absolutely incredible game when I was playing, being an avid MMO fan and having a considerable amount of experience in different types of MMO's, I can honestly say that game hit almost every single category of 'fun' and 'rewarding' for me. Except one. End game content. The topic of Guild War 2's end-game content being allegedly 'lackluster' is purely a subjective interpretation of the game. For me personally I didn't feel as there was enough reward for me to keep playing, it felt repetitive and resulted in me being bored with the experience despite its amazing qualities.

I have seen this very same point argued for the soul reason of Guild War 2's downfall player-base wise, and ultimately the slow downfall of ArenaNet which we are seeing now. According to Kotaku, Songyee Yoon, the CEO publisher NCSoft who owns ArenaNet sent out an email to employee's of ArenaNet. It read; "Our live game business revenue is declining as our franchises age, delays in development on PC and mobile have created further drains against our revenue projects, while our operating costs in the west have increased. Where we are is not sustainable, and is not going to set us up for future success."

Continue reading: Guild Wars 2 developers prep for lay-offs and restructuring (full post)

Nintendo Switch could feature Xbox Games Pass by end of 2019

Jak Connor | Gaming | Feb 22, 2019 1:00 AM CST

We are starting to see quite a potentially valuable relationship form between two leading gaming companies in their respective fields, Nintendo and Microsoft. But what if Microsoft brought their games to the world of portability?

Nintendo Switch could feature Xbox Games Pass by end of 2019

Rumors have been flying around suggesting that Nintendo are Microsoft are currently planning on bringing the quite popular Xbox Games Pass to the Nintendo Switch. While there isn't any solidifying evidence to go off of, we do have many "inside sources" saying that there is strong on-going discussion about the matter currently being conducted. With titles such as Microsoft's Minecraft and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice coming to, or already arrived on the Nintendo Switch, many people have said that Microsoft are gearing up to bring their Xbox Games Pass to the portable console in the form of cloud service.

Some of these people making these claims are Direct-Feed Games, the above video mentions the fact that Microsoft have been very vocal about their ambition to bring the Xbox Games Pass to as many platforms. There is no doubt that the Nintendo Switch would be a perfect candidate for this, but how would they do it? Direct-Feed Games says that Microsoft will bring Games Pass to the Switch via a downloadable app that will allow support for Project Xcloud. The app would act as a conduit to both the Xbox Games Pass and the future Project Xcloud. Project Xcloud will allow for games to be streamed from the Xbox cloud to the Switch seamlessly. This type of game streaming has already been done for Switch titles such as; Resident Evil 7: Biohazard and Assassin's Creed Odyssey.

Continue reading: Nintendo Switch could feature Xbox Games Pass by end of 2019 (full post)