Gaming - Page 520

Halo Infinite's free-to-play multiplayer won't include a battle royale component, 343i's community director reiterates.

Battle royale still isn't in the cards for the Halo universe, even if it makes sense to offer the mode. Rumors of a Halo mass free-for-all component have re-circulated on the internet and now 343i community director Brian Jarrard has squashed them (again). "Nothing gets a post-holiday Monday going like fresh unfounded Halo Infinite rumors," Jarrard said on Twitter, but didn't elaborate further. Jarrard also notes the big lapse between news and says a new Infinite update is on the way.

"Btw yes I'm aware we could help solve this with real news. We certainly have some things we're overdue on and eager to talk more about. We're in the process of pulling together a year-end update."

It's only taken 3 years, but the Switch can now transfer your captured screenshots and video to other devices like PCs, laptops, and mobile phones.

The new Nintendo Switch firmware 11.0.0 patch adds some nifty new features to the handheld console. Users can now transfer video and images to desktops and laptops via USB--a feature I've been wanting since the console launched in 2017. Sadly there's still no way to back up your saves via USB. Nintendo Switch Online is the sole way to back up data.

You can even hook up the Switch to your phone using Wi-Fi Direct and transfer files that way. I've been able to transfer batches of multiple screenshots and video, but be sure to keep your Switch active or else you'll lose the connection. The Wi-Fi connection is lost when the system enters sleep mode.

The PS5's new activities section is a major innovation for console gaming. New internal documents obtained by Vice explains Sony's main motivations behind this quick access and why it was implemented.

The PS5 is built around a few fundamental principles: Access, compatibility, and power. Access is tapped via the12-channel PCIe 4.0 SSD capable of blasting data at 5.5GB/sec, but raw speed isn't everything. Sony is using this powerful storage tech to innovate access points with a transformative new PS5 feature called activities.

Activities change how you play a game by giving you quick access. Think of it as fast travel, only for objectives. Pressing the PS button in Spider-Man Miles Morales summons a menu of quick-launch missions. Clicking a card instantly transports you to the location corresponding to the mission. It's a means of instant access that respects players' time while getting them right into the action.

Turns out that not all PlayStation 5 fans are created equal, and there's already multiple console fan variants out in the wild.

Sony has invested tremendously into the PS5's cooling solution. The copper-aluminum vapor-chamber heat sink, the liquid metal cooling paste, and the huge 120mm dual-sided intake fan create a quiet and cool console when under load. But there's slight variations to this cooling solution--namely with the fan blades.

French website Les Numeriques has uncovered two different fans used in Sony's next-gen PS5. The fans both have different designs and noise levels.

The reports were true: Doom Eternal will be a digital-only game on the Switch, but Battlemode is still in.

Today Bethesda confirmed Doom Eternal will launch on Switch on December 8, right in time to raze hell before Christmas. The port won't come a physical cart, though, and is 100% digital-only on the eShop (or via download codes from third-party stores). This is why retailers like GameStop started cancelling pre-orders for Doom Eternal's physical Switch edition. Thankfully the game won't be too big and clocks in at 18GB.

Doom Eternal also sports gyroscopic tracking/aiming on Switch and Switch Lite consoles, which should add a new dimension of chaos to the shooter. We don't know the finalized performance targets for Doom Eternal on Switch, but id previously said it would hit 30FPS on the handheld.

The PS5 is now the best-selling launch console of all time in the UK, sources tell Video Game Chronicle.

While Sony hasn't delivered exact PS5 sales figures just yet, they did confirm the system had the biggest launch in PlayStation history, implying 2 million+ global sales. On a more regional basis, independent publishing sources tell VGC the PS5 has completely destroyed the PS4's 250,000 launch sales in the UK. This includes both pre-orders and sales made during the launch period.

The $499 disc-based PS5 model was favored by more UK consumers than the cheaper, but less readily available, PS5 Digital Edition. Sony may share PS5 sales data soon but we do know they plan to sell over 7.6 million PS5 consoles by March 2021. How many units that actually sell depends totally on the stock, and earlier reports suggested Sony could have as many as 8.25 million units available by early 2021.

Microsoft is making it even easier for you to queue up your gaming sessions with the latest Xbox update.

First Microsoft let you pre-load games that you don't even own. Now a new update for Xbox One, Xbox Series S/X, and the Game Pass app lets you pre-install Game Pass titles that aren't yet live on the service.

All you have to do is download the Game Pass app, select the Console or PC section, and then scroll down to the Coming Soon section. These games can be pre-loaded onto your system but you can't actually play until access is granted. Microsoft says not every game will support the feature, though.

Greedfall is getting enhanced and re-released on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S next-gen consoles, the developer today revealed.

Spiders' latest RPG Greedfall is coming to next-gen consoles as a separate re-release, and Focus Home Interactive will reprise its role as publisher. The devs are also making a brand new expansion for Greedfall, but exact details are light. The press release didn't mention any exact performance targets (e.g. 4K 60FPS) or whether or not existing PS4 and Xbox One owners would get a free upgrade to the next-gen version.

Right now info is slim and we know just two things: A next-gen version is coming, and a new story DLC is dropping. Specifics on expansion storylines, cost, etc. haven't been revealed.

Bungie has been busy planning out its future...but those ideas go beyond just games.

Bungie has been working on new projects since before it split with Activision in 2018. The games-maker has aspirations that go above new titles, though; the developer wants to also publish its own games (and possibly games from other studios). With these big plans in place, Bungie's future seems bright even without the might of Activision's billions.

In a recent interview with Metro UK, Bungie's Pete Parsons confirms that early plans started to coalesce as far back as 2017. These plans include new games that're in incubation phases, or pre-development stages, and Parsons says they're pretty exciting.

The reports were true: Fortnite is getting a $12 a month subscription plan for players who are serious about the game.

The new $12 per month subscription plan is called Fortnite Crew, and it's basically a bundle that combines cosmetics and season passes together. Some of these skins are 100% exclusive to subscribers though, which adds another layer of attraction to Crew (this will help offset Epic's disrupted iOS earnings from the Apple legal battle).

Fortnite Crew goes live with Chapter 2 Season 5, and subscribers get the following:

Four gens of Xbox not enough? The Series X and Series S consoles can actually run old-school retro emulators. Here's a quick primer on how to do it.

Using the $20 Dev Mode app, anyone can run the Xbox One XDK on the Xbox Series S and Series X consoles and load up UWP applications. This method can be used to transform your fancy new next-gen console into an arcade powerhouse that runs NES, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, and even PSP titles (and practically everything in between).

Modern Vintage Gamer has put together an excellent step-by-step walkthrough explaining how to run Retroarch on the SeriesX/S. The emulation isn't perfect, but it does work, and you'll be able to try out tons of ROMs on the machine.

Scalpers are coming together to sell their PS5s in a high-price marketplace, and they actually have more inventory that retailers.

The PS5 is sold out everywhere. Even if a store gets more inventory online or on the shelves, the consoles get snapped up almost immediately. It's a story immemorial that comes with any console launch (especially Nintendo systems), but the stakes are even higher now that everyone wants to stay at home because of COVID-19.

With scarcity comes big markups from scalpers. It's unavoidable especially with something as hot as a PS5. Everyone wants one, but who actually gets one comes down to luck and money. One UK group, CrepChiefNotify, has amassed roughly 3,500 PS5 consoles to resell to consumers.

Square Enix recently confirmed a big Final Fantasy XIV Announcement Showcase event scheduled for February. What could it be?

In February 2021, Square Enix plans to reveal "cool new things" for Final Fantasy XIV. It looks like the team could be setting the stage for another major expansion reveal. The latest expansion, Shadowbringers, was just wrapped up in the latest Reflections in Crystal (patch 5.3) update, and Square Enix confirmed a new expac was in development as far back as 2019.

We should expect other tidbits at the event like PS5 enhancements (the game is already playable via backward compatibility with full mouse and keyboard support, just like PS4) and probably a few cosmetics, quest tweaks, and QoL improvements.

Remember that epic old-school PS logo? One gamer applies a quick color change to his PS5 to channel those 1990s vibes.

Lots of gamers are customizing their PS5s. First we saw a snazzy all-black PS5, then an amazing (or spectacular) Spider-Man Miles Morales PS5. Now Twitter user Game Reaper 187 has put a small touch of color to the PS5's logo to bring back retro memories.

The stylized design is something that all PS1 owners will recognize--the colorful PS combo has adorned many CRTs back in the day. Could Sony release something like this in the future? Let's hope so. The PS5's detachable face plates make it a perfect system for customization, and Sony could simply sell plates instead of re-releasing whole console SKUs.

Cyberpunk 2077 game saves can be imported and exported to and from current-gen and next-gen consoles.

Cyberpunk 2077 will be playable on two generations: PS4/Xbox One and PS5/Xbox Series X. Like most cross-gen games, Cyberpunk 2077 will let players seamlessly transfer their save data to newer console platforms. Remember Cyberpunk 2077's next-gen optimizations won't arrive until 2021, so for now you'll be playing the base current-gen version on next-gen consoles via backwards compatibility.

The cross-gen save transition is pretty straightforward. On Xbox One/Series X, you just sign in and your data is automatically synced and downloaded via the cloud. There's no manual transfers needed unless you're offline, and even then you can directly connect your old console to the Series X and transfer that way.

The PlayStation 5's DualSense controller comes with a built-in mic that's on by default, and it records what you say to help Sony "analyze" key data points. Here's how to change those settings, and what they mean.

Gamers are a bit concerned about privacy on the PS5. It was recently confirmed the DualSense's mic auto-records anything you say when unlocking an in-game trophy. This is just the tip of the iceberg, really.

The console will collect data based on what you do, watch, and play, and if your controller's mic is on, based on what you say.

Sonic the Hedgehog helped SEGA make an everlasting mark on console gaming. The Blue Blur is still contributing to this day, and has pushed some seriously big numbers.

According to the latest figures from SEGA, the Sonic franchise has sold a total of 800 million units worldwide. This is a big number that's over 2x Grand Theft Auto's lifetime sales. So what gives? Did Sonic games really sell that much? Yes and no.

The term "sales" is a bit misleading. The 800 million figure actually includes games, toys, pachinko/pachislot machines, and F2P game downloads. Actual Sonic The Hedgehog game sales sit at about 80 million+ (around 78 million as of 2015, not including digital re-releases, and only includes platforms up to Xbox 360). The bulk of this figure is likely made up by F2P game downloads. F2P games technically aren't really sales but can generate revenue nonetheless.

While the PS5 doesn't have an accessible browser app that lets you surf the web, you can still access web pages with a nifty trick.

The PS5 does have a web browser, but it's closed off. Push Square has now found a clever way to access the browser and pin it to your screen. This is basically the old-school Snap Mode feature from the OG Xbox One.

You can watch YouTube as you play, but other services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video don't work. Just pin the webpage to your session and start up a game.

Spider-Man Miles Morales is hands-down the best PS5 launch game and is definitely among the top PS release games of all time...so it's only fitting Miles gets his own custom console.

Sony might not release custom PS5s for a while, but that hasn't stopped skilled gamers from creating their own. Introducing Brandon Antonio's custom Miles Morales PS5 complete with a snazzy black paintjob and spider-verse logo. It's a simple touch compared to more elaborate special edition systems, but the all-black look and iconic logo goes great with entertainment system setups.

I myself like the two-tone black-and-white design of the stock PlayStation 5, but I'd definitely consider picking this variant up over the base version. Miles really has that effect on you, especially after you play the game on PS5.

IO Interactive will unleash its new Glacier engine tech on PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021, pushing higher-end visual and performance tech than ever before.

Like Miles Morales, Demon's Souls, and even Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Hitman 3 should be spectacle on next-gen hardware thanks to new engine optimizations. IO confirms Hitman 3 will hit peak perf like 4K 60FPS with HDR enabled on both PS5 and Series X, and teases some big improvements to its in-game graphics and design.

Outside of raw perf, IO confirms it will leverage the Zen 2 CPUs in next-gen consoles to push 300 NPCs on the screen at a single time--a feat that's usually reserved for Ubisoft or Rockstar games. Other drastic overhauls include atmospheric effects like lighting, fog, and shadows, as well as dynamic weather systems that recreate realistic rainfall and water saturation on player clothing.