Gaming - Page 611

Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 will ensure seamless and full native backward compatibility with PS4 games thanks to downscaling profiles built right into the Navi GPU.

According to massive new leaks verified by Eurogamer, the PS5 will indeed carry forward the full PlayStation 4 generation of games with complete games backward compatibility. This is made possible by two special modes built right into the silicon that downscale the PS5's GPU to current-gen performance targets, complete with lowered clock frequencies, RAM speeds, and Render Output units.

In essence, the PlayStation 5 was built from the ground up with backward compatibility in mind, similar to an iterative console. I've said right from the beginning that the new consoles will blur then line between next-gen and iterative cycles with both hardware and software.

CD Projekt RED proves it understands how to successfully re-market a game many times over, using powerful strategies like The Netflix Effect to re-sell and re-invigorate its main franchise.

A lot of CD Projekt Group's business doesn't revolve around making games, but advertising, marketing, and distributing them. Merchandising is a huge focus of CD Projekt's business strategy. Once CD Projekt RED ships a game, the other branches take over and find new ways to make those games last for years. Case in point: The Witcher 3, which released in 2015, is still more relevant than ever today.

CD Projekt's marketing masterstroke is the Witcher Netflix series, a carefully-designed transmedia sales point that's proven to be extremely potent. The Netflix Effect sparks sales of all kinds of mediums--when a Netflix book adaptation pops up, people rush out to buy the books. The Witcher is benefiting from the Netflix Effect in two ways. We're seeing Witcher book sales jump up, and CD Projekt RED's The Witcher 3 is currently at its highest playercount since 2015.

If Kirby is your favorite video game character, or if you have wondered what it would be like to rest your head in his mouth and have a nap, then you need this pillow.

On the Bandai website, the listing for a Kirby nap pillow demonstrates that buyers will be able to slide their heads into Kirby's mouth hole to have a rest either for a couple hours or the entire night if they like. Kirby's mouth hole measures in at 23 cm x 21 cm, which exceeds the head size of even the largest of people.

The Bandai website lists the Kirby nap pillow for 9,500 yen, which works out to be about $87USD. If that is too much for the official pillow, you can check out Amazon where some other sellers are selling the same designed pillow for much cheaper. Keep in mind though, these sellers might not be selling the officially licensed Nintendo version, so the mouth dimensions could be slightly off.

We are at the turn of the decade, and gamers are no doubt wondering what game release will be crowned "Best Game Of The Decade" and why.

Well, according to one poll done by the LADbible Twitter account that was run for over a week, and accumulated over 9,000 individual votes, Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V has been deemed "Best Game Of The Decade". Grand Theft Auto V released back in 2013, and was no doubt a massive leap in what game development can offer players in regards to massive open-world environments.

Grand Theft Auto V was competing against the Call of Duty (franchise), FIFA (franchise), and Red Dead Redemption. The poll doesn't include some other prime candidates such as The Last of Us, Nintendo titles, God of War, and The Witcher 3. I think there should be a larger poll done with more titles listed and more votes, this way we can get a better consensus of what game should truly wear the crown of "Best Game Of The Decade". (Grand Theft Auto V would no doubt be top 5).

It's been quite some time since we have heard any updates regarding Platinum Games' coming Bayonetta 3. Luckily, the studio has broken radio silence, and now we have some news.

The last we heard about Bayonetta 3 was way back at E3 when fans expected Platinum Games to show off some gameplay footage or at least announce some more news. Instead, Platinum Games didn't appear at E3 with Bayonetta 3 and head producer of the studio, Atsushi Inaba said this was the reason why - "Giving updates for everything at E3 isn't the smartest PR strategy to begin with. So just because we're not showing it here doesn't mean it's not going well."

We are now hearing an update from Platinum Games boss, Hideki Kamiya, on his personal Twitter account which says, " Development's going really well. There you go." We do know that Bayonetta 3 will feature some design changes that will be different from the previous installments in the franchise, and while we don't know what those changes are specifically, we know that Platinum Games is putting in their all for the sequel.

Sony's new DualShock 5 controller may come standard with two extra trigger-buttons on the back of the controller.

We know Sony is sprucing up the PS5's next-gen controller with nifty additions like USB-C, a built-in mic, and the removal of top energy-draining lightbar. But a brand new patent suggests the DualShock 5 could come stock with two extra buttons on the back, similar to the premium Xbox Elite controller.

The patent mostly discusses the orientation of the buttons to the controller itself, including their angle and how the sensors are placed within the housing. The description is on the layout rather than the actual functionality of the back paddles themselves. There's no talk of the buttons being customizable or programmable, but expect this to be the case.

Sony is making it tremendously easy for developers to harness the raw 8K might of Sony's next-gen PlayStation 5 console.

In a recent interview with Dengeki Online, Sony exec Shuhei Yoshida confirms developers are smoothly transitioning their games onto the new high-end PlayStation 5. This strongly indicates the system shares the PS4's architecture and games-making tools, even if the PS5 uses AMD's new RDNA 2-powered Navi and Zen 2 CPU SoC.

Sony has gone through great lengths to ensure a kind of software and OS synergy between the two systems.

Bethesda Game Studios' main Maryland branch is hiring for a video editor, hinting that new footage for its big new space epic Starfield might be on the way.

Zenimax just put out a new job listing for a video editor at BGS' central Maryland studio--the same studio who spearheads development of core RPG franchises like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and new IPs. Right now BGS Maryland is working on two big projects: Starfield, a brand new singleplayer space IP with RPG elements, and The Elder Scrolls VI, which is only coming after Starfield.

Based on the current slate, it stands to reason that any new hires for Bethesda Games Studios might be working on Starfield. It's likely the video editor is spinning up trailers and gameplay footage for Starfield's possible E3 2020 debut. Bethesda previously announced Starfield at E3 2018, but no real footage of the game has been released just yet.

We are about to head into the new year, and gamers around the globe are probably sitting there wondering what games they should sink their teeth into as a video game resolution in 2020. Don't worry. I've got your back.

2020 will no doubt be a big year for games, just as 2019 has. But what games haven't you played that are in the previous years? This list will give you ten great titles that will definitely be worth your while picking up and giving a shot if you haven't already.

Keep in mind, this list is my personal opinion. I cannot speak for every gamer out there, so there's no guarantee that you are going to absolutely love them. All I can do is recommend some great titles that I believe are must-plays and hope you have a good time trying them out.

A remaster of the original PS2 Xenosaga trilogy was originally planned, but Bandai Namco cancelled at the last minute.

Xenosaga fans will be waiting a long time for an HD re-release or remaster collection. According to Katsuhiro Harada, who now helms game direction at Bandai Namco, the project just wouldn't be commercially viable. In short, the Xenogears JPRGs are just too niche, and trilogy remaster would cost more money than it'd make.

"This actually progressed to the remaster's plan, but failed in a profitable market analysis. Sorry guys, This plan will be difficult to resurface...," Harada said on Twitter.

Grand Theft Auto V's chart-topping dominance is absolutely massive: In the last 10 years, GTA V saw the most time in the United States' top 20 best-selling games.

GTA V has been in the U.S.' top 20 best-sellers for 74 months straight, beating mega-hits like Minecraft and Mario Kart 8, NPD analyst Mat Piscatella reports. This makes it the longest-running chart-topper in the last decade. Since 2013, GTA V has spanned two console generations and a PC release, all of which were monetized with full game sales and the microtransaction-based GTA Online.

"Reviewing The NPD Group's US top 20 best-selling Video Games by month for the 2010's and this fact still blows my mind... GTAV has charted in 74 of the 75 months since its debut in Sep '13, including hitting #19 in Nov '19. Absolutely unprecedented," Piscatella said.

To make Control, Remedy had to completely overhaul and iterate upon its Northlight games engine. The result is a new-and-improved engine that's more adaptable than ever.

In many ways, Control is a departure for Remedy and unleashes the dev's true potential. It's not a strictly linear experience like Quantum Break or Max Payne. Control is kind of Metroidvania, allowing you to choose your own path in an open-ended space full of opportunity for unique playthroughs (case in point, I didn't get Jesse's shield power until roughly 50-60% into the game). To get to that flexible point, Remedy had to break their games engine and put it back together.

"It now seems obvious, but it was a long and winding road. After Quantum Break, our engine underwent a complete overhaul, we set out to design and build everything again, based on our main creative pillars. This is the main reason why nothing works like in Quantum Break," Control senior game designer Sergey Mohov said in a ResetERA Q&A.

Kojima's early presentations for Death Stranding succinctly outline the game's main themes and focus.

Death Stranding is a confusing game. We have lots of coverage explaining what the game actually is, but everyday gamers are still intrigued by its mysterious overtones. Others, however, are deterred from the cryptic features and think it's just too weird.

Kojima's game is weird, but it also has a backbone, and some recently published concept materials show how Kojima guided his team towards his vision. The internal presentation is very clear on Death Stranding's main points: a communal multiplayer where players share progress and worlds without actually playing together, creating a unique kind of connectivity.

It seems that the holiday season is the perfect time for a bunch of Grand Theft Auto 6 news, with rumors flying that Rockstar Games will base GTA 6 in Jamaica, and Columbia.

But now we have news that Grand Theft Auto 6 will launch in Fall 2021, missing the launch of Sony's new PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's new Xbox Series X consoles which will be launching in late 2020. I just reported a new rumor that Microsoft will price its new Xbox Series X console at $499, while Sony is rumored to also slap a $499 price on its PlayStation 5.

Twitter user PSErebus tweeted that "Grand Theft Auto VI from developer Rockstar Games is currently scheduled to be released in Fall 2021". With both of the next-generation consoles in the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 launching in late-2020, Rockstar will miss the all-important launch window and mega sales that would be like a major star alignment. But... Grand Theft Auto 6 is also so big on its own that it doesn't matter, it'll sell 10s of millions of copies no matter what.

Microsoft has announced and detailed (at least, in part) its next-generation Xbox Series X console, but the one detail that Microsoft hasn't been clear on just yet... is price.

Xbox Series X is a powerful console packing a semi-custom chip based on the Zen 2 architecture and not-yet-released RDNA 2-based GPU solution -- but we could be very surprised on the price. According to a new leak on 4chan -- yeah, I know -- we are to expect Microsoft to price the Xbox Series X at $499. This is the same price as the rumored PlayStation 5 pricing at $499.

It sounds nuts, but Microsoft is no stranger to selling their Xbox console at a loss -- look at the many billions of dollars it lost in selling the original Xbox. It might have cost billions at first, but it sold millions of Xbox console and pushed Microsoft right into the battle with Sony and the PlayStation 2 at the time.

Rockstar Games will break the gaming world when it launches Grand Theft Auto 6, something that I broke the news on all the way back in February 2015.

But now, we're hearing about where Grand Theft Auto 6 will be set, with rumors flying that Rockstar will set GTA 6 somewhere like South America. The news on Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming from Rockstar sending out Christmas presents to their staff... and some eagle-eyed readers.

One of the Rockstar Games employees posted their present on Twitter, with a bunch of badges that include Rockstar logos on top of the Jamaican and Colombian flags. This has led people to believe that Grand Theft Auto 6 could take place in both South America and Colombia.

Squadron 42 might not be dropping until Q3 2020, but new footage shows it'll be worth the wait.

Star Citizen's upcoming singleplayer campaign is a ways off, but Cloud Imperium dropped a new trailer to show the progress they've made. The result is some pretty impressive visuals that're straight out of an old 1970s John Berkey painting, complete with otherworldly spacecraft and animations that belong in a Kubrick film. The animations look smooth, the renders are all incredibly well-designed, and the lighting and atmospheric effects add a huge layer of immersion to the footage.

We're guessing this isn't exactly gameplay--probably in-engine rendering--but Cloud Imperium really has spun some magic here. Everything I see makes me nostalgic for Mass Effect, and reminds me what could've been. There's even some footage of the first-person elements we'll see in Squadron 42, like floating in space amidst a ruined space cruiser.

Square Enix will roll out a Final Fantasy VII Remake trial version ahead of release, possibly in time for the holidays.

A new listing for a Final Fantasy VII Remake demo popped up on Gamestat, a tracking service that shows everything that's coming soon to the PlayStation Store. As of the time of writing the FF7R demo isn't yet available on the PS Store. Gamestat has been accurate in the past and outed Resident Evil 3 ahead of Capcom's official reveal.

Square Enix has yet to formally announce the demo and there's been no mention of it being tied to a pre-order exclusive. The demo is listed for the Americas, Europe, Japan, and Asia, and it might be a limited timed experience on PlayStation 4. Maybe just maybe Square Enix will drop it tomorrow in celebration of Christmas.

If you are a Fallout 76 player and don't want to lose all of your hard work you have stored in your inventory, don't jump onto the game for the time being.

Warnings have gone out on community forums such as Fallout 76's subreddit and the official Bethesda forums in regards to the recent hacking of the public servers. The reports say that PC players are experiencing their items being lost from their inventories.

According to the Bethesda forums Community Manager, "We are investigating reports of a PC-only exploit that could be abused by cheaters, which may have resulted in a few players losing items that their characters had equipped". The post continues and says, "we are taking this very seriously and resolving this is currently our top priority."

AMD launched its Navi GPU architecture this year with the release of the Radeon RX 5700 XT and Radeon RX 5700 this year, cutting them down into Navi 14 parts for the new Radeon RX 5500 XT -- but the new RDNA 2 architecture will be powering the next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles.

The fine folks at Digital Foundry have done an Xbox Series X deep dive, where they think the GPU frequency on the custom Navi-based design in the Xbox Series X console will be higher than any of the Navi-based Radeon graphics cards in the PC.

Digital Foundry said: "It would also suggest frequencies that are appreciably higher than those seen in AMD's Navi-based GPUs - which reverses the situation with the current-gen machines, which are typically underclocked compared to equivalent PC parts. Increasing both area and frequency inevitably pushes up power consumption way beyond anything we've seen in a home console".