Gaming - Page 614

This coming February, hardcore gaming history addicts will be able to snag an unusual piece of gaming history, a Nintendo Play Station prototype.

Back in the 1980s, Nintendo and Sony were working on a deal for Sony to create a CD-based add-on to Nintendo's coming Super Nintendo. This console would have been called the Nintendo Play Station and act as a hybrid console that could play both CD games as well as cartridge games. That deal fell through, and both companies went there separate development ways, but out of the rubble of that deal were the prototype units, such as the one above.

After the deal ended, all prototypes of the hybrid console were meant to be destroyed, but former Sony executive Olaf Olafsson who was leading the deal between Nintendo and Sony, kept his. Olafsson then brought the hybrid console to a credit card company called Advanta, Advanta went out of business, and its assets went up for auction - along with the hybrid console. This is where things get really interesting. Terry Diebold, a former maintenance man at Advanta, placed a winning bid on the lot containing the hybrid console, and for some years, has refused to sell it.

Disney is ramping up with hype for its huge Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie, and joining in on that hype is Epic Games with some Star Wars fun in Fortnite.

Fortnite recently enjoyed a live Star Wars event over the weekend, with the developer dropping lightsabers into the game. Plenty of players are now ridding themselves of traditional weapons, and going for some of that classic one-on-one lightsaber battle action in battle royale goodness.

There's not just one lightsaber style either, with Fortnite featuring all different styles including Rey's blue lightsaber, Luke's green lightsaber, and then there's purple and red lightsabers for Mace Windu and Kylo Ren, respectively. There's only one more week of lightsabers in Fortnite, so you will want to jump in now if you want to play around with them in the game before they disappear.

New job listings for Respawn's Star Wars team strongly hints a Jedi: Fallen Order sequel is in development.

Three new job listings confirm Respawn is making another third-person action adventure game in the Star Wars brand. Jedi: Fallen Order fits the bill nicely with its Uncharted-meets-The-Force-Unleashed gameplay. The developer is trying to fill some serious high-level positions, indicating the project is still in early phases of development. All of these listings were opened recently so they're not old ones for the original Jedi: Fallen Order.

Right now Respawn is hiring for a level designer, a senior software engineer, and a senior character artist.

The new next-gen Xbox Series X is like a little vertical shoebox (or a fridge, or a humidifier) that's anything but flat. So how much room will it take in your living room? A new render gives you an idea.

Now that the Xbox SX's dimensions have been guesstimated, there's tons of renders and size comparisons floating around. Just a bit ago we saw a neat interactive render comparing the Xbox Series X to current-gen consoles, desktops, a Switch, and even a Mac Pro. But what about an actual environment? How big is the Xbox SX compared to your TV or entertainment center?

ResetERA user BrokenSwiftie answers these questions with a quick 3D mock-up.

Sony today announced a DualShock 4 controller add-on that gives you extra buttons.

The new add-on is called the DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment, and it tacks on two paddles on the back of your controller. It's basically designed for competitive play and lets users set custom button mappings for the paddles, which should help in intense shooters like Destiny 2 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare.

The peripheral plugs into the DualShock 4's expansion port and essentially transforms your DS4 into a budget Xbox Elite controller. For some reason Sony attached an OLED screen to it so the paddle add-on will leech battery life from your DS4's internal 1,000mAh battery.

The Xbox Series X name is confusing some, and it didn't help when Business Insider put out an article saying "Xbox" is the name of the new next-gen console. It's not. Microsoft's new next-gen console is called the Xbox Series X, not just Xbox. Here's why that distinction matters.

The Xbox Series X is the start of a new console family. It's a naming scheme that confirms an iterative cadence that will see multiple new Xboxes released under the new Series banner. It's not a new ecosystem--the Xbox Series X (Xbox SX) is backward compatible with all existing Xbox One games and peripherals--but the start of a new console hardware cycle set in a familial hierarchy.

Business Insider says Xbox is the make, and Series X is the model, but it goes deeper than that. There's three parts to this new naming scheme: make, family, and model.

Remember that exclusive RDR2 story content and DLC that's only available on PC? Yeah, it's now up on PS4 and coming soon to Xbox One.

Rockstar Games today announced that the previous PC-only Red Dead Redemption 2 content is now available on PS4. The new game update adds a convenient photo mode to capture those amazing in-game moments (something the game should've launched with over a year ago, honestly) as well as a bunch of new weapons, missions, hideouts, treasure maps, and more.

The following content is now available for PS4 and is coming to Xbox One on January 21, 2020:

Techland is the developers behind the parkour-based zombie title Dying Light, and if you are out of the loop with what they have been up to, they are currently working on a sequel expected to launch next year.

Dying Light 2 is easily one of the most anticipated games of next year, this is mostly due to the reveals showing off an extremely complex open-world. Players will reportedly need to replay Dying Light 2 several times to fully experience what the game has to offer, as choices throughout the world have 'ripple' effects throughout the rest of the play-through. This choice system is not unique to Dying Light 2, but the complexity of the choices are.

Techland's director Tymon Smektala spoke to the Xbox: The Official Magazine and answered some questions regarding today's game worlds and whether or not he thinks they will get bigger or not. Here's what he had to say, "I'm not sure they will get bigger. I think what will change is the fidelity of everything. I don't think people really need bigger worlds, they need worlds that are of better quality and that they feel more immersed in what surrounds them." The world's Smektala is describing seems to be very similar to that of Dying Light 2, as every choice that is made throughout that game affects the entire world around the player, creating a certain level of immersion and depth.

Sony is in the middle of getting everything lined up for the game changing launch of the new PlayStation 5 console, and a wave of next-gen games -- and while Sony has been going through some big corporate changes, another big change is happening. The last we saw on the PlayStation 5 was its new render, which looks great -- a big change to the previous renders, too.

The company has posted a new job listing looking for a new Head of Strategy for Sony Worldwide Studios, with the new staffer in control of growing the brand between 2020-2024. This new person would plan mergers, acquisitions, and see market trends as they're coming -- they'd also be working with the various leadership through Sony Worldwide Studios, reporting directly to the Head of Worldwide Studios.

This move says that Sony is about to expand in a big way, which makes sense given that the PlayStation 5 is going to launch 12 months from now. Sony will be putting its all into 2020-2024, so this new position is an exciting tease of things to come in 2020 and beyond.

Microsoft designed the Xbox Series X's SoC specifically with backward compatibility support in mind,

Microsoft confirms its new next-gen Xbox Series X console will natively support four generations worth of Xbox games when it launches in Holiday 2020. The system will play thousands of games from original Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and new titles optimized specifically for the Xbox SX.

As it turns out, the Xbox SX was built from the ground up to support last-gen games all the way at the silicon level. Backward compatibility was never off the table and a major feature at the start (MS nor Sony want to displace games libraries and fracture user experiences). Even with the existing Xbox One BC games this task is a massive undertaking of incredibly tough work, but Microsoft's foresight and planning will make bringing older games to the new Zen 2- and Navi-powered behemoth a lot easier.

EA Motive is preparing the next Star Wars game for possible release in 2020, and it should be a departure from the current games on the market.

While helping its sister studios like DICE with Battlefront and Visceral with the now-canned Project Ragtag game, EA's Motive studio has been working on a new Star Wars game for years now. Motive's Montreal studio is helming the new project and exact info has been pretty scarce, but we did get a new tidbit from Motive's general manager Patrick Klaus.

According to Klaus, Motive Montreal is making "a very unique Star Wars experience." But how is it unique? Is it the setting, tone, or story that're unique? Or maybe the gameplay mechanics?

A new report says the PlayStation 5 will cost $600 when it releases on December 4, 2020, and the higher-end 4TB Pro version will cost $1,000. This is incredibly fake on so many levels.

It should be pretty obvious the latest PS5 info from Japanese games site Gamers Gate is 100% false clickbait. Sony even called it a "hoax". But just in case any sites pick it up and try to run with it, let's break down all the ways the info is fake.

The site says it got a hold of an official leaked advertisement for the PS5, with pricing, release date, and design of the system. The "final PS5 design" is simply a weird mock-up render that's accompanied by a Nacon PS4 controller. That's not a DualShock 5. Here's what the DualShock 5 should look like.

The Sega Saturn 2--or at least a devkit for one--actually existed, and the original Shenmue was first ported on it.

In a recent interview with IGN Japan, Shenmue game director Keiji Okayasu said something interesting about the game's early development. Shenmue was actually remade twice: Once for a new Sega Saturn with an acceleration chip, and once for the Dreamcast. Only one of these consoles ever saw the light of day and became the last Sega system on the market.

In 1996, Sega teamed up with Lockheed Martin to make a beefier Sega Saturn console. The system, described as Saturn 2, would feature Lockheed Martin's new 32-bit Real3D/100 chipset for more powerful consolidated graphics. These chips were also used in Model 3 boards for coin-op arcade machines. That plan never manifested.

Turn10, the same team that managed to hit native 4K 60FPS in Forza 7 with only 70% GPU usage on the Xbox One X, is currently optimizing the next Forza game for the next-gen Xbox. Expect absolute insanity.

It's no surprise that Turn10 is making a new Forza game. Not only was it shown in the Xbox Series X announcement, but big marquee Xbox console launches usually get their own Forza game to sell crazy high-def graphics. What is a surprise is all the new systems that're being baked into the "vastly different" sequel.

In a recent Mixer stream, Turn10 creative director Chris Esaki confirms the game is already playable on the Xbox Series X and has some nifty fine-tuned enhancements this time around. While we didn't get exact info on how the new Forza game will tap the Xbox Series X's 12TFLOP GPU or super-fast VRAM-buffering SSD, Esaki did highlight new pressure systems that add a new dimension to gameplay.

After the huge success of Magic Arena, the beloved CCG is expanding with a new MMORPG.

At The Game Awards 2019, Perfect World announced Magic: Legends, a new MMORPG set in the industry's longest-running collectible card game. Official details are light and we didn't get any gameplay, but we do know players can make their own custom planeswalkers and wreak havoc across the multiverse. The series has such a rich vein of decades-strong lore to tap so expect canon tie-ins as well as cross-promotional content for new card sets.

"A thrilling MMO Action RPG set across the iconic planes of Magic: The Gathering. In Magic: Legends, become immersed in the acclaimed fictional Magic multiverse as a powerful, spell-wielding Planeswalker," reads an official description.

3D artist Evilboris made an interactive render comparing the Xbox Series X's new rectangular chassis to other consoles and devices.

Microsoft's new Xbox Series X has a unique shape. It's not a flat box, but a rectangular prism that can stand up like a Corsair One. Size is a major concern for gamers, but some number-crunching shows the Xbox SX isn't all that big. Now an artist has created a visual representation that scales the system up against current-gen hardware like the Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X, PS4 Pro, and Nintendo Switch.

The Xbox SX is basically as tall as current-gen systems like the Xbox family and PlayStation 4 Pro when they're standing on their sides. But the new Xbox's shoebox shape is much thicker around and has more depth. It's not nearly as tall as a fully-fledged desktop PC chassis, but it's taller than a Mac Pro. It's also a bit taller than a docked Nintendo Switch when the Xbox SX is laid on its side.

This past Friday, Google revealed in a blog post just how much Google Earth has mapped the planet and how many miles of Street View images they have available to the public.

According to Google, they are making a huge effort to map the world and so far they have captured more than 10 million miles of Street View imagery. This isn't a small feat, not even in the slightest. To put that number into a more relatable perspective, this amount of miles equates to circling the "globe more than 400 times!".

Google also mentions Google Earth and how that platform provides users with 36 million square miles of extremely high definition satellite images from various providers. According to Google, Google Earth has images that cover "more than 98% of the entire population". Google says that while these photos are stunning, they are helping the company more accurately map the entire world that is "changing each day". If you are interested in finding out how Google collects images for both Google Maps and Google Earth, check out this link here.

The Game Awards is now over, but now that the announcement dust has settled, we can take a look at some of the reveals you may have missed.

Above we have the first look at the coming Fast & Furious game by Project CARS developer Slightly Mad Studios. The game has been titled Fast & Furious Crossroads, and from the trailer, we can see that the game is going to follow the movies in the sense of having ridiculous action scenes and epic cars. I mean, would it even be Fast & Furious if it wasn't filled with action and ridiculous cars?

Fast & Furious Crossroads is jam-packed with explosions, burnouts, drag races, sweet rides, and epic slow-mo scenes. Judging from the trailer, - and unless the developers add to this, of course - the character models seem low in quality. While this might just be me (it's not just check the comments out to the trailer), I do hope that Slightly Mad Studios increases the overall game quality. Fast & Furious Crossroads is expected to launch in May 2020.

The Game Awards were only just a few days ago, and out of the plethora of awards and announcements that were seen at the show - here's one you might have missed.

It wasn't too long ago that the developer behind massively popular VR game Beat Saber was picked up by Facebook's Oculus Studio. Now that Beat Saber is working as an independent studio under Oculus, they said they were planning on expanding the content that Beat Saber offers players.

During this year's Game Awards, it was announced that as apart of the expansion Green Day and a selection of their songs would be coming to Beat Saber. The following songs will be available in pack form for just $9: American Idiot, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Father of All..., Fire, Ready, Aim, Holiday, and Minority. The announcement also mentioned that 360-degree and 90-degree levels to Oculus Quest and Rift.

Detroit: Become Human is now available on the PC through the Epic Games Store, and if you didn't want to throw $40 into it -- download the demo and try it out.

Quantic Dream's new game which was until now, an exclusive to the PlayStation 4 -- and is now on the PC with the demo taking place during the opening of the game. The PC version of the game rocks some glorious PC goodness like 4K resolution and 60FPS support, as well as full mouse/keyboard support.

The game recently had its PC requirements boosted, something I wrote about here -- and if you want to grab Detroit: Become Human you'll need to dive onto the Epic Games Store and purchase it, or download the demo and try it out before you buy it.