Sony Patents a Way of Turning Bananas, Mugs and More Into PlayStation Controllers

3 years ago
Sony has patented technology that would allow players to turn household objects, and even fruit into PlayStation controllers. Players would use a camera to scan objects for the system to detect, which could then be used for specific in-game functions. As reported by GamesIndustry.Biz, a recent Sony patent was filed for the innovation, identifying that game peripherals can be seen as too complicated and expensive for some users and reasoning that, "It would be desirable if a user could use an inexpensive, simple and non-electronic device as a video game peripheral." Their potential solution? Turning readily-available objects into peripherals for games. As long as an object is "non-luminous" and "passive", Sony is suggesting that it could be used as a controller. The figures in the patent show a banana and a pair of oranges as an example of potential peripherals.
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Jordan Oloman

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Get the gang back together for Yakuza: Like a Dragon on PS5

3 years ago

It seems like forever and a day since I first reported the shocking news that the next Yakuza title would feature tactical, real-time combat. Understandably this huge switch-up in Yakuza's tried-and-tested brawler gameplay was greeted nervously by many fans, especially for a title that was foregoing regular series' protagonist Kazuma Kiryu for a relatively unknown new star.

Today, many within the Yakuza community have long-since breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did Yakuza: Like a Dragon's new take on Sega's gang-smashing franchise hit it out of the baseball cage from a gameplay standpoint, but it also bequeathed us an absolutely delightful cast of new stars, led by the charming and somewhat goofy new lead, Ichiban Kasuga. Far from bury the franchise, Yakuza: Like a Dragon was warmly welcomed upon its arrival, hopefully securing the franchise's future into the new generation.

That future begins right now, with the launch on Yakuza: Like a Dragon on Sony's shiny new box, PlayStation 5. Ichiban's wild tale of loyalty and redemption is now available to purchase on PS5 in both physical and digital format. Current PS4 owners are able to take advantage of a free upgrade to the new PS5 edition - though it should be noted that your PS4 save data will not be compatible. While this upgrade path was struggling with some teething issues yesterday, Team Yakuza has since announced that these problems have been resolved, so get the band back together, hit the streets of Yokohama, and start putting bread to faces.

Author
Chris Moyse

Fresh footage of Tencents' Pokémon Unite surfaces as closed beta gets underway

3 years ago

Pokémon Unite - the new free-to-play MOBA from Tencent's TiMi Studios, which was also responsible for Activision's Call of Duty Mobile - has just launched its closed beta in Canada, and a heap of new details and footage have emerged as a result.

Originally announced last summer, Pokémon Unite pits two squads of five players against one another, battling it out in an arena threaded with control points to secure. As a match plays out, Pokémon are able to level up, unlocking new moves as they do so.

Following the launch of Pokémon Unite's closed beta, GoNintendo has been rounding up the various bits of footage to make it online so far. Unfortunately, videos are starting to disappear one by one, but there's still a decent selection of gameplay featuring a range of characters - including Cinderace, Greninja, and Garchomp - to be found.

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Ex-Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 studio suffers lay-offs

3 years ago

UPDATE 3/3/21: The former developer of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has confirmed this week's layoffs, but said it would continue to operate and was developing multiple unannounced projects.

In a statement issued to RPS, a spokesperson for Hardsuit Labs stated that redundancies had affected "a small number of individuals", though a specific number of people was not disclosed.

"While we worked hard to source some great work opportunities for the studio to move forward with, we were unable to provide work for a small number of individuals and thus made the difficult decision to part ways. This decision was not made lightly and was done so only after we felt we had exhausted the opportunities to avoid such a layoff," Hardsuit said. "We sincerely wish the very best to our former colleagues and thank them for their contributions to the studio and our projects during their time here."

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Diablo II Resurrected will get two alpha tests this year, not just the one announced at BlizzConline

3 years ago

Blizzard really only has one chance to make a good first impression with Diablo II Resurrected.

I mean, there are millions of Warcraft III fans out there who were ready to sift through Reforged like a fine toothed comb. But hell hath no fury like a Diablo fan scorned. If they mess this up, the reputation of the publisher will only be further tarnished.

So far, so good. The way the development team talked about it with Destructoid makes it seem like they are persevering the original as best as possible. In fact, when it was brought up that Reforged was a disappointment, without directly dumping on that team's work, the Resurrected team reiterated that it would be a loving recreation, but the original skeleton was still there underneath.

The latest news for the game via PCGamesN also should quell some fears. While we knew about an initial alpha test for the game to potentially iron out some kinks and invite player feedback (here's how to get in), we've learned that there will actually be a second alpha period that will serve as a multiplayer stress test. Lead producer Chris Lena says it very plainly, stating: "We’re going to start with a single-player technical alpha, and then we’ll have a second technical alpha after that, which is kind of multiplayer and stress testing."

Author
Chris Carter

Microsoft shows Pokémon Go HoloLens demo

3 years ago

Microsoft has shown a Pokémon Go tech demo in which the mobile pocket monster phenomenon is playable via the company's Hololens headset.

A video of the demonstration, labelled as "proof of concept" and "not for consumer use", was part of a presentation detailing Microsoft Mesh, the company's new mixed reality platform (thanks, The Verge).

Introduced by Niantic boss John Hanke - the company's own Professor Willow - the demo shows how players can interact with creatures in mixed-reality, rather than AR, and use virtual controls which float around the user's wrist.

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Someone should make a game about: Frasier

3 years ago

For years I've been dreaming of a Left 4 Dead mod that features the cast of Frasier. Trapped between safe houses in an abandoned hospital, Niles caves someone's head in with a hardback copy of the ICD-9 codes, as Marty jams a door shut with his walking stick. Daphne - who's a little bit psychic - correctly predicts the arrival of a Jockey through a broken window while Frasier is lost in a panic, circling wildly and raging about his next trip to La Cigare Volant.

It would work, I think. A set-piece at the KACL studios, where zombie-Roz traps them all in the sound booth as Gil Chesterton - possibly not zombie-Gil-Chesterton - lights the place on fire. A frantic last-minute rescue mission back to the apartment to save Marty's armchair. Niles is wiping his new machine gun with a handkerchief because who knows who had it before him? Eddie sniffs out a cache of grenades. "Need a med-kit!" yells Daphne. I'm listening.

But is this the only way to take the greatness of Frasier and spin it into a video game? Is it even the best way? Let's go to a new caller.

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Xbox Game Pass is getting super sporty in March with Madden, NHL, and NBA 2K offerings

3 years ago

Xbox Game Pass is back in March, and this time, it's a little niche. Sports niche.

Madden NFL 21, halfway into its relevant lifecycle, is coming to consoles today. That's probably the biggest get. Beyond that on March 4 we're also getting Football Manager 2021, as well as NBA 2K21. Enjoy the rest of the virtual NFL and NBA seasons while you can.

"Later in March," Game Pass is adding NHL 21 into the mix to complete the sports trifecta, but there's another concession, just in case you don't like sportsball; Star Wars: Squadrons. It seems like such an obvious "hey, here's something else" addition, but I'll take it.

Squadrons is still a relatively new, and well received Star Wars game, which is becoming more and more rare these days. It's just a shame it's one of the only versions without VR support.

Xbox Game Pass is getting super sporty in March with Madden, NHL, and NBA 2K offerings screenshot

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Author
Chris Carter

PSA: You can grab a few Pokemon Sword and Shield items for free

3 years ago

Since the November 2019 launch of Pokemon Sword and Shield, Game Freak has done a decent job of running various max raid events, as well as doling out items for random celebrations.

Some of them require a "community goal" of sorts (a modern staple of the series after online play was implemented widely), and a few are given out just because. Either way, you can sign in now and grab a free Mystery Gift reward. Spotted on Serebii, all you need to do is head to the main menu, select Mystery Gift, then "receive from internet" as normal. After you do so, you'll get 87 Dynite and 87 Armorite Ore.

This was all unlocked because 874,808 Pikachu creatures were killed off in the event announced during the recent Pokemon Day stream. For reference, Armorite Ore wand Dynite Ore were introduced in the Sword and Shield DLC expansions, Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra. While the merits of each can be debated, the latter is especially useful for folks who have exhausted everything Isle of Armor has to offer; as Dynite can be used to finish up your Pokemon collection via new Dynamax adventures.

Pokémon Sword & Shield - Item Distribution [Serebii.net]

PSA: You can grab a few Pokemon Sword and Shield items for free screenshot

Author
Chris Carter

GPD Win Max review: the world's best tiny gaming laptop

3 years ago

I've been lucky enough to test out a bunch of weird and wonderful tech, but I don't always get a chance to share my discoveries in a full review or roundup. That's why this column exists, to highlight bits of tech that might not fit elsewhere but nonetheless deserve a mention. Enjoy!

2020 was a year of dashed plans and weird events, but it was also one that was full of cool, novel and genuinely exciting pieces of technology. We've covered some of it here on Eurogamer and on the Digital Foundry YouTube channel, but there were also a fair few items that fell through the cracks, especially as the Digital Foundry Deals project took off and next-gen consoles arrived. This week, we're redressing some of these omissions with three of the coolest tech projects I tested in 2020 - from a miniaturised gaming laptop to a retro-future power bank and one of my biggest tech disappointments of the year. Let's get started.

The GPD Win Max is the whole reason that kicked off this column in the first place - I wanted to share the twisted genius that is an eight-inch laptop with an integrated gamepad built-in just above the keyboard. There's even a 10th-gen Intel Core i5 processor and a full Windows 10 install here; this is a legitimate machine with specs that outperform most office laptops. Of course, you're probably not going to be editing spreadsheets on this thing; as the legendary Chad Warden said, we ain't doin' geometry, we're trying to play some games.

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Dead by Daylight collaborates with BTS to produce psychopathic, mass-murdering K-Pop star

3 years ago

Now this is something a little different. Following on from the appearance of cinematic horror legends such as Freddy Krueger, Leatherface, and Michael Myers - and not forgetting video game monsters like Silent Hill's Pyramid Head - the newest chapter in Behaviour Interactive's Dead by Daylight will see players stalked and slaughtered by a psychopathic K-Pop superstar.

The new chapter, titled "All-Kill", tells the tale of budding Korean boy-band superstar Ji-Woon, whose desire to become the greatest music sensation of all-time led, in a roundabout way, to the deaths of his fellow band members. Going solo as "The Trickster", Yun-Jin then took to murdering innocent people - including friends and fans - torturing them for days while sampling their death throes to be included in his newest records.

Funnily enough, this is something of a PR nightmare for The Trickster's producer, Yun-Jin Lee, and her label, Mightee One. The label dropped the maniacal star in a four-four beat. Unfortunately, however, The Trickster remains at large and out for revenge, setting his sights on his former producer with plans on making her his latest and greatest hit. Literally.

Dead by Daylight collaborates with BTS to produce psychopathic, mass-murdering K-Pop star screenshot

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Author
Chris Moyse

Maquette review - ingenious but unfocused recursive puzzling

3 years ago

There's an acute kind of horror to being very, very small. A lot of it's in the timing, I think: the time it takes just to get anywhere is so long, so monotonous and lonely, that you feel oddly trapped. All that infinite expanse around you and at the same time, nowhere you can really go. Shudder. Maquette, a debut effort from San Francisco-based studio Graceful Decay, gets this - in fact it's built on it, playing with size and space and infinite regress, and the dense atmosphere that comes with it. A game of teeny tiny footsteps and giant, clanging objects all at once, plus a touch of tilting nausea if you start to think a little too hard.

Maquette is a recursive puzzler, primarily - another stylish, concept-heavy indie from arthouse publisher Annapurna Interactive - and the core is excellent. Each level, as such, occurs under a large, domed-roof structure, several stories high. Beneath this giant dome are four gated puzzle areas arranged opposite each other, crossroads-like, and in the middle is another dome, this time only about two stories high. Beneath that middle dome is a waist-high replica of the dome you're in: four puzzle areas, an even smaller dome in the middle. Inside that middle dome? An even more miniature replica. Back outside that first big outer dome I mentioned? An even bigger replica - and presumably on and on from there.

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Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires delayed from its 'early 2021' release

3 years ago

Publisher Koei Tecmo, alongside developer Omega Force, has announced that it has delayed the release of Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires. Originally scheduled to launch in "Early 2021," the warfaring sequel will now launch at a non-specified later date.

Koei Tecmo announced the delay on Twitter with the following statement.

"Although Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires was initially announced as an early 2021 release, the team is still working hard on delivering the best game possible, so we wanted to let our fans know the current situation and will announce the new launch window in future updates. We apologize for the delay and appreciate your continued support. In the meantime, check out this first look at a scene from our opening movie. (pictured below) Just a taste of what’s to come as we get closer to finishing the game."

Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires is in development for PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Switch.

Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires delayed from its 'early 2021' release screenshot

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Author
Chris Moyse

The Last of Us Part II is nominated for a record 13 BAFTA awards

3 years ago

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has released the nominations list for the 2021 edition of its BAFTA Games Awards, which will be taking place later in March.

The Last of Us Part II has received a record-breaking 13 nominations - the most any one video game has received since the event's inception back in 2004. Naughty Dog's dramatic and violent sequel is up in numerous categories, including Best Animation, Best Music, Best Audio Achievement, and Best Game Design. Ironically for such as story-heavy title, TLOU II is not nominated in the Best Narrative category. Several actors, including Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, and Troy Baker, are also nominated for Performer awards.

The nominations have seen Sony sweep all categories, with a grand total of 41 nominations among the award categories. Titles such as Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sucker Punch's Ghost of Tsushima, Media Molecule's Dreams, and Sumo Digital's Sackboy: A Big Adventure are all in-line for potential gongs. Fortunately, smaller titles such as Supergiant's Hades, Phobia Game Studio's Carrion, and Out of the Blue's Call of the Sea also get a look-in.

You can check out the full list of categories and nominations below. The 2021 BAFTA Games Awards will stream March 25, hosted by journalist and presenter Elle Osili-Wood.

The Last of Us Part II is nominated for a record 13 BAFTA awards screenshot

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Author
Chris Moyse

Mondo to Restock The Last of Us and Silent Hill Soundtrack Vinyls this Week

3 years ago

Mondo is well-known for releasing posters, vinyls, and other pop culture related collectible and memorabilia with beautiful art, but getting your hands on one of these usually requires you to pre-order, or at least be aware of when they’re set to go on sale. The company has previously sold vinyl soundtracks for The Last of Us, The Last of Us Part II, Silent Hill, and Silent Hill 2, and those sold out pretty quick.

However, the company just took to Twitter to announce that these vinyl soundtracks will be coming back in stock this week.

Specifically, they’ll be back up on sale on Wednesday, at noon Central Time. In addition to that, due to demand and limited stocks, each customer will be limited to purchasing one of each item so that more people will have a shot at actually getting one.

Author
Zhiqing Wan

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Sony to Discontinue Video Purchases and Rentals on PlayStation Store

3 years ago

Sony Interactive Entertainment announced on Tuesday that it will be discontinuing the purchase of movies and television shows from the PlayStation Store.

Starting August 31, 2021, PlayStation users will no longer be able to rent or purchase movies and television shows straight from the PlayStation Store. Sony announced the change was due to a “shift in customer behavior” as more people sign up for streaming services.

“At SIE, we strive to provide the best entertainment experience for PlayStation fans, and that means evolving our offerings as customer needs change,” said Vanessa Lee, SIE Head of Video Business, in the announcement post. “We’ve seen tremendous growth from PlayStation fans using subscription-based and ad-based entertainment streaming services on our consoles.”

Sony said that PlayStation users will still have access to their television and movie purchases after the change and can be viewed on the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and mobile devices.

The consoles do have a variety of streaming apps such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, HBO Plus, Netflix, and more. The decision also comes after the company shut down its PlayStation Vue live television service last year and said it would “remain focused on our core gaming business.

The post Sony to Discontinue Video Purchases and Rentals on PlayStation Store appeared first on Twinfinite.

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Tom Meyer

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Outriders Demo Guide: How To Enable Cross-Play Multiplayer

3 years ago

The Outriders demo is out for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, and PC. And you don't have to worry about where you play--Outriders supports cross-play between all its platforms, allowing you to connect with your friends wherever they decide to play. That said, you will have to complete a few steps in order to do cross-play multiplayer. Don't worry; it's not too hard to do.

First off, you can't even engage in any form of multiplayer until you complete the prologue. The prologue concludes with the mission in which your character becomes fully Altered, allowing you to pick a class. Upon the completion of this mission, you'll unlock the first hub area of Outriders, Rift Town. It's here where you can start teaming up with other players.

You can either summon players to your game or join someone else's. To do either, you need to access the matchmaking terminal in Rift Town's garage or click on the "Join A Random Team" or "Play With Friends" buttons from the Lobby. On default settings, you will be limited to only teaming up with others on your platform.

To enable cross-play, you first need to go to Options. Navigate to the Gameplay tab and scroll down to "Enable Crossplay." Switch it from "Off" to "On." And that's it. If you haven't done this already, you won't be able to engage in cross-play multiplayer from Outriders' Lobby; you'll instead need to first boot up the game and then adjust these settings.

Author
Jordan Ramée

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Totally Reliable Delivery Service Coming to Steam on April 1

3 years ago

Totally Reliable Delivery Service will be launching on Steam for PC on April 1, exactly one year after releasing for the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, iOS, and Android platforms.

The physics-based delivery game still offers the same gameplay of handling packages under time restrictions and somewhat uncooperative ragdoll physics. Up to four players online or local split-screen can travel on foot, vehicle, boat, airplane, and more to get the fastest time for deliveries.

The game will launch on Steam with the new “Totally Delivered” update which overhauls several aspects of the game such as improved graphics and details, upgraded animations on the characters and more expressive faces, new events like the hovercraft derby, major networking improvements, revamped UI, new NPC’s, new zone unlock system, and a photo mode.

It will also feature simplified controls to pick up and put down objects easier, an autorun option, and visual feedback for successfully grabbing objects. Vehicles will now have a glowing visible circle next to them which will place players in the driver’s seat and have more control of the vehicle.

Totally Reliable Delivery Service launched for the Epic Games Store on PC, consoles, and mobile platforms last year and have since reached more than 14 million downloads, according to the press release.

Author
Tom Meyer

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Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Anthem: BioWare’s Future Comes Into Focus

3 years ago
Lots of BioWare news to discuss this week, from Anthem's cancellation to Henry Cavill (aka Superman aka Geralt)'s Mass Effect project to Dragon Age 4 no longer being a live-service game. Plus: Xbox's Aaron Greenberg downplays recent Elden Ring rumors, Battlefield for next-gen gets more help within EA, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, or grab an MP3 download of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out the latest episode of IGN Unfiltered, featuring an interview with Brian Raffel, the cofounder of Raven Software – the studio behind Star Wars Jedi Knight II Jedi Outcast, Soldier of Fortune, Heretic, Hexen, Star Trek Voyager Elite Force, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, X-Men Origins Wolverine, and this year's Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War, among many others: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/27/working-on-call-of-duty-star-wars-star-trek-and-more-stories-from-raven-softwares-cofounder-ign-unfiltered-54"] It's already been an incredibly fun year of Xbox coverage, and the best is yet to come. Join us! Oh, and feel free to leave us a video Loot Box question below using Yappa and you might be featured on an upcoming episode! For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
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Ryan McCaffrey

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