Sony announced it’s expanding the number of trophy levels and changing how they’re calculated ahead of the release of the PS5.
The King of Monsters is back with a new anime show on Netflix, from studios Orange and BONES.
The post Godzilla: Singular Point Anime Comes to Netflix from My Hero Academia, Beastars Studios appeared first on Siliconera.
Sony's changing the way it calculates PlayStation 4 trophy levels, which will increase everyone's ranks later this evening.
The post New PlayStation 4 Trophy Levels Being Introduced Today appeared first on Siliconera.
Believe it or not, it's been one whole year since the launch of Nintendo's pocket-sized racer Mario Kart Tour. Widely criticised on release for its lackluster gameplay and heavy microtransaction and stingy gacha mechanics, Mario Kart Tour has nonetheless been a modest hit for Nintendo, still pulling in millions of dollars in revenue.
To celebrate its first full year of release, Nintendo has dropped the green flag on a special "Anniversary Tour" event, which is live in-game right now. This event sees the return of five of Mario Kart Tour's most-popular courses, along with a slew of returning racers, specially selected from events held over the past 12 months.
The Anniversary Tour will also features multiple login bonuses, extra ruby rewards, store discounts, and special "Coins Aplenty" challenges to be held every Tuesday and Saturday for the entire duration of the event. You can check out some of the returning content in the trailer below.
Mario Kart Tour is available now on iOS and Android devices.
Yesterday, Visual Concepts made a splash with its new gameplay trailer for NBA 2K21, showcasing the graphical power of the new consoles. The new-gen version was built from the ground up to leverage the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. After putting the realistic player models and dribbling moves on display, Visual Concepts is finally talking about what to expect in terms of fundamental changes and improvements to the core gameplay for the new-gen version.
"Many of the new mechanics and features that we're adding to the next-gen version of NBA 2K21 are only possible thanks to the extra horsepower afforded by the new consoles," writes gameplay director Mike Wang in the latest Courtside Report.
Wang called this version "our largest game yet" and "the biggest leap forward for the franchise." He then went into extensive detail on shooting, dribbling, and passing, saying the team has been able to further evolve the use of the pro-stick.
Click here to watch embedded mediaHow to switch the Xbox Series X from vertical to horizontal pic.twitter.com/efnCoBPWTW
Image: Netflix
Animator Eiji Yamamori (Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, The Wind Rises) will design the monsters
A step-by-step guide, written by Andrey Sazhin, producer at META Publishing, about presenting your indie game to publishers, standing out from the crowd, and making a great impression. ...
The PlayStation 5 will have dust catchers and a massive cooling fan.
The post Latest PlayStation 5 Demonstration Video Provides a Better Look at Ventilation and Other Key Features appeared first on Siliconera.
Ironically enough, you have to go all the way to the hard vacuum of outer space for this breath of fresh air: Star Wars: Squadrons isn't trying to be a live service game. That's right, an entry in a major media property from a major publisher isn't trying to monopolize your time with an endless roadmap.
In an interview with UploadVR, creative director Ian Frazier explains how EA took an "old school approach" to development on Star Wars: Squadrons. "Never say never, so to speak, but as far as our philosophy goes we're not trying to treat the game as a live service," Frazier says. "We don't want to say, 'It's almost done!' and then dribble out more of it over time, which to be honest is how most games work these days."
Frazier elaborates that the message behind Star Wars: Squadrons is "You've paid the $40, this is the game and it's entirely self-contained. We're not planning to add more content, this is the game, and we hope you understand the value proposition."
My, how far we've come that this constitutes an old school view of big market video game consumerism. It's nice to start a game knowing that truly experiencing it won't require making it a part of your weekly schedule for years to come. Sometimes no DLC is a thousand times more enticing than three years worth of DLC.
Don't think even for a second that this isn't an edge case, though. If this weren't a semi-budget title in a semi-niche genre (with the neatest version being on a mostly-niche platform), it'd have just as much post-launch content as Battlefront 2.
EA Has 'No Plans For Star Wars: Squadrons DLC, New Modes, or Oculus Quest Port [UploadVR]
Sony has outlined how trophies are changing as we head into the launch of the PlayStation 5.
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Sony Interactive Entertainment director of product management Toshimasa Aoki revealed the trophy level will change from the current 1-100 range to 1-999.
Following an update issued tonight in the US and tomorrow in Europe, your trophy level will automatically be remapped to a new level within this new range based on the trophies you've already earned. For example, if your trophy level is 12, your new level will be somewhere in the low 200s. Here's how it looks on a PlayStation 4:
Today Sony Interactive Entertainment announced a substantial change in the way your PlayStation Trophy level is calculated just in time for PS5.
The level range will be changed from 1-100 to 1-999, which means that when the change will go through, your level will be dramatically increased.
For instance, if you’re level 12 now, your new rank will be over 200. This will happen tonight in North America and Tomorrow in Europe. You don’t need to do anything as it’ll happen server-side.
Things weren't sounding great for the Minecraft film last year when the project lost both a director and writer, and that was before Covid took over our lives and started making film production difficult. Surprise surprise, the Minecraft film has now been delayed again - to the point where it no longer has a release date.
The film had been slated for release on 4th March 2022, but has now been delayed alongside date changes to a range of other Warner Bros. titles (including The Batman and the fourth Matrix film). Unfortunately there's no news on when it could be arriving, and so the film is now undated (via The Hollywood Reporter).
First announced back in 2014, the Minecraft film is supposed to be a live-action movie focused on the story of a teenage girl and her "unlikely" group of adventurers. "After the malevolent Ender Dragon sets out on a path of destruction, they must save their beautiful, blocky Overworld," a Minecraft blog post explained last year. Exactly what all this is going to look like remains a mystery, but I hope we'll get to see some realistic Detective Pikachu-style creepers. Horrifying stuff.
Available as a free download today on iTunes and Google Play, Funko Pop! Blitz is a fast-paced match-three game in which players collect pop culture icons and play with their heads. So far it’s got characters from Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, Kung-Fu Panda, Universal Monsters, and Shrek. Eventually, it will have…
Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - Wings of Fury Cover[/caption]
Wings of Fury will actually hit before the PS4/PS5 game is released, with the novel written by SLAY author Brittney Morris being available from Titan on November 10. The story focuses on Miles grappling with the responsibility of being Spider-Man as he deals with Vulture and Starling setting experimental tech onto the streets of New York.BioWare - Stories and Secrets from 25 Years of Game Development puts you in the room during key moments in BioWare's history, with never-before-seen art and photos anchored by candid stories from developers past and present. See what it took to make games in those wild early days. Pore over details of secret, cancelled projects.
Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy will soon bring back the popular cast of the original and beloved Atelier Ryza.
To know more about the game and what led to the first Atelier title to keep the protagonist of its predecessor, Twinfinite interviewed producer Junzo Hosoi about a variety of topics.
You can check out what he told us below, alongside four exclusive screenshots kindly provided by Koei Tecmo.
Giuseppe: Atelier Ryza 2 is the first sequel of the Atelier series to continue the story with the same protagonist. What determined this decision?
Junzo Hosoi: We have been thinking about a direct sequel with the same protagonist since the planning stages of the first Atelier Ryza game. However, if this was my own personal thought, and was not something that the users wanted, it would have only been self-indulgent.
It turned out that users also wanted a sequel for Ryza, so we were able to develop this sequel with the same protagonist.
The reason why we wanted to continue with the same protagonist is that I think the appeal of the Atelier series is the growth of the characters. We wanted to continue to tell her story, so we had it in mind from the planning phase of Atelier Ryza, and made the decision.
Atelier Ryza 2 Producer Junzo Hosoi talked Ryza's design, her relationship with Klaudia, and her friendships in the new game.
The post Interview: Atelier Ryza 2’s Producer on Her Design, Relationship With Klaudia, and Friends appeared first on Siliconera.
THQ Nordic and Mimimi Games have released the second part of Desperados III's DLC expansion, Money for the Vultures. Part two, titled "Five Steps Ahead," is available to purchase now as part of the strategy title's season pass.
In Five Steps Ahead, John Cooper, Doc McCoy, and the rest of the gang travel to Louisiana to reunite with Isabelle, following her wedding day shenanigans. There, our hombres will reunite to visit a brand new locale in the Bayou, aiming to take down the latest dirtbag charged with leading the DeVitt family.
Atelier games usually come in trilogies, but Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout and its sequel Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy are special.
They’re the first Atelier games in which the heroine is kept as the protagonist in the sequel. Of course, it’s natural to ask ourselves whether there will be a third title.
Twinfinite asked producer Junzo Hosoi during an interview and his answer was certainly promising, teasing that Ryza may actually return as a protagonist again if the fans want it.
“This is part of the Secret trilogy! I can only say that I also love Ryza and want to see more Atelier games with her as the protagonist. But, only if the fans want it. “
Hosoi-san also explained that the fans’ support ultimately determined Ryza’s protagonist status in Atelier Ryza 2 as well.
“We have been thinking about a direct sequel with the same protagonist since the planning stages of the first Atelier Ryza game. However, if this was my own personal thought, and was not something that the users wanted, it would have only been self-indulgent.
It turned out that users also wanted a sequel for Ryza, so we were able to develop this sequel with the same protagonist.
The reason why we wanted to continue with the same protagonist is that I think the appeal of the Atelier series is the growth of the characters. We wanted to continue to tell her story, so we had it in mind from the planning phase of Atelier Ryza, and made the decision.”
Proletariat CEO Seth Sivak discusses the decisions that are helping Spellbreak thrive in a competitive market. ...
Support-class ships like the U-wing in Star Wars: Squadrons probably have the biggest role to play in any victory. Most players avoid these ships because they’re slow and weak and you won’t get many kills with them, but for players who don’t mind the life of a support character, you can absolutely carry your team to victory by following my best U-wing loadout guide below.
Sony has released a PlayStation 5 teardown video showing off all the bits and bobs inside its enormous next generation console.
In the video below, Yasuhiro Ootori, VP of mechanical design at Sony Interactive Entertainment's hardware design division, discusses a "dramatic" improvement in both performance and quietness compared to the PlayStation 4. The latter is an important point for me, given that my OG PS4 sounds like an airport runway even when I'm playing Netflix.
First off, Ootori shows off the rather fussy process of switching the PS5 from vertical to horizontal. You need to unscrew the base, store the screw in the base itself, then use a cap to plug the screw hole. You then rotate the stand, and clip it on to the PS5 in-line with the PlayStation face buttons etched on the console. You can then lay the PS5 down flat. The stand is necessary for doing this because the PS5 itself is not flat.
Valve have added new options to filter obscenity and slurs from chat on Steam and in some games, letting you level up without getting cussed out. With the new Steam Chat Filtering enabled, words caught in the filters are replaced with “***” or “♥♥♥”. The new options are pretty deep, letting you upload and download your own lists of banned words, see foul language from your friends but no one else, and more. Or, if you want, you can just leave it off and see the same chat as ever.
Sega's Yosuke Okunari talked about the future of Sega mini consoles after releasing the Game Gear Micro in an interview with Famitsu.
The post Sega Talks About Future Mini Consoles After Game Gear Micro appeared first on Siliconera.
In case you haven't noticed, Brawlhalla is still trucking along since its original 2017 release, with tons of Ubisoft-bankrolled corporate synergy to boot. It's hosted characters from the Hellboy universe, as well as WWE, Adventure Time, Tomb Raider and Shovel Knight. Now it's welcoming another gargantuan property into the mix: The Walking Dead.
Like the Magic: The Gathering cross-promotion before it, this tie-in is clearly modeled after the characters from the AMC show. Daryl ("Derl"), Rick and Michonne are all coming to the party, as crossover skins for Ember, Barraza and Koji respectively. All of them also have Magic cards, no doubt a sign of how popular they are in the television series (particularly Norman Reedus' Daryl, who will probably be the last human standing in this universe). Sadly, this brother Merle is left out in the cold: as he has been for some time now. I can't believe we're seven years removed from the Merlin Derle game.
The trio will come to Brawlhalla on October 14, which is coupled with an in-game event that essentially works as a horde mode, but you're fighting walkers. The prison map from seasons 3 and 4 of the show (man they dragged that locale out) is also in. At this point there are more than 50 characters to choose from in Brawlhalla.
Brawlhalla [Twitter]
Adam Sandler in Hubie Halloween. | Photo: Scott Yamano/Netflix
The Sandman is back at it again on Netflix
With PS5’s anticipated launch looming ever closed, Sony is quite literally lifting the lid on the console’s internals. In a new video titled PS5 Teardown, the Japanese company has today offered consumers a detailed look at what lies beneath the PS5’s futuristic-looking shell.
As you’ll see below, PlayStation vice president of mechanical design Yasuhiro Ootori strips the bulky hardware down to the bone, first providing an overview of the console’s various ports and the particular’s of its external design before showcasing the internals.
Since it’s in Japanese, remember to switch on closed captions if you’re after a translation.
Now, if only we could get a look at the UI…
In recent news related to PS5 hardware, Sony shared more information about the PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech.
And, of course, recently Sony announced both prices and release dates.
The PS5 is a big console. Wonder what’s inside? Sure, the specs give us a very good idea, but that’s not the same as watching someone take the machine apart.
The nimble A-wing is one of the Republic’s deadliest ships in Star Wars: Squadrons, thanks to its agility and damage potential. Most Republic players I’ve come across tend to use A-wings in both Dogfight and Fleet Battles, but I rarely see anyone doing it right. Below I’ll walk you through my best A-wing loadout for Squadrons, along with an explanation of how to play it and why exactly it works so well against pretty much any enemy in the Empire’s fleet.
PlayStation Now is getting into the creepy Halloween spirit - SPIRIT, LIKE A GHOST - with the reveal of several horror-themed titles, available right now as part of the cloud gaming service.
The first title set to give you the willies is SIE Bend's survival horror title Days Gone. Released in 2019 and receiving far more success than anyone had given it credit for, Days Gone sees players in the role of very-sad drifter Deacon St. John, as he searches for his missing wife in what remains of post-apocalyptic Oregon. Using his wits, crafting skills, and any handy blunt instrument, St. John must traverse the miserable landscape while keeping one eye out for the mutated populace known as "Freakers." No, really.
Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s daily hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today we’re going to talk about Final Fantasy IX’s ending theme, an audio sponge that sucks up 40 hours of emotion-packed Japanese RPG and squeezes it out all over every time you listen.
Nintendo streamed a fresh Treehouse Live segment today with a "deep dive" into Pikmin 3 Deluxe and a gameplay showcase for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. If you want to watch the extended broadcast above, you're free to do so, but I've split the news up for each Switch game if you just want a recap.
What's new for Pikmin 3 Deluxe
Nintendo confirmed optional motion/gyro control support for Pikmin 3 Deluxe along with an Ultra-Spicy difficulty mode (with a cap of 60 Pikmin in the field and other "challenging elements"), the creature-tracking Piklopedia, and Side Stories with Captain Olimar and Louie. The level shown on-stream was Day 4: Tundra in Olimar's Assignment, a treasure-collecting time trial with local co-op support.
As a reminder, the main story is fully playable in co-op and there's also a head-to-head Bingo mode.
Players who clear the eShop demo of Pikmin 3 Deluxe will be able to start the full game on Ultra-Spicy. This might go without saying, but your save data from the demo will transfer. Look for it tonight.
Final Fantasy VII Remake finally got its release earlier this year and we also got treated to a completely redone soundtrack as well. The original music remains intact, but the arrangements in the Remake bring new life to this 20 year old game, and surprise surprise, Square Enix wasted no time in organizing an orchestral world tour for the game.
Ahead of the FFVII 2020-2021 orchestral tour, Square Enix has also put together a FFVII Remake Orchestral Arrangement album for purchase, and you can now grab it off the official Square Enix store, Amazon, or off iTunes.
The track list is as follows:
The album is now available both physically and digitally, so if you don’t want to wait for your physical copy to get shipped, you can purchase a digital version instead.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is now available on PS4.
Supergiant’s games all have pretty wonderful soundtracks, and their new Ancient Greek roguelike Hades is no exception. We have composer Darren Korb to thank for that, and this weekend he released a video tutorial teaching how to play one of Hades’ delightful tunes. It’s not one of the heavy intense tracks from your battles in Tartarus, however. Instead it’s one of the soothing melodies you hear when you come across Eurydice in Asphodel.
Although we generally assumed it to be so, it's nice to have confirmation that Nintendo will deploy Super Smash Bros. Ultimate version 9.0.0 on the same day that Minecraft's Steve and Alex are entering the fray.
Revealed via a tweet, the patch will usher in "fighter adjustments" (read: balances), and screw up your replay data, as usual, unless you convert them. Nintendo of Europe notes that the date is October 14: which is October 13 in the US, given the time zones of when Nintendo deploys evening Smash Ultimate patches.
Over the weekend, Nintendo put up a detailed 45-minute rundown of what the patch will entail, which you can view below. It's insane how much work Sakurai and his team did to ensure that Steve/Alex fit the Smash universe. So many animations look like they were straight-up lifted from Minecraft proper, and Sakurai seemed to really care about how these characters fit in this universe.
While a lot of the breakdown below is more inside baseball for hardcore fans, it really is worth a watch if you're curious to see how the blocky character was adapted for a fighter.
Nintendo of Europe [Twitter]
