February 2020

A recent report from Bloomberg has attracted a lot of headlines - the suggestion is that Sony is struggling to control construction costs for the PlayStation 5 and that the $399 pricing sweet spot enjoyed by both PS4 and PS4 Pro may be out of reach for the next-gen system. Bloomberg says that the current cost for building the machine is around $450, suggesting that a retail price of at least $470 is likely - but is the analysis accurate? Will the next generation consoles really be more expensive at launch than their current-gen equivalents?

Pricing of console hardware has been a topic we've raised in the past on Digital Foundry because the fact is that the economics surrounding consumer electronics have been growing increasingly challenging for console manufacturers in recent years, while the pace of technological innovation has also slowed down significantly.

I'm almost at a 100-day streak on Duolingo, even though I feel bugged by the app's notifications into keeping going. I guess that's sort of the point? The game-ified language learning app makes things just fun enough - but it is still learning, and sometimes I'll need that nudge.

It'll get to 10pm and I know that I still need to finish a couple of lessons before midnight. I could skip a day, sure, though I'll use up valuable currency on a streak saver. And there's always the next achievement or leaderboard place to go chase.

Duolingo's constant nagging to keep going is theme of today's video - which sees the app's friendly owl mascot becoming ever more zealous and threatening as he interrupts a user's evening in the pub to make him play.

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Diablo? On Netflix? It may be more likely than you think

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Turn-based game set in Prohibition-era Chicago needs more time

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A lot can change in twenty years.

At the turn of the millennium, Pokemon’s popularity was at its apex. Gold and Silver built on the foundation that had been laid by the original games (as well as, let’s face it, fixing its many broken mechanics), and the pocket monsters looked slicker than ever on our tiny Game Boy screens.

That being said, the one thing we truly, desperately wanted, was for a fully-fledged Pokemon title to arrive on home consoles. Sure, it would come at the sacrifice of the franchise’s ‘battle anywhere, trade anywhere’ appeal, but the idea that we could see our beloved Lugias and Hoothoots in robust, polygonal glory was incredibly enticing.

The compromise, at the time, came in the form of Pokemon Stadium, a home console title that focused entirely on battling. When the first Stadium dropped on the Nintendo 64, I distinctly remember the thrill I felt seeing these beloved critters come to life. My Raichu sprung onto the field with a resounding shriek, ready to duel against my sister’s Rapidash.

Said Raichu was resoundingly shut down by Fire Spin, unable to land a single hit as we watched it slowly die in a pillar of flames. Again, gen 1 doing gen 1 things.

Today CD Projekt RED released a new update for the Nintendo Switch version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and it’s a juicy one.

The updaye, numbered 3.6, adds cross-save via cloud with the PC version on Steam and GOG, on top of new visual options to customize your portable Witcher experience.

You can check out the full patch notes below.

Update 3.6 — list of changes: 

• Added touch control support.
• Added save file integration with GOG, Steam and versions of the game for Switch from different regions.
• Added more text languages (in selected regions).
• Added more graphical options.
• Added multiple performance optimizations.
• Fixed various visual and functional bugs.
• Various gameplay and crash fixes.

While transferring saves from PC, please keep in mind:

• Mod-related bugs and blockers might get transferred from a modded PC game save file.
• If the save file name has been changed on PC, the Switch’s Cloud Save feature won’t be able to recognize it.

Incidentally, CD Projekt also mentioned that additional voice over languages will be distrubuted at a later time in selected regions as free DLC.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is currently available for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

If you’re not familiar with the game, you can read our review and see why it’s so beloved.

The post The Witcher 3 Nintendo Switch Update Adds Cross-Save With PC and Graphics Settings appeared first on Twinfinite.

Kingdom Under Fire 2, an MMO sequel that fuses action-RPG and RTS gameplay mechanics, is set to receive its third major content expansion since launching in late 2019.

The latest post-launch support update will add a new raid called Grave of Time, as well as a new mission called Dimensional Test. Additionally, there are new items and rewards on offer.

The full breakdown is as follows:

Sega is celebrating the decade milestone of two cult classics with the release of the Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle. It’s today prepared a new launch trailer for the anticipated package, which showcases the remastered games in action on PS4 and Xbox One in 4K/60 FPS.

The remasters have been put together by the Texas-based Armature Studio, in partnership with the games’ original developer, Platinum Games. Armature Studio highlights the bundle’s key takeaways in a statement included with today’s press release:

“Armature Studio has partnered with PlatinumGames and Sega of America to port Bayonetta and Vanquish to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles, keeping the stylized, intense action and unique visuals of each game intact while increasing the framerate to 60 FPS, and supporting 4K resolutions on the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro.

As part of porting the game, Armature has updated both games to a modern 64-bit architecture, including the middleware used by the games. Armature worked closely with the original creators to realize their vision for the games on modern hardware, as well as updating each title with visual improvements and polish.”

The Anniversary Bundle is available as both a digital and physical package. Pre-orders of the digital PS4 version comes with two themes included: the Bayonetta & Vanquish, and the Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle Theme. You’ll be able to pick up the latter even you purchase the game up to two weeks after today’s launch.

You can check out images of the steel book physical version below.

The project was revealed a few years back, but the hubbub around it and now its 'cancellation' has CCP rethinking how it shares information on potential new releases with its community. ...

Publisher Annapurna Interactive has announced that Sayonara Wild Hearts is coming to Xbox One on February 25. The pop album video game originally launched on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC in September last year.

Developed by Swedish studio Simogo, Sayonara Wild Hearts is a surreal music-based action game about a young woman with a broken heart. Backed by a custom-written pop soundtrack, you'll ride motorcycles and skateboards, dance battle, and break hearts at 200mph.

Kallie Plagge awarded it 6/10 in GameSpot's review, saying, "On repeat playthroughs, I found myself getting more and more used to Sayonara Wild Hearts' quirks and better appreciating each level as I gained the muscle memory for them. Only a few hit me like Dead of Night did, and those levels are stellar. But the rest are either forgettable or somehow discordant, whether because of movement issues or strange timing. I wanted to get lost in the daydream it presented, but I kept getting ripped back to reality, just a bit more melancholic than when I started."

Update: The support account EA Help announced that the issues plaguing log-in and server connectivity have been resolved. Down Detector reports that some 250 outages persist, with games like Madden not "working" and countries such as Israel still receiving error messages.

Original story follows...

Fans of Electronic Arts' games have reportedly encountered error messages when logging into many of the company's titles, according to multiple reports and real-time outage tracker Down Detector.

Do you like free stuff? Well, good news: Sony is offering some exclusive digital items to players who participate in its PlayStation Player Celebration event. To take part in the event, simply sign up with your PSN ID and wait for the promotion to begin.

Starting on February 24, those who have signed up will contribute to a set of "community goals," like playing a target number of games or earning trophies. You must play a game for at least an hour for it to count toward that goal. You'll be able to check the ongoing progress of the community once the event begins. As the community completes each goal, all participants will receive rewards. The rewards include exclusive avatars as well as two different PS4 themes. You'll get a notification on your PS4 when you receive any rewards.

Signing up for the event also enters you in a contest to win even more rewards, including a real-life PlayStation Platinum Trophy engraved with your PSN ID, a $100 PlayStation Store voucher, and codes for what Sony deems the "greatest PS4 games." To win, you must also answer a question on the event page on March 17 at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET. The first two correct answers will win.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was a big departure from Respawn Entertainment's past shooter work, switching to third-person action with Souls-like progression. The game reviewed well and even managed to outsell Electronic Arts' expectations, but it also featured several bugs that kept it from complete greatness.

Speaking to US Gamer after the DICE Awards, Respawn CEO Vince Zampella said the studio considered delaying the game to deal with its bugs, but it ultimately needed to be out for the holiday.

Xbox Live typically has a nice selection of games on sale each week, but these past few weeks have been more notable thanks to Anime Month and multiple publisher sales all going on at once. This week, EA joins the fray with a wide assortment of steep discounts on popular games. In addition to the EA publisher sale, you can still shop Ubisoft's sale, Anime Month, and a new "Wild World of Animals" sale featuring games starring furry friends.

Nintendo has slipped four more brave warriors into mobile battler Fire Emblem Heroes. The characters feature in the newest Summoning Event, The Dread Isle (which should be live as you read this), and all hail from 2003's Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

Leading the charge we have half-dragon Nils, followed up by handsome archer Rath. Brave battalion commander Fiora brings her spear skills to bear, while mysterious spy Leila makes her playable debut in the franchise, having only been an NPC in The Blazing Blade.

As expected, the foursome is also accompanied by a new paralogue story chapter, On Dark Wings. You can check out the new content in all of its finery below.

Samurai Shodown arrived back in June of 2019 and it's been tearing up the charts, both literally and figuratively. It was immediately welcomed with open arms into EVO 2019, and it did so well that it's coming back in 2020. It's great to see Shodown back in the fray.

Destructoid recently spoke to Samurai Shodown director Nobuyuki Kuroki to see how things are going, and where they might go with the impending Switch port (that already arrived last December in Japan) and beyond.

Cooking Mama Cookstar has a March 2020 release window and includes food photography.

The post Cooking Mama: Cookstar Will Have You Cooking and Photographing Food in March appeared first on Siliconera.

Little Town Hero PS4 is coming on June 2, 2020, and it'll include a new difficulty option.

The post Game Freak’s Little Town Hero PS4 Will Plant Its Ideas in June 2020 appeared first on Siliconera.

Aranea Highwind is making her Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia debut, and she'll break some (enemies') hearts.

The post Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia’s Aranea Highwind Arrives to Break Enemies appeared first on Siliconera.

White Cat Project is due to change skill activation control schemes starting tomorrow, as part of the patent infringement lawsuit with Nintendo.

The post White Cat Project to Change Control Scheme Due to Nintendo-Colopl Lawsuit appeared first on Siliconera.

If you're like me, you've been wondering what shape Baldur's Gate 3 is going to take. Will it be a traditional isometric PC-oriented RPG like the classic titles of ages past, much like the games that inspired Divinity: Original Sin 2?

Or will it be something else? Third-person action perhaps? Well, we're going to get our first look at actual gameplay quite soon, on February 27.

The reveal kicks off at 3:30 PM ET, with Larian creative director Swen Vincke taking the stage at PAX East. Not going to be in Boston? No problem - the reveal will be streamed on YouTube. Check out the announcement trailer below and feel free to wonder what shape this next exciting iteration of one of gaming's most revered franchises will take!

Everything coming to Xbox Game Pass on console and PC this month

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A return to Mars with Destiny’s most famous Warlock

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No Man’s Sky has a new Experimental Update over on PC, and, as is typical, the developer has taken to the Steam forums to list the various fixes and new content on offer. What isn’t typical, though, is the addition of what would appear to be some pretty major changes unlisted in the actual patch notes.

As spotted users over on ResetEra, there appears to be a new class of organic ship buried within the patch. Thanks to ResetEra user FreezePeach for snapping the below images.

Paradox Interactive and Romero Games’ upcoming strategy/tactics game Empire of Sin has been delayed, the two companies confirmed in a press release today. It was originally slated for a spring release, but that’s now moved to the fall. The pair cites needing more time to realize its ambitious vision for Empires of Sin as reason for the delay.

Paradox Interactive’s CEO Ebba Ljungerud said of today’s news:

“We at Paradox Interactive, along with our partners at Romero Games, have an ambitious vision for Empire of Sin, and decided together that more development time is needed.

This will allow us to deliver the game that our community deserves and meets our standards.” 

Brenda Romero of Romero Games also weighed in:

“The challenge in making a game like no one has made before is exactly that – making a game no one has made before. It takes time to get everything right and presents us with some unique opportunities. I am grateful we are taking the additional time to polish.

The support and enthusiasm our community has shown thus far for Empire of Sin is incredible. We hope that once you’re let loose in Chicago and see the world we’ve created, you’ll believe it was worth the wait!”

For those not up to speed with Empire of Sin, the game puts you at the heart of Prohibition-era Chicago, showcasing the glitz and glamor of the roaring 20s through the lens of an organized crime syndicate. It’s up to you to pull the strings, manage your gang and dominate your neighborhood.

To check out more on how it plays, you can watch Empire of Sin’s most recent gameplay trailer here.

Google's not-so-steady rollout of new Stadia features continues with the announcement of support for nearly 20 new devices, the first non-Pixel mobiles to work with the service. ...

Baldur's Gate 3 is set to show its first gameplay on-stage at PAX East. The much-anticipated sequel to two Infinity Engine classics of the late '90s is under production by Larian Studios, a developer best-known for its critically-acclaimed RPG Divinity: Original Sin II.

Originally announced back at a pre-E3 event for Google Stadia in mid-2019, Baldur's Gate 3 is part of an initiative by Dungeons & Dragons owners Wizards of the Coast to create a new slate of D&D video games. That effort includes a follow-up to the ARPG spin-off Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, along with several unannounced games.

In our interview with head of Larian Studio Swen Vincke back at E3 2019, the developer said that Baldur's Gate 3 will be the biggest RPG the studio has ever made. Vincke also emphasized freedom of choice and player agency as the key pillars of the experience

February's been a busy month for Pokemon Go, but there are still a couple of events lined up for the game before the month comes to an end. On top of the upcoming Pokemon Day event, there's February's Community Day, which takes place this Saturday, February 22.

Community Days typically only run for three hours, but the specifics of each event--such as what Pokemon you're more likely to find--vary month by month. To help you get ready for this month's event, we've rounded up everything you need to know about February's Community Day below.

What Is February's Featured Pokemon?

Each Community Day event revolves around one "featured" Pokemon, which will appear more frequently throughout the event. While Niantic usually chooses the featured Pokemon each month, this time the developer gave players the chance to vote on February's featured Pokemon, and the winner was Rhyhorn.

With Valentine's Day behind us, all of the lovey-dovey sales are over. However, that doesn't mean you'll be without any sweet discounts for long. Green Man Gaming has kicked off a series of new deals on PC games, some of which redeem on Steam. The games discounted include Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Rainbow Six Siege, and one of GameSpot's best games of 2019, A Plague Tale: Innocence. The latest slate of discounts are live now and valid through various times, depending on the game.

Green Man Gaming's Rainbow Six Siege promotion sees all editions of the game discounted. If you want to get into the tactical first-person shooter, then I suggest going for no less than the Deluxe edition, which currently costs $8.71 down from $40. It gets you the full base game and the first two years of DLC operators for only $1.67 more than the standard edition. The Siege discounts are available until March 19 or while codes last. All Siege codes from Green Man Gaming redeem on Uplay.

Destiny 2's Season of Dawn is winding down, with only about three weeks left before the next season kicks off. As is now typical of Bungie's approach to the story it dishes out in its seasons, we're starting to get hints of where things will go next. A new cutscene suggests that the next season will again involve Rasputin, the giant AI "warmind" players have been interacting with in short bursts since the vanilla campaign of the original Destiny.

The new cutscene starts up as soon as you load the game with the weekly reset for February 18. In it, Osiris, the time-traveling former Guardian who's been hanging out on Mercury throughout the Season of Dawn, visits the uncovered Rasputin bunker we last visited in the Warmind expansion in Destiny 2's first year. The scene is short, but it's very confrontational; speaking to Rasputin, Osiris accuses the super-smart computer of being a betrayer, and asks where it stands in the continuing battle of Light versus Dark.

There's a lot of lore surrounding Rasputin, but we're lacking a lot of information about the computer's loyalties or agenda. Back before The Collapse, the apocalyptic event in Destiny 2's past that ruined the solar system and created the world we've been playing in since the first game launched, Rasputin was created to run the entire system's global defenses. We know that, eventually, some kind of evil alien threat known as The Darkness showed up, and it seems that Rasputin fought it. Then the computer mostly went silent. The Warmind expansion revealed that, rather than allow itself to be captured or destroyed by the Hive, Rasputin froze the whole area of Mars where its main bunker was located. But we've interacted with it a few times since then, and we're still not sure what it ultimately might be up to.

Yakuza 0 has had quite the staggered release -- Japan in 2015, the rest of the world in 2017, and then a PC port in 2018 -- and the final platform is just around the corner. When it gets there, it'll be a day-one addition to the best subscription service in games.

Yakuza 0's Xbox One port is coming before the end of February, a move that was revealed by Xbox Game Pass rather than Sega. It'll arrive on February 26 and instantly be a part of Xbox Game Pass. No pre-ordering necessary, just queue it up and go.

This isn't the only major addition to Game Pass over the course of the next week. Kingdom Hearts III is also on its way, right alongside all the denser-named Kingdom Hearts content that just landed on Xbox. Also, Wasteland Remastered is here for an introduction to inXile's gritty apocalypse ahead of Wasteland 3's launch in May.

Here's the skinny on everything coming to Xbox Game Pass before the end of February:

[Update: The Baldur's Gate 3 PAX East stream is about to start.]

Baldur's Gate 3 has been riding high ever since that gnarly body-horror announcement trailer, but even with Larian Studios' pedigree, a cinematic can only go so far. When's the next reveal happening?

Larian has set the Baldur's Gate 3 gameplay reveal for February 27, 2020, at 12:30 p.m. Creative director Swen Vincke is hosting an on-stage demo and Q&A at PAX East, both of which will be live-streamed, and the studio will run follow-up demos the rest of the weekend at booth #14309.

For now, here's another checking-out-the-studio teaser – albeit with a dragon this time.

"We have grown our team to 350 people and have been working on new technology and pipelines to allow our team to create a truly next-generation RPG," said Larian. "There will be more than 100+ hours of content, with all the depth you'd expect and many surprises along the way."

Even after playing the Phantasy Star Online 2 beta, we can't believe it's finally here!

The post Phantasy Star Online 2 Cements a New Sega Era appeared first on Siliconera.

Rune Factory 4 Special physical copies come with a little blast from the past: an actual instruction manual is the box.

The post Rune Factory 4 Special Physical Copies Come With Instructions appeared first on Siliconera.

In the first exclusive video from our month of Outriders coverage, Game Informer's Jeff Cork sits down with game director Bartek Kmita and lead writer Joshua Rubin for repeated shallow dives into looting, shooting, Polish history and more. If anyone out there has any leads as to where Cork has been, please let us know.

Click the banner below for more exclusive coverage of Outriders, including the full cover story available now for free!

For many, creating is the name of the game in Dreams. For the less creative among us though, we’ll want to check out the best that the world’s creators have to offer. Here are the best Dreams levels we’ve found so far that you should play as soon as possible.

We’ll continue to update this piece with more levels as we play more, so keep checking back for more. You can also check them out at https://indreams.me/, where you can add them to your list to play later.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ anticipated final season is earning acclaim so far, and today we have a new clip teeing up the storyline of the next episode, The Bad Batch. It’s set to feature an experimental group of defective clones that Captain Rex has called upon in his quest to thwart the onslaught of the Republic.

Disney describes the episode’s storyline:

“It’s the end of the historic Clone Wars, as the forces of darkness have amassed great power in their bid to transform the Republic into the Galactic Empire. With the Republic on a losing streak, Captain Rex fears the Separatists are using stolen data to help predict the Grand Army’s every move.

As the threat of defeat looms, Rex teams up with experimental Clone Force 99, also known as the Bad Batch. Together, they embark on a high-risk mission behind enemy lines to uncover the truth behind the Separatist victories in “The Bad Batch,” an all-new episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars making its debut this Friday, February 21 on Disney+.”

You can check out the clip below.