This week, America had a normal one. Nothing major or out of the ordinary happened, and no disgraced proto-fascist insurrectionists with mouths wetter than a slip and slide left the highest office in the country. And yet, for some reason, we decided to center this week’s Splitscreen podcast on presidents.
Xbox Live Gold, Microsoft’s online service for Xbox, is about to get more expensive. The company announced this morning that subscriptions will go up by $1 to $11 a month in the coming weeks. The new cheapest option for an annual subscription is paying for the $60 six month plan twice, double what a year of Xbox Live…
The Pokemon Company periodically tackles big Pokemon bans in waves, and another one is coming around the bend. Last year they cracked down on players who abused a "disconnect" glitch to get ahead, and now they're focusing on altered/modded data.
As anyone who has been playing Pokemon for any amount of time knows, save data manipulation has been running rampant in the franchise. Duping legendary Pokemon, beefing up stats, you name it. As Serebii reports, anyone caught "modifying save data" will be banned.
That includes no online play for Sword and Shield, as well as no trading or Pokemon Home app use. Game Freak will likely remind people that this is part of the TOS, or just a completely obvious reality: you use Game Genie online, you're gonna get banned.
In line with past ban waves, no refunds will be granted and they can either range from temporary or permanent lengths of time, depending on the offense. Serebii explains that these check-ins are going to be "more regular" in the future, so avoid it!
Pokemon [Serebii.net]
[Update: In a welcomed reversal, Microsoft has announced it is not going to change the price of Xbox Live Gold. Not only that, but it is changing its policy on free-to-play games. In the coming months, players will no longer need a paid subscription to play free-to-play games on Xbox consoles.]
Microsoft has announced that it is to increase the cost of its paid online subscription service Xbox Live Gold. The new price program will see a one-month sub increase by $1 ($10.99), a three-month sub increase by $5 ($29.99), and a six-month sub increase by a substantial $20 ($59.99) with prices naturally adjusting for each territories' local currency.
"Periodically, we assess the value and pricing of our services to reflect changes in regional marketplaces and to continue to invest in the Xbox community," Microsoft said on its official blog. "In many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold has not changed for years and in some markets, it hasn’t changed for over 10 years."
Microsoft is currently contacting its Xbox Live Gold subscribers, and notes that the new pricing will take effect 45 days after this notice is sent. Microsoft has also clarified that any subscribers who choose to upgrade their Xbox Live Gold accounts to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will carry over any and all remaining time on their current Live Gold account. Thus, if you have 10 months of Xbox Live Gold remaining and choose to upgrade, that will then become 10 months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Five games offered, instead of the usual four
Sarah Connor and the T-800 look like they were pulled straight out of T2
Despite the earlier confirmation that the Uncharted movie starring Spider-Man's Tom Holland as a much younger Nathan Drake wrapped up filming back in October 2020, the upcoming film adaptation has seen a lengthy delay before its release. No longer slated for March 2021, the new anticipated release date has been pushed back to 2022.
Tom Holland and company have been providing steady updates about the upcoming film, all presenting the picture that everything was right on schedule. Barring that, there is still an ongoing pandemic, which has been throwing complications into the mix across almost all entertainment industries (including games).
The new release date for the Uncharted film is slated for February 11, 2022, though the official movie's social accounts all say simply 2022. Geoff Keighley first broke the news via Twitter, but the info has since been corroborated by the leading entertainment sites within the film industry like The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.
The Uncharted movie has been pushed back from this July to Feb. 11, 2022. pic.twitter.com/A2ZP8DjDTp
Microsoft has just revealed its Xbox Games With Gold February 2021 free games lineup as January comes to a close. Just as is the case every month, February brings with it more free games for Xbox players to enjoy with an active Gold Live membership or the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. For those excited for more free games to try out, here is what the Xbox Games With Gold February 2021 free games lineup has to offer.
With the recent Resident Evil Village fanfare and the 25th anniversary on the horizon for the iconic franchise, the first Resident Evil game becoming available comes at the perfect time. Indiana Jones for the original Xbox is also a solid pick, for no other reason than the fact that a new Indiana Jones game has been confirmed being helmed by Bethesda.
For the full list of available titles and when you can scoop them up:
The Xbox Live Gold membership is getting a price increase and the common reaction to the news is anger when comparing the 12-month membership to that of PlayStation Plus. For current 12-month members and for those interested in the Game Pass Ultimate, here is what you need to know about the Live service changes and what that means for you as the player.
[UPDATE]: Xbox issued a statement saying "Today was not great. We always try to do our best for you and today we missed the mark. We hear you, and we're reversing our Xbox Live Gold pricing updates.
Xbox Live first launched 18 years ago and allows for players to enjoy online components of games, exclusive savings on first and third-person titles, and freebies every single month. Up until now, the PlayStation Plus and Live memberships were in sync regarding pricing, though that's about to change with the recent announcement. The price of a Live membership has increased depending on the term you purchase.
To begin, here are the new prices:
For those that currently have a Live membership that is 12 or 6 months in length, there will be no price change. When it's time to renew, the current price will be the price players pay.
Mass Effect 2's LGBTQ+ relationships suffered as a result of Fox News' infamous and high profile segment on the brief sex scene included in Mass Effect 1.
That's according to Mass Effect 2 writer Brian Kindregan, who told TheGamer, the controversy had contributed to the curtailing of pansexual romance possibilities for his foul-mouthed but kind-hearted character Jack.
Back in 2007, bullshit broadcaster Fox News took aim at the first Mass Effect for its 30-second romance scene where you are able to see blue alien Liara's buttocks. In an awful and ill-informed discussion segment, the network suggested this optional coda to the near-60-hour game was potentially dangerous to its audience and that copies of the game should not be allowed into family homes.
Whoops, turns out betting on your own CS:GO tournament matches will get you in a hell of a lot of trouble with the Esports Integrity Commission. Who knew?
The ESIC has today announced sanctions against 35 Australian CS:GO players who breached its Anti-Corruption Code, hot on the heels of the seven who received sanctions back in October 2020. Two players who were sanctioned last year have also had their bans extended.
Today's sanctions have been issued for players who bet on matches in ESIC member events, including on their own matches or their team's matches. The bans range from a "level one" 12-month ban for players who bet on matches, all the way up to a level five 60-month ban for aggravated betting against their own team. (You can find the full list of names and bans here).
With Ryzen 5000 processors and RTX 30-series graphics cards extremely hard to come by right now, thanks to minimal supply and an incredible amount of demand, turning to a pre-built PC is becoming one of the only ways to get your hands on the latest hardware at a (somewhat) reasonable price. After all, retailers make money on each component, so selling a whole PC provides better margins than selling a single CPU or GPU.
One option from Scan and Nvidia is a small form factor (SFF) gaming PC currently retailing for £1099, which includes an RTX 3060 Ti graphics card and an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor. That spec should provide very competitive frame-rates at 1080p and 1440p, so it could be worth considering if you're interested in making a substantial upgrade over your existing gaming PC or if you're getting into PC gaming for the first time.
Behind the headlining CPU and GPU, the rest of the specs are reasonable too. 16GB of dual-channel 3200MHz DDR4 RAM is the current price/performance sweet spot, especially for AMD Ryzen processors, and a 1TB Intel 665p NVMe SSD should provide a good amount of fast storage. The motherboard is one of the most full-featured and best-reviewed A520 board on the market, the AsRock A520M ITX, so you get compatibility with new Ryzen processors, Wi-Fi and RAM overclocking. The only thing you're really missing out on here with the budget A520 chipset compared to more expensive B550 and X570 is PCIe 4.0 support, which only makes a fractional difference to graphics performance and game load times right now.
The Uncharted movie was hit by another delay, which pushed its release date from July 2021 into 2022.
The post Uncharted Movie Release Date’s Been Bumped Into 2022 appeared first on Siliconera.
Genshin Impact Xiao and Keqing banners will show up in February, and people will briefly get to pick one of six four-stars as a free friend.
The post Genshin Impact Xiao and Keqing Banners Coming in February appeared first on Siliconera.
Good Smile Company announced two new KonoSuba Aqua figures. The figma's ready for summer, while the Nendoroid is dressed for winter.
The post KonoSuba Aqua Figures Are Ready for Summer and Winter appeared first on Siliconera.
Xbox Live Gold one, three, and six-month membership prices are all going up.
The post Xbox Live Gold Price Going Up for All Plans appeared first on Siliconera.
A long, long time ago in video game years, before BioWare were known primarily as the Dragon Age and Mass Effect studio, they were working on a sequel to their action RPG Jade Empire. After multiple internal reboots from Jade Empire 2 to Jade Empire Modern, to spiritual successor Revolver, the project was eventually cancelled internally without ever being announced. BioWare art director Matt Rhodes has now pulled out some old artwork to share a look at what it could have been.
The Asus ROG Gladius II Core is probably one of the oddest gaming mice I’ve tested in a while. Its modest DPI range of just 200-6200 puts it firmly at the lower end of the gaming mouse spectrum, but its comparatively high price of £50 / $46 suggests otherwise. Indeed, its DPI range might not be as high as other mice in this kind of price range, but the ROG Gladius Core II has all the hallmarks of a great mid-range gaming mouse. It’s comfortable, well-built, comes with a braided cable instead of a plastic one, and its unique switch socket design means you can even change the type of Omron switch it has under the main right and left click buttons.
has now been out for just a couple days, so naturally speedrunners have already managed to beat its levels in under a minute. I really like puzzle-y stealth games but I approach them as I do a game of chess: thoughtfully, slowly, and badly. That makes me the exact opposite of the folks who are already making their way through Hitman 3 levels quickly, skillfully, and mercilessly. They’re doing it in under a minute too. Jeez.
In this 2015 GDC session, Daniel Olsen breaks down the haunting melodies that make up Simogo's signature games Year Walk and Device 6. ...
Today Genshin Impact developer MiHoYo released new screenshots and plenty of footage of update 1.3.
First of all, we get to see lots of new screenshots, which you can enjoy in the gallery below.
We also get some charming artwork of Xiao, the new character coming with the update.
Moving on to the footage, revealed via livestream, we take a look at Xiao’s character trailer.
Next, is a preview of upcoming events, including the Theater Mechanicus gameplay.
After months of anticipation third-party add-on developer DC Designs released its F-15 Eagle package for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
The add-on includes four variants of the aircraft, the F-15C, the F-15D, the F-15E Strike Eagle, and the Israeli F-15I.
It’s priced at $37 on Just Flight’s store and comes with its own installer, which means the process of getting it on your PC is relatively painless.
Do keep in mind that a manual and paint kit are available in the Just Flight folder of your Star menu. While this is not a very complex aircraft, it’s better to read it before you start flying.
Since a video shows more than a few thousand words, below you can check out a full flight from take-off to landing, following along as I put the F-15E Strike Eagle through its paces among the twists and turns of the famous Jedi Transition and Star Wars Canyon in California.
Developer miHoYo has today showcased the first footage of Genshin Impact’s Version 1.3. The update is set to introduce new storylines, characters, and gear to grind for.
As you’ll see below, the storyline seems to center around a Liyue festival called the Lantern Rite, and it’s there, toward the end of the trailer, that we see a fleeting glimpse of The Traveler’s sibling. It seems the two are almost re-united before once again being pulled apart.
Notably, there’s also a first look at the new playable character, Xiao, who is known as the Vigilant Yaksha. Those who have been playing Genshin Impact since the beta will remember him from those early days, but he has, of course, since been removed from the game. He’s set to make a big return in Update 1.3.
Here’s the trailer:
For those who still can’t get over the beauty of the Dragonspine region which was added to the game in Update 1.2, do make sure you check out the excellent mini-documentary from miHoYo that sheds light on its development.
Genshin Impact is one of the more gargantuan and, after a certain point, grindy games currently in existence, but its players remain ravenous for Content. On February 3, they will be briefly sated by a big new event: The Lantern Rite Festival, which will bring with it a new playable character, stories and challenges,…
Remember going to Toys ‘R’ Us as a kid? Perhaps this 20-minute collection of raw footage from a November 1991 store visit will refresh your memory. Journey with me back to the days when we bought video games with slips of paper and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had their own dedicated aisle.
Call of Duty’s battle royale Warzone is just under a year old. When it launched in March of 2020, I praised the 150-player online game for smooth gameplay, simplified mechanics, and fast-paced action. But all of the features that once made Warzone one of the best battle royales to drop into now feel hindered by the…
Modern racing games owe so much to Sega’s Virtua Racing. Released to arcades in 1992, Virtua Racing wasn’t the first 3D polygonal racing game, though it was the first to really get it right, thanks to a blistering sense of speed and smooth, responsive 30 frame-per-second gameplay that outpaced its contemporaries at…
This weekend is for relaxing just a little bit more than we relaxed last weekend. I’m not saying we should just collapse on our couches and let out long, relieved sighs, but perhaps we can breathe a little easier. Maybe play some video games. Perhaps even space video games.
When Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning comes to Switch, it'll be available fully on the cart in physical form.
Imagine that! You buy a physical product, and you don't need to download 5-10 GB of additional data to get it to work properly. While the jury is out on how stable this Switch port is going to be (amid some issues in the prior versions), one would hope that the extra months of delay between the initial release and the Switch version would garner some extra polish. Either way, the publisher states that the physical edition will have "the full game on the cartridge, no downloads are required."
Note, however, that the upcoming Fatesworn expansion (which is still wrapped up tight in terms of details) will require a download, because it's literally DLC. Still, having the complete original version on one cart will pay dividends years down the line. It's going to be very easy to get a Switch in the future given how many of them are in production, and 15-20 years on, even if the Switch eShop is dead and buried, you'll be able to pop the cart in and play.
Kingdoms of Amalur [Twitter]
Yeah, I get it. Just like me, you've worn out your long-cherished copy of Night Trap for the Sega CD. It was always going to happen. After all, that disc is now pushing 30 years old, and the glue they used to stick those layers together back then only holds for so long - you should see the state of some of my laserdiscs.
But never fear, Limited Run Games is here. Today, the boutique retailer has opened pre-orders on a new pressing of both Night Trap and another Digital Pictures release, Ground Zero: Texas, specifically for use with original Sega CD hardware. Not only that, but rich kids who have splashed out on a Sega 32X will be pleased to hear that both titles are also being made available for the tower of power that is the Sega CD 32X.
What time is it? Summertime! Hey, It's our vacation!
Wait no! It's the dead of winter and Bungie is making more promises about how much better Destiny is going to be. This time it's from assistant game director Joe Blackburn, who is looking forward to a full 2021, which is going to be "a little different."
Here's the full quote from Blackburn: "Last year, I said Destiny's Best Days are ahead. Seeing what's coming, I believe this more than ever. But we have work to do to get there. 2021 is going to be a little different for Destiny. Taking some time to validate our plans, but expect a state of Destiny 2021 next season."
Look, I get the sentiment, and appreciate the enthusiasm. But having been a part of Destiny's journey since the original alpha, I've seen this same promise over, and over, and over. And the game, in many respects, keeps regressing. We're at the point where even dedicated Destiny social accounts and full-time Destiny content creators are getting weary of the same routine.
The endless road to Sony's cinematic adaptation of Uncharted has just gotten even longer. Having been in development for over 10 years, and having clambered over multiple obstacles on its way to fruition, The Tom Holland-starring action epic has now been officially pushed back to February 11, 2022.
Uncharted was one of a number of Sony films freshly delayed, as nervous studio executives freak out over the possibility of not making ALL THE MONEY at the box office. Sony also rescheduled MGM's No Time to Die - the third major pushback to hit the 25th 007 epic - which will now premiere October 8, 2021. Also shifted up the calendar are Ghostbusters: Afterlife (November 11), and Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (June 11).
With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping the global populace indoors and away from theaters, Warner Bros. has bitten the bullet and is choosing to screen its 2021 slate on paid streaming service HBO Max. But many studios remain archaically adamant of seeing their blockbusters exclusively on the big screen, with the potential loss of the highly lucrative China market considered too large a risk to take.
Mittens of Redistribution are hugely overpowered, and I love them
Genshin Impact continues rolling along with another big content drop coming February 3. The open world free-to-play gacha game is bringing a character that you may have met much earlier in your journey in as a new playable 5-star character. Yep, I hope you've been saving your primogems, because Xiao is here! Xiao is an Anemo (wind) character that uses polearms, with the ability to siphon his own life force to do more damage. Also, he has a freaking cool mask.
Yeah, basically I've been saving up my primogems since before Klee came out, so I'm ready to take a bunch of rolls on Xiao's banner. No idea how to get started in Genshin Impact, what gacha is, or what any of these weird terms mean? Check out our guide to getting started here.
Okay, on to event news! During the Lantern Rite event, players can get 10 free Intertwined Fates per day via a login event and pick up 1600 primogems by completing various event activities. Players also get to pick a free 4-star character from the Liyue roster to add to their team, which may or may not give you some valuable constellation boosts or round out your team. The event brings a smattering of special activities and quests to complete focusing on Liyue, so look for food stalls and other festive fare around town. Get a taste of everything coming in 1.3 in the trailer below!
Click here to watch embedded media 
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening was a treasure when it first released, and when a modernized version later arrived on Nintendo Switch, the journey got even better. If you're like us and are always on the hunt for an excuse to re-play through the iconic adventure Link himself, might we suggest pointing that sword at Minecraft next?
Minecraft players are among the most creative in gaming, taking the sandbox world and truly turning out incredible creations. From full-on replicas to fan-driven content, Minecraft is a flourishing world of creativity and wonder. It's also now the home of another new way to experience Link's Awakening because two Redditors banded together to faithfully recreated the Nintendo classic within the world of Creepers and mining.
