Month: January 2020

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When Microsoft announced the Xbox Series X during The Game Awards in December, the company did so with the accompanying tagline: “Power Your Dreams.” The marketing slogan is meant to communicate that the new console is so powerful it can create things you can only dream of. Microsoft really likes the slogan, so much that it has now trademarked it.

As Wccftech noticed, Microsoft filed trademark applications with the United States Patent & Trademark office during the last week of December for the slogan. Microsoft registered a total of five different applications, including the expected ones covering video games and online entertainment. One of the more unusual but not completely unexpected registrations for Power Your Dreams covers clothing such as headwear, footwear, jackets, coats, and other shirts. In short, you should expect Microsoft to slap “Power Your Dreams” onto pretty much everything it can to get the message across that Xbox Series X is a really powerful, must-have next-generation system.

For comparison, the catchphrase for the Xbox One was “Jump Ahead,” while Microsoft later referred to the Xbox One X as the “World’s Most Powerful Console.”

The Xbox Series X debuts in Holiday 2020 with Halo Infinite releasing as a launch title. The “Series X” name is meant to signify that different models of the next-generation system might be released. The ongoing rumour is that Microsoft is also developing a less expensive and less powerful next-generation console, though this has yet to be confirmed.

The official name of the next-generation Xbox platform of systems is simply “Xbox,” with “Series X” designating the model name of the new console. This naming convention is similar to Apple’s line of iPhones that have different models that exist within the same family.

Sony, meanwhile, is launching its new console this year with a simpler and more straightforward name–the PlayStation 5.

In other next-gen news, Microsoft recently showed off the Xbox Series X’s CPU. Additionally, AMD recently admitted to using fake renders of the Xbox Series X during its CES briefing.

Microsoft “Power Your Dreams” Trademarks:

Yakuza: Like A Dragon, the next game in the Yakuza series, might be getting an English dub. While the first Yakuza on PS2 received a much-derided dub when it released outside of Japan, subsequent entries have been in Japanese only; now, it looks like the latest Yakuza might give players the option of playing in English.

An eagle-eyed fan on forum Resetera noticed that the game was listed on the site for PCB Productions, with the studio receiving a credit for “talent direction / mocap / vocap /dialog production” in the game. This suggests that they have worked on an English language track for the game, and the credit has since been removed. The company is based in Los Angeles, and has produced English dialog for Persona 2-4, Catherine, and several other Japanese titles.

Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio also included an English-language voice option in their 2019 game Judgment, and since the latest Yakuza introduces a fresh new cast it makes sense to add English voice acting to the game despite not doing so with previous Yakuza titles. PCB Productions handled talent direction and dialog production on that title.

This is, it’s worth noting, not absolute confirmation that Yakuza: Like A Dragon will definitely receive an English language voice track. However, it seems very likely.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon releases in Japan on January 16, 2020, and will be available in the west at a later date. It will offer turn-based combat, which is a radical change for the series. It’s also review editor Edmond Tran’s most anticipated game of 2020.

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As part of Sony’s CES 2020 briefing from Las Vegas, the company shared an update on PlayStation 4 sales and other key metrics related to the console.

The PS4 has now sold more than 106 million units worldwide, PlayStation president Jim Ryan announced. He also revealed that more than 1.15 billion PS4 games have been sold at retail and digitally since the console launched in 2013.

Ryan also gave an update on how PlayStation Plus is performing; he said the subscription service has 38.8 million paying members. Additionally, he said PlayStation Network has more than 103 million monthly active users.

Finally, the executive spoke very briefly about PlayStation VR. He said it has now reached 5 million units since it debuted in October 2016.

The PS4 is the second best-selling home console in history, only trailing the PlayStation 2 which sold an astonishing 150 million units during its lifetime.

2019 was the PS4’s seventh year on the market. 2020 will be a big year for the PlayStation brand, as Sony will release its next-generation console, the PlayStation 5, this holiday. Also at CES today, Sony unveiled the PS5’s logo and re-affirmed some of its key features.

The Batman director Matt Reeves has revealed what role Colin Farrell, who was reported to be in talks to join the film in November 2019, will play. Farrell has been confirmed for the film now, and he’ll be playing one of Batman’s most iconic villains.

The Irish actor will be taking on the role of Oswald Cobblepot, also known as The Penguin, in Reeves’ DC Universe film. He will star alongside Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman, Paul Dano as The Riddler, and Robert Pattinson as the titular Batman (replacing the previous Batman, Ben Affleck.)

Reeves, whose previous credits include Cloverfield and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, cheekily revealed the casting news on Twitter with a GIF of Farrell shrugging.

It was previously reported that Jonah Hill was up for the role of the Penguin, but he eventually dropped out. Farrell’s recent credits include Dumbo, Widows, The Beguiled, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

The Batman will hit theatres on June 25, 2021. DC’s major film releases for 2020 are Birds of Prey and Wonder Woman 1984, and it’s likely that Batman spin-off Joker will receive a sequel considering its enormous box office success.

Sony’s CES 2020 briefing brought with it some PlayStation 5 news, though it wasn’t much. Sony’s Jim Ryan appeared on stage to reveal the PlayStation 5 logo.

Here it is:

Ryan also spoke briefly about some of the features of the PlayStation 5, including 3D audio sound, adaptive triggers for the new controller, a faster SSD to improve loading times, as well as ray-tracing and an Ultra HD blu-ray drive. All of these features were already announced.

Ryan concluded his segment by saying further specifics about the PlayStation 5, including the game lineup and other features, will be announced at a later date.

If history is any indication, Sony may share more PlayStation 5 news soon. As you may remember, Sony officially announced the PlayStation 4 back in February 2013, one month after CES that year.

The PlayStation 5 launches in Holiday 2020 alongside Microsoft’s own next-generation console, Xbox Series X. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more on the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

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