Crash Bandicoot 4 Will Not Have Microtransactions

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time will not have microtransactions, developer Toys For Bob clarified in a tweet. This comes after speculation that the game might have them because the Microsoft Store listing for the game states it “offers in-app purchases.” This label may have been caused by the Totally Tubular Skins, which are included with the game but listed as a separate item on the store.

Crash Bandicoot 4 picks up after the end of Crash Bandicoot: Warped as Neo Cortex, Dr. N. Tropy, and Uka Uka make another attempt at multiverse domination. In an interview with GameSpot, producer Lou Studdert spoke about the game’s new art style, the new reality bending Quantum masks, and the new playable characters.

Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time releases on PS4 and Xbox One on October 2, 2020. You can learn about the game and its pre-order bonuses in our Crash Bandicoot 4 pre-order guide.

GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.

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YouTube TV’s Live Streaming Service Raises Its Prices

The live streaming service YouTube TV, which is owned by Google, is set to increase the monthly price to its service. Starting today, it will cost new customers $65 a month. Those who already have YouTube TV will not see the price change on their statements until on or after July 30.

The service has been making many changes this year, and the cost increase will reflect the improvements to the service, according to YouTube. “We don’t take these decisions lightly, and realize how hard this is for our members,” the company said in a blog post. “That said, this new price reflects the rising cost of content and we also believe it reflects the complete value of YouTube TV, from our breadth of content to the features that are changing how we watch live TV. YouTube TV is the only streaming service that includes a DVR with unlimited storage space, plus 6 accounts per household each with its own unique recommendations, and 3 concurrent streams. It’s all included in the base cost of YouTube TV, with no contract and no hidden fees.”

Earlier this year, YouTube announced it was adding more channels from the ViacomCBS family–GameSpot’s parent company. Today, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, TV Land, and VH1 were added to the service. Later, BET Her, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Jr., NickToons, and TeenNick will also be added.

New features have also arrived to the service including one that allows users to jump to different segments on certain news programs on the streaming service. There is also unlimited DVR, a new Dark Mode, and the option to mark a show as “watched.” Finally, the Live Guide got an overhall.

To learn more about the specifics of YouTube TV and all the live TV streaming services, check out GameSpot’s best streaming services breakdown.

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The Mandalorian: Lucasfilm Announces New Books and Comics

The world of The Mandalorian is about to get much bigger. Not only is the Star Wars series returning for a second season on Disney+ this fall, Lucasfilm Press has revealed a new publishing initiative aimed at further fleshing out the characters and worlds of The Mandalorian.

This new Mandalorian-centric publishing initiative was announced on StarWars.com, with the site revealing a number of new fiction and nonfiction books. Among these is The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season 1), written by Phil Szostak and featuring a wealth of concept art and behind-the-scenes details from the series. You can check out the cover to The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season 1) below:

Art by Doug Chiang. (Image Credit: Lucasfilm Press)
Art by Doug Chiang. (Image Credit: Lucasfilm Press)

This publishing initiative will include several new stories tied to the events of The Mandalorian. Among these is an untitled novel from The Burning Dark writer Adam Christopher and new comic book series from both Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. Lucasfilm will also release several YA and junior reader books, along with The Mandalorian: The Ultimate Visual Guide by Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo.

Currently, no plot details have been revealed for these new fiction projects, and it’s unclear when these stories will take place and whether they’ll explore the show’s main protagonist, bounty hunter Din Djarin, or other characters like ex-Rebel trooper Cara Dune or Imperial warlord Moff Gideon. No doubt more announcements will be coming later in 2020, particularly as we get closer to the release of The Mandalorian: Season 2.

This news comes as Lucasfilm Press is also gearing up for an ambitious publishing initiative called Star Wars: High Republic. Set 200 years before the Star Wars movies, The High Republic will showcase the Jedi at the height of their power and explore the impact of an instigating event known as The Great Disaster. You can read an exclusive excerpt of Charles Soule’s novel Star Wars: The High Republic – Light of the Jedi.

No doubt The Mandalorian: Season 2 will pave the way for even more companion books. Season 2 will reportedly include Clone wars favorites like Rosario Dawson’s Ahsoka Tano and Katee Sackhoff’s Bo-Katan Kryze. If you need a recap, here’s Ahsoka’s story leading up to the era of The Mandalorian.

Will you be picking up any of these new Star Wars books? Let us know in the comments below.

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

Animal Crossing – Here’s How Swimming Works

Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘s first free summer content update arrives on July 3. Not only will the update bring back another returning character, Pascal, it will also introduce the ability to swim, and Nintendo has explained how that will work.

Much like in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, you’ll need to have a wetsuit to swim in New Horizons. Following the summer update, you’ll find wetsuits for sale in Nook’s Cranny alongside the other tools. After you purchase one, simply put it on and you’ll be able to take a dip in the ocean around your island.

While swimming, you’ll also be able to dive underwater and catch new sea creatures like sea stars and garden eels, which you can then donate to Blathers to display in the museum. If you find a scallop while diving, the aforementioned Pascal will pop up, and you can trade it to him for a new mermaid DIY recipe (and a kernel of otter wisdom).

A second free summer update for New Horizons is coming this August. Nintendo hasn’t revealed what that update will contain, but the graphic that accompanied the announcement featured fireworks. Longtime Animal Crossing fans will remember that there would be a fireworks show every Sunday evening in August in previous games, so it appears the fireworks show will be making a return as well.

In the meantime, players in the Northern Hemisphere can still find summer shells, a limited-time seasonal material that can be used to craft summer-themed DIY recipes. Nintendo Switch Online subscribers can also still claim an exclusive free rug for Animal Crossing.

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Get Anime Movies, TV Shows Up To 70% Off, Including Dragon Ball Z And More

It’s Anime Month at the Microsoft Store once again, which means you can save up to 70% on popular anime films and TV shows that you can watch on Xbox One or PC. The sale is going on all month long, and if you spend at least $40 on any anime in the sale, you’ll get 4,000 MS Rewards points. That comes out to about $4, but when you’re getting it on top of steep discounts, who’s complaining?

The sale notably includes all seasons of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super, with both English and Japanese audio available for the latter. If you’re just getting into one of these shows, there’s a nice incentive for just buying the first season. If you buy season 1 of Dragon Ball Z ($14) or Dragon Ball Super ($8), you’ll get the second season for free. This freebie offer is only available until July 6.

While the selection for Microsoft’s latest anime sale isn’t as great as we’ve seen in previous sales, there are still some gems here worth snagging if you’re looking for new anime to watch. The movie selection includes A Silent Voice, a love story about a woman who is deaf, for $7, and Penguin Highway, a sci-fi story that begins with penguins appearing everywhere inexplicably, for $6 (you can also rent it for $2). Several Naruto movies are also up for grabs, including Road to Ninja ($9) and Naruto Shippuden: The Movie ($8). On the TV side of things, you can grab Death Note: The Complete Series on sale for $30 (normally $50), along with seasons of Inuyasha, Sailor Moon, and Bleach for steep discounts.

You can check out more of our picks below and see the full sale at the Microsoft Store. Of course, if you’re a regular anime watcher, you might already be subscribed to streaming services that include some of these movies or shows, so it’s worth checking out what you can already stream before purchasing. If you’re considering subscribing to one but not sure which service is right for you, we have a handy guide to the best anime streaming services, including Funimation, Crunchyroll, and more.

Best anime movie deals

Best anime TV show deals

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Gambit Movie Dreams Come True In This Fan Made Short Film

Those crushed by Hollywood’s repeated empty promises to make a movie based on the Marvel comic book character Gambit, may enjoy a brief taste of the playing card-throwing, trench coat-wearing, some sort of accent-having mutant antihero in a new fan made short film, Play For Keeps.

Actor Nick Bateman, who plays Gambit in the 20-min short, posted the video to his YouTube account recently, but the short incorporates footage from a teaser that Bateman and director Jensen Noen released in 2017. That teaser sees Bateman as Gambit, narrating the character’s motivation in voiceover before he fights Krzysztof Soszynski as Daken. (Like Gambit could ever beat someone related to Wolverine in a fight. Are you kidding me?)

Play For Keeps introduces Ellen Hollman as Rogue, a mutant who drains the powers and energy of others with skin-to-skin contact and Anna Butkevych as Magik, a teleporting demon sorceress. Many have been excited to see how Magik will be portrayed by Anya Taylor-Joy in Josh Boone’s long-delayed New Mutants film–still slated for an August 28 release, fingers crossed–but Butkevych does a solid job here.

The short sees Gambit abducted by Magik after a heist, and he is brought to a poker game filled with nefarious characters. There’s a tension throughout, and it is a tension of anticipating every line will be cringe-level bad. So it’s a cool surprise when most of the short turns out to be good!

A modern retelling of Gambit would need a serious update to ’80s comic book ideas of theft, charm, and gambling or risk falling flat in front contemporary audiences. But Play For Keeps succeeds in dropping you into a comic book world that’s just believable enough to be 20-minutes of fun.

Dreams Will be Playable in VR Next Month

Dreams is getting a free update to make it compatible with PlayStation VR. The update will arrive on July 22 and will include tutorials on how to start making new creations in PS VR.

Media Molecule’s latest project, Dreams, is less of a game and more of a creation tool where players can make their own games, movies, images, music, and much more. In July, the range of tools available to players in Dreams will be expanded with a new VR update that lets players create and enjoy VR content.

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Dreams VR will let players use the PlayStation Move Controllers and begin sculpting VR creations. The update will come with a variety of how-to’s so players can learn new skills and some of the more next-level techniques in VR.

Media Molecule has also created its own set of VR experiences for Dreams players as a showcase of what the update can do. One of those experiences is Box Blaster which is a VR shooting experience inside Dreams.

Players won’t need VR to create PS VR experiences. Non-PS VR users can access the same update as VR owners.

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Alongside VR updates, there will also be a new slate of accessibility features like comfort mode, vignette strength, static sky, and more.

Dreams VR will arrive on July 22. Check out IGN’s Dreams review for more coverage.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

17 Mini Series You Can Binge With 19 Episodes Or Less

17 Mini Series You Can Binge With 19 Episodes Or Less – GameSpot

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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company


The Best Xbox Deals Happening Right Now

With the upcoming Xbox Series X and rumored “Xbox Series S” looming on the horizon, there’s no time like the present to score some great deals on Xbox One and its many different versions. The Xbox One X is a powerful 4K gaming machine, and Microsoft’s Play Anywhere initiative means you’ll be able to play Halo: Infinite on it at release if you can’t get your hands on an Xbox Series X on its release date, whenever that may be.

Here are the latest chances to save on Xbox.

Best Xbox One Deals

Deals on Xbox One consoles are hard to come by at the moment. In fact, Xbox One consoles are hard to come by. These are some of the opportunities to get your hands on an Xbox One X at the moment.

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Best Xbox Game Deals

Game deals are also pretty slim right now, but there are chances to save. Best Buy oddly offers free HBO Max for 30 days on a lot of its gaming products in addition to sale prices.

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Best Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold Deals

Even when it’s not on sale, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is an incredible value, combining Xbox Live and Game Pass into one subscription.

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Xbox External Storage Deals

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When Will Xbox Be Back in Stock?

This is a hard question to answer. It’s possible to get one right now if you buy from GameStop or Amazon and don’t mind paying MSRP, but with the Xbox Series X release date announcement coming any day now, there’s not a lot of reason for retailers to keep Xbox One in stock. But beyond that, the supply chain disruptions of the last few months have made getting pretty much any console a tricky endeavor. If you absolutely want to start taking advantage of the benefits of Xbox Game Pass right now, by all means, pick up an Xbox One X, but if you’d rather wait and not pay full price, it’s likely we’ll see some Black Friday savings on remaining stock.

Apple Cancels Arcade Game Projects As It Seeks Greater Engagement – Report

Apple is reportedly shifting its Apple Arcade subscription strategy, attempting to lean in on games that will retain its subscriber base.

Bloomberg reports that the company has scrapped some development contracts with game studios. Developers involved say they were told their games didn’t have a level of “engagement” that the company is looking for, as it seeks to keep users subscribed over a longer period of time. Developers also noted that Apple specifically cited Grindstone as an example of the type of game it wants to see more on the service.

In a statement, Apple said it has always planned to make changes to its lineup based on feedback. The company has not shared metrics for Apple Arcade performance publicly, but developers have said the moves could signal that subscriber growth has been slow and those who sign up for the free trial aren’t retaining their subscriptions.

Apple reportedly paid studios based on development milestones they had already hit, but some studios were faced with sudden financial difficulties due to the canceled contracts.

Apple Arcade is a $5 per month subscription service, and it eschews free-to-play mechanics like in-app purchases. That has made it a nice catalog of standalone experiences, but many of those F2P mechanics also go hand-in-hand with encouraging long-term engagement in mobile games.

On the whole, though, Apple’s services division is doing very well. The App Store, and especially the in-app purchases, helped the division generate about 23% of total sales in Apple’s most recent quarter.