Category: Games

Today’s official PlayStation 5 teardown told us a lot about the console, but perhaps the most interesting element was learning just how afraid Sony seems to have been about heat buildup in the new generation, and the lengths it’s gone to correct that. It even explains why PS5 is quite so massive.

Clearly as sick of “my PS4 sounds like a jet engine” tweets as the rest of us, Sony appears to have thrown everything it can at the wall to help PS5 run cool and, thus, quietly. In the course of the teardown, we see multiple means of keeping the console cool:

• The entire rear side of the console is an exhaust port.
• A huge, 120mm x 45mm cooling fan, capable of drawing in air from both sides.
• Dust catching ports that have been built to withstand vacuuming.
• A liquid metal thermal conductor to keep the CPU and GPU cool.
• A large heatsink, using a heat pipe that achieves the same performance as a vapor chamber.

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It’s a multi-pronged approach to reduce dust build-up and increase expelled heat, which should reduce noise overall (and that’s not confined to heat reduction either – even the Blu-Ray drive has been insulated to reduce vibration noise). Those elements make up the bulk of Sony engineer Yasuhiro Ootori’s explanations during the teardown video – it’s abundantly clear that Sony thought this was a major problem in PS4, and has sought to correct it for PS5.

There’s a case to be made, in fact, that the primary reason for PS5 being the skyscraper-sized object it is down to keeping it cool. Ootori makes clear that the size enables for a “dramatic improvement in performance in terms of processing power and quietness.” The only system element the width of the console is that fan, and the heatsink takes up a huge portion of the rest of the internal space.

It might not fit quite as nicely in your TV stand as previous boxes, but PS5 should at the very least be quiet once it’s in there.

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PS5 will cost US$499 / £449 / AU$750 for the full edition, and US$399 / £359 / AU$600 for the digital edition. It will arrive on November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and November 19 in all other territories.

PS5 preorders are currently sold out at all major retailers, but make sure to follow the IGN Deals Twitter page to be alerted the moment they go live again.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Genshin Impact developer MiHoYo is working on more characters, locations, and next-gen versions of the game – but has no plans for an Xbox version.

Speaking to IGN Japan, a MiHoYo spokesperson explained that it considers Genshin Impact a live service game, “and the current version is only a portion of the content […] We will continue developing even more content and gameplay while also releasing updates and optimizations. So, the product that goes online isn’t the ‘final version’, but rather the ‘first step’.”

While MiHoYo doesn’t have immediate plans to add new mechanics to the mix, its aim is to build Genshin Impact’s world out from its current state. The game launched with 20 characters and two major city locations (Mondstadt and Liyue), and the developer makes clear that more charcaters, character-specific missions, and a third city are currently in development. New side quests will also be added.

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Many of the ongoing decisions will be made based on player feedback, and MiHoYo’s inviting players to tell them what they’d like to see. “One could say that the real work has only just begun”, said the spokesperson.

The game was released on PC, PS4 and mobile, with a Switch version already confirmed. However, MiHoYo is already working on  other platforms: “We already have plans in regards to Genshin Impact on next-gen consoles, and we will update everyone accordingly at a future date.” Those won’t necessarily be straight ports either, with the spokesperson making clear that, “We are also in discussion over future visual improvements as well.”

However, the one area that Genshin Impact won’t seem to be expanding into is Microsoft consoles, with MiHoYo saying, “We currently don’t have any plans for an Xbox version of the game.” It’s not clear if that’s down to an exclusivity deal, Xbox’s lower presence in Asian markets, or other factors.

Genshin Impact’s had a very strong start to its life, seeing over 17 million downloads on mobile alone, and making an estimated $50 million. The free-to-play action-RPG can be a little confusing as it begins, so we’ve got a beginner’s guide to characters, combat and currencies, as well as a primer on how to use its cross saves, and how to play co-op.

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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

 

Sky: Children of the Light is moving into its seventh season, introducing a set of trials and a new narrative that will delve into the villagers’ origin story. The season is available now, bringing with it a bunch of new cosmetics, expressions, and other items.

The Season of Prophecy is Sky’s latest seasonal event, which Thatgamecompany promises will be its biggest season yet. The new season looks to expand the scope of its seasonal content yet again, after the Season of Enchantment and vacation-themed Season of Sanctuary both introduced huge new areas to the game.

The biggest thing the Season of Prophecy brings to the game are trials–a set of four different trials based around water, earth, air, and fire. The new season will take place within the Isle of Dawn’s Cave of Prophecies, promising to “unravel its original purpose,” with a narrative designed to reveal more of the game’s mysterious backstory.

The season will include just four new expressions, as well as cosmetics including five masks, four hairstyles, three capes, a new instrument, and more. Some of these seasonal cosmetics and rewards require the $9.99 season pass to redeem.

Thatgamecompany also announced that Sky’s Halloween-themed event Days of Mischief would be returning between October 22 and November 4, with new themed cosmetics and a chance to pick up last year’s Halloween cosmetics in a “catch up pack”.

Sky recently celebrated a milestone of 50 million downloads across both iOS and Android, less than three months after it reached 20 million. While the plan is for Sky to eventually release on other platforms, its intended 2020 Switch release was delayed to 2021 due to COVID-19, and other platforms haven’t yet been announced.

Pokemon Go players can currently claim several free items to celebrate an important anniversary. October 2020 marks the fifth anniversary of Niantic going independent, after forming in 2010 as a start-up lab within Google–but it’s players of their most popular game that are receiving a present.

In order to claim this present, you’ll have to go to the Pokemon Go offer redemption page and enter the code DJTLEKBK2G5EK. This will give you some in-game bonuses right away, but you need to make sure you enter the code before October 13.

According to Serebii, these are the bonus items you’ll earn for entering this code:

• 20 Ultra Balls
• 1 Star Piece
• 10 Pinap Berries
• 10 Niantic Stickers

Pokemon Go was released in July 2016, so the game itself is not five years old yet. The game’s next Community Day is coming up on October 17, alongside numerous other October events.

Niantic is currently working on new experiences, including Catan World Explorers, based on the popular board game.

Super sad to hear about the passing of Eddie Van Halen. He was a big influence on Chris & me as we were writing Bill & Ted. In fact, when director Stephen Herek was reading the script he got 3 pages in, stopped, put on 1984 & resumed. We wanted the movie to be a cinematic “Jump.” pic.twitter.com/B2oTnDMWdH

— Ed Solomon (@ed_solomon) October 6, 2020

The Sims 4 will celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from September 15 to October 15, with a free in-game update that includes new food recipes, Create-A-Sim options, and build items. The update is live now.

These additions were designed in conjunction with SOMOS EA, which is “centered on advancing EA’s diversity and inclusion by ensuring a culture where Hispanic/Latinx employees can thrive.” EA has aimed to respectfully integrate ideas from Hispanic culture into the game.

Other companies have run into criticism for poorly planned Hispanic Heritage month celebrations, including Twitch. The platform attempted to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month by adding custom emotes, but met a swift backlash for the culturally insensitive and stereotypical designs.

Here are all the Hispanic Heritage items you can find in The Sims 4:

• A new object: Chiminea (grill)
• Grilled Food options: Asado, Grilled Plantains, Churrasco, Pinchos, Choripan, Chimis, Chimichurri Skewers, Elotes, Pollo a la Brasa
• Outdoor Decor: Pottery, Arbor, Filetado-inspired sign/painting for backyard, kitchen or restaurant use
• Painted Dining Set: Colorful Table and Chairs
• Clothing: Panama Hat, Huipil, Guayabera and new items with designs inspired by Mister Cartoon

In other The Sims 4 news, a Star Wars expansion was made available in September. In the add-on, players can visit the planet of Batuu. Star Wars franchise characters like Rey and Kylo Ren are also part of the package, and you can choose to align with either the Resistance or the First Order. Players can also create their own lightsabers and build their droids.

The Journey to Batuu expansion is available for $20 across all platforms.