The PlayStation 5 may be getting a new design in 2022, but it likely will be limited to its internal architecture. Due to the global semiconductor shortage, the PS5’s CPU might get swapped to help scale up production.
The potential redesign was originally reported by Taiwanese outlet Digitimes, which suggests that semiconductor foundries are already preparing for the new PS5 architecture and targeting 2022 for production. As relayed by Dr. Serkan Toto on Twitter, Digitimes reports that Sony is aiming for a new “semi-customized” 6 nanometer CPU chip from AMD.
While Digitimes remains the only outlet to report on the specifics of the change, Sony itself has confirmed that it’s thinking seriously about an architecture change to alleviate supply chain issues caused by the semiconductor shortage. In its earnings report, as shared by VGC, Sony CFO responded to a question about meeting second-year sales goals by saying, “For example, we could find maybe a secondary resource, or by changing the design.”
We’re reached out to Sony for comment and will update this article with any additional information we receive.
Architectural tweaks throughout the life cycle of a console–even early on–are nothing new. As new technology is developed for chip production and supply chain logistics, console manufacturers will occasionally overhaul certain aspects of the console’s internals to make it cheaper or easier to produce. For example, less than two years after the PS4’s launch, Sony rolled out a redesign that made the console quieter and more power efficient.
If you’re wondering about external changes–say, a redesign that could make the PS5 less bulky–that’s probably still a ways off. The PS4 Slim, for example, went on sale in September 2016, a little less than three years after the original launch. The Xbox One S was released three years after the original Xbox One, as well.
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Wizards of the Coast and Interplay are casting a resurrection spell on a 2000s-era classic RPG. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance returns to the fray on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on May 7 with PC and mobile versions arriving later in the year.
Those looking for a robust experience should temper their expectations, as this is being called a “re-release” and not a remaster. The port will be playable on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 via backwards compatibility however, with support for two-player local cooperative play returning from the original release. A minute-long trailer announcing the shadow drop was released, and you can watch it below.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance originally launched in December 2001 for PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. The isometric action RPG from now-defunct Snowblind Studios followed three playable heroes–each with their own abilities and strengths–through a hack-and-slash adventure set in the Dungeons and Dragons universe.
The shadow-dropped re-release is well timed, as Dungeons and Dragons: Dark Alliance is set to carry the Dark Alliance torch on June 22. Baldur’s Gate 3, another upcoming game in the Baldur’s Gate saga, released in early access in October with the full launch date still unannounced.
The Season 4 premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale reportedly ranks as the streaming service’s most watched programming in its entire history, according to Deadline. Of course, since most streaming services aren’t transparent about or generally report on actual viewership figures, such brags should be taken with a grain of salt–but Deadline’s sourcing is based on metrics from third-party services, like Samba TV, which are a good ballpark indication of how shows are generally performing.
Samba TV’s figures, for example, aren’t out yet, so there isn’t a number to attach to the current claim that the dystopian drama based on the Margaret Atwood best-selling novel currently ranks as the top streaming series ever since launching on April 28. Still, the record-setting news wouldn’t be a total shock, seeing as how Season 3 ended in August 2019, and Season 4 finally premiered in April 2021. That’s quite a wait, with plenty of time to build up even more demand.
Nintendo has had a profitable financial year, one that has seen it invest a record amount of cash in its research and development projects. As noted by Niko Partners senior research analyst Daniel Ahmad, Nintendo spent approximately $880 million in R&D during the 12 months ended March 31, 2021, with the bulk of the money going towards increased software and outsourcing costs for the Nintendo Switch.
Nintendo continues to invest heavily in R&D. In FY2020/21 it spent approximately $880 million on R&D, more than any prior year. Although I will note that this represented 5.3% of total revenue, which is a lower percentage than prior years, because of strong rev. growth. pic.twitter.com/RVgVg14uQs
Japan-based analyst and investment adviser David Gibson summarized comments made by the company at an investor Q&A after its latest financial results were made public, with Nintendo confirming that it was also investing in a future successor to the Switch. While the company is constantly researching new technology, R&D spend also went towards online investments in addition to development on the next Nintendo console.
Q: In what areas is the increased R&D being spent? A: We are still mid way through Switch cycle, so software plus outsourcing costs are increasing for switch which is the main factor. Also cost per title is increasing and need a certain level of scale.
“In order to create a single piece of hardware, we have to do a lot of preparation several years in advance, so we are working without stopping,” Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa previously said of the company’s approach towards creating a new gaming console. “In the end, the deciding factor in whether or not to commercialize a product is whether it can create a new experience.”
Nintendo says that the Switch is currently midway through its lifecycle, with the console having done some of its best numbers in the 2020 financial year. Almost 85 million Switch consoles have been sold as of March 31 this year, Nintendo games continue to sell incredibly well, and operating profit is up by 81.8% year-over-year, the highest figure that Nintendo has ever recorded.
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Epic has revealed Fortnite Wild Weeks, new in-game events that will cycle in and out every seven days for the next several weeks of Season 6. The first Wild Week kicks off today and emphasizes fighting with fire. If you’re already hard at work on the Fortnite Week 8 challenges then you already know this week’s Legendary Quest trades XP for structures lit ablaze, and Epic says that’s no coincidence.
Also joining the fiery fray is the Flare Gun, which makes its return for one week only. The Flare Gun debuted in Chapter 2 Season 3 but has been vaulted since the Marvel-centric Season 4. When fired toward the sky, the Flare Gun will briefly reveal all nearby enemies, but if fired horizontally at structures or opponents, the Flare Gun will quickly engulf the area in fire.
Like the Primal Flame Bow, it’s especially useful in clearing out wooden structures, be they player-built or pre-standing buildings. Fireflies and flame bows will also be in greater supply around the island, proving Epic really wants things to heat up as we play through the final few weeks of Season 6. Fire will even spread farther and deal more damage per second for this limited-time event.
Some people just want to watch the world burn.
Three additional Wild Weeks are planned for May 13, May 20, and June 3 respectively, though Epic is keeping the themes of those weeks secret for now. With other specialty bows such as the explosive bow, shockwave bow, and stink bow, these may be good guesses for those planning ahead.
It’s a big day for Metro Exodus, as Deep Silver and 4A Games have released the game’s Enhanced Edition today, May 6, on PC, and announced details on a free upgrade for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.
The Enhanced Edition is described as a “radical update” that makes Metro Exodus look better with ray-tracing support for those who strong enough rigs. PC players also get better frame rates and improve resolution.
Deep Silver went on to say that the Enhanced Edition makes every light source “fully ray-traced,” also noting that the upgrade is so extensive that it requires a ray-tracing capable GPU as its minimum spec. “[It] will be delivered as a separate product–it is not a simple ‘patch’ to the base game–instead it will be offered as an extra entitlement to all existing Metro Exodus PC players,” Deep Silver said.
Everyone on PC who already owns Metro Exodus gets the Enhanced Edition for free across Steam, Good Old Games, the Microsoft Store, and the Epic Games Store.
The other big announcement is that the Metro Exodus next-gen upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will be available starting June 18, free for existing owners. This comes as part of the Complete Edition, which boasts 4K/60fps gameplay with ray-tracing available for lighting on PS5 and Xbox Series X (but not Series S). The upgrades apply to the base game and its expansions. Players can also expect better load times and more.
“The next-gen consoles will benefit from dramatically reduced loading times thanks to the use of their SSD storage optimizations, 4K texture packs, and a range of platform-specific features including spatial audio and controller latency improvements on Xbox, and support for the haptic features of the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller,” Deep Silver said.
For people who didn’t already buy Metro Exodus on PS4 or Xbox One, they can buy the Complete Edition, which includes the base game and its two expansions, The Two Colonels and Sam’s Story.
“At first glance, Metro Exodus gives you that wide-open, free, and dangerous world unbound by tunnels, though the scope of its tale focuses on what drives you personally and the lengths you’re willing to go to protect what matters most,” Michael Higham wrote in GameSpot’s original Metro Exodus review. “The open sandboxes may not be strongest addition, but the game still embraces the sense of vulnerability and post-apocalyptic terror alongside impactful weapons used in refined combat and stealth scenarios. You may miss the mystery and intrigue of the previous games, but Exodus puts together a charismatic crew of friends and family that you’ll want to follow to the ends of the earth.”
Some video game franchises seem destined for the mobile gaming scene, their format ideally suited for touchscreen controls or quick on-the-go gaming sessions. Bandai Namco’s drum-pounding rhythm game Taiko no Tatsujin is the latest established franchise to make the jump to mobile, and it’s a match made in heaven. Bright, colorful, and full of charm, Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat will have you smiling from ear to ear as you tap tap tap away to its catchy soundtrack. It’s just a shame that fun has such a short shelf life.
Pop Tap Beat follows the standard rhythm genre format: notes travel from one side of the screen to the other (in this case right to left), and you tap the screen when each one reaches a circle to score points. The closer to the circle the note is when you tap, the more in rhythm with the song you are and the more points you score. It’s a simple system that’s easy to understand and pick up even if this is your first time playing a rhythm game, making for a short learning curve and a longer focus on fun.
The gameplay loop offers incremental increases in challenge with each subsequent difficulty level, offering an experience that’s challenging without ever feeling impossible. Notes come in two colors: red, which signals tapping the drum, and blue, which signals tapping around the edge of it. Higher difficulties will split the drum in half, meaning you not only have to pay attention to the color of each note but also keep in mind which side of the screen needs to be tapped. Pop Tap Beat mixes things up further with special notes, alleviating any monotony. These special notes include drum rolls with continuous tapping, golden drums for furious tapping, and balloon notes for a different kind of furious tapping.
Touching the drum in time with the notes feels natural, as if you’re playing the drum yourself. Silly animations of dogs dancing and colorful fireworks accompanying certain notes liven up performances so you’re not just seeing alternating red and blue notes and moving your fingers in time to the rhythm for every song. It put a smile on my face. Completing longer sequences, especially if you achieve full song combos, feels rewarding with so much colorful on-screen feedback celebrating the achievement. Unfortunately, full combos can sometimes be frustratingly messed up thanks to inaccurate tap controls. The game does not accurately respond to every note, sometimes registering notes early, late, or not at all. It’s a rare occurrence, but a frustrating one when it does happen. Imagine conquering every note of a song as fast as Gimme Chocolate by Babymetal, only to lose the combo on the final note through no fault of your own. Your phone might end up in the next room.
The song list mixes classical music, Japanese pop songs, original Taiko no Tatsujin pieces from across the series, and even some anime soundtrack classics. Some additions are admittedly weird–why does The Alphabet Song need to be a part of this game again?–but others like the aforementioned Gimme Chocolate or Tekken 7’s Heat Haze Shadow 2 are absolute bangers. Oh, and A Cruel Angel’s Thesis from Neon Genesis Evangelion is here in case you want to feel sad while you tap along on your mobile device-turned-taiko drum.
These songs create a nice variety of tracks for anyone to enjoy, though admittedly it’s not as robust as it could be. Only 31 songs are included in the game and they’re all available from the beginning. There are no unlockables and no DLC song packs available (as of this writing), which is a bummer. I want to keep playing Pop Tap Beat, but with such a limited number of songs available, the game loses its luster fast. As much as I absolutely love the song, I can only play Cha La Head Cha La from Dragon Ball Z so many times before getting bored.
Longevity is the biggest obstacle facing Pop Tap Beat. Going online to challenge random players extends the playtime a bit, but it doesn’t change the core problem of the song list being too short. Connecting to other players, however, takes a long time. Minutes can go by before a match is finally found, but once matched it’s a clean experience, with no hiccups in notes registering or lag in notes coming down the path.
Points are earned after each song, which eventually unlock “Treasure Boxes,” but the only prizes found in those boxes are costumes for my little taiko avatar or other ancillary additions. There’s nothing wrong with these prizes–my drum looks like a cute little peacock and I would die for it–but they’re window dressing at best. They don’t add substance to the game, only style, and again because of the short song list, eventually you’ll be playing the same songs over and over again to unlock everything. After a while, that gets tiresome.
The colorful whimsy of dancing animals that plays out on-screen during a song is delightful, but there’s only so much a playlist that small can do
Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat is a solid offering for Apple Arcade, though you won’t be playing it for a terribly long time. Tapping to the beat of the 30+ songs on the playlist is fun, the colorful whimsy of dancing animals that plays out on-screen during a song is delightful, but there’s only so much a playlist that small can do, and so you may find yourself lacking a reason to stick around. It’s fun while it lasts, but Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat only marches to the beat of its own drum for so long.
The 2021 Tribeca Festival has announced the Tribeca Games Official Selection; a line-up of eight games joining the festival. This will be the first time multiple video games will be up for consideration for an award at Tribeca in a film festival format.
The official 2021 Tribeca Festival games selection, competing for the inaugural Tribeca Games Award, are:
Harold Halibut (Slow Bros.)
Kena: Bridge of Spirits (Ember Lab)
Lost in Random (Zoink Games / Electronic Arts)
NORCO (Geography of Robots / Raw Fury)
Sable (Shedworks / Raw Fury)
Signalis (rose-engine / Humble Games)
The Big Con (Mighty Yell)
Twelve Minutes (Luis Antonio / Annapurna Interactive)
The Tribeca Games Award “honors an unreleased game for its potential for excellence in art and storytelling through design, artistic mastery and highly immersive worlds.”
While this is a “first-of-its-kind” opportunity for multiple games, Tribeca has been featuring games as part of the festival for ten years. In 2011, L.A. Noire became the first video game ever to be honored as an Official Selection at Tribeca. In celebration of Rockstar starting Tribeca’s interest in games, a live outdoor performance from Red Dead Redemption 2 Original Soundtrack producer, Daniel Lanois, and his band will be held at the 2021 festival.
While the Red Dead Redemption 2 concert will be an in-person event, those interested can get involved from home with the Tribeca At Home virtual offerings, which will provide hands-on digital demos. Sessions can be reserved from May 24 at the Tribeca website. Additionally, an exclusive gameplay showcase of the selection, called Tribeca Games Spotlight, will be part of the free Summer Game Fest, starting June 2021.
For summer games on IGN, be sure to join in our Summer of Gaming, which returns with E3 2021 and plenty more besides.
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Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Being stalked and pursued is a trope that’s deeply rooted into the survival horror genre, and has been since the first Clock Tower in 1995. But it wasn’t until Resident Evil 3: Nemesis that it became a staple in the long running franchise. Since Nemesis’ debut in 3, players have been chased and terrorized by likes of Mr. X in the RE2 Remake, RE7’s Jack Baker, RE6’s Ustanak, and now the ever-adored Lady Dimitrescu in Resident Evil Village–and they’re all equally very stressful and horrifying.
Kurt Indovina gets scared very, very easily. Yet, in spite of his trembling fear of being chased, he considers survival horror his favorite genre. And with Resident Evil Village here, a game he’s very eager to play, he’s left trying to understand why he enjoys these games so much, despite his near incapability of being able to handle them. In an effort to try and understand why people, like himself, enjoy being scared and chased, he turned to clinical psychologist Dr. Ken Carter, author of the novel Buzz!: Inside the Minds of Thrill-Seekers, Daredevils, and Adrenaline Junkies.
In the above video, Dr. Ken Carter helps Kurt understand the many theories as to why people enjoy the thrill of the scare. From Freudien ideology to science, there are many reasons to explain why people enjoy being scared despite the stress it causes. Some believe it’s just the adrenaline, but according to Dr. Carter, it’s a little more complicated than that.
Hopefully you’ll leave watching this video having a better understanding behind the science as to why you may love the thrill of being scared too, or maybe why you don’t like horror games at all!
Rocket League–the original game–could be coming to mobile devices. Psyonix announced Rocket League Sideswipe as an iOS and Android exclusive spin-off game back in March, but it appears that separately from this, the main game could be coming to mobile, too.
A presentation obtained by The Verge (via 9to5Google) shows the apparent plans for Epic Games’ studios in 2021. It looks to be a little outdated, as it still refers to Rocket League Sideswipe with a temporary name, but the presentation also makes mention of something called Rocket League “Next.” This will be the next-generation client for the game, and according to the presentation, will feature cross-play and cross-progression for PC, console, and mobile. A mobile beta is listed for Q2 2021, though that could have changed since the presentation was made.
The game will be completely separate from Rocket League Sideswipe, though that game will feature friends list integration and some sort of cross-game incentive. Sideswipe’s tentative iOS Testflight release window is Summer 2021.
Rocket League went free-to-play last summer, making a mobile version of the main game a bit more realistic. Because Sideswipe has controller support listed on its slide in the presentation, it’s fairly likely that the main game will, as well. Its gameplay requires carefully-placed shots, which will be pretty difficult using touch controls.
Rocket League gets NASCAR DLC in the game today. The Nascar Fan Pack includes multiple new vehicles, including a Ford Mustang, Toyota Camry, and Chevrolet Camaro designed to look like stock cars you’d race and turn to the left.
