PlayStation Store Holiday Sale Is Live For PS5/PS4 – Here Are The Best Deals

The PlayStation Store has kicked off its annual Holiday Sale, and it features many of 2020’s most popular games, including PlayStation exclusives like The Last of Us Part II and Final Fantasy VII Remake. While most of the deals are on PS4 games, all of them are backwards-compatible with PS5, meaning you can potentially get benefits like faster loading times and higher frame rates or resolutions. Some of the recently released games, such as Ghost of Tsushima, even come with free performance upgrades for PS5. The Holiday Sale runs until January 9.

For new PlayStation owners, the sale is particularly great when it comes to exclusives. The three biggest PlayStation exclusives of the year are discounted to excellent prices. The Last of Us Part II is $30, Ghost of Tsushima is $40.19, and Final Fantasy VII Remake is $30. All three of those games were nominated for GameSpot’s game of the year. Another nominee, Persona 5 Royal, is down to $30, while our 2019 Game of the Year, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, is down to $39.

There are plenty of worthwhile discounts on third-party 2020 hits, too. A trio of recently released Ubisoft open-world games are on sale for great prices. Watch Dogs Legion is $30, Immortals Fenyx Rising (released just earlier this month) is $40.19, and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is $45. Each of those games comes with a free PS5 upgrade. Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be getting a free PS5 upgrade, and you can get the PS4 version right now for $45, or the Yakuza Remastered Collection for $30.

First-person shooter fans can pick up two of the best entries in the genre of the year for their best prices yet. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Cross-Gen bundle–which provides access to both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game–is on sale for $55, down from $70. (Take note, the CoD deal, unlike others in this promotion, ends on January 5.) Meanwhile, Doom Eternal is discounted to $19.79. DLC is also included; Destiny’s new Beyond Light expansion with the season pass is down to $37.49 from $50, and Mortal Kombat 11’s Kombat Pack 2 down to $10.49 from $15.

There are dozens of games and pieces of DLC included in the sale. Below, you can find a roundup of some of the best deals in the sale.

PSN Holiday Sale Best Deals

  • Ghost of Tsushima — $40.19
  • Persona 5 Royal — $30
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake — $30
  • The Last of Us Part II — $30
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon — $45
  • Yakuza Remastered Collection — $30
  • Final Fantasy XIV: Complete Edition — $30
  • Tetris Effect — $20
  • Watch Dogs Legion — $30
  • Immortals Fenyx Rising — $40.19
  • Assassin’s Creed Valhalla — $45
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Cross-Gen Bundle — $55
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 — $30
  • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice — $39
  • Doom Eternal — $19.79
  • Destiny 2: Beyond Light + Season — $37.49
  • Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath — $20
  • Mortal Kombat 11 Kombat Pack 2 — $10.49
  • Marvel’s Avengers — $35
  • No Man’s Sky — $30
  • The Division 2: Warlords of New York — $9
  • Godfall — $52.49

Watch New Trailer For Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, And Jared Leto Murder Mystery The Little Things

Warner Bros. has released a trailer for The Little Things, a tense murder mystery that probably only needs the cast stated to sell people on it: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto. The film will be coming to theaters and streaming exclusively on HBO Max on January 29. Check out the new trailer below.

In The Little Things, Los Angeles Sheriff Department Jim Baxter (Malek) unofficially engages Kern County Deputy Sheriff Joe Deacon’s (Washington) help on tracking down a serial killer–who, based on the casting and trailer, is strongly implied to be Leto’s unnamed character.

However, the trailer also is shrewd enough to raise suspicion in other directions, like highlighting the fact that Deacon just so happens to be in Los Angeles on a quick evidence-gathering assignment at the time of the murders. The film’s synopsis hints at further tension, stating “as they track the killer, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deacon’s past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.”

The film’s cast also includes Natalie Morales (Battle of the Sexes), Terry Kinney (Mile 22, Billions), Chris Bauer (Sully, The Deuce), Joris Jarsky (Bad Blood), Isabel Arraiza (Pearson) and Michael Hyatt (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks, The Founder) directed the film from his own original screenplay.

Hugh Jackman To Ryan Reynolds After Fake Feud Ends: “Everybody Hates You”

Helping close out 2020 with a rare bit of closure, Hugh Jackman has been named the winner in an ongoing and over-the-top war against Ryan Reynolds in who could raise the most for charity. Since the competition began in November, Sam’s Club clocked purchases of Laughing Man coffee (which supports coffee farming communities) for Jackman and Aviation American Gin (which supports the SickKids Foundation) for Reynolds. According to a video tweeted by Reynolds–which he says he “quite literally” has “a legal obligation to post”–it has been announced that Jackman is the winner.

While, yes, the “war” was for a good cause, basically the video above is a long-burning fuse for a quick and pretty funny joke. Sam’s Club CEO Kath McLay gives the Australian actor a Skype call to congratulate him on emerging victorious, and then mentions she’s dreading calling Reynolds next to deliver the bad news.

Jackman won’t hear of it. Telling McLay she’s already done more than enough work, he offers to let Reynolds know the results. Then, a moment later, he’s calling Reynolds–who he has labeled “Bryan” on Skype–and this is his entire call: “You lost the Sam’s Club thing. I won. Everyone hates you. Bye!”

This is hardly the first fake feud the actors have engaged in. Earlier this year, they engaged in similar shenanigans for COVID-19 relief.

Eddie Murphy Returns To New York In Hilarious Coming 2 America Trailer

Coming To America was one of many hit movies that Eddie Murphy made in the 1980s, but it’s taken over 30 years for the sequel to arrive. Coming 2 America is set to hit Amazon Video in March, and the first teaser is here.

Murphy reprises his role as Akeem Joffer, the prince of the fictional African nation of Zamunda. When Akeem’s father King Jaffe informs him that Akeem has a son he never knew about, the prince must return to New York with his trusted friend Semmi to find him. It looks very funny, and as the trailer reveals, Murphy and Hall will play multiple characters once more, including the hilarious old barbershop men, who are somehow still alive three decades later. Check the trailer out below:

Coming 2 America also stars James Earl Jones as Jaffe, plus Wesley Snipes, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones, Jermaine Fowler, and KiKi Layne. It’s helmed by Craig Brewer, who previously directed Murphy in last year’s acclaimed Dolomite Is My Name. The film was originally set for a theatrical release this month but will now hit Prime Video on March 5.

In a recent interview with Complex, Hall spoke about what audiences can expect from Coming 2 America. “The story is great, and the way it’s been threaded from the first is really masterful,” he said. “What I love most is we didn’t lose the main agenda, the humor. It’s a funny f***ing movie, and I’m proud that we hit all those bumps and checked all those boxes. It does everything you need it to do, but it’s also funny, and I think people will love the additions to it. There are some surprises here that will surprise people who don’t get surprised.”

For more, check out GameSpot’s guide to the biggest movies to watch in 2021.

PS5 Update Adds Alerts For When You’re Running PS4 Versions Of Games

A new PS5 update adds alerts if the system detects that you may be accidentally running the last-gen version of a game that has an updated PS5 version. The update solves a confusing issue that fans have been hitting since the new console launched.

As noted by Twitter user Tidux and confirmed by GameSpot, starting the PS4 version of a game on your PS5 will now prompt a dialogue box. That alerts the user that they’re launching the last-gen version and allowing them to switch to the PS5 version instead.

When the console first launched, various cross-generation games would default to their PS4 versions, leaving users playing the older games on their shiny new hardware. Some even felt underwhelmed by the new console because the games didn’t look noticeably better, when they were accidentally looking at the PS4 versions. This update would appear to resolve that problem.

Still, the solution is slightly less elegant than Xbox Smart Delivery, which simply auto-detects which version is optimized for your hardware and downloads the correct one. Smart Delivery also lends itself to more hardware iteration, which Microsoft has hinted at by claiming this generation is simply called “Xbox.”

Previously you had to follow a series of steps to confirm you’re playing the correct version on PS5. That included going through an options menu next to the main game page and selecting the three dots icon to open a menu that would show you the platform explicitly.

Sony has branding to mark games that offer free cross-generation upgrades, including Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Third-parties are able to determine for themselves whether to offer free upgrades, but so far many of them are. Ubisoft is offering its entire fall catalogue with free upgrades, and EA is offering upgrades to its sports franchises through its duel entitlement program.

ComiXology’s Snow Angels: Exclusive Official Trailer

With 2020 over and the best comic book series of 2020 officially decided, we can now officially look ahead to what’s coming in 2021. Snow Angels is easily among the most promising new series debuting next year. This star-studded addition to the comiXology Original library features two of the industry’s biggest talents – writer Jeff Lemire (Old man Logan, Gideon Falls) and artist Jock (The Batman Who Laughs) – teaming up for the first time for a post-apocalyptic tale of survival in a harsh winter wasteland.

IGN can exclusively debut a new trailer for Snow Angels. Check it out in the video player above or embedded below for a closer look at this unusual new project:

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/22/comixologys-snow-angels-exclusive-official-trailer”]

While many details about the series and its world are being kept under wraps, Snow Angels seems to take place in a post-apocalyptic world blanketed by ice and snow. A group of survivors cling to an area called The Trench, an endless canyon carved into the ice where a lucky few barely manage to scrape by. But what happens if someone dares to leave the trench?

The trailer debuts the same day comiXology releases a free preview story dubbed Snow Angels #0. Check out the slideshow gallery below to see several pages from Snow Angels #0:

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Like all comiXology Originals titles, Snow Angels is available free to subscribers of comiXology Unlimited, Prime Unlimited and Prime Reading, and can also be purchased separately. The series will span ten chapters in total, with Snow Angels #1 debuting on February 16, 2021.

Not sure if comiXology Unlimited is for you? Check out our full review of the monthly subscription service to see how comiXology Unlimited stacks up to competitors like marvel Unlimited and DC Universe. Then see 25 comics worth binging on comiXology Unlimited and our breakdown of the best Batman graphic novels available on the service.

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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.

GameSpot’s Top 10 Games Of 2020

2020 has been an eventful year, and through it all, video games have been there to help make our days a little better. A few titles stood out to us more than the rest–these 10 are our choices for Best Games of 2020.

In the video above, we talk about why the team as a whole fell in love with these 10 games. From long-anticipated AAA experiences like The Last of Us Part II to indie hits like Hades, and from VR experiences like Half-Life: Alyx to beautiful remakes like Demon’s Souls, we’ve enjoyed a lot of different types of games this year.

To talk about so many games, we recruited multiple editors and producers from across GameSpot. We feel like that really reinforces the notion that we come together as a team to determine our top 10–it’s not some simple vote or an authoritarian decision from those at the top. All of us make our impassioned pleas for why certain games deserve to be in the top 10 and then deliberate from there.

So in the video, you’ll hear from host & producer Kurt Indovina, reviews editor Kallie Plagge, video producer Evan Langer, managing editor Tamoor Hussain, video producer David Ahmadi, video producer Max Blumenthal, host & senior producer Lucy James, associate editor Michael Higham, host & video producer Jake Dekker, and associate editor Jordan Ramée. Lots of faces!

Halo Infinite Studio Head Promises Delay Will Be Worth It

In a holiday roundup post on Halo Waypoint, 343 Industries studio head Bonnie Ross has addressed fans’ disappointment about the newly announced Halo Infinite release window, but has promised that the delay is happening for a reason.

The Waypoint post includes updates on the Master Chief Collection, the Halo Esports community, and even the upcoming live action Halo TV show, but closes out with a message from studio head Bonnie Ross. Though the message is focused on the studio’s successes of 2020, including five releases as part of the Master Chief Collection on PC, Ross also touches on the conversation around Infinite’s delay.

“2021 will be a big year for the Halo franchise,” Ross says. “As we recently announced, Halo Infinite will release in fall of 2021. I realize the wait has been difficult, and I assure you that the team wants the game in your hands as soon as possible, but they also want to deliver something special…the Halo game you deserve. Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and most importantly your words of support to the team. I cannot express how grateful I am for the Halo community and the encouragement you’ve expressed to us. It has lifted us up and provided us the fuel to keep going. As you saw from the recent blog post, the team is making tremendous progress and is SO eager to show you more.”

Halo Infinite was originally meant to release as a launch title with the Xbox Series X|S (also coming to Xbox One), but was later delayed into 2021. 343 only recently narrowed that release window to fall 2021.

Though Halo Infinite is coming to Xbox One as well, it was a strong contender to be a showpiece for the new Xbox Series X|S. The new release window will put Infinite’s release nearly a year behind what was initially announced–though as Cyberpunk 2077’s messy launch recently proved, sometimes it’s better to give developers the time they need to polish a game of this scope.

Now Playing: Halo Infinite – Everything You Need To Know

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Epic Games Is At It Again With The FreeFortnite Merchandise

The latest in Epic Games’ ongoing dispute with Apple and Google has seen the Fortnite developer team up with Samsung to send out a number of #FreeFortnite themed care packages to gaming journalists and influencers. Like its previous 1984-style parody video, the merch–and even the boxes they were packed in–reference iconic Apple imagery.

Epic Games previously invited fans to make and sell their own Free Fortnite merchandise, even providing a full asset pack of the campaign’s Apple-spoofing imagery. It’s unclear how many people actually took up the invitation, but Epic is now sending certain influencers merchandise of its own making.

The merch is bundled with a Samsung Tab S7 and a note explaining that Samsung’s Galaxy Store is the only place where Fortnite is currently available on mobile.

While a number of companies are standing in support of Epic Games’ antitrust lawsuit against Apple, critics point out that Epic Games itself is far from an underdog, with a recent statement putting the value of the Fortnite developer at $17.3 billion.

Epic is seemingly determined to keep the #FreeFortnite campaign in the public eye, however, with a recent Fortnite tournament awarding branded loot and a “Tart Tycoon” skin designed to poke fun at Apple.

Now Playing: Fortnite Zero Point Story Trailer

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This $40 Training Bundle Will Prepare You For a Career in Data Science in 2021

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Data is everywhere, no matter where we look, but the companies that know how to analyze this data are the ones who make savvy business decisions that lead to profit and success. As such, data scientists who know how to navigate this ever-expanding sea of data are in high demand. 

If you’re interested in cracking the code behind big data, you’ll need to learn the tools of that trade, and this 6-course bundle by Skill Success will teach you how. Normally $1,194, you can purchase this entire bundle right now for $39.99. That’s 96% in savings. 

The 2021 Business Intelligence & Data Science Super Bundle is packed with 64 hours of content that will improve your data analysis skills using Power BI, machine learning, and advanced data structures. These courses are provided by Skill Success, an online learning hub that offers over 1,000 carefully curated video courses in a wide range of categories, including business, career development, project management, software, and much more. Over 500,000 students use Skill Success to learn new skills and advance in their careers. 

The biggest course in this bundle is Business Intelligence Using Microsoft Power BI From A to Z, which will give you an understanding of the business intelligence workflow from start to finish. By the end of the course, you’ll be able to analyze data and build reports in order to present your findings visually. 

From here, you can supplement your BI skills with courses such as Advanced Power BI, which will show you how to clean data in Query Editor and expand on using DAX in Power BI. Alternatively, you can take the Machine Learning & Data Science Using Python for Beginners course to learn how to make an ML algorithm as accurate as possible. 

Organizations are on a constant lookout for data scientists who will help them gain competitive insights from vast mountains of data; The 2021 Business Intelligence & Data Science Super Bundle will teach you how to identify these insights for just $39.99, or 96% off. 

 

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