Sega And Nintendo’s Console War Explored In Trailer For New Documentary

During the ’90s, two video gaming companies were engaged in a war. Nintendo and Sega were battling each other for consumers’ cash. Now, a documentary about the battle, giving viewers an inside look is debutting later this month, and the first trailer has arrived.

In Console Wars, viewers will finally have an answer to the age-old question “Does Sega do what Nintendon’t?” The documentary will arrive on CBS All Access–owned by ViacomCBS, GameSpot’s parent company–on September 23, and you can check out the first trailer below.

The film follows the story of Sega and Nintendo in 1990, two of the biggest video game companies in the world trying to one-up each other. “For the first time ever, the men and women who fought on the front lines for Sega and Nintendo discuss this battle that defined a generation,” reads a synopsis.

The film was an official selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. It’s directed by Jonah Tulis and Blake J. Harris, and Harris is the author of the novel of the same name. Console Wars is produced by Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, James Weaver, Josh Fagen (Point Grey Pictures) and Scott Rudin and Eli Bush (Scott Rudin Productions) are executive producers, and Julian Rosenberg (Circle of Confusion), Doug Blush (MadPix Films) and Katie Mustard.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Delayed to 2021

Kena: Bridge of Spirits, the third-person action-adventure from developer Ember Lab has been delayed to Q1 2021.

The studio behind Kena announced the news on Twitter, noting the move to working from home due to COVID-19 has “caused development to move slower than we hoped.” The studio’s full statement reads:

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The Ember Lab Team is overwhelmed and humbled by the positive response and outpouring of support for Kena: Bridge of Spirits. Your kind words and excitement for the game have been an inspiration to the team.

This year has brought many challenges and our transition to working from home has caused development to move slower than we hoped. For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits to Q1, 2021. We have not made this decision lightly, but feel it is best for the game and well-being of the team. We will use this time to give the game the polish it deserves and deliver an experience that meets our vision and your expectations.

We look forward to sharing more about Kena in the coming months and delivering an amazing experience early next year.

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Kena is still set for release on PS5, PS4, and PC via the Epic Games Store.

Most recently, Ember Lab offered up new details about what the PS5 offers Kena: Bridge of Spirits on a gameplay, story, and visual level, after having previously showcased more of the impressive-looking adventure during IGN’s Summer of Gaming earlier this year.

Ember Lab announced Kena during the PS5 showcase earlier this year.

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Jonathon Dornbush is IGN’s Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Delayed To Early Next Year

Developer Ember Lab has announced that Kena: Bridge of Spirits has been delayed to Q1 2021 because of working from home complications due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The game was originally due out later this year on PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.

“The Ember Lab Team is overwhelmed and humbled by the positive response and outpouring of support for Kena: Bridge of Spirits,” the studio said, “Your kind words and excitement for the game have been an inspiration to the team. This year has brought many challenges and our transition to working from home has caused development to move slower than we hoped.

“For this reason, we have made the difficult decision to delay the release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits to Q1, 2021. We have not made this decision lightly, but feel it is best for the game and well-being of the team. We will use this time to give the game the polish it deserves and deliver an experience that meets our vision and your expectations. We look forward to sharing more about Kena in the coming months and delivering an amazing experience early next year.”

Kena: Bridge of Spirts was unveiled during Sony’s PlayStation 5 reveal event in June. The trailer, embedded above, shows a lush world filled with ancient ruins and adorable monsters as you explore and fight as the titular Kena. With her magical staff that acts as multiple weapons–including a bow–you will embark on an adventure about “personal growth and redemption,” according to Ember Lab.

With Kena: Bridge of Spirts delayed to next year, this means the list of PlayStation 5 console exclusives has dwindled for this year. Alongside Astro’s Playroom, prospective PlayStation 5 owners can look forward to Bugsnax, Godfall, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and a heap of rereleases like Control.

Still, the extra development time will allow Ember Lab to polish up the game. It’s already been reported that Kena: Bridge of Spirits only takes two seconds to launch from the dashboard on PS5. Ember Lab said the extra time will let the studio create an “experience that meets our vision and your expectations.”

Specific information about the PlayStation 5, notably its price and release date, remains unknown. However, we learned what could potentially be inside the boxes of both the Digital and Standard editions of the next gen console. Check out our PlayStation 5 preorder guide to learn about everything we know so far, as well as to be notified when a release date has been confirmed.

Now Playing: Kena: Bridge Of Spirits Trailer | Sony PS5 Reveal Event

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Immortals Fenyx Rising Preorders Are 17% Off on Console

Immortals Fenyx Rising is heading to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X, Nintendo Switch, and PC on December 3. It’s up for preorder now at a variety of retailers. And notably, owners of the PS4 and Xbox One version will be able to get a free next-gen upgrade within the same console family.

The game, which is clearly inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, is set in a colorful world filled with Greek mythology. Typhon, the villain, has just escaped Zeus’s prison and has vowed to make all the gods pay. Your job is make your way through the open-world environment and save the gods. You can check our Immortals Fenyx Rising hands-on preview for many more details.

Below are links to where you can preorder the game, but note that not all retailers have updated the title or cover art from the game’s original title, Gods & Monsters. Even so, you can rest assured you’ll get the correct game when it ships.

Preorder Immortals Fenyx Rising Standard Edition

immortalsPS4

PS5

Xbox One / Series X / Series S

Nintendo Switch

PC

The standard edition doesn’t have any extra bells or whistles, but preordering it gets you the preorder bonus described below.

Preorder Immortals Fenyx Rising Gold Edition

PS4

Xbox One / Series X / Series S

Nintendo Switch

PC

The Gold edition of Immortals Fenyx Rising gets you the following in-game extras:

  • Season Pass
  • Hades the Shadowmaster Character Pack
  • Orion’s Blessed Weapons Pack
  • Prism Wings

Preorder Bonus

preorder-bonusPreorder any version of Immortals Fenyx Rising, and you’ll receive a bonus quest called “A Tale of Fire and Lightning.” Completing this quest gets you the in-game item Blazing Wings.

Other Preorder Guides

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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Xbox Series S Handles Backwards Compatibility Enhancements Differently Than Series X

This week has been a big one for Xbox news, and more details about the next-generation consoles continue to come to light. Microsoft will release Series X and Series S on November 10, both supporting backwards compatibility with previous generations. However, the exact way they handle enhancements for those games works a little differently from one another. The Series S is the cheaper option and is designed for 1440p resolution, rather than the Series X’s 4K.

As a result, Microsoft says Series S will not apply the exact enhancements seen on Xbox One X, although it will still offer improvements. A Microsoft spokesperson told GameSpot, “Xbox Series S was designed to be the most affordable next generation console and play next generation games at 1440P at 60fps. To deliver the highest quality backwards compatible experience consistent with the developer’s original intent, the Xbox Series S runs the Xbox One S version of backward compatible games while applying improved texture filtering, higher and more consistent frame rates, faster load times and Auto HDR.”

Xbox One X enhancements often revolve around running games at 4K, which isn’t the focus for Xbox Series S. But the system will still see visual improvements when playing backwards compatible games, including its impressive ability to introduce HDR to games that don’t natively support it.

To put it another way: You won’t get Xbox One X’s exact enhancements while playing backwards compatible games on Series S, but you’ll still get some sort of enhancements. For many consumers, this is probably not the feature that will make or break a decision to purchase the Series S.

For more information on both consoles, check out everything we know about Xbox Series S. We also put together a nifty article comparing Xbox Series S and X to help you make your decision between the two consoles.

Now Playing: Xbox Series X And Series S Prototype Impressions

Layers Of Fear Dev Wants To Be “The Blumhouse Of The Games Industry”

Bloober Team, the studio behind Layers of Fear and the upcoming Xbox console exclusive The Medium, wants to be known as the Blumhouse Productions of the video game industry.

“From the first day we talked about [making] horror games, we said we wanted to be the Blumhouse of the games industry,” Bloober Team founder Piotr Babieno said in an interview with GamesIndustry.Biz.

According to Babieno, prior to Layers of Fear, Bloober Team abandoned “the ambition to create huge [narrative] horror games” as investors wanted the studio to tackle projects “that would bring in money.” However, following the poor critical reception to 2014’s Basement Crawl, Bloober decided to forgo trying to make commercial hits to instead pursue the horror stories that the team wanted to tell, regardless of how much money they would ultimately make.

“Finally, we decided ‘no’,” Babieno said. “We would like to do projects which we are proud of, the stories that we want to tell. We went to our investors and said it was a turning point… Even if they fail from the financial point of view, we want to sign those projects with our names.”

Blumhouse is a film and television production company that’s made a name for itself by producing horror films that have gone on to be quite popular. This trend began with 2009’s Paranormal Activity and has gone on to include 2013’s The Purge, 2015’s Unfriended, 2017’s Split and Get Out, 2018’s Halloween, and 2020’s The Invisible Man.

Likewise, Bloober Team has found success in recent years by exclusively pursuing horror experiences, developing 2016’s Layers of Fear, 2017’s Observer, and 2019’s Layers of Fear 2 and Blair Witch. The studio’s next horror game, The Medium, puts you in the shoes of Marianne, a woman who can see and explore both the physical and spiritual worlds. You’ll be able to switch between the two realities at will, harnessing this ability to solve puzzles and deal with supernatural threats.

The Medium (which is available for pre-order) is scheduled to release for Xbox Series X/S and PC later this year. It’s a bit of a standout in Xbox’s library of upcoming games, exclusively releasing on next-gen consoles. Most of the games scheduled to come out on the Xbox Series consoles at their launch will also release on the current-gen Xbox One. Xbox head Phil Spencer has even said that Xbox won’t force you into next-gen, with all first-party Xbox games releasing for both this and the next generation of consoles.

Now Playing: The Medium Reveal Trailer | Xbox Games Showcase 2020

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Fortnite Season 4 Secret Challenge Guide

Fortnite‘s Coral Buddies are on their way out, but there are still a few secret challenges you can tackle in Season 4. Epic Games has snuck another series of challenges into locations across the map–only one is available now, but more are likely to come. The first known secret challenge is called Event of the Year. This guide will show you where to go and how to complete the challenge with ease.

Check back throughout the season as more secret challenges are added to Fortnite.

Where Can I Locate Season 4’s Secret Challenge?

The first secret challenge can be accessed at a few different locations. One of the easiest to find is on the right side of the map in the H4 tile of the grid. You’ll find the entrance to an old named location that’s now abandoned. You’ll see a gnome looking at a sign on the edge of the concrete circle. All you need to do is walk up to it to complete the challenge. Here’s a map with the exact location:

Fortnite Season 4 Secret Challenge
Fortnite Season 4 Secret Challenge

There are other locations around the map with gnomes in places like Weeping Woods, but you can only get experience for visiting one of them. Don’t worry about the rest if you’ve already gone to the location north of Dirty Docks.

Fortnite Event of the Year Challenge
Fortnite Event of the Year Challenge

What Do I Get For Completing The Secret Challenge?

Completing this extra task will gives you 20,000 experience points to help level up your battle pass and get all that Marvel gear. Be sure to check our guide to unlocking Wolverine if you’re having trouble with completing the hero’s additional challenges.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Microsoft Calls New Apple App Store Policy Bad for Users

Microsoft has responded to Apple’s updated terms of service that at first glance opens the door somewhat for streaming services like xCloud to exist in the iOS App Store. Unfortunately, the updated terms are still heavily restricted and in an official statement, Microsoft says it “remains a bad experience for customers.”

Apple previously barred video game streaming services like xCloud and Stadia from using the iOS App Store, citing security concerns. Today, the company announced some revisions that would let streaming subscription services onto the App Store but with serious caveats.

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“Games offered in a streaming game service subscription must be downloaded directly from the App Store, must be designed to avoid duplicate payment by a subscriber, and should not disadvantage non-subscriber customers,” says Apple’s new ToS.

Apps for Streaming Services may be allowed on the App Store as a “catalog app” that will help users sign up for the service and see what’s available on platforms like xCloud and Stadia. But Apple says each game available must have an individual App Store page, which is a big ask considering xCloud offers hundreds of games.

And that’s on top of Apple’s customary 30 percent cut, which Epic Games is fighting in an ongoing lawsuit.

In a statement to IGN, a Microsoft spokesperson said,

“This remains a bad experience for customers. Gamers want to jump directly into a game from their curated catalog within one app just like they do with movies or songs, and not be forced to download over 100 apps to play individual games from the cloud. We’re committed to putting gamers at the center of everything we do, and providing a great experience is core to that mission.”

In August, Microsoft announced it will be unable to bring xCloud to iOS because Apple previously ruled game streaming services violated App Store guidelines. While the new terms now allow xCloud to launch iOS Apps, there are still strict rules that will prevent Microsoft from launching the full xCloud service on iOS, at least for the time being.

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Matt T.M. Kim is a reporter for IGN.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake Is Up for Preorder

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake is set to release January 21, 2021 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC (see it on Amazon). And while Ubisoft hasn’t officially announced a Nintendo Switch version, you can already preorder it from GameStop, though it’s slated for a later release date. The date listed is March 31, 2021, the typical stand-in date for games scheduled for the first quarter of the year. Anyway, preorders are now live.

Preorder Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake

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Xbox One

Nintendo Switch

PC

A remake of the widely adored 2003 original, this version sports a host of improvements. It has all-new graphics, including re-made cut scenes using motion capture and newly recorded dialog. The camera and controls have been rebuilt completely. It also sports a new combat system and is based on the Anvil engine, which Ubisoft also uses for the Assassin’s Creed series.

Aside from that, it will tell the same story as the original and will feature the same time-manipulation mechanics players enjoyed so much years ago. Here’s where you can preorder the game.

Preorder Bonus

prince-of-persia-remake-preorder-bonusPreorder Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake and you’ll receive the Back to the Origins set. This includes the following in-game items:

  • Original Weapons Set
  • Original Prince Outfit
  • Classic Filter

Other Preorder Guides

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Chris Reed is IGN’s shopping and commerce editor. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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