In an unexpected bit of news, PlayStation architect Mark Cerny spoke to Wired about Sony’s high-level plans for the next PlayStation.
It is still very early days (the console won’t launch until 2020 at the soonest), but there was a lot of information in the interview. In a new video feature, Giant Bomb EIC Jeff Gerstmann joins GameSpot’s Peter Brown and Michael Higham to discuss all the key points.
Read next: First PlayStation 5 Details: PS4 Backwards Compatible, PSVR For PS5, SSDs, And More
Xbox announced that Xbox Live Gold and Game Pass are now getting bundled together for a lower price called Xbox Game Pass Ultimate that cost $15 a month. This bundle includes access to free games every month, as well as an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Microsoft also announced an all-digital Xbox One S, coming May 7, that will cost $250. The all-digital edition will come with Minecraft, Forza Horizon 3, Sea of Thieves, and a “special offer” for Xbox Game Pass.
Warning: Full spoilers for The Flash Season 5, Episode 18 below. If you need a refresher on where we left off, check out our review for Season 5, Episode 17.
This week’s Flash episode is one of those cases where the trailer wasn’t a very good indicator of what to expect. The series seemed to be building to a big showdown between Nora and Team Flash, with Eobard Thawne stepping out of the shadows and making his presence known again. Instead, what we actually got was more of an extended origin story for Nora, one punctuated by a dash of the West-Allen family drama teased in the trailer. But regardless of expectations, the end result was a largely satisfying episode that did a great deal to flesh out Nora and her relationship with Thawne.
Persona 5’s Joker is officially joining the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster this week — and you won’t have to wait long to play as him as he hits the game on April 17.
Nintendo confirmed Joker will be available as the first of five DLC fighters as part of the Fighters Pass. The Challenger Pack 1 will include Joker as a playable fighter, a stage based on Persona 5’s Mementos location, as well as music from the entire Persona 5 series.
A trailer Nintendo revealed alongside Joker’s reveal revealed a main gameplay mechanic for Joker will be the ability for him to build up a Persona meter, which will allow him to summon Joker’s main persona Arsene from Persona 5. Players need to “hold onto their rebellious spirit” to keep using Arsene, who can help Joker with counters and a glide jump ability.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is getting a lot of new content with the 3.0 update, including a stage-builder and video editor, along with a brand-new DLC character: Joker from Persona 5.
Version 3.0 launches on April 17, and the new stage-builder and video editor are free, while Joker is a paid character costing $6 USD. Joker also comes with a new Mementos stage, which features music from the Persona series. Check it out in the video embedded below.
The stage-builder, which was rumoured, lets you create custom stages. In handheld mode, you can draw on the tablet screen using your finger to create new stages. The tools are robust enough to make all kinds of things, it looks like, and the tools support multiple layers to edit your stages in an even deeper way. Created stages are stored in a new “Custom” tab on the Stage Select screen. You can also view and download other people’s creations, though you’ll need Nintendo Switch Online to do that. The video below shows how it all works.
Additionally, the video shows off how the new video-editing tools work, while it also reveals you’ll be able to queue up stage downloads from the Smash World part of the Nintendo Switch Online app. You can also view recommended Stages and watch videos from Smash World.
Version 3.0 also adds new Mii Fighter Costumes to buy, including the Morgana Hat from Persona 5, the main protagonist costume and the Teddie Hat from Persona 4, and another protagonist outfit from Persona 3. You can also buy Tails and Knuckles outfits from Sonic the Hedgehog. The costumes cost 75 cents each.
Here is a video showcasing the new Mii Fighter Costumes:
With more than 12 million copies sold worldwide, Smash Bros. Ultimate is one of the best-selling Nintendo Switch games ever.
Warning! This review of One-Punch Man Season 2, Episode 2 contains FULL SPOILERS. You can check out our spoiler-free review of last week’s Season 2 premiere right here.
One-Punch Man’s follow-up to its impressive Season 2 premiere doesn’t waste time before getting to the good stuff. Garou makes a memorable debut at the Hero Association HQ by showcasing his brute strength with a ferocity that could rival Saitama. The episode is aptly named after the deadly villain – “The Human Monster” – who claims he has more in common with monsters than humans. But even though this very short episode (barely 22 minutes) is named after him, we still don’t know much about Garou’s intentions. It’s safe to assume (having not read the Manga) that Saitama and Garou will battle at some point this season.
While many were surprised that Emperor Palpatine made an audible cameo in the first trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it appears Lucasfilm had planned on bringing him back since working on The Force Awakens.
In an interview with MTV News, Lucasfilm president Kathaleen Kennedy divulged this information when asked when Palpatine’s involvement in the new trilogy was first discussed, saying “That goes back to when we were talking about Force Awakens, and you know, just the whole blueprint of where we’ve ended up now has kind of been in the works since then.”
Update: Nintendo just published the official 15-minute video showcasing everything that’s in the spring 2019 update for Smash Ultimate, including all the Persona-related content coming to the game. The update launches April 17 as $6 DLC.
The main character from the wonderfully great RPG Persona 5, codenamed Joker, should be coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate any day now. It’s been said that he’ll be joining the battle as the 70th character on the roster sometime this month, but to hold you off until then, you can check out his official character render for the game below.
It’s the same character model that was first leaked by Best Buy, but it can now be dug up on Nintendo of Europe’s official page for Smash Bros. Ultimate. This came to our attention via a tweet from users @PushDustIn and @Digita1Lucas. You can see him out in all his glory, sporting his Phantom Thieves get-up when he enters the Metaverse.
Sourced from Twitter user @Skyplayer37
I confirmed this myself by digging through the page’s source code which was also shown by Twitter user @RealHeroOfWinds.
It’s legit.
Joker’s arrival in Smash Ultimate will coincide with the game’s version 3.0 spring 2019 update. This isn’t the only Persona 5-related news that you should be hyped up for. During a two-day special live concert, called Persona Super Live: P-Sound Street 2019 in Japan, details on a new version of the RPG titled Persona 5: The Royal will be revealed on day one, April 24. On the second day, April 25, the show will reveal the true form of the mysterious game Persona 5 S.
The Xbox One S All Digital Edition is finally confirmed, and it’s making a lot of people ask themselves whether the future of gaming is digital, and what we’d be missing out on if we abandoned discs altogether. In a new video feature, Jess and Eddie discuss the pros and cons of the new disc-less Xbox One and what it means for Microsoft’s vision of gaming’s future.
In the video, we dig into all the key particulars about the console including how its lack of a disc-drive might not be for everyone, the price being potentially too high, and if the 1 TB hard drive is indeed big enough.
We also talk about how Microsoft’s digital subscription services like Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold factor into the console, and how the new disc-free system is just an option for those looking to press further into the digital future.
The All-Digital Edition launches on May 7 for $250 USD. Are you interested in the new system? Let us know in the comments below!
In a big change for E3, Sony has backed out of the show this year. Microsoft and Nintendo are still attending as representatives of “The Big Three,” but Microsoft’s broadcast is the only live show of the bunch. Nintendo’s is a pre-recorded Nintendo Direct. Xbox executive Phil Spencer talked about this unique setup today on the latest episode of Inside Xbox.
He said he and his team understand the “responsibility” of being the only one of The Big Three to have a live stage show presence as it relates to representing the gaming industry at a time when all eyes on the gaming business.
“This is going to be an interesting one,” he said. “We are the [only] platform-holder that has a live stage show. It’s kind of just us this year. I feel the responsibility of that. I want to represent gaming. I think it’s an important time where the larger community–news [organisations] and other things–are looking at the gaming industry at E3.
“I think it’s a time where we kind of pop above a lot of the noise that’s out there. The whole team, we’re taking the responsibility of being out there representing gaming and wanting to do a good job of that.”
Microsoft is rumoured to announce at least one next-generation console at E3 this year, while the company is also expected to discuss Halo Infinite–or at least its engine–at the event. We also recently learned that Microsoft will show off never-before-seen games from some of the studios it acquired recently during the show. There will of course also be surprises.
Microsoft’s E3 2019 briefing takes place on Sunday, June 9, at 1 PM PT.
While Sony won’t be at E3 2019, that doesn’t mean the company has no announcements to make. Just this week, executive Mark Cerny shared the first details about the PlayStation 5, and you can bet the company will talk more about the console at some point in the future.