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Digital Extremes’ popular online shooter, Warframe, is celebrating its sixth anniversary this week with an assortment of freebies. On Wednesday, March 27, players across PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch will receive an exclusive Liset skin, along with all previous anniversary gifts, including last year’s Dex Excalibur skin.

2018 turned out to be the biggest year yet for Warframe, Digital Extremes touted. Not only did the title receive more than 26 updates and 111 hotfixes over the course of the year, it made its Switch debut with an impressive port last November. The game’s registered user base also saw an impressive increase, jumping from 38 million players last March to “nearly” 50 million as of this month.

The Profit Taker, the first big content update for Warframe’s Fortuna expansion, launched in December 2018. Since then, Digital Extremes has rolled out the Operation: Buried Debts update, which introduced another new Warframe to the game–Hildryn–and made the first “phase” of melee combat changes.

Many more updates are in the pipeline for Warframe this year. Digital Extremes is currently at work remastering Plains of Eidolon and Gas City with “gameplay and graphical overhauls that renew both areas.” The developer has also announced Railjack and The New World, two new “game-changing” updates on the way in the near future.

“There’s really no other game on the Switch like Warframe,” we said of the recent Switch port. “Though it’s often been seen as the ‘Destiny’ before Destiny, it certainly goes out of its ways to offer up options and different adventures for players, all of which give off this unique flavor that makes it stand out online action games. It’s one of those games that’s gotten better with age, and with the amount of content that’s still on the way, Warframe on Switch will likely be a solid gateway for those craving an involved action-RPG to dive into.”

Few game series have spanned multiple decades and left their mark as deeply on the industry as The Elder Scrolls, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year; its first title, The Elder Scrolls: Arena, debuted back in 1994. The Elder Scrolls series has produced multiple Game of the Year-winning titles, and as part of this week’s anniversary celebration, Bethesda is giving away one of those Game of the Year winners for absolutely free: The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

For today only, you can claim a free copy of Morrowind for PC–all you have to do is create a free Bethesda.net account, redeem the code TES25TH-MORROWIND, and download the Bethesda launcher to play. The game will be added to your account immediately.

Morrowind is the third installment of The Elder Scrolls series and features a huge open-world that encourages free exploration rather than an emphasis on a linear plot. The game is set in the province of Morrowind on the island Vvardenfell, the land of the Dark Elves known as Dunmer. In GameSpot’s Morrowind review, critic Greg Kasavin praised the game for its impressively detailed environments. “It’s a beautiful-looking, sprawling, and completely open-ended game that allows you to play pretty much however you like as long as you’re willing to fill in a few blanks using your imagination,” he wrote.

While the series has since progressed to produce other acclaimed, best-selling games, like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Elder Scrolls VI is in the works, Morrowind remains an important chapter in the series and beloved by fans. In 2017, a Morrowind expansion was even added to Elder Scrolls Online, allowing players to revisit the mushroom-covered island of Vvardenfell. For the all-time low price of $0, you definitely don’t want to miss the chance to experience this classic RPG.

The week-long celebration of Elder Scrolls continues with multiple other promotions this week, including a 50% off sale on all Elder Scrolls titles and add-ons (starting today) and a free play week for Elder Scrolls Online that starts this Thursday, March 28, and runs through April 4.

Get The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind for free on PC »

With high-quality Genesis ports aplenty on PC and consoles, the most popular 16-bit Sega games are easier and cheaper to play today than ever. But if simply having access to some of your favorite Genesis games as digital downloads doesn’t meet your personal standards, you can also go beyond and step into the expensive and complex world of vintage gaming with real cartridges and dedicated consoles.

Getting Genesis games is easy enough (budget depending), but picking the right console is a more complicated task than you might realize at first. Until now, your choices were limited to Sega’s classic consoles and cheaply made third-party clones, but even Sega’s own hardware has issues that any serious Genesis fan should consider. From inaccurate audio to video interference, practically every model suffers from its own mix of shortcomings.

This frustrating scenario is why the arrival of the $189 (plus shipping) Mega Sg from Analogue is practically a dream come true for the weary Genesis shopper. It’s not the “perfect” Genesis, but it arguably qualifies as the “best” off-the-shelf Genesis, with a wide variety of useful and entertaining options to play with, and none of the usual issues that commonly plague other consoles. It’s restricted to use on modern flat-screen displays, and won’t work with your Menacer light gun or the 32x add-on, but the level of quality both inside and out more than makes up for these caveats.

The Mega Sg comes with a Master System cartridge adapter, HDMI cable, Micro USB cable, power adapter, and a Sega CD spacer mat.

The Mega Sg is a Micro USB-powered, region-free Genesis console that connects to your TV via HDMI, supporting multiple resolutions from 480p to 1080p, with an optional 3.5mm analog stereo audio port on the front of the system (similar to the original “Model 1” Genesis.) There are no controllers included in the box, but it supports original controllers and modern alternatives, such as the co-promoted M30 from 8BitDo.

Pop off a door on the side, and the Mega Sg can be connected to both models of Sega CD hardware. It also works with Master System game converters, but to simplify the process Analogue has included a sleek adapter of its own, and will eventually release cartridge adapters for Game Gear, Mark III, Sega MyCard, SG-1000, and SC-3000 games. Traditionally troublesome games, like Sonic and Knuckles (in combination with Sonic 2 or 3), Virtua Racing, and the most popular flash carts, are all supported. And with built-in cheat code functionality, you don’t need to worry about dusting off your Game Genie to tinker with your favorite games.

One of the special features packed into the Mega Sg is Ultracore, a licensed release of a canceled Genesis game formerly known as Hardcore, developed by Digital Illusions (now known as DICE). Despite being ready for release, it was canceled by Psygnosis in 1994 purportedly due to the publisher’s shrinking faith in the Genesis’ popularity. It’s a beautifully animated technical showpiece that packs a challenge, and it’s a shame to think it’s taken 25 years to see the light of day. It’s both an interesting slice of gaming history and a strong pack-in for the Mega Sg.

At the core of the Mega Sg is an FPGA chip (Altera Cyclone V), an increasingly common solution for retro gaming hardware that, when programmed correctly, can accurately mirror the functionality and behavior of original hardware. Analogue employs FPGA engineer Kevin Horton to design its hardware emulation cores, and “Kevtris” (Horton’s popularized handle online) is widely regarded to be the best in the biz. For the Mega Sg, like the Super Nt and Nt Mini before it, Kevtris not only aims to recreate the best possible configuration of original hardware, but to also implement settings that allow you to manipulate various aspects of the audio and video output in ways that no other Genesis console can offer.

8BitDo M30 shown for scale (the Mega Sg does not come with its own controller)

For its clear and authentic sound alone, the Mega Sg is a worthwhile purchase if you take your Genesis experience seriously. The system’s library is home to countless soundtracks and sound effects that deserve nothing less than the best-case hardware configuration, and because the Mega Sg’s FPGA setup replicates the famed Yamaha YM2612 FM Synthesizer from the original system, you don’t have to fear its audio output–something you can’t say for most other Genesis consoles and clones that output harsh, muffled, or distorted audio. There’s a good chance you’ve never heard the original Genesis at its best even if you were following along in the ’90s.

To have an accurate, reliable, and clean sounding Genesis in the Mega Sg solves one of the biggest headaches of shopping for a console. It’s not the only solution, however. Experts in the hobbyist console modding scene have devised solutions of their own to improve the poor audio quality in later Model 1, Model 2, and Model 3 Genesis consoles. When compared to a Triple-Bypass amplified Model 2 Genesis by ear, the Mega Sg sounds like it uses a slightly narrower frequency range–an anecdotal observation, to be sure. The margin seems slim, however, but it’s worth noting that there are other ways to get a great-sounding Genesis if you know where to look and what to do.

In terms of extras, the Mega Sg provides a great variety of audio options. Some are designed to help balance out audio and tune it to your liking, while others exist solely to provide a means of reshaping the sound of Genesis soundtracks and sound effects, if only for the fun of it. The Mega Sg’s audio settings include:

• Headphone output volume controls and support for high-impedance headphones
• Audio channel volume controls for both FM and PSG sound chips
• Channel panning controls
• -3db output cut (useful for audio equipment that fails to recognize a full-volume signal)
• Cartridge audio enable and volume controls (only activate to hear FM soundtracks for Master System games via the Power Base Mini FM or Mega Everdrive v2/X7–disable in other scenarios)
• Swap left & right stereo channels
• Ladder effect depth, to simulate audio crossover distortion
• YM2612 High-Quality mode (utilize full 14-bit audio waveforms rather than the traditional 9-bit range)
• YM2612 Waveform modulation (choose from over 30 variations to the standard sine wave used by the original genesis FM synthesizer)

You don’t need to understand all of the above to jump in and start tinkering with the audio to see what happens. You can’t break anything, and it’s easy to reset the Mega Sg’s settings back to their default state if you wind up changing too many options. Having this freedom and control at your fingertips is something that no other Genesis console can offer, elevating the value of the Mega Sg for the knowledgeable and curious user alike. For a more thorough description of the Mega Sg’s various technical settings, you can refer to the official Mega Sg Reference Manual.

On the video side, the Mega Sg gives you control over the following options:

• Resolution (480p60, 720p60, 1080p60, 480p50, 720p50, 1080p50)
• Screen size, with fine height and width controls when Advanced Mode is enabled)
• Scalers, to smooth out pixel edges (HQ2x, HQ3x, HQ4x, Scale 2x, Scale 3x, X-Ray)
• Horizontal and vertical pixel interpolation, to account for odd pixel scaling resulting from uneven screen size settings
• Normal and hybrid scanlines
• Frame buffering, to balance performance, speed accuracy, and screen tearing
• Dithering simulation, to replicate pseudo transparencies
• Screen masking, to eliminate colored borders around the game screen
• Red, green, and blue color value sliders

Adjusting the look of the Mega Sg’s video output can be useful, with the most valuable video settings pertaining to adjusting the dimensions and aspect ratio to suit the game and display at hand. You don’t need to change settings every time you switch games, but it’s great to have the option should you feel the need to dial in the “right” settings.

All of this would mean little if the Mega Sg had any issues actually playing games, but put simply, it ran every one of the dozens of Genesis, Sega CD, and Master System games I tested with no obvious flaws. They not only looked gorgeous and sounded awesome, but with essentially no perceptible input lag (be sure to use your TV’s Game mode!), everything played well too.

The Mega Sg on top of a Sega CD Model 1, using the included spacer mat.

When a Genesis just works as intended, as the Mega Sg does, games take on a new light. With the audio intact and clearly presented, you get a better sense of the nuanced compositions running behind the scenes and suffer none of the infamous crunch and grind that comes from lesser systems. I’ve had a similar experience with my aforementioned Genesis 2, but it took a lot of effort and money to get there. I had to buy a video scaler from overseas (the Open Source Scan Converter), purchase custom SCART cables and PCBs, and ultimately take the risk of modifying my console to install the amplifier mod. It’s an inelegant solution that I enjoyed pursuing, but the Mega Sg is my new preferred way to play Genesis games on a flat-screen display, relegating my souped up Model 2 for use on CRTs.

Having spent so much time describing what the Mega Sg is capable of, it’s worth also mentioning that it is a compact and wonderfully made console. It has heft, is built from solid materials that are pleasing to the touch, and bears an original design that looks like a proper reimagining of Sega’s 16-bit hardware aesthetic. And just in case you’re considering a Mega Sg for its Sega CD support, rest assured that an included mat will support Analogue’s little console and protect your vintage CD unit–though there’s nothing that can account for the conspicuous difference in scale between the two devices.

So while roughly $200 is a lot to spend on a console to play Genesis games, right now, the Mega Sg is the easiest way to get them up and running on a modern TV without sacrificing audio or video quality–the support for Master System and Sega CD games is the icing on the cake. Some people will always prefer to go the route of using emulators, and others may only want to play with original hardware and stick to aftermarket mods. But if you are open to the idea of a third-party Genesis console, and you want the peace of mind knowing that it looks and sounds better than the best original console from Sega, there’s no better option on the market than the Mega Sg.

Editor’s note: Analogue provided GameSpot with a complimentary Mega Sg for review.

Square Enix’s long-running MMO Final Fantasy XIV Online is currently only available on PlayStation 4 and PC, but the title could eventually come to Xbox and Nintendo platforms.

Speaking to GameSpot from the Square Enix Japan offices today in Shinjuku, game director Naoki Yoshida said versions of the game are possible for Xbox and Nintendo systems. In fact, he said discussions with Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as Google, are currently underway.

As he’s said in previous interviews, Yoshida stressed with GameSpot that Final Fantasy XIV needs to support cross-play to have its playerbases united and offer the best experience. That’s currently possible on PS4 and PC, but not with other systems, which has presumably kept the game off Xbox and Nintendo systems so far. However, now that Sony, as well as Nintendo, is beginning to allow cross-play with competing platforms for games like Fortnite and Rocket League, it seems more likely than ever that Final Fantasy XIV comes to new platforms.

Nothing is certain at this stage, and Yoshida wouldn’t be drawn too far into a speculative conversation about where Final Fantasy XIV may be released someday.

Yoshida poses in a meeting room at Square Enix’s offices in Japan.

“Talks with platform-holders has been going on. The fundamental philosophy with Final Fantasy XIV is we want it on labels with cross-platform play with any devices, hardware possible,” Yoshida said through a translator. “So as long as the regulations with the counterpart hardware companies … we can actually pass that, then the possibility, the chance is quite high [of Final Fantasy XIV coming to Xbox and Nintendo systems].

“So we are talking with Nintendo, Microsoft, and Google, of course; we cannot say anything at the moment because we are still in negotiations, but once we have details we can make an announcement; we can bring the news to everyone. We are currently negotiating will all those platforms.”

In our nearly hour-long interview with Yoshida, he repeatedly mentioned that Square Enix wants Final Fantasy XIV Online to reach as many people as possible. It already has more than 14 million registered players, and launching the game on Xbox and Nintendo systems would only increase the game’s footprint further still. Also in the interview, I asked Yoshida if Square Enix might consider dropping the game’s monthly subscription fee in favour of a free-to-play business model in an effort to help the game reach even more players.

It’s not likely to happen. Final Fantasy XIV Online is currently free up to level 35, and that’s as “free-to-play” as the game is likely to be for the foreseeable future.

“F2P is not a bad model. F2P in general in games, players try it, and then just go. For Final Fantasy XIV, our basic game design is we want players to spend a little bit of time and because the game gets interesting [over time]. If we shift to F2P with the current game design, then either the community or the game itself would break. So it’s not going to be good. If we were to move to a F2P model, we should have to completely rehash, recreate the game design from scratch. Changing simply to FP2 now is not a good game design decision. It’s not a good direction.”

GameSpot’s wide-ranging interview with Yoshida covered a number of other topics, including the controversial new race, Hrothgar, coming in the Shadowbringers expansion, as well as the new raid boss designed by Tetsuya Nomura, and even Yoshida’s stance on battle royale. Keep checking back with GameSpot for more.

We sat down with Yoshida as part of the Final Fantasy Fan Fest. For more, check out GameSpot’s recent stories linked below.

Disclosure: Square Enix paid for GameSpot’s flight to Tokyo and accomodation.