Articles

Affichage des articles du juin, 2023

Game publishers don't like Game Pass because it destroys value claims PlayStation boss

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Once again, we continue to be thankful for the FTC's trial against Microsoft to halt its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The trial is simply the gift that keeps on giving, revealing executive statements, corporate sentiments, and behind-the-scenes dealings we'd never hear about otherwise. Just recently, we learned that Bethesda was blindsided and confused by Microsoft's commitment to keeping Activision Blizzard games multiplatform, while locking Bethesda titles to Xbox and PC. We were also given an idea as to when Sony expects the PlayStation 6 to be released , and how the company plans not to involve Activision Blizzard into development should it become a subsidiary of its competitor, Microsoft. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/gmd7BTR via IFTTT

Behold! Bloodborne running at 1080p 60fps on a PS5

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Bloodborne has taken on a sort of mythical quality in recent years. It was already one of FromSoftware's most celebrated games, but the fact it remains stuck on PS4 is what created a sentiment around it that extends beyond the game itself. While the game is playable on PS5, it does not take any advantage of its superior hardware. It remains a 30fps experience at its 720p launch resolution. Meanwhile, PC players have pretty much lost their minds waiting for it to arrive, and have shifted to turning similar games into Bloodborne instead . But that hasn't stopped modders from continuing to figure out ways to make the game playable on PS5 at a higher resolution, and at 60fps - the real reason everyone wants a remaster/re-release of Bloodborne. Lance McDonald, whose name should be quite familiar to anyone who follows the Souls community, has returned with what's maybe his best work yet. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/z2EjoPk via IFTTT

PS Plus July leak reveals Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Alan Wake Remastered coming to PS5

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According to a leaker with a reliable track record, the PlayStation Plus Essential games for July have been revealed. They include Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Alan Wake: Remastered, and Endling: Extinction is Forever. This info comes from Billbilkun on Dealabs, who has made a habit of releasing the list of PlayStation Plus essential games early for months now. While they've been proven correct numerous times in the past, as always with leaks, take the following list with a grain of salt. First up comes Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, regarded among many in the long-time Call of Duty fanbase as a decent entry in the series history. It'll be coming to the service for both the PS4 and PS5, packed with one of the best campaigns in recent memory as well as a decent multiplayer FPS experience that is sure to get some life injected into it thanks to its appearance on PS plus. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/rHsAUge via IFTTT

Diablo 4 player is the first in the world to find Andariel's Visage one of rarest items in the game

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Blizzard recently had to clarify some details about the rarest Unique drops in Diablo 4 following fan confusion regarding whether or not they're actually in the game, and how players can go about finding it. Unsurprisingly, the developer confirmed that yes, the items are in the game, but they're incredibly rare . There are six of them, to be exact, and while they can drop from anywhere in the game where traditional Uniques can, your chances of getting them are very slim. But just a couple of days later, one player lucked out, and the game droppped one of the fabled Uniques for them. According to WoW Head , Diablo 4 player YesYou found Andariel's Visage, a Unique helmet that has a very high Lucky Hit chance to trigger a poison nova. The effect applies 10,077 Poisoning damage over five seconds to enemies in the area. Andariel's Visage also comes with Life Steal, which does exactly what you think it does. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/Dga...

Blizzard is finally buffing Diablo 4 classes XP gains from Whispers Nightmare Dungeons and more in big patch

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Blizzard is seemingly done nerfing things in Diablo 4 . The latest Diablo 4 patch is full of buffs for XP gains, all classes, and a chunk of bug fixes. The update, version 1.0.3, went live last night across all platforms. The highlight of this update is the boost to XP awarded after completing Nightmare Dungeons, and from killing monsters in said dungeons. In even better news, you'll now be able to teleport directly to a Nightmare Dungeon through the map, without having to make the trek. Helltide events, another endgame activity, is seeing a boost to bonus XP when opening Helltide Chests. Helltide roaming bosses, too, now more consistently drop higher quality loot. The Tree of Whispers now also pays out much higher XP rewards for each individual Whisper you complete. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/Cknr2bM via IFTTT

Its your last chance to play Bioshock Borderlands and Stray via PlayStation Plus

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While we already know that the likes of Far Cry 6, Inscription, and more will be arriving on PlayStation Plus in due course, PS Plus subscribers will be bidding farewell to some stellar games during July. Meaning that unless you cough up some cash or find a different service to play them via, now is your last chance to give these games a go. The games leaving PS Plus can be found under the ‘Last chance to play’ collection on the PlayStation Store, and if they leave as the new batch of games arrives, they’ll likely be going on July 18 . The games to be removed from PS Plus are as follows: Stray Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell Marvel’s Avengers Fluster Cluck Raiden V: Director’s Cut Rogue Stormers Bioshock Remastered Bioshock 2 Remastered Bioshock Infinite: The Complete Collection Borderlands: The Handsome Collection Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/3RtU9Dk via IFTTT

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective review - A special point-and-click package that still feels original 13 years later

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Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective was a great game back when it first released on the Nintendo DS in 2010, and it remains one, with its charm not lost to the passage of time. You could pick up the NDS title today and still have a blast with its polished sprites, eccentric characters, and strange goings-on, but this remaster brings the classic NDS game up to speed in 2023. Throughout Ghost Trick, you take on the role of Sissel, who is - simply put - dead. This high-spirited protagonist doesn’t remember who he was, or why he died, and his only way of getting some answers are from a talking desk lamp called Ray, and his newfound ghost powers that let him morph into inanimate objects. In between story beats, Sissel will be solving puzzles among the land of the living using his ghostly powers and logic, bringing the dead back to life, and getting closer to discovering his own identity. Ultimately, Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is a simple game; it’s much less dialogue-heavy than writer and...

One PlayStation Plus June 2023 addition is making my entire years subscription feel worthwhile

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When I was a kid, I used to work in the kitchen of a local pub. It was a small, well-respected little outfit tucked away in a bucolic village somewhere in the Peak District. It was run by a chef that, once upon a time, worked in restaurants that held Michelin Stars. Older, greyer, with less patience and less time for the pretence of it all, he moved away from the city and into the peaks to quietly get on with a more authentic and honest sort of cookery. From the age of 12 until I the age of 18, I ascended from the rank of pot wash (or kitchen porter, if you want to be fancy) to chef de partie – below minimum wage for most of that because, well, who’s going to pay an underage kid the correct amount, right? At the end of every week, I’d drag my greasy, sweaty self to the bar and the chef’s wife-cum-publican would take a handful of notes, stuff them into an envelope, and send me on my way. I’d head straight to the local Forbidden Planet or GameStation (CEX wouldn’t come along until a bi...

Bethesda too is confused about Microsoft keeping COD on PlayStation when it made Starfield exclusive

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The United States' Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s trial with Microsoft continues to be a source of all sorts of juicy corporate tidbits, the sort that never gets discussed in public. The trial, which is currently underway, was initiated after the FTC successfully managed to win a temporary restraining order that brought the company's preposed merger with Activision Blizzard to a halt. One major argument Microsoft has been relying on when facing regulatory bodies worldwide, has been its commitment to keep Call of Duty on all platforms for at least ten years. The publisher repeatedly said that it wouldn't make financial sense for it to make the top-selling shooter exclusive to Xbox. However, some have raised concerns about Microsoft's true intentions down the line, citing recent example of its acquisition of Bethesda , which saw it make all current and future games exclusive to Xbox - including the highly-anticipated Starfield . Read more from VG247 Latest A...

Diablo 4's Barbarians want to earn power buffs from nipple rings

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There comes a time in any community where certain players feel betrayed by the game. In the case of Diablo 4 , that pain has been felt by Barbarian players the most. The class started out somewhat weak in the beta, but dominated the launch of the game. A Barbarian player was the first to reach Hardcore level 100, for instance. It was so powerful, in fact, that Blizzard immedtiatly nerfed some of its most popular skills . Subsequent patches continued to adjust Barbarian power, nerfing its armour bonuses as well as the effectiveness of certain synergies. Barbarian are still amongst the game's strongest classes, with the build variety to match . But you can certainly see why Barbarian mains feel the need to get back at the game somewhat in the hopes of regaining some of that lost power. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/IT09zHt via IFTTT

The developers of one of PlayStations best exclusives faces massive layoffs

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Scavengers Studio, the Montreal-based developer behind Season and Darwin Project, is laying off over half of its employees following low sales on its latest game. Season, an indie darling and one of PlayStation's best exclusives in recent years, appears to have sold less than 60,000 copies according to French journalist Gauthier Andres . This was in spite of numerous trailers and critical acclaim for Season , a game that seems to have been a massive hit among a small crowd. In an update provided to Gamesindustry.biz , the developer shared the internal announcement sent around the studio by CEO Amélie Lamarche last week. It states: "While Season received critical acclaim, it did not meet our commercial expectations." The statement then confirms initial reporting from Andres: "Despite our efforts to boost sales through content updates and discounts, the game only sold 60,000 copies during its first five months, which falls far short of what the studio needs to survi...

Remedy further explains Alan Wake 2 digital only release says it allows "more time to polish"

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Alan Wake 2 creative director Sam Lake and game director Kyle Rowley have further clarified why the game is getting a digital only release. Back in May, when we got our first proper look at Alan Wake 2, we also learned that the game would not be getting a physical release, instead opting for a digital only release . At the time, in an FAQ, it was explained that the reasoning for this is it would keep the price of the game lower, as the cost of discs and packaging would mean the game would need to be priced up across the board. Now, in an interview with Eurogamer , Lake and Rowley have expanded upon the reasoning behind the decision, saying that doing so will also give Remedy "more time to polish." "Yeah, it is digital only, and kind of coming to this idea, both from Remedy and Epic's perspective, that's our current thinking. It just felt it makes sense for this, and the timing felt right," Lake explained to Eurogamer. Rowley went on to say, "As cre...

This is a great way to re-watch all of Diablo 4's campaign dialogue and cutscenes

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Although Blizzard didn't hype it up too much ahead of release, Diablo 4 's narrative ended up being one of the best things about it . The plot may have been predictable, but characters (especially Lorath, our new Deckard Cain ), story, side-quests, and many random NPC chatter were all incredibly engaging. But what if you missed some of the campaign's main cutscenes, dialogue, or even any of the one-off lines said during combat by key characters? Worse, what if you, gasp , skipped them? Well, there's some good news! Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/4xfhFnS via IFTTT

Yes this is an honourable way to defeat The Butcher in Diablo 4

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The Butcher, otherwise known as the Diablo 4 boss responsible for around 2% of player deaths in the game , is a menace. Unlike most bosses in Diablo 4, The Butcher is not a boss you can prepare for and face on your own terms, so you're going to need to improvise. That's because The Butcher is a roaming boss that will show up randomly anywhere in the world, and often does when you're down to your last few Healing Potions, and when you least expect him. The Butcher is a formidable boss that will more than likely kill you and vanish. You may never get your revenge for many hours later, until you're once again ambushed by him. All that is to say: you're well within your rights to use any form of "cheese" to take out The Butcher. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/lP6419q via IFTTT

Destiny 2 cutscene "mistakenly" used fanart so Bungie is compensating the artist behind it

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Bungie has said it will credit and compensate an artist whose Destiny 2 fanart was "mistakenly" used in a recently added cutscene. Some potential spoilers for Destiny 2 Season of the Deep ahead. Last week, a big cutscene was added into Destiny 2 as part of the current Season of the Deep, and for all the lore fans out there, it was a big one. The big thing was that an explanation behind the origin of the Witness, the big villain in the game at the moment, was explained. The problem? One part of the cutscene features some fanart that was used without permission or acknowledgement for the artist who created it. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/g4Ibetz via IFTTT

MultiVersus has closed its open beta but you can still practice offline until it's back

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Almost a year on from the start of the game's open beta, MultiVersus has shut down all online functionality until it properly launches next year. Back in March, MultiVersus developer Player announced that the game would be temporarily shutting down , with a full launch supposedly coming some time in 2024. That time has now come, with the game closing its servers in the early hours of the morning. Booting up the game now will have you meet with the message, "Thank you for your support throughout our Open Beta! The feedback and inspiration has been amazing… We plan to be back and better than ever with new content, features, modes and more when the game returns next year and will ensure that all of your progress and content will carry over." It's a pretty baffling decision on Player First's part, considering that you could buy battle passes, skins, and more with actual money. Currently there's just the promise that the game will return next year, though wheth...

Blizzard clarifies where and when Diablo 4's rarest items can drop following player confusion

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As the latest in the Diablo series, Diablo 4 's loot is supposed to include certain legacy items. Those Unique drops are some of the rarest ever in the game. So rare, in fact, that for a while after launch, no one actually found them. This had players thinking they may not actually be in the game, a sentiment that didn't change until someone found one - which lead to Blizzard clarifying whether or not said Uniques are in the game, and how to actually get them. The developer confirmed where and when you can expect them to drop, but the odds are extremely rare, so you're going to need to grind for a while before you have any chance of seeing them - or get incredibly lucky, I suppose. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/QioGC6Y via IFTTT

DDoS attacks ruined the weekend for Diablo 4 players

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If you tried playing Diablo 4 over the weekend, you're likely well aware that it wasn't possible for most of it. I know I did, and definitely couldn't even log in. I know I did, and what I initially thought was a problem on my end, turned out to be on Blizzard's end. More specifically, the developer's infrastructure suffered a DDoS attack, which knocked out servers for Diablo 4 - a game that requires a constant online connection. As you can imagine, players quickly took to Reddit and social media to voice their frustration, and wonder if others are also unable to log in. Blizzard quickly acknowledged the outage, confirming that it was indeed the result of a DDoS attack. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/0hsT5Fy via IFTTT

Starfield's physical release might not include a disc

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In another bad move for physical preservation, Bethesda's upcoming Starfield apparently won't have a physical release. Earlier today, as spotted by Wario64, a Twitter user asked the official Bethesda Support Twitter account if "the physical standard edition of Starfield for Series X" includes a disc, with the support account responding, "Hello! All physical editions include a code for the chosen platform. There are no physical discs." The tweet from Bethesda Support has since been deleted. This practice of releasing a physical box that includes a code is relatively common for box releases of indie games, but so far hasn't happened much in the AAA space. Starfield is the latest, and quite easily the biggest game to confirm it won't be receiving a release on any kind of disc. Earlier this year Remedy announced Alan Wake 2 will be getting a digital only release , the reasoning apparently being to keep the cost of the game lower. And it also looks l...

A Splatoon 3 player took over a Nintendo shareholder meeting over male customisation options

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A Splatoon 3 player was so unhappy with the male customisation options in the game that he bought over $3000 in shares to attend a shareholder meeting to complain. Whether the games are for you or not, it can't be argued that the Splatoon series has an incredible sense of style, and some really great customisation options. Except one player doesn't feel that way about Splatoon 3, at least not for the male inklings - as reported by Video Games SI , a player recently spoke up at Nintendo's latest shareholder meeting, causing a bit of a ruckus over the lack of customisation options for male inklings. "The company has blatantly given the boys in Splatoon the cold shoulder and I would like to see some improvement," the player reportedly said. He went on to talk about how while Splatoon 1 and 2 had a lot more limited options, they were balanced across male and female inklings, but "in Splatoon 3, there is a lot more customization, and there is clear favouritism...

Yakuza series' GOG release removed credits for PC port devs and series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi

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The entire Yakuza series was recently released on DRM-free PC games retailer GOG, but it seems a number of devs have been removed from the credits. Generally games releasing DRM-free is quite a good thing, as it means you own the game without needing to worry about having a store client to run it. Recently, Yakuza 0 through 6 was released on GOG, a site where all games are DRM-free, with the entire series receiving a steep discount too. It's a great deal, honestly, but it does come with one caveat - as spotted by Reddit user Timo653 on the Yakuza subreddit , both Lab42 and QLOC were removed from the credits. On top of that, series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Daisuke Sato have also been removed from the credits, as well as a number of others. The two developers had been responsible for handling the PC ports for all of the games (Lab42 porting Yakuza 0 and Kiwami 1, QLOC porting Kiwami 2 to Yakuza 6). So it's obviously quite strange that they would both be removed ...

Microsoft bought Bethesda's parent company to stop Starfield being a PS5 exclusive

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Xbox head Phil Spencer has said one of the main reasons Microsoft bought Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax was because of potential Starfield PlayStation exclusivity. This comes from the current trial being held between the US' Federal Trade Commission and Microsoft regarding the latter's acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As reported by The Verge , Spencer spoke of how Sony frequently pays competitors to "skip our platform," leading Microsoft to believe it needed to own Bethesda to stand up to the competition. "When we acquired ZeniMax one of the impetus for that is that Sony had done a deal for Deathloop and Ghostwire... to pay Bethesda to not ship those games on Xbox," Spencer said at the trial. "So the discussion about Starfield when we heard that Starfield was potentially also going to end up skipping Xbox, we can’t be in a position as a third-place console where we fall further behind on our content ownership so we’ve had to secure conte...

Sonic Superstars' release date has leaked and it looks like it's going up against Super Mario Bros. Wonder

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Sonic Superstars is due out this autumn, but GameStop and Target may have leaked its specific release date. While the release date on both GameStop and Target's online sites have both changed the listings to "To Be Determined" and December 31 respectively, deals wizard Wario64 spotted that both sites listed the release date as October 17 earlier this week. Sega hasn't actually confirmed a specific release date for the upcoming 2.5D platformer just yet, currently advertising an autumn release window. Of course, if this release date does turn out to be real, it's going to be a bit nostalgic for those of you who grew up with the original Sonic games, as just three days later on October 20, the recently announced Super Mario Bros. Wonder is also being released. Nintendo revealed the newest entry in the 2D line of Mario games as its "just one more thing," part of the Direct this week . Much like Sonic Superstars, the upcoming Super Mario Bros. title has g...

Don't expect The Elder Scrolls 6 to be out for at least another five years says Xbox head

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If you were hoping that The Elder Scrolls 6 might be out soon enough after Starfield, throw those hopes away, as it's still at least "five-plus" years out. Earlier this month, it was the five year anniversary of The Elder Scrolls 6 being announced . Now, as part of the current trial between the Federal Trade Commission and Microsoft regarding the latter's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox head Phil Spencer was asked about The Elder Scrolls 6 and what platforms it will release on. "It's so far out it's hard to understand what the platforms will even be…" Spencer said (via Axios' Stephen Totilo ). "We're talking about a game that's five-plus years away." Totilo also noted that Spencer seemed "fuzzy on whether he previously made a public statement saying it'd be Xbox-only." Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/d0wYieb via IFTTT

I love Final Fantasy 16s low-poly dog

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There sure have been a lot of low points for Final Fantasy as a series since the halcyon days of the PS1 Final Fantasy era. As soon as FF12 was out the door, the series began to stumble – weighed down by its own legacy, so desperate to reinvent and re-establish its place as an industry leader that it continually made promises it couldn’t keep. This pre-adolescent identity crisis manifested most clearly in the Final Fantasy 13 trilogy, where Square Enix tried its damnedest to develop a game worthy of the series’ name, but came up against problem after problem after problem – all underlined by the Crystal Tools engine, an incomplete and inefficient platform that hobbled both Final Fantasy 13, and the doomed initial release of Final Fantasy 14, too. Rumor has it that so much time and money was spent on making this engine work that Square Enix decided it needed to extract as much juice from Crystal Tools as it could once it was (finally) up and running. Hence, the Final Fantasy 13 tril...

What's the best game where you play dead guy? The Best Games Ever Show episode 57

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Welcome to The Best Games Ever Show episode 57: The best game where you play a dead guy. Gaming is stuffed to the coffin lid with undead protagonists. Vampires. Poltergeists. Murdered detectives with unfinished business. Starship captains resurrected from death by a rogue human supremacist terrorist organisation with a trillionaire CEO. The list goes on. And indeed, on. But what’s the best game with an undead protagonist? And why on earth did nobody pick Grim Fandango? Only one of these questions is answered in this week’s Best Games Ever Show, which is a bit short this week because the recording didn’t quite work and Jim’s on paternity leave so there isn’t any time to fix it. Still, at least the situation is framed by an ironic symmetry. Y’know, births, deaths, all that sort of thing. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/sG3nJ29 via IFTTT

E3 isn't cancelled in 2024 and 2025 according to ESA President

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E3 is still a possibility for 2024 and beyond, according to a statement from the ESA. This statement comes following a Los Angeles City Tourism Board of Commissioners meeting that presented figures that took E3's cancellation in 2024 and 2025 into account. In a statement to Gamesindustry.biz , a spokesperson wrote the trade body is "currently having conversations about E3 2024 (and beyond)." However, they would follow this up by stating that "no final decisions about the event have been made at this time." This comes following the cancellation of E3 in 2023 , a "difficult decision" according to Global VP of Gaming for ReedPop Kyle Marsden-Kish. In its absence, the summer slot was packed full of Publisher-run shows , Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest , and a selection of other individual shows that highlighted games in their particular niche. Read more

The Sims 4 will be letting Simmers horse around with neigh-bors in new Horse Ranch DLC

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Horses will finally be returning to the Sims series, with a new Horse Ranch Expansion Pack being announced for The Sims 4 , arriving on July 20 . Rumours surrounding equestrian-activities in The Sims 4 have been around for a while, but EA finally confirmed the news by sharing a new trailer detailing The Sims 4 Horse Ranch Expansion Pack. There’ll be a new American West-inspired world, mini goats and sheep (which are so cute), and of course, horses that you can raise and train in your own ranch. The new world, Chestnut Ridge, is a scenic piece of countryside ideal for Simmers to start up their own ranch, cottage, or cabin. It looks like a great addition for those who dream of starting up a farm in The Sims 4, too, with an array of animals to rear. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/WXoC9sN via IFTTT

We put a nose on the Pikmin 4 dog... and we really shouldn't have

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Pikmin 4 will have a dog in it. Well, it’s not actually a dog, but we’ll get to that later. Either way, Oatchi is an all-new companion that resembles a dog, and will be helping us on our upcoming adventure. This good boy can swim, help us in battle, and clear obstacles for us; he’ll also help us rescue castaways, and will happily play a game of tug of war, much like any other canine. The thing with Oatchi, however, is his appearance. At first glance, he’s an adorable, yellow puppy who’s just happy to be here and help out. Upon further inspection, you begin to notice that this cute canine companion is far from being an actual dog; he has no nose, hops around on two legs, and his tail consists of the fluffy seeds of a dandelion. It was only this morning when we realised that 'hey, wait, that Pikmin 4 dog doesn't have a nose,' and so my deep dive into Oatchi began. After referring to Oatchi as a dog since his reveal, the more that we have seen has only cemented that he act...

Prime Gaming is offering Diablo 4 Warzone 2 bundles and free games in celebration of Prime Day

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Amazon has kicked off Prime Day celebrations early, with a month-long festival of free games, in-game bundles in some of the most popular live service games, and other bonuses. The existing Prime Gaming line-up for June remains, but Amazon wants you to check in every week for more free stuff. This all starts today, with the release of Prey (2017) on GOG. The modern immersive sim is available right now to claim on the Prime Gaming page . Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/4pISQK2 via IFTTT

Nintendo Direct June 2023 - heres all the announcements you mightve missed

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Yesterday’s June Nintendo Direct (June 21) was quite the feast. We received five different Mario-related announcements, a Pikmin 4 demo, Star Ocean 1 and 2 remakes, and so much more. All in all, there’s a lot you could’ve missed, so here’s everything that was shown off during the Nintendo Direct. The Nintendo Direct kicked off with the announcement of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC , Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. This DLC is made up of the Teal Mask, arriving this fall, and the Indigo Mask, arriving in winter. In addition, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope also received a new DLC, The Last Spark, which released immediately after the Nintendo Direct. A demo for the game is also available now. If Pokemon perked you up, you’ll also be glad to know that Detective Pikachu Returns , a sequel to the 2018 Nintendo DS title, will be coming to Switch on October 6. Our Electric-type mouse detective also remains mouthy as ever, you’ll be glad to know. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed...

Diablo 4 player steps up to fix the game's Aspect sorting problem

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By now, anyone who finished Diablo 4 's campaign and spent any meaningful time in the post-campaign/endgame, will be acutely aware of the game's inventory sorting problems. Even setting aside the inventory size itself, the real issue is that there is no way to accurately (and quickly) see what you have. This is demonstrated perfectly by how the game sorts Aspects , affixes that drop on gear and can be extracted and stored to be applied to different pieces. Not only can each Aspect drop with a range of values, they have different levels that depend on the item they first dropped on. But the thing that makes finding what you have truly a nightmare is that you can never tell at a glance what the Aspect is. Since there's no search option, you can't type in what you want, or filter out any ones in particular. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/KUAfTZG via IFTTT

Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 2 games may have been leaked via official website

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The games included in the Metal Gear Solid Volume 2 collection may have been leaked on the official Metal Gear Solid website, if some buttons found in the webpage's HTML code are to be believed. By inspecting the page, anyone can see a list of buttons on the Metal Gear Solid timeline page. While some are active, working buttons, placeholder buttons for Metal Gear Solid 4, Metal Gear Solid V, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker are also present. This was first spotted by Nitroid on Twitter , who posted their findings online alongside a list of contextual information that further complicates matters. The presence of a few lines of HTML code isn't a smoking gun, but there are some reasons why it could be an early indicator of games to come. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/NPK6rgA via IFTTT

18 years later Princess Peach is getting another game of her own

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Yesterday’s June Nintendo Direct (June 21) was stacked, especially for Mario fans, who received a whopping five announcements relating to the classic series. One of which was a new game with Princess Peach as the main character of her own adventure. This won’t be a first for Princess Peach, who received their own game back in 2005 for the Nintendo DS aptly named ‘Super Princess Peach’. This game saw Peach make her way to rescue Mario and Luigi for once, reversing the usual trope we see in Mario titles where Peach is holed up in Bowser’s castle. Super Princess Peach played out a lot like a Mario platformer, but much like Yoshi and his eggs, she had her own gimmicks to utilise in the form of Perry the Parasol and her emotions. Honestly, I remember playing this vividly as a child alongside Yoshi’s Island DS, and it was a great time. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/S1TwO8z via IFTTT

Xbox Game Pass biggest breakout hit of 2022 comes to Switch 4-player co-op coming for all platforms

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Vampire Survivors is a proper good gam; the kind that only comes around every so often. The kind that makes Jim beg for a BAFTA win , the kind that gets picked up for TV treatment within months of launch. Until now, the game was only available on PC and Xbox hardware and mobile . But now, at today's Nintendo Direct, it was confirmed that Vampire Survivors is coming to Switch – and it's bringing some friends with it. Well, actually, it's asking you to bring some friends along, too. The game – previously only available as a single-player experience – will be getting a couch co-op mode will come in a free update on August 17 , which will let you play the whole Vampire Survivors saga with up to 4 players in local co-op on PC, Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and mobile. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/B892MFn via IFTTT

Final Fantasy 16 review: a sublime story-driven action game but a frustratingly flawed RPG

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Final Fantasy 16 is basically two games in one. First of all, you have an excellent, best-in-class 20-hour action game with a truly brilliant story. Bolted to it, however, you have a deeply flawed role-playing game – which makes up the other 25 hours of the experience. This is the tale of FF16 ; when it’s excellent, it is truly, unbelievably, earth-shatteringly good. When it’s bad, it’s mildly frustrating at best, and pretty wretched at its worst. On balance, the good outweighs the bad to an enormous degree, and so it’s a game that’s incredibly easy to recommend in spite of its shortcomings. It’s also the best entry point and jumping-on point for Final Fantasy newcomers in decades. Let’s start with the good, because I do think that’s what’ll stay with you once the credits roll. Final Fantasy 16 presents one of the most accomplished and well-rounded stories in the series. In narrative terms, this tale now sits up there with numbers 6, 7, 9 and 10 in terms of its execution and my ov...

Pikmin 4 demo arrives next week with HD versions of Pikmin 1 and 2 available now

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Nintendo promised fans that we’d be seeing more Pikmin 4 at today’s Nintendo Direct, and it wasn't joking. The Nintendo Direct unveiled that a Pikmin 4 demo will be hitting the Nintendo Switch eShop on Friday, 30 June alongside a new trailer. If you weren’t too sure on whether Pikmin 4 would be right for you, you’ll have three whole weeks to try the demo out before the game releases on July 21. That’s plenty of time to recruit some carrot-like creatures to help you on this mysterious planet, the friendly but strange pup Oatchi, plus the newly-discovered Ice Pikmin and Glow Pikmin for us to recruit! These Glow Pikmin will be particularly helpful in helping us explore at night, which we can now do! Pikmin 4 will have some fancy features, including split-screen multiplayer, and a house we can actually explore the interior of. It's not certain whether the demo will actually allow us to test multiplayer or check out the pristine house, but we know one things for sure, we'l...

Watch the Nintendo Direct here

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Nintendo is hosting a Nintendo Direct later today, in which it promises to show off games coming to the Nintendo Switch this year, including Pikmin 4 . The Nintendo Direct is due to kick things off today at 3PM BST / 4PM CET / 7AM PT / 10AM ET , and will run for approximately 40-minutes, so make sure you’ve your snacks, lunch break, and whatever else prepared in advance. If you want to watch the Nintendo Direct with us, you can tune in via the embedded video above. Alternatively, the livestream will be available to watch on Nintendo's YouTube . Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/laUwvTp via IFTTT

Street Fighter 6 remains dominated by Juri foot fetishists

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Several weeks following the launch of Street Fighter 6 , clubs dedicated to Juri's feet remain some of the most popular you can find online. It seems like the dedication of Street Fighter foot fetishists has legs. Toes too, we assume. For those starting up the game for the first time, a trip to the Battle Hub will quickly result in would-be world warriors facing down the sheer quantity of horny Juri clubs. They're even highlighted on the Recommended tab from time to time, with JuriFeetLovers sitting alongside clubs dedicated to entire countries. Using the in-game club search feature, we can see that there are currently 36 Juri clubs filled with 100 players each, as well as five additional clubs with active communities of between 35 to 97 players each. Of these 41 active clubs, 32 of them are explicitly horny, with 28 of them referencing Juri's feet directly. Clubs like JuriMains and Juri Laboratory are surrounded on all sides by the likes of JuriFeetCum and Jurifeetsucki...

EA's magic FPS Immortals of Aveum now releasing very close to Starfield

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Immortals of Aveum , the ambitious first-person magic shooter from Ascendant Studios, has been delayed to August 22 . The game was initially set to launch on July 20, but the studio has announced that it needs a little more time to polish the game. In a statement shared on Ascendant Studios website , Bret and the team state that, “Your reactions to Immortals of Aveum over the past few weeks has been incredibly inspiring. [...] As you know, this is our first game as a self-funded independent studio. We set out five years ago to ambitiously make an original Magic FPS in a new fantasy world. Along the way, we worked through a pandemic, built a new team, developed on Unreal Engine 5.1, and pushed the boundaries of what we thought was possible. Now, the finish line is in sight.” Bret and the team continue, “The recent feedback to the game proves to us what we already felt: that Immortals of Aveum is something special. In order to realize our full vision, we are going to take a few extra ...

Nintendo Direct on June 21 will look at this year's Switch games including Pikmin 4

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Rumours have been floating around for a few days now about when the next Nintendo Direct will be, with many suggesting that it would be within the next week. Well, the rumours were true, and we’ll all be able to lap up the latest Nintendo Direct tomorrow, June 21 . The Nintendo Direct was announced via Twitter as per usual, and will be around 40 minutes in length. During the show, eager Nintendo fans can expect to see more of the Nintendo Switch titles that will be releasing this year. One game that Nintendo has confirmed we’ll definitely see more of is Pikmin 4 , which releases on July 21. What else could possibly be on show? Well, there are a lot of titles set to come to Nintendo Switch before the year is out, but some notable titles include Oxenfree II: Lost Signals on July 12, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk on August 18, The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie on July 7, Persona 5 Tactica on November 17, and Blasphemous II during some point this summer. Read more from VG247 Latest A...

PlayStation just lost the ex-Apple exec it hired to spearhead its mobile games push

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There's big movement at the head of Sony's mobile gaming department, with its head of VP Nicola Sebastiani stepping down from the role to pursue "a new, undisclosed opportunity". In his place, heavy hitters from Meta and Kabam are stepping in as co-heads. Sebastiani, who had roughly eight years of experience at Apple when they were brought under Sony's big umbrella back in 2021 alongside developer Savage Game Studios, was a key figure in Sony's push to secure a future on the mobile gaming market. They're reasons for leaving, confirmed by Mobilegamer.biz , remains mysterious. But with Sebastiani out the door, who are his replacements? The first is Olivier Courtemanche. Before this new role, he was a product manager over at Meta, specifically working on its Horizon social platform as head of content. This meant bringing music, sports, and streaming experiences to Meta's VR metaverse. Before that, they clocked in a whopping six years at Zynga too, the ...

Pikmin 4 download cards reveal split-screen features treasures and a house we can explore

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We’ve not long to wait before Pikmin 4 will be in the hands of keen fans, and download cards are now already appearing in Japan (first reported by NintendoLife ). These Pikmin 4 download cards are accompanied by fresh screenshots from the game, and reveal some fancy new features that fans can look forward to. Shared in a tweet from TokyoGameLife , the cards show off split-screen multiplayer, new treasures, and more. When it comes to split-screen multiplayer, one player will be able to support the other by shooting with a reticle. The illustrations on the download card make it look as though one player job will be to control the Pikmin, while the other plays as our space-faring captain, and it doesn’t look like online multiplayer is going to be supported. This is a shame for those looking forward to playing with friends across the ‘net. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/8wUNXf5 via IFTTT

Dont worry Xbox fans Avoweds graphics are going to get better

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We received our first glimpse of the new Obsidian RPG - Avowed - at the Xbox Games Showcase earlier this month in the form of a two-minute trailer. The first-person fantasy game looks pretty good, but some fans already have tempered their expectations. The Avowed trailer was more recently shared to forum, RPG Codex , and met with a mixture of responses; some can’t wait for the game, some are sick of fantasy settings, and many others think the trailer is “ the shittiest trailer I’ve seen in a while .” Ultimately, there’s over 80 pages of criticism, some of it actually being constructive, with some excitement sprinkled in from Obsidian fans. An Obsidian developer with the username ‘Briar Diem’ soon contributed to the thread, attempting to give players a little more hope in Avowed and share some of Obsidian’s process with users. “All I can say is the game has not entered Alpha yet , art will get refined in various ways. Lighting will change. Though, designs will not change, of course...

CD Projekt Red isnt hiding how good Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is on PS5 and Xbox Series

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Over the past few weeks, Cyberpunk 2077 has been back on everyone’s lips. I got home from Summer Games Fest and immediately started downloading CD Projekt Red ’s controversial RPG on my PlayStation 5, because – after what I saw in Phantom Liberty – I need a save file ready to go on my console. Some context: at Summer Game Fest, the CDPR booth let journalists, creators and other attendees choose which version of the game they wanted to play. You could opt for PC, Xbox Series, or PS5. Given the myriad issues ( both legal and performance-wise ) the base game suffered on PlayStation consoles at launch, I opted to demo the title on Sony’s machine. And I am really glad I did. From the opening of the demo – where V and their new pal, Songbird, watch a presidential shuttle tumble dramatically out of the sky into the woebegotten, walled-off borough of Dog Town – you can see the work the studio has done on making this game console-friendly. As Alex has already rightly pointed out , the var...

Sonic Origins Plus isn't even out yet and it's already riling up fans

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Sonic Origins Plus is set to release on June 23 , which is just a few days away. It takes the original Sonic Origins title and brings it back with some new additions, including Amy Rose a playable character, and a physical release finally. There are a few Sonic fans who have already managed to get their hands on a physical copy of the Sonic Origins Plus, which has lead to leaks online, and it appears that they’ve quite a few qualms with the updated collection of Sonic titles. That said, with Sonic Origins also packing twelve Game Gear titles alongside a playable Amy Rose, what is it that is upsetting fans? Well, when Sonic manages to collect all seven Chaos Emeralds, he can become Super Sonic; he gets his own unique sprite when in this form. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/aV3DIeC via IFTTT

God of War inspired Soulslike Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn catches a delay into 2024

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Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn , the upcoming Souslike from Ashen developer A44 , has been delayed into 2024. A44 announced the delay on the game's official Twitter account last week, in a small thread going into its reasoning as to why it made that decision. "We want to update our fans on the development of Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn," reads the start of the thread. "To make Flintlock the absolute best experience it can be at launch, we have made the decision to move the game’s release to 2024. "We’ve been hard at work crafting a unique and deeply detailed open world brimming with thrilling fights, rewarding exploration and a true sense of discovery. It’s important to our whole team that Flintlock is a special experience, and we owe it to ourselves and to all of you who have been following the game since we announced to make it the most impressive and unforgettable game it can be." Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/ngNTW6D v...

Forget Bloodborne two of 2023's most exciting soulslikes are teaming up

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Lies of P and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty are teaming up for a collab later this year, although there isn't any word yet on what exactly we'll be getting from this team up. With Koei Techmo and Neowiz bringing both companies' 2023 soulslikes together for a cheeky bit of dual promotion, it's a good reminder that this year is looking pretty good for fans of the genre - even if we have to keep praying for a Bloodborne port or remaster. As for what we could expect to see, recent history can go a long way in pointing towards what the actual fruits of this corporate collab will be. Back in March, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty paired up with Naraka: Bladepoint - a third person actual battle royale game that has been chugging along for a while now. In this, players in Naraka were able to earn gear inspired by the three kingdoms period Wo Long is set in. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/PS7h29w via IFTTT

Wholesome Diablo 4 players are trying to make up for the game's lack of social features

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The larger Diablo 4 is, the more the need for in-game social features becomes more pressing. Diablo 4 has a best-in-class party scaling system, but it's let down by the lack of a basic LFG system . The problem doesn't become apparent until you finish the campaign, reach level 50 and start diving into the endgame. Though most players can solo campaign content just fine, things start to become significantly harder in the endgame. Diablo 4 is an MMO, but it's one without some basic group-finding features that are typical of the majority of MMOs. The game even wants players to group up, with boosts to XP gain that apply even to players in the vicinity of others. Especially in the endgame, Diablo 4 becomes a lot more hostile to solo players. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/x0D1I9m via IFTTT

Valorant's progressing system is changing here's how

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Valorant will be welcoming Episode 7 on June 27 , and it’s looking to be a pretty big update. Not only will players be receiving a completely new game mode, Team Deathmatch , but the way our in-game progression works is changing. If you’re hoping to prepare yourself before June 27, what exactly are the changes going to be? Well, you can bid farewell to the Agent Contracts you’ll have no doubt been grinding since the dawn of time. Agents will now be unlocked via a 28-day Agent Recruitment event, which will occur following the release of a new Agent. These Agents will still take quite the grind to unlock, but can still be purchased outright with Valorant Points if you don’t feel like waiting. Read more from VG247 Latest Articles Feed https://ift.tt/7SQwosM via IFTTT