Julius

Yeah, both accessories and games are releasing on the 12th, even the PS5 exclusive games. I think it got bumped up a few weeks back? It looks like ShopTo are getting all of their accessories and games ready to start processing on the 10th, so wouldn't be surprised if some turn up on the 11th. Not that it matters until the console arrives it's going to be a very long week of holding the DualSense and watching that UI video over and over I've seen some hoping elsewhere that due to lockdown there might an earlier launch, but everyone seems much more prepared now than they were back then, so unfortunately I'm not expecting it to hapoen. A repeat of the FFVII Remake situation we got earlier in the year due to lockdown would be nice, but like with that game, feel it would only make for a bit of a weird launch!

Someone from Portugal already has their Series X, 6 days early! And someone over in Canada has just received their Series S, and have confirmed that there will be 364 GB of available storage. Not long until next gen now folks!

I meant it as more of a tongue in cheek rhetorical, but yeah, you're absolutely right. And it's disgusting. I guarantee if Jesus were to come back today, they'd denounce him and treat him in just as toxic a manner - perhaps even more so - as they do minorities and anyone considered their "opposition" today. It really drives me up the wall, especially as someone brought up with Christian values (as I imagine would be the case for most here at some point or another). How they aren't viewed the same way as extremist groups of other religions (especially with what happened over the summer) is beyond me. Meanwhile, they're over there marginalising people of colour/different religions/genders/sexuality. It's infuriating too, because even though I'm not American, and I know most of us are based in or originally from the UK, social media makes the struggle over there more accessible. I've lost count of the times I've been fuming at videos showing some of the things that go on over there, and I guess that our empathy (and their apparent lack thereof) makes the gap all the wider. They seriously need a wake-up call. Even if Biden wins, I don't think that's going to be it.

Yeah, this. It's a bit closer I think even without the mail-in votes, though, which is why I think there's a bit more concern right now. Plus, it's always scary to see it looking this close, even if it won't be in the end (though it does look like it's going to be stupidly close). It was said before that Biden should pull ahead as more votes are counted and the actual numbers start coming in, as it's exactly why Trump wants them to stop counting in every state other than Arizona (which had a ridiculous mail-in turnout, and is dependable because counting started in advance of last night/today - you know, how it should have been done!). I mean, you can look at their supporters and handily guess who is a democrat and who is a republican based on whether they're wearing a mask or not. Like you said, it's why Trump has been trying to cast doubt over a mail-in ballot these last few weeks due to the potential for voted fraud (despite the fact that it is estimated to only impacted some 0.009% - or something like that - of mail-in votes?). A lot of Biden supporters voted a while ago, and were careful about it. You know, the expected response during a pandemic which the US has dealt with much worse than less able countries. America is such a strange place sometimes. But still, I do think it's incredibly disheartening that some 65+ million Americans have still voted for Trump. I mean, he didn't even deliver on The Wall™, and he doesn't have any other bright ideas he's been touting, so I don't even know what it is that they're supporting? Do they just like his haircut? The guy just tried to tear apart democracy on live television, for goodness sake! It just shows how divided America is, and I think even if Biden wins, the last 4 years has set up a lot of toxicity and hatred in the coming months and years. Genuinely wouldn't be surprised if this turns out much worse on the streets than the BLM protests earlier in the summer, which is a frightening thought. Urgh. Plus, you know, it'd be nice to have a President over there who wasn't denying climate change when we're at the tipping point.

Jesse Harlin, composer for Republic Commando, has teased that Vode An is going to be used in an upcoming Star Wars project. Hell yeah. Question is, is it Mando S2, The Bad Batch, both (?), or something else? Do I dare to wish for a Republic Commando remake or an Imperial Commando game? Probably not, because watch it be for a Star Wars video game complication soundtrack Vode An, for those who have no idea what I'm talking about: Man, it's so good. That game has a really solid OST, probably some of the best non-JW stuff in the 2000's. Need to play that game again at some point!

Probably deserves its own thread. Never played them, so curious to see what all the talk is about at some point!

My bad. Yeah, HDMI 2.1.

HDMI 2.1 confirmed. While I think there was nothing to be worried about personally, HDMI 2.1 has not been confirmed previously, and the lack of confirmation I feel is what caused some concern amongst some online. Nice to have the clarification at least!

Been a very hectic time at work these past few weeks in the build-up to payment holidays ending on the 31st...and now that's all up in the air while we wait for clarification on the FCA putting forward an extension of the deadline. Great times. Moved to a different team at the start of September with a few core members from my team. Same department, but it means doing a lot more manual work vs things coming in on the dialler, which is a huge win. Long-term, eventually, once this whole COVID thing is over, it should mean being assigned 'cases' and being in regular contact with the same customers, having time to look over their accounts before calling them, arranging call backs, etc. Seeing as I was already doing this before, it seems a natural fit for me! Only downside to the manual work is seeing just how incompetent a number of the other employees are at times (I work for a massive international bank), especially those who process actions taken on the account. The number of times I see notes saying that a plan has not been agreed and then them processing a plan and sending a letter to the customer for a plan is honestly quite frightening. It honestly takes a bit of a toll starting to think that, on average, people just aren't doing their job right (and I mean the basics, taught in day 1 of training - you know, the "you MUST do this" sort of stuff?). I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm getting paid and to slow down and take my time, but yeah. It is what it is. I was also ill a couple of weeks back (again, yay) and came back to a meeting with my manager where I was advised that my bonus should be quite decent come the end of our work year in March. Unfortunately, in a meeting my manager and another, we learned that we wouldn't be getting bonuses this year. Makes sense because of COVID, and I hadn't hung my hat on it, but considering the sheer workload my team in particular has had to work through since we started working from home in April (some of us, myself included, have been doing additional tasks too, such as helping in development for those new to the role, as well as taking on work from every corner of the company), it's still a bit of a bummer. Our 'ratings' will now only be used for potential transfers to other departments/roles, which is still something, but when the bonuses can typically be 10% - 25% of your annual salary, it's nothing to scoff at. And only stings much more because my manager wasn't aware of us not having them this year! Oh, and I also had to resolve something for a customer over the phone the other day for an account type which I have worked once, maybe twice, in the last 12 months, through a program which I did not have access to. It's great that my manager trusts me to do this, but honestly? It was not a fun experience, and was honestly a bit concerning. I want to do my job to the best of my ability, and while it went well in the end, I could tell I was much more anxious than I normally would be, not having the immediate security of up-to-date data to back me up. To end on a positive: still working towards a pay rise which would come into effect in April, and very grateful to still have a job. It's really funny every time I have a meeting with my manager, or speak to any manager really, though, because I've made it clear that I don't see this as a long-term job for myself. As a result of COVID I might have to change my plans and delay things here and there, I can only roll with those punches and the financial security is nice, but my goal is still to study again and go to university in a few years' time. Just a reminder to those who now find themselves working from home, it's worth checking if you're eligible for tax relief while working from home! It's not much, but over the course of the year it adds up - especially if you've been forced to work from home for a while now, it could average out as potentially covering one of your smaller fixed costs.

Yeah, I remember, and that's true and a great point about it needing to be ported back to the original engine. Again, it's nothing against the DQ team. To me, it just feels like Square Enix as publishers are hellbent on milking it. I know it's the same for a lot of publishers, but it's especially odd in this case I feel, just considering how the series doesn't typically fare too well in the west. Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but didn't XI S perform surprisingly poorly in Japan? This is all to say: I just hope we don't see a repeat of this all with XII, and they are both released on the same date with versions being at parity as much as they can be when it comes to features and story (the main differences I imagine are inevitably are going to be revolving around resolution and frame rate).

I did, though admittedly the main reason for me noticing was that I was in a dark room and the change made me a little bit nauseous when it happened

My mistake! Still, it's flown by, and I wouldn't be too surprised if we heard about or saw XII next year. Though I guess, everything is subject to change at the moment! Going to assume you're referring to my mention of S specifically. Sure, S was published by Nintendo, but then the point remains that Square Enix published what they would have known at launch in 2018 to not be a fully featured version of the game when compared with S. Considering just how early XI was announced as coming to the Switch (one of the first titles, if not the first, announced for NX, right?), it certainly gives the impression that Square Enix held things back for S, probably even before the time of the launch of the PS4 version in Japan in 2017. Sure, not denying that first part. What I'm saying is that Square Enix knowingly omitted additional features and elements from the version which was available first, that's what comes off as scummy to me. I don't know why I have to scrounge, and I mean console of choice is a lot to take from what I said, considering that that was the only version available in the west for a year I loved the game and put over 100 hours into it, and I'm glad that those who played XI S enjoyed it too. What I'm saying is that this isn't like Persona 5 Royal, for example, where there was what, 3 years between the western release of that and the original? And where it clearly hadn't been developed in parallel, and didn't seem like the developer had omitted things to cash in on them down the line. I don't know, I just don't think you'd be arguing the same thing if the roles were reversed and a version was released on the Switch, only for a superior version (bar graphical fidelity?) to release a year later exclusively on PlayStation or Xbox. It sucks as a consumer who was trying a franchise for the first time, and supporting one which historically doesn't do well in the west. It's simply not a Nintendo vs PlayStation thing. I think it's awesome that people have loved XI S on the Switch, I'm just saying that there not being an upgrade path kind of sucks now that XI S is coming to other platforms a year later, especially for those who played what turned out to be an inferior version (again, bar graphics) during its initial launch in the west (for a franchise which traditionally doesn't perform well over here) two years ago? It doesn't seem that unreasonable to me, and heck, I still think Atlus should've done the same thing for Persona 5 Royal. But it is what it is, and I would say the same thing if it were the other way around

Some details on a chapter being cut from the game, where Tifa would have been front and centre: Okay Square Enix, now I want two things: a Final Fantasy I - VI Collection, and a Tifa Chapter in Remake Part II

Well this seems as good a place as any to mention Yuji Horii teasing the plans for Dragon Quest in 2021, with the franchise turning 35 years old! From Gematsu: An update on the new Dragon Quest Monsters? Ports/remakes of the older games? And, I mean, it's reasonable to expect to see XII next year, right? XI released in 2016 in Japan if I'm remembering right, so 5 years on just learning about XII seems about right (surely?), and while I know that a lot of effort was poured into the localisation for us in the west, I would even imagine that XI S didn't require the full team to return. Should be interesting to see how it all shakes out! Yeah, Dragon Quest XI was one of my favourite games of the generation hands down, and honestly I'm sure would be one of my favourites if I were to make a Top 10 of my all-time favourites. Charm is definitely what the series has, and it has it in spadefuls! Only thing in my mind which comes close to that charm, that's actually popular in the west, would be the earliest Pokémon games. And that petered out over the years... The thing that sucks is how the series is handled by Square Enix in the west. Sent out to die in 2018 releasing a few days before Spider-Man if I'm remembering right, the whole ordeal with S (and the lack of an upgrade?) meaning that those who supported the game from its launch in the west ended up with an inferior version, and so on.

Confirmation that it will be a PS5 exclusive from Insomniac: No surprises there!

Well, it's November! Not too long now...

Best of luck @drahkon, I'm sure you'll kill it!

@stuwii (and anyone else who order for in-store pickup from GAME)

Hell yeah, Hero is back!

Honestly, feel like it might be worth contacting the store for updates on what they'll do (either directly or through Twitter or something) if non-essential retail does close again. I would be really surprised if they didn't offer the option to either change it to be delivered to your home, or dropped off at a collection point which would be considered essential (i.e. a Sainsbury's or somewhere like that), because at the end of the day, they're going to be losing customers and trust if they can't offer a decent alternative. Good luck, hopefully they can sort something out for you!

Finally got the chance to dig into Chapter 9 of The Mandalorian earlier this evening. I was up and ready to watch it at 07:00, but knew it would just distract me when I started working First, the stuff that doesn't spoil anything. Soundtrack is still solid. Costumes look great. Sound design and effects look great. But boy oh boy did some of those wider tracking CG shots look rough, much more noticeable and much more frequent than it was even in Chapter 1. A case of budget and time going elsewhere, I'd imagine, but I was really surprised by it, considering just how much they nailed it by the end of Season 1. Solid way to open up the season, look forward to seeing where it goes next week!

Yeah, holy smokes. What's that, 7 seconds from a cold boot (that's the impression I get seeing as it goes into the menu, at least), and a 2 second load of the save, which wasn't even long enough to feel like a fade to black? If that was a cold boot like we seem to think, then yeah. Ho-ley smoked mackerel, that's very exciting!

Oh dang, that would be huge considering that they already own Funimation! Might lead to a better chance of certain shows getting a dub that hadn't already (or being dubbed earlier than they otherwise would have been) down the line. Very interesting.

It's always a weird day when anime/manga turns up on the front page of the BBC website, but hey, at least this time it's with good reason: Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train (that will never not be fun to type) has absolutely killed the Japanese box office. And all this with COVID (cases rising by about 200 per day at the moment in Tokyo). From Siliconera: Crazy! Good for them, I don't doubt in the slightest that it deserves it. Looking forward to the release over here next year!

A better look at the White Snow Edition: