Julius

All in all, have to agree with everyone else: this Partner Showcase and the last one were by far the strongest, a really solid collection of games. Part Time UFO is definitely the highlight for me, looks very charming and like a relaxing time. Definitely going to be keeping an eye out for that. It being a shadow drop is awesome too, and not the only one either! No More Heroes 1+2 was also really cool to see, added that to the wishlist, as I've never played either game before and I'm certainly curious to see what the fuss is about! Glad those waiting for Bravely Default II news finally got it, though admittedly the delay to next year sucks...but hey, at least it's only until Feb, could've been much worse! Really like what they've been doing on the Switch with their demos and surveys. Unfortunately, not one I'll be picking up, because while I love a good JRPG, I have so many older ones I'd love to play first! Maybe one day... Cloud versions for Hitman III and Control were definitely a surprise, didn't expect the cloud to be pushed over here as it's been quiet in Japan (at least in the news) since, what, 2018 or something like that? Going to be one of those entirely dependent on your own internet, so it's unfortunately case-by-case as to just how effective it'll end up being, but still, I think it's cool to have the option there. Improving ISP infrastructures in the coming years could be a huge boon for Nintendo and third parties, assuming a potential Pro doesn't go some ways to providing parity more in line with current gen consoles. Oh, and the Hyrule Warriors demo being released is awesome. Still looking forward to that, but don't think I'll be checking the demo out, mostly because I'm already sold, and would rather digest the game for the first time in its entirety than carry over early progress. Only downside to this Partners Showcase, especially after the SaGa Collection in the last one...Square Enix. My pals. My buddies. Come on. Where the heck is the Final Fantasy Collection?! Yeah, that's how I interpreted it too, and I feel like their Twitter post for this Partner Showcase was weirdly particular in its phrasing... Could be nothing, but calling out specifically that it's the final Direct Mini: Partner Showcase of the year? Might just be leaving their options open, and of course it doesn't necessarily mean we'll see another type of Direct before the year is up, but still, if their intent at this point was to communicate that that was it for Direct-style videos this year, I would kind of expect the phrasing to be "The Final Nintendo Direct of the year!" Hmm. I'm watching you Nintendo. It's crazy to think that we haven't had a general direct since September of last year. While I'd love one, I think we're still a ways off from getting back to that thanks to COVID's ongoing impact on development schedules. That being said, I expect them to continue with smaller Directs for now, as they've done a really good job I think of giving us something to look forward to in the next 3 months since, what, the start of the year? Quite a few ports, sure, but yeah, I think you're right in saying that they've really improved as they've gone along. We've likely got a Pokémon Direct for the 25th Anniversary in February and a Zelda Direct for the 35th Anniversary at some point to look forward to at least, though!

DF jumping on the Astro's and DualSense bandwagon: Three weeks tomorrow. Please go quickly...

Same...wonder if it's a US advert? Says the same on the GB site too Haven't seen any footage of it outside of the trailer, really weird to drop that and not have it available for update at the same time.

Available now Well, it's been an hour, and still waiting on that update. For some reason I reeeeeeally want to see the updated app.

I knew it looked familiar, but couldn't quite piece together what from! Yeah, that'd be it going to be picking this up on the weekend for a bit of a fun distraction, can't imagine it being too long.

Rage? What's that? I haven't yet, one of those few times I've picked something up on sale knowing I'll get to it at some point, but it was that and Spyro at half price, so figured I might as well well aware of the rage it incites, though! Could see myself going for a Spyro plat if I enjoy it enough, but not sure I'd be up to it for Crash. But we'll see

Triple checks Huh, we don't have a PS+ Collection thread? Anyways, awesome. Means I can pick up the original XV physically, but play the Royal Edition and why did I have to pick up Crash on sale?! Wouldn't be too surprised if Spyro followed at some point...

Season 1 recap of The Mandalorian: I believe the first episode will be going up at 07:00 GMT on Friday for us in the UK, as the US haven't changed their clocks back an hour yet (episodes are due to drop at midnight PT/03:00 ET). This will then like change to 08:00 GMT like it was last year once they change their clocks this weekend.

It's unboxing time! I really like the look of the Series S and X boxes.

Think it's an interesting enough move (and likely to run differently enough too) that it will warrant its own thread. Clouds are back with a vengeance

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

Looks like a lot of fun! Developed by HAL, was going to say just from the trailer thumbnail it looked very Kirby-esque.

Rise of the cloud.

Delayed to 26th February, new Direct Mini trailer. Demo feedback:

Demo available today, save carries over to full game.

Last one of the year! EDIT: Nintendo UK took it down, for some reason. Oh well.

Well, there it (seemingly) is. Wanting it to be more polished for release on current gen systems.

Bye bye Barto! Well, looks like someone is probably about to do a Michael Scott. Good riddance.

Yeah, absolutely agree. They've absolutely killed it this gen. And not even just the first or third party exclusives this time around, too, but the timed exclusive deals, for example Final Fantasy VII Remake and Dragon Quest XI with Square Enix, I feel were a strong statement, and those games and the hours I sunk in are just as tied to my enjoyment of games on the PS4 this gen. COVID for sure has had a positive impact, definitely a case of a rising tide raising all ships. Whether on my PS4, Switch, or any other console really, I look back at this year and genuinely wonder how much worse off I might have been this year if not for gaming. Excessive gaming for long stretches is something I'm increasingly wary of, and I imagine I'll start to cut down my gaming once some sort of normalcy comes back to the world, but for 2020, with how it's played out, it's been a great way to escape, and also a great way to connect to others. Whether in a party, vicariously through a bean in Fall Guys, or just discussing games here on N-Europe, it's definitely been a light at the end of the tunnel for me almost every day since March. Compounded only by consistent news all summer (though I'll admit, I did miss E3 in the end!), the buildup to a new generation, and the excitement of it all. Whether it's a PS5, Series X, Series S, RTX graphics card, new VR headset, or even if people are just getting around to picking up a Switch or PS4/XBO (sorry Vita! ), it's been a rough year in some way or another for everyone. That we have something to look forward to as we look to the end of the year as great as new hardware and software is awesome, and I definitely hope it continues to offer what we probably all need as the chaos unfurls around us (and, you know, eventually goes away...please!)

Yeah, think it largely depends on what the audience is like for TGA's this year I guess, I'm expecting a bit of a bump in voter turnout considering just how strong a year it's been for games. Animal Crossing I feel is a great shout as a dark horse, think that one really depends on who turns up to vote more than any of the others mentioned. I'd be happy for it to win, because while I dropped off after 50 hours or so, I still got a few weeks out of it, and had a really good time with it; it was a very welcome and much needed distraction early on in quarantine, that's for sure. I at least expect to see it win some awards, though I'm not sure if it will end up with GOTY at the TGA's at least. I think the other games you mention could end up as nominees, for sure, but I don't think any of them that'll take GOTY home. I think it'll end up being The Last of Us Part II that wins, or rather, I'd be surprised if it didn't. While I personally feel that the original is tighter all around, and I'll gladly take a linear story over some of the messier pacing we ended up with in Part II, the ambition is there for it on the visual, storytelling, and musical fronts as a strong case for GOTY at TGA's. That this game can run as smooth as it does on a base PS4 really is something, and I really hope it's accessibility features are highlighted on the night for all to see. Plus, Naughty Dog is as GOTY bait a studio you can get, all things considered. Personally of the opinion that it being divisive is down to a bit of a vocal minority - not that I'd disagree with some of the points they raise, but while there are some who genuinely have fair points to make, there are others who hated this game from before it was even released (character gender, sexuality, leaked plot, etc.) who are annoyingly loud about it, which definitely makes it difficult to gauge. Ended up loving Final Fantasy VII Remake after I had some time to digest it, killer soundtrack and a great next step for Final Fantasy in a lot of ways, but I think it genuinely has a tougher job than the rest, considering its being held up more to the original game than it is it's peers this year in the eyes of most gamers. Probably not fair, but that's just how it's going to be. Guess we'll have to wait and see, in any case! It not being delayed into early next year makes me a little bit concerned that the next gen upgrade is much, much later on in the year than I had previously expected. For me, I'll be playing it Day 1 with whatever patches are available, but if this game is worthy of a second playthrough for me, I'll probably save it for that next gen upgrade!

That's crazy. Just goes to show how effectively they kept us all on the hook in the lead up to last month's event (is it just me, or does that feel like it was ages ago?), and ready to jump on pre-orders as soon as they went up. Could they have communicated more effectively until now, in terms of what we were in for? Yeah, for sure. I think they bottled some of the messaging relating to last month's event (release dates for games, pre-order date and time for the console), and though I think a few of us here thought their backwards compatibility strategy was clear enough, it really shouldn't have been a question. If you're being competitive, as Xbox and PlayStation clearly are, why would you give so much as an inch to your competitor, even if it's only in the minds of a few? PlayStation have done a great job, no doubt, so crazy stats like these aren't too out there, though I am curious to see what the deal is going to be with stock, and especially in how many they're able to produce and sell by their end of the financial year. The demand is there, but will the supply be? We still haven't heard about that second wave of pre-orders yet, and we're just under a two and a half weeks from launch in the US.

It's strange, because my first instinct is that it might be an issue getting it to perform well on the base models of current gen (PS4/XBO). Also worth noting that this puts it out of contention for GOTY at The Game Awards, and we've already seen how that has played out in other cases. Can't be a decision they've made lightly, keeping that in mind. Off the top of my head in terms of AAA releases, it pretty much guarantees that GOTY will be a PlayStation exclusive title this year (The Last of Us Part II, Ghost of Tsushima, or [timed] Final Fantasy VII Remake, and depending on when the cut-off is, potentially Demon's Souls too?). Might be that I'm forgetting something, but if not, that's pretty crazy.

Well, can't say that was totally unexpected, because it still feels like we've seen so little of it, but that's a real shame, for both us, as the audience, and the developers (especially so). Guess that means there's no question in my mind about which order to play games in on the PS5 at least! means I can be pretty much focused on CP2077 when it releases which is nice!

glances over at TV unit Yeahhhh that could be a squeeze even taking the PS4 out of the equation, it's going to be a bit tighter than I'd like next to the PS3 Slim and Switch! Might need to shuffle things around a bit and start using my lower shelf...