Julius

Yeah, definitely! For me all it did was remind me that they had a boat load of apps which they're making an absolute killing on.

Right, this is exactly how I feel. Does it have Platinum content at all, even if it's just a Delta Episode situation? Do we get a fully fledged Battle Frontier, or is it just the Battle Tower? How about Sinnoh forms, Z-Moves, Mega Evolutions, Gigantamax, etc.? I mentioned it in the Presents thread, but that music even sounds like the original MIDI music. We haven't seen the case covers, which I think is a bit odd, and might suggest that we get Primal Forms or something for Dialga and Palkia. But other than that extrapolation, I'm finding it difficult to see - so far - why you would wait for this instead of playing Platinum, besides QoL things like faster battle animations, being able to play it on a bigger screen, and visual updates like the better looking battles (I'm landing firmly on the side of the overworld and chibi models looking borderline like a mobile game).

A bit of a weird showing for me overall, even if the two reveals colour my impressions to be really positive in the end. The opening anniversary montage, just like the one we got in 2016 for the 20th anniversary, was great, but showing as many of the core series and spin-off titles as they did and then only having an update on one spin-off title in New Pokémon Snap was a little odd. I don't know, maybe it's just me, but it ratcheted my expectations up a little. Seeing New Pokémon Snap again was good, and I'm glad we got a better look at it this time around, seeing as it wasn't in the Direct last week. Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl is a weird one for me. On the one hand, hey, we're going back to Sinnoh, but on the other hand, everything I'm reading and seeing is saying "faithful remake", which makes me pretty concerned that other than it looking different visually (in battle and in the overworld, which is a shame because in battles the character models look great!) and having some modern QoL improvements (such as faster battle animations) it's very much just a modern reskin of the original games with very little to get excited about. I'm not even sure at this point if we should be expecting Platinum content to work its way in or Mega Evolutions, Sinnoh forms, etc., because unless I'm misremembering, "faithful remake" isn't a term they've thrown around before. Also, pretty sure the music in the trailer is MIDI - it at least sounded exactly like it did in the original games - so I hope that's not a sign that they're just going to phone in the soundtrack and bring over what will practically be the original OST. It's hard to be too mad with Pokémon Legends Arceus on the way though, at least it's nice to see Game Freak showing some ambition for a change, even if it looks rough. Fingers crossed things go smoothly there with development and they're able to get more out of the game than this first look showed off (world looks pretty barren if I'm being honest). Overall, despite its short length, I think it was a solid Pokémon Presents, and Pokémon Legends is finally Game Freak showing some ambition and trying to experiment with the series to figure out its future, which I'm a big fan of, and it's telling that a lot of people who don't play Pokémon have their eye on this; I'm struggling to think of why this couldn't potentially try to challenge the sales figures of the original games, just given its premise and potential. The lack of news on other spin-offs or ports of older games was a bit of a disappointment to me, too, but maybe we'll get some stuff announced throughout the year? I think it had more to offer than last night's State of Play and last week's Nintendo Direct, even if you aren't a Pokémon fan. I'd score this one an 8/10 - too much Sinnoh?

It's confirmed to be both for physical and digital versions, found this at the bottom of their press release for Intergrade:

Goodness knows at this point, and same goes for the Legends game. I would lean towards this being the next main series game, seeing as that's how the remakes have been categorised before, and Legends I think is more of its own subseries, like Let's Go was. It's a chance for them to experiment while claiming it's a main series game, basically This one is being developed with a third party for the first time, in my opinion is a clear step down in visual ambition from the games directly before it (and even the Let's Go and 3DS games), and it's unclear how it will connect in terms of battle mechanics being incorporated (Gigantamax? Mega Evolution? Z-Moves? Sinnoh forms?). Then again, inside of battles, it does look closer to Sword & Shield...so yeah, I guess we'll have to wait and see, but I think the line between generations and what's considered spin-off/main series is definitely being heavily blurred here. Also, nice to see the original Diamond & Pearl font making its return! And the text boxes too? Seems a very faithful remake, wonder what this means for Platinum content... Personal preference I guess, but this looks nowhere near as good as Link's Awakening to me. Richer colours, sure, but the chibi character models in the overworld genuinely look more like what we'd expect from a cheap mobile effort. It's not for me (in terms of the art style). Different art style from Sword & Shield, for sure, but until we see more I'll reserve my judgment on just how it stacks up. Colours really pop off the screen with practically the same palette as the original games, though, which I am a fan of!

Yeah, I wanted to wait until we get the direct video before passing judgment on its performance in a stream. And now that's up... ...it looks just as bad, so now I can say it looks very rough frame rate is very rough, textures ain't great, but it is worth noting that this is the furthest out we've ever seen a "core series" Pokémon game from release (I imagine Legends is going to be like Let's Go and be it's own subseries? Though depending on how well it sells - and even it ships like this boy will it sell - I could see them taking a lot of this into Gen IX). Safe to say how we define the core series is once again being brought into question, though. Anyways, to have that be the case for their first open world attempt? That's down to poor decision making internally, but I'm happy they shared it with us nonetheless. Seeing as they announced who they were working with on the Diamond & Pearl remakes, I'm surprised we didn't find out they were leaning on Monolith Soft for this a little bit; it just makes sense. Anyways, this is easily the most ambitious Game Freak have ever been. We'll have to wait to see how it turns out, but more power to them for giving it a try.

The new footage from today's Pokémon Presents:

Old Sinnoh. Feudal Japan vibes. Open world. Rolling?! Cyndaquil, Oshawott and Rowlet starters? Ahhhhhhhh! Being developed by Game Freak, who are turning up and showing they care and still have some ambition left. Colour me surprised (and impressed), even if some of the wide environmental shots looked a little rough. Tonight we feast!

SINNOH CONFIRMED LET'S GOOOOOOOO (but, you know, not Let's Go) Eh on the art style but still I'll take it, even if it is a step down visually from even Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Being developed by ILCA, Inc., directed by Yuichi Idea and Junichi Masuda.

Well, there it is. Final Fantasy VII Remake is great for those who haven't played it yet, even if there is a weird caveat about the upgrades. Great shout by @drahkon the other day on Maquette! Not owning a PSVR headset, Farpoint VR is pretty so-so to me, but cool for PSVR players, and I'm not all that interested in Remnant from the Ashes, but overall it rounds out a very solid month. EDIT: apparently the link to the source on Facebook has been deleted...a very weird week for PlayStation and embargoes! EDIT 2: Comunicado oficial.

Yeah, might be worth sticking that in a spoiler tag @Goron_3, just in case anyone trying to avoid the leaks accidentally ends up opening it glad to hear that you're a fan of it though, that fills me with a bit of hope, whatever it is! Leaks suck, but this being Pokemon... looks back at the last decade of major core series leaks and demos being left open to datamine into the dirt ...not really a surprise

Oh boy, this is weird. So the last gen version of the game is being given away for free without option for an upgrade, and the standard edition of Intergrade will (apparently) be unavailable to those with only the PS+ version. And I still have a hunch that Intergrade and Episode Yuffie are going to be timed exclusive to PS5 and not be seen on other platforms. So unless the last gen version is coming to Game Pass (which doesn't seem totally impossible if there truth to this?), then damn, Square Enix really doesn't seem to care much for their Xbox fans. Nothing too new there though, I guess.

The latter, Julius is definitely the name of a Psyduck!

Me for the next five hours: (it's a joke about being bashed by leeks/leaks)

According to Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki, storage upgrade is being prepared for the summer. Yeah, it blows. I know the signs of the power shift have been there over the last few years, but still, shuttering Japan Studio isn't what I expected. While PlayStation retains a strong relationship with many of the bigger Japanese third parties, sure, it seems like such a strange move off the back of a generation which saw many Japanese developers return from the brink. Japan Studio's not profitable for them? They've been in a support role more often than not lately, and they basically got moved to projects where they'd have a smaller role and phased out. I guess it also effectively kills that rumoured RaySpace project which we've heard whispers about over the last few years, unless that's been moved elsewhere too? Obviously I'm glad Astro is staying and Team Asobi are in a strong position, but this still blows. Japan Studio, for me at least, became a seal of quality over the last few years with some of the projects they've helped out on.

In an interview with Fanbyte, director Yasunori Ichinose and producer Ryozo Tsujimoto have confirmed that the game will be available on PC next year.

Reddit user PracticalBrush12 - who in hindsight accurately leaked last week's Nintendo Direct, and plenty of other Nintendo-related things, including Sword and Shield details (I had a look at their post history after last week's Direct) - has apparently leaked two games from today's Pokémon Presents. Like last time, throwing the link to the leaks in a spoiler tag to save people potentially opening it by mistake. Going to be a long five and a half hours steering my eyes away from that Also leaks totally suck, and while it's interesting to look back at after an event, leaking things hours before an event just rubs me the wrong way. Then again, the only leaks about announcements I don't mind are the silly ones, like when developers aren't careful with their laptops when in public, and more important things like how staff are treated internally. Stealing a developer's thunder is stupid, especially when it's one of the more widely known journalists in the industry breaking the news (like that guy whose name rhymes with Mason Schmeier). The only time in recent memory that it's worked in a reveal's favour was with Mario+Rabbids.

So, I thought about making a dedicated thread for the Avatarverse (not my name of choice for it, but whatever, it's stuck with the press apparently!) last summer after rewatching The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, but I didn't think there was enough to drive an ongoing discussion in a dedicated thread, besides more people potentially getting into the show through Netflix, which it owes a lot of its resurgence to. However, after Bryan and Mike left the Netflix TLA project, I had a suspicion that it wouldn't end there. So, while Netflix is off reportedly casting a 12 year-old Aang and a 16 year-old Katara - who will be a big sister to Sokka, completely killing his character arc, and probably trying to force Zatara on us all - Nickelodeon has finally decided to acknowledge the golden egg they've been sitting on for years. From Deadline: And confirmation from Paramount what to expect: new series, short-term content, spin-offs, and theatrical films. Oh, and the Avatar Studios logo, which looks great! Well, I think it's safe to say that that might be able to drive and sustain some discussion beyond returning to The Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and expanded lore. I genuinely never thought this would happen, just considering how they completely kicked Legend of Korra to the curb. You know, when they ordered one season, then ordered way more, then brushed it under the rug and moved brand new episodes over to the Nickelodeon website? And now they're back! What do you hope to see come of this? What's your experience with the series to this point? And do you think the cabbage merchant will make his return? Personally, I'd love to see adaptations of the graphic novels, as they seem like a natural and relatively straightforward place to start.

Update on the Japan Studio restructure, from IGN. Pretty much just confirms the news VGC broke before, and in corporate speak, is putting Japan Studio to rest. EDD being integrated more into PlayStation Studios directly, with the right support, could be a great way for them to continue supporting third party relations, especially when it comes to projects such as those we've seen Bluepoint handle so far. Otherwise, yeah, this still sucks.

March is the third month of the year. Third. Three. It's been nearly three years since God of War released. Fimbulwinter lasts three long years before Ragnarök arrives.* We aren't getting a game in March for PS+. So, as you say, March is cancelled. And if March is cancelled then the year is only 11 months long. Making 2021 a short year. Meaning it won't have been three long years before Ragnarök arrives. Meaning Ragnarök isn't arriving in 2021. Ragnarök is delayed to 2022 confirmed. *(okay but seriously this is probably the only reason they announced it as coming in 2021)

Just checked the PS Store and prr-orders are up, which means we now know the cost of this thing! Standard Edition will be £32.99 / €39.99 / $39.99 USD and the Digital Deluxe Edition will be £39.99 / €49.99 / $49.99 USD. Pre-order bonus: Digital Deluxe Edition bonuses: The Golden Rot skin is adorable...until you start wondering if that's what Minions look like without the goggles and overalls.

Yeah, the combination of price and not knowing exactly how a decent stretch of moment-to-moment gameplay will pan out is giving me pause for now. It also doesn't help that it's releasing in a pretty busy 3 or 4 week period, I think it might end up a little bit buried unfortunately. Because of that, I really think it could benefit from a demo to make a bit of a statement, and let the audience get a feel for it before committing to dropping £70 on it. The games I'm looking forward to around that time - Mass Effect, NieR Replicant, New Pokémon Snap - are all known quantities in some way or another, and it makes it a lot easier to get behind them for me than it does this.

Agreed with all of those saying it was a bit of a meh showing. I went in with relatively low expectations and was prepared to come away pretty indifferent until we got the Episode Yuffie / Intergrade news for Final Fantasy VII Remake, and that was the only real saving grace of the presentation for me: free upgrade, it's out in June, additional content for a game I really enjoyed, etc. Is it enough to pull me back in June rather than wait until we're a bit closer to Part II, I'm not so sure, but I'm looking forward to it, whenever I do get around to it. A few of the updates we got felt kind of pointless. Crash 4 upgrade news, as far as I can remember, was stuff we had already learned just a couple of weeks ago. It was cool to see gameplay of Solar Ash and FNAF: Security Breach, but both of those having vague 2021 windows doesn't really tell us too much of consequence, and I feel like a smarter move would have been to save that news until later on down the line, when they were closer to release. The Deathloop trailer was cool, but even though we already have a date for that one, it didn't really feel like it got me more excited for the game? Oddworld Soulstorm wasn't really on my radar before, and again I felt like it was a showing for it which was just lacking in so many regards, but it being free in April for PS+ is pretty cool. Sifu's art style and hand-to-hand combat definitely caught my eye, and it's one I'll be keeping an eye on, but again, I really don't see the purpose of showing it here if it's nebulously set to arrive in 2021. I feel like taking a leaf out of Nintendo's book and having a short lead time from announcement to release, big titles aside (and this clearly isn't a big title, nor is it trying to be), would work in their favour here. COVID is still a factor in things, I don't see the point in February of saying a game will arrive at some nebulous point in the year, when we've already seen how quickly things can change. But maybe that's just me. Returnal still looks good, but like I said before, I really feel like it needs a longer showing to hook me in and better communicate the moment-to-moment gameplay. If this is what constitutes a deep dive, especially looking back at how they've previously defined a deep dive, well...it's a pretty shallow dive. Heck, game could probably benefit from a demo. And then there's Kena, which got delayed from being a Q1 title and got pushed all the way to August. It was great that we got to see it here, and see that it's clearly coming along, but showing a trailer here kind of suggested to me that it was much further along than an August release date. The delay doesn't bother me, it's understandable because of the times we're in, but this could have just as well been saved for, say, a potential State of Play in the summer and the delay could have been announced in the PS Blog, and I feel like it might've just come off a bit better. A little disappointed we didn't see any Ratchet & Clank here after we didn't really get much new footage with the release date a few weeks back, but there's still plenty of time to go until it releases in June, so there's no real rush. As soon as we saw Crash 4 open up the presentation my hope for seeing a bigger title releasing after June (such as footage for Horizon) kind of petered out. It's not a presentation I went into with high expectations, yet Yuffie and prettying up Final Fantasy VII Remake aside, I was still pretty disappointed, and on the whole, I do think it was a weak showing. I'd score it a 6/10.

Short gameplay walkthrough we got in today's State of Play: Still think it looks good, but I guess it might just be one of those games I need to get my hands on, because I really feel like it needed a bit of a deeper dive than this to get more of my attention.

Today's State of Play trailer: Delayed from Q1 2021 to 24th August 2021.