Julius

Well, I'm sure this is going to go down well...

This is one of the most stupid things I've ever read about the Switch to be honest. Options are always a good thing in my opinion, unless one is actively making another option worse. Even if it is the case that only 20% play it in both handheld and docked (I play almost exclusively docked at this point) and more people play it handheld only, that doesn't mean they don't want the option to play both ways. But I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it's the other way around and more people mostly/exclusively play it docked, which is having the option is so important. I hate it when analysts come at things like this with such binary thinking, thinking there's a wrong and a right. It might be mostly right in Japan, for instance, because of the historically good performances of handhelds over there, but that still doesn't mean that every Japanese owner of a Switch would be just as hope with only a Lite. I'll probably look it up later because I imagine it's in the most recent quarterly report, but I have to imagine that the Switch is outpacing the Switch Lite, and all of those broken records we've seen since launch aren't for nothing. That was a frustrating read. EDIT: Ah yes, another analyst thinking he's smarter than Nintendo. So which one is it? Get rid of playing on the TV entirely, or just replace the dock with a dongle which we know Nintendo would struggle to make work. Oh, and here, take a look at the search results for "Pachter consoles" on Google. Guy's been predicting that consoles would die out for the last decade, and here we are with the PS4 having flown by 100 million units sold quite a while back. I'm sorry, but Pachter's an idiot. How the heck is he still finding work covering the games industry?

Yeah, the run of sequels I think is what I take issue with most, mainly because, at least in my opinion, they just weren't of the same ilk as the films they were following. Toy Story 4 had its moments, but I'd much prefer them hanging up Woody's hat and seeing different places and toys in that world instead (also wasn't a fan of the different look for Bo Peep, basically becoming a Rey lookalike). Finding Dory was pretty average I feel. Cars 3 was better than Cars 2, but that's not saying all that much. And Incredibles 2 was pretty forgettable when compared with the first film too I don't know, it just really reminds me of what Disney Animation were doing in the late 90's/early 00's with their home video sequels to big properties like Aladdin, Lion King, Tarzan, etc. I did quite enjoy Inside Out when I saw it initially, and I also enjoyed Onward when I saw that a couple of months back, though I second your shout on Coco being especially good. Probably my favourite Pixar film since Toy Story 3? It stood out to me because my grandmother years ago and didn't properly grieve at the time, so yeah, that film meant a lot for me in that it finally helped me let go of it all a bit more. I remember I stopped myself from crying "to be strong" for my family, but yeah, this film had it all rushing back. Always very special when a film can do that! Hope you like it! I had a good time with it, though being the older brother, yeah...watching it on my little brother's birthday was always going to mean someone was cutting onions somewhere

Rumours going around earlier that Disney is going to be relocating Lucasfilm and it's divisions out of the Digital Arts Center in San Francisco's Presidio (ILM, ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm Animation, Consumer Products, Digital Media, Franchise Management) over to Burbank, along with Skywalker Sound (still located at Skywalker Ranch). Only surprising thing about this is that it's taken them this long to (seemingly) make the move. They've been paying George rent all these years and it's a six hour trip or thereabouts on Google Maps from there to the Disney lot in Burbank, but still, it does feel like the end of an era just thinking that Skywalker Ranch isn't going to be the home to any future Star Wars projects. Guess we'll have to wait and see, but now that we're just a week away from it being the 8th anniversary of the Disney purchase, I've got to ask: what does everyone think of how Disney has handled the franchise so far?

Yeah that's my bad, I already knew it was Disney Animation too! And agreed, was pleasantly surprised just how much I enjoyed Moana when that came out. While I'm looking forward to Soul, Pixar has steadily descended from this mythical, almost untouchable studio from my childhood to a bit of a lesser one over the last half a decade or so (there's no question in my mind now that I would probably consider Ghibli the most consistent animation studio overall when it comes to just how much I enjoy their films, whereas before it was definitely Pixar). On the other hand, Disney Animation proper has only been in the rise in that time, and I feel like that's got a lot to do with Lasseter moving over in the mid-2000's and helping them adjust to 3D. Still, would really love to see Disney take another swing at 2D animation one of these days! I swear swipe-to-text is going to be responsible for a war at some point

Unfortunately it is. It looks like it's set to be delisted on 31st March 2021, the same date as 3D All-Stars and (currently) Mario 35

Hnnnnng. That black one. That looks really nice! I was thinking earlier about spraying it myself, because just really not sure how long it will be until PlayStation come out with their own. I don't mind it in white...but black would be my preference. I would order one (says it ships on/around the 12th, with free worldwide delivery, so would probably make it here for the 19th or shortly after), but at the same time, I can't see anything on the site about its material composition, which is a bit concerning. It'll still have the airflow, but depending on the material differences, there's always the potential that it could cause some overheating. And then there's the fact that my controllers and console won't match (though I guess a dbrand skin could fix that). Hmm. Think it'd probably be best to wait on some impressions first.

Same here Only reason I'm getting one is the PS5 is going to be my Blu-ray player, and my DualShock 4's R2 and L2 triggers have a terrible habit of mysteriously snagging on things, which fast forwards/rewinds

Not at the end of the Nintendo UK trailer like it is for the US trailer, either That sucks.

Yeah, it looks really nice! Think I'll be in for the digital version, I've been meaning to play another Fire Emblem since I played Awakening a couple of years ago, and it's such a low price that I don't mind keeping it in the back of my mind until I next need to scratch that strategy itch. The CE looks awesome, but really don't want to get in the way of someone else who would appreciate it much more than me getting their hands on it instead! I guess this limited run thing is here to say, which is...a little bit concerning, what with the Zelda 35th Anniversary next year (even more so considering they could put out two separate collections just for the 3D games). Heck, honestly wouldn't be all that surprised at this point if a Prime Trilogy on Switch would only be available for a limited time too.

Just seen that the game will be $5.99 on the US eShop, so expecting £4.99/£5.99 here in the UK? Seeing Nintendo be open to releasing things like this by themselves directly to the eShop I feel does revitalise a little bit of hope for an eventual Mother 3 port (I just want to play it for the soundtrack!), it does feel like a strange choice, so for me at least, I have to think they're testing the waters for something a little bigger down the road?

Out of nowhere – and only available for a limited time! Also, a Fire Emblem 30th Anniversary Edition will be available too (while stock lasts).

Confirmed Day 1 apps for the PS5...

The thing that might make this a bit different is that Kojima Productions got a lot of help - temporary workers and from Guerrilla - on Death Stranding. It could just be the case that they're bringing more people into the company on a more permanent basis. Also, worth noting that Kojima announced his deal with SIE in December 2015, and still had a trailer ready for Death Stranding come E3 2016 that June. If it's "only" going to be an in-engine trailer with no gameplay (and let's be honest, isn't that we'd expect to see first from whatever KojiPro does next?), then the job listings might just be a sign of them preparing to ramp up production, but they could feasibly already have something in-engine ready to go. I remember it being a while before we saw any actual gameplay for Death Stranding! Might be me being optimistic, but if not at The Game Awards this year, I still imagine we'd see it at some point next year in some form. All being well, anyways!

@drahkon, no surprises here, but hey, I'll take confirmation! With the timing of this post following yesterday's, wonder if they've got something ready for The Game Awards?

Yep, super similar to Nuktuk, Hero of the South! All this talk about TLA/LoK honestly just makes me wish someone would put some money behind more animated Avatar projects. Would much prefer to see an animated series dedicated to Kyoshi or any other corner of the Avatar universe, and heck, if you want to do a live-action film/series, I'd much prefer they had it be about Roku or Wan. But back to Raya, yeah, I'd be super surprised if the Pixar team hasn't watched at least TLA. Intentional or not, it's a great thing to draw inspiration from! And yeah, hands down The Last Airbender is the best animated series in the west for me, and at the very least on par with my favourite anime. I watched it all the way through for the 6th or 7th time the other month (lost track!), and it's crazy that it's even more relevant to me now a few years into adulthood than it was in my childhood. I always seem to watch Korea when I'm going through a rough patch too, which is always interesting! Well they're saying cinemas, but whether or not that pans out, I guess we'll have to wait and see a bit closer to March. Considering that they've already got Souls coming to Disney+ on Christmas (at no additional cost, thank goodness after the whole Mulan thing!), I'd be very surprised if things have changed enough for them to warrant not having it release on Disney+ over cinemas.

So, the beta for the games from 2018 is currently being streamed live over on Twitch. Imagine it'll get pulled sooner rather than later, but don't want to share it seeing as it wasn't legally obtained. Can find the stream over in this ResetEra thread. Though I think it's ended now. Absolutely insane how many leaks have been coming out of Nintendo recently pertaining to their older games, but those were much, much older than this. The beta had: - Pokémon not available in the full games in places where I think Game Freak said they couldn't be viewed? (i.e. just saw Greninja in a Camp) - one heck of a cool logo and title screen - a fully controllable camera. Worth noting this was some 18 months before release and that's how Route 1 looked. Not that Routes require the most time, and they could have been left until much later, but it does scream that the games were rushed to me (if it wasn't apparent before ). It's been a year since the games released, and it still hurts to think about what these games could have been. Yes they were a runaway success, but man, it just really hurts not seeing Game Freak show any drive or pride in guiding this franchise forwards. It's the biggest entertainment IP in the world, a guaranteed success; this is the equivalent to seeing Star Wars Episode X in a decade or two be an amateur fan film by comparison, with CGI, design, and other technology outdated by some 15+ years, and then destroying the box office! As much as I want Diamond & Pearl remakes to hear what they do with the music, I have so little confidence in Game Freak delivering a game that's just on par with the games they would be remaking and released some 14 years ago for a much, much less capable system. I know some here and elsewhere enjoyed the game, which is awesome, and I'm not saying that Pokémon needs to go completely nuts, but just taking inspiration from games which are a decade old (or more at this point!), like Xenoblade Chronicles and Dragon Quest VIII, would go such a long way to pushing the franchise forwards. That's crazy to me. There's just no excuse in my head. Some might say "but they need to line it up with the anime/TCG/etc.", but good scheduling and a big enough team would undoubtedly be able to handle this. It's frustrating to say it, but it is complete laziness from Game Freak; someone over there needs to grow a backbone, dig their heels in, and take the reins. How have the games got worse over the last decade, considering that their design philosophies were admittedly already quite outdated by the time we reached the DS? It's been 7 years since they put out their first "3D" title with X & Y, and I still can't even use my right stick on my Pro Controller a generation later to control the camera, for crying out loud.

Yeah, 100%. As @bob mentions, that description too...very, very close to that TLA intro we hear from Katara. Tuk-Tuk or whatever his name is seems a dead ringer for Appa, voice/interactions/appearance definitely seem Korra-esque, and the whole vibe seems to be going in that direction. Not necessarily a bad thing, of course, but hope it's not as predictable as the trailer and description at least make it sound!

Not to get carried away, but... That does look like Kojima. Him filming and his clothes definitely make him look even more like Kojima. Death Stranding is out on PC now, and with the launch of next gen next month, and with The Game Awards just a few weeks later...I don't think it would be that crazy to think Kojima Productions could have something to show off here, especially considering just how soon they had something whipped up to show off Death Stranding for the first time at E3 2016. Having only played MGS 1 - 3 from his list of games so far, I'm definitely curious to see what he'll tackle next. Personally I agree with you and hope it wouldn't be horror-related, just because there was way too much buzz around the Silent Hill reboot from the core members of the old team for there to not be anything to it, so even though it would be cool to see him get to realise some of what he showed off to the world in P.T., personally hoping for something completely out of the blue with whatever is coming next!

First trailer for Raya and the Last Dragon:

Probably the most I've spent on gaming in one go, now that I think about it! I started saving at the start of the year, putting aside a healthy chunk of Christmas/birthday/work bonus money, and have been saving a little but fixed amount every month since, which has left me in the position that I could splurge on my day one haul, which will be: Hardware - PS5 - additional DualSense - Pulse 3D Headset - Media Remote (buttons look much more tactile for viewing than the rubber buttons on my Samsung remote, and the PS5 will be taking up the film-playing mantle from the PS4) - Wireless Charging Station Software - Spider-Man: Miles Morales (just the standard edition, might upgrade down the road but I'd rather not have that gold banner on the case ) - Demon's Souls - Cyberpunk 2077 - Astro's Playroom (included) Also got Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity set to arrive the following day, so I should be kept busy up until Christmas! In terms of accessories, I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the DualSense, and I'm super curious about how their software-implemented 3D audio will play out - really hoping the Pulse headset is comfy! In terms of games, all of the above and everything in store (Ratchet and Clank, God of War, Horizon Forbidden West, XVI!). I'm replaying the PS4 version of Spider-Man right now and forgot just how much I adored this game - I don't think I've quite had the same fun with moment-to-moment gameplay like I have swinging around Manhattan as Spidey, especially when that score swells up, so I cannot wait to play Miles Morales! Demon's Souls I've never played before (or any other From game, for that matter), and this seems as good a place as any to give it a go. Weirdly, Cyberpunk I'm a bit wary of at this point; I'm sure that will change once I get my hands on the game, but I have so many questions about that game and we're only a month away, so don't think concern is completely unwarranted at this very moment. Booked off the 20th (Friday) because I didn't want to book the 19th off only for the console to not arrive until the afternoon - I finish work at 15:30 that day, and work from home, so if the console does arrive before I finish work, I'll take a short break to quickly set it up and start downloading Miles Morales/system updates. I decided to continue with my all-physical approach to games for launch day at least, because I wouldn't be surprised if there's some server strain on PlayStation's end come launch day. Once I finish work, hopefully I'll be able to hop straight into Miles Morales - if not, will probably have a look through the menus and adjust things I hadn't earlier. If it's going to be a crazy amount of time until Miles downloads (which I don't think will be the case at all, I've had a much better time with physical copy times than digital download times!) then I might hop into Astro's Playroom first instead, but knowing myself and how I like to play games, if that happens I probably won't be putting it down and play it until completion. Probably play until midnight-ish? Then on the Friday wake up nice and early, brew a fresh cup of tea, and have some light breakfast while I watch that week's episode of The Mandalorian, before diving into a three day weekend of gaming I think I'll probably complete Miles and Astro's Playroom before the weekend is up, but not sure where I'll go after that. Depending on how well Hyrule Warriors is received it could be that, but then again, think it's much more likely I dive into Demon's Souls to keep the next gen hype rolling. Whatever the case, pretty sure I'll end up playing Cyberpunk 2077 last, just because of how openly that game will be structured - definitely something I'll want to spend my time smelling the roses with! Very important to keep in mind, for sure! We're going to be in a middle ground for at least the next year of games either capable of running on the PS4, or which look like they could have been for the PS4. Not that I mind in the slightest Also worth mentioning, I read that Bugsnax and The Pathless were two games not listed on the PS Store update in the US? Which comes later this week I believe in Europe...perhaps these are going to be the two PS+ games for PS5 next month?

So, uhhhhhh...Petr Cech is registed on our (Chelsea's) PL roster for the season. Imagine he's more there to help the new goalkeepers we have and give us a solid backup option, but would be very funny to see him take 2nd choice over Kepa

What a generation! My face hurts from smiling just thinking back to them, so many great games this gen hopefully they just keep coming with the PS5!

Monster Sanctuary is coming to the Switch on December 8th. Looks like a really unique blend of monster taming and platforming, remember seeing a bit of it last year or the year before, and it's made some huge strides since. One I'll try to keep an eye out for!