Julius

Oh man, it's awesome that we're starting to see these photos, but them being upside down doesn't exactly instill confidence

Yeah, same. I'm really curious about that aspect of the game, it would be pretty amazing if we could fly over a real-time Valisthea in an airship, and would love to sail the seas to some extent too! I'm also wondering about the game's world in general, is it going to be a "traditional" open world, a la XV, or are they going to go the linear and zoned open world route, like VII Remake did to some extent (though I suppose Dragon Quest XI might be a better example of what I'd want to see)? Though I love more traditional open world games, for Final Fantasy, I've got to say, I would much prefer a more focused approach. Either way, looks like we're going to be waiting until 2021 for the next update, at any rate. This should hopefully satiate our want for more...for now

Yeah, seriously. So many great games on the way, and this is easily my most anticipated for next year! Hope SE can deliver As for the world map, we get a slice of it being teased in its stylised form at the bottom of the page on the official site for 'THE WORLD', providing a background to the Realms of Valisthea. Looks really cool.

An update, at long last! Hell yeah. That artwork Official website for the game is live too! Well worth checking out, got much more information on the world and characters there than in the PlayStation Blog post!

Yep, got the notification while I was asleep but appreciate the heads-up nonetheless! Agreed with you and @Happenstance both, looks and runs so much more smoothly. The PlayStation Store doesn't take an age to load anymore either, which is great! Cannot wait to start managing my storage from this thing on the PS5 Only downside I'm seeing is that the game/add-on/etc. items in the store aren't named outside of their artwork, otherwise I think it's pretty much flawless. Three weeks to go!

Won't be checking out the demo myself as I'd rather wait for the full release, but still, a bit of a shame to hear about the performance not being so great. Not that it was completely out of the blur after what we saw of it last month, but still, was hoping they might ironed out it a bit Anyway, trailer was great. That robed figure is most likely the fortune teller we heard about in BotW, right? Not too surprising if he'd turn out to be twisting things in order to get events to play out in a certain way if that's the case. Thought I'd responded, but apparently not! I wasn't very clear before, but what I meant to say was that seeing voices for characters introduced in BotW who weren't voiced in that game was surprising (in a good way!), and when taking about the sequel I meant that having voices cast is probably too that game's benefit, as we might also end up seeing more voice acting in that game (if this is anything to go by).

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.