Julius

Pre-order for the physical version is now up on the Official UK Store for £49.99, I'm sure other online retailers will follow shortly. Box art is easily one of my favourites on the Switch, looks the right amount of epic A lot of new images on that page, that and a weird border I can't be fussed to crop (sorry ) is why I'll just throw them in the spoiler tag instead, save taking up the whole page!

From the Kena article Game Informer put up today: Am I crazy or is two seconds for a cold boot like that pretty insane?

New article up from GI on what the PS5 brings to Kena.

A few more images from EW, throwing the last one in a spoiler tag just because it confirms a certain location, though I feel like it can be gleaned from the other pics. Nothing too important in that pic, though.

The Gang Blocks Drahkon

So this came out of nowhere! Priced at £49.99, here's the pre-order link for the game on the Nintendo UK Store. Next update coming on 29th September.

EW covers looking great: And some new images of the main faces from last season:

It's been mentioned a bit in the other threads, but as has been discussed before, one of the only ways Nintendo might be able to keep themselves noticeable and competitive this Christmas is to announce a price cut to the Switch. We're 3.5 years in and still haven't seen a permanent price cut! Yes, there's the Lite, but with the Series S confirmed to be selling for £249.99 when it launches in November, do Nintendo need a price cut? And, more importantly...how low do you they should go if they do?

Yeah, I agree, I think at most you've got that £100/$100/€100 price difference between the Digital Edition and the disc version. Even considering the amount they'll surely make back on digital purchases, I think making it a larger difference would cheapen the difference: you're going to get players on with the disc version (rightly) a little miffed that they're having to pay so much more for BC on the games they have physically, and at the end of the day, the PS5 DE is still just a digital version of the premier PS5 product. A 20% difference or so in price between the two seems feasible and fair, but anymore could cause a bit of a backlash I feel. They can go after the Series S with a Slim DE (would not be surprised if Slims are digital only this time around) in a year or two, but even at that great price, it's still a hard sell for those either embedded in the PS ecosystem or for those expecting more from Microsoft's own offering. I think they're even going to have a tough time of it going after just the FIFA/COD/NFL/Destiny/etc. players as it is, it's very different to jumping ship at the start of this current gen I feel. The exclusives are a much bigger piece of the equation than ever before with these two manufacturers, I think. Personally, I'm much more interested in seeing how Nintendo reacts now. As @Dcubed mentioned, this is a much more powerful console than the Switch and comes in a full £30 cheaper - if we weren't going to see it before, then I have to imagine now that there are talks about a (first!) permanent price cut to the Switch.

Xbox Series S reveal trailer:

Have GAME just resurrected themselves to be relevant again? (Potential) Scoops! I know not to expect anything as PlayStation said no PS5 news this week, but, if the plan was to quickly go second after Xbox, I'm sure they have a strategy to get that ball rolling quickly. Simply Games sent this out the other day too (I remember receiving it)... Hmm. One retailer is one thing, but two? Curious. If not tomorrow, or this week, then yeah, it's got to be reeeeeally soon. Entering 3D Chess territory where I'm questioning if Sony said "no PS5 news this week" as bait for Xbox and had something ready to quickly follow them up... I need to lie down!

Yeah, I think you're right. And seeing as I'm leaning towards this being a controlled leak by Xbox, can't help but wonder if that Series X price is bait just to get PlayStation to come out of the coffers? Because Xbox I'm sure are being allowed to be as competitive as they need to be going into this gen (they have no other choice), and as I've mentioned elsewhere before, they have a really bad habit of going first: at E3, the next gen reveal waaaaaaay too early, the console reveal waaaaaaay too early. Maybe PlayStation should wait a little bit longer. I wouldn't put something like this out of the realm of possibility for PlayStation to do (leak a price, get their competitor to match it, then undercut it), and that's the sort of edge and wit Xbox needs to start using to be competitive. Feel like we've been saying that since the event in June leaving it this late is fine (though we're quickly coming up to Switch presentation-to-reveal time), so I don't think it's necessarily just price they're holding out for. I think it might be for the games. I think they want solid release dates for at least the first three months, and want to squeeze in what they can, and have a rough schedule of what we're in for the next six months to a year (from what was already revealed). Like an MCU Phase plan: I mean the PlayStation Studios opening animation is clearly based on something, so might as well go so the way!

Just saw that, had been expecting a 1:1 across the board. Questioning whether I want one at launch (I think games elsewhere will keep me busy, but still...). Damn, Xbox really wants the UK back on side, huh? Should be a very interesting quarter to see how sales go, that price is quite alluring!

The true next gen experience! I don't think we'll be waiting too long, I'd have to imagine we know the price and release date by TGS with so much on show there, so maybe by the end of next week? I would expect PlayStation to just match the Series X with the PS5 at £499/€499/$499, and throw the Digital Edition out at £399/€399/$399. Their console margins might be slim, but having a lower priced Digital Edition I'm sure will offset that in the long run. I don't expect them to mess around by pricing the PS5 higher than the Series X, because while I'm sure it will sell, why play to that crowd who are going to be screaming "more expensive for weaker hardware?!" Wouldn't even be that surprised, based on their history, if they positioned PS5 at £449/€449/$449 just to undercut the Series X, but I'm not expecting it Can't be long now...right?

Well, there we go. Xbox just couldn't hold out any longer, could they? Great prices for both, solid pieces of hardware. Won't be there Day 1, but wouldn't be surprised if I end up picking up a Series S once Xbox has started firing on all cylinders with their own studios a little ways down the road. All Access is a great idea, interested to see how it goes with this offering. Still find a Tuesday release for a console a little odd, wonder if that means they know something about that Friday that we don't...

Put a couple more hours in tonight, just left Cleyra. Yeah, still really enjoying it. Story and pacing is picking up a bit now, and things have been much more interesting since Burmecia. Think I've found the most annoying part of the game, which is related to dialogue options. I normally press 'X' to initiate a new text box, then again to have it speed up and for me to read through it, which has worked everywhere in the game...except with dialogue options! I have lost count at the number of times I've done this exact same sequence and accidentally chosen a dialogue option. We're seriously lucky no-one has died as a result of this yet... Just want to highlight how excellent the town music is in this game. The dumbfounded innocence of Vivi clashing with the mischief of Alexandria; the calm and relaxed border village of Dali, with its bedtime story styled melody; the simple nature but winding streets of of Lindblum; the tired and melancholic desperation of Burmecia; the chaotic locals meeting the classy nobles of Treno; and the traditional and stoic whimsy of Cleyra. A long way to go yet, I'm sure, but Uematsu has made a very convincing case so far for IX having the best town themes! Did I mention how awesome Vivi is before? I love just how courageous he's willing to be for the other characters, and how much Zidane likes to tease him about girls, but most importantly how protective Zidane is. As ever, looking forward to playing some more tomorrow. Everything unfolding on this airship sure is interesting - oh, and what a cutscene!

This Japanese 35th Anniversary ad is probably one of the best adverts I've seen in a veeeeeery long time. Got to appreciate those transitions!

Looks like Nintendo's tactics have paid off, at least in America. On Amazon US, second-highest selling game of the year already. Sitting a bit lower over here on Amazon UK, just checked and it's down at #35 below Animal Crossing again, but also The Last of Us Part II, TLOU2 steel book, Minecraft (Switch), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Pokémon Sword...and a three pack of Animal Crossing amiibo and Just Dance 2020 (Switch). But still, obviously doing crazy well. So, same time next year for some weird Zelda hijinks?

Yeah that's certainly possible, at the moment I guess I don't see them wanting to do it until they come out with a PS5 Slim at a lower price point, and feel like they at least want to spend the first year of the PS5 focused solely on the console and games. Not to say there won't be games, because I think we're expecting continued support for PSVR anyways on the PS5. Just don't want to see them rushing into it, and I think COVID production issues could still be a massive issue next year. Either way, imagine the PS5's 3D audio tech could go a long way to bettering the offerings we see on PSVR2. Here's hoping

PSVR is Sony's focus this week. Because of course it is But in all seriousness, glad they're continuing to support PSVR. Hopefully we end up with a PSVR2 in a couple of years?

Yeah that's my bad, got Burmecia's positioning mixed up, I should've just named the Grotto but I couldn't name it for the life of me when typing up my thoughts last night And yeah, I really liked when they did that in VI too early on and you got to decide what order you did things in (some of the later utilisations...not as much). Dagger and Steiner are abysmally low levelled compared to Zidane and company, but I'm sure that's just down to the way things have unfolded so far, looking forward to bringing them up to speed! Yeah, looks terrific. I always love when fans manage things like this, but at the same time, can't help but question why Square Enix don't tidy their own games up that nicely when bringing them to modern systems. But I do question a lot of Square Enix's decisions, much as I love what I've played from them, so no surprise there

@Mr_Odwin that's a really strange list! I started reading it and immediately thought it might have been based on IMDb from how it starts out, but it really deviates quite a bit after the first few. I looked it up on Amazon and the like expecting a source on the top 100, but I found nothing. How odd. Like you say, it looks like a mixed bag - some great stuff on there, but, uh, films like Hachi as a Top 100 film? No offense to it, but I've never seen that film in all the Top 100 lists I've read! Also can't help but notice a lack of foreign films, and at a glance I'm not seeing any Ghibli films either? Might have just missed them skimming through though. Either way, good to hear you're finding films that you're enjoying! Only one I haven't watched from those you highlighted as your favourites so far is Inglourious Basterds, really need to get to that myself at some point, because I really like all the other films you highlighted!

Having played VI for the first time back in March earlier this year, I would heartily recommend it. It's got a stellar cast of characters, most of whom have an awesome arc, world class soundtrack (guess that goes without saying!), snappy battle mechanics, great sprites with charming animations, and a really well told story. It's aged very well, which doesn't hurt much either! I love VII, but that last third of the original does go a little bit off the rails, and I do think VI is a bit more cohesive in that regard. I'm looking forward to one day diving into the older games (before VI, the original, IV, and V are probably what I'm most interested in checking out; of course, X is high on the list of FF's I want to check out too!), but for now, I'm really enjoying IX. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about that scene at the top of Lindblum, it's been such a charming and beautiful experience so far. Can't wait to dig into it a bit more this evening!

Yeah, that's exactly where I encountered them for the first time too, en route to Burmecia, but maybe you can encounter them elsewhere? Guessing that's probably the earliest you can encounter them, though. Hope I don't run into anymore...

Put some more time into this today, just got to the point where I'm waiting patiently at the station as Dagger and Steiner to start making my way back down into Alexandria. Still very much enjoying it. Yeah, so I mentioned music yesterday, but I have to again today, because I'm humming the battle theme and the overworld theme constantly. Festival of the Hunt is my favourite full track so far, but the occasional line or hum or la-de-da we get of Melodies of Life / A Place to Call Home (which I've heard before a few times listening to the Distant Worlds albums) is constantly sending chills down my spine. Was borderline tearing up earlier with that scene at the top of Lindblum. And again - this is a track I've heard before. Plenty of times. Uematsu Quite surprised at how linear an experience it's been so far, at least thinking back to VI and VII, because I'm sure it had opened up by now. Not a complaint at all, it's been quite nice having it be so strongly directed and linear by this point because it just means I'm getting beat after beat with these characters and noticing glimpses of growth...but one side of my party is definitely much more powerful (like literally double the amount of levels...) than the other right now! Only other real issue I've come up with since is, similar to VII, traversing the pre-rendered backgrounds can definitely take a bit of getting used to. Not a real problem, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it does feel a bit awkward at times! I've only wiped once so far, which came against this ridiculously OP dragon above Burmecia. Sure, the Moogles warned me something dangerous was up ahead...but they were also running from the Black Mages, who have been a cake walk so far, so how I supposed to know?! I'm guessing that was the Grand Dragon @drahkon mentioned in one of the posts above from a few years back? Oh and just need to mention how monstrous The Ogre is. Heck yeah I'm happy with slaughtering monsters with that thing! Yeah, I'm in a weird spot with it when it comes to speeding it up. On the one hand, it just makes things faster, and yeah it's a bit on the slow side, so this should be a great thing. But on the other, I quite like the concept of ATB, and having the speed boost on only seems like it would effectively if using Wait instead of Active (which I might end up using, but am choosing not to right now, because...ATB ). As I found out when being immediately humiliated in the Festival of the Hunt after not realising there wouldn't be much of a chance for prep, went into the first battle on relatively low health, and very, very barely scraped by after going in with that boost on