Julius

Deadpool and Wolverine has passed the $1 billion mark worldwide, only the second MCU film to do so post-Endgame, after No Way Home over 2½ years ago. Curious to see if any other film in the MCU picks up $1B+ at the box office before the next Avengers film, Doomsday, in 2026. Between now and then there's Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, Fantastic Four: The First Steps and Blade (though this one's definitely in something if a limbo at the moment). Hmm.

Recap of Marvel's D23 presence:

Just got back from Spidey 2, and can confirm, I was absolutely tearing up at points. Love that film, think that + Raimi's first Spider-Man are genuinely some of the best superhero films we've had, and I don't think that's just my nostalgia talking, even if I'll happily admit that these films will always mean a lot to me. They're honestly just so well crafted, and I love the fact that they're both flawed in some way or another. There's a level of respect for the viewer which modern superhero films simply don't provide. Won't be watching 3 in cinemas, but am looking forward to checking out The Amazing Spider-Man when it re-releases in a few weeks' time. That film came at such an important moment for me in high school, but I haven't watched it nearly as much as Raimi's first two. Think that'll be the last of this slate of Spidey re-releases I turn up for.

The posters for this make me chuckle Major Bombad Bounty vibes The series also had some LEGO sets announced, including this Dark Millennium Falcon which I have to imagine becomes a collector's item in the future (it's already out but I can't find a tweet on the official LEGO Twitter so have the leaked images instead I guess) Darth Jar Jar will never fail to crack me up

I started with VII myself back in 2017 I think it was? And had a blast. The game's mechanics hold up, for sure, but it definitely looks and feels a bit archaic at times (the camera, the older polygonal PS1 models, etc.). Like @Hero-of-Time says, definitely think it's worth playing VII before checking out Remake and other VII-related media for what it adds to that experience, but at the same time I think playing VII first almost feels like an investment in then checking everything else out – which isn't a problem, really, but I think it adds more to the backlog than it takes away if you do play it first Personally, I would throw IX in the ring as a really great place to start with the 3D Final Fantasy games for how it just generally feels like a celebration to the franchise where everyone is invited, no matter how many of the games you've played. Great story, music, pretty much everything you'd expected from a great FF. One of the criticisms I see levied at IX is that combat is a bit on the slow side (probably fair to aim that at the other PS1 entries too at times), but the remastered version available on modern platforms have options to speed up battle, turn off random encounters, etc., to help streamline things if that's your cup of tea; for me, I know the option to speed up battles is a huge plus when going back to these older titles, and a lot of the other FF remasters also have similar options (such as VII on modern platforms). Generally speaking, I think X is also thrown around as a good starting point, but having not played it myself I can't really speak to it. I do know it's known for being a good bit more linear too in some of its area designs, so it might make going back to the PS1 games after feel a bit weird I imagine, which is why I saved it myself until after I'd got a few of the PS1 titles under my belt. Chrono Trigger blind for a complete newbie to JRPGs will be pushing 20-25 hours including the (excellent) optional side content, whereas just a bit of experience with the genre probably take that much closer to the 20 hour mark (probably closer to 15 if you were to avoid the optional stuff). Still an investment, but doubt it's weighing in at a similar length to the others you mentioned, Xenoblade especially

Whole bunch of trailers for things from D23: Moana 2 Toy Story 5 announcement Win or Lose (D+ series) Snow White Also seems like there was a trailer for the live-action Lilo & Stitch?

Trailer for Agatha All Along: Two-episode premiere 18th September. Red Hulk for Brave New World got shown off properly for the first time, Laura Karpman (The Marvels) will be scoring. Daredevil: Born Again got a teaser trailer. Newton Bros. (X-Men 97) will be composing. Ironheart got a preview. Yelena has a new haircut in Thunderbolts & it looks greatttttt (also continuing Nat's tradition of new hair in new projects). We got a look at one of the new Fantastic Four members in costume (Quinn as Johnny), but more pressingly, we got to hear a sample of Michael Giacchino's work on the Fantastic Four score:

First trailer for Skeleton Crew, which lands December 3rd with a two-episode premiere: Looks delightful A trailer for Andor S2 was also shown but hasn't been released to the public, though it looks pretty spectacular. Confirmed for 2025, but still no window. There was also a trailer shown for Mando & Grogu, which featured snowtroopers, an AT-RT, AT-ATs, Anzellans, and Zeb again looks great, but again no official public release as of yet. Bleh.

She did it, she freaking did it! Despite all of the noise and drama surrounding her presence, Imane Khelif won Gold in the 66kg Women's Boxing: Wonderful. What a mountain she's had to overcome outside of the ring, let alone in it, very much deserved!

Definitely, I wouldn't say that a continuation of Southgate's legacy is what I had in mind after his exit following the Euros. Think it's a bit unfair to say either way considering he hasn't had to do it since, what, 07/08? And success as a manager since then from the get-go (his winning % with Barça B was already 66%, which is insane) means he hasn't had to put up with anything but some of the best budgets in European football going from Barça to Bayern to City. For me, it's much more about the style of play, because I do think we have the players to make Pep's tactics work. In the early 2010s the FA had a huge futsal push after the impact we all saw it had with Spain's domination which is exactly why so many of these more technical players have come through now, but they've been managed by people like Southgate who, well, might have experience trying to manage technical players, but by no means have that technical understanding of the game themselves. On the other hand, Pep wouldn't have the time to iron things out in the way he does with club football, and he seems like a genuine control freak. More so than having funds, it's the inability to replace players who aren't clicking with his style of play which might grate on him and his plans – but, then, he'd know what's available going in and obviously be aware that he's limited to a single nation's pool of players. For me I don't think Pep should get it purely because he's not a tournament specialist, he's a league specialist. He's one of the best managers in the world, but he's playing to his strengths when he has a long season to build up and ebb and flow through. He designs his teams around his system and anyone onboard or in line with his vision gets that attention and care, but others are shipped off. Which is why, if we're going foreign, I still think it should be Mou or Tuchel both work to the strengths of what is available and can grind out their desired result if push comes to shove, whereas Pep has shown he doesn't have that same impact in knockouts.

Lee Carsley has been appointed as interim manager for the England team: I'm guessing that this becoming permanent hangs on how well he does in the Nations League group, which, uh...yeah doesn't really seem like a good way to gauge if this is going to work or not. Did a great job with the U21s back in 2021 (won the U21 Euros), so maybe this could be a good thing. Or maybe the FA are procrastinating on making a choice because Pep's contract is up next summer. Which would be a very FA thing to do.

Little thread bump just to remind anyone interested that pre-orders for the limited edition Astro Bot controller go up today Just put mine in with Curry's (where it's only £59.99, which seems to be a bit lower compared to some other places I've seen), but I'll be keeping an eye out just in case it winds up a bit lower elsewhere/being available from somewhere more preferable

No idea how this Collection didn't get a dedicated thread before (probably due to the silly delay between PC and console releases), but it is FINALLY getting a WIDE RETAIL RELEASE IN THE WEST! and now I feel like a right spoony bard for importing... I'll update the thread title once it has released to make this the dedicated thread for the Collection in general, but for now: FINALLY!

Of course not doesn't make the trickle any less painful though Aye, I've finally got my friends back on World, though we did start over after such a long time out. I'm ~30 hours into it and assuming I continue to enjoy it as much as I have done, have to imagine I'll be picking Wilds up on Day 1 ...with or without my friends this time, though

Vampire Survivors arrives on PS4 and PS5 on 29th August:

They just keep coming...

Per Gematsu, S-E have released some new details on the game's new episodes about Ortega (who will be voiced by Dave Jones in the English release, and Hiroki Touchi in the Japanese release). The seafaring nation of Portoga, the small cherry blossom filled island of Jipang, and the isolated desert kingdom of Ibis are the focus of the new details shared about the game's remade world. More details at the link

The game's final trailer has released: Oh it's looking GOOOOOOOOOOOD

Yeah, this is exactly how I read it: the beds turning up are absolutely just some fun trailer humour. Would love if the bed were on the cover and used on a keyring for the game to take it a step further

The game has now sold over 2 million copies, and the first major update to the game has been announced as arriving in 2025: There will also apparently be two surprises coming this summer...

Here's your reminder that the PC adapter for PSVR2 launches today:

Now confirmed for 2025, here's 15 minutes of gameplay courtesy of Totally Indie Dev™ Nexon: And a developer diary expanding on the game's lore: Anime Souls is well and truly back on the table, boys

MinnMax, created by former GI Show host Ben Hanson and a landing point for a number of former GI employees since its inception (be it as guests or part-time), will be doing what GameStop couldn't and are going to be hosting a celebration of Game Informer! Love it. Hanson's always seemed a good egg, glad he's giving many of his former co-workers and friends a platform like this, especially after what GameStop put them through at the end of last week.

2.4 million PS5s shipped this quarter, meaning 61.7 million units shipped now across the console's 3 years and 9ish month lifetime. Sales launch aligned with the PS4, which show it is still just about straggling behind its predecessor. Got to imagine that GTA VI, should it arrive next year, will be what takes it over the line. I'm sure that any sort of consistency to releasing their AAA first-party offerings would also help