Tag: State of Play

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Here’s over 20 minutes of stunning Final Fantasy XVI gameplay on PS5

Square Enix has revealed more than 20 minutes of new gameplay footage from Final Fantasy XVI.

During a PlayStation State of Play presentation focused entirely on the PS5 exclusive, we got a look at the game’s darker story, sizeable open environments, flashy combat and more.

In terms of the story, the game follows Clive, a young man who seeks vengeance after his kingdom is destroyed. All the while, he must navigate the divided world of Valisthea, which is made up of six nations harbouring their own deadly powers. Naoki Yoshida, the producer of the game and director of Final Fantasy XIV, also teased the more mature, politically-driven storyline.

Elsewhere, we were given an extensive look at battles. While most mainline Final Fantasy games have been turn-based, XVI features entirely real-time combat. In the State of Play, we get a look at all of the sword and magic abilities Clive has at his disposal, including special powers provided by Eikons (summons).

We also see AI-controlled allies, like Clive’s wolf, Torgal, helping him out in combat while the player controls the young noble himself. In certain fights, Clive can even directly control an Eikon to fight another in giant, Kaiju-esque battles. All in all, XVI‘s combat looks incredibly sharp, which isn’t exactly surprising since Devil May Cry alum Ryota Suzuki serves as the battle designer.

Overall, the game looks phenomenal, and the fact that Creative Business Unit III — the acclaimed team behind FFXIV — is working on it only makes it more promising.

Final Fantasy XVI will release exclusively on PS5 on June 22nd.

Image credit: Square Enix

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PlayStation to hold State of Play focused entirely on Final Fantasy XVI

PlayStation has announced a new State of Play dedicated entirely to Final Fantasy XVI.

The presentation will take place on Thursday, April 13th at 2pm PT/5pm ET and feature “more than 20 minutes” of new gameplay from the highly-anticipated Square Enix RPG. Those interested in tuning in can do so via PlayStation’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

It makes sense that PlayStation and Square Enix have partnered on this special State of Play. For one, it marks the first single-player Final Fantasy effort from Square Enix’s Creative Business Unit III, the celebrated studio behind the beloved Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and its expansions. It’s also one of the only games that have been developed exclusively for PS5, whereas many others, like God of War Ragnarök and Horizon Forbidden West, have also come to PS4.

Set in the divided world of Valisthea, Final Fantasy XVI follows a young man named Clive who sets out of a revenge quest after his kingdom is destroyed. Notably, the story hails from Kazutoyo Maehiro, the writer of FFXIV‘s acclaimed Heavensward campaign. On top of that, Devil May Cry designer Ryota Suzuki serves as battle designer, giving the game an added level of action credibility.

Final Fantasy XVI will release exclusively on PS5 on June 22nd.

The last State of Play was held in February and featured a variety of games, including Resident Evil 4, Street Fighter VI and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. 

Image credit: Square Enix

Source: PlayStation

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Here’s everything shown off during PlayStation’s February 2023 State of Play

PlayStation held its first 2023 State of Play on February 23rd, showing off a variety of games coming to PS4, PS5 and PS VR2.

To start, the company dropped a brief sizzle PS VR2 reel promoting games like Horizon Call of the Mountain and Resident Evil Village while mentioning that the headset just launched this week.

Following that, the show went as follows:

The Foglands (PS VR2) — TBA 2023

 

Green Hell VR (PS VR2) — TBA 2023

 

Synapse (PS VR2) — TBA 2023

Journey to Foundation (PS VR2) — fall 2023

Before Your Eyes (PS VR2) — March 10th, 2023

Destiny 2: Lightfall (PS4/PS5) — February 28th, 2023

 

DeTchia (PS4/PS5) — March 21st, 2023 (also coming to PS Plus Extra and Premium that day)

Humanity (PS4/PS5/PS VR2) — May 2023

Goodbye Volcano High (PS4/PS5) — June 15th, 2023 [Canadian game — Montreal-based KO_OP]

Naruto x Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections (PS4/PS5) — TBA 2023

Baldur’s Gate III (PS5) — August 31st, 2023

 

Wayfinder (PS4/PS5) — beta coming February 28th, 2023

Street Fighter VI: Zangief, Lily and Cammy reveals — releasing June 2nd, 2023

 

Resident Evil 4 remake (new trailer and confirmation of “special demo coming soon” — game releases March 24th, 2023

As promised, the State of Play concluded with a lengthy gameplay demo for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, the new game from Batman: Arkham developer Rocksteady. Here’s the full demo below:

The game is releasing on PS5 on May 26th, 2023.

What was your favourite part of the State of Play? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Capcom

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PlayStation’s next State of Play is slated for February 23

After two months, we have our first PlayStation State of Play for 2023 on February 23rd.

This showcase will look at five PS VR2 games that are set to arrive later this year, as well as anticipated games from third-party partners.

Additionally, we’ll get 15 minutes of all-new gameplay and updates on Rocksteady Studios’ upcoming title, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.

The PlayStation State of Play begins this Thursday at 4pm ET and 1pm PT on Twitch and YouTube.

Unfortunately, we won’t see Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, considering its focus on third-party titles. However, I’m hoping we see more from Neowiz’s Lies of P.

Image credit: Rocksteady 

Source: PlayStation

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Here’s everything shown off during PlayStation’s September State of Play

PlayStation held a new State of Play presentation on September 13th, showing off around a dozen games for PS4, PS5 and PS VR2.

See below for a breakdown of what was featured during the roughly 20-minute presentation:

Of these games, which are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: PlayStation

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PlayStation’s latest State of Play was easily its best yet

In February, I wrote about how more companies need to take cues from Nintendo Directs — PlayStation and Xbox included.

Over the past several years, the House of Mario has perfected the art of tightly edited, well-paced presentations featuring varied lineups of games that appeal to wide audiences. By contrast, Xbox has had some pretty bloated 90-minute E3 showcases, while PlayStation’s various State of Plays, while far shorter, have still come off rather lacklustre.

Thankfully, I’m happy to say that PlayStation has just delivered what is easily its best State of Play to date, and one that gets me especially excited for its future.

Simply put: it nailed the reveals. Of course, these are subjective to a degree; interests can vary greatly depending on the person. But inarguably, this State of Play was PlayStation’s most diverse yet thanks to a solid mix of major franchises, smaller indie titles and even new hardware. In this way, PlayStation touched on key parts of its business and signalled how they’ll all play an important role in the brand’s future.

The show opened with the official unveiling of a long-rumoured game: the Resident Evil 4 remake, which is coming in March 2023. It’s hard to understate the significance of this title — the original Resident Evil 4 is widely regarded to be one of the greatest games of all time, and it was incredibly influential to the third-person shooter genre. Moreover, it’s being made by the team behind 2019’s beloved Resident Evil 2 remake. RE4 remake alone would have elevated this above most State of Plays, and this was just the start.

Right after, PlayStation gave some spotlight to PlayStation VR2, as promised. It’s here that the company really seemed cognizant of proper pacing. In the span of about six minutes, we get quick looks at four VR titles: Resident Evil Village, The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners Retribution, No Man’s Sky and Horizon: Call of the Mountain. Resident Evil 4 remake is also getting some sort of yet-to-be-revealed PS VR2 content, and after how chillingly scary Resident Evil 7 was in VR, I’m especially eager to see what Capcom does with the new headset. On the whole, this was an effective way of teasing some of the different experiences players can expect while not bogging down the whole show with VR. After all, VR as a whole is still quite niche, and we don’t actually have a price or release date for PS VR2, either. Ostensibly, this was just to remind people that a new headset is on the way, which seems wise for the time being.

Following this, we got confirmation that Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered is coming to PC in August. It’s a smart move for the company, especially with the sequel coming next year. Miles Morales is also coming to PC this fall to complete the collection. The PC ports’ involvement in the State of Play serves to reiterate — especially to the whinier console fanboys — that PlayStation games coming to PC is a growing and important part of the company’s business. I’m also always in favour of allowing more people to play games, especially when they’re as wonderful as Insomniac’s Spider-Man titles.

From here on out was just games, games, games — and lots of good-looking ones, at that.

On the indie front, we first got the promising cat adventure Stray, which comes to PS4/PS5 on July 19th. As an added bonus, those subscribed to either of the higher tiers of the new PS Plus will even get the game at no additional cost. Tunic, the recently released, critically-acclaimed Canadian-made adventure game, is making its way to PS4/PS5 on September 27th. Another Canadian game, Season: A Letter to the Future, got a trailer with a fall 2022 release window, and it looks like an engrossing, relaxing biking adventure. (It should be noted, though, that leadership at Montreal-based developer Scavengers was accused of abusing employees, and it’s unclear whether there’s been meaningful change has been made at the studio). That’s to say nothing of the fact that OlliOlliWorld developer Roll7 has a stylish rollerblading game, Rollerdrome, coming to PS4/PS5 on August 16th, or new team Studio Sai is making a Persona-inspired action-dating sim, Eternights, dropping on PS4/PS5 in early 2023.

Of course, there were more AAA games on top of that impressive assortment of indies. Striking Distance, the studio co-founded by Dead Space creator Glen Schofield, showed off its survival horror space game, The Callisto Protocol, which looks like a worthy spiritual successor to his previous work. We’re getting that on December 2nd, 2022 on PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC. And while it’s not at all my cup of tea, Capcom’s Street Fighter 6 got a fairly meaty new trailer, which is undoubtedly a big deal for fighting game fans. It’s coming sometime in 2023 to PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.

But it’s the show’s closer that had me absolutely jumping out of my seat: Final Fantasy XVI. Since the action-RPG was revealed at the September 2020 PS5 Showcase, Square Enix hasn’t shown anything else from the game, so fans like me have been clamouring for a new trailer for over a year-and-a-half. Thankfully, we got that and more: a summer 2023 release window. Farther off than I would have liked, to be sure, but Square Enix had said the game was delayed half a year due to COVID, so it’s understandable. What matters more, though, is that it looks damn good. I confess that I didn’t much care for Final Fantasy XV; the game’s story, characters, open-world and combat felt half-baked in many ways. FF is my favourite series, so XV was pretty disappointing to me.

XVI, by contrast, looks to be everything XV wasn’t. And I have immense faith it will deliver — just look at the talent involved! Naoki Yoshida, the man who helped turn Final Fantasy XIV into one of gaming’s biggest redemption stories, is the producer. Hiroshi Takai, who’s worked on classics like Final Fantasy V and, more recently, XIV, is the main director, while Kazutoyo Maehiro — who penned XIV‘s outstanding Heavensward expansion — is the creative director and writer. Combat director Ryota Suzuki worked on a little action game called Devil May Cry 5, which should give you an idea of how great XVI‘s battles should be. And Masayoshi Soken, the magnificent composer of XIV, is handling XVI‘s music, so expect some absolute bangers. TL;DR — this game is going to be fire. It’s a timed PS5 exclusive, too, which is a big deal for PlayStation.

Ultimately, PlayStation accomplished a great deal in just under 30 minutes. It gave us a good mix of games that are pretty much all coming out within the next 12 months, while also showing more from its plans for PC and VR. Of course, questions remain surrounding when God of War: Ragnarok is coming, among other new first-party titles. But we knew going in that this State of Play was never going to be about that. For what it was — a largely third-party-centric showing — PlayStation absolutely crushed it, and hopefully, future State of Plays will be as strong.

Image credit: Square Enix

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Here’s a round-up of all of June’s big gaming events

Normally, the Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) happens in June — a major gaming industry trade show filled with announcements, demos and other programming.

Following a messy digital-only show in 2021, however, E3 has been completely cancelled this year, leading to a bit of a vacuum in terms of gaming events. As a result, various companies are seizing the opportunity to hold their own shows, which can make it a bit difficult to follow along with everything.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up all of the confirmed events so far, as well as how you can tune in. We’ll also update this as more events and details are confirmed.

PlayStation State of Play — June 2nd

PlayStation is holding a State of Play presentation on Thursday, June 2nd at 3pm PT/6pm ET. Running for “nearly” 30 minutes, the showcase will feature “exciting reveals” from PlayStation’s third-party partners, plus “a sneak peek at several games” coming to PlayStation VR2.

It’s important to note that while PlayStation didn’t explicitly say first-party games wouldn’t be at this State of Play, it’s clearly emphasizing third-party and VR titles. Therefore, it would be best to not go in expecting an update on God of War: Ragnarök or other first-party titles.

You can tune in to the State of Play via PlayStation’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Summer Game Fest — June 9th

While E3 is officially dead (for this year, at least), Canadian producer Geoff Keighley (The Game Awards) is bringing back his Summer Game Fest event, which ostensibly serves the same purpose.

Taking place on Thursday, June 9th at 11am PT/2pm ET, Summer Game Fest will tease “what’s next in gaming with huge new game announcements, world premieres, special guests, and much more.”

You can tune in to Summer Game Fest via The Game Awards’ official YouTube and Twitch channels.

Netflix Geeked Week: Gaming — June 10th

Every year, Netflix has a genre-focused showcase of upcoming content called ‘Geeked,’ featuring sci-fi, fantasy, superhero and more. On Friday, June 10th at 10am PT/1pm ET, the company has a gaming-centric event, which will be hosted by Geoff Keighley and YouTuber Mari Takahashi.

Expect to see video game-inspired shows like the Vancouver-made Sonic Prime, The Cuphead Show! and Tekken: Bloodline, as well as announcements related to Netflix Games.

You can stream Netflix Geeked Week: Gaming on Netflix’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Tribeca Games Spotlight — June 10th

World-renowned film festival Tribeca is once again showcasing several games from around the world.

This year, nine titles are being given the spotlight, including Venba from Toronto’s Visai and Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course from Oakville, Ontario’s Studio MDHR. The full list can be found here.

Each developer will get a chance to feature their game in a special ‘Tribeca Games Spotlight’ stream on June 10th at 12pm PT/3pm ET. You can tune in on Tribeca’s YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as its website.

It’s worth noting that one unique element of the New York-based show is that fans in person and at home can try out all nine games. Information on how that all works, including how to purchase tickets, can be found here.

Future Games Show — June 11th

GamesRadar‘s digital gaming showcase is back, this time promising around 40 PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and PC games that will be featured, including those for Team17, Thunderful, and Amanita Design.

You can tune in to the show on June 11th at 12pm PT/3pm ET via GamesRadar‘s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase — June 12th

Starfield art

Bethesda’s long-awaited Starfield is expected to be shown off.

Xbox’s annual summer event is taking place on Sunday, June 12th at 10am PT/1pm ET, and it’s once again branded as an ‘Xbox & Bethesda’ presentation. This means we’ll likely see Bethesda’s recently delayed Starfield and Redfall, and potentially, other Xbox first-party titles like Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II. On top of that, Xbox has confirmed that third-party games will be shown as usual.

You can stream the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on Xbox’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

PC Gaming Show — June 12th

PC Gaming Show logo

PC Gamer‘s annual PC Gaming Show returns on June 12th at 12:30pm PT/3:30 pm ET. Altogether, over 45 games will be featured, including the next title from Vancouver’s Klei Entertainment (Don’t Starve).

You can stream the PC Gaming Show on PC Gamer‘s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Misc.

via GIPHY

That’s all that we know at the moment, but there are a few other wild cards.

To start, Nintendo has always held an E3 ‘Direct,’ with the company only missing that window in 2020 due to a) the show’s absence and b) disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, Nintendo will likely have something in June, and will likely confirm something shortly before, as it normally does. The last major Nintendo Direct was in February, so it makes sense. to have one to help spotlight the company’s remaining 2022 slate.

Many eyes are also on Square Enix. The company normally has an E3 event, but without E3 this year, it’s unclear what it may do. That said, the publisher has confirmed that some sort of news on both Final Fantasy VII and the larger Final Fantasy series will come in June as part of their respective 25th- and 35th-anniversary celebrations. We’ve also been promised a “spring” update on Final Fantasy XVI, a game we haven’t seen since September 2020’s big PS5 reveal event, as well as an update sometime this year on Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s sequel. It’s possible that Square Enix could hold its own stream to make any/all of these announcements this month, although it seems more likely that it will partner with PlayStation and/or Summer Game Fest to split up the news.

Capcom, Bandai Namco and Take-Two Interactive are other publishers that could, theoretically, hold their own events. That said, Keighley has noted that fans should expect fewer third-party showcases overall, so it’s likely that many of these publishers will just take part in other events if they have anything ready to show.

Which gaming events are you looking forward to this June? What announcements are you hoping to see? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: Bethesda/Square Enix/Studio MDHR

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Hogwarts Legacy gets holiday 2022 release window, 14 minutes of gameplay

Warner Bros. has confirmed that its highly anticipated Hogwarts Legacy game will launch in holiday 2022.

The release window was given during a new PlayStation State of Play presentation, in which 14 minutes of new gameplay footage were revealed.

Developed by Avalanche Software, Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world, action-RPG that lets players create their own wizard or witch, a fifth-year newcomer to Hogwarts in the 1800s. From there, you’ll get sorted into Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff and attend various classes, including Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Herbology.

The larger story focuses on the player character, who holds mysterious magical abilities, as they work with Professor Fig to investigate a mounting goblin rebellion. Since the game is set in the 1800s, characters like Harry Potter won’t appear, although Avalanche promises some “familiar faces,” such as Nearly Headless Nick pre-head injury, will pop up.

Outside of all that, you’ll be able to explore Hogwarts’ grounds, including the castle and courtyards, as well as surrounding areas, like Hogsmeade and the Forbidden Forest. Brooms and Hippogriffs will be available to traverse the outdoor areas. As you explore, you’ll meet new students who can become Companions, who will teach you new spells and unlock their own story threads in a system that is reminiscent of Persona.

Gameplay-wise, Avalanche is promising “dozens” of spells, including Accio, Incendio, Confringo and Reparo. You can also use magical beasts in combat, such as a Mandrake to scream at enemies and stun them.

Outside of the gameplay footage, members of the Avalanche development team offered some commentary on their approach to the Wizarding World. You can see that towards the end of the State of Play.

Hogwarts Legacy is coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox consoles and PC.

More to come…

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PlayStation sets Gran Turismo 7-focused State of Play for February 2

PlayStation has confirmed that it will hold a State of Play presentation on Wednesday, February 2nd that’s all about Gran Turismo 7.

The stream will kick off at 2pm PT/5pm ET and feature “just over” 30 minutes of footage from the upcoming racing sim, says Sony. This will be the company’s first State of Play of 2022, and most recent one since October 2021.

The Gran Turismo 7 State of Play will be streamed to PlayStation’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Gran Turismo 7 is set to launch on PlayStation 4 and 5 on March 4th, 2022.

Source: PlayStation

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Star Trek Is 2009’s Most Pirated Film

TorrentFreak.com has once again compiled a list of the most pirated films of the year through the BitTorrent file sharing application. For 2009, Star Trek came in first place will 11 million downloads. It beat The Dark Knight, which was downloaded 7 million times last year.

Star Trek is closely followed by Transformers 2, which was pirated 10.6 million times over the year.

Surprisingly, in third place on the list is Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, which was a box office dud. Fourth position went to the comedy The Hangover.

The second instalment of Twilight, New Moon, took fifth position, followed by District 9.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was found in seventh, State of Play in eighth, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine in ninth.

Finally, the film Knowing, starring Nicolas Cage rounded off the list with 6.9 million downloads.