A beefy Battlefield 6 update has just dropped, and it aims to take care of a couple of bugs and exploits which have become infamous bugbears over the last little while. No longer will people be able to fly up to rooftops by smacking drones with sledgehammers, and no longer will lock-guided missiles cheekily ignore countermeasures.
Let’s go, Tokyo!
Well, here’s a little something to make you smile. The Pokémon Company has today shared another look at its upcoming theme park, ‘PokéPark Kanto’, and announced that gates will open on 5th February 2026.
Tickets to this new section of Tokyo’s Yomiuriland Amusement Park will open for Japanese residents on 21st November and will be distributed by a lottery. There’s currently no information on how those of us who live in other countries can nab tickets, but the official English booking website currently hosts a “Coming Soon” message, so keep an eye out for updates in the coming months.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Arc Raiders has now sold over 4 million copies worldwide less than two weeks since its release date, cementing its commercial success.
Publisher Nexon confirmed the milestone in a glowing press release, which also revealed that the extraction shooter had reached a huge concurrent count of 700,000 players across all platforms.
Within a day of its release, Embark Studio’s shooter hit a Steam concurrent peak player count of 264,673, making it one of the biggest extraction shooters ever on Valve’s platform. That record was smashed again over the weekend when Arc Raiders hit a concurrent peak of 462,488 players according to Valve’s official figures. and now we know that, combined with users on consoles, the true figure is closing in on three-quarters of a million players.
Nexon added that Arc Raiders has “maintained its number one spot on Steam’s global sales rankings” ever since it released on October 30, and congratulated developer Embark, writing: “We are deeply impressed by the enthusiasm shown by our player community and look forward to building on that excitement with our content plans, including new maps, ARC vehicles, weapons, and quests, which will be available starting this month.”
“I thought I was only going to play five or six hours of Arc Raiders on launch day before sitting down to write this initial review in progress, but after just a handful of matches, I suddenly couldn’t pull myself away – and before I realized it, I’d been playing for 10 hours,” we wrote in IGN’s Arc Raiders review-in-progress.
“This is without question the most hooked I’ve found myself on an extraction shooter (and I’ve played a lot of them), with clean and tense gunplay, a progression system that’s been incredibly satisfying so far, and a loot game that has me sweating over what to put in my backpack and what to leave behind.”
Jumping into Arc Raiders? Check out our guide to the best settings, find out what skills we recommend unlocking first, and see how to earn loot by delivering field depot crates.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
Well, it could have been worse. Fallout 4‘s all-important script extender modding tool has taken less than 24 hours to be updated to work with the RPG‘s freshly released anniversary update. It joins an ever-growing list of mods which have been categorised as updated over on Nexus Mods, while Bethesda are seemingly still looking into issues around the anniversary update’s extra creations stuff not showing up properly for Steam players.
As with last year’s Fallout 4 next-gen update, this re-release playing some degree of havok with mods was guaranteed going in, with Bethesda issuing a specific warning against ones which edit the game’s main menu. As modding platform Nexus Mods predicted, the list of mods requiring updates to work with the new version has been larger than just those.
Ghost of Yotei has sold 3.3 million copies in its first month on sale, Sony has confirmed.
As part of its latest financial results, Sony said Sucker Punch’s PlayStation 5-exclusive action adventure sold 3.3 million units in the 32 days since going on sale on October 2 — so sales up to and including November 2.
Sony announced the figure without any commentary, so it’s hard to know whether the company is happy with the result. However, there is a great deal of context we can add that helps us paint a picture of Ghost of Yotei’s commercial success.
The first comparison we should make is to its predecessor, Ghost of Tsushima. It sold 2.4 million copies in its first three days after going on sale exclusively on PlayStation 4 on July 17, 2020, then hit 5 million after 118 days (just shy of four months). It’s now up to 13 million copies sold, including sales of the PC and PS5 Director’s Cut.
So it’s worth remembering that while we don’t have a figure for a comparable period of sales, it looks like Ghost of Yotei is selling about as well as Ghost of Tsushima before it, a suggestion backed up by sales data from the U.S. and across Europe.
But is that good enough? We need to consider that Ghost of Tsushima came out on the PS4, which in the summer of 2020 had a much bigger install base than the PS5 does today, and amid the stay-at-home gaming boom fueled by lockdowns. Ghost of Yotei also sold for $70, which means its dollar sales are greater compared to the cheaper Ghost of Tsushima, whose standard edition launched at $60.
The timing of each release differs also in that Ghost of Tsushima came out in the summer, and Ghost of Yotei came out in the fall. Yotei has the crucial holiday season coming soon, and it will surely be a popular pick for those buying a PS5 for the first time or upgrading to the PS5 Pro.
And finally, multiplayer add-on Ghost of Yotei: Legends comes out at some point in 2026, which will undoubtedly give Ghost of Yotei a shot in the arm next year. And we all know that Ghost of Yotei, like Ghost of Tsushima before it, will eventually launch on PC in Director’s Cut form. Perhaps there will even be a PS6 version, whenever that console rolls around.
So, Ghost of Yotei has some way to go before it matches the total sales figure of its predecessor, but is has plenty of opportunity to catch up. And, as Circana’s Mat Piscatella said last month, its launch sales were “perfectly fine… Not amazing, not bad.”
As for what’s next from developer Sucker Punch, in an interview with VGC, co-founder and studio head, Brian Fleming, said the studio will decide its next project once Ghost of Yotei: Legends comes out. But, he suggested, don’t expect a flurry of games from the relatively lean developer — it’s one project at a time.
While we wait to find out, check out IGN’s Ghost of Yotei review. We’ve also got a cool story about Atsu’s sword-drawing technique, which Japanese martial arts experts have said is kind of doable in real life.
Ready to master Ghost of Yotei? Check out our comprehensive guides, which cover everything from things to do first, best skills to unlock, advanced combat tips, getting the best early-game armor set, and uncovering every Altar of Reflection location. Our Walkthrough also provides essential tips and strategies for defeating every boss, and our secrets and easter eggs guide ensures you never miss another hidden reference again.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
New update released alongside the latest firmware update.
Nintendo released a new firmware update for the Switch and Switch 2 earlier today, and as you might have seen in the patch notes, there’s quite a bit to unpack.
In case you missed it, this update actually rolls out a new patch for the Pro Controller 2. If this update isn’t automatically applied, once you’ve updated the system firmware to Version 21.0.0, head over to the System Settings from the HOME Menu and navigate to Controllers & Accessories.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Incredibly, almost unfathomably, the humble original PlayStation, our little grey slab of joy, is turning 30. It’s got grey hairs, now old enough to have a couple of kids, a few different careers, a car in the garage. You could say it’s accomplished all those things in different ways.
In the before-times, many previous and current IGN AU staff cut their teeth at the Official PlayStation 2 Magazine (Narayan Pattison, Tristan Ogilvie, Luke Reilly, Patch Kolan, and Adam Mathew among them), so it’s an understatement to say that the brand, hardware, games and experiences were formative for us and extremely close to our hearts.
When the original PlayStation launched in Australia, stock was extremely limited and the thing cost $AUD699 (or about $1300 in today’s money) if you could manage to get your hands on it. If you did, you could play nearly a nearly perfect port of Namco’s superb Ridge Racer, try some 3D fighting (a novelty!) in Battle Arena Toshinden, a bit of 3D platforming (woah!) in Jumping Flash!, and 2D sidescrolling platforming in Rayman. The games were perhaps a tad “safe” at the time, but it hinted at big things coming – and within a year, the PlayStation had cemented itself in the Australian gaming landscape.
I picked up my PS1 from a Cash Converters in 1999, then immediately bought Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VII. From there, I delived into a catalogue of JRPGs, racing simulators (yeah, that series), scrolling shooters and impenetrable dating games as my N64 quietly looked on, judging me from the shelf. I’m fairly certain I did not see daylight for about two years – and I knew I wanted to do this stuff as a career.
“In the late ’90s, PlayStation was the only console my family had, but that was okay: PlayStation was the only place with all the games I wanted to play – Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Driver, Colin McRae Rally, Medal of Honor, Crash Bandicoot, Shane Warne Cricket ’99. You name it.
“It was also the only place with a simply unbeatable supply of plug-and-play demos.
“My prevailing memory of PlayStation is demos. I inhaled them throughout the late ’90s and 2000s on PS1 and PS2. I played every one, some of them dozens and dozens of times. I bought my first copy of Official PlayStation Magazine – Australia back in 1999 for the Metal Gear Solid demo. I did so with no idea that the magazine that MGS disc was glued to would ultimately change the trajectory of my life, but within 10 years I was the editor.
“This is peak PlayStation for me. No other console or era of games can match the joy I gleaned from my PS1 and PS2, and the people I was playing them with. I would go back in a second.”
– Luke Reilly
By that point, it was also clear that Sony had a stranglehold over the entire industry – delivering a suite of the finest games month after month that neither Nintendo or SEGA could match for sheer volume. It brought gaming out of the niche basements of the stereotypical gamer and put it smack-bang on the covers of cool magazines. It changed everything.
By 2000, the world was getting swept up into the hype machine around the forthcoming PlayStation 2 – a monolithic black slab emblazoned with a twist of striking blue P-S-2 lettering. It looked sleek. It looked powerful. In a Kubrickian way, it whispered, “I am a mysterious and untouchable creation that will change the world”. In a very real sense, it did.
With launch games like Ridge Racer V and Tekken Tag Tournament, it brought the PlayStation brand out of infancy and into the big leagues. Sony’s much-vaunted “Emotion Engine” promised state-of-the-art graphical fidelity, showcased in real-time tech demos that exceeded prerendered cutscenes on the PS1.
It was a breakthrough. Everyone wanted it – a DVD player! A gaming console! In one! And at the time, it was shockingly affordable for a device that could offer both. It propelled DVD sales, gave additional breathing room for developers moving towards larger games (and files). The controller even had analogue face buttons! Can you dig it, baby? The Japanese launch was an overwhelming success, propelling international hype for the PS2 into the stratosphere.
IGN AU started up in 2006 – exactly 10 years after the debut of the PS1 (or PSX as everyone had taken to calling it). In those days, the PS3 had only just debuted in Japan to rapturouos response, thanks to the disruptive adoption of Blu-ray players (going head-to-head against HD DVD, then cutting off HD DVD’s head to become the dominant format of the 2010s) and increasing uptake of 1080p displays. People wanted content to showcase their cool tech. Sony delivered the PS3: an all-in-one Blu-ray player, harddrive-equipped media device and, at the time, beastly gaming device.
Sony, it must be said, made it a bit hard for itself around this time. The birth of the meme-era took on the PS3 press reveal, turning “Riiiiiiiidge Racer!”, “Giant enemy crab” and “George Foreman grill” into internet phenomenons. That seemed to start a period of iffy consumer sentiment, in part aimed at the USD$499 and USD$599 launch pricing. The Australian launch was still off in the distance, over the horizon, but gamers were braced for a sting in the wallet.
We got our first hands-on look at the PS3 as a fledgling Australian team of three fine folks: Bennett Ring, Cam Shea, and myself. Sony Australia rolled out a series of consumer and media events in which to showcase its polished ovoid tower and we walked away mostly impressed by the potential of the system. IGN’s US team were on hand to cover the year’s launch titles too. Resistance: Fall of Man was the media darling of the time and, to this day, remembered very fondly. However, it had some teething pains and needed to grow into itself.
After a few years, and a few price cuts and redesigns, the PS3 finally found momentum and delivered on its ambitions. We have the PS3 to thank for Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series – a game that, for many, came out of the mists and made the console a must-buy. By Uncharted 2, it was clear that Nathan Drake was a star for the ages, and Naughty Dog was just getting started.
Without doubt, the system’s pinnacle achievement was The Last of Us. It was a technical showcase for the ageing hardware and a cinematic and gameplay line in the sand for developers. At risk of turning this into a love letter to Naughty Dog, Sony truly understood that this studio propelled its hardware forward – and gamers responded to it.
Around this time, Sony also went on a Wii-inspired foray into motion-based gaming with the PlayStation Move controller and camera. It was successful enough to spawn a whole series of Move-enabled titles.
A whopping 12 whole years ago, the PlayStation 4 was revealed in fine fashion. Cam and Luke waxed lyrical about it in the video above. It seemed then, as it does now, a return to form for Sony’s PlayStation brand. It came out of the gates strong and player focussed. The “For the Players” campaign underscored a renewed focus on the core player experience. Wisely so, particularly with Nintendo’s Switch just around the corner and an industry that was never bigger and more flush with great games and hardware.
Still, there were new experiences to be had – and a new controller design (the first major rethink of the iconic PlayStation controller in the system’s history) was coming. Naughty Dog released another breakthrough title, The Last of Us 2. The power of the PS4 also enabled Sony to experiment with another emerging field: VR.
Oh, the PSVR headset. For the time and not unsubstantial money, PSVR offered impressive VR fidelity combined with great games and IPs that other competing hardware could only look on enviously. When juiced up with the PS4 Pro (a new mid-generation hardware refresh), it improved performance even further.
While VR may have had its moment in the sun, and it now feels like the technology is mostly hibernating until the next big thing comes along, it pointed towards more TV-free gaming experiences that have become more and more normalised.
Enter: The PS5. PlayStation 5 – the current generation of Sony consoles, in standard and Pro models. By 2020, digital marketplaces were standard and the TV screen was just one way of interacting with your PlayStation. The PS5 ushered in PSVR 2, a souped up version of the PSVR we know and love. Plus, it brought to the table a Switch-like (but not quite) handheld solution: The PlayStation Portal.
If you’ve noticed, we haven’t discussed Sony’s PSP (in gloriously piano black, a luxurious widescreen handheld in 2004) or the PS Vita – pseudo PS3 in your pocket. But all of those handheld experiences seem to have been teasing where Sony (and Nintendo, for that matter) are heading. Already rumours are swirling about the PlayStation 6 and oh boy do I feel old now.
So here’s to you, Sony PlayStation. You are 30 years young in Australia.
It’s a very different world and games industry today than the one that I and many others remember from the turn of the millenium. However, the PlayStation has been an island of stability, joy, and adventure throughout.
Will we all be playing our PS10s in 2055? Jacked straight into our neural cortex like a back alley goon from Neuromancer? Will TVs still exist? What about game stores? One thing is true: PlayStation fans will always adore this brand – so in a sense, the future is up to you.
Also available for Switch.
Nintendo has released a new Switch 2 and Switch system update today, bumping the firmware up to Version 21.0.0.
It includes all sorts of changes, starting with such updates to the HOME Menu and additional options tied to downloads. There are also more options to find users, GameChat and Game Card-related updates, Display updates, a language update (adding Thai and Polish) and much more. Of course, there’s also the usual stability improvements.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
“I’m a hungry pink puffball”.
Nintendo’s rollout of new albums for its Nintendo Music app continues this week with the release of Kirby’s Dream Buffet soundtrack.
This full-course multiplayer competition originally made its debut on the Switch eShop in 2022, and the album uploaded today contains a whopping 115 tracks, with a runtime of 4 hours and 57 minutes. We’ll add these songs to this post shortly.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
The first proper trailer is coming!
Nintendo has announced a brand new Nintendo Direct focusing on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is coming later this week.
On Wednesday, 12th November 2025 at 6am PST / 9am EST / 2pm GMT, Nintendo will be debuting the first proper trailer to the sequel to Nintendo and Illumination’s 2023 box office smash, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
