NIS America Reveals CRYMACHINA, An Action-Packed Sci-Fi RPG For Switch

Launching later this year.

NIS America have revealed a brand new RPG from developer FURYU called CRYMACHINA, and it’s heading to the Switch in Autumn 2023.

The game features fast-paced action and slick combat with beautiful sci-fi visuals and a story that will push players to question their own perception of humanity.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Mega March promotion comes to PlayStation Store

PlayStation Store’s Mega March promotion commences March 1. For a limited time* enjoy discounts on a wide range of PlayStation games, including The Callisto Protocol, FIFA 23 and Dying Light 2 Stay Human.

Browse the full list of titles on offer below, then head to PlayStation Store once the promotion starts to find out your regional discount.

*PlayStation Store’s Mega March promotion runs from 00.00am (local time) Wednesday March 1 to 23.59pm (local time) Wednesday March 15.

Final Fantasy XVI producer would like to bring it to PC “at some point”

Final Fantasy 16 is looking fab according to the latest round of previews, but that doesn’t do us much good if it doesn’t come to PC. The JRPG sequel is a six-month exclusive on PlayStation 5 and the PC version doesn’t have a release date.

During a recent interview, producer Naoki Yoshida said that it definitely won’t come to PC as soon as those six months are up, but that they “would like to release it eventually.”

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The Best PS5 SSD Deals for 2023: New Price Drops on WD Black SN850X and Corsair MP600 Pro

2023 might finally be the year where 2TB PS5 SSDs might actually be worth the upgrade. Last year, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. This year, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $100 price point and 2TB SSDs are under $200. The reason PS5 SSD upgrades are pricey is that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up an PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive. That means, for better or for worse, picking a top-shelf SSD.

Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD. Not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (we recommend this one for $10) and install it yourself. It’s very easy.

Corsair MP600 PRO LPX 2TB “Optimized for PS5” SSD with Heatsink for Only $159.99

Corsair is a very well known brand for DIY PC builders. Corsair makes some of the best gaming products on the market, and that includes solid-state memory like RAM and SSDs. The MP600 Pro is the same super-fast M.2 NVMe PCIe x4 Gen4 SSD that’s marketed for enthusiast gaming PC builds. This one is “optimized for PS5” because it includes a rugged preinstalled heatsink that is slim enough to fit in the PS5 bay without any issues. Performance wise, the MP600 Pro matches the best SSDs out there with its 7,100MB/sec sequential read and 6,800MB/sec sequential write speeds.

2-Pack WD 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $299.99

Western Digital has the 2TB WD Black Series SN850X M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD for only $179.99 but when you add two to your cart, price drops to $299.99 (or $150 each). The SN850X is the successor to the SN850 SSD. It has newer flash chips (BiCS5 vs BiCS4) and an updated firmware, which combined offer improved sequential and random read/write speeds. For PC gamers, there’s also an updated Game Mode 2.0 utility that’s designed to tune the SSD for better performance during gaming sessions.

Patriot Viper VP4300 2TB PS5 SSD for $149.99

Amazon is offering the Patriot Viper VP4300 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x 4 Internal Gaming Solid State Drive, which is compatible with the PS5 console, for only $149.99. This makes it definitely the lowest price we’ve seen for a brand name 2TB PS5 SSD, especially since this one even includes a slim aluminum heatshield. The VP4300 is an M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 x4 solid state drive with rated transfer speeds of 7,400MB/s read and 6,800MB/s write. That makes it well above the PS5’s recommended 5,600MB/s speed requirement.

Crucial P5 Plus 2TB PS5 SSD for PS5 for $131.99

Constantly going in and out of stock

Crucial’s newest M.2 SSD meets all the requirements for your PS5 SSD upgrade. It supports transfer speeds of up to 6,660MB/s which is well above the 5,500MB/s minimum threshold. Yes there are faster SSDs out there, but if your intention is to put this in your PS5, then that extra speed is worthless because you’re bottlenecked by the original PS5 SSD. If you’re worried about opening up your PS5 case, don’t worry it’s very easy. Crucial has an official YouTube PS5 SSD install guide to see you through the process.

Samsung 2TB PS5 SSD with Heatsink for $179.99

Samsung SSDs need no introduction. They’ve made some of the most popular and reliable PS5 SSDs on the market. The 980 Pro has been out for a while now, but it’s still one of Samsung’s fastest M.2 PCIe SSD, with only the newly released 990 Pro being faster. It is fully PS5 compatible in terms of form factor and performance, with blistering speeds of up to 7,100MB/s. It goes toe to toe with other well-known options like the WD Black SN850 and the Seagate Firecuda 530.

More PS5 SSD Deals

There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.

How easy is it to install the SSD?

It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.

What if the SSD I bought doesn’t have a heatsink?

Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for about $10 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.

For more deals, take a look at our daily deals for today.

Countdown: Wii U eShop Spotlight – Star Fox Guard

#5 – We need to guard this one.

For the month before the 3DS and Wii U eShops close for new purchases on 27th March, each day we’re going to highlight a specific eShop game for one of those consoles and give a short pitch as to why we think it deserves your love and attention — before it’s too late. The chance to add these to your library will be gone for good soon and, for one reason or another, these eShop-exclusives are close to our hearts.

Today, Alana nominates Star Fox Guard, a curious entry in the Star Fox series that’s still worth a look today.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Forspoken Developer Will Be Folded Back Into Square Enix

Forspoken developer Luminous Productions will be absorbed back into Square Enix to continue working on AAA games, the company announced.

On Twitter, Luminous Productions revealed that the change will go into effect at the beginning of May.

“Beginning on May 1, our talented team will join Square Enix to deliver new, innovative gaming experiences to players across the globe,” Luminous’ statement reads.

“Betwen now and then we remain entirely focused on Forspoken. We are currently working on the previously announced patch to address overall game performance (we will deliver an update soon) and the DLC, In Tanta We Trust, is on track for release this summer. Thank you again for your patience and support!”

Square Enix also released a statement, saying in part, “The merger is part of the Company’s efforts to further bolster the competitive prowess of the Group’s development studios,” and that “Luminous Productions Co., Ltd. is meanwhile equipped not only with AAA title development capabilities but also technical expertise in areas such as game engine development. Combining the two entities will further enhance the Group’s ability to develop HD games.”

Luminous Productions was originally created largely from developers who worked at Square Enix on Final Fantasy XV. The studio was tasked with crreating new games in the Luminous Engine, the same engine used for Final Fantasy XV. Forspoken was the only game the studio shipped during its existence.

Forspoken released in January to mixed critical reception. In our review, we said, “Forspoken is the sort of game you’ve probably seen before – from its stereotypical fish-out-of-water fantasy story to its giant open-world map full of repetitive optional tasks.”

The game has been criticized for uneven performance, prompting Luminous Productions to work on a patch for performance, graphics, playability, and other fixes.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.

Phantom Brigade review: entertaining mech battles carry a toothless campaign

Phantom Brigade right. According to its internal clock, battles usually take less than a minute. That time is divided into five-second chunks during which you’re shown what the enemy will do, and must use that to coordinate your own mechs, placing their orders on a visible timeline. You finish your turn by hitting a button that makes everyone go at once for a few explosive moments.

In practice, behind those few seconds are an eternity of theorising, testing, and tweaking. There’s probably a metaphor in there somewhere about writing, video editing, or catering. The result is a game that’s taken me absolutely ages, but whose numbers suggest I’m supposed to be blasting through without a care.

I am enjoying it a lot, despite some frustration.

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Soapbox: 1080° Snowboarding Is The Coolest Nintendo Ever Got

Work your body, w-work your body.

Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, on its 25th birthday, Gavin recalls an atypical Nintendo first-party game where the only goofy thing is your stance choice in the lodge at the start…


Tuesday 28th February 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of 1080° Snowboarding‘s Japanese launch. Developed in-house at Nintendo EAD with Giles Goddard (of Star Fox and squishy Mario 64 face fame) and Colin Reed (Stunt Race FX) on programming duties, it’s a fantastic game — and a curiously straight-laced one by Nintendo standards.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com