Category: Video Games

Silent Hill 2 Remake Console Exclusive to PS5 for 1 Year

The Silent Hill 2 remake is console exclusive to PlayStation 5 for one year, Sony has revealed.

As spotted by Eurogamer, a new trailer released on the PlayStation YouTube channel shows Bloober’s long-awaited remake won’t launch on “other formats” until October 8, 2025 at the earliest. Silent Hill 2 launches on PC and PS5 on October 8, 2024.

While “other formats” is a vague phrase, it no doubt includes Xbox consoles (Xbox Series X and S) and, potentially, Nintendo’s next-generation console, dubbed Switch 2. The Silent Hill 2 remake will of course be playable on the upcoming PS5 Pro, which launches on November 7.

Sony’s partnership with Konami for Silent Hill 2 has not only resulted in a year-long console exclusivity, but full support for the DualSense’s features, including haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and a dynamic lightbar feature that displays protagonist James’ health status.

Silent Hill 2 is a remake of the 2001 psychological horror classic. Players reunite with James Sunderland following a mysterious letter from his late wife, Mary, and search for clues in the terrifying namesake town, which is, of course, teeming with nightmarish monsters.

Earlier this month, the first 90 minutes of the Silent Hill 2 remake appeared online, showing the beginning of the game. The first 90 minutes will cover just under 10% of Silent Hill 2 according to Bloober Team’s own estimates, as it said players could complete it in “around 16 to 18 hours.”

This increase over the original’s length will account for myriad gameplay changes but apparently nothing in the story department, as Bloober has been adamant about not changing any plot points of the original game.

Check out IGN’s Silent Hill 2 hands-on preview for more.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

PS5 Patch 24.06-10.01.00 Will Hopefully Sort Out Graphics Issues Caused by the Recent Firmware Update

Sony has issued a fresh patch for the PlayStation 5 that will hopefully sort out graphics problems caused by the recently released firmware update.

Firmware update 24.06-10.00.00., which added the Welcome Hub to PS5 among other new features, caused technical issues in Square Enix’s Final Fantasy 16.

Myriad users reported issues including entire portions of the screen being overcome with black squares and crashing when loading a save file or fast traveling. Similar bugs appeared in Ubisoft’s Star Wars Outlaws, Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky, Kojima Productions’ Death Stranding, and other games.

At the time, Square Enix confirmed it was working with Sony to address the issues introduced through the firmware update, saying: “Following the recent release of the PlayStation 5 system update, there have been reports of the game crashing and graphical issues. We are currently working with Sony Interactive Entertainment to investigate, and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused. Please await our further updates.”

Today, September 20, Sony has released a new update for PS5 (Version: 24.06-10.01.00) which seems targeted at sorting the problems out. Sony’s patch notes are brief and vague:

Version: 24.06-10.01.00

  • We’ve improved system software performance and stability.

It’s a busy time for Sony’s gaming business, with the recently announced PS5 Pro set to launch in November, as well as an eye-catching PlayStation 30th Anniversary edition of the PS5 and PS5 Pro. On the games front, it’s just released Astro Bot as well as God of War Ragnarök on PC. Firewalk’s hero shooter Concord, however, was hauled offline after its disastrous launch.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Guide: Best Nintendo Christmas Gifts 2024: Switch Consoles & Games, eShop Credit And Lots More!

The best Nintendo presents and stocking-fillers!

If you’re looking for the very best Nintendo gift ideas or the top Christmas presents for gamers this year, we’re here to help with this Nintendo-flavoured Holiday gamer gift guide.

Below, you’ll find our top recommendations for stocking fillers and video game-themed gift ideas to brighten your friends and family’s day this Christmas. We’re talking Switch consoles and games, eShop credit, Switch accessories, Nintendo toys, Nintendo homeware ideas, and everything in between!

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Nintendo vs. Palworld: ‘Killer Patent’ May Be About the Mechanic of Catching Pokémon

Following Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s shock patent lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair, and Pocketpair’s subsequent statement claiming it had no idea which patents it’s accused of infringing, analysts believe they’ve worked out which patent Nintendo plans to use to win its case.

Kiyoshi Kurihara, a Japanese patent attorney and consultant on intellectual property spoke to Yahoo Japan on the lawsuit (translated by Automaton), and pointed to a “killer patent” that revolves around the mechanic of catching Pokémon itself.

“It seems like it would be hard to avoid if you want to make a Pokémon-like game, and it’s easy to infringe if you’re not careful,” Kurihara is quoted as saying.

In general gameplay terms, Palworld’s survival and crafting mechanics are more like those of Ark than Pokémon. After Palworld’s huge launch earlier this year, comparisons were made between Palworld’s Pals and Pokémon, with some accusing Pocketpair of “ripping off” Pokémon designs. But rather than file a copyright infringement lawsuit, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have gone down the patent route.

Kurihara identified four divisional patent applications that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company jointly registered after Palworld’s launch in January. A divisional patent contains isolated content from an already registered parent patent. The patent Kurihara believes is the focus here, Patent No. 7545191, describes, per Automaton:

Aiming a capture item (Poké Ball) at a character placed on the field (Pokémon), releasing the capture item in a direction determined by player input, judgment of whether capturing is successful or not upon contact between the capture item and Pokémon, and changing of the Pokémon’s status to “owned by the player” when capturing is successful. In addition, the patent also covers the mechanic of having capture probability displayed to the player, regardless of whether it uses colors, graphics or numbers.

Patent No. 7545191, alongside three related others, were only approved in August, which might help explain why it’s taken this long for Nintendo to announce its lawsuit. The parent patent of the four divisional patents was registered in December 2021, and thus, Automaton points out, are legally effective against Palworld, which launched January 2024. Nintendo has yet to officially reveal the patents it alleges Pocketpair has infringed.

It is worth noting that Palworld does include a mechanic that involves throwing a ball-like object (called a Pal Sphere) at monsters out in a field to capture them, and this may prove the key to the lawsuit. Kurihara suggested Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed the four division patents for specific use in litigation against Palworld developer Pocketpair. As for Pocketpair, it’s said it will begrudgingly investigate the patent infringement claims while continuing to update Palworld despite the lawsuit, and apologized to players left concerned about the future of the game.

Here’s Pocketpair’s statement in full:

Regarding the Lawsuit

Yesterday, a lawsuit was filed against our company for patent infringement.

We have received notice of this lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement.

At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details.

Pocketpair is a small indie game company based in Tokyo. Our goal as a company has always been to create fun games. We will continue to pursue this goal because we know that our games bring joy to millions of gamers around the world. Palworld was a surprise success this year, both for gamers and for us. We were blown away by the amazing response to the game and have been working hard to make it even better for our fans. We will continue improving Palworld and strive to create a game that our fans can be proud of.

It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas.

We apologize to our fans and supporters for any worry or discomfort that this news has caused.

As always, thank you for your continued support of Palworld and Pocketpair.

Players are now left wondering whether Nintendo and The Pokémon Company’s lawsuit will force Pocketpair to remove Palworld from sale or even shut the game down.

Palworld launched on Steam priced $30 and straight into Game Pass on Xbox and PC earlier this year, breaking sales and concurrent player number records in the process. Pocketpair boss Takuro Mizobe has said Palworld’s launch was so big that the developer couldn’t handle the massive profits the game generated. Still, Pocketpair acted swiftly to capitalize on Palworld’s breakout success, signing a deal with Sony to form a new business called Palworld Entertainment that’s tasked with expanding the IP.

Speaking of Sony, Palworld is heavily rumored to be set for a PlayStation launch announcement at this month’s Tokyo Game Show. Pocketpair teased a PlayStation release back in June, so this would come as little surprise. TGS runs from September 26 to 29.

While player numbers have declined somewhat since Palworld’s explosive launch, it remains one of the most-played games on Steam (Microsoft does not make Windows PC and Xbox player numbers public), sitting comfortably in the top 100 on Valve’s platform.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Rain World’s new slugcat will explore icy wastes and desert sands as The Watcher DLC gets a release date

The post-apocalyptic wastelands of Rain World are stunning, brutal, and full of strange creatures that would like to eat your kittenish face. It’s a landscape of wonder and pain, and it’s about to get a little more wonderful and painful. The upcoming Watcher expansion, which adds new places to visit and a new type of slugcat to play as, will be coming out early next year, say the developers. There’s a trailer to say so. Look at this slippery gastropodal feline, standing calmly in the rain, as if the torrential and lethal weight of the water will not crush that little fuzzy head. The gall!

Read more

Review: The Karate Kid: Street Rumble (Switch) – A Great-Looking, Offline-Only, Co-op Brawler

Wax-on lyrical.

In the wake of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, squat, cartoony, sprite-based scrolling beat ’em ups seem to be very fashionable. The forthcoming Toxic Crusaders is going for a similar look, Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons was uncharacteristically cutesy, and now The Karate Kid: Street Rumble features a cast that look like they rolled out of a Gashapon vending machine.

That said, the aesthetic effort here is quite accomplished. Set in a pastel-hued mid-’80s Reseda, California, while locations are rather plain initially, they quickly improve as things progress, with one of the best-looking arcade centre stages we’ve seen in a while. The spritework is excellent, too, with cool characters who are both well-formed and animated, and have a nice finish in terms of colour casting. The pixel art is a far cry from the cutscene art, anyway, which kind of sucks.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Video: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Gets New Gameplay Trailer, Out October

“Enjoy the Pokémon TCG in a more casual way”.

Following a release date announcement at the World Championships in August, The Pokémon Company has now released a gameplay video for its upcoming mobile title Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.

This new video takes trainers through the steps of joining in on the fun. It’s as simple as opening a booster pack and collecting the cards. You’ll also get two free booster packs per day and as part of the experience, there are new “immersive” animated cards that transport you to the world of Pokémon.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Netflix Geeked Week 2024: Everything Announced

Netflix Geeked Week 2024 has officially come to an end. All week long Netflix has been dropping trailers and news about some of the biggest upcoming movies, shows, and games coming to the streaming service.

Netflix has been dropping announcements since monday leading up to an live, in-person fan event that has wrapped up today. To help you keep up with everything announced so far, we’ve gathered all of the biggest news from Netflix Geeked Week from the entire week and the live show. You can check out all of the biggest announcements below.

The Biggest Netflix Announcements This Week

Arcane Season 2 Gets Multiple Release Dates and New Clip

Netflix has officially dropped the release dates for season 2 of Arcane, and like the first season, it will be arriving in multiple acts. Act 1 will arrive on November 9, Act 2 on November 16, and Act 3 will debut on November 23. You can check out the new clip of the upcoming season of the Arcane series below:

Avatar The Last Airbender Reveals Toph Casting

Netflix officially revealed who they have picked to play Toph Beifong in season 2 of the live-action Avatar The Last Airbender. Mia Cech will be playing the blind earthbender we all know and love. Season 2 of the series has already started production.

Devil May Cry Gets a Release Window and a New Trailer

The Devil May Cry animated series officially has a release window. The new animated series will be arriving on Netflix in April 2025. The first teaser trailer shows of demon hunter Dante, who fans will recognize from Devil May Cry 5.

Squid Game Season 2 Gets a New Trailer

Squid Game Season 2 is still set to arrive on December 26, and Netflix has just dropped a new trailer for the upcoming season. You can check out the full trailer below:

Magic The Gathering Animated Series Is in Production

Although Netflix didn’t give us any more concrete details, but we got a single shot of the upcoming animated MTG series. You can check out the image below and make of it what you will.

Black Mirror Season 7 Cast Revealed

Netflix dropped a quick teaser that has the cast names for Season 7 of Black Mirror hidden within. If you pause the video around the 8-second mark, you’ll be able to see names like Awkwafina, Issa Rae, Paul Giamatti and more. Black Mirror Season 7 is set to arrive sometime in 2025.

Splinter Cell: Deathwatch Gets Its First Trailer

Netflix has officially revealed the first trailer for the new animated Splinter Cell series, titled: Splinter Cell: Deathwatch. Although we don’t yet know how the series will be fitting into the larger franchise timeline or even when it will be released, it’s another step for Netflix into the world of video game shows to look forward to.

Wednesday Season 2 Gets a First Look Trailer

After a highly successful season one of Wednesday, Netflix has given us our first behind-the-scenes look at season 2 of the series. The next season isn’t set to arrive until 2025, but you can check out the trailer below:

Castlevania: Nocturne Season 2 Is Arriving in January 2025

We reviewed the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne in 2023 and gave it a near-perfect 9 out of 10. If you’ve been waiting for news on the next season of the series, Netflix finally announced today that Season 2 will be arriving in January of next year. You can check out sneak peek of the upcoming season with the new teaser trailer below:

Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft Gets a Trailer

Netflix has dropped a new trailer for Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. The upcoming animated series takes place after the events of the Tomb Raider Survivor games and is coming to Netflix on October 10.

First Look at Chopper in One Piece Season 2

During an inside look of One Piece season 2, Netflix gave us our first look at Chopper from the beloved anime series. You have to wait until the very end of the clip below, and there’s not much there, but it’s worth checking out.

The Rebel Moon Video Game Gets a Trailer

Although Zach Snyder’s Rebel Moon movies didn’t quite get the reception Netflix was hoping for (see our reviews of Part 1 and Part 2), the franchise is moving forward with a new video game. The Rebel Moon game is coming in 2025 and you can already sign up for the closed beta. Check out the first trailer below:

Netflix Confirms a New Cyberpunk animated Project

Although Netflix didn’t reveal any real concrete details, they did offer confirmation that another collaboration with CD Projekt Red is in the works. You can check out the tease below, which relaly only confirms we will be going back to the Cyberpunk universe.

The Witcher Sirens of the Deep Gets a New Release Date

If you’re a fan of The Witcher games, you’ll be happy to know that the new Witcher animated movie features Doug Cockle as the voice of Geralt of Rivia. Netflix has dropped a new clip of the upcoming film as well as a release date of February 11, 2025. We still haven’t heard anything about a release date for Season 4 of The Witcher series, however.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin Is Out on October 25

The Remarkable Life of Ubiln, which made its debut at Sundance earlier this year, is coming to Netflix on October 25. This documentary tells the story of Mats Steen, who lived a tragically short life due to a degenerative muscular disease. Much of the film dives into his life taking place in World of Warcraft, revealing a surprising depth of online friendships he made inside the MMORPG.

New Trailer for Sakamoto Days Anime

Netflix has officially dropped a new trailer for Sakamoto Days, which appears to be a faithful adaptation of the manga of the same name. The series follows a retired hitman who now own a convenience shop trying to live a peaceful life as his colorful past keeps coming back up.

One Piece Season 2 Behind the Scenes Look

Netflix and Jeff Ward (the actor who plays Buggy) took a tour of the set, props, and costume designs for Season 2 of the live-action anime adaptation. Alongside this behind-the-scenes look, Netflix also announced casting for Nico Robin and Crocodlie. Season 2 of the series doesn’t currently have a release date, but you can still watch all of the episodes of the One Piece anime on Netflix right now.

New Wolf King Series Announced Based on the Wereworld Books

Although the title of this series sounds like it would be in the same realm of Tiger King, it’s actually a new fantasy adventure series coming to Netflix. Based on the Wereworld books by Curtis Jobling, Wolf King is an animated series following Drew Ferran in a coming-of-age story about a boy who discovers he’s the last in a long line of werewolves. There are currently six books in the Wereworld series, so there’s potential for multiple seasons if the show does well. Season 1 will be coming to Netflix in 2025.

Sam Raimi’s Don’t Move Gets a New Trailer

From produce Sam Raimi comes a film about a woman stranded and alone in the forests of Big Sur who has to escape a serial killer. The new film will arrive on Netflix on October 25, and you can check out the new trailer below.

Monument Valley Is Now Available on Netflix Games

Monument Valley, one of the highest-rated mobile games, is now available for Netflix subscribers to download and play via Netflix games. This version is free to play if you have a Netflix plan and doesn’t require any in-app purchases. You can check out the reveal trailer for this announcement below:

Tomorrow and I Gets a First Look

Netflix released its first trailer for Tomorrow and I, a new Thai anthology series arriving this year. The series includes four episodes that ask different “what if?” scenarios about futuristic technologies colliding with culture. You can check out the trailer below.

SpongeBob SquarePants: Bubble Pop F.U.N. Is Now Available on Netflix Games

Joining the Netflix games lineup today is SpongeBob SquarePants: Bubble Pop F.U.N., a new mobile game featuring everyone’s favorite sea sponge. It’s a classic match-three puzzle game where you fire different bubbles at similar bubbles to remove them from the board. If you have a Netflix subscription, you can now download the new game for free with no ads.

Gundam: Requiem For Vengeance Gets a New Clip

We already knew that Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance was coming in October, but Netflix has dropped the opening scene from the series to give us a better idea of what to expect. Check out the first four and a half minutes of the new show below. You can watch Requiem for Vengeance on Netflix starting on October 17.

Squid Game Season 2 Gets a New Poster

Although it’s not as exciting as a trailer, Netflix has dropped an all-new poster for Squid Game season 2. They have confirmed alonside the poster that we will be getting a teaser of the new upcoming season sometime tomorrow.

The Platform 2 Gets a Sneak Peek Trailer

Following up on the 2019 Spanish sci-fi thriller The Platform, Netflix has released a short peek at the sequel. The Platform 2 is set to arrive on the streaming service on October 4.

Netflix Subscription Options

All of the new shows and movies announced at Netflix Geeked Week will be available exclusively on Netflix. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t have a free trial. So if you’re looking to pick up your own subscription, you will have to go straight into monthly payments before testing it out. There are currently a few different pricing options available, with the lowest price starting at $6.99 a month with ads. You can see our full breakdown of Netflix plans and prices for more info.

Jacob Kienlen is a Senior SEO Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor’s degree in communication and over 7 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different topics — from TV series to indie games and popular book series.

Jacob has written for various different publications over his career. You can find the bulk of his previous work at Digital Trends and The Manual where he covered the latest tech deals, Netflix, and food.

Netflix Confirms a New Cyberpunk Animated Project With CD Projekt Red Is on the Way

During Geeked Week’s live event tonight, Netflix Animation officially announced another collaboration with CD Projekt Red in the Cyberpunk universe… but didn’t confirm what it would be.

The tease, which you can watch below, is brief, only really confirming a “return to Night City.” Otherwise, the streaming platform merely invites fans to “stay tuned.”

While the news is exciting, it isn’t a huge shock. During CD Projekt Red’s latest earnings call last month, the company teased that it’s “definitely” planning more animated projects with Cyberpunk, but was similarly vague.

“We are definitely planning to do more in terms of animation with Cyberpunk so I hope that’s enough as an answer,” joint CEO Michał Nowakowski told investors at the time. “So expect to see more for sure, but that’s as far as I can go right now.”

CD Projekt Red and Netflix first collaborated on Cyberpunk Edgerunners, which debuted in September 2022 to acclaim from fans and critics alike. It even helped fuel more interest back to Cyberpunk 2077, and fans were clamoring for a second season.

Nowakowski’s previous comments revived more hope of that, but it’s worth noting that neither Netflix nor CD Projekt Red have revealed whether this “return to Night City” would be an Edgerunners Season 2. That animated series didn’t exactly leave itself open for a second season, and Netflix Animation could very well tell a different story in the universe that simply takes place in the Cyberpunk setting.

That is, of course, all speculation until we find out more. IGN raved about Cyberpunk Edgerunners in our 9/10 review, writing that it “delivers a satisfying return to Night City that does a better job exploring why Mike Pondsmith’s famous location became so iconic in the first place.”

For more, check out our roundup of everything announced at Geeked Week so far.

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.