Sony has announced the PlayStation 5 is coming this holiday season, which leaves less than 12 months for the company to announce all the details in preparation for launch. If Sony follows the roadmap set by the PS4, the PS5‘s big debut could be extremely close.

PS4 Reveal’s Event Date, Time, And Location

In January 2013, Sony invited media to attend a special “PlayStation Meeting” to take place on February 20 at 6 PM PT in New York City. The showcase took place at the PlayStation Theater near Times Square, and sure enough, it was at that event that the company outlined the PlayStation 4 launch plans.

This event was the first we’d heard of the PS4’s tech specs, with a detailed breakdown from hardware architect Mark Cerny. The event also showed the DualShock 4 controller with Share functionality, a PlayStation smartphone app, and promised games would be playable while downloading. It also gave a launch window of holiday 2013.

If Sony follows this timeline, which would allow maximum time for its retail partners to prepare for the holiday season, we can expect a similar rollout of information. The debut would take place in the first quarter, possibly as early as February. The 2013 event was scheduled for the evening, giving US fans who wanted to watch live from home the opportunity to do so after work. That time would be all the more important now, as publishers have increasingly messaged directly to fans.

As for the venue, the PlayStation Theater closed its doors as of December 31, 2019. That means the company couldn’t host the event there, for obvious reasons. But Sony could use another theater, or continue using its own property with the concert venue Sony Hall in New York.

E3 No-Show?

Alternatively, Sony could hold its announcements for the second quarter, near or even overlapping with E3. The annual ESA event is usually a showcase for new hardware, and will likely be the first public hands-on with Sony’s primary competitor, the Xbox Series X. Sony may skip the event altogether, as it did in 2019. It hasn’t given any public indication that it plans to come back this year.

Ceding the E3 ground to Microsoft would allow the industry’s biggest event to focus almost entirely on Sony’s chief competition. Sony may not be keen on giving Microsoft such a gift, so it could counter-program with its own event even if it doesn’t attend the show. That could be the reveal of the PlayStation 5, or it could be a public showing that builds upon the momentum from an earlier reveal event.

What We Know So Far

Whenever Sony chooses to lift the curtains, it will add much more to the limited details we have so far. Sony has begun talking about the PlayStation 5, but very rarely and in a tight-lipped manner. In fact, the company only confirmed late in 2019 that the system would be called the PlayStation 5 at all.

So far we know that the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 games, and your older games will run faster thanks to the new system’s solid-state drive. A leaked comparison video showed the load times on PS5 as compared to a PS4 Pro.

We also know the system will use an AMD CPU based on a third-gen Ryzen. It will have eight cores of the Zen 2 microchip. The graphics chip will be a custom version of the Radeon Navi. All that hardware power is said to support 8K resolution, and ray-tracing for both graphical and audio effects. Sony has also confirmed it will include a Blu-ray disc drive, which can play 4K Blu-rays. Finally, it will be compatible with PSVR in some capacity, and Sony issued a statement promising increased energy efficiency as part of a UN initiative.

The PS5 controller will replace the rumble tech from the last several PlayStation controllers with new haptic feedback. It will also include adaptive triggers on L2 and R2, which allows developers to adjust the resistance. Sony says that these two features working in conjunction with each other creates a unique simulation experience. A new UI will allow you to view more details about friends’ games without opening the applications.

What We Don’t Know Yet

That leaves plenty for Sony to reveal, whenever the company decides to do so. We haven’t been given solid information on the price, release date, or launch lineup. We have no information on what the hardware–the console or controllers themselves–will actually look like. And the company’s commitment to more nebulous ideas like PSVR aside, we don’t know exactly what that means.

Most significantly, we haven’t seen any of these hardware or UI features in action. Hearing about features like ray-tracing is one thing; seeing the difference it can make to an environment in a real game is another one entirely. Seeing the PS5 load Spider-Man much faster than usual was nice, but a new console launch demands some graphical “wow” moments. Sony is sure to provide those with a look at next-generation software running on the PlayStation 5.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/when-is-more-ps5-info-coming-a-look-back-at-ps4s-r/1100-6472466/

In a tweet from the official Twitter account for the STALKER game series, developer GSC Game World officially announced that it is using Unreal Engine 4 for the upcoming sequel STALKER 2. The previous games, which are several years old at this point, used the proprietary X-Ray Engine that allowed those games to stand out visually at the time with stunning lighting, shadows, and weather, but it seems that Unreal will make things simpler for the devs.

GSC Game World stated that “UE was the most suitable choice for us.” Its statement continued, “It gives the opportunity to make the game you wait for with the atmosphere of tension and mystery, the flesh and blood of the STALKER universe.” The team also mentioned that mods factored into the decision, saying, “Unreal Engine harmonizes well with our goal to make modding more easy and accessible.”

For those unaware, Unreal Engine is owned and developed by Epic Games. Questions about Epic Games Store exclusivity naturally begin to pop up in light of the engine announcement, but GSC Game World addressed the speculation rather bluntly. It stated, “Yes, we know what you are thinking about, but this announcement has nothing to do with platforms or digital stores. We will talk about this later.”

Very little is known about the game at the moment, though it’s likely to build on the open first-person shooter/RPG hybrid foundation of the original games. Back in March of last year, the official STALKER 2 website was updated with key art and foreboding atmospheric music. A full STALKER sequel was planned in 2010 and was eventually cancelled in 2012; this upcoming STALKER 2 is a separate project. STALKER 2 is said to launch sometime in 2021.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/stalker-2-will-use-unreal-engine-epic-games-and-st/1100-6472473/

Pokemon Go is kicking off the new year with a variety of events this month, including the return of the Legendary Pokemon Heatran. Before it arrives, however, you still have a little time left to catch the current Legendary, Virizion, but you’ll need to act fast as it leaves the game on January 7.

Until then, you can encounter Virizion in five-star Raids. As usual, you’ll first need to team up with other players and battle the Legendary Pokemon before you can earn a chance to catch it. Virizion is a dual Grass/Fighting type, which makes it especially vulnerable to Flying Pokemon like Zapdos and Lugia. Fire, Ice, Poison, Psychic, and Fairy types also have an advantage over Virizion.

Once Virizion leaves Raids, the aforementioned Heatran will take its place until February 4. Heatran was previously available in Pokemon Go, but this time around, you’ll have your first chance to capture its Shiny form. You can read more details on the official Pokemon Go website.

In the meantime, Pokemon Go’s Hatchathon event returns for another year from January 2-16. During that time, you’ll be able to hatch party hat-wearing versions of Pichu and Wurmple, while party hat Pikachu, Raticate, and Wobbuffet will appear in the wild and Raids. You’ll also earn extra Stardust, Rare Candies, and other rewards like the Unova Stone when you walk certain distances.

On top of that, a new Research Breakthrough reward is available this month. Each time you achieve a Research Breakthrough in January, you’ll encounter a Lapras that knows Ice Shard or Ice Beam, making this the first time you can get the Pokemon with those moves since 2018.

Finally, January 2020’s Community Day is set for Sunday, January 19, although Niantic has not yet revealed this month’s featured Pokemon. You can catch up on more Pokemon Go news below.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-go-last-chance-to-catch-virizion/1100-6472471/

Nintendo is kicking off the new year with another look at one of 2020’s biggest Switch titles, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Ahead of the game’s release in March, the company has shared a new trailer that offers another brief glimpse at its gameplay–as well as our first look at a returning fan-favorite character.

The video, which you can watch below, is presented as a commercial for Nook Inc.’s Deserted Island Getaway Package. An audience of Animal Crossing characters watches clips of some of the new tasks you’ll be able to perform in the game, such as collecting material to craft furniture and paving pathways with a new trowel tool.

What’s most notable about the trailer, however, is that it also provides our first glimpse at Isabelle. Up until now, Isabelle has only been teased for New Horizons, but her appearance in the video confirms she’ll indeed return in the game, and her excited reaction to the clips of island life seems to suggest she’ll play a fairly major role.

In addition to the trailer, Nintendo has released a handful of new Animal Crossing: New Horizons screenshots on the game’s Japanese website, along with new key art. The latter in particular is interesting because it reveals two new characters and offers another look at Isabelle, who seems to be showing a village around the island–possibly hinting at her role. Harvey, the dog who runs the RV campground in Animal Crossing: New Leaf, can also be spotted in the background, confirming he’ll likewise be returning in New Horizons. You can take a look at new screens and key art below.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons launches for Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2020. No pre-order bonuses for the game have been announced yet, but you can already reserve a copy at various retailers. You can learn more in our Animal Crossing: New Horizon’s pre-order guide, and be sure to check out our roundup of everything we know about New Horizons to catch up on all the details that have been revealed so far.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/new-animal-crossing-new-horizons-trailer-screensho/1100-6472468/