Sony announces "Play at Home" initiative

By now, you're probably in the same situation as us! Stuck at home and wondering how are you to pass the time and keep your self entertained. Fear not! As Sony has launched the "Play at Home" initiative.

Jim Ryan, President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment stated . . .

"People all over the world are doing the right thing by staying home to help contain the spread of COVID–19. We are deeply grateful to everyone practicing physical distancing and take our responsibility as a home entertainment platform seriously, so we are asking our community to continue supporting the safe choice and the need to Play At Home"

The Play at Home initiative offers the players of the PlayStation community access to two free games to keep you entertained during what is an unsettling time, among these games is adventure based game Journey, for those in China and Germany, players will have access to Knack 2, for all other players outside China and Germany, you will have access to Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, this includes Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception all rolled into one neat little package! Once downloaded they are yours to keep

Also announced within the Play at Home initiative is the Creative Funding programme. This programme aims to help smaller, Independent studios who will be greatly impacted during this time.

Jim Ryan gave the following statement . . . 

 

"Independent developers are vital to the heart and soul of the gaming community and we understand the hardships and financial struggles that many smaller gaming studios are facing. With that, SIE has developed a fund to support them during this time. We have earmarked $10 million to support our independent development partners. More information about the fund, including participation criteria, will be made available soon"

Play at Home runs from April 15 through May 5th, for more on PlayStation and everything gaming!

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CD Projekt Red Announce Next Witcher Game

The world has gone mad. Trump has issued a ban on all European travel to America, Ireland is on the verge of total shutdown and governments all across the world are calling for a state of emergency.

But hold on to your socks, it's not all doom and gloom.

Today it was confirmed that CD Projekt Red, developers of The Witcher series and the upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, have started development on their next title which could see us returning to the world of The Witcher.

Speaking to journalists (via Eurogamer Poland), CD Projekt's CEO, Adam Kiciński, said that the company was beginning work on a new single-player title and although not an outright Witcher 4, could possibly be set within the Witcher universe. 

"We've been working on a next single-player game already, creating a clear concept that waits for further development," 

"It's already working but we don't want to commit to it yet. We'll start working on this next game right after Cyberpunk 2077."

"I already said there will be no Witcher 4, I clearly said that Witcher was a trilogy. Simultaneously, we've always emphasized that we want to create Witcher games and the agreement with Mr. Sapkowski confirmed our rights."

Beyond the facts that this title exists and that it will be possibly set within the Witcher universe, no other details have been discussed or confirmed and it's likely we won't hear anymore on the game for quite some time. At least we'll have Cyberpunk 2077 to keep us ticking over.

Cyberpunk 2077 was delayed back in January from its April release to September 17 to allow the developers to add a little more flourish and functionality which, as we all know, is a welcome reason. Nobody wants a broken game.

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E3 Cancelled Due to Concerns Over COVID-19

In light of the recent health concerns over the COVID-19 virus, E3 2020 has been cancelled.

The spread of Coronavirus across the globe has seen a number of events cancelled due to public health concerns with the most recent being that of one of the highly anticipated gaming events of year, E3.

The news broke today when the event organizers, the Entertainment Software Association or ESA, published a statement on the E3 official website.

After careful consultation with our member companies regarding the health and safety of everyone in our industry – our fans, our employees, our exhibitors, and our longtime E3 partners – we have made the difficult decision to cancel E3 2020, scheduled for June 9-11 in Los Angeles.

Following increased and overwhelming concerns about the COVID-19 virus, we felt this was the best way to proceed during such an unprecedented global situation. We are very disappointed that we are unable to hold this event for our fans and supporters. But we know it’s the right decision based on the information we have today.

Our team will be reaching out directly to exhibitors and attendees with information about providing full refunds.

We are also exploring options with our members to coordinate an online experience to showcase industry announcements and news in June 2020. Updates will be shared on E3Expo.com.

We thank everyone who shared their views on reimagining E3 this year. We look forward to bringing you E3 2021 as a reimagined event that brings fans, media, and the industry together in a showcase that celebrates the global video game industry.

E3 2020 is the most recent of events to cancelled due to concerns over COVID-19 following in tow with GDC, Facebook F8 and more. Prior to this PlayStation had also pulled out of the event for a second year in a row and Geoff Keighley, presenter of The Game Awards, had also confirmed he would not be participating in the event.

There's no denying this was a highly anticipated year for E3, especially with the next generation of consoles looming on the horizon, however the possibility of E3 being delivered as an online experience is an inciting one, but why don't you tell us how you feel about it, and for more on E3,

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Final Fantasy VII Remake is Top Notch!

So I played the Final Fantasy VII Remake demo.

With just over a month until its release, Final Fantasy VII Remake is shaping up to be one of the big releases of 2020 and Square Enix has very kindly allowed us to test the waters with the game thanks to a new demo currently available on the PlayStation Store. The demo takes place during the game's first opening hour and sees AVALANCE members Cloud, Barret, Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge breaking into Mako Reactor No. 1 to wreak absolute havoc.

I didn't get around to playing the original Final Fantasy VII until years after its initial release. My first proper time with the game came about somewhere in my teens when I picked up the game on the PlayStation 3 and although I didn't actually make it to end, the six or seven hours I spent with FF7 were an absolute blast and that opening mission is one of those moments that has stayed with me throughout those years.

From the opening clip of Aerith on the streets of Midgar to the train pulling into the station and Cloud leaping down onto the platform, it's all grabs your attention from the very beginning and holds onto it all the way through and the remake is no different. Visually the game is beautiful, which, let's be honest, is the least we can expect from games releasing in this day and age but having that memory of what the original was like just makes the whole experience that extra bit sweeter. I found myself feeling the same way I did when I sat down to play Resident Evil 2 last year, everything feels oddly familiar yet completely different at the same time, it's a wonderful sensation. 

While on the train station we take control of Cloud and are quickly introduced to the rest of the team. Unlike the original, the remake is fully voice acted which gives the characters an added level of personality that just wasn't there in the 1997 release. Throughout the demo, the dynamic between characters, especially Cloud and Barrett is equal parts tense and hilarious and had me absolutely invested even at some points laughing pretty hard as well. 

Also, just a quick note here, the soundtrack for this game is stellar. All the tracks seem to be redos of the original game's soundtrack which, let's be honest, was already brilliant to begin with, but the standout moment for me has to be when Barrett straight up sang the victory music after a fight, I mean, you can't ask for much more.  

Naturally, from the get-go, we are thrown straight into the combat. Gone are the days of a turn-based combat system, the combat in FF7 Remake all happens in realtime with a simple tap of the X button allowing you to slow the action to almost a complete stop, giving you time to assess the situation and plan your next move whether that be to use a special ability attack, magic or an item. I wasn't really a fan of the combat in the original game but then again I'm not a huge fan of turn-based combat systems anyways but that being said I really enjoyed the combat here. Attacks hit hard and being able to switch between attack modes, allies and as well as activating ability attacks on the fly makes every encounter with an enemy just as satisfying as the first.

That being said I did feel the combat starting to drag a little during the final fight with the Scorpion Sentinal. This encounter is essentially a mini-boss fight that is pretty awesome to face off against but is also an absolute unit and will put you down if you're not careful. After spending several minutes throwing pretty much everything I had at the beast, switching to Barrett to fire off a charged shot and then back to Cloud to come in with a quick flurry of sword attacks, it started to feel like I wasn't doing any damage at all or at least I couldn't tell if I was doing any damage. Thankfully I was and after several minutes and twelve potions, the fight was over.

This then switches to you having to backtrack through the facility before a bomb explodes. Prior to the Scorpion Sentinal fight, you're tasked with deciding to either set a bomb timer to twenty or thirty minutes. Don't worry, nothing really changes depending on which you choose however choosing the twenty-minute option does unlock some extra content at the end of the demo. I would highly recommend choosing this option as the time doesn't start until you've beaten the Scorpion Sentinal and you'll have more than enough time to escape the facility. 

Finally after escaping the facility we're treated to a short cutscene of the team parting ways, Cloud meeting Aerith on the streets of Midgar, her giving him a flower and then Cloud facing off against a bunch of soldiers before cutting to the title. Now if you had chosen the twenty-minute timer, at this point you'll be shown the extra bit of content which isn't all that much but is still pretty epic. We get a lovely look at Sephiroth just doing his thing, whatever the hell that is before the demo cuts to black and sends you back to the main menu.

I have to say I wasn't overly excited for Final Fantasy VII Remake but after playing through this demo I can definitely say my interest is piqued and even though this was only a demo, given how close we are to the full game's release date, it can't be that different from how the full version is going to be. 

But if this hasn't convinced you so far, why not give the demo a try for yourself? It's free, you've nothing to lose. 

Final Fantasy VII Remake is releasing on April 10th exclusively for the PlayStation 4 and for more news and articles on FF7...

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Sony Officially Confirm Release Date for PlayStation 5!

It's official, the next generation of PlayStation is on the way.

Only mere weeks after the somewhat dismal showcase that was State of Play, where the only major confirmation was the release date for The Last of Us Part II, Sony have once again piqued our interest in their venture into the next generation with the official announcement of the next PlayStation console.

Confirmed via the official PlayStation blog, SIEE president Jim Ryan stated that the console will be called the PlayStation 5, as we all expected, and will be launching during the holiday season of 2020. This lines it up roughly in the same release window that both the PS4 and PS3 had before it.

Ryan then went on to describe a few new features involving the next iteration of the controller. PS5 controllers will now feature a new haptic feedback system that will replace the rumble function. The article goes on to say that the use of haptics will allow for a broader range of feedback, in short, as Ryan says himself, crashing into a wall in a race car feels much different than making a tackle on the football field.

Another feature described were adaptive triggers which are being implemented into the R2 and L2 trigger buttons. This will allow developers to implement various resistances depending on what's occurring in game, for example, you feel the tactile sensation of drawing a bow and arrow or accelerating an off-road vehicle through rocky terrain. 

WIRED have published a more in depth article on several other features utilized in the new console, including its use of solid-state drive. They also confirm that the new controller is very similar in look to that of the PlayStation 4 and features an improved battery life, speakers as well as the others mentioned above.

More information is yet to come on the PlayStation 5 but for now a release date is good enough and after State of Play is exactly what PlayStation fans, myself included, needed.

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Lady Gaga Rumored to Appear in Cyberpunk 2077

She's wowed an entire generation with her Poker Face, terrified us on American Horror Story and captivated us in 2018's A Star is Born.  Now it's looking like singer and Oscar winner Lady Gaga is set to enter the games industry, well, according to the French that is.

According to French website, Actugaming, rumor has it that Gaga was spotted at CD Projekt Red's studio and had stopped by to partake in a motion capture session,  however, given the nature of the story, this is very much a take everything you hear with a grain of salt situation. 

The article does suggest that Lady Gaga "would participate in Cyberpunk 2077 in one way or another" meaning she could possibly turn up in game as an NPC or maybe she's recording original music for the game's score, it's even possible Gaga is just there just to have a look at what the team has done with the game so far.

Adding more fuel to the fire, it appears that CD Projekt Red, known for The Witcher series, replied to Tweet Gaga posted way back in 2012, bit strange that they'd go all that way back just to drop a cryptic tweet don't ya think.

Needless to say, I highly doubt we'll be getting any confirmation on this rumor from Lady Gaga or CD Projekt Red but the studio is set to show off more from Cyberpunk 2077 at E3 this year so it's possible we might get a glimpse of how the singer is involved, of course, that is if she is involved.

Cyberpunk 2077 currently has no set release date but hopefully that'll change come E3 in June. 

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