Tumult within Embracer Group spreads to layoffs at another studio That axe has fallen on Lost Boys Interactive, a remote-first video game developer that was working with industry veterans Gearbox Software, Blizzard Entertainment, and ZeniMax Online.
This new spate of job losses is the latest round in an ongoing era of Cost-Cutting Torture within Embracer Group’s portfolio.
The news was delivered through a somber LinkedIn post from the staff of Lost Boys Interactive, who has worked on many high-profile gaming titles. Shaun Nivens, the company’s CEO reportedly said “Every other opportunity was considered before this decision was made” adding that it had been a heart breaking one. Nivens stated that changes in the market for video games required such a move of laying off personnel.
“Today is an incredibly tough day at Lost Boys Interactive as we make the heart-wrenching decision to lay off some of our amazingly talented staff,” wrote Nivens.
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We understand the impact this has on our team members who have worked hard to help us achieve these successes. Every member of our faculty is valued, and no decision to go forward with furloughs was made that exceptionally. Our teams are devoted to helping them in every way we can during this change.
Though it’s unclear what the headcount of layoffs was, regardless that Lost Boys Interactive is a remote studio employees all over the United States are likely affected. These layoffs are the latest indication of increasingly lean times for video game expansion, especially within studios owned by Embracer Group.
Unfortunately, given the way the market is changing today, we also wish only some of those great employees would rebound with new gigs soon. It’s a sad fact of the video game industry that even long-time pillars within it can be brought low in an instant if things don’t go their way.
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October 19, 2024Table of Contents
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PS5 DualSense Controller ReviewScore: 9Fun, Anyone?What We Said About The PlayStation VR2What We Said About The PlayStation PortalPS5 Buying Guide
Note: The PlayStation 5 is now almost 4 years old, and has been officially replaced on store shelves by the new PS5 Slim. We’ve updated our review to reflect that new model, as well as the current state of Sony’s console at large. You can view the original 2020 review here or even dive into our latest coverage of the new PS5 Pro.
After three jam-packed years filled with multiple peripherals, numerous updates, and hundreds of games, the PlayStation 5 has cemented itself as the most popular home console, with nearly double the units sold as the Xbox Series X and S. It may look a little bit different thanks to the 2023 Slim model revision, but today’s PS5 isn’t radically different from what came out three years ago: it’s still a weird-looking workhorse of a machine with a best-in-class controller, and it can more than hold its own when playing the most demanding games available today.
For the most part, you can put aside speed comparisons with the Xbox Series X. If the past few years of in-depth Performance Reviews of cross-platform games has taught us anything, it’s that both consoles are up to the task of running current games. The PS5 has an AMD Zen 2 CPU and RDNA 2 GPU, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, Wi-Fi 6, and gigabit Ethernet, which keeps it competitive with the Xbox’s slightly higher specs. And if your TV can handle it, it supports Variable Refresh Rate to combat screen tearing, and some games offer the ability to run at 120 frames per second at the cost of resolution or graphics features like ray tracing. It’s even got 1440p support if you want to plug into a gaming monitor.
The newest model of PS5, officially called the PS5 Slim, packs all of those same features into a more compact, slimmer design that’s a lot nicer on the eyes than the bulky launch version. As a nice bonus, you get a slightly larger 1TB storage capacity, for 848GB of usable space – 181GB more than the launch version. That right there addresses two of our criticisms from the original version: it was huge, and didn’t have as much storage as the Xbox Series X.
You can fast-travel to nearly any point on the map in less than six seconds.
On that note, one of this generation’s most important upgrades is the switch from traditional hard drives to solid-state storage drives, or PS5 SSDs. That dramatically improves loading times across the board and enables games to load in new objects on the fly so you don’t get pop-in when, for example, swinging through New York in Spider-Man 2. The PS5’s SSD can read 5.5GB in just one second (which is, on paper, twice as fast as the Series X). In practical terms, that speed means you can fast-travel to nearly any point on the map in less than six seconds. After generations of reading tooltips and staring at splash screens, it’s pretty unreal how quickly some games load.
Bear in mind, though, that a single Call of Duty game is 150GB these days, so you may still want to invest in extra storage. To do that you can easily pop off the side panels to install an M.2 SSD drive right off the shelf, which currently range from affordable 250GB to 4TB monsters that can cost more than two PS5s alone. That gives the PS5 more flexibility than the Xbox Series X and its proprietary expansion cards.
The PS5 Slim is sold as either a digital-only or disc model for $449.99 and $499.99 respectively, but if you feel remorse after giving up your physical media you can buy a drive separately for $80 and snap it on yourself. Heads up: you do have to be connected to the internet to activate the drive on a new console.
While the Slim version is about 30% smaller, it’s still a weirdly misshapen, eye-catching thing.
Our previous reviewer, Luke Reilly, described the original PS5 as far and away the most flamboyant-looking console he’s ever owned. While the Slim version is about 30% smaller, it still fits that description. It’s a weirdly misshapen, eye-catching thing, and if you want to lay it horizontally you need to attach a set of little legs between the slots on the disc drive side. They click in quickly and give it a reasonable amount of sturdiness. If you are more of the vertical persuasion, it’s downright sturdy in that orientation as long as you have the disc drive. It’s just a shame that the vertical stand isn’t packed in and has to be purchased separately for $30.
To accommodate that swappable disc drive, there are now two face plates on each side instead of the singular panel per side on the original. I thought I wouldn’t like combining the glossy top panels with the standard matte finishes on the bottom panels, but it’s grown on me. Granted, it’s still very new, but every time I see the light reflecting off of it I feel like it’s the first day I took it out of the box, and the combined gloss of the top plates and the central part of the PS5 gives it a pleasant luster. The panels are all pretty simple to remove, which is excellent for regular console cleaning, but also makes me look forward to customizing its look with the multicolored PS5 faceplates Sony says it’ll sell at some point in the future.
On the front, you’ll find one Hi-Speed USB Type-C port, one SuperSpeed (10Gbps) Type-C port and the power button. If you have a disc drive, the eject button is actually next to the slot instead of next to the power button – Sony’s finally learned! On the back there are two SuperSpeed USB type-A ports, the HDMI 2.1 port, and Ethernet. That’s plenty for charging controllers, plugging in external storage, and hooking up a PSVR 2. But sorry audiophiles, there’s still no optical audio out.
PS5 DualSense Controller Review
Verdict: With the DualSense, Sony has both made a more comfortable gamepad for traditional gameplay, and introduced some very exciting features. The haptics and adaptive triggers make an immediately noticeable difference in games that make use of them, and they offer the exciting potential for new and interesting gameplay experiences. Except for battery life, which remains a weak point, the DualSense controller is everything you want to see in a next-gen upgrade. –Mike Epstein
Score: 9
Read the full PS5 DualSense Controller Review
Apart from the big graphical power jump and short load times, the biggest difference between this generation of PlayStation and the last is the part you hold in your hands. You can check out our full review of the amazing DualSense controller for a more in-depth dive into its features and battery life, but looking at it at the end of 2023, the extent of its wonders varies depending on what game you’re playing and the lengths the developers went to in designing around it. The three-year-old Astro’s Playroom remains one of the best showcases for everything the DualSense can do, and though Insomniac’s Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and Housemarque’s Returnal are other great examples, many others still neglect or overuse the haptic feedback, sometimes making pulling the trigger a chore to the point where I’ve just had to turn it off altogether. But even then, it’s still a nice option to have that you don’t get anywhere else.
It’s also worth mentioning that I did suffer some very slight drift on my launch controller, but that didn’t happen for a little over a year, and I’ve seen no issues with the replacements. This is a far cry from what I dealt with during the PS4 era, where I probably saw drift after about eight months with each controller.
Fun, Anyone?
When you fire it up after the simple setup process, the PS5’s interface doesn’t feel wildly removed from its roots on the PS4, but it’s definitely different – and significantly more elegant in a number of ways. Selecting a game immediately takes over the main menu background and music with dramatic effect. A single tap of the PlayStation button in the center of the controller will bring up what Sony calls the Control Center, which is a little like a taskbar on a Windows PC and lets you quickly switch between your active and recent games and apps like Netflix and Spotify. It’s a big improvement over PS4 – back then, checking things like current downloads and what friends of yours are online required a bunch of shuffling back and forth, up and down, and left and right through menu icons; the PS5’s Control Center places all that info at our fingertips. You can also organize your library into Gamelists, which are basically folders. But heads up, the PS5 doesn’t really have a web browser.
For those who live for the thrill of the Trophy hunt, the objects of your desire are easily accessible to view from each game’s individual splash page on the dashboard, but Trophy info can also be included in the Activity Card view. And as a bonus, you can pin up five trophies to the side of your screen to keep track of your progress as you play.
What We Said About The PlayStation VR2
The PlayStation VR2 may seem pricey, given that it costs $150 more than the base PS5 Digital Edition console you’ll need to use it. Even so, it’s such a quantum leap over the original PSVR in terms of ease of use, visual quality, and immersion that any PlayStation owner who loves VR should upgrade as soon as possible. Its 4K HDR OLED screen and excellently tactile Sense controllers are the most obvious improvement, but plentiful quality-of-life changes and the raw horsepower of the PS5 set a new standard for how VR games should play and feel on console. The downside is that, like any new platform, its thin launch lineup makes its lack of backward compatibility with original PSVR games a significant problem, but one that will only improve as Sony and other developers roll out new games that take advantage of the PSVR2’s unique features. – Gabriel Moss, February 16, 2023
Score: 9Read the full PlayStation VR2 review and the PSVR2 PC Adapter
There’s other interesting stuff sprinkled throughout the PS5’s UI too. When hovering over a game, there is an hour counter that will let you know approximately how long you’ve sunk into it. I say approximately because it usually doesn’t match up with the hour clocks attached to the save files in my games, so it’s possible it’s only counting active time and not some of the extended periods I have the game paused. You can also go into the global settings menu to automatically configure difficulty, subtitle preferences, and even invert the Y-axis by default – like the Xbox 360 used to do (take note, Microsoft).
That brings us to Remote Play. You don’t need to invest in Sony’s flashy new PlayStation Portal to play away from your couch – any phone, tablet, or PC can stream your games directly from your personal PlayStation 5 over a local network connection, or even anywhere you have decent internet access. Sony’s game streaming tech also enables features like watching a friend play a game picture-in-picture while you chat with them and play something else entirely, or use Share Play to let them try playing your game over the internet.
What We Said About The PlayStation Portal
The PlayStation Portal is the most surprising device I’ve ever come away from loving after going in loaded with skepticism. It’s such a better experience than using your phone with a slap-on controller, and it works so much better than I was anticipating. I really love the freedom it gives me to play my PS5 from anywhere with decent WiFi coverage, especially when the rest of my family was using the TV to (somewhat ironically) play the Switch. Bearing in mind that it’s in no way a stand-alone device and 100% requires a PlayStation 5 to function at all, the biggest things keeping the Portal from being a truly amazing device are its current lack of a way to access WiFi that requires a web browser to log in, and its lack of Bluetooth support for audio. For now, it’s a great device that represents the best current solution for PlayStation Remote Play, and if it weren’t for those two baffling caveats, I’d call this a must-own device for every PS5 owner who enjoys playing games on handheld – or has to compete for the household TV. – Seth G. Macy, November 19, 2023
Score: 8
Read the full PlayStation Portal review or check out the best PlayStation Portal Accessories.
If you’re upgrading from PlayStation 4, you can rest assured that all of your old games will make the jump with you, though the process isn’t quite as smooth as it is on Xbox because there’s both a PS4 and PS5 version of everything. Also, this doesn’t apply to PSVR; you can plug your original PSVR into the PS5 and it’ll work, but without any upgrades, and your PSVR library won’t transfer to PSVR 2.
Like the other platforms, Sony has its PlayStation Plus subscription, which is required for online play in most games, but also nets you a handful of games each month that are yours to play as long as you maintain your subscription. PlayStation Plus starts at $9.99 monthly ($79.99 yearly), and goes up to $17.99 monthly ($159.99 yearly) for the highest tier, which gets you access to game trials, cloud streaming for games on the service, and access to download classic games from the PS1 and PS2. As someone who has multiple years subbed to the highest tier, it’s an okay foundation, but it’s missing the killer library of Xbox Game Pass and its commitment to bringing first-party games to the service on day one.
PS5 Buying Guide
Looking to purchase a PS5 console in 2024? You can check out our updated guide on where to buy a PS5 online for details.
You can also check out our top PS5 accessory picks by category below:
Best PS5 ControllersBest PS5 Headsets [...]
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October 14, 2024Table of Contents
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PS Portal’s Surprising SuccessWhat’s Driving the Demand?Where Will the PS Portal Go From Here?
Not only that but even after having launched a year on resells, Sony’s PS Portal has been the top-selling product up until now. According to Circana’s Mat Piscatella, the top-selling accessory in the U.S. for 2024 is still that venerable handheld remote player, once maligned by critics far and wide.
PS Portal’s Surprising Success
Even when Sony first launched the PS Portal, it seemed like this was a product that would be for some sort of niche audience. Recently revealed for $349 with few features at all to whet the appetite of rabid Apple fans, critics questioned whether or not such a device would ever find its place amongst a sea of other niche devices. Most Popular Apologies, doubters: The PS Portal has taken off anyway
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The PS Portal was made for a sliver of consumers, those being PlayStation 5 owners who desired to game in untraditional scenarios without sitting tied down by a TV. Sony themselves said it was a niche device. The company, taken aback by the unexpected demand for its products vowed to keep bottles in stock as consumer interest continues.
The PS Portal got off to a rocky start but emerged as the best-selling gaming accessory in August 2024 based on data from Circana. It even managed to beat Sony’s most sought-after Midnight Black DualSense controller which had been the top-searched for a month. The PS Portal has enjoyed a relatively large surge since it first failed to show up on the radar last year.
In terms of hardware, the PlayStation 5 remains on top in the U.S., followed by the Xbox Series consoles. But the Switch, Nintendo’s next-gen platform currently in its twilight years (despite us expecting there to be at least one more full year of production for it thanks to ongoing component shortages), has experienced a plummeting sales rate.
Read also; Bloober Team Offers Behind-The-Scenes Look At The Creation Of Silent Hill 2 Remake Protagonist James
What’s Driving the Demand?
What makes the PS Portal so great is that it gives you an exclusive gaming experience. It was incredibly successful for players who may enjoy the TV experience but also love an excellent handheld device and fills a void there. So while it may not embody the word console to its fullest, within a short time many gamers went from refusing to buy one to simply having no choice.
Where Will the PS Portal Go From Here?
As PS Portal prepares to launch following stunning sales, it’s easy to see why the gaming device will undoubtedly be one of this year’s best-selling accessories for Sony. Everything is up in the air as we head into a new season, so it will be fun to see how things change or if any can prove themselves and take over through the holidays. [...]
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October 14, 2024Table of Contents
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What We Know So FarKnow Why Ounce is the CodenameWhen will Nintendo show the Switch 2?What Does the Future Hold for Nintendo’s Hardware?
There’s an insane Pokémon data leak circulating the gaming community and speculation/hype among fans about what this could mean and how it ties into a Nintendo console, likely Switch 2. The next-gen Pokémon may be codenamed “Ounce” So it could end up being called ‘Pokémon Ounce’. According to information leaked online, the game is not only real but in development for something internally known as “Ozne.
What We Know So Far
The leak comes by way of outlets like Nintendo Everything, which posits the codename “Ounce” as part and parcel of at least one piece of Nintendo’s next gaming platform. While few details have been shared by a source, some industry insiders are suggesting that “Ounces” (oz) might be more than just a catchy name – however, these comments remain pure speculation for now.
The codename “Ounce” originated with members of this very community some months ago. This is not the only codename that has popped up for this mysterious console, mind; a previous report from 2024 uncovered a different code name “Muji”, which was discovered within software development kits as well.
Read also: PS5 For Less! Sony Launches Official Refurbished Consoles
Know Why Ounce is the Codename
Despite any future implications “Ounce” may (or not) have, theories are currently flying about this leak. Or is the shadow trying to show us something else, perhaps even a reveal of how much the console weighs or its overall size and maybe giving some hint at what kind of performance hardware we can expect under that hood?
It also helps that a Pokémon game is coming to this system as the franchise has been synonymous with Nintendo hardware growth. There is nothing confirmed on the official level from Nintendo but rumors are already circulating and their codenames ain’t helping them in this cause either.
When will Nintendo show the Switch 2?
Nintendo is currently hesitant to share the name and specifications for Switch 2, except that an official announcement will be made by March of this fiscal year. However, given the early design leaks for this next console, gamers are cautious about any possible hints when it comes to a new release date or further specifics on what we can expect from Microsoft’s latest system.
Read also: PS Plus users: do not let LittleBigPlanet 3 slip away forever
What Does the Future Hold for Nintendo’s Hardware?
The so-called next Switch model may not be a mere upgrade This could also be a major step for Nintendo after the first Switch notched record sales. With the Switch, we have seen game-changer technology and a novel response to traditional gaming. Now the question is what will Switch 2 (if that’s even its name) be?
If the recent Pokémon leak has done anything, it is to show how much Nintendo fans crave the next step in hardware evolution for the House of Mario. Is ‘Ounce’ The Future Of Nintendo Gaming? Time will tell, but until then the rumor mills of Video Games are alive and buzzing. [...]
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October 10, 2024Table of Contents
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Budget PS5 Consoles: The RefurbsPS5 Slim Units Now Available, TooRefurbished DualSense Controllers AvailableWhere to Get Refurbished PS5sFinal Thoughts
Well PlayStation fans, we have some good news for you! Good news, then: If you have been waiting for your chance to snag a PS5 without emptying your wallet, Sony is here for you. Sony is making refurbished PS5s, and DualSense controllers more widely available in time for the holidays That’s a golden opportunity for anyone who is trying to budget their money towards the latest in gaming hardware.
Budget PS5 Consoles: The Refurbs
This was first spotted back in September, with the discovery of certified refurbished PS5 consoles and DualSense controllers on PlayStation Direct.
Read also; PS Plus users: do not let LittleBigPlanet 3 slip away forever
Now those deals are live and players are being offered some good choices at a low price bracket, without sacrificing the standard of quality you would expect from Sony. Certified refurbished PS5s are put through the same rigorous recertification process that guarantees the products are up to par with brand-new ones. Sony says that they test and recertify each refurbished product to work the same as new.
Those who are seeking to save some money can find the refurb PS5 disc versions for $399, and you can cop a digital version for just $349. While not the best of deals, it is a pretty decent discount compared to buying brand-new consoles though, so for those looking to save each penny possible the deal might just be worth it.
PS5 Slim Units Now Available, Too
But that’s not all. If you haven’t picked one up yet (or are looking to add another), Sony is currently offering a time-limited deal on its recently-released PS5 Slim consoles. Through this limited time offer, the disc and digital versions of the PS5 Slim are getting $50 off. That said, our Slim models are going for $449/$399.
The PS5 Slim might be attractive for its size, but the refurbished models remain a great deal if you’re also looking to save more money. In either case, you are saving on a first-rate console option over at Walmart.
Refurbished DualSense Controllers Available
Sony is also discounting refurbished DualSense controllers along with the consoles. Refurb controllers start from $59.99 (and go up a few bucks for special colors, like Galactic Purple which is $64.99). You can finally pick up a backup controller or replace an old one in a bunch of colors
Read also:
News
Wake Up to Adventure: Introducing the Nintendo Alarmo Alarm Clock
Where to Get Refurbished PS5s
All of these certified refurbished consoles and controllers are available only through PlayStation Direct. This means, that if you live in a spot not supported by PlayStation Direct when it comes to shipping, you may need to consider other neighborhood or “alternative” methods of savings.
Final Thoughts
Be it the new PS5 Slim with a temporary price cut or the cheaper, refurbished launch models, there is great value for gamers in Sony’s latest offerings. These refurbished PS5s are all tested and recertified, giving you the same high quality as a new item, but at a discounted price. Holiday 2024 is just around the corner, so this might be a great avenue to get hold of a PS5 for less than RRP.
Check the links below for deals on headphones & tablets now! [...]
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October 10, 2024Table of Contents
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These are the Cautions on FREE LICENSE In Your Anti-VirusHow to Protect Your AccessAct Fast: DLC and MoreWhat You Should Do NextThe Final Countdown
Attention PlayStation Plus Extra / Premium Subscribers! For LittleBigPlanet 3 fans, the storm clouds are gathering as the game will soon be delisted, and if you’re not quick it might go forever. Many players are looking to return to the beloved title before it slips out of the catalog next week. But before you click download, you must follow this crucial step.
These are the Cautions on FREE LICENSE In Your Anti-Virus
We’ve been warning you of potential licensing issues that would haunt your ownership ever since the PlayStation Plus revamp. If you had previously claimed LittleBigPlanet 3 (in the PS Plus monthly line-up back in February 2017) and you later tried to download it again from the Extra or Premium catalog, this would result in being locked out of the game until now.
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Why is this happening? If you downloaded a game from the monthly catalog and then downloaded one out of the Extra or Premium catalog; it can be rewritten on top of the license you previously got. This means if you have already claimed LittleBigPlanet 3, which has previously been available on PS Plus monthly games, you may cancel this license by downloading/moving it from the new collection and leaving the service entirely.
How to Protect Your Access
So to be on the safe side, if you already claimed LittleBigPlanet 3 back in February 2017 check your account faux PlayStation account! If you did, though, that’s a critical point: you must download _this_ version of the game and not another/better version currently hosted in the Extra or Premium catalogs. Failure to do so will get your license canceled and no More games will be at your access.
Act Fast: DLC and More
Also, when you are checking your library don’t miss the DLCs that are still available for free on the PlayStation Store. So be sure to get that while you can! This will help you have a better gaming experience as well as guarantee you the content before it is gone.
Read also: PlayStation Game Catalog October 2024: Check Out These Must-Play Titles!
What You Should Do Next
Check Your Library: Did You Claim LittleBigPlanet 3 in February 2017
Get the Right Version: If you have it in your Library, download that instead of what’s currently up in Extra/Premium
Download the DLC: Head over to the PS Store to pick up any free LittleBigPlanet 3-related DLC items.
The Final Countdown
There’s not much time to pick it up, either – the game is going off sale next week. If you like your LBP3 amongst the other games, do this now to soften the blow of a possible break. So, although it is a bit annoying that Sony remains silent on these licensing issues, taking this ability to preserve a classic from you forever – hopefully at least with the above steps taken you can rest easy!
But in Gaming, always the Safe side is better. Get in quick and don’t miss out on LittleBigPlanet 3 and Keep Creating! [...]
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[…] Read Also: Embracer Group Strikes Again: Lost Boys Interactive Hit with Another Round of Layoffs […]