Month: March 2020

Another week, another new selection of designs now part of the IGN Store. We just added over 400 Star Wars: The Clone Wars t-shirts and pullovers, expanding on our already massive selection of officially licensed Star Wars designs.

New Star Wars: The Clone Wars Shirts

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That’s just a tiny fraction of the available designs for you to check out.

On top of the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars designs, we have a massive collection of Marvel shirts and pullovers from X-Men, Avengers, and tons more, as well as designs from some of the biggest Nintendo properties around, all officially licensed, and all waiting for you. Metroid, Mario Kart, Splatoon, even newcomers like Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons are part of the IGN Store.

Be sure to check back each week as we add even more designs, and follow the IGN Store on Twitter for announcements and special savings.

The Xbox Series X was listed for a Thanksgiving 2020 release date, but Microsoft tells IGN that the system is still on track for Holiday 2020.

An update to the official Xbox Series X website for the UK, India, and Australia listed that the Series X was now coming out in Thanksgiving 2020, up from its holiday 2020 release window.

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Microsoft has issued a slight denial and reaffirmed the holiday release window.

“Xbox Series X will be available Holiday 2020 alongside Halo Infinite,” said a Microsoft representative to IGN when we reached out for a statement.

Geoff Keighley also tweeted that, according to his sources, the Xbox Series X release date is unchanged and that there will be no announcement today about the release date.

UPDATE: Sources tell me the Xbox Series X release date is unchanged and still “Holiday 2020.” There is no announcement today about a release date.

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) March 18, 2020

An additional statement from another Microsoft spokesperson further clarified that “An Xbox product page in some regions inaccurately listed the launch date for the Xbox Series X as Thanksgiving 2020. We are committed to launching Holiday 2020.”

A Thanksgiving release date is much more specific than Holiday 2020, but it sounds like Xbox is not yet willing to narrow that release window and lock down the Series X release date.

Microsoft did reveal the full Xbox Series X specs earlier this week, which was later followed by Sony revealing the PS5 specs. While we’re starting to learn more and more about the next-gen consoles, a release date for both the Series X and PS5 remains unannounced.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.

If you’re looking for something to do while you’re holed up in your home practicing social distancing, head over to Steam right now for the Spring Game Festival. There are currently over 40 playable indie game demos that were to be featured at the 2020 Game Developers Conference, which was previously postponed due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

This is the second Game Festival featured on Steam, with the previous one taking place during last year’s Game Awards. The titles included this time around would have been featured at the Indie MEGABOOTH, Day of the Devs, and The MIX during this year’s GDC, which is now being hosted virtually.

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Currently, the demos available are:

• We should talk.
• Sons of Ra
• Backworlds
• Quench
• Going Under
• Superlivinal
• Mystic Pillars
• Evan’s Remains
• Tunche
• Duster
• We Are The Caretakers
• HyperParasite
• Neon Noodles
• Hundred Days
• Filament
• Later Daters
• Pushy and Pully in Blockland
• Lord Winklebottom Investigates
• Heavenly Bodies
• Chicory: A Colorful Tale
• Spiritfarer
• Curious Expedition 2
• Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl
• Aeolis Tournament
• Operencia: The Stolen Sun
• Neverinth
• Divisadero
• Liberated
• Jack Axe
• Mighty Fight Federation
• Röki
• She Dreams Elsewhere
• When The Past Was Around
• Embr
• Hazel Sky
• Recompile
• Vigil: The Longest Night
• Rising Hell
• Haven
• Raji: An Ancient Epic
• A Space For The Unbound
• Eldest Souls
• Coffee Talk
• Garden Story
• KungFu Kickball
• Retrograde Arena
• Moncage
• EleMentals: Death Metal Death Match!
• Klang 2

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Some of these titles are available to purchase immediately, while others won’t be out until a later date. So, if there’s something you enjoy, make sure to add it to your Steam wishlist! The Spring Game Festival is available for a limited time from March 18th at 10 AM PST to March 23rd at 10 AM PST.

This is just one of the many changes we’ve seen in response the the COVID-19 pandemic with many companies having to change the way they make content available. For example, Universal recently announced that it will be distributing current theatrical releases on demand starting March 20th. We’re keeping a close eye on everything impacted, including all movies and tv shows delayed due to the outbreak, and will continue updating you with any additional ways this impacts our society.

We’ve also created a handy guide that explains how to help, and stay safe, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Matthew Adler is a News and Features writer for IGN who is furiously trying to get through his backlog of games and movies while he’s stuck at home. You can keep him company on Twitter or watch him stream on Twitch.

Square Enix has announced that while the launch of Final Fantasy 7 Remake is still set for April 10, those expecting physical copies of the game might not receive the game on the day of release.

Announced on March 18 on Twitter, Square Enix said that due to the COVID-19 outbreak, physical copies of the game might not arrive on time.

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“Due to the extraordinary circumstances the world is facing with the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to update you on how this will impact the forthcoming release of Final Fantasy VII Remake,” the tweet reads. “The worldwide release of Final Fantasy VII Remake on April 10 will go ahead. However, with the foreseeable changes in the distribution and retail landscape which caries across countries, it is increasingly likely that some of you will not get hold of your copy of the game on the release date.”

Square Enix said it is monitoring the situation on a daily basis and working with its partners and retailers to do everything it can to ensure as many as possible can play the game on April 10. You can check out the company’s full announcement in the tweets below.

Release update information. pic.twitter.com/oZ6XXBX5hR

— FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE (@finalfantasyvii) March 18, 2020

Amazon Video Games also tweeted the following, 13 hours before the Final Fantasy 7 Remake announcement:

“Some of our customers may have received a message that states the release date has changed on Final Fantasy VII Remake. The release date is still slated for April 10, 2020.”

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While that is true, it seems Square Enix is warning some customers that they might not be playing the game on its actual release date if they opt for a physical copy.

While you wait for the game’s release, check out these brand new areas and characters from Final Fantasy 7 Remake. You can also get a preview of the three PS4 dynamic themes coming soon based on the game. We’ve also got a walkthrough and secret ending breakdown of the game’s demo.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

 

During The Road to PS5 livestream, PlayStation 5 lead system architect Mark Cerny discussed the specs for Sony’s next-gen console, including backwards compatibility and SSD load times. When it comes to audio, the PS5 will utilize 3D audio technology, allowing you to better determine an in-game item or enemy’s location in relevance to you based on the sound that it makes. So, like if a monster is sneaking up on you from behind, you’ll have a better idea as to it’s specific location as opposed to the general direction.

When it comes to audio on PS5, Sony has three goals. “The first goal was great audio for everyone–not just for VR users or sound bar owners or headphone users,” Cerny said. “That meant audio had to be part of the console, it couldn’t be a peripheral. The second goal was to support hundreds of sound sources. We didn’t want developers to have to pick and choose what sounds would get 3D effects and which wouldn’t. We wanted every sound in the game to have dimensionality.”

The third goal is more deeply tied to immersion, and it’s the one that’s going to help make it a little easier to play survival horror games, battle royale games, and other types of games that are heavily dependent on locating a target through sound. “We wanted to really take on the challenges of presence and locality,” Cerny said. “Now, when we say presence, we mean the feeling that you’re actually there–you’ve entered the Matrix. It’s not of course, something we thought we could perfectly achieve. The idea was that if we stopped using just a rain sound, and instead used lots of 3D audio sources for raindrops hitting the ground and all sorts of locations around you, then at some point your brain would take a leap and you’d begin to have this feeling–this feeling of real presence inside the virtual world of the game.”

Continue Reading at GameSpot

If it was up to Steven Spielberg, we’d be seeing Vin Diesel receive the director credit for movies more often (via SlashFilm).

Yes, that Steven Spielberg, the famous filmmaker known for Jurassic Park, E.T., Jaws, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, and Indiana Jones. He apparently told Vin Diesel, the director behind 1995’s Multi-Facial, 1997’s Strays, and the 2009 Los Bandoleros short film based on the Fast and Furious movie universe, that he needs to direct more movies.

“Speaking of Steven Spielberg, I saw him recently and he said to me, ‘When I wrote the role for you in Saving Private Ryan, I was obviously employing the actor, but I was also secretly championing the director in you, and you have not directed enough’,” Diesel told The National.

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“That is a crime of cinema and you must get back in the directing chair,” Spielberg also told Diesel, to which he responded, “I haven’t directed enough.”

Diesel is best known for his role as Dominic Toretto in the Fast and Furious series, but with that series soon coming to an end, perhaps we’ll see Diesel take the advice of Spielberg and bestow upon the world additional movies directed by him.

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You can check out Diesel in his latest movie, Bloodshot, a film we called ok and gave a 6 out of 10. Unfortunately, If you’re excited to see Diesel in Fast 9, you’ll have to wait longer than expected as the movie was recently delayed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

 

Update: A Microsoft spokesperson tells GameSpot that the official website listing an Xbox Series X release date was a mistake. Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb shared an identical message on Twitter, saying, “An Xbox product page in some regions inaccurately listed the launch date for Xbox Series X as Thanksgiving 2020. We are committed to launching Holiday 2020.” The original story follows.

Xbox Series X was previously announced to be launching during the Holiday 2020 period, but now we have what appears to be a more precise date: Thanksgiving 2020, which falls on November 26.

That’s according to a minor detail updated on a regional Xbox website; as of this moment, the US version still reads “Holiday 2020.” Microsoft is set to host an Xbox Series X-focused stream as part of its digital GDC replacement event today, so it’s possible more will be shared there. This news comes on the heels of Sony’s tech-centric PS5 specs stream earlier today.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the cancellation of soccer play around much of the world, and this has also affected FIFA 20. The Team of the Week feature for FIFA Ultimate Team has been temporarily replaced by Team of the Week Moments to keep players invested during the downtime.

Team of the Week Moments takes historical results from past FIFA Ultimate Team titles, but players’ statistics and teams will still be based on their current upgrade path. The squads themselves will be reflections of Team of the Week squads from March onward in specific past years in order to distinguish them from more recent FIFA 20 Team of the Week squads.

“When thinking about a replacement for TOTW, we wanted to build something that is authentic to football and that is compatible with TOTW if we are able to reintroduce it later this year,” the development team said in an update post.

Continue Reading at GameSpot

Square Enix, after assessing the global impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, is still moving forward with Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s April 10 release date on PlayStation 4. However, the company has stated that the virus’s spread may cause the game’s distribution to get caught up, causing issues for those seeking physical copies.

According to a statement from FFVII Remake’s official Twitter, “the unforeseeable changes in the distribution and retail landscape” has increased the likelihood that fans may not get their physical copies of the game on April 10. Square Enix said it will provide more information on March 20.

This comes amid a similar scenario to the releases of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Doom Eternal, in which retail chain GameStop has cancelled the midnight launches of these two games in response to growing concerns over the coronavirus. Both titles launch this Friday, March 20.

Continue Reading at GameSpot