The PS5 shortage is one thing, but scalpers are a different issue. Those loathsome commanders of bots beating everyday consumers to the digital shopping cart is just awful. Then selling the PS5’s for double, Triple, quadruple the profit if one sells? These guys are the worst! While it’s a fact that less than 10% off all PS5 consoles were purchased by a scalper, that’s around 10% of PlayStation fans that got the shaft. Plenty of people ignore the fact that there is also world wide shortage for console components that are actually dragging down the number of available consoles, but scalpers have happened to come across articles explaining the shortage and they are having a change of heart! Scalpers are taking to the internet to denounce their wicked scalping ways and apologizing globally! That’s right! They see the error in their ways and realize that profiting off of limited consoles during a world wide pandemic is just a crappy thing to do! Moreover, many of these scalpers are now giving away the PS5 consoles they secured, rather than turning them for a profit. On top of that, they are even paying for the shipping! These guys have gone from scalping to going more than $500 (usd) into the hole! Wow! What a change of heart! With so many scalpers listing their PS5 console sales as free, they are sure to disappear quickly, so what are you waiting for? Why are you still reading this? Because… It’s an April Fools article! Damn it!
Sony answers Microsoft’s call to Bethesda with Forced Nintendo acquisition!!
Did you read that right? Yes, you did! While many have been glued to the thought that Microsoft now owns Bethesda, Sony has been making some sneaky moves to force Nintendo into an acquisition! I have seen a lot of crazy moves over the years in the gaming industry. Things that I never expected to see like, Activision buying the rights to Crash Bandicoot! SEGA going out of the console making business, Microsoft entering the gaming biz and tons more! I remember when I first heard about Nintendo suffering from financial woes and possibly filing for bankruptcy. The end of Nintendo seems all but real and the big N made it out of the hole and has some rather well competing with handheld devices. Well, it may have seemed like they were out of the hole, but Sony has gone on to prove otherwise. In a private announcement that only I was privy to for some reason, Sony let me in on a huge secret. They had in fact manipulated Nintendo into a financial agreement that states in the fine print, if Nintendo did pay back a full Ian amount and interest by March 31st, 2021, Nintendo would forfeit all of their licensed properties to Sony and the PlayStation brand! Holy crap, I can’t believe Nintendo fell for that! Sony reps went onto state that the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro is in fact not a hardware upgrade, but it is code named for a major software update that will allow players to download, install and play digital copies of Nintendo’s biggest Switch releases! Not only that, all consoles made by Nintendo will come to a halt on April 1st, 2021! This will free up microchips to help ramp up the production of the PS5! Killing one console market to ensure another is born seems like a monopoly play to me, but what do I know? At least I’m not an exec at Nintendo right now. Am I right? Anyway, thank you for taking a moment to read on my April’s Fools satire this year! This is in fact a joke, but could imagine if Sony did manage to buy Nintendo’s properties? I love Nintendo and their franchises, but I often wish they really would close up the console shop and become a third party developer like SEGA did. That’s just me of course. Happy April Fools Day!
PlayStation Store Shutdown Coming For PS3, Vita, and PSP Stores (Update: Sony Reverses Decision)
There’s always been a debate between physical and digital formats for games, and while I’ve long been a proponent of physical media, I’ve found myself leaning towards digital in the last two generations. It’s just easier to download a game in many cases than try to deal with delayed shipments or shipping costs in general. Update 4/19/21: Sony has decided to go back on their decision to shutdown the Vita and PS3 stores. The PSP store will still go down as intended. The cancellation of the store closures was relayed via a post on the PlayStation Blog by CEO Jim Ryan. In this case, it seems the vocal outcry from gamers managed to turn the decision around. Original story follows: A recent report from Polygon confirms that Sony will shutdown the PS3, Vita, and PSP stores in the coming months, making it impossible to purchase these titles digitally after the shutdown. With the PS5 coming in an all-digital format, this news could shake people’s faith in Sony’s ability to make their games playable years into the future. A Terrifying Prospect for Game Preservation I used to be someone who clung tightly to my old consoles and physical titles, but in my pursuit of trying to cleanse my belongings Marie Kondo-style, I started to think that the digital approach was the way to go. It’s scary to think that all of those titles I have on my PSN account for the PS3, PSP, or Vita systems would no longer be available as soon as July of 2021. Thankfully, the official announcement confirmed that you would be able to download any games you’ve purchased after the shutdown via the game library. Even so, after the shutdown, digital titles will no longer be available for purchase on these respective stores. It’s hard to say which way this kind of news would go, but if I were someone who bough a PS5 digital version, it would make me pretty damn angry seeing as how this could happen to me years down the road. In a perfect world, this kind of news would precede some sort of announcement that backwards compability is coming or PS Now is getting the whole library of PS3 titles, but I highly doubt that’s going to be the case. What do you think? While this isn’t official news, it’s possible we could see this kind of announcement come from Sony with no news as to how these games may be preserved for future generations (quite literally). What do you think about this kind of shutdown? Is it too soon? Should it happen at all? Let us know in the comments! Article by – Bradley Ramsey Insert date – 3/23/2021
Everything Announced For PS5 at Square Enix’s Spring 2021 Showcase
In a world of digital streams and showcases, Square Enix threw their hat into the ring with a presentation on March 18th that packed a few interesting updates and announcements for PS5 owners! Let’s dive right in and see what was revealed! Outriders is still fun and looks to have some variety (Play the demo!) Outriders is the new game from People Can Fly, and the demo has me sold on it being something I could sink some hours into. Is it completely original? No. Is it fun in co-op and offers cross play? Absolutely! The demo was a blast with friends, and the Trickster class is my go-to. Being able to play across PC, Xbox and PS5 as well made it super easy to get a team together, and for that alone, I’ll be checking it out! Marvel’s Avengers comes to PS5, and Black Panther is on the Way! Marvel’s Avengers may not be as good as it could be, but I’m still holding out for a No Man’s Sky Scenario. In either case, PS4 owners can now upgrade to the PS5 version at no extra cost! The downside is that migrating your save is a little complicated (okay, it’s a lot complicated), and if you’re anything like me, your PS5’s hard drive is already sweating. In either case, the upcoming free Black Panther expansion looks pretty sweet with a new biome to explore, and I’m still hoping this game can turn things around because I love the idea. Balan Wonderworld Gets a New Trailer, and I Hope it’s Better Than The Demo Balan Wonderworld is one of those games that I’ve only heard about, but man did I heard about that demo being…not great. The new trailer seems okay and colorful enough to possibly be a fun visual spectacle, but if I’m being honest I’m not sure who this is for, outside of the younger gamers out there. Life is Strange: True Colors Comes in September From Deck Nine Games Life is Strange: True Colors is the next main title in the series, coming September 10th, 2021. The new character and her empath abilities are very interesting, and the feels are real in the trailer here. I also love the motion-captured animation as that’s been a weak point of the series up until now. Deck Nine handled the Before The Storm game, which I liked! Here’s hoping they can knock it out of the park again with this one. Project Athia Becomes Forspoken, and is that a Motherf#$^ing dragon?! Project Athia was one of the more bombastic looking titles to be announced for PS5, and with this new sneak peek we learned a couple of things. For starters, the main character seems to be from our world, or at least a present day one because of her shoes and her reaction to seeing a dragon for the first time (see the header above). While Forspoken won’t be out until next year, it’s one I will certainly be keeping … Read More
State of Play February 25th, 2021 Highlights: Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS5 and Other Exciting Announcements!
Sony’s State of Play series is back with a new 30-minute look into PS4 and PS5 titles and announcements. As always, there were some ups and downs, but let’s talk about the big updates and news! Everything Announced at Sony’s February 25th State of Play Stream The announcement for this stream came out of nowhere this week, but we’ve managed to check out all the news from the February 25th’s State of Play. Here are the highlights: Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is getting PS5 upgrades on March 12th. Faster loading, DualSense features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, 3D audio, and the ability to transfert your saves as well! Returnal is still coming on April 30th, but we saw some new gameplay and heard some more details about the world and story. Knockout City, first shown off in Nintendo’s Direct, is coming on May 21st. Looks like a fun take on dodgeball! Sifu was announced from Sloclap and looks to be an excellent brawling game with a kun-fu influence. It’s coming sometime in 2021 Solar Ash from the creators of Hyper Light Drifer showed some new gameplay and confirmed a 2021 release date. Five Nights at Freddy’s: Security Breach received it’s first new footage and seems to be a big upgrade for the series with fully open environments and enhanced graphics. Oddworld: Soulstorm is coming April 6th, and it’s going to be free for PlayStation Plus members! Kena: Bridge of Spirits is coming August 21st and looks absolutely stunning as always. Like a Studio Ghibli film meets Pixar. Deathloop showed some new gameplay, along with a confirmation of a May 21st release. Looks like another hit from Dishonored developer Arkane Studios Final Fantasy VII is coming to PS5 as a free upgrade for existing users. Not only that, but a new story DLC starring Yuffie will be available the same day: June 10th. It’s entitled Final Fantasy VII Remake: Intergrade. Some interesting updates in here! Seems like we’ll have to wait for the summer before some bigger releases start coming out, but in the meantime, let us know what you think of the latest State of Play in the comments! Article by – Bradley Ramsey Insert date – 2/25/2020
PS5 is breaking sales records, but still hard to come by!
Hello and welcome to another issue of PS Weekly! I have compiled some the latest news regarding video games this week. Unfortunately, I’m still waiting for the day I can tell you that PS5 consoles are available to anyone that wants one, but that news is looking grim for now. Sadly, the AMD chip shortage continues to plague console production. AMD expects production of the chip to ramp up in the second half of 2021 and many are hopeful that by the time the holiday season lands at the end of year, there will be plenty of consoles to finally go around. In the meantime, if there are any PS Plus games for the PS5, but you’re still on the PS4, you can use the PlayStation app or go online to the official website and save those titles for later on. In other gaming news, Sony is getting slapped with a lawsuit over the PS5’s Dual Sense controller. Apparently, there are enough PS5 owners out there having an analog stick drift issue to create a class action lawsuit against the company. The complaint is not solely based on the drift issue, but the fact that consumers have to pay for shipping the controller and long turnover times of repair. I don’t think this lawsuit will hold any water in the end as the number of complaints are fairly small and the law firm bringing the lawsuit against Sony wasn’t approached by consumers, but took it upon themselves to find clients to join their suit. Sounds like a typical money grab from your everyday law firm, but we will see what comes of it over time. Speaking of Sony and the PS5, one word always comes to mind when I think of the brand… Scalper! Sure, they’ve always been around, but with the pandemic and shortage of consoles, scalpers are in the spotlight more than ever before. Well, it would seem many scalpers are tired of getting a bad rep. They feel like they’re just doing what everyone else would do, which is try to make a little extra money. One scalper group called The Lab, is claiming they’re just the middleman and feel like the media is simply giving them a bad name. When the world is suffering and so many people are forced to stay home social distance, video games can really help pass the time. I was lucky enough (and still grateful) to snag a preorder and get a PS5 on launch day, but so many people are missing out because scalpers are just trying to make a buck… I get it. We all want to make extra money, but nothing anyone says to me is going to make me feel ok with all the scalping. If you’re scalping a PS5 to make double the profit, that’s not cool. If anything, you should find someone that really wants one, charge them an extra $100 bucks be on your way. Sorry not sorry. That’s just how I … Read More
Metro Exodus PS5 Preview – Polishing up The Apocalypse
The Metro series has seen three titles release on PS4, with Metro Exodus being the latest entry. In february of 2021, an announcement regarding a PS5 upgrade hit the web, with plenty of details on how it will take advantage of the new hardware! Let’s dive into this acclaimed series and find out what’s in store for Metro Exodus PS5 players in 2021! Bringing Metro to The Next Generation The Metro series, based on a series of books by Dmitry Glukhovsky, has always been a unique first-person shooter that focuses on gritty environments, unforgiving conditions, and excellent graphics for their respective time. Having played all three games in the series, one of my first thoughts after playing Metro Exodus is how the game would look on a next-gen system. It was already impressive on PS4 Pro, but it’s clear there are ways to further enhance the experience. Specifically, the third game in the series opened things up, allowing players to explore large maps and take on optional activities. It still has some of the claustrophobic metro tunnel gameplay we’re all used to, but with the larger environments, the art direction and graphics really had a chance to shine. It’s also worth noting that the original release of Metro Exodus was one of the first games in 2019 to utilize ray tracing on capable PCs. A post on the Metro website revealed some of the plans on how this free upgrade to next-gen consoles will work and when we can expect it. For starters the post confirms that 4A Games have taken steps to overhaul their proprietary engine and create a fully ray-traced experience for both next-gen consoles and PC. Their new Fully Ray Traced Lighting Pipeline includes optimizations, upgrades, and features that contribute to the global illumination and emissive lighting that were introduced in the original release. The new engine enhancements also include an upgraded version of their Temporal Reconstruction technology, which boosts resolution, visuals, and performance. In terms of the console versions, 4A Games is promising 4K and 60FPS performance with full Ray Traced lighting throughout on both PS5 and Xbox Series X. The base game and DLCs will include these improvements as well. SSD optimizations also mean that load times will be drastically reduced, while the games will also utilize 4K quality textures for much more detail across the environments. They’ve also confirmed support for the DualSense! One example is capturing the pressure of pumping up your air rifle during a heated fight. I can most certainly see myself sweating while mashing those triggers. Other enhancements include an adjustable FOV (Field of View) for the first time ever in the Metro series. Finally, the developers also confirmed that this will be a free upgrade for all existing owners. No solid release date for the upgrade, but they did say “later this year,” so sometime in 2021. Stay tuned for more information! For those who have played Metro Exodus, what do you think of these enhancements? If you’re someone … Read More
Destruction AllStars Review
Destruction Allstars… the game that almost released alongside the PS5 with a price tag of $70 USD. Well, luckily it was delayed into February, as a PS Plus title because the outcry from gamers alike would have been heard around the world. Every time I play Destruction Allstars, I think about that initial price and the bullet Sony dodged. Destruction Allstars isn’t a bad game, but it’s not a great game either. It’s mediocre at best and that thanks to the lack of content. I don’t know how long this game was in development for, but it could have used another year in the oven. The gameplay is smooth and the game is fine in regard to graphics. Audio matches up well for this style of game and the announcers add most of the charm as you play through. I feel there is no connection with the characters outside of a little excitement in their voices when you have accomplished something notable like destroying another player’s car. Add in responsive controls and you have the ingredients for what could be a great game, but again, it needed a little more time in the oven. For all of the good mixed in this bag, there is a lot of lackluster. The maps are rather small and it often feels like I am a hamster in a wheel. Not only are the maps small, but there is a lack of numbers. A handful of maps that don’t really look that much different from each other and congestion? Well, the adrenaline from all that destructive combat will surely make up for that, right? Wrong! A lot of people have hoped to see a new Twisted Metal game for a while now and some thought this might live up to the beloved franchise, but Destruction Allstars doesn’t come close. Not even a little bit. Aside from Twisted Metal hosting better maps, the game hosted better weaponry. Twisted Metal features guns, missiles, special weapons and abilities that cater to the character of your choosing. Destruction Allstars doesn’t have guns. It does have special lackluster abilities for characters and their respective vehicles, but the game might as well have been called Bumper Car Allstars, because that’s about what it is, glorified bumper cars. With 4 main modes to choose from, there is very little difference between them. One mode is all about just bumping into each other and destroying cars for points. Another is about bumping into each other, collecting gears as points and depositing them into a bank to score. Another where the floor opens up and your space gets smaller, all while trying to bump your opponents into a KO with limited respawns. Sounds different, feels the same. All in all I give Destruction Allstars a 5 out of 10. It does not matter that game has been placed on the PS Plus list as a free title that will eventually be removed and sold in stores, because … Read More
Check your PlayStation 2020 stats, free PS4 to PS5 upgrades and more!
It is definitely looking like a great week for PS5 owners. Between the release of Destruction Allstars and several free PS5 upgrades dropping today, It’s not just going to be a busy week, but a bust month, by the time most of us are done. PS Plus drops today! As I mentioned above, Destruction Allstars releases exclusively on the PS5 today. The vehicular combat game was intended to release alongside the PS5 back in November, but was delayed to February 2nd, as a PS Plus title instead. Not only did this give the devs a little more time to polish things up, but it also gives PS5 owners a brand spankin new game on plus and we can’t really complain about that, can we? Along with Destruction Allstars, PS4 and PS5 owners will get a copy of Control Ultimate Edition. This is great for anyone that doesn’t own the game and the ultimate edition is the only way to get the PS5 upgrade, so it seems like a win, unless of course you already have the ultimate edition, but sadly, we can’t exchange Plus games that we already have for another title we don’t. That would be pretty sweet, actually. PS4 owners will also be getting their hands on Concrete Genie, so I personally think this month’s PS Plus drop is pretty good all the way around. On top of the Plus drop, today we are seeing some free PS4 to PS5 upgrades and one in particular has got many of us excited. God of War is getting the 4k/60 FPS today. Whether you have the PS Plus version or a personally purchased copy, you’ll be able to play GoW in 4k checkerboard resolution, 2160p, synced at 60 FPS and it won’t cost a thing. The Division 2 is also getting the next/current gen treatment with the 12.1 patch coming today. The game will play on the PS5 in 4k/60 FPS and players will also be related to some Resident Evil crossover content during the event. Definitely enough reason to give it a look again. If none of these titles are for you, but you happen to be a Call of Duty player, there is some good news for you this month as well! On February 4th, the new Zombies map map Firebase Z will drop! Along with Firebase Z, players will also get a 2XP weekend until Feb. 8th. PlayStation owners will begin their 2XP weekend on the 4th, with Firebase Z, while the other platforms won’t be getting the extra XP until the 5th. The double XP event will be available for Black Ops Cold War and Warzone. Curious about your 2020 gaming stats on the PS4 and PS5? Well, now you can find out how much you put into games during the infamous year of 2020! Sony’s “2020 wrap up” is live now and won’t just offer you your stats for the year, but you’ll also get a pretty sweet dynamic theme … Read More
It’s War on Wall Street, and GameStop is Caught in The Crossfire!
It’s not often that we cover the stock market here on PS5 Gamers, but when it’s this big, and of all companies, GameStop is involved, I just have to throw in my two cents. I mean, I did work at GameStop for almost a decade, so it’s only fair that I report on yet another news story that somehow manages to include them. Reddit’s r/wallstreetbets subreddit has been at war with Wall Street over what began as a self-proclaimed “meme stock,” which let’s be honest, is all the value a share of GameStop had a few weeks ago. Well, now the battle has gotten way bigger than I think anyone anticipated. Not only that, but we’re bringing other dying stocks like AMC into the fold to join in on the fun. There’s a lot of money at stake here (won’t someone please think of the hedge funds!), but what’s really going on? I took a course in stock market jargon so you don’t have to, so let’s find out! An Overview of the GameStop Stock Bonanza Among the explanations about shorts and squeezes, and other terms you wouldn’t expect to be associated with the stock market, I came across this surprisingly easy to follow explanation, courtesy of @notasdfghjklx (trying saying that five times fast): My simple explanation $GME $AMC pic.twitter.com/FLQ1LSyH7g — notasdfghjklx (@notasdfghjklx) January 28, 2021 The stock market has always been a playground for the rich, so there’s something vindicating about average people coming together to drive up the stock prices and hopefully make some money for themselves. Where people cry foul here is that the hedge funds who shorted the trades are now forced to buy back all the stock they bet on, and lose ludicrous amounts of money because never in a million years did they expect it to go this high. If things had gone in the hedge funds’ favor, the stock would have gone down in price, and they would have bough back the stocks at a savings, keeping the profits for themselves. Shorting stocks is risky though, because if, for some unforeseen reason the stock goes up in price, you can lose a lot of money. In this case, billions. The term “squeeze” that we’re hearing a lot has to do with people driving up the price of the stock, knowing that there’s timeline for the investors to pay back the short. These types of cat and mouse games usually just happen between billionaires, but in the case of GameStop, a bunch of online redditors who trade for various reasons decided to rally together for this cause. Access to apps like Robinhood and E-Trade make getting into the stock market easier than ever. Don’t worry, we’ll get to Robinhood’s fiasco in a moment. While some people are just buying share on their own, the true rub here are the people who are placing their own options, betting on the opposite side of the shorts. This creates a need for brokers to secure shares in … Read More