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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Nintendo's big new hardware announcement - and no, it's not Switch 2.
Despite months of frenzied rumour that Nintendo was ready to reveal its next-generation Switch, the company instead revealed... Alarmo, a new interactive alarm clock. It costs £90/$100, and is currently only available to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers.
Alarmo looks fun enough, and I love that Nintendo has wrong-footed everyone's expectations with a left-field new product once again. (Remember Ring Fit? Remember Labo?) On the other - what exactly is the point? Apart from the fact that alarm clocks are found on every smart device you already own, why is Nintendo launching this specific product? And why now? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss.
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Yesterday Sony finally announced the long-rumoured PS5 Pro in a technical presentation hosted by Mark Cerny. The console is a more advanced version of the PlayStation 5 that boosts its graphics capabilities, and even improves backwards compatibility with some PS4 games.
Yet the biggest catch of all is its £700 price tag. What's more, with this being a digital-only console, the £100 disc drive add-on is required for physical games, not to mention the additional £25 needed for the optional stand just to hold the console vertically. That's a total of £825 - without games, as well as the fancy TV necessary to really show off those extra pixels.
The reaction so far has been overwhelmingly negative, predominantly thanks to that audacious price. Indeed, as Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell wrote, the PS5 Pro is "an argument against 'Pro' consoles altogether". It certainly seems more in-line with the expectations of PC players than console players.
With all that in mind, then, what really are the benefits of this new console? Who is the target audience? And would we consider buying one ourselves?
Joining me to discuss all things PS5 Pro in this week's Eurogamer Newscast are news reporter Victoria Kennedy, Digital Foundry's Tom Morgan, and managing editor Katharine Castle.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the most dramatic few days for PlayStation in recent times.
Sony's stunning decision to kill off live-service shooter flop Concord after less than two weeks sent shockwaves around the industry, setting a new precedent for how swiftly a troubled title from a major publisher could be given the axe. After eight years of work, the game has already disappeared from sale, and will soon vanish from people's game libraries, with refunds automatically given. It's a remarkable move - even if Concord does somehow get a second lease of life - and another nail in the coffin for Sony's overly-ambitious live-service plans that have already seen other projects shelved and delayed.
And yet Sony has still ended this week on something of a high - riding a wave of love for Astro Bot, the company's platforming platform mascot and star of an excellent new game, and subtly-teasing one of the worst-kept secrets in video games right now: the imminent announcement of its souped-up PlayStation 5 Pro. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake, as we dissect the week, discuss what might be next for Concord, and where PlayStation goes from here.
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How long have you been a Eurogamer reader for? Let me put that another way: how many different Eurogamer editors do you remember? The site has been around for a long time now - 25 years this week - so there have been a few different sets of hands at the tiller. I ask because, well, I've gathered those editors together again for a very special anniversary podcast, which you can listen to right now.
With me on the podcast are Eurogamer's originating editor John Bye, better known to some as Gestalt, who edited the site from its foundation in 1999 through to 2002. Then we have Kristan Reed, who took over in 2002 and ran the site through to 2008, before passing the baton to Tom Bramwell who led through to 2014. Then Oli Welsh steered Eurogamer from 2014 to 2021, before Wesley Yin-Poole took over from 2021-2023. Unfortunately Martin Robinson and Tom Phillips - our more recent editors - were unable to join because they were at Gamescom when we recorded.
We also have Ellie Gibson on the podcast, who was a hugely influential voice and personality on the site, and also briefly editor of it, in 2011.
It's been years since I've seen and talked to some of these people - I worked alongside almost all of them - and in most cases, it's been years since they've talked to each other, too. Despite that, it isn't long before we all settle into a familiar rhythm as stories are told and memories shared, and many laughs are had. I've missed these people.
If ever you've been curious about the roots of Eurogamer and how the site became what it did, or if you just wondered what the former editors are up to now - or maybe you just want to reminisce - then I've got the conversation for you. A huge thank you to all of my guests both for joining the podcast and for helping make Eurogamer what it is today. Many happy returns!
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Originally recorded for Eurogamer's 20th anniversary, five years ago, this podcast explores where the site's obsession with puns comes from.
The podcast is hosted by Matt Reynolds and features Emma Kent, Wesley Yin-Poole and Christian Donlan - all of whom have since gone on to work elsewhere or as freelance.
We'll be sporadically posting more podcasts from the archive as time goes on.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the downsides and upsides of the video game battle pass.
In a week where PlayStation live-service hopeful Concord trumpeted the fact it won't sell you a battle pass as a marketing beat, and Apex Legends dialled back (some of) its battle pass changes following fan fury, we consider the options available to video game makers hoping to ensure their latest releases keep being played - and paid for - well after release.
Would more people play Concord if it was a free-to-play title with a battle pass? Or is it better served by being a £40 launch? Not everyone can promise they'll never sell post-launch content, as Stardew Valley's creator did this week. But there's clearly a balance to be struck to ensure players don't feel fleeced, particularly when full-priced launches like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League are getting in on the act too. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss Microsoft's big changes to Xbox Game Pass.
Xbox Game Pass for console is gone, unless you subscribe already. In its place: Xbox Game Pass Standard, which will no longer include new day one games from Microsoft, Activision, Blizzard and Bethesda. Oh, and everything's going up in price.
Do these changes mark the end of Game Pass being a must-have subscription for Xbox owners? Or, after an impressive summer presentation painting a rosy picture of Microsoft's 2025 slate, are you now more likely to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, where day one launches will remain. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the cancelled Xbox project Keystone: Microsoft's plans to launch a relatively cheap streaming console.
Keystone popped up yesterday in an old patent which detailed the prospective hardware in fresh detail, though we have of course seen it in the wild before - on Xbox boss Phil Spencer's shelf. Spencer has addressed Keystone's cancellation, and blamed it being shelved (literally) on Microsoft not being able to make it a cheap enough proposition.
But does the end of Keystone mean Microsoft is abandoning its cloud gaming plans entirely? No, of course not - and Xbox Cloud Gaming remains. And in the future, as internet speeds improve and streaming games becomes more common, could we see Keystone Version 2? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss everything shown at the Xbox Showcase last night: one of the best summer preview events in recent years, and one of Microsoft's best ever.
On the one hand, perhaps the trove of upcoming titles should be expected. After all, this is what you should get when you spend nearly $100bn buying up swathes of the games industry. On the other, well, Microsoft has seemed to perenially exist on promising that next year's crop of first-party games will finally be where its acquisition spree pays off, where Game Pass truly hits the big time, and where it at last starts clawing back some market share.
After watching the avalanche of announcements last night (Doom! Gears! Perfect Dark!) alongside everything else we knew was coming (Fable! Indy! More Diablo!) it's hard to see how the next 12 months couldn't make an impact - let alone the boost of launching Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 into Xbox Game Pass. Could Xbox finally feel like it's hitting its stride this console generation, after numerous misfires? Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we look back on the start of this year's June hype cycle, the period formerly known as E3, and now a potpourri of other events and announcement livestreams.
PlayStation got the ball rolling last night with a look ahead at its rather meagre first-party plans for the remainder of 2024: a moderately buffed-up port of Until Dawn, online shooter Concord, and the charming Astro Bot. But, as our Ian wrote earlier, even the cute robot has got some people (VR fans) disgruntled. Still, as a flat-screen game, surely more people will now play it?
And then there was Silent Hill Transmission or, this time around, basically just a longer look at the upcoming Silent Hill 2 and a chance for Konami to promote a load of tie-in tat. Joining me this week are Eurogamer's Victoria Kennedy and Vikki Blake to discuss.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the future of Xbox after the announcement Microsoft is shutting a swathe of Bethesda game studios. Hi-Fi Rush and Redfall once seemed primed to benefit from being available via Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft's much-touted subscription service often seen as the best reason to own the company's console. Now, the studios behind both are gone forever.
Last year, Microsoft's marketing mouthpiece Aaron Greenberg declared Hi-Fi Rush "a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations". Redfall, meanwhile, despite being less-favourably received, had a multiplayer roadmap and a promise of single-player, with hope the Game Pass audience would still prop it up.
But Microsoft's reasoning for closing Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin - to focus on bigger bets - suggests Game Pass is no longer a place where creativity can reign without fear of being too niche, and where fun-if-a-bit-mid multiplayer games can't be supported long enough to receive updates just days from completion.
So where does this leave Xbox, and Game Pass, and studios like DoubleFine or Ninja Theory still making smaller-sized games? How secure does the team behind Hellblade 2 feel today, even if its game launches and is also dubbed a "break out hit"? I'm joined by Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy to discuss.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, following the announcement of a new Batman Arkham game for Meta Quest VR headsets, we talk about the future of superheroes in video games.
At a time when superhero films feel at risk of real burnout, could similar happen in the video game space as well? And are we already seeing that, with repeated flops such as Marvel's Avengers, Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League? Even the brilliant Marvel's Midnight Sons failed to move the needle.
But is there hope on the horizon? With the live-service bubble burst, the next crop of games include single-player blockbusters such as Amy Hennig's Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra plus a new Iron Man project from Star Wars: Squadrons studio EA Motive. And certainly, Sony's Spider-Man games are managing to do the numbers. Joining me to discuss this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, after the success of Amazon's Fallout TV series, we discuss the TV and movie adapatations of video games we'd love to see next.
Not every video game series fits an adaptation, and even the ones which do might need some work. You need to adapt the game's story well - such as in HBO's The Last of Us - or find space to tell your own narrative without contradicting the game's own.
So which games do we think might fit the bill? Well, we have a few ideas - and how to go about them. Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy. And if you're reading this, Jeff Bezos, please do give us credit whenever you're commissioning TV series with our ideas - thank you.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the unannounced but widely-expected PlayStation 5 Pro, which looks set to launch later this year.
With the PS5 Pro technical specs now out in the wild, there's been plenty of discussion around what these might mean for PlayStation games running on Sony's cutting-edge hardware. But even with improvements, are we tempted by what is likely to be a £600 upgrade? And how has it been four years since the regular PS5 launched already?
And yet - we are now sitting at the likely mid-point of this console generation. For some, this is the best point to be thinking about console hardware, four years after the generation began and likely around four years from the "proper" next consoles arriving. And there will be those of course still yet to upgrade from PS4 at all. Is the Pro likely to be a tempting next step? Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss who might pick up the baton and develop a potential Baldur's Gate 4 - now that BG3 studio Larian has confirmed it is leaving the franchise behind.
The rights to Baldur's Gate of course belong to Wizards of the Coast, who are free to enlist another studio to make further games in the Dungeons and Dragons universe - and even use Larian's characters. And considering how well BG3 has been received, it would seem financially prudent for a publisher to mount some kind of follow-up at some point. Perhaps BioWare might like to give it another go?
Alternatively you could argue - and Larian's own Swen Vincke has done so - that there really shouldn't need to be a Baldur's Gate 4 at all. BG3 was great, but why does that mean there has to be more? Joining me this week to discuss are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we digest the last seven days of headlines from GDC 2024 - a conference that was unsurprisingly coloured by the past 18 months of industry turmoil. Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell was there, and joins us today to report back on what was being said on the ground.
From this side of the pond, we saw the widespread anger at mass layoffs and the scepticism surrounding AI. But what was the mood at GDC 2024 really like - and how did game developers there actually feel? Chris fills us in on what he heard - and why, at a conference filled with dozens of developers presenting their best work, the mood wasn't exclusively doom and gloom.
Take a listen to hear Chris' favourite moments from the show - plus renditions of a Mario power-up sound effect from him and Newscast regular Victoria Kennedy. Blup-blup-blup!
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we talk about where Nintendo can take its moustachioed mascot next when he returns for the Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel.
We heard confirmation of a second Mario film this week, though notably it was not confirmed this would be "The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2". Mario and friends will return, of course (the first film's billion dollar box office guaranteed that), but Nintendo was typically coy around what exactly this follow-up will focus on.
Donkey Kong? Daisy? Yoshi? Birdo? We get our thinking Cappy's on to theorise where the Mushroom Kingdom's story might go next, and whether this is all leading to some kind of Avengers-esque Super Smash Bros. team up movie. Or, alternatively, whether none of this really matters as it's just a light-hearted film for families. With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan.
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the shocking news that the next big Pokémon game is mysteriously set to arrive in 2025. Hey, that sounds a lot like the intro to last week's episode, when we were discussing Switch 2! Say, could Pokémon Legends: Z-A also be set to arrive on Nintendo's next console?
It's been a long time since Nintendo didn't launch a major Pokémon game or expansion in a calendar year, and Pokémon Legends: Z-A's arrival in 2025 certainly looks suspicious - as does yesterday's reveal of the game without any look at actual gameplay.
So, have we just been given another piece of the Switch 2 puzzle? What do we expect to see in the mysterious Z-A when it is fully revealed? And how many bad French-themed Pokémon ideas can we come up with? With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale, Victoria Kennedy and Liv Ngan.
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Which is your favourite game map? Is there one that comes to mind straight away?
Maps hold a curious kind of magic, but what is it? For this month's super-feature, our Bertie Purchese tries to find out. He speaks map-makers, game-makers, and people at the British Library, as he tries to pin-point what it is about maps that appeals to us. He also manages to follow the creation of one of the most famous fantasy worlds in doing so: Dragon Age's Thedas.
Here, Bertie talks to deputy news editor Ed Nightingale about the piece itself as well as the process of writing it. Ed, you might remember, wrote the super-feature for January, about character creators in games.
Read Bertie's super-feature about maps here: https://www.eurogamer.net/who-is-qualified-to-make-a-world-in-search-of-the-magic-of-maps
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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we discuss the reports that Nintendo Switch 2 will now launch in 2025, later than its previously-expected arrival towards the end of this year.
Nintendo itself is yet to say anything certain about its inevitable Switch successor, but its steady path towards launch has been tracked by numerous reports. Now, we discuss how this latest news unfolded, why we believe it has happened, and what this means for Nintendo across the rest of 2024.
Plus: some fun speculation on what we'd like to see on Switch 2, and what we hope Nintendo will change for its new hardware (get rid of Joy-Con stick drift, please?) With me this week are Eurogamer's Ed Nightingale and Victoria Kennedy.
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