With three major PS4 models out on the market, it's easy to be a little confused as to the different specs and features of each SKU. We're going to clear that situation up in this article and break down which PS4 is right for you. You can also check out our review of the original PS4, review of the PS4 Slim, and review of the PS4 Pro. To see how all the modern consoles, including all SKUs of PlayStation 4 compare, click here.
PS4 Specs
PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 Slim
PlayStation 4 Pro
CPU
1.6GHz 8-core AMD custom "Jaguar" CPU
1.6GHz 8-core AMD custom "Jaguar" CPU
2.1GHz 8-core AMD custom "Jaguar" CPU
GPU
Integrated AMD graphics clocked at 800MHz with 1.84 teraflops of performance
Integrated AMD graphics clocked at 800MHz with 1.84 teraflops of performance
Integrated AMD Polaris graphics with 4.2 teraflops of performance
RAM
8GB GDDR5
8GB GDDR5
8GB GDDR5 + 1GB DDR3
Storage
500GB (5,400rpm) replacable hard drive.
500GB (5,400rpm) replacable hard drive.
1TB replacable hard drive.
Dimensions
12. x 10.8x 2 inches
11 x 10 x 1.5 inches
12.8 x 11.6 x 2.1 inches
Weight
6.2 pounds
4.6 pounds
7.2 pounds
Color
Black or white
Black
Black or white
Optical Drive
Blu-ray/DVD
Blu-ray/DVD
Blu-ray/DVD
Networking
Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 B/G/N, 2.4GHz, Bluetooth 2.1
Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 B/G/N/AC, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, Bluetooth 4.0
Gigabit Ethernet
802.11A/B/G/N/AC, 2.4GHz, 5GHz, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0
Internet Subscription
PS Plus required to play online
PS Plus required to play online
PS Plus required to play online
Ports
HDMI, analog-AV out, 2xUSB 3.0, AUX, S/PDIF
HDMI, analog-AV out, 2xUSB 3.1, AUX
HDMI, 3x USB 3.1, 1x Gigabit Ethernet, 1x PS Camera, S/PDIF, AUX
4K Support
Yes (video only)
Yes (video only)
Yes
HDR Support
Yes
Yes
Yes
Release Date
November 15, 2013
September 15, 2016
November 10, 2016
Release Price
$399.99,€399.99, £349.99
$299.99, €349.99/£299.99
$399.99, €399 / £349
Current Price
$299.99, €349.99/£299.99
$299.99, €349.99/£299.99
$399.99, €399 / £349
What are the differences between the PS4 and PS4 Slim?
The PlayStation 4 Slim, released September 2016, replaces the base PS4 and its underlying specs are largely the same as the original 2013 model. This means you won't see improved graphical fidelity or performance, but there are several small differences. The most noticeable one is that the PS4 Slim is, well, slimmer. Its 11x10x1.5-inch chassis is smaller in every dimension compared to the original's 12x10x8.2 inch case. It's also 1.6 pounds lighter, weighing 4.6 pounds in total.
Unlike the original PS4, the Slim gets rid of the half-gloss finish and opts for a completely matte black look. The Slim also has rounded corners as opposed to the original model's more edgy design.
There are some under-the-hood improvements as well. The Slim now supports 5GHz Wifi, which is generally faster than the 2.4GHz wireless band of the original console, provided you have a router that can take advantage of it. The Slim also supports Bluetooth 4.0, which is more power-efficient and offers better wireless audio performance. Another new addition that the Slim features is USB 3.1 support, which is up to two times as fast as the original's 3.0 ports.
The PS4 Slim is also a little more power-efficient overall. Whereas the original PS4 is rated to consume 250-watts, the Slim features a 165-watt thermal design power. Its more power-efficient design allows it to run a bit cooler and quieter, too.
If the Slim does have one drawback over the original, it's the removal of the SPDIF port, which will impact soundbars that require an optical connection.
Should you upgrade to a PS4 Slim if you have a PS4?
The Slim doesn't make a ton of improvements over the original PS4. If you already own a perfectly functional PS4, it doesn't make much sense to get the Slim. Furthermore, if you want a more powerful PlayStation, the PlayStation 4 Pro is what you want.
PS4/PS4 Slim vs PS4 Pro
While the PS4 Slim isn't much of a technical leap from the base model, the 2016-released PS4 Pro represents a mid-generational upgrade that offers a significant boost in processing power. Sony designed it to take advantage of the burgeoning 4K TV market.
Because 4K is four times the resolution of 1080p and is much more graphically demanding, the PS4 Pro has many under-the-hood improvements. It features a 4.2 teraflop GPU clocked at 911MHz based on AMD's Polaris micro-architecture. This is 2.2x as much as the PS4/PS4 Slim. While it still features an 8-core custom Jaguar CPU from AMD, it runs at a higher 2.1GHz frequency, which is 500MHz faster than the PS4/PS4 Slim. In terms of RAM, the PS4 Pro still uses 8GB of GDDR5 memory, but also adds 1GB of conventional DDR3 RAM to bolster 4K video streaming applications.
The PS4 Pro also uses a SATA III-based storage interface, as opposed to the SATA II-based solution of the original model. This means if you install an SSD in the PS4 Pro, it can be dramatically faster and reach theoretical speeds of six Gbps. While the PS4 Pro comes with a hard drive, its one TB allotment is twice as capacious as the PS4's HDD before it.
In terms of design, it's significantly bigger and heavier than the base model with its 11x10x1.5 inch dimensions and 7.2-pound weight. Aesthetically, it maintains the slanted design of the original PS4 but opts to use the rounded corners that debuted on the PS4 Slim. There's also a new power LED light bar at the front. Unlike the Slim model, it boasts the SPDIF port so you can use it with soundbars that require an optical connection. Finally, it features three USB 3.1 ports, which is one more than the PS4 Slim before it.
What are some of the PS4 Pro's advantages?
While the PS4 Pro currently retails for $100, €50, £50 more than the PS4 Slim, its more powerful hardware allows it to run certain games at 4K or at higher-than-1080p resolutions. Some games may also receive frame rate improvements or could feature higher graphical fidelity visuals.
While its benefits are most evident when coupled with a 4K TV, it is capable of supersampling certain games on 1080p displays. Supersampling is an effective form of anti-aliasing that removes undesirable jaggy edges from games.
Which PS4s support HDR?
With a September 2016 firmware update, all PS4 SKUs support HDR. This includes the original model, the Slim, and the Pro.
Are there any user interface differences between the PS4 and PS4 Pro?
The PS4, PS4 Slim, and PS4 Pro use the same operating system and UI.
Which PS4 should you get?
If you don't already have a PS4 and have a 1080p TV and just want an affordable option to play PS4 games, the PS4 Slim is a sensible choice. We wouldn't suggest upgrading to a PS4 Slim if you already have a PS4, however, considering you won't get a performance boost. If you have a 4K TV, however, or are interested in getting one in the near future and have the extra cash to spare, the PS4 Pro is a better investment, with its superior, more future-proof hardware that can make games run and look better. Should you upgrade to a PS4 Pro if you already have a PS4? We would generally only recommend upgrading if you have a 4K TV and the cash to spare.
Dragon Ball FighterZ possesses a number of mechanics that aren't as easy to figure out as hurling Ki blasts with characters. Much like the show it's based on, your characters will be able to collect several dragon balls, with the user being granted a single wish from the legendary dragon Shenron. However, the game doesn't quite spell out how exactly to do this, which may confuse some players who suddenly find a dragon ball during a fight.
In the video above, we lay out what you'll have to do to find all the dragon balls and summon the dragon to grant your wish. Essentially a special comeback move, you'll have to string together a set of combos to score a specific number of hits for each orb. However, what makes this particular meta-challenge so tricky is that your player will compete against the opposing player for the dragon balls, who can steal the chance to summon Shenron. Once summoned, you'll be granted a selection of four wishes--which include health regeneration, reviving a downed teammate, restoring full Ki energy, and granting maximum health. While these may seem fairly tame, these wishes can make all the difference in a fight.
Sony is releasing a new pair of special edition DualShock 4 colors in the US and Europe soon. Beginning in March, PS4 owners will be able to pick up a DualShock 4 in Midnight Blue and Steel Black variants, though they won't be available for very long.
Both the Midnight Blue and Steel Black controllers will be released in limited quantities. Midnight Blue is an entirely new color for the PS4 controller, while Steel Black was previously available in 2016. You can see images of the two DualShock 4 controllers in the gallery below.
The Midnight Blue and Steel Black controllers will be released in Europe on March 7, though pricing has not yet been revealed. Sony hasn't announced an exact date for when they'll arrive in the US, but the controllers will retail for $65 each and are available to pre-order now from various retailers. You can read more about them on PlayStation Blog.
Castlevania: Symphony of Night is the best game in the franchise. It wasn't the first time we saw Alucard--the half-vampire son of Dracula in the series--but it's the first time we got to see the white haired, sword-wielding version of him. Mondo is celebrating the character's awesomeness with a 16-inch statue, going on sale on February 1.
There will be two versions of the statue: the regular version for $300 and the Mondo exclusive for $305. The Mondo exclusive comes with a third interchangeable arm which is holding a shield that has Alucard's crest on it. But how does one of these statues come together and what's the final product look like?
We talked to Mondo's Creative Director Brock Otterbacher about the creation of this piece from conceptual art to final, realized statue, including some in-depth pictures of the final Alucard piece. If you're just interest in the final product, click here to check it out.
Based On Ayami Kojima's Art
When Mondo started working with Konami a few years ago, Brock Otterbacher wanted to do something from Symphony of Night and quickly realized that Alucard was the way to go. Mondo started its work by looking at Ayami Kojima's art--she was the artist behind Symphony of Night, as well as other Castlevania and Dynasty Warriors games.
"Her art has always been very inspirational to me," Otterbacher told GameSpot. "I had always come across and looked at her art, especially from the game. And this one image in particular that always kind of stuck out to me, which was an image of Alucard. His cape is part-bat, part-wolf, and that direct image is the inspiration for this. This was made years ago, I was like, 'Wow, I would love to someday get the opportunity to do the statue of this.'"
Early Mondo Concept Art
From there, Mondo enlisted the talents of artist Sara Diesel. "She had a lot of really beautiful fantasy art, that I could see applying to what we wanted to do, so she was game for it," said Otterbacher.
Concept Art
Some elements of the statue were tougher to nail than others, according to Otterbacher. "The tricky part, though, was nailing the aesthetic and the look of the wolf in the mist, and the cape."
Concept Art With Color
3D Model
After the concept art, the team went ahead onto the 3D model, which was done digitally. "Sometimes we do it traditional as well, depending on what it is or who we're working with," explained Otterbacher. "In this case, I wanna say, this product has had an unusually long life-cycle, just because we've kind of taken our time with it."
3D Model
"Starting the 2D concept, to getting the sculpture done, can be anywhere usually from about two to three months," Otterbacher continued. "That's pretty fair, and that doesn't include revisions."
Close-up On 3D Model Of Alucard's Face
3D Model Of Separate Parts
Putting together the digital sculpt took quite a bit of time, according to Otterbacher. "In this case, being a digital sculpt, you have to have it digitally printed, and then you have to have those things cleaned up, and then you have to have those pieces molded and cast. You have multiple pieces, and you have to have all that painted up. So it's generally--getting a full prototype--that can take four or five months. We've been able to push it quicker before, but with something like this, it took us a pretty decent amount of time."
3D Model Of Mondo Exclusive Statue
Otterbacher discussed how the Mondo exclusive came to be. "I was talking to the sculptor, Matthew Black, and he and I were just talking, and I'm like, 'Oh, I'd love to figure out, like doing an alternate arm or hand.' And I was like, 'Well, let's do the shield,' and then he was like, 'Well I don't know, the way this sword is positioned, it might collide with the shield.'"
Final Alucard Statue (Mondo Exclusive)
Here is a final look at the Mondo exclusive version of Alucard, which includes an interchangeable hand featuring Alucard's shield.
Close-Up On Mondo Exclusive Alucard
"When we started working on the prototype--because we had the shield--we figured out how to make the shield and the sword not intersect with each other," stated Otterbacher. "We want the shield exclusive. It's awesome, so why not just throw in the dagger hand as just a fun extra inch of the regular version? So even if you get the regular version, you have at least two different display options."
Interchangeable Right Hand
For both the Mondo exclusive and regular version of Alucard, it comes with an interchangeable right hand, with Alucard throwing a dagger. "In one of the pieces of art, Alucard's throwing a dagger," said Otterbacher. "So [Matthew Black] just pitched it, like, 'How about this?' And he just did it. And it was like, that's f*****g awesome. That's great. When you see it in person, it looks like it's just taking off from his hand."
Alucard's Cape
The most challenging part with this statue came from Alucard's cape, which transitions into a wolf head and a bat, as the cape continues to the base of the sculpture. "Mireya Romo-Bowen was our painter on it, and she, being a huge, huge fan of vampires, just was like, 'I want to do this,'" explained Otterbacher. "The difficult part was [that] it's a solid paint job, There's nothing. No light coming through, and then once you get to the mist part of it, that's where it starts to kind of fade and kind of transition out."
Challenges With The Cape Transition
"The challenge [Romo-Bowen] had was really kind of blending it, covering it, and getting enough opaqueness to it so you're not noticing when you're photographing it, like a whole bunch of bubbles," detailed Otterbacher. "If you look closely, in person, you'll see it, at least in the prototype. But also to have it so it allows it to be translucent, even when it's kind of a grayish-purple mist or misting a spray over it. So it's crazy and it takes a lot of problem-solving and patience, is really what it is."
Creating A Translucent Cape
There were plenty of challenges with this cape during the prototype phase. "We have this cape that goes around, and we needed the majority of it solid," detailed Otterbacher. "[We needed to] find a place where we can break the seam and do it so the last part of it is translucent. Because we didn't want to put the whole thing translucent and then paint over only part of it, just because it's hard to do translucent stuff and it just wouldn't work out that way. So the problem we had is you get a bunch of bubbles in this stuff, like when you're doing it. Again, we're just prototyping. It's not the main factory process. It's just prototyping. So we had an issue of bubbles, and we had all this kind of goofy stuff that you never think about when you get into this business."
Final Alucard Statue
What excited Otterbacher the most about Alucard is the 360 degree look at the character, which reveals quite a bit about who Alucard is. "He's this very regal, kind of beautiful person from the front, and the idea that you get to see his other form just by turning the piece around just a little bit, and it's kind of like a reveal. Because there's an angle you can look at it where you don't see that stuff at all, and that's kind of fun. It's kind of a pretty ... He's a very anime-looking character, but then once you turn it around you see that kind of like, monstrous side to him. I just like that conceptually."
Final Alucard Statue
Final Alucard Statue
Final Alucard Statue
Final Alucard Statue
Final Alucard Statue
Final Alucard Statue
Final Alucard Statue
Final Alucard Statue
This Alucard statue will be released on 2/1 from Mondo. The regular version will cost $300 and the Mondo exclusive--which includes an interchangeable shield for Alucard's left hand--will cost $305.
Nintendo Switch has been on the market less than 11 months, but it has already outsold its predecessor, the Wii U. Around 12.13 million Switch units were sold during the nine months ending December 31, 2017, with 2.74 million sold during the hybrid console's debut month last March.
Overall, this means 14.87 million Switches had been sold by the end of December last year. As of October 31, 2017, Wii U hardware sales stood at 13.56 million. Barring an unlikely 1.31 million Wii U consoles being sold in November and December, this means the Switch has almost certainly outsold the Wii U. More up-to-date sales figures for Wii U have not been provided.
Switch sales are now not too far off those of the Gamecube, which sold 21.74 million, but they're still far behind those of the ultra-successful Wii, which reached around 101.63 million units sold.
Nintendo has also confirmed that Super Mario Odyssey is the console's best-selling game to date. The platformer sold 9 million units up until the end of December. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which launched in April 2017, sold 7.3 million units and Splatoon 2 reached 4.9 million units by the same date. According to Nintendo, it now has eight million-seller titles for the fiscal year, but includes games published by third parties in this figure.
In some parts of the world, January is already over, and that means a new selection of free PlayStation Plus games are on their way. Luckily, Sony has now revealed its selection of freebies for PS4, PS3, and PS Vita owners in February.
From February 6, PS4 owners can grab Knack and Rime for free. Knack is the PS4 launch title developed by Sony Japan and the system's hardware architect, Mark Cerny. Rime, meanwhile, is a colorful adventure game released last year. You can read more about the two games in our Knack review and our Rime review.
PS3 owners, meanwhile, will receive platformer Spelunker HD and turn-based RPG Mugen Souls Z free of charge. Lastly, PS Vita's free games for the month are 2D Metroidvania-style game Exile's End and tactical RPG Grand Kingdom. The latter of these is also available for free on PS4 with Cross-Buy. As an added bonus, PS Plus subscribers can also grab the PSVR exclusive Starblood Arena for the low, low price of nothing until March 6.
With an extensive roster of quirky characters and a world that's as colorful as it is joyful, the OK K.O.! universe is the perfect playground for a video game adaptation. But while OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes perfectly captures the show's tone and aesthetic in its own way, it is, unfortunately, let down by repetitive quests and shallow mechanics.
You play as a young boy named K.O. who aspires to be the world's greatest hero. He is aided in his journey by his delightful group of friends (such as the cool-as-ice Enid, the slacker Radicles, and the tough-as-nails Mr. Gar) who all hang out and work with him at the Lakewood Strip Mall. But when the evil Lord Boxman from across the street threatens to take down Lakewood by resetting every hero's POW card (which depicts their "hero levels") to zero, it's up to K.O. to help restore everyone's levels by beating up an endless factory line of robots. Let's Play Heroes is primarily a beat-'em-up with some simple RPG elements, such as a basic leveling system and side-quests, sprinkled in. While this helps keep the game from getting too mundane, it only partially succeeds in alleviating the tedium.
The game's beat-'em-up combat is simple but has enough variety to keep things engaging. Attacks and dodges are performed with single button presses, and advanced moves involve a few more directional changes but nothing too tricky to master. Like most beat-'em-up games, there are also a large number of super techniques, called Powie Zowies, available to unlock. As you complete each stage, you earn experience points that go towards leveling up your Strength, Agility, or Cool stats. With three attributes, there might have been potential to shape K.O. to your desired playstyle, but disappointingly, the stats only serve as a way to keep advanced moves locked until you reach certain levels.
Each enemy robot has its own unique skillset, and some battle stages have item crates containing useful weapons. These factors encourage some strategic thinking, but the limited number of enemy types and the simplistic AI means that you can win almost every battle in the same manner with the same attacks. These robot fights only become remotely challenging during boss battles, but these are few and far between.
When you are not battling robots, the rest of Let's Play Heroes involves exploring Lakewood Strip Mall and talking to the various side characters to unlock their Powie Zowies via simple side-quests. Unfortunately, most of your options are either long-winded fetch quests or battles against robots, quickly turning these tasks into a grind. The game falls into a tedious pattern of talk, fetch item and/or fight, and talk again. There are a few mini-games available, but they are generally nothing more than reskinned or tweaked versions of the game's many robot battles.
The repetitiveness also does nothing to help the game's poor pacing. Despite the high-stakes story (for the OK K.O.! universe), Let's Play Heroes plays out like a series of meandering vignettes that mostly ignore the overarching storyline, not unlike the narrative structure of the show. While that approach may work in TV, the result is a game with too much padding and little in the way of forward momentum.
What Let's Play Heroes lacks in narrative urgency and mechanical depth, it almost makes up for in its presentation. Rather than imitate the show's simple presentation, like what The Fractured But Whole did with South Park, OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes features its own colorful interpretation of the characters and universe. In contrast to the show's static look, the game's art style is dynamic and rich in detail yet simple enough to capture the tone of the source material.
Complementing the eye-pleasing visuals is the excellent audio design, notably the soundtrack and voice acting. Each background track feels entirely in tune with the show's whimsical tone, right down to K.O.'s adorable beatboxing. The voice cast from the show lends their talent to the game, giving Let's Play Heroes a wonderful sense of familiarity and comfort. Writing and characterization are also top notch, and perfectly capture the quirky nature of the show. Witty one-liners, layered jokes, and meta gags are generously sprinkled throughout the game, though these sadly start to run out towards the final act. All the characters in Let's Play Heroes are well-realized, with nearly every hero and villain given enough time to shine in their interactions with K.O., all while staying faithful to their TV counterparts. It goes a long way in not only pleasing long-time fans, but also establishing character relationships and dynamics for those unfamiliar.
There is also an additional payoff for those who watch the show religiously, though it's something may frustrate newcomers: The game features a special vending machine that allows you to input secret hidden codes found within episodes of the show in exchange for POW cards that are otherwise unobtainable. While this kind of locked content is disconcerting, Let's Play Heroes' simplistic fighting system renders this almost unnecessary. The fact that you can easily finish the game without unlocking these hidden POW cards means the mechanic ultimately doesn't have a significant effect on the overall experience, though it may frustrate those who want to collect every POW card in the game.
As far as adaptations go, OK K.O.! Let's Play Heroes looks and sounds fantastic in a way that is distinct yet faithful to the source material. But the shallow mechanics, the repetitiveness of the gameplay loop, and narrative pacing issues prevent the game from being a rousing knockout.
On Xbox One, Gold members have a few more hours to download the action-RPG The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III, while Xbox 360 players can snag the co-op action game Army of Two. Like all other Games with Gold titles, the latter is also playable on Microsoft's newer console thanks to backwards compatibility, giving Xbox One owners two freebies to claim right now.
Both of the aforementioned titles will only be available until February 1, when they'll be replaced by the next free Games with Gold. That batch includes the Xbox One first-person shooter Shadow Warrior and the Assassin's Creed spin-off, Assassin's Creed Origins: India. On the 360 side, the racer Split/Second will be free for the first half of February, while the Dreamcast classic Crazy Taxi will be available from February 16-28. Gold members also have until February 15 to claim January's final free title, Zombi.
You can find the full list of January's Games with Gold titles below. In addition to those, Gold members still have a few days to take advantage of this week's Deals with Gold, which offer discounts on Fallout 4, FIFA 18, Madden NFL 18, and other Xbox One and 360 games.
January 2018 Games With Gold
Xbox One
The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing III -- January 1-31
Secret of Mana's HD remake is set to release in just a few weeks on PS4, Vita, and PC, but one of the more puzzling aspects of the upcoming game is the fact that it's not on Nintendo Switch. After all, the Japanese version of the original trilogy was released on Switch last year. So, with this new version's graphical upgrade, added sound and voice options, and gameplay improvements, why isn't it getting a wider console release? To get the answer to that and a wide range of other Mana-related questions, we talked recently with Masaru Oyamada, the game's producer, during a demo session in San Francisco.
If you don't want to dig into the full discussion, the answer to the headline question is: the Nintendo Switch wasn't a known quantity when this remake started development. However, that doesn't rule out the possibility of a Switch remake in the future. Read on for our full interview.
GameSpot: The producer, especially in Japan, encompasses a lot of different roles. Depending on the company and the project, that can mean something different. Day-to-day, what kinds of things do you do on the project?
Oyamada: I kind of come up with a proposal for the project as well as manage the progression of the project itself. Also, when it comes to the Mana series overall, I'm responsible for figuring out how we operate, deploy, and plan for the series moving forward. So that's the type of role I have in the company.
Were there any particular challenges in remaking a game like this?
The visuals are now in 3D, and so bringing it into that kind of 3D visual world was a little bit of a challenge. That said, looking into the future and where we need to take the series, we felt like it was the necessary approach, which is why we converted the visuals into 3-D for the remake.
I feel like, in some ways, there's kind of been a renaissance of that 16-bit, old-school feel in games. Why did you feel it was necessary to make this look more modern?
Of course, the opinion on that specific matter differs among people. But personally, looking at the younger generation--people in their 20s or even the new hires that join the company--a lot of them haven't had the opportunity to play games back then in their original form. So on a yearly basis, I have some of the younger crew members play it in its original form, but you can see that a lot of these players are more used to playing games in 3D. A lot of people aren't familiar with that 2D style anymore, it seems.
When looking at the future of the series, we felt like it was necessary to make the title a little bit more accessible for the newer generation, which is why we felt the need to accommodate and support those types of graphics as well.
There was kind of a chance for players to play Secret of Mana in that original form recently with the Nintendo Switch, but that only came out in Japan. Do you feel like that's more a market for the Japanese audience? And do you think something like that could catch on in the States?
Yeah, I think if there is a desire and a demand from the consumer base, we do believe that it is our job to try to respond to the needs of the consumers. Specifically with regards to the collection that was released in Japan, they were the market--the audience that played all the games in their original form. We understood and knew that the demand was there and, we were a little bit surprised to see the demand and feedback that we received--the positive sentiment--from North American/European fans when we announced the collection. It's actually the first time we realized that there was such a following for the original works.
So, of course, if there is the desire, that's something that we'd love to consider. That said, we don't want to completely ignore the younger generation and what their needs are, so to speak. The ideal scenario would be to be able to cater to both recurring fans as well as the newer generations and release games in that fashion.
That sounds like confirmation of a Seiken Densetsu collection in the US to me! [laughs]
[laughs] Of course, we don't have [Seiken Densetsu] 3 over here, so it might be a little more difficult than we'd want that to be.
More seriously, I was a little surprised when this was announced because there is that collection on Switch, but the HD remake is only coming to PS4, Vita, and PC. Why is this version skipping Switch?
With regards to the Secret of Mana project, we started planning for it almost two years ago. At that point in time, the Switch in itself wasn't officially or publicly announced, so there wasn't really much information in terms of the specifications. We weren't completely sure if we'd be able to do it because we didn't know that information. And there was always a question of, "Is it going to come out or not?"
Our development progressed in tandem with everything, and so the Switch platform was removed from our targets. That said, once we announced this title around TGS--a couple of people in Japan, but more so among North America and European players--they were requesting a Switch version. So the amount of feedback we received at that point in time was actually quite surprising.
Looking to the future, figuring out and making considerations for what's possible or not, we're definitely open to that.
Please. That would make me very happy. I just want to play everything on Switch. It's so handy.
I know the title is different in Japanese and English, Seiken Densetsu versus Secret of Mana, but do you have an answer to, "What is the secret of Mana?"
[laughs] Yeah. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer to what the secret of mana is. We'll have to reach out to the original producers for an answer on that.
So, it does feel like there is a lot added to this version of the game. Does it feel like you're getting to do as much as you wanted, or did you wish you had more time? Does this open up the idea of, if you did another remake, maybe you could expand the scope even further?
Specifically with regards to this particular title, when I reached out to the original developers, Hiromichi Tanaka as well as Koichi Ishii, I informed them that we wanted to be true to the experiences that players had back in the day when the original was released, but bring it to the modern platforms.
This remake was done within the restrictions of the overall direction of the project, and within that restriction, we felt like we were able to do everything in our capacity. That said, for all the things that I would like to try to introduce or bring to the series or whatnot, I would like to try to tackle those in a new title, if it were ever to come to fruition.
With regards to the remake, it's really about what the players desired while also making it more accessible for modern-day players on modern-day devices and whatnot. And it's also tackling all the issues and concerns that people had experiencing the game back in the day. Those were the focal points in tackling the remake.
In terms of future remakes, of course, upon playing this game, if there are any opinions or feedback or things that consumers want us to be mindful of for any future products, that's always helpful because at least we have something to reference and consider to bring to future products if at all. So if there's anything that you feel the need to improve upon, we'd be more than happy to receive any type of feedback from everyone.
When you remake a game like this which, did you have a lot of access to the original concept art? Did you know exactly what you wanted each object to look like, or did you have to figure some things out based on just the 16-bit sprite?
In terms of the documents and references that remain from back then, we only had the pixel art and the sprites to reference off of. There wasn't anything additional in terms of documents. But aside from that, we would get further context from Ishii-san and other developers about certain aspects. For example, what type of country and what type of elements they were referencing. From that kind of information, we would try to expand our imagination and build upon that.
With regards to the 16-bit graphics, obviously, it's a little bit more symbolic in that it really kind of draws on the player's imagination too. We understand that there are going to be certain people who feel like it differs from what they had imagined back then. That said, what we are depicting here is kind of an extension of the expression that they sought to realize back in the day. So our approach is to build on that and utilize it as an extension of what they had as a vision back then.
Is there anything else you wanted to touch on?
We already kind of mentioned this, but the original concept for the remake was to recreate this experience for people who have played this game in the past, as well as whoever will be playing it for the first time; they'll be able to relive the experience and the fun that they had back then playing the original game, but also making it a little bit more accessible for modern-day gamers.
We would love to see people get together and play the game together once again. It'd be great if we can see that happening. Also, we try to respond to the needs and desires of the consumers to the best of our ability. In that respect, we included two versions of the BGM, which you can switch as well as the Japanese and English VO. You can also adjust all the volumes in the game. So we hope that people will be able to find their own gameplay style and enjoy the game in their own ways.
Editor's note: This transcript has been edited for clarity, and Oyamada's responses were provided through a translator.
As part of Nintendo's latest financial results, the company revealed its best-selling Switch titles to date. As you may have guessed, Super Mario Odyssey is the Switch game with the most units sold so far, though a number of other games have also done well.
Super Mario Odyssey's sales total 9 million units worldwide, with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (7.3 million) coming in second. Next on the list is Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with 6.7 million units sold, followed by Splatoon 2, which has sold 4.9 million units so far. Two more Nintendo-published titles--Arms and Xenoblade Chronicles 2--have each hit the million sales milestone, with 1.6 and 1.06 million sales respectively. Two further third-party games have hit the same million sales milestone, but we don't what those games are or precisely how many units they've shipped. Note these figures are correct as of December 31, 2017.
One of Destiny 2's biggest updates so far is now available, introducing new elements to the game like Masterwork armor and Raid armor perks. Its release also marks the launch of the latest Iron Banner event, which is the first one to take place since Curse of Osiris debuted in December. That DLC started the second season of in-game content, with each season bringing new gear to activities like Faction Rally and Iron Banner. Following the recent Faction Rally event's new set of items, now is your chance to acquire the just-added selection of Iron Banner gear.
Iron Banner Engrams you receive from Lord Saladin can now have a variety of new items inside them, alongside those that were already available. Even more will be added during the next Iron Banner, but for now, you can expect to have a shot at a new hand cannon, scout rifle, shotgun, Ghost, Sparrow, shader, and ship. Additionally, there's a new emblem that tracks how many times you've ranked up with Iron Banner; you can earn this by completing the Iron Banner Milestone (which requires playing 30 total Iron Banner matches during Season 2).
Bear in mind, the new gear requires that you own Curse of Osiris. Even without the DLC, though, you're still free to participate in the event and earn Season 1 gear. You can see all of the new gear, including the weapons and armor Ornaments (for Titan, Warlock, and Hunter), in the gallery above.
One notable change for this instance of Iron Banner is how you earn rewards. In addition to the usual means of acquiring gear, you can now directly purchase select items. Saladin will sell three weapons and five pieces of armor during each event for a combination of Legendary Shards and Iron Banner Tokens. He also has five armor Ornaments that can be acquired by completing Challenges during Iron Banner matches.
This Iron Banner runs from now until the weekly reset on Tuesday, February 6. The game mode this time around is Control. You can see what else is new in Destiny 2's update in our rundown on the 1.1.2 patch notes.
Capcom has released details on its financial performance for the nine month spanning April 1 to December 31, 2017. It reported lower sales than the same period in 2016, but improved profits thanks to its digital content business.
Sales for the nine months were reported as $439 million, which is an 11% decrease when compared to the same timeframe in 2016, during which sales were cited as $492 million. Profits, meanwhile, were $65 million in 2017, which is a 38% increase over 2016's $47 million.
Monster Hunter Frontier Z, an online game available in Japan, celebrated its 10th anniversary and was said to have given a "solid performance." In terms of mobile titles Monster Hunter Explore was called out as a key performer, as Capcom conducts "business reforms including alliance strategies."
In its fourth quarter, which ends March 31, 2018, Capcom says it plans an "aggressive sales campaign with the release of its flagship title, Monster Hunter World." Capcom has shipped 5 million units of Monster Hunter World to retailers, marking a new record for the series. Although we haven't received sales numbers for the game, early signs are promising.
The critical reception for the game has also been positive. In GameSpot's Monster Hunter World review Ginny Woo awarded it an 8/10, saying it is "the biggest and best that the franchise has ever been."
"It's not just the comparative depth of the narrative," she continued, "It also boasts almost seamless integration between combat systems that were previously incomprehensible for amateurs. The Monster Hunter formula has definitely honed its claws, and all the above factors play their part in making Monster Hunter World a meaningful evolution for the series at large.
Bungie has concluded its server maintenance routine, and Destiny 2 servers are back online. The first Iron Banner event of Season 2, which began in early December with Curse of Osiris's release, is now live for a limited time, and a major new update has been released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Here's exactly what it does.
As Bungie detailed previously, update 1.1.2 introduces Masterwork armor. This is a rare quality that all Legendary armor can take on, and it operates similarly to the Masterwork weapons system added in December. Essentially, Legendary armor can drop as (or be upgraded to) a Masterwork version, which provides you with an additional stat bonus that can be re-rolled. Each piece of Masterwork armor also offers a 3% damage resistance bonus while your Super is active; this effect stacks, offering a maximum of 15% if all five of your armor pieces are Masterworks. These items can be obtained through all of the normal means, though Trials of the Nine and Raid activities are more likely to drop them. Dismantling them provides you with materials that can then be used to upgrade a Legendary item into a Masterwork.
Drops related to the Raid have also changed in a number of ways. By completing a corresponding activity in a given week, you'll be able to purchase a rotating selection of armor or weapons from Benedict 99-40. Raid encounters are now guaranteed to drop a piece of armor or a weapon, and completing a Prestige Raid encounter before doing the normal version will get you rewards from both the Prestige and normal versions. A new Exotic Ghost exclusive to Leviathan can now be found during Raid activities' final encounter. Finally, as pictured below, Raid armor all now have unique mods with new perks that only work when on the Leviathan. These can be rotated in and out by spending a Raid Token, and even existing Raid armor will have a spot to equip these mods.
This patch kicks off the Iron Banner event, which features new gear to earn. Other notable changes include a reduction in the amount of XP needed to receive an Illuminated Engram; it now takes 120,000, rather than 160,000. Both the Gleaming Boon of the Crucible and Vanguard have seen their Bright Dust prices slashed. And several individual items have seen balance fixes or changes; Prometheus Lens, for instance, which was a major problem in Crucible after its release and was later nerfed, has seen its damage increased. Additionally, its Flame Refraction perk no longer pulls ammo from your reserves; instead, it generates fresh ammo to use.
There are a ton of other tweaks made in this update too, and the patch notes are quite long. You can see them in full on Bungie's website.
Nintendo has detailed its financial performance for the nine-month period ending December 2017. In the year the company released the Switch, Super Mario Odyssey, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, it should come as no surprise that it has reported significant increases in both sales and profit.
Sales were cited as $7.9 billion, which represents an increase of 176% over the same period in 2016. Profit, meanwhile, reached $1.4 billion, which is a 494% improvement when compared to 2016. Nintendo attributed this strong performance to Switch hardware sales, which it said "sold well following the launch and sales rose substantially during the holiday season."
In total, Nintendo Switch hardware sales for this period reached 12.13 million units, which when added to the 2.74 million unit sold in its launch month brings lifetime Switch sales to 14.87 million units. This means that, in just 10 months, Nintendo Switch has almost certainly outsold the Wii U (Nintendo has not yet provided updated Wii U sales figures), which has been available since 2012.
In terms of software, Super Mario Odyssey sales reached 9 million units globally in the nine-month period. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which launched in April 2017, sold 7.3 million units and Splatoon 2 reached 4.9 million units sold. According to Nintendo, eight Switch titles reach the million units sold mark the fiscal year, but that figure does include games published by third parties. Total software sales were listed as 47 million units.
Nintendo 3DS also contributed and the company noted that "hardware sales did not weaken after the launch of Nintendo Switch." Pokemon Ultra Sun and Pokemon Ultra Moon, both of which launched in November 2017, sold 7 million units combined, but 3DS software sales overall declined by 33% year-on-year.
Other notable contributors mentioned in Nintendo financial report include the SNES Classic Edition and Amiibo. Digital content sales were described as "brisk" thanks to Nintendo Switch software, and also showed a year-on-year improvement.
In terms of mobile games, Nintendo said "consumers not only continued to enjoy Super Mario Run and Fire Emblem Heroes, which became available for download during the previous fiscal year, but also had fun with Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, released globally during October and November." Income from mobile games was 172% increase on a year-on-year basis.
Looking ahead, Nintendo highlighted Bayonetta 2's Switch launch in February, as well as Kirby Star Allies coming in March and Detective Pikachu for 3DS also launching in March. This is alongside "major titles" from third-party publishers. "We aim to broaden the platform's user base by continuing to introduce compelling new software in addition to the stable of popular titles that already have been released," Nintendo said.
The organisers of the Game Developers Choice Awards today announced the recipient for this year's Pioneer Award, confirming it will go to Atari and Chuck E. Cheese founder Nolan Bushnell. However, GDC has now confirmed that it's re-examining this nomination in the wake of an outcry regarding Bushnell's past behaviour and treatment of women.
A spokesperson for GDC organiser UBM confirmed to Glixel that it is evaluating what it plans to do with the Pioneer Award, saying that GDC and its nominating committee did not know about Bushnell's history when they nominated him. GDC is now going back to look at the nomination "more closely." Bushnell did not respond to a request for comment when approached by Glixel.
The hashtag #notnolan took off today on Twitter, with game designers and other industry people calling out UBM for giving the award to Nolan and blasting the organisation for being tone deaf about the #MeToo movement.
Brianna Wu, a game designer from Massachusetts currently running for a seat in US Congress, said on Twitter than Bushnell's nomination is "wildly inappropriate." Speaking to Glixel, Wu said Bushnell is deserving of the award, but not this year.
"Nolan Bushnell is clearly a deeply important person in video game history," she said. "He deserves to be honored for a lifetime achievement award without question. But in the year that the #MeToo movement is going on and we're having a reckoning about what women face in the workplace? It just seems really tone deaf by GDC."
"We need to understand that supporting this award for him potentially causes real pain among the women who had to endure him and it sends a difficult message to everybody who is currently enduring similar behavior in our industry," she went on to say. "It tells women who have been exposed to similar situations that their perpetrators can not only get away with that, but [they] will also be recognised for their work, even if their behaviour along the way was unacceptable."
1/ GDC is choosing to honor Atari founder Nolan Bushnell this year, something I find wildly inappropriate with the #metoo movement. Here are some facts about the sexual harassment Mr. Bushnell commited at Atari in the 80s.
Game designer Elizabeth Sampat also weighed in, ripping Bushnell for being "well-known industry garbage." Sampat offered up some suggestions for what to do instead of giving the award to Bushnell.
UBM: don't give the Pioneer award to anyone this year. Or rather, award it symbolically to all of the women who built this industry and are no longer here, in large part due to men like this.#notnolan.
The GDC Advisory Committee voted to give Bushnell the Pioneer award. Some of the people who sit on the panel include Halo developer Kiki Wolfkill, EA producer Jade Raymond, and Valve's Doug Lombardi.
In the book The Ultimate History of Video Games: From Pong to Pokemon and Beyond, Bushnell is quoted as saying that Atari, at its start, "seemed more like fraternity parties than business meetings." Pong designer Al Alcorn shares in the book a story about a hot tub meeting in which Bushnell reportedly tried to get a woman into the tub with him.
"We had a board meeting in his tub," Alcorn wrote in the book. "Nolan was saying how much money we were going to be worth, all these millions, and I thought to myself, 'I'll believe this when I see it.' Nolan needed some papers and documents so he called his office and said, 'Have Miss so and so bring them up.' We were in this tub [when she arrived], so he proceeded to try to get her in the tub during the board meeting."
An old San Francisco Chronicle report quotes Bushnell as saying, "Some ladies feel comfortable around me, and some don't. I find the aura of power and money is very intimidating to an awful number of girls."
A story for Playboy, "Sex, Drugs, And Video Games," claims that Atari engineers codenamed upcoming games after women. One codename was Darlene, who Bushnell said "was stacked and had the tiniest waist."
According to GDC organisers, the Pioneer award "honors breakthrough business and game design milestones." GDC organisers also today announced that Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail will take home the Ambassador Award, while Double Fine boss Tim Schafer is getting the Lifetime Achievement award.
The Game Developers Choice Awards take place on March 21 in San Francisco as part of the Game Developers Conference. We will report back with more details on what GDC plans to do with the Pioneer award as more information becomes available.
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