PlayStation 5 owners might soon be able to install more than a few games at a time. Bloomberg today reported that, according to “people briefed on the plan,” Sony wants to release a firmware update with support for additional M.2 SSD storage this summer.
The PS5 launched with a custom 825GB SSD—only 667GB of which remained available after the operating system and other extras were installed— complemented by a custom flash controller that features a PCIe 4.0 interface.
That 667GB might seem like a lot, especially compared to last-gen consoles, but saying that PS5 games are storage-hungry would be an understatement. Most people will only be able to have a handful of titles installed at a given time.
Sony previously said the PS5 would support certain M.2 SSDs that meet the same performance requirements as the custom drive that ships with the console. Key factors include PCIe 4.0 support and a read bandwidth of at least 5.5GBps.
The console also offered support for external HDDs at launch, but only for use with PlayStation 4 titles, and Sony didn’t say when the PS5 would be updated with support for additional storage. Bloomberg’s report finally offers a (vague) timeline.
Sony gave Bloomberg this statement: “As previously announced, we are working to enable M.2 SSD storage expansion for PlayStation 5. The timing has not been announced and details will be shared later.” That’s neither confirmation nor denial.
All of which means those lucky enough to have found a PS5 should be able to have more than a few games installed this summer—provided they’re willing to purchase an M.2 SSD that meets Sony’s requirements. We’ll have to see how many are forced to choose between that and, say, a replacement DualSense controller.
Final Fantasy VII Remake, the modern retelling of the 1997 PlayStation classic, will be free for PlayStation Plus subscribers beginning March 2nd. It is important to note the PS4 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake available for users with an active PS Plus subscription willnot be able to receive a PS5 digital version of the game, which was announced yesterday at Sony’s State of Play event.
Final Fantasy VII Remake launched last April exclusively on PlayStation 4 and serves as the first of an unknown number of entries in an episodic retelling of the original game. The game is also backward compatible on PlayStation 5, but yesterday’s State of Play confirmed that a next-gen version of the game will release on June 10th and will take full advantage of Sony’s next-gen console, with faster loading times, different graphical mode options, and a new episode focusing on the character Yuffie.
Other games eligible for download next month include the PS4 versions of Farpoint and Remnant: From the Ashes. Also coming to PS Plus is a digital copy of Maquette, whichis a new game launching on PS5 on March 2nd. Destruction AllStars, one of the new PS5 titles released this year, will also be free until April 5th.
Sony will allow the PlayStation 5 to make use of expanded SSD storage from this summer, according to a report in Bloomberg. The functionality is said to be coming in a firmware update that will activate the PS5’s M.2 expansion slot, which is currently disabled. Sony told The Verge ahead of the PS5 launch that the feature was “reserved for a future update.”
Bloomberg’s sources say that the firmware update will allow for an increase in the speed of the PS5’s cooling fans. The PS5 has an extremely fast built-in SSD, and any compatible third-party drive will need to be equally fast in order to store and run PS5 games; that’s going to generate some extra heat.
The PS5 comes with an 825GB SSD right now, leaving users with only 667GB of usable space when formatted. With game sizes ever increasing — you can’t fit all the content from the latest Call of Duty on a 500GB PS4, for example — PS5 owners will welcome the possibility of storage upgrades. As long as the fan noise isn’t too loud, that is.
Sony has confirmed that Japan Studio, its internal video game developer based in Tokyo, will essentially wind down and refocus around a single team. In a statement to IGN, Japan Studio said as of April 1st it would be “re-centered to Team Asobi, the creative team behind Astro’s Playroom, allowing the team to focus on a single vision and build on the popularity of Astro’s Playroom.” In other words, get ready for more Astro games.
Astro’s Playroom is a well-received title packaged with every PlayStation 5 console. It’s a 3D platformer designed to show off the advanced haptic feedback of the new DualSense controller. Before that, the same team developed Astro Bot: Rescue Mission, widely considered to be the standout exclusive PlayStation VR title.
VGC previously reported today that the “vast majority” of Japan Studio staff were being let go as Sony declined to renew their annual contracts, which run until the end of the fiscal year on March 31st. Some staff are said to have been reassigned to Team Asobi, while others are reportedly joining Bokeh, a new studio founded by Silent Hill and Gravity Rush director Keiichiro Toyama.
While Team Asobi’s work to date is acclaimed, Japan Studio has been an important part of Sony’s first-party PlayStation development efforts for decades. It created series like Ape Escape, Patapon, and LocoRoco, while also assisting with development on titles like Bloodborne and The Last Guardian. Before leaving last year, Toyama led a division that was responsible for the Siren and Gravity Rush games.
The latest Call of Duty game collection may now be too big to fit the base 500GB PlayStation 4 hard drive (via IGN). According to the official Call of Duty blog, if you want to have the latest Call of Duty: Warzone update and the full Black Ops: Cold War and Modern Warfare package on your PS4, you’ll have to uninstall content you don’t use.
The games make that somewhat easy to do by letting you remove certain modes — for example, if you only want to play Warzone, you could uninstall Black Ops’s single player, Zombie, and arcade modes, but it seems a bit ridiculous that you can’t fit three (or really, two and a half) games on an entire game console. That’s especially true since Activision sort of treats these three games as one thing: Warzone blends the content from Modern Warfare and Cold War, acting as a bridge between the two, with players being able to add and remove the parts they want.
To be fair, PS4 Pros and the newer PS4 Slim have all come with a 1TB hard drive since 2017, so they should be able to have the full experience. The PS5, however, may have a problem sometime soon: according to IGN, the PS4 has about 400GB of usable space, and the PS5 has 667.2GB — and, unlike the PS4, that SSD storage is not upgradable (yet). While you might be able to squeeze another non-Call of Duty game onto the PS5, you may find yourself deciding what to delete next time there’s an update.
Square Enix announced two mobile games set in the Final Fantasy VII universe today. One is a battle royale game aiming for a 2021 release, and the other is Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis, a compilation of all the games and stories set in the Final Fantasy VII universe (Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children, Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus). The latter is slated to launch sometime in 2022 on Android and iOS.
According to a press release, Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is a chapter-structured single-player experience that covers the entire timeline in one of the most popular installments in Square Enix’s RPG franchise. The compilation will feature all the events from each game, in addition to new story elements focusing on the “origins of SOLIDER.”
Watching the announcement trailer, Ever Crisis reminds me of Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition, a 2018 title that served as an abridged version of the fifteenth main installment in the Final Fantasy series.
The description for the trailer on YouTube notes it is “another possibility for a remake,” and the visuals look greatly improved from the original version of Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation, as pointed out by Twitter user Nibellion.
The announcement comes following news that Final Fantasy VII Remake is getting a PS5 patch on June 10th, which will include improvements that take advantage of the next-gen hardware as well as a new episode focusing on the character Yuffie.
The world of Final Fantasy VII Remake is getting bigger with a new episode featuring new characters — like Yuffie Kisaragi — and big quality-of-life changes for the PlayStation 5, called Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.
The PS5 version of the game will include a “brand-new episode” that has players play as ninja Yuffie Kisaragi on a mission to infiltrate the Shinra Corporation. Alongside the new content, the PS5 version is getting an update adding faster load times, a performance mode (that targets 60fps gameplay), and a graphics mode for 4K. There’s also a new photo mode.
Existing PS4 owners of the original Final Fantasy VII Remake for PS4 will get the PS5 version for free but will have to pay extra for the additional Yuffie content, according to the announcement.
Final Fantasy VII Remake launched in April 2020 for PlayStation 4, the first of a still-unknown number of entries in an episodic retelling of the original game. It focused entirely on Midgar — a sprawling city that made up only a few hours in the PlayStation version of Final Fantasy VII. On top of re-creating the game’s entire world, fleshing out its characters, and adding entirely new storylines and characters, VII Remake also hinted at major changes in the game’s canonized story.
In June 2019, producer Yoshinori Kitase said that work on the next installment had already begun; details about it have been scarce. Square Enix later registered several trademarks, including “Ever Crisis” and “The First Soldier,” that suggested additional tie-ins or remakes in the Final Fantasy VII universe.
PlayStation fans, rejoice. Sony is hosting the first State of Play live stream of 2021 today. The 30-minute presentation will feature 10 new games coming to the PS4 and PS5, along with updates on some upcoming third-party and indie games that appeared at Sony’s PS5 showcase last June.
Sony has not unveiled what games will be announced during today’s event, but the company has a ton of highly anticipated games slated to launch this year and possibly into 2022. These include Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, which will launch exclusively on the PS5 on June 11th, and Horizon Forbidden West, which is expected to come out sometime this year on the PS4 and PS5.
WHEN DOES THE PLAYSTATION STATE OF PLAY EVENT START?
The live stream starts today, February 25th, at 2PM PT / 5PM ET / 10PM GMT.
WHERE CAN I WATCH THE PLAYSTATION STATE OF PLAY?
We have the embedded live stream at the top of this post, so you can stay here and watch it when it begins. Alternatively, you can head to the official PlayStation YouTube channel or the PlayStation Twitch account to watch today’s event.
The PlayStation 5 is Sony’s latest gaming console and just like Microsoft’s Xbox Series X / S it’s in high demand and limited supply. If you are looking to buy a PS5, you have a shot at securing the $500 model with a disc drive right now at Target, while supplies last.
PlayStation 5
$500
Prices taken at time of publishing.
Sony’s flagship next-gen console, priced at $499.99. Compared to the $399.99 PS5 Digital Edition, this console includes a disc drive, allowing you to play both digital and physical games.
$500
at Target
After you secure your PS5 (or if already own one), you should consider picking up a few items that will help you get the most out of your next-gen console. One such accessory is an additional DualSense controller in the event one controller’s battery dies and you want to keep playing but prefer not to be tethered by the charging cable.
A one-year subscription to PlayStation Plus is also good to pick up if you have yet to renew your membership or are new to the service. There are a few benefits to having an active subscription to Sony’s online gaming service. Most notably, PS5 users have access to the PlayStation Plus Collection, a digital library of “generation-defining” games released on the PS4.
A well-stocked, easy-to-navigate catalogue of new and original content that Disney fans are bound to enjoy
For
Huge, intuitive catalogue
4K, HDR10 and Dolby Atmos/Vision
Vast device support
Against
Poor 4K HDR discovery
Once upon a time, a man called Walt Disney founded Walt Disney Studios with his brother and became one of the best-known motion-picture animators in the world. Fast forward nearly 100 years, over 400 movies and more than 60 Academy Award wins and, thanks to the Disney Plus video streaming service, nearly every Disney title ever committed to celluloid is now available to stream in one place.
Disney Plus (Disney+) is a natural rival to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+, available in loads of countries – US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and several European countries. It offers a rich catalogue of films and TV shows from Disney and its subsidiaries – Lucasfilm, Marvel, Pixar and National Geographic, as well as a slate of new Disney+ Originals. As of more recently, Disney Plus subscribers in Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the UK also have access to Star, a channel that offers “grown up” content from ABC and 20th Century Fox back-catalogues, plus originals that already live on US service Hulu (which Disney has a majority stake in).
Many titles are presented in the best video and audio technologies available today – 4K, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos (technologies also adopted by its rivals) – and Disney has really gone the distance where device support is concerned.
Less than a year after it launched, Disney has attracted around 95 million subscribers – not far off half of Netflix’s headcount at the time of writing. So should Disney Plus be part of your world or should you let it go? Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it’s off to Disney’s service we go…
Disney Plus: price, films, shows and all the details
14 of the best Disney Plus movies and shows to watch right now
Price
Disney Plus launched in the States in November 2019, rolling out to other territories (including Europe and the UK) the following March. The monthly fee was £5.99 ($6.99, AU$8.99, €6.99), making it a very tempting proposition indeed.
But, partly in light of the arrival of Star in several markets, that price has now gone northwards. Since 23rd February 2021, the monthly cost of Disney Plus is £7.99 ($7.99, AU$11.99, €8.99). In the US, the Disney Plus, Hulu, and ESPN Plus bundle will also get a $1 increase to $13.99 per month. Subscribers who signed up to Disney Plus before that February date will pay the original monthly price up until August 2021, when it will change to the pricier one.
Note that an annual subscription works out cheaper – £79.90 ($70, AU$120, €89.90) – if you’re willing to pay that upfront sum.
Features
(Image credit: Disney)
Disney Plus’s catalogue comprises over 700 films and more than 400 TV series, from all-time classics to family favourites, including three of the four most profitable films ever made: Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
One of the service’s biggest selling points is its slate of original shows, such as The Mandalorian, The World According To Jeff Goldblum, Clone Wars, The Imagineering Story and High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (yes, that is its real title). Disney seems willing to splash the cash, announcing it plans to spend $8bn to $9bn on Disney Plus content alone in fiscal 2024, by which it hopes to have attracted over 230 million subscribers.
That title-dropping expands to more than 30 films and 50 series from the Marvel universe, including Black Panther, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel, Guardians Of The Galaxy and Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Disney Plus is the only place to see Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Captain Marvel and all future releases from both Lucasfilm and Marvel, and is the exclusive streaming hub for every Disney theatrical release from 2019 and beyond. And yes, the service also has over 600 episodes (30 seasons) of The Simpsons, too.
The catalogue features plenty of 4K HDR content (some originally mastered, some remastered), which isn’t surprising considering Disney has been in the Ultra HD Blu-ray game for three years. When we first reviewed the service upon launch, we counted just over 100 titles in 4K HDR – including Frozen, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Lion King (2019), Aladdin (2019), Toy Story 4, Moana and all five of Disney’s new Original movies. But thanks in part to the Star expansion, that figure has grown considerably.
In Europe, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, Star has matured the service offering, appealing more to adults and sensibly introducing parent controls (which means parents can set limits on access for specific profiles based on content age ratings and introduce PIN locks on profiles with access to mature content). Star arrived in February 2021 as a 270-film, 75-show proposition, including four originals and plans for future premieres. Highlights include – deep breath – Modern Family, The X-Files, Deadpool 2, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Favourite, 24, Lost, Grey’s Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break, Scrubs,The Killing, How I Met Your Mother and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
(Image credit: Disney)
4K support isn’t limited to just new titles, either. Toy Story is in 4K HDR, as are the original Beauty And The Beast and The Lion King. Classics such as Alice In Wonderland, Pinocchio, Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Sleeping Beauty are presented in Full HD with 5.1 audio.
The fact you can download these titles in full 4K onto a compatible tablet or smartphone is arguably one of the best-value features of Disney+, considering the cost of individual 4K movies to rent or buy.
Downloads are unlimited, don’t expire, and can be downloaded on up to 10 devices. The same treatment isn’t so abundant with TV shows, with 4K HDR material limited to a handful of new Disney Originals series.
The service not only has plenty of content in 5.1 audio, it also supports Dolby Atmos, which was probably to be expected, given Disney’s commitment to the – the very first theatrical Atmos release was Disney’s Brave, after all.
Atmos content on Disney Plus spans over 100 titles – all movies, shorts and the odd Disney Original – including The Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, The Mandalorian, WALL-E, Thor: Ragnarok, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2, Big Hero 6 and the Captain Americas. Those same titles are also available in Dolby Vision HDR.
Amazon Prime Video vs Netflix – which is better?
Ease of use
(Image credit: Disney)
Disney Plus’s interface is similar to Netflix’s – and just as easy to use. It hasn’t tried to reinvent the wheel with its layout, and the result is a service most people will feel comfortable navigating.
A banner of featured content heads up the home page, with titles grouped into categories such as ‘Recommended for You’, ‘Originals’, ‘Musicals’ and ‘Mickey Mouse Through The Years’. There is also a ‘Nostalgic Movies’ tab for those who wish to revisit Bedknobs And Broomsticks, Pete’s Dragon and Herbie Goes Bananas.
Above these categories – sandwiched between the featured content banner and title categories – are five blocks for Disney, National Geographic, Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar (or six in those regions that also have Star). These allow subscribers to dive right into the offerings of each of those specific Disney-owned brands.
(Image credit: Disney)
Disney Plus’s ‘Collections’ group similar content together – for example, films within the Spiderman universe or films featuring princesses. In the ‘Winnie the Pooh Collection’ you’ll find everything from The New Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh TV series (1988-1991) to 2001’s The Tigger Movie and the recent Christopher Robin feature.
A pull-out sidebar lets you view only movies, only TV series or Disney Originals, search for specific content using the search bar, and access your watchlist (titles you’ve pinned for easy access at a later date). Up to seven profiles for each family member can be made on one account too.
A nice touch is that each user can pick a character for their profile, which can be made child-friendly with bolder icons, and a more colourful, less dense interface populated with more kids’ content.
We previewed a Netherlands version of Disney Plus (launched in November 2019) prior to the European launch, and noted how useful the ‘Ultra HD and HDR’ category was for finding and accessing such content. Sadly, that category appears to be missing in the UK version.
A search for ‘4K’ doesn’t bring up any results, so it appears impossible to see what is available in 4K without going into the description for each individual title.
Logos for 4K, HDR (HDR10 or Dolby Vision) and Dolby Atmos are neatly flagged within the synopsis, alongside those for age appropriateness, year of release, genre, season count and audio format. But you will only see these badges if your device supports the technology.
Disney Plus streaming service: everything you need to know
Performance
(Image credit: Disney)
Unsurprisingly, Disney Plus has launched with exhaustive hardware support.
The service works across web browsers; iOS (iOS 11.0 and later) and Android (OS 5.0 Lollipop and later) phones and tablets; Google Chromecast, including devices with Chromecast built-in, such as select Vizio Smart TVs; Apple TV (4th gen or later) and Apple TV 4K (running tvOS 11.0 and later) streamers; Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles; Samsung (2016 and later), LG (2016 and later) and Android-based Sony and Sharp TVs; a wide range of Roku streaming players; Android TV set-top boxes such as Nvidia Shield TV and Mi Box; all of Amazon’s Fire TV streamers, Fire TV Edition smart TVs, and Fire Tablets (Fire OS 5.0 and later); and Sky Q.
Disney Plus’s catalogue can be streamed from an iOS device over AirPlay to Apple TV (including the 3rd- and 4th-generation boxes) as well as any TV compatible with AirPlay 2.
A note on Sky Q support, though: while you might reasonably expect Sky Q to support 4K streaming on Disney Plus, as it does on Netflix, sadly the service’s 4K titles appear only playable in HD and 5.1 audio. We hope Sky rights this in the near future.
Up to four screens can stream simultaneously on one account, which is on a par with Netflix’s pricier Premium tier and better than Apple TV+’s and Amazon Prime Video’s three-screen limit.
Here’s how to watch Disney Plus on Sky Q
Disney reduced the service’s streaming bandwidth by “at least 25 per cent” in order to ease pressure on internet service providers during the current coronavirus pandemic. Disney said: “We have instituted measures to lower bandwidth utilization, and in some circumstances streaming content in HD and UHD formats, including Dolby Atmos audio, will be limited or unavailable.”
With this in mind, our final judgment of Disney Plus’ picture quality compared to that of its rivals, which have also committed to lowering bandwidth, will be better reached at a later date. But we’re happy to report, for those considering subscribing to the service straight away, that the material is perfectly watchable right now.
We find ourselves drawn to the technically wonderful The Lion King live-action remake (a 4K HDR10 title) and are met with appropriately lush landscapes, tangible textures of lion fur, baboon skin and bird feathers, and a clean, crisp picture.
In the much darker opening scene of The Mandalorian (a 4K, HDR10 title) that crispness reveals itself again, complete with punch to lights and shine off helmets. There is enough gleam and sharpness to do justice to the series’ high production values.
Even older titles that have been remastered in Full HD, such as Pete’s Dragon (1977) and The Aristocrats (1970) display a surprising amount of clarity, coherence and richness on our 55in Samsung QLED TV.
(Image credit: Disney)
Verdict
Despite the understandable restrictions around streaming quality, we are very impressed with the Disney Plus streaming service.
As you’d expect from one that’s already been up and running for several months in some countries, this is a polished and personal streaming service that fans of Disney’s output are bound to enjoy.
With its rich, appealing catalogue, vast picture and audio quality support, intuitive usability and reasonable subscription price, Disney Plus is hoping to establish itself as a serious rival to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.
It isn’t perfect, though – the UK service currently overlooks the importance of 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos content discovery – and it is restricted to Disney content, of course, meaning that, for many, it is likely to be a second subscription alongside a more general streaming service.
But with quality Disney Originals and plenty of theatrical releases, Disney Plus seems to have found its own particular niche and be living happily ever after in the competitive streaming world.
(Image credit: LG / Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sony)
While gaming formats such as 4K@120Hz, VRR and ALLM are now getting plenty of attention, one that you may not have heard of is HGiG.
That might partly be because HGiG isn’t really a format (at least not yet), but rather a set of fairly loose guidelines designed to make HDR gaming better and more consistent. Nevertheless, a number of consoles, TVs and games now boast HGiG integration, and it works really well.
So, what is HGiG? How does it work? And how do you get it?
What is HGiG?
‘HGiG’ stands for ‘HDR Gaming Interest Group’. As the name suggests, rather than a format or spec, it’s a consortium of companies that have come together in order to create guidelines and best practices for the implementation of HDR in gaming. Console-makers Microsoft and Sony instigated the creation of HGiG, and members include TV manufacturers such as LG, Samsung and Panasonic, and game developers and publishers such as Activision, EA, Rockstar and Ubisoft.
Broadly speaking, the idea is to create a level of understanding between your TV, console and the game you’re playing so that HDR is displayed as the game creator intended. Because HDR plays a big part in the overall presentation of a game, getting that right gets you much closer to a properly authentic experience.
How does HGiG work?
Essentially, HGiG is all about tone mapping. Every TV has limitations in terms of contrast and colours, and tone mapping is the technique used to tailor content to the limitations of a specific TV model. The problem is that each TV manufacturer implements tone mapping in a different way, and it can often work against the tone mapping that’s being employed at the source, resulting in a picture that doesn’t look right and is missing important details.
The PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X all have HDR calibration menus. Go through the fairly straightforward process contained within and you’re essentially teaching the console the upper and lower contrast limitations of you TV. The problem arises when your TV then attempts to tone map the already tone mapped image. The aim of HGiG is to prevent this so that once your console has learned the parameters of your TV, it outputs all games accordingly.
Is HGiG any good?
In short, yes. LG was the first brand to add an HGiG setting, and it’s absolutely worth using. When playing an HDR game and with the HDR Game preset selected, the Dynamic Tone Mapping setting will have three available options: On, Off and HGiG. Let’s go through these one by one.
Switching Dynamic Tone Mapping on will tell the TV to analyse constantly the picture and boost it as it sees fit. Typically, it results in a really bright and punchy picture, but it also tends to flatten and blur bright elements, over-exposing them and removing detail. The black level tends to be lifted, too, which can reveal more detail but often also washes out the image.
Switching Dynamic Tone Mapping off disables only this on-the-fly element of the processing. The TV is still tone mapping the already tone-mapped image, but it’s doing so in a fixed manner. If you go through your console’s HDR calibration with Dynamic Tone Mapping switched off, you’ll actually end up telling the console to output images at a much higher brightness than the TV can really handle. In game, the TV will then bring bright highlights back down to within its limits, crushing bright detail and shading in the process.
The image below, supplied by Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment, illustrates the issue of incorrect tone mapping in regards to the brightest part of the picture. Notice how the end of the tunnel is more or less flat white, revealing very little of what’s ahead.
(Image credit: Microsoft / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Switch Dynamic Tone Mapping to HGiG, though, and the TV essentially stops doing its own tone mapping. Instead, the image will be output based on the parameters set in the console’s HDR calibration process.
It’s worth pointing out that when switching between these three options, HGiG might look comparatively dark but, generally speaking, it’s also more accurate and closer to the creator’s intent, with the correct amount of detail and shading at the bright and dark extremes.
The second image from Microsoft and Sony illustrates the improvements to the brightest parts of the picture when tone mapping is implemented correctly. Now you can see that there’s a corner at the exit of the tunnel.
(Image credit: Microsoft / Sony Interactive Entertainment)
What’s more, while the image might look less bright than when either of the other two options is selected, the deeper, correctly set black point provides a great base from which bright highlights can punchily emerge. In other words, overall contrast is at least as good, and the picture tends to be more luscious and solid, too.
As mentioned, LG was the first brand to add an HGiG setting to its TVs. If you have an OLED from 2019 (such as the C9) or from 2020 (the CX, for example), you’ll find it by selecting the HDR Game preset, opening the Advanced Controls picture menu, and clicking on Dynamic Tone Mapping. You’ll notice this is off by default – just select HGiG instead.
Samsung added an HGiG setting to 2020 QLED models such as the Q90T via a firmware update released in October of last year. You’ll find it by opening the General settings menu and clicking on External Device Manager.
We’re not aware of other manufacturers having added dedicated HGiG settings, but if you can find a way to turn tone mapping off entirely, you might achieve a similar effect.
The most important thing is to have HGiG selected (or tone mapping disabled) before you go through the HDR calibration process on your console, otherwise the tone mapping will be incorrect.
When and if HGiG becomes an official standard, all of your games will then use this console-level calibration to define their HDR characteristics, but only a handful of games (Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Dirt 5, for example) do this now. Most still have their own HDR calibration screens, and these are worth checking, too. They will still generally look better and more correct with HGiG selected, even if they weren’t developed with HGiG in mind.
What’s next for HGiG and HDR gaming?
While the degree to which HGiG is being adopted, despite it being only a loose connection of guidelines, is impressive, it would be nice to see it become an official specification that becomes more widespread and more consistent. Having to calibrate your TV to your console just once and have every game use that to tailor the picture will be a vast improvement on having to tweak the picture for each game individually.
But even that one-time calibration might be unnecessary in the future. In the land of PC gaming there’s a technology called VESA DisplayHDR, which takes HDR standardisation to new levels and, as David Seperson from LG tells us, even “includes a way for the display to signal its capabilities to the OS”. In other words, we may get to a point when your console and TV talk to one another and the performance is tailored to your specific setup without you needing to do anything at all. Sounds like gaming nirvana to us.
MORE:
Check out our list of the best gaming TVs you can buy
Here’s our PS5 review
Still hunting for a PS5? Here’s the latest PS5 stock information
Cyberpunk 2077’s next big patch has been delayed following developer CD Projekt Red’s disclosure that it fell victim to a ransomware attack earlier this month. The next big patch, 1.2, is now scheduled for a release sometime in the second half of March.
“While we dearly wanted to deliver Patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077 in the timespan we detailed previously, the recent cyber attack on the studio’s IT infrastructure and extensive scope of the update mean this unfortunately will not happen — we’ll need some additional time,” CD Projekt Red said via the Cyberpunk 2077 Twitter account.
Our goal for Patch 1.2 goes beyond any of our previous updates. We’ve been working on numerous overall quality improvements and fixes, and we still have work to do to make sure that’s what you get. With that in mind, we’re now aiming for release in the second half of March. 2/3
— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) February 24, 2021
Cyberpunk 2077 launched in an extremely buggy state, which led Sony to take the drastic step of removing the game from the PlayStation Store. CD Projekt Red has released numerous updates and hotfixes since launch in an attempt to address issues, and it sounds as if patch 1.2 could be the most significant yet. “Our goal for Patch 1.2 goes beyond any of our previous updates,” CD Projekt Red said. The studio is also working on free DLCs and a free next-gen console update.
Hackers reportedly accessed source code from some of CD Projekt Red’s games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3, as well as internal company documents. The hackers reportedly sold the data they stole at auction.
Sony was among the first companies to launch a virtual reality head mounted display (HMD) in 2016. While the unit was optimized for successful game consoles, it has gained limited popularity to a large degree because Sony’s PlayStation 4 was not powerful enough to enable the same VR experience as high-end PCs. Sony’s PlayStation 5 is by far more powerful, which is why Sony is working on a brand-new VR headset designed specifically with PS5 in mind.
Sony’s next-generation VR system would be better than its predecessor in every aspect, including resolution, field of view, tracking, and connectivity, Sony said on Tuesday. According to Sony, the new unit will also come with an all-new VR controller that will support ‘some of the key features’ found in the DualSense wireless controller.
(Image credit: Sony)
Sony has not disclosed any actual specifications of its next-generation VR HMD but said it was in development and will not launch in 2021. Keeping in mind that the unit will be released in 2022 or 2023, six or seven years after the original PS VR, it promises to feature massive improvements over its ancestor.
Game console developers tend to start talking about their next-generation products sometimes over a year before their release to support demand for existing hardware. Sony’s PS VR is compatible with PlayStation 5 (albeit using a special adapter), and the company will continue to release new games for PS VR for quite a while. Therefore, it makes a sense for Sony to give some additional attention to its virtual reality platform. Sony named After The Fall, Sniper Elite VR, and Humanity among its upcoming console titles.
If you’ve spent the day playing through Persona 5 Strikers and noticed the voice of the in-game digital assistant sounded familiar, it’s likely because it’s played by the original voice of Siri (via Kotaku). Susan Bennett originally provided the voice for Apple’s digital assistant, and now she’s playing EMMA, the in-game AI.
You can hear what she sounds like in the role in the video below, around the 9:44 mark.
If you ask your iPhone for directions to the nearest camping store, though, you may notice that its response doesn’t exactly sound like the game. That’s because, while Bennett was the original voice for Siri when it debuted with the iPhone 4S running iOS 5 (though technically Siri existed with Bennett’s voice before it was ever added to the iPhone), she was replaced with the launch of iOS 7.
Typeform has an interview with Bennett about how she became the voice of Siri, and it includes tons of voice recordings from her, which you can compare to her work in Strikers. You can also watch Apple’s ad that introduces Siri on the iPhone 4S to get a feel for what Siri sounded like back then in case its current iteration has overwritten those memories.
This is the kind of extra mile we love to see game developers go. “We need someone to play the voice assistant in the English version of the game. How about the person who played one of the first major voice assistants?” If you want to experience it for yourself, Persona 5 Strikers is out today on PlayStation, Steam, and Switch.
The very good remaster of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 is hitting next-gen consoles and the Nintendo Switch this year. The game will launch on the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S on March 26th, but there’s no specific release date for the Switch release beyond “2021.” The game was first released last year for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
On next-gen consoles, you’ll be able to play the game at 120fps at a 1080p resolution or at 60fps in 4K, according to a blog post. (The PS5 and Xbox Series X can run at a native 4K, while the Xbox Series S version can run at 1440p and upscale to 4K.) The next-gen version will also offer spatial audio.
Get ready to drop in and take #THPS 1+2 to the next level on New Platforms Coming to PS5™, Xbox Series X|S – March 26 and on Nintendo Switch™ – Coming 2021. AVAILABLE NOW on PS4™, Xbox One, and PC. pic.twitter.com/NUVbECnx1e
— Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 (@TonyHawkTheGame) February 23, 2021
If you already own Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 on PS4 or Xbox One, you won’t necessarily be entitled to a free upgrade to the next-gen version, however. Activision spelled out the different upgrade scenarios on its website, but here’s the gist:
If you own the Digital Deluxe versions of the older-gen games, you can download the next-gen upgrade for free. (Though if you live in Japan, the PS4 to PS5 upgrade will cost 100 yen, according to Activision.)
If you originally bought the game digitally but don’t have the Digital Deluxe version, you can pay $10 to upgrade to the “Cross-Gen Deluxe Bundle,” which includes content from the Digital Deluxe version.
If you have the physical PS4 version of the game, you will be able to upgrade to the PS5 version, but you’ll need to you have your disc in your console to play the next-gen version.
If you have the physical Xbox One version, you’re out of luck — there’s no upgrade offer for the Xbox Series X / S version.
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