jedi:-fallen-order’s-next-gen-update-will-let-you-go-from-disc-to-digital

Jedi: Fallen Order’s next-gen update will let you go from disc to digital

EA released a free next-gen update for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order on Friday, and the announcement comes with good news for people who own a physical copy of the game but have a discless next-gen console: EA will let you convert your physical copy to a digital one so you can take advantage of the upgrade, the company says in an FAQ.

If you want to upgrade your disc version to digital, click this link to EA’s support website. If you click on the Digital Edition PS5 or Xbox Series S icons, then “Codes and promotions,” then “Replace disc with code,” then “Select Contact Option,” you’ll be taken to a form to fill out to request your digital code. The form says an EA support representative will email you within 72 hours after you fill it out.

Jedi: Fallen Order’s next-gen update adds 4K / HDR resolution, improved 60fps performance, and “significantly faster” loading speeds, according to EA. It also adds a performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X that runs at a 1440p resolution and 60fps — when turned off, the game runs at a 4K resolution at 30fps. Those options might be disappointing for players who were hoping for a way to play in 4K and 60fps on next-gen consoles. And Xbox Series S players won’t be able to pick from either mode; the Series S version of the game will be capped at 1080p / 60fps, EA says.

You’ll also be able to transfer your saves, and if you do that, unlocked trophies and achievements will carry over, too.

Elon Musk demos Cyberpunk 2077 on new Tesla infotainment system with ‘PS5-level performance’

Elon Musk teased that Tesla’s new Model S Plaid would be capable of running Cyberpunk 2077 earlier this year, and he’s now demonstrated the car’s “PS5-level performance.” The refreshed Model S includes a new Tesla infotainment system, powered by AMD’s Ryzen processor and a discrete AMD RDNA 2 GPU.

“There’s never been a car that has state of the art computing technology, state of the art infotainment where this is literally at the level of a PlayStation 5,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk during a demo event last night. “This is actual PlayStation 5-level performance… yes it can run Cyberpunk. It’s high frame rate, it will do 60fps with state of the art games.”

AMD revealed last week that it’s powering this new infotainment system in both the new Model S and Model X, with 10 teraflops of compute power. That in itself is nearly identical to the 10.28 teraflops found on Sony’s PlayStation 5, although Tesla’s total compute includes both the integrated and discrete GPUs so it won’t be a full 10 teraflops for gaming alone.

We only saw a brief demo of Cyberpunk 2077 running at high frame rates on the $130,000 Model S Plaid during Tesla’s event, alongside a closer look at the updated UI on the infotainment system.

A Tesla-branded controller.
Paul Spivak (Reddit)

In separate demonstrations after the event, some Tesla fans were able to get pictures of what appears to be a Tesla-branded game controller. It’s not clear if the controller, which mimics the shape of the car’s steering wheel, is a dummy unit or not. It appears alongside an Xbox controller in a photo published by Reddit users (above), and videos seem to show the Xbox controller being used to play Cyberpunk 2077.

You might be wondering why you’d need PS5-level gaming performance in your car, which the Technoking is happy to answer. “If you think about the future of where the car is often in autopilot or full self-driving mode, then entertainment is going to become increasing important,” said Musk. Until that’s a reality, we’re hoping to see the folks at Digital Foundry benchmark a car running the latest AAA games against powerful PCs, the PS5, and the Xbox Series X.

the-red-ps5-controller-is-a-different-red-to-the-red-xbox-series-x-controller

The red PS5 controller is a different red to the red Xbox Series X controller

While the PS5’s divisive two-tone design has led some to swap out large pieces of plastic for a more unified look, this month did at least see Sony release some official new color options for the excellent DualSense controller. There are now “cosmic red” and “midnight black” models that might appeal to you more than the black and white default.

The black controller doesn’t seem all that interesting, but as a fan of red objects I ordered the red one in to see how it looks in person. The color is actually quite unusual — Sony’s marketing info places the controller in front of a bright red nebula, in keeping with the “cosmic red” name, and it’s a pretty good match.

Basically, it’s a little pinker than you might expect, falling somewhere between crimson, ruby, and raspberry. I think it looks good with the black trim and manages to feel appropriate for the PS5’s aesthetic.

And yes, the tiny PlayStation symbols microtexture is back, though it’s still pretty much impossible to see with the naked eye:

A close-up of the new PS5 controller’s microtexture.

Sony is quite slow to release its first PS5 controller color variations. Microsoft had black, white, and blue options available at the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S, and soon followed up with red, yellow, and camo options.

I have the red Series X controller too, and it’s a much more straightforward, primary-color shade than the PS5. The difference is clear when they’re next to each other.

The red PS5 controller next to its Xbox Series equivalent.

The red and black PS5 controllers are out this week in Japan and should be available next week in North America, though like the PS5 itself it’ll probably be difficult to find stock. The black version costs $69.99, while the red version is for some inexplicable reason $5 more expensive at $74.99.

xbox’s-summer-game-fest-event-featuring-more-than-40-demos-starts-june-15th

Xbox’s Summer Game Fest event featuring more than 40 demos starts June 15th

Microsoft is hosting another Summer Game Fest event to give you a chance to play demos of some unreleased Xbox Series X / S and Xbox One games. This year’s event is coming up soon, running from June 15th through June 21st, and there will be more than 40 demos to check out, the company said in a blog post. While Microsoft hasn’t released the full list of games just yet, it has shared a few that you can look forward to.

One that I have my eye on is Sable, which looks like a comic from Jean “Moebius” Giraud come to life and takes inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. After years in development, Sable is set to release on September 23rd, and you can see some footage from it in this performance from Thursday’s Summer Game Fest Kickoff live event by Japanese Breakfast, who wrote a song for the game:

Microsoft’s event will also feature Tunic, an isometric adventure game starring an adorable fox adventurer that I’ve been looking forward to ever since it was announced at E3 2018. You can get a preview of that game in this new video:

Lake, The Riftbreaker, and Echo Generation will also be among the demos included as part of the demo event.

watch-the-first-gameplay-trailer-for-elden-ring,-coming-january-21st-2022

Watch the first gameplay trailer for Elden Ring, coming January 21st 2022

Elden Ring, the long-awaited action RPG made in collaboration between FromSoftware and writer George R.R. Martin, has finally shown new signs of life. We got a surprise trailer today at the end of the Summer Game Fest Kickoff Live event as well as a release date. January 21, 2022 is when you’ll be able to play it on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X, and last-gen consoles.

The first gameplay from the elusive title that was announced during E3 2019 shows plenty of PvE magic and swordplay while traversing through fantastical environments on horseback. I’m sure we’ll see more gameplay in the near future, but this first look at Elden Ring looks like it should please fans of Bloodborne and Dark Souls.

It seems to be delivering a new take on the studio’s signature action RPG gameplay, nestled into deep, entrancing game design. Congratulations to George R.R. Martin for delivering some new content in this decade — maybe now he can get back to finishing The Winds of Winter.

Though there was a long gap between when this game was announced and when we got this trailer today, we’ll likely hear more from FromSoftware and publisher Bandai Namco as the game’s release date is approaching.

tiny-tina’s-wonderlands-is-a-fantasy-game-starring-andy-samberg-and-wanda-sykes

Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands is a fantasy game starring Andy Samberg and Wanda Sykes

Borderlands developer Gearbox and 2K Games announced a new fantasy shooter called Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands on Thursday at Summer Games Fest. It has an all-star cast, including Andy Samberg, Will Arnett, Wanda Sykes, and Ashly Burch. The new game is set to launch in early 2022.

At the event, Burch, who voices Tiny Tina in the Borderlands series, described it as a “high fantasy looter shooter,” and in the trailer, it certainly looked a lot like a Borderlands game, both with its cel-shaded visual style and the appearance of a ridiculous-looking gun that shot some kind of electric laser beam. Unlike in Borderlands, though, you’ll create your own character.

The game will be coming to PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (on Steam and the Epic Games Store), Xbox One, and Xbox Series X when it launches early next year. It will have a full-length campaign and four-player co-op, Polygon reports.

xbox-is-making-streaming-hardware,-already-working-on-next-consoles

Xbox Is Making Streaming Hardware, Already Working on Next Consoles

(Image credit: Xbox)

Ahead of E3 Microsoft and Xbox are putting a heavy emphasis on cloud gaming and its Game Pass subscription program alongside its existing console ecosystem. This includes new, dedicated streaming hardware for any TV or

monitor

. It is also updating its cloud datacenters to use the

Xbox Series X

, so that gamers who stream are getting the company’s most powerful hardware.

Xbox’s announcement

comes ahead of Xbox’s joint E3 games showcase this Sunday with its recent acquisition, Bethesda, and also comes with a slew of new attempts to push Xbox onto just about any device you might already have. The Xbox division is moving to get its software embedded into internet-connected TVs, which would require no additional hardware other than a controller to play cloud games.

Additionally, the company is looking into new subscription offerings for Game Pass. (though it didn’t get into specifics), and is looking into new purchase options for Xbox All Access, which lets people buy the console and Game Pass for a monthly fee, rather than paying up front. (This is similar to how many pay for smartphones in the U.S.).

Building its own streaming devices, however, is a bigger push to make Xbox an ecosystem outside of consoles and even moves Xbox into competition, to a degree, with Chromecast, Roku and Apple TV for the living room. (Chromecast is scheduled to get

Google Stadia

support later this month).

Still, the company sees its consoles, the Xbox Series X and Series S, as its top-notch offering, even while it expands in mobile, on PC and in streaming. In fact, that’s the other major piece of hardware Xbox is working on: the next console.

(Image credit: Xbox)

“Cloud is key to our hardware and Game Pass roadmaps, but no one should think we’re slowing down on our core console engineering. In fact, we’re accelerating it,” said Liz Hamren, corporate vice president of gaming experiences and platforms. 

“We’re already hard at work on new hardware and platforms, some of which won’t come to light for years. But even as we build for the future, we’re focused on extending the Xbox experience to more devices today so we can reach more people.”

This isn’t exactly surprising. Consoles start getting designed years in advance, and these days, the mid-life cycle refresh cycle is common. Microsoft has also positioned the latest consoles as a “series” of devices, so it’s possible there will be new entries in the line that remain compatible with the current options.

Cloud gaming in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is set to launch in Brazil, Japan and Australia later this year. Meanwhile, cloud gaming in a web browser, including support for Chrome, Edge and Safari, will go live to Game Pass Ultimate subscribers “in the next few weeks.” The Xbox app on PC will also get cloud gaming integrated this year.

Hamren said that Game Pass has more than 18 million subscribers, though that wasn’t broken down between the console, PC and ultimate plans, (which include game streaming).

The Series X and S haven’t seen a ton of new titles from Microsoft Studios yet, but it sounds like that will change.

“In terms of the overall lineup, we want to get to a point of releasing a new game every quarter…” said Matt Booty, the head of Xbox Game Studios. “We know that a thriving entertainment service needs a consistent and exciting flow of new content. So our portfolio will continue to grow as our service grows.”

Xbox has more than 23 studios and also recently acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Game Studios, as well as id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog and Roundhouse Studios.

Game Pass games are released simultaneously on PC and Xbox, which Xbox Head Phil Spencer used to poke at its competitors, namely Sony and its

PlayStation 5

.

“So right now, we’re the only platform shipping games on console, PC and cloud simultaneously,” Spencer said. “Others bring console games to PC years later, not only making people buy their hardware up front, but then charging them a second time to play on PC. And, of course, all of our games are in our subscription service day one, full cross-platform included.” (PlayStation brought Horizon Zero Dawn and Days Gone to PC but long after their PlayStation 4 releases.)

Tim Stuart, the chief financial officer for Xbox, said “we’ll do a lot more in PC for sure.” There have been rumors of big changes to the Microsoft Store on Windows, including making it easier for developers to sell games. That’s another avenue we may see explored soon, as Microsoft explores

what’s next for Windows

later this month, after E3.

The Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase will take place on Sunday, June 13 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET and will stream on YouTube, Twitch, Facebook and Twitter.