Monthly Archives: November 2020

PS5 DualSense Can Be Used to Play PS3

We've confirmed that the DualSense controller can be used to play PS3 – so we naturally made a video of us testing that by playing the original PS3 version of Demon's Souls with it.

PS5 DualSense Can Be Used to Play PS3

We've confirmed that the DualSense controller can be used to play PS3 – so we naturally made a video of us testing that by playing the original PS3 version of Demon's Souls with it.

PT Reportedly Has PS5 Backwards Compatibility Removed By Konami Before Release

After hope for backwards compatibility, PT appears not to work on PS5 through any means. But strangely, it seems that hasn't always been the case, with Konami reportedly removing compatibility ahead of the new console's launch. As reported by Polygon, the now-iconic horror game teaser for Silent Hills was seemingly playable on PS5 using a file transfer in October. However, after an update, the game can no longer be played on the new console - something IGN Japan has confirmed. Polygon reports that, when contacted for comment, Sony said the change was a "publisher decision", meaning Konami would have specifically blocked the game from being played on new hardware (and effectively making it even harder for the game to be preserved, after it was made non-downloadable on the PS Store). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/25/how-pt-became-a-modern-urban-legend"] Interestingly, Konami told us in October that it was "testing" its PS4 games for backwards compatibility, and couldn't confirm whether PT would work. We did however know that it would not be downloadable from the PS5 store, even if already owned. We've contacted the publisher for comment. In a long, strange history, this is yet another odd turn in the tale for PT. While there was no love lost between Konami and PT creator Hideo Kojima when the game director left the company, it's not entirely clear why Konami would want to manually block players from playing one of its most striking modern games. For more positive PlayStation news, check out our PS5 console review. We also have explainers on what its new Activity Cards are for, and how the Create button differs from the PS4 Share button. And if you're interested in the PS5's launch lineup, check out our Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales review and our Astro's Playroom review [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.  

PT Reportedly Has PS5 Backwards Compatibility Removed By Konami Before Release

After hope for backwards compatibility, PT appears not to work on PS5 through any means. But strangely, it seems that hasn't always been the case, with Konami reportedly removing compatibility ahead of the new console's launch. As reported by Polygon, the now-iconic horror game teaser for Silent Hills was seemingly playable on PS5 using a file transfer in October. However, after an update, the game can no longer be played on the new console - something IGN Japan has confirmed. Polygon reports that, when contacted for comment, Sony said the change was a "publisher decision", meaning Konami would have specifically blocked the game from being played on new hardware (and effectively making it even harder for the game to be preserved, after it was made non-downloadable on the PS Store). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/25/how-pt-became-a-modern-urban-legend"] Interestingly, Konami told us in October that it was "testing" its PS4 games for backwards compatibility, and couldn't confirm whether PT would work. We did however know that it would not be downloadable from the PS5 store, even if already owned. We've contacted the publisher for comment. In a long, strange history, this is yet another odd turn in the tale for PT. While there was no love lost between Konami and PT creator Hideo Kojima when the game director left the company, it's not entirely clear why Konami would want to manually block players from playing one of its most striking modern games. For more positive PlayStation news, check out our PS5 console review. We also have explainers on what its new Activity Cards are for, and how the Create button differs from the PS4 Share button. And if you're interested in the PS5's launch lineup, check out our Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales review and our Astro's Playroom review [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.  

Godfall Is a Six-Month PS5 Console Exclusive

Godfall is a console exclusive on PS5 for six months after launch, at which point it is free to head to other platforms. The Godfall PS5 launch trailer, includes a small piece of text at the end of its runtime: "Also available on PC. Not available on other consoles until at least 05/12/21." Godfall will be available on PC as well as PS5 at launch on November 12, but this news suggests that it may also come to Xbox or other platforms after the timed exclusivity deal is up on May 12, 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/godfall-launch-trailer"] In other Godfall news, the game's PC specs were recently revealed, so head over to our explainer article to figure out if your rig can run it. You can also check out our interview with the game's developers about loot, progression and more. Godfall is just one of many big November releases, but if you're intrigued as to what else is on offer, check out our roundup of all of the games dropping around the launch of the next-gen consoles. The game will be a launch game for the PlayStation 5, and if you want to peruse our impressions of Sony's next-gen console before you buy, you can catch our PS5 review here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Godfall Is a Six-Month PS5 Console Exclusive

Godfall is a console exclusive on PS5 for six months after launch, at which point it is free to head to other platforms. The Godfall PS5 launch trailer, includes a small piece of text at the end of its runtime: "Also available on PC. Not available on other consoles until at least 05/12/21." Godfall will be available on PC as well as PS5 at launch on November 12, but this news suggests that it may also come to Xbox or other platforms after the timed exclusivity deal is up on May 12, 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/godfall-launch-trailer"] In other Godfall news, the game's PC specs were recently revealed, so head over to our explainer article to figure out if your rig can run it. You can also check out our interview with the game's developers about loot, progression and more. Godfall is just one of many big November releases, but if you're intrigued as to what else is on offer, check out our roundup of all of the games dropping around the launch of the next-gen consoles. The game will be a launch game for the PlayStation 5, and if you want to peruse our impressions of Sony's next-gen console before you buy, you can catch our PS5 review here. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

EA Sports to Release ‘Multiple New Franchises’ in the Coming Years

EA says its Sports division plans to release "multiple new franchises in the years ahead", adding to its existing portfolio. In the latest EA financials, CEO Andrew Wilson discussed the continuing growth of its FIFA, NHL, Madden and UFC franchises, but added a brief mention of new series, saying, "We also have plans to add to our core EA SPORTS portfolio with multiple new franchises in the years ahead." Wilson didn't go into more detail about those mooted franchises. It may be that he means brand new sports games, more diverse versions of existing EA sports (college football or street soccer, for example), or returns to abandoned franchises –EA Sports has previously made golf, boxing, cricket, and snowboarding games, among others. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/fifa-21-review"] EA clearly has big plans for EA Sports in general, with Wilson explaining that the division will see a "significant expansion that will span new games, more geographies and more ways to engage." He adds that the compamny has "six new soccer mobile games in development for new genres and new markets," and points out that Ultimate Team modes have grown by 25% this year. While the division is clearly working for its parent company, EA Sports' approach to monetization and development iteration have become increasingly controversial in recent years. This year, we've bemoaned Madden 21's stagnant Franchise mode, and seen EA fined potentially millions of dollars for its loot box-like Ultimate Team packs in Europe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

EA Sports to Release ‘Multiple New Franchises’ in the Coming Years

EA says its Sports division plans to release "multiple new franchises in the years ahead", adding to its existing portfolio. In the latest EA financials, CEO Andrew Wilson discussed the continuing growth of its FIFA, NHL, Madden and UFC franchises, but added a brief mention of new series, saying, "We also have plans to add to our core EA SPORTS portfolio with multiple new franchises in the years ahead." Wilson didn't go into more detail about those mooted franchises. It may be that he means brand new sports games, more diverse versions of existing EA sports (college football or street soccer, for example), or returns to abandoned franchises –EA Sports has previously made golf, boxing, cricket, and snowboarding games, among others. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/fifa-21-review"] EA clearly has big plans for EA Sports in general, with Wilson explaining that the division will see a "significant expansion that will span new games, more geographies and more ways to engage." He adds that the compamny has "six new soccer mobile games in development for new genres and new markets," and points out that Ultimate Team modes have grown by 25% this year. While the division is clearly working for its parent company, EA Sports' approach to monetization and development iteration have become increasingly controversial in recent years. This year, we've bemoaned Madden 21's stagnant Franchise mode, and seen EA fined potentially millions of dollars for its loot box-like Ultimate Team packs in Europe. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

PS5’s Activity Cards Explained: Our Pre-Launch Experience

One of PS5’s new UI features comes in the form of Activity Cards, a series of game-specific and more general panels available in the PS5’s Control Center. While we saw some specific-use cases in the PS5 UI reveal, we’ve now had a bit more hands-on time with them in multiple games, and can better explain how they work. Specifically, we can speak about using them in conjunction with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Astro’s Playroom. And of course, you can see more of the PS5’s UI in our full PS5 review. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/playstation-5-review"]

PS5 Overall Use

No matter what game we’ve played on PS5, some Activity Cards are a constant. A newsfeed card has been apparent whenever pulling up this feature. It has changed somewhat in our pre-launch experience - when Insomniac revealed new videos for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, for example, that took the prominent featured spot on the newsfeed card. As of right now, it’s unclear what other console-wide cards may be added in the future, but they do offer Sony a platform to directly flag any major updates to players, no matter what game they’re playing. Additionally, a recent media capture card has been present for me while using the PS5, letting me quickly access my previous screenshots and clips captured via the Share button. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-ui-screenshots&captions=true"]

Astro’s Playroom Activities Cards

Diving into game-specific uses, Astro’s Playroom offers a bit more of a clear use case for future games. A host of game-specific cards will pop up while playing, based on recent use of Playroom, and I’ve seen both Trophy-specific cards and Level-focused ones featured most often. Playroom is split into four main worlds, each with four levels apiece. Cards allowed me to immediately jump into a level from the Control Center, rather than going through any in-game menu. Playroom makes this feature a little redundant, because the game’s pause menu is a world map that lets you instantly hop into any level. But its benefits for future games with many more levels or more points to jump to is immediately clear. There’s no additional loads and no hopping out of the game - if I want to head back to a level, I can see my percentage completion for it when it comes to artifacts and collectibles, and click right into it. And for completionists/Platinum trophy hunters like myself, that is a wonderful, direct, and easy use. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/astros-playroom-review"]

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Activities Cards

Miles Morales may also be a good test case for where more narrative, as well as open world, games take us on the PS5 when it comes to these cards. At first. When starting up Miles Morales, the Cards feed is relatively non-existent. But as I got deeper into the story, if I pulled the cards up with a new narrative mission to go to, it would be an option as a card. And Miles’ collectibles open up as you progress later into its story, so cards served as a reminder for my progress on collectible tech stashes, or time capsules that were akin to Peter Parker’s collectible backpacks in the first Spider-Man. And as I gained access to more one-off side missions, some of those would come up as options, too. As with Astro’s Playroom, because Miles Morales’ collectibles often pop up as you’re exploring the city, it may be easier for some players to just keep swinging around and stumble across them. But it’s an obvious primer for how developers can use these cards in other upcoming open-world games, which we haven’t gotten to test yet. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/marvels-spider-man-miles-morales-review"] Of course, we've only gotten to see these cards be used in a pre-launch capacity with some of the PS5's launch lineup, and we'll continue to test them as we gain access to more games. In the meantime, we also have news on how the PS5 has 667GB of usable storage space, why it doesn't seem to have custom themes, how the Create button differs from the PS4 Share button, and you can read our full PS5 console review. And if you're interested in the PS5's launch lineup, check out our Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales review and our Astro's Playroom review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.

PS5’s Activity Cards Explained: Our Pre-Launch Experience

One of PS5’s new UI features comes in the form of Activity Cards, a series of game-specific and more general panels available in the PS5’s Control Center. While we saw some specific-use cases in the PS5 UI reveal, we’ve now had a bit more hands-on time with them in multiple games, and can better explain how they work. Specifically, we can speak about using them in conjunction with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Astro’s Playroom. And of course, you can see more of the PS5’s UI in our full PS5 review. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/playstation-5-review"]

PS5 Overall Use

No matter what game we’ve played on PS5, some Activity Cards are a constant. A newsfeed card has been apparent whenever pulling up this feature. It has changed somewhat in our pre-launch experience - when Insomniac revealed new videos for Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, for example, that took the prominent featured spot on the newsfeed card. As of right now, it’s unclear what other console-wide cards may be added in the future, but they do offer Sony a platform to directly flag any major updates to players, no matter what game they’re playing. Additionally, a recent media capture card has been present for me while using the PS5, letting me quickly access my previous screenshots and clips captured via the Share button. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=ps5-ui-screenshots&captions=true"]

Astro’s Playroom Activities Cards

Diving into game-specific uses, Astro’s Playroom offers a bit more of a clear use case for future games. A host of game-specific cards will pop up while playing, based on recent use of Playroom, and I’ve seen both Trophy-specific cards and Level-focused ones featured most often. Playroom is split into four main worlds, each with four levels apiece. Cards allowed me to immediately jump into a level from the Control Center, rather than going through any in-game menu. Playroom makes this feature a little redundant, because the game’s pause menu is a world map that lets you instantly hop into any level. But its benefits for future games with many more levels or more points to jump to is immediately clear. There’s no additional loads and no hopping out of the game - if I want to head back to a level, I can see my percentage completion for it when it comes to artifacts and collectibles, and click right into it. And for completionists/Platinum trophy hunters like myself, that is a wonderful, direct, and easy use. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/astros-playroom-review"]

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Activities Cards

Miles Morales may also be a good test case for where more narrative, as well as open world, games take us on the PS5 when it comes to these cards. At first. When starting up Miles Morales, the Cards feed is relatively non-existent. But as I got deeper into the story, if I pulled the cards up with a new narrative mission to go to, it would be an option as a card. And Miles’ collectibles open up as you progress later into its story, so cards served as a reminder for my progress on collectible tech stashes, or time capsules that were akin to Peter Parker’s collectible backpacks in the first Spider-Man. And as I gained access to more one-off side missions, some of those would come up as options, too. As with Astro’s Playroom, because Miles Morales’ collectibles often pop up as you’re exploring the city, it may be easier for some players to just keep swinging around and stumble across them. But it’s an obvious primer for how developers can use these cards in other upcoming open-world games, which we haven’t gotten to test yet. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/06/marvels-spider-man-miles-morales-review"] Of course, we've only gotten to see these cards be used in a pre-launch capacity with some of the PS5's launch lineup, and we'll continue to test them as we gain access to more games. In the meantime, we also have news on how the PS5 has 667GB of usable storage space, why it doesn't seem to have custom themes, how the Create button differs from the PS4 Share button, and you can read our full PS5 console review. And if you're interested in the PS5's launch lineup, check out our Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales review and our Astro's Playroom review. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jonathon Dornbush is IGN's Senior News Editor, host of Podcast Beyond!, and PlayStation lead. Talk to him on Twitter @jmdornbush.