On this week's episode of Podcast Beyond!, IGN's weekly PlayStation show, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Max Scoville to look back on the year that was for PlayStation. The cast reminisces about the PS5 news cycle this year, how the launch year coped with the lack of in-person events, and the many PS5 and PS4 games we were lucky to have this year. Watch the new episode above! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-playstation-exclusives-of-2020&captions=true"]

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Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out our PS5 console 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.

On this week's episode of Podcast Beyond!, IGN's weekly PlayStation show, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Max Scoville to look back on the year that was for PlayStation. The cast reminisces about the PS5 news cycle this year, how the launch year coped with the lack of in-person events, and the many PS5 and PS4 games we were lucky to have this year. Watch the new episode above! [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-best-playstation-exclusives-of-2020&captions=true"]

• Direct Download

• YouTube

•  Apple Podcasts/iTunes

• Spotify

• Stitcher

• PlayerFM

• Podbay

• TuneIn

• Podbean

• Feedburner

Podcast Beyond! is live every Wednesday. For more on PS5, check out our PS5 console 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.

Human space colonies may be further away than we think, unfortunately. Scientists have long been researching the health effects of space travel on humans, and new discoveries indicate the health effects can be detrimental. As explained by ScienceAlert, we've known that space travel is dangerous for a long time - after all, we've been doing it for over 50 years now. But, if our plan is to colonize Mars in the future, it's important we understand just what is at stake. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] According to discoveries made as part of NASA's Twin Study, extended time in space can affect blood flow to the brain, alter the ratio of bacteria in your gut microbiome, and cause temporary visual impairments, among other effects, due to the microgravity found outside Earth. The issues begin during liftoff when astronauts are subjected to G forces almost three times what we experience on Earth. After exiting our atmosphere, space radiation becomes an issue and something that scientists are still looking to understand. "Going forward, our goal is to get a better idea of underlying mechanisms, of what's going on during long-duration space flight in the human body, and how it varies between people," said Susan Bailey, a biologist from Colorado State University. "Not everybody responds the same way." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cosmos-possible-worlds-gallery&captions=true"] A one-way trip to Mars can take roughly seven months, meaning a round trip leads to a minimum of well over a year in space – not counting any research time on the planet itself. While this may not seem like a long time, relatively speaking, it is just shy of the record for the longest duration in space by a single person. Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov spent 438 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station in 2016. This is just a singular case, however. In order to truly test the long-term health effects of space travel, we'll inevitably need a larger sample size. Currently, much of the data is pooled as part of NASA's GeneLab Project. This is a more cost-effective way for scientists to test samples and compare data. The results of one such test indicated a collective change in the subjects' mitochondria—tiny organelles within our cells that help to convert food into usable energy. "What we found over and over was that something is happening with the mitochondria regulation that throws everything out of whack," said Afshin Beheshti, a bioinformatician at NASA's Ames Research Center. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/08/21/the-martian-features-these-9-real-nasa-technologies-ign-news"] While the idea of living in space or on another planet is certainly appealing, we've clearly got a lot more to understand first. For more space news, read about NASA's discovery of water on the moon as well as possible signs of life on Venus. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Human space colonies may be further away than we think, unfortunately. Scientists have long been researching the health effects of space travel on humans, and new discoveries indicate the health effects can be detrimental. As explained by ScienceAlert, we've known that space travel is dangerous for a long time - after all, we've been doing it for over 50 years now. But, if our plan is to colonize Mars in the future, it's important we understand just what is at stake. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] According to discoveries made as part of NASA's Twin Study, extended time in space can affect blood flow to the brain, alter the ratio of bacteria in your gut microbiome, and cause temporary visual impairments, among other effects, due to the microgravity found outside Earth. The issues begin during liftoff when astronauts are subjected to G forces almost three times what we experience on Earth. After exiting our atmosphere, space radiation becomes an issue and something that scientists are still looking to understand. "Going forward, our goal is to get a better idea of underlying mechanisms, of what's going on during long-duration space flight in the human body, and how it varies between people," said Susan Bailey, a biologist from Colorado State University. "Not everybody responds the same way." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cosmos-possible-worlds-gallery&captions=true"] A one-way trip to Mars can take roughly seven months, meaning a round trip leads to a minimum of well over a year in space – not counting any research time on the planet itself. While this may not seem like a long time, relatively speaking, it is just shy of the record for the longest duration in space by a single person. Russian cosmonaut Valery Polyakov spent 438 consecutive days aboard the International Space Station in 2016. This is just a singular case, however. In order to truly test the long-term health effects of space travel, we'll inevitably need a larger sample size. Currently, much of the data is pooled as part of NASA's GeneLab Project. This is a more cost-effective way for scientists to test samples and compare data. The results of one such test indicated a collective change in the subjects' mitochondria—tiny organelles within our cells that help to convert food into usable energy. "What we found over and over was that something is happening with the mitochondria regulation that throws everything out of whack," said Afshin Beheshti, a bioinformatician at NASA's Ames Research Center. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/08/21/the-martian-features-these-9-real-nasa-technologies-ign-news"] While the idea of living in space or on another planet is certainly appealing, we've clearly got a lot more to understand first. For more space news, read about NASA's discovery of water on the moon as well as possible signs of life on Venus. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matthew Adler is a Features, News, Previews, Reviews, and Wikis writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @MatthewAdler and watch him stream on Twitch.

Nintendo is now allowing players to view their Nintendo Switch Year In Review that shows what kind of player they are, how many hours were played, how many games they played, and what your most-played games are. If you want to know how many hours your spent in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, or Paper Mario: The Origami King, you can find your own Nintendo Switch Year In Review on Nintendo.com. Not only does it show you a bunch of stats from this year, it also compares them to 2019. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/02/the-best-nintendo-gifts-holiday-gift-guide-2020"] Many players will undoubtedly see that their play time has increased year-over-year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is making many spend more time at home. Despite Switch shortages this year, Nintendo's newest console has achieved a 24-month streak as being the best-selling hardware platform in terms of units sold. In November 2020, it even withstood the launch of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. For more on Nintendo Switch, be sure to check out our list of the Top 25 Switch Games and our guide for the best gifts for Nintendo fans for some last-minute shopping this holiday season. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-25-switch-games-fall-2020-update&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Nintendo is now allowing players to view their Nintendo Switch Year In Review that shows what kind of player they are, how many hours were played, how many games they played, and what your most-played games are. If you want to know how many hours your spent in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, or Paper Mario: The Origami King, you can find your own Nintendo Switch Year In Review on Nintendo.com. Not only does it show you a bunch of stats from this year, it also compares them to 2019. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/02/the-best-nintendo-gifts-holiday-gift-guide-2020"] Many players will undoubtedly see that their play time has increased year-over-year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that is making many spend more time at home. Despite Switch shortages this year, Nintendo's newest console has achieved a 24-month streak as being the best-selling hardware platform in terms of units sold. In November 2020, it even withstood the launch of both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. For more on Nintendo Switch, be sure to check out our list of the Top 25 Switch Games and our guide for the best gifts for Nintendo fans for some last-minute shopping this holiday season. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-top-25-switch-games-fall-2020-update&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

As if all the geeky cameos and guest appearances in The Mandalorian: Season 2 weren't enough, Disney may be planning to bring another iconic Star Wars character back into the fold. The official Star Wars Instagram account wished actor Samuel L. Jackson a happy birthday, while strongly hinting Jackson may be reprising the role of Jedi Master Mace Windu. The message reads, "The party isn’t over, it’s just beginning! Sending a very happy birthday to Samuel L. Jackson." The message is clearly referencing Mace's iconic line from Attack of the Clones, where he confronts Count Dooku and Jango Fett and declares, "This party is over!" However, the wording of the message definitely seems to imply Jackson is returning to the role in some capacity, presumably in an upcoming Star Wars series on Disney+. If so, it's unclear whether Jackson would star in his own, unannounced project or play a supporting role in another series. The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series seems one likely possibility. That series is set ten years after the events of Episode III (roughly the same time period as Solo: A Star Wars Story) and sheds light on Obi-Wan's struggles in that lost period during his exile on Tatooine. We've already learned Hayden Christensen will be reprising the role of Darth Vader in that series, so bringing back Jackson's Mace Windu would be icing on the cake for prequel fans. Assuming Mace does return in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, it's unclear whether the character would appear in the main story or via a Clone Wars-era flashback. Fans have long speculated that Mace survived his seemingly fatal clash with Darth Sidious in Episode III, so it's not unrealistic to expect an older, one-armed Master Windu aiding Obi-Wan in his quest. Or will he appear further down the Star Wars timeline, possibly giving Boba Fett a chance at vengeance for his slain father? [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] Should Jackson return, he would join a growing list of actors reprising their iconic Star Wars role on Disney+. The Mandalorian also brought back Katee Sackhoff in her first live-action performance as Bo-Katan Kryze, as well as Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett. Morrison's Fett and Ming-Na Wen's Fennec Shand will now star in the spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett, which will premiere in December 2021. Plus, there was that pretty huge cameo in the Season 2 finale... Do you want to see more Mace Windu? Where do you think the master swordsman will appear next? Vote in the poll below and et us know what you think in the comments: [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=d0d2e136-f3a0-4a08-b6c9-25bd8993f33a"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

As if all the geeky cameos and guest appearances in The Mandalorian: Season 2 weren't enough, Disney may be planning to bring another iconic Star Wars character back into the fold. The official Star Wars Instagram account wished actor Samuel L. Jackson a happy birthday, while strongly hinting Jackson may be reprising the role of Jedi Master Mace Windu. The message reads, "The party isn’t over, it’s just beginning! Sending a very happy birthday to Samuel L. Jackson." The message is clearly referencing Mace's iconic line from Attack of the Clones, where he confronts Count Dooku and Jango Fett and declares, "This party is over!" However, the wording of the message definitely seems to imply Jackson is returning to the role in some capacity, presumably in an upcoming Star Wars series on Disney+. If so, it's unclear whether Jackson would star in his own, unannounced project or play a supporting role in another series. The upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series seems one likely possibility. That series is set ten years after the events of Episode III (roughly the same time period as Solo: A Star Wars Story) and sheds light on Obi-Wan's struggles in that lost period during his exile on Tatooine. We've already learned Hayden Christensen will be reprising the role of Darth Vader in that series, so bringing back Jackson's Mace Windu would be icing on the cake for prequel fans. Assuming Mace does return in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, it's unclear whether the character would appear in the main story or via a Clone Wars-era flashback. Fans have long speculated that Mace survived his seemingly fatal clash with Darth Sidious in Episode III, so it's not unrealistic to expect an older, one-armed Master Windu aiding Obi-Wan in his quest. Or will he appear further down the Star Wars timeline, possibly giving Boba Fett a chance at vengeance for his slain father? [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-upcoming-star-wars-movie&captions=true"] Should Jackson return, he would join a growing list of actors reprising their iconic Star Wars role on Disney+. The Mandalorian also brought back Katee Sackhoff in her first live-action performance as Bo-Katan Kryze, as well as Temuera Morrison as Boba Fett. Morrison's Fett and Ming-Na Wen's Fennec Shand will now star in the spinoff series The Book of Boba Fett, which will premiere in December 2021. Plus, there was that pretty huge cameo in the Season 2 finale... Do you want to see more Mace Windu? Where do you think the master swordsman will appear next? Vote in the poll below and et us know what you think in the comments: [poilib element="poll" parameters="id=d0d2e136-f3a0-4a08-b6c9-25bd8993f33a"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

A new study suggests that alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, meaning our galaxy could be full of dead alien civilizations. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology researchers believe that the galaxy might be home to alien civilizations that destroyed themselves through technological advances that eventually "lead to complete destruction and biological degeneration," as reported by the NY Post. This theory posits that any intelligent life that lived in the Milky Way before us has likely already killed itself off. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cosmos-possible-worlds-gallery&captions=true"] "If intelligent life is likely to destroy themselves, it is not surprising that there is little or no intelligent life elsewhere," the researchers state in a paper detailing their theory. If you're wondering why we might still be alive, it's because humans are billions of years behind these now-dead civilizations. The aliens in question probably saw life form around 8 billion years after the formation of the Milky Way whereas we didn't arrive until 13.5 billion years after its formation, meaning we are about 5.5 billion years behind. "Since Carl Sagan's time, there's been lots of research," NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory astrophysicist, Jonathan H. Jiang, said, as reported by LiveScience. "Especially since the Hubble Space Telescope and Kepler Space Telescope, we have lots of knowledge about the densities in the Milky Way galaxy and star formation rates and exoplanet formation...and the occurrence rate of supernova explosions. We actually know some of the numbers." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/27/pentagon-officially-declassifies-and-releases-3-navy-videos-purportedly-showing-ufos"] The numbers Jiang is referring to is the mystery variables Sagan referred to in his Cosmos miniseries where he discussed the Drake equation. This equation comes from Frank Drake in 1961 and is an equation used to estimate the number of active alien civilizations in the Milky Way. Due to the limitations of their time, Drake and Sagan had to include variables that couldn't be identified more precisely. Jiang and the team of researchers they worked with have learned some of those numbers that Sagan and Drake couldn't identify. No single factor is more important than the idea that intelligent creatures generally have a tendency that leans toward self-annihilation, according to LiveScience. The theory also includes factors like the prevalence of sun-like stars harboring Earth-like plants, the number of deadly supernovas near the alien civilizations, the probability of intelligent life evolving, and the tendency of advanced civilizations to destroy themselves through progress. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] All of these factors and more come together to lead Jiang and the other researchers to believe that advanced alien civilizations did exist at one point, but likely lead themselves to destruction by way of progress. We might not be the sole civilization that exists as living in the galaxy though, as a some scientists theorize there might be 36 extraterrestrial races among the stars, as reported by SyFy Wire. This isn't the first time researchers have theorized that our galaxy might be home to the remains of now-dead alien civilizations. Back in 2018, researchers arrived to this same theory, but it wasn't progress that lead to their civilization-wide annihilation — it was climate change, according to this report from Forbes. Regardless of the reasoning, Earth and the human race sound about 5.5 billion years late to the party of progress-related annihilation, but if it turns out climate change is the reason, we might be closer to our end than 5.5 billion years. While waiting to find out what our fate is, read about possible signs of life detected on Venus and then read about how according to a former Israeli government official, the United States and Israel are in contact with a galactic federation of aliens. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN who became increasingly more existential while writing this story. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes. 

A new study suggests that alien civilizations destroyed themselves through progress, meaning our galaxy could be full of dead alien civilizations. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology researchers believe that the galaxy might be home to alien civilizations that destroyed themselves through technological advances that eventually "lead to complete destruction and biological degeneration," as reported by the NY Post. This theory posits that any intelligent life that lived in the Milky Way before us has likely already killed itself off. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=cosmos-possible-worlds-gallery&captions=true"] "If intelligent life is likely to destroy themselves, it is not surprising that there is little or no intelligent life elsewhere," the researchers state in a paper detailing their theory. If you're wondering why we might still be alive, it's because humans are billions of years behind these now-dead civilizations. The aliens in question probably saw life form around 8 billion years after the formation of the Milky Way whereas we didn't arrive until 13.5 billion years after its formation, meaning we are about 5.5 billion years behind. "Since Carl Sagan's time, there's been lots of research," NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory astrophysicist, Jonathan H. Jiang, said, as reported by LiveScience. "Especially since the Hubble Space Telescope and Kepler Space Telescope, we have lots of knowledge about the densities in the Milky Way galaxy and star formation rates and exoplanet formation...and the occurrence rate of supernova explosions. We actually know some of the numbers." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/27/pentagon-officially-declassifies-and-releases-3-navy-videos-purportedly-showing-ufos"] The numbers Jiang is referring to is the mystery variables Sagan referred to in his Cosmos miniseries where he discussed the Drake equation. This equation comes from Frank Drake in 1961 and is an equation used to estimate the number of active alien civilizations in the Milky Way. Due to the limitations of their time, Drake and Sagan had to include variables that couldn't be identified more precisely. Jiang and the team of researchers they worked with have learned some of those numbers that Sagan and Drake couldn't identify. No single factor is more important than the idea that intelligent creatures generally have a tendency that leans toward self-annihilation, according to LiveScience. The theory also includes factors like the prevalence of sun-like stars harboring Earth-like plants, the number of deadly supernovas near the alien civilizations, the probability of intelligent life evolving, and the tendency of advanced civilizations to destroy themselves through progress. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-sci-fi-movies&captions=true"] All of these factors and more come together to lead Jiang and the other researchers to believe that advanced alien civilizations did exist at one point, but likely lead themselves to destruction by way of progress. We might not be the sole civilization that exists as living in the galaxy though, as a some scientists theorize there might be 36 extraterrestrial races among the stars, as reported by SyFy Wire. This isn't the first time researchers have theorized that our galaxy might be home to the remains of now-dead alien civilizations. Back in 2018, researchers arrived to this same theory, but it wasn't progress that lead to their civilization-wide annihilation — it was climate change, according to this report from Forbes. Regardless of the reasoning, Earth and the human race sound about 5.5 billion years late to the party of progress-related annihilation, but if it turns out climate change is the reason, we might be closer to our end than 5.5 billion years. While waiting to find out what our fate is, read about possible signs of life detected on Venus and then read about how according to a former Israeli government official, the United States and Israel are in contact with a galactic federation of aliens. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN who became increasingly more existential while writing this story. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.