Control Developer Says Sony Was ‘a Bit More Ready’ for Next-Gen Than Microsoft

Developing games for next-gen consoles is challenging, especially if you're simultaneously developing them for current-gen, as Control developer Remedy was. But the PS5 and the Xbox Series consoles were not equally challenging to develop for, according to Remedy's Thomas Puha. On Next-Gen Console Watch, Puha said that Sony was "a bit more ready" with its PS5 early tools for developers, and said that it was easier initially to get games like Control working on the PS5 than it was for the Xbox Series X and S. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/why-ps5-series-x-games-have-yet-to-blow-us-away-next-gen-console-watch"] He did go on to say that both machines were still great to make games for, and while they're both still working out system-level issues, this is normal for new hardware and things will ultimately get better with time. "Sony stuck what worked, their development software and tools were pretty stable and good pretty early on," Puha said. "Microsoft opted to change quite a lot of things, which in the long run are probably good, but of course it was just a bigger hurdle for us devs early on because we had to rewrite a bunch of different things to take advantage of specific features." Puha also had something to say about the Xbox Series S: namely, that developing for it is admittedly holding developers back at least a little. "It's no different from the previous generations where the system with the lowest specs does end up dictating a few of the things you're going to do because you're going to have to run on that system," he said. "The more hardware you have, the more you have to ultimately compromise a little bit when you are a smaller studio like us, when you just can't spend as much time making sure all these platforms are super good." He added that quality assurance especially is a huge problem contributing to this, as it is more and more expensive to test games the more platforms you have to test them on. "I don't envy folks making Halo Infinite," he said. Control: Ultimate Edition is out now for PS5 and Xbox Series S and X, and seems to be running fine on both. The original version was our favorite game of 2019 with our original review at launch celebrating its weird world, its thrilling ranged combat, and its incredible cast, script, and secrets. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Control Developer Says Sony Was ‘a Bit More Ready’ for Next-Gen Than Microsoft

Developing games for next-gen consoles is challenging, especially if you're simultaneously developing them for current-gen, as Control developer Remedy was. But the PS5 and the Xbox Series consoles were not equally challenging to develop for, according to Remedy's Thomas Puha. On Next-Gen Console Watch, Puha said that Sony was "a bit more ready" with its PS5 early tools for developers, and said that it was easier initially to get games like Control working on the PS5 than it was for the Xbox Series X and S. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/why-ps5-series-x-games-have-yet-to-blow-us-away-next-gen-console-watch"] He did go on to say that both machines were still great to make games for, and while they're both still working out system-level issues, this is normal for new hardware and things will ultimately get better with time. "Sony stuck what worked, their development software and tools were pretty stable and good pretty early on," Puha said. "Microsoft opted to change quite a lot of things, which in the long run are probably good, but of course it was just a bigger hurdle for us devs early on because we had to rewrite a bunch of different things to take advantage of specific features." Puha also had something to say about the Xbox Series S: namely, that developing for it is admittedly holding developers back at least a little. "It's no different from the previous generations where the system with the lowest specs does end up dictating a few of the things you're going to do because you're going to have to run on that system," he said. "The more hardware you have, the more you have to ultimately compromise a little bit when you are a smaller studio like us, when you just can't spend as much time making sure all these platforms are super good." He added that quality assurance especially is a huge problem contributing to this, as it is more and more expensive to test games the more platforms you have to test them on. "I don't envy folks making Halo Infinite," he said. Control: Ultimate Edition is out now for PS5 and Xbox Series S and X, and seems to be running fine on both. The original version was our favorite game of 2019 with our original review at launch celebrating its weird world, its thrilling ranged combat, and its incredible cast, script, and secrets. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Control Developer: Making Games For Two Generations of Consoles at Once ‘Sucks’

Turns out, making games is hard. Who knew? And it gets way, way harder when you have to make a game function on two completely different generations of consoles at once, according to Control developer Remedy's communications director Thomas Puha. On Next-Gen Console Watch, Puha outlined the struggles developers go through to bring games like Control from one generation to the next, especially when the studio doing the work is a smaller one with fewer resources (like Remedy). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/why-ps5-series-x-games-have-yet-to-blow-us-away-next-gen-console-watch"] "Whenever you're in this cross-generational point, to be blunt, it sucks," Puha said. "You have to support the previous gen, make sure that sings, and then whatever you bring to next-gen is still limited by the choices you made years ago for the previous generation. It's not a very realistic thing, that this old game, we're just going to remake everything and then bring it to next-gen. It's just not like that. It's not a reality for us, because you're literally taking away resources that are building the future games and improving the engine for the future." Puha continued, saying that this is why PS5 and Xbox Series games right now don't look as good as we might want them too -- better than the previous generation, certainly, but maybe not quite the dramatic upgrade people might have wanted. "The games that will come out, the stuff we're working on, the visual bar, you're going to be blown away. And you only need to look at previous generations. You look at something like Modern Warfare. I can't understand how that game looks so good on Xbox One and PS4. And you're going to have the same on this current generation. We're going to see so much improvement." Puha pointed out that many of the problems with developing games for new generations are related to developer resources and tools. He noted that Control originally was shipped on a version of its game engine from August 2019, but then the engine completely updated to incorporate next-gen support -- effectively breaking everything Remedy already had in place. "When you get to the point where you have to get [a game] running on next-gen systems, on a new engine it takes several months just to get everything working," he said. "Nothing works at first. The content looks wrong, the textures look wrong, the lighting is busted, because we've made all these improvements but then they're incompatible with what we had in 2019. It took months -- the game is running, we had it running back in summer of last year, but it didn't have any of the nice things...it just took quite a while to get to the level where we had everything working that we had in the previous-gen version. Now we can actually start doing all that cool next-gen stuff." Developers effectively have to pick and choose what they want to work on, he said. But if they want to fully make use of every piece of next-gen tech for a game being brought over from the previous-gen, that can take up time they might otherwise be spending making new games. "We could keep developing features for this game for months, if not a year, but then you're already screwing the next project that is expecting to get these developers to work on that game. That's just the reality of a multi-project organization." Control: Ultimate Edition is out now for PS5 and Xbox Series S and X, following an initial kerfuffle over next-gen save transfers. The original version was our 2019 game of the year and our original review praised its "captivating, oddball world." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Control Developer: Making Games For Two Generations of Consoles at Once ‘Sucks’

Turns out, making games is hard. Who knew? And it gets way, way harder when you have to make a game function on two completely different generations of consoles at once, according to Control developer Remedy's communications director Thomas Puha. On Next-Gen Console Watch, Puha outlined the struggles developers go through to bring games like Control from one generation to the next, especially when the studio doing the work is a smaller one with fewer resources (like Remedy). [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/why-ps5-series-x-games-have-yet-to-blow-us-away-next-gen-console-watch"] "Whenever you're in this cross-generational point, to be blunt, it sucks," Puha said. "You have to support the previous gen, make sure that sings, and then whatever you bring to next-gen is still limited by the choices you made years ago for the previous generation. It's not a very realistic thing, that this old game, we're just going to remake everything and then bring it to next-gen. It's just not like that. It's not a reality for us, because you're literally taking away resources that are building the future games and improving the engine for the future." Puha continued, saying that this is why PS5 and Xbox Series games right now don't look as good as we might want them too -- better than the previous generation, certainly, but maybe not quite the dramatic upgrade people might have wanted. "The games that will come out, the stuff we're working on, the visual bar, you're going to be blown away. And you only need to look at previous generations. You look at something like Modern Warfare. I can't understand how that game looks so good on Xbox One and PS4. And you're going to have the same on this current generation. We're going to see so much improvement." Puha pointed out that many of the problems with developing games for new generations are related to developer resources and tools. He noted that Control originally was shipped on a version of its game engine from August 2019, but then the engine completely updated to incorporate next-gen support -- effectively breaking everything Remedy already had in place. "When you get to the point where you have to get [a game] running on next-gen systems, on a new engine it takes several months just to get everything working," he said. "Nothing works at first. The content looks wrong, the textures look wrong, the lighting is busted, because we've made all these improvements but then they're incompatible with what we had in 2019. It took months -- the game is running, we had it running back in summer of last year, but it didn't have any of the nice things...it just took quite a while to get to the level where we had everything working that we had in the previous-gen version. Now we can actually start doing all that cool next-gen stuff." Developers effectively have to pick and choose what they want to work on, he said. But if they want to fully make use of every piece of next-gen tech for a game being brought over from the previous-gen, that can take up time they might otherwise be spending making new games. "We could keep developing features for this game for months, if not a year, but then you're already screwing the next project that is expecting to get these developers to work on that game. That's just the reality of a multi-project organization." Control: Ultimate Edition is out now for PS5 and Xbox Series S and X, following an initial kerfuffle over next-gen save transfers. The original version was our 2019 game of the year and our original review praised its "captivating, oddball world." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster Release Date Announced

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster will be released for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on May 25, 2021. While May 25 is the official release date, those who pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition will get access to the game on May 21, four days earlier than the standard edition. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/20/shin-megami-tensei-3-nocturne-hd-remaster-official-trailer"] The Digital Deluxe Edition will cost $69.99 USD and will give players to such bonus content as the option to play as Devil May Cry's Dante. The full list of extras is as follows;
  • Full Game Download
  • Exclusive Access to the game four days early, on May 21
  • Maniax Pack - Adds Dante from the Devil May Cry series
  • Chronicle Pack - Adds Raidou from the Devil Summoner series
  • MERCIFUL Difficulty - Adds and easier difficutly mode
  • Mercy and Expectation Map Pack - Adds "Little Master's Mercy" and "Master's Expectation"
  • Shin Megami Tensei BGM Pack - Two songs each from Shin Megami Tensei, Shin Megami Tensei II, Shin Megami Tensei IV, and Shin Megami Tensei: Apocalypse
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=shin-megami-tensei-3-nocturne-hd-remaster-screenshots&captions=true"] Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster is a modernized version of the PS2 classic from 2003 with remastered 3D models and backgrounds, additional difficulty settings, the ability to save wherever you'd like, both Japanese and English VO, an alternate branch featuring Raidou Kuzunoha, and other fixes that will improve the original game. For more on Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster, check out more about Dante's addition to the game and an explainer on the new Merciful Mode. [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.

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster Release Date Announced

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster will be released for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on May 25, 2021. While May 25 is the official release date, those who pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition will get access to the game on May 21, four days earlier than the standard edition. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/20/shin-megami-tensei-3-nocturne-hd-remaster-official-trailer"] The Digital Deluxe Edition will cost $69.99 USD and will give players to such bonus content as the option to play as Devil May Cry's Dante. The full list of extras is as follows;
  • Full Game Download
  • Exclusive Access to the game four days early, on May 21
  • Maniax Pack - Adds Dante from the Devil May Cry series
  • Chronicle Pack - Adds Raidou from the Devil Summoner series
  • MERCIFUL Difficulty - Adds and easier difficutly mode
  • Mercy and Expectation Map Pack - Adds "Little Master's Mercy" and "Master's Expectation"
  • Shin Megami Tensei BGM Pack - Two songs each from Shin Megami Tensei, Shin Megami Tensei II, Shin Megami Tensei IV, and Shin Megami Tensei: Apocalypse
[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=shin-megami-tensei-3-nocturne-hd-remaster-screenshots&captions=true"] Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster is a modernized version of the PS2 classic from 2003 with remastered 3D models and backgrounds, additional difficulty settings, the ability to save wherever you'd like, both Japanese and English VO, an alternate branch featuring Raidou Kuzunoha, and other fixes that will improve the original game. For more on Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster, check out more about Dante's addition to the game and an explainer on the new Merciful Mode. [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.

Here’s When Marvel’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 6 Comes Out

For those eager for their next MCU fix and wondering what time Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier comes out each week, the new Disney Plus series is being released Fridays at midnight PT/3am ET. Falcon and the Winter Soldier will make its much-anticipated debut on the Disney+ streaming platform on Friday, March 19, followed by one new episode every week for the remainder of its release schedule.

Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1, Episode 6 Release Time

Episode 6 (Season 1 Finale) of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be available to stream on Friday, April 23, at midnight PT/3am ET on Disney Plus. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/14/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-timeline-so-far"] For a deeper dive into the upcoming series, check out our Falcon and the Winter Soldier timeline explainer, whether or not Marvel boss Kevin Feige thinks there will be a Season 2, and our interview with the new Captain America himself, aka John Walker (portrayed by Wyatt Russell). While Disney has not released a synopsis for individual upcoming episodes - opting only to give them blurbs and even names after they've been released - here's how the streamer describes The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: "The pair, who came together in the final moments of Avengers: Endgame, team up on a global adventure that tests their abilities—and their patience." Watch the latest Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode review right here (spoiler warning):  [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/16/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-episode-5-review"]

When Does Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 Release?

Disney+ is releasing new episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 weekly on Fridays, which is a trend the streamer has followed since Disney+ launched back in 2019, instead of opting for Netflix's binge model of releasing a whole season at once. After The Falcon and the Winter Soldier premieres on Friday, March 19, Disney+ will air the following five episodes every Friday until the Season 1 finale, which will release on Friday, April 23, 2021. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-cast-and-characters&captions=true"]

What Time Do The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episodes Come Out?

The time each new episode of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 is expected to drop is at 12am PT/3am ET on Friday morning in the US, which is 8am in the UK and 6:30pm ACT/7pm AET in Australia. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be available globally wherever Disney Plus is available. Watch the latest trailer/featurette for Falcon and the Winter Soldier below: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/15/the-falcon-and-the-winter-soldier-wakandans-featurette"]

How Long are The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episodes?

Marvel's Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 episodes will have a runtime of around 50-60 minutes according to Marvel boss Kevin Feige. Episode 5, titled "Truth," has a runtime of 61 minutes.

How Many Episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Are There Going to Be?

Marvel's The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Season 1 will consist of six episodes. Here's the full Season 1 release schedule for the series:
  • Episode 1 - "New World Order": Friday, March 19 - Available Now
  • Episode 2 - "The Star-Spangled Man": Friday, March 26 - Available Now
  • Episode 3 - "Power Broker": Friday, April 2 - Available Now
  • Episode 4 - "The Whole World Is Watching": Friday, April 9 - Available Now
  • Episode 5 - "Truth": Friday, April 16 - Available Now
  • Episode 6 (FINALE) - Friday, April 23
For more on the world of Disney, be sure to check out every movie and TV show coming to the streamer in May, hear what Avengers: Endgame's directors have to say about Captain America's time-traveling, and catch up on our explainer on John Walker a.k.a. U.S. Agent. [poilib element="accentDivider"] David Griffin still watches DuckTales in his pajamas with a cereal bowl in hand. He's also the TV Editor for IGN. Say hi on Twitter.

Ace Ventura 3 in Development From Sonic the Hedgehog Writers

A third Ace Ventura film is in the works, and is being written by the writers behind 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog film.

The news was revealed in an interview conducted by distributor Park Circus focusing on the production company Morgan Creek, which produced the original Ace Ventura films.

“We’re pretty excited about our franchise developments with Exorcist and the Ace Ventura franchise - it’s noticeable from the 3 million fans chatting on the official Facebook page for Ace Ventura that audiences are clamouring for a 3rd installment,” Morgan Creek said. “During COVID, audiences have been in love and are thrilled to have beloved characters brought back with new stories. Ace Ventura will see a new day at Amazon as a major motion-picture/theatrical with the Sonic the Hedgehog writers.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/12/jim-carrey-on-the-evolution-of-dr-robotnik-and-a-sonic-sequel"]

Morgan Creek didn’t comment further on Ace Ventura 3, but Sonic the Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller have already worked directly with Jim Carrey, who played Sonic’s archnemesis Dr. Robotnik.

Longtime collaborators Casey and Miller have previously worked as writers on Hulu’s Into the Dark, the DC-set sitcom Powerless, and National Lampoon Presents: Dorm Daze.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective originally premiered in 1994 and helped launch the career of Jim Carrey. It was followed one year later by Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as well as a 2009 reboot starring a childhood version of Ventura. Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane also worked as a writer on the animated Ace Ventura cartoon series that ran for three seasons before being canceled.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is scheduled to release on April 8, 2022, although that date was originally announced only a few scant months into the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted much of Hollywood’s productions. Jeff Fowler, director of the first film, is slated to return alongside writers Casey and Miller.

If you dug Carrey’s portrayal of the mad scientist Robotnik, you can check out how he thinks the character will evolve in part two. You can also check out our breakdown of what the Sonic movie ending means for the sequel’s plot.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/mean bean machine for IGN.

Ace Ventura 3 in Development From Sonic the Hedgehog Writers

A third Ace Ventura film is in the works, and is being written by the writers behind 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog film.

The news was revealed in an interview conducted by distributor Park Circus focusing on the production company Morgan Creek, which produced the original Ace Ventura films.

“We’re pretty excited about our franchise developments with Exorcist and the Ace Ventura franchise - it’s noticeable from the 3 million fans chatting on the official Facebook page for Ace Ventura that audiences are clamouring for a 3rd installment,” Morgan Creek said. “During COVID, audiences have been in love and are thrilled to have beloved characters brought back with new stories. Ace Ventura will see a new day at Amazon as a major motion-picture/theatrical with the Sonic the Hedgehog writers.”

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/02/12/jim-carrey-on-the-evolution-of-dr-robotnik-and-a-sonic-sequel"]

Morgan Creek didn’t comment further on Ace Ventura 3, but Sonic the Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller have already worked directly with Jim Carrey, who played Sonic’s archnemesis Dr. Robotnik.

Longtime collaborators Casey and Miller have previously worked as writers on Hulu’s Into the Dark, the DC-set sitcom Powerless, and National Lampoon Presents: Dorm Daze.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective originally premiered in 1994 and helped launch the career of Jim Carrey. It was followed one year later by Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as well as a 2009 reboot starring a childhood version of Ventura. Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane also worked as a writer on the animated Ace Ventura cartoon series that ran for three seasons before being canceled.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"]

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is scheduled to release on April 8, 2022, although that date was originally announced only a few scant months into the COVID-19 pandemic that impacted much of Hollywood’s productions. Jeff Fowler, director of the first film, is slated to return alongside writers Casey and Miller.

If you dug Carrey’s portrayal of the mad scientist Robotnik, you can check out how he thinks the character will evolve in part two. You can also check out our breakdown of what the Sonic movie ending means for the sequel’s plot.

[poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/mean bean machine for IGN.

Cyberpunk 2077: Patch 1.2 Set To Fix Police Response Times and Driving Issues

CD Projekt Red has revealed a handful of changes that it will implement as part of the currently undated patch 1.2 for Cyberpunk 2077. Its most notable feature is a change to how police respond to crimes, but there are also adjustments to driving and movement controls promised. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/cyberpunk-2077-whats-new-in-night-city-patch-12-part-1-trailer"] In a new development insight post on the Cyberpunk 2077 website, CDPR explains that patch 1.2 will adjust the time taken for police NPCs to respond to reported crimes. Previously, the police would very quickly spawn in behind players and begin reacting to the situation, which broke immersion as there was no sense of the police having to make their way to the scene. It also meant fleeing the scene before cops could arrive was difficult. A delay on the police’s arrival, plus a new recon drone that assesses the situation ahead of the police turning up, should make this feel more realistic. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/cyberpunk-2077-whats-new-in-night-city-patch-12-part-2-trailer"] In regards to driving, a steering sensitivity slider will be added to the options menu. Some players using keyboard controls, or those who play at low frame rates, have been having issues with keeping cars on the road, and this slider is designed to help combat that. Some individual cars have had their handling tweaked, but this slider should hopefully have a positive effect overall for players who have struggled with their cars oversteering. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/cyberpunk-2077-whats-new-in-night-city-patch-12-part-3-trailer"] Additionally, should your car have steered into a situation where it has become beached on an object such as a kerb or bollard, the new update will allow you to rock the vehicle forwards and backwards, as well as rotate it, in order to free the car from the obstacle. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/19/cyberpunk-2077-whats-new-in-night-city-patch-12-part-4-trailer"] On foot, a tweak has also been made to movement controls; the patch will allow players to turn off the ‘double-tap movement keys to dodge’ function. With this turned off, dodging is instead performed by double-tapping crouch. This has been implemented to make moving WASD bindings - the default PC movement keys - around the keyboard easier. Further key binding issues are planned to be addressed in a future patch. Currently, there is no release date for patch 1.2, and CD Projekt Red are likely not going to provide one until they can say one with confidence. The patch has been delayed due to a recent cyber attack on the developer. We do know that the patch will be followed by multiple updates and improvements over the course of 2021, thanks to the update roadmap. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.