What the PlayStation 5 Specs Actually Mean
Regardless of if it’s actually called the PlayStation 5 or not, Sony has finally offered some details on the next generation of PlayStation hardware.
There’s a lot to digest, and while we don’t have exact benchmarks for the hardware, there are a few things we can glean about this upcoming beast.
What AMD’s New Chip Means for Graphics and Audio
Mark Cerny, lead system architect of the upcoming console, says this is not another refresh of the PlayStation 4—it is a whole new console. This box has entirely new hardware inside, with an eight-core CPU based on the third generation of AMD’s venerable Ryzen line, and a custom GPU based on AMD’s next-gen Navi family. He didn’t technically state whether the CPU and GPU were separate chips, or whether it was more akin to the APUs, which integrate the graphics cores with the CPU on a single chip. Considering that’s the route Sony took with the PS4, I wouldn’t be surprised if they went with a single-chip design this time around too.
A Twitter User Predicted Episode 9’s Title Almost 7 Years Ago
Fan theories have blown up and become a major talking point across the Internet ever since Disney acquired Lucasfilm and the Star Wars franchise back in 2012, but one Twitter user may have had the most accurate theory of them all.
Back in November 2012, user Gabriel Garcia (@GabbyG41) looked into the future and eerily predicted both the title of Episode 9 and one of its major plot points (albeit predicting that it would be the plot of Episode 7, not Episode 9):
The Umbrella Academy Was Seen by 45 Million People, Says Netflix
According to Netflix, The Umbrella Academy was seen by 45 million people, and the service added several million new subscribers during its first quarter.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, a Netflix quarterly report says The Umbrella Academy was seen by 45 million member households in its first month, Fyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened was viewed by 20 million member households, Triple Frontier was seen by 52 million households in its first month and They Highwaymen was viewed by a projected 40 million. Netflix considers a member account “view” as a user watching at least 70 percent of one episode in a series or 70 percent of a full film.
Microsoft’s New Studios Will Have ‘Things to Show’ at E3 2019
Xbox head Phil Spencer announced during today’s Inside Xbox that some of its new studios will have things to show at E3 2019.
During the show, Spencer said “Our new studios are gonna have things to show, which is gonna be awesome. Some new things that nobody has seen before.” Spencer specifically mentioned that Obsidian’s The Outer Worlds, which is a multiplatform release, could be at the show.
Spencer continued, saying it will take the teams some time to completely mesh in with Microsoft. “It’ll take years to really have them fully integrated in and delivering the same way all of the teams do, cause different teams are at different parts of their development cycle, but I think it’s gonna be really interesting to have those teams showing up this year, and starting to show what they’re building for us."
Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Plays Destiny, Crackdown with Microsoft’s xCloud
During Inside Xbox, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer confirmed that Crackdown 3 and Destiny 2 are running on Microsoft's Project xCloud, as he was the one playing them while traveling.
He talked about how he has his own private server to test out Project xCloud, which Larry Hryb jokingly called "Phil's Server," and is alpha testing it out in the wild in preparation for its launch with his phone and an Xbox controller.
Microsoft's Project xCloud was announced last year and its goal is to bring Xbox titles, via streaming, to "any screen" while "empowering YOU, the gamers, to be at the center of your gaming experience."
How to Avoid Avengers: Endgame Spoilers From Footage Leak
It seems like spoiler leaks are inevitable for big movies these days, and now it’s happened for Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame. As of last night, second-hand footage of the movie made its way online, instantly spreading major spoilers across social media and numerous websites. We’re in the endgame now, so here’s a list of precautions you can take project yourself from spoilers.
Stay Off Social Media
Social media has become a part of many peoples’ daily lives, but if you don’t want to get spoiled, then consider taking a break from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and the like until after you’ve seen the movie. You can go a little over a week without all those cute puppy GIFs, right?
Ninja Gaiden II Xbox One Backward Compatibility Announced
On today’s episode of Inside Xbox, Microsoft announced Ninja Gaiden II is coming to Xbox One via backward compatibility.
In addition to Ninja Gaiden II, five other backward compatible games are receiving Xbox One X enhancements: Fable II and Fable III, and Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Conviction and Blacklist. These games run at a higher resolution than their Xbox 360 original versions.
These games can be played both physically or downloaded digitally through the Microsoft Store. The rollout for these updates start today.
In our review of Ninja Gaiden II, we called the game “Great” saying "The depth in combat is as exciting as ever and the new gameplay additions and changes only add to the experience."
Microsoft Unveils Xbox One S All-Digital Console
Update: While today's announcement of the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition and its $250 USD suggested retail price makes it the cheapest console in the Xbox One family, the $300 USD Xbox One S is regularly on sale at or below the $250 USD price point, leading some to question whether the All-Digital Edition will follow suit to maintain the intention of keeping it the lowest priced console in the Xbox One family.
When reached for comment a Microsoft spokesperson said, "Microsoft sets a suggested retail price, but specific pricing and offers vary by retailer. The suggested retail price for the Xbox One S All-Digital Edition is $50 USD less than Xbox One S and we expect to maintain at least this price difference between the two consoles following launch on May 7.”
Red Dead Online Offers Bonuses in Multiple Modes This Week
Microsoft Announces Xbox Game Pass Ultimate
During Inside Xbox, Microsoft announced Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which will combine Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live.
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate will be available later this year and will cost $14.99/month.
This new subscription was leaked earlier this month and will save subscribers around $5/month, as both Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live are $9.99/month.
If current subscribers to either Xbox Game Pass or Xbox Live wish to upgrade to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, they will be able to apply the value of their existing subscriptions to this new service.
It's also important to note that this isn't replacing either service, but will be another option for those looking for one, consolidated subscription.