The Xbox Series S is a lower powered console than the Xbox Series X, but Microsoft doesn’t think that will be a limiting factor for developers throughout the upcoming console generation. In an interview with IGN, Xbox director of program management Jason Ronald explained how the Series S’s powerful CPU and fast SSD will allow it to deliver the same game experience as the Series X, simply with scaled back visuals. “The core capabilities are the same between the two consoles,” Ronald said. “Variable rate shading, DirectX Raytracing, the entire Xbox Velocity Architecture – we wanted to make sure those capabilities were there, but ultimately, it’s within the developer’s control to do what’s right for their individual game.” [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=xbox-series-s-and-series-x-comparison-photos&captions=true"] Xbox Velocity Architecture refers to the NVMe SSD inside both the Series X and Series S, which will allow for drastically faster load times on the new consoles. In theory, it’ll also change how developers can approach things like level design, as things like long corridors and unnecessary elevator rides will no longer be necessary to hide the long load times required of slower old-gen spinning-disk hard drives. “The areas that usually create the biggest challenges for developers – things like CPU performance and I/O performance – those are the things that were really critically important to us to make sure that they were symmetrical across Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, because those are the areas that are really going to unlock kind of that next level of game design and that transformative gaming experience,” Ronald said. “And then developers already are really good at being able to scale up and scale down on the visual quality as they see fit for their players.” Ronald also confirmed that while the Series S will target 1440p resolution, the system is fully capable of outputting a 4K signal, and it will be up to game developers to decide what native resolution they want their games rendering at. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=confirmed-xbox-series-x-games&captions=true"] “The way that we designed the developer environment was that a developer would ideally target 4K at 60 fps, up to a 120 fps on Xbox Series X, and then they could easily scale down to the Xbox Series S by reducing the rendering resolution to 1440p,” Ronald said. “But they're not locked into that. So the developer can choose to use the power of the Xbox Series S in the way that they see fit. So in some cases they may choose to render at, say, 1080p, and then use the extra GPU headroom for things like better anti-aliasing or better graphical effects. On the other hand, the developer may choose to go after something like 120 fps, if that's right for the title, and that might result in resolution tradeoffs.” Developer choice will extend to things like ray tracing on the Series S as well. The system is capable of doing ray tracing, but it will be up to developers to decide if that’s how they want to use the available GPU power. “In some cases with a lower resolution, they'll be able to deliver the same ray tracing experience they have on Series X,” Ronald said, “and other cases, they may choose to disable that in order to turn on other effects that improve the overall experience.” In other words, gamers should expect the same games, whether they’re playing on Series X or Series S, with resolution and graphical quality being the primary differentiation. Thankfully, that lower resolution will mean that game install sizes will be smaller on the Series S. Xbox Series X and Series S pre-orders go live on September 22. [poilib element="accentDivider"]

Fans have been waiting for the long awaited Spawn reboot ever since Todd McFarlane announced that he would be collaborating with Blumhouse to bring the character back to the silver screen, but it looks like the wait will have to be a bit longer than expected, with the script not deemed ready by producer Jason Blum. In an interview with Abu Dhabi Culture as part of their #CulturAllConversations series, Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions has said that the Spawn live-action movie with Jamie Foxx is still not quite ready, with the script taking a completely new direction. Blum also reiterated that the film would be R-rated. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/07/mcfarlane-wants-his-spawn-reboot-to-make-children-cry-ign-access"] “The script has got to be right. There is a real desire [for the movie], you have Jamie Foxx, and Spawn, and Todd McFarlane, and like, 'You've just gotta make the movie!'", Blum said. “I think probably I've frustrated Todd a little bit, and I've just said, like, we don’t just have to make the movie, you know we have to make the right movie, with the right script. And it’s a hard script to get right – and, you know, the recent events in the United States around race have made it even harder to get it right. You've got to do it really carefully and thoughtfully.” “So, we're going to make the movie, definitely. I don’t know when we are going to make the movie. We are actually kind of re-tackling... we're going down a different direction with the story than we had in the past, but we are not going to make the movie until that script is great. But one of these days it will be great and we will make it.” The movie was announced in 2017 by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, which subsequently signed Jamie Foxx as the titular character, as well as one of the Marvel’s Avengers, Jeremy Renner as Detective “Twitch” Williams. And while Foxx promised an update on the film earlier in the year, it seems the movie is still quite a bit away from reaching theaters.. While it’s disappointing to hear that the Spawn movie is still in the works so long after announcement, it’s encouraging to see that it isn’t being rushed into production until the story is both culturally sensitive and engaging to the fans. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Mufaddal Fakhruddin is a Senior Editor at IGN Middle East.

Fans have been waiting for the long awaited Spawn reboot ever since Todd McFarlane announced that he would be collaborating with Blumhouse to bring the character back to the silver screen, but it looks like the wait will have to be a bit longer than expected, with the script not deemed ready by producer Jason Blum. In an interview with Abu Dhabi Culture as part of their #CulturAllConversations series, Jason Blum of Blumhouse Productions has said that the Spawn live-action movie with Jamie Foxx is still not quite ready, with the script taking a completely new direction. Blum also reiterated that the film would be R-rated. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/10/07/mcfarlane-wants-his-spawn-reboot-to-make-children-cry-ign-access"] “The script has got to be right. There is a real desire [for the movie], you have Jamie Foxx, and Spawn, and Todd McFarlane, and like, 'You've just gotta make the movie!'", Blum said. “I think probably I've frustrated Todd a little bit, and I've just said, like, we don’t just have to make the movie, you know we have to make the right movie, with the right script. And it’s a hard script to get right – and, you know, the recent events in the United States around race have made it even harder to get it right. You've got to do it really carefully and thoughtfully.” “So, we're going to make the movie, definitely. I don’t know when we are going to make the movie. We are actually kind of re-tackling... we're going down a different direction with the story than we had in the past, but we are not going to make the movie until that script is great. But one of these days it will be great and we will make it.” The movie was announced in 2017 by Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, which subsequently signed Jamie Foxx as the titular character, as well as one of the Marvel’s Avengers, Jeremy Renner as Detective “Twitch” Williams. And while Foxx promised an update on the film earlier in the year, it seems the movie is still quite a bit away from reaching theaters.. While it’s disappointing to hear that the Spawn movie is still in the works so long after announcement, it’s encouraging to see that it isn’t being rushed into production until the story is both culturally sensitive and engaging to the fans. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Mufaddal Fakhruddin is a Senior Editor at IGN Middle East.

Update (10/25/20) - Mark Wahlberg, on his Instagram, may very well have given us our first look at his version of Victor "Sully" Sullivan in the upcoming Uncharted movie that also stars Tom Holland as a younger Nathan Drake, who also gave us a first look at his character earlier this week.

The original story follows. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Few things in life are certain, but one of my unshakeable beliefs was that Sully from Uncharted has had a moustache his whole life – probably since birth. That was until today when set photos from the in-production Uncharted movie possibly revealed that Mark Wahlberg's take on the character is clean-shaven, and now I don't know what to believe anymore. The massed ranks of the Internet were similarly rocked by the revelation. Shared on Twitter, the images were reportedly taken on-set in Berlin, showing Tom Holland's young Nathan Drake and Wahlberg's Sully, both dressed in suits. But what really stood out to fans is the lack of facial hair on display:

| @TomHolland1996 and Mark Wahlberg shooting #Uncharted in Berlin last night pic.twitter.com/ZfjMQwawf1

— Tom Holland News (@THollandNews) September 15, 2020

In the Uncharted game series, Sully - an "American treasure hunter, fortune seeker and businessman, as well as a friend, mentor and father figure to Drake - is shown as both a younger and older man sporting a moustache. With the Uncharted movie acting as an origin story for Nathan Drake, many expected Wahlberg to sport Sully's younger look from the games, but based on these images, that maybe not be the case. There are some caveats here. It's not entirely clear if these pictures were taken during active filming - there's the chance that what's seen above is a test shot, and Wahlberg will wear a false moustache for the filming. For the sake of those working on the film, I hope so, because the initial reaction has been a mixture of shock, disbelief and gifs:

I know they are young Nate and Sully but Where is Sully’s moustache ?

— Adriana Bernal (@AdrianaBernal4) September 16, 2020

No mustache, no gray in the hair, no cigar, meh

— Jacob's Quest (@JacobsQuest) September 15, 2020

It’s- It’s just Mark Wahlberg. Sully just looks like Mark Wahlberg

— Ben Diamond (@OurFutureDays) September 15, 2020

pic.twitter.com/tqOoJFfNZC

— Hulkbuster | BLM (@hulkbustar) September 15, 2020

Are we looking at the newest moustache-related controversy in popular culture, after Superman's CGI-ed top lip in Justice League? Only time will tell. Then again, perhaps we should be happy to see any Uncharted movie news at all, given the film has had seven different directors attached at one time or another. Now that production has finally begun, Tom Holland says it's "everything I dreamed it would be". [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=live-action-versions-of-video-game-characters&captions=true"] [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.

Few things in life are certain, but one of my unshakeable beliefs was that Sully from Uncharted has had a moustache his whole life – probably since birth. That was until today, when set photos from the in-production Uncharted movie possibly revealed that Mark Wahlberg's take on the character is clean-shaven, and now I don't know what to believe anymore. The massed ranks of the Internet were similarly rocked by the revelation. Shared on Twitter, the images were reportedly taken on-set in Berlin, showing Tom Holland's young Nathan Drake and Wahlberg's Sully, both dressed in suits. But what really stood out to fans is the lack of facial hair on display:

| @TomHolland1996 and Mark Wahlberg shooting #Uncharted in Berlin last night pic.twitter.com/ZfjMQwawf1

— Tom Holland News (@THollandNews) September 15, 2020

In the Uncharted game series, Sully - an "American treasure hunter, fortune seeker and businessman, as well as a friend, mentor and father figure to Drake - is shown as both a younger and older man sporting a moustache. With the Uncharted movie acting as an origin story for Nathan Drake, many expected Wahlberg to sport Sully's younger look from the games, but based on these images, that maybe not be the case. There are some caveats here. It's not entirely clear if these pictures were taken during active filming - there's the chance that what's seen above is a test shot, and Wahlberg will wear a false moustache for the filming. For the sake of those working on the film, I hope so, because the initial reaction has been a mixture of shock, disbelief and gifs:

I know they are young Nate and Sully but Where is Sully’s moustache ?

— Adriana Bernal (@AdrianaBernal4) September 16, 2020

No mustache, no gray in the hair, no cigar, meh

— Jacob's Quest (@JacobsQuest) September 15, 2020

It’s- It’s just Mark Wahlberg. Sully just looks like Mark Wahlberg

— Ben Diamond (@OurFutureDays) September 15, 2020

pic.twitter.com/tqOoJFfNZC

— Hulkbuster | BLM (@hulkbustar) September 15, 2020

Are we looking at the newest moustache-related controversy in popular culture, after Superman's CGI-ed top lip in Justice League? Only time will tell. Then again, perhaps we should be happy to see any Uncharted movie news at all, given the film has had seven different directors attached at one time or another. Now that production has finally begun, Tom Holland says it's "everything I dreamed it would be". [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-video-game-movie-in-development-almost&captions=true"] [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.

Baby Yoda has helped Disney+ take home its first Emmy during the Creative Arts Emmys virtual presentation. Star Wars: The Mandalorian took home awards for cinematography, production design, sound editing and sound mixing, as well as a big win in the 'Outstanding Special Visual Effects' category. The Disney+ show beat out Stranger Things, Watchmen and Westworld to take home the gold, no doubt helped by internet sensation Baby Yoda. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/17/the-mandalorian-season-2-trailer-breakdown"] Elsewhere, Watchman took home four wins in cinematography, costume, picture editing and sound mixing, making it the other big winner of the night. Disney recently launched the Season 2 trailer for Star Wars: The Mandalorian, which teases the future of Mando and Baby Yoda's adventures. We won't have to wait too long to continue the story either, as The Mandalorian Season 2 will premiere on October 30 later this year. If you're looking for a full breakdown of the Season 2 trailer, you can check out our video here, where we run through all of the gory details. For a refresher on The Mandalorian's cast, check out our list to see all of the cameos from the first season and find out which characters fans can expect to see in Season 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Baby Yoda has helped Disney+ take home its first Emmy during the Creative Arts Emmys virtual presentation. Star Wars: The Mandalorian took home awards for cinematography, production design, sound editing and sound mixing, as well as a big win in the 'Outstanding Special Visual Effects' category. The Disney+ show beat out Stranger Things, Watchmen and Westworld to take home the gold, no doubt helped by internet sensation Baby Yoda. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/17/the-mandalorian-season-2-trailer-breakdown"] Elsewhere, Watchman took home four wins in cinematography, costume, picture editing and sound mixing, making it the other big winner of the night. Disney recently launched the Season 2 trailer for Star Wars: The Mandalorian, which teases the future of Mando and Baby Yoda's adventures. We won't have to wait too long to continue the story either, as The Mandalorian Season 2 will premiere on October 30 later this year. If you're looking for a full breakdown of the Season 2 trailer, you can check out our video here, where we run through all of the gory details. For a refresher on The Mandalorian's cast, check out our list to see all of the cameos from the first season and find out which characters fans can expect to see in Season 2. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Following the chaotic commencement of PlayStation 5 pre-orders, Microsoft has reiterated that it will let the world know exactly what time pre-orders go live for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Xbox's Tweet, which arrived following the trouble surrounding PS5 pre-orders, reminded all of the September 22 pre-order date and the worldwide launch in 36 countries on November 10, and included a reassurance that Xbox will "let you know the exact time pre-orders start for you soon." This story began after Sony held its PlayStation 5 Showcase event and finally revealed the price and release date for the PS5. While it featured such games as Final Fantasy XVI, a God of War sequel, and Hogwarts Legacy, the presentation made no mention of pre-orders. Interestingly enough, the first we heard of PlayStation 5 pre-orders came after the show via Geoff Keighley, who said "per Sony, #PlayStation5 pre-orders will be available starting TOMORROW at select retailers." A few minutes later, PlayStation confirmed Keighley's Tweet, but gave no further information as to when the pre-orders would go live. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/16/final-fantasy-16-reveal-trailer"] While many were expecting nothing to happen until tomorrow, pre-orders seemingly went live on Walmart. This was no mistake, as Walmart then Tweeted out "make you wait to get the new #PlayStation5? Nah, that's not like us. Go on, preorder it NOW!" This sent the internet ablaze with many attempting to secure a PlayStation 5 on launch day. GameStop and Target pre-orders then went live, followed by Best Buy and Amazon. Speaking from personal experience, I attempted to secure a PS5 from Best Buy for OVER TWO HOURS before it was claimed to be sold out. In all honesty, the experience of trial and error felt akin to what I imagine a Bloodborne 2 would be like on PS5, well... without the hard-fought victory at the end. To make matters even more confusing, PlayStation sent out e-mails to those who signed up for a chance to pre-order a PS5 directly from Sony. Its unclear why certain people were chosen over others, as all PlayStation said was that its selection would be "based on previous interests and PlayStation activities." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-game-and-announcement-featured-in-the-playstation-5-showcase-event&captions=true"] As of writing, PlayStation has yet to comment on tonight's events, but it does go against its previous comments that promised PS5 pre-orders would not be a surprise. Hopefully, we will hear more of a set plan for PlayStation 5 pre-orders in the coming hours, and we will keep our 'where to pre-order PS5 guide' up-to-date with all you need to know to secure your new console! [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.

Following the chaotic commencement of PlayStation 5 pre-orders, Microsoft has reiterated that it will let the world know exactly what time pre-orders go live for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. Xbox's Tweet, which arrived following the trouble surrounding PS5 pre-orders, reminded all of the September 22 pre-order date and the worldwide launch in 36 countries on November 10, and included a reassurance that Xbox will "let you know the exact time pre-orders start for you soon." This story began after Sony held its PlayStation 5 Showcase event and finally revealed the price and release date for the PS5. While it featured such games as Final Fantasy XVI, a God of War sequel, and Hogwarts Legacy, the presentation made no mention of pre-orders. Interestingly enough, the first we heard of PlayStation 5 pre-orders came after the show via Geoff Keighley, who said "per Sony, #PlayStation5 pre-orders will be available starting TOMORROW at select retailers." A few minutes later, PlayStation confirmed Keighley's Tweet, but gave no further information as to when the pre-orders would go live. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/16/final-fantasy-16-reveal-trailer"] While many were expecting nothing to happen until tomorrow, pre-orders seemingly went live on Walmart. This was no mistake, as Walmart then Tweeted out "make you wait to get the new #PlayStation5? Nah, that's not like us. Go on, preorder it NOW!" This sent the internet ablaze with many attempting to secure a PlayStation 5 on launch day. GameStop and Target pre-orders then went live, followed by Best Buy and Amazon. Speaking from personal experience, I attempted to secure a PS5 from Best Buy for OVER TWO HOURS before it was claimed to be sold out. In all honesty, the experience of trial and error felt akin to what I imagine a Bloodborne 2 would be like on PS5, well... without the hard-fought victory at the end. To make matters even more confusing, PlayStation sent out e-mails to those who signed up for a chance to pre-order a PS5 directly from Sony. Its unclear why certain people were chosen over others, as all PlayStation said was that its selection would be "based on previous interests and PlayStation activities." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-game-and-announcement-featured-in-the-playstation-5-showcase-event&captions=true"] As of writing, PlayStation has yet to comment on tonight's events, but it does go against its previous comments that promised PS5 pre-orders would not be a surprise. Hopefully, we will hear more of a set plan for PlayStation 5 pre-orders in the coming hours, and we will keep our 'where to pre-order PS5 guide' up-to-date with all you need to know to secure your new console! [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 has officially ended production of the Nintendo 3DS family of systems after 10 years. As first reported by Japanese Nintendo, the confirmation has appeared on both Nintendo Japanese's website and the Nintendo 3DS UK page, bringing an end to the story of the handheld system that has sold more than 75.87 million units. Nintendo America's 3DS page now just simply redirects to the home page. The Nintendo 3DS was first released in 2011 at $250 and was able to display stereoscopic 3D to the player without the need of 3D glasses. It launched with games like Pilotwings Resort, Steel Diver, and Nintendogs + Cats, and new services like StreetPass and SpotPass, but it didn't quite hit the mark at the start. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/30/top-25-nintendo-3ds-games-spring-2017-update"] In our review of the original Nintendo 3DS, we said "The 3DS is truly a remarkable device and a compelling expansion to Nintendo's handheld gaming platform, but it is far from perfect. Though the 3D experience has its moments of absolute brilliance, it can be short-lived due to the imprecise nature of glasses-free 3D technology, with distortion, ghosting, and user discomfort." Less than six months after the Nintendo 3DS' launch, Nintendo dropped the price from $250 to $169, and offered those who had already purchased a 3DS the Ambassador Program which included 10 NES and 10 Gameboy Advance games. The Nintendo 3DS saw multiple redesigns, including the New Nintendo 3DS, the New Nintendo 3DS XL, the Nintendo 2DS, and the New Nintendo 2DS XL. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=a-history-of-nintendo-hardware-1977-to-now&captions=true"] We've ranked our 25 Best Nintendo 3DS Games, and our list is led by Pokemon Sun & Moon, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Super Mario 3D Land, Fire Emblem Awakening, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. The Nintendo 3DS and Wii U were the final two systems that had Nintendo co-developing for each. With the release of the Switch in 2017, Nintendo focused its home console and handheld development into one system. [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.