Star Wars Battlefront collection revives a multiplayer classic

There was once a time of outstanding Star Wars computer games, before Disney made a deal with publisher EA that led to a plethora of lukewarmly received multiplayer games-as-a-service and mobile titles. (And Jedi Fallen Order, of course.) Now a cornerstone of that era is set to be revived in the form of the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection.

Announced this morning, the collection includes two beloved LucasArts-developed online multiplayer shooters from the 2000s: Star Wars Battlefront and Star Wars Battlefront 2. Although it debuted during a Nintendo livestream, the collection won’t just be coming out on Nintendo Switch—it’s coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, too.

The collection will include “restored online play for up to 64 players” of all the previous Galactic Conquest and Campaign mode content from both games on all platforms, including bonus maps and extras that were previously exclusive to specific consoles. Additionally, the Hero Assault mode will now be playable on all ground maps.

Assuming the porting job is good and there’s no missing fine print here, that could make these the definitive editions of those games.

The porting jobs here will be handled by Aspyr Media, a company that first made its name porting PC games to the Mac and iOS but has more recently put a special focus on bringing remastered classics from Star Wars’ PC gaming golden age to PC and consoles.

For example, Aspyr remastered underrated gem Star Wars Jedi Knight Jedi Academy. The company’s console remaster of that game felt a bit low-budget, but it was serviceable.

[embedded content]
<em>Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection</em> trailer.

Battlefront was rebooted by EA in 2015, but the shooter that came out then bore little resemblance to the 2004 original. It received praise for its meticulous high-fidelity recreation of battlegrounds from the movies, but the gameplay lacked the depth today’s online shooter players crave. A 2017 follow-up added more depth but was poorly received when it debuted because of its business model. Ask today’s players of the 2017 version of Star Wars: Battlefront 2 and they’ll probably say it’s much improved, though.

Still, there was nothing quite like the originals, which were PC games first and foremost, though they did receive console ports. There was a purity to those games that’s lost in the general, well, EA-ness of the reboots.

Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection will hit PC (via Steam) as well as Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on March 14 and will cost $35. A blog post on starwars.com also notes that it will support Steam Deck.

Listing image by Lucasfilm

https://arstechnica.com/?p=2004939




What would an Xbox without console exclusives even look like?

The world's most expensive domino set.
Enlarge / The world’s most expensive domino set.
Aurich Lawson


It’s been a busy time in the Xbox rumor mill of late. Last weekend, the Verge reported that Microsoft was considering launching a version of Bethesda’s upcoming Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PlayStation 5, alongside plans to port last year’s Hi-Fi Rush to other consoles. That same weekend, Xbox Eras published more lightly sourced rumors suggesting that prominent Xbox exclusive Starfield would be getting a PS5 port.

While Microsoft hasn’t directly commented on these reports, Xbox chief Phil Spencer wrote on social media that Microsoft is “planning a business update event for next week, where we look forward to sharing more details with you about our vision for the future of Xbox.”

The churning rumor mill has set off something of an existential crisis among some Xbox superfans, content creators, and influencers, who are worried that Microsoft is planning to essentially abandon their favored console. “Genuinely feel terrible for convincing my sister to get an Xbox instead of a PS5,” XboxYoda posted in a representative social media take. “Like I actually feel like I let her down… .”

“If you like being lied to that’s a you thing,” social media user XcloudTimdog posted. “I have a set of standards, that’s all. Cross them and, well, I respond.”

These and other more apocalyptic reactions might seem like hyperbolic whining from territorial console misanthropes. But they also have the germ of a point. Exclusive games have long been the primary way console makers argue for players to choose their console over the competition. If Microsoft effectively changes that argument in the middle of the current console generation, Xbox owners will have some legitimate reason to be upset.

A world without Xbox exclusives

To see why, start with a simple thought experiment. Say it’s early 2020 and Microsoft announces that it is abandoning the idea of console exclusives entirely. Upcoming Xbox Game Studios titles like Halo Infinite and Starfield would still be released on the upcoming Xbox Series X/S, of course, but they’d also all see equivalent versions launch on the PS5 (and sometimes the Switch) on the same day. Sony does not respond in kind and keeps major franchises like God of War and Spider-Man exclusive to the PS5.

<a href="https://rassegna.lbit-solution.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/what-would-an-xbox-without-console-exclusives-even-look-like-2.jpg" class="enlarge" data-height="683" data-width="1024" alt="You mean I could have visited this planet and played Spider-Man 2 on the same console?”><img alt="You mean I could have visited this planet and played Spider-Man 2 on the same console?” src=”https://rassegna.lbit-solution.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/what-would-an-xbox-without-console-exclusives-even-look-like-1.jpg” width=”640″ height=”427″ srcset=”https://rassegna.lbit-solution.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/what-would-an-xbox-without-console-exclusives-even-look-like-2.jpg 2x”>
Enlarge / You mean I could have visited this planet and played Spider-Man 2 on the same console?

In this hypothetical world, convincing someone to buy an Xbox becomes much more difficult. On the one hand, you have a PlayStation console that can play all of the major big-budget games published by both Microsoft and Sony. On the other, you have an Xbox that doesn’t have access to the significant Sony half of that gaming equation.

There are other reasons you might still consider an Xbox in this world. Maybe you think the reduced price of the Xbox Series S delivers more “bang for the buck.” Maybe you prefer the Xbox controller layout or some of Xbox’s system-level OS features. Maybe you’re convinced cross-platform games will look or play better on Microsoft’s machine.

But in the console market, these kinds of concerns often take a back seat to the prospect of a system’s exclusive games and franchises. The biggest exclusive titles are called “system sellers” for a reason—they’re the games that make many gamers plunk down hundreds of dollars on hardware just for the possibility of spending more on this must-have software.

In this hypothetical, Microsoft would essentially be trying to sell the Xbox without any exclusive system sellers.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=2002092




PS5 “Slim” teardowns suggest same chip, not much shrinking, but nifty disc drive

It's the same chip in the PS5 Slim, but there are some changes in where the heat goes.
Enlarge / It’s the same chip in the PS5 Slim, but there are some changes in where the heat goes.

You aren’t supposed to be able to buy Sony’s redesigned PlayStation 5 yet, but because global commerce is just too complicated, some people have already gotten their hands on them. One of those people is YouTube vlogger Dave2D. He gently took apart the unofficially named “Slim,” noted the savings in weight, if not so much size, and detailed some intriguing details about the new heat management and detachable disc drive.

Sony has made a smaller, usually slimmer version of each of its PlayStation consoles available as its market matures: the PS2, PS3, PS4, even the PS One, kinda-sorta. Usually, there is no question that the newer, smaller version is an all-around better pick. But the newest version of the largest home console in decades isn’t a straightforward improvement in efficiency, at least as seen by Dave2D and Linus Tech Tips.

[embedded content]
Dave2D’s teardown of a PlayStation 5.

The new console is now divided into four panels, and the finish differs between the top and bottom. That’s because, on the newer, slimmer PS5 standard edition, the disc drive is now detachable. There are visible screws on the module, but the drive connects through a single socket port.

You might think this is a huge repairability win for console disc drives, one of the most failure-prone parts of any system. But you must take your PS5 online and “pair” that disc drive and its firmware with Sony’s servers. For both PlayStation and Xbox systems, dating back to the Xbox 360, replacing your disc drive requires either solder work to move a connected board over to the new drive or purchasing a licensed drive from Sony or Microsoft, when available. It is a boon for the person who buys the “Digital Edition” of this newer PS5 and later decides they need a disc drive, because it can be attached to either model.

Dave2D dings the “slim” PS5 for abandoning much of the iconic style of the original, while not providing much of a space savings. He also notes that the new PS5 comes only with horizontal-oriented clear plastic feet. At the same time, the $30 optional vertical stand doesn’t seem necessary, at least for the disc version. Ports have moved around a bit, and additional storage is a bit more accessible, but otherwise, it’s much the same creature.

Getting into the PS5 requires “a bunch of security Torx screws,” Dave2D reports, but fairly easy to pull out components after that. The newest PS5 has five heat pipes and a seemingly larger heatsink, presumably to reduce heat and fan noise. Otherwise, the power supply, power draw, and processor seem to be the same.

Linus Tech Tips’ teardown goes a bit deeper into the thermals and noise suppression of the new model. The slimmer version produces about the same fan noise as the original but with the sound directed more toward the sides. Given that it has the same power draw and an identical 6 nm die size, the processor in the new PS5 is all but identical to the last “Oberon Plus” revision of the PS5. Linus Sebastian notes that every smaller PlayStation before this came with a smaller node and power improvement. Unlike Dave2D, however, Sebastian likes the look of the new modular-but-still-proprietary system.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1982026




You’ll be able to stream PS5 games this month—but only on an actual PS5

Aloy draws a bow in the PS5 game Horizon Forbidden West
Enlarge / Horizon: Forbidden West.

Sony has announced a launch date for a new feature that will allow PlayStation Plus Premium members to stream PS5 games, just like they’ve been able to do with PS3 and PS4 games for a while.

The streaming service will roll out first in Japan on October 17, then in supported European countries (the full list is in Sony’s blog post) on October 23, and finally in North America on October 30.

Not all games will be supported, but it sounds like quite a few will. Sony platform experience executive Hideaki Nishino writes in a blog post that streaming will be available “for supported PS5 digital titles within the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog and Game Trials, as well as supported titles in the PS5 game library that PlayStation Plus Premium members own.”

That includes “hundreds of titles.” The blog post doesn’t name every title, but Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Forbidden West, and Mortal Kombat 11 are among those listed. Users will also be able to stream game trials for several games; the examples given were The Calisto Protocol, Hogwarts Legacy, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Those examples are all titles that are also available for download by PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers. In a departure from past policy, Sony will now offer certain games that the user has purchased outside of the subscription service to be streamed. Named examples include Resident Evil 4 and Genshin Impact. This won’t be available for every PS5 game, though.

Sony PlayStation 5 console

(Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.)

Streamed games will support 4K, 1440p, 1080p, and 720p resolutions at framerates up to 60 fps. They’ll also support HDR. Notably missing is 120 fps, which some PS5 games offer in their performance modes. On the audio side, we’re looking at 5.1 and 7.1 surround and Tempest Audiotech. (No word about Atmos.)

It’s worth noting that Sony says PS5 cloud streaming will only work on PS5 consoles, at least at first. That’s one of a few ways it seems like Sony is still playing catchup with Microsoft’s game-streaming offerings. This PS5 streaming feature is only available on the Plus Premium membership, too, and that’s the most expensive tier Sony offers; it costs $160 annually.

This launch comes just a couple of weeks before the planned launch of PlayStation Portal, a streaming-exclusive handheld. However, that handheld only supports remote play from an existing PS5 console, and it won’t be able to stream games from the cloud on its own.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1975338




Worries over Starfield “skipping Xbox” helped push Microsoft to buy Bethesda

The only way we can ensure Sony doesn't capture that planet is if we buy it ourselves!
Enlarge / The only way we can ensure Sony doesn’t capture that planet is if we buy it ourselves!

Thus far, much of the legal and regulatory drama surrounding Microsoft’s proposed purchase of Activision has centered on concerns about the potential for Microsoft to make major cross-platform franchise Call of Duty into an Xbox console exclusive. But Microsoft Xbox Chief Phil Spencer now says separate concerns surrounding Starfield‘s potential PlayStation exclusivity helped drive Microsoft’s 2020 purchase of Bethesda Softworks parent ZeniMax.

In Friday testimony concerning the Federal Trade Commission’s attempt to block the Activision purchase, Spencer noted how, in 2020, Sony made paid deals ensuring Bethesda titles Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo would ship on PlayStation months before an Xbox version was available. “So the discussion about Starfield—when we heard that Starfield was potentially also going to end up skipping Xbox, we can’t be in a position as a third-place console where we fall further behind on our content ownership, so we’ve had to secure content to remain viable in the business,” Spencer said on the stand.

Those concerns weren’t entirely based on Sony’s previous practice, either. Just after the Bethesda purchase was announced, former Kinda Funny Host Imran Khan reported that “Sony had been negotiating timed exclusivity on Starfield as recently as a few months ago.”

Microsoft’s worries about an Xbox-free Starfield are more than a bit ironic now, though, since the FTC and Sony say Microsoft’s exclusive capture of the console version of Starfield is prime evidence for why the company’s proposed Activision deal shouldn’t go through. But Microsoft argues that its effort to secure Xbox exclusives actually increases console market competition by helping an Xbox that has fallen to a third-place market share in the “console wars.”

“[We] needed to do a lot of work with a lot of partners given the competitive situation we had against the market leader,” Spencer said. “Sony is the market leader with a considerable capability and an aggressive competitor… We try to compete, but as I said, over the last 20 years we’ve failed to do that effectively.”

Elsewhere in his Friday testimony, Spencer refused to confirm whether or not Bethesda’s upcoming The Elder Scroll VI will come to non-Xbox consoles. “I think we’ve been a little unclear on what platforms it’s launching on, given how far out the game is,” he said. “It’s difficult for us right now to nail down.”

That uncertainty contradicts a 2021 interview where Spencer reportedly said Elder Scrolls VI would mirror Starfield by only appearing on Xbox and PC. But we’ll have to wait quite a while to see for sure whether that’s true; Spencer said on the stand that the game first announced back in 2018 is “five-plus years away,” a timeframe that would put an eventual Elder Scrolls VI launch at least 17 years after Skyrim‘s 2011 release.

Regarding Call of Duty, Spencer has now sworn under oath on the witness stand that “my commitment is, and my testimony is, that we will continue to ship future versions of Call of Duty on Sony’s PlayStation 5… Us pulling Call of Duty from PlayStation, in my view, would create irreparable harm for the Xbox brand.”

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1949935




Alan Wake II coming in mid-October, promising another cryptic PC powerhouse

Alan Wake trailer image
Enlarge / There’s really not much more context for what’s going to happen in Alan Wake 2 than what you can see in this image. Well, maybe a typewriter.

Alan Wake 2 has a release date, an evocative trailer, and the requisite amount of meta-contextual horror to come.

The latest title from Control maker Remedy Entertainment, a sequel to the acclaimed Alan Wake will arrive on October 17, 2023, on PC (exclusive to the Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. Given the studio’s track record, we expect to see some impressive ray tracing, storylines that make you question what a story really is, and novel gameplay conceits.

In typical Remedy style, you don’t get much direct information, but instead, some teasing hints. After some flashes of cultish horror, we meet Saga Anderson, an FBI agent that Remedy states (in a PlayStation blog post) will be a second playable character.

Anderson is investigating the murder of a fellow agent, Robert Nightingale, in Bright Falls, Washington, which leads her to Alan Wake. Wake is trapped in the Dark Place, trying to “beat the devil at his own game,” Remedy suggests. At some point, players can play Wake and Anderson’s narratives however they choose, with the two stories locking into one another. Anderson and her partner discover that Nightingale was investigating Wake and that Wake’s text seems to be about them.

“We were all trapped in a horror story,” the trailer voiceover says. “The horror story wanted us dead.”

[embedded content]
Alan Wake 2 release date trailer.

In addition to Alan Wake 2, Wednesday’s PlayStation Showcase saw the debut of other notable games, a few of them likely to arrive on PC:

  • Spider-Man 2, featuring both Peter Parker and Miles Morales as playable characters, arriving “fall 2023.”
  • Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which is a remastered (and renamed) Metal Gear Solid 3. In true Metal Gear fashion, the exact release date is a mystery, though it’s coming in 2024 to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. A collection of the first three Metal Gear Solid games is also due to arrive this summer.
  • Final Fantasy XVI, from the same team as Final Fantasy XIV, which promises an intriguing new direction for the series, arriving June 22, exclusively to PlayStation (at least until the end of 2023).
  • Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the next title in Ubisoft’s historical open-world franchise, arriving October 12, 2023, on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
  • The Talos Principle 2, arriving “later this year” on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation.

You can see other games announced on Sony’s recorded Showcase. A surprisingly large portion of it is Spider-Man 2 footage.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1941971




Dealmaster: 1-day-only Nintendo Switch, Microsoft 365 deals; plus PS5 and AirTags

Side-by-side comparison for two handheld video gaming devices.
Enlarge / The new OLED Switch above its predecessor.
Sam Machkovech

Kicking off the week, we have a couple of today-only sales, including a rare discount on Nintendo’s Switch OLED and a free $50 Amazon gift card deal on Microsoft’s 365 Family office software. There are also price cuts on the PS5 God of War Ragnarök bundle and Apple’s four-pack of AirTags.

Nintendo Switch OLED for $310 ($350)

Nintendo’s Switch OLED is the best Switch console you can buy. In our review, we praised the larger, upgraded display’s completely blacked-out pixels and infinite contrast ratio whether gaming before bed or during the day. We also appreciated the bigger, sturdier hinge, Ethernet-toting dock, and 64GB standard storage, as opposed to 32GB on other Switch models.

We still think the Switch Lite is an unbeatable deal in portable gaming for $200, but for those among us who like the best of the best, the Switch OLED is the ultimate portable gaming device. With today’s one-day-only $40 discount, it’s a bit more affordable now, too. Samsung’s 256GB microSD Evo Select is also on sale for $20, which pairs well with the Switch for game storage.

The PlayStation 5.
Enlarge / The PlayStation 5.

PS5 God of War Ragnarök bundle for $510 ($560)

There’s not a lot we can say about the PS5 that hasn’t already been said. Games load quickly thanks to built-in NVMe storage; it also includes an innovative controller; and the cooling fans are quieter and more efficient than on the PS4. The new DualSense controller also combines haptics and audio for a truly unique and immersive gaming experience, while also offering headset-free chat with a built-in speaker. As more legacy games migrate to PS5 and newer titles emerge, the value of PS5 only grows, making it a more enticing upgrade for PS4 owners since its launch. The God of War Ragnarök bundle is $50 off, which is the lowest we’ve seen for this bundle.

AirTags are the best way to find your lost stuff, if you're an iPhone user.
Enlarge / AirTags are the best way to find your lost stuff, if you’re an iPhone user.
Samuel Axon

Apple AirTags four-pack for $90 ($100)

AirTags are arguably the most capable item trackers on the market. The main reason for that is the theoretically endless range. Essentially, wherever there’s an iPhone or capable iDevice, there’s hope to find your lost item. The more devices in the area, the better, so AirTags are ideal for densely to moderately populated areas. Without iDevices in the vicinity, they won’t do much for you, so they may not be the best pick if you’re more concerned with losing something on a mountain hike or romp through the forest. This deal gives you four AirTag trackers at a $10 discount from their typical price.

Microsoft 365 encompasses Teams, OneDrive, and the suite of productivity apps formerly known as Office. The Family version also offers 1TB of cloud storage per user.
Enlarge / Microsoft 365 encompasses Teams, OneDrive, and the suite of productivity apps formerly known as Office. The Family version also offers 1TB of cloud storage per user.

Microsoft 365 Family office suite and $50 Amazon gift card for $100 ($150)

Work applications and deployments for Microsoft’s suite aside, if you and your family prefer creating and editing documents offline but also value vast online storage amounts, this deal on Microsoft 365 Family is just for you. Today only, the gold standard of office software is on sale for $100 right now on Amazon with a free $50 Amazon gift card. That gives you six installations of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Skype, and Teams, along with six separate 1TB cloud storage spaces on OneDrive, and a $50 Amazon gift card. If you’re already a subscriber, you can stack years and pocket a nice $50 bonus.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1927050




Humanity is the reimagined 3D Lemmings we didn’t know we needed

Humans walking on a 3-D cliff toward an exit point
Enlarge / You are a glowing dog. The humans lack all purpose. You must direct them to their final ascension. That’s the game.

Is it a bad time or the perfect time to release a game about humans mindlessly marching toward their doom unless an ethereal Shiba Inu guides them toward the light?

Humanity, a new puzzle-and-somewhat-platformer game from the publisher of Tetris Effect, was shown off in a trailer at Sony’s State of Play event last night, and in many ways, it stole the show from more traditional big-name titles. It was originally announced in 2019 but is looking much more defined, surreal, and beautiful ahead of its May 2023 launch. You can play a demo on PS4, PS5, PSVR, PSVR 2, and PC from now until 3 am on March 6. I highly recommend that you do.

[embedded content]
The release trailer for Humanity.

The premise will be familiar to fans of the Amiga classic Lemmings, but the execution is markedly different. You are a glowing dog. Faceless, polygonal humans—said to be “without soul, without intellect, without a will of their own”—are shambling out of an entry point in a blocky 3D landscape. You hear a voice telling you to guide them toward the light. You do this by putting various instructions onto cubic tiles, forcing the humans to turn, jump, float, and otherwise avoid their death by falling, trampling, or other means. Some amount must reach a tile that lifts them into a glowing sky, but not all of them.

Unlike its spiritual forebear, Humanity is far less punishing, and it has a whole other dimension to work with. In the demo levels, the humans are infinite, so once you figure out a path and a few of them ascend, you can either move on or try again. You are seemingly not punished for how many people die while you figure things out, which is nice, if a bit unsettling. You can improve your ratings by having your humans reach “Goldies,” marching Oscar statues that you must keep alive until the ascent.

Also unlike Lemmings, you are an entity moving about the play field, not simply a cursor. While you work out your higher-level go-here-then-there strategy, you must implement it by running or jumping to the spots where you’ll put your directives. Sometimes there are obstacles you can only surpass once your humans step on a button that unlocks them, so you must then rush to where they’ll next be, lest you lose a Goldie. You’ll also occasionally possess the spirit of one of your humans to move around since you don’t have all their long-jumping or climbing powers.

It’s important to point out how wonderful this all looks and sounds. Like Tetris Effect, the visual complications of the humans moving and flying about the level, with all their different-colored clothing, builds and builds to a kind of psychedelic crescendo. On an RTX 3070, with the graphics turned all the way up, the demo typically ran between 70 and 90 frames per second, though the fans noticeably spun up. However, this seems like a title where higher-res, ray-traced graphics aren’t necessary to enjoy the game. We’re eager to try it out with the PSVR2.

The soundtrack evokes Tetris Effect‘s ethereal but soothing tones. I can’t say for certain if it’s similarly generative or whether it ramps up with the action, but it felt wonderfully matched to the colorful, contemplative gameplay.

The demo’s levels ramp up rather quickly, though this may not reflect the final game. In level one, you are getting the humans to turn a few directions on a flat field. By the fifth level, your humans are jumping, long-jumping, floating to extend their long jumps, dispersing through liquid cubes, and often doubling back on themselves. The trailer indicates much more complexity to come, including light-stick combat, but I have faith in the experience being manageable for most.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1919808




PS5 owners won’t get this set of free PS4 games for much longer

A look at the games available in the PlayStation Plus Collection, which will no longer be offered to PS5 subscribers as of May.
Enlarge / A look at the games available in the PlayStation Plus Collection, which will no longer be offered to PS5 subscribers as of May.


For over two years now, PlayStation Plus subscribers who owned a PS5 got access to the PlayStation Plus Collection, a set of 19 legacy PS4 games available for free download and play via the console’s backward compatibility. This week, Sony announced that it will be ending this subscriber benefit in May. Current PS5 owners will have until then to redeem their free games, which will remain available on their account as long as they stay subscribed to any of PlayStation Plus’ multiple tiers.

Hundreds of legacy PS4 games are still available for download as part of the higher-end PlayStation Plus “Extra” and “Premium” tiers (starting at $14.99/month or $99.99/year). That list includes many of the titles that were part of the PlayStation Plus Collection, including almost all of Sony’s first-party titles. But the PlayStation Plus Collection was also available at the cheapest “Essential” pricing tier ($9.99/month or $59.99/year).

The PlayStation Plus Collection served as a valuable introduction to legacy PlayStation franchises for PS5 owners who never owned a PS4. Sony said in an earnings release last night that such users made up a full 30 percent of the PS5’s monthly active users, suggesting that “the acquisition of new users is progressing,” as the company put it. Players who did upgrade from a PS4 to a PS5, meanwhile, are spending significantly more time and money on the new console on average, according to Sony.

The sunsetting of the PlayStation Plus Collection comes as Sony promises that long-standing retail shortages of PS5 hardware should be easing thanks to increasing supplies and despite “unprecedented demand.” PlayStation Plus currently boasts 46.4 million subscribers across all consoles, Sony said, a number that has remained essentially flat over the last two years.

Microsoft, meanwhile, announced that it had reached 25 million Game Pass subscribers last January, and Sony publicly estimated that number had grown to 29 million by November. Both those subscriber numbers are up significantly from the 18 million Game Pass subscribers Microsoft claimed in early 2021, though that subscriber growth is reportedly well behind Microsoft’s targets.

Subscription numbers for both console subscription services might be hitting a saturation point, though. As Xbox CEO Phil Spencer said in remarks last October, “at some point, you’ve reached everybody on console that wants to subscribe.”

Here’s the full list of the PlayStation Plus Collection games that will be departing in May (games still available on the Extra/Premium tier are noted with a *):

  • Batman: Arkham Knight*
  • Battlefield 1
  • Bloodborne*
  • Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
  • Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
  • Days Gone*
  • Detroit: Become Human*
  • Fallout 4*
  • Final Fantasy XV*
  • God of War*
  • Infamous Second Son*
  • Monster Hunter World
  • Mortal Kombat X
  • Ratchet and Clank
  • Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
  • The Last Guardian*
  • The Last of Us Remastered
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End*
  • Until Dawn*

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1914436




Sony: Would-be PlayStation 5 buyers “should have a much easier time” now

The PlayStation 5.
Enlarge / The PlayStation 5.

In a blog post published on Monday, Sony hardware VP Isabelle Tomatis announced that there is now an “increased supply” of PlayStation 5 game consoles after more than two years of shortages. “If you’re looking to purchase a PS5 console, you should now have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally,” she wrote.

This is the second time this month Sony has publicly said that it believes its PlayStation 5 supply woes have concluded—the first was during a press conference at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show.

In the blog post, Tomatis pinned the prior struggles on “unprecedented demand.” That seems to be true, according to analysts who watch Sony and the video game industry—but there may have been other factors at play, such as pandemic-related supply constraints for some components.

After thanking would-be PlayStation buyers for their patience over the past couple of years, Tomatis pointed out that people in the US, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg should be able to buy at least one bundle or standalone console through Sony’s direct.playstation.com store. Sure enough, we checked the US store and there are currently multiple models available; only the disc-less, digital download-only model is sold out.

Additionally, the US version of nowinstock.net notes at the time of this publication that consoles are currently available from Walmart, and there are shipping-delayed preorders at Amazon. Of course, supplies likely vary by region, and they could shift again in the future.

Despite Sony’s struggle to make units available or get them shipped to consumers, the PlayStation 5 sold nearly as well in its first year as its predecessor did in the same time frame.

Sony’s announcement about delivering supply to meet demand for the base console comes between two major accessory launches: last week’s DualSense Edge controller release, and the upcoming February release date for the PlayStation VR2.

The timing is key. The PlayStation VR sold quite well for a VR headset in its time, but Sony needs to make sure people can get their hands on the PlayStation 5 so that they can buy a VR2.

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1913480