Nintendo Switch Sale Makes One of Gaming's Best Trilogies Lowest Price Ever

Yesterday's Xbox Bethesda Developer Direct had a handful of announcements, but the biggest was easily Hi-Fi Rush. Developer Tango Gameworks shocked fans with a colorful new game unlike anything it had released in the past. Even better, the game was made available shortly after the presentation on Xbox Game Pass and Steam, allowing players to try Hi-Fi Rush last night. While reviewers were not given the game ahead of time, player response has been overwhelmingly positive thus far. It remains to be seen whether players will continue to stick with the game, but it looks like Xbox has a big hit on its hands!

The PlayStation 5 is about to lose another exclusive game that launched with the console back in late 2020. In the years since the PS5 first released, many titles that initially arrived alongside the console have started to come elsewhere. Games like Bugsnax, Godfall, and even Sackboy: A Big Adventure have since been released for platforms Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC. And while some of the PS5's exclusives will surely remain exclusive forever, one title is being unshackled from the PlayStation ecosystem next week.

Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S users have been surprised with a new freebie to celebrate the release of Dead Space. One of the small, but important features the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S currently have that the PS5 does not have is customizable backgrounds. Well, customizable to an extent. The PS5 background can't be changed at all, unlike the PS4, which had incredible customization options. The background customization options on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S don't allow for the same freedom as the PS4, but they do allow Xbox users to choose from a range of different static and dynamic backgrounds. There isn't a plethora of options, but there are options, including some game-specific options. To this end, a new Dead Space dynamic background is now available, and like the other backgrounds, it's free to download and use.

Nintendo has issued a new warning to Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED owners. The portability of the Nintendo Switch presents a variety of problems that don't particularly manifest with PlayStation or Xbox consoles unless we are talking about the couple of times PlayStation released portable machines. The portability is perhaps the biggest selling point of the Nintendo Switch though. In other words, the minor problems that come with portability are both worth it for Nintendo and those who buy the console. That said, if you're a Switch owner and you do take advantage of the Switch's portability by bringing it everywhere, then Nintendo wants you to be aware of condensation.

One of the best N64 games -- and one of the best games of all time across all platforms -- is now available for free, but not for everyone. While the N64 didn't sell as well as its competition or even well compared to some other Nintendo consoles, it, like every Nintendo console, except maybe the Wii U, boasts a very impressive library littered with incredible exclusive games. One of the greatest examples of this is GoldenEye 007, which was re-released today via Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X this week. And if you have Nintendo Switch Online or Xbox Game Pass, you can play the re-release for no extra charge. How long it will be available via the pair of subscription services, hasn't been clarified.

The final rotation of free games on the Epic Games Store for the month of January 2023 are now available. For the most part, January has been a pretty decent month on the Epic Games Store when it comes to free titles. Games such as Kerbal Space Program, Divine Knockout, and Shadow Tactics: Blade of the Shogun – Aiko's Choice have all been doled out in recent weeks. And while some fans have been hoping for a better pair of games to end the month, the Epic Games Store is instead handing out some forgettable titles.

Toxicity is a very big problem with online gaming, and companies are constantly looking for new ways to make things more welcoming. A newly discovered patent from PlayStation indicates that the company is attempting to do just that, with a system that would reward players for good behavior, and punish those that make games less enjoyable for others. Rewards would include things like medals and "virtual points," while toxic players would have their actions reviewed by a human moderator, and players would be given a chance to appeal any potential punishments.

Hogwarts Legacy's director has revealed just how long it might take to complete the game. Like many other open-world games, Hogwarts Legacy is going to feature a number of different areas to explore and side quests to complete. And while there is a main story path that players will be able to follow, the game's vast scope means that the time it will take to reach the credits will be much different for virtually everyone that experiences it.

Xbox is planning a big summer showcase for later this year. Xbox is one of the most interesting gaming companies out there because they have not been doing things that other platform holders are doing, for better or worse. They've focused on big services like Xbox Game Pass and instead of trying to compete with PlayStation for big cinematic, prestige games, they've opted to focus on more casual experiences with things like multiplayer and co-op at the forefront. Xbox has also gone out of its way to buy major publishers like Activision and Bethesda to help deepen its first-party offerings both for Xbox Game Pass, but as a platform as a whole. With that said, many were disappointed with the fact that 2022 had pretty much no major first-party releases on Xbox.

The first big PS5 exclusive of 2023 is out and it's looking increasingly like a rare flop for PlayStation. When you think of PlayStation and exclusive games, you think of high-quality games and series like Bloodborne, The Last of Us, God of War, Uncharted, Marvel's Spider-Man, and Death Stranding. Last generation, some of the best games were PlayStation exclusives. So far, it looks like this success will continue with the PS5 if the likes of God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbbiden West, Demon's Souls, and more are indicators. Yet, not every PlayStation exclusive can live up to this quality. And when the exclusive is made via a second-party or third-party developer, the consistency often suffers. One of the biggest recent flops, Babyon's Fall, came the way of a third-party deal PlayStation made with Square Enix. Fast-forward and Square Enix has delivered PlayStation another flop in the form of Forspoken.

The Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic were allies in their efforts to bring order to the Star Wars galaxy for approximately 25,000 years. Star Wars has now introduced something older and possibly of greater power than either. SPOILERS for the Star Wars: The Bad Batch episode "Entombed" follow. "Entombed" brings a different energy to The Bad Batch than what's typical for a Star Wars story. The episode finds the Batch between missions for Cid. Omega and Wrecker go looking for valuable scraps. While Tech doesn't recognize anything of value in their haul, Phee Genoa, Cid's treasure-hunting friend, does.

The days are starting to get just a little bit longer, and Walmart's weekend deals a whole lot hotter! Snag a Shark vac for less than $100, a 55" smart TV for under $360 and earbuds for only $26! And oh yeah: If you're ready to start getting in shape for summer, we've got deals on workout equipment as well.

A new Star Wars Jedi: Survivor deal has been announced that offers the upcoming Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sequel for "free." Free is in quotations because while it's technically true, there's a hefty purchase required to unlock the deal, much like "free" PlayStation Plus games or Xbox Game Pass games, but on steroids. That said, if you're in the market for a new CPU, it's a good deal. You will specifically need to buy an AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU though. When you purchase any Zen 4 chip you will get, courtesy of AMD, a PC code for the game, for free.

One unexpected (but unsurprising) beneficiary of the mass revolt against Wizards of the Coast's proposed changes to the Open Gaming License - Pathfinder. Today, Paizo revealed that the current print run of the Pathfinder 2E Core Rulebook had sold out at its warehouse, with a supply that was meant to last eight months lasting just two weeks due to a surge in demand. A new print run of the Core Rulebook hardcover has been ordered, with an estimated delivery date of mid-April. The Pathfinder 2E Core Rulebook has also sold out at Amazon and most other major online book retailers. Paizo noted that the Pocket version of the Core Rulebook, which has smaller dimensions and a paperback cover remains available at their warehouse.

Jordan Brand and Marvel have revealed some new images of the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Air Jordan 1. These sneakers are being released right around the Sony animated movie's release date. @xcmade dropped some new photos of this pair and they're an absolute knockout. A classic black and red color way of the first Michael Jordan signature shoe serves as the canvas. But, near the top of the upper, things get a little bit interesting. The Ben-Day dots that comprise the red are zoomed in on and the material is accentuated by the lighter colors. Down near the midsole, there's some different textures at play as well. (Makes a lot of sense for the dimension-hopping premise of the movie.) Check out the images for yourself from Nice Kicks.

Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has reaffirmed his support for Halo developer 343 Industries following some road bumps. Halo is the most important franchise Xbox has, it basically put the platform on the map when it was originally released and has done wonders for the brand ever since. The franchise was started by Bungie and the developer only grew it from there with games that got progressively better until the studio opted to leave after Halo: Reach. Bungie had done its time with Halo and wanted to go make Destiny, so it passed the baton to a new studio that was built with the sole intention of making more Halo games: 343 Industries. Although 343 Industries has made some alright Halo games, they haven't been as beloved as the Bungie entries. Halo Infinite was well-received, but various problems with its live service elements and missing features that were previously included on day one left a sour taste in the mouths of fans.

GTA Online has gotten a new update that gives players limited-time access to a new vehicle and a ton of lucrative bonuses. One of the hardest things about a live-service game is the dreaded grind. Some find it fun to put countless hours into something and be rewarded with in-game loot. Some just want to play the game without focusing too hard on getting the best stuff. This was a problem with GTA Online for a while, but Rockstar Games has been offering tons of ways to allow players to skip the grind and get right into the good stuff by offering all kinds of bonuses. Sometimes they'll even give you in-game money just for playing the game.

Dungeons & Dragons will not be moving forward with planned changes to the Open Gaming License. Today, Kyle Brink of Wizards of the Coast announced that they were listening to fan feedback and were not moving forward with plans to "de-authorize" the current Open Gaming License, which provides a legal framework for allowing third party creators and publishers to create material compatible with Dungeons & Dragons. What's more – Wizards will move forward with plans to release the Dungeons & Dragons game mechanics under a Creative Commons license, in essence making the rules available for public use.

Square Enix has announced that it will be shutting down Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero's Bonds over the next few months. While the team will be releasing "several updates" beforehand, the game will no longer be playable effective April 26th at 8 p.m. PT. Effective immediately, Square Enix has ceased the sale of Red Gems, Item Packs, and the game's Gold Pass. On January 29th, automatic renewals for the Gold Pass will also cease. In the meantime, some automatic renewals may slip through the cracks, so Square Enix advises players to manually cancel their subscriptions to avoid any issues.