NEWS | Week beginning March 21st | Playstation 4K, Nintendo NX Hoax & Red Dead Redemption 2

Good morning/afternoon/evening all! Welcome back to another blog post!

Playstation 4K

First up, it looks like we may be getting a new Playstation 4 console soon, but a 4K varient! Two big news outlets, Kotaku and Digital Foundry have both reported that the Playstation 4K or 4.5, is very real.

Not only that, but Sony's Research & Development Department have confirmed that they have multiple prototypes already in the mix. Apparently the new console is being referred to as 'Playstation

Will we be seeing more weird and wacky
designs like this?

4K', leading us to believe that the new console will in fact support 4K playability, which is cool!

Now I definitely think this was coming. The current PS4 console can run games at a high 1080p, however, unlike PC gaming, the PS4 cannot run games at a 4K quality. Therefore, it only makes sense to try and catch up with the competition. Also, Sony are know for making their 'slim' or '.5' consoles. Ever since the Playstation 1 launched back in 1994, Sony have always made a slimmer, faster model of that same console. We've had  PS1, PS2 and PS3 slim consoles. By the looks of it, Sony wants to keep following that same path.

UPDATE: So apparently after I originally wrote this section a price and release date was revealed for the PS4K!

Apparently it will release at the end of this year and will cost around $400, so about £300. Happy days!

Nintendo NX Hoax

Next up, it appears that the new Nintendo NX controllers that have been making the rounds are a hoax! Who knew?!

Looks real to me... Maybe?

A week or two ago, news outlet Dual Pixels said that they had information from an exclusive source about the supposedly new Nintendo NX controller, they then went onto say that they believe that the photo (left) had 'not been Photoshopped significantly'.

People then started to read and share the article, hype started to build around the controller and the next Nintendo console. Whether you like the design of the controller or not, everybody loves a leak!

Anyway, on Thursday, Reddit user Idriss2Dev came out and admitted that the NX controller that had been making the rounds was in fact fake. He posted a video in a thread named 'Codename NX' stating how me made and designed the controller, and well, how he made everyone feel slightly dumb. Good job! The video involves a lot of clever Photoshop and design tool antics that I have no idea how to explain, so go watch it for yourself if you think you'd have any idea what he's doing!

So that's one hoax down. But wait, there's more! Another photo, showing a controller that looks exactly the same as the one being shown above was too making the rounds. The only thing is, this photo looks waayyyyy too real to be fake (right).
Unlike the last attempt, NeoGAF user kankii actually went out of his way to make a 3D print of the controller that was 'leaked' above, adding even more hype to the Nintendo NX train. It turns out kinkii used his brother's 3D lab to make the device, and much like Idriss2Dev, made a video explaining how he did it. Watch it here if you're interested.

So it turns out that the original guy made a hoax, then the second dude made a hoax based on the original hoax, if that makes sense?! Some people have way too much time on their hands!

Red Dead Redemption 2

Finally, it appears that we could be seeing a sequel to Red Dead Redemption soon! 

Gaming website Fraghero claims to have received an email from an anonymous reader claiming that they have new information on the forever rumoured RDR 2.

Apparently RDR 2 will be releasing late next year and will be revealed officially at this years E3. According to the tipster, RDR 2 has been in development for 4 years and will be titled

'Red Dead Redemption 2:  Legends Of The West'. The map will also be 'much bigger' than the original and will have 3 playable characters, very similar to Rockstar's previous title GTA 5.

Ummm, I don't think that's
right...

This guys source is apparently a former developer at Rockstar, I mean, if you want a leak for something, that's the best place to get the information, right?

Along with the supposed release of RDR 2, we may also be seeing a HD remaster of the original RDR, coming to all current generation consoles at the end of next year.

Now don't take any of this information too seriously. According to another gaming site WCCFTech, we were went to see RDR 2 at last years E3, and guess what? We didn't see RDR 2 at E3 2015. The world is full of people who like to ruin our day, so, take all of this with a pinch of salt and wait till Rockstar announce the game, if they ever do!

Annnd that's it for this week! What did you think of this weeks news? Will you be purchasing the Playstation 4K? What did you think of the Nintendo NX hoax? Are you ready for another Red Dead Redemption game? Let me know in the comments down below!

As always, thanks for reading!

Connor :)

NEWS | Week beginning March 14th | Playstation VR, The Division & Fallout 4

HELLLOOOOOO GUYS!! Yes, I am back and ready to blog again! Are you ready?

Playstation VR

First up, Playstation VR has been given both a release date and a price at Sony's GDC press conference.

Yes, one of the many high end VR headsets has finally been given a release date, and, well, it's definitely not cheap! The Playstation VR headset has been given a £349/$399 price tag in the UK and US and the actaul headset comes out in October 2016.

Here's what comes in the VR box!

Now, you may be asking, 'What's the point of buying these headsets if there aren't any games for it?'

According to Sony, more than 50 games will be available to purchase for the headset between the launch date and the end of the year. And if that isn't enough for you, one of these games will be a special version of Star Wars: Battlefront! Killing those Rebel scum is the Virtual Reality!

Now that I've given you guys all the good news about Playstation VR, here's some not so good news... 

First off, it looks like there will be a Camera bundle in the US, but not in Europe. The Camera bundle includes a Playstation Move controller as well as a Camera, which is required for head tracking. Unfortunately, the Camera is required for the VR headset to work, therefore, you will probably have to add another £40-50 onto the original £349 price tag!

And another bit of not so good news, UK video game retailer GAME is asking for a £100 deposit for Playstation VR headsets. Now, this does mean you are guaranteed a headset on launch. The choice is yours!

The Division

Next up, the new Tom Clancy shooter The Division has set a new world record for having the highest week one sales of a new IP, Ubisoft have announced, it even topped Bungie's FPS Destiny, though Destiny did do better on day one.

Have you played it yet?

Unfortunately we do not have exact figures yet, we do know that The Division brought in a whopping $330 million in five days, where-as Destiny brought in $325 million in the same timeframe. Not only that, The Division also peaked at 1.2 million concurrent users over the weekend. 

"The Division taking the top spot in the industry for first-week sales of a new franchise is a tremendous achievement," said CEO and co-founder of Ubisoft, Yves Guillemot. "We are very proud of our teams, and humbled by and thankful for the millions of players who are giving us their feedback and support."

Good job Ubisoft!

Fallout 4

Finally, 4 months after the launch of the main game, Bethesda have revealed 3 DLC packs, what they'll include and when they will be released! Hallelujah!

The first DLC pack called 'Automatron' will launch on the 22nd March (Tuesday) for all platfroms. The DLC will cost £7.99/$9.99 or will come free if you have purchased the season pass for Fallout 4.

Automatron will hit Fallout 4
on Tuesday!

This DLC sees the Sole Survivor hunt down robots unleashed upon you by 'The Mechanist' (anyone remember a similar character from Fallout 3??) Not only does the DLC add extra quests to the game, it also gives you the opportunity to create your own robotic companions and customise them as you wish! For example, you can change the paint jobs, weapons they use and even change their voice boxes!

Two more planned pieces of DLC will be released in both April and May. In April we will see the 'Wasteland Workshop' hit Boston. This DLC will allow you to build and set cages to capture wasteland creatures. You can either 'tame them' or 'face them off in battle'. Sounds like we could all be getting Deathclaw companions in the near future! The DLCpack will also include new settlement design options such as lighting kits and taxidermy. This will cost £3.99/$4.99 or again will come free if you have the season pass.

The final bit of DLC that we know of is 'Far Harbor'. A new case from Detective Valentine's agency has you searching for a missing woman and a colony of synths. According to Bethesda, this is the largest landmass ever created by Bethesda for an add-on, with it including new quests, settlements, creatures and dungeons, as well as weapons and armour. This pack will cost £19.99/$24.99 or free with the season pass.

Three big pieces of DLC coming to Fallout in the next few months! The already humongous Fallout 4 is set to expand even more!

So, on the comeback of my blog, which piece of news has interested you the most? Will you be pre-ordering the new Playstation VR? Have you had a chance to jump into The Division? Are you looking forward to the new Fallout DLC? Let me know in the comments down below!

Thanks for your patience, my break was much needed and I feel better than ever! See you guys next week!

Connor :)