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Travis Scott PS5 video kicks off "strategic creative partnership" - GamesRadar+

The rapper's "deep knowledge and fond memories" of PlayStation inspired the collab

In one of the more unexpected bits of PS5 marketing we've seen so far, rapper Travis Scott has released a brief promotional video where he looks very happy with the next-gen PlayStation in his possession.  The video kicks off with appearances from "key people that worked on different aspects" of PS5, eventually showing Scott kicked back on the couch with a PS5 DualSense in his hands. The face he makes when the PS5 boots up is what I imagine we'll all look like come launch day. Check it out: We'll send you pre-order details and the best PS5 deals as soon as they're available. Send me details about other relevant products from Gamesradar and other Future brands. Send me details about other relevant products from third parties. No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission. In an accompanying PlayStation Blog, marketing head Eric Lempel detailed the origins and strategy behind Sony's collab with Travis Scott, which is being called a "strategic creative partnership." According to Lempel, Scott's innovative, boundary-pushing style jives well with the PlayStation brand, and it just worked out that Scott is also a huge PlayStation fan. Likewise, we have some "innovative products" to look forward to from PlayStation and Scott's Cactus Jack brand. "I'm really looking forward to being able to showcase everything that Cactus Jack has worked on with Sony and the PlayStation team," Scott said of his partnership with Sony. "Most importantly I'm excited to see how the PlayStation fans and family respond, and I look forward to running some games with everybody very soon!"  Curiously, Snoop Dogg revealed today that he's been sent an Xbox Series X fridge from Microsoft. The Instagram post has since been deleted, but it looks like the two rappers could be involved in rivaling partnerships with Sony and Microsoft. Have a look at our own breakdown of PS5 vs Xbox Series X before both consoles launch next month.

Looks like the PS5 is being sent to media outlets - GamesRadar+

Media outlets could be in line to receive a PS5 relatively soon

We now have our first look at the PS5's retail packaging in the wild. In the tweet below, Giant Bomb co-host Jeff Bakalar shares a look at the PS5's retail packaging. This marks the first time that we've seen either a member of the public or press with a PS5, and it could indicate that Sony is beginning to send out the console to media outlets.  Good morning everyone. I can officially confirm the PS5 does in fact come in a box. This will be the end of my coverage for the day. Thank you pic.twitter.com/9vSVAXyIchOctober 23, 2020 We'll send you pre-order details and the best PS5 deals as soon as they're available. Send me details about other relevant products from Gamesradar and other Future brands. Send me details about other relevant products from third parties. No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission. It's not the first time we have seen the PS5 out in the wild, with two celebrities also showing off their access. Rapper Travis Scott was the first person to show themselves using a DualSense controller with the PS5, and just earlier this week soccer star Robert Lewandowski also appeared to show off a DualSense controller on his Instagram page.  While they didn't show off the console in those snaps, we're assuming they didn't just get sent a controller and pretended to be playing for the 'gram...  Previously, weve seen retail packaging for the Xbox Series X in the wild. The retail units of Microsofts premium next-gen console have been showing up at warehouses around the world ahead of the launch, which is next month on November 10. Up until now, weve only seen retail packaging for the PS5s accessories in the wild. Over the last two weeks, packaging for the DualSense controller, the Dualsenses charging station, and the PS5 pulse 3D headset have all been showing up in various warehouses around the world. In fact, it was recently revealed by retailers that PS5 accessories will begin shipping before the actual console itself, in late October. If youre still looking to put down a pre-order for your own PS5 unit before launch next month on November 12, head over to our PS5 pre-orders guide for a complete list of retailers with current stock.

Sea of Thieves devs recorded a pirate cover of Van Halen's Jump as a tribute - GamesRadar+

An unexpected, but wholly heartwarming tribute

Some of the developers on Sea of Thieves have released a pirate cover of the classic rock song 'Jump' by Eddie Van Halen, who died on October 6 at the age of 65. Rare took to Twitter to share the immensely creative, touching, and entirely unexpected tribute. The death of the legendary guitarist sent shockwaves across the world, but you might not have expected a tribute from Sea of Thieves. Apparently, Van Halen's "talent and fun-living spirit" impacted a bunch of Sea of Thieves developers in a memorable way. A tribute in our current Sea of Thieves style to a man whose talent and fun-loving spirit has had a huge influence on many members of the Rare family past and present, and will undoubtedly continue to do so. #RIPEddie pic.twitter.com/vHWEVE3OiZOctober 8, 2020 The cover is played in a shanty style using instruments you can play in the game, and it sounds like they pulled the vocalist straight from the deck of a pirate ship. It's all great fun, but the concertina version of the famous guitar solo is the highlights of the song. It'd be great if Rare could somehow manage to get the cover song to play in the tavern by a little pirate band, but I can only imagine how difficult - and expensive - it would be to secure the rights. For now, I'll just keep the embed above on loop. If this beautiful tribute to Van Halen has turned your attention to Sea of Thieves, now's as good a time as ever to set sail. It's 2020, we're all stuck at home, and the open sea beckons. I recently scribbled down some thoughts about how the high-risk, high-reward experience of playing Sea of Thieves reminds me of legacy MMOs ala Ultima Online. If you do decide to check it out, don't miss our essential Sea of Thieves tips.

Sony was negotiating Starfield exclusivity for PS5 as recently as “a few months ago” - GamesRadar+

It's entirely possible the talks are off with Bethesda's acquisition.

Sony was reportedly trying to negotiate a deal with Bethesda for Starfield before yesterday's acquisition of Bethesda and parent company Zenimax Media by Microsoft.  The claim was made by Kinda Funny reporter and host Imran Khan, who reported that Sony had been negotiating a timed exclusivity period for Starfield as recently as "a few months ago."  At the time of writing, it's anyone's guess as to how the acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft has affected the negotiations between Bethesda and Sony for Starfield, but we'd assume it would probably affect it a fair bit.  FUN NOTE: Sony had been negotiating timed exclusivity on Starfield as recently as a few months ago. Going to guess either those talks are done or the price suddenly went way, way up.September 21, 2020 It's not hard to imagine two scenarios. Firstly, the talks for Starfield's exclusivity could be entirely off the table now with the Microsoft acquisition. Alternatively, as Khan notes, Sony could still be negotiating for a timed exclusivity period, but Starfield's price might have just shot through the ceiling with the acquisition. We can't say we're too surprised by the news that Sony was attempting to negotiate timed exclusivity for Starfield though, considering it has successfully secured a similar deal for Bethesda games Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo.  Either way, the acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft rocked the games industry yesterday. Microsoft is aiming for the acquisition deal to go through in the second half of the 2021 fiscal year, and if it does, Microsoft will have control over countless Bethesda IPs, including Wolfenstein, Dishonored, Fallout, and more. There's a lot left to unpack with the acquisition, but you can check out our feature on what the acquisition could mean for Dishonored, Fallout, Deathloop, and more Bethesda games. When the Xbox Series X pre-orders officially go live, we'll email you with all of the best bundles and prices. Initial stock might sell out quickly so you won't want to miss out! Send me details about other relevant products from Gamesradar and other Future brands. Send me details about other relevant products from third parties. No spam, we promise. You can unsubscribe at any time and we'll never share your details without your permission.

These PS5 images show what it looks like on its side - GamesRadar+

It's still massive, mind

We've finally got some pictures of the PS5 in the wild sitting on its side and good grief, is it a chonky one. Although the PS5's stats were revealed earlier this week at the PS5 Showcase, those measurements were not the PS5's "largest projections" and did not take account of the optional base. Now, courtesy of a PDF prepared by Taiwan's National Communications Commission (NCC) (thanks, The Verge ), we can finally see what the console looks like when placed horizontally without the glossy PR photography. And it's well, it's pretty big.  These new images show that the console – while technically able to be laid on its side – doesn't look quite so imposing in this alternate position. Take a look for yourself: (Image credit: Taiwans National Communications Commission (NCC)) (Image credit: Taiwans National Communications Commission (NCC)) As Sam summarised for us yesterday, ever since the PS5 design was first revealed, we had a feeling the PS5 dimensions would be hefty at 390mm tall x 260mm deep x 104mm wide (the digital edition comes in at 390mm x 92mm x 260mm). "That's by far the biggest PlayStation console of all time, and may cause people some issues trying to squeeze it into existing TV units," Sam added. And in case you wondered, yes, the PS5 edition with the disc drive is bigger than the Xbox Series X's svelter 301mm tall x 151mm wide x 151mm. In related news, Sony has apologised after thousands of hopeful PS5 owners were unable to secure a pre-order earlier this week, and promises that it will release more consoles to pre-order "over the next few days". In a message on its social media channels, the company acknowledged the pre-order system "could have been a lot smoother", adding that even more consoles "will be available through the end of the year". "Lets be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologize for that," Sony said in a tweet posted on the official Twitter channel earlier today. "Over the next few days, we will release more PS5 consoles for preorder – retailers will share more details."   Don't forget, GamesRadar+ is tracking PS5 pre-orders to keep checking back for the latest information. The PS5 price is $499.99 in the US and £449.99 in the UK for the standard console. Meanwhile, the PS5 Digital Edition (no disc-drive here) is set at $399.99 in the US and £359.99 in the UK. Both PlayStation 5 systems will be released on November 12 in the US and November 19 in the UK. Here are all the upcoming PS5 games that we know of.

Potential PS5 production shortage might not be that bad - GamesRadar+

History suggests 11 million is still a lot of consoles

Sony is reportedly cutting the production of PS5 consoles by four million units, but a potential drop in production is unlikely to be felt by consumers until 2021. According to Bloomberg, Sony was originally planning to produce 15 million PS5 consoles by the end of March 2021, up from original plans to make 5-6 million units. However, production issues with a custom-designed system-on-chip have forced Sony to cut that figure back down to 11 million in the same timeframe. While thats a significant dip, the extent to which it will be felt by consumers might not be so severe. In its first six months, the PS4 sold 7.5 million units. In order to sell that many consoles, industry analyst Daniel Ahmad suggests that Sony would have produced around 10 million units. If Bloombergs 15-million unit report is accurate, even with the cut to supply, Sony will still have produced more PS5s in the new consoles first year than the number of PS4s it made in 2013-14. I keep seeing this but it's comparing Apple's to Oranges. These articles are always talking about production shipments. Not Retail shipments or sell through. PS4 retail shipments were 7.5m end of March, but production would have been near 10m.https://t.co/N1ZnElm78xSeptember 15, 2020 That bodes relatively well for consumers, and as Sony is said to have begun production in July and is planning to use air freight to expedite the PS5s distribution process, if youre planning to pick up a console at launch, its looking like youll be relatively well catered for. While supply is up, however, Ahmad suggests that “the real question is how high is demand?” Sony has clearly been expecting higher-than-usual demand for its new console - its decision to double its launch day stock plans suggests the company assumes the PS5 will be particularly highly sought-after. A number of highly-acclaimed PS4 exclusives in recent years have also raised Sonys profile compared to its competitors. Its looking increasingly likely, however, that Microsoft has managed to significantly undercut Sonys pricing model with its own consoles.  We already know the prices for both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and the most recent PS5 price leaks suggest that Microsofts consoles will be $100 cheaper than their Sony equivalents. Tomorrows PS5 showcase is likely to confirm the consoles price and reveal more about its launch line-up, but Microsoft has certainly outmanoeuvred Sony in the run-up to the beginning of next-gen, which could see demand for the new Xbox rise at the expense of the PS5. If there is a discrepancy between supply and demand, Ahmad says that the issue wont hit until 2021, by which time Sony might have managed to solve the worst of its production woes. The change in output “does seem more severe than expected,” but Ahmad does point out that “production yield issues will always exist, especially at the beginning of a console launch.” Either way, if youre a die-hard Sony fan and dont want to take the risk, it might be a good idea to get your pre-orders in sooner rather than later. For more info, here are all the upcoming PS5 games confirmed so far.

Xbox's Phil Spencer revealed the Xbox Series S in July, but no one noticed - GamesRadar+

The tiny Xbox Series S has been hiding in plain sight for months

The Xbox Series S was revealed live and in the plastic back in July, but it's so tiny no one noticed. As revealed by the Xbox Twitter account, Phil Spencer took part in an interview on July 1, and in the background there's a shelf with a few random items and a non-descript white box you'd never think to pay any mind to. As it turns out, that was actually a real-life Xbox Series S, then codenamed Project Lockhart. The cheek. Fun fact: Xbox Series S is so small @XboxP3 had it sitting on his bookshelf back on July 1 and nobody noticed. 😏Did you spot it @SethSchiesel? pic.twitter.com/6Z83TLCW1FSeptember 11, 2020 After being rumored for many months, the little sibling to the Xbox Series X was officially announced this week. It's a lightweight, all-digital alternative to the Xbox Series X for the more budget-minded shoppers looking for a next-gen console. The Xbox Series S is launching on November 10, listed at $299 / £249. And it's small - an attribute Microsoft seems keen on emphasizing in the face of so much conversation about next-gen consoles being really big. If recent rumors are to be believed, there could actually be a third next-gen Xbox console waiting to be revealed (or maybe it already has been and we just missed it). The Xbox Series V is rumored to be another all-digital console like the Series S, but right in-between the Series S and the Series X in terms of hardware power. There's even what appears to be a leaked image of the console, and it basically looks like the Xbox Series X after a few weeks on the keto diet. Here's a handy guide on the Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S that might help you decide which next-gen console is right for you.

Microsoft Flight Simulator has a ridiculously tall skyscraper caused by a single typo - GamesRadar+

And you can land on it

If you're flying around Melbourne, Australia in Microsoft Flight Simulator, you might notice a rather peculiar 212-floor skyscraper - ludicrously tall and impossibly narrow. No, Australia isn't building Kami's Lookout from Dragon Ball Z. It turns out a simple typo is responsible for the silly-looking building. In Microsoft Flight Simulator a bizarrely eldritch, impossibly narrow skyscraper pierces the skies of Melbourne's North like a suburban Australian version of Half-Life 2's Citadel, and I am -all for it- pic.twitter.com/6AH4xgIAWgAugust 19, 2020 Thanks to the excellent investigative work by the Twitter community (and Engadget for the shout), the catalyst that would eventually create this strange phenomenon has been identified. About a year back, someone erroneously labeled a two-story building in OpenStreetMap suggesting it was 212 floors tall. Thanks to some unfortunate timing, developer Asobo Studio pulled that same data when they were building the vast world map in Flight Simulator, resulting in what would be the tallest building ever (if it were real). So what do we do with this happy little (big) accident? Well, assuming it hasn't been patched out - which it will be - you should try landing on it. Thanks to the dedication of one Conor O'Kane, we know it's possible, and the views are breathtaking. Microsoft Flight Simulator released on Thursday to mostly positive reviews. Our own Sam Loveridge called it "a high-end flight simulator for those looking specifically for that, but also a surprisingly zen, almost meditative digital tourism experience for others." For now it's only on PC - and you'll need some serious free space to install it - but it's coming to Xbox One at an undisclosed date. If you're just taking flight, don't miss our Microsoft Flight Simulator beginners guide before takeoff.

Fable isn't actually Fable 4, but an MMO set in the Fable universe, suggests new rumour - GamesRadar+

New Fable game reported to be a next-gen MMO

Playground Games' Fable game will be reportedly an MMO set in Lionhead's fantasy universe, and not a direct sequel to the original trilogy.  The rumour derives from French journalist @CronoTK on Twitter, who accurately predicted the entire Xbox Games Showcase lineup ahead of the stream yesterday, and thus has form for leaking unverified information on upcoming Xbox Series X games.   Et pour le plus grand bonheur de @SireGoupil : un jeu dans l'univers de FABLE. Mais en MMO (désolé, pas FABLE 4).July 23, 2020 After Microsoft's show wrapped up, ChronoTK tweeted the above, which - when translated - states the newly revealed Xbox Series X exclusive will be "a game in the world of Fable [...] an MMO (sorry, not Fable 4)." Microsoft itself has described Playground's Fable title as a "a completely fresh start" for the acclaimed RPG series, though neither publisher nor studio has revealed much more beyond that.  The teaser trailer confirmed the game will be returning to Albion, and features the classic British humour that Lionhead so famously spearheaded with its original trilogy back in the Xbox 360 days. Whatever Fable ends up being, we're unlikely to have it in our hands anytime soon, and it should go without saying that ChronoTK's statements should be taken with plenty of salt. For now, let's just enjoy the fact that Fable is back in our lives, and ready to kick off the next-generation with a bang.  Here's everything we know about the upcoming Xbox Series X pre-orders too, or watch the video below for a look at the next generation of Unreal Engine.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla side quests are "almost nonexistent", claims Ubisoft - GamesRadar+

Assassin's Creed Valhalla "World Events" to replace the series' traditional side quests

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is getting rid of traditional side quests, and replacing them with "World Events", Ubisoft has confirmed. Speaking to GameSpot ahead of yesterday's gameplay reveal at Ubisoft Forward, Valhalla's narrative director Darby McDevitt confirmed that sidequests are "almost nonexistent" in the latest installment of the open world action series.  Instead, says McDevitt, Assassin's Creed Valhalla will be more focused on what Ubisoft calls "World Events", which are more spontaneous activities found outside the main campaign that don't necessarily fit the traditional structure of a typical side quest.  This will come as good news to those who didn't enjoy Assassin's Creed Odyssey's bloated, ever expanding list of side quests, many of which had to be completed to progress your character over numerous level gates found in its main campaign.  That said, there's every chance these World Events could feel equally overwhelming, so here's hoping Ubisoft has found a way to make sure every new extra-curricular activity we come across in Dark Ages England is just as entertaining as the last.  Valhalla launches for PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, and Xbox Series X on November 17 later this year, with a free next-gen upgrade available to anyone who purchases a copy of the game on their current gen console first.  Excited for the upcoming Viking adventure? Here's where you can preorder Assassin's Creed Valhalla , or watch below for our hands-on preview of the upcoming RPG.