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With a name like Viewfinder, you might be forgiven for thinking that somebody finally decided to capitalise on the picture-hunting format perfected by Pokémon Snap. Perhaps a chilling new instalment in the Fatal Frame series? Developer Sad Owl Studios is going for a different vibe here. The viewfinder in question is a device that can shift reality, layering photographs on top of the environment and creating new pathways through an artificial world. It is a genuinely unique experience, though it does share some DNA with Jonathan Blow’s The Witness, with the perspective-shifting madness of Portal. An accessible set of lateral conundrums that usher you through an ever-shifting approximation of utopia. Originally launching on PS5 in July 2023, there is an intriguing narrative, drip-fed to both you and the main characters. Scientists explore a simulation that seems to comprise an amalgam of civilisation. Photographs are placed around levels, depicting another scene within the space. Taking these images and placing them in focus will set them into the world. This mechanic allows you to solve different flavours of traversal puzzle. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) Despite the freaky manipulation of liminal space, the spatial acrobats never feel disorienting; it all comes surprisingly naturally. As I placed bridges across chasms or removed a wall with a section of sky, I never felt the puzzle solutions were obtuse or deliberately vague. Variations start to appear in the shape of perspective puzzles that must be combined with the photos in order to progress. Making copies of photographs, capturing the right angle with a tower viewer, and good old-fashioned switch flipping are just some of the methods to progress in this idyllic world. These multi-stage puzzles facilitate frequent use of the rewind mechanic, which zips you back to the last time you tried something that didn't quite pan out. Being able to quickly revisit steps like this is all part of the easygoing feel of Viewfinder. Sad Owl wants you to get through these levels smoothly because stop-start pacing would ruin the artistic flourishes that pepper the journey. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked) The aesthetic of the simulation is vibrant and intoxicating, with sharp primary colours that pop on both big and small screens. The fabricated world you're jacked into is a snapshot of society that itself feels lived in by those who have explored before your character. The sheer range of styles on display is impressive. At several points you will transition between completely different motifs, layering hand-drawn crayon sketches on top of polygonal dungeons and back to soft watercolour edges. You will occasionally be pulled out into the real world, with its clinical office environments and harsh red cityscapes. This stark contrast makes you savour the painterly style of the simulation. While you are a lone scientist wandering between worlds, you have constant communication with your colleague, who will chime in with gameplay-specific banter. Elsewhere, a virtual talking cat called Cait wanders the levels acting as a guide. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) At several points, you will find yourself in a hub area that offers a chance to revisit levels and take part in brief but stylistically distinct side challenges. These diversions are worthwhile, but don’t extend the runtime of an all too brief experience; you'll finish it in around four hours. This being a Switch 1 native release, the trippy visuals run at a lower frame rate and it can be jarring when you constantly pan around the environment to find a puzzle solution. This is an experience built around exploring the screen and it feels hamstrung by the older hardware. Jumping to Switch 2 does not meaningfully change this. Performance is still lacking on the newer console. Undocked play on both platforms looks great and plays a bit smoother, but the difference is marginal at best. There is a healthy selection of accessibility options. Motion smoothing in particular helps balance out that low frame rate. It doesn’t totally fix it, but it takes the edge off slightly. Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked) Yet in spite of the lower performance, Viewfinder's visually distorting odyssey pulls you in and enchants. It's a relaxing experience, driven by narrative and a constant barrage of artistic flourishes. Add to this a gorgeous musical score by Aether, which mixes slow jazz beats and ethereal synths, and you've got a simulation that's easy to get lost in. ConclusionIt would be well worth your time to focus on this unique puzzler. Exploring a colourful simulation by manipulating the world around you through photographs, Viewfinder is a relaxed, compelling experience that stands out for its visual style and unique puzzle design. It's a journey worth taking, despite being hampered by the lower performance of the Switch 1.

When we first caught wind of Beyond Good and Evil 2 back in May 2008(!), we have to say, even then, we wondered if the stellar original wasn't already getting a little old in the tooth to command a sequel. It's never too late, of course, but would the interest be there? That was just five years after Beyond Good and Evil first launched on GameCube, and unbelievably, following that initial announcement, the sequel then disappeared until 2017, when it showed up at E3 rocking a fancy pants trailer. Of course, we've heard nothing good about it since then, really, with a troubled development that's seen a new creative director replace OG Michael Ancel, amongst other issues. But, as reported by our pals over at Eurogamer, it seems there's actually still life in this old hog yet. Indeed, a fresh new job listing has appeared on the Ubisoft Montpellier website announcing that they're looking for a technical sound designer for the following game, as described in the job listing itself: Yeah, puts on detective hat that seems like it's probably Beyond Good and Evil 2 that they're hiring for, and it sounds like there's gonna be a nice variety in space-pirating locations, powered by new graphics and sound engines. How very exciting! But are we still excited? Are you still excited? And can Jade and P'Jay, 17 years after it was first announced, return with the gaming goods intact? Only time will tell. Still hyped for what Beyond Good and Evil 2 will bring to the table once — if — it finally arrives? Make sure to let us know!

Update [Wed 26th Nov 2025, 5:30am]: After launching on PC earlier this month, Team Cherry has today confirmed that the fourth Hollow Knight: Silksong patch is now "live on all platforms". Bumping things up to the catchily-titled Ver. 1.0.28891, the big addition in this one is the implementation of a new Simplified Chinese translation by Team Cart Fix, but there has been a general bug-fix pass applied too. You'll find everything included in the full patch notes, which we listed in our original post below. Original Story: Team Cherry has announced a new update for Hollow Knight: Silksong, and while it's already available for Steam users, it's been submitted for approval on console and will be available very soon. Primarily, the update addresses the Chinese translation issues present in the game by implementing a fan mod from Team Cart Fix. Team Cherry praises the team's work, stating that the individuals involved "are well-versed in the (quite dense) narrative and lore of both Hollow Knight games, and understand the subtle links and connections that should be retained in the text" Other highlights include a film grain effect, more dithering options, and a plethora of general fixes. Here's a look at the patch notes: Updated Simplified Chinese translation to use fan translation provided by Team Cart Fix. Switched to Unity's Input System to improve overall controller support. This includes rumble features now working for various controllers, and additional controllers being recognised. Some issues may remain. For a full list of supported controllers and features, please visit: https://docs.unity3d.com/Packages/[email protected]/manual/SupportedDevices.html Added additional dithering levels. Now defaults to 'low'. Added film grain effect to advanced options. Defaults to ‘off’ Various localisation fixes implemented across all languages. Fixed Styx not giving rosaries when delivering the Queen's Egg. Fixed Druid's Eyes sometimes not equipping correctly when first acquired. Fixed some down attack colliders getting stuck on in rare instances. Fixed several instances of Hornet's plasmified state clearing when not intended (eg Bellway travel). Fixed issues entering the plasmified state when killing a Winged Lifeseed, rather than using the Plasmium Phial. Reduced unintentionally long bind time when using Multibinder with the Shaman crest. Updated Multibinder's initial bind to clear maggots, per community comments. Wreath of Purity durability increased. Fixed void incorrectly conducting electricity. Gurr the Outcast trap-throw attack updated from single lob to spin-style, to reduce time spent static. Other slight refinements. Fixed Beast Crest fury slashes not piercing as intended. Fixed Rune Rage damage scaling incorrectly. Fixed Thread Storm damage tapering (additional hits don't taper down as sharply). Fixed rare instances of regaining control when grabbed by a Wraith. Fixed couriers incorrectly offering the same delivery immediately after completing it. Fixed additional instances of Hornet being able to push some enemy types through the floor. Fixed issues when using Harpoon to stun or kill certain bosses. Fixed Fractured Mask not protecting against volt hazards. Various smaller tweaks and fixes.

Before internal storage became the norm, Sega blazed a trail with the Dreamcast Visual Memory Unit, a pocket-sized device which not only stored all of your game progress but also doubled as a tiny handheld game console. One of the Dreamcast's more unique features, the VMU felt like a genuine innovation – but it had some serious shortcomings. Storage space wasn't great, which meant that serious collectors would either need to delete progress to free up space or invest in multiple VMUs. Another drawback was that the internal CR2032 batteries didn't last all that long and weren't rechargeable, which led to the annoying 'beep' sound whenever you turned on your console with a 'dead' VMU inserted into the controller. Many serious Sega fans have this abrasive, discordant noise etched into their psyche. The VMU was definitely a flawed masterpiece, then, but we've recently seen the modding community fix its shortcomings. We've already been blessed with the excellent DreamMods VM2, but 8BitMods has produced what, on paper, at least, is an even more impressive upgrade: the VMU Pro. 8BitMods VMU Pro Review: Design, Build & Battery The VMU Pro's 1.5-inch 24-bit colour IPS TFT display is a huge upgrade on the one seen on the original VMU back in 1998 — Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension While the VMU Pro and VM2 share the same basic functionality – they are 'next generation' Dreamcast memory cards capable of storing almost unlimited amounts of save game data thanks to the use of MicroSD media – 8BitDo's offering boasts some significant advantages over DreamMods' VM2. The most notable feature is the 1.5-inch 24-bit colour IPS TFT display, which boasts a resolution of 240x240 pixels. Not only does this enhance the user interface's appearance, but it also enables other interesting features – one of which is emulation, which we'll cover shortly. Unlike the VM2, which is a fairly close match to the original VMU in terms of aesthetics, 8BitMods has designed the VMU Pro with a reasonably unique case design. I'm not sure it feels as 'solid' as the official VMU or VM2, but that could be my tactile memory politely objecting to the fact that it feels slightly different in the hand. It features all the usual hallmarks of a VMU – a D-pad, A and B buttons, 'Sleep' and 'Mode' buttons – as well as two additional buttons located at the bottom of the unit, with the USB-C port separating them. The top of the unit features the 'Maple' connector, which not only interfaces with your Dreamcast controller but also enables data transfer between the VMU Pro and other devices, such as the VM2 and a standard VMU. The VMU Pro has a slightly different case design to the original VMU The two extra buttons located at the bottom of the VMU Pro enable you to switch between virtual VMUs when the device is docked in your controller, rendering the other controls inaccessible. Pressing the right-hand button (which, when the VMU Pro is connected to your controller and upside down, becomes the left-hand button) brings up a VMU browser. The right-hand button allows you to confirm your selection. Exiting the browser is achieved by pressing both buttons simultaneously. The VMU Pro is powered by an internal 720mAh Lithium-Polymer rechargeable battery, which allows the device to remain in deep-sleep mode for a whopping 750 hours, according to 8BitMods. This can either be charged when the device is docked or topped up using a USB-C cable. If you power off the device completely, the battery shouldn't drain at all. During actual usage, the battery lasts for around six hours, but that's very much a 'best-case' scenario; you need to turn WiFi off and have the brightness and volume set very low. A more accurate runtime would be between three and four hours, in my experience, with WiFi on and both the brightness and volume at higher, more acceptable levels. The VMU Pro is capable of connecting to both the VMU and the DreamMods VM2 to transfer save data 8BitMods VMU Pro Review: UI & Software Features You can play original VMU mini-games on the VMU Pro, and it even simulates the monochrome liquid crystal display It's worth delving a little deeper into what makes the VMU Pro stand out when compared to both the standard VMU and the VM2. Unlike DreamMods' option, the VMU Pro requires a MicroSD card to function (the VM2, you might recall, could act like a standard, 200-block memory unit even if an SD card was not present). The first time you boot up the device, another obvious selling point becomes apparent – the VMU Pro prompts you for your WiFi details. This device is not only capable of downloading firmware updates from the cloud, but it also allows you to upload your save data to your Google Drive account, keeping your progress safe in the event that your VMU Pro goes missing while you're on the road. In the fullness of time, you'll also be able to transfer data between multiple VMU Pros using WiFi (that's coming in a future firmware update, according to 8BitMods). Like the VM2, the VMU Pro comes with GameID support, which means it can recognise the game you're playing when it's being loaded via an Optical Drive Emulator, like the Terraonion MODE. The VMU Pro creates a virtual memory card for each game you play, rather than lumping together multiple games on a single card (as is the case with an official Dreamcast VMU). It might seem wasteful, but given that just 1GB equals around 8192 virtual memory cards, this approach actually makes a lot of sense. The VMU Pro then automatically finds and loads the game's unique virtual memory card the next time you boot up the title in question. Furthermore, you can have extra 'channels' per virtual memory card, which effectively means you can have multiple VMUs for the same game. If you're not using an ODE, the 'DisplayID' system allows the VMU Pro to recognise the game you're playing via the image displayed on the VMU's screen. I didn't get a chance to test this as my Dreamcast has a MODE installed and there's no optical drive present, but 8BitMods admits it's not 100% accurate. The VMU Pro features its own custom UI for browsing save game data, presenting information in a far more visually appealing manner than the VM2, which is limited by its monochrome display. The VMU Pro is able to replicate the colour save data icons which you usually only see when you're exploring the VMU via the Dreamcast's frontend – a really lovely touch. You can copy or delete data from the VMU Pro UI itself, which is very handy. Handling Dreamcast save data is just one aspect of the VMU Pro, as we've already established. The device is capable of hosting its own native games, and 8BitMods has even created an SDK to facilitate this. Additionally, an online portal for downloading games will be created. I wasn't able to test any of this as none of it is available yet. There's a raft of other options available when you're browsing the VMU Pro's UI, including the ability to alter the volume of the built-in speaker, change the screen brightness, swap the functionality of the A and B buttons and much, much more. 8BitMods VMU Pro Review: Emulation & MP3 Playback The device is capable of playing Game Boy, Game Boy Colour, NES, Master System and Game Gear titles, all at 60fps. You also get save state support, which is a nice touch. Because the VMU Pro is supplied without a MicroSD card, you'll need to download all of the emulators yourself, and it goes without saying that ROMs will need to be sourced from somewhere, too. In terms of performance, things run pretty well. I noticed some graphical issues when playing Zelda on the NES emulator, and the pixel scaling for Game Boy games makes things look a little muddy, but otherwise, the VMU Pro's dual-core 240MHz CPU is more than capable of replicating these systems without any major issues. Emulators look pretty good in general, but the VMU Pro's controls can make actually playing anything a little tricky, especially if you have large fingers. MP3 playback, on the other hand, is more successful — Images: Damien McFerran / Time Extension A more pressing concern is the fact that the VMU Pro's D-pad and buttons aren't the ideal interface for playing intense games like Mega Man 2 or Alex Kidd in Miracle World; the D-pad feels cheap and floaty, for example. Having said that, titles like Tetris or Mole Mania are quite playable despite the shortcomings of the interface, and I could certainly see myself wasting a few minutes each day with this device – assuming I didn't have a better gaming option to hand, of course. The same could be said of the VMU Pro's other party trick: MP3 playback. You can either play the audio via the device's 0.7-watt mono speaker or hook up some headphones. I tried my USB-C to 3.5mm headphone lead to connect a pair of Apple headphones, and it worked well enough – but again, it all depends on what other choices you have available. I can't imagine many people choosing to listen to music via this method when they have a smartphone to hand, but it's nice to have the option, nonetheless. 8BitMods VMU Pro Review: Summary For the most part, then, the VMU Pro performs its duties well and offers some neat bonus features which elevate it above the competition. However, like the VM2 – which has matured into a really solid piece of kit thanks to a series of regular firmware updates – the VMU Pro at launch shouldn't be considered the 'finished' product. During my review period, the unit froze on me multiple times, forcing a complete restart by inserting a needle in the reset hole on its right-hand side. I also encountered an issue where the VMU Pro would remain stuck in 'upside down' mode (when it thinks it is still docked in the controller, even though it isn't), and this, too, required a hard reset to recover. It's currently only possible to have a single WiFi network stored in the VMU Pro's memory, which creates an issue for me when I'm moving between my home and the Hookshot Media office. Additionally, I couldn't find a way to connect to a new wireless network without factory resetting the entire device. Hopefully, these are points that 8BitMods can address with an update. I also encountered some quirks with the VMU Pro's charging system when connected to a controller. According to 8BitMods, the VMU Pro requires at least 15 seconds to start charging when docked. This is because the battery is continuously monitored through two on-board battery monitoring circuits, which check current and voltage measurements. Should the initial measurement attempt fail, the VMU Pro will retry three more times, with each test separated by 10 seconds. This system worked flawlessly with my standard Dreamcast controller, the official Dreamcast arcade stick and Retro Fighters' wireless StrikerDC pad. However, with the wired variant of the StrikerDC, the VMU Pro refused to charge. I've spoken to 8BitMods about this, and they confirmed that it's a known issue, with a fix apparently in the works. Indeed, it's worth noting that 8BitMods has made it clear that future firmware updates will address any bugs and introduce new features – such as the VMU Pro-to-VMU Pro wireless transfer – on the horizon. So, there's room for improvement, then – but even at this stage, the VMU Pro is a solid best memory card option for your Dreamcast, and offers some amazing improvements over the standard version. If you're an early adopter, it's worth noting that some elements of its software may be a bit rough around the edges, at least in the short term, but it's still highly recommended, and another hit from 8BitMods.

If you've been looking for a new PC-98 title from the past to get stuck into and have an affinity for strategy games, then you're in luck. "BNK" has just released a new translation patch for the space adventure game Progenitor, allowing players to experience Koei's Japanese-exclusive game in English for the very first time (h/t: GameVecanti!). Released in 1994, Progenitor is the 7th in Koei's line of Rekoeition games, which was a general term used to describe games that blended tactical simulation and role-playing game elements. As a result, it features some similarities to earlier Koei titles, including Uncharted Waters (otherwise known in Japan as Age of Exploration), with players being able to make money through trading, stealing, mining, and capturing and delivering criminals. What ultimately sets it apart, though, from many of Koei's other games of the period, is undoubtedly its sci-fi setting, with the title being one of only a few titles, if not the only title, the developer ever made, which is set predominantly in space, as opposed to a period in world history. The story of the game follows a young space pirate named Kenny whose father goes missing after his band of Robin Hood-esque thieves, the Rokka Bats, is taken over by a malicious new leader, and sees players adventuring across space in the search for answers. Images: BNK/romhack.ing Progenitor is primarily played using a visual novel-style interface, but it also features some Lethal Enforcers-esque first-person shooting segments, epic space battles, and non-playable 3D cutscenes, which resemble the low-poly models from the Sega CD version of Silpheed. You can download the patch here if you're interested in checking it out. Related Articles

Final Fantasy arguably has the edge over Dragon Quest when it comes to global fame, so much so that it's easy to forget that Yuji Horii's series came out before Hironobu Sakaguchi's. The early rivalry between the two franchises was quite heated in Japan, but, as Horii tells Game Informer, he never saw Final Fantasy as "competition," even if it was on his radar as a designer. He adds: Despite this difference, Horii reveals he's a fan of the series – and even lists his personal favourite in the lineage. "I do like Final Fantasy, though. When I first saw Final Fantasy X, I recall feeling this was the ultimate perfection of Final Fantasy." Ironically, both franchises are now under the same ownership, thanks to the 2003 merger of Square and Enix. Dragon Quest's last mainline entry was 2017's Dragon Quest XI, but Dragon Quest XII is currently in development. Square Enix has been revisiting past entries with a series of remakes, the most recent of which is Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake.

When we reviewed the excellent Analogue 3D recently, one negative we picked up on was the fact that flash cart compatibility was inconsistent. Some Analogue 3D owners have reported that older flash carts work fine, while others have said that more recent examples, like the EverDrive X5 and X7, do not. From my testing, my X7 certainly didn't work with the FPGA console. Thankfully, EverDrive creator Krikzz has released a new firmware – OS-V3.09 – for X5 and X7, which solves this issue (thanks, ReCollect64). The catch is that you'll need an original N64 console to deploy the update on your EverDrive, as you'll need to install a new bootloader. This will only impact cartridges that are already in the field, as Krikzz will include the new bootloader as standard with all new EverDrive X5 and X7 carts. Krikzz says the only other potential fix is a hardware one, and that will be down to Analogue itself. "The only solution in this case [is to] install [a] 1K pulldown resistor at cartridge pin AD7, with this fix A3D will boot ED64-X even with old bootloader," explains Krikzz. "There is still a small hope that Analogue will make some effort on their side so that people who don’t have an original N64 can run cartridges with older bootloaders on the A3D." It has been noted that games booted via flash carts are potentially incompatible with all of the Analogue 3D's overclocking features: Here are the full update instructions, direct from Krikzz himself: OS-V3.09 also includes some stability fixes for the Analogue 3D. "As for ED64 V2X/V3, it seems like it already works fine with OS 2.13," reports Krikzz. "I don't have V3 at the moment, but my v2.5 works just fine with OS 2.13." If you're looking to pick up a new EverDrive, Krikzz is holding a Black Friday sale as we speak.

If you happen to love the Resident Evil series, then we have some interesting news to share with you. A new documentary on the original survival horror classic is set to air in Japan later this month, featuring new interviews with key members of its development staff, including the director Shinji Mikami, the producer Tokuro Fujiwara, and its system planner Hideki Kamiya, alongside others. Legendary Games Chronicle: Biohazard, according to Famitsu (via Genki_JPN), is set to air on NHK BS4K on November 29th, 2025, and will also be rebroadcast on the regular NHK BS on December 6th. It will cover various topics related to the game, from the threat of cancellation to technical constraints, and changes in direction. Early development materials will also be shown, giving a further insight into the trial-and-error process that led to the finished title. Images: NHK Here's the full list of people being interviewed: Shinji Mikami (Director) Tokuro Fujiwara (Producer) Jun Takeuchi (Character Modeller) Hideki Kamiya (System Planner) Kazunori Kadoi (System Planner) Yasuhiro Ampo (Software System Engineer) Makoto Tomozawa (Composer) Ken Kutaragi (Former Executive Vice President, R&D Division, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.) This is the second game to be covered as part of the NHK's "Legendary Games Chronicle" series, with the documentary filmmakers having previously covered Final Fantasy in a programme that initially aired back in October of last year. That documentary was viewable in English on the NHK World app, but we haven't been able to find any information yet on whether the same will be possible here.

Korean dev Shift Up already has an existing relationship with Tencent subsidiary Level Infinite on saucy smartphone shooter NIKKE: Goddess of Victory, so it’s perhaps not a surprise to see the company step in to publish its next title, Project Spirits. The game – developed using Unreal Engine 5 – will launch across PC, mobile, and console, with no specific platforms announced just yet. (Although, we think you can safely assume PS5 will be in the mix.) In addition to the publishing relationship, Tencent affiliate Yongxing Interactive will assist with development. It’s a studio made up of veterans from across various entertainment industries, including anime, comics, and games. A statement said: There’s still no word on when Project Spirits will release, but a recent investor relations report noted that Shift Up only has around 20 employees dedicated to the title, as of the end of September 2025. Presumably today’s announcement means it’s ready to begin ramping up development, and with Yongxing Interactive assisting on production, we should hopefully start to see some meaningful progress soon.

Sony will publish Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for PC in the relatively near future, if an ESRB rating is to be believed. The original game was ported to other platforms by 505 Games, but this preceded the platform holder’s strategy of bringing more first-party titles to storefronts such as Steam. It took roughly eight months for the original adventure to make its way to PC, but we’d expect around six months of console exclusivity here. With the PS5 version launching on 26th June, we wouldn’t be surprised if the PC edition was out by Christmas, with an announcement possible at The Game Awards next month, where the title’s nominated for Game of the Year. It’s worth remembering that this situation is slightly different to other first-party PS5 titles, as Kojima Productions owns the intellectual property and is an independent studio. It goes without saying that we highly recommend the title, as noted in our 10/10 Death Stranding 2 PS5 review: Are you interested in the PC port of Death Stranding 2, or have you had your fill of this particular sequel already? Are you surprised to see the follow-up seemingly reach other formats this quickly? Drop a like in the comments section below.

SEGA has confirmed that those who own Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, or Yakuza Kiwami 2 on PS4 can take advantage of discounted upgrade paths when buying the new versions on PS5. All three PS5 re-releases are due to launch on the 8th December, but there is a catch in that these upgrade paths only apply to the digital versions of the PS4 games — and any games claimed through PS Plus subscriptions unfortunately don't count either. At the time of writing, SEGA has only detailed the upgrade pricing in the US, which differs between the three games. Here's a quick summary: Yakuza 0 (PS4) upgraded to Yakuza 0 Director's Cut (PS5) - $14.99 Yakuza Kiwami (PS4) upgraded to Yakuza Kiwami (PS5) - $1.99 Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS4) upgraded to Yakuza Kiwami 2 (PS5) - Free As far as official information goes, Yakuza 0 Director's Cut is the only PS5 re-release that features new or improved content. It has several additional cutscenes and an online co-op mode — which is why SEGA's charging more for the upgrade. It also has an English dub for the first time. Meanwhile, nothing's been said about Kiwami and Kiwami 2 other than them including new text language support in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Russian. And for the record, there's been no mention of Kiwami 2 being boosted to 60 frames-per-second on PS5. It's looking like we'll have to wait and see if the 30fps curse has been lifted. Oh, and your PS4 save data will not carry over to the PS5 versions, so get ready to start a new playthrough or two. Or three! Still, we're glad that SEGA's seen sense and gone down the upgrade route. Given the publisher's more... questionable business practices over the years, we were pretty much convinced that these PS5 versions would demand a fresh purchase across the board. Will you be replaying any of these Yakuza titles on PS5? Feel the heat in the comments section below.

Capcom recently prompted a backlash from fighting game fans when it revealed plans to place its official Street Fighter 6 finals behind a paywall — but fresh comments from Tekken boss Katsuhiro Harada perhaps shed a little light on why the publisher's going down that road. The answer is money, obviously, but in an interview with The Game Business, Harada is quick to explain that pro tournaments simply don't make money for the fighting games that they're built around. "Lots of big companies are coming in and putting money into advertisements for these events, and a lot of influencers are making big money off of their streams," he says. "But the revenue for our games doesn't reflect any of this stuff." So why would fighting game developers and publishers bother to get involved in such events if there's no real money to be made? Well, historically, it's all been about promotion. If your fighting game makes a splash at a public tournament, then it's essentially free advertising, which, in theory, leads to sales of said game. The same is true when a community springs up around specific titles; positive word of mouth and healthy competition have always counted for so much when it comes to a fighter's long term success. But again, Harada suggests that there's no noticeable impact on a game's revenue — even if it ends up being one of the biggest names at Evo, or any other well-known event. "It's quite interesting to see how that might change," he admits, before mentioning Capcom's latest strategy: "Occasionally, you're seeing certain events that pop up where they're charging pay-per-view, or something like that. Seeing how the money side of this changes, that's something I'm quite interested in." Many a Tekken fan will be seriously questioning Harada's wording here, but we'll just have to wait and see whether Capcom's pay-per-view plans actually, er, pay off before jumping the gun. Still, this makes for an intriguing topic, especially since fighting games have experienced a dramatic boost in popularity over the last decade or so. There's clearly a lot of money to be made in the wider world of esports, but it remains to be seen whether fighting games can tap into that same kind of appeal. What's your take on this? Should fighting game companies be trying to monetise tournaments and events to begin with? Shell out for the latest season pass in the comments section below.

If you've been wondering what's next for the Switch Online's 'Nintendo Classics' service, the November update is now available. This latest update includes NES and Game Boy titles, with a total of four more games added to the service today. On the NES, there's Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos and Battletoads, and on the Game Boy, retro enthusiasts can look forward to Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters and Bionic Commando. Switch Online's Nintendo Classics service for Japan has received the same four titles in this week's update. To access these titles, you'll need to have an active base-tier Switch Online subscription. This update for the Nintendo Classics library follows the arrival of the original Luigi's Mansion for the GameCube app in October. What do you think of the latest additions to the Switch Online 'Nintendo Classics' library? Let us know in the comments.