The PlayStation Plus games lineup for March 2021 has been confirmed, and in our humble opinion, it's yet another great month for subscribers. Sony's seemingly been going all-out with PS Plus since the launch of the PS5, and it doesn't look like it'll be slowing down anytime soon: March's offerings include intriguing puzzler Maquette on the current-gen system, accompanied by role-playing blockbuster Final Fantasy VII Remake and hardcore looter shooter Remnant: From the Ashes on PS4. PSVR adventure Farpoint is also up for grabs next month.
But what do you think of March's PS Plus selection? Is it another big win for Sony, or does it fall short of previous months, in your opinion? Vote in our polls, and then give us your honest thoughts in the comments section below.
Reports have come in from London, Birmingham and Bath a meteor shooting across the sky. UK Meteor Network's Twitter site account wrote: "We have received 60 fireball reports this evening." It later added: “Looks like a lot of people in the UK and Ireland saw the 9:55 #fireball #meteor The reports are flooding in, 120 so far and counting. From the two videos we saw it was a slow moving meteor with clearly visible fragmentation.”
One of the eyewitnesses responded: "One of those reports is me - I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes! Most incredible thing ive ever seen it was like a firework. I’m so excited!!!"
Another wrote: “OK I might be going mad but I swear I just saw like... the brightest shooting star/meteor? Looked like a firework but was coming down from the sky?!?! Anyone else in London/Essex see something? Freaked me out.”
Another said: “Just saw a huge #meteor around 21:55 over Manchester. Very impressive.”
While a fourth said: “Anyone see the massive fireball meteor over Birmingham approx 9:50pm, UK tonight?”
A stargazer from Liverpool added: “Did anybody else just see that meteor that flew over the sky in Liverpool I thought I was seeing things absolute madness a fireball flying across the sky.”
Did you see the meteor shower over Britain tonight? Let us know where in the comments box below
Video footage has caught the meteor from above a home in Milton Keynes.
And Northamptonshire Weather wrote: “This #meteor was seen from several parts of the U.K. this evening just before 10pm.
“There are several reports that this lit up the sky above #Northamptonshire for a few seconds.”
A meteor is commonly known as a space rock which enters Earth's atmosphere.
Astronomers class a fireball as a "brighter-then-usual" meteor.
The biggest ever meteorite to hit Britain was discovered in 2019 when a crater was discovered 12 miles in from the west coast of Scotland.
The 0.6 mile wide meteorite is believed to have hit Earth 1.2 billion years ago. Evidence of the collision was first discovered in 2008 when chemical residue was discovered on nearby rocks.
Frustrated shoppers blamed aliens after their car key fobs stopped working outside a Tesco in Hertfordshire.
Police say they received around 100 reports in three days from people using the supermarket in Royston, Hampshire.
The drivers were locked out of their cars with communications watchdog Ofcom now investigating.
Hertfordshire Police admitted they didn't know the cause of the issues, though they added it 'was not being treated as malicious intent'.
Frustrated shoppers took to social media to speculate about the cause of the problem, with one woman joking about aliens and another about 'there being a full moon tonight'.
There were around 100 reports of key fob issues in three days from people using the Tesco supermarket car park in Royston, Hampshire
One person wrote: 'I thought it was some kind of alien phenomena. My fob wouldn't work - some lady couldn't stop her alarm going off and there was at least 3 other car alarms going off.'
Police also urged people 'not to panic' if they could not access their cars at the site and said to report difficulties to the supermarket.
Tesco has yet to comment on the issue.
In a Facebook post, police said: 'We have received a number of calls from members of the public who have not been able to access their vehicles in the car park of Tesco in Old North Road, Royston.
'For reasons yet unknown, there appears to be an issue in this area with key fobs not functioning correctly.
This afternoon, PC Taranvir Gill has attended the Tesco branch with Ofcom, who are the UK's communications regulator and conducted a survey.
An investigation is now underway, led by Ofcom with the support of PC Gill, with the manager of Tesco aware of the ongoing work.
PC Gill said, 'We wish to reassure residents that we are fully aware of the issues affecting intermittent access to vehicles in this car park.
'If you have any problems accessing your vehicle, please do not panic. We would ask that in the first instance, you go to the Tesco customer service desk and ask to speak to the on-duty manager to make them aware you are having difficulties getting into your vehicle as they are aware of the process to follow.
'They have the contact details for Ofcom, who are fully up-to-speed with this issue. The Ofcom reference number is 1138558.
'In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to email me at taranvir.gill@herts.pnn.police.uk.'
Update:PSN is down on Sunday, and the problems with playing some online games are now being reported by users. Here's what we know about the outage.
PSN is down with a major outage right now, according to Sony's official PlayStation Network status page – and the fact that we can't log in to some online games today. It's affecting all consoles, including PS5, PS4, PS3 and the PlayStation Vita.
"You might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features," confirms Sony's official PSN status page. The company is trying to fix PSN, saying, "We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible."
Is PSN down for you? I'm seeing a PlayStation Network outage on PS4 (for some online games) – maybe it's the sudden surge of lucky PS5 buyers who got their console this weekend? My fault 😂https://t.co/qvQZU4GXcZFebruary 28, 2021
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Good news: only certain PSN games won't function online. PlayStation Plus and other online games run seamlessly. Bad news, you can't do anything but wait for Sony to resolve problems with PSN and the PlayStation Store if it's affecting the games you're looking to play online.
When did PSN go down? Days ago, say some users
Sunday's ongoing PSN outage actually started a few days ago, according to the company's status page. There's a timestamp attached to the posting, suggesting PSN went down on Friday, February 26. However, user complaints on Twitter seem to predate Sony's official timestamp by at least 24 hours.
It's not clear how many online games are down right now due to the PSN outage, judging from Sony's language and our own experiences. Xbox Live went down last week and Microsoft disclosed much more granular information on its status page.
PSN is down and the outage now spans at least three days, but this isn't the first or longest downtime for Sony's online gaming network.
Famously, PSN went down in 2011 for 24 days, plus an additional 42 days for the then-budding PlayStation Store. In that much more dire case, it was later confirmed that hackers had exploited PSN and exposed users' information, according to Sony. Today's PSN outage seems to be unfortunate weekend downtime.
Sonos is a huge player in the world of home audio, with its range of super-connected wireless speakers and soundbars making it a trusted brand for audiophiles and casual music listeners alike.
Now it looks like the audio company is about to enter a new market, after patents and confirmation of a mystery product launch on March 9 have stoked rumors of the first Sonos headphones.
With Sonos’ reputation for putting out excellent speakers and murmurs of integration with its existing multi-room system, expectations for the rumored wireless headphones are high, echoing the hype we saw last year for the arrival of Apple’s first over-ear headphones.
In many ways, the Apple AirPods Max lived up to the hype, delivering an excellent sound and unrivaled connectivity with iOS devices – though in other ways they disappointed, lacking basic features despite their incredibly high price.
While the Sony WH-1000XM4 are still the headphones to beat, we’re excited to see how Sonos approaches its first over-ear headphones in comparison to Apple – and if the company gets it right, it could blow the AirPods Max out of the water, and even give Sony a run for its money.
A patent gave us a sneak preview of the design of the first Sonos headphones. (Image credit: Future / DPMA)
Getting the basics right
Before we get into the special features that Sonos could use to propel its headphones above the competition, it’s crucial that the company gets the basics right.
That means the first Sonos headphones will need to provide excellent connectivity, a long battery life of 30 hours or more, a comfortable, stylish design, and class-leading active noise cancellation.
While they’re still to be confirmed by the company, a series of patents have given us a few clues about the features they could sport, basic and otherwise.
The first is wireless connectivity via Bluetooth – and to compete with the huge number of wireless headphones on the market, Sonos should opt for the latest Bluetooth 5.1 codec.
Going for the latest wireless standard should ensure Sonos’ first headphones maintain a strong connection with other devices – but that’s not the only thing on our connectivity wishlist.
We’d love to see support for aptX Adaptive, which allows for 96kHz Hi-Res Audio files to be transmitted wireless. We’ve already seen this technology adopted by the Bowers & Wilkins PX7, and it would be a welcome addition for audiophiles taking a chance on the first Sonos headphones.
The patent also describes noise-cancelling tech, which is an increasingly sought-after feature for over-ear headphones. Hopefully, Sonos will employ adaptive noise-cancelling as seen with the Sony WH-1000XM4; this clever tech adapts the level of noise cancellation to your environment in real time, ramping up for loud environments and turning down for quiet environments.
Of course, Sonos will need to get the design right to compete with the best headphones in the world. Sonos products typically follow a sleek, minimalist design aesthetic, in black and white color variations.
We’d expect to see more of the same from the first Sonos headphones, with minimal external hardware and a slick user interface, perhaps making use of touch sensitive housings that allow you to control your music playback without digging your phone out of your pocket.
Sonos products typically follow a strict black or white color scheme. (Image credit: Sonos)
Unbeatable audio
Sonos already has a great reputation when it comes to the audio performance of its wireless speakers and soundbars, and we’re expecting more of the same from its first headphones.
The brand regularly tops our product recommendation lists, with the Sonos Arc soundbar, Sonos Move portable speaker, and Sonos One wireless speaker all offering an exceptional sonic experience.
That being said, the first Sonos headphones will have to sound very good indeed to best the AirPods Max, which blew us away with their wide, well-balanced soundstage, excellent detail and rhythmic accuracy, and fantastic imaging.
Sonos may look to emulate this by employing similar drivers; the AirPods Max contain 40mm neodymium drivers, which feature dual neodymium ring magnet motors to reduce distortion.
Pair this with support for Hi-Res Audio, and Sonos could make a lot of audiophiles very happy indeed.
We’ll also be interested to see whether Sonos includes any support for immersive audio technologies like Dolby Atmos for Headphones. The AirPods Max feature Apple’s own Spatial Audio tech, which makes them a great pair of headphones for watching movies and TV shows.
The inner workings of the Apple AirPods Max. (Image credit: Apple)
Playing to its strengths
Sonos is a giant in the world of multi-room wireless audio solutions, and by playing to its strengths, it could blow the Apple AirPods Max and other rivals out of the water.
And that could be a reality. The most interesting feature revealed in the Sonos headphones patent describes how the wireless headphones might interact with existing Sonos speakers, with what the company calls 'swapping':
"For example, if a particular piece of content play is currently playing on the wireless headphone, a swap changes the playback to play that piece of content on one or more other playback devices on the local network."
So in theory, you could be listening to music on your Sonos headphones and swiftly switch that music over to your Sonos speaker, whether it's part of a multi-room audio system or a standalone smart speaker like the Sonos One or the Sonos Move.
It’s certainly an exciting prospect, and it would really set the rumored headphones apart from the competition.
Sonos is well known for its wireless audio products. (Image credit: Sonos)
Addressing Apple’s shortcomings
When the AirPods Max launched in late 2020, we weren’t sure what to expect. Apple had never made a pair of over-ear wireless headphones before, and while the AirPods and AirPods Pro gave us an idea of the connectivity features we might see, things like design, sound quality, and usability were largely a mystery.
And we were pleasantly surprised. The Apple AirPods Max turned out to be among the best-sounding headphones we've ever tested, and their noise cancellation easily stands up to the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM4 and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700.
However, their high price, limitations for Android users, and lack of 3.5mm audio port means we'd only recommend them to iOS users with a lot of money to spare – and no interest in Hi-Res Audio.
Those oversights, along with their high price, are why we couldn’t recommend the AirPods Max as the best wireless headphones you can buy today – and that means, if Sonos can address those issues, the company’s first wireless headphones could be an exceptional foray into the world of personal audio.
For what it’s worth, the patents we’ve seen suggest that the first Sonos headphones will come with a 3.5mm audio port, allowing audiophiles to use a wired connection for pristine music playback, as well as letting you use the headphones when the battery runs dry.
The price issue may be harder to address. Sonos products rarely come cheap, and we don’t expect that the brand’s first headphones will be any different. However, if it can undercut the $549 / £549 / AU$899 Apple AirPods Max even by just a little, that could be enough to edge its first cans ahead in the battle for your ears.
In any case, we don’t think Sonos will price its headphones any lower than the Sony WH-1000XM4, which cost $349.99 / £349 / AU$549 – but if it did, and we got those special Sonos features we’ve been hearing about, the first Sonos headphones could even rival Sony’s cans, and take the crown as the best headphones in the world.
Of course, we’ll have to wait and see what Sonos reveals on March 9 to find out. There’s every chance that the new product will be a wireless speaker, with rumors of a smaller, cheaper version of the Sonos Move, being bandied about as well.
As much as we loved the Sonos Move (and would welcome a more budget-friendly model), we’re really hoping for a pair of headphones. After all, if the rumored specs are to be believed, they could shake up the world of personal audio in a way we’ve never seen before, even from the first Apple over-ear headphones.
Android Auto is constantly evolving, and the latest major update for the application brought several important improvements, including not only critical fixes but also new features.
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For example, Android Auto now supports wallpapers, so users can choose a new home screen background right from their head units.
All it takes is going to the settings screen in Android Auto and then choosing a new wallpaper. A single tap is enough to preview the chosen wallpaper and then clicking done saves your changes instantly.
But there’s more in Android Auto 6.1, and one of the most exciting features is support for games.
I know what you’re thinking. Games in Android Auto? Are they even allowed while driving? They are if they come in the form developed by Google.
This new feature doesn’t make it possible to play FIFA 21 or Gran Turismo on your head unit but to actually use Google Assistant to launch voice-based games that don’t require looking at the screen.A closer look at the new games So theoretically, playing a game on Android Auto is just like playing a game with someone else in the car, as the whole purpose of this feature is to provide a conversational-based experience from one to another.
What you need to know, however, is that these games aren’t specific to Android Auto, but are actually powered by Google Assistant and are also offered to Android users on their phones. In other words, you are provided with the same lineup of games like Android users, and these include Trivia Crack and Jeopardy.
In addition, while playing games while navigating with Android Auto could prove to be quite an enjoyable experience, and it could actually come in very handy when sitting in heavy traffic, a notification that shows up on the screen stays there as long as you play the game. You’re not supposed to look at it though, so make sure you focus on the road no matter what.
This is actually why the games have been developed from the very beginning with a voice-based approach. Because you can control everything with your voice and interact with the game without touch, you can continue to keep your eyes on the road the whole time.
How to play Android Auto games
There’s no new button in Android Auto to play games, and given the whole experience is powered by your voice, launching them comes down to the same approach.
Just like on Android, you can use a command sent to Google Assistant to start a game. So just say “OK, Google, let’s play a game,” and Google Assistant should then wake up and start one of the two titles mentioned above.
Every time you’re provided with a question, you can answer using your voice, so you’re not supposed to look at the screen or touch something on the head unit to play the game.
This is why the only supported games right now are Trivia and Jeopardy, as they both allow for a conversational-based experience, but there’s a chance Google would add more in the coming months using the very same approach.
When you’re done playing the game, you can just ask Google Assistant to do something else or tell it to “end the game” and you should then go back to the standard experience on Android Auto.
Keep in mind that these games are only available as part of the Android Auto 6.1 update and as long as Google Assistant is enabled on your device. Needless to say, this means you must be living in one of the regions where Google Assistant is available and use a supported language for the whole thing, such as English.
When The Pokémon Company announced remakes of the Nintendo DS titles Diamond and Pearl earlier this week, the most notable difference was obviously the art style.
All of the sprite work in the original games has now been replaced with cute 3D graphics in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. There's obviously been a lot of discussion about this since then, and we even ran a poll yesterday to see what everyone thought.
Today we present to you a side-by-side comparison of the 2006 games up against the 2021 Switch versions, courtesy of GameXplain. This clip includes a look at the normal play speed, which is followed by a slowed-down replay.
As you can see, there are some things that don't even appear in the original games - which are completely new (like a Nintendo Switch in the main character's bedroom, instead of a Wii) and then there's some stuff in there that seemingly confirms Platinum Version content will be featured. Read more about this in our previous post.
Developer ILCA and The Pokémon Company say the originals' towns and routes have been carefully preserved in the remake. Would you agree based on the comparison video above? Tell us down below.
Around a month and a half ago we reported about a serious flaw in Windows 10 that could be exploited to corrupt the contents of an NTFS drive. With Microsoft dawdling in its response, it was down to security researchers from OSR to produce a third-party patch.
But now Microsoft has stepped up to the plate and, finally, come up with an official fix for the flaw. Sadly, it's not all good news as the fix is not currently available for everyone.
See also:
Although the company did not advertise the fact, it seems that the recently released Windows 10 build 21322 addresses the drive corruption flaw. The bug exists because of an issues with the $i30 NTFS attribute which means that accessing the path c:\:$i30:$bitmap will cause drive corruption -- although this should be reversible using the chkdsk tool.
As Bleeping Computer reports, if you try to access this problematic path in build 21322, you will see a message that reads: "The directory name is invalid".
The bad news here is that build 21322 of Windows 10 has only been made available to Insiders on the Dev channel. It's hard to say if Microsoft will be releasing a separate patch for earlier builds of the operating system, or if we'll have to wait for this dev build to progress to the main release channel.
Update:PSN is down and Sony's problems continue into the weekend for certain online gaming and functionality. We can sign-in to PlayStation Network, but like yesterday, we have limited functionality.
PSN is down with a major outage right now, according to Sony's official PlayStation Network status page – and the fact that we can't log in right now on our PS4. Online gaming on PS5 is also down, according to Twitter users, but we can't first-hand test that today – not everyone has the new console due to PS5 restock shortages.
"You might have difficulty launching games, apps, or network features," confirms Sony's official PSN status page.
There are no known solutions to fix PSN being down on the user end. You can sign in to the PlayStation Network and PlayStation Store, but online gaming doesn't appear to work on some games. Sony says "We're working to resolve the issue as soon as possible."
Sunday's ongoing PSN outage actually started a few days ago, according to the company's status page. There's a timestamp attached to the posting, suggesting PSN went down on Friday, February 26. However, user complaints on Twitter seem to predate Sony's official timestamp by at least 24 hours.
People who just bought the PS5 are affected, along with owners of the PS4, PS3 and PlayStation Vita. It's not clear if every online game is down right now due to the PSN outage, judging from Sony's language and our own experiences. Xbox Live went down last week and Microsoft disclosed much more granular information on its status page.
PSN is down and the outage now spans at least three days, but this isn't the first or longest downtime for Sony's online gaming network.
Famously, PSN went down in 2011 for 24 days, plus an additional 42 days for the then-budding PlayStation Store. In that much more dire case, it was later confirmed that hackers had exploited PSN and exposed users' information, according to Sony. Today's PSN outage seems to be unfortunate weekend downtime.
Now that we’ve seen the new Renault 5 concept, one question bubbles to the surface faster than all: what took them so long? It looks so ineffably right, so informed by its past yet fixed on the future, that you wonder why they didn’t have the idea years ago.
The answer, I suspect, is Luca de Meo. He’s the recently appointed CEO of Renault who in a former life was responsible for a thing called the Fiat 500, on whose shoulders the fortunes of the entire Fiat brand have appeared to rest these past 13 years. So now the pieces fall into place.
The ocean of purple prose on which the reimagining of the 5 came bodyboarding into shore speaks not only of the fluency of its execution but also of the enduring love for a French icon that was born sufficiently long ago to be regarded as a classic but died sufficiently recently to be remembered. Which is a very neat treat.
And I remember it more than most: the car I drove to work on my very first day at Autocar in 1988 was my own Renault 5 GT Turbo. But as soon as it was clear that I would somehow cling to a job testing cars, it was clearly redundant and got sold. And the strange thing is that I’ve really not thought much about it since.
I owned three hot hatches before I joined the magazine: that 5 GT Turbo, a Mk1 Volkswagen Golf GTI and a Peugeot 205 GTi, and I’ve since thought of those last two almost constantly. They’ve become genuinely important, landmarks in the evolution of enjoyable motoring. The Renault? Not so much.
But the curious thing is that, at the time, I was quite clear that the 5 GT Turbo was both the fastest and most fun of the three, yet somehow it has dropped out of my easy-recall memory. And off the public road: there are more than 1100 examples of the 205 GTi still registered in the UK. The 5 GT Turbo? Just 287. Time for a reappraisal? With the launch of a new 5, there would be none better.
It’s extraordinary how the brain remembers. This is the first time that I’ve sat in a 5 GT Turbo in 33 years, yet I didn’t have to look for anything. For three decades, my brain has clung to a few lines of code just in case I should ever again need to locate the choke lever, or remember to twist the left-hand stalk to turn on the lights, or know that the bonnet hinges at the front, not the rear. I still know exactly how the gearbox is going to feel, how the engine will sound, even the gearing of the defiantly unassisted steering.
But it feels flimsier than ever. This isn’t because I’ve forgotten how inexactly these cars were constructed and from which mediocre materials, just that it matters more to me now and the world has moved on while it hasn’t. Even as an occasional ‘classic’ car used for recreational purposes, its build quality would irritate me – and probably scare me, too.
I once was in an accident involving a 5 that drove on the wrong side of the road into a 5 Series that I had already brought to a halt. Mercifully the crash did nothing to the driver other than rouse him from his slumber, but the Renault penknifed, leaving its roof on its back seats, which would have had calamitous consequences had anyone been there. The BMW? Its airbags didn’t even deploy.
By now, doubts were rising in big bubbles within me. I won’t hide that I was excited about the car coming to stay, more so than I would be were any manner of far faster modern machine paying a visit; but with every passing mile, I wondered ever more what I had seen in it to begin with.
Shockingly, it didn’t even feel very quick. ‘Pleasantly rapid’ would be a fair assessment of its potential, but only once the boost needle has woken up the far side of 3000rpm, swept around the dial and kicked its 1.4-litre pushrod engine (design work for which began in the 1950s) into action. When new, the 5 GT Turbo was the paciest of compact hot hatches. Now it’s mildly invigorating at best.
But then we reached the mountains and I could put its chassis to work. Oh my goodness, it was brilliant. It’s different to the 205 GTi, which just wants to rotate into a corner and then keep rotating. The 5 GT Turbo is so much better tied down: fling it at an apex on a trailing throttle and all it does is kill the understeer, leaving the car just beautifully neutral. Do that in a 205 GTi and without swift correction you would be in a hedge.
And the steering! That I confess I might not have recalled so clearly. Put it this way: I’ve never driven a hatchback that better combines weighting, gearing and feel.
Suddenly the rather workaday engine doesn’t matter any more, for it’s merely a facilitator; what you need to let that chassis do its thing. I far prefer the Peugeot’s gearbox, but the Renault’s is good enough.
And the car overall? In many ways, it makes me admire the 205 GTi even more, which I know isn’t the idea, but the 5 GT Turbo makes you realise what a stunningly complete – not to mention hilarious – hot hatch its deadliest rival was.
I owned a 205 GTi for seven years until last year, and not for a moment do I now wish it had been a 5 GT Turbo. But on the right road, the even lighter Renault, with its beautiful balance and near-flawless steering, is actually better. I wouldn’t go so far to say we all got it wrong in elevating the 205 GTi’s reputation to the stars yet leaving the 5 GT Turbo on earth, but it’s a special and now extremely rare thing. How glad I am to have made its acquaintance once more.
High fives: a short history
It’s too easily forgotten that the first hot Renault 5 actually predates the Volkswagen Golf GTI, the car so often and erroneously credited with inventing the hot hatch category.
Called the 5 Alpine in Europe when launched in 1976 and the 5 Gordini when it reached the UK two years later, it used a 93bhp naturally aspirated version of the engine that would end up in the 5 GT Turbo.
In 1982, Renault bolted a Garrett T3 turbocharger to the engine, which raised power to 110bhp and dropped the 0-60mph time a whole second to 8.7sec, creating a car that survived until the almost entirely new second-generation 5 was launched in 1985.
By the time the hot version of that (the 5 GT Turbo) was ready in 1986, Peugeot was already well established in the market with the 205 GTi.
The 5 GT Turbo made 115bhp, which bettered the output of the original 205 GTi (105bhp) and matched that of later 1.6-litre cars but fell short of the 130bhp of the 1.9-litre 205. That said, at 850kg, it was lighter than any of them and compared well in power-to-weight terms.
A revised version with a water-cooled turbocharger was introduced the following year to solve hot-start problems, which raised power to 120bhp. Production stopped in 1991.
Could there be a new 5 Turbo?
It seems almost inevitable that, just as the hot hatch followed the popularisation of the hatch format at a deferential distance, the same is likely to be true for electric hot hatches.
However, packaging enough punch in such a compact car while still providing acceptable range without also introducing unacceptable mass will be tricky to pull off, so don’t expect a new Renault 5 ‘Turbo’ any time soon.
And even if they do crack the formula and make one fast enough, a rather bigger challenge lies ahead: making it fun enough. Flawed though the old 5 GT Turbo is, it’s still more fun to drive than any electric car on sale today. Sorting that out won’t be the work of a moment.
Pokémon is 25 years old today, 27th February 2021.
27th February 1996 saw the release of Pocket Monsters Red and Green in Japan for the Game Boy.
25 years later, Pokémon is one of the biggest entertainment brands in the world, and one of the most successful video game franchises.
Designer Satoshi Tajiri has said he was inspired to create the Pokémon saga after collecting insects as a boy.
Pocket Monsters Red and Green was a huge hit in Japan. Pokémon Red and Blue, as it was known on these shores, wouldn't launch in Europe until 5th October 1999.
Since then, Pokémon has established an empire, with scores of video games, TV shows and films. Pokémon's link to Nintendo has endured, with the core series of games all launching on the company's platforms.
Earlier this month, developer Andrew Spinks said that he was cancelling Terraria's release on Google Stadia because his Google account had been deactivated with no stated reason, and he'd been unable to recover it for weeks. "I will not be involved with a corporation that values their customers and partners so little," he tweeted, concluding that "Doing business with [Google] is a liability."
Now it seems that the issue has been resolved, and Terraria is again on route to Google's beleaguered cloud gaming platform.
Yesterday, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were announced for the Nintendo Switch. These games are remakes of Generation IV, which was originally released on the DS and is set in the Sinnoh region.
The development is being handled by ILCA and directed by Junichi Masuda (Game Freak) and Yuichi Ueda (ILCA). The aim is to "faithfully" reproduce and "colourfully" revitalise these classics. To achieve this, the developer has gone with a chibi style in the game's world, while in battle, the characters and Pokémon are more accurately proportioned.
Of course, as you've probably seen yourself, the reaction online to the chibi style in these remakes has been mixed, so we thought now would be a good time to see what the Nintendo Life community thinks about it. Vote in our poll and leave a comment down below.
Cast your mind back to 2014: Wear OS was still Android Wear and the Apple Watch, or the iWatch as it was being called, was still roughly a year away from being officially unveiled. The Samsung Gear Live was one of the two launch devices that represented Google’s ambitions to live on our wrists.
Just six months later, Samsung pushed out the Gear S that ran on the company's own Tizen software rather than Wear OS. There might have been a sense that Samsung was hedging its bets and backing two horses to see which of the two took off. The fact we didn’t see another Samsung Wear OS smartwatch after the Gear Live speaks volumes though.
Fast forward to 2021 and we are still having a lot of the same gripes about Google's Wear OS, while Tizen has found itself packed into some of the best smartwatches you can put on your wrist right now. That’s why talk of Samsung potentially swapping Tizen for Wear OS fueled by Samsung insider Ice Universe's recent Twitter post doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to me.
In its current state, it’s a struggle to see what Wear OS is actually doing more impressive things and for the features that are working better, it’s taken much longer for Google to get them to a point where they feel enjoyable and unproblematic to use.
On the flip side, Samsung has just launched two of its best smartwatches in the Galaxy Watch 3 and the Galaxy Watch Active 2 and a big part of why they’re the best and most reviews say it’s the best smartwatch option for Android users, is that Tizen is a currently a much better fit for the wrist.
Tizen vs Wear OS
I’ve tried to look at what Samsung could gain from Wear over Tizen and it’s hard to see what there is right now. Samsung’s software is easier to use, for starters. It’s well optimized for smartwatches and crucially, it’s done a much better job of bringing improvements and enhancements to its own platform. Even stretching back to older models. It’s not perfect, but it does do a lot of things right.
Can the same be said about Google? The problem of having so many different watches that run its software is that fragmentation creates problems. It feels like when something new does arrive on a software update, it’s going to be fine on some Wear OS watches and botches a few others in the process. The long running issue people have been experiencing with Google Assistant is just one example of this.
One of the longstanding and biggest criticisms leveled at Tizen is the level of app support on offer. It still largely pales in comparison to what is offered for Apple Watch and Wear OS users. There’s a bigger debate to be had that actually smartwatch platforms need to get get their native apps that come installed in better shape.
Samsung by and large do a good job on this front. Samsung Health is not perfect, but it’s a step up from Google’s messy collection of Fit apps. Samsung has big third party apps like Spotify that are well integrated into the experience and offers good offline support features. Google may well have the upper hand when it comes to smart assistants (sorry Bixby, you’re a mess), but actually the Google Assistant support on Fitbit’s smartwatches is much more pleasing than it is on Google’s own Wear OS watches.
Samsung is bolstering its health and fitness features in a big way too. It has some of the best fitness tracking features you can find on a smartwatch and it’s trying to offer unique features for sports tracking too. It’s put ECG in its smartwatches, is the first to offer blood pressure monitoring and while they are very much still rumors, could even be looking to solve a holy grail for wearables by delivering glucose monitoring.
Samsung still makes us download plugins after plugins to get things set up and makes it and the experience clearly favors Samsung phone users over iPhone ones, but things generally just work when that’s all out of the way.
Getting closer to Apple
What could drive a potential switch is an attempt to play catch up with who is dominating the space. Apple led the market according to the latest data from analyst firm IDC’s most recent Worldwide Quarterly Wearable Device Tracker.
Xiaomi, Huawei and Samsung followed in that shipments list. Fitbit took fifth spot.
Fellow analysts CCS Insight latest data suggests Google’s Wear OS accounted for just 3% of sales in 2020. That doesn’t make good reading for Google.
That positioning of Fitbit though and Google’s acquisition of the wearable tech heavyweight now finally completed may be something that has prompted Samsung to look in the direction of Wear again.
In just a short time, Fitbit has shown it can do a lot of things better than Google and Wear OS. Battery life, general performance, fitness and health tracking and, as mentioned, far better smart assistant integration.
The Fitbit Versa 3 is one of the best smartwatches right now (Image credit: TechRadar)
It’s hard to know if the influence of the acquisition is going to be felt immediately though. You might well be able to buy Fitbit devices on Google’s store right now, but does that mean it’s making its mark behind the scenes already? It’s hard to tell.
Samsung might also see that Google has seemingly started to loosen the reins from the once firm grip it had on the way Wear was presented on all smartwatches that ran on it.
It’s now let Suunto, Oppo and even Mobvoi with its latest TicWatches, offer more of their own software flourishes and it’s been a positive move in most respects.
It’s also in some respects made it feel at times like you’re using a smartwatch with a software broken into two. Using a Suunto 7 with Suunto software and Wear felt a bit messy. With the Oppo Watch and the latest TicWatch Pro 3, it was hard not to favor the software elements put on by the hardware makers over Google’s.
Ultimately, there feels like there is more to lose than gain here from making that switch. Samsung’s Tizen feels like it's in a stronger position than Wear despite some rocky early years for the platform. Samsung will have to have seen something really special on the horizon for Wear to leave Tizen behind.
While Samsung has been touting its massive 292-inch MicroLED appropriately called The Wall since 2017, a new challenger has emerged from the fold that might give Samsung’s monstrous MicroLED a run for its money.
The new screen is called the M1 4K 165-inch TV and it’s being made by an Austrian outlet called C-Seed. What makes it special, other than its massive screen size, is that it hides away underneath the floor when it’s not in use and costs – get ready for this – almost half a million dollars ($400,000 or around £300,000 / AU$520,000).
When it rises out of the floor, the M1 stands around seven feet tall and has four panels that fold together seamlessly thanks to C-Seed’s Adaptive Gap Calibration Technology that renders borders between the screen's panels completely invisible.
It's pretty impressive to be honest, but at that price it's probably not something that will fit in our budget anytime soon.
Will MicroLED ever be affordable?
It’s hard to look at the M1 and not feel a tinge of envy – who wouldn’t want a 165-inch 4K HDR TV with HDR10+ support that just tucks away neatly whenever it’s not in use?
On top of its cool looks, Samsung says its version of MicroLED TVs can hit up to 4,000 nits of peak brightness and have black levels that rival OLED screens. Considering that the panels are most likely sourced from Samsung, our guess is that the M1 is likely capable of the same thing.
While the M1 is way out of reach for most of us, sadly so are most other commercially-available Micro LED TVs right now – the most affordable model, Samsung’s The Wall in a 146-inch screen size, is said to cost $300,000 and isn’t available in any retail store.
There’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon that Samsung’s smaller-size MicroLED TVs such as the 88-inch version of The Wall that’s coming later this year will be more affordable. But considering that 88-inch versions of other high-end TVs like the LG Signature ZX 8K OLED TV go for around $30,000, it could be awhile before we'll see one in our price range.
The video shows off plenty of new footage, including a look at the ways in which players can interact with Pokémon to get great new shots. Interestingly, it seems that this time around, players will need to obtain differently-graded photos of each Pokémon to truly earn that 100%:
"A photo’s score will be based on the subjects’ poses, how large they appear, how directly they’re facing the camera, and where they fall in frame. Each photo will get one to four stars, indicating how common or rare the behaviour displayed is. Players will have to take many photos to fill out their Photodex, which is their collection of Pokémon photographs."
The video also reveals a photo mode which lets you adjust the brightness, blur, and zoom of your pics, as well as apply filters, frames and stickers before sharing your best snaps online. You'll even be able to upload these photos to compete against other players through a ranking system.
Here are the latest details, straight from the press release:
New Pokémon Snap is a previously announced video game in which players will take on the role of a budding Pokémon photographer in the Lental region. There they will work with Professor Mirror, the region’s expert, on an ecological survey to photograph Pokémon thriving in nature.
Wild Pokémon thrive on the islands of the Lental region, where environments can differ greatly, making for a variety of habitats where different Pokémon expressions and behaviours can be observed. Players will be able to get their attention by playing a melody or throwing fluffruit. They’ll also be able to use an Illumina orb (an invention of Professor Mirror’s) on Pokémon to witness something out of the ordinary.
They can even use their camera to run scans, which can help them find hidden Pokémon or inspect their surroundings. As players keep researching a course, their research level there will increase, and they may discover Pokémon acting in different ways. Trainers may even encounter Legendary Pokémon or Mythical Pokémon.
Gameplay of New Pokemon Snap has revealed new features, including tools, photo editing, and more.Shown during today's Pokemon Presents broadcast, the gameplay showed off the game's photo editing mode, which will allow you to alter, decorate and share your snaps. Photos can rated by other players online, and even featured by the developers.AI scoring for shots was shown to be rated on Pose, Size, Direction, Placement, Other Pokemon, and Background, awarding both a points score and a star rating. Photos will seemingly also be used to fill a Pokemon Photodex.
There are also new tools in the shape of Illumina Orbs, items that can make Pokemon glow, and change their elemental effects – presumably for higher photo scores. We also see fruits being thrown, and melodies being played to elicit new gestures from Pokemon.
The story of the game isn't totally clear, but we see the mythical Pokemon Celebi swoop by at the end of the new trailer. New Pokemon Snap will be released on April 30.
Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Retro remakes this year, open-world feudal prequel in 2022.
New Pokémon games set in Diamond & Pearl's Sinnoh region are coming to Nintendo Switch later this year and in 2022.
Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl will launch in late 2021, and see a retro-styled return to Sinnoh. Characters have a chibi-style on the overworld, not dissimilar to the Link's Awakening remake, but will be full-size in battles.
An open-world Sinnoh game set in a more feudal version of the region will then follow next year, more similar in style to Pokémon Sword and Shield. It's called Pokémon Legends Arceus, and it's due in early 2022.
Old school Pokéballs and a mix of previous starter Pokémon feature in this game, though how it will connect with the Pokémon God is being kept under wraps. You'll be creating the first ever Pokédex, apparently.
I Love Computer Arts (ILCA), a Japanese studio which worked on Pokémon Home and has provided support for titles such as Nier: Automata and Yakuza 0, is working on Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, while mainline Pokémon developer Game Freak leads development on the open-world prequel.
Today's news comes as part of The Pokémon Company's big livestream, held ahead of the franchise's 25th anniversary tomorrow.
