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Source: Arrowhead Game Studios/ Sony Interactive Entertainment / Helldivers 2
Sony Interactive Entertainment’s decision to require PSN linking has destroyed any goodwill that Arrowhead Game Studios built with its fantastic game Helldivers 2.
Friday, gamers, specifically Helldivers 2 fans, did not have any kind words for Sony Interactive Entertainment, the publisher of Arrowhead’s game, after it announced, “Due to technical issues at the launch of Helldivers 2, we allowed the linking requirements for Steam accounts to a PlayStation Network account to be temporarily optional. That grace period will now expire.”
According to Sony, the bonehead decision was “critical” to the “safety and security” of Helldivers 2.
Following the announcement, gamers immediately pointed out that the PSN account linking would lead to many players no longer having access to the game via Steam because certain countries do not have PSN support.
Welp, those worries are bearing fruit.
Helldivers 2 Is No Longer Listed In 170 Territories Because of PSN Linking Requirement
Despite Helldivers 2’s community manager assuring players in countries without PSN support can continue playing the game and not worry about being denied access on Saturday, the game has been pulled from 170 territories lacking PSN support, according to listings from the Steam Database.
The fallout has been instantaneous.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Culture Crave notes that Helldivers 2’s Steam page has “over 100k negative reviews since [the] change was announced” and that “Steam is approving refund requests for players even if they’ve played over 2 hours.”
Like Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt, community managers are telling fans to direct their anger toward Sony Interactive Entertainment in hopes that bullying will make the company reverse its crappy decision.
As for the refunds, Valve is ignoring its policy by giving players who logged more than 100 hours spreading democracy and liberating Super Earth.
Steam usually only refunds players who have not exceeded 2 hours of playtime. Honestly, this is an intelligent decision on Valve’s part and an indication of how wrong Sony Interactive Entertainment’s decision was.
Gamers are still sounding off on Xitter about SIE’s ridiculous decision.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.
1. G R E E D
2. Yup, to put it simply.
4. Exactly
8. We don’t want the game to be buried, let’s just hope Sony just changes it’s mind
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes. Few brands consistently hit the mark like Sony when it comes to making top-rated headphones. Their WH-1000XM5 headphones are the best […]
Nintendo Entertainment System
While the Atari 2600 might be the first home console success, the Nintendo Entertainment System is a home video game console that’s widely known and iconic. The NES might be a little tougher to come by on eBay, with prices starting at $109 for the console itself and a controller.However, getting games — such as Rad Racer, Super Mario Bros. 2, The Legend of Zelda, Double Dragon and others — might be easier with prices starting as low as $7 per cartridge. The NES has become much more of a collector’s item than other retro gaming consoles, which is why finding one in good working condition is rare. Check out the NES on eBay here.
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Source: NurPhoto / Getty / Sony / PS5 Pro
The video game section of the internet was talking after specs for the PS5 Pro were “leaked” and then confirmed to be true. Sony is reportedly putting on its detective hat to find out who did it.
According to Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson, Sony is reportedly launching an internal investigation to determine how leaked documents about “Project Trinity,” aka the PS5 Pro, hit the internet.
The leak occurred over the weekend during a third-party developer rollout. It could lead to more security measures being implemented for additional third-party developer Push Square reports.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Henderson wrote:
As expected, Sony has launched an internal investigation into the leaked documents on Trinity as it leaked during a third-party rollout.
Not sure on the implications yet as I don’t think they can catch one individual, but Sony could reduce its third-party developer pool for new tech as a result.
According to the leaked documents shared by YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead over the weekend, the PS5 Pro boasts some impressive specs that could put it on par with powerful gaming PCs. Some say that on paper, it sounds like the PS5 6.
It could also set Sony up to push out more consoles when Grand Theft Auto 6 finally arrives.
The PS5 Pro Specs:
Rendering 45% faster than PS5
2-3x Ray-tracing (x4 in some cases)
33.5 Teraflops
PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution Upscaling) upscaling/antialiasing solution
Support for resolutions up to 8K is planned for future SDK version
Custom machine learning architecture
AI Accelerator, supporting 300 TOPS of 8-bit computation / 67 TFLOPS of 16-bit floating point
We will continue to monitor this situation as it develops.
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Source: Albert L. Ortega / Getty
In the post-credits scenes for both Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home, a possible Venom and Spider-Man crossover was teased as fans have been clamoring for Tom Hardy’s anti-hero and Tom Holland’s web-head to finally come face-to-face on the big screen.
Unfortunately, that may not happen. On Tuesday (March 12) the official title to the third installment of Sony’s successful Venom franchise was revealed. And it really seems like Hardy will be hanging up his black alien symbiotie suit by the time the end of credits roll. According to Variety, Venom 3 will be dubbed Venom: The Last Dance, and judging from the title alone the film will serve as Venom’s swan song in Sony’s Spider-Verse that’s been struggling like hell to get off the ground.
Though their have been rumors that the film will ultimately lead to Venom making his way into the MCU to finally meet your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, details about the film have remained under wraps with just rumors that the Marvel villain, Toxin, would be the main antagonist in the film and Chiwetel Ejiofor will be taking on the role of another villain, Orwell Taylor.
Lackluster, yes, we know. But this is apparently the road that writers for Venom: The Last Dance have chosen to go down for what seems to be the final installment.
Variety reports:
Sony first announced the third film was in the works during its CinemaCon presentation in April 2022. The project will be the first appearance of Venom since a credits sequence cameo in 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
In February, Temple opened up about the project to Variety, teasing that filming was almost complete. “We’re coming close to an end at the moment,” she said. “It’s been a wild, wonderful ride. It’s so new to me. It’s a big set! This is crazy. It’s been so much fun and I got to work with such cool people. I’ve been so lucky in my career to just have the most incredible casts. I can’t wait for it to get out into the world. I think it’s going to be a good one.”
After the atrocity that was Madame Web, it’s probably best for Sony to just put it’s Spider-Man-less Spider-Verse out of its misery already.
Venom: The Last Dance is set to hit theaters Oct. 25. If it proves to be the final film in the franchise with no connection to any Spider-Man whatsoever (not even Tobey McGuire or Andrew Garfield), the franchise will not be missed. No shots.
Will you be checking out Venom: The Last Dance when it hits theaters this fall? Let us know in the comments section below.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
At the end of 2023, Sony released a newly designed PlayStation 5 Slim, a handheld PlayStation 5 Portal remote player, an accessibility controller kit and a pair of true wireless earbuds to round out the PlayStation experience for gamers. For 2024, the tech and entertainment company just released a new accessory that brings games to life with precision and immersive audio.
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Priced at $149.99 at Walmart, the Sony Pulse Elite is a new true wireless gaming headset that’s specifically designed for the PS5 and PS Portal. In fact, it even connects to two devices at the same time.
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And since it’s from Walmart, you’ll get it shipped to you for free if you’re a Walmart+ member.
Not a member? You can sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of everything the retailer’s rewards program has to offer, including free delivery; fuel savings at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart or Murphy gas stations; streaming access to Paramount+ to watch hit originals such as Halo, Fatal Attraction and Star Trek: Lower Decks; early deals access and much more. Learn more about Walmart+ here.
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Sony PS Pulse Elite Wireless Gaming Headset
Also available at Amazon, Best Buy and Target, this accessory delivers excellent gaming audio that’s clear, rich and completely immersive with deep and rumbling bass. It comes with a USB “PS Link” dongle that connects directly into the back of the PS5 to give you a low-latency wireless audio connection with virtually zero lag. It even has a long battery life of up to 30 hours per charge.
Meanwhile, the wireless gaming headset has a clever hidden microphone design, which slides out of the left earcup to let gamers chat with teammates and opponents online. In addition to the PS5, it’s Bluetooth-enabled with Mac and PC, as well as Apple iPhone and Android mobile devices.
The Sony PS5 Pulse Elite Wireless Gaming Headset comes out on Wednesday, Feb. 21. It’s available for $149.99 at Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, Target and PlayStation Direct. (You can also find them on resale sites such as StockX.)
In the meantime, watch Sony’s innovation video for the gaming headset, below.
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Want more deals? For more product recommendations, check out our roundups of the best Xbox deals, studio headphones and Nintendo Switch accessories.
With SZA’s album SOS leading the way and the market enjoying more growth in streaming royalties, Sony Music’s revenue grew 16.0% to 422.1 billion yen ($2.85 billion at the period’s average exchange rate) in its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, the company announced Wednesday (Feb. 14).
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Other top releases for the quarter were Travis Scott’s Utopia, Rod Wave’s Nostalgia, Doja Cat’s Scarlet, Blink-182’s One More Time…, Tate McRae’s Think Later, Harry Styles’ Harry’s House and Fuerza Regida’s Pa Las Baby’s Y Belikeada. A couple holiday classics were amongst Sony’s top albums in the Christmas quarter: Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas and Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector.
Streaming fueled growth in both the recorded music and music publishing segments of the business. Paid subscriptions were a major factor in the first full quarter after Spotify raised prices in roughly 50 markets, including the U.S., in July. Favorable foreign exchange rates accounted for about 24% of the quarter’s 58.4 billion yen ($394.9 million) revenue increase.
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Its double-digit revenue growth was comparable on a percentage basis to other music companies that have released earnings. In the same quarter, Warner Music Group’s revenue grew 17.5% to $1.75 billion and Reservoir Media revenue improved 19% to $35.5 million. Spotify, the largest single source for music royalties globally, grew revenue by 16% to 3.67 billion euros ($4.05 billion).
Sony Music’s margins improved across the board, too. Operating income improved 20.8% to 76.1 billion yen ($514.4 million) and adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization jumped 25.3% to 98.5 billion yen ($666.2 million). Adjusted OIBDA margin improved nearly two percentage points to 23.3% from 21.6% in the prior-year quarter.
The strong quarter led Sony Music to raise its full-year forecasts for the third consecutive quarter. On Wednesday, the company raised the forecasts for both revenue and adjusted OIBDA by 10 billion yen ($68 million) — revenue from 1.56 trillion yen ($10.37 billion at the current exchange rate) to 1.57 trillion yen ($10.43 billion) and adjusted OIBDA from 350 billion yen ($2.33 billion) to 360 million yen ($2.39 billion). When the company released its fiscal second quarter earnings in November, it increased its revenue guidance by 5% to 70 billion yen ($485 million) and adjusted OIBDA by 4%, or 15 billion yen ($104 million). In August, it raised its revenue forecast by 6%.
Both music divisions each posted solid year-over-year gains in the quarter. Recorded music revenues jumped 19.9% to 286.5 billion yen ($1.94 billion). Streaming revenue rose 17.2% to 186.5 billion yen ($1.26 billion) and accounted for about 58% of the segment’s improvement. Physical revenue gained just 1.5% to 31.5 billion yen ($213.2 million). The “other” category — including merchandise, live performances and licensing revenue from synch, public performance and broadcast — jumped 45.9% to 59.7 billion yen ($403.9 million).
Music publishing revenue rose 16.1% to 86.1 billion yen ($582 million). Streaming revenue climbed 22.4% to 50.9 billion yen ($343.9 million) and accounted for 78% of the segment’s year-over-year gain. Publishing’s “other” category grew 8% to 35.2 billion yen ($238.1 million).
Visual media and platform revenue declined 5.1% to 45 billion yen ($304.4 million). The segment includes mobile gaming, software for PCs and game consoles, and software development contracts.
Financial metrics for Sony Music’s fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2023:
Revenue of 422.1 billion yen ($2.85 billion), up 16.0% year over year.
Adjusted operating income of 98.5 billion yen ($666.2 million), up 25.3% year over year.
Recorded music of 286.5 billion yen ($1.94 million), up 19.9% year over year.
Music publishing revenue of 86.1 billion yen ($582 million), up 16.1% year over year.
Visual media and platform revenue of 45 billion yen ($304.4 million), down 5.1% year over year.
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Billboard may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
Nearly four years after its original release, Naughty Dog and Sony Interactive Entertainment remastered The Last of Us, Part II for the PlayStation 5.
Out now with a retail price of $49.94 at Walmart, The Last of Us, Part II: Remastered has enhanced 4K graphics and audio for PS5, while keeping the same gameplay, story and combat from the sequel game, which was first released in June 2020 for PS4.
However, there are some new goodies that come with this 4K remastered edition, including new character and weapon skins, a speed run mode and a new “No Return, A Roguelike Survival Mode,” which deepens combat and the adventure with new options and routes for a different experience.
And since it’s from Walmart, you’ll get it shipped to you for free if you’re a Walmart+ member. Otherwise, your cart has to be more than $35 to get free shipping.
Not a member? You can sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of everything the retailer’s rewards program has to offer, including free delivery; fuel savings at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart or Murphy gas stations; streaming access to Paramount+ to watch hit originals such as Halo, Fatal Attraction, Star Trek: Lower Decks; early deals access and much more. Learn more about Walmart+ here.
The Last of Us, Part II: Remastered for PS5 is also available at Amazon, Best Buy and Target.
Sony
‘The Last of Us, Part II: Remastered’
Meanwhile, if you’d like to experience a new remaster of the first game for PS5, Walmart also has The Last of Us, Part I available. It’s on sale for $39.97, or nearly 45% off its list price, from the retailer.
Priced at $49.94 at Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy and Target, The Last of Us, Part II: Remastered is out now for PS5. In the meantime, you can watch the launch trailer from Sony, below.
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On Thursday afternoon, the history-filled Sony lot in Culver City — which was the MGM lot during Hollywood’s Golden Age, home to “more stars than there are in heaven” — welcomed film composer John Williams, after whom the studio’s musical building was being renamed.
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Williams, 91, who is best known for the scores of Star Wars and 29 Steven Spielberg films — 20 of which were scored in the structure that will henceforth be known as the John Williams Music Building — was on hand, as were many of his collaborators (Spielberg, J.J. Abrams and Spielberg’s producers Frank Marshall and Kristie Macosko Krieger) and colleagues (including fellow film composer Thomas Newman).
Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra kicked off the festivities by noting how much “magic was made right here in this building.” Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group chairman and CEO Tom Rothman then argued that the greatest of all time in many fields is debatable, citing the examples of Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James, Jack Nicklaus vs. Tiger Woods, Claude Monet vs. Vincent van Gogh and Stanley Kubrick vs. Spielberg — but that when it comes to film scoring, “There is no argument: John Williams is the GOAT,” adding, “I’m very sure that 100 years from now the name that will go on this building today will still be the name of the greatest of all time.”
Abrams spoke next, addressing Williams, “Johnny, you’ve filled our lives with some of the greatest art ever produced by mankind,” and the other attendees: “How lucky are we to be alive at the same time as John Williams?”
Then it was Spielberg’s turn. “Johnny, I have grown up with you,” the filmmaker said, recalling how struck he had been listening to the album of Williams’ score for the 1969 film The Reivers, vowing, “If I ever got the chance to make a movie, I would want the guy who wrote this.” The two met ahead of Spielberg’s feature directorial debut, 1974’s The Sugarland Express, and have rarely worked apart since.
“It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Spielberg said, before turning to Williams: “What you did for me was something I had never been able to imagine any single creative collaborator would ever be able to do for me or the stories I was telling, and that is when I thought I’d gotten to know a film really well, by the time I turned my films over to you, I knew what my movies were, I knew what they meant to me. Then you would musically do the final draft of my films, the final rewrite, and you would bring every movie I’ve ever made to a level that I didn’t recognize it as me, I recognized it as us. The films suddenly became informed by wherever you get your inspiration… Without you, the films are running around with no clothes on; with you, they’re completely finished. I’ve often said that if my movies can bring a tear to your eye, your music makes that tear fall down the face. And it’s happened on film after film after film. This alley is where all my stress dissipates, when I finally get to this stage of a production and I know that I am in your capable hands.”
Spielberg then invited the prior speakers and Williams to the stage, took a conductor’s baton and motioned towards a sheet-covered portion of the building, and upon his cue the sheet lifted and the new name of the building was visible.
Williams then stepped up to the podium and cracked, “This is the alley where Steven destresses. This is the alley is where I stress!” He then shared that his history at the building that now bears his name dates back long before his professional career: “The first time I came to this studio was 1940 when my father brought me here to show me the stage. I was about 9 or 10 years old, and I thought [he joked], ‘Someday this will all be mine!’ It’s finally come to be — it’s only taken me 92 years to get here! [His 92nd birthday is on Feb. 8.]” He added with a chuckle, “This place, I have reverence for it. I love it. Is it perfect? No. Tom, we could use a couple more bathrooms for the orchestra.”
Williams closed by asserting, “My hope and even prayer for this hall and for future people coming into it is a hope and it’s also a challenge: that they should do as well the next 100 years as the people who have been here for the last 100 years. They need to get to work and make some good music. And that is a challenge because they are standing on very big shoulders.”
As guests posed for photographs and headed over to a buffet lunch, Rothman escorted a fellow journalist and I into the John Williams Music Building, where another great composer, Oscar winner Dario Marianelli, was scoring, with a full orchestra, the upcoming Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, as director Gil Kenan looked on. Rothman notified them, during their session, that the name of their building had changed.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
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Source: SOPA Images / Getty / PS5
When it comes to moving consoles, Sony remains king.
Sony has a lot to be happy about. Roughly three years after its release, the popularity of the PS5 console remains high, and according to Reuters, the company has reportedly sold over 50 million units.
The Japanese tech giant also says it has the best-ever Black Friday period for the video game console.
Per Reuters reporting, Sony expects to finish the year on a high note thanks to a strong holiday performance, putting the company on pace to reach its sales target of a record 25 million units to close out the current financial year ending March 31.
Eric Lempel, senior vice president for global marketing, sales, and business operations at Sony Interactive Entertainment, said, “Given the momentum we’ve had in November and a lot of what we’re seeing in December, just in general, we’re feeling very good about sales overall.”
Remember that this number could have been higher, but PS5 sales were hampered due to supply chain issues when the console first hit the market.
Still, despite that, you can expect to see a PS5 in a home thanks to a solid first-party game lineup with games like God of War: Ragnarok and, most recently, Insomniac Games’ Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
Xbox & Nintendo Are Not Seeing The Same Success With Its Consoles
The outlook isn’t so rosy for the PS5’s direct competitors, Microsoft’s Xbox Series S | X and the Nintendo Switch.
IGN reports the Xbox sales have hit a snag. According to the website, PS5 sales are up “65% to 22.5 million units,” while Xbox’s sales took a dip to “about 15% to 7.6 million.”
The Nintendo Switch, which at one point was impossible to find on shelves during the pandemic, has fallen nearly 20%.
We are curious to see if Sony can continue its dominance in the gaming space in 2024.
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Photo: SOPA Images / Getty
