Digital releases of games might be getting more popular, but there are always going to be people who prefer having something they can actually put their hands on, especially when the game in question is something that fans have been waiting on for years.
Until now, there have been three options for how Shenmue 3 backers at the $60 level would receive their copy of the game once it is finished: a physical disc for the PC version of the game, or digital copies for either the PC or PlayStation 4 versions.
On Friday, another option was announced to backers in an update on the game’s Kickstarter page. The PlayStation 4 Physical Copy Reward is now available to backers at the $60 level, alongside the previous three options.
Once the Kickstarter campaign for Shenmue 3 is completed, a survey will be sent to backers, letting them choose how they would like to receive their copy of the game. “Backers who have pledged for a PC Physical Copy will not need to adjust their rewards if they would prefer a PS4 physical copy instead,” the update reads.
Currently, the Shenmue 3 campaign is supported by over 50,000 backers who have pledged more than $4.3 million so far. There are still 11 days left to back the campaign, which will wrap up on July 17.
While the amount the game has raised so far is nothing to sneeze at, it hasn’t reached the $10 million mark that Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki has said is necessary to fulfill his full vision for the game, including A “much larger, completely open world.” The campaign is nearing the $5 million mark, at which point a “completely new gameplay feature” will be added.
No matter how much funding the project secures, it’s beginning to look like Shenmue 3 will be a return to form. Last week we reported that Corey Marshall, who voiced the main character Ryo Hazuki in the North American and European versions of the original games, has signed on to lend his voice to Shenmue 3.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.