There’s a new Yakuza title in development for PlayStation 4 and the game’s director had a few thoughts to share regarding the PS5 when discussing the upcoming title. Reported by Gematsu via Game Talk, Yakuza series director Toshihiro Nagoshi thinks that the next wave of console improvements will be focused on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
On the topic of the next Yakuza, Nagoshi says the story is done. The next title features Ichiban Kasuga, the new face that is taking after as the lead in the series following the conclusion of Kazuma Kiryu’s saga in Yakuza 6: Song of Life. Nagoshi says he’s surprised how well the game’s cast fits their roles and the team is in the process of recording. It’s not clear what specifically is being recorded, but it could be acting performances with motion capture or voice acting. Regarding the new lead, Nagoshi says he talks more than Kiryu and gives the story a different feeling.
“Therefore the overall feeling of the story is different, as well as the gameplay,” Nagoshi said. “It feels fresh in many ways. I really want to share more soon. It’s tough but development has been smooth.”
The Yakuza series has been largely exclusive to PlayStation platforms throughout its long history and the development team will likely be following up the Yakuza entry and spinoff title Judgement for PS4 with new titles sometime during the PS5’s lifecycle. Nagoshi, however, doesn’t think they’ll need to be a rush to develop PS5 titles. He believes “PlayStation 4 is going to be the main focus for a while longer” after the PS5 releases and he has an interesting take on what type of performance leaps we’ll see in PS5 games.
“First, there was a time when graphics improved, then there was network features, and now I guess you can say it’s a return to the “programmable” era,” he said. “I think artificial intelligence and machine learning will continue to evolve.”
The rollout for the PS5 should start sometime after April 2020 and we’ll likely see what the console is truly capable of sometime in the second wave of exclusive games.
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.