If you're a PlayStation Portal owner, you'll want to make sure your device is up to date as its latest firmware update is available to download now.

This new firmware update brings some much-needed quality-of-life changes to the PlayStation Portal. Chief among these is that Sony has made it easier to connect the handheld to public Wi-Fi networks.

"With this new update," the official PlayStation Blog post reads, "PS Portal will also connect to a range of public Wi-Fi networks that may require additional validation steps beyond entering the network password. This includes Wi-Fi networks with sign-in screens that can often be found in hotels, cafes, and airports."

Such connections that require additional validation will now display a QR code on the PS Portal's display. When you scan this code with your phone and complete the authentication process, it'll essentially greenlight the connection for your PS Portal, thus allowing you to connect.

There are a couple more noteworthy additions in this PS Portal firmware update. Firstly, the device's touchscreen now shows visual feedback based on where you touch. You'll see a light blue square show up on the screen now depending on whereabouts you tap.

Players can also head into the settings menu and choose to display its battery life in percentage format, which should give you a much better idea of how much juice is left in the proverbial tank - something Rob mentioned in his initial review.

Sony of course still recommends players to connect to home Wi-Fi networks to ensure optimal speeds as well as security; do keep in mind that public networks are notably less secure than your home connection, so remember to exercise caution if you're planning on taking your Portal out and about.

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• Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics announced, meaning that yes, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is finally free
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The June 18 Nintendo Direct took us all for a ride when Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics was announced during the 40-minutes presentation.

Like other Capcom compilations before it, Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics packs in seven legendary arcade titles, many of which are considered to be some of the best fighting games of all time, including X-Men vs. Street Fighter and Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes.

The collection features plenty of modern updates such as training modes, as well as full online play, sound tests and artwork galleries. Online play will feature rollback netcode, long considered the industry standard and more often than not leads to the smoothest possible online experience for fighting games. Ranked and casual matches, as well as custom lobbies, will all feature in the collection for each game.

The full list of games included in Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is as follows:

• X-Men: Children of the Atom
• Marvel Super Heroes
• X-Men vs. Street Fighter
• Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter
• Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes
• Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes
• The Punisher

The cream of the crop in this collection has to be Marvel vs. Capcom 2, a crossover fighter that features characters across several of each brands' franchises. This 3v3 team fighter has a legendary reputation and is still enjoyed by fighting game fans the world over to this day, even at big tournaments like EVO.

What makes this so special is that all games in this collection, up until now, have been impossible to play on modern hardware, with folks instead using programs like Fightcade to get their fix. Other versions of these games have come and gone, but have largely been delisted or are stuck on older consoles.

There's currently no concrete release date for the collection, but it's confirmed to be coming sometime this year across all consoles as well as PC. Marvel's back, baby.

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It's a great day to be a Nintendo Switch Online subscriber, as four highly-requested games are being added to the service "later today" as revealed at the June 18 Nintendo Direct.

Starting off, we have two Game Boy Advance games being added to the subscription service. The first is Metroid Zero Mission (perhaps foreshadowing the Nintendo Direct closing on Metroid Prime 4 Beyond's announcement). This is a fantastic remake of the NES original, fleshing out the world and providing an additional post-game campaign featuring Samus in her Zero Suit.

More importantly, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past's GBA port is also being added. This version is notable for including the original Four Swords game that was previously only playable with four copies of the game hooked up to a GBA link cable. Which basically means that in the modern day, it's practically impossible to play. Thankfully, NSO's online support should make teaming up with friends to experience this multiplayer Zelda title all the easier.

We're also getting two Nintendo 64 titles. The first is Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, an iconic N64 first-person shooter (FPS) notable in its day for its open-ended level design and gloriously creative weapons.

Lastly, the original Perfect Dark is being added to Nintendo Switch Online. The Rare-developed classic, much like Goldeneye 007, will support online play via the subscription service. Hopefully, this legendary title will also be able to run at a decent framerate as multiplayer on the original game is pretty hard to stomach by modern standards.

To access these new titles, you'll need to be on the Expansion Pack tier of Nintendo Switch Online, which is a little more expensive than the base version. However, these are some really solid additions that are definitely worth the extra cash.

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The release date for Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake has been revealed, alongside the announcement of Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake.

During the June 2024 Nintendo Direct showcase today, Nintendo finally confirmed that Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake will launch on November 14, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC 

What's more, the publisher also revealed Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake, which will arrive in 2025, and complete the "HD-2D" trilogy.

Fans were treated to a gorgeous new trailer where we got to see the game's unique three-dimensional art style, complete with 3D pixel-based backgrounds and 2D gameplay, courtesy of Square Enix. You can watch the trailer below.

Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake was first announced back in 2021, so a release date has been a long-time coming. The game is essentially a reimagining of the classic 1988 game and will make its multi-platform debut later this year.

Platforms for Dragon Quest 1 & 2 HD-2D Remake haven't been revealed just yet, but we'll likely see them on Nintendo Switch, as well as PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. It's also unclear at this time if both games will come bundled together or be sold separately. 

We also got a bunch of other game announcements during the latest Nintendo Direct, including the reveal of Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the first new entry in the series in almost nine years, which is set to release for Nintendo Switch on November 7, 2024.

A brand-new The Legend of Zelda title was also announced, called The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and will see Princess Zelda as the playable protagonist on a quest to save Link and Hyrule. Echoes of the Wisdom launches on Nintendo Switch on September 26, 2024.

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We can all collectively breathe a sigh of relief; Metroid Prime 4 is real, and its full title was revealed to be Metroid Prime 4 Beyond at the June 18 Nintendo Direct presentation.

A title reveal isn't all we got, either. The game has been confirmed for a 2025 release on Nintendo Switch, potentially eight years (eight!) since its initial reveal.

A segment of gameplay shows series protagonist Samus Aran descend to a planet in her spacecraft, before transitioning behind her visor, thus confirming the latest game in the Prime subseries is maintaining that first-person view. The game looks absolutely gorgeous, too, no doubt pushing the Switch to its limits while maintaining a 60fps framerate.

Samus battles her way through various Space Pirate enemies, showing off iconic series abilities such as her missiles, Morph Ball and Scan Visor. The 3D map is also seen, which seems to confirm the game will maintain the series' open-ended exploration.

Most interestingly, the trailer teases the return of Sylux, who debuted in Metroid Prime Hunters for the Nintendo DS and had a brief cameo in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption's ending. He's flanked by a pair of Metroids, suggesting he's been able to manifest their power against the Galactic Federation. With Dark Samus gone, it seems like Sylux is likely to fill that primary antagonist role.

Given Metroid Prime 4 Beyond's 2025 release date, there's a decent chance it could also make the jump to the Switch's successor, tentatively being referred to as the Nintendo Switch 2. Whether that will be as its own version or an enhanced port remains to be seen before Nintendo has shared any official details on the upcoming console.

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A new The Legend of Zelda title has been announced during the June 18 Nintendo Direct.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom instead features Princess Zelda as the protagonist on a quest to save Link and Hyrule's denizens from a mysterious void that's swallowing them up.

On her quest, she'll meet a fairy named Tri, who entrusts a device known as the Trirod to the princess. With it, she can capture the element of objects in the world, and then recreate them at will. The initial trailer showcased Zelda recreating tables, beds, water blocks and even other enemies to help fight at her side.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is coming to Nintendo Switch on September 26, 2024. A special edition Nintendo Switch Lite, known as the Hyrule Edition, will also be launching alongside the game.

This story is developing, more information is to come...

Mario & Luigi: Brothership has been announced, and it's coming to Nintendo Switch on November 7, 2024.

Revealed today during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct showcase, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the first new entry in the series in almost nine years and sees the iconic brothers return in an all-new platforming adventure.

This announcement arrived alongside an action-packed gameplay trailer, which you can watch below, where we see the duo overcome both side-scrolling and vertical challenges as they explore a number of islands.

Nintendo executive Shinya Takahashi was also present during the broadcast to share more details about this "seafaring adventure", which will include "evolved bros moves" between Mario and Luigi.

This story is developing. Stay tuned for further updates.

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FromSoftware president and Elden Ring creator Hidetaka Miyazaki has said he's still looking to make his "ideal" fantasy role-playing game.

Speaking in a recent interview with PC Gamer, Miyazaki explained that despite the game's critical success, Elden Ring, nor any other Soulsborne game, has yet to achieve his vision of the fantasy RPG he's always wanted to create.

"Back when doing interviews about Elden Ring, I think I mentioned that I'm still in the process of making my ideal fantasy RPG," Miyazaki said. "And while Elden Ring is not quite it, it's pretty close. It's getting close."

When prompted to expand on what his "ideal" RPG would look like, Miyazaki couldn't offer any specific design details, but that it also comes down to already knowing what's going to occur in the game.

"It's hard to say without giving spoilers for my next idea or our next games," he said. "But I think one thing that's not necessarily missing, but makes it difficult to achieve my ideal, is that when I play it, I know everything's going to happen. I already know everything that's going on. 

"So in terms of enjoying the game from a player's perspective, I'd love to not know that, and for somebody else to make my ideal fantasy game, please, if possible. Then I can enjoy it just as a player."

FromSoftware is preparing for the launch of Elden Ring's first and only expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. The downloadable content (DLC) drops later this week and is confirmed to be the "largest expansion to date" and will include all-new weapons, equipment, skills, and magic, along with new boss encounters that can be discovered in a brand-new map.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launches on June 21 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. 

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It seems Baldur's Gate 3 mod support will be the final major update as Larian Studios looks to move on to other projects.

During BAFTA's An Evening with Baldur's Gate 3 event, Larian CEO Swen Vincke explained that while the development of the mod support feature hasn't yet finished and that it's been "hard trying to make that work", he and the team "really want to move forward and do new things" (via Eurogamer).

"One of the big things for us, and the one that we're really working towards now, is the ability for players to mod [Baldur's Gate 3] themselves, because then they will be able to make their own things," said Vincke. "And I think that will be the point where we're going to say 'ok, now it's yours fully'."

The final major update should arrive in September, but Vincke confirmed that the patch won't mean the end of technical support for the role-playing game, saying players "will see the level of support diminished to really critical bug fixes" and for now "we're still working as if the game was just out".

"We're working on our new thing, we're super excited about the new games," he continued. "We're creative spirits also. We don't want to keep on doing the same thing; we really want to move forward and do new things."

The official mod toolkit was confirmed to be in the works back in April and will essentially allow players creative freedom over the game, letting them change the game's visuals, animations, stats, and more.

The toolkit's closed alpha stage began on June 3, allowing players to aid Larian in its development, with a further closed beta set for July that will be capped at around 1,000 players that anyone on PC can sign up for.

The studio has also confirmed that it's still hard at work on the long-awaited in-game photo mode and crossplay, however, there's still no estimated release date for these features just yet. 

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Paradox Interactive has officially canceled its Sims-like life simulation game, Life by You.

The announcement comes from Paradox deputy CEO Mattias Lilja, who said that the decision to cancel its long-awaited game was "an incredibly difficult call to make and is a clear failure on Paradox’s part to meet both our own and the community's expectations."

Life by You was first announced in May 2023 and an early access release was planned to release in September the same year. The launch was later delayed to May 2024, before Paradox announced in February that it had delayed it once again to June 4. 

With only two weeks before release, however, the developer delayed it once again but didn't provide a release date.

Lilja explained in the announcement post that each delay Paradox made allowed the team to see "incremental improvements" but in hindsight, "may well have led us to focus on details rather than the whole picture.

"A few weeks back, we decided to hold off on an Early Access release in order to re-evaluate Life by You, as we still felt that the game was lacking in some key areas," the CEO continued. "Though a time extension was an option, once we took that pause to get a wider view of the game, it became clear to us that the road leading to a release that we felt confident about was far too long and uncertain. 

"This is not to say the game has not shown any promising qualities; Life by You had a number of strengths and the hard work of a dedicated team that went into realizing them. However, when we come to a point where we believe that more time will not get us close enough to a version we would be satisfied with, then we believe it is better to stop. This is obviously tough and disappointing for everyone who poured their time and enthusiasm into this project, especially when our decision comes so late in the process."

Lilja didn't offer any details on the problems the team faced, but added that "games are difficult to make" and there's no guarantee the team won't find itself in this position again.

"We have to take a long and hard look at what led us here and see what changes we have to make to become better," Lilja said. "In the end, our mission remains the same, and we’ll continue to take whatever steps we need to do just that."

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BioWare has confirmed Dragon Age: The Veilguard takes place 10 years after its predecessor Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Confirmation comes from a recent Discord Q&A session shared by Shinobi602 on X / Twitter (via Eurogamer) wherein BioWare revealed a ton of details about its upcoming fantasy role-playing game.

Among the tidbits, it was revealed that The Veilguard will be set a decade after Inquisition, and that the 2014 game's playable protagonist, the Inquisitor, will "definitely be part of the story". 

Following its extended gameplay demo reveal at Summer Game Fest 2024, game director Corinne Busche confirmed that the new locations players will be able to explore in The Veilguard are more linear than those in Inquisition and that it will not be open-world, but "mission-based".

"Everything is hand-touched, hand-crafted, very highly curated," Busche said. "We believe that's how we get the best narrative experience, the best moment-to-moment experience. 

"However, along the way, these levels that we go to do open up, some of them have more exploration than others. Alternate branching paths, mysteries, secrets, optional content you're going to find and solve. So it does open up, but it is a mission-based, highly curated game."

In the Q&A, it was clarified that players will be able to return to these story locations later on and complete side content, such as quests, and freely explore anything they might miss. Once again, the developers said that these quests are "handcrafted and story focused" and won't be fetch quests.

Thankfully, there is no progression block in The Veilguard either, unlike in Inquisition, where the player was forced to scale their power to certain areas. 

Dragon Age: The Veilguard doesn't have a release date just yet, but it's expected to launch on PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC in "late 2024".

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Final Fantasy 14 Online director and producer Naoki Yoshida has said he'd like anybody to be able to play the popular massively-multiplayer-online-role-playing-game (MMORPG) "regardless of device," including the tentatively named Switch successor, Nintendo Switch 2.

As reported by GamesRadar, Yoshida said as much to YouTube outlet Easy Allies in their interview with him at the Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail media tour preview event. As is common for the director, when posed the question of a potential Switch successor release for the MMORPG, he gave a more well-rounded answer.

Yoshida stated that his "dream or goal for more than 10 years at this point is for players to be able to play Final Fantasy 14 regardless of device." He points to the game's recent Xbox Series X|S launch as an example of that, though he stresses that was a very long process.

"Of course, we would love to have our title available on the Nintendo platform and we do want to continue our efforts on it," he adds, "but it did take a lot of time with Xbox."

Still, Yoshida remains optimistic about Final Fantasy 14 eventually reaching the next Nintendo console. "We will try our best," he says, "and continue to work hard at it and continue our efforts."

There's much appeal to being able to play Final Fantasy 14 on a portable device away from the TV or a gaming monitor. And while we've seen this with the MMO's compatibility with Steam Deck, it's worth stressing that Final Fantasy 14 is an incredibly demanding game thanks to the abundance of players on-screen at any given time, as well as the need for a stable online connection.

The Nintendo Switch 2, then, will need to be significantly more powerful in the specs department when compared to its predecessor. And while we are expecting the succeeding console to be a notable upgrade, whether that'll be enough for the gargantuan MMO remains to be seen.

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