In another timeline, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run would've hit U.S. theaters on May 22. But then, 2020 happened. SpongeBob saw its theatrical premiere pushed back to August and limited to Canada. Now, SpongeBob's first all-CGI adventure is finally heading to streaming--everywhere but here in the United States, where it will finally arrive in early 2021. Oh, and it won't show up on Netflix even then.After ViacomCBS rescheduled and re-rescheduled the theatrical debut of SpongeBob's third movie, the studio finally was forced to cancel it entirely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the studio announced that the movie would head for streaming services. Netflix picked up international distribution rights for the movie. If you have friends in the UK, Japan, or any other country where Netflix operates, they can already watch Sponge on the Run.Here in the U.S., though, ViacomCBS is in charge of distributing the Paramount Animation-produced flick. The company plans to put SpongeBob on premium video-on-demand services in early 2021. Once the movie's PVOD period ends, it'll move to CBS All Access, recently rebranded as Paramount+.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Nintendo has updated their top 10 all-time Switch sellers list after releasing their Switch sales figures, and there's some amazing numbers in there. Animal Crossing: New Horizons continues to have a blistering first year after six months on sale, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is still selling well, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has become the system's third 20-million seller.Animal Crossing: New Horizons is up to 26.04 million sales, up from 22.4 million units last quarter. At that time, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was on 26.7 million sales, and you might expect the gap to have narrowed significantly--but the kart racer also sold incredibly this quarter, jumping to 28.99 million units. The 2017 Switch port of a 2014 Wii U title (which was also that system's highest seller, at 8.45 million units) continues to be a huge success.There are no new entries from last quarter, although Super Mario 3D All-Stars got off to such a strong start (5.21 million sales in two weeks) that we could see it overtake New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe in the future.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Some next-generation games, including NBA 2K21 and the Demon's Souls remake, carry a price tag of $10 USD above current-gen pricing. $70 USD could become the norm for next-gen, and now one of gaming's biggest publishers has weighed in on the possibility of higher prices.EA CFO Blake Jorgensen said during an earnings call that it's premature to discuss price increases, but he noted that games are becoming richer experiences that cost more money to make."We've always said games are getting more expensive. The experience is getting deeper. The time that people are playing games is getting longer. One might argue that that might require a higher price point over time, but we'll address that as we get closer to more games coming into the next-gen console transition," Jorgensen said.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Nintendo Switch continues to gain momentum, according to Nintendo's Q2 financial report for the fiscal year 2020/2021. The company's new investor relations information for the quarter has launched, and it has revealed some huge sales figures.The Switch has now sold 68.30 million units, making it the second highest-selling Nintendo home console ever. This quarter, which stretches from July 1-September 30, saw 6.86 million Switch units sold around the world, judging by their previous report (thanks, Vooks). The Switch Lite makes up 10.36 million of those sales, meaning that the hybrid system remains the most popular.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Dirt 5 is a very different game to the previous three entries in Codemasters' off-road racing series. Dirt Rally and its sequel spun the series off in a simulation-based direction, appealing to rally purists with its authentic approach, uncompromising difficulty, and steep learning curve. Dirt 4 followed suit with another smattering of point-to-point rally races, but crucially made the experience accessible for casual racing fans by introducing a more forgiving handling model. With a third Dirt Rally already in development, Codemasters is looking to diversify the series' mainline entries by returning to the arcade spectacle and histrionics of Dirt's early years with Dirt 5.This much is clear from the outset, as Dirt 5 latches onto the same jovial festival vibes that permeated throughout Dirt 2--complete with a customizable lanyard, vibrant colors, and an upbeat soundtrack. The career mode takes you on a globetrotting adventure that encompasses a variety of different racing disciplines, but there's no sign of any co-drivers relaying pacenotes, nor are there any traditional point-to-point rally events. Dirt 5 distances itself from the series' recent past by being an unabashed arcade racer that's made up of short, action-packed skirmishes where you're constantly trading paint with a pack of other drivers. There's an infectious energy to the whole thing that's reflected in a handling model that sees you hurl its cars around the track with relative ease.Dirt 5 played on PCDirt 4 may have featured a driving school that provided lessons on weight transfer and how to execute pendulum shifts, but Dirt 5 renders that knowledge unnecessary. Getting around most corners is as simple as slowing down before pulling on the handbrake to lurch your car sideways and drift around each mud-swept turn. There's not a lot more to it than that, trading any meaningful depth for approachability that veers too far toward simplicity. Collisions are tame, especially when combined with a listless damage system, and the physics model often throws up some oddities whenever a car goes airborne. This isn't enough to sap the fun out of the experience, but there's always a nagging feeling that Dirt 5 isn't extracting the most out of these vehicles. Any rip-roaring moments are weighed against others that are just a tad dull due to its facile and uninspired handling. As such, the plethora of tracks, and their diverse weather systems, gain added importance throughout Dirt 5's career mode.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

If you're looking for something new to play on PS4, there are some excellent deals at the PlayStation Store right now, including the first discounts on Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and Spelunky 2. PSN is also hosting a new sale dubbed "Planet of the Discounts," which features great deals on games such as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Red Dead Redemption 2.Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time released in September to critical acclaim. The platforming game earned an 8/10 in GameSpot's Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time review, with critic Mike Epstein praising the inventive level design, environments, and surplus of content. You can snag it for $45 until November 12.The Planet of the Discounts sale is live until November 21, so you have a couple of weeks to shop the deals. Spelunky 2 has received a modest 20% discount, dropping the price to $16. The long-awaited roguelike platforming sequel earned an 8/10 in GameSpot's Spelunky 2 review.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Yakuza: Like a Dragon is out next week, bringing with it a brand-new protagonist in the form of Kasuga Ichiban. Reviews have gone live for Sega and RGG Studio's new franchise entry, which swaps the bare-knuckle brawling of previous games for turn-based action and strategy.Reviews have so far praised the change of pace and Ichiban, with many critics agreeing that the new face of the story-driven series is an absolute delight and ready to forge a legend on par with the Dragon of Dojima.In GameSpot's Yakuza: Like a Dragon review, we scored it a 9/10. Critic Michael Higham said that the game "is a passing of the torch, and a fantastic entry in a beloved franchise that proves that it's in good hands with Kasuga Ichiban."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The PlayStation 5 launches in just over a week on November 12, but Sony still hasn't concretely stated just how much of the SSD will be available for you to install games on. According to at least one leak of the system information from a PS5, it's going to be just over 650GB.The PS5 ships with a custom 825GB SSD, but not all of that will be free for game installations. The console's operating system needs some of that space from the get-go. That's why a screenshot from a video showing the PS5's system menu, shared by noted leaker Okami13 and reported by GamesRadar, displays 648GB free out of a total 667Gb available, which could include the space required for the free Astro's Playroom install.In case you needed any more confirmation - the #PS5 review kits have 667 GB of storage. Looks like that's with Astro's Playroom installed.https://t.co/jccCoosOkm pic.twitter.com/XgwfmiWThy — Okami (@Okami13_) November 3, 2020That's less than the Xbox Series X, but that was always likely to be the case considering the PS5's smaller SSD overall. The Xbox Series X ships with a 1TB SSD, with its operating system reducing available storage down to 802GB. That means the PS5's OS is slightly more efficient when it comes to space required, but still doesn't leave you with a lot of room for large game installations.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

What better way to get your mind off the still-pending election than with some early holiday shopping? Prop Store, an expansive operation based in London and Los Angeles whose focus is right there in its name, has announced it will be hosting another auction of entertainment memorabilia across December 1 and 2. The shop has "over 25,000 combined square feet of archived props and costumes," meaning the upcoming auction's 912 lots spanning two days will likely have something for everyone who is looking to buy--and also willing to spend. Information on bidding, registering for phone bidding, or registering for absentee bidding can be found on Prop Store's website.The catalog for items is available both as a physical print book to purchase for $50 or as a PDF that can be freely viewed now. But if $50 makes you balk, this auction may be too rich for your blood. Also note that as the auction is taking place out of the London outpost, prices will be in pounds, which--in addition to shipping to the US--means prices in North America will be a bit higher.Just flipping around the 254-page catalog, the highest priced items look to be things that could either finish very specific collections or get you started on amassing conversation pieces: Obi-Wan Kenobi's lightsaber from Revenge of the Sith is on the docket, starting at £40,000/$52,000 USD (estimated to climb to £120,000/$155,000 USD); there's an Alien 3 xenomorph warrior in complete costume for £25,000 (expected to climb to £70,000); and there's also Neo's complete costume from The Matrix Reloaded for £20,000 (expected to climb to £60,000). If you're the patient type, you could scoop up Neo's costume, and then wear it while playing Cyberpunk 2077 on a console?Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Aside from the usual monthly giveaways via PlayStation Plus, Xbox Live Gold, and Prime Gaming, we're not seeing as many free game offers as we were earlier this year, when developers were giving away their games to provide free entertainment for those stuck inside. But you can still find some nice freebies from time to time, and the latest is a great strategy and resource management game from 2015: Kingdom. In honor of the series' five-year anniversary, publisher Raw Fury is giving away Kingdom for free on Steam until this Friday, November 6, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. If you miss this deadline, you can also claim the game via Humble Bundle, which is giving away Kingdom Steam keys for free until Monday, November 9. To get the game at Humble, you have to be signed up for its newsletter. Get Kingdom for free on Steam Steam is giving away the classic version of Kingdom, which was later reworked and re-released with new content as Kingdom: New Lands in 2016. Kingdom is a 2D side-scrolling game where you play as a king or queen on horseback, moving left or right through the world as you build up your kingdom by enlisting people to join you, gathering resources, and building defenses against the creatures that threaten your land at night. Though GameSpot hasn't reviewed Kingdom: Classic, it currently has over 13,000 Very Positive reviews on Steam, so it'll be worth grabbing while it's free and checking out.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The hard drive space of consoles has become a hot-button issue for gamers over the last few years, as the size of games and updates has ballooned into the hundreds of gigabytes. For those who expect to pick up the Xbox Series S in a couple of days, a leaker has revealed some potentially upsetting news: the console only has 364 GB of usable space.That represents about 73% of the console's 500 GB solid-state drive, which is around the usual fraction of usable space for consoles. However, since the size of popular games like Call of Duty: Warzone can be over 100 GB--with patches that come in at dozens of gigabytes--that means that most players will have to be very judicious about what games they keep on hand. The Xbox Series X will ship with a 1 TB SSD, with 802 GB in the way of usable space.Microsoft has developed some features to help with the limited space. For one, players can store games on an external hard drive, and backward compatible games can be played directly from that drive. For another, games can be 30% smaller on the Xbox Series S by targeting 1440p instead of 4K.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Developer Motive Studios has dropped a massive update for Star Wars: Squadrons for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Update 2.0 makes a bevy of changes, such as adjusting controls, tweaking Fleet Battles, and fixing starfighters. The full patch notes are outlined below.One of the biggest changes to Squadrons with Update 2.0 is in Fleet Battles. The morale value earned from destroying AI starfighters has been reduced to 1 on attack and 4 on defense. Capital ship turrets are more responsive at tracking, while flagship turrets are more aggressive. There are also a ton of fixes for Fleet Battles, including issues with missing holograms in the briefing room, players scoring negative skill ratings, and flagships rotating unexpectedly.Controls in Squadrons have been adjusted in the update, too. Diagonal thumbstick movement should be more responsive when using the Aviator control scheme or certain custom mappings. Simultaneous inputs, like yaw left and yaw right, should register correctly. And HOTAS joystick users on PS4 should see reduced latency after launching from the hanger.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Season 7 of Apex Legends launches at 8 PM PT / 11 PM ET tonight, and it brings a wave of new features to the game. The latest trailer for the season focuses on the changes it's bringing to the game's battle pass, which includes simplifying the math of the challenge system from points to stars, as well as the addition of an in-match challenge tracker. As usual, the season will also add a variety of cosmetic content, including new music packs, gun charms, and skydive emotes. Several fans have expressed frustration with the late launch time on social media.Apex Legends Season 7 – Ascension brings a new Battle Pass brimming with high-class rewards. Start earning them for yourself when Season 7 begins later today, Nov 4, at 8pm PT! pic.twitter.com/CXaeGy0V83 — Apex Legends (@PlayApex) November 4, 2020As previously revealed by trailers and the season's patch notes, this season adds a new Legend to the game: the gravity-defying scientist Horizon. Players can climb, slide, and shoot their way through Horizon's former home, the floating city of Olympus, which also includes a new hover car called the Trident. The new season will also add social clubs to the game, and it will make a few adjustments to the loot pool, like the restoration of the R-99 to the general rotation.Some of the most consequential changes that the season brings are in the form of character adjustments. For example, Mirage's decoys now have a bit of health, Pathfinder's hitbox has been significantly expanded, and Octane's passive heal has doubled in speed. For more info on Horizon's verticality-oriented kit, check out our interview with Apex Legends game director Chad Grenier.Info from Gamespot.com

Normally, New Releases highlights five big games in every episode, but that would be a real disservice this time, considering the imminent launches of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The next generation of consoles kicks off with heavy hitters like Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Dirt 5, Bugsnax, Demon's Souls, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and Godfall. Just after the launches comes Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. And since we can't leave Nintendo out, this episode also takes a look at Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. Here are the top video game releases on all the major platforms this month.Assassin's Creed Valhalla -- November 10 (PS4, Xbox One, Series X/S, PC, Stadia) / November 12 (PS5)Available on: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X/S, PC, StadiaThe next entry in the Assassin's Creed saga is set in the Viking era. As tribe leader Eivor, you'll lead your people in raids across the isle of Great Britain. You'll pillage villages, build your own encampment, and even dip back into social stealth. Expect more info on the mysterious Hidden Ones too.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

We're only a few days away from the launch of the Xbox Series X and Series S, and Microsoft has indicated that many of the platform's most-popular games will receive a boost to performance on the new consoles. Rare's pirate adventure Sea of Thieves is no exception. One of Microsoft's most successful exclusive, the game will receive significant improvements on both the Xbox Series X and Series S.Excited about setting sail on Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S? These are the key optimisations for your next-gen Sea of Thieves experience, so get set to enjoy some silky-smooth skelly smashing:⏱️ Improved load times⬛ 4K, 60FPS on Xbox Series X⬜ 1080p, 60FPS on Xbox Series S pic.twitter.com/RESsON2uxZ — Sea of Thieves (@SeaOfThieves) November 4, 2020According to the above tweet, both the Series X and Series S will offer improved load times and 60 frames per second. However, the Series X will target 4K, whereas the Series S will run at 1080p.This is in line with the improvements that have previously been revealed for other notable games. For example, Fortnite will support 4K and 60 FPS on the Xbox Series X, and 1080p and 60 FPS on the Series S. The developer behind Halo: The Master Chief Collection has also announced similar gains, with 120 FPS 4K on Series X and 1080p on Series S. However, the update will not arrive until November 17, so players will need to be a bit patient.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com