PlayStation Network Announces Compensation for Christmas Downtime January 1, 2015

Online services for the PlayStation Network were down for most of the Christmas break, preventing paying customers from using online services on their consoles. Today, Sony has announced how the users that were affected by that downtime will be compensated.

All active PlayStation Plus users will be comped an extra five days of playtime automatically on their accounts. Also they announced that they will be offering a 10% discount on the PlayStation Store pretty soon, and more details on that will be posted soon. If you want to read the full details you can go here.

If you ask me, this is nothing in comparison to what Microsoft has offered Xbox One owners suffering from issues with Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s multiplayer.

Pokemon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire Released on Wii U January 1, 2015

Happy New Year, gamers! I hope you are all enjoying the day however you choose to spend it.

Nintendo has decided to spend the day updating their catalog of downloadable titles on the Nintendo Wii U’s eShop. Today, they’ve rereleased the fan favorite Game Boy Advance title Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire to the Wii U Virtual Console, and you can buy it right now.

This game is loved by both pinball fans and Pokémon trainers alike. It was considered by fans to be an improvement over the original Pokémon Pinball title, a game which sadly, hasn’t hit the 3DS Virtual Console yet.

Yes, it can be played exclusively on the Wii U controller. Take a look for yourselves.

Pokémon Pinball: Ruby and Sapphire is out now on the Wii U eShop.

Halo 5: Guardians Beta Preloading Has Started December 28, 2014

Owners of Halo: The Master Chief Collection on the Xbox One itching to play Halo 5: Guardians early can start putting their consoles to work right now as 343 Industries has started allowing players to preload the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer beta a day before the beta is scheduled to go live.

If you own a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection, you can start preloading the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta from the game’s Extras menu. You’ll notice the option for Halo 5 MP is no longer inactive. By selecting it, the Halo Channel app will activate and play an all new cutscene made specifically for Halo 2: Anniversary featuring Spartan Locke and The Arbiter. Once it finishes, you will be automatically redirected to the Xbox Store, where you can download the Beta client completely free of charge. If you really liked the cutscene between Locke and Arbiter and want to watch it again do not worry, the video is located in the Halo 2 Cutscenes viewer on the Halo Channel, and owners of The Master Chief Collection can rewatch the scene as much as they like from that menu.

You must have the most recent Content Update for your game installed to download the Halo 5 Multiplayer Client, but if you already have it installed you will not need to install any new system update just to download the beta. The Halo 5 beta client clocks in at just over 10GB. Current Beta players who got access to the multiplayer test early will find themselves downloading an 8GB Content Update starting today to bring their version of the beta in line with the version that Halo: The Master Chief Collection players are getting.

Just remember this is only a preload and even after it finishes downloading it will not be playable until the beta goes live tomorrow. I’ll try to keep you guys posted when it goes fully online, and will try to provide game footage for New Year’s Eve.

UPDATE: Beta is live! Go play!

The Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta is scheduled to run between December 29th and January 19th.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively for the Xbox One.

Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Special Demo Version Released December 27, 2014

Pokémon Trainers everywhere, now hear this. I’m sure many of you are enjoying your new copies of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, but I’m going to ask you to put your games on pause for just a few moments. The special demo for Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire has been released as a free download to all 3DS and 2DS players right now on the Nintendo eShop. Previously, this demo could only be played by selected Pokémon Trainers who obtained a download code. Now, everyone with an Internet connection will be able to download it to their new Nintendo handheld.

The special demo serves as a prequel to the main games’ story and covers events not found in the full retail title. Since the demo has lots of battles, it’ll give those who may not be familiar with how to play a Pokémon game a taste of gameplay.

The demo includes a lot of secret bonus items, including a mega evolution capable exclusive Pokémon, that you can transfer to the main game. Unlike other Nintendo demos, there is no limit to how many times you can play this demo. That is really good, since the demo gives you a new experience every time you play.

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire are out now on the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS.

Naughty Dog’s 30th Anniversary Documentary December 26, 2014

Many of you may remember game developer Naughty Dog from the Playstation 3 hits Uncharted and The Last of Us, but the studio has been making games for the past thirty years on tons of different game platforms.

If you’re like me and just can’t wait for the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, hopefully this will hold you over for a little bit longer.

Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is coming exclusively to the Playstation 4.

Halo Community Feedback Program Now Taking Sign Ups December 24, 2014

343 Industries is calling all Halo fans to participate in a Community Feedback program which they say will help them shape the future of the Halo franchise.

It’s always nice when a game developer request direct feedback from the online community like this. Bungie has been doing it for years, Sony did it back when they had the Gamer Advisory Panel, but this is the first time that I’ve seen 343 Industries do this.

If you are 18 years of age or older and live in the United States with a valid email address and Xbox Live GamerTag, you can sign up here.

Right now the immediate plan is to use the program to assist them in the Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta test, but the possibilities are limitless for what they plan to do in the future. There is no minimum amount of time required to be a part of the service, Microsoft says that you can quit at any point.

The Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta officially starts December 29, 2014 for all Xbox One owners with a copy of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Halo 4 Spartan Ops Cooperative Campaign Added to Halo: The Master Chief Collection December 22, 2014

A new content update was sent out to users of Halo: The Master Chief Collection this afternoon. The update adds, among many other bug fixes and stability improvements, the entire ten part Spartan Ops cooperative campaign from Halo 4.

You can read all the information about the content update here.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively on Xbox One.

343 Industries Announces Halo 3: ODST is Coming to Halo: The Master Chief Collection December 20, 2014

A major apology was posted to the Internet this evening on behalf of 343 Industries and Microsoft for continued issues with Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

However unlike the previous apologies we have heard before which contained plans and promises, this apology included information on what kinds of compensation players who have been having issues with the game will be getting. You might want to sit down, because I have a lot to reveal.

Compensated players include anyone who has purchased and played the game on their Xbox One between its release date and December 19th, 2014. So if you’re someone who has been frustrated by the issues you’ve been having with the game because you’ve been trying to play it in any way, you will be covered by this.

First off, the game will continue to be serviced by 343 Industries, and further Content Updates should be expected, tackling a range of continued issues with the game, in both single and multiplayer. By next week, all ten episodes of Halo 4‘s Spartan Ops cooperative campaign will be added to Halo: The Master Chief collection in the form of a free update.

Also, 343 Industries have announced that they are remaking the classic Halo 2 multiplayer map “Relic” for Halo 2 Anniversary multiplayer. The updated map will be running in 1080p at 60 frames per second and will be coming in the form of a free content update some time in the future.

The Spartan Ops episodes will be available to all Master Chief Collection players. If you’re interested in learning what new game content will be coming to compensate affected players, keep reading. Anyone who purchased and played Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be getting a free month of Xbox Live service, as well as an exclusive nameplate and in-game avatar.

Sounds like a lot, but if you’ve read the article’s headline you know that isn’t all that will be coming to the game. The fans have spoken out that they wanted Halo 3: ODST on the Xbox One and 343 Industries has listened, Halo 3: ODST, originally released in 2009 by Bungie, is being added as a digital download for The Master Chief Collection and it will be playable in native 1080p at 60 frames per second.

The Halo 3: ODST campaign will require a download code for access. Codes will be distributed to eligible players when the content is released however no information has been made available yet on how the codes for any of this promised content will be distributed.

You can read all the details about this enormous amount of information here. If you have any specific questions, here’s the official FAQ.

My cousin Vinny (yes I actually have a cousin named Vinny) would like to know if they’re planning to bring Halo: Reach to the Xbox One next.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is out now exclusively on Xbox One.

Final Fantasy XV Jump Fiesta 2015 Trailer December 20, 2014

Since TGS, a lot of gamers have been looking forward to seeing more from the next numbered title in the Final Fantasy franchise, Final Fantasy XV and to celebrate the opening of Jump Fiesta, Square Enix released the newest trailer from the game.

Final Fantasy XV is coming in 2015 to Xbox One and PS4.

Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta Documentary – The Sprint December 18, 2014

The guys at 343 Industries are continuing to plug away as they plan to launch the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta Test later this month. Halo 5 is bringing some entirely new gameplay features to the table which Halo players have not used before.

In the meantime, 343 Industries has produced a new documentary series detailing the development of the game’s multiplayer beta. Here’s the trailer.

As I write this, Episode 1 of this series is on the Halo Channel ready to watch. If you’re interested in checking out this series, fire up your Xbox One and give it a look.

Halo 5: Guardians is coming in 2015 exclusively on Xbox One.