Sony unveils smaller, redesigned PS5 models — and a price hike

It’s not an official theme or anything, but this week’s TV is all about fighting. There’s the two sides of superhero coming-of-age stories on Prime Video alone: the season finale of Gen V and the season premiere of Invincible. Over on Netflix there’s Blue Eye Samurai, a new show about one woman’s quest for revenge in Edo-era Japan, while on Paramount Plus the new Taylor Sheridan-produced show about Bass Reeves (David Oyelowo) is sure to bring on some Wild West violence. Throw in Love Island Games, and it seems like no matter which platform you turn to, you’re gonna get some clashes.

2023 has been a year of price increases in the games industry, and we’ve got another one of those cases on our hands. Microsoft has announced a price hike for the original Xbox Series S model in Brazil, and it’s quite a significant one.

The price of Fortnite V-Bucks and some other real money Fortnite content packs will be increasing today in some regions.

It may sound very traditional, but Tinder thinks there is some value to be had by those looking for a date to get recommendations from friends and family. Yes, Tinder has just rolled out a feature that will allow your pals and kin to actually recommend someone they think can be a suitable date or partner for you. Will it work? The logic being that since your friends and family know you best, they are eminently qualified to find a suitable match for you. If nothing else, they certainly passed the friend test and now it is up to you to prove them right, or wrong!

By Nathan Edwards, a senior reviews editor who's been testing tech since 2007. Previously at Wirecutter and MaximumPC. Current fixations: keyboards, DIY tech, and the smart home.

NIS America has released a demo for action RPG CRYMACHINA for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Switch in the west. Save data from the demo can be transferred to the full game upon its release.

World of Warships   is celebrating Halloween and collaborating with fantasy strategy title Heroes of Might and Magic III. Expect six  new themed commanders with voiceovers, a special map, and a special DLC bundle. Aside from the collaboration, the Halloween themed update introduces an updated operation, several new Japanese battleships, and much more on the way.

D3 Publisher will release Earth Defense Force 6 for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam in spring 2024, followed by Epic Games Store shortly after, the company announced.

Sony has announced that PS5 cloud streaming for PlayStation Plus Premium goes live on October 17th in Japan, October 23rd in Europe and October 30th in North America. There will be several titles from the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog to stream, with “hundreds” of PS5 titles to support the same later.

Two months after PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers began receiving invites to a PlayStation 5 cloud streaming beta, Sony has announced the feature will be getting its full launch on on 23rd October in Europe and 30th October in the US.

By Jay Peters, a news editor who writes about technology, video games, and virtual worlds. He’s submitted several accepted emoji proposals to the Unicode Consortium.

PlayStation 5 cloud streaming for PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers will launch on October 17 in Japan, October 23 in Europe, and October 30 in North America, allowing users to play PlayStation 5 games without having to download them, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced.