Sony just made it decidedly easier to find games that accommodate people with disabilities. As of this week, the company is rolling out accessibility tags on the PlayStation Store for PS5 users. Press the triangle button when looking at game's hub and you'll see whether a title has features to support those with visual, audio and motor needs. You'll know if a game has alternative colors, a screen reader or controller adjustments, for instance.

The tags will be generally available this week. Most of the initial support revolves around marquee games like Death Stranding Director's Cut, God of War Ragnarök and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Sony says it's working with a "wide range of developers" to deploy tags going forward, so you can expect to see them from smaller studios.

The option comes roughly a year and a half after Microsoft unveiled similar tags for Xbox gamers. Not that PlayStation developers have been waiting for Sony to act. The Last of Us creator Naughty Dog has made a point of prioritizing accessibility in its games, such as a feature that plays dialogue through the PS5's DualSense controller as haptic feedback. In that regard, the store upgrade helps expose and promote these efforts.

Sony hasn't been standing still. The firm is developing an accessible PS5 controller that, like Microsoft's Xbox Adaptive Controller, helps people with limited motor control play games that might otherwise be unusable. The tags are just part of a broader strategy to make gaming viable for many more people — provided they can find a PS5 in the first place, of course.

The Nintendo eShop for the Wii U and 3DS game consoles officially closed for business on March 27th, 2023, permanently disabling all new purchases on the platforms. We knew this was coming. Nintendo quietly announced the eShop's closure over a year ago, asserting that it was the "natural life cycle for any product line as it becomes less used by consumers over time." That's true. It's even a reasonable business justification. That doesn't make it any less of a loss for Nintendo fans, because legally playing some of these console’s best games is now not only harder, but in some cases, nearly impossible.

The time to argue that Nintendo should keep this aging digital storefront open has long since passed (though yes, they should have). The eShop is closed, but it's worth reflecting on what consumers are losing with it: one of the last affordable, convenient and legal options for buying a vast library of games. And not just Nintendo's retro library of "Virtual Console" titles from its classic era, either. Between the 3DS and Wii U eShop's closure, consumers have lost easy access to modern and classic games from a dozen platforms — from more recent systems like the Wii U and 3DS, to the original Wii, the DS and DSi, three flavors of Game Boy handhelds (Advance, Color and original), the Sega Game Gear, the TurboGraphix-16, as well as the Nintendo 64, Super Nintendo and original Nintendo Entertainment System. Losing these libraries now is especially painful, as it's becoming harder than ever to find and play older games.

It used to be easy. Unless you were looking for something rare, building a modest library of classic and recent games was fun and affordable. Recently, that changed. Prices for used games shot up dramatically since March of 2020 — a 2021 analysis from Pricecharting.com found that retro game prices shot up 33% in just a year — and prices have remained high. To make matters worse, the retro market has also been flooded with bootleg cartridges, which often aren't properly labeled as reproductions.

Digital storefronts like the Nintendo eShop offered an affordable alternative. Let's say you wanted to play Metroid Prime, for example. You could pick up Metroid Prime Remastered on the Nintendo Switch for $40 and enjoy the updated visuals and new features, but if you wanted to play the other two games in the series, you'd have to find a copy of Metroid Prime Trilogy for the Wii. According to PriceCharting.com, that'll set you back between $80 and $90 — $117 if you want it in the original case. The Wii U eShop, on the other hand, sold a digital copy for just $19.99.

There are countless similar examples. Game & Wario sells for between $30 and $80 on eBay, but it could have been had for $30 on the eShop. The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker HD, which still hasn't been ported to the Switch, goes for between $30 and $100 used — but the eShop let you play it for just $20. If you are itching to play the 3DS versions of Dragon Quest VII and VIII, you'd have to pay in the ballpark of $100 each on the secondhand market, but the 3DS eShop sold them for $49.99, their original retail price.

The eShop was also home to a lot of exclusives we may never see again, like Pushmo, Attack of the Friday Monsters, Dr. Luigi and more. All gone, now that consumers no longer have convenient, legal access to the eShop’s library. In the past, Nintendo has pointed to the Nintendo Switch Online subscription as the future home for classic games, but the service's current offerings are a paltry sampling of was available before. Not only is this solution limited, and only available if you’re subscribed to a service, but it offers only a modest selection of nostalgic classics, without the depth of the eShop’s back catalog of retail games. Players looking for affordable ways to play hard to find Wii, Wii U and 3DS games are now just out of luck.

Not that accessing those games was remotely easy. The Wii U and 3DS digital libraries (not to mention Sony’s counterparts for the PS3 and PS Vita) may be vast archives containing multiple generations of playable gaming history, but each of these storefronts is chained to an aging platform. As Nintendo Fans dusted off their old consoles before the eShop’s closure, some found that their Wii U consoles were suffering from memory corruption, potentially the fallout of having sat unused for so long. Even accessing these stores on a healthy device presented a fair share of hurdles: all of these platforms have disabled native payment options, forcing users to add funds through other consoles, web portals or by redeeming retail points cards.

It’s a frustrating situation, because historically, Nintendo has taken a strong stance against piracy. Now, it's leaving its fans with fewer options than ever. In a now deleted section of a FAQ about the eShop’s closure, Nintendo dodged its own question about having an obligation to preserve its back catalog — stating that it has “no plans to offer classic content” apart from the previously mentioned Nintendo Switch Online subscription service.

In lieu of Nintendo’s discarded ‘obligation,’ independent games preservationists have taken up the task. Jirard Khalil, creator of The Completionist on YouTube, recently bought every piece of content on the 3DS and Wii U eShops. The effort cost $22,791 and took almost a year to complete, due to wallet limits, interface frustrations and the limited storage capacity of the consoles themselves. He’s donating the completed archive of 866 Wii U games and 1,547 3DS games, plus all relevant DLC, to the Video Game History Foundation. That’s a noble endeavor, but that doesn’t help the average consumer that wants to play these games. As VGHF co-founder Kelsey Lewin recently told Ars Technica, even if these games were made available from a preservation entity like VGHF, the only way one could legally play one of them would be to physically visit the library themselves and sign a consent form to play it on-site.

Thanks to the work of games preservationists and the emulation community, almost no game is truly out of reach if someone wants to play it, so long as you’re comfortable exploring the hobby pirate scene. But there's still a big market for those of us who want legal, convenient access to older games. It's why the NES and SNES Classic both sold so well. It's why Sony reversed course on closing the PlayStation 3 and Vita stores in 2021. And it’s why the closure of the 3DS and Wii U eShops is such a loss for keeping video game history accessible to consumers.

We can’t rely on the commercial games industry to preserve its own history. Publishers have proven to us time and time again that these fleeting windows into nostalgia will be closed when they are no longer profitable. Publically mourning the loss of Nintendo’s digital stores, and fearing the eventual end of PlayStation Store support for the PS3 and Vita, won’t likely stop these companies closing them in favor of streaming, subscription services and other, newer trends. Still, I hope one day these companies will realize that while their back catalogs may not be the most lucrative part of their business, they still hold a lot of value for many fans. And we’ll happily pay to access them – if you let us.

The UK is softening its objections to Microsoft's buyout of Activision Blizzard. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has revised its findings and determined that the merger won't lead to significantly reduced competition in the console space. While the evidence remains the same, the watchdog now finds that Microsoft's ownership of franchises like Call of Duty would "not materially affect" Sony's ability to compete with PlayStation systems. Microsoft could "degrade" the PlayStation's appeal, the CMA says, but Sony's platform has a strong-enough catalog that the damage would be limited.

The Authority also reconsidered its view that Microsoft might benefit from shutting out Call of Duty's PlayStation audience. More recent Microsoft data suggests the company could suffer substantial losses in "any plausible scenario" by making the game franchise Xbox-only or offering exclusive perks, according to the CMA. Not enough gamers would switch from PlayStation to Xbox to make that strategy work, in other words.

The CMA makes clear that the updated findings don't change its concerns about cloud gaming services. In February, the regulator said Microsoft represented up to 70 percent of the worldwide cloud gaming market, and completing the Activision Blizzard purchase could harm gamers who can't afford an expensive console or PC.

We've asked Microsoft and Sony for comment. Activision Blizzard tells Engadget in a statement that the CMA now has an "improved understanding" of the console market, and that Microsoft already has solutions in place for remaining issues. Activision maintains that Sony is only trying to "protect its dominance" by contesting the acquisition.

Sony has long opposed the deal and calls it a "threat to our industry" that could hurt the quality of Call of Duty on PlayStation. Microsoft has made a number of concessions in hopes of clinching the Activision Blizzard takeover, including 10-year multi-platform promises for Call of Duty as well as arrangements to bring games to rival cloud platforms.

The UK overseer's change of heart doesn't overcome resistance to the merger in other countries. The US Federal Trade Commission is still suing to block the union, and points out that Microsoft made future titles like Redfall Xbox-exclusive on consoles despite assurances to European Union officials. Objectors can also comment on the findings before the end of March. However, the new stance still improves Microsoft's chances of completing the acquisition — a major regulatory body just dropped its main point of contention.  

After debuting on PlayStation 5 and PC last year, Ghostwire: Tokyo is heading to Xbox Series X/S and Game Pass. Developer Tango Gameworks announced Wednesday that the game will arrive on Microsoft’s current generation consoles on April 12th. That same day, the studio will release the free “Spider’s Thread” update for all platforms.

The DLC adds a new game mode that will challenge players to complete a 30-stage gauntlet. As you progress through the mode, you’ll earn in-game currency you can spend to purchase upgrades for your run. Separately, the update adds new locales and missions within the game’s supernatural take on Tokyo for players to explore and complete. Complementing the new content are extended cutscenes designed to provide more insights into the game’s story. Good thing too because Engadget’s Mat Smith thought the game was begging for DLC to flesh out some of its more ambiguous plot points.

With today’s announcement, Ghostwire: Tokyo becomes the last Bethesda Softworks PS5 exclusive to receive an Xbox release date. Alongside Deathloop, Bethesda, before its acquisition by Microsoft, agreed to make the game a timed PlayStation 5 exclusive.

Microsoft is still hard at work convincing antitrust regulators that its planned Activision Blizzard purchase won’t hurt competition in the gaming industry. Today, the company announced a 10-year agreement with Boosteroid for the cloud gaming provider to stream Activision’s PC titles if the deal goes through.

It’s Microsoft’s latest attempt to demonstrate to EU, UK and US regulators that it won’t use the deal to muscle out competitors and stifle competition. Similarly, it recently struck 10-year deals with Nintendo and Nvidia to bring the Call of Duty franchise to platforms like the Switch and GeForce Now. Microsoft has said it offered Sony a similar agreement for PlayStation licensing (which Sony hasn’t agreed to) and committed to supporting Steam availability at the same time as Xbox. Sony expressed its concerns about the deal earlier this month, including the prospect of Microsoft shipping buggy versions of Call of Duty on PlayStation, diminishing gamers' trust in playing the immensely popular shooter on Sony consoles.

“If the only argument is that Microsoft is going to withhold Call of Duty from other platforms, and we’ve now entered into contracts that are going to bring this to many more devices and many more platforms, that is a pretty hard case to make to a court,” Microsoft President Brad Smith toldThe Wall Street Journal. “The reason we want to buy Activision Blizzard is to round out our titles to have a fuller library, especially to have more mobile titles where we don’t have a strong presence, and build a stronger gaming business.”

Activision Blizzard

Boosteroid is the biggest independent cloud-gaming service in the world. Like GeForce Now, it supports multi-device streaming access but requires purchasing paid games on other platforms (including Steam, Epic Games, Battle.net and Origin). Boosteroid's current library includes Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Activision’s Call of Duty: Warzone (among many others). It can stream games in web browsers and offers native apps for Windows, macOS, Android, Android TV and Linux. (iOS is missing because it doesn’t allow native cloud-gaming apps without clunky workarounds.) Boosteroid has servers in Romania, Ukraine, Italy, Slovakia, France, Spain, the UK, Sweden, Serbia and the US.

The European Commission, in charge of EU competition regulation, was reported earlier this month to be satisfied enough with Microsoft’s commitments to “likely” give the go-ahead. However, the commission hasn’t said so publicly and has until April 25th to decide. UK regulators’ decision is expected the following day. Meanwhile, the US Federal Trade Commission sued Microsoft to block the deal in December out of concerns it could raise prices or cut off access for non-Microsoft hardware, something Microsoft has denied it would do. The company has until July to satisfy the FTC, or it will need to renegotiate the deal or abandon the purchase, putting it on the line for up to a $3 billion breakup fee.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority, which favors structural changes over behavioral promises like licensing deals, recently suggested Microsoft could divest itself of Activision’s publishing unit, which Microsoft has indicated it has no interest in doing; deals like the Boosteroid one are part of its fight to avoid that fate.

Sony has laid out more concerns about Microsoft's planned takeover of Activision Blizzard in its latest response to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Sony has opposed the deal from the start. Now, it's suggesting that Microsoft could (perhaps unintentionally) kneecap the performance and quality of Call of Duty on PlayStation, which might result in fans switching to Xbox. 

"Microsoft might release a PlayStation version of Call of Duty where bugs and errors emerge only on the game’s final level or after later updates," the letter (PDF) reads. "Even if such degradations could be swiftly detected, any remedy would likely come too late, by which time the gaming community would have lost confidence in PlayStation as a go-to venue to play Call of Duty. Indeed, as Modern Warfare II attests, Call of Duty is most often purchased in just the first few weeks of release. If it became known that the game’s performance on PlayStation was worse than on Xbox, Call of Duty gamers could decide to switch to Xbox, for fear of playing their favourite game at a second-class or less competitive venue."

Sony claims there wouldn't be a viable way for it or the CMA to assess how "Microsoft chooses to allocate its resources and the quality/quantity of engineers it devotes to the PlayStation version of Call of Duty to ensure that SIE would be treated fairly and equally." Degrading the quality of Call of Duty on PlayStation, intentionally or not, perhaps wouldn't be the wisest course of action, as The Verge points out. A buggy Call of Duty release on PlayStation would probably lead to a bigger backlash against Microsoft and Activision than Sony.

In any case, Microsoft noted in its latest response to the CMA (PDF) that it has offered to "provide Sony with parity on release date, content, features, upgrades, quality and playability with the Xbox platform." That is, if Sony accepts Microsoft's proposed 10-year agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Microsoft would be willing to agree to a third-party assessor to oversee the platform parity.

Sony's letter reiterates its concern that Microsoft would make Call of Duty a Game Pass exclusive and away from PlayStation. Again, that's something Microsoft has refuted. “As we have said all along: it makes zero business sense to take Call of Duty off of PlayStation,” Microsoft Competition Law Group corporate vice president Rima Alaily recently told Axios.

It will be a while yet before we know for sure whether Microsoft will be allowed to buy Activision Blizzard. The CMA is set to make a final ruling on the deal by April 26th. It has millions of Microsoft and Activision documents, and thousands of emails from the public to take into account, according to Sony. The CMA raised concerns about the deal in February, suggesting it could "harm UK gamers" and lead to a "substantial lessening of competition in gaming consoles."

Other major regulators have yet to rubberstamp the takeover, including in the US, where the Federal Trade Commission has attempted to block it. However, reports suggest the European Union is set to give the merger the green light following news that Microsoft will bring Call of Duty and other games to Nintendo and GeForce Now platforms.

In case you're wondering, Microsoft's letter details how Activision would get Call of Duty games to run on Nintendo Switch, which is much less powerful than PlayStation and Xbox consoles. It would do so "by optimizing the display resolution, in-game texture resolution, reducing the rendering speed (i.e., frames per second) and simplifying advanced rendering techniques (e.g., raytracing, shadow, lighting and antialiasing techniques)." In other words, it'd make the game look and run worse than on other systems.

In the meantime, it seems Call of Duty fans have another bizarre crossover coming their way soon. A teaser posted on the series' Twitter account shows Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and a date of March 21st. 

The PlayStation 5 update that comes with support for Discord voice chats on the console has now made its way out of beta and to all PS5 gamers. Those who've already installed System Update 7.0 can now activate Discord calls on their console, so long as they don't mind setting it up. They'd have to link their PlayStation Network account to Discord to start with, and then they'd have to select Discord under "Linked Services" before completing the integration through either a QR code or the PS5 browser. Every time they want to chat with their friends, they'd have to use a mobile device or a PC to transfer a call to the PS5 first.

The process is a bit involved, but Microsoft made it possible to join Discord calls directly from the Xbox in November last year. We're hoping Sony can do the same in the future. As The Verge notes, the PS5's Discord integration doesn't include text messages and streams just yet, so you won't be able to access those on the console.

In addition, the latest update adds Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) support for HDMI 2.1 displays with 1440p resolution. That translates to less stuttering and input lags for games that support VRR, since the feature enables a display to match the PS5's current frame rate output. Players will also encounter a new notification when they download or install a PS4 game on the PS5, telling them that they have saved data in their PSN cloud storage. All they have to do to download that data is to select the notification. 

The update brings improvements to the console's screen reader, as well, giving it the capability to tell users which direction they can move and what their current position is. Players can now also update their controller's software wirelessly, and for people in the US and the UK, saving a video clip of their game is as easy as issuing a voice command. They can simply say: "Hey PlayStation, capture that!" 

Sony just released the beta version of this update in February. PS5 owners now just have to wait for it to hit their consoles or check out the PlayStation support page for the latest system software update for the PS5 for more info. 

Nintendo has taken Wii U titles Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon offline indefinitely while it attempts to resolve security issues. "This network service is currently unavailable due to urgent maintenance required to fix a vulnerability related to online play," reads a message posted to Nintendo's website at 11:30PM ET on Thursday. "We do not yet have information on when network services can be restored. We apologize for any inconvenience caused."

As VGC notes, the vulnerability could be related to an exploit that allows an attacker to take control of a victim's system simply by way of being matched with them in an online multiplayer game. Dataminer OatmealDome suggested the issue is “almost certainly” due to ENLBufferPwn.

Mario Kart 7 on the 3DS was previously vulnerable to that exploit. Several Switch games apparently were too, including Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo Switch Sports and Splatoon 2 and 3. Nintendo has seemingly patched all of those titles to protect them against the exploit.

A video posted by YouTuber PabloMK7 in December shows ENLBufferPwn in action on Mario Kart 7. It's used to inject custom firmware onto the targeted console. PabloMK7 wrote on GitHub that "it would be theoretically possible" to steal an account or credit card information and to record a victim using the 3DS' mic and cameras.

With nearly 8.5 million copies sold, Mario Kart 8 was the biggest-selling game on the Wii U. The original Splatoon sold almost 5 million. Those who are still playing the games on the discontinued system might be disappointed that the online features are currently unavailable, but it seems Nintendo was left with little choice but to take them offline for now.

The issue emerged only a few weeks before Nintendo shuts down the Wii U and 3DS eShops. After March 27th, owners of the systems won't be able to make purchases on the digital storefronts, but they'll still be able to download titles they previously bought. Meanwhile, Nintendo just revealed the latest courses that are coming to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on Switch next week as part of the Booster Course Pass.

Nintendo has decided not to take part in this year's E3. "We approach our involvement in any event on a case-by-case basis and are always considering various ways to engage with our fans," Nintendo told Engadget in a statement. "Since this year’s E3 show didn’t fit into our plans, we have made the decision to not participate. However, we have been and continue to be a strong supporter of the ESA [Entertainment Software Association] and E3.”

Nintendo typically has a presence on the E3 showfloor and it has often run Treehouse broadcasts throughout the event in addition to a Direct. The company took part in the last proper edition of E3 in 2019, as well as the all-digital affair in 2021. There was no E3 in 2020 or 2022.

Earlier this month, IGN reported that Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have all bowed out of E3 this year. Sony hasn't had a presence at the event since 2018, but neither it nor Microsoft have publicly confirmed plans for this year's edition. Regardless, Microsoft will host its big annual showcase in Los Angeles this summer. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently hinted it will take place around the same time as E3, which will run between June 13th and 16th.

There could always be a Nintendo Direct in mid-June as well, even if it's not officially connected to the expo. Meanwhile, word on the street is that PlayStation is planning a major showcase ahead of E3 after this week's so-so State of Play stream.

The absence of just one of the big three console manufacturers from E3 is a blow for the ESA, let alone all of them. Summer Game Fest is threatening to steal more of the stalwart event's thunder too. But hey, at least Ubisoft will be at E3.

Microsoft has struck a 10-year deal with NVIDIA to bring Xbox games to the GeForce Now streaming service. The company's president, Brad Smith, made the announcement at a press conference in Brussels, where he, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan, Activision Blizzard head Bobby Kotick and other prominent figures attended a European Commission hearing over Microsoft's proposed takeover of Activision Blizzard.

Smith said that, if the deal goes through, Activision Blizzard games like the Call of Duty series will be available on GeForce Now as well. The publisher removed its titles from the cloud gaming service in 2020. Smith's GeForce Now announcement came hours after he confirmed that Microsoft will bring Xbox games to Nintendo platforms under a binding 10-year deal — and Activision Blizzard titles if the acquisition closes. NVIDIA is now supporting the Activision Blizzard deal, Smith said.

“Xbox remains committed to giving people more choice and finding ways to expand how people play,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a statement. “This partnership will help grow NVIDIA’s catalog of titles to include games like Call of Duty, while giving developers more ways to offer streaming games. We are excited to offer gamers more ways to play the games they love.”

Users will need to buy copies of games from the Xbox PC, Steam or Epic Games stores to play them on GeForce Now. It's not clear when Xbox games will be available to stream through the service, which has more than more than 25 million users. However, NVIDIA said it and Microsoft "will begin work immediately to integrate Xbox PC games into GeForce Now."

The agreement will afford players another way to stream Microsoft's games from the cloud almost anywhere that they have a sturdy enough internet connection. Currently, Xbox Cloud Gaming (which requires a Game Pass Ultimate subscription) is the main way to do that. The NVIDIA deal is an attempt by Microsoft to placate regulators' concerns over the Activision takeover by showing that Xbox Cloud Gaming won't be the only exclusive way to stream its games.

Earlier this month, the UK's competition regulator said that the proposed $68.7 billion Activision acquisition could result in a "substantial lessening of competition in gaming consoles" and "harm UK gamers." The Competition and Markets Authority found that Microsoft already had a 60-70 percent share of the cloud gaming market and that, should the deal go through, it would "reinforce this strong position." In December, the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block the merger.