The South African release dates and price for the PS5 Pro and PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection have been revealed following a long wait. Players in South Africa eager to get their hands on the upgraded and more powerful PS5 Pro will be able to place pre-orders as soon as they open on 1 November 2024 via participating retailers in the country. PlayStation South Africa has revealed that the PS5 Pro will launch in the country this holiday season on 13 December 2024 at a retail price of R19 499.99. However, it will be available in limited quantities. Pre-orders for the PS5 Pro will officially open up on 1 November 2024. Keep an eye out on our store when pre-orders open up. The listed features for the PS5 Pro include: - Upgraded GPU: With PS5 Pro, we are upgrading to a GPU that has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory. Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother. - Advanced Ray Tracing: We’ve added even more powerful ray tracing that provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light. This allows the rays to be cast at double, and at times triple, the speeds of the current PS5 console. - AI-Driven Upscaling: We’re also introducing PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail. PS5 Pro also features Game Boost, which enhances over 8,500 backward compatible PS4 games and Enhanced Image Quality on select titles. PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection PlayStation South Africa has also revealed the release date and price of the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection which features PS1-themed consoles and accessories. Pre-orders for the collection will open up on 25 October 2024 ahead of its release on 27 November 2024. Once again, there will be limited quantities available. Find below the pricing for each item: - PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition Bundle: R12 499.99 - PlayStation Portal Remote Player – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition (standalone): R5 999.99 - DualSense Edge Wireless Controller – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition (standalone): R4 899.99 - DualSense Wireless Controller – 30th Anniversary Limited Edition (standalone): R1 799.99 The PlayStation 5 Digital Edition Bundle contains the following: - Includes the limited edition PS5 Digital Edition console with 1TD SSD and matching limited edition accessories – DualSense wireless controller and a - - Console Cover for a Disc Drive (Disc Drive sold separately). - It also includes a Vertical Stand and special collector’s Items. - Original PlayStation controller-style cable connector housing. - Four PlayStation Shapes cable ties. - PlayStation sticker. - Limited Edition PlayStation Poster (1 of 30 possible designs). - PlayStation Paperclip. Since the PS5 Pro and collection will arrive in limited quantities in South Africa, we recommend securing your order as soon as pre-orders go live on the allocated dates. Original article on GLITCHED

The Silent Hill 2 remake just released earlier this week and modders are already hard at work coming up with new and interesting ways to play the horror game. Since Tuesday, mods have been appearing online for the game that lets players play as all sorts of characters such as CJ from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, 2B from Nier Automata and even a bunny girl, for unknown reasons. While mods for the Silent Hill 2 remake are still being updated daily on Nexus Mods, there are already a handful of creations to try out. Many of them aim to improve the game’s performance and visuals, though there are some that throw protagonist James Sunderland to the side in favour of playing as other video game characters. The most popular one so far is the Yohra 2B mod, which lets you play as the female android from Nier Automata, complete with a detailed figure and textures. Other mods let you play as Leon S. Kennedy from the Resident Evil 4 remake, CJ from GTA: San Andreas, and a revealing bunny girl if you think Silent Hill’s nurses aren’t horrifyingly sexual enough. Sticking with modding tradition for every new game ever released, there’s even a Thomas the Tank Engine mod that replaces Pyramid Head with the smiling monstrosity. There are plenty of other mods to check out so we recommend going through the list to find ones that suit you. Keep in mind, these mods are only available on PC and not PS5. In case you missed it, developer Bloober Team added a trophy/achievement for the remake that rewards cowardly players. At the start of the game, you can choose to avoid going down into the town and simply turn around to head down the road in the other direction. You’ll eventually hit an invisible wall but get a trophy for trying to run away. Silent Hill 2 is now available on PS5 and PC. Make sure you read our full review if you’re still on the fence about picking it up. Original article on GLITCHED

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero technically isn’t even out yet and it’s already setting records for the biggest Steam launch in Dragon Ball history. While it officially launches tomorrow, players who purchased the $100 Deluxe Edition or the $110 Ultimate Edition were given a few days of early access to the game. It seems like people were more than happy to spend that money on the game as it’s currently sitting at over 90,000 concurrent players on Steam. SteamDB reveals that Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero debuted to a peak concurrent player count of 91,005, beating out all other Dragon Ball games on the platform including FighterZ‘s 44,303 peak concurrent player count. More impressively, it has also beaten other traditional fighting games like Tekken 8 (49,977) and Street Fighter 6 (70,573), triumphing to become the biggest licensed anime game in Steam’s history and one of the biggest fighting games of all time on Steam. Keep in mind, this is all before the game has even launched as these numbers account for players who’ve purchased the pricier premium editions to gain early access to the arena fighter. Players are also reporting hitting major difficulty spikes during the game’s campaign, especially against Great Ape Vegtea who is apparently humbling even veteran players of the Budokai Tenkaichi series. Complaints range from the AI simply being too unfair to Great Ape Vegeta, who is an early-game fight, outspeeding players when it comes to Ki regeneration, allowing him to unleash powerful attacks more frequently. Despite the challenge, it hasn’t deterred players from rushing to pick up the latest Dragon Ball game. Steam numbers on PC are strong, though Bandai Namco has yet to reveal the numbers for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It’s all shaping up to become one of the best-selling Dragon Ball video games of all time at this rate. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero launches on 11 October 2024 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Source: SteamDB Original article on GLITCHED

Intel is going through some tough times. Once the market leader and innovator, they have fallen rapidly from their perch and teeter precariously on the precipice of irrelevancy. One of their better designs (that sadly never really took off) was the NUC or Next Unit of Computing. The idea was to give businesses and home users with limited space a compact, modular system that could be upgraded relatively easily by swapping out the entire mainboard assembly when newer components become available. This is a concept picked up by Framework laptops to some acclaim. And a concept that ASUS has also picked up though more officially via a license agreement with Intel. The unit sent to me was the top-of-the-line unit sporting one of the newer laptop design Core Ultra 185H CPUs. It is based on the older Meteor Lake architecture, but there have not been any reports of overheating and damage to the CPU as has occurred on 13th and 14th generation desktop CPUs. The GPU is a laptop powerhouse RTX 4070, which is designed to run at a lower TDP than its desktop sibling. Coupled with 8GB VRAM versus 12GB on the desktop version and a 128-bit memory bus vs 192-bit, it won’t perform as well as the desktop card but is still a GPU more than capable of pushing out high frame rates at 1440p and high to max settings. The system came with 32GB of SODIMM DDR5-5600 RAM and a 1TB M.2 NVME SSD. Basically, the components are perfect for the 2.5l chassis, making for a compact system that is easy to setup and even easier to move around. The RAM and M.2 SSD are both upgradeable allowing you to extend the life of the system. Sadly, the modularity of the original NUC concept and designs is not present in this iteration, making this a bit less of a PC and more of a console in some respects. As a gaming PC, the NUC is perfect as a 1440p monster; you can push certain titles to 4K, but don’t expect 100+ FPS in those games. I tested it using Doom Eternal and was able to hit a stable 60FPS at 4K at a mix of high and max settings, but we all know that game should be played at higher frame rates. I also tested out Cyberpunk 2077 both with ray tracing and frame generation on and off, and managed to get between 75 and 105 FPS, both highly acceptable frame rates especially when coupled with a VRR capable display. In terms of noise pollution, the NUC isn’t the quietest system under load, much like a laptop. In Turbo mode, the highest power settings, the system can be noisy but that will max out the performance. Put it into Silent mode, and you will reduce the noise while performance only takes a slight hit. I ended up leaving it in silent as the performance hit in games was minimal. The design aesthetic is suitably ROG with an RGB logo on top and a couple of cut corners. The chassis is a premium quality plastic that never feels cheap. The system is weighty, unexpectedly so for such a small system. When I pulled it out of the box I was surprised at how heavy it actually was. The weight is indicative of the density of the system design and the components stuffed into the chassis. As a gaming PC, the NUC is perfect as a 1440p monster; you can push certain titles to 4K, but don’t expect 100+ FPS in those games. The RAM is replaceable, being the SODIMM form factor, with three M.2 slots, one sporting the 1TB preinstalled SSD allowing for easy expansion. The system offers WiFi6E, giving you access to blazing fast internet and Bluetooth 5.3 for a stable connection for relevant peripherals. The I/O is impressive as well, sporting two USB3.2 ports, two USB 2.0 slots, two DisplayPort 1.4a ports, a single HDMI 2.1 port, and a Thunderbolt 4 port which as a DP 2.1 allows you access to the CPU's Intel Arc iGPU, which is something you will probably never access given that the RTX4070 is soldered to the mainboard. These are all at the back; in front you have access to an additional two 3.2 USB ports, an SD Card slot and a 3.5mm combined audio jack. The NUC 970 shines as a gaming PC, but if you stick it on your desk, you are limiting your options. I used it primarily as a lounge PC, playing games in Steam big picture mode, some emulated games and for a long time as an HTPC to access my PLEX server for movies and TV shows. In the latter use, it shined as a 4K streaming box. I have been looking at building a small form factor PC for the lounge to replace my ageing midi tower but would seriously consider this system. And as a gaming PC with rAge around the corner this may be the perfect LAN PC for anyone attending local gaming sessions. It fits in a backpack with the power brick and your peripherals, meaning the only awkward thing you will be carrying is your monitor. I did say I am considering the system, but there is a massive factor giving me pause – the price. Local pricing is around R45k. Yes, that’s right, Forty. Five. Thousand. Rand. Now that looks to be very expensive, that is what I paid for my RTX 4090, but the build quality and the amount of work that ASUS has to go through to design the system makes the price understandable. You also have to consider that the ROG brand is targeted at the same person who likes to upgrade their phone to the latest Apple or Samsung device every year and who appreciates the industrial design of a premium piece of tech. While the price seems prohibitive, if you were to build your own system of similar specifications you may save some money, but once you factor in your time and the cost of searching for components and finally building the system, an NUC makes sense. Despite the price, if you want a portable, compact system that has some upgrade options then consider the ASUS ROG NUC 970.