Nintendo has developed a reputation for defying expectations--for bucking industry trends and charting a distinct path from its competitors with wildly inventive games and consoles--which is why the Switch 2 feels almost disappointingly conservative at first glance. Rather than reinvent the wheel yet again with its newest system, the company has opted to take a more conventional approach when developing the platform, beefing up specs and augmenting the hardware with a few additional (though not exactly groundbreaking) features. But though it may not seem as outwardly surprising or disruptive as previous Nintendo systems, the Switch 2 consolidates nearly every console feature Nintendo has pioneered into one package, making it the culmination of the company's hardware experiments.Every new feature the Switch 2 boasts can be traced back, in one form or another, to a previous Nintendo console. The system's built-in mic stands as a prime example. Nintendo has tinkered with adding microphones to its consoles since its earliest days as a game maker. The Famicom included a mic in one of its controllers; subsequent systems like the Nintendo 64 and GameCube received mic accessories for use with certain games; the DS and 3DS each had mics built right into their hardware; and the Wii U offered one through the GamePad. Most of these, however, were used primarily for gameplay purposes--such as barking commands in Nintendogs--rather than for communicating with other players.The Switch 2's mic serves a different function. Though some titles like Super Mario Party Jamboree still use it for minigames, the mic is primarily meant to facilitate GameChat, the system's touted group-chat function. This, of course, is hardly a novel feature for a game console in this day and age; other platforms have offered voice chat for years, and even the original Switch allowed it (albeit in a roundabout way through the separate Switch Online smartphone app). GameChat, however, is intended to be a communal experience--more of a social hangout than a way to coordinate with others who are playing the same game. Building the microphone directly into the system rather than offering it as a separate headset opens GameChat up to everyone in the room, fostering a more casual atmosphere than the traditional approach to voice chat.Like the old Wii Speak accessory, Switch 2's built-in mic lets everyone in the room participate in voice chat.This, incidentally, is the same philosophy that inspired the Wii Speak, a short-lived microphone peripheral released for the Wii in 2008. Unlike the company's previous mic accessories, Wii Speak plugged into the back of the console and rested atop the television, letting everyone in the room participate in the chat session, even if they weren't the ones playing. As with GameChat, the intention behind creating a shared mic, rather than a headset, was to foster a communal experience. Nintendo further emphasized this point by bundling the accessory together with Animal Crossing: City Folk, whose leisurely pace was perfectly suited for the kind of casual hangout the company hoped to engender. As City Folk director Hisashi Nogami once summed up:"Wii Speak isn't something that you use while wearing a pair of headphones, so you're not really conscious of the fact that you're having a conversation. You can just sit in front of the TV and enjoy talking as you please. You don't feel like you have to be speaking the whole time. Even when you don't say anything, you'll really feel like the other person is right there alongside you, enjoying the game together with you."Switch 2's mouse functionality, likewise, has roots in earlier experiments. In addition to offering traditional and motion controls, the revamped Joy-Con 2 controllers are now able to work as mice when turned on their side and placed on a surface--something Nintendo previously attempted with mouse accessories for the Super NES and N64 (the latter of which was never released outside of Japan). But beyond standard mouse functions, this feature can also be used as a substitute for touch inputs while playing with the system docked:"As you may know the Switch screen supports touch controls, but it can only be used in handheld mode and tabletop mode. When you change it to TV mode, the touch screen function is not available. The same goes for Switch 2, but I think the mouse functionality can also serve as a substitute for the touch screen as it allows you to point to a spot on the TV, similar to the cursor for Wii Remote, although it's not quite the same thing," Switch 2 director Takuhiro Dohta explained.With the Joy-Cons' mouse functionality, Nintendo has found a way to replicate touch screen inputs on Switch 2 even if you're playing on a television. This is especially notable as it removes barriers that may have prevented the company from bringing DS titles to the platform, opening up the possibility for more classic game libraries to join the Switch Online service.Switch 2's GameShare feature uses Wii U's streaming tech to stream games to another Switch system.Most intriguing among the system's new features, however, is GameShare. Much like the Download Play function the DS and 3DS offered, GameShare lets players send a game's data to another nearby console, allowing everyone to play together even if only one person owns the title. But while the feature is conceptually similar to Download Play, the mechanisms behind it are entirely different. Rather than transferring the actual software data to another system, Switch 2 streams the game to another Switch, the same way the Wii U streamed titles to its tablet-like GamePad controller. As system producer Kouichi Kawamoto explains:"[W]e thought that by taking advantage of the Switch 2 system's processing power and using the same streaming technology that Wii U uses to send images from the console to the handheld Wii U GamePad, we could share the gameplay instantly without having to take time to transfer the software."It's a novel workaround to the technical hurdles of transferring game data, but most intriguing are its theoretical applications. If GameShare works like Wii U, it's possible that certain games may be able to use the function to offer dual-screen gameplay experiences, with a Switch 1 serving as a controller. Whether or not any developer will attempt this remains to be seen, but the possibility is further proof of Switch 2's versatility.On their own, these functions may not seem particularly innovative, but they combine to make Switch 2 an all-encompassing console. Features and inputs that once could only be achieved through accessories or bespoke hardware are available right out of the box, which means the system can host nearly every game Nintendo has released for its previous home and handheld consoles. Even more importantly, the wealth of inputs and options available gives developers the tools to not only create traditional games, but to also develop unique experiences not possible on other modern systems--all born out of the many hardware experiments Nintendo explored with its previous consoles...
Nintendo has provided a detailed overview of the official Switch 2 carrying case and what Switch 2 game cards look like.In a new video posted on the Nintendo Today app, the company showed off the carrying case, which can store the console, two Joy-Con straps, and six game cards. In this video, we also get our closest look yet at Switch 2 game cards. While they look pretty similar in size and shape to original Switch cards, they are almost entirely bright red--making them immediately visually distinct from the slate-gray cards of the previous console. You can see the video via Bluesky user OatmealDome.The carrying case, which goes for $40 on Nintendo's store, has a flip-down flap that appears to have snug slots to hold up to six games. It also has a zipper pocket, which is shown storing Joy-Con wrist straps.Nintendo has been steadily rolling out additional details about the upcoming console on the Nintendo Today app. Last week, for instance, we learned that Switch 2's new GL/GR buttons will be mappable on a per-game basis, providing players additional control customization in comparison to the original Switch. In addition, there are a number of helpful accessibility features coming to the new GameChat functionality.Switch 2 launches on June 5, but preorders quickly sold out and have since been widely unavailable in the US. Nintendo has said that its higher price point may suppress early adoption, although it is still expecting to sell 15 million Switch 2 consoles in the 2026 fiscal year...
After nearly a decade in the works, the fan game Bionicle: Masks of Power has been shut down following a request from Lego.To mark the end of the project, Team Kanohi, a group of fans who came together to build the "Bionicle game of [their] dreams," has released a "post-mortem" walkthrough of Masks of Power's last build. It was shaping up to be a stylish third-person action-adventure game featuring Lego's iconic masked ninjas, and it honestly looks awesome. Check the gameplay video out in the embed below.In a letter to fans, Team Kanohi stated that it is unclear why, exactly, Lego decided to shut the game down now. As the team wrote, it had worked hard to follow Lego's terms around fair use of Bionicle assets. For instance, Team Kanohi never planned on charging players for the game, and it clearly labeled all of its websites and game pages with information about Masks of Power being a fan-made project.Although Lego has not provided any justification, the developer suggests that it might be because Masks of Power has acquired a high profile that is increasingly competing with official Lego products. "While we can only speculate as to the exact reason why they have asked us to remove the game at this time, what we suspect is that our project was too easy to mistake for an official product," Team Kanohi wrote. The letter continues: "An average person seeing our game for the first time could easily think that it was an official game at first glance."The shutdown of Masks of Power does not mean that Team Kanohi is disbanding, however. In fact, in the letter to fans, the team announced that it is rebranding as Unmasked Games and is embarking on development of an original project. Currently referred to as Project Rustbound, this original title will build on the knowledge and skills that the team had accrued via its work on Masks of Power. It'll likely be a while before we hear anything more about Project Rustbound, but if the Masks of Power gameplay is any indication, this team might have the potential to make a pretty cool game...
Between The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered and Doom: The Dark Ages, 2025 is turning out to be a pretty good year for Xbox Game Studios. It's not the first time that we've seen a pretty stacked lineup of games for the brand, and if you're on PC, you can grab eight Xbox Game Studios PC games for only $10 from Humble Bundle right now. You'll want to be quick, though, because this deal expires on May 24. Each game here will be provided as a key that can be redeemed on your Steam account. The Xbox Games Studio bundle includes several blockbusters with a few titles that might have escaped your notice. You've got Remedy's fascinating blend of scripted TV and time-bending action in Quantum Break alongside the interactive drama As Dusk Falls, as an example. Another highlight here is Sunset Overdrive, a cheeky response to the deluge of cover-based shooters doing the rounds back in the early 2010s and developed by Insomniac Games, a studio that has since gone on to establish itself as the developer behind the best Spider-Man games.Strategy game fans can also pick up Age of Empires: Definitive Edition for an impressively upgraded tour of history, Ori and the Will of the Wisps is a tightly constructed metroidvania with soul-stirring art, and Broken Age is a puzzle-filled adventure game from Brutal Legend developer Double Fine. You can grab the Battletoads remake as well for a surprisingly solid action-adventure featuring a trio of weird heroes named after terrible skin conditions. Up to three players can battle it out, and the game has a lovely hand-crafted art direction.Like other Humble Bundle deals, proceeds will go toward charity. Humble partnered with Gameheads for this bundle. Gameheads is a tech training organization focused on teaching game development skills to people from all walks of life.More Humble Bundle dealsA few other bundle deals are also available right now. Resource management and sim-style game fans can pick up the Tycoon Titans bundle, and if you're looking to try out Vampire Survivors and several other games inspired by it, you can do just that. The Team17: Chains of Command Bundle offers games like Honey I Joined a Cult and Hell Let Loose, while the T1D Breakthrough Bundle is full of narrative adventures from the Telltale Games library.Team 17: Chains of Command Bundle -- 20 items for $8T1D Breakthrough Bundle -- 10 items for $99 Circles of Hell: A Survivors Bundle -- 10 items for $9Tycoon Titans Bundle -- 13 items for $10...
It took over 10 years to arrive, but Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 didn’t disappoint. Taking place around two centuries after the first game, Space Marine 2 has you shooting and slicing your way through hordes of Tyranids--and it’s every bit as bloody and brutal as fans had hoped. Our Space Marine 2 review gave it an impressive 8/10, noting its frantic yet fluid combat system and jaw-dropping environmental design. And if you haven’t yet experienced the chaos, right now you can pick up the game for its lowest price ever.Our Space Marine 2 review called it a “more-than-worthy successor to the 2011 original,” and a game that should appeal to not just Warhammer 40,000 fans, but anyone seeking an adrenaline-filled action game.Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia and the Art of Warhammer Video GamesIf you’re looking to dive deeper into the world and lore of Warhammer 40,000, consider pairing Space Marine 2 with a hardcover book. The Art of Warhammer Video Games is up for preorder ahead of tis November 4 release, and it covers artwork from games released over the past 30 years. You’ll also get an exclusive look at never-before-seen concept art, promo pieces, and commentary from the devs. It’s available to preorder for $50.A month earlier, the Warhammer 40,000: Character Encyclopedia arrives. Available to preorder at Amazon for $25.19 (was $28) ahead of its October 7 release, this gets you in-depth information on more than 120 characters alongside detailed photographs of Games Workshop miniatures.Want a book in your hands today? The Warhammer 40,000: Ultimate Guide is discounted to $23.60 (was $45). The 336-page hardcover volume takes a deep dive into the lore of all its characters, with hundreds of miniature photos bringing each character to life...
Let's face it, once you get an Elytra in Minecraft you won't need four-legged companions to quickly traverse the map anymore, but that's tens of hours into your adventure unless you're speedrunning. Before then, Minecraft horses are invaluable, as they provide a faster way of traveling than sprinting and don't use as much of your nutrition. Horses can be found in the wild, tamed, bred, and can even wear armor. They've also got individual statistics, so if you want to put a few hours into breeding the perfect horse, we've got all you need to know.Where to find horsesHorses usually spawn in plains or savanna biomes in herds of between two and six. They can also be found in stables and pens in villages across any biome. They won't spawn anywhere with a light level of less than nine in Java or seven in Bedrock.Minecraft horses come in several different colorsThere are several variations of horses, ranging in color and pattern, and they can spawn as an adult or a foal. They come in white, buckskin, flaxen chestnut, bay, black, and dapple gray. Combined with the patterns available, there are 35 possible horse combinations to suit your preference.How to tame horsesOnce you've found the horse you want to bring back to your base, just try to mount it several times until it accepts you. Horses have a temper level between 0 and 100. When you first mount the horse, a random threshold between 0 and 99 is chosen. If the temper exceeds the threshold, the horse is tame. If it does not, you will be bucked off and the temper is increased by five.Repeatedly mount a horse to tame itWhile you will eventually be able to mount the horse and hearts appear, meaning it's tamed, you can't control its direction unless it's wearing a saddle.How to breed horsesWith a herd of horses back at your base, you'll want to know how to breed them. You won't be able to breed horses unless they're tame, so ensure you've done this first. Then, feed each of the parent horses golden apples or golden carrots until the hearts appear around it again.Feed horses to breed themThis causes them to enter love mode, and a foal will be born. You can also look at our Minecraft breeding guide to find out how to breed a horse with a donkey to create a mule.How to heal horsesIf your horse becomes injured, you can feed it to heal it. Some food items are more effective at restoring hearts than others:Sugar - 1 heartWheat - 2 heartsApple - 3 heartsGolden carrot - 4 heartsGolden apple - 10 heartsHay bale - 20 heartsHorse armorHorses can be equipped with armor made of leather, iron, gold, or diamond. Unlike yourself, horses can't wear Netherite armor. You can only craft leather armor, the other types must be found by looting chests in world structures.Horse armor comes in different materialsMinecraft horse statisticsAll horses have statistics that vary from one horse to the next--health, maximum movement speed, and jump height. These statistics are determined when the horse is born or spawned, and will not be affected by food. There is no way to display a horse's statistics, and if you want to tell what they are roughly you will have to test the horse.Horses have varying jump strengthsSince a horse's statistics are determined when it is born or spawned, you can test your horses to find the strongest attributes for each statistic and then breed them. For example, if one horse is faster than another, but the other can jump higher, breeding the two will produce a foal that is fast and can jump high. Breeding this foal with a third horse with excellent health points will produce an all-around top-quality horse.HealthA horse's health ranges from 15 to 30 hearts. The displayed hearts are health divided by two and then rounded down. A horse with an odd number of health points does not show the last half of a heart. If a horse loses half a heart from an unarmed melee attack, it has an even number of health points. If it doesn't, its health is an odd number.Movement speedA horse's movement speed ranges from 0.1125-0.3375. If you consider that a player's normal walking speed is 0.1, you can already see that horse riding is faster than walking. The speed can be adjusted by status effects, but there is no way to tell the exact movement speed of a horse.Jump strengthSimilarly, a horse's jump strength ranges from 0.4-1.0, where a jump strength of 1.0 is enough to clear 5.25 blocks, and the lowest jump strength is just over one block. Try stacking one block next to five blocks high to see the difference in potential horse jump strength. To jump while riding a saddled horse, tap the space bar. Hold the space bar to charge the jump and get the maximum jump height. This is especially helpful for scaling steep mountains.You can check your horse's health above the toolbarWhile horses have many uses, if they do happen to pass away while in your care (hopefully not) then they will drop up to two leather, up to three experience points, and any armor they're equipped with.Now that you're up to speed with the equine offerings in Minecraft, check out our Minecraft guides hub for all you need to know on Mojang's survival game...
Whatever your reason for needing renewable lava generation in Minecraft, it's pretty simple to get set up, as long as you remember certain block materials will be flammable if they come into contact with lava. When I made my first lava generator, I accidentally set alight the entire top floor of the tower base my friend and I spent around a week building. Avoid my early mistakes by following this guide on how to create a lava farm safely.The basic concept of a lava farm is using Minecraft dripstone, cauldrons, and non-flammable materials to allow lava to drip down the pointed dripstone and collect in the cauldron. The entire process takes around 19 minutes to fill one cauldron with lava, so it's easier to have multiple cauldrons and dripstones set up.A simple lava farmYou need to have a lava source block, that is one which is not flowing, above the cauldrons. You can use most stone blocks to craft this, or even glass if you want the lava to be more visible. Do not use wood. I'll explain how to create a lava farm with powered rails beneath it to efficiently collect as much lava as possible in as little time as possible.Efficient lava farmWith help from JC Playz on YouTube, this farm will help you to quickly collect the lava generated by your farm. The materials you will need for the lava farm are:Four chestsTwo leversTwo powered rails48 railsTwo minecarts10 glass40 dripstone40 cauldronMany bucketsFour laddersEight torches46 slabs80 stone blocksFirst, place one stone block with a lever on top and a powered rail to the right of it. This will activate and deactivate the powered rail. Place nine normal rails to the right of the powered rail.The start of the Minecraft lava farm railsThen, connected to those rails, place ten rails heading back to the lever. Then, place another ten rails heading in the opposite direction again, and repeat to head back towards the original rails, and back again. You should have five lines of rails.Minecraft farms can be automated with railsAt the end of those lines, place another powered rail connected to a stone block with a lever on top. This rail system will easily collect all of the lava that is generated in the farm. From there, place four blocks on top of the first non-powered rail, and then remove the three below it, leaving one stone block hovering above the rails. From there, turn it into a 8x5 grid of stone blocks which is filled in.Create a 8x5 stone block gridFrom there, place a block in the corner with another block on the outer edge, then remove the inner corner blocks. Use this to create a barrier wall that goes around the outside of the stone blocks.
This should create a self-contained stone pool which the lava will be safely contained in. Then, underneath the farm place a dripstone on the bottom of the lower blocks of stone.Add dripstone to the lower level of stoneThen, place a block on the first rail and add a cauldron on top before removing the lower block again. Use the placement of the cauldron to place a further seven cauldrons next to it in a straight line. You want a cauldron above each rail section with the exception of the powered rail sections.Add cauldrons above the rail sectionsThen, head to the short sides and place five blocks along the cauldrons with five glass blocks beneath them. This ensures the lava remains within the farm and doesn't spill out, destroying the automated system below. Then, head to the top of the farm and place a lava block on top of each stone block which is attached to a dripstone. It's important that each block gets a lava bucket emptied on top of it so that it creates source blocks, and doesn't run out.Add source blocks of lava to the top of the farmWhen this is done, the lava will start dripping into the cauldrons. After this, make a 15x8x2 frame of stone blocks around the bottom of the farm. Place slabs on top of those blocks to prevent mobs from spawning on top of or around the farm wall. Add two ladders where you prefer them so that you can get into the farm to collect the harvested lava. Don't forget to add a further two ladders inside so you can get out, too. Add torches in each corner--again, to prevent mobs from spawning.Add two double chests on top of one another in a corner of the farm, within the boundary wall. You can use one chest to store your own gear when you're using the farm, and another chest can be used to fill with lava collected from the farm.When the cauldrons are full, head into the farm and place a Minecart on the rails and jump in. Quickly collect the lava in your buckets as you speed along the railway track beneath. The powered rails at each end will allow you to go back and forth along the cauldrons until you've collected all of the lava. It can take a while for the cauldrons to fill with lava, so you can probably run through the lava farm once every 20 minutes or so.You can construct a version of this farm in a single row without a Minecart underneath if you want to take a simpler approach.Now that you've got infinite lava for your base's needs, check out our Minecraft guides hub for information on all of the Minecraft mobs, our Minecraft breeding guide, and more...
It wasn't that long ago that Xbox Series X|S owners could only use official Microsoft controllers for wireless play. Outside of modded options from brands like Scuf, the Xbox Wireless Controller and Elite Series 2 Controllers were the only choices. And while Microsoft's official controllers are quite good, it's always nice to have different models to choose from. So it was a great development when Microsoft opened its wireless protocol to licensed manufacturers. Over the past two years, the market for wireless third-party Xbox controllers has actually become a bit crowded. The latest notable Elite Series 2 challenger to enter the pro-style controller ring is the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited.Nacon previously released a PS5 pro-style controller in 2023 called the Revolution 5 Pro. Though the latest member of the Revolution lineup has some familiar features--the interchangeable weights, for instance--the Revolution X Unlimited does have components not found on Revolution 5 Pro. Most notably, the Xbox edition adds a built-in LCD display and has two swappable D-pads--the Revolution 5 Pro has a custom fighting game-centric D-pad.The built-in customization screen is a handy feature that we've seen in a few other controllers, including Turtle Beach's Stealth Ultra. It works well, allowing you to remap inputs and create custom profiles. If you plug a wired headset into the 3.5mm audio jack, you can tinker with the EQ settings and game/chat balance directly on the controller. I found the onboard controls helpful since the Revolution X Unlimited software app for Xbox and PC is a bit buggy at the moment, especially on Xbox, where the app crashed while trying to adjust settings. On the flip side, I didn't run into any problems while using the built-in screen.In terms of feel, the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited accomplishes the task of feeling like a high-end controller. The Hall Effect sticks have a smooth, precise range of motion, and the microswitch face buttons are quick and deliver satisfying feedback. The weighting system is one of the coolest features, especially since part of the reason why Microsoft's Elite Series 2 feels so good is because of its weight distribution. The Revolution X Unlimited's textured grips on the back of the handles can be popped off to switch between the three different weight sets, allowing users to find their preferred "heftiness."Nacon Revolution X Unlimited Controller for Xbox/PC/AndroidThe only aspect of the Revolution X Unlimited that I've found very difficult to get accustomed to is the unique shape and placement of the remappable back buttons. The lower pair of back buttons are shaped like right triangles and positioned near the bottom of the handles. The upper pair of buttons are quadrilateral with irregular sides.The shapes are peculiar, but the low placement is what makes them feel quite different compared to many pro-style controllers with back buttons. Typically, my middle and ring fingers naturally rest on the back buttons of similar controllers, including the Elite Series 2 and Razer Wolverine V3 Pro for Xbox/PC. With the Revolution X Unlimited, my normal hand placement set my ring and pinky fingers on the back buttons, which felt awkward. As such, I had to shift my grip downward slightly. If you're used to other pro-style controllers with four back buttons, the Revolution X Unlimited likely won't be easy to use at first. Even after testing it for a few weeks, I still find the layout to be disorienting.Outside of the back button placement--which could maybe be more comfortable for players with larger hands--the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited's feature set and components are solid. Along with the adjustable weights, it comes with six rubberized stick caps, two pairs of resistance rings for the sticks, two metal D-pads, a charging stand, and a nice hardshell carrying case to hold everything. It also benefits from adjustable trigger locks, two extra shoulder buttons, and immersive rumble thanks to motors located in both the handles and triggers.If the back buttons were more conventional, the Nacon Revolution X Unlimited might have eclipsed the Wolverine V3 Pro as my favorite Elite Series 2 alternative. If you think the back buttons on the Elite Series 2 and other controllers are too close together or located too high, the Revolution X Unlimited might work out well for you. That said, if you're anything like me, you may wind up viewing it as a controller with only two back buttons--I have abandoned the bottom two buttons and only sparingly use the other two. Considering back buttons are arguably the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about pro-style controllers, this potential concession is a big one.The Nacon Revolution X Unlimited is available now for $200, the same MSRP as the Wolverine V3 Pro and the Elite Series 2 following Microsoft's recent price increase. That said, you can get the Elite Series 2 for $159 at Amazon right now...
Coral was added to Minecraft back in July 2018 as a way to add more color and function to the survival game's oceans. While coral has limited uses, if you don't know how to correctly harvest and use it, it could quickly turn dull, lifeless, and boring.There are five types of coral--tube, fire, horn, bubble, and brain, as well as fanned variants of all of those. They naturally generate in warm ocean biomes in coral reefs, but they need water to survive. Otherwise, they'll turn into dead coral. Where once they were bright blues, oranges, pinks, and yellows, dead coral turns gray and lifeless.Coral is found in warm oceansHow to collect Coral in MinecraftTo collect coral, you'll need a tool with the Silk Touch Minecraft enchantment. It does mine instantly, so unlike Obsidian you won't need to spend ages harvesting it. That's especially helpful since it's underwater. You don't want to drown, after all.Occasionally, the Wandering Trader will offer coral blocks for three emeralds. Once you've collected Coral, you'll find it can't be used to craft anything. It only has one purpose in the game--looking pretty.Coral needs to be in water to surviveHow to use Coral in MinecraftNow that you've got your coral safely from the bottom of the ocean, you can plant it inside lakes, rivers, and aquariums on your base for decoration or to give a nice colorful home to your fish. However, what happens if you want to use it outside of the water?You can plant coral outside of water itself, but it have access to a water source on at least one side. That means that, technically, you could use coral as a building material as long as you have a hidden (or not so hidden) irrigation system keeping it wet.If you want to use coral as a decoration, you can place a block of sand and pour a bucket of water on it, waterlogging the block. Then, plant the coral fans on top of the waterlogged block, and they won't turn into dead coral. You can do this anywhere in the game, with any block that can be waterlogged.For more helpful Minecraft tips, check out our Minecraft guides hub, where we go over everything from all of the Minecraft mobs, to the most useful Minecraft tools to wield...
Star Citizen, the spaceship-combat game with a never-ending crowdfunding campaign, is currently undergoing a wave of backlash from players. Developer Cloud Imperium Games recently rolled out components that improve ship movement that were originally exclusive to the real-money store--a change that has caused fans to revolt. As reported by PC Gamer, CIG's addition of flight blades in a recent update, which improve ship maneuverability or speed, has caused significant anger among the community. The particular issue at hand here is that CIG rolled these out only to the Star Citizen Pledge Store, where the studio sells in-game items like ships, cosmetics, and upgrades.Selling an item like flight blades isn't on its own unusual--the pledge store is a core method that CIG crowdfunds its game. However, Star Citizen has long had a norm of allowing players to purchase upgrades either with real money or with in-game currency (called aUEC). While the studio promised that they would be made purchasable by in-game currency later in the summer, they were launched early to players willing to shell out cash. Gating the flight blades exclusively behind a real-money paywall struck many fans as a bridge too far. The Star Citizen forum thread announcing the flight blades has accumulated over 2,000 replies, way more than the average thread, and most of these are quite negative. "Selling performance altering modules and keeping them locked behind this paywall even for a short period is still the definition of pay to win and not ok CIG," the top-voted comment from user Vraxer declared. User Morphologis wrote, "So if we're now separating out new features into sellable website commodities, where does this go next? Exclusive Jump Gate keys to Nyx 3 months early? Special exclusive new mission coordinate keys? This is a step too far." The fan revolt came so quickly and with such intensity that CIG had to post a revision of its approach to flight blades. In this new thread, which itself has garnered over 1,100 replies and a huge number of negative reactions, the studio admitted that it had "missed a step" due to "moving faster than ever" to complete a packed docket of game updates this year. Instead of launching them into timed exclusivity to the pledge store, CIG stated that it would delay the release of the components until later in the summer and launch them simultaneously for both real money and in-game currency. CIG also committed to concurrent releases in the future, stating, "For future gameplay kit introductions, we’ll ensure these items are obtainable in-game on day one." Perhaps not surprisingly, this slight backtrack has not calmed the frustration of Star Citizen players. Many of whom have continued to express dismay and anger at the expansion of components for sale that are seen as "pay to win"--that is, components that significantly improve or otherwise alter the behavior of ships in normal gameplay situations. As the top-voted poster, SaltEMike, wrote, "This is a bandaid to calm people down, but the root issue here is that you continue to sell more and more items in the game that have a wider impact on what a player would do day to day." Part of the reason why this change has caused such ire among fans is likely that Star Citizen has raised a tremendous amount of money from early adopters since it began its crowdfunding campaign back in 2013. According to its own website, CIG has brought in well over $800 million, an astonishing sum for a game that is still technically in early access. Correspondingly, Star Citizen is considered one of the most expensive games ever made.However, despite the game's astronomical price tag, CIG has had a rocky track record of development practices. Last year, reports claimed that employees at CIG were being forced to work brutally long hours and crunch seven days per week on the game and its first-person shooter spinoff, Squadron 42...
Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has discussed the hot-button issue of pricing in the video game industry, saying prices have consistently gone down over the years, adjusted for inflation, while also claiming the company is not attempting to nickel and dime players to maximize profits.Speaking to GI.biz, Zelnick said his ambition is for people who buy Take-Two's games to feel like they're coming out ahead in terms of the value proposition."Our job is not to turn a consumer upside down, shake them, and see how much change comes out of their pockets. Our job is to create the very best entertainment. If we do that, the revenue will take care of itself," he said.Not everyone would agree that Take-Two is executing against this directive, as 2K's annual NBA 2K franchise is criticized every year for its ubiquitous microtransactions. Despite that, sales of NBA 2K25--the newest entry--are strong, reaching nearly 10 million units, Zelnick said.Take-Two currently makes most of its money from what it calls "recurrent consumer spending," which includes revenue from virtual currency, add-on content, in-game purchases, and in-game ads. For Take-Two's latest quarter, revenue from recurrent consumer spending jumped by 14% and made up 77% of Take-Two's entire net revenue. NBA 2K25 was one of the top contributors in this department.Also in the interview, Zelnick discussed the current pricing environment for video games, with companies like Nintendo and Microsoft beginning to charge $80 for new games. Zelnick said when adjusted for inflation, pricing for new releases has declined for the past 20 years. Indeed, $60 in the '90s is about $80 today, adjusted for inflation.Zelnick declined to say if Take-Two will follow suit and begin charging $80 for new games, but instead spoke about how his aim is to "maximize the value being delivered, and then offer that value at a meaningfully reduced cost.""That's our job. I do think that the value that is offered is massive and growing, and that is our job," he said.On the subject of Mafia: The Old Country bucking the trend and selling for $50, Zelnick said this was an intentional pricing decision made with the aim of getting the game "into as many hands as possible." The Old Country is a linear, non-open-world title that doesn't require a massive time commitment. 2K has said it believes there is an audience for just such a game.Another upcoming 2K game, Borderlands 4, launches in September but has no price as of yet. Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford said even he doesn't know what the price will be.GTA 6 launches in May 2026, and many are expecting it to sell for a higher price point, though not everyone agrees that it will be $100. According to industry experts, the data shows that people are already embracing paying more for video games, which may help explain why Nintendo and Microsoft were the first to move to higher price points. Sony has warned it might raise prices, too...
The Heroes of Might and Magic video game series turns 30 this year, and ahead of the release of a new game in the series, Dark Horse Books has revealed a new 30th Anniversary Retrospective book. Now available to preorder for $55 at Amazon, the 192-page deluxe hardcover is scheduled to release November 25.Heroes of Might and Magic has had multiple games over the years, starting in 1995 when it spun off from the main Might and Magic series. The rights to the IP were originally held by New World Computing, which was later acquired by 3DO.After 3DO closed down, these rights were then sold to Ubisoft, with the first game under new ownership being Heroes of Might and Magic 5. Following a lengthy hiatus after the release of Heroes of Might and Magic 7 in 2015, Ubisoft recently announced Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era, which is being produced by Iratus: Lord of the Dead developer Unfrozen. The new game will be released later this year through Steam Early Access on PC.For more cool collectibles, you can check out several other books at Dark Horse Direct focused on the art behind specific video games. These range from The Last of Us to Mass Effect, and several of them have been discounted recently.Alternatively, you can also preorder jigsaw puzzles designed to celebrate the legacy of developer Naughty Dog. Based on the studio's Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception and The Last of Us Part 2 games, these are priced at $30 each, and they're now available to preorder.Naughty Dog Collectible PuzzlesThe Last of Us Part 2 deluxe two-sided puzzle -- $30Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception circular cipher disk puzzle -- $30Dark Horse Art BooksThe Art of the Mass Effect Trilogy: Expanded Edition -- $30 ($40)The Art of Mass Effect Andromeda -- $30 ($40)The Art of Horizon Forbidden West -- $70 ($100)The Art of Dragon Age: The Veilguard -- $100The Art of The Last of Us Part 2: Deluxe Edition -- $80 ($90)The Art of Halo Infinite: Deluxe Edition -- $70 ($80)The Art of God of War Ragnarok: Deluxe Edition -- $120 ($130)The Art of Star Wars Visions -- $90 ($100)The Art of Masters of the Universe: Origins and Masterverse -- $90 ($100)The Legend of Zelda: Arts and Artifacts -- $30 ($50)The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia -- $30 ($40)The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia -- $30 ($40)The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Creating a Champion -- $35 ($50)...