Switch 2 leaks turn into deluge as dummy units shown at CESAccessories manufacturer says it's banking on April launch.Image credit: Nintendo News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Jan. 8, 2025 Accurate models of Nintendo's under-wraps Switch 2 have been shown off at the CES 2025 trade show in Las Vegas by accessories manufacturer Genki.French website Numerama went hands-on with one of these models and was told by Genki representatives that it was based on access to the actual Switch 2, which it expected to launch in April this year.Incredibly, the report states that access to an actual Switch 2 unit via the black market is also now possible, "if you put up the money". Nintendo is still to announce Switch 2, but at this point it feels like there's little still to learn about how the next-generation handheld will look.Still, these latest images - and video, below - of the Switch 2 dummy unit that Genki is showing off give us our best view yet of the hardware. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.As we've seen in images of multiple previous Switch 2 accessories, and as reported separately prior to that, Switch 2 will be a slightly larger version of Nintendo's current hardware, with an additional "C" button on the right Joy-Con, magnetic attachments for the controllers, and an additional USB-C port on the device's top. Videos shown on Genki's stand, and also now on the company's website, show a highly-detailed look at the new Switch 2 Joy-Con - including its previously-rumoured optical sensor.Eurogamer has contacted Nintendo for more.Separately, yet another accessories manufacturer has begun advertising its own add-ons via Amazon in Japan. Images of a Switch 2 console cover from third-party company Laziro offer yet another look at what the handheld is expected to look like: To see this content please enable targeting cookies."Nintendo will not have much time in January, so a potential announcement early in the month could make sense," industry analyst Serkan Toto told Eurogamer last month. "You can bet that Nintendo is aware of all the leaks and not happy about them."

Monster Hunter Wilds gets second open beta ahead of February releaseRompopolo of the Bailey.Image credit: Capcom News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Jan. 8, 2025 Monster Hunter Wilds has kicked off the new year by announcing a second open beta test.This beta will include the content from the first beta - so Character Creation, Story Trial and the Slay Doshaguma Quest - as well as the chance to hunt down Gypceros, a returning monster for the series. If you took part in the first beta, you can transfer your character to the second beta. This data, Capcom said, can also be transferred to the full game on release, however it stressed the same isn't the case for any game progress made.Those interested in giving the second open beta a go will be able to do so between 6th February, with things getting going from 7pm Pacific time - that's actually 3am on 7th February, for those of us in the UK. This wave of the beta will run until 9th February, culminating at 6.59pm Pacific (so, 2.59am on 10th February in the UK). Another beta weekend will take place the following weekend running between 13th February and 16th February. Timings remain the same.The beta is available for those Monster Hunter Wilds' players on PC via Steam, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Those who take part will get some added bonuses in the full game, such as a decorative weapon charm."Please note that adjustments including performance, weapon changes, Hitstop, quality of life improvements and more will not be present or reflected in the second Open Beta Test build," Capcom added in a video announcing the beta, which you can see below.New Year's Greetings 2025 | Monster Hunter Wilds Open Beta Test 2 Announcement. Watch on YouTubeThe first Monster Hunter Wilds beta test took place towards the end of last year, and you may recall that while it pulled in an impressive number of players, it was a little rough around the edges. Many of those partaking shared screenshots of angular, almost Nintendo 64-looking graphics during the beta's run, with creatures looking more akin to animated origami rather than the fully fledged monsters they were meant to be.However, Capcom has said it has listened to all of the feedback and requests that have come its way since that first beta, and are "working hard to improve the quality of the game for launch" (which is set for 28th February).Monster Hunter Wilds is one of the Eurogamer team's most anticipated games of the year. Want to know our full list? Check out Eurogamer's 80 most anticipated games of 2025 here.

Physical game sales in the UK dropped by a massive 34.5 percent over the past year. Read more

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereFortnites Battle Royale combines shooting mechanics and a dynamic building system where the game becomes more than just outshooting opponents; it also involves outbuilding them. Building structures quickly during combat can give players shelter, high ground, and strategic benefits, making it an essential component of claiming a dub.Over time, the Fortnite community has developed a variety of advanced building techniques. Tricks such as 90s allow players to acquire height quickly by building in a 90-degree pattern, Tunneling enables safe traversal across the map by forming a network of interconnected boxes, whereas box edits involve rapidly altering walls to create openings for attacks or escapes, demonstrating the level of skill necessary.These tricks, however, present a steep learning curve for inexperienced players, who are frequently overwhelmed by the sweaty lobbies in build modes. Recognizing this gap, Epic Games is launching a new feature that will allow players to accomplish intricate builds like the 90s with only one click.Fortnite leak reveals Smart Building feature to simplify building mechanicsFortnite leaker Loolo shared a clip on X that showcases the upcoming Smart Building feature on the Chapter 6 Season 1 island. According to the post, the feature will let you build prefabs slowly, without having to change the shape type while building.The Smart Building feature will enable players to build faster in Fortnite. Image by Loolo.The clip showcases a player building a ramp rush structure using a Wall, Ramp, and Floor as pros would gain a quick height advantage. Some players also believe that this feature will help them crank 90s faster as they would simply stack the prefab build on top of one another with a simple click.The leaker also informed players that the feature is currently unfinished and could change once released. Regardless, the community was left divided upon this leak, which consists of both pros and casual players.One casual wrote, Honestly great addition gives people who dont really like builds have the same advantage. Another chimed in, Damn they really giving everybody the ability to build like pros.However, some were quite skeptical about the feature, as one user commented, I feel like this is just gonna be an overall negative for the game if implemented poorly since it might just encourage new players to not learn how to build. Another user said, Whats next? Smart Aim? I legit have no idea why stuff like this is added when zero builds exists. This completely defeats the purpose of even learning how to build.Since there is a certain divide in the community, many even believe that the first-person mode is going to tank the Battle Royale even further. Still, players are waiting for the next Fortnite update which will add new content to the game. FortnitePlatform(s):Android, iOS, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series S/XGenre(s):Action, Massively Multiplayer, Shooter9VideoGamerRelated TopicsFortnite Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

All Of The LightsHelldivers 2 dataminer claims to have accidentally discovered some kind of deadly Illuminate Aurora Borealis, after casually dropping an alien obelisk from the sky'Good Lord, what is happening in there?' - Superintendent BraschImage credit: Arrowhead News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on Jan. 8, 2025 A Helldivers 2 dataminer appears to have accidentally managed to activate some kind of deadly lightshow by dropping an Illuminate obelisk, and now they're struggling to activate it again.Yep, the baddies from the Omens of Tyranny update that you've been busy fighting might have what looks like iot could be a pretty orbital laser bomardment of sorts tucked away for a rainy day. Though, whether such a thing ever actually shows up in the game is yet to be seen.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Dataminer Iron_S1ghts, a long-time Helldivers 2 leaker who's previously shared the likes of sneak peeks at the game's Killzone crossover gear before it was officially announced, has classified this latest finding as "not a full leak", but just a thing that "has something to do with the Illuminate Obelisk".As you can see below, they've shared a clip of them taking in some kind of eleborate and very pretty lightshow as they run across the surface of a planet. It's apparently not just something to gaze at as you toast some mid-mission marshmallows, though, with Iron_S1ghts claiming that its beams do "1300 damage on hit". To see this content please enable targeting cookies.The music isn't part of it by the way, Iron_S1ghts revealed in the replies that they accidentally included audio from the playlist they were listening to in the clip. Damn, and here I was hoping the Illuminate Aurora came with its own sick beats."This was entirely accidental," they wrote, "I was testing the Obelisk projectile by dropping it from the sky, and like mid-process it did this. There's no telling what this will do this once in-game, but this looked awesome. For those wondering, it was not that performance heavy, which was very surprising."Surely they'll be doing more investingating of this thing right? Well, it seems there's a catch, as the dataminer's seemigly been having trouble replicating the circumstances which activated it the fist time, writing: "I would've gotten better footage, but I have not been able to recreate this exact effect."As of right now, it appears neither the dataminer or anyone else knows exactly what this discovery is, so we'll just have to wait and see if more info is forthcoming. Until then, as with all leaks and datamines, take it with a grain of salt, since Arrowhead's said in the past that not every one of these is worth getting excited about or necessarily an upcoming addition to Helldivers 2.If nothing else, it's something else to speculate about if you're already sick of coming up with fantasy casts for the Helldivers movie.

Keeping It LightYou can rest easy, Star Wars loreheads, because Logan director James Mangold set his entry into the series so far in the past to avoid being "handcuffed" by "immovable" lore"You can't please anybody."Image credit: Disney/ Lucasfilm News by Oisin Kuhnke Contributor Published on Jan. 8, 2025 The upcoming James Mangold directed Star Wars flick Dawn of the Jedi is set incredibly far in the past, and it's all to avoid being bogged down by lore.When you're working on something like Star Wars, these days you're just going to be inherently held back because everything has to fit into everything else. Why would The Mandalorian become so grand rather than the fun adventure of the week romp it started off as otherwise? There always has to be some connection to something. All of the entries into the world of Star Wars have been TV shows since The Rise of Skywalker, though, but some films are in the works, namely Logan director James Mangold's Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi, a prequel film set 25,000 years in the past about, well, you know, the dawn of the Jedi. And the reason for it being so far in the past? The director doesn't want to be "handcuffed" by all of the series' lore.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Speaking to MovieWeb, Mangold explained that his "Star Wars movie would be taking place 25,000 years before any known Star Wars movies takes place. It's an area and a playground that I've always [wanted to explore] and that I was inspired by as a teenager. I'm not that interested in being handcuffed by so much lore at this point that it's almost immovable, and you can't please anybody."Honestly, I really can't blame him. The director has previously expressed that he's not a fan of cinematic universes, despite entering two of them in the world of Star Wars and the DCU with Swamp Thing, but with an angle like this he can essentially ignore a lot of the baggage that typically comes from working in such a universe. Even still, I'm sure Disney will figure out how to fit in some kind of nonsense somewhere to sell some toys.

OBT 2The Monster Hunter Wilds beta is coming back with two sessions next month, and there'll be new content - but no performance upgradesCapcom recently teased that those of us who missed out on the first Monster Hunter Wilds beta may get another shot in the new year, and that's exactly what's going to happen.Image credit: Capcom News by Sherif Saed Contributing Editor Published on Jan. 8, 2025 Capcom has today announced what a lot of us Monster Hunter Wilds fans expected: the game is going to return to our PCs and consoles one last time ahead of the big launch in late February. Well, the open beta will, anyway.Just before the end of last year, the publisher hinted at this being a possibility, and today, we got a proper announcement of what to expect, and when its going to take place.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Unlike the first Monster Hunter Wilds open beta, this next one wont have any platform exclusivity. The second open beta will take place over two weekends, both of which will be available across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series consoles. Youre not going to need PlayStation Plus or Game Pass Core memberships to play, either.The second open beta includes all content in the November test, but Capcom is also adding in Gypceros, a monster longtime fans should know well. Therell also be new content that the publisher isnt revealing right now, so that could be another monster to take on.Heres the schedule of the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta 2:Thursday, February 6 at 7pm PT, 10pm ET, 3am UK (Friday). It will be available until those same times on Sunday, February 9.The beta returns the weekend after that for its final session, taking place Thursday, February 13 at 7pm PT, 10pm ET, 3am UK (Friday). It will wrap up on Sunday, February 16 at the same times.If you never took part in the November open beta, you should also look forward to accessing the highly-detailed character creator, and the early part of the story that introduces your first monster hunt - Doshaguma. If you did play the first beta, the character you spent longer than you thought you would creating will be available in the upcoming open beta. This also goes for the full version, so you may as well perfect your Hunter now. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Capcom is also offering a new set of rewards for players who take part in this beta. Youll receive a cosmetic pendant, as well as an item pack that includes a few useful consumables like Raw Meat, Traps, Barrel Bombs, Flash/Dung Pods, and some Armor Spheres.If theres any bad news in this its that were sadly not going to get any of the performance improvements, gameplay tweaks, or the hitstop/animation fixes the Monster Hunter team discussed late last year following beta feedback.Monster Hunter Wilds is one of several major RPGs coming out in February. Its technically going to arrive much later into the month than Assassins Creed Shadows, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, or Avowed, but it is arguably the one with the biggest potential to rule the month.Monster Hunter Wilds arrives February 28 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Image: Gemma Smith / Nintendo Life2024 was a fairly turbulent year for the games industry in many ways, but what's clear from the latest data is that physical games sales in the UK are struggling mightily.According to data from the Entertainment Retailers Association, and based on data from Nielsen/GfK, India and GSD (thanks, VGC), physical game sales dropped by nearly 35% when compared to 2023, bringing in a total of 324.4 million in revenue.Digital sales made up the lion's share during 2024 and managed to bring in a total of 4.29 billion across console, PC, mobile, and tablet sales. Although this still represents a drop of 1% from the previous year, it's nevertheless a substantial increase over physical sales.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube791kWatch on YouTube Overall then, total revenue for the games industry was around 4.6 billion for the year, representing a drop of 4.4% from 2023. PC download sales were down by 5% and console by 15%, while mobile and tablet sales rose by 2.6%. Subscription revenue, meanwhile, increased by around 12%.Selling 2.9 million copies, EA Sports FC 25 was the best-selling game of the year in the UK, with around 80% of its sales taking place on digital storefronts.2025 is expected to be a healthier year for the games industry, with Nintendo's upcoming Switch successor just on the horizon, and Rockstar Games' much-anticipated behemoth Grand Theft Auto VI launching in the coming months. New year, same tiersDid you purchase any physical games in 2024? What do you make of the overall drop in revenue? Let us know your thoughts with a comment.[source videogameschronicle.com]Related GamesSee AlsoShare:00 Nintendo Lifes resident horror fanatic, when hes not knee-deep in Resident Evil and Silent Hill lore, Ollie likes to dive into a good horror book while nursing a lovely cup of tea. He also enjoys long walks and listens to everything from TOOL to Chuck Berry. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Highlights Multiple Switch Games Launching In 2025It's going to be an action-packed yearSwitch's First 'Rebootless Update' Of 2025 Is Now Live, Here Are The DetailsFollowing Version 19.0.1's rollout last OctoberTech Fans Have Gone Full 'Layton' In Analysing The 'Switch 2' MotherboardCritical thinking is the key to success.Talking Point: Our 2025 Nintendo Gaming PredictionsNew hardware smellNintendo Download: 2nd January (North America)Ys Memoire! Rivenaar's Grove! Uh... That's it!

Update: Genki's website now shows a new video.Last week, accessory maker Genki announced it would be showcasing 'Switch 2' accessories at CES 2025 and it's now delivered on this promise.These new products are reportedly being shown "behind closed doors" and the German outlet Netzwelt has now shared some photos online. Apart from a look at a docking station with Joy-Con controllers attached, there's also a "Switch 2 replica" model on display.Read the full article on nintendolife.com

In BriefPosted:1:11 AM PST January 8, 2025Image Credits:Getty ImagesUN aviation agency confirms hacker breached recruitment database to access thousands of recordsThe United Nations aviation agency has confirmed that a hacker accessed thousands of records after compromising its internal recruitment database.Over the weekend, an individual using the alias Natohub claimed to have accessed 42,000 documents from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The agency said it was investigating the incident on Monday and, in an updated statement sent to TechCrunch on Tuesday, it confirmed Natohubs claims.ICAO can confirm that the reported information security incident involves approximately 42,000 recruitment application data records from April 2016 to July 2024 claimed to be released by the threat actor known as Natohub, it said.ICAO said that the compromised data includes information including job applicantsnames, email addresses, dates of birth, and employment history. The affected data does not include financial information, passwords, passport details, or any documents uploaded by applicants, the agency added.ICAO said the breach is limited to the recruitment database and that it is working to identify and notify affected individuals.Topics