Month: June 2021

It wasn’t that long ago that a new console generation felt like a breath of fresh air in video games. It was an opportunity for something completely new. 8 bit to 32. Polygons and 3D Environments. Standard definition to HD. Better graphics. Faster and more consistent frames. New consoles meant technology was ready for a change and video games were there to lead the charge.

However, video games may finally be at the point where there isn’t enough new technology to justify immediately leaping at new console generations. This does not mean there is nothing new of course. Virtual reality is finally a very real thing. Graphics are being pushed further than ever, and consoles are being pushed to their breaking point. Technology is always changing, but those leaps in technology that were once giant are feeling smaller and more incremental now. It’s kind of like a new car or a new phone. Yes, there’s a difference between last year’s model and this year’s, but for many it’s going to be barely noticeable.

Anyone who bought a PlayStation 5 is starting to feel that lack of a giant technological breakthrough. The PS5, effectively, is a more powerful and better performing console than the PS4. It’s faster, has little to no load times, runs smoother, and is, without a doubt, a technologically superior console. However, in terms of why people want to buy video game consoles, there is very little difference between a PS5 and a PS4. Here is a list of the exclusives for PS5.

• Astros Playroom
• Demon’s Souls
• Destruction All-Stars
• Returnal
• Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart (not released yet)
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade (DLC, not released)

Admittedly, that’s not a terrible lineup of exclusives for a console that isn’t even a year old yet, but there is more to it than that. The PS5 can also play PS4 games, which is great for everyone who owned a PS4 because now they can just jump right into the next console generation, but it’s led to a lot of developers sticking with what’s comfortable. Multiple games have come out since the PS5 was released, and it’s not uncommon for a game to only be made for PS4 and for PS5 owners to be playing a PS4 game on their PS5. That or they release it for both, with an enhanced version that maximizes the game on the PS5’s capabilities, but offers nothing different in terms of actual gameplay. The current generation of consoles may be happening right now, but the last generation is still going just as strong as ever. Right now, it’s becoming increasingly hard to make an argument to buy into the new generation of consoles.

Even games that were originally going to be PS5 exclusives, such as Gran Turismo 7 and God of War: Ragnarok, are now going to be released on PS4 too.

Hermen: It very much is. You can’t build a community of over 110 million PS4 owners and then just walk away from it, right? I think that’d be bad news for fans of PS4, and frankly not very good business.

Where it makes sense to develop a title for both PS4 and PS5 — for Horizon Forbidden West, the next God of War, GT7 — we’ll continue looking at that. And if PS4 owners want to play that game, then they can. If they want to go on and play the PS5 version, that game will be there for them.

That being said, it’s also very important to have showpieces for PS5, hence the development of Returnal and Ratchet that are exclusive to PS5.

For PS4 owners this is great news. For PS5 owners it’s hard to not wonder what the point of their purchase was. Returnal is fun and Ratchet and Clank looks exciting, but is that enough to buy an entirely new console? Were the hardware improvements really that worth it, or would a PS4 Pro have sufficed?

What’s interesting is that these comments sound oddly similar to how Xbox has been approaching its current console generation. The Xbox Series X/S has for the most part been advertised as just a hardware upgrade.. They haven’t tried particularly hard to move away from the Xbox One and their list of exclusives is even smaller than the PlayStation 5, but that’s because their main focus has been getting people into their Gamepass ecosystem. Similar to how Apple cares more about you using the latest version of iOS rather than the latest smart phone.

Is this PlayStation acknowledging the Xbox strategy and trying to replicate it in their own way? Or did the year that was 2020 delay their plans and they had to extend the lifespan of the PS4 generation of consoles? It could be as simple as that, but it raises an interesting question about the entire idea of a console generation. Do we still need them? Is there a reason why the PS4 should not have access to the majority of PS5 games? If the coding of the game is capable of playing it then there shouldn’t be a problem in theory. Yes, it will eventually become too complicated and a new console will become a requirement, but how is that different from waiting until a phone or PC ages out?

We may be seeing PlayStation forced into a realization they didn’t want to be at. Console generations are mattering less and less. The longer PlayStation continues to say their new games can be played on PS4, the more they are acknowledging this. Eventually the PS4 will age out and a PS5 will be a requirement, but will that be due to technology or because enough people finally bought PS5’s to justify making that happen? It’s starting to feel like the latter more than the former.

Over the years and on multiple occasions, Grimes has shown that she is a creative thinker who sees the world differently than a lot of other people do. She reinforced that last night, when she shared a TikTok video in which she makes a connection between artificial intelligence and communism. The clip left a lot of people scratching their heads, which caused Grimes to become a trending topic on Twitter.

In the clip (which features a panel from the manga Berserk as the background), Grimes says:

“I have a proposition for the communists. Typically, most of the communists I know are not big fans of AI. But if you think about it, AI is actually the fastest path to communism. So, if implemented correctly, AI could actually theoretically solve for abundance. Like, we could totally get to a situation where nobody has to work, everybody is provided for with a comfortable state of being… comfortable living.

AI could automate all the farming and weed out all the corruption, thereby bringing us to… as close as possible to genuine equality. So, basically, everything everybody loves about communism, but without the collective farm. ‘Cause, let’s be real, enforced farming is really not a vibe.”

Grimes later wrote in a comment on the video, “Haha I am not a communist! this iz a joke- but maybe the technocrats and communists could get along!”

The whole situation has left Twitter users wondering just what the heck Grimes was talking about:

Watch the video below.

Netflix’s Geeked Week is officially coming, y’all. That means that fans of The Witcher, The Umbrella Academy, Stranger Things, The Sandman, and Cobra Kai (and more) should get a good fix from the streaming platform as franchises get back on track following pandemic delays. Netflix has released the above teaser to get genre fans ready for a full-on week (June 7-11, beginning at 9:00 am PST/12:00 pm EST) for the inaugural edition of this event, which will feature five days of appreciation for everything that fandoms do to keep the passion alive for their favorite characters, TV shows, and gaming endeavors.

Geeked Week promises to dig into five broad categorizations — comic book, sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, and YA — both for films and TV series, with a ton of trailers, news, and appearances from the stars themselves. First looks, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, live performances, and you name it, things will be happening. The streaming services’ YouTube, Twitter, Twitch, Facebook and TikTok accounts will be ground central for releases as they happen, and the entire week should be pretty bonkers for fans of 50+ Netflix projects, including the following:

The Sandman, The Umbrella Academy, The Witcher, Gunpowder Milkshake, The Cuphead Show!, Arcane, Lucifer, Fear Street Trilogy, Kate, Castlevania, Masters of the Universe: Revelation, La Casa de Papel, Resident Evil, Cowboy Bebop, Cobra Kai, Godzilla: Singular Point, Sweet Tooth, Vikings: Valhalla

Previously, Netflix revealed that GeekedWeek.com will be a daily wrap-up location to give “fans a wide array of exclusive news, new trailers, live art, drop-ins from your favorite stars and much more about all your favorite Netflix series and films.” The event will be completely free, too, and watchable later on, if you aren’t able to partake live. Hopefully, we’ll see more on the streaming service edging into the gaming realm, and here’s a Twitter announcement below.

After the Lakers won two in a row to take a 2-1 series lead, the Suns have rattled off their own two-game streak to take a 3-2 lead and put the defending champs on the brink of elimination going back to L.A. for Game 6 on Thursday night.

Game 5 was a rout from the beginning, with the Suns leading by 30 at halftime as the Anthony Davis-less Lakers had no juice and no answers for a Suns team that was clearly ready to take advantage of the Lakers being without one of their two superstars. Davis’ status for Game 6 remains in question, with Frank Vogel simply offering a “we’ll see” on Wednesday when asked about Davis playing with his groin strain, and his presence obviously is a pivot point in this series. When Davis has played well, the Lakers have won, and when he hasn’t or when he’s been hurt, they haven’t. LeBron James’ workload as the lead creator for the Lakers is already immense when Davis plays, and when he doesn’t, they simply lack the offensive firepower to keep up with a team like Phoenix.

As such, everyone is waiting on Davis’ game time decision, although based on how the books are placing this game they seem to be expecting him to play with L.A. as a slight favorite. It’s hard to take much away from Game 5 other than the Lakers just aren’t good enough sans Davis, but how good they are with a likely below 100 percent version of Davis against a Suns team feeling very confident remains to be seen.

In Game 5, the Suns covered with ease as five-point favorites and the Under moved to 4-1 in the series, holding below 207 in the 115-85 Phoenix win.

Game 6 TV Info

Tip Time: Thursday, June 3; 10:30 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 6 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Suns (-278), Lakers (+210)
Spread: Lakers -2 (-112), Suns +2 (-109)
Total: Over 207 (-112), Under 207 (-109)
Money Line: Lakers (-129), Suns (+108)

The Nuggets and Blazers played the game of the postseason thus far in Game 5 of their first round series, as Denver managed to overcome a 55-point, 10-assist night from Damian Lillard to get a win in double overtime to take a 3-2 lead going back to Portland. As such, Game 6 becomes a win or stay home situation for the Blazers, who will once again look to Dame for some heroics but need more from the supporting cast to force Nikola Jokic and company to a Game 7 back in Denver.

Jokic had 38 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists in the Game 5 win, but the Nuggets besting Portland was more about what the others gave them. After a miserable time in Game 4, Michael Porter Jr. bounced back with 26 points and 12 rebounds and Monte Morris erupted for 28 points to give the Nuggets a needed backcourt boost as they continue to search for impact from the guard spots in Jamal Murray’s absence. For Portland, Robert Covington had 19 and CJ McCollum had 18 in the loss, but overall the guys around Lillard couldn’t capitalize enough on good looks and spent much of the night simply spectating at the Dame show.

From a betting perspective, Game 6 went way over the total of 226 and Denver covered as 1.5-point favorites.

Game 6 TV Info

Tip Time: Thursday, June 3; 8 p.m. ET
TV Network: TNT

Game 5 Betting Lines (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Series Prices: Nuggets (-275), Blazers (+210)
Spread: Blazers -5 (-112), Nuggets +5 (-109)
Total: Over 227.5 (-113), Under 227.5 (-108)
Money Line: Blazers (-210), Nuggets (+170)

For the fifth straight game in the Mavs-Clippers series, the home team lost in Game 5 as the Clippers lost 105-100 at Staples Center as Luka Doncic torched them in a 42-point, 14-assist performance that was nothing short of sensational. On the other side, Paul George had a nice night with 23 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists, serving as the catalyst for L.A.’s late run to get back into the game in the fourth, but neither he nor Kawhi Leonard could get quite enough going offensively to reel the Mavs all the way in.

Leonard finished with 20 points on 7-of-19 shooting, with his final shot being a woeful airball from the corner in the closing seconds with the Clippers down three. It was a similar position to his legendary Four Bounces shot in Game 7 against the Sixers in Toronto, but this time he got no bounces as the shot missed everything and Dallas hauled in the loose ball. It was a somewhat fitting end to another poor performance at home, and the frustration of coming up just short against the Mavs in their own arena seemed to have finally resulted in some discord in L.A.

After Leonard’s shot, Rajon Rondo, who threw the inbounds pass to Kawhi in the corner, seemed livid and went at Leonard as they walked off the court have a brief but heated discussion.

What made the moment all the more interesting is that Rondo was having one of the worst nights of any Clipper, with one point on 0-of-6 shooting with six assists, two rebounds, and two turnovers, posting a team-worst minus-19 in the loss. It is eerily reminiscent of some of the way last year’s Clippers team seemed to have some issues internally in their playoff implosion in the Bubble, culminating in reports of locker room speeches falling on deaf ears and frustrations with how L.A.’s stars got preferential treatment all year.

This time, it seems to be Rondo being frustrated about the shot selection after Kawhi got smothered in the corner with plenty of time to reset and try to find a different look with 8.8 on the clock when they put the ball in play. They still have at least one more game to right the ship and respond with another road win in Dallas, but with a critical offseason approaching, the vibes seem poor, to say the least, in L.A. as they now sit on the brink of elimination.

Game 5 between the Clippers and Mavericks was a dramatic, stressful affair that saw Luka Doncic once again put up a Herculean effort in dragging the Mavs to a 105-100 win, scoring 42 points and dishing out a new playoff career-high 14 assists as he accounted for well over half of Dallas’ offense.

Doncic was unbelievable early, with 27 points and eight assists in the first half as Dallas took a narrow 56-54 lead into the break.

In the third quarter, the Clippers took early control but fell apart late, as Doncic took over once again to lead Dallas on a 22-3 run that put them up by 14 going into the fourth quarter, capped off by a rare lob finish from Luka.

In the fourth quarter, things ground to a halt for the Mavs offense, who struggled with Luka sitting to start and even his return couldn’t kickstart things. Paul George led the Clippers back into the game with steady play, reeling them to within two possessions late.

After no one on the Mavs could convert on some incredible looks created by Doncic in the fourth quarter, they finally got some shots to fall as Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kristaps Porzingis hit massive threes to put some distance between them and the Clippers.

However, L.A. had an answer for Dallas’ run to pull ahead by 10. Kawhi capped off a 9-0 Clippers run in three possessions with this and-1 to suddenly make it a one-point game as the game once again swung wildly, this time towards L.A.

After forcing a turnover, the Clippers got Terrance Mann going to the basket with no one in front of him, but he bizarrely passed it back to Nic Batum who couldn’t finish over a contest and L.A.’s best chance to win the game went away just like that.

Following a pair of Tim Hardaway Jr. free throws made it a three-point game with 8.8 seconds to play, Kawhi Leonard forced up a tough corner three that missed everything, putting the final nail in the coffin for Game 5 as Dallas won their third game in Los Angeles.

Doncic’s performance was nothing short of phenomenal in leading Dallas to the win, but the Clippers will be kicking themselves for what had to feel like a great opportunity to steal one on a big Luka night. Their issues closing out games continues to be a major problem, and after taking control back in Dallas, not being able to get a win at home once again puts them in a perilous position against a Mavs team that didn’t have their best aside from their star in Game 5.

After winning with unsustainable shooting in the first two games in L.A., the Mavs shot a much more typical 14-of-36 from deep in this win, headlined by a 6-of-12 night from Doncic. The fourth quarter was an absolute rock fight, but getting a win in that manner rather than just bombarding the Clippers with three after three might make the Mavs feel even more confident as they head back to Dallas looking to close things out with the first home win for either team in the series.

The Jazz and Grizzlies had played nothing but competitive games entering Wednesday’s Game 5, as Utah held a 3-1 series lead by gutting out wins with impressive resolve going up against a young Memphis team that refuses to back down.

However, Game 5 saw the floodgates finally open for Utah as they boatraced the Grizzlies from the opening tip in what ended up being a 126-110 win to end the series and advance to the second round, where they await the winner of the Mavs-Clippers series. Utah put the game away early, as they scored 47 points in the first quarter, led by Donovan Mitchell and capped off by a Mike Conley three as they went up 20 on Memphis going into the second.

There, it was more of the same for Utah, as they lit up the Grizzlies defense, hitting seemingly everything, as Donovan Mitchell piled up 26 first half points as he seemed personally tired of Dillon Brooks and Memphis.

Mitchell finished with 30 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds in the win, leading Utah’s charge to shut the door early on Memphis. Rudy Gobert added 23 points and 15 rebounds as he continued his sensational play in the series, with Jordan Clarkson chipping in 24 points off the bench as he so often does.

The Jazz took a 24-point lead into the half and a 30-point lead into the fourth, as they just refused to let the Grizzlies mount anything close to a real comeback until it was far too late, flexing their offensive firepower in a thorough victory to get themselves to the conference semis. It was a closeout game that didn’t do justice to the rest of the series which, while it ended in five games, was one of the most competitive and entertaining of the first round. While the last game will leave a bad taste in the mouths of the Grizzlies, they have to be encouraged by their play, namely that of Ja Morant who stepped up on the biggest stage and showed he very much belonged. The same issues that we knew Memphis had offensively, headlined by a lack of perimeter shooting as a team, came back to haunt them in this series against a team with seemingly unlimited shooters, but their effort on both ends was tremendous and encouraging for the future.

The Grizzlies will now go into the offseason needing to find some upgrades in the scoring department around Morant, Brooks, and Jonas Valanciunas, but with a clearly bright future ahead. Utah will get some rest and await the end of the Dallas-L.A. series, which could be important as Conley left the game in the first half with hamstring soreness and did not return with the same issue that caused him to miss some games late in the regular season. Getting battle tested by Memphis in the way they did should serve the Jazz well, as they got more of a challenge than most top seeds get in the first round and had to get in playoff mode early to withstand runs and respond over and over again.

The NBA has a long history of villains. Some find themselves in that role by circumstance and never fully embrace it — those are the least fun kind. Then there are the ones who live for being hated, fully playing up their heel status, becoming beloved to their fan base and loathed by the rest.

The Bad Boy Pistons did this better than anyone, and when they won, everyone outside of Detroit hated it. Reggie Miller was as good at it as any individual player, and had the game and big moments to back up all of his antics and trash talk. The NBA currently has few genuine superstars who take on that villain role and embrace it, which is why the Hawks-Knicks series has been so exciting. It has been the breakout performance for Trae Young: Supervillain.

Young fully embraced the hatred from the Knicks crowd, basking in “F*ck Trae Young” chants in Game 1 to deliver a cold-blooded dagger at the end, shushing the crowd in defiance as he pranced around the court. In Game 5, Young and the Hawks didn’t need heroics to beat a defeated Knicks team, but Young posted 36 points as Atlanta overwhelmed the Knicks at MSG to end the series in five games. To close things out, Young hit one last dagger from the logo and, with Reggie Miller on the call and in the building, gave a Reggie-esque bow to the crowd.

After the game, Trae was asked about the bow and had a sensational quote about putting on a show in a city that knows a great show when they see it, and those performances always end with a bow.

Young plays a grating style of basketball, frustrating opponents and their fans with his ability to draw fouls and get to the line, but he also has an insane skillset beyond the grifting that allows him to do things like this to really twist the knife in the opposition. Up until this series, Trae has been more about letting his game do the talking and plays the humble card in postgame interviews, but this is a thrilling development in his growth as a villain, talking the talk as he walks the walk.

We need more of this from Young. He’s soon going to get a whole new stage and a whole new city of rabid fans he hopes to quiet in the next round against the Sixers, as the show must go on.

The playoffs are a busy time for the Inside the NBA crew, as they shift from one night per week to four or five during the postseason, and as such they work out some time for their analysts to get a day off here and there as needed by once again bringing Draymond Green — a future star of the a studio show somewhere — on to fill in.

Green stepped in for Shaq earlier in the week, also taking on Shaq’s role of racing Kenny Smith to the video board which becomes far less competitive of a race with the currently in game shape Green doing the running.

On Wednesday, Draymond moved to the other side of the desk to take over for Charles Barkley, and in doing so tried to enjoy some of the perks of Chuck’s position. With the Hawks facing the Knicks with a chance to close out the series in New York, Shaq decided to GUAAAARANTEE a Hawks victory and had Draymond smash the Chuck button, which resulted in Barkley getting roasted on his day off.

At halftime, Shaq couldn’t help but have Draymond smash the button again with the Hawks leading, as the Chuck fat jokes continued from the TNT crew.

Chuck is somewhere trying to enjoy his night off and even being out of the studio can’t get him away from the jokes from his cohorts, who have turned his beloved guarantee button into a Chuckster roasting button.