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PlayStation Showcase 2021: When it airs, how to watch, what to expect

Otto Kratky
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Whereas Xbox held a showcase during Gamescom, Sony will be flaunting what’s next for the PlayStation 5 during its own separate showcase today. The PlayStation Showcase will be Sony’s first event since the company’s last PlayStation State of Play in July, where we got updates on multiple new and existing titles, including Death Stranding Director’s Cut, Sifu, and Deathloop. Here’s how you can watch today’s stream and what to realistically expect from it.

When is the PlayStation Showcase stream?

This week’s PlayStation Showcase will air at 1 p.m. PT today. According to an announcement for the event on the PS Blog, the showcase will last around 40 minutes and include a post-show with updates from developers featured during the Showcase.

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Where can I watch the PlayStation Showcase stream?

PlayStation Showcase 2021 [ENGLISH]

Viewers can catch the upcoming PlayStation Showcase stream on PlayStation’s YouTube channel and Twitch channel.

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What to expect from the PlayStation Showcase?

While an announcement post for the PlayStation Showcase stream lays out (albeit vaguely) what viewers can expect, Sony’s recent announcements for PlayStation could give us some specifics. The stream will “include updates from PlayStation Studios and some of the industry’s most imaginative developers, for games releasing this holiday and beyond.” However, the post explicitly notes that the next-gen iteration of PlayStation VR won’t be present at the show.

As for what games and developers we’ll see specifically, there are some reasonable predictions to make. For starters, we’ll likely see more of Horizon Forbidden West, which was recently delayed to early 2022. Sifu, which has been featured in a number of Sony’s State of Play presentations this year, also has a solid chance of showing up.

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Otto Kratky
Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
You only have one week left to share PlayStation clips and screenshots to X
Two versions of the PS5 next to each other.

A notification some users received on PS4 and PS5 confirms that the platforms' integration with X -- the social media platform formally known as Twitter -- will go away next week. That means you'll no longer be able to quickly share screenshots or videos to X from the console. 
"As of November 13, 2023, integration with X (formerly known as Twitter) will no longer function on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 consoles," the notification (as screenshotted by Wario64) states. "This includes the ability to view any content published on X on PS5/PS4, and the ability to post and view content, trophies, and other gameplay-related activities on X directly from PS5/PS5 (or link an X account to do so)."

Since the release of the PS4, people have been able to share screenshots and videos taken with the controller's Share button with social media services. Twitter historically was one of those platforms, but API changes following Elon Musk's buying of the platform and rebranding to X have interfered with its integration with many platforms. Now, it seems that Sony has decided that it's best just to rid PlayStation platforms of any X integration whatsoever. PlayStation has not publicly commented on why it's removing this feature yet, but we've contacted them for comment and will update this story when we get a response.
If there are any screenshots or videos on your PS4 or PS5 that you want to get onto X, you have until November 13 to do so. After that, Apple, Discord, Spotify, Twitch, and YouTube will be the only services one can link their PlayStation account to.

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Don’t ignore Spider-Man 2’s side missions. They’re the best parts of the game
Miles checking his phone in spider-man 2.

With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 out, you might be tempted to devour Insomniac’s new superhero adventure as fast as possible like a hungry Venom. I wouldn’t blame you. The sequel’s sprawling story is a complicated web of threads that beg to be untangled. It’s tempting to zoom from mission to mission, ignoring all other side activities until New York City has been properly saved from Kraven’s wrath.

If you find yourself in that boat, consider this a PSA: Don’t skip out on Spider-Man 2’s side missions. Though they aren’t as glitzy as the main campaign, the sequel’s best moments are consistently tucked away in quieter quests that emphasize compassion and community support over comic book violence. They’re the moments that best illustrate what it truly means to be a superhero.
Community support
Just like the previous two Spider-Man games, Insomniac’s open-world take on New York City is filled with optional storylines. Early on, Peter and Miles can stop to clean up a mess left by Sandman or take up jobs as local photographers. These aren’t just empty checklists to complete; even something as simple as collecting every Spider-bot in town leads to some kind of narrative payoff that’s usually worth seeing through to the end (especially since a 100% completion only takes around 35 hours).

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PS5 slim vs. PS5: everything you need to know about the new PS5 model
The slimmer PS5 console laying on its side.

Sony consoles have always gotten multiple versions and editions ever since the original PlayStation 1. As technology becomes cheaper and more advanced, refreshed models that are both smaller and less expensive to produce typically come out a couple of years into a console's life cycle, and we have now hit that point for the PS5. The PS5 slim, as it is being referred to, is a smaller version of the launch models, and will eventually become the standard unit available to consumers once the stock of existing PS5s runs out. However, is this version worth getting if you're an existing owner, or is it only for new purchasers? There's also the question about which of the two versions to buy. To answer all these questions, let's compare the PS5 slim to the OG PS5.
Specs

Let's start with the most important part, which is whether or not there's more power under the hood of the PS5 slim compared to the launch models. No, the PS5 slim is not in any way more powerful than an existing PS5. This is not a PS5 Pro, which is currently just a rumor. Games will not look, run, or play any better or worse on either version. The only difference in terms of specs is that the slim versions have slightly more storage space at 1 TB compared to 825GB, which is just a small 175GB upgrade. There's nothing here that makes it worth buying a new system when you can expand the storage of your console yourself.
Size
Obviously, a slim model would mean that this new version would be smaller than the frankly comically large launch version. While that's true, it isn't a huge reduction in size. The PS5 Slim disc version weighs 3.2 kilograms (18% less that the original PS5) while the discless version weighs 2.6kg (24% less), and both are 30% smaller by volume.
Versions
Once again, you will have the option to choose between an all-digital and standard version of the PS5 Slim. However, unlike the original discless PS5, the new version will give you the option to add a disc drive later on if you purchase a separate detachable drive.
Price
The current PS5 models are priced at $400 and $500 for the digital and standard versions, respectively. While the PS5 slim standard version that includes the disc drive will remain at $500, the discless version will get a price increase to $450. This price increase had already been seen in other territories outside the U.S., but will now be introduced here once these new versions launch. It is also worth mentioning that the detachable disc drive you can get to upgrade your discless version will cost $80, meaning you would spend more to buy the digital version and add the drive than you would by simply buying the version with the drive already included.

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