Gaming

Our favorite booths at TGS 2024

Everything from the classics to hidden gems

Published

September 28, 2024

Leez

Listen, Tokyo Game Show (TGS) is a massive convention filled with games, pop culture and merch. Whether it’s your first time or your nth time, you are guaranteed to be running around the con with too many things to consider. This year? as jam-packed as any other year before it but, I do have some favorites worth mentioning.

The Classics

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, Bandai Namco

When you think of gaming conventions, you think of these booths: Capcom, Bandai Namco, Konami, and PlayStation. These booths are queue-city. If you don’t come early and book a playthrough later in the day, you’ll hate yourself trying to get in line.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Konami

I’ve got to say that there is one deserved special mention to Konami with their Metal Gear Solid booth–absolutely ridiculous. It was an incredibly immersive experience despite the painful wait. If you can, it is definitely worth rushing over first thing.

Monster Hunter Wilds, Capcom

All these booths obviously came prepared with soon-to-be-released titles like Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, Monster Hunter Wilds, Metal Gear Solid Detla: Snake Eater, and Silent Hill 2–to name a few.

All of which should come without saying, are worth waiting in line for to play out demos of. If these big titles aren’t your cup of tea, PlayStation has a bunch of indies like Neva at their booth alongside titles like Astro Bot.

The Throwbacks

Suikoden II

TGS is a massive event. You will get lost at the convention center but the good part of that is finding old classics you didn’t think would be there. For me, it was Suikoden 2 and Lollipop Chainsaw. The remastered versions of these two have booths of their own at TGS. It would come to nobody’s surprise that I was there for both.

These are classics to me and if you have not played either, you have to now. I will say that with these two sentimental titles, there are a few already release games at the convention that I thought were fun to revisit and see being promoted.

Pacific Drive

Pacific Drive and Outer Wilds being two of my favorites to have spotted!

The Hidden Gems

It is okay and for the best that when all hell breaks loose and the main convention overwhelms you, it’s time to jump ship and visit the Indie Games section of the con. It’s at a different building—which you may struggle to find but, fret not, signs and arrows lead the way. All you’ve got to do is look up and pay keen attention to everything around you. (I know, big ask.)

I think indies are a bit niche and obscure for a lot of gamers who stick to the big AAA title. However, indie games are a great avenue to find (in my opinion) the most heart-wrenching game lore/plot. With the game industry becoming horrendously underfunded for indie developers, these gold nuggies games deserve more notice and support so, go send them all the love!

The Must-Haves

Elden Ring

Most would argue this is a rhetorical addition to the list due to it being obscenely obvious but, I felt like it was needed because of how painfully good the merch was. My wallet fell victim to all the Professor Layton, Elden Ring, Undertale, Hollow Knight, and Hades merch. If being financially responsible is something you hope to be, do not come. You will be fighting for your life here.

TGS was unsurprisingly incredible this year. There were booths I wish were there *coughs* HoYo *coughs* but, it didn’t fall short on all the fun games, features, and pop culture. If you didn’t make it this year, best believe it’s good to consider making it to next years.

Gaming

The Switch 2 is getting more expensive this year

The price increases will start this month.

Published

May 11, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Gone are the days when consoles get cheaper as time goes by. These days, especially because of the RAM crisis, gaming consoles are getting more expensive. Joining this worrying trend, the Nintendo Switch 2 is getting a price hike.

Even upon launch, the Switch 2 was already pricier than its original counterpart. Currently, without the incoming price hikes, the console retails for US$ 449.99. It’s a lot but not completely out of reach.

Last week, Nintendo announced a price hike that might push the console to less than attainable levels. Starting May 25, the Switch 2 will cost JPY 59,980 (up from JPY 49,980) in Japan. The original generation is also getting a hike: JPY 47,980 for the Switch OLED, JPY 43,980 for the base Switch, and JPY 29,980 for the Switch Lite.

Abroad, you can expect price hikes on September 1. The Switch 2 will jump to US$ 499.99, CAN 679.99, or EUR 499.99, depending on where you live. These are the only official hikes announced right now, but Nintendo has confirmed that price revisions will be implemented in other regions, too.

As you might expect, the price increases are due to the ongoing RAM crisis. Though the console is an undeniable hit, the Switch 2 can’t hide behind its popularity against the price shortage dealt by unnecessary data centers. At the very least, users worldwide have time to grab the console in its original pricing before the hikes.

Gaming

Call of Duty drops the PlayStation 4 starting with its next game

Is this the beginning of the end for the PlayStation 4?

Published

May 8, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

When can we declare that a console is officially dead? Is it as soon as the launch of the next generation? Is it when games no longer come out on the console? Recently, Call of Duty has confirmed that the next game will not be available anymore on the PlayStation 4, which presents an important question: Is the PlayStation 4 officially dead?

Call of Duty is one of the most persistent gaming franchises today. The last entry, Black Ops 7, is still available for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Both consoles were launched over twelve years ago. (If that doesn’t make you old, the current generation was launched almost six years ago.)

As such, the franchise is one of the last stalwarts keeping the past generation alive. This week, Call of Duty, via a post on X, confirmed that the next game will not arrive on the PlayStation 4. Presumably, this also means the Xbox One.

Not sure where this one started, but it’s not true. The next Call of Duty is not being developed for PS4.

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) May 4, 2026

Currently, we don’t have details about the upcoming game yet. But a new entry is confirmed to arrive later this year.

With the departure of the Call of Duty franchise, it’s fair to ask what will become of the old generation moving forward. Over the years, developers have started shying away from the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. Since the franchise still maintains a steady fan base today, a lot of PlayStation 4 users might be forced to make an upgrade to play the latest entry.

Gaming

Stranger Than Heaven is a Yakuza prequel with Snoop Dogg

The story spans different eras and regions across half a century in Japan.

Published

May 7, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

In my review of Yakuza Kiwami 3, I groaned about how every new entry in the Yakuza and Like a Dragon franchise — original and remake — looked identical with each other. I ended that playthrough hoping desperately for a new era. Thankfully, those hopes did not fall on deaf ears. In its first trailer, the upcoming Stranger Than Heaven showed off an interesting reimagining of the Yakuza universe. Oh, and Snoop Dogg is in it.

First announced back in late 2024 as Project Century, Stranger Than Heaven has now confirmed itself as a prequel to the prequel to the Yakuza games. It didn’t start that way, though. When it was announced, there was hope that the then-untitled game featured a new story disconnected from Yakuza. It looks like the final game is making the best of both worlds.

Stranger Than Heaven chronicles the rise of the infamous Tojo Clan. Unless this is decidedly different from the Tojo Clan in the Yakuza series, this is the clearest sign that this is, in fact, a prequel.

Makoto Daito, a Japanese boy living in Chicago, escapes America to forge a new life in Japan. Along the way, he meets Orpheus, a smuggler played by Snoop Dogg, who drags Makoto into the criminal underworld. Eventually, Makoto decides to do things his own way by creating a new crime family called the Tojo Clan.

Unlike other games in the series, Stranger Than Heaven spans different eras and regions in Japan, starting with Fukuoka in 1915 and ending with Kamurocho in 1965. It will also have different fighting mechanics by mapping the left and right bumpers/triggers to left and right attacks.

Off the bat, Stranger Than Heaven looks like a new era for the series. It launches winter this year for all major platforms.