Danna is a global pop princess. The Mexican multi-hyphenate has been in the entertainment industry since the age of four, having sung on stages and acted in many a telenovela while being a literal child. But with her latest album, CHILDSTAR, she breaks free from any preconceived notions assumed about her. Danna is a new woman.
That’s why, at this year’s VMAs, she showed up looking powerful and free. In a full Luis De Javier look, Danna took to the red carpet strung up in a black latex corset and carrying a yellow leather jacket to match. For the music and beauty icon, who presented at the awards show, it’s only up from here: later this year, Danna will have a one night only LA show on December 19 and will dub the role of Elphaba in Spanish for the major motion picture Wicked.
PAPER caught up with Danna as she gets cinched and glammed into Luis De Javier before the 2024 VMAs, below.
For the VMAs, I wanted a look that felt timeless, but still bold and risky. Last time, my makeup artist Emilio Becerril and I played into to my dark era with the dark, vampy lips. This time, we did a more celestial approach with iridescent shadows to give my eyes that galaxy-like glow. We added a sharp, geometric liner for an edgy vibe.
My skin stayed fresh and luminous. Nude glossy lips, but lined with the iconic chestnut. I felt amazing as I was getting ready, but also on the carpet.
I opted for extra-long hair with my hairstylist Omar Alvarez. Soft waves, super shiny and timeless, which gave a touch of glamour to the outfit. The bangs perfectly framed my face. Latina vibes, baby.
The top was a sleek black latex corset. It was really a special top, which set the tone for the whole look.
Getting tied into the corset, this face says it all. Beauty is pain, but this look was well worth it.
Almost all tied in here.
It truly takes a team to get ready and I am so lucky to have the best in the business helping me out. My team has been with me for years now. Together, it’s always such a blast getting ready from start to finish.
For the carpet, I wanted a look that was both powerful and seductive, drawing from gothic and Old Hollywood glamour. The black latex corset felt like armor, cinching the waist, while the sheer skirt added mystery. Draped over my shoulders is a bold yellow coat with black detailing, creating a statement as its long train sweeps behind me.
I remember the first time I watched the VMAs, so getting to present alongside Big Sean to introduce Teddy Swims was such an honor. I loved getting to do it in this special look for the evening.
A former Rockstar employee has said there’s little chance we’ll hear about any delay to GTA 6 this year, as he explains the production of GTA 4.
GTA 6 is set to be the biggest game of the decade, perhaps of all time, with fans desperately scrambling for hints of a new trailer, while the industry itself prays it will lead to a boost in console sales.
A former Rockstar North employee has now given some insight into when delays have occurred in the past at the studio, suggesting any potential delay isn’t decided until much closer to the original launch date.
Will GTA 6 be delayed?
In a post on Twitter, Obbe Vermeij, who worked at Rockstar North between 1995 and 2009 as a technical director across GTA 3, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas, and GTA 4,explained how the decision to delay GTA 4 happened four months before it was originally set to launch in October 2007 (it eventually came out in April 2008).
‘The decision to delay GTA 4 was made four months or so before the original release date,’ Vermeij wrote. ‘Any further and it’s hard to make the call. Rockstar is probably not in a position to determine whether they will hit 2025 until May-ish.’
While he states that he has ‘no inside info’ on GTA 6, Vermeij also claims Rockstar will not launch GTA 6 until the studio is ‘100% happy with it.’
‘GTA 6 will sell for 10+ years and there is no competition to worry about,’ he added. ‘They are not going to release the game until they’re 100% happy with it. No matter what it said in the trailer.’
While Vermeij undoubtedly has some insight into Rockstar’s development culture, it’s worth noting that the studio, and game development at large, has changed significantly since he left the company back in 2009.
The longtime studio president of Rockstar North, Leslie Benzies, departed the studio in 2016 after 15 years, while Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser, who was a lead creative force behind GTA, left in 2020. His brother and co-founder, Sam Houser, is the current president of Rockstar Games.
Judging by Rockstar’s history though, a delay for GTA 6 certainly isn’t out of the question. Along with GTA 4, its sequel GTA 5 missed its initial Q2 2013 release date and was pushed back to September, while Red Dead Redemption 2 was delayed twice, from the second half of 2017 to October 2018.
If it’s hard to determine whether GTA 6 will actually come out in 2025, we might be better off speculating over when we’ll see the next trailer – with some fans believing we could see a fresh glimpse in October.
GTA 6 is currently slated for next year (Rockstar Games)
Over £40 million worth of counterfeit retro consoles have been seized by police in Italy, featuring games like Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros.
The price of retro video games has ballooned over the past decade, especially when it comes to sealed boxed copies of games that are either rare or have historical significance.
In 2021, a pristine copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $2 million (£1.44 million) in the US during an auction. Just a few months prior, a copy of Super Mario 64 sold for $1.56 million (£1.12m).
The consoles themselves are often worth a lot too, if they’re in good working order, and that makes the prospect of fakes inevitable – something which has come to light via a busted video game trafficking ring in Italy.
According to Turin police, around 12,000 consoles holding over 47 million pirated games were seized last week. The machines were faked versions of Nintendo, Sega, and Atari consoles, which were fitted with non-certified batteries and circuits that did not meet EU safety standards.
It’s said the consoles, which were sourced from China and sold in specialised shops and online, included pirated versions of Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter, among many other games from the 1980s and 1990s.
As reported by the BBC, the haul is estimated to be worth over €47.5m (£40 million) in total, which includes the value of the consoles and licences for the pirated games.
Nine Italian nationals have been arrested and charged with trading in counterfeited goods over the incident. If found guilty, they face up to eight years in prison.
Police state the seized items have been destroyed.
While many buy retro games purely based on their monetary worth, some collectors seek out titles based on their own nostalgia. Earlier this year, a collector bought a copy of Castlevania on the NES for £70,900 to honour his mum.
Your original NES might be valuable today (Nintendo)
The PlayStation 6 is already well underway (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Only days after the PS5 Pro was officially announced, rumours suggest that Sony has already settled on the technology for use in the PS6.
Given most consoles last for around six years, before they’re superseded, under normal circumstances it would be reasonable to expect the PlayStation 6 to be released around 2026, and for detailed rumours, and perhaps even official hints, to start circulating right about now.
Many expected that the slow start to this generation, caused by the pandemic, would delay that timetable by a year or two but that doesn’t seem to be happening at all. Sony has already been talking about the PlayStation 6 this week and now a detailed rumour suggests they’ve made a deal with AMD to create the next gen console’s core hardware technology.
Information from Reuters suggests that Intel was originally under consideration to design and fabricate the PlayStation 6’s main chips, but that Sony has ultimately decided to go with AMD – who already make the chips for the PlayStation 5.
Supposedly, both AMD and Intel bid for the work, with Broadcom also involved at an earlier stage of the process.
Rather than AMD being picked because of its greater level of experience in the games industry, apparently the primary sticking point between Sony and Intel was simply how big a cut of profits the latter was entitled to.
A deal was never reached, and so Sony went with the cheaper AMD option. However, potential problems with backwards compatibility, if Sony had switched to Intel technology, was also a factor – not that it would’ve been impossible, but it would’ve been more expensive.
It’s not entirely clear where in the process Sony is now but apparently the discussions between Sony and Intel ‘took months in 2022’.
That suggests that a launch of the PlayStation 6 within the next two to three years is very likely, especially as Microsoft has already announced a next gen Xbox and Sony will not want to be caught out by that.
The Reuters article is actually more interested in the Intel side of the story, and how this will upset their plans to become a contract manufacturer like AMD – a double blow given they are already losing out to the company in terms of chips intended for AI use.
If these details are leaking out at this stage, and given how much accurate information was known about the PS5 Pro for months in advance, it seems inevitable that we’ll be learning a lot more about the PlayStation 6 in the near future.
PS5 Pro – almost all its leaks were accurate (Sony)
Could the Switch 2 reveal be just weeks away? (Nintendo)
A new report claims Nintendo’s next console will launch sooner than expected, in response to Sony’s PS5 Pro, while backing previous rumours about the machine’s price.
While Nintendo is almost impossible to predict, there’s been a groundswell of rumours over recent weeks suggesting a new hardware reveal could be imminent.
Nintendo has said its next console, nicknamed the Switch 2, will be revealed at some point before April next year, but a slew of rumours have pointed to the console being shown off within the next six weeks – something which, on the surface, seems unlikely considering that it would negatively impact Switch sales this Christmas.
A new report, however, suggests Nintendo may be accelerating their plans due to Sony’s PS5 Pro, with the Switch 2 rumoured to be on track to launch within the next six months.
When could the Nintendo Switch 2 launch?
According to a report on Taiwan Economic Daily News, via Google Translate, ‘internal executives’ at Nintendo have ‘decided to advance the launch’ of the company’s next console to ‘before the end of this year’, in a move ‘stimulated by the early launch of Sony’s PS5 Pro’.
‘It will go on sale around the world in the fourth quarter at the earliest,’ the report states, but frustratingly does not clarify whether it’s talking about the calendar year (i.e. by the end of December) or the financial year (by the end of March).
A launch this year seems highly unlikely though, even if the console is revealed in the next few weeks. It is Nintendo, so nothing is impossible, but the recent leak of a number of new Switch Christmas bundles seems to all but rule it out.
The most natural guess would be an early 2025 reveal and a late spring or early autumn launch, but if this new report is suggesting a release in January or February that would not be completely unexpected – not least because Nintendo ideally wouldn’t want to release the Switch 2 at the same time as GTA 6, which is assumed to be aiming for an autumn 2025 launch.
The most dubious part of the rumour is that the PS5 Pro would be a driving motivator in the decision. That console, priced at £699.99, looks set to be a relatively niche product by any standard and will have little overlap with Nintendo’s core audience.
However, it is possible Nintendo might want to capitalise on the current outcry over the PS5 Pro’s price, which would make the Switch 2 look even cheaper by comparison.
The same report claims the price for Nintendo’s next console will be around $400 (after tax, around £400 in the UK) in line with recent rumours.
What is rumoured about the Nintendo Switch 2?
Based on ‘market speculation’, the same Taiwanese report claims the Switch 2 will have a bigger screen and a ‘dual-screen design’ – although it’s unclear whether this relates to the same tablet and TV set-up as the Switch or a Nintendo DS style display.
It’s also claimed that the console will have improved battery life and performance, which is practically a given at this point.
This all lines up with previous rumours, including the allusion to dual screens, with other sources also talking about a bigger LCD screen, backwards compatibility, and an ‘iterative’ upgrade over the original Switch – rather than something completely different.
The most logical guess is still a reveal in early 2025 and a launch in May, at the earliest, but there’ve been so many stories about things happening earlier than currently assumed that this may be a case of no smoke without fire.
What are the known facts about Nintendo Switch 2?
The only concrete fact about Nintendo’s next console is that it will be revealed before April 2025, as confirmed by the company earlier this year. Other than that we know nothing for certain and even the name Switch 2 is just a fan invention.
However, while Nintendo hasn’t stated it explicitly, they have strongly hinted that the new console will be backwards compatible with the original Switch -which several unconfirmed rumours have also suggested.
As Sony continues to release PlayStation exclusives on PC, the company has reaffirmed that its main priority is still home consoles.
The drive for growth has already seen Microsoft and Sony make considerable changes to their business, when it comes to making games accessible on multiple platforms – which has put a major question mark over the future of the console business at large.
Sony has talked about its commitment to expanding into the PC, mobile, and cloud gaming markets on several occasions, as it continues to push PlayStation exclusives like Ghost Of Tsushima and God of War Ragnarök on other platforms.
While this might indicate that the traditional home console could become a relic of the past, especially as the likes of the PS5 Pro become just as expensive as a high-end gaming PC, PlayStation co-CEO Hideaki Nishino has highlighted how consoles still have a unique advantage.
What will PS6 offer beyond the PS5 Pro? (YouTube)
How far is PlayStation going with PC support?
Asked about the value of home consoles, as the PC audience continues to grow, Nishino replied: ‘I think that with mobile devices, there are a lot of games that show ads, and with PCs, the setup can be difficult.’
‘With PlayStation, you can immediately enjoy the content you purchased as soon as you turn it on. Even in the stores where you buy software, the products are clearly displayed, making it an intuitive experience.’
While this stance is unsurprising considering, PlayStation’s investment in the console space, Nishino reaffirmed that the inevitable PlayStation 6 and recently announced PS5 Pro will still be the ‘core’ of the business, despite its activity in the PC market.
‘We are trying to increase the overall game market by expanding content to PCs,’ Nishino said in an interview with Nikkei (via Wccftech). ‘There is no doubt that home consoles will be the core of our business, but by offering titles for devices other than home consoles, we will reach a wider range of customers.’
What has Sony said about the PlayStation 6?
In the same interview, Nishino was also asked whether the PS5 Pro will make it more difficult to market the PlayStation 6 in the years to come, but he suggested there’s still room to improve ‘other elements’ beyond graphics.
‘Technology is constantly evolving, so I think there’s still more we can do,’ Nishino said. ‘With the PlayStation 5, we’ve shortened loading times by switching from the hard disc drive (HDD) used in the PlayStation 4 era to a solid-state drive (SSD).’
‘The sound can now be heard more three-dimensionally through the PS5 controller’s speakers, enhancing the sense of immersion. Visual accuracy is important, but we will also be updating other elements.’
The big question is whether any improvements in the PlayStation 6 will be significant enough to encourage the average consumer to move beyond its predecessor.
In this generation, Sony is already in a situation where half of all active users are still playing the PlayStation 4, four years after the PlayStation 5 launched, so Sony might be stuck with diminishing returns unless it finds a convincing reason to upgrade beyond technical improvements.
And yet, in May, Sony said the PlayStation 5 is its most profitable console ever, with players buying more add-on content, peripherals, and services – so consistent revenue avenues like live service games might play an even bigger role in the industry moving forward.
As we’ve seen with Nintendo though, who backed out of the graphical arms race with the Wii, companies in the console space will likely need to offer something more beyond visual improvements if they want to survive.
What is the future of PlayStation? (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Mid-gen swap I hate to be one to defend Sony over the PS5 Pro, because all the furore over it is completely their fault for the terrible way they unveiled it, but I do think people are missing the point of it. There are two types of people that are going to buy it: those that absolutely must always have the best graphics/hardware and those that don’t have a PlayStation already and are willing to pay a bit more to jump in with the PS5 Pro.
As has been pointed out many times by GC, this is not a big group of people. Less than 15% of PlayStation 4 sale were for the PS4 Pro and it’s clearly going to be that or less for the PS5 Pro. I’ll be selling my Xbox Series X to get one, not necessarily because I’m disillusioned with Microsoft (although they are doing their best to put me off) but because I often do that halfway through a gen – sell one console to buy the other and play its exclusives.
The PS5 Pro is more than I expected to pay for it but not so much that I’m not still going to get it. The problem here is not the console but the console manufacturer. As the Reader’s Feature said at the weekend, Sony feels out of touch, but I’d say they also feel tired. Like they’re not putting their full effort in anymore. I don’t know why or what can get them to turn themselves around, but I’ll still buy their hardware while it’s still the best way to play their and others’ games. Gatsby
Nobody knows So, this at least the second time we’ve had a story about how no one at Xbox knows what’s going on anymore than those of us outside the company. I wonder how much this is true at most other publishers? I can’t imagine Nintendo tells anyone in Europe anything until the last minute, and probably hides a lot from America too. Didn’t Reggie say the Game Boy Micro came out of nowhere, without Nintendo saying anything beforehand? I want to say they did that more that once too.
I doubt anyone at Sony knows what’s going on either. If the two new CEOs that took over had a big new plan they would’ve told us it by now, which means day one for them they probably had the infamous white board with ???? and ‘Profit’ written on it. Talk about lions led by donkeys, if this year’s unending series of disasters has done anything positive it’s to make me even more impressed that developers still manage to make good games, despite the chaos going on around them. Gordo
Gaming milestone I think Flappy Bird is the point at which I stopped understanding the games industry, at least fully. It was the first mobile game I was aware of as a major phenomenon and yet it was complete rubbish. Simplistic, brain dead gameplay and stolen graphics (from Mario no less!) and yet it was so popular the creator felt guilty and had it taken down.
And now we have the situation where it’s being brought back against his wishes and people are getting nostalgic about it. I have to admit, I was quite shocked when I learned it was already over a decade old, but I do wish people would get so passionate about games that are actually good. I know usually that would sound elitest but is there anyone reading this that would really argue for Flappy Bird being a worthwhile game? Statler
Be the change you wish to see I was really pleased to hear an actual nice, positive gaming experience, from Adam West, about Concord this weekend.
Although I’m completely appreciative of all the terrible problems and stupid decisions in the industry currently, the Inbox seems to have been mostly full of repetitive, negative emails about Microsoft and Sony for a long time now.
It would be nice if it was more like 25% moaning, 25% pointless Nintendo speculation, and at least 50% chat about peoples actual gaming experiences, comments and queries maybe? (Unless your Inbox really is just mostly moaning these days?!) Matt
GC: We can only show what we’re sent. Although we take your point, yours is essentially a letter moaning about people moaning.
Concord – some people liked it (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Niche product My worry with the new PS5 Pro is that this is a way of testing the water to set a new benchmark cost for a console. I read a report that Microsoft are done selling the console at a loss, as it’s not bringing new gamers into the ecosystem system and people buying consoles are already gamers. With Samsung TV and Fire TV allowing you to play Xbox games without a console, are we looking at £800 plus next gen?
I could never warrant that amount. For me and my son, that would be £1,600 for just two consoles. I think it would be a massive own goal if they do and another round of redundancies, with people not buying new consoles or games designed for the new console. Worrying times on every level of gaming. TWO MACKS
Change of plans I think if Nintendo were in two minds about revealing the Switch 2 this year the PS5 Pro announcement may influence their plans. They have been presented with an open goal and don’t need to be Messi to score. As is often the case in business, timing can be everything. Nintendo will be weighing up losing Switch sales during the Xmas period versus capitalising on Sony’s blunder. Therefore, I would suggest a Switch 2 reveal next month has become more likely than not.
I previously thought there was no chance Nintendo would show their hand this year. But circumstances have changed. Xbox are doing their utmost to upset their fanbase. Whilst Sony have turned the clock back to 2006, with the reveal of PlayStation 3. Arrogant Sony is back!
I just feel it’s too much of an easy win for Nintendo. If Switch 2 is reasonably priced, as rumours suggest. Switch 2 will gain momentum without an expensive marketing campaign. I would go as far as to suggest a Switch 2 announcement is a no-brainer. Si
Mega walkout I’ve been a gamer for what feels like eons and I honestly feel like very little shocks me at this point about the gaming world. I have to admit the reports coming from Annapurna have shocked me a little – details are still scarce at the moment but the all the workers have quit en masse.
I’m hoping this is a sign of worker and union power finally stepping up to the mega corporations and I’m fully expecting others to take note. That’s certainly what I’m hoping anyway and if that happens it’s the best news I’ve heard for a long time regarding the cesspool that is gaming. Chria
Indie calamity It’s just been reported that all of the staff at Annapurna Interactive have quit after a breakdown in talks with the parent company.
This effectively means one of the biggest names in indie publishing is dead. It’s hard to overstate Annapurna Interactive’s influence in curating quality indie games and helping raise their prominence.
Almost every title they’ve published has been of astonishing quality, reflecting a company that knew how to choose the right projects to back with a great range and diversity in its portfolio.
I can’t begin to imagine the turmoil this will generate for developers who have upcoming games due to be published by them. It also leaves a massive publishing gap in the indie market, possibly for Devolver to expand into.
The games industry has been so chaotic this year, with job losses and upheaval everywhere. I hope the staff from Annapurna Interactive can set up their own independent publisher and become indie themselves, I’d certainly pay attention to the games they’d pick. Euclidian Boxes
GC: It’s a very odd situation, quite different to the usual layoff stories. It’s not clear exactly how the dust is going to settle but the implication is that the Annapurna Interactive will continue with new staff and no current projects will be cancelled.
Inbox also-rans I don’t get that Immortals Of Aveum story, why would you leave a job to follow the man that was responsible for such a disaster it nearly shuttered the studio after its first game? Korbie
I’m so impressed by the graphics in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. I would love to know the budget and number of people that worked on it because I bet it’s nowhere near the same as some of the other $200+ million figures we’ve been hearing about lately. Tati
The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
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From many of the same creators as the Lego games comes a new movie crossover featuring everything from Jurassic World to Hot Fuzz.
Unlike Lego, Funk Pop toys – the large-headed vinyl figures that seem to have taken over game and comic shops everywhere – are more of an acquired taste. They do, however, offer a similar shortcut to pop culture crossovers with virtually any movie or TV show you can imagine; more so, in fact, given that this new franchise features a much more adult age rating.
Funko Fusion will inevitably face comparison with said Lego games and, unsurprisingly, it follows the same basic formula: a mix of third person action, puzzling and shooting, which, although it features a number of mature-rate movies is still suitable for most teens. But while its gameplay may adhere to the same basic principles as the Lego games it gives the impression that the team has been able to indulge itself in ideas it’s long wanted to explore but never before had the chance.
Funk Pops may not be as universally popular as Lego, but the good news is that you don’t have to be a fan to appreciate Funko Fusion – although it does go to some length to appeal to those who would class themselves as collectors. There’s also a deep love of cinema that runs through the game, filtered through a very British sense of humour.
The game lets you jump into Funk Pop-styled worlds that recreate a large and somewhat random collection of diverse movies and TV shows, with the only connecting tissue being that most of them are Universal Studios properties. So that includes Jurassic World, Hot Fuzz, Battlestar Galactica (the original rather than the remake), Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, The Umbrella Academy, Masters Of The Universe, and The Thing.
In addition, by collecting objects in each main movie world, you can open what 10:10 Games calls cameo worlds, offering smaller vignettes of other movies such as Shaun of the Dead, Jaws, Five Nights At Freddy’s, Voltron, and Jurassic Park.
It’s an odd smorgasbord, but one that will contain plenty for any movie buff, especially when they discover the tongue-in-cheek approach that 10:10 Games has taken with the source material. Funko Fusion also comes with a sense of visual liberation: it looks great, in a slightly cartoonish manner, and each movie world differs in art style from each other. Masters Of The Universe goes full-on cartoon style, for example, whereas others are more photorealistic.
Funko Fusion – you get both flavours of Jurassic trilogy (10:10 Games)
Does Funko Fusion have a story?
Perhaps Funko Fusion’s weakest element is its attempt at an overarching storyline, in which Freddy (of Five Night’s At fame) becomes corrupted by purple goo in the Funko factory and spawns a baddie called Eddy, who scatters gold and silver crowns across all the movie worlds and corrupts one of the main characters in each one. As you collect gold crowns you can open new worlds and as you retrieve the purple crowns Freddy gets his strength back in preparation for the finale.
That story only really functions as an excuse to visit all the movie worlds, so there’s no strong narrative thread and it’s only delivered in snippets whenever you beat a boss. All the cut scenes (which you’ll recognise from the movies) are wordless, and none of the characters speak, although you occasionally encounter dialogue in speech bubbles. Even so, 10:10 Games has done an impressive job of capturing the essence of the movies it pays homage to.
Each world has its own set of key gadgets which are crucial for overcoming different obstacles and once you’ve unlocked them you can use them anywhere. They include a bounce pad, a battery, a gas canister, a CSI style blacklight, a turret, and a portal; these provide considerable replayability, since as you collect them they allow access to esoteric parts of the levels and you can jump back into any level in each of the worlds even after completion.
Each world also has its own unique weapon, with a flamethrower for The Thing, for example, or a laser for Battlestar Galactica. Finding the tokens required to build those is quite tricky but each character in each world also has a default gun, or the ranged equivalent, plus a unique melee weapon.
In each world, you can switch between at least four characters, all with their own subtle differences. Often, mini-bosses and the like are easier to take down with one particular character, so experimentation pays off. Umbrella Academy, in particular, forces you to switch between characters with particular special abilities, ranging from teleportation to mind control.
When you’re swarmed by enemies you can always buy space with a ground stomp or evade with a roll, although some characters have shields or in one case a mini-flamethrower in place of the roll move. Gunplay is accurate and responsive, and one of the biggest differences from the Lego games, although still nowhere up to the standards of dedicated third person shooters.
The puzzles are more distinctive and can often be pleasingly elaborate. In Battlestar Galactica you fire laser guns through different-shaped glass prisms, while one particular level in The Thing takes place outside, in the cold, and forces you to stay close to lit flares or braziers. The portal-based puzzling in Master Of The Universe gets quite mind-boggling at times and in Hot Fuzz you tap into CCTV systems, Watch Dogs-style.
It’s all good fun, but not free of flaws. We found a lot of visual glitches and bugs, a couple of which interrupted the gameplay flow, which isn’t unsurprising if you know the Lego games but is disappointing for a new franchise. There were also times when a bit more hand-holding would have helped, as the solutions to beating some of the bosses are just a bit too obscure.
Does Funko Fusion have co-op?
The most glaring omission, especially when compared with the Lego games, is the lack of a co-op option. 10:10 Games says that’s something it plans to add this year, but whether that happens remains to be seen. This seems a strangely low priority for such an important feature, given the game could’ve easily lost a few additional worlds in exchange for it being available at launch.
Funko Fusion is still perfectly entertaining on your own though, assuming you like the majority of properties involved and don’t have an inbuilt hatred of Funko Pop toys. As with the Lego games, the very British sense of humour is one of the main draws, complementing a fun action game whose appeal goes beyond just its myriad movie cameos.
Funko Fusion review summary
In Short: That lack of co-op at launch is a baffling omission but otherwise this is a fun evolution of the Lego games, that’s superior to them in a number of ways.
Pros: Great selection of movies, with clever puzzling, decent gunplay, and lots of replayability. Impressive visuals and genuinely amusing humour.
Cons: Bosses can be confusing and the storyline is not at all engaging. Too many bugs and glitches at launch and no co-op.
Score: 7/10
Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PC Price: £54.99 Publisher: 10:10 Games Developer: 10:10 Games Release Date: 13th September 2024 (PS4 – 15/11, Switch TBC December) Age Rating: 16
Funko Fusion – OG Battlestar Galactica is a deep cut (10:10 Games)
A Reader’s Feature compares the cost of the PS5 Pro with a similarly specced gaming PC and finds there’s not as much difference as you’d think.
A lot has been made of the cost of the new PS5 Pro, and rightly so. £700 is a lot of money to stump up for a home console and easily puts it out of the range of many families, never mind something like a birthday present for a youngster. Like many others, my immediate reaction was to laugh and say they had totally lost the plot.
It did get me thinking however, of just how realistic this price is compared to an equivalent(-ish) gaming PC or if the new hardware warrants such a jump in price.
So, let’s start with the PC. Without going into too much detail, I’ve checked out the specs and generally considered equivalences from the current PlayStation 5 and what has been shown so far for the PS5 Pro.
I’ve picked out a nice AMD CPU (Ryzen 7 5800X) with an AMD GPU (RX 7700 XT) which should deliver similar performances to a PS5 Pro in terms of raw output. Add in a 2GB SSD, some RAM, a cooler, a case, a motherboard, and a PSU and I have a relatively decent gaming PC, albeit with some budget choices to keep costs down. The final damage? Just over the £750 mark.
This doesn’t include any software but obviously does have the ability to run other things, and potentially crash and give many, many errors when running games (the joy of PC gaming).
The PS5 Pro benefits from fixed hardware and software and developers are able to work with this knowledge to ensure that they get the most from the system, which is never possible with the billions of permutations of PC hardware setups. So, arguably, a PS5 Pro would run games designed for the PS5 Pro better than an equivalent PC would.
Well, it should do if the developers are doing their job right. The closed ecosystem means you shouldn’t need to worry about updating drivers, graphics settings, or anything else in order to get the game to run as it should and is certainly easier for the end user.
Now, in terms of actual updated hardware, the changes in GPU costs are hard to really quantify, but the original PlayStation 5 model was considered to be equivalent in output to something akin to a Nvidia RTX 3060 and the difference in price between that and the one in my build above is currently around £100. Admittedly, you can buy a RTX 4060 for the cost of a new 3060 these days, so it is a little misleading.
The difference in price between a 1TB and 2TB hard drive is a further £50 or so. I’m assuming some further alterations to heating arrangements within the system may also push costs a little higher up, so an increase of £150-200 would not be unrealistic for the actual specs it is providing. Many PC users would happily pay £150 for the supposed increase in frame rate that this will offer.
Now, in reality it has jumped over £300, comparing digital to digital, and removed the vertical stand, which will be a further £25. This does seem excessive and if they can manufacture and sell the original PlayStation 5 for £389, I’m really not convinced that the increase in price for the PS5 Pro is fully justified.
It almost feels like they’re trying to recoup some losses on the sale of the base model here. On a side note, I’ve not checked Amazon/eBay but I assume they will soon be flooded with 3D printed vertical stands for the princely sum of £5-10.
So what did I learn doing this? No way can I build an equivalent PC to a PS5 Pro (or PlayStation 5) for the same cost to run games on. Even if I did build one to match, it probably wouldn’t run them as well, as they do on the console but the increase in price seems steep compared to the original PlayStation 5 prices and not necessarily good value for money.
I still totally believe this is a crazy price for a home console and I dread to see what the PlayStation 6 or next Xbox will retail at. How long will it be until we hit the £1,000 mark? It probably doesn’t help that I am someone for whom 30fps is absolutely fine and I find it very hard to see/feel a difference playing at 60fps on a console or even 140fps on the PC, so plugging the whole upgrade as being 60fps fidelity is not going to make me part with any more money. Just give us some good games please Sony.
By reader Adam W
PS: I didn’t even want to start going into the full PlayStation ecosystem cost for this generation – with PS5 Pro, PlayStation VR2, and PlayStation Portal we’re nearing the £1,500 mark without any games!
PS5 Pro – not an easy sell (YouTube)
The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.
A Reader’s Feature tries to imagine a typical conversation at a (fictional) games company, as out of touch execs plot the downfall of the industry.
A fictional (yes, definitely fictional) multi-billion dollar games company outlines its plans for the future…
CEO: What have we got for the rest of the year and beyond?
HENCHMAN: One of our developers want to make something unique, with stunning animation and a compelling core gameplay loop that reminds gamers why they love games so much in the first place. Best of all, it’s not overblown and can be finished in a reasonable time.
CEO: Sounds quirky. Shut them down.
HENCHMAN: What do you mean?
CEO: You know, peculiar, off the wall. Unconventional. We can’t be having that. What about the other studios? Any big open world live service epics, with all those side quests and microtransactions that people love so much?
HENCHMAN: You said the last one cost so much not to bother again. And you sacked most of the studio’s staff after they complained of burnout.
CEO: Burnout, now that was a hell of a game. What was it on again, the Spectrum?
HENCHMAN: Uhh…
CEO: What about our competitors over the road?
HENCHMAN: Well, they’re remastering their greatest hits collection, again, but it’s a lazy bare bones port.
CEO: That’s outrageous. And here we are working hard on our remasters like suckers. All these fancy modern bells and whistles and for what? Put an end to the remastering department and have it renamed the lazy, shoddy, port… whatever department. We can’t have our competitors stealing a march on us.
HENCHMAN: Sir, are you sure this is the way to go?
CEO: This is the way, as Yoda once said. He did.
HENCHMAN: I… think we need to get back on track here. There’s a very good 3D platformer out at the moment. What about making something like that, something that’s… you know… fun?
CEO: Wow, I know things can get a bit emotional but there’s no need for that type of inflammatory language. And anyway, I thought players said they were bored of 3D platformers?
HENCHMAN: Actually they didn’t. People like us told them they were. The audience have always liked imaginative games.
CEO: I’m getting sick of your attitude. We need to come up with something more daring!
HENCHMAN: How about an expensive over-the-top console reveal that’s barely an improvement on the last?
CEO: Come off it now. Take that back, I’ve still got some dignity you know.
HENCHMAN: You’re right. I apologise. Besides, we still have one or two big hitters coming out this year. When should we release them?
CEO: Let’s have a look… The Legend Of Link is out in a couple of weeks and after that there’s… [laughs]
HENCHMAN: You OK?
CEO: Sorry, I was just watching footage of that horror remake out in early October… bless ‘em. Anyway, release our games anytime between now and then.
HENCHMAN: But sir, isn’t that period a bit busy already?
CEO: Nobody else cares, why should we? Anyway, if our games flop, and they will, we have the prefect excuse for re…
HENCHMAN: Rethinking our strategy?
CEO: Re-dundancies! Yes, to all! And replace all of studio developers, voice actors, etc. with AI.
HENCHMAN: They won’t stand for that!
CEO: Of course they will. AI love doing all that stuff. We should know, we’re AI systems after all.
HENCHMAN: We are?
CEO: This is the way.
By reader David
PS5 Pro – not Sony’s most successful reveal (Sony Interactive Entertainment)
The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.
You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.
