140°

The Overseas Connection Podcast #175

The Overseas Connection, the official G4TE.com Community weekly podcast discusses gaming news, community feedback, new releases and the podcast teams current play lists. Tune-in and listen to this combination U.S. and U.K. video game podcast as they discuss this weeks topics:

* Rich talks up Spec Ops the Line and his thoughts on mainstream Reviewers of the game.
* Sony buys Gaikai.
* THQ avoids delisting but at what price?
* Top 10 UK software titles get covered.
* Halo 4 Multiplayer will require a good chuck of memory space.
* MS snags up domains related to Xbox .
* Call of Duty Online set to launch.
* Vivendi rumored to be looking to offload Activision Blizzard.
And much more…

email the show: [email protected]
Leave us a voicemail if you live in the U.S.:(626)50–OCPOD

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theoverseasconnection.net
Nitrowolf24368d ago

I have a feeling we won't see the Sony /Gaikai stuff till next year E3. Hope it's worth the wait

guitarse4368d ago

I dunno, Gaikai are likely to be at Gamescon again running hawken, now that sony is calling the shots, I think they might hit the ground running with this one rather than sit on it.

380°

Sony Rewards Program Is Coming To An End on Dec. 31, 2024

Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that it is ending the Sony Rewards program on December 31, 2024, and as a result that date will be the last time possible to redeem points and access your account.

helicoptergirl14h ago

This is a shame. I've been using it since the start. It had a few problems and issues but overall I did end up saving a little bit over 60 dollars using this program. There was probably not enough people using it.

Cacabunga11h ago

Is it playstation stars?? I really never understood it. I am still level 1

PS_HCT10h ago

This is not playstation stars. Sony Rewards is a US rewards program linked to a visa credit card.

darthv7211h ago

I just checked... I have 144 points at the moment. Not even enough to get a $5 PS card. I can get a $1 digital gift card to Target or home Depot though.

blackblades8h ago(Edited 8h ago)

I thought they were been done with this, I redeem some good stuff with this in the past. Wonder how much i got its been awhile

OtterX14h ago

I've gotten so many free games throughout the years w this program, this sucks. I've been with it since the beginning.

I just run a majority of my needed purchases through it and pay it off immediately instead of using cash or debit. The most recent was on Tuesday I got a $10 dlc free. It was great as long you're not borrowing out large amounts of money that you don't have.

ChasterMies12h ago

Realistically, those weren’t free games. You could have used another cards rewards points or bought Sony products on sale and then used the savings to buy PlayStation games.

OtterX12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

Well there was a large boost on any purchase made on PSN, so there was an incentive to use over other cards' rewards. It used to be better, then they lowered it. I forget the exact multiplier though.

I pretty much got this $10 DLC free this week just by resubbing my PS+ Premium. (On sale during Days of Play) Not a lot of other cards would give that much back

dumahim10h ago

Right. I can do the same thing with my credit card rewards, but I have much more flexibility in what I can redeem those points for, including buying PS games.

shadowT13h ago

I never owned the credit card. Was this program available in Europe and Asia?

Profchaos12h ago

Seriously it was awesome Ive gotten a few free psn vouchers out of it.

FPSRUSSIA12h ago

i remember getting Assassin creed black flag for free with Redeeming my Points for 10 dollars when it was on sale this is very sad news.

OtterX12h ago

I actually believe that was one of my first cashouts on the program! haha

I remember I had just gotten the PS4 and I used it on Black Flag or Battlefield 4 to go with it.
I'm pretty sure I remember it being Black Flag though! (Great choice, as it became my favorite AC of all time)

Show all comments (23)
270°

Xbox Games Summer Showcase 2024 start date, time, exciting leaks and how to watch

Here is the start date and time for the Xbox Games Summer Showcase 2024 with bundles of exciting leaks and how to watch.

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videogamer.com
gold_drake13d ago

10AM PT/1PM ET/6PM london time.
on June 9th.

this is so odd. we had ps before the summer fest and now xbox after.

lelo2play11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Summer Fest and the Sony show were both crap, let's hope Microsoft and Ubisoft shows are decent.

(the way this is going, I'm not asking for good/great shows, simply asking for decent shows...)

I miss E3.

RupeeHoarder11d ago

State of Play is a 30 minute sizzle reel. It is not meant to compete with the yearly Xbox showcase.

gold_drake11d ago

best e3 was when they showcased breath of the wild with the nintendo tree people i watched that quite a few times ha.

Daver11d ago

Diablo 4 expansion? Even if the game is bad.

Crows9011d ago

I'm definitely of the mind that d4 was complete crap at release...but the state of it right this moment is not complete crap. They've simplified a lot which actually helped their overtly stupid itemization.

End game content is still kind of stupid but at least progression and itemization is better.

Daver11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

@crows90

Maybe but it is still boring. It might be a little bit better but it is not a good game.

Profchaos11d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Xbox had typically kept the old e3 dates alive it seems to always fall on Queens / Kings birthday holiday in Aus only reason I've noticed as it used to be a day off to engross myself in e3 showcases but nowadays it's nothing

Lightning7713d ago

The rumor is 30 games with a nearly 2 hour show. I hope so I, been saying they need to go balls to the wall with their showcase. That's according to Grubb again. Yeah a huge pinch of salt he's only been wrong or half right about some stuff.

There's also suppose to be a Wu Tang Clan game that's a kungfu action RPG featuring the legendary hip hop group New Yorks own Wu Tang Clan. You read right Wu Tang Clan kungfu action RPG.

Sounds weird, random and quirky but hey I'm down to see it.

romulus2312d ago

Bet the title has Shaolin in it.

purple10112d ago

State of decay 3 info is leaking on twitter!

Looks good. Personally don’t play horror/ zombie games, but I appreciate it’s a good game so that’s a win for Xbox fans.

Lord knows they need a win at the moment

ThinkThink12d ago

Appreciate the concern, but I think we'll be just fine. Hope you all enjoy tomorrow's show.

12d ago
Obscure_Observer11d ago

"The rumor is 30 games with a nearly 2 hour show. I hope so I, been saying they need to go balls to the wall with their showcase."

MS had the best showcases in the last few years.

This year, the bar is so low with those last showcases, that imo, MS and Ubisoft doesn´t even need to make much of an effort to beat them.

"That's according to Grubb again. Yeah a huge pinch of salt he's only been wrong or half right about some stuff."

Grubb was right about the last State of Play. Just a few days for the end of the month, he´d continued and insisted that it was going to happen. And he was right! Sony made a last minute announcement for whatever reason, but the guy was spot on.

Lightning7711d ago

Grubb was only half right. He only got the month down, which was late last month for a PS event but wrong on it being a PS showcase.

Half right at best. He's still not that credible these days. He definitely wasn't spot on.

derek11d ago

Grubb has been pretty spot on in his comments regarding showcases. You can tell he's not guessing, he knows in advance.

Sonic188111d ago (Edited 11d ago )

Microsoft has had the best showcases for the last 3-4 years. The problem with Microsoft and the Xbox division is their reputation and trademark around the world. That's what's really affecting them.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
anast12d ago

This show is going to be painful.

Elda12d ago

Hopefully not knowing most games shown will be multiplats & some eventually multiplats.

anast12d ago

The presentation is going to be the painful part. There might be some good games though.

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ArmrdChaos11d ago

You can always make a drinking game out of it for every time they say the words "Made for a modern audience".

Crows9011d ago

I'd like to be able to watch it through to the end though...

11d ago Replies(3)
GotGame81811d ago

Are you 12 or 13 now? 😂🤣

anast11d ago

This is fun. Some back and forth.

No, but those emojis sure seem like you might be.

Crows9011d ago

You'd think that every now and then even these dispassionate fools may do a good job...they've disappointed every single year since before release of Xbox one....that's a really long streak of disappointments...lol

anast11d ago

For sure. they have the money to put on a top tier show, but I'm afraid it will look like an event where super rich people are noticeably trying to be cheap. And they have this strange smile like they know they are trying o get over on people. It just makes for an awkward and tasteless showing.

GotGame81811d ago

My emojis? 😂🤣 Funny kid!

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 11d ago
Elda12d ago

I hope it's a good showing knowing most games that will be shown will be multiplats & XB timed exclusives that'll eventually become multi-plats.

Tacoboto12d ago

It is what it is at this point.

At least the good games will have a chance to be bought, take advantage of the superior DualSense, and *maybe* give those studios a better shot at survival.

They'll also have better shadows, and run with higher dynamic res on the PS5 Pro.

Lightning7712d ago (Edited 12d ago )

So if they're multiplat would you suddenly like Xbox games?

You never have before you've made that clear several times over.

Elda12d ago

I have an XBSX. I also own a PS5 & a Switch. What's your point??

Lightning7712d ago

My point is what I said. You don't like Xbox games, you've said it repeatedly. So would you suddenly like Xbox games if they were available on PS5.

Show all comments (65)
200°

Sony shares big new PS Plus stat, but not the one we want to see

PlayStation Plus has improved the split of PS4 and PS5 players on its priciest tiers, but Sony continues to hide total subscriber numbers.

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theloadout.com
mandf20d ago

lol acting like it’s equivalent to ms numbers

Mr Logic20d ago

Uh...They're definitely not equivalent.

"Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service now has 34 million subscribers."

"the total number of PS Plus subscribers across all tiers was 47.4 million"

darthv7220d ago (Edited 20d ago )

That PSN number seems like it should be much higher... especially when you consider that PS4 alone has a sell through of over 117m. To not even be at least half that is rather interesting.

To the XB side, having 34m to an install base of roughly 50m (XBO sell through) or even 85m (360 sell through) is a greater percentage of unit to member ratio than PSN.

bloop20d ago

That's not the "gotcha" you think it is Darth.

darthv7220d ago

^^it's not supposed to be bloop.... it's just an interesting observation.

Einhander197220d ago

darthv72

"That PSN number seems like it should be much higher... especially when you consider that PS4 alone has a sell through of over 117m. To not even be at least half that is rather interesting.

To the XB side, having 34m to an install base of roughly 50m (XBO sell through) or even 85m (360 sell through) is a greater percentage of unit to member ratio than PSN."

Have you ever heard of a PC before? I hear they are pretty popular.

fr0sty19d ago

MS started lumping gold subscribers in with those GP numbers... keep in mind.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 19d ago
shinoff218320d ago (Edited 20d ago )

What. Definitely more os plus subscribers but that makes sense due to actual console sales

Darth the difference between the bases are huge your right but you gotta think. Ps players buy more games, where as the Xbox base relies on gamepass for their gaming. So it makes perfect sense

darthv7220d ago (Edited 20d ago )

What makes perfect sense though? You say PS players buy more games... so then logically there should be more PS+ subscribers given the increased number of online multiplayer games in the PS4 generation alone. The PS4 was the first time that + was required for online play much like Gold was for 360 users.

Keep in mind we are talking subscribers, not simply XB/PS users. I assume you meant to say offline single player games, which is most likely true as well. That gen also saw a significant increase in games with an online component comparted to the previous gen.

victorMaje20d ago

I for one will be going back to essential at the next renewal. When I feel a game is good & right up my alley, I’ll check trusted reviews & just buy it.

jznrpg20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

I have the top tier until 2028 as they gave me a massive discount for all the years I had left but I’ll most likely go to essential as well. I buy my games but my kids do use the service occasionally. They do prefer to own their games as well since any game can leave the rental service at some point and they don’t like that idea. They mostly use it to demo games then ask me to buy games if they really like it.

RedDevils20d ago

For me, I will cancel it all together but unfortunately I still have it till 2030 lol

meganick20d ago

I would like to see Sony add a fourth tier of PS Plus for people who just want to be able to play games online without any of the perks like monthly games, store discounts, or anything like that, and it should cost $20 annually, $30 maximum. There’s no way I’m paying $80 just to play games online. Even the original $60 fee was too much, and I would often wait for sales to re-up my subscription.

P_Bomb20d ago (Edited 20d ago )

Essential is too expensive, I agree. We’ve got one Essential and one Premium sub. Dropping the Premium when it expires.

gamerz19d ago

Just let my subscription lapse for the first time since 2010. Will sub again every now and then for a month or so to access my old ps+ games but for me it's the end of an era.

DivineHand12519d ago

Let those numbers continue to drop because it is now too expensive. $80 per year just to play online. I noticed they didn't offer any discounts on the subscription or controllers during this year's days of play for the first time in many years and they will feel it when people choose not to renew.

My subscription will lapse next month and it will stay that way until further notice.

KevtheDuff19d ago

There were savings on subs and controllers here in the UK? I bought a controller yesterday in the sale..
It would be weird if those deals were not in other territories too?