Next-Gen Console Watch

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week the usual crew of Daemon, Ryan, and Max are joined by Bo Moore, IGN's executive tech editor. With the Nvidia RTX 50-series cards now available (allegedly, since they're sold out now), we dive into the world of artificial intelligence to see if it's possible these new advancements will mean cheaper gaming hardware in the future. And the gang discusses how AI frame generation actually affects how games feel. Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon is joined by Ryan McCaffrey of Podcast Unlocked, and Jada Griffin from Nintendo Voice Chat. The topic: could, and will, Grand Theft Auto 6 be priced at $80 or more? Is a $100 base price for that game reasonable considering inflation rates and the rising cost of game development? Should hours a player will spend in the game determine how much they pay for it? And will the whole industry follow suit? Plus we have a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This is a very big week for next-gen gaming—after seemingly countless leaks over the past few months, the Nintendo Switch 2 has officially been revealed. Daemon, Ryan, and Game Scoop's Sam Claiborn take stock of what we know about the Switch, and what we DON'T know (which is admittedly a lot). Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week NVC's Brian Altano is joined by Beyond's Max Scoville and Unlocked's Ryan McCaffrey as they discuss the deluge of Nintendo Switch 2 leaks. The rumored hybrid console has seen its alleged motherboard, kickstand, and Joycon controllers leak in recent weeks, and accessory maker Genki even showed off a mock-up at their CES 2025 booth (which they later walked back). So how legit are these leaks? And does this mean an official announcement is imminent? Plus we have a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week IGN's Executive Tech Editor, Bo Moore, stops by to talk Sony's new graphics initiative. The company has announced a partnership with AMD that could be beneficial not just to Sony, but Xbox as well. What could this mean for the PlayStation 6 and Microsoft's follow-up to the Xbox Series X?

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week Daemon, Max, and Ryan look back at 2024 and pick their favorite "next-gen" games of the year. These are the titles that really show off what the PS5 and Xbox Series X can do, like Hellblade 2's realistic facial animation, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle's immersive lighting, Astro Bot's water effects and DualSense controller features, Star Wars Outlaws' weather effects—you get the idea. Plus we have last week's Black Friday poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

This episode is presented by Xfinity.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week Daemon, Ryan, and Max discuss the games we should have been playing already, namely games like Avowed, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Metal Gear Solid Delta, and more. What caused the delays and when are they actually coming out? We also have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon is joined by Beyond's Max Scoville and Unlocked's Destin Legarie to discuss the next front in the console war: handhelds. A recent Bloomberg report claims that Sony is working on their next PlayStation handheld that is meant to go toe-to-toe with the Nintendo Switch. Not to be outdone, Microsoft also has a handheld coming, and both Sony's and Microsoft's are years away, likely competing with each other and with the many PC handhelds already out from that corner of the industry. Will any of these prove real challengers to Nintendo's decades-long dominance in the handheld space? Plus we go over last week's poll results, and have a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This week Daemon is joined by Ryan McCaffrey from IGN's Xbox podcast, Unlocked, and Max Scoville from IGN's PlayStation show, Beyond! The topic: should Microsoft fast-track a new Xbox console since they won't be doing a mid-gen refresh? The PS5 Pro is now the most powerful game console you can buy, and since PS5's are outselling the Xbox 2:1, it might be better for Microsoft to hit the reset button. What do you think? Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch! This month marks the four-year anniversary of both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X|S, so of course we're taking a look back at the past four years and grading how well both consoles did. Joining Daemon this week are Max Scoville from IGN's Beyond! podcast, and Stella Chung from Podcast Unlocked. We also have last week's poll results, plus a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week Daemon is joined by Beyond's Max Scoville, and Michael Higham, IGN's tech reviews editor. He reviewed the PS5 Pro, and he joins us today to talk about his review, how the PS5 Pro makes console games a little more like their PC counterparts, and whether or not Microsoft needs to release an Xbox Series X Pro soon. Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week Daemon is joined by Unlocked's Ryan McCaffrey and Beyond's Max Scoville to compare the PS5 and Xbox's lineup for the rest of the year. Sony is launching its mid-gen refresh in the PS5 Pro, but doesn't really have a major exclusive this Fall that shows off that extra horsepower. Meanwhile, the Xbox Series X and S consoles are being outsold by Sony, but the lineup of new exclusive games for the rest of the year seems more robust on their side. Sony does have an obvious Game of the Year contender in the recent Astro Bot, and the Horizon Zero Dawn remaster is just around the corner (despite no one really asking for it). And in Microsoft's camp, they have heavy first-party hitters like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (a timed exclusive), and Microsoft Flight Simular 2024, not to mention the highly-anticipated S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week, Daemon is joined by Podcast Beyond's Max Scoville and Jada Griffin to talk about remasters. They're all the rage these days with games coming out a generation ago already getting the remaster treatment (looking at you, Horizon Zero Dawn). But there are plenty of older games that could use a fresh coat of paint, like Metal Gear Solid 4, Dino Crisis, and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron 2. We discuss which we want to see, and go over last week's poll results.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week Daemon is joined by Ryan McCaffrey from IGN's Xbox podcast, Podcast Unlocked, and Max Scoville from Beyond, IGN's PlayStation show. This week, retro enthusiast hardware company Analogue revealed the Analogue 3D, their take on the Nintendo 64. As great as it is that a company is making original retro games playable on new TVs and gaming setups, should it be up to the hardware makers themselves to provide this? Are Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo doing enough for game preservation and ensuring that old physical libraries of games remain accessible? Plus we have last week's poll results, and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week Daemon is joined by Podcast Beyond's Max Scoville and Unlocked's Ryan McCaffrey to discuss the major shift happening over at Halo devleoper 343 Industries...oops we mean't Halo Studios. And does the franchise's move to Unreal Engine 5 mean a likely PS5 port of any of the existing or future games? Plus we have last week's poll results and a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch. This week Ryan is in the driver's seat, and he's joined by Beyond's Max Scoville and Podcast Unlocked's Destin Legarie. The topic is a timely one for the beginning of the spooky season: notable—and scary—horror games that really show off the PS5 and the Xbox Series X. And when did horror games become the new way to show off new gaming hardware? Plus we have a new poll for you to vote on at IGN.com.

Welcome to Next-Gen Console Watch, your one-stop shop for everything Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. Join Game Scoop's! Daemon Hatfield; Ryan McCaffrey, host of IGN’s Xbox podcast Podcast Unlocked; Max Scoville, host of IGN's PlayStation podcast Podcast Beyond; and Bo Moore, IGN’s Executive Tech Editor, every Friday at 6AM Pacific, 9AM Eastern for the latest and greatest in PS5 and Xbox Series X news. See you then!

Check out our videos at www.ign.com/watch/next-gen-console-watch