Posted 13 January 2020

hotukdeals Gaming Community and Discussion

hotukdeals Gaming Community and Discussion
Community Updates
EmeraldGreen's avatar

Merchants (physical games)


Merchants (digital games)

rimz790's avatar
If anyone is interested in checking this HUKD XBOX Friends List thread out

hotukdeals.com/dis…325
New Comment

56822 Comments

sorted by
's avatar
  1. mixmixi's avatar
    The Game Collection' Black Friday landing page: thegamecollection.net/sal…day

    Obviously it is not live yet and the prices are regular prices at the moment. Expect more items to be added to that page.
    prankster101's avatar
    Hopefully they get Robocop on there... Although I think we'll definitely be seeing a price-drop for it in the run up for Xmas.
  2. mixmixi's avatar
    The new PS4 update 10.50 is bricking the consoles. Not many reports for UK region but plenty of reports for other regions, just as a heads up for anyone thinking to update.

    The new PS5 update is also causing issues for FIFA 23 (the console gives error suggesting the game files are corrupted after the update) and also causes some digital purchases to disappear from the library (restoring licenses does not fix it currently).
  3. mixmixi's avatar
    There’s a temporary issue going on with PlayStation Plus game catalogue titles at the moment. If your game is saying the title will expire in 15 minutes, don’t panic, just close it and restart it and it will give you another 15 minutes to carry on this way. The issue should be fixed soon but we’ve been getting a ton of reports today, so I thought I’d mention it here for you guys too!
    joanddan7's avatar
    Cheers fella. Hope you are well.
  4. joeydeacon's avatar
    To avoid having to respond to dozens of potential messages, no you cannot use the new Starling virtual cards on Turkey PSN. Tested them using all known methods, they don't work. Don't waste your time.
  5. mixmixi's avatar
    Sony's Black Friday promotion starts from 17th of November and continues until 30th of November.

    For Dualsense the promo starts on 21st and finishes on 27th.

    The campaign and the prices are identical to last year and the year before. Dualsense SRP would be £44.99 for all colours so expect £39.99 from most retaliers. The FC24 Dualsense bundle is £79.99 so expect £69.99 from Smyths.

    Also PS5 consoles are included this year, but not the new models. The old Disc console will be priced £389.99 (so expect prices ranging between £350 to £389 from most retailers)

    Also EA FC24 and MW3 bundles will be included for £20 more.

    In terms of software, Ragnarok is the only new addition to their campaign (PS4 SRP £32.99 / PS5 £42.99). Other than that everything else is going to be the same price as the last couple of years. Spider Man 2 is not part of the campaign.
    BubaMan's avatar
    My Plus runs out on the 11th, so I'll have to go 10 days without...
    With the recent hikes, I'm not expecting much better than August prices though. (edited)
  6. joeydeacon's avatar
    I've got a new method fully tested and ready to go, now possible for us to buy Xbox games directly from the Turkey store using a FUPS virtual debit card, guide here..
    hotukdeals.com/dis…810
    Biddy2's avatar
    Cheers mate. Will give this a go later.
  7. Biddy2's avatar
    Just a heads up, apparently MS have now limited Turkey and Argentina based Game Pass subscriptions to a maximum of 13 months. So don't go buying 3x XBL Gold subs and then upgrading anymore. (edited)
    scapton's avatar
  8. mixmixi's avatar
    Sony will be doing another campaign on PS5 consoles for UK towards the end of the July (I don’t have the dates yet) but the MSRP for the console will be £404.99. If you’re looking to buy a console, wait until then.

    Edit: I amended the price. Sorry for the confusion.

    Edit 2: Date is 28th of July (edited)
    BubaMan's avatar
    Sony raises price...
    People get used to it...
    Microsoft raise price...
    Sony drop their price...
    Bloody Microsoft ripoff!
  9. Reddonkeyham's avatar
    Same avatar for everyone?
  10. KP5's avatar
    Maybe a glitch - Elden Ring PS5 showing £25 online at Tesco.com - worth a cheeky price match with Currys perhaps, as it still shows £47 when added to basket. Not sure how far Currys delve into the pricing…

    Edit to add - Shortly after this post, it popped up as a deal. Can confirm its pricing at £25 now consistently. Meh that this wasn’t credited but I’ll chalk it down to coincidence… (edited)
    HXCMARC's avatar
    Currys will match if you can show them it's in stock locally. I can never get the app to work for me to show local stock. When they had a recent switch game clearance in tesco my mate screen shotted the app for me and I went in to currys and got them all without issue.
  11. Biddy2's avatar
    So back to the Activision/MS stuff... A LOT of things has leaked that shouldn't have due to the FTC lawsuit. Stuff that has blown MS's strategy wide open and now the competition will know what they are up to for years to come.

    First up we have the cloud console, Xbox handheld and a new premium Xbox controller that is said to have Gyro and Haptics. On the far right is a Series X digital only console that will be releasing Oct 2024.

    51014677-A52y5.jpg

    Edit - The handheld isn't happening according to this slide. They are just aiming to be market leaders in that domain through other companies (explains the Rog Ally partnership)



    51014677-ZkJIC.jpg


    This is the Series X refresh coming in 2024.

    51014677-JbHxE.jpg
    The new Xbox controller.

    51014677-pmOyI.jpg
    51014677-VDDwr.jpg
    Early ideas for the next Xbox also leaked.

    51014677-JLNGg.jpg
    51014677-s6FIo.jpg
    51014677-hWrhy.jpg
    MS are/were working on buying Warner Bros Interactive. However, the most shocking leak from this email is they are actively buying more and more Nintendo stock to merge Nintendo with Microsoft in the future. Yes, Microsoft are looking to own them. This is the real reason why they are being friendly with them! Valve are also on the cards for them it seems.

    51014677-1xYM2.jpg
    Shocking stuff! (edited)
    DevilsNeverCry's avatar
    51021872-yazm5.jpg
    This was (Lies of) Phils response to the MS leak kerfuffle.

    I can respect some of the sentiment with regards to future hardware plans and planned games/sequels, as gamers it's still more fun to learn about that stuff as it happens, not through these mega leak scenarios, but this is otherwise very dismissive of the storm left in the wake.

    Phil is in a high leadership position in a mega corp, I get it, but he/they got exposed BADLY with regards to their true intentions within this industry. Some of these same 'old' e-mails from one of his key men (Booty) had expressed a desire to 'spend Sony out of business' - and now this reveals they had planned (for at least the second time) to go after Nintendo.

    Bethesda and ABK acquisitions are proof enough that these 'old' plans are very much still in play. Given the amount of competition authority scrutiny and oversight that ABK has drawn, you'd like to think they will think again, but they're getting away with it, so they're just going to keep going with this now.

    Fun times ahead, nice one Microsoft for being such great 'competitors' and moving the industry forward (edited)
  12. Biddy2's avatar
    Apparently, Tom Henderson is reporting that Sony are planning to release a detachable disc drive for PS5 in September 2023, which will connect via an extra USB port on the rear of the console (so basically, all PS5 consoles from that point will be digital consoles). Website isn't working right now but this is the link. insider-gaming.com/new…-5/

    So looks like Sony could be beginning to gear up to wiping out physical games by PS6. Hopefully detachable disc drives will still be a thing, but then I can't see discs being mass produced the way they are now if so. (edited)
    EmeraldGreen's avatar
    Xbox was making the news with something similar back in May. It has been quiet ever since though.

    Microsoft has plans for an Xbox Series S external disc drive techradar.com/new…ive

    Microsoft Patent Could Verify Physical Games for Xbox Digital Library gamerant.com/mic…on/
  13. Biddy2's avatar
    Lego 2K Drive reviews are coming out. This particular review highlights just how bad the MTX are. press-start.com.au/rev…ew/

    This is a full-priced title though, one that’s already being supported by a paid season pass model, and yet a huge chunk of the coolest stuff is locked behind in-game purchases. By the time I’d completed every main and side quest in the game I’d earned enough currency to buy maybe three or four of the roughly 200 items on offer. Some younger players with enough time and patience might be able to grind out the bucks they need to get a good portion of it, but the rest are very likely to succumb to Unkie Monkey’s in-your-face salesmanship, which feels grubby.
    Ultimately, this is a children's game. It's so awful to see how it's not being stamped out and now is just generally accepted. Give your life to the grind or pay up are the options given to you. In a full priced title. (edited)
    copperspock's avatar
    2K and Lego, twice the RDA of greed!
  14. joanddan7's avatar
    In case anyone missed it in deals and anyone is interested - free avatars for PS - multiple use code

    F8HA-J4NC-PQ6T
  15. CoolDude0123's avatar
    Plus Collection is coming to an end in May. So if you haven't already gabbed any games, now is a good time to do so

    49453060-D3J1l.jpg
    This is the list
    49453060-nqJBT.jpg
    HXCMARC's avatar
    Thanks for the heads up. Just had a quick look online and seems I need to do it in the console.
  16. CoolDude0123's avatar
    Dreams support ends on 1st September while they shift focus onto a new project which isn't Dreams 2 or anything to do with the Dreams IP.

    Can still create, play and share content after that date. Players will be given 5GB storage limit. Current creations won't count towards that limit.

    Dreams update

    49960800-yRjwL.jpg
    scapton's avatar
    This is really sad. When this game came out Dreams was something I put close to 300 hours into the beta and full release. It's not unexpected given the radio silence about the game's roadmap and planned features of late, and to be honest I stopped playing quite a while ago now. I just moved on to other things. Here's some of the things I made, and I wasn't that great at the game! -


    My favourite part of the game is the music tools. They are really intuitive and just fun to mess around with. I made loads of cool spyro sounding music in dreams -


    Media Molecule announced they had a 10 year plan for the game, so I'm disappointed it's been cut so short of this, and I really think it had growth potential.

    - PC port?
    - Where is planned multiplayer?
    - PSVR2 support?
    - PS5 re-release to take advantage of the hardware
    - Dedicated single player maps / content from MM?

    Anyway, loved this game, interested to see what Media Molecule are working on next!
  17. Biddy2's avatar
    50843584-yHoHu.jpg
    The first of the tools Denuvo is offering to Switch developers is Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection, a “revolutionary technology to protect games launching on Nintendo Switch from piracy”.
    According to Denuvo, the new tech can be applied to Switch games to block the ability to play them on PC emulators.“Even if a game is protected against piracy on its PC version, the version released on Nintendo Switch can be emulated from day one and played on PC, therefore bypassing the strong protections offered on the PC version,” the company says. “This can happen with any of the numerous games available on Nintendo Switch.
    “By blocking unauthorised emulations on PC, studios are able to increase their revenue during the game launch window, which is the most important period for monetisation. The Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection will ensure that anyone wishing to play the game has to buy a legitimate copy.

    “As with all other Denuvo solutions, the technology integrates seamlessly into the build toolchain with no impact on the gaming experience. It then allows for the insertion of checks into the code, which blocks gameplay on emulators.”

    This company is now trying to impact game preservation...
    DJSlime's avatar
    "Seamlessly"

    Like the time everyone had to pirate Resident Evil Village because Denuvo destroyed the framerate.
  18. Mrcrazyman69's avatar
    If anyone's interested in the current Nintendo Joycon repair time, UPS picked mine up on 29th August, and I've received a new pair today. Not too shabby!
  19. BubaMan's avatar
    This Rhythm Battle Royal game from Team 17 comes out at the end of the month:
    store.playstation.com/en-…875

    It's the kind of game that only works with lots of players, so it seems wrong that they're charging for it...
    It's got PS Plus written all over it imo. (edited)
    shasnir's avatar
    It's on Gamepass this month.
  20. CoolDude0123's avatar
    Don't forget this is today at 6pm

    "updates on partner games like Alan Wake 2, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, ARK: Survival Ascended, Dungeons of Hinterberg and more"
    51260519-CVASW.jpg
    EmeraldGreen's avatar
    More of this please
  21. mixmixi's avatar
    Spider-man limited edition console and accessories are live on PlayStation direct in case anyone cares.

    £54.99 for the faceplates, £69.99 for the controller and £569.99 for the console…

    controller: direct.playstation.com/en-gb/buy-accessories/dualsense-wireless-controller-marvels-spider-man-2-limited-edition

    console:
    direct.playstation.com/en-gb/buy-consoles/playstation5-console-marvels-spider-man-2-limited-edition-bundle

    faceplate:

    direct.playstation.com/en-…ion (edited)
    DJSlime's avatar
    I think in a living room situation it looks too tacky for me.

    I'd like a controller for the collection though, they should be quite valuable.
  22. scapton's avatar
    51475788-ly8je.jpg
    Valve have celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Half-life with a new update on steam!

    half-life.com/en/…25/

    - The game is now free on Steam.
    - There are new interviews with the HL1 dev team.
    - Half Life Uplink, a previously CD Magazine exclusive mini campaign is now included
    - Added 4 new multiplayer maps
    - Updated graphic settings
    - Controller and steam networking support added
    - Native Steam Deck support
    - UI upscaling for higher resolutions
    - Restored content and much more!

    This is all rather cool!!
    joanddan7's avatar
    That’s amazing. Thanks for posting. Steam deck and all the additions. Lovely 
  23. Biddy2's avatar
    Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god...

    51124487-QZOLQ.jpg



    It. Works. On. Deck. Too.

    51124487-oDrvu.jpg
    joanddan7's avatar
    51128786-CexW7.jpgThis is a BONKERS demo. I’ve not even finished it. Not sure what they are classing as a level. I’ve missed some side missions so I’ll reply to get those and I missed a secret on first level. I think I’m on second level as the cop shop part I don’t think was a level. Seriously though some full ps3/ps3 games play throughs are shorter than this whole demo! Haha 
  24. Biddy2's avatar

    Full video for anyone that missed it.
    scapton's avatar
    Absolutely loved the look of this!
  25. Biddy2's avatar
    PS5 more powerful than Series X confirmed. eurogamer.net/her…-uk

    No but seriously, stop using your PS5 consoles for Netflix and put your Series X into energy saver mode, seems to be the take away from this
    CoolDude0123's avatar
    I can't remember where i saw it but somewhere mentioned if you have a smart TV then to stick with using the TV app to watch Netflix as consoles are a secondary device using up extra power. And if you don't have a smart TV, then look into less power hungry devices such as the Firestick.

    The same site talked about the Switch being a really good device to use for gaming with it being the least power hungry.

    And now this post was up today

    Switch redesigned to be more energy and resource efficient product, says Nintendo
    "According to Nintendo's tests, when docked the launch model uses about 12 watts, whilst the current model uses seven. The OLED model is slightly more efficient then the current model, using only six watts, achieving a reduction in power consumption of 50 percent. "
    eurogamer.net/swi…ndo
  26. Biddy2's avatar
    47738045-PHddt.jpg
    Well this news sucks.

    Lollipop Chainsaw is getting a remake in 2023. ign.com/art…023

    Now remake Naughty Bear you cowards. (edited)
    EmeraldGreen's avatar

    Replying to

    There was something that little more special about the 360 games knowing they were yours to keep. Some might turn their nose up at getting Thrillville and Torchlight this month, but it is preservation of games and a little bit of gaming history.
  27. Venner's avatar
    GAMEPASS Ultimate

    Whats the best way to get this now?

    Mine finishes on 9th January and will be first time i need to renew it, had it since launch when i managed to convert many years gold for £1

    PS Plus

    This has just ran out was hoping for cheap offer for black friday but is there any other trick i should know to get it cheap? (edited)
  28. Sonofclara's avatar
    48799146-1d8ZP.jpgLink Try M4rioK4rt for the secret code

    cyb3rpunk (edited)
    scapton's avatar
    Thanks for this, unfortunately the secret code isn't working any more!
  29. BubaMan's avatar
    In case any of you have Retroarch (or Kodi) installed on your Xbox, you need to disable auto-upload for screenshot / capture and delete any clips you may already have in the cloud:
    48872546-UFsN8.jpgThe suspension is temporary - this is not a ban, but it's best not to chance it IMO.

    This movement comes after some silly people have been uploading video clips of pirated movies via Kodi but they are extending the action to unofficial emulators too.
    Biddy2's avatar
    Cheers mate. Will get that turned off quickly, as I'm always accidentally pressing the button on the controller.
  30. Biddy2's avatar
    Alan Wake 2 will not be getting a physical release.

    Why is Alan Wake 2 a digital-only release?

    There are many reasons for this. For one, a large number of have shifted to digital only. You can buy a Sony PlayStation 5 without a disc drive and Microsoft's Xbox Series S is a digital only console. It is not uncommon to release modern games as digital-only.

    Secondly, not releasing a disc helps keep the price of the game at $59.99 / €59.99 and the PC version at $49.99 / €49.99.

    Finally, we did not want to ship a disc product and have it require a download for the game — we do not think this would make for a great experience either.

    Is there a disc-based version of Alan Wake 2 in the works?

    There are currently no plans to release Alan Wake 2 on disc.
    alanwake.com/sto…aq/
    scapton's avatar
    I was really looking forward to picking up this game. How can they justify no physical release?? This screams of an epic games decision.
  31. Biddy2's avatar
    I dived in and updated my Deck to the 3.5 preview build. With the display set to sRGB and 6500k, it makes the screen look great.

    Also, I have noticed up to 10fps performance improvements on some games thanks to the GPU drivers being updated. (edited)
    BubaMan's avatar
  32. KP5's avatar
    Any budding (or actual) musicians here? Gaming seems to be a commonality amongst musicians, or visa versa..

    In a past life (my very younger days) I picked up bass guitar, and slightly later the drums. I ‘enjoyed’ working towards my grades, but sadly sold all my gear before I went to university.

    Anyway, TLDR; any recommendations for guitar lesson type apps please? I’m looking at Fender Play, but in the absence of a significant deal, it’s a bit pricy! I’ve just picked up an electric guitar 🎸 (edited)
    HXCMARC's avatar
    Hey. Yeah, I studied music years ago and got to a pretty decent standard on bass. Also played guitar for most of that period too.

    I used Fender play a couple of years ago and found what they had on there to be limited and quite basic. I think it was for a free trial, so maybe something similar is out there.

    These apps tend to price so one month is super expensive and a year is a lot cheaper, but maybe just do a trial or one month to see first. It's easy to buy the year and then usage drop of quickly.

    What are you looking for, tracks or more technical stuff? Yousician will help with tracks, but I think their catalogue is a bit limited.

    Ultimate guitar have pro tabs and a larger catalogue (think you can pay £30 a year when on offer) but that won't give you any feedback on your playing.

    Rocksmith on PS4 is still decent. It had the benefit of being able to select any desired section of a track and slow it down and just loop it. I think other apps may have that function too.

    Then there are the YouTubers and their courses. I love the content from Paul Davids
    https://youtube.com/@PaulDavids?si=uOr60u_9-vrzWR5N

    He very easy going and not in your face, like a lot of the others. He explains things well musically and technically.

    There's probably loads of other good YouTube teachers out there. I'd recommend just starting to watch some basic stuff and then go from there (just keep searching for more stuff based on relevant key words - like her story).

    I spend most time playing songs rather than exercises, but did more dexterity training back in the day. Finger training and picking exercises are dull. I found the best way was to learn some good exercises for your left hand finger strengthening and separately, exercises for your picking hand, and then do them whilst watching TV or listening to a podcast. This will allow you to do more of that training without it becoming a bore.

    Learning to play some of your favourite songs will help keep engaged - provided they're easy enough.

    Hey. Yeah, I studied music years ago and got to a pretty decent standard on bass. Also played guitar for most of that period too.

    I used Fender play a couple of years ago and found what they had on there to be limited and quite basic. I think it was for a free trial, so maybe something similar is out there.

    These apps tend to price so one month is super expensive and a year is a lot cheaper, but maybe just do a trial or one month to see first. It's easy to buy the year and then usage drop of quickly.

    What are you looking for, tracks or more technical stuff? Yousician will help with tracks, but I think their catalogue is a bit limited.

    Ultimate guitar have pro tabs and a larger catalogue (think you can pay £30 a year when on offer) but that won't give you any feedback on your playing.

    Rocksmith on PS4 is still decent. It had the benefit of being able to select any desired section of a track and slow it down and just loop it. I think other apps may have that function too.

    Then there are the YouTubers and their courses. I love the content from Paul Davids
    https://youtube.com/@PaulDavids?si=uOr60u_9-vrzWR5N

    He very easy going and not in your face, like a lot of the others. He explains things well musically and technically.

    There's probably loads of other good YouTube teachers out there. I'd recommend just starting to watch some basic stuff and then go from there (just keep searching for more stuff based on relevant key words - like her story).

    I spend most time playing songs rather than exercises, but did more dexterity training back in the day. Finger training and picking exercises are dull. I found the best way was to learn some good exercises for your left hand finger strengthening and separately, exercises for your picking hand, and then do them whilst watching TV or listening to a podcast. This will allow you to do more of that training without it becoming a bore.

    Learning to play some of your favourite songs will help keep engaged - provided they're easy enough. (edited)
  33. CoolDude0123's avatar
    Xbox also Link here

    51729563-tjrpP.jpg
    Biddy2's avatar
    51729852-Z1YWy.jpg
    51729852-1JTkh.jpg
  34. Biddy2's avatar
    Microsoft have cut the monthly bonus points task to 1000 points in Microsoft Rewards. Looks like they're cracking down on it. (edited)
    CoolDude0123's avatar
    That’s a shame. Are you still finding it to be more time consuming to earn the points?

    Not looking like a bright future when prices will continue to increase and the points decline or become more time consuming. 
  35. PAISAL's avatar
    BubaMan26/05/2022 20:39

    Someone talk me into playing Cyberpunk...I played about 2 hours of it 3-4 …Someone talk me into playing Cyberpunk...I played about 2 hours of it 3-4 months ago, so I've forgotten the controls & systems and I might have to start it again I thought the new TV might entice me back, but I've just put it on and was reminded of how unengaging it had been so far.I was also reminded of how bad ray tracing mode actually looks & plays!


    Because it has an absolutely amazing main story. I’ve banged on about it for quite some time. I played it in PC a while ago and honestly didn’t notice any major bugs at all. Nothing game breaking. The odd graphical glitch (about the same as any other game).

    The problem with it is (assuming performance is non longer the issue), it’s the wrong type of game for what it is. It simply isn’t a good RPG. It has an overly elaborate menu and upgrade system that’s difficult to read and makes your eyes hurt, things are very poorly explained if at all, you probably won’t even bother looking at half the upgrades, the shooting feels loose, you come across far, far too many of the same gun/item with barely any statistical difference between them, it’s an absolute pain to sort through them all, and you’ll quickly find yourself just dismantling them. Selling them takes ages because of the rubbish menus. The cars cost far too much and you’ll end up just nicking them, and soon enough you won’t need them anyway because of a stupendously good mission later on. You sometimes find yourself carrying an item for ages because you’re not the right level, but by the time you are the right level you’ll find a much better version so you’ve been carrying it about for hours for no good reason.

    But! The world, atmosphere and characters are amazing. There are some great side quests. It has a killer sequence at the end which is such a satisfying pay off. It is a startlingly relevant social commentary. It makes you think about existence. It’s haunting. PLAY IT.

    I just really wish it wasn’t stuck in an RPG. (edited)
  36. EmeraldGreen's avatar
    47845085-NdTWX.jpg47845085-CLSvJ.jpg (edited)
    BubaMan's avatar
    Review here
    (edited)
  37. Slasher9262's avatar
    After resetting my ps5 again to cure a couple of issues with data syncing as it does seem to cure the issues for a couple of months I still get this option on games and for the life of me I can’t fathom out why Sony would give me the option of downloading a ps4 version on my ps5
    48340084-xnNv4.jpg
    Slasher9262's avatar
    You can now tell it to install bc games to install to external and xsx games to internal ssd. I own both but the ps5 just seems lacking in so many functions another one is doing a mass copy from internal ssd to either m.2 or external you have to wait until it’s completed xsx tell it to do it and go play some games. (edited)
  38. scapton's avatar
    I recently picked up a New 3DS XL for £100 from eBay. So far I have mainly been playing Nintendo Badge Arcade and Art of Balance

    For you regular 3DS owners, is there anything absolutely essential or digital exclusives that I should pick up before the eShop closes in March?
's avatar