[0:00] Happy Friday everybody. Max here with
[0:01] your fix of gaming news. Coming up,
[0:03] despite the rising prices of consoles,
[0:05] retailers are warning there might be a
[0:07] shortage by the time GTA 6 drops. Plus,
[0:10] some insight into how many of you are
[0:11] willing to shell out a h 100red bucks
[0:13] for that ultimate edition and a roundup
[0:15] of this week's biggest game releases.
[0:17] Let's get into it.
[0:28] Right now, consoles are not exactly
[0:30] flying off of shelves. Generally,
[0:31] raising the prices of things by several
[0:33] hundred dollars doesn't make people more
[0:35] inclined to go buy them, but if a recent
[0:37] report is to be believed, they might
[0:39] soon be in high demand. The game
[0:41] business reported that a senior buyer
[0:43] for a quote major retailer spoke
[0:45] anonymously to them about the likelihood
[0:47] of shortages later this year, claiming
[0:49] quote, "We've been informed that because
[0:51] of the ongoing issues around hardware
[0:53] component availability, we won't be
[0:55] getting the units we want ahead of GTA.
[0:57] Demand will likely outstrip supply
[1:00] during the year-end period." Now, as
[1:02] with all anonymous reports, take that
[1:03] with a grain of salt, but it's
[1:04] definitely not outside the realm of
[1:06] possibility. PlayStation raised hardware
[1:07] prices at the end of March and then Xbox
[1:09] announced yesterday that Xbox Series
[1:11] consoles would start going for $100 more
[1:13] starting August 1st. This has some folks
[1:15] worried that Sony might follow suit and
[1:17] raise their prices again. All that fear,
[1:19] plus the prospect of GTA could
[1:21] definitely see sales picking up. Of
[1:22] course, the chip shortage is expected to
[1:24] last through at least next year with
[1:25] some analysts predicting that it'll be
[1:27] an ongoing issue into 2030. This is the
[1:29] first console generation in history
[1:31] where prices have gone up since launch
[1:33] rather than getting price cuts. So, if
[1:35] you haven't jumped on a nextG console
[1:36] yet, it's probably better to do that
[1:38] sooner than later because I don't think
[1:40] they're going to get any cheaper anytime
[1:42] soon.
[1:44] We all spent months speculating about
[1:45] how much Rockstar would charge for Grand
[1:47] Theft Auto 6 with a lot of concern that
[1:49] it would retail for a whopping $100.
[1:52] Well, we learned this week that it's
[1:53] only, and I use that word very lightly,
[1:55] only $80 for the standard edition. And
[1:58] the only way it would be $100 is if you
[2:00] shelled out for the ultimate edition.
[2:02] Who would do such a thing? Well, it
[2:04] turns out a whole lot of you have no
[2:06] qualms about spending $100 on GTA 6.
[2:08] Yesterday, IGN ran a poll asking readers
[2:10] which version they intended to buy. And
[2:12] of the 4,370
[2:15] votes we received, 73.1% of them were
[2:18] for the Ultimate Edition. So, what
[2:20] gives? Well, as one Redditor put it, the
[2:22] Ultimate Edition is the default option
[2:24] for this game, and the $80 is the
[2:26] cheaper option. Because how else can you
[2:28] explain Rockstar priced the Ultimate
[2:29] Edition at only $100? Why not 120 or 140
[2:33] like other companies? $20 gap between
[2:36] standard and ultimate edition of a game
[2:37] of this magnitude is too odd to ignore.
[2:40] In the past, most publishers, including
[2:42] Rockstar, release a standard edition of
[2:43] a game and then a deluxe or special
[2:45] edition for roughly 10 bucks more, and
[2:47] then a third super premium collector's
[2:49] edition, usually with some kind of
[2:50] physical collectibles. Though, in recent
[2:52] years, a lot of those have just been
[2:53] digital bonuses. and collector's
[2:55] editions have stopped actually including
[2:56] the game, but still get announced
[2:57] alongside the rest of the pre-orders, as
[2:59] was the case with Red Dead Redemption 2,
[3:01] which got like a little special
[3:03] collector box. What strikes me as odd
[3:05] about GTA 6's pre-orders, aside from the
[3:07] fact that the physical edition only
[3:08] includes a download code or the fact
[3:10] that we haven't seen gameplay yet, is
[3:11] that there's been basically no mention
[3:13] of GTA Online. When GTA 5 and Red Dead 2
[3:16] were released, neither one had online
[3:17] multiplayer features on day one, but
[3:19] Rockstar still mentioned online bonuses
[3:21] were included when pre-orders went up.
[3:23] So, my hunch is that Rockstar will
[3:25] announce another edition or additions of
[3:27] this game later on. I don't know if
[3:29] that's alongside an eventual unconfirmed
[3:31] physical version that actually includes
[3:33] a disc or when they start talking about
[3:35] online or if they roll out some super
[3:36] premium collector's edition that
[3:38] includes a bunch of stuff, but this roll
[3:40] out does feel a little bit odd. 73% of
[3:42] the people who answered that poll are
[3:44] springing for the $100 edition. How many
[3:46] of you are holding out for something
[3:48] even more expensive? Let me know in the
[3:50] comments below.
[3:52] Finally, if you're looking for something
[3:53] new to play this weekend that's actually
[3:55] out, here's a quick roundup of some
[3:56] noteworthy games that dropped in the
[3:58] last week. It's a big one for Switch 2
[4:00] owners. Star Fox is the big game, and it
[4:02] might be a remake of sorts, but Nintendo
[4:04] definitely did enough to make it look
[4:05] brand new. And my good pal Jada Griffin
[4:07] had lots of nice things to say about it
[4:09] in her 8 out of 10 review if you're on
[4:11] the fence. If you're a Switch 2 owner
[4:12] but not a Star Fox fan, you're in luck
[4:14] because Switch 2 versions of a couple
[4:16] other colorful animal games also
[4:18] dropped. There's Sonic Frontiers, The
[4:19] Blue Blur's 2022 open-ish world outing,
[4:22] and then The Gecko Gods, which is a
[4:24] chill- looking indie puzzle adventure
[4:25] about those little lizards. If you're
[4:27] more of a human hater than an animal
[4:29] lover, there's Destroy All Humans. And
[4:30] if you want something even edgier than
[4:32] that, there's DMC 5's Devil Hunter
[4:34] Edition. If you want something a little
[4:36] more laid-back, Wander Stop is about a
[4:38] former adventurer running a tea shop,
[4:39] and that one is on Switch One as well as
[4:41] Switch 2. Also on Switch One as well as
[4:43] PC is Dark Scrolls, which is a fantasy
[4:46] schmut platformer with rog light
[4:47] progression. A few games got updates.
[4:49] Delta Rune Chapter 5 dropped as a free
[4:51] update on all platforms and Frost Punk
[4:53] 2's Breach of Trust expansion dropped
[4:55] for 13 bucks wherever you can already
[4:56] play Frost Punk 2. And finally, Dead or
[4:58] Alive 6 has been out since 2019, but if
[5:00] you want to play the definitive final
[5:02] Ultimate Edition, DOA 6 Last Round is
[5:05] out for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC. and
[5:07] it's got a roster of like 29 characters
[5:09] and they have all sorts of silly
[5:11] costumes and the graphics are sweatier
[5:13] than ever. So, give it a shot. If you
[5:15] want to look ahead at what's coming out
[5:16] in July, keep an eye out for our biggest
[5:18] game releases video, which is going up
[5:19] tomorrow. We thought we'd try out a
[5:21] little byite-size look back to close out
[5:22] the Friday fix and give you some weekend
[5:24] gaming wrecks. What do you think? Should
[5:25] we keep doing it? Let me know in the
[5:27] comments.
[5:29] If you want something to play right now
[5:30] for dirt cheap that supports a great
[5:32] cause, go grab this month's Humble
[5:33] Choice bundle. It includes Octopath
[5:35] Traveler 2, The Rift Breaker, Like the
[5:37] Strange, Double Exposure, Indica,
[5:39] Citizen Sleeper 2, Starward Vector,
[5:41] Construction Simulator, Hellclock, and
[5:43] Overlooting. This month's charity is It
[5:46] Gets Better, a nonprofit organization
[5:48] with a mission to uplift, empower, and
[5:50] connect LGBTQ youth around the globe.
[5:52] Head over to humblebundle.com between
[5:54] now and July 6th and grab these games
[5:56] before they're gone. That is your fix
[5:58] for Friday, June 26th, 2026. As always,
[6:01] for all things gaming, keep it locked to
[6:02] IGN. And more importantly, have a great
[6:05] weekend everybody. Go play some video
[6:06] games.