The Wednesday letters page is worried about Sony’s first party games on PS5, as a reader is unsurprised Microsoft hasn’t made any new live service games.

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Middle-core audience
So, it seems the best guess for the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 is around £350. I’m not sure what I expected but that doesn’t seem too bad. Although that is £100 more than an Xbox Series S I doubt Nintendo will have too much trouble shifting them, especially at the start when it’s more the hardcore that is buying them.

I’m not sure middle-core is really a word but that’s where I’d place myself, so while I could imagine myself going for one early on I’d need quite a bit of convincing. I’d need to know it was noticeably more powerful and still had good battery life, and there’d ideally be something new and clever about it – I’m not sure if the secret button is really going to cover that.

In terms of games, I need to see a significant roadmap before I bite the bullet. A Sony style one-reveal-per-year routine is not going to cut it here. Although that’s one mistake I doubt that Nintendo will make. Overall though, I’d say I’m interested but not committed, so let’s see what the April Direct has to say for itself.
Fang

Creeping closer
It is a fair point about Fallout 5, I really don’t know why Bethesda hasn’t farmed that out to another developer, other than they always seem to be salty about how everyone prefers Fallout: New Vegas to their games. I’d like to think they weren’t that petty but I wouldn’t bet on it.

At least we’re finally getting some news about The Elder Scrolls 6 though, even if it is just this charity thing, but hopefully they wouldn’t start that kind of talk if it wasn’t due out within at least two years. Right? Or am I being too optimistic?

The idea that it could be 20 years, or anything even close to that, between Skyrim and its sequel is crazy to me. I wonder how much of that is due simply to the fact that Bethesda is still making money from it. Like how Rockstar didn’t need to make GTA 6 because GTA 5 was already making infinite money.
Lonnie

Problem solved
I think the only real headwind that Nintendo have to deal with is convincing casual gamers that it’s worth upgrading to Switch 2. I’m sure that Nintendo will continue to be jaw-droppingly popular in Japan and that the hardcore Nintendo fans are ready to give their creaking Switch consoles a rest, but I’m less certain that the Fortnite crowd will see a good reason to upgrade.

In that sense I can see Nintendo having a similar issue to PlayStation with the PlayStation 4: if it’s still playing the games that people want, why bother with the upgrade? In any case I think we’re talking about the difference between a 3DS style success and a DS style success.

Personally, outside of the two Zelda games my Switch hasn’t been used as much as I’d like, so I will try to hold-off on the shiny new hardware until I can clear my backlog a bit (or until a new 3D Zelda releases).
Magnumstache
PS: The Inbox has been in the correct place for the last week or so, fingers crossed that’s it sorted!

GC: Yes, hopefully. That was an odd one, that we were unaware of at first, so many thanks to everyone that wrote in to pinpoint exactly what was happening.

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Been there, done that
To answer the question of why Xbox hasn’t been pursuing live service games growth like Sony… they already have them.

You can start with the behemoth Minecraft and add on the smaller Halo, Sea Of Thieves, and both Forza franchises.

But then you get to Call Of Duty and World Of Warcraft and they pretty much own half the live service games successful today.

Let’s just not mention Redfall, OK.
DarKerR (gamertag)

GC: Sea Of Thieves was released before the current industry obsession with live service games and Microsoft has barely owned Activision Blizzard for more than a year, so it is surprising that they never jumped onto the current bandwagon in the period between – at the time when Sony and Ubisoft became so obsessed.

Au contraire
I can’t say I agree with Lefty’s criticisms of Returnal. For a start, I thought it was a great looking game, especially in motion with bullets flying everywhere.

Returnal also didn’t have randomly-generated levels. The layout was randomised for each run, but each individual area was hand-crafted. I’m not sure of any solution that would work better for a roguelike.

The story was pretty intersecting too and importantly remained largely in the background, so as to allow the focus to remain primarily on the fantastic gameplay.
Drlowdon

World of crime
Rockstar going big on user generated content for GTA 6 is something I can very easily believe in. Not that I want it or anything, but I’m certain it’ll be hugely popular with fans and will start to turn GTA into more of a Fortnite style ‘everything game’.

It’s not just going to be the single-player and then GTA Online anymore, it’s going to be tons of modes and weird asides just like Fortnite, except aimed at edgelord gamers who will try and fill the game with the sort of stuff that would make Mary Whitehouse blush.

How this is going to affect the teenagers that will be most drawn to it I don’t know, but I do know that I would never allow my children to play it. Even if I know that means they’ll probably just end up playing it at someone else’s house.

I’ll be honest, I’m disturbed by the idea of GTA 5 with near photorealistic graphics and tons of user generated content. The games make a virtue out of all the worst aspect of humanity and I really don’t think the world needs that right now. Unfortunately though, I know the world is absolutely desperate for it.
Corsec

America first
So, according to Xbox, Avowed releases worldwide today. I live in the UK, it is currently 4pm in the afternoon and my Xbox Series X still says ‘releasing later today’. WTF.

Phil, just say it like it is… if you live in America you can play today, if you live anywhere else on the planet then stuff you, play it tomorrow.
Lawrence Pick

Making the list
Very interesting list of what Sony’s internal developers are up to at the moment but I have to admit being underwhelmed at the options on show. So few seem to be doing anything new or interesting, with Bend and Bluepoint some of the only ones where we don’t know what they’re doing and it probably (maybe?) isn’t a sequel.

There’s Media Molecule as well, and Firesprite, but I don’t know much about them and it doesn’t seem likely they’d make anything I like. Hopefully the Naughty Dog Intergalactic game will be good but it wasn’t a very encouraging reveal trailer, so I’m struggling to be excited by it.

I don’t want to be a downer but I think it was better off imagining Sony was hiding all these secret, exciting projects out of sight and yet when you look into it there’s not really much of interest at all.

My biggest hope is that Santa Monica Studio is not working on another God Of War game but instead something new. I really don’t feel the series or the characters have anywhere to go after Ragnarök and any more games would be purely for the money.

I know it always was for Sony, but I think it’s clear the developers were invested in the two reboot games and I can’t believe they wouldn’t want to try something new now.
Croftie

Inbox also-rans
I don’t know if GamegCentral and its readers have seen this, but the Gold Points reward system on Switch is ending on Tuesday March 25th 2025. Perhaps they are going to have a new points system for Switch 2?
Andrew J.

GC: We would imagine so, here’s our story on it.

The golden rule of any Civilization release is when the new one arrives, buy the previous one, along with the DLC, for a lovely price. Civ 6 will have to go some to beat Civ 5 though.
r-s-w

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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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MORE: Games Inbox: When will Fallout 5 be released?

MORE: Games Inbox: Is the Nintendo Switch 2 getting too much hype?

MORE: Games Inbox: What will the battery life of the Nintendo Switch 2 be?

SHOPPERS are rushing to their local Morrisons to fill up on a branded laundry essential for just a fraction of the usual cost.

Taking to Facebook, one shopper revealed that they paid just £1.80 for a Fairy washing product rather than £5.50.

Facebook

The Cherry Blossom and Nordic Cotton Fairy Fabric Softener has been found for just £1.80[/caption]

Facebook

The shopper stocked up on numerous bottles to make the most of the bargain[/caption]

The Facebook page Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK Group is regularly flooded with little known high street deals.

Member Emma Stevenson posted a picture of the Cherry Blossom and Nordic Cotton Fairy Fabric Softener saying: “Scanning at £1.80 in Morrisons.”

A second picture attached to the post showed just how good the bargain was as she piled numerous bottles into a shopping bag at the checkout.

At least 10 bottles are pictured in the large shopping bag with a trolley behind potentially full of more.

According to Fairy, each bottle contains 76 washes meaning that Stevenson will not be out of softener for a long time.

“What a bargain,” one shopper commented as others tagged their family and friends to alert them to the unbelievable deal.

“I love this scent!! £1.80 is a barrrrrgain! Wish we had a Morrisons close!!” another wrote.

While rival retailers have offers and discounts on the same or similar items, none of them beat Morrisons’ current price.

Asda have Fairy fabric conditioner reduced from £5.50 to £3.74 while at Tesco it is £5.50 but Clubcard holders can get it for £3.75.

Ocado has it down from £6 to £3.75 and at Sainsbury’s it is £5 or £4.25 with Nectar.

Morrisons continues to be on top with other shoppers sharing that they had found the same or a similar deal for even cheaper at their local stores.

One said: “Scanning at 75p in ours. I bought the last 7”

“Scanning at 90p in ours. I bought the last 7 bottles too,” another added.

Meanwhile one eager shopper posted a photo of their Morrisons haul including 17 bottles of the large 76-wash Fairy softener, 23 bottles of the smaller version and 45 bottles of Lenor that were also on sale.

She wrote: “All of these from Morrisons near me! Big ones £1.20 little ones 75p!

“Again don’t come at me family of 6 4 babies lots of washing and picking up for family.”

Other shoppers shared the 55-washes Lenor conditioner labelled as clearance for 75p down from £3.50.

Meanwhile, Asda has slashed the price of a winter gadget for drying laundry.

The Silver Heated Winged Clothes Airer was originally £40 but is now just £28.97.

Made from Aluminium and foldable for easy storage, the airer can be purchased in-store or online with delivery starting from £3.75.

Users simply plug the drier into the mains which heats up each rail – resulting in less laundry clutter around the home.

And, with Easter around the corner, see what major retailer has slashed prices on 20 popular products.

IKEA bosses are preparing for a busy year – and what that will mean for the stores’ beloved meatballs.

Jesper Brodin, the CEO of Ingka, the retailer that operates almost all IKEA stores, said the brand is “optimistic” about 2025.

IKEA

There are now plenty of options to choose from including salmon and vegan varieties[/caption]

Like many retailers, the flatpack furniture store is finding its feet in the wake of the Covid pandemic, but it’s now gearing up for the return of customers to flock to the in-store restaurant.

“I have never experienced in my life an era with opportunities like now,” the 56-year-old told The Financial Times.

“Interest rates are coming down and people’s appetite for spending is going up. There is a huge pent-up demand for making homes better.”

He added that IKEA was preparing itself for an “increase in demand”, adding not just for smaller items like the world-famous Swedish meatballs, but large kitchen and bathroom appliances and furniture.

IKEA has been serving its own version of the classic meatball for nearly 40 years.

In 1985, Swedish chef Serverin Sjöstedt created a meatball that was affordable and easy to serve.

According to the Ikea website, after “10 months of tireless testing and tasting, the IKEA meatball was born”.

More than one billion are sold globally every year and there are now chicken, salmon, vegan and vegetarian options.

Last year the retailer opened two standalone restaurants in the London – and of course, the meatballs were on the menu.

The first is on King Street, next to IKEA’s Hammersmith store and the second is nestled in leafy Greenwich.

In the Hammersmith City branch, customers are faced with self-service screens where they can order their food before heading to collect it at counters ahead of them.

There’s also a coffee station with stairs to the left guiding famished shoppers upstairs to the main seating area.

The whole spot is littered with little nods to Ikea stores too, including Swedish text on the walls and wood tables and storage containers.

Shoppers can choose from a range of iconic Swedish dishes at the new restaurant including eight meatballs with mashed potato, peas, cream sauce and lingonberry jam for £5.50.

Foodies can also snap the same dish but with plant-based meatballs for £4.95.

Also on the menu is penne pasta with tomato and basil sauce for £2.95, battered haddock, chips and peas for £6.95 and salmon with cous cous and yoghurt for £6.95.

Parents with kids can also pick up children’s pasta with tomato sauce, soft drink and piece of fruit for just 95p.

There are also two breakfast options on offer – a small cooked breakfast and a regular version.

The first comes with bacon, sausage, hash brown, omelette, baked beans and tomato for £2.75.

The regular option has two slices of bacon, two sausages, two hash browns, omelette, baked beans and tomato for £3.75.

Breakfast is served until 11am each morning when the main day menu takes over.

The restaurant is open from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 9am to 8pm on Saturday and 9am to 4.30pm on Sunday.

Getty

IKEA bosses are expecting 2025 to be a busy one[/caption]

Peter Jordan

IKEA now has its own standalone restaurants[/caption]

A$AP Rocky has been found NOT GUILTY in his criminal gun trial with his wife Rihanna supporting him in court.

Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayer, has walked free after pleading not guilty.

AFP

Reuters

Rakim Mayers, a.k.a. A$AP Rocky, listening to opening remarks in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles on January 24, 2025[/caption]

Instagram/rihannaofficiall

Rihanna, Rocky, and their son RZA[/caption]

He was accused of shooting his friend A$AP Relli several times in a Hollywood standoff in 2021.

Rocky was facing two felony counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm after being charged on August 15 2022.

However, the Grammy-nominated rapper pleaded not guilty and claimed he was using a prop gun.

With a conviction, he could have been sentenced to as much as 24 years in prison.

The jury of seven women and five men started their deliberations on Tuesday after three weeks of testimony and arguments.

Deliberations began on Tuesday and lasted nearly four hours.

Rocky initially turned down a plea deal from the prosecution.

If he had agreed to plead guilty to one count of assault, he would have received 180 days in jail, with three years probation and a seven-year suspended prison sentence.

Prosecutors said Rocky twice fired a gun at his former longtime friend, who goes by A$AP Relli, during a dispute on a Hollywood street in 2021.

Relli, the key witness for the prosecution, said his knuckles were grazed by one of the shots, but he was otherwise uninjured.

The defense argued that Rocky fired blanks from a prop gun that he picked up from a music video set.

The jurors were also instructed that they could find him not guilty if they deemed he was acting in self-defense.

But Defense attorney Joe Tacopina previously alleged that Ephron fabricated his account of the incident earlier.

“This case is about one man’s jealousy, lies and greed, and that man is not Rocky. That man is Terell Ephron,” Tacopina said in his opening statement.

The rapper’s fourth studio album, entitled Don’t Be Dumb, is expected to be released this year.

The verdict comes after Rocky’s superstar girlfriend, Rihanna, showed up in court to support the rapper last week with the pair’s two toddler sons.

The superstar held two-year-old RZA Athleston while she walked into the Los Angeles courtroom.

A few steps ahead of her, a family member carried their 18-month-old son Riot Rose.

The A-list singer has attended multiple court dates since the trial started on January 24.

However, last Thursday was the first time she brought their toddlers.

More to follow… For the latest news on this story, keep checking back at The U.S. Sun, your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, sports news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures, and must-see videos.

Like us on Facebook at TheSunUS and follow us on X at @TheUSSun

SAVVY shoppers are scrambling to Asda to get their hands on Biscoff and Kinder Bueno spread dupes.

The copycat toast toppings are just £2 in stores across the UK – making half-term breakfasts just that little more exciting.

Inspired by the famous Kinder Bueno, the store’s ownbrand Hazelnut Praline Spread is just 57p per 100g and two quid for the whole tun.

The chocolatey goodness is smooth and some shoppers are eating it from the jar with a spoon.

“Very nice spread. Makes a change from chocolate. Is reasonable as well,” one wrote in the review section on Asda’s website.

“Super tasty, I ate most of it with a spoon myself,” laughed another.

“Yummy! Like the inside of Bueno,” echoed a third.

Not everyone was convinced though, one wrote that it “tastes nothing like Bueno” on Food Finds UK Official Facebook page.

“The hazelnut one tastes more like Ferrero than Bueno,” agreed a second.

It was also likened to peanut butter on Asda’s review section.

Biscoff has taken the confectionary world by storm, largely thanks to its popularity on social media.

It’s rare to find a bakery without some form of Biscoff-inspired treat – and unsurprisingly the spread is just as in demand.

But with jars setting shoppers back £3.20 for 380g or £5 for 720g, its no wonder that supermarkets have started pumping out dupes.

Asda’s take on Biscoff spread is just £1.99 for a 400g jar of Smooth Caramelised Biscuit Spread.

“This is so good, can’t tell the difference from the real thing!” one customer wrote on Asda’s review section.

“A much cheaper alternative and the kids love it,” agreed a second.

Another chimed: “This is just as good (if not better than the main brand). It’s so smooth and tasty. I used it for baking and it was incredible. I’ll definitely buy it again.”

The striker has been in blistering form.

The creators of Life Is Strange return with a brand new franchise that shares an awful lot in common with the stories of Max and Chloe.

An 18-year-old girl who overcame abuse and homelessness was killed in a crash with a tractor-trailer.

GTA 6 fans aren’t excited about the prospect of DJ Khaled hosting a radio station, but are eager to see who else will be featured.

Loot boxes have finally returned to Overwatch 2 in Season 15 and players have been in awe over a new cosmetic type added to them.