Here’s a sentence that I never thought I’d type: The Last of Us airs its first episode tonight on HBO and HBO Max. 

It’s a surreal feeling. Just think: In a few short hours, Joel and Ellie will be introduced to the entire world in a whole new medium. I’m incredibly grateful to the  team at Naughty Dog, HBO, Sony Pictures Entertainment, PlayStation Productions, and of course the cast and crew members that helped get us to this  historic moment.  

I’m particularly thrilled that we found Pedro and Bella to play our iconic leads, Joel and Ellie. I can’t wait for the world to experience their portrayals and the rest of these unforgettable characters in an entirely new way. 

Naughty Dog’s Co-President Neil Druckmann also wanted to drop by with a quick message for you folks: 

“It’s been an unimaginable honor (and one of my life’s highlights) to collaborate with Craig Mazin and the team at HBO to bring The Last of Us to life as a TV show. Intense pride doesn’t begin to describe my feelings to how the show turned out. I deeply believe it captures the soul of the game that so many of you have fallen in love with. As you can imagine, I’m extremely excited (and extremely nervous) for PlayStation and Naughty Dog fans to dive into the first episode and experience for themselves the love the cast and crew has poured into this adaptation. From myself and everybody at Naughty Dog, thank you! It is due to your incredible passion and support that this show exists! We are forever grateful! Endure and survive!”

– Neil Druckmann, Co-President, Naughty Dog

And another quick note for you The Last of Us veterans. The HBO show follows the broad beats of the overall story from the game, and is quite faithful in tone and spirit. But hopefully it won’t come as a shock that this isn’t a beat-by-beat, line-by-line adaptation of the games. Neil, Craig and the production team took this opportunity to weave in new characters, themes, and locations — only where they felt true to the characters and the world, the “soul” of The Last of Us. Sometimes this was done to expand on ideas only briefly explored in the games, or because it better served the narrative structure of an episodic show.  

But rest assured, The Last of Us stays true to the soul of the games. I hope you’ll join us tonight, and definitely let us know what you think! 

Last week, we asked you to find moments where characters ran out of luck in the game of your choice, and share using #PSBlog #PSshare. Here are this week’s unlucky highlights:

ForgottenJasmin shares Aloy falling from a snapped rope in Horizon Forbidden West.

OuterRimsPhoto shares a troll about to be whipped by Kratos’ Blades of Chaos in God of War Ragnarök

masaoandm shares an unsuspecting cat lover about to be ambushed by a headless yokai in Ghostwire: Tokyo.

GameTogg shares Sam tumbling down a cliffside in Death Stranding.

MilanesfanTJG shares Nathan Drake caught in a rainstorm in Uncharted 4.

elicitus__ shares Amicia caught up in a fire in A Plague Tale: Requiem

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on January 18, 2023

Share of the Week grabs a lightsaber and hops in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, available as a PlayStation Plus Monthly Game for January. Share daring moments with Cal using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.

In Season: A letter to the future, you play as a young woman from a secluded village exploring the world by bike for the first time, collecting memories before a cataclysm washes everything away. Your journey brings you to a strange valley where the seeds of the next Season have been planted. You meet the last remaining inhabitants the day just before they’re to be evacuated. In this last moment, you try to piece together the mysteries of the valley. Every conversation, every landscape, brings you closer to understanding: what is this Season and why is it ending?

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What’s the story?

Most of the themes of “Season: A letter to the future” are expressions of the anxieties of our age. We’re heading towards a future we know will be worse than the present. As this becomes more certain, it has an attendant thought that feels even darker: These awful years are also the good times. The story exists to give some kind of poetic expression (poetic meaning barely under control, the subconscious has the wheel) to these thoughts and feelings, to defamiliarize them, tear them up and put them back together in a fantasy world. There is another major motif to the story as well: The five senses.

The senses or how things feel

The game often calls attention to your senses. The screen goes black several times as the character closes her eyes to listen closer to sounds. How things taste, feel, or smell, are often described as you explore. This theme found potent expression in many of the features available only on PlayStation 5. How does it feel to ride a bicycle? The adaptive triggers let us vary the resistance depending on the speed or the steepness of the road, so going uphill feels uphill. The haptic feedback also changes as you cycle over different types of terrain. When recording audio in the game, you hear the sound but you also feel the shape of it in the vibration of the DualSense controller.

Season also uses Tempest 3D AudioTech to add a deeper level of detail to the spatial dimensions of sound. The world is populated with ear-catching sounds that demand this close inspection. Music doesn’t just exist in the score but is part of the world, self-playing musical instruments, tunes from the radio, unusual bird songs, wind singing through bamboo. These are rich details but given the thematic importance the game attaches to our senses, they take on an added layer of meaning.

Interact with the world and its people

There are many diverse people you will meet on your adventure through the world of Season. When you come across them, each is preparing for the changing Season in their own way. Join them in their final moments in their home, and record their stories. 

Kochi, a young boy, takes you on a bicycle tour of a valley the day before it is flooded. Get to know the home he grew up in as he prepares for his final goodbye.

Maytora, an outsider artist, documents the story of the valley through her sculptures. You’re the only witness to her final piece.

Easel is the last monk of Tieng Valley. Left behind by his teachers and friends, Easel awaits the change of the Season in isolation, with nothing to pray for until you arrive.

You guide them through moments of quiet crisis. In their lives, the change coming to the world is not abstract, it is immediate. They are trying to navigate, to survive, to find a way to live. You help them. You remember them. In your journal, carry them with you. 

• A stunning bicycle road trip: Wind your way through stunning landscapes on your bicycle. Slow down and take in the incredible scenery in vista after memorable vista.
• Explore a mysterious world: Meet a diverse cast of characters along your way, who will change the course of your story. The land of Tieng Valley is open for you to explore, investigate and learn about the past and the future of this place.
• Document, photograph, and record: Collect memories, make recordings, and discover the secrets of this Season before it ends. Your journal is the key to understanding this world.
• Beautiful soundtrack: Listen to the haunting score as you travel, a perfect accompaniment for your journey.
• Important choices: Pay attention to your surroundings as you live through the story and resolve the end of Season. Choose the questions you ask characters carefully, as these choices will impact your relationships and understanding of the world. Remember, what you collect is what will be saved for the next Season.

The gameplay of Season: A letter to the future focuses on exploring, recording, meeting others, and unraveling the strange world around you. Wind your way through stunning landscapes on your bicycle. At any point, you can hop off your bike and equip a recording tool from your bag. Each captures a different element; sounds and music, art and architecture, voices of strangers, vanishing religious practices, and the traces of Seasons long past. Your tools help you examine the world more closely until you’re able to grasp the culture, history, and ecology underneath it all.Season: A letter to the future will be available digitally on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on January 31. You may pre-order now or add to your Wishlist!

A new year is upon us, but we still have time to take one final look back at 2022 to visit your Share of the Year moments. Here are this year’s epic highlights:

justinphotomode shares Aloy framed by a machine’s wings in Horizon Forbidden West.

__Auron__ shares a close up of the cat from Stray, with neon reflected in its eye.

i3ecci_ shares Batgirl striking a pose in front of a red light in Gotham Knights.

ChosenVoid shares Ellie enjoying a butterfly in The Last of Us Part I.

nemineminemico shares Akito surrounded by red glowing orbs in Ghostwire: Tokyo.

Tabineco_55 shares the cat in Stray moving past a drain grate.

Kaylem21 shares Aloy perched in a verdant area in Horizon Forbidden West.

toko_luke95 shares Kratos and Freya in the heat of battle in God of War Ragnarök.

m_nt_13 shares Jacob staring out into the darkness of Callisto Protocol.

record_photo shares Jin with his back facing a blooming flower in Ghost of Tsushima.

Defalt368 shares a car moving through a busy city in Gran Turismo 7.

PlaystationSna1 shares Atreus pulling back his bow in God of War Ragnarök.

calisarah1998 shares Aloy leaping across a cresting wave in Horizon Forbidden West.

Morph__1 shares someone applying lipgloss in Cyberpunk 2077.

Vman_95 shares a player lifting their arms towards the Erd Tree in Elden Ring.

Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? 

THEME: Unlucky
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on January 11, 2023

Next week, capture unlucky characters or moments from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured on Friday the 13th.

Hello Travelers! The Genshin Impact dev team is excited to share with you the latest information on our first version update of 2023, coming on January 18. As the world of Teyvat ushers in a new year, Version 3.4 The Exquisite Night Chimes will introduce two new playable characters, Alhaitham and Yaoyao as well as lots of fun, events, and rich rewards. While the people of Liyue are busy preparing for annual Lantern Rite celebrations, the Yashiro Commission and Arataki Itto are also planning something exciting and challenging. Players can look forward to claiming the following rewards for free: 10 + 3 Intertwined Fates, a 4-star Liyue character, and Lisa’s new outfit! Kamisato Ayaka’s new outfit will also be available in store with a limited-time discount.

In addition to celebrations and events, a new area amid sandstorms finally reveals itself among the vast desert of Sumeru, where myths, wonders, and mysteries are buried.

Festivities, games, and rewards

In the annual Lantern Rite celebrations, Liyue Harbor has been adorned with ribbons, lanterns, fireworks, and various festive activities are also in full swing. A special music festival will be hosted this year featuring guests from afar. In the meantime, the locals are ready to share some traditional crafts, such as the Paper Theater Performance, which is a must-see among the children. The performance features the Valiant Bearded Hero Huanguang, and Travelers will assist behind the scenes to ensure that the series of performances runs smoothly. Another event gameplay, Radiant Sparks, allows players to experience the feeling of soaring into the sky like blooming fireworks.

The joy also spreads to Inazuma, where two competitions await challengers. The Yashiro Commission is busy preparing for “Warrior’s Spirit,” a competition in which participants will duel with blades using Inazuma’s traditional skills of “Parry” and “Honed Techniques.” During the event, Kamisato Ayaka will wear a new outfit and engage in an extraordinary duel with a special guest. On the other side of the islands, Arataki Itto is also hosting a competition, but it is one that requires contestants to duel with their beetles. During the “Beetle Brawl,” you can control your Onikabuto to crush your opponents with techniques and perfect timing.

More events and surprises are yet to come. The “Second Blooming” challenge event will give Travelers an opportunity to redeem Lisa’s new outfit for free. Meanwhile, don’t forget to check out the daily login and greeting emails to claim up to 10 + 3 Intertwined Fates.

A “Feeble” Scholar of Sumeru and an endearing Soul of Liyue

In Version 3.4, both two new playable characters Alhaitham and Yaoyao possess a Dendro Vision, but their personalities differ in many ways. Alhaitham, the current scribe of the Sumeru Akademiya, is a rational individual in pursuit of truth and wisdom, while Yaoyao indulges herself in nature and people around her, forming close bonds with many creatures, friends, and even the adepti of Liyue.

Serving as the Akademiya’s scribe, Alhaitham has been a trusted companion on our journey to rescue Nahida. You can find out more about Alhaitham’s current situation in his Story Quest Vultur Volans Chapter, where the story continues after he has taken up the role of Acting Great Sage. Additionally, this self-proclaimed “feeble scholar” can now join your party as a five-star sword wielder, allowing you to apply his wisdom to your own journey. Alhaitham values efficiency in combat. He can create Chisel Light Mirrors with his Elemental attacks and other means. The Chisel Light Mirrors can convert Alhaitham’s attacks into Dendro damage, unleash coordinated attacks, and enhance the damage dealt by his Elemental Burst when more Mirrors are present. Therefore, how to manage the number and use of Chisel Light Mirrors is the key to enhancing Alhaitham’s capability in combat.

The new four-star character, Yaoyao, is a lovable child who is favored by both the adepti and locals in Liyue. She is an apprentice of Madame Ping and was given a rabbit-shaped adeptus device named Yuegui by Cloud Retainer. In combat, Yaoyao wields a polearm and throws Yuegui to assist her in battle. She also provides healing to the team, or buffs her movement speed and Dendro Resistance. Also, Yaoyao is very familiar with different types of creatures, so she won’t spook nearby creatures like small animals and Crystalflies when she approaches them.

Yaoyao, Alhaitham, and Xiao’s rerun will take place in the first half of Version 3.4’s Event Wishes, and the latter half will feature Hu Tao’s and Yelan’s reruns. Also, don’t forget to invite one of the nine 4-star characters from Liyue, including Yaoyao, to your party for free when you accumulate a certain amount of Festive Fever.

Amidst sandstorms and legends

Amid dust and sandstorms, a perilous area of Sumeru, the Desert of Hadramaveth is finally unveiled. With a perpetual gigantic tornado at its center, the landscape expands and spirals out into the distance. The closer you get to the center, the stronger and harsher sandstorms you may encounter, making it harder to see through the storm. As the adventure progresses, you can also receive protection and help to withstand the raging sandstorms.

Meanwhile, dangers also lurk beneath, where the Wenut seek chances to penetrate through the surface to launch attacks against you. The deadliest among them is the new boss, the Setekh Wenut, a cunning predator that lures its prey using mimicry of flowers on its tail. The Setekh Wenut resurfaces at intervals, taking on various forms during battle, leaping out of the sand like a worm firing powerful Anemo beam attacks in the form of a flower. Here’s a little tip: the Swirl Reaction can be the key to weakening the Setekh Wenut at the right time.

However, the relentless wind also brings up buried pieces from different eras. Parts of ruins and thorn-filled caverns scattered in rifts and valleys may lead you to the remains of the city of Gurabad, or even the Orchard of Pairidaeza (now referred to as the Eternal Oasis by the desert dwellers), where legend has it that King Deshret built this eternal space of stillness to commemorate the Goddess of Flowers.

If you’ve finished the Golden Slumber World Quest, you will team up with Jeht again and a mysterious Magic Bottle in search of the long-lost Orchard of Pairidaeza. Set out from the Tanit Camps – a massive settlement with a unique culture, and witness Jeht’s journey in search for her family origins. A history lost in time will gradually be unveiled.

New card game mode

Starting from Version 3.4, each version update will feature a limited-time Genius Invokation TCG gameplay mode. For Version 3.4, the new rule of the limited-time mode is to start with 8 Omni Dice. Meanwhile, two new Character Cards: Klee and Beidou will be joining the duels in this upcoming update.

Last but not least, we would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has joined the fantasy world of Teyvat. Thank you, Travelers, and we look forward to spending another brilliant year with all of you!

Accessibility is an important topic to us at PlayStation, and we want to continue raising the bar to enable every gamer to experience the joy of play. Whether it’s the robust accessibility options in PlayStation Studios games like Santa Monica Studio’s God of War Ragnarök or Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part I, or the wide array of features in our PS4 and PS5 console UI, we’re passionate about reducing barriers to play for every gamer.

Today at CES, we announced the next step in our journey to make gaming more accessible: Project Leonardo for PlayStation 5. Developed with key contributions from accessibility experts, community members, and game developers, Project Leonardo is our codename for a new highly customizable controller kit that works “out of the box” to help many players with disabilities play games more easily, more comfortably, and for longer periods.

Through conversations with accessibility experts and incredible organizations like AbleGamers, SpecialEffect and Stack Up, we’ve designed a highly configurable controller that works in tandem with many third-party accessibility accessories and integrates with the PS5 console to open up new ways of gaming. It is built to address common challenges faced by many players with limited motor control, including difficulty holding a controller for long periods, accurately pressing small clusters of buttons or triggers, or positioning thumbs and fingers optimally on a standard controller.

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Here are some of the key features:

Highly customizable play experience

Hardware customizations. Project Leonardo for PS5 is a canvas for gamers to craft their own play experience. It includes a robust kit of swappable components, including a variety of analog stick caps and buttons in different shapes and sizes.

Players can use these components to craft a wide array of control layouts. And the distance of the analog stick from the game pad can be adjusted to suit the player’s preference. These components allow players to find a configuration that works for their strength, range of motion, and particular physical needs. 

Software customizations. On the PS5 console players have an array of options to tailor their Project Leonardo play experience:

• Button mapping
  • The controller’s buttons can be programmed to any supported function and multiple buttons can be mapped to the same function. Conversely, players can map two functions (like “R2” + “L2”) onto the same button.

• Control profiles
  • Players can store their programmed button settings as control profiles and easily switch between them by pressing the profile button.
  • Up to three control profiles can be stored and accessed by the player from their PS5 console at any time.

Works collaboratively with other devices and accessibility accessories

Project Leonardo can be used as a standalone controller or paired with additional Project Leonardo or DualSense wireless controllers. Up to two Project Leonardo controllers and one DualSense wireless controller can be used together as a single virtual controller, allowing players to mix and match devices to fit their particular gameplay needs, or to play collaboratively with others.

For example, players can augment their DualSense controller with a Project Leonardo controller or use two Project Leonardo controllers on their own. A friend or family member can also assist by helping to control the player’s game character with a DualSense controller or a second Project Leonardo controller. The controllers can be dynamically turned on or off and used in any combination.

Project Leonardo is expandable through four 3.5mm AUX ports to support a variety of external switches and third-party accessibility accessories. This enables users to integrate specialty switches, buttons or analog sticks with the Project Leonardo controller. The external accessories can be dynamically connected or disconnected, and each can be configured to act like any other button.

Flexible, adaptable design

Project Leonardo’s split, symmetric design allows players to reposition the analog sticks as close together or as far apart as they like. The controller lies flat and does not need to be held, so players can lay it on a tabletop or a wheelchair tray. It can be easily secured to AMPS mounts* or tripods, and can be oriented 360 degrees for the most comfortable use. Players can also program the “north” orientation on the analog sticks to match their preferred controller orientation.

Sony Interactive Entertainment designer So Morimoto shares some insights on how his team approached the industrial design of Project Leonardo:

“Project Leonardo is part of the PS5 product family and is based on the same design concept. We were inspired by the idea of all players enjoying the world of PlayStation together. Our team tested over a dozen designs with accessibility experts, looking for approaches that would help address key challenges to effective controller use. We finally settled on a ‘split controller’ design that allows near free-form left/right thumbstick repositionability, can be used without needing to be held, and features very flexible button and stick cap swapping. 

“Because players can customize Project Leonardo according to their needs, there is no one ‘right’ form factor. We want to empower them to create their own configurations. The controller can also flexibly accept combinations of accessibility accessories to create a unique aesthetic. I am excited that the design will be completed through collaboration with players rather than presenting them with a single form factor.”

– So Morimoto, Designer, Sony Interactive Entertainment

Looking ahead

Project Leonardo is currently in development and we continue to gather valuable feedback from the community. We’d like to thank all the wonderful organizations and accessibility experts who are supporting us in this effort.

We are also grateful to everyone in the community who has advocated for greater gaming accessibility. You are the reason we do our work and your passion inspires us every day. It’s truly a privilege for us to create products that better serve your needs. We look forward to sharing more in the future, including additional product features and launch timing.

*AMPS is an industry-standard mounting screw pattern for attaching devices to equipment, including accessibility equipment.