Gran Turismo 7 is introducing a new mode that will let you focus on the music rather than going fast.
Revealed during Sony's State of Play event on February 2, Music Rally will be a much more laid-back affair than Gran Turismo 7 's other modes, with the purpose of the mode for players to simply drive along, take in the scenery - and most importantly - enjoy the music.
During a recent preview event, developer Polyphony Digital explained that it decided to create the mode after seeing demand from players over the years for a Gran Turismo mode that would let them drive through the game's scenery in a "relaxed manner", like you would in a real car, rather than zipping past it.
In addition, the developer says it knows that some players want to listen to music while driving in Gran Turismo - while being able to hear the sounds of the car - but previously, to actually hear that revving engine and screeching tires, players would have to turn the music off. So, the developer thought, why not combine both?
Dropping beats
Music Rally is a result of that combination, but it's more than an aimless driving simulation. To complete the mode level, players will need to listen to a music track the whole way through, with the twist being that, as you drive, you lose 'beats', not seconds. When your beats run out, the race is over but if you listen to the whole track without running out of beats then you complete the rally. However, while you're driving, you can pass through 'gates' (pink banners) that give you extra beats.
Different music tracks have different BPM (beats per minute), so some songs may have more beats than others, while tracks with changing tempos will have beats that go up and down accordingly. Polyphony hasn't confirmed if all of Gran Turismo's 300+ music tracks and 90+ race tracks will be available in this mode, but we do know that music from previous Gran Turismo games will be making a return.
Polyphony Digital emphasized that the priority in Music Rally isn't "driving fast", but the motivation for trying to collect extra beats is simply "for competitive players who will want to out-do their friends", with how many beats you gathered shown in the 'Music Replay' at the end of the rally.
"The biggest objective of Music Rally is we want people to enjoy the music," Director and CEO of Polyphony Digital, Kazunori Yamauchi, said during the preview event. "The other important point, we wanted people who are playing for the first time - may never have played a car game for the first time - we wanted it to be something they could enjoy."
Opinion: a chance to kick back and relax
Music Rally sounds like it will be a nice palate cleanser between Gran Turismo 7's more rigorous racing modes, offering the chance for players to actually kick back a bit and enjoy the new Gran Turismo's environments - not to mention music.
And, from what we've seen so far, that's something that will be worth doing as Gran Turismo 7 is set to be the most realistic entry in the series yet - on PS5 anyway. The footage showed at State of Play, and at our preview event, certainly seems to bolster that claim by Polyphony Digital.
While Music Rally may not be for everyone, and its competitive/but not competitive nature is a tad confused, it sounds like Polyphony has really listened to the Gran Turismo community when developing the series' latest entry. We're just glad that we'll finally be able to take in the scenery without causing a fiery crash.
TRG has contacted the developer for confirmation on the music and racing tracks available.
Google Photos update tries to solve your screenshots headache
A Google Photos redesign is promising to help alleviate one of the main headaches of managing your bulging library of snaps – finding your screenshots and separating them your actual photos.
As part of a refresh that's "coming soon" to Android phones (and in much more limited way on iOS), Google Photos will now have a 'Screenshots' shortcut at the top of your main photo grid.
This will be for Pixel or Android phone owners who save their screenshots locally, rather than backing them up to Google's cloud service – and is designed to make sure you don't forget about the memes, reminders or visual notes you've taken, while scrolling through your Google Photos library.
The redesign will also bring a more intuitive 'Library' tab on Android phones (see below), which will have a new filtering system for your never-ending list of albums. These filters will include 'Your albums', 'Shared albums' and, importantly, 'On-device', which should again make it easier to track down those screenshots.
But while these changes are welcome, they don't fully alleviate the Google Photos' problem with screenshots. Google says the feature is for those who are "using a Pixel or another Android device where your screenshots are saved to their own device folder", but that isn't a simple process for some Android phones.
The historical issue for many Android users, like owners of Samsung and Xiaomi phones, is that their smartphone screenshots aren't saved by default to a separate device folder. Instead, they go into the 'DCIM' folder, alongside their photos, that Google Photos backs up.
This means that many Google Photos users have had to use workarounds, like using an Auto File Transfer app, that automatically moves screenshots away from that 'DCIM' folder. There's no similar workaround for iOS users at all, either. So while Google Photos' new 'Screenshot' shortcut will be handy for some, it doesn't fully solve the headache of separating your memories from taxi receipts.
Still, Google Photos is at least also bringing some extra powers for editing your screenshots. It says that "coming soon on Android" you'll also see new options to copy text, crop or search your screenshots, thanks to Google Lens. That should make it easier to sort out our expenses, at least. Talking of which...
Analysis: Papering over the digital cracks
These Google Photos screenshot problems, and the partial solutions Google is bringing to the latest version of its Android app, show how differently we use our smartphone cameras, compared to old-school compacts.
For many, photos or memories might even be a minority part of their camera roll, among the messy shoebox of visual notes, receipts, museums, reminders and accidental screengrabs. This is particularly important now that Google Photos has ended its unlimited free storage , which is why many users have looked for ways to turn off the automatic backup of screenshots.
That is now pretty straightforward on many Android phones, but it's still annoyingly complex on others – and it's still impossible for Google Photos fans who use iPhones. So while the new shortcuts and Google Lens features are nice, they don't address the root problem of finding a universal solution for separating screenshots from your cloud photo library.
Naturally, Google Photos is less keen to find solutions for images that are stored outside of its cloud library. But its experience would be a lot smoother if it could focus some of its smarts on fixing Google Photos' foundations rather than flashy new AI features.
PS Plus: price and what you need to know about Sony's gaming subscription
PS Plus is getting an overhaul this summer, with new tiered membership options that will include its existing game streaming service.
The all-new PlayStation game subscription service was announced in March, and essentially combines PS Plus and PS Now features for an all-new PS Plus. It was only a matter of time before Sony had to answer the juggernaut that is Xbox Game Pass but it's not a like-for-like competitor by any means. Sony says the focus of the revamp is to bring players diverse, top-notch titles,meaning subscribers will have access to a library of previous gen games.
In its current incarnation, PS Plus offers a handful of free monthly games as well as the ability to play online multiplayer. PS Now allows members to stream and download PS2, PS3 , and PS4 games from a catalog of hundreds, with new ones added every month.
The overhaul has been a long time coming. While Microsoft's original old Xbox Live Gold model is still chugging along, it's been funneling customers towards its Game Pass subscription service for years now.
With early access, game trials, and brand new titles hitting Game Pass at launch, the whole ecosystem makes gaming more affordable. Paired with the cheaper Xbox Series S , development of Cloud Gaming , and Xbox All Access that lets you pay for the Xbox Series X |S in installments, Microsoft has removed a lot of the financial barriers associated with buying a new console and playing the latest games.
While PlayStation exclusives have continued to be the focal point for Sony, it can't ignore Game Pass forever. So let's see what Sony is offering to combat Xbox Game Pass.
PS Plus release date
The all-new PS Plus subscription service will start rolling out this June. It'll offer three tiers globally, but Sony is offering a fourth tier for select markets without cloud streaming support.
The vague "June timeframe" was narrowed down in April with an updated regional rollout schedule:
Sony says it's aiming to have the new PS Plus service live in most territories by the end of the first half of 2022. So ideally, it'll be in full swing by the end of June.
PS Plus price
The new PS Plus is rolling both PS Now and existing PS Plus into one all-encompassing service with three tiers, plus a fourth tier called PS Plus Deluxe.
Pricing for PS Plus Deluxe hasn't been confirmed yet, but it's a cheaper alternative to PS Plus Premium for regions without cloud gaming support.
We'll go into details of the tiers in the next section, but in terms of pricing, here's what we're looking at:
If you're wondering how that stacks up to the current landscape, at present, Sony offers two subscription services: PS Plus and PS Now. You can opt for a one, three, or a 12-month subscription for either service.
PS Plus lets you play online, gives you a handful of free games every month including PS4, PS5 , and PSVR games, and offers members exclusive discounts and content. There's also 100GB of cloud storage thrown in, along with the Share Play feature.
It comes in at $9.99 / £6.99 / AU$11.95 for one month, $24.99 / £19.99 / AU$33.95 for three months, and $59.99 / £49.99 / AU$79.95 for an annual membership.
Meanwhile, PS Now lets you download or stream from a collection of PS4, PS3, and PS2 games on PS5, PS4, and Windows PC. New games are added each month.
It's priced at $9.99 / $24.99 / $59.99 for one, three, and 12-month options in the US. UK pricing is £8.99 / £22.99 / £49.99 for the same increments. Australia and New Zealand don't have access to the service.
PS Plus tiers
The new PS Plus subscription will feature three tiers called PlayStation Plus Essential, PlayStation Plus Extra, and PlayStation Plus Premium.
For territories with cloud streaming, PlayStation Plus Deluxe will be on the table for a lower cost compared to PlayStation Plus Premium.
If you have a current PS Plus subscription, that'll equate to the Essential tier, and pricing will remain the same. We're waiting on official pricing for Australia but we've stuck in some approximate prices in the meantime, based on the US dollar prices. But note that it's unlikely that the actual prices will be basic conversion.
When it comes to switching between tiers, a ResetEra user posted a screenshot of an email reportedly being sent out to PS Plus subscribers that contains a new tidbit of information:
"You can easily upgrade to a higher benefits plan at any time. To do so, you’ll need to pay the difference between your current plan and your new plan, adjusted for the remaining time of your subscription."
Interestingly, it also says that members "will keep any stacked subscription period" they've already paid for. At the start of April, people were flocking to buy up a ton of PS Now subscriptions to net themselves savings when it migrates to PS Plus Premium. Some savvy shoppers managed to stack up to ten years worth, so if this is official, you're all set until 2032.
PS Plus Essential
PS Plus Extra
PS Plus Premium
PS Plus Deluxe (Select Markets)
Sony has yet to share pricing for this tier, but it's for markets without cloud streaming.
PS Deluxe will come in at a lower price than PS Plus Premium. It also includes the benefits from the Essential and Extra tiers, as well as catalog of classic PlayStation, PS2, and PSP games to download and play, and limited-time game trials.
What does this mean for existing PS Plus and PS Now subscribers?
When the new PlayStation Plus service launches in June, PS Now won't be available as a standalone offering anymore. PS Now members will be migrated over to PS Plus Premium, with no increase to their existing subscription fees at launch.
Presumably, PS Plus subscribers will be migrated over to the Essential tier, given that this offering is the same as the one being offered to players today.
New PlayStation Plus subscription sneak peek
Sony is calling the new PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium tiers "a major evolution" for its subscription service. The emphasis is on quality, to 'set it apart' – from Xbox Game Pass presumably.
As such, we're going to see some of the biggest titles on the platform made available with the service, including Death Stranding, God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Mortal Kombat 11, and Returnal.