Gran Turismo series creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, has detailed why Gran Turismo 7 will require an always-online connection. While this has fans riled up, Yamauchi says the connection is necessary for save data and livery data.

In a new interview with Eurogamer, Yamauchi was asked about PlayStation's recent announcement that GT Cafe will always require an online connection.

Yamauchi explained that the online requirement isn't specific to just GT Cafe, but every aspect of the game except for its Arcade mode. He also touched on why such a requirement is even necessary in the first place.

"The requirement for the online connection isn't specific to the Cafe per se — it's just to prevent cheating overall from people trying to modify the save data, so that's the reason for the online connection," Yamauchi said. "The only part of the game that doesn't require an online connection is the Arcade mode, because that has no effect on the save data, so that's possible."

He continued and said if a part of the game deals with save data, it will require an always-online connection.

In a separate interview with gtplanet, Yamauchi further touched on the always-online debacle, adding that "another aspect is for the liveries."

"Livery data is downloaded from the servers even when you're playing offline," Yamauchi said. "So, an online connection is something that is needed pretty much throughout the game. One part of the game that doesn't require any online connection is the Arcade mode, because there's no interaction with the save data and there are no liveries involved, so it doesn't require a network connection to do that."

While this always-online connection sounds necessary (at least according to Yamauchi), fans haven't been happy since word about the requirement was revealed.

If it’s single player mode that needs an online connection, the developers have made an objectively bad decision, not only for people playing it at launch, but in terms of future preservation, because once the servers go down… https://t.co/SIf8mOQEGY

— 🏳️‍⚧️ Remy ~w~ (she/they) 🏳️‍⚧️ (@RemyRaccoonYT) September 14, 2021

The always online requirement kills any hope I had for getting GT7. If they'd have made it so I could play the campaign fully offline but obviously without the online related features like in GT5/GT6 then I'd be absolutely fine with that.

— 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏳️‍🌈Thomas🏳️‍🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@ShadowRush2112) September 16, 2021

I did not buy the previous GT because of its always online bs, GT7 i will not be getting also.

— Curtis (@Meday354) September 11, 2021

Companies have reversed always-online connection requirements before — Microsoft's Xbox One stands are probably the biggest example of such a reversal — so perhaps Yamauchi and the rest of the GT7 team will opt to get rid of the requirement. Based on what Yamauchi has said, though, it seems necessary for the game.

Gran Turismo 7 hits PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on March 4, 2022. While waiting for the game, read IGN's interview with Yamauchi about bringing 25 years of history to Gran Turismo 7 and then watch the Gran Turismo 7 PlayStation showcase 2021 trailer.

Wesley LeBlanc is a freelance news writer and guide maker for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @LeBlancWes.

Apple has announced the new 2021 models of the iPad and iPad Mini. These upcoming devices offer sizable upgrades over their previous iterations, and all for the same price. So if you're in the market for a new entry-level or mini tablet, these are the ones to get. You can preorder them now to receive them on their release date of September 24.

2021 Apple iPad Preorder

• Get it at Amazon – $329.99
• Get it at Apple – $329.99
• Get it at Best Buy – $39.99
• Get it at Walmart – $299

2021 Apple iPad Mini Preorder

• Get it at Amazon – $499.99
• Get it at Apple – $499.99
• Get it at Best Buy – $499.99

iPad (2021 Model) Specs

The baseline iPad is the most affordable tablet in Apple's lineup. That also means it has the fewest fancy features, but if you only need it for things like web browsing, media streaming, ebook reading, email deleting, and social media scrolling, it's fully up to those tasks.

This year's model sports a 10.2-inch Retina display, with True Tone so the colors always look good, no matter what kind of light you're viewing it in. It's powered by Apple's A13 Bionic chip, which the company says is 20% faster than the previous model.

Perhaps the biggest update is the 12-megapixel ultra-wide front camera. This will make your FaceTime and Zoom calls look better. It also has Center Stage, a technology that makes the camera follow you as you move around in the frame, and zoom out as more people enter the view.

It works with the same accessories as the previous model, including the first-gen Apple Pencil. And it ships with iPad OS 15. The baseline model sports 64GB of storage and costs $329.

iPad Mini (2021 Model) Specs

Despite its smaller size, the new 2021 iPad Mini is even more powerful than the standard iPad, thanks to the new A15 Bionic chip. It also has a new form factor that does away with the home button, moving the Touch ID sensor to the power button on the side. And although it has the same footprint as the previous model, it has a bigger 8.3-inch display (compared to 7.9-inches).

And instead of a Lightning port, the new model has a USB-C port, which enables much faster file transfers, plus lets you connect a whole bunch of accessories. Both the front and rear camera are 12 megapixels, and the front one also features Center Stage. Additionally, it has a new speaker system that offers stereo when used in landscape.

This iPad Mini works with the second-generation Apple Pencil, which connects magnetically to the side of the device for storage and charging. The Wi-Fi + cellular models support 5G.

The 2021 iPad Mini is available to preorder now, starting at $499.99. It comes in four colors: purple, pink, starlight, and space gray.

As with most new iPad models, there's no good reason to buy an older one, unless you can get it at a significantly lower price than the newer ones.

Chris Reed is a deals expert and commerce editor for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

Dear Evan Hansen will hit theaters on Sept. 24.

In the film version of Dear Evan Hansen, Ben Platt’s face is a problem. From his first close-up, his is undeniably one of a full-grown man, who has been comically miscast as a sheepish teen boy. No slouched shoulders or downcast eyes can hide that. Sure, Platt originated the role of the titular teen when the coming-of-age musical — and his portrayal — won scads of accolades on Broadway. All the same, allowing him to reprise the role in the movie is not just a major misstep, but the most glaring mistake of director Stephen Chbosky’s wonky adaptation.

The plot of Dear Evan Hansen feels like something out of Riverdale, audacious and disturbing with heavy doses of teen angst, hot button issues, musical numbers, and dysfunctional family drama playing out in a posh home. Even still, this movie can’t hold a candle to that outrageous series’ sense of style.

In an unremarkable high school in Maryland, Evan Hansen (Platt) is a wallflower unnoticed by everyone. That is until a strange twist of fate — after a classmate’s death by suicide — makes him the unexpected center of attention. A misunderstanding leads the Murphy family to believe that Evan was the secret best friend of their recently deceased son, Connor (Colton Ryan). Panicked but also desperate to be a part of the world of this affluent, effusive family — that happens to include his secret crush Zoe (Kaitlyn Dever) — Evan lies, spinning more and more elaborate stories of this fictional friendship. Between these grieving parents (Amy Adams and Danny Pino), their wounded daughter, and the lonely boy, a fragile bond blossoms. But as Evan’s story goes viral, their shady solace is threatened.

This melodramatic premise is enhanced by the stage show’s songs, written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. What Evan can’t dare say to the world, he expresses through belted ballads about his choking loneliness and unspoken infatuation for Zoe. Similarly, the Murphy family’s private forms of mourning are displayed through a three-part “Requiem.” Yet, the most powerful songs are those that speak most directly to struggles with mental illness. From the original Broadway Cast Recording, “You Will Be Found” is a showstopper, literally spotlighting Evan so he can sing about how hard it is to be alone in the darkness and the importance of community. Then, Pasek and Paul created two new tracks for the movie (“A Little Closer” and “Anonymous Ones”) that wisely give voice to the struggle of other characters, adding new depth and smart opportunities to allow the film’s other stars to shine.

In his numbers, Platt’s performance is Broadway big and bold. He’s got a gorgeous voice, but his force feels awkward in the mundane setting that Chbosky has created. In his previous film, Perks of Being a Wallflower (based on his novel), Chbosky effectively presented a sense of the energy and uniqueness of Pittsburgh and the dizzying high school that intimidated and enchanted his troubled hero. In Dear Evan Hansen, the town, high school, houses, and a much-talked-about apple orchard are achingly generic, captured in uninspired cinematography and painted in muted hues. Within dull grey walls, the showmanship of Platt’s singing feels out of nowhere. Perhaps if his hometown was special in any way, then Platt’s spectacular singing would show that Evan fits in more than he thinks. But as is, Evan is right to feel out of place.

Even when Platt is not singing, he seems on stage. His performance of youth is made up of practiced awkwardness. Every twitch and shrug looks rehearsed, as if Platt can’t shake the routine worn in from eight shows a week. Notably, he’s the only Broadway cast member that has been brought in for the movie. Sadly, amid a cast of much stronger screen actors, he is not a strength but a relic.

Co-stars Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Colton Ryan, and Nik Dodani are also twenty-somethings playing teens. They look more baby-faced, which helps. But more importantly, their performances feel grounded, not like they’re playing to the cheap seats. Dever, who has wowed in Booksmart, Justified, and Unbelievable, is riveting as a girl filled with rage, pain, and a glimmering hope for healing. Though playing an underwritten wise-cracking sidekick, Dodani proves a scene-stealer with sharp comedic timing and easy charm. As mysterious Connor, Ryan first radiates an unsettling fury. Then in song numbers (one in flashback, one a fantasy), he shows a softer and even sillier side that could make this part his breakthrough. Yet Stenberg proves the standout, taking a flimsy role of the seemingly perfect student and bolstering it with nuance, charm, and a soulful new song, “The Anonymous Ones.” Opposite Platt, she doesn’t just dazzle, she schools him on how to play a complicated yet compelling teen onscreen. Then, there’s Julianne Moore, coming to blow all of these youngsters out of the water.

Chbosky had the incredible gift of landing Amy Adams and Moore in dueling mom roles. Adams is reliably riveting, but Moore takes her only song and turns it into a soul-rattling monologue. For much of the movie, she’s given cliched working-mom schtick, desperately chasing her troubled son for any insights into his life or mind. It’s such a thankless series of scenes that I wondered why Moore bothered to sign on. But then comes “So Big / So Small,” in which Evan’s mom sings to him and Moore sinks her teeth into the moment suitable for a Best Actress clip. She is a true-blue movie star, and Platt pales in comparison.

Platt performs youth earnestly but unconvincingly. This is a huge problem, because without the constant reminder that Evan is young and thereby deeply naïve, the character comes off as heinously selfish. Sure, it’s understandable how he stumbles into this tricky scenario. However, as his doubling down grows darker and more disturbing, a close-up of a grown man with a furrowed brow and bit lip doesn’t soften the sharp turns of this troubling plotline. Admittedly, those who loved the Broadway show will likely look with kinder eyes on this reckless reprisal, but the suspension of disbelief audiences offer between stage and screen varies greatly. Simply put, Platt sabotages the film.

The popular V/H/S series is returning in a new form this October. V/H/S/94 pushes the found footage series in a new direction, and IGN can exclusively debut the trailer.

Check out the video player above or the embed below for a closer look at the grisly new short films included in V/H/S/94:

As with previous V/H/S films, V/H/S/94 consists of several short, standalone horror movies linked together by a wraparound sequence. In this case, the premise involves a SWAT team who discover a box of mysterious video tapes while hunting down a mysterious and very dangerous cult. These horrifying videos will shed light on the cult's true motives.

V/H/S/94 features two veteran directors from the series – V/H/S 2's Timo Tjahjanto and Simon Barrett. Joining the lineup this time around are Chloe Okuno (Watcher), Jennifer Reeder (Knives and Skin) and Ryan Prows (Lowlife). David Bruckner (Hellraiser) and the film collective Radio Silence (Scream 5) are serving as executive producers. Josh Goldbloom produced the project for Cinepocalypse Productions alongside franchise co-creator Brad Miska for Bloody Disgusting, with Kurtis Harder (Spiral).

V/H/S/94 will make its debut at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, which runs September 23-30. Following the premiere, the film will stream exclusively on Shudder beginning October 6.

This isn't the only new streaming release horror fans can look forward to in October. Halloween Kills is set to premiere simultaneously in theaters and on Peacock on October 15. In our Halloween Kills review, we said that it "delivers deliciously gory kills and nods to John Carpenter's original classic, but still feels like half a movie."

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

IGN’s Path to Dune continues this week with director/co-writer Denis Villeneuve’s exclusive breakdown of the Gom Jabbar test scene, which you can watch in either the player above or via the embed below.

The scene, which takes place early in Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novel, sees Timothée Chalamet’s protagonist Paul Atreides meeting with Charlotte Rampling’s Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohaim, the leader of the Bene Gesserit religious order that's one of the greatest political forces in the galaxy. The scene also briefly features Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica, Paul’s mother and a member of the Bene Gesserit. Through a combination of mental conditioning and consumption of the spice Melange, the Bene Gesserit have honed their minds and gained superhuman abilities.

Their leader, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, is obsessed with using selective breeding to produce an all-powerful Bene Gesserit superhuman called the Kwisatz Haderach. Years before, she sent Lady Jessica to be Duke Leto's concubine and produce that daughter, but instead, Jessica bore him a son, Paul. Now, the time has come to test Paul to see if the powers he has inherited from his mother give him the potential to be the Kwisatz Haderach.

In this scene, Paul undergoes the first of several rites of passage by placing his hand inside a torture box while the Reverend Mother holds a poisoned needle called the Gom Jabbar to his neck. Only by keeping his hand in place and enduring the psychological pain can he prove himself to be a man rather than an animal. Should he speak or remove his hand from the box then the Reverend Mother will kill him with the Gom Jabbar. It’s a crucial sequence that hints at the grand destiny awaiting Paul.

“It's a very important scene, where we learn about the Bene Gesserit power, this female congregation that is the most powerful power in Dune. And that's where we learn about a secret, something that would be revealed about Paul's identity,” Villeneuve explains in his commentary.

“It's a scene that I was very excited to shoot, with the great Charlotte Rampling and with Timothée Chalamet. And it was one of the very first scenes I shot with Timothée. And as I was shooting the scene, the character of Paul is going through a transformation, a bit like an exorcism. The Reverend Mother pushed the envelope a bit too much, and she will provoke and awaken a force inside Paul that he is not aware of. And it's really a transformative process.”

Villeneuve said filming this particular scene made him realize just how well he had chosen his lead actor: “I witnessed in front of the camera this transformation [from] Timothée, which was really amazing and very powerful moment for me, because I realized that I had chosen the perfect actor to be Paul Atreides.”

For more on the upcoming sci-fi epic, check out our Dune review as well as our previous Path to Dune exclusives breaking down House Atreides, the Fremen, and House Harkonnen.

Dune opens in the US on October 22, October 21 in the UK and in Australia on December 2.