Category: News

BG3 is coming right at ya

Baldur’s Gate 3, one of this year’s run-away hits, has launched on PC and PS5 is coming this week but the Xbox release was not expected until next year. That is now changed after the developer Larian Studios managed to secure permission from Microsoft to release the game without feature parity between the Series X and the weaker Series S. There had been great difficulty getting the split screen co op working on the weaker console and, in what will surely be a start of things to come, the Series S version will launch without the feature. Otherwise, the game will remain the same and feature cross save so you can still take your save to Series X, PC or even PS5. You can now expect the game on Xbox platforms by the end of the year.

Speaking of cross save the long running hit online action game Warframe has also announced robust cross save allowing players to play their games seamlessly across PS4/5, Xbox One/Series X/S, PC and Switch by year’s end.

Playstation Portal

Previously know as Project Q, Sony’s new handheld device has been revealed as the Playstation Portal. A handheld streaming device with a 1080p 8-inch 60hz screen between two halves of a Dualsense controller. The devices’ sole function is to stream PS5 games inside the home with no native software.

Much like the Playstation 5 the Portal will also not allow Bluetooth headsets to connect. Sony has you covered though with a head set and earbuds called the Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore respectively, releasing alongside the Portal using special proprietary technology that I’m sure will become as commonplace as the UMD.

A firm release date beyond this year has not been announces and neither have Australian prices but the US prices convert to roughly $310 for the Portal, $230 for the Elite and $310 again for the Explore.  Don’t forget to round up!

BREAKING: Sony has announced it will the increasing the pricing of its online services. The Australian pricing is still to be confirmed but in other regions prices are set to increase 35 percent. This price rise brings with it no additional features.

Headlines have all the info you ever need

With Starfield just days away it is now time to announce that the Elder Scrolls 6, a mere 5 years after it was announced is entering early development!

Following the successful launch of Shadow Gambit two weeks ago developer Mimimi has announced the title will be their last and the studio will close.

Star Citizen has crossed 600 million in crowd funding a number over 8 times more than the budget of India’s recent moon landing.

Upcoming Game Releases

30XX (Switch) – September 2

Chants of Sennaar (PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Rune Factory 3 Special (Switch) – September 6

Baldur’s Gate 3 (PlayStation 5), Starfield (Xbox Series X/S, PC) – September 7

Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis (iOS, Android) – September 8

Mario is no more.

Nintendo has revealed that Charles Martinet, the original voice actor of Mario who has played the role since 1991 will be “stepping back from recording character voices for our games” and will now serve as a “Mario Ambassador.” The post continued that “With this transition, he will be stepping back from recording character voices for our games, but he’ll continue to travel the world sharing the joy of Mario and interacting with you all!”

Charles Martinet quote tweeted the post, adding “My new Adventure begins!  You are all Numba One in my heart!  #woohoo  !!!!!!!”

Slime Rancher on the big screen

A recent announcement, shared by Deadline, revealed that Monomi Park’s Slime Rancher games are being adapted into a feature film.

The first Slime Rancher, released in 2017, is one of the highest-rated games on Steam of all time with a 98% positive average score and has sold over 6 million copies across all platforms with over 15 million players worldwide. In it, you play as Beatrix LeBeau, who moved from Earth to the Far Far Range to become a slime rancher. The second game, currently in early access, also follows Beatrix and features plenty of adorable slimes.

It’s unlikely we’ll get more details on the production anytime soon but that hasn’t stopped excited fans from speculating.

Gamescom 2023

Early Wednesday morning we same the opening ceremony of Gamescom 2023 and were treated to a closer look at some upcoming titles and the announcement of several new games. Here are just some of what was there:

Bandai Namco’s Little Nightmares series is getting a 3^rd installment, sometime in 2024. It will feature two characters and will be a cooperative game with online multiplayer. The developers came on stage to also reveal The Sounds of Nightmares, a narrative podcast series based on the world, which is available now.

We got a closer look at Black Myth Wukong, in a new trailer featuring gorgeous visuals and intense gameplay. It will be releasing sometime next year.

Dustborn is coming to PS4 & PS5 in early 2024. It looks like a colourful road trip through Americana and in it you’ll use the power of words to shape relationships with your crew, get out of trouble and reach your final destination.

We saw a trailer for Diablo IV: Season of blood, a vampiric expansion dropping in October, promising a new quest line, vampiric powers, and 5 additional endgame bosses.

We also got a trailer for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, showing off the numerous features that will be added to the game, like vehicle combat, overhauled combat AI, and a new district to name a few.

Upcoming Game Releases

August 25^th

• Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon (PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One)

August 29:

• Goodbye Volcano High (PS5, PS4, PC)
• Sea of Stars (PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Switch)
• Samba de Amigo: Party Central (Switch)

Embrace this!

While parent company Embracer is currently in crisis, laying off developers and cancelling projects in a major restructure, THQ Nordic put their best foot forward in a showcase of their upcoming games this week.

We got our first tease of TMNT: The Last Ronin. A darker story based on the 2020 comic run of the same name in which all but one of the turtles has perished.

South Park: Snow Day is a 3d co op multiplayer game, leaving the style of the popular rpg games behind it.  Few details are known currently but they style has brought comparisons to the N64 South Park first person shooter.

Titan Quest 2 has also been officially announced finally!  The classic, mythology themed ARPG was originally released in 2006 so let’s see if a sequel 17+ years later can live up to its legacy.

We also got updates and new footage for the Gothic 1 remake, Alone in the Dark, Outcast: A New Beginning, Wreckreation, Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy and Tempest Rising.

Tremors of the past

Did you feel a rumble in the earth? It wasn’t the end of times, it was Quakecon 2023 the annual celebration of all things id software. Which now also includes the wider Bethesda and Microsoft’s universe.  But Quakecon keeps it old school as mostly a giant LAN party for fans of shooters. As a surprise this year there was an announcement and drop of a remaster of Quake 2.  What did they improve?

• The original campaign
• Both mission packs
• Quake II 64
• An entirely new campaign by MachineGames
• Visual upgrades across the board
• Restored content missing from the original release
• Gameplay improvements
• Local, online and crossplay multiplayer
• Bots

If you own the original on Steam, GOG or Microsoft store you automatically own the remaster.  Otherwise it is available on all major consoles.  Not a bad glow up for a 26 year old title.

Press F to pay for purchase

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 charted at number 5 in the UK sales chart last month.  This may seem like uninteresting news other than the fact I’m not referring to 2022’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 but rather 2009’s game of the same name.  2012’s Black Ops 2 did even better hitting 4^th.The game saw a surge in popularity after work was done to fix the matchmaking in the backwards compatible versions on xbox platformer. The move along with some aggressive sales has given the older titles a new lease on life as players old and new flock to revered online shooters.

Remember remember the 23^rd… of August.

A quick reminder for all those who celebrate gamescom’s Opening Night Live you can catch the show live on Wednesday, August 23rd at 4AM AEST. So you’ll probably just watch it later.

Upcoming game releases

Red Dead Redemption (PlayStation 4, Switch), Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), Vampire Survivors (Switch) – August 18

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (Switch, PC), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC) – August 19

Fort Solis (PlayStation 5, PC, Mac), Immortals of Aveum (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), WrestleQuest (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC) – August 23

Hold onto your overpriced gaming chairs folks because this week’s gaming news is coming in hot!

Gotta Catch ‘Em All – Again!

Nintendo announced a bunch of Pokémon-related stuff the other night, including more details about their upcoming The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero, which is the DLC for
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on the Switch. More importantly though…they’ve brought Pokémon Trading Card Game and Pokémon Stadium to Nintendo Switch Online! Yes!! Now
you can relive your childhood with these classic games on your gigantic television that was not designed for this kind of stuff! Hooray!

Red Dead Back From The Dead

Red Dead Redemption is coming back! What everyone was speculating to be a high quality remaster of the original Xbox 360-era sequel (if that makes sense) is actually a port to the
PlayStation 4 and…the Switch?! How that’s going to work remains a mystery, hopefully better than the Grand Theft Auto Trilogy Switch port at any rate. But I guess it means technically it’s coming to PlayStation 5 through backwards compatibility, so quit complaining!

EVO was a smash hit

The world’s biggest fighting game tournament, EVO, was held again in Las Vegas this past weekend, and it was the place to be if you’re a fighting game fan. Perennial favourites like
Tekken 7 and King of Fighters XV were joined by new contenders Guilty Gear Strive and Melty Blood: type Lumina. I was personally hyped to see the return of Ultimate Marvel Versus Capcom 3 on the stage, but the big event was the debut of Street Fighter 6 to the Evo stage.

Over 7,000 people took part in the Street Fighter 6 tournament alone which is a new record, and congratulations to AngryBird for taking home the ultimate prize. The show’s also the
place where new sequels and characters are announced, including Tekken 8’s first ever Peruvian character “Azucena”. As of press time it’s unknown if Triple Zed will be sending us
all to next year’s show.

Shocking news – Baldur’s Gate 3 is Popular!

The hot new RPG of the moment, Baldur’s Gate 3, is the hottest thing in games since a Steam Deck that’s been left on for more than ten minutes. More than 800,000 people were
playing at the same time the other day, making it one of the ten biggest games of all time for that achievement! So there’s a lesson for everyone, put bear sex in your game and start
cashing the cheques.

And now for some hot new gaming releases!

August 10
Sherlock Holmes and The Secret Weapon (c64)
Stray (Xbox Series S/X)
Atlas Fallen (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S)

August 15
Moving Out 2 (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch)
Party on dudes, and be excellent to each other!

Who Wants Activision’s Transformers on Game Pass?

Does anyone remember those Transformers games for the Xbox 360 developed by Activision? The ones you can no longer buy digitally? Well, Hasbro has expressed an interest in bringing it up for the Game Pass. The problem? Hasbro initially claimed that it was because, “apparently Activision’s not sure what hard drives they’re on in their building. When a company eats a company that eats a company, things get lost…”

They did also follow-up with an apology for saying that Activision lost its Transformers games, stating that the comments were “made in error”.

Hasbro do really want Transformers on the Game Pass however, “Hope is that now that the deal is moving forward with Microsoft and Xbox they’ll go through all of the archives and every hard drive to find it all because it’s an easy Game Pass add.”

So, who knows?

The Last Of Us Knockoff Is Dead

A budget Switch game called The Last Hope: Dead Zone Survival, bore a striking resemblance to Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us, down to the gruff-dad character with an Ellie-like companion. And as you can imagine, it did not last long, with the game being pulled from the Nintendo eShop, and the game’s trailers disappearing from YouTube.

The game’s trailers were less than awe-inspiring, and for those who decided to give The Last Hope a try found their hopes dashed when the entire game is around 20 minutes long and horribly buggy.

While the trailers being pulled can be clearly attributed to Sony submitting copyright claims, The Last Hope’s disappearance from the eShop might be due to caution from the developers, Sony themselves, or Nintendo covering their six o’clock.

Mutant Turtles Invade Minecraft

No no don’t worry, the sea turtles in Minecraft are fine. But our favourite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be crossing over with Minecraft, which includes a special DLC texture pack featuring Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, special maps for exploring the turtle’s favourite haunts, and you’ll even be able to battle enemies such as Shredder and Krang.

This is of course on top of the pizza-scented Xbox controllers we mentioned the other week. All leading to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film coming out in a few weeks. Hype!

Zoom Zoom Guardians

If you’re participating in this year’s Solstice in Destiny 2, you will be thrilled to learn that you can now use Sparrows in the European Aerial Zone, so you can get to the bad guys really, really quickly, and beat them up quicker than it took me to finish this story. Happy Solstice!

And now for some upcoming games!

August 3rd

• Adore (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)
• Flutter Away (PC)
• Tiny Thor (Switch)

August 4th

• Death Becomes You (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 8th

• Gord (PC, PS5, XSX)
• Tower of Fantasy (PS5, PS4)
• WrestleQuest (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 9th

• Legend Bowl (PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

August 10th

• Atlas Fallen (PC, PS5, XSX)
• Stray (XSX, XBO)
• Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, Switch)

That’s it this week in gaming news!

Government backs Aussie gaming.
Screen Australia has announced the backing of Aussie games to the tune of $3 million AUD through it’s “Games: Expansion Pack” fund and “First Nations Games Studio” fund. The First Nations Games Studio fund awarded AU$600,000 to two studios, Guck, & Awesome Black, both working on projects related to First Nations storytelling and talent development. Additionally, the Games: Expansion Pack fund provided AU$2.4 million in funding to 21 different studios across the country. The funded games cover a wide range of genres and platforms and aim to accelerate skills and creativity within the Australian games industry. Additionally, the Federal Government has introduced the Digital Games Tax Offset, providing a 30% refundable tax offset for projects with budgets over $500,000. Click the following for a list of all the projects funded and their synopses.

Smell Like a Gamer
In recent news, Xbox is going a bit crazy with the themed sweepstakes with both a Barbie movie tie in with a Barbie Dream House Custom Console, and Barbie and Ken controller face plates. But they pulled out all the stops for the game release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge. This release not only has a sweepstake for four controllers designed after each of the turtles themselves, but the can also “…come with a built-in scent diffuser shaped like a slice of delicious New York ‘za.” Smell-O-Vision at it’s finest. If you’re interested in the TMNT Mutant Mayhem Controller this giveaway will be running till August 13 this year, where you will need to retweet the Xbox Game Pass sweepstakes tweet or whatever they will end up being called with the X rebrand.

the pizza party never stops with these guys🍕

follow @XboxGamePass & RT this post with #XboxTMNTMoviesweepstakes for a chance to win these TMNT-inspired controllers!

be sure to see @TMNTMovie in theatres 8/2/23 in the US!

ages 18+. ends 08/13/23. rules: https://t.co/C2Pjfi7yru pic.twitter.com/h6P3sjcvu7

— Xbox Game Pass (@XboxGamePass) July 24, 2023

AI in the News Goes Glorbo
This week the World of Warcraft Reddit community tricked an online publishing AI by feeding it false data about a made-up character, Glorbo, it’s mandatory item Klikclac, and their nemesis Quackion, the Aspect of Ducks, resulting in the generation of fake content presented as actual news under the pseudonym Lucy Reed. This account is credited to writing near 80 articles a day with potentially little to no oversight. This incident raises questions about the validity of AI automated publishing and the potential impact on the increased value of human generated, or at least human moderated, content.

Now in Activision Blizzard News
Sigh… Look I’m just as sick as you that these guys keep being in the news. TL;DR is basically, they screwed up the Diablo 4 season release and people are complaining that company’s being cheap, of unfair nerfing, that the menu design is tricking people into buying the season pass, of new items causing nausea, and that some player’s characters butts are out in the open. Also, that the FTC has backed out of the whole merger with Microsoft blockage, and Overwatch 2 is coming to Steam. To read more about these stories, check out the links in the news post on our Facebook page @ZEDgamesau.

And now for a couple of quick bytes:

• Mods have given your favourite NPCs in Stardew Valley AI Brains, yep, think about that like Jordan Gerblick of GamesRadar;

“…when you know those video game characters had to have their existing inner-workings hollowed out and replaced with the increasingly ominous power of AI, I can only imagine those interactions feeling incredibly creepy – as if it’s not really them anymore.”

(Image credit: Eric Barone)

The mod is Talk to Inworld’s AI Villagers and is now available on NexusMods.

• And the US Entertainment Software Rating Board wants to scan you and child’s face to validate age with digital purchases. The proposal to the FTC would have you upload a photo into a system controlled by Yoti – an Epic Games subsidiary, with collaboration with company SuperAwesome, which would be analysed and then deleted. They go on to claim the system poses no substantial risk to parents’ privacy.

And now for some of the upcoming game releases.
On Friday July 28, Disney Illusion Island is coming to Switch. Monday 31^st, F1 Manager 2023 is coming to PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Wednesday August 2^nd, Ninja or Die: Shadow of the Sun is coming to PC. And lastly on Thursday August 3^rd, explore nature, relax, and take photos in Flutter Away coming to PC.

Neopets has gone independent.

Dominic Law is the new CEO of The Neopets Team after a management buyout deal was made, allowing Neopets to become independent after its old owners Jumpstart Games was shut down on June 30th 2023.

In a blog post the newly formed team outlined its goal to shift away from NFT’s and crypto and revitalize the website, as well as the creation of a new mobile app, World of Neopets.

Basically after running at a loss for over a decade they’ve got a new team and new funding and a whole page of corporate speak saying they’re going to fix up the place.

https://medium.com/@neopetsofficial/a-new-era-for-neopets-fdb5c9ac187e

Baldur’s Gate 3 – Insert Bear Pun Here

Because I’m doing the news I get to choose what to talk about and I want to talk about the fact that in Baldur’s Gate 3 you can get freaky with a bear.

In the “Panel from Hell: Release Showcase” Larian studios was showing off the game’s romance aspects and the internet exploded when it was revealed you can get intimate with one of your party members in their bear form.

I’m sure there’s a deeper conversation here about sex scenes in games and all that but I’m trapped in the news and have no time for that so instead I’m just here to say ‘lol bear seggs’ and leave it at that.

https://panelfromhell.baldursgate3.game/

Queensland Games Festival this Saturday

And it’s that time again friends and enemies, the newly renamed Queensland Games Festival is this Saturday!  Previously known as Game On Festival (or GO423 if you’re nasty) this is a free public event where you can get your peepers on the newest locally made games and meet the people who make them.

The event is on the 22nd of July at the Brisbane Powerhouse from 10am so come on over and support the local Brisbane game industry!

https://www.queenslandgamesfestival.com/

RELEASES

July 20

Homeseek – PC, Killsquard – Playstation, Krzyżacy – The Knights of the Cross – PC, Punch Club 2: Fast Forward – PC, Unholy – PC.

July 21

Pikmin 4 – Switch, Sephonie – Playstation & Xbox & Switch

July 24

Super Catboy – PC

July 25

Remnant 2 PC & PS5 & Xbox Series X

July 26

Rachet & Clank: Rift Apart – PC

Sonic’s Dad Has Been Sentenced

Yuji Naka, former Sega and Square Enix developer, and co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, has now been sentenced after being convicted for insider trading. The punishment? Two and a half years prison time, a probation period of four years, and fines totalling 173 million yen.

However, he has been given a four year suspended sentence due to showing ‘remorse’, meaning that he will not be imprisoned, but will still need to comply with a number of rules presented by the court, and pay the fines.

87% Of Classic Video Games Are Missing

The Video Game History Foundation has revealed a study claiming that the very large majority of older video games are missing or totally unavailable to the public. And the problem may be due to outdated copyright laws.

The Entertainment Software Association claims however that ‘there’s no such thing as an obsolete game’, given that video games are largely digital.

The Video Game History Foundation has argued that ‘in cases where software has become abandoned or when companies are not willing to undertake their own preservation, libraries and other archives should be allowed to preserve and digitally release games’.

VGHF hope that with some changes, future gamers will never have to fondly think back on a childhood game that is just impossible to replay for various reasons, as well as create a more cohesive archive of video games. For historical purposes of course.

Football Rebranded

EA Sports used to be FIFA’s largest commercial partner before the two parted ways. But what is EA Sports to do instead of yet another FIFA game? A new football game, just without all that FIFA branding.

The new game, FC 24, has been revealed with its official announcement trailer, marking the end of an almost 30 year era. It’s rather motivational, although some of the comments seems to expect more of the same. Which isn’t surprising considering that football hasn’t had a major update in around 100 years.

Sega Says Blockchains Aren’t Fun

While ‘what makes a video game a video game’ and ‘what are video games’ and other such questions are often topics for debate among gamers, Sega seems to have figured out that a game should be fun. Shuji Utsumi, Sega’s co-chief operating officer, has reported that although the company were initial supporters of blockchain gaming, have now decided against pursuing it, feeling that it would cheapen their more iconic IPs.

“The action in play-to-earn games is boring. What’s the point if games are no fun?” says Utsumi.

Sega do still plan to allow third parties to use characters from their less popular IPs as NFTs, but it’s unlikely that we’ll be seeing Sonic the Hedgehog NFTs from Sega.

And now for some upcoming games!

July 13

• Manic Mechanics (Switch)
• Testament: The Order of High Human (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)

July 14

• Exoprimal (PC, PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO)
• Jagged Alliance 3 (PC)

July 17

• Sticky Business (PC)

July 18

• Murder Is Game Over – Streaming Death (PC)
• Unidentified Falling Objects (PC, Switch)
• Viewfinder (PC, PS5)

July 19

• Blackout Protocol (PC)
• The Repair House (PC)

July 20

• Homeseek (PC)
• Killsquad (PS5, PS4)
• Punch Club 2: Fast Forward (PC)
• Unholy (PC)

Classified Sega docs from the 90’s are available to you! Neat!

Earlier this week twitter user MegaDriveShock brought attention to a PDF of classified Sega of America documents which had become available on the Sega Retro wiki. The PDF is 272 pages of documents from the mid-90’s that offer a fascinating peek behind the curtain. They primarily focus on the Saturn console which, while hugely popular in Japan, failed to take off elsewhere in the world.  It’s an absolute bonanza of information including manufacturing costs, retail margins, sales, product strategies, emails, etc and people are pulling out some interesting figures. There’s even this storyboard from a commercial!

If you’d like to read through the pages, you can find them on the Sega Retro Wiki here.

Multi-season wait in store between Overwatch 2 story missions.

During a recent twitch appearance, Jared Neuss (Overwatch 2’s executive producer) revealed that there won’t be additional story missions for at least the next two seasons following the launch of season 6. “It is very much like trying to find that balance between getting [story missions] in front of players quickly because we love story stuff and giving ourselves enough time to make changes or add features.” No exact timeline was given but it seems safe to infer that Blizzard won’t be releasing any further story missions in 2023.

Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2023

At the end of last week Annapurna held a showcase showing off their upcoming games and more. Here’s some of what we saw:

To a T is a game with a premise that sounds delightful but maybe a little shallow – with the story centred around a main character stuck in a T-Pose. Thankfully Annapurna promises there’s depth to this game, and since it’s the newest game by Katamari Damacy director Keita Takahashi, I’m inclined to believe them.

Storyteller, the puzzle game that plays out over a picture book which released earlier this year, is moving to Netflix. As part of their growing catalogue of games Storyteller will be receiving new content & scenarios.

Thirsty Suitors, which has a demo available on steam, now has a release date. The game is a unique mash of turn-based combat, skating, cooking, story, and more. It releases November 2^nd to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S (Game Pass!), Xbox One, PC, and Switch.

Coming later, in 2024, is Ghost Bike, a game set in the afterlife where players must fight against ghosts as they strive to bring back the true spirit of biking back to Wheel World.

Finally, they showed the reveal trailer for their first in-house game BladeRunner 2033. They haven’t shown too much yet, but fans of the series can look forward to exploring a dystopian LA set between the original Blade Runner movie and Blade Runner 2049.

Upcoming game releases:

July 6^th

Gylt coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Windows

Necrosmith coming to PS5 and Switch

Scarf coming to PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One

July 7^th

Feeble Light coming to PS5, Switch, Windows

Garlic coming to PS5 and Switch

The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie coming to PS5, PS4, Switch, Windows

July 12th

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals coming to PS5, PS4, Switch, Windows

And that’s all, this week, in gaming news.

The Console Wars Have Been Decided!
In a side note to the highly contested Microsoft acquisition of Activision/Blizzard, is that to validate statements made by the parties presented, certain investigations needed to take place. And so, the FTC has made a statement regarding the console wars. Firstly, Nintendo has been removed from contention due to its hybrid nature, reliance on first party games and – and I quote – “underpowered performance.” So, in the US between Xbox and PlayStation, Generation 7 consoles… Xbox 360 beat the PS3, and in Generation 8, Sony beat out with the PlayStation 4!
While the FTC didn’t comment on the current generation, Microsoft has argued that they have consistently ranked third in the console wars.
While Sony has made it quite clear that it doesn’t want the planned merger to go ahead, Sony’s CEO Jim Ryan has stated in response to the exclusivity of titles such as Starfield “I don’t like it” but “I don’t view it as competitive”, and the possibility of losing Call of Duty in the future. “I’d rather this didn’t happen, but we’ll be OK, we’ll be more than OK.”
In other Microsoft news, Xbox Series X and Game Pass are going to receive a price hike, with the console to get a price closer to the PS5 and the Game Pass monthly subscription to increase around the globe. Oh, and Microsoft has missed its quarterly internal target by around US$780,000,000.
And don’t you PC players think you can scoff in your corner watching all this. You better be sure you can run your moddable version of Starfield. With AMD partnering with Bethesda for release, your precious DLSS and RTX features on your new Nvidia GPU may be left to the wayside. Oh, and there won’t be any keyboard and mouse support for the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol.1 coming in October.

AI in Gaming
The rebellion against AI being involved in game development continues with Jennifer Hale, the Voice Actor (VA) of “FemShep” in Mass Effect and David Hayter, the VA for Solid Snake from Metal Gear, voicing their concern of AI in the gaming industry. Hale has come forward emphasizing the importance of protecting voice actors’ work and voicing support of organizations like NAVA that provide contracts for safeguarding VA rights. Hayter, while less concerned about AI technology’s impact on voice acting due to its lack of “soul”, agrees on the need for legal protection. Meanwhile, the introduction of machine-learning platforms, Unity Muse and Unity Sentis, has sparked concerns among developers and artists regarding the generation of AI-created assets and both the copywrite and plagiarism issues now or in the future due to the art, assets, and their datasets that AI have been trained on.

Diablo 4 News; because I’m playing it and I’m doing the news this week.
Over the weekend Blizzard was hit by a DDOS attack, lengthening the already superfluous wait time to play a game most generally play solo. These attacks lasted around 12 hours and roused players online to ask why the game has joined the “always online” generation. Well, this may be due to the online store which has armour sets that can cost more than the base game, or maybe due to item drops with a higher rarity than winning the lotto with only 2 dropped so far since release. Adam Jackson, lead class designer of the game, confirmed last week that there are six top tier unique items in a tweet, all of which have staggering randomised stats (yes, you could still get this with a bad roll), and I join other players in the sentiment that if one dropped for you “it would be financially irresponsible not to sell your account.”
In other secrets revealed, if you are about to finish the game maybe don’t go skipping that credit roll with several different jump scare styled post-credit endings reported so far. These are all tipped to be clues into the gamut of expansions I’m sure are on the way for Diablo in the future. And if you haven’t looked into the secret cow level, the internet is looking… and they’re getting closer.

Now for some Game releases
So, Friday 30^th of June, Master Detective Archives: Rain Code, a detective action game from the minds behind Danganronpa, and party game Everybody 1-2-Switch! both come to the Switch. And time traveling puzzle point and click indie game Crime O’Clock is coming to PC, and Switch.
Tuesday July 4^th, break into the subconscious with VA David Hayter on the PSVR2 in Synapse.
And lastly Thursday July 6^th, experience the branching narratives of retro inspired JRPG Alterium Shift, or experience bouldering in the climbing sim New Heights, both coming to PC. Last of all, face your fears in horror puzzler Gylt, coming to PC, PlayStation and Xbox,

Oh! And in Games coming to TV
Sonic Prime’s new season is airing on Netflix and Among Us is getting its own TV series! It is in development at CBS Studios and is reportedly being led by Owen Denis (Infinity Train) and animated by Titmouse (Big Mouth). However, no airdate has been released.