Say Goodbye to Old Friends

Big changes to Gamepass, farewell to the Wii-U, Aussie games media takes a hit and Epic and Apple are still at it.

Microsoft have altered the arrangement, pray the do not alter it further

Microsoft has announced price increases across game pass and new tiers for the service!  The common messaging of “Play it day one on game pass” will now need to be amended to “Play it day one on some tiers of Game Pass”. Of the four newly clarifies tiers only Ultimate and PC Game Pass will have Day One games included. Core only has a small selection of games while Standard has the full catalogue minus Day One games which will be added at a later date but any policy on how long after release that will be has not yet been publicly disclosed. Only the Ultimate Tier includes cloud gaming which is required if using the newly announced Amazon FireTV integration.

If you are currently subscribed to Game Pass for console your plan will continue until it lapses in which case you can no longer continue those benefits.

PC Game Pass will increase from $10.95 a month to $13.95 while Game Pass Ultimate will increase from $18.95 a month to $22.95. Pricing increases for Game Pass for Console is not yet available.

Check out the Microsoft FAQ for more details.

Nintendo get out of the Wii-U game

If your precious Wii-U needs repair Nintendo is no longer an option for you. Posting on their social media accounts Nintendo announced they are officially out of parts needed to repair Wii-U consoles and peripherals. This finally brings the era of one of Nintendo’s most unique and second lowest selling consoles* to a close.  With limited consoles out there and no new parts fans best take care of their existing consoles.

*The lowest selling console is the virtual boy.

Goodbye Kotaku Australia

The Pedestrian Group has shutdown the Australian arms of several popular websites including Vice, Gizmodo, Refinery29, Lifehacker and perhaps Australia most prolific gaming website Kotaku.  Kotaku Australia has been a launch pad for many in the Australian media landscape and helped bring Australian titles and views to a larger audience.  We’ll miss you Kotaku Australia. Perhaps it’s time for a move into community radio.

Fruit’s Malicious Compliance

After some back and forth Apple have provisionally approved Epic Games Store for iOS devices. Last years Digital Market Act in the EU has paved the way for 3^rd party stores on traditionally closed systems. The Epic Games Store was rejected several times and Apple is still demanding changes,  claiming that Epic’s ‘install’ button looks too similar to their ‘get’ button and the use of the language “in-app purchases” is too similar to their own and customers may confuse the store for Apple’s.

To install the store users will need to manually allow the installation of 3^rd party stores before downloading and installing it. Currently these changes will only be available in the EU.

Game Releases

Anger Foot (PC), Death Game Hotel (Quest 3, Quest 2), Neon White (Xbox Consoles), Dros (Switch) – July 12

Darkest Dungeon II (PlayStation Consoles, Xbox Series X/S, Switch) – July 16

Deliver Us The Moon (Switch), EvilVEvil (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), Flock (PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles, PC), Let’s School PlayStation consoles, Xbox consoles, Switch) – July 17

Nobody Wants to Die (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate (Switch) – July 18