Game Control: Innovator Of PC Gaming Audio Passes, NFL Steps Into VR
Mike Uyama
Console: In Scavengers Studio’s SEASON: A Letter to the Future, players assume the character of Estelle, a young woman from a remote town traveling the world on a bike for the first time and gathering memories before a catastrophe destroys everything. Exploration, recording, meeting new people, and understanding the bizarre environment players find themselves in are the objectives of the game. Each recording technique catches a unique layer, including noises and music, artwork and architecture, and the narratives of people going through crucial events. The technologies expose these levels until players understand the underlying culture, history, and ecosystem. The Scavengers Studio in Montreal is creating the game. On January 12, 2023, a new trailer was released showing Estelle telling her story and outlining the primary plot point. The game is set to release on January 31, 2022.
Mike Uyama, the organization's creator, and well-known advocate for speedrunning charities has declared his intention to leave Games Done Quick and embark on new endeavors. Uyama's position as managing director will be filled by Games Done Quick's director of operations, Matt Merkle. Games Done Quick had modest beginnings, hosting its first event in 2010 in founder Mike Uyama's mother's basement due to connectivity issues at the original site before the group amassed millions for charitable causes on behalf of the speedrunning community. Uyama said he will take a break and a vacation before launching himself headfirst into his next phase of life, even though he is unsure about where he will go. Throughout 37 speedrunning competitions, Games Done Quick has raised more than $41 million for a variety of causes, including Direct Relief, which assisted COVID-19 victims during the height of the pandemic, The Trevor Project, which works to prevent LGBTQ suicide, and Doctors Without Borders during the 2011 tsunami crisis in Japan. Elden Ring and oldies like Sonic and Spyro are only a few games included in the marathons, spanning all console generations and genres.
In the spring of 2023, the PS5 and PS4 will receive the eagerly awaited independent adventure Tchia. The announcement follows a gameplay trailer and a new PlayStation Blog post that describes what to anticipate from Tchia. A young girl named Tchia searches for her missing father on an archipelago, which will serve as the game’s open-world environment. The Pacific Ocean's tropical archipelago of New Caledonia, where several of the game's developers come from, served as the inspiration for the location. Players may soul-jump into various creatures and objects, and they have the strength to climb up buildings and trees, swing from them, and even swim, dive, and sail throughout these islands. These include even more in-game gimmicks that promote exploration and aid Tchia in puzzle-solving. Though all of the Tchia locales are fictional, New Caledonia's culture and traditions had a significant influence on their creation; even the country’s most widely spoken languages, French and Drehu, are used by the characters. Tchia will release in the spring of 2023.
Sim Wong Hoo - Bloomberg
PC: Sim Wong Hoo, the founder, CEO, and chairman of Creative Technologies passed away on January 4, 2023, at the age of 67. Sim founded Creative Technologies in 1981 intending to create a computer that could communicate. Sim's tenacity helped Creative become the first Singaporean firm listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, making him a unique emblem of Singaporean startup success. Few terms in PC gaming were as crucial before Windows 95 and DirectX as "Sound Blaster compatible," allowing gamers to hear their PC games' distinctive sounds. Contrary to what members of more recent generations might think, computer sound wasn't always reliable. Players needed a sound card to connect headphones or speakers that could perform more than just bloops or bleeps, and none were as popular as Creative Labs' 1989 Sound Blaster. It's reasonable to suppose that Sim and his business' efforts have allowed modern PC gaming to become what it is today.
The Solidaires Informatique union called for a strike at Ubisoft Paris on January 27, 2023. The protest resulted from comments made by Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, who said in an update that the business aims to reduce costs by about $215 million over the next two years through focused restructuring, selling some non-core assets, and natural attrition. In a follow-up email to Ubisoft employees, Guillemot told workers that he needs their "full energy and commitment to ensure we get back on the path to success," adding, "I am also asking that each of you be especially careful and strategic with your spending and initiatives, to ensure we’re being as efficient and lean as possible." Solidaires Informatique was outraged by the email and accused the CEO of preparing employee reductions, covert studio closures, pay cuts, and cloaked layoffs. The union claims that Guillemot is attempting to place the responsibility for the decline in sales and productivity at Ubisoft on the workers. Since there is only one chapter of the French labor union Solidaires Informatique at the Paris studio and none elsewhere, the strike is just affecting Ubisoft Paris and not the entire corporation.
Games from Blizzard, such as World of Warcraft (WoW), Hearthstone, Diablo 3, and Overwatch, are no longer available in China as of January 23, 2023. Since the closure was announced in November 2022 when Blizzard and Chinese publisher NetEase failed to renew their collaboration, it didn't come as a surprise. Since 2004 NetEase has published Blizzard's games in China, and according to NetEase CEO William Ding, the relationship broke out due to "material disputes on crucial terms." The shutdowns are quite concerning because China has a significant fan base for these games: The first female to win the Hearthstone Grandmasters Global Finals was Chinese Hearthstone pro Liooon (real name Li Xiaomeng) in 2019. According to Blizzard, China has three million WoW players. There is good news for Chinese gamers as the situation might not endure forever. Blizzard previously said it is looking for a "new partner" to handle its games in China because it is required by law for all videogames there to have a Chinese publisher.
Reliance Jio and Gamestream
Mobile: On January 5, 2023, Kakao Games and Nine Ark Inc announced the launch of the highly anticipated mobile RPG Eversoul for Android and iOS. The game sees players enter a fantasy land where they take on the role of a savior who must save the World of the Souls by building strongholds and fighting against enemies. The player also collects Souls, playable characters possessing their own skill set and attributes in addition to spirit-imbued artifacts. Forming relationships will be another crucial part of Eversoul, allowing players to get close to other characters and form romantic bonds to aid in battle. Pre-registrations kicked off with milestone rewards set, but in just two weeks of launching these targets, all the goals were surpassed, meaning players hopping into the game will earn numerous rewards straight away.
The mobile game Avatar Generations, based on the well-known American animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, is already accepting pre-registrations and offering launch bonuses like Appa and Aang as playable characters to early fans. As they advance through the game, players can play as Aang and other series characters. Campaigns feature past and upcoming benders from the Nickelodeon original animated series' story. For additional benefits for players during pre-registration, the gaming studio Crystal Dynamics Eidos Entertainment has partnered with Paramount Consumer Products and the creator Navigator Games. Pre-registration is offered via the Google Play Store for Android devices and the iOS App Store.
Reliance Jio, an Indian telecom firm, has teamed up with Gamestream, a pioneer in cloud gaming solutions, to introduce a fresh gaming experience to JioGames, its in-house platform. 1.4 billion Indians will be able to play whenever and wherever they want thanks to a ten-year agreement between the two corporations. Since not every home has access to consoles and high-end PCs, this is a smart move given how quickly the Indian gaming market is developing, particularly in mobile gaming. As Jio's True 5G network becomes available, which delivers fast speed, aspiring gamers across the nation would be able to use the platform. Currently in public beta, the newly renamed JioGamesCloud is accessible on their own Set Top Box, Android smartphones, and a few web browsers. Deliver Us the Moon, Kingdom Come Deliverance, Encodya, and more titles from the Saints Row franchise are currently available in their collection.
Natiional Football League and Against Gravity
VR: The AR headset developer Magic Leap announced at CES 2023 that its flagship device, Magic Leap 2, earned a certification that clears it for use in the operating room. The company first hinted it had pursued IEC 60601-1 certification at SPIE’s XR conference in January 2022. However, the news went largely unreported. Magic Leap says this certification allows Magic Leap 2 to be used both in an operating room and in other clinical settings, allowing medical professionals such as surgeons to focus on the patient and not have to refer to 2D screens. This gives software developers a non-inconsequential inroad into gaining FDA certification for apps used during surgery, and not just for pre-surgical training. One Magic Leap partner, SentiAR, is currently under review by the FDA for its app connecting physicians to live clinical data and images.
The National Football League (NFL) and gaming studio Against Gravity have partnered to deliver a variety of legally licensed virtual merchandise on the social VR platform through the VR game Rec Room. On January 12, 2023, Rec Room opened a brand-new NFL pop-up store where customers can purchase virtual sweatshirts and hats that are officially licensed by the NFL and showcase all 32 NFL clubs. The studio also claimed to establish a photo booth in the platform's "Rec Center" hub, where users will be able to post pictures to social media showcasing their NFL-licensed apparel. Similar gatherings have previously taken place on the site, with one NBA event last year bringing team uniforms and customized basketballs. More recently, Rec Room and Mattel agreed to collaborate on the production of avatar merchandise for the Masters of the Universe franchise. Thanks to the fact that Rec Room can be downloaded for free on all major platforms, including mobile, PC, console, standalone VR, and PC VR, it now counts over 82 million lifetime users.