Scope out a few of the game industry news stories from the last week below, hand-picked from across the world of games. This week, we’ve got a look at a new Ubisoft Forward event, an update on Epic vs. Apple, the official news on new Xbox hardware, a new 90’s gaming scene documentary, and more!
Index:
- What did Ubisoft Show at their September Forward Event?
- Where the Epic vs. Apple Situation Stands
- Microsoft Series X and Series S Launch in November
- GameStop to Close Hundreds More Stores
- Console Wars Documentary Arrives Soon at CBS All Access
- “National Video Games Day” Trivia!
What did Ubisoft Show at their September Forward Event?
Source: GameSpot
GameSpot breaks down Ubisoft’s event last week,from new games coming up to addressing the controversies following the Montreal-headquartered game publisher:
“The September edition of Ubisoft Forward was held on September 10 and featured some big new game announcements, including the return of some classic characters. It also included surprises, such as a new massively multiplayer online extreme sports IP. You can re-watch it here and learn all about what was shown.
Before the event took place, Ubisoft released a video statement from CEO Yves Guillemot addressing news that has come to light in recent months about sexual assault, harassment, and mistreatment among the publisher’s studios. However, Ubisoft explained that this would not air during the Ubisoft Forward stream itself due to “timing constraints.” Instead, it will be attached to the video-on-demand version of the stream.”
Where the Epic vs. Apple Situation Stands
Source: VentureBeat
Staying on top of the fast-moving Epic vs. Apple back-and-forth legal drama takes a lot of effort. in case you haven’t been able to keep up, VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi explores how these two companies arrived at this point in early September:
“We’re at a huge moment in tech and antitrust history with the litigation initiated by Fortnite maker Epic Games against Apple and Google. While the Google dispute has taken a backseat in the news, the conflict with Apple has gone hot because of that company’s retaliatory strike and a request for a temporary restraining order from Epic.”
Microsoft Series X and Series S Launch in November
Source: GameSpot
After a long period of rumors, leaks, sprinkled in with some official news, Microsoft finally makes its key next-gen Xbox news official. We visit GameSpot again for the story:
“After months of waiting for an answer, we finally know when Xbox Series X will launch and how much it will cost. Microsoft’s next-gen console will be released on November 10, albeit without the now-delayed Halo Infinite to serve as its biggest launch game.
Microsoft announced the launch date today along with the price of the Xbox Series X: $499. The more-powerful console will be supported alongside the cheaper Xbox Series S, which is out on November 10 for $299 and supports the same games. That system is digital-only, however, cannot support native 4K resolution, and includes a significantly weaker GPU that is capable of 4 TFLOPs instead of the 12 TFLOPs on Xbox Series X. However, its CPU is very similar. It will be able to load up games in a fraction of the time as past Xbox One systems. Like its more expensive sibling, it also supports ray tracing.”
GameStop to Close Hundreds More Stores
Source: Gamesindustry.biz
Much of the business of retail continues to experience pressure from online retail and pandemic-related limitations to operate, and it’s also true for video game retail stores ([perhaps no more than GameStop):
“GameStop continues to up the number of stores it says it’s going to close this year, with the latest plan being to close between 400 and 450 stores globally during the full fiscal year of 2020.
In today’s Q2 earnings call with investors, CFO Jim Bell said that GameStop had closed a total of 388 stores worldwide so far this year, 206 of those closures occurring during Q2.
Currently, Bell said this puts GameStop at 5,122 stores total worldwide, 602 fewer stores compared to last year, and the company plans to continue closing stores into 2021 as well.”
Console Wars Documentary Arrives Soon at CBS All Access
Source: Engadget
Not long after the release of Netflix’s High Score documentary, gamers will get another documentary-style view of gaming, this time from the shenanigans of the console wars between Sega and Nintendo:
“2020 has been a year like no other. As the world has been stuck inside amid the Console Wars, the documentary based on the 2014 non-fiction novel of the same name, will premiere on CBS All Access on September 23rd, CBS Interactive announced on Friday. The company also shared a new trailer for the doc.”
“National Video Games Day” Trivia!
Source: South Florida Reporter
Did you know September 12th was National Video Game Day? Whether you do or don’t, you might enjoy reading up on these interesting trivia tidbits from the decades-long history of video games:
“2020 has been a year like no other. As the world has been stuck inside amid the Console Wars, the documentary based on the 2014 non-fiction novel of the same name, will premiere on CBS All Access on September 23rd, CBS Interactive announced on Friday. The company also shared a new trailer for the doc.”
Do you have interesting news to share, or something coming up that would also fit into this regular feature? Let us know!
