Scope out a few of the following game industry news stories, hand-picked from across the world of games, from the last week. As we enter the holiday season, there’s usually less news from events, but still plenty to read about from games, esports, awards shows, streaming, holiday shopping guides, and more, as this story selection uncovers!
Index:
- 20 Year-Old Gaming and Esports TV Program to Shut Down
- Hugo 2021 Awards to Present a Video Games Category
- Fashion Company to Use Video Game as Show Platform
- Tabletop Gaming Black Friday Guide
- New “Insert Coin” Documentary on Midway Games Rise and Fall
- Players Find Ways to Keep Online Gaming for PlayStation 3 Going
20 Year-Old Gaming and Esports TV Program to Shut Down
Source: Happy Gamer
Not every gaming-related property is thriving in the gaming-friendly year of 2020. in this case, the world’s oldest TV program that covered gaming and esports will shut down by year’s end, as Happy Gamer reports:
“OGN was founded twenty years ago as the world’s first esport and gaming television program, stemming from the heart of competitive scene of Starcraft in South Korea where it flourished and thrived as the root of the esport scene that ultimately led to Twitch flourishing and becoming the juggernaut of streaming that it is today.
We’re discussing history and pedigree in spades, a foundation of the current scene of esports and streaming, and they’re reportedly shutting down at the end of 2020. Yet another mark has been made against history, with the pandemic forcing difficulties across a wide array of mediums struggling against events not occurring which limits income.”
As video games continue to rise in cultural importance, awards from traditional media-centered awarding organizations are offering the games and their creators a little more opportunity for recognition.
“When the 2021 Hugo Awards are handed out next year, they’ll come with a special new category: Best Video Game. DisCon III (by way of File 770) announced the special category, saying that the works “Draw from the same creative well that has fed science fiction and fantasy writing and art for so many years.”
Fashion Company to Use Video Game as Show Platform
Source: The Verge
Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow
December 6th, 2020 pic.twitter.com/Jm70aZ8N8H— Balenciaga (@BALENCIAGA) November 24, 2020
We’ve touched on video games used for live concerts and spaces for traditional events, even for the NFL’s Pro Bowl, among many other uses. Now, as this The Verge story discusses, a video game space will be the virtual environment for a luxury fashion show:
“Luxury fashion company Balenciaga will debut its next clothing collection in a video game on December 6th, according to WWD. Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow is an “allegorical adventure” set in the year 2031, in which “a hero avatar advances throughout distinct zones, motivated by tasks and interactions.” As game descriptions go it’s not the most detailed — it could apply to every video game from Super Mario through to Wolfenstein — but obviously the focus here is the company’s fall 2021 collection. Input reports that the Afterworld will be playable through browsers.”
Tabletop Gaming Black Friday Guide
Source: Shacknews
You don’t have to look far at all to find (or get frequent reminders by advertising) Black Friday shopping deals on the new PlayStation or Xbox consoles, Nintendo Switch bundles and games — let alone the myriad array of gaming hardware and accessories for PC and consoles alike. But what about more traditional tabletop gaming? That’s why we’re sharing something you might not have seen as much of, which is black Friday offerings in card and board gaming, from this Shacknews story.
New “Insert Coin” Documentary on Midway Games Rise and Fall
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
In a year in which many stories about gamers and game development have been told in documentary format, there’s another such documentary now streaming about a former game development studio that left a big footprint in games and pop culture, which this Chicago Sun-Times feature takes a deeper look at:
“After creating memorable video games that delighted generations of teen gamers and frustrated their parents, a defunct Chicago company is the subject of a new documentary that aims to showcase their importance to the current iteration of interactive entertainment.
“Insert Coin,” detailing the history of the Northwest Side-based Midway Games, is known for creating cult classic video games “NBA Jam,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Rampage” and “NFL Blitz,” among many others.
The film, now available for streaming via Facets, is directed by former Midway Games developer Joshua Tsui, who says while he relished tracking down his former colleagues to get them on the same page, timing also is everything in regards to the film.”
Players Find Ways to Keep Online Gaming for PlayStation 3 Going
Source: The Washington Post
As each generation of games hardware marches on, older services and connections to older hardware, are shut down. But for the fans of older games, that doesn’t leave them many options as functionality is removed from their games, especially the multiplayer ones that are usually effected. But, as this feature from The Washington Post covers, PlayStation 3 fans are coming up with workarounds to keep their online gaming experiences alive:
“Earlier this year, fans of one of PlayStation Vita’s few first party exclusives, “Killzone: Mercenary,” suddenly found themselves unable to connect to multiplayer. The game came out in late 2013, and the Vita itself is older still; production on new units had concluded in 2019. Players feared that Sony had shut down the game’s multiplayer functionality — permanently.
It wasn’t hard to understand why players reached this conclusion. Although “Mercenary’s” servers eventually came back online (the reason for the shutdown is still unknown) Sony has earned a reputation over the past several years for unceremoniously shutting down multiplayer service for its first party franchises. In October, Sony announced that it was updating the PlayStation Network webstore to only feature PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 titles for purchase, effectively locking away PS3, PS Vita, and PSP games in their respective machines.”
If you’re interested in the history of games, or just want to relive the good old days and enjoy some games that aren’t available on modern consoles, it’s important to have all aspects of a game preserved, and not just the offline parts. That’s where PS Online Network Emulated, or PSONE, comes in.
Do you have interesting news to share, or something coming up that would also fit into this regular feature? Let us know!
