Scope out a few of the news stories from the game industry this week, hand-picked from across the world of games.
Sony to Hold Showcase Event for PlayStation 5 on June 4
Source: Playstation blog
After a few days of uncertainty, when, how, or if Sony was going to host a showcase event for the PlayStation 5 in early June, the company confirmed the news this morning through it’s media channels:
“This digital showcase will run for a bit more than an hour and, for the first time, we will all be together virtually experiencing the excitement together. A lack of physical events has given us an amazing opportunity to think differently and bring you on this journey with us, and hopefully, closer than ever before. This is part of our series of PS5 updates and, rest assured, after next week’s showcase, we will still have much to share with you.
Please join us on Twitch or YouTube on June 4 at 1pm PDT / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST to see what’s in store for the next generation of games.”
No In-Person BlizzCon Event for 2020
Source: The Verge
BlizzCon joins the tanks of events that won’t see a physical incarnation in 2020, but the event may yet see the light of day in online form:
“Blizzard Entertainment will not host its annual BlizzCon event this year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The event is usually held later in the year, with BlizzCon 2019 kicking off on November 1st and concluding on November 2nd. In early April, Blizzard announced that it was uncertain about hosting BlizzCon this year.
Despite canceling the convention, Blizzard may be looking to hold a virtual event in its place. “We’re talking about how we might be able to channel the BlizzCon spirit and connect with you in some way online,” BlizzCon executive producer Saralyn Smith said in a blog post.”
News and Announcements from AWE 2020
Source: ARPost
One of the digital shows playing out this week is the AR/VR-focused AWE 2020, which concludes today. But in case you missed it, here’s some of the news from the show earlier this week.
“The second day of AWE Online 2020 wrapped Wednesday evening. The packed day, despite some technical difficulties, featured more talks from XR experts and more announcements from XR companies.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t cover everything, but we tried to wrap up some of our favorite highlights. If you’re just joining us now, you can also read our day one highlights.”
Potentially Big News to be Announced by Sega
Source: Express
Sony isn’t the only major Japanese-owned gaming household name with a likely announcement for next week. Sega may also have (potentially big) news to share as well.
“SEGA are rumoured to have a huge, “revolutionary” announcement in the works that will be dropping next week. The major scoop is set to be revealed in the next issue of iconic Japanese video gaming magazine Famitsu. The SEGA reveal will coincide with the company’s 60th anniversary and is said be an announcement on par with Sony confirming the first official details of the PS5.
The tantalising tease was dropped by Japanese technology journalist Zenji Nishikawa, who said the news will appear in the June 4 issue of Famitsu.”
Twitch is Joining the Summer Games Fest Bandwagon
Source: Polygon
Twitch is helping to channel (See what I did there?) some fresh games content to the summertime digital events that are replacing E3 and other canceled events.
“Twitch is getting in on Summer Game Fest, the season-long replacement for now-canceled events like E3 2020, with exclusive livestreams and a new channel (/twitchgaming) reserved for the event. The streaming platform has also partnered with the likes of Riot Games, CD Projekt Red, Square Enix, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, Blizzard Entertainment, 2K, and the International Game Developers Association for a series of special events.”
Kotaku Reviews the Turbografx-16 Mini
Source: Kotaku
“I forgive you if you didn’t even notice that the TurboGrafx-16 Mini was officially released last week. Who could know? I don’t see so much as a press release in my inbox about it. The extent of the marketing for it seems to be Konami’s official Twitter account sporadically retweeting people who bought one. But yes, TurboGrafx-16 Mini is finally available, and it’s excellent—depending on how much you love the shooter-heavy lineup, that is.
Konami originally planned to ship the $100 TurboGrafx-16 Mini on March 19. And, technically, it did, since the Amazon-exclusive device was available on Amazon Japan alongside the Japanese version, the PC Engine Mini. Its official release on Amazon’s U.S. site was delayed due to the pandemic, but it officially came in stock on May 22.”
Whatever Happened to SimCity’s Business Games Division?
Source: The Obscuritory
“From 1992 to 1994, a division called Maxis Business Simulations was responsible for making serious professional simulations that looked and played like Maxis games. After Maxis cut the division loose, the company continued to operate independently, taking the simulation game genre in their own direction. Their games found their way into in corporate training rooms and even went as far as the White House.
Almost nothing they developed was ever released to the public. But their software raises questions about the role we want games to play in society.
Do you have interesting news to share, or something coming up that would also fit into this regular feature? Let us know!
