Month: October 2019

Like the Smithsonian in America, a well-known Australian preservation group has announced it will begin collecting video games for “archival preservation.”

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is collecting games released between 1982 and 2019 to be displayed in Canberra at an exhibit called Game Masters: The Exhibition.

The exhibit honors Australian-made games, and these include the following eight games in the initial wave of inductees:

1. The Hobbit (Beam Software, 1982)
2. Halloween Harry (Interactive Binary Illusions / Sub Zero Software, 1985/1993)
3. Shadowrun (Beam Software, 1993)
4. L.A. Noire (Team Bondi, 2011)
5. Submerged (Uppercut Games, 2015)
6. Hollow Knight (Team Cherry, 2017)
7. Florence (Mountains, 2018)
8. Espire 1: VR Operative (Digital Lode, 2019)

The NFSA in Canberra will have these titles on display in the Game Masters exhibit until March 2020. In addition to serving as a venue for people to come see Australian-made games, the NFSA is actually digitally preserving the games, which is a big deal for the older games that were not initially released on digital formats.

Attendees can also see storyboards, artwork, soundtracks, and marketing materials for the games on display. The NFSA said it aims to “paint a complete picture of the game’s creative process from concept to finished product.”

Outside of the eight games, the Game Masters exhibit features 80 total playable games, along with other elements such as “never-before-seen” concept art, and a display of vintage consoles and collectable items.

“The collection represents the cultural diversity and breadth of experience of all Australians, and it is constantly evolving just like our creative industries,” NFSA CEO Jan Muller said in a statement. “We aim to be the national leader in collecting multimedia and new media content, and it would be impossible to accurately represent modern life without games. It is essential that games be collected alongside other audiovisual media, to ensure their continued preservation and access.”

Muller went on to say that this selection of games is just the “initial” wave, suggesting more may be added to the exhibit over time. The NFSA worked with Australian trade groups the Interactive Games And Entertainment Association and the Game Developers’ Association of Australia on the Game Masters exhibit.

IGEA CEO Ron Curry said, “It’s very exciting to see a national collecting institution acknowledging the increasingly important role of video games in the life of all Australians. Games are a major part of contemporary popular culture; an artistic, storytelling and technological achievement, as well as an industry that contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to the Australian economy. We look forward to working with the NFSA as they start adding games to their vast collection.”

Game Masters is also hosting special events, including Local Heroes of Gaming (November 22) and the Women and Non-Binary Gamers’ Club (November 29). More details on the Game Masters exhibit, including ticket information, can be found on the event’s website.

343 Industries has released new videos that show how the audio team captured some of sounds in the upcoming Xbox One and PC game Halo Infinite. The videos are fantastic and offer an illuminating look into the way sounds for creatures, weapons, and vehicles are captured.

The star of the show is Gyoza. That’s the little pug that 343 brought into the studio to sniff and scruff and make all kinds of guttural noises. We can only imagine what these noises will be turned into in Halo Infinite. “Meet our favorite pug, Gyoza,” reads a post from 343 on Instagram. The best friend of our studio’s Technical Art Director, his grunts, breaths, and excitement are sure to make for some… interesting sounds in Halo Infinite.”

The videos, which originally date back to August and were reposted on YouTube by AI, also show the team firing all kinds of weapons, including high-power automatic rifles and shotguns. Additionally, we get a peek at some of the stranger sounds made with various torches, buckets, and baking pans.

The Halo Infinite audio team also fired rockets and drove vehicles around test tracks to capture additional audio for the game.

Halo Infinite releases in Holiday 2020 as a launch title for Microsoft’s next-generation console, Scarlett. The game will also be playable on Xbox One.

A beta for Halo Infinite will be held prior to launch through a “flighting” program. In other news, 343 described Halo Infinite’s microtransactions as a “AAA player investment experience,” while Halo Infinite’s creative director left 343 in August.

Ahead of the presumed release of the PlayStation 5 in 2020, one of PlayStation’s top executives, Shawn Layden, has announced he’s leaving the company.

Layden is Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Chairman for Worldwide Studios. He is leaving PlayStation at some point in the future, though a specific date wasn’t shared.

Sony said it wishes Layden “success in his future endeavours,” whatever they may be. “Thanks for everything, Shawn!” PlayStation said.

“It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE,” Sony said in a statement on the PlayStation Twitter account. “His visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We wish him success in future endeavors and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!”

Layden started at Sony in 1996, where he worked out of Sony’s Tokyo office as a producer for international software development until January 1999. He was then promoted to vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, a position he held for eight years and nine months.

In October 2007, Layden became the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. He worked in that role for two years and six months before he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to become the Chief Operating Officer of PlayStation until March 2014. His latest promotion was to Chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios, a position he held from April 2016 until now. All of this information comes from Layden’s LinkedIn profile.

Sony is expected to launch its next-generation PS5 console in 2020 alongside the release of Microsoft’s own new console, Scarlett.

The PS4 has been a massive success, shipping 100 million consoles by Sony’s latest count.

While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare‘s October 25 release on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One approaches, publisher Activision has announced that a mobile version of its popular first-person shooter is available now on iOS.

Call of Duty (Mobile) is a free-to-play CoD experience “brimming with content” from both the Black Ops and Modern Warfare series, according to a press release from earlier this month. It is said to feature a fully-customizable control scheme, multiple game types, well-known characters and weapons, and a Battle Royale mode. The game is currently available now on iOS devices, with Android launching sometime soon. Activision previously stated that Call of Duty: Mobile will launch on both Android and iOS on October 1, so Android users should expect it soon.

Game modes like Gun Game, Search and Destroy, and Team Deathmatch will all make an appearance in Call of Duty: Mobile. Additionally, maps such as Hijacked and Nuketown will be playable in the game.

Call of Duty: Mobile ships with a Battle Royale mode on a “huge and unique open map.” You can play in Single-, Duo-, or Quad-player squads in either first- or third-person. The Battle Royale mode will feature locales from across the Call of Duty universe and you will be able to select one of six available classes before jumping in.

The game launched in Australia earlier this summer. We were able to sit down with Activision’s Vice President of Mobile, Chris Plummer, to talk about the company’s intentions with CoD Mobile, its general position on mobile games, and the ever-contentious microtransactions present in gaming.

Respawn has released the overview look of Apex Legends Season 3’s new map, World’s Edge. The map will replace Kings Canyon at the start of Season 3, which is scheduled to begin on October 1.

Based on the overview, it’s difficult to tell just how much bigger World’s Edge is to Kings Canyon, though after playing on the new map we estimate it’s about two to three times larger. The map is divided into three parts, with the top right portion of the map themed around ice–the Epicenter operating as the major landmark. The bottom part of the map is themed around fire, with two major landmarks: Thermal Station and The Dome.

Snaking between both sections, and extending from the top left of the map down to the middle right, is an urban-like environment. It’s here that you’ll find the train that travels throughout the map–providing a means for squads to bunker down while still remaining on the move. The train seems to travel between Skyhook (teased in Cryptos’ first in-game appearance), Capital City, and Sorting Factory with about a half-dozen smaller landmarks scattered along the track.

A new map isn’t the only piece of content dropping into Respawn’s battle royale during Season 3. Apex Legends is also getting a new playable character (Crypto), weapon (the Charge Rifle), hop-up attachments, golden armor effects, and battle pass. The content won’t stop there, though, as Respawn has already hinted at an upcoming Halloween-themed limited-time event. The developer has also teased Apex Legends’ twelfth character, who is likely scheduled to release at the start of Season 4.

Apex Legends is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

Obsidian’s upcoming Fallout-like game, The Outer Worlds, is less than a month away from release, and if you want to save some money on a pre-order for the PC version, then Green Man Gaming has a deal for you. With voucher code “AUTUMN15,” you can save 15%, bringing The Outer Worlds’ price down to $51 USD / $68 CAD / £42.50. This deal is for the Epic Games Store version, so you will need the appropriate account to redeem the game at release–The Outer Worlds isn’t coming to Steam, but there will be a Windows 10 version on the Microsoft Store.

The Outer Worlds for PC – discount code: AUTUMN15

See at Green Man Gaming

Make sure to add the code after clicking on your basket to see the discount applied to your order. This voucher is valid until October 15, ten days before release on October 25. While this is a great deal, it’s important to note that The Outer Worlds will be a part of Xbox Game Pass for Console and PC on day one, so there’s no reason to pre-order if you’re subscribed or plan to be when the game launches. You can subscribe to Xbox Game Pass for PC at just $1 for your first month.

Obsidian Entertainment developed Fallout: New Vegas, one of the most beloved entries in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic series. In many ways, The Outer Worlds is seen as somewhat of a spiritual successor. In addition to it being an FPS RPG, The Outer Worlds’ has a cast of colourful companions that may just be the best part of the game.

The Outer Worlds is also set to release for PS4 and Xbox One on October 25, with a Switch version coming later. The Nintendo Switch port is being developed in partnership with Virtuos, the studio behind other Switch ports like Dark Souls Remastered and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, both of which were excellent conversions of those classic games.

It’s been over three years since Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson appeared on WWE programming. However, finally The Rock has come back home. Johnson announced himself, via Twitter, that he will appear on the first episode of Smackdown on Fox, which airs live on Friday, October 4, and serves as the 20th anniversary celebration of the show.

“There’s no greater title than [The People’s Champ] and there’s no place like home,” Johnson wrote. He also offered to buy everyone tequila after the show. Don’t get your hopes up, though, as the likelihood of him driving to every house with a bottle of his own special brew is unlikely.

The Rock’s appearance is only one of many special things WWE had planned for the first episode of Smackdown on Fox. Also scheduled to cameo on the show are Kurt Angle, Lita, Mick Foley, Booker T, Hulk Hogan, Trish Stratus, Goldberg, Jerry Lawler, Mark Henry, Ric Flair and Sting.

Additionally, WWE has lined up quite a card of matches for the evening. WWE Champion Kofi Kingston will defend his title against Brock Lesnar in Lesnar’s first non-PPV match since 2004. The show will also see Kevin Owens take on Shane McMahon in a ladder match and Roman Reigns go head-to-head with Erick Rowan. The final match announced thus far features WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch teaming with Charlotte Flair to take on the team of WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion Bayley and Sasha Banks.

WWE Smackdown premieres Friday, October 4, at 8 PM ET on Fox.