TGO Daily | June 23, 2021 | Blue Box & Kojima
TGO Daily | Tuesday June 23, 2021
✏️From the Author
Once again, I only have two stories for you today! It’s been a slow week of video game news.
In the mean time, I’ve been moving! It’s chaos over here! We’ve been moving back home after a four year stint in Toronto. We’re hoping to spend some time with family before taking the opportunity to travel the world, once we’re able :)
I’ve also been binging a television show called The Newsroom. It’s not the best show in the world, I understand the criticisms that are common when talking about it, but I’m having good fun. It’s an easy watch with endearing characters.
Cheers,
Adrian
📰 In the News
Blue Box / Kojima
Over the last few weeks, there has been an increasingly popular conspiracy theory that Hideo Kojima was secretly working on a new Silent Hill game through a fake indie development team. Today, the head of the studio Hasan Kahraman has to reveal himself for the first time to debunk the conspiracy:
The conspiracy was notable for a few reasons. One is that Blue Box is very much an indie studio, yet still managed to secure a high profile deal with Sony for their upcoming game called Abandoned. Also early on, the studio also leaned into the meme a little bit, teasing that they had something unrevealed that started with an “S” and ended in an “L” (in reference to Silent Hill, but ended up being something else entirely). Finally, Kojima himself is known for pulling stuff like this, like when Metal Gear Solid V was released.
As Bloomberg eloquently explains:
“The truth, as Kahraman tells it, is far less intoxicating. An unknown company is awkwardly navigating a big opportunity to capitalize on an unexpected surge of interest and to do so without alienating Sony or betraying promotional agreements.”
“‘It doesn’t matter how much I try to debunk all this,’ Kahraman said by phone. ‘People don’t believe it. They just expect something that’s not out there. It bothers me.’”
If you’re interested in this story, I’d encourage you to read the Bloomberg article linked above from Jason Schreier, which documents every beat of this event. He also tweeted the following:
Pokemon GO COVID Changes Rolled Back
When COVID-19 originally hit North America in March 2020, it appeared as though location-based games like Pokemon GO were going to be hit hard. Instead, Niantic tweaked the game to be friendly to people playing from home, and the app’s revenue spiked in 2020.
Now, with parts of the world returning to pre-COVID travel, they plan on opening the game back up. They’ll start by removing some of the at-home bonuses that were created, such as incense effectiveness (which attract Pokemon to the player’s location), after Pokemon Go Fest on July 17. Then, they’ll be adding exploration bonuses which reward players for playing outside and exploring the world for a limited time. Some changes they made last year will be staying — check out their blog post for full details.
“We’re committed to doing this in a staggered way, when it makes sense for each place in the world, to help people play safely. As we return to the outside world again, these changes are aimed at restoring the focus of Pokémon GO on movement and exploration in the real world. These changes will be introduced slowly and carefully to make it more exciting to explore the world around you.”
💡 Miscellanea
“Tencent acquires majority stake in Yager” (Spec Ops: The Line)
“Marvel’s Avengers update exposes PS5 players’ IP addresses”
👋 Say Hello!
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Thanks for the read <3