TGO Daily | June 3, 2021 | PlayStation Shares Big News
PlayStation drops several stories in an interview, Riot decides printing money would be too easy, Dark Horse comics creates a games division, itch.io releases 2021 Queer Games Bundle.
TGO Daily | Thursday June 3, 2021
Here’s my burning question to you today: how is Sonic allowed to compete in the Mario Olympics? The infamous hedgehog who’s “gotta go fast” is featured in six Mario & Sonic at the Olympics titles. How could Mario allow him to compete in any races? How is this any fun for any other competitor? If you beat Sonic in a race, it’s obvious he let you win. If he beats you it’s because, well, he’s Sonic. How is that fun for any of the other competitors? Is that even fun for Sonic?
Furthermore, why does Sonic being a competitor bother me, but I don’t bat an eye at the giant turtle-dinosaur who also competes? Why doesn’t Mario Jumpman Mario running the Olympics irk me?
I suppose my real question is this… Am I thinking about this too much or too little?
Until next time,
Brandon
PlayStation Studios Drops Some Juicy Tidbits
In an interview with PlayStation’s blog Hermen Hulst, the Head of PlayStation Studios, revealed information on the current happenings within the games studio.
The sequel to the massive hit, God of War, has been pushed back to a 2022 release date. The team, Santa Monica Studio, is still diligently working on the title, but Hermen stated that the project “started a little later” and that they’re moving it back to ensure quality time is spent on it.
He also confirmed the God of War sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, and Gran Turismo 7 will all be available on both the PS5 and the PS4. (Editor’s note: That’s probably the most logical decision considering the PS5 shortages. Also, from a business perspective, that’s over 100 million people they’d leave behind if they kept it a PS5 exclusive).
Horizon Forbidden West’s holiday release is currently tentative and may be delayed. There’s no hard confirmation at this time, but we’ll keep an ear to the ground as they continue to figure out logistics.
Hulst also announced that Bend Studio, creators of Days Gone, are working on a new IP. It was confirmed that the new game will build on the same systems they used in Days Gone.
Valorant Hits 14 Million Players Monthly on PC, Now Coming to Mobile
With only a year since its release, Valorant is officially recording 14 million players logging in every month on PC. With a large player base at their feet, Riot Games announced they are planning on bringing the game to mobile platforms in the future. No timeframe has been given yet, as they’re still in the early stages of planning.
Having over half a billion games played since its launch, Valorant is clearly a success. Riot Games, who also created the popular MOBA League of Legends, are consistently releasing titles that dominate in their respective genres. If they can continue this streak, and strive for a better working environment for their staff, then we’ll likely see them continue to branch out and diversify with their IPs.
Dark Horse Comics Opens New Gaming Division
Dark Horse Comics, the creators behind properties like Hellboy, Sin City, 300, Umbrella Academy and more, have officially opened a new gaming and digital division. Dark Horse Games general manager, Johnny Lee, has stated that the studio plans to bring its big-name titles to gaming.
Lee went on to say that the studio is already in discussions with several AAA developers and that we could potentially see Dark Horse characters in games “no later than the end of Q1 2022.”
Dark Horse did also state that they plan on, “…refreshing older and less established IPs as gaming first IPs." Sounds a lot like the thought process that brought lesser-known superheroes into movies, like in Guardians of the Galaxy. It’ll be interesting to see what characters they summon forth for us to enjoy!
Itch.io Announces Queer Games Bundle 2021
Itch.io is now offering the “Queer Games Bundle” for the month of June in celebration of Pride month! The bundle comes with over 200 games, priced at $60 USD (though there is also a ‘pay what you can’ sliding scale). The goal of the bundle is set to $5 million USD, conveyed as a 1/3 of the budget of a standard AAA game.
Itch.io did a bundle in June of 2020 as a “Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality”. That bundle ended that month exceeding its set goal by 162% (over $8 million USD).
For those of you interested in supporting over 190 awesome developers and artists in the LGBTQ+ community, you can find a list of the games and purchase the bundle on the Itch.io website. All proceeds towards the bundle will be split evenly between all makers.
Miscellanea
You can snag a free copy of Battlefield 4 on PC with Amazon Prime
Overboard has released. It’s a unique murder mystery visual novel where you’re the murderer!
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Thanks for the read <3