TGO Daily | November 26, 2020 | Golden Joystick Awards
Over the next few weeks I’ll likely be covering the end-of-year awards that various groups put together. I’ve historically never been a fan of things like the Oscars, but I’ve gotten more excited about video game awards as time goes on. They’re a great way to celebrate the best games that came out in the last year, and its interesting to see how the various awards overlap.
One day, when TGO is being sent free codes for all these games, we’ll have awards of our own. For now, we’ll have to rely on other people :P
Until next time,
Adrian
In The News
Golden Joystick Awards
The 2020 Golden Joystick Awards have concluded, with The Last of Us Part 2 sweeping up 6 of the 24 awards, including “Game of the Year.” I’m going to list some of the more interesting wins, though it’s worth noting that these are generally fan-voted awards.
Best Indie Game - Hades
Best Multiplayer Game - Fall Guys
Best Game Expansion - No Man’s Sky: “Origins”
Still Playing - Minecraft
Studio of the Year - Naughty Dog
I’ve seen some chatter about the quality of the awards this year, particularly thanks to the winner of last award in that list: Studio of the Year. Naughty Dog is notorious for overworking and mistreating their employees while developing TLOU2. If those reports exist, but they can still win the award, then what does it even mean? That one probably shouldn’t have been left to a fan vote, or at least shouldn’t exist if its not clearly defined. As it stands, it just feels like another award to throw toward Naughty Dog because they made a game that people like.
PlayStation 5 Sets Records
Two weeks ago, we found out that the Xbox Series X|S sold better than any other console launch in Microsoft’s history. Today, Sony shared the same thing, breaking not just a Sony record, but an industry-wide record. The PlayStation 5 is now the biggest console launch of all time. (While we don’t have concrete PS5 numbers, we know that the PlayStation 4 was the biggest launch when it came out in 2013.)
Both consoles are still having major stock issues around the world. Here’s an article all about how Amazon has bungled the PlayStation 5 launch for so many people.
Square Enix
Square Enix have confirmed that their Japanese studios will begin permanently working from home. They will have some hybrid working options for some employees, but they expect around 80% of their studio to be permanently home-based. In a simple statement, they said that they’re doing this to make the hiring pool more diverse, and to be better prepared for any future emergencies.
I think we’ll start to see more and more situations like this pop up across various industries.
In other news, they also confirmed for the first time that Marvel’s Avengers performed lower than they expected, and they still haven’t recouped the development costs of the game. They’re hoping to turn things around with a swath of content releases before the end of March.
4A Games and Metro
4A Studios have put out a blog post for the first time since being acquired by the Embracer Group a few months ago.
They started by celebrating Metro 2033’s tenth anniversary, sharing an interactive timeline in the style of a metro map, charting the history of both the games and the books. It’s really cool, give it a look.
They also confirmed that Metro Exodus will be heading to Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, with free upgrades available to folks who already own it. It will have all the improved tech specs.
Finally, they confirmed that they’re working on the next Metro game, and it will include multiplayer for the first time:
“…our partnership with Saber will allow us to explore something that has always been an ambition for 4A Games, but something we have never been able to commit to until now: a multiplayer experience in the Metro universe.
“We’re not looking at multiplayer as a box-ticking exercise, or to jump on some trend or bandwagon. As creators, we want to explore a multiplayer experience that makes complete sense in the Metro universe.”
Alongside a new AAA IP, it sounds like 4A is in a good spot with their new parent company. They talked about how many more opportunities they have now, which is great.
Also In The News
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