TGO Daily | Wednesday July 7, 2021 | New Switch Announced
In the news today: The new model of the Switch has been announced, Pokémon GO surpasses $5 billion in revenue and Atari is shaking up their strategy.
TGO Daily | Wednesday July 7, 2021
✏️From the Author
Tropical Storm Elsa is set to fly right on by where I live. It should actually be hitting here in a few hours, as I sit and write this section. The storm made me think of something I hadn’t bothered to think about before.
Why do they name them after actual names? If Elsa causes a lot of damage, what about the people that share that name? Must they suffer jokes or teasing just because they decided to name the storm ‘Elsa’? I, of course, am not saying that’s the most pressing issue of a storm/hurricane by any means, but it seems like an easy problem to avoid.
For any of you with the name, or if you have family or a friend(s) with it, I’m changing the name to Tropical Storm 5. It may not be as catchy, but now you don’t have to worry about sharing names with it. Small victories in life are important.
Until next time,
Brandon
New Nintendo Switch Model Announced
On Tuesday Nintendo officially announced the new Switch model, which they’re calling the ‘Switch OLED’. Rumors have swirled around when the console would be announced and what changes would come with it. We now have official confirmation of what to expect with the new model.
The Switch OLED will feature a 7-inch screen, up from the previous models 6.2-inch screen. Nintendo also stated it will have a wide adjustable stand for tabletop mode, a new dock with a wired LAN port, 64GB of internal storage (compared to 32GB previously), and enhanced audio for handheld and tabletop play. Nintendo also confirmed there will be no major internal changes. This means there will be no 4K resolution in dock mode, no new CPU, and no additional RAM.
Multiple media outlets were hearing reports and leaks that this model would feature 4K resolution and some hardware changes but it seems those were either false or, while unlikely, that Nintendo is planning those for a later model. The Switch OLED is set to release in October of this year.
Brandon’s Thoughts: I really couldn’t have been more disappointed in this announcement. The screen change is near-unnoticeable, extending the length of it by 0.1 inches. The LAN port is nice, but there were USB adapters for the original that do the same job. The slightly increased storage space doesn’t do much, especially when most people will already have a microSD card in theirs that’s far larger. Same battery life, same resolution, same loading speeds - there’s really no reason for Switch owners to upgrade to this new model beyond the nice color contrast, and that’s just disappointing.
Pokémon GO Surpasses $5 Billion in Player Spending
As Pokémon GO celebrates its 5-year anniversary since its launch, it’s also celebrating $5 billion USD in revenue from player spending. The mobile sensation launched back in 2016 and has consistently performed better and better with each passing year, even factoring for the pandemic.
SensorTower reports that the game hit record revenue from player spending in 2020, yet as we head into the the second half of 2021 the game has already accumulated approximately half of its total 2020 revenue.
Some quickfire interesting statistics:
The U.S is the #1 revenue generating country for the title, with 36.6% of its lifetime player spending being there. Japan ranks #2 with 32%, while Germany ranks #3 with 5.4%.
While Google Play has 52.8% of the shares of the player spending (to Apple’s 47.2%), Google Play leads commandingly in installs with 77% of installs versus Apple’s 23%.
Brandon’s Thoughts: I’m going to move past how crazy it is in only 5 years they’ve generated so much revenue. Instead, I’d like to focus more on how I found it interesting that Google Play leads heavily in installs of the game, yet has only a small lead in player spending on the platform. Are there more ‘whales’ on iOS? Maybe there’s more installs on Google Play, but the player base isn’t as active? Perhaps this game is just an outlier? It’s an interesting thing to think about what can cause these kinds of differences in the platforms.
Disclaimer: Adrian does work for SensorTower, albeit in a different department unrelated to this story or author.
Atari is Walking Away from F2P and Embracing Premium Games
Atari Gaming is adjusting their strategy away from Free-to-Play games and mobile games. They plan instead to focus on premium games for console and PC, including creating more titles for their recently released Atari VCS console. While they plan to shift away from F2P, Atari CEO Wade Rosen did make a statement on their plans with their current F2P titles:
“Despite this new focus on premium gaming, we remain committed to growing and expanding our successful free-to-play games that we have in the market.”
Rosen’s press release also stated that several titles will be sold or shut down due to the change in strategy: RCT Stories, Crystal Castles, Castles & Catapults, Ninja Golf, and Atari Combat: Tank Fury.
Atari has 200 proprietary titles they can utilize with this refocus in their strategy. How they’ll leverage these - and which - is anyone’s guess. They went on to say we could potentially see the first titles some time before the end of March 2022.
🎮 Game Service Update
Xbox has announced the following titles for the month of July coming to the Game Pass library:
July 8
Dragon Quest Builders 2 (Cloud) - Think Minecraft, but with Dragon Quest.
Tropico 6 (Cloud, Console, and PC) - Be your own dream version of a Dictator! If you enjoy management sim games, you’ll feel right at home here.
UFC 4 (Console) - A stereotypical UFC fighting game from EA. Punch things! Kick things! Punch AND kick things!
July 15
Bloodroots (Cloud, Console, and PC) - An action title that gives off some Hades vibes.
Farming Simulator 19 (Cloud, Console, and PC) - Ever wanted to be a Farmer, but specifically in 2019? What a relatable dream and crazy coincidence! Drive a trailer and do farm-y things.
The Medium (Cloud) - This psychological horror received some average reviews, with a critic average of 75 on OpenCritic. General consensus around the game seems to be that it had some unique mechanics and interesting exploration, but the narrative felt tedious to some and just repetitive in areas. This is made by Team Bloober, who rumors say is working on a Silent Hill title.
📅 Mark Your Calendar
Thursday, July 8 (2pm PT / 5pm ET / 9pm UTC) - PlayStation will be holding their State of Play. The 30 minute show will cover indie and third-party games, with Arkane’s Deathloop at the spotlight. Sony warned us to NOT expect any updates on: Horizon: Forbidden West, the next God of War or anything on PlayStation VR.
Q1 2022 - King of Fighters 15 will be coming to PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Windows 10, Steam, and the Epic Games Store.
💡 Miscellanea
A Plague Tale: Innocence now available on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5. This enhanced version features 60 FPS, audio optimizations, enhanced graphics with up to 4K UHD, and faster load times offered by the new generation consoles.
RoboCop game in the works from the team behind Terminator: Resistance. We won’t see the game for awhile, as it’s currently set for release in 2023.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong delayed into next year. The game is now slated for a February 2022 release. It’s one of three projects in the works for Vampire: The Masquerade, so keep your eyes out for more news on Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt and the ill-fated Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 as more time passes.
👋 Say Hello!
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Thanks for the read <3