This week Hazel is in control, taking Rani and The Temporarily Returned Tobi on a journey through the musical influence video games had on their lives, while Zahra tells us about the cuddly cat game Calico, and Maylee delivers the freshest of video game news.
The 27th of February is Pokémon Day and as always The Pokémon Company treated players to a stream of updates and announcements for all things Pokémon. Here are some of the highlights:
One big announcement was the upcoming expansion for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet called The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero. The DLC will split into two parts: The Teal Mask, planned for a fall 2023 release on Nintendo Switch, and The Indigo Disk, planned for a winter 2023 release. The DLC will allow players to explore an entirely new area, the land of Kitakami, and the school of Blueberry Academy. “While this tale is split into two parts, they link together to tell a connected story,” the press release said.
This app was originally announced in 2019 but we’ve heard nothing about it in the years since, until now. Players of Pokémon Sleep will journey to a new island where Professor Neroli studies the nature of Pokémon sleeping habits. Of course, Snorlax will be a key part of this game but you’ll be able to meet and catch many others who you’ll find napping together each morning.
Alongside the app is a new device called the Pokémon Go Plus Plus, similar to the previously released Pokémon Go Plus and Pokéball Plus hardware. We don’t have a date yet, but we know that Pokémon Sleep will be released for Android and iOS devices this winter.
The Pokémon Company and Netflix have teamed up to create Pokémon Concierge, a stop-motion animated series set to premiere on Netflix later this year. It follows the story of a concierge named Haru who works at the Pokémon resort, an uncreatively named resort for Pokémon. Not much else is known yet but the trailer suggests it will be a cute slice of life detour from the typical battling and catching Pokémon formula.
A recent update announced that the film, which was set to release on April 7th has been moved slightly forward to release on April 5th for Australia, the USA, and 60 other markets around the world. While not the first time the release date has been altered, with it first being 2022, then March, then April, it is hopefully the last.
Late last week was Sony’s State of Play and we were treated to trailers, updates, and announcements for a range of games. There are more than we can talk about here but some of the highlights were:
There was an announcement trailer for Journey to Foundation. It’s based on Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi epic and coming Fall 2023!
Another announcement was for Synapse, a VR Shooter where you wield telekinetic powers releasing exclusively to PlaystationVR2.
Another game for PlaystationVR2 is The Foglands, a stylised roguelike with western vibes, releasing later this year.
Before your Eyes is coming to VR2 March 10th.
Goodbye Volcano High has been brewing for some time now and we’ve just got a trailer and release date for June 15th, 2023.
Finally, we saw a new trailer for Tchia, which is releasing March 21st, 2023.
March 3rd – Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
March 6th – Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania DLC for PC, Playstation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch,
March 7th – The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition for PC, PS5, & Xbox Series X
March 7th – Little Witch Nobeta for PS4 & Switch.
And that’s all, this week, in gaming news.
This week in Zed Games Zahra is in control with Maylee and Cam as crew, guiding us through the relaxing and interesting world of SEASON: A letter to the future in their review, Cameron tells us all about the Commodore 64 and it’s very vibrant and inventive community who still love this piece of gaming history, and Paul keeps us all up to date with the news.
Tears of the Kingdom artbook leak
If you’re looking forward to the upcoming ‘Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’ on May 12th, let this be a warning for you. The entire 200+ page artbook has been leaked onto the internet. With game details currently scarce and 3 months left until release spoilers now abound regarding characters that will appear in game and designs. While the artbook doesn’t directly spoil any gameplay elements can certainly be inferred by some of the content. So be wary of those looking to spoil your sense of discovery.
We’ve now signed a binding 10-year contract to bring Xbox games to Nintendo’s gamers. This is just part of our commitment to bring Xbox games and Activision titles like Call of Duty to more players on more platforms. pic.twitter.com/JmO0hzw1BO
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) February 21, 2023
Microsoft Spread the COD
Vice President of Microsoft Brad Smith has announced a binding 10 year contract with Nintendo outlying their intent to bring Xbox and Activision games to Nintendo platforms. Specifically, the deal outlines a commitment to release Call of Duty games “the same day as Xbox with full feature and content parity.” How the plan to achieve this is yet to be seen.
Shortly afterwards at a press conference in Brussels Smith also announced that all Xbox games would be coming to the competing cloud gaming service GeForce Now. The moves are part of Microsoft’s strategy to defend their proposed acquisition of Activision to the European Union’s antitrust authorities. The deal is currently under investigation and has been heavily criticised by Sony primarily on the issue of potential Call of Duty exclusivity.
Microsoft is hoping to settle the matter by June this year.
They changed Mario's "WAHOO" in the latest Super Bros. Movie trailer–and it's way better! pic.twitter.com/MQr6Pf6PGy
— André (@AndreSegers) February 19, 2023
Mario movie ‘wahoo’ update
In the most gripping news of the year so far it has been noticed that the reading of “Wahoo” used in the trailer for the upcoming ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ has been updated! As a controversial choice for the iconic plumber Chris Pratt has a lot to prove and to help sell him in the role we’ve gone from THIS to THIS. The shocking change has rocked our very perception of reality but is it a step in the right direction? Only time will tell.
Oh and here it is in French
— Firaxis Games (@FiraxisGames) February 17, 2023
Firaxis Games loses two
Legendary XCOM and Civilisation studio Firaxis Games has seen the departure of both the studio head Steve Martin after 27 years and creative director Jake Solomon who was a primary driving force behind the development of Xcom 1, 2, War of the Chosen and the recent Marvel’s Midnight Suns after 23 years of the company. Both posted messages announcing their departure on twitter. No reason has been stated for their departure however they appear to have both left the company on good terms.
Game Releases
February 24
Blood Bowl 3 (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC), Company of Heroes 3 (PC), Kirby’s Return To Dream Land Deluxe (Switch), Octopath Traveler II (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, PC)
February 28
Destiny 2: Lightfall (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), Scars Above (PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC), Dungeons of Aether (PC)
That’s all this yahoo in gaming woo!
Prepare your senses as Zed Games hosts Paul, Caroline, and Peter talk Gaming News and PSVR 2 incoming, Paul feels the beat to review Hi-Fi Rush, and the crew talk best of their experiences in Steam Next Fest 2023.
World of Warcraft Player Maxed Out Without Playing
World of Warcraft players, and those who tried to become a WoW player, are probably familiar with the tutorial boat that takes players to the starter zone. And yet, despite there being absolutely no quests, enemies, or even resources to harvest on the boat, a player has managed to level up their character to the recently increased level 70. How?
Pets.
Cheatcho has a number of account-wide pet battle quests, meaning that they can be done on separate characters, while allowing Cheatcho to redeem the quest rewards on a completely different character, namely the one on the ship. Apparently if you have a level 25 Chrominius pet on your account, you can use an ability called arcane explosion that can wipe out the quest giver’s pets quickly.
This method took 200 days to achieve max level.
Xbox is now Aware (of carbon)
A new Xbox firmware update brings changes to power management, where every Xbox console defaults to energy-saving mode, reducing console power consumption when the console is off. This change won’t affect performance or how updates install, but you won’t be able to remotely wake your console, and it boots up a little more slowly. It is optional, and players can opt for ‘Instant On’, although this uses up more energy.
In addition, your Xbox can schedule game, app, and OS updates at specific times to help reduce carbon emissions, by connecting to the internet and using the available regional carbon intensity data.
You can also hide game art when choosing tiles for the home page, letting you change game art to blocks of solid colour, helpful if you find yourself overwhelmed with visuals.
Massive Trans Witch Games Bundle
In response to Hogwarts Legacy, and the rising interest in games centred around magic whilst being trans-friendly, itch.io has a bundle of 69 (nice) items made by indie queer artists.
24 of the games are digital, with a further 41 titles being physical tabletop games. Some notable mentions include a witchy dating sim called Casting Hearts, and my personal favourite, a game about a skateboarding witch in Magic Trick.
VRChat Sex Worker Denied Entry to US
VRChat is a form of chat room where attendees are present in virtual reality, allowing them to interact, talk, and play together in a virtual room despite being countries apart. It’s not uncommon to enter a room with a dozen skeletons, 3 furries, and a lot of chaos. Everything ranging from concerts to birthdays to just about anything can exist. Humans being humans, sex, and consequently sex work, also has a place.
The VRChat sex worker, Hex, resides in the United Kingdom, however attempted to visit the United States to visit some friends. She was denied entry and explained how her work was done in a ‘virtual game’. However, according to Hex, the woman interviewing her didn’t quite understand. Despite not technically meeting the legal definition for prostitution in U.S. immigration laws, she was issued an official letter stating that she was denied entry due to ‘prostitution’.
And now for some upcoming games!
February 16
February 17
February 18
February 21
February 22
On Zed Games this week Maylee, Zahra, & Rani talk the week in Gaming News, Rani plays spin the bottle in Raptor Boyfriend: A Highschool Romance, and the team plays Kiss Marry Kill based on their video game crushes.
https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2023/02-07-1-million-for-11-digital-games
Games Getting Funded!
Screen Australia has announced 11 games that will each receive a part of 1.5 million dollars in funding through what is called the Games: Expansion Pack fund. The fund is targeted at emerging or small to medium independent game studios with budgets below $500 000.
CEO of Screen Australia Graeme Mason said, “There are huge opportunities for growth in the local games sector. The Government’s $12 million investment to support digital games developers and small and medium independent games studios will enable Screen Australia to support more Australian developers to create original games, build sustainable businesses and attract local and global audiences.”
The Games: Expansion Pack is open for applications on an ongoing basis until 4 May 2023.
https://www.ea.com/games/the-sims/the-sims-4/news/update-01-31-2023
The Sims 4 News
In the latest Sims 4 update Maxis has added a variety of customization options in create-a-sim, with medical wearables and trans-inclusive cosmetics. The update (1.95.207.1030 on PC and version 1.69 (nice) on console) includes hearing aids, glucose monitors, top surgery scars and binders and shape-wear.
Oh and they added a light switch too.
Nintendo is decent.
Nintendo has announced a 10 percent pay rise for its game developers, in spite of their reported 20 percent drop in switch sales, stating that securing their workforce is important to their long-term growth.
This is in line with Nintendo’s history of being actually pretty decent to their employees (barring crunch but that’s a different kettle of fish) such as in 2011 when faced with the poor sales of the Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata took a 50 percent pay cut.
I suppose in the wake of all the layoffs in the gaming industry (last month Microsoft announced 10 000 job cuts) it’s nice to see a company taking care of the people who actually make the games they sell.
Releases!
February 9
Monster Outbreak – Switch
February 10
Go! Go! PogoGirl – PC, Playstation, Xbox and Switch
February 14
Blanc – PC and Switch
Journey to the Savage Planet: Employee of the Month Edition – PS5 & Xbox Series X
Outzone – PC
Ten Dates – PC, Playstation, Xbox and Switch
Toaplan Arcade Shoot ‘Em Up Collection Vol.1 – PC
Truxton – PC
Twin Cobra – PC
Wanted: Dead PC, Playstation and Xbox
Zero Wing – PC
February 15
Pharaoh: A New Era – PC
Returnal -PC
And that’s all this week in gaming news!
Zed Gamers gather close and listen as Rani, Paul, & Cameron press buttons and banter while chatting gaming news, Paul pretends to review Vampire Survivors while ranting about the Steam Deck, and Cameron feeds his mafia pigs in a review of Adios.
Microsoft starts the year boldly
Microsoft held an event called the “Xbox + Bethesda Developer Direct” covering 5 upcoming titles. A 4v4 PvP mode for the upcoming Minecraft Legends was shown off mixing up action, base building and strategy. Arkane’s upcoming multiplayer vampire survival game Redfall got a release date of May 2, the next Forza Motorsport showed off the goods with 500 cars included and The Elder Scrolls Online got a timeframe of June for its next expansion based in Morrowind titled Necrom. But perhaps the biggest announcement of the event was the simultaneous reveal and release of Tango Gameworks’ new game. The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo developer surprised viewers with Hi-Fi Rush a bright and colourful 3rd person character action game crossed with a rhythm game. The environment and action all operates at the beat of the music player that has been mistakenly embedded in the protagonists chest.
Australian Government to re-establish Interactive Games Fund
The National Minister for the Arts, Tony Burke, has announced the return of the government’s Interactive game fund.
‘All forms of storytellers now – whether it’s narrative, visual art, music, acting – are finding themselves jobs in the video games industry. Screen Australia, when you’ve got an industry expanding like this around the world, shouldn’t be left trying to check if there’s some spare change back in the lounge to fund this rapidly growing, AU $4 billion sector.’
‘So we’ll restore the Games Fund for Screen Australia that was abolished nearly 10 years ago.’ – Tony Burke
Labor hopes the fund along with the previously announced Digital Game Tax Offset will help support and establish new Australian Developers for years to come.
E3 Still Ain’t Coming Back
The big three Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft will not attend this year’s planned return of E3. Xbox’s Phil Spencer has said Microsoft plans to hold their regular Showcase at the same time but will not be officially part of the expo. Sony dropped out of E3 back in 2019 and Nintendo have been unpredictable with their announcements in recent years. It’s a big blow for event organizers Reedpop who have taken over the event to shape into something more suitable for the current climate of the industry.
Tomb Bag? Or perhaps Flea Raider?
Amazon have announced plans to develop a Tomb Raider television show with Phoebe Waller-Bridge who is perhaps most well known for her Emmy Winning series Fleabag which she wrote, produced, and starred in. Waller-Bridge is positioned to write and produce the series but alas will not be filling the shoes of Lara Croft herself.
Goodbye Tess
At a time when The Last of Us TV show is gaining much praise and attention came the sad news that actor Annie Wersching who played Tess in the original game and remake has passed away from cancer. She was 45 years old.
Upcoming Game Releases
Deliver Us Mars (PlayStation Platforms, Xbox Platforms, PC), Life Is Strange 2 (Switch), Tails: The Backbone Preludes (PC), Your Only Move is Hustle (PC), The Pathless (Xbox Platforms, Switch) – February 3rd