And also: Sonic comes to Netflix, FIFA here to stay, and was this character from "Voice of Duty" stolen from somewhere else?
Stadia // Photo: Google
Sonic streaming
Another week, another new Netflix animated series based on a well-known gaming brand.
And this time: Sonic the Hedgehog.
The streaming powerhouse has commissioned a 24-episode season of Sonic Prime, a 3D animated series starring the Blue Hedgehog.
In the series, which will air next year and is intended for "the whole family," Sonic will embark on a journey to save the universe - but also "on a journey of self-discovery and redemption," according to the creators.
It turns out that hedgehogs also have existential crises.
Google and gaming no longer
Last year, Google launched Stadia - a cloud service that allows high-resolution gaming on Chrome browser-enabled devices (PC, tablet, smartphone or TV - whatever comes), all streaming and without the need for a particularly powerful processor.
The venture was supposed to revolutionize the gaming industry, or at least that's what Google thought, but the business just did not rise.
The reviews were lukewarm, the performance did not live up to expectations and the selection of games was poor.
Earlier this week, Google admitted to the failure and announced that it was reconsidering a route when it came to Stadia.
The company closed its pair of game development studios in Los Angeles and Montreal, reorganized the project's management backbone and announced it would henceforth focus on selling the shuffling streaming platform to outside gaming companies, instead of trying to compete with console makers and digital distribution services like Steam.
What thieves in duty
Look at the picture.
On the right we have Mara, a character who joined Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in 2019, as part of the Battle Pass of the game's first season.
On the left, however, we have lots of pictures of Cade Janus, a warrior character created by the anonymous American writer Clayton Fair.
There is no doubt that there are many similarities between the two, perhaps too many: Hogan claims that Activision, the company behind COD, stole the character from him (quite generically, one must admit), thereby infringing copyright.
so what are we doing?
Prosecutors, and there may well be a case here.
It turns out that Fair conceived his character about a decade ago, as the protagonist of a short story he wrote called the November Renaissance.
In 2017, he filmed gaming streamer Alex Zandra in the character of Cade, with the goal of sending the photos to production companies and praying that they might turn his story into a movie.
So a film did not come out of it, but two years later the writer was surprised to discover that his work stars in the world's leading shooting game.
Coincidence?
Probably not, since according to the lawsuit, Activision hired Zandra to scan her character into the game, demanded that she wear the same clothes from the original photo set, and even hired the makeup artist she worked on in the set.
Hogan also claims that Activision has signed confidentiality agreements with all those involved in order to obscure the incriminating evidence.
Activision response has not yet been received.
Its own league
It seems that FIFA will continue to make triangles in the field of Pro Evolution in the coming years.
While there are those who prefer the classic gameplay of the old football series from Konami, there is no denying that when it comes to franchises, luxury and everything around - the Electronic Arts brand takes it big.
In 2018, FIFA robbed Pro of the rights to use the European Champions League and its minor leagues, after a decade in which UEFA collaborated with Konami, and this move may have landed a blow to Pro.
It was recently reported that the collaboration between EA and UEFA has been extended for many more years (the specific number has not been published), in parallel with the announcement of no less than six (!) FIFA mobile titles (!!), which include "realistic simulators alongside arcade formats suitable for everyone" .
Will Konami survive this bomb for EA's connections, or go down to the defeated locker room?
Still, Pro still enjoys collaborations with Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Manchester United and other top teams, so the series is still capable of making a comeback during injuries.
Either way, we got ourselves a red card for overusing football metaphors.
