And also: Arsenal's football legend against FIFA's troll, Sony closes a mythological development studio and it's not pleasant to see a closed park
Photo: AP
The end of an era
A sad day for anyone who loves his games a little more different and original.
Sony is more or less closing its Japanese game development studio - Japan Studio.
In recent days it has been reported that most of the esteemed studio employees have been sent home, leaving only a skeletal team responsible for developing Astro's Playroom - the free game added to the PlayStation 5. The Asian affiliate is actually the first PlayStation internal development studio set up three decades ago.
The studio has developed countless well-known games since the days of the first PlayStation, games that helped Sony's new console establish itself and compete respectfully against Nintendo and Sega, which then dominated the market.
Among the leading brands that bear the stamp of Japan Studio can be found Ape Escape, PaRappa the Rapper, Shadow of the Colossus, Patapon, Knack, Ico and many more good ones.
Make a switch to a switch
It's been on the air for a year, and now it's more or less happening: Nintendo is working on a new and advanced version of its Switch console, which will probably be launched this year.
Although the official gaming giant has not yet made an official announcement, the Switch Pro is in advanced stages of development and it is not unlikely that it will hit the shelves towards the end of 2021.
Among the upgrades: a larger 7-inch screen (compared to 6.2 inches of the existing base version) with a higher resolution (OLED vs. LCD), and the option to display graphics in 4K when the console is connected to a TV.
According to industry reports, Samsung will begin production of the new screens ahead of the summer.
Nintendo, as mentioned, has not yet confirmed the details and has not revealed the full specifications of the Switch version to the pros, but it is estimated that this will happen very soon.
Come another four years
Nintendo's Amusement Park in Orlando, Florida, will not open until 2025 at the earliest, about two years (at least) after the original opening date.
Those interested in visiting the North American equivalent of Japan's Super Nintendo World in Osaka will have to wait a little longer - hoping Mario does not retire by then.
The Corona plague is doing its thing, and work on building the new attraction, which will actually be part of Universal Studios Park, is suffering from repeated delays.
And there is also this matter of gathering.
And on the same subject - E3, the largest gaming exhibition in the world, was canceled for the second year in a row.
Although there is talk of a virtual alternative, there is no doubt that the magic has expired and the chances of E3 returning to its great days in Los Angeles after the epidemic is exacerbated are extremely slim.
7th League Gamer
Tip: When you play FIFA or any other online game for that matter, treat other gamers well, and if you're already losing your temper and starting to swear and swear, you better not swear, you know, real football stars. Ask Patrick O'Brien, an Irish boy who doesn't know how to lose Respectfully at FIFA.
Last May, when he played in the Arsenal uniform and controlled, among other things, the legendary former player Ian Wright, O'Brien suffered a virtual defeat.
What did the angry boy do?
Send the real Wright hateful racist messages and death threats, as if the star is responsible for the loss (and the education the boy received).
But Wright did not come out a sucker.
He posted the abusive messages on Twitter and sued O'Brien.
Although the court refrained from convicting the boy criminally, the boy was required to pay 500 euros to an anti-racism organization, and worse - at least for the gamer - Electronic Arts mimicked his online account made him a lifelong ban - that is, expelled him from PIFA online forever. Importantly, he expressed disappointment with the mitigating verdict, arguing that it was not what would help in the war on racism.