Level 42: E3 Bites The Dust
Another major gaming event is cancelled due to COVID-19, potentially signalling the end of gaming tradeshows as we've known them.
đ This Weekâs Most Important News
The End of E3?: Following last weekâs coverage of GDCâs cancellation, fabled industry trade show E3 has also been cancelled due to coronavirus. The cancellations feels like the final straw in what has been a long-time coming for E3, following many big publishers' move to pre-recorded announcements (i.e. Nintendo Direct) and E3âs parent company, ESA, leaking personal information for thousands of reporters back in late 2019. Will this be the end of E3? Weâve rounded up a few of our favorite live E3 content in preparation for what could be the final convention:
videogamedunkeyâs review E3 2017 Link
Super Smash Bros Melee announcement @ E3 2001 Link
Keanu Reeves showing up for Cyberpunk 2077 @ E3 2019 Link
đĄ Industry Content
Google + Valve = ???: It was reported this week that Google and Valve might partner to bring Steam to ChromeOS & Chromebook laptops. Steam is already the largest digital marketplace for games, but adding ChromeOS functionality would significantly increase its market reach. Imagine what happens when they add in Chromebook Laptops, which most K-12 education systems use? The partnership allows Google to grab another popular service for their products, but may cost some revenue in the long run when it comes to their own gaming platform, Stadia. Link
Bringing Twitch Experiences to Traditional Sports: The WSJ featured two interesting video game focused articles this week: the first article dives deep into how traditional sports are leveraging strategies from video game viewers for their own fans. Experiences like live chat, betting, and VR are all on the docket, with the idea that theyâll make sports viewership more accessible, immersive and social. The second article explores the world of NFL in video games. Publishers like Take-Two interactive are betting that people still want to play american football on video games, but hope to experiment with new formats such as 3v3 to shake up the rather static sports video game genre. Link
New Face, Old Company: The previous head of Nintendo for America, fabled Reggie Fils-AimĂ©, is joining the board of retail outlet GameStop. Weâve written about why GameStop has done such a poor job transitioning from retail to digital despite such an advantageous market position. Hopefully Fils-AimĂ©, who played a pivotal role in Nintendoâs continued success in North America, will inject some creativity and innovation into the company. Link
đź Fun & Games
Return to The Black Mesa Incident: After 10+ years of work and Valveâs official blessing, the third-party Half-Life remake, dubbed Black Mesa, finally has been released. Very infrequently do we see a fan-made remake with such care and passion hit the open market, let alone garner the level of press and focus of Black Mesa. Link
Duty Never Stops Calling: This week Call of Duty dropped a 150 person free-to-play, cross-platform battle royale titled Call of Duty: Warzone. Other than the usual song and dance of the battle royale genre, the game introduces an interesting new respawn mechanic dubbed âGulagâ. Players who die early in a match will have a shot at coming back by winning a 1:1 showdown with other eliminated players. Link
Bye Bye Nintendo Playstation: This week the mythical Nintendo Playstation, the short-lived Nintendo x Sony collaboration console, sold to the founder of Pets.com for $360K. The system is thought to be the only one left in existence. This is the story of the console and how it ended up in auction. Link
True Sight: Valveâs recent True Sight episode is magical, bringing you into the finals of Dota 2âs T19 and inside the minds of the players. Ever wonder how professionals communicate during high stakes settings? What do they say to each other? What happens in between matches? Itâs wild how much of video games on the biggest stage is all about mental fortitude. Link
đ Other Cool Stuff
The New Frontier for Short-Form Video: If you havenât checked it out yet, TikTok is a goldmine for entertaining content about video games. With younger generations increasingly engaged in video games as a social platform, content around games like Minecraft & Fortnite is all over TikTok. Here are a few of our favorites:
Spiderman (PS4) having âexcellentâ graphics Link
100 Thieves Nadeshot breaks the news on the NBA suspension to an NBA Player (NSFW Language) Link
One TikTok creator with a familiar shaped head makes an appearance Link
To Bee or Not To Bee: Someone attempted to rate every video game involving honeybees. The list is woefully incomplete, but a great place to start for some bee-related content (Link). These games are just a smaller part of âuwuâ genre. Theyâre wholesome and give you an important slice-of-life perspective outside of shooters. Link
We Love Doggos: Popular Twitter account @CanYouPetTheDog celebrated their one year anniversary. The account is dedicated to telling players if you can or cannot pet the dog in various video games. This is cutting edge stuff people. Link
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