Microsoft and Sony have been engaged in what is irrefutably the longest game of chicken the gaming industry has ever seen. Neither side has been willing to play their hand and announce pricing and launch date(s) first. That is, until last night. Tech enthusiast Brad Sams fundamentally broke the internet by unveiling not only the physical design of the Xbox Series S, but its price point as well. Shortly after, Windows Central Gamingconfirmed via Twitter not only the information for the Series S, the Series X as well!
I’m going to make this brief and straight to the point. Today’s Playstation 5 Reveal event was a very important moment for Sony. News and information regarding the successor to the titular PS4 has been scant almost since its announcement. Fans have been starved for something, anything remotely pertaining to what the system and games would look like and when we can expect them. Today, we got a glimpse into the Future of Gaming. Continue reading “PS5 Reveal: We finally know what it looks like”
Amidst the anticipation of Sony’s June 4th presentation (which has been postponed until further notice, following current events.), Sega was reportedly sitting on news that would be as big as the PS5 reveal. Well, today they finally lifted the veil on their speculated and highly anticipated announcement to bring us…The Game Gear Micro.
Originally hitting the scene back in 1990, the Game Gear was arguably one of my favorite gaming platforms of all time. Once I circumvented the 6 AA battery requirement with some rechargeables, I took the bulky handheld with me damn near everywhere.
Coming in at just over 1.5″ in width with a 1.15″ display, the minuscule machine is set to release in Japan on Oct. 6th. The GG Micro will be coming in four distinct flavors, each with a different collection of games and will run on 2 AA batteries. It’s clear these are being designed for the sole purpose of being collector’s items, rather than a proper gaming unit. Sega has also announced that it intends to release a four-pack bundling all four variants, along with a miniaturized version of the classic “Big Window” magnifier, for ¥29,980, or roughly $260. Yay, I suppose?
The black model includes Sonic the Hedgehog, Royal Stone, Out Run, and Puyo Puyo II. The blue model gets Sonic & Tails, Baku Baku Animal, Gunstar Heroes, and Sylvan Tale. The yellow edition features Nazo Puyo, Shining Force, Shining Force II, and Shining Force: Final Conflict, while the red edition gets Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible, Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special, G.G. Shinobi, and Columns.
It’s encouraging that Sega is recognizing the Game Gear, but also very disappointing if this is what they consider to be the best of honoring its legacy. I digress. It will be interesting to see fan reactions, and just what this release might potentially be leading up to.
Last year at the Video Game Awards, Microsoft dropped a megaton on viewers mid-show and revealed their newest entry into the console market: The Xbox Series X. Since then, head of Xbox Division, Phil Spencer, Marketing Manager Aaron Greenberg, and the entire Xbox team have been dolling out chunks of information not only about the new hardware, but about their vision for Xbox Game Studios, the robust services the platform offers, new games, studio acquisitions, and how it all ties together in the Xbox Ecosystem. Where does that leave Sony and the Playstation 5, though? Continue reading “The Road to the Next Generation: Series X vs PS5”
In Episode 2 of the Talking Games with Reggie and Harold podcast, Reggie Fils Amie made the title comment; that the way gaming is now being viewed in the world is changing, and in a positive way. He’s right. When once video games were frowned upon as mere ‘wastes of time’ and ‘poison for the mind’, the industry has become a cultural phenomenon that is ingrained in almost every form of media to date. How did we get here? What happened to change the course of entertainment history as we know it? Continue reading “The Perception of Gaming is Changing”
