News Mash-Up - Week # 35

Top News Items

• • The Chinese government has issued a new rule that stipulates young gamers (under 18) to spend one hour playing online games on Fridays and the weekend. The enforcement of the rule is falling on Chinese online gaming companies who must show they are complying by ensuring real name verification systems are in place. The Chinese regulator in charge of enforcing the law is quoted to say “[it is to] effectively protect the physical and mental health of minors….to always prioritize the social good and actively respond to societal concerns”. The new law in China rebuts South Korea’s decision (in the last two weeks) to axe all the restrictions it had for online gaming.

  • Microsoft has announced that Windows 11 will begin public roll out from the 5th October. One of the features of the new O/S is the ability to use Amazon’s store Android apps. It seems this feature could also come to the Xbox consoles as spotted in the listing for the “Windows Subsystem for Android app” for testing of the Win 11 O/S that it contained data pertaining for use on the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles.

  • South Korea became the first country to ban companies like Apple and Google forcing developers to use their platforms as the only avenue for payment and billing systems. In an amendment to the country's Telecommunications Business Act, neither Apple nor Google can refuse an app developer to seek direct payments for their apps, bypassing the 30% commission charge. If it were proven that Apple were to seek retribution on those app, developers who seek alternative payment methods, the country would fine Apple up to 3% of the revenue it earns in that territory.

  • Sony has reversed a decision that would have denied PS4 buyers of the upcoming game Horizon: Forbidden West (standard and special editions) an opportunity to upgrade the game to the PS5 for free. For future first party games from Sony, PS4 gamers will have to pay an additional $10 for the PS5 digital version of the game. Jim Ryan, PlayStation’s CEO, stated they “missed the mark” on their decision not to make the upgrade for Horizon: Forbidden West free.

  • Twitch experienced a “digital walkout” on Wednesday 1st September when creators and viewers alike stopped using the platform for the day. This was in protest over Twitch’s slow response to the misogynistic messages left on the content made by the LGBTQ+ community. Twitch (owned by Amazon) has promised to respond to the issue. Reports indicate that there were 5,000 fewer streamers, with roughly 500,000 fewer viewers.

  • Krafton, the South Korean company that owns the PUBG franchise went public and raised $3.75 billion. PUBG has sold over 75 million units and the mobile version of the game has over 1 billion lifetime downloads.
    

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Week commencing Monday 6 Sept. 2021