News Mash-Up - Week # 37

Top News Items

• • Nintendo has dropped the price of the base Switch (2017) to €300, down from €330. This price decline only applies to European countries. The Switch Lite released with a retail price of €230 and the OLED model, set to launch on the 8th October, which will retail at a base price of €330.

  • Microsoft has rolled out the xCloud streaming service to the Windows Xbox app. This means it is now possible for PC gamers to stream GamePass games (with an Ultimate Pass subscription) that support xCloud without the need to install the game. Games can only be played with a controller and will not support keyboard and mouse. Microsoft states this is an upgrade from the previous streaming service Remote Play, with support for streaming up to 1080p 60fps.

  • App Annie, the mobile app analytics tracking service, has been found guilty of securities fraud and have agreed to pay $10 million in damages. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) found that the company "engaged in deceptive practices and making material misrepresentations about how App Annie's alternative data was derived." App Annie’s “was found guilty of falsely estimating the market for a select number of its most valuable clients. The CEO, Bertrand Schmitt, is personally liable to pay $300,000 for data manipulation.

  • As expected, Epic has launched an appeal against last week’s court ruling which found that Apple did not need to grant access for app developers to sell directly to its customers via the iOS App Store functionality. Currently, all Unreal games (the game engine owned by Epic) are banned from the iOS store, which has been said to last 5 years.

  • Battlefield 2042 has been delayed from the 22nd October to the 19th November. EA cited more development time is needed. The new slot means Battlefield 2042 will release 2 weeks after Call of Duty: Vanguard (5th November) as opposed to releasing 2 weeks before.

  • To celebrate its 10th anniversary, THQ Nordic released a 25-minute showcase video to promote its upcoming games. Hosted by Geoff Keighley, eight games were shown : Jagged Alliance 3, Destroy All Humans! 2 remake, Superpower 3, MX vs. ATV: Legends, Outcast 2: A New Beginning, Expeditions: Rome, Elex 2 and SpongeBob SquarePants: The Cosmic Shake.

  • Discord, the video conferencing service favored by gamers, has successfully raised $500 million in its latest round of financing. Because of this financing, management believe they have attained the $15 billion valuation the company is seeking before it initiates its IPO public offering.

  • The Elder Scrolls Online will be the first game to test run Nvidia’s new Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (DLAA) technology. Unlike its DLSS technology (Deep Learning Super Sampling), DLAA uses AI on existing resolutions to smooth out edges.
    

     

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Week commencing Monday 20 Sept. 2021