Sherbytes: Industry News Megathread, v.2

[Valhoven]

Dawgkind,

Welcome to round 2 of our gaming and tech news roundtable.

And thanks to everyone who contributed to making round 1 such a success! *brofist

ref: Round 1 (retired)

––– Posting guidelines –––

Here we throw up sound bites from across the gamerverse as well as on tech trends or innovations big and small.

On industry pillar news from Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo, use discretion on whether that news is best presented here or rather in the sub's respective dugouts for each.

Game on!

 

[Valhoven]

Poll added. Want to hear your thoughts.

 

[KidBaize]

Procedurally generated levels haven't been very good so far from what I've seen so I doubt AI will be able to match human creativity in storytelling either. But it's most likely coming given the state of the industry atm.

 

[Valhoven]

Procedurally generated levels haven't been very good so far from what I've seen so I doubt AI will be able to match human creativity in storytelling either. But it's most likely coming given the state of the industry atm.

Yeah, it's tricky.

Warframe from Canada's Digital Extremes, for example, procedurally generates mission maps by what's called tile-setting, or using tilesets to construct rooms with start and extraction rooms beginning and ending said maps.

As someone with years in the game, I think they're one of the best to do this but exploration and traversal still come off samey owing to the limitations of procedural gen.

If you extend that to dialogue-branching in an RPG, for instance, I don't know. Would the result be worse or better than the mindless gibberish we've gotten from NPCs all these years in passing or repeat interactions? Maybe it's a question of lesser evils – copy-pasta or artificial intelligence.

 

[Valhoven]

Next year's Call of Duty will be sequel to BLOPS 2, reportedly.

Quick facts:

• Setting: 2030
• Zombies
• Maps new and remastered
• Familiar create-a-class operator system

Despite MWIII (2023) being a mutated MWII DLC, I believe it sold well. Franchise is unkillable. e/ OK, the 2023 instalment was in fact a commercial success. Selling over 6M units in first 24h in US and UK markets, grossing in that window over 400M USD.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

Next year's Call of Duty will be sequel to BLOPS 2, reportedly.

Quick facts:

• Setting: 2030
• Zombies
• Maps new and remastered
• Familiar create-a-class operator system

Despite MWIII (2023) being a mutated MWII DLC, I believe it sold well. Franchise is unkillable. e/ OK, the 2023 instalment was in fact a commercial success. Selling over 6M units in first 24h in US and UK markets, grossing in that window over 400M USD.

On the one hand they’re creatively bankrupt. On the other hand, BLOPS 2 was possibly my favourite COD. Very confused about how I should feel,

 

[Valhoven]

This should end eventfully, lol:



MoistCr1TiKaL and his org Moist Esports are suing US Immigration after their Apex Legends team was denied entry to the country

 

[Valhoven]

Full patch notes hot off the press for Apex Legends season 21 here. Kicks off in 24h.

 

[Sycho Sid]

I feel like this should be posted somewhere, but we don't have a general gaming thread.

 

[Valhoven]

I feel like this should be posted somewhere, but we don't have a general gaming thread.

Nah, this is a perfect spot to park it. Love the trailer; colors really popping.

 

[KaNesDeath]

This should end eventfully, lol:

When i heard about this a few days ago i just laughed. Its a throwaway lawsuit that he's doing for posture purposes towards his audience. Even the pure egotistical esports owners like Reginald know not to go this far.

 

[Valhoven]

When i heard about this a few days ago i just laughed. Its a throwaway lawsuit that he's doing for posture purposes towards his audience. Even the pure egotistical esports owners like Reginald know not to go this far.

Makes sense. The converse like you say is stoppable force meeting immovable object.

 

[rikwebb]

Remedy have cancelled their "Project Kestral" to concentrate on existing franchises

Remedy Entertainment Plc: Codename Kestrel cancelled as Remedy focuses on existing franchises - Remedy Investors

Remedy Entertainment Plc Press Release May 7, 2024, at 9.00 […]

investors.remedygames.com

Remedy Entertainment Plc ("Remedy") and Tencent Plc ("Tencent") have decided to cancel the game project codename Kestrel. Codename Kestrel had a small team working on the early concept stage of a premium cooperative multiplayer game. The game was being developed by Remedy, co-financed with Tencent, and to be co-published with Tencent. The project started in November 2023 as a reboot from an earlier project codenamed Vanguard.

The decision to cancel codename Kestrel allows Remedy to focus more on the other games in its portfolio. Other ongoing game development projects will get experienced developers reassigned from Kestrel. In addition, the planned investment needs for Kestrel are removed and Remedy's overall recruitment needs are reduced.

"Codename Kestrel showed early promise, but the project was still in its early concept stage. Our other projects have advanced well and are moving to the next stages of development, and increasing focus on them provides us with benefits. We can reallocate talented Kestrel developers to these other game projects, and many of our support functions get additional focus on their operations. This is yet another means to ensure that our game projects continue advancing well. I want to thank our Kestrel development team. Though we decided to discontinue the project for wider Remedy benefits, our team has done good work and provided us with valuable learnings. I also want to thank Tencent for their partnership so far. They have been very professional and supportive," says Remedy's CEO Tero Virtala.

 

[Valhoven]

Update on Paramount Global acquisition from the New York Times via Zube. Sony chosen for next-stage talks:



After letting exclusive talks with the movie studio Skydance lapse, Paramount’s directors met over the weekend and decided to negotiate with all the suitors.

Paramount has decided to formally open negotiations with a bidding group led by Sony Pictures Entertainment and the private equity giant Apollo.

Sony and Apollo’s all cash offer has been supported by many shareholders as an alternate to a merger with Skydance.

Under the terms currently being contemplated in the Sony Apollo tie up, Sony would be a controlling shareholder, with Apollo owning a minority stake, according to the two people familiar with the bidders strategy. Sony executives have discussed operating the Paramount studio as a division of their larger empire, uniting the studios behind the "Spider Man" and "Mission Impossible" franchises and combining their theatrical marketing and distribution operations.

#Paramount #Sony

 

[Sycho Sid]

 

[method115]

Jesus Chris. Tango Works delivered one of the few 9+ titles for MS. Ninja Theory has to be worried as hell right now. Long development time for an SP title that is short and no replay value. Last game didn't do amazing either other than reviewing well similar to Hi-Fi.

 

[rikwebb]

Jesus Chris. Tango Works delivered one of the few 9+ titles for MS. Ninja Theory has to be worried as hell right now. Long development time for an SP title that is short and no replay value. Last game didn't do amazing either other than reviewing well similar to Hi-Fi.

After Shinji Mikami left Tango i'm sure not much came up about whatever was being worked on next.

I know Ninja Theory have another project thats being worked on alongside Hellblade 2

 

[Valhoven]

Drug discovery research and new medicines coming soon courtesy of AI alone – without human cooperation, report many including Stanford Medicine. NVIDIA all in on the action. Smart.

“Within a few years, experts at Lilly and Nvidia say AI will not only think up new drugs, but ones that humans could not create.”

An advantageous application of artificial intelligence, IMO.

One thing I’ve been reading over the last couple years is that an exciting area of medical research today is all in the gut.

Conditions from depression and dementia to Parkinson’s are now suspected to originate in gut microbiomes, which communicate with and shape our brains in ways we’d previously misunderstood.

Maybe AI can advance all this faster and get us to the finish line that are real-world cures.

Article for more here. (External link)

 

[method115]

After Shinji Mikami left Tango i'm sure not much came up about whatever was being worked on next.

I know Ninja Theory have another project thats being worked on alongside Hellblade 2

Yea but Hi-Fi rush was released last year in January. No way Tango has just been sitting around doing nothing. Ninja Theory might have another project but if it's going to take another 5+ years I could see MS saying no thanks and moving on. Hellblade 2 took them a very long time.

 

[rikwebb]

Yea but Hi-Fi rush was released last year in January. No way Tango has just been sitting around doing nothing. Ninja Theory might have another project but if it's going to take another 5+ years I could see MS saying no thanks and moving on. Hellblade 2 took them a very long time.

I think the other NT project "Project Mara" been worked on since 2020 so probably a couple of years, probably would get a new trailer / announcement at the Xbox Summer Games Show