Game News for 08.01.20 #1

AMD showed fake Xbox Series X in its presentation

AMD provides hardware for both next-generation consoles - the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Therefore, when the company showed Microsoft's non-xstgen images in their CES 2020 presentation, they were considered real - AMD may well know how the device looks.

However, a few hours later it turned out that the Xbox Series X was fake. As the representative of AMD admitted in a comment for The Verge, the console design was taken on TurboSquid.com - a platform where they sell three-dimensional models for professional needs.

In the video AMD Xbox Series X was shown from all sides. Previously, Microsoft did not show the back panel of the console, so users rushed to consider it in detail. They found:

• Ethernet connector
• connector for optical audio,
• two USB-C connectors,
• two HDMI connectors,
• two-pin connector for the power cable.

Know: if you see such characteristics somewhere on the Web, then they are based on the fake version of the Xbox Series X, which was invented by an unknown seller from the store of three-dimensional models.

But the USB port in the lower right corner of the front panel on the console really will be - it could be seen in the official announcement video from Microsoft.

UK Post Launches Video Game Legends

The Royal Mail of Great Britain has prepared an unusual series of stamps aimed at collectors and gamers - it is devoted to the iconic games that were born on the territory of Misty Albion (mainly those that were released in the 80s and 90s).

A special series has eight brands:

• Elite for BBC Micro and Acorn Electron (1984th),
• Dizzy for the ZX Spectrum (1987th),
• Populous for Commodore Amiga (1989)
• Lemmings for Commodore Amiga (1991th),
• Micro Machines for SEGA Mega Drive (1991th),
• Sensible Soccer for Commodore Amiga (1992)
• Wipeout for the PlayStation (1995th),
• Worms for Commodore Amiga (1995).

Another mini-series of four brands dedicated to Lara Croft:

• Tomb Raider (1996)
• Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft (1998)
• Tomb Raider Chronicles (2000th),
• Tomb Raider (2013th).

Games for sets were selected by the Association of British Interactive Entertainment, a veteran of gaming publications Julian Rignall (he launched his first magazine in 1985!) And author of books on video games Sam Dyer.

If you suddenly urgently need to send a letter, unique stamps can be used for their intended purpose - each has a corresponding purpose and cost. The set is issued together with a small booklet, which briefly tells the story of each game.

A set of all 12 stamps can be purchased on the Royal Mail official website. Cost - 14.25 pounds. Game brands will go on sale on January 21.

Alienware showed a prototype miniature PC in the style of Nintendo Switch

Alienware showed a prototype miniature PC in the style of Nintendo Switch

At CES 2020, Alienware introduced a prototype called UFO, a miniature gaming PC that was clearly created under the strong inspiration of Nintendo Switch.

The UFO looks like a tablet to which half gamepads are attached to the sides. Controllers can be detached from the screen and assemble a separate controller from them. In addition, the UFO is easily connected to a TV or monitor, and also has a hinged foot on the rear panel to stand on the table. One to one Switch, unless the gamepads-halves, apparently, cannot be turned into two small controllers.

The device from Alienware runs on the 10th generation Intel processor and the Windows 10 operating system, so it easily launches games from Steam, Uplay, Epic Games Store and so on. The UFO has Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, two USB-C ports and support for traditional keyboards and mice.

Among other differences from Switch is the increased size of the device. The UFO screen is 8 inches diagonal with a resolution of 1200p. While the Nintendo console has 6.2 inches at 720p. Other details about the iron are not disclosed.

Visitors to CES 2020 could try several games at the UFO, including the Rocket League, F1 2019, Mortal Kombat 11 and World War Z. According to the journalist Engadget, the prototype turned out to be curious and, for example, coped well with the 60 fps bar. However, the device is large and therefore not very convenient, and the concept needs to be finalized at many levels - from controls to cooling.

Apparently, UFO may not reach mass sales - Alienware has repeatedly emphasized that this is only a prototype. So, for example, the price of the device remains unknown.

SteamSpy: in 2019, Steam users purchased two times less games than a year earlier

Steam seems to be losing ground. According to SteamSpy, in the Valve store, for the first time in five years, there has been a significant slowdown in game release. In addition, gamers are not so willing to replenish their libraries as before.

So, last year Steam released 8,415 games, which is more than in 2018, but only 248. Moreover, in 2014 the number of entertainments on the site increased to 1,609 against 557 a year earlier. Since then, the number of projects issued in the service has increased by about 2,000 every year.

But, more interestingly, the number of owners of new games (including purchases of paid products and activation of sharewares) on Steam in 2019 amounted to 127 million, which is almost half as much as in 2018, when the platform managed to sell 242 million copies . Such a significant drop is not new - in 2017, the service had as much as 440 million copies.

Thus, the indicator of 2019 is at the level of 2010 - then the owners of new games were 128 million. But the average price of a game for the first time since 2014 increased from 8.25 to 9.86 dollars.

Many factors could lead to a decrease in indicators. For example, the growing popularity of game services in which gamers play for a long time, ignoring new items. The Epic Games Store may also be involved, imposing competition on the Steam store.

Untitled Goose Game claims top prize for IGF Awards 2020 indie

This year, the 22nd Independent Games Festival Awards dedicated to indie games will be held as part of the Game Developers Conference industrial event. The jury has already selected the finalists and entertainments that do not claim victory, but all the same are worthy of mention.

As before, anyone could send their application, which this time has accumulated over 550. The selection of the most worthy projects for seven standard categories involved 300 judges.

The leader in the number of nominations was the soap opera about mutants Mutazione, which has a chance to get the main prize, as well as awards for the best visual part, sound and narration. But the Untitled Goose Game is not so ambitious - the goose claims only the main prize and the best sound.

The winners of the IGF Awards 2019 will be announced on March 18. For the main prize, $ 10,000 is awarded, and the winners of the remaining categories - $ 2,000 each. In addition, all the finalists will get $ 1,000 each.

Grand Prize named after Shaymasa McNally (Seumas McNally):

• Eliza,
• A Short Hike,
• Untitled Goose Game,
• Mutazione,
• Slay the Spire,
• Anodyne 2: Return to Dust.

Catching up: Katana Zero, Lonely Mountains: Downhill, Song of Bloom, Wide Ocean, Big Jacket, Elsinore, Astrologaster, Heaven's Vault.

Excellence in visuals:

• Mutazione,
• Knights and Bikes,
• Void Bastards,
• Creature in the Well,
• Eastward,
• Stone Story RPG.

Catching up: LUNA The Shadow Dust, Eastshade, Minute of Islands, Katana Zero, Song of Bloom, A Short Hike, Creaks.

Superiority in sound:

• Observation,
• Vectronom,
• Astrologaster,
• Knights and Bikes,
• Mutazione,
• Untitled Goose Game.

Catching up: Afterparty, Kind Words (lo fi chill beats to write to), Manifold Garden, Alt-Frequencies, Don't Look, Lonely Mountains: Downhill, Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1.

Excellence in Design:

• Katana Zero,
• Lonely Mountains: Downhill,
• Slay the Spire,
• A Short Hike,
• Elsinore,
• Patrick's Parabox.

Catching up: Guildlings, Nauticrawl, Blabyrinth, Children of Morta, Void Bastards, Untitled Goose Game, Creature in the Well.

Excellence in narration:

• Mutazione,
• Heaven's Vault,
• Elsinore,
• Wide Ocean, Big Jacket,
• Eliza,
• LIONKILLER.

Catching up: American Election, Night Call, Astrologaster, A Short Hike, Adventures With Anxiety !, Observation.

Nuovo Video Game Expansion Award:

• Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1,
• Infini,
• The Space Between,
• Life Tastes Like Cardboard,
• Promesa,
• Song of Bloom,
• The Longing,
• PAGAN: Autogeny.

Catching up: Astrologaster, Elsinore, Fit for a King, My Exercise, Where the Bees Make Honey, Smile For Me.

Best student game:

• Orbital Bullet,
• A Juggler's Tale,
• Forgotten,
• Neon Beats,
• BORE DOME,
• Nothing In Sight.

Catching up: Unhatched, Du Rejser (You Travel), Trail Mix, Where the Bees Make Honey, Northbound, Evergreen Blues.