Gamescom week is always one of the biggest on the gaming calendar, but surprisingly, some of the biggest stories from the last seven days haven’t been attached to convention. Of course, a couple of the Cologne reveals have obviously made the cut, but PlayStation raised its prices and the Amazon/EA takeover rumor had nothing to do with it. All that, some big Gamescom reveals, and more below as we recap the biggest stories from the past week in gaming.
Potential Amazon EA Acquisition
In a moment reminiscent of when news of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard merger broke, a story claiming that Amazon was about to acquire EA began making the rounds on Friday morning. That naturally sent video game social networks into a meltdown. That collapse only intensified when a second report refuted the first, claiming that Amazon had not made an offer to acquire EA. That’s not to say it won’t happen, but it didn’t happen on Friday as originally suggested. EA isn’t officially for sale, but the rumored race involving some very big names seems to be continuing.
PlayStation raises the price of PS5
Meta did something quite surprising last month and announced that it would increase the price of Quest 2. Considering the backlash that decision generated, very few would have guessed that PlayStation would make a similar move less than a month later. Jim Ryan broke the news on Thursday, revealing that PS5s are now more expensive in most parts of the world. Europe, the UK, Canada, Australia and Japan are on a long list of countries where consoles are now more expensive, but the US is not. Xbox responded to the price increase by revealing that it was not planning to do the same, and Nintendo confirmed this the next day.
Dead Island 2 re-revealed at Gamescom
A lot was shown during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live. New Tales From The Borderlands, Dying Light 2 DLC, and Goat Simulator 3 were some of the most talked about titles during and after the show. However, the highlight of the night was Dead Island 2. A game first revealed eight years ago that most of those hoping for a sequel had taken it for granted that they had been dead for quite some time. Rumors spread that the game would be revealed again at Gamescom, and those rumors turned out to be true. A new trailer, some gameplay, and a release date. February 3, 2023.
Sonic Frontiers draws attention at Gamescom
Reactions to everything Sega has shown of Sonic Frontiers so far have been mixed, and honestly, that’s probably generous. However, the story trailer shown at Gamescom may have finally swayed public opinion. It was certainly one of the highlights of ONL, due in part to the reveal that Amy will be in the game. It was also confirmed that Frontiers will indeed be here before the end of the year, releasing on November 8. Yes, that’s just one day before God Of War Ragnarok.
Morty is in MultiVersus
One week before the official start of the first season, MultiVersus has a new character. Morty, who will eventually be joined by Rick, hopefully very soon. MultiVersus players, of which there are now more than 20 million, have spent the last few days getting to grips with the newest character in the game. Most important has been the call to reclassify Morty as a wizard rather than a thug. The team behind the game is incredibly responsive, plus it’s technically still in its open beta, so that’s very likely to happen if enough people think it should.
Netflix’s Resident Evil has already been canceled
One season later, just six weeks after it landed on the streaming service, Netflix’s Resident Evil show was cancelled. The reactions to the adaptation just after its release probably means that many of you reading this won’t be the least bit surprised. While some game fans seemed to enjoy the show, many disagreed that it pulled various elements from different games and didn’t stay faithful enough to the series. The show could have continued if it had been released a few years ago, but with so many great game adaptations, many of which have been very successful on Netflix, it needed a better reception than it did if it was going to last.
