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Seeing two big companies fight in legal proceedings is some of the most entertaining stuff you can find as a news writer. Before I started this job, I’d have thought legal documents would be boring — au contraire, I have since discovered. The companies’ legal teams engage in delightfully passive-aggressive (and sometimes aggressive-aggressive) jabs at each other. This week, my entertainment of choice is the Sony-Microsoft arguments over the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s investigation.
I can’t make this stuff up. Microsoft has accused the CMA of “[adopting] Sony’s complaints without the appropriate level of critical review.” Sony said of the CMA’s investigation, “We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality gaming experience, and we appreciate the CMA’s focus on protecting gamers.” I’m sure these two companies can settle this in an equitable fashion and the status quo will be restored. But seeing these two companies have such a public spat has me reaching for my popcorn. I haven’t had this much fun since the Epic Games vs. Apple legal documents.
In other news, Meta has revealed its newest big rig for your face: The Meta Quest Pro. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg was mostly selling it as an enterprise device, not so much on its gaming potential. That might be why it didn’t really reveal many VR games at the event. Among Us VR looks promising, though — it’s one thing to see your little avatar roaming the darkened corridors, but it’s another to actually navigate those claustrophobic environs yourself.
On my side, in addition to a few other games whose titles I cannot yet disclose (*wink*), I decided to try out Coral Island. We know from earlier shows this year that we’re about to inundated with farming sims, and Coral Island — which is still in early access, but available to Game Pass subscribers — is one of the opening salvos. It is, like all farming sims, Basically Harvest Moon (I think that should be the genre name at this point, like Soulslike or roguelike), but it’s also pretty and charming in its own way.
What to play this week
What’s new:
- Scorn
- Dyson Sphere Program
- NHL 23
- PGA Tour 2K23
- LEGO Bricktales
- PC Building Simulator 2
- Eville
- Dragon Ball: The Breakers
- Ozymandias: Bronze Age Empire Sim
- Kamiwaza: Way of the Thief
- The Last Oricru
- Paradise Marsh
- Asterigos: Curse of the Stars
- Trifox
- Fueled Up
- The Darkest Tales
- Nickelodeon Kart Racers 3: Slime Speedway
New on subscription services:
- Costume Quest (Xbox Game Pass)
- Coral Island (Xbox Game Pass)
- Bomber Crew: Deluxe Edition (Xbox Games with Gold)
- Dual Universe (GeForce Now)
- Rabbids: Party of Legends (GeForce Now)
- Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Closed Beta (GeForce Now)
- Pilotwings 64 (Nintendo Switch Online)
- Gardens Between+ (Apple Arcade)
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