It was a policy blitz like no other. No less than 31 separate bills were passed by our government on November 28, clearing the way for a federal election in Australia at some point next year. Among them, a controversial but broadly supported bill to ban those under 16 from accessing social media. It’s generated… Read more »
While we’re starting to turn a corner, research on the impacts of gaming continues to get a bad rap. For every story highlighting the hobby’s benefits, there are two or more stirring up panic about its impact on social development or addictive tendencies. The coverage isn’t exactly representative of what’s actually happening in global academia.… Read more »
It has fewer users than the Epic Games Store but holds the power to make or break both AAA and indie games. In nine months of writing about the games industry — but over two decades of playing them — never have I heard so much about one platform that I knew so little about.… Read more »
My biggest mistake with the PlayStation 4: not buying its Pro model sooner to get more value out of it. My old PS4 was on its last legs; clogged with dust, overheating on newer games with its internal fan sounding like a jet engine. But I held off as long as I could, purchasing the… Read more »
The global video game industry is surprisingly flush with data. There are charts that measure the hype of games on Steam, monthly trackers of most-played games, and financial reports and sales — whenever they leak — from the major gaming companies. It’s not all serious stats either. Last year Larian Studios, the makers of Baldur’s… Read more »
Chris Hansford tempted fate buying a second-hand Steam Deck off Facebook marketplace. He wasn’t scammed, and his model arrived as advertised. It was instead an unfortunate case of terrible timing. Hansford purchased the device a few weeks before the company announced they would start selling the Steam Deck in Australia in late November. Had he known,… Read more »
This weekend I dropped spiky blocks on my mates’ heads, attempted to cherry-pick them off a conveyor belt and ultimately defeated them by stealing their stuff. It was all in the name of a good time, of course. Surely they enjoyed it as much as me? And to be clear, it was done virtually, through… Read more »
Talk about a one-two punch. After years of Australians paying almost $400 above US recommended retail to attain a grey-imported Steam Deck, the company has finally decided to launch its coveted console in this market. This was all done by stealth. With no prior warning — aside from an embargoed press release to some outlets… Read more »
Compare the pair: Both are MMORPGs. Both launched within a year of each other, based on popular video game intellectual property. Both also have huge player bases that have grown over the past decade. And both the Directors of Elder Scrolls Online and Final Fantasy XIV presented on their past 10 years at Melbourne International… Read more »
Jordan Mochi is perplexed. The history student turned solo game developer ticked all the boxes. His survival horror war game Conscript had a healthy wish list of over 165,000 users on Steam — meaning that many gamers intended to buy the title on release. A successful Kickstarter, dozens of global press reviews — all largely… Read more »
Australia rarely makes global headlines when it comes to video game legislation. And when we do, it’s not always for the right reasons. Last week, we became one of the first countries — next to China — to regulate loot boxes and gambling content in games. So what does it all mean? This week we… Read more »
It took over eight years and a reported 150 staff to build Concord, and just under two weeks to apparently decide to throw it in the bin. Last week, Sony shocked the global gaming community with its sudden decision to remove its new shooter, Concord, from sale and refund all those who purchased it. What’s more,… Read more »
It could have been the time I was crushed by the Stone Vanguard. Or that time I was fried by an electric-charged dragon, Kang-Jin Loong. I definitely remember turning the game off after being skewered for the 20th time by the Yellow Wind Sage’s obnoxiously long trident. While the broader gaming community is currently lauding… Read more »
While well-regarded and lauded within the crypto community, Australian-founded ‘Pokemon-like’ Illuvium knows it’s in for a fight to win over a broader market. “They f-cking hate us,” says Illuvium CEO Kieran Warwick. He’s speaking, of course, about the online gaming community. Which is inconvenient given he’s just launched the open beta of a new video… Read more »
PC Master race: It’s an iconic snub that essentially frames gaming’s greatest divide, the split between console and PC gamers. This line has arguably blurred in recent years. Consoles are taking on the full functionality of mini gaming PCs at an affordable price, while PCs are becoming more like their console brethren, adding broader support… Read more »
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