In The News
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TheDW takes the best gaming and esports content and aggregates it into one easy place every day, Monday through Friday. Now, on the website, we’ll also feature two stories that stand above the rest from each day’s newsletter. On top of that, you can find original TheDW content and our Weekly Talkthroughs, with more to come!
A moment, please. Corey Gaspur, a designer at BioWare who worked on games like Mass Effect and Anthem, has passed away. BioWare made the announcement Monday, saying, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and colleague Corey Gaspur.
“He was a member of our team for over nine years, and worked as a designer on many of our titles, including Sonic Chronicles, Dragon Age: Origins, Mass Effect 2 and 3, and most recently Anthem.
“Corey was a talented designer and an even better person. We offer our condolences to Corey’s family and everyone that knew him.
“We will miss you.”
We knew The Madison Square Garden Company had invested in Counter Logic Gaming — now we know just how much. MSG acquired a controlling stake of CLG, according to founder George “HotshotGG” Georgallidis. Here’s what he had to say in a Monday press release: “This partnership with The Madison Square Garden Company will allow us to help bring Counter Logic Gaming at the forefront of esports both as a business and sports team … I’m proud of how far CLG has come, but we’re not here to just be a top esports team – we’re aiming to be the best. This is only the beginning, and I can’t wait to take on this next step in esports with all of you.”
Thank goodness, some non-drama related PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds news. PUBG “has just become the most-played game on the platform [Steam] not made by Valve,” IGN’s Hope Corrigan reports. “This places the game above incredibly popular non-Steam titles such as Bethesda’s Fallout 4 and Rockstar’s perpetual money generator Grand Theft Auto V, even while it remains in early access.”
Additionally, Saturday, Aug. 5, Esports Arena and PUBG will be hosting servers with “custom game modes and giveaways.”
Hearthstone game director Ben Brode can’t, and won’t, be stopped. He did another rap for Knights of the Frozen Throne. “The song tells the origin story of Arthas, the tragic paladin who provides the big bad in the expasnion [sic],” Bo Moore at PC Gamer writes. “Brode’s Arthas rap does a great job summarizing the events of Warcraft III, in which Arthas turns from golden boy of the Alliance to the Lich King himself.”
That’s … depressing. World of Warcraft currency is now worth more than Venezuela’s currency, the bolivar. TheBlaze’s Brandon Morse writes that “on the Venezuela’s black market — now the most-used method of currency exchange within Venezuela according to NPR — you can get $1 for 8493.97 bolivars. Meanwhile, a ‘WoW’ token, which can be bought for $20 from the in-game auction house, is worth 8385 gold per dollar.” Venezuela is currently in the grip of mass rioting and protests against dictator Nicolás Maduro. Over 100 people have died so far.
“Pokémon: I Choose You!” will be screened for 2 days Nov. 5-6 around the world. “Fathom Events, who’s co-producing the screenings, hasn’t announced when ticket pre-orders will open, but keep a look out for them,” Polygon’s Allegra Frank writes. “Although Pokémon films have sporadically appeared in theaters since 2009, the last feature film to get anything close to a wide theatrical release was 2002’s Pokémon Heroes.”
No turkey for you! GameStop stores will be open this Thanksgiving, according to Kotaku’s Jason Schreier. The company informed staff Monday.
If you’re in the mood to pee your pants, Alien: Isolation is available in virtual reality. “You can now play it on the current-gen Oculus Rift. An alpha version of the ‘MotherVR’ mod that works with the original game is available to download right now,” Saqib Shah at Engadget reports. “Alas, the experience isn’t without its hitches. The VR mod is designed for seated play only and works with an Xbox controller or keyboard and mouse.”
BioWare Montreal and EA Motive are merging. They already shared the same floor space, Game Informer’s Imran Khan explains. “EA Motive is a studio headed by Jade Raymond, the former Ubisoft producer best known for her work spearheading Assassin’s Creed.”
PlayStation income has dipped 59.7% “over the year before,” reports GamesIndustry.biz’s Christopher Dring. “The reason will be due to the absence of a major triple-A PS4 release during the three month period.” It’s not all bad, though. Sales are up 5.4%, revenue is up 34.2% and PlayStation 4 shipments hit 63.3 million.