Welcome to the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind for August 15, 2020 where we cover stories and events that we missed over the past week.
Regular readers may have noticed this column was missing last week. Our bad. NGN was experiencing some DNS and hosting issues that caused the August 8 edition to be scrapped, however, fingers crossed, everything is back up and running so on with the Weekly Rewind.
This past week the gaming world was all over the place. The biggest story which became nearly impossible to miss is the current spat between Epic Games and Apple over store fees. Elsewhere in the gaming world TriTrie Games and Assemble Entertainment dropped a teaser for their upcoming FMV title Jessika. Lastly the 80’s and 90’s throwback game Dog Duty from Zanardi & Liza and SOEDESCO is getting ready to exit early access and launch on PC and consoles in September.
Here is a quick recap, for those that missed, of a few stories NGN covered over the previous week. Ranida Games is bringing over the top court action in PBA Basketball Slam: Arcade Edition later this month. Abbey Games has commanded that Godhood, their deity management strategy game exit early access. Midgar Studio and Dear Villagers have moved to the beta phase for their open-world JRPG Edge of Eternity. Afterburner Studios and Freedom! Games have released the ARPG roguelite Dreamscaper into early access. Future plans for Wessel Stoop’s The Sapling have been teased in the Flower Update with more details coming over the next few weeks.
Epic Games Takes on Apple, Apple Bites Back
Possibly the biggest story of August in the gaming industry will be the current beef between Apple and Epic Games. What is not being mentioned so much is that Fortnite was also kicked off the Google Play Store for Android devices. See for yourself here.
After Apple pulled Fortnite from the App Store, Epic Games released statement under the #FreeFortnite headline. At the same time an in-game video, see video above, that parodies Apple’s own 1984 commercial. One of the more clever things in the video is the Apple Terms of Service, more specific the 30% fee, is being projected onto the walls behind the viewers. Smooth move Epic.
As if the meme worthy parody and app pulling wasn’t enough, Epic Games also filed legal papers in response to Apple’s actions. Specifics in the complaint include claims of anti-competitive restraints and monopolistic practices when dealing with the distribution of apps. With Google’s decision to pull the app Epic Games has also filed a similar complaint in court against Google.
For now users of Android devices can still install Fortnite through the Epic Games App and the Samsung Galaxy Store. Players on iOS devices are simply out of luck as Apple has blocked access.
There will be lots of questions going forward and one of the more immediate questions is what will this mean for mobile gaming going forward? Right now only time will tell and the fight is just beginning.
Jessika Latest Trailer and Release Date
Micro-indie developer TriTrie Games and publisher Assemble Entertainment have dropped a new behind the scenes trailer for the investigative Full Motion Video (FMV) title Jessika. The game will be landing on Windows, Mac and Linux later this August.
In the game players are tasked with emotional job of investigating the suicide of Jessika. Hired by the father, players will need to use their intuition and detective skills to uncover the clues and story of what happened. Even more importantly the details of her final moments.
We are used to serious topics being discussed in movies. However, it’s rather rarely seen in games. That was one of the main motivations for me to participate in this project.
Pierre Schlömp, Game Designer, TriTrie GamesJessika is scheduled to be released on August 25, 2020 through Steam for PC More information about Jessika can be found on the developer’s website and on the game’s Steam page.
Dog Duty Release Date Set for September
The two person team of Zanardi & Liza and publisher SOEDESCO have set a release date for Dog Duty to exit early access on September 17, 2020. Early access first began in August 2019 and in February of this year it was announced that Dog Duty was coming to major console platforms.
Inspired by classic games and TV series such as Commandos and G.I. Joes, Dog Duty brings a complete nostalgic experience of the 80’s and 90’s. In the game players control a squad of three characters that fight back the evil octo-bosses and their forces who have taken over areas of the world. Battles will take place at various island locations and on top of fast moving vehicles as the liberation effort progresses. It is up to this motley squad of misfits to protect world peace in this face-paced real time tactics game.
Dog Duty is currently available as an early access title on Steam for PC at a price of $14.99 USD. When Dog Duty launches on September 17, 2020 the game will be available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. More information about Dog Duty can be found on the publisher’s website here.
Thank you for reading the August 15, 2020 Edition of the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind. Don’t forget to check back with us next Saturday for the next edition of Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind and until then, keep on gaming.
RSS - Posts