Welcome to the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind for September 11, 2021 where we take a look at gaming stories and events that we missed out on our coverage over the past week of gaming news.
This past week, more specifically last Tuesday, saw several game releases such as the vampire battle royale Bloodhunt sinking its teeth in to early access. Bouncing its way out of early access and in to full release is Rebound CG’s Tennis Manager 2021. Closing out this past super release Tuesday was astragon Entertainment and stillalive studios’ Bus Simulator 21 that pulled out of station and on to PC.
While the week also included several upcoming game release announcements like Gas Station Simulator or Staxel on Nintendo Switch one of the bigger stories from last Spring came back to life. So much has happened since May, but in the time that has passed Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and the court released this past Friday a 185 page decision in the Epic Games vs. Apple case.
Bus Simulator 21 Out on PC and Consoles
Publisher astragon Entertainment and developer stillalive studios drove Bus Simulator 21 in to release on PC. The bus driving sim features 10 world-famous brands that includes: Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, Scania, BYD, Alexander Dennis, Blue Bird, Grande West, Setra, IVECO BUS and MAN.
There are officially 30 licensed bus models in Bus Simulator 21 as players experience the daily life of a bus driver in two open world cities. Both of the city maps are huge with one located in North America and the other in Europe. These huge cities give players a lot of room to roam the roads with these buses. A co-op multiplayer mode is available for those who don’t want to drive solo.
Bus Simulator is available on Windows PC through Humble Bundle and Steam for $34.99 USD. A Bus Simulator 21 – Extended Edition is also available for $39.99 USD that includes the MAN Bus Pack DLC. The game is available on consoles for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. For more information about Bus Simulator 21 visit the game’s website at bussimulator.com.
Tennis Manager 2021 Officially Launches
Last Tuesday, French developer Rebound CG fully launched Tennis Manager 2021. After several months of early access development and five major patches players can see if they have what it takes to become the greatest tennis manager ever. Since the initially early access release Tennis Manger 2021 has attained a Very Positive all review status on Steam in addition to thousands of players and millions of matches played.
Core features of the game include choosing or creating an academy where one can shape their champions and rise to the top of the tennis scene. Finances, infrastructure, staff, and coaching are just a few of the elements players need to manage while scouting through 5000 male and female athletes. In the junior and pro circuits lies the next legend of tennis. The pro team has a busy schedule that needs a careful hand as players participate in conferences, press interviews, and play in over 2000 tournaments. Being flexible and adapting to real time analytics are key to being the best tennis manager.
Tennis Manager 2021 is available on PC for Windows and Mac through Steam, GOG, Epic Games Store and Mac App Store for $39.99 USD. Tennis Manager Mobile 2021 is also available for Android and iOS devices. For more information about Tennis Manager 2021 follow @TennisManager on Twitter or visit tennismanager.com.
Judge Issues a Ruling in Epic Games vs. Apple Case
While the courtroom drama between Epic Games and Apple only took three weeks to unfold in late May and early June of this year, it took Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers nearly three months to issue a decision. The 185-page decision is a lengthy opinion where the court took time to examine the facts and each element of Epic Games’ claims.
First and the perhaps the biggest part of the decision is that Apple is not monopolistic. While Epic had argued for a very narrow definition of the market, Apple went the opposite and argued that all videogames on all platforms are the market. The Judge ultimately decided that relevant market here is the mobile videogames.
The court went on to conclude that Apple’s method of App Store and In-App Purchases is appropriate and justified based on security amongst other validations. As for the 30% commission that Apple charges most paid apps, that is not affected by the decision either. In fact Epic Games must pay Apple for the App Store fees it avoided by offering its in-app currency outside of Apple’s App Store and In-App purchases because Epic violated the developer agreement. For those who were hoping this ruling would allow for the sideloading of apps, unfortunately the court sided with Apple in that its centralized distribution system through the App Store increases security by limiting social engineering attacks.
All was not bad news for Epic. While Epic’s antitrust effort that focused on federal US antitrust law was thwarted, their effort under California’s Unfair Competition Law made some headway. The law itself is vague in its definition of “unfair competition” and in this case it would apply.
Starting on page 155 of the decision, the Judge begins the conclusion of the court that Apple did violate California state law. Specifically, Apple’s behavior in what is referred to as anti-steering provisions is why the court concluded Apple’s actions were anti-competitive as the actions artificially increase Apple’s market power. The Judge went on to further issue a nationwide injunctions for violation of California’s law which restrains Apple from prohibiting developers from including “metadata buttons, external links, or other calls to action” within their apps.
As for now the injunction goes into effect in 90 days. However, there more than likely will be appeals from both sides with Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney already suggesting that Epic will appeal in a Tweet. One should not be surprised if Apple goes on to appeal the injunction.
Thank you for reading the September 11, 2021 Edition of the Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind. Be sure to check back next Saturday for a brand new edition of Nano Gaming News Weekly Rewind and until then, keep on gaming.
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