Saudi Arabia's PIF buys into Nintendo, PlayStation adds new games, and Final Fantasy VII gets new updates!

PlayStation adds new games to their service, and developers indicate that trophies will be available. Fall Guys go free to play, while Witcher 3 gets a new release date. A significant amount of Nintendo stock was purchased by Saudi Arabia.

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🕹️ The Console War Rages On

1. Xbox gets a dynamic background editor - According to Twitter user, @tomwarren, Microsoft is working on an editor which will allow Xbox owners to create their own animated backgrounds for their consoles. (Source)
2. Playstation adds new games to their PlayStation Plus Plans - PlayStation announced via their blog a vast new set of PS4 and PS5 games that will be a part of their PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium plans. These games will come from both PlayStation Studios as well as third-party developers. It includes Ghost of Tsushima, Horizon Zero Dawn, Marvel's Spider-man & Miles Morales. They also added several games from their original PlayStation to the service, including Tekken 2. There were also several games lined up from the PS3 as well. You can view the entire list as it is substantial on the PlayStation Blog. (Source)
3. Fall Guys is now Free-to-play - Fall Guys is set to launch on the Switch and Xbox. It has also been delisted from Steam and will arrive at the Epic Games store. The game going free to play will also see season passes becoming a more prominent part of the game. Those who purchased the game will be given a legacy pack that contains the first season pass for free and cosmetics. (Source)  
4. Final Fantasy VII News Planned for Next Month - Next month will mark the 25th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII. During a live stream for the Final Fantasy VII mobile title, there was an announcement that news regarding Final Fantasy VII will be released next month. (Source)
5. Saudi Arabia's PIF fund now owns 5% of Nintendo - Nintendo received the purchase news when everyone else did. The PIF Fund from Saudia Arabia exists as an investment fund with long-term financial interests. PIF owns a stake in multiple other gaming companies, such as Capcom, Nexon, Activision  Blizzard, and Take-Two, and holds a 96% share in SNK. (Source)
6. PlayStation will allow Bungie to continue developing multiplatform games - In a corporate meeting, Sony has hinted that Bungie is their attempt at going multiplatform. They also indicated they want to continue launching games on all platforms that make sense. (Source)
7. The Witcher 3 Next-Gen gets a release date - The Official Twitter page for The Witcher announced that the next-gen version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is planned for Q4 2022. (Source)
8. Original PlayStation game Syphon Filter to get Trophy support - After the announcement that PlayStation 1 games will be coming to the PlayStation Plus service - Bend Studios, the developer of Syphon Filter, announced via their Twitter page that the game would feature trophies. The inclusion of trophies here may indicate that other Original PlayStation games will also feature trophies. (Source)

✨ Going to Events Spiritually

1. Nintendo released Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for the Nintendo Switch Online service on May 20th, 2022. (Source)
2. Xbox Game Pass for may adds a considerable slew of games. It includes Jurassic World Evolution 2, Cricket 22, and Farming Simulator 22, to name a few. (Source)

🎮 Where's My Controller?

1. Over the past couple of weeks, I've poured almost 15 hours into Yakuza 0. I fully intended on playing through all the games up until Yakuza 7: Like a Dragon.

🎵 Turn it up to 11!

1. Since I've been playing Yakuza 0 for the past couple of weeks, I've listened to in-game music. Let me tell you. This game has such a banging soundtrack. It's in-game fight game music to its karaoke selection. You must hear "Heartbreak Mermaid", easily one of the best songs in the line-up. The others are fantastic too, and I'll probably show you the others next week, but for now, go listen to "Heartbreak Mermaid". Drenched in thick 80s synthesizers with an addictive chord progression, paired with hard-hitting brass hits and an uplifting and fantastic chorus, it makes me feel some sense of joy (especially since I've been depressed at work). Please go and listen to it. (YouTube Link)

📝I don't know what a pen looks like.

1. Even though I've been hard at work trying to find a new job, that doesn't mean I've forgotten about the actual articles I want to write. I've been working on my Blue Reflection piece for the past couple of weeks. I've written most of my thoughts disconnectedly, and now I'm working on organizing them to make sense. I've completed the introduction and the first two 'chapters'.

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