It is hot out, the price of everything seems higher, Covid infection rates are rising, and here in California we’re in a drought and the state is once again starting to catch fire again in a major way. At least Friday Bullet Points is a category on the blog now, so they’ll be easy for future generations to find.
- New World, New Delays
I suppose we ought to be used to this by now.
Just how new and how worldly?
After their final round preview beta over the last few weeks, New World was slated to ship on August 30th. That date has been moved out to September 28th in an update from the company.
We are humbled by the support New World received from players around the world throughout Closed Beta. During Beta, more than a million adventurers entered Aeternum. Thanks to your support, New World became one of the most watched games on Twitch, and one of the most played games on Steam. The passion and enthusiasm you’ve shown for New World validates the work we’ve put in over the past year, improving the game based on your feedback.
Along the way, you’ve also given us a ton of feedback that we’ll use to make New World even better. We want New World’s launch to be a smooth and fun experience for all players, and that means making some improvements based on what you encountered during Closed Beta. So we’re going to take a few extra weeks to smash bugs, improve stability, and polish the game. New World’s new global launch date is September 28, 2021.
This was not an easy decision to make. We know this isn’t the first time we’ve changed our launch date in pursuit of quality, and that it can be disappointing to wait a bit longer. But we want to be sure we deliver you the highest quality game possible at launch. Thank you for your support and feedback. We’re listening. We’ll see you in Aeternum
Given past delays, another month probably isn’t going to change the launch day pile on very much. I hope they use the time well. A month seems like a long time when you’re waiting for something, but it can feel like a vanishingly brief interval when you have code to ship.
- Switch Sales Hit 89 Million
Nintendo announced that total Switch units sold had passed the 89 million mark as part of their Q2 2021 financial update. That is a lot of Switch units out in the wild.
My Switch Lite
Looking at the list of best selling consoles of all time, that number puts the Switch within striking distance of the Wii, a huge seller for Nintendo that moved over 100 million units during its reign. The Switch is still quite a was from the top spots, occupied by the PlayStation 2 and the Nintendo DS line, which solf 155 and 154 million units respectively.
Despite that big number, Nintendo said that sales were down some compared to last year, which was attributed to the fact that everybody and their brother bought a Switch and a copy of Animal Crossing: New Horizons during the pandemic. Hot vax summer strikes again.
- FFXIV Subscribers are Up
We have suspected for a while that Final Fantasy XIV has been benefiting from discontent in the WoW player base over the delay in the release of the first major Shadowlands content update. Anecdotal evidence was mounting, with major WoW streamers jumping ship and word that FFXIV was having to limit new players.
But with the Square Enix Q2 2021 financials, the company confirmed that FFXIV subscriptions were in fact up. They didn’t say how much they were up, but I bet we’ll hear that they are up even more when the Q3 financials are announced.
- Chinese Government Frowns Once More on Video Games
You can always count on totalitarian governments to let you know what their leader’s pet peeves are, and video games appear to be on the list. The Chinese state media lashed out video games, comparing them to opium and declaring that video game addiction was harming children’s growth and eyesight.
For the Chinese “opium” is an especially loaded word as it is associated with western imperialism and interference in Chinese affairs due to the opium wars fought with the European powers that led to a dismemberment of the country. So using that word about something tends to signal that the government is serious.
This new government displeasure with video games caused Tencent’s stock price to drop as the company, sensing which way the wind was blowing, vowed to implement stronger restrictions on video game abuse, restricting the time minors are allowed to play. China already has strict limits on video games, and this will no doubt expand those limits.
- EQII Free Character Boost
A new Producer’s Letter came out for EverQuest II which included an outline for their summer plans including yet another free level 120 character boost for players subscribed via the all access pass. I am not sure I would have enough character slots, were I to subscribe, to find space for another level 120 character.
- EVE Echoes Anniversary
EVE Echoes, the mobile spin-off of EVE Online created by NetEase is celebrating its one year launch anniversary. The game has some big new content in place for the anniversary.
EVE Echoes
The game launched to some acclaim last August, but has its share of issues. The fact that they started publishing weekly ban stats is a reminder of the perils of free to play I suppose.
- Amarr Foundation Day
Finally, it is time for another holiday in New Eden, as the Amarr Empire celebrates Foundation Day. That means specials in the shop, daily challenges, a themed proving grounds event, new monuments, and of course login rewards.
Your Federation Day login rewards
No ISK this time around, but the usual SKINs, fireworks, and skill points are on the menu. There are five days of rewards and you have seven days to log in daily to claim one, so you can miss two days and still get them all.
The Ancient Gaming Noob 