Daily Briefing: Wednesday 1st September (Patreon)

'Traditional' Gambling In Games Is Now 18+ - But Nothing On Lootboxes

PEGI, the European ratings board for games, has updated their criteria so that any game that encourages or teaches gambling is now rated 18+ at a minimum. Specifically, games that “teach and/or glamorise the use of games of chance that are played/carried out as a traditional means of gambling”. This applies to traditional gambling, like playing card games or betting on races. It does not apply to gambling-like mechanics, like lootboxes.

• This descriptor existed before, giving games a 12/16 for this, but now it's 18+ - like the example of the Pokemon Game Corner bumping up the rating. If released today, Pokemon Red/Blue would be rated 18+ as they "encourage the use of games of chance that are played as a traditional means of gambling", but things like FIFA Ultimate Team will not be in any capacity affected.

So Long Gamescom, TGS Is Coming - Square Enix & Xbox news!

News and info about Tokyo Game Show is starting to appear now that Gamescom is over and we're in September. First, Square Enix have confirmed a 50-minute long event, offering news on upcoming titles. Final Fantasy 16 may make a strong appearance, as producer Yoshi-P previously said the next time they show FF16, they want it to be playable shortly after - be that a close release date or via a demo, perhaps? However, he did previously say they 'probably can't make the deadline', so temper your expectations.

On the Xbox side, they've promised 'exclusive news' for the Japanese market in another 50 minute event at TGS - doubling down on Phil Spencer's commitment to the Japanese market, where Xbox has historically failed .

• Tokyo Game Show often shows Japanese-specific releases or details, unlike global events that have a wider audience. To fans of Japanese games though, it can always be a fun watch - especially if we see Xbox continue to forge partnerships with Japanese publishers and we get more and more games from the East on Game Pass. Especially the Japanese indie scene, something that Sony has been negligent of.

Windows 11 Is Out In October

Windows 11, despite only being announced recently, is due to roll out to existing Windows users starting on October 5th, although it will begin with "new eligible devices". It may be mid-2022 before older supported devices are offered the upgrade. It promises an improved redesign of visuals and audio, new features like Snap layouts, improved window position when adding and removing monitors, widgets, a new store and more. For gamers, it boasts DirectStorage, GPU decompression and DX12 support - DX12 and DirectStorage are on Win10, but apparently only Windows 11 can fully make use of DirectStorage.

• This is all sound, but there are severe rumblings of instability in existing insider Windows 11 builds, with many claiming it's too early for release. Others take issue with Microsoft's transparent push towards marketing new OEM PCs and offering Windows 11 to those first.

Today Is 'A Day Off Twitch'!

In frustration with Twitch's silence over creator concerns over 'hate raids', which see bots flood channels with hate speech with the intent to upset, offend, and distract creators, a group of Twitch creators started the campaign - A Day Off Twitch, attempting to use a creator and audience boycott to force Twitch's hand. When the campaign was announced, Twitch said they were attempting to solve the issues but it's not 'a simple fix'. The campaign so far seems relatively ineffective- as VGC point out, there were around 1-2% less channels streaming and around 6% less viewers compared to the same time yesterday at 10:30am BST.

• Campaigns like this receive more attention than they do activity, which is sure to be disheartening for those affected by the issues. However, boycotts online often don't succeed in the first place - continued noise and bad PR will likely be more effective. Though one thing is certain: Twitch need to get their act together.