https://www.cybersport.ru/other/articles/prodolzhenie-half-life-konsolnyi-nekstgen-i-novye-uspekhi-minecraft-pozitivnye-itogi-geiminga-v-2020-godu

Meeting point – Minecraft

Video games have always been a great tool for socialization – you can find like-minded people, friends and even lovers in them, despite the distance. For gamers, this has long been a known fact, and in 2023 the rest of the world learned about it.

The coronavirus has made adjustments to the life of most of humanity. Self-isolation, lockdown, quarantine … whatever you call it, the meaning is the same – stay at home. This means no get-togethers with friends, couples at the institute, weddings and other holidays. Correction: no gatherings, couples and holidays in real life. As it turns out, all of this can be done in video games as well.

With the onset of the pandemic, people began to transfer events to various video games. Previously, this mostly happened in MMOs, but with the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons, gamers found out that the game is great for socialization – it was played weddings, graduations, protests, election campaigns and even talk show… And for those without a Nintendo Switch, their doors flung open Minecraft.

Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 released

2020 will be remembered for the change in console generations. The PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have long delighted video game fans, but now the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and its younger version Series S have taken over the baton.

The Sony-Microsoft rivalry has never been more media coverage. The slightest insights and rumors were discussed in detail on thematic sites, forums and social networks, players fantasized about the design of consoles, drew new logos, talked about technical characteristics, configurations and the cost of devices. The companies themselves gave such information in an extremely metered manner, fearing ahead of time to reveal their cards to a competitor and undermine the marketing campaign. The situation with the coronavirus pandemic created particular tension around the nextgen. Rumors about delayed deliveries and possible shortage of consoles appeared as soon as countries began to impose strict quarantines.

Microsoft was the first to show its new console – even during TGA 2019, the company presented a CGI video, and also gave some information about the characteristics of the Xbox Series X. In this case, the first live photos appeared only at the end of January 2023. Sony started acting a little later. In March the company published characteristics PlayStation 5 in April showed the gamepad DualSense, and console appearance presented only in June. Moreover, in two versions at once – with and without a disk drive. In parallel with these mini-announcements, company leaders vied with each other to tell fans about exclusives and backward compatibility, and game developers promised free updates to nextgen, patches with graphics improvements and other new items. From all sides, a huge stream of information fell upon gamers, which was not easy to understand, even after reading everything guides, reviews and analyst conclusions… The console war flared up with renewed vigor even before nextgen devices went on sale.

The key intrigues for gamers have long been the prices and launch dates of both consoles. Microsoft again decided to move first and announcedthat the cost of the Xbox Series X and its younger version of the Xbox Series S will be $ 499 and $ 299, respectively, and the consoles themselves will be on the shelves on November 10. Sony was not long in coming and after a week named her prices: PlayStation 5 for $ 499 and PS5 Digital Edition for $ 399. The company scheduled the start of sales for November 19.

As originally anticipated, in the early days after release, a fierce hunt for consoles began. Resellers bought them in thousandsso that sell at exorbitant prices on eBay and Amazon, but they didn’t manage to cash in easily. Many of these traders have become victims of banditswhich pretended to be buyers and took the consoles by force, often threatening with weapons… Couriers violated delivery rules and stole pre-orders literally from under the noses of buyers, and trading floors flooded ads from swindlers… The most desperate and impatient gamers had to spend the night in front of shops in tents and sleeping bags. All to be first in line when a new batch of consoles arrives.

Mass hysteria continues to this day, because the demand for nextgen far exceeds supply. At the same time, the first revisions of consoles traditionally cannot be called ideal: even on the first day of sales, buyers began complain about bugs while loading, problems with charging controllers and other problems. Some of them were so critical that only a factory reset saved them. Microsoft and Sony immediately promised to fix everything in upcoming patches, but the unpleasant aftertaste from buyers will not go anywhere.

Health videogames

From childhood, my parents told me that video games are unhealthy – cruel “shooters” would break my psyche, TV would deteriorate my eyesight, and a planted picture tube would make me lose my ears. I can’t say that they were completely wrong (especially in the part about ears), but lately scientists are increasingly speaking out about the positive impact of interactive entertainment on health.

In March 2023, Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus advised video games to support mental health during a pandemic and COVID-19. Of course, this is not the only recommendation – it is also important to monitor physical fitness, eat right, communicate with loved ones. However, hearing from the WHO about the benefits of video games was very pleasant, because before this organization was mainly spoke only about review addiction.

In addition, in June 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the first time officially referred video game for medical supplies. It was the mobile arcade game EndeavorRx from Akili Interactive studio. Doctors can now prescribe EndeavorRx to children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. It is not a substitute for traditional treatment, but it will help control the symptoms of the disease.

We waited for the release of the new Half-Life and Cyberpunk 2077

There have been many interesting game releases in 2023, but two of them can be called special – these are Half-Life: Alyx and Cyberpunk 2077.

Half-Life: Alyx was unexpected and very nice gift for fans cult series. Game announcement took place in November 2019 – Valve immediately showed first gameplay trailer and even indicated approximate release date…

For the development of the franchise, the developers chose a virtual reality platform, which initially caused mixed feelings among gamers. Some considered this decision reckless, because earlier VR could not boast of AAA games. Other fans were not satisfied with the exclusivity of Half-Life: Alyx and the need to buy expensive VR glasses with controllers for one title. However, as practice has shown, Valve calculated everything: after the first presentation of Alyx, the number of sales of the VR headset Valve Index has grown several times… Online stores and warehouses were empty in a matter of days, so Valve had to urgently release additional parties…

The hype around Half-Life: Alyx lasted until its release. As it turned out later, Valve’s bet on virtual reality was fully justified. The developers were able to combine traditional mechanics capable of evoking nostalgia with unusual gameplay elements available exclusively in VR. Only one opportunity pet the headcrab what is it worth, but in Half-Life: Alyx you can still draw with marker on glass and do many other cool things. Even a simple study of the locations gave the players pleasure, because they were detailed and contained many Easter eggs.

Half-Life: Alyx was released on March 23, 2023, and was launched in the first hours after release. more than 42 thousand people… The game got 98% positive reviews on Steam, and ratings on Metacritic were 93 points out of 100 from journalists and 9.1 / 10 from users.

The history of Cyberpunk 2077 has developed in a completely different scenario. Studio CD Projekt RED announced the project back in 2012, but then did not think about it for a long time – almost until 2018. Closer to release, the Poles launched a massive marketing campaign for Cyberpunk 2077, generously releasing gameplay videos, interviews with developers and presentations… CD Projekt RED also brought the game to several exhibitions, the most memorable of which was E3 2019 – it was there that the character was first shown to the public. Johnny Silverhand performed by Keanu Reeves. The actor himself took the stage after showing the trailer and almost immediately became the author of a popular meme. The audience received Reeves very warmly, and gamers literally fell in love with Silverhand for the most nanoimplants.

Every year there are more news and news about Cyberpunk 2077. Fans learned about universe games almost everything long before the release: the developers generously talked about warring factions and their motives, about photo modes, soundtracks, cars and quests, NPC characters, body augmentation and genitals of characters. Attention to detail CD Projekt RED has always been at the highest level, and in terms of scale Cyberpunk 2077 far surpassed even its predecessor, The Witcher 3. However, later such an array of data led to the opposite effect – some gamers fed up with the game even before its release. In addition, during the year the studio postponed the release several timesthat many did not like.

There is something to wait

Long-awaited releases are good, but after them there can often be a slight feeling of emptiness. You always want to wait for something, make plans, hope and anticipate. Now this is especially true – next year simply must be better than this. At least the 2023 announcements were promising.

Capcom is preparing Resident Evil Village – the eighth installment of the cult survival horror series. For fans, this is enough for ecstasy, and gamers unfamiliar with the franchise can remember a simple fact – even remakes of the first Resident Evil easily bypass new games in the struggle for various awards.

PlayStation 5 owners will find a whole bunch of exclusives. Chief among them – Horizon Forbidden West, the new God of War and Gran Turismo 7. 2023, apparently, will be a great year to get involved in console gaming.

We also have Mass Effect. No not like this. We are waiting for the same Mass Effect – BioWare assures that a “team of veterans” is working on the new part of the series. Remembering the latest studio releases, it’s scary to believe the developers, but at least we’ll see familiar faces. Judging by the first teaser, the crew of the Normandy is back in service.

And this is only the most basic thing. They also announced Far Cry 6, a new horror game from the creator of Dead Space, the international version of Persona 5 Strikers, Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart, Forza Motorsport and much more.

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What were some of the good things about your video game year 2023? Have you finally cleaned up the backlog or gotten your first platinum trophy? Upgrading your trusty PC hardware or stepping into nextgen with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S / X? Let us know in the comments.