Top Story
Sony veteran leaving after 32 years
As announced on the PlayStation Twitter account earlier today, Sony Worldwide Chairman Shawn Layden is leaving Sony Interactive Entertainment. No reason has been given for his departure. The tweet reads:
“It is with great emotion that we announce that Worldwide Studios Chairman Shawn Layden will be departing SIE. His visionary leadership will be greatly missed. We wish him success in future endeavors and are deeply grateful for his years of service. Thanks for everything, Shawn!”
Fans might remember Layden from presenting at a number of E3 press conferences over the years. He started working for Sony in 1987, and rose through the ranks during his 32 years with the company. He previously served as President and CEO of Sony Interactive America and as Executive Vice President and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International. While no longer participating in development, he has most recently overseen titles like God of War and Horizon: Zero Dawn.
Who will be the next chairman of Sony Worldwide?
At the time of writing, Layden has not made any statement, and no statement has been issued by the company. Sony is gearing up to launch PlayStation 5 next year, so this is an interesting time to be leaving the company. Whoever takes over will most certainly have their hands full in the months to come.
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
Which of these planets were NOT patrollable locations in the original release of Bungie’s Destiny?
- Earth
- Mars
- Venus
- Mercury
The answer will be revealed at the end of this issue!
News Bits
Arise from your grave this December
Developer Piccolo will release Arise: A Simple Story for PC (exclusively on Epic Games Store), PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on December 3rd. Depicting an emotional journey through two characters’ lives, Arise starts just as the main character’s life ends. The game deals with themes like death and the afterlife, and the trailer shows how you will relive various moments from the protagonist’s life while making your way to the top of a great mountain.
Beast Quest slashes onto Switch
After a successful launch on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, Beast Quest – based on the book series by Adam Blade – is making its way to the Switch on November 15th, both at retail and on the eShop. Explore the mythical land of Avantia, filled with secrets and boss battles and release the eponymous Beasts from the dark magic of the wizard Malvel.
Daily Fact
The last title Bungie made before Halo and Destiny was a third-person melee combat anime game
Now that Destiny and Halo developer Bungie is finally working on a new original game, we’re looking at the last game the developer made before being acquired by Microsoft and going on to create two of the most successful FPS franchises ever.
While Bungie is best known for their work on the Mac-exclusive Marathon series, their anime-themed melee action game Oni has also turned into a bit ofa cult classic.
Oni was the only game released by satellite studio Bungie West before it got absorbed back into Bungie proper to work on Halo – and it’s a pretty far cry from Halo and Bungie! Oni’s an out-and-out brawler with aesthetics clearly inspired by Ghost in the Shell, and it still looks and plays pretty well to this day.
Unfortunately the game didn’t fare particularly well with critics or customers, who were a bit underwhelmed by the absence of many advertised features, most notably multiplayer. The multiplayer had been touted as a major feature and was shown off at trade shows and in demos all the way up to release. Nowadays, Oni is hard to find – it’s not out on any digital stores, so your only hope is to find a used PC DVD copy and pray it will even run under Windows 10.