The Weekly Round-Up: Peta targets Mario Kart, and PlayStation 5(0 bucks more)
Our light-hearted recap of the week’s most interesting video game news
Chris Scullion
This is a blog post, where VGC writers post irreverent and (occasionally) entertaining coverage of video game culture.
Welcome to the first instalment of our weekly game news round-up. I say “the first” but in reality we’ve been doing this for around a year on the VGC Patreon, posting them every Friday as a fun way to wind up the week (in more ways than one).
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Peta, which is no stranger to campaigning against Nintendo games, has urged the company to redesign Cow and remove her nose ring.
The group argues that the nose ring is a sign of cruelty, saying the meat and dairy industries use them to control and exploit animals.
When one X user suggested Peta should pick its battles, the group’s official account replied that “video games can shape how people see animals, so showing them respect matters both online and in real life”.
It’s a fair point, because thanks to video games everyone thinks hedgehogs are blue, bandicoots stand on two feet and bobcats star in terrible platformers.
Hayter was the voice of Solid Snake and Naked Snake in the Metal Gear series, and appeared in eight games – four main series entries, a remake and three handheld spin-offs – before being dropped by Konami in favour of Kiefer Sutherland for Metal Gear Solid 5.
At the time, Hayter refused to play the game, saying it would be “60 hours of humiliation” and “just too painful”, but a decade later he’s now revealed that he’s played Metal Gear Solid 5 and has no ill will towards the game.
Hayter explained that he used to get insulted when fans would tell him that their favourite game in the series was the one he wasn’t in, but that now he’s played it he probably agrees with them.
“I would ask fans ‘what’s your favourite Metal Gear?’ and if they said Metal Gear Solid 5 I’d be like: ‘What the hell, dude? Like, you know, thanks. Do you wanna give me a paper cut as well? Maybe pour some lemon juice on it?’
“And then I played it and I’m like, ‘I think this is my favourite gameplay of the series’.”
By pure coincidence and definitely absolutely nothing else, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater – starring Hayter and published by Konami – was released on Thursday.
Earlier this month a series of ads promoting the game appeared on TikTok via the official The First Descendant account.
These ads all show a streamer talking about the game, but it was soon pointed out that the ads – including one featuring actual streamer DanieltheDemon – appeared to have been created with AI likenesses and voices.
Now DanieltheDemon has stated that the videos have nothing to do with him, claiming that his likeness has been used without his permission.
“I have no affiliation nor contract with The First Descendant,” he said. “They stole my face/reactions from my most viral video and used AI to change what my mouth says and a voice that isn’t mine. I did not consent for my likeness to be used.”
Players were first suspicious about the ad when DanieltheDemon held up the fingers on a single hand and said “I give this game eight out of ten”.
The fourth game in the Skate series – and the first new entry for 15 long years – is set to release in Early Access on September 16, and developer Full Circle says the first season will start shortly after this.
“Yes, Skate will have seasons and seasonal content,” the studio confirmed. “The world, game features, in-game events, and even the soundtracks will be updated to celebrate each season.”
According to Full Circle, each season in Skate will last around three months, with each season adding “new cosmetics and customization items, more music and more to do”.
“We will have a Skate Pass with a paid and free track with various rewards, Seasonal Challenges, and activities to keep you on your board,” the studio added.
It’s believed the new tracks added for Season 1 will include At Last by Etta James, What Took You So Long by Emma Bunton and Tired of Waiting for You by The Kinks.
Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will feature Pac-Man crossover DLC, which will be appearing as part of the game’s first Season Pass.
This will include the addition of Pac-Man and the ghosts as part of the game’s roster, as well as a Pac-Man themed track.
After this, Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac – the upcoming remake of the PS2, GameCube and Xbox platformer – will feature Sonic-themed DLC, including three Sonic collaboration stages and a Sonic costume for Pac-Man.
It’s thought that the crossover will particularly appeal to Sonic fans who stuck with the series throughout the early 2000s, given Pac-Man’s willingness to swallow any old shite.
The now-deleted post, made by Australian car importer Cult and Classic, shows a photographer taking pictures of a ‘kei’ car, and a caption that reads:
“Exciting news, we have Cody here from @forzahorizonofficial, shooting cars for the next installation in the series. As there are no late-model kei cars in America, he has flown out from the States to use our cars as the basis for their digital versions.”
Kei cars are the smallest category of Japanese expressway-legal motor vehicles, and since virtually all of them were produced in Japan, it seems likely that if a number of them are being captured it’s for a potential Forza Horizon 6 set in Japan.
It’s also an appropriate car to be featured in the game, given that it’s perfectly possible to fit every current Japanese Xbox owner into a single kei car.
“Similar to many global businesses, we continue to navigate a challenging economic environment,” Sony said in a statement. “As a result, we’ve made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price for PlayStation 5 consoles in the U.S. starting on August 21.”
A PS5 now costs $550 instead of $500, while a PS5 Digital Edition now costs $500 instead of $450.
Meanwhile, the PS5 Pro will now set you back $750, up from $700, meaning at this rate you might as well slap some wheels on it and turn it into a reasonably priced kei car.
The publisher aims to re-release the games on modern platforms and look at ways to expand each IP with new content.
The five games now owned by Atari are Cold Fear, Child of Eden, I Am Alive, Grow Home and Grow Up.
I Am Alive was released on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in 2012 and has players taking on the role of a father returning to his hometown in search of his missing wife and daughter.
Set in a post-apocalyptic environment where surviving waves of brutal enemies is a constant challenge, Ubisoft’s new Paris headquarters opened in 2021.
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