Sony was seemingly planning to launch its cloud gaming service PlayStation Now on Apple iPhones, a confidential document from the Epic vs Apple trial reveals. As examined by The Verge, the Japanese tech giant was considering launching the gaming service in 2017, two years before Apple formally introduced its own gaming service Apple Arcade. The report notes that the document highlights Apple knew about Sony’s plans, further indicating that the Cupertino-based tech giant revamped App Store rules to make it difficult for third-party cloud service providers to enter the iOS ecosystem. Another report published earlier this month pointed that Microsoft tried to negotiate with Apple to roll out Xbox-exclusive games on the App Store but failed due to strict regulations.
The report notes that had Sony been able to launch PlayStation Now on iOS, it would’ve been its biggest expansion at the time. Apple had heard about a “[not-yet-announced] mobile extension of an existing streaming service for PlayStation users, streaming access to over 450+ PS3 games to start, with PS4 games to follow, the report reads. In 2017, Sony’s gaming service was only available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 but later landed on PlayStation 4 and Windows PCs.
But it seems Sony still wants to expand operations and is said to be working on “Project Spartacus" that would bundle its cloud gaming service with a PlayStation Plus subscription. It would add the original PlayStation 1 title and “eventually" roll out PlayStation 5 games with the service. However, it is unclear whether the service would reach smartphones.
Last year, Apple updated its App Store policies, which created a massive hurdle for cloud gaming service providers. The company said that service providers must submit each game on the service as an individual for inspection before being available to the public. At the time, Microsoft had said that new rules would bring an experience for game lovers on iOS devices.
Britain’s antitrust regulator said on Monday it will look into Microsoft Corp’s $16 billion purchase of artificial intelligence and speech technology firm Nuance Communications. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which has been stepping up its regulation of Big Tech, said it was considering if the deal would result in lesser competition in the UK market.
Microsoft announced it would buy Nuance in April to boost its presence in cloud services for healthcare. The deal has already received regulatory approval in the United States and Australia, without remedies given. Reuters reported last week the deal, which will be Microsoft’s second biggest after its $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016, was set to secure unconditional EU antitrust approval.
For someone who is just getting into gaming, be it as a hobby or a future job opportunity, things can seem quite intimidating at first. In online multiplayer games, especially, where you’re forced to communicate and exchange information quickly, you could encounter a lot of technical words and phrases that sound foreign. So, we have compiled a list of commonly used gaming terms and simplified them for your understanding.
Possibly the most common term, the abbreviation stands for “away from keyboard.” This could be used to inform your teammates that you are temporarily taking a step away from your session (example – loo break) or to signify that a certain player is not actively playing. Internet disconnections for example can also cause an AFK situation, where the player is unable to take control of their character.
In online shooters, you’re supposed to run around the map and hunt for kills. But occasionally, you might encounter a player or two that prefer sitting in a well-hidden spot on the map and waiting for the enemies before their sight. Once they do, they instantly get a kill and continue using the same brainless strategy throughout the game. The people who do this are referred to as campers.
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