Last week, we mentioned the game news drought that appears around this time of year.  Luckily, cracks are starting to form in the dam, releasing little hints and rumors of what’s to come.  Let’s take a look!

We're still waiting for the PS9

The internet has been buzzing with rumors about the successor to the Playstation 3, supposedly called the Playstation Orbis.  Planned for release around holiday 2013, the system supports several interesting features (or lack thereof, with supposedly no backwards compatibility), including an AMD based CPU and GPU, a blu-ray drive, and preventative measures against used games.  You read that last one correctly: supposedly you will bind games to your PSN ID.  If you purchase a game used, you’ll have to pay some sort of unlock code for full access to the content.  Predictably, no one is happy about this feature, especially mega-retailer Gamestop.  However, with constant rumors that the next XBox may not even have an optical drive, it certainly seems this is the way the industry is heading.  Hit up the Kotaku article for a great consolidation off all the rumors flying about.

Ono with his partner in crime, mini Blanka. Photo from gameindustry.biz.

Following a story that Q started on “The Game Show”, Street Fighter producer Yoshinori Ono will be stepping down from his job due to recent health concerns.  Initially, reports stated that Ono was suffering from exhaustion, but this story seems to suggest there is more going on than just merely being overworked.  Either way, we wish him a speedy recovery.  Ono is providing updates through his Twitter account.

Makers of the excellent "Shadow the Hedgehog"

Last, but not least, Sega has begun a massive restructuring in wake of a forecast that sees their net income down nearly 50%.  As a result, the developer / publisher is cancelling titles from various franchises, including Sonic and Aliens.  The forecast is so severe that they’ve issued a document titled “Notice of Extraordinary Loss and Adjustment to the Forecast of Operating Results“.  That link leads to a PDF.

 

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