Learn More About the Latest News on UTM Acquires Video Game Collection, Microsoft Calls Cloud Gaming ‘immature’, and Coroner Warning on Gaming

In today’s video gaming news, learn more about the University of Toronto Mississauga’s (UTM) recent acquisition of one of the largest video game collections could be significant in advancing a unique field of study in Canada. Meanwhile, Microsoft provided a somewhat less bullish picture on the emerging technologies. As part of its latest bid to secure regulatory permission for a $68.7 billion agreement to acquire video game developer Activision Blizzard, the corporation referred to cloud gaming as “immature” and “unproven” in a lengthy, detail-packed file. Lastly, the death of a 13-year-old boy in Victoria, Australia, has sparked warnings about how dangerous games can be for teens. Oliver Cronin, from Loch in the southeast of Victoria, Australia, killed himself on October 25, 2019, after being addicted to online games like Fortnite and Minecraft for a year.

UTM Buys Game Collection

Original Source: UTM acquires monumental video game collection

The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) just acquired one of the largest video game collections, which could help advance a unique Canadian field of study.

The Syd Bolton Collection include 14,000 video games, hundreds of consoles and systems, thousands of gaming publications, and other books and technology. The collection includes games like Duck Hunt and Call of Duty.

Donated by the widow of game collector Syd Bolton, the collection promises to improve curricula and scholarship in game studies, says curator Chris Young.

“The major purpose of purchasing this collection was to support students,” said Dr. Young, who teaches a graduate course in critical game studies at UTM. “But we have a responsibility to make sure other academics, institutions, and the public can access these historical artefacts.”

Game studies is a nascent interdisciplinary field that started roughly two decades ago. At UTM, the English and theater department and the institute of communication, culture, information and technology provide video game classes. The former may examine the literary history of video game storytelling and world-building, while the latter may examine how the gaming business portrays gender and sexuality. According to Dr. Young, the institution may offer a gaming studies minor within a year or two.

Chris Young Ian Patterson shown.

Hands-on collection

Syd Bolton Collection is a physical, interactive collection that complements game studies curricula and provides new content for other disciplines. This resource can be used in anthropology, sociology, and computer science studies, says Dr. Young. He emphasized that even economics researchers could find value in the collection. “Various of the digital currency we have today were built for video games like World of Warcraft over 20 years ago,” said Dr. Young. “There are many sides for professors to interact with.”

Felan Parker, an assistant professor in the book and media studies program, says the most valuable part of the collection is the game-related literature (game magazines, instruction manuals). This literature provides context for how the game was received by the gaming community and wider public at the time. “You get the social, cultural, political, and economic backdrop,” stated Dr. Parker.

Preservation, access

Mr. Bolton founded and curated the Personal Computer Museum in Brantford, Ont., before transferring the collection to the university in 2020. His death in 2018 caused its closure. When Mrs. Bolton contacted UTM to donate the collection, she emphasized the need of preservation and public access.

While it may take a year before all consoles are cataloged and listed on the library website, Dr. Young invites scholars, students, members of the local gaming community, and the public to reach out if they are interested in a certain title. The UTM library contains video displays allowing customers to play and study games.

Now that the collection is established at UTM, Dr. Young and his team want to keep adding to it, addressing research gaps, and upgrading it to assist scholarship and learning. He stated this was a privilege.

Microsoft Slams Cloud Gaming in Activision Acquisition Filing

Original Source: Microsoft calls cloud gaming ‘immature’ in Activision deal filing

Microsoft’s outlook on cloud gaming has dimmed after years of promotion. In a thick file, the business called cloud gaming “immature” and “unproven” as part of its quest to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, pending regulatory permission.

“Today cloud gaming is in its infancy and unproven as a consumer proposition,” Microsoft stated in a Tuesday response to the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Cloud gaming is “young and immature,” according to the corporation.

The CMA said on Sept. 1 it will investigate whether Microsoft buying Activision would affect U.K. competition. Microsoft may hinder competition by removing Call of Duty from PlayStation or adding Activision’s titles to its cloud gaming service, the regulator said. International regulators and the FTC are examining the purchase.

Saudi Arabia OKs Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal

Microsoft has promoted cloud gaming as a tactic to boost its lagging console sales. Microsoft showed off its cloud gaming service Project xCloud at E3 2019, one of the industry’s last in-person gatherings until 2022. The service can play all 3,500 Xbox games and 1,900 games still in development.

“We’re eager to watch how this field continues to evolve and look forward to assisting development studios, our partners, and others in the industry,” Xbox Cloud Gaming vice president Catherine Gluckstein told The Washington Post on Oct. 6.

Gluckstein’s comments were in response to inquiries regarding gaming after Google’s Stadia closure. Google announced Stadia’s shutdown on Sept. 29.

Microsoft’s reaction to the CMA Tuesday was more tempered, suggesting that users are unlikely to convert to cloud gaming and will stay to PC and console for most games. Despite the buzz over cloud gaming, Microsoft said gamers don’t care. Instead, game content and tech features like visuals and latency must win them over.

“Game streaming is fledgling and incremental to downloading. So says Ampere Analysis analyst Piers Harding-Rolls. Previous remarks are marketing-driven and give Xbox a long-term strategy for boosting its audience and revenue.

Logitech, Ubisoft, and Razer are still pushing their cloud gaming services despite Stadia’s closure.

Stadia, Google’s game-streaming service, will close.

The Microsoft filing also revealed additional, more current details about the famously secretive gaming business.

Xbox has promised not to add Call of Duty to Game Pass “for a number of years” to honor Activision Blizzard’s arrangement with Sony, which ends in 2024. Microsoft promised to maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation until 2027, but Sony declined. Microsoft has repeatedly assured gamers and regulators it would lose money on Call of Duty if it left Sony’s platform.

Microsoft also outlined its ambitions to develop a mobile game store, which it announced in February. The mobile store would modify the PC and console Xbox Store to compete with Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

Microsoft’s filing is more frank about the console warfare than blog postings and executive pronouncements. Sony and Nintendo have sold more consoles and have more monthly active users than Microsoft. Microsoft’s lawsuit criticized Call of Duty, claiming that critics disliked 2021’s “Call of Duty: Vanguard” and that the franchise could die.

Microsoft outlined some of its inadequacies in the filing to convince the U.K. regulator that the acquisition wouldn’t affect competition. Never matched Sony’s game exclusives and console sales. Sony blocks Xbox Game Pass on PlayStation, it stated. Microsoft is trying to get regulatory permission by arguing it’s more like David than Goliath in gaming.

Coroner Warns About Gaming After Victorian Boy’s Death

Original Source: Victorian boy’s death prompts warning on gaming from coroner

The death of a 13-year-old Victorian boy has triggered cautions about gaming and teens.

Oliver Cronin from Loch, Victoria, took his own life on October 25, 2019, after a year-long addiction to Fortnite and Minecraft.

He was raised in a loving household and was popular at school, but he acquired a temper and behavioral issues before his death.

He lashed out at his family and was suspended from school for physical fights.

Victorian Coroner Paresa Spanos found Oliver’s behavior changes were linked to internet video games.

“Oliver was not diagnosed with a gaming problem, but his behavior suggests he met the WHO criteria,” Spanos noted in her report.

The death of a 13-year-old Victorian boy has triggered cautions about gaming and teens. Pic.

The death of a 13-year-old Victorian boy has triggered cautions about gaming and teens.

The WHO defines a gaming disorder as persistent distress or severe impairment in family, personal, and social life.

Australia’s grasp of gaming problem prevention and diagnosis is not thorough nor rigorous, the coroner found.

No publicly sponsored services treat or prevent gaming problems in Australia.

2020’s Digital Australia Report indicated 67% of Australians play video games, with 22% under 18 years old.

Males 15-24 play 130 minutes a day on average, while girls play 81.

In 2015, 3.5% of males ages 11 to 15 engaged in “problematic” gaming, and 4.4% of boys ages 16 and 17.

In Australia, gaming disorders need more research, the coroner concluded.

Spanos urged the eSafety Commissioner boost awareness of gaming’s psychological hazards in school digital health initiatives.

The eSafety Commissioner should push study on online gaming’s impact on teens.

Summary of Today’s Computer Gaming News

Overall, UTM’s recent purchase of one of the greatest video game collections could help advance a unique branch of research in Canada. The Syd Bolton Collection includes more than 14,000 video games, hundreds of consoles and systems, and thousands of gaming publications. Classics like Duck Hunt and Call of Duty are included. The collection was donated to the university by the widow of gaming collector Syd Bolton, says curator Chris Young.

On the other hand, Microsoft seems less confident about the new technologies this week. The corporation called cloud gaming “immature” and “unproven” in a thick document as part of its quest to acquire Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, pending regulatory permission. Microsoft told the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on Tuesday that cloud gaming is still in its early stages and hasn’t been proven to be good for consumers. The company also said that it didn’t think the situation would get better in the next few years. The company doesn’t think cloud gaming will replace consoles or PCs, calling it “a new and immature technology.”

Finally, Oliver Cronin, a resident of Loch in southeast Victoria, committed suicide on October 25, 2019, following a year-long addiction to online video games such as Fortnite and Minecraft. The Victorian coroner Paresa Spanos determined that Oliver’s alterations in behavior were a result of his increased use of internet video games. Oliver was not diagnosed with a gaming problem; however, his behaviors indicate that he fit the WHO’s criteria for a gaming disorder, according to Spanos’ assessment.

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