There are huge things happening in the world right now, with worrying repercussions, so if pop culture news seems inconsequential at the moment, you’re not alone in feeling that way. Outside of video games, it’s been a relatively quiet week, with television and film announcements mostly arriving in a trickle. Here’s what did stand out.
Gaming
First things first, happy Elden Ring day to all the masochists out there.
For those not consumed with FromSoftware’s latest punishing epic, the February 2022 edition of Steam Next Fest is under way. Play demos and watch livestreams for hundreds of upcoming indie games. We recommend A Little to the Left, a chilled and soul-soothing puzzle game about tidying up. And you can finally get hands on with Neon White, an afterlife-themed speed runner featuring an unusual card buff component, from Donut County developer Ben Esposito and publisher Annapurna Interactive.
Street Fighter 6 is on its way. Capcom dropped a teaser trailer for the next title in its iconic fighting game series, with the promise that more news is coming in the Northern Hemisphere summer. Since the reveal, fans have mostly been talking about Ryu’s bulk… and other distracting things.
The last Street Fighter released 6 years ago in 2016.
Also revealed this past week was the headset design for PlayStation VR2, which has placed emphasis on ergonomic comfort, and aesthetic compatibility with the VR controllers and greater PS5 family of products. Find out more about the headset here.
Finally, 2023 will be the first year in two decades where a new mainline Call of Duty game won’t release. Publisher Activision was reportedly disappointed when last year’s Call of Duty: Vanguard “failed to meet expectations.” Fans won’t go without, though.
This year’s premium Call of Duty game will receive a steady stream of additional content well into next year, and there will be a new, free-to-play online title released in 2023 instead.
Given the good an annual break did for Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise, the surprise move may be to COD’s benefit. More here.
Television
You love incredibly talented veteran actresses? And tales of women who wrote their own narrative? Look no further than based-on-real-life drama The First Lady. Starring Viola Davis as Michelle Obama, Michelle Pfeiffer as Betty Ford and Gillian Anderson as Eleanor Roosevelt, this series delves into the personal and political lives of those three US presidential wives, as they changed the status quo. Also with Dakota Fanning, Aaron Eckhart and Kiefer Sutherland. The First Lady comes to Showtime April 17.
In Africa, pay television broadcaster and satellite service DStv caused an uproar with its new plan to limit password sharing and piracy. Effective March 22, people will be limited to streaming DStv on one device at a time. This is despite customers being allowed 4 devices for streaming off the DStv app.
The concession is that subscribers will still be able to watch previously downloaded content on a second device. So, plan ahead, I guess.
Simultaneous viewing through DStv decoders, and sister streaming service Showmax, are unaffected by the rule change. Read the release here.
One small piece of casting news. Character actor and frequent bad guy Walton Goggins has been cast in Amazon’s upcoming Fallout series, and will be playing a radiation disfigured ghoul when production starts later this year. Fallout is based on the Bethesda’s long-running retro-futuristic video game series, about life after Nuclear Apocalypse. More here.
Film
Like DStv above, the Oscars enraged a bunch of movie fans – well, more than usual. Television network ABC is hellbent on ensuring the broadcast of the iconic awards show sticks to three hours. So they’ve removed several awards from the live broadcast to streamline it, but also make space for “more audience entertainment and engagement.”
The bumped categories? Documentary Short, Animated Short, Live Action Short, Film Editing, Make-up and Hairstyling, Original Score, Production Design, and Sound.
Apparently the winners’ acceptance speeches for these categories will still feature in the live broadcast, but for people who appreciate the practical artistry that makes films possible, this is still one helluva snub.
The 94th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre, and will be hosted by the trio of Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes.
