Weekly Authority: Edition #162

Amazon:

• Amazon’s Fall hardware event saw the launch of the new Echo Show 15, a new Amazon Smart Thermostat, and much more — though the star of the show was undoubtedly Astro, Amazon’s little Wall-E-type robot.

Apple:

Samsung:

Google:

Elsewhere:

Movies/TV:

Gaming:

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know Amazon Games’ MMORPG New World finally launched on Tuesday, after a lengthy delay. You might even have been among the 20,000 players queueing for server access this week.

New World is Amazon’s “biggest video game hope yet” according to The New York Times. But it isn’t the game studio’s first foray into gaming by a long stretch.

• Amazon Games’ (formerly Amazon Game Studios) first announced its foray into video games in 2014.
• It revealed its first three PC games in 2016: Breakaway, which was canceled in 2018, Crucible, which launched in 2020, and New World, its latest release.
• After a delayed launch, Crucible was put back into closed beta last July, and servers shut down last November as the development team moved to work on New World.

The company was also involved in the development of a Lord of the Rings MMO game but this was canceled in spring 2021.

Amazon already has three development studios in Seattle, Orange County, and San Diego. In March 2021 it opened a new studio in Montreal, headed up by former Ubisoft Montreal members who worked on Rainbow Six: Siege.

New World’s many styles

New World has already come under fire for being a mishmash of ideas and art styles inspired by other MMORPGs. There’s more to it than that though, and some of the inspiration behind the artwork makes for really interesting reading.

Set in the world of Aeternum — which would arguably have made a better name for the game — New World takes place in an alternate 17th century, aptly known as “the age of exploration.” 

• You’ll do a lot of exploring in New World, though your first questline focuses on making some basic tools and gathering crafting materials and resources.
• Figuring out what to do first is part of the fun of an MMORPG, but plenty of guides and gameplay walkthroughs have sprung up online if you need a nudge in the right direction.

Is New World any good?

If you can get past the server queues, you might just find out. First impressions are positive though:

• IGN gets “strong Witcher 3 vibes” and mentions the “downright gorgeous” graphics in its review in progress.
• Over at PC Gamer, Fraser Brown, UK online editor can’t decide if he’s having a great time or downright bored…
• Meanwhile, reviews over on Steam are mixed as 53% of players award the game a positive rating.

New World is available on Steam and Amazon for $39.99 (£34.99) for the standard edition or $49.99 (£43.99) for the deluxe edition — and no subscription is needed to play.

Have you battled through the server queues and been playing New World? We’d love to hear what you think of the game so far.

• October 4: Android 12 stable release date
• October 5: Google event (MagSafe compatible chargers and accessories, new Nest, Maps?) 
• October 7: Far Cry 6 release date (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, XSX, Stadia)
• October 8: Nintendo OLED Switch release date
• October 12: Back 4 Blood release date (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, XSX, PC)
• October 19: Possible Pixel 6 release date?
• October 21: Huawei event in Vienna, possibly P50 series launch

Tech Tweet of the Week

First, this utterly genius moment:

Second, for those playing New World right now…

did I write about this largely — perhaps even entirely — because I thought it’d be funny for it to appear in the washington post? yes https://t.co/1LmDmB9Opo

Have a wonder-filled week!

Paula Beaton, Copy Editor