Author: Trafficblast

Last week, Microsoft and Sony made the unexpected announcement that they were laying the groundwork for a future partnership that could unite PlayStation and Xbox in some way. A new report from Bloomberg states that the news caught the PlayStation team by surprise.

The story cites people with knowledge of the situation who say Sony negotiated with Microsoft on the deal “largely without the involvement” of the PlayStation team.

“Negotiations with Microsoft began last year and were handled directly by Sony’s senior management in Tokyo, largely without the involvement of the PlayStation unit, according to people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reported.

“Staff at the gaming division were caught off-guard by the news. Managers had to calm workers and assure them that plans for the company’s next-generation console weren’t affected, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing private matters.”

Negotiations between Microsoft and Sony began in 2018, a spokesperson for Sony said. However, the company has not publicly commented on the claim that the PlayStation team was largely left out of the negotiations.

Bloomberg’s story also claims that Sony and Amazon held discussions in 2018 to talk about the potential for a “deeper collaboration on cloud gaming.” However, the two sides could not come to terms over the business side, according to a source. After this, Sony apparently started talking to Microsoft. Amazon’s Amazon Web Services cloud computing platform powers the PlayStation Network, so Sony and Amazon were already working together. (For what it’s worth, Amazon is also reportedly planning its own future game-streaming platform)

The announcement of the Microsoft-Sony deal states that the companies will “explore joint development of future cloud solutions in Microsoft Azure to support their respective game and content-streaming services.” Additionally, Microsoft and Sony will work together to explore the possibility of Sony leveraging Microsoft’s Azure datacenters for Sony’s game and content streaming platforms.

According to the Bloomberg story, Sony realized that its own network services would not be enough to thrive in the future where cloud gaming is expected to take off, with new entrants like Google Stadia coming into the mix to compete.

“Sony feels threatened by this trend and the mighty Google, and has decided to leave its network infrastructure build-up to Microsoft,” Asymmetric Advisors strategist Amir Anvarzadeh told Bloomberg. “Why would they sleep with the enemy unless they feel threatened?”

For what it’s worth, the press release announcing the deal between Microsoft and Sony only mentions PlayStation by name once.

Microsoft’s new game-streaming service is in the works under the working title xCloud. Sony has its own PlayStation Now streaming service that’s been running for years already.

Despite no official announcement being made, PlayStation architect Mark Cerny has begun to talk about the PlayStation 5. Microsoft is also working on a next-generation Xbox, and it’s expected to be announced at E3 in June.

With Game of Thrones coming to an end, HBO wants to remind people that it has more shows in the pipeline. One of those is Westworld, which returns for a third season in 2020.

The network has released the first trailer for it, and it’s incredible. The trailer shows off Aaron Paul’s character and so much more. There is seriously a lot to unpack. And as always with Westworld, this trailer seems to pose more questions than it answers. Check it out:

The first Season 3 trailer premiered just ahead of the start of the Game of Thrones finale. We’ll have lots more on Game of Thrones (and Westworld) coming up soon on GameSpot, so check back with us for more.

Elizabeth Olsen, who is perhaps best known for playing Scarlet Witch in the MCU movies, has revealed that she auditioned for the role of Daenerys in the HBO series Game of Thrones. She didn’t get the part, and it ultimately went to Emilia Clarke.

Olsen recalled her audition in a new interview with Vulture. She explained that she performed a monologue, and she used two different accents. Whatever the case, she acknowledged that she was “terrible.” Overall, she called it the “most awkward audition” she ever had.

“When I first started working, I just auditioned for everything, because I like auditioning. And I auditioned for Khaleesi. I forgot that,” she said. “It was the most awkward audition I’d ever had.”

Regarding the audition itself, Olsen recalled that it was a monologue for what would eventually air at the end of Season 1 where Daenerys is making a speech to thousands of people. “They didn’t know if they wanted a British accent or not. So, you did it in both,” she said. “It was terrible. Anytime someone says, ‘Bad audition story.’ That’s one I remember.”

Other actors who auditioned for Game of Thrones characters include Jared Harris (The High Sparrow), Mahershala Ali (Xaro Xhoan Daxos), and Sam Claflin (Jon Snow).

While the current Avengers storyline might have wrapped up with Endgame, Olsen will play Scarlet Witch again in the Disney+ streaming TV show WandaVision.

Ahead of the Game of Thrones finale tonight, Daenearys actress Emilia Clarke has posted an emotional goodbye to the franchise. Writing on Instagram, Clarke said she was overcome with emotion with putting her thoughts into words about the end of Game of Thrones

“Finding the words to write this post has left me overwhelmed with how much I want to say but how small words feel in comparison to what this show and Dany have meant to me,” she said. “The mother of dragons chapter has taken up the whole of my adult life. This woman has taken up the whole of my heart. I’ve sweated in the blaze of dragon fire, shed many tears at those who left our family early, and wrung my brain dry trying to do Khaleesi and the masterful words, actions (and names) I was given, justice.”

She said Game of Thrones shaped her as an actor, a woman, and a human being. “I just wish my darling dad was here now to see how far we’ve flown,” she said.

And to her fans, Clarke said she owes them “so much thanks” for supporting the show over the years. “Without you there is no us. And now our watch has ended.”

Clarke also shared some nice behind-the-scenes images of Game of Thrones, including her fellow castmates, writers D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, and her braided her. You can scroll through the images in the Instagram embed above.

The Game of Thrones series finale airs tonight on HBO, and it is expected to be a dramatic affair. Among other things, we may learn who wins the Iron Throne once and for all. Check back with GameSpot soon for lots more in the hours ahead.

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Rainbow Six Siege‘s new season of DLC has been revealed. Operation Phantom Sight will include the customary two new Operators–Nokk and Warden–as well as a map rework and some welcome tweaks to existing characters.

Nokk is for all intents and purposes an attacking version of Vigil. Her Hel gadget allows her to become near-invisible to enemy cameras. The ability is timed, so you won’t be invisible forever, but this could be a very powerful tool for pushing objective rooms. Her weapon selection includes the FMG-9 SMG, the Six12 SD shotgun, and the Desert Eagle-like D-50, which is very powerful and can be equipped with a suppressor.

Warden, a defender, wears Smartglasses, which allow him to see through smoke while stationary. In addition, his ability makes him practically impervious to flashbangs and other disorientating devices, such as Ying’s Candelas.

Siege’s sniper character, Glaz, has been heavily tweaked for Operation Phantom Sight. His thermal scope now takes much longer to acquire the profile of defenders, which has a big impact when attempting to shoot through smoke. The change intends to discourage Glaz players from simply storming to the frontline of a fight, while also retaining his distance-shooting strength.

Finally, Kafe Dostoyevsky has been reworked. The rework is not as dramatic as Hereford Base’s, but still modernizes the building and makes it fit for how Siege has evolved since launch. Check out the new Kafe and all the Year 2, Season 4 details in our preview video above. Ubisoft has not yet confirmed when Operation Phantom Sight will begin, but traditionally content updates drop on live PS4, Xbox One, and PC servers around three weeks after being revealed.

In Rainbow Six Siege’s latest update, Ubisoft introduced reverse friendly fire, a new system that aims to curb the game’s team-killing problem. Thanks to the update, shooting an ally will now cause all the damage you deal to be inflicted on yourself. Ubisoft intends to continue tweaking the system and patches are already planned for the next season as part of Ubisoft’s new policy to push out game updates more regularly.

Thus far in Audio Logs we’ve explored the creation of specific games, shining a light on some of the interesting and creative design and development methods employed to bring our favorite gaming experiences to life.

However, in this episode, we’re doing something a little different, and it’s because the guest warrants it. That guest is Gochi “Suda51” Suda, the Japanese designer and director known for his work on Fire Pro Wrestling, Killer7, Shadows of the Damned, and No More Heroes, among other titles.

Suda is loved for bringing a carefree, punk rock attitude to his video games. They are very much a reflection of himself and his tastes and, unsurprisingly, he’s lived an interesting life, starting his career as a hearse driver before jumping into the world of video game development.

In this episode, Suda discusses his early motivations to get into making games, landing a gig writing Super Fire Pro Wrestling’s infamous ending scenario, working with Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami and Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, and establishing his own studio, where he went on to create a number of other iconic games.

Each of his career milestones comes with a fascinating, insightful, or hilarious anecdote that not only provides insight into the inner workings of Suda’s mind, but also highlights the unique, charming personality he imbues his games with. It’s a fun time.

Audio Logs is a weekly show where the people behind the games we love tell us the stories of how they’re made. You can watch more episodes of Audio Logs on YouTube. We’ve got God of War director Cory Barlog breaking down one of the game’s most impactful scenes; Cuphead’s lead game designer, Jared Moldenhauer, talking about the inspirations for King Dice’s Dice Palace; Dead Cells’ game designer Sebastian Benard revealing the amazing design tricks they used to make the game super satisfying to play, and Overwatch designer Geoff Goodman exploring how Baptiste was created.

Be sure to subscribe to GameSpot on YouTube to see more episodes as they’re released. You won’t want to miss it!