Exclusive: 10 Recent Video Game Industry Developments That Have Me & Notable Gamers Excited

Whether or not you are still quarantining full-time, odds are that some of your favorite dining and entertainment spots are still not open like they used to be. In turn, you are spending more time at home and are consuming more digital and streaming-based content that you were this time last year.

Fortunately, video games are still in a “golden age” of sorts. No matter your console of choice, the games these days are amazing, including the music used in them. And even if most of the video game developers were forced to change up how they make their games as of late, there are still plenty of new and exciting things for gamers to be psyched about, no matter how much gaming you do.

Below is a look at some recent video game industry developments which recently hit my radar, in addition to some exclusive quotes from influential gamers about what they are fans of lately.

FUSER

FUSER has been called “the next evolution of interactive music games,” putting players “in control of the music” with more than 100 songs, as featuring top artists from across the globe. Set to launch on November 10th, FUSER is the ultimate celebration of music festival culture, putting players on stage at the world’s largest digital music festival and allowing them to create their own custom music mixes. Developed by Harmonix Music Systems– the creators of Rock Band and Dance Central — and published by NCSOFT, FUSER will empower players to live out their DJ fantasies from their own home on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. November 10th is the release date for this one, which I have demoed, and let’s just say it lives up to the hype.

Ghost Of Tsushima

In a column last month, I wrote about the Sony Playstation exclusive video game Ghost Of Tsushima, which includes an immaculate score by Ilan Eshkeri and Shigeru Umebayashi. Also a fan of this game is IMPACT Wrestling’s X Division Champion Rohit Raju.

Commented Raju to me: “I just finished Ghost Of Tsushima. I absolutely loved it. It’s an open world almost action RPG style of game. You can do stealth, run straight into the fight, and use plenty of different weapons. The environment is beautiful and breathtaking. The soundtrack is amazing and the story is top-notch. Definitely one of the best games I’ve played in a long time. I’m huge fan of feudal Japan and samurai so this game was right up my alley.”

PGA TOUR 2K21

Whether or not you golf in real life, golf video games have traditionally been excellent. PGA Tour 2K21, which I have had the pleasure of trying out on the Google Stadia console, is no exception. Thomas Perretta, founder of the Thomas Felice brand is into the PGA Tour game series.

Perretta explained to me the importance of gaming to me, tying such in with PGA Tour 2K21: “People tend to view video games in a negative light for our younger generations. But i think growing up playing Crash Bandicoot and every single hockey game there was taught me a valuable life lesson. The more you practice at something the better you become. And you can apply that to anything in life no matter your age.” Continued Perretta: “The one game I’m itching to try is the PGA Tour 2K21 that was just released in August. I’m excited to see how realistic they were able to make this one compared to previous years.”

Red Dead Redemption 2

A 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an award-winning title that is playable on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and Microsoft Windows. Major music fans ought to be blown away by this title including original music composed by Daniel Lanois (U2, Spoon, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel, Neil Young, Scott Weiland).

When speaking with singer/songwriter Robert Vincent — whose great new album In This Town You’re Owned is available via Spotify and all the key streaming and sales outlets — this particular title came up: “I’m a particular fan of Expansive free roam games, I’m still a huge fan of Red Dead Redemption 2 and a fan of the ‘Rockstar’ way of gaming in general and have been since the first Grand Theft Auto. Also being a football and Liverpool fan I play a lot of FIFA, so as always looking forward to that release. Especially as Liverpool are now Champions.”

Streaming Via Stadia

Bill is a prolific podcaster and host, as associated with 143 Pixels, Nintendo Switch Craft, and StadiaCast. 143 Pixels in particular is a deep dive podcast about a specific game every episode, often with great guests. The most recent episode of the show features André Segers in discussion with Bill about Mario 64.

A fellow Stadia fan, Bill told me about his excitement about game-related streaming in general: “I think the most interesting development in gaming is streaming. People don’t have to invest in hardware to play the latest games. I can just buy the game and play it on a Chromebook. That levels the playing field in a way that has never happened before. It is essentially a free console. Streaming is definitely early days and there will be growing pains, but Stadia has proven that it works and it works really well.”

Horizon Zero Dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn is an action role-playing game developed by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. And it happens to be a recommendation passed along by Tony P. Henderson, host of the Tony P. Oddcast podcast.

Said Henderson in a recent e-mail exchange with yours truly: “I have a backlog of games I need to catch up on. Once I finish Final Fantasy VII remake, I’m looking forward to FINALLY making time for Horizon Zero Dawn. With that being said, I’m really excited for the PS5. New consoles always have such a huge jump in technology, and as a neat freak, I love the idea of the digital edition.”

NBA 2K21

NBA 2K21 is a basketball simulation video game that was developed by Visual Concepts and published by 2K Sports, based on the National Basketball Association. It is the 22nd installment in the NBA 2K franchise and the successor to NBA 2K20. It is playable on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia and Microsoft Windows alike.

Per a recent exchange we had on Instagram, the Puerto Rican Prince of the up and coming BWO wrestling organization, highly recommends NBA 2K21: “I’ve really been into NBA2k21. I’m not really basketball fan, but I decided to give this game a shot and I was pleasantly-surprised about how smooth it played and how much fun the MyCareer mode is.”

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 became available worldwide on September 4th for the suggested retail price in the U.S. of $39.99, while a digital deluxe version with unique content and in-game gear will be priced at $49.99 and a “collector’s edition” will be carry a price tag of $99.99. Last month, Activision unveiled the entire lineup of new music that fans can prepare to shred to when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, as ranging from old-school ‘90s rap and ska-punk to international indie hits and up-and-coming artists, 37 new tracks in all. The big soundtrack reveal was made via a virtual concert on Noisey’s YouTube channel, as including performances by CHAII, Merkules, Machine Gun Kelly and Rough Francis, who are among the new musical talent to appear in the remastered game’s soundtrack.

WWE 2K Battlegrounds

2020 has not yet brought a new “2K” video game from the WWE brand, but it is now known that Saber Interactive developed a new arcade wrestling title called WWE 2K Battlegrounds for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia. As reported by The Sarah O’Connell Show, over 70 WWE characters are expected to be featured in the game and 4 players can be in the ring at once. I am expecting a game format comparable to Super Smash Brothers based on its available game trailers.

The Score Of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

And speaking of top-notch scores written for video games, Einar Selvik — the Norwegian composer, musician and creative mastermind behind the Nordic folk band Wardruna, who are widely known for their ability to transcend music genres, cultures and languages while introducing innovative and genre-creating renditions of ancient Nordic traditions — is featured on the score for the upcoming installment of the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla which will release worldwide on November 17th, and Selvik is featured alongside BAFTA Award-winning Danish composer Jesper Kyd and American composer Sarah Schachner on the official Assassin’s Creed Valhalla soundtrack The Ravens Saga. A 7-track EP is available now.

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Tags: 143 Pixels, FUSER, Google Stadia, Harmonix, Impact Wrestling, Rohit Raju, Tony. P Henderson

About the Author

Darren Paltrowitz Darren Paltrowitz is a New York resident with over 20 years of entertainment industry experience. He began working around the music business as a teenager, interning for the manager of his then-favorite band Superdrag. Since then, he has worked with a wide array of artists including OK Go, They Might Be Giants, Mike Viola, Tracy Bonham, Loudness, Rachael Yamagata, and Amanda Palmer. Darren's writing has appeared in dozens of outlets including the New York Daily News, Inquisitr, The Daily Meal, The Hype Magazine, All Music Guide, Guitar World, TheStreet.com, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, and the Jewish Journal. Beyond being "Editor At Large" for The Hype Magazine, Darren is also the host of weekly "Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz" series, which airs on dozens on television and digital networks. He has also co-authored 2 published books, 2018's "Pocket Change: Your Happy Money" (Book Web Publishing) and 2019's "Good Advice From Professional Wrestling" (6623 Press), and co-hosts the world's only known podcast about David Lee Roth, "The DLR Cast."