Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka set the horror world ablaze with hope when he teased a new project. Immediately, fans wondered if this was the fabled return to Silent Hill that has been in the rumor mill for quite some time now. While the excitement was high, the interview in question was quickly pulled down, though Konami swears it had nothing to do with the takedown.
Yamaoka sat down with the YouTube channel Al Hub to talk about what he's working on currently following his contribution to Bloober Team's The Medium. When the composer was asked what the immediate future looks like, he responded that his latest project would most likely be announced this Summer. Yamaoka added "I think it's the one you're kind of hoping to hear about," which set Silent Hills fans into an excited uproar. That return to the iconic horror franchise was further speculated when the interview in question was quickly pulled from YouTube as a whole.
The YouTube channel took to Twitter to give notice of the removal, saying "We were asked to remove the clip, and it has been removed." No mention as to who removed the clip was given:
Statement:
— Al Hub - الهَب (@TheHubKW) February 5, 2021
We thank you for your support which contributed to the spread of the interview that we published yesterday with Akira Yamaoka around the world.
We were asked to remove the clip, and it has been removed.
We apologize
and stay tuned for the next interviews https://t.co/sMuGmf6NIT
Immediately, fans went to Konami asking why the video was taken down, to which a spokesperson told VideoGamer that "Konami did not ask Al Hub to take down the interview." So who did? That's a mystery, but one we're trying to find out. In the meantime: we might be getting a new Silent Hill? Yay?
What do you think? Do you think the tease was for a new Silent Hill or for something else entirely? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below!
Final Fantasy XIV continues to be a noteworthy MMO experience thanks to a bevy of large-scale content drops (Shadowbringers is incredible!) and consistent patch updates. The RPG always feels fresh, offering a bunch of interesting quests and dazzling environments to unearth for newcomers as well as dedicated players.
In addition to the recent announcement of “Endwalker” - an expansion that implements two new jobs, raises the level cap by ten, and takes players to the moon - Final Fantasy XIV is getting even more content with the “Death Unto Dawn” 5.5 update which will serve as an engaging preamble to Endwalker’s Fall release. Most importantly, however, a beta is launching on PlayStation 5 this Spring with a free upgrade for PlayStation 4 players.
The most important features coming alongside 5.5 include a two-part mainline quest which will set up the Endwalker storyline, the next chapter in the Nier-inspired “Yorha: Dark Alliance” series of raids (by the way, if you haven’t played Nier: Automata yet, you absolutely should!), the conclusion to the “Sorrow of Werlyt” story, a new dungeon, and a new field to explore. Smaller quality-of-life changes that range from more crafting tools to job adjustments for PvP and PvE engagements have also been planned to arrive alongside the bigger content. You can check out everything that Square Enix has planned for the game by watching the Letter from the Producer livestream.
Be among the first to play FFXIV Online on PS5 with the upcoming open beta, launching April 13: https://t.co/XCPJQlm4HD pic.twitter.com/K2Aj40mykE
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) February 7, 2021
The Death Unto Dawn 5.5 update drops on April 13 alongside Final Fantasy XIV’s PlayStation 5 open beta. Based on the trailer above, players can expect high-resolution interfaces, impressive load times (this is especially apparent with fast-traveling), 4K visuals, and noticeable performance improvements to gameplay and framerate as a whole.
For those of you that are excited for the future of Final Fantasy XIV, a post on the Official PlayStation Blog promises that more information will be coming during the Digital Fan Festival in May.
Terraria is a charming sandbox game that was first released back in 2011 on PC and has since made its way to a variety of other platforms. The latest home for the pixelated game was meant to be Google Stadia, that was until creator Andrew Spinks put his money where his mouth is in terms of the company's perceived poor customer service.
Spinks took to Twitter late last night to tag Google in an impassioned post asking why the studio suddenly pulled its Google Stadia port. The post is a result of his Google account being disabled for over three weeks with no reason given for the abrupt disconnection. "I have no idea why," said Spinks in his post. He went on to mention the steps he went through to try to get it back, showing that the frustration with Google has been developing for a while.
"After using every resource I have to get this resolved, you have done nothing but given me the runaround." He cites his frustration as being linked to thousands of dollars in-app purchases, movie purchases, and Google Drive data now being beyond his reach. Additionally, "I can't access my YouTube channel. The worst of all is losing access to my Gmail address of over 15 years."
I will not be involved with a corporation that values their customers and partners so little. Doing business with you is a liability.
— Andrew Spinks (@Demilogic) February 8, 2021
He went on to say that he never violated the terms of service and rose up to the perceived burning of a bridge by adding "Consider it burned."
"I will not be involved with a corporation that values their customers and partners so little. Doing business with you is a liability." That finally has resulted in the cancellation of the Terraria Google Stadia port, which comes at a time when the company isn't in a position to take this sort of hit. While many will argue that Terraria is an older game and therefore not a "loss," Google has only recently admitted to halting internal game development for its platform following mass layoffs.
The streaming service has, and had, a lot to offer. For those that had the bandwidth, the seamless transition into gameplay was stunning, and being able to play even the most technically powerful of games via browser was a unique experience. That being said, the platform has been in an uphill battle since launching with questionable terms of service regarding game ownership. It was an ambitious project but the paltry library and missing features weren't enough to win gamers over. This Terraria hit is just one of several and at this point, it seems like the writing may be on the wall for the company's foray into the world of gaming platforms.